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The fossil record for Cretaceous birds in Australia has been limited to rare skeletal material, feathers, and two tracks, a paucity shared with other Gondwanan landmasses. Hence the recent discovery of 27 avian footprints and other traces in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian, 128–120 Ma ) Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria, Australia amends their previous rarity there, while also confirming the earliest known presence of birds in Australia and the rest of Gondwana. The avian identity of these tracks is verified by their tridactyl forms, thin digits relative to track lengths, wide divarication angles, and sharp claws; three tracks also have hallux imprints. Track forms and sizes indicate a variety of birds as tracemakers, with some among the largest reported from the Early Cretaceous. Although continuous trackways are absent, close spacing and similar alignments of tracks on some bedding planes suggest gregariousness. The occurrence of this avian trace-fossil assemblage in circumpolar fluvial-floodplain facies further implies seasonal behavior, with trackmakers likely leaving their traces on floodplain surfaces during post-thaw summers.

The fossil record for Cretaceous birds in Australia has been limited to rare skeletal material, feathers, and two tracks, a paucity shared with other Gondwanan landmasses. Hence the recent discovery of 27 avian footprints and other traces in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian, 128-120 Ma) Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria, Australia amends their previous rarity there, while also confirming the earliest known presence of birds in Australia and the rest of Gondwana. The avian identity of these tracks is verified by their tridactyl forms, thin digits relative to track lengths, wide divarication angles, and sharp claws; three tracks also have hallux imprints. Track forms and sizes indicate a variety of birds as tracemakers, with some among the largest reported from the Early Cretaceous. Although continuous trackways are absent, close spacing and similar alignments of tracks on some bedding planes suggest gregariousness. The occurrence of this avian trace-fossil assemblage in circumpolar fluvial-floodplain facies further implies seasonal behavior, with trackmakers likely leaving their traces on floodplain surfaces during post-thaw summers.

The fossil record for Cretaceous birds in Australia has been limited to rare skeletal material, feathers, and two tracks, a paucity shared with other Gondwanan landmasses. Hence the recent discovery of 27 avian footprints and other traces in the Early Cretaceous (Barremian-Aptian, 128-120 Ma) Wonthaggi Formation of Victoria, Australia amends their previous rarity there, while also confirming the earliest known presence of birds in Australia and the rest of Gondwana. The avian identity of these tracks is verified by their tridactyl forms, thin digits relative to track lengths, wide divarication angles, and sharp claws; three tracks also have hallux imprints. Track forms and sizes indicate a variety of birds as tracemakers, with some among the largest reported from the Early Cretaceous. Although continuous trackways are absent, close spacing and similar alignments of tracks on some bedding planes suggest gregariousness. The occurrence of this avian trace-fossil assemblage in circumpolar fluvial-floodplain facies further implies seasonal behavior, with trackmakers likely leaving their traces on floodplain surfaces during post-thaw summers.

Graphene has been under intense scientific interest because of its remarkable optical, mechanical and electronic properties. Its honeycomb structure makes it an archetypical two-dimensional material exhibiting a photonic and phononic band gap with topologically protected states. Here, we assemble colloidal graphene, the analogue of atomic graphene using pseudo-trivalent patchy particles, allowing particle-scale insight into crystal growth and defect dynamics. We directly observe the formation and healing of common defects, like grain boundaries and vacancies using confocal microscopy. We identify a pentagonal defect motif that is kinetically favoured in the early stages of growth, and acts as seed for more extended defects in the later stages. We determine the conformational energy of the crystal from the bond saturation and bond angle distortions, and follow its evolution through the energy landscape upon defect rearrangement and healing. These direct observations reveal that the origins of the most common defects lie in the early stages of graphene assembly, where pentagons are kinetically favoured over the equilibrium hexagons of the honeycomb lattice, subsequently stabilized during further growth. Our results open the door to the assembly of complex 2D colloidal materials and investigation of their dynamical, mechanical and optical properties. Colloidal particles bonding via attractive patches mimic the bonding of atoms in atomic compounds and materials. By assembling patchy particles into the graphene lattice, the authors obtain insight into lattice defects in this important 2D material.

This study explored the relationship between serum ferritin and hepcidin in athletes. Baseline serum ferritin levels of 54 athletes from the control trial of five investigations conducted in our laboratory were considered; athletes were grouped according to values <30 μg/L (SF<30), 30-50 μg/L (SF30-50), 50-100 μg/L (SF50-100), or >100 μg/L (SF>100). Data pooling resulted in each athlete completing one of five running sessions: (1) 8 × 3 min at 85% vVO2peak; (2) 5 × 4 min at 90% vVO2peak; (3) 90 min continuous at 75% vVO2peak; (4) 40 min continuous at 75% vVO2peak; (5) 40 min continuous at 65% vVO2peak. Athletes from each running session were represented amongst all four groups; hence, the mean exercise duration and intensity were not different (p>0.05). Venous blood samples were collected pre-, post- and 3 h post-exercise, and were analysed for serum ferritin, iron, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and hepcidin-25. Baseline and post-exercise serum ferritin levels were different between groups (p<0.05). There were no group differences for pre- or post-exercise serum iron or IL-6 (p>0.05). Post-exercise IL-6 was significantly elevated compared to baseline within each group (p<0.05). Pre- and 3 h post-exercise hepcidin-25 was sequentially greater as the groups baseline serum ferritin levels increased (p<0.05). However, post-exercise hepcidin levels were only significantly elevated in three groups (SF30-50, SF50-100, and SF>100; p<0.05). An athlete's iron stores may dictate the baseline hepcidin levels and the magnitude of post-exercise hepcidin response. Low iron stores suppressed post-exercise hepcidin, seemingly overriding any inflammatory-driven increases.

High-resolution CT images are essential in clinical practice to accurately replicate patient anatomy for 3D virtual surgical planning and designing patient-specific surgical guides. These technologies are commonly used in corrective osteotomy of the distal radius. This study evaluated how the virtual radius models and the surgical guides’ surface that is in contact with the bone vary between experienced raters. Further, the discrepancies from the reference radius of surgical guides and radius models created from CT images with slice thicknesses larger than the reference standard of 0.625mm were assessed. Maximum overlap with radius model was measured for guides, and absolute average distance error was measured for radius models. The agreement between the lower-resolution guides surface and the raters’ guide surface was evaluated. The average inter-rater guide surface overlap was -0.11mm [95% CI: -0.13–0.09]. The surface of surgical guides designed on CT images with a 1mm slice thickness deviated from the reference radius within the inter-rater range (0.03mm). For slice thicknesses of 1.25mm and 1.5mm, the average guide surface overlap was 0.12mm and 0.15mm, respectively. The average inter-rater radius surface variability was 0.03mm [95% CI: 0.025–0.035]. The discrepancy from the reference of all radius models created from CT images with a slice thickness larger than the reference slice thickness was notably larger than the inter-rater variability but, excluding one case, did not exceed 0.2mm. The results suggest that 1mm CT images are suitable for surgical guide design. While 1.25mm slices are commonly used for virtual planning in hand and forearm surgery, slices larger than 1mm may approach the limit of clinical acceptability. Discrepancies in radius models were below 1mm, likely below clinical relevance.

3D surgical planning and patient-specific guide design are becoming an established approach in complex skeletal surgery. Traditionally, this is outsourced to commercial companies, but an alternative is to establish an in-house hospital team for the process. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of in-house design with a commercial company. Sixteen patients with extra-articular distal radius malunions requiring surgery were included. A hospital-based team and a surgeon working with an external company independently planned surgery and designed guides for each patient. Accuracy was evaluated by comparing simulated corrections with the planned corrections using 3D-printed bone models. The null hypothesis was that the in-house guides were inferior to the externally purchased ones. Noninferiority margins of 5° for volar tilt and 2 mm for ulnar variance were set. The mean volar tilt error difference between the two guides was 2.3°, and the mean ulnar variance error difference was 0.38 mm, both within the noninferiority limits. The dimensional accuracy of the printed guides before and after sterilization showed minimal variation (less than 0.3 mm). The results demonstrated that in-house surgical planning and guide design for distal radius corrective osteotomies can achieve comparable accuracy to external commercial companies.

BackgroundLess invasive surfactant administration (LISA) reduces the need for mechanical ventilation in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. However, some LISA-treated infants require intubation within 72 hours due to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) failure (LISA failure, LISA-F). The long-term neurodevelopmental impact of LISA-F remains unclear.ObjectiveTo compare 2-year neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants with successful LISA (LISA-S) versus LISA-F and primary intubation for surfactant (PI).MethodsRetrospective cohort study (2015–2023) including infants from 24 to 29 weeks gestational age (GA) with surfactant administration; categorised into three groups: LISA-S (n = 235), LISA-F (n = 117) and PI for surfactant (n = 102). Neurodevelopment was assessed at 2 years corrected age using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition. Multivariable linear regression adjusted for GA, birth weight and antenatal corticosteroid exposure. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to identify independent predictors of cognitive and motor delay.ResultsAdjusted composite motor scores were significantly higher in LISA-S compared with LISA-F infants (adjusted mean difference 6.4; 95% CI 2.0 to 19.0; p = 0.005). No differences were found between LISA-F and PI. Mechanical ventilation within the first 72 hours was the strongest independent predictor of motor delay (aOR (adjusted Odds Ratio) 3.9; 95% CI 1.3 to 11.6; p=0.012).ConclusionsPreterm infants with LISA-F have significantly worse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years corrected age, comparable to that of PI. Mechanical ventilation, rather than the initial surfactant strategy, emerged as the strongest predictor of developmental impairment, emphasising the importance of preventing CPAP failure after LISA.

Non-local moulding of the vacuum field in a photonic cavity structure enables control of the spontaneous emission of quantum dots. The radiative interaction of solid-state emitters with cavity fields is the basis of semiconductor microcavity lasers and cavity quantum electrodynamics (CQED) systems 1 . Its control in real time would open new avenues for the generation of non-classical light states, the control of entanglement and the modulation of lasers. However, unlike atomic CQED or circuit quantum electrodynamics 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , the real-time control of radiative processes has not yet been achieved in semiconductors because of the ultrafast timescales involved. Here we propose an ultrafast non-local moulding of the vacuum field in a coupled-cavity system as an approach to the control of radiative processes and demonstrate the dynamic control of the spontaneous emission (SE) of quantum dots (QDs) in a photonic crystal (PhC) cavity on a ∼200 ps timescale, much faster than their natural SE lifetimes.

Purpose The extent to which hepcidin regulation after acute bouts of exercise is influenced by baseline (resting) concentrations of key iron parameters remains uncertain. This investigation explored the influence of selected iron parameters and 25-km race walk time on 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25 levels in international-level race walkers. Methods Twenty-four male race walkers completed a graded exercise test and a 25-km race-walk trial. Throughout the 25-km race-walk, venous blood samples were collected pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and at 3-h post-exercise. Blood was analysed for serum ferritin, serum iron, Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and hepcidin-25 concentration. Results IL-6 and hepcidin-25 increased (7.6- and 7.5-fold, respectively) in response to the 25-km race-walk trial (both p  < 0.01). Significant individual relationships were evident between 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25, baseline serum ferritin and serum iron ( r  > 0.62; p  < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that these two iron parameters, in addition to post-exercise IL-6 concentration and 25-km race-walk time, accounted for ~77% of the variance in 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25 ( p  < 0.01). A median split by the cohort’s baseline serum ferritin concentration (LOW: 58.0 vs. HIGH: 101.8 µg/L; p  < 0.01) showed a significant between group difference in the 3-h post-exercise hepcidin-25 (LOW: 6.0 ± 3.6 vs. 11.3 ± 5.4 nM; p  = 0.01), despite no differences in baseline serum iron, post-exercise IL-6, or 25-km race-walk time (all p  > 0.05). Conclusion Despite exercise activating numerous hepcidin regulators, baseline iron status appears to play a dominant role in the regulation of hepcidin-25 in elite-level athletes subsequent to endurance exercise.