Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is strongly recommended for pregnant women since they are considered a high-risk group. However, limited research has been conducted to explore the safety of vaccination during pregnancy and its impact on neonatal health. A recent study by the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb provides reassurance, finding no association between maternal COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and abnormal birth weights or adverse health outcomes in newborns, and affirms vaccine safety.

The 20-meter shuttle run (also known as the beep test), handgrip strength (or hand dynamometry, standing long jump tests with feet together, and height/weight-based estimation of body mass index are the most appropriate tests, say fitness experts from around the world. These results can have an impact on public health policies.

In a study published in Science China Earth Sciences, researchers present findings showing that plant DNA metabarcoding from lake sediments provides a higher resolution and more accurate depiction of local vegetation on the Tibetan Plateau than traditional pollen analysis, with a broader range of species detected.

A joint research team from the University of Canberra and Kuwait College of Science and Technology has achieved groundbreaking detection of Parkinson's disease with near-perfect accuracy, simply by analyzing brain responses to emotional situations like watching video clips or images. The findings offer an objective way to diagnose the debilitating movement disorder, instead of relying on clinical expertise and patient self-assessments, potentially enhancing treatment options and overall well-being for those affected by Parkinson's disease. The study was published Oct. 17 in Intelligent Computing, a Science Partner Journal, in an article titled “Exploring Electroencephalography-Based Affective Analysis and Detection of Parkinson’s Disease.”

A strong and impact-resistant plastic that is comparable to steel could be on its way to more efficient processing thanks to new strategies introduced and tested by researchers based in England.

This study proposes a lithium-induced grain boundary phase W doping mechanism. To enhance the cycling stability of LiNiO₂, the Li₂WO₄ grain boundary phase with excellent lithium-ion conductivity is introduced by W doping, playing a role in protecting the cathode surface. The LiNiO₂ material with W⁶⁺ uniformly doped by grain boundary phase provides a significantly improved capacity retention of 88.5% compared with the pristine LNO (80.7%) after 100 cycles at 2.8-4.3 V under 1 C.

This paper presents the post-disaster investigations, highlighting wind-induced damage to various structures. Tornadoes caused EF 1–3 level damage, downbursts caused EF 1–2 damage. Damage levels for various structures were established based on observed characteristics. CFD simulations show that opening indoor doors increases wind speed from 27 to 45 m/s ( Venturi effect), closing them reduces it to 8 m/s. During strong winds, doors and windows should be closed, and balconies should have railings to prevent accidents.

Professor Ronggui Yang from Peking University led a research team from Huazhong University of Science and Technology to combine the high-precision 3D printing of resin with template-assisted electrodeposition to prepare a 3D-ordered hierarchical micro/nano-structured surface.

On December 13th, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab Province, Pakistan, led a delegation from the Punjab provincial government to visit BGI Genomics and signed the Memorandum of Understanding.