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Many common respiratory illnesses like bronchitis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lead to bronchial inflammation and, subsequently, a blockage. However, there are many difficulties in measuring the severity of the blockage. A numeric metric to determine the degree of the blockage severity is necessary. To tackle this demand, we aimed to develop a novel human respiratory model and design a deep-learning program that can constantly monitor and report bronchial blockage by recording breath sounds in a non-intrusive way.

The authors identify disinfectant-resistant bacterial strains of infection-causing bacteria from samples collected at a hospital setting.

In organic synthesis, protecting groups are derivatives of reactive functionalities that play a key role in ensuring chemoselectivity of chemical transformations. To protect alcohols and amines, acid-labile tert-butyloxycarbonyl protecting groups are often employed but are avoided when the substrate is acid-sensitive. Thus, orthogonal base-labile protecting groups have been in demand to enable selective deprotection and to preserve the reactivity of acid-sensitive substrates. To meet this demand, we present 4-nitrophenyl carbonates and carbamates as orthogonal base-labile protecting group strategies.

Pillai et al. look at whether exposure to Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic blood fluke, has any relation to peanut allergies. They found that cockroaches exposed to an antigen found in S. mansoni eggs exhibited an allergic reaction to peanuts.

To address whether odor sensory circuits are organized topographically, the authors investigate whether the neuronal responses to similar odors amongst different mice mapped similarly in brain.

In this study, the authors surveyed a number of students in Singapore to determine how their experiences changed after the implementation of home-based learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Studying other galaxies can help us understand the origins of the universe. Here, the authors study a type of galaxies known as Green Peas gaining insights that could help inform our understanding of Lyman alpha emitters, one of the first types of galaxies that existed in the early universe.

In this article, Choi and Rossitto investigated the limitations of virtual learning by examining in-person dance learning compared to virtual dance learning while wearing EEG headsets. They found that in-person learners outperformed virtual learners and that virtual learners had higher mirror neuron activity as assessed by Mu rhythm power.

Each year, invasive tree roots cause large amounts of damage to underground pipes. While this is usually due to leaks and cracks, tree roots can also invade pipes that are structurally sound. We are interested in investigating whether plant roots have an affinity towards flowing water, measured through mass, even when the running water is not in direct contact with soil. We tested this by creating a choice chamber with water running under one end and no stimulus on the other end. Overall, the masses of the roots growing towards flowing water were greater than the masses of the roots growing towards the end with no stimulus, showing that plant roots did have an affinity towards flowing water.

Here the authors investigate the use of social media in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in affecting their ability and opportunities to interact with others. They found that higher usage of Internet correlated with less severe anxiety symptoms and improved social skills.