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Creative music therapy (CMT) has been shown to promote the development of brain function and structure in preterm infants. We aimed to investigate the effect of CMT on cerebral oxygenation and perfusion to examine how the brain reacts to CMT. Absolute levels of cerebrovascular oxygen saturation (StO 2 ) were measured in clinically stable preterm-born neonates (n = 20, gestational age: ≥30 weeks and < 37 weeks) using two near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)-based tissue oximeters over the right prefrontal cortex and left auditory cortex. We applied the systemic physiology augmented functional NIRS approach. Each CMT session lasted 55 min and involved 9 intervals, including two 10-minute intervals during which the music therapist hummed and held the neonate. We found that CMT-induced changes in cerebrovascular StO 2 , perfusion and systemic physiology (i) could be classified into two groups (group 1: increase in StO 2 during the first singing interval, group 2: decrease in StO 2 ), (ii) differed in female neonates compared to male neonates, and (iii) correlated with individual blood haematocrit levels. Our exploratory study (i) demonstrates the impact of CMT on the neonate's physiology and (ii) highlights the need to analyze functional NIRS measurements in neonates separately according to their response pattern to avoid erroneous conclusions, e.g. when only the group average of the signal change is determined., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests F.H., T.K., T.R., T.R., B.C.H.V., E.O., H.Z, H.U.B., U.W. and D.B. declare no conflict of interest. D.O. and S.K. are affiliated with and MW is co-founder and president of the board of OxyPrem AG (a University of Zurich spin-off that produces an improved version of the near-infrared spectroscopy oximeters employed in the study). S.K., D.O., and M.W. had no influence on how the data were analyzed by F.S. F. S. provided scientific consulting for companies producing fNIRS devices (NIRx GmbH, Berlin, Germany; Kernel, Culver City, Los Angeles, USA)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Fabrication and extensive characterization of hard-soft nanocomposites composed of hard magnetic low-temperature phase LTP-MnBi and amorphous Fe 70 Si 10 B 20 soft magnetic phase for bulk magnets are reported. Samples with compositions Mn 55 Bi 45  + x⋅(Fe 70 Si 10 B 20 ) (x = 0, 3, 5, 10, 20 wt.%) were prepared by spark plasma sintering of powder mixtures. Characterization has been performed by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, magnetometry and 57 Fe Mӧssbauer spectroscopy. It was shown that samples contain crystallized and nanometric LTP-MnBi phases with various elemental compositions depending on the degree of Bi clustering. Complex correlations between starting compositions, processes during fabrication, and functional magnetic characteristics were observed. Unexpected special situations of the relation between microstructure and magnetic coupling mechanisms are discovered. Exchange spring effects of different strengths occur, being very sensitive to morpho-structural and compositional features, which in turn are controlled by processing conditions. An in-depth analysis of related microscopic characteristics is provided. Results of this work suggest that fabrication by powder metallurgy routes, such as spark plasma sintering of hard and soft magnetic powder mixtures, of MnBi-based composites with exchange spring phenomena have a high potential in designing and optimization of suitable materials with tunable magnetic properties towards rare-earth-free permanent magnet applications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Sesquipedalian mud and burnt bricks (second to third century AD) were excavated from the Roman city of Romula located in the Lower Danube Region (Olt county, Romania). Along with local soils, bricks are investigated by petrographic analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), electron microscopy (SEM/EDX), X-ray microtomography (XRT), thermal analysis (DTA-TG), Mӧssbauer spectroscopy, magnetometry, colorimetry, and mechanical properties assessment. The results correlate well with each other, being useful for conservation/restoration purposes and as reference data for other ceramic materials. Remarkably, our analysis and comparison with literature data indicate possible control and wise optimization by the ancient brickmakers through the recipe, design (size, shape, and micro/macrostructure), and technology of the desired physical-chemical-mechanical properties. We discuss the Roman bricks as materials that can adapt to external factors, similar, to some extent, to modern "smart" or "intelligent" materials. These features can explain their outstanding durability to changes of weather/climate and mechanical load., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this work, new optical evidences concerning the changes induced of the UV light on pantoprazole sodium (PS), in solid state and as aqueous solution, are reported by UV-VIS spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), Raman scattering and FTIR spectroscopy. New evidences concerning the products of the PS photodegradation pathways are reported by the correlated studies of thermogravimetry and mass spectrometry. The influence of the excipients and alkaline medium on the PS photodegradation is also studied. New aspects regarding the chemical mechanism of the PS photodegradation in the presence of the water vapor and oxygen form air and the alkaline medium are shown. Our results confirm that the PS photodegradation induced of the water vapors and oxygen from air leads to the generation of 5-difluoromethoxy-3H-benzimidazole-2-thione sodium, 5-difluoromethoxy-3H-benzimidazole sodium, 2-thiol methyl-3, 4-dimethoxypyridine and 2-hydroxymethyl-3, 4-dimethoxypyridine, while in the alkaline medium, compounds of the type of the 2-oxymethyl-3,4-dimethoxypyridine sodium salts are resulted., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

We investigated in this paper a novel bilayer composite obtained by sol-gel and spin coating of the ferroelectric 0.92Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 -0.08BaTiO 3 (abbreviated as BNT-BT 0.08 ) and ferromagnetic CoFe 2 O 4 phases, for miniature low-frequency magnetic sensors and piezoelectric sensors. This heterostructure, deposited on Si-Pt substrate (Si-Pt/CoFe 2 O 4 /BNT-BT 0.08 ), was characterized using selected method such as: X-ray diffraction, dielectric spectroscopy, piezoelectric force microscopy, SQUID magnetometry, atomic force microscopy/magnetic force microscopy, and advanced methods of transmission electron microscopy. CoFe 2 O 4 /BNT-BT 0.08 ferromagnetic-piezoelectric thin films show good magnetization, dielectric constant and piezoelectric response. The results of analyses and measurements reveal that this heterostructure can have applications in high-performance magnetoelectric devices at room temperature.