National Autonomous University of Honduras

The performance of hydrogel electrolytes is strongly related to their structure-property relationships and interactions with other materials, determining ionic conductivity, mechanical stability, operating voltage, and electrochemical performance in flexible supercapacitor (SC) applications. Here, we incorporate polyanionic alginate into a polyacrylamide hydrogel followed by immersion in electrolytes of varying concentrations to form polyanionic hydrogel electrolytes. The carboxylate groups within the hydrogel network facilitate ion transportation while restricting water activity, preventing water decomposition at high voltages, and expanding the SC voltage window. This study evaluates SCs using bamboo-derived hierarchical porous carbons (BHPCs) and commercial charcoal-derived activated carbons (ACs) with various polyanionic hydrogel electrolytes. The optimized hydrogel electrolyte, containing calcium chloride, effectively enables SC operation within a 1.6 V voltage window, overcoming low voltage limitation of conventional hydrogel electrolytes. This SC delivers a high-level energy density of 21.68 Wh kg^-1, a power density of 400 W kg^-1, excellent longevity, and electrochemical stability under mechanical deformations. Most importantly, the integration of renewable and scalable BHPC with low-cost polyanionic alginate hydrogel electrolyte marks the as-prepared SC as a standout in the carbon-based flexible SC technology. Overall, this work contributes to developing functional hydrogel electrolytes through structural manipulation, paving the way for advanced energy storage devices.

Neurological disorders are leading causes of global morbidity and mortality, with an expected rise due to population ageing worldwide. Currently, neurological expertise is insufficient in many countries and will be largely outnumbered in the future. To counter this challenge, neurology training needs to be adapted, to improve neurological care and to increase the number of neurologists. As a first step we aim here to update the available information on training programs worldwide, highlighting disparities between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The survey was conducted by the WFN Young Neurologists Committee. The survey targeted WFN delegates and involved in neurology training. Data were collected through the SurveyMonkey platform. The questionnaire focused on residency program duration, available training modalities, skill acquisition, and identified barriers to training. The data was compared with the two previous educational surveys of the World Federation of Neurology.

Data were collected from 58 countries, with 93 responses. Key findings include significant differences in training duration, skill acquisition, and barriers to training.

Although with some limitations due to the methodology used, the results underscore the need for standardized neurology training curricula and equitable international partnerships to address global health inequalities in training.

Understanding biodiversity responses to temporal changes in landscape structure is crucial for forecasting shifts in species composition and ecosystem functioning, as well as improving conservation strategies in protected areas. This study evaluates how the functional and phylogenetic diversity of dung beetles has responded to landscape changes over two time periods, 1999-2000 and 2016-2017, in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Dung beetles were collected from ten tropical forest fragments and five pastures. Forest cover increased by 19.7 % and the number of fragments decreased by 48 %, suggesting partial landscape re-aggregation. The functional dispersion of dung beetle assemblages increased significantly in pastures, while remaining stable in forest habitats. Phylogenetic diversity, particularly the mean nearest taxon distance, was consistently higher in pastures than in forests across both periods. Temporal shifts in landscape drivers were observed: the diversity of past forest assemblages was best explained by landscape composition, whereas the diversity of present forest assemblages was more influenced by spatial configuration. In both periods, phylogenetic diversity was mainly driven by landscape heterogeneity and forest cover. Our findings demonstrate that biodiversity responses to landscape attributes vary across dimensions and time, underscoring the importance of long-term studies. Maintaining forest cover and connectivity is crucial for preventing functional and phylogenetic homogenization. These results reaffirm the central role of native forests in conserving tropical biodiversity.