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General Anesthesia and Discrete Components of Ketamine Neurophysiology

Administration of ketamine during general anesthesia preserved high-frequency EEG changes but lacked low-frequency modulation, suggesting neurophysiologic components of ketamine can be selectively altered.


Question Are the neurophysiologic signatures of ketamine altered by removal of conscious awareness under general anesthesia?

Findings This cohort study was a secondary analysis of participant-level data from 3 prospective studies in which subanesthetic ketamine was administered with or without general anesthesia. Unconsciousness was associated with preserved βγ power modulation but loss of θ augmentation.

Meaning These findings suggest that unconsciousness from general anesthesia was associated with separation of the neurophysiologic components of ketamine effects, providing a method to explore the contributions of distinct aspects of ketamine physiology to therapeutic effects.

Smart Slider updates hijacked to push malicious WordPress, Joomla versions

Hackers hijacked the update system for the Smart Slider 3 Pro plugin for WordPress and Joomla, and pushed a malicious version with multiple backdoors.

The developer says that only the Pro version 3.5.1.35 of the plugin is affected and recommends switching immediately to the latest version, currently 3.5.1.36, or 3.5.1.34 and earlier.

Apart from installing backdoors in multiple locations, the malicious update created a hidden user with administrator permissions and stole sensitive data.

Google Chrome adds infostealer protection against session cookie theft

Google has rolled out Device Bound Session Credentials (DBSC) protection in Chrome 146 for Windows, designed to block info-stealing malware from harvesting session cookies.

MacOS users will benefit from this security feature in a future Chrome release that has yet to be announced.

The new protection has been announced in 2024, and it works by cryptographically linking a user’s session to their specific hardware, such as a computer’s security chip — the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on Windows and the Secure Enclave on macOS.

Parent- and Intensivist-Reported Utility for Neonatal Genomic Testing

Rapid neonatal genomic testing was perceived as beneficial by both parents and intensivists, especially for informing prognosis, though negative outcomes such as uncertainty or confusion were also reported by some parents.


This survey study assesses intensivists’ and parents’ perceptions of the utility of rapid genomic testing for critically ill neonates.

Safer sodium battery eliminates thermal runaway with a heat-triggered polymer barrier

Some batteries have been known to catch fire or explode at high temperatures or when under stress. This safety concern has pushed researchers to experiment with different ways to design safer batteries that can ideally still perform reliably and efficiently. Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are considered a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries, but still face safety risks, especially at high capacities. But now, a team of researchers in China has designed a new type of electrolyte for NIBs that may eliminate these risks, allowing for stable performance across a wide temperature range.

The main risk associated with batteries involves a process called thermal runaway. Thermal runaway is a rapid and uncontrolled increase in temperature that occurs when heat generation exceeds heat dissipation. This can lead to intense, self-sustaining fires or explosions that are exceptionally difficult to extinguish, release toxic gases, and can even reignite after being extinguished.

Some electrolytes are designed to be “nonflammable,” often by using phosphate esters or fluorinated compounds. However, most nonflammable electrolytes only prevent fire, and do not fully eliminate thermal runaway in large batteries. The team involved in the new study notes that the thermal stability of the electrolyte, the stability of the electrode–electrolyte interfaces and the interactions between the anode and cathode at high temperatures must be considered comprehensively when creating a truly safe battery that can resist thermal runaway.

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