bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Patient Transport Systems in the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Pilot Program
Authors: Adeniji Adeteju , Anderson Clemia , Klemann Michael , Kimball Michelle , Lee Clark , Sison Allyson , Freeman Jeffrey
Published: October 2024

Objective

Congress directed the Secretary of Defense (DoD) to conduct a Pilot program to increase the National Disaster Medical System’s (NDMS) surge capacity, capabilities, and interoperability to support patient movement during a large-scale overseas contingency operation.

Methods

The Pilot conducted a mixed methods exploratory study, the Military-Civilian NDMS Interoperability Study (MCNIS), identifying 55 areas of solutions for NDMS innovation that align with interagency stakeholder interests. Priorities were determined via facilitated discussions, refined and validated by all five Pilot sites.

Results

As the DoD provides essential support for the patient movement component within NDMS, the results highlighted areas for improvement between receiving patients at an airfield and moving them to NDMS definitive care partners during a large medical surge event. This includes patient tracking capabilities, transportation processes and patient placement.

Conclusions

In collaboration with the Departments of Health & Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, and Veterans Health Administration, the Pilot is addressing these areas for improvement, by executing site-specific projects that will be validated and identified for export across the system. Leaders across the Pilot site healthcare networks are working to enhance patient movement and tracking. Ultimately, the Pilot will deliver dozens of proven solutions to enhance the NDMS’s patient movement capabilities.
Military-Civilian Integration as a Tool to Bolster Mass Casualty Incident Response Globally
Authors: Aryankalayil Joseph B , Madha Emad , Arnaouti Matthew , Worlton Tamara , Joseph Michelle
Published: October 2024

Objectives

In a model of military-civilian trauma system integration, coordination of mass casualty incident response by military and civilian entities could be more effective through reduced duplication of services and improved resource utilization. The following study seeks to examine and address the challenges faced in establishing integrated trauma systems.

Methods

Through a survey this study comprehensively gathered data on trauma system capabilities and the current degree of military-civilian integration of 73 individual countries. Through a scoring method based on participant responses, countries were classified into three distinct integration types, ranging from minimal (Type I) to robust (Type III). This method allowed analysis of the association of numerous trauma system factors with increased integration status.

Results

A higher integration status is associated with coordinated use of military and civilian resources for aero-medical evacuation (Chi Square p<0.05). With regards to resource utilization, countries with higher integration status exhibited more rapid availability of blood products (Chi Square p<0.05), a critical factor contributing to improved mortality among traumatically injured patients.

Conclusion

By identifying key areas where integration can be strengthened, and by understanding the underlying factors shaping these frameworks, this research seeks to build more collaborative and resource-efficient responses to mass casualty incidents globally.
A Comparative Study of Terrorist Attacks Targeting Healthcare in North America vs Europe
Authors: Wertz Raphael , Stryckman Benoit , Besenyő János , Jasani Gregory
Published: October 2024

Objective

This study sought to compare terrorist attacks targeting healthcare in two different geographical areas that are economically and culturally similar: North America and Europe.

Methods

The Global Terrorism Database is a database that documents 214,666 worldwide terrorist events from 1970 to 2021. It was searched to identify terrorist attacks against healthcare using keywords. We manually excluded incidents that did not specifically relate to attacks on healthcare. This resulted in 311 and 150 entries in North America and Europe respectively.

Results

The most common method of attack in Europe was bombing (42%) compared to attacks on infrastructure (66%) in North America. The primary target in North America was abortion related (84%). In Europe, the primary target was businesses (37%). In Europe, 18.7% of attacks were assassinations or attempts vs 3% in North America. The total number of fatalities in Europe is 51 vs 3 in North America.

Conclusion

Even though there were significantly more attacks in North America, there were far fewer total fatalities compared to Europe. Attacks in North America appear to be ideological, targeting infrastructure to send a message. Whereas, in Europe, the targets and methods used are more targeted towards the individual and their property.
Implementation of an Electronic Health Record System for Use Inhumanitarian Emergencies, Disaster Response, and Conflict Zones
Authors: Draugelis Sarah D , Brown Erik C , Smith Sean G , Sutherland Philip , Yendewa George A , Mohareb Amir M , Donahue Donald A
Published: October 2024

Objective

Despite the global expansion of electronic medical record (EMR) systems and their increased integration with artificial intelligence (AI), their utilization in disaster settings remains limited, and few studies have evaluated their implementation. We aimed to evaluate Fast Electronic Medical Record (fEMR), a novel, mobile EMR designed for resource-limited settings, based on user feedback.

Methods

We examined usage data through October 2022 to categorize the nature of its use for disaster response and determine the number of patients served. We conducted interviews with stakeholders and gathered input from clinicians who had experience using fEMR.

Results

Over eight years, fEMR was employed 60 times in 11 countries across four continents by 14 organizations (universities, non-profits, and disaster response teams). This involved 37,500+ patient encounters in diverse settings including migrant camps at the US-Mexico and Poland-Ukraine borders, mobile health clinics in Kenya and Guatemala, and post-earthquake relief in Haiti. User feedback highlighted adaptability, but suggested hardware and workflow improvements.

Conclusion

EMR systems have the potential to enhance healthcare delivery in humanitarian responses, offer valuable data for planning and preparedness, and support measurement of effectiveness. As a simple, versatile EMR system, fEMR has been deployed to numerous disaster response and low-income settings.
Factors Associated with Behavioral Health Outcomes in Veterinarians Involved in Disaster Responses
Authors: Wisnieski Lauren , Vroegindewey Gary , Jenkins Jennifer L
Published: October 2024

Objective

The objective of this study was to determine what factors are associated with behavioral health in veterinary disaster responders.

Methods

An online cross-sectional survey was distributed via snowball sampling. Results were analyzed using chi-square analyses.

Results

Responses from 237 veterinarians were analyzed. Being involved in more than 1 disaster event was associated with higher anxiety and/or depression (43.4% vs 28.6%, respectively), difficulty with relationships (28.1% vs 14.3%, respectively), and a greater prevalence of sleep problems (44.6% vs 28.0%, respectively) compared to only being involved in 1 event. Veterinarians that were deployed longer than 2 months had the highest prevalence of anxiety and/or depression (43.9%) and sleep problems (50.0%). Veterinarians that received behavioral health training before deployment had lower rates of anxiety and/or depression (27.8% vs 42.9%, respectively) compared to those who did not receive training. Respondents involved with depopulation had the highest rates of anxiety and/or depression (66.7%) and sleep problems (58.1%).

Conclusions

Factors associated with behavioral health outcomes included the number and length of deployments, receiving behavioral health training, and being involved in depopulation. To reduce the risk of behavioral health outcomes, interventions such as time-off and behavioral health support are needed.
Clinical information extraction for lower-resource languages and domains with few-shot learning using pretrained language models and prompting
Authors: Richter-Pechanski Phillip , Wiesenbach Philipp , Schwab Dominic Mathias , Kiriakou Christina , Geis Nicolas , Dieterich Christoph , Frank Anette
Published: October 2024

A vast amount of clinical data are still stored in unstructured text. Automatic extraction of medical information from these data poses several challenges: high costs of clinical expertise, restricted computational resources, strict privacy regulations, and limited interpretability of model predictions. Recent domain adaptation and prompting methods using lightweight masked language models showed promising results with minimal training data and allow for application of well-established interpretability methods. We are first to present a systematic evaluation of advanced domain-adaptation and prompting methods in a lower-resource medical domain task, performing multi-class section classification on German doctor’s letters. We evaluate a variety of models, model sizes (further-pre)training and task settings, and conduct extensive class-wise evaluations supported by Shapley values to validate the quality of small-scale training data and to ensure interpretability of model predictions. We show that in few-shot learning scenarios, a lightweight, domain-adapted pretrained language model, prompted with just 20 shots per section class, outperforms a traditional classification model, by increasing accuracy from

$48.6\%$

to

$79.1\%$

. By using Shapley values for model selection and training data optimization, we could further increase accuracy up to

$84.3\%$

. Our analyses reveal that pretraining of masked language models on general-language data is important to support successful domain-transfer to medical language, so that further-pretraining of general-language models on domain-specific documents can outperform models pretrained on domain-specific data only. Our evaluations show that applying prompting based on general-language pretrained masked language models combined with further-pretraining on medical-domain data achieves significant improvements in accuracy beyond traditional models with minimal training data. Further performance improvements and interpretability of results can be achieved, using interpretability methods such as Shapley values. Our findings highlight the feasibility of deploying powerful machine learning methods in clinical settings and can serve as a process-oriented guideline for lower-resource languages and domains such as clinical information extraction projects.
Who are the people of Cyprus? The national identity building process in Cyprus from the late 19th to the early 20th century
Authors: Çetiner Nur
Published: October 2024

This article offers a nuanced examination of the complex identity dynamics among the Christian and Muslim communities in Cyprus during the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly in the aftermath of British administration replacing Ottoman rule in 1878. The article draws attention to the profound impact of this historical transition on the identity formation processes of both communities. Despite the shared wartime experience of the First World War, the Christian and Muslim communities in Cyprus failed to construct a cohesive identity rooted in their common geographical space. Drawing on Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of ambivalence, the article explores the complex process by which Cypriot communities sought to align their identity with larger nations, namely Greece and Turkey, rather than grounding it in their local context. The article contends that the genesis of their ambivalence can be traced back to 1878 when British administration replaced Ottoman rule on the island.
Efficacy of esketamine for perinatal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wong Sabrina , Le Gia Han , Kwan Angela T.H. , Teopiz Kayla M. , Rhee Taeho Greg , Ho Roger , Rosenblat Joshua D. , Mansur Rodrigo , McIntyre Roger S.
Published: October 2024

Objective

Postpartum depression (PPD), now referred to as perinatal depression, is a prevalent and debilitating mood disorder that reduces health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychosocial functioning. Esketamine, which is efficacious in adults with treatment-resistant depression and individuals with depression and suicidality, is also analgesic in pain management during childbirth labour. Herein, we investigate the efficacy of prophylactic esketamine in reducing the incidence of PPD.

Methods

We performed a systematic review (i.e., PubMed, Scopus, and Ovid databases; inception to January 22, 2024) of randomized controlled trials that investigated the use of esketamine for PPD. We delimited our search to studies that prespecified the prevention of PPD with esketamine as the primary outcome. A meta-analysis was performed on PPD incidence rates using a random effects model.

Results

Our analysis consisted of seven studies that met our eligibility criteria. We found that esketamine was significantly associated with a decreased incidence of PPD diagnosis within one week of childbirth (OR = 0.30, 95% CI = [0.15, 0.60], p = 0.0047). We also observed that esketamine was significantly associated with a decreased incidence of PPD diagnosis between 4 to 6 weeks post-delivery (OR = 0.33, 95% CI = [0.18, 0.59], p = 0.0034).

Conclusion

Our results indicate that esketamine may have preventive antidepressant effects during the postpartum period. The aforementioned points have both mechanistic and clinically meaningful implications for the treatment of PPD.
Healing grief: Insights from relatives of cancer patients with prolonged grief. The FamiLife multicenter qualitative study
Authors: Flahault Cécile , Fasse Léonor , Veber Laetitia , Sonrier Marie , Leborgne Marie Annick , Michel Dominique , Marché Véronique , Vanbésien Anne , Evin Adrien , Pujol Nicolas , Copel Laure , Kaczmarek Willeme , Kirsch Sylvie , Verlaine Catherine , Verliac Virginie , Delarivière Emmanuel , Fosset-Diaz Virginie , Guastellas Virginie , Michonneau-Gandon Véronique , Perruchio Ségolène , Ranchou Gaelle , de Francqueville Laurence Birkui , Poupardin Cécile , Touzet Licia , Mathias Carmen , Mhalla Alaa , Bouquet Guillaume , Richard Bruno , Gracia Dominique , Bienfait Florent , Ruckly Stéphane , Timsit Jean François , Garrouste-Orgeas Maité
Published: October 2024

Background

Prolonged grief is a chronic and debilitating condition that affects millions of persons worldwide. The aim of this study was to use a qualitative approach to better understand how relatives with prolonged grief disorder perceive what does or not help them and whether they were able to make recommendations.

Methods

Participants were all relatives of deceased patients admitted to 26 palliative care units involved in the FamiLife study; relatives were included if diagnosed with prolonged grief symptoms (i.e., Inventory Complicated Grief (ICG) questionnaire with a cut-off >25), and volunteered to participate. Semi-directed telephone interviews were conducted by psychologists between 6 and 12 months after the patient’s death. The interviews were open-ended, without a pre-established grid, then transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach.

Results

Overall, 199/608 (32.7%) relatives were diagnosed with prolonged grief symptoms, i.e., with an ICG score >25, and 39/199 (20%) agreed to be interviewed. The analysis yielded 4 themes: (1) the experience of mourning: intense sadness and guilt (reported by 35/39 participants, 90%); (2) aggravating factors (38/39, 97%): feeling unprepared for death and loneliness, presence of interpersonal barriers to adjustment, external elements hindering the mourning progress; (3) facilitating factors (39/39, 100%): having inner strength or forcing oneself to get better, availability of social and emotional support; and (4) the suggestions grieving relatives had to alleviate the grief burden (36/39, 92%). The analysis enabled to identify 5 suggestions for relieving the grief burden: improving communication, developing education about death and grief, maintaining contact, offering psychological support, and choosing the right time for the palliative care team to contact the relatives.

Conclusions

This study revealed how bereaved relatives experienced the help provided by the healthcare teams, their representations, and what could be improved. These findings could be used to design intervention studies.
Leverage points for increased grain legume consumption: a Swedish case study
Authors: Scheuermann Mary , Wood Amanda , Gordon Line J. , Röös Elin , Schultz Lisen
Published: October 2024

Food production and consumption need to substantially change to meet global environmental and public health goals. Increasing grain legume consumption in most countries is key to providing nourishing food for all while contributing to cropping system sustainability with relatively low environmental impact. But what actions have the potential to increase such consumption? The wide knowledge of how to cultivate grain legumes among Swedish farmers, low current consumption in most of the population, and prior shifts in dietary patterns make Sweden an interesting context for studying the potential increase of grain legumes in diets. We identify system-level actions in peer-reviewed and grey literature with the potential to increase grain legume consumption and apply the leverage points framework to evaluate the transformative potential of these actions for the food system in Sweden. Our findings show that most actions suggested in the literature so far focus on increased production, while fewer suggestions integrate production and consumption. Few actions address the deeper leverage points with most transformative potential compared with those with less transformative potential. We qualitatively analyze the actions and develop a chain of leverage illustrating how several actions together could be combined to support change at the deepest leverage point, creating social norms for the consumption of healthy foods. The chain includes developing new tools, facilities and products; changing standards; building feedback loops; changing the food environment; building new information flows between actors; and reforming the value chain. To implement the actions identified in this analysis, a range of value chain actors and supportive policies at the national and European Union levels will be needed.
Optimizing Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) genetic testing of seeds using real-time (quantitative) PCR
Authors: Bratsch Sara , Thiede Denise , Viner Diandra , Sarangi Debalin , Merriman Michael , Blair Shane , Cortilet Anthony
Published: October 2024

The Amaranthus genus contains numerous agronomic weedy species that are widely distributed across the United States. The seeds of many Amaranthus species are morphologically indistinguishable. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture declared Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson) a prohibited noxious weed seed in 2016. Any Amaranthus spp. seeds that are identified as contaminants during routine seed testing require genetic testing to determine whether A. palmeri is present. This research aimed to validate and optimize the molecular detection of A. palmeri in seed. We refined the DNA extraction from pools of Amaranthus spp. seeds ranging in size from 1 to 100 seeds to improve sample testing throughput. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) using primers developed by Murphy and colleagues correctly identified the presence of A. palmeri genetics in 84 samples containing 0, 1, 2, 25, or 50 A. palmeri seeds in samples containing up to 100 seeds. The method specificity was examined using 17 Amaranthus species and 4 hybrids of unknown genetics. The Murphy regular qPCR cycle amplified Watson’s amaranth (Amaranthus watsonii Standl.), spleen amaranth (Amaranthus dubius Mart. ex Thell.), and spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus L.), which would result in false-positive calls; however, the fast cycle only identified A. watsonii as a potential false positive. Examination of the Murphy primer binding site revealed an identical sequence for A. palmeri and A. watsonii. Additional markers were evaluated and optimized for use in qPCR to eliminate the risk of a false positive. The additional markers did eliminate the amplification of A. dubius and A. spinosus but did not eliminate the amplification for A. watsonii. Currently, A. watsonii is not known to be distributed outside of its limited native range and is not expected to be encountered in samples.
Optimal infused CD34+ cell dose in multiple myeloma patients undergoing upfront autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Authors: Pasvolsky Oren , Marcoux Curtis , Milton Denái R. , Pal Babar , Tanner Mark R. , Bashir Qaiser , Srour Samer , Lee Jaehyun , Saini Neeraj , Lin Paul , Ramdial Jeremy , Nieto Yago , Tang Guilin , Aljawai Yosra , Kebriaei Partow , Becnel Melody R. , Lee Hans C. , Patel Krina K. , Thomas Sheeba K. , Orlowski Robert Z. , Shpall Elizabeth J. , Champlin Richard E. , Qazilbash Muzaffar H.
Published: October 2024

Autologous transplantation remains the standard of care for eligible multiple myeloma (MM) patients, yet optimal CD34+ cell dose remains unclear. We conducted a retrospective study on MM patients undergoing upfront transplant between 2005 and 2021 and divided them into low (≤2.5 × 106 cells/kg) and high (>2.5 × 106 cells/kg) CD34+ dose groups. We included 2479 patients, 95 in the low CD34+ group and 2384 in the high CD34+ group. Patients in the low CD34+ group were older (63.2 vs 61.1 years, p = 0.013), more often had R-ISS III (19% vs 9%, p = 0.014), received plerixafor (60% vs 35%, p < 0.001) and transplanted after 2009 (88% vs 80%, p = 0.047). Time to neutrophil and platelet recovery was longer in the low CD34+ group. Median PFS and OS were lower in the low CD34+ group (31.6 vs. 43.6 months, p = 0.011 and 76.4 vs. 108.2 months, p < 0.001, respectively). Evaluation of incrementally higher CD34+ dose did not show significant improvement in survival at thresholds >2.5 × 106 cells/kg. Multivariable analysis affirmed that CD34+ >2.5 × 106 cells/kg was associated with better PFS (HR 0.71, p = 0.008) and OS (0.59, p < 0.001). After propensity score matching, a CD34+ dose >2.5 × 106 cells/kg remained a predictor of better OS (0.42, p < 0.001). In conclusion, CD34+ dose >2.5 × 106 cells/kg was associated with improved survival, without any additional benefit at incrementally higher doses.
A multiplex single-cell RNA-Seq pharmacotranscriptomics pipeline for drug discovery
Authors: Dini Alice , Barker Harlan , Piki Emilia , Sharma Subodh , Raivola Juuli , Murumägi Astrid , Ungureanu Daniela
Published: October 2024

The gene-regulatory dynamics governing drug responses in cancer are yet to be fully understood. Here, we report a pipeline capable of producing high-throughput pharmacotranscriptomic profiling through live-cell barcoding using antibody–oligonucleotide conjugates. This pipeline combines drug screening with 96-plex single-cell RNA sequencing. We show the potential of this approach by exploring the heterogeneous transcriptional landscape of primary high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) cells after treatment with 45 drugs, with 13 distinct classes of mechanisms of action. A subset of phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors induced the activation of receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), and this was mediated by the upregulation of caveolin 1 (CAV1). This drug resistance feedback loop could be mitigated by the synergistic action of agents targeting PI3K–AKT–mTOR and EGFR for HGSOC with CAV1 and EGFR expression. Using this workflow could enable the personalized testing of patient-derived tumor samples at single-cell resolution.
A sustainable and green HPLC-PDA technique for the simultaneous estimation of Post-COVID-19 syndrome co-administered drugs with greenness and whiteness assessment
Authors: Medhat Passant M. , Fouad Manal Mohamed , Monir Hany H. , Ghoniem Nermine S.
Published: October 2024

COVID-19 has been a growing global concern in the past four years. Several syndromes associated with this multi-organ viral infection have been observed since the outbreak. According to estimates, 10–15% of people with SARS-CoV- infection may have post-COVID-19 syndrome. Even months after infection, common residual signs and symptoms include myalgia, exhaustion, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, stroke, and memory and cognitive impairment which can negatively affect survivors’ quality of life and may consequently lead to their death. Therefore, it is necessary to think about potential therapy options for dealing with both short and long-term impacts. Paracetamol (a common analgesic and antipyretic) and Dexketoprofen Trometamol (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) are used together to relieve post-COVID symptoms like myalgia (muscle pain) and headache. Additionally, to prevent thrombotic events, Rivaroxaban is recommended for 35 days following discharge. Thus an eco-friendly HPLC-DAD technique was developed for simultaneous quantification of Paracetamol, Dexketoprofen Trometamol, and Rivaroxaban which are co-administered for treatment of post-COVID-19 syndrome. The suggested method was found to be linear in the concentration ranges of 3.00–45.00 µg/mL, 0.5–50.00 µg/mL, and 0.15–20.00 µg/mL, and a limit of detection down to 0.531 µg/mL, 0.095 µg/mL and 0.047 µg/mL for Paracetamol, Dexketoprofen Trometamol and Rivaroxaban, respectively. This method was effectively used to quantify the studied drugs in their bulk powder and spiked human plasma with high percentage recoveries (96.55–99.46%). The suggested approach was validated per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) requirements and found to be within the acceptable ranges. The method was developed using Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) principles, with the solvents used and run time having a significant effect on the method’s greenness. “Non-toxic” ethanol served as the organic modifier in the mobile phase, moreover, the total run time was 12 min making it suitable for the routine analysis of the mentioned drugs in plasma samples. To get a full image of the method’s greenness profile; two most recent greenness assessment tools, the Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI), and the Analytical GREEnness metric (AGREE), were employed, with White Analytical Chemistry (WAC) principles proving its environmental safety.
Paired electrocatalysis enabled oxidative coupling of styrenes with alkyl radicals
Authors: Li Dong , Zhang Ling , Li Daixi , Yu Peng , Shen Tao
Published: October 2024

A paired electrocatalysis strategy for intermolecular oxidative cross-dehydrocoupling between styrenes and ethers or p-methylphenol derivatives using ketone as a mild oxidant is described.
Water solubility and folate receptor affinity-driven plasma membrane-targeted carbon dots for cancer cell imaging
Authors: Jin Tian , Zhang Longdi , Zhao Yudie , Wang Jianping , Liu Zhengjie , Zhang Ruilong , Geng Junlong , Han Guangmei , Zhang Zhongping
Published: October 2024

Rational regulation of the molar ratio of the carbon dot precursors FA and oPD enables cancer cell identification and long-term imaging of their plasma membranes.
Wastewater treatment by algae-based membrane bioreactors: a review of the arrangement of a membrane reactor, physico-chemical properties, advantages and challenges
Authors: Jayaraman Jayaprabakar , Kumaraswamy J. , Rao Yarrapragada K. S. S. , Karthick M. , Baskar S. , Anish M. , Sharma Abhishek , Yadav Anil Singh , Alam Tabish , Ammarullah Muhammad Imam
Published: October 2024

Reducing wastewater contaminants is an emerging area of particular concern for many industrialized and developing countries in improving the ecological quality of their water sources.
Theoretical study of a CuCo dual-atom catalyst for nitrogen fixation
Authors: Han Miaomiao , Zhang Yu , Zhang Chenyu
Published: October 2024

The potential for N2 fixation of the heteronuclear CuCo dual-atom catalyst (DAC) was investigated by DFT calculations.
Novel polycyclic “turn-on” and “turn-off” pyrazoline and pyrazole fluorescent sensors for selective real-world monitoring of Fe3+/Fe2+ in aqueous environments
Authors: Ciupa Alexander
Published: October 2024

Seven novel polycyclic pyrazoline and pyrazole sensors were synthesised and screened for useful photophysical properties with pyrazoline 2 and pyrazole 7, displaying an Fe3+ “turn-off” response in aqueous environments.
Growth and atomic oxygen erosion resistance of Al2O3-doped TiO2 thin film formed on polyimide by atomic layer deposition
Authors: Yan Chi , Li Jialin , Wang Haobo , Tong Hua , Ye Xiaojun , Wang Kai , Yuan Xiao , Liu Cui , Li Hongbo
Published: October 2024

Al2O3-doped TiO2 thin films were deposited on alkali-activated polyimide using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The results demonstrate that polyimide coated with Al₂O₃/TiO₂ films exhibits excellent resistance to atomic oxygen (AO) erosion.
Scale-dependent interactions enable emergent microrheological stress response of actin–vimentin composites
Authors: Pinchiaroli Julie , Saldanha Renita , Patteson Alison E. , Robertson-Anderson Rae M. , Gurmessa Bekele J.
Published: October 2024

The unique mechanical behaviors of actin–vimentin composites in both linear and nonlinear regimes are shaped by the complex interactions among actin entanglements, vimentin crosslinking, and poroelastic properties.
Electron redistribution induced by p–d orbital hybridization in Co2P/FeP nanosheets boosts water electrooxidation
Authors: Sun Qiyan , Miao Yu , Zhang Ruixue , Xu Guang-Rui , Zhang Chuanfang , Liu Kang , Wu Zexing , Wang Lei
Published: October 2024

Co2P/FeP nanosheets prepared by an aerogel-assisted method showed high OER activity in alkaline media thanks to their 2D structure and Co–P/Fe–P charge bridges enhancing electronic interactions.
Confined vertical foaming induces graphite crystal orientation: exceptional isotropy of thermal conductivity and anti-leakage properties for phase change systems
Authors: Qin Yu , Ding Le , Jiang Zhao , Zhang Yafang , Ye Chong , Liu Jinshui , Zhang Yudi , Balogun M.-Sadeeq , Ouyang Ting
Published: October 2024

A novel 3D graphite fiber-backboned graphitic foam composite with enhanced thermal conductivity (33.05 W m−1 K−1 in-plane, 18.76 W m−1 K−1 cross-plane), presenting minimal anisotropy, offers scalable solutions for energy storage applications.
Enhancing carbon dioxide capture under humid conditions by optimizing the pore surface structure
Authors: Zhang Guoyu , Xie Feng , Ullah Saif , Ma Lulu , Teat Simon J. , Ma Shengqian , Thonhauser Timo , Tan Kui , Wang Hao , Li Jing
Published: October 2024

Enhancing carbon dioxide capture by tuning ligand conjugation that leads to increased hydrophobicity, smaller pore size, higher CO2 uptake amount and reduced competitive H2O adsorption.
Long-term leaching kinetics and solution chemistry of aqueous BaTiO3 powder suspensions: a numerical model supported experiment
Authors: Bentzen Marcus , Lindauer Vojtěch , Mokrý Pavel , Aune Ragnhild Elizabeth , Glaum Julia
Published: October 2024

The advent of lead-free perovskite materials with favorable toxicity profiles has made them candidates for in vivo and environmental applications.
Biomaterials for flexible pressure sensors: innovations and advancements
Authors: Wang Pinwen , Hou Zhipeng , Chen Siwen , Ren Sihang , Zhao Muxin , Yang Liqun
Published: October 2024

The burgeoning market for flexible pressure sensors has been invigorated by their enhanced performance and wearability, paving the way for innovative applications in wearable electronics and biomedical devices.
Achieved excellent energy storage performance under moderate electric field in BaTiO3-modified Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based lead-free ceramics via multiple synergistic design
Authors: Miao Xiangluo , Jing Run , Zhang Zhenhui , Zhang Xiangbin , Zhang Shibang , Li Pengfei , Wang Changan , Leung Chung Ming , Gao Xingsen , Zeng Min
Published: October 2024

The improved ESP via synergistic optimization strategy.
Improving electromagnetic engineering of thermal conductive composites by establishing continuous thermal conductive networks with gradient impedance
Authors: An Dong , Chen Hongfeng , Yu Huitao , Chen Jiaqi , Yao Junru , Wong Chingping , Feng Wei
Published: October 2024

Mechanism schematic of the EM wave absorption and thermal conduction of composites.
Stimulus-responsive multifunctions in a zinc(ii) sulfate complex: photochromism, photoswitching nonlinear optical properties, amine detection and visual film application
Authors: Liang Shuai , Yan Shi-Kun , Wen Yu-Xuan , Zhao Yan-Rui , Zhang Jin , Hu Ji-Xiang
Published: October 2024

A novel complex combining photo- and amine-induced chromic, switchable photoluminescence, and photomodulated nonlinear optical properties has been prepared using electron-rich sulfate and electron-deficient 2,4,6-tri(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine.
Dust ring and gap formation by gas flow induced by low-mass planets embedded in protoplanetary disks
Authors: Kuwahara Ayumu , Lambrechts Michiel , Kurokawa Hiroyuki , Okuzumi Satoshi , Tanigawa Takayuki
Published: October 2024

The observed dust rings and gaps in protoplanetary disks could be imprints of forming planets. Even low-mass planets in the 1-10 Earth-mass regime, which have not yet carved deep gas gaps, can generate such dust rings and gaps by driving a radially-outward gas flow, as shown in previous work. However, understanding the creation and evolution of these dust structures is challenging due to dust drift and diffusion, requiring an approach beyond previous steady state models. Here we investigate the time evolution of the dust surface density influenced by the planet-induced gas flow, based on post-processing three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. We find that planets larger than a dimensionless thermal mass of m = 0.05, corresponding to 0.3 Earth mass at 1 au or 1.7 Earth masses at 10 au, generate dust rings and gaps, provided that solids have small Stokes numbers (St ≲ 10−2) and that the disk midplane is weakly turbulent (αdiff ≲10−4). As dust particles pile up outside the orbit of the planet, the interior gap expands with time when the advective flux dominates over diffusion. Dust gap depths range from a factor of a few to several orders of magnitude, depending on planet mass and the level of midplane particle diffusion. We constructed a semi-analytic model describing the width of the dust ring and gap, and then compared it with the observational data. We find that up to 65% of the observed wide-orbit gaps could be explained as resulting from the presence of a low-mass planet, assuming αdiff = 10−5 and St = 10−3. However, it is more challenging to explain the observed wide rings, which in our model would require the presence of a population of small particles (St = 10−4). Further work is needed to explore the role of pebble fragmentation, planet migration, and the effect of multiple planets.
The Leaders in Informatics, Quality, and Systems (LInQS) Fellowship
Authors: Hallman Heather , Pell Jonathan , Ho P. Michael , Montague Brian , Schilling Lisa , Sieja Amber , Ream Karen , Anstett Tyler
Published: October 2024

Background Leaders in Informatics, Quality, and Systems (LInQS) is a non-ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education)-accredited 2-year training program developed to enhance training in the fields of health care delivery, quality improvement (QI), clinical informatics, and leadership.

Methods This single-institution 2-year longitudinal training program grounded in QI and informed by leadership and clinical informatics includes didactics, coaching, and mentorship, all centered around individualized QI projects. The program has been available to sub-specialty fellows, advanced practice providers, and physicians.

Results From 2019 to 2023, 32 fellows have been accepted into the program with 13 graduates and 16 currently enrolled. Fellows have been predominately female, physicians, and from multiple specialties but predominantly hospital medicine. Fellows' evaluations of the fellowship are highly positive, rating the didactics and mentorship aspects of the curriculum most favorably. Most fellows' projects utilized informatics solutions including clinical decision support tools to increase quality of care, improve patient outcomes, and reduce costs of care resulting in manuscript publications, national presentations, and a national specialty society award. Since matriculation, 50% of fellows received certification as Epic Physician Builders and 34% received leadership positions in clinical informatics, quality, and education.

Conclusion Our experience supports the need to provide health care providers more expansive training in the areas of QI, clinical informatics, and leadership for improving health care delivery. Additional in-depth knowledge and experience in these fields may produce and benefit leaders in these fields.
Screen time to improve with novel single pixel display design
Authors: Ikenson Ben
Published: October 2024

Building a better LCD platform with inorganic nanosheets
Harnessing quantum light for microscopic biomechanical imaging of cells and tissues
Authors: Li Tian , Cheburkanov Vsevolod , Yakovlev Vladislav V. , Agarwal Girish S. , Scully Marlan O.
Published: October 2024

The biomechanical properties of cells and tissues play an important role in our fundamental understanding of the structures and functions of biological systems at both the cellular and subcellular levels. Recently, Brillouin microscopy, which offers a label-free spectroscopic means of assessing viscoelastic properties in vivo, has emerged as a powerful way to interrogate those properties on a microscopic level in living tissues. However, susceptibility to photodamage and photobleaching, particularly when high-intensity laser beams are used to induce Brillouin scattering, poses a significant challenge. This article introduces a transformative approach designed to mitigate photodamage in biological and biomedical studies, enabling nondestructive, label-free assessments of mechanical properties in live biological samples. By leveraging quantum-light-enhanced stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) imaging contrast, the signal-to-noise ratio is significantly elevated, thereby increasing sample viability and extending interrogation times without compromising the integrity of living samples. The tangible impact of this methodology is evidenced by a notable three-fold increase in sample viability observed after subjecting the samples to three hours of continuous squeezed-light illumination, surpassing the traditional coherent light-based approaches. The quantum-enhanced SBS imaging holds promise across diverse fields, such as cancer biology and neuroscience where preserving sample vitality is of paramount significance. By mitigating concerns regarding photodamage and photobleaching associated with high-intensity lasers, this technological breakthrough expands our horizons for exploring the mechanical properties of live biological systems, paving the way for an era of research and clinical applications.
The role of L1-dialect in L2 production
Authors: Li Ying
Published: October 2024

This study compared the productions of American English (AE) vowels /i/, /u/, /ɛ/, /ɔ/, /ɪ/, /æ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, and /ɑ/ between speakers of two Chinese dialects, the Leshan dialect (LSd) and the Xining dialect (XNd). The participants were native speakers of XNd (n = 120) and LSd (n = 120) with advanced English proficiency. Their vowel productions were compared with those of 22 native AE speakers. The results showed that (1) XNd and LSd participants significantly differed in F1 and/or F2 from AE participants when producing /ɪ/, /æ/, /ʌ/, and /ʊ/ and /ɪ/, /ɑ/, /ɔ/, and /ʌ/, respectively; (2) compared with AE participants, XNd participants had significantly longer durations of /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /ʌ/, /ɛ/, and /æ/, and LSd participants had significantly longer durations of /ɪ/, /ʌ/, and /ɛ/. Overall, the vowels that differed in production from that of native speakers were absent in both the L1 dialects and L1 of participants.
Exploring the potential of CdSe nanostructured thin films for energy conversion and environmental remediation
Authors: Hassan J J , Kadhim Marwah J , Almusawe A J , Mahdi M A , Saadon H L
Published: October 2024

The rapid thermal evaporation method was employed to prepare cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanostructured thin films with varying thicknesses on glass and FTO substrates. The films were characterized for their structural, optical, and electrochemical properties. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed inhomogeneous surfaces with particle sizes ranging from 18 to 46 nm. The photocatalytic performance of the CdSe films was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light, with varying pH values, achieving a degradation efficiency of 100% at pH 10 after 180 min. Photocurrent density measurements demonstrated the films’ ability to sense visible light. We performed a cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement and analyzed the CV curves of the CdSe nanostructured thin film electrodes. It clearly shows that the CV curves had a rectangular shape, which suggests that EDLC behavior was present and non-faradaic capacitance was the main type. The photoconversion efficiency measured is 1.4858 at a bias voltage of 0.66 V under illuminated conditions. Nonlinear optical properties were conducted for CdSe nanostructured thin films.
Effect of Na atom adsorption on the electronic structure of F-doped modified MoTe2 systems in the presence of an electric field: first principles
Authors: Dai Ying , Liu Guili , Mohammadzadeh Ardashir , Zhang Guoying
Published: October 2024

The effect of electronic structure and charge transfer on the adsorption of alkali metal sodium atoms by halogen-fluorine atom doped molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) has been investigated using a first-principles approach. It was found that the molybdenum ditelluride system underwent a direct bandgap semiconductor-to-metal transition after doping with halogen fluorine atoms. Upon adsorption of alkali metal Na atoms, the conduction band of the F-MoTe2 system shifts from metal to direct bandgap semiconductor. This semiconductor-to-metal-to-semiconductor bandgap modulation method can be well applied to photovoltaics. In addition, we discuss three potential adsorption sites: the hollow site (H), the bridge site (B) and the top site (T). The results showed that all three adsorption sites could be stabilized for adsorption. Subsequently, we selected the most stable B site and applied an electric field ranging from −0.5 eV Å−1 to 0.5 eV Å−1 to the system. At an electric field strength of −0.5 eV Å−1, the system transforms from a direct bandgap semiconductor to a metal. In terms of density of states, F-s, F-p, Te-s, Te-p, and Mo-d pass the Fermi energy level, increasing carrier concentration. It is hoped that these studies will play an important role in improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency.
Single photon avalanche diode dark count rate modelling considering non-local avalanche probability
Authors: Nasiri M. , Eyvazi K. , Karami M.A.
Published: October 2024

This article deals with the modeling and analysis of the
dark count rate (DCR) of single photon avalanche diodes (SPAD) in
two models of local and non-local electric field. In the non-local
electric field models, the avalanche probability and band-to-band
tunneling rate are different from the local models. DCR output is
evaluated in two different complementary metal oxide semiconductor
(CMOS) processes, of 0.15 μm and 0.18 μm. The
non-local avalanche probability is based on considering a non-local
dependence of impact ionization on the electric field. At high
electric fields, the local model predicts the ionization distance to
be negligible and therefore the avalanche probability was not
calculated accurately. The results show that the non-local model is
closer to the data obtained from the experiment than the local
model.
Depression Symptoms Moderate Associations between Daily Functioning and Neuropsychological Performance in Mexican American Adults
Authors: Graves Lisa V , Lozano Jennifer , Vergonia Lorraine , Ortega Paola
Published: October 2024

Objective

The influence of depression on the relationship between cognition and daily living in aging Mexican American adults requires further investigation, given projected trends in general growth as well as prevalence of depression and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in this population.

Method

In the present study, we examined the extent to which depression (assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale – 15 item version) moderated the association between reported daily functioning (assessed using the Functional Activities Questionnaire [FAQ]) and objective neuropsychological performance in aging Mexican American adults in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center cohort.

Results

Worse reported daily functioning (higher FAQ scores) was associated with worse memory and language performance among participants without elevated depression symptoms (ps < .05), but no associations were observed among those with elevated symptoms (ps > .05). Moreover, depression did not moderate associations of reported daily functioning with performance in attention and working memory or executive functioning and processing speed (ps > .05).

Conclusions

Aging Mexican American adults with elevated depression symptoms may have subjective informant reports of daily functioning that are discrepant from their objective performance on formal tests of memory and language. Within the context of neuropsychological evaluations for ADRD, failure to adequately assess mood to inform the nature of cognitive and/or functional changes could result in misdiagnosis and lead to delayed, premature, and/or improper intervention with this population.
Exploring the hemp virome and assessing hemp germplasm for resistance to an emerging pathogen
Authors: Hackenberg Laine , Han Jinlong , MacWilliams Jacob , Kapuscinski Marylee , Stenglein Mark , Fletcher Rich , Nachappa Punya
Published: October 2024

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L., <0.3% tetrahydrocannabidiol, THC) as a crop has been widely adopted throughout the United States. However, there is little support or guidance on disease identification and management for growers. This study aimed to describe the diversity and distribution of viruses infecting hemp in Colorado and determine if there is genetic resistance to pathogens in hemp. Throughout 2021 and 2022, leaf tissues from symptomatic and asymptomatic plants were sampled during three phenological stages (early vegetative, late vegetative, and mature flowering) in four regions of Colorado. High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) revealed a total of seven viruses across both years from 48 pooled samples: alfalfa mosaic virus, beet curly top virus (BCTV), cannabis cryptic virus, cannabis sativa mitovirus 1, grapevine line pattern virus, opuntia umbra-like virus, and tomato bushy stunt virus. These viruses had >97% nucleotide identity to their nearest GenBank accessions. As the growing season progressed, viral incidence and the number of viral species increased. We observed similar and unique viromes between individual cultivars from the same field. Given the prevalence of BCTV in the virome and its prevalence across the western United States, 13 genotypes of hemp were screened for resistance to this pathogen. Two genotypes (4587 and 4710) had a lower BCTV copy number and disease index than others. Our study provides initial evidence of the diversity of viral communities in hemp across Colorado and provides impetus for developing accurate detection methods and screening for host resistance.