bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal changes in self-reported medication adherence and beliefs about post-stroke medicines in Sweden: a repeated cross-sectional study
Authors: Sjölander Maria , Gustafsson Maria , Holmberg Henrik , Glader E-L
Published: October 2024

Objectives

To explore changes in beliefs about medicines and self-reported medication non-adherence between 3 and 24 months after stroke and to investigate associations between beliefs about medicines and non-adherence at 24 months after stroke.

Design

Longitudinal questionnaire survey.

Setting

Patients treated for acute stroke in 25 Swedish hospitals.

Participants

Only patients living at home were included. Of the 594 individuals who answered the 3 month questionnaire, 401 were included at 24 months; among the remainder, 34 (5.7%) had died, 149 (25,1%) did not respond or had incomplete information on adherence and 10 (1.7%) were not living at home.

Measures

The primary outcome was self-reported medication adherence as measured with the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS). The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaires (BMQ) was used to assess personal beliefs about medicines. Background and clinical data were included from the Swedish national stroke register.

Results

According to dichotomised MARS sum scores, more individuals were classified as non-adherent at 24 months after stroke (n=63, 15.7%) than at 3 months after stroke (n=45, 11.2%) (p=0.030). For BMQ, the only difference over time was an increase in theNecessitysubscale (p=0.007). At 24 months, in comparison to adherent patients, non-adherent patients scored statistically significant higher on negative beliefs about medicines, such asConcern(OR 1.17, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.25),Overuse(OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.21 to 1.54) andHarm(OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.39), and lower on positive beliefs about medicines, namely,Necessity(OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.80 to 0.96) andBenefit(OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.74 to 0.98).

Conclusions

Stroke patients‘ beliefs about medicines were associated with adherence, and over time beliefs remained stable across all domains, except for an increased perception of medications as being necessary. Despite this, more patients became non-adherent over time. To counteract non-adherence, interventions targeted to improve intentional adherence as well as non-intentional adherence should be investigated and implemented.
Evaluating the importance of rural internships to subsequent medical workforce distribution outcomes: an Australian cohort study
Authors: McGrail Matthew R , Fox Jordan , Martin Priya
Published: October 2024

Objective

To evaluate the importance of rural internships to observed medical workforce distribution outcomes up to 8 years post-medical school.

Design and setting

Cohort study of medical graduates of The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.

Participants

UQ graduates who were medical interns in Queensland’s public health system between 2014 and 2021 and observed working in Australia in 2022. Internship location was defined as being metropolitan or rural, along with other key rural exposures of whether they are of rural origin (childhood) and whether at least 1 year of clinical training at medical school was in a rural location.

Primary outcome measure

Current work location was collected from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) in 2022, classified as either rural or metropolitan and measured in association with their internship location.

Results

From 1930 eligible graduates, 21.5% took up a rural internship, which was associated with rural origin (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0) and medical school rural immersions of either 1 year (OR 2.8, 95% CI 2.1 to 3.7) or 2 years (OR 5.8, 95% CI 4.4 to 7.7). Completing a rural internship was associated with currently working rural (47% vs 14%, OR 4.6, 95% CI 3.5 to 5.9), which weakened the observed (adjusted) effect of rural origin (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0) or medical school rural immersions (1 year: OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.9; 2 years: OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3). All combinations of the key rural exposures that included rural internship had the highest proportions currently working rurally (range 32–69%) compared with the combinations with a metropolitan internship (range 12–22%).

Conclusions

Internship location appears to be a critical factor in shaping medical workforce distribution decisions. This evidence supports the need for strengthened and expanded rural training pathways after medical school. In particular, clearer pathways into specialty programmes via rural internships are likely to support increased numbers choosing (with confidence) to preference rural internship first and subsequently more working in rural areas long term.
Real-world safety profile of zanubrutinib: a disproportionality analysis based on the FAERS database
Authors: Wang Jiangfeng , Zheng Xiaochun , Lin Jingyang , Huang Jinlong , Zhang Miaomiao , Huang Ping , Yang Xiuli
Published: October 2024

Objective

Zanubrutinib is a second-generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been approved for the treatment of several B cell malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate adverse events (AEs) associated with zanubrutinib based on the real-world data.

Design

A disproportionality analysis was performed to identify the potential zanubrutinib-related AEs.

Setting

The Food and Drug Administration AE Reporting System database from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2023.

Main outcome measures

The results of the disproportionality analyses were presented as reported ORs (RORs). When the lower limit of the 95% CI for the ROR is greater than 1 and the number of AE reports is≥3, it indicates that the preferred term (PT) may be a positive AE signal.

Results

A total of 846 AE reports with zanubrutinib as the primary suspect drug were obtained, with 2826 AEs. A total of 74 positive PT signals were detected across 18 system organ classes (SOCs). The most significant signal for SOC was ‘blood and lymphatic system disorders’ (ROR=2.8, 95% CI 2.3 to 3.3), while the most significant signal for PT was ‘haemorrhage subcutaneous’ (ROR=190.8, 95% CI 128.0 to 284.5). 13 unexpected off-label AEs were also observed, such as abnormal hair texture, skin discolouration, hypernatraemia, pericardial effusion and hypersomnia. The median time to onset of AEs associated with zanubrutinib was 51 days (IQR 13–192 days) and was consistent with the early failure model. In comparison with zanubrutinib monotherapy, the combination of zanubrutinib and rituximab therapy was linked to a higher risk of specific AEs, including myelosuppression, pneumonia, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia, abdominal pain, anaemia, pancytopenia and respiratory failure. Furthermore, the combination of zanubrutinib and chemotherapy increased the risk of several severe AEs, such as cardiac arrest, elevated blood lactate dehydrogenase levels and pancytopenia.

Conclusions

The results of the analysis provided valuable insights into the safety profile of zanubrutinib-treated patients, which was helpful for clinical monitoring and identifying potential AEs related to zanubrutinib.
Barriers and facilitators to the use of clinical practice guidelines in osteoarthritis care: a qualitative study among German physiotherapists
Authors: Bahns Carolin , Happe Lisa , Kopkow Christian
Published: October 2024

Objectives

The objective of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators to the use of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in osteoarthritis (OA) care among German physiotherapists.

Design

Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with German physiotherapists. An interview topic guide based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was developed to explore perceived barriers and facilitators to the use of CPGs in OA care. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In a first step, the data were coded inductively using thematic analysis. Subsequently, the emerged themes were deductively reassigned to the relevant domains of the TDF and categorised as barriers and facilitators.

Setting

Outpatient physiotherapy practices in Germany.

Participants

Physiotherapists working in an outpatient setting in Germany and involved in the management of patients with hip and knee OA were eligible to participate.

Results

Eleven physiotherapists (7 women, 4 men) were interviewed between February and September 2023. The mean age was 34.2 years (± 9.9, range 23–57). Most factors influencing guideline-recommended care were identified in the TDF domains ‘knowledge’, ‘beliefs about consequences’, ‘environmental context and resources’ and ‘social influences’. For example, physiotherapists perceived low awareness of existing CPGs, loss of individuality in treatment, time constraints and dissonant patient expectations as barriers to the use of CPGs. Discussion of guideline recommendations within the team and the expectation of improved patient outcomes and resource savings were reported as facilitators.

Conclusions

Multiple factors were identified that were perceived to influence clinical practice in Germany. The results of this study can inform the development of theory-based interventions aimed at changing physiotherapists’ behaviour to support them in providing optimal OA care.

Trial registration

German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00030800). Registered 12 December 2022.
Wealth-related inequalities in the utilisation of modern contraceptives in Papua New Guinea: evidence from the 2016–2018 Demographic and Health Survey data
Authors: Dadzie Louis Kobina , Essuman Mainprice Akuoko , Budu Eugene , Ameyaw Edward Kwabena , Aboagye Richard Gyan , Ahinkorah Bright Opoku
Published: October 2024

Objective

To examine the wealth-related disparities in modern contraceptives use among women in Papua New Guinea.

Design

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2016–2018 Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey data. We included 11 618 women of reproductive age in our final analysis. Percentages were used to present the results on utilisation of modern contraceptives. A concentration curve was used to summarise the cumulative use of modern contraceptives by wealth index (ranked into groups: richest, richer, middle, poorer and poorest). We used a decomposition analysis to estimate the contributions of individual factors towards wealth-related inequality in modern contraceptives use. We estimated the slope index of inequality (SII) and the relative index of inequality (RII) in modern contraceptive utilisation to provide summary evidence of inequality.

Setting

Papua New Guinea.

Participants

Women aged 15–49 years.

Outcome measure

Modern contraceptives utilisation.

Results

Overall, 27.5% of Papua New Guinea women used modern contraceptives. The concentration curve showed that the use of modern contraceptives was highly concentrated among women of the richest household wealth index as the concentration curve lies below the equality line. The SII (0.210, CI 0.182 to 0.239) indicates that the richest group uses more modern contraceptives. The RII depicts a relative difference of 2.044 between the richest and the poorest women in the use of modern contraceptives.

Conclusions

Our study has shown that modern contraceptives use among women in Papua New Guinea is low. Women from the richest household wealth index group had the highest propensity to use modern contraceptives in comparison with those from poorer homes. The Ministry of Health and other organisations must design and carry out initiatives aimed at enhancing the availability of and use of modern contraceptives among women from less affluent backgrounds.
Akrivia Health Database—deep patient characterisation using a secondary mental healthcare dataset in England and Wales: cohort profile
Authors: Todorovic Ana , Craig Philip , Pillinger Simon , Kontari Panagiota , Gibbons Sophie , Bryden Luke , Franarin Tarso , Uysal Ceyda , Roque Gloria , Fell Benjamin
Published: October 2024

Purpose

The Akrivia Health cohort was created to extract data from electronic health records in secondary mental health and dementia care services in England and Wales. The data are anonymised, structured and harmonised from the source electronic health records across a range of information technology systems, enabling for unified, privacy-preserving access for research purposes.

Participants

The cohort contains data from electronic health records for over 4.6 million patients in England and Wales, as of January 2024. The data are refreshed with regularity, and the dataset expands whenever a new healthcare provider joins the Akrivia network. 13% of the database are patients under 18 years old (n=590 160), 56% are adults 18–65 years old (n=2 631 690) and 31% are older people (n=1 422 609). About 11.5% are deceased (n=538 371).

Findings to date

Structured data include patient demographics and service pathways. Akrivia Health also uses a bespoke natural language processing model to further extract the research-relevant information from free-text progress notes, including diagnoses, medications and clinical symptoms. This allows for an in-depth longitudinal description of patient journeys.

Future plans

The anonymised data can be accessed in collaboration with Akrivia Health, following the National Health Service guidelines and without requiring a separate ethics application. There is no planned end date for data collection.
Clinical development and proof of principle testing of new regenerative vascular endothelial growth factor-D therapy for refractory angina: rationale and design of the phase 2 ReGenHeart trial
Authors: Leikas Aleksi J , Hartikainen Juha E K , Kastrup Jens , Mathur Anthony , Gyöngyösi Mariann , Fernández-Avilés Francisco , Sanz-Ruiz Ricardo , Wojakowski Wojtek , Gwizdała Adrian , Luite Riho , Nikkinen Marko , Qayyum Abbas A , Haack-Sørensen Mandana , Kelham Matthew , Jones Daniel A , Hamzaraj Kevin , Spannbauer Andreas , Fernández-Santos Maria E , Jędrzejek Marek , Skoczyńska Agnieszka , Vartiainen Niklas , Knuuti Juhani , Saraste Antti , Ylä-Herttuala Seppo
Published: October 2024

Background

Despite tremendous therapeutic advancements, a significant proportion of coronary artery disease patients suffer from refractory angina pectoris, that is, quality-of-life-compromising angina that is non-manageable with established pharmacological and interventional treatment options. Adenoviral vascular endothelial growth factor-DΔNΔC(AdVEGF-D)-encoding gene therapy (GT) holds promise for the treatment of refractory angina.

Methods

ReGenHeart is an investigator-initiated, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled and double-blinded phase 2 clinical trial that aims to study the safety and efficacy of intramyocardially administered angiogenic AdVEGF-D GT for refractory angina. Patients will be randomised in a 2:1 ratio and blocks of six to receive either AdVEGF-D or placebo. Primary endpoints are improvements in functional capacity assessed with the 6 min walking test and angina symptoms with Canadian Cardiovascular Society class after 6 month follow-up. Secondary endpoints are improvements in myocardial perfusion assessed with either positron emission tomography or single-photon emission CT after 6 month follow-up and functional capacity and angina symptoms after 12 months. In addition, changes in the quality of life, the use of angina medication and the incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events will be evaluated.

Conclusions

The phase 2 ReGenHeart trial will provide knowledge of the safety and efficacy of AdVEGF-D GT to ameliorate symptoms in refractory angina patients, extending and further testing positive results from the preceding phase 1/2a trial.
Logarithmic EW corrections at one-loop
Authors: Lindert J. M. , Mai L.
Published: October 2024

We present a fully automated implementation of next-to-leading order electroweak (NLO EW) corrections in the logarithmic approximation in OpenLoops. For energies above the electroweak scale NLO EW corrections are logarithmically enhanced and in tails of kinematic distributions of crucial LHC processes yield correction factors of several tens of percent. The implementation of the logarithmic Sudakov EW approximation in the amplitude generator OpenLoops is fully general, largely model independent, it supports the computation of EW corrections to resonant processes, and it is suitable for extensions to the two-loop NNLO EW level. The implementation is based on an efficient representation of the logarithmic approximation in terms of an effective vertex approach. Investigating a set of representative LHC processes we find excellent agreement between the logarithmic approximation and full one-loop results in observables where the assumptions of the EW Sudakov approximation are fulfilled.
Isolated regions of a link projection
Authors: Mahato Tumpa , Shimizu Ayaka
Published: October 2024

A set of regions of a link projection is said to be isolated if any pair of regions in the set share no crossings. The isolate-region number of a link projection is the maximum value of the cardinality for isolated sets of regions of the link projection. In this paper, all the link projections of isolate-region number one are determined. Also, estimations for welded unknotting number and a combinatorial way to find the isolate-region number are discussed, and a formula of the generating function of isolated-region sets is given for the standard projections of [Formula: see text]-torus links.
A Dominance Approach for Influence Maximization with Incomplete Information in Social Network
Authors: Rakee Fatemeh , Mozafari Niloofar , Hamzeh Ali
Published: October 2024

Influence maximization plays an important role in social network analysis and has been extensively explored due to its emergence in a great deal of applications. However, a vast majority of researchers have only considered the influence of one factor on the spread of information among individuals. In addition, this factor which is mainly the influence probability, has been considered to be fixed which is estimated based on the number of neighbors of each individual. While, in reality, we do not have complete information about this probability and it is not a fixed value. Moreover, in the spread of information, other factors including trust, are also involved, which cannot be easily combined due to their different nature. In this paper, a dominance approach to influence maximization is studied under the condition, in which, complete information about influence of users on each other is not available and users infect each other based on an unknown influence probability. Furthermore, in order to make the proposed model closer to reality, trust factor is also considered as an independent factor. The proposed method is compared to several state-of-the-art influence maximization algorithms and attained results on several synthetic and real social network datasets verify effectiveness of the proposed method compared to previous methods in the context of influence maximization.
Distributed Denial of Service Attack Detection and Prevention Using Pipit Fox-Attentional Deep Learning in Software-Defined Networking
Authors: Sharma Anuja , Saxena Parul
Published: October 2024

The Software-Defined Network (SDN) remains the innovative model that assists in satisfying the new application requirements of future networks. However, destructive attacks, particularly Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, are aimed primarily at the SDN control panel, presenting a significant risk to network security. The traditional approaches for DDoS attack detection exhibit several limitations including interpretability challenges, overfitting problems, and false predictions. To mitigate these drawbacks, the research proposed a Pipit Flying Fox Optimized Deep Neural Network (PPF-DNN) and Intelligent Pipit Forage Optimized-Attentional Convolutional Neural Network (IPFO-ACNN) model. The channel attention is employed to enable the network to focus selectively on relevant information, improving the model’s sensitivity to subtle anomalies associated with DDoS attacks. By dynamically adjusting the attention weights across channels, the mechanism enhances the capability of the model to discriminate the normal network traffic and malicious patterns, which results in improved precision and reduced false positives. This approach harnesses the power of CNN to automatically extract hierarchical features from network data, enhancing the efficacy of the ACNN model in attack detection. IPFO and PPF algorithms integrate the unique strengths of bio-inspired algorithms, creating a synergistic approach for efficient model parameter tuning. In the case of Training Percentage (TP) 80, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the IPFO-ACNN model are evaluated as 98.87%, 99.24% and 97.91%, respectively. Similarly, the PPF-DNN model’s performance is assessed as 98.49%, 92.50% and 98.55%, which presents a promising avenue for bolstering network security infrastructure, ensuring more robust DDoS detection and mitigation capabilities in an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape.
Contrasting tribocatalytic degradations of organic dyes by two different commercial silicon powders
Authors: Zhou Zeren , Luo Ruiqing , Mao Chenyue , Hu Yongming , Chen Wanping
Published: October 2024

As a newly emerging catalysis, tribocatalysis is receiving more and more attention with regard to the criteria to fabricate or choose materials as catalysts for it. In this study, two different commercial silicon (Si) powders, Si30 and Si300, were adopted as catalysts in tribocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. Only round nanoparticles from 30 to 100[Formula: see text]nm were observed in Si30, while some highly large and irregular particles, as large as 1000[Formula: see text]nm × 500[Formula: see text]nm and with a roughly flat major surface, could be observed in Si300. Stimulated through magnetic stirring using Teflon magnetic rotary disks, as much as 95% of 20 mg/L rhodamine B (RhB) solution and 97% of 20 mg/L methyl orange (MO) solution were degraded by Si300 after 3[Formula: see text]h and 50[Formula: see text]min, respectively; while only 73% of RhB and 83% of MO were degraded by Si30 after 5[Formula: see text]h and 4[Formula: see text]h, respectively. EPR spectra showed that more superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were generated by Si300 under magnetic stirring. It is proposed that in those large particles in Si300, their large flat major surfaces dramatically enhance their absorption of mechanical energy through friction and there are much less lattice defects to hinder electrons and holes from diffusing to the surface, which both results in the contrasting tribocatalytic degradations of organic dyes between Si300 and Si30. These findings reveal a huge difference in tribocatalytic performance among different materials of the same composition.
Coisotropic reduction in multisymplectic geometry
Authors: de León Manuel , Izquierdo-López Rubén
Published: October 2024

In this paper, we study coisotropic reduction in multisymplectic geometry. On the one hand, we give an interpretation of Hamiltonian multivector fields as Lagrangian submani- folds and prove that [Formula: see text]-coisotropic submanifolds induce a Lie subalgebra in the algebra of Hamiltonian [Formula: see text]-forms, similar to how coisotropic submanifolds in symplectic geometry induce a Lie subalgebra under the Poisson bracket. On the other hand, we extend the classical result of symplectic geometry of projection of Lagrangian submanifolds in coisotropic reduction to bundles of forms, which naturally carry a multisymplectic structure.
Interview with Astrid Ensslin
Authors: Atzenbeck Claus
Published: October 2024

Astrid Ensslin is Professor for the Dynamics of Virtual Communication Spaces at the University of Regensburg. She has been a Director of the Electronic Literature Organization since 2018. Amongst her key roles in the e-lit community have been Co-Director of the Electronic Literature Directory, convener of the ELO Fellows scheme and, since 2019, Principal Editor of the Bloomsbury Electronic Literature book series. She has published 12 books and over 70 peer-reviewed articles on aspects of digital fiction, literary hypertext, literary games and many other topics relevant to the Hypertext community.
Upcoming SIGWEB Supported Conferences
Authors: Eidloth Lisa
Published: October 2024

The Special Interest Group on Hypertext and the Web, SIGWEB was created in 1989 to support the community participating in the annual ACM Hypertext Conference. In its fourth decade, SIGWEB continues its efforts to support a wide range of communities and eight annual conferences. SIGWEB supports several specialized conferences, short courses, and workshops of different sizes, as well as the annual Hypertext Conference. SIGWEB sponsored conferences focus on timely topics in applied and computational hypertext and Web disciplines and provide a place for members and the entire applied Hypermedia and Web community to exchange ideas and to meet with and expand their network of colleagues. In this article, we provide a brief overview of SIGWEB sponsored conferences, in addition to events that are in cooperation with SIGWEB.
Sex Work, Antitrafficking, and Mobility
Authors: Dasgupta Simanti
Published: October 2024

With the HIV/AIDS epidemic gripping the world in the 1990s and the resurgence of the antitrafficking discourse in the 2000s, the sex work/abolitionist debate took center stage. Proponents of sex work uphold the labor and livelihood paradigm based on consent; the abolitionists, on the other hand, dismiss sex work as work to posit prostitution as the paradigmatic example of patriarchal violence toward women. The latter routinely conflate sex work with trafficking, and the former sharply demarcates them. Above all, this debate poses a stubborn ideological divide among feminists with serious policy implications for both the worker and the victim, nationally and globally. Therefore, to imagine a pathway beyond this divide, this review centers on mobility and migration vis-à-vis labor and livelihood. Sex work offers insights into migration broadly speaking because it highlights the intersecting issues of labor, agency, gender, sexual mores, and displacement, all embedded within the global flows of capital.
Cultural-Environmental Systems and the Archaeology of Climate Change and Social Complexity: Midwest and Southeast United States
Authors: Schroeder Sissel , White A.J.
Published: October 2024

The investigation of dynamic fully integrated cultural-environmental systems is one grand challenge facing archaeologists in this century. In the Midwest and Southeast United States, archaeologists recently increased their study of Mississippian social systems (ca. AD 1000–1600) in relationship to paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental data. Significant differences in chronological control between archaeological chronologies and paleoenvironmental records pose challenges to the study of cultural-environmental systems in this region and often result in equifinal results. Three major lines of paleoenvironmental records are reviewed: bald cypress tree-ring records, the Living Blended Drought Atlas (LBDA), and lake-bottom sediment cores. The strongest approaches include local and regional multiproxy environmental records from the same location as a well-investigated archaeological site(s) or region(s). In the rare case where the cores also encode a regional population history, it may be possible to develop stronger inferences that consider variation within and between communities and their vulnerability to climate change and environmental catastrophes.
The Complex and Spatially Heterogeneous Nature of Degradation in Heavily Cycled Li-ion Cells
Authors: Bond Toby , Gauthier Roby , King Graham , Dressler Reid , Abraham Jeffin James , Dahn J. R.
Published: October 2024

As service lifetimes of electric vehicle (EV) and grid storage batteries continually improve, it has become increasingly important to understand how cells perform after extensive cycling. The multifaceted nature of degradation in Li-ion cells can lead to complex behavior that may be difficult for battery management systems or operators to model. Accurate characterization of heavily cycled cells is critical for developing accurate models, especially for cycle-intensive applications like second-life grid storage or vehicle-to-grid charging. In this study, we use operando synchrotron x-ray diffraction (SR-XRD) to characterize a commercially manufactured polycrystalline NMC622 pouch cell that was cycled for more than 2.5 years. Using spatially resolved synchrotron XRD, the complex kinetics and spatially heterogeneous behavior of such cells are mapped and characterized under both near-equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions. The resulting data is complex and multifaceted, requiring a different approach to analysis and modelling than what has been used in the literature. To show how material selection can impact the extent of degradation, we compare the results from polycrystalline NMC622 cells to an extensively cycled single-crystal NMC532 cell with over 20,000 cycles—equivalent to a total EV traveled distance of approximately 8 million km (5 million miles) over six years.
Enhancement of Low-Temperature Cycling Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries by use of Dual Cosolvent
Authors: Oh Jin-Young , Seok Jin-Hong , Lim Da-Ae , Lim Sung-Jae , Kim Dong-Won
Published: October 2024

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) based on conventional electrolyte suffer from poor cycling performance at low temperatures due to the reduced ionic conductivity of electrolytes, sluggish charge transfer reaction, and Li plating during the charging process. Herein, we propose a dual cosolvent composed of methyl acetate (MA) and ethyl fluoroacetate (EFA). MA effectively reduced the viscosity of the electrolyte, improving the ionic conductivity at low temperatures. EFA facilitated the de-solvation of Li+ ions and formed an anion-derived solvation structure, enabling the formation of an inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase on the graphite anode. Due to the synergistic effect of MA and EFA, the graphite/LiFePO4 cell employing a dual cosolvent exhibited good cycling performance at low temperatures, delivering a discharge capacity of 68.7 mAh g−1 at −20 °C and 0.2 C and showing a capacity retention of 99.7% after 100 cycles at −20 °C and 0.33 C. Additionally, the cell exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 131.2 mAh g−1 at 25 °C and 1.0 C, with a capacity retention of 99.4% after 300 cycles. Our results demonstrate that liquid electrolytes containing dual cosolvent with various beneficial roles can be a promising solution for improving the low-temperature cycling performance of LIBs.
Improving the Stability of 75Li2S·25P2S5 Glass-Ceramic Electrolytes Against Lithium Metals Through Li2O Doping
Authors: Mi Chen , Hall Simon R.
Published: October 2024

The chemical and electrochemical stability between solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) and lithium metals is one of the crucial factors in the performance of all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). Doping modification has been shown to improve the ionic conductivity and air stability of SSEs, but further research is needed to demonstrate its effectiveness in enhancing stability with lithium metal. In this work, a series of Li2O-doped 75Li2S·25P2S5 glass-ceramic electrolytes have been successfully synthesized using ball milling method. Powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD) and 7Li magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy results revealed that Li2O doping effectively reduced the percentage of residual Li2S in the ball milling stage and generated a high ionic conductivity phase Li7P3S11 during annealing. The electrolyte has the highest ionic conductivity (1.5 × 10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature) when doped with 1 mol% Li2O. Various electrochemical characterizations have shown that all doped electrolytes can effectively slow/suppress lithium dendrite formation while being chemically and electrochemically stable to some extent. Among these, 1 mol% Li2O-doped electrolyte performs the best, as the Li|1Li2O|Li cell maintains voltage and resistance nearly unchanged after 1000 h and 900 cycles, with no noticeable degradation in the material structure.
LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Addition to Anion-Storing Graphite Cathode Yields Multifaceted Benefits to Dual Graphite Batteries
Authors: Ghosh Shuvajit , Dutta Jyotirekha , Khamaru Sayan , Mulkapuri Sateesh , Martha Surendra K.
Published: October 2024

Dual graphite batteries (DGBs) yield an output voltage of ∼4.5 V vs Li+/Li by functioning on the “scissor-cutting” type dual-ion storing mechanism. However, they lack capacity, suffer from poor cycling efficiency, and exhibit insufficient cycle life. The improvement strategies reported in the literature ameliorate only the targeted parameter but downgrade the rest. Herein, the approach of blending LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) spinel oxide with graphite at cathode is demonstrated as a multifunctional remedy. LNMO represents an additional lithium reservoir that replenishes the depleted lithium at anode during cycling, thereby boosting cycling efficiency. It acts as a sacrificial salt that compensates for the irreversibly consumed Li+ from its stock during parasitic reactions, thus reducing the self-discharge rate of dual-graphite full cell. Further, the Ni4+/2+ redox couple at ∼4.75 V vs Li+/Li in LNMO enhances capacity, upshifts average discharge voltage, and increases the energy output of the full cell. The interaction between de/intercalating Li+ and

PF

6

−

during the “cooperated scissor-cutting mechanism” functional at blended cathode decreases charge transfer resistance. The presence of LNMO enriches the interfacial composition in inorganic components that benefit long-term cycling. Moreover, the physical properties like tap density, durability, and pore structure are reinforced in graphite/ LNMO blended cathode.
Optimal Scheduling Strategy of Wind–Solar–Thermal‐Storage Power Energy Based on CGAN and Dynamic Line–Rated Power
Authors: Hu Sile , Gao Yuan , Cai Wenbin , Nan Jianan , Li Ye , Khan Muhammad Farhan , Zhao Yucan , Yang Jiaqiang
Published: October 2024

This paper introduces a new way to plan and manage the use of wind and solar power, along with traditional thermal power (TP) and batteries, to get the most environmental and economic benefits. It uses a special kind of artificial intelligence, called conditional generative adversarial networks (CGAN), to predict how much power wind and solar sources will produce. Subsequently, it takes into account the dynamic line–rated power (DLRP) in order to determine the dynamic transmission capacity of lines associated with wind and solar power generation. The primary objectives are to reduce the operating costs of TP plants, maximize the utilization of wind and solar energy, minimize power deviations in electricity transmission, and enhance revenue from electricity transmission. To solve this complex problem, the paper uses a smart method to simplify the model, making it possible to find solutions with CPLEX. Tests on a small network with six nodes show that this approach not only saves money but also makes better use of clean energy sources.
Assessing the Impact of Simulation‐Based Learning on Student Satisfaction and Self‐Confidence in Critical Care Medicine
Authors: Ageel Mohammed
Published: October 2024

Background: Simulation‐based learning (SBL) is increasingly used in medical education to prepare students for clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction and self‐confidence of final‐year medical students after attending SBL in critical care medicine.

Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 117 final‐year medical students at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. Participants attended SBL sessions focusing on critical care skills and scenarios. Data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire, which included demographic information and the Student Satisfaction and Self‐Confidence in Learning Scale. Statistical analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The study population comprised 61.54% females and 38.46% males, with a majority aged 24 years. Students who rated their overall learning experience as “Good” showed significantly higher satisfaction (4.20 ± 0.77) and self‐confidence (4.20 ± 0.69) scores. The overall mean scores for satisfaction and self‐confidence were 3.71 ± 0.88 and 3.70 ± 0.87, respectively. A strong positive correlation (p < 0.001) was found between satisfaction and self‐confidence levels. The highest satisfaction and self‐confidence scores were associated with the variety of learning materials and the instructors’ helpfulness.

Conclusion: The SBL intervention was effective in enhancing student satisfaction and self‐confidence in critical care medicine. The strong correlation between satisfaction and self‐confidence highlights the importance of well‐designed SBL programs in preparing medical students for clinical practice in critical care settings.
Renal Cell Carcinoma Masquerading as Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Authors: Rayamajhi Aadesh , Agrawal Saurav , Rayamajhi Sandesh , Lamsal Manoj , Koirala Dinesh
Published: October 2024

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a medical emergency with most common cause being peptic ulcer disease (PUD) or variceal bleeding. However, cancers that cause UGIB by invading the small intestine are uncommon, and the invasion of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) into the duodenum is an even rarer occurrence. A 55‐year‐old male presented with melena and right flank pain. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed an active bleeding source in the duodenum, later identified on contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (CECT) as a duodenorenal fistula (DRF) caused by direct extension of the RCC. The imaging confirmed the presence of a malignant renal mass infiltrating adjacent organs. This atypical presentation of RCC with DRF manifesting as UGIB underscores the importance of comprehensive evaluations in cases of gastrointestinal bleeding to identify rare underlying causes.
Abstract A016: Bitter taste receptor T2R5 regulates cell viability and apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Sywanycz Sarah M , Hill Brianna L , Miller Zoey A , Lee Robert J , Carey Ryan M
Published: October 2024

Bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) are a large family of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) first identified for their role in detecting bitter stimuli. T2Rs have been shown to be expressed in benign and malignant extra-oral tissue, including head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), a cancer with high morbidity and mortality. In HNSCC, certain T2Rs appear to regulate proliferation and apoptosis. Bitter taste receptor, T2R5, may pose a novel therapeutic target for HNSCC due to its higher relative expression in cancerous tissue compared to normal tissue and high specificity for agonists. 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (phenanthroline) is a high potency T2R5 agonist yet to be studied for potential anti-cancer effects. We hypothesized that phenanthroline will act on endogenously expressed T2R5 in HNSCC lines to stimulate a GPCR-mediated calcium response, decrease cell viability, and increase caspase 3/7-mediated apoptosis. We found that three HNSCC cell lines (SCC 47, RPMI 2650, FaDu) express T2R5 but to varying degrees measured by qPCR (n= 6). There was a significant dose-dependent calcium response to phenanthroline measured by calcium fluorescent indicator dye, Fluo- 4 AM, for all three cell lines. Calcium responses were significantly dampened with Gα protein inhibitors, YM254890 and FR900359, suggesting a GPCR mediated calcium response consistent with established T2R functionality. Treatment with phenanthroline showed a dose-dependent decrease on cell viability at 24 hours measured by crystal violet assay. Individual IC50 values from crystal violet were roughly inversely correlated to level of T2R5 expression. Stimulation with phenanthroline increased apoptosis measured by a caspase 3/7 activity dye (CellEvent) at 24 hours. Pretreatment with phenanthroline prior to treatment with cisplatin showed decreased overall cell viability compared to each treatment alone (p = 0.0062), which may suggest a role as a sensitizing agent. Comparison of HNSCC patients with high or low expression of T2R5 using The Cancer Genome Atlas showed greater long-term overall survival for the high versus low expression group (p= 0.04), possibly supporting T2R5’s role in cancer regulation. In summary, T2R5 and its high potency agonist phenanthroline may be important regulators of apoptosis in HNSCC warranting further exploration. Future direction will continue to explore the mechanisms and roles of T2R5 in HNSCC and potential sensitization effects when used in combination with other agents like cisplatin.

Citation Format: Sarah M Sywanycz, Brianna L Hill, Zoey A Miller, Robert J Lee, Ryan M Carey. Bitter taste receptor T2R5 regulates cell viability and apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2024 Oct 18-21; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2024;12(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A016.
Abstract A029: Preferential ability of IL-7 versus IL-2 to restore effector T cell responses in the presence of regulatory T cells assessed using MR-MCTM assays in vitro
Authors: Welsh Emma , Li Zhi , Sallie Leila , Pegg Ashley , Chan Hujo , Cowley Jamie , Kaur Arshpreet , Harrison Neale , Smith David J , Bryant Mark , Brady Catherine A , Gordon John , Barnes Nicholas , Qureshi Omar
Published: October 2024

Within the tumour microenvironment, regulatory T cells diminish anti-tumour responses by inhibiting effector T cell activation. Immunotherapies that enhance the effector T cell response may also enhance Treg activity, limiting the overall action of the therapy. It is therefore important to consider the ‘net-effect’ of immune activation in systems containing both cell types. To better understand responder T cell activation in a relevant cellular environment, we have investigated human effector T cell activation in the presence of regulatory T cells in vitro exploiting multiple readouts from multi-cell type suppression assays (MR-MCTM suppression assay). These assays have been performed in the absence or presence of IL-2 (hypothesised to boost both effector and regulatory T cell responses), and the absence or presence of IL-7 (hypothesised to skew towards effector T cell responses), to assess potential for biased activation of effector T cells over regulatory T cells. For certain activation markers, e.g. CD25 and CD71, the ability to restore effector T cell expression in the presence of regulatory T cells was greater for IL-7 compared to IL-2. We have also investigated the impact of these two cytokines on a range of early and later activation readouts of the responder T cell populations to add granularity to overall impact. Interestingly and in contrast to IL-7, IL-2 evoked greater increases in activation marker expression by regulatory T cells, indicating enhanced regulatory T cell function may contribute to the differential impact of these cytokines upon the responder T cell response. These results demonstrate how potential immunotherapies may differentially impact effector and regulatory T cell populations and highlight the considerable utility of investigating potential immunotherapies (e.g. checkpoint inhibitors) in MR-MCTM assays to better understand impact upon the overall balance of immune activation.

Citation Format: Emma Welsh, Zhi Li, Leila Sallie, Ashley Pegg, Hujo Chan, Jamie Cowley, Arshpreet Kaur, Neale Harrison, David J Smith, Mark Bryant, Catherine A Brady, John Gordon, Nicholas Barnes, Omar Qureshi. Preferential ability of IL-7 versus IL-2 to restore effector T cell responses in the presence of regulatory T cells assessed using MR-MCTM assays in vitro [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2024 Oct 18-21; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2024;12(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A029.
Abstract A043: Costimulation by type 1 dendritic cells facilitates the differentiation of non-exhausted anti-tumor T cells
Authors: Duong Ellen , Banta Karl , Nutsch Katie , Wu Thomas , Chiang Eugene , Mellman Ira
Published: October 2024

T cell exhaustion, a differentiation state defined by reduced proliferative capacity, impaired effector function, and the upregulation of inhibitory checkpoint receptors, is pervasive in chronic diseases like cancer. While therapeutic antibodies targeting these inhibitory receptors can sustain T cell function, recent studies have underscored the importance of positive costimulation in limiting the development of the exhausted phenotype, a role canonically attributed to dendritic cells (DC). However, the functions of DC in the tumor microenvironment to support immunotherapy responses remain poorly characterized. We recently established that type 1 conventional DC (cDC1) are required for the therapeutic efficacy of TIGIT and PD-L1 combination blockade, thus providing a system to investigate the mechanisms by which intratumoral cDC1 can support T cell responses during immunotherapy. Following combination blockade, cDC1 exhibited an enhanced maturation and migratory phenotype, highly expressing both CD28 ligands (CD80 and CD86) and the CD226 ligand (PVR). Concurrently, therapy-responsive cytotoxic T cells in the tumor co-expressed both CD28 and CD226 receptors but strongly upregulated only CD226 expression, indicating increased costimulatory signaling through this specific pathway. Indeed, cDC1-specific PVR deletion or CD226 blockade both impaired therapeutic responses, causing T cells in the tumor to maintain features of exhaustion despite their expansion. Our work thus far highlights a critical role for intratumoral cDC1-mediated costimulation in preventing T cells from entering the exhaustion pathway. These findings further underscore the necessity of stimulatory cDC1 in tumors for successful immunotherapy responses.

Citation Format: Ellen Duong, Karl Banta, Katie Nutsch, Thomas Wu, Eugene Chiang, Ira Mellman. Costimulation by type 1 dendritic cells facilitates the differentiation of non-exhausted anti-tumor T cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2024 Oct 18-21; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2024;12(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A043.