bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systemic Immune-Inflammation Index Predicts Outcomes in Platinum-Resistant Relapsed Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Goenka Luxitaa , Thejeswar Nakka , Dubashi Biswajit , Kayal Smita , Ganesan Prasanth
Published: July 2022

We explored the prognostic impact of simple indices that reflect the immunological milieu (neutrophils to lymphocyte ratio [NLR] and systemic immune-inflammation [SII]) in 49 platinum-resistant relapsed ovarian cancer patients. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 4 and 8 months, respectively. Patients with a lower NLR (≤2.89) had a better PFS (5 vs. 2 months [p = 0.02]) and OS (9 vs. 5 months [p = 0.20]). Factors associated with a worse PFS were NLR > 2.8 (hazard ratio [HR] =2.32, p = 0.02) and SII > 639 (HR =3.70, p = 0.002). SII > 639 independently predicted PFS (HR =4.13, p = 0.03). Future studies should study the validity of inflammatory markers and could consider incorporating it as a biomarker in clinical trials.
Refractory Primary Mediastinal B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report of Conventional Chemotherapies, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Polatuzumab Vedotin, Transplantation, and Post-Transplant Large Granular Lymphocytosis
Authors: Pincha Rajat , Radhakrishnan Vivek S. , Kumar Jeevan , Nag Arijit , Bhave Saurabh Jayant , Zameer Lateef , Vinarkar Sushant S. , Das Jayanta , Mishra Deepak Kumar , Chandy Mammen , Nair Reena
Published: July 2022

We report a case of stage IV primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma in a 27-year-old young woman, who was refractory and chemoresistant to frontline conventional rituximab-based intensive chemotherapy and subsequent lines of conventional and immune checkpoint inhibitor-based therapies. She was successfully treated using a polatuzumab-based regimen and consolidated with an allogeneic haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. She developed post-transplant large granular lymphocytosis that was managed conservatively. She is now relapse-free, 600 days post-transplant. The management of this patient provided several teaching points in the use of different modalities of immunotherapies in a hard-to-treat cancer and its related conditions.
Outcomes of Extracorporeal Life Support in Children with Meningococcal Septicemia: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Henry Brandon Michael , Benscoter Alexis , Perry Tanya , de Oliveira Maria Helena Santos , Misfeldt Andrew , Cooper David S.
Published: July 2022

Meningococcal disease is associated with high mortality despite aggressive antibiotic therapy and intensive care support. Patients may develop refractory hypotension and acute respiratory distress syndrome in which extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) could serve as a life-saving rescue therapy. However, there is limited data regarding the outcomes of ECMO support in the setting of meningococcal disease. This retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry (1989–2019) enrolled children (29 days–18 years old) with Neisseria meningitidis infection receiving ECMO for any support type and mode. A total of 122 patients underwent a single course of ECMO support, equating to 122 ECMO runs. The overall survival-to-discharge rate was 46.7%. Patients receiving pulmonary venovenous (VV) ECMO had the highest survival-to-discharge of 85.7%, while those receiving venoarterial (VA) ECMO for pulmonary indications had a survival of 32.4%. Patients receiving VA ECMO support for cardiac indications had a survival-to-discharge rate of 60.9%. Those needing extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) had a poor survival (14.3%). Hemorrhagic complications were common, occurring in 43.4% of patients, but not found to be associated with mortality (complication was present in 47.7% of deceased and 38.6% of survivors, p = 0.31). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that neurologic complications were associated with increased odds of mortality (odds ratio: 44.11; 95% confidence interval: 4.95–393.08). ECMO can be utilized as rescue therapy in children with refractory cardiopulmonary failure in setting of meningococcemia. Patients who require pulmonary VV or cardiac ECMO have the best ECMO outcomes. However, the use of ECMO in those suffering cardiac arrest (ECPR) should be undertaken with caution.
Social Thinking Metacognitive Strategies to Support Self-Determined Social Goals in Autistic Youth
Authors: Crooke Pamela J. , Winner Michelle Garcia
Published: July 2022

On any given day, the social mind is taxed with attending to and making sense of a myriad of social events. The social mind is at work when trying to imagine the experiences of others and their inner mental worlds, and is equally active when people seek to approach, connect with, and sometimes avoid one another. Ultimately, the social mind is responsible for thinking about (social) thinking, or social metacognition. Social metacognitive teaching strategies can be helpful for supporting social learners as they observe social landscapes, interpret what is observed to problem solve, or decide whether and how to produce social responses. This article describes how social metacognitive strategies from the Social Thinking Methodology have been used to support the self-determined social goals of two autistic students. Visual frameworks and their underlying theories are provided as evidence-aligned tools for supporting clinical journeys.
Beyond Vital Signs: Pediatric Sepsis Screening that Includes Organ Failure Assessment Detects Patients with Worse Outcomes
Authors: Paulsen Jesseca A. , Wang Karen M. , Masler Isabella M. , Hicks Jessica F. , Green Sherry N. , Loberger Jeremy M.
Published: July 2022

Pediatric sepsis screening is recommended. The 2005 Goldstein criteria, the basis of our institutional sepsis screening tool (ISST), correlate poorly with clinically diagnosed sepsis. The study objective was to retrospectively evaluate the ISST sensitivity compared with the Pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (pSOFA). This was a single-center retrospective cohort study. The primary outcome was pSOFA score and ISST sensitivity for severe sepsis. Secondary outcomes included clinical outcome measures. In this severe sepsis cohort (N = 491), pSOFA and ISST sensitivity were 57.6 and 61.1%, respectively. In regression analysis for a positive pSOFA, positive blood culture (odds ratio [OR] 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–4.3, p = 0.025), older age (OR 1.006, 95% CI 1.003–1.009, p < 0.001), and pulmonary infectious source (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.6–6.5, p = 0.001) demonstrated independent association. In regression analysis for a positive ISST, older age (OR 1.003, 95% CI 1–1.006, p = 0.031) and intra-abdominal infectious source (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1–0.8, p = 0.014) demonstrated independent association. A negative ISST was associated with higher intensive care unit (ICU) admission prevalence (p = 0.01) and fewer ICU-free days (p = 0.018). A positive pSOFA score was associated with higher ICU admission prevalence, vasopressor requirement, and vasopressor days as well as fewer ICU, hospital, and mechanical ventilation-free days (all p < 0.001). Exploratory analysis combining the ISST and pSOFA into a hybrid screen demonstrated superior sensitivity (84.3%) and outcome discrimination. The pSOFA demonstrated noninferior sensitivity to a Goldstein-based institutional sepsis screening model. Further, pSOFA was a better discriminator of poor clinical outcomes. An exploratory hybrid screening model shows superior performance but will require prospective study.
Enhanced nonlinear conductivity due to hot-electron injection in carbon nanotubes
Authors: Abukari S. S. , Mensah S. Y. , Musah R. , Amekpewu M. , Mensah N. G. , Adu K. W.
Published: July 2022

We have theoretically obtained an expression for the current density in a terahertz field due to hot-electron injection in carbon nanotubes. The injection modifies the stationary distribution function and leads to a qualitative change in the behavior of the current-voltage characteristics and causes absolute negative conductivity. We compared the current-voltage characteristic behavior at different injection rates and observed a drastic change in the current density and absolute negative conductivity values. We propose that carbon nanotubes with hot-electron injection may be useful for high-frequency applications.
Observation of intermolecular Coulombic decay and shake-up satellites in liquid ammonia
Authors: Schewe Hanns Christian , Muchová Eva , Belina Michal , Buttersack Tillmann , Stemer Dominik , Seidel Robert , Thürmer Stephan , Slavíček Petr , Winter Bernd
Published: July 2022

We report the first nitrogen 1s Auger–Meitner electron spectrum from a liquid ammonia microjet at a temperature of ∼223 K (–50 °C) and compare it with the simultaneously measured spectrum for gas-phase ammonia. The spectra from both phases are interpreted with the assistance of high-level electronic structure and ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. In addition to the regular Auger–Meitner-electron features, we observe electron emission at kinetic energies of 374–388 eV, above the leading Auger–Meitner peak (3a12). Based on the electronic structure calculations, we assign this peak to a shake-up satellite in the gas phase, i.e., Auger–Meitner emission from an intermediate state with additional valence excitation present. The high-energy contribution is significantly enhanced in the liquid phase. We consider various mechanisms contributing to this feature. First, in analogy with other hydrogen-bonded liquids (noticeably water), the high-energy signal may be a signature for an ultrafast proton transfer taking place before the electronic decay (proton transfer mediated charge separation). The ab initio dynamical calculations show, however, that such a process is much slower than electronic decay and is, thus, very unlikely. Next, we consider a non-local version of the Auger–Meitner decay, the Intermolecular Coulombic Decay. The electronic structure calculations support an important contribution of this purely electronic mechanism. Finally, we discuss a non-local enhancement of the shake-up processes.
Impulsive systems with growing numbers of chaotic attractors
Authors: Zhang Xu , Chen Guanrong
Published: July 2022

Most classical chaotic systems, such as the Lorenz system and the Chua circuit, have chaotic attractors in bounded regions. This article constructs and analyzes a different kind of non-smooth impulsive systems, which have growing numbers of attractors in the sense that the number of attractors or the scrolls of an attractor is growing as time increases, and these attractors or scrolls are not located in bounded regions. It is found that infinitely many chaotic attractors can be generated in some of such systems. As an application, both theoretical and numerical analyses of an impulsive Lorenz-like system with infinitely many attractors are demonstrated.
Wild banana (genus Ensete) – an underutilised plant as source of food, fodder, fibre and medicine and need for biotechnological interventions
Authors: Naikawadi Vikas , Devikar Sandip , Shirke Harshad , Naikawadi Vijay , Suprassanna Penna , Nikam Tukaram
Published: July 2022

Context Food security, integral to the UN sustainable development goals, has become a global priority. Only a handful of cultivated species meet 80% of dietary intake, and hence, in future, it may be inadequate to depend only on these crops. Aims Wild germplasm is endowed with desirable traits of relevance to food, health and climate resilience and, hence, there is a need to intensify efforts for bringing wild edible plants into mainstream agriculture. Wild banana (Ensete spp.) is a staple food source besides having bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Methods Ensete species are cultivated in Asian and African countries, and its cultivation through superior clones is done through conventional methods and plant tissue culture techniques. Despite information on the ecological, social and economic features of Ensete spp., there has been no systematic assessment of their nutritional and other agronomic traits. Key results Herein, we provide a comprehensive account of Ensete sp. conservation, domestication, nutritional profile and medicinal importance as well as documenting the biotechnological approaches and identifying research gaps and prospects of these underutilised species. Conclusion and implications We believe this review could form a baseline resource to aid decision-making for improvement of the crop towards sustainable use and domestication of the species in the global context.
Usability of rice straw biochar for remediation and amelioration of vanadium contaminated soils in areas under acid rain leaching
Authors: Yu Ya-qi , Li Jin-xin , Yang Jin-yan
Published: July 2022

Environmental context Biochar produced by agricultural wastes can be used for vanadium treatment, soil fertility improvement, and agricultural waste disposal, whereas acid rain leaching may decrease its remediating efficiency of the metal contaminated soil. Therefore, vanadium behaviour in soil and soil quality change after biochar application were analysed under simulated acid rain leaching. Findings provide insights into acid rain leaching effects on soil quality, vanadium release from soil, and biochar remediating efficiency. Rationale Considering the effects of acid rain on the leaching of metals and nutrients in soil, rice straw biochar, with the potential to remediate and improve the quality of vanadium contaminated soil, was further evaluated for its remediating and ameliorating performance of soil under acid rain. Methodology The adsorption capacity and isotherm of vanadium by rice straw biochar were investigated. Simulated acid rain leaching experiments were performed to study the influence of acid rain on vanadium behaviour in soil and nutrients and on the structure of the soil. Results Isotherm adsorption studies indicated a preference for a monolayer process without transmigrations of the adsorbed vanadium onto the biochar surface. After leaching with simulated acid rain, compared with the untreated soil, the available vanadium (129.63 ± 3.75–76.10 ± 3.24 mg kg−1) in the soil decreased notably by adding 2–3 wt% biochar (P < 0.05). The organic matter content (1.71 ± 0.25–4.31 ± 0.42%) and available P content (15.13 ± 0.56–29.88 ± 0.28 mg kg−1) in the soil increased with the biochar application ratio increasing from 0 to 3 wt%. Whereas the available N concentration in the soil amended with 3 wt% biochar (27.70 ± 4.35 mg kg−1) was significantly lower than that without biochar addition (41.28 ± 1.62 mg kg−1) (P < 0.05). In addition, an increased proportion of macro-aggregates and decreased proportion of micro-aggregates of the soil after application of 2–3 wt% biochar was also observed. Discussion The application of rice straw biochar at the addition level of 3 wt% has potential for remediating and ameliorating vanadium contaminated soil under acid rain. Appropriate modification of the biochar should be undertaken in future to achieve an effective remediation and amelioration of soil under a long-term influence of acid rain. It is also of interest to study the capacity of the biochar to amend soils with high N load.
Gas plasma–oxidized sodium chloride acts via hydrogen peroxide in a model of peritoneal carcinomatosis
Authors: Miebach Lea , Freund Eric , Clemen Ramona , Kersting Stephan , Partecke Lars-Ivo , Bekeschus Sander
Published: July 2022

Gas plasma technology generates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), inducing lethal oxidative damage in tumor cells. The transfer of gas plasma–derived ROS/RNS into liquids has been proposed as an innovative anti-cancer strategy targeting peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). However, the mechanism of action is under debate. To this end, we compared gas plasma–oxidized medical-grade sodium chloride (oxNaCl) with a concentration-matched control (cmc) of NaCl enriched with equivalent concentrations of H
2
O
2
and NO
3
−
in several cell lines and models of PC. Strikingly, oxNaCl and cmc performed equally well in oxidation and cytotoxic activity in tumor cells in two-dimensional cultures, three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroids, vascularized 3D tumors grown on chicken-embryo chorioallantoic membranes, and a syngeneic PC mouse model in vivo. Given the importance of immunotherapies in oncology today, we focused on immunological consequences of the treatment. Again, to a similar extent, oxNaCl and cmc increased tumor cell immunogenicity and enhanced uptake by and maturation of peripheral blood monocyte–derived dendritic cells together with an inflammatory secretion profile. Furthermore, NanoString gene expression profiling revealed immune system processes and unfolded protein response-related pathways as being linked to the observed anti-tumor effects for both oxNaCl and cmc. In conclusion, gas plasma–generated oxNaCl and cmc showed equal therapeutic efficacy in our PC-related models. In light of the many promising anti-cancer studies of gas plasma–oxidized liquids and the convenient production of corresponding cmcs in large quantities as needed in clinics, our findings may spur research lines based on low-dose oxidants in peritoneal cancer therapy.
Robotic swimming in curved space via geometric phase
Authors: Li Shengkai , Wang Tianyu , Kojouharov Velin H. , McInerney James , Aydin Enes , Ozkan-Aydin Yasemin , Goldman Daniel I. , Rocklin D. Zeb
Published: July 2022

Locomotion by shape changes or gas expulsion is assumed to require environmental interaction, due to conservation of momentum. However, as first noted in [J. Wisdom, Science 299, 1865-1869 (2003)] and later in [E. Guéron,
Sci. Am
. 301, 38-45 (2009)] and [J. Avron, O. Kenneth,
New J. Phys
, 8, 68 (2006)], the noncommutativity of translations permits translation without momentum exchange in either gravitationally curved spacetime or the curved surfaces encountered by locomotors in real-world environments. To realize this idea which remained unvalidated in experiments for almost 20 y, we show that a precision robophysical apparatus consisting of motors driven on curved tracks (and thereby confined to a spherical surface without a solid substrate) can self-propel without environmental momentum exchange. It produces shape changes comparable to the environment’s inverse curvatures and generates movement of

10

−
1

 cm per gait. While this simple geometric effect predominates over short time, eventually the dissipative (frictional) and conservative forces, ubiquitous in real systems, couple to it to generate an emergent dynamics in which the swimming motion produces a force that is counter-balanced against residual gravitational forces. In this way, the robot both swims forward without momentum and becomes fixed in place with a finite momentum that can be released by ceasing the swimming motion. We envision that our work will be of use in a broad variety of contexts, such as active matter in curved space and robots navigating real-world environments with curved surfaces.
Simulating the behaviour of travelling wave superconducting parametric amplifiers using a commercial circuit simulator
Authors: Sweetnam T , Banys D , Gilles V , McCulloch M A , Piccirillo L
Published: July 2022

Kinetic inductance travelling wave parametric amplifiers (KI-TWPAs) have been simulated using Keysight’s Advanced Design System. A lumped element representation of a superconducting transmission line has been developed using nonlinear inductor elements to represent the current dependency of the intrinsic kinetic inductance. This provides a fast, simple and easily modifiable method for analysing the parametric processes that occur in nonlinear kinetic inductance devices, such as parametric oscillators or amplifiers while also allowing the accompanying RF network to be optimised. This methodology is used to model the behaviour of a select number of KI-TWPA designs operating in the 3-wave mixing (3WM) and 4-wave mixing (4WM) regimes. S-parameters and dispersion properties are extracted from large signal S-parameter simulations, and the gain curve of each amplifier design is generated from harmonic balance simulations. The results are compared to the gain expression from the analytic solutions of the coupled mode equations while making reference to the gain curves of the equivalent KI-TWPAs from literature.
Non-uniform magnetic field as a booster for quantum speed limit: faster quantum information processing
Authors: Aggarwal Srishty , Banerjee Subhashish , Ghosh Arindam , Mukhopadhyay Banibrata
Published: July 2022

We probe the quantum speed limit (QSL) of an electron when it is trapped in a non-uniform magnetic field. We show that the QSL increases to a large value, but within the regime of causality, by choosing a proper variation in magnetic fields. We also probe the dependence of QSL on spin of electron and find that it is higher for spin-down electron in the relativistic regime. This can be useful in achieving faster speed of transmission of quantum information. Further, we use the Bremermann–Bekenstein bound to find a critical magnetic field that bridges the gap between non-relativistic and relativistic treatments and relates to the stability of matter. An analytical framework is developed. We also provide a plausible experimental design to supplement our theory.
Toroidal Alfvén eigenmode stability in JET internal transport barrier afterglow experiments
Authors: Fitzgerald M. , Sharapov S.E. , Siren P. , Tholerus E. , Dreval M. , Szepesi G. , Vallejos P. , Johnson T. , Fil N. , Ferreira J. , Rodrigues P. , Figueiredo A. , Borba D. , Coelho R. , Nabais F. , Mailloux J. , Oliver H.J.C. , Di Troia C. , Napoli F. , Štancar Ž. , Dumont R. , Keeling D. , JET Contributors
Published: July 2022

In this work, we use reduced and perturbative models to examine the stability of toroidal Alfvén eigenmodes (TAEs) during the internal transport barrier (ITB) afterglow in JET experiments designed for the observation of alpha driven TAEs. We demonstrate that in JET-like conditions, it is sufficient to use an incompressible cold plasma model for the TAE to reproduce the experimental adiabatic features such as frequency and position. When ion cyclotron resonant heating (ICRH) is used to destabilize TAEs, the core-localised modes that are predicted to be most strongly driven by minority ICRH fast ions correspond to the modes observed in the DD experiments, and conversely, modes that are predicted to not be driven are not observed. Linear damping rates due to a variety of mechanisms acting during the afterglow are calculated, with important contributions coming from the neutral beam and radiative damping. For DT equivalent extrapolations of discharges without ICRH heating, we find that for the majority of modes, alpha drive is not sufficient to overcome radiative damping.
Delamination Criteria for SiN/TiW Interfaces Tested by Cross-Sectional Nanoidentation and by Four Point Bending
Authors: Lederer M , Walter T , Zareghomsheh M , Khatibi G
Published: July 2022

Interfaces between different material layers are potentially weakest links of microelectronic devices. Therefore, reliable criteria for delamination of structures are required as prerequisite of design optimization. In the present article, delamination of adjacent material layers is studied experimentally and by FEM simulation. An interface between SiN and TiW was delaminated by Cross-Sectional Nanoindentation (CSN) and by Four Point Bending. The adhesion energy observed during CSN is determined by FEM simulation using a method of equivalent loads, which compares CSN with a peel test. In a second approach, delamination during Four Point Bending is simulated by Mixed Finite Elements based on Strain Gradient Elasticity. The Mixed Elements were implemented in ABAQUS with user subroutine UEL. In this approach, the delamination criterion can be defined with use of a critical elastic energy density. The accordance between experiments and theoretical models is demonstrated.
Aluminosilicates: interphase boundary interactions and nature engineering of nanostructures.
Authors: Kotova O , Sun S , Kotova E , Ponariaydov A , Brodskaya R
Published: July 2022

The scientific basis for the development of innovative materials (microporous, nanostructured, composite) based on natural (technogenic and synthetic) aluminosilicate raw materials determine prototypes of new technologies in modern industry. Inspired by this, we studied interphase boundary interactions of the “aluminosicate resource – nanoproduct” type system as a key factor of aggregation and nanostructuring in the processes of mineral formation and synthesis. To study features of the heterogeneity of the structure and their correlations with the thermodynamic parameters of the formation of mineral aggregates and individuals, instrumental and methodological resources were used. Based on previous and current studies of natural, synthesized and technogenic aluminosilicates (zeolites, clays, halloysite, fly ash, halloysite nanotubes, etc., features of the constitution and surfaces, sorption, ion-exchange, catalytic, –QS and +QS, biocompatibility, nontoxicity and other useful properties) the prospects for promotion of their industrial application were considered.
Processing of SnO2/ZnO Heterostructure by the Sol-Gel Technique for Photocatalytic Applications
Authors: Méndez J Paniagua , Uribe E Reyes , García M E Contreras
Published: July 2022

The construction of a SnO2 and ZnO thin film heterostructure is an efficient way to improve the photocatalytic properties of ZnO. However, the current techniques to produce it, for instance, chemical and physical vapor deposition are expensive and therefore not affordable for everyone. Several efforts have been made in order to obtain high quality thin films with lower cost using sol-gel base techniques. The aim of this work is to process high quality and low-cost SnO2 and ZnO thin film heterostructures supported on glass. The thin films were deposited by the spin coating method. The samples obtained were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV-Vis and FTIR. The thin film heterostructure exhibits homogeneous size nanoparticles (10~50 nm) that conform the surface and uniform submicronic thickness. High values of optical transmission >80% were measured for the heterostructure in the range (380-740 nm). The band gap of Eg 3.25 and 3.69 eV were obtained from Tauc’s plot.
Investigation of the optical and antibacterial properties of biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles using Thuja tincture
Authors: Nagpal K. , Rosario M. S. , Praakle K. , Rauwel E. , Rauwel P.
Published: July 2022

The present study deals with the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using Thuja tincture as a solvent and two different Zn precursors. The crystallinity of the as-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles was investigated by XRD. The biomolecules bonded to the surfaces of the nanoparticles were assessed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The band gap and defects in these nanoparticles were investigated by UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopies, respectively. The antibacterial properties of these nanoparticles were also investigated against Escherichia coli.
Magnetic structure and UHF conducting properties of composite films (CoFeZr+Al2O3) and (CoNbTa+SiO2)
Authors: Kotov L N , Lasek M P
Published: July 2022

Composite films of A series of compositions [(Co0.45Fe0.45Zr0.10)x + (Al2O3)(1 – x)/5], x = 0.25-0.66 and B series of compositions [(Co0.86Nb0.12Ta0.02)x+(SiO2)(1–x)/3], x=0.14-0.78 were investigated. Images of magnetic micro- and nanostructures of the A, B series composite films were obtained. At small x≤0.3, we observe a chaotic spread of magneto-metallic nanoparticles in a dielectric matrix. In the range 0.30<x<0.55, we observe a mixture of metallic and dielectric microparticles. At large x>0.6, we observe a chaotic scattering of dielectric nanoparticles in a magneto-metallic matrix. We obtained dependences of the specific impedance modulus of composite metal-dielectric films on the current frequency and on the concentration of the metal alloy of A, B series films. The analysis of the spectra showed that films in the frequency range from 0.1 to 3 GHz could exhibit three behaviors of the impedance spectra. For films with x up to the percolation threshold, a capacitive character is observed. The impedance in the field of percolation processes is capacitive, inductive or mixed character. After the percolation threshold, the impedance has an inductive character, and the frequency-dependent character of the magnetic permeability of the films can make a large contribution to the behavior of the spectra.
Arc welding safety zones determination as a function of the UV radiation
Authors: Kafi Abdallah , Nyikes Zoltán , Schramkó Márton , Kovács Tünde Anna
Published: July 2022

Welding technology is a useful and common technology of the industry. Even though this process establishes unhealthy effects (smoke, heat, UV, or infrared radiation, etc.). About the welders’ healthy and the environmental safety requirements the dangerous radiation area determination is very important. In this research, the authors use the literature data of the gas metal arc welding established UV radiation intensity like the effect of the different welding parameters and the effect of the distance from the UV source. The goal of the authors is to determine different safety level zones around the welder or welder robot as a function of the UV radiation intensity.
Electronic Structure of Conventional Slater Type Antiferromagnetic Insulators: AIrO3 (A=Sr, Ba) Perovskites
Authors: Koc Husnu , Mamedov Amirullah M , Ozbay Ekmel
Published: July 2022

The structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of Perovskite BaIrO3 and SrIrO3 compounds based on the density functional theory (DFT) have been examined in four different structures (C2/c, R-3m, P6_3/mmc and Pm-3m) and Pnma structure, respectively. The spin polarized generalized gradient approximation has been used for modeling exchange-correlation effects. As a result of spin polarized calculations, it has been observed that BaIrO3 compound showed magnetic properties in C2/c and R-3m structures, but not in Pm-3m and P6_3/mmc structures. SrIrO3 compound also shows magnetic properties in Pnma structure. The elastic constants have been calculated using the strain-stress method and the other related quantities (the bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, anisotropy factor, sound velocities, and Debye temperature) have also been estimated. In electronic band structure calculations, while Pm-3m and P6_3/mmc structures of NaIrO3 compound are metallic and semiconductor (Eg = 1.190 eV indirect), respectively, while C2/c and R-3m structures showing magnetic properties are metallic in spin down state and semiconductor (Eg=0.992 eV indirect and Eg=0.665 eV direct, respectively) in the spin up state. The Pmna structure in the SrIrO3 compound is a semiconductor in both spin states (Eg=0.701 eV “0.632 eV” indirect in the spin up “spin down”).
Crosslinking of Starch Using Citric Acid
Authors: Gerezgiher A G , Szabó T
Published: July 2022

With a purpose of improving mainly the water resistivity and related physical and mechanical property of starch biopolymer, citric acid was used to modify the chemical structure of starch by crosslinking the polymer chains. Corn starch films were produced first dispersing 4% (w/w) starch in water, adding glycerol (36% of the weight of starch) and citric acid (20% of the weight starch) successively allowing them to react at different pH. Water absorption, FTIR, DMA, DSC and SEM tests were done to characterize the thin film samples. Results showed that availability of glycerol is a critical factor for the crosslinking and plasticity property of the film. Samples prepared with citric acid crosslinked starch without the inclusion of glycerol were brittle and has easily disintegrated in water as crystals. The crosslinking reaction done under acidic condition was found more effective than the other reactions. Generally, citric acid has effectively crosslinked corn starch polymer molecules reducing the amount of hydroxyl group in their structure. As a result improvement in the water resistant is observed.
Invariant quadratic operators associated with linear canonical transformations and their eigenstates
Authors: Ranaivoson Ravo Tokiniaina , Andriambololona Raoelina , Rakotoson Hanitriarivo , Ravelonjato Rivo Herivola Manjakamanana
Published: July 2022

The main purpose of this work is to identify invariant quadratic operators associated with Linear Canonical Transformations (LCTs) which could play important roles in physics. In quantum physics, LCTs are the linear transformations which keep invariant the Canonical Commutation Relations (CCRs). In this work, LCTs corresponding to a general pseudo-Euclidian space are considered and related to a phase space representation of quantum theory. Explicit calculations are firstly performed for the monodimensional case to identify the corresponding LCT-invariant quadratic operators then multidimensional generalizations of the obtained results are deduced. The eigenstates of these operators are also identified. A first kind of LCT-invariant operator is a second order polynomial of the coordinates and momenta operators. The coefficients of this polynomial depend on the mean values and the statistical variances-covariances of the coordinates and momenta operators themselves. It is shown that these statistical variances-covariances can be related with thermodynamic variables. In this context, new quantum corrections to the ideal gas state equation are deduced from correction to the Hamiltonian operator of non-relativistic free quantum particles that is suggested by LCT-covariance. Two other LCT-invariant quadratic operators, which can be considered as the number operators of some quasiparticles, are also identified: the first one is a number operator of bosonic type quasiparticles and the second one corresponds to fermionic type. This fermionic LCT-invariant quadratic operator is directly related to a spin representation of LCTs. It is shown explicitly, in the case of a relativistic pentadimensional theory, that the eigenstates of this operator can be considered as basic quantum states of elementary fermions. A classification of the fundamental fermions, compatible with the Standard Model of particle physics, is established from a classification of these states.
Estimation of the Average Causal Effect in Longitudinal Data With Time-Varying Exposures: The Challenge of Nonpositivity and the Impact of Model Flexibility
Authors: Rudolph Jacqueline E , Benkeser David , Kennedy Edward H , Schisterman Enrique F , Naimi Ashley I
Published: July 2022

There are important challenges to the estimation and identification of average causal effects in longitudinal data with time-varying exposures. Here, we discuss the difficulty in meeting the positivity condition. Our motivating example is the per-protocol analysis of the Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction (EAGeR) Trial. We estimated the average causal effect comparing the incidence of pregnancy by 26 weeks that would have occurred if all women had been assigned to aspirin and complied versus the incidence if all women had been assigned to placebo and complied. Using flexible targeted minimum loss-based estimation, we estimated a risk difference of 1.27% (95% CI: −9.83, 12.38). Using a less flexible inverse probability weighting approach, the risk difference was 5.77% (95% CI: −1.13, 13.05). However, the cumulative probability of compliance conditional on covariates approached 0 as follow-up accrued, indicating a practical violation of the positivity assumption, which limited our ability to make causal interpretations. The effects of nonpositivity were more apparent when using a more flexible estimator, as indicated by the greater imprecision. When faced with nonpositivity, one can use a flexible approach and be transparent about the uncertainty, use a parametric approach and smooth over gaps in the data, or target a different estimand that will be less vulnerable to positivity violations.
Developing pharmacy services in a home hospital program: The Mayo Clinic experience
Authors: Peinovich Margaret , Darracott Robert , Dow Jordan
Published: July 2022

Purpose

Home hospital programs are rapidly becoming a more common patient care model in the market. The impact on hospital pharmacy practices is not well defined. This article describes the development of pharmacy services in a home hospital program in an attempt to help other organizations create their own home hospital pharmacy programs.

Caring for acutely ill patients in their home was a novel idea when Mayo Clinic began considering this in January 2020. Since then, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly escalated interest in and pursuit of these programs. One question we asked ourselves, and many colleagues are asking us today, is “How does pharmacy fit in?” Through 2 years of active engagement, innovation, and persistence, our team has developed a robust pharmacy presence in the home hospital care team and a well-articulated approach to medication management for our patients. We have tightly aligned and blended our clinical efforts to mirror our typical inpatient and ambulatory care clinical activities. We have also developed and modified our dispensing functions to serve the unique needs of the care model.

Conclusion

Home hospital medication management is both complex and ripe with opportunities for pharmacy engagement.
SLC38A6, regulated by EP300-mediated modifications of H3K27ac, promotes cell proliferation, glutamine metabolism and mitochondrial respiration in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Huang Li , Li Lixing , Cheng Bin , Xing Tonghai
Published: July 2022

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common form of liver cancer. The incidence of HCC is increasing and effective prevention methods are needed. The solute carrier family 38 member 6 (SLC38A6) plays an important role in the metabolism of glutamine, which is a central nutrient for many cancers. However, the regulation and function of SLC38A6 in HCC are unclear. SLC38A6 levels in human HCC tissue arrays and cells were determined. SLC38A6 was silenced or overexpressed to determine its role in regulating cell viability, colony formation, cell cycle progression, glutamine metabolism and mitochondrial respiration. A luminescence assay was used to study the interaction between SLC38A6 and EP300. The interactions between SLC38A6, H3K27ac and EP300 were determined using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblots were performed to measure mRNAs and proteins, respectively. SLC38A6 expression was higher in HCC compared with expression in normal tissue. Silencing SLC38A6 inhibited cell viability, colony formation, cell cycle progression, glutamine metabolism and mitochondrial respiration, while SLC38A6 overexpression had the opposite effects. Silencing SLC38A6 also inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Silencing EP300 significantly suppressed the interaction between H3K27ac and the SLC38A6 promoter, leading to decreased SLC38A6. SLC38A6 is regulated by EP300-mediated modifications of H3K27ac and promotes viability, colony formation, cell cycle progression, glutamine metabolism and mitochondrial respiration in HCC cells.
Sexual health discussion practices and HIV clinical care provided by primary care providers in the Southeast United States, K-BAP Study (2017–2018)
Authors: Townes Ashley , Gaul Zaneta , Henny Kirk D
Published: July 2022

Objective

Research underscores the importance of providers having routine discussions with patients about their sexual health. We examined the occurrences and association of routine sexual health discussion practices and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) clinical care among primary care providers (PCPs) in areas with high HIV prevalence.

Methods

We analysed data collected between April and August 2017 from an online survey that assessed PCPs knowledge, behaviours, attitudes, and practices of HIV-related care in 6 Southeast US jurisdictions (Atlanta, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, District of Columbia, Miami, and New Orleans).

Results

Among PCPs, we found that 39.2% routinely obtained sexual health histories, 78.5% offered HIV testing, and 16.0% ever prescribed preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Based on adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), the proportion of PCPs who routinely obtained sexual histories was higher among female PCPs (aPR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.04, 2.08), PCPs who had a patient population that was >50% men who have sex with men (MSM) (aPR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.72, 2.18), offered HIV testing (aPR = 3.60, 95% CI 2.23, 5.79), and ever prescribed PrEP (aPR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.06, 1.93).

Conclusion

Improving patient–provider discussions are needed to reduce HIV-related service barriers for disproportionately affected populations.

Practice implications

Routine discussions can reduce barriers to important HIV prevention and care services and help reduce disparities among patients living in highly prevalent HIV locations.
Petrophysical characterization and thermal conductivity prediction of serpentinized peridotites
Authors: Chibati Nadjib , Géraud Yves , Essa Khalid S
Published: July 2022

We investigated 22 different serpentinization level peridotite samples from the North Pyrenean Zone (NPZ) and along the North Pyrenean Fault (NPF) to characterize their mineralogical composition and petrophysical properties (bulk and grain density, porosity, compressional and shear wave velocities, and thermal conductivity and diffusivity). Peridotites have a percentage of serpentine that varies between 5 and 97 per cent for fresh samples and totally altered ones, respectively. The mineralogical changes by serpentinization induced a wide variety of petrophysical properties. The key indicators of serpentinization from petrophysical properties in serpentinized peridotite include an increase in porosity of up to 10 per cent and the associated decrease in the solid density ranging from 3.29 g cm–1 for fresh peridotites to 2.5 g cm–3 for the totally serpentinized peridotites. Thermo-physical properties were found to follow the same deceasing trend as the serpentinization increases up to 3000 m s–1 and 1.85 W m–1 K–1 for P-wave velocity and thermal conductivity (TC), respectively. For TC estimation, empirical relationships were produced using multiple linear regression (MLR) and a mineralogy model. For the mineralogy model, we used 10 mixing models commonly used in indirect TC estimation based on mineral composition. For the mean TC of individual mineral phases, the TC estimation shows that in case of non-availability of the proper samples for direct measurement, the TC of peridotite can be inferred with an acceptable level of error from the geometric mean model and harmonic mean models for the dry and saturated conditions, respectively. Based on the results of MLR, the study also confirms that the TC of dry rocks can be predicted through acoustic velocity, density and porosity with a prediction accuracy of ±0.24 W m−1 K−1 and confidence of >80 per cent.
The role of communication, building relationships, and adaptability in non-profit organisational capacity for health promotion
Authors: van Herwerden Louise A , Reidlinger Dianne P , Palermo Claire
Published: July 2022

While the non-profit sector has an integral role in health promotion, it is unclear whether these organisations have the capacity for health promotion activities. This study aims to explore and describe capacity changes of a non-profit organisation during a 3-year community-based nutrition intervention. The non-profit organisation, with 3800 members throughout the state of Queensland, Australia, implemented a 3-year food literacy community-based intervention. A team of qualified nutritionists delivered the program in partnership with community-based volunteers. A separate aim of the intervention was to build capacity of the non-profit organisation for health promotion. A qualitative study was undertaken, using a social constructivist approach to explore organisational capacity changes longitudinally. All relevant participants including non-profit executive managers and nutritionists were included in the study (100% response rate). Data collection included semi-structured interviews (n = 17) at multiple intervention time points and document analysis of program newsletters (n = 21). Interview transcripts and documents were analysed separately using thematic and content analysis. Codes and categories between the two data sources were then compared and contrasted to build themes. Organisational capacity was predominantly influenced by four themes; ‘communicating’, ‘changing relationships’, ‘limited organisational learning’ and ‘adaptability and resistance to change’. Developing non-profit organisational health promotion capacity appears to require focusing on fostering communication processes and building positive relationships over time. Capacity changes of the non-profit organisation were not linear, fluctuating across various levels over time. Assessing non-profit organisational capacity to implement community interventions by describing adaptive capacity, may help researchers focus on the processes that influence capacity development.
Planetary health benefits from strengthening health workforce education on the social determinants of health
Authors: Valentine Nicole , Ajuebor Onyema , Fisher Julian , Bodenmann Patrick , Baum Fran , Rasanathan Kumanan
Published: July 2022

Social inequalities are perpetuating unhealthy living and working conditions and behaviours. These causes are commonly called ‘the social determinants of health’. Social inequalities are also impacting climate change and vice-versa, which, is causing profound negative impacts on planetary health. Achieving greater sustainability for human and planetary health demands that the health sector assumes a greater leadership role in addressing social inequalities. This requires equipping health and social care workers to better understand how the social determinants of health impact patients and communities.

Integration of the social determinants of health into education and training will prepare the workforce to adjust clinical practice, define appropriate public health programmes and leverage cross-sector policies and mechanisms being put in place to address climate change. Educators should guide health and social workforce learners using competency-based approaches to explore critical pathways of social determinants of health, and what measurements and interventions may apply according to the structural and intermediary determinants of health and health equity.

Key institutional and instructional reforms by decision-makers are also needed to ensure that the progressive integration and strengthening of education and training on the social determinants of health is delivered equitably, including by ensuring the leadership and participation of marginalized and minority groups. Training on the social determinants of health should apply broadly to three categories of health and social workforce learners, namely, those acting on global or national policies; those working in districts and communities; and those providing clinical services to individual families and patients.