bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metastability of the YBa2Cu3O7–x compound at room temperature
Authors: Brodyanskiĭ A. P. , Dmitrenko I. M. , Erenburg A. I. , Fomin A. V. , Popivnenko O. L , Garbuz A. S.
Published: January 2025

A time-dependent structural isothermal transformation of orthorhombic YBa2Cu3O7−x structure (Tc≈90 K) into YBa2Cu3O8 is detected in YBaCuO thin films at 300 K and in oxygen at atmospheric pressure. It is shown that the structural transformation follows the scheme YBa2Cu3O7−x ⟶ Y2Ba4Cu7O14+y ⟶ YBa2Cu 4O8. These results are the first direct experimental evidence of metastability of low-temperature superconducting phase of YBa2Cu3O7−x(x≈0).
On the relation between magnetic properties at 4.2 K and vanadium structure deformed under various thermal conditions
Authors: Aksenov V. K. , Chernyak N. A. , Volchok O. I. , Starodubov Ya. D.
Published: January 2025

The effect of drawing deformation at 300 and 77 K on the magnetization of vanadium at 4.2 K is investigated. It is found that the observed changes in the critical fields, pinning, and peculiarities of the peak effect are determined by the formation of heterogeneous dislocation structures associated with the emergence of disorientation boundaries of the deformation origin. It is shown that the observed effects become stronger with decreasing temperature of deformation due to increasing intensity of disorientation boundaries. The dislocation density in the most intense boundaries is estimated from the variation of the upper critical fields.
Phase diagram of coherently precessing states in 3He–B (the case of half and double magnetization)
Authors: Vachnadze G. E. , Suramlishvili N. G.
Published: January 2025

The influence of spectroscopic and counterflow energies on the formation of long-lived precessing states of double and half magnetization in superfluid 3He−B is investigated. The phase diagram of these states is constructed.
On the theory of transport phenomena in multicomponent quantum systems
Authors: Ivanchenko E. A. , Krasil’nikov V. V. , Slyusarenko Yu. V.
Published: January 2025

A method of studying transport phenomena in multicomponent quantum systems with conserved quasimomentum is developed. General expressions for quasiparticle viscosity, thermal conductivity, and diffusion coefficients are obtained. Oscillations in such systems are considered. It is shown that damping of waves is of the hydrodynamic nature. The temperature dependence of second sound damping in a magnon gas is found as an application of the method.
Current-controlled multiterminal SQUID under transient conditions
Authors: Vol E. D. , Omel’yanchuk A. N.
Published: January 2025

The transient behavior of a multiterminal SQUID, i.e., a superconducting microstructure of special configuration is studied. The magnetic field dependence of the voltage in the current channel and the time dependence of the total magnetic flux produced by the SQUID are calculated. It is shown that, in a certain region of parameters, the multiterminal SQUID operates as a generator of quasi-rectangular magnetic flux pulses with tunable frequency.
An explanation for the pressure dependence of T
c in HTS cuprates with various extents of deviation from oxygen stoichiometry
Authors: Saĭko A. P. , Gusakov V. E.
Published: January 2025

The behavior of the superconducting transition temperature in HTS cuprates with various extents of deviation from oxygen stoichiometry under external pressure is explained theoretically.
Field dependence of magnetic susceptibility of crystals under conditions of degeneracy of their electron energy bands
Authors: Mikitik G. P. , Sharlai Yu. V.
Published: January 2025

Field dependences of the magnetic susceptibility of crystals are investigated theoretically in two cases of degeneracy of their electron energy bands in which these dependences are strong. In the first case, the energy gap increases in proportion to the wave vector k with increasing distance from the degeneracy point in the Brillouin zone. In the second case, the degeneracy takes place along the line, and the energy gap increases in proportion to k at right-angles to this line. In both cases, an exact solution of the problem on the electron spectrum in the magnetic field H is obtained. The solution forms the basis of an analysis of magnetic susceptibility χ for an arbitrary H. It is shown among other things that, in strong magnetic fields for a chemical potential close to the degeneracy energy, the value of χ is proportional to ln H in the first case of band degeneracy and to H−1/4 in the second case.
Acoustic shear waves localized near a planar defect in an fcc crystal
Authors: Kosevich A. M. , Syrkin E. S. , Tutov A. V.
Published: January 2025

Shear waves localized at the planar boundary between two fcc crystals are studied on the basis of equations of crystal lattice dynamics. The main attention is paid to peculiarities of localized waves associated with the discreetness of the crystal lattice and hence not appearing in the continual theory of elasticity. The simple models of a planar defect in the bulk of the crystal are used for discussing the qualitative aspects of the problem. It is shown that the boundary-value problem under investigation has eigen solutions (modes) of two types, viz., symmetric and antisymmetric waves localized near a defect, and the frequency ranges for these waves are analyzed. These modes differ in the phase of vibrations of atomic planes closest to the defect. The characteristics of localized waves of both types are investigated both in the low- and high-frequency ranges for all the wave lengths.
Growth rate, refractive index, and IR reflection spectra of CO2 and N2 cryocrystals
Authors: Drobyshev A. S. , Garipogly D. N.
Published: January 2025

The results of investigations are presented for the dependence of growth rate, refractive index, and IR reflection spectra of real nitrogen and carbon dioxide cryocrystals on the conditions of their formation (temperature of condensation surface and the gaseous phase pressure, for example). It is found that the growth rate and refractivity of CO2 vary nonlinearly with temperature, which may be due to a gradual increase in the number of defects in the crystal upon a decrease in the condensation temperature. This conclusion is supported indirectly by the results of investigation of the temperature dependence of IR reflection spectra of CO2 cryocrystals. It is found that the structural and morphological characteristics of real CO2 cryocrystals are independent of temperature of their formation. Thermal variations of CO2 cryocrystal layers formed at different temperatures do not lead to any structural variations in them either.
Peculiarities in the energy dissipation for low-frequency oscillations in bismuth ceramics in the temperature range 4.2–130 K
Authors: Lazarev B. G. , Starodubov Ya. D. , Sergeeva G. G. , Lazareva M. B. , Chirkina L. A. , Okovit V. S. , Chechkin A. V. , Petrenko V. T. , Tikhonovskiĭ M. A.
Published: January 2025

The low-frequency (0.8Hz) internal friction is measured for various states of Bi-based ceramics in the temperature range 4.2–130 K. It is established that variations in the system of free charge carriers in HTS materials at T < Tc lead to a change in the dislocation dynamics. Therefore, the observed nonlinear temperature dependence of internal friction is in accord with the dislocation mechanism of softening in the superconducting state. It is shown that the method of measuring the temperature dependence of internal friction can be used for studying the magnetic flux trapping in the superconducting state.
Antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations in cuprate superconductors
Authors: Kruchinin S. P.
Published: January 2025

The pairing mechanism based on antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations in high-temperature superconductors is considered. An equation for the superconducting gap and the thermodynamic potential near Tc is derived. The parameter ΔC/(γTc) is estimated for the compound La1.85Sr0.l5CuO4.
Thermopower of HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+x and HgBa2Ca3Cu4O10+x ceramic superconductors under pressure
Authors: Kraidenov V. F. , Itskevich E. S.
Published: January 2025

The thermopower α and resistivity ρ are measures on a ceramic sample containing 75% HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+x and 10% HgBa2Ca3Cu4O10+x in the temperature range 95–300 K under pressure up to 10 kbar. Two superconducting transitions observed at Tc1(0) = 132.4 K and Tc2(0)= 118.1 K are attributed to the Hg-1223 and Hg-1234 phases, respectively. With increasing pressure, the critical temperatures of both phases increase at a rate of 0.2 K/kbar. At T = 200 K, d In α/dP ≃ 3.8·10–3 kbar–1.
Magnetoresistive properties of nonhomogeneous state of antiferromagnetic semiconductors
Authors: Krivoruchko V. N.
Published: January 2025

A phenomenological model of magnetoresistive properties of a magnetically multiphase state of doped magnetic semiconductor is considered using the concepts developed for magnetoresistive effects in layered and granular magnetic metals. Under the assumption concerning the existence of a magnetically multiphase state for magnets with a perovskite structure, this approach can be used to obtain a universal description of giant magnetoresistive effects for manganite phases with antiferromagnetic ordering and semiconductortype conductivity as well as for phases with ferromagnetic properties and metal-type conductivity.
Temperature dependences of paramagnetic excitation threshold and relaxation parameter of spin waves in garnet structures
Authors: Danilin V. V. , Nechiporuk A. Yu. , Chevnyuk L. V.
Published: January 2025

The results of experimental investigations of temperature dependences of the paramagnetic excitation threshold hthr and the relaxation parameter ΔHk of spin waves (SW) in monocrystalline plates and yttrium–iron garnet (YIG) epitaxial films are considered. It is shown that SW damping in YIG epitaxial layer is stronger than in a monocrystalline plate, the difference increasing with temperature. This can be explained by the influence of a paramagnetic substrate and a high concentration of solvent and crucible impurities due to peculiarities of epitaxial technology. The experiments have been made at temperatures 4.2–300 K in 3-cm wave range.
EPR spectrum in n-6H SiC at high donor nitrogen concentrations
Authors: Kalabukhova E. N. , Lukin S. N.
Published: January 2025

EPR spectra of nitrogen in 6H SiC samples grown by the Lely method with uncompensated nitrogen concentration from 2·1016 to 1019 cm−3 are investigated at frequency 140 GHz in the temperature interval from 4.2 to 40 K. As the nitrogen concentration increases to above 7 · 1017 cm−3, two additional broad S-lines appear against the background of the EPR spectrum of single nitrogen centers. The temperature dependences of the width, intensity, and g-factors of the S1 - and S2-lines show that the mechanism of electron delocalization in 6H SiC with a high donor concentration is the hopping of donor electrons between nitrogen atoms at hexagonal and cubic sites. The values of the potential difference between occupied and unoccupied hexagonal and two cubic sites are determined.
Hysteresis and exchange anisotropy in spin glasses based on dilute Li–Ga spinels
Authors: Efimova N. N. , Kufterina S. R. , Popkov Yu. A. , Khats’ko E. N. , Chernyi A. S.
Published: January 2025

The results of investigation of hysteresis of spin glasses (SG) based on dilute ferrimagnetic oxides Li05Fe2.5−xGaxO4 are considered. A shift of hysteresis loops indicating unidirectional anisotropy is observed for the pure SG state (x = 1.7) as well as for the mixed states (x = 1.45 corresponds to ferrimagnetic SG) at T = 4.2 K after preliminary cooling of samples to this temperature in a magnetic field H0 = 100 Oe. As in the case of classical SG of the type of Au–Fe alloys, these effects disappear at temperatures below the corresponding temperature of freezing Tf. Possible mechanisms of formation of hysteresis properties and unidirectional anisotropy are discussed. It is concluded that states of the SG type are formed in the objects under investigation are formed due to the competition of exchange interactions, while anisotropy plays the role of a stabilizing factor.
Effect of impurity barrier intensity on plastic deformation of Pb-based binary alloys in normal and superconducting states
Authors: Soldatov V. P. , Natsik V. D. , Ivanchenko L. G.
Published: January 2025

Solid-solution strain-hardening of lead by impurities creating barriers of various intensities in dislocation slip planes and the effect of these barriers on metal softening in the transition into the superconducting state are studied at liquid helium temperatures. Such barriers were formed by introducing into pure lead doping impurities of Tl, Bi, In, Sn, Sb, and Cd of the same concentration (0.5 at.%) but with different parameters of size and modular inconsistency of the solvent and impurity element atoms. An analysis carried out by using the existing theories of solid solution hardening of the obtained data indicates that the distribution of impurity barriers along the dislocations obeys the Mott-Labusch statistics, while the role of their effective power is played by the geometric mean of a combination of parameters of dimensional and modular inconsistency of the impurities. It is found that the voltage jump observed during a transition of the deformed alloy into superconducting state depends linearly on the effective intensity of impurity barriers obtained from the inertial model of softening effect.
Helium in rotating rings; equilibrium distribution of a large number of vortices
Authors: Zueva T. I.
Published: January 2025

The flow of He II between two concentric cylinders rotating with the same angular velocity is considered. An approximate equation describing the equilibrium position of vortices is given for the case when their number is large. This relation connects the angular velocity, number of vortices, and the number of circulation quanta around the inner cylinder, and is a generalization of the analogous equation for narrow rings. The condition of stability is considered and the restrictions imposed by the assumption that all vortices are located on the same ring are discussed. A method is proposed for further investigation of vortices in the rings by assuming that the vortices are arranged on two or more circles.
Phonon–ripplon resonances in two-dimensional electron crystal over liquid helium
Authors: Sivokon’ V. E. , Dotsenko V. V. , Kovdrya Yu. Z. , Grigor’ev V. N.
Published: January 2025

Electron–ripplon oscillations in a Wigner crystal over liquid helium surface with a charge concentration 1.3·109 cm−2 are investigated experimentally in the temperature range 70–600 mK. The frequency and line width are measured for resonances corresponding to excitation of phonon–ripplon modes in the frequency range 1–20 MHz. The temperature dependence of resonant frequencies is in good agreement with theoretical calculations.
Spatial distribution of superconducting parameters and peculiarities in the behavior of thin-film high-T
c Josephson junction arrays
Authors: Lukashenko A. V. , Sivakov A. G. , Zhuravel’ A. P. , Turutanov O. G. , Dmitrenko I. M.
Published: January 2025

The arrays of series-connected high-Tc Josephson ramp junctions are investigated. Local values of critical temperature and current of both electrodes as well as the Josephson junctions themselves in the arrays are measured by using a low-temperature scanning laser microscope. It is found that the upper and lower electrodes differ significantly in quality. The critical temperature gradient emerging along the arrays leads to a change in the critical parameters of the Josephson junctions. The current–voltage characteristics (including those under the effect of microwave radiation) and the temperature dependences of resistance, critical and excess currents are studied. It is shown that the nonequilibrium region existing around ramp junctions is associated with phase slip processes.
Analysis of magnetic properties of manganites Ca1−xEuxMnO3 (0⩽x⩽0.5)
Authors: Troyanchuk I. O. , Samsonenko N. V. , Szymczak H. , Nabialek A.
Published: January 2025

Magnetic properties of Ca1−xEuxMnO3 perovskites have been studied. An increase in magnetization is observed upon the substitution of Eu3+ ions for Ca2+ ions up to x=0.1, after which the magnetization decreases. The magnetic ordering temperature increases from 122 K(x = 0) to 140 K(x=0.2) and then decreases to 40 K(x = 0.5). The charge ordering takes place at x=0.2. It is proposed that the charge-ordered phase transforms from the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic state when a strong magnetic field is applied.
Collisionless damping of surface plasmons
Authors: Falko V. L. , Khankina S. I. , Yakovenko V. M.
Published: January 2025

The spectrum and collisionless damping of surface electromagnetic waves are obtained for a conducting medium in contact with an insulator (or metal) in the case of an arbitrary spatial dispersion. The quantum and classical approximations are investigated. It is shown that spatial dispersion of plasma permittivity leads to changes in the spectrum, damping, and surface wave penetration depth. Along with the Landau damping, the scattering of conduction electrons at the potential of the wave gives rise to a nonresonant mechanism of collisionless damping associated with electrons moving along the normal to the surface. Nonresonant damping can be of the same order of magnitude as the Landau damping or even stronger.
Analytic approximation of periodic orbits with renormalization group
Authors: Huang Haoyi , Wang Tianyi , Guo Pengfei , Lan Yueheng
Published: January 2025

The renormalization group analysis has been proposed to eliminate secular terms in perturbation solutions of differential equations and thus expand the domain of their validity. Here we extend the method to treat periodic orbits or limit cycles. Interesting normal forms could be derived through a generalization of the concept 'resonance', which offers nontrivial analytic approximations. Compared with traditional techniques such as multi-scale methods, the current scheme proceeds in a very straightforward and simple way, delivering not only the period and the amplitude but also the transient path to limit cycles. The method is demonstrated with several examples including Duffing oscillator, Van der Pol equation and Lorenz equation. The obtained solutions match well with numerical results as well as those derived by traditional analytic methods.
Poloidal field system and advanced divertor equilibrium configuration design of the EHL-2 spherical torus
Authors: GU 顾 Xiang 翔 , YIN 尹 Gang 刚 , SHI 石 Yuejiang 跃江 , DONG 董 Lili 力立 , WANG 王 Yu 宇 , ZANG 臧 Hong 红 , YANG 杨 Yuanming 圆明 , XIE 谢 Huasheng 华生 , DONG 董 Jiaqi 家齐 , PENG 彭 Yueng-Kay Martin 元凯 , YUAN 袁 Baoshan 保山 , YANG 杨 Qingwei 青巍 , LIANG 梁 Yunfeng 云峰 , SONG 宋 Xianming 显明 , LIU 刘 Minsheng 敏胜 , Team the EHL-2
Published: January 2025

The EHL-2 (ENN He-Long 2) spherical torus (ST) project focuses on advancing spherical torus technology to address the unique challenges of p-11B fusion, which demands significantly higher ion temperature and heat flux to the divertor plate compared to traditional deuterium-tritium fusion. With a major radius of 1.05 m and a plasma current of 3 MA, the project aims to evaluate and optimize advanced divertor configurations, specifically the Super-X and X-point target (XPT) divertors. The design incorporates an up-down double-null configuration featuring a conventional inner divertor and an XPT outer divertor to effectively reduce the heat flux. The poloidal field (PF) coil system is meticulously optimized to balance engineering constraints with the flexibility in equilibrium configurations. This design is expected to provide a reference equilibrium configuration for other physics design issues and offer critical insight into heat load management.
The State of Afterness
Authors: Shelleg Assaf
Published: January 2025

The State of Afterness traces the cultural histories of contemporary music in Israel since the 1980s. Assembling the networks of composers trained in the post-ideological climate of the 1970s and 1980s and the compositional approaches that recorded the attenuation of territorial nationalism, afterness emerges as the state of being unconditioned by territorialism while opting for previously unavailable temporalities and ethnographies. If earlier the statist subject superseded or subsumed any competing political project, since the 1980s such self-referential acts have been losing their ability to confer homogeneity and project the monologic of national Hebrew culture and its telos. As a result, the composers discussed in this book—Chaya Czernowin, Betty Olivero, Leon Schidlowsky, Josef Bardanashvili, Arik Shapira, and others—do not form a cohesive group of any kind, yet they share constituent cultural and historical sensibilities: irrespective of their stylistic penchants they opt for diasporism, but refrain from universalizing Jewish diasporas (as did classic Zionism); they display postmodern patrimonies but eschew their essentialist qualities; they spawn new adjacencies of oral musics from the Levant but huddle an interconnected skein of threads that leads unpredictably from one culture to another; they admonish their country’s ethnocracy and democratic façade; they denationalize Holocaust memorialization; and they narrate the failure of territorial nationalism. In this sense The State of Afterness is a drama still etched in our daily news and contemporary compositional praxis.
Modeling
Authors: Dacey Mike
Published: January 2025

This chapter addresses the challenge of modeling: it is very difficult to model cognitive processes in the precise ways that are necessary for the models to make specific predictions that can be tested. As a result, models in comparative psychology are too often verbally expressed and underspecified. The chapter suggests one possible way forward: a more modest interpretation of associative models. This is explained using work on causal reasoning in rats. If we take associative models to provide only abstract, partial descriptions of the process they describe, the models can serve as bridges from cognitive models to data. This can scaffold a process of developing more precise, perhaps mathematical, cognitive models. In general, we should only expect partial descriptions from any one model, and a full understanding of a psychological process will require multiple models of different types.
Integration and Homology
Authors: Dacey Mike
Published: January 2025

This chapter addresses the challenge of integrating theory and results across disciplines working on animal minds. In particular, it addresses the underappreciated role that assumptions of homology play in inferences that integrate neuroscience and evolutionary biology into comparative psychology. Two traits in different species are homologous when they are both descended from a single trait in the most recent common ancestor. Cross-species comparisons are often based on the assumption that the traits under discussion are homologous. Claims that psychological capacities are homologous, though, are especially hard to establish. The chapter discusses the pitfalls such inferences face, suggests some ways to avoid them, and calls for greater research into the establishment of homologies that can ground these integrative inferences. It discusses work on emotions in rats and cats as well as chimpanzee mind-reading and evolutionary psychology.
Measuring Consciousness
Authors: Dacey Mike
Published: January 2025

This chapter addresses the challenge of measuring consciousness. Consciousness does not seem to fit into the standard scientific picture of the world. As such, it has been largely ignored across scientific and scientifically minded fields. This has begun to change in recent years. Using consciousness in cephalopods as its example, this chapter addresses the “distribution question,” the question of which animals are conscious in the first place. We need measures that can identify conscious animals. However, candidate measures and candidate theories are all still extremely uncertain and contentious. The chapter suggests a way of thinking about measures and their relation to theory which can help the further development of these measures even as we develop theory and attempt to learn which animals are conscious.
The Formation of Procedural Protections in the Western Church of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
Authors: Herrmann Francis R
Published: January 2025

With the legitimation of Christianity in the fourth century, church authorities were empowered to conduct hearings in civil matters and to decide criminal complaints against clerics. In the exercise of its criminal jurisdiction, the church drew on the principles of Roman criminal procedure. Writing and preaching in the fourth century, St Augustine criticized the harshness of secular torture. If a charge could not be proven, and no voluntary confession was offered, then defendants were to be acquitted, even if possibly guilty in fact. In the seventh century, Pope Gregory, drawing once more on Roman legal norms, detailed what constituted a fair ecclesiastical trial.
Defensive Protections in the Western Church of the Ninth Century
Authors: Herrmann Francis R
Published: January 2025

In the ninth century, three sets of ecclesiastical writings set out norms for the trials of clerics. First, drawing on the earlier work of Augustine and Gregory, Hincmar of Rheims produced a tract affirming the need for procedural protections for the accused. Secondly, a group of unknown clerics and monks forged hundreds of documents, attributing them falsely to recognized authorities of the past. These mosaic creations repeatedly emphasized procedural safeguards. The documents were generally accepted as genuine. They would later be received into influential canonical collections and later into the authoritative canon law of the church. Thirdly, popes of the ninth century issued authentic papal pronouncements answering inquiries made to them about proper trial procedure.
Confronting Opposing Witnesses in Sixteenth-Century England
Authors: Herrmann Francis R
Published: January 2025

The institution of the jury together with the statutes of Magna Carta offered accused persons significant protections against unwarranted prosecutions either by private persons or by the crown. The acquittal rate for defendants appears to have been substantial. Yet, the dearth of evidentiary guidelines for jurors created a risk of unreliable verdicts. No rule or statute required the attendance of accusers or witnesses at trial. Jurors could rest their verdict on whatever evidence they received in court or simply on the basis of their own knowledge obtained extrajudicially. So long as the evidence satisfied their consciences, they could convict. In response to questionable verdicts returned under Henry VIII’s treason prosecutions, parliaments of successor monarchs enacted statutes requiring face-to-face confrontation between defendants and accusing witnesses at treason trials. Judicial interpretation, however, correctly or incorrectly, soon undermined the legislative protections.
Requiring Confessions at Common Law to Be Made Voluntarily
Authors: Herrmann Francis R
Published: January 2025

From the early twelfth century onward, English legal authorities indicate that the common law expected confessions of guilt to be made voluntarily. The first legal text in England rejecting confessions made through fear, fraud, or force came from continental sources. Parliaments under Edward VI and successors repeatedly required, at least for treason trials, that a confession was to be made “willingly and without violence.” The King’s Council did not always observe the common law bar on force. Star Chamber procedure, however, required confessions to be voluntary. English legal commentaries, also, rejected the validity of confessions made by moral or physical inducement.
The 1696 Treason Act’s Recognition of Fair Procedures
Authors: Herrmann Francis R
Published: January 2025

In the last quarter of the seventeenth century, a series of politically motivated trials for treason resulted in verdicts that were widely perceived to be unreliable. To remedy the procedural deficiencies that had contributed to the verdicts and to guard against future unfairness, parliament passed a new treason act. It became effective in 1696. The act adopted into law a series of substantial procedural protections.. These guarantees, in effect, addressed complaints that treason defendants commonly raised against limitations judges placed on the ability of the accused to make a full defense. The new act provided for full representation by defense ccounsel, a copy of the indictment in advance of trial, time to prepare a defense, the ability to compel the attendance of witnesses, and testimony of favorable witnesses to be given under oath. The provisions of the act were initially restricted to cases of treason.The act's due process safeguards were later applied to all felony trials.
A mobile interactive cognitive self-assessment scale for screening cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Xie Kexin , Huang Juan , Chen Ting , Li Dan , Xia Tianxinyu , Chu Min , Cui Yue , Tang Mei , Peng Dantao , Wang Jingtong , Liu Jianling , Chen Xiaojuan , Cui Weiwei , Liu Li , Wang Yingtao , Liu Jianbing , Li Fang , Wu Liyong
Published: January 2025

Background

A mobile cognition scale for community screening in cognitive impairment with rigorous validation is in paucity. We aimed to develop a digital scale that overcame low education for community screening for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD.

Methods

A mobile cognitive self-assessment scale (CogSAS) was designed through the Delphi process, which is feasible for the older population with low education. In Phase 1, 518 clinically diagnosed participants were subjected to optimise the items. In Phase 2, the scale was validated in 358 participants with cognitively unimpaired and 396 participants of clinically diagnosed MCI and dementia for reliability, validity and diagnostic accuracy. In Phase 3, specificity and sensitivity were tested for biologically diagnosed participants of 38 with cognitively unimpaired and 45 with MCI and dementia due to AD according to the amyloid, tau, neurodegeneration classification system.

Results

The CogSAS was a three-task mobile scale testing memory and executive function. In Phase 2, the internal consistency was 0.81, and the test–retest reliability was 0.82. The construct validity was 0.74, and the criterion validity was 0.77. The sensitivity and specificity for discriminating clinically diagnosed participants with MCI and dementia from cognitively unimpaired were 0.90 and 0.67, respectively. For discriminating biologically diagnosed MCI and dementia due to AD from cognitively unimpaired, the sensitivity and specificity were 1.00 and 0.78, respectively.

Conclusions

The CogSAS has good reliability, validity and feasibility, showing a high sensitivity and specificity both in the community and the clinic, identifying biologically diagnosed MCI and dementia due to AD.
Utilizing pharmacy technicians for medication adherence patient outreach in an ambulatory care setting
Authors: Carqueville Bradley , Corder Molly M , Wilhoite Jessica
Published: January 2025

Purpose

This publication outlines the development and implementation of a telephone-based adherence call program for pharmacy technicians at Community Health Network (CHNw). This program aims to improve medication adherence rates for contracted Medicare Advantage plans.

As healthcare systems look for ways to improve patient care, Medicare reimbursement can guide ideas for initiatives. To improve medication adherence rates, the ambulatory care pharmacy team at CHNw developed a telephone-based adherence call system to better improve clinical outcomes and lower overall healthcare utilization and costs. Initially developed as a pharmacy student–driven service, the program has progressed to be run by clinical pharmacy technicians. Once patients are identified as candidates for outreach, the pharmacy technicians contact them to discuss medication adherence and coordinate with their primary care provider and embedded clinic pharmacist to ensure medication accessibility and overcome potential barriers to adherence.

Conclusion

Utilizing pharmacy technicians to complete medication adherence outreach calls has proven to be a success, as evidenced by improvement in star ratings in all 3 CMS medication adherence measures. This has resulted in work off-loaded from the clinical pharmacist, financial gain for the network, and improved medication adherence for patients. With this success, we can financially justify having the technicians on the ambulatory pharmacy team and plan to expand their roles into other pharmacy initiatives soon.  This program helps show that expanding the pharmacy technician role may further benefit the healthcare system.
Accessibility in applied linguistics and medicine infographics: A comparative study of rhetorical moves and multimodal features
Authors: Marino Francesca , Kessler Matt
Published: January 2025

An open science movement has been gaining traction within applied linguistics. As part of this movement, one key focus has involved making the work that applied linguists do accessible, with accessibility referring to making research/findings available, non-technical, and meaningful to different stakeholders such as the public and practitioners. One way this has been addressed, both in applied linguistics and other fields, is through leveraging multimodal genres such as infographics to distill complex information and convey it in a concise manner. In this article, we examine the meaning-making strategies employed by researchers in applied linguistics and medicine to further understand how different fields leverage semiotic resources to make information accessible. Specifically, this study compares two corpora of infographics (N = 70) by conducting (1) a rhetorical move analysis, and (2) a Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis of the semiotic resources that constitute the moves. The findings show both similarities and large differences in the way researchers in applied linguists and medicine convey information. Implications are discussed broadly in terms of accessibility and open science.
Social Security: Individuals in Socially Reciprocal Groups May Perceive Security from Predators
Authors: Philson Conner S , Klassen Clara , Uchida Kenta , Blumstein Daniel T
Published: January 2025

One of the most explored factors mediating antipredator behavior is group size, which generally predicts individuals in larger social groups allocate less time to antipredator vigilance while foraging. However, group size alone does not capture the full complexity of sociality. An individual’s ‘sense of security’, or their perceived risk of predation, is also influenced by an individual’s social connections. Further, group social structure – the pattern of all social interactions in a group – could explain additional variation in perceptions of security for the individuals that reside in the group. Using the time allocated to vigilance during foraging and flight initiation distance (FID) to quantify individuals’ social security, we explored whether individual yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) in tightly connected social groups looked less while foraging and had shorter FIDs. Using linear mixed effect models, we found modest support for the Social Security Hypothesis; individuals in more socially reciprocal groups may spend less time looking for predators while foraging. No measure of group social structure explained variation in FID. Measures of the immediate environment (the number of individuals within 10 meters for vigilance and the distance from burrow and alert distance for FID) had effect sizes an order of magnitude greater than measures of social structure, suggesting an individual’s immediate environment has more of an impact on their antipredator behavior than the structure of their social group.
Under-representation of climate change and sustainability manuscripts in high-impact dermatology journals
Authors: Tan Eugene , Rosenbach Misha
Published: January 2025

Earth’s changing climate is affecting the health of people worldwide. Dermatology is particularly affected by climate change due to the skin’s direct contact with the environment. The majority of physicians do not feel prepared to address climate change’s impact on health or to take action.
Effect of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V algorithm and deep learning image reconstruction algorithm on image quality and emphysema quantification in COPD patients under ultra-low-dose conditions
Authors: Ma Guangming , Dou Yuequn , Dang Shan , Yu Nan , Guo Yanbing , Han Dong , Jin Chenwang
Published: January 2025

Purpose

To explore the effect of different reconstruction algorithms (ASIR-V and DLIR) on image quality and emphysema quantification in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients under ultra-low-dose scanning conditions.

Materials and Methods

This prospective study with patient consent included 62 COPD patients. Patients were examined by pulmonary function test (PFT), standard-dose CT (SDCT) and ultra-low-dose CT (ULDCT). SDCT images were reconstructed with filtered-back-projection (FBP), while ULDCT images were reconstructed using FBP, 30%ASIR-V, 60%ASIR-V, 90%ASIR-V, low-strength (DLIR-L), medium-strength (DLIR-M) and high-strength DLIR (DLIR-H) to form 8 image sets. Images were analyzed using a commercial computer aided diagnosis (CAD) software. Parameters such as image noise, lung volume (LV), emphysema index (EI), mean lung density (MLD), 15th percentile of lung density (PD15) were measured. Two radiologists evaluated tracheal and pulmonary artery image quality using a 5-point scale. Measurements were compared and the correlation between EI and PFT indices was analyzed.

Result

ULDCT used 0.46 ± 0.22mSv in radiation dose, 93.8% lower than SDCT (P < 0.001). There was no difference in LV and MLD among image groups (P > 0.05). ULDCT-ASIR-V90% and ULDCT-DLIR-M had similar image noise and EI and PD15 values to SDCT-FBP, and ULDCT-DLIR-M and ULDCT-DLIR-H had similar subjective scores to SDCT-FBP (all P > 0.05). ULDCT-DLIR-M provided the best correlation between EI and the FEV1/FVC and FEV1% indices in PFT, and the lowest deviations with SDCT-FBP in both EI and PD15.

Conclusion

DLIR-M provides the best image quality and emphysema quantification for COPD patients in ULDCT.

Advances in knowledge

Ultra-low-dose CT scanning combined with DLIR-M reconstruction is comparable to standard dose images for quantitative analysis of emphysema and image quality.
Correcting hyponatremia is associated with improve survival in hyponatremic metastatic cancer patients
Authors: Ward Kenneth , Page Valda D , Song Juhee , Amaram-Davila Jaya Sheela , Mamlouk Omar , Abudayyeh Ala
Published: January 2025

Introduction

Hyponatremia in cancer patients admitted to the hospital is associated with longer stay, higher costs, and increased mortality. We examined the impact of hyponatremia correction on survival in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer.

Methods

We reviewed records of patients with solid tumors who were hospitalized between January 2018 and December 2022 with serum sodium ≤125 mEq/L at admission. Cox regression analysis examined associations of demographic and clinical characteristics, including sodium levels at admission and discharge, with overall survival.

Results

Among 1,100 patients, median sodium levels were 122 mEq/L at admission and 132 mEq/L at discharge. A total of 165 patients (15%) died during hospitalization, and 414 of 688 discharged home (60.2%) died within 5 years. Multivariable analysis showed that among patients discharged alive, decrease in sodium from admission to discharge (P=0.0081), sodium ≤125 mEq/L at discharge (hazard ratio [HR] 1.42; P=0.0382), Albumin <3.5 at admission (HR 1.48; P<0.0001), metastatic stage (HR 1.37; P=0.0004), emergency admission (HR 1.20; P=0.0390), discharge to hospice (HR 2.57; P<0.0001), lung cancers (HR 1.51; P=0.0044), and metastatic disease (HR 1.37; P=0.0004) were associated with poorer overall survival. Sodium level at admission was not a significant predictor of overall survival from hospital admission. In patients with metastatic disease, increase in sodium from admission to discharge was associated with improved overall survival from hospital discharge.

Conclusions

Correcting hyponatremia in hospitalized patients with metastatic cancer increases overall survival but metastatic cancer in itself is also associated with poor survival. This highlights the importance of early palliative care involvement in patients with advanced cancer.
Immunonutrition to improve the quality of life of upper gastrointestinal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant treatment prior to surgery (NEOIMMUNE): double-blind randomized controlled multicenter clinical trial
Authors: Markar Sheraz , Mariette Christophe , Bonnetain Frank , Lundell Lars , Rosati Riccardo , de Manzoni Giovanni , Bonavina Luigi , Tucker Olga , Plum Patrick , D’Journo Xavier Benoit , Van Daele Daniel , Cogill Geoff , Santi Stefano , Farran Leandres , Iranzo Vega , Pera Manuel , Veziant Julie , Piessen Guillaume
Published: January 2025

Background

Malnutrition is common with esophagogastric cancers and is associated with negative outcomes. We aimed to evaluate if immunonutrition during neoadjuvant treatment improves patient’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and reduces postoperative morbidity and toxicities during neoadjuvant treatment.

Methods

A multicenter double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) was undertaken. Included patients had untreated nonmetastatic esophagogastric tumor, aged 18 ≥ years with a life expectancy of >3 months. The study was powered for 80% power to detect a clinically relevant difference in EORTC-QLQC30 with standard deviation of 15 between groups. Primary end point was the quality of life as measured by the global health status at 30 days after surgery. An intention-to-treat analysis was employed.

Results

The study was terminated at the interim analysis stage. About 300 patients were randomized: 149 to the IMPACT group and 151 to the control-formula group. Patient groups were well-balanced in terms of age, sex, body mass index, WHO performance status, and clinical tumor stage. Analysis of the primary end point for the study of global health status at 30-day postoperatively failed to show any significant differences between the groups (55.4 ± 18.6 [IMPACT] vs. 55.9 ± 19.8 [control]; P = 0.345). No significant differences between the groups were detected in the majority of domains from EORTC QLQC30 and OG25 tools after neoadjuvant therapy and 30 days postoperatively. Finally, no significant differences were seen between groups in neoadjuvant therapy or postoperative complications, or tumor response.

Conclusion

The results of this multicenter double-blind RCT fail to demonstrate any HRQOL benefits to the utilization of immunonutrition during neoadjuvant therapy in patients with esophagogastric cancer.
Aspirin vs. clopidogrel monotherapy beyond 1 month after complex percutaneous coronary intervention: a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the STOPDAPT-3 trial
Authors: Domei Takenori , Yamamoto Ko , Natsuaki Masahiro , Watanabe Hirotoshi , Morimoto Takeshi , Obayashi Yuki , Nishikawa Ryusuke , Kimura Tomoya , Ando Kenji , Suwa Satoru , Isawa Tsuyoshi , Takenaka Hiroyuki , Ishikawa Tetsuya , Tamura Toshihiro , Kawahatsu Kando , Hayashi Fujio , Abe Mitsuru , Serikawa Takeshi , Mori Hiroyoshi , Kawamura Takayuki , Hagikura Arata , Shibata Naoki , Ono Koh , Kimura Takeshi
Published: January 2025

Aims

There were no previous studies comparing aspirin vs. P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy following short dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods and results

We conducted a pre-specified subgroup analysis based on complex PCI in the 1-year results of the STOPDAPT-3 (ShorT and OPtimal Duration of Dual AntiPlatelet Therapy-3) trial, which randomly compared 1-month DAPT followed by aspirin monotherapy (aspirin group) with 1-month prasugrel monotherapy followed by clopidogrel monotherapy (clopidogrel group). The main analysis in the present study was the 30-day landmark analysis. The co-primary endpoints were cardiovascular events (a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis, or stroke) and major bleeding (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium 3 or 5). In the 30-day landmark analysis (N = 5833), there were 1415 patients (24.3%) who underwent complex PCI. There was a significant interaction between complex PCI and the effect of the aspirin group relative to the clopidogrel group for cardiovascular events (complex PCI: 3.3% vs. 5.2%, non-complex PCI: 4.3% vs. 3.6%, interaction P = 0.04) and net adverse clinical events (complex PCI: 4.8% vs. 7.2%, non-complex PCI: 5.3% vs. 4.4%, interaction P = 0.02), but not for bleeding events (complex PCI: 2.1% vs. 2.7%, non-complex PCI: 1.7% vs. 1.4%, interaction P = 0.35).

Conclusions

There was a significant interaction between complex PCI and the effect of aspirin monotherapy relative to clopidogrel monotherapy beyond 1 month and up to 1 year for cardiovascular events due to numerically lower risk of aspirin monotherapy in patients with complex PCI, while the effect of aspirin monotherapy relative to clopidogrel monotherapy was not different for bleeding regardless of complex PCI.

Clinical trial registration

ShorT and OPtimal duration of Dual AntiPlatelet Therapy after everolimus-eluting cobalt-chromium stent-3 [STOPDAPT-3]; NCT04609111.
Baseline characteristics and outcomes of rheumatic mitral valve disease: the EURObservational Research Programme Valvular Heart Disease II Survey
Authors: Abdelhamid Magdy , Abdel Meged Amir M , Prendergast Bernard , Calvo-Iglesias Francisco E , Taha Salma M , Kazamel Ghada A , Abdrabou Mostafa M , El Sayed Maiy H , Kylmala Minna M , Irtyuga Olga B , Vahanian Alec S , Iung Bernard , Laroche Cécile
Published: January 2025

Background and Aims

Rheumatic heart disease is the commonest acquired cardiovascular disease worldwide. About 20 years have elapsed since the original Euro Heart Survey on valvular heart disease (VHD) was conducted with multiple changes in practice due to advances in treatment techniques. In this study, we aimed to analyse the management of patients with severe native valve disease or those with previous valvular intervention in comparison with existing European Society of Cardiology guidelines.

Methods

The European Society of Cardiology VHD II registry is an international, prospective, longitudinal multicentre, observational study, which was conducted in 222 centres. The registry included patients with severe native VHD or with previous valvular intervention. Follow-up was undertaken at 6 months at the investigating centre or by telephone.

Results

Amongst patients recruited in the European Society of Cardiology VHD II registry, 470 had severe rheumatic mitral valve disease and 332 had previous rheumatic mitral valve intervention. Amongst the patients with Class I recommendation for intervention, it was undertaken in only 70%. Adherence to guideline recommendations was more in patients with native VHD than in those with previous intervention. Total mortality was 1.5% in hospital and 3.5% at 6 months follow-up. Independent predictors of death at 6 months were age, chronic pulmonary disease, New York Heart Association Classes III and IV at presentation, liver dysfunction, and previous myocardial infarction.

Conclusions

Compliance with guideline recommendations for intervention is poor overall in patients with rheumatic valve disease. Concerted educational efforts are needed to improve the management of this vulnerable patient cohort.