bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of UV LED Intensity on The Growth of Red Lettuce in Indoor Hydroponics
Authors: Jingga Trinovita Z. , Riza Nurtam M. , Hendra  , Laksmana Indra , Amrizal  , Jamaluddin  , Hudia
Published: October 2022

Microclimate control is increasingly widespread in limited agricultural environments. This is especially important for the cultivation of plants that tolerate significantly different thermal and hygrometric conditions. Nevertheless, there is much to be done in automation and control technology in this area to achieve the best results in both quantitative and qualitative terms of the product. This applies especially to horticultural crops that are sensitive to the cultivation environment and microclimate. This work aims to characterize the microclimate parameters in a confined agricultural environment with perforated ducts for air conditioning supply. For this work, a microclimate control unit was used instead of a lettuce crop. It was placed into a confined agricultural environment at different locations in the space to obtain the main microclimate parameters. After setting the input of the microclimate environment, the instrument measured a series of physical quantities (temperature, radiant temperature, humidity, and air velocity). Tests were carried out by taking the optimum day temperature constant for growing lettuce and by varying the supply airflow rate by setting the fan speed at 30%, 50%, and 80%. The results of these tests are essential for performing real-time control of the microclimate environment and for managing parameters for optimization of the entire system. In addition, the air velocity test showed adequate velocity reduction and good air mixing. The values obtained are generally acceptable for indoor cultivation and the conditions created are suitable for growing plants in such an environment. Light is an essential need for plants so that plants can carry out the photosynthesis process properly. In indoor DWC hydroponics system, the source of UV light is LED lights for plants. Some of the advantages of using LED light include a small light spectrum, less heat production, low power consumption, and wavelengths of 660 m and 450 m that are needed by plants. This research project aims to create a DWC hydroponic system for growing red lettuce in an indoor hydroponics and see the effect of LED grow light on the growth of red lettuce. DWC hydroponics uses AB-Mix nutrients that are channeled through inch PVC pipes using pump power. The hydroponic rack used has a height of 1.7 m and a width of 40 cm and has 3 shelves, where each shelf has 9 nutrient containers. The red lettuce plants in the DWC system were provided with different light treatments by installing shading nets with different percentages of light penetration, namely, 75%, 50%, and 0%. From the results of these treatments, the average yield of red lettuce was 300 grams on the top shelf, 400 grams on the middle shelf, and 600 grams on the bottom shelf.
The effect of colchicine on in vitro growth of ciplukan (Physalis angulata)
Authors: Mastuti R , Munawarti A , Afiyanti M
Published: October 2022

Ciplukan (Physalis angulata) is one of medicinal plants belongs to Solanaceae family. The in vitro system has the potential to multiply plants that have uniform characters in large quantities. One strategy to improve the important characters of medicinal plants is by artificially induced polyploidy using antimitotic compounds, such as colchicine. Variations in types of explants treated with colchicine have varied characters in growth response. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of tissue types and different duration of soaking in colchicine solution on the shoot and root regeneration of P. angulata in vitro. Two types of tissue namely seeds, and cotyledonary nodes were soaked in 0.1% colchicine solution for 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours. Shoot regeneration of control and colchicine-treated tissues were cultured on MS medium supplemented with BAP 2 mg/l + IAA 0.05 mg/L. Rooting medium was MS0 medium with or without supplemented with activated charcoal (AC). The results showed that the number and height of shoots and the number of leaves on the growth of shoots in vitro had the same pattern except for in vitro shoots produced by seeds soaked in colchicine solution for 48 hours. In vitro shoots produced by soaking cotyledonary nodes for 24 hours tended to produce better growth than shoots produced from seeds without colchicine treatment (control) as well as 48- and 72-hours soaking treatments. The in vitro shoots produced by soaking the seeds for 72 hours still tended to be able to produce better growth than the control and soaking treatments for 24- and 48-hours. Shoot derived from colchicine treated cotyledonary nodes produced more roots than shoots produced by soaking seeds. However, shoot height and number of leaves varied depending on the duration of soaking of explants in colchicine solution. Activated charcoal reduced root number.
Soil Investigation Analysis Obstackle Cutting Planning Hill Direction Rh 04 Tana Toraja District
Authors: Apriyani Ika , Sanggaria Olan Jujun
Published: October 2022

The excavation activity of cutting the obstackle area is one of the technical activities to support the requirements of aviation safety due to the hard rock type conditions. In this research, which was conducted at Kunik Airport, Tana Toraja Regency, core drilling was carried out to determine the type of soil/rock excavation and to describe the engineering properties of the soil/rock layers. The results of the field implementation show that the depth of hard soil with an indication of the NSPT value > 60 is at a depth of 2m. while the total rating for the excavation method and the type of equipment used are a) Easy ripping which consists of clay soil type of equipment used in the form of a D7 type tractor with an alternative to using a standard bachoe excavator, b) Hard ripping consists of on brown and greenish-grey clay, the equipment used is a tractor type D7-D8 with an alternative to using an excavator breaker and c) Very hard ripping required Claystone is blackish brown in color. The equipment used is a tractor type D8-D9 with alternative can use excavator breaker
The Effect of Pre-treatment of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and the Use of Cow Dung on Biogas Production
Authors: Dhaniswara Trisna K , Rahkadima Yulia T , Fitri Medya A , Azizah Zahrotul , Aziz Ahmad M , Ulumuddin Ihya
Published: October 2022

Renewable energy biogas technology, applying the concept of zero waste, can offer an alternative source of energy to deal with environmental problems. The water hyacinth is a type of weed that grows fast and abundantly in rivers. Aside from being considered a pest and waste of no value, it can also be used for biogas production because of its high hemicellulose content. The purpose of this research was to make use of water hyacinths that are abundant in rivers as a source of biogas. The variables used were mixes of water hyacinth, cow dung, and water at variant ratios to be used in the initial treatment. The fermentation process undertaken used a batch system, and the biogas produced was measured every day. The parameters used were the volume of the biogas produced, degree of acidity (pH), C/N ratio, flame color, and composition test using gas chromatography (GC). The results of this study show that the highest biogas volume of 11,233 ml was obtained from the use of water:water hyacinth:cow ratio of 1:0.5:1 and that the lowest biogas volume of 4,370 ml was obtained from the use of the water:water hyacinth:cow dung ratio of 1:1:0. The pH range after the process was complete was between 6.9 and 7.6. The results of the gas chromatography (GC) analysis show that the methane content in the biogas was 80.78% of the area.
Process simulation of anaerobic digestion for methane production using aspen plus
Authors: Ramasamy G , Goodman A H , Lahuri H M , Md Shah S S , Sabil K M
Published: October 2022

A process simulation model was developed for biogas production via an anaerobic digestion process using Advanced System for Process Engineering (Aspen) Plus software. A total of 46 reactions were included in the model and were simulated with appropriate kinetics. For anaerobic digestion of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), few studies have been reported with regards to simulation, and this biogas model has not been validated for use with POME. These works validate the ability of the developed model to predict biogas production using established data on biogas production from literature namely (O-thong et al.,2016; Mamimin et al., 2015). Average Absolute Deviation (AAD) was computed, and a deviation calculated less than 5% was obtained for both case studies of biogas production from POME with the model. The developed model was also used to study the effects of adding an external supply of H2 and CO2 at different ratios (2:1, 1:1). The results showed that the ratio of H2 and CO2, 2:1, has higher methane production compared to an equal ratio of H2 and CO2, 1:1. The developed model is flexible and able to estimate the enhancement of methanation via the input of an external supply of H2 and CO2 quantitatively.
Comparison of different methods for the extraction of essential oil from the rhizome part of Kaempferia galanga linn
Authors: Nurhaslina C R , Mustapa A N , Azizi C Y , Alwi H
Published: October 2022

Kaempferia galanga linn (KGL) is a well-known condiment in Southeast Asia, consisting of huge advantages for health sustainability. This research aims to compare the essential oils (EOs) yield of the KGL rhizome utilising modern technologies – solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) to the traditional method of hydrodistillation (HD). The influence of process parameters on the oil yield is determined and the composition of the extracts is characterised using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GCMS). The SFME has been demonstrated as the most excellent method in producing substantially high yield in a shorter time (40 min, 2.54 %) in comparison to the MAE (40 min, 1.03%) and HD (3 h, 0.14%). Ethyl p-methoxycinnamate from the class of cinnamic acid ester appears as the main volatile constituent with a percent content of 11.6%, 10%, and 13.4% obtained by SFME, MAE, and HD, respectively. The SEM analysis of the KGL reveals that microwave technology caused a significant plant cell wall rupture, thus promoting faster oil extraction than the traditional extraction approach. This study demonstrates that SFME is a promising alternative to producing essential oil as natural products without solvent, safer for pharmaceutical and food industries.
Thermal Investigation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Ni-YSZ Anode supported with Cooling System: A FEM Approach
Authors: Shieela Kalib N , Muchtar A , Zhen Yuan V , Rao Somalu M , Kamal Ariffin Mohd Ihsan A
Published: October 2022

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is preferred for power generation owing to its high-temperature waste heat recovery and low pollutant emissions. Nevertheless, SOFC operation is highly dependent on an effective cooling system, and the temperature gradient (ΔT) causes the distribution of thermal stress. The trade-off between meeting the SOFC requirement to operate at elevated temperature and minimizing thermal stress by reducing ΔT in the SOFC stack is required. Therefore, a cooling system for the SOFC stack is required to control the temperature homogeneity in the stack. In this study, a 3D finite element method containing heat transfer and energy charge equations was developed and then applied to investigate the effects of the (i) cooling plate and (ii) cooling fin on temperature distribution. The conventional stack orientation (i) parallel flow and (ii) counter flow were considered and compared with the adiabatic model in Ansys thermal analysis. The analysis was carried out under steady-state conditions. Considering that the temperature distribution varies according to the operating temperature and environment, the ambient temperature was set at 800 °C, 750 °C, 700 °C, and 650 °C. The study showed that the steepness of ΔT for a fin with the parallel flow is 1.5% better than for counterflow in the same operating scenario. Notably, the contribution of the cooling plate can minimize ΔT by 10% more than the fin. In addition, cooling measures are required to ensure the long-term stability of the cell during prolonged operation.
Predictive solubility of amino acids in deep eutectic solvents for chicken feather waste valorisation
Authors: Salleh MZM , Hadj-Kali MK , Luthfi AAI , Hashim MA
Published: October 2022

Waste chicken feathers can be potentially utilized by its dissolution in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to extract keratin. Keratin in chicken feathers is composed by a series of amino acids which can be categorized into negatively charged, positively charged, hydrophobic and hydrophilic natures. As the DESs are also composed by polar and non-polar moieties, their capability to dissolve amino acids needs to be investigated. In this study, the relative solubility of these amino acids in DESs were screened using Conductor-like Screening Method for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS). Five DESs were selected from literature as the targeted solvents, i.e., choline chloride:urea (ChCl:Ur (1:2)), choline chloride:oxalic acid (ChCl:OA (1:2)), choline chloride:ethylene glycol (ChCl:EG (1:2)), sodium acetate:urea (NaAc:Ur (1:2)) and urea:acetate (Ur:Ace (1:2)), to dissolve amino acids in keratin according to the reported compositions. Additionally, the performance of these DESs were benchmarked with other common volatile organic solvents. It was found that the hydrophobic amino acids, particularly cystine, are highly soluble in ChCl:Ur (1:2), ChCl:OA (1:2) and Ur:Ace (1:2). The selected DESs were also predicted to have good dissolution capacity towards the hydrophobic amino acids. It was concluded that the use of DESs in dissolution and extraction of keratin provides more flexible dissolving capability and more environmentally friendly compared to the conventional organic or acidic solvents. This study provides positive insights on the potential of valorising chicken waste feathers using DESs.
Surface modification of PVDF membrane via graft polymerization of acetic and acrylic acid
Authors: Saleh S M , Oh P C , Zulkifli A S
Published: October 2022

Surface modification of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fibre membranes through simple chemical treatment is carried out to graft the surface with the presence of carboxylic acid groups. This is to provide means for TiO2 immobilisation in subsequent stages for photocatalysis application. The focus of this study was to identify the highest degree of grafting in order to provide abundant potential sites for subsequent TiO2 assembly. Both acetic and acrylic acid, at varying concentrations, were used and compared as the grafting monomer. It was observed that acrylic acid provides significantly higher grafting degree compared to acetic acid. The highest degree 238 μg/cm2 was obtained at 70% acrylic acid in water, where the surface contact angle significantly reduced to 37o. The highest grafting degree obtained using acetic acid was at 60% in water, which only achieved 31 μg/cm2. Minor improvement was also observed when the solvent for grafting solution was changed from water to toluene; the grafting degree slightly improved by 2% from 238 μg/cm2 to 243 μg/cm2. Higher grafting degree shall allow for more of TiO2 to be immobilized onto the membrane in subsequent work, hence potentially leading to better photocatalysis performance.
Aspen adsorption simulation on biosorption between water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Pb (II) ions in packed bed column
Authors: Boon C Y , Padmesh TVN
Published: October 2022

Biosorption offers low capital and operating cost on removal of heavy metals from contaminated aqueous wastewater. This research study evaluated the effect of flow rates, initial concentration of Pb (II) ions, bed height and operating conditions of the continuous flow adsorption process on the breakthrough time of the bed column containing water hyacinth as biosorbent through simulation by using Aspen Adsorption. The simulation was conducted whereby the flow rates (Q) were varied between 0.2 L/s and 0.8 L/s, the initial concentration of Pb (II) ions (Co) were varied between 20 mg/L and 200 mg/L, and the bed height (h) were varied between 0.25m and 1.00 m. The objectives are achieved whereby, when Q decrease, Co decreases and the h increases, the breakthrough time increases. When Q is 0.2 L/s, Co is 20 mg/L and h is 1.00 m, the maximum breakthrough times achieved for Study A, B and C, are 7.70 hours, 9.27 hours and 6.2 hours respectively. Study B has the longest maximum breakthrough time due to it having operating temperature of 35 °C as well as having the optimum water hyacinth biosorbent particle size which is 0.75×10-3 m.
Evaluation of the Structure Characterisation of Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA and Ceramide 3
Authors: Chong C H , Khoo T-J
Published: October 2022

The skin is the largest organ in the body and the skin barrier is important to reduce moisture loss, prevent irritations and bacterial infections. The complex skin barrier consists of essential lipids such as ceramides together with cholesterol and free fatty acids. Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA or PC-104 is claimed to be a compound created to mimic ceramides and claimed to have similar effectiveness as Ceramide 3 at moisturising the skin and restoring the skin barrier. The objective of this study is to evaluate the structure characterisation of Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA and whether it can be categorised as a ceramide. Three different spectroscopy and physico chemical analysis conducted on the two samples revealed the structural formula and chemical composition of Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA to be different from Ceramide 3. Therefore, the two compounds cannot be considered to contain the same chemical structural make up, based on spectral analysis generated by instrumentation. Hydroxypropyl Bispalmitamide MEA cannot be categorised as a ceramide because it is lacking the sphingosine moiety.
Spin–orbit interaction in non-paraxial Gaussian beams and the spin-only measurement of optical torque
Authors: Nieminen Timo A , Watson Mark L , Loke Vincent L Y , Stilgoe Alexander B , Rubinsztein-Dunlop Halina
Published: October 2022

A circularly polarized focussed Gaussian beam carries total angular momentum of

ℏ

per photon about the beam axis, but less than

ℏ

spin per photon, due to the focussing of the beam. The remainder of the angular momentum is carried as orbital angular momentum. When such beams are used to rotate microscopic birefringent particles in optical tweezers, the change in angular momentum can be optically measured. However, this measurement is made using the collimated transmitted beam, rather than the focussed beam. Therefore, the conversion of spin to orbital angular momentum by focussing or collimating the beam is expected to affect the measurement. We show that for the typical cases where rotating optical tweezers are used for such measurements, the error due to spin–orbit conversion is unimportant, but there exist cases where a spin-only torque measurement would be completely erroneous.
Giant effect on structural, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties of lead-free Ba0.6Sr0.4Ti1-xAlxO3 ceramics via Sr and Al Co-doping engineering
Authors: Mahmud Hasan , Ahamed Jamal Uddin , Khan Mohammed Nazrul Islam
Published: October 2022

In this research, structural, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties of Al
3+ substituted Ba0.6Sr0.4Ti1-xAlxO3 ceramics (where x = 0.00 to 0.20) have been investigated and discussed. The ceramic samples have been successfully synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction method. The crystallinity of the prepared samples has been confirmed by x-ray peak broadening techniques such as the Williamson Hall (W-H) plot technique and the Scherrer method. The lattice constant ‘a’, showing a significant drop as Al concentration increases, varies from 3.942 Å to 3.921 Å. The FTIR spectrum revealed a prominent peak between 435 cm−1 to 540 cm−1, without showing any secondary phase. Raman spectroscopic analysis showed that the prepared samples are in cubic phase with no phase transition. The shifting of a dominating peak in Raman at 580 cm−1 is due to the development of Al

Ti
defects. VSM analysis at room temperature showed the ferromagnetic characteristics of all the samples. The highest value of the anisotropic constant (Ka ∼ 39.933 emu cm−3) has been seen at x = 0.10. The real component of initial permeability is almost constant for the frequency range of about 75 MHz, and above this frequency range, it quickly reduces. At the high-frequency range, the prepared samples show an excellent relative quality factor due to the low dielectric loss, notably when x = 0.05. The prepared perovskites exhibited minimum eddy current loss characteristics due to the increment of AC resistivity at x = 0.20. UV–visible spectroscopy shows a significant change in the energy bandgap from 3.23 eV to 3.04 eV with the doping concentrations.
Femtosecond logic gate breaks speed record
Authors: Dumé Isabelle
Published: October 2022

Researchers in the US and Germany have developed the first logic gate to operate at femtosecond timescales, which could help to usher in an era of information processing at petahertz frequencies.
Physicist becomes US science adviser
Authors: Gwynne Peter
Published: October 2022

Applied physicist Arati Prabhakar becomes the first woman to hold the directorship of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Peter Gwynne reports.
James Webb Space Telescope reveals its first spectacular images of the cosmos
Authors: Banks Michael
Published: October 2022

The first tranche of images and data from the $10bn James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been released by NASA and partners, including stunning images of the “cosmic cliffs” in the Carina Nebula.
China sets out its climate ambitions
Authors: Xin Ling
Published: October 2022

Scientists in China are scrambling to support the government’s plan to reach “net zero” carbon emissions by 2060, as Ling Xin discovers.
Opening gambits
Authors: Durrani Matin
Published: October 2022

Catching a reader’s attention is a fine art when it comes to popular-science books.
As time goes by
Authors: Holgate Sharon Ann
Published: October 2022

Sharon Ann Holgate reviews A Brief History of Timekeeping: the Science of Marking Time, from Stonehenge to Atomic Clocks by Chad Orzel.
Real-time semantic segmentation on FPGAs for autonomous vehicles with hls4ml
Authors: Ghielmetti Nicolò , Loncar Vladimir , Pierini Maurizio , Roed Marcel , Summers Sioni , Aarrestad Thea , Petersson Christoffer , Linander Hampus , Ngadiuba Jennifer , Lin Kelvin , Harris Philip
Published: October 2022

In this paper, we investigate how field programmable gate arrays can serve as hardware accelerators for real-time semantic segmentation tasks relevant for autonomous driving. Considering compressed versions of the ENet convolutional neural network architecture, we demonstrate a fully-on-chip deployment with a latency of 4.9 ms per image, using less than 30% of the available resources on a Xilinx ZCU102 evaluation board. The latency is reduced to 3 ms per image when increasing the batch size to ten, corresponding to the use case where the autonomous vehicle receives inputs from multiple cameras simultaneously. We show, through aggressive filter reduction and heterogeneous quantization-aware training, and an optimized implementation of convolutional layers, that the power consumption and resource utilization can be significantly reduced while maintaining accuracy on the Cityscapes dataset.
Characterization of monolayer WSe2 sandwiched in a hetero-plasmonic dimer
Authors: Suri Priyanka , Deshpande Preeti , Ghosh Ambarish
Published: October 2022

Recent interests in layered transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), such as WSe2, MoS2, etc, arise due to their attractive electrical, optical, and mechanical properties with potential applications in energy storage, generation, and many more. Embedding these 2D materials in plasmonic cavities can further enhance light–matter interactions and alter their properties, resulting in diverse and efficient optoelectronic applications. The strain due to the geometry and charge transfer due to the plasmonic materials can further modify the TMDCs’ optical response for sensing applications and as single photon emitters in on-chip optoelectronic applications. This work discusses one such 2D-plasmonic hybrid configuration of a silver sphere on a gold disc with WSe2 sandwiched in between. We perform non-invasive Raman and PL studies of this system to estimate the field enhancement and discuss strain and doping induced in the TMDC.
Characterizing manufacturing sector disruptions with targeted mitigation strategies
Authors: Elimbi Moudio Marie Pelagie , Bolin Richard , Carpenter Alberta , Reese Samantha Bench , Shehabi Arman , Rao Prakash
Published: October 2022

It has become clear in recent decades that manufacturing supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to disruptions of varying geographical scales and intensities. These disruptions—whether intentional, accidental, or resulting from natural disasters—cause failures and capacity reductions to manufacturing infrastructure, with lasting effects that can cascade throughout the manufacturing network. An overall lack of understanding of solutions to mitigate disturbances has rendered the challenge of reducing manufacturing supply chain vulnerability even more difficult. Additionally, the variability of disruptions and their impacts complicates policy maker and stakeholder efforts to plan for specific disruptive scenarios. It is necessary to comprehend different kinds of disturbances and group them based on stakeholder-provided metrics to support planning processes and modeling efforts that promote adaptable, resilient manufacturing supply chains. This paper reviews existing methods for risk management in manufacturing supply chains and the economic and environmental impacts of disruptions. In addition, we develop a framework using agglomerative hierarchical clustering to classify disruptions using U.S. manufacturing network data between 2000 and 2021 and characteristic metrics defined in the literature. Our review identifies five groups of disruptions and discusses both general mitigation methods and strategies targeting each identified group. Further, we highlight gaps in the literature related to estimating and including environmental costs in disaster preparedness and mitigation planning. We also discuss the lack of easily available metrics to quantify environmental impacts of disruptions and how such metrics could be included into our methodology.
How many ways can you build a conifer cone? A commentary on ‘Origin and evolution of Podocarpaceae seed cones’
Authors: Leslie Andrew B
Published: October 2022

This article comments on:

Raees Khan, Robert S. Hill, Veit M. Dörken and Ed Biffin, Detailed seed cone morpho-anatomy of the Prumnopityoid clade: an insight into the origin and evolution of Podocarpaceae seed cones, Annals of Botany, Volume 130, Issue 5, 1 November 2022, Pages 637–655 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcac097
SYNPHONI: scale-free and phylogeny-aware reconstruction of synteny conservation and transformation across animal genomes
Authors: Robert Nicolas Serge Matthieu , Sarigol Fatih , Zieger Elisabeth , Simakov Oleg
Published: October 2022

Current approaches detect conserved genomic order either at chromosomal (macrosynteny) or at subchromosomal scales (microsynteny). The latter generally requires collinearity and hard thresholds on syntenic region size, thus excluding a major proportion of syntenies with recent expansions or minor rearrangements. ‘SYNPHONI’ bridges the gap between micro- and macrosynteny detection, providing detailed information on both synteny conservation and transformation throughout the evolutionary history of animal genomes.

Availability and implementation

Source code is freely available at https://github.com/nsmro/SYNPHONI, implemented in Python 3.9.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
‘Bottom Line is You Deserve These Things’: Experiences of Social Security Claimants as Lessons for Take-up Advocacy
Authors: Tarshish Noam
Published: October 2022

Non-take-up of social benefits is widely viewed as a critical problem in the modern welfare state, undermining the social contract between it and its citizens. Social work has always been considered a key profession in promoting take-up of social benefits as part of its professional commitment to human rights and advocacy. Yet, despite recent research efforts aiming to conceptualise take-up advocacy, there is a clear need to address the experience of claimants who have successfully taken up their rights and to learn from their experiences to identity best practices. This study drew on thirty-two semi-structured interviews with claimants successful in taking up social benefits in order to learn how they had overcome take-up barriers. The findings highlight four key lessons for increasing the likelihood of take-up in practice: (1) take the first step; (2) become an expert; (3) use your strengths; and (4) seek support. Together, these lessons present a multifaceted view of strategies used successfully to facilitate take-up, emphasising the importance of the claimants’ personal capabilities, strengths and experiential knowledge as important gateways to take-up. These findings are also discussed in light of the existing knowledge on take-up advocacy by social workers.
Neurons derived from individual early Alzheimer’s disease patients reflect their clinical vulnerability
Authors: Ng Bryan , Rowland Helen A , Wei Tina , Arunasalam Kanisa , Hayes Emma Mee , Koychev Ivan , Hedegaard Anne , Ribe Elena M , Chan Dennis , Chessell Tharani , Ffytche Dominic , Gunn Roger N , Kocagoncu Ece , Lawson Jennifer , Malhotra Paresh A , Ridha Basil H , Rowe James B , Thomas Alan J , Zamboni Giovanna , Buckley Noel J , Cader Zameel M , Lovestone Simon , Wade-Martins Richard
Published: October 2022

Establishing preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease that predict clinical outcomes remains a critically important, yet to date not fully realized, goal. Models derived from human cells offer considerable advantages over non-human models, including the potential to reflect some of the inter-individual differences that are apparent in patients. Here we report an approach using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neurons from people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease where we sought a match between individual disease characteristics in the cells with analogous characteristics in the people from whom they were derived. We show that the response to amyloid-β burden in life, as measured by cognitive decline and brain activity levels, varies between individuals and this vulnerability rating correlates with the individual cellular vulnerability to extrinsic amyloid-β in vitro as measured by synapse loss and function. Our findings indicate that patient-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neurons not only present key aspects of Alzheimer’s disease pathology but also reflect key aspects of the clinical phenotypes of the same patients. Cellular models that reflect an individual’s in-life clinical vulnerability thus represent a tractable method of Alzheimer’s disease modelling using clinical data in combination with cellular phenotypes.
Retracted: Poster No. 005 Platelet Thromboxane Inhibition by Low-Dose Aspirin in Polycythemia Vera:Ex Vivo and In Vivo Measurements and In Silico Simulation
Authors: Petrucci Giovanna , Giaretta Alberto , Ranalli Paola , Cavalca Viviana , Dragani Alfredo , Porro Benedetta , Hatem Duaa , Habib Aida , Tremoli Elena , Patrono Carlo , Rocca Bianca
Published: October 2022

This abstract has been withdrawn. Please see: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac183
Retracted: Poster No. 014 Diurnal and weekly variation in thrombotic and fibrinolytic status in healthy individuals
Authors: Memtsas Vassilios P , Gue Ying X , Kanji Rahim , Gorog Diana A
Published: October 2022

This abstract has been withdrawn. Please see: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac183
Retracted: Poster No. 021 Correlation of Inflammation and Coagulation Serum Markers with The Incidenceof Deep Vein Thrombosis in High-Risk Thrombosis Cancer Patients
Authors: Budianto Widi , Setiawan Budi
Published: October 2022

This abstract has been withdrawn. Please see: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac183
Retracted: Poster No. 028 Sex differences in cardiac operations	Are we being fair to our female patients?
Authors: Fitton Catherine A , Belch Jill J F
Published: October 2022

This abstract has been withdrawn. Please see: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac183
Retracted: Oral Presentation No. 034 A Case Series of patients with Pulmonary Embolism during post COVID-19 period
Authors: Leonidou Elena , Ioannou Maria , Chaziri Ioanna , Mouzarou Angeliki
Published: October 2022

This abstract has been withdrawn. Please see: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac183
Poster No. 040 Traversing boundaries inside the heart
Authors: Oliveira Inês Pereira , Cruz Isabel , Lopes Rafaela , Bragança Bruno , Campos Inês , Azevedo João , Andrade Aurora
Published: October 2022

An 84-year-old man with previous pulmonary embolism (PE) was admitted to hospital for acute dyspnea. He was normotensive, but tachypneic and tachycardic. Non-relevant findings on auscultation. ECG showed sinus tachycardia and blood tests depicted elevated D-dimers and troponin I. Angio-CT diagnosed a PE. Echocardiogram (echo) showed an enlarged right ventricle with depressed function, a flattened septum with paradoxical movement, preserved left ventricular function, no intracavitary masses. Enoxaparin was started. Days later he developed new left sided hemiparesis. Acute ischemic cerebral lesion on CT scan. Echo disclosed a new hyperechogenic highly mobile mass attached to the interatrial septum moving from the right to the left atrium, suggestive of thrombus. Anticoagulation was maintained and on new echo evaluation days later there were no intracardiac masses. Agitated saline echo testing disclosed the presence of a patent foramen ovale, supporting the previous notion that a thrombus was moving between interatrial chambers. Oncological screening and prothrombotic evaluation were not completed due to unfavorable clinical evolution.

Paradoxical embolism (PaE) is usually a presumptive diagnosis. It is rarely found in clinical practice, though its prevalence may be underestimated due to the transient nature of the phenomenon and the difficulty in identifying a venous thrombus-in-transit through a cardiac defect and subsequent arterial embolism. The presence of a thrombus-in-transit modifies the treatment strategy, requiring urgent management due to the impeding risk of PaE, with treatment options comprising anticoagulation, thrombolysis and thrombectomy. Although no consensus exists regarding optimal strategy, surgical embolectomy is the favored approach in most published cases.
Poster No. 095 The predictors of clinical outcome in the patients undergoing endovascular intervention for lower extremity peripheral arterial disease
Authors: Ok Kim Byung
Published: October 2022

Background

Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have a higher mortality rate than patients without PAD. This study aimed to identify the predictors of mortality outcomes in patients with peripheral artery disease undergoing lower extremity endovascular interventions.

Materials and methods

We studied 300 consecutive patients admitted for symptomatic PAD. A 196 patients without angina and prior coronary revascularization (72 ± 10 years, 156 men) who underwent lower extremity endovascular intervention (claudication, n = 74; critical limb ischemia, n = 122) were retrospectively analyzed. Results: During follow-up, all-cause mortality and MACCE at 3 year were 16.3% and 19.8%, respectively. The independent risk factors for all-cause mortality were old age (HR = 1.05, P = 0.043), lower body mass index (HR = 0.83, P = 0.016), critical limb ischemia (HR = 3.74, P = 0.033) and the presence of CAD (HR = 2.85, P = 0.027). This variable surpassed all classical risk factors (including smoking and history of hypertension or diabetes mellitus). Of the 196 patients, 101 patients (52%) had asymptomatic CAD; 1-VD (n = 35, 18%); 2-VD (n = 32, 16%); 3-VD (n = 28, 14%). At 3 year follow-up, patients with CAD had significantly higher all-cause mortality (19% vs. 11%, P = 0.018) and higher MACCE rate (26% vs. 8%, P = 0.001) compared to those without CAD.

Conclusions

Asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) was found in half of the patients undergoing endovascular intervention for PAD and associated with higher mortality and MACCE rate. Therefore, detection of CAD might be important for risk stratification for these patients, especially with lower body mass index or critical limb ischemia.
Oral Presentation No. 112 Treatment of pulmonary embolism after paradoxical stroke
Authors: Martinho Mariana , Cotrim Nuno , Ferreira Melanie , Calé Rita , Ferreira Filipa , Grilo Vilma , Gisca Eugeniu , Fonseca Ana Glória , Gomes Ana , Judas Tiago , Pereira Hélder , Delerue Francisca
Published: October 2022

Introduction

A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is often diagnosed in cryptogenic strokes and concurrent pulmonary embolism (PE) may be associated. Although often asymptomatic and with low recurrence risk, the best therapy is controversial.

Purpose

To study the results of oral anticogulation (OAC) in this population.

Methods

Retrospective single-centre study (2015–2020) of pts with asymptomatic PE diagnosed after a paradoxical stroke due to a PFO.

Results

Forty pts were included. Mean age was 56 ± 11 years and 55% were female. At diagnosis, 27.5%, 50.0%, 17.5% and 5.9% had none, weak, moderate and strong predisposing factors for PE, respectively. Most pts had peripheral events: 60.0% subsegmental, 37.5% segmental and 2.5% lobar.

Regarding treatment, 97.5% initiated OAC (90.0% direct OAC, 7.5% vitamin K antagonist); 1 pt single antiaggregation; 30% had percutaneous PFO closure.

Mean clinical follow-up (FUP) was 32 ± 22 months. There was 1 recurrent PE and 1 non-cardiovascular death. Mean time under OAC (TUOAC) was 27 ± 26 months. The only predictor of OAC suspension was PFO closure (17.9% vs. 50.0%, P = 0.037). Of these pts, 50.0% suspended OAC after the procedure (TUOAC 23.2 ± 17.9 months); the remaining had a TUOAC of 28.9 ± 29.9 months. Age or PE predisposing factors were not associated with OAC suspension or TUOAC. There were 3 clinically relevant haemorrhagic events (1 BARC3a,1 BARC3b, 1 BARC3c). TUOAC was neither associated with bleeding (P = 0.307) nor with perfusion defects resolution in FUP scintigraphy (55.5 vs. 16.0 months, P = 0.172).

Conclusions

TUOAC was not associated with perfusion defects resolution, ischemic or bleeding events. Management of these pts needs more evidence and consensus.
Clinical Case 07—Acute myocardial infarction due to paradoxical embolism: a difficult and underrecognized diagnosis
Authors: Oliveira Cátia , Proença Tânia , Pinho Ana , Santos Luís , Cabrita André , Marques Catarina , Amador Ana Filipa , Calvão João , Costa Catarina , Carvalho Miguel , Pinto Ricardo , Lebreiro Ana , Macedo Filipe
Published: October 2022

Paradoxical embolism occurs when embolic material crosses from the venous to the arterial circulation through an intracardiac defect, such as a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Although rare, it may be a cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), requiring a high degree of clinical suspicion for diagnosis.

We report a case of a 30-year-old man presenting in the emergency department with prolonged atypical left thoracic pain, electrocardiogram showing sinus rhythm with 1 mm ST-elevation in the inferior leads, and high-sensitivity troponin I elevation (maximum of 20 682 ng/L). The patient underwent emergent coronary angiography which showed apparently normal coronary arteries.

The patient was then submitted to cardiac magnetic resonance that showed a recent transmural infarction of the inferior wall. (Figure 1). A right coronary branch was assumed as the culprit.

Additional study was made, with trans-esophageal echocardiogram (TEE) with agitated saline test revealing a PFO with spontaneous right-left shunt (Figure 1). No intra-cavitary thrombus or other embolic source were found and the patient remained in sinus rhythm. Thrombophilia and auto-immune panel were negative.

A presumptive diagnosis of paradoxical coronary emboli was made. PFO closure was performed with the Noblestich© system (a suture-based system).

In conclusion, although paradoxical coronary artery embolism is an established cause of ACS, it requires a high degree of clinical suspicion for diagnosis. Recognition of this condition is important as it influences patients’ management and prognosis and percutaneous device closure of the PFO should be considered to prevent future embolic events. Figure 1A: Short axis cardiac resonance showing transmural late gadolinium enhancement in the inferior wall. B and C: Trans-esophageal echocardiography with Doppler signal (B) and agitated saline test (C) showing the PFO with shunting.
Retracted: Clinical Case 25—Intrinsic prothrombotic states and his influence on the management of the patient with acute myocardial infarction
Authors: de Sousa Miguel Carias , Piçarra Bruno , Bento Ângela , Trinca Manuel
Published: October 2022

This abstract has been withdrawn. Please see: https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac183
Clinical Case 29—The role of transthoracic echocardiography on patients presenting with shock of unknown etiology
Authors: Paula Sofia B , Figueiredo Margarida , Santos Mariana , Santos Hélder , Almeida Samuel
Published: October 2022

Seventy-six-year-old woman, with a previous medical history of arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia, hypothyroidism and mitral valve plasty (previous rheumatic fever) presents to the emergency department with unspecific complaints of malaise, productive cough and dyspnoea for the past 15 days. At admission, the patient was conscient, apyretic, tachycardic, hypotensive and with peripheric oxygen saturation of 90% (on room air). The patient became haemodynamically unstable and unresponsive.

Electrocardiogram with sinus tachycardia, SIQIII pattern and a slight ST elevation in aVR and ST depression in DI, aVL and precordial leads. TTE revealed right cavities dilatation and the presence of a serpiginous echogenic mass that protruded from the inferior vena cava crossing the right atrium and reaching the right ventricle. Thrombolysis, fluid challenge and vasopressor perfusion were immediately started with a good clinic response.

Haemodynamic stability was achieved 5 hours after the thrombolysis. An unfractionated heparin perfusion was initiated after the thrombolysis and discontinued 24 h after the patient was admitted. The remaining hospitalization was uneventful and the patient was discharged 7 days after on a non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant. TTE revaluation before discharge revealed mild dilatation of the right cavities with mild systolic dysfunction of the right ventricle and a normal PSAP.

There is no scientific evidence regarding the best strategy to approach a patient with a migrating thrombus and TTE is of high value in the case of shock due to its high specificity as a rule-in test, especially when the patient cannot undergo other types of exams. Figure 1Transthoracic echocardiography (subcostal 4 chamber view) showing the presence of a serpiginous echogenic mass in the right atrium (red arrow).
Antithrombotic treatment beyond 1 year after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with atrial fibrillation
Authors: Jensen Thomas , Thrane Pernille G , Olesen Kevin K W , Würtz Morten , Mortensen Martin Bødtker , Gyldenkerne Christine , Thim Troels , Nørgaard Bjarne Linde , Jensen Jesper Møller , Kristensen Steen Dalby , Nielsen Jens C , Eikelboom John W , Maeng Michael
Published: October 2022

Aims

Beyond 1 year after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), guidelines recommend anticoagulant monotherapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) rather than dual therapy with an anticoagulant and an antiplatelet drug. The risks and benefits of this strategy, however, remain uncertain. We examined hospitalization for bleeding and ischaemic risk beyond 1 year after PCI in patients with AF treated with monotherapy vs. dual therapy. Furthermore, among patients treated with monotherapy, we compared direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) therapy and vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy.

Methods and results

We included all patients with AF undergoing first-time PCI between 2003 and 2017 from the Western Denmark Heart Registry and followed them for up to 4 years. Follow-up started 15 months after PCI to enable assessment of medical treatment after 12 months. Using a Cox regression model, we computed weighted hazard ratios (HRw) of hospitalization for bleeding and major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Analyses comparing monotherapy vs. dual therapy included 3331 patients, and analyses comparing DOAC vs. VKA monotherapy included 1275 patients. Risks of hospitalization for bleeding [HRw 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.75–1.09] and MACE (HRw 1.04, 95% CI 0.90–1.19) were similar with monotherapy and dual therapy. Similarly, risks of hospitalization for bleeding (HRw 1.27, 95% CI 0.84–1.92) and MACE (HRw 1.15, 95% CI 0.87–1.50) were equal with DOAC and VKA monotherapy.

Conclusion

Our results support long-term OAC monotherapy beyond 1 year after PCI in patients with atrial fibrillation and suggest that DOAC monotherapy is as safe and effective as VKA monotherapy.
Family physicians’ perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on preventative care in primary care: findings from a qualitative study
Authors: Vaughan Crystal , Lukewich Julia , Mathews Maria , Marshall Emily Gard , Hedden Lindsay , Spencer Sarah , Ryan Dana , McCracken Rita K , Gill Paul , Wetmore Stephen , Buote Richard , Meredith Leslie , Moritz Lauren , Brown Judith Belle
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Health system disruptions, caused by unexpected emergencies such as disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and cybercrimes, impact the delivery of routine preventative care. As comprehensive care providers, family physicians (FPs) devote significant time to prevention. However, without emergency and pandemic plans in place in primary care, FPs face added barriers to prioritizing and sustaining preventative care when health systems are strained, which was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to describe FPs’ experiences providing preventative care during the COVID-19 pandemic and their perceptions of the impacts of disrupted preventative care in primary care settings.

Methods

Using a qualitative descriptive approach, we conducted semistructured interviews with FPs across 4 provinces in Canada (i.e. Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, British Columbia) between October 2020 and June 2021 as part of a larger multiple case study. These interviews broadly explored the roles and responsibilities of FPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were coded thematically and codes from the larger study were analysed further using an iterative, phased process of thematic analysis.

Results

Interviews averaged 58 min in length (range 17–97 min) and FPs had a mean of 16.9 years of experience. We identified 4 major themes from interviews with FPs (n = 68): (i) lack of capacity and coordination across health systems, (ii) patient fear, (iii) impacts on patient care, and (iv) negative impacts on FPs. Physicians voiced concerns with managing patients’ prevention needs when testing availability and coordination of services was limited. Early in the pandemic, patients were also missing or postponing their own primary care appointments. Change in the provision and coordination of routine preventative care had negative impacts on both patients and physicians, affecting disease incidence/progression, physician workload, and psychological wellbeing.

Conclusion

During the COVID-19 pandemic, upstream care efforts were impacted, and FPs were forced to reduce their provision of preventative care. FPs contribute direct insight to primary care delivery that can support pandemic planning to ensure preventative care is sustained during future emergencies.