bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrogen and Oxygen Permeability through PEFC Membrane and Membrane Electrode Assembly
Authors: Kageyama Miho , Balci Beste , Danjo Shotaro , Nakamichi Kimiyo , Kawase Motoaki
Published: September 2023

A proton exchange membrane (PEM) is an important component of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) from the viewpoint of proton transport. Only protons are desired to be transported through a membrane, but the feed gases also permeate. The permeation of the feed gas through a membrane affects the PEFC performance. Temperature and relative humidity dependencies of the hydrogen and oxygen permeability through a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane were measured. By considering that a membrane consists of three layers, i.e. a bulk layer sandwiched between skin layers, the transport properties of each layer were separated. The bulk layer effective diffusion coefficients of hydrogen and oxygen through both a PEM and an MEA were formulated as a function of temperature and RH. The oxygen transfer coefficient in the skin layer increased with RH, whereas the hydrogen transfer coefficient was almost constant regardless of RH.
Radical Attack and Damage Mitigation in Hydrocarbon-Based Ionomers
Authors: Gubler Lorenz , de Wild Tym , Nemeth Tamas , Nauser Thomas
Published: September 2023

An antioxidant strategy for aromatic hydrocarbon based proton exchange membranes for fuel cells and electrolyzers requires an understanding of the mechanisms of radical attack and follow-up reactions. We provide experimental evidence that radical scavenging is ineffective. Instead, focus has to be placed on repairing intermediates. Recent studies of exposure of model compounds to radicals formed in a γ-irradiation cell are reported. Fuel cell tests of membranes containing polymer-bound antioxidants with cerium and copper metal complexes show improved chemical stability in an accelerated stress test. Requirements for a successful implementation of a damage-repair mechanism in hydrocarbon membranes are discussed.
Molecular Dynamics Analysis of the Scattering Phenomena of Oxygen Molecules on an Ionomer Surface in Catalyst Layer of Fuel Cell
Authors: Mizuki Keisuke , Mabuchi Takuya , Kinefuchi Ikuya , Tokumasu Takashi
Published: September 2023

The purpose of this study is to clarify the effect of surface diffusion, which is the behavior of gas molecules on ionomer thin films, on the transport properties of oxygen in fuel cell catalyst layers. To this end, the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and molecular dynamics (MD) methods were used in our simulations. The results of the DSMC method showed that the overall transport is strongly affected by the behavior of surface diffusion. It was found that the diffuse reflection model for surface diffusion used in the DSMC method has room for improvement as the MD results show a different trend that oxygen molecules tend to reflect in the direction of travel.
Numerical Two-Phase Simulations of Alkaline Water Electrolyzers
Authors: Hess Steffen , Zhang Shidong , Kadyk Thomas , Lehnert Werner , Eikerling Michael , Beale Steven B.
Published: September 2023

This study presents a computational simulation of a zero-gap alkaline water electrolysis cell. The model employed is a three-dimensional, steady-state, non-isothermal, two-phase-flow computational fluid dynamics approach, which has been implemented by means of the OpenFOAM software library. This integration expands the capabilities of the existing libraries within the open-source framework, openFuelCell2, by introducing novel surface and volumetric coupling strategies to connect the dependent quantities over the existing interfaces and different regions. Additionally, the Nernst–Planck equation is incorporated into the two-phase Eulerian–Eulerian framework to describe the behavior of the liquid electrolyte within the cell.The model’s validation in this study is based on experimentally-determined polarization curves for various temperatures and volumetric flow rates. The results obtained show good agreement with the experimentally-acquired data. The implemented model has demonstrated its ability to accurately predict the transport of ions within the electrolyte and assess the influence of the generated gas phase on the local distribution of current density.
Phase Transformation of YSZ Electrolyte in Anode-Supported SOFCs
Authors: Bai Qingchuan , Bagarinao Katherine Develos , Ishiyama Tomohiro , Yamaguchi Toshiaki , Kishimoto Haruo
Published: September 2023

The addition of nickel oxide (NiO) to 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) accelerates the phase transformation from cubic phase to tetragonal phase when exposed to a reducing atmosphere at relatively high temperatures such as 900 ℃, resulting in the degradation of oxide ion conductivity.In this study,　NiO-related phase transformation of 8YSZ electrolyte is investigated for anode-supported cells (ASCs). 8YSZ electrolyte co-sintered with NiO-YSZ anode at high temperatures exhibited NiO dissolution into the 8YSZ electrolyte during the sintering process and the amount of dissolved NiO increased with increased sintering temperatures. After reducing the cells at 900 ℃, phase transformation is observed in the 8YSZ electrolyte and resulted in a decrease of the oxide ion diffusion coefficient (D*). On the other hand, no phase transformation is observed for the cells reduced at 700 ℃for 5 hours.
(Invited) Developing Electrodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells What I Learned from Anil Virkar about Designing High Performance Electrodes
Authors: Armstrong Tad J
Published: September 2023

The effects of various microstructural and material properties on the electrode overpotentials of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) were investigated. A review of the influence and sensitivity of porosity and pore structure on the effective gas diffusivity and resulting concentration polarization of electrodes is presented. The doping of Ni in the anode support as a means to improve redox cycling and stability was demonstrated. Composite electrode layers nearest to the electrolyte were studied with regard to microstructure and materials selection. In particular, the influence of the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte phase in the composite electrode on the electrode polarization was investigated. A fabrication method was developed that produced an electrolyte skeleton with improved particle-to-particle necking and yet extremely porous, that could subsequently be infiltrated with an electrocatalyst material. Applying and combining the various strategies outlined, highly efficient electrodes were developed and demonstrated for solid oxide fuel cells.
(Invited) Utilization of Bio-CO2 and Bio-Methane for Fuel Production: Integration Solid Oxide Electrolyzer, Low Energy Plasma Reformer with Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis
Authors: Elangovan S , Hartvigsen Joseph , Hollist Michele , Elwell Jessica
Published: September 2023

Transition to renewable energy is essential to achieve climate protection objectives. Besides storing electricity for later use, fuel production using renewable energy is an essential part of reducing fossil dependance. The highest value application in current markets is the production of liquid transportation fuels such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) from sustainable, ideally biogenic carbon resources. A system is presented for processing anaerobic digester gas for liquid hydrocarbon production. Bio-CO2 is processed through a solid oxide electrolysis cell and bio-CH4through a low energy plasma reformer. The combined synthesis gas is supplied to a Fischer-Tropsch reactor for the production of liquid hydrocarbons. The combination of technologies nearly doubles the yield of biofuel by utilizing the bio-CO2 in addition to the bio-CH4. The product fuel is all bio-carbon but it also embodies renewable electric energy in a high-value, storable and transportable liquid hydrocarbon.
Phase-Field Modelling of Microstructure Evolution in Solid Oxide Cells
Authors: Shang Yijing , Chen Ming
Published: September 2023

The performance degradation of Solid Oxide Cells (SOC) caused by microstructure evolution limits the SOC’s lifetime. Long-term testing combined with post-mortem characterization is one common approach to clarify degradation mechanisms and develop counter-acting measures, but this is associated with extensive amount of experimental work and long research time. Instead, many researchers have devoted their efforts to investigating degradation using computational methods. The phase-field model has been utilized in the SOC research to illustrate the microstructure evolution during long-term operation from micron to millimeter scale, with the possibility of taking into account the mechanical properties as well. In this article, the principle of the phase-field method and different models are introduced first, followed by examples published in literature on phase-field modeling of various degradation phenomena in SOCs. Finally, possible strategies coupling modelling and experimental research in optimizing SOC performance and microstructure are discussed.
Distribution of Relaxation Times of Fuel Electrodes for Reversible Solid Oxide Cells Fabricated Under Various Conditions
Authors: Nagatomo Yohei , Tachikawa Yuya , Lyth Stephen Matthew , Matsuda Junko , Sasaki Kazunari
Published: September 2023

Reversible solid oxide cells (r-SOCs) are electrochemical energy devices that can reversibly switch between power generation by solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and hydrogen production by solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) the reverse operation of SOFCs. For the development of high-performance and durable r-SOCs, it is essential to understand not only the I-V characteristics but also the electrode reaction processes systematically. Here in this study, Ni-GDC cermet fuel electrodes, a composite of Ni and mixed-conducting Gd-doped ceria (GDC), were prepared at different sintering temperatures and electrode thicknesses. Electrochemical impedance measurements and distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis were performed in both SOFC and SOEC modes to investigate the influence of fabrication conditions on the fuel electrode reaction processes.
Platinum Surface Oxide and Oxygen Reduction Reaction Kinetics during Transient Fuel Cell Operation
Authors: Kongkanand Anusorn , Yarlagadda Venkata , Gu Wenbin , Arisetty Srikanth
Published: September 2023

Pt surface oxide coverage (POC) and Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) were measured under a range of operating conditions in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Sensitivity analysis suggests that adsorption of sulfonate groups of the ionomer on the Pt surface plays an important role in POC and ORR kinetics. Although both Pt oxide growth and ORR activity decay follow a logarithm of time behavior, it is found that ORR kinetics are affected by at least two different types of Pt oxide. A semi-empirical ORR kinetic model is proposed taking into account the effect of ionomer and Pt oxide types. The model is capable of providing a quantitative prediction of POC and ORR activity over a range of potential, temperature, relative humidity, and time that is relevant to normal PEMFC operation.
Websites of Note - Fall 2023
Authors: Suroviec Alice
Published: September 2023

Websites of Note selected for you by Alice Suroviec
Hydrothermal Synthesis of the CeO2 Nanoparticles and Its Calcination Temperature Effect on Dielectric and Supercapacitor Performance
Authors: Godlaveeti Sreenivasa Kumar , Chintaparty Rajababu , Somala Adinarayana Reddy , Alothman Asma A. , Mohammad Saikh , Nagireddy Ramamanohar Reddy
Published: September 2023

Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles (NPs) was synthesized by the hydrothermal method. In this method cerium (IV) sulfate tetrahydrate as precursor was taken as solvent and sodium hydroxide as a precipitating agent. In this case, the CeO2 NPs were synthesized at various annealing conditions and characterized by different instrument techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and Raman spectroscopy were employed to examine the crystal structure, functional groups, morphology and elemental composition of the final product. The dried and different calcination of the CeO2 NPs were investigated by supercapacitor and dielectric performance.
Impact of Deposition Temperature on Physical Properties of MgO-SiO2 Preparer Based on Natural Resources (Rocks)
Authors: Bouchaala A. , Hadef D. , Belkhalfa H. , Benmebrouk L. , Mohammadi L.
Published: September 2023

This search displays the effects of deposition temperature on the physical properties of MgO-SiO2 thin films. These thin films were deposited on glass substrates using the autoclave method (within 120min) and at temperature deposition range of within a deposition temperature range of 150 °C–300 °C. These films were diagnosed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and UV–Vis spectrophotometer for structural, morphological and optical analysis respectively. Using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), the compositional characterization analysis of the MgO-SiO2 films was also carried out. The XRD patterns reveal that the MgO-SiO2 films have a cubic and hexagonal phase polycrystalline composition with the preferential growth direction of (0 0 2) and (0 1 1) respectively. Granular size was found to decrease by increasing the deposition temperature except at 200 °C, The crystal and optical parameters are calculated and discussed in detail. Membranes were found to have an absorption coefficient below (104 Cm−1) which means indirect permissible and forbidden electronic transitions. The SEM observations show that the films have homogeneous surfaces with clear fullness, The experimental results reveal that MgO-SiO2 thin films may be used as an alternative material for environmentally friendly buffer layer.
Multilevel Feature Fusion-Based GCN for Rumor Detection with Topic Relevance Mining
Authors: Chen Shenyu , Li Meng , Yang Weifeng
Published: September 2023

This paper addresses the problem of detecting internet rumors in social media. Rumors do great harm to information society, making rumor detection necessary. However, existing methods for detecting rumors generally only learn pattern features or text content features from the whole propagation process, which fall short in capturing multilevel features with topic relevance of text content from social media data. In this paper, we propose a novel graph convolution network model, named multilevel feature fusion-based graph convolution network (MFF-GCN) which can employ multiple streams of GCNs to learn different level features of rumor data, respectively. We build a heterogeneous tweet graph for each single-level feature GCN to encode the topic relation among tweets based on the text contents. Experiments on real-world Twitter data demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves much better performance than the state-of-the-art methods with higher values of precision and recall as well as their corresponding F1 score. In addition, the diversity of our experimental results shows the generalization ability of our model.
Gestational Early-Time Restricted Feeding Results in Sex-Specific Glucose Intolerance in Adult Male Mice
Authors: Mulcahy Molly C. , El Habbal Noura , Snyder Detrick , Redd JeAnna R. , Sun Haijing , Gregg Brigid E. , Bridges Dave
Published: September 2023

The timing of food intake is a novel dietary component that impacts health. Time-restricted feeding (TRF), a form of intermittent fasting, manipulates food timing. The timing of eating may be an important factor to consider during critical periods, such as pregnancy. Nutrition during pregnancy, too, can have a lasting impact on offspring health. The timing of food intake has not been thoroughly investigated in models of pregnancy, despite evidence that interest in the practice exists. Therefore, using a mouse model, we tested body composition and glycemic health of gestational early TRF (eTRF) in male and female offspring from weaning to adulthood on a chow diet and after a high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diet challenge. Body composition was similar between groups in both sexes from weaning to adulthood, with minor increases in food intake in eTRF females and slightly improved glucose tolerance in males while on a chow diet. However, after 10 weeks of HFHS, male eTRF offspring developed glucose intolerance. Further studies should assess the susceptibility of males, and apparent resilience of females, to gestational eTRF and assess mechanisms underlying these changes in adult males.
Analysis of HBV and COVID‐19 Coinfection Model with Intervention Strategies
Authors: Teklu Shewafera Wondimagegnhu
Published: September 2023

Coinfection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and COVID‐19 is a common public health problem throughout some nations in the world. In this study, a mathematical model for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and COVID‐19 coinfection is constructed to investigate the effect of protection and treatment mechanisms on its spread in the community. Necessary conditions of the proposed model nonnegativity and boundedness of solutions are analyzed. We calculated the model reproduction numbers and carried out the local stabilities of disease‐free equilibrium points whenever the associated reproduction number is less than unity. Using the well‐known Castillo‐Chavez criteria, the disease‐free equilibrium points are shown to be globally asymptotically stable whenever the associated reproduction number is less than unity. Sensitivity analysis proved that the most influential parameters are transmission rates. Moreover, we carried out numerical simulation and shown results: some parameters have high spreading effect on the disease transmission, single infections have great impact on the coinfection transmission, and using protections and treatments simultaneously is the most effective strategy to minimize and also to eradicate the HBV and COVID‐19 coinfection spreading in the community. It is concluded that to control the transmission of both diseases in a population, efforts must be geared towards preventing incident infection with either or both diseases.
The Challenges of Spirometric Diagnosis of COPD
Authors: Maldonado-Franco Adriana , Giraldo-Cadavid Luis F. , Tuta-Quintero Eduardo , Bastidas Goyes Alirio R. , Botero-Rosas Daniel A.
Published: September 2023

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the top causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although for many years its accurate diagnosis has been a focus of intense research, it is still challenging. Due to its simplicity, portability, and low cost, spirometry has been established as the main tool to detect this condition, but its flawed performance makes it an imperfect COPD diagnosis gold standard. This review aims to provide an up-to-date literature overview of recent studies regarding COPD diagnosis; we seek to identify their limitations and establish perspectives for spirometric diagnosis of COPD in the XXI century by combining deep clinical knowledge of the disease with advanced computer analysis techniques.
Coping with Workplace Bullying: Strategies Employed by Nurses in the Healthcare Setting
Authors: João Ana Lúcia , Portelada António
Published: September 2023

Purpose. As regards nursing professionals, workplace bullying is characterized by a set of repeated and banalized negative behaviors carried out by the aggressors that have more power than victims. Such behaviors adversely affect both the victims and the healthcare institutions where the events occur. Upon repeated exposure to workplace bullying, the victims use coping strategies to modify their work environment and adapt to the aggressor, as they try to reduce the discomfort caused by the bullying behavior. The present work aims to describe the psychometric characteristics of the NAQ-R (Negative Act Questionnaire-Revised) and COPE (COPE Inventory) assessment instruments. In addition, it aims to assess the coping strategies employed by nurses who were victims of workplace bullying. Methods. This study is quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional in nature. Data were collected through a digital survey which consisted of sociodemographic and professional components. The NAQ-R and COPE scales were used to evaluate these components. The study included a total of 2015 Portuguese nurses in the sample. Results. Talking to coworkers and confronting the aggressors were the main strategies adopted by nurses who experienced bullying behaviors at work. Also, based on the first and third evaluation criteria, nurses who faced workplace bullying presented a higher average value of “support seeking” and “substance use” and resorted more to “evasion” when compared to those who had not been bullied. Based on the second assessment criterion, nurses who endured workplace bullying resorted more to “evasion” and “substance use” and exhibited less “acceptance.” Conclusions. When confronted with workplace bullying, nurses predominantly chose negative coping strategies and, in their majority, nurses had not received training on that topic. In this regard, nurses’ training is considered important, so as to encourage the use of positive coping strategies that minimize the negative effects of the phenomenon.
Gene–Environment Analyses Reveal Novel Genetic Candidates with Prenatal Tobacco Exposure in Relation to Risk for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Zhong Charlie , Li Shaobo , Arroyo Katti , Morimoto Libby M. , de Smith Adam J. , Metayer Catherine , Ma Xiaomei , Kogan Scott C. , Gauderman W. James , Wiemels Joseph L.
Published: September 2023

Background:

Associations between maternal tobacco exposure during pregnancy and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have yielded mixed results. This may be due to biases in self-reported smoking or other differences in individual-level risk factors. We utilized a biological marker of maternal tobacco exposure to evaluate the association between maternal tobacco exposure during pregnancy, genetics, and subsequent childhood ALL risk in two large population-based studies of childhood ALL in California.

Methods:

Maternal exposure to tobacco smoke was assessed with a validated methylation marker (cg05575921) of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) gene in newborn dried blood spots. We adjusted for sex, birthweight, gestational age, mode of delivery, year of birth, AHRR quantitative trait locus (mQTL) rs77111113, and a polygenetic risk score for childhood ALL. We additionally adjusted for principal components in a gene–environment interaction testing method that incorporates gene-only and environment-only effects along with interactions.

Results:

AHRR hypomethylation overall was not associated with childhood ALL. In gene–environment interaction testing, several genetic variants displayed significant interaction with AHRR hypomethylation and childhood ALL.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that novel candidates in PTPRK and DPP6 may play a role in tobacco-related leukemogenesis. Further research is necessary to better understand the effects of tobacco and these variants on childhood ALL risk.

Impact:

Despite the lack of an overall “main effect,” tobacco exposure during pregnancy affects childhood ALL risk depending on specific genetic variants.
Clinical Behavior and Molecular Landscape of Stage I p53-Abnormal Low-Grade Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinomas
Authors: Jamieson Amy , Vermij Lisa , Kramer Claire J.H. , Jobsen Jan J. , Jürgemlienk-Schulz Ina , Lutgens Ludy , Mens Jan Willem , Haverkort Marie A.D. , Slot Annerie , Nout Remi A. , Oosting Jan , Carlson Joseph , Howitt Brooke E. , Ip Philip P.C. , Lax Sigurd F. , McCluggage W. Glenn , Singh Naveena , McAlpine Jessica N. , Creutzberg Carien L. , Horeweg Nanda , Gilks C. Blake , Bosse Tjalling
Published: September 2023

Purpose:

The clinical significance of the p53-abnormal (p53abn) molecular subtype in stage I low-grade endometrioid endometrial carcinoma (EEC) is debated. We aimed to review pathologic and molecular characteristics, and outcomes of stage I low-grade p53abn EEC in a large international cohort.

Experimental Design:

Previously diagnosed stage I p53abn EC (POLE–wild-type, mismatch repair–proficient) low-grade EEC from Canadian retrospective cohorts and PORTEC-1&2 trials were included. Pathology review was performed by six expert gynecologic pathologists blinded to p53 status. IHC profiling, next-generation sequencing, and shallow whole-genome sequencing was performed. Kaplan–Meier method was used for survival analysis.

Results:

We identified 55 stage I p53abn low-grade EEC among 3,387 cases (2.5%). On pathology review, 17 cases (31%) were not diagnosed as low-grade EEC by any pathologists, whereas 26 cases (47%) were diagnosed as low-grade EEC by at least three pathologists. The IHC and molecular profile of the latter cases were consistent with low-grade EEC morphology (ER/PR positivity, patchy p16 expression, PIK3CA and PTEN mutations) but they also showed features of p53abn EC (TP53 mutations, many copy-number alterations). These cases had a clinically relevant risk of disease recurrence (5-year recurrence-free survival 77%), with pelvic and/or distant recurrences observed in 12% of the patients.

Conclusions:

A subset of p53abn EC is morphologically low-grade EEC and exhibit genomic instability. Even for stage I disease, p53abn low-grade EEC are at substantial risk of disease recurrence. These findings highlight the clinical relevance of universal p53-testing, even in low-grade EEC, to identify women at increased risk of recurrence.
Olaparib and Ceralasertib (AZD6738) in Patients with Triple-Negative Advanced Breast Cancer: Results from Cohort E of the plasmaMATCH Trial (CRUK/15/010)
Authors: Ring Alistair , Kilburn Lucy S. , Pearson Alex , Moretti Laura , Afshari-Mehr Angelica , Wardley Andrew M. , Gurel Bora , Macpherson Iain R. , Riisnaes Ruth , Baird Richard D. , Martin Sue , Roylance Rebecca , Johnson Hannah , Ferreira Ana , Winter Matthew C. , Dunne Kathryn , Copson Ellen , Hickish Tamas , Burcombe Russell , Randle Kat , Serra Violeta , Llop-Guevara Alba , Bliss Judith M. , Turner Nicolas C.
Published: September 2023

Purpose:

Approximately 10% to 15% of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) have deleterious mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and may benefit from PARP inhibitor treatment. PARP inhibitors may also increase exogenous replication stress and thereby increase sensitivity to inhibitors of ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) protein. This phase II study examined the activity of the combination of PARP inhibitor, olaparib, and ATR inhibitor, ceralasertib (AZD6738), in patients with advanced TNBC.

Patients and Methods:

Patients with TNBC on most recent biopsy who had received 1 or 2 lines of chemotherapy for advanced disease or had relapsed within 12 months of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy were eligible. Treatment was olaparib 300 mg twice a day continuously and celarasertib 160 mg on days 1–7 on a 28-day cycle until disease progression. The primary endpoint was confirmed objective response rate (ORR). Tissue and plasma biomarker analyses were preplanned to identify predictors of response.

Results:

70 evaluable patients were enrolled. Germline BRCA1/2 mutations were present in 10 (14%) patients and 3 (4%) patients had somatic BRCA mutations. The confirmed ORR was 12/70; 17.1% (95% confidence interval, 10.4–25.5). Responses were observed in patients without germline or somatic BRCA1/2 mutations, including patients with mutations in other homologous recombination repair genes and tumors with functional homologous recombination deficiency by RAD51 foci.

Conclusions:

The response rate to olaparib and ceralasertib did not meet prespecified criteria for activity in the overall evaluable population, but responses were observed in patients who would not be expected to respond to olaparib monotherapy.
Site-Specific Dolasynthen Antibody–Drug Conjugates Exhibit Consistent Pharmacokinetic Profiles across a Wide Range of Drug-to-Antibody Ratios
Authors: Clardy Susan M. , Uttard Alex , Du Bingfan , Catcott Kalli C. , Lancaster Kelly L. , Ditty Elizabeth , Sadowsky Jack , Zurita Jeffrey , Malli Naniye , Qin LiuLiang , Bradley Stephen P. , Avocetien Kenneth , Carter Tyler , Kim Dokyong , Nazzaro Mark , Xu Ling , Pillow Thomas H. , Zacharias Neelie T. , Lewis Gail D. , Rowntree Rebecca K. , Iyengar Radha , Lee David H. , Damelin Marc , Toader Dorin , Lowinger Timothy B.
Published: September 2023

Key defining attributes of an antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) include the choice of the targeting antibody, linker, payload, and the drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR). Historically, most ADC platforms have used the same DAR for all targets, regardless of target characteristics. However, recent studies and modeling suggest that the optimal DAR can depend on target expression level and intratumoral heterogeneity, target internalization and trafficking, and characteristics of the linker and payload. An ADC platform that enables DAR optimization could improve the success rate of clinical candidates. Here we report a systematic exploration of DAR across a wide range, by combining THIOMAB protein engineering technology with Dolasynthen, an auristatin-based platform with monomeric and trimeric variants. This approach enabled the generation of homogeneous, site-specific ADCs spanning a discrete range of DARs 2, 4, 6, 12, and 18 by conjugation of trastuzumab IgG1 THIOMAB constructs with 1, 2, or 3 engineered cysteines to monomeric or trimeric Dolasynthen. All ADCs had physicochemical properties that translated to excellent in vivo pharmacology. Following a single dose of ADCs in a HER2 xenograft model with moderate antigen expression, our data demonstrated comparable pharmacokinetics for the conjugates across all DARs and dose-dependent efficacy of all test articles. These results demonstrate that the Dolasynthen platform enables the generation of ADCs with a broad range of DAR values and with comparable physiochemical, pharmacologic, and pharmacokinetics profiles; thus, the Dolasynthen platform enables the empirical determination of the optimal DAR for a clinical candidate for a given target.
Herpes Simplex Virus Binds to Human Serum Lipoprotein
Authors: Huemer H.P. , Menzel H.J. , Potratz D. , Brake B. , Falke D. , Utermann G. , Dierich M.P.
Published: September 2023

Binding of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 to the various subclasses of human serum lipoproteins was investigated. Studies were performed with human serum lipoproteins purified by differential ultracentrifugation and artificial proteoliposomes containing only one type of apolipoprotein (Al5 E) by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, column chromatography, and electron microscopy. All tested lipoprotein subclasses (very low, low-, high-density lipoproteins; VLDL, LDL, HDL, HDLi) showed significant binding of purified HSV type 1. Furthermore, HSV bound to all different synthetic proteoliposomes. Adsorption of envelope proteins isolated from purified HSV to Sepharose-bound lipoproteins revealed binding of HSV glycoprotein B. Based on these results we reached the conclusion that in HSV-lipoprotein complex formation the lipid component in the lipoproteins and the glycoprotein B in HSV are the preferential reaction partners.
Exploring the Potential of Apple SensorKit and Digital Phenotyping Data as New Digital Biomarkers for Mental Health Research
Authors: Langholm Carsten , Kowatsch Tobias , Bucci Sandra , Cipriani Andrea , Torous John
Published: September 2023

The use of digital phenotyping continues to expand across all fields of health. By collecting quantitative data in real-time using devices such as smartphones or smartwatches, researchers and clinicians can develop a profile of a wide range of conditions. Smartphones contain sensors that collect data, such as GPS or accelerometer data, which can inform secondary metrics such as time spent at home, location entropy, or even sleep duration. These metrics, when used as digital biomarkers, are not only used to investigate the relationship between behavior and health symptoms but can also be used to support personalized and preventative care. Successful phenotyping requires consistent long-term collection of relevant and high-quality data. In this paper, we present the potential of newly available, for approved research, opt-in SensorKit sensors on iOS devices in improving the accuracy of digital phenotyping. We collected opt-in sensor data over 1 week from a single person with depression using the open-source mindLAMP app developed by the Division of Digital Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Five sensors from SensorKit were included. The names of the sensors, as listed in official documentation, include the following: phone usage, messages usage, visits, device usage, and ambient light. We compared data from these five new sensors from SensorKit to our current digital phenotyping data collection sensors to assess similarity and differences in both raw and processed data. We present sample data from all five of these new sensors. We also present sample data from current digital phenotyping sources and compare these data to SensorKit sensors when applicable. SensorKit offers great potential for health research. Many SensorKit sensors improve upon previously accessible features and produce data that appears clinically relevant. SensorKit sensors will likely play a substantial role in digital phenotyping. However, using these data requires advanced health app infrastructure and the ability to securely store high-frequency data.
Kohalike omavalitsuste ringmajanduslike tegevuste hetkeseisu analüüs ja teekaartide koostamine. Analüüsi aruanne
Authors:   Tallinn University of Technology, Hurt Ulrika , Piirimäe Kristjan , Tuisk Tarmo , Voronova Viktoria , Dulova Niina , Merisaar Jaana , Kull Margit , Niidu Allan , Klõga Marija , Pachel Karin , Küttim Merle
Published: September 2023

Analysis on the state of art on the circular economy actions in the Estonian local municipalities and establishing of the roadmaps. Summary report.
Treatment of Traumatic Direct Carotid Cavernous Fistula With a PK Papyrus Covered Stent: A Report of 2 Cases
Authors: Wroe William W. , Zeineddine Hussein A. , Dawes Bryden H. , Martinez‐Gutierrez Juan Carlos , Shah Malay , Spiegel Gary , Arain Salman , Blackburn Spiros L
Published: September 2023

Background

Traumatic direct carotid cavernous fistulas results in a direct communication between the internal carotid artery and the cavernous
sinus. Covered stents are not frequently used in neuro‐endovascular procedures due to concerns primarily about occlusion of
perforating vessels. There are however several factors in direct carotid cavernous fistulas that make it more amenable to covered stenting than other diseases treated endovascularly.

Methods

Wepresent 2 cases of occlusion of traumatic direct carotid cavernous fistulas utilizing the PK Papyrus stent.

Results

In our first case, this device was successfully used as a salvage technique afterfailure of conventional techniques and in the second case it was used as primary treatment.

Conclusion

The properties of the PK Papyrus covered stent are promising in overcoming the difficulties of other covered stents and warrants further investigation.
Living Capsules: Reflections on an Ongoing Art-Sociology Collaboration
Authors: Barker Ned , Burd Joana
Published: September 2023

Living Capsules is the umbrella name the authors give their art pieces, which are born from an ongoing collaboration between an artist and a sociologist who share interest in the relations between senses, bodies, and technologies. This reflective paper tells the story of the works’ cocreation. The authors first introduce the notion of biohybrid systems as their sociotechnical inspiration. Second, they mark out the conceptual space in which they began to prototype Living Capsules. Third, they reflect on how and why they blend their disciplinary practices. And finally, they share and discuss prototype pieces, sketching future directions for their continued collaboration.
Designing a Long-Structure NFT Generative Art Project: Catharsis As a Case Study
Authors: Lanza Dario
Published: September 2023

For decades considered a fringe artistic discipline, generative art has in recent years piqued an unusual amount of interest due to its integration with blockchain technology, which has given rise to new ways of designing, generating, acquiring, and collecting generative artworks. This article presents, by way of a chronicle, the author’s process in designing and creating a long-form generative project entitled Catharsis, from its conceptual genesis through the challenges and innovations it presented upon its public launch in September 2022, with a view to offering a guide that may inspire future generative artists or scholars.
Shanshui Journey: Using AI to Reproduce the Experience of Chinese Literati Ink Paintings
Authors: Le Zhou Aven , Zhang Kang
Published: September 2023

The authors investigate Chinese shanshui (literally, “mountain and water”), ink paintings of the natural landscape, through an interactive art installation entitled Shanshui Journey. By examining shanshui’s philosophy, multiple moving perspectives, and creation and appreciation practices, the work emphasizes motion in nature, memories, and interactive appreciation. These concepts are realized in a digitized room, where each participant’s motion is captured as a line “sketch” and transformed into an ink painting via a custom neural network. Generated paintings are displayed in real time alongside previous works, collectively termed Shanshui Memories, mimicking handscroll interaction. The authors’ approach to shanshui aims to reproduce the Chinese literati art experience, and to raise awareness of this cultural heritage.
Information-Theoretic Neural Decoding Reproduces Several Laws of Human Behavior
Authors: Christie S. Thomas , Johnson Hayden R. , Schrater Paul R.
Published: September 2023

Human response times conform to several regularities including the Hick-Hyman law, the power law of practice, speed-accuracy trade-offs, and the Stroop effect. Each of these has been thoroughly modeled in isolation, but no account describes these phenomena as predictions of a unified framework. We provide such a framework and show that the phenomena arise as decoding times in a simple neural rate code with an entropy stopping threshold. Whereas traditional information-theoretic encoding systems exploit task statistics to optimize encoding strategies, we move this optimization to the decoder, treating it as a Bayesian ideal observer that can track transmission statistics as prior information during decoding. Our approach allays prominent concerns that applying information-theoretic perspectives to modeling brain and behavior requires complex encoding schemes that are incommensurate with neural encoding.
On the Relation Between Cross-Linguistic Influence, Between-Language Priming and Language Proficiency: Priming of Ungrammatical Adjective Placement in Bilingual Spanish-Dutch and French-Dutch Children
Authors: van Dijk Chantal , Unsworth Sharon
Published: September 2023

After hearing a structure in one language, bilinguals are more likely to produce the same structure in their other language. Such between-language priming is often interpreted as evidence for shared syntactic representations between a bilingual’s two languages and is positively related to proficiency. Recently, shared syntactic structures and structural priming have been invoked to explain cross-linguistic influence in bilingual children. This paper examines the relation between cross-linguistic influence, between-language priming and language proficiency. Almost all studies on between-language priming have focussed on grammatical structures. However, cross-linguistic influence has also been found to result in ungrammatical structures. In this study, we investigated whether ungrammatical adjective placement can be primed from a Germanic language to a Romance language and vice versa, and how to best account for any such priming. Furthermore, we examined the role of proficiency in explaining priming effects and whether this fits with an error-based learning account. Our results show that it is possible to prime ungrammatical structures, that this is lexically constrained, and that it is more likely to occur at lower levels of proficiency. We argue that the same mechanisms underlying grammatical priming can also explain our findings of ungrammatical priming.
Ecstasies of Uplift
Authors: Jackson Myron
Published: September 2023

“Religion is the decoration of life,” declares Peter Sloterdijk in his newly translated Making the Heavens Speak: Religion as Poetry (MHS), arguing that much of our understanding of the spiritual life is distorted and exceptionally narrow. With refreshing and renewed vision, this text points out the ways in which the heavenly skies have been a source of divine inspiration and cipher for theopoetic illuminations. We have failed to grasp how modern secularization, ironically, was a blessing in disguise for religion since it helped to unscrew any religious authorities from the burden of needing to associate with or justify their existence through some national, political, or identity-based associations and cultural traditions. Either as a stroke of good fortune or just a contingent set of circumstances, Sloterdijk argues that religion has benefited from secularization—in becoming “useless,” religious practices have been liberated or “emancipated” from the burden of being politicized, nationalized, or mythologized.
Revisiting Urban Secularism
Authors: Martínez-Ariño Julia
Published: September 2023

In this piece, I revisit my work in Urban Secularism by addressing the main critical points raised by five generous critics. These concern issues about the theoretical framing of the book, its methodological design and implementation as well as points concerning the findings of the book and some aspects that would have required more attention, such as the relevance of the far-right, race and class in urban secular politics. In the last section of this piece, I take on the invitation of two of the commentators to explore new questions that arise from their reading of the book.
A further study on the Belisana spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae) from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
Authors: ZHAO FANGYU , YANG LAN , LI SHUQIANG , ZHENG GUO , YAO ZHIYUAN
Published: September 2023

Species of the spider genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 exhibit high diversity in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. Currently, 14 species have been recorded. In this study, three additional new species of Belisana from Xishuangbanna are described and illustrated based on specimens from the collection of Shenyang Normal University in China. They are: Belisana chuandiani Li, Zheng & Yao sp. nov. (male, female), B. daxiangi Li, Zheng & Yao sp. nov. (male), and B. fengzheni Li, Zheng & Yao sp. nov. (male, female). Moreover, the female of B. zhengi Yao, Pham & Li, 2015 is reported for the first time. Taxonomic keys for identification of males and females of Belisana species from Xishuangbanna are also presented.
A New Statistical Distribution Derived from a Clayton Copula for Modeling Bivariate Processes
Authors: Poonia Neeraj , Azad Sarita
Published: September 2023

Rainfall and temperature extremes have become more frequent and severe in recent times due to changing climate. Since these catastrophic occurrences directly affect a region’s hydrology, it is imperative to develop models that can project and explain the joint behavior of climate variables. Copula functions have been used relatively successfully to capture multivariate processes. With climate being a multifaceted process, there is interdependence between variables, making copula use desirable since traditional bivariate distributions do not account for the dependent structure. In this study, we introduced a bivariate exponentiated Teissier distribution based on a Clayton copula. For parameter estimation, the maximum likelihood and inference functions for margin approaches are used. A simulation study that considered various sets of parameters is also conducted in order to select the most efficient parameter estimation method. Last, the applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated using real-world data from flood and temperature processes. After fitting, the log-likelihood, Akaike information criteria (AIC), and Bayesian information criteria (BIC) values of the proposed model are −145.00, 300.00, and 311.71 for flood data, respectively, and −128.71, 267.42, and 275.98 for temperature data, respectively. Estimated parameters are for flood data and for temperature data. It is concluded that this model may be effectively used for modeling the hydrological processes for calculating the probabilities of flood and extreme temperature events.
Local Mixing Determines Spatial Structure of Diahaline Exchange Flow in a Mesotidal Estuary: A Study of Extreme Runoff Conditions
Authors: Reese Lloyd , Gräwe Ulf , Klingbeil Knut , Li Xiangyu , Lorenz Marvin , Burchard Hans
Published: September 2023

Salt mixing enables the transport of water between the inflow and outflow layers of estuarine circulation and therefore closes the circulation by driving a diahaline exchange flow. A recently derived universal law links the salt mixing inside an estuarine volume bounded by an isohaline surface to freshwater discharge: it states that on long-term average, the area-integrated mixing across the bounding isohaline is directly proportional to the freshwater discharge entering the estuary. However, even though numerous studies predict that periods of extreme discharge will become more frequent with climate change, the direct impact of such periods on estuarine mixing and circulation has yet to be investigated. Therefore, this numerical modeling study focuses on salinity mixing and diahaline exchange flows during a low-discharge and an extreme high-discharge period. To this end, we apply a realistic numerical setup of the Elbe estuary in northern Germany, using curvilinear coordinates that follow the navigational channel. This is the first time the direct relationship between diahaline exchange flow and salt mixing as well as the spatial distribution of the diahaline exchange flow is shown in a realistic tidal setup. The spatial distribution is highly correlated with the local mixing gradient for salinity, such that inflow occurs near the bottom at the upstream end of the isohaline. Meanwhile, outflow occurs near the surface at its downstream end. Last, increased vertical stratification occurs within the estuary during the high-discharge period, while estuarine-wide mixing strongly converges to the universal law for averaging periods of the discharge event time scale.

Significance Statement

Inside estuaries, such as river mouths, terrestrial freshwater is mixed with salty ocean water. This is accompanied by an estuarine circulation with inflow of saltwater into the estuary and outflow of brackish water toward the ocean. Here, we aim to better understand how salt mixing and estuarine circulation in a tidal estuary react to periods of extreme freshwater discharge. We find that even during extremely high or low discharge, salt mixing follows the freshwater discharge on time scales as short as days, and that estuarine circulation patterns are largely explained by the local distribution of mixing. As extreme runoff events are likely to occur more often with climate change, these findings may help to understand the dynamics inside future estuaries.