bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mental health experiences of public psychiatric healthcare workers during COVID-19 across southern Gauteng, South Africa: a call for strengthening public mental health care
Authors: Kim Andrew W , Maaroganye Kagisho , Subramaney Ugasvaree 
Published: September 2023

The global COVID-19 pandemic and South Africa’s national lockdown introduced serious threats to public mental health in a society where one in three individuals develop a psychiatric disorder during their life. Studies worldwide have illustrated the acute psychosocial strain and chronic psychiatric sequelae experienced by healthcare employees during the pandemic. Over and above existing systemic constraints, national leaders in public mental healthcare have reported serious challenges in delivering psychiatric services during COVID-19. Despite these early reports on the psychological and healthcare-related consequences of COVID-19, no study has evaluated the impacts of the pandemic on mental healthcare workers and psychiatric facilities in South Africa, nor have the implications for public mental health policy been elucidated. Here we examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in five specialised and tertiary psychiatric facilities in southern Gauteng. In-depth qualitative interviews (n=55) were administered to examine the perceptions of psychiatric hospital workers. Survey-based data (n=54) and regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between COVID-19 healthcare experiences and psychiatric morbidity. Our study found elevated psychiatric morbidity among hospital staff. Healthcare-related stress during lockdown Levels 3 to 1 was strongly associated with worse symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We also found salient experiences of fear and COVID-19 infection risk, acute resource shortages, and long-term healthcare infrastructural constraints. These circumstances undergirded and exacerbated harmful conditions that posed major threats to patient care, worsened occupational health, and compromised each hospital’s capacity to overcome the pandemic. Without major and expeditious policy action towards improving public mental health, South Africa is at risk for yet another mental healthcare catastrophe in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We offer these findings to highlight the need for mental health promotion among hospital staff, identify constraints in the public mental health system, and provide future direction for mental health policy planning.
Providing health services for farm workers during COVID-19: a case study of an NGO in a rural agricultural area
Authors: Pillay Nirvana , Coulson Nancy 
Published: September 2023

Farming, an essential service, continued during the most restricted phase of South Africa’s national lockdown. This chapter documents how Hlokomela, a non-governmental organisation in rural Limpopo, provided health and other social services to the farming community during this time. We documented the Hlokomela health services response to COVID-19 while conducting a pilot study of a partial-payment scheme for farm employers whose workers accessed their health services. From mid-March to June 2020, in-depth interviews with Hlokomela management, as well as reviews of the Hlokomela weekly newsletter, were added to pilot research activities. We undertook a case study using a systems lens to examine how the organisation addressed the needs of a rural agricultural community affected by COVID-19 lockdown measures. Hlokomela was able to address gaps in the health response for farm workers, farm employers and the broader community. Through leveraging established networks, the organisation supplemented the State’s COVID-19 response by providing four types of outreach activities: provision of personal protective equipment; workplace and community screening services; training and awareness activities; and distribution of food. Hlokomela utilised four strategic areas that enabled a strengthened health response: adaptability, health promotion, a network with local stakeholders, and social development outreach. The case study highlights the potential role of creative partnerships between the State and non-governmental organisations for health service delivery in rural agricultural regions.
A Family Medicine response to the COVID-19 lockdown: University of Pretoria perspective
Authors: Madela-Mntla Edith N. , Ngcobo Sanele 
Published: September 2023

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused great social, political and economic disruption, and imposed unprecedented changes in work, lifestyle, service delivery and social interactions in South Africa and worldwide. Healthcare providers, working in often already overstretched healthcare systems, found themselves at the forefront of global and national efforts to contain the havoc of morbidity and mortality wreaked by SARS-CoV2. This chapter describes efforts by the University of Pretoria’s Department of Family Medicine (UPDFM) to deliver on its mandate of teaching, learning, and research in the face of the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic during the March-September 2020 nationwide hard lockdown. Methods A perspective review was undertaken, drawing on reports, meeting minutes, email correspondences and electronic personal communications analysed to describe the activities undertaken by the UPDFM during the study period. Results Nationally, some of the adaptive responses triggered by the COVID-19 lockdown drew from the pre-existing UPDFM repertoire of community-oriented, learner- and patient-centred practices of service delivery. Key among these practices were data collection and management using validated tools; virtual communication and meetings; health promotion and disease prevention through training nurses, community health workers and patients on newly developed Covid-19 prevention strategies; clinical intervention, including screening and diagnosis, treatment and care coordination using telemedicine and full service delivery in homeless shelters; patient referral/mobility by staff using sponsored rental cars and using an application to call an ambulance, and treatment continuation through home delivery of medication. Conclusions COVID-19 restrictions presented the UPDFM with a unique opportunity to draw from its experience and create rapid, impactful interventions. Most lessons learnt by the UPDFM during the crisis proved invaluable for use beyond the acute phase of the pandemic, thereby transforming the health system for better pandemic preparedness.
Cross-border collaboration and capacity-building for improved health emergency response planning in Southern Africa
Authors: Walker Joslyn , Liebenberg Marieta , Burnett James Michael , Maphanga Tonicah , King Judith 
Published: September 2023

Background Many countries were ill prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden border closures introduced to stem contagion. To address this planning and response gap, Health Systems Trust and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine jointly implemented a capacity-building project among eight Southern African countries during 2022. The intention was to strengthen collaboration among the countries in implementing public health emergency response strategies. Shared analysis of cross-border movement patterns, and building neighbouring countries’ capacity to identify priority areas for such response planning, strengthened relationships for communicating health risks and events. Approach This chapter presents findings from project participants’ perspectives on whether and how the project supported improved regional collaboration for emergency responses to public health events, and their perceptions of how the project strengthened their border health systems. Country delegates were convened in multi-sectoral regional and sub-regional meetings and workshops to facilitate cross-border public health information-sharing and co-ordination, and to align surveillance for emergency preparedness and response. They drafted procedures to: strengthen cross-border and multi-sectoral communication; prioritise points of entry for cross-border co-ordination; map population movement patterns; and identify national and regional border health priorities. Training focused on points of entry to enhance planning for future disease outbreaks by introducing the Population Connectivity Across Borders Toolkit for analysing population movement data to guide the design of public health interventions. Conclusions Collaboration with global and regional institutions strengthened the countries’ ability to comply with International Health Regulations in responding to communicable disease outbreaks. The outcomes indicate that sustained engagement, refinement of standard operating procedures, and multilateral agreements that ensure balancing of country priorities with global health requirements, can be achieved. Continued analysis of and reflection on country work plans are needed to assess similarities and differences in priority identification, which will guide future training and development of regional strategies to build stronger border health systems.
Grandeur et misère liées à la mise en oeuvre d’une expérience de gouvernance territoriale en milieu semi-urbain au Nouveau-Brunswick : le cas de la démarche VADA à Saint-Quentin et à Grand-Sault
Authors: Simard Majella , Paris Mario 
Published: September 2023

En 2007, l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé a publié un guide mondial permettant aux acteurs d’innover sur les environnements bâti et social afin d’assurer un vieillissement actif des aînés. Ce guide propose aux municipalités d’adopter l’approche « ville-amie des aînés » (VADA) en améliorant les infrastructures et les équipements mis à leur disposition ainsi que les services, notamment en matière de loisir, de santé et de transport. Notre article a pour but d’évaluer la portée des mesures mises en place par les différents acteurs sociaux de Saint-Quentin et de Grand-Sault au Nouveau-Brunswick, deux localités ayant entrepris la démarche VADA. Sur le plan théorique, notre cadrage repose sur le modèle de gérontologie environnementale qui agit sur le processus de gouvernance territoriale. Préconisant une approche qualitative, notre méthode d’analyse a consisté en la réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées effectuées auprès d’intervenants et de partenaires impliqués dans la démarche VADA et en la tenue de groupes de discussion auprès d’aînés. En dépit de la volonté manifestée par les élus, nos résultats révèlent que la démarche a relativement peu contribué à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des aînés en raison de difficultés liées à l’absence d’un leadership partagé, aux nouvelles responsabilités que doivent assumer les acteurs locaux, à des problèmes de communication, de concertation et de démobilisation, mais aussi à la méconnaissance du projet, tant de la part des acteurs sociaux que des aînés, et à l’actuelle pandémie.
Levels of PIVKA-II and alpha-fetoprotein in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma compared to healthy controls and predictive values of both markers with radiological responses after loco-regional interventions
Authors: Hamzah Norhanan , Kassim Nur Karyatee , Omar Julia , Abdullah Mohd Shafie , Lee Yeong Yeh 
Published: September 2023

Background
The significance of the current study was to determine normative levels of PIVKA-II and AFP in patients with unresectable HCC and healthy participants. The second goal was to assess the roles of PIVKA-II and AFP in predicting radiological response after loco-regional therapy.

Methods
This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive samples of HCC patients and healthy controls. Venous blood samples were obtained at baseline and after interventions to determine serum levels of PIVKA-II and AFP using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay method. Radiologic responses were determined based on the WHO criteria.

Results
Fifty-four HCC patients (mean age 58.9 years, 49 males) and 40 healthy controls (mean age 33.5 years, 26 males) were recruited. The median serum levels of PIVKA-II and AFP in HCC vs. healthy controls were 988.4 vs. 24.2 mAU/ml and 13.6 vs. 1.7 ng/ml, respectively (both p < 0.001). With ROC curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) for PIVKA-II was 0.95 95% CI [0.90–0.99], and for AFP it was 0.98, 95% CI [0.95–1.0]). The cut-off value for PIVKA-II was 41.4 mAU/ml, and AFP was 4.8 ng/ml. PIVKA-II levels correlated significantly with radiological responses (r = 0.64, p = 0.02) but not AFP (r = 0.09, p = 0.2).

Conclusion
PIVKA-II and AFP levels are distinctive between unresectable HCC and healthy controls. However, PIVKA-II, not AFP, can predict the radiological response after loco-regional therapy.
Mild and Efficient Method for the In Situ Preparation of High‐Quality MXene Materials Enabled by Hexafluoro Complex Anion Contained Salts Etching
Authors: Liu Peng , Pan Rongyu , Li Bingqing , Su Zhong , Lin Bencai , Tong Minman 
Published: September 2023

AbstractMXene is a promising two‐dimensional (2D) material for energy storage applications owing to its exceptional conductivity and controllable surface chemistry. Currently, aqueous etching methods for the preparation of MXene sheets require a substantial quantity of HF or HCl, leading to issues such as structural defects in the MXene sheets and severe corrosiveness due to the acidic nature of these etchants. This study proposes a mild in situ etching strategy for the preparation of MXene materials through hexafluoro complex anion hydrolysis etching. Etching is accomplished by gradually introducing water into a suspension composed of hexafluoro complex, ethanol, and Ti3AlC2. This process results in the production of high‐quality MXene in a mild reaction environment with the weak acidity of the solution, making it suitable for scalable synthesis and process applications. Moreover, the inclusion of ethanol in the etching process increases the interlamellar spacing of MXene, thereby facilitating the stripping process and ultimately yielding of 28% in the production of single‐layer MXene through shaking. The MXene incorporated into the Si/C anode demonstrates a notable reversible cycling capacity of 563 mAh g−1 after 120 cycles, accompanied by an initial coulombic efficiency (CE) of 83%, surpassing the performance of Si/C anodes modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Super P. The approach presented in this study offers a promising pathway for the safe, straightforward, and sustainable production of high‐quality MXene materials.
Bulk‐Switching Memristor‐Based Compute‐In‐Memory Module for Deep Neural Network Training
Authors: Wu Yuting , Wang Qiwen , Wang Ziyu , Wang Xinxin , Ayyagari Buvna , Krishnan Siddarth , Chudzik Michael , Lu Wei D. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe constant drive to achieve higher performance in deep neural networks (DNNs) has led to the proliferation of very large models. Model training, however, requires intensive computation time and energy. Memristor‐based compute‐in‐memory (CIM) modules can perform vector‐matrix multiplication (VMM) in place and in parallel, and have shown great promises in DNN inference applications. However, CIM‐based model training faces challenges due to non‐linear weight updates, device variations, and low‐precision. In this work, a mixed‐precision training scheme is experimentally implemented to mitigate these effects using a bulk‐switching memristor‐based CIM module. Low‐precision CIM modules are used to accelerate the expensive VMM operations, with high‐precision weight updates accumulated in digital units. Memristor devices are only changed when the accumulated weight update value exceeds a pre‐defined threshold. The proposed scheme is implemented with a system‐onchip of fully integrated analog CIM modules and digital sub‐systems, showing fast convergence of LeNet training to 97.73%. The efficacy of training larger models is evaluated using realistic hardware parameters and verifies that CIM modules can enable efficient mix‐precision DNN training with accuracy comparable to full‐precision software‐trained models. Additionally, models trained on chip are inherently robust to hardware variations, allowing direct mapping to CIM inference chips without additional re‐training.
Low‐Cost Preparation of High‐Performance Na‐B‐H‐S Electrolyte for All‐Solid‐State Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Zhou Wei , Song Changsheng , Li Shuyang , Liu Miao , He Huiwen , Yang Shaoyu , Xie Jin , Wang Fei , Fang Fang , Sun Dalin , Zhao Jie , Song Yun 
Published: September 2023

AbstractAll‐solid‐state sodium‐ion batteries have the potential to improve safety and mitigate the cost bottlenecks of the current lithium‐ion battery system if a high‐performance electrolyte with cost advantages can be easily synthesized. In this study, a one‐step dehydrogenation‐assisted strategy to synthesize the novel thio‐borohydride (Na‐B‐H‐S) electrolyte is proposed, in which both raw material cost and preparation temperature are significantly reduced. By using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) instead of B as a starting material, B atoms can be readily released from NaBH4 with much less energy and thus became more available to generate thio‐borohydride. The synthesized Na‐B‐H‐S (NaBH4/Na‐B‐S) electrolyte exhibits excellent compatibility with current cathode materials, including FeF3 (1.0–4.5 V), Na3V2(PO4)3 (2.0–4.0 V), and S (1.2–2.8 V). This novel Na‐B‐H‐S electrolyte will take a place in mainstream electrolytes because of its advantages in preparation, cost, and compatibility with various cathode materials.
High Sulfur Loading and Capacity Retention in Bilayer Garnet Sulfurized‐Polyacrylonitrile/Lithium‐Metal Batteries with Gel Polymer Electrolytes
Authors: Shi Changmin , Takeuchi Saya , Alexander George V. , Hamann Tanner , O'Neill Jonathan , Dura Joseph A. , Wachsman Eric D. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe cubic‐garnet (Li7La3Zr2O12, LLZO) lithium–sulfur battery shows great promise in the pursuit of achieving high energy densities. The sulfur used in the cathodes is abundant, inexpensive, and possesses high specific capacity. In addition, LLZO displays excellent chemical stability with Li metal; however, the instabilities in the sulfur cathode/LLZO interface can lead to performance degradation that limits the development of these batteries. Therefore, it is critical to resolve these interfacial challenges to achieve stable cycling. Here, an innovative gel polymer buffer layer to stabilize the sulfur cathode/LLZO interface is created. Employing a thin bilayer LLZO (dense/porous) architecture as a solid electrolyte and significantly high sulfur loading of 5.2 mg cm−2, stable cycling is achieved with a high initial discharge capacity of 1542 mAh g−1 (discharge current density of 0.87 mA cm−2) and an average discharge capacity of 1218 mAh g−1 (discharge current density of 1.74 mA cm−2) with 80% capacity retention over 265 cycles, at room temperature (22 °C) and without applied pressure. Achieving such stability with high sulfur loading is a major step in the development of potentially commercial garnet lithium–sulfur batteries.
Gel Adsorbed Redox Mediators Tempo as Integrated Solid‐State Cathode for Ultra‐Long Life Quasi‐Solid‐State Na–Air Battery
Authors: Xu Bowen , Zhang Da , Peng Chao , Liang Feng , Zhao Huaping , Yang Bin , Xue Dongfeng , Lei Yong 
Published: September 2023

AbstractIn metal–air batteries, the integrated solid‐state cathode is considered a promising design because it can solve the problem of high interfacial resistance of conventional solid‐state cathodes. However, solid discharge products cannot be efficiently decomposed in an integrated solid‐state cathode, resulting in batteries that are unable to operate for long periods of time. Herein, an integrated solid‐state cathode (Gel‐Tempo cathode) of sodium–air batteries (SABs) capable of promoting efficient decomposition of discharge product Na2O2 is designed. The Gel‐Tempo cathode is synthesized by cationic–π interaction of redox mediator 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐1‐piperidinyloxy (Tempo) and ionic liquid with carbon nanotubes. The Gel‐Tempo cathode serves multiple functions as a redox mediator, flame retardancy, and high stability to air. In quasi‐solid‐state SABs, the Gel‐Tempo cathode reduces overpotential to 1.15 V and improves coulomb efficiency to 84.5% (at a limited discharge capacity of 3000 mAh g−1) compared to gel cathodes. Experiments and density functional theory calculations indicate that Tempo significantly reduces the Gibbs free energy in the decomposition reaction of Na2O2, and high Tempo content is more conducive to enhancing the decomposition kinetics of Na2O2 and hence resulting in an ultra‐long cycle life (1746 h). This work is crucial to promote practical applications of SABs, providing guidelines for functionalization design of integrated solid‐state cathodes for metal–air batteries.
Modulating the Growth of Nonfullerene Acceptors Toward Efficient and Stable Organic Solar Cells Processed by High‐Boiling‐Point Solvents
Authors: Ma Xueqing , Ran Guangliu , Li Hongxiang , Liu Yuqiang , Cui Xinyue , Lu Hao , Yin Zhe , Li Dawei , Zhang Huarui , Liu Wenlong , Yu Jifa , Lin Yi , Liu Yahui , Zhang Wenkai , Lu Guanghao , Bo Laju , Cheng Pei , Ma Zaifei , Bo Zhishan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractHigh‐boiling‐point solvents are considered to be decent solvents for the preparation of large‐area organic solar cells (OSCs) because of their wide processing window. However, the efficiency of OSCs processed by high‐boiling‐point solvents is still unsatisfactory. Herein, it is found that the agglomerate growth of nonfullerene acceptors into micrometer‐sized domains is the main reason for poor efficiency. A facile rapid molding process (RMP) scheme is proposed to solve this problem by adjusting the nucleation and growth behavior of acceptor molecules. RMP enables the blend films with interpenetrating networks and higher crystallinity, which is in favor of faster exciton separation and lower recombination losses. As a result, the power convention efficiency (PCE) is improved from 15.91% (reference) to 18.32% (RMP) for PL1:BTP‐eC9‐4F OSCs. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the champion efficiency of OSCs processed with high‐boiling‐point solvents. Meanwhile, RMP devices maintain 85% or 90% of the initial PCE after real day/night cycling in the air for over 2000 h or after continuous thermal aging at 85 °C in nitrogen for 500 h, respectively.