Wood-Inspired Morphologically Tunable Aligned Hydrogel for High-Performance Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitors

Oriented microstructures are widely found in various biological systems for multiple functions. Such anisotropic structures provide low tortuosity and sufficient surface area, desirable for the design of high-performance energy storage devices. Despite significant efforts to develop supercapacitors with aligned morphology, challenges remain due to the predefined pore sizes, limited mechanical flexibility, and low mass loading. Herein, a wood-inspired flexible all-solid-state hydrogel supercapacitor is demonstrated by morphologically tuning the aligned hydrogel matrix toward high electrode-materials loading and high areal capacitance. The highly aligned matrix exhibits broad morphological tunability (47–12 µm), mechanical flexibility (0°–180° bending), and uniform polypyrrole loading up to 7 mm thick matrix. After being assembled into a solid-state supercapacitor, the areal capacitance reaches 831 mF cm−2 for the 12 µm matrix, which is 259% times of the 47 µm matrix and 403% times of nonaligned matrix. The supercapacitor also exhibits a high energy density of 73.8 µWh cm−2, power density of 4960 µW cm−2, capacitance retention of 86.5% after 1000 cycles, and bending stability of 95% after 5000 cycles. The principle to structurally design the oriented matrices for high electrode material loading opens up the possibility for advanced energy storage applications

NAD(P)H:Quinone oxidoreductase 1 inducer activity of novel 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives

Fourteen novel 4-aminoquinazoline derivatives 2-15 were designed and synthesized. The structure of the newly synthesized compounds was established on the basis of elemental analyses, IR, (1)H-NMR, (13)C-NMR, and mass spectral data. The compounds were evaluated for their potential cytoprotective activity in murine Hepa1c1c7 cells. All of the synthesized compounds showed concentration-dependent ability to induce the cytoprotective enzyme NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) with potencies in the low- to sub-micromolar range. This approach offers an encouraging framework which may lead to the discovery of potent cytoprotective agents.</p

A Configurable Real-Time Event Detection Framework for Power Systems Using Swarm Intelligence Optimization

Power system balancing authorities are routinely affected by sudden frequency fluctuations. These frequency events can take the form of negligible frequency deviations or more severe emergencies that can precipitate cascading outages, depending on the severity of the disturbance and efficacy of remedial action schema. It is imperative to arrest such disturbances quickly by activating primary frequency control measures. This manuscript proposes a configurable event detection framework using optimization methods to tune a detection algorithm to detect events as specified by experts from a Balancing Authority. The utility of the detection framework is demonstrated using a regression-based frequency event detection algorithm with tunable parameters. Two swarm intelligence-based optimization algorithms, Grey Wolf Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization, are applied to tune the parameters of the detection algorithm according to the definition of frequency events specified by experts. The performances of the GWO and PSO algorithms are analyzed, and the efficacy of the proposed system is demonstrated using an algorithm evaluation environment and a suite of evaluation metrics. The proposed event detection framework is capable of detecting events in real-time with high accuracy and speed using real-world, real-time phasor measurement unit data

Post-Vasectomy Semen Analysis: Optimizing Laboratory Procedures and Test Interpretation through a Clinical Audit and Global Survey of Practices

Purpose: The success of vasectomy is determined by the outcome of a post-vasectomy semen analysis (PVSA). This article describes a step-by-step procedure to perform PVSA accurately, report data from patients who underwent post vasectomy semen analysis between 2015 and 2021 experience, along with results from an international online survey on clinical practice. Materials and methods: We present a detailed step-by-step protocol for performing and interpretating PVSA testing, along with recommendations for proficiency testing, competency assessment for performing PVSA, and clinical and laboratory scenarios. Moreover, we conducted an analysis of 1,114 PVSA performed at the Cleveland Clinic's Andrology Laboratory and an online survey to understand clinician responses to the PVSA results in various countries. Results: Results from our clinical experience showed that 92.1% of patients passed PVSA, with 7.9% being further tested. A total of 78 experts from 19 countries participated in the survey, and the majority reported to use time from vasectomy rather than the number of ejaculations as criterion to request PVSA. A high percentage of responders reported permitting unprotected intercourse only if PVSA samples show azoospermia while, in the presence of few non-motile sperm, the majority of responders suggested using alternative contraception, followed by another PVSA. In the presence of motile sperm, the majority of participants asked for further PVSA testing. Repeat vasectomy was mainly recommended if motile sperm were observed after multiple PVSA's. A large percentage reported to recommend a second PVSA due to the possibility of legal actions. Conclusions: Our results highlighted varying clinical practices around the globe, with controversy over the significance of non-motile sperm in the PVSA sample. Our data suggest that less stringent AUA guidelines would help improve test compliance. A large longitudinal multi-center study would clarify various doubts related to timing and interpretation of PVSA and would also help us to understand, and perhaps predict, recanalization and the potential for future failure of a vasectomy

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p&lt;0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p&lt;0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Students’ memorization of anatomy, influence of drawing

International audienceINTRODUCTION:Anatomy is the cornerstone of medical education. Different teaching methods can be combined. This study was designed to evaluate the influence of students' drawing of the anatomical region before and after the dissection session on their memorization of the studied anatomical region.METHOD:Four hundred and sixteen second-year medical students in the faculty of medicine of Damascus were included in this study during the 2013-2014 academic year. Students were randomly divided into three blinded groups. Two groups had to draw the anatomical region respectively before and after the dissection session, while the third group did not have to draw. The memorization of the region was evaluated twice, one and seven weeks after the course. Means were compared using a t-test.RESULTS:Scores were significantly higher at 1 and 7 weeks tests in groups who were asked to draw either before or after the dissection compared to those who were not asked to draw. No statistical difference was found between the two groups who drew.CONCLUSION:The authors recommend the use of drawing in teaching anatomy