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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Azevedo, Flavio, et al.
(författare)
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Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries
- 2023
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Ingår i: Scientific Data. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2052-4463. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables.
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| 4. |
- Van Bavel, Jay J., et al.
(författare)
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National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Nature Portfolio. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic. Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.
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| 5. |
- Jung, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison of very old patients admitted to intensive care unit after acute versus elective surgery or intervention
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of critical care. - : W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC. - 0883-9441 .- 1557-8615. ; 52, s. 141-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: We aimed to evaluate differences in outcome between patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) after elective versus acute surgery in a multinational cohort of very old patients (80 years; VIP). Predictors of mortality, with special emphasis on frailty, were assessed.Methods: In total, 5063 VIPs were induded in this analysis, 922 were admitted after elective surgery or intervention, 4141 acutely, with 402 after acute surgery. Differences were calculated using Mann-Whitney-U test and Wilcoxon test. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess associations with mortality.Results: Compared patients admitted after acute surgery, patients admitted after elective surgery suffered less often from frailty as defined as CFS (28% vs 46%; p < 0.001), evidenced lower SOFA scores (4 +/- 5 vs 7 +/- 7; p < 0.001). Presence of frailty (CFS >4) was associated with significantly increased mortality both in elective surgery patients (7% vs 12%; p = 0.01), in acute surgery (7% vs 12%; p = 0.02).Conclusions: VIPs admitted to ICU after elective surgery evidenced favorable outcome over patients after acute surgery even after correction for relevant confounders. Frailty might be used to guide clinicians in risk stratification in both patients admitted after elective and acute surgery.
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| 6. |
- Mustafa, Ghulam M., et al.
(författare)
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Study of optoelectronic and transport properties of MgLu2Z4 (Z=S, Se) spinels for optoelectronic and energy harvesting applications
- 2021
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Ingår i: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing. - : Elsevier. - 1369-8001 .- 1873-4081. ; 121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intense research has been done to build materials that are potential candidates for energy storage applications. Spinels are of great interest in this respect because they have vast potential to be used in Mg-based batteries. To explore their energy storage as well as transport response, we calculate Mg-based spinels, namely MgLu2Z4 (ZS, Se). The full potential linearized augmented plane wave method has been used to examine their optoelectronic and transport response. An increase in the lattice constant has been observed by replacing S with Se, and our calculated values are in good agreement with those obtained experimentally. The Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson exchange potential (TB-mBJ), has been used to study the optoelectronic and thermoelectric characteristics of the respective spinels. The dependence of these properties on the bandgap has also been observed. Replacing S with Se resulted in the transformation of the electronic bandgap from near-infrared to the visible region (MgLu2S4: 2.60 eV and MgLu2Se4: 2.00 eV). These results showed that these materials have the potential to be used in optoelectronic devices. The optical properties are discussed as a function of energy. Besides, the thermal transports are discussed with the help of Seebeck coefficient and figure of merit as a function of chemical potential and temperature.
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| 7. |
- Zhou, Zheng, et al.
(författare)
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Reduced intensity conditioning for acute myeloid leukemia using melphalan- vs busulfan-based regimens : a CIBMTR report
- 2020
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Ingår i: Blood Advances. - : American Society of Hematology. - 2473-9529 .- 2473-9537. ; 4:13, s. 3180-3190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a lack of large comparative study on the outcomes of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) transplantation using fludarabine/busulfan (FB) and fludarabine/melphalan (FM) regimens. Adult AML patients from Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research who received first RIC allo-transplant between 2001 and 2015 were studied. Patients were excluded if they received cord blood or identical twin transplant, total body irradiation in conditioning, or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with in vitro T-cell depletion. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS), secondary end points were leukemia-free survival (LFS), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse, and GVHD. Multivariate survival model was used with adjustment for patient, leukemia, and transplant-related factors. A total of 622 patients received FM and 791 received FB RIC. Compared with FB, the FM group had fewer transplant in complete remission (CR), fewer matched sibling donors, and less usage of anti-thymocyte globulin or alemtuzumab. More patients in the FM group received marrow grafts and had transplantation before 2005. OS was significantly lower within the first 3 months posttransplant in the FM group (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.82, P < .001), but was marginally superior beyond 3 months (HR = 0.87, P = .05). LFS was better with FM compared with FB (HR = 0.89, P = .05). NRM was significantly increased in the FM group during the first 3 months of posttransplant (HR = 3.85, P < .001). Long-term relapse was lower with FM (HR = 0.65, P < .001). Analysis restricted to patients with CR showed comparable results. In conclusion, compared with FB, the FM RIC showed a marginally superior long-term OS and LFS and a lower relapse rate. A lower OS early posttransplant within 3 months was largely the result of a higher early NRM.
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| 8. |
- Dahmardeh, M., et al.
(författare)
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High-aspect-ratio, 3-D micromachining of carbon-nanotube forests by micro-electro-discharge machining in air
- 2011
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). - 1084-6999. - 9781424496327 ; , s. 272-275
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper reports micro-electro-discharge machining of vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests for the formation of high-aspect-ratio, three-dimensional microstructures in the material. The developed forest machining method is a dry process performed in air, generating high-frequency pulses of electrical discharge to locally machine the nanotubes in order to create target shapes in a forest. With this approach, forest microstructures can be fabricated to have varying shapes along their height, unachievable with conventional pre-patterned chemical vapor deposition growth techniques. The use of the pulses with a minimized discharge energy defined with 35 V and 10 pF in the discharge generation circuit leads to an aspect ratio of 20 with the smallest feature of 5 μm in forests without disordering the vertical orientation of the nanotubes. Micromachining of multilayer geometries as well as arrayed needle-like microstructures with angled surfaces is demonstrated.
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| 9. |
- Fretts, Amanda M., et al.
(författare)
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Associations of circulating very-long-chain saturated fatty acids and incident type 2 diabetes : a pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies
- 2019
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Ingår i: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0002-9165 .- 1938-3207. ; 109:4, s. 1216-1223
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) of different chain lengths have unique metabolic and biological effects, and a small number of recent studies suggest that higher circulating concentrations of the very-long-chain SFAs (VLSFAs) arachidic acid (20:0), behenic acid (22:0), and lignoceric acid (24:0) are associated with a lower risk of diabetes. Confirmation of these findings in a large and diverse population is needed.Objective: We investigated the associations of circulating VLSFAs 20:0, 22:0, and 24:0 with incident type 2 diabetes in prospective studies.Methods: Twelve studies that are part of the Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium participated in the analysis. Using Cox or logistic regression within studies and an inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis across studies, we examined the associations of VLSFAs 20:0, 22:0, and 24:0 with incident diabetes among 51,431 participants.Results: There were 14,276 cases of incident diabetes across participating studies. Higher circulating concentrations of 20:0, 22:0, and 24:0 were each associated with a lower risk of incident diabetes. Pooling across cohorts, the RR (95% CI) for incident diabetes comparing the 90th percentile to the 10th percentile was 0.78 (0.70, 0.87) for 20:0, 0.84 (0.77, 0.91) for 22:0, and 0.75 (0.69, 0.83) for 24:0 after adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, adiposity, and other health factors. Results were fully attenuated in exploratory models that adjusted for circulating 16:0 and triglycerides.Conclusions: Results from this pooled analysis indicate that higher concentrations of circulating VLSFAs 20:0, 22:0, and 24:0 are each associated with a lower risk of diabetes.
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| 10. |
- Imamura, Fumiaki, et al.
(författare)
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Fatty acids in the de novo lipogenesis pathway and incidence of type 2 diabetes : A pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLoS Medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1277 .- 1549-1676. ; 17:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundDe novo lipogenesis (DNL) is the primary metabolic pathway synthesizing fatty acids from carbohydrates, protein, or alcohol. Our aim was to examine associations of in vivo levels of selected fatty acids (16:0, 16:1n7, 18:0, 18:1n9) in DNL with incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D).Methods and findingsSeventeen cohorts from 12 countries (7 from Europe, 7 from the United States, 1 from Australia, 1 from Taiwan; baseline years = 1970–1973 to 2006–2010) conducted harmonized individual-level analyses of associations of DNL-related fatty acids with incident T2D. In total, we evaluated 65,225 participants (mean ages = 52.3–75.5 years; % women = 20.4%–62.3% in 12 cohorts recruiting both sexes) and 15,383 incident cases of T2D over the 9-year follow-up on average. Cohort-specific association of each of 16:0, 16:1n7, 18:0, and 18:1n9 with incident T2D was estimated, adjusted for demographic factors, socioeconomic characteristics, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, menopausal status, and adiposity. Cohort-specific associations were meta-analyzed with an inverse-variance-weighted approach. Each of the 4 fatty acids positively related to incident T2D. Relative risks (RRs) per cohort-specific range between midpoints of the top and bottom quintiles of fatty acid concentrations were 1.53 (1.41–1.66; p < 0.001) for 16:0, 1.40 (1.33–1.48; p < 0.001) for 16:1n-7, 1.14 (1.05–1.22; p = 0.001) for 18:0, and 1.16 (1.07–1.25; p < 0.001) for 18:1n9. Heterogeneity was seen across cohorts (I2 = 51.1%–73.1% for each fatty acid) but not explained by lipid fractions and global geographical regions. Further adjusted for triglycerides (and 16:0 when appropriate) to evaluate associations independent of overall DNL, the associations remained significant for 16:0, 16:1n7, and 18:0 but were attenuated for 18:1n9 (RR = 1.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.94–1.13). These findings had limitations in potential reverse causation and residual confounding by imprecisely measured or unmeasured factors.ConclusionsConcentrations of fatty acids in the DNL were positively associated with T2D incidence. Our findings support further work to investigate a possible role of DNL and individual fatty acids in the development of T2D.
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| 11. |
- Nizami, Abdul-Sattar, et al.
(författare)
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Waste biorefineries : enabling circular economies in developing countries
- 2017
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Ingår i: Bioresource Technology. - : Elsevier. - 0960-8524 .- 1873-2976. ; 241, s. 1101-1117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper aims to examine the potential of waste biorefineries in developing countries as a solution to current waste disposal problems and as facilities to produce fuels, power, heat, and value-added products. The waste in developing countries represents a significant source of biomass, recycled materials, chemicals, energy, and revenue if wisely managed and used as a potential feedstock in various biorefinery technologies such as fermentation, anaerobic digestion (AD), pyrolysis, incineration, and gasification. However, the selection or integration of biorefinery technologies in any developing country should be based on its waste characterization. Waste biorefineries if developed in developing countries could provide energy generation, land savings, new businesses and consequent job creation, savings of landfills costs, GHG emissions reduction, and savings of natural resources of land, soil, and groundwater. The challenges in route to successful implementation of biorefinery concept in the developing countries are also presented using life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 12. |
- Siddiqui, AH, et al.
(författare)
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Predictors of unfavorable outcomes despite substantial reperfusion: Insights from Analysis of Revascularization in Ischemic Stroke With EmboTrap II Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Interventional neuroradiology : journal of peritherapeutic neuroradiology, surgical procedures and related neurosciences. - : SAGE Publications. - 2385-2011. ; 28:5, s. 556-561
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A considerable proportion of stroke patients have unfavorable outcomes despite substantial reperfusion during mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion. This study aimed to determine predictors of unfavorable outcomes despite substantial reperfusion (modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score of ≥2b). Methods We conducted a post hoc analysis of Analysis of Revascularization in Ischemic Stroke With EmboTrap, a prospective, multicenter study on the efficacy of the EmboTrap revascularization device. We included patients with anterior large vessel occlusion, substantial reperfusion within three passes, and 3-month follow-up. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine independent predictors of dependency or death (modified Rankin Score 3–6) at 90 days. Results Of the 176 patients included in the study, 124 (70.45%) achieved modified Rankin Score of 0–2 at 90 days and 52 (29.6%) had modified Rankin Score of 3–6. On univariate analysis, patient age and initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score were significantly higher in the modified Rankin Score of 3–6 groups (71.4 ± 11.3 years vs. 66.0 ± 13.1 years, 0.01; 18.9 ± 4.13 vs. 14.6 ± 4.36, p < 0.01, respectively). Mean number of passes and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage were also higher in patients with modified Rankin Score of 3–6 (2.46 ± 1.42 vs. 1.65 ± 0.9, p < 0.01; 13.5% vs. 2.4%, p = 0.008). On multivariate analysis, initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score and mean number of passes and were independent predictors of modified Rankin Score of 3–6 at 90 days. Conclusion More severe initial neurologic deficit and higher number of passes in patients with substantial reperfusion were independent predictors of dependency or death. These findings highlight a reduction in the number of passes required to achieve reperfusion as a therapeutic target to improve the outcome after thrombectomy.
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| 13. |
- Amin, Fayiz, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of arch action on load-carrying capacity of double-sized industrial precast slabs: A combined numerical and experimental study
- 2024
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Ingår i: Results in Materials. - : Elsevier. - 2590-048X. ; 23
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The precast industry offers slab panels of different geometries according to the field conditions. These slab panels are popular in temporary constructions and beneficial in sustainability but have some financial limitations and local constraints. For a long time, the construction industry has used the arch action method, which restricts the stresses to the compression zone in concrete members and develops the required load-carrying capacity. For the same motives, industrial buildings have preferred semi-circular precast roofs, but the morphology was not suitable. For the proposed slab in this research, firstly, the typical industrial precast slab panel was doubled in width to minimize the time and efforts required for its casting, curing, and placement. Secondly, that doubled-in-width slab was provided with the arch action to confine the stresses to compression and benefit from the section entirely. Lastly, the top of the slab was kept flat to take advantage of the roof space. All these changes aimed for structural stability, reduced material’s weight, improved load-carrying capacity, appropriate mobilization, and financial viability. A numerical approach and practical testing were adopted using the finite element modeling software, ABAQUS, to analyze load–deflection responses of both slabs through the concrete damage plasticity model. The proposed slab exhibited better performance as its capacity enhanced by about 1.5 times that of a typical slab. Although the volume of the material in the proposed slab increased slightly from 0.040 m3 to 0.045 m3, the reductions in joint filler materials, reinforcements, and efforts required for mixing and lifting machinery compensated for this increase significantly. Hence, the slab can be recommended for the industry to save the costs while taking heavier loads efficiently.
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| 14. |
- Arshad, Waqas M., et al.
(författare)
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Use of transverse-flux machines in a free-piston generator
- 2004
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Ingår i: IEEE transactions on industry applications. - 0093-9994 .- 1939-9367. ; 40:4, s. 1092-1100
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates the use of transverse-flux machines (TFMs) in a free-piston generator, an integration of a combustion engine and a linear electrical machine. For hybrid vehicles (the intended application), this integrated device has benefits in efficiency, emissions, reliability, etc. Conventional TFMs are dimensioned and their shortcomings illustrated. Several surface-mounted TFM designs are suggested. These designs, initially believed to be promising, are later discovered to be. poor during the three-dimensional finite-element method (3-D FEM) analysis. These designs suffered from a large axial pole-to-pole armature-flux leakage in the stator. This problem is solved in the proposed buried-magnets TFM variants, for which patents have been filed as well. A 5-kW proof-of-concept prototype of one such design is dimensioned that allowed the near fulfilment of 3-D FEM verifiable system demands. One phase. of this dimensioned three-phase prototype is built. Measurements on this,prototype showed that the use of short pole lengths in the machine had led to manufacturing defects. Nevertheless, the electromagnetic viability of the design could still be approximately verified.
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| 15. |
- Chang, M., et al.
(författare)
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The synthesis of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube forests by thermal chemical vapor deposition
- 2012
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Ingår i: Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis and Properties. ; , s. 9-23
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Despite the many potential applications and attractive characteristics of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), a major challenge on the way toward their commercialization remains their controlled synthesis. In this chapter, we present a parametric study of the synthesis of vertically-aligned CNT forests using an ethylene-based chemical vapor deposition system without any oxidizing agent. We also provide an overview of the complex effects of hydrogen and an interpretation of the non-monotonic effect of the hydrogen flow rate on the resulting carbon nanotube forests. Even though hydrogen plays a partial role as a carrier gas (other than acting as a reducing agent), variations in the hydrogen and argon flow rates lead to distinct trends in the synthesis outcome, pointing to the diverse roles for the reducing and carrier gases: adjusting the proportions of hydrogen and argon for a given total flow rate had a drastic impact. The gas flow profile was optimal at an ethylene-to-total flow ratio of 8% and ethylene-to-hydrogen ratio of 25%, respectively. A strong temperature dependence was also observed: while the growth was similarly successful at 675 C and 725 C, a temperature of 650 C led to severely suppressed yield. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, the tip-growth mechanism dominates in this synthesis method.
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| 16. |
- Ghafoor, Mubeen, et al.
(författare)
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Perceptually Lossless Surgical Telementoring System Based on Non-Parametric Segmentation
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Imaging and Health Informatics. - : American Scientific Publishers. - 2156-7018 .- 2156-7026. ; 9:3, s. 464-473
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bandwidth constraint is one of the significant concerns of surgical telementoring, especially in rural areas. High-Efficiency Video Coding (H.265/HEVC) based video compression techniques have shown promising results for telementoring applications. However, there is a tradeoff between the quality of video received by the remote surgeon and the bandwidth resources required for video transmission. In order to efficiently compress and transmit real-time surgical videos, a hybrid lossless-lossy approach is proposed where surgical incision region (location of surgery) is coded in high quality while the background (non-incision) region is coded in medium to low quality depending on the nature of the region. The surgical incision region is detected based on an efficient color and location-based non-parametric segmentation approach. This approach takes explicitly into account the physiological nature of the human visual system and efficiently encodes the video by providing good overall visual impact in the location of surgery. The results of the proposed approach are shown in terms of video quality metrics such as Bjontegaard delta bitrate (BD-BR), Bjontegaard delta peak signal-to-noise ratio (BD-PSNR), and structural similarity index measurement (SSIM). Experimental results showed that in comparison with default full-frame HEVC encoding, the proposed surgical incision region based encoding achieved an average BD-BR reduction of 77.5% at high-quality settings (QP in range of 0 to 20 in surgical incision region and an increasing QP in skin and background region). The average gain in BD-PSNR of the proposed algorithm was 6.99 dB in surgical incision region at high-quality setting, and the average SSIM index came out to be 0.9926 which is only 0.006% less than the default full-frame HEVC coding. Based on these results, the proposed encoding algorithm can be considered as an efficient and effective solution for surgical telementoring systems for limited bandwidth networks.
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| 17. |
- Goyal, Nitin, et al.
(författare)
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Medical Management vs Mechanical Thrombectomy for Mild Strokes: An International Multicenter Study and Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
- 2020
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Ingår i: JAMA Neurology. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 2168-6149. ; 77:1, s. 16-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Importance: The benefit of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with stroke presenting with mild deficits (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score <6) owing to emergency large-vessel occlusion (ELVO) remains uncertain. Objective: To assess the outcomes of patients with mild-deficits ELVO (mELVO) treated with MT vs best medical management (bMM). Data Sources: We retrospectively pooled patients with mELVO during a 5-year period from 16 centers. A meta-analysis of studies reporting efficacy and safety outcomes with MT or bMM among patients with mELVO was also conducted. Data were analyzed between 2013 and 2017. Study Selection: We identified studies that enrolled patients with stroke (within 24 hours of symptom onset) with mELVO treated with MT or bMM. Main Outcomes and Measures: Efficacy outcomes included 3-month favorable functional outcome and 3-month functional independence that were defined as modified Rankin Scale scores of 0 to 1 and 0 to 2, respectively. Safety outcomes included 3-month mortality and symptomatic and asymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Results: We evaluated a total of 251 patients with mELVO who were treated with MT (n = 138; 65 women; mean age, 65.2 years; median NIHSS score, 4; interquartile range [IQR], 3-5) or bMM (n = 113; 51 women; mean age, 64.8; median NIHSS score, 3; interquartile range [IQR], 2-4). The rate of asymptomatic ICH was lower in bMM (4.6% vs 17.5%; P =.002), while the rate of 3-month FI (after imputation of missing follow-up evaluations) was lower in MT (77.4% vs 88.5%; P =.02). The 2 groups did not differ in any other efficacy or safety outcomes. In multivariable analyses, MT was associated with higher odds of asymptomatic ICH (odds ratio [OR], 11.07; 95% CI, 1.31-93.53; P =.03). In the meta-analysis of 4 studies (843 patients), MT was associated with higher odds of symptomatic ICH in unadjusted analyses (OR, 5.52; 95% CI, 1.91-15.49; P =.002; I2 = 0%). This association did not retain its significance in adjusted analyses including 2 studies (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 0.49-8.63; P =.32; I2 = 0%). The meta-analysis did not document any other independent associations between treatment groups and safety or efficacy outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance: Our multicenter study coupled with the meta-analysis suggests similar outcomes of MT and bMM in patients with stroke with mELVO, but no conclusions about treatment effect can be made. The clinical equipoise can further be resolved by a randomized clinical trial.
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| 18. |
- Hakim, M. Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of MWCNT-Assisted Molybdenum-Titanium Carbide MXene as a Potential Electrode Material for Energy Storage Application
- 2024
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Ingår i: ACS Omega. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2470-1343. ; 9:8, s. 8763-8772
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as MXenes have attracted considerable attention owing to their enormous potential for structural flexibility. Here, we prepared a Mo2TiC2Tx-layered structure from parent Mo2TiAlC2Tx MAX by chemically selective etching of the aluminum layer. The prepared MXene was employed in composite formation with CTAB-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to have a structure with improved electrochemical performance. The samples were characterized to analyze the structure, morphology, elemental detection, vibrational modes, and surface chemistry, followed by an electrochemical performance of the Mo2TiC2Tx MXene and MWCNTs@Mo2TiC2Tx composite using the GAMRAY Potentiostat under a 1 M KOH electrolyte. The specific capacitance of pristine Mo2TiC2Tx was 425 F g–1, which was enhanced to 1740 F g–1 (almost 4 times) at 5 mV s–1 due to the increase in active surface area and conductive paths between the MXene sheets. The charge storage mechanism was studied by further resolving the cyclic voltammograms. MWCNTs@Mo2TiC2Tx showed much improved electrochemical performance and reaction kinetics, making it an ideal material candidate for supercapacitor applications.
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| 19. |
- Hakim, M. Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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Ni-intercalated Mo2TiC2Tx free-standing MXene for excellent gravimetric capacitance prepared via electrostatic self-assembly
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Energy Storage. - : Elsevier. - 2352-152X .- 2352-1538. ; 61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- MXenes and composite belonging to the family of 2D material offer promising applications in the field of energy storage owing to their unique structure, metallic conductivity, and surface tunability. Herein, we have reported a simple approach for the synthesis of pristine Mo2TIC2Tx and Ni-intercalated Mo2TiC2Tx free-standing film. The prepared films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for the electrochemical measurements. A binder-free, flexible, and chemically stable structure of synthesized Ni-Mo2TiC2Tx films shows a high gravimetric capacitance of 682 F g-1, compared to the pristine Mo2TiC2Tx free-standing film which exhibited a gravimetric capacitance of 310 F g-1 at 5 mV s-1. Synthesized Ni-Mo2TiC2Tx electrode exhibited an energy density of 59.77 W h kg- 1 and power density of 0.4 kW kg- 1 along with long-term cyclic ability and stability of over 5000 cycles which makes it a good candidate material for energy storage devices.
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| 20. |
- Hassan, A., et al.
(författare)
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High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)–Based Surgical Telementoring System Using Shallow Convolutional Neural Network
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of digital imaging. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0897-1889 .- 1618-727X. ; 32:6, s. 1027-1043
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Surgical telementoring systems have gained lots of interest, especially in remote locations. However, bandwidth constraint has been the primary bottleneck for efficient telementoring systems. This study aims to establish an efficient surgical telementoring system, where the qualified surgeon (mentor) provides real-time guidance and technical assistance for surgical procedures to the on-spot physician (surgeon). High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265)–based video compression has shown promising results for telementoring applications. However, there is a trade-off between the bandwidth resources required for video transmission and quality of video received by the remote surgeon. In order to efficiently compress and transmit real-time surgical videos, a hybrid lossless-lossy approach is proposed where surgical incision region is coded in high quality whereas the background region is coded in low quality based on distance from the surgical incision region. For surgical incision region extraction, state-of-the-art deep learning (DL) architectures for semantic segmentation can be used. However, the computational complexity of these architectures is high resulting in large training and inference times. For telementoring systems, encoding time is crucial; therefore, very deep architectures are not suitable for surgical incision extraction. In this study, we propose a shallow convolutional neural network (S-CNN)–based segmentation approach that consists of encoder network only for surgical region extraction. The segmentation performance of S-CNN is compared with one of the state-of-the-art image segmentation networks (SegNet), and results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed network. The proposed telementoring system is efficient and explicitly considers the physiological nature of the human visual system to encode the video by providing good overall visual impact in the location of surgery. The results of the proposed S-CNN-based segmentation demonstrated a pixel accuracy of 97% and a mean intersection over union accuracy of 79%. Similarly, HEVC experimental results showed that the proposed surgical region–based encoding scheme achieved an average bitrate reduction of 88.8% at high-quality settings in comparison with default full-frame HEVC encoding. The average gain in encoding performance (signal-to-noise) of the proposed algorithm is 11.5 dB in the surgical region. The bitrate saving and visual quality of the proposed optimal bit allocation scheme are compared with the mean shift segmentation–based coding scheme for fair comparison. The results show that the proposed scheme maintains high visual quality in surgical incision region along with achieving good bitrate saving. Based on comparison and results, the proposed encoding algorithm can be considered as an efficient and effective solution for surgical telementoring systems for low-bandwidth networks.
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| 21. |
- Imamura, Fumiaki, et al.
(författare)
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Fatty acid biomarkers of dairy fat consumption and incidence of type 2 diabetes : A pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLoS Medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1277 .- 1549-1676. ; 15:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background We aimed to investigate prospective associations of circulating or adipose tissue odd-chain fatty acids 15: 0 and 17: 0 and trans-palmitoleic acid, t16:1n-7, as potential biomarkers of dairy fat intake, with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods and findings Sixteen prospective cohorts from 12 countries (7 from the United States, 7 from Europe, 1 from Australia, 1 from Taiwan) performed new harmonised individual-level analysis for the prospective associations according to a standardised plan. In total, 63,682 participants with a broad range of baseline ages and BMIs and 15,180 incident cases of T2D over the average of 9 years of follow-up were evaluated. Study-specific results were pooled using inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis. Prespecified interactions by age, sex, BMI, and race/ethnicity were explored in each cohort and were meta-analysed. Potential heterogeneity by cohort-specific characteristics (regions, lipid compartments used for fatty acid assays) was assessed with metaregression. After adjustment for potential confounders, including measures of adiposity (BMI, waist circumference) and lipogenesis (levels of palmitate, tri-glycerides), higher levels of 15:0, 17:0, and t16:1n-7 were associated with lower incidence of T2D. In the most adjusted model, the hazard ratio (95% CI) for incident T2D per cohort-specific 10th to 90th percentile range of 15:0 was 0.80 (0.73-0.87); of 17:0, 0.65 (0.59-0.72); of t16:1n7, 0.82 (0.70-0.96); and of their sum, 0.71 (0.63-0.79). In exploratory analyses, similar associations for 15:0, 17:0, and the sum of all three fatty acids were present in both genders but stronger in women than in men ((pinteraction) < 0.001). Whereas studying associations with biomarkers has several advantages, as limitations, the biomarkers do not distinguish between different food sources of dairy fat (e.g., cheese, yogurt, milk), and residual confounding by unmeasured or imprecisely measured confounders may exist. Conclusions In a large meta-analysis that pooled the findings from 16 prospective cohort studies, higher levels of 15:0, 17:0, and t16:1n-7 were associated with a lower risk of T2D.
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| 22. |
- Khaliq, Muhammad Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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GHz sample excitation at the ALBA-PEEM
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ultramicroscopy. - 0304-3991. ; 250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We describe a setup that is used for high-frequency electrical sample excitation in a cathode lens electron microscope with the sample stage at high voltage as used in many synchrotron light sources. Electrical signals are transmitted by dedicated high-frequency components to the printed circuit board supporting the sample. Sub-miniature push-on connectors (SMP) are used to realize the connection in the ultra-high vacuum chamber, bypassing the standard feedthrough. A bandwidth up to 4 GHz with -6 dB attenuation was measured at the sample position, which allows to apply sub-nanosecond pulses. We describe different electronic sample excitation schemes and demonstrate a spatial resolution of 56 nm employing the new setup.
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| 23. |
- Muzaffar, Nimra, et al.
(författare)
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Designing of VCuS@MXene nanocomposite electrode for energy storage device and electrochemical glucose sensor
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics. - : Springer Nature. - 0957-4522 .- 1573-482X. ; 35:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- MXene, a two-dimensional (2D) material composed of transition metal carbides (TMCs) and nitrides, have fascinated substantial scientific interest. This increased interest results from their exceptional properties, which include extraordinary conductivity, transparency, outstanding absorbing capacity, and significant charge storage capacities. In this work, the MXene-doped vanadium copper sulfide (VCuS) was synthesized through the hydrothermal method. In three electrode measurement system, the VCuS/MXene composite electrode showed exhibited a specific capacity (Qs) of 1620 Cg−1. As application point of view, the hybrid device is designed and measured the electrochemical properties. The hybrid device showed the remarkable Qs of 1528 C.g−1, power density (Pd) of 2347 Wkg−1 and an energy density (Ed) of 34.99 Whkg−1. Further, the VCuS/MXene//AC device is measured up to 6000 cycles to check the stability and durability. The device showed the capacity retention (CR) of 88.5% and a high Coulombic efficiency of 82.6%. Additionally, the VCuS/MXene electrode material is utilized as an electrochemical glucose sensor for the precise detection of H2O2 down to a minimal concentration of H2O2/mm, exhibiting exceptional precision. The use of multifunctional VCuS/MXene nanocomposite electrode material presents novel possibilities for the construction of hybrid energy harvesting systems.
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| 24. |
- Nasir, Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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Histo-Blood Group Antigen Presentation Is Critical for Binding of Norovirus VLP to Glycosphingolipids in Model Membranes
- 2017
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Ingår i: Acs Chemical Biology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1554-8929 .- 1554-8937. ; 12:5, s. 1288-1296
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Virus entry depends on biomolecular recognition at the surface of cell membranes. In the case of glycolipid receptors, these events are expected to be influenced by how the glycan epitope close to the membrane is presented to the virus. This presentation of membrane associated glycans is more restricted than that of glycans in solution, particularly because of orientational constraints imposed on the glycolipid through its lateral interactions with other membrane lipids and proteins. We have developed and employed a total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy-based binding assay and. a scheme for molecular dynamics (MD) membrane simulations to investigate the consequences of various glycan presentation effects. The system studied was histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) epitopes of membrane-bound glycosphingolipids (GSLs) derived from small intestinal epithelium of humans (type 1 chain) and dogs (type 2 chain) interacting with GII.4 norovirus-like particles. Our experimental results showed strong binding to all lipid-linked type 1 chain HBGAs but no or only weak binding to the corresponding type 2 chain HBGAs. This is in contrast to results derived from STD experiments with free HBGAs in solution where binding was observed for Lewis x. The MD data suggest that the strong binding to type 1 chain glycolipids was due to the well-exposed (1,2)-linked alpha-L-Fucp and (1,4)- linked alpha-L-Fucp residues, while the weaker binding or lack of binding to type 2 chain HBGAs was due to the very restricted accessibility of the (1,3) -linked alpha-L-Fucp residue when the glycolipid is embedded in a phospholipid membrane. Our results not only contribute to a general understanding of protein carbohydrate interactions on model membrane surfaces, particularly in the context of virus binding, but also suggest a possible role of human intestinal GSLs as potential receptors for norovirus uptake.
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| 25. |
- Nasir, Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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Lewis histo-blood group alpha1,3/alpha1,4 fucose residues may both mediate binding to GII.4 noroviruses
- 2012
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Ingår i: Glycobiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0959-6658 .- 1460-2423. ; 22:9, s. 1163-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human noroviruses cause recurrent epidemics of gastroenteritis known to be dominated by the clinically important GII.4 genotype which recognizes human Secretor gene-dependent ABH histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) as attachment factors. There is increasing evidence that GII.4 noroviruses have undergone evolutionary changes to recognize Lewis antigens and non-Secretor saliva. In this study, we have investigated the possibilities of the Lewis alpha1,3/alpha1,4 fucoses as mediators of binding of GII.4 noroviruses to Lewis antigens. The study was carried out using molecular dynamics simulations of Lewis type-1 and type-2 chain HBGAs in complex with VA387 P domain dimers in explicit water. Based on the computer simulations, we suggest the possibility of two receptor binding modes for Lewis HBGAs: the "Secretor pose" with the Secretor Fucalpha1,2 in the binding site and the "Lewis pose" with the Lewis Fucalpha1,3/alpha1,4 residues in the binding site. This was further supported by an extensive GlyVicinity analysis of the Protein Data Bank with respect to the occurrence of the Lewis and Secretor poses in complexes of Lewis antigens with lectins and antibodies as well as GII norovirus strains. The Lewis pose can also explain the interactions of GII.4 norovirus strains with Le(x) and SLe(x) structures. Moreover, the present model suggests binding of complex branched polysaccharides, with the Lewis antigens at the nonreducing end, to P domain dimers of GII.4 strains. Our results are relevant for understanding the evolution of norovirus binding specificities and for in silico design of future antiviral therapeutics.
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| 26. |
- Nasir, Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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SweetNET: A Bioinformatics Workflow for Glycopeptide MS/MS Spectral Analysis
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Proteome Research. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1535-3893 .- 1535-3907. ; 15:8, s. 2826-2840
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Glycoproteomics has rapidly become an independent analytical platform bridging the fields of glycomics and proteomics to address site-specific protein glycosylation and its impact in biology. Current glycopeptide characterization relies on time-consuming manual interpretations and demands high levels of personal expertise. Efficient data interpretation constitutes one of the major challenges to be overcome before true high throughput glycopeptide analysis can be achieved. The development of new glyco-related bioinformatics tools is thus of crucial importance to fulfill this goal. Here we present SweetNET: a data-oriented bioinformatics workflow for efficient analysis of hundreds of thousands of glycopeptide MS/MS-spectra. We have analyzed MS data sets from two separate glycopeptide enrichment protocols targeting sialylated glycopeptides and chondroitin sulfate linkage region glycopeptides, respectively. Molecular networking was performed to organize the glycopeptide MS/MS data based on spectral similarities. The combination of spectral clustering, oxonium ion intensity profiles, and precursor ion m/z shift distributions provided typical signatures for the initial assignment of different N-, O- and CS-glycopeptide classes and their respective glycoforms. These signatures were further used to guide database searches leading to the identification and validation of a large number of glycopeptide variants including novel deoxyhexose (fucose) modifications in the linkage region of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans.
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| 27. |
- Sadiq, Muhammad Waqas, et al.
(författare)
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Lung pharmacokinetics of inhaled and systemic drugs : A clinical evaluation
- 2021
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Ingår i: British Journal of Pharmacology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0007-1188 .- 1476-5381. ; 178:22, s. 4440-4451
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Purpose Human pharmacokinetic studies of lung-targeted drugs are typically limited to measurements of systemic plasma concentrations, which provide no direct information on lung target-site concentrations. We aimed to evaluate lung pharmacokinetics of commonly prescribed drugs by sampling different lung compartments after inhalation and oral administration. Experimental Approach Healthy volunteers received single, sequential doses of either inhaled salbutamol, salmeterol and fluticasone propionate (n = 12), or oral salbutamol and propranolol (n = 6). Each participant underwent bronchoscopies and gave breath samples for analysis of particles in exhaled air at two points after drug administration (1 and 6, 2 and 9, 3 and 12, or 4 and 18 h). Lung samples were taken via bronchosorption, bronchial brush, mucosal biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage during each bronchoscopy. Blood samples were taken during the 24 h after administration. Pharmacokinetic profiles were generated by combining data from multiple individuals, covering all sample timings. Key Results Pharmacokinetic profiles were obtained for each drug in lung epithelial lining fluid, lung tissue and plasma. Inhalation of salbutamol resulted in approximately 100-fold higher concentrations in lung than in plasma. Salmeterol and fluticasone concentration ratios in lung versus plasma were higher still. Bronchosorption- and bronchoalveolar-lavage-generated profiles of inhaled drugs in epithelial lining fluid were comparable. For orally administered drugs, epithelial-lining-fluid concentrations were overestimated in bronchoalveolar-lavage-generated profiles. Conclusion and Implications Combining pharmacokinetic data derived from several individuals and techniques sampling different lung compartments enabled generation of pharmacokinetic profiles for evaluation of lung targeting after inhaled and oral drug delivery.
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| 28. |
- Siddiqui, AH, et al.
(författare)
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Embotrap Extraction & Clot Evaluation & Lesion Evaluation for NeuroThrombectomy (EXCELLENT) Registry design and methods
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of neurointerventional surgery. - : BMJ. - 1759-8486 .- 1759-8478. ; 14:8, s. 783-787
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Relationships between occlusive clot histopathology, baseline characteristics, imaging findings, revascularization rates, and clinical outcomes of stroke patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) are not well understood. This study will assess the real-world experience on the efficacy and safety of using the EmboTrap device as the first approach in LVO patients and explore the associations between clot histological characteristics, imaging and clinical findings, revascularization rates, and clinical outcomes.MethodsProspective, global, multicenter, single-arm, imaging core laboratory, and clot analysis central laboratory observational registry. Adult patients (>18 years) with LVO, treated with EmboTrap as the first attempted device, will be eligible for study participation.ResultsUp to 1000 subjects at 50 international sites may be enrolled. Occlusive clots will be collected from at least 500 subjects. Independent central and imaging core laboratories will perform clot analysis and image adjudication. Statistical analysis will assess the association between imaging and clinical findings, clot characteristics, subject comorbidities, revascularization, and clinical outcomes. Study endpoints are functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score ≤2 at 90 days), expanded Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (eTICI) score ≥2b50 rate, first-pass effect, number of passes, embolization into new territory, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and 90-day mortality.ConclusionsThe EXCELLENT registry will provide reproducible effectiveness and safety data of EmboTrap for its use for mechanical thrombectomy. Additionally, the study will characterize the blood clots retrieved during mechanical thrombectomy with respect to their composition and histopathological analysis and potential correlations with clinical and imaging findings.Trial registration numberNCT03685578.
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| 29. |
- Stepanchuk, Anastasiia, et al.
(författare)
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Early detection of prion protein aggregation with a fluorescent pentameric oligothiophene probe using spectral confocal microscopy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Neurochemistry. - : WILEY. - 0022-3042 .- 1471-4159. ; 156:6, s. 1033-1048
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Misfolding of the prion protein (PrP) and templating of its pathological conformation onto cognate proteins causes a number of lethal disorders of central nervous system in humans and animals, such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, chronic wasting disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Structural rearrangement of PrP (c) into PrP(Sc)promotes aggregation of misfolded proteins into beta-sheet-rich fibrils, which can be visualized by conformationally sensitive fluorescent probes. Early detection of prion misfolding and deposition might provide useful insights into its pathophysiology. Pentameric formyl thiophene acetic acid (pFTAA) is a novel amyloid probe that was shown to sensitively detect various misfolded proteins, including PrP. Here, we compared sensitivity of pFTAA staining and spectral microscopy with conventional methods of prion detection in mouse brains infected with mouse-adapted 22L prions. pFTAA bound to prion deposits in mouse brain sections exhibited a red-shifted fluorescence emission spectrum, which quantitatively increased with disease progression. Small prion deposits were detected as early as 50 days post-inoculation, well before appearance of clinical signs. Moreover, we detected significant spectral shifts in the greater brain parenchyma as early as 25 days post-inoculation, rivaling the most sensitive conventional method (real-time quaking-induced conversion). These results showcase the potential of pFTAA staining combined with spectral imaging for screening of prion-infected tissue. Not only does this method have comparable sensitivity to established techniques, it is faster and technically simpler. Finally, this readout provides valuable information about the spatial distribution of prion aggregates across tissue in the earliest stages of infection, potentially providing valuable pathophysiological insight into prion transmission.
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| 30. |
- Zheng, Ping, et al.
(författare)
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Research on a tubular longitudinal flux PM linear generator used for free-piston energy converter
- 2007
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Ingår i: IEEE transactions on magnetics. - 0018-9464 .- 1941-0069. ; 43:1, s. 447-449
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The free-piston energy converter (FPEC) is used for a series hybrid electric vehicle scheme, which may have the advantages of high efficiency, compact structure, and reliable operation. The linear generator is an important part in the FPEC, and a tubular longitudinal flux permanent-magnet (PM) linear generator scheme is investigated in this paper. The electromagnetic and thermal properties of the generator are analyzed with commercial software Flux 2D. The generator is optimized from the aspects of material selection and structure optimization. Rare-earth PM material VACODYM 655HR is selected for the permanent magnets, and low-performance low-loss material M235-35A is chosen for the stator lamination. The pole number and machine size are optimized, and the optimum scheme with efficiency of 0.935 and specific power of 1.49 kW/kg is obtained, which meets the requirements of FPEC application.
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