Search

Objectives: Endoscopic ultrasound‐guided tissue acquisition (EUS‐TA) is used for pathological diagnosis and obtaining samples for molecular testing, facilitating the initiation of targeted therapies in patients with pancreatic cancer. However, samples obtained via EUS‐TA are often insufficient, requiring more efforts to improve sampling adequacy for molecular testing. Therefore, this study investigated the use of oil blotting paper for formalin fixation of samples obtained via EUS‐TA. Methods: This prospective study enrolled 42 patients who underwent EUS‐TA for pancreatic cancer between September 2020 and February 2022 at the Osaka International Cancer Institute. After a portion of each sample obtained via EUS‐TA was separated for routine histological evaluation, the residual samples were divided into filter paper and oil blotting paper groups for analysis. Accordingly, filter paper and oil blotting paper were used for the formalin fixation process. The total tissue, nuclear, and cytoplasm areas of each sample were quantitatively evaluated using virtual slides, and the specimen volume and histological diagnosis of each sample were evaluated by an expert pathologist. Results: All cases were cytologically diagnosed as adenocarcinoma. The area ratios of the total tissue, nuclear, and cytoplasmic portions were significantly larger in the oil blotting paper group than in the filter paper group. The frequency of cases with large amount of tumor cells was significantly higher in the oil blotting paper group (33.3%) than in the filter paper group (11.9%) (p = 0.035). Conclusions: Oil blotting paper can increase the sample volume obtained via EUS‐TA on glass slides and improve sampling adequacy for molecular testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Information on breastfeeding and safety of biologics in infants is lacking due to difficulties in case collection. We evaluated methods for determining the concentration of biologics in breast milk using a dry filter method that can simplify the collection, storage and transport of breast milk. Methods: To generate dried filter paper (DFP) samples, approximately 30 μL of breast milk was placed onto a Whatman 903 card and punched out. After extraction, the supernatant was measured using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Three concentrations of each drug were prepared in liquid breast milk (LBM) and DFP samples to determine their stability up to 28 days after storage at 2–8°C or −20°C for LBM and 25 ± 5°C for DFP. LBM and DFP samples were also provided by nursing mothers using biologics during lactation, and drug concentrations in both samples were compared. The agreement between the two measurement methods was confirmed by Bland–Altman analysis. Results: Breast milk was provided by 12 mothers who used biologics (tocilizumab, abatacept, etanercept, golimumab, sarilumab and belimumab). The coefficients of variation for within‐run and between‐run precision for the six drugs were within 15% for both LBM and DFP, and accuracy was within 90%–110% of the quality controls. After 28 days, concentrations remained at more than 90%. The difference between the values obtained by each method was within the acceptable range of error (−12.1 to +16.6 ng/mL). Conclusions: A method for determining the concentration of biologics using DFP is expected to help improve pharmacotherapy for lactating women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to detect papers originating from the Russia‐based paper mill 'International Publisher' LLC. A total of 1,063 offers to purchase co‐authorship on a fraudulent papers published from 2019 to mid‐2022 on the 123mi.ru website were analysed. This study identifies at least 451 papers that are potentially linked to the paper mill, including one preprint, a duplication paper and 16 republications of papers erroneously published in hijacked journals. Evidence of suspicious provenance from the paper mill is provided: matches in title, number of co‐authorship slots, year of publication, country of the journal, country of a co‐authors and similarities of abstracts. These problematic papers are co‐authored by scholars from at least 39 countries and are submitted to both predatory and reputable journals. This study also demonstrates collaboration anomalies in questionable papers and examines indicators of the Russia‐based paper mill. The value of co‐authorship slots offered by 'International Publisher' LLC from 2019 to 2021 is estimated at $6.5 million. Since this study only analysed a single paper mill, it is likely that the number of papers with forged authorship is much higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the conference papers published by double first‐class universities from mainland China between 2006 and 2019. The main findings are as follows: first, the number of conference papers from different double first‐class universities varied greatly, with the annual numbers of papers in the China Proceedings of Conferences Full‐text Database (CPCD) and in the Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI) fluctuating during this period. Second, most of the top 10 disciplines of the papers in the CPCD and CPCI were in the natural sciences, with only two in the social sciences. The CPCD papers and CPCI papers had some overlap in their disciplinary distributions. Third, the CPCD and CPCI papers differed little in total number, with the number of CPCI papers being slightly higher than the number of CPCD papers. With the introduction of new regulations from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), there will likely be an increase in the number of Chinese‐language conference papers in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Computerised neuropsychological assessments (CNAs) are proposed as more accessible and culturally appropriate alternatives to traditional pencil‐and‐paper neuropsychological assessments (PnPAs) for diagnosing dementia in diverse populations. Whilst some PnPAs have demonstrated cultural and linguistic bias, research investigating the suitability of CNAs for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) individuals is limited, especially outside of the United States. Method: This study compared cognitive performance in a heterogenous sample of older Australian CALD English‐speakers and an L1 English‐speaking background (ESB) sample. Cross‐sectional data were drawn from the ongoing CogSCAN Study. Participants were 212 community‐dwelling individuals aged 60‐95 years without a dementia diagnosis (159 ESB/53 CALD). Participants completed a PnPA and/or CNAs, sessions were counterbalanced accordingly. CNA sessions involved two of four commercially‐available CNAs in a randomised order. Differences in the level and pattern of cognitive performance between groups on two CNAs (CANTAB/Cogstate) and a comprehensive PnPA in English, controlling for sociodemographic and health factors, are reported here. Selection of key variables for examination were based on previous findings (PnPA) and test developer recommendations (CNAs). Result: Sample characteristics are summarised in Table 1. CALD participants' cognitive performance on individual tests (Figure 1) was largely comparable to ESB participants on PnPA and each CNA. Significant differences between groups, after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, were observed for the Boston Naming Test (PnPA; a language test widely criticised for use with CALD populations due to culturally biased stimuli) and Rapid Visual Information Processing (CANTAB; a test of attention/processing speed). Among participants who completed PnPA and Cogstate, a significant interaction between group and assessment type on global cognitive performance was observed; ESB participants outperformed CALD participants on PnPA, but not on Cogstate (Figure 2). No significant main effects or interaction were observed in PnPA versus CANTAB. Conclusion: These results showed fewer and smaller discrepancies across groups and assessment types than has been found in previous literature with other CALD samples, perhaps reflecting higher levels of English proficiency, acculturation, and education in English than previous cohorts. Work in progress is investigating the influence of linguistic and acculturation factors on cognitive performance in a larger and more diverse sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the urine Congo‐red dot paper test (CRD) with dipstick urinalysis to screen preeclampsia (PE). A total of 409 paired spot urine samples were obtained prospectively from women with suspected pre‐eclampsia attending for routine hospital visits. Congo‐red dot paper test and dipstick urinalysis were examined and compared to screen pre‐eclampsia. The agreement between the two urinary test is modest (kappa coefficient = 0.28, 95% CI 0.14–0.42). The specificity of CRD was higher than urinalysis (97.4% vs. 90.4%, p <.001). Urinalysis performed better in sensitivity (77.3% vs. 40.9%, p =.04) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) (0.84 [95% CI 0.74–0.94] vs. 0.69 [95% CI 0.55–0.83], p =.04) than CRD, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, AUC of the parallel test of them is 86.4% (64.0%–96.4%), 89.1% (85.5%–92.0%), and 0.88 (95% CI 0.79–0.96). And the serial test is 31.8% (14.7%–54.9%), 98.7% (96.8%–99.5%), 0.65 (95% CI 0.51–0.79), accordingly. The urinalysis is a better diagnosing test for preeclampsia. CRD could aid in the diagnosis of patients with preeclampsia. Combined the two tests in suspected patients may further improve the performance in the diagnosis of preeclampsia. Further study need to be made for its potential clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power outages can cause harm to both society and individual health. Among the crucial elements of power systems, power transformers play a vital role, and their failures can lead to incidents and disruptions. According to statistics, almost 50% of the explosions and fires in the power transformer are caused by oil‐impregnated paper (OIP) bushing failures. Moreover, moisture is a crucial factor that affects the health of OIP bushings, and assessing the moisture level in OIP bushings is vital to guarantee the safety of power systems. While the frequency‐domain dielectric spectroscopy (FDS) method has been widely used to assess the moisture content of OIP bushings on‐site, it has the disadvantage of requiring a long measurement time. Therefore, a novel technique was proposed in this study that involves measuring the OIP bushing dissipation factor (tanδ) at 1 Hz to estimate the moisture content in a significantly shorter time. Five samples of OIP with various moisture levels have been selected, and an equation based on the OIPs' value of tanδ at 1 Hz was proposed to assess the moisture level of OIP bushings. Furthermore, the validity of the proposed method was successfully verified, proving its precision and time efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The erratic, intermittent, and unpredictable nature of sweat production, resulting from physiological or psychological fluctuations, poses intricacies to consistently and accurately sample and evaluate sweat biomarkers. Skin‐interfaced microfluidic devices that rely on colorimetric mechanisms for semi‐quantitative detection are particularly susceptible to these inaccuracies due to variations in sweat secretion rate or instantaneous volume. This work introduces a skin‐interfaced colorimetric bifluidic sweat device with two synchronous channels to quantify sweat rate and biomarkers in real‐time, even during uncertain sweat activities. In the proposed bifluidic‐distance metric approach, with one channel to measure sweat rate and quantify collected sweat volume, the other channel can provide an accurate analysis of the biomarkers based on the collected sweat volume. The closed channel design also reduces evaporation and resists contamination from the external environment. The feasibility of the device is highlighted in a proof‐of‐the‐concept demonstration to analyze sweat chloride for evaluating hydration status and sweat glucose for assessing glucose levels. The low‐cost yet highly accurate device provides opportunities for clinical sweat analysis and disease screening in remote and low‐resource settings. The developed device platform can be facilely adapted for the other biomarkers when corresponding colorimetric reagents are exploited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points: Academia is already witnessing the abuse of authorship in papers with text generated by large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT.LLM‐generated text is testing the limits of publishing ethics as we traditionally know it.We alert the community to imminent risks of LLM technologies, like ChatGPT, for amplifying the predatory publishing 'industry'.The abuse of ChatGPT for the paper mill industry cannot be over‐emphasized.Detection of LLM‐generated text is the responsibility of editors and journals/publishers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalized healthcare management is an emerging field that requires the development of environment‐friendly, integrated, and electrochemical multimodal devices. In this study, the concept of integrated paper‐based biosensors (IFP−Multi) for personalized healthcare management is introduced. By leveraging ink printing technology and a ChatGPT–bioelectronic interface, these biosensors offer ultrahigh areal‐specific capacitance (74633 mF cm−2), excellent mechanical properties, and multifunctional sensing and humidity power generation capabilities. More importantly, the IFP−Multi devices have the potential to simulate deaf‐mute vocalization and can be integrated into wearable sensors to detect muscle contractions and bending motions. Moreover, they also enable monitoring of physiological signals from various body parts, such as the throat, nape, elbow, wrist, and knee, and successfully record sharp and repeatable signals generated by muscle contractions. In addition, the IFP−Multi devices demonstrate self‐powered handwriting sensing and moisture power generation for sweat‐sensing applications. As a proof‐of‐concept, a GPT 3.5 model‐based fine‐tuning and prediction pipeline that utilizes recorded physiological signals through IFP−Multi is showcased, enabling artificial intelligence with multimodal sensing capabilities for personalized healthcare management. This work presents a promising and ecofriendly approach to developing paper‐based electrochemical multimodal devices, paving the way for a new era of healthcare advancements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avoiding financial losses requires preventing catastrophic oil‐filled power transformer breakdowns. Continuous online transformer monitoring is needed. The authors use paper insulation to evaluate transformer health for continuous online transformer monitoring. The study suggests a new artificial intelligence method for estimating paper insulation residual life in oil‐immersed power transformers. The four artificial intelligence models use backpropagation‐based neural networks to predict paper insulation lifespan. Four primary transformer insulating paper failure indices—degree of polymerisation, 2‐furfuraldehyde, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide—form the basis of these models. Each model, including the backpropagation‐based neural networks, estimates paper insulation life using one failure index, along with moisture and temperature data. Optimisation techniques enhance hidden layer neurons and epoch count for improved performance. Results are validated against literature‐based life models, establishing a precise input–output correlation. This method accurately predicts the remaining useable life of power transformer paper insulation, enabling utilities to take proactive measures for safe and efficient transformer operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Poor communication is a leading root cause of preventable maternal mortality in the United States. Communication challenges are compounded with the presence of biases, including racism. Hospital administrators and clinicians are often aware that communication is a problem, but understanding where to intervene can be difficult to determine. While clinical leadership routinely reviews incident reports and acts on them to improve care, we hypothesized that reviewing incident reports in a systematic way might reveal thematic patterns, providing targeted opportunities to improve communication in direct interaction with patients and within the healthcare team itself. Methods: We abstracted incident reports from the Women's Health service and linked them with patient charts to join patient's race/ethnicity, birth outcome, and presence of maternal morbidity and mortality to the incident report. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of incident reports using an inductive and deductive approach to categorizing communication challenges. We then described the intersection of different types of communication challenges with patient race/ethnicity and morbidity outcomes. Results: The use of incident reports to conduct research on communication was new for the health system. Conversations with health system‐level stakeholders were important to determine the best way to manage data. We developed a thematic codebook based on prior research in healthcare communication. We found that we needed to add codes that were equity focused, as this was missing from the existing codebook. We also found that clinical and contextual expertise was necessary for conducting the analysis—requiring more resources to conduct coding than initially estimated. We shared our findings back with leadership iteratively during the work. Conclusions: Incident reports represent a promising source of health system data for rapid improvement to transform organizational practice around communication. There are barriers to conducting this work in a rapid manner, however, that require further iteration and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Despite the growing awareness of academic fraud, its prevalence in the field of neurology has not been fully assessed. This review aims to analyze the characteristics of the retracted papers in the field of neurology and the reasons for the retraction to better understand the trends in this area and to assist to avoid retraction incidents. Methods: A total of 79 papers were included, which pertained to 22 countries and 64 journals. The marking methods for retracting original papers included watermarks (89.04%), retracted signs in the text (5.48%) and no prompt (5.48%). The median M (interquartile range [IQR]) of citations in retractions in neurology was 7 (41). Studies continued to be cited after retraction with an M (IQR) of 3 (16). The journal impact factor was between 0 and 157.335, with an M (IQR) of 5.127 (3.668). 45.21% and 31.51% papers were mainly published in the first and second quartile journals, respectively. The M (IQR) time elapsed between publication and retraction was 32 (44) months. The reasons for retraction included two major categories, academic misconduct (79.75%) and academic unintentional mistakes (20.25%). Results and conclusions: The number of retractions in neurology has been on the rise over the past decade, with fabricated academic misconduct being the main cause of the retractions. Due to the long time lag between publication and retraction, a number of unreliable findings continue to be cited following retraction. In addition to the requisite standards of academic ethics, augmenting research training and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration are crucial in enhancing research integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of terms, such as "antiepileptic," "anticonvulsant," and "antiseizure" have been historically applied to medications for the treatment of seizure disorders. Terminology is important because using terms that do not accurately reflect the action of specific treatments may result in a misunderstanding of their effects and inappropriate use. The present International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) position paper used a Delphi approach to develop recommendations on English‐language terminology applicable to pharmacological agents currently approved for treating seizure disorders. There was consensus that these medications should be collectively named "antiseizure medications". This term accurately reflects their primarily symptomatic effect against seizures and reduces the possibility of health care practitioners, patients, or caregivers having undue expectations or an incorrect understanding of the real action of these medications. The term "antiseizure" to describe these agents does not exclude the possibility of beneficial effects on the course of the disease and comorbidities that result from the downstream effects of seizures, whenever these beneficial effects can be explained solely by the suppression of seizure activity. It is acknowledged that other treatments, mostly under development, can exert direct favorable actions on the underlying disease or its progression, by having "antiepileptogenic" or "disease‐modifying" effects. A more‐refined terminology to describe precisely these actions needs to be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision prediction based on neurophysiological signals is of great application value in many real‐life situations, especially in human–AI collaboration or counteraction. Single‐trial analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is a very valuable step in the development of an online decision‐prediction system. However, previous EEG‐based decision‐prediction methods focused mainly on averaged EEG signals of all decision‐making trials to predict an individual's general decision tendency (e.g., risk seeking or aversion) over a period rather than on a specific decision response in a single trial. In the present study, we used a rock–paper–scissors game, which is a common multichoice decision‐making task, to explore how to predict participants' single‐trial choice with EEG signals. Forty participants, comprising 20 females and 20 males, played the game with a computer player for 330 trials. Considering that the decision‐making process of this game involves multiple brain regions and neural networks, we proposed a new algorithm named common spatial pattern‐attractor metagene (CSP‐AM) to extract CSP features from different frequency bands of EEG signals that occurred during decision making. The results showed that a multilayer perceptron classifier achieved an accuracy significantly exceeding the chance level among 88.57% (31 of 35) of participants, verifying the classification ability of CSP features in multichoice decision‐making prediction. We believe that the CSP‐AM algorithm could be used in the development of proactive AI systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neuromodulatory subcortical system (NSS) nuclei are critical hubs for survival, hedonic tone, and homeostasis. Tau‐associated NSS degeneration occurs early in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, long before the emergence of pathognomonic memory dysfunction and cortical lesions. Accumulating evidence supports the role of NSS dysfunction and degeneration in the behavioral and neuropsychiatric manifestations featured early in AD. Experimental studies even suggest that AD‐associated NSS degeneration drives brain neuroinflammatory status and contributes to disease progression, including the exacerbation of cortical lesions. Given the important pathophysiologic and etiologic roles that involve the NSS in early AD stages, there is an urgent need to expand our understanding of the mechanisms underlying NSS vulnerability and more precisely detail the clinical progression of NSS changes in AD. Here, the NSS Professional Interest Area of the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment highlights knowledge gaps about NSS within AD and provides recommendations for priorities specific to clinical research, biomarker development, modeling, and intervention. Highlights: Neuromodulatory nuclei degenerate in early Alzheimer's disease pathological stages.Alzheimer's pathophysiology is exacerbated by neuromodulatory nuclei degeneration.Neuromodulatory nuclei degeneration drives neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.Biomarkers of neuromodulatory integrity would be value‐creating for dementia care.Neuromodulatory nuclei present strategic prospects for disease‐modifying therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Human herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) is discussed to induce amyloid‐β (Aβ) accumulation and neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in cell culture and animal models. Aβ appears to be virostatic. We investigated the association between intrathecal antibodies against HSV or cytomegalovirus (CMV) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers. Methods: Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, pTau, and tTau were measured in CSF of 117 patients with early AD positive for amyloid pathology (A+) and 30 healthy controls (A‐). CSF‐to‐serum anti‐HSV1/2‐IgG antibody indices (AI‐IgGHSV1/2) and CMV (AI‐IgGCMV) were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Exclusively in HSV1‐seropositive AD, pTau was positively and significantly predicted by AI‐IgGHSV1/2 and negatively by the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio in both univariate and multivariate regression analyses. Furthermore, a significant and negative interaction between the AI‐IgGHSV1/2 and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio on pTau was found. Discussion: The results support the hypothesis that HSV infection contributes to AD. Highlights: HSV antibody index is positively associated with tau pathology in patients with AD.HSV antibody index is negatively associated with cerebral FDG metabolism.Amyloid modulates the association of HSV antibody index with CSF‐pTau.HSV in AD offers a pathophysiological model connecting tau and amyloid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing solid waste recycling, this study aims to develop biodegradable kraft paper from buffing dust (BD) and post‐consumed jute fiber (JF). Employing a simple solution casting method with a polyurethane binder, the kraft paper was fabricated and characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, SEM, TGA, OTR, biodegradability, and tensile tests. The findings revealed covalent and hydrogen bonding between BD and JF, forming a uniform surface. Notably, the composite exhibited improved thermal stability, enhanced gas barrier properties, and biodegradability compared to individual components. Furthermore, the composite also showed 57% higher tensile strength, 38% greater elongation, 20% increased hardness, and 9% higher density compared to buffing dust. Compared to jute fiber, the increases were 125%, 91%, 30%, and 19% respectively. Moreover, the composite excelled in gas barrier performance, surpassing BD and JF by a remarkable 61% and 73% increase respectively. These significant findings underscore the vast potential of the composite kraft paper as a versatile material suitable for various applications, including packaging, interior furnishing industries, and reinforcing elements in the footwear industry. By addressing waste management and promoting sustainability, this research contributes to the development of eco‐friendly materials that align with contemporary environmental concerns. Highlights: Covalent and hydrogen bonding enhance uniformity.Biodegradable kraft paper with improved properties.Impressive tensile strength, elongation, and hardness.Versatile material for eco‐friendly applications.Promotes sustainability and waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented in this paper introduces a novel environmental energy‐harvesting technology that harnesses electricity from the evaporation of water using porous structural materials. Specifically, a strategy employing paper‐based hydroelectric generators (p‐HEGs) is proposed to capture the energy produced during water evaporation and convert it into usable electricity. The p‐HEGs offer several advantages, including simplicity in fabrication, low cost, and reusability. To evaluate their effectiveness, the water evaporation‐induced electrical output performance of four different p‐HEGs are compared. Among the variants tested, the p‐HEG combining wood pulp and polyester fiber exhibits the best output performance. At room temperature, this particular p‐HEG generates a short‐circuit current and open‐circuit voltage of ≈0.4 µA and 0.3 V, respectively, thereby demonstrating excellent electrical stability. Furthermore, the electrical current and voltage generated by the p‐HEG through water evaporation are able to power an LED light, both individually and in series and parallel connections. This study delves into the potential of electricity harvesting from water evaporation and establishes it as a viable method for renewable energy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work in teacher noticing has captured to what extent teachers notice students' thinking on paper and pencil tasks and technology tasks, yet no one study has considered how the same group of teachers notices across task types. This study used Jacobs et al.'s (Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 2010, 41(2), pp: 169–202.) professional noticing of students' thinking framework to guide the design and analysis of prospective secondary mathematics teachers' (PSMTs) noticing of high school students' thinking on two geometry tasks: a paper and pencil task and a technology task. High school students' written work and a video clip were shared as the artifacts from which to notice for each task. PSMTs responded to a set of noticing prompts to capture how they were attending, interpreting, and deciding to respond to students' thinking for each task. Their written responses to these questions were then open coded for each noticing component and codes from each task were compared to reveal any differences in the content of PSMTs' noticing across task types. Results revealed differences between tasks for each component skill of noticing. Implications of these findings for mathematics teacher educators and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex polymers represent a challenge for remediating environmental pollution and an opportunity for microbial-catalysed conversion to generate valorized chemicals. Members of the genus Streptomyces are of interest because of their potential use in biotechnological applications. Their versatility makes them excellent sources of biocatalysts for environmentally responsible bioconversion, as they have a broad substrate range and are active over a wide range of pH and temperature. Most Streptomyces studies have focused on the isolation of strains, recombinant work and enzyme characterization for evaluating their potential for biotechnological application. This review discusses reports of Streptomyces-based technologies for use in the textile and pulp-milling industry and describes the challenges and recent advances aimed at achieving better biodegradation methods featuring these microbial catalysts. The principal points to be discussed are (1) Streptomyces' enzymes for use in dye decolorization and lignocellulosic biodegradation, (2) biotechnological processes for textile and pulp and paper waste treatment and (3) challenges and advances for textile and pulp and paper effluent treatment., (© 2023 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by Applied Microbiology International and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The high uncertainty around the COVID‐19 pandemic elicited an unprecedented level of panic buying during the early months. Using the framework of stress and coping, the current study conceptualized and tested a theoretical model that predicts individuals' panic buying in two countries. A survey of US (n = 311) and Korean consumers (n = 347) revealed that negative emotions (loneliness and anxiety) contributed to panic buying, yet two important coping resources, resilience and social support, were effective in protecting consumers from engaging in a maladaptive coping strategy. The hypothesis that collectivism (vs. individualism) would make consumers rely on social (vs. personal) coping resources was partially supported. The results highlight the unique circumstance of the global pandemic in which social support works as both a resource for healthy coping and a source to increase negative emotions, and call for future investigation of the complex role of social support in the context of stress and coping theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polistes dominula is an invasive social wasp that preys on the grasshopper Dichroplus elongatus, which constitutes a potential agricultural pest in Northwest Patagonia. This grasshopper feeds on a wide variety of plants, the 'Dandelion' (Taraxacum officinale) being one of the main food resources. In this study, by means of a Y‐tube olfactometer, we analysed the use of olfactory cues by P. dominula in the detection of grasshoppers. Specifically, we evaluated the attractiveness of live grasshoppers, their traces (i.e. leaves with herbivory traces + prey faeces or only faeces) and herbivory‐free leaves. The results showed that foragers equally chose olfactory cues emitted by grasshoppers and leaves with herbivory traces + faeces and herbivory‐free leaves, suggesting that the leaves of the host plant also have an important role in the searching behaviour. The current research is the first to demonstrate that the invasive paper wasp orients its search towards either the presence of grasshopper prey or the volatiles of plant leaves. These findings shed new light on predator‐prey interactions mediated by olfactory cues in P. dominula, which may play a biological role as a natural controller of D. elongatus, phytophagous pest in the invaded ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there are differences in handwritten Chinese signatures on different media including paper and electronic devices. Participants were asked to sign specified names on various types of media and the signatures were scanned or saved digitally for subsequent analysis. In this study, using convolutional neural networks and Siamese neural networks as classifiers and comparators, the performance plunge is revealed and thus considerable dissimilarity between the signatures on different media is implied. To further explore this, cubic Bézier curves are fitted to the signatures using the least square method for quantitative statistical analysis. By analyzing the visual changes in the morphology of strokes, several features of signatures are selected and computed, and the paired t‐test and the Wilcoxon signed‐rank test are implemented, which provides a deeper substantiation and explanation of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) derived nanostructures receive immense research focus due to its high porosity, conductivity, and structural tailrolability features. In this work, porous Zeolitic Imidazole Framework‐67 (ZIF‐67) to synthesize cobalt phosphide/carbon composite (ZCoPC) that serves as a positive electrode is utilized. Furthermore, porous and conductive office paper derived carbon (OPC) are utilized as a negative electrode to make a hybrid system. The metalloid characteristics, high conductivity, and good porosity of ZCoPC material makes it a high‐performance battery like electrode. ZCoPC electrode achieves maximum specific capacity of 192.6 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 using 1 m potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. Furthermore, surface and diffusion charge participation investigation are also undergone for ZCoPC electrode that helps in determining the actual charge dynamics occurring in the electrode. In addition, a supercapattery device is assembled using ZCoPC as battery electrode and OPC as supercapacitor electrode. The as fabricated OPC//ZCoPC hybrid supercapattery device delivers extraordinary energy density of 31.6 Wh kg−1 with a power density of 700 W kg−1 and also a long cycle life of 92.3% even after 10,000 charge–discharge cycles. Hence, these outcomes demonstrate that the synergy of porous MOF derived metal phosphide and OPC electrodes are beneficial for supercapattery devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retracted articles by Indian scholars have received significant attention in recent times. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to analyse the citations of retracted papers authored by Indian researchers. This study aimed to assess the citations to retracted works published between 2001 and 2020 pre‐ and post‐retraction. The study found that there was an increase in retractions over time, with empirical data suggesting that the number of retractions has increased significantly, from 72 papers between 2001 and 2010 to 365 papers between 2011 and 2020. Duplication (n = 128) and plagiarism (n = 119) were the primary reasons for retraction. Notably, 90% of the retracted articles continued to receive citations after retraction. Among the retracted papers, eight received more than 50 post‐retraction citations, 39 received 20 to 50 citations, 347 received one to 19 citations, and 43 were not cited at all post‐retraction. There was an overall 8% decrease in citations after retraction. Retractions were observed across journals of varying impact factor, with a higher number of retractions observed in journals with an impact factor of less than 5 (n = 286; 65%). Furthermore, smaller research teams of two to five authors accounted for 72% of the total retractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How might the visibility of an author's name and/or institutional affiliation allow bias to enter the evaluation of economics papers? We ask highly qualified journal editors to review abstracts of solo‐authored papers which differ along the dimensions of gender and institution of the author. We exogenously vary whether editors observe the name and/or institution of the author. We identify positive name visibility effects for female economists and positive institution visibility effects for economists at the top institutions. Our results suggest that male economists at top institutions benefit the most from non‐blind evaluations, followed by female economists (regardless of their institution). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epoxy‐impregnated paper transformer bushings are prone to water absorption due to the presence of water‐attracting moieties in the cellulose chemical structure and epoxy resin, leading to moisture‐induced insulation defects. To understand the mechanism of moisture's impact on epoxy‐impregnated paper, this study developed a testing platform that integrated moisture diffusion, adsorption, and dielectric properties of insulating materials. Insulation specimens made of epoxy resin and epoxy‐impregnated paper were prepared and their water diffusion characteristics were investigated using the Fick diffusion model and the Langmuir model, respectively. The Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer equation was used to examine the vacuum vapour adsorption characteristics of the materials, providing a theoretical foundation for examining the form of water present within them. The dielectric response of materials with varying moisture levels was then tested to study the effect of water on the dielectric spectrum curve. Using the Extended Derivative Method, the characteristic frequency reflecting the water content of the epoxy‐impregnated paper was extracted. The results demonstrate that 0.01‐Hz characteristic frequency provides superior accuracy for moisture assessment in epoxy resins compared to 50 Hz, and extracting and fitting the relaxation peak characteristic frequency in epoxy‐impregnated paper moisture evaluation yields higher accuracy than using tan δ at the power frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vigilant animals detect and respond to threats in the environment, often changing posture and movement patterns. Vigilance is modulated not only by predators but also by conspecific threats. In social animals, precisely how conspecific threats alter vigilance behavior over time is relevant to long‐standing hypotheses about social plasticity. We report persistent effects of a simulated conspecific challenge on behavior of wild northern paper wasp foundresses, Polistes fuscatus. During the founding phase of the colony cycle, conspecific wasps can usurp nests from the resident foundress, representing a severe threat. We used automated tracking to monitor the movement and posture of P. fuscatus foundresses in response to simulated intrusions. Wasps displayed increased movement, greater bilateral wing extension, and reduced antennal separation after the threat was removed. These changes were not observed after presentation with a wooden dowel. By rapidly adjusting individual behavior after fending off an intruder, paper wasp foundresses might invest in surveillance of potential threats, even when such threats are no longer immediately present. The prolonged vigilance‐like behavioral state observed here is relevant to plasticity of social recognition processes in paper wasps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, the community first observed scientific papers in the biomedical literature that seemed to display systematically fabricated data, pointing to the existence of paper mills: unofficial, potentially illegal organizations selling fake scientific manuscripts. In the present article, we share relevant information specifically about the 'raw data' associated with paper mill manuscripts. If a submitted manuscript displays clear indicators of potential paper mill involvement, we found that the raw data at close inspection often raise doubts about their authenticity. In the absence of real data, paper mills may need to fabricate raw data images when responding to requests from journals. Given the necessity to streamline production of fake manuscripts, the alleged raw data might be created using templates. Some potential methods for generating fake Western blot images are discussed. Paying close attention to image data, including graphs, diagrams, plots and tables, ideally at pre‐publication stage, can clearly help prevent publication of incorrect and fabricated information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, carbon nanotube papers were employed in fabricating thin and broadband radar absorbing structures (RAS). Different concentrations of the CNT papers have been made by using a vacuum filtration method, with 20 × 20 cm in size and 21‐27 μm in thickness. An epoxy resin was added into the CNT paper and then cured to become a composite with 1‐5 wt.% of CNTs and 83‐309 μm in thickness. The complex permittivity and permeability (ε′, ε″, μ′, μ″) of the CNT paper composites were measured using the transmission/reflection method in the frequency range of 2‐18 GHz. The results reveal that the real (ε′) and imaginary (ε″) parts of the complex permittivity are increased with the CNT concentration. The ε′ of 5 wt.% CNT sample reaches 323 at 2 GHz and then decreases to 49.0 at 18 GHz. The ε″ reaches 321 at 2 GHz and decreases to 26.0 at 18 GHz. The CNT paper composite combined with a glass fabric composite used for a dielectric spacer is fabricated for an innovative RAS and the reflection loss is measured using the arch method in a microwave anechoic chamber. The results show that the 5 wt.% CNT paper composite/glass fabric composite absorbers attain maximum reflection loss of −13.3 dB at 12.0 GHz, −13.8 dB  at 10.0 GHz, and −16.0 dB at 7.5 GHz for spacer thickness of 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 mm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is critical to improve illness management and outcomes, making neuropsychological measures an essential tool for clinicians. Research has demonstrated that proactive semantic interference (PSI) and failure to recover from PSI (frPSI) are sensitive to cognitive changes in early mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and preclinical AD determined by Aβ load using PET (Loewenstein et al., 2018; Matias‐Guiu et al., 2017; Curiel et al., 2019). These novel constructs are assessed by the LASSI‐L (Crocco et al., 2018; Crocco et al., 2020). The aim of the current study was to compare a new computerized version of this measure, the LASSI‐BC, to the standard paper‐and‐pencil version of the test. Method: 110 cognitively unimpaired (CU) older adults and 79 older adults diagnosed with amnestic MCI (aMCI) were administered the paper‐and‐pencil form of the LASSI‐L, whereas 62 CU and 52 aMCI participants were administered the LASSI‐BC. Their performance was compared to assess the validity of the LASSI‐BC to discriminate between different diagnostic groups. Result: To assess the validity of the computerized version, both the aMCI and CU groups were compared using χ2 test for categorical variables and ANOVA for continuous variables, with adjustment for covariates such as degree of initial learning, sex, education, and language of evaluation. The performance of CU and aMCI groups using either form was relatively commensurate. Notably, sensitivity and specificity of measures of PSI and frPSI on both versions were calculated to assess diagnostic validity, yielding the following Results Sensitivity of 86.5%, Specificity of 88.1%, and Overall Classification of 87.4% for the LASSI‐BC relative to a Sensitivity of 65.0%, Specificity of 83.6%, and Overall Classification of 75.8% obtained for the paper‐and‐pencil LASSI‐L. Conclusion: The LASSI‐BC displayed exceptionally high diagnostic validity which was comparable to the well‐established LASSI‐L. Notably, the advantages of the LASSI‐BC include a more standardized administration, suitability for remote assessment, and an automated scoring mechanism that can be verified by a built‐in audio recording of responses. These findings support the LASSI‐BC, a novel computerized assessment, as an exceptional tool for the early identification of individuals at risk of progressing to dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel strategy is proposed to enhance the electrochemical performance of polypyrrole (PPy)‐coated cellulose paper (PCP)‐based supercapacitor by increasing the reaction interface between hydrophobic pyrrole and hydrophilic FeCl3 solution. Paper is pretreated with regenerated cellulose (RC) to increase its specific surface area, which lays the foundation for increasing the reaction interface between pyrrole and FeCl3 in the following in situ polymerization while providing more adsorption sites for PPy. The RC‐pretreated paper is first impregnated with pyrrole, followed by removing surplus pyrrole occupied by the internal pores of paper prior to the impregnation of FeCl3 solution, aiming to increase the reaction interface between pyrrole and FeCl3 solution. Consequently, the as‐prepared PCP electrode exhibits a PPy loading of 4.2 mg cm−2, which is twofold higher than unpretreated PCP electrodes (2 mg cm−2). Moreover, a solid‐state supercapacitor assembled with PCP electrodes presents a 58 mF cm−2 areal capacitance at 2 mA cm−2 (equivalent to 140.5 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), a 33.1 µWh cm−2 energy density at a power density of 0.60 mW cm−2, and excellent cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 91.6% after 10 000 CV cycles. This work offers a new insight toward improving the electrochemical performance of PCP‐based supercapacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at developing an easily implementable method for on‐site analysis to detect urea adulteration in feed ingredients, a simple and inexpensive paper strip for urea detection via colorimetric assay is herein presented. The paper strip can be simply fabricated by immobilizing urease with bromothymol blue (BTB) as a pH indicator on cellulose fiber. Upon dipping the paper strip into the target sample, the release of ammonia during the reaction between urea in the sample and urease on the paper strip causes a pH change that results in the development of a blue color, thus indicating the presence of urea. A semiquantitative detection method was developed on the basis of the color change on the paper strip, which can be detected by naked eyes and compared with a color chart made by spiking urea at concentrations varying from 0.10% to 1.0% (w/w) in animal protein and fishmeal samples. Moreover, quantitative data were obtained by taking a picture with a smartphone camera and measuring the color intensity using ImageJ software. A comparison between BTB and phenol red as pH indicators revealed that the former afforded better results in terms of resolution. Under optimal conditions, good linear responses of blue intensity were obtained in a concentration range of 0.10%–1.0% (w/w). The recovery was determined to range between 98.1% and 118.3% with a relative standard deviation of <5%. The developed paper strip assay was applied to determine urea in animal protein and fishmeal, finding good agreement with the official AOAC method (No. 967.07). The present paper strip is rapid and requires neither sophisticated devices nor skilled personnel, allowing its use by quality controllers for the routine on‐site detection of the urea adulteration of raw materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points: Web‐based references form an integral part of academic culture and literature, as well as scientific communication.The preservation of web‐based references that are cited in‐text or in reference lists of academic papers is essential to ensure the integrity of knowledge preservation.When access or links to web‐based resources and references disappear, or if they are dysfunctional, these phenomena are collectively referred to as reference rot.Even though reference rot degrades the integrity of information in academic papers, no industry‐wide solutions currently exist.Given its prominence, we propose the Internet Archive as a possible solution to address reference rot, but also note its weaknesses and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The insulation paper is a crucial factor for evaluating the insulation status of transformers. The traditional evaluation methods for insulation paper are dissolved gas component content analysis (CO and CO2) and furfural (2‐FAL) content analysis in oil. The detection principle of the former leads to its low accuracy, while the field application effect of the latter is not ideal due to the easy oxidation of furfural and low content. Methanol, result of its good stability and high production compared with other marker products (CO, CO2, 2‐FAL) has been investigated as a novel marker for aging evaluation of transformer insulating paper in recent years. The results of the investigation indicated that there is a good correlation between the content of methanol in oil and the degree of polymerization under laboratory conditions, which reflected the insulation aging state of the transformer insulating paper more accurately. This paper summarizes the current research status of methanol formation mechanism, detection methods and aging evaluation in insulating oil, and points out the key problems to be solved and development prospects, hoping to provide relevant reference for aging evaluation of oil immersed power transformer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lime mud, a kind of industrial waste that produced in paper mill, was proposed as CO2 sorbent in calcium looping process. The carbonation performance of the lime mud was investigated in a dual‐fixed bed reactor (DFR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The carbonation kinetics of the lime mud in the chemical reaction controlled stage was analyzed by a surface reaction‐controlled kinetic model. The results show that the lime mud presents much poorer carbonation performance during the chemical reaction controlled stage compared with the limestone, mainly due to the high content of chlorine in the lime mud. A prewash treatment process was used to decrease the chlorine content to mitigate the sintering of the lime mud when calcined at high temperature. After prewash treatment, the prewashed lime mud shows much higher CO2 capture capacity during the chemical reaction controlled stage compared with the lime mud. A prolonged carbonation process successfully further enhances the microstructure and improves the carbonation performance of the prewashed lime mud in the chemical reaction controlled stage. The lime mud can be effectively used as CO2 sorbent in calcium looping process after prewash treatment and the following prolonged carbonation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofilm formation is a major cause of reduced paper quality and increased down time during paper manufacturing. This study uses Illumina next-generation sequencing to identify the microbial populations causing quality issues due to their presence in biofilms and slimes. The paper defects investigated contained traces of the films and/or slime of mainly two genera, Tepidimonas and Chryseobacterium. The Tepidimonas spp. found contributed on average 68% to the total bacterial population. Both genera have been described previously to be associated with biofilms in paper mills. There was indication that Tepidimonas spp. were present as compact biofilm in the head box of one paper machine and was filtered out by the paper web during production. On the other hand Tepidimonas spp. were also present to a large extent in the press and white waters of two nonproblematic paper machines. Therefore, the mere presence of a known biofilm producer alone is not sufficient to cause slimes and therefore paper defects and other critical factors are additionally at play. For instance, we identified Acidovorax sp., which is an early colonizer of paper machines, exhibiting the ability to form extracellular DNA matrices for attachment and biofilm formation., (© 2017 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Carbonaceous materials, especially with graphite‐layers structure, as anode for potassium‐ion batteries (PIBs), are the footstone for industrialization of PIBs. However, carbonaceous materials with graphite‐layers structure usually suffer from poor cycle life and inferior stability, not to mention freestanding and flexible PIBs. Here, a freestanding and flexible 3D hybrid architecture by introducing carbon dots on the reduced graphene oxide surface (CDs@rGO) is synthesized as high performance PIBs anode. The CDs@rGO paper has efficient electron and ion transfer channels due to its unique structure, thus enhancing reaction kinetics. In addition, the CDs provide abundant defects and oxygen‐containing functional groups, which can improve the electrochemical performance. This freestanding and flexible anode exhibits the high capacity of 310 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1, ultra‐long cycle life (840 cycles with a capacity of 244 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1), and excellent rate performance (undergo six consecutive currents changing from 100 to 500 mA g−1, high capacity 185 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1), outperforming many existing carbonaceous PIB anodes. The results may provide a starting point for high‐performance freestanding and flexible PIBs and promote the rapid development of next‐generation flexible batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining recycling of paper wastes (WPs) with extrusion‐based additive manufacturing represents a sustainable route to cellular cellulose composites tailored for lightweight construction. Particularly, shear mixing of shredded WPs with an aqueous solution of a polymer binder like polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) yields aqueous pastes suitable for 3D printing. As a shear thinning additive, both WP and microfibrillated cellulose account for enhanced shear thinning and dimensional stability. Opposite to the formation of dense WP/PVA composites by melt extrusion, 3D printing of aqueous pastes produces cellular cellulose/PVA composites exhibiting hierarchical pore architectures. In spite of low densities around 0.8 g cm−3, high Young's modulus (2.0 GPa) and tensile strength (53 MPa) are achieved. Mechanical stability, water resistance, and even flame retardancy simultaneously improve by crosslinking with glyoxal and especially by mineralization. Multimaterial 3D printing combines the 3D dispensing of cellulose/PVA pastes with the simultaneous, staged, or subsequent spraying of aqueous water glass to enable mineralization of composite surface, bulk, and interlayers. Furthermore, the glyoxal‐mediated crosslinking affords thermo‐ and moisture‐responsive cellulose/PVA composites with programmable shape change induced either by heating at 100 °C or by exposure to moisture at 37 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, it has been proposed that unrealistic requirements for academics and medical doctors to publish in scientific journals, combined with monetary publication rewards, have led to forms of contract cheating offered by organizations known as paper mills. Paper mills are alleged to offer products ranging from research data through to ghostwritten fraudulent or fabricated manuscripts and submission services. While paper mill operations remain poorly understood, it seems likely that paper mills need to balance product quantity and quality, such that they produce or contribute to large numbers of manuscripts that will be accepted for publication. Producing manuscripts at scale may be facilitated by the use of manuscript templates, which could give rise to shared features such as textual and organizational similarities, the description of highly generic study hypotheses and experimental approaches, digital images that show evidence of manipulation and/or reuse, and/or errors affecting verifiable experimental reagents. Based on these features, we propose practical steps that editors, journal staff, and peer reviewers can take to recognize and respond to research manuscripts and publications that may have been produced with undeclared assistance from paper mills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CP phenotype for each cohort was scored on the following criteria as either high confidence (fulfilled >=5 criteria), moderate (3-4), or low confidence (<=2): (i) CP defined with well acknowledged definition; (ii) clinical diagnosis of CP confirmed at time of recruitment; (iii) inclusion/exclusion criteria of the study met the clinical description of CP; (iv) CP clinically confirmed at >= age four; (v) motor disorders of CP well described; (vi) individual phenotyping data available. B Results b : Among the sample of children, 30 did not have CP and 45 had spastic CP (GMFCS levels I-V; 29 bilateral CP; 16 unilateral CP: 8 right, 8 left). B Background and Objective(s) b : The compounding effects of adverse health/function factors as individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) age into and through adulthood can create multiple pathways to complex medical profiles, but the patterns of comorbidities among adults with CP remains understudied. B Background and Objective(s) b : Cerebral palsy (CP) results in impairment of muscle function including muscles of the face, mouth, and throat, which may cause oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD) and affects 85% of children with CP. B Background and Objective(s) b : The QEDIN-CP network provides training and support for early screening to fast-track infants to early intervention according to the cerebral palsy (CP) early detection guideline. [Extracted from the article]

Women using antiseizure medication in pregnancy are often advised to use high doses of folic acid supplements (1mg to 5 mg) to reduce the risk of teratogenicity. Recently, we published a report showing an association between maternal prescription fill of high dose folic acid in relation to pregnancy and childhood cancer in the offspring. The report has sparked a debate about which dose of folic acid that should be recommended in pregnancy in women in need of antiseizure medication. In this Commentary, we explain our findings and the method used in our report, and answer recent questions that have emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of ubiquitous hygrothermal resources into renewable energy offers significant potential for cable‐free, self‐powered systems that can operate worldwide without regard to climatic or geographic limitations. Here, an all‐printed flexible hygro‐thermoelectric paper generator is demonstrated that uses bifunctional mobile ions and electrons to make the moist‐diffusion effect, the Soret effect, and the Seebeck effect work synergistically. In the ordinary hygrothermal settings, it generates an unconventional hygro‐thermoelectric output pattern and shows almost a dozen‐fold increase in positive hygro‐thermopower of 26.70 mV K−1 and also another negative hygro‐thermopower of −15.71 mV K−1 compared to pure thermopower. A single paper generator can produce a giant 680 mV displaying typical cyclic sinusoidal waveform characters with volt‐sized amplitudes. The ion‐electron conductive ink is easily printable and consists primarily of a Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS thermoelectric matrix modulated with a hygroscopic glycerol that releases ion charges for moist‐diffusion effect and Soret effect, as well as electron charges for Seebeck effect. The emerged hygro‐thermoelectric harvesting strategy from surrounding hygrothermal resources offers a revolutionary approach to the next generation of hybrid energy with cost‐efficiency, flexibility, and sustainability, and also enables large‐scale roll‐to‐roll production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incineration of high‐moisture solid residues generated at the recycling paper mills represents an energetically unfavourable method of resource utilization. Alternatively, hydrothermal pre‐treatment is considered. In this study, low‐value paper sludges from three different recycling streams were hydrothermally carbonized at 205, 225, and 245°C for 3 h. The raw feedstocks and derived hydrochars were analyzed for energy properties, chemical characteristics, surface morphology, functional groups, and combustion performance employing energy densification and mass yield quantification, scanning electron microscopy, elemental analyzer, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry. The increase in reaction temperature was reported to cause a decrease in mass yield and an increase in energy densification and calorific values corresponding to 5.98%–49.35% and 10.10%–58.51% for raw fibre rejects and final sludge‐derived hydrochar, respectively. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) had a non‐significant influence on the energy densification of primary clarifier sludge‐derived hydrochar. Higher reaction temperatures favoured the rate of dehydration and decarboxylation, leading to hydrochars with lower H/C and O/C ratios, thereby enhancing the overall fuel properties. The low‐nitrogen and low‐sulphur fuels obtained validated the effectiveness of HTC treatment to produce high‐quality cleaner solid fuel. The burnout temperature was mostly reduced with an increase in HTC temperature. At HTC‐205 and 225°C, the ignition temperature and the combustion performance increased as a result of the HTC reaction mechanisms. HTC effectively recovered hydrochar with increased carbon content, improved energy densification, and good combustion adequacy. Hydrochar derived from recycling mills may play a role in the energy sector as a substitute for coal or in co‐combustion at coal‐fired power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2 nanoparticles can improve the electrical performance of oil paper insulation. In this study, 10 nm TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared and dispersed into transformer oil, and then immerse pressboards in it to obtain nanofluid impregnated pressboards (NP). Its thermal aging was accelerated together with the reference sample at 130°C for 36 days. Analyzing the acid value in the oil, polymerization degree, surface topography, AC breakdown strength, surface flashover characteristics and surface potential decay characteristics. It was observed that TiO2 nanoparticles can reduce the acid value and improve AC breakdown strength of oil. However, the degree of polymerization and surface appearance of NP and oil impregnated pressboards (OP) during thermal aging did not differ significantly. During the aging process, the energy level of pressboard surface traps shifted first towards the shallow and then gradually towards the deep. During all the aging stages, the surface flashover voltage of NP was always higher or close to that of OP. The mechanism of TiO2 nanoparticles improving the breakdown and surface flashover characteristics of oil–paper insulation during thermal aging is discussed from the perspective of water molecules and aging by‐products adsorption and introduction of shallow traps by nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sustainability is a huge challenge in Africa as the region is currently struggling to provide sustainable systems to support daily human activities. Such activities in many African organisations include paper‐based information storage and communication which are not ecofriendly and place a huge burden on forest resources. This study therefore focused on the implication of overusing paper in an African university. Fifty offices in the university were surveyed and 59 questionnaires administered. The questionnaires were transcribed and analysed using both textual qualitative and quantitative analyses. The results showed that 6888 reams of paper (costing about 8 million Naira) are consumed annually by the university, translating to about 413 trees, which are enough to occupy a standard‐sized football pitch. It was also found that administrative staff members were generally Information Communication Technology (ICT) certified; however, many of them are still not well‐informed on the environmental implication of overconsuming paper even though they are largely aware of the benefits of paperless systems. Recommendations were offered on how to reduce the demand for paper by the university. This study is expected to create more awareness on the urgent need for African organisations to take environmental sustainability issues more seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small‐signal dielectric and piezoelectric coefficients of paper‐derived sodium potassium niobate, K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (KNN), were compared with those of conventionally prepared samples. Results show similar functional properties of paper‐derived KNN without significantly decreasing the small‐signal piezoelectric coefficient. The structure and microstructure analysis of conventional KNN and paper‐derived KNN did not reveal any significant difference in the crystal structure and grain size. However, the temperature‐dependent inter‐ferroelectric phase transition temperature estimated from the temperature‐dependent dielectric permittivity data revealed a decrease of approximately 18°C for the paper‐derived KNN and is possibly associated with the structural and microstructural defects. This work indicates that optimizing suspension chemistry and sintering conditions will be critical to enhance the functional response of paper‐derived KNN further. Moreover, paper‐derived ceramic processing, a novel and cost‐effective additive manufacturing technology, can be potentially used to fabricate other electroceramics with a wide range of porosities and sizes as well as complex geometries and multilayer structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bibliometric quantification is frequently used as metrics for the evaluation of the scientific performance of researchers and institutions. The researchers' merit is usually assessed by the analysis of quantitative parameters such as the number of publications, the impact factor of journals, the total number of citations, or the h‐index, although the limitations in translating these indicators into the impact of the outcome of scientific production are a matter of harsh criticism. To assess, based on factual evidences, the validity of traditional bibliometric analyses to conclude on the impact of papers to advance the state of the art, we carried out an innovative methodology on selected publications (test set). This methodology is based on identifying those citations of the test set papers that truly embed the methods, concepts, or hypotheses to build new knowledge and formulate conclusions. The results show that the percentage of citations that reflect the real impact of the papers of the test set has an average value of 12.4% of total citations and is not related to the impact factor of the journal where the test set papers were published. In conclusion, our analysis demonstrates factually, using experimental data, the total failure of using quantitative bulk citation analyses to conclude on the scientific impact of publications. Only a careful analysis of how the work described in papers was embedded on the subsequent work and/or conclusions of others can tell about the real contribution of a published work to the development of new knowledge and advancement of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point‐of‐care testing (POCT) can be the method of choice for detecting infectious pathogens; these pathogens are responsible for not only infectious diseases such as COVID‐19, but also for certain types of cancers. For example, infections by human papillomavirus (HPV) or Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are the main cause of cervical and stomach cancers, respectively. COVID‐19 and many cancers are treatable with early diagnoses using POCT. A variety of nucleic acid testing have been developed for use in resource‐limited environments. However, questions like unintegrated nucleic acid extraction, open detection systems increase the risk of cross‐contamination, and dependence on expensive equipment and alternating current (AC) power supply, significantly limit the application of POCT, especially for on‐site testing. In this paper, a simple portable platform is reported capable of rapid sample‐to‐answer testing within 30 min based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) at a lower temperature, to detect SARS‐CoV‐2 virus and H. pylori bacteria with a limit of detection as low as 4 × 102 copies mL−1. The platform used a battery‐powered portable reader for on‐chip one‐pot amplification and fluorescence detection, and can test for multiple (up to four) infectious pathogens simultaneously. This platform can provide an alternative method for fast and reliable on‐site diagnostic testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]