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In this research, the membrane separation process was used to separate helium from methane gas. In order to do this, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used, and the effect of process parameters on the performance of the membrane separation process was studied by this method. To simulate the hydrodynamics of flow in the channel, the Navier-Stokes equation was used, and the Maxwell-Stefan equation was applied to simulate the mass transfer phenomenon. In addition, Fick's law was utilized to simulate mass transfer in the membrane domain. The impacts of significant parameters such as feed pressure, feed flow rate, and feed concentration on parameters such as He/CH4 separation factor, methane and helium membrane flux and helium mole fraction in permeate stream were studied. The results of the simulation indicated that the feed pressure of 10 bar, feed flow rate of 120 cm3 min-1, and feed mole fraction of 0.0254 had the best membrane performance in He/CH4 separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, single layer graphene oxide (GO) has been of intense interest for a broad spectrum of applications. Size and surface charge of GO sheets are two key factors in the most of these fields. These structural properties can be tuned by adjusting pH manipulating the content of oxygen-containing groups. Furthermore, the pH value extremely affects on the surface chemistry and functional groups of GO sheets which are crucial in providing a high stable solution and chemical activity of particles. In this study, Graphene oxide is synthesized by improved hummer method and characterized by XRD, AFM, FTIR, DLS and zeta potential. pH value can be tuned trough titration with NaOH and HCl and effect of pH on GO dispersion stability and optical properties is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM), the process of engaging patients in their healthcare decisions, is an integral component of personalized medicine. The use of SDM in real-world allergy and asthma care in the United States (US) is unknown. Cross-sectional surveys of allergists and patients in a US population were conducted to assess the use and perceptions of SDM and SDM tools in real-world allergy and asthma care., Methods: Allergists (N = 101) who were members of the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) and who were also Dynata (a marketing research firm) research partners or in the Allergy & Asthma Network customer database completed an online survey from February-March 2022. Adult patients (N = 110) with asthma, allergy, and/or eczema in the United States who were participants of online research panels hosted by Dynata completed on online survey from February 1-7, 2022., Results: Based on their own definition, 98% of the allergists reported familiarity with SDM, and 79% reported using it frequently. Allergists reported using SDM with an average of 44% of their patients. The most commonly used tool was the Immunotherapy SDM toolkit (40%); 43% had not used any SDM tool. Among allergists not using SDM or using it infrequently (n = 19), 42% considered it too time-consuming and 37% believed their patients have low health literacy. Of the surveyed patients, 25% reported their provider used SDM "frequently" or "occasionally" when being treated for allergies, asthma, or eczema, and 22% reported using SDM tools with their provider at some point. The most commonly used tool was the Asthma and Allergy Symptom Test (60%). Among patients whose allergists used SDM infrequently or never (n = 56), 70% reported they would be likely to ask their allergist to use SDM more often., Conclusion: Survey responses revealed a disconnect between allergists and patients regarding SDM use. Barriers to SDM are consistent with those across the healthcare industry. Patients clearly expressed their desire for SDM., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Purpose: This paper aims to examine effective diagnostic and treatment pathways for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in prison settings given the high prevalence of ADHD and comorbidities in the prison population., Design/methodology/approach: Two studies were carried out in two separate prisons in London. Firstly, data were collected to understand the prevalence of ADHD and the comorbidities. The second study used quality improvement (QI) methodology to assess the impact of a diagnostic and treatment pathway for prisoners with ADHD., Findings: Of the prisoners, 22.5% met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Nearly half of them were screened positive for autistic traits, with a higher prevalence of mental disorders among prisoners with ADHD compared to those without. The QI project led to a significant increase in the number of prisoners identified as requiring ADHD assessment but a modest increase in the number of prisoners diagnosed or treated for ADHD., Originality/value: Despite various challenges, an ADHD diagnostic and treatment pathway was set up in a prison using adapted QI methodology. Further research is needed to explore the feasibility of routine screening for ADHD in prison and examine at a national level the effectiveness of current ADHD prison pathways., (© Emerald Publishing Limited.)

Background: Telehealth use increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to provide patient care while deferring to social distancing recommendations. Objective: Health-care provider and patient surveys were conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the use and perception of telehealth visits for atopic and respiratory diseases. Methods: Health-care provider (N = 200) and patient (N = 200) surveys were conducted in the United States between September and October, 2020, and January, 2021. The participants were required to have used telehealth before or after March 1, 2020, the cutoff date selected to represent the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Before the pandemic, 40% of the health-care provider participants were conducting telehealth visits, which increased to 100% after the pandemic started. The average time spent per telehealth visit with patients increased from 13 to 16 minutes. A higher percentage of family medicine physicians/pediatricians had access to most monitoring tools than allergy/dermatology specialists both before the pandemic and after the pandemic started. Practice expenses reportedly increased after the pandemic started for 42% of participants. Before the pandemic, 27% of the patient participants used telehealth, which increased to 94% after the pandemic started. Ratings of "good" or "excellent" for the overall telehealth experience by the health-care provider participants improved from 44% before to 60% after the pandemic started, and by the patient participants improved from 77% to 88%. The willingness by the health-care provider participants to recommend telehealth to colleagues improved from 73% before to 83% after the pandemic started. The willingness by the patient participants to use telehealth again dropped slightly, from 94% to 89%. Conclusion: Telehealth visits for atopic and respiratory diseases increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telehealth experiences were overall positive, particularly for the patients.

Selective membrane-based separation of light isotopes is considered to be possible based on the quantum phenomena. In this regard, the role of two mass-dependent effects, quantum tunneling and zero-point energy (ZPE), is realized to be consequential for selective separation of helium isotopes using appropriate membranes. In the present study, the efficiency of two analogous nanoporous membranes, graphenylene (GP) and inorganic graphenylene (IGP), for gas phase separation of 3He and 4He has been theoretically investigated. Since the performance of the studied membranes is extremely influenced by the close competition between both quantum tunneling and zero-point energy (ZPE) effects, high precision in the calculations is required to provide more realistic theoretical predictions. The current study attempts to provide such predictions by applying domain-based local pair natural orbital coupled cluster theory (DLPNO-CCSD) to obtain the accurate helium-pore interaction potential, based on which the tunneling rates, as well as the exact (anharmonic) bound levels for the vibration of helium in the pore plane, are calculated. From the analysis of the obtained results, the performance of the GP and IGP nanopores has been investigated in both kinetic competition and steady-state conditions in the temperature range of 10-200 K. The results of this study indicate that harmonic oscillator approximation significantly overestimates the efficiency of the studied nanopores for helium isotope separation. Based on our accurate calculations, both GP and IGP nanopores provide almost similar selectivities in kinetic competition conditions (Stot4/3 ≈ 3 at T = 50 K); however, the predicted permeance for GP (10-8 mol m-2 s-1 bar-1) is about 100 times higher than that predicted for IGP under the same conditions. Under steady-state conditions, IGP has been shown to be more efficient than GP, since it provides acceptable values of separation factor at higher temperatures.

Background: Prevalence studies among prisoners have found rates of 1-4% for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autistic traits. However, little is known about those prisoners with high levels of autistic traits., Aim: This aim of this study was to compare the mental health characteristics of prisoners with autistic traits with neurotypical prisoners not screening positive for neurodevelopmental disorders., Method: The study recruited 240 male prisoners from a London prison and screened for autism spectrum disorder using the Autism Quotient (AQ) 20 and 10, and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to assess for depression, anxiety, self-harm behavior and suicide., Results: Screening using the AQ identified 46 prisoners with significant autistic traits, with 12 meeting the diagnostic threshold for ASD using the ADOS. Those screening positive with autistic traits were significantly more likely to have thought about self-harm and suicide in the past month than neurotypical prisoners and have a comorbid mental disorder. They were also significantly more likely to report having attempted suicide during their lifetime compared to neurotypical peers at a rate of 64.9 % compared to 11.6 % for the neurotypical prisoners., Conclusion: Prisoners with elevated levels of autistic traits were more likely to report self-harm, suicidal thoughts and were more vulnerable to a range of mental disorders than neurotypical prisoners. There is a need for more evidence on the experience of autistic prisoners to inform how pathways should work to improve health outcomes through increased awareness and access to screening and subsequent diagnosis which currently prisons are currently not set up for., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In this research, we have investigated the unintended graphene nucleation problem and its damaging effects on monolayer graphene synthesis in low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process. This problem is the growth of graphene on the copper surface with no carbon feedstock. A new source of undesired carbon species was identified which has not been addressed so far. The hydrogen-rich heating stage was diagnosed as the onset of the unintended nucleation for the first time owing to the determinant catalytic role of hydrogen in this stage. It was found out that this problem leads to uncontrollable growth of multilayer graphene, growth of defective graphene film and also inhibition of the reliable synthesis of monolayer graphene. We managed to grow enhanced-quality monolayer graphene by developing some innovative solutions to the problem containing a general solution based on the hydrogen effects in the heating stage. The results reveal a significant decrease in the unintended nucleation density from ∼2000 to almost zero domains per 100 × 100 μm 2 copper area. Furthermore, Raman, HRTEM and SAED analysis confirm the defect-free growth of monolayer graphene after employing the solutions. These findings could pave the way for the reliable synthesis of high-quality monolayer graphene as well as large-sized graphene domains.

Background: Research into neurodevelopmental disorders in adult offenders has tended to be disorder specific, so hindering service planning for a group of offenders with similar vulnerabilities., Aim: To examine vulnerabilities for mental illness and self-harming behaviours among male prisoners screening positive for a range of neurodevelopmental difficulties-including but not confined to disorders of intellectual ability, attention deficit hyperactivity, and in the autistic spectrum., Method: In a cross-sectional study, prisoners who screened positive for neurodevelopmental difficulties were compared to prisoners who screened negative for the same on indicators of suicide-related and self-harm behaviours, mental illness, and substance misuse using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)., Results: Of 87 prisoners who screened positive for neurodevelopmental difficulties, 69 had full MINI mental health data. In comparison with 69 neurotypical men in the same prison, the neurodevelopmental difficulties group was significantly more likely to have thought about self-harm and suicide in the last month and to have significantly higher rates of concurrent mental disorders including psychosis, anxiety, depression, personality disorder, and substance dependency disorders., Conclusions: This is one of the first studies to examine the mental health of adults with neurodevelopmental difficulties in a prison setting. This group, unlike those who meet diagnostic threshold, is not routinely considered by mental health or correctional services. The study found prisoners with neurodevelopmental difficulties showed greater vulnerability to mental disorder and thoughts of suicide and suicide-related behaviours than other prisoners. Accordingly, we recommend routine early screening across the criminal justice system for any neurodevelopmental difficulties to inform decision-making on the most appropriate disposal and support., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

First-principles density functional calculations have been used to model various oxygen-functionalized graphene nanopores, and quantum tunneling corrected transition state theory was used to investigate their 4 He/ 3 He separation performances under both kinetic competition and thermally driven steady-state conditions at the temperature range of 10-120 K. It is found that the two quantum effects, zero-point energy and quantum tunneling, which act in opposite directions, show different levels of participation in each set of process conditions. Under the kinetic competition conditions, the selectivity in helium isotope transmission is more affected by zero-point energy differences at the transition state structure, while the steady state separation factor is more affected by quantum tunneling. As a result of the present study, the efficiencies of all model pores are compared under both process conditions and the best pore structures are introduced.

This study aims to investigate a novel technique to improve the yield of liquid phase exfoliation of graphite to graphene sheets. The method is based on the utilization of magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles as "particle wedge" to facilitate delamination of graphitic layers. Strong shear forces resulted from the collision of Fe 3 O 4 particles with graphite particles, and intense ultrasonic waves lead to enhanced exfoliation of graphite. High quality of graphene sheets along with the ease of Fe 3 O 4 particle separation from graphene solution which arises from the magnetic nature of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles are the unique features of this approach. Initial graphite flakes and produced graphene sheets were characterized by various methods including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Zeta potential analysis. Moreover, the effect of process factors comprising initial graphite concentration, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles concentration, sonication time, and sonication power were investigated. Results revealed that graphene preparation yield and the number of layers could be manipulated by the presence of magnetic nanoparticles., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Omalizumab was approved for the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU)/chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) in the United States in March 2014., Objective: This study sought to describe real-world omalizumab use, in the United States, in a large cohort of patients with CIU/CSU., Methods: Patients with CIU/CSU (ages ≥12 years) initiated on omalizumab (index date) with ≥12 months of pre- and postindex data were identified in the an insurance claims data base (January 1, 2013, to July 31, 2016). Treatment patterns, including the dosing regimen and continuous use of omalizumab (no gaps for ≥60 days), were described during the 12-month postindex follow-up period., Results: A total of 1546 patients (mean ± standard deviation [SD] ages, 44 ± 14.5 years; 73.1% women) were identified. Most of the patients (84.5%) were initiated on omalizumab 300-mg dose; 90% maintained the initial dose, 7.5% had a dose increase, and 4.6% had a dose decrease. The mean ± SD omalizumab treatment duration was 9.1 ± 3.8 months, the mean ± SD number of omalizumab administrations was 8.3 ± 4.8, and the mean ± SD administration frequency was 44 ± 29 days. A proportion of the patients continuously treated with omalizumab for 6, 9, and 12 months was 67.3, 54.8, and 47.4%, respectively. Among the patients who discontinued omalizumab for ≥3 months (39.8%), 21% restarted the treatment after a mean ± SD of 4.4 ± 1.3 months. The proportion of patients who used other CIU/CSU-related medications decreased pre- to postindex (94.8 to 81.1%), with the highest decrease observed in oral corticosteroids (75.7 to 49.9%)., Conclusion: In this large real-world study, the majority of the patients with CIU/CSU were initiated on a 300-mg omalizumab dose and treated without titration up or down for 9 months on average. Most of the patients were continuously treated with omalizumab for ≥6 months, and one-fourth of the patients who discontinued treatment resumed it. Moreover, compared with baseline levels, the use of other CIU/CSU-related medications was lower after omalizumab initiation, with the most prominent decrease observed in oral corticosteroids.

Microalgae as a candidate for production of biodiesel, possesses a hard cell wall that prevents intracellular lipids leaving out from the cells. Direct or in situ supercritical transesterification has the potential for destruction of microalgae hard cell wall and conversion of extracted lipids to biodiesel that consequently reduces the total energy consumption. Response surface methodology combined with central composite design was applied to investigate process parameters including: Temperature, Time, Methanol-to-dry algae, Hexane-to-dry algae, and Moisture content. Thirty-two experiments were designed and performed in a batch reactor, and biodiesel efficiency between 0.44% and 99.32% was obtained. According to fatty acid methyl ester yields, a quadratic experimental model was adjusted and the significance of parameters was evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Effects of single and interaction parameters were also interpreted. In addition, the effect of supercritical process on the ultrastructure of microalgae cell wall using scanning electron spectrometry (SEM) was surveyed., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP) is to date the largest multi-centre, multi-disciplinary observational study on biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current paper describes the clinical characteristics of the LEAP cohort and examines age, sex and IQ differences in ASD core symptoms and common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms. A companion paper describes the overall design and experimental protocol and outlines the strategy to identify stratification biomarkers., Methods: From six research centres in four European countries, we recruited 437 children and adults with ASD and 300 controls between the ages of 6 and 30 years with IQs varying between 50 and 148. We conducted in-depth clinical characterisation including a wide range of observational, interview and questionnaire measures of the ASD phenotype, as well as co-occurring psychiatric symptoms., Results: The cohort showed heterogeneity in ASD symptom presentation, with only minimal to moderate site differences on core clinical and cognitive measures. On both parent-report interview and questionnaire measures, ASD symptom severity was lower in adults compared to children and adolescents. The precise pattern of differences varied across measures, but there was some evidence of both lower social symptoms and lower repetitive behaviour severity in adults. Males had higher ASD symptom scores than females on clinician-rated and parent interview diagnostic measures but not on parent-reported dimensional measures of ASD symptoms. In contrast, self-reported ASD symptom severity was higher in adults compared to adolescents, and in adult females compared to males. Higher scores on ASD symptom measures were moderately associated with lower IQ. Both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms were lower in adults than in children and adolescents, and males with ASD had higher levels of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms than females., Conclusions: The established phenotypic heterogeneity in ASD is well captured in the LEAP cohort. Variation both in core ASD symptom severity and in commonly co-occurring psychiatric symptoms were systematically associated with sex, age and IQ. The pattern of ASD symptom differences with age and sex also varied by whether these were clinician ratings or parent- or self-reported which has important implications for establishing stratification biomarkers and for their potential use as outcome measures in clinical trials.

Background: The tremendous clinical and aetiological diversity among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been a major obstacle to the development of new treatments, as many may only be effective in particular subgroups. Precision medicine approaches aim to overcome this challenge by combining pathophysiologically based treatments with stratification biomarkers that predict which treatment may be most beneficial for particular individuals. However, so far, we have no single validated stratification biomarker for ASD. This may be due to the fact that most research studies primarily have focused on the identification of mean case-control differences, rather than within-group variability, and included small samples that were underpowered for stratification approaches. The EU-AIMS Longitudinal European Autism Project (LEAP) is to date the largest multi-centre, multi-disciplinary observational study worldwide that aims to identify and validate stratification biomarkers for ASD., Methods: LEAP includes 437 children and adults with ASD and 300 individuals with typical development or mild intellectual disability. Using an accelerated longitudinal design, each participant is comprehensively characterised in terms of clinical symptoms, comorbidities, functional outcomes, neurocognitive profile, brain structure and function, biochemical markers and genomics. In addition, 51 twin-pairs (of which 36 had one sibling with ASD) are included to identify genetic and environmental factors in phenotypic variability., Results: Here, we describe the demographic characteristics of the cohort, planned analytic stratification approaches, criteria and steps to validate candidate stratification markers, pre-registration procedures to increase transparency, standardisation and data robustness across all analyses, and share some 'lessons learnt'. A clinical characterisation of the cohort is given in the companion paper (Charman et al., accepted)., Conclusion: We expect that LEAP will enable us to confirm, reject and refine current hypotheses of neurocognitive/neurobiological abnormalities, identify biologically and clinically meaningful ASD subgroups, and help us map phenotypic heterogeneity to different aetiologies.

A concern about personality inventories in diagnostic and decision-making contexts is that individuals will fake. Although there is extensive research on faking, little research has focused on how perceptions of personality items change when individuals are faking or responding honestly. This research demonstrates how the delta parameter from the generalized graded unfolding item response theory model can be used to examine how individuals' perceptions about personality items might change when responding honestly or when faking. The results indicate that perceptions changed from honest to faking conditions for several neuroticism items. The direction of the change varied, indicating that faking can operate to increase or decrease scores within a personality factor.

The incidence of severe allergies, especially to food, has increased dramatically in the United States. The number of children who are allergic to peanuts has more than doubled in the past five years. Severe allergies often cause anaphylaxis, which has a wide range of symptoms, including tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing and swallowing, itchy mouth and skin, nausea, hives, and fainting, and can cause death. Preparation and acting quickly in an emergency situation is key for affected children.