Three-dimensional graphene nanosheets as cathode catalysts in standard and supercapacitive microbial fuel cell

© 2017 The Authors Three-dimensional graphene nanosheets (3D-GNS) were used as cathode catalysts for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) operating in neutral conditions. 3D-GNS catalysts showed high performance towards oxygen electroreduction in neutral media with high current densities and low hydrogen peroxide generation compared to activated carbon (AC). 3D-GNS was incorporated into air-breathing cathodes based on AC with three different loadings (2, 6 and 10mgcm−2). Performances in MFCs showed that 3D-GNS had the highest performances with power densities of 2.059±0.003Wm-2, 1.855±0.007Wm-2 and 1.503±0.005Wm-2 for loading of 10, 6 and 2mgcm−2 respectively. Plain AC had the lowest performances (1.017±0.009Wm-2). The different cathodes were also investigated in supercapacitive MFCs (SC-MFCs). The addition of 3D-GNS decreased the ohmic losses by 14–25%. The decrease in ohmic losses allowed the SC-MFC with 3D-GNS (loading 10mgcm−2) to have the maximum power (Pmax) of 5.746±0.186Wm-2. At 5mA, the SC-MFC featured an “apparent” capacitive response that increased from 0.027±0.007F with AC to 0.213±0.026F with 3D-GNS (loading 2mgcm−2) and further to 1.817±0.040F with 3D-GNS (loading 10mgcm−2)

The use of non- treated starch for butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum

Introduction: Greenhouse effect problems, environmental pollution, global increase in oil demand, and reduced fossil fuel resources have boosted research on the production of renewable energies such as bioenegries in recent years. Amongst various biofuels, biobutanol has been recently introduced as a replacement liquid fuel for gasoline and gas oil. Anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium acetobutylicum are able to produce acetone, butanol, and ethanol using different sugar sources. This bacterium exhibits amylolytic activity and therefore is able to hydrolyzes starch to glucose and use it directly as carbon source. Materials and methods: In this study, three substrates including glucose, treated starch and starch were used in different concentrations to produce butanol by Clostridium acetobutylicum PTCC 1492. Results: For all three carbon sources, 60 g/ l of substrate was found as the optimum concentration. The results revealed that this bacterium is capable of producing butanol using all three carbon sources without any treatment. Butanol concentrations of 6.45, 5.81, and 4.64 g/ l were obtained using non-treated starch, treated starch, and glucose as carbon sources, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: The results suggested the possibility of using non-hydrolyzed starch as carbon source for butanol production. Also it was shown that non-treated starch produces more butanol compared to the treated starch

Bortezomib‐based therapy is effective and well tolerated in frontline and multiply pre‐treated Waldenström macroglobulinaemia including BTKi failures: A real‐world analysis

Abstract Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare, incurable low grade lymphoma following a relapsing trajectory. Management strategies have evolved with the introduction of targeted therapy including new classes of Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi). Treatment may however be limited particularly at relapse by a lack of drug availability and tolerability. We assessed the real‐world efficacy and tolerability of bortezomib‐containing regimens in patients with WM at frontline and relapse including those with prior BTKi resistance. Forty‐one patients were identified with 44 bortezomib‐containing regimens administered (n = 12 frontline, n = 32 relapse). Of patients treated at relapse, the median prior lines of therapy was 3 (range 1–7). 24% (10/41) of the cohort were refractory or intolerant to BTKi prior to bortezomib delivery. The median follow‐up after bortezomib administration was 34 months (range 0‐131). Overall response rate was 88%; 2‐year overall survival and progression‐free survival were 90% (95% confidence interval [CI] 73–96) and 76% (95% CI 55–87), respectively. Median time‐to‐next‐treatment was 66 months. Neuropathy (grade 1–2) occurred in 24% (8/34) and did not result in treatment cessation in any case. Gastrointestinal disturbance occurred in 7% (3/41). Treatment discontinuations were rare (1/44; 2%), suggesting a manageable safety profile. Major response rate was comparable in those with prior BTKi compared with those without (75% [6/8] vs 84% [27/32], p = 0.61). Bortezomib should be considered as a treatment modality particularly in those who are refractory to BTKi

Patient reported outcome measures in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia: A real‐world data analysis from the WMUK Rory Morrison Registry

Abstract Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM) is an incurable chronic B‐cell malignancy, but highly responsive to treatment. Treatments include fixed‐duration chemotherapy and continuous oral chemoimmunotherapy. In this expanding field, it is important to have reliable information on the impact of the various therapies on patients’ quality of life (QoL). Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly recognised as important to understand patient experience of disease beyond traditional clinical outcome measures. Four QoL questionnaires (EORTC QLQ‐C30 [European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life core questionnaire], BIPQ [Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire], HADS [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale], EQ‐5D‐5L [EuroQoL 5‐dimensional descriptive system questionnaire]) are embedded in the UK national WM registry, the Rory Morrison Registry. We reviewed the results from a snapshot of PROMs. As of November 2021, 155 patients completed PROM data with 98% completion rate across all 58 questions. Complete clinical information was available for 52 patients. The majority of QoL questions (69%) failed to elicit a notable median response. Only four questions elicited statistically significant responses when comparing groups, and these were exclusively found in the EuroQoL‐5D‐5L and HADS questionnaires. Our data suggest that widely used questionnaires may not be suitable for patients with WM. We advocate the development of WM‐specific outcome measures to overcome this

Prognosis prediction in traumatic brain injury patients using machine learning algorithms

Abstract Predicting treatment outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients is challenging worldwide. The present study aimed to achieve the most accurate machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict the outcomes of TBI treatment by evaluating demographic features, laboratory data, imaging indices, and clinical features. We used data from 3347 patients admitted to a tertiary trauma centre in Iran from 2016 to 2021. After the exclusion of incomplete data, 1653 patients remained. We used ML algorithms such as random forest (RF) and decision tree (DT) with ten-fold cross-validation to develop the best prediction model. Our findings reveal that among different variables included in this study, the motor component of the Glasgow coma scale, the condition of pupils, and the condition of cisterns were the most reliable features for predicting in-hospital mortality, while the patients’ age takes the place of cisterns condition when considering the long-term survival of TBI patients. Also, we found that the RF algorithm is the best model to predict the short-term mortality of TBI patients. However, the generalized linear model (GLM) algorithm showed the best performance (with an accuracy rate of 82.03 ± 2.34) in predicting the long-term survival of patients. Our results showed that using appropriate markers and with further development, ML has the potential to predict TBI patients’ survival in the short- and long-term

Real-world use of pomalidomide and dexamethasone in double refractory multiple myeloma suggests benefit in renal impairment and adverse genetics:A multi-centre UK experience

Myeloma patients who become refractory to immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs) and bortezomib have poor survival, with limited therapeutic options. Pomalidomide has shown improved survival and good tolerability in this patient cohort in clinical trials, but real world data are scarce. We retrospectively analysed all patients treated with pomalidomide at five UK centres between 2013 and 2016. Of 85 patients identified, 70 had sufficient information for response assessments. Median age was 66 years [40–89], 96·5% were refractory to IMiDs, 72·9% were refractory to both an IMiD and bortezomib and 92·9% were refractory to their last treatment. Of 45 patients with fluorescence in situ hybridization results 64% had adverse risk, 19 patients (22·4%) had an estimated glomerular filtration rate <45 ml/min. Grade ≥3 non‐haematological toxicities occurred in 42·4%, and grade ≥3 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia in 38% and 24% respectively, but only 18·8% had dose reductions. The overall response rate was 52·9%. At a median follow‐up of 13·2 months, median progression‐free survival was 5·2 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 4·150–6·238], and median overall survival was 13·7 months (95% CI 11·775–15·707). No significant difference was seen in response, survival or tolerability by renal function, age or cytogenetic risk. This real‐world data support the results seen in published clinical trials

Whole-body MRI quantitative biomarkers are associated significantly with treatment response in patients with newly diagnosed symptomatic multiple myeloma following bortezomib induction

Purpose: To evaluate whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) parameters for treatment response prediction in multiple myeloma (MM). Materials and Methods: Twenty-one MM patients underwent WB-MRI at diagnosis and after 2 cycles of chemotherapy. Scans acquired at 3.0T included T2, diffusionweighted- imaging (DWI) and mDixon pre- and post-contrast. Twenty focal lesions (FLs) matched on DWI and enhanced mDixon were selected for each time point. Estimated tumour volume (eTV), apparentdiffusion- coefficient (ADC), enhancement-ratio (ER) and signal fat fraction (sFF) were derived. Clinical treatment response to chemotherapy was assessed using conventional criteria. Significance of temporal parameter change was assessed by the paired t-test and receiver operating characteristics/area under the curve (AUC) analysis was performed. Parameter repeatability was assessed by interclass correlation (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis of 10 healthy volunteers scanned at two time-points. Results: 15/21 patients responded to treatment. Of 254 FLs analysed, sFF (p<0.0001) and ADC (p=0.001) significantly increased in responders but not non-responders. eTV significantly decreased in 20/21 cases. Focal lesion sFF was the best predictor of treatment response (AUC 1.0). Bone sFF repeatability was excellent (ICC 0.98 ) and better than bone ADC (ICC 0.47). Conclusion: WB-MRI derived focal lesion sFF shows promise as an imaging biomarker of treatment response in newly diagnosed MM