Tailored Ordering Enables High‐Capacity Cathode Materials

Abstract Novel Li‐ion battery cathode materials with high capacity and greater compositional flexibility are essential for the growing electric vehicle market. Cathode structures with cation disorder were once considered suboptimal, but recent demonstrations have highlighted their potential in Li 1 + x M 1 − x O 2 chemistries with a wide range of metal combinations M. By relaxing requirements of maintaining ordered Li diffusion pathways, countless multi‐metal compositions in LiMO 2 may become viable, aiding the quest for high‐capacity cobalt‐free cathodes. A challenge presented by this freedom in composition space is designing compositions that possess specific, tailored types of both long‐ and short‐range orderings, which can ensure both phase stability and Li diffusion. Ordering design frameworks are proposed based on computational ordering descriptors, which in tandem with low‐cost heuristics and elemental statistics can be used to simultaneously achieve compositions that possess favorable phase stability as well as configurations amenable to Li diffusion. Utilizing this computational framework, accompanied by illustrative synthesis and characterization experiments, we not only demonstrate the design of LiCr 0.75 Fe 0.25 O 2 , showcasing initial charge capacity of 234 and 320 mAhg −1 in its 20% Li‐excess variant Li 1.2 Cr 0.6 Fe 0.2 O 2 , but also present the elemental ordering statistics for 32 elements, informed by one of the most extensive first‐principles studies of ordering tendencies.

Impact and Influence of a Teaching Resident Rotation on Emergency Medicine Resident Physicians

Abstract Background The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires residency programs to train their residents to be teachers. Teaching resident (TR) rotations in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs provide both an opportunity to train residents in teaching skills and a dedicated teaching service for junior learners in the clinical setting. The impact that this experience has on the residents themselves is unknown. We sought to explore the impact of our residency program's TR rotation on our recent graduates. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews. We recruited our residency program's recent graduates and interviewed participants over a videoconferencing platform. We used a constructivist paradigm to guide our thematic analysis. Results We interviewed 11 graduates and identified major themes regarding how the TR rotation impacted their comfort and preparedness to teach and supervise learners postgraduation: discovery of their teaching identity, communication skills, development of teaching and supervisory skills, and professional development. Conclusions EM residents found TR rotations helpful in developing skills that prepared them to educate learners and supervise patient care postgraduation. The findings of this study may inform the use and development of TR rotations in EM and other specialties.

Bridging the language gap: Simulation‐based education improves communication, confidence, and knowledge for emergency medicine residents working with interpreters

Abstract Introduction Language barriers present unique challenges to health care delivery in emergency medicine (EM). There is a gap in understanding the impact of education and training on EM residents’ ability to work effectively with interpreters. We developed and piloted a simulation to improve residents' knowledge and confidence in working with medical interpreters (MIs). Methods We conducted a pre–post quasi‐experiment involving Denver Health EM residents. Participants engaged in a 120‐min simulation exercise, including five 20‐min scenarios involving Spanish‐, American Sign Language–, Russian‐, and Vietnamese‐speaking standardized patients. Learning objectives focused on acquiring essential skills needed to communicate effectively with patients while working with MIs. We compared pre‐ and postsimulation knowledge and self‐rated confidence. Results Of 68 eligible EM residents, 17 (25%) participated in the elective simulation, including mostly female (71%) and non‐Hispanic White (77%) individuals; most were members of the PGY‐1 and PGY‐2 classes (82% and 12%, respectively). English‐only proficiency was reported in 82% of residents. After the simulation, participants reported increased confidence in working with MIs, accessing MIs promptly, identifying the optimal mode of interpretation, and addressing common barriers to MI use. There was improvement in identifying when family and another ad hoc interpreter may be used and understanding the differences between interpretation and translation. Conclusions Among EM residents, simulation‐based training enhanced understanding of, and confidence with, working effectively with MIs. These results demonstrate the utility of using simulation‐based learning to impart important communication skills for working with various language groups in medical training.

The R.E.S.T. Initiative: A Pilot Program to Enhance Resident Performance by Taking Breaks On‐Shift

ABSTRACT Objectives This study was designed to assess the impact of a break‐taking initiative for resident physicians to encourage nutrition and patient note writing during their shift in the emergency department (ED). The primary objective was to determine if the intervention improved hunger, fatigue, incomplete documentation in the medical record, and post‐shift exit time. Methods We introduced an intervention titled the R.E.S.T. initiative, which consisted of encouraging residents to take a 15‐min break during their shift to eat and write notes, providing food in the resident break room, and encouraging disposition‐focused rounds with the attending physician approximately 1 h prior to the end of shift. An ecologic momentary assessment (EMA) tool was used to assess residents' hunger, fatigue, note burden, and participation in the intervention at three timepoints throughout their ED shift. Pre‐intervention baseline data were collected as well. Mixed‐effects models were used to assess changes pre‐ and post‐intervention. A post‐intervention survey collected feedback and opinions on the intervention from both faculty and residents. Results A total of 44 residents participated in the intervention. On‐shift break frequency improved from 19% to 56% during the intervention ( p  < 0.001). Post‐shift hunger and fatigue scores improved significantly during the intervention (OR 4.10, p  < 0.001 and OR 2.53, p  = 0.001, respectively), without a significant change in the number of new patients seen nor patients signed out to the oncoming team. All faculty and residents reported that there were no adverse effects on patients as a result of the intervention. Residents felt the breaks improved their efficiency and the quality of care they provided. Conclusions An intervention to encourage breaks for eating and charting, along with disposition‐focused rounds near the end of shift, improved hunger and fatigue in emergency medicine residents without negatively impacting patient safety or perceived resident efficiency.

AI Is Not a Four‐Letter Word: Moving From Resistance to Responsible Integration in Emergency Medicine Education

Responses of waterhemp and horseweed to cereal rye cover crop termination timing in soybean

Cake formation in the filtration of associative microgel suspensions

Abstract In this work, we investigate the jamming behavior of associative microgel suspensions used as fluid loss additives in model porous media. We first construct a phase diagram using drying experiments, followed by characterization of the suspensions' rheology and the permeability of the filter cakes at maximum microgel concentration. Microfluidic devices are designed for frontal and lateral flow filtration with pore sizes comparable to or slightly larger than the microgel particles. Microscopic observations reveal irreversible aggregation as the particles pass through pores, leading to cake formation inside and at the exit of the pores—contrary to the classical view of cake formation. Flow in linear channels of similar pore size, however, does not cause jamming, suggesting that extensional shear plays a crucial role. We hypothesize that extensional flows promote the association of hydrophobic groups by unfolding dangling chains, resulting in low‐permeability filter cakes with self‐adaptive properties for larger pore networks.

Issue Information

COVER ILLUSTRATION: The very rare South African orchid Disa elegans flowers only after fire and is pollinated by large chafer beetles that feed on dilute nectar secreted on the surface of the purple tips of the lip and the lateral petals. See Johnson et al.– “Floral specialization for beetle pollination and its implications for pollen dispersal in an African orchid.” In this issue. Image credit : Steven Johnson.

Floral specialization for beetle pollination and its implications for pollen dispersal in an African orchid

Abstract Premise Pollination by beetles is relatively rare in orchids, and this has been attributed to the clumsy behavior of beetles being unsuitable for the precise pollen transfer mechanisms that characterize the orchid family. We investigated floral specialization for beetle pollination in the rare fire‐dependent South African orchid Disa elegans and explored its implications for the efficiency and spatial pattern of pollen dispersal. Methods We observed flower visitors and identified their pollen loads. We studied floral traits, including spectral reflectance patterns, nectar secretion, and scent chemistry. We tracked the dispersal of color‐labeled pollen. Results Disa elegans was found to be pollinated by large scarab beetles. Apparent floral adaptations for beetle pollination include the platform‐like corymbose inflorescence of upward‐facing, bowl‐shaped flowers, secretion of very dilute nectar on exposed surfaces of the petals, and fruity floral scent dominated by the monoterpene alcohol R‐(–)‐β‐linalool and benzenoid ester methyl benzoate. Beetles carry large loads of pollinaria and transfer ~13% of the pollen they remove from anthers to stigmas. We found a classic leptokurtic kernel of pollen dispersal with an average distance from donors to recipients of 6.7 m. Self‐pollen made up ~30% of all pollen deposited on stigmas by beetles. These pollen dispersal patterns are similar to those obtained in plants pollinated by other insect groups, such as bees. Conclusions These results provide evidence of floral specialization for beetle pollination in an orchid species and show that beetles can be effective agents of pollen dispersal in orchid populations.

Autologous and Allogeneic Stem‐Cell Transplantation for Transformed Waldenström Macroglobulinemia