Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial activity in granular activated carbon filters in drinking water treatment

The investigations described are carried out to analyse the microbiological processes in relation to the GAC characteristics and the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) in Granular Activated Carbon filters (GACFs) in water treatment. The main goal of the study was to obtain a qualitative description of the interactions between microbial activity and the surface characteristics of GAC. For this purpose the concentration of active bacterial biomass in GACFs, the identity and properties of the predominating bacteria and the effects of the adsorptive properties of GAC on biodegradation were studied
Significance of dyslipidaemia in patients with heart failure of unexplained aetiology.

BACKGROUND Dyslipidaemia has been studied in the prognosis of heart failure (HF). Little is known about the role of dyslipidaemia in the aetiopathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). AIM To assess (1) serum lipid levels in DCM considering the severity of heart failure; (2) the association between DCM and lipid abnormalities; (3) prognostic significance of lipids in DCM. METHODS The study group consisted of 100 patients with angiographically proven DCM [mean age 42 years, 80% males, 65% in NYHA class III-IV, mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 32%], whose fasting serum lipids had been assessed during diagnosis between 1992 and 2001. Patients' lipid levels were compared with those observed in healthy controls (n=100), age-, gender-, and BMI-matched and related to findings reported in population samples from WHO Pol-MONICA studies from: 1993 (n=526), 1997/1998 (n=526) and 2001 (n=1364). Three (3%) patients received lipid-lowering drugs. Transplant-free survival was assessed in the study group. In the statistical analysis, nonparametric Wilcoxon test and uni- and multivariate logistic and Cox regression analyses were used. RESULTS Serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL (LDL-C) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) tended to be lower (differences NS) in NYHA class III-IV patients vs. class I-II (TC: 196.9+/-45.5 vs. 207.9+/-47.1 mg/dl, LDL-C 126.2+/-37.5 vs. 128.5+/-42.7 mg/dl, HDL-C 44.2+/-11.3 vs. 44.7+/- +/-13.7 mg/dl, respectively), and triglycerides (TG) were lower in advanced HF vs. NYHA class I-II (135.9+/-51 vs. 170.3+/-63.4 mg/dl, p=0.004). In DCM patients HDL-C was lower than in controls (44.1+/-12.1 vs. 54.3+/-17.6 mg/dl, p <0.001), and TG level was higher (147.9+/-58.1 vs. 114.1+/-61.6 mg/dl, p <0.001). HDL-C and TG levels in controls were similar to those observed in population samples. Multivariate analysis with age, low HDL (defined as <40 mg/dl for males, and <50 mg/dl for females), and hyperTG (TG ł150 mg/dl) showed that both low HDL-C (OR=2.31; 95% CI 1.2-4.457, p=0.0122), and hyperTG (OR=1.978, 95% CI 1.029-3.799, p=0.0407) were independently associated with DCM. Low HDL-C level occurred more frequently in female DCM patients vs. in males (65 vs. 33.8%, p=0.022). There was a trend towards more frequent occurrence of hyperTG in male patients vs. females (42.5 vs. 20%, p=0.11). The mean follow-up time was 7.32+/-4.7 years. In Cox univariate analysis low TC tended to be a prognostic factor (p=0.067), but in Cox multivariate analysis only NYHA class (HR=1.7, 95% CI 1.136-2.541; p=0.01) and LVEF (HR=0.963, 95% CI 0.932-0.996; p=0.027) turned out to be independent predictors of poor outcome. CONCLUSION Dyslipidaemia might play a role in the aetiopathogenesis of DCM. Low TC is not an independent prognostic factor in DCM.
Nonlinear Rheology of Entangled Polymer Solutions in Narrow Gaps Probed by Confocal Microscopy

Two likely causes of Type C Damping in highly entangled polymers are interfacial slip and shear banding. To isolate these mechanisms, we use confocal microscopy and particle image velocimetry to visualize flow in a planar‐Couette shear. Polybutadiene (Mw = 200 K, 1.1 M) solutions with different entanglement densities (8⩽Z⩽56) are sheared in narrow gaps ∼35 μm. Not only does the velocity at the boundaries violate the no‐slip condition, but the velocity profiles are linear. This is inconsistent with shear banding. The measured shear rates and stresses are used to characterize interfacial slip.
Serum Cardiac Troponin-I is Superior to Troponin-T as a Marker for Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Clinically Stable Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

Background Serum troponin assays, widely used to detect acute cardiac ischemia, might be useful biomarkers to detect chronic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiac-specific troponin-I (cTnI) and troponin-T (cTnT) generally detect myocardial necrosis equally well. In dialysis patients however, serum cTnT levels are often elevated, unlike cTnI levels. The present study aims to elucidate the associations of cTnI and cTnT with CVD in clinically stable dialysis patients. Methods Troponin levels were measured using 5th generation hs-cTnT assays (Roche) and STAT hs-cTnI assays (Abbott) in a cohort of dialysis patients. Serum troponin levels were divided into tertiles with the lowest tertile as a reference value. Serum troponins were associated with indicators of CVD such as left ventricular mass index (LVMI), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Associations were explored using regression analysis. Results We included 154 consecutive patients, 68±7 years old, 77% male, 70% hemodialysis. Median serum cTnT was 51ng/L (exceeding the 99th percentile of the healthy population in 98%) and median serum cTnI was 13ng/L (elevated in 20%). A high cTnI (T3) was significantly associated with a higher LVMI (Beta 31.60; p=0.001) and LVEF (Beta -4.78; p=0.005) after adjusting for confounders whereas a high serum cTnT was not. CAD was significantly associated with a high cTnT (OR 4.70 p=0.02) but not with a high cTnI. Unlike cTnI, cTnT was associated with residual renal function (Beta:-0.09; p=0.006). Conclusion In the present cohort, serum cTnI levels showed a stronger association with LVMI and LVEF than cTnT. However, cTnT was significantly associated with CAD and residual renal function, unlike cTnI. Therefore, cTnI seems to be superior to cTnT as a marker of left ventricular dysfunction in asymptomatic dialysis patients, while cTnT might be better suited to detect CAD in these patients.
People, places, and play: player experience in a socio-spatial context

Digital games frequently give rise to engaging and meaningful social interactions, both over the internet and in the real and tangible world of the gamer. This is the focus of the present paper, which explores digital gaming as a situated experience, shaped by socio-spatial contingencies. In particular we discuss how co-players, audience, and their spatial organization shape play and player experience and review supporting evidence for this. We present a framework describing social processes underlying situated social play experience and how these are shaped by the player the game's socio-spatial and media context. The core of this framework describes various 'sociality characteristics', and discusses these both in terms of co-located and mediated social game settings.
Optimal Video Adaptation and Skimming Using a Utility-Based Framework

Video adaptation uses various spatio-temporal adaptation techniques to transform video content in order to satisfy diverse resource constraints and user preferences. To explore systematic solutions, we present a new conceptual framework to model content, adaptation processes, utility, resources, and relations among them. The key to the fr amework is definition of the notion of utility and the formulation of the problem as one of constrained utility optimization. In this paper, we use the framework to form a unified view towards problems and solutions we have developed in several media adaptation projects, ranging from video skimming, transcoding, to adaptive streaming. We discuss several important open issues, including ambiguity in adaptation specification, representation of resource and utility distributions in high-dimensional spaces, modeling and classification of resource/utility, and efficient solution search strategies under multiple complex constraints.
Medicago truncatula NIN Is Essential for Rhizobial-Independent Nodule Organogenesis Induced by Autoactive Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase1

The symbiotic association between legumes and nitrogen-fixing bacteria collectively known as rhizobia results in the formation of a unique plant root organ called the nodule. This process is initiated following the perception of rhizobial nodulation factors by the host plant. Nod factor (NF)-stimulated plant responses, including nodulation-specific gene expression, is mediated by the NF signaling pathway. Plant mutants in this pathway are unable to nodulate. We describe here the cloning and characterization of two mutant alleles of the Medicago truncatula ortholog of the Lotus japonicus and pea (Pisum sativum) NIN gene. The Mtnin mutants undergo excessive root hair curling but are impaired in infection and fail to form nodules following inoculation with Sinorhizobium meliloti. Our investigation of early NF-induced gene expression using the reporter fusion ENOD11∷GUS in the Mtnin-1 mutant demonstrates that MtNIN is not essential for early NF signaling but may negatively regulate the spatial pattern of ENOD11 expression. It was recently shown that an autoactive form of a nodulation-specific calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase is sufficient to induce nodule organogenesis in the absence of rhizobia. We show here that MtNIN is essential for autoactive calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase-induced nodule organogenesis. The non-nodulating hcl mutant has a similar phenotype to Mtnin, but we demonstrate that HCL is not required in this process. Based on our data, we suggest that MtNIN functions downstream of the early NF signaling pathway to coordinate and regulate the correct temporal and spatial formation of root nodules.
Stepwise Metric Promotion for Unsupervised Video Person Re-identification

The intensive annotation cost and the rich but unlabeled data contained in videos motivate us to propose an unsupervised video-based person re-identification (re-ID) method. We start from two assumptions: 1) different video tracklets typically contain different persons, given that the tracklets are taken at distinct places or with long intervals; 2) within each tracklet, the frames are mostly of the same person. Based on these assumptions, this paper propose a stepwise metric promotion approach to estimate the identities of training tracklets, which iterates between cross-camera tracklet association and feature learning. Specifically, We use each training tracklet as a query, and perform retrieval in the cross-camera training set. Our method is built on reciprocal nearest neighbor search and can eliminate the hard negative label matches, i.e., the cross-camera nearest neighbors of the false matches in the initial rank list. The tracklet that passes the reciprocal nearest neighbor check is considered to have the same ID with the query. Experimental results on the PRID 2011, ILIDS-VID, and MARS datasets show that the proposed method achieves very competitive re-ID accuracy compared with its supervised counterparts.
Increased Cardiovascular Mortality Risk in Women Discontinuing Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy.

CONTEXT Current guidelines recommend annual discontinuation of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) to evaluate whether a woman could manage without the treatment. The impact of HT on cardiovascular health has been widely studied, but it is not known how the withdrawal of HT affects cardiovascular risk. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the risk of cardiac or stroke death after the discontinuation of HT. Design, Patients, Interventions, and Main Outcome Measures: Altogether 332 202 Finnish women discontinuing HT between 1994 and 2009 (data from National Reimbursement register) were followed up from the discontinuation date to death due to cardiac cause (n = 3177) or stroke (n = 1952), or to the end of 2009. The deaths, retrieved from the national Cause of Death Register, were compared with the expected number of deaths in the age-standardized background population. In a subanalysis we also compared HT stoppers with HT users. RESULTS Within the first posttreatment year, the risk of cardiac death was significantly elevated (standardized mortality ratio; 95% confidence interval 1.26; 1.16-1.37), whereas follow-up for longer than 1 year was accompanied with a reduction (0.75; 0.72-0.78). The risk of stroke death in the first posttreatment year was increased (1.63; 1.47-1.79), but follow-up for longer than 1 year was accompanied with a reduced risk (0.89; 0.85-0.94). The cardiac (2.30; 2.12-2.50) and stroke (2.52; 2.28-2.77) death risk elevations were even higher when compared with HT users. In women who discontinued HT at age younger than 60 years, but not in women aged 60 years or older, the cardiac mortality risk was elevated (1.94; 1.51-2.48). CONCLUSIONS Increased cardiovascular death risks question the safety of annual HT discontinuation practice to evaluate whether a woman could manage without HT.
Clinicopathologic and Prognostic Value of Serum Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 in Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background. The clinical value of carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 in gastric cancer is controversial. We evaluated the clinicopathologic and prognostic value of CA 19-9 in gastric cancer. Methods. A literature search was conducted in PubMed and Embase databases. Odds ratios (ORs), risk ratios (RR), hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used as effect measures. Results. Thirty-eight studies were included. Results showed that there were significant differences in the incidence of high CA 19-9 levels between stages III/IV and I/II groups (OR = 3.36; 95% CI = 2.34–4.84), the pT3/T4 and pT1/T2 groups (OR = 2.40; 95% CI = 1.60–3.59), the lymph node-positive and node-negative groups (OR = 2.91; 95% CI = 2.21–3.84), the metastasis-positive and metastasis-negative groups (OR = 2.76; 95% CI = 1.12–6.82), and vessel invasion-positive and invasion-negative groups (OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.11–2.48). Moreover, CA 19-9 was significantly associated with poor overall survival (HR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.56–2.15), disease-free survival (HR = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.16–2.95), and disease-specific survival (HR = 1.33; 95% CI = 1.10–1.60) in gastric cancer. Conclusions. Our meta-analysis showed that CA 19-9 indicates clinicopathologic characteristics of gastric cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis.
Antibody Drug Conjugates for Cancer Therapy

Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) constitute a family of cancer therapeutics designed to preferentially direct a cytotoxic drug to cells expressing a cell-surface antigen recognized by an antibody. The antibody and drug are linked through chemistries that enable release of the cytotoxic drug or drug adduct upon internalization and digestion of the ADC by the cell. Over 40 distinct ADCs, targeting an array of antigens and utilizing a variety of drugs and linkers, are undergoing clinical evaluation. This review primarily covers ADCs that have advanced to clinical investigation with a particular emphasis on how the individual targets, linker chemistries, and appended drugs influence their behavior.
Optic Pathway Gliomas

Background: Childhood optic pathway gliomas (OPGs) are low-grade neoplasms intrinsic to the optic nerve, optic chiasm, tracts, and radiations. The management of OPGs is still a highly controversial topic among neuro-ophthalmologists. Evidence Acquisition: Authors' personal experience and literature review. Results: This review describes our current understanding of the behavior of OPGs and discusses advances in their imaging, evaluation, and management. Patients with OPGs that progress are typically treated with chemotherapy using carboplatin and vincristine; however, newer approaches to therapy are being explored. Conclusions: Although chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment when indicated, multicenter collaborative studies involving oncologists and neuro-ophthalmologists, both retrospective and prospective, are still needed to establish evidence-based guidelines for the management of children with OPGs.
Adhesion-dependent rupturing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on biological antimicrobial nanostructured surfaces

Recent studies have shown that some nanostructured surfaces (NSS), many of which are derived from surfaces found on insect cuticles, rupture and kill adhered prokaryotic microbes. Most important, the nanoscale topography is directly responsible for this effect. Although parameters such as cell adhesion and cell wall rigidity have been suggested to play significant roles in this process, there is little experimental evidence regarding the underlying mechanisms involving NSS-induced microbial rupture. In this work, we report the NSS-induced rupturing of a eukaryotic microorganism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We show that the amount of NSS-induced rupture of S. cerevisiae is dependent on both the adhesive qualities of the yeast cell and the nanostructure geometry of the NSS. Thus, we are providing the first empirical evidence that these parameters play a direct role in the rupturing of microbes on NSS. Our observations of this phenomenon with S. cerevisiae, particularly the morphological changes, are strikingly similar to that reported for bacteria despite the differences in the yeast cell wall structure. Consequently, NSS provide a novel approach for the control of microbial growth and development of broad-spectrum microbicidal surfaces.
Retina Quantitative Autofluorescence and Cell Density Maps of the Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Ophthalmology, Birmingham, Alabama, United States University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Epidemiology, Birmingham, Alabama, United States University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Birmingham, Alabama, United States Center for Coastal Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Ophthalmology, Charleston, South Carolina, United States New York University School of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, New York, New York, United States
Inhaled Nitric Oxide Enables Artificial Blood Transfusion Without Hypertension

Background— One of the major obstacles hindering the clinical development of a cell-free, hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) is systemic vasoconstriction. Methods and Results— Experiments were performed in healthy mice and lambs by infusion of either murine tetrameric hemoglobin (0.48 g/kg) or glutaraldehyde-polymerized bovine hemoglobin (HBOC-201, 1.44 g/kg). We observed that intravenous infusion of either murine tetrameric hemoglobin or HBOC-201 induced prolonged systemic vasoconstriction in wild-type mice but not in mice congenitally deficient in endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS3). Treatment of wild-type mice by breathing NO at 80 ppm in air for 15 or 60 minutes or with 200 ppm NO for 7 minutes prevented the systemic hypertension induced by subsequent intravenous administration of murine tetrameric hemoglobin or HBOC-201 and did not result in conversion of plasma hemoglobin to methemoglobin. Intravenous administration of sodium nitrite (48 nmol) 5 minutes before infusion of murine tetrameric hemoglobin also prevented the development of systemic hypertension. In awake lambs, breathing NO at 80 ppm for 1 hour prevented the systemic hypertension caused by subsequent infusion of HBOC-201. Conclusions— These findings demonstrate that HBOC can cause systemic vasoconstriction by scavenging NO produced by NOS3. Moreover, in 2 species, inhaled NO administered before the intravenous infusion of HBOC can prevent systemic vasoconstriction without causing methemoglobinemia.
Dutch Young Adults Ratings of Behavior Change Techniques Applied in Mobile Phone Apps to Promote Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Background Interventions delivered through new device technology, including mobile phone apps, appear to be an effective method to reach young adults. Previous research indicates that self-efficacy and social support for physical activity and self-regulation behavior change techniques (BCT), such as goal setting, feedback, and self-monitoring, are important for promoting physical activity; however, little is known about evaluations by the target population of BCTs applied to physical activity apps and whether these preferences are associated with individual personality characteristics. Objective This study aimed to explore young adults’ opinions regarding BCTs (including self-regulation techniques) applied in mobile phone physical activity apps, and to examine associations between personality characteristics and ratings of BCTs applied in physical activity apps. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional online survey among healthy 18 to 30-year-old adults (N=179). Data on participants’ gender, age, height, weight, current education level, living situation, mobile phone use, personality traits, exercise self-efficacy, exercise self-identity, total physical activity level, and whether participants met Dutch physical activity guidelines were collected. Items for rating BCTs applied in physical activity apps were selected from a hierarchical taxonomy for BCTs, and were clustered into three BCT categories according to factor analysis: “goal setting and goal reviewing,” “feedback and self-monitoring,” and “social support and social comparison. ” Results Most participants were female (n=146), highly educated (n=169), physically active, and had high levels of self-efficacy. In general, we observed high ratings of BCTs aimed to increase “goal setting and goal reviewing” and “feedback and self-monitoring,” but not for BCTs addressing “social support and social comparison. ” Only 3 (out of 16 tested) significant associations between personality characteristics and BCTs were observed: “agreeableness” was related to more positive ratings of BCTs addressing “goal setting and goal reviewing” (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.06-2.41), “neuroticism” was related to BCTs addressing “feedback and self-monitoring” (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.58-1.00), and “exercise self-efficacy” was related to a high rating of BCTs addressing “feedback and self-monitoring” (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02-1.11). No associations were observed between personality characteristics (ie, personality, exercise self-efficacy, exercise self-identity) and participants’ ratings of BCTs addressing “social support and social comparison. ” Conclusions Young Dutch physically active adults rate self-regulation techniques as most positive and techniques addressing social support as less positive among mobile phone apps that aim to promote physical activity. Such ratings of BCTs differ according to personality traits and exercise self-efficacy. Future research should focus on which behavior change techniques in app-based interventions are most effective to increase physical activity.