Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of medium viscosity on rheological behaviors in concentrated PCC suspensions

The steady shear rheological experiments were carried out for concentrated PCC(precipitated calcium carbonate)suspensions in polyethylene glycol(PEG) on AR2000ex rheometer.The viscosity of the suspension was changed by two methods as follows: 1) Temperature of the system increasing from 10 ℃ to 50 ℃ in 10 ℃ inteval for PCC/PEG200 suspensions;2) Using the same oligomer of three different molecular mass,PEG200,PEG 400 and PEG600 at the temperature of 30 ℃,respectively.The results showed that for the PCC/PEG200 suspensions,with the increase of temperature the onset of shear-thickening shifted to higher shear rate.Furthermore,the shear flow exponent N is observed to decrease and the consistency index K increases in shear thickening region.Meanwhile,it is found that the correlations of critical shear rate(γc) and critical viscosity(ηc) vs temperature can be strongly fitted Arrhenius rule:. On the other hand,as the PEG molecular mass increases,the onset of shear-thickening shiftes toward lower shear rates.The fractal structure of PCC particles and the shape of aggregation resulted in the relative viscosity higher than that of dilute rigid particles suspension.
The challenge of safe driving among elderly drivers

The challenge of ageing has two key aspects with regard to driving: mobility and safety. It is necessary for elderly adults to preserve independent mobility and activity; however, physical frailty and cognitive limitations have negative effects on their safety. Therefore, the issue of driving, and more specifically, the fostering of safe driving of old people, is crucial, especially due the increasing number of elderly people holding a driving license. The purpose of this Letter is to point out the complexity of elderly driving and to suggest countermeasures by acknowledging that obtaining the correct balance between safety and mobility of older drivers is a complicated and sensitive task. To address this issue, the authors suggest accommodating their driving behaviour and patterns, in light of the deteriorating driving skills, by integrating social and policy procedures and use of emerging technologies. Policy steps to support elderly drivers and their loved ones by gradually controlling driving of elderly population when this becomes risky to them may serve as a desired countermeasure according to a proved tool such as technology. Utilisation of advanced technologies can help to monitor travel and driver behaviour and ability to make the necessary alterations, based on elderly driving skills.
Joint Interference Mitigation and Data Recovery in Compressive Domain: A Sparse MLE Approach

We consider the problem where a receiver acquires information (data) corrupted by interference and noise. Both the information and interference are assumed to have a sparse structure. This problem occurs in many applications such as data demodulation in cellular systems. The joint interference mitigation and data recovery is formulated as a sparse maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) problem which maximizes the associated likelihood function under individual sparsity levels (ISLs) constraints. This sparse MLE framework can fully exploit the individual sparse structure of the information and interference to improve the data recovery performance at the receiver. We propose an alternating optimization (AO) recovery algorithm to solve the non-convex sparse MLE problem. To analyze the performance of the proposed AO algorithm, we introduce a new kind of restricted isometry property (RIP) called the ISLs-RIP. Under the ISLs-RIP conditions, we show that the proposed AO algorithm converges to the optimal solution of the sparse MLE problem. We also derive an upper bound of the corresponding estimation error for the information. Finally, we extend the above results and algorithms to the case when the receiver only has statistical knowledge of the ISLs. Simulations show that the proposed solution achieves significant gain over various baselines.
Preemptive immunosuppressive treatment for asymptomatic serological reactivation may reduce renal flares in patients with lupus nephritis: a cohort study

BACKGROUND Serological activity may precede clinical flares of lupus nephritis (LN) but the management of asymptomatic serological reactivation (ASR) remains undefined. METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of 138 episodes of ASR, which included 53 episodes in which immunosuppression was increased preemptively and 85 episodes in which treatment was unaltered. Preemptive immunosuppressive treatment comprised increasing the dose of prednisolone to ∼0.5 mg/kg/day, and in patients already on mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) or azathioprine (AZA), increasing the dose to 1.5 g/day and 100 mg/day, respectively. RESULTS Thirty-four episodes of renal flare occurred during follow-up (88.8 ± 77.3 and 82.8 ± 89.7 months in the preemptive group and controls, respectively), following 5 (9.4%) of preemptively treated ASR and 27 (31.8%) of untreated ASR [hazard ratio 0.3 (confidence interval 0.1-0.7), P = 0.012]. Preemptive treatment was associated with superior survival free of renal relapse (99, 92 and 90% at 6, 12 and 24 month, respectively, compared with 94, 69 and 64% in controls; P = 0.011), whereas survival rate free of extrarenal relapse was similar in the two groups. Preemptively treated patients who did not develop renal flares showed better renal function preservation (estimated glomerular filtration rate slope +0.54 ± 0.43 mL/min/1.73 m2/year, compared with -2.11 ± 0.50 and -1.00 ± 0.33 mL/min/1.73 m2/year, respectively, in controls who did and did not develop subsequent renal flares; P = 0.001 and 0.012, respectively). Preemptive treatment was associated with an increased incidence of gastrointestinal side effects attributed to MMF (P = 0.031), whereas infection rate did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION A preemptive moderate increase of immunosuppression for ASR in LN patients may reduce renal flares and confer benefit to long-term renal function.
Neural Decoding of Bistable Sounds Reveals an Effect of Intention on Perceptual Organization

Auditory signals arrive at the ear as a mixture that the brain must decompose into distinct sources based to a large extent on acoustic properties of the sounds. An important question concerns whether listeners have voluntary control over how many sources they perceive. This has been studied using pure high (H) and low (L) tones presented in the repeating pattern HLH-HLH-, which can form a bistable percept heard either as an integrated whole (HLH-) or as segregated into high (H-H-) and low (-L-) sequences. Although instructing listeners to try to integrate or segregate sounds affects reports of what they hear, this could reflect a response bias rather than a perceptual effect. We had human listeners (15 males, 12 females) continuously report their perception of such sequences and recorded neural activity using MEG. During neutral listening, a classifier trained on patterns of neural activity distinguished between periods of integrated and segregated perception. In other conditions, participants tried to influence their perception by allocating attention either to the whole sequence or to a subset of the sounds. They reported hearing the desired percept for a greater proportion of time than when listening neutrally. Critically, neural activity supported these reports; stimulus-locked brain responses in auditory cortex were more likely to resemble the signature of segregation when participants tried to hear segregation than when attempting to perceive integration. These results indicate that listeners can influence how many sound sources they perceive, as reflected in neural responses that track both the input and its perceptual organization. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Can we consciously influence our perception of the external world? We address this question using sound sequences that can be heard either as coming from a single source or as two distinct auditory streams. Listeners reported spontaneous changes in their perception between these two interpretations while we recorded neural activity to identify signatures of such integration and segregation. They also indicated that they could, to some extent, choose between these alternatives. This claim was supported by corresponding changes in responses in auditory cortex. By linking neural and behavioral correlates of perception, we demonstrate that the number of objects that we perceive can depend not only on the physical attributes of our environment, but also on how we intend to experience it.
Challenges to “Classic” Esophageal Candidiasis: Looks Are Usually Deceiving

Objectives: We undertook the first case control study of histologically confirmed esophageal candidiasis (EC). Methods: A computer search from July 2012 through February 2015 identified 1,011 esophageal specimens, including 40 cases of EC and 20 controls. Results: The EC incidence was 5.2%; it was associated with immunosuppression and endoscopic white plaques and breaks. Smoking was a predisposing factor, and alcohol was protective. EC had no unique symptoms, and 54% of endoscopic reports did not suspect EC. Important histologic clues included superficial and detached fragments of desquamated and hyper-pink parakeratosis, acute inflammation, intraepithelial lymphocytosis, dead keratinocytes, and bacterial overgrowth. Thirty percent had no neutrophilic infiltrate. Pseudohyphae were seen on H&E in 92.5% (n = 37/40). “Upfront” periodic acid–Schiff with diastase (PAS/D) on all esophageal specimens would have generated $68,333.49 in patient charges. Our targeted PAS/D strategy resulted in $13,044.87 in patient charges (cost saving = 80.9%, $55,288.62). Conclusions: We describe the typical morphology of EC and recommend limiting PAS/D to cases where the organisms are not readily identifiable on H&E and with at least one of the following: (1) ulcer, (2) suspicious morphology, and/or (3) clinical impression of EC.
OCD candidate gene SLC1A1/EAAT3 impacts basal ganglia-mediated activity and stereotypic behavior

Significance Genetic linkage and association studies in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) implicate SLC1A1 (encoding the neuronal glutamate transporter excitatory amino acid transporter 3, EAAT3), and neuroimaging studies demonstrate abnormal basal ganglia circuit function in OCD. However, no previous studies have investigated the role of EAAT3 in these circuits or tested its impact on repetitive behavior. Using a combined genetic and pharmacological challenge approach, we have demonstrated that ablated expression of EAAT3 diminishes basal ganglia-mediated repetitive behavior in mice. Targeted rescue of midbrain expression points to an impact of EAAT3 on dopaminergic neuron function, suggesting a model for synthesizing glutamate and dopamine effects on stereotypic behavior. These findings provide evidence that EAAT3 impacts basal ganglia-dependent repetitive behavior and suggest a potential target for drug development. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic, disabling condition with inadequate treatment options that leave most patients with substantial residual symptoms. Structural, neurochemical, and behavioral findings point to a significant role for basal ganglia circuits and for the glutamate system in OCD. Genetic linkage and association studies in OCD point to SLC1A1, which encodes the neuronal glutamate/aspartate/cysteine transporter excitatory amino acid transporter 3 (EAAT3)/excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAC1). However, no previous studies have investigated EAAT3 in basal ganglia circuits or in relation to OCD-related behavior. Here, we report a model of Slc1a1 loss based on an excisable STOP cassette that yields successful ablation of EAAT3 expression and function. Using amphetamine as a probe, we found that EAAT3 loss prevents expected increases in (i) locomotor activity, (ii) stereotypy, and (iii) immediate early gene induction in the dorsal striatum following amphetamine administration. Further, Slc1a1-STOP mice showed diminished grooming in an SKF-38393 challenge experiment, a pharmacologic model of OCD-like grooming behavior. This reduced grooming is accompanied by reduced dopamine D1 receptor binding in the dorsal striatum of Slc1a1-STOP mice. Slc1a1-STOP mice also exhibit reduced extracellular dopamine concentrations in the dorsal striatum both at baseline and following amphetamine challenge. Viral-mediated restoration of Slc1a1/EAAT3 expression in the midbrain but not in the striatum results in partial rescue of amphetamine-induced locomotion and stereotypy in Slc1a1-STOP mice, consistent with an impact of EAAT3 loss on presynaptic dopaminergic function. Collectively, these findings indicate that the most consistently associated OCD candidate gene impacts basal ganglia-dependent repetitive behaviors.
Effectiveness of clinical practice change strategies in improving dietitian care for head and neck cancer patients according to evidence-based clinical guidelines: a stepped-wedge, randomized controlled trial.

Best practice guidelines make a number of recommendations regarding dietitian management of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Randomized trials assessing the effectiveness of clinical practice change strategies for improving the nutritional management of HNC patients have not previously been conducted. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of practice change strategies on improving the implementation of best practice guideline recommendations for the nutritional management of HNC patients. Four Australian radiotherapy departments participated in a stepped-wedge, randomized controlled trial. Baseline data were collected across all sites simultaneously, and the intervention was then introduced to each site sequentially, in a randomly determined order. During the intervention phase, sites received a range of supportive clinical practice change strategies to facilitate dietitian adherence to clinical practice guidelines. To assess the associated practice change by dietetic staff, we evaluated the change in implementation of six guideline recommendations for dietitians from preintervention to postintervention periods. Adherence to the clinical practice guidelines during the preintervention period was generally very low. The clinical practice change strategies significantly improved the odds of provision of four of the six guideline recommendations. The study found the intervention significantly enhanced dietitian provision of recommended care for HNC patients during the postintervention period. This finding holds clinical importance for clinician and health service effective implementation of guideline recommendations as well as HNC patient treatment outcomes. Trial registration number ACTRN12613000320752, https://www.anzctr. org.au.
Evolution of laparoscopic liver resection at Singapore General Hospital: a nine-year experience of 195 consecutive resections.

INTRODUCTION We aimed to analyse the changing trends, safety and outcomes associated with the adoption of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) at a single centre. METHODS A retrospective review of patients who underwent LLR from 2006 to 2014 at our institution was performed. To explore the evolution of LLR, the study was divided into three equal consecutive time periods (Period 1: 2006-2008, Period 2: 2009-2011, and Period 3: 2012-2014). RESULTS Among 195 patients who underwent LLR, 24 (12.3%) required open conversions, 68 (34.9%) had resection of tumours in the difficult posterosuperior segments and 12 (6.2%) underwent major (≥ 3 segments) hepatectomies. Median operation time was 210 (range 40-620) minutes and median postoperative stay was 4 (range 1-26) days. Major postoperative morbidity (> Grade II) occurred in 11 (5.6%) patients and 90-day/in-hospital mortality was 1 (0.5%). During the study, the number of LLRs performed showed an increasing trend (Period 1: n = 22; Period 2: n = 19; Period 3: n = 154). Other statistically significant trends were: (a) increase in malignant neoplasms resected; (b) increase in resections of difficult posterosuperior segments; (c) longer median operation time; and (d) decrease in open conversion rates. CONCLUSION Over the study period, the number of LLRs increased rapidly. LLR was increasingly performed for malignant neoplasms and lesions located in the difficult posterosuperior segments, resulting in longer operation times. However, open conversion rates decreased, and there was no change in postoperative morbidity and other perioperative outcomes.
Malignant pleural mesothelioma immune microenvironment and checkpoint expression: correlation with clinical–pathological features and intratumor heterogeneity over time

Background Tumor immune microenvironment (TME) plays a key role in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) pathogenesis and treatment outcome, supporting a role of immune checkpoint inhibitors as anticancer approach. This study retrospectively investigated TME and programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in naïve MPM cases and their change under chemotherapy. Patients and methods Diagnostic biopsies of MPM patients were collected from four Italian and one Slovenian cancer centers. Pathological assessment of necrosis, inflammation, grading, and mitosis was carried out. Ki-67, PD-L1 expression, and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes were detected by immunohistochemistry. When available, the same paired sample after chemotherapy was analyzed. Pathological features and clinical characteristics were correlated to overall survival. Results TME and PD-L1 expression were assessed in 93 and 65 chemonaive MPM samples, respectively. Twenty-eight samples have not sufficient tumor tissue for PD-L1 expression. Sarcomatoid/biphasic samples were characterized by higher CD8+ T lymphocytes and PD-L1 expression on tumor cells, while epithelioid showed higher peritumoral CD4+ T and CD20+ B lymphocytes. Higher CD8+ T lymphocytes, CD68+ macrophages, and PD-L1 expression were associated with pathological features of aggressiveness (necrosis, grading, Ki-67). MPM cases characterized by higher CD8+ T-infiltrate showed lower response to chemotherapy and worse survival at univariate analysis. Patients stratification according to a combined score including CD8+ T lymphocytes, necrosis, mitosis, and proliferation index showed median overall survival of 11.3 months compared with 16.4 months in cases with high versus low combined score (P < 0.003). Subgroup exploratory analysis of 15 paired samples before and after chemotherapy showed a significant increase in cytotoxic T lymphocytes in MPM samples and PD-L1 expression in immune cells. Conclusions TME enriched with cytotoxic T lymphocytes is associated with higher levels of macrophages and PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and with aggressive histopathological features, lower response to chemotherapy and shorter survival. The role of chemotherapy as a tumor immunogenicity inducer should be confirmed in a larger validation set.
Removal of Some Heavy Metals from Incinerator Bottom Ash Using Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Husk

There has been a great limitation to the use of incinerator bottom ash (IBA) residue in the construction and manufacturing industries due to the high contents of heavy metals, which poses great threat to the environment and human health. This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cd and Pb) removal from domestic IBA filtrate using a biological material coconut (Cocos nucifera) husk as adsorbent and to remove the metals from the ash residue using the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). The mean percentage removal of the heavy metals for the incinerator bottom ash (IBA) filtrate varied from 75.84 - 99.42% for the two ash types. Similarly, the percentage removal of metals from the ash residues was between 92.34 and 99.97%. The data from this study showed that after the treatment, the heavy metals in the ash filtrate and residue were significantly reduced. Thus, it would be feasible to use the IBA residue as a partial replacement of cement in the construction and manufacturing industries for making monolithic blocks, interlocking bricks, concretes and road construction materials. This would help improve and provide good and effective waste management practice that would reduce the huge volume of ash residue from incineration combustion processes.
The role of surface chemistry in the cytotoxicity profile of graphene

Graphene and its derivative, because of their unique physical, electrical and chemical properties, are an important class of nanomaterials being proposed as foundational materials in nanomedicine as well as for a variety of industrial applications. A major limitation for graphene, when used in biomedical applications, is its poor solubility due to its rather hydrophobic nature. Therefore, chemical functionalities are commonly introduced to alter both its surface chemistry and biochemical activity. Here, we show that surface chemistry plays a major role in the toxicological profile of the graphene structures. To demonstrate this, we chemically increased the oxidation level of the pristine graphene and compared the corresponding toxicological effects along with those for the graphene oxide. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that pristine graphene had the lowest amount of surface oxygen, while graphene oxide had the highest at 2.5% and 31%, respectively. Low and high oxygen functionalized graphene samples were found to have 6.6% and 24% surface oxygen, respectively. Our results showed a dose‐dependent trend in the cytotoxicity profile, where pristine graphene was the most cytotoxic, with decreasing toxicity observed with increasing oxygen content. Increased surface oxygen also played a role in nanomaterial dispersion in water or cell culture medium over longer periods. It is likely that higher dispersity might result in graphene entering into cells as individual flakes ~1 nm thick rather than as more cytotoxic aggregates. In conclusion, changes in graphene's surface chemistry resulted in altered solubility and toxicity, suggesting that a generalized toxicity profile would be rather misleading. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.