Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Volumetric Analysis-Based Comparison between Superpave and Marshall Mix Design Procedures

This research intended to compare the Superpave asphalt mixture design procedures with the Marshall asphalt mixture design method. The comparison was based on several issues including evaluation of materials prior to mixture design, the design asphalt content, and the relationship between mixture design and pavement performance. Limestone aggregate and asphalt binder having a penetration grade 60/70 (performance grade PG 64) were used to prepare the asphalt mixtures. One aggregate gradation conforming to both Superpave and Marshall criteria was used. Limestone aggregate-asphalt mixtures were prepared using the Superpave mixture design procedures and using the Marshall mixture design method to achieve the objectives of this study. The evaluation process of the limestone aggregate covered the Superpave aggregate tests including: coarse aggregate angularity (CAA), flat and elongated (F&E) particles, fine aggregate angularity (FAA), and sand equivalent (SE) test, as well as the Superpave asphalt binder tests including: rotational viscosity (RV), dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and rolling thin-film oven (RTFO) test. Results of the study showed that the design asphalt content (DAC) obtained using the Superpave mixture design procedure was 5.4 percent and the optimum asphalt content (OAC) obtained using the Marshall mixture design method was 5.6 percent when taking the optimum at 4.0-percent air voids; however, when taking the OAC as the average of: the asphalt content at the maximum stability, the asphalt content at the maximum unit weight, and the asphalt content at 4.0-percent air voids, the OAC was determined as 5.4 percent, which was similar to the DAC obtained using the Superpave mixture design 1 Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110 Jordan, Tel. : +962-2-720-1000 Ext. 22129 or 22198, Cell. : +962-79-659-9507, e-mail: ggalkhateeb@just.edu.jo, homepage: www.just.edu.jo/ggalkhateeb. 2 Professor of Civil Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110 Jordan, Tel. : +962-2-720-1000 Ext. 22143, Cell. : +962-79-558-8657, e-mail: khedaywi@just.edu.jo. 3 Professor of Civil Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110 Jordan, e-mail: turk957@just.edu.jo.
Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye in Wastewater Using Ozonation Method with H2O2 Catalyst

Water pollution is still a serious problem in Indonesia. One of the pollutants that contribute to water pollution is dye. One type of dye that is often used in the textile industry is methylene blue. There are several methods for treating dye waste, one of which is the ozonation method. Ozonation is a chemical oxidation process to remove the color of organic dyes. The catalytic ozonation process can increase the ability of ozone in sewage treatment. The catalyst used is H2O2 which can decompose into OH radicals. OH radicals have a higher reduction potential than other oxidizing agents. Ozonation research with H2O2 catalyst aims to determine changes in the concentration of dyes, COD and BOD5. In testing the ozonation time (0.15,30,45,60) minutes, the pH conditions (5,7,9) and the total mass concentration of H2O2 (0.2,5,5,7,5,10) % showed that the longer the time ozonation, the higher the pH value. and the more H2O2 used, the less concentration of dye, COD and BOD5.
Factors Influencing the Energy Efficiency of Tourism Transport in China

Abstract: Transport is a major component of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in travelling. Understanding changes in the energy efficiency of tourism transport (EETT) and factors affecting this is important to the promotion of low-carbon tourism. This paper established a new method following the top to bottom principle and analyzed EETT variation characteristics and influencing factors from 1994 to 2013 in China. We found that the energy consumption of tourism transport (ECTT) increased from 178.21 PJ in 1994 to 565.82 PJ in 2013 at an average annual growth rate of 6.27%; CO2 emissions of tourism transport (CETT) went up from 14.96×106 t to 47.94×106 t due to person-trip and trip distance growth. EETT went from 3.22×106 person-trips PJ-1 in 1994 to 5.99×106 person-trips PJ-1 in 2013 at an average annual growth rate of 4.90%, and the CO2 emissions of tourism transport unit person-trips (CETTU) shifted from 26.07 kg person-trips-1 in 1994 to 14.01 kg person-trips-1 in 2013. Energy intensity decline, scale effects and policy promotion were key factors that enhanced EETT. Meanwhile, trip mode changes and enjoyment-oriented transport hindered EETT. Based on our analysis, we suggest methods to decrease ECTT and CETT, and enhance EETT.
Kobe University Repository : Kernel タイトル Tit le Unlaid Xenopus eggs degrade by apoptosis in the genital t ract 著者

Background: In several species with external fertilization, including frogs, laid unfertilized eggs were found to die by apoptosis outside of the animal body. However, there is no apparent reason for the externally laid eggs to degrade by this process, considering that apoptosis developed as a mechanism to reduce the damaging effect of individual cell death to the whole organism. Results: Here, we demonstrate that a number of eggs are retained in the genital tract of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis after gonadotropin-induced ovulation. The majority of these eggs exit meiotic arrest within 24 hours of hormone administration. Subsequently, post-meiotic eggs die in the frog genital tract by a well-defined apoptotic process. The hallmarks of egg degradation include prominent morphological changes, cytochrome c release, caspase activation, increase in ADP/ATP ratio, progressive intracellular acidification, egg swelling and all-out proteolysis of egg proteins. The sustained presence of post-apoptotic eggs in the genital tract of ageing frogs evidenced age-associated worsening of apoptotic clearance. Conclusions: The direct observation of egg degradation in the Xenopus genital tract provides a clue to the physiological relevance of frog egg apoptosis. It works to eliminate the mature unlaid eggs retained in the animal body after ovulation. Our findings establish egg apoptosis as a major physiological process accompanying ovulation in frogs.
Plasma-treatment with the virucidal beta-propiolactone does not preclude analysis by large panel affinity proteomics, including the discovery of biomarker candidates

Virus inactivation is a prerequisite for safe handling of high-risk infectious samples. Beta-propiolactone (BPL) is an established and commonly used reagent with proven virucidal efficacy. BPL primarily reacts with DNA and RNA, but also amino acids. The latter may yield modified antigenic protein epitopes and thus interfere with the binding properties of affinity reagents such as antibodies and aptamers, including panels of such reagents used in affinity proteomic screens. We investigated the impact of BPL-treatment on the analysis of protein levels in plasma samples using the commercial aptamer-based affinity proteomic platform SomaScan. Heparin-plasma samples from patients with ovarian cancer (n = 12) and benign tumors (n = 12) were analyzed using the SomaScan v4.1 platform, which led to the identification of COL10A1 as a novel ovarian cancer biomarker, a protein strongly associated with poor clinical outcome. BPL-related changes in protein detection were evaluated comparing native and BPL-treated state, simulating virus inactivation, and impact on measurable group differences was assessed. While approximately one third of protein measurements were significantly changed by the BPL treatment, a majority of antigen/aptamer interactions remained unaffected. Interaction effects of BPL treatment and disease state, potentially altering detectability of group differences, were observable for less than one percent of targets (0.6%). Accordingly, noticeable global effects of BPL treatment did not interfere with detectability of differential protein expression between benign and ovarian cancer samples, as measurements are altered in both groups to the same extent. Global effect sizes (Cohens d) between benign and cancer in BPL-treated samples and the number of significantly altered protein abundance observed in limma-based linear modeling appeared minimally increased, slightly enhancing the probability of false positive hits. Taken together, the results indicate the SomaScan platform as well suited for the analysis of high biosafety risk samples inactivated using BPL and the identification of novel biomarkers.
Online speech synthesis using a chronically implanted brain-computer interface in an individual with ALS

Recent studies have shown that speech can be reconstructed and synthesized using only brain activity recorded with intracranial electrodes, but until now this has only been done using retrospective analyses of recordings from able-bodied patients temporarily implanted with electrodes for epilepsy surgery. Here, we report online synthesis of intelligible words using a chronically implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) in a clinical trial participant (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03567213) with dysarthria due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We demonstrate a reliable BCI that synthesizes commands freely chosen and spoken by the user from a vocabulary of 6 keywords originally designed to allow intuitive selection of items on a communication board. Our results show for the first time that a speech-impaired individual with ALS can use a chronically implanted BCI to reliably produce synthesized words that are intelligible to human listeners while preserving the participants voice profile.
Community Antibiotic Prescribing in Patients with COVID-19 Across Three Pandemic Waves: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Reported changes in antibiotic prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic have focused on hospital prescribing or community population trends. Community antibiotic prescribing for individuals with COVID-19 are less well described. Methods: Data covering a complete geographic population (~800,000) were utilized. SARS-CoV-2 virus test results from February 1, 2020- March 31, 2022 were included. Anonymized data were linked to prescription data +/-28 days of the test, GP data for high-risk comorbidities, and demographic data. Multivariate binary logistic regression examined associations between patient factors and the odds of antibiotic prescription. Results: Data included 768,206 tests for 184,954 individuals, identifying 16,240 COVID-19 episodes involving 16,025 individuals. There were 3,263 antibiotic prescriptions +/-28 days for 2,385 patients. 35.6% of patients had a prescription only before the test date, 52.5% patients after, and 11.9% before and after. Antibiotic prescribing reduced over time: 20.4% of episodes in wave one, 17.7% in wave two, and 12.0% in wave three. In multivariate logistic regression, being female (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.19,1.45), older (OR 3.02, 95% CI 2.50, 3.68 75+ vs <25 years), having a high-risk comorbidity (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.31, 1.61), a hospital admission +/-28 days of an episode (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.42, 1.77), and health board region (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03, 1.25, board B versus A) increased the odds of receiving an antibiotic. Conclusion: Community antibiotic prescriptions in COVID-19 episodes were uncommon in this population and likelihood was associated with patient factors. The reduction over pandemic waves may represent increased knowledge regarding COVID-19 treatment and/or evolving symptomatology.
Comparing the segmentation of quantitative phase images of neurons using convolutional neural networks trained on simulated and augmented imagery

Abstract. Significance Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) can visualize cellular morphology and measure dry mass. Automated segmentation of QPI imagery is desirable for tracking neuron growth. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have provided state-of-the-art results for image segmentation. Improving the amount and robustness of training data is often crucial to improving CNN output on novel samples, but acquiring enough labeled data can be labor intensive. Data augmentation and simulation can be used to address this, but it is unclear whether low-complexity data can result in useful network generalization. Aim We trained CNNs on abstract images of neurons and on augmented images of real neurons. We then benchmarked the resulting models against human labeling. Approach We used a stochastic simulation of neuron growth to guide abstract QPI image and label generation. We then tested the segmentation performance of networks trained on augmented data and networks trained on simulated data against manual labeling established via consensus of three human labelers. Results We show that training on augmented real data resulted in a model that achieved the best Dice coefficients in our group of CNNs. The largest percent difference in dry mass estimation with respect to the ground truth was driven by segmentation errors of cell debris and phase noise. The error in dry mass when considering the cell body alone was similar between the CNNs. Neurite pixels only accounted for ∼6 % of the total image space, making them a difficult feature to learn. Future efforts should consider methods for improving neurite segmentation quality. Conclusions Augmented data outperformed the simulated abstract data for this testing set. The quality of segmentation of neurites was the key difference in performance between the models. Notably, even humans performed poorly when segmenting neurites. Further work is needed to improve the segmentation quality of neurites.
Clinical application of transcranial magnetic stimulation for functional bowel disease

Functional bowel disorder (FBD) is a common gastrointestinal disease syndrome characterized by dysmotility and secretion without known organic lesions. The pathogenesis of FBD is still unclear. In recent years, with the rise of neurogastroenterology, it has initially revealed its close relationship with the “brain-gut axis. ” Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a technique for detecting and treating the nervous system, that is characterized by non-invasiveness and painlessness. TMS plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and provides a new method for the treatment of FBD. In this paper, we summarized and analyzed the research progress of using TMS therapy applied to patients with irritable bowel syndrome and functional constipation by domestic and foreign scholars in recent years by means of literature search, and found that TMS therapy could improve the intestinal discomfort and accompanying mental symptoms in patients with FBD.
Anxiety and depression symptoms among healthcare workers in China after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic eased: A cross-sectional study

The current COVID-19 pandemic could lead to an increase in mental health problems among a range of populations, including healthcare workers involved in the pandemic. However, little is known about the lasting health effects of the pandemic after the epidemic eased. The current study was designed to investigate anxiety and depression symptoms and related predictive factors among healthcare workers in China immediately after the epidemic and lockdown eased. A total of 459 healthcare workers in the COVID-19 designated hospital (59.9% females; a mean age of 36.7 ± 9.6) completed an online survey from 14 to 23 April, 2020. The survey instruments were comprised of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), and a questionnaire assessing pandemic-related stressors and mental health needs during the pandemic. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify potential predictors of mental health outcomes. The prevalence of probable anxiety and depression were 4.8% and 12.4%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that gender (OR (95% CI) = 0.26 (0.08–0.83), P < . 05), mental health needs during the pandemic (OR (95% CI) = 3.06 (1.15–8.14), P < . 05) and PSSS scores (OR (95% CI) = 0.93 (0.90–0.96), P < . 05)were independently, and significantly associated with anxiety, while other diseases during the epidemic (OR (95% CI) = 3.47 (1.38–8.68), P < . 05), mental health needs during the pandemic (OR (95% CI) = 2.89 (1.49–5.61), P < . 05), and PSSS scores (OR (95% CI) = 0.94 (0.92–0.96), P < . 05) were significant predictors of depression. Although the prevalence of anxiety and depression decreased among healthcare workers in China following the epidemic, further attention should be paid to the lasting effects of the epidemic on depression symptoms after the epidemic eased among this population.
Mechanisms of sarcopenia in liver cirrhosis and the role of myokines

Sarcopenia is a syndrome characterized by a decline in skeletal muscle quantity and/or quality, strength and performance, leading to unfortunate events, such as injurious falls or even death. It is not identical to frailty and malnutrition, even though there is a significant overlap among these syndromes. In patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), sarcopenia is classified as secondary and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality during the pre- and post-transplantation period. It can be a result of malnutrition, hyperammonemia, low physical activity, endocrine abnormalities, accelerated starvation, metabolic disturbances, altered gut function leading to chronic inflammation, and alcohol abuse. Myokines are peptides mainly synthesized by contracting muscle and adipose tissue cells and may play a key role in the pathophysiology of sarcopenia. More than a hundred myokines have been recognized, but only a few have been investigated. They can be classified as negative regulators, such as myostatin, tumor growth factor-β, activins, growth differentiation factor-11, and positive regulators of muscle growth including follistatin, bone morphogenic proteins, and irisin. So far, only myostatin, follistatin, irisin and decorin have been studied in LC-associated sarcopenia. In this review, we focused on the mechanisms of cirrhosis-related sarcopenia and the role of myokines that have already been studied in the literature, either as markers helping in the diagnostic evaluation of sarcopenia, or as prognostic factors of survival. Standard therapeutic options to prevent or treat sarcopenia in LC are also being reported, as well as the possible therapeutic implication of myokines.
Huntington disease exacerbates action impulses

Background Impulsivity is a common clinical feature of Huntington disease (HD), but the underlying cognitive dynamics of impulse control in this population have not been well-studied. Objective To investigate the temporal dynamics of action impulse control in HD patients using an inhibitory action control task. Methods Sixteen motor manifest HD patients and seventeen age-matched healthy controls (HC) completed the action control task. We applied the activation-suppression theoretical model and distributional analytic techniques to differentiate the strength of fast impulses from their top-down suppression. Results Overall, HD patients produced slower and less accurate reactions than HCs. HD patients also exhibited an exacerbated interference effect, as evidenced by a greater slowing of RT on non-corresponding compared to corresponding trials. HD patients made more fast, impulsive errors than HC, evidenced by significantly lower accuracy on their fastest reaction time trials. The slope reduction of interference effects as reactions slowed was similar between HD and controls, indicating preserved impulse suppression. Conclusion Our results indicate that patients with HD show a greater susceptibility to act rapidly on incorrect motor impulses but preserved proficiency of top-down suppression. Further research is needed to determine how these findings relate to clinical behavioral symptoms.
The Impact of High-Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy on Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Patients: A Systematic Review

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a novel oxygenation approach in the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This systematic review was focused on evaluating current evidence concerning the efficacy of HFNC in ARDS and its comparison with standard treatment approaches. For this review, a systematic search was undertaken in PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. All those studies that investigated the impact of HFNC on ARDS patients and were published in the English language were included. The literature search from all databases provided 6157 potentially relevant articles from PubMed (n = 1105), CINAHL (n = 808), Web of Science (n = 811), Embase (n = 2503), Cochrane database (n = 930), and Google Scholar (n = 46). After the exclusion of studies that did not fulfill the criteria, 18 studies were shortlisted for the scope of this systematic review. Among the included studies, five focused on HFNC's impact on COVID-19-related ARDS, whereas 13 studies focused on HFNC's impact on ARDS patients. Most studies demonstrated the efficacy of HFNC in managing ARDS, with some studies showing comparable efficacy and higher safety compared to noninvasive ventilation (NIV). This systematic review highlights the potential benefits of HFNC in ARDS management. The findings show that HFNC is effective in reducing the respiratory distress symptoms, the incidence of invasive ventilation, and the adverse events associated with ARDS. These findings can help clinical decision-making processes and contribute to the evidence base for optimal ARDS management strategies.