Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bivalve shells (Corbula trigona) as a new adsorbent for the defluoridation of groundwater by adsorption-precipitation

Abstract Defluoridation of groundwater was performed in a batch reactor using bivalve shell powder (BSP) as adsorbent. The physicochemical characteristics of BSP, studied by Fourier Transform Infrared, X-ray Diffraction and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry after dissolution, have shown that BSP was mainly composed of crystalline CaCO3 (∼97.8%). The effects of pH, initial fluoride concentration, adsorbent dose and contact time on the adsorption capacity of BSP were investigated. For an initial fluoride concentration of 2.2 mg/L and with 16 g/L of BSP, after 8 hours of treatment, 27.3% were eliminated at pH 7.5 versus 68% at pH 3, highlighting the efficiency of the adsorption process. The difference in adsorption capacity as a function of pH was correlated to the pHpzc of the BSP, which was equal to 8.2. Thus, at pH below pHpzc, electrostatic attraction between the fluoride anions and the positively charged adsorbent could justify the adsorption mechanism. Fittings of experimental data have evidenced that the adsorption kinetics were of pseudo-second order whereas the adsorption isotherms were of Langmuir type. The chemical precipitation of calcium fluoride was also revealed to occur upon release of Ca2+ from partial dissolution of CaCO3 in acidic conditions.
Solventless synthesis of a Schiff base that forms highly fluorescent organic nanoparticles exhibiting aggregation-induced emission in aqueous media

ABSTRACT A highly fluorescent solid state Schiff base compound (DBD) was synthesised using a green, solventless and fast approach in 30 sec. DBD shows almost no emission in THF solution, while it emits strong fluorescence in both dispersed nano-aggregates in the solution and as a powder, through a phenomenon known as aggregation-induced emission. Organic nanoparticles of DBD were prepared in aqueous solution using the nanoreprecipitation method with and without stabilizers. The nanoparticles exhibited strong, blue emission when the non-ionic surfactant, like triton X-100, was used as a stabilizer, and strong green emission when no surfactant or the cationic surfactant, like CTAB as a stabilizer was used. Using atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering, the sizes of the nanoparticles were found to be around 75 nm when prepared without surfactant, 50 nm when prepared using triton X-100, and 30 40 nm when prepared using CTAB. DBD nanoparticles show an emission maximum at 527 nm (pure green) in the cases of CTAB and no surfactant, while 400 nm emission is observed when triton X-100 is used. Finally, for practical applications, the new type of highly fluorescent organic nanoparticles (DBD) were chosen for on/off fluorescence switching nano sensor for detecting organic vapour.
Risk factors for lactation mastitis in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Lactation mastitis (LM) affects approximately 3% to 33% of postpartum women and the risk factors of LM have been extensively studied. However, some results in the literature reports are still not conclusive due to the complexity of LM etiology and variation in the populations. To provide nationally representative evidence of the well-accepted risk factors for LM in China, this study was aimed to systematically summary the risk factors for LM among Chinese women and to determine the effect size of individual risk factor. Material and methods Six major Chinses and English electronic literature databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan fang Database and China Science Technology Journal Database) were searched from their inception to December 5st, 2020. Two authors extracted data and assessed the quality of included trials, independently. The strength of the association was summarized using the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The population attributable risk (PAR) percent was calculated for significant risk factors. Results Fourteen studies involving 8032 participants were included. A total of 18 potential risk factors were eventually evaluated. Significant risk factors for LM included improper milking method (OR 6.79, 95%CI 3.45–13.34; PAR 59.14%), repeated milk stasis (OR 6.23, 95%CI 4.17–9.30; PAR 49.75%), the first six months postpartum (OR 5.11, 95%CI 2.66–9.82; PAR 65.93%), postpartum rest time less than 3 months (OR 4.71, 95%CI 3.92–5.65; PAR 56.95%), abnormal nipple or crater nipple (OR 3.94, 95%CI 2.34–6.63; PAR 42.05%), breast trauma (OR 3.07, 95%CI 2.17–4.33; PAR 15.98%), improper breastfeeding posture (OR 2.47, 95%CI 2.09–2.92; PAR 26.52%), postpartum prone sleeping position (OR 2.46, 95%CI 1.58–3.84; PAR 17.42%), little or no nipple cleaning (OR 2.05, 95%CI 1.58–2.65; PAR 24.73%), primipara (OR 1.73, 95%CI 1.25–2.41; PAR 32.62%), low education level (OR 1.63, 95%CI 1.09–2.43; PAR 23.29%), cesarean section (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.26–1.81; PAR 18.61%), breast massage experience of non-medical staff (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.25–1.82; PAR 15.31%) and postpartum mood disorders (OR 1.47, 95%CI 1.06–2.02; PAR 21.27%). Conclusions This review specified several important risk factors for LM in China. In particular, the incidence of LM can be reduced by controlling some of the modifiable risk factors such as improper breastfeeding posture, improper milking method, repeated milk stasis, nipple cleaning, breast massage experience of non-medical staff and postpartum sleeping posture.
A systematic scoping review of community-based interventions for the prevention of mental ill-health and the promotion of mental health in older adults in the UK.

BACKGROUND Mental health concerns in older adults are common, with increasing age-related risks to physical health, mobility and social isolation. Community-based approaches are a key focus of public health strategy in the UK, and may reduce the impact of these risks, protecting mental health and promoting wellbeing. We conducted a review of UK community-based interventions to understand the types of intervention studied and mental health/wellbeing impacts reported. METHOD We conducted a scoping review of the literature, systematically searching six electronic databases (2000-2020) to identify academic studies of any non-clinical community intervention to improve mental health or wellbeing outcomes for older adults. Data were extracted, grouped by population targeted, intervention type, and outcomes reported, and synthesised according to a framework categorising community actions targeting older adults. RESULTS In total, 1,131 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 54 included in the final synthesis. Example interventions included: link workers; telephone helplines; befriending; digital support services; group social activities. These were grouped into: connector services, gateway services/approaches, direct interventions and systems approaches. These interventions aimed to address key risk factors: loneliness, social isolation, being a caregiver and living with long-term health conditions. Outcome measurement varied greatly, confounding strong evidence in favour of particular intervention types. CONCLUSION The literature is wide-ranging in focus and methodology. Greater specificity and consistency in outcome measurement are required to evidence effectiveness - no single category of intervention yet stands out as 'promising'. More robust evidence on the active components of interventions to promote older adult's mental health is required.
Socioeconomic biases in asthma control and specialist referral of possible severe asthma

Background Although socioeconomic impact on asthma control has been investigated, little is known about its relationship to specialist referral of patients with possible severe asthma, especially in a public healthcare setting. The present study aims to identify socioeconomic patterns in disease control and referral of patients with asthma in a nationwide cohort of adult patients treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Methods Asthma patients fulfilling the following criteria were included: aged 18–45 years and redeeming two or more prescriptions of ICS during 2014–2018 based on data from Danish national registers. Possible severe asthma was defined as Global Initiative for Asthma 2020 step 4 (with either two or more courses of systemic steroids or at least one hospitalisation) or step 5 treatment. Findings presented as odds ratios (95% confidence intervals). Results Out of 60 534 patients (median age 34 years, 55% female), 3275 (5.7%) were deemed as having possible severe asthma, of whom 61% were managed in primary care alone. Odds of specialist management for possible severe asthma decreased with age (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.51–0.85; 36–45 versus 18–25 years), male sex (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.64–0.87), residence outside the Capital Region (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.59–0.82) and with receiving unemployment or disability benefits (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.59–0.95). Completion of higher education increased odds of specialist referral (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.03–1.59), when compared to patients with basic education. Conclusion Even in settings with nationally available free access to specialist care, the majority of patients with possible severe asthma are managed in primary care. Referral of at-risk asthma patients differs across socioeconomic parameters, calling for initiatives to identify and actively refer these patients. 61% of patients with possible severe asthma are managed in primary care, despite high morbidity and improved outcomes with specialist management. Distinct socioeconomic bias exists in referral to specialists, even in a setting with free healthcare. https://bit.ly/3yaXs7J
Secondary indoor air pollution and passive smoking associated with cannabis smoking using electric cigarette device–demonstrative in silico study

With electronic (e)-liquids containing cannabis components easily available, many anecdotal examples of cannabis vaping using electronic cigarette devices have been reported. For electronic cigarette cannabis vaping, there are potential risks of secondary indoor air pollution from vapers. However, quantitative and accurate prediction of the inhalation and dermal exposure of a passive smoker in the same room is difficult to achieve due to the ethical constraints on subject experiments. The numerical method, i.e., in silico method, is a powerful tool to complement these experiments with real humans. In this study, we adopted a computer-simulated person that has been validated from multiple perspectives for prediction accuracy. We then conducted an in silico study to elucidate secondary indoor air pollution and passive smoking associated with cannabis vaping using an electronic cigarette device in an indoor environment. The aerosols exhaled by a cannabis vaper were confirmed to be a secondary emission source in an indoor environment; non-smokers were exposed to these aerosols via respiratory and dermal pathways. Tetrahydrocannabinol was used as a model chemical compound for the exposure study. Its uptake by the non-smoker through inhalation and dermal exposure under a worst-case scenario was estimated to be 5.9% and 2.6% of the exhaled quantity from an e-cigarette cannabis user, respectively.
Dynamics of structural diffusion in phosphoric acid hydrogen-bond clusters

The dynamics and mechanism of structural diffusion in H3PO4 hydrogen-bond (H-bond) clusters were studied under excess proton conditions using ab initio calculations at the RIMP2/TZVP level and Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations. The outstanding feature of our theoretical approach was the use of combined vibrational and NMR spectroscopic techniques that enable local dynamical motions and their activation energies to be studied in detail. Based on the concept of presolvation, H+(H3PO4)n (n = 2–5) clusters were selected as model systems, in which the rate-determining intermediate complexes in the structural diffusion process were studied in detail. The potential energy curves for proton displacement suggested that Zundel-like complexes are preferentially formed in linear H-bond chains in low local-dielectric environments, whereas Eigen-like complexes are stabilized in high local-dielectric environments. The RIMP2/TZVP results revealed that the Eigen–Zundel–Eigen mechanism, which leads to a positive charge displacement, is a short-range process (n = 2–3), and structural diffusion is enhanced by fluctuations in the H-bond chain length and local-dielectric environment. The vibrational and 1H NMR spectra obtained from BOMD simulations confirmed the proposed mechanism and suggested that for protonated H3PO4 clusters, structural diffusion can proceed without the reorientation of H3PO4 molecules (frustrated rotation), as in the case of neat liquid H3PO4. Because the H+ species cannot be directly probed in experiments, this theoretical study suggested for the first time characteristic properties of exchanging protons in H3PO4 systems under excess proton conditions, which can be used to assist experimental investigations.
Prediction of premature all-cause mortality in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis using modified artificial neural networks

Premature all-cause mortality is high in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD). The accurate and early prediction of mortality is critical and difficult. Three prediction models, the logistic regression (LR) model, artificial neural network (ANN) classic model and a new structured ANN model (ANN mixed model), were constructed and evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The permutation feature importance was used to interpret the important features in the ANN models. Eight hundred fifty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. The LR model performed slightly better than the other two ANN models on the test dataset; however, in the total dataset, the ANN models fit much better. The ANN mixed model showed the best prediction performance, with area under the ROC curves (AUROCs) of 0.8 and 0.79 for the 6-month and 12-month datasets. Our study showed that age, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) levels were common risk factors for premature mortality in patients receiving PD. Our ANN mixed model had incomparable advantages in fitting the overall data characteristics, and age is a steady risk factor for premature mortality in patients undergoing PD. Otherwise, DBP and LDL-c levels should receive more attention for all-cause mortality during follow-up.
Robot-assisted laminectomy in spinal surgery: a systematic review

This study aimed to summarize the current progress in the field of robot-assisted laminectomy in spinal surgery. A systematic search of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore, PubMed, Embase, Web of science, The Cochrane Library, Wanfang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database (CBM-SinoMed) was performed for papers related to robotic-assisted laminectomy. A total of 27 articles were selected for inclusion in our study. Among the articles, 10 robotic system, 2 bone cutting strategies, 6 state recognition strategies were founded. The most commonly adopted type of robot system was the Nathoo A type (6/10). Bone cutting strategies were mainly formulated based on force information and medical image information, and state recognition was based on a variety of factors, including force, sound, vibration, medical images, current or a combination of parameters. Early research on robot-assisted laminectomy did not reflect good continuity, and the studies mainly focused on the type of robotic system. In recent years, more researchers have chosen the Nathoo A as the robot system type, and the focus of research has gradually shifted to laminectomy path planning and safety control strategies, such as state recognition. Although these studies have been able to perform laminectomy without penetrating the inner cortex of the lamina, most experiments have been performed in vitro, and clinical application is still untested.
High-speed silicon Michelson interferometer modulator and streamlined IMDD PAM-4 transmission of Mach-Zehnder modulators for the 2 μm wavelength band.

We demonstrate high-speed silicon modulators optimized for operating at the wavelength of 2 μm. The Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) carrier-depletion modulator with 2 mm phase shifter has a single-arm modulation efficiency (Vπ ·Lπ) of 2.89 V·cm at 4 V reverse bias. Using a push-pull configuration it operates at a data rate of 25 Gbit/s OOK with an extinction ratio of 6.25 dB. We also proposed a mathematically-analysed streamlined IMDD PAM-4 scheme and successfully demonstrated a 25 Gbit/s datarate PAM-4 with the same 2 mm modulator. A Michelson interferometer carrier-depletion modulator with 0.5 mm phase shift length has also been shown with modulation efficiency (Vπ ·Lπ) of 1.36 V·cm at 4 V reverse bias and data rate of 20 Gbit/s OOK. The Michelson interferometer modulator performs similarly to a Mach-Zehnder modulator with twice the phase shifter length.
Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement: short-term efficacy of sutureless compared with stented bioprostheses.

OBJECTIVES Sutureless aortic valve prostheses have been introduced to facilitate the implant process, speed up the operating time and improve haemodynamic performance. The goal of this study was to assess the potential advantages of using sutureless prostheses during minimally invasive aortic valve replacement in a large multicentre population. METHODS From 2011 to 2019, a total of 3402 patients in 11 hospitals underwent isolated aortic valve replacement with minimal access approaches using a bioprosthesis. A total of 475 patients received sutureless valves; 2927 received standard valves. The primary outcome was the incidence of 30-day deaths. Secondary outcomes were the occurrence of major complications following procedures performed with sutureless or standard bioprostheses. Propensity matched comparisons was performed based on a multivariable logistic regression model. RESULTS The annual number of sutureless valve implants increased over the years. The matching procedure paired 430 sutureless with 860 standard aortic valve replacements. A total of 0.7% and 2.1% patients with sutureless and standard prostheses, respectively, died within 30 days (P = 0.076). Cross-clamp times [48 (40-62) vs 63 min (48-74); P = 0.001] and need for blood transfusions (27.4% vs 33.5%; P = 0.022) were lower in patients with sutureless valves. No difference in permanent pacemaker insertions was observed in the overall population (3.3% vs 4.4% in the standard and sutureless groups; P = 0.221) and in the matched groups (3.6% vs 4.7% in the standard and sutureless groups; P = 0.364). CONCLUSIONS The use of sutureless prostheses is advantageous and facilitates the adoption of a minimally invasive approach, reducing cardiac arrest time and the number of blood transfusions. No increased risk of permanent pacemaker insertion was observed.
OCRL regulates lysosome positioning and mTORC1 activity through SSX2IP‐mediated microtubule anchoring

Lysosomal positioning and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling coordinate cellular responses to nutrient levels. Inadequate nutrient sensing can result in growth delays, a hallmark of Lowe syndrome. OCRL mutations cause Lowe syndrome, but the role of OCRL in nutrient sensing is unknown. Here, we show that OCRL is localized to the centrosome by its ASH domain and that it recruits microtubule‐anchoring factor SSX2IP to the centrosome, which is important in the formation of the microtubule‐organizing center. Deficiency of OCRL in human and mouse cells results in loss of microtubule‐organizing centers and impaired microtubule‐based lysosome movement, which in turn leads to mTORC1 inactivation and abnormal nutrient sensing. Centrosome‐targeted PACT‐SSX2IP can restore microtubule anchoring and mTOR activity. Importantly, boosting the activity of mTORC1 restores the nutrient sensing ability of Lowe patients’ cells. Our findings highlight mTORC1 as a novel therapeutic target for Lowe syndrome.
Reporting of Differences in Taste Between Branded and Unbranded Cigarettes by Smokers Blinded to Cigarette Branding: Within-Person, Randomized Crossover Study

Background Saudi Arabia implemented a plain tobacco packaging regulation, one of the World Health Organization’s recommended initiatives to help reduce smoking rates, in August 2019. A few weeks after implementation, a large number of smokers complained via various media channels, especially social media (eg, Twitter), that an extreme change in cigarette taste had occurred, frequency of coughing had increased, and for some, shortness of breath had led to hospitalization. Objective The main objective is to determine whether smokers blinded to cigarette branding report differences in taste between branded and unbranded cigarettes. The secondary objective is to observe the frequency of immediate cough or shortness of breath. Methods This study employed a within-person, randomized crossover design that recruited current smokers 18 years and older who were cleared upon physical assessment before the experiment. Participants received 6 sequences of different random exposures (3 puffs) to 3 plain-packaged cigarettes (2 from their favorite brand and 1 from another brand as a control) and 3 branded cigarettes (2 from the favorite brand and 1 from another brand as a control). Participants wore virtual reality goggles accompanied by special software to alter visual reality and gloves to alter the touch sensation. Results This study recruited 18 participants, measured at 6 time points, to produce 108 experiments. Participants were not able to identify the correct type of cigarettes (plain or branded, estimate of fixed effect=−0.01, P=.79). Moreover, there were no differences in the ability of the participants to identify their favorite brand (t107=−0.63, mean 0.47, P=.53). In terms of immediate coughing, out of the 108 experiments, 1 episode of short coughing was observed, which was attributed to the branded cigarette, not the plain-packaged cigarette. Conclusions After controlling the visual and touch sensations, participants were not able to differentiate between branded and plain-packaged cigarettes in terms of taste or inducing immediate shortness of breath or cough. Interestingly, participants were not able to identify their favorite brand.