Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas and Landfill Leachate Treatment Using Coal Bottom Ash

ABSTRACT Coal bottom ashes produced from three thermal power plants were used in column and batch experiments to investigate the adsorption capacity of the coal ash. Hydrogen sulfide and leachates collected from three sanitary landfill sites were used as adsorbate gas and solutions, respectively. Experimental results showed that coal bottom ash could remove H2S from waste gas or reduce the concentrations of various pollutants in the leachate. Each gram of bottom ash could remove up to 10.5 mg of H2S. In treating the landfill leachate, increasing ash dosage increased the removal efficiency but decreased the adsorption amount per unit mass of ash. For these tested ashes, the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH3-N, total Kjeldhal nitrogen (TKN), P, Fe3+, Mn2+, and Zn2+ were 36.4-50, 24.2-39.4, 27.0-31.1, 82.2-92.9, 93.8-96.5, 93.7-95.4, and 80.5-82.2%, respectively; the highest adsorption capacities for those parameters were 3.5-5.6, 0.22-0.63, 0.36-0.45, 0.027-0.034, 0.050-0.053,0.029-0.032, and 0.006 mg/g of bottom ash, respectively. The adsorption of pollutants in the leachate conformed to Freundlich's adsorption model.
[Efficacy of ACEI in the treatment of hypertension and the effect of secondary prevention in patients complicated with coronary heart disease and stroke].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of ACEI drugs in the treatment of hypertension patients and the effect of two levels of prevention of hypertension complicated with coronary heart disease and stroke. METHDOS 210 cases of hypertension patients in our hospital from January 2012 to December 2015 were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, 105 cases in each group. According to the conventional symptomatic treatment, the experimental group was given lisinopril treatment, while control group was given the captopril treatment. Changes of blood pressure parameters and the level of baPWV in two groups were observed before and after treatment coronary heart disease and stroke, recurrence rate and death rate were compared in these two groups. RESULTS No significant difference of SBP, DBP, PP and baPWV between two groups before treatment (P>0.05). The indexes of the two groups were significantly decreased after 1 months and 3 months, and the level of patients in the experimental group was lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). The recurrence rate in the experimental group was lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS ACEI drugs in the treatment of hypertension can effectively reduce the level of blood pressure, improve arterial elasticity function, reduce the recurrence rate and mortality rate of coronary heart disease and stroke. The effect of antihypertensive and two levels of prevention of hypertension complicated with coronary heart disease and stroke of lisinopril is positive.
Intravenous single-dose tramadol versus meperidine for pain relief in renal colic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Comparison of the effectiveness of tramadol with meperidine given intravenously to emergency patients with suspected renal colic. METHODS A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was performed in the Emergency Department of a tertiary-care university hospital. Consecutive patients with suspected renal colic (n = 47) were randomized to receive intravenously an initial dose of tramadol 50 mg (n = 23) or meperidine 50 mg (n = 24). After 30 min, additional doses of meperidine 50 mg were given intravenously as a rescue medication in an open fashion. Pain relief was assessed using a 10 cm visual analogue scale, the primary outcomes being pain relief at 15 and 30 min after the analgesics. Secondary outcomes were the frequency of rescue meperidine use and the development of side-effects. RESULTS Visual analogue scale pain scores after 15 and 30 min decreased in both tramadol and meperidine groups (P < 0.05). However, pain relief was better in the meperidine group at the 15 and 30 min evaluations (P < 0.05). Only 11 patients (48%), initially receiving meperidine, needed more meperidine compared with 16 patients (67%) initially receiving tramadol. Both drugs were well tolerated with no adverse effects occurring in either group. CONCLUSIONS Meperidine 50 mg was superior to tramadol 50 mg for acute pain relief in patients with suspected renal colic when given intravenously. Because many patients in both groups received supplemental meperidine and the response to tramadol alone cannot be predicted, clinicians may want to choose higher doses of meperidine alone or other alternative combinations.
La cabine virtuelle d'immersion (CVI): un mode de transport des outils d'interaction dans les univers 3D

We try to explore a way to provide efficient tools to navigate and interact efficiently and in a generic way within 3D virtual universes. We propose a new concept: the Immersive Virtual Cabin, which defines the 3D workspace of the user, which allows to carry virtual tools for 3D interactions, and which is capable to adapt these tools to the changes of universes' scale. We try to show that navigation in 3D virtual universes is not only the change of a viewpoint, but also the move of the interaction space.
Toward a Portable Cancer Diagnostic Tool Using a Disposable MEMS-Based Biochip

Goal: The objective of this study is to design and develop a portable tool consisting of a disposable biochip for measuring electrothermomechanical (ETM) properties of breast tissue. Methods: A biochip integrated with a microheater, force sensors, and electrical sensors is fabricated using microtechnology. The sensor covers the area of 2 mm and the biochip is 10 mm in diameter. A portable tool capable of holding tissue and biochip is fabricated using 3-D printing. Invasive ductal carcinoma and normal tissue blocks are selected from cancer tissue bank in Biospecimen Repository Service at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. The ETM properties of the normal and cancerous breast tissues (3-mm thickness and 2-mm diameter) are measured by indenting the tissue placed on the biochip integrated inside the 3-D printed tool. Results: Integrating microengineered biochip and 3-D printing, we have developed a portable cancer diagnosis device. Using this device, we have shown a statistically significant difference between cancerous and normal breast tissues in mechanical stiffness, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity. Conclusion: The developed cancer diagnosis device is capable of simultaneous ETM measurements of breast tissue specimens and can be a potential candidate for delineating normal and cancerous breast tissue cores. Significance: The portable cancer diagnosis tool could potentially provide a deterministic and quantitative information about the breast tissue characteristics, as well as the onset and disease progression of the tissues. The tool can be potentially used for other tissue-related cancers.
An architecture for securing federated cloud networks with Service Function Chaining

Capacity, availability or resilience of clouds can be increased by interconnecting two or more cloud computing environments to form a cloud federation and share resources. Shared resources include compute and storage resources but also networking resources. By integrating software defined networks/ virtual networks (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV) and network function chaining (SFC) technologies into cloud management platforms it is possible to create more advanced and flexible cloud federation mechanisms. In this paper we show how to secure federated cloud networks and how to customise the security of each individual federated cloud network running in a cloud federation. We propose an architecture for securing federated cloud networks by enforcing a global security policy to all network segments of a federation, and local security policies on each network of the federation. Cloud stakeholders can specify the required security virtual network functions (VNF), how to configure them, and how to chain them in a service manifest. The proposed architecture is illustrated with a deep packet inspection case study. Future work on implementing the proposed architecture in an OpenStack federation is briefly discussed.
Suppression of Injuries Caused by a Lytic RNA Virus (Mengovirus) and Their Uncoupling from Viral Reproduction by Mutual Cell/Virus Disarmament

ABSTRACT Viruses often elicit cell injury (cytopathic effect [CPE]), a major cause of viral diseases. CPE is usually considered to be a prerequisite for and/or consequence of efficient viral growth. Recently, we proposed that viral CPE may largely be due to host defensive and viral antidefensive activities. This study aimed to check the validity of this proposal by using as a model HeLa cells infected with mengovirus (MV). As we showed previously, infection of these cells with wild-type MV resulted in necrosis, whereas a mutant with incapacitated antidefensive (“security”) viral leader (L) protein induced apoptosis. Here, we showed that several major morphological and biochemical signs of CPE (e.g., alterations in cellular and nuclear shape, plasma membrane, cytoskeleton, chromatin, and metabolic activity) in cells infected with L− mutants in the presence of an apoptosis inhibitor were strongly suppressed or delayed for long after completion of viral reproduction. These facts demonstrate that the efficient reproduction of a lytic virus may not directly require development of at least some pathological alterations normally accompanying infection. They also imply that L protein is involved in the control of many apparently unrelated functions. The results also suggest that the virus-activated program with competing necrotic and apoptotic branches is host encoded, with the choice between apoptosis and necrosis depending on a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic conditions. Implementation of this defensive suicidal program could be uncoupled from the viral reproduction. The possibility of such uncoupling has significant implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of viral diseases.
Biological and analytical variability of a novel high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T assay.

BACKGROUND High-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays will augment the frequency of increased results, making important the determination of reference change values to distinguish acute from chronic increases. We assessed short- and long-term biological variability of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in healthy subjects with a novel high-sensitivity (hs) assay. METHODS We collected blood from 20 healthy volunteers at 5 time points for short-term study and biweekly at 4 times from the same volunteers for long-term study. We analyzed serum samples in duplicate with a hscTnT assay on the Roche Modular E170 and computed reference change values (RCVs) for analytical, intraindividual, interindividual, and total change values (CV(A), CV(I), CV(G), and CV(T), respectively) and the index of individuality (II). We calculated RCVs by using a log-normal approach, owing to the skewed results of the data. RESULTS Short- and long-term CV(A) values were 53.5% and 98%. CV(I) and CV(G) were 48.2% and 85.9%, respectively, for short-term studies and 94% and 94% for long-term studies. Mean delta values for the within-day study were 58% and -57.5%, and between-day mean delta values were 103.4% and -87%. Within- and between-day IIs were 0.8 and 0.14, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The biological variation demonstrated with the hscTnT assay is higher than prior data for cardiac troponin I. This may be attributed to differences in biology or assay imprecision at low concentrations. A short-term change (RCV log normal) of 85% and a long-term change of 315% is necessary to define a changing pattern.
Efficient in vivo vascularization of tissue‐engineering scaffolds

The success of tissue engineering depends on the rapid and efficient formation of a functional blood vasculature. Adult blood vessels comprise endothelial cells and perivascular mural cells that assemble into patent tubules ensheathed by a basement membrane during angiogenesis. Using individual vessel components, we characterized intra‐scaffold microvessel self‐assembly efficiency in a physiological in vivo tissue engineering implant context. Primary human microvascular endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells were seeded at different ratios in poly‐L‐lactic acid (PLLA) scaffolds enriched with basement membrane proteins (Matrigel) and implanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised mice. Temporal intra‐scaffold microvessel formation, anastomosis and perfusion were monitored by immunohistochemical, flow cytometric and in vivo multiphoton fluorescence microscopy analysis. Vascularization in the tissue‐engineering context was strongly enhanced in implants seeded with a complete complement of blood vessel components: human microvascular endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo assembled a patent microvasculature within Matrigel‐enriched PLLA scaffolds that anastomosed with the host circulation during the first week of implantation. Multiphoton fluorescence angiographic analysis of the intra‐scaffold microcirculation showed a uniform, branched microvascular network. 3D image reconstruction analysis of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (hPASMC) distribution within vascularized implants was non‐random and displayed a preferential perivascular localization. Hence, efficient microvessel self‐assembly, anastomosis and establishment of a functional microvasculture in the native hypoxic in vivo tissue engineering context is promoted by providing a complete set of vascular components. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Transcription Stress Response

The RNA polymerase II transcription machinery acts as a molecular motor that traverses large parts of the genome on a regular basis. It has been suggested that the transcription machinery may play an important role in sensing DNA damage and activating DNA repair and stress response pathways when stalled at blocking lesions. We have collectively termed the activation of these different pathways as the transcription stress response. Recently, it was shown that the ATR kinase and the single-strand DNA-binding protein RPA mediate the phosphorylation of p53 following blockage of transcription elongation. This ATR-mediated phosphorylation occurs even when transcription elongation is blocked in the absence of DNA damage suggesting that ATR and RPA senses the consequences of blocked transcription elongation rather than sensing DNA lesions directly. It is proposed that the transcription stress response activated by blockage of transcription may play an important role in safeguarding the genome from DNA damage and thus act to suppress tumorigenesis.
Soft starting control of single-phase induction motor using PWM AC Chopper control technique

This paper presents a soft starting control scheme of a capacitor start and run type single-phase induction motor(SPIM) using a PWM AC Chopper control technique to control an amplitude of the motor starting current. The actual current of the motor during start up is used as a feedback signal for comparing with a setting value. The error, then, is sent to a PI controller. The output of the PI controller is compared with a carrier to generate a PWM signal. The MATLAB/Simulink is used for simulations. The results of the simulations are the amplitude of the motor starting current in accordance with the setting value which is around 150-200% of the rated motor current, the energy consumption during the start up and the ripples in the electromagnetic torque. It is found that the control scheme proposed in this paper is effective and can be considered as an alternative in a starting method for SPIM.
Transient Exposure to HIV-1 Tat Protein Results in Cytokine Production in Macrophages and Astrocytes

The pathological correlates of dementia due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are glial cell activation and cytokine dysregulation. These findings occur in the setting of small numbers of productively infected cells within the brain. We determined whether exposure of susceptible cells to Tat protein of HIV could result in the production of select proinflammatory cytokines. In a dose-responsive manner, Tat induced interleukin (IL)-1β production in monocytic cells, while astrocytic cells showed an increase in mRNA for IL-1β, but had a translation block for IL-1β protein production. Conversely, IL-6 protein and mRNA productions were strongly induced in astrocytic cells and minimally in monocytic cells. IL-1β and IL-6 production were independent of tumor necrosis factor-α production. An exposure to Tat for a few minutes was sufficient for sustained releases of cytokines for several hours. This prolonged cytokine production is likely maintained by a positive feed back loop of Tat-induced nuclear factor κB activation and cytokine production that is independent of extracellular calcium. Thus a transient exposure may be sufficient to initiate a cascade of events resulting in cerebral dysfunction and a “hit and run” approach may be in effect. Hence cross-sectional measurement of viral load in the brain may not be a useful indicator of the role of viral products in the neuropathogenesis of HIV dementia.
Cortical and Trabecular Bone Mineral Loss From the Spine and Hip in Long‐Duration Spaceflight

We measured cortical and trabecular bone loss using QCT of the spine and hip in 14 crewmembers making 4‐ to 6‐month flights on the International Space Station. There was no compartment‐specific loss of bone in the spine. Cortical bone mineral loss in the hip occurred primarily by endocortical thinning.
Antibiotic resistance: the Iowa experience.

BACKGROUND In the past 10 years, the number of strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae and other common respiratory pathogens that are resistant to penicillin has increased. OBJECTIVE The Iowa Department of Public Health convened a multidisciplinary task force in January 1998 to develop strategies to combat antibiotic resistance in the state because they were alarmed by these reports. METHODS Within 18 months, the task force implemented statewide surveillance of resistant organisms and posted information about the surveillance on the Internet, distributed a public health guide on judicious antibiotic use and infection control measures to 7500 healthcare providers, and held a press conference to inform the public about antibiotic resistance. The task force collaborated with several major insurers in the state to profile the top prescribers of antibiotic agents in their plan. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The profiling and educational interventions led to a substantial decrease in both overall antibiotic prescribing and drug costs. Other states may want to undertake similar programs to help protect their citizens from infections caused by resistant pathogens.
The association of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging with body mass index in overweight and obese adults: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of being overweight or obese with the presence, extent, and severity of lumbar disc degeneration on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in adults. METHODS A population-based cross-sectional study of 2,599 southern Chinese volunteers was conducted. Subjects underwent radiographic and clinical assessment, and weight and height were measured. Sagittal T2-weighted MRIs of the lumbar spine were obtained. The presence, extent, and severity of disc degeneration and additional radiographic and clinical parameters were assessed. Asian-modified body mass index (BMI) (kg/m(2) ) categories were used. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. RESULTS The study included 1,040 men and 1,559 women (mean age 41.9 years). Disc degeneration was noted in 1,890 subjects (72.7%). BMI was significantly higher in subjects with disc degeneration (mean 23.3 kg/m(2) ) than in subjects without degeneration (mean 21.7 kg/m(2) ) (P < 0.001). A significant increase in the number of degenerated levels (P < 0.001), global severity of disc degeneration (P < 0.001), and end-stage disc degeneration with disc space narrowing (P < 0.001) was noted with elevated BMI, in particular in overweight and obese subjects. In the adjusted multivariate logistic regression model, there was a positive linear trend (r(2) = 0.99) between BMI and the overall presence of disc degeneration in overweight (OR 1.30 [95% CI 1.03-1.62]) and obese (OR 1.79 [95% CI 1.17-2.74]) subjects. End-stage disc degeneration with disc space narrowing was significantly more pronounced in obese subjects (adjusted OR 1.72 [95% CI 1.23-2.41] [reference normal weight]). CONCLUSION Our findings, in one of the largest studies to systematically assess lumbar disc degeneration on MRI, indicated a significant association between the presence, extent, and global severity of disc degeneration with weight in overweight and obese adults.
Influence of angular effects and adjustment on medium resolution sensors for crop monitoring

Remote sensing imagery at medium spatial resolution (30-60m) like Landsat and AWiFS have been widely used in mapping crop types and monitoring crop conditions. Angular effects from wide swath remote sensing data have been observed. This paper examines the influence of angular effects on surface reflectance of typical surface and crop types for both narrow swath (e.g. Landsat) and wide swath (e.g. AWiFS) sensors. A bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) look-up table (LUT) for surface types from cropland data layer (CDL) was established. A LUT-based approach is proposed to correct angular effects for crops and natural vegetations. The angular corrected reflectance will provide a consistent data source for crop condition monitoring and longterm time-series analysis.
Leading the conversation the use of Twitter by school leaders for professional development as their careers progress

A purposeful sample of 21 school leaders from the UK and abroad were interviewed about their use of Twitter. The Twitter timelines of these respondents were also analysed. The study was framed around four research questions designed to interrogate the issues surrounding senior leaders' use of Twitter. The data collected pointed towards the growing importance of Twitter as a forum for discussion about a whole gamut of issues related to education and leadership. The research uncovered important ways in which Twitter is being used to supplement, or in some cases replace, traditional modes of professional development. This is seen to have implications for the way leaders' careers evolve over time. A revised model of leadership career progression is proposed. The revised model provides a conceptual framework for charting social media engagement amongst leaders as their careers progress. By systematising social media engagement in this way, the study makes an important contribution to the corpus of knowledge that already exists in relation to social media use in educational settings. Practical implications include, amongst other things, suggested changes to the professional development of leaders and a call to greater awareness of social media amongst leaders themselves.