Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trace and bulk organics removal during ozone–biofiltration treatment for potable reuse applications

This study investigated impact of ozone/biological activated carbon (BAC) filtration design and operational parameters on contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) and bulk organics removal over 450 days of operation. Two parallel BAC filters with identical media and influent were maintained, each at a different empty bed contact time of 10 and 20 min. This study captured the CEC removal performance of a BAC filter over an extended operational period after treating 65,000 bed volumes. Ozone system was operated at ozone dose to TOC ratio range of 0.9–2. Biofilter with lower EBCT (10 min) and exhausted media resulted in poor removals of Tris(2‐chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), sucralose, meprobamate, N,N‐diethyl‐m‐toluamide (DEET), and cotinine. Biofilter with higher EBCT (20 min) and remaining adsorptive effects resulted in significant (84% or more) removal of all CECs that were detected in the ozonated effluent. Increasing both ozone dose and BAC EBCT resulted in increased removal of UV absorbance (UVA254). The evaluation of impact of ozone:TOC ratio and BAC EBCT on CEC removal, bulk organics (TOC), and UVA254 performed in this study confirmed the importance of these two parameters on overall success of nonreverse osmosis (RO) potable reuse projects.
Strategies to Tackle the Global Burden of Diabetic Retinopathy: From Epidemiology to Artificial Intelligence

Diabetes is a global public health disease projected to affect 642 million adults by 2040, with about 75% residing in low- and middle-income countries. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) affects 1 in 3 people with diabetes and remains the leading cause of blindness in working-aged adults. There are 3 broad strategic imperatives to prevent blindness caused by DR. Primary prevention requires preventing or delaying the onset of DR in those with diabetes by systems-level lifestyle modifications such as increasing physical activity or dietary modifications, pharmacological interventions for glycaemic and blood pressure control, and systematic screening for the onset of DR. Secondary prevention requires preventing the progression of DR in patients with DR by continuing systemic risk factor control, regular screening to monitor for the progression of mild DR to vision-threatening stages, and the development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines for managing DR. In this aspect, telemedicine-based DR screening incorporating artificial intelligence technology has the potential to facilitate more widespread and cost-effective screening, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Tertiary prevention of DR blindness has been the main focus of the clinical ophthalmology community, classically based on laser photocoagulation treatment and ocular surgery but with an increasing use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) for vision-threatening DR. Evidence from serial epidemiological studies shows blindness due to DR has declined in high-income countries (e.g., the USA and UK) due to coordinated public health education efforts, increased awareness, early detection by DR screening, sustained systemic risk factor control, and the availability of effective tertiary level treatment. However, the progress made in reducing DR blindness in high-income countries may be overwhelmed by the increasing numbers of patients with diabetes and DR in low- and middle-income countries (e.g., China, India, Indonesia, etc.). Thus, to tackle DR at a global level, a paradigm shift in strategic focus from tertiary towards secondary and primary prevention measures with a multi-pronged whole-of-society approach at regional and national levels is urgently needed.
Identification of Maize CC-Type Glutaredoxins That Are Associated with Response to Drought Stress

Global maize cultivation is often adversely affected by drought stress. The CC-type glutaredoxin (GRX) genes form a plant-specific subfamily that regulate plant growth and respond to environmental stresses. However, how maize CC-type GRX (ZmGRXCC) genes respond to drought stress remains unclear. We performed a TBLASTN search to identify ZmGRXCCs in the maize genome and verified the identified sequences using the NCBI conservative domain database (CDD). We further established a phylogenetic tree using Mega7 and surveyed known cis-elements in the promoters of ZmGRXCCs using the PlantCARE database. We found twenty-one ZmGRXCCs in the maize genome by a genome-wide investigation and compared their phylogenetic relationships with rice, maize, and Arabidopsis. The analysis of their redox active sites showed that most of the 21 ZmGRXCCs share similar structures with their homologs. We assessed their expression at young seedlings and adult leaves under drought stress and their expression profiles in 15 tissues, and found that they were differentially expressed, indicating that different ZmGRXCC genes have different functions. Notably, ZmGRXCC14 is up-regulated at seedling, V12, V14, V16, and R1 stages. Importantly, significant associations between genetic variation in ZmGRXCC14 and drought tolerance are found at the seedling stage. These results will help to advance the study of the function of ZmGRXCCs genes under drought stress and understand the mechanism of drought resistance in maize.
Exploring the Specificity, Synergy, and Durability of Auditory and Visual Computer Game Transfer Effects in Healthy Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether auditory and visual computer games yield transfer effects that (a) are modality-specific to verbal memory (auditory stimulus presentation) and visual-processing tests, (b) affect working memory and processing speed, (c) are synergistic for combined game-type play, and (d) are durable. METHOD A Pilot Study (N=44) assessed visual transfer effects in a two-group pre-post design. The Main Study (N=151) employed a 2 (visual games: yes, no) x 2 (auditory games: yes, no) x 3 (test session: pretest, posttest, follow-up) design, allowing different training groups to act as active controls for each other. Neuropsychological test scores were aggregated into verbal-memory (auditory presentation), visual-processing, working-memory, and processing-speed indexes. RESULTS Visual-processing and working-memory pre-post-training change scores were differentially modulated across the four gameplay groups in the main sample, demonstrating transfer effects differing across both active- and passive-control groups. Visual training yielded modality-specific transfer effects in both samples, transfer to working memory in the main sample, and transfer to processing speed in the pilot sample. There were no comparable transfer effects for auditory training. Combined-visual-and-auditory training failed to yield synergistic effects or any significant transfer effects. Visual-processing transfer effects remained significant at follow-up. DISCUSSION Visual and auditory games differentially modulated transfer effects. Domain-specific visual transfer effects were found at post-test and were durable at follow-up. Visual gameplay holds potential to ameliorate age-related cognitive decline in visual cognition.
Health Behaviour Theory in Health

The rising use of the Internet and information technology has made computerized interventions an attractive channel for providing advice and support for behaviour change. Health behaviour and behaviour change theories are a family of theories which aim to explain the mechanisms by which human behaviours change and use that knowledge to promote change. Among the best-known of these theories are the Social Learning and Social Cognitive theories, the Health Belief Model, the Theory of Reasoned Action and its successors the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Reasoned Action Approach, and the Transtheoretical model. We discuss three examples of how behaviour change theories have been applied in computer-based interventions: a system to aid users to quit smoking, a decision aid for choice of breast cancer therapy, and an internet-based exercise program for reducing cardiovascular risk. We also discuss misapplication of theory, and reflect on how these theories can best be used. Behaviour change theory can be applied in health informatics interventions in several ways; for example, to select participants for a particular intervention, to shape the content of the intervention to effectively influence behaviour, or to tailor content to individual needs. Application of these theories to provide personalized advice ("decision support") is a young but promising area of research, and could inform other decision support interventions, including those that provide support for clinicians.
ANOVA Design for the Optimization of TiO2 Coating on Polyether Sulfone Membranes

There have been developments in the optimization of polyethersulfone (PES) membranes, to provide antifouling and mechanically stable surfaces which are vital to water purification applications. There is a variety of approaches to prepare nanocomposite PES membranes. However, an optimized condition for making such membranes is in high demand. Using experimental design and statistical analysis (one-half fractional factorial design), this study investigates the effect of different parameters featured in the fabrication of membranes, as well as on the performance of a nanocomposite PES/TiO2 membrane. The optimized parameters obtained in this study are: exposure time of 60 s, immersion time above 10 h, glycerol time of 4 h, and a nonsolvent volumetric ratio (isopropanol/water) of 30/70 for PES and dimethylacetamide (PES-DMAc) membrane and 70/30 for PES and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (PES-NMP) membrane. A comparison of the contributory factors for different templating agents along with a nanocomposite membrane control revealed that F127 triblock copolymer resulted in an excellent antifouling membrane with a higher bovine serum albumin rejection and flux recovery of 83.33%.
A Comparative Study of Localized Corrosion and Stress Corrosion Cracking of 13Cr Martensitic Stainless Steel Using Acoustic Emission and X-ray Computed Tomography

An accurate evaluation of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in 13Cr martensitic stainless steel (MSS) is still missing due to the lack of an in-situ insight into the process evolution and full characterization of the corrosion morphology. In this work, two main regimes involved in the SCC progression, including localized corrosion and cracking, were comparatively studied using in-situ acoustic emission (AE) monitoring and three-dimensional (3D) X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scanning. The stress corrosion tests were conducted with u-bent smooth specimens subjected to a single droplet of 1 μL 1% neutral NaCl solution. Localized corrosion and cracking evolution were controlled in tempered and quenched steel specimens, respectively. From XCT scanning, localized corrosion was featured by an irregular corrosion pit with deposited corrosion products containing cracks. The single dominant SCC crack was observed to initiate from corrosion pit and propagate with a 3D tortuous and discontinuous morphology. AE signals were detected in both cases. Correlated with in-situ observations and clustering analysis, source identification of AE signals was proposed. AE signals during localized corrosion were assessed to be mainly from cracking within the deposited corrosion products. Comparatively, hydrogen-bubble evolution, plastic deformation, and crack-branches coalescence were proposed as the AE sources of cracking evolution.
microRNA‐206 modulates the hepatic expression of the organic anion‐transporting polypeptide 1B1

The organic anion‐transporting polypeptide 1B1 (OATP1B1) is an anion exchanger expressed at the hepatocyte sinusoidal membrane, which mediates the uptake of several endogenous metabolites and drugs. OATP1B1 expression level and activity are major sources of inter‐patient variability of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of several drugs. Besides the genotype, factors that contribute to the inter‐individual variability in OATP1B1 expression level are practically unknown. The aim of this work was to uncover novel epigenetic mechanisms of OATP1B1 regulation.
In the Literature

Eukaryotic cells degrade their cytoplasmic constituents via proteasomes or by autophagy. The latter mechanism, an inducible pathway capable of degrading entire organelles, involves sequestration of the target within double-membrane vesicles called “autophagic vesicles” or “autophagosomes,” followed by fusion with lysosomes and enzymatic degradation of the vacuolar contents. Autophagy is an important response to cellular starvation and is involved in development, differentiation, and remodeling. There is now evidence that autophagy is an important component of innate immunity to microbial invasion. Nakagawa and colleagues observed that invasion of nonphagocytic cells (HeLa cells) by Streptococcus pyogenes was followed by bacterial escape from endosomes into the cytosol by the action of streptolysin. The intracytoplasmic bacterial cells became engulfed within autophagosomes and were subsequently killed upon fusion of the latter with lysosomes. In mutant cells deficient in autophagy, S. pyogenes instead multiplied, with release of large numbers of viable bacteria from the cell. Autophagy has also recently been demonstrated to play a role in host defense against M. tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis survives within phagocytic cells as a result of its ability to interfere with the phagosome maturation pathway, resulting in failure of phagosome-lysosome fusion. However, autophagy can be induced in infected macrophages by nutrient restriction or by IFN-g, resulting in reduced mycobacterial viability. The action of IFN-g is independent of reactive nitrogen or oxygen activity. Autophagy also appears to play a role in defense against other intracellular pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that escapes into the cytosol by causing membrane lysis, only to potentially be greeted by an autophagosome. Thus, a cellular mechanism for which the primary known function has been autocannibalism in the service of host growth, differentiation, and response to adverse conditions is also an important component of the innate system of immunity.
Intense and sustained pain reduces cortical responses to auditory stimuli: Implications for the interpretation of the effects of heterotopic noxious conditioning stimulation in humans

Phasic pain stimuli are inhibited when they are applied concomitantly with a conditioning tonic stimulus at another body location (heterotopic noxious conditioning stimulation, HNCS). While the effects of HNCS are thought to rely on a spino‐bulbo‐spinal mechanism in animals (termed diffuse noxious inhibitory controls, DNIC), the underlying neurophysiology in humans may involve other pathways. In this study, we investigated the role of concomitant supraspinal mechanisms during HNCS by presenting auditory stimuli during a conditioning tonic painful stimulus (the cold pressor test, CPT). Considering that auditory stimuli are not conveyed through the spinal cord, any changes in brain responses to auditory stimuli during HNCS can be ascribed entirely to supraspinal mechanisms. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during HNCS, and auditory stimuli were administered in three blocks, before, during and after HNCS. Nociceptive withdrawal reflexes (NWRs) were recorded at the same time points to investigate spinal processing. Our results showed that AEPs were significantly reduced during HNCS. Moreover, the amplitude of the NWR was significantly diminished during HNCS in most participants. Given that spinal and supraspinal mechanisms operate concomitantly during HNCS, the possibility of isolating their individual contributions in humans is questionable. We conclude that the net effects of HCNS are not independent from attentional/cognitive influences.
Starting school: educational development as a function of age of entry and prematurity

Objective To estimate the impact on early development of prematurity and summer birth and the potential ‘double disadvantage’ created by starting school a year earlier than anticipated during pregnancy, due to being born preterm. Design, setting and patients We investigated the impact of gestational and school-entry age on the likelihood of failing to achieve a ‘Good Level of Development’ (GLD) on the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile in 5-year-old children born moderate-to-late preterm using data from the Born in Bradford longitudinal birth cohort. We used hierarchical logistic regression to control for chronological maturity, and perinatal and socioeconomic factors. Results Gestational age and school-entry age were significant predictors of attaining a GLD in the 10 337 children who entered school in the correct academic year given their estimated date of delivery. The odds of not attaining a GLD increased by 1.09 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.11) for each successive week born early and by 1.17 for each month younger within the year group (95% CI 1.16 to 1.18). There was no interaction between these two effects. Children starting school a year earlier than anticipated during pregnancy were less likely to achieve a GLD compared with (1) other children born preterm (fully adjusted OR 5.51 (2.85–14.25)); (2) term summer births (3.02 (1.49–6.79)); and (3) preterm summer births who remained within their anticipated school-entry year (3.64 (1.27–11.48)). Conclusions These results confirm the developmental risks faced by children born moderate-to-late preterm, and—for the first time—illustrate the increased risk associated with ‘double disadvantage’.
Pose Measurement for Capture of Large Satellite Docking Ring Based on Double-Line Structured Light Vision

For on-orbit servicing of large valuable satellite, docking ring is a typical and strong component, which is fit for grasping by a space robot manipulator. In this paper, a novel method for measuring the relative pose of partial docking ring is proposed by introducing double-line structured light. Firstly, the double-line structured light vision measurement model is established. The model need only partial docking ring to compute pose. Secondly, the pose determination algorithm is presented. Using the four intersection points between the double-line structured light and partial docking ring, the position and attitude of the docking ring can be uniquely determined. Finally, the mathematical simulation model is built and the measurement error factors are analyzed. The simulation results show that the measurement method is effective and feasible.
Enabling Superior Electrochemical Properties for Highly Efficient Potassium Storage via Impregnating Ultrafine Sb Nanocrystals within Nanochannel-Containing Carbon Nanofibers.

Antimony (Sb)-based nanocomposites have emerged as an attractive class of anode materials for batteries as they exhibit large theoretical capacity and impressive working voltage. However, the tardy potassium ion diffusion characteristic, unstable Sb/electrolyte interphase, and huge volume variation pose a grand challenge that hinder the practical use of Sb-based anodes for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Herein, we report a simple yet robust strategy for uniformly impregnating ultrasmall Sb nanocrystals within carbon nanofibers containing an array of hollow nanochannels (denoted u-Sb@CNFs) that resolve the issues noted above, yielding high-performance PIBs. Remarkably, u-Sb@CNFs can be directly employed as anode, thereby dispensing with the need for conductive additives and binders. Such judiciously crafted u-Sb@CNF-based anode renders a set of intriguing electrochemical properties, representing large charge capacity, unprecedented cycling stability, and outstanding rate performance. Notably, a reversible capacity of 225 mAh g-1 is retained after 2000 cycles at 1 A g-1.
Selective Separation of Acetic and Hexanoic Acids across Polymer Inclusion Membrane with Ionic Liquids as Carrier

This paper first reports on the selective separation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) (acetic and hexanoic acids) using polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) containing quaternary ammonium and phosphonium ionic liquids (ILs) as the carrier. The affecting parameters such as IL content, VFA concentration, and the initial pH of the feed solution as well as the type and concentration of the stripping solution were investigated. PIMs performed a much higher selective separation performance toward hexanoic acid. The optimal PIM composed of 60 wt% quaternary ammonium IL with the permeability coefficients for acetic and hexanoic acid of 0.72 and 4.38 µm s−1, respectively, was determined. The purity of hexanoic acid obtained in the stripping solution increased with an increase in the VFA concentration of the feed solution and decreasing HCl concentration of the stripping solution. The use of Na2CO3 as the stripping solution and the involvement of the electrodialysis process could dramatically enhance the transport efficiency of both VFAs, but the separation efficiency decreased sharply. Furthermore, a coordinating mechanism containing hydrogen bonding and ion exchange for VFA transport was demonstrated. The highest purity of hexanoic acid (89.3%) in the stripping solution demonstrated that this PIM technology has good prospects for the separation and recovery of VFAs from aqueous solutions.
Structure, dynamics and interactions of large SRP variants

Abstract Co-translational protein targeting to membranes relies on the signal recognition particle (SRP) system consisting of a cytosolic ribonucleoprotein complex and its membrane-associated receptor. SRP recognizes N-terminal cleavable signals or signal anchor sequences, retards translation, and delivers ribosome-nascent chain complexes (RNCs) to vacant translocation channels in the target membrane. While our mechanistic understanding is well advanced for the small bacterial systems it lags behind for the large bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic SRP variants including an Alu and an S domain. Here we describe recent advances on structural and functional insights in domain architecture, particle dynamics and interplay with RNCs and translocon and GTP-dependent regulation of co-translational protein targeting stimulated by SRP RNA.