Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance comparison of biofilm and suspended sludge from a sequencing batch biofilm reactor treating mariculture wastewater under oxytetracycline stress

ABSTRACT The performance, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and microbial community of a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) were investigated in treating mariculture wastewater under oxytetracycline stress. The chemical oxygen demand and –N removal efficiencies of the SBBR decreased with the increase of oxytetracycline concentration, and no obvious –N and –N accumulation in the effluent appeared at less than 10 mg L−1 oxytetracycline. The specific oxygen utilization rate of the suspended sludge was more than that of the biofilm at different oxytetracycline concentrations. The specific ammonium oxidation rate (SAOR) of the biofilm was more easily affected by oxytetracycline than that of the suspended sludge, whereas the effect of oxytetracycline on the specific nitrite oxidation rate (SNOR) of the biofilm was less than that of the suspended sludge. The specific nitrate reduction rate of both the biofilm and suspended sludge was higher than the sum of the SAOR and SNOR at different oxytetracycline concentrations. The protein and polysaccharide contents in the EPS of the biofilm and suspended sludge increased with the increase of oxytetracycline concentration. The appearance of oxytetracycline in the influent could affect the chemical composition of the loosely bound EPS and tightly bound EPS. The amino, carboxyl and hydroxyl groups might be involved with interaction between EPS and oxytetracycline. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles indicated that the variation of oxytetracycline concentration in the influent could affect the microbial communities of both the biofilm and suspended sludge.
Hippocampal Cell Loss in Posttraumatic Human Epilepsy

Summary: Purpose: We performed this study to determine whether significant head trauma in human adults can result in hippocampal cell loss, particularly in hilar (polymorph) and CA3 neurons, similar to that observed in animal models of traumatic brain injury. We examined the incidence of hippocampal pathology and its relation to temporal neocortical pathology, neuronal reorganization, and other variables.
A new technique to reject DC-link voltage ripple for inverters operating on programmed PWM waveforms

A new proposal to reject DC-link voltage ripple in inverters operating on programmed PWM (pulse width modulation) waveforms is examined in detail. It is demonstrated how continuous elimination of harmonics is achieved at the inverter output while simultaneously rejecting the DC-link voltage ripple. Thus, with the proposed technique, high-quality voltage is guaranteed at the inverter output terminals even with a substantial low-frequency voltage ripple on the DC-link. A thorough modeling of this technique, along with the tradeoffs involved in acquiring the immunity to DC-link ripple, is illustrated in detail. Potential applications of the proposed technique are in fixed and variable frequency inverters for power supplies and AC motor drives which experience voltage ripple in the DC-link, such as when fed from a weak AC-system which is frequently unbalanced. A design procedure and the digital implementation of the proposed technique are described. Selected results are verified experimentally on a laboratory inverter. <<ETX>>
Letter by Cheong regarding article, "Association between stroke and patients with pelvic inflammatory disease: a nationwide population-based study in Taiwan".

To the Editor: We read with great interest the recent article by Chen et al1 dealing with the relationship between pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and stroke. The study demonstrated that women between age 18 to 60 years with PID were more likely to have ischemic strokes than were the control population in a 3-year follow-up period based on a nationwide population-based database. In addition, patients with PID were more likely to develop comorbidities such as coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and endometriosis than were those in the comparison cohort. This study has given us some novel insight into the prognosis of PID, where not only infertility and ectopic pregnancy may occur, but metabolic disorders, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke may also be part of the disease outcome. PID, …
The relation of the number of languages spoken to performance in different cognitive abilities in old age

ABSTRACT Introduction: Findings on the association of speaking different languages with cognitive functioning in old age are inconsistent and inconclusive so far. Therefore, the present study set out to investigate the relation of the number of languages spoken to cognitive performance and its interplay with several other markers of cognitive reserve in a large sample of older adults. Method: Two thousand eight hundred and twelve older adults served as sample for the present study. Psychometric tests on verbal abilities, basic processing speed, and cognitive flexibility were administered. In addition, individuals were interviewed on their different languages spoken on a regular basis, educational attainment, occupation, and engaging in different activities throughout adulthood. Results: Higher number of languages regularly spoken was significantly associated with better performance in verbal abilities and processing speed, but unrelated to cognitive flexibility. Regression analyses showed that the number of languages spoken predicted cognitive performance over and above leisure activities/physical demand of job/gainful activity as respective additional predictor, but not over and above educational attainment/cognitive level of job as respective additional predictor. There was no significant moderation of the association of the number of languages spoken with cognitive performance in any model. Conclusions: Present data suggest that speaking different languages on a regular basis may additionally contribute to the build-up of cognitive reserve in old age. Yet, this may not be universal, but linked to verbal abilities and basic cognitive processing speed. Moreover, it may be dependent on other types of cognitive stimulation that individuals also engaged in during their life course.
Regeneration of muscle axons in the frog is directed by diffusible factors from denervated muscle and nerve tubes

In the frog, peripheral muscle axons regenerate after a lesion to reinnervate the original synaptic sites on muscle fibers. Previous experiments in the frog have shown that satellite cells of the nerve tube direct the outgrowth of regenerating muscle axons over distances of many millimeters. In the present experiments, denervated muscle was used as a target for regenerating muscle axons. Muscle and satellite cells of the nerve tube also were placed in filters to determine if their influence on axonal outgrowth was exerted by diffusible factors. Filters were used with a pore size of 0.22 μm. With this pore size, target cells were isolated from physical contact with the surrounding cells; yet an exchange of fluids–and therefore of molecules released by the target cells–could occur across the filter.
In vivo nasal potential difference: techniques and protocols for assessing efficacy of gene transfer in cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a monogenetic disease that is associated with chronic airways disease and early death. The pulmonary disease reflects mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, and associated abnormal epithelial ion transport, including defective cAMP-mediated (CFTR) Cl- secretion and an accelerated rate of basal Na+ transport. With the development of vectors for gene therapy, the airway epithelium of CF patients has been targeted for studies of gene transfer. The biological efficacy of gene transfer of the normal CFTR cDNA into CF respiratory epithelia can be assessed by in vivo measurements of the transepithelial potential difference (PD), a parameter of ion transport that reflects the expression and function of CFTR. This paper describes techniques that can be used to discriminate in vivo between the ion transport phenotype of normal subjects and patients with cystic fibrosis. Protocols are outlined to allow assessment of individual components of the electrolyte transport phenotype, i.e., the magnitude of the basal and cAMP-mediated (CFTR) Cl- secretion, and the rate of Na+ transport. The physiologic basis of the protocols and important technical features of these measurements are defined. If performed properly, the in vivo nasal PD technique clearly discriminates between normal subjects and cystic fibrosis patients, and can yield estimates of the biological efficacy of gene transfer to achieve correction of the electrolyte transport defects in CF patients.
ehavioural markers for autism in infancy : Scores on the utism Observational Scale for Infants in a prospective study f at-risk siblings

We investigated early behavioural markers of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using the Autism Observational Scale for Infants (AOSI) in a prospective familial high-risk (HR) sample of infant siblings (N = 54) and low-risk (LR) controls (N = 50). The AOSI was completed at 7 and 14 month infant visits and children were seen again at age 24 and 36 months. Diagnostic outcome of ASD (HR-ASD) versus no ASD (HR-No ASD) was determined for the HR sample at the latter timepoint. The HR group scored higher than the LR group at 7 months and marginally but non-significantly higher than the LR group at 14 months, although these differences did not remain when verbal and nonverbal developmental level were covaried. The HR-ASD outcome group had higher AOSI scores than the LR group at 14 months but not 7 months, even when developmental level was taken into account. The HR-No ASD outcome group had scores intermediate between the HR-ASD and LR groups. At both timepoints a few individual items were higher in the HR-ASD and HR-No ASD outcome groups compared to the LR group and these included both social (e.g. orienting to name) and non-social (e.g. visual tracking) behaviours. AOSI scores at 14 months but not at 7 months were moderately correlated with later scores on the autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) suggesting continuity of autistic-like behavioural atypicality but only from the second and not first year of life. The scores of HR siblings who did not go on to have ASD were intermediate between the HR-ASD outcome and LR groups, consistent with the notion of a broader autism phenotype. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ∗ Corresponding author. Tel. : +44 2078485038. E-mail address: tony.charman@kcl.ac. uk (T. Charman). 1 BASIS Team: Simon Baron-Cohen, Patrick Bolton, Susie Chandler, Janice Fernandes, Teodora Gliga, Kristelle Hudry, Andrew Pickles. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.infbeh. 2014.12. 017 163-6383/© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). 108 I. Gammer et al. / Infant Behavior & Development 38 (2015) 107–115
A holistic approach for perfusion assessment in septic shock: Basic foundations and clinical applications

Microcirculatory dysfunction has been recently recognized as a key pathophysiologic process in the evolution of sepsis. In the present review, we discuss fundamental aspects of microcirculatory abnormalities during septic shock, including pathogenic mechanisms, technological assessment, clinical correlates and potential therapies. The most important function of the microcirculation is the regulation and distribution of flow within the different organs. In septic shock, microcirculatory dysfunction may arise as a result of several factors such as endothelial dysfunction, leukocyte-endothelium interactions, coagulation and inflammatory disorders, hemorheologic abnormalities, and functional shunting. Severity and persistence of these microcirculatory abnormalities are associated with bad prognosis and are not necessarily predicted by systemic variables. The introduction of bedside techniques that allow evaluation of the microcirculation into clinical practice has opened up a new field of functional hemodynamic monitoring. Recent data suggest that microcirculatory abnormalities can be staged in severity. Some microcirculatory indices are more accurately related to morbidity and mortality, and thus a definition of clinically relevant microcirculatory abnormalities is feasible. On the other hand, although several systemic variables do not predict microcirculatory status, high norepinephrine (NE) requirements and hyperlactatemia are associated with a much higher prevalence of relevant microcirculatory derangements. Therefore, severe septic shock patients could represent a more precise target for interventions, particularly in microcirculation-oriented clinical trials.
Selective Transduction of Dendritic Cells in Human Lymph Nodes and Superior Induction of High-avidity Melanoma-reactive Cytotoxic T Cells by a CD40-targeted Adenovirus

Targeted delivery of tumor antigen genes to dendritic cells (DCs) using adenoviral (Ad) vectors holds great potential for cancer immunotherapy. We previously showed that CD40 targeting of Ad vectors enhanced specific transduction of DC in human skin, while simultaneously ensuring their stable maturation and superior allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacity. In this study, we evaluated whether CD40-targeted Ad encoding the full-length melanoma antigen recognized by T cells-1 (CD40-Ad-MART-1) could be used to efficiently and selectively transduce conventional and plasmacytoid DC to prime melanoma-specific CD8+ T-effector cells in human melanoma-draining sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). CD40 targeting of Ad was achieved using a bispecific fusion protein, binding and neutralizing the Ad fiber knob through soluble coxsackie and adenovirus receptor while retargeting the virus to hCD40 through the tumor necrosis factor-like domain of mCD40L. Selective transduction of conventional and plasmacytoid DC subsets by CD40-Ad was observed in suspensions of human melanoma-draining SLN. Moreover, CD40-Ad-MART-1 enhanced the expansion of functional MART-1-specific CD8+ T cells from SLN with concomitant decreases in CD4:CD8 T-cell ratios and CD4+CD25hiFoxP3+ regulatory T-cell rates. Additional studies revealed that transduction and activation of monocyte-derived DCs with CD40-Ad-MART-1 significantly enhanced their priming efficiency of functional CD8+ effector T cells with high avidity. These findings provide preclinical evidence of possible efficacy of this approach for cancer immunotherapy.
Novel method for antenna measurements using SOL without T calibration

In this paper, we propose a novel calibration method that uses only the short-open-load (SOL) standards and requires no through connection. The uncertainty of the measurements is the same as that of the unknown thru method and almost the same as that of the SOLT calibration. That is, using the proposed method, we can measure antenna characteristics as accurately as using the SOLT calibration, without any through calibration procedure. To show the validity and usefulness of the proposed method, we measured the S-parameters between two log-periodic antennas. Comparing the results with those obtained by the unknown thru method and the SOLT calibration method, S11 and S21 agreed with each other within 0.001 and 0.03 dB in the operating band, respectively.
Projections of the sexually dimorphic anteroventral periventricular nucleus in the female rat

The anteroventral periventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (AVPV) is a sexually dimorphic nucleus in the preoptic region that appears to be a nodal point in forebrain circuits, mediating hormonal feedback on gonadotropin secretion. The results of anterograde transport experiments indicate that the AVPV sends ascending projections to the ventral part of the lateral septal nucleus, the parastrial nucleus, and the region adjacent to the vascular organ of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) that contains a subpopulation of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)‐containing neurons. The majority of projections from the AVPV pass caudally through the periventricular zone of the hypothalamus and form dense terminal fields in the periventricular nuclei, parvicellular parts of the paraventricular nucleus, and in the arcuate nucleus. Inputs to medial zone nuclei are more limited, with substantial projections to only the medial preoptic and dorsomedial nuclei. The AVPV sends few projections to the caudal brainstem, but terminals were observed reliably in the periaqueductal gray and medial part of the nucleus of the solitary tract. Anterograde double‐labeling experiments demonstrate terminals derived from neurons in the AVPV in close apposition to GnRH‐containing neurons in the preoptic region, and to dopaminergic neurons in the arcuate nucleus. Thus, the organization of projections from the AVPV in female rats suggests that neurons in this nucleus may influence the secretion of luteinizing hormone and prolactin through direct projections to GnRH neurons and tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 384:142‐164, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Multi-Institution Phase I Trial of Ruxolitinib in Patients with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)

Purpose: To conduct a phase I clinical trial exploring the safety and efficacy of ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2 inhibitor, for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Experimental Design: Patients with CMML-1 were included without regard to previous therapy. Key exclusion criteria included an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <0.25 × 103 cells/dL and a platelet count <35 × 103 cells/dL. Four cohorts were enrolled using a “rolling six” study design, with doses ranging from 5 to 20 mg twice daily of ruxolitinib in 5-mg dose escalations. Results: Between March 2013 and January 2015, 20 patients were enrolled and treated with ruxolitinib. Seventy percent of patients had the proliferative subtype and 47% had higher risk disease by the Global MD Anderson Scoring System. Eight patients (42%) received a prior hypomethylating agent. No dose-limiting toxicities for ruxolitinib were identified. One subject had grade (G)3 thrombocytopenia with no other drug-associated G3 or G4 adverse events. The mean duration of therapy was 122 days (range, 28–409 days). Four had hematologic improvement and one patient had a partial response per 2006 International Working Group (IWG) criteria. Five of 9 patients with splenomegaly had a reduction in spleen size. Ten of 11 patients with reported disease-related symptoms had clinically meaningful or complete resolution. When combining IWG and spleen responses, a total response rate of 35% (n = 7) was identified. Correlative analysis demonstrated a reduction in inflammatory cytokines and GM-CSF–dependent STAT5 phosphorylation. Conclusions: The recommended phase II dose of ruxolitinib is 20 mg twice daily. We demonstrate that ruxolitinib has promising activity in CMML with particular benefit in those with disease-related B symptoms that warrants further study. Clin Cancer Res; 22(15); 3746–54. ©2016 AACR. See related commentary by Solary, p. 3707
Seasonality of mortality: the September phenomenon in Mediterranean countries

Background: Seasonal increases in the mortality rate have been associated with excessively cold or hot weather. We evaluated monthly patterns of mortality in selected countries. Methods: We analyzed all-cause mortality statistics from 5 European Mediterranean countries (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Spain), Sweden, North America (United States and Canada), Australia, New Zealand and Japan. We extracted and tabulated data on monthly all-cause mortality in the general population from the earliest to the latest year that records were available. Results: We identified relevant data for a period of 2–57 years in each country. In the Mediterranean countries, the lowest average daily mortality was observed in September (all countries, 125/168 [74%] years). The fewest deaths were in August in Sweden (14/20 [70%] years) and North America (32/50 [64%] years). The fewest deaths in Japan occurred in July (2/2 [100%] years). In the southern hemisphere, the lowest mortality in Australia occurred in March (7/10 [70%] years) and in February for New Zealand (cumulative over 24 years). Interpretation: Mortality in the general population declines in the late summer to early fall months in the countries evaluated. Environmental parameters may partly account for these associations, and further research is needed on the contribution of additional factors such as summer vacations.
Response to Allen et al. and Holl et al.

References 1. The Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus: Report of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care 20:1183-1198, 1997 2. World Health Organization: Diabetes Mellitus: Report of a WHO Study Group. Geneva, World Health Org. , 1985 (Tech. Rep. Ser., no. 727) 3. Peters AL, Davidson MB, Schriger DL, Hasselblad V: A clinical approach for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus: an analysis using glycosylated hemoglobin levels. JAMA 16:1246-1252, 1996
Sensitivity study of reduced models of the activated sludge process, for the purposes of parameter estimation and process optimisation: Benchmark process with ASM1 and UCT reduced biological models

The problem of derivation and calculation of sensitivity functions for all parameters of the mass balance reduced model of the COST benchmark activated sludge plant is formulated and solved. The sensitivity functions, equations and augmented sensitivity state space models are derived for the cases of ASM1 and UCT reduced biological models. Matlab software for sensitivity function calculation and sensitivity model simulation is developed. The results are described and discussed. The behaviour of the sensitivity functions is used to determine which parameters of the reduced model need to be estimated in order to fit the reduced model behaviour to the real data for the process behaviour.
Accountability in Service-Oriented Architecture: Computing with Reasoning and Reputation

Accountability benefits the service-oriented computing (SOC) with trust and error reasoning. In this research, we study an accountability model with 3-D approach: detect, diagnose, and defuse, to discover and eliminate the root cause of problems when violations of SLA (service level agreement) occur in business processes. Our basic approaches are: (1) leveraging Bayesian network to diagnose the root cause of problems when uncertainty exists in business processes; (2) a continuous knowledge learning process to deal with the dynamic nature of SOC: the feedbacks about problematic web services are counted into services' reputation, and will impact future service selections and Bayesian network parameters learning. The performance study shows that our accountability model can rule out the root cause of problems in the whole business process effectively and efficiently with acceptable cost
High Throughput Path Establishment for Common Traffic in Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) consist of mesh routers that collect and forward the traffic generated by mesh clients. Mesh routers are typically fixed and equipped with multiple radio interfaces. Mesh clients are mobile, and data are forwarded by mesh routers to the intended destination. One or moremesh routers may have gateway functionality and provide connectivity to other networks such as internet access, as shown in Fig. 1. In the WMNs, most of the flows are between the mesh client and the gateway; this kind of traffic is called internet traffic which is the commonWMNs traffic as users need to access wired resources.