ahmedabdelwahed/Medical_papers_title_and_abstract_NLP_dataset huggingface dataset:
Sustainable development and environmental restoration in Lake Erhai, China

Eutrophication of lakes is an environmental issue that has attracted increasing attention all over the world. This study analyses the monitoring data of the Lake Erhai, Yunnan Province in China with Carlson's TSI, Improving Carlson's TSI (TSIM) and TLI. The results reveal that the eutrophication index for this lake is in the Mesotrophic status. The mechanism of the eutrophication in Lake Erhai is also investigated. The mechanism shows that rate of nutrient transformation is the core issue and the process of eutrophic evolution involves natural, social, and economic factors. The restrictions on sustainable development in Lake Erhai are discussed. To maintain sustainable development, green watershed construction (GWC) and its corresponding effective measures are proposed. Moreover, lessons learned from Lake Erhai watershed management are presented, to provide valuable experiences for alleviating water pollution caused by insufficient environmental management during rapid economic development. Perspective future research works are proposed, including establishment of the early warning system with remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) as well as the artificial intelligence (AI) technology. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A one-step platform for screening high-efficient and minimal off-target CRISPR/Cas13 crRNAs to eradicate SARS-CoV-2 virus for treatment of COVID-19 patients

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new respiratory illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and now spreads globally. Currently, therapeutics and effective treatment options remain scarce and there is no proven drug to treat COVID-19. Targeting the positive-sense RNA genome and viral mRNAs of SARS-CoV-2 to simultaneously degrade viral genome templates for replication and viral mRNAs for essential gene expression would be a strategy to completely realize virus elimination. Type VI CRISPR enzymes Cas13 have recently been identified as programmable RNA-guided, RNA-targeting Cas proteins with nuclease activity that allows for RNA cleavage and degradation. The precise viral RNA detection and antiviral application of the CRISPR/Cas13 system depend on high-efficient and minimal off-target crRNAs. Although a computer-based algorithm has been applied for the design of crRNAs targeting SRAS-CoV-2, the experimental screening system to identify optimal crRNA is not available. We develop a one-step experimental screening system to identify high-efficient crRNAs with minimal off-target effects for CRISPR/Cas13-based SARS-CoV-2 elimination. This platform provides the foundation for CRISPR/Cas13-based diagnostics and therapeutics for COVID-19. This platform is versatile and could also be applied for crRNAs screening for other RNA viruses.
Chemical profiling of Qingfei Paidu Decoction by triplex off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Qingfei Paidu Decoction is a Chinese medicine formula that has been proved effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019. However, the comprehensive separation and characterization of Qingfei Paidu Decoction are of a great challenge due to the diversity of chemical components in a wide range of polarity. In this study, a triplex off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry is developed for the analysis of Qingfei Paidu Decoction. One reversed-phase liquid chromatography×hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography system and two reversed-phase liquid chromatography×reversed phase liquid chromatography systems were constructed to separate polar components and weak-polar components in Qingfei Paidu Decoction, respectively. Benefiting from the good orthogonality of two-dimensional liquid chromatography and high sensitivity of quadrupole time-of-flight MS, chemical components with different polarities and content were discovered. A total of 749 peaks were detected in positive and negative ionization mode and presented as a four-dimensional data plot. Meanwhile, 498 compounds belonging to 14 categories were tentatively identified. These results provide good supplementary to elucidate the material basis of Qingfei Paidu Decoction. The triplex off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry strategy can be a powerful and efficient tool for the separation and characterization of chemical substances in traditional Chinese medicine formulas.
Quantitative modelling of Ostracod bioassay: assigning toxicity index to potentially chemical contaminated swimming pools

One of the primary objectives of any public health programme is to design a protocol that will curtail a population from being predisposed to toxic substances in the environment. Biomarkers help in actualising such an objective by their potential to detect the presence of toxic substances in environmental media such as soil, water and air. The Ostracod Heterocypris incongruens, an already established biomarker for quality evaluation of freshwater, does not quantify toxicity. This work was aimed at modelling Ostracod bioassay as a quantitative whole-water toxicity assay (QWTA) for the determination of potentially chemical contaminated swimming pools. In this modelling approach, a pool water sample was deliberately contaminated with a mixture of Fenton reagent (FR) and Bonny light (BL) crude oil. The mechanism of toxic injury of this mixture is via oxidative stress-mediated superoxide ion and other free radicals. The mortalities and growth factors of the exposed freshly hatched Ostracods to the serial dilutions of the contaminated swimming pool water sample for 6 days were mathematically modelled to toxicity indices (Ti), which were used to construct the toxicity reference curve (TRC). A graph of the "toxic concentrations" of the serially diluted contaminated pool water sample against Ostracod mortality was plotted. The TRC and the linear graph constitute the "Ostracod-linked mathematical model". Against the reference mortality ≤ 20% of the Ostracods, the toxicity index based on the model prediction is ≤ 32.5, and this signifies "no observed toxic effect" for toxicity values below 32.5 units. Using this model, toxicity indices were calculated for 5 randomly selected swimming pools in the study area. The results showed that the outdoor pool SP 5 has a toxic index of 49.0, while outdoor pools SP 2 and SP 3 each has a toxic index of 42.5. The indoor swimming pool (SP 4) and Standard water (control) have zero toxicity, thus suggesting that that the outdoor pools SP 2, SP 3 and SP 5 were possibly contaminated by chemicals from extraneous sources while contamination of SP 1 was very much negligible, hence the "no observed toxic effect".
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Vibrational Circular Dichroism Assisted Elucidation of the Solution-State Supramolecular Speciation in Racemic and Enantiopure Ketoprofen

The molecular structure and solution-state molecular interactions in the popular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ketoprofen, are extensively studied with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the chemical behavior of its solution state and its connection to its nucleation pathway and crystallization outcome. Using as reference solid-state X-ray structures of enantiomeric and racemic forms of ketoprofen, a set of self-assembly models underpinned by density functional theory calculations has been considered for the analysis of spectroscopic data, infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), obtained for solutions of the samples as a function of composition and solvent. From our results it can be concluded that, contrary to the general belief for generic carboxylic acids, there are no cyclic dimeric structures of ketoprofen present in solution, but rather linear arrays made up of two (in high polar or diluted media) or more units (in low polar or low dilution media). This observation is in line with the idea that the weak contacts (other than H-bonding) would hold the key to molecular self-assembly, in agreement with recent studies on other aromatic carboxylic acids.
Natural gas market and underground gas storage development in China

Due to the revolution of the economic growth, urbanization, and low-carbon development of China, the proportion of natural gas in the national primary energy consumption has been growing rapidly in recent years. In the meanwhile, the contradiction between the supply and demand in China's natural gas market (NGM) has also been increasing gradually. Accordingly, the Chinese government has introduced a slew of policies to ease this contradiction. However, China's NGM is still facing many problems and challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate the peak-shaving demand of the NGM in China, as well as to estimate the status and trend of underground gas storage (UGS) development for peak-shaving of the NGM. Firstly, the status and development direction of the NGM in China is discussed considering the supply and demand situation. The regional difference, the seasonal difference and the import impact are analyzed in detail to clarify the peak-shaving demand of national natural gas supply. Secondly, the status, direction, difficulties and challenges of UGS are discussed in depth. Finally, this study proposes some potential suggestions for the regulation of the NGM and the development of UGS in China.
A comparison of assays for the detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in the feces of scouring calves

Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic, protozoan parasite that causes potentially life-threatening diarrhea in the host and can be transmitted via the fecal-oral route. C. parvum can infect cattle and may be detected in their feces using a variety of tests. We compared the level of agreement, ease of procedure, and cost among PCR, lateral flow immunoassay, fluorescent antibody, and Kinyoun acid-fast stain direct smear tests. Over the course of 9 mo, 74 calf fecal samples were submitted and tested for C. parvum using all 4 tests. A Fleiss kappa value of 0.813 was obtained, indicating an excellent level of agreement among tests. Overall, the best test based on cost and ease of procedure was the Kinyoun acid-fast stain direct smear.
Latilactobacillus curvatus BYB3 Isolated from Kimchi Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-Induced Colitis in Mice by Inhibiting IL-6 and TNF-R1 Production

Recent studies have shown that probiotics have health-promoting effects, particularly intestinal immune modulation. In this study, we focused on the immunomodulatory properties of Latilactobacillus curvatus BYB3, formerly called Lactobacillus curvatus, isolated from kimchi. In a mouse model of 14-day dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis, treatment with L. curvatus BYB3 significantly decreased the disease activity index, colon length, and weight loss. Moreover, histological analyses showed that L. curvatus BYB3 protected the structural integrity of the intestinal epithelial layer and mucin-secreting goblet cells from DSS-induced damage, with only slight infiltration by immune cells. To evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying L. curvatus BYB3-driven inhibition of interleukin 6 production, possible in vivo anti-inflammatory effects of L. curvatus BYB3 were examined in the same mouse model. In addition, significantly lower levels of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 upregulation were seen in the DSS+BYB3 group (compared to that in the DSS group). These results indicate that L. curvatus BYB3 exhibits health-promoting effects via immune modulation; and therefore, it can be used to treat various inflammatory diseases.
COVID-19 detection from CT scans using a two-stage framework

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It may cause serious ailments in infected individuals and complications may lead to death. X-rays and Computed Tomography (CT) scans can be used for the diagnosis of the disease. In this context, various methods have been proposed for the detection of COVID-19 from radiological images. In this work, we propose an end-to-end framework consisting of deep feature extraction followed by feature selection (FS) for the detection of COVID-19 from CT scan images. For feature extraction, we utilize three deep learning based Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). For FS, we use a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm, Harmony Search (HS), combined with a local search method, Adaptive β -Hill Climbing (A β HC) for better performance. We evaluate the proposed approach on the SARS-COV-2 CT-Scan Dataset consisting of 2482 CT scan images and an updated version of the previous dataset containing 2926 CT scan images. For comparison, we use a few state-of-the-art optimization algorithms. The best accuracy scores obtained by the present approach are 97.30% and 98.87% respectively on the said datasets, which are better than many of the algorithms used for comparison. The performances are also at par with some recent works which use the same datasets. The codes for the FS algorithms are available at: https://github.com/khalid0007/Metaheuristic-Algorithms.
Energy, efficiency, economic impact, and heat transfer aspects of solar flat plate collector with Al2O3 nanofluids and wire coil with core rod inserts

The energy and cost saving of flat plate collector using Al2O3/water nanofluids and with wire coil with core rod inserts were studied experimentally. The experiments were conducted for various particle loadings of nanofluid (0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3%) and nanofluid with various p/d values of wire coil with core-rod inserts (p/d = 1.79, 2.54 and 3.24). The potential increase of collector efficiency is converted into useful size reduction, weight reduction, cost, and energy saving of the collector. With the use of nanofluids in the collector its efficiency is enhanced. The maximum collector efficiency is 37.73% for particle loading of 0.3% in the collector at a flow rate of 300 lit/hr in validation with water collector. By providing wire coil with core-rod inserts, p/d value of 1.79 with 0.3% particle loading of nanofluid, the collector efficiency is further incremented to 64.15% at a flow rate of 300 lit/hr. Meanwhile, at the same experimental conditions, using 0.3% nanofluid, a maximum reduction in the collector area is 27.66%, and it is reduced to 39.33% for nanofluid of 0.3% with p/d of 1.79 insert. The original cost of the water collector is 223.88$, which is reduced to 161.94$ for 0.3% nanofluid and further reduced to 135.82$ for 0.3% nanofluid with p/d of 1.79 insert. Simultaneously, the embodied energy of materials used in the collector is reduced by using nanofluids and inserts in the collector. Besides, the heat transfer and friction factor are also evaluated, and the data is fitted.
Environmental impacts of recycling crystalline silicon (c-SI) and cadmium telluride (CDTE) solar panels

There has been a substantial growth in the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in the past couple decades. Solar PVs have a life span of about 25 years and much of the deployed PVs will soon reach their end of life (EoL). It is now timely to plan for the EoL of PVs to recover valuable materials and recycle PV modules sustainably. The goal of this study was to analyze the environmental impacts of different recycling methods for crystalline silicon (c-Si) and CdTe panels. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed for delamination and material separation phases of recycling solar panels. The LCA results showed that the recycling of c-Si and CdTe PVs contribute 1325% and 34%, respectively to the entire PV lifecycle impacts. Also, for both c-Si and CdTe PVs, the thermal-based recycling methods resulted in lower environmental impacts than chemical and mechanical methods, except for pyrolysis. Nitric acid dissolution used for c-Si PV recycling had the highest impacts among all methods since the material consumption for this method has not been optimized for industrial use. Results from this study suggested that current techniques used in recycling of PVs, produce higher impacts than extraction of Al, Si and glass for c-Si and extraction of glass for CdTe. Lastly, this study identified which materials to prioritize for highest economic and environmentals benefits from recycling. These will be Ag, Al, Si, and glass in c-Si modules, and Te, Cu, and glass in CdTe modules.
Comparing performances, costs and energy balance of ex situ remediation processes for PAH-contaminated marine sediments

This study proposes a comparison of different ex situ technologies aimed at the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from marine sediments in terms of performances, costs and energy balance. In accordance with the principles of water-energy nexus, anaerobic bioremediation, soil washing and thermal desorption were investigated under low liquid phase and temperature conditions using phenanthrene (PHE) as model compound. After 42 days of anaerobic bioremediation, the highest PHE biodegradation of 68 and 64% was observed under denitrifying and methanogenic conditions, respectively, accompanied by N-2 and CH4 production and volatile fatty acid accumulation. During soil washing, more than 97% of PHE was removed after 60 min using a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:3. Along the same treatment time, low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) allowed a PHE removal of 88% at 200 degrees C. The economic analysis indicated that LTTD resulted in a higher cost (i.e. 1782 euro m(-3)) than bioremediation and soil washing (228 and 371 euro m(-3), respectively). The energy balance also suggested that bioremediation and soil washing are more sustainable technologies as a lower required energy (i.e. 16 and 14 kWh m(-3), respectively) than LTTD (i.e. 417 kWh m(-3)) is needed.
Global Patterns in Marine Sediment Carbon Stocks

To develop more accurate global carbon (C) budgets and to better inform management of human activities in the ocean, we need high-resolution estimates of marine C stocks. Here we quantify global marine sedimentary C stocks at a 1-km resolution, and find that marine sediments store similar to 3117 (3006-3209) Pg C in the top 1 m (more than twice that of terrestrial soils). Sediments in abyss/basin zones account for 75% of the global marine sediment C stock, and 52% of that stock is within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones of countries. Currently, only similar to 2% of sediment C stocks are located in highly to fully protected areas that prevent the disturbance of the seafloor. Our results show that marine sediments represent a large and globally important C sink. However, the lack of protection for marine C stocks makes them highly vulnerable to human disturbances that can lead to their remineralization to CO2, further aggravating climate change impacts.
A sustainable development framework for a cleaner multi-item multi-stage textile production system with a process improvement initiative

One of the most significant sectors in global economy is the textile industry, especially in asian continent. Owing to massive consumption of water in the wet processing operations of the textile sector, this industry is a major creator of effluent water. These effluents severely negatively affect plant photosynthetic function and must be treated prior to discharge into the environment. Reducing this type of hazardous environmental waste is one of the key considerations of lean philosophy. This enhances the consideration of the investments and expenditures made for waste water treatment in production decisions of the textile industry. Along with this, carbon emissions from production systems are more tightly regulated than in the past. Under emissions tax and allocated cap policies, manufacturing setups have to reduce their emissions by upgrading through technological changes and process improvements. In this context, this research provides a sustainable development framework for a cleaner textile production system (in the wet-processing category). The production model is analyzed with regard to environmental and effluent water treatment policies in the multi-stage production system, and optimal batch quantity is determined through a metaheuristic approach. Process reliability can be achieved by improving the production process, for which a discrete investment policy for setup cost reduction and process improvement is suggested, and benefits of these investments to improve environmental protection are studied through comparative analysis. Practical applicability of the proposed production model is highlighted through numerical experiment, sensitivity analysis, and important managerial insights. A trade-off among the investments in various aspects of the system is developed, and the results analysis verify that the introduction of discrete investments for process improvement reduces the effluent water quantity by 12.56% and variable CO2 emissions cost by 20.98% per batch, thus motivating economic growth and minimizing environmental impacts of the production system. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Performance Analysis of a New Electricity and Freshwater Production System Based on an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle and Multi-Effect Desalination

Integrated biomass gasification combined cycles can be advantageous for providing multiple products simultaneously. A new electricity and freshwater generation system is proposed based on the integrated gasification and gas turbine cycle as the main system, and a steam Rankine cycle and multi-effect desalination system as the waste heat recovery units. To evaluate the performance of the system, energy, exergy, and economic analyses were performed. Also, a parametric analysis was performed to assess the effects of various parameters on the system's performance criteria. The economic feasibility of the plant was analyzed in terms of net present value. For the base case, the performance metrics are evaluated as W.net=8.347 MW, epsilon=46.22%, SUCP=14.07 $/GJ, and m.fw=11.7 kg/s. Among all components of the system, the combustion chamber is the greatest contributor to the exergy destruction rate, at 3250 kW. It is shown with the parametric analysis that raising the combustion temperature leads to higher electricity and freshwater production capacity. For a fuel cost of 2 $/GJ and an electricity price of 0.07 $/kWh, the total net present value at the end of plant's lifespan is 6.547x106 $, and the payback period is 6.75 years. Thus, the plant is feasible from an economic perspective.
A left atrial hamartoma of mature cardiac myocytes

We present a case of a hamartoma of mature cardiac myocytes. This is an extremely rare tumour and the first reported paediatric case localised in the left atrium.