Design and Implementation of a Database-Driven Web-based Student Evaluation and Tracking System for the Emergency Medicine Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The course, Emergency Medicine (EM401), is for Interns or the fourth year medical students at the Emergency Medicine Department, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The requirements of the course include Emergency Department shifts, workshops, attendance in Emergency Medicine conferences and all resident conferences, and a case paper and presentation of the paper. The current evaluation procedure is time-consuming and awkward. This paper describes the design and development of a new, database-driven, web-based evaluation and tracking system that allows Emergency Department attendings (physicians) to submit evaluations on-line and allows administrative users to manage and keep track of student information and evaluations

Recovery of Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids from Contaminated Soil by CO2-Supersaturated Water Injection

Supersaturated water injection (SWI) is a novel remediation technology which is able to remove entrapped residual NAPLs from saturated porous media by both volatilization (partitioning of volatile contaminants into the gas phase) and mobilization (displacement of isolated NAPL residuals by gas clusters). The character of gas saturation evolution in-situ in saturated porous media during SWI results in high sweep efficiency. This work focuses on studying the recovery of entrapped residual NAPL by the mobilization mechanism during SWI, thus low-volatility NAPL residuals, kerosene and a kerosene-hexadecane mixture, are used as contaminants. A series of SWI recovery experiments are conducted to investigate the influence of grain size, low-permeability layering, and physical properties of the contaminants on the recovery behavior. For columns contaminated with kerosene, the residual saturation can be reduced to around 4% from an initial value of 16%, and over 70% of the residual kerosene is recovered by a combination of mobilization and volatilization in homogeneous sand packs. For columns contaminated with a kerosene-hexadecane mixture, the final residual saturation is 7.4% and the final NAPL recovery is lower than that in kerosene columns. Grain size has little influence on NAPL recovery, but low permeability layering has a significantly negative influence. Experiments designed to compare SWI to sparging, and water-gas co-injection showed that water-gas co-injection was able to effectively recovery residual NAPLs albeit not as efficiently as SWI, while steady gas sparging is completely ineffective at recovering residual NAPL by mobilization. Based on these experimental observations, a conceptual model, involving double displacements and NAPL bank formation, is purposed to explain the experimental observations

Extended MCDHF calculations of energy levels and transition data for N I

Accurate and extensive atomic data are essential for spectroscopic analyses of stellar atmospheres and other astronomical objects. We present energy levels, lifetimes, and transition probabilities for neutral nitrogen, the sixth most abundant element in the cosmos. The calculations employ the fully relativistic multiconfiguration Dirac-Hartree-Fock and relativistic configuration interaction methods, and span the 103 lowest states up to and including 2s$^2$2p$^2$5s. Our theoretical energies are in excellent agreement with the experimental data, with an average relative difference of 0.07%. In addition, our transition probabilities are in good agreement with available experimental and theoretical data. We further verify the agreement of our data with experimental results via a re-analysis of the solar nitrogen abundance, with the results from the Babushkin and Coulomb gauges consistent to 2% or 0.01 dex. We estimated the uncertainties of the computed transition data based on a statistical analysis of the differences between the transition rates in Babushkin and Coulomb gauges. Out of the 1701 computed electric dipole transitions in this work, 83 (536) are associated with uncertainties less than 5% (10%).Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures; Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie

A first spectroscopic measurement of the magnetic field strength for an active region of the solar corona

For all involved in astronomy, the importance of monitoring and determining astrophysical magnetic field strengths is clear. It is also a well-known fact that the corona magnetic fields play an important part in the origin of solar flares and the variations of space weather. However, after many years of solar corona studies, there is still no direct and continuous way to measure and monitor the solar magnetic field strength. We will here present a scheme which allows such a measurement, based on a careful study of an exotic class of atomic transitions known as magnetic induced transitions in Fe$^{9+}$. In this contribution we present a first application of this methodology and determine a value of the coronal field strength using the spectroscopic data from HINODE

Electrospun Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Fibers Reinforced with Poly (Vinylpyrrolidone) Polymer and Cellulose Nanocrystals

Green poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs)/poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) composites were prepared via electrospinning technique. The use of PVP and/or CNCs improved the overall thermal stability and mechanical properties of the PEO fibers. A strong synergistic reinforcing effect was achieved when PVP polymer and CNCs were combined in the composite. This synergistic reinforcement was accompanied with the formation of unique fiber-bead-fiber morphology. The beads were elongated and orientated along the applied force direction during tensile testing, providing an energy dissipation mechanism and a positive reinforcement effect. The combination of CNCs with PVP induced special chemical interactions, and distracted the interactions between PVP and PEO. As a result, the crystallinity of PEO was increased in the system, which also helped enhance fiber properties. The approach developed in this work offers a new way for reinforcing electrospun PEO-based composite fibers for sustainable green composite development

Spatial Combination Modeling Framework of Saturation-Excess and Infiltration-Excess Runoff for Semihumid Watersheds

There exist two types of direct runoff generation mechanisms in semihumid watersheds: saturation-excess mechanism and infiltration-excess mechanism. It has always been a difficult problem for event hydrological simulation to distinguish the two types of runoff processes. Based on the concept of dominant runoff processes, combined with GIS and RS techniques, this paper proposed an event-based spatial combination modeling framework and built two spatial combination models (SCMs) accordingly. The CN parameter and topographic index, both of which are widely used in hydrological researches, are adopted by the SCM to divide the entire watershed into infiltration-excess dominated (IED) areas and saturation-excess dominated (SED) areas. Dongwan watershed was taken as an example to test the performances of infiltration-excess model, saturation-excess model, and SCM, respectively. The results of parameter optimization showed that the parameter values and state variables of SCM are much more realistic than those of infiltration-excess model and saturation-excess model. The more accurate the divisions of infiltration-excess and saturation-excess dominated areas, the more realistic the SCM parameter values. The simulation results showed that the performance of SCM was improved in both calibration and validation periods. The framework is useful for flood forecasting in semihumid watersheds

Applying latent tree analysis to classify Traditional Chinese Medicine syndromes (Zheng) in patients with psoriasis vulgari

OBJECTIVE To treat patients with psoriasis vulgaris using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), one must stratify patients into subtypes (known as TCM syndromes or Zheng) and apply appropriate TCM treatments to different subtypes. However, no unified symptom-based classification scheme of subtypes (Zheng) exists for psoriasis vulgaris. The present paper aims to classify patients with psoriasis vulgaris into different subtypes via the analysis of clinical TCM symptom and sign data. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Beijing from 2005-2008, collecting clinical TCM symptom and sign data from 2764 patients with psoriasis vulgaris. Roughly 108 symptoms and signs were initially analyzed using latent tree analysis, with a selection of the resulting latent variables then used as features to cluster patients into subtypes. RESULTS The initial latent tree analysis yielded a model with 43 latent variables. The second phase of the analysis divided patients into three subtype groups with clear TCM Zheng connotations: 'blood deficiency and wind dryness'; 'blood heat'; and 'blood stasis'. CONCLUSIONS Via two-phase analysis of clinic symptom and sign data, three different Zheng subtypes were identified for psoriasis vulgaris. Statistical characteristics of the three subtypes are presented. This constitutes an evidence-based solution to the syndromedifferentiation problem that exists with psoriasis vulgaris

Adsorption of total petroleum hydrocarbon in groundwater by KOH-activated biochar loaded double surfactant-modified nZVI

Introduction: Crude oil and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination is commonly found in the soil and groundwater during the various processes of mining, processing, and utilization due to issues such as inefficient environmental management, random wastewater discharge, and storage tank leakage.To address this issue, we will use corn stalk biochar (SBC) and surfactants to improve the stability and chemical reactivity of nZVI, thereby enhancing its ability to remove pollutants, and explore the adsorption effect and mechanism of composite materials for petroleum hydrocarbons.Methods: Modified corn stalk biochar (SBC) was synthesized through high-temperature carbonization and KOH activation. Subsequently, the iron/carbon composite PN-nZVI@SBC (PNMSBC) was prepared by loading nano zero-valent iron modified with dual surfactants, and it was adopted to adsorb total petroleum hydrocarbons(TPH) in groundwater. The physical and chemical properties, surface patterns, and elemental mapping of PNMSBC particles were analyzed using SEM, EDS, TEM,XRD, BET, and FTIR spectroscopy. Kinetics and isotherm tests were performed to evaluate the adsorption properties of the composites. TPH adsorption was dependent on ionic strength, initial TPH concentration, as well as pH. The adsorption mechanism combining XPS and EPR spectroscopy was explored.Results: The characterization results by SEM and TEM showed that the particle size of nZVI particles modified by surfactants became smaller, and the dispersibility was enhanced. The characterization results by XRD and FTIR confirmed the successful preparation of the composites. The BET results showed that MSBC and PNMSBC were mesoporous structures. The characterization results indicated that Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Sodium oleate (NaOA) inhibited the oxidation of nZVI while effectively improving its reactivity. The result of the experiments on adsorption showed that the removal of TPH by PNMSBC followed Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, thus suggesting that the main adsorption processes comprise chemisorption and multilayer heterogeneous adsorption. The adsorption capacity of PNMSBC was increased by the abundance of macro and microporous structures. To be specific, a maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity (qm) was achieved as 75.26 g/g. The result of batch experiments indicated that PNMSBC continuously removed considerable TPH under a wide pH range from 2 to 6. The adsorption mechanism of PNMSBC includes surface adsorption, oxidation, complexation, and electrostatic interaction.Discussion: In brief, PNMSBC has a promising application for the adsorption of TPH in groundwater remediation

Nrf2 signaling pathway: current status and potential therapeutic targetable role in human cancers

Cancer is a borderless global health challenge that continues to threaten human health. Studies have found that oxidative stress (OS) is often associated with the etiology of many diseases, especially the aging process and cancer. Involved in the OS reaction as a key transcription factor, Nrf2 is a pivotal regulator of cellular redox state and detoxification. Nrf2 can prevent oxidative damage by regulating gene expression with antioxidant response elements (ARE) to promote the antioxidant response process. OS is generated with an imbalance in the redox state and promotes the accumulation of mutations and genome instability, thus associated with the establishment and development of different cancers. Nrf2 activation regulates a plethora of processes inducing cellular proliferation, differentiation and death, and is strongly associated with OS-mediated cancer. What’s more, Nrf2 activation is also involved in anti-inflammatory effects and metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, and multidrug resistance. Nrf2 is highly expressed in multiple human body parts of digestive system, respiratory system, reproductive system and nervous system. In oncology research, Nrf2 has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. Therefore, certain natural compounds and drugs can exert anti-cancer effects through the Nrf2 signaling pathway, and blocking the Nrf2 signaling pathway can reduce some types of tumor recurrence rates and increase sensitivity to chemotherapy. However, Nrf2’s dual role and controversial impact in cancer are inevitable consideration factors when treating Nrf2 as a therapeutic target. In this review, we summarized the current state of biological characteristics of Nrf2 and its dual role and development mechanism in different tumor cells, discussed Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway and its downstream genes, elaborated the expression of related signaling pathways such as AMPK/mTOR and NF-κB. Besides, the main mechanism of Nrf2 as a cancer therapeutic target and the therapeutic strategies using Nrf2 inhibitors or activators, as well as the possible positive and negative effects of Nrf2 activation were also reviewed. It can be concluded that Nrf2 is related to OS and serves as an important factor in cancer formation and development, thus provides a basis for targeted therapy in human cancers