Stream Monitoring and Preliminary Co-Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage and Municipal Wastewater along Dunkard Creek Area

This study investigated coal-mine drainage (AMD) and municipal wastewater (MWW) contaminant concentrations and conducted the combined treatment in phases I and II: phase I, evaluating the effects of mixing the two based on the extent of acid neutralization and metals removal; phase II: conducting anaerobic batch reactor treatment of AMD and MWW under varying COD/sulfate ratios (0.04-5.0). In phase I, acid mine drainage water quality conditions are as follows: pH 4.5, acidity 467.5 mg/L as CaCO3, alkalinity 96.0 mg/L as CaCO3, Cl- 11.8 mg/L, SO4 2- 1722 mg/L, TDS 2757.5 mg/L, TSS 9.8 mg/L, BOD 14.7 mg/L, Fe 138.1 mg/L, Mg 110.8 mg/L. Mn 7.5 mg/L, Al 8.1 mg/L, Na 114.2 mg/L, and Ca 233.5 mg/L. Results of the mixing experiments indicated significant removal of selected metals (Fe 85~98%, Mg 0~65%, Mn 63~89%, Al 98~99%, Na 0~30%), acidity (77~95%) from the mine water and pH was raised to above 6.3. The Phase II results suggested under the wide range of COD/ sulfate ratios, COD and sulfate removal varied from 37.4%-100% and 0%-93.5% respectively. During biological treatment, alkalinity was generated which leads to pH increase to around 7.6-8.5. The results suggested feasibility of the proposed technology for co-treatment of AMD and MWW. A conceptual design of co-treatment system which is expected to remove a matrix of pollutants has been provided to utilize all the locally available water resources to achieve the optimum treatment efficiency. The technology also offers an opportunity to significantly reduce capital and operating costs compared to the existing treatment methodologies used. Featured Application: In this study, we have measured the concentrations of contaminants in acid mine drainage (AMD) and municipal wastewater (MWW) and conducted the combined treatment in phases I and II. This is significant because in previous years there was a massive fish kill that is linked to the high total dissolved solids (TDS) and salinity content in the water. With the current proposed combined treatment technology, it shows high potential in reducing TDS and salinity content in the combined wastewater which will prevent similar accident (Dunkard creek fish kill in 2019) happening again

Auto-conceito e representações da vinculação no período pré-escolar

A Teoria da Vinculação sugere que as representações internas das experiências relacionais e a noção de self vão sendo interiorizadas, de forma complementar, pelas crianças ao longo do tempo, desempenhando as figuras de vinculação um papel crucial neste processo. Alguns estudos empíricos (Cassidy, 1988; Clark & Symons, 2000; Verschueren, Marcoen, & Schoefs, 1996) têm examinado as ligações entre desenvolvimento do self e segurança da vinculação durante o período pré-escolar. No entanto, poucos se têm debruçado, especificamente, sobre as associações existentes entre o auto-conceito dos sujeitos e as representações internas que estes possuem das suas experiências relacionais, como é o caso do presente estudo. Para inferir a qualidade e a segurança das representações de vinculação utilizámos uma versão adaptada da MacArthur Story Stem Doll-play Task (Page & Bretherton, 2001) numa amostra de 75 crianças do pré-escolar. A representação do self foi avaliada através da versão portuguesa da Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Harter & Pike, 1984; Mata, Monteiro, & Peixoto, 2008). Os resultados encontrados apoiam a presença de relações entre a qualidade das representações associadas à vinculação e a representação global que a criança tem do seu self, com uma associação positiva mais forte a ser encontrada com a percepção da Aceitação Social

Auto-conceito e representações da vinculação no período pré-escolar

A Teoria da Vinculação sugere que as representações internas das experiências relacionais e a noção de self vão sendo interiorizadas, de forma complementar, pelas crianças ao longo do tempo, desempenhando as figuras de vinculação um papel crucial neste processo. Alguns estudos empíricos (Cassidy, 1988; Clark & Symons, 2000; Verschueren, Marcoen, & Schoefs, 1996) têm examinado as ligações entre desenvolvimento do self e segurança da vinculação durante o período pré-escolar. No entanto, poucos se têm debruçado, especificamente, sobre as associações existentes entre o auto-conceito dos sujeitos e as representações internas que estes possuem das suas experiências relacionais, como é o caso do presente estudo. Para inferir a qualidade e a segurança das representações de vinculação utilizámos uma versão adaptada da MacArthur Story Stem Doll-play Task (Page & Bretherton, 2001) numa amostra de 75 crianças do pré-escolar. A representação do self foi avaliada através da versão portuguesa da Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Harter & Pike, 1984; Mata, Monteiro, & Peixoto, 2008). Os resultados encontrados apoiam a presença de relações entre a qualidade das representações associadas à vinculação e a representação global que a criança tem do seu self, com uma associação positiva mais forte a ser encontrada com a percepção da Aceitação Social

A concordância entre o comportamento de base segura com a mãe nos primeiros anos de vida e os modelos internos dinâmicos no pré-escolar

Estuda-se, numa amostra que contempla dois países – Portugal e Estados Unidos da América –, a estabilidade da qualidade da vinculação, na relação mãe criança, analisando-se o comportamento de base segura na relação mãe-criança nos primeiros anos de vida e as representações mentais da criança acerca desta relação, no pré-escolar. Os participantes são 25 díades mãe-criança portuguesas e 47 díades mãe-criança americanas. Utiliza-se o Attachment Behaviour Q-Set (AQS) (Waters, 1995) para avaliar os comportamentos de base segura e, três anos mais tarde, aplica-se às crianças o Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) (Bretherton & Ridgeway, 1990) que avalia a qualidade e a segurança das representações internas da relação de vinculação. Os resultados mostram que, nesta amostra, há uma estabilidade da vinculação entre os 2-3 anos de idade e os 5-6 anos de idade. O valor de segurança do AQS está correlacionado positiva e significativamente com a dimensão de segurança do ASCT. Nesta amostra, os modelos internos dinâmicos parecem permanecer relativamente estáveis ao longo de um período significativo de tempo

A concordância entre o comportamento de base segura com a mãe nos primeiros anos de vida e os modelos internos dinâmicos no pré-escolar

Estuda-se, numa amostra que contempla dois países – Portugal e Estados Unidos da América –, a estabilidade da qualidade da vinculação, na relação mãe criança, analisando-se o comportamento de base segura na relação mãe-criança nos primeiros anos de vida e as representações mentais da criança acerca desta relação, no pré-escolar. Os participantes são 25 díades mãe-criança portuguesas e 47 díades mãe-criança americanas. Utiliza-se o Attachment Behaviour Q-Set (AQS) (Waters, 1995) para avaliar os comportamentos de base segura e, três anos mais tarde, aplica-se às crianças o Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT) (Bretherton & Ridgeway, 1990) que avalia a qualidade e a segurança das representações internas da relação de vinculação. Os resultados mostram que, nesta amostra, há uma estabilidade da vinculação entre os 2-3 anos de idade e os 5-6 anos de idade. O valor de segurança do AQS está correlacionado positiva e significativamente com a dimensão de segurança do ASCT. Nesta amostra, os modelos internos dinâmicos parecem permanecer relativamente estáveis ao longo de um período significativo de tempo

Social competence in preschool children: Replication of results and clarification of a hierarchical measurement model

This study tested assumptions and conclusions reached in an earlier confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) study of the social competence (SC) construct for preschool children. Two samples (total N = 408; a new Portuguese sample and one from US samples that had participated in the original study) contributed data. Seven SC indicators were tested for mean differences across age, sex, and sample. Significant sex differences were found for peer acceptance (favoring girls) and for initiating affectively neutral interactions (boys had higher rates), and the sex by sample interaction also was significant for initiating interactions (i.e., effect significant only in the Portuguese sample). In CFAs, the hypothesized structure of SC fits the data and was invariant across sample and age within sample in both measurement and structural tests. The model was invariant at the measurement level for sex within sample tests, but not at the structural level. The results replicate and extend understandings of SC reported in the original study

Hyperprogressive Disease during Anti-PD-1 (PDCD1) / PD-L1 (CD274) Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Hyperprogressive disease (HPD) is a recently acknowledged pattern of rapid tumor progression after the initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitors. HPD has been observed across various types of tumors and has been associated with poor survival. We performed a meta-analysis to identify baseline (i.e., prior to programmed cell death 1 [PD-1, PDCD1] / programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 [PD-L1, CD274] inhibitor therapy) patient factors associated with risks of developing HPD during PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor therapy. We searched eight databases until 6 June 2019. We calculated the summary odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random-effects model and explored between-study heterogeneity and small-study effects. A total of nine articles was eligible (217 HPD cases, 1519 cancer patients) for meta-analysis. There was no standard definition of HPD, and the incidence of HPD ranged from 1 to 30%. We identified twenty-three baseline patient factors, of which five factors were statistically significantly associated with HPD. These were serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) above the upper normal limit (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.02-3.49, p = 0.043), more than two metastatic sites (OR = 1.86, 1.34-2.57, p < 0.001), liver metastases (OR = 3.33, 2.07-5.34, p < 0.001), Royal Marsden Hospital prognostic score of 2 or above (OR = 3.33, 1.96-5.66, p < 0.001), and positive PD-L1 expression status that was inversely correlated with HPD (OR = 0.60, 0.36-0.99, p = 0.044). Between-study heterogeneity was low. Evidence of small-study effect was found in one association (PD-L1 expression). Subset analyses of patients with non-small cell lung cancer showed similar results. Future studies are warranted to identify underlying molecular mechanisms and to test their roles as predictive biomarkers of HPD

JunB regulates homeostasis and suppressive functions of effector regulatory T cells

Foxp3-expressing CD4(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells need to differentiate into effector Treg (eTreg) cells to maintain immune homeostasis. T-cell receptor (TCR)-dependent induction of the transcription factor IRF4 is essential for eTreg differentiation, but how IRF4 activity is regulated in Treg cells is still unclear. Here we show that the AP-1 transcription factor, JunB, is expressed in eTreg cells and promotes an IRF4-dependent transcription program. Mice lacking JunB in Treg cells develop multi-organ autoimmunity, concomitant with aberrant activation of T helper cells. JunB promotes expression of Treg effector molecules, such as ICOS and CTLA4, in BATF-dependent and BATF-independent manners, and is also required for homeostasis and suppressive functions of eTreg. Mechanistically, JunB facilitates the accumulation of IRF4 at a subset of IRF4 target sites, including those located near Icos and Ctla4. Thus, JunB is a critical regulator of IRF4-dependent Treg effector programs, highlighting important functions for AP-1 in Treg-mediated immune homeostasis

The quality of maternal secure-base scripts predicts children's secure-base behavior at home in three sociocultural groups

The secure-base phenomenon is central to the Bowlby/Ainsworth theory of attachment and is also central to the assessment of attachment across the lifespan. The present study tested whether mothers’ knowledge about the secure-base phenomenon, as assessed using a recently designed wordlist prompt measure for eliciting attachment-relevant stories, would predict their children’s securebase behavior, as assessed by observers in the home and summarized with the Attachment Q-set (AQS). In each of three sociocultural groups (from Colombia, Portugal, and the US), scores characterizing the quality of maternal secure-base narratives elicited using the word-list prompt procedure were internally consistent, as indicated by tests of cross-story reliability, and they were positively and significantly associated with the child’s security score from the AQS for each subsample. The correlation in the combined sample was r(129) = .33, p < .001. Subsequent analyses with the combined sample evaluated the AQS item-correlates of the secure-base script score. These analyses showed that mothers whose stories indicate that they have access to and use a positive secure-base script in their story production have children who treat them as a “secure base” at home. These results suggest that a core feature of adult attachment models, in each of the three sociocultural groups studied, is access to a secure-base script. Additional results from the study indicate that cross-language translations of the maternal narratives can receive valid, reliable scores even when evaluated by non-native speakers