Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Dust and Ammonia Concentrations in a Swine Building

Pollutants, especially dust, are rarely uniformly distributed within ventilated air spaces due to non‐uniform flow fields, particle inertia, gravitational settling, and diffusion. Thus, selecting suitable sampling locations for representative sampling is a challenge. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal distributions of dust and ammonia concentrations(NH3) in a swine building. Results of this study are useful in the design of sampling strategies that require limited sampling locations and in studying pollutant transport. This study was conducted in a commercial swine building in Illinois. The total suspended particulate (TSP) matter and ammonia concentrations were measured at 50 and 30 indoor sampling locations in December and June, respectively. Results showed that the average TSP concentrations ranged from 0.86 to 3.81 mg m‐3 in December and from 0.24 to 1.68 mg m‐3 in June. In December, the dust gradient across the length of the building was more pronounced than along its length. In June, the gradient along the length of the building was more pronounced, resulting in essentially uniform concentration in a cross‐section. The spatial distributions of the TSP concentrations in both December and June were essentially symmetrical about the longitudinal section of the building. The spatial gradient of NH3 concentrations was more pronounced along the length of the building in December, while the spatial distribution was almost uniform in June. These results suggest that the choice of representative sampling locations indoors will vary depending on the air movement in the building, which is dictated by the ventilation scheme

Measurement of Particle Size Distribution in a Swine Building

The majority of the research in animal buildings has been on measured concentrations of contaminants that the workers and animals are exposed to; emission measurements have only gained attention in recent years due to potential federal regulations on air quality emissions from animal feeding operations (AFOs). The contribution of AFOs to ambient PM10 and PM2.5 entails reliable measurement of particle size distribution. The objective of this study was to measure and compare the size distribution of particulate matter (PM) at multiple locations inside and at the exhausts of a wean‐to‐finish commercial swine building. The particle size distribution was measured by collecting total suspended particulate matter on Teflon filters and using Coulter Counter and Horiba LA‐300 analyzers for particle size distribution analyses. Results showed that the mass median diameter (MMD) of swine PM at the exhaust was about 14% lower than the average MMD indoors (26.84 vs. 31.55m), while the geometric standard deviations were about the same (1.85 vs. 1.86). In addition, the average percentage by volume of PM10 indoors was about 8%, while the percentage of PM10 leaving the building was 10%. In terms of the mass concentrations, PM10 indoors ranged from 0.014 to 0.125 mg m‐3, while at the exhaust PM10 ranged from 0.02 to 0.15 mg m‐3. This study will aid in understanding the exposure of workers to particles indoors and in quantifying the contribution of a commercial swine building to emissions of PM10 in the atmosphere

Sorting full angular momentum states with Pancharatnam-Berry metasurfaces based on spiral transformation

Full angular momentum states constitute a complete and higher state space of a photon, which are significant not only for fundamental study of light but also for practical applications utilizing cylindrical optics such as optical fibers. Here we propose and demonstrate a simple yet effective scheme of combining the spiral transformation with Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) metasurfaces for high-resolution sorting of full angular momentum states. The scheme is verified by successfully sorting full angular momentum states with 7 orbital angular momentum states and 2 spin angular momentum states via numerical simulations and experiments. We expect that our work paves the way for simple high-resolution sorting of full angular momentum states, which could be highly useful in both classical and quantum information systems

Biodegradation of Ammonia in Biofiltration Systems: Changes of Metabolic Products and Microbial Communities

In the first stage, the feasibility of using the waste materials from coal power plants (i.e., coal slag) and landscapes (i.e., wood chip and compost) as packing media in various biofiltration systems for ammonia (NH3) removal was investigated. In the second stage, the optimized biotrickling system packed with coal slag was employed to investigate the effects of inlet concentration on NH3 treatment performance. A complete NH3 removal was achieved at concentrations of up to 250 ppm at an empty bed retention time of as low as 8 s, which is shorter than most previously reported biofiltration systems. Results of metabolic product analysis indicated that half of introduced NH3 was oxidized to nitrate and the rest was converted to ammonium ion at low loadings, while nitrite and ammonium ions predominate at high loadings. A bacterial community shift was observed with regard to the loading rates and pH conditions. In addition, there were no common operating problems, such as clogging and compaction, in the operation for more than 1 year

Overexpression of BMI-1 Promotes Cell Growth and Resistance to Cisplatin Treatment in Osteosarcoma

Background: BMI-1 is a member of the polycomb group of genes (PcGs), and it has been implicated in the development and progression of several malignancies, but its role in osteosarcoma remains to be elucidated. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, we found that BMI-1 was overexpressed in different types of osteosarcomas. Downregulation of BMI-1 by lentivirus mediated RNA interference (RNAi) significantly impaired cell viability and colony formation in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo of osteosarcoma cells. BMI-1 knockdown sensitized cells to cisplatininduced apoptosis through inhibition of PI3K/AKT pathway. Moreover, BMI-1-depletion-induced phenotype could be rescued by forced expression of BMI-1 wobble mutant which is resistant to inhibition by the small interfering RNA (siRNA). Conclusions/Significance: These findings suggest a crucial role for BMI-1 in osteosarcoma pathogenesis

Effects of Personalized Aerobic-Exercise and Resistance-Training Prescriptions on College Students with Anxiety During the COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously increased anxiety prevalence among the public, including Chinese college students. However, many exercises cannot be performed as usual under the stay-at-home order. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of personalized individual aerobic-exercise and resistance-training prescriptions on anxiety in college students during the COVID-19. This was a 12-week three-arm randomized control trial using the intention-to-treat principle. Sixty-six college students with anxiety were recruited and randomized into aerobic-exercise (AE), resistance-training (RT), and health-education group (HE). AE and RT groups also received health education. Measures on anxiety and physical activity included Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Chinese College Students Mental Health Scale - Anxiety Subscale (CCSMHS-AS) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). All data were collected at the baseline, 4, 8, 12 weeks and 4-week post-intervention. All participants completed the intervention and measurements. The mean (SD) of SAS, CCSMHS-AS score and physical activity was 56.36 (5.63), 19.27 (4.56), 1306.57 (1421.19) (met-min/week). After the intervention, 78.79% of anxiety participants improved from anxiety to “normal”. Participants in all groups showed a statistically and clinically significant improvement after 12-week intervention (p \u3c 0.001). Moreover, such improvement was well-maintained in RT and HE group as there were no significant differences in SAS and CCSMHS-AS at 4-week post-intervention compared to 12 weeks (p \u3e 0.05). However, the SAS score of participants in AE group showed a significant increase during the 4 weeks after intervention (p \u3c 0.05). No significant differences were observed in the effect of AE and RT on anxiety at each time-point (p \u3e 0.05). PA of participants in AE and RT group represented a significant improvement at 4-week post-intervention compared to baseline (p \u3c 0.01). Personalized individual aerobic-exercise and resistance-training combined with health-education resulted in a similar effect on reducing anxiety and improving physical activity, and the effect was better than health education alone. Furthermore, the effect of resistance-training and health-education on reducing anxiety was more stable than that of aerobic-exercise. We recommended 45- to 60-minute home-based individual exercise (including 30- to 40-minute main exercise) with progressive moderate-to-high intensity, 3 times/week for at least 12 weeks for those students with anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic

Clinical efficacy of hysteroscopic adhesiolysis combined with periodic balloon dilation for intrauterine adhesion in IVF treatment

BackgroundIntrauterine adhesions (IUA), arising from diverse etiological factors, pose a significant threat to female fertility, particularly during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.ObjectiveTo assess the effectiveness of hysteroscopic adhesiolysis (HA) combined with periodic balloon dilation in treating IUA and its impact on reproductive outcomes in women undergoing IVF treatment.MethodsA total of 234 patients diagnosed with IUA were included in this study. The IUA women were categorized into three subgroups based on the severity of adhesion. All IUA patients underwent HA separation followed by periodic balloon dilation along with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Frozen embryo transfer was performed post-treatment, and a comparative analysis of the general characteristics and clinical outcomes among the subgroups was conducted. The control group consisted of patients who underwent their first embryo transfer of HRT cycle without any uterine abnormalities, as assessed by the propensity score matching (PSM). The clinical outcomes of IUA group and control group were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the risk factors associated with live birth.Results① The endometrial thickness was significantly increased post-operation compared to pre-operation in all three IUA subgroups (all P <0.001), with the most pronounced change observed in the severe IUA group. After treatment, normal uterine cavity was restored in 218 women (93.16%). ② The overall clinical pregnancy rate was 49.57% (116/234) and live birth rate was 29.91% (70/234). The clinical outcomes were similar among the three subgroups after first embryo transfer (all P>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that age (aOR 0.878, 95% CI 0.817~0.944, P=0.001) and endometrial thickness after treatment (aOR 1.292, 95% CI 1.046~1.597, P=0.018) were the two significant risk factors for live birth rate. ③ Following the process of matching, a total of 114 patients were successfully enrolled in the control group. The baselines and the clinical outcomes were all comparable between the IUA group and control group (all P>0.05).ConclusionThe combination of HA and periodic balloon dilation is beneficial for improving endometrial receptivity and has a significant clinical impact on patients with IUA undergoing IVF