An Emotional Skills Intervention for Elementary Children with Autism in China: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of an emotional skills intervention on behavioral and emotional competence, as well as on communication for children with autism in China. Eight children (seven boys and one girl), aged 7 to 8, participated in this study. We used a pre and posttest group design. The intervention consisted of 10 group sessions and four individual sessions. Each group session had two or three children. The intervention curriculum consisted of emotion recognition, emotion recognition within context, self-expression of emotions, seeking help when encountering problems, and techniques for emotion regulation. Results indicated that the intervention significantly improved children’s emotional skills, behavioral and emotional competence, and communication. The potential implications of this study for elementary children with autism in China are also discussed

Computing for power system operation and planning: Then, now, and the future

With the global trend of pursuing clean energy and decarbonization, power systems have been evolving in a fast pace that we have never seen in the history of electrification. This evolution makes the power system more dynamic and more distributed, with higher uncertainty. These new power system behaviors bring significant challenges in power system modeling and simulation as more data need to be analyzed for larger systems and more complex models to be solved in a shorter time period. The conventional computing approaches will not be sufficient for future power systems. This paper provides a historical review of computing for power system operation and planning, discusses technology advancements in high performance computing (HPC), and describes the drivers for employing HPC techniques. Some high performance computing application examples with different HPC techniques, including the latest quantum computing, are also presented to show how HPC techniques can help us be well prepared to meet the requirements of power system computing in a clean energy future

Gut macrobiotic and its metabolic pathways modulate cardiovascular disease

Thousands of microorganisms reside in the human gut, and extensive research has demonstrated the crucial role of the gut microbiota in overall health and maintaining homeostasis. The disruption of microbial populations, known as dysbiosis, can impair the host’s metabolism and contribute to the development of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Furthermore, a growing body of evidence indicates that metabolites produced by the gut microbiota play a significant role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. These bioactive metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), trimethylamine (TMA), trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), bile acids (BAs), and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), are implicated in conditions such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. These metabolites impact cardiovascular function through various pathways, such as altering the composition of the gut microbiota and activating specific signaling pathways. Targeting the gut microbiota and their metabolic pathways represents a promising approach for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Intervention strategies, such as probiotic drug delivery and fecal transplantation, can selectively modify the composition of the gut microbiota and enhance its beneficial metabolic functions, ultimately leading to improved cardiovascular outcomes. These interventions hold the potential to reshape the gut microbial community and restore its balance, thereby promoting cardiovascular health. Harnessing the potential of these microbial metabolites through targeted interventions offers a novel avenue for tackling cardiovascular health issues. This manuscript provides an in-depth review of the recent advances in gut microbiota research and its impact on cardiovascular health and offers a promising avenue for tackling cardiovascular health issues through gut microbiome-targeted therapies

Low Probability Tail Event Analysis and Mitigation in the BPA Control Area

This report investigated the uncertainties with the operations of the power system and their contributions to tail events, especially under high penetration of wind. A Bayesian network model is established to quantify the impact of these uncertainties on system imbalance. The framework is presented for a decision support tool, which can help system operators better estimate the need for balancing reserves and prepare for tail events

Algorithm Summary and Evaluation: Automatic Implementation of Ringdown Analysis for Electromechanical Mode Identification from Phasor Measurements

Small signal stability problems are one of the major threats to grid stability and reliability. Prony analysis has been successfully applied on ringdown data to monitor electromechanical modes of a power system using phasor measurement unit (PMU) data. To facilitate an on-line application of mode estimation, this paper develops a recursive algorithm for implementing Prony analysis and proposed an oscillation detection method to detect ringdown data in real time. By automatically detecting ringdown data, the proposed method helps guarantee that Prony analysis is applied properly and timely on the ringdown data. Thus, the mode estimation results can be performed reliably and timely. The proposed method is tested using Monte Carlo simulations based on a 17-machine model and is shown to be able to properly identify the oscillation data for on-line application of Prony analysis. In addition, the proposed method is applied to field measurement data from WECC to show the performance of the proposed algorithm

Effect of Pasteurization Process on the Edible Quality and Shelf Life of White Cut Chicken

To investigate the effects of different pasteurization processes (85 ℃ for 20 min and 75 ℃ for 30 min) on the edible quality and shelf life of white cut chicken, the samples were stored at 0~4 ℃ for 0-30-40 d, and the pH, color, texture, volatile flavor substances, volatile salt base nitrogen (TVB-N), total number of colonies, and sensory quality were determined. Results indicated that the pH value of white cut chicken treated by pasteurization process was stable, the total colony count was lower, and the generation of TVB-N was lower. After comparing with the control group, neither of the two groups of different treatments of the pasteurization process would have a significant trending effect on the eating characteristics of white cut chicken such as color, hardness and chewiness, and the sensory scores were not significantly different from those of the control group (P>0.05). Meanwhile, this study compared the relative superiority of two different pasteurization processes and demonstrated that the process condition of 85 ℃ pasteurization treatment for 20 min had a significant effect on inhibiting microbial growth in the product, prolonging the shelf-life of the white cut chicken, and reducing the deterioration of the edible quality of the chicken meat during storage

Gut microbiome changes in mouse, Mongolian gerbil, and hamster models following Clostridioides difficile challenge

IntroductionClostridioides difficile infection (CDI), as well as its etiology and pathogenesis, have been extensively investigated. However, the absence of suitable CDI animal models that reflect CDI symptoms and the associated gut microbiome changes in humans has limited research progress in this field. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether Mongolian gerbils, which present a range of human pathological conditions, can been used in studies on CDI. Methods: In this study, we infected Mongolian gerbils and two existing CDI model animals, mice and hamsters, with the hypervirulent ribotype 027 C. difficile strain, and comparatively analyzed changes in their gut microbiome composition via 16S rRNA gene sequencing.MethodsIn this study, we infected Mongolian gerbils and two existing CDI model animals, mice and hamsters, with the hypervirulent ribotype 027 C. difficile strain, and comparatively analyzed changes in their gut microbiome composition via 16S rRNA gene sequencing.ResultsThe results obtained showed that C. difficile colonized the gastrointestinal tracts of the three rodents, and after the C. difficile challenge, C57BL/6J mice did not manifest CDI symptoms and their intestines showed no significant pathological changes. However, the hamsters showed explosive intestinal bleeding and inflammation and the Mongolian gerbils presented diarrhea as well as increased infiltration of inflammatory cells, mucus secretion, and epithelial cell shedding in their intestinal tissue. Further, intestinal microbiome analysis revealed significant differences with respect to intestinal flora abundance and diversity. Specifically, after C. difficile challenge, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio decreased for C57BL/6J mice, but increased significantly for Mongolian gerbils and hamsters. Furthermore, the abundance of Proteobacteria increased in all three models, especially in hamsters, while that of Verrucomicrobia only increased significantly in C57BL/6J mice and Mongolian gerbils. Our results also indicated that differences in the relative abundances of Lactobacillaceae and Akkermansia were primarily responsible for the observed differences in response to C. difficile challenge.ConclusionBased on the observed responses to C. difficile challenge, we concluded for the first time that the Mongolian gerbil could be used as an animal model for CDI. Additionally, the taxa identified in this study may be used as biomarkers for further studies on CDI and to improve understanding regarding changes in gut microbiome in CDI-related diseases

Antimicrobial peptide temporin derivatives inhibit biofilm formation and virulence factor expression of Streptococcus mutans

IntroductionTemporin-GHa obtained from the frog Hylarana guentheri showed bactericidal efficacy against Streptococcus mutans. To enhance its antibacterial activity, the derived peptides GHaR and GHa11R were designed, and their antibacterial performance, antibiofilm efficacy and potential in the inhibition of dental caries were evaluated.MethodsBacterial survival assay, fluorescent staining assay and transmission electron microscopy observation were applied to explore how the peptides inhibited and killed S. mutans. The antibiofilm efficacy was assayed by examining exopolysaccharide (EPS) and lactic acid production, bacterial adhesion and cell surface hydrophobicity. The gene expression level of virulence factors of S. mutans was detected by qRT-PCR. Finally, the impact of the peptides on the caries induced ability of S. mutans was measured using a rat caries model.ResultsIt has been shown that the peptides inhibited biofilm rapid accumulation by weakening the initial adhesion of S. mutans and reducing the production of EPS. Meanwhile, they also decreased bacterial acidogenicity and aciduricity, and ultimately prevented caries development in vivo.ConclusionGHaR and GHa11R might be promising candidates for controlling S. mutans infections