Sensory test A-Not A rating signal detection: Panel's sensory learning and stability of decision criteria.

Signal detection theory (SDT) sensory discrimination analysis using A-Not A with a two-step rating is an efficient approach to in-house sensory quality management in the food industry. For such sensory analysis using an internal panel, the panels' ability to use stable decision criteria and provide a consistent response distribution responding to "A" vs "Not A" is critical for guaranteeing the data quality. This study examined the effects of the familiarization procedure (FP) and reference presentation probability (RPP) in the SDT A-Not A rating protocol on the panels' sensory learning of samples and stability of decision criteria using SDT parameters, recognition d' (d'Rec),criteria location (c), and discrimination d' indices. Three different protocols were compared using ice-tea samples with small differences: Control, 0.25 RPP with repeated reference tasting (FPR); Modified-1, 0.25 RPP with reference categorization (FPC); Modified-2, 0.5 RPP with reference categorization (FPC). An independent sample design with three groups having equal sensitivity was used to identify the differences among the protocols. For each protocol, two sub-groups with similar decision criteria (response bias) were formed according to the results obtained from the pre-test and used for the main-test analysis. SDT analysis results indicated that the Modified-2 protocol with a higher RPP (0.5) induced the most efficient sensory learning of the reference. The protocol improved the subjects' recognition of the reference and test samples, better differentiating from the reference and stabilizing the decision criterion, resulting in higher discrimination performance (larger d'). The results showed that d'Rec analysis, together with d' analysis using a sensory panel, is a useful tool for monitoring the panel performance and checking for the sensory data quality of the sensory difference tests. In the present paper, a detailed illustration of the A-Not A sensory test procedure and examples of how to apply the SDT indices for different business decision-making is also introduced using the design and results of the present experiment.

Layer-by-layer coating of MIL-100(Fe) on a cotton fabric for purification of water-soluble dyes by the combined effect of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation.

Efforts have been made for sustainable development of adsorbents to purify organic contaminants from wastewater. In this study, a MIL-100(Fe) based textile that acts as a reusable adsorbent and photocatalytic agent was developed by synthesizing MIL-100(Fe) onto a cotton fabric by the layer-by-layer (LBL) process using water-based solutions. As the number of LBL cycles increased, the add-on's of MIL-100(Fe) showed a drastic increase up to 8 cycles, then showed gradual increases with further treatments. The overall adsorption performance was enhanced with the increased MIL-100(Fe) add-on's, but the specific adsorption efficiency per unit mass of MIL-100(Fe) was reduced as the LBL cycles increased, implying the reduced average adsorption efficiency with a thicker coating. To examine the reusability of the adsorbent, desorption efficiency of RhB was measured. The desorption after the first-time adsorption was not efficient due to the strong binding inside the pores. For the later cycles of adsorption-desorption, desorption occurred more efficiently, probably because RhB molecules were adhered mostly at the outer surface of the MOF layer. Simultaneously, MIL-100(Fe)@cotton demonstrated the photocatalytic degradation performance against RhB in the presence of H2O2 by the Fenton reaction. With the combined effect of adsorption and photodegradation, the developed fabric attained 96% removal efficiency for RhB dissolved in water. This study demonstrates an environmentally responsible process of developing a MIL-100(Fe) coated fabric that is readily available for effective removal of organic foulants in water. This fabrication method can be applied as a scalable manufacturing of metal-organic framework-based photocatalytic adsorbent textiles.

MIL-100(Fe)-Hybridized Nanofibers for Adsorption and Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Water Pollutants: Experimental and DFT Approach.

As rapid industrial growth spawns severe water contamination and a far-reaching impact on environmental safety, the development of a purification system is in high demand. Herein, a visible light-induced photocatalytic adsorbent membrane was developed by growing a porous metal-organic framework (MOF), MIL-100(Fe) crystals, onto electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, and its purification capability by adsorption and the photocatalytic effect was investigated. As water-soluble organic foulants, a cationic dye, rhodamine B (RhB), and an anionic dye, methyl orange (MO), were employed, and the adsorption/desorption characteristics were analyzed. Since MIL-100(Fe) possesses positive charges in aqueous solution, MO was more rapidly adsorbed onto the MIL-100(Fe) grown PAN membrane (MIL-100(Fe)@PAN) than RhB. Under visible light, both photocatalytic degradation and adsorption occurred concurrently, facilitating the purification process. The reusability of MIL-100(Fe)@PAN as an adsorbent was explored by cyclic adsorption-desorption experiments. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations corroborated higher binding energy of charged MO over RhB and demonstrated the possible steric hindrance of RhB to adhere in MOF pores. The emphasis of the study lies in the combined investigation of the experimental approach and DFT calculations for the fundamental understanding of adsorption/desorption phenomena occurring in the purification process. This study provides theoretical support for the interaction between MOF-hybrid complexes and contaminants when MOF-hybridized composites adsorb or photodegrade water-soluble pollutants of different charges and sizes.

An Online Experiment During COVID-19: Testing the Influences of Autonomy Support Toward Emotions and Academic Persistence.

Students' academic persistence is a critical component of effective online learning. Promoting students' academic persistence could potentially alleviate learning loss or drop-out, especially during challenging time like the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research indicated that different emotions and autonomy support could all influence students' academic persistence. However, few studies examined the multidimensionality of persistence using an experimental design with students' real-time emotions. Using an experimental design and the Contain Intelligent Facial Expression Recognition System (CIFERS), this research explored the dynamic associations among real-time emotions (joy and anxiety), autonomy support (having choice and no choice), self-perceived persistence, self-reliance persistence, and help-seeking persistence. 177 college students participated in this study online via Zoom during COVID-19 university closure. The results revealed that having choice and high intensity of joy could promote students' self-reliance persistence, but not help-seeking persistence. Interestingly, students who perceived themselves as more persistent experienced more joy during experiment. The theoretical and practical implications on facilitating students' academic persistence were discussed.

Guardianship patient characteristics and outcomes in geriatric social work practice: Australian context.

This study explored the patient characteristics and outcomes in relation to guardianship in a large-scale sub-acute Australian hospital. Fifteen patients who appointed a guardian at The Kingston Center, Monash Health, participated through exploratory data collection and analysis utilizing a de-identifiable template. The findings revealed both diverse and complex patient characteristics, and ethical dilemmas in patient outcomes for social workers. Patient outcomes post-guardianship appointment and discharge highlighted a negative impact from long length of stay and the iatrogenic impact on patient wellbeing in hospital. The study reflected a disparity between patients' discharge goals and their outcomes indicating significant ethical dilemmas and complexities for social workers in ensuring rights to autonomy and responsibility for safety are balanced.

Bacteria Adhesion of Textiles Influenced by Wettability and Pore Characteristics of Fibrous Substrates.

Bacteria adhesion on the surface is an initial step to create biofouling, which may lead to a severe infection of living organisms and humans. This study is concerned with investigating the textile properties including wettability, porosity, total pore volume, and pore size in association with bacteria adhesion. As model bacteria, Gram-negative, rod-shaped Escherichia coli and the Gram-positive, spherical-shaped Staphylococcus aureus were used to analyze the adhesion tendency. Electrospun webs made from polystyrene and poly(lactic acid) were used as substrates, with modification of wettability by the plasma process using either O2 or C4F8 gas. The pore and morphological characteristics of fibrous webs were analyzed by the capillary flow porometer and scanning electron microscopy. The substrate's wettability appeared to be the primary factor influencing the cell adhesion, where the hydrophilic surface resulted in considerably higher adhesion. The pore volume and the pore size, rather than the porosity itself, were other important factors affecting the bacteria adherence and retention. In addition, the compact spatial distribution of fibers limited the cell intrusion into the pores, reducing the total amount of adherence. Thus, superhydrophobic textiles with the reduced total pore volume and smaller pore size would circumvent the adhesion. The findings of this study provide informative discussion on the characteristics of fibrous webs affecting the bacteria adhesion, which can be used as a fundamental design guide of anti-biofouling textiles.

Water-Resistant Mechanoluminescent Electrospun Fabrics with Protected Sensitivity in Wet Condition via Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Process.

Mechanoluminescence (ML), which emits light upon external mechanical stress, was applied to fibrous composites. Herein, ML particles were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun webs to prepare ML/PVDF and ML/PAN composite fabrics. The produced fabrics were treated with O2 and C4F8 plasma to modify the wetting properties, then the effects of composite wettability on the light-emitting response in dry and wet conditions were investigated. The light intensity was greatly decreased when the composite fabrics absorbed water. When the composites were hydrophobized by the C4F8 plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, the original light intensity was protected in wet conditions, while maintaining the water vapor transmission rate. As the clothing material would be exposed to moisture in varied situations, the reduced ML sensitivity in wet conditions may limit the application of ML composite fabrics. The findings suggest a facile strategy to fabricate moisture-resistant, breathable mechanoluminescence composite fabrics.

Elevated Neuropeptide Y in Endothelial Dysfunction Promotes Macrophage Infiltration and Smooth Muscle Foam Cell Formation.

Endothelial dysfunction has been linked to vascular inflammation and foam cell formation but the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. We sought to define the factors inducing inflammation and smooth muscle foam cell formation under endothelial dysfunction using endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)-deficient mice. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from eNOS-deficient mice displayed increased expression of macrophage-related genes and elevated lipid uptake. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was upregulated in the aorta from the eNOS-deficient mice and promoted macrophage chemotaxis toward VSMCs while enhancing the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-3. Notably, NPY induced lipid uptake in VSMCs, facilitating smooth muscle foam cell formation, in association with enhanced expression of genes related to modified low-density lipoprotein uptake and macrophages. NPY was augmented by inflammatory pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in VSMCs. PTX3 enhanced macrophage migratory capacity through the NPY/neuropeptide Y receptor axis and this effect was attenuated by pharmacological inhibition with a receptor-specific antagonist. These observations suggest that endothelial dysfunction leads to the elevation of NPY that amplifies vascular inflammation by increasing inflammatory cell chemotaxis and triggers smooth muscle foam cell formation.

Improved protocols for histamine sensitization testing of acellular pertussis vaccines.

The histamine sensitization test is a widely used method for measuring the residual toxicity of pertussis toxin in acellular pertussis vaccines. Although it has been used as a routine assay for decades, the current protocols are difficult to standardize because the test results vary considerably and are based on several factors, including mouse strain, age and sex. In this study, we observed that mice of strains CD1, ddY and C57/BL6 were sufficiently sensitive to pertussis toxin among six mice strains tested and that aged male mice were more sensitive to pertussis toxin than younger or female mice. Using this animal model, we showed pertussis toxin dose-dependent responses in the two histamine sensitization test protocols based on either lethal end-point determination or mouse rectal temperature measurement. Sensitivity to pertussis toxin was further enhanced by the addition of lipopolysaccharide in both methods. With these improvements, pertussis toxin activity can be estimated more accurately and reproducibly using a reduced number of animals.

Retrospective analysis of the results of acellular pertussis vaccine toxicity tests performed in Korea.

Specific toxicity test is a major quality control test for acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines performed by manufacturers and regulatory authorities. The 'mouse body weight gain test (MWGT)', the 'leukocytosis-promoting test (LPT)' and the 'histamine sensitization test (HIST)' have been conducted to check the specific toxicity of all batches of aP vaccines used in Korea through the national quality control program, which requires a lot of animals, labor and time. In this study, test results obtained in the past 9 y from a total of 258 lots of aP vaccines were examined retrospectively to evaluate the three test methods. A pairwise comparison of the test results indicated a good correlation between LPT and HIST, whereas MWGT showed no correlation with either LPT or HIST. Moreover, the reversion to toxicity was higher than the residual toxicity in the majority of lots tested by HIST, which indicated that the histamine-sensitizing toxicity, although rated within a safe range, increased during the vaccine storage. Thus, the vaccine safety test results accumulated in the past might be useful for the improvement of test protocols.