A database of groundwater wells in the United States.

Groundwater wells are critical infrastructure that enable the monitoring, extraction, and use of groundwater, which has important implications for the environment, water security, and economic development. Despite the importance of wells, a unified database collecting and standardizing information on the characteristics and locations of these wells across the United States has been lacking. To bridge this gap, we have created a comprehensive database of groundwater well records collected from state and federal agencies, which we call the United States Groundwater Well Database (USGWD). Presented in both tabular form and as vector points, USGWD comprises over 14.2 million well records with attributes, such as well purpose, location, depth, and capacity, for wells constructed as far back as 1763 to 2023. Rigorous cross-verification steps have been applied to ensure the accuracy of the data. The USGWD stands as a valuable tool for improving our understanding of how groundwater is accessed and managed across various regions and sectors within the United States.

Effects of different cardiopulmonary resuscitation education interventions among university students: A randomized controlled trial.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education for the public may improve bystander intention to perform CPR on cardiac arrest patients. Studies have shown that different CPR education intervention methods can improve learning performance, with key indicators including attitude toward to CPR, intention to perform CPR, and degree of CPR knowledge and skills. The present study compared the traditional face-to-face method to hybrid and virtual reality (VR) methods to observe difference in learning performance and length of performance retention. This study adopted randomized controlled trial to compare CPR learning performance between traditional face-to-face, hybrid, and VR methods. Participants from each intervention group completed a pretest and 2 posttests. The measurement tools included an attitude and intention questionnaire, knowledge examination, and skill examination with a RESUSCI ANNE QCPR ® manikin. The performance among all participants in pretest showed no significant difference between the intervention groups, indicating no difference in their background attitude, knowledge, and skill level. Significant differences were observed in the average degree of intention to perform CPR between the hybrid and traditional groups in 1st and 2nd posttest. Compared to the pretest results, the posttests revealed significantly higher attitude toward CPR, intention to perform CPR, knowledge examination results, accuracy of overall chest compression, accuracy of CPR procedure, accuracy of AED usage, accuracy of chest compression rate, and accuracy of chest compression depth. The average time to reattending CPR learning and practice session was 11-12 weeks reported by participants. The hybrid and VR methods to CPR education resulted in the same level of improvement in learning performance as traditional face-to-face teaching. The suggested frequency for renewing CPR knowledge and skills is 12 weeks which may be considered in new strategies aimed at promoting CPR education and exposure to the public.

Anxiety and depression of general population in the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review of cross-sectional studies

ABSTRACT Background: The rapid outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic promptly changed people's daily lives, influenced human interactions and economic activities and induced mental reactions. Objective: This review synthesized the evidence of correlation between demographic factors, social media exposure, stressors and anxiety and depression status in the early phase of COVID-19. Method: A systematically search included observational studies published before May15, 2020. We selected studies designed with valid measuring instruments of anxiety and depression. Result: 20 articles were included (19 cross-sectional) for review. People who were divorced/widowed, with poor self-rated health status, chronic illness and previous psychiatric illness had higher anxiety and depression prevalence. Higher COVID-19 awareness (including COVID-19 knowledge and precautionary measure) decreased anxiety and depression. The protective measures to reduce anxiety and depression levels included avoiding sharing meals, frequently washing hands and wearing mask. Economic loss, academic delay, influence of daily life, worrying and symptoms related to infection were stressors of anxiety and depression. There were lots of inconsistent results due to convenience sampling and diverse measuring instrument. Conclusion: Our review suggested that reliable information from health authorities, enhancing health literacies and prevention measures of general population can reduce anxiety and depression levels.

Effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy on treatment-resistant depressive disorder: A population-based mirror-image study.

The clinical effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in treatment-resistant depressive disorders need to be systemically examined in representative samples. This study aimed to examine whether ECT reduced re-hospitalization within one year after discharge. The authors used the Psychiatric Inpatients Medical Claim Dataset, a subset of a total population health claims database from Taiwan, to include 784 inpatients with treatment-resistant depressive disorders screened for ECT during hospitalization between 2001 and 2011. The same number of comparison subjects was selected by frequency matching on the demographic and clinical characteristics. Using a mirror-image comparison design, we compared group differences in re-hospitalization rate, number of hospital days, number of emergency department visits, and direct medical costs during the 1-year pre- and post-ECT periods. The modifying effects of patients' characteristics on these outcomes were also explored. The results showed that ECT was associated with a significant decrease in the rate of hospitalizations and emergency department visits over the 1-year follow-up period. However, there were no significant difference in the reduced rate of hospitalizations between ECT and comparison group. Demographic and clinical characteristic had no modifying effect on the odds of psychiatric hospitalization. In conclusions, ECT could reduce the rate of hospitalization and number of emergency department visits in patients with treatment-resistant depressive disorders. However, the study results might be biased by the inherent deficits of mirror-image design.

Evidence for a Role of ANAC082 as a Ribosomal Stress Response Mediator Leading to Growth Defects and Developmental Alterations in Arabidopsis.

Ribosome-related mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana share several notable characteristics regarding growth and development, which implies the existence of a common pathway that responds to disorders in ribosome biogenesis. As a first step to explore this pathway genetically, we screened a mutagenized population of root initiation defective2 (rid2), a temperature-sensitive mutant that is impaired in pre-rRNA processing, and isolated suppressor of root initiation defective two1 (sriw1), a suppressor mutant in which the defects of cell proliferation observed in rid2 at the restrictive temperature was markedly rescued. sriw1 was identified as a missense mutation of the NAC transcription factor gene ANAC082 The sriw1 mutation greatly alleviated the developmental abnormalities of rid2 and four other tested ribosome-related mutants, including rid3 However, the impaired pre-rRNA processing in rid2 and rid3 was not relieved by sriw1 Expression of ANAC082 was localized to regions where phenotypic effects of ribosome-related mutations are readily evident and was elevated in rid2 and rid3 compared with the wild type. These findings suggest that ANAC082 acts downstream of perturbation of biogenesis of the ribosome and may mediate a set of stress responses leading to developmental alterations and cell proliferation defects.

Oxidation of heat shock protein 60 and protein disulfide isomerase activates ERK and migration of human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-Met were frequently deregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Signaling pathways activated by HGF-c-Met are promising targets for preventing HCC progression. HGF can induce the reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling for cell adhesion, migration and invasion of tumors including HCC. On the other hand, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK), member of mitogen activated kinase, can be activated by ROS for a lot of cellular processes. As expected, HGF-induced phosphorylation of ERK and progression of HCC cell HepG2 were suppressed by ROS scavengers. By N-(biotinoyl)-N'-(iodoacetyl)-ethylenediamine (BIAM) labeling method, a lot of cysteine (-SH)-containing proteins with M.W. 50-75 kD were decreased in HepG2 treated with HGF or two other ROS generators, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and phenazine methosulfate. These redox sensitive proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Among them, two chaperones, heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), were found to be the most common redox sensitive proteins in responding to all three agonists. Affinity blot of BIAM-labeled, immunoprecipitated HSP60 and PDI verified that HGF can decrease the cysteine (-SH) containing HSP60 and PDI. On the other hand, HGF and TPA increased cysteinyl glutathione-containing HSP60, consistent with the decrease of cysteine (-SH)-containing HSP60. Moreover, depletion of HSP60 and PDI or expression of dominant negative mutant of HSP60 with alteration of Cys, effectively prevented HGF-induced ERK phosphorylation and HepG2 migration.In conclusion, the redox sensitive HSP60 and PDI are required for HGF-induced ROS signaling and potential targets for preventing HCC progressions.

All-reflective RGB LED flashlight design for effective color mixing.

Red, green, and blue (RGB) light-emitting diode (LED) is a narrow-band light source that can improve visual contrast, and thus, can be used for special illumination. In this study, three RGB LEDs, each provided with two reflective mirrors, are used to design an all-reflective color temperature-adjustable LED flashlight. The LED flashlight features an adjustable color temperature ranging from 2000 K to 6500 K, a uniformity of illuminance of 0.68, an average difference of uniformity of approximately 25%, and a color uniformity of 0.0042.

Subband Structure and Effective Mass in the Inversion Layer of a Strain Si-Based Alloy P-Type MOSFET.

In this paper, the subband structure and effective mass of an Si-based alloy inversion layer in a PMOSFET are studied theoretically. The strain condition considered in our calculations is the intrinsic strain resulting from growth of the silicon-carbon alloy on a (001) Si substrate and mechanical uniaxial stress. The quantum confinement effect resulting from the vertically effective electric field was incorporated into the k · p calculation. The distinct effective mass, such as the quantization effective mass and the density-of-states (DOS) effective mass, as well as the subband structure of the silicon-carbon alloy inversion layer for a PMOSFET under substrate strain and various effective electric field strengths, were all investigated. Ore results show that subband structure of relaxed silicon-carbon alloys with low carbon content are almost the same as silicon. We find that an external stress applied parallel to the channel direction can efficiently reduce the effective mass along the channel direction, thus producing hole mobility enhancement.

Band Structure and Effective Mass in Monolayer MoS2.

Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide is a very promising two-dimensional material for future transistor technology. Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), owing to the unique electronic properties of its atomically thin two-dimensional layered structure, can be made into a high-performance metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor, or MOSFET. In this work, we focus on band structure and carrier mobility calculations for MoS2. We use the tight-binding method to calculate the band structure, including a consideration of the linear combination of different atomic orbitals, the interaction of neighboring atoms, and spin-orbit coupling for different tight-binding matrices. With information about the band structure, we can obtain the density of states, the effective mass, and other physical quantities. Carrier mobility using the Kubo-Greenwood formula is calculated based on the tight-binding band structure.

Pathways involved in vanadate-induced root hair formation in Arabidopsis.

Root hair formation is controlled by environmental signals. We found significantly increased Arabidopsis root hair density and length in response to low-dose vanadate (V). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was induced with V treatment. We investigated the possible role of NADPH oxidase in altering root system architecture induced by V by using diphenylene iodonium (DPI), an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, and an NADPH oxidase mutant (rhd2/AtrbohC). NADPH oxidase was involved in root hair elongation induced by V. As well, ethylene receptor (ETR1) and ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE (RHD6) participated in inducing root hair formation induced by V. Furthermore, the kinase inhibitors, genistein (tyrosine kinase inhibitor) and K252a (ser/thr kinase inhibitor), and a phosphatase inhibitor, cantharidin (ser/thr phosphatase inhibitor), suppressed root hair formation induced by V. To elucidate the regulation of gene expression in response to V, we investigated transcriptional changes in roots by microarray assay. Exposure to V triggered changes in transcript levels of genes related to cell wall formation, ROS activity and signaling. Several genes involved in root hair formation were also regulated.

Amiodarone use and risk of acute pancreatitis: A population-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: There is still lack of strong evidence, based on systematic studies, that support the relationship between amiodarone use and the risk of acute pancreatitis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between amiodarone use and the risk of acute pancreatitis in Taiwan. METHODS: This case-control study was based on the analysis of the claim data from Taiwan's national health insurance program from 2000 to 2011. There were 4986 subjects aged 20-84 years with a first episode of acute pancreatitis as the case group and 19,944 randomly selected subjects without acute pancreatitis matched for sex, age, and index year as the control group. Amiodarone use was defined as "current," "recent," or "past" if the most recent amiodarone prescription was filled within 3 months, between 3 and 6 months, or >6 months before the date of acute pancreatitis diagnosis, respectively. The relative risk of acute pancreatitis associated with amiodarone use was measured by the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval using the multivariable unconditional logistic regression model. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding factors, current use of amiodarone was positively associated with acute pancreatitis (adjusted odds ratio 5.21; 95% confidence interval 3.22-8.43). There was no significant association between recent or past amiodarone use and acute pancreatitis. CONCLUSION: People with current use of amiodarone are at an increased risk of acute pancreatitis. Physicians should be more cautious about acute pancreatitis risk when prescribing amiodarone.

Transcriptome profiling and physiological studies reveal a major role for aromatic amino acids in mercury stress tolerance in rice seedlings.

Mercury (Hg) is a serious environmental pollution threat to the planet. The accumulation of Hg in plants disrupts many cellular-level functions and inhibits growth and development, but the mechanism is not fully understood. To gain more insight into the cellular response to Hg, we performed a large-scale analysis of the rice transcriptome during Hg stress. Genes induced with short-term exposure represented functional categories of cell-wall formation, chemical detoxification, secondary metabolism, signal transduction and abiotic stress response. Moreover, Hg stress upregulated several genes involved in aromatic amino acids (Phe and Trp) and increased the level of free Phe and Trp content. Exogenous application of Phe and Trp to rice roots enhanced tolerance to Hg and effectively reduced Hg-induced production of reactive oxygen species. Hg induced calcium accumulation and activated mitogen-activated protein kinase. Further characterization of the Hg-responsive genes we identified may be helpful for better understanding the mechanisms of Hg in plants.

Transcriptome profiling of genes and pathways associated with arsenic toxicity and tolerance in Arabidopsis.

BACKGROUND: Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid found ubiquitously in the environment and widely considered an acute poison and carcinogen. However, the molecular mechanisms of the plant response to As and ensuing tolerance have not been extensively characterized. Here, we report on transcriptional changes with As treatment in two Arabidopsis accessions, Col-0 and Ws-2. RESULTS: The root elongation rate was greater for Col-0 than Ws-2 with As exposure. Accumulation of As was lower in the more tolerant accession Col-0 than in Ws-2. We compared the effect of As exposure on genome-wide gene expression in the two accessions by comparative microarray assay. The genes related to heat response and oxidative stresses were common to both accessions, which indicates conserved As stress-associated responses for the two accessions. Most of the specific response genes encoded heat shock proteins, heat shock factors, ubiquitin and aquaporin transporters. Genes coding for ethylene-signalling components were enriched in As-tolerant Col-0 with As exposure. A tolerance-associated gene candidate encoding Leucine-Rich Repeat receptor-like kinase VIII (LRR-RLK VIII) was selected for functional characterization. Genetic loss-of-function analysis of the LRR-RLK VIII gene revealed altered As sensitivity and the metal accumulation in roots. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, ethylene-related pathways, maintenance of protein structure and LRR-RLK VIII-mediated signalling may be important mechanisms for toxicity and tolerance to As in the species. Here, we provide a comprehensive survey of global transcriptional regulation for As and identify stress- and tolerance-associated genes responding to As.

Anti-glare LED lamps with adjustable illumination light field.

We introduce a type of LED light-gauge steel frame lamp with an adjustable illumination light field that does not require a diffusion plate. Base on the Monte Carlo ray tracing method, this lamp has a good glare rating (GR) of 17.5 at 3050 lm. Compared with the traditional LED light-gauge steel frame lamp (without diffusion plate), the new type has low GR. The adjustability of the illumination light field could improve the zebra effect caused by the inadequate illumination light field of the lamp. Meanwhile, we adopt the retinal image analysis to discuss the influence of GR on vision. High GR could reflect stray light on the retinal image, which will reduce vision clarity and hasten the feeling of eye fatigue.

Transcriptome analysis of phytohormone, transporters and signaling pathways in response to vanadium stress in rice roots.

Trace concentrations of vanadium (V) have several benefits for plant growth, but high concentrations are toxic. To help characterize the cellular mechanisms underlying the toxic effects of V in plants, we present the first large-scale analysis of rice root responding to V during the early stages (1 and 3 h) of toxicity. Exposure to V triggered changes in the transcript levels of several genes related to cellular metabolic process, response to stimulus and transporters. Gene expression profiling revealed upregulated levels of genes associated with signaling and biosynthesis of auxin, abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in V-treated rice roots. In addition, V upregulated the expression of ATP-dependent GSH-conjugated transport, ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter, and markedly downregulated of the expression of divalent cation transporters, drug/metabolite transporter (DMT) and zinc-iron permease (ZIP). Among the V-specific responsive transcription factors and protein kinases, the most predominant families were NAC (NAM, ATAF, CUC) transcription factor, receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase VII (RLCK-VII) and leucine-rich repeat kinase VIII (LRR-VIII). These microarray data provide a new insight into the molecular mechanism of the rice roots response to V toxicity.

Comparison of early transcriptome responses to copper and cadmium in rice roots.

The phytotoxic effects of copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) on plant growth are well documented. However, Cu and Cd toxicity targets and the cellular systems contributing to acquisition of tolerance are not fully understood at the molecular level. We aimed to identify genes and pathways that discriminate the actions of Cu and Cd in rice roots (Oryza sativa L. cv. TN67). The transcripts of 1,450 and 1,172 genes were regulated after Cu and Cd treatments, respectively. We identified 882 genes specifically respond to Cu treatment, and 604 unique genes as Cd-responsive by comparison of expression profiles of these two regulated gene groups. Gene ontology analysis for 538 genes involved in primary metabolism, oxidation reduction and response to stimulus was changed in response to both metals. In the individual aspect, Cu specifically altered levels of genes involved in vesicle trafficking transport, fatty acid metabolism and cellular component biogenesis. Cd-regulated genes related to unfolded protein binding and sulfate assimilation. To further characterize the functions of vesicle trafficking transport under Cu stress, interference of excytosis in root tissues was conducted by inhibitors and silencing of Exo70 genes. It was demonstrated that vesicle-trafficking is required for mediation of Cu-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in root tissues. These results may provide new insights into understanding the molecular basis of the early metal stress response in plants.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-transfected and nontransfected 3T3 fibroblasts enhance migratory neuroblasts and functional restoration in mice with intracerebral hemorrhage.

Neurogenesis via the activation of endogenous neural progenitor cells is a potential treatment strategy for brain injury, including intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We assessed the efficacy of combined cell and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) treatment in a mouse model of ICH induced by intracerebral collagenase injection. Complementary DNAs of mouse BDNF were transfected into cell lines of 3T3 fibroblasts. The expression and bioactivity of BDNF were analyzed by immunocytochemistry, Western blot, ELISA, and functional assays. Hematoma area and brain tissue loss were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. The BDNF-transfected or nontransfected 3T3 fibroblasts were implanted as a growth factor source in mice with ICH. Neurogenesis and functional recovery were evaluated 15 days after ICH. The BDNF-treated mice had the most doublecortin-positive cells near lesions and the least brain tissue loss in all groups. Both cell treatment groups had abundant newly proliferative glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells and better functional improvement than controls. These results indicate that fibroblast transplantation, together with recombinant BDNF treatment, after ICH is beneficial in mice. The early functional recovery may result from the growth factors that are provided or evoked by the implanted grafts. These results suggest a potential approach for combining gene and cell therapy for ICH treatment.

Comparison between the recovery time of alfentanil and fentanyl in balanced propofol sedation for gastrointestinal and colonoscopy: a prospective, randomized study.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in balanced propofol sedation (BPS) titrated to moderate sedation (conscious sedation) for endoscopic procedures. However, few controlled studies on BPS targeted to deep sedation for diagnostic endoscopy were found. Alfentanil, a rapid and short-acting synthetic analog of fentanyl, appears to offer clinically significant advantages over fentanyl during outpatient anesthesia.It is reasonable to hypothesize that low dose of alfentanil used in BPS might also result in more rapid recovery as compared with fentanyl. METHODS: A prospective, randomized and double-blinded clinical trial of alfentanil, midazolam and propofol versus fentanyl, midazolam and propofol in 272 outpatients undergoing diagnostic esophagogastroduodenal endoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy for health examination were enrolled. Randomization was achieved by using the computer-generated random sequence. Each combination regimen was titrated to deep sedation. The recovery time, patient satisfaction, safety and the efficacy and cost benefit between groups were compared. RESULTS: 260 participants were analyzed, 129 in alfentanil group and 131 in fentanyl group. There is no significant difference in sex, age, body weight, BMI and ASA distribution between two groups. Also, there is no significant difference in recovery time, satisfaction score from patients, propofol consumption, awake time from sedation, and sedation-related cardiopulmonary complications between two groups. Though deep sedation was targeted, all cardiopulmonary complications were minor and transient (10.8%, 28/260). No serious adverse events including the use of flumazenil, assisted ventilation, permanent injury or death, and temporary or permanent interruption of procedure were found in both groups. However, fentanyl is New Taiwan Dollar (NT$) 103 (approximate US$ 4) cheaper than alfentanil, leading to a significant difference in total cost between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: This randomized, double-blinded clinical trial showed that there is no significant difference in the recovery time, satisfaction score from patients, propofol consumption, awake time from sedation, and sedation-related cardiopulmonary complications between the two most common sedation regimens for EGD and colonoscopy in our hospital. However, fentanyl is NT$103 (US$ 4) cheaper than alfentanil in each case. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Institutional Review Board of Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital (IRB097-18) and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC-12002575).