Individual-Level Fatality Prediction of COVID-19 Patients Using AI Methods.

The global covid-19 pandemic puts great pressure on medical resources worldwide and leads healthcare professionals to question which individuals are in imminent need of care. With appropriate data of each patient, hospitals can heuristically predict whether or not a patient requires immediate care. We adopted a deep learning model to predict fatality of individuals tested positive given the patient's underlying health conditions, age, sex, and other factors.

Thermal interface materials with graphene fillers: review of the state of the art and outlook for future applications.

We review the current state-of-the-art graphene-enhanced thermal interface materials for the management of heat in the next generation of electronics. Increased integration densities, speed and power of electronic and optoelectronic devices require thermal interface materials with substantially higher thermal conductivity, improved reliability, and lower cost. Graphene has emerged as a promising filler material that can meet the demands of future high-speed and high-powered electronics.

In vivo assessment of biodegradable magnesium alloy ureteral stents in a pig model.

Today, ureteral stent technology is making progress towards the reduction of complications and patient discomfort. Therefore, magnesium alloys have become excellent candidate materials for manufacturing ureteral stents due to their biodegradability and antibacterial activity. Built on our previous work on biodegradable magnesium alloys, this article reports a semisolid rheo-formed magnesium implant that displays degradability and biocompatibility in vivo, and feasibility as ureteral stents in a pig model.

Comprehensive analysis of the air quality impacts of switching a marine vessel from diesel fuel to natural gas.

New environmental regulations are mandating cleaner fuels and lower emissions from all maritime operations. Natural gas (NG) is a fuel that enables mariners to meet regulations; however, emissions data from maritime operations with natural gas is limited. We measured emissions of criteria, toxic and greenhouse pollutants from a dual-fuel marine engine running either on diesel fuel or NG as well as engine activity and analyzed the impacts on pollutants, health, and climate change.

A novel SUMOylation site in the influenza a virus NS1 protein identified with a highly sensitive FRET assay.

Nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of the influenza A virus is a major contributor to the virulence of the seasonal influenza A viruses, in part because it interferes with host viral defense mechanisms. SUMOylation regulates NS1 activity, and several residues of NS1 have been identified with traditional biochemical approaches as acceptor sites for SUMOylation. In this study, we developed a novel FRET assay to assess SUMOylation.

Sustainable biofuels and bioplastic production from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste.

Municipal solid waste is an environmental threat worldwide; however, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OF-MSW) has a great potential for the generation of fuels and high-value products. In the current study, OF-MSW was utilized for the production of ethanol, hydrogen, as well as 2,3-butanediol, an octane booster, by using Enterobacter aerogenes. Furthermore, a promising alternative to non-biodegradable petrochemical-based polymers, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), was produced.

Evaluating the relationships between aromatic and ethanol levels in gasoline on secondary aerosol formation from a gasoline direct injection vehicle.

While the effects of fuel composition on primary vehicle emissions have been well studied, less is known about the effects on secondary aerosol formation and composition. The propensity of light-duty gasoline engines to form secondary aerosol and contribute to regional air quality burdens are of scientific interest. This study assessed secondary aerosol formation and composition due to photochemical aging of exhaust emissions from a light-duty vehicle equipped with gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine.

Deconstruction of biomass enabled by local demixing of cosolvents at cellulose and lignin surfaces.

A particularly promising approach to deconstructing and fractionating lignocellulosic biomass to produce green renewable fuels and high-value chemicals pretreats the biomass with organic solvents in aqueous solution. Here, neutron scattering and molecular-dynamics simulations reveal the temperature-dependent morphological changes in poplar wood biomass during tetrahydrofuran (THF):water pretreatment and provide a mechanism by which the solvent components drive efficient biomass breakdown. Whereas lignin dissociates over a wide temperature range (>25 °C) cellulose disruption occurs only above 150 °C.

An in vitro Förster resonance energy transfer-based high-throughput screening assay identifies inhibitors of SUMOylation E2 Ubc9.

SUMOylation is one of the posttranslational modifications that mediate cellular activities such as transcription, DNA repair, and signal transduction and is involved in the cell cycle. However, only a limited number of small molecule inhibitors have been identified to study its role in cellular processes. Here, we report a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) high-throughput screening assay based on the interaction between E2 Ubc9 and E3 PIAS1.

Target Virus or Target Ourselves for COVID-19 Drugs Discovery?-Lessons learned from anti-influenza virus therapies.

The COVID-19 pandemic, after it was reported in December 2019, is a highly contagious and now spreading to over 190 countries, causing a severe public health burden. Currently, there is no vaccine or specific drug to treat COVID-19, which is caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-2-CoV. For this emergency, the FDA has approved Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 as Emergency Use Authorization.

Guide RNA Engineering Enables Dual Purpose CRISPR-Cpf1 for Simultaneous Gene Editing and Gene Regulation in .

has fast become a biotechnologically significant yeast for its ability to accumulate lipids to high levels. While there exists a suite of synthetic biology tools for genetic engineering in this yeast, there is a need for multipurposed tools for rapid strain generation. Here, we describe a dual purpose CRISPR-Cpf1 system that is capable of simultaneous gene disruption and gene regulation.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Utilization of a Lignin-Based Adsorbent for Effective Removal of Azo Dye from Aqueous Solution.

How to effectively remove toxic dyes from the industrial wastewater using a green low-cost lignocellulose-based adsorbent, such as lignin, has become a topic of great interest but remains quite challenging. In this study, cosolvent-enhanced lignocellulosic fractionation (CELF) pretreatment and Mannich reaction were combined to generate an aminated CELF lignin which is subsequently applied for removal of methylene blue and direct blue (DB) 1 dye from aqueous solution. P NMR was used to track the degree of amination, and an orthogonal design was applied to determine the relationship between the extent of amination and reaction parameters.

Stress-tolerant non-conventional microbes enable next-generation chemical biosynthesis.

Microbial chemical production is a rapidly growing industry, with much of the growth fueled by advances in synthetic biology. New approaches have enabled rapid strain engineering for the production of various compounds; however, translation to industry is often problematic because native phenotypes of model hosts prevent the design of new low-cost bioprocesses. Here, we argue for a new approach that leverages the native stress-tolerant phenotypes of non-conventional microbes that directly address design challenges from the outset.

On-road gaseous and particulate emissions from GDI vehicles with and without gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) using portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS).

This study assessed the on-road gaseous and particulate emissions from three current technology gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles using portable emissions measurement systems (PEMS). Two vehicles were also retrofitted with catalyzed gasoline particulate filters (GPFs). All vehicles were exercised over four routes with different topological and environmental characteristics, representing urban, rural, highway, and high-altitude driving conditions.

Heterogeneous Catalyst Design Principles for the Conversion of Lignin into High-Value Commodity Fuels and Chemicals.

Lignin valorization has risen as a promising pathway to supplant the use of petrochemicals for chemical commodities and fuels. However, the challenges of separating and breaking down lignin from lignocellulosic biomass are the primary barriers to success. Integrated biorefinery systems that incorporate both homo- and heterogeneous catalysis for the upgrading of lignin intermediates have emerged as a viable solution.

Development of a Network of Accurate Ozone Sensing Nodes for Parallel Monitoring in a Site Relocation Study.

Recent technological advances in both air sensing technology and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity have enabled the development and deployment of remote monitoring networks of air quality sensors. The compact size and low power requirements of both sensors and IoT data loggers allow for the development of remote sensing nodes with power and connectivity versatility. With these technological advancements, sensor networks can be developed and deployed for various ambient air monitoring applications.

Two new predictors combined with quantum chemical parameters for the selection of oxidants and degradation of organic contaminants: A QSAR modeling study.

Oxidation is an attractive treatment method to effectively remove organic contaminants in water. In this study, degradation of 30 organic compounds in different oxidation systems was evaluated, including oxygen (O), hydrogen peroxide (HO), ozone (O) and hydroxyl radical (HO). First, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model for oxidation-reduction potentials (ORPs) of organics was developed and exhibited a good performance to predict ORP values of organics with evaluation indices of squared correlation coefficient (R) = 0.

A new bottom-up emissions estimation approach for aircraft sources in support of air quality modelling for community-scale assessments around airports.

Transportation infrastructure (including roadway traffic, ports, and airports) is critical to the nation's economy. With a growing economy, aircraft activity is expected to grow across the world. In the US, airport-related emissions, while generally small, are not an insignificant source of air pollution and related adverse health effects.

Effects of acarbose and metformin on the inflammatory state in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients: a one-year randomized clinical study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the changes in inflammatory biomarkers between newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients under one-year acarbose treatments and those under metformin managements.

Methods: Seventy patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and 32 volunteers with normal glucose tolerance (normal controls, NCs) were enrolled. Seventy patients with T2DM were randomly assigned to two subgroups and treated with acarbose (n=34) or metformin (n=36) for 1 year.

CELF significantly reduces milling requirements and improves soaking effectiveness for maximum sugar recovery of Alamo switchgrass over dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment.

Background: Pretreatment is effective in reducing the natural recalcitrance of plant biomass so polysaccharides in cell walls can be accessed for conversion to sugars. Furthermore, lignocellulosic biomass must typically be reduced in size to increase the pretreatment effectiveness and realize high sugar yields. However, biomass size reduction is a very energy-intensive operation and contributes significantly to the overall capital cost.

A Multifunctional Cosolvent Pair Reveals Molecular Principles of Biomass Deconstruction.

The complex structure of plant cell walls resists chemical or biological degradation, challenging the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass into renewable chemical precursors that could form the basis of future production of green chemicals and transportation fuels. Here, experimental and computational results reveal that the effect of the tetrahydrofuran (THF)-water cosolvents on the structure of lignin and on its interactions with cellulose in the cell wall drives multiple synergistic mechanisms leading to the efficient breakdown and fractionation of biomass into valuable chemical precursors. Molecular simulations show that THF-water is an excellent "theta" solvent, such that lignin dissociates from itself and from cellulose and expands to form a random coil.

Photochemically Induced Phase Change in Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide.

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDs) are promising candidates for two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin, flexible, low-power, and transparent electronics and optoelectronics. However, the performance of TMD-based devices is still limited by the relatively low carrier mobility and the large contact resistance between the semiconducting 2D channel material and the contact metal electrodes. Phase-engineering in monolayer TMDs showed great promise in enabling the fabrication of high-quality hetero-phase structures with controlled carrier mobilities and heterojunction materials with reduced contact resistance.

Emissions from a flex fuel GDI vehicle operating on ethanol fuels show marked contrasts in chemical, physical and toxicological characteristics as a function of ethanol content.

This study assessed the gaseous and particulate emissions, as well as the toxicological properties of particulate matter (PM) from a flex fuel vehicle equipped with a wall-guided gasoline direct injection engine over triplicates cold-start and hot-start LA92 cycles. The vehicle was operated on a Tier 3 E10 fuel, an E10 fuel with higher levels of aromatics than the Tier 3 E10, an E30, and an E78 blend. Total hydrocarbon (THC), non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate emissions, and gaseous toxics (of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), and 1,3-butadiene) reduced for E30 and E78 blends compared to both E10 fuels.