The natural hydrophilic property of leather makes it a possible growing substrate for microorganisms. Microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds frequently grow on shoe lining leather, causing skin diseases, unpleasant odors, and... more
The natural hydrophilic property of leather makes it a possible growing substrate for microorganisms. Microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds frequently grow on shoe lining leather, causing skin diseases, unpleasant odors, and discomfort for the wearers. To address these issues, herein, bio-synthesized silver nanoparticles from Piper betle L. leaf extract were applied as an antimicrobial agent to pig leather via the exhaustion method. The characterization of nanosilver-treated pig leather was performed using colorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and FTIR techniques. Evaluation of antimicrobial efficacy of the nanosilver-treated leather was both qualitatively and quantitatively assessed against two bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and two fungi (a yeast Candida albicans and a mold Aspergillus niger) in accordance with AATCC TM90, AATCC TM30, and ISO 16187:2013 ...
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Surgeons who care for patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection represent a unique population of health care providers whose risk of infection has not been elucidated. The objective of this study was to examine SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence... more
Surgeons who care for patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection represent a unique population of health care providers whose risk of infection has not been elucidated. The objective of this study was to examine SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among surgeons who cared for patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to other employees within our health care system and also the general public of New Orleans. 105 surgeons at our facilities provided direct surgical care to patients with active SARS-CoV-2 infection and underwent voluntary antibody testing. 2/105 (1.9% CI .2%-6.7%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. 13 343 hospital employees underwent antibody testing and 1066/13 343 (8.0% CI 7.5%-8.5%) tested positive (1.9% vs. 8.0%; P = .03). We saw a significantly lower SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among surgeons who directly cared for infected patients versus other hospital employees. When compared to community seroprevalence (6.9% CI 6.0%-8.0%), seroprevalence among our surgeons...
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This work proposes UE selection approaches to mitigate the straggler effect for federated learning (FL) on cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output networks. To show how these approaches work, we consider a general FL framework... more
This work proposes UE selection approaches to mitigate the straggler effect for federated learning (FL) on cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output networks. To show how these approaches work, we consider a general FL framework with UE sampling, and aim to minimize the FL training time in this framework. Here, training updates are (S1) broadcast to all the selected UEs from a central server, (S2) computed at the UEs sampled from the selected UE set, and (S3) sent back to the central server. The first approach mitigates the straggler effect in both Steps (S1) and (S3), while the second approach only Step (S3). Two optimization problems are then formulated to jointly optimize UE selection, transmit power and data rate. These mixed-integer mixed-timescale stochastic nonconvex problems capture the complex interactions among the training time, the straggler effect, and UE selection. By employing the online successive convex approximation approach, we develop a novel algorithm to ...
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This work aims to maximize the energy efficiency of a downlink cloud radio access network (C-RAN), where data is transferred from a baseband unit in the core network to several remote radio heads via a set of edge routers over... more
This work aims to maximize the energy efficiency of a downlink cloud radio access network (C-RAN), where data is transferred from a baseband unit in the core network to several remote radio heads via a set of edge routers over capacity-limited fronthaul links. The remote radio heads then send the received signals to their users via radio access links. We formulate a new mixed-integer nonlinear problem in which the ratio of network throughput and total power consumption is maximized. This challenging problem formulation includes practical constraints on routing, predefined minimum data rates, fronthaul capacity and maximum RRH transmit power. By employing the successive convex quadratic programming framework, an iterative algorithm is proposed with guaranteed convergence to a Fritz John solution of the formulated problem. Significantly, each iteration of the proposed algorithm solves only one simple convex program. Numerical examples with practical parameters confirm that the propose...
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Purpose One of the most challenging obstacles for lung transplants in developing countries is the severe shortage of organ donors, which can only be improved over a long period of time with significant changes in laws, community awareness... more
Purpose One of the most challenging obstacles for lung transplants in developing countries is the severe shortage of organ donors, which can only be improved over a long period of time with significant changes in laws, community awareness and network for organ donation and sharing. However, there is one practical solution to increase the chance of matching a rare donor with a suitable recipient is to have a rich pool of well-prepared lung transplant candidates. We share our initially successful step of developing a lung transplant waiting list in Vietnam. Methods A lung transplant center has been set up at a tertiary lung hospital in Vietnam. We screen our patients with end-stage lung diseases for lung transplant candidacy. The inclusion and exclusion criteria are from the consensus of ISHLT. The patients on our waiting list are managed in accordance with protocols from one of the best lung transplant centers in the US. In addition, we have weekly online consultations with faculties from this center to give optimal care to our lung transplant candidates. We also work closely with the national coordination center for organ donation to frequently update the most recent information of our patients on the national waiting list. Results From June to September 2020, we have screened over 500 patients and recruited 20 ones who are medically eligible and socially suitable for a lung transplant. ILD accounts for 75% of patients’ diagnosis and the rest are diagnosed with COPD (15%) and silicosis (10%). We were notified about 3 potential donors in July, August, and September 2020 but the first two lungs were of poor quality and could not be utilized. The donor's lungs in September were very good and luckily his blood group was matched with four lung transplant candidates on our waiting list. All four candidates were contacted in a timely manner to come back to the hospital to do physical cross-matches. We had the opportunity to choose the best match after the careful review of the multi-disciplinary selection committee. Conclusion Having a rich and updated waiting list connected to the national network of organ donation is crucial to our initial success. Despite the shortage of donors, lung transplant is still feasible with appropriate recruitment and management of lung transplant candidates per international standards with technical support from experienced lung transplant centers.
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Delving into English language education in Vietnam, this theory-oriented article aims to generate a new debate on critical cultural awareness (CCA) in light of increasing literature on intercultural communication competence (ICC), thus... more
Delving into English language education in Vietnam, this theory-oriented article aims to generate a new debate on critical cultural awareness (CCA) in light of increasing literature on intercultural communication competence (ICC), thus offering practical implementations to academic agents. Once ICC is strongly considered indispensable within communication, CCA can strengthen the power of sociocultural and psychological relationships. This study specifies the role of intercultural communication, aiming to develop Vietnamese learners to reach beyond abstract linguistic features towards language awareness by engaging in cultural and societal plurality. Seemingly, they need use language that advocate the enactment of change, fostering their abilities in their civic life. Coupled with that, they are obliged for learning the power of positive attitudes in terms of intercultural engagement, such as sympathy towards and acceptance of differences. Critical cultural awareness as a contributio...
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DHT-based P2P networks have a problem of topology mismatch which causes high latency for message routing. This paper focuses on improving the latency of routing process for chord, which is a typical DHT-based P2P network protocol. We... more
DHT-based P2P networks have a problem of topology mismatch which causes high latency for message routing. This paper focuses on improving the latency of routing process for chord, which is a typical DHT-based P2P network protocol. We propose a simple method to build a chord network based on the proximity of nodes in the underlying physical network. The idea of
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B7-H3 is a member of B7 family of immunoregulatory transmembrane glycoproteins expressed by T cells. While B7-H3 overexpression is associated with poor outcomes in multiple cancers, it also has immune-independent roles outside T cells and... more
B7-H3 is a member of B7 family of immunoregulatory transmembrane glycoproteins expressed by T cells. While B7-H3 overexpression is associated with poor outcomes in multiple cancers, it also has immune-independent roles outside T cells and its precise mechanistic contributions to cancer are unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of B7-H3 in metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo We found that B7-H3 promoted the Warburg effect, evidenced by increased glucose uptake and lactate production in B7-H3-expressing cells. B7-H3 also increased the protein levels of HIF1α and its downstream targets, LDHA and PDK1, key enzymes in the glycolytic pathway. Furthermore, B7-H3 promoted reactive oxygen species-dependent stabilization of HIF1α by suppressing the activity of the stress-activated transcription factor Nrf2 and its target genes, including the antioxidants SOD1, SOD2, and PRX3. Metabolic imaging of human breast cancer xenografts in mice confirmed that B7-H3 e...