Emoticons and social interaction on the Internet: the importance of social context

The present study examines the influence of social context on the use of emoticons in Internet communication. Secondary school students (N = 158) responded to short internet chats. Social context (task-oriented vs. socio-emotional) and valence of the context (positive vs. negative) were manipulated in these chats. Participants were permitted to respond with text, emoticon or a combination of both. Results showed that participants used more emoticons in socio-emotional than in task-oriented social contexts. Furthermore, students used more positive emoticons in positive contexts and more negative emoticons in negative contexts. An interaction was found between valence and kind of context; in negative, task-oriented contexts subjects used the least emoticons. Results are related to research about the expression of emotions in face-to-face interaction.     

How fish oils could support our friendly bacteria

Commensal gut bacteria are generally considered to be friendly bacteria, since they can help their host in numerous ways. These can include breaking down undigested food to produce metabolites (by‐products), which can be a fuel source for gut cells and can help to regulate the immune system, amongst many other beneficial functions that support the host's health. Probiotic bacteria are bacteria that offer a benefit to their host. They are used in dietary supplements and many are of the genus Lactobacilli. We tested whether gut cells respond differently to a commensal bacterium (Lactobacillus gasseri) and two pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus), and also whether the responses could be altered with PUFAs. We used a cell co‐culture model containing a layer of colorectal cells, with immune cells in a porous compartment beneath. This model represents the outer cell lining of our lower gut and the immune cells that sit underneath in an area called the lamina propria. We showed that commensal L. gasseri increased the secretion of the immune signalling protein TGF‐β1 (Transforming Growth Factor β1), along with increased expression of its encoding gene signal. TGF‐β1 has an important role in promoting tolerance towards commensal bacteria and has a role in dampening immune responses following inflammation. The pathogenic bacteria had no effect on the amount of TGF‐β1. Our results indicate that L. gasseri could have a way of promoting its own survival in the gut by inducing tolerance towards itself, an effect which pathogenic bacteria do not have. When eicosapentaenoic acid was added to the cell culture model along with L. gasseri, there was a greater increase in TGF‐β1 gene expression. This early research shows the potential of combining fish oil with probiotic bacteria to promote probiotic survival in the gut and/or dampening inflammatory responses.     

Comparison performances of membrane bioreactor and conventional activated sludge prcesses on sludge reduction induced by Oligochaete

Pilot-scale experiments were carried out to compare sludge reduction induced by Oligochaete in a submerged membrane bioreactor (MBR) and a conventional activated sludge (CAS) reactor for 345 d. Worm growth in the CAS reactor was much better than in the MBR. The average worm density of the aeration tank in the CAS reactor was 71 total worms/mg of volatile suspended solids (VSS), much higher than that in the MBR (10 total worms/mg of VSS). Worms did not naturally produce in the MBR, and the dominant worm type in the MBR depended on sludge inoculation from the CAS reactor. Only two types of worms were found in the MBR, Aeolosoma hemprichicii and Nais elinguis. Worm presence and disappearance in the MBR alternated. Worms in the CAS reactor occurred nearly throughout the operating period and were continuously maintained at over 30 total worms/mg of VSS in the aeration tank for 172 d. Three types of worm were found in the CAS reactor, A. hemprichicii, Pristina aequiseta, and N. elinguis, but P. aequiseta was present only occasionally. The alternating dominance of worm types in both reactors changed between Aeolosoma and Nais, and the time of Aeolosoma dominance was longer than that of Nais dominance. Worm growth in the MBR contributed to neither sludge reduction nor improvement of sludge settling characteristics because of low density. But worm presence and bloom in the CAS reactor greatly decreased sludge yield and improved sludge settling characteristics at high density. Both the average sludge yield (0.17 kg of suspended solids (SS)/kg of chemical oxygen demand removed (CODremoved)) and sludge volume index (60 mL/g) in the CAS reactor were much lower than those in the MBR (0.40 kg of SS/kg of CODremoved and 133 mL/g). Nais had more potential for sludge reduction than Aeolosoma. Worm growth had little impact on effluent quality in the MBR but affected effluent quality very much in the CAS reactor.     

荷兰视角下的迈向可持续、公正及宜居的智慧城市

以阿姆斯特丹AMS研究所的研究、教育和项目的组合为基础。AMS研究所是一个由代尔夫特理工大学(Delft University of Technology, TUD)、波士顿麻省理工学院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT)和瓦赫宁根大学(Wageningen University and Research, WUR)发起的跨学科知识机构。在AMS研究所,大都市解决方案是对城市可持续性和生活质量挑战的回应,同时以"四螺旋"的平衡方式将该领域最聪明的人才汇聚在一起,为大都市解决方案提供创新。这些创新在城市中的试点项目和实验中进行测试和演示,并将对市民的生活产生积极影响。将解释说明AMS研究所的"生活实验室"(living lab)的工作方式、所解决的挑战以及当前开发的一些项目(解决方案)。以期在城市领域中高度创新的项目上建立中荷对等的知识交流与合作,来应对我们面临的巨大挑战。     

Determining key colors from a design perspective using dE-means color clustering

Designing a mood board is a creative tool designers often employ at the start of a new (interior) design project. The colors of a mood board represent important information about the envisioned interior designs. In this article, we focus on digital mood boards and we propose a novel method to determine the mood boards' key colors from a design perspective using dE-means color clustering. This proposed algorithm includes a fixed initialization to overcome the non-deterministic nature of traditional k-means, and a merging step to ensure all colors in the calculated palette are at least a dE-threshold apart. Quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing methods in determining the key colors from a design perspective. Additionally, we introduce a novel method to visualize the calculated color palettes that takes into account the contribution of individual pixels to the construction of the calculated color palettes. Finally, we demonstrate how the proposed algorithm can be used to characterize color palettes for various design styles like modern, industrial and art deco.     

Catalytic One‐Pot Oxetane to Carbamate Conversions: Formal Synthesis of Drug Relevant Molecules

Oxetanes are versatile building blocks in drug‐related synthesis to induce property‐modulating effects. Whereas related oxiranes are widely used in coupling chemistry with carbon dioxide (CO₂) to afford value‐added commodity chemicals, oxetane/CO₂ couplings remain extremely limited despite the recent advances in the synthesis of these four‐membered heterocycles. Here we report an effective one‐pot three‐component reaction (3CR) strategy for the coupling of (substituted) oxetanes, amines and CO₂ to afford a variety of functionalized carbamates with excellent chemoselectivity and good yields. The process is mediated by an aluminium‐based catalyst under relatively mild conditions and the developed catalytic methodology can be applied to the formal synthesis of two pharmaceutically relevant carbamates with the 3CR being a key step.

     

Technologies for the study of hydropeaking impacts on fish populations: Applications,advantages, outcomes,and future developments

Dam construction and streamflow regulation are increasing throughout the world, with impacts in impounded aquatic ecosystems. Hydropower dams, some of them causing a phenomenon called “hydropeaking” during their operation, are known for having a variety of impacts on downstream aquatic biota, particularly fish, and respective habitat. This can result in significant changes, from the community (e.g., fish assemblage structure) to the individual level (e.g., physiological and behavioural adjustments). Researchers and managers involved in the assessment of hydropeaking impacts must be resourceful and use methods that allow their precise evaluation, from large to fine-scale habitat and biological responses. In the last decades, technological advances allowed for the development of techniques and instrumentations that are increasingly being used in hydropeaking impact and mitigation assessments. This paper aims to provide a review, to researchers and managers interested in this field, of some of the most innovative methods and techniques, involving technology, that are available to study hydropeaking effects on downstream ecosystem, particularly from a fish perspective. We discuss the fundamentals behind such techniques, their advantages, and disadvantages, while also providing practical examples of their application and of the type of results that can be obtained. We finish by discussing some of the shortcomings of these methods and how related technology can evolve to solve current limitations.     

Challenges and Strategies for Optimizing Corrosion and Biodegradation Stability of Biomedical Micro- and Nanoswimmers: A Review

The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of micro- and nanoswimmers (MNSs). Researchers have invested significant efforts in engineering motile micro- and nanodevices to address current limitations in minimally invasive medicine. MNSs can move through complex fluid media by using chemical fuels or external energy sources such as magnetic fields, ultrasound, or light. Despite significant advancements in their locomotion and functionalities, the gradual deterioration of MNSs in human physiological media is often overlooked. Corrosion and biodegradation caused by chemical reactions with surrounding medium and the activity of biological agents can significantly affect their chemical stability and functional properties during their lifetime performance. It is therefore essential to understand the degradation mechanisms and factors that influence them to design ideal biomedical MNSs that are affordable, highly efficient, and sufficiently resistant to degradation (at least during their service time). This review summarizes recent studies that delve into the physicochemical characteristics and complex environmental factors affecting the corrosion and biodegradation of MNSs, with a focus on metal-based devices. Additionally, different strategies are discussed to enhance and/or optimize their stability. Conversely, controlled degradation of non-toxic MNSs can be highly advantageous for numerous biomedical applications, allowing for less invasive, safer, and more efficient treatments.     

Spontaneous and Microbiota-Driven Degradation of Anthocyanins in an In Vitro Human Colon Model

Scope

The consumption of dietary anthocyanins is associated with various health benefits. However, anthocyanins are poorly bioavailable, and most ingested anthocyanins will enter the colon where they are degraded to small phenolic metabolites that are the main absorbed forms. Little is known about the processes of anthocyanin degradation in the gut and the role of the human gut microbiota. This study aims to determine the contribution of spontaneous and microbiota-dependent degradation of anthocyanins in the human colon.

Methods and results

Purified anthocyanin extracts from black rice and bilberry were incubated in an in vitro human fecal-inoculated pH-controlled colon model over 24 h and anthocyanins were analyzed using HPLC-DAD. The study shows that the loss of anthocyanins occurs both spontaneously and as a consequence of metabolism by the gut microbiota. The study observes that there is high variability in spontaneous degradation but only modest variation in total degradation, which included the microbiota-dependent component. The degradation rate of anthocyanins is also shown to be dependent on the B-ring substitution pattern and the type of sugar moiety, both for spontaneous and microbiota-dependent degradation.

Conclusion

Anthocyanins are completely degraded in a model of the human colon by a combination of spontaneous and microbiota-dependent processes.