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Owing to the intensive development of electrical and electronic equipment, there is an increasing demand for precious metals, which are often used for its production. Due to their scarce supply, it is important to recover them from secondary sources. A promising way to recover precious metals are impregnated resins. In this research, Amberlite XAD-16 was impregnated with TBP at the weight ratios of 1:2 and 1:3 using the 'warm impregnation' method. Studies were carried out on the sorption of Au(III), Pd(II), Pt(IV), and Rh(III) ions from the model chloride solutions as well as the real solution formed after leaching the smart card chips. Only Au(III) ions were efficiently sorbed on the prepared impregnated sorbents. The best results were obtained at 6 M HCl and the sorbent mass: 0.1 g/25 mL. The maximum sorption capacity for the impregnated sorbents was: 147.91 mg/g (ratio 1:2) and 149.66 mg/g (ratio 1:3). Recovery of Au(III) ions from the real leaching solution was: 97.36% and 97.77%, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm was the best-fit model for the experimental results. Thermodynamic studies proved that the investigated sorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. The desorption process can be easily carried out with 1 M HCl/1 M TU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, the consumption of energy drinks (EDs) by adolescents and young adults has increased significantly, so concerns have been raised about the potential health risks associated with excessive ED consumption. Most analyses on EDs focus on the caffeine content. Research on the content of minerals (essential and toxic) in energy drinks can be considered scarce. Therefore, there is a need for research stating the actual status of heavy metal content in commercially available energy drinks. Methods: This research presents the determination of the total concentrations of macro-elements and trace elements (TEs), such as Na, K, Mg, Ca, Al, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, B, Zn, V, Sr, Ba, Pb, Cd, and As in nine samples of energy drinks using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques. Results: The order in the content of macro-minerals in the EDs was as follows: Na > K > Mg > Ca. The results showed that ED 1, ED 3, and ED 7 samples had the highest micro-mineral concentrations. All the samples had a hazard quotient and hazard index < 1, indicating no non-carcinogenic risk from exposure to single or multiple heavy metals in both the adolescent and adult age groups. Some samples exceeded the threshold limit of acceptable cancer risk for As, Ni, and Cr in both adolescents and adults. Conclusions: This assessment showed that in addition to health implications based on the caffeine content of EDs, there might be a carcinogenic risk associated with the toxic element content of these beverages. This research also highlights notable differences in the TE levels among various ED brands, which may have important implications for consumer well-being and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, there is a need for new sources of noble metals due to their dwindling natural resources. This paper presents studies on the sorption of noble metals such as Au(III), Pt(IV), Pd(II) and Rh(III) from model chloride solutions on a newly prepared Amberlite XAD-16–Aliquat 336 sorbent. A "warm impregnation" method without the use of toxic organic solvents was applied to impregnate the polymer matrix. The influence of such factors as hydrochloric acid concentration, sorbent mass and phase contact time was investigated. Kinetic as well as adsorption isotherm studies were carried out. The sorption capacity of the synthesized sorbent was Au(III)—94.34 mg/g, Pt(IV)—45.35 mg/g and Pd(II)—46.03 mg/g. Based on thermodynamic considerations, their sorption proved to be endothermic, as the values of ΔH° > 0. Sorption was spontaneous and favourable (ΔG° < 0). After leaching the RAM module, there was obtained a real solution, in which the metal contents were determined: 38.10 mg/g of gold and 1.76 mg/g of palladium. Totals of 99.9% of gold and 45.4% of palladium were removed from the real leaching solution, with other elements in the solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To assess the prevalence of burnout and associated factors among healthcare workers (HCWs) working in a hospital admitting patients with COVID‐19. Background: Burnout among HCWs is related to age, gender and occupation. However, little is known about organisational factors associated with burnout during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design: A cross‐sectional study of 1412 hospital HCWs (748 nurses) was carried out via online survey during the COVID‐19 pandemic between 4 and 19 January 2021. Methods: The Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Human Services Survey, the Checklist Individual Strength questionnaire, the interRAI items covering mental health, the WHO questionnaire items assessing HCWs' preparedness and exposure to SARS‐CoV‐2 were used. Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to clarify factors associated with emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA). This study adheres to the STROBE guidelines. Results: Burnout prevalence varied from 10.0% to 22.0%. Most respondents (83.6%) reported low PA, 22.9% high EE and 18.7% high DP. Nurses and physicians had the highest levels of EE and DP. Staff exposed or uncertain if exposed to contaminated patients' body fluids and materials had higher levels of burnout. Preparedness (training) (b = 1.15; 95%CI 0.26 to 2.05) and adherence to infection prevention and control procedures (b = 1.57; 95%CI 0.67 to 2.47) were associated with higher PA, and accessibility of personal protective equipment (PPE) (b = −1.37; 95%CI ‐2.17 to −0.47) was related to lower EE. HCWs working in wards for patients with COVID‐19 reported lower EE (b = −1.39; 95%CI ‐2.45 to −0.32). HCWs who contracted COVID‐19 reported lower DP (b = −0.71, 95%CI ‐1.30 to −0.12). Conclusions: Organisational factors such as better access to PPE, training, and adherence to infection prevention and control procedures were associated with a lower level of burnout. Relevance to clinical practice: Healthcare managers should promote strategies to reduce burnout among HCWs with regard to preparedness of all staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early High-density electroencephalographic (EEG) systems are utilized in the study of the human brain and its underlying behaviours. However, working with the EEG data requires a well-cleaned signal, which is often obtained using independent component analysis (ICA) methods. The longer the calculation time for these types of algorithms is, the more data is obtained. This paper presents a hybrid implementation of the fastICA algorithm that uses parallel programming techniques (libraries and extensions of the Intel processors and CUDA programming), which results in a significant acceleration of execution time on selected architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

36616732 16 Lupenko S., Butsiy R., Shakhovska N. Advanced Modeling and Signal Processing Methods in Brain-Computer Interfaces Based on a Vector of Cyclic Rhythmically Connected Random Processes. 34640663 4 Martinek R., Ladrova M., Sidikova M., Jaros R., Behbehani K., Kahankova R., Kawala-Sterniuk A. Advanced bioelectrical signal processing methods: Past, present, and future approach - Part III: Other biosignals. 34502642 2 Martinek R., Ladrova M., Sidikova M., Jaros R., Behbehani K., Kahankova R., Kawala-Sterniuk A. Advanced bioelectrical signal processing methods: Past, present and future approach - Part I: Cardiac signals. Analysis of biomedical data can provide useful information regarding human condition and as a result - analysis of these signals has become one of the most popular diagnostic methods. [Extracted from the article]

Noble metals (NM) such as gold, platinum, palladium, and rhodium are widely applied in the electronics and automotive industries. Thus, the search for cheap and selective sorbents for noble metals is economically justified. Nitrolite does not sorb noble metal ions. A new impregnated sorbent was prepared. The natural sorbent Nitrolite was impregnated with Aliquat 336 using a new warm impregnation method. After the impregnation process, Nitrolite adsorbed platinum(IV), palladium(II), and gold(III) ions from the chloride solutions. The values of the sorption capacity for palladium(II) and platinum(IV) ions were 47.63 mg/g and 51.39 mg/g, respectively, from the 0.1 M HCl model solution. The sorption capacity for gold(III) ions was estimated to be 73.43 mg/g from the 0.1 M HCl model solution. An exhausted catalytic converter was leached, and platinum(IV), palladium(II), and rhodium(III) were transferred to the chloride solution. The impregnated sorbent Nitrolite–Aliquat 336 was used in the investigations of the platinum(IV), palladium(II), and rhodium(III) ions' sorption from a real solution. The impregnated sorbent Nitrolite–Aliquat 336 proved to be suitable for the recovery of platinum(IV) and palladium(II) ions, whereas rhodium ions were not sorbed from the leached solutions. Notably, 1 M thiourea in the 1 M HCl solution desorbed platinum(IV), palladium(II), and gold(III) above 94%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metalloenzymes play an important role in the regulation of many biological functions. An effective way to prevent deficiencies of essential minerals in human diets is the biofortification of plant materials. The process of enriching crop sprouts under hydroponic conditions is the easiest and cheapest to conduct and control. In this study, the sprouts of the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties Arkadia and Tonacja underwent biofortification with Fe, Zn, Mg, and Cr solutions in hydroponic media at four concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 200 µg g−1) over four and seven days. Moreover, this study is the first to combine sprout biofortification with UV-C (λ = 254 nm) radiation treatment for seed surface sterilization. The results showed that UV-C radiation was effective in suppressing seed germination contamination by microorganisms. The seed germination energy was slightly affected by UV-C radiation but remained at a high level (79–95%). The influence of this non-chemical sterilization process on seeds was tested in an innovative manner using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and EXAKT thin-section cutting. The applied sterilization process reduced neither the growth and development of sprouts nor nutrient bioassimilation. In general, wheat sprouts easily accumulate Fe, Zn, Mg, and Cr during the applied growth period. A very strong correlation between the ion concentration in the media and microelement assimilation in the plant tissues (R2 > 0.9) was detected. The results of the quantitative ion assays performed with atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) using the flame atomization method were correlated with the morphological evaluation of sprouts in order to determine the optimum concentration of individual elements in the hydroponic solution. The best conditions were indicated for 7-day cultivation in 100 µg g−1 of solutions with Fe (218% and 322% better nutrient accumulation in comparison to the control condition) and Zn (19 and 29 times richer in zinc concentration compared to the sprouts without supplementation). The maximum plant product biofortification with magnesium did not exceed 40% in intensity compared to the control sample. The best-developed sprouts were grown in the solution with 50 µg g−1 of Cr. In contrast, the concentration of 200 µg g−1 was clearly toxic to the wheat sprouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explore the simulation setup in computational neuroscience. We use GENESIS, a general purpose simulation engine for sub-cellular components and biochemical reactions, realistic neuron models, large neural networks, and system-level models. GENESIS supports developing and running computer simulations but leaves a gap for setting up today's larger and more complex models. The field of realistic models of brain networks has overgrown the simplicity of earliest models. The challenges include managing the complexity of software dependencies and various models, setting up model parameter values, storing the input parameters alongside the results, and providing execution statistics. Moreover, in the high performance computing (HPC) context, public cloud resources are becoming an alternative to the expensive on-premises clusters. We present Neural Simulation Pipeline (NSP), which facilitates the large-scale computer simulations and their deployment to multiple computing infrastructures using the infrastructure as the code (IaC) containerization approach. The authors demonstrate the effectiveness of NSP in a pattern recognition task programmed with GENESIS, through a custom-built visual system, called RetNet(8×5,1) that uses biologically plausible Hodgkin-Huxley spiking neurons. We evaluate the pipeline by performing 54 simulations executed on-premise, at the Hasso Plattner Institute's (HPI) Future Service-Oriented Computing (SOC) Lab, and through the Amazon Web Services (AWS), the biggest public cloud service provider in the world. We report on the non-containerized and containerized execution with Docker, as well as present the cost per simulation in AWS. The results showthat our neural simulation pipeline can reduce entry barriers to neural simulations, making them more practical and cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modular connectors are applied by computer users, and they can be metallic secondary sources containing metals such as gold and copper. Because gold is a micro-component, the solution obtained after the pin digestion contains a low concentration of gold(III) ions, and efficient and selective sorbent should be used for gold(III) ion recovery. The selective removal of small amounts of gold(III) from 0.001–6 M hydrochloric acid solutions using pure and solvent-impregnated macroporous polystyrene crosslinked with divinylbenzene sorbents (Purolite MN 202 and Cyanex 272) is presented. Gold(III) ions were recovered effectively from the chloride solution after the digestion of the modular connector RJ 45 (8P8C) using Purolite MN 202 after the impregnation process. The dependence of the recovery percentage (R%) of gold(III) on the contact time was determined. The highest value of gold(III) ion sorption capacity (259.45 mg·g−1) was obtained in 0.001 M HCl for Purolite MN202 after the Cyanex 272 impregnation. The results can be applied to gold recovery from e-waste. The presented method of gold recovery does not generate nitrogen oxides and does not require the use of cyanides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Potential applications of the concepts and data presented in the article relate to inference systems and computational predictive models of job burnout, effective as second opinion systems. Occupational burnout, manifested by emotional exhaustion, lack of a sense of personal achievement, and depersonalization, is not a new phenomenon, but thusfar, there is no clear definition or diagnostic guidelines. The aim of this article wasto summarize all empirical studies to date that have used medical neuroimaging techniques to provide evidence or links regarding changes in brain function in occupational burnout syndrome from a neuroscientific perspective, and then use these to propose a fuzzy-based computational model of burnout.A comprehensive literature search was conducted in two major databases (PubMed and Medline Complete). The search period was 2006–2021, and searches were limited to the English language. Each article was carefully reviewed and appropriately selected on the basis of raw data, validity of methods used, clarity of results, and scales for measuring burnout. The results showed that the brain structures of patients with job burnout that are associated with emotion, motivation, and empathy weresignificantly different from healthy controls. These altered brain regions included the thalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, caudate, striatum, dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, anterior insula, inferior frontal cingulate cortex, middle frontal cingulate cortex, temporoparietal junction, and grey matter. Deepening our understanding of how these brain structures are related to burnout will pave the way for better approaches fordiagnosis and intervention. As an alternative to the neuroimaging approach, the paper presents a late proposal of the PLUS (personal living usual satisfaction) parameter. It is based on a fuzzy model, wherein the data source is psychological factors—the same or similar to the neuroimaging approach. As the novel approach to searching for neural burnout mechanisms, we have shown that computational models, including those based on fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks, can play an important role in inferring and predicting burnout. Effective computational models of burnout are possible but need further development to ensure accuracy across different populations. There is also a need to identify mechanisms and clinical indicators of chronic fatigue syndrome, stress, burnout, and natural cognitive changes associated with, for example, ageing, in order to introduce more effective differential diagnosis and screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Burnout has been recognized as a serious health problem. Nurses as a professional group are at a high risk of burnout occurrence, especially when facing burden associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite evidence that higher job demands lead to burnout, there is less known about the indirect effect of job demands and resources on burnout via surface acting. Using the JD-R framework, this study examined how job demands and resources affected burnout among Polish nurses and whether these relationships are mediated by surface acting and moderated by coping with the workload. Materials and Methods: A sample of 270 nurses from the biggest hospital in Southern Poland filled out an online questionnaire at the time between the fourth and the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The Polish adaptations of Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), Organizational Constraints Scale (OCS), Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale (ICAWS), Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS), and Emotional Labor Scale (ELS) were used. Mediation and moderation analyses were carried out in the SPSS macro- PROCESS. Results: Surface acting partially mediated the positive association between organizational constraints and interpersonal conflict at work and burnout, as well as the negative association between the perceived organizational support and burnout. Coping with workload moderated the direct effect of organizational constraints on burnout via surface acting. Conclusion: The findings enrich the knowledge of the mediating and moderating mechanisms to explain the association between job demands, resources and burnout among nurses. There have been proposed interventions concerning increasing organizational support, effective emotional regulation of management education and psychological training regarding adequate coping strategies which could help reduce or prevent the occurrence of burnout in this professional group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND. It is essential to deliver specialist human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care with maximum effectiveness, but also minimum time delay. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether rapid linkage to care defined as starting combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) on the day of the first visit at the HIV clinic is a costeffective approach. METHODS. In the analysis, Markov's lifetime model presented in our previous study was implemented. The inputs used in the model were updated in the terms of costs, life expectancy, and patient characteristics. For the analysis we used information from the previous model about the additional costs of treatment and qualityadjusted life years (QALYs) lost in the life horizon for people newly infected with HIV. The number of newly infected persons was estimated based on available data. RESULTS. Input data was available for 344 men having sex with men (MSM) who registered in the HIV specialist care between 2016 and 2017. The estimated QALY loss due to lack of rapid treatment initiation, where the viral load is not (was) taken into account, equals 0·018 (0·022), 0·039 (0·047), 0·131 (0·158) respectively in low, medium and high risk transmission groups. Rapid cART initiation was dominant regardless of the chosen scenarios. CONCLUSIONS. Cost-effectiveness analysis considering the HIV transmission indicates that the rapid initiation of HIV treatment is a cost-effective and potentially cost-saving approach to improve HIV care and reduce HIV transmission in Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how humans evaluate credibility is an important scientific question in the era of fake news. Source credibility is among the most important aspects of credibility evaluations. One of the most direct ways to understand source credibility is to use measurements of brain activity of humans who make credibility evaluations. This article reports the results of an experiment during which we have measured brain activity during credibility evaluation using EEG. In the experiment, participants had to learn source credibility of fictitious students based on a preparatory stage, during which they evaluated message credibility with perfect knowledge. The experiment allowed for identification of brain areas that were active when a participant made positive or negative source credibility evaluations. Based on experimental data, we modeled and predicted human source credibility evaluations using EEG brain activity measurements with F1 score exceeding 0.7 (using 10-fold cross-validation). We are also able to model and predict message credibility evaluations with perfect knowledge, and to compare both models obtained from a single experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sorption of vanadium(V) ions from acidic solutions using the Pyrolox sorbent was studied at varying ions concentrations, pH, contact time and temperature. The investigated ions were determined by means of graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS). The sorption capacity of vanadium(V) ions was examined in the pH range 2-10. The adsorption capacities of vanadium(V) ions depend on the pH values. Therefore, the initial pH 2 of vanadium(V) results in the highest adsorption capacities. The sorption vanadium(V) kinetics was investigated. The experimental data were analyzed using the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order forms, Elovich, and intraparticle diffusion models. The kinetics of vanadium(V) sorption is described by the pseudo-first-order in the best way. The results indicate the endothermic process of V(V) ions sorption. The presented results of vanadium ions recovery from the solutions obtained as a result of spent catalysts leaching indicate the possibility of vanadium recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on conducting a correlation analysis of the use of nitroglycerin by medical rescue teams (MRT) in patients with ACS STEMI and the impact on selected biochemical parameters. Topics include cardiological societies and associations not recommending the use of nitroglycerin in patients with acute coronary syndrome ST-elevation myocardial infarction (ACS STEMI); and providing emergency medical units with the appropriate equipment and using electrocardiogram (ECG).

Objectives: The most common technique of determining biological paternity or another relationship among people are the investigations of DNA polymorphism called Fingerprinting DNA. The key concept of these investigations is the statistical analysis, which leads to obtain the likelihood ratio (LR), sometimes called the paternity index. Methods: Among the different assumptions stated in these computations is a mutation model (this model is used for all the computations). Results and conclusions: Although its influence on LR is usually negligible, there are some situations (when the mother–child mutation arises) when it is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The electroencephalographic signal is largely exposed to external disturbances. Therefore, an important element of its processing is its thorough cleaning. Methods: One of the common methods of signal improvement is the independent component analysis (ICA). However, it is a computationally expensive algorithm, hence methods are needed to decrease its execution time. One of the ICA algorithms (fastICA) and parallel computing on the CPU and GPU was used to reduce the algorithm execution time. Results: This paper presents the results of study on the implementation of fastICA, which uses some multi-core architecture and the GPU computation capabilities. Conclusions: The use of such a hybrid approach shortens the execution time of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A user‐friendly, fiber‐coupled, single‐photon source operating at telecom wavelengths is a key component of photonic quantum networks providing long‐haul, ultra‐secure data exchange. To take full advantage of quantum‐mechanical data protection and to maximize the transmission rate and distance, a true quantum source providing single photons on demand is highly desirable. This great challenge is tackled by developing a ready‐to‐use semiconductor quantum‐dot‐based device that launches single photons at a wavelength of 1.3 µm directly into a single‐mode optical fiber. In the proposed approach, the quantum dot is deterministically integrated into a nanophotonic structure to ensure efficient on‐chip coupling into a fiber. The whole arrangement is integrated into a 19ʺ compatible housing to enable stand‐alone operation by cooling via a compact Stirling cryocooler. The realized source delivers single photons with a multiphoton events probability as low as 0.15 and a single‐photon emission rate of up to 73 kHz into a standard telecom single‐mode fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The chelating ion exchanger Diaion CR20 was applied for removal of chromium(VI) ions in the pH range from 1.5 to 10 and in the presence of 1 M H2SO4. The speciation analysis was used to predict the reduction process. Reduction of chromium(VI) to chromium(III) was observed during the chromium(VI) ions sorption. The kinetic parameters for the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models were calculated. The most common three isotherm models: Freundlich, Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich were used to describe chromium(VI) uptake. It was proved that the polyamine groups present in selected ion exchanger are able to sorb both chromium(VI) and (III) ions. The maximal sorption capacity towards chromium(VI) ions was estimated at pH 1.5 - 169.49 mg Cr(VI)/g and 159.31 mg Cr(VI)/g in 1 M H2SO4. Both static and column methods were used in the investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been corrected. The original version (PDF) is appended to this article as a Supplement.Description: Dietary guideline recommendations require consideration of the certainty in the evidence, the magnitude of potential benefits and harms, and explicit consideration of people's values and preferences. A set of recommendations on red meat and processed meat consumption was developed on the basis of 5 de novo systematic reviews that considered all of these issues.Methods: The recommendations were developed by using the Nutritional Recommendations (NutriRECS) guideline development process, which includes rigorous systematic review methodology, and GRADE methods to rate the certainty of evidence for each outcome and to move from evidence to recommendations. A panel of 14 members, including 3 community members, from 7 countries voted on the final recommendations. Strict criteria limited the conflicts of interest among panel members. Considerations of environmental impact or animal welfare did not bear on the recommendations. Four systematic reviews addressed the health effects associated with red meat and processed meat consumption, and 1 systematic review addressed people's health-related values and preferences regarding meat consumption.Recommendations: The panel suggests that adults continue current unprocessed red meat consumption (weak recommendation, low-certainty evidence). Similarly, the panel suggests adults continue current processed meat consumption (weak recommendation, low-certainty evidence).Primary Funding Source: None. (PROSPERO 2017: CRD42017074074; PROSPERO 2018: CRD42018088854). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]