You Don't Need an App—Conducting Mobile Smoking Research Using a Qualtrics-Based Approach

With the increasing availability of smartphones, many tobacco researchers are exploring smartphone-delivered mobile smoking interventions as a disseminable means of treatment. Most effort has been focused on the development of smartphone applications (apps) to conduct mobile smoking research to implement and validate these interventions. However, developing project-specific smartphone apps that work across multiple mobile platforms (e.g., iOS and Android) can be costly and time-consuming. Here, using a hypothetical study, we present an alternate approach to demonstrate how mobile smoking cessation and outcome evaluation can be conducted without the need of a dedicated app. Our approach uses the Qualtrics platform, a popular online survey host that is used under license by many academic institutions. This platform allows researchers to conduct device-agnostic screening, consenting, and administration of questionnaires through Qualtrics's native survey engine. Researchers can also collect ecological momentary assessment data using text messaging prompts with the incorporation of Amazon Web Services' Pinpoint. Besides these assessment capabilities, Qualtrics has the potential for delivering personalized behavioral interventions through the use of JavaScript code. By customizing the question's web elements in Qualtrics (e.g., using texts, images, videos, and buttons), researchers can integrate interactive web-based interventions and complicated behavioral and cognitive tasks into the survey. In conclusion, this Qualtrics-based methodology represents a novel and cost-effective approach for conducting mobile smoking cessation and assessment research.

Bioremediation Of Polluted Waters Using Nanoparticles

Water pollution is an issue of great concern worldwide, contamination by organic compounds, inorganic compounds and microorganisms. Bioremediation using microorganisms helps in the removal of toxic metals from the environment. The focus is on the heavy metals associated with environmental contamination, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) which are potentially hazardous to ecosystems. In the present study textile effluent was collected, and subjected to Physicochemical treatment methods , Herbal-Metal nanocomposite was prepared and used to treat textile effluents. As a bioremediation study, the plant growth potential of treated effluents was evaluated using pot studies of an aquatic plant .Laboratory and field test results confirmed superior bioremediation efficiency and long-term effect. When compared to today’s most-efficient bioremediation technologies there is an efficient, fast, safe, and inexpensive way to clean up polluted waters through acceleration of natural bioremediation process. Nanotechnology provides an economical, convenient and ecofriendly means of wastewater remediation. The results obtained in this study shall be carried out as future studies using different types and concentrations of nanoparticles for the treatment of any types of effluents causing land and water pollution. There is a growing need for the development of novel, efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach for the remediation of inorganic metals released into the environment and to safeguard the ecosystem. In this regard, recent advances in microbes-base heavy metal have propelled bioremediation as a prospective alternative to conventional techniques.

Controlling critical mistag-associated false discoveries in metagenetic data

Metagenetic methods are commonplace within ecological and environmental research. One concern with these methods is the phenomenon of critical mistagging, where sequences from one sample are erroneously inferred to have originated from another sample due to errors in the attachment, PCR replication or sequencing of sample-specific dual-index tags. For studies using PCR-based library preparation on large sample sizes, the most cost-effective approach to limiting mistag-associated false detections involves using an unsaturated Latin square dual-indexing design. This allows researchers to estimate mistagging rates during sequencing but the statistical procedures for filtering out detections using this mistag rate have received little attention. We propose a straightforward method to limit mistag-associated false discoveries during metabarcoding applications. We analyzed two Illumina metabarcoding datasets produced using unsaturated Latin square designs to explore the distribution of mistagged sequences across dual-index combinations on a per taxon basis. We tested these data for conformity to the assumptions that 1) mistagging follows a binomial distribution [i.e., X ~ B(n, p)] where p, the probability of a sequence being mistagged, varies minimally across taxa and 2) mistags are distributed uniformly across dual-index combinations. We provide R functions that estimate the 95th percentile of expected mistags per dual-index combination for each taxon under these assumptions. We show that mistagging rates were consistent across taxa within the datasets analyzed and that modelling mistagging as a binomial process with uniform distribution across dual-index combinations enabled robust control of mistag-associated false discoveries. We propose that this method of taxon-specific filtering of detections based on the maximum mistags expected per dual-index combination should be broadly accepted during metagenetic analysis, provided that experimental and control sequence abundances per taxon are strongly correlated. When this assumption is violated, data may be better fit by assuming that the distribution of mistags across combinations follows Poisson characteristics [i.e., X ~ Pois(𝜆)], with 𝜆 empirically estimated from the abundance distribution of mistags among control samples. We provide a second R function for this case, though we have yet to observe such a dataset. Both functions and demonstrations associated with this work are freely available at https://github.com/RTRichar/ModellingCriticalMistags.

Role of Microorganisms in Bioremediation

Bioremediation involves the use of natural microorganisms for the purpose ofdegrading numerous types of industrial and environmental waste. Microorganismsrequire carbon, nutrients, and energy to live and multiply as all living organisms do. Inorder to obtain energy, such microorganisms break down organic pollutants into simplerorganic compounds like carbon, salts, water, and similar harmless products. Thisapproach of degrading contaminants using microorganisms has proved much beneficialand has been proven to be cost-effective and efficient. There are a lot of naturally occurringmicroorganisms that have been reported essential in the degradation of organic pollutants.Different industries use different types of bioremediation methods. Specificenvironmental conditions may be required for optimal functioning of microbes e.g., pH,temperature, humidity, etc. Bioremediation has been proven as an environment-friendlyand cost-effective approach to deal with industrial contaminants. Descriptive informationof microbes involved in bioremediation has been explained in this review.

Do Orbital Implants Differ in Complication Rates: A Retrospective Study of 88 Patients, and an Argument for Cost-Effective Practices in the Face of Rising Health Care Costs

Operative repair of orbital fractures utilizes implants constructed of a plethora of materials that vary in cost. Surgeon preference as well as fracture complexity may dictate the implant chosen. In this study, we retrospectively compared the complication rates of the four most common types of implants utilized at our institution. We found no significant difference in complication rates in our sample of 88 patients. Additionally, the least expensive implant was as effective as the most expensive implant in addressing isolated orbital blowout fractures. This situation is not unique to the field of oculoplastics. As evidenced from published literature in other areas of surgery, from orthopaedics to orthodontics, cheaper alternatives often afford similar outcomes as more expensive options. We herein argue that a cost-effective approach should be considered while still allowing for high quality of care, in the face of rising health care costs and health disparities in America.

Biodegradation Of Iron Industry And Gold Industrial Wastewater By White Rot Fungi – Calocybe Indica & Agaricus Bisporus Comparative Study

Increasing discharge and improper management of liquid and solid industrial wastes have created a great concern among industrialists and the scientific community over their economic treatment and safe disposal. Hence, there is a growing need for the development of novel, efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach for the remediation for these industries released into the environment and to safeguard the ecosystem. In this regard, recent advances in wastewater of heavy metal have propelled bioremediation as a prospective alternative to conventional techniques. Heavy metals are toxic and dangerous to the ecosystem. White rot fungi (WRF) are versatile and robust organisms having enormous potential for oxidative bioremediation of a variety of toxic chemical pollutants due to high tolerance to toxic substances in the environment. The decolorization and detoxification potential of WRF can be harnessed thanks to emerging knowledge of the physiology of these organisms as well as of the bio catalysis and stability characteristics of their enzymes. This knowledge will need to be transformed into reliable and robust waste treatment processes.

Protection of computers from side electromagnetic radiation during monitor images formation

Reliable protection of confidential data processed in critical information infrastructure elements of public institutions and private organizations is topical task today. Of particular interest are methods to prevent the leakage of confidential data by localizing informative (dangerous) signals that both carry an informative component, and have a signal level higher than predefined threshold. The increase in signal energy from personal computers is caused by increasing of its transistors switching speed. Modern passive shielding methods for secured computers, similar to the well-known program TEMPEST, require either costly and large shielding units or technological simplification by using of low-cost fragmentary shielding of computer’s individual elements. Therefore, localization of side electromagnetic radiation produced by personal computer is needed. The paper presents a cost-effective approach to reducing the level of computer’s electromagnetic radiation by passive method. The radiation are localized and measured by its estimation on personal computer’s elements, namely unshielded communication lines between video processor and a monitor, fragments of electric tracks on motherboards, etc. During experiments authors used ad-hoc miniature electric (ball antenna) and magnetic (Hall sensor) antennas connected to selective voltmeters. This approach significantly reduces the cost of equipment and measurements as well as requirements to analytics’ qualification for improving computer’s protection. Also, the alternative approach for computer protection is proposed. The approach is based on image content protection by distorting the image on the monitor instead of reducing electromagnetic radiation caused by signals from the monitor. The protection includes image scrambling using Arnold transform that randomly “shuffle” the lines in each frame.