Aims and Background: People living with mental disorders experience a disproportionately higher burden of tobacco-related disease than the general population. Long-term substitution with less harmful nicotine products could reduce the tobacco-related harm among this population. This study investigated the views and preferences of people with mental health disorders about different nicotine products and their use as long-term substitutes for cigarettes. Methods: Semi-structured focus group discussion followed by a brief questionnaire. The discussion transcripts were analysed for content and themes and quantitative data summarised with descriptive statistics. Results: Twenty-nine participants took part in four focus groups. Vaping devices were the most acceptable nicotine products discussed, however preferences for nicotine products were idiosyncratic and varied along aesthetic, pragmatic, sensory and symbolic dimensions. The concept of tobacco harm reduction was unfamiliar to participants, however they generally agreed with the logic of replacing cigarettes with less harmful nicotine products. Barriers to activating tobacco harm reduction included the symbolism of smoking and quitting; the importance placed on health; the consumer appeal of alternatives; and cost implications. Discussion and Conclusion: Engaging this population in tobacco harm reduction options will require communication that challenges black and white thinking (a conceptual framework in which smoking cigarettes or quitting all nicotine are the only legitimate options) as in practice this serves to support the continuance of smoking. Consumers should be encouraged to trial a range of nicotine products to find the most acceptable alternative to smoking that reduces health harms. Providing incentives to switch to nicotine products could help overcome barriers to using less harmful nicotine products among mental health consumers.

Few data are available on the health impact of tobacco heating products (THPs) at the population level. We used systems dynamics modelling to estimate effects in the established THP market in Japan. We projected effects of THP use in overall mortality up to 2100 and compare those projections against a baseline scenario based on smoking rates pre-THP launch, i.e., smoking only. The model was informed using data from publicly available sources and the literature, including population size, yearly deaths and smoking prevalence with initialisation year (2004) and, births and migration from 2004 to 2065. Transitions between products were estimated from cross-sectional population surveys in Japan. Potential life-years saved with the introduction of THPs was 13 million by 2100 compared with smoking only. In worst-case scenario, population health gains would be seen with THPs risk 10–50% lower risk than smoking. Assuming equal risk for dual use and smoking, THP risk would need to be at least 10% lower than smoking to achieve a population health benefit by 2100. In credible scenarios, substantial population health gains will follow the introduction of THPs in Japan in a relatively short time frame.

This transdisciplinary review of research about international cooperation on social and environmental change builds the case for replacing Sustainable Development as the dominant framework for an era of increasing crises and disasters. The review is the output of an intentional exploration of recent studies in multiple subject areas, based on the authors’ decades of work in related fields since the Rio Earth Summit 30 years ago (rather than a keyword search of databases). It summarizes the research which documents failure to progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consequently, the extensive scholarship critiquing the conceptual framework behind those ‘Global Goals’, and the economic ideology they arose from and support, is used to explain that failure. Although the pandemic set back the SDGs, it further revealed the inappropriate strategy behind those goals. This suggests the Global Goals constitute an ‘own-goal’ scored against people and nature. From this conclusion, alternative frameworks for organizing action on social and environmental issues become more important and are therefore briefly reviewed. It is argued that such a future framework must relate a new eco-social contract between citizen and state, and engage existing organizations and capabilities that are relevant to an increasingly disrupted world. Therefore, the case is made for considering an upgraded form of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) as an overarching framework. The proposed upgrades include detaching from economic ideologies, and recognizing that a wider metadisaster from climate chaos may reduce the future availability of external support. Therefore, self-reliant resilience and locally-led adaptation are identified as important to the future of DRM. Some options for professionals continuing to use the term sustainability, such as this journal, are discussed.

There are potentially promising mitigation activities for epidemic and pandemic scenarios that are not currently the subject of significant research effort. Large epidemics and pandemics pose risks that are important to mitigate, even if the likelihood of the events is low and uncertain. While some efforts are the subject of extensive funding and consideration, other approaches are neglected. Here, we consider such neglected interventions which could significantly reduce the impact of such an epidemic or large-scale pandemic. These are identified via a narrative literature review of extant literature reviews and overviews of mitigations in epidemic and pandemic situations, followed by consideration of the economic value of information of further study of heretofore neglected interventions and approaches.Based on that analysis, we considered several classes of mitigations, and conducted more exploratory reviews of each. Those discussed include mitigations for (1) reducing transmission, such as personal protective equipment and encouraging improved hygiene, (2) reducing exposure by changing norms and targeted changes for high-risk or critical professions and activities, (3) reducing impact for those infected, and (4) increasing large scale resilience using disaster and infrastructure continuity planning.Some proposed mitigations are found to be of low marginal value. Other mitigations are likely to be valuable, but the concepts or applications are underdeveloped. In those cases, further research, resources, or preparation are valuable for mitigating both routine and extreme disease outbreak events. Still more areas of research are identified as having uncertain value based on specific but resolvable uncertainties. In both of the latter cases, there is no guarantee that mitigations identified as worthy of further consideration will be valuable, but the argument for further research is clear.

We study a two-echelon supply chain made up of a supplier and a manufacturer, both of which can reduce their component/product carbon emissions. With the vertical technology spillovers, we explore the optimal decisions of centralized and decentralized supply chains with price dependent demand and propose coordination strategy for the decentralized supply chain. Considering the cost contraction effectiveness of the technology spillovers, the centralized and decentralized game theoretic models of a two-echelon supply chain are developed to investigate optimal decisions of pricing and carbon emissions reduction. Through a systematic comparison and numerical analysis, we show that the profits of both players and the entire supply chain improve with the effect of technology spillovers increasing. Carbon emissions reduction will be taken by various protective measures so that the supplier and the manufacturer who do not innovate can hardly share the results of innovating via the “free-riding” methods when the technology spillover is relatively small. We also propose a revenue-cost sharing contract through bargaining to enhance the performance of the decentralized supply chain.

Fe-(9, 19, 28, 37)wt.% Cr alloys were corroded at 700 and 800 ^oC for 70 h under 1 atm of N₂, 1 atm of N₂/3.2%H₂O-mixed gas, and 1 atm of N₂/3.1%H₂O/2.42%H₂S-mixed gas. The corrosion rate of Fe-9Cr alloy increased with the addition of H₂O, and furthermore with the addition of H₂S in N₂ gas. Fe-9Cr alloy was always nonprotective. In contrast, Fe-(19, 28, 37) wt.%Cr alloys were protective in N₂ and N₂/H₂O-mixed gas because of formation of the Cr₂O₃ layer. They were, however, nonprotective in N₂/H₂O/H₂S-mixed gas because sulfidation dominated to form the outer FeS layer and the inner Cr₂S₃ layer containing some FeCr₂S₄.

Given a polynomial $P(x_{1}, x_{2}, \ldots, x_{n})$ which is the sum of terms, where each term is a product of two distinct variables, then the problem $APSS$ consists in calculating the total sum value of $\sum_{\forall U_{i}} P(u_{1}, u_{2}, \ldots, u_{n})$, for all the possible assignments $U_{i} = \{u_{1}, u_{2}, ... u_{n}\}$ to the variables such that $u_{j} \in \{0, 1\}$. $APSS$ is the abbreviation for the problem name Algebraic Polynomial Sum Solver Over $\{0, 1\}$. We show that $APSS$ is in $\#L$ and therefore, it is in $FP$ as well. The functional polynomial time solution was implemented with Scala in \url{https://github.com/frankvegadelgado/sat} using the DIMACS format for the formulas in $\textit{MONOTONE-2SAT}$.

Climate change is a major development challenge to Ethiopia. Unless adaptation measures are widely implemented, climate change can set back development efforts and achievements by years. Recognizing this, the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and civil society organizations have since recently been making considerable efforts to tackle the climate change problem. This paper documents the experience of CARE International in Ethiopia in facilitating bottom-up approaches to promote community-led disaster risk management and climate change adaptation planning through a participator scenario planning (PSP) methodology. PSP is a coordinated approach which leverages a variety of stakeholders' skills and mandates to explore potential climate change risks and their impacts, and then develop locally relevant and shared adaptation action plans that support livelihoods, social capital and ecosystem resilience. The approach has facilitated timely access to and communication of seasonal climate advisories which in turn is empowering communities to take advantage of opportunities that climate presents, which is a key part of adapting to climate change. The institutionalization of the approach by district and regional disaster prevention and food security coordination offices in the southern pastoral regions of Ethiopia encouraged integration of PSP into community livelihood adaptation and local government development planning, hence continuity of the process. Sustainability is expected to be fully achieved when local government planning processes recognize the importance of and provides resources for the participation of meteorological services and community forecasting experts to help refine plans on a seasonal basis, and for systems for dissemination of advisories. Key words: Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction, Adaptation, Pastoralism, Ethiopia,

In this research paper a novel Ultra Violet Photo Catalyst Oxidation (UVPCO) sensor for air and surface sanitization using Common Source (CS) amplifier is presented. The ultra violet photo catalysis is the process in which the highly reactive radicals like H+, OH-and peroxides ions are produced from air in the presence of the ultra violet radiation and photo catalyst. In this process, the free radicals outbreaks the bio aerosols like bacteria, fungus and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and destroy them. The proposed system is relies on the fast operation of PCS which operates under sub-threshold conditions and reduced computation time. The properties of common source amplifier like very high voltage gain and input output resistance increased the sensitivity as well as stability of the circuit. The system is more user friendly and the outcomes of simulation are fairly in agreement with the theoretical estimation. Keywords: bio aerosol, Photo Catalytic Oxidation (PCO), hydroxyl, hydrogen peroxide, SPICE, surface sanitizer.

Ti and its alloys are the most commonly used materials for biomedical applications. However, bacterial infection after implant placement is still one of the significant rising complications. Therefore, the application of the antimicrobial agents into implant surfaces to prevent implant-associated infection has attracted lots of attention. Scientific papers have shown that inorganic antibacterial metal element (e.g. Ag, Cu, Zn) can be introduced to implant surfaces with the addition of metal nanoparticles or metallic compounds into electrolyte via micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technology. In this review, the effects of the composition and concentration of electrolyte and process parameters (e.g. voltage, current density, oxidation time) on morphological characteristics (e.g. surface morphology, bonding strength), antibacterial ability and biocompatibility of MAO antimicrobial coating were discussed in detail. Anti-infection and osseo-integration can be simultaneously accomplished with the selection of the proper antibacterial elements and operating parameters. Besides, MAO assisted by magnetron sputtering (MS) to endow Ti-based implant materials with superior antibacterial ability and biocompatibility was also discussed. Finally, the development trend of MAO technology in the future was forecasted.

Biohydrogen is a versatile energy carrier for the generation of electric energy from renewable sources. Hydrogenases can be used in enzymatic fuel cells to oxidize dihydrogen. The rate of electron transfer (ET) at the anodic side between the [NiFe]-hydrogenase enzyme distal iron-sulfur cluster and the electrode surface can be described by the Marcus equation. All parameters for the Marcus equation are accessible from DFT calculations. The distal cubane FeS-cluster has a three cysteine and one histidine coordination [Fe₄S₄](His)(Cys)₃ first ligation sphere. The reorganization energy (inner- and outer-sphere) is almost unchanged upon a histidine-to-cysteine substitution. Differences in rates of electron transfer between the wild-type enzyme and the all-cysteine mutant can be rationalized by a diminished electronic coupling between the donor and acceptor molecules in the [Fe₄S₄](Cys)₄ case. The fast and efficient electron transfer from the distal iron-sulfur cluster is realized by a fine-tuned protein environment which facilitates the flow of electrons. This study enables the design and control of electron transfer rates and pathways by protein engineering.

A tailored model for the assessment of environmental benefits achievable by “light-weighting” in the automotive field is presented. The model is based on the Fuel Reduction Value (FRV) coefficient, which expresses the Fuel Consumption (FC) saving involved by a 100 kg mass reduction. The work is composed of two main sections: simulation and environmental modelling. Simulation modelling performs an in-depth calculation of weight-induced FC whose outcome is the FRV evaluated for a wide range of Diesel Turbocharged (DT) vehicle case studies. Environmental modelling converts fuel saving to impact reduction basing on the FRVs obtained by simulations. Results show that for the considered case studies, FRV is within the range 0.115–0.143 and 0.142–0.388 L/100 km × 100 kg, respectively, for mass reduction only and powertrain adaptation (secondary effects). The implementation of FRVs within the environmental modelling represents the added value of the research and makes the model a valuable tool for application to real case studies of automotive lightweight LCA.

A simple, effective and environmental-friendly method was adopted for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 in the reduction of aqueous Cr(Ⅵ) under visible-light irradiation. The enhancement was achieved via treatment of g-C3N4 in organic solvent with addition of NaOH particles by ultrasonic process for two hours. The results demonstrated that the treated g-C3N4 exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than pristine g-C3N4 in the reduction of Cr(VI) . Under visible light irradiation for 120 min, the reduced ratios of Cr(VI) with the initial concentration of 50 mg/L in the presence of the treated g-C3N4and pristine g-C3N4 were 100% and 37.1%, respectively. With the addition of fulvic acid, Cr(VI) was efficiently removed at 40 min. Based on the characterization results of the structures and other physiochemical properties of the treated g-C3N4 and pristine g-C3N4 by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and UV Vis diffuse reflectance, the possible reasons responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the treated g-C3N4 were proposed. The yield and mechanism of different exfoliation methods were compared by semi-quantitative method.

With an increasing demand for quality of care and lower costs, hospitals are looking for industry-based methods to improve efficiency in their processes. This study aims to reduce waste in a public hospital in Mexico by improving the medical supply process for the operating room. To this end, a lean healthcare (LH) implementation following the DMAIC approach (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) is carried out. We analyze the value stream of the supply process, including main surgical procedures and their related medical supplies, and identify different causes of inefficiency, which are evaluated and controlled through different tools, including a value stream map, Kanban, and the 5S program. As a result, five types of waste were reduced. Over-processing requests were reduced by 15.3%, defective identification numbers were reduced by 46.5%, redundant processing was improved by 94.8%, near 2.8% of the unnecessary inventory was reduced, and transportation waste was reduced by up to 16.7%. Finally, the lead-time for the main supplies was reduced by 33 days. This work demonstrates that LH and DMAIC are effective in reducing waste and are highly conducive to improving sustainability in healthcare processes. Moreover, it provides practical insights for practitioners regarding the implementation of LH in public hospitals in developing countries.

The aim of this study was to examine the oxidation of human serum albumin (HSA) caused by oxidative stress after an exhaustive exercise such as ultra-marathon race. Thus, blood samples from 12 adult runners who underwent a 103 km mountain ultra-marathon race were collected pre- and 24, 48 and 72 h post race. HSA was partially purified using affinity chromatography and then was subjected to Western blot analysis for disulfide dimers determination, indicating oxidation. The results were correlated with those from a previous study in which the same samples were analyzed using different oxidative stress markers and a good correlation with protein carbonyls (PC) at all time points was observed. Moreover there was a significant correlation with static oxidation-reduction potential (sORP) at 24 h, and a negative correlation with capacity oxidation-reduction potential (cORP) at 24 and 48 h. In addition, an individual analysis of albumin dimers exhibited great inter-individual differences. This inter-individual variability in the oxidation of HSA may suggest different interventions (e.g. through diet) in order to confront the effects on athletes’ organism after a strenuous exercise. In conclusion, this study supported the importance of the assessment of albumin dimers as a predictive marker for exercise-induced oxidative stress.

To obtain smooth coatings of TiO2 for building a new design of Ti-6Al-4V heart valve, the anodic oxidation technique in pre-spark conditions was evaluated. TiO2 coating is necessary for its recognize biocompatibility and corrosion resistance. A required feature on surfaces in contact with blood is a low level of roughness (Ra ≤ 50 nm) that not favor the formation of blood clots. The present paper compares the coatings obtained by anodic oxidation of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy using H2SO4 at different concentrations (0.1 M to 4 M) as electrolyte and applying different voltages (from 20 V to 70 V). Color and morphological analysis of coatings are performed using optical and scanning microscopy. The crystalline phases were analyzed by glancing X-ray diffraction. By varying the applied voltage different interference colors coatings were obtained. The differences in morphologies of the coatings, due to the change in concentration, are more evident at high voltages limiting the oxidation conditions for the desired application. Anatase phase was detected from 70 V for 1 M H2SO4. An increase in the concentration of H2SO4 decreases the voltage at which the transformation of amorphous to crystalline coatings occurs, i.e. with 4 M H2SO4 the anatase phase appears at 60 V.

This paper addresses the modeling of the iron ore direct reduction process, a process likely to reduce CO₂ emissions from the steel industry. The shaft furnace is divided into three sections (reduction, transition, and cooling), and the model is two-dimensional (cylindrical geometry for the upper sections and conical geometry for the lower one), to correctly describe the lateral gas feed and cooling gas outlet. This model relies on a detailed description of the main physical–chemical and thermal phenomena, using a multi-scale approach. The moving bed is assumed to be comprised of pellets of grains and crystallites. We also take into account eight heterogeneous and two homogeneous chemical reactions. The local mass, energy, and momentum balances are numerically solved, using the finite volume method. This model was successfully validated by simulating the shaft furnaces of two direct reduction plants of different capacities. The calculated results reveal the detailed interior behavior of the shaft furnace operation. Eight different zones can be distinguished, according to their predominant thermal and reaction characteristics. An important finding is the presence of a central zone of lesser temperature and conversion.

After a local pollution control plant significantly reduced phosphorus loading into a phytoplankton-dominated tributary of the Potomac River in the early 1980’s, water quality and biological communities were monitored bi-weekly from April-September. After a 10-year time-lag, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), once abundant in this freshwater tidal embayment, returned to the area in 1993. After additional reductions in nitrogen load starting in 2000, the system completely switched to a SAV-dominated state in 2005. Fish abundance didn’t change during these distinct phase changes, but the fish community structure did. Increases in SAV provided refuge and additional spawning substrate for species with adhesive eggs such as Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), which is now the most abundant species in the embayment. Other changes seen were a decrease in the relative contribution of open water dwelling species such as White Perch (Morone americana), and an increase of visual predators such as Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides). The 30-year record of data from this Potomac River tributary has revealed many important long-term trends that validate the effectiveness of initiatives to improve water treatment, and will aid in the continued management of the watershed and point source inputs.

Biological nitrogen (N) provisioning is a seminal function of the gut microbes in several terrestrial insects, given the unbalanced carbon (C) and N ratios of their diets. Although freshwater insects face comparable dietary N limitations like terrestrial insects, little is known about this function by their gut microbiomes. In this study, we investigated microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium pathways as possible routes of biological N provisioning in two freshwater insects; filter-feeding Hydropsychidae and grazers/collectors Baetidae. After incubation in filtered (microbe-free) artificial stream water (ASW) containing dissolved ¹⁵N-labeled nitrate (treatment) or standard nitrate (control), bulk δ¹⁵N values of treatment samples (Baetidae = 100.62 ± 10.23, mean ± S.E.; Hydropsychidae = 76.82 ± 7.20) were significantly higher than controls (Baetidae = 10.14 ± 0.12 ; Hydropsychidae = 9.03 ± 0.20) in both functional feeding groups (F _{(3, 13)} = 296, P < 0.0001). The treatment δ¹⁵N values are cautiously interpreted as reflecting uptake and incorporation of microbe-derived ¹⁵N-metabolites (¹⁵NH₄ or ¹⁵N-amino acids) into host tissues following nitrate reduction to ammonium pathways in the gut lumen. Microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium activities was assessed via the quantification of dissimilatory (nrfA) and assimilatory (nasA) nitrate reduction to ammonium gene transcripts. There were no significant differences between control and treatment groups within each insect groups. Overall, this study provides a demonstration of the feasibility of applying ¹⁵N-stable isotope analysis for investigating, potential symbiotic functions of freshwater insect gut microbiomes, despite the preliminary nature of the results.

Oxidative and nitrosative stress are a common problem when manipulating gametes in vitro. In vitro development in mammalian embryos is highly affected by culture conditions, especially by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), because its absence or over production causes embryo arrest and changes in gene expression. Melatonin in gamete co-incubation during IVF has deleterious or positive effects depending on the concentration used in culture medium, demonstrating the delicate balance that must exist between antioxidant and pro-oxidant activity. Further research is needed to better understand the possible impact of melatonin on the different IVP steps in domestic animals, especially in seasonal breeds where this neuro-hormone system highly regulates its reproduction physiology.

A commercially reared domesticated turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) was purchased from a local market and sections of tissue representing leg, thigh, and breast were harvested and processed for analysis of the lipids and proteins present. Leg and thigh tissue was enriched in mitochondrial proteins whereas the breast tissue was enriched in glycolytic enzymes as well as the cytosolic and mitochondrial forms of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. A potential marker for breast tissue muscle formation and/or function was also identified. The tissues could clearly be separated based upon their lipid profiles with little differences in cardiolipin levels suggesting that mitochondrial surface areas may be similar across the tissues. The most significant differences in the lipids were found to be higher levels of oxidized lipids in thigh meat. This work provides the first untargeted proteome and lipidome datasets for the domesticated turkey. The proteome dataset is accessible from ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the identifier PXD008207.

The processing of woody biomass waste piles for use as fuel instead of burning them was investigated. At each landing slash pile location, a 132 kW grapple excavator was used to transfer the waste piles into a 522 kW horizontal grinder. Economies of scale could be expected when grinding a larger pile, although the efficiency of the loading operation might be diminished. Here, three piles were ground and the operations were time-studied: Small (20 m long × 15 m wide × 4 m high), Medium (30 × 24 × 4 m), and Large (35 × 30 × 4 m) piles. Grinding the Medium pile was found to be the most productive at 30.65 bone dry tons per productive machine hour without delay (BDT/PMH₀), thereby suggesting that there might be an optimum size of slash pile for a grinding operation. We also examined modeling of the excavator and grinder operations, and we observed that the constructed simulation model well-replicated the actual operations. Based on the modeling, we estimated that the productivity of grinding at a landing area of 710 m² of slash pile location was 31.24 BDT/PMH₀, which was the most productive rate.

Convalescent blood product therapy has been introduced since early 1900s to treat emerging infectious disease based on the evidence that polyclonal neutralizing antibodies can reduce duration of viremia. Recent large outbreaks of viral diseases for whom effective antivirals or vaccines are still lacking has revamped the interest in convalescent plasma as life-saving treatments. This review summarizes historical settings of application, and surveys current technologies for collection, manufacturing, pathogen inactivation, and banking, with a focus on COVID-19.

To implement renewable energy resources, microgrid systems have been adopted and developed into the technology of choice to assure mass electrification in the next decade. Microgrid systems have a number of advantages over the conventional utility grid systems, however, it faces severe instability issues due to continually increasing constant power loads. To improve the stability of the entire system, load side compensation technique is chosen because of its robustness and cost effectiveness. In this particular occasion, a sliding mode controller is developed for microgrid system in the presence of CPL to assure certain control objective of keeping the output voltage constant at 480V. After that, the robustness analysis of the sliding mode controller against parametric uncertainties is presented. The sliding mode controller robustness against parametric uncertainties, frequency variations, and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) are illustrated in this paper. Later, the performance of the PID and sliding Mode controller is compared in case of nonlinearity, parameter uncertainties, and noise rejection to justify the selection of Sliding Mode controller over PID controller. All the necessary calculations are reckoned mathematically and results are verified in the virtual platform such as MATLAB/Simulink with the appreciable outcome.

Nickel molybdate, NiMoO₄, nanoparticles were synthesized via calcination of an oxalate complex in static air at 500 °C. The oxalate complex was analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The as-synthesized nickel molybdate was characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller technique (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and its catalytic efficiency was tested in the reduction reaction of the three-nitrophenol isomers. The nickel molybdate displays a very high activity in the catalytic reduction of the nitro functional group to an amino. The reduction progress was controlled using UV-Vis absorption.

The solution of structural problems with nonlinear material behaviour in a model order reduction framework is investigated in this paper. In such a framework, greedy algorithms or adaptive strategies are interesting as they adjust the reduced order basis (ROB) to the problem of interest. However, these greedy strategies may lead to an excessive increase in the size of the reduced basis, i.e. the solution is no more represented in its optimal low-dimensional expansion. Here, an optimised strategy is proposed to maintain, at each step of the greedy algorithm, the lowest dimension of the PGD basis using a randomised SVD algorithm. Comparing to conventional approaches such as Gram-Schmidt orthonormalisation or deterministic SVD, it is shown to be very efficient both in terms of numerical cost and optimality of the reduced basis. Examples with different mesh densities are investigated to demonstrate the numerical efficiency of the presented method.

The recently proposed Holography-inspired approach to quantum gravity is reviewed and expanded. The approach is based on the foliation of the background spacetime and reduction of the offshell states to the physical states. Careful attention is paid to the boundary conditions. It is noted that the outstanding problems such as the cosmological constant problem and black hole information can be tackled from the common thread of the quantized gravity. One-loop renormalization of the coupling constants and the beta function analysis are illustrated. Active galactic nuclei and gravitational waves are discussed as the potential applications of the present quantization scheme to astrophysics.

One of the key areas of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) programme of work is the analysis of renewable technology costs and performance and the dissemination of these results to as wide an audience as possible. In addition to analysis, IRENA seeks to engage a broad range of stakeholders in the context of this work through the Renewable Costing Alliance. The Costing Alliance brings together companies, industry association, governments and researchers to share, confidentially, data for real-world renewable energy project cost and performance, helping to build further on IRENA’s costing work to date. In this context the authors analyse the current cost differentials and cost reduction potentials for solar PV in Japan compared to best practice levels and identify the reasons for higher costs in Japan and how to reduce them. This study analyses the current installed cost differentials for utility-scale, commercial and residential rooftop solar PV systems. In addition to identifying the reasons for the cost differentials, potential policy recommendations to reduce the cost differential are identified.

Cellular oxidation is responsive to external and internal stimulation and is generated via signal molecules in defense mechanisms through networks of cell proliferation, differentiation, intracellular detoxification, bacterial infection, and immune reactions. Oxidative stress is not necessarily harmful per se; it depends on the balance between oxidation and antioxidation cascades, which are induced according to stimuli and can maintain oxygen homeostasis. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are generated during influenza virus (IV) infection have critical effects on both the virus and host cells. In this review, we outline the link between viral infection and ROS production, using IV as an example. We introduce the current state of knowledge on the molecular relationship between cellular oxidation mediated by ROS production and various effects of IV infection. We also summarize the potential anti-IV agents that act by targeting oxidative stress.

An 18 month-old male was evaluated after presenting with disproportionate transaminitis in the setting of acute gastroenteritis. He had marked hepatomegaly on physical exam that was later confirmed with an abdominal ultrasound. Given this clinical picture, suspicion for a fatty acid oxidation disorder was raised. Further investigation revealed that his initial newborn screen was positive for carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) deficiency - a rare autosomal recessive disorder of long-chain fatty acid oxidation. Confirmatory biochemical testing in the newborn period showed carnitine levels to be unexpectedly low with a normal acylcarnitine profile. Thus, it was considered to be a false-positive newborn screen and metabolic follow up was not recommended. Repeat biochemical testing during this hospitalization revealed a normal acylcarnitine profile. The only abnormalities noted were a low proportion of acylcarnitine species from plasma, an elevated free-to-total carnitine ratio, and mild hypoketotic medium chain decarboxylic aciduria on urine organic acids. Gene sequencing of CPT1A revealed a novel homozygous splice site variant that confirmed his diagnosis. CPT1A deficiency has a population founder effect in the Inuit and other Arctic groups, but has not been previously reported in persons of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Thin Slab Casting and Directing Rolling (TSCDR) has become a major process for flat- rolled production. However, the elimination of slab reheating and limited number of thermomechanical deformation passes leave fewer opportunities for austenite grain refinement resulting in some large grains persist in the final microstructure. In order to achieve excellent Ductile to Brittle Transaction (DBTT) and Drop Weight Tear Test (DWTT) properties in thicker gauge high strength low alloy products, it is necessary to control austenite grain coarsening prior to the onset of thermomechanical processing. This contribution proposes a suite of methods to refine the austenite grain from both theoretical and practical perspective including: increasing cooling rate during casting, liquid core reduction, increasing austenite nucleation sites during the delta ferrite to austenite phase transformation, controlling holding furnace temperature and time to avoid austenite coarsening, and producing new alloy with two phase pinning to arrest grain coarsening. These methodologies can not only refine austenite grain size in the slab center, but also improve the slab homogeneity.

Understanding of the decisive role of the interaction mechanism and kinetics in the combustion processes is highly relevant for the elaboration of optimal conditions for obtaining Mo-Cu composite powders. From this perspective, the efficient delivery of the reduction mechanism of copper and molybdenum oxides with combined Mg + C reducing agents at high heating rates is crucial to develop a valuable approach for the combustion synthesis of Mo-Cu composite powders. Herein, we shed light on the mechanism of the reactions in all the studied binary, ternary and quaternary systems contemporaneously demonstrating the effect of the heating rate on the conversion degree. The combination of two highly exothermic and speedy reactions (MoO3+3Mg and CuO+Mg vs MoO3+CuO+4Mg) led to a slow interaction with weak self-heating (dysynergistic effect) due to a change in the reaction mechanism. On the other hand, it has been shown that during the simultaneous utilization of the Mg and C reducing agents, the process begins exclusively with carbothermic reduction, and at relatively high temperatures it continues with magnesiothermic one. The effective activation energy values of the magnesiothermic stages of the studied reactions were determined by Kissinger isoconversional method.

Background. Increasing evidence demonstrate that concentration of protein in infant formula >1.9g/100Kcal with high levels of insulinogenic aminoacids is associated with accelerated weight gain, increased fat mass accumulation and risk of adiposity. Purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine the metabolic effects in infants feed with infant formula optimized in protein. Methods. Systematic review was conducted according PRISMA Statement. RCTs with one intervention group (infant formula with 1.6-1.9gr of protein/100Kcal) and at least one comparative control group (infant formula with >1.9gr of protein/100Kcal) were included. Standardized mean differences (SMD), through random model were calculated. Results. 15 RCT were included. Optimized protein in infant formula was associated with less gain of BMI at 24 months of follow-up (SMD -0.25, IC95% -0.36 to -0.13, p 0.01) and less fat mass accumulation (SMD -0.68, IC95% -0.98 to -0.37, p 0.01). Optimized protein was also associated to less gain of weight, weight/age Z-score, weight/length Z-score, BUN (mmol/dL) and IGF1 (ng/ml). No effect on length/age Z-score was observed. Conclusions. Robust evidence showed optimized protein (1.6gr/100Kcal to 1.9gr/100Kcal) in infant formula is associated with metabolic benefits in infants with less weight gain, BMI and fat mass accumulation.

Smart grid software interconnects multiple Engineering disciplines (power systems, communication, software and hardware technology, instrumentation, big data, etc.). The software architecture is an evolving concept in smart grid systems in which systematic architecture development is a challenging process. The architecture has to realize the complex legacy power grid systems and cope up with current Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The distributed generation in smart grid environment expects the software architecture to be distributed and to enable local control. Smart grid architecture should also be modular, flexible and adaptable to technology upgrades. In this paper, the authors have made a comprehensive review on architecture for smart grids. An in depth analysis of layered and agent based architectures is presented and compared under various domains.

Rare earth rich magnesium alloys are used in aerospace and automotive fields because of their high specific strength and good castability. However, due to their low corrosion resistance, protective surface treatments, such as conversion coating or electroless plating are necessary, when they have to be used in humid or corrosive environments. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) and different surface roughness (Ra≈0.8 μm and Ra≈0.3 μm) on the rotating bending fatigue of an innovative Mg alloy, with a high content of Nd (up to 3.1 wt%) and Gd (up to 1.7 wt %). Fatigue tests revealed a 15% decrease in the fatigue strength of the PEO treated alloy (fatigue strength = 88 MPa) with respect to the bare alloy (fatigue strength = 103 MPa). The reduction of fatigue strength was mainly due to the residual tensile stresses induced by the PEO treatment. The effect of surface roughness on the bare alloy was, instead, negligible. The mechanisms of crack initiation were similar in the untreated and PEO treated alloy, with crack nucleation sites located in correspondence of large facets of the cleavage planes.

New corrosion inhibitor derived from coumarin-3-amine namely 3-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)coumarin was synthesized and characterized by CHN elemental analysis in addition to Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The anti-corrosion ability of 3-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)coumarin to inhibit the impacts of corrosion has been demonstrated and damage reduction of the mild steel also. 3-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)coumarin, has been employed as a good corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in HCL solution. The efficiency of the inhibition was figured according to weight loss method and it was 74.6%.

This study purposes the use of plug-in electric vehicles for demand side management (DSM) considering uncertainties in demand as well as uncertainties due to mobility of PEV to mitigate peak demand. The solution also seeks to reduce electric cost in addition to reducing the effects of greenhouse gases. In recent years DSM using distributed storage system such as battery energy management system (BESS) and plugged-in electric vehicles (PEV) have become very prevalent with most implementations resorting to deterministic load forecast. These methods do not consider the potential growth in demand making their solutions less robust. In this study we propose a real-time density demand forecast and stochastic optimization for robust operation of PEV for a building. This method accounts for demand uncertainties in addition to uncertainties in mobile energy storage as found in PEV, making the resulting solution robust as compared to the deterministic case. A case study on a real site in South Korea is used for verification and testing. The proposed study is verified and tested against existing algorithms. The result verifies the effectiveness of the proposed approach

Syntrophic acetate oxidation operates close to the thermodynamic equilibrium and very little is known about the participating organisms and their metabolism. Clostridium ultunense is one of the most abundant syntrophic acetate-oxidising bacteria (SAOB) found in engineered biogas processes operating with high ammonia concentrations. It has been proven to oxidise acetate in cooperation with hydrogenotrophic methanogens. There is evidence that the Wood-Ljungdahl (WL) pathway plays an important role in acetate oxidation. In this study we analysed the physiological and metabolic capacities of C. ultunense on genome scale and conducted a comparative study of all known characterised SAOB, namely Syntrophaceticus schinkii, Thermacetogenium phaeum, Tepidanaerobacter acetatoxydans and Pseudothermotoga lettingae. The results clearly indicated physiological robustness beneficial for anaerobic digestion environments and revealed unexpected metabolic diversity with respect to acetate oxidation and energy conservation systems., Unlike S. schinkii and Th. phaeum, C. ultunense clearly does not employ the oxidative WL pathway for acetate oxidation, as its genome (and that of P. lettingae) lack important key genes. In both those species, a proton motive force is likely formed by chemical protons involving putative electron-bifurcating [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases rather than proton pumps. No genes encoding a respiratory Ech hydrogenase, as involved in energy conservation in Th. phaeum and S. schinkii, were identified in C. ultunense and P. lettingae. Moreover, two respiratory complexes sharing similarities to the proton-translocating ferredoxin:NAD⁺ oxidoreductase (Rnf) and the Na+ pumping NADH:quinone hydrogenase (NQR) were predicted. These might form a respiratory chain involved in reduction of electron acceptors other than protons. However, involvement of these complexes in acetate oxidation in C. ultunense and P. lettingae needs further study. This genome-based comparison provides a solid platform for future meta-proteomics and meta-transcriptomics studies and for metabolic engineering, control and monitoring of SAOB.

What if oxygenic photosynthesis is a primordial process with roots at the origin of life? What would the impact of this change in perspective be on our understanding of the early Earth and of the emergence and diversification of life? In here, I will examine some of the historical context of the study of the evolution of photosynthesis, which led to the consolidation of the current notion that the origin of anoxygenic photosynthesis occurred before the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. I will show with a few examples how the mainstream view on the evolution of photosynthesis traces back to Oparin’s ‘primordial soup’ scenario for the origin of life, fuelled by the century-old perception that oxygenic photosynthesis is a plant rather than a bacterial trait. However, it has become more evident than ever before that the mainstream view is not supported by the evolution of the photosystems. In other words, the origin of biological water oxidation appears to be the seed from where photosynthesis sprout. Somewhat troubling and contrary to all predictions that derive from the mainstream view, photosystem II—the water-splitting and oxygen-evolving enzyme—shows features that are better explained if photochemical reaction centres originated during the establishment of oxygenic photosynthesis. An urgent revision of the evolution of photosynthesis procured to be free from biases of interpretations and presuppositions is strongly encouraged from all angles of the Life and Earth Sciences.

Ceria, zirconia and mixed cerium-zirconium mesoporous oxides were synthesized and used as supports for sulfur and gold species. The materials were characterised using selected advanced techniques (ICP-OES, elemental analysis, XPS, XRD, N₂ adsorption and desorption isotherms, UV-vis, ATR-FTIR, TPR-H₂, TG-DTA) which allowed monitoring of the oxidation state of metals (cerium and gold) and the surface properties of the catalysts, in particular the concentration of the components on the surface and in the bulk of materials. The interactions between gold, sulfur and metals from oxides were considered. The goal of this work was studied the changes in the chemical composition of materials and the oxidation states of cerium species after the modification of oxides with sulfur and gold species and the estimation of the influence of these changes on the surface properties. The chemical composition of surface affects the mobility of surface oxygen and the oxidation state of cerium, which can play the role of redox sites (e.g. Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ species), and therefore it strongly influences on the adsorption of hydrogen sulfide and then gold loading. Additionally, gold catalysts modified with sulfur species were tested in the reaction of glycerol oxidation in the liquid phase at basic conditions as the test reaction of the catalytic oxidation of organic pollutants from water.

Sam Granick opened his seminal 1957 paper titled Speculations on the Origins and Evolution of Photosynthesis with the assertion that there is a constant urge in human beings to seek beginnings (I concur). This urge has led to an incessant stream of speculative ideas and debates on the evolution of photosynthesis that started in the first half of the twentieth century and shows no signs of abating. Some of these speculative ideas have become common place, are taken as fact, but find little support. Here I review and scrutinise three widely accepted ideas that underpin the current study of the evolution of photosynthesis: firstly, that the photochemical reaction centres used in anoxygenic photosynthesis are more primitive than those in oxygenic photosynthesis; secondly, that the probability of acquiring photosynthesis via horizontal gene transfer is greater than the loss of photosynthesis; and thirdly, and most importantly, that the origin of anoxygenic photosynthesis predates the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. I shall attempt to demonstrate that these three ideas are often grounded on incorrect assumptions built on more assumptions with no experimental nor observational support. I hope that this brief review will not only serve as cautionary tale, but also that it will open new avenues of research aimed at disentangling the complex evolution of photosynthesis and its impact on the early history of life and the planet.

Containing hundreds of spectral bands (features), hyperspectral images (HSIs) have high ability in discrimination of land cover classes. Traditional HSIs data processing methods consider the same importance for all bands in the original feature space (OFS), while different spectral bands play different roles in identification of samples of different classes. In order to explore the relative importance of each feature, we learn a weighting matrix and obtain the relative weighted feature space (RWFS) as an enriched feature space for HSIs data analysis in this paper. To overcome the difficulty of limited labeled samples which is common case in HSIs data analysis, we extend our method to semisupervised framework. To transfer available knowledge to unlabeled samples, we employ graph based clustering where low rank representation (LRR) is used to define the similarity function for graph. After construction the RWFS, any arbitrary dimension reduction method and classification algorithm can be employed in RWFS. The experimental results on two well-known HSIs data set show that some dimension reduction algorithms have better performance in the new weighted feature space.

As a result of rapid population growth, an exponentially growing human population, and industrial expansion, it has become increasingly difficult to manage municipal solid wastes throughout the world. Decentralized waste management systems have created difficult situations in developing countries such as Malaysia. Wastes generated in the country, due to various cultural, social, and religious activities, organic and contributing to environmental pollution (air, water, and soil) and human health troubles. A questionnaire survey was participated by 220 construction professionals in Malaysia using structured and semi-structured methods. The framework was assessed using A partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to target sustainable development goals (SDG). Statistical analysis results indicate a significant effect between SCW management, since(r(270)=.687, P&lt;0.001). Improving factors has strong relationship with SCW management, since(r(270)=.723, P&lt;0.001). The mediation results also suggested a significant indirect positive effect of improving factors drivers on SCW management through policy-related factors sinceβ=0.688, t=8.254, P&lt;0.001, 95% CI for β=0.536,0.866. Finally, policy-related factors construct has a strong relationship with SCWM) management, since(r(270)=.811, P&lt;0.001) With the R Square of 0.787 and 0.785. The developed framework can improve construction waste management in the construction industry and enhance construction waste management to achieve global sustainable development goals. The findings show that one of the most critical issues of enhancing profitability is using preventive policies to reduce construction waste. This study could guide construction industry stakeholders in identifying the different waste management features during a building project's construction and design stage

In the paper, the effect of voltage increasing (from 500 VDC up to 650 VDC) on the structure and chemical composition of porous coating on titanium made by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation, is presented. In the present paper, phosphates based coatings enriched with calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper in electrolyte based on 1 L of 85% concentrated H3PO4 with additions of Ca(NO3)2·4H2O, and Mg(NO3)2∙6H2O, and Zn(NO3)2∙6H2O, and Cu(NO3)2∙3H2O, are described. The morphology, chemical and phase composition, are evaluated using SEM, EDS, XRD, XPS, GDOES. Based on all the analyses, it was found out that the PEO coatings are porous and enriched with calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper. They consist mainly of the amorphous phase, which is more visible for higher voltages, and it is correlated with the increasing of the total PEO coating thickness (the higher the voltage, the thicker the PEO coating). However, for 650 VDC an amorphous phase and titanium substrate was also recorded with a signal from Ti2P2O7 crystalline, that was not observed for lower voltages. It was also found out that all the obtained coatings may be divided in three sub-layers, i.e. porous, semiporous, and transition one.

Recent wastewater testing suggests the poliovirus is reemerging, raising questions about the efficacy of the current inactivated polio vaccine and mass vaccination to eradicate poliomyelitis. The present study reassessed reported outcomes from the placebo-control study of the 1954 Salk inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine field trial, which studied a population of 1,829,916 U.S. school children from the first three grades. The placebo-control study of the trial reported that the polio vaccine was 80% to 90% effective in reducing cases of laboratory confirmed paralytic poliomyelitis, 60% to 70% effective against type 1 of the virus, and greater than 90% effective against types 2 and 3 of the poliovirus. However, these outcomes are reported as relative risk reductions, and the absolute risk reductions of the 1954 polio vaccine field trial were never reported to the public. The present paper’s analysis reveals to the public for the first time that the inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine's absolute risk reduction of laboratory confirmed paralytic poliomyelitis in the placebo-control study is 0.01% to 0.02%, an extraordinarily low clinical effect that impugns the Salk polio vaccine’s reported effectiveness. Furthermore, absolute risk reductions for the three poliovirus types are 0.01%, 0.00%, and 0.01%, respectively. Outcome reporting bias in the 1954 inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine field trial casts doubt on eradication of the poliovirus through mass vaccination.

Microbe laden air particles, known as bio-aerosols, are routinely generated, in clinical dentistry due to the operative instrumentation within a milieu rich in salivary organisms. As the major mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be airborne aerosols and droplets, there has been an intense focus on such aerosol generating procedures (AGP). As there has been no systematic reviews on the efficacy of bio-aerosol reducing measure in dentistry, the objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the literature on three major AGPs, rubber dam application, pre-procedural oral rinse, and high-volume evacuation (HVE) aimed at reducing dental bio-aerosols. Method: PubMed via Ovid MEDLINE, EBSCO host, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases between January 01, 1985, and April 30, 2020, were searched.Results: A total of 156 records in the English language literature were identified, of which 17 clinical studies with 724 patients were included in the final analyses. The eligible reviewed articles revealed the inadequacy of the afore mentioned three principal AGPs used in contemporary dental practice to minimise bio-aerosols. HVE appears to be the most efficacious method, although no single approach provides total elimination of bio-aerosols. Conclusion:This, the first systematic review on methods of controlling bio-aerosols in dental operatory settings, indicates that employing combination strategies of rubber dam, with a pre-procedural antimicrobial oral rinse, and HVE can significantly minimize bio-aerosols. As the quality of the currently available data on dental bio-aerosols are rather poor, further, controlled, multi-centre studies are essential to address this critical issue.

Chemotherapy is a standard therapeutic option for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC); however, its effectiveness is often compromised by drug-related toxicity and resistance development. Herein, we aimed to evaluate whether an improved antineoplastic effect could be achieved in vitro and in vivo in TNBC by combining dovitinib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, with calcitriol, a natural anti-cancer hormone. In vitro, cell proliferation and cell-cycle distribution were studied by sulforhodamine B-assays and flow cytometry. In vivo, dovitinib/calcitriol effects on tumor growth, angiogenesis and endothelium activation were evaluated in xenografted mice by caliper measures, Itgb3-immunohistochemistry and 99mTc-RGD2-tumor uptake. The drug combination elicited a synergistically improved antiproliferative effect in TNBC-derived cells, which allowed a 7-fold dovitinib dose-reduction. Mechanistically, the co-treatment induced cell death and accumulation in S and G2/M phases, while inhibited tumor growth to a greater extent than each compound alone. Tumor uptake of 99mTc-RGD2 was reduced by dovitinib, suggesting angiogenesis inhibition, which was corroborated by decreased endothelial cell growth and tumor vessel density. In summary, calcitriol synergized dovitinib anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo, allowing for a significant dose-reduction of dovitinib, while maintaining its antiproliferative potency. Our results suggest the beneficial convergence of independent antitumor mechanisms of dovitinib and calcitriol to inhibit TNBC-tumor growth.

A Demand-side management technique are deployed along with battery energy-storage systems (BESSs) to lower the electricity cost by mitigating the peak load of a building. Most of the existing methods rely on manual operation of the BESS, or even an elaborate building energy-management system resorting to a deterministic method that is susceptible to unforeseen growth in demand. In this study we propose a real-time optimal operating strategy for BESS based on density demand forecast and stochastic optimization. This method takes into consideration uncertainties in demand when accounting for an optimal BESS schedule, making it robust compared to the deterministic case. The proposed method is verified and tested against existing algorithms. Data obtained from a real site in South Korea is used for verification and testing. The results show that the proposed method is effective, even for the cases where the forecasted demand deviates from the observed demand

Mn-doped CeO2 and CeO2 with the same morphology (nanofiber and nanocube) were synthesized through hydrothermal method respectively. When applied to benzene oxidation, the catalytic properties of Mn-doped CeO2 were higher than those of CeO2, which was related with the concentration of O vacancy. Compared to CeO2 with the same morphology, more oxygen vacancies were formed on the surface of Mn-doped CeO2, due to Mn ion replacing Ce ion. The lattice replacement was analyzed through XRD, Raman, electron energy loss spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance technology. The formation energies of oxygen vacancy on the different exposed crystal planes [(110) and (100)] for Mn-doped CeO2 were calculated by applying the density functional theory (DFT). The data showed that the oxygen vacancy was easier to be formed on the (110) plane. The factors influencing catalytic behavior were elaborated, which indicated that surface oxygen vacancy played an important part in catalytic reaction.

One of the most common limits to gas sensor performance is the presence of unwanted interference fringes or etalons arising, for example, from multiple reflections between surfaces in the optical path. Additionally, since the amplitude and the frequency of these interference depend on the distance and alignment of the optical elements, they are affected by temperature changes and mechanical disturbances, giving rise to a drift of the signal. In this work, we present a novel semi-parametric algorithm which allows the extraction of a signal, like the spectroscopic absorption line of a gas molecule, from a background containing arbitrary disturbances, without having to make any assumption on the functional form of these disturbances. The algorithm is applied first to simulated data and then to oxygen absorption measurements in presence of strong fringes.To the best of the authors' knowledge, the algorithm enables an unprecedented accuracy particularly if the fringes have a free spectral range and amplitude comparable to those of the signal to be detected. The described method presents the advantage of being based purely on post processing, and to be of extremely straightforward implementation if the functional form of the Fourier transform of the signal is known. Therefore it has the potential to enable interference-immune absorption spectroscopy. Finally, its relevance goes beyond absorption spectroscopy for gas sensing since it can be applied to any kind of spectroscopic data.

Multiobjective optimization plays an increasingly important role in modern applications, where several criteria are often of equal importance. The task in multiobjective optimization and multiobjective optimal control is therefore to compute the set of optimal compromises (the Pareto set) between the conflicting objectives. The advances in algorithms and the increasing interest in Pareto optimal solutions have led to a wide range of new applications related to optimal and feedback control which results in new challenges such as expensive models or real-time applicability. Since the Pareto set generally consists of an infinite number of solutions, the computational effort can quickly become challenging which is particularly problematic when the objectives are costly to evaluate or when a solution has to be presented very quickly. This article gives an overview over recent developments in accelerating multiobjective optimal control for complex problems where either PDE constraints are present or where a feedback behavior has to be achieved. In the first case, surrogate models yield significant speed-ups. Besides classical meta-modeling techniques for multiobjective optimization, a promising alternative for control problems is to introduce a surrogate model for the system dynamics. In the case of real-time requirements, various promising model predictive control approaches have been proposed, using either fast online solvers or offline-online decomposition. We also briefly comment on dimension reduction in many-objective optimization problems as another technique for reducing the numerical effort.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are currently under intense investigation for biomedical and biotechnology applications, thanks to their ease in preparation, stability, biocompatibility, multiple surface functionalities and size-dependent optical properties. The most commonly used method for AuNPs synthesis in aqueous solution is the reduction of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl₄) with trisodium citrate. We observed variations in the pH and concentration of the gold colloidal suspension synthesized under standard conditions, verifying a reduction in the reaction yield by around 46% from pH 5.3 (2.4 nM) to pH 4.7 (1.29 nM). Citrate-capped AuNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM, EDS and zeta-potential measurements, revealing a linear correlation between pH and the concentration of the generated AuNPs. This result can be attributed to the adverse effect of protons both on citrate oxidation and on citrate adsorption onto the gold surface, which is required to form the stabilization layer. Overall, this study provides insight into the effect of the pH over the synthesis performance of the method, which would be of particular interest from the point of view of large-scale manufacturing processes.

Jakarta belongs to the cities with the highest flood risk in the world. Its flood hazard is driven by land subsidence, soil sealing, changes in river discharge and increasingly sea level rise. As all of these trends are set to continue, Jakarta’s flood hazard is expected to intensify in the future. Designing and implementing risk reduction and adaption measures is therefore of utmost importance. Against the background, the paper draws on a discourse analysis and original empirical household survey data to review and evaluate current adaptation measures and to analyze in how far they describe a path that is transformative from previous risk reduction approaches. The results show that the focus is clearly on engineering solutions, foremost in the Giant Sea Wall project. The project is likely to transform the city’s flood hydrology. However, it cements rather than transforms the current risk management paradigm which gravitates around the goal of controlling flood symptoms, rather than addressing their anthropogenic root causes. The results also show that the planned measures are heavily contested due to concerns about ecological impacts, social costs, distributional justice, public participation and long-term effectiveness. On the outlook, the results therefore suggest that the more the flood hazard will intensify in the future, the deeper a societal debate will be needed about the desired pathway in flood risk reduction and overall development planning – particularly with regards to the accepted level of transformation, such as partial retreat from the most flood-affected areas.

Clean production of renewable fuels is a great challenge of our scientific community. Iridium complexes have demonstrated a superior catalytic activity in the water oxidation (WO) reaction, which is a crucial step in water splitting process. Herein we have used a defective zirconium MOF with UiO-66 structure as support of a highly active Ir complex based on EDTA with formula [Ir(HEDTA)Cl]Na. The defects are induced by the partial substitution of tereftalic acid with smaller formiate groups. Anchoring of the complex occurs through a post-synthetic exchange of formiate anions, coordinated at the zirconium clusters of the MOF, with the free carboxylate group of the [Ir(HEDTA)Cl]-complex. The modified material was tested as heterogenous catalyst for the WO reaction by using Cerium Ammonium Nitrate as sacrificial agent. Although TOF and TON values are comparable to those of other iridium heterogenized catalysts, the MOF exhibits iridium leaching not limited at the first catalytic run, as usually observed, suggesting a lack of stability of the hybrid system under strong oxidative conditions.

In this study, the efficiencies of flat-plate and U-tube solar collectors were investigated experimentally when an Al₂O₃ nanofluid was used as a working fluid and compared to those of solar collectors using water. The energy saving and CO₂ and SO₂ generated were calculated and compared to those of solar collectors using water. In addition, based on the experimental results, an economic analysis of the use of solar collectors in various countries was performed. As the concentration of the Al₂O₃ nanofluid increased, the performance of the solar collector improved. The highest efficiency for the solar collectors was shown at the concentration of 1.0 vol% with the nanoparticle size of 20 nm. The maximum efficiencies of the flat-plate and U-tube solar collectors using 1.0 vol%-Al₂O₃ nanofluid with 20-nm nanoparticles was 74.9% and 72.4%, respectively, when the heat loss parameter was zero. The efficiencies of the flat-plate and U-tube solar collectors using Al₂O₃ nanofluid were 14.8% and 10.7 higher, respectively, than those using water. When 50 EA flat-plate solar collectors were operated for one year using Al₂O₃ nanofluid, the coal use, generated CO₂, and generated SO₂ were 189.99 kg, 556.69 kg, and 2.03 kg less than those of solar collectors using water, respectively. In addition, the largest electricity cost reduction was in Germany.

This study is framed on the Information Theory as a constructive criterion to generate probabilistic distributions –through the elaboration of Bayesian Networks- and to reduce the uncertainty in the occurrence and relationship between two key psychological variables associated with the sports’ performance: Self-Determined Motivation and Competitive Anxiety. We analyzed 674 universitary students/athletes who competed in the 2017 Universitary Games (Universiade) in México, from 44 universities, with an average age of 21 years old (SD = 2.07), and with a sportive experience of 8.61 years of average (SD = 5.15). Methods: Regarding the data analysis, first of all a CHAID algorithm was carried out for to know the independence links among variables, and then two Bayesian networks (BN) were elaborated. The validation of the BN revealed AUC values ranging from 0.5 to 0.92. Subsequently, various instantations were carried out with hypothetical values applied to the “bottom” variables. Results showed two probability trees that have Extrinisic Motivation and Amotivation at the top, while the anxiety/activation due to the worry for performance was at the bottom of probabilities. The instantiations carried out support the existence of these probabilistic relationships, demonstrating the little influence on the competition anxiety generated by the intrinsic motivation. In conclusion, the reduction of the uncertainty made up by the restricted BN may aloe to re-introduce Information Theory principles in psychosocial studies, allowing authors to obtain useful probabilities values upon target psychological variables related with sportive performance.

Different water treatment regiments are revealed to have potential in enriching antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based disinfection techniques have been studied widely in the recent times due to their advantages over conventional treatment methods. However, bacterial response and adaptations against the hostile environments of AOPs is not clearly understood yet. Based on the existing knowledge on the ways in which bacteria surpass the antibiotic treatment, here we propose few important aspects of bacterial adaptation which could be true for AOPs as well since both antibiotics and AOPs generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) during their modes of action. We discuss the plausible role of ROS in the selection of ARB and bacterial heterogeneity as a strategy to bypass the lethal action of AOPs. Understanding bacterial adaptation during disinfection plays a vital role in devising strategies to outclass the bacterial survival. Hence, more importance should be given to such studies in the near future for the successful implementation of AOPs.

Carbon supported nanoparticles of monometallic Ni catalyst and binary Ni-Transition Metal (Ni-TM/C) electrocatalytic composites were synthesized via chemical reduction method, where TM stands for the doping elements Fe, Co, and Cu. The chemical composition, structure and morphology of the Ni-TM/C materials were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The electrochemical properties towards hydrogen oxidation reaction in alkaline medium were studied using the rotating disc electrode and cycling voltammetry methods. A significant role of the TM dopant in the promotion of the hydrogen electrooxidation kinetics of the binary Ni-TM/C materials were revealed. A record-high in exchange current density value of 0.060 mA cm²_Ni was measured for Ni₃Fe₁/C, whereas the monometallic Ni/C counterpart has only shown 0.039 mA cm²_Ni. In order to predict the feasibility of the electrocatalysts for hydrogen chemisorption, density functional theory was applied to calculate the hydrogen binding energy and hydroxide binding energy values for bare Ni and Ni₃TM₁.

The consumer’s acceptability of hamburgers elaborated with the flank of culling cows in which the content of salt or fat had been partially replaced was studied. A mixture of potassium chloride, potassium ferrocyanide and sodium ferrocyanide was used as substitutes for the salt. Oat flakes or a mixture of chia and flax seeds were used as substitutes for the fat. The hamburgers were tasted by 34 consumers. Consumers did not detect significant differences between the control and the rest of the formulations. Neither the gender nor the age of the consumers influenced the sensory appraisal. However, many comments regarding texture failures were recorded. Therefore, the substitution of salt and / or fat in the composition of hamburgers made with the flank of cows is a viable alternative for the commercialization of these pieces of low commercial value as long as the texture of the same is adjusted to resemble it to the control.

This review describes major advances in the use of functionalized molecular metal oxides (polyoxometalates, POMs) as water oxidation catalysts under electrochemical conditions. The fundamentals of POM-based water oxidation are described together with a brief overview of general approaches to designing POM water oxidation catalysts. Next, the use of POMs for homogeneous, solution-phase water oxidation is described together with a summary of theoretical studies shedding light on the POM-WOC mechanism. This is followed by a discussion of heterogenization of POMs on electrically conductive substrates for technologically more relevant application studies. Stability of POM water oxidation catalysts are discussed on selected examples where detailed data is already available. The review finishes with an outlook on future perspective and emerging themes in electrocatalytic polyoxometalate-based water oxidation research.

In this paper, we first report that WO_x contained nanoalloys exhibit stable electrocatalytic performance in alkaline media, though bulk WO₃ are easy to be dissolved in NaOH solutions. Carbon supported oxide-rich Pd-W alloy nanoparticles (PdW/C) with different Pd:W atom ratios were prepared by reduction-oxidation method. Among the catalysts, the oxide-rich Pd0.8W0.2/C (Pd/W = 8:2, atom ratio) exhibits the highest catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data shows that ~40% of Pd atoms and ~60% of the W atoms are in their oxides form. The Pd 3d_5/2 peaks in oxide-rich Pd-W nanoalloys are positive shift compared with that of Pd/C, which indicates the electronic structure of Pd is affected by the strong interaction between Pd and W/WO₃. Compare to Pd/C, the onset potential of oxygen reduction reaction at the oxide-rich Pd_0.8W_0.2/C is positive shifted. The current density (mA·mg Pd⁻¹) at the oxide-rich Pd_0.8W_0.2/C is ~1.6 times of that at Pd/C. The oxide-rich Pd_0.8W_0.2/C also exhibits higher catalytic stability than Pd/C, which demonstrate that it is a prospective candidate for the cathode of fuel cells operated with alkaline electrolyte.

In fuel-cell technological development, one of the most important objectives is to minimize the amount of Pt, the most employed material as oxygen reduction and methanol oxidation electro-catalyst. In this paper we report the synthesis and characterization of Te nanotubes (TeNTs) decorated with Pt nanoparticles, readily prepared from stirred aqueous solutions of PtCl2 containing a suspension of TeNTs and ethanol acting as a reducing agent, avoiding the use of any hydrophobic surfactants as capping stabilizing substance. The as obtained TeNTs decorated with Pt nanoparticles (TeNTs/PtNPs) have been fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area diffraction patterns (SAD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). We demonstrate that the new material can be successfully employed in fuel cell either as anodic (for methanol oxidation reaction) and cathodic (for oxygen reduction reaction) electrode with high efficiency in terms of related mass activities and on-set improvement. Remarkably, the cell operates in aqueous electrolyte buffered at pH 7.0, thus avoiding acidic or alkaline conditions that may lead e. g. to Pt dissolution (at low pH) and paving the way for the development of biocompatible devices and on chip fuel cells.

High electricity demand for consumption at current supply level in Indonesia led to the rising cost of electricity bills. This factor is compounded by the fact that many electric generators in Indonesia still use fossil fuels, which contributes to the high basic generation cost. UBL is one of the universities that aim to be a green campus. Our research explores the possibility of installing motion sensor to contribute on the energy efficiency. Although mostly common in developed countries, the use of motion sensor for energy efficiency is still rare, especially in Indonesia. despite rising cost and supply shortages, Indonesian buildings are still of high energy consumption. our experiment shows that simple installation of commercially available motion sensors can contribute to reduce the electricity bill from the increase of energy efficiency. One of the efforts to lower energy demand in consumer side is to use the electricity efficiently, such as turning off lights in a room when it's not in use. This method can be simply done by turning the light switches for office and classrooms, but difficult to do in public spaces such as toilets and corridors. Our experiment shows that simple installation of commercially available motion sensors can contribute to reduce the electricity bill from the increase of energy efficiency. Automatic light switches experimentally installed in sample toilet room prove that electricity consumption from the lamps can contribute to the reduction of total weekly energy that translates into Green House Gas emission reduction.

Traditional refractory materials such as nickel-based superalloys have been gradually unable to meet the performance requirements of advanced materials. The Mo-Si-based alloy, as a new type of high temperature structural material, has entered the vision of researchers due to its charming high temperature performance characteristics. However, its easy oxidation and even "pesting oxidation" at medium temperatures limit its further applications. In order to solve this problem, researchers have conducted large numbers of experiments and made breakthrough achievements. Based on these research results, the effects of rare earth elements like La, Hf, Ce and Y on the microstructure and oxidation behavior of Mo-Si-based alloys were systematically reviewed in the current work. Meanwhile, this paper also provided an analysis about the strengthening mechanism of rare earth elements on the oxidation behavior for Mo-Si-based alloys after discussing the oxidation process. Furthermore, the research focus about the oxidation protection of Mo-Si-based alloys in the future was prospected to expand the application field.

The origin of the nucleus remains a great mystery in life science, although nearly two centuries have passed since the discovery of nuclei. To date, studies of eukaryogenesis have focused largely on micro-evolutionary explanations. Here, we examined macro-patterns of C-values (the total amount of DNA within the haploid chromosome set of an organism) for over 110,000 species and the chromosome numbers for over 11,000 species and their potential links with the state of atmospheric oxidation over geological time. Eukaryogenesis was in sync with an over 2.5 order-of-magnitude increase in genome size from prokaryote to eukaryote, and also with a rapid rise of atmospheric oxidation, suggesting that eukaryogenesis would have resulted from a regime shift of genomes driven by the oxidation-driven complexification and structuralization (e.g. chromatin packing).

Red mud is a hazardous waste of alumina industry that contains high amounts of iron, aluminum, titanium and REEs. One of the promising methods for the extraction of iron from red mud is car-bothermic reduction with the addition of sodium salts. This research focuses on the process of hy-drochloric high-pressure acid leaching using 10–20% HCl of two samples of non-magnetic tailings obtained by 60-minute carbothermic roasting of red mud at 1300 °C and the mixture of 84.6 wt. % of red mud and 15.4 wt. % Na2SO4 at 1150 °C, respectively, with subsequent magnetic separation of metallic iron. An influence of temperature, leaching duration, solid-to-liquid-ratio and acid con-centration on dissolution behavior of Al, Ti, Mg, Ca, Si, Fe, Na, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sc, Zr were studied. Based on the investigation of the obtained residues, mechanism of passing of valuable elements into the solution was proposed. It has shown that 90% Al, 91% Sc and above 80% of other REEs can be dissolved under optimal conditions; Ti can be extracted into the solution or the residue depending on the leaching temperature and acid concentration. Based on the research results, novel flowsheets for red mud treatment were developed.

Recently many researches of EOS (Electric Arc Furnace Oxidizing Slag) on application to construction industry have been carried out with increasing its production and limited reclamation site. EOS can be used as a fine aggregate for construction material, however, its engineering properties vary with the manufacturing process and producing district, causing a quality differences in material performance. In the work, EOS is obtained from steel manufacturing plants in South Korea and the engineering properties are evaluated for EOS and the cement mortar with EOS, respectively. From the tests, EOS is mainly made up of CaO, SiO₂, and FeO with 18.2% of larnite which has a crystal structure of β-C₂S with similar cement mineral. EOS mortar shows an increasing compressive strength with more EOS content, which is affected by a considerable amount of larnite (β-C2S) in EOS. The EOS based mortar with ERS (Electric Arc Furnace Reduction Slag) shows unsatisfactory results over the criteria for rate of change, which implies that more consideration must be taken for the usage of the mixed ERS and EOS for cement mortar due to swelling effect of ERS on dimensional stability.

The energy crisis and environmental problems are becoming more and more severe due to the long-term consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, energy conversion devices with high energy density and environmental friendliness (such as fuel cells, metal-air batteries, etc.) have been ex-pected to be reliable alternatives to traditional fossil energy. However, due to the inevitable use of precious metals as the electrode catalysts for these devices, the popularization of these alternatives is seriously hindered. Transition metal nitrides (TMNs) exhibit similar surface and adsorption properties to noble metals since the atomic distance between metal atoms increases and the d-band center of metal atoms downshift after the nitrogen atoms enter the metal lattice. TMNs have become one of the best electrode materials to replace noble metal electrocatalysts in energy storage and conversion devices. In this review, the latest development in the electrocatalytic ap-plication of TMNs nanocrystalline is covered. Firstly, we briefly discuss the structure and activity origin of TMNs and introduce the common physical and chemical methods for the preparation of TMNs. Subsequently, we illustrate the applications of unary TMNs and multivariate TMNs in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Finally, we summarize the challenges and problems of TMNs encountered at the present stage, and expect its future de-velopment.

A numerical approach for generating a limited number of water demand scenarios and estimating their occurrence probabilities in a Water Distribution Network (WDN) is proposed. This approach makes use of the demand scaling laws in order to consider the natural variability and spatial correlation of nodal consumptions. The scaling laws are employed to determine the statistics of nodal consumption as a function of the number of users and the main statistical features of the unitary user's demand. Besides, consumption at each node is considered to follow a Gamma probability distribution. A high number of groups of cross-correlated demands, i.e., scenarios, for the entire network were generated using Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) and the numerical procedure proposed by Iman and Conover. The Kantorovich distance is used to reduce the number of scenarios and estimate their corresponding probabilities, while keeping the statistical information on nodal consumptions. By hydraulic simulation, the whole number of generated demand scenarios was used to obtain a corresponding number of pressure scenarios on which the same reduction procedure was applied. The probabilities of the reduced scenarios of pressure were compared with the corresponding probabilities of demand.

Traditional winglets are designed as fixed devices attached at the tips of the wings. The primary purpose of the winglets is to reduce the lift-induced drag, therefore improving aircraft performance and fuel efficiency. However, because winglets are fixed surfaces, they cannot be used to control lift-induced drag reductions or to obtain the largest lift-induced drag reductions at different flight conditions (take-off, climb, cruise, loitering, descent, approach, landing, and so on). In this work, we propose the use of variable cant angle winglets which could potentially allow aircraft to get the best all-around performance (in terms of lift-induced drag reduction), at different flight phases. By using computational fluid dynamics, we study the influence of the winglet cant angle and sweep angle on the performance of a benchmark wing at Mach numbers of 0.3 and 0.8395. The results obtained demonstrate that by adjusting the cant angle, the aerodynamic performance can be improved at different flight conditions.

In recent years, distributed generation technology has developed rapidly. Renewable energy, represented by wind energy and solar energy, has been widely studied and utilized. In order to give full play to the advantages of Distributed Generation (DG) and meet the challenges after power grid access, Active Distribution Network (ADN) is considered as the future development direction of traditional distribution network because of its ability of active management. Nowadays, multi-scenario analysis is widely used in the research of optimal allocation of distributed power supply in active distribution network. Aiming at the problems that may arise when using multi-scenario analysis to plan DG with uncertainties in large-scale scenarios, a scenario reduction method based on improved clustering algorithm is proposed. The validity of the scene reduction method is tested, and the feasibility of the method is verified. At present, there are few studies on the optimal allocation of DG in ADN under fault state. In this paper, comprehensive safety indicators are introduced. Considering the timing characteristics of DG and the influence of active management mode, a bi-level programming model is established, which aims at minimizing the investment of annual life cycle and the removal of active power. The bi-level model is a complex mixed integer non-linear programming model. A hybrid algorithm combining cuckoo search algorithm and primal dual interior point method is used to solve the model. Finally, through the simulation of the IEEE-33 node system, the superiority of the scenario reduction method and the comprehensive security index used in this paper to optimize the configuration of DG in ADN is verified.

In this work the influence of the structure forming agent on the composition, morphology and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of Fe-N-C catalysts was investigated. As structure forming agent (SFA), dicyandiamide (DCDA) (nitrogen source) or oxalic acid (oxygen source) or mixtures thereof were used. For characterization, cyclic voltammetry and rotating disc electrode (RDE) experiments were performed in 0.1 M H2SO4. In addition to this, N2 sorption measurements and Raman spectroscopy were performed for the structural characterization. The role of metal, nitrogen and carbon sources within the synthesis of Fe-N-C catalysts has been pointed out before. Here, we show that the optimum in terms of ORR activity is achieved if both N- and O-containing SFAs are used in almost similar fractions. All catalysts display a redox couple, whereat its position depends on the fractions of SFAs. The SFA has also a strong impact on the morphology: Catalysts that were prepared with a larger fraction of N-containing SFA revealed a higher order in graphitization, indicated by bands in the 2nd order range of the Raman spectra. Nevertheless, the optimum in terms of ORR activity is obtained for the catalyst with highest D/G band ratio. Therefore, the results indicate that the presence of an additional oxygen-containing SFA is beneficial within the preparation.

Background: Twitter is a major tool for communication in emergencies such as natural disasters. This online social network allows the user to produce content, and it is not designed exclusively for news releases, as opposed to other service providers. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate Twitter uses in natural disasters and pandemics. Methods: The included studies reported the role of Twitter in natural disasters. The studies that report in settings other than the natural disasters (such as man-made disasters) and other social media were excluded. Electronic databases for a comprehensive literature search including MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and EMBASE were used to identify the records that match the mentioned inclusion criteria published till May 2020. The study characteristics were extracted from the qualified studies including year of publication, findings, and geographical location of the study conduct. A narrative synthesis for this literature review was used. Results: The search identified 822 articles of which 780 articles were removed, 256 were not available, 311 papers were not relevant, 16 were duplicated articles, and 197 were non-related to the emergencies. 45 articles met the selection criteria and were included in the review. eleven themes were found in the narrative synthesis including early warning, disseminating information and misinformation, advocacy, personal gains, assessment, various roles of organizations, public mood, geographical analysis, charity, using influencers, and trust. Conclusions: It is recommended that influential individuals be identified in each country and community before disasters occur so that the necessary information can be disseminated in response to disasters. Preventing the spread of misinformation is one of the most important issues in times of disaster, especially pandemics. Disseminating accurate, transparent, and prompt information from relief organizations and governments can help. Also, analyzing Twitter data can be a good source for understanding the mental state of the community, estimating the number of injured people, estimating the points affected by natural disasters, and modeling the prevalence of epidemics. Therefore, various groups such as politicians, the government, non-governmental organizations, aid workers, and the health system can use this information to plan and implement interventions.

The energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key player in the control of energy metabolism. AMPK regulates hepatic lipid metabolism through the phosphorylation of its well-recognized downstream target acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC). Although AMPK activation is proposed to lower hepatic triglyceride (TG) content via the inhibition of ACC to cause inhibition of de novo lipogenesis and stimulation of fatty acid oxidation (FAO), its contribution to the inhibition of FAO in vivo has been recently questioned. We generated a mouse model of AMPK activation specifically in the liver achieved by expression of a constitutively active AMPK using adenoviral delivery. Indirect calorimetry studies revealed that liver-specific AMPK activation is sufficient to induce a reduction in the respiratory exchange ratio and an increase in FAO rates in vivo. This led to a more rapid metabolic switch from carbohydrate to lipid oxidation during the transition from fed to fasting. Finally, mice with chronic AMPK activation in the liver display high fat oxidation capacity evidenced by increased [C14]-palmitate oxidation and ketone body production leading to reduced hepatic TG content and body adiposity. Our findings suggest a role for hepatic AMPK in the remodeling of lipid metabolism between the liver and adipose tissue.

We refute a recently proposed thought experiment namely the Dead-Alive Physicist (DAP) whose authors claim it to be the falsification of the von Neumann interpretation in Quantum Mechanics. We discover major flaws in their model and our justification serves the purpose of disregarding further claims and assertions made in the paper at various stages. Thus, in a yet another situation, it is proven that the formalism advanced by von Neumann is non-trivial and non-falsifiable.

Peri-implantitis occurs at a significant rate, which is the leading cause of implant failure. The main reason for this unwanted complication is bacterial invasion and biofilm formation. To reduce the incidence of peri-implantitis, we constructed a carboxymethyl dextran (CMD) based nanomicelles antibacterial coating on microarc-oxidized titanium (MAO-Ti) surface. After cross-linking, the drug-loaded nanomicelles were spherical with a particle size of 130nm and uniformly dispersed. Zeta potential was negative, and the absolute value was greater than 10 mV, effectively avoiding micelles aggregation. It was observed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) that the stability of nanomicelles was significantly improved after cross-linking. The hemolysis rate of micelles was less than 5%, and the overall survival rate of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was more than 90%. After being coated on MAO-Ti surface, the cumulative drug release rate of drug-loaded nanomicelles reached 86.6% after 360 hours. Fluorescence staining of immobilized bacteria showed more dead bacteria on the coating surface, and the number of live bacteria was significantly reduced. It was concluded that dextran-based nanomicelles, which showed long-term drug release properties and excellent biocompatibility, are potential drug carriers for fabricating antibacterial coating on titanium surfaces.

Despite a global push in the development and implementation of widespread alternative energy use, significant disparities exist across given nation-states. These disparities reflect both technical and economic factors, as well as the social, political, and ecological gaps between how communities see energy development and national/global policy goals. Known as the “local-national gap,” many nations struggle with fostering meaningful conversations about the role of alternative energy technologies within communities. Mitigation of this problem first requires understanding the distribution of existing alternative energy technologies at the local level of policymaking. Using the State of Georgia, U.S.A. as a case study, we present a model for analyzing how existing adoption trends enable/limit conversation at the scale of local governance (i.e., county governments). Leveraging existing work on the Gini Coefficient as a metric for measuring energy inequity, we argue these tools can be applied to analyze where gaps exist in ongoing solar adoption trends. As we demonstrate, communities that adopt solar tend to be concentrated in a few counties, indicating existing conversations are limited to a circumscribed set of social networks. This information and the model we demonstrate can enable focused qualitative analyses of existing solar trends, not only amongst high-adoption areas but within communities where little to no adoption has occurred.

Slope failures pose a substantial threat to mining activity due to their destructive potential and high probability of occurrence on steep slopes close to limit equilibrium conditions, often found both in open pits and in waste and tailing disposal facilities. The development of slope monitoring and modeling programs usually entails the exploitation of in situ and remote sensing data together with the application of numerical modeling, and it plays an important role in the definition of prevention and mitigation measures aimed at minimizing the impact of slope failures in mining areas. Here we present a new methodology combining satellite radar interferometry and 2D finite element modeling for slope stability analysis at a regional scale, applied within slope unit polygons. We studied a former mining area in southeast Spain, and the method proved useful in detecting and characterizing a considerably large number of unstable slopes. Out of 1,959 slope units used for the spatial analysis of the radar interferometry data, 43 were unstable, with varying values of safety factor and landslide size. Out of the 43 active slope units, 21 exhibited line of sight velocities greater than the maximum error obtained through the validation analysis (2.5 cm/year). Eventually, this work discusses the possibility of using the results of the proposed approach to devise a proxy for landslide hazard. The proposed methodology can help to provide non-expert final users with intelligible, clear and easily comparable information to analyze slope instabilities in different settings, not limited to mining areas.

The conversion of methane into chemicals is of interest to achieve a decarbonized future. Fuel cells are electrochemical devices commonly used to obtain electrical energy, but can be utilized either for chemicals production or both energy and chemicals cogeneration. In this work, the partial oxidation of methane in fuel cells for electricity generation and valuable chemicals production at the same time is reviewed. For this purpose, different types of methane-fed fuel cells, both low temperature fuel cells, such as PEMFCs and AAEMFCs, and high temperature fuel cells, such as SOFCs, have been used. Also if few works have been devoted to this topic, the promising results drive the development of fuel cells using methane as the source for the cogeneration of power and valuable chemicals.

It is essential to mitigate gaseous emissions that result from poultry and livestock production to increase industry sustainability. Odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and greenhouse gases (GHGs) have detrimental effects on the quality of life in rural communities, the environment, and climate. This study's objective was to evaluate the photocatalytic UV treatment of gaseous emissions of odor, odorous VOCs, NH3, and other gases (GHGs, O3 – sometimes considered as by-products of UV treatment) from stored swine manure on a pilot-scale. The manure emissions were treated in fast-moving air using a mobile lab equipped with UV-A and UV-C lights and TiO2-based photocatalyst. Treated gas airflow (0.25 to 0.76 m3/s) simulates output from a small ventilation fan in a barn. Through controlling the light intensity and airflow, UV dose was tested for techno-economic analyses. The treatment effectiveness depended on the UV dose and wavelength. Under UV-A (367 nm) photocatalysis, the percent reduction of targeted gases was up to i) 63% of odor, ii) 51%, 51%, 53%, 67%, and 32% of acetic acid, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, p-cresol, and indole, respectively, iii) 14% of nitrous oxide (N2O), iv) 100% of O3, and 26% generation of CO2. Under UV-C (185+254 nm) photocatalysis, the percent reductions of target gases were up to i) 54% and 47% for p-cresol and indole, respectively, ii) 25% of N2O, iii) 71% of CH4, and 46% & 139% generation of CO2 & O3, respectively. The results proved that the UV technology was sufficiently effective in treating odorous gases, and the mobile lab was ready for farm-scale trials. The UV technology can be considered for the scaled-up treatment of emissions and air quality improvement inside livestock barns.

Embryo stage of oxidation of an epi Ge(001)-2×1 by atomic oxygen and molecular O₂ is studied via synchrotron radiation photoemission. The topmost surface buckled with the up- and down-dimer atoms and the first subsurface layer behave distinctly from the bulk by exhibiting surface core-level shifts in the Ge 3d core-level spectrum. The O₂ molecules become dissociated upon reaching the epi Ge(001)-2×1 surface. One of the O atom removes off the up-dimer atom, and the other bonds with the underneath Ge atom in the subsurface layer. Atomic oxygen adsorbed on the epi Ge(001)-2×1 preferentially in between the up-dimer atoms and the underneath subsurface atoms without affecting the down-dimer atoms. The electronic environment of the O-affiliated Ge up-dimer atoms becomes similar to that of the down-dimer atoms. Both exhibit an enrichment in charge, where the subsurface of the Ge layer is maintained in a charge-deficient state. The dipole moment originally generated in the buckled reconstruction no longer exists, thereby resulting in a decrease in the ionization potential. The down-dimer Ge atoms and the back-bonded subsurface atoms remain inert to atomic O and molecular O₂, a possible cause of low reliability in Ge-related metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices.

Numerical weather prediction is an initial-value problem, for determination of the initial conditions, there are many methods and one of the most classical methods is variational methods in three dimensions, or 3D-Var. In this approach, with a defined cost function proportional to the square of the distance between the analysis and both the background and the observations, one can obtain the analysis. In the cost function, the background and the observations are reshaped to vectors; within this step, the order of the background error covariance matrix and the observational error covariance matrix becomes huge, which is not convenient to one to obtain the analysis. In this paper, according to the matrix analysis approach, we put forward some possible improvements to the dimension-reduction algorithm of 3D-Var, so that provide some references for data assimilation.

Aneuploidy should compromise cellular proliferation but paradoxically favours tumour progression and poor prognosis. Here, we consider this paradox in terms of our most recent observations of chemo/radio-resistant cells undergoing reversible polyploidy. The latter perform segregation of two parental groups of end-to-end linked dyads by pseudo-mitosis creating tetraploid cells through a dysfunctional spindle. This is followed by autokaryogamy and homologous pairing preceding a bi-looped endo-prophase. The associated RAD51 and DMC1/γ-H2AX double-strand break repair foci are tandemly situated on the AURKB/REC8/kinetochore doublets along replicated chromosome loops, indicative of recombination events. MOS-associated REC8-positive peri-nucleolar centromere cluster organises a monopolar spindle. The process is completed by reduction divisions (bi-polar or with radial cytotomy including pedogamic exchanges) and release of secondary cells and/or formation of an embryoid. Together this process preserves genomic integrity and chromosome pairing, while tolerating aneuploidy by by-passing the mitotic spindle and meiotic SC checkpoints. Concurrently, it reduces the chromosome number and facilitates recombination that decreases the mutation load of aneuploidy and lethality in the chemo-resistant tumour cells. This cancer life-cycle has parallels both within the cycling polyploidy of the asexual life cycles of ancient unicellular protists and cleavage embryos of early multicellulars, supporting the atavistic theory of cancer.

Replacing carbon by hydrogen is a huge step towards reducing CO₂ emissions in the iron- and steel-making industry. The reduction of iron oxides using hydrogen plasma smelting reduction as an alternative to conventional steel-making routes has been studied at Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Austria. The aim of this work was to study the slag formation during the reduction process and the reduction behaviour of iron oxides. Furthermore, the reduction behaviour of iron ore during continuous feeding was assessed. Mixtures of iron ore and calcined lime with a basicity of 0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.3, and 2.9 were melted and reduced by hydrogen. The off-gas composition was measured during the operations to calculate the process parameters. The reduction parameters, namely the degree of reduction, degree of hydrogen utilisation, produced iron, and slag, are presented. The results of the batch-charged experiments showed that at the beginning of the reduction process, the degree of hydrogen utilisation was high, and then, it decreased over the operation time. In contrast, during the continuous-feeding experiment, the degree of hydrogen utilisation could be kept approximately constant. The highest degrees of reduction and hydrogen utilisation were obtained upon the application of a slag with a basicity of 2.3. The experiment showed that upon the continuous feeding of iron ore, the best conditions for the reduction process using hydrogen could be applied.

MCrAlX (M: Ni or Co or both, X: minor elements) coatings have been widely used to protect hot components in gas turbines against oxidation and hot corrosion at high temperatures. Understanding the influence of the X-elements on oxidation behaviour is important in the design of durable MCrAlX coatings. In this study, NiCoCrAlX coatings doped with Y+Ru and Ce, respectively, were deposited on Inconel-792 substrate by HVOF. The samples were subjected to isothermal oxidation test in laboratory air at 9000, 1000, 1100 ºC and cyclic oxidation test between 100 ºC and 1100 ºC with 1 hour dwell time at 1100 ºC. It was observed that the coating with Ce shows a much higher oxidation rate than the coating with Y+Ru under both isothermal and cyclic oxidation tests. Besides, β-depletion due to interdiffusion between coating and substrate was significantly lower with Ru addition. Simulations results using both a moving phase boundary model and an established oxidation-diffusion model show that Ru stabilize β grains which reduces β-depletion of coating due to substrate interdiffusion. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the influence of Ce and Ru on oxidation behaviour including investigation of the microstructure evolution influenced by oxidation time at coating surface and coating-substrate interface combining experiment and simulation results.

In addition to being a source of freshener, coffee has an enormous possibility to be developed as a source of antioxidants for functional beverages. However, efforts to increase the value added of coffee as a health functional drink are still hindered by the presence of high level of caffeine, which is thought to have adverse effects on health, especially for coffee lovers who are vulnerable to caffeine. This study aims to optimise the steaming duration to produce low caffeine coffee while maintaining the sensory attributes and antioxidant compounds contained in it. Indonesian Arabica (Leksana variety) green coffee beans were steamed with multi-level steaming durations (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 min) followed by roasting (medium-dark roast degree), grinding, and brewing (espresso method). The results indicate that caffeine content in the coffee was inversely proportional to the steaming duration. The lowest caffeine content was obtained from the treatment of 80 min steaming with a decrease of caffeine level up to 28.73%. However, the longer process of steaming caused a significant decrease in polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. The hedonic test shows that the steaming treatment of coffee can increase preferences of panellists. There were two driving attributes that influence the overall liking of coffee, namely: bitterness and aftertaste. Coffee obtained from the treatment of 60 min steaming was most preferred by panellists. The results of APLSR biplot mapping show that there was a big change in almost all attributes in the coffee samples after 40 min steaming.

We investigated whether post-exercise capsinoids (CSN) supplementation could enhance muscle glycogen resynthesis via GLUT4/Akt expressions in human skeletal muscle. Nine male college students (aged 21.4±0.2 years, BMI 21.9±1.3 kg/m2, VO2max 47.1±1.8 ml/kg/min) participated in this crossover designed study, and completed a 60-min cycling exercise at 70% VO2max. Immediately after exercise, participants consumed high-carbohydrate diet (2 g carb/kg bodyweight) with CSN (12 mg, single dosage) or placebo. Biopsied muscle samples (vastus lateralis) were obtained immediately (0h) and 3h after exercise. Blood and expired gas samples were collected before and after exercise. We found oral CSN supplementation immediately after exercise was unable to enhance glycogen resynthesis in exercised human skeletal muscle. Despite, CSN could alter the energy reliance on fat oxidation during post-exercise recovery, based on gaseous exchange measurement (NEFA and glycerol). We further identified no significant differences in postprandial glucose/insulin area under curve in both trials. Western blot data showed no significant response of p-Akt/Akt ratio with CSN during post-exercise recovery. Inconsistent with glycogen levels, muscle GLUT4 expression was significantly elevated at 3h in CSN trial. Our findings emphasize the necessity of further evidences to confirm the ergogenic properties of CSN in connection with glycogen recovery in exercised human skeletal muscle.

There are many pollution and environment problem in the human ecosystem. There are different methods are used to removal of sulfur from sour gases for example Basic Claus process and Modified Claus process . There are different chemical software are used for simulation and optimization of Claus process for example Aspen Plus and Chemcad ECT. The Gibbs free energy method is introduced and model of Claus process. There are new parameter are introduced in reaction furnace to reduce the error from 33% to 7 %. The waste heat boiler is installed at the reaction furnace in which high pressure stream is produced and study the decomposition the hydrogen sulphide. The new rate of reaction is introduced of the enhancement of H2 production in chemical process. The simulation of reaction furnace in Aspen plus software is the maximum utilization of process. Due to suitable operating condition of reaction furnace is caused the maximum destruction of ammonia gas in the reactor. When we are increasing the oxygen concentration and temperature of feed is causing decreasing the ammonia production in reaction furnace. It is below than acceptance value of ammonia is 150 ppm in the reaction furnace. The presence of oxygen components, Sulfur oxide, hydroxide components are effect on decreasing the amount of ammonia in furnace and temperature is about at 1350⁰C. It is noted that when the production of sulfur recovery is decrease in Claus process and the production of carbon monoxide is increase in the thermal section at the existence. Now we are work on parametric studies of furnace that could be causes the production of ammonia destruction and CO emission in the Claus process. Due to optimize the reaction furnace parameter are help to get large of sulfur production, ammonia gas destruction, increased the catalyst life and decreased of dangerous gases.

Sparkling wine producing and consumption are in constant increase in the last decade and show no sign of slowing. Prior consumption, origin, grape variety, occasion, price and sensorial perception are factors that typically influence wine consumers’ purchasing and consumption behavior. The presence of volatile compounds in sparkling wines, with direct impact on their organoleptic characteristics, is influenced by several factors, such as the base-wine characteristics, grapes cultivar conditions, the used yeasts, the aging stage or wine-making practices. For this study, five sparkling wines variants from Muscat Ottonel grape variety were obtained. For the experimental samples, the grapes were processed by applying secondary fermentation in bottles. The base-wine was obtained through reverse osmosis and had a predetermined alcoholic concentration (10.5 % vol.). This study aimed to analyze the influence of different commercial yeasts (IOC FIZZ™, IOC DIVINE™, LEVULIA CRISTAL™, IOC 18-2007™) on the volatile composition of experimental sparkling wines. The obtained sparkling wines were characterized by the physical-chemical parameters (according to OIV methods of analysis) and volatile fraction (using gas-chromatography). Data showed an important impact on the concentration of the volatile compounds (p &lt; 0.05), depending on the type of inoculated yeast for the second fermentation and only a minor influence on the physical-chemical parameters was registered.

The improvement of the methane combustion activity was observed in cyclic temperature-programmed and isothermal reactions over Pd/ZrO2 catalysts by simple reduction/re-oxidation treatment. The catalytic activity increased during the initial stages of isothermal reaction, and the light-off temperature was lowered as the number of cycles increased in the cyclic temperature-programmed reaction. To reveal the origin of activation, variations in the reduction properties after the activation period were carefully investigated through CH4 temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) measurements. From the CH4-TPR results, it was confirmed that the reduction temperature decreased significantly after activation. The observation of the CH4-TPR peak at relatively low temperatures is directly proportional to the catalytic activity of CH4 combustion. It was therefore concluded that repeated reduction/re-oxidation occurred in the reactant stream, and this phenomenon allowed the combustion reaction to proceed more easily at lower temperatures.

Capacity Expansion Models (CEMs) are optimization models used for long-term energy planning on national to continental scale. They are typically computationally demanding, thus in need of simplification, where one such simplification is to reduce the temporal representation. This paper investigates how using representative periods to reduce the temporal representation in CEMs distorts results compared to a benchmark model of a full chronological year. The test model is a generic CEM applied to Europe, equipped with a novel formulation for storage in model versions with reduced temporal representation. We test the performance of reduced models at penetration levels of wind and solar of 90%. Three measures for accuracy are used: (i) system cost, (ii) total capacity mix and (iii) regional capacity. We find that: (i) the system cost is well represented (~5% deviation from benchmark) with as few as ten representative days, (ii) the capacity mix is in general fairly well (~20% deviation) represented with 50 or more representative days, and (iii) the regional capacity mix displays large deviations (>50%) from benchmark for as many as 250 representative days. We conclude that modelers should be aware of the error margins when presenting results on these three aspects.

Abstract: Measures to counteract AMD generation need to start at the mineral surface, inhibiting mineral-oxidizing, acidophilic microbes. Laboratory and long-term field tests with pyrite-containing mining wastes, where Carbonaceous Phosphate Mining Waste (CPMW) was added, resulted in low acidity, and near neutral drainage. The effect was reproducible, nd confirmed by several independent research groups. This was shown to involve an organic coating, likely a biofilm. The biofilm formation was confirmed when CPMW was added to lignite coal waste with an initial pH of 1. Forty five days after the addition, the coal waste was dominated by heterotrophic microorganisms in biofilms. A review of the scientific literature supports that CPMW has physical and chemical characteristics which are capable of inducing a strong inhibitory effect on sulphide oxidation by forming an organic coating over the mineral surface. CPMW characteristics appear to provide the cornerstone of a new technology for the reduction of sulphide oxidation in mine wastes. An hypothesis for testing this technology is presented which could result in an economical and sustainable approach to mine waste and water management.

Increasing the quality factor (Q) of an optical resonator device has been a research focus to be utilized in various applications. Higher Q-factor means light is confined in a longer time which will produce a shaper peak and higher transmission. In this paper, we introduce a novel technique to increase further the Q-factor of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PhC) cavity device by using an end loop-mirror (ELM). The technique utilizes and recycles the light transmission from the conventional 1D PhC cavity design. The design has been proved to work by using the 2.5D FDTD simulation with Lumerical FDTD and MODE softwares. By using the ELM technique, the Q- factor of a 1D PhC design has been shown to have increased up to 79.53 % from the initial Q value without the ELM. This novel design technique can be combined with any high Q-factor and very high Q-factor designs to increase more the Q-factor value of a photonic crystal cavity devices or any other suitable optical resonator devices. The experimental result shows that the device is measurable by adding a Y-branch component to the one-port structure and able to get the high-Q result.

Ammonia-oxidizing microorganism communities are abundant and functionally efficacious in nitrification. However, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) groups complicate this process in subtropical streams. This study investigates the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing communities south of the Dabie Mountains, China, using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Clone libraries were utilized to analyze the abundance and microbial structures of AOA and AOB in sediments. Such analysis may provide strong evidence reflecting the links within the environment. The results show that AOB had a lower abundance of copies of the ammonia-oxidizing gene (amoA) than AOA. Interestingly, the AOA and AOB community compositions were correlated with ecological characteristics. The dissolved oxygen (DO) and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) had significant positive correlations, whereas the phosphorus within the structure had a negative correlation with the abundance of both groups. Our study shows that it might adopt some species related to Nitrosotalea clusters that can resist comparably higher pH (toward pH 6.5). Together, these results imply that the physiological adaptation of microbial guilds to environmental pressures in ammonia-oxidizing archaea might allow them to have a more substantial function of ammonia-oxidizing communities in natural habitats.

The photoreduction of CO2 is an intriguing process, which allows the synthesis of fuels and chemicals. One of the limitations for CO2 photoreduction in the liquid phase is its low solubility in water. This point has been here addressed by designing a fully innovative concept of pressurized photoreactor, allowing operation up to 20 bar and applied to improve the productivity of this very challenging process. The photoreduction of CO2 in the liquid phase was performed using commercial TiO2 (Evonink P25), TiO2 obtained by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and gold doped P25 (0.2 wt% Au-P25) in the presence of Na2SO3 as hole scavenger (HS). The different reaction parameters (catalyst concentration, pH and amount of HS) have been addressed. The products in liquid phase were formic acid and formaldehyde. Moreover, for longer reaction time and with total consumption of HS, gas phase products formed (H2 and CO) after accumulation of significant amount of organic compounds in the liquid phase, due to their consecutive photoreforming. Enhanced CO2 solubility in water was achieved by adding a base (pH= 12-14). In basic environment, CO2 formed carbonates which further reduced to formaldehyde and formic acid and consequently formed CO/CO2+H2 in the gas phase through photoreforming. The deposition of small Au nanoparticles (3-5 nm) (NPs) onto TiO2 was found to quantitatively influence the products distribution and increase the selectivity towards gas phase products.

One challenging problem is the representation of three-dimensional datasets that vary with time. These datasets can be though as a cloud of points that gradually deforms. But point-wise variations lack of information about the overall deformation pattern, and more importantly, about the extreme deformation locations inside the cloud. The present article applies a technique in computational mechanics to derive the strain-rate state of a time-dependent and three-dimensional data distribution, by which one can characterize its main trends of shift. Indeed, the tensorial analysis methodology is able to determine the global deformation rates in the entire dataset. With the use of this technique, one can characterize the significant fluctuations in a reduced multivariate description of an urban system and identify the possible causes of those changes: calculating the strain-rate state of a PCA-based multivariate description of an urban system, we are able to describe the clustering and divergence patterns between the districts of the city and to characterize the temporal rate in which those variations happen.

This paper aims to delve into how gender dimensions observed before, during and after a disaster, have been addressed in two internationally recognised frameworks developed for reducing risks of disasters: Hyogo Framework Action (2005-2015) and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). Building on a systematic review, we evaluate 33 scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles, including book chapters and websites in areas of gender, disaster risk reduction and vulnerability. This study documents a comparative picture of these two frameworks and shows the practical implications of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) by addressing women’s empowerment in the light of their active participation in disaster risk reduction process. The findings of the study suggest that the frameworks have discussed the reduction of women’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities, as well as encouraged their empowerment. Comparing the two frameworks, it appears in the current study that there has been a significant gap in the existing literature that does not explicitly document comparing and contrasting features of a gender lens in the policy documents.

Ti and Ti alloys are materials usually used in contact with hard tissue for applications such as artificial joints and dental implants. Ti6Al4V is a very common alloy used for dental implants, owing to its good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, because of uncertainties regarding the toxicity of vanadium and its influence on the human body, other Ti alloys containing no vanadium and retaining suitable properties are used. In this work Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb were oxidized in a water solution of calcium acetate (Ca(CH3COO)2) and calcium glycerophosphate (Ca(PO4CH(CH2OH)2) by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) for 20 minutes and then were hydrothermally treated (HTT) in water (pH=7) and in potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution (pH=11) for 2 hours at 200°C in a pressurized reactor. The surface morphologies, elemental composition and phase components were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), respectively. The surface roughness was measured by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and thickness measurements were made by SEM and thickness gauge. Also, corrosion tests were made to evaluate the corrosion behavior of the two alloys. The aim of this study is to compare two viable Ti alloys, Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb, and to attain on their surface hydroxyapatite (HA) coating improving the osseointegration, as it simulates a human bone.

Significance: Cellular redox processes are highly interconnected, yet not in equilibrium, and governed by a wide range of biochemical parameters. Technological advances continue refining how specific redox processes are regulated, but broad understanding of the dynamic interconnectivity between cellular redox modules remains limited. Systems biology investigates multiple components in complex environments and can provide integrative insights into the multi-faceted cellular redox state. This review describes the state of the art in redox systems biology as well as provides an updated perspective and practical guide for harnessing thousands of cysteine sensors in the redoxome for multi-parameter characterization of cellular redox networks. Recent Advances: Redox systems biology has been applied to genome-scale models and large public datasets, challenged common conceptions and provided new insights that complement reductionist approaches. Advances in public knowledge and user-friendly tools for proteome-wide annotation of cysteine sentinels can now leverage cysteine redox proteomics datasets to provide spatial, functional, and protein structural information. Critical Issues: Careful consideration of the analytical approaches is needed to broadly characterize the systems level properties of redox signaling networks and be experimentally feasible. The cysteine redoxome is an informative focal point since it integrates many aspects of redox biology. The mechanisms and redox modules governing cysteine redox regulation, cysteine oxidation assays, proteome-wide annotation of the biophysical and biochemical properties of individual cysteines, and their clinical application are discussed. Future Directions: Investigating the cysteine redoxome at a systems level will uncover new insights into the mechanisms of selectivity and context-dependence of redox signaling networks.

Zika virus (ZIKV) co-circulates with several closely related flaviviruses which exhibit similar clinical manifestations thus, clinicians rely on molecular and serological techniques for diagnosis. Cross-reactivity of patient specimens to flaviviruses is a significant impediment to serological diagnosis in areas where multiple flaviviruses co-circulate. Furthermore, patient exposure history to any of these viruses could complicate serological response patterns which could result in over and/or underdiagnosis of ZIKV infection. Three strains of ZIKV, dengue serotypes 1-4, West Nile virus, Japanese Encephalitis virus, and Yellow Fever virus were evaluated for neutralizing properties against 3 monoclonal antibodies, 4 ZIKV-naïve patients with flavivirus exposure history, 5 patients with verified ZIKV exposure and unknown flavivirus exposure history, and 5 flavivirus-naive patients with ZIKV-only exposure. Patients naïve for ZIKV exposure effectively neutralized multiple strains of ZIKV. Overall, the prototype ZIKV isolate MR-766 did not behave like the other ZIKV isolated used in this study. MR-766 was neutralized more completely by polyclonal patient serum than recent ZIKV isolates. MR-766 was neutralized better than dengue virus in ZIKV-naïve patients with prior dengue exposure. MR-766 was neutralized significantly less than recent ZIKV isolates when treated with monoclonal antibodies. The data herein show that without RT-PCR, serological diagnosis may not be possible in areas where multiple flaviviruses are endemic.