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400 | Challenge accepted: uncovering the role of rare genetic variants in Alzheimer's disease | The search for rare variants in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is usually deemed a high-risk - high-reward situation. The challenges associated with this endeavor are real. Still, the application of genome-wide technologies to large numbers of cases and controls or to small, well-characterized families has started to be fruitful.Rare variants associated with AD have been shown to increase risk or cause disease, but also to protect against the development of AD. All of these can potentially be targeted for the development of new drugs.Multiple independent studies have now shown associations of rare variants in NOTCH3, TREM2, SORL1, ABCA7, BIN1, CLU, NCK2, AKAP9, UNC5C, PLCG2, and ABI3 with AD and suggested that they may influence disease via multiple mechanisms. These genes have reported functions in the immune system, lipid metabolism, synaptic plasticity, and apoptosis. However, the main pathway emerging from the collective of genes harboring rare variants associated with AD is the Aβ pathway. Associations of rare variants in dozens of other genes have also been proposed, but have not yet been replicated in independent studies. Replication of this type of findings is one of the challenges associated with studying rare variants in complex diseases, such as AD. In this review, we discuss some of these primary challenges as well as possible solutions.Integrative approaches, the availability of large datasets and databases, and the development of new analytical methodologies will continue to produce new genes harboring rare variability impacting AD. In the future, more extensive and more diverse genetic studies, as well as studies of deeply characterized families, will enhance our understanding of disease pathogenesis and put us on the correct path for the development of successful drugs. |
401 | Temporary reduction in fine particulate matter due to 'anthropogenic emissions switch-off' during COVID-19 lockdown in Indian cities | The COVID-19 pandemic elicited a global response to limit associated mortality, with social distancing and lockdowns being imposed. In India, human activities were restricted from late March 2020. This 'anthropogenic emissions switch-of presented an opportunity to investigate impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures on ambient air quality in five Indian cities (Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai), using in-situ measurements from 2015 to 2020. For each year, we isolated, analysed and compared fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration data from 25 March to 11 May, to elucidate the effects of the lockdown. Like other global cities, we observed substantial reductions in PM2.5 concentrations, from 19 to 43% (Chennai), 41-53% (Delhi), 26-54% (Hyderabad), 24-36% (Kolkata), and 10-39% (Mumbai). Generally, cities with larger traffic volumes showed greater reductions. Aerosol loading decreased by 29% (Chennai), 11% (Delhi), 4% (Kolkata), and 1% (Mumbai) against 2019 data. Health and related economic impact assessments indicated 630 prevented premature deaths during lockdown across all five cities, valued at 0.69 billion USD. Improvements in air quality may be considered a temporary lockdown benefit as revitalising the economy could reverse this trend. Regulatory bodies must closely monitor air quality levels, which currently offer a baseline for future mitigation plans. |
402 | Diversity and biogenesis contribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria in arsenic-contaminated soils from realgar deposits | Microbial sulfate reduction, a vital mechanism for microorganisms living in anaerobic, sulfate-rich environments, is an essential aspect of the sulfur biogeochemical cycle. However, there has been no detailed investigation of the diversity and biogenesis contribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria in arsenic-contaminated soils from realgar deposits. To elucidate this issue, soil samples from representative abandoned realgar deposits were collected. Microcosm assays illustrated that all three samples (2-1, 2-2, and 2-3) displayed efficient sulfate and As(V)-respiring activities. Furthermore, a total of 28 novel sequence variants of dissimilatory sulfite reductase genes and 2 new families of dsrAB genes were successfully identified. A novel dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulfotomaculum sp. JL1, was also isolated from soils, and can efficiently respiratory reduce As(V) and sulfate in 4 and 5 days, respectively. JL1 can promote the generation of yellow precipitates in the presence of multiple electron acceptors (both contain sulfate and As(V) in the cultures), which indicated the biogenesis contribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria to the realgar mine. Moreover, this area had unique microbial communities; the most abundant populations belonged to the phyla Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteriota, which were attributed to the unique geochemistry characteristics, such as total organic carbon, total As, NO3-, and SO42-. The results of this study provide new insight into the diversity and biogenesis contributions of sulfate-reducing bacteria in arsenic-contaminated soils from realgar deposits. |
403 | Functional Aqueous Zinc-Acetylene Batteries for Electricity Generation and Electrochemical Acetylene Reduction to Ethylene | The available processes for removing acetylene impurities from crude ethylene are tremendously energy-intensive. Herein, we demonstrate a novel aqueous Zn-C2 H2 battery, which not only switches energy-consuming acetylene removal to electricity generation, but also reduces acetylene to ethylene through a unique discharge mechanism: C2 H2 +Zn+H2 O→C2 H4 +ZnO. Under a pure acetylene stream, this Zn-C2 H2 battery exhibits an open circuit potential of 1.14 V and a peak power density of 2.2 mW cm-2 , which exceed those of reported Zn-CO2 batteries. Even for simulated crude ethylene, the Zn-C2 H2 battery manifests an acetylene conversion of 99.97 % and continuously produces polymer-grade ethylene with only ≈3 ppm acetylene during a long-term discharge operation. Such a functional battery is universally appliable for reducing other alkynes and generating electricity. Therefore, this work provides an effective strategy for green ethylene purification and the design of functional batteries. |
404 | A system dynamics model to quantify the impacts of restoration measures on the water-energy-food nexus in the Urmia lake Basin, Iran | Water scarcity exacerbated by growing demand in different sectors has created environmental, social, and economic challenges in the Urmia Lake Basin, Iran. Tackling this problem requires an integrated approach considering the basin as an interconnected system where a change in one sector affects others. Here, a System Dynamics Model is developed to simulate the water-energy-food nexus in the Urmia Lake Basin as a holistic multi-sectoral system and to assess the impacts of proposed lake restoration measures, especially looking for trade-offs. Besides considering climate change impacts, the effect of different sets of measures including increasing irrigation efficiency, increasing return flows, inter-basin water transfers, crop land retirement, and reviving a portion of the lake on the natural resources and socio-economic state of the basin are analysed. Results show that Urmia Lake level is sensitive to climate change scenarios. A holistic restoration approach could be effective in increasing the lake level to the proposed ecological level by 2040. However, in doing so, electricity demand in the agricultural sector could grow significantly. It is shown that a 20% retirement of irrigated wheat lands to curb water demand, if coupled with a 20% increase in yield on 80% and 50% of irrigated and rain-fed fields respectively, will not reduce wheat production in the basin. The effectiveness of water demand management measures is highly dependent on continuous monitoring and enforcement, particularly in restricting growth in agricultural water consumption. This study considered all nexus sectors in a holistic way to assess the total impact of proposed measures which on paper look positive, but may have unexpected consequences such as increasing energy demand for electric pumps. In dialogue with Urmia Lake restoration practitioners, this work can feed in to inform effective decisions for the restoration of Urmia Lake. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
405 | Prevalence and Risk Factors of QTc Prolongation in Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Brachytherapy | QTc prolongation is linked to Torsade de Pointes, sudden cardiac death, and overall cardiovascular mortality. 754 prostate cancer patients undergoing brachytherapy were analyzed, prolonged QTc was defined as ≥450ms. A prolonged QTc was more frequent (10.1 vs. 5.1%, p = 0.040) in patients with high-risk cancer than in low to intermediate risk patients. The absolute QTc-time was correlated with age (r = 0.125), neutrophil count (r = 0.130) and negatively correlated with the testosterone level (r=-0.205). Treating physicians should be aware of this and monitor the QTc during ADT to possibly decrease cardiac morbidity/mortality in these patients who are more likely to require ADT. |
406 | Are millennials more multimodal? A latent-class cluster analysis with attitudes and preferences among millennial and Generation X commuters in California | Millennials tend to use a variety of travel modes more often than older birth cohorts. Two potential explanations for this phenomenon prevail in the literature. According to the first explanation, millennials often choose travel multimodality at least in part because of the effects of the economic crisis, which affected young adults more severely than their older counterparts. Another explanation points to the fact that millennials may have fundamentally different preferences from those of older birth cohorts. This paper presents an examination of millennials' travel behavior as compared to the preceding Generation X, based on a survey of 1069 California commuters. It shows that millennials adopt multimodality more often than Gen Xers, on average. However, the analysis also points to substantial heterogeneity among millennials and indicates that, perhaps contrary to expectations and the stereotype in the media, the majority of millennials are monomodal drivers in California. The paper contributes to the literature on millennials' mobility in several ways. First, it rigorously classifies various forms of travel multimodality (on a monthly basis and distinctively taking trip purpose into account) through the analysis of a rich dataset that includes individual attitudes and preferences; second, it explores gradual changes of multimodality across age and generation; and third, it analyzes the effects of various demographic, built environment, and attitudinal attributes on the adoption of multimodality. |
407 | Salting-out homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of azole drugs in human urine: Validation using total error concept | A salting-out homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction was proposed for the quantification of four azole drugs in human urine prior to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The procedure involved the mixing of the sample with acetonitrile in appropriate volumes followed by the addition of sodium sulfate solution in order to facilitate phase separation. The parameters influencing the extraction performance were studied and optimized using a two-step experimental design. The analytical procedure was thoroughly validated using the accuracy profiles as a graphical decision-making tool. The β-expectation tolerance intervals did not exceed the acceptance criteria of ±15% meaning that 95% of future results will be included in the defined bias limits. The limits of detection of the procedure were satisfactory, ranging between 0.01 and 0.03 μg/mL. The mean analytical bias in the spiking levels was satisfactory and ranged between -10.3 and 4.2% while the relative standard deviation was lower than 5.6%. Monte-Carlo simulations followed by capability analysis were employed to investigate the ruggedness of the sample preparation protocol. The developed method offers advantages compared to previously reported approaches for the same type of analysis including extraction efficiency and scaling down of the sample volume and extraction time. |
408 | Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Exhibit Cell Death Through Oxidative Stress Responses in Human Airway Epithelial Cells: a Mechanistic Study | Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) are purposefully used to inhibit the growth of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Several studies on the beneficial and harmful effects of CuONPs have been conducted in vivo and in vitro, but there are a few studies that explain the toxicity of CuONPs in human airway epithelial cells (HEp-2). As a result, the purpose of this study is to look into the dose-dependent toxicity of CuONPs in HEp-2 cells. After 24 h of exposure to 1-40 µg/ml CuONPs, the MTT and neutral red assays were used to test for cytotoxicity. To determine the mechanism(s) of cytotoxicity in HEp-2 cells, additional oxidative stress assays (LPO and GSH), the amount of ROS produced, the loss of MMP, caspase enzyme activities, and apoptosis-related genes were performed using qRT-PCR. CuONPs exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity in HEp-2 cells, with an IC50 value of ~ 10 μg/ml. The morphology of HEp-2 cells was also altered in a dose-dependent manner. The involvement of oxidative stress in CuONP-induced cytotoxicity was demonstrated by increased LPO levels and ROS generation, as well as decreased levels of GSH and MMP. Furthermore, activated caspase enzymes and altered apoptotic genes support CuONPs' ability to induce apoptosis in HEp-2 cells. Overall, this study demonstrated that CuONPs can cause apoptosis in HEp-2 cells via oxidative stress; therefore, CuONPs may pose a risk to human health and should be handled and used with caution. |
409 | Digitalization of Agri-Cooperatives in the Smart Agriculture Context. Proposal of a Digital Diagnosis Tool | The use of digital technologies has been recognized as one of the great challenges for businesses of the 21st century. This digitalization is characterized by the intensive use of information technologies in the different stages of the value chain of a sector. In this context, smart agriculture is transforming the agricultural sector in terms of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In some countries, cooperatives, as the most common legal form of the incumbent companies, in this rather traditional low-intensive technology sector, are going to develop a relevant role in the process of adoption of these technologies. In this context, this paper provides, first, a review of the evolution of the main digital technologies, such as Internet of Things, robots, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Blockchain, among others. Second, a description of the digital innovation process in agri-cooperatives in order to help them in the decision-making process, and third, a digital diagnosis tool for measuring cooperatives' digital innovation. This tool is initially applied to two cases of agri-cooperatives in Spain. All of this contributes to a better understanding of digitalization of agri-cooperatives in the context of smart agriculture. |
410 | Design and performance evaluation of a new waste incineration power system integrated with a supercritical CO2 power cycle and a coal-fired power plant | A novel waste incineration power system highly integrated with a supercritical CO2 power cycle and a coal-fired power plant has been developed. In the hybrid configuration, the supercritical CO2 cycle gains energy from the superheater of the waste-to-energy (WTE) boiler, and the saturated steam produced by the WTE boiler is employed to heat the feedwater of the coal power plant. Consequently, the cascade energy utilization of the waste can be realized with the improvement of the WTE process. The performance of the proposed integrated scheme was thermodynamically and economically evaluated as compared to the conventional separate scheme, based on a 500 t/d incineration unit and a 300 MW coal power plant. The results indicate that the waste-to-electricity efficiency is promoted by 8.34 percentage points with an additional net power output of 3.33 MW, when adopting the proposal. The total exergy efficiency and the exergy efficiency of waste-to-electricity are increased by 0.43 and 7.88 percentage points. Additionally, the proposed system performs excellently under various boiler loads. Due to the integration, the net present value of the WTE project rises by 18.17 M$ and the dynamic payback period is reduced by 4.20 years. Therefore, the new design is extremely feasible and profitable. |
411 | Factors affecting the travel mode choice of the urban elderly in healthcare activity: comparison between core area and suburban area | This study investigated the travel characteristics and influential factors of travel mode choice for healthcare activity by the elderly in core area and suburb. The results of descriptive analysis and multinomial logistic models show that: (1) Bus and walking are main modes for the elderly to seek medical treatment. The elderly in suburb travel longer distance and are more dependent on bus than those in core area. (2) The service efficiency improvements of hospitals could promote the elderly in core area to choose green modes, while those in suburb are more likely to utilize cars to obtain high-quality medical resources. (3) For long-distance travel, the influence of family economic backgrounds on the mode choice is more significant in suburb, and the difference of family economic will further aggravate the internal differentiation in long-distance travel among the elderly in suburb. (4) Interestingly, the elderly in core area tend to utilize cars to seek for healthcare when they live with their offspring, while those in suburb tend to use cars and taxis when they have serious illness and require companion. Finally, relevant policies and suggestions were proposed to improve the accessibility and fairness of healthcare travel for the elderly. |
412 | Prehospital Trauma Airway Management: An NAEMSP Position Statement and Resource Document | Definitive management of trauma is not possible in the out-of-hospital environment. Rapid treatment and transport of trauma casualties to a trauma center are vital to improve survival and outcomes. Prioritization and management of airway, oxygenation, ventilation, protection from gross aspiration, and physiologic optimization must be balanced against timely patient delivery to definitive care. The optimal prehospital airway management strategy for trauma has not been clearly defined; the best choice should be patient-specific. NAEMSP recommends:The approach to airway management and the choice of airway interventions in a trauma patient requires an iterative, individualized assessment that considers patient, clinician, and environmental factors.Optimal trauma airway management should focus on meeting the goals of adequate oxygenation and ventilation rather than on specific interventions. Emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians should perform frequent reassessments to determine if there is a need to escalate from basic to advanced airway interventions.Management of immediately life-threatening injuries should take priority over advanced airway insertion.Drug-assisted airway management should be considered within a comprehensive algorithm incorporating failed airway options and balanced management of pain, agitation, and delirium.EMS medical directors must be highly engaged in assuring clinician competence in trauma airway assessment, management, and interventions. |
413 | Digital Transformation and Knowledge Management in the Public Sector | Digitizing public services is, at the moment, an essential necessity for numerous governments around the world. An improved government through digitization will not only have a growing effect on businesses, but it will also be able to intensify citizen engagement and push for economic growth. During the last 10 years more countries have progressively begun to provide digital services to their citizens. Therefore, in order to address this development, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the digital government literature in order to describe the aspects of digital transformation in the public sector and how it is related to knowledge management. In this study the methodology is quantitative and it is based on a review and a survey made with the main goal being the estimation from several collected data on how the digital transformation process in the Public Administration takes place and what its relationship is with knowledge management. The review study is based on articles found on Scopus database and it addresses the role that digital government research plays in the theory and practice of knowledge management. In the survey study, 54 employees working for the services of the two governmental areas of the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment were surveyed. The results show that the research on the theme is still at an exploratory stage due to the lack of studies relating digital government to knowledge management effectiveness in the public sector. The results also show that the success of digital government seems to be related with the quality of the organizations' knowledge management, complementing each other for significant improvements in the public sector. In terms of originality, this study aims to contribute and stimulate data-driven discussions regarding the impacts of the digital transformation in the public sector and their relation with the implementation of knowledge management practices. The results offer insights into future research needs. |
414 | The nexus between renewable energy, economic growth, trade, urbanisation and environmental quality: A comparative study for Australia and Canada | Using a comparative approach, this study examines the nexus among renewable energy consumption, economic growth, trade, urbanisation and CO2 emissions for Australia and Canada for the period 1960-2015. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds tests are used to explore the long-run relationships amongst the selected variables and the causal relationships are examined by the vector error correction model (VECM) Granger causality tests. The findings suggest that there is evidence of the long run relationships amongst the variables. The results in Australia indicate that in both the long run and short run, economic growth increases CO2 emissions, whereas in the short run, the trade and renewable energy consumptions decrease CO2 emissions. The VECM causality tests for Australia indicate that in the short-run, the economic growth, trade, and renewable energy consumption Granger cause CO2 emissions; whereas the long-run causal relationships are found among CO2 emissions, economic growth, trade and renewable energy consumption. In the case of Canada, the results show that in both the long run and short run, trade increases CO2 emissions, while in the long run the economic growth and urban population increase CO2 emissions. The VECM causality analyses show the long-run bidirectional causality among CO2 emissions, economic growth, and renewable energy consumption. In addition, the CO2 emissions tended to decrease in Australia but not in Canada after each country officially ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2007 and 2002, respectively. Policy recommendations are made based on these findings. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
415 | When breaks get hot: inflammatory signaling in BRCA1/2-mutant cancers | Genomic instability and inflammation are intricately connected hallmark features of cancer. DNA repair defects due to BRCA1/2 mutation instigate immune signaling through the cGAS/STING pathway. The subsequent inflammatory signaling provides both tumor-suppressive as well as tumor-promoting traits. To prevent clearance by the immune system, genomically instable cancer cells need to adapt to escape immune surveillance. Currently, it is unclear how genomically unstable cancers, including BRCA1/2-mutant tumors, are rewired to escape immune clearance. Here, we summarize the mechanisms by which genomic instability triggers inflammatory signaling and describe adaptive mechanisms by which cancer cells can 'fly under the radar' of the immune system. Additionally, we discuss how therapeutic activation of the immune system may improve treatment of genomically instable cancers. |
416 | Convergence analysis of city-level energy intensity in China | Understanding the convergence patterns of energy intensity and the drivers leading to the club convergence are of great significance for local governments to implement targeted policies to improve energy efficiency. With this in mind, we begin with the collection of energy consumption data of 193 Chinese cities at prefecture level or above, then we adopt the log t-test and clustering algorithm to investigate convergence characteristics of energy intensity. Besides, the Ordered Probit model is adopted to investigate the drivers that affect the formulation of convergent club. We identify four convergent clubs among total 193 cities, and these clubs show great differences in energy intensity. Marketization degree, population density, foreign direct investment, resource endowment, and industrial structure are recognized as the drivers of the formation of convergence clubs. This paper adds more evidence to understand the energy intensity gap, we propose that upgrading the industrial structure, exerting economic assemble advantage, enhancing the level of opening up, and improving the marketization level are favorable measures to reduce energy intensity. |
417 | Adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of UK and European hand surgery units | Hand surgery services had to rapidly adapt to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network #RSTNCOVID Hand Surgery survey was to document the changes made in the UK and Europe and consider which might persist. A survey developed by the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network, in association with the British Association of Hand Therapists, was distributed to hand surgery units across the UK and Europe after the first wave of COVID-19. It was completed by one consultant hand surgeon at each of the 44 units that responded. Adult and paediatric trauma were maintained but elective services stopped. Consultations were increasingly virtual, and surgery was more likely to be under local anaesthetic and in a lower resource setting. Many of the changes are viewed as being beneficial. However, it is important to establish that they are clinically and cost effective. These survey results will help prioritise and support future research initiatives. |
418 | Current understandings and perspectives of petroleum hydrocarbons in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease: a global concern | Over the last few decades, the global prevalence of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative illnesses has risen rapidly. Although the aetiology remains unclear, evidence is mounting that exposure to persistent hydrocarbon pollutants is a substantial risk factor, predisposing a person to neurological diseases later in life. Epidemiological studies correlate environmental hydrocarbon exposure to brain disorders including neuropathies, cognitive, motor and sensory impairments; neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD); and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Particulate matter, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and endocrine-disrupting chemicals have all been linked to neurodevelopmental problems in all class of people. There is mounting evidence that supports the prevalence of petroleum hydrocarbon becoming neurotoxic and being involved in the pathogenesis of AD and PD. More study is needed to fully comprehend the scope of these problems in the context of unconventional oil and natural gas. This review summarises in vitro, animal and epidemiological research on the genesis of neurodegenerative disorders, highlighting evidence that supports inexorable role of hazardous hydrocarbon exposure in the pathophysiology of AD and PD. In this review, we offer a summary of the existing evidence gathered through a Medline literature search of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the most important epidemiological studies published so far. |
419 | Effect of Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine on Isolated Heart and Lymphatic Vessels | Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH, heptyl) and its derivatives are used in the rocket and space industry as components of rocket fuel. UDMH is a highly toxic compound exhibiting irritant, hepatotoxic, and neurotoxic properties. In this study, the toxic effect of heptyl on isolated rat heart and lymphatic vessels was demonstrated. Acute exposure to UDMH leads to vasoconstriction of the coronary vessels of the isolated heart and pronounced stimulation of isolated lymphangions starting from the concentration of 10-4 M. The changes are dose-dependent. After exposure to UDMH in high concentrations (10-2 M), the changes in the functional parameters became irreversible. The obtained results provide evidence for the organ-specific effect of UDMH on visceral muscle organs. |
420 | Linking Information Communication Technology, trade globalization index, and CO(2)emissions: evidence from advanced panel techniques | Previous studies consider ICT a two-edged sword that can harm or benefit the environment. In recent years, ICT penetration has considerably increased in the ASEAN-6 countries and the leaders of ASEAN are willing to bring a digital revolution by increasing ICT infrastructure and reducing trade barriers in the region under the Master Plan of ASEAN Connectivity-2025. Hence, this paper explores the effect of ICT and the recently developed trade globalization index on CO(2)emissions in ASEAN-6 countries. The study relies on advanced panel econometric approaches, including Westerlund (2007,2008) and Pedroni cointegration tests, CUP-FM long-run method, and panel DH causality approach. The results suggest cointegration among variables. The results of CUP-FM indicate that ICT contributes to improving environmental quality by mitigating CO(2)emissions. Similarly, trade globalization is also sustainable in the region as it reduces emissions. The results are also confirmed by using the CUP-BC estimator. The findings from the DH causality test unfold causality from ICT and trade globalization index to CO(2)emissions. Besides, the long-run estimates reveal the detrimental effect of energy consumption on emissions and the U-shaped association between GDP and emissions. Moreover, unidirectional causality from ICT to trade globalization index and energy consumption indicates that ICT influences trade globalization and energy consumption. Finally, environmental policies in the context of ASEAN are extensively discussed. |
421 | Epigenetic Modifications and Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Biochemical Perspective | Methylations in living cells are methyl groups attached to amino acids, DNA, RNA, and so on. However, their biochemical roles have not been fully defined. A theory has been postulated that methylation leads to hyperconjugation, and the electron-donating feature weakens a nearby chemical bond, which increases the bond length of C4-N4 of 5-methylcytosine, therefore weakening the C4-N4 bond and resulting in stronger protonation or hydrogen bonding of the N4 nitrogen atom. Protonation can give rise to the generation of mutagenic and carcinogenic strong acids such as HCl, which are also capable of solubilizing stressful, insoluble, and stiff salts. Insoluble and rigid salts such as calcium oxalate and/or calcium phosphate were recently proposed as a primary cause of some neurodegenerative disorders. Protonation of nitrogen atoms in 5-methylcytosine enhances the interaction with negatively charged phosphate groups and contributes to the formation of compact heterochromatin. The electronegativity of the oxygen atoms in the modifications of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine or 5-formylcytosine can shorten the lengths of adjacent bonds with no increase of cation affinity in N4. The carboxyl group in 5-carboxylcytosine is a weak acid capable of antagonizing mutagenic HCl and modestly helping solubilize insoluble salts. Electron delocalization of the methyl group in N4-methylcytosine results in a lower affinity of N4 to cations. The positive charge at N3 in the resonance structure of 3-methylcytosine is lessened by the electron-donating attribute of the methyl group attached to the N3 atom, consequently reducing acid formation. The electron delocalization of three methyl groups decreases the positive charge in the amino nitrogen in the side group of lysine 4 in histone H3, weakening interactions with phosphate groups and consequently activating gene expression. The carbonyl oxygen in 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine draws protons and accumulates HCl, accounting for its moderate mutation propensity and potential capacity to solubilize stiff salts. The biochemical insight will further our understanding on the crosstalk of genetics and epigenetics in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases. |
422 | Pyroptosis regulators exert crucial functions in prognosis, progression and immune microenvironment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: a bioinformatic and in vitro research | Pyroptosis is an inflammatory programmed cell death, showing potentials to be a novel anti-cancer approach. However, the roles of pyroptosis-related (PR) genes (PRGs) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) remain elusive. In the present study, we constructed a novel PR risk signature through the lasso regression analysis. The risk signature was greatly conducive to PAAD prognostic assessment. PR risk score was identified as an independent prognostic factor and could distinguish the prognostic differences of most clinical subgroups. Meanwhile, it could improve the traditional prognostic models based on TNM-staging. Next, its prognostic value was also tested in five validation cohorts. Using CIBERSORT, ESTIMATE, and ssGSEA algorithms, the effects of PR risk signature on tumor immune microenvironment (TIM) were explored. High PR risk suppressed antitumor immune through decreasing the infiltrating levels of CD8 T and NK cells. The genomic information and histological expression of risk PRGs were uncovered by USCA and HPA databases. Somatic mutation, methylation alteration, and homozygous CNV of eight PRGs barely occurred in PAAD samples. As for therapeutic correlation, PR risk score may not predict the efficacy of PD-1/L1 inhibitors and was weakly associated with multiple drug susceptibilities. Finally, the biofunctions of toll like receptor 3 (TLR3) in pancreatic cancer (PC) cells were investigated through qPCR, MTT, colony formation, and Transwell assays. Overexpression of TLR3 could promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PC cells. In conclusion, PRGs play crucial roles in prognosis, progression, and immune microenvironment of PAAD. TLR3 is expected to be a promising therapeutic target. |
423 | Emergy-based ecosystem services valuation and classification management applied to China's grasslands | Though grasslands cover one fifth area of global land and provide vital services for humans, half of them are degraded due to human interference and climate change. In this paper we perform evaluations of the delivery of ecosystem services (ES) of grasslands using a systems approach and the technique of emergy accounting. Firstly, we address the issue of anthropocentricity of ES through discussion and analysis using the concept of emergy as contrasted to economic value, i.e. willingness-to-pay. Secondly, we explore from a systems classification of provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services. Thirdly, we provide quantitative analysis of the value added (surplus value) to economies by ecosystems. An emergy-based index of classification management of grassland (ICG), is also implemented, together with a non-monetary benefit-cost analysis of grassland ES. It is established that emergy provides an approach to evaluating the contributions ecosystems make to the economy using the idea of net benefit ratio, computed as the emergy cost of providing a service through technology (aka replacement cost) divided by emergy required to sustain ecosystem functions. This study can provide a systematic biophysical accounting method for grassland ESV to implement future sustainable management practices. |
424 | Prehospital Airway Management Training and Education: An NAEMSP Position Statement and Resource Document | AbstractAirway management competency extends beyond technical skills to encompass a comprehensive approach to optimize patient outcomes. Initial and continuing education for airway management must therefore extend beyond a narrow focus on psychomotor skills and task completion to include appreciation of underlying pathophysiology, clinical judgment, and higher-order decision making. NAEMSP recommends:Active engagement in deliberate practice should be the guiding approach for developing and maintaining competence in airway management.EMS learners and clinicians must be educated in an escalating approach to airway management, where basic airway maneuvers form the central focus.Educational activities should extend beyond fundamental knowledge to focus on the development of clinical judgment.Optimization of patient outcomes should be valued over performance of individual airway management skills.Credentialing and continuing education activities in airway management are essential to advance clinicians beyond entry-level competency.Initial and continuing education programs should be responsive to advances in the evidence base and maintain adaptability to re-assess content and expected outcomes on a continual basis. |
425 | Impact of financial development and energy consumption on environmental degradation in 184 countries using a dynamic panel model | This study aimed to examine the impact of financial development and energy consumption on CO2 emissions by employing balanced panel data from the period 1990-2017 for 184 countries worldwide. This study applied seemingly unrelated regression (SUR), two-step difference, and the system GMM model for data analysis. The examined results of SUR, two-step difference, and system GMM show that energy consumption positively impacts the CO2 emissions worldwide; on the other hand, the examined results of two-step difference and the system GMM model indicate that financial development helps to reduce the CO2 emissions and the results of SUR indicate that financial development positively impacts the CO2 emissions. The examined results regarding economic growth indicate a positive effect on the CO2 emission and the square of economic growth verifies the validly of the environmental Kuznets curve in 184 countries. This study has significant implications for policy makers with regard to environment improvement, clean energy conservation, and an efficient financial system. Further directions are suggested based on the examined results. |
426 | Residential energy environmental Kuznets curve in emerging economies: the role of economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and financial development | The aim of the present paper is to determine residential energy environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in Next-11 and BRICS countries with the specific consideration on the role of economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and financial development from an era of 1990-2015. In order to determine the cross-section independence and to control the heterogeneity between cross-sections in the paper, we have applied unique and advanced techniques of econometrics panel data. Moreover, the following tests have been applied which are the CIPS unit root test, co-integration test, fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), and heterogeneous panel causality technique. The outcomes revealed that in the long run, all the variables are co-integrated. Moreover, there is a significant and positive influence of residential energy consumption, economic growth, and financial development on environmental degradation. However, in the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, essential role is performed by renewable energy. On the other hand, findings show great support for the residential energy EKC hypothesis in emerging countries. |
427 | Study on sustainable urbanization literature based on Web of Science, scopus, and China national knowledge infrastructure: A scientometric analysis in CiteSpace | As the world enters a new round of large-scale urbanization, the coordination of a balance between social, economic, and environmental systems to promote sustainable urban development has become a global focus. Scholars have explored sustainable urbanization, collected relevant literature, and analyzed the influence of research in different countries, finding that China's influence is second only to that of the US. Accordingly, this study uses the literature in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), the world's largest Chinese database. It selects 3640 studies on sustainable urbanization from Web of Science and Scopus (W&S), and CNKI. Using the bibliometric method in Citespace, it systematically analyzes the research status, development course, and potential trends of research on sustainable urbanization. The results show that: (1) The number of studies on sustainable urbanization in CNKI is decreasing by year, while it has increased gradually in W&S. China currently has the most literature in the field of sustainable urbanization. The US, China, and Germany have the most influential studies. (2) W&S and CNKI each have their separate and complementary emphases. (3) The two datasets are more similar in terms of the nature of their research institutions, but cooperation between the institutions is closer in W&S than in CNKI. There are no aggregation or scaling effects in the Chinese research institutions. The Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hong Kong Polytechnic University are leaders in this field. (4) The top five topics in the studies from W&S are urban development models and public administration, urban planning issues, protection of urban ecosystems, urban land-use changes, and pollution and resource consumption during urbanization. The top five topics in the CNKI studies are strategy of sustainable development, urban development, urbanization and population urbanization, land financing and urban economics, and urban development planning. The construction of urban ecosystems with reasonable structure, efficient processes, and complete functions is an important breakthrough in the application of sustainable urbanization. Reasonably controlling the pace of urban expansion, efficiently coordinating urban and rural development, formulating evidence-based urban development strategies, and ensuring the living standard of urban settlements are the key problems in sustainable urbanization, and will become important directions for related future research. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
428 | A Systematic Review of Specialty Courts in the United States for Adolescents Impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation | Nationwide efforts to enhance services for adolescents experiencing commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in the judicial system have led to the emergence of specialty courts, including human trafficking and girls' courts. Given that prior research has documented competing stances on the effectiveness of specialty courts for CSE-impacted populations, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify key characteristics of programming, profiles of adolescents served, and effectiveness of these courts. To identify relevant research and information, we systematically searched scholarly databases and information sources, conducted reference harvesting, and forwarded citation chaining. Articles presenting primary data with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies or programmatic descriptions of specialty courts serving adolescents at risk or with confirmed histories of CSE that were published after 2004 were included. We identified 39 articles on 21 specialty courts serving adolescents at risk or with confirmed histories of CSE, including seven specialty courts with evaluation or outcome data. Across specialty courts, adolescents benefited from an increase in linkage to specialized services, improved residential placement stability, and reduction in recidivism-measured by new criminal charges. Specialty court participation was also associated with improved educational outcomes and decreased instances of running away. A lack of empirical data, specifically of evaluation studies, emerged as a weakness in the literature. Still, findings support that specialty courts can be an integral judicial system response to CSE. Multidisciplinary collaboration can help target and respond to the multifaceted needs of adolescents, encourage healthy behaviors, and promote their overall wellness. |
429 | Energy storage and management system design optimization for a photovoltaic integrated low-energy building | This study aims to analyze and optimize the photovoltaic-battery energy storage (PV-BES) system installed in a low-energy building in China. A novel energy management strategy considering the battery cycling aging, grid relief and local time-of-use pricing is proposed based on TRNSYS. Both single-criterion and multi-criterion optimizations are conducted by comprehensively considering technical, economic and environmental performances of the system based on decision-making strategies including the weighted sum and minimum distance to the utopia point methods. The single-criterion optimizations achieve superior performances in the energy supply, battery storage, utility grid and whole system aspect respectively over the existing scenario of the target building. The multi-criterion optimization considering all performance indicators shows that the PV self-consumption and PV efficiency can be increased by 15.0% and 48.6% while the standard deviation of net grid power, battery cycling aging and CO2 emission can be reduced by 3.4%, 78.5% and 34.7% respectively. The significance and impact of design parameters are further quantified by both local and global sensitivity analyses. This study can provide references for the optimum energy management of PV-BES systems in low-energy buildings and guide the renewable energy and energy storage system design to achieve higher penetration of renewable applications into urban areas. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
430 | The association between two genetic polymorphisms in ITGB3 and increase risk of venous thromboembolism in cancer patients in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia | Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the major complications in most cancer patients leading to poor prognosis and short survival. Several common clinical risk factors coexist in cancer patients are used as risk predictive biomarkers to help in the management and prevention of VTE. These include cancer site and stage, chemotherapy regimen and elevated biological markers. However, Genetic polymorphisms in genes controlling coagulation and fibrinolysis are significantly associated with VTE if detected, then they might be more sensitive individual predictive biomarkers for VTE risk assessment. This study was conducted to evaluate the association between ITGB3 rs3809865 and rs5918 with VTE risk as well as monitor the effect of VTE on overall survival of these cancer patients. In this retrospective case-control study, 195 cancer patients' formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue (FFPE) samples were collected (controls n = 157, case n = 38) using the stored data through Jan 2010 to Sep 2018 from King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam. Samples were genotyped using TaqMan genotyping assay, then logistic regression analysis and Chi-square were used to predict the association between risk factors and VTE. Survival Comparison was tested by the log-rank test. Genetic polymorphisms in ITGB3 (rs3809865 and rs5918) found not to be associated with VTE increasing risk in cancer patients (p>0.05). While the advanced stage was potentially increasing the risk of VTE events (OR 5.1 CI 2.01-12.9p = 0.001). Patients with VTE showed a poor overall survival reflected by the median survival rate of only three years compared to seven years for cancer patients without VTE. This study highlighted the potential influence of VTE on prognosis and survival of cancer patients and raised the importance of exploring risk predictive biomarkers in our population. This will improve the risk prediction biomarkers leading to implementing safe and effective thrombosis prophylaxis strategies. |
431 | Analyzing Similarities between the European Union Countries in Terms of the Structure and Volume of Energy Production from Renewable Energy Sources | The European Union (EU) countries, as one of the most economically developed regions in the world, are taking increasingly decisive actions to reduce the emission of harmful substances into the natural environment. This can be exemplified by a new climate strategy referred to as "The European Green Deal". Its basic assumption is that the EU countries will have achieved climate neutrality by 2050. To do so, it is necessary to make an energy transition involving the widest possible use of renewable energy sources (RES) for energy production. However, activities in this area should be preceded by analyses due to the large diversity of the EU countries in terms of economic development, the number of inhabitants and their wealth as well as geographical location and area. The results of such analyses should support the implementation of adopted strategies. In order to assess the current state of the energy sector in the EU and indicate future directions of activities, research was carried out to analyze the structure and volume of energy production from RES in the EU countries. The aim of the study was to divide the EU countries into similar groups by the structure and volume of energy production from RES. This production was compared with the number of inhabitants of each EU country, its area and the value of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This approach allows a new and broader view of the structure of energy production from RES and creates an opportunity to take into account additional factors when developing and implementing new climate strategies. The k-means algorithm was used for the analysis. The presented analyses and obtained results constitute a new approach to studying the diversified energy market in the EU. The results should be used for the development of a common energy and climate policy and economic integration of the EU countries. |
432 | COVID-19 Vaccine Could Trigger the Relapse of Secondary Hypersomnia | The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has brought significant social and economic disruptions and devastating impacts on public health, and vaccines are being developed to combat the disease. Timely vaccination may prevent complications and morbidity but may also potentially result in unforeseen outcomes in some special clinical populations. We report on a case of hypersomnia relapse after the COVID-19 vaccination, with the aim of informing the development of the guideline on vaccination in specific groups. A 19-year old female presented with persistent daytime sleepiness after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. She had a known history of hypersomnia secondary to infectious mononucleosis but has fully recovered for 8 months. A series of examinations were performed on this patient. Neurologic and psychiatric examinations were unremarkable. Despite normal nocturnal subjective sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score = 5, Insomnia Severity Index score = 7), her Epworth sleepiness scale score (15) suggested an abnormal level of subjective sleepiness. Consistent with the subjective report, the objective assessment by Multiple Sleep Latency Test found mean sleep latency was 1.3 min with no sleep onset rapid-eye-movement (REM) period. We speculate that COVID-19 vaccine may potentially trigger the relapse of hypersomnia. The immune memory could be an explanation for the increased response to vaccine in patients with secondary hypersomnia. Caution should be warranted when administering COVID-19 vaccine in patients with hypersomnia secondary to infections. |
433 | Spectacles of Settler Colonial Memory: Archaeological Findings from an Early Twentieth-Century "First" Settlement Pageant and Other Commemorative Terrain in New England | In 1923, rural New England mill town Dover, New Hampshire, staged a Tercentenary pageant of extraordinary proportions to celebrate its "first" settlement. This public spectacle memorialized a specific, and deeply exclusionary, narrative of English settler colonialism, shaped by social anxieties of the post-First World War United States. Recent archaeological research has found possible remnants from this spectacle on a seventeenth-century site. In disturbing this site, the Tercentenary pageant appears to have disregarded actual significant material traces from the very era it aimed to memorialize--traces that offer distinct, fuller understandings of deeply nuanced Native-settler interactions in the Piscataqua River region. Dover's pageant is situated in a regional analysis of Native and Euro-colonial commemorative place-making of the early twentieth century, exploring how different communities pursued multivocal, monovocal, or other approaches in their performative engagements with the seventeenth century. |
434 | Analyzing the association between innovation, economic growth, and environment: divulging the importance of FDI and trade openness in India | The objective of this paper is to explore the nexus of innovation-environment and economic growth in the context of the Indian economy. To achieve the study objective, we explored the role of technological innovation, FDI, trade openness, energy use, and economic growth toward carbon emissions. Using the data of 1985-2017, the study employed ARDL bound testing and vector error correction model (VECM) methods to capture the effects of technological innovation, trade openness, FDI, energy use, and economic growth on CO2 emissions. Empirical estimation has confirmed the existence of long-run cointegration. Similarly, in the long run, it is found that trade openness, energy use, and economic growth positively reinforce CO2 emissions. In contrast, technological innovation and FDI negatively reinforce CO2 emissions in the long run. Furthermore, VECM indicates that the relationship among innovation, trade openness, and energy use is bidirectional in the long run. Whereas, unidirectional relation has been found that is coming from GDP to carbon emissions, FDI, innovation, trade, and energy use. In the short run, unidirectional link found which is coming from FDI, innovation, and energy use to carbon emission. However, the association between emissions and trade openness is bidirectional. The conclusions put forward policy implications that innovation is a way to reduce environmental degradation. |
435 | Spatial econometric analysis of foreign direct investment and carbon productivity in China: Two-tier moderating roles of industrialization development | The increasing of carbon productivity is crucial to the success of China's green development goals. Among them, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is seen as a potential pillar of achieving these strategic goals. Based on 1998-2016 provincial-level panel data in China, this paper combines influencing mechanisms such as the scale effect, structural effect, technical effect and environmental effect, and constructed a spatial simultaneous equations model of carbon productivity. This study calculated the comprehensive impact of FDI on carbon productivity by using the generalized space three-stage least-squares estimator method (GS3SLS), and further explored the moderating effect of the regional industrialization level by adding interaction items, in order to discuss the turning point of the local government's investment policy. The results showed that (1) Local FDI has a positive impact on local carbon productivity, but FDI in surrounding areas (SFDI) has a negative impact on local carbon productivity, structural effect is the main reason for the difference; (2) The moderating effect of industrial development does exist. By calculating the threshold of FDI and SFDI, this paper classifies China's industrialization development level into three levels. When formulating and implementing relevant policies to attract investment, the Chinese government should not simply implement the policy on the basis of geographical regions, but should fully coordinate heterogeneity between the introduction of FDI and industrialization development, so as to significantly improve China's carbon productivity. |
436 | Introducing Power-to-H3: Combining renewable electricity with heat, water and hydrogen production and storage in a neighbourhood | In the transition from fossil to renewable energy, the energy system should become clean, while remaining reliable and affordable. Because of the intermittent nature of both renewable energy production and energy demand, an integrated system approach is required that includes energy conversion and storage. We propose a concept for a neighbourhood where locally produced renewable energy is partly converted and stored in the form of heat and hydrogen, accompanied by rainwater collection, storage, purification and use (Power-to-H3). A model is developed to create an energy balance and perform a techno-economic analysis, including an analysis of the avoided costs within the concept. The results show that a solar park of 8.7 MWp combined with rainwater collection and solar panels on roofs, can supply 900 houses over the year with heat (20 TJ) via an underground heat storage system as well as with almost half of their water demand (36,000 m(3)) and 540 hydrogen electric vehicles can be supplied with hydrogen (90 tonnes). The production costs for both hydrogen (8.7 (sic)/kg) and heat (26 (sic)/GJ) are below the current end user selling price in the Netherlands (10 (sic)/kg and 34 (sic)/GJ), making the system affordable. When taking avoided costs into account, the prices could decrease with 20-26%, while at the same time avoiding 3600 tonnes of CO2 a year. These results make clear that it is possible to provide a neighbourhood with all these different utilities, completely based on solar power and rainwater in a reliable, affordable and clean way. |
437 | Talking About Childhood Obesity | While discussing obesity with pediatric patients and their families can be difficult, it is an essential step toward appropriate weight management. There is paucity of data regarding language preferences when discussing obesity in this population. In this pilot qualitative study, we interviewed 8 parents of patients diagnosed with obesity to identify language and communication preferences for discussing their child's weight. Interviews were analyzed for emerging themes. Important trends appeared revealing that parents prefer neutral, medical terms discussed at well-child checks or obesity-specific visits. Providers should frame lifestyle changes as positive for all patients and set achievable goals with the help of visual aids. Our analysis uncovered several important communication strategies that can better equip providers to discuss obesity with their pediatric patients. This research may serve as a foundation for larger studies into the topic. |
438 | Piscine mycobacteriosis in the ornamental fish trade in Trinidad and Tobago | The freshwater ornamental fish trade represents a major contributor to the livelihoods of many producers in Trinidad and Tobago, with stocks destined for local, regional and international markets. A review of clinical cases presented to the Aquatic Animal Health Unit at the University of the West Indies, School of Veterinary Medicine for the period September 2010 to December 2012 suggested that piscine mycobacteriosis may be widespread throughout the local ornamental fish industry. Thus, to determine the prevalence of mycobacteriosis in ornamental fish sold in pet stores, a total of 122 specimens were sourced from 24 retail suppliers across Trinidad. Fish were killed and internal organs were examined for lesions suggestive of granulomas. All wet-mount slides were acid-fast stained, regardless of the presence or absence of observed granuloma-like lesions. Histological analysis was performed on one randomly selected whole specimen from each facility. Mycobacterium sp. was identified using real-time PCR detecting the 16S rRNA gene in tissue samples. Associations between parasitism, facility biosecurity and presence of positive animals were determined. The prevalence of Mycobacterium sp. infection was 61 ± 7% (74/122), with positive specimens being acquired from 54.2% (13/24) of facilities examined. Further, 100% of facilities did not employ optimum biosecurity measures. |
439 | Environmental and economic evaluation of remanufacturing lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles | The environmental threats posed by spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and the future supply risks of battery components for electric vehicles can be simultaneously addressed by remanufacturing spent electric vehicle LIBs. To figure out the feasibility of battery remanufacturing, this paper quantifies the environmental impacts and costs of the remanufacturing of lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide battery cells and compares the results with the production of batteries from virgin materials. Based on the EverBatt model, a China-specific database of hydrometallurgical remanufacturing process is established. The results indicate that the reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by battery remanufacturing are 8.55% and 6.62%, respectively. From the economic standpoint, the potential cost-saving from battery remanufacturing is approximately $1.87 kg(-1) cell produced. Through a sensitivity analysis, LIB remanufacturing is found to be economically viable until the purchase price of spent batteries rises to $2.87 kg(-1). Furthermore, the impact of battery type variability is prominent, whereas the influence of recovery efficiency is limited. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
440 | Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment | This research aims to show the positive and negative indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment, particularly in the most affected countries such as China, USA, Italy, and Spain. Our research shows that there is a significant association between contingency measures and improvement in air quality, clean beaches and environmental noise reduction. On the other hand, there are also negative secondary aspects such as the reduction in recycling and the increase in waste, further endangering the contamination of physical spaces (water and land), in addition to air. Global economic activity is expected to return in the coming months in most countries (even if slowly), so decreasing GHG concentrations during a short period is not a sustainable way to clean up our environment. |
441 | Reaction of Arterial and Venous Branches of the Broad Ligament of the Rat Uterus to Low-Intensity Red Laser Irradiation | Using the biomicroscopy method, we studied the reaction of arterial and venous vessels of the broad ligament of the uterus in outbred female rats to irradiation with helium-neon laser (λ=632.8 nm; power output 2 mW). Small arteries were found to be most sensitive to laser irradiation. The veins of the broad ligament of the uterus demonstrated lower reactivity to laser irradiation of the same duration than arterial vessels, which can be explained by morphological, functional, and hemodynamic differences. |
442 | CO2 emission in transportation sector across 51 countries along the Belt and Road from 2000 to 2014 | The transportation sector is a key economic sector and an important source of CO2 emissions. Due to these environmental implications and a desire to reduce emission levels, the number of empirical analyses on the transportation sector have increased significantly in recent times. Given this pretext, our study examines the heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation CO2 emissions of the transportation sector for 51 belt and road economies from 2000 to 2014. As part of analysis, we examine the heterogeneity of CO2 emissions in the transportation sector through the use of the Theil index and semi-variogram analysis. Furthermore, our study also analyzed the global and local spatial autocorrelation of transport sector CO2 emissions using the Moran index for participating countries. From the analysis, this study found that the transportation CO2 emission intensity of Central and Western Asia and North Africa is significantly higher than that of other regions along the belt and road, and there is a strong spatial correlation in Southeast Asian countries. Our research provides a key reference point for governments by proposing carbon-reduction policies and the promotion of greener developmental initiatives within the transportation sector. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
443 | Growth charts for Mexican children with Down syndrome | We present the results of a prospective, observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study performed on a Mexican population of 1867 children, aged 0-18 years, with Down syndrome (DS), observed between 2013 and 2019. A total of 9968 measurements of height, weight, and head circumference, as well as calculation of body mass index (BMI) were used to create growth charts and tables of percentiles. Growth curves were elaborated using Cole's LMS method. The mean weight and length at birth did not differ by sex: the weight was 2750 g for boys and 2710 g for girls (p > 0.05), and the length was 48.2 cm for boys and 47.9 cm for girls (p > 0.05). The mean final height at 18 years was different by sex: 149.6 cm for boys and 141.2 cm for girls. The average BMI at 18 years was 24.2 kg/m2 for boys and 21.9 kg/m2 for girls. In a comparison with U.S. growth charts, we find that the Mexican population has lower height and weight. These are the first growth curves for the Mexican population with DS. They can be used by health care providers to optimize preventive care by monitoring children with DS for the early identification of factors that affect individual growth. |
444 | A life cycle cost model for floating offshore wind farms | Over the last few decades, there has been a renewed interest in the offshore wind sector. In particular, floating wind turbines represent the next frontier in the wind power industry. Currently, only research prototypes exist, and few studies are available on their possible investment cost. Therefore, a cost assessment for this technology is necessary to ascertain whether it is economically sustainable. This paper develops a life cycle cost model for floating offshore wind farms, bringing together the most up-to-date data and parametric equations from data-bases and literature. The cost model considers the key parameters of the wind power economy, namely CAPEX, OPEX, DECEX and LCOE. The proposed model should be helpful for future decision-making, as the wind energy industry is in constant evolution. An application to an offshore floating wind farms is also carried out, in which the three main types of floaters are considered, namely the Semi-Submersible Platform, the Spar Buoy and the Tension Leg Platform. An average LCOE of 9.74 c/kWh was found, at the lower bound of the typical range applying to fixed base offshore wind farms, and higher than typical values applying to onshore wind farms. |
445 | Mining is bad for health: a voyage of discovery | Mining continues to be a dangerous activity, whether large-scale industrial mining or small-scale artisanal mining. Not only are there accidents, but exposure to dust and toxins, along with stress from the working environment or managerial pressures, give rise to a range of diseases that affect miners. I look at mining and health from various personal perspectives: that of the ordinary man (much of life depends on mined elements in the house, car and phone); as a member of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health (environmental contamination and degradation leads to ill health in nearby communities); as a public health doctor (mining health is affected by many factors, usually acting in a mix, ranging from individual inheritance-genetic makeup, sex, age; personal choices-diet, lifestyle; living conditions-employment, war; social support-family, local community; environmental conditions-education, work; to national and international constraints-trade, economy, natural world); as a volunteer (mining health costs are not restricted to miners or industry but borne by everyone who partakes of mining benefits-all of us); and as a lay preacher (the current global economy concentrates on profit at the expense of the health of miners). Partnership working by academics with communities, government and industry should develop evidence-based solutions. Employment, health, economic stability and environmental protection need not be mutually exclusive. We all need to act. |
446 | Design and comparative exergy and exergo-economic analyses of a novel integrated Kalina cycle improved with fuel cell and thermoelectric module | Combined cooling, heating, and power systems (CCHP) have attracted a lot of attention due to their distinctive advantages of high system and economic efficiencies in addition to less greenhouse gas emissions. The current study investigates the performance of a Kalina cycle-based CCHP system in which geothermal energy is utilized as the low temperature source of prime energy. A thermoelectric generator is used in the system for retrieving wasted heat and producing extra amount of electricity thereby leading to higher overall efficiency. Two types of fluids, i.e. geothermal water and mixture of water-ammonia, are employed for the steam cycle and Kalina cycle, respectively. A comparative performance analysis is carried out on three system configurations, namely; basic Kalina cycle system, Kalina cycle with a thermoelectric generator (TEG), and Kalina cycle integrated with TEG and a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). The results demonstrated that employing TEG increases the output power by 25.1 kW and improves cycle efficiency by 1.7%. Moreover, integrating both TEG and PEMFC increases the net output power of the proposed system to 1101 kW, which is 993.2 kW and 971.7 kW higher than the basic Kalina cycle system and the Kalina cycle system coupled with the TEG respectively. In addition, the exergy analysis of each component in the system showed that the condenser has the most exergy destruction. Multi-criteria optimization is applied to seek the optimum operation condition of the proposed system. The net output power and electricity cost were used as two critical optimization targets. An optimum condition of the system is suggested using the concept of ideal point on the Pareto front plot. |
447 | A new glimpse on the active site of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro, coupled with drug repurposing study | Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Its main protease, 3C-like protease (3CLpro), is an attractive target for drug design, due to its importance in virus replication. The analysis of the radial distribution function of 159 3CLpro structures reveals a high similarity index. A study of the catalytic pocket of 3CLpro with bound inhibitors reveals that the influence of the inhibitors is local, perturbing dominantly only residues in the active pocket. A machine learning based model with high predictive ability against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro is designed and validated. The model is used to perform a drug-repurposing study, with the main aim to identify existing drugs with the highest 3CLpro inhibition power. Among antiviral agents, lopinavir, idoxuridine, paritaprevir, and favipiravir showed the highest inhibition potential. Enzyme - ligand interactions as a key ingredient for successful drug design. |
448 | Identifying stakeholders and discussing a strategy for the participatory management of a protected area: the case of Engenho Pequeno, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil | This paper identifies the potential main social actors involved in and affected by the conservation and use of the Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of Engenho Pequeno, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and discusses how environmental education can be shaped to engage them in participatory, socially progressive and environmentally sustainable management for that area. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals and entities related to the EPA. The snowball method complemented the mapping of non-official social actors. The discussion was based on the critical approach of environmental education, polycentric governance, adaptive management, environmental advocacy and case studies about education in protected areas. Results showed nine key stakeholders to be considered in a network program for the EPA's participatory management, including government, schools, local and nearby residents and religious groups. In the end, we recommend the hosting of a one day workshop, built around existing local and national environmental goals, as an entry point for trust building and the search for shared interests. |
449 | The Effects of β-Pinene, a Pine Needle Oil Monoterpene, on Adenovirus Type 3 | The mechanisms of the inhibitory action of β-pinene, a pine needle oil monoterpene, on human adenovirus type 3 were studied using cytopathic inhibition test, MTT test, atomic force and laser confocal microscopy. β-Pinene inhibited the viruses stronger that the reference antiviral medication ribavirin (p<0.05). Inhibition of viral cytopathic effect (CPE) increased with increasing the concentration of β-pinene, which attested to direct elimination of adenovirus type 3. During viral reproduction phase, β-pinene significantly inhibited proliferation of adenovirus type 3. Typical signs of adenoviral CPE as cell swelling and rounding were less pronounced in comparison with the control (ribavirin treatment). In addition, elevation of β-pinene concentration significantly increased the cell survival rate (p<0.05). Laser confocal microscopy showed that fluorescence intensity in the β-pinene group was significantly lower than in the control group (p<0.01), which was consistent with the results of MTT test, thereby providing additional arguments that β-pinene affects the virus during the absorption phase. Thus, β-pinene directly inactivates adenovirus type 3 and impedes its invasion into the cells, but produces no protective effects on cells. Understanding the mode of action of such monoterpenes as β-pinene is of great importance for the development of new antiviral drugs. |
450 | Household-based critical influence factors of biogas generation technology utilization: A case of Punjab province of Pakistan | This research comprehensively examined the contributions of households' critical influence factors (CRIFs) in BGT utilization. The data based on a sample of 695 households from seven selected districts of Punjab province of Pakistan. The empirical findings are: first, among the households' preference based CRIFs, cooking as a utilization mode imparted positive and significant influence on BGT utilization. It implicated that cooking was found to be the dominant preference of households to utilize the BGT. Moreover, the health risk factor was exposed to be important in BGT utilization. This is likely for people to attach importance to their health. Second, dual nature of the influence of gender is observed: (i) it emphasized the role of woman empowerment in choice of BGT, and also, (ii) as the females need to spend extra time in fuel collection, they want to switch to BGT. Third, concerning the socio-economic and infrastructural influence factors, the education of both household head and chef portrayed a positive influence on BGT utilization. Moreover, households with relatively more land ownership and livestock were more probable to utilize BGT. Finally, the users of the BGT experienced the financial, health, environmental protection, and crop harvest benefits as compared to non-users of BGT. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
451 | Surface Electrostatics Govern the Emulsion Stability of Biomolecular Condensates | Liquid-liquid phase separation underlies the formation of biological condensates. Physically, such systems are microemulsions that in general have a propensity to fuse and coalesce; however, many condensates persist as independent droplets in the test tube and inside cells. This stability is crucial for their function, but the physicochemical mechanisms that control the emulsion stability of condensates remain poorly understood. Here, by combining single-condensate zeta potential measurements, optical microscopy, tweezer experiments, and multiscale molecular modeling, we investigate how the nanoscale forces that sustain condensates impact their stability against fusion. By comparing peptide-RNA (PR25:PolyU) and proteinaceous (FUS) condensates, we show that a higher condensate surface charge correlates with a lower fusion propensity. Moreover, measurements of single condensate zeta potentials reveal that such systems can constitute classically stable emulsions. Taken together, these results highlight the role of passive stabilization mechanisms in protecting biomolecular condensates against coalescence. |
452 | Measuring environmental policy stringency: Approaches, validity, and impact on environmental innovation and energy efficiency | Solid tests of the impact of environmental and energy policy on important economic outcomes, such as innovation, productivity, competitiveness and energy and carbon efficiency are impaired by the lack of appropriate empirical proxies for the commitment to, and stringency of, environmental policy. We contribute to the literature by: (1) computing different indicators of environmental policy stringency, (2) testing to what extent they convey similar insights through a statistical comparison exercise, and (3) showing the implications of using one or the other indicator in two illustrative empirical applications focused on environmental innovation and energy efficiency. We conclude by highlighting the implications of our analysis for empirical research focusing on the evaluation of policy impacts, and highlight fruitful future research avenues. |
453 | Antihypertensive and cardioprotective effects of different monotherapies and combination therapies in young spontaneously hypertensive rats - A pilot study | Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) are an established animal model for antihypertensive treatment. The aim of this pilot study was a systematic search for two lines of antihypertensive treatment - a monotherapy and a combination of two drugs - to be applied in a future study on old SHR. Originally, representatives of three drug classes recommended for antihypertensive therapy in humans should be applied, namely captopril (CAP) as an antagonist of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, nifedipine (NIF) as calcium channel blocker and propranolol (PROP) as β-adrenergic blocker. As we observed that PROP had been poorly ingested, all groups with PROP therapy were excluded from the study. CAP (60 mg kg-1 d-1), NIF (10 mg kg-1 d-1) or both were administered orally to seven-week-old SHR over 3 weeks. A further group of SHR received no treatment (SHR/CTRL). Age-matched normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats served as normotensive controls. We examined the effect of the antihypertensive therapies on systolic blood pressure, heart weight and on histological and biochemical markers of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. CAP proved to be the most effective treatment reducing blood pressure and relative heart weight significantly compared to SHR/CTRL without reaching normotensive values. Beginning cardiac fibrosis observed in SHR/CTRL was completely abrogated with CAP treatment. Similar effects were achieved with a combination of CAP and NIF. CAP as monotherapy and CAP + NIF as combination therapy were chosen for the forthcoming study on old SHR. |
454 | Impact Assessment of COVID-19 on Variations of SO2, NO2, CO and AOD over East China | The COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) broke out in the late of 2019. On January 23 in Wuhan, and later in all other cities of the country, there were taken measures to control the spread of the virus through quarantine measures. This article focused on East China and attempted to assess comprehensively the environmental impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. This study analyzed satellite observational data of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the period before the outbreak of the epidemic and during the implementation of preventive measures and control of COVID-19, as well as compared it with the data obtained in the same period of 2019. The results of the analysis showed that the COVID-19 lockdown improved air quality in the short term, but as soon as coal consumption at power plants and refineries returned to normal levels due to the resumption of their work, pollution levels returned to their previous level. The levels of CO and NO2 showed the most significant decrease (20 and 30%), since they were mainly associated with a decrease in economic growth and transport restrictions that led to a change in energy consumption and a reduction in emissions. This study can complement the scientific community and environmental protection policy makers, not only to assess the impact of outbreak on air quality, but also for its effectiveness as a simple alternative program of action to improve air quality. |
455 | Acute hemorrhage and death in calves following chlorophacinone exposure | Three calves were submitted to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for diagnostic evaluation following an abrupt increase in morbidity and mortality in a calf herd associated with epistaxis and widespread hemorrhage. Each of the submitted calves had moderate-to-severe hemorrhage within various tissues and body cavities, including the thymus, subcutaneous region of the neck, mediastinum, lungs, pericardial sac, heart, spleen, perirenal fat, urinary bladder, and skeletal muscle, including the diaphragm. An anticoagulant rodenticide screen was performed on the livers of each calf. Significant concentrations of chlorophacinone were detected at 4.2, 3.6, and 2.9 ppm in liver. Multiple piles and an open pail of white powdery material were present within the facility in which the calves were housed and were identified as the sources of chlorophacinone. Acute hemorrhage and death occurred in fourteen 1.5-mo-old, crossbred calves following ingestion of the vitamin K antagonist chlorophacinone. |
456 | Responding to the Essential Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs for Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review | The pandemic and its consequences have been shown to have a negative impact on the availability and accessibility of the basic services, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs. The aim of this study was to investigate the responses to the essential SRH needs for women during the COVID-19 pandemic. This narrative review was conducted based on the Scale for Assessing Narrative Review Articles (SANRA), in order to present key activities for responding to the important SRH needs of women in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The literature search was performed through English databases of Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect, as well as Persian databases including Magiran and Scientific Information Database (SID). In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and the reports of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were searched. The search was carried out from December 2019 up to 10 January 2021. Essential reproductive healthcare services for women during the COVID-19 pandemic were divided into six categories including access to contraception, safe abortion and post-abortion care, sexual health and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention, cervical cancer screening and prevention, maternity services and also addressing violence against women and girls. These essential needs should be considered as a priority by governments as well as public and private stakeholders. It seems that the implementation of the shifted strategies, active participation of public and private stakeholders, consideration of human rights and ethical issues, ensuring access to vulnerable populations, regular contact with individuals and the increased cooperation of individuals for responding to the SRH needs during the COVID-19 outbreak, are necessary. |
457 | Will income inequality influence the abatement effect of renewable energy technological innovation on carbon dioxide emissions? | Environmental pollution and income inequality have become two salient issues in China. To achieve a green economic transformation, China urgently needs to develop renewable energy technologies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, the relationship among income inequality, renewable energy technological innovation (RETI) and CO2 emissions has not received sufficient attention in the current literature. Based on Chinese provincial panel data from 2000 to 2015, this paper adopts a panel fixed effect regression model and a panel threshold model to perform an analysis on the nonlinear relationship among these factors. The results show that (1) RETI is conducive to reducing per capita CO2 emissions (PCE). However, with an increase in income inequality, the abatement effect of RETI on per capita CO2 emissions will be hindered, and RETI will even positively contribute to PCE. (2) The panel threshold model shows that the impact of RETI on PCE has a significant single-threshold effect with regard to income inequality. When income inequality is lower than the threshold value, the impact of RETI on PCE is not significant. However, above the threshold value, that is, within the interval of higher income inequality, an increase in RETI will positively contribute to PCE. Finally, from the perspectives of income inequality and RETI, relevant policy implications are put forward for achieving the transformation of a low-carbon economy. |
458 | A systematic decision -making approach for planning and assessment of hybrid renewable energy -based microgrid with techno-economic optimization: A case study on an urban community in Egypt | This paper proposes a systematic and integrative decision-making approach for efficient planning and assessment of hybrid renewable energy-based microgrid (HRE-MG) systems. The approach is combined with an extensive techno-economic optimization analysis. The proposed methodology is validated with an actual case study on an urban city in Egypt, with the developed HRE-MG comprising solar, wind, diesel, and fuel cell energies. Different hybridization scenarios are modeled, evaluated and compared to obtain the most practicable solution with minimum cost and emission impact. The obtained results reveal that solar, wind, fuel cell show optimal configuration plan that yields a minimum net present and energy costs. Also, it achieves a significant reduction in carbon gases and increases system renewable fraction compared to other scenarios. Further, the reliability of the proposed hybrid energy system is examined under loss of power supply probability concept. A sensitivity analysis is then conducted to verify the model accuracy and examine the cost performance of the designed system concerning uncertain parameters. |
459 | Assessment of flash flood risk based on improved analytic hierarchy process method and integrated maximum likelihood clustering algorithm | Flash floods are one of the most severe natural disasters throughout the world, and are responsible for sizeable social and economic losses, as well as countless injuries and death. Risk assessment, which identifies areas susceptible to flooding, has been shown to be an effective tool for managing and mitigating flash floods. The study aims to introduce the methods to determine the weights of the risk indices, and identify the different risk clusters. In this regard, we proposed a methodology for comprehensively assessing flash flood risk in a GIS environment, by the improved analytic hierarchy process (IAHP) method, and an integration of iterative self-organizing data (ISODATA) analysis and maximum likelihood (ISO-Maximum) clustering algorithm. The weight for each risk index is determined by the IAHP, which integrates the subjective characteristics with objective attributes of the assessment data. Based on the data mining technology, the integration of ISO-Maximum clustering algorithm derives a more reasonable classification. The Guangdong Province of China was selected for testing the proposed method's applicability, and we used a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve approach to validate the modeling of the flash-flood risk distribution. The validation against the historical flash flood data indicates a high reliability of this method for comprehensive flash flood risk assessment. In order to verify the proposed method's superiority, in addition, the technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and the weights-of-evidence (WE) methods are used for comparison with the IAHP and ISO-Maximum clustering algorithm method. Moreover, we analyzed and compared the regularity of flash floods in the rural and urban areas. This study not only provides a new approach for large-scale flash flood comprehensive risk assessment, but also assists researchers and local decision-makers in designing flash flood mitigation strategies. |
460 | The moderating role of energy consumption in the carbon emissions-income nexus in middle-income countries | We examine the role of energy consumption in moderating the carbon dioxide emissions-income nexus in 64 middle income countries and compute the marginal effects of real GDP per capita on carbon dioxide emissions at various levels of energy consumption. To do so, we employ multiplicative interaction models because the traditional quadratic Environmental Kuznets Curve model cannot capture the marginal effects. We also use empirical techniques that can account for cross-sectional dependence, such as the Westerlund cointegration test and the Augmented Mean Group estimator. While the marginal effects of GDP on carbon dioxide emissions at the minimum, mean and maximum levels of energy consumption are 9.996, 9.210 and 8.452, respectively, we find no significant evidence that energy consumption moderates the relationship between income and carbon emissions in the panel. However, when we focus on specific countries, we find that energy consumption moderates the nexus between carbon emissions and income in roughly one-third of our sample and that the moderating effect is negative in about one fifth of the sample. We conclude with a discussion on why the moderating effect of energy consumption on the carbon emissions-income nexus differs between countries and offer some policy recommendations that are grounded in the main findings. |
461 | Heterologous expression, characterization and evolution prediction of a diaphorase from Geobacillus sp. Y4.1MC1 | β-hydroxybutyric acid is the most sensitive indicator in ketoacidosis detection, and accounts for nearly 78% of the ketone bodies. Diaphorase is commonly used to detect the β-hydroxybutyric acid in clinical diagnosis. However, the extraction of diaphorase from animal myocardium is complex and low-yield, which is not convenient for large-scale production. In this study, a diaphorase from Geobacillus sp. Y4.1MC1 was efficiently heterologous expressed and purified in E. coli with a yield of 110 mg/L culture. The optimal temperature and pH of this recombinant diaphorase (rDIA) were 55 °C and 6.5, respectively. It was proved that rDIA was a dual acid- and thermo-stable enzyme, and which showed much more accurate detection of β-hydroxybutyric acid than the commercial enzyme. Additionally, we also investigated the molecular interaction of rDIA with the substrate, and the conformation transition in different pH values by using homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulation. The results showed that 141-161 domain of rDIA played important role in the structure changes and conformations transmission at different pH values. Moreover, it was predicted that F105W, F105R, and M186R mutants were able to improve the binding affinity of rDIA, and A2Y, P35F, Q36D, N210L, F211Y mutants were benefit for the stability of rDIA. |
462 | Analysis of microplastics in a remote region of the Tibetan Plateau: Implications for natural environmental response to human activities | Microplastics are one of the most valuable indicators reflecting the effects of human activities on natural environment. This study was conducted in a representative remote region of Tibetan Plateau in China, simultaneously analyzing the abundance, compositions and fate of MPs both in water and soil media. MPs were detected in surface water, sediment and soil with abundances ranging from 66.6 to 7333 number/m(3), 20 to 160 items/kg, and 20 to 110 items/kg, respectively. Fibers were the most frequently observed shape in the surface water and sediment, while the dominant shape in the soil was film. The major polymers of MPs in water and soil samples were polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). Small MPs were the main components with the <500 mu m fraction accounting for 94.74%, 88.37% and 88.34% of total MP particles in surface water, sediment and soil, respectively. Correlation analysis was further conducted to identify the sources of MPs from different human activities. The night light index was innovatively used to represent population rather than local residents, considering the large number of tourists in this region. It was found that tourism was the main source of MPs in water bodies, while facility agriculture and previous secondary industry are major contributors to soil MPs. A simplified equation set for MP abundance prediction was also formulated related to different industrial features. This study provides an evidence of noticeable MPs associated with human activities even at remote regions, and advances a feasible tool for MPs prediction according to local economic development. Capsule: The effect of human activities on natural environment in a remote region was illustrated by evaluating the abundance, compositions and fate of MPs across freshwater and terrestrial environment. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
463 | Factors affecting household food waste among young consumers and actions to prevent it. A comparison among UK, Spain and Italy | Food waste is a critical issue with multiple ethical, environmental and economic consequences. The aim of this study is to investigate which factors most affect food waste and determine what actions are undertaken to prevent it at the household level. The study, while privileging a behavioural perspective, focuses on the overall consumption process, from purchasing through final food consumption, thus assuming a broad perspective. The data for this study were collected among Italian, Spanish and English populations using three public online questionnaires administered from January to September 2017. This resulted in a total of 3323 usable questionnaires referring to a sample population aged between 18 and 35 years. As for the main motivation to waste food, the research findings provide strong evidence of the importance of in-store behaviour and food management at home in reducing the frequency of food waste in all the three countries examined. As for the actions preventing food waste, the consumption of leftovers appears as a relevant determinant in minimising food waste. The findings confirm that food waste is a complex issue that requires a broad approach of analysis considering several factors simultaneously. The study also provides further insights regarding the relationship between eating outside the home and food waste, which is a topic of debate in the extant literature. Finally, the study improves the overall knowledge about actions that prevent food waste, which have previously been poorly investigated. |
464 | The impacts of globalization, financial development, government expenditures, and institutional quality on CO2 emissions in the presence of environmental Kuznets curve | The main objective of this study is to examine the impacts of globalization, financial development, government expenditures, and institutional quality on CO2 emissions, incorporating energy consumption, and GDP per capita in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model for 47 Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) between 1990 and 2014. Owing to the presence of cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity in the panel data, CADF and CIPS unit root tests are employed to validate the stationarity of the variables. Westerlund (Oxf Bull Econ Stat 69:709-748, 2007) and Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre (J Time Ser Anal 38:610-636, 2017) cointegration tests denote the occurrence of cointegration among the variables. We employed CCEMG, AMG, and DCCE estimators to estimate heterogeneous parameters. The findings demonstrate that globalization, financial development, and energy consumption increase CO2 emissions. Besides, the EKC hypothesis is affirmed in EMDEs. The accrual of governments' financial and governance activities also boosts carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, the analysis of Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality provides evidences for the feedbacks among the variables and CO2 emissions. From the aforementioned results, there exists the trade-off effect between economic growth and environmental quality in EMDE countries. Finally, the empirical findings of this study indicate profound implications for policy makers, which recommend governments to consider the role of finance and governance in order to ensure that energy consumption, financial development, and sustainable economic growth are in harmony with the environment in the globalization era. |
465 | The Sources of Political Normativity: the Case for Instrumental and Epistemic Normativity in Political Realism | This article argues that political realists have at least two strategies to provide distinctively political normative judgements that have nothing to do with morality. The first ground is instrumental normativity, which states that if we believe that something is a necessary means to a goal we have, we have a reason to do it. In politics, certain means are required by any ends we may intend to pursue. The second ground is epistemic normativity, stating that if something is (empirically) true, this gives us a reason to believe it. In politics, there are certain empirical regularities that ought to be acknowledged for what they are. Both sources are flawed. Instrumental normativity only requires coherence between attitudes and beliefs, and one can hang on to false beliefs to preserve attitudes incompatible with reality. I may desire to eschew power relations, and accordingly I may imagine politics to be like a camping trip. Epistemic normativity, on the other hand, operates critically, striking down existing normative claims. It shows us that politics is nothing like a camping trip, but it doesn't tell us what we should do about it (beyond abandoning some false beliefs). We conclude by showing that if the two are taken together, they remedy each other's flaws. |
466 | Renewable hydrogen production: A techno-economic comparison of photoelectrochemical cells and photovoltaic-electrolysis | The present paper reports a techno-economic analysis of two solar assisted hydrogen production technologies: a photoelectrochemical (PEC) system and its major competitor, a photovoltaic system connected to a conventional water electrolyzer (PV-E system). A comparison between these two types was performed to identify the more promising technology based on the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). The technical evaluation was carried out by considering proven designs and materials for the PV-E system, and a conceptually design for the PEC system extrapolated to future, commercial scale. The LCOH for the off-grid PV-E system was found to be 6.22 $/kg(H2), with a solar to hydrogen efficiency of 10.9%. For the PEC system, with a similar efficiency of 10%, the LCOH was calculated to be much higher, namely 8.43 $/kg(H2). A sensitivity analysis reveals a great uncertainty in the LCOH of the prospective PEC system. This implies that much effort would be needed for this technology to become competitive on the market. Therefore we conclude that the potential techno-economic benefits that PEC systems offer over PV-E are uncertain, and even in the best case, limited. While research into photoelectrochemical cells remains of interest, it presents a poor case for dedicated investment in the technology's development and scale-up. (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. |
467 | COVID-19 outbreak and the role of digital twin | COVID-19 has transformed the life of human beings and digital twin infrastructure can facilitates working remotely during COVID-19 outbreak by reducing burden on services and infrastructure. Currently, many organizations are installing and developing devices such as thermal cameras, sensors aiming to minimize human contact and so forth, in addition to enforcing social distancing resulting in reducing the risk of transmission. Due to economic reasons, lockdown restrictions are being relaxed/lifted in many countries and Pakistan which is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with a population of 220 + million is no exception. Though, Pakistan contained the first two waves of coronavirus infections reasonably well but the country is struggling to contain the third wave of the spread due to violations of social distancing norms. While our predictions may deviate from official statistics due to lack of mass testing and existence of asymptomatic infections, the described approach predicts the possible actual burden of infection over times. In view of the unique demographics, our data quantify the efficacy of social distancing as an effective measure to forestall the infection. We highlight few areas where digital twins can be created/deployed to provide services and essential facilities to citizens as COVID-19 is expected to have permanent impact on the way we work. |
468 | Recycled aggregates from construction and demolition wastes as alternative filling materials for highway subgrades in China | With the rapid advancement of urbanization in China, a huge amount of construction and demolition wastes (CDW) are generated. Recycling CDW into subgrade materials is a promising way to process these wastes, with significant environmental and economic benefits. But very little work has been done in this field. Therefore, based on a CDW subgrade construction case in Beijing, the physical and chemical properties of the CDW materials were analyzed. Then the construction procedures of the CDW subgrade were presented, and a series of tests (compaction degree test, settlement observation, Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer test) were carried out. At the same time, the effects of different loose paving thicknesses, cycles of strong vibration on the subgrade performances were assayed. Subsequently, grading analysis of the CDW particles, plate load test and Beckman beam deflection test were performed to evaluate the construction quality. According to the test results, the construction technologies of the CDW subgrade, such as the optimum loose paving thicknesses and cycles of strong vibration, were determined. And then, the post-construction settlement monitor and radar survey were conducted for subgrades filled with CDW and soil to further analyze the applicability of CDW. The results show that recycled CDW aggregates with proper grading and strict construction technologies perform well. The subgrade filled with recycled CDW has a smaller deformation than that of the soil subgrade. Finally, the life cycle assessments (LCA) of two treating schemes of CDW were conducted to analyze the environmental benifits: recycling utilization as subgrade materials and directly landfilling. If the subgrade is filled with the recycled CDW aggregates, CDW will be consumed in large quantities and the environmental impactions of eutrophication and ecotoxicity can be reduced obviously. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
469 | Systematic reinstatement of highly sacred Ficuskrishnae based on differences in morphology and DNA barcoding from Ficusbenghalensis (Moraceae) | Ficuskrishnae is considered as native to India and is well-known for the peculiarity in nature of its cup-shaped leaves where both the vernacular name (Krishna Fig) and specific epithet were derived. The taxonomic status of Ficuskrishnae is still unclear and currently treated as a subspecies or variety under Ficusbenghalensis. In the present study, morphological characters and molecular analysis were employed to address their species delimitation. The spacer markers ITS2 and trnH-psbA were used for constructing phylogenetic trees along with morphometric analysis. Ficuskrishnae distinctly differs from Ficusbenghalensis by having cup-forming leaves and the nature of the aerial roots, stipules, petioles, ostiolar bracts of the receptacle, DNA content, chromosome differences and nodal anatomy. The results showed that the highest divergence is observed in trnH-psbA (20.8 ± 12.2), followed by ITS2 (5.7 ± 3.2). The phylogenetic tree construction using Bayesian analysis showed a divergent boundary between the two species suggesting that F.krishnae could be an independent species, not a variety of F.benghalensis. The present study's findings support the view that these two floras can be treated as different species. |
470 | Copy number variation of GAL3ST1 gene is associated with growth traits of Chinese cattle | Copy number variation (CNV) is a type of genomic structural variation, and the research on it has flourished in recent years. According to the high-throughput sequencing data, we found that the copy number variation region of the GAL3ST1 gene was correlated with the growth traits of bovine. It is significant that we study the CNV of GAL3ST1 gene and process the association analysis between results of Q-PCR and growth traits of Chinese cattle. In this research, SPSS software was used to detect the distribution of GAL3ST1 gene copy number in four cattle breeds and the correlation of growth traits was analyzed. Correlation analysis showed that GAL3ST1 CNV had positive effects on some growth traits of bovine (p < 0.05). In addition, the study detects the expression of GAL3ST1 gene in different tissues of Xia'nan cattles on mRNA level. The result showed that GAL3ST1 gene has different expression conditions in different tissues, results showed that the expression level was high in intestine and low in liver tissue. In a word, we speculated that the GAL3ST1 gene can be used as a molecular marker and this study confirmed that the CNV of it can provide theoretical basis for molecular breeding of cattle in China. |
471 | Managing the water-energy-food nexus in China by adjusting critical final demands and supply chains: An input-output analysis | The rapid population growth in China has increased the demand for limited water, energy and food resources. Because the resource supply is constrained by future uncertainties such as climate change, it is necessary to examine the connections among water, energy and food resources from the perspective of the relevant final demands. Based on an input-output model and structural path analysis, this study aims to explore the hidden connections among water, energy and food resources by identifying important final demands and examine how these resources are embodied in upstream production and downstream consumption processes along the supply chain. The water-energy-food nexus approach in this research identifies where and how these resources intersect in economic sectors. By simultaneously considering the water, energy and food footprints, synergistic effects can be maximized among these resource systems. The results reveal that urban household consumption and fixed capital formation have large impacts on water-energy-food resources. Besides, agriculture, construction and service sectors have the largest water-energy-food footprints. For each resource, we rank the top-20 supply chain paths from the final demands to the upstream production sectors, and six critical supply chain paths are identified as important contributors to the consumption of all these resources. Compared with independent approach to manage water, energy and food resources, the nexus approach identifies the critical linkages of the water, energy and food systems and helps to formulate integrated policies to effectively manage these resources across sectors and actors. Synergistic strategies for conserving water, energy, and food resources can be achieved through avoiding unnecessary waste in end uses and improving resource use efficiency along critical supply chains. This research can help consumers, industries and the government make responsible consumption and production decisions to conserve water, energy and food resources. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
472 | The genes for sensory perception of sound should be considered in gene diagnosis of congenital sensorineural hearing loss and microtia | Congenital sensorineural hearing loss (CSHL) and microtia are development-related diseases, sharing some factors and affecting children's hearing. However, genetic tests only focus on CSHL. We try to identify the common molecular mechanism of CSHL and microtia as candidates combining gene diagnosis biomarkers. Whole-exon sequencing (WES), Sanger sequencing, qPCR, and bioinformatics analyses were performed in microtia family (F1), family two, whose proband suffered from microtia and CSHL (F2), five microtia, and four CSHL individuals, respectively. We found that 40% microtia and 40% CSHL relevant genes were detected in F1 and a sharing pathway: the sensory perception of sound was identified. Moreover, the copy number variation in proband F2 was identified in one gene of the sharing pathway: EYA1. Meanwhile, two variants of BUB3 were identified in F1 data. BUB3 is related to development, dog ear type, direct and indirect interaction with microtia, and CSHL relevant genes. Notably, although the allele frequency of two variants of BUB3 showed significant differences between microtia and CSHL, the special microtia-relevant genotype also could be detected in one CSHL sample. These results suggest that the sensory perception of sound and the development of relevant pathways may be the common pathways of microtia and CSHL. Genes of these pathways can be used as candidates combining gene diagnosis biomarkers. |
473 | On the identity of Thymushumifususvar.aureopunctatus (Lamiaceae) and taxonomic notes on the Th.richardii complex | The name Thymushumifususvar.aureopunctatus, described from Bosnia and Herzegovina, is lectotypified, and its taxonomic value is discussed. Thymusrichardiisubsp.richardii is currently considered an endemic subspecies common to Mallorca (Balearic Islands) and Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Balkan Peninsula. Specimens identified as Th.richardii from both Balearic Islands and Bosnia and Herzegovina were studied to determine if they are indeed the same taxonomic entity. Detailed micromorphological observations and morphometric analysis, suggest that the Balkan plants (Th.humifususvar.aureopunctatus) and the Majorcan populations (Th.richardiisubsp.richardii) are clearly separate entities. For the former name, based on morphological, phytochemical, biogeographical and present results, we propose the subspecific rank, as Th.richardiisubsp.aureopunctatuscomb. & stat. nov. Full descriptions of all five subspecies currently accepted within Th.richardii are provided. |
474 | A New Socio-economic Indicator to Measure the Performance of Bioeconomy Sectors in Europe | The European Commission supports the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into value added products and bio-energy. A new bioeconomy strategy aimed at promoting a sustainable Europe was launched in October 2018. However, little work has been done to monitor, model and appraise the impacts and developmental trajectories of bioeconomy sectors. To gauge the current sustainability performance of individual European countries, the present study proposes a new indicator - the "socio-economic indicator for the bioeconomy" (SEIB) - to measure the socio-economic performance of bioeconomy sectors. Drawing on Eurostat data and the analytic hierarchy process, multi-criteria decision analysis is employed with the aim of providing a direct comparison between member states (MSs). However, bioeconomy involves a large number of sectors and, therefore, it is useful to propose two versions of this indicator in order also to single out the impact of most innovative sectors: the first version considers all bio-based sectors ("SEIB for overall sectors") while the second version excludes all primary sectors ("SEIB for manufacturing and bio-energy sectors"). The results identify three groups of MSs (virtuous, in-between and laggard) with reference to the European average. Ireland occupies the first position in the ranking, and only three other MSs (Denmark, Portugal and Austria) qualify as "virtuous" countries in both rankings. |
475 | Assessment of Energy Systems Using Extended Fuzzy AHP, Fuzzy VIKOR, and TOPSIS Approaches to Manage Non-Cooperative Opinions | Energy systems planning commonly involves the study of supply and demand of power, forecasting the trends of parameters established on economics and technical criteria of models. Numerous measures are needed for the fulfillment of energy system assessment and the investment plans. The higher energy prices which call for diversification of energy systems and managing the resolution of conflicts are the results of high energy demand for growing economies. Due to some challenging problems of fossil fuels, energy production and distribution from alternative sources are getting more attention. This study aimed to reveal the most proper energy systems in Saudi Arabia for investment. Hence, integrated fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), fuzzy VIKOR (Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompromisno Resenje) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preferences by Similarity to Idle Solution) methodologies were employed to determine the most eligible energy systems for investment. Eight alternative energy systems were assessed against nine criteria-power generation capacity, efficiency, storability, safety, air pollution, being depletable, net present value, enhanced local economic development, and government support. Data were collected using the Delphi method, a team of three decision-makers (DMs) was established in a heterogeneous manner with the addition of nine domain experts to carry out the analysis. The fuzzy AHP approach was used for clarifying the weight of criteria and fuzzy VIKOR and TOPSIS were utilized for ordering the alternative energy systems according to their investment priority. On the other hand, sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the priority of investment for energy systems and comparison of them using the weight of group utility and fuzzy DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) approaches. The results and findings suggested that solar photovoltaic (PV) is the paramount renewable energy system for investment, according to both fuzzy VIKOR and fuzzy TOPSIS approaches. In this context our findings were compared with other works comprehensively. |
476 | Carbon inequality and economic development across the Belt and Road regions | Given the aim of maintaining global warming below 2 degrees C, carbon emission reduction has become a global top priority. Since the Belt and Road Initiative has increasing influence on manufacturing-oriented developing countries, more attention should be paid to carbon emission reduction in these regions. This study conducts a comprehensive analysis by analyzing the carbon inequality and regional development and compares the carbon emissions driven by final demand among countries in and outside the Belt and Road area from 1990 to 2015. It is found that the majority of the Belt and Road regions achieved a rapid GDP growth rate with increasing carbon emissions, in which the investment-driven type demonstrated a significant growth. In contrast, the developed countries outside the Belt and Road area maintained their economic growth while decreasing the carbon emissions owed to the declining of investment-driven emissions; however the consumption-driven emissions stably remained a relatively high level. Our results showed that the inequality of carbon emission within Belt and Road regions is lower than the global average, while the inequality of the investment-driven emissions showed an obviously increasing trend. By discussing the carbon inequality and regional development, rational and feasible strategies for countries and regions within and outside the Belt and Road area are essential, and different types of strategies such as low-carbon technologies transfers and overseas financial cooperation are suggested for regional carbon emission reduction and sustainable regional development under the Belt and Road Initiative. |
477 | Sustainable circular supplier selection: A novel hybrid approach | Circular supplier selection is the process of selecting suppliers in a closed-loop supply chain. Sustainable circular supplier selection addresses the social and environmental concerns in circular supplier selection problems. In this paper, for the first time, we combine the fuzzy best-worst method and the interval VIKOR technique to evaluate and prioritize sustainable suppliers in circular supply chains. The evaluation criteria are classified into three categories of economic, social, and circular factors extracted based on the domain expert's opinions. The fuzzy best worst method is used to weigh the criteria, and the interval VIKOR technique is applied to evaluate the suppliers in the presence of uncertainty. This study contributes to the sustainable development goals (SDG's) of providing Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12). The proposed method is then used to evaluate six suppliers in the wire-and-cable industry in Iran. The results obtained from the implementation of the proposed approach and its sensitivity analysis indicate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed approach. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
478 | How Does Firm ESG Performance Impact Financial Constraints? An Experimental Exploration of the COVID-19 Pandemic | This research assesses the effects of COVID-19-associated shocks on financial constraints and sustainable development goal (SDG) performance to shed light on the impact of SDGs on economic recovery. We construct a large sample of Chinese listed firms from quarterly firm-level accounting data from the China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database for the period 2019Q1-2021Q1, matched with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores, SDG performance from the WIND Database, and complemented with data on cumulative and new cases of COVID-19 from the World Health Organization. We use difference-in-differences to investigate any causal effect from COVID-19. We find that COVID-19 induces financial constraints in firms. Further, differing from the existing literature on the determinants of SDGs, we explore the supportive role of SDG performance on firm financial performance and show that ESG can better describe SDG performance and alleviate financial constraints. Moreover, both internal and external financial intermediaries improve with enhanced ESG performance in overcoming financial constraints. Our findings strongly indicate that a sustainable development strategy facilitates efficient adaptation to financial challenges and assists in overcoming external shocks. |
479 | A new composite climate change vulnerability index | The earth's climate is changing, with global warming attributable to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions driven by economic and population growth. Human systems and ecosystems vary in their exposure, mitigation and adaptive capacity, and vulnerability to various forms of climate change. Once mitigation and adaptation efforts have been exhausted, vulnerability remains. Data compiled by the University of Notre Dame covering over 100 nations in 2016 were used to construct a new composite climate change vulnerability index that features endogenously generated weights to aggregate vulnerability indices across six vulnerable sectors. These weights have the potential to inform policy aimed at allocating resources to reduce the cost of limiting vul-nerability. The new composite vulnerability index, whose weights differ across sectors and across nations, is compared with the Notre Dame vulnerability index, which uses weights equal across sectors and constant across nations. Although the two indices agree on the identity of the most vulnerable nations, there is a statistically significant difference between the two indices. In addition, a nonparametric statistical test failed to reject the null hypothesis that one sectoral index could be deleted from the composite index without significant loss of information. This also has potentially important policy implications. |
480 | Assessment of city sustainability-Coupling coordinated development among economy, society and environment | The coordination development among various subsystems, especially among economic, social and environmental subsystems, is an important part of urban sustainability that directly affects the quality of urbanization. This paper evaluated the sustainability of the 9 China's national central cities using the coupling coordination model. In the evaluation process, an objective coupling weighting method was developed by the combination of the coupling analysis and the sequential relationship analysis method. The validity of this method was illustrated by comparing the coordination level of the cities with that obtained by the entropy method. Long-term use of this method can guide the coordination development among economy, society and environment of cities. The assessment results indicate that the coordination development among economy, society and environment of the cities was not ideal. Only one city, Beijing, located in the good coordination grade. The main reason is the lower development of economic sustainability. Policy recommendations were provided to address the problem. In addition, the paper concludes that there is a great room for improvement in the coordinated development of the cities, because they showed an increase trend in coordinated development and the economic growth rate was relatively high. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
481 | The COVID-19 impact on air condition usage: a shift towards residential energy saving | The enforcement of the Movement Control Order to curtail the spread of COVID-19 has affected home energy consumption, especially HVAC systems. Occupancy detection and estimation have been recognized as key contributors to improving building energy efficiency. Several solutions have been proposed for the past decade to improve the precision performance of occupancy detection and estimation in the building. Environmental sensing is one of the practical solutions to detect and estimate occupants in the building during uncertain behavior. However, the literature reveals that the performance of environmental sensing is relatively poor due to the poor quality of the training dataset used in the model. This study proposed a smart sensing framework that combined camera-based and environmental sensing approaches using supervised learning to gather standard and robust datasets related to indoor occupancy that can be used for cross-validation of different machine learning algorithms in formal research. The proposed solution is tested in the living room with a prototype system integrated with various sensors using a random forest regressor, although other techniques could be easily integrated within the proposed framework. The primary implication of this study is to predict the room occupation through the use of sensors providing inputs into a model to lower energy consumption. The results indicate that the proposed solution can obtain data, process, and predict occupant presence and number with 99.3% accuracy. Additionally, to demonstrate the impact of occupant number in energy saving, one room with two zones is modeled each zone with air condition with different thermostat controller. The first zone uses IoFClime and the second zone uses modified IoFClime using a design-builder. The simulation is conducted using EnergyPlus software with the random simulation of 10 occupants and local climate data under three scenarios. The Fanger model's thermal comfort analysis shows that up to 50% and 25% energy can be saved under the first and third scenarios. |
482 | Sustained Ranavirus Outbreak Causes Mass Mortality and Morbidity of Imperiled Amphibians in Florida | A persistent 2-month long outbreak of Ranavirus in a natural community of amphibians contributed to a mass die-off of gopher frog tadpoles (Lithobates capito) and severe disease in striped newts (Notophthalmus perstriatus) in Florida. Ongoing mortality in L. capito and disease signs in N. perstriatus continued for 5 weeks after the first observation. Hemorrhagic disease and necrosis were diagnosed from pathological examination of L. capito tadpoles. We confirmed detection of a frog virus 3 (FV3)-like Ranavirus via quantitative PCR in all species. Our findings highlight the susceptibility of these species to Rv and the need for long-term disease surveillance during epizootics. |
483 | The assessment of forest ecological security and its determining indicators: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China | This study put forward an evaluation index system for measuring forest ecological security index (FESI). Taking the 1086 counties located in the Yangtze River Economic Belt as a case study, we investigated the change and its spatial pattern of FESI, as well as the determining indicators (both natural and socio-economic), with the support of Arcmap and GeoDA software. The average FESI value of the study counties in 2010 and 2015 was found to be 0.4226 and 0.4990, increased by 18.08%. Spatially, an evident spatial gradient change was identified, with FESI values in the upstream areas of the Yangtze River being higher than those in midstream areas, and the values of midstream areas in turn being higher than those in downstream areas. The eight tributary basins within the economic belt witnessed significantly different FESI values. Based on the results of this evaluation of FESI and its sub-evaluation indexes, we identified 46.04% of the total counties as constituting "problem areas". These problem areas were mainly concentrated in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, followed by counties around Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake and in Sichuan province. A regression analysis was conducted in order to identify the determining indicators behind forest ecological security, with results indicating that the ratio of secondary industry, the urbanization rate, the per capita financial institution loan balance, accumulated temperature and wind speed all negatively impacted on FESI values, while population structure, soil organic matter and rainfall were revealed to play a positive role; all of these indicators were highly significant. Given these findings, we also set out a series of policy measures intended to promote the sustainable forest development of the study region. These include the vigorous development of tertiary industry and moves to reduce the proportion of the secondary industry in the national economy, the development of a circular economy, slowing the pace of urbanization, and continued increases in forestry investment in central cities particularly in problem areas. |
484 | Knee symptoms do not affect walking biomechanics among women 6 months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction | Women with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction report worse pain and knee-related symptoms, and also exhibit biomechanical changes that may be related to knee osteoarthritis (OA) development. This is particularly concerning as symptom state has been previously associated with knee OA development. The purpose of this study was to compare lower extremity walking biomechanics between women (age: 21.40 ± 8.54 years) experiencing clinically significant knee-related symptoms and women with acceptable symptoms 6 months following surgery. Twenty-eight women with history of primary, unilateral anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction who completed a lower extremity walking biomechanics assessment 6 months following surgery were included in this analysis. Women were dichotomized as experiencing acceptable or clinically significant knee symptoms according to Knee injury and OA Outcomes Score cut-offs described by Englund et al. Walking biomechanics were compared between women with clinically significant and acceptable symptoms using one-way analysis of covariances for involved limb biomechanics. Biomechanical variables of interest were: peak vertical ground reaction forces (vGRFs), vGRF loading rates, knee flexion angles, knee extension moments, knee adduction angles, and knee adduction moments, and gait speed. Nearly 60% of women reported clinically significant knee symptoms 6 months postoperative. There were no statistically significant differences between symptom groups for walking biomechanics and gait speed outcomes. These findings suggest patient reported knee symptoms may not be a primary influence on walking biomechanics 6 months following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Though, longitudinal assessment of changes in symptom state and walking biomechanics may be warranted as poorer walking biomechanics and symptoms are indicators of knee OA. |
485 | Driving factors of total carbon emissions from the construction industry in Jiangsu Province, China | Global warming caused by greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions has become a paramount problem for all countries to solve. The construction industry emits 36 percent of the GHG in all sectors globally. China is the largest carbon emitter in the world, and Jiangsu province has been used as a test bed for reforming and developing modern construction industry in China. The aim of the study is to explore the driving factors of the total carbon emissions from the construction industry (CECI) in the provincial region using a hybrid Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model. The findings of the study indicate that: 1) Indirect and operational CECI account for the largest proportion (52.22% and 46.02% in 2016 respectively); 2) The driving factors of CECI in Jiangsu province are the area factor (contribution from 2005 to 2016 is 100.22%) and the output value intensity factor (86.56%) while the restraining factor is the carbon emission intensity (-80.35%). Discussion and implicated policies, such as improving the energy efficiency of related industries and using green building materials have been elaborated at the end of the study. The decomposition and calculation method presented in this paper provides a useful tool for policymakers to evaluate CECI of a province or state and formulate appropriate carbon policies to reduce emissions and promote low-carbon development in a region. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
486 | Status, characterization, and potential utilization of municipal solid waste as renewable energy source: Lahore case study in Pakistan | With rapid increases in population and urbanization, uncontrolled municipal solid waste (MSW) is a threat to public health and environmental safety. In this study, we explore its generation, treatment, and characteristics of physical/chemical composition and assess the potential of MSW as a renewable energy source in Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan. Based on the average generation rate of MSW (i.e., 0.65 kg/capita/day), the daily production of MSW in this city would reach 7150 tons/day. However, its disposal in a safely engineered way has been restricted due to the lack of: (a) pre-planning, (b) infrastructure, (c) political will, and (d) public awareness. Various samples of MSW considering socio-economic structure were collected. The physical components of MSW in Lahore were found to be in the descending order of biodegradable, nylon plastic bags, textile, diaper, and paper. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) technique was used to determine the heavy metal content and leachability of the MSW components to check for the environmental contamination risk. The proximate and ultimate analysis of this MSW was also carried out along with its heating values. The average high heating value of MSW was measured as 14,490 kJ kg(-1). Energy recovery potential of 48MW was assessed further from 2000 tons of MSW/day. The results of this study should be helpful for policy makers to establish a MSW management strategy for the potential renewable energy alternative. |
487 | Dipterisshenzhenensis, a new endangered species of Dipteridaceae from Shenzhen, southern China | Dipterisshenzhenensis, a new species of ferns from Shenzhen, Guangdong, southern China, is identified and described. It closely resembles D.chinensis but possesses several unique traits, such as long rhizome scales, castaneous stipe, and abaxially pale fronds with two fan-shaped fronds connected by a broad wing. Molecular evidence showed that D.shenzhenensis is allied to D.conjugata, whereas it has morphologically significant differences (P < 0.05) on the basis of quantitative trait statistical analysis. Overall, the morphological evidence, taken together with the result of cpDNA indicated that D.shenzhenensis is a distinct species. |
488 | Modelling water yield with the InVEST model in a data scarce region of northwest China | The Bosten Lake basin is an important arid region of northwest China, and has exhibited a declining trend in both lake area and level of water during recent decades. Reliable information on water yield, an important attribute of available water resources in a region, is vital to assess the potential for socio-economic development. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model is applied here to simulate water yield in the Bosten Lake basin. The spatial and temporal dynamics of water yield, and the response of water yield to land use and precipitation change, are analysed for the period 1985 to 2015. The results show that, overall, water yield increased during 1985-2015, and that the magnitude of change was greater in the eastern part of the region. The water yield capacity, positively correlated with precipitation, is highest under grassland vegetation and lowest in cultivated and unused land. The paper demonstrates that statistical downscaling and climate reanalysis data can be used in the InVEST model to improve the accuracy of simulated water yield in data scarce regions. |
489 | Production, purification and characterization of a novel antithrombotic and anticoagulant serine protease from food grade microorganism Neurospora crassa | A novel thrombolytic enzyme was produced by food grade microorganism Neurospora crassa using agro-industrial by-products as substrates. Process parameters were optimized using Plackett-Berman and Box-Benhken design. Under the optimized fermentation conditions, high fibrinolytic activity of 403.59 U/mL was obtained. It was purified with a specific activity of 3572.4 U/mg by ammonium sulfate precipitation and SP Sepharose chromatography. The molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 32 kDa. It exhibited maximum activity at 40 °C and pH 7.4. Its activity was enhanced by Cu2+, Na+, Zn2+, and completely inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, soybean trypsin inhibitor, aprotinin, which indicates it could be a serine protease. The enzyme could degrade fibrin clot directly without the need of plasminogen activator, and effectively cleaved Aα, Bβ, γ chains of fibrinogen. It could inhibit the formation of blood clots in vitro and acts as an anticoagulant. Compared to heparin the purified enzyme showed extended anticoagulant activity. Blood clots were dissolved effectively and dissolution rate was increased with time. Based on these results, this novel enzyme has the potential to be developed as a thrombolytic agent. |
490 | The changing landscape of relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (MM): fundamentals and controversies | The increase in the number of therapeutic alternatives for both newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients has widened the clinical scenario, leading to a level of complexity that no algorithm has been able to cover up to date. At present, this complexity increases due to the wide variety of clinical situations found in MM patients before they reach the status of relapsed/refractory disease. These different backgrounds may include primary refractoriness, early relapse after completion of first-line therapy with latest-generation agents, or very late relapse after chemotherapy or autologous transplantation. It is also important to bear in mind that many patient profiles are not fully represented in the main randomized clinical trials (RCT), and this further complicates treatment decision-making. In RRMM patients, the choice of previously unused drugs and the number and duration of previous therapeutic regimens until progression has a greater impact on treatment efficacy than the adverse biological characteristics of MM itself. In addition to proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, anti-CD38 antibodies and corticosteroids, a new generation of drugs such as XPO inhibitors, BCL-2 inhibitors, new alkylators and, above all, immunotherapy based on conjugated anti-BCMA antibodies and CAR-T cells, have been developed to fight RRMM. This comprehensive review addresses the fundamentals and controversies regarding RRMM, and discusses the main aspects of management and treatment. The basis for the clinical management of RRMM (complexity of clinical scenarios, key factors to consider before choosing an appropriate treatment, or when to treat), the arsenal of new drugs with no cross resistance with previously administered standard first line regimens (main phase 3 clinical trials), the future outlook including the usefulness of abandoned resources, together with the controversies surrounding the clinical management of RRMM patients will be reviewed in detail. |
491 | The impact of energy price on CO2 emissions in China: A spatial econometric analysis | Excessive greenhouse gas emissions pose a global environmental concern. This paper examines the impact of energy price on China's CO2 emissions based on an extended STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology) structural human ecology model. We utilize Chinese provincial data from 2002 to 2016 and apply the spatial panel data techniques to explicitly consider spatial correlations and spillover effects between observations. Our results show that energy price has a significant negative impact on China's CO2 emissions after controlling for other economic and energy market factors and spatial correlations of these variables. We identify a significant direct impact of the focal province's price change on CO2 emissions and an indirect effect exerted by energy price changes in adjacent provinces. Such spatial spillover effects are also observed in other determinants identified in the extended STIRPAT model. We also document a path dependent pattern in China's provincial CO2 emissions with last period CO2 emissions influencing the current CO2 emission levels. Our results show that the negative impact of energy price on CO2 emissions remains qualitatively the same after incorporating the influence of previous period CO2 emissions. Our results are also robust to the inclusion of lagged energy price measures, alternative spatial economic models, and alternative spatial weight matrices. Overall, our paper highlights the role of energy market in curbing CO2 emissions and promoting sustainable economic development. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
492 | Analysis on the carbon emission peaks of China's industrial, building, transport, and agricultural sectors | Carbon emission peak has become a focus of political and academic concern in global community since the launch of Kyoto Protocol. China, as the largest carbon emitter, has committed to reaching the carbon peak by 2030 in Paris Agreement. This ambitious national goal requires the endeavors of individual sectors, particularly those carbon-intensive ones. Predicting the sectoral peaks under current endeavors and understanding driving forces for the carbon emission changes in the past years are substantial for guiding the allocation of the country's future efforts. In the past studies contextualized in China, the prediction of its carbon peaks seldom appeared at the sectoral level, which is considered as a research gap. Therefore, this study predicts the peaks at four carbon pillar sectors (i.e. industrial, building, transport and agricultural sectors) and identifies the driving forces for the carbon emission changes of them. This study hypothesized Carbon Kuznets curve (CKC) as the theoretical model for predicting the peaks and used Logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) as the method to identify the driving forces. The results show that the carbon emission in the country will peak in 2036, six years later than the agreed year. The lateness of the national peak can be attributed to the significant lateness of three pillar sectors' peaks, occurring in 2031 for the industrial sector, 2035 for the building sector, 2043 for the transport sector, peak for the agricultural sector occurs four years earlier in 2026 though. Furthermore, the results show that carbon emission is significantly driven by the booming economic output and inhibited by decreasing energy intensity, but the slight fluctuation of energy structure plays a minor role in the four sectors. Policy adjustments are proposed for effectively and efficiently urging the on-time occurrence of the national peak. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
493 | PCM integrated glass in glass tube solar collector for low and medium temperature applications: Thermodynamic & techno-economic approach | In present work, techno-economic and thermodynamic analysis of an ETC with/without PCM has been undertaken. The results approved that for all selected flow rates, ETC/S obtained higher energy and exergy efficiencies in comparison to the ETC/WS design. The maximum attained value of average daily energy efficiency for ETC/S and ETC/WS was 78.36% and 54.10% respectively with a high flow rate (24 L/h). Also, at this flow rate, ETC/S and ETC/WS attained peak value of average daily exergy efficiency of 23.15% and 20.06% respectively. The average daily energy efficiency of ETC/S was found to be 53.46%, 30.87%, and 44.85% higher in comparison to ETC/WS for low (8 L/h), medium (16 L/h) and high (24 L/h) flow rate respectively. Hence, the integration of SA (stearic acid) as energy storage material with HP-ETC not only stored the thermal energy but also enhanced the system performance. Furthermore, the techno-economic study revealed that the cost of production of hot water by ETC/S has been found to be lowest compared with ETC/WS and electric geyser. This analysis showed that ETC/S system has a promising potential in terms of supply of hot water from low to medium temperature range at a cheaper rate at lower payback period. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
494 | Co-Occurrence of Reading and Writing Difficulties: The Application of the Interactive Dynamic Literacy Model | This article presents the application of the interactive dynamic literacy (IDL) model (Kim, 2020b) toward understanding difficulties in learning to read and write. According to the IDL model, reading and writing are part of communicative acts that draw on largely shared processes and skills as well as unique processes and skills. As such, reading and writing are dissociable but interdependent systems that have hierarchical, interactive, and dynamic relations. These key tenets of the IDL model are applied to the disruption of reading and writing development to explain co-occurrence of reading-writing difficulties using a single framework. The following hypotheses are presented: (a) co-occurrence between word reading and spelling and handwriting difficulties; (b) co-occurrence of dyslexia with written composition difficulties; (c) co-occurrence between reading comprehension and written composition difficulties; (d) co-occurrence of language difficulties with reading difficulties and writing difficulties; (e) co-occurrence of reading, writing, and language difficulties with weak domain-general skills or executive functions such as working memory and attentional control (including attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]); and (f) multiple pathways for reading and writing difficulties. Implications are discussed. |
495 | Comprehensive Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association | Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in patients with diabetes. Cardiovascular disease in diabetes is multifactorial, and control of the cardiovascular risk factors leads to substantial reductions in cardiovascular events. The 2015 American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association scientific statement, "Update on Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Light of Recent Evidence," highlighted the importance of modifying various risk factors responsible for cardiovascular disease in diabetes. At the time, there was limited evidence to suggest that glucose-lowering medications reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. At present, several large randomized controlled trials with newer antihyperglycemic agents have been completed, demonstrating cardiovascular safety and reduction in cardiovascular outcomes, including cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure. This AHA scientific statement update focuses on (1) the evidence and clinical utility of newer antihyperglycemic agents in improving glycemic control and reducing cardiovascular events in diabetes; (2) the impact of blood pressure control on cardiovascular events in diabetes; and (3) the role of newer lipid-lowering therapies in comprehensive cardiovascular risk management in adults with diabetes. This scientific statement addresses the continued importance of lifestyle interventions, pharmacological therapy, and surgical interventions to curb the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome, important precursors of prediabetes, diabetes, and comorbid cardiovascular disease. Last, this scientific statement explores the critical importance of the social determinants of health and health equity in the continuum of care in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. |
496 | Risk management in distributed wind energy implementing Analytic Hierarchy Process | Distributed wind power has received growing attention in recent years. However, high risks remain in its investigation, which severely hindered its development. This study attempts to gather and identify risk factors in distributed wind power through literature reviews and rank the risks based on expert opinions. Based on previous literature, we classified risk for distributed wind power investment into four types, namely the political risks, economic risks, social risks, and technical risks. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is used to assess risks in the life cycle of the distributed wind farm. Political, Economic, Social and Technical methodology as the criteria hierarchy is introduced to classify the identified risks as the sub-criteria hierarchy in the AHP model. The result shows that the risk of changes in electricity price policy is the most critical impact on the distributed wind power system to obtain sustainable development and make profits. Therefore, the government needs to provide a long-term vision of electricity price policy to promote the development of distributed wind projects. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
497 | Optimization of the utilization of deep borehole heat exchangers | Deep-borehole heat exchangers (DBHE) are generally coaxial pipes installed in deep boreholes and has become an alternative approach to utilize geothermal energy. Since the performance of the DBHE system can be affected by several parameters, it is important to optimize the design of parameters for the DBHE. In this paper, based on the analytical method, we carried out the sensitivity analysis of DBHE design parameters, including outer pipe diameter, inner pipe diameter, flow rate, outer pipe materials, grout materials, and borehole depth during continuous operation for 4 months. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the heat extraction rate can be significantly affected by outer pipe diameter, borehole depth, and flow rate. The effects of grout materials, inner pipe diameter and outer pipe materials are of second-order. Finally, an optimization method based on the lowest Average Energy Cost index was proposed to optimize these DBHE design parameters under different geological conditions. Given the cost in this study, a combination scheme of all the optimal parameters is given for different depth wells under different geological conditions. |
498 | Incorporating synthetic aperture radar and optical images to investigate the annual dynamics of anthropogenic impervious surface at large scale | The area, distribution, and temporal dynamics of anthropogenic impervious surface (AIS) at large scale are significant for environmental, ecological and socio-economic studies. Remote sensing has become an important tool for monitoring large scale AIS, while it remains challenging for accurate extraction of AIS using optical datasets alone due to the high diversity of land covers over large scale. Previous studies indicated the complementary use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to improve the AIS estimation, while most of them were limited to local and small scales. The potential of SAR for large scale AIS mapping is still uncertain and under-explored. In this study, first, a machine learning framework incorporating both optical and SAR data based on Google Earth Engine platform was developed for mapping and analyzing the annual dynamics of AIS in China. Feature-level fusion for SAR and optical data across large scale was tested applicable considering the backscattering coefficients, texture measures and spectral characteristics. Improved accuracy (averaged 2% increased overall accuracy and averaged 4% increased Kappa coefficient) and better delineation between the bright impervious surface and bare land was observed comparing with using optical data alone. Second, comprehensive assessment was conducted using high-resolution samples from Google Earth, census data from China Statistic Yearbook and benchmark datasets from the GlobeLand30 and GHSL, demonstrating the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method and results. Last but not the least, we analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of AIS in China from national, regional and provincial levels. |
499 | Exploring the effect of economic and environment factors on PM2.5 concentration: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region | Air pollution, especially haze pollution is a serious environment problem that directly affects the sustainable development in China. Identifying the key factors affecting PM2.5 concentration and the interaction mechanism between them through quantitative analysis can greatly help a city devise PM2.5 pollution control strategy. Using the geographical detector model, we quantitative measured 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's social factors and their interaction impacts on PM2.5 concentration in 2016. In the analysis process, factor analysis method is used to separate the factors preliminary. According to the results, the factors mainly divided into two categories, i.e. economic factor and environment factor. R&D ranks top in the studied cities in terms of factor detection results, presenting closely relationship between PM2.5 concentration and R&D. We also find the interaction between any two factors all enhance impact on PM2.5 concentration than any one alone. This study provided a scientific basic and guidance for measure the driving degree of social factors and their interaction effects. |
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