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700 | Positively charged nanofiltration membrane synthesis, transport models, and lanthanides separation | The design and understanding of rejection mechanisms for both positively and negatively charged nanofiltration (NF) membranes are needed for the development of highly selective separation of multivalent ions. In this study, positively charged nanofiltration membranes were created via an addition of commercially available polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) by conventional interfacial polymerization technique. Demonstration of real increase in surface zeta potential, along with other characterization methods, confirmed the addition of weak basic functional groups from PAH. Both positively and negatively charged NF membranes were tested for evaluating their potential as a technology for the recovery or separation of lanthanide cations (neodymium and lanthanum chloride as model salts) from aqueous sources. Particularly, the NF membranes with added PAH performed high and stable lanthanides retentions, with values around 99.3% in mixtures with high ionic strength (100 mM, equivalent to ~6,000 ppm), 99.3% rejection at 85% water recovery (and high Na+/La3+ selectivity, with 0% Na+ rejection starting at 65% recovery), and both constant lanthanum rejection and permeate flux at even pH 2.7. Donnan steric pore model with dielectric exclusion elucidated the transport mechanism of lanthanides and sodium, proving the potential of high selective separation at low permeate fluxes using positively charged NF membranes. |
701 | Multi-objective economic dispatch of a microgrid considering electric vehicle and transferable load | In order to investigate the impact of electric vehicles' charging-discharging behaviour and demand side response resources on the economic operation of photovoltaic grid-connected microgrid system, a multi-objective model of microgrid economic dispatching with electric vehicles, transferable load and other distributed generations (diesel engines and energy storage unit) is proposed in this paper. The model takes the comprehensive operating cost of microgrid, the utilization rate of photovoltaic energy and the power fluctuation between the microgrid and main grid as objectives. Moreover, four different cases of microgrid economic dispatch considering electric vehicles and transferable load are put forward, which are electric vehicles' orderly charging and discharging and transferable load participating in demand response in Case 1, electric vehicles' charging randomly and the transferable load participating in demand response in Case 2, electric vehicles orderly charging and discharging and transferable load not participating in demand response in Case 3, electric vehicles' charging randomly and the transferable load not participating in the demand response in Case 4. Multi-objective Seeker Optimization Algorithm and the method of fuzzy membership function are applied in this study to obtain the optimal results. The simulation analysis shows that the orderly charging-discharging behaviour of electric vehicles and the participation of transferable load can effectively improve the economic costs, efficiency and security of microgrid economic operation. |
702 | The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic | A satellite survey of the cumulative radiant emissions from electric lighting across China reveals a large radiance decline in lighting from December 2019 to February 2020-the peak of the lockdown established to suppress the spread of COVID-19 infections. To illustrate the changes, an analysis was also conducted on a reference set from a year prior to the pandemic. In the reference period, the majority (62%) of China's population lived in administrative units that became brighter in March 2019 relative to December 2018. The situation reversed in February 2020, when 82% of the population lived in administrative units where lighting dimmed as a result of the pandemic. The dimming has also been demonstrated with difference images for the reference and pandemic image pairs, scattergrams, and a nightly temporal profile. The results indicate that it should be feasible to monitor declines and recovery in economic activity levels using nighttime lighting as a proxy. |
703 | NiCo2O4/biomass-derived carbon composites as anode for high-performance lithium ion batteries | Low electronic conductivity and drastic volume change during cycling of transition metal oxides, as anodes for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), lead to rapid capacity decay and poor structural stability. Herein, nanostructured NiCo2O4 anchored on carbon sheets was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method with following thermal treatment. The wrinkled carbon substrate in the composite derives from the carbonization of pomelo peels, which can be mass-produced for the large-scale application. This composite shows mesoporous structures with high specific surface areas and intimate NiCo2O4/carbon interfaces, which favors the alleviation of the volume expansion/shrink during charging/discharging process and improves the electron/mass transport, enhancing the capability and stability for LIBs. This composite delivers a high reversible capacity of 473.7 mA h g(-1) after 210 cycles at a current density of 500 mA g(-1). A long cycle life of up to 1100 cycles at 2000 mA g(-1) is achieved with the retention capacity of 363 mA h g(-1). The electrode also exhibits excellent rate capability and can regain its original capacities as reversing to the low current densities. This work highlights the biomass-derived carbon-supported metal oxides as an environmentally friendly and economic strategy for advanced LIBs. |
704 | Tracing the Transboundary Transport of Mercury to the Tibetan Plateau Using Atmospheric Mercury Isotopes | Deposition of atmospheric mercury (Hg) is the most important Hg source on the high-altitude Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. Herein, total gaseous Hg (TGM) at an urban and a forest site on the Tibetan Plateau was collected respectively from May 2017 to October 2018, and isotopic compositions were measured to clarify the influences of landforms and monsoons on the transboundary transport of atmospheric Hg to the Tibetan Plateau. The transboundary transported anthropogenic emissions mainly originated over Indo-Gangetic Plain and carried over the Himalayas by convective storms and mid-tropospheric circulation, contributing over 50% to the TGM at the Lhasa urban site, based on the binary mixing model of isotopes. In contrast, during the transport of TGM from South Asia with low altitude, the uptake by evergreen forest in Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon largely decreased the TGM level and shifted isotopic compositions in TGM at the Nyingchi forest site, which are located at the high-altitude end of the canyon. Our results provided direct evidence from Hg isotopes to reveal the distinct patterns of transboundary transport to the Tibetan Plateau shaped by landforms and climates, which is critical to fully understand the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in the high-altitude regions. |
705 | Synthesis, characterization and in vitro, in vivo, in silico biological evaluations of substituted benzimidazole derivatives | A series of substituted benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized by reacting O-phenylenediamine with various aromatic aldehydes or glycolic acid using various inexpensive reagents in aqueous media. Synthesized compounds were characterized and elucidated by IR, 1H NMR, ESI-MS spectra. Resultant compounds were screened for in vitro antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antioxidant, lipid peroxidation and cholinesterase inhibitory activities, in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory, and in silico anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-butyrylcholinesterase activities. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 3b showed most promising central analgesic effect (46.15%) compared to morphine (48.08%), whereas compounds 6, 3c and 3a showed significant peripheral analgesic activity at two different dose levels (25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg). Compounds 3b and 3a at the dose of 100 mg/kg showed significant anti-inflammatory effects from the first hour and onward, whereas compounds 6 and 3b showed moderate cytotoxic activities. In addition, compound 3a showed significant antioxidant activity having IC50 value of 16.73 µg/ml compared to 14.44 µg/ml for the standard BHT. Compound 6, 3a and 3b exhibited mild to moderate cholinesterase inhibitory activity. In silico studies revealed that compound 3a and 3b might be suitable for cholinesterase inhibitory activity. A comprehensive computational and experimental data suggested compounds 3b and 3a as the best possible candidates for pharmacological activity. All the experimental data were statistically significant (p < 0.01 level). |
706 | Cost-optimal economic potential of shared rooftop PV in energy communities: Evidence from Austria | In this study, a model is developed to estimate the cost-optimal large-scale economic potential of shared rooftop PV systems based on neighbourhood energy communities (ECs). In a first step, an optimisation model determines the cost-optimal rooftop PV capacities for representative neighbourhood ECs in characteristic settlement patterns (SPs). Next, the number of ECs in the large-scale area of investigation is determined by allocating buildings to SPs and ECs. Finally, the optimal large-scale, EC-based rooftop PV potential is determined by upscaling. A case study is provided for Austria, identifying a cost-optimal economic rooftop PV potential of approximately 10GW(p). This PV capacity would already be sufficient (in terms of expected PV deployment) to meet the Austrian 2030 policy goal of a 100% renewable electricity generation. However, results also indicate that accommodating the cost-optimal rooftop PV capacity is difficult in cities/towns in contrast to rural areas. Thus, future ECs should be implemented not only on neighbourhood level, but across the boundaries of different SPs. Different sensitivity analyses are conducted, notably in terms of varying retail electricity prices, including a variation of distribution grid tariff structures, and PV system cost. The trade-off between these sensitivity parameters is critically discussed and provides recommendations for future work. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. |
707 | Biomass ash stabilized MgO adsorbents for CO2 capture application | Supported MgO adsorbents were prepared from the calcination of MgCl2 center dot 6H(2)O preloaded on several biomass wastes including sugarcane bagasse, coffee grounds, rice husk, and saw dust. CO2 adsorption behaviors of the adsorbents with different supports and MgO loadings were investigated using a fixed-bed reactor. The modified Avrami fractional kinetic model was adopted to correlate their CO2 uptakes to evaluate the CO2 adsorption kinetic performance. Amongst the prepared MgO adsorbents, the rice husk ash supported sample (MgO-RHA) featured high CO2 adsorption capacity, due to the good textural properties, nano-crystallization of MgO particles, the uniform dispersion of active components and the enriched surface basicity. CO2 uptakes of MgO-RHA increased first and then decreased with the increasing MgO loading. CO2 adsorption kinetic would be hampered by higher MgO contents because of the increased diffusion resistance and decreased MgO utilization. The adsorbent with 20 wt% MgO loading exhibited the highest CO2 uptake of 4.56 mmol CO2/g. Besides, the desired adsorbent presented good working stability with 7.68% loss-in-capacity in 10 repeated cycles. Recycling waste MgCl2 center dot 6H(2)O and biomass residues to synthesize CO2 adsorbents provides remarkable economic and environmental implications, from the prospective of CO2 emission mitigation and waste management. |
708 | Do beliefs in the malleability of well-being affect the efficacy of positive psychology interventions? Results of a randomized placebo-controlled trial | The present study examines the role of beliefs about the malleability of well-being in a randomized, placebo-controlled, online positive psychology intervention targeting 267 German-speaking adults (83% women, mean age = 43.16 years). The participants of the experimental group ("three good things" intervention) and placebo control group ("early memories") reported their levels of happiness before and immediately after the 1-week intervention, as well as 2, 4, and 12 weeks after the intervention. Furthermore, the researchers recorded how participants completed the exercises and to what extent they liked the exercises. This study also assesses the participants' beliefs surrounding two different aspects of malleability (well-being is modifiable in general, and one knows how to change their well-being). Although both aspects of malleability were strongly intercorrelated, beliefs about how to change one's well-being seemed particularly relevant in the context of positive psychology interventions: Those who reported a stronger belief about how to change their well-being liked the intervention better and more often completed the activity as instructed. Further, they reported greater increases in well-being as compared with the control group. We conclude that beliefs about the malleability of well-being might represent an important moderating variable in the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions. |
709 | Understanding access to healthcare for gender diverse young people: a critical review of the literature | Gender diverse young people face well-documented physical, mental and sexual health disparities compared to the general population. Differential access to healthcare is a key driver of these inequities and literature highlights high unmet healthcare need among members of this group. Healthcare access has been described through a model that defines five dimensions of health services: approachability; acceptability; availability and accommodation; affordability; and appropriateness; and five abilities of health service consumers that interact with these dimensions: the abilities to perceive, seek, reach, pay and engage. This comprehensive literature review examined barriers to and facilitators of healthcare access among gender diverse young people using the lens provided by this model as it relates to dimensions of access at the health service level and/or the abilities of health service users. We advocate expansion of this model to incorporate demand- and supply-side barriers and facilitators of access, and important structural factors including the gender binary health system framework, intersectionality and stigma. Findings highlight the need for improvements to healthcare provider education and the participatory redesign of health services with a focus on intersectionality, individually-tailored service provision and healthcare that is responsive to the unique needs of gender diverse young people. |
710 | Using Protection Motivation Theory to Predict Adherence to COVID-19 Behavioral Guidelines | COVID-19 has become a global pandemic. Throughout most of the pandemic, mitigating its spread has relied on human behavior, namely on adherence to protective behaviors (e.g., wearing a face mask). This research proposes that Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) can contribute to understanding differences in individual adherence to COVID-19 behavioral guidelines. PMT identifies four fundamental cognitive components that drive responses to fear appeals: perceptions of susceptibility (to the disease), severity (of the disease), self-efficacy (to protect oneself), and response efficacy (i.e., recommended behaviors' effectiveness). Two online self-report studies assessed PMT components' capacity to predict adherence to protective behaviors concurrently and across culturally different countries (Israel, Germany, India; Study 1), and again at six-week follow-up (Israeli participants; Study 2). Study 1's findings indicate excellent fit of the PMT model, with about half of the variance in adherence explained. No significant differences were found between participants from Israel (n = 917), Germany (n = 222) and India (n = 160). Study 2 (n = 711) confirmed that PMT components continue to predict adherence after six weeks. In both studies, response efficacy was the PMT component most strongly associated with adherence levels. This study demonstrates that PMT can serve as a theoretical framework to better understand differences in adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviors. The findings may further inform the design of adherence-promoting communications, suggesting that it may be beneficial to highlight response efficacy in such messages. |
711 | Improving vaccination rates in older adults and at-risk groups: focus on pertussis | Despite the implementation of effective paediatric vaccination programmes, pertussis remains a global health problem. Disease epidemiology has changed over time, shifting towards the adolescent and adult populations. In adults, the true burden of pertussis is greatly underestimated and pertussis vaccine coverage rates are suboptimal, including individuals with chronic conditions. Here, we report the outcomes of a virtual international scientific workshop to assess the evidence on the burden of pertussis in older adults and identify potential solutions to improve uptake of pertussis vaccines. In adults, pertussis is underdiagnosed in part due to atypical or milder clinical presentation and the lack of testing and case confirmation. However, contemporary epidemiological data denoted an increase in the burden of pertussis among adolescents and adults. This might be related to a variety of reasons including the waning of immunity over time, the lack of booster vaccination, and the improved diagnostic methods that led to increased recognition of the disease in adults. Pertussis sequelae can be severe in older adults, particularly those with existing chronic medical conditions, and the vulnerability of these groups is further enhanced by low pertussis vaccine coverage. Possible measures to increase vaccine uptake include strengthening and harmonisation of immunisation guidelines, healthcare professionals taking a more active role in recommending pertussis vaccination, involvement of vaccination centres and pharmacies in the vaccination process, and improving knowledge of pertussis burden and vaccine efficacy among the general population. |
712 | Mental Health and its Influencing Factors Among Immigrants with Chronic Diseases in China | Immigrants are a special group in society, and their health is of great concern. Few studies have targeted this population in China. A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study was conducted from July to August 2018 in Hubei Province, China. Chi-square tests, Z-tests and multivariable linear regression analysis were performed to analyze the data using SPSS 24.0. A total of 1068 questionnaires were distributed. The results showed that the variables that affected the mental health of the immigrants with chronic diseases included gender, annual income, life events (L), negative emotion (NE), negative coping styles (NC) and objective support (OS) (p ≤ 0.05). Future research should focus on the physical and mental health of different immigrant groups and design effective, individualized interventions to improve the health status of immigrants, especially those with chronic diseases. |
713 | Combined biomass gasification, SOFC, IC engine, and waste heat recovery system for power and heat generation: Energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, environmental (4E) evaluations | A novel hybrid system using biomass as fuel for both power and heat generation, which consists of biomass gasification unit, solid oxide fuel cell, homogeneous charge compression ignition engine and waste heat recovery unit, is proposed in this work. Based on the modeling, the system is comprehensively evaluated by multiple approaches including energy, exergy, exergoeconomic and environmental analyses. It is found that the overall energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of the hybrid system could reach up to 68% and 51%, both of which are comparable to those of other reported hybrid fuel cell systems. The exergy destruction of the gasifier is the largest whose relative exergy destruction is up to 21.5%. The component of fuel cell contributes to 71% of the total power but with small relative exergy destruction. On the contrary, the HCCI engine contributes to less power but has larger exergy destruction compared to SOFC. The exergoeconomic analysis showed that the fuel cell component has a high exergoeconomic factor of 98.09% due to the large capital investment cost. By comparison, the component engine has much lower exergoeconomic factors of 5.41%. The cost of exergetic product of the hybrid system is 9.7 $/GJ. Besides, the proposed hybrid system presents a low carbon dioxide emission of about 0.119 to 0.139 t/GJ, which indicates few environmental impacts for the system. These results reveal that the proposed biomass-fueled hybrid system is high-efficiency, low-cost and clean for both power and heat generation, which could be promising candidate as advanced energy conversion technology in practical applications. |
714 | Flexural behavior of glass fiber-reinforced recycled aggregate concrete and its impact on the cost and carbon footprint of concrete pavement | In this study, an effort is presented, towards the appraisal of the economic and environmental performance of concrete pavement with the glass fiber (GF) reinforced concrete with and without concrete waste aggregates (CWA). The performance of pavement with plain and fiber-reinforced concretes was compared based on the results of economic and environmental analysis. Firstly, this study evaluated the important mechanical properties (flexural strength, elastic modulus, and residual strength) of the concrete mixes incorporating different quantities of CWA (as 0%, 30%, 50% and 100% replacement of natural coarse aggregate) and GF (as 0%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1% volume fraction). Then, the mechanical properties were used to design the thickness of jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) for different concrete mixes under similar design loading conditions. Finally, using the cost and carbon emissions of each mix per cubic meter; the cost of pavement (CP) and carbon emissions of pavement (EP) per square meter were evaluated. The results of flexural testing revealed that CWA concretes with a small percentage of GF (i.e. 0.25%) can yield better flexural strength, toughness, and residual strength than conventional plain concrete. CP and EP analysis showed the remarkable economic and environmental benefits of fiberreinforced concrete application in JPCP. At any level of CWA, 0.25%GF addition into concrete yielded concrete pavement with a 20% lower cost and carbon-footprint than that produced with the conventional plain concrete. The CWA level can be maximized into concrete pavement with the GF addition, otherwise plain CWA concrete yields cost and carbon footprint similar to that of the conventional concrete. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
715 | Globalization and carbon emissions: Is there any role of agriculture value-added, financial development, and natural resource rent in the aftermath of COP21? | Keeping in view the catastrophic effects of environmental degradation, G7 countries agree to implement the policy recommendations of the famous Paris Climate Agreement (COP21) in 2015; carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are increasing in G7 countries, which is a severe threat for the environment of the world. This study examines the effects of economic globalization on environmental degradation (CO2 emissions) for G7 countries for the period of 1996-2017. We further examine the role of financial development, agriculture value-added, and natural resources in the relationship between economic globalization and CO2 emissions. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing new empirical evidence on how economic globalization, along with financial development, agriculture value-added, and natural resources affect CO2 emissions in G7 economies. This study utilizes novel econometric techniques such as CS-ARDL for short-run and long-run results of the empirical analysis. The empirical findings show that economic globalization, financial development, and natural resources increase carbon emissions. In contrast, agriculture value-added decreases carbon emissions. This study suggests that policies designed for controlling carbon emissions should be absorbed in approximately more than one year. |
716 | Techno-economic analysis of coke oven gas and blast furnace gas to methanol process with carbon dioxide capture and utilization | This paper documents a process for converting coke oven gas (COG) and blast furnace gas (BFG) from steel refineries into methanol. Specifically, we propose the use of blast furnace gas (BFG) as an additional carbon source. The high CO(2 )and CO content of BFG make it a good carbon resource. In the proposed process, CO2 is recovered from the BFG and blended with H2O, H-2, and CH4-rich COG to reform methane. Optimized amounts of H2O and CO2 are used to adjust the (H-2 - CO2)/(CO + CO2) molar ratio in order to maximize the amount of methanol that is produced. In addition, the desulphurization process was modified to enable the removal of sulfur compounds, especially thiophene, from the COG. The process design and simulation results reported herein were then used to determine any potential environmental and economic benefits. This research is based on off-gas conditions provided by ArcelorMittal Dofasco (AMD), Hamilton, Ontario. In order to determine which conditions are most desirable for this retrofit strategy, potential greenhouse gas reduction and economic benefits were analyzed. In particular, this analysis focused on the heating utility chosen for methane reformation prior to methanol synthesis. To this end, COG, BFG, and natural gas (NG) were compared. The results showed that using BFG/NG as a heating utility can produce greater economic gains, and that synthesizing COG + BFG to methanol results in greater economic and environmental gains than solely producing electricity (the status quo). Compared to current operating procedures, the proposed process could potentially increase net present values by up to $54 million. The carbon efficiency achieved was up to 72%. An additional 0.73 kg of CO2 from BFG is needed for every 1 kg of MeOH produced. About 52% of feedstock energy is converted to MeOH, with another 33% recovered in the form of utilities. The exergy efficiency of the recommended version of the system is about 61%. The business case for converting CO2 into methanol highly depends on the local electricity grid carbon intensity. For Ontario, it can reduce direct CO2 emissions by 228 ktonne per year, and fix up to 246 ktonne CO2 into methanol per year. In addition, analyses of location effects, CO2 taxes, electricity prices, electricity carbon intensity, methanol prices, and income taxes indicated that MeOH production is highly recommended for Ontario, Mexico, the USA, and China applications. For USA, build MeOH plant is recommended for Finland, whether to do this retrofit or not is inconclusive. For Finland, the results are inconclusive, other strategies may be equally suitable. Aspen Plus Simulation files and other source code have been open-sourced and are available to the reader. |
717 | Does environmental decentralization exacerbate China's carbon emissions? Evidence based on dynamic threshold effect analysis | As an institutional influential factor of environmental quality, environmental decentralization may play an important role in carbon emission control. Given China's rapid economic development and increasing environmental pollution, this study aims to investigate how environmental decentralization affects China's carbon emissions. Environmental decentralization indicators are reconstructed from the perspective of dynamic changes in the number of staff in environmental protection agencies on the basis of China's 30 provinces from 2005 to 2016. Spatial panel and dynamic threshold models are employed to investigate the impacts of environmental decentralization on carbon emissions. Results indicate that a remarkably positive spatial correlation is found in regional carbon emissions in China, and environmental decentralization has a positive impact on carbon emissions, suggesting that China's current environmental decentralization system may be unconducive to carbon emission control. Taking different environmental decentralization types as threshold variables, results from the dynamic threshold panel model show that environmental administrative decentralization and environmental monitoring decentralization have a positive threshold promoting effect on carbon emissions, whereas environmental supervision decentralization has a negative threshold inhibiting effect on carbon emissions. Therefore, the environmental administrative and monitoring power of local governments must be appropriately reduced and an environmental management mechanism must be developed for joint prevention and control to reduce carbon emissions. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
718 | Dynamic energy conversion and management strategy for an integrated electricity and natural gas system with renewable energy: Deep reinforcement learning approach | With the application of advanced information technology for the integration of electricity and natural gas systems, formulating an excellent energy conversion and management strategy has become an effective method to achieve established goals. Differing from previous works, this paper proposes a peak load shifting model to smooth the net load curve of an integrated electricity and natural gas system by coordinating the operations of the power-to-gas unit and generators. Moreover, the study aims to achieve multi-objective optimization while considering the economy of the system. A dynamic energy conversion and management strategy is proposed, which coordinates both the economic cost target and the peak load shifting target by adjusting an economic coefficient. To illustrate the complex energy conversion process, deep reinforcement learning is used to formulate the dynamic energy conversion and management problem as a discrete Markov decision process, and a deep deterministic policy gradient is adopted to solve the decision-making problem. By using the deep reinforcement learning method, the system operator can adaptively determine the conversion ratio of wind power, power-to-gas and gas turbine operations, and generator output through an online process, where the flexibility of wind power generation, wholesale gas price, and the uncertainties of energy demand are considered. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can increase the profit of the system operator, reduce wind power curtailment, and smooth the net load curves effectively in real time. |
719 | Adenosine signaling mediate pain transmission in the central nervous system | Pain is a common clinical symptom that seriously affects the quality of life in a variety of patient populations. In recent years, research on the role of adenosine signaling in pain modulation has made great progress. Adenosine is a purine nucleoside and a neuromodulator, and regulates multiple physiological and pathophysiological functions through the activation of four G protein-coupled receptors, which are classified as A1, A2A, A2B, and A3 adenosine receptors (ARs). Adenosine and its receptors that are widespread in the central nervous system (CNS) play an important role in the processing of nociceptive sensory signals in different pain models. A1Rs have the highest affinity to adenosine, and the role in analgesia has been well investigated. The roles of A2ARs and A2BRs in the modulation of pain are controversial because they have both analgesic and pronociceptive effects. The analgesic effects of A3Rs are primarily manifested in neuropathic pain. In this article, we have reviewed the recent studies on ARs in the modulation of neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, postoperative pain, and visceral pain in the CNS. Furthermore, we have outlined the pathways through which ARs contribute to pain regulation, thereby shedding light on how this mechanism can be targeted to provide effective pain relief. |
720 | Poisoning due to consumption of horse chestnut seed | Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) is a common tree found on roads and parks. The shape of the fruit is very similar to that of the edible Korean chestnut (Castanea crenata); thus, people can eat it by mistake. However, reports of the side effects and toxicity from ingestion are very rare. A 46-year-old male who had no unusual findings in the past had eaten horse chestnut seed which he had mistaken to be Korean chestnut. He visited the emergency department (ED) with complaints of epigastric pain, nausea, and sweating. Blood tests showed a slight increase in the levels of liver enzymes, serum amylase, and pancreatic amylase. During the monitoring, he complained of palpitations, and electrocardiogram showed atrial fibrillation. On the following day after conservative treatment, blood testing and electrocardiogram showed normal findings. He was discharged from the ED as he did not complain of any further symptoms. When a patient who has eaten horse chestnut visits the ED, blood examination and electrocardiogram monitoring are needed, and conservative treatment is required. |
721 | Comprehensive techno-economic and environmental sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization of a novel heat and power system for natural gas city gate stations | In the present study, a novel combined heat and power system is proposed to use in natural gas city gate stations. The proposed cogeneration system is used for power generation and satisfying heating requirements of the natural gas preheating in city gate stations. The system is composed of a regenerative gas turbine cycle, a heat exchanger and a Kalina cycle integrated with a city gate station heater. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis and single- and multi-objective optimizations are applied to investigate the system performance. The analysis is based on energetic, exergetic, environmental and economic standpoints which includes all important effective parameters (compressor presser ratio rCom, gas turbine inlet temperature T-GT, ammonia base concentration XNH3, condenser pinch point temperature difference DTPP;Con, ambient temperature T-amb and inlet NG pressure P-NG,P-in). Also, in addition to the energetic and exergetic efficiencies, a new performance criterion is defined as the system's annual costs to incomes ratio (this new function covers economic and environmental criteria simultaneously). The outputs of sensitivity analysis reveal that, rCom affects significantly on all of the three performance criteria; also, Tamb and PNG; in has the most impact on energetic efficiency. The exergetic analysis at the base system conditions shows that the combustion chamber has the maximum contribution in total exergy destruction with a share of 54.96%. This share is reduced by 3.65% in multi-objective optimization mode. Also, comparing the outputs of the base system and the multi-objective optimization mode for the proposed cogeneration system represents 30.72%, 3.48% and 10.55% improvement in energetic efficiency, exergetic efficiency and system's annual costs to incomes ratio, respectively. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
722 | Chinese photovoltaic poverty alleviation: Geographic distribution, economic benefits and emission mitigation | As a part of an environmentally concerned development strategy, the photovoltaic poverty alleviation in China is adopted to lift households above the rural extreme poverty line by the end of 2020. With the detailed project level data in 534 counties, 22 provinces, this systematic assessment on Chinese photovoltaic power projects identifies geographic distribution, economic benefits and emission mitigation for deployment distribution and policy implications. Overall, the photovoltaic installed capacity has reached 5213.37 MW, with the income generation of 7.41 billion CNY per year and the carbon emission mitigation of 5.98 million tons. From the results in this work, it is obvious that the GDP and household savings per capita in most counties and cities are lower than in those without photovoltaic poverty alleviation stations. As an essential strategy of generating income and mitigating emissions especially in countries well-endowed with sunlight, the deployment of photovoltaic power projects is consistent with sustainable development goals relating to global poverty eradication. With the assessments on the photovoltaic power stations, the initial implementation of photovoltaic poverty alleviation revealed a number of problems and solutions, which are practical for systematic deployment and policy implications of relevant photovoltaic power projects worldwide. |
723 | Simultaneous adsorption and oxidation of antimonite onto nano zero-valent iron sludge-based biochar: Indispensable role of reactive oxygen species and redox-active moieties | The nano zero-valent iron sludge-based biochar (nZVI-SBC) was prepared in this study to eliminate Sb(III) from aqueous solutions, which was characterized by BET, SEM, XRD, TEM, FTIR, XPS. Our results proved that the incorporated nZVI on SBC matrix could significantly enhance eliminating Sb(III), and the max-adsorption capacity (160.40 mg g(-1)) can be achieved at pH = 4.8 +/- 0.2 and temperature of 298 K. The effect of co-existing anions and natural organic matters on the Sb(III) adsorption efficiencies were systematically investigated. The surface complexation is the possible adsorption mechanisms by FTIR and XPS. Furthermore, mechanistic investigation revealed that center dot OH and hydroquinone radical (H-SQ center dot(-)) could be the primary oxidants for the transformation of Sb(III) under oxic conditions, while 9,10-phenanthrene quinone radical (P-SQ center dot(-)) were responsible under anoxic conditions. Thus, the enhanced elimination of Sb(III) from aqueous solution was ascribed to the combined adsorption and oxidation. The potential engineering application of nZVI-SBC can be proved through three actual water matrix experiments, including lake water, river water and acid mine drainage. Our present findings proved that nZVI-SBC could be a potential adsorbent, given the excellent performance in the adsorption processes, as well as the toxicity alleviating ability and economic advantages, especially under subsurface water. |
724 | Introducing a hybrid renewable energy system for production of power and fresh water using parabolic trough solar collectors and LNG cold energy recovery | In order to solve the water and energy crisis problem, the thermal water desalination and parabolic trough solar collectors are used at the cogeneration plants. In this paper, an integrated structure for cogeneration of fresh water and power has been developed using a multi-stage thermal water desalination system and organic Rankine cycle. In order to supply the input heat, an integrated structure of parabolic trough solar collectors, and to supply the condenser cooling of organic Rankine cycle, the re-gasification operations have been used. This integrated structure is capable of fresh water generation of 3628 kgmol/h and electrical power of 459.9 MW. In this integrated structure, the efficiency of the organic Rankine cycle power plant and gain output ratio of the multi effect desalination system is 12.47% and 2.918, respectively. Exergy analysis has been used to examine the second law of thermodynamics and the quality of the integrated structure. The total exergy efficiency of the integrated structure is 87.11%, and also, the highest share of equipment exergy destruction is related to the heat exchangers and collectors by 50.23% and 38.18%, respectively. In order to simulate the dynamics of the integrated structure, according to the input climatic information of the studied location in Tehran, Iran. Furthermore, decisions are made upon the sensitivity analysis on economic important indicators within an integrated structure. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
725 | Bacterial Community of Galchi-Baechu Kimchi Based on Culture-Dependent and - Independent Investigation and Selection of Starter Candidates | In this study, the bacterial community of galchi-baechu kimchi was determined using culture-based and culture-independent techniques (next generation sequencing:NGS), and showed discrepancies between results. Weissella koreensis and Pediococcus inopinatus were the dominant species according to the NGS results, while Bacillus species and P. inopinatus were dominant in the culture-dependent analysis. To identify safe starter candidates, sixty-five Bacillus strains isolated from galchi-baechu kimchi using culture-dependent methods were evaluated for their antibiotic resistance, presence of toxin genes, and hemolytic activity. Strains were then assessed for salt tolerance and protease and lipase activity. As a result, four strains-B. safensis GN5_10, B. subtilis GN5_19, B. velezensis GN5_25, and B. velezensis GT8-were selected as safe starter candidates for use in fermented foods. |
726 | Fate of thiamethoxam from treated seeds in mesocosms and response of aquatic invertebrate communities | Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely applied in the Canadian Prairies. It has been detected in surface waters of agro-ecosystems, including wetlands, but the potential effects on non-target invertebrate communities in these wetlands have not been well characterized. In an effort to understand better the fate of thiamethoxam in wetlands and the response of invertebrates (zooplankton and emergent insects), model systems were used to mimic wetland flooding into planted fields. Outdoor mesocosms were treated with a single application of thiamethoxam-treated canola seeds at three treatment levels based on a recommended seeding rate (i.e., 6 kg/ha; 1×, 10×, and 100× seeding rate) and monitored over ten weeks. The mean half-life of thiamethoxam in the water column was 6.2 d. There was no ecologically meaningful impact on zooplankton abundances or community structure among treatments. Statistically significant differences were observed in aquatic insect abundance between control mesocosms and the two greatest thiamethoxam treatments (10× and 100× seeding rate). The observed results indicate exposure to thiamethoxam at environmentally relevant concentrations likely does not represent a significant ecological risk to abundance and community structure of wetland zooplankton and emergent insects. |
727 | Recycling flowback water for hydraulic fracturing in Sichuan Basin, China: Implications for gas production, water footprint, and water quality of regenerated flowback water | The increased water consumption for hydraulic fracturing and the volume of wastewater generated from shale gas and tight oil exploration are major environmental challenges associated with unconventional energy development. Recycling of the flowback and produced water for hydraulic fracturing is one of the solutions for reducing the water footprint of hydraulic fracturing and removing highly saline oil and gas wastewater. Here we investigated the implications of recycling saline wastewater for hydraulic fracturing by monitoring the natural gas production, flowback water volume, and the water quality of generated flowback water in shale gas wells from Changning gas field in Sichuan Basin, China. A comparison of two sets of shale gas wells, with six wells in each sub-group, from the same location in Changning gas field shows lower (similar to 20%) natural gas production and higher flowback water volume (similar to 18%) in wells that were fracked with recycled saline wastewater relative to wells that were fracked with fresh water after a year of production. Geochemical analysis suggests that hydraulic fracturing with saline wastewater increases the salinity of the wastewater and reduces the magnitude of watershale rock interactions. In spite of the direct economic consequences in reduction in natural gas production from recycling of wastewater for hydraulic fracturing, in areas where water scarcity could become a limiting factor for future large-scale shale gas development, hydraulic fracturing with recycled flowback water can be more beneficial than utilization of limited freshwater resources, as long as the higher saline flowback water is fully recycled. |
728 | Evaluation of ozonation applicability to pulp and paper streams for a sustainable wastewater treatment | Pulp and paper wastewater ozonation was tested at pilot-scale in a medium-potentiality wastewater treatment plant (143,000 population equivalent). Single wastewater lines (bleaching and process water), as well as wastewater mixture (before and after secondary biological treatment) were investigated to evaluate the best ozonation conditions. The aim of the work was to evaluate the feasibility of substituting current tertiary physicochemical treatment with an ozonation unit, reducing operating costs and improving management operations. The tests were useful to identify the ozone dosage required to achieve the desired COD abatement. Ozone effectiveness was more pronounced in process water (60% COD removal), rather than bleaching water (28% COD removal); ozone showed a significantly higher efficiency on pulp and paper wastewater mixture after biological treatment (up to 81% COD removal) rather than before biological process (46% mean COD abatement). COD removal efficiency at a dosage of 100 mg O-3/L was comparable to existing physicochemical treatment (mean 50%); a good TSS abatement (up to 20-30 mg/L) was observed as well. Toxicity analysis revealed that ozonation treatment did not modify treated effluent toxicity characteristics (mean Daphnia Magna mortality of 23.3%). Economic analysis proved that ozonation installation cost would be 1.5-2.0 M(sic), for total flowrate to be treated of 1200 m(3)/h. Ozonation would lead to an economic saving of about 300,000 (sic)/y compared to actual physicochemical treatment and the investment cost could be recovered in about 7 years. The proposed innovative approach, including plant analysis, pilot-ozonation tests, data regression, respirometric fractionation, toxicity and economic analysis, could be exported to other industrial wastewater treatment plants to allow an increased advanced oxidation processes diffusion. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
729 | Understanding spatial-temporal evolution of renewable energy technology innovation in China: Evidence from convergence analysis | This paper constructs a knowledge-stock indicator to explore the trend of renewable energy technology innovation (RETI) levels across China's provinces during 1997-2015. First, the spatial-temporal evolution is analyzed. Second, the convergence characteristics and patterns are identified through the nonlinear time-varying factor model and the relative transition path curves. Third, the drivers of convergence behaviors are examined. The results are as follows: (i) China's RETI experienced a spurt of development. Its spatial pattern has changed significantly, and the average annual growth rate has also shown spatial differences; (ii) China's provincial RETI level was not converged as a whole during the sample period, but exhibited club convergence characteristics. The 30 provinces eventually converged to three clubs with large differences in average RETI level and annual growth rate; (iii) the provinces with a more optimized industrial structure, a greater R&D investment intensity, and a higher environmental regulation intensity tended to converge to the club with a higher innovation level and growth rate. |
730 | Asymmetric impact of renewable and non-renewable energy on economic growth in Pakistan: New evidence from a nonlinear analysis | This paper explores the asymmetric relationship between renewable energy consumption, non-renewable energy, and terrorism on economic growth of Pakistan. We applied a novel econometric cointegration method known as a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag modeling (NARDL). Our empirical findings indicate that positive and negative changes have a significant long-run asymmetric relationship between renewable energy, and terrorism on economic growth. We also found a negative and significant effect of non-renewable energy consumption on economic growth. To keep our environment clean and free of emissions, the study specifies policies that rely on renewable energy sources to boost economic growth. However, reduces terrorism has a positive impact on economic growth in the long-run and shows as an influential tool to combat terrorism in Pakistan. These novel results will help policy-makers and government officials to understand better the role of renewable energy and economic growth in Pakistan's development. |
731 | Multi-Faceted Analysis of Systematic Risk-Based Wind Energy Investment Decisions in E7 Economies Using Modified Hybrid Modeling with IT2 Fuzzy Sets | This study aimed to analyze the systematic risks of wind energy investments. Within this framework, E7 countries are included in the scope of the examination. A large literature review was carried out and 12 different systematic risk factors that could exist in wind energy investments were identified. The analysis process of the study consisted of two different stages. First, the specified risk criteria were weighted with the help of the interval type 2 (IT2) fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Second, E7 countries were ranked according to the risk management effectiveness in wind energy investments. In this process, the IT2 fuzzy Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) approach was taken into consideration. The findings show that volatility in exchange rates and interest rates were the most important risks in wind energy investments. In addition, it was determined that China and Indonesia were the most successful countries in managing risks in wind energy investments. In contrast, India, Russia, and Turkey were determined to be the least successful. Additionally, the IT2 fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method was applied as a robustness check of the extended VIKOR method. It was concluded that the ranking results of the IT2 fuzzy TOPSIS method were similar to the results of the IT2 fuzzy VIKOR. It can be understood that the proposed ranking method was consistent with the comparative analysis results. From this point of view, it was observed that countries should take measures regarding their exchange rate and interest rate risks in order to increase the efficiency in wind energy investments. In this context, companies should first ensure that they do not have a foreign exchange short position in their balance sheets by conducting an effective financial analysis. In addition, it is important to use financial derivatives to minimize the exchange rate and interest rate risks. Using these results, it will be possible to manage this risk by taking the reverse position for the existing foreign currency and interest risk. In this way, it will be possible to increase the efficiency of wind energy investments, which will contribute to the social and economic development of each respective country. |
732 | COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Arguments in Polish Civil Litigation | The aim of this paper is to analyse the legal record on civil litigation from mid-March 2020 to mid-July 2021 and examine COVID-19 pandemic-related arguments in a sample of litigated cases heard in Polish courts, more precisely 41 cases. In an attempt to establish the number and types of court cases in which such arguments have been raised, the population of individual case records was accessed electronically from the Ordinary Courts Judgments Portal (Pol. Portal Orzeczeń Sądów Powszechnych). The analysed research material consists of texts of written justifications published along with rulings of courts of the first instance in the Portal, except for texts regarding criminal cases and widely understood labour cases. This paper refers to certain theoretical aspects of argument and argumentation. Then, it sheds light on the use of COVID-19 pandemic-related arguments by the parties involved in litigation-as reported by the courts in written justifications-considering, amongst others, whether those arguments were found convincing by the courts. Based on a survey of relevant cases, an attempt was made to identify categories of COVID-19 pandemic-related arguments of the parties involved in litigation, raised in their legal submissions. Also a look into the tendencies in this regard was taken to see whether any patterns emerge and it is possible (or not) to discern different trends in the analysed phenomena. The point of the analysis in this article is both descriptive and normative. |
733 | Alkali metals association in biomass and their impact on ash melting behaviour | Selected agricultural and energy crop biomass ashes represented by two mixed cereal straws, corn straw, Miscanthus x Gigantus and Salix Viminalis were chosen for ash behaviour investigation and prediction of operating problems during biomass combustion. The presence of aggressive species in the ash generate operational problems of heat exchanging surfaces in power boilers connected with slagging and fouling processes, limiting the use of biomass direct combustion for energy production. In this work, thermal behaviour characteristics, transformation properties of the inorganic components and ash fusion temperatures of biomass ashes were investigated using thermal analysis (STA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-temperature microscope. The special attention was focused on the evaluation of potassium compounds presented in ashes. Potassium was detected as KCl, K2SO4, K2CO3 and K3PO4. It was noted, that presence and concentration of alkali metals, silicon and calcium compounds has the major impact on fusion temperatures of studied ashes. Leaching process of ash elements using water, ammonium acetate and hydrochloric acid solutions was performed to determine the association of alkali metals in the raw material. Based on the results, a mineral matter composition recalculation model was proposed to predict alkali compounds concentration in the fuel. The model might be also used to determine the risk of eutectics formation, which have the strongest influence on ash melting behaviour. |
734 | Coupling coordination analysis of urbanization and eco-environment in Yanqi Basin based on multi-source remote sensing data | While multi-source remote sensing technology has the advantage of accurate and objective quantification, an understanding of the coupling and coordination between regional urbanization and ecological environment is the basis for achieving regional sustainable development. This paper builds the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) based on Landsat data and Tiangong-2 WIS, using multi-source remote sensing data to comprehensively evaluate the coupling and coordination relationship between urbanization and ecological environment with a coupling coordination degree model in China's typical arid area of Yanqin Basin during 2000-2018. The results show the RSEI index has a certain rationality and superiority in assessing the ecological environment. In 2000-2018, the ecological environment of the Yanqi Basin was optimized, the RSEI index increased by 23.06%, and the overall ecological environment was at a good level (0.6-0.8). At the same time, the urbanization level of each town had been significantly improved in Yanqi Basin. Through the urban center of gravity transfer model, it was found that direction of urban development shifted to the southwest direction by 7.49 km, which is basically consistent with the position of poor ecological environment. Finally the current urbanization and ecological environment coupling relationship in urban areas of Yanqi Basin was found to exhibit a sluggish rate of urbanization with a moderate imbalance between urbanization with ecological environment. Therefore, when making decisions for planning the regional economic development, the concept of ecological relationships should be integrated to effectively protect and achieve a healthy and sustainable development of the region. |
735 | Hsa_circ_0003288 facilitates tumor progression by targeting miR-145 in non-small cell lung cancer cells | Circular RNA (circRNA) has been shown to participate in various tumors, including lung cancer. In the present study, we explored the expression and functional relevance of hsa_circ_0003288 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We verified that hsa_circ_0003288 expression was upregulated in lung cancer tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of hsa_circ_0003288 dramatically promoted lung cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, inhibited apoptosis, and increased cell migration and invasion in vitro. Xenograft experiments showed that hsa_circ_0003288 overexpression accelerated tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0003288 negatively regulated miR-145 to exert the oncogenic role in lung cancer. Overexpression of miR-145 decreased cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, and suppressed migration and invasion in lung cancer. Additionally, miR-145 co-transfection abolished the oncogenic role of hsa_circ_0003288. Collectively, these findings identified a novel regulatory role of hsa_circ_0003288/miR-145 axis in the progression of NSCLC. |
736 | Blockade of α2-Adrenergic Receptors Inhibits Functional Parameters of Langendorff-Isolated Rat Heart | We studied the effect of α2-adrenoreceptor antagonist yohimbine in concentrations of 10-9-10-6 M on the inotropy, chronotropy, and coronary flow of the Langendorff-isolated rat heart. It was found that antagonist of α2-adrenoreceptors yohimbine changes all the studied parameters of the isolated heart. The force of left ventricular myocardial contraction, HR, and coronary flow decreased after application of all concentrations of α2-adrenoreceptor antagonist. The maximum inotropic, chronotropic, and vascular effects were observed when the antagonist was applied to the perfused solution in a concentration of 10-9 M. The minimum decrease in coronary flow and HR was observed when yohimbine was applied in a concentration of 10-8 M; minimum effect on myocardial contractility was revealed at α2-adrenoreceptor blocker concentration of 10-7 M. |
737 | Evidence-based strategies to reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium: a narrative review | Delirium is one of the most commonly occurring postoperative complications in older adults. It occurs due to the vulnerability of cerebral functioning to pathophysiological stressors. Identification of those at increased risk of developing delirium early in the surgical pathway provides an opportunity for modification of predisposing and precipitating risk factors and effective shared decision-making. No single delirium prediction tool is used widely in surgical settings. Multi-component interventions to prevent delirium involve structured risk factor modification supported by geriatrician input; these are clinically efficacious and cost effective. Barriers to the widespread implementation of such complex interventions exist, resulting in an 'implementation gap'. There is a lack of evidence for pharmacological prophylaxis for the prevention of delirium. Current evidence suggests that avoidance of peri-operative benzodiazepines, careful titration of anaesthetic depth guided by processed electroencephalogram monitoring and treatment of pain are the most effective strategies to minimise the risk of delirium. Addressing postoperative delirium requires a collaborative, whole pathway approach, beginning with the early identification of those patients who are at risk. The research agenda should continue to examine the potential for pharmacological prophylaxis to prevent delirium while also addressing how successful models of delirium prevention can be translated from one setting to another, underpinned by implementation science methodology. |
738 | Testicular torsions in veterinary medicine | The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive comparison of spermatic cord torsion in domestic animals. Spermatic cord torsion leads to occlusion of testicular blood flow resulting in ischemia and tissue hypoxia. Spermatic cord torsion has been reported in all domestic mammals but dogs and horses are overrepresented. Abdominal pain (colic), anorexia, vomiting, lameness, and stiff gait are the most common clinical signs reported. The condition may be asymptomatic in cases of a low degree of spermatic cord torsion. In dogs, spermatic cord torsion is most commonly reported in undescended testes, which in some cases are neoplastic. However, in horses, spermatic cord torsion occurs more commonly in scrotal testes. Surgical treatment for spermatic cord torsion depends upon the degree and duration of torsion. If the affected testis is located within the scrotum and determined to still be viable, detorsion with orchidopexy can be performed. Orchiopexy of the unaffected scrotal testis is also recommended in stallions. If the affected testis cannot be salvaged, unilateral or bilateral orchidectomy is recommended. In all cases of spermatic cord torsion of an undescended testis, orchidectomy is recommended. Veterinarians should be aware of the clinical signs and treatment options for spermatic cord torsion in domestic mammals. |
739 | Immunological effect of Moringa Oleifera leaf extract on vaccinated and non-vaccinated Hubbard chickens experimentally infected with Newcastle virus | In veterinary medicine plant based medicine is achieving a huge importance worldwide. This research was subjected to rectify the hydrophilic Moringa Oleifera alcoholic leaves extract could improve the immune system in vaccinated and non-vaccinated broiler Hubbard chickens experimentally exposed to Newcastle disease (ND) virus. Seventy five chicks with age one day old were splitted randomly into five groups equally in distribution with fifteen chick in each group. Group I was untreated unvaccinated (control negative group) while group IV was infected group with NDV (control positive group). The experimental Groups II and V were given daily oral treatment of hydrophilic alcoholic leaves extract of M. oleifera at 200 mg/kg body weight until day 21 of age while groups III and V were ND vaccinated with La Sota strain of ND vaccines. The four groups (II, III, IV, V) were infected with ND virus velogenic strain (VNDV) on day 21. Following to infection, Monitoring of birds were done daily for clinical signs, postmortem examination, morbidity and mortality. Cellular, humeral immune response and phagocytic activity were evaluated and the data were statistically analyzed using (SPSS). Total and differential cell numbers as well as Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titre increased in the extract treated and vaccinated group which give total protection against NDV much more than treated and unvaccinated group. As a result it could be recommended to use M. Olifera extract from the first day of rearing in Hubbard chicken with ND vaccination program as a prophylactic treatment in protection of birds against ND infection. |
740 | Diagnosis and management of acute coronary syndromes | Acute coronary syndromes are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia. Outcomes are likely to be improved by rapid and accurate diagnosis, and early intervention The development of high-sensitivity troponin assays has revealed previously unrecognised types of myocardial injury, for which conventional management guidelines for myocardial infarction may not confer similar benefits. The distinction between myocardial injury and myocardial infarction has therefore become increasingly important Once the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction has been made, individualised acute reperfusion strategies including percutaneous coronary intervention or fibrinolytic therapy should be considered. Secondary prevention strategies should be implemented before hospital discharge. |
741 | Assessment of sustainability indicators for green building manufacturing using fuzzy multi-criteria decision making approach | Over the past decades, building manufacturing has caused serious environmental impacts, despite its role in the national economic growth. Thus, in developing strategic plans for economic growth, many governments consider the application of green manufacturing building and technologies as key factors towards a greener economy and lower carbon emission. However, so far, there have been limited efforts relating to the application of eco-efficiency ideas in building manufacturing. In fact, environmental sustainability in building project and delivery is still at a nascent stage. Thus, this study aims to identify and rank the sustainability indicators for assessing green building manufacturing in Malaysia by considering Green Building Index (GBI), which is the most applied sustainability rating tool in the country. Data is collected from a panel of experts and fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is performed to reveal the importance level and relationships among sustainability indicators in green building manufacturing. Results show that "Energy Efficiency" and "Indoor Environmental Quality" are the most important, while "Water Efficiency" and "Innovation" are the least important criteria in assessing green building manufacturing in Malaysia. This study can serve as a guideline to select and promote the optimum practices in green building manufacturing. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
742 | A comparison of steam and oxygen fed biomass gasification through a techno-economic-environmental study | Economically, fossil fuels remain the main source of energy despite their high emissions of greenhouse gases. However, biomass, a renewable fuel with CO2 neutrality, has experienced widespread attention as a potential contributor to sustainable development of the energy sector. Gasification is an important thermochemical process that converts biomass feedstock into H-2-rich combustible gases, which are favoured by wide downstream applications. The use of pure steam or oxygen as a gasifying agent is preferred to increase the yield of combustible gases. Consequently, hydrogen is utilised as an important intermediary in the generation of value-added products such as urea, fuels and power. This study compares the biomass gasification using oxygen-only and steam-only gasifying agents. Moreover, the study examines a poly-generation system that consumes biomass feedstock of multiple sources to produce high grade Fisher-Tropsch liquids, methanol, urea, and power. To achieve this aim, four Aspen Plus simulation flowsheets are developed considering both gasifiying agents and compared utilising the built-in economic and environmental capabilities. The results obtained from the economic and environmental evaluation demonstrate the excellence of steam-only biomass gasification in providing profitable and cleaner products. The methanol production using steam gasification is the most economical solution with a net profit per input of $0.12 per kg of biomass input and the lowest emissions pathway with 0.68 kg of CO2-e per biomass input. The relative nature of the results can offer diverse perspectives depending on the market situation of the products. Consequently, analysing the results relative to production capacity, power generation using steam gasification achieves a net profit approximated at $0.80 per kg of product, whilst methanol production using steam gasification remains the lowest environmental impact solution with 2.32 kg of CO2-e per output product. |
743 | Association of dietary patterns with obesity and metabolically healthy obesity phenotype in Chinese population: a cross-sectional analysis of China Multi-Ethnic Cohort Study | Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) might be an alternative valuable target in obesity treatment. We aimed to assess whether alternative Mediterranean (aMED) diet and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet were favourably associated with obesity and MHO phenotype in a Chinese multi-ethnic population. We conducted this cross-sectional analysis using the baseline data of the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort study that enrolled 99 556 participants from seven diverse ethnic groups. Participants with self-reported cardiometabolic diseases were excluded to eliminate possible reverse causality. Marginal structural logistic models were used to estimate the associations, with confounders determined by directed acyclic graph (DAG). Among 65 699 included participants, 11·2 % were with obesity. MHO phenotype was present in 5·7 % of total population and 52·7 % of population with obesity. Compared with the lowest quintile, the highest quintile of DASH diet score had 23 % decreased odds of obesity (OR = 0·77, 95 % CI 0·71, 0·83, Ptrend < 0·001) and 27 % increased odds of MHO (OR = 1·27, 95 % CI 1·10, 1·48, Ptrend = 0·001) in population with obesity. However, aMED diet showed no obvious favourable associations. Further adjusting for BMI did not change the associations between diet scores and MHO. Results were robust to various sensitivity analyses. In conclusion, DASH diet rather than aMED diet is associated with reduced risk of obesity and presents BMI-independent metabolic benefits in this large population-based study. Recommendation for adhering to DASH diet may benefit the prevention of obesity and related metabolic disorders in Chinese population. |
744 | Comprehensive evaluation of national electric power development based on cloud model and entropy method and TOPSIS: A case study in 11 countries | Electric power is the foundation of the development of national economy, it is necessary to make a comprehensive evaluation of its development. Firstly, 17 secondary electric power development evaluation indexes are established from four aspects: electricity supply, electricity consumption, electrification level and carbon emission. Secondly, based on the cloud model, the subjective evaluation and analysis of the primary evaluation index for the national electric power development are realized. Then, the entropy method is used to objectively evaluate and analyze the secondary evaluation index of national electric power development. And the objective evaluation value of the primary evaluation index for the national electric power development is obtained. Thirdly, the TOPSIS method is used to integrate the subjective evaluation value obtained by the cloud model and the objective evaluation value obtained by the entropy method to comprehensively evaluate the status of national electricity development. Next, by collecting the electric power development evaluation index data of 11 typical countries, the electric power development of 11 countries was evaluated and analyzed by using the CM-EM-TOPSIS method proposed in this paper. From the results of the comprehensive evaluation of China's electric power development, it is found that compared with other countries, the sensitivity of the queueing indicator value to the subjective evaluation weight is lower in China. Finally, according to the results of comprehensive evaluation and analysis of electric power development, the managerial implication is explored in China. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
745 | Differential Effect of Non-Purified and Semi-Purified Standard Diets on Kynurenine and Peripheral Metabolites in Male C57BL/6J Mice | The kynurenine (Kyn) pathway plays crucial roles in several inflammation-induced disorders such as depression. In this study, we measured Kyn and other related molecules in the blood plasma, brain, and urine of male C57BL/6J mice (B6) fed non-purified (MF) and semi-purified (AIN-93G and AIN-93M) standard rodent diets. Mice fed MF had increased plasma Kyn levels compared with those on AIN93-based diets, as well as decreased hippocampal Kyn levels compared with those fed AIN-93G. Previous studies showed that branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) suppress peripheral blood Kyn transportation to the brain, but plasma BCAA levels were not significantly different between the diet groups in our study. Urine metabolome analysis revealed that feed ingredients affected the excretion of many metabolites, and MF-fed mice had elevated excretion of kynurenic and quinolinic acids, pivotal metabolites in the Kyn pathway. Collectively, the level of critical metabolites in the Kyn pathway in the central and peripheral tissues was strongly affected by feed ingredients. Therefore, feed selection is a critical factor to ensure the reproducibility of experimental data in studies involving rodent models. |
746 | Formulation and development of novel control release transdermal patches of carvedilol to improve bioavailability for the treatment of heart failure | The main aim of this study is to optimize and evaluate transdermal patch of Carvedilol by the use of different polymer and different permeation enhancers which help to release drug in controlled action and thereby increase the bioavailability of the drug. Main objective was to avoid first pass metabolism of Carvedilol. Transdermal patches were developed by solvent evaporation method. The combination of Eudragit RS-100 as rate controlling polymer and Span 80 as a permeation enhancer was found to be ideal formulation (Formulation F7) with maximum drug release i.e. 100.29 ± 0.44 % within 12 h. Formulation F7 showed maximum bioavailability and showed maximum drop of BP at 6 h. From this study the conclusion was, transdermal patch of Carvedilol which contains Eudragit RS-100 polymer and Span 80 as penetration enhancer produced sustained and continued drug release. |
747 | Epidemiologic Trends, Social Determinants, and Brain Health: The Role of Life Course Inequalities | Brain health as expressed in our mental health and occurrence of specific disorders such as dementia and stroke is vitally important to quality of life, functional independence, and risk of institutionalization. Maintaining brain health is, therefore, a societal imperative, and public health challenge, from prevention of acquisition of brain disorders, through protection and risk reduction to supporting those with such disorders through effective societal and system approaches. To identify possible mechanisms that explain the differential effect of potentially modifiable risk factors, and factors that may mitigate risk, a life course approach is needed. This is key to understanding how poor health can accumulate from the earliest life stages. It also allows us to integrate and investigate key material, behavioral, and psychological factors that generate health inequalities within and across communities and societies. This review provides a narrative on how brain health is intimately linked to wider health determinants, thus importance for clinicians and societies alike. There is compelling evidence accumulated from research over decades that socioeconomic status, higher education, and healthy lifestyle extend life and compress major morbidities into later life. Brain health is part of this, but collective action has been limited, partly because of the separation of disciplines and focus on highly reductionist approaches in that clinicians and associated research have focused more on mitigation and early detection of specific diseases. However, clinicians could be part of the drive for better brain health for all society to support life courses that have more protection and less risk. There is evidence of change in such risks for conditions such as stroke and dementia across generations. The evidence points to the importance of starting with parental health and life course inequalities as a central focus. |
748 | Mould growth in energy efficient buildings: Causes, health implications and strategies to mitigate the risk | Today, buildings still account for almost half of the global energy consumption and carbon emission. This highlights the necessity to increase energy efficiency requirements worldwide in a common effort to reduce the construction sector's impacts on the environment. The current energy policies are driving toward a design that relies on airtight and highly insulated envelopes. As a consequence, energy efficient houses are found to have insufficient indoor air change rates, impacting on the indoor air quality and resulting in higher latent loads. The increased indoor humidity, coupled with the rising trend to use bio-based construction materials, can easily support mould growth and facilitate indoor organic proliferation. It has been estimated that the proportion of buildings damaged by mould is 45% in Europe, 40% in the USA, 30% in Canada and 50% in Australia, highlighting the extent of this issue. Beyond the economic loss due to the remediation works needed to rectify a buildings degradation due to fungi, mould also has significant adverse health effects on the building occupants. Data show that the occurrence of asthmatic symptoms is higher in new energy efficient buildings with low ventilation rate. This paper investigates the effects of building sustainably on the indoor environment in relation to the risk of mould growth. Favourable conditions for growth, causes of growth, effects on health as well as possible solutions are addressed. The conclusions are a step forward toward a more precise and detailed comprehension of mould growth to support policymakers and promote sustainable housing standards. |
749 | Quality Management of Prehospital Pediatric Respiratory Distress and Airway Programs: An NAEMSP Position Statement and Resource Document | The unique challenges of pediatric respiratory and airway emergencies require the development and maintenance of a prehospital quality management program that includes pediatric-focused medical oversight and clinical care expertise, data collection, operational considerations, focused education, and clinician competency evaluation.NAEMSP recommends:Medical director oversight must include a focus on pediatric airway and respiratory management and integrate pediatric-specific elements in guideline development, competency assessment, and skills maintenance efforts.EMS agencies are encouraged to collaborate with medical professionals who have expertise in pediatric emergency care to provide support for quality management initiatives in pediatric respiratory distress and airway management.EMS agencies should define quality indicators for pediatric-specific elements in respiratory distress and airway management and benchmark performance based on regional and national standards.EMS agencies should implement both quantitative (objective) and qualitative (subjective) measures of performance to assess competency in pediatric respiratory distress and airway management.EMS agencies choosing to incorporate pediatric endotracheal intubation or supraglottic airway insertion must use pediatric-specific quality management benchmarks and perform focused review of advanced airway management. |
750 | Financial development, income inequality and carbon emissions in sub-Saharan African countries: A panel data analysis | This paper examines the dynamic relationship between financial development, income inequality and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a step-wise fashion, using data from 39 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries during the period 2004-2014. The study uses three income inequality indicators - the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index and the Palma ratio - to examine these linkages. The study employs the generalised method of moments as the estimation technique. The empirical findings show that financial development unconditionally reduces CO(2)emissions in SSA countries. The findings also show that there are threshold levels of income inequality that should not be exceeded in order for the negative impact of financial development on CO(2)emissions to be sustained. Specifically, the study finds that the negative impact of financial development on CO(2)emissions is likely to change to positive if the following inequality levels are exceeded: 0.591, 0.662 and 5.59, respectively, for the Gini coefficient, the Atkinson index and the Palma ratio. The findings of this study have far-reaching policy implications not only for SSA countries but also for developing countries as a whole. Policy implications are discussed. |
751 | Exposure to acute noxious heat evokes a cardiorespiratory shock response in humans | Background: Noxious acute cold stimuli cause cold shock via the sympathetic nervous system. However, no studies have investigated respiratory "heat shock" in response to noxious acute heat stimuli (≥ 42 °C).Methods: In the present study, we examined whether short-duration whole-body immersion (for 5 min) in noxious hot water (45 °C) is a sufficient stimulus to induce a respiratory acute shock response.Results and conclusion: Our results indicate that short-duration whole-body immersion in noxious 45 °C water produces a significantly greater body temperature, heart rate, and perceptual and respiratory strain than immersion in innocuous warm 37 °C water (p < .05). The initial first minute of hot water immersion (HWI) at 45 °C (vs. immersion at 37 °C) caused a cardiorespiratory shock response, which manifested as acute hyperventilation, and increased ventilatory tidal volume, respiratory exchange ratio, and heart rate (p < .05). Adjustment to this initial respiratory heat shock response within the first minute of immersion was observed as compared with remaining HWI time (1-5 min). Intriguingly, the time-course kinetics of breathing frequency, oxygen uptake, and carbon dioxide washout did not differ between whole-body immersion at 37 °C and immersion at 45 °C, but were higher than in control thermoneutral conditions of an empty bath (p < .05). This may be because of events initiated not only by the water temperature but also by the change in the hydrostatic pressure acting upon the body when immersed in the water bath. |
752 | The role of E2A in ATPR-induced cell differentiation and cycle arrest in acute myeloid leukaemia cells | Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a biologically heterogeneous disease with an overall poor prognosis; thus, novel therapeutic approaches are needed. Our previous studies showed that 4-amino-2-trifluoromethyl-phenyl retinate (ATPR), a new derivative of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), could induce AML cell differentiation and cycle arrest. The current study aimed to determine the potential pharmacological mechanisms of ATPR therapies against AML. Our findings showed that E2A was overexpressed in AML specimens and cell lines, and mediate AML development by inactivating the P53 pathway. The findings indicated that E2A expression and activity decreased with ATPR treatment. Furthermore, we determined that E2A inhibition could enhance the effect of ATPR-induced AML cell differentiation and cycle arrest, whereas E2A overexpression could reverse this effect, suggesting that the E2A gene plays a crucial role in AML. We identified P53 and c-Myc were downstream pathways and targets for silencing E2A cells using RNA sequencing, which are involved in the progression of AML. Taken together, these results confirmed that ATPR inhibited the expression of E2A/c-Myc, which led to the activation of the P53 pathway, and induced cell differentiation and cycle arrest in AML. |
753 | Novel cost-efficient protein-based membrane system for cells cocultivation and modeling the intercellular communication | In vitro systems serve as compact and manipulate models to investigate interactions between different cell types. A homogeneous population of cells predictably and uniformly responds to external factors. In a heterogeneous cell population, the effect of external growth factors is perceived in the context of intercellular interactions. Indirect cell cocultivation allows one to observe the paracrine effects of cells and separately analyze cell populations. The article describes an application of custom-made cell cocultivation systems based on protein membranes separated from the bottom of the vessel by the 3D printed holder or kept afloat by a magnetic field. Using the proposed cocultivation system, we analyzed the interaction of A549 cells and fibroblasts, in the presence and absence of growth factors. During cocultivation of cells, the expression of genes of the activation for epithelial and mesenchymal transitions decreases. The article proposes the application of a newly available system for the cocultivation of different cell types. |
754 | Linking international trade and foreign direct investment to CO2 emissions: Any differences between developed and developing countries? | International trade, together with foreign direct investment (FDI), promotes economic integration with complex global supply value chains, which is now recognized as a crucial factor in determining CO2 emissions. Production reallocation across countries, often associated with FDI, promotes cross-border trade of emission-embodied products. By applying panel pooled mean group-autoregressive distributive lag (PMG-ARDL) models, this study discusses the long-run relevance among CO2 emissions, international trade, and FDI inflows with the consideration of the short-run dynamics over 52 countries during the period from 1991 to 2014. Focusing on possible differences between developed and the developing countries, this study reveals that CO2 emissions have a negative long-run relationship with trade exclusively for developed countries, while they have a positive long-run relationship with FDI inflows solely for developing countries. The recent trend of increased trade and FDI would promote the transfer of high emission-intensive production units from developed countries to developing countries, causing developed countries to achieve emission reduction at the expense of developing countries. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
755 | Carbon emissions, the industrial structure and economic growth: Evidence from heterogeneous industries in China | A comprehensive understanding of the relationships among carbon emissions, the industrial structure and economic growth holds great significance for China's transition to a low-carbon economy, industrial structure optimization, and achievement of energy conservation and emission reduction targets. We selected six major industrial sectors (agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, retail and accommodation and other industries) as research objects, introduced the extended STIRPAT decomposition model, Tapio decoupling model and the grey relation analysis to discuss the relationship among the three. Results showed that (i) since 2000, the proportions of value added of agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation are negatively correlated with carbon emissions, while those of construction, retail and accommodation, and other industries are positively correlated with carbon emissions. (ii) The overall economic growth and carbon emissions of these six major industries have experienced the process of decoupling-coupling-decoupling-coupling-decoupling. (iii) The relevance of these six industries to GDP is ranked as follows: transportation > manufacturing > retail andaccommodation > agriculture > construction > other industries. Additionally, accelerating the achievement of a clean energy structure, strengthening the strength and speed of industrial structure adjustment and reducing the dependence on fossil energy are the key steps for China to reach carbon emissions peak goal. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
756 | Neurologic Complications in Pediatric Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation: Analysis of Risk Factors and Outcome | Neurologic complications following stem cell transplantation are of utmost importance owing to their high morbimortality. Although many studies have been performed in the adult population, reports in children are scarce. Our objective was to determine the most common neurologic complications in a pediatric population and to analyze possible risk factors for their development. We performed an exploratory retrospective study of neurologic complications in pediatric patients who had allogeneic stem cell transplantation over the last 18 years. We identified 66 neurologic complications in 178 allogeneic stem cell transplantations. The most frequent neurologic complications were those involving the peripheral nervous system and those related to drug toxicity. Survival decreased significantly in the presence of neurologic complications. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that independent risk factors for developing neurologic complications were development of chronic extensive graft-vs-host disease requiring treatment, cytomegalovirus reactivation, and central nervous system radiation. Prompt diagnosis and preemptive treatment, if possible, are necessary to avoid long-term sequelae or mortality. |
757 | Recent advances in lipid extraction using green solvents | Green solvents are a new class of solvents mostly known for being environmentally friendly. The main green solvents besides water are organic-based solvents, some ionic liquids (including deep eutectic solvents) and CO2, which is typically used in supercritical conditions (SC-CO2). Recently, organic-based solvents and ionic liquids have been subjected to laboratory testing to estimate their potential as substitutes for fossil solvents in the process of lipid extraction. In the last decade, different pure or combined green solvents and different methodologies have been studied and compared with the standard methodology. Cell disruption of animal, vegetable or microbial samples, dry or wet, is a previous step that has been studied many times in association with extraction efficiency. Combined techniques of rupture and extraction using ultrasound, microwaves or maceration were also employed in the extraction process with green solvents. Other techniques such as pressurized liquid extraction and simultaneous distillation and extraction were also applied, sometimes not only with the objective of extracting more, but also of purifying the obtained product. Lipid extraction was performed mainly with the organic solvents cyclopentyl methyl ether and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, while ionic liquid extractions were performed mainly with imidazolium-based ionic liquids. The advances obtained in this decade in lipid extraction using these three classes of green solvents were studied and evaluated in this review. Economic viability and future challenges were also analyzed with a view to using these solvents in extraction processes on an industrial scale rather than restricted to the extraction of products with high biological value. |
758 | Preparation of a new low-cost substrate prepared from drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS)/bentonite/zeolite/fly ash for rapid phosphorus removal in constructed wetlands | With the increase of tap water demand and treatment volume, the by-product of the water supply plant-drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) is increasing, and its final disposal urgently needs to be reasonably resolved. Therefore, the reuse of DWTS can not only solve the "waste" problem but also generate favorable economic benefits. This is the first study to use DWTS to prepare a regular, industrialized and efficient DWTS composite substrate (DWTSCS) for phosphorus removal in constructed wetlands by using DWTS as the main material and bentonite, zeolite and fly ash as the additive. The optimal weight ratio of DWTSCS was determined by combining orthogonal test and mixture design experiments: cement = 22.32%, DWTS = 51.62%, bentonite = 13.03%, zeolite = 4.34%, fly ash = 8.69%. The microstructure and phase analysis were performed using SEM and XRD. The static adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption behavior of DWTSCS to phosphorus conforms to a quasi-second-order kinetic model and the adsorption process can be simulated using Langmuir and Freundlich models. The maximum adsorption capacity of phosphorus by DWTSCS was calculated as 40 mg/g, and the adsorption of phosphorus with the DWTSCS was a spontaneous exothermic process. Under acidic conditions, it was favorable for DWTSCS to adsorbed phosphorus. The concentration of adsorbed phosphorus with the DWTSCS ranged from 0.5 mg/L to 0.2 mg/L. This research provides a basis for the application of DWTSCSs in constructed wetlands. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
759 | How much is too much? Quantifying pesticide overuse in vegetable production in Southeast Asia | This paper quantifies the extent of pesticide overuse in vegetable production systems in Southeast Asia. Pesticide overuse was defined as levels of use in excess of an economic (profit-maximizing) optimum. A production function with an exponential damage abatement term was estimated. Data come from a representative sample of 1000 farmers producing leaf mustard and yard-long bean in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The results show that 100% of the sampled farmers in Vietnam, 73% in Cambodia and 59% in Laos overused pesticides. Pesticide expenditure in excess of the economic optimum was 96% for Vietnam, 92% for Cambodia, and 42% for Laos. Pesticide overuse was positively associated with men in charge of pest management decisions, farmers seeking advice from pesticide sellers and a strong belief that pesticides are effective. It was negatively associated with the use of non-chemical methods of pest control. These results imply that farmers in Southeast Asia are spraying excessively and inefficiently and could increase their profits by applying fewer pesticides. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
760 | Revisiting China's provincial energy efficiency and its influencing factors | Improving the energy efficiency is a fundamental way to ensure energy security and sustainable development, and is also the requirement of supply-side structural reform of China's energy. This paper uses the DEA-BCC model to estimate China's energy efficiency at the provincial level, analyzes its regional differences from 2006 to 2016, and applies a panel data model to analyze the influencing factors of energy efficiency. It selects labor, capital stock and total energy consumption as inputs and takes real GDP and comprehensive index of environmental pollution as desirable and undesirable outputs, respectively. The results show that (1) energy efficiency when undesirable output is included is generally lower than when undesirable output is excluded; (2) There is a considerable difference in energy efficiency among provinces, and China's energy efficiency, by and large, shows a trend of declining. The energy efficiency of four major regions demonstrates obvious regional differences: coastal region>northeastern region> middle region >western region; (3) The economic development level, technological progress, energy price and urbanization level are positively associated with energy efficiency, while the proportion of secondary industry and the energy consumption structure dominated by coal and oil are negatively correlated with energy efficiency. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
761 | Comparative Proteomic Analysis of the Mycoplasma gallisepticum Nucleoid Fraction before and after Infection | Mycoplasma gallisepticum belongs to the class Mollicutes and induces severe chronic respiratory disease in chickens. It lacks the cell wall and contains a very small genome and, accordingly, a reduced set of regulatory proteins. It is assumed that one of the regulatory mechanisms in mycoplasmas may be the dynamics of the spatial organization of the chromosome. M. gallisepticum has only two known nucleoid-associated (NAP) histone-like proteins (Hup_1 and Hup_2). To search for new potential NAP that may play a role in the infection process, we isolated nucleoid fractions from M. gallisepticum cells before and after infection of HD3 chicken erythroblast cell line and performed a comparative proteomic analysis of these fractions. We identified several potential NAP that included the components of the terminal organelle and adhesion, VlhA antigen, NADH oxidase, and PykF pyruvate kinase. |
762 | COP21 Roadmap: Do innovation, financial development, and transportation infrastructure matter for environmental sustainability in China? | The purpose of the present study is to explain the long-run and causal effects of innovation, financial development, and transportation infrastructure on CO2 emissions using the combined cointegration and wavelet coherence approaches over the period from 1971 to 2018, while using economic growth as a control variable in the model. The outcomes of the Bayer-Hanck cointegration test show that there is an important cointegration equation among CO2 emissions, innovation, financial development, transportation infrastructure, and real GDP. Moreover, the findings from a wavelet power spectrum reveal that there is a significant vulnerability in innovation, financial development, transportation infrastructure, and CO2 emissions at different time frames and frequencies. Furthermore, the outcomes of wavelet coherence approach reveal that (i) Innovation is observed as a significant predictor of CO2 emissions over the period from 2007 to 2013; (ii) In the long run, there are negative correlations between CO2 emissions and financial development; (iii) Over the periods from 2000 to 2015, and from 1985 to 1989, transportation significantly causes CO2 emissions. Our findings have substantial policy implications that suggest there is a need to strengthen innovation and transportation infrastructure to achieve environmental sustainability targets. |
763 | AYUSH- 64: A potential therapeutic agent in COVID-19 | Corona Virus disease (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic resulting in large scale morbidity and mortality worldwide. The management of COVID-19 has been a big challenge because of multifactorial pathophysiology and no specific treatment. AYUSH-64, a poly-herbal formulation developed by CCRAS, Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India through extensive pharmacological, toxicological and clinical studies has proven its safety and efficacy in infective febrile conditions such as malaria and influenza. AYUSH- 64 has four ingredients having immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antioxidant and anti-viral activities. It arrests the extreme inflammatory responses in COVID-19 that causes progression to significant morbidity. AYUSH-64 has also been incorporated in the National COVID management protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga by Government of India for asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19. Further, on the basis of tangible evidence generated through robust clinical and experimental studies on AYUSH-64, the Ministry of AYUSH has launched nation-wide campaign for mass distribution of AYUSH-64 to asymptomatic, mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in home isolation to reduce the burden on the hospital. This review will highlight the specifications of AYUSH-64, its mechanism of action, its repurposing for COVID-19, various clinical and experimental studies. |
764 | A review of recent advances in magnetic nanoparticle-based theranostics of glioblastoma | Rapid vascular growth, infiltrative cells and high tumor heterogenicity are some glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) characteristics, making it the most lethal form of brain cancer. Low efficacy of the conventional treatment modalities leads to rampant disease progression and a median survival of 15 months. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), due to their unique physical features/inherent abilities, have emerged as a suitable theranostic platform for targeted GBM treatment. Thus, new strategies are being designed to enhance the efficiency of existing therapeutic techniques such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and so on, using MNPs. Herein, the limitations of the current therapeutic strategies, the role of MNPs in mitigating those inadequacies, recent advances in the MNP-based theranostics of GBM and possible future directions are discussed. |
765 | Does economic globalization have predictive power for ecological footprint in MENA counties? A panel causality test with a Fourier function | Recently, there has been renewed interest in the relationship between economic globalization and environmental pollution since various globalization indices are developed. Although several attempts have been made to investigate the impact of globalization on the environment, no known empirical research has focused on exploring the causal relationship between ecological footprint and economic globalization index (provided by KOF Swiss Economic Institute) considering also its subcomponents-trade and financial globalization indices. In this study, a new panel data technique for the causality analysis is developed (namely, panel Fourier Toda-Yamamoto approach) and applied to ecological footprint-economic globalization nexus in 14 MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries during the period 1981-2016. The empirical results highlight that ecological footprint Granger causes economic, trade, and financial globalization for the panel. Besides, it is found that financial globalization has a predictive power to predict further values of environmental degradation in the MENA countries. The empirical results of this paper have a number of practical implications for policymakers. Especially, policymakers should be careful about implementing environmental policies since they may affect economic (trade and financial) activities negatively. |
766 | Protease Inhibitors from Plants as Therapeutic Agents- A Review | Plant-based diets are a great source of protease inhibitors (PIs). Two of the most well-known families of PIs are Bowman-Birk inhibitors (BBI) and Kunitz-type inhibitors (KTI). The first group acts mainly on trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase; the second is on serine, cysteine, and aspartic proteases. PIs can retard or inhibit the catalytic action of enzymes; therefore, they are considered non-nutritional compounds; nevertheless, animal studies and cell line experiments showed promising results of PIs in treating human illnesses such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory processes, and different types of cancer (gastric, colorectal, breast, and lung cancer). Anticarcinogenic activity's proposed mechanisms of action comprise several inhibitory effects at different molecular levels, i.e., transcription, post-transcription, translation, post-translation, and secretion of cancer cells. This work reviews the potential therapeutic applications of PIs as anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory agents in human diseases and the mechanisms by which they exert these effects. |
767 | When Is an Interview an Inter View? The Historical and Recent Development of Methodologies Used to Investigate Children's Astronomy Knowledge | This paper provides a historical review of the interview research that has been used by science educators to investigate children's basic astronomy knowledge. A wide range of strategies have been developed over the last 120 years or so as successive teams of researchers have endeavoured to overcome the methodological difficulties that have arisen. Hence, it looks critically at the techniques that have been developed to tackle the problems associated with interviews, questionnaires and tests used to research cognitive development and knowledge acquisition. We examine those methodologies which seem to yield surer indications of how young people (at different ages) understand everyday astronomical phenomena-the field often referred to as children's cosmologies. Theoretical ideas from cognitive psychology, educational instruction and neuroscience are examined in depth and utilised to critique matters such as the importance of subject mastery and pedagogical content knowledge on the part of interviewers; the merits of multi-media techniques; the roles of open-ended vs. structured methods of interviewing; and the need always to recognise the dynamism of memory in interviewees. With illustrations and protocol excerpts drawn from recent studies, the paper points to what researchers might usefully tackle in the years ahead and the pitfalls to be avoided. |
768 | Effects of foreign direct investment on carbon emissions: Evidence from China and its Belt and Road countries | This paper examines the effects of China's foreign direct investment (FDI) on the carbon emissions of its domestic economy and the Belt and Road countries (BRCs). Total inward FDI into China as a host country shows a pollution reducing effect in the western and eastern regions while that in the central region remains unchanged. But China's outward FDI particularly from its eastern region reduces pollution in China. This suggests that China could be exporting carbon emissions via its FDI in the BRCs. The effects on BRCs' pollution from China's FDI is however different depending on the country's level of development. China's FDI was found to have no effect on high and upper middle income BRCs; a decreasing effect on low income BRCs; and an increasing effect on lower middle income BRCs. Evidence shows that China needs to consider a mix of policies to manage its inward and outward FDI to ensure its move to a low carbon economy benefits its own regional development and the BRCs by not contributing to increased carbon emissions. |
769 | Analysis of electricity generation options for sustainable energy decision making: The case of Turkey | Sustainable energy decision making requires the comparison of energy generation technologies regarding a wide range of economic, technical, environmental, and socio-economic criteria. This study aims to rank the main seven electricity generation technologies for Turkey according to their performance scores. These energy generation technologies are natural gas, coal, hydropower with dam, run-of-river type hydropower, onshore wind, geothermal and solar PV. The sustainability scores are calculated via twelve indicators classified into abovementioned four criteria groups. Multi-criteria decision analysis methodology is employed with a weighted sum multi-attribute utility approach for five different sensitivity cases. The results reveal that the hydroelectric technology with dam is the best option for most of the sensitivity cases. We hope this study gives a scientific and objective standpoint to decision-maker authorities in Turkey for planning sustainable electricity generation policies. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
770 | Dual-effect single-mixed refrigeration cycle: An innovative alternative process for energy-efficient and cost-effective natural gas liquefaction | Typical liquefaction processes are considered to be energy and cost-intensive. The dual mixed refrigerant (DMR) process (with two independent refrigeration cycles for cooling and subcooling) produces liquefied natural gas (LNG) at relatively high energy efficiency. However, it exhibits a high degree of configurational complexity and high sensitivity to operational conditions, and it also incurs a large capital investment. These factors eventually reduce the overall competitiveness of the liquefaction process, particularly for offshore applications. To address these issues, an energy- and cost-efficient dual-effect single mixed refrigerant (DSMR) process is proposed herein, and it employs a single loop refrigeration cycle to generate the dual cooling and subcooling effect, separately. The DMR process and the proposed DSMR process are simulated (with same design parameters) using well-known commercial simulator Aspen Hysys v10. Then, both processes are optimized using modified coordinate descent algorithm. The specific energy consumption of DSMR is 0.284 kWh/kg-NG, which is equivalent to an energy saving of 22.89% when compared to the conventional DMR process. The exergy efficiency of DSMR is 36.62%, which is 29.67% higher than that of the classical DMR process. Furthermore, the economic feasibility of the proposed DSMR process is evaluated in terms of its total annualized cost, which is 18.52% lower than that of the DMR process. Thus, the proposed DSMR process offers remarkable energy and exergy efficiencies with minimal capital investment. Therefore, DSMR could replace the classical DMR process, as well as other complex mixed refrigerant-based liquefaction processes. |
771 | The association between HIV disclosure, spousal testing and unprotected vaginal intercourse within marriage among HIV positive married MSM in China | Disclosure of HIV status can encourage spouses of people diagnosed with HIV to prioritize HIV prevention. However, few studies have reported the HIV disclosure status of married men who have sex with men (MSM) and their female spouses. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of HIV disclosure, and whether it was associated with spouses' HIV testing uptake and unprotected vaginal intercourse within marriage for MSM living with HIV (HIV + MSM) in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three Chinese cities. Of 309 participants, only 31.1% of men had disclosed their HIV status to spouses. About 80% of participants reported that their spouses had been tested for HIV. A small proportion of men (9.1%) had unprotected sex with their spouse after HIV diagnosis. Multivariate analyses indicated HIV disclosure was positively associated with HIV testing uptake of spouses, but there was no significant association between HIV disclosure and unprotected marital sexual behaviors for HIV + MSM. The findings indicated that HIV disclosure to spouses is uncommon among married HIV + MSM in China, and HIV disclosure is associated with increased uptake of HIV testing among spouses of MSM, but it does not decrease the unprotected sexual behaviors in marriage. |
772 | Does oil price really matter for the wage arrears in Russia? | This paper employs bootstrap full- and sub-sample rolling-window Granger causality tests to explore the time-varying interaction between oil price and wage arrears in Russia. The empirical results reveal that the decline in oil price leads wage arrears to increase, which indicates that there is an oil curse in Russia, as high wage arrears caused by low oil price may hinder the healthy development. Also, the rise in oil price causes wage arrears to decrease, and then the economic and social progress in Russia can be promoted. These results are supported by the Dutch-disease endogenous growth model, which highlights that oil price negatively affects wage arrears. In turn, there is a negative influence from wage arrears to oil price, which points out that the macroeconomic situation in Russia plays an important role in reflecting the changes of oil system. In the situation of international oil market uncertainty and the high dependence on the resources in Russia, investors can benefit from the above conclusions to diversify the investment risks. Also, it can provide implications for enterprises and governments to prevent potential wage arrears and improve the public confidence, as well as turn the resource curse into bonanza. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. |
773 | Multi-objective optimization for an integrated renewable, power-to-gas and solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid system in microgrid | Power-to-gas (P2G) using excess renewable sources is an effective method to reduce renewable curtailment issues in microgrid system. The produced hydrogen is versatile green fuel for different energy sectors, such as electricity, heat and mobility. In recent researches, fuel cell-based system is considered as a promising technology to consume hydrogen (H2) generated from P2G due to high efficiency and cleanness. However, its economic and thermodynamic adaptability when coupled with intermittent renewable sources remains an open question to be addressed carefully. One of the major challenges in optimizing such system is to simultaneously capture the intraday and seasonal variation of renewable sources & load, as well as the internal thermodynamic process of critical components in appropriate modeling detail. This paper presents a multi-energy system for microgrid in which a wind-powered P2G is coupled with a detailed thermoeconomic model of solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine (SOFC/GT) hybrid system. A two-level multi-objective optimization of planning and operation together is proposed. For system planning, the optimal balance between the least wind curtailment rate and total life cycle cost (LCC) is determined. To facilitate the coordinate operation of system components, a power management strategy is proposed in response to fluctuations of wind power and electricity load with considerations of multiple thermodynamic safety criteria. Results show that in the selected case, the multi-energy system operates with low wind curtailment rate of 0.63% and high renewable penetration level of 90.1%. The optimized LCC of multi-energy system is 2,468,093 with wind power accounting for 68.35% of total capital investment. With the power management strategy applied, the SOFC/GT could operate under the maximum electrical efficiency of 67.1% with safety constraints satisfied, making up only half investment cost of P2G. To capture seasonal variations, both winter and summer scenarios are detailly analyzed, sensitivity analysis is also carried out to evaluate the interaction between capacities of MES components. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
774 | Regional environmental efficiency in China: An empirical analysis based on entropy weight method and non-parametric models | While vigorously developing its economy, China is attaching more and more importance to environmental protection and pollution control. In different regions of China, however, there are great differences in economic development and the degree of environmental pollution. In this study, we use the entropy weight method to calculate the pollution indexes of different regions from 2015 to 2017. Then we evaluate the Chinese regional environmental efficiency based on a new non-parametric frontier model. Moreover, a new set of ranking interval models that treat the undesirable outputs as inputs is proposed to further describe the regional disparities of the environmental efficiency between different regions with robustness. Finally, we conduct an empirical analysis by combining the stepwise regression and principal component analysis to identify the most influential variables that may affect regional environmental efficiency. According to the results, the southeast region of China performs best in environmental efficiency, followed by the northeast region, then the southwest region, and the worst is the northwest region. For managerial implications, we find that the investment of high education and the development of the IT industry can significantly increase regional environmental efficiency. More importantly, the results of the principal component analysis provide the government with a set of variables to strategically select the most appropriate strategy. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
775 | Parenting Interventions for Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Families: A Systematic Review | Globally, an estimated 79.5 million individuals have been displaced, nearly 40% of whom are children. Parenting interventions may have the potential to improve outcomes for displaced families. To investigate this, we conducted a systematic review to identify the types of caregiver or parenting interventions that have been evaluated among displaced families, to assess their efficacy across a range of contexts, and to describe their cultural and contextual adaptations. The review followed PRISMA guidelines. At stage one, all articles describing caregiver/parenting interventions for forcibly displaced families were included to provide a scoping review of the state of the literature. At stage two, only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental designs were included, allowing for quantitative analysis of program effects. A total of 30 articles (24 studies) were identified in stage one. 95.8% of these articles were published in the past 10 years. Of these, 14 articles (10 studies) used an RCT or quasi-experimental design to assess program efficacy or effectiveness. Relative to control groups, those assigned to caregiving programs showed significant, beneficial effects across the domains of parenting behaviors and attitudes, child psychosocial and developmental outcomes, and parent mental health. Cultural adaptations and recruitment and engagement strategies are described. The evidence base for caregiving programs for displaced families has expanded in recent years but remains limited. Caregiving/parenting programs show promise for reducing the negative effects of forced displacement on families, but future studies are needed to understand which programs show the greatest potential for scalability. |
776 | S-Benzyl cysteine based cyclic dipeptide super hydrogelator: Enhancing efficacy of an anticancer drug via sustainable release | Peptide-based low molecular weight supramolecular hydrogels hold promising aspects in various fields of application especially in biomaterial and biomedical sciences such as drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering, cell proliferation, and so on due to their extreme biocompatibility. Unlike linear peptides, cyclic peptides have more structural rigidity and tolerance to enzymatic degradation and high environmental stability which make them even better candidates for the above-said applications. Herein, a new small cyclic dipeptide (CDP) cyclo-(Leu-S-Bzl-Cys) (P1) consisting of L-leucine and S-benzyl protected L-cysteine was reported which formed a hydrogel at physiological conditions (at 37°C and pH = 7.46). The hydrogel formed from the cyclic dipeptide P1 showed very good tolerance towards environmental parameters such as pH and temperature and was seen to be stable for more than a year without any deformation. The hydrogel was thermoreversible and stable in the pH range 6-12. Mechanical strength of P1 hydrogel was measured by rheology experiments. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images revealed that, in aqueous solvents, P1 self-assembled into a highly cross-linked nanofibrillar network which immobilized water molecules inside the cages and formed the hydrogel. The self-assembled cyclic dipeptide acquired the antiparallel β-sheet secondary structure, which was evident from CD and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) studies. The β-sheet arrangement and formation of amyloid fibrils were further established by ThT binding assay. Furthermore, P1 was able to form a hydrogel in the presence of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU), and sustainable release of the drug from the hydrogel was measured in vitro. The hydrogelator P1 showed almost no cytotoxicity towards the human colorectal cancer cell line HCT116 up to a considerably high concentration and showed potential application in sustainable drug delivery. The co-assembly of 5FU and P1 hydrogel exhibited much better anticancer activity towards the HCT116 cancer cell line than 5FU alone and decreased the IC50 dose of 5FU to a much lower value. |
777 | Health impact analysis of PM2.5 from wildfire smoke in Canada (2013-2015,2017-2018) | Smoke from wildfires contains many air pollutants of concern and epidemiological studies have identified associations between exposure to wildfire smoke PM2.5 and mortality and respiratory morbidity, and a possible association with cardiovascular morbidity. For this study, a retrospective analysis of air quality modelling was performed to quantify the exposure to wildfire-PM2.5 across the Canadian population. The model included wildfire emissions from across North America for a 5-month period from May to September (i.e. wildfire season), between 2013 and 2015 and 2017-2018. Large variations in wildfire-PM2.5 were noted year-to-year, geospatially, and within fire season. The model results were then used to estimate the national population health impacts attributable to wildfire-PM2.5 and the associated economic valuation. The analysis estimated annual premature mortalities ranging from 54-240 premature mortalities attributable to short-term exposure and 570-2500 premature mortalities attributable to long-term exposure, as well as many non-fatal cardiorespiratory health outcomes. The economic valuation of the population health impacts was estimated per year at $410M-$1.8B for acute health impacts and $4.3B-$19B for chronic health impacts for the study period. The health impacts were greatest in the provinces with populations in close proximity to wildfire activity, though health impacts were also noted across many provinces indicating the long-range transport of wildfire-PM2.5. Understanding the population health impacts of wildfire smoke is important as climate change is anticipated to increase wildfire activity in Canada and abroad. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. |
778 | Measuring smart grid resilience: Methods, challenges and opportunities | With growing concerns related to attacks on the cyber and physical assets associated with the power grid along with the need to mitigate impact of natural disasters, resilience has become a critical and desirable characteristic. There have been numerous efforts to define, measure and analyse resilience of smart grids. In this paper, a detailed review and comparative analysis of qualitative frameworks as well as quantitative metrics for studying resilience are provided. The desirable properties of a resilience metric are highlighted and challenges associated with formulating, developing and calculating such a metric in practical scenarios are discussed. Future research avenues in the area of developing a holistic framework for quantifying resilience are summarized with a focus on challenges related to multi-modal cyber/physical attacks, big data related issues and interdependence of critical infrastructures. |
779 | Multiparameter platelet function analysis of bleeding patients with a prolonged platelet function analyser closure time | Patients referred for evaluation of bleeding symptoms occasionally have a prolonged platelet function analyser (PFA) closure time, without evidence for von Willebrand disease or impaired platelet aggregation. The aim of this study was to establish a shear-dependent platelet function defect in these patients. Patients were included based on high bleeding score and prior PFA prolongation. Common tests of von Willebrand factor (VWF) and platelet function and exome sequencing were performed. Microfluidic analysis of shear-dependent collagen-induced whole-blood thrombus formation was performed. In 14 PFA-only patients, compared to healthy volunteers, microfluidic tests showed significantly lower platelet adhesion and thrombus formation parameters. This was accompanied by lower integrin activation, phosphatidylserine exposure and P-selectin expression. Principal components analysis indicated VWF as primary explaining variable of PFA prolongation, whereas conventional platelet aggregation primarily explained the reduced thrombus parameters under shear. In five patients with severe microfluidic abnormalities, conventional platelet aggregation was in the lowest range of normal. No causal variants in Mendelian genes known to cause bleeding or platelet disorders were identified. Multiparameter assessment of whole-blood thrombus formation under shear indicates single or combined effects of low-normal VWF and low-normal platelet aggregation in these patients, suggesting a shear-dependent platelet function defect, not detected by static conventional haemostatic tests. |
780 | Becoming prosumer: Revealing trading preferences and decision-making strategies in peer-to-peer energy communities | Increasing distributed renewable energy generation renders balancing of energy supply and demand more challenging. Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange of decentrally generated energy is a promising means to optimize renewable energy flows. While previous research has primarily focused on the technological and economic benefits of P2P energy trading, little research has investigated customer preferences in this context so far. It is thus still unclear to what extent private actors such as homeowners are actually willing to participate in P2P energy communities and if so, under which conditions. Here, we address this research gap by analyzing homeowners' trading decisions in simulated P2P electricity trading scenarios. Findings based on a sample of 301 German homeowners show that community electricity prices and state of charge of private energy storages are key determinants of homeowners' trading behavior. We moreover identified four target groups that systematically differed in their decision-making strategies ranging from price-focused prosumers (38.9%) to classic nontrading consumers (22.6%). Our findings provide promising insights for the design of P2P communities and allow policy makers to more accurately predict risks and benefits associated with P2P projects. Finally, our findings contribute to the development of tailored policy instruments aiming to increase P2P trading in decentralized energy communities. |
781 | The heterogeneous effects of socioeconomic determinants on PM2.5 concentrations using a two-step panel quantile regression | The haze pollution caused by high PM2.5 concentrations has adverse health effects worldwide, especially in rapidly developing China. As meteorological conditions are uncontrollable, this study aims to investigate how anthropogenic factors affect the PM2.5 concentration under high, medium and low emission levels. The distribution of socioeconomic variables is often non-normal, with important information hidden in the tail. By using balanced panel data of 273 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2016, two-step panel quantile regression is adopted to examine the cross-quantile heterogeneity of seven socioeconomic variables: economic growth, industrial structure, urbanization, foreign direct investment (FDI), population density, public transportation and energy consumption. The empirical results show that the relationships of PM2.5 concentration with economic growth, urbanization, industrialization and FDI are heterogeneous. Compared with other variables, population density exerts the greatest positive effect on PM2.5 pollution across all quantile cities. Moreover, the impact of GDP per capita on PM2.5 concentration in the lower 25th quantile cities is stronger than those in the 25th-50th, 50th-75th and upper 75th quantile cities. The effects of FDI in the upper 75th and lower 25th quantile cities are higher than those in the 25th-50th and 50th-75th quantile cities, which supports the "pollution haven" hypothesis. The impact of industrial structure on PM2.5 concentration in the upper 75th quantile cities is larger than those in the 0-25th, 25th-50th, and 50th-75th quantile cities. The heterogeneous effects of these socioeconomic determinants could assist policymakers in implementing differentiated policies that fit cities with different levels of air pollution. |
782 | Recent advances in systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma | Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal malignant tumors in the world. Therapeutic options for advanced HCC are limited. Systemic treatment, especially with conventional cytotoxic drugs, is usually ineffective. For more than a decade, sorafenib has been the only systemic drug that has been proven to be clinically effective for treating advanced HCC. However, over the past three years, the rapid progress of molecular targeted therapies has dramatically changed the treatment landscape for advanced HCC. Immune checkpoint therapies are now being incorporated into HCC therapies, and their combination with molecular targeted therapy is emerging as a tool to enhance the immune response. In this review, we summarize the development and progress of molecular targeted agents and immunotherapies in HCC. |
783 | Vibration anesthesia during carboxytherapy for cellulite: a study protocol | Background: To date, there has been no investigation addressing the effects of vibration anesthesia during carboxytherapy. Aim: Investigate the analgesic effect of different vibratory devices during carboxytherapy for the treatment of cellulite. Materials & methods: A total of 78 women between 18 and 49 years of age with cellulite in the gluteal region will be randomly allocated to three groups: Group A (carboxytherapy and vibratory device A), Group B (carboxytherapy and vibratory device B) and control group. Pain intensity will be assessed using a numerical rating scale after each puncture. Expected outcome: Vibration anesthesia is expected to be effective at diminishing the pain intensity caused by carboxytherapy comparison with the control group, with no differences between the vibratory devices. Trial registry: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: ReBEC (RBR-8jcqy7c). |
784 | Utilization of coal fly ash in China: a mini-review on challenges and future directions | The rapid economic development in China places a large demand for energy, and as a result, thermal power plants in China are producing an enormous amount of coal fly ash (CFA) which causes severe environmental pollution. This paper briefly describes the current production and utilization status of CFA in China and identifies the challenges confronting sustainable CFA utilization as the Chinese economy is being transformed. These issues include a regional imbalance in supply and demand, reducing demand in the real estate industry as well as stricter laws for environmental protection. Viable directions for future CFA utilization are proposed, for example, production of CFA-based ceramic tiles, recovery of elemental resources, agricultural melioration, treatment of wastewater and flue gas, and production of high-volume CFA concretes. This paper has some guiding significance for sustainable and cleaner utilization of CFA in China and even worldwide. |
785 | fMRI replicability during emotional scene viewing: Functional regions and sample size | Recent findings have questioned the replicability of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the study of affective processing, reporting low replicability of emotional enhancement during a face-matching task. However, poor replicability may instead reflect a lack of emotional engagement for face matching. In the current study, replicability of emotional enhancement was tested in a large (N = 160) sample when emotional engagement was assessed during pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant picture viewing, which reliably engages affective reactions in both the brain and the body. Replicability was computed using a subsampling technique, in which random sets of subjects of different sample sizes (N = 20, 40, 60, 80) were selected from the entire dataset, and replicability of emotional enhancement for peaks, clusters, and voxels were averaged across 500 permutations for each sample size. Consistent with previous findings, fMRI replicability increased with increasing sample size. On the other hand, even with relatively small samples, fMRI replicability for peaks, clusters, and voxels during emotional, compared to neutral, scene viewing was good to excellent. Importantly, replicability varied in different brain regions, with excellent replicability at both the cluster and peak level with an N of 40, at the most conservative threshold (p < .001), in the amygdala and the visual cortex. The data argue against general recommendations regarding sample size in fMRI studies of emotion, suggesting instead that degree of replicability depends on successful emotional engagement in task-related brain regions. |
786 | Techno-economic analysis of low-carbon hydrogen production by sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) processes | Hydrogen is an attractive energy carrier that will play a key role in future global energy transitions. This work investigates the techno-economic performance of six different sorption enhanced steam methane reforming (SESMR) configurations integrated with an indirect natural gas or biomass-fired calciner, oxy-fuel combustion and chemical-looping combustion for large-scale blue and carbon-negative hydrogen production. The technoeconomic performance of the proposed cases was evaluated by their net efficiency, CO2 capture efficiency, levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH), and costs of CO2 avoided and removal. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to evaluate the key parameters and explore existing uncertainties that can affect the economic performance of the proposed SE-SMR processes. The results revealed that the proposed systems were comparable with conventional steam methane reforming (SMR) with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The LCOH of the proposed SE-SMR plants ranged from 1.90-2.80 pound/kg, and the costs of CO2 avoided and removal ranged from 33-69 pound/tonne and 58-10(7) pound/tonne, respectively. By applying a carbon price (16 pound/tonne CO2), the costs of CO2 avoided and removal for the proposed SE-SMR processes could be significantly reduced. The results of cumulative discounted cash flow of SE-SMR plants at a hydrogen selling price of 3.00 pound/kg indicated that all the investment of the proposed cases could be paid back after eight years, even if the carbon tax is zero. |
787 | Economic costs of heat-induced reductions in worker productivity due to global warming | We assess economic costs of heat-induced reductions in worker productivity at global scale under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5. Losses in worker productivity are calculated by using an empirically estimated epidemiological exposure-response function, and the associated economic costs are assessed by using a dynamic mull-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model. Autonomous mechanisation of outdoor work in agriculture and construction is implemented in the model. We find that under RCP8.5 by 2100, heat-induced reductions in worker productivity result in an average decline of 1.4% in global gross domestic product (GDP) relative to the reference scenario with no climate change. This is approximately 0.4 percentage points less than when no autonomous mechanisation is assumed. For comparison, measuring the economic costs using occupational health and safety recommendations leads to a 2.4% reduction in global GDP, which is substantially larger than when the epidemiological exposure-response function is used. Countries of Africa, South-East Asia, and South Asia are the worst affected by heat stress. However, economic costs could be substantially alleviated if a 2 degrees C global warming target is achieved. Under RCP2.6, the average reduction in global GDP is only 0.5%. A large fraction of global mitigation costs of achieving the 2 degrees C global warming target could be offset by the avoided adverse impacts of heat stress on worker productivity at higher warming levels. |
788 | When there is only one patient: Induction of labour for termination of pregnancy | Induction of labour when no live birth is anticipated presents a number of unique considerations for members of the healthcare team. The main indication for Induction of Labour for Termination of Pregnancy (iTOP) is intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) beyond a gestational age where surgical management is available, but may also be indicated in the setting of induction abortion (with or without feticide), and termination of pregnancy (with or without infant palliation) for pregnancies where a lethal fetal anomaly is diagnosed. In tertiary care centres, iTOP may represent a significant proportion of labouring patients. Despite this, there are few guidelines dedicated specifically to iTOP in either obstetrical or family planning specialties. In this article, we will consider four main themes from an evidence-informed perspective: method selection; pre-induction preparation; clinical considerations during and after iTOP; and complications management. |
789 | Influence of nano and bulk copper on agile frog development | Nanotechnology, as one of the fastest-growing industries, offers many benefits in various fields. However, properties that contribute to its positive effects, in other context, can cause adverse effects to various organisms, such as amphibians. Identifying possible negative effects on its survival is crucial since amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates. In that context, we investigated the influence of both nano and bulk copper on embryonic development of agile frog, Rana dalmatina. The embryos were exposed to various concentrations (0.01 mg/L, 0.075 mg/L, 0.15 mg/L or 0.3 mg/L) of either nano (CuO, declared size 40-80 nm) or bulk form (CuSO4·5H2O) for 16 days. Upon the experiment, tadpoles were measured and weighted, then homogenized and their protein, lipid, and carbohydrates content determined, as well as the activity of LDH. Our results suggest stronger negative influence of nano copper to size and weight of tadpoles, and bulk copper on lipid content, while both had strong negative effect on carbohydrates content, and LDH activity. In addition, our results suggest agile frog to be more susceptible to negative influence of both, nano and bulk copper, than commonly used Xenopus laevis. |
790 | Influence of FDI quality on energy efficiency in China based on seemingly unrelated regression method | How to use foreign direct investment (FDI) to achieve sustainable development of resources, environment and economy in China has become an increasingly important proposition. Previous studies mainly focused on the relationship between FDI quantity and energy efficiency, and neglected the important role of FDI quality in improving energy efficiency. Based on the panel data on 30 provinces in China from 2003 to 2016, this paper uses slacks-based measure data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) method to estimate energy efficiency, and then uses seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) method to empirically study the influence of FDI quality on energy efficiency. The results are presented as follows: (1) From the national level view, FDI quality plays a significant role in promoting China's energy efficiency; (2) From the regional-level view, FDI quality plays a significant role in promoting China's energy efficiency in coastal and inland areas, but its role in the inland area is significantly greater than that in the coastal area. The results indicate that China should make full use of the opportunity of global economic integration and pay more attention to the improvement of FDI quality, so as to promote energy efficiency and low-carbon economic development. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
791 | Spatial pattern and driving factors for interprovincial natural gas consumption in China: Based on SNA and LMDI | In China's energy transformation strategy, natural gas is the "bridge fuel" to cleaner production. This paper innovatively uses the classic method in sociology, social network analysis (SNA), and reveals the network characteristics and spatial pattern of interprovincial natural gas consumption in China. Zhejiang is the center of China's interprovincial natural gas consumption network, and the network can be clustered into four blocks: net spillover block, net beneficial block, brokers block, bidirectional spillover block. In addition, LMDI (logarithmic mean Divisia index) quantified the driving factors of China's natural gas consumption in each province. Overall, economic effect and fossil energy structure effect are the major driving factors of natural gas consumption, the energy intensity effect is one of the major restraining factors of natural gas consumption. Matching the driving factors of each province with the block model, and in more detail, economic effect is the major driving factor of natural gas consumption in the net spillover block, followed by spatial expansion effect. In the bidirectional spillover block, the fossil energy structural effect is the major driving factor of the natural gas consumption. Accordingly, we put forward the general measures and specific measures to protect the natural gas consumption. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
792 | Novel Machine Learning Approaches for Modelling the Gully Erosion Susceptibility | The extreme form of land degradation caused by the formation of gullies is a major challenge for the sustainability of land resources. This problem is more vulnerable in the arid and semi-arid environment and associated damage to agriculture and allied economic activities. Appropriate modeling of such erosion is therefore needed with optimum accuracy for estimating vulnerable regions and taking appropriate initiatives. The Golestan Dam has faced an acute problem of gully erosion over the last decade and has adversely affected society. Here, the artificial neural network (ANN), general linear model (GLM), maximum entropy (MaxEnt), and support vector machine (SVM) machine learning algorithm with 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 random partitioning of training and validation samples was selected purposively for estimating the gully erosion susceptibility. The main objective of this work was to predict the susceptible zone with the maximum possible accuracy. For this purpose, random partitioning approaches were implemented. For this purpose, 20 gully erosion conditioning factors were considered for predicting the susceptible areas by considering the multi-collinearity test. The variance inflation factor (VIF) and tolerance (TOL) limit were considered for multi-collinearity assessment for reducing the error of the models and increase the efficiency of the outcome. The ANN with 50/50 random partitioning of the sample is the most optimal model in this analysis. The area under curve (AUC) values of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) in ANN (50/50) for the training and validation data are 0.918 and 0.868, respectively. The importance of the causative factors was estimated with the help of the Jackknife test, which reveals that the most important factor is the topography position index (TPI). Apart from this, the prioritization of all predicted models was estimated taking into account the training and validation data set, which should help future researchers to select models from this perspective. This type of outcome should help planners and local stakeholders to implement appropriate land and water conservation measures. |
793 | Scientists' warning to humanity on the freshwater biodiversity crisis | Freshwater ecosystems provide irreplaceable services for both nature and society. The quality and quantity of freshwater affect biogeochemical processes and ecological dynamics that determine biodiversity, ecosystem productivity, and human health and welfare at local, regional and global scales. Freshwater ecosystems and their associated riparian habitats are amongst the most biologically diverse on Earth, and have inestimable economic, health, cultural, scientific and educational values. Yet human impacts to lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands and groundwater are dramatically reducing biodiversity and robbing critical natural resources and services from current and future generations. Freshwater biodiversity is declining rapidly on every continent and in every major river basin on Earth, and this degradation is occurring more rapidly than in terrestrial ecosystems. Currently, about one third of all global freshwater discharges pass through human agricultural, industrial or urban infrastructure. About one fifth of the Earth's arable land is now already equipped for irrigation, including all the most productive lands, and this proportion is projected to surpass one third by midcentury to feed the rapidly expanding populations of humans and commensal species, especially poultry and ruminant livestock. Less than one fifth of the world's preindustrial freshwater wetlands remain, and this proportion is projected to decline to under one tenth by midcentury, with imminent threats from water transfer megaprojects in Brazil and India, and coastal wetland drainage megaprojects in China. The Living Planet Index for freshwater vertebrate populations has declined to just one third that of 1970, and is projected to sink below one fifth by midcentury. A linear model of global economic expansion yields the chilling prediction that human utilization of critical freshwater resources will approach one half of the Earth's total capacity by midcentury. Although the magnitude and growth of the human freshwater footprint are greater than is generally understood by policy makers, the news media, or the general public, slowing and reversing dramatic losses of freshwater species and ecosystems is still possible. We recommend a set of urgent policy actions that promote clean water, conserve watershed services, and restore freshwater ecosystems and their vital services. Effective management of freshwater resources and ecosystems must be ranked amongst humanity's highest priorities. |
794 | Upper Cervical Compression Myelopathy Caused by the Retro-Odontoid Pseudotumor With Degenerative Osteoarthritis and Calcium Pyrophosphate Dihydrate Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review | The retro-odontoid pseudotumor is often concurrent with atlantoaxial subluxation (AAS). Therefore, the pseudotumor is relatively common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but rare in primary osteoarthritis (OA). This is a case report of an elderly male patient suffering from neck pain and compression myelopathy caused by the craniocervical pseudotumor with OA but without atlantoaxial instability. He had long-lasting peripheral and spinal pain treated by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Imaging found upper cervical spondylosis without AAS or dynamic instability but with periodontoid calcifications and ossifications, suggesting calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposition. Based on a comprehensive literature search and review, CPPD disease around the atlantodental joint is a possible contributor to secondary OA development and retro-odontoid pannus formation through chronic inflammation, which can be enough severe to induce compression myelopathy in non-RA patients without AAS. The global increase in the aged population advises caution regarding more prevalent upper cervical spine disorders associated with OA and CPPD. |
795 | Medium-Chain fatty acids and long-chain alcohols production from waste activated sludge via two-stage anaerobic fermentation | Traditional bioenergy recovery in the form of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from waste activated sludge (WAS) is generally limited by economic unattractiveness and complexity of products separation. Herein, a novel biotechnology process of two-stage anaerobic fermentation for converting the WAS into high energy density, easy-separated medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and long-chain alcohols (LCAs) was evaluated. In this process, the WAS was first converted to WAS alkaline fermentation liquid (WASAFL), serving as electron acceptors (EAs) and inoculum, then adding ethanol as electron donor (ED) for chain elongation (CE). The co-production of MCFAs and LCAs during CE were studied under three different ED to EA ra-tios, i.e., 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1. Experimental results demonstrated that when the ratio of ED to EA increased from 3:1 to 5:1, the production of MCFA and LCAs respectively increased from 5.57 0.17 and 2.58 +/- 0.18 to7.67 +/- 0.48 and 4.21 +/- 0.19 g COD/L. A similar observation was made in the total product electron efficiency, increasing from 59.9% to 72.1%. However, the highest total product selectivity (i.e., 68.0%) and highest products production yield (i.e., 59.77%) were not achieved at the ED to EA ratio of 5:1 due to toxicity caused by higher accumulation of n-caproate. The kinetic analysis further confirmed that high ratio of ED to EA induced improvement in product maximum yield, production rate for both MCFAs and LCAs. Microbial community analysis indicated that Clostridium, Caproiciproducens, Acinetobacter, Exilispira, and Oscillibacter were clearly enriched in the CE reactor and had positive correlation with MCFAs and LCAs production. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
796 | Nexus between green finance and climate change mitigation in N-11 and BRICS countries: empirical estimation through difference in differences (DID) approach | Green finance is inextricably linked to investment risk, particularly in emerging and developing economies (EMDE). This study uses the difference in differences (DID) method to evaluate the mean causal effects of a treatment on an outcome of the determinants of scaling up green financing and climate change mitigation in the N-11 countries from 2005 to 2019. After analyzing with a dummy for the treated countries, it was confirmed that the outcome covariates: rescon (renewable energy sources consumption), population, FDI, CO2, inflation, technical corporation grants, domestic credit to the private sector, and research and development are very significant in promoting green financing and climate change mitigation in the study countries. The probit regression results give a different outcome, as rescon, FID, CO2, Human Development Index (HDI), and investment in the energy sector by the private sector that will likely have an impact on the green financing and climate change mitigation of the study countries. Furthermore, after matching the analysis through the nearest neighbor matching, kernel matching, and radius matching, it produced mixed results for both the treated and the untreated countries. Either group experienced an improvement in green financing and climate change mitigation or a decrease. Overall, the DID showed no significant difference among the countries. |
797 | MiR-556-5p modulates migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer cells via targeting PTHrP | Breast cancer bone metastases may block normal bone remodeling and promote bone degradation, during which several signaling pathways and small non-coding miRNAs might all play a role. miRNAs and target mRNAs that might be associated with breast cancer bone metastasis were analyzed and selected using bioinformatics analyses based on online data. The 3' untranslated region of key factors associated with breast cancer metastasis were examined for candidate miRNA binding site using Targetscan. The predicted binding was validated. The specific effects of single miRNA and dynamic effects of the miRNA-mRNA axis on breast cancer cell metastasis were investigated. miR-556-5p was downregulated in breast cancer samples according to online datasets and experimental analyses. In breast cancer cells, miR-556-5p overexpression inhibited, whereas miR-556-5p inhibition promoted cancer cell invasion and migration. Among key factors associated with breast cancer bone metastasis, parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP) 3'UTR possessed miR-556-5p binding site. Through direct binding, miR-556-5p negatively regulated PTHrP expression. In breast cancer cell lines, miR-556-5p inhibition promoted, whereas PTHrP silencing suppressed cancer cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition; the effects of miR-556-5p inhibition were partially reversed by PTHrP silencing. In summary, miR-556-5p targets PTHrP to modulate the cell migration and invasion of breast cancer. |
798 | Kyphosis After Thoracolumbar Spine Fractures: WFNS Spine Committee Recommendations | Thoracolumbar fractures change the biomechanics of the spine. Load distribution causes kyphosis by the time. Treatment of posttraumatic kyphosis is still controversial. We reviewed the literature between 2010 and 2020 using a search with keywords "thoracolumbar fracture and kyphosis." We removed osteoporotic fractures, ankylosing spondylitis fractures, non-English language papers, case reports, and low-quality case series. Up-to-date information on posttraumatic kyphosis management was reviewed to reach an agreement in a consensus meeting of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Spine Committee. The first meeting was conducted in Peshawar in December 2019 with WFNS Spine Committee members' presence and participation. The second meeting was a virtual meeting via the internet on June 12, 2020. We utilized the Delphi method to administer the questionnaire to preserve a high degree of validity. We summarized 42 papers on posttraumatic kyphosis. Surgical treatment of thoracolumbar kyphosis due to unstable burst fractures can be done via a posterior only approach. Less blood loss and reduced surgery time are the main advantages of posterior surgery. Kyphosis angle for surgical decision and fusion levels are controversial. However, global sagittal balance should be taken into consideration for the segment that has to be included. Adding an intermediate screw at the fractured level strengthens the construct. |
799 | Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance Transformation through ESG Disclosure | Within the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure-corporate sustainability performance (economic, environmental and social; EES) framework, our empirical analysis examined the impact of ESG information disclosure on EES sustainability performance among Asian firms from 2005 to 2017. The positive ESG disclosure-EES sustainability performance relationship found in this study provides evidence that disclosing the implementation of environment and social strategies within an effective system of corporate governance in the organization strengthens corporate sustainability performance. The results also show that environmental performance and social performance are significantly positively related to economic sustainable performance, indicating that the corporation's economic value and creating value for society are interdependent. In line with the stakeholder theory and the shared value theory, ESG information disclosure to all stakeholders is an important factor in creating a competitive advantage for enhancing corporate sustainability performance. |
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