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Impact Assessment of Additive Manufacturing on Sustainable Business Models in Industry 4.0 Context

Additive manufacturing has the potential to make a longstanding impact on the manufacturing world and is a core element of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Additive manufacturing signifies a new disruptive path on how we will produce parts and products. Several studies suggest this technology could foster sustainability into manufacturing systems based on its potential of optimizing material consumption, creating new shapes, customizing designs and shortening production times that, all combined, will greatly transform some of the existing business models. Although it requires reaching a certain level of design maturity to completely insert this technology in an industrial setting, additive manufacturing has the potential to favorably impact the manufacturing sector by reducing costs in production, logistics, inventories, and in the development and industrialization of a new product. The transformation of the industry and the acceleration of the adopting rate of new technologies is driving organizational strategy. Thus, through the lenses of Industry 4.0 and its technological concepts, this paper aims to contribute to the knowledge about the impacts of additive manufacturing technology on sustainable business models. This aim is accomplished through a proposed framework, as well as the models and scales that can be used to determine these impacts. The effects are assessed by taking into account the social, environmental and economic impacts of additive manufacturing on business models and for all these three dimensions a balanced scorecard structure is proposed.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma During Pregnancy

Renal cell carcinoma during pregnancy is extremely rare, but it is the commonest urological malignancy reported in pregnancy. Currently, no uniform domestic or international diagnostic or treatment criteria exist for these patients, so their diagnosis and treatment are challenging for urologists. The health and reproductive needs of these patients have improved in recent years because of the continuous development of medical technology. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of renal cell carcinoma during pregnancy.

Morphological, physiological and molecular assessment of cotton for drought tolerance under field conditions

Climate change could be an existential threat to many crops. Drought and heat stress are becoming harder for cultivated crops. Cotton in Pakistan is grown under natural high temperature and low moisture, could be used as a source of heat and drought tolerance. Therefore, the study was conducted to morphological, physiological and molecular characterization of cotton genotypes under field conditions. A total of 25 cotton genotypes were selected from the gene pool of Pakistan based on tolerance to heat and drought stress. In field trail, the stress related traits like boll retention percentage, plant height, number of nodes and inter-nodal distance were recorded. In physiological assessment, traits such as photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, leaf temperature, relative water content and excised leaf water loss were observed. At molecular level, a set of 19 important transcription factors, controlling drought/heat stress tolerance (HSPCB, GHSP26, HSFA2, HSP101, HSP3, DREB1A, DREB2A, TPS, GhNAC2, GbMYB5, GhWRKY41, GhMKK3, GhMPK17, GhMKK1, GhMPK2, APX1, HSC70, ANNAT8, and GhPP2A1) were analyzed from all genotypes. Data analyses depicted that boll retention percentage, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, relative water content under the stress conditions were associated with the presence of important drought & heat TF/genes which depicts high genetic potential of Pakistani cotton varieties against abiotic stress. The variety MNH-886 appeared in medium plant height, high boll retention percentage, high relative water content, photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and with maximum number transcription factors under study. The variety may be used as source material for heat and drought tolerant cotton breeding. The results of this study may be useful for the cotton breeders to develop genotype adoptable to environmental stresses under climate change scenario.

Proteogenomics for pediatric brain cancer

Pediatric central nervous system tumors are the most common tumors in children, it constitute 15%-20% of all malignancies in children and are the leading cause of cancer related deaths in children. Proteogenomics is an emerging field of biological research that utilizes a combination of proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics to aid in the discovery and identification of biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic purposes. Integrative proteogenomics analysis of pediatric tumors identified underlying biological processes and potential treatments as well as the functional effects of somatic mutations and copy number variation driving tumorigenesis.

Feasibility study and economic analysis of stand-alone hybrid energy system for southern Ghana

Ghana is endowed with lot of potentials in the renewable energy sector which are yet to be fully exploited. This research evaluated the techno-economic potentials of PV-Wind-DG-Battery and Wind-DG-Battery hybrid power plants in the southern part of Ghana in a town call Mankwadze to ascertain the bankability of the two systems for large-scale commercial electricity generation. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC) metrics were used in the economic analysis of the modelled power plants. The LCOE and NPC of the two systems were estimated at 0.382 $/kWh and $8,649,054 for the PV-Wind-DG-Battery system, respectively, whiles the Wind-DG-Battery system also recorded 0.396 $/kWh and $8,966,700 for the LCOE and NPC, respectively. The base case (generator) recorded an LCOE of 0.412 $/kWh and an OC of $345,998 with an initial cost of $454,256. The obtained results are all relatively higher than the current cost of energy for household consumers in Ghana, but a sensitivity analysis showed that the LCOEs can be reduced when certain parameters such as cost of fuel, discount and inflation rates are varied. This suggests that such projects can be done when the necessary investment climate is created by those in authority.

Assessing the levelized cost of vanadium redox flow batteries with capacity fade and rebalancing

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are an emerging technology suitable for grid electricity storage. The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has been one of the most widely researched and commercialized RFB systems because of its ability to recover lost capacity via electrolyte rebalancing, a result of both the device configuration as well as the symmetry of the redox chemistry. Despite broad acknowledgement of the benefits of this differentiating feature to system resilience and longevity, assessments of its economic value to the VRFB system have thus far been limited. Here we develop a techno-economic framework that incorporates a physical model of capacity fade and recovery from rebalancing and other servicing methods into a levelized cost of storage (LCOS) metric. We then evaluate the impacts of different contributing factors to the LCOS of a VRFB and identify opportunities for cost reduction through operating strategies (e.g., rebalancing schedule), performance improvements (e.g., reducing fade rates), design decisions (e.g., battery sizing), and investment approaches (e.g., electrolyte leasing). We anticipate this analysis will provide new insights into the cost-drivers for VRFBs and motivate further research efforts in understudied yet important areas.

Levelised Cost of Storage (LCOS) analysis of liquid air energy storage system integrated with Organic Rankine Cycle

Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) is a unique decoupled grid-scale energy storage system that stores energy through air liquefaction process. In order to further increase the utilization ratio of the available waste heat discharged by the air compression and not effectively recovered during the discharge phase, the authors have previously investigated the thermodynamic feasibility of different integrated LAES systems and promising results have been shown for the LAES coupled with Organic Rankine Cycle (integrated system LAORC). In order to assess the economic feasibility of the integrated system, this paper presents a techno-economic comparative analysis of the stand-alone LAES and the integrated system LAORC. The LAES systems have been designed by means of the quasi non-dimensional maps developed by the authors and the Levelised Cost of Storage (LCOS) has been employed to evaluate the economic viability of the investment by also comparing the LAES with Li-ion batteries. The results show that the stand-alone LAES system is generally cost-competitive with Li-ion batteries and even more in LAORC integrated system with the advantage of additional power output from the ORC. When LAES is operated in cogenerative configuration, the LAORC integrated system produces the most significant results decreasing the LCOS by 10%. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of FDI on environmental emissions: Evidence from a meta-analysis

One important and frequently-raised issue about foreign direct investment (FDI) is the potentially negative consequences for the environment. The potential environmental cost due to increased emissions may undermine the economic gains associated with increases in FDI inflow. Although the literature is dominated with this adverse view of FDI on the environment, there is also a possibility that FDI can contribute to a cleaner environment, especially, if FDI comes with green technologies and this creates spillovers for domestic industries. Theoretically, the effect of FDI on the environment can be negative or positive. To deal with the theoretical ambiguity about the FDI-environment nexus, many empirical studies have been conducted but their results only reinforce the controversy as they produce contrasting results. We conduct a meta-analysis of the effect of FDI on environmental emissions using 65 primary studies that produce 1006 elasticities. Our results show that the underlying effect of FDI on environmental emissions is close to zero, however, after accounting for heterogeneity in the studies, we find that FDI significantly reduces environmental emissions. Results remain robust after disaggregating the effect for countries at different levels of development as well as for different pollutants.

Experimental study of hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG) engine and application of support vector machine (SVM) on prediction of engine performance at specific condition

The effect of excess air ratio (A) and ignition advance angle (Big) on the combustion and emission characteristics of hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG) on a 6 cylinder compressed natural gas (CNG) engine has been experimental studied in an engine test bench, aiming at enriching the sophisticated calibration of HCNG fueled engine and increasing the prediction accuracy of the SVM method on automobile engines. Three different fuel blends were selected for the experiment: 0%, 20% and 40% volumetric hydrogen blend ratios. It is noted that combustion intensity varies with the excess air ratio and the ignition advance angle, so are the emissions. The optimal value of A or Big has been explored in the specific engine condition. Results show that blending hydrogen can enhance and advance the combustion and stability of CNG engine, and it also has some benefic influence on the emissions such as reducing the CO and CH4. Meanwhile, a simulation research on forecasting the engine performance by using the support vector machine (SVM) method was conducted in detail. The torque, brake specific fuel consumption and NOx emission have been selected to characterize the power, economic and emissions of the engine with various HCNG fuels, respectively. It can be seen that the optimal model built by the SVM method can highly describe the relationship of the engine properties and condition parameters, since the value of the complex correlation coefficient is larger than 0.97. Secondly, the prediction performance of the optimal model for torque or BSFC is much better than the case of NOx. Besides, the optimal model built by the PSO optimization method has the best prediction accuracy, and the accuracy of the model obtained based on the training group with 20% hydrogen blend ratio is the best compared with those of others. The upshots in this article provide experimental support and theoretical basis for the adoption of HCNG fuel on internal combustion engines as well as the application of intelligent algorithmic in the engine calibration technology field. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Entrepreneurial Leadership and Sustainable Performance of Manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia: The Contingent Role of Entrepreneurial Bricolage

The purpose of this research is to delve into the effect of entrepreneurial leadership (EL) on the economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainable performance; the research also focuses on the contingency role of entrepreneurial bricolage (EB). The increasing concern focused on the triple bottom line (TBL) issues has triggered enthusiasm and inspiration in the field of sustainable entrepreneurship, especially amongst the small medium enterprise (SME) owners or leaders who are directly responsible for organizational sustainable performance. This research examines the relationships between EL and economically sustainable performance (ECSPF), environmentally sustainable performance (ENSPF), and social sustainable performance (SOSPF); these relationships are contingent upon EB through the lens of Upper Echelons Theory (UET) and Effectuation Theory (ET). A total of 146 responses from a cross-sectional survey from Malaysian manufacturing SMEs were investigated using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that EL has significant effects on ENSPF and SOSPF, but has an insignificant effect on ECSPF. Meanwhile, EB does not play the contingent role in strengthening the relationships between EL and ECSPF, EL and ENSPF, and EL and SOSPF. This research highlights the importance of EL and shows that SME owners or leaders should embrace and develop their skills as a crucial step towards achieving sustainable performance for their companies. The implications and limitations of the research are discussed and recommendations for future research are also presented.

Bioremoval of PVP-coated silver nanoparticles using Aspergillus niger: the role of exopolysaccharides

Extensive use of engineered nanoparticles has led to their eventual release in the environment. The present work aims to study the removal of Polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated silver nanoparticles (PVP-Ag-NPs) using Aspergillus niger and depict the role of exopolysaccharides in the removal process. Our results show that the majority of PVP-Ag-NPs were attached to fungal pellets. About 74% and 88% of the PVP-Ag-NPs were removed when incubated with A. niger pellets and exopolysaccharide-induced A. niger pellets, respectively. Ionized Ag decreased by 553 and 1290-fold under the same conditions as compared to stock PVP-Ag-NP. PVP-Ag-PVP resulted in an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) in 24 h. Results show an increase in PVP-Ag-NPs size from 28.4 to 115.9 nm for A. niger pellets and 160.3 nm after removal by stress-induced A. niger pellets and further increased to 650.1 nm for in vitro EPS removal. The obtained findings show that EPS can be used for nanoparticle removal, by increasing the net size of nanoparticles in aqueous media. This will, in turn, facilitate its removal through conventional filtration techniques commonly used at wastewater treatment plants.

Deep Phenotypic Analysis for Transposition of the Great Arteries and Prognosis Implication

Background Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) consists of about 3% of all congenital heart diseases and 20% of cyanotic congenital heart diseases. It is always accompanied by a series of other cardiac malformations that affect the surgical intervention strategy as well as prognosis. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the phenotypes of the patients who had TGA with concordant atrioventricular and discordant ventriculoarterial connections and explored their association with prognosis. Methods and Results We retrospectively reviewed 666 patients with a diagnosis of TGA with concordant atrioventricular and discordant ventriculoarterial connections in Fuwai Hospital from 1997 to 2019. Under the guidance of the Human Phenotype Ontology database, patients were classified into 3 clusters. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the prognosis, and the Cox proportional regression model was used to investigate the risk factors. In this 666-patient TGA cohort, the overall 5-year survival rate was 94.70% (92.95%-96.49%). Three clusters with distinct phenotypes were obtained by the Human Phenotype Ontology database. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significant difference in freedom from reintervention among 3 clusters (P<0.001). To eliminate the effect of surgeries, we analyzed patients who only received an arterial switch operation and still found a significant difference in reintervention (P=0.019). Conclusions We delineated a big cardiovascular phenotypic profile of an unprecedentedly large TGA cohort and successfully risk stratified them to reveal prognostic significance. Also, we reported the outcomes of a large TGA population in China.

Does Emission Trading Boost Carbon Productivity? Evidence from China's Pilot Emission Trading Scheme

As the country with the largest carbon emissions globally, the effective operation of China's carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) is of great importance to the global community in terms of mitigating climate change. This paper considers China's pilot ETS launched in 2013 as a quasi-natural experiment. Exploring provincial industrial-level data that are more in line with the ETS coverage, the difference-in-difference-in-difference (DDD) model is used to evaluate the impact of the ETS on carbon productivity. Considering different pilot regions and industries, we also analyze the heterogeneous effect of ETS. Moreover, the mediating effects of technical progress and capital investment are explored. We find that China's pilot ETS boosted carbon productivity. Among pilot regions, the best policy effectiveness appeared in Beijing, while the weakest effectiveness appeared in Chongqing. Among the pilot industries, the pilot ETS had better effectiveness in petrochemical and electric power industries and weaker effectiveness in building materials and transportation industries. Additionally, the pilot ETS promoted carbon productivity through both technological progress and capital investment, and the former contributed more. Our findings can provide empirical references and policy implications for nationwide implementation of ETS to further promote low-carbon economic transformation.

Dynamic causality interplay from COVID-19 pandemic to oil price, stock market, and economic policy uncertainty: evidence from oil-importing and oil-exporting countries

In this study we examine the time-varying causal effect of the novel COVID-19 pandemic in the major oil-importing and oil-exporting countries on the oil price changes, stock market volatilities and the economic uncertainty using the wavelet coherence and network analysis. During the period of the pandemic, we explore such relationship by resorting to the wavelet coherence and gaussian graphical model (GGM) frameworks. Wavelet analysis enables us to measure the dynamics of the causal effect of the novel covid-19 pandemic in the time-frequency space. Regarding the findings displayed herein, we first found that the COVID-19 pandemic has a severe influence on oil prices, stock market indices, and the economic uncertainty. Second the intensity of the causality effect is stronger in the longer horizon than in the short ones, suggesting that the causality exercise continues. Our findings also provide evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price changes in oil-importing countries mirror those in oil-exporting countries and vice versa. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has a profound immediate time-frequency effect on the US, Japanese, South Korean, Indian, and Canadian economic uncertainties. A better understanding of oil and stock market prices in the oil-importing and oil-exporting countries is vital for investors and policymakers, specially since the novel unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has been recognized among the most serious ever happened. Thus, the findings suggest that the authorities should strongly take efficient actions to minimize risk.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resource Management: Towards Sustainable Business Organizations

Today's organizations are immersed in a global market, where any detail can provide a competitive advantage over rival companies and condition their sustainability. Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resource Management have become very powerful tools within companies. However, the potential, development, and measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Human Resource Management (HRM) have not been sufficiently explored. The literature has developed multiple case studies on CSR and HRM and has studied the combination of both factors and their link to economic, environmental, and social sustainability, but has not yet found a solid basis from which to address the new functionality of CSR, HRM, and sustainable business management. This work aims to investigate trends in scientific production related to Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resource Management. Bibliometric techniques and SciMAT software have been used for this purpose. A total of 314 articles from Web of Science (WOS) indexed journals were analyzed. The results obtained confirm that the interest in the study of these concepts has grown exponentially in the last decade. It should be noted that the definitions of CSR and HRM, and even the relationship between the two, continue to be subject to multiple interpretations. The contribution of this work lies in the fact that, through the longitudinal analysis carried out, light is shed on the groups of issues that emerge with special projection, such as green-management, stakeholders, commitment, competitive-advantage, satisfaction, performance, sustainability, or research-methods-analysis, and which must continue to be explored in order to respond to the demands that business organizations have in this respect, and to help the total integration of the different approaches related to CSR and HRM.

The influence of consumers' intention factors on willingness to pay for renewable energy: a structural equation modeling approach

As the adoption of renewable power generation technologies (RPTs) is a complex and multidimensional process influenced by a variety of factors, it provokes traction among researchers to identify these influencing factors. This study aims to investigate the impact of consumers' intention factors on willingness to pay (WTP) for renewable energy (RE) in Pakistan. The current research has contributed through expanding the theoretical framework of the theory of planned behavior by adding two new constructs, i.e., belief about RE cost and environmental concern to better understand consumers' intentions towards adoption or prohibition of RPTs. Findings are based on the primary data gathered from 349 residents in the five major cities of Pakistan including, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Multan by conducting a comprehensive survey. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis purposes. Research results indicate that the influencing factors such as attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control positively moderate the relationship between consumer's intention and WTP for RE, belief about RE cost has a negative effect, while environmental concern did not find to have a significant effect. Based on research findings, this study offered essential policy recommendations to fulfill the country's energy needs on its way to a future of sustainable development.

Singapore Advanced Cardiac Life Support Guidelines 2021

Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) emphasises the use of advanced airway management and ventilation, circulatory support and the appropriate use of drugs in resuscitation, as well as the identification of reversible causes of cardiac arrest. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation and organ donation, as well as special circumstances including drowning, pulmonary embolism and pregnancy are addressed. Resuscitation does not end with ACLS but must continue in post-resuscitation care. ACLS also covers the recognition and management of unstable pre-arrest tachy- and bradydysrhythmias that may deteriorate further.

Development and application of a machine learning based multi-objective optimization workflow for CO2-EOR projects

Carbon dioxide-Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) is known as one of techniques for hydrocarbon production improvement as wells as an important candidate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, an ideal development strategy for a CO2-EOR project would consider multiple objectives including to maximize oil recovery, CO2 storage volume and project economic outcomes. This work proposes a robust computational framework that couples artificial neural network (ANN) and multi-objective optimizers to optimize the aforementioned objectives in CO2-EOR processes simultaneously. Expert ANN systems are trained and employed as surrogate models of the high-fidelity compositional simulator in the optimization workflow. The robustness of the development optimization protocol is confirmed via a synthetic injection-pattern-base case study. Afterward a field implementation to Morrow-B formation to optimize the tertiary recovery stage of the field development is discussed. This work compares the optimum solution found using an aggregate objective function and the solution repository (Pareto front) generated by the multi-objective optimization process. The comparison indicates the existence of potential multi-solutions satisfying certain criteria in a CO2-EOR project designing, which cannot be found using traditional weighted sum method. The optimization results provide significant insight into the decision-making process of CO2-EOR project when multiple objective functions are considered.

In vitro probiotic and safety attributes of Bacillus spp. isolated from beebread, honey samples and digestive tract of honeybees Apis mellifera

Bacillus species isolated from honeybee Apis mellifera gut, honey and bee bread samples were characterized for their in vitro probiotic and safety attributes. Alpha and γ haemolytic cultures were tested for their antibiotic resistance, antibacterial spectrum, acid and bile tolerance, adhesion ability (auto-aggregation, co-aggregation and hydrophobicity) and phenol tolerance. Safety criteria included evaluation of virulence genes and cytotoxicity percentages. Bacillus isolates inhibited both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus mutans, while none could inhibit Listeria monocytogenes. Among the isolates, Bacillus subtilis ZH05, ZB03 and ZG025 showed resistance to most of the tested antibiotics and were considered unsafe. B. subtilis (4) and B. licheniformis (1) tolerated acidic pH and bile conditions, never the less were more tolerant in simulated intestinal conditions vis-a-vis gastric conditions. In 0·5% phenol concentrations, B. licheniformis ZH02 showed highest growth, while, B. subtilis ZG029 demonstrated highest auto-aggregation (65 ± 4·6) and hydrophobicity (23 ± 3·6) percentages (P < 0·05). The isolates lacked virulence genes (hblA, hblC, hblD, nhe, cytK and ces), and their cytotoxic percentage on Caco-2 cell lines was ˂15%. Overall, honeybees appear to be a good source of Bacillus species exhibiting typical in vitro probiotic properties, which could be of commercial interest.

Spatial and temporal differentiation of COVID-19 epidemic spread in mainland China and its influencing factors

This paper uses the exploratory spatial data analysis and the geodetector method to analyze the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics and the influencing factors of the COVID-19 (corona virus disease 2019) epidemic spread in mainland China based on the cumulative confirmed cases, average temperature, and socioeconomic data. The results show that: (1) the epidemic spread rapidly from January 24 to February 20, 2020, and the distribution of the epidemic areas tended to be stable over time. The epidemic spread rate in Hubei province, in its surrounding, and in some economically developed cities was higher, while that in western part of China and in remote areas of central and eastern China was lower. (2) The global and local spatial correlation characteristics of the epidemic distribution present a positive correlation. Specifically. the global spatial correlation characteristics experienced a change process from agglomeration to decentralization. The local spatial correlation characteristics were mainly composed of the'high-high' and 'low-low' clustering types, and the situation of the contiguous layout was very significant. (3) The population inflow from Wuhan and the strength of economic connection were the main factors affecting the epidemic spread, together with the population distribution, transport accessibility, average temperature, and medical facilities, which affected the epidemic spread to varying degrees. (4) The detection factors interacted mainly through the mutual enhancement and nonlinear enhancement, and their influence on the epidemic spread rate exceeded that of single factors. Besides, each detection factor has an interval range that is conducive to the epidemic spread. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Head control and head-trunk coordination as a function of anticipation in sidestepping

Head reorientation precedes body reorientation during direction change to facilitate gaze realignment, thus enhancing perceptual awareness. Whole body kinematics are dependent on the available planning time. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of anticipation on head control and head-trunk coordination during sidestepping tasks. Fourteen male collegiate athletes performed anticipated and unanticipated sidestepping tasks. Transverse plane head, trunk and heading direction, as well as head-trunk coordination were assessed. During change of direction tasks, we observed greater head orientation towards the new travel direction, followed by heading direction and then trunk direction during both anticipated and unanticipated tasks. With reduced planning time, heading in the preparatory phase and trunk rotation in the preparatory and stance phases were significantly less oriented towards the new travel direction, with no differences in head rotation. During anticipated sidestepping, significantly greater in-phase coordination was observed during the preparatory phase compared to unanticipated sidestepping. Head reorientation facilitates gaze realignment and may be prioritized irrespective of planning time during sidestepping tasks. During anticipated trials, the head and trunk move more synchronously compared to unanticipated sidestepping, highlighting the potential benefits of aligning the degrees of freedom earlier in the change of direction stride and optimizing perceptual awareness.

Insights on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals scope: Are they aligned with a 'strong' sustainable development?

The seventh edition of the International Workshop "Advances in Cleaner Production" (IWACP) was held at Universidad de La Costa, Colombia, in June 2018. Thematic sections were held for allowing theoretical discussions and practical activities, with the main goal of supporting discussions on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). Participants provided their perception on the allocation of UN-SDGs as relevant for managing the main forms of capital (environmental, economic and social) within two different sustainability conceptual models: a "traditional" model (representing the interdependence and substitutability among the environment, social and economic capitals), and the five sectors sustainability model (5SenSu). Results show an unbalanced distribution of SDGs among the capitals for both sustainability models, with social capital perceived as the most relevant across the SDGs. Particularly, the environment as a resource provider supporting societal development is perceived as relevant only for SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). The main outcomes of the workshop emphasize the need for further efforts towards a more objective interpretation of policy goals in post Agenda-2030 initiatives. The SDGs must be clearly understood and have a scientific resonance to objectively support public policies. Sustainability models, such as the 5SenSu, have the potential to support a more balanced definition of sustainable development goals across the different dimensions of sustainability. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microplastics in Mexican beaches

Mexican sandy beaches are a natural resource that provides environmental services and contribute to the economic growth of the country. However, due to mismanagement of solid waste, discharges of wastewaters and other land and marine activities, they can be polluted by microplastics. This research aimed to quantify and classify the microplastics found in Mexican beaches. Samples were taken in 33 beaches, along the five marine regions of the country, following a systematic method that allows comparison of results. Microplastics concentration varied from 31.7-545.8 M P/m(2), with high variance coefficients (28.7-122.3 %). The Gulf of California was the region that showed a higher mean concentration. Presence of microplastics was higher in urban-overdeveloped beaches and increased with the occurrence of extreme weather events. Prevention of pollution of beaches by microplastics would allow to preserve the natural resources of the country, as well as to recover valuable materials that can be reinserted in production cycles.

The impact of energy technology innovations on cleaner energy supply and carbon footprints in Europe: A linear versus nonlinear approach

Providing more affordable and cleaner energy for all raises complex and significant financial, political, technical, and institutional issues, which must all be addressed to ensure sustainable development. Energy technology innovation has a critical role to play as one of the best pathways to achieve the transition to a global clean energy system. This paper is an endeavor to study the impact of government energy technology research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) budget, which is the primary input of energy technology innovations on cleaner energy supply and carbon footprints (CFP). In this study, a cleaner energy supply is measured as the contribution of renewable energy to total primary energy supply (RE). We assumed that the effect of energy innovation is not uniform but varies according to the descending and ascending movements in a government's energy technology RD&D budget. To this end, we distinguished the impact of the descending and ascending movements in government energy technology RD&D budgets on cleaner energy supply, and CFP in Europe over the period 1985 to 2016. Additionally, we carried out a comparative examination of the effects of energy technology RD&D expenditures on RE and CFP under both linear and nonlinear panel techniques. To increase room for policy implications, we also controlled for the role of economic growth and trade openness and performed several robustness check analyses. We found that the reduction of carbon footprints associated with an increase in public support to energy technology RD&D is more pronounced than the contribution of energy technology innovation to the deployment of renewable energy in Europe. This study provided little evidence in favor of the effectiveness of a government energy technology RD&D budget to substantially boost renewable energy in Europe. Following these results, we suggest that the knowledge of the asymmetric linkage between public energy technology innovation, RE, and CFP is a starting point to achieve win-win solutions that favor clean energy and environmental sustainability. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An innovative 'Prop technique' of mouth opening in post-COVID-19 mucormycosis maxillectomy: Finding a new way with minimal efforts

General anaesthesia is associated with damage to teeth, particularly during laryngoscopy. Dental injury is more probable when pre-existing dental pathology or risk factors are present. Post-coronavirus disease -2019 mucormycosis is a rare, fulminant, lethal, angio-invasive, opportunistic fungal disease and is increasingly recognised in diabetic and immunocompromised patients. Since the flange of the laryngoscope blade appears to be the source of tooth injury, alternate methods of wide mouth opening during laryngoscopy should be examined, especially when mouth opening is limited. In this case series, we have studied 12 cases of maxillectomies with an aim to improve restricted mouth opening by using the 'Prop technique' resulting in a minimum hinging force of the flange of the blade on teeth. Preoperatively, patients were warned about the possibility of dental injuries during anaesthesia or surgery.

Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions

Dominance is important for access to resources. As dominance interactions are costly, individuals should be strategic in whom they interact with. One hypothesis is that individuals should direct costly interactions towards those closest in rank, as they have most to gain-in terms of attaining or maintaining dominance-from winning such interactions. Here, we show that male vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum), a gregarious species with steep dominance hierarchies, strategically express higher-cost aggressive interactions towards males occupying ranks immediately below themselves in their group's hierarchy. By contrast, lower-cost aggressive interactions are expressed towards group members further down the hierarchy. By directly evaluating differences in the strategic use of higher- and lower-cost aggressive interactions towards competitors, we show that individuals disproportionately use highest-cost interactions-such as chases-towards males found one to three ranks below themselves. Our results support the hypothesis that the costs associated with different interaction types can determine their expression in social groups with steep dominance hierarchies. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.

An urgent call for circular economy advocates to acknowledge its limitations in conserving biodiversity

This discussion paper explores the relationship between biodiversity and the circular economy and the potential implications of this relationship. The circular economy has emerged as an alternativemodel to a traditional linear economy. It aims to tackle the resource exploitation that accompanies a linear economy and decouple economic growth from reliance on primary resources. In the face of global environmental degradation and an urgent need for change, the concept has become popular around the world and has led to the release of national policies and strategies on the circular economy. Problematically, while the basic concept is clear, it is ambiguous in howitwill achieve some of its objectives, and it fails to address some key issues. In light of the accelerating rate of change, precipitous biodiversity decline is one such key issue. Through a content analysis of relevant circular economy publications, authors demonstrate that biodiversity protection is rarely mentioned in theory and policy. While the circular economy holds many benefits for society, its evasion of scrutiny has prevented it from manifesting in a comprehensive solution to environmental issues. The circular economy advocates for biomimicry, ecosystem service valuation, bioeconomy, and renewable energy. Each of these, however, has its own set of conflicts with biodiversity protection. Given the imminent need to protect biodiversity, the authors call for further research on the interaction between biodiversity and the circular economy, and for circular economy advocates to explicitly acknowledge the concept's limitations, thereby revealing the need for intersectional and complementary policies which aim to protect biodiversity. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental courts and foreign direct investments: evidence from China

As China's pollution problems worsen, environmental disputes are increasing rapidly. However, only 1% of environmental disputes can be resolved via judicial channels. Based on the establishment of environmental courts since 2007, we employ the multi-period DID approach to investigate the impact of environmental courts on foreign direct investments. We find that (1) compared with cities without environmental courts, FDI of cities with environmental courts would drop by 3.32% from the average, which is consistent with the pollution haven hypothesis. Besides, we verify the credibility of the conclusion through detailed endogeneity discussions, placebo tests, and robustness tests. (2) The negative effect of environmental courts on foreign direct investments is more salient in the east, regions with higher historical environmental investment, and regions with more serious local protectionism. (3) There are two channels. The greater risks of environmental litigation and stricter environmental public supervision brought by environmental courts would lead to additional environmental violation costs, thereby inhibiting foreign direct investments. Our findings provide new causal evidence for the pollution haven hypothesis from the perspective of intensive environmental justice.

Modulation of soluble guanylate cyclase ameliorates pulmonary hypertension in a rat model of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension by stimulating angiogenesis

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) does not always resolve after treatment and can progress to chronic thromboembolic disease (CTED) or the more severe chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). The mechanisms surrounding the likelihood of PE resolution or progress to CTED/CTEPH remain largely unknown. We have developed a rat model of CTEPH that closely resembles the human disease in terms of hemodynamics and cardiac manifestations. Embolization of rats with polystyrene microspheres followed by suppression of angiogenesis with the inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGF-R2) SU5416 results in transient, acute pulmonary hypertension that progresses into chronic PE with PH with sustained right ventricular systolic pressures exceeding 70 mmHg (chronic pulmonary embolism [CPE] model). This model is similar to the widely utilized hypoxia/SU5416 model with the exception that the "first hit" is PE. Rats with CPE have impaired right heart function characterized by reduced VO2 Max, reduced cardiac output, and increased Fulton index. None of these metrics are adversely affected by PE alone. Contrast-mediated CT imaging of lungs from rats with PE minus SU5416 show large increases in pulmonary vascular volume, presumably due to an angiogenic response to acute PE/PH. Co-treatment with SU5416 suppresses angiogenesis and produces the CTEPH-like phenotype. We report here that treatment of CPE rats with agonists for soluble guanylate cyclase, a source of cGMP which is in turn a signal for angiogenesis, markedly increases angiogenesis in lungs, and ameliorates the cardiac deficiencies in the CPE model. These results have implications for future development of therapies for human CTEPH.

Comparative analysis on the evolution of ecological carrying capacity between provinces during urbanization process in China

Effective ecological carrying capacity (ECC) is the precondition for implementing sustainable urbanization in China. However, different regions in a big country such as China have different ecological conditions and different development modes. Therefore, the evolution of ECC is different between different regions during the urbanization process in China. This study presents a comparative analysis on the evolution of ecological carrying capacity between provinces in the context of China. The ECC indicators in this study are classified into four dimensions, namely, water carrying capacity, land carrying capacity, environment carrying capacity and energy carrying capacity. Indicator data used for analysis are collected from 30 provinces in China. The entropy method is adopted to analyze the ECC performance during the years of 2006-2017. The ECC evolution is described into stable, fluctuated, declined and improved. This study shows that the evolution of ECC performance varies significantly between different provinces. The findings of this study help the Chinese government understand the different ECC evolution between provinces and provide policy-makers with valuable reference for formulating effective measures with considering different ecological conditions in different provinces, to improve the ECC performance across the country in China.

Identification of Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Regel and look-alike species by UHPLC-TOF-MS using multivariate statistical analysis

Pulsatillae Radix, the root of Pulsatilla chinensis (Bge.) Regel, is recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China and has been widely used for its pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumor, and cardiovascular benefits. However, there are several look-alike species that can be marketed as Pulsatillae Radix. To distinguish P. chinensis (Bge.) Regel from its look-alikes, viz. Pulsatilla cernua (Thunb.) Bercht et Opiz., Pulsatilla dahurica (Fisch.) Spreng., Anemone tomeutosa (Maxim.) Pei., and Rhaponticum uniflorum (L.) DC, we used ultra high performance liquid chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with principal component analysis to compare their chemical compositions. Four ions, a (RT 8.98 min, m/z 1381.6671), b (RT 10.64 min, m/z 1219.6143), c (RT 11.52 min, m/z 1217.5978), and d (RT 13.6 min, m/z 749.4463), from P. chinensis (Bge.) Regel were identified as potential chemical markers to distinguish it from look-alike species using an unsupervised statistical model combined with orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis. The results of this study provide an effective method for identifying and distinguishing P. chinensis (Bge.) Regel from similar plants.

Can the incentives polices promote the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic power in China?

Government incentive policies play an important role in the promotion of distributed photovoltaic power. However, which policy is more effective for the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic power? This is a question that needs to be answered. Based on this, we combined the two-factor learning curve and system dynamics model to study the dynamic diffusion process of China's distributed photovoltaic power (DSP). The results show that (1) the coefficients of learning by doing and learning by researching for DSP are 0.0435 and 0.2971 respectively. This indicates that technological innovation caused by R&D expenditures in the DSP is the driving force for cost reduction. (2) Both demand-pull and technology-push policies contribute to the diffusion of DSP; (3) the effect of FIT policy on the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic technology is more significant than that of R&D policy; and the reduction of production cost of photovoltaic power industry by R&D policy is more significant than FIT policy.

Impact of the Burden of COVID-19 in Italy: Results of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and Productivity Loss

The WHO declared the novel coronavirus disease a pandemic, with severe consequences for health and global economic activity and Italy is one of the hardest hit countries. This study aims to assess the socio-economic burden of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy through the estimation of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and productivity loss. The observational study was based on data from official governmental sources collected since the inception of epidemic until 28 April 2020. DALYs for a disease combines the years of life lost due to premature mortality in the population and the years lost due to disability of the disease. In addition to DALYs, temporary productivity loss due to absenteeism from work and permanent productivity loss due to premature mortality were estimated using the Human Capital Approach. The total DALYs amount to 2.01 per 1000 persons. The total permanent productivity loss was around EUR 300 million while the temporary productivity loss was around EUR 100 million. This evaluation does not consider other economic aspects related to lockdown, quarantine of contacts, healthcare direct costs etc. The burden of disease methodology is functional metric for steering choices of health policy and allowing the government to be accountable for the utilization of resources.

Realizing High Thermoelectric Performance in p-Type SnSe Crystals via Convergence of Multiple Electronic Valence Bands

SnSe crystals have gained considerable interest for their outstanding thermoelectric performance. Here, we achieve excellent thermoelectric properties in Sn0.99-xPbxZn0.01Se crystals via valence band convergence and point-defect engineering strategies. We demonstrate that Pb and Zn codoping converges the energy offset between multiple valence bands by significantly modifying the band structure, contributing to the enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient. The carrier concentration and electrical conductivity can be optimized, leading to an enhanced power factor. The dual-atom point-defect effect created by the substitution of Pb and Zn in the SnSe lattice introduces strong phonon scattering, significantly reducing the lattice thermal conductivity to as low as 0.284 W m-1 K-1. As a result, a maximum ZT value of 1.9 at 773 K is achieved in Sn0.93Pb0.06Zn0.01Se crystals along the bc-plane direction. This study highlights the crucial role of manipulating multiple electronic valence bands in further improving SnSe thermoelectrics.

Coupling coordination and spatiotemporal dynamic evolution between social economy and water environmental quality - A case study from Nansi Lake catchment, China

Investigating the coordinated development between social economy and water environmental quality is an important basis for promoting the protection of water ecological environment. In this paper, a comprehensive index system was built to estimate the coupling coordination between social economy and water environmental quality subsystems in Nansi Lake catchment, China. Improved coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, scissors difference and projection pursuit model based on genetic algorithm were developed to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution and dynamic evolution mechanism of coupling coordination in social economy-water environment system. Results showed that: (1) Comprehensive level of two subsystems showed an overall uptrend, water environmental quality in the catchment was improved gradually with socio-economic development. (2) The status of coupling coordination between two subsystems had transformed from moderately unbalanced development (CCD of 0.265 in 2001) to favorably balanced development (CCD of 0.667 in 2017). The relatively low CCD in Heze generated the biggest restriction on the coordinated development between two subsystems, compared to Zaozhuang and Jining. (3) The speed difference between two subsystems showed a downward trend, the scissor difference was controlled effectively. And the social economy-water environmental quality system gradually tended to the coordinated development. Overall, the improved CCD model and scissors difference analysis in this paper may provide a new approach for empirical research on environment-economy nexus. We hope this study can help decision makers formulate measures to promote the coordinated development between social economy and water environmental quality subsystems.

Industrial structure transformation and provincial heterogeneity characteristics evolution of air pollution: Evidence of a threshold effect from China

As an important link between human economic activities and air quality, industrial structure is the key factor in resolving the contradiction between economic development and the environment. By constructing a panel threshold model between China's air pollution and the industrial structure, this study analyzes and explores how industrial transformation influences air pollution as well as its provincial heterogeneity characteristics evolution. The results show that industrial structure has a three-stage influential mechanism on NOx pollution and PM2.5 pollution, and a two-stage influential mechanism on SO2 pollution. A decrease in proportion of the secondary industry output in GDP can significantly reduce NOx pollution and SO2 pollution. Industrial structure can change the effects of economic development on air pollution. China' s industrial structure has been continuously upgraded in the past decade. In the process of industrial structure transformation, energy consumption has always been a major factor in aggravating air pollution, whereas technological innovation has been an important way to reduce air pollution. Urbanization is another major factor exacerbating air pollution in the provinces where the service industry has always dominated the local economy. Based on the above research, the government should formulate corresponding industrial structure adjustment policies to reduce air pollution according to the provincial heterogeneity of industrial structure affecting different pollutants.

Solving the duck curve in a smart grid environment using a non-cooperative game theory and dynamic pricing profiles

With the intermittency that comes with electricity generation from renewables, utilizing dynamic pricing will encourage the demand-side to respond in a smart way that would minimize the electricity costs and flatten the net electricity demand curve. Determining the optimal dynamic pricing profile that would leverage distributed storage to flatten the curve is a novel idea that needs to be studied. Moreover, the economic feasibility of utilizing distributed electrical energy storage is still not given in the literature. Therefore, in this paper, a novel way of solving a citywide dynamic model using a bilevel programming algorithm is introduced. The problem is developed as a novel non-cooperative Stackelberg game that utilizes air-conditioning systems and electrical storage through the end-users to determine the optimal dynamic pricing profile. The results show that the combined effect of utilizing demand-side air-conditioning systems and distributed storage together can flatten the curve while employing the optimal dynamic pricing profile. An economic study is performed to determine the economic feasibility of 20 different cases with different battery designs and the level of solar penetration. Three metrics were used to evaluate the economic performance of each case: the levelized cost of storage, the levelized cost of energy, and the simple payback period. Most cases had levelized cost of storage values lower than 0.457 $/kWh, which is the lower bound available in the literature. Seven out of 16 cases have a simple payback period shorter than the lifetime of the system (25 years). The case with a 100 MW PV power plant and a battery storage of size 597 MWh, was found to be the most promising case with a simple payback period of 12.71 years for the photovoltaic plant and 19.86 years for the demand-side investments.

The impact of financial development and globalization on environmental quality: evidence from South Asian economies

Climate change resulting from the higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a threat to the sustainability of life on earth. To ensure sustainable development, the study analyzed the impact of financial development, globalization, and energy use on the environmental quality of South Asian economies over the period 1990-2014. To account for cross-sectional dependence, Breusch-Pagan-Lagrange multiplier, Pesaran-scaled Lagrange multiplier, bias-corrected-scaled Lagrange multiplier, and Pesaran cross-sectional dependence tests are used. The second-generation tests are used to determine the stationarity level of the variables. Furthermore, the Westerlund panel cointegration test confirms cointegration among the variables. For long-run association, fully modified ordinary least squares, dynamic ordinary least squares, and pooled mean group estimators are used. The results suggest that financial development contributes to carbon emissions, whereas globalization has the potential to control emissions. The study also used Dumitrescu and Hurlin's (2012) panel causality test to explore the causal relationship among the variables. Unidirectional causality is observed from economic growth, globalization, and financial development to environmental degradation and from emissions to energy use, respectively. As financial development deteriorates environmental quality, therefore, the government should monitor the disbursement of loans for research and development, green financing, and efficient production that reduce resource consumption and improves environmental quality. Financial development should not compromise environmental quality and endanger sustainability. Furthermore, South Asian countries should promote globalization to support the inflow of green technologies to enhance environmental quality.

Spatial distribution and source analysis of heavy metals in soils influenced by industrial enterprise distribution: Case study in Jiangsu Province

Heavy metal pollution is frequent in China and has received increasing attention globally. This study investigated the influence of Chinese industrialization and urbanization on soil environmental quality. Soil samples from Jiangsu Province were collected, the Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Hg, and As contents were measured, and their spatial variability structure, spatial distribution pattern, and pollution degree were analyzed. The mean values of Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, and As were all higher than the background values in Jiangsu Province. Cr and As levels represented moderate pollution, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb represented mild pollution, Cr and As represented slight pollution, and Hg was not a pollutant. Spatial distribution patterns were both zonal and concentrated in nature. High concentrations of heavy metals were distributed in developed cities and industrial parks along the Yangtze River. Soil heavy metal pollution showed a decreasing trend from south to north, consistent with the economic gradient. Industrialization had the greatest influence on the spatial heterogeneity of heavy metal pollution. Cr, Cu, Zn, and As were affected by both natural and anthropogenic sources, while Cd and Pb were mainly affected by the latter. Hg was mainly derived from industrial activities such as petrochemical production. There was spatial consistency between industrial enterprise distribution and soil heavy metal pollution with a tendency toward composite pollution accumulated by multiple elements in the soil surrounding industries. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Using artificial intelligence technology to fight COVID-19: a review

In late December 2019, a new type of coronavirus was discovered, which was later named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2). Since its discovery, the virus has spread globally, with 2,975,875 deaths as of 15 April 2021, and has had a huge impact on our health systems and economy. How to suppress the continued spread of new coronary pneumonia is the main task of many scientists and researchers. The introduction of artificial intelligence technology has provided a huge contribution to the suppression of the new coronavirus. This article discusses the main application of artificial intelligence technology in the suppression of coronavirus from three major aspects of identification, prediction, and development through a large amount of literature research, and puts forward the current main challenges and possible development directions. The results show that it is an effective measure to combine artificial intelligence technology with a variety of new technologies to predict and identify COVID-19 patients.

The impact of international sanctions on environmental performance

This paper studies the impact of international sanctions on environmental performance by using the panel fixed effect model for 22 sanctioned states over the period 2002-2016 while considering several cases of international sanctions (unilateral, plurilateral, U.S., EU, UN, economic, and intensity) and measures environmental performance by the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Overall, we find that the imposition of unilateral, plurilateral, US., EU, and economic sanctions has a significantly negative impact on EPI, dropping their EPI scores respectively by 0.114,0.060,0.045,0.084, and 0.063, while a level increase of intensity results in EPI dropping by 0.028. Moreover, the simultaneous-equation models and Sobel tests show that the intermediate effect about GDP between international sanctions on environmental performance is significantly negative. We believe that our empirical findings can contribute to policy formulation by those sanctioned countries. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Paeonol Ameliorates Cuprizone-Induced Hippocampal Demyelination and Cognitive Deficits through Inhibition of Oxidative and Inflammatory Events

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system with autoimmune nature that is typified by varying degrees of demyelination and axonal damage. Paeonol is an active ingredient in some medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective property. This study was conducted to reveal whether paeonol can alleviate hippocampal demyelination and cognitive deficits in cuprizone-induced murine model of demyelination as a model of MS. C57BL/6 mice received oral cuprizone (400 mg/kg) for 6 weeks, and paeonol was administered p.o. at two doses of 25 or 100 mg/kg, starting from the second week post-cuprizone for 5 weeks. After assessment of learning and memory in different tasks, oxidative stress and inflammation were evaluated besides immunohistochemical assessment of hippocampal myelin basic protein (MBP). Paeonol (100 mg/kg) properly ameliorated cognitive deficits in Y maze, novel object discrimination (NOD) test, and Barnes maze with no significant improvement of performance in passive avoidance task. In addition, paeonol treatment at the higher dose was also associated with partial restoration of hippocampal level of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers including MDA, ROS, GSH, SOD, catalase, NF-kB, and TNF. Besides, paeonol improved MMP as an index of mitochondrial integrity and health and reduced MPO as a factor of neutrophil infiltration. Furthermore, paeonol treatment prevented hippocampal MBP immunoreactivity, indicating its prevention of demyelination. In conclusion, the current study showed the preventive effect of paeonol against cuprizone-induced demyelination and cognitive deficits through reversing most oxidative stress- and inflammation-related parameters in addition to its improvement of mitochondrial health.

Implementing Circular Economy in municipal solid waste treatment system using P-graph

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the issues associated with the growth of economic and urban population. The aim of this study is to develop an integrated design of waste management systems in support of a Circular Economy by P-graph (a bipartite graphical optimisation tool) as an effective decision support tool. The case study considers four MSW compositions based on different country income levels. Solving the P-graph model identifies the most suitable treatment approaches, considering the economic balance between the main operating cost, type, yield, quality of products, as well as the GHG emission (externality cost). The identification of near-optimal solutions by P-graph is useful in dealing with the trade-offs between conflicting objectives, e.g. local policy and practical implementation, that are difficult to monetise. For a lower-income country, the optimal solution includes a combination of at source separation, recycling, incineration (heat, electricity), anaerobic digestion (biofuel, digestate) and the landfill. It avoids an estimated 411 kg CO2eq/t of processed MSW and achieves a potential profit of 42 SIC/t of processed MSW. The optimisation generally favours mechanical biological treatment as the country income level rises, which affects the composition of the MSW. The relative prices of biofuel, electricity and heat (>20%) cause a significant impact on the highest-ranking treatment structure and overall profit. This study shows that the developed framework by P-graph is an effective tool for MSW systems planning. For future study, localised data inputs can be fed into the proposed framework for a customised solution and economic feasibility assessment. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of silver and copper oxide nanoparticles using Myristica fragrans fruit extract: Antimicrobial and catalytic applications

The pericarp of Myristica fragrans fruit extract was utilized for a low cost, eco-friendly synthesis of silver (AgNPs) and copper oxide (CuONPs) nanoparticles. The aqueous fruit extract of the plant was used as reducing and stabilizing agents for this preparation. Characterization of the biosynthesized nanoparticles was carried out using UV -Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and X -Ray Diffraction studies. Morphology and size of the particles was observed using Field -Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and High Resolution Transmission Elec- tron Microscopy (HRTEM). The copper and silver nanoparticles show Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) band at 360 and 478 nm respectively in the UV -Vis spectrum. It was observed that size of the synthesized copper oxide and silver nanoparticles are in the range 10 -50 nm. The presence of copper and silver elements was confirmed from their respective EDS spectrum. Involvement of phytochemicals in the stabilization and reduction of the nanoparticles was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. CuONPs exhibited catalytic activity in 1,3 -dipolar cyclo- addition reaction between azides and terminal alkynes to form 1,2,3-triazoles. Silver nanoparticle possesses good antibacterial activity against multidrug human pathogens Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis . The present study focuses on the utilization of the less economic part of Myristica fragrans fruit ?s pericarp for the preparation of copper oxide and silver nanoparticles which have good catalytic and antibacterial activities.

Implementation of property-level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures: Choices and decisions

Hydrometeorological events are highly costly and have strong impacts on the human-environment system. Effective response requires effective risk management concepts and strategies at individual and watershed level to increase community resilience. Focusing on flood risk and the information associated with it, individual risk behavior in the shape of implementing property-level flood risk adaptation (PLFRA) measures is often overlooked. For this research, a comprehensive overview of possible PLFRA measures for homeowners in flood risk areas was made, as well as the possible costs and technical feasibility for new and existing buildings. To complement this, insights into risk mitigation behavior are essential due to the ongoing shift to risk-based and individualized flood risk management, which require a contribution from flood-prone households to risk reduction. Results show that PLFRA measures differentiate in their effectiveness, cost-efficiency and technical feasibility, and full protection can never be guaranteed. Considering risk mitigation behavior, literature generally distinguishes between situational factors (such as communication and economic subsidies) and personal factors (such as personal and psychological components influencing individual behavior).

Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in OECD countries: the role of renewable, non-renewable energy, and oil prices

Environment-economic growth nexus is one of the main concerns of the researchers in the modern era. Although there are several studies in this field, discussions are far from being reached a consensus. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, oil prices, and trade openness on CO2 emissions in 25 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 1990-2014. We provide a comparative panel data evidence using both the first- and second-generation estimation methods. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimations indicate that the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid in OECD countries. However, the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator revealed that the EKC hypothesis is invalid. The AMG estimator is a second-generation estimator and provides robust results under cross-sectional dependence compared to the first-generation methods; therefore, the EKC hypothesis is invalid. Our additional findings show that rising renewable energy consumption and oil prices mitigate CO2 emissions while non-renewable energy consumption increases it according to all estimators. No significant relationship is found between trade openness and CO2 emissions.

Ferrets are valuable models for SARS-CoV-2 research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), resulted in an ongoing pandemic with millions of deaths worldwide. Infection of humans can be asymptomatic or result in fever, fatigue, dry cough, dyspnea, and acute respiratory distress syndrome with multiorgan failure in severe cases. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 is not fully understood, and various models employing different species are currently applied. Ferrets can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and efficiently transmit the virus to contact animals. In contrast to hamsters, ferrets usually show mild disease and viral replication restricted to the upper airways. Most reports have used the intranasal inoculation route, while the intratracheal infection model is not well characterized. Herein, we present clinical, virological, and pathological data from young ferrets intratracheally inoculated with SARS-CoV-2. Infected animals showed no significant clinical signs, and had transient infection with peak viral RNA loads at 4 days postinfection, mild to moderate rhinitis, and pulmonary endothelialitis/vasculitis. Viral antigen was exclusively found in the respiratory epithelium of the nasal cavity, indicating a particular tropism for cells in this location. Viral antigen was associated with epithelial damage and influx of inflammatory cells, including activated neutrophils releasing neutrophil extracellular traps. Scanning electron microscopy of the nasal respiratory mucosa revealed loss of cilia, shedding, and rupture of epithelial cells. The currently established ferret SARS-CoV-2 infection models are comparatively discussed with SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in mink, and the advantages and disadvantages of both species as research models for zoonotic betacoronaviruses are highlighted.

Carrier-Free Cross-linked Laccase Crystals for Biocatalytic Degradation of Textile Industrial Effluents

Herein, laccase from Trametes versicolor was used to fabricate carrier-free cross-linked laccase crystals (CLLCs) and deployed as a robust catalyst for waste effluent treatment. The surface morphology and involvement of functional group attributes of CLLCs were scrutinized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). As fabricated CLLCs were subjected to kinetic characterization by assessing the effects of pH environment, thermal profile, and substrate (determination of Km and Vmax) on the activity. A fully characterized CLLCs fraction was used to treat synthetic dyes containing waste effluents taken from various industries, i.e., Chenab Textile Industry, M-tax, Sitara, and National Silk & Rayon Mills. Degradation profile revealed 36.8%, 27.6%, 39.9%, and 26.4% degradation of Chenab Textile Industry, M-tax, Sitara, and National Silk & Rayon Mills, respectively, by the free form of laccase, whereas the biocatalytic activity of CCLCs led to 78.6%, 75.6%, 85.5%, and 63.3% degradation of those effluents. The decrease in peak and mass region alongside the presence of new peaks in GC-MS affirms the effective decolorization of contaminated waste effluents. CLLCs retained over 70% and 50% of their degradation activity after 3 and 5 cycles, respectively. In conclusion, CLLCs might represent a robust bioprocess to improve the usability of laccase for various synthetic dyes containing waste effluents to diminish environmental pollution from the dye-based industries.

Multi-objective performance of smart hybrid energy system with Multi-optimal participation of customers in day-ahead energy market

Optimal energy consumption is one of the sustainable development issues in many countries to improve the economic and environmental indices in the energy sector. This paper presents a tri-objective optimal performance of a smart hybrid energy system (SHES) in the presence of customer's participation to optimally reshape the demand profile in the day-ahead energy market. Minimizing the operation costs and the emission pollution as well as maximizing the customer satisfaction level are considered as the objectives of this problem. The three types of demand response (DR) programs consisting of 1) demand curtailment, 2) demand shifting and 3) onsite generation program are considered for optimal scheduling of the electrical and the thermal energy consumption by the customers. The demand curtailment program is considered as the reserve for SHES and the Plug Electric Vehicles (PEVs) are taken into account as the onsite generation program. The uncertainties of energy and reserve prices are modeled using lognormal distribution function. The shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA) is employed to solve the problem from which the non-dominated solutions are generated. Then, the best solution of the non-dominated solutions is selected by the hybrid approach of fuzzy method and the weight sum. To validate the mentioned approach, five case studies are investigated and the results demonstrate optimal scheduling of SHES with acceptable levels of operation costs, emission pollution and customer satisfaction. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance prediction and techno-economic analysis of solar dish/stirling system for electricity generation

In this study, a new commercial Solar Dish/Stirling (SDS) system with a rated power of 25 kW is experimentally established and thermodynamically modeled. A mathematical model implemented in MATLAB software is developed to simulate the proposed SDS system operation in order to analyze its performance, under conditions of Tianjin, China. An analysis of the daily, monthly, and annual performances of the investigated SDS system is performed. In addition, a techno-economic viability for assessing the electricity cost and life cycle cost of the SDS system is also performed. The results indicated that the proposed SDS system produces 28.748 MWh annually, with a yearly net overall efficiency of 19.55%, and achieves maximum energy of 3.8 MWh with a monthly average efficiency of 22.75% in June. From the energy cost analysis, the levelized energy cost of the SDS system is estimated to be 1.719 CNY/kWh similar to (0.2565 $/kWh). In conclusion, the present study identifies the actual commercial and economic situation of the Dish Stirling technology in China, taking into account the China's feed-in tariff of CSP systems (1.2 CNY/kWh), and it also provides a new theoretical guidance for predicting the annual performance and evaluating the economic situation of the SDS systems.

Sustainability Driven by Agriculture through Digital Transformation

Economic, environmental and social sustainability is increasingly gaining the attention of academia and commitment in the policies of national economies. Global warming and climate change, weather disasters and disruptions are just some of the challenges that can drastically disrupt stable business models, and thus jeopardize sustainability. Agriculture, as an activity at the center of the value chain, is facing these problems, and, at the same time, contributes to feeding the growing world population and is responsible for conserving resources and ensuring sustainability. Process automation, data analysis and processing, control and management of agricultural operations have transformed the agricultural business and contributed to sustainability, survival and development within supply chains. This article analyzes the literature in the field of sustainability and agriculture led by digital technologies of Industry 4.0. The analysis of the research field showed the high importance of the topic in academic and national circles, given the number of published articles. Secondly, the concepts of sustainable agriculture and sustainability driven agriculture in the context of digital transformation were analyzed and it was shown that transformed agriculture can successfully cope with today's challenges. Finally, guidelines for sustainable development driven by agriculture through the determinants of digital transformation are defined.

The role of environmental entrepreneurship for sustainable development: Evidence from 35 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

This research seeks to confirm the achievement of sustainable development in Sub-Sahara Africa. In view of this, a panel of 35 Sub-Saharan Africa countries divided into two sub-panels based on their income groupings, namely low-income, and middle-income countries, from 2000 to 2014 with a cross-sectional dependence among the series was used as a prerequisite for the analysis. We used the Pooled Mean Group estimators of the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model to ascertain the long-run mechanism between variables and analyse the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis. The key results are: (1) income per capita significantly increases environmental pollution where environmental entrepreneurship decreases pollution of the environment across all panels of SSA countries; (2) in the low-income SSA economies, trade openness enhance environmental quality but increase environmental pollution in both the aggregated panel and middle-income SSA nations; (3) with the exception of low-income countries, human development palpably decreases environmental pollution in middle-income countries and in the aggregated panel a reduction is observed; (4) from financial development perspective, it produces positive and significant effect in the aggregated panel of SSA countries and middle-income SSA nations; (5) the environmental Kuznets curve conjuncture is supported for the selected panels in SSA region. Consequently, governments and policymakers should reinforce policies for the reduction of environmental pollution, more importantly, green financing policies, encourage aspiring environmental entrepreneurs to set environmentally-driven businesses, promote the use of environmental products to mitigate environmental problems and achieve sustainable development. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cost-benefit analysis of waste photovoltaic module recycling in China

With the rapid development of renewable energy, the impact on environment and resource caused by waste photovoltaic modules has been realized gradually. To solve the problem, recycling becomes an effectual way. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to assess the economic feasibility of the photovoltaic modules recycling project in China by using cost-benefit analysis. It was found that, under the estimated treatment quantity will generate in China in 2020-2034, the recovery cost per kilowatt (kW) of photovoltaic modules will be 25.11 USD, the unit benefit is 25.68 USD/kW, and the unit net benefit is 0.57 USD/kW. The net present value (NPV) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) are 21.14 million USD and 1.023. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the sale benefits of recycled materials and tax were the most sensitive factors affecting the project's economy. Finally, we proposed ways to improve the economy for the government and related enterprises. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cytochrome c Expression by Andaliman ( Zanthoxylum acanthopodium) on Cervical Cancer Histology

&lt;b&gt;Background and Objective:&lt;/b&gt; Andaliman is a wild plant in Indonesia and it has been used for centuries as traditional medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of methanol extract of andaliman on apoptosis cancer cells via cytochrome c protein. &lt;b&gt;Materials and Methods:&lt;/b&gt; The rats are divided into 5 groups. K: Control, K&lt;sub&gt;+&lt;/sub&gt;: Cancer model rats, P&lt;sub&gt;1&lt;/sub&gt;: A dose of 100 mg/b.wt./day of andaliman, P&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;: A dose of 200 mg/b.wt./day and P&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;: A dose of 400 mg/kg/b.wt./day for 30 days. The rats were dissected, then the cervical tissue was prepared on paraffin blocks, given Immunohistochemistry staining with cytochrome c antibody. &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; There was a significant difference in body and cervical weight (p<0.01). The histology also showed a significant difference between each treatment (p<0.01) in cytochrome c. The highest cytochrome c expression was at P&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and the lowest was at K&lt;sub&gt;-&lt;/sub&gt;. &lt;b&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/b&gt; Andaliman methanol extract can thus be developed into a cervical cancer drug candidate because it can reduce the positive index of cytochrome c in cervical histology.

Prenatal depression exposure alters white matter integrity and neurodevelopment in early childhood

Prenatal exposure to maternal depression increases the risk for onset of emotional and behavioral disorders in children. We investigated the effects of exposure to prenatal depression on white matter microstructural integrity at birth and at 2-3 years, and associated neurodevelopment. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired for children of the Drakenstein Child Health Study at 2-4 weeks postpartum (n=70, 47% boys) and at 2-3 years of age (n=60, 58% boys). Tract-Based Spatial Statistics was used to compare, using an ROI based approach, diffusion tensor metrics across groups defined by presence (>19 on Beck's Depression Inventory and/or >12 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) or absence (below depression thresholds) of depression, and associations with neurodevelopmental measures at age 2-3 years were determined. We did not detect group differences in white matter integrity at neonatal age, but at 2-3 years, children in the exposed group demonstrated higher fractional anisotropy, and lower mean and radial diffusivity in association tracts compared to controls. This was notable in the sagittal stratum (radial diffusivity: p<0.01). Altered white matter integrity metrics were also observed in projection tracts, including the corona radiata, which associated with cognitive and motor outcomes in exposed 2-3-year-olds (p<0.05). Our findings of widespread white matter alterations in 2-3-year-old children with prenatal exposure to depression are consistent with previous findings, as well as with neuroimaging findings in adults with major depression. Further, we identified novel associations of altered white matter integrity with cognitive development in depression-exposed children, suggesting that these neuroimaging findings may have early functional impact.

Multilevel monte carlo for cortical circuit models

Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) methods aim to speed up computation of statistics from dynamical simulations. MLMC is easy to implement and is sometimes very effective, but its efficacy may depend on the underlying dynamics. We apply MLMC to networks of spiking neurons and assess its effectiveness on prototypical models of cortical circuitry under different conditions. We find that MLMC can be very efficient for computing reliable features, i.e., features of network dynamics that are reproducible upon repeated presentation of the same external forcing. In contrast, MLMC is less effective for complex, internally generated activity. Qualitative explanations are given using concepts from random dynamical systems theory.

Study on properties of phase change foam concrete block mixed with paraffin / fumed silica composite phase change material

On-site renewable energy generation systems are installed for buildings to compensate for their energy consumptions due to cooling and heating loads. Fluctuated energy load can significantly affect the decision on the selection of renewable energy systems. This study developed a new phase change foam concrete with low thermal conductivity and suitable phase change temperature to shave the temperature peak in summer and improve the economic feasibility of renewable energy systems. With the adsorption method, this study utilized the fumed silica to absorb paraffin for the composite phase change materials (PCM) formation. Through morphology and liquid leakage tests, this study found that the composite PCM with paraffin content of 45% (wt) had the best adsorption capacity and setting performance. According to the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), metallographic microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) tests, the proposed composite PCM and phase change foam concrete blocks have stable morphological structures and physical properties. Also, the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) showed the proposed composite PCM within the concrete have suitable phase change temperature (about 41 degrees C) and phase change latent heat (the endothermic process is 113.3 J/g and the exothermic process is 112 J/g to avoid building overheating in summer. Finally, the thermal conductivity and heating experiments suggested the proposed phase change foam concrete blocks have low thermal conductivity and strong heat storage capacity. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving pesticide fate models for a simple household food processing: considering multiple crop units

To understand the fate of pesticides in crops during household cooking processes and human health risks associated with the ingestion of pesticide-contaminated crops, we propose unit-variability-enhanced models, which are capable of evaluating the removal efficiency of pesticides in multiple crop units by soaking in water. The approach integrates the lognormal production model to reveal the modeling mechanics of internal contamination among two crop units in one soaking bowl. The simulated results for 197 pesticides indicate that pesticides with larger unit-to-unit variability factors (VF) at the residue levels and diffusivity rates in water (DW) are more likely to cause internal contamination. Although internal contamination of pesticide residues between two crop units may occur, we find that the overall removal factor ([Formula: see text]) for two crop units is independent of the ratio of initial residue levels between the two crop units. Based on this discovery, we propose the unit-variability-based (UVB) rule to generalize the [Formula: see text] for an n-crop-unit system, where n crop units soak simultaneously in one container. In addition, we demonstrate that under the same consumable and recycling resources, the soaking of two crop units together in one container can yield a maximum mass removal of pesticides if the two units are randomly sampled. Although other factors, such as temperature and the nature of solutions in the cooking process, should be considered in future studies, our models suggest that this soaking method can be conveniently realized in households to reduce negative health effects.

Hybrid decision tree-based machine learning models for short-term water quality prediction

Water resources are the foundation of people's life and economic development, and are closely related to health and the environment. Accurate prediction of water quality is the key to improving water management and pollution control. In this paper, two novel hybrid decision tree-based machine learning models are proposed to obtain more accurate short-term water quality prediction results. The basic models of the two hybrid models are extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and random forest (RF), which respectively introduce an advanced data denoising technique - complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN). Taking the water resources of Gales Creek site in Tualatin River (one of the most polluted rivers in the world) Basin as an example, a total of 1875 data (hourly data) from May 1, 2019 to July 20, 2019 are collected. Two hybrid models are used to predict six water quality indicators, including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH value, specific conductance, turbidity, and fluorescent dissolved organic matter. Six error metrics are introduced as the basis of performance evaluation, and the results of the two models are compared with the other four conventional models. The results reveal that: (1) CEEMDAN-RF performs best in the prediction of temperature, dissolved oxygen and specific conductance, the mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) are 0.69%, 1.05%, and 0.90%, respectively. CEEMDAN-XGBoost performs best in the prediction of pH value, turbidity, and fluorescent dissolved organic matter, the MAPEs are 0.27%, 14.94%, and 1.59%, respectively. (2) The average MAPEs of CEEMDAN-RF and CEEMMDAN-XGBoost models are the smallest, which are 3.90% and 3.71% respectively, indicating that their overall prediction performance is the best. In addition, the stability of the prediction model is also discussed in this paper. The analysis shows that the prediction stability of CEEMDAN-RF and CEEMDAN-XGBoost is higher than other benchmark models. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial-temporal pattern evolution and driving factors of China's energy efficiency under low-carbon economy

Improving energy efficiency and building a low-carbon economy are the important ways to resolve the current contradiction between economic growth and the environment in China. In this paper, we use the super efficiency Slack-Based Measure model (super-efficiency SBM model) to measure the energy efficiency of 30 provinces in China, and then conduct Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) to analyze its spatial-temporal evolution. Moreover, we use the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) to analyze the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of its driving factors. The results showthat: (i) during the sample period, China's energy efficiency shows a rapidly upward trend, accompanied by the gradually strengthening spatial pattern of the "eastern>central>western"; (ii) the spatial pattern of the "southern>northern" exhibited by the annual growth rate of energy efficiency experienced a process of weakening first and then gradually strengthening; (iii) the influencing effects of market openness, relative energy price and industry structure on energy efficiency have no significant heterogeneity as a whole; (iv) the effects of environmental regulation intensity, the marketization level, the technical level, energy consumption structure and economic development level have significant spatial heterogeneity, and the effects of energy conservation and emission reduction policies has significant temporal heterogeneity. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of biomass-to-hydrogen production with methane tri-reforming

In this study, the techno-economic, energy consumption (EC), and environmental performances of biomass-to-hydrogen (BTH) production with/without methane tri-reforming (MTR) from corn straw were studied. The techno-economic analysis includes an assessment of the energy efficiency, MTR operating conditions, total capital investment (TCI), production cost (PC), and payback period. The BTH energy efficiency with MTR is 17.08% higher than that without MTR. The Claus unit is the largest contribution unit of energy loss. The reaction temperature and operating pressure of one MTR unit are 800 degrees C and 0.1 MPa, respectively. Compared with BTH without MTR, the TCI of BTH with MTR increased by 10.97%, and the PC decreased by 10.12%. The static payback period of BTH with MTR is approximately 4.72 yr. BTH without MTR exhibits 3.09% less EC and 7.85% greenhouse gas emissions than that of BTH with MTR. The life cycle analysis of the BTH process illustrates that the BTH with MTR can realize negative carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when considering the natural carbon cycle. The evaluation method combines a thermodynamic analysis with a life cycle assessment, which is significant for the development of clean hydrogen production technology with low carbon and high energy savings. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Industrial demand-side flexibility: A key element of a just energy transition and industrial development

In many countries, industry is one of the largest consumers of electricity. Given the special importance of electricity for industry, a reliable electricity supply is a basic prerequisite for further industrial development and associated economic growth. As countries worldwide transition to a low-carbon economy (in particular, by the development of renewable energy sources), the increasing fluctuation in renewable energy production requires new flexibility options within the electricity system in order to guarantee security of supply. It is advanced in this paper that such a flexibility transition with an active participation of industry in general has unique potential: It will not only promote green industrial development, but also become an engine for inclusive industrial development and growth as well as delivering a just transition to a low-carbon economy. Given the high potential of industrial demand-side flexibility, a first monitoring approach for such a flexibility transition is illustrated, which bases on a flexibility index. Our flexibility index allows for an indication of mis-developments and supports an appropriate implementation of countermeasures together with relevant stakeholders. Hence, it holds various insights for both policy-makers and practice with respect to how industrial demand-side flexibility can ensure advances towards an inclusive, just, and sustainable industrial development.

Digital Business Model, Digital Transformation, Digital Entrepreneurship: Is There A Sustainable "Digital"?

Digitalization plays a major role in contributing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Without transformation of existing businesses, both economic and environmental challenges of the future cannot be solved sustainably. However, there is much confusion on interrelationships and terms dealing with digitization or digitalization: Digital business model, digital transformation, digital entrepreneurship. How do these terms interrelate with and to digitalization, and how do they support firms to grow sustainably? To answer this question, we identified seven core digital-related terms based on a structured literature search within the management and economics domain, namely: Digital, Business Model, Digital Business Model, Digital Technology, Digital Innovation, Digital Transformation, and Digital Entrepreneurship. Thereafter, we analyzed prior literature for deriving a common understanding and definition as a basis for interrelations within a conceptual framework. Definitions were presented in a case study setup with twelve innovation and research and development (R&D) managers from various business units of a German high-tech company. Based on these insights, we propose a conceptual framework on how Digital Readiness, Digital Technology, and Digital Business Models might sustainably relate to Innovation, moderated by a Digital Transformation Process. With this approach, we aim to equip practitioners and researchers alike in handling and addressing change through digitalization sustainably.

Balloons, tails and bubbles: depicting speech and thought out of the brain and into the clinic

Illustrations of the internal workings of the brain often depict arrows. In contrast, many illustrations which depict the link between certain brain functions and the outside world harness a graphic technique more usually associated with forms of popular culture such as comics. This technique comprises a balloon containing an image or message linked either by a tail emanating from the mouth when representing speech, or by a stream of bubbles emanating from the head when representing thought. Although a pictorial speech device first appeared over two millennia ago, balloons with their linkages now have various important practical clinical applications, notably in autism spectrum disorders, profound deafness in children without neurocognitive impairment, and sexual health education.

Successional adaptive strategies revealed by correlating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal abundance with host plant gene expression

The shifts in adaptive strategies revealed by ecological succession and the mechanisms that facilitate these shifts are fundamental to ecology. These adaptive strategies could be particularly important in communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) mutualistic with sorghum, where strong AMF succession replaces initially ruderal species with competitive ones and where the strongest plant response to drought is to manage these AMF. Although most studies of agriculturally important fungi focus on parasites, the mutualistic symbionts, AMF, constitute a research system of human-associated fungi whose relative simplicity and synchrony are conducive to experimental ecology. First, we hypothesize that, when irrigation is stopped to mimic drought, competitive AMF species should be replaced by AMF species tolerant to drought stress. We then, for the first time, correlate AMF abundance and host plant transcription to test two novel hypotheses about the mechanisms behind the shift from ruderal to competitive AMF. Surprisingly, despite imposing drought stress, we found no stress-tolerant AMF, probably due to our agricultural system having been irrigated for nearly six decades. Remarkably, we found strong and differential correlation between the successional shift from ruderal to competitive AMF and sorghum genes whose products (i) produce and release strigolactone signals, (ii) perceive mycorrhizal-lipochitinoligosaccharide (Myc-LCO) signals, (iii) provide plant lipid and sugar to AMF, and (iv) import minerals and water provided by AMF. These novel insights frame new hypotheses about AMF adaptive evolution and suggest a rationale for selecting AMF to reduce inputs and maximize yields in commercial agriculture.

Levelised cost of energy, A challenge for offshore wind

Long-term economic viability of offshore wind power is not only reliant on reducing installation, commissioning, and operations and maintenance costs, but also on the elimination of subsidies and grants. Current economic analyses use historical price and cost data to predict the levelised cost, net present value, payback period and internal rate of return from offshore wind. These analyses use parameters such as water depth at site, number and size of turbines, grid connection costs, equipment costs, revenue from the wholesale market price of electricity, operations and maintenance costs, revenue from subsidies and the cost of finance amongst others to build a model to determine the viability of the array. Here we review the challenges of accurately estimating levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for offshore wind outlining differing approaches to calculating LCOE, the factors influencing this, and the impact of variation in LCOE calculation. Current costs for the production of offshore wind energy are summarised based on publicly available datasets. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic relationship among agriculture-energy-forestry and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions: empirical evidence from China

This study aims to explore the dynamic association among crop production, livestock production, power consumption in agriculture, forest area, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Based on the annual data of China, spanning the period 1990 to 2016, the study applied the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. In addition, the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) canonical cointegration regression (CCR) and the Granger causality tests are employed to check the robustness of the ARDL estimations. The ARDL-bounds testing approach indicated that all variables share a long-run connection. The long- and short-run ARDL estimations confirmed that crop production, as well as livestock production, has a significant positive effect on CO(2)emissions in both cases. However, power consumption in agriculture and forest area has a negative effect on it, indicating that both variables reduce CO(2)emissions in the long and short run. These results stood robust under various regression estimators and confirmed the findings of the ARDL method. Additionally, the results of the causality approach specified that a unidirectional causality is running from crop production, power consumption in agriculture, and forest area to CO(2)emissions. The causality between livestock production and CO(2)emissions is bidirectional. Therefore, the directions of this connection also validate the outcomes under various techniques used for robustness. These findings suggest that the government must reconsider its policies related to agricultural and livestock production and adopt environment-friendly practices in the agriculture sector that may reduce the carbon footprints in the long run.

Establishment of geochemical thresholds for vanadium throughout Korea and at potential development sites using geochemical map data

Geochemical maps can be used for a variety of purposes, one of which is to establish regional or local geochemical thresholds for the analyzed elements. In the case of vanadium, as industrial demand and use increase, it is necessary to expand the development of vanadium in Korea. However, the environmental management standards are insufficient. Therefore, in this study, using geochemical data, we derived geochemical threshold values for the entire country and areas with potential for the development of vanadium deposits. The regional (country-wide) threshold value was derived using logarithmic transformation of raw data (N = 23,548) of the first- and second-order stream sediments collected across the country in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. The median + 2 median absolute deviation (MAD) and Tukey inner fence (TIF) values were 116 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively. Of these, the TIF standard, which showed 0.6% of data exceeding the threshold, was judged to be appropriate for distinguishing clear enrichment or contamination of vanadium. In the case of the Geumsan and Pocheon, areas with potential for vanadium development, the TIF and median + 2 MAD values of 259 mg/kg and 218 mg/kg, respectively, can be used as the criteria for evaluating the impact of environmental pollution before and after deposit development. Likewise, by deriving threshold values of the target elements using geochemical map data, it is possible to provide basic environmental information for geochemical evaluation and follow-up management in advance during large-scale site development.

Aligned and Divergent Perceptions of Support Persons' Role in Triadic Gynecologic Cancer Communication

Health care providers routinely advise cancer patients to involve support persons in oncology care to fulfill critical support roles. This qualitative descriptive study explored alignment of triadic perceptions of support person involvement in oncology treatment visits and cancer-related care from the perspectives of patients with gynecologic cancer (n = 18), regular visit-attending support people (n = 16), and health care providers (n = 10), including oncologists, nurses, and medical assistants. Semi-structured interviews (N = 44) captured perceptions of facilitation and interference of support persons' roles within and outside appointments with oncology providers. Thematic analyses revealed alignment and divergence regarding support persons' instrumental, informational, and emotional support behaviors. Perspectives aligned regarding what support functions companions provide. However, patients and support persons emphasized the significance of instrumental followed by informational and emotional support, whereas oncology providers highlighted informational, followed by emotional and instrumental support. Discussion provides insight into each role's perspective in the triad.

Use of carbide slag from acetylene industry for activation of ground granulated blast-furnace slag

This study investigates the use of carbide slag (CS), an industrial by-product generated in acetylene production, as a potential alternative to hydrated lime (HL) for activation of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), another industrial by-product generated during the process of iron production. Specimens of CS-GGBS and HL-GGBS pastes with different CS or HL contents were prepared and cured for different periods, and then tested for compressive strength. X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also used to investigate the hydration characteristics of CS-GGBS. The results indicated that CS-GGBS yielded similar compressive strength as HL-GGBS with the same CS/HL content at the same curing periods of 28 and 56 days, i.e. CS could replace HL to activate GGBS, which would result in both environmental and economic benefits. The Ca(OH)(2) in CS accelerated the hydration of GGBS, and hence more hydration products were produced. However, excessive CS addition would decrease the GGBS content and increase crystal calcium hydroxide in the matrix, causing strength decrease. Hence, there was an optimum CS/HL content to achieve the highest compressive strength, which was 10% for 7 days and 5% for 28 and 56 days. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Artificial intelligence approaches to the determinants of women's vaginal dryness using general hospital data

The aim of this study is to analyse the determinants of women's vaginal dryness using machine learning. Data came from Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with 3298 women, aged 40-80 years, who attended their general health check from January 2010 to December 2012. Five machine learning methods were applied and compared for the prediction of vaginal dryness, measured by a Menopause Rating Scale. Random forest variable importance, a performance gap between a complete model and a model excluding a certain variable, was adopted for identifying major determinants of vaginal dryness. In terms of the mean squared error, the random forest (1.0597) was much better than linear regression (17.9043) and artificial neural networks with one, two and three hidden layers (1.7452, 1.7148 and 1.7736, respectively). Based on random forest variable importance, the top-10 determinants of vaginal dryness were menopause age, age, menopause, height, thyroid stimulating hormone, neutrophils, years since menopause, lymphocytes, alkaline phosphatase and blood urea nitrogen. In addition, its top-20 determinants were peak expiratory flow rate, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, white blood cells, monocytes, cancer antigen 19-9, creatinine, eosinophils, total cholesterol, triglyceride and amylase. Machine learning presents a great decision support system for the prediction of vaginal dryness. For preventing vaginal dryness, preventive measures would be needed regarding early menopause, the thyroid function and systematic inflammation.Impact StatementWhat is already known on this subject? Only a few studies have investigated the risk factors of vaginal dryness in middle-aged women. More research is to be done for finding its various risk factors, identifying its major risk groups and drawing its effective clinical implications.What do the results of this study add? This study is the first machine-learning study to predict women's vaginal dryness and analyse their determinants. The random forest could discuss which factors are more important for the prediction of vaginal dryness. Based on random forest variable importance, menopause age was the most important determinant of vaginal dryness and their association was discovered to be negative in this study. Vaginal dryness was closely associated with the height, rather than the body weight or body mass index. The importance rankings of blood conditions related to systematic inflammation were within the top-20 in this study: neutrophils, lymphocytes, white blood cells, monocytes and eosinophils.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Machine learning presents a great decision support system for the prediction of vaginal dryness. For preventing vaginal dryness, preventive measures would be needed regarding early menopause and systematic inflammation.

Clinical applications of point-of-care ultrasound in brain injury: a narrative review

The use of point-of-care ultrasound has increased considerably over the last two decades. It has become a readily available, non-invasive bed-side modality for the rapid diagnosis and management of patients in various settings. Point-of-care ultrasound for assessing the heart, lung, abdomen, airway and vascular systems is now well established. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound for assessing cerebral blood flow has been in use for many years. In recent years, brain ultrasonography has been shown to be a powerful tool in the rapid bed-side assessment of cerebral haemodynamics and structural pathology. Brain ultrasound has been shown to be useful in both the emergency department and neurocritical care setting for the non-invasive assessment of raised intracranial pressure, cerebral autoregulation and diagnosis of intracranial haematoma and other space-occupying lesions. Point-of-care ultrasound is an important alternative technique to routine imaging and invasive monitoring techniques, and results are comparable. Competence is easily attainable without formal radiology training. With technological advancement, applications for the use of brain ultrasound continue to grow. This review discusses the clinical use of point-of-care ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of brain injury.

School-related Promotive Factors Related to Cannabis Use Among American Indian Adolescents

Reservation-dwelling American Indian adolescents are at exceedingly high risk for cannabis use. Prevention initiatives to delay onset and escalation of use are needed. School engagement and student's positive experiences at school have been identified as key promotive factors against cannabis use in the general population of adolescents, but little work has examined these factors among American Indian youth. Seven school-related promotive factors were examined as predictors of past 30-day cannabis use (measured 6 months later), controlling for previous onset of cannabis use as well as a set of relevant potential confounders. Models were tested using 280 adolescents in 6th or 7th grade at the start of the study from two reservation-based schools in the US. Students were surveyed three times, with 6 months in between each survey. The average age at the start of the study was 11.99 years (SD = 0.87) and 54% of participants were female. Using a cumulative logit model to predict past 30-day use, American Indian youth who reported greater school bonding, academic aspirations, proclivity to endeavor in their studies, and interest in school at Wave 2 reported less 30-day cannabis use at Wave 3 (controlling for onset of cannabis at Wave 1 and several other control variables). No evidence of an effect of self-reported grades, perceived safety, or participation in school-related extracurricular activities was found. Given substantial deterioration of these school-related promotive factors over time, and the effect of the school-related promotive factors on subsequent cannabis use, efforts to design and test interventions to promote school engagement as a protective measure against cannabis use is warranted.

Named entity disambiguation in short texts over knowledge graphs

The ever-growing usage of knowledge graphs (KGs) positions named entity disambiguation (NED) at the heart of designing accurate KG-driven systems such as query answering systems (QAS). According to the current research, most studies dealing with NED on KGs involve long texts, which is not the case of short text fragments, identified by their limited contexts. The accuracy of QASs strongly depends on the management of such short text. This limitation motivates this paper, which studies the NED problem on KGs, involving only short texts. First, we propose a NED approach including the following steps: (i) context expansion using WordNet to measure its similarity to the resource context. (ii) Exploiting coherence between entities in queries that contain more than one entity, such as "Is Michelle Obama the wife of Barack Obama?". (iii) Taking into account the relations between words to calculate their similarity with the properties of a resource. (iv) the use of syntactic features. The NED solution approach is compared to state-of-the-art approaches using five datasets. The experimental results show that our approach outperforms these systems by 27% in the F-measure. A system called Welink, implementing our proposal, is available on GitHub, and it is also accessible via a REST API.

Gamification in software engineering: the mediating role of developer engagement and job satisfaction

Gamification seeks to encourage behavior of participants by borrowing elements of games, such as scoring points. Few rigorous studies exist of gamification in software organizations, and several questions have remained unanswered, for example, what might drive developers to partake, and what are the consequences of developer engagement. This article seeks to provide some answers through a rigorous empirical study at one organization that created an internal gamification platform. We develop a theoretical model that seeks to explain why developers may participate, and develop the concept of developer engagement, which we link to job satisfaction. We collected data from two sources that were linked together: developer opinion data collected through a survey, and data from the organization's version control system. We test our theoretical model using structural equation modeling and moderation analysis, and find support for our model. These findings suggest that gamification can be an effective mechanism to engage developers within the organization, and that developer engagement is positively associated with job satisfaction, which is a key outcome that is of great interest to software organizations.

Temperature is not a major factor in the differentiation of gonocytes into ad spermatogonia and fertility outcome in congenitally cryptorchid boys

Spermatogenesis in mammals is a heat-sensitive developmental pathway incompatible with the typical mammalian body temperature of 37 °C. It is thought that this is the reason why the testicles of most mammalian males are outside of the body cavity, in the scrotum, where they function at approximately 33 °C. It has been suggested that the abnormally high temperature environment of cryptorchid testes may lead to impaired testicular development and adult infertility. Here, I summarize the clinical, genetic, and histological evidence that argues against temperature stress and in favor of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism as the underlying cause of adult infertility in cryptorchidism.Patient summary: Infertility and an increased risk of testicular cancer in patients diagnosed with undescended testes are the consequence of a hormonal deficiency rather than temperature-induced cellular damage. Cryptorchidism therefore requires both surgical and hormonal treatment.

Kidney and Mortality Outcomes Associated with Ondansetron in Critically Ill Patients

Background: Ondansetron is a preferred anti-emetic in critical care to treat nausea and vomiting, and has historically been considered a largely safe option. A recent pharmacoepidemiology study reported that ondansetron may be associated with an increased risk for acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods: We interrogated the High-Density Intensive Care (HiDenIC-15) database containing intensive care data for 13 hospitals across Western Pennsylvania between Oct 2008-Dec 2014. AKI was defined using the Kidney Disease, Improving Global Outcomes 2012 guidelines. Ondansetron use was considered as receiving any form of ondansetron within 24 h of admission. The subsequent 48 h (hours 25-72 after admission) were analyzed for outcomes. Primary outcome was development of AKI; secondary outcomes included 90-day mortality and time to AKI. Propensity-matched, multivariate logistic regression was applied for both outcomes. Comparator groups were metoclopramide and prochlorperazine using the same exposure criteria. Results:AKI occurred in 965 (5.6%), 12 (3.0%), and 61 (6.5%) patients receiving ondansetron, prochlorperazine, and metoclopramide, respectively. In the adjusted analysis, no anti-emetic was associated with a significant change in the odds of developing AKI. Ondansetron was associated with a 5.48% decrease (CI -6.17--4.79) in death within 90 days of ICU-admission, which was independent of AKI status; an effect not seen with other anti-emetics. Anti-emetic usage was not associated with a change in the time to first AKI. Conclusion:Anti-emetic usage did not alter AKI risk. Ondansetron was associated with a significant decrease in 90-day mortality that was not seen by other anti-emetics, which requires further exploration.

Stress, Resilience, and Well-Being in Italian Children and Their Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has forced parents and children to adopt significant changes in their daily routine, which has been a big challenge for families, with important implications for family stress. In this study, we aimed to analyze the potential risk and protective factors for parents' and children's well-being during a potentially traumatic event such as the COVID-19 quarantine. Specifically, we investigated parents' and children's well-being, parental stress, and children's resilience. The study involved 463 Italian parents of children aged 5-17. All participants completed an online survey consisting of the Psychological General Well Being Index (PGWB) to assess parental well-being, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to measure children's well-being, the Parent Stress Scale (PSS) to investigate parental stress, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R) to measure children's resilience. The results show that confinement measures and changes in daily routine negatively affect parents' psychological dimensions, thus exposing children to a significant risk for their well-being. Our results also detect some risk factors for psychological maladjustments, such as parental stress, lower levels of resilience in children, changes in working conditions, and parental psychological, physical, or genetic problems. In this study, we attempted to identify the personal and contextual variables involved in the psychological adjustment to the COVID-19 quarantine to identify families at risk for maladjustment and pave the way for ad hoc intervention programs intended to support them. Our data show promising results for the early detection of the determinants of families' psychological health. It is important to focus attention on the needs of families and children-including their mental health-to mitigate the health and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coastal flood risks in China through the 21st century - An application of DIVA

China experiences frequent coastal flooding, with nearly US$ 77 billion of direct economic losses and over 7,000 fatalities reported from 1989 to 2014. Flood damages are likely to grow due to climate change induced sea-level rise and increasing exposure if no further adaptation measures are taken. This paper quantifies potential damage and adaptation costs of coastal flooding in China over the 21st Century, including the effects of sea-level rise. It develops and utilises a new, detailed coastal database of China developed within the Dynamic Interactive Vulnerability Assessment (DIVA) model framework. The refined database provides a more realistic spatial representation of coasts, with more than 2700 coastal segments, covering 28,966 km of coastline. Over 50% of China's coast is artificial, representing defended coast and/or claimed land. Coastal flood damage and adaptation costs for China are assessed for different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) and Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSP) combinations representing climate change and socio-economic change and two adaptation strategies: no upgrade of currently existing defences and maintaining current protection levels. By 2100, 0.7-20.0 million people may be flooded/yr and US$ 67-3,308 billion damages/yr are projected without upgrade to defences. In contrast, maintaining the current protection level would reduce those numbers to 0.2-0.4 million people flooded/yr and US$ 22-60 billion/yr flood costs by 2100, with protection investment costs of US$ 8-17 billion/yr. In 2100, maintaining current protection levels, dikes costs are two orders of magnitude smaller than flood costs across all scenarios, even without accounting for indirect damages. This research improves on earlier national assessments of China by generating a wider range of projections, based on improved datasets. The information delivered in this study will help governments, policy-makers, insurance companies and local communities in China understand risks and design appropriate strategies to adapt to increasing coastal flood risk in an uncertain world. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Three-scope carbon emission inventories of global cities

A major challenge for cities taking action on climate change is assessing and managing the contribution of urban consumption which triggers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions outside city boundaries. Using a novel method of creating city-level input-output tables, we present the first consistent, large-scale, and global assessment of three-scope GHG inventories for 79 members of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. These inventories cover the emissions from sources located within city boundaries (Scope 1), emissions occurring as a consequence of the use of grid-supplied electricity, heat, steam, and/or cooling (Scope 2), and all other GHG emissions that occur outside the city boundary as a result of activities taking place within the city (Scope 3). We find that, by only accounting for territorial emissions, without Scope 3, the 79 C40 cities under-report 4% of global annual GHG emissions from six key infrastructure-related transboundary sources (73%) and from service-related sectors (27%). In contrast, when only accounting for consumption-based emissions, the C40 cities would miss the mitigation target on 41% of their territorial emissions. We argue that cities should complement their GHG inventories, adding full Scope 3 to Scopes 1 and 2, and develop low-carbon consumption strategies in addition to current infrastructure-focused action on climate change.

Numerical analysis of WaveOne Gold and 2Shape endodontic files during root canal treatment

This study aims to develop and analyse a finite element model of the endodontic nickel-titanium (NiTi) instrument during the root canal treatment (RCT). The 3D model of the tooth and the endodontic instrument has been created using computer-aided design software. The nonlinear explicit dynamic analysis in the CAE package (ANSYS) has been used to analyse the mechanical behaviour of endodontic instruments such as total deformation, equivalent elastic strain, and equivalent stress during canal preparation. The mechanical behaviour of three commercially available endodontic NiTi alloy instruments such as WaveOne Gold (WOG), 2Shape 1 (TS1) and 2Shape 2 (TS2) endodontic files was evaluated using FEA. Consequently, the effect of deformation, equivalent stress and equivalent elastic strain on endodontic files during cleaning and shaping are investigated and compared. The results show that the total deformation and equivalent elastic strain are maximum in the TS1 endodontic file in comparison to TS2 and WOG files.

Environmental consequences of population, affluence and technological progress for European countries: A Malthusian view

This paper examines the short-run and long-run effects of economic, sociological and energy factors on environmental degradation in 28 European countries. In so doing, we employ Panel Vector Autoregressive (PVAR) and Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) approaches on data from 1990 to 2014 in a STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) framework. Key empirical results indicate that these factors may contribute to environmental improvement in the short run; however, there are adverse implications in the long-run. Specifically, economic factors including economic growth, trade openness and foreign direct investment cause environmental degradation in the under-analysis economies. The sociological factors as measured by the population growth and the level of urbanization also show a negative impact on the environmental degradation in the short-run but in the long run, both population size and urbanization increase environmental degradation. These findings are in line with the concerns raised by Thomas Robert Malthus in his Essay on the Principle of Population. With regards to the energy factors, it indicates that the renewable energies help the European environment by reducing the level of carbon dioxide emissions whereas the higher energy intensity is an ecological threat. Our results remain robust in the EKC framework.

Data-driven CFD Scaling of Bioinspired Mars Flight Vehicles for Hover

One way to improve our model of Mars is through aerial sampling and surveillance, which could provide information to augment the observations made by ground-based exploration and satellite imagery. Flight in the challenging ultra-low-density Martian environment can be achieved with properly scaled bioinspired flapping wing vehicle configurations that utilize the same high lift producing mechanisms that are employed by insects on Earth. Through dynamic scaling of wings and kinematics, we investigate the ability to generate solutions for a broad range of flapping wing flight vehicles masses ranging from insects O(10-3) kg to the Mars helicopter Ingenuity O(100) kg. A scaling method based on a neural-network trained on 3D Navier-Stokes solutions is proposed to determine approximate wing size and kinematic values that generate bioinspired hover solutions. We demonstrate that a family of solutions exists for designs that range from 1 to 1000 grams, which are verified and examined using a 3D Navier-Stokes solver. Our results reveal that unsteady lift enhancement mechanisms, such as delayed stall and rotational lift, are present in the bioinspired solutions for the scaled vehicles hovering in Martian conditions. These hovering vehicles exhibit payloads of up to 1 kg and flight times on the order of 100 minutes when considering the respective limiting cases of the vehicle mass being comprised entirely of payload or entirely of a battery and neglecting any transmission inefficiencies. This method can help to develop a range of Martian flying vehicle designs with mission viable payloads, range, and endurance.

Non-linear threshold effect of financial development on renewable energy consumption: evidence from panel smooth transition regression approach

Financial development is identified as one of the significant factors that affect energy consumption and has been widely discussed in the literature. However, the association between financial development and renewable energy consumption is still at its earlier stage and is limitedly explored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the non-linear association between financial development and renewable energy consumption in the top renewable energy consumption countries. The study utilized the newly introduced econometric technique panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model with two regimes on annual panel data consisted of years 1997-2017. The result confirmed that all the financial development indicators increase renewable energy consumption but affect renewable energy consumption differently. Moreover, the economic growth and industrial structure showed a positive and significant association in both regimes, whereas the population showed a negative relationship with renewable energy consumption in a low growth regime but the association becomes positive in high growth regimes. The study suggested several policies for the top renewable consumption countries.

A Novel Endo-Polygalacturonase from Penicillium oxalicum: Gene Cloning, Heterologous Expression and Its Use in Acidic Fruit Juice Extraction

An endo-polygalacturonase (endo-PGase) exhibiting excellent performance during acidic fruit juice production would be highly attractive to the fruit juice industry. However, candidate endo-PGases for this purpose have rarely been reported. In this study, we expressed a gene from Penicillium oxalicum in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant enzyme PoxaEnPG28C had an optimal enzyme activity at pH 4.5 and 45°C and was stable at pH 3.0-6.5 and < 45°C. The enzyme had a specific activity of 4,377.65 ± 55.37 U/mg towards polygalacturonic acid, and the Km and Vmax values of PoxaEnPG28C were calculated as 1.64 g/l and 6127.45 U/mg, respectively. PoxaEnPG28C increased the light transmittance of orange, lemon, strawberry and hawthorn juice by 13.9 ± 0.3%, 29.4 ± 3.8%, 95.7 ± 10.2% and 79.8 ± 1.7%, respectively; it reduced the viscosity of the same juices by 25.7 ± 1.6%, 52.0 ± 4.5%, 48.2 ± 0.7% and 80.5 ± 2.3%, respectively, and it increased the yield of the juices by 24.5 ± 0.7%, 12.7 ± 2.2%, 48.5 ± 4.2% and 104.5 ± 6.4%, respectively. Thus, PoxaEnPG28C could be considered an excellent candidate enzyme for acidic fruit juice production. Remarkably, fruit juice production using hawthorn as an material was reported for the first time.

Key policies to the development of construction and demolition waste recycling industry in China

There is a growing need to recycle construction and demolition waste (CDW) in order to treat the huge amount of CDW in many metropolises of China. However, the CDW recycling industry is still in its initial stage and developed unevenly across various areas of China. In spite of some qualitative discussions, the quantitative analysis of crucial policies to the development of CDW recycling industry was overlooked. Through literature review, nine influential policy instruments were identified in term of three categories, i.e. control and command policy, market-based policy and information-based policy. The stepwise regression analysis was employed to explore the relationships between the influential policies and the development level of CDW recycling industry in 52 sample Chinese cities. The results demonstrated that Green Product Label, Charge and Tax and Technical Standards had statistically significant association with the development of CDW recycling industry in sample cities. In the surveyed cities, Charge or Tax was the most common policy tool (84.6%), but Green Product Label (7.7%) and Technological standards (11.5%) were rather less frequently employed. According to the results, Green Product Label and Technical Standards should be given higher priority. In addition, landfill charge should be introduced as a fundamental impetus. These results provide directions for other cities to facilitate the development of their CDW recycling industry. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation on treatment effect and immune function

To explore the effect of transcranial stimulation on the therapeutic effect and immune function of patients with post-stroke depression (PSD). Methods Selection in September 2020-April 2021 on the diagnosis of 70 patients with PSD as the research object, 35 patients were randomly divided into control group and intervention group and control group given conventional treatment, the intervention group in the control group on the basis of the application of transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment, compare the curative effect of two groups of patients after the treatment cycle and the effects on the immune function. Results After treatment, the levels of DA, NE, 5-HT in 2 groups were significantly increased, and those in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). After 8 weeks of treatment, serum Gly content in 2 groups was significantly increased and Glu content was significantly decreased compared with before treatment. Compared with the control group, serum Gly content in observation group was significantly increased and Glu content was significantly decreased after treatment (P < 0.05). After 8 weeks of treatment, the contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum of 2 groups were significantly decreased, compared with the control group, the contents of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum of observation group were significantly decreased (P < 0.05); Before treatment, there was no significant difference in PHQ-9 score and MBI score between the two groups (P > 0.05). After 8 weeks of treatment, PHQ-9 score and MBI score in the two groups were better than before treatment, and the observation group was better than the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy can not only effectively promote the synthesis and release of monoamine neurotransmitters in patients with post-stroke depression, regulate the inhibitory/excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters, reduce inflammatory response, improve the clinical treatment effect and enhance the immune function of PSD patients, which has clinical application value.

Coal phase-out in Germany - Implications and policies for affected regions

The present study examines the consequences of the planned coal phase-out in Germany according to various phase-out pathways that differ in the ordering of power plant closures. Soft-linking an energy system model with an input-output model and a regional macroeconomic model simulates the socioeconomic effects of the phase-out in the lignite regions, as well as in the rest of Germany. The combination of two economic models offers the advantage of considering the phase-out from different perspectives and thus assessing the robustness of the results. The model results show that the lignite coal regions will exhibit losses in output, income and population, but a faster phase-out would lead to a quicker recovery. Migration to other areas in Germany and demographic changes will partially compensate for increasing unemployment, but support from federal policy is also necessary to support structural change in these regions. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The double bipolar method for robotic total mesorectal excision in patients with rectal cancer

Although meta-analyses and systematic reviews have clarified the benefits of robotic surgery, few studies have focused on robotic rectal surgery (RRS) and the use of Endowrist® instruments. Therefore, we evaluated RRS using the double bipolar method (DBM) and compared its short-term outcomes with those of RRS using the single bipolar method (SBM). This study enrolled 157 consecutive patients and all procedures were performed by the same surgeon and recorded through short video clips. We analyzed the patient demographics and short-term clinical outcomes. Although this observational study has several limitations, the console time for total mesorectal excision using the DBM was significantly shorter than that using the SBM. Although the DBM did not demonstrate a specific learning curve, it was a safe and feasible procedure even for patients with advanced disease. Further studies are needed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the DBM.

ATP is an essential autocrine factor for pancreatic β-cell signaling and insulin secretion

ATP has been previously identified as an autocrine signaling factor that is co-released with insulin to modulate and propagate β-cell activity within islets of Langerhans. Here, we show that β-cell activity and insulin secretion essentially rely on the presence of extracellular ATP. For this, we monitored changes of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+ ]i oscillations) as an immediate read-out for insulin secretion in live cell experiments. Extensive washing of cells or depletion of extracellular ATP levels by recombinant apyrase reduced [Ca2+ ]i oscillations and insulin secretion in pancreatic cell lines and primary β-cells. Following ATP depletion, [Ca2+ ]i oscillations were stimulated by the replenishment of ATP in a concentration-dependent manner. Inhibition of endogenous ecto-ATP nucleotidases increased extracellular ATP levels, along with [Ca2+ ]i oscillations and insulin secretion, indicating that there is a constant supply of ATP to the extracellular space. Our combined results demonstrate that extracellular ATP is essential for β-cell activity. The presented work suggests extracellular ATPases as potential drug targets for the modulation of insulin release. We further found that exogenous fatty acids compensated for depleted extracellular ATP levels by the recovery of [Ca2+ ]i oscillations, indicating that autocrine factors mutually compensate for the loss of others. Thereby, our results contribute to a more detailed and complete understanding of the general role of autocrine signaling factors as a fundamental regulatory mechanism of β-cell activity and insulin secretion.

Empirical analysis of climate change factors affecting cereal yield: evidence from Turkey

This research has examined the dynamic linkages among climate change factors, such as CO2 emissions, temperature, rainfall, and cereal yield in Turkey from 1968 to 2014. At first step, we tested stationary properties of the climatic factors and crop yield by using both traditional and breakpoint unit root tests. After the confirmation of given properties, we used the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to capture the dynamic relationship among the variables in the given span of time. The empirical results show that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship that exists between climate change factors and cereal yield. CO2 emissions and average temperature have a diverse effect on the cereal yield, whereas average rainfall has a positive effect on the cereal yield in both the long run and short run. To check the causality, we use the Granger causality test that reveals a significant effect of climate change variables on the cereal yield. The unidirectional causal link is significant among temperature and rainfall factors. The results show that the cereal yield is affected by more climate factors like rain fall and temperature due to CO2 emissions as compared to land and labor use. Based on the findings of the study, few suggestions have been made to address the climate change factors. Devise agriculture-specific adaptation policy for the farmers to build their capacity and resilience to tackle climate changes, for example, farm practices. Agriculture research and development should work on cereal crop varieties that can tolerate the high temperature and precipitation. These policies could help the agriculture sector to sustain production and allocation efficiency in the long run.

The operationalisation of sustainability: Sustainable aquaculture production as defined by certification schemes

Sustainability certification has become an increasingly important feature in aquaculture production, leading to a multitude of schemes with various criteria. However, the large number of schemes and the complexity of the standards creates confusion with respect to which sustainability objectives are targeted. As a result, what is meant by `sustainability' is unclear. In this paper, we examine the operationalisation of the concept from the vantage point of the certifying authorities, who devise standards and grant or withhold certification of compliance. We map the criteria of eight widely-used certification schemes using the four domains of the Wheel of Sustainability, a reference model designed to encompass a comprehensive understanding of sustainability. We show that, overall, the sustainability certifications have an overwhelming focus on environmental and governance indicators, and only display scattered attempts at addressing cultural and economic issues. The strong focus on governance indicators is, to a large degree, due to their role in implementing and legitimising the environmental indicators. The strong bias implies that these certification schemes predominantly focus on the environmental domain and do not address sustainability as a whole, nor do they complement each other. Sustainability is by definition and by necessity a comprehensive concept, but if the cultural and economic issues are to be addressed in aquaculture, the scope of certification schemes must be expanded. The Wheel of Sustainability can serve as a valid lexicon and asset to guide such efforts.

Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC) as Local and Sustainable Systems

We distinguish different types of Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC); nevertheless, their common main characteristic relate to reduced numbers of intermediaries between farmers/food producers and consumers. The aim of the paper is to present the SFSCs as local and sustainable food systems with their possible development. The SFSC idea follows the concept of sustainability, which is based on three pillars: environmental, social, and economic. In the paper, the authors also highlight other barriers to growth, and challenges faced by local food systems.

New and poorly known "araphid" diatom species (Bacillariophyta) from regions near Lake Titicaca, South America and a discussion on the continued use of morphological characters in "araphid" diatom taxonomy

Based on two Andean Altiplano samples and on light and scanning electron microscopy analyses, we present six new species of "araphid" diatoms in the genus Pseudostaurosira, P.aedes sp. nov., P.frankenae sp. nov., P.heteropolaris sp. nov., P.oblonga sp. nov., P.occulta sp. nov., and P.pulchra sp. nov. Additional data are provided for four other known taxa, Nanofrustulumcataractarum, N.rarissimum, P.sajamaensis and P.vulpina, the latter species corresponding to a stat. nov. based on a variety of P.laucensis. Each taxon is described morphologically and compared with closely related published taxa, using characters such as axial area, virgae, vimines, areolar shape, volae, internal striae depositions, spines, flaps and apical pore fields, which are not usually used for species distinction within the genus. It is our intention that the detailed morphological descriptions of each taxon and the elaborate comparative tables we provide serve as a basis for correction of neo and paleo-databases for the Altiplano to produce a better account of autecological data and ecological change in the region. Some arguments for our continued use of a morphologically based approach are given in the context of rapid environmental degradation in the Andes and the difficulties in applying molecular approaches in countries such as Bolivia.

Augmenting the effect of virtual labs with "teacher demonstration" and "student critique" instructional designs to scaffold the development of scientific literacy

Virtual labs provide space for students to iteratively test, observe, and revise their understanding so as to improve their scientific literacy. However, one of the challenges that students face is that they need to think and act like scientists so as to be sensitively alert to methodological flaws and various sources of error. This study thus compared the effect of two instructional approaches using a virtual lab to enhance students' scientific literacy. Before students were given the opportunity to conduct science inquiries with the virtual lab, they were required to critique problematic inquiry cases (the critique group) or watch teachers' demonstrations (the teacher demonstration group) before taking part in the inquiry. By analyzing data from 50 middle school students, this study found that the effect of applying virtual labs can be augmented by an instructional design that engages students in critiquing experiments prior to their inquiry with the virtual lab. This study also found a limitation of the use of virtual labs in helping students transfer what they have learned from the teacher's demonstration to new inquiry contexts. A close relation among scientific literacy post-test scores, critiquing performance, and inquiry performance in the inquiry activity was detected, suggesting that student critiquing prior to inquiry is in alignment with the goal of developing students' inquiry skills and scientific literacy with virtual labs.

The treatment of veterinary antibiotics in swine wastewater by biodegradation and Fenton-like oxidation

Elevated concentrations and potential toxicities of antibiotics in swine wastewater prompt the exploration of effective treatment methods to minimize the amount of antibiotics released to the environment. This study examined the technical and economic feasibility of using combined biodegradation and advanced oxidation processes for swine wastewater treatment. The up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was mainly responsible for conventional organic pollutant removal (i.e., a COD removal rate of 75%). The subsequent sequencing batch reactor (SBR) under a short sludge retention time (SRT) of 3 days removed the biodegradable antibiotics by >95%, and hindered the nitrification process which retained NW; -N and reduced operational cost (since the treated wastewater was intended to be used as a farm fertilizer). The subsequent Fenton-like oxidation (with the aid of citric add) achieved an average antibiotic removal efficiency of 74% under optimal reaction conditions: H2O2 dosage of 2.9 mM, [Fe2+]: [H2O2] = 1:3, [CA]: [Fe2+] = 1:1, pH 6.0, reaction time of 120 min. The superior treatment efficiency of Fenton-like compared to the conventional Fenton (74% vs 5%) under nearly neutral conditions was attributed to the chelating role of citric acid with Fe2+/Fe3+, leading to the enhanced Fe2+/Fe3+ solubility and therefore the promotion of center dot OH formation. This hybrid process of anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation and Fenton-like oxidation should be suitable and cost-effective for the treatment of wastewater with abundant conventional pollutants and persistent emerging trace contaminants. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Socio-political efficacy explains increase in New Zealanders' pro-environmental attitudes due to COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of lives and caused unprecedented disruptions. Despite these negative impacts, there is optimism the pandemic may shift public opinion on other global crises by fostering a sense of collective efficacy. Using propensity score matching to compare New Zealanders assessed before (n =12,304) and after (n = 12,370) nationwide lockdowns in 2020, we tested a preregistered mediation model with COVID-19 lockdown experience predicting increases in pro-environmental attitudes via enhanced socio-political efficacy. As hypothesized, socio-political efficacy increased after the successful nationwide lockdowns. In turn, socio-political efficacy amplified respondents' pro-environmental attitudes including climate beliefs and concern, as well as support for a government subsidy for public transport and opposition to government spending on new motorways. The pandemic also enhanced respondents' satisfaction with the quality of the natural environment, which was unmediated by socio-political efficacy. The crisis might offer an opportunity to foster collective pro-environmental actions.

Investigation of early puberty prevalence and time of addition thelarche to pubarche in girls with premature pubarche: two-year follow-up results

We aimed to determine the prevalence of early puberty in girls with premature pubarche and analyze the time interval between their pubarche and succeeding thelarche. This study included 60 female children with premature pubarche. We retrospectively collected clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings from all participants. We investigated the time interval between pubarche and thelarche in cases wherein premature pubarche was followed by thelarche. The mean age at onset of pubarche was 6.93 ± 0.79 yr old. Among the participants, 16.7% were preterm, 20% were small for gestational age (SGA), and 55% were overweight or obese. The mean time interval between pubarche and thelarche was 11.20 ± 7.41 mo. The mean serum DHEA-S level was higher in the preterm group (p = 0.016), and DHEA-S levels were generally higher in the SGA group (p = 0.004). This study documented the presence of being overweight or obese and having more advanced growth than their genetic potential in half of the patients who had premature pubarche. In addition to these identified risk factors, obesity-independent DHEA-S levels were observed to be higher in patients who had early puberty with the first six months of their follow-up considered to be the most critical time in predicting early puberty.

From 3D printing to 3D bioprinting: the material properties of polymeric material and its derived bioink for achieving tissue specific architectures

The application of 3D printing technologies fields for biological tissues, organs, and cells in the context of medical and biotechnology applications requires a significant amount of innovation in a narrow printability range. 3D bioprinting is one such way of addressing critical design challenges in tissue engineering. In a more general sense, 3D printing has become essential in customized implant designing, faithful reproduction of microenvironmental niches, sustainable development of implants, in the capacity to address issues of effective cellular integration, and long-term stability of the cellular constructs in tissue engineering. This review covers various aspects of 3D bioprinting, describes the current state-of-the-art solutions for all aforementioned critical issues, and includes various illustrative representations of technologies supporting the development of phases of 3D bioprinting. It also demonstrates several bio-inks and their properties crucial for being used for 3D printing applications. The review focus on bringing together different examples and current trends in tissue engineering applications, including bone, cartilage, muscles, neuron, skin, esophagus, trachea, tympanic membrane, cornea, blood vessel, immune system, and tumor models utilizing 3D printing technology and to provide an outlook of the future potentials and barriers.

Effect of Processing on the Structure and Allergenicity of Peanut Allergen Ara h 2 Roasted in a Matrix

Peanut allergy is the leading pediatric food allergy. Many attempts have been made to reduce its allergenicity by processing. After roasting, Ara h 2 and its derivatives in the matrix were isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography (IAC). The structure and allergenicity of Ara h 2 were analyzed by circular dichroism, mass spectrometry (MS), western blotting, the enzyme-linked immunoassay, and cell modeling. Our results showed that a large portion of Ara h 2 was fragmented and cross-linked. Ara h 2 monomers accounted for only 13% of the total proteins after IAC purification. In addition, the structure of Ara h 2 changed after roasting. In addition to methylation and oxidation modification, the disulfide bonds of Ara h 2 were found to be rearranged after roasting. In the conformational structure of Ara h 2, the content of the α-helix decreased from 27.1 to 21.6% after roasting, while the content of the random coil increased from 29.1 to 34.3%. Six cleavage sites of trypsin were exposed, while three were covered. In terms of allergenicity, most of the cross-linking products were not recognized by patients' sera. Only one faint band around 40 kDa was observed in our blotting. For Ara h 2 monomers, roasting enhanced their IgE binding capacity and ability to stimulate the degranulation of basophils. The potential allergenicity increase of Ara h 2 monomers did not reflect the allergenicity change of Ara h 2 in the matrix due to the amount and property of its derivatives after roasting.