Fight or flight

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The challenge of drop-in jet biofuel should couple the reduction of GHGs emission in whole life cycle with economic competitiveness and achieving performance without reducing performance of engine and aircraft. Co-processing was recognized a promising solution due to availability of existing refining infrastructure and facilities. Based on the LCA approach, the quantitative LCA assessment model (AF-3E) has been established for discovering potential GHGs reduction by co-processing. Typical representatives of oily feedstock, including used cooking oil, soybean, rapeseed, peanut, corn oil, Xanthoceras sorbifolia, jatropha and algae, were compared co-processing with HEFA-SPK blend on GHGs and energy consumption in the whole life...

Conventional B-mode ultrasound imaging has difficulty in delineating homogeneous soft tissues with similar acoustic impedances, as the reflectivity depends on the acoustic impedance at the interface. As a quantitative imaging biomarker sensitive to alteration of biomechanical properties, speed-of-sound (SoS) holds promising potential for tissue and disease differentiation such as delineation of different breast tissue types with similar acoustic impedance. Compared to two-dimensional (2D) SoS images, three-dimensional (3D) volumetric SoS images achieved through a full-angle ultrasound scan can reveal more intricate morphological structures of tissues; however, they generally require a ring transducer...

A rise in the disinfection of spaces occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as an increase in people wearing facial coverings. Hydrogen peroxide was among the recommended disinfectants for use against the virus. Previous studies have investigated the emissions of hydrogen peroxide associated with the disinfection of spaces and masks; however, those studies did not focus on the emitted byproducts from these processes. Here, we simulate the disinfection of an indoor space with H2 O2 while a person wearing a face mask is present in the space by using an environmental chamber with a thermal manikin wearing a face mask over its breathing zone...

Cornus officinalis , a medicinal and edible plant known for its liver-nourishing properties, has shown promise in inhibiting the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), crucial indicators of hepatic fibrosis, especially when processed by high pressure wine steaming (HPWS). Herein, this study aims to investigate the regulatory effects of cornus officinalis , both in its raw and HPWS forms, on inflammation and apoptosis in liver fibrosis and their underlying mechanisms. In vivo liver fibrosis models were established by subcutaneous injection of CCl4 , while in vitro HSCs were exposed to transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)...

The seasonal migrations of insects involve a substantial displacement of biomass with significant ecological and economic consequences for regions of departure and arrival. Remote sensors have played a pivotal role in revealing the magnitude and general direction of bioflows above 150 m. Nevertheless, the takeoff and descent activity of insects below this height is poorly understood. Our lidar observations elucidate the low-height dusk movements and detailed information of insects in southern Sweden from May to July, during the yearly northward migration period...

In an age of mass communication, citizens need to learn how to detect and transmit reliable scientific information. This need is exacerbated by the transmission of news through social media, where any individual has the potential to reach thousands of other users. In this article, we argue that fighting the uncontrolled transmission of unreliable information requires improved training in broad epistemic integrity. This subcategory of research integrity is relevant to students in all disciplines, and is often overlooked in integrity courses, in contrast to topics such as fraud, plagiarism, collaboration and respect for study subjects...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: COVID-19 has been in control since mass vaccination and other coordinated efforts have been conducted. The WHO has even made an announcement to stop the public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) toward COVID-19. Because of the very massive impacts of COVID-19, it is necessary to have a reflection toward what we have gone through to obtain information from inside the health service by interviewing the health officers who were the frontliners in fighting the disease during the pandemic...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical characteristics and molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) isolated from patients with bloodstream infections in a large tertiary-care general hospital in Southwest China. METHODS: A total of 131 strains of non-repeating CRKP were collected from the blood cultures of patients who had bloodstream infections in 2015-2019. The strains were identified by VITEK-2, a fully automated microbial analyzer, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry...

Theophylline, a nitrogen-containing heterocycle, serves as a promising focal point for medicinal researchers aiming to create derivatives with diverse pharmacological applications. In this work, we present an improved synthetic method for a range of theophylline-1,2,4-triazole-S-linked N-phenyl acetamides (4a‒g) utilizing ultrasound-assisted synthetic approach. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of synthesized theophylline-1,2,4-triazoles (4a‒g) as inhibitors of HCV serine protease and as antibacterial agents against B...

BACKGROUND: Ferumoxytol (Ferahame, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA) is increasingly used off-label as an MR contrast agent due to its relaxivity and safety profiles. However, its potent T2∗ relaxivity limits achievable T1-weighted positive contrast and leads to artifacts in standard MRI protocols. Optimization of protocols for ferumoxytol deployment is necessary to realize its potential. METHODS: We present first-in-human clinical results of the Quantitative Ultrashort Time-to-Echo Contrast Enhanced (QUTE-CE) MRA technique using the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle agent ferumoxytol for vascular imaging of the head/brain in 15 subjects at 3...

In radiotherapy, metallic nanoparticles are of high interest in the fight against cancer for their radiosensitizing effects. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of core-shell Fe3 O4 @Au nanoparticles to potentiate the irradiation effects on redox-, pro-inflammatory markers, and cell death of A549 human pulmonary cancer cells. The hybrid Fe3 O4 @Au nanoparticles were synthesized using green chemistry principles by the sonochemistry method. Their characterization by transmission electron microscopy demonstrated an average size of 8 nm and a homogeneous distribution of gold...

The copper-based metal-organic framework (MOF), CuBTC (where H3 BTC = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate), has been reported as a reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the Friedländer synthesis of substituted quinolines, which are desirable targets in the pharmaceutical industry. Because of this application, we further investigated the CuBTC-catalyzed Friedländer synthesis of 3-acetyl-2-methyl-4-phenylquinoline. CuBTC was synthesized in-house and used as a catalyst for the Friedländer synthesis. Fresh and used CuBTC were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)...

A variety of cutting-edge methods and good knowledge of the illness's complex causes are causing a sea change in the field of Alzheimer's Disease (A.D.) research and treatment. Precision medicine is at the vanguard of this change, where individualized treatment plans based on genetic and biomarker profiles give a ray of hope for customized therapeutics. Combination therapies are becoming increasingly popular as a way to address the multifaceted pathology of Alzheimer's by simultaneously attacking Aβ plaques, tau tangles, neuroinflammation, and other factors...

To investigate the role of co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules on immune tolerance in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), this study mapped the immune cell heterogeneity in the bone marrow of ITP at the single-cell level using Cytometry by Time of Flight (CyTOF). Thirty-six patients with ITP and nine healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. As soluble immunomodulatory molecules, more sCD25 and sGalectin-9 were detected in ITP patients. On the cell surface, co-stimulatory molecules like ICOS and HVEM were observed to be upregulated in mainly central memory and effector T cells...

This preliminary study explored potential serum biomarkers for predicting the onset of milk fever (MF), a bovine parturient disease with hypocalcemia. We conducted two-dimensional gas chromatography mass spectrometry-based metabolomics in 8 and 17 pregnant Holstein cows that did and did not develop MF 3 weeks later, respectively. In principal component analysis (PCA) applied to a dataset containing 1498 metabolites, serum metabolites exhibited highly similar chemical profiles between cows with and without MF...

The paper focuses on the failure to account for the value of standing tropical forests, and of ecosystem services in general, in economic decision-making. This blindness to the values of nature has led to overexploitation, degradation and destruction of tropical forests, which, in turn, has also significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions. Forest conservation and restoration has a critical role to play in the fight against climate change and brings a vast array of additional benefits, from security in water, energy, food, health and livelihoods to maintaining biodiversity itself as a core component of our living planet...

Despite advances in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) efficiencies, multiple contaminants of concern, such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remain largely untreated near discharge points and can be highly concentrated before they are fully mixed within the receiving river. Environmental agencies enforce mixing zone permits for the temporary exceedance of water quality parameters beyond targeted control levels under the assumption that contaminants are well-mixed and diluted downstream of mixing lengths, which are typically quantified using empirical equations derived from one-dimensional transport models...

The recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) stands as an effective strategy for mitigating plastic pollution and reducing resource waste. The study aimed to investigate the characterization and elimination efficiency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in rPET at various recycling stages using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry coupled with chemometrics. The results revealed that 52, 135, 95, 44, and 33 VOCs, mostly classified into three chemical groups, were tentatively identified in virgin - PET (v-PET), cold water washed - rPET (C-rPET), decontaminated - rPET (D-rPET), melt-extruded - rPET (M-rPET), and solid-state polycondensation - rPET (S-rPET), respectively...

STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative exploratory study. OBJECTIVES: To understand the lived experiences of individuals with spinal cord injuries or disorders (SCI/D) who use wheelchairs during air travel in the United States (US), with a focus on the challenges and barriers to accessing this form of transportation. SETTING: Wheelchair users with SCI/D living in the community in the US. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from six wheelchair users with SCI/D...