We previously developed a biobetter version of rhIFN-β (R27T) that possesses an additional glycosylation site compared with rhIFN-β 1a. Herein, we characterized N-glycosylation heterogeneity of R27T. N-glycan site occupancy manifested as distinct differences in size. The analysis of complex carbohydrate moieties of R27T involved the common biopharmaceutical glycosylation critical quality attributes like core fucosylation, antennary composition, sialylation, lactosamine extensions, linkages, and overall glycan profiles using weak anion exchange and hydrophilic interaction HPLC with 2-aminobenzoic acid-labeled N-glycans. The double-glycosylated form accounted for approx. 94% R27T, while the single-glycosylated form accounted for 6% R27T. N-glycans consisted of a mixture of bi-, tri-, and tetra-antennary glycans, some with lactosamine extensions, but neither outer arm fucose nor α-galactose was detected. Sialic acid major variants, N-acetyl- and N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid were more abundant in R27T than in Rebif. The major N-glycan, accounting for  42% of total N-glycans, had a di-sialylated, core-fucosylated biantennary structure.

Whether oviparous or viviparous species are more vulnerable to climate warming is a long-standing puzzle. In this study, we developed a novel life history model to quantify the impact of climate change on maternal energy budget and offspring survival of squamate species with either parity mode. We demonstrate that climate warming will increase energy intake by adults without affecting reproductive success and increase offspring survival in viviparous species. In contrast, climate warming will induce a significantly increased reproductive output in oviparous species, which exceeds the energy intake by adults. In particular, in most subtropical regions, warming may cause oviparous females to produce more offspring with reduced survival, leading to low reproductive efficiency. These results suggest that oviparous squamates may be more vulnerable to climate warming than viviparous species in the broad sympatric zone of these species.

Animal societies organised as colonies gain a variety of fitness benefits, and consequently colonial behaviour has evolved amongst avian, mammalian and invertebrates species, but far less is known for fish. Using dynamic social networks, we document highly structured sociality in central place foraging grey reef sharks at a Pacific atoll, with sharks forming stable, social groups over multi-year periods. Individuals were highly assorted by their patterns of space use, with specific paired dyadic associations consistent across years. We demonstrate high within-colony reciprocity of leadership roles in departure times of dyads from core areas, relative to between colony dyadic associations. We provide evidence of colonial behaviour in elasmobranch fishes, underpinned by conditions under which we would expect foraging via social or public information exchange to persist. Our models also suggest that social foraging with information transfer could drive central place foraging and colonial behaviour without the requirement for reproductive mechanisms.

We have developed a new database of structures and bond energies of 45 noble-gas containing molecules. The structures were calculated by CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ methods and the bond energies were obtained using CCSD(T)/CBS (complete basis set) method. Many wavefunction-based and density functional theory methods have been benchmarked against the 45 accurate bond energies. Our result showed that the MPW1B95, B2GP-PLYP, and DSD-BLYP functionals with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set excel on predicting the bond energies of the noble-gas molecules with MUEs (mean unsigned errors) of 1.5-1.9 kcal/mol. When combinations of Dunning’s basis sets are used, the MPW1B95, MPW1PW91, and B2GP-PLYP functional give significantly lower MUEs of 1.1-1.3 kcal/mol. Doubly hybrid methods using B2GP-PLYP and DSD-BLYP functionals and MP2 calculation also provide satisfactory accuracy with MUEs of 1.3-1.4 kcal/mol. If the noble-gas bond energies and the total atomization energies of a group of 109 main-group molecules are considered at the same time, the MPW1B95/aug-cc-pVTZ single-level method (MUE = 2.7 kcal/mol) and the B2GP-PLYP functional with combinations of basis sets (MUEs = 1.8 kcal/mol) give the overall best result.

Tools and tests for measuring the presence and type of consciousness are becoming available, but there is no established theoretical approach for what these tools are measuring. This paper looks at various categories of tests for measuring the presence and type of consciousness and suggests ways in which different theories of consciousness may be empirically distinguished. We label the various testable correlates of consciousness as the "measurable correlates of consciousness" (MCC). There are three sub-categories of MCC: 1) Neural correlates of consciousness (NCC); 2) Behavioral correlates of consciousness (BCC); 3) Creative correlates of consciousness (CCC). We also look specifically at ways in which the General Resonance Theory of consciousness may be tested and compared to other theories like the Integrated Information Theory of consciousness and Global Workspace Theory. We suggest additional simplified approaches under the hypothesis that electrical and magnetic fields are the seat of consciousness. Last, we reflect on how broader philosophical views about the nature of consciousness, such as materialism and panpsychism, may also become scientifically tractable.IntroductionHow can we know if any person, animal or any thing is actually conscious and not just simulating various aspects of consciousness? The nature of consciousness makes it by necessity a wholly private affair (Libet 2005; Koch 2019). The only consciousness I can know with certainty is my own. Everything else is inference.How do we create a reliable “consciousness-ometer” (what I’ll call apsychometer in the rest of this paper)? This inquiry has been relegated to philosophical musings until the last few years, but we are at a juncture where tools for measuring consciousness are starting to mature. This paper looks at the various kinds of tools and tests available, how they can be used to test for the presence and type of consciousness, and makes some suggestions for how a reliable psychometer could be created and refined over time.Theories of consciousness are abundant, but often untested or even untestable (Michel et al. 2019). A major coordinated testing program has yet to be conducted, but the Templeton World Charity Foundation embarked in 2019 [Fn 1] on a multi-year effort to examine a number of the more prominent theories of consciousness in a series of one-on-one adversarial experimental tests, with the express intent of distinguishing the various theories. The first head-to-head contest will feature Global Neuronal Workspace theory (Dehaene 2014) and the Integrated Information Theory of consciousness (Oizumi, et al. 2013).Footnote 1.  Limited details are available at Templeton’s website here: https://www.templetonworldcharity.org/arc. Additional details on the program and approach are available here: https://www.quantamagazine.org/neuroscience-readies-for-a-showdown-over-consciousness-ideas-20190306/. Additional details were released at an October 2019 announcement: https://sci-hub.tw/https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6463/293.full. In thinking about ways to test theories of consciousness, it is important to keep in mind at all times that we can’t know if any person, any animal, or anything else at all is actually conscious, rather than a sophisticated simulation of consciousness. We can and frequently do in practice, nevertheless, make reasonable inferences about the presence of other consciousnesses. Libet 2005 agrees: “[S]ubjective experience cannot be directly measured by external objective devices or by external observations. Conscious subjective experience is accessible only to the individual having the experience.”Attempts to assess the presence or nature of consciousness in any particular circumstance, and related attempts to assess different theories of consciousness and their predictions, will face the problem of reasonable inference (abduction) because of this fundamental limitation on our individual and collective knowledge. But this problem is surmounted frequently in practice in that we, each of us, reasonably infer that other people are conscious, based on their behavior and appearance. The same holds true for pets and many other animals. Testing for the presence of consciousness throughout the physical world relies on making similar reasonable inferences.Koch 2019 (p. 155) makes a similar argument: “Because you are so similar to me, I abduce that you too have subjective, phenomenal states. The same logic applies to other people. Apart from the occasional solitary solipsist this is uncontroversial.” Koch proceeds through the course of his book to offer various ways that scientists may, now and in the future, test for the presence and character of consciousness in humans, animals and even non-biological entities – all based on abduction (reasonable inference).We propose in the present paper a general quantification framework that rests on various “measurable correlates of consciousness” (MCC). This rubric includes the “neural correlates of consciousness” and the related but broader notion of “behavioral correlates of consciousness.” It also includes a newly-coined “creative correlates of consciousness” (CCC) category that is explained below. MCC refers to any means identified for measuring aspects of consciousness.This paper identifies various ways in which MCC can be identified and tested. We also suggest ways for testing and contrasting specific theories of consciousness, including the General Resonance Theory (GRT) of consciousness that has been developed by Hunt and Schooler over the last decade. We also argue that the various metaphysical positions with respect to the nature of consciousness may, contrary to widespread opinion on this subject, be tested.These questions are more than philosophical. With the coming age of intelligent digital assistants, self-driving cars, and other robots serving us and increasingly running our lives, does it matter if these AIs are actually conscious or just simulating consciousness?More relevant for today’s needs, how can we know that coma victims, or patients in vegetative or minimally conscious states, are conscious or not? Or if they are likely to recover? How can a family know whether to take a patient off life support or not, if they don’t know with any certainty what kind of consciousness is or is not present, or is likely to re-enter over time?The Measurable Correlates of ConsciousnessThere is a small but growing field looking at how to assess the presence and even quantity of consciousness in various entities. I’ve divided possible tests into three broad categories that comprise collectively what I call the “measurable correlates of consciousness” (MCC) (Fig. 1). The MCC represent all possible scientific measures for inferring the presence of consciousness. They are “correlates” because we can’t know with certainty, as discussed above, whether consciousness is actually present. We can only infer, based on our measurements and best judgments. But they, nevertheless, “measurable,” and this term is meant to capture both of these key features.

Abstract Introduction: There is a strong relationship between the accurate medical diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Any disagreement between admission diagnoses (ADx) and discharge diagnoses (DDx) can lead to medical error. Because of high incidence rate of cardiovascular disease in Zanjan province, this study aimed to determining the Discrepancies between admission diagnoses and discharge diagnoses. Method: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study that conducted at Zanjan province in the period from 2012 to 2018. The sample limited to patients whom The ADX and DDX codes of ICD-10 were between I00 and I99. Data analyzed by using R (v3.6.0) and Rstudio (v1.2.1335) software. Agreement analysis was conducted using Cohen’s Kappa statistics and the Chi Square statistic is used for testing relationships between variables. Results: Agreement analysis of CVDs subgroups showed that the value of the Kappa coefficient range were from κ = 0.34 for Chronic rheumatic heart diseases to κ = 0.93 for Acute rheumatic fever diseases. The values of the Kappa coefficient for the 10 most CVDs ICD-10 codes were in the range from κ = 0. 44 for I25.9 to κ = 0. 77 for I80.2. Conclusion: ICD-10 diagnostic codes that recorded in the HIS can be a reliable factor to evaluate the ADX and DDX discrepancies. The findings of this study may help to understand the cause of the differences in the qualities of health care in the hospitals. Keywords: patient admission, patient discharge, diagnosis, cardiovascular disease, international classification of diseases.

Groundwater depletion is arguably one of humanity’s greatest sustainability challenges of the 21st century. With Sustainable Development Goals only a decade away, water authorities around the world are in the urgent need for concrete and targeted measures to ensure that communities adhere to groundwater management policies as rapidly and as effectively as possible. In this paper, we combine computational social science, groundwater modelling and empirical data from the World Values Survey to generate future ensembles of hydro-social trajectories under alternative courses of management and social action or inaction. Our simulations shed new light on the role that cultural values can play in shaping the societal trajectories and norms that emerge when resources are either allocated or not sufficiently allocated to monitor compliance, issue fines, engage community leaders, and deter rule-breakers. This study presents a new approach to explore and evaluate the capacity of existing and future management actions to steer groundwater systems towards sustainable trajectories, to forecast the celerity and timing of social transformations at the inter-decadal scale, and to help nations identify the most pertinent management options under institutional, political, social, and/or cultural constraints. The methods presented here are broadly applicable to support strategic decisions that rely on the monitoring, enforcement, and compliance of environmental regulations.

Software Development in a Context of Sustainability

Sensitivity analysis is an important component of water resource and environmental modelling. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), as global sensitivity analysis technique, has been widely used for achieving this. To diminish the effect of the biased variance estimator of ANOVA, three developed subsampling (single-, multiple- and full-subsampling) ANOVA approaches are established. Two case studies including one simplified regression model and one hydrological model are used to illustrate the performance of these approaches. The traditional Sobol’s method is used as benchmark method. Results find that: (1) The subsampling effectively diminishes the bias introduced by the biased variance estimator. (2) The difference of sampling densities among parameters has great influence on quantification of parametric sensitivities in hydrologic modeling. (3) Compared with Sobol’s method, the subsampling ANOVA methods can significantly reduce the calculation requirements while achieve similar calculation accuracy. This study serves as a first basis for the application of subsampling ANOVA in water resource and environmental models sensitivity analysis.

In Belgium, IWVA uses Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to recharge the aquifer with treated wastewater generated from the communities to sustain the potable water supply on the Belgian coast. This MAR facility is faced with a challenge of reduced infiltration rates during the winter season when pond water temperatures near 4 °C. This study involves the identification of the predominant factor influencing the rate of infiltration through the pond bed. Several factors including pumping rates, natural recharge, tidal influences of the North Sea and pond-water temperature were identified as potential causes for variation of the recharge rate. Correlation statistics and linear regression analysis were used to determine the sensitivity of the infiltration rate to the aforementioned factors. Two groundwater flow models were developed in visual MODFLOW to simulate the water movement under the pond bed and to obtain the differences in flux to track the effects of variation of hydraulic conductivity during the two seasons. A 32 % reduction in vertical hydraulic gradient in the top portion of the aquifer was observed in winter causing the recharge rates to fluctuate. Results showed that water temperature caused a 30 % increase in hydraulic conductivity in summer as compared to winter and has the maximum impact on infiltration rate. Cyclic variations in water viscosity, occurring because of seasonal temperature changes, influence the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the pond bed. Results from the models confirm the impact on infiltration rate by temperature influenced hydraulic conductivity.

Skin sensitization occurs when an exogenous chemical substance forms a covalent adduct with a dermal protein electrophile or nucleophile. This instigates an immune response which leads to inflammation. The local lymph node assay (LLNA) is an in-vivo model used in the assessment of relative skin sensitizing potency of chemicals. The method is time consuming and expensive, as well as poses ethical questions given that a number of mice must be sacrificed for each compound assessed. In this work we investigate the use of an inexpensive, rapid and ethical method to predict the skin sensitization potential of Schiff base chemicals. We employ quantum chemical methods to rationalize the sensitization potential of 22 compounds with a diverse range of activities. To this end we have evaluated the mechanistic profile associated with this type of reaction using gas-phase models. We subsequently use the predicted rate determining barriers and key physico-chemical parameters (such as logP) to establish SAR guidelines to predict the skin sensitization potential for new chemicals. We find that the predicted rate determining barriers for aldehydes, ketone and 1,2 and 1,3 diones generally decrease in the given order, which concurs with the overall trends in sensitization. We find that lipophilicity also plays a role, with those chemicals displaying both low barriers to reaction, and lower lipophilicity (i.e. diones), being more likely to display undesirable skin sensitization effects. These findings are in line with experimental based observations in the literature and point to the value 3D quantum chemical simulations can play in the combination of approaches used to estimate skin sensitization potential of chemicals.

Due to the increase in industry, agricultural production and domestic water consumption, a common practice is to improve water use efficiency by building reservoirs. However, the construction of reservoirs has the effect of an increase in the evaporation area of the water surface. Observations show that due to the evaporation effect of the reservoir, the precipitation and precipitation distribution will change in some area. The Xiying Reservoir is a typical manmade mountain reservoir in the Qilian Mountains in the upper reaches of the Shiyang River Basin. Based on the data collected by the multi-water body stable isotope observation network in the Shiyang River Basin, the study under discussion here used the isotope mixture model to quantify the impact of reservoir evaporation in this region. It was found that the advected water vapor of the Xiying reservoir mainly comes from southeast, northeast and northwest. The d-excess value of precipitation around the Xiying reservoir is significantly higher than that of other regions in the Xiying River Basin, which is characterized by the mixing of water vapor generated by the evaporation of surface water and advected water vapor, indicating that the evaporation water vapor of the reservoir has a certain impact on local precipitation. It was calculated that 3.86-11.86% of the precipitation around the Xiying reservoir comes from the evaporation of reservoir water and that about 4.39% (8.06×106 m3) of the Xiying river water was consumed by evaporation. The background of atmospheric water vapor content is the main influencing factor responsible for reservoir evaporation. The local atmospheric movement determines the influence range of reservoir evaporation on precipitation.

Rationale, aims and objectives Medication discrepancies are frequent at hospital admission and have the potential to cause harm. However, the potential risk factors concerning unintentional medication discrepancies in China is still unclear. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of unintentional medication discrepancies and the associated risk factors and evaluate the potential harms of errors prevented. Method This Prospective interventional study was carried out in four internal medicine wards including cardiology department, nephrology department, endocrinology department and respiratory medicine in a grade A tertiary university teaching hospital in China. Medication reconciliation process was performed at admission to the departments between 2019 Feb 1st and 2019 Aug 31st by clinical pharmacists trainees. And the expert panel evaluated all unintentional medication discrepancies to determine their potential harm. Associations between unintentional medication discrepancies and factors involved were evaluated. Results In general, 321 patients were enrolled (mean age 59.7±15.2 years; 176 men). The reconciliation process identified 511 medication discrepancies, with 98 (74 patients) being unintentional medication discrepancies. The most frequent unintentional medication discrepancies type was omission (40.8%), followed by incorrect dose (25.5%), and 73.5% were likely to cause moderate to significant harm and complications to patients. Polypharmacy and 2 or more chronic diseases at admission associated with unintentional medication discrepancies in a multivariable analysis after univariate adjustment.Conclusions Pharmacy-led medication reconciliation on admission and pharmacist trainees involvement can diminish unintentional medication discrepancies effectively. Patients taking multiple drugs and experiencing more than two chronic diseases were proved to be specifically at risk.

Human pressure on the water resources provided by natural wetlands has intensified in Brazil due to an increase in agricultural land equipped with irrigation. However, the amount of water stored in these areas, and its contribution to aquifer recharge is unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the amount of water that can be retained in a natural wetland surrounded by farmland and to propose a model of groundwater recharge. We used remote sensing techniques involving Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to map the area and highlight the wetland internal morphology, using RGB orthomosaic and its respective digital surface model. According to the topography of the study area three compartments were defined. Compartment 1, corresponding to the external border of the wetland, can store 313,121.00 m³ of water; compartment 2 and 3 can store 85,923.20 m³ and 17,952.10 m³, respectively. The 2D inversion and a pseudo-3D model produced from Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ETR) data were used to visualize the subsurface geologic structure and hydrologic flow paths. Our results showed the direct interactions between groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) in the center of the wetland (compartment 3), which constitutes the aquifer recharge zone with vertical infiltration. As the depth increases, infiltration and water flow deviate laterally in the southwest and northeast direction. The wetland is characterized as an unconfined aquifer that plays an important role in the hydrogeological dynamics of the catchment. Remotely sensed images allied with geophysical techniques allow complete surface and subsurface imaging and offers visual tools that contribute to understanding the hydrodynamic of an area.

In river sediments, nitrate is a more preferable electron sink for microbial respiration than oxygen, for its good solubility and high redox potential. Nitrate amendment has been used to accelerate oxidation of pollutants but very few studies focused on microbial dynamics during bioremediation. Here we simulated a nitrate surge and monitored the microbial responses in a sulfide-rich river sediment. Original communities were found dominated by methanogens and syntrophic bacteria, yet nitrate input enriched two chemolithotrophic denitrifiersThiobacillus and Luteimonas , in spite of abundant organic carbons there. This led to simplified community composition, function and interactive networks. Similarly, serial dilutions of sediments found that Thiobacillus thiophilu s dominated 18/30 communities because of its simultaneous nitrate reduction and sulfide oxidation. Interestingly, syntrophic bacteria and archaea performing interspecies cross-feeding rather than the dominant denitrifiers were sustaining microbial interactions. Therefore, environment perturbations that inhibit native auxotrophs will very likely disrupt original microbial interactions.

Long-distance migrations by marine fish have long fascinated scientists, but are difficult to track by visual surveys. Here, we propose a new method to easily and precisely track such migrations using stable nitrogen isotopic composition at the base of the food web (δ15NBase), which can be estimated by using compound-specific isotope analysis. δ15NBase exclusively reflects the δ15N of nitrate in the ocean at a regional scale and is not affected by the trophic position of sampled organisms. We initially constructed a δ15NBase isoscape in the northern North Pacific, and determined retrospective δ15NBase values of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) from their vertebral centra. Then, we estimated the migration routes of chum salmon during their skeletal growth by using a state-space model. Our isotope tracking method successfully reproduced a known chum salmon migration route between the Okhotsk and Bering seas, and indicates the presence of a novel migration route to the eastern Bering Sea Shelf during a later growth stage.

A unique Meyerozyma sp. strain YLG18 was obtained in this study, which was capable of producing 2-phenylethanol through both Ehrlich and Shikimate pathways. Response surface methodology (RSM) was implemented to improve the maximum 2-PE production. At optimized conditions: temperature, 24.7℃; initial glucose, 63.54 g/L; initial L-phe, 10.70 g/L, 2-PE production was increased to 2.55 g/L, leading to 104% increase compared to the pre-optimized one. In situ product recovery (ISPR) could further help improve the final 2-PE production to 3.20 g/L with fatty acid methyl ester as the extractant, representing the highest 2-PE production by using Meyerozyma sp.. Furthermore, genes involved in 2-PE synthesis were identified and their expression levels between Shikimate pathway and Ehrlich pathway were compared. Based on the genomic and transcriptional analysis, a penta-functional enzyme AroM in Shikimate pathway and an aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) with the potential to convert phenylalanine into phenylpyruvate in Ehrlich pathway were identified. These findings would help broaden our knowledge and add to the pool of known 2-PE generating microbes and genes.

Lactic acid producing bacteria are important in many fermentations, such as the production of biobased plastics. Insight in the competitive advantage of lactic acid bacteria over other fermentative bacteria in a mixed culture enables ecology-based process design and can aid the development of sustainable and energy-efficient bioprocesses. Here we demonstrate the enrichment of lactic acid bacteria in a controlled sequencing batch bioreactor environment using a glucose based medium supplemented with peptides and B vitamins. A mineral medium enrichment operated in parallel was dominated by Ethanoligenens species and fermented glucose to acetate, butyrate and hydrogen. The complex medium enrichment was populated by Lactococcus, Lactobacillus and Megasphaera species and showed a product spectrum of acetate, ethanol, propionate, butyrate and valerate. An intermediate peak of lactate was observed, showing the simultaneous production and consumption of lactate, which is of concern for lactic acid production purposes. This study underlines that the competitive advantage for lactic acid producing bacteria primarily lies in their ability to attain a high biomass specific uptake rate of glucose, which was two times higher for the complex medium enrichment when compared to the mineral medium enrichment. The competitive advantage of lactic acid production in rich media can be explained using a resource allocation theory for microbial growth processes.

Accurate estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) are of great importance for water balance and energy exchange processes, as ET constitutes the key component of the terrestrial water cycle. Although many applicable reference evapotranspiration (ET0) models have been developed to estimate the ET, these are largely focused on low altitude regions, with little attention to alpine meadow. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of 13 ET0 models by comparison with large weigh lysimeter measurements. Specifically, we use three combination models, seven radiation-based models and three temperature-based models driven with data from 8 June 2017 to 18 September 2018 in a humid alpine meadow, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The daily ET was also obtained by large weighing lysimeters located in an alpine Kobresia meadow. Results show that the performances of the 13 ET0 models, ranked on the basis of their RMSE (root mean square error), decreased in the order: DeBruin-Keijman>Priestley-Taylor> 1963 Penman> FAO-24 Penman>Hargreaves>Hargreaves2>Hargreaves1>IRMAK1>FAO-56Penman-Monteith>Makkink>Makkink (1967)>Makkink (1957)>IRMAK2. Overall, the radiation-based models performed best, with RMSEs ranging from1.03 to 1.47 mm d−1 and averaging 1.09 mm d−1, followed by the combination models (RMSE from 1.19 to 1.36 mm d−1 and averaging 1.26 mm d−1) and temperature models (RMSE from 1.28 to 1.32 mm d−1 and averaging 1.29 mm d−1). The best radiation-based model (DeBruin-Keijman) was more accurate than the best combination model (1963 Penman) and temperature model (Hargreaves) by 16.67% and 25.49%, respectively. The better performance of the radiation-based models over the other two types may be attributed to their inclusion of the dominant factors affecting ET, such as net radiation (Rn). All models tended to underestimate measured ET during periods of larger evaporative demand (i.e. growing season) and overestimate measured ET during lower evaporative demand (i.e. non-growing season). Our results could help in the selection of a suitable ET model for alpine ecosystems, thereby benefitting water irrigation management.

CO2 electrocatalysis as a hydrocarbon is a promising means of achieving economical CO2-mediated hydrogen energy cycling. Hydrocarbons are renewable hydrogen storage materials. The development of reliable metal alloy electrocatalysts is an urgent but challenging task associated with such systems, although there is still a lack of precise reaction mechanism design. In this study, the performance of Pd10Ag5 alloy nanoparticles (NPs) and Pd10Sn5 alloy nanoparticles (NPs) on the electrocatalytic reaction of CO2 was compare. The kinetic and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the selectivity of the Pd-based bimetallic catalyst to the C2 product is greater than that of C1, and the stability of Pd10Ag5 is better and less affected by the reaction environment. However, the catalytic performance of the Pd10Sn5 electrocatalyst in the liquid phase is the best. The insight obtained from the calculations is used to develop criteria for identifying new and improved catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction.

Objective : To compare the judgment of fatty liver by ultrasound, Fibroscan and CT in normal ALT non-obese patients, analyze the consistency and advantages among these noninvasive examination in NAFLD.Methods: 332 cases of non-obese NAFLD patients (BMI < 25 kg/m2) with normal ALT were enrolled. All patients were diagnosed with fatty liver by abdominal ultrasonography. Meanwhile, Computed tomography and Fibroscan were used to evaluate the existence and severity of fatty liver. Results : 47.52 % and 67.70 % patients who diagnosed as NAFLD by ultrasound were unable to be diagnosed with fatty liver in accordance with the standard of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) value by fibroscan and liver/spleen density ratio by CT.The evaluation of NAFLD by CAP standard were influenced by several factors ,while only age and TG may affect the judgment of fatty liver when CT was used. Liver stiffness measurement(LSM) affects the diagnostic coincidence rate of Fibroscan,CT and ultrasound. Statistical difference could be found among different LSM groups in the severity of NAFLD evaluated by Fibroscan and CT.Conclusion: There is a discrepancy in the evaluation NAFLD by fibroscan, CT and ultrasound. LSM may affect the diagnostic coincidence rate of Fibroscan ,CT and ultrasound.

The reaction of CH3 + HCNO was theoretically studied by both density functional theory and molecular orbital calculations and analyzed by quantum statistical methods. The potential energy surface was constructed at the UCCSD(T)//B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) + ZPE level. Four entrance channels are opened relating to the interaction of the CH3 radical with each of the four atoms of the HCNO molecule, giving rise to eighteen different product sets. The predicted geometries and heats of reaction are in good agreement with available experimental data. The major pathways involve addition of CH3 to the C atom of HCNO with a small energy barrier of ~4 kcal/mol forming both Z and E-HC(CH3)NO (IS1 / IS1b) intermediates lying 45 or 44 kcal/mol, respectively, below the reactants. The nascent intermediates can collisionally be deactivated and subsequently decompose into H + CH3CNO, or isomerize prior to decomposition giving other products. Kinetics calculations covering the temperature range of 400 – 2500 K, under pressures of 7.6 × 10-1 - 7.6 × 105 Torr for N2, He, and Ar as the third bodies show that at 760 Torr N2, the adducts including both IS1 and IS1b are the major products at temperature below 600 K, while H + CH3CNO and CNO + CH4 are the major products at T ≥ 1500 K. The total high-pressure rate coefficient can well be expressed by the following 3-parameter equation: k(T) = 7.75 × 10-16  T1.69 exp (-1480 K/T) cm3 molecule-1 s-1.

3D cell culture has developed rapidly over the past 5-10 years with the goal of better replicating human physiology and tissue complexity in the laboratory. Quantifying cellular responses is fundamental in understanding how cells and tissues respond during their growth cycle and in response to external stimuli. There is a need to develop and validate tools that can give insight into cell number, viability and distribution in real-time, non-destructively and without the use of stains or other labelling processes. Impedance spectroscopy can address all of these challenges and is currently used both commercially and in academic laboratories to measure cellular processes in 2D cell culture systems. However, its use in 3D cultures is not straight forward due to the complexity of the electrical circuit model of 3D tissues. In addition, there are challenges in the design and integration of electrodes within 3D cell culture systems. Researchers have used a range of strategies to implement impedance spectroscopy in 3D systems. This review examines electrode design, integration and outcomes of a range of impedance spectroscopy studies and multi-parametric systems relevant to 3D cell cultures. While these systems provide whole culture data, impedance tomography approaches have shown how this technique can be used to achieve spatial resolution. This review demonstrates how impedance spectroscopy and tomography can be used to provide real-time sensing in 3D cell cultures, but challenges remain in integrating electrodes without affecting cell culture functionality. If these challenges can be addressed and more realistic electrical models for 3D tissues developed, the implementation of impedance-based systems will be able to provide real-time, quantitative tracking of 3D cell culture systems.

Forests reduce snow accumulation on the ground through canopy interception and subsequent evaporative losses. To understand snow interception and associated hydrological processes, studies have typically relied on resource-intensive point scale measurements derived from weighed trees or indirect measurements that compared snow accumulation between forested sites and nearby clearings. Weighed trees are limited to small or medium sized trees and indirect comparisons can be confounded by wind redistribution of snow, branch unloading, and clearing size. A potential alternative method could use terrestrial lidar (light detection and ranging) because three-dimensional lidar point clouds can be generated for any size tree and can be utilized to calculate volume of the intercepted snow. The primary objective of this study was to provide a feasibility assessment for estimating snow interception mass with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), providing information on challenges and opportunities for future research. During the winters of 2017 and 2018, intercepted snow masses were continuously measured for two model trees suspended from load-cells. Simultaneously, autonomous terrestrial lidar scanning (ATLS) was used to develop volumetric estimates of intercepted snow. Multiplying ATLS volume estimates by snow density estimates (derived from empirical models based on air temperature) enabled comparison of predicted vs. measured snow mass. Results indicate agreement between predicted and measured values (R2 ≥ 0.69, RMSE ≥ 0.91 kg, slope ≥ 0.97, intercept ≥ -1.39) when multiplying TLS snow interception volume with a constant snow density estimate. These results suggest that TLS might be a viable alternative to traditional approaches for mapping snow interception, potentially useful for estimating snow loads on large trees, collecting data from hazardous or remote terrain, and calibrating snow interception models to new forest types around the globe.