Since the 1986 release of the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology almost 40 years ago, there have been two whole of government updates that made only minor changes, while new regulations and guidance from individual agencies have made more substantial alterations. Despite scientific advances and the emergence of products that fall outside the purview of legacy statutes, repeated calls for substantive changes have gone largely unanswered. We expand upon the NSCEB’s most important recommendations for improvements to the Coordinated Framework. We recommend that Congress create an NBCO and direct it to create a centralized application submission portal; conduct horizon scanning for future products of biotechnology; streamline regulations for familiar products and exempt low-risk products; and improve organizational structure, staff training, and interagency exchange.
Katarzyna Grabowska, Łukasz Januszkiewicz, Ewelina Pabjańczyk-Wlazło
This study explores the electromagnetic properties of flat textile products enhanced with carbon nanotube (CNT) threads used as the weft. CNT threads, fabricated via dry-spinning, were integrated into fabrics by wrapping them around steel threads to form a solenoid-like structure. To further improve electromagnetic attenuation, the CNT yarn was coated with graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles. The research assessed the impact of these modifications on the fabric’s ability to attenuate alternating electromagnetic fields across a range of frequencies. Results showed enhanced attenuation at 30 MHz and 500 MHz. CNT yarn wrapped around steel threads achieved attenuation efficiencies of 18 dB at 30 MHz and 22 dB at 500 MHz, with a notable 10 dB improvement at 30 MHz over the reference. Fabrics with CNT yarn coated with graphene oxide demonstrated similar performance to the reference fabric at 500 MHz and an 8 dB increase at 30 MHz. Similarly, CNT yarn with silver nanoparticles showed comparable performance at higher frequencies but matched the reference at 30 MHz. These results indicate significant enhancement at lower frequencies, with benefits diminishing at higher. This study underscores the potential of integrating CNTs and metal nanoparticles into textiles to improve electromagnetic shielding, especially across specific frequencies.
Science, Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
Euiyeon Lee, Keshab Lal Shrestha, Seonhye Kang
et al.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-mediated activation of EGF receptors (EGFRs) has become an important target in drug development due to the implication of EGFR-mediated cellular signaling in cancer development. While various in vitro approaches are developed for monitoring EGF-EGFR interactions, they have several limitations. Herein, we describe a live cell-based sensor system that can be used to monitor the interaction of EGF and EGFR as well as the subsequent signaling events. The design of the EGF-detecting sensor cells is based on the split-intein-mediated conditional protein trans-cleavage reaction (CPC). CPC is triggered by the presence of the target (EGF) to activate a signal peptide that translocates the fluorescent cargo to the target cellular location (mitochondria). The developed sensor cell demonstrated excellent sensitivity with a fast response time. It was also successfully used to detect an agonist and antagonist of EGFR (transforming growth factor-α and Cetuximab, respectively), demonstrating excellent specificity and capability of screening the analytes based on their function. The usage of sensor cells was then expanded from merely detecting the presence of target to monitoring the target-mediated signaling cascade, by exploiting previously developed Ca<sup>2+</sup>-detecting sensor cells. These sensor cells provide a useful platform for monitoring EGF-EGFR interaction, for screening EGFR effectors, and for studying downstream cellular signaling cascades.
Soonil Hong, Byoungwook Park, Chandran Balamurugan
et al.
Efforts to commercialize organic solar cells (OSCs) by developing roll-to-roll compatible modules have encountered challenges in optimizing printing processes to attain laboratory-level performance in fully printable OSC architectures. In this study, we present efficient OSC modules fabricated solely through printing methods. We systematically evaluated the impact of processing solvents on the morphology of crucial layers, such as the hole transport, photoactive, and electron transport layers, applied using the doctor blade coating method, with a particular focus on processability. Notably, deposition of charge transport layer using printing techniques is still a challenging task, mainly due to the hydrophobic characteristic of the organic photoactive layer. To overcome this issue, we investigated the solvent effect of a well-studied cathode interlayer, bathocuproine (BCP). We were able to form a uniform thin BCP film (∼10 nm) on a non-fullerene based organic photoactive layer using the doctor bladed coating method. Our results showed that the use of volatile alcohols in the BCP processing required a delicate balance between wettability and vaporization, which contrasted with the results for spin-coated films. These findings provide important insights into improving the efficiency of printing techniques for depositing charge transport layers. The fully printed OSC modules, featuring uniform and continuous BCP layer formation, achieved an impressive power conversion efficiency of 10.8% with a total area of 10.0 cm2 and a geometrical fill factor of 86.5%.
Antonija Tomic, Marin Kovacic, Hrvoje Kusic
et al.
Although heterogeneous photocatalysis has shown promising results in degradation of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), the mechanistic implications related to structural diversity of chemicals, affecting oxidative (by HO•) or reductive (by O<sub>2</sub>•<sup>−</sup>) degradation pathways are still scarce. In this study, the degradation extents and rates of selected organics in the absence and presence of common scavengers for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during photocatalytic treatment were determined. The obtained values were then brought into correlation as <i>K</i> coefficients (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>M</mi><mrow><mi>HO</mi><mo>•</mo></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>/<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>M</mi><mrow><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">O</mi><mn>2</mn></msub><msup><mo>•</mo><mo>−</mo></msup></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), denoting the ratio of organics degraded by two occurring mechanisms: oxidation and reduction via HO• and O<sub>2</sub>•<sup>−</sup>. The compounds possessing <i>K</i> >> 1 favor oxidative degradation over HO•, and vice versa for reductive degradation (i.e., if <i>K</i> << 1 compounds undergo reductive reactions driven by O<sub>2</sub>•<sup>−</sup>). Such empirical values were brought into correlation with structural features of CECs, represented by molecular descriptors, employing a quantitative structure activity/property relationship (QSA/PR) modeling. The functional stability and predictive power of the resulting QSA/PR model was confirmed by internal and external cross-validation. The most influential descriptors were found to be the size of the molecule and presence/absence of particular molecular fragments such as C − O and C − Cl bonds; the latter favors HO•-driven reaction, while the former the reductive pathway. The developed QSA/PR models can be considered robust predictive tools for evaluating distribution between degradation mechanisms occurring in photocatalytic treatment.
Rachel M. Sumsion, Haylie M. June, Michael R. Cope
Rising rates of hunger and food insecurity have sparked a major re-evaluation of all aspects of food systems. Because of the multifaceted nature of food insecurity, however, determining what actions should be taken is challenging, especially since reevaluation efforts are led by experts from several disciplines and there is no consensus about which indicators should be used and how they should be measured. Confusion surrounding the meaning of the terms ‘food security’ and ‘food insecurity’ has contributed to this lack of consensus. As indicators inform action, such confusion has slowed those committed to alleviating hunger in identifying the most pressing targets. This review highlights (1) the importance of clearly defining food security and food insecurity and (2) how such definitions affect measures of food insecurity in the United States. While some might say that definitions are an issue of the past or a trivial matter of semantics, we believe that the world’s present rates of hunger and malnutrition are attributable, at least in part, to the lack of consensus on these definitions and their accompanying measurements and indicators. Although the present review can be helpful to academics and policy makers, the primary purpose is to be a resource to those involved in the day-to-day production of food, such as ranchers and farmers by providing an overview of definitions, indicators, and measurements used when discussing food security.
Nathália Leal Dominguez, Thaís Amaral Ferreira Baracho, Bruna de Abreu Toscano Souza
et al.
Objetivo: Avaliar a relação do risco de síndrome de realimentação com desfechos clínicos (tempo de internação e óbito) em pacientes admitidos nos prontos socorros de dois hospitais públicos do Distrito Federal (DF). Método: Trata-se de um estudo com caráter longitudinal, prospectivo, observacional e analítico, o qual foi realizado em dois hospitais públicos do DF no período de agosto de 2018 a agosto de 2019. Resultados: A amostra foi composta por 478 pacientes admitidos nos prontos-socorros dos dois hospitais. Observou-se que 45,60% da amostra apresentou risco nutricional e 32,22% algum grau de desnutrição. A frequência do risco para síndrome de realimentação foi de 23,65%. Os pacientes que apresentaram risco para síndrome de realimentação apresentaram 83% mais risco de permanecerem internados por mais de 7 dias e 58% mais risco de óbito em relação aos pacientes que não apresentaram risco para SR. Conclusão: Pacientes que apresentam risco para síndrome de realimentação permaneceram mais tempo internados e possuem mais risco de irem a óbito.
Nutritional diseases. Deficiency diseases, Nutrition. Foods and food supply
AbstractThe chemical risk assessment paradigm is shifting from “substance-based” to “product/mixture-based” and from “animal testing” to “alternative testing” under chemical regulations. Organisms and the environment may be exposed to mixtures rather than a single substance. Conducting toxicity tests for all possible combinations is impractical due to the enormous combinatorial complexity. This study highlights the development and application case studies of Mixture Risk Assessment Toolbox, a novel web-based platform that supports mixture risk assessment through the use of different prediction models and public databases. This integrated framework provides new functional values for assessors to easily screen and compare the toxicity of mixture products using different computational techniques and find strategic solutions to reduce the mixture toxicity in the product development process. The toolbox (https://www.mratoolbox.org) includes four additive toxicity models: two conventional (Concentration Addition; and Independent Action) and two advanced (Generalized Concentration Addition; and Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship-based Two-Stage Prediction) models. We demonstrated the multiple functions of the toolbox using three cases: (i) how it can be used to calculate the mixture toxicity, (ii) those for which safety data sheet (SDS) only indicating representative toxicity values (EC50; and LC50), and (iii) those comprising chemicals with low toxic effects.
This study aimed to determine whether fermented soy sauce has a mutually synergistic effect on the quality and storage properties of pork patties, and to investigate the effects on the availability and physicochemical properties of various taste ingredients of soy sauce, a traditional Korean food ingredient. The experimental groups were as follows: Control (−): No additives; Control (+): 0.1% ascorbic acid; T1: 1% fermented soy sauce; T2: 3% fermented soy sauce; T3: 5% fermented soy sauce. No significant difference was detected in moisture, protein, and fat among the various treatment groups; however, ash content and water holding capacity increased and texture properties improved with the concentration of fermented soy sauce. The addition of fermented soy sauce during refrigerated storage for 10 days showed a positive effect on the storage properties. The peroxide value, content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and total phenolics, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity differed significantly in pork patties with different treatments and storage intervals. The effect of fermented soy sauce on the overall quality and storage properties of pork patties during refrigerated storage is relatively unknown. These findings demonstrate that the addition of fermented soy sauce improves the quality properties and antioxidant activity of pork patties.
Whitni K. Redman, Garrett S. Welch, Avery C. Williams
et al.
Novel anti-biofilm and dispersal agents are currently being investigated in an attempt to combat biofilm-associated wound infections. Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) are enzymes that hydrolyze the glycosidic bonds between sugars, such as those found within the exopolysaccharides of the biofilm matrix. Previous studies have shown that GHs can weaken the matrix, inducing bacterial dispersal, and improving antibiotic clearance. Yet, the number of GH enzymes that have been examined for potential therapeutic effects is limited. In this study, we screened sixteen GHs for their ability to disperse mono-microbial and polymicrobial biofilms grown in different environments. Six GHs, α-amylase (source: A. oryzae), alginate lyase (source: various algae), pectinase (source: Rhizopus sp.), amyloglucosidase (source: A. niger), inulinase (source: A. niger), and xylanase (source: A. oryzae), exhibited the highest dispersal efficacy in vitro. Two GHs, α-amylase (source: Bacillus sp.) and cellulase (source: A. niger), used in conjunction with meropenem demonstrated infection clearing ability in a mouse wound model. GHs were also effective in improving antibiotic clearance in diabetic mice. To examine their safety, we screened the GHs for toxicity in cell culture. Overall, there was an inverse relationship between enzyme exposure time and cellular toxicity, with twelve out of sixteen GHs demonstrating some level of toxicity in cell culture. However, only one GH exhibited harmful effects in mice. These results further support the ability of GHs to improve antibiotic clearance of biofilm-associated infections and help lay a foundation for establishing GHs as therapeutic agents for chronic wound infections.
Solving the challenge of occupancy prediction is crucial in order to design efficient and sustainable office spaces and automate lighting, heating, and air circulation in these facilities. In office spaces where large areas need to be observed, multiple sensors must be used for full coverage. In these cases, it is normally important to keep the costs low, but also to make sure that the privacy of the people who use such environments are preserved. Low-cost and low-resolution heat (thermal) sensors can be very useful to build solutions that address these concerns. However, they are extremely sensitive to noise artifacts which might be caused by heat prints of the people who left the space or by other objects, which are either using electricity or exposed to sunlight. There are some earlier solutions for occupancy prediction that employ low-resolution heat sensors; however, they have not addressed nor compensated for such heat artifacts. Therefore, in this paper, we presented a low-cost and low-energy consuming smart space implementation to predict the number of people in the environment based on whether their activity is static or dynamic in time. We used a low-resolution <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>(</mo><mn>8</mn><mo>×</mo><mn>8</mn><mo>)</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and non-intrusive heat sensor to collect data from an actual meeting room. We proposed two novel workflows to predict the occupancy; one that is based on computer vision and one based on machine learning. Besides comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these different workflows, we used several state-of-the-art explainability methods in order to provide a detailed analysis of the algorithm parameters and how the image properties influence the resulting performance. Furthermore, we analyzed noise resources that affect the heat sensor data. The experiments show that the feature classification based method gives high accuracy when the data are clean from noise artifacts. However, when there are noise artifacts, the computer vision based method can compensate for those artifacts providing robust results. Because the computer vision based method requires an empty room recording, the feature classification based method should be chosen either when there is no expectancy of seeing noise artifacts in the data or when there is no empty recording available. We hope that our analysis brings light into understanding how to handle very low-resolution heat images in these environments. The presented workflows could be used in various domains and applications other than smart offices, where occupancy prediction is essential, e.g., for elderly care.
Seyed Saeed Madani, Erik Schaltz, Søren Knudsen Kær
The determination of coulombic efficiency of the lithium-ion batteries can contribute to comprehend better their degradation behavior. In this research, the coulombic efficiency and capacity loss of three lithium-ion batteries at different current rates (C) were investigated. Two new battery cells were discharged and charged at 0.4 C and 0.8 C for twenty times to monitor the variations in the aging and coulombic efficiency of the battery cell. In addition, prior cycling was applied to the third battery cell which consist of charging and discharging with 0.2 C, 0.4 C, 0.6 C, and 0.8 C current rates and each of them twenty times. The coulombic efficiency of the new battery cells was compared with the cycled one. The experiments demonstrated that approximately all the charge that was stored in the battery cell was extracted out of the battery cell, even at the bigger charging and discharging currents. The average capacity loss rates for discharge and charge during 0.8 C were approximately 0.44% and 0.45% per cycle, correspondingly.
Production of electric energy or power. Powerplants. Central stations, Industrial electrochemistry
Ronaldo J. F. C. do Amaral, Ronaldo J. F. C. do Amaral, Ronaldo J. F. C. do Amaral
et al.
Porous collagen-glycosaminoglycan (collagen-GAG) scaffolds have shown promising clinical results for wound healing; however, these scaffolds do not replace the dermal and epidermal layer simultaneously and rely on local endogenous signaling to direct healing. Functionalizing collagen-GAG scaffolds with signaling factors, and/or additional matrix molecules, could help overcome these challenges. An ideal candidate for this is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as it is a natural reservoir of growth factors, can be activated to form a fibrin gel, and is available intraoperatively. We tested the factors released from PRP (PRPr) and found that at specific concentrations, PRPr enhanced cell proliferation and migration and induced angiogenesis to a greater extent than fetal bovine serum (FBS) controls. This motivated us to develop a strategy to successfully incorporate PRP homogeneously within the pores of the collagen-GAG scaffolds. The composite scaffold released key growth factors for wound healing (FGF, TGFβ) and vascularization (VEGF, PDGF) for up to 14 days. In addition, the composite scaffold had enhanced mechanical properties (when compared to PRP gel alone), while providing a continuous upper surface of extracellular matrix (ECM) for keratinocyte seeding. The levels of the factors released from the composite scaffold were sufficient to sustain proliferation of key cells involved in wound healing, including human endothelial cells, mesenchymal stromal cells, fibroblasts, and keratinocytes; even in the absence of FBS supplementation. In functional in vitro and in vivo vascularization assays, our composite scaffold demonstrated increased angiogenic and vascularization potential, which is known to lead to enhanced wound healing. Upon pro-inflammatory induction, macrophages released lower levels of the pro-inflammatory marker MIP-1α when treated with PRPr; and released higher levels of the anti-inflammatory marker IL1-ra upon both pro- and anti-inflammatory induction when treated with the composite scaffold. Finally, our composite scaffold supported a co-culture system of human fibroblasts and keratinocytes that resulted in an epidermal-like layer, with keratinocytes constrained to the surface of the scaffold; by contrast, keratinocytes were observed infiltrating the PRP-free scaffold. This novel composite scaffold has the potential for rapid translation to the clinic by isolating PRP from a patient intraoperatively and combining it with regulatory approved scaffolds to enhance wound repair.
Flexible dielectric polymer composites with high dielectric permittivity and low dielectric loss have many applications in different areas of electronic industry. In this paper, we propose synthesis of flexible dielectric materials with efficient dielectric properties. We increased dielectric efficiency of poly(vinyl alcohol) by reinforcement of conducting graphene and rutile titania fillers in different weight fractions. The superiority of this method is that synthesized three phase graphene/titania/poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films have high dielectric permittivity, low dielectric loss and are flexible. Our results show that graphene/titania/poly(vinyl alcohol) with weight/weight fraction of 3:20:100 bears dielectric permittivity of 330 at 20 Hz that is about 36 times larger than that of neat PVA at same frequency. At this frequency above mentioned graphene/titania/poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite has loss tangent of 4.39 acceptable for dielectrics in embedded capacitors and AC conductivity of 1.6 × 10−6 Sm−1 that is much greater than that of neat PVA i.e; 6.5 × 10−9 Sm−1. Complex impedance spectroscopy, complex electric modulus and Cole-Cole plots of synthesized graphene/titania/poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films further confirm its better capacitive performance. Keywords: Ceramics, Polymer, Dielectric response, Impedance spectroscopy, AC conductivity
EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP), Guido Rychen, Giovanna Azimonti
et al.
Abstract Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of ponceau 4R for cats, dogs and ornamental fish. The following ponceau 4R concentrations in complete feed were considered safe: 31 mg/kg for cats, 37 mg/kg for dogs and 137 mg/kg for ornamental fish. Inhalation exposure of ponceau 4R is regarded as hazardous. In the absence of data, the Panel cannot conclude on the irritancy potential of ponceau 4R to skin or eyes. No conclusion could be made on the skin sensitisation of ponceau 4R. Ponceau 4R is effective in adding colour to feedingstuffs.
Nutrition. Foods and food supply, Chemical technology
Abstract Microorganism immobilization has attracted great attention as a traditional method to overcome aqueous organic wastes containing N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). In this approach, graphene oxide was modified with functional polymer firstly to obtain micro-composites material (PGO), and then the prepared composites were deposited on the surface of copper mesh (CM) to block the meshes and CM@PGO was achieved. Moreover, cage-shaped model was designed based on CM@PGO and P. denitrificans was packed inside the cage for batch experiments. This strategy could enrich the local concentration of DMF due to the formation of hydrogen bonds with the oxygen-containing groups from PGO and the character of bacteria in captivity could also contribute to the process of degradation. Results showed that the approach could remove DMF more efficiently about 15% compared with free microorganism and presented excellent cycling performance. Meantime, physical adsorption and chemical adsorption were both contributed to the process of PGO adsorption, and the adsorption isotherm fits Langmuir model well, furthermore, the theoretical maximum of adsorption ability calculated through Langmuir model is 95 mg/g. In other words, this cage-shaped CM@PGO provided a facile platform for treating various wastewaters by altering the species of packed microorganisms, which exhibited considerable prospects for wastewater treatment.
Aiming to improve survey accuracy of Measurement While Drilling (MWD) based on Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) in the long period, the external aiding sources are fused into the inertial navigation by the Kalman filter (KF) method. The KF method needs to model the inertial sensors’ noise as the system noise model. The system noise is modeled as white Gaussian noise conventionally. However, because of the vibration while drilling, the noise in gyros isn’t white Gaussian noise any more. Moreover, an incorrect noise model will degrade the accuracy of KF. This paper developed a new approach for noise modeling on the basis of dynamic Allan variance (DAVAR). In contrast to conventional white noise models, the new noise model contains both the white noise and the color noise. With this new noise model, the KF for the MWD was designed. Finally, two vibration experiments have been performed. Experimental results showed that the proposed vibration noise modeling approach significantly improved the estimated accuracies of the inertial sensor drifts. Compared the navigation results based on different noise model, with the DAVAR noise model, the position error and the toolface angle error are reduced more than 90%. The velocity error is reduced more than 65%. The azimuth error is reduced more than 50%.
Implementation of well completions enabling multiple hydrocarbon reservoirs to be produced by a single well can save production cost and enhance recovery. Aiming at the characteristics of the three types of oil and gas reservoirs in the Jabung block in Indonesia, namely, gas cap oil-rim reservoirs, multiple hydrocarbon reservoirs, and heterogeneous multiple-sand reservoirs, this article puts forward optimized completion methods by using conventional technology and down-hole equipment. The new methods are able to develop multireservoir sands at the same time or successively without additional completion jobs. In addition, the novel completion enables water injection wells to selectively control injection and improve the recovery of hydrocarbons. The above strategies have been applied to different types of reservoirs, providing an effective mean for maximizing hydrocarbon recovery, controlling operating expenditures, and improving the overall benefit of development wells. Key words: one time completion, reservoir characteristics, optimized completion, downhole operation, overall benefit
The crucial role of plant photosynthesis has been emphasized in relation to the atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate change. Because of the irreplaceable role of plants in ecosystem services, potential changes of both crop and wild plants could impact sustainability of human societies. The dependence of the rate of photosynthesis of the C3 and C4 plants on irradiance, CO2 concentration and temperature has been illustrated. Potential consequences of the atmospheric CO2 concentration rise and climate change on ecosystem composition and functions are briefly described.(In Czech, English summary only)