Global Coal Risk Assessment: Data Analysis and Market Research

Coal-fired power plants are the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. In 2010, 61 countries produced coal and 104 countries consumed it. Global coal production reached 7,228.712 million tonnes that year and coal consumption reached 7,238.028 million tonnes. More than 60 percent of the coal consumed was used to generate power.This working paper assesses current global coal risks to the climate. It identifies the countries and companies involved in global coal production and consumption, and sheds light on global trends by mapping the proposed new coal power plants and related infrastructure. The paper is organized into five parts. Part 1 lists the proposed new coal-fired plants around the world, based on available data. Part 2 lists existing coal-fired plants. Part 3 offers an overview of the global coal trade, including analyses of country trends. Part 4 summarizes available studies of coal financing. Part 5 notes data gaps that can be filled by future research

Prehabilitation and rehabilitation for surgically treated lung cancer patients

According to the published data, lung cancer was the most common and deadly malignancy between 2002 and 2008 in Taiwan, with a significant difference between the 5-year survival rate of patients who underwent surgery and those who did not receive surgical intervention. The anatomic resection with radical lymph node dissection is a curative treatment for lung cancer. Although there is insufficient evidence to support the routine functional assessment before surgery, the assessment of exercise capacity before surgery is considered pivotal in the management of patients with lung cancer, both for prognostic and therapeutic reasons. Prehabilitation could improve exercise capacity, and might increase the number of inoperable-to-operable patients and reduce postoperative morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, rehabilitation after surgery approach seems to improve patient physical performance and quality of life. Despite advances in research over the past decade on the role of rehabilitation in patients with lung resection, only a few physicians incorporate this type of treatment into the daily care of lung cancer patients. Therefore, the integration of rehabilitation with medical optimization in the peri-surgical period deserves to receive more attention by clinicians to elucidate the most comprehensive interventions

In-Situ Conversion of ZnO/Ni3ZnC0.7/CNT Composite from NiZn Bimetallic MOF Precursor with Enhanced Electromagnetic Property

ZnO/Ni3ZnC0.7/x% CNT (x = 0, 2, 5, 10) urchin-like structures have been synthesized using a facile method based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and applied as the electromagnetic absorber. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the content of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) has a great influence on the absorbing performance of the hybrid material. Conduction loss, interfacial polarization and ferromagnetic resonance all contribute to the electromagnetic absorption. The urchin-like ZnO/Ni3ZnC0.7/5% CNT composite presents excellent absorbing properties. When the filler loading of ZnO/Ni3ZnC0.7/5% CNT composite in paraffin matrix is only 10 wt.%, a minimum reflection loss of −33.2 dB is achieved at a layer thickness of 4.9 mm

Rapid labeling of intracellular His-tagged proteins in living cells

Small molecule-based fluorescent probes have been used for realtime visualization of live cells and tracking of various cellular events with minimal perturbation on the cells being investigated. Given the wide utility of the (histidine)6-Ni2+-nitrilotriacetate (Ni-NTA) system in protein purification, there is significant interest in fluorescent Ni2+-NTA-based probes. Unfortunately, previous Ni-NTA-based probes suffer from poor membrane permeability and cannot label intracellular proteins. Here, we report the design and synthesis of, to our knowledge, the first membrane-permeable fluorescent probe Ni-NTA-AC via conjugation of NTA with fluorophore and arylazide followed by coordination with Ni2+ ions. The probe, driven by Ni2+-NTA, binds specifically to His-tags genetically fused to proteins and subsequently forms a covalent bond upon photoactivation of the arylazide, leading to a 13-fold fluorescence enhancement. The arylazide is indispensable not only for fluorescence enhancement, but also for strengthening the binding between the probe and proteins. Significantly, the Ni-NTA-AC probe can rapidly enter different types of cells, even plant tissues, to target His-tagged proteins. Using this probe, we visualized the subcellular localization of a DNA repair protein, Xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA122), which is known to bemainly enriched in the nucleus. We also demonstrated that the probe can image a genetically engineered His-tagged protein in plant tissues. This study thus offers a new opportunity for in situ visualization of large libraries of Histagged proteins in various prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. © 2015, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.link_to_OA_fulltex