Remediation of Contaminated Soils by Solvent Flushing

Solvent flushing is a potential technique for remediating a waste disposal/spill site contaminated with organic chemicals. This technique involves the injection of a solvent mixture (e.g., water plus alcohols) that enhances contaminant solubility, reduces the retardation factor, and increases the release rates of the contaminants. A simulation model is developed to predict contaminant elution curves during solvent flushing for the case of one‐dimensional, steady flow through a contaminated medium. Column experiments are conducted with a Eustis fine sand that is initially equilibrated with an aqueous naphthalene solution, and then eluted with different methanol‐water mixtures to remove the naphthalene. The model simulations, based on parameter values estimated from literature data, agree well with the measured elution profiles. Solvent flushing experiments, where the soil was initially equilibrated with a solution of naphthalene and anthracene, show that compounds with different retardation factors are separated at low cosolvent contents, while coelution of the compounds occurs at higher contents. In general, the smaller the retardation factor in water and the higher the cosolvent fraction, the faster the contaminant is recovered. The presence of nonequilibrium conditions, soil heterogeneity, and type of cosolvent will influence the time required to recover the contaminant.\u

Plasma from Volunteers Breathing Helium Reduces Hypoxia-Induced Cell Damage in Human Endothelial Cells-Mechanisms of Remote Protection Against Hypoxia by Helium.

PurposeRemote ischemic preconditioning protects peripheral organs against prolonged ischemia/reperfusion injury via circulating protective factors. Preconditioning with helium protected healthy volunteers against postischemic endothelial dysfunction. We investigated whether plasma from helium-treated volunteers can protect human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) against hypoxia in vitro through release of circulating of factors.MethodsHealthy male volunteers inhaled heliox (79% helium, 21% oxygen) or air for 30 min. Plasma was collected at baseline, directly after inhalation, 6 h and 24 h after start of the experiment. HUVECs were incubated with either 5% or 10% of the plasma for 1 or 2 h and subjected to enzymatically induced hypoxia. Cell damage was measured by LDH content. Furthermore, caveolin 1 (Cav-1), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1α), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were determined.ResultsPrehypoxic exposure to 10% plasma obtained 6 h after helium inhalation decreased hypoxia-induced cell damage in HUVEC. Cav-1 knockdown in HUVEC abolished this effect.ConclusionsPlasma of healthy volunteers breathing helium protects HUVEC against hypoxic cell damage, possibly involving circulating Cav-1

The minimal important difference of the constant work rate cycle test in severe COPD

Background: The Constant Work Rate Cycle Test (CWRT) is a commonly used and sensitive test to detect treatment success in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Earlier, the Minimal Important Difference (MID) of the CWRT was estimated at 101 s (or 34%) change from baseline based on one well executed study. However, this study was performed in a population of patients with mild-to-moderate COPD, and we have learned that MIDs might be quite different in patients with severe COPD. Therefore, we aimed to establish the MID of the CWRT in patients with severe COPD.Methods: We included 141 patients with severe COPD, who underwent either pulmonary rehabilitation, bronchoscopic lung volume reduction with endobronchial valves, or a sham bronchoscopy as a control group. CWRT workload was set at 75% of the peak work capacity, as determined by an incremental cycle test. We used the change in 6-min walking test (6-MWT), forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1), residual volume (RV), and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) total score as anchors to calculate the MID.Results: All anchors had an association of ≥0.41 with change in CWRT. The MID estimates for the different anchors were: 6-MWT 278 s (95%), FEV1 273 s (90%), RV 240 s (84%), and SGRQ 208 s (71%). The average of these four MID estimates resulted in an MID of 250 s (or 85%).Conclusion: We established the MID for CWRT at 250 s (or 85%) change from baseline in patients with severe COPD.</p

Integrating Concepts of Artificial Intelligence in the EO4GEO Body of Knowledge

Ponència del XXIV ISPRS Congress (2022 edition), 6–11 June 2022, Nice, FranceThe EO4GEO Body of Knowledge (BoK) forms a structure of concepts and relationships between them, describing the domain of Earth Observation and Geo-Information (EO/GI). Each concept carries a short description, a list of key literature references and a set of associated skills which are used for job profiling and curriculum building. As the EO/GI domain is evolving continuously, the BoK needs regular updates with new concepts embodying new trends, and deprecating concepts which are not relevant anymore. This paper presents the inclusion of BoK concepts related to Artificial Intelligence. This broad field of knowledge has links to several applications in EO/GI. Its connection to concepts, already existing in the BoK, needs special attention. To perform a clean and structural integration of the cross-cutting domain of AI, first a separate cluster of AI concepts was created, which was then merged with the existing BoK. The paper provides examples of this integration with specific concepts and examples of training resources in which AI-related concepts are used. Although the presented structure already provides a good starting point, the positioning of AI within the EO/GI-focussed BoK needs to be further enhanced with the help of expert calls as part of the BoK update cycle

Awareness about developmental coordination disorder

Data availability statement: The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.The present paper is designed to promote awareness of DCD outside the academic world. With a prevalence of 5–6% it is one of the most common disorders of child development. It is therefore surprising that so little is known about it among professionals in child healthcare and education. Parents have expressed frustration about this lack of awareness, including the general public. The general aim of this paper was to describe those critical aspects of DCD that will promote awareness.Research Foundation Flanders (FWO: 1232221N). This research of PW is supported by the Czech Science Foundation (GACR EXPRO scheme: 21-15728X). The authors are part of the “DCD Big Ideas Group” consisting of 25 key researchers in the field of DCD (from early-career to established) working to develop a clear vision for the future of research on DCD. BS and HB were supported by a grant (TRIAL) from the Dutch Research Council (NWO), grant number NWA.1160.18.249

A Plasmodium-Encoded Cytokine Suppresses T-Cell Immunity During Malaria

The inability to acquire protective immunity against Plasmodia is the chief obstacle to malaria control, and inadequate T-cell responses may facilitate persistent blood-stage infection. Malaria is characterized by a highly inflammatory cytokine milieu, and the lack of effective protection against infection suggests that memory T cells are not adequately formed or maintained. Using a genetically targeted strain of Plasmodium berghei, we observed that the Plasmodium ortholog of macrophage migration inhibitory factor enhanced inflammatory cytokine production and also induced antigen-experienced CD4 T cells to develop into short-lived effector cells rather than memory precursor cells. The short-lived effector CD4 T cells were more susceptible to Bcl-2-associated apoptosis, resulting in decreased CD4 T-cell recall responses against challenge infections. These findings indicate that Plasmodia actively interfere with the development of immunological memory and may account for the evolutionary conservation of parasite macrophage migration inhibitory factor orthologs

TB Hackathon: Development and Comparison of Five Models to Predict Subnational Tuberculosis Prevalence in Pakistan

Pakistan’s national tuberculosis control programme (NTP) is among the many programmes worldwide that value the importance of subnational tuberculosis (TB) burden estimates to support disease control efforts, but do not have reliable estimates. A hackathon was thus organised to solicit the development and comparison of several models for small area estimation of TB. The TB hackathon was launched in April 2019. Participating teams were requested to produce district-level estimates of bacteriologically positive TB prevalence among adults (over 15 years of age) for 2018. The NTP provided case-based data from their 2010–2011 TB prevalence survey, along with data relating to TB screening, testing and treatment for the period between 2010–2011 and 2018. Five teams submitted district-level TB prevalence estimates, methodological details and programming code. Although the geographical distribution of TB prevalence varied considerably across models, we identified several districts with consistently low notification-to-prevalence ratios. The hackathon highlighted the challenges of generating granular spatiotemporal TB prevalence forecasts based on a cross-sectional prevalence survey data and other data sources. Nevertheless, it provided a range of approaches to subnational disease modelling. The NTP’s use and plans for these outputs shows that, limitations notwithstanding, they can be valuable for programme planning