Systematic model behavior of adsorption on flat surfaces

A low density film on a flat surface is described by an expansion involving the first four virial coefficients. The first coefficient (alone) yields the Henry's law regime, while the next three correct for the effects of interactions. The results permit exploration of the idea of universal adsorption behavior, which is compared with experimental data for a number of systems

Network‐scale effects of invasive species on spatially‐structured amphibian populations

Understanding the factors affecting the dynamics of spatially‐structured populations (SSP) is a central topic of conservation and landscape ecology. Invasive alien species are increasingly important drivers of the dynamics of native species. However, the impacts of invasives are often assessed at the patch scale, while their effects on SSP dynamics are rarely considered. We used long‐term abundance data to test whether the impact of invasive crayfish on subpopulations can also affect the whole SSP dynamics, through their influence on source populations. From 2010 to 2018, we surveyed a network of 58 ponds and recorded the abundance of Italian agile frog clutches, the occurrence of an invasive crayfish, and environmental features. Using Bayesian hierarchical models, we assessed relationhips between frog abundance in ponds and a) environmental features; b) connectivity within the SSP; c) occurrence of invasive species at both the patch‐ and the SSP‐levels. If spatial relationships between ponds were overlooked, we did not detect effects of crayfish presence on frog abundance or trends. When we jointly considered habitat, subpopulation and SSP features, processes acting at all these levels affected frog abundance. At the subpopulation scale, frog abundance in a year was related to habitat features, but was unrelated to crayfish occurrence at that site during the previous year. However, when we considered the SSP level, we found a strong negative relationship between frog abundance in a given site and crayfish frequency in surrounding wetlands during the previous year. Hence, SSP‐level analyses can identify effects that would remain unnoticed when focussing on single patches. Invasive species can affect population dynamics even in not invaded patches, through the degradation of subpopulation networks. Patch‐scale assessments of the impact of invasive species can thus be insufficient: predicting the long‐term interplay between invasive and native populations requires landscape‐level approaches accounting for the complexity of spatial interactions

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Die quantitative Vertikalverbreitung der Molch-Arten, Gattung Triturus (Amphibia Urodela), in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Volume: 31Start Page: 97End Page: 11

Thermodynamics and transport in microporous media

We are carrying out a rather extensive computational investigation of the geometric, topological and transport properties of realistic models for microporous media. This research aims a facilitating the description of microporous materials by these models, by obtaining those statistics that are most readily observable by simple tests and by image analysis: porosity, specific area, pore-pore correlation functions, etc. Many efforts are being made to integrate our knowledge of the properties of disordered materials, so that knowledge of some of them can be applied to the estimation of the others. The calculation of transport properties of similar but different structures will provide a benchmark for such studies. It will also allow us to examine quantitatively the sensitivity of those properties to the details of the structure

Thermodynamics and transport in microporous media

Focus of this report is on the thermodynamic properties/behavior of fluids contained or adsorbed on the random microporus materials (disordered solids). The Madden-Glandt formalism for fluids in disordered matrices is applied to realistic systems (gas adsorption in carbons, polymer partitioning). Work on microgeometry of solids and their percolation and connectedness properties was continued; a study of the simplest model for microporous materials (random-pore or ''Swiss cheese'' model) was completed. Work on irreversible adsorption was continued; a simple model for correlated adsorption was studied

Access in nanoporous solids. Final Report for June 30, 1997 - May 31, 2000

This is an application of techniques of molecular theory to the study of nanostructures build on planar substrates and the face of membranes, with the ultimate goal of modifying their equilibrium and transport behavior. The work is focused on the mechanism for adsorption or deposition and how various regimes can be achieved by changing the rate of adsorption relative to characteristic diffusion and reaction time scales