WireWall: a new approach to coastal wave hazard monitoring

WireWall will be the first agile in situ system to make field measurements of overtopping on a wave-by-wave basis. Such data will enable site-specific calibration of (i) numerical tools used in sea defence design, (ii) flood forecasting models and (iii) public safety tolerances used by shoreline managers. The new approach transfers existing laboratory and offshore wave monitoring capabilities to the problem of coastal hazard monitoring. The capacitance wire system will collect high frequency field data to quantify wave overtopping velocity and volume. Our approach will replace the use of water collection tanks, which provide very limited information, are cumbersome, and hence rarely deployed. The method will use a coupled modelling-observational-modelling approach. Industry standard overtopping tools will generate a numerical dataset of plausible overtopping conditions at our study site Crosby (NW England). This data will inform the configuration of the wire units to be used in dockside and flume tests prior to the design of the field rig. The newly collected field observations will allow site-specific calibration and validation of the numerical tools, which will then be applied for a range of storm and beach conditions to develop site-specific overtopping safety tolerances and identify overtopping trigger levels for the existing sea wall

Mobile Applications and Wearables for Chronic Respiratory Disease Monitoring

Mobile health (mHealth) has tremendous potential to benefit patients, providers, and the entire healthcare system. Benefits for patients to adopt mHealth include more effective access to health providers, reduced costs of care, and better health control. For physicians and the healthcare system, reasons to embrace mHealth are enhanced health outcomes, facilitated access to patients for care, and decreased time required for administrative tasks. Currently, some mobile apps and wearables dedicated to respiratory health provide medical education and messaging services, enable diary logs, aid with disease self-management, and include educational games. Major challenges for mHealth to be widely adopted include lack of studies demonstrating effectiveness, limited access to technology by all patients, decreased adoption over time, high costs, and data privacy concerns

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Nanoporous Copper Films by Additive-Controlled Electrodeposition: CO₂ Reduction Catalysis

Electrodeposition from plating baths containing 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole (DAT) as an inhibitor gives Cu films exhibiting high surface area and high CO₂ reduction activities. By changes in the pH and deposition current density, the morphologies of the Cu films are varied to exhibit wire, dot, and amorphous structures. Among these Cu films, the CuDAT-wire samples exhibit the best CO₂ reduction activities activity with a Faradaic efficiency (FE) for C₂H₄ product formation reaching 40% at −0.5 V vs RHE, a FE for C₂H₅OH formation reaching 20% at −0.5 V vs RHE, and a mass activity for CO₂ reduction at −0.7 V vs RHE of ∼700 A/g

Electroreduction of Carbon Dioxide to Hydrocarbons Using Bimetallic Cu–Pd Catalysts with Different Mixing Patterns

Electrochemical conversion of CO₂ holds promise for utilization of CO₂ as a carbon feedstock and for storage of intermittent renewable energy. Presently Cu is the only metallic electrocatalyst known to reduce CO₂ to appreciable amounts of hydrocarbons, but often a wide range of products such as CO, HCOO^–, and H₂ are formed as well. Better catalysts that exhibit high activity and especially high selectivity for specific products are needed. Here a range of bimetallic Cu–Pd catalysts with ordered, disordered, and phase-separated atomic arrangements (Cu_at:Pd_at = 1:1), as well as two additional disordered arrangements (Cu3Pd and CuPd3 with Cu_at:Pd_at = 3:1 and 1:3), are studied to determine key factors needed to achieve high selectivity for C1 or C2 chemicals in CO₂ reduction. When compared with the disordered and phase-separated CuPd catalysts, the ordered CuPd catalyst exhibits the highest selectivity for C1 products (>80%). The phase-separated CuPd and Cu3Pd achieve higher selectivity (>60%) for C2 chemicals than CuPd3 and ordered CuPd, which suggests that the probability of dimerization of C1 intermediates is higher on surfaces with neighboring Cu atoms. Based on surface valence band spectra, geometric effects rather than electronic effects seem to be key in determining the selectivity of bimetallic Cu–Pd catalysts. These results imply that selectivities to different products can be tuned by geometric arrangements. This insight may benefit the design of catalytic surfaces that further improve activity and selectivity for CO₂ reduction

A metal-free electrocatalyst for carbon dioxide reduction to multi-carbon hydrocarbons and oxygenates

Electroreduction of carbon dioxide into higher-energy liquid fuels and chemicals is a promising but challenging renewable energy conversion technology. Among the electrocatalysts screened so far for carbon dioxide reduction, which includes metals, alloys, organometallics, layered materials and carbon nanostructures, only copper exhibits selectivity towards formation of hydrocarbons and multi-carbon oxygenates at fairly high efficiencies, whereas most others favour production of carbon monoxide or formate. Here we report that nanometre-size N-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) catalyse the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into multi-carbon hydrocarbons and oxygenates at high Faradaic efficiencies, high current densities and low overpotentials. The NGQDs show a high total Faradaic efficiency of carbon dioxide reduction of up to 90%, with selectivity for ethylene and ethanol conversions reaching 45%. The C2 and C3 product distribution and production rate for NGQD-catalysed carbon dioxide reduction is comparable to those obtained with copper nanoparticle-based electrocatalysts

rs641738C>T near MBOAT7 is associated with liver fat, ALT and fibrosis in NAFLD: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A common genetic variant near MBOAT7 (rs641738C>T) has been previously associated with hepatic fat and advanced histology in NAFLD; however, these findings have not been consistently replicated in the literature. We aimed to establish whether rs641738C>T is a risk factor across the spectrum of NAFLD and to characterise its role in the regulation of related metabolic phenotypes through a meta-analysis. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of studies with data on the association between rs641738C>T genotype and liver fat, NAFLD histology, and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lipids or insulin. These included directly genotyped studies and population-level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We performed a random effects meta-analysis using recessive, additive and dominant genetic models. RESULTS: Data from 1,066,175 participants (9,688 with liver biopsies) across 42 studies were included in the meta-analysis. rs641738C>T was associated with higher liver fat on CT/MRI (+0.03 standard deviations [95% CI 0.02-0.05], pz = 4.8×10-5) and diagnosis of NAFLD (odds ratio [OR] 1.17 [95% CI 1.05-1.3], pz = 0.003) in Caucasian adults. The variant was also positively associated with presence of advanced fibrosis (OR 1.22 [95% CI 1.03-1.45], pz = 0.021) in Caucasian adults using a recessive model of inheritance (CC + CT vs. TT). Meta-analysis of data from previous GWAS found the variant to be associated with higher ALT (pz = 0.002) and lower serum triglycerides (pz = 1.5×10-4). rs641738C>T was not associated with fasting insulin and no effect was observed in children with NAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: Our study validates rs641738C>T near MBOAT7 as a risk factor for the presence and severity of NAFLD in individuals of European descent. LAY SUMMARY: Fatty liver disease is a common condition where fat builds up in the liver, which can cause liver inflammation and scarring (including 'cirrhosis'). It is closely linked to obesity and diabetes, but some genes are also thought to be important. We did this study to see whether one specific change ('variant') in one gene ('MBOAT7') was linked to fatty liver disease. We took data from over 40 published studies and found that this variant near MBOAT7 is linked to more severe fatty liver disease. This means that drugs designed to work on MBOAT7 could be useful for treating fatty liver disease.JPM is supported by a Wellcome Trust Fellowship (216329/Z/19/Z

rs641738C>T near MBOAT7 is associated with liver fat, ALT, and fibrosis in NAFLD : a meta-analysis

Background & Aims: A common genetic variant near MBOAT7 (rs641738C>T) has been previously associated with hepatic fat and advanced histology in NAFLD; however, these findings have not been consistently replicated in the literature. We aimed to establish whether rs641738C>T is a risk factor across the spectrum of NAFLD and to characterise its role in the regulation of related metabolic phenotypes through a meta-analysis. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of studies with data on the association between rs641738C>T genotype and liver fat, NAFLD histology, and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lipids or insulin. These included directly genotyped studies and population-level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We performed a random effects meta-analysis using recessive, additive and dominant genetic models. Results: Data from 1,066,175 participants (9,688 with liver biopsies) across 42 studies were included in the meta-analysis. rs641738C>T was associated with higher liver fat on CT/MRI (+0.03 standard deviations [95% CI 0.02\u20130.05], pz = 4.8 710\u20135) and diagnosis of NAFLD (odds ratio [OR] 1.17 [95% CI 1.05\u20131.3], pz = 0.003) in Caucasian adults. The variant was also positively associated with presence of advanced fibrosis (OR 1.22 [95% CI 1.03\u20131.45], pz = 0.021) in Caucasian adults using a recessive model of inheritance (CC + CT vs. TT). Meta-analysis of data from previous GWAS found the variant to be associated with higher ALT (pz = 0.002) and lower serum triglycerides (pz = 1.5 710\u20134). rs641738C>T was not associated with fasting insulin and no effect was observed in children with NAFLD. Conclusions: Our study validates rs641738C>T near MBOAT7 as a risk factor for the presence and severity of NAFLD in individuals of European descent. Lay summary: Fatty liver disease is a common condition where fat builds up in the liver, which can cause liver inflammation and scarring (including \u2018cirrhosis\u2019). It is closely linked to obesity and diabetes, but some genes are also thought to be important. We did this study to see whether one specific change (\u2018variant\u2019) in one gene (\u2018MBOAT7\u2019) was linked to fatty liver disease. We took data from over 40 published studies and found that this variant near MBOAT7 is linked to more severe fatty liver disease. This means that drugs designed to work on MBOAT7 could be useful for treating fatty liver disease