Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three available genomic nomenclature systems for SARS-CoV-2 to all sequence data from the WHO European Region available during the COVID-19 pandemic until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation. We provide a comparison of the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.Peer reviewe

To which world regions does the valence–dominance model of social perception apply?

Over the past 10 years, Oosterhof and Todorov’s valence–dominance model has emerged as the most prominent account of how people evaluate faces on social dimensions. In this model, two dimensions (valence and dominance) underpin social judgements of faces. Because this model has primarily been developed and tested in Western regions, it is unclear whether these findings apply to other regions. We addressed this question by replicating Oosterhof and Todorov’s methodology across 11 world regions, 41 countries and 11,570 participants. When we used Oosterhof and Todorov’s original analysis strategy, the valence–dominance model generalized across regions. When we used an alternative methodology to allow for correlated dimensions, we observed much less generalization. Collectively, these results suggest that, while the valence–dominance model generalizes very well across regions when dimensions are forced to be orthogonal, regional differences are revealed when we use different extraction methods and correlate and rotate the dimension reduction solution.C.L. was supported by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF VRG13-007); L.M.D. was supported by ERC 647910 (KINSHIP); D.I.B. and N.I. received funding from CONICET, Argentina; L.K., F.K. and Á. Putz were supported by the European Social Fund (EFOP-3.6.1.-16-2016-00004; ‘Comprehensive Development for Implementing Smart Specialization Strategies at the University of Pécs’). K.U. and E. Vergauwe were supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (PZ00P1_154911 to E. Vergauwe). T.G. is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). M.A.V. was supported by grants 2016-T1/SOC-1395 (Comunidad de Madrid) and PSI2017-85159-P (AEI/FEDER UE). K.B. was supported by a grant from the National Science Centre, Poland (number 2015/19/D/HS6/00641). J. Bonick and J.W.L. were supported by the Joep Lange Institute. G.B. was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV-17-0418). H.I.J. and E.S. were supported by a French National Research Agency ‘Investissements d’Avenir’ programme grant (ANR-15-IDEX-02). T.D.G. was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. The Raipur Group is thankful to: (1) the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India for the research grants received through its SAP-DRS (Phase-III) scheme sanctioned to the School of Studies in Life Science; and (2) the Center for Translational Chronobiology at the School of Studies in Life Science, PRSU, Raipur, India for providing logistical support. K. Ask was supported by a small grant from the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg. Y.Q. was supported by grants from the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (5184035) and CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology. N.A.C. was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (R010138018). We acknowledge the following research assistants: J. Muriithi and J. Ngugi (United States International University Africa); E. Adamo, D. Cafaro, V. Ciambrone, F. Dolce and E. Tolomeo (Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro); E. De Stefano (University of Padova); S. A. Escobar Abadia (University of Lincoln); L. E. Grimstad (Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)); L. C. Zamora (Franklin and Marshall College); R. E. Liang and R. C. Lo (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman); A. Short and L. Allen (Massey University, New Zealand), A. Ateş, E. Güneş and S. Can Özdemir (Boğaziçi University); I. Pedersen and T. Roos (Åbo Akademi University); N. Paetz (Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera); J. Green (University of Gothenburg); M. Krainz (University of Vienna, Austria); and B. Todorova (University of Vienna, Austria). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.https://www.nature.com/nathumbehav/am2023BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Comparison of time-dependent two-dimensional and three-dimensional stability with micro-computerized tomography and wettability of three impression materials

Objectives: The objective of this study is to explore time‑dependent dimensional stability of three different elastomeric impression materials – vinyl polyether silicone (VPES), vinyl polysiloxane (VPS), and polyether (PE) – through micro‑computerized tomography (µ‑CT) imaging, allows three‑dimensional (3D) imaging and measurement without sample preparation or chemical fixation.Materials and Methods: Thirty specimens were created using 3 mm high, 30 mm wide Teflon molds (n = 10). Specimens were scanned with µ‑CT on the 1st (T1) h and 1st (T2), 7th (T3), and 14th (T4) days. 3D models were created at the above‑mentioned times, volumetric measurements were conducted and dimensional changes were calculated. Diameters and heights of each impression material were measured with 2D analyses. Furthermore, contact angle measurements of these elastomeric impression materials were collected using the sessile drop method during and after polymerization at 0, 2, 5, 20, 60, 120, and 240 s These measurements were made on specimens (n = 10) prepared in standard sizes using a 50 µm deep stainless steel die with dimensions of 62 mm × 20 mm × 3 mm.Results: Evaluation of the dimensional volume changes of the VPES, VPS, and PE measurements showed there to be no statistically significant differences between the T1, T2, T3, and T4 (P > 0.05). Only the decreases in the volume averages of T3 and T4 in the VPES were statistically significant (P < 0.05). As a result of binary comparisons, the evaluation of contact angle measurements of VPES, VPS, and PE materials during and after polymerization were compared. The average contact angle measurements of the VPS group were statistically significantly lower than the averages of the VPES and PE groups (P < 0.01).Conclusions: VPS was found to be the most stable impression material concerning dimensional change and wettability.Keywords: Contact angle, dimensional stability, elastomeric impression materials, micro‑computerized tomograph

An experimental study on the heat recovery from the exhaust air of stenters with a packed bed column

Stenters are the dryers that are commonly used in textile finishing mills. The exhaust air of the stenters is of great potential of energy saving via heat recovery mainly using the latent heat of condensation of the water vapour involved. This study reveals the usage possibility of a packed bed column for the heat recovery from the exhaust air of the stenter. An experimental investigation was carried out with a laboratory-scale counter flow packed bed column. Additionally, an exergetic evaluation of the system was performed. Water inlet temperature and relative humidity ratio of the exhaust air are the main factors that affect the water outlet temperatures and efficiency of the system. It was observed that a decrease in the water inlet temperature increases the recovered exergy; however, water outlet temperature is not significantly affected by the inlet temperature of the water. The exergy efficiency of the system increases with the increase in the relative humidity ratio of the exhaust air. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Embryotoxic effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate compounds in Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus

Our environment has been affected by increasing concentration of organic and inorganic pollutants from anthropogenic sources. Perfluorinated compounds are an important source of pollution, and they are major risks for the aquatic ecosystems. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (POSF) are both industrially synthesized perfluorinated chemicals, and they produced in substantial amounts. They are found widely in surface water and aquatic sediments. In this study, the comparative embryotoxicity of increasing concentrations of PFOS (five concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 10 mg/L) and POSF (five concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 10 mg/L) were examined on embryos of the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus. Results were evaluated by observing: larval malformations, developmental arrest and embryonic/larval mortality. The results indicated that, low concentrations of these chemicals generally caused malformations in the skeletal system. It was observed that high concentrations (10 mg-PFOS/L, 10mg-POSF/L) inhibited the growth of embryos in the early life stages. As a result, POSF was more toxic than PFOS (EC50: 1.795 mg/L) on sea urchin embryo as the EC50is 1.074 mg/L and also both of the chemicals were harmful on the embryonic development of sea urchin in the sense of whole embryo and cellular level. In conclusion, PFOS and POSF present a major risk to the normal development of P. lividus in the environment, so that it has ecological importance due to the hazard at a population level considering the cumulative effects of other environmental pollutants. © by PSP