Meta-analysis of CO2 conversion, energy efficiency, and other performance data of plasma-catalysis reactors with the open access PIONEER database

This paper brings the comparison of performances of CO2 conversion by plasma and plasma-assisted catalysis based on the data collected from literature in this field, organised in an open access online database. This tool is open to all users to carry out their own analyses, but also to contributors who wish to add their data to the database in order to improve the relevance of the comparisons made, and ultimately to improve the efficiency of CO2 conversion by plasma-catalysis. The creation of this database and database user interface is motivated by the fact that plasma-catalysis is a fast-growing field for all CO2 conversion processes, be it methanation, dry reforming of methane, methanolisation, or others. As a result of this rapid increase, there is a need for a set of standard procedures to rigorously compare performances of different systems. However, this is currently not possible because the fundamental mechanisms of plasma-catalysis are still too poorly understood to define these standard procedures. Fortunately however, the accumulated data within the CO2 plasma-catalysis community has become large enough to warrant so-called “big data” studies more familiar in the fields of medicine and the social sciences. To enable comparisons between multiple data sets and make future research more effective, this work proposes the first database on CO2 conversion performances by plasma-catalysis open to the whole community. This database has been initiated in the framework of a H2020 European project and is called the “PIONEER DataBase”. The database gathers a large amount of CO2 conversion performance data such as conversion rate, energy efficiency, and selectivity for numerous plasma sources coupled with or without a catalyst. Each data set is associated with metadata describing the gas mixture, the plasma source, the nature of the catalyst, and the form of coupling with the plasma. Beyond the database itself, a data extraction tool with direct visualisation features or advanced filtering functionalities has been developed and is available online to the public. The simple and fast visualisation of the state of the art puts new results into context, identifies literal gaps in data, and consequently points towards promising research routes. More advanced data extraction illustrates the impact that the database can have in the understanding of plasma-catalyst coupling. Lessons learned from the review of a large amount of literature during the setup of the database lead to best practice advice to increase comparability between future CO2 plasma-catalytic studies. Finally, the community is strongly encouraged to contribute to the database not only to increase the visibility of their data but also the relevance of the comparisons allowed by this tool

Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND)—Iron Review

This is the fifth in the series of reviews developed as part of the Biomarkers of Nutrition for Development (BOND) program. The BOND Iron Expert Panel (I-EP) reviewed the extant knowledge regarding iron biology, public health implications, and the relative usefulness of currently available biomarkers of iron status from deficiency to overload. Approaches to assessing intake, including bioavailability, are also covered. The report also covers technical and laboratory considerations for the use of available biomarkers of iron status, and concludes with a description of research priorities along with a brief discussion of new biomarkers with potential for use across the spectrum of activities related to the study of iron in human health. The I-EP concluded that current iron biomarkers are reliable for accurately assessing many aspects of iron nutrition. However, a clear distinction is made between the relative strengths of biomarkers to assess hematological consequences of iron deficiency versus other putative functional outcomes, particularly the relationship between maternal and fetal iron status during pregnancy, birth outcomes, and infant cognitive, motor and emotional development. The I-EP also highlighted the importance of considering the confounding effects of inflammation and infection on the interpretation of iron biomarker results, as well as the impact of life stage. Finally, alternative approaches to the evaluation of the risk for nutritional iron overload at the population level are presented, because the currently designated upper limits for the biomarker generally employed (serum ferritin) may not differentiate between true iron overload and the effects of subclinical inflammation

Optimizing Mueller polarimetry in noisy systems through over-determination

Mueller polarimetry measurements are increasingly being used to image highly dynamic and short-lived phenomena such as plasma discharges. For phenomena such as these, exposure times below 1 µs must be used. Unfortunately, these low exposure times significantly reduce the signal-to-noise ratio, making accurate and consistent measurements difficult. To overcome this limitation, we investigated increasing the number of Stokes vectors produced from a polarization state analyzer and polarization state generator, a process known as over-determination. To conduct our analysis, we used results from physical experiments using Stokes vectors generated by liquid crystal variable retarders. These results were then verified using data from simulations. First, we conclude that increasing the degree of over-determination is a simple and effective way of dealing with this noise; however, we also convey that choosing the best scheme is not an entirely trivial process. Second, we demonstrate that over-determination gives rise to hitherto inaccessible information that allows for the quantification of statistical noise and, crucially, the pinpointing of the origin of systematic error, a highly beneficial process that has been lacking until now

Gender differences in descriptions of angina symptoms and health problems immediately prior to angiography: the ACRE study

Although the prevalence of angina in women is increasing, women are less likely than men to undergo invasive management of coronary disease. Gender differences in language use may contribute to disparities in management, since the diagnosis of angina relies on a patient's description of their symptoms. This study set out to investigate whether gender differences exist in the language used when describing angina symptoms and perceived health problems at the time of angiography, which might influence the rate of subsequent revascularisation. Content analysis was used to analyse written accounts of 'symptoms and health problems' in 200 (96 female) patients randomly selected within age strata who were undergoing coronary angiography for chronic stable angina in the Appropriateness of Coronary Revascularisation (ACRE) study. Written free text was coded into seven categories: pain location (chest or arm and throat, neck or jaw); pain character; breathlessness; other symptoms; effects on lifestyle; symptom attributions; and patient discourses ('story' or 'factual'). Women described more throat, neck or jaw pain than men among those with low physical functioning (p=0.06), in the presence of coronary artery disease (p=0.04) and in those who were not subsequently revascularised (p=0.05). Women also gave more accounts than men of breathlessness and other symptoms, but there was little evidence for gender differences in the use of 'factual' discourses. We conclude that from the time of angiography, gender differences in language use do exist and description of angina pain may influence subsequent revascularisation. Further research is necessary to investigate the nature and consequences of gender differences in language use at this and earlier stages in the referral process.Gender differences Angina Coronary artery disease Symptom accounts

kinetic series.zip

Mueller polarimetry measurement

Functional integration of striatal allografts in a primate model of Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant, inherited disorder that results in progressive degeneration of the basal ganglia (especially the neostriatal caudate nucleus and putamen) and other forebrain structures and is associated with a clinical profile of movement, cognitive and psychiatric impairments for which there is at present no effective therapy1. Neuropathological, neurochemical and behavioral features of the disease can all be reproduced in experimental animals by local injection of excito-toxic2,3 or metabolic4,5 toxins into the neostriatum. All these features of the disease can be alleviated, at least in rats, by transplantation of embryonic striatal tissue into the degenerated striatum6−8, which was the basis for commencing the first clinical trials of striatal transplantation in Huntington's patients9,10. However, although rat striatal xenografts may temporarily reduce apomorphine-induced dyskinesias in monkeys11, there has been no demonstration that allograft techniques that work well in rats translate effectively to the much larger differentiated striatum of primates12. Here we demonstrate good survival, differentiation and integration of striatal allografts in the primate neostriatum, and recovery in a test of skilled motor performance. Long-term graft survival in primates indicates probable success for clinical transplants in Huntington's disease; in addition, our data suggest that graft placement has a direct influence on the pattern and extent of functional recovery