The prognostic value of troponin release after adult cardiac surgery — a meta-analysis

To assess the accuracy of increased troponin (Tn) concentrations for the prediction of mid-term (≥12 months) mortality after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and valve surgery, we performed a systematic review identifying all studies reporting on the association between postoperative troponin release and mortality after cardiac surgery. Studies were identified through 30 April 2008 by electronic searches of the MEDLINE, EMBASE and BIOSIS databases. Two reviewers independently selected studies, assessed methodological quality and extracted the data. We primarily considered mid-term (≥12 months) and secondarily short-term (≤30 days) all-cause mortality. A bivariate random-effects model was used to study determinants and to pool measures of prognostic accuracy of Tn. Seventeen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria with a total of 237 mid-term deaths in 5189 patients and 296 short-term deaths in 9703 patients. The diagnostic odds ratio of increased Tn concentrations was 5.46 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-14.6) for mid-term mortality and 6.57 (95% CI 4.3-10.1) for short-term mortality after adult cardiac surgery. Alternatively expressed, for troponin elevation, the sensitivity was 0.45 (0.26-0.67) and the specificity 0.87 (0.73-0.90) to predict mid-term mortality. The sensitivity was 0.59 (0.48-0.69) and the specificity 0.82 (0.72-0.89) for short-term mortality. Between-study variability was high. In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides evidence for an association between postoperative Tn release with mid- and short-term all-cause mortality after adult cardiac surgery. However, differences in populations, timing of Tn testing, Tn subunit and Tn assays make definitive conclusions about effect size and cut-off values difficul

Formation of a stable deacagonal quasicrystalline Al-Pd-Mn surface layer

We report the in situ formation of an ordered equilibrium decagonal Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal overlayer on the 5-fold symmetric surface of an icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn monograin. The decagonal structure of the epilayer is evidenced by x-ray photoelectron diffraction, low-energy electron diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction. This overlayer is also characterized by a reduced density of states near the Fermi edge as expected for quasicrystals. This is the first time that a millimeter-size surface of the stable decagonal Al-Pd-Mn is obtained, studied and compared to its icosahedral counterpart.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Ref. Lett. (18 July 2001

DSCIM-Coastal v1.1: an open-source modeling platform for global impacts of sea level rise

Sea level rise (SLR) may impose substantial economic costs to coastal communities worldwide, but characterizing its global impact remains challenging because SLR costs depend heavily on natural characteristics and human investments at each location – including topography, the spatial distribution of assets, and local adaptation decisions. To date, several impact models have been developed to estimate the global costs of SLR. Yet, the limited availability of open-source and modular platforms that easily ingest up-to-date socioeconomic and physical data sources restricts the ability of existing systems to incorporate new insights transparently. In this paper, we present a modular, open-source platform designed to address this need, providing end-to-end transparency from global input data to a scalable least-cost optimization framework that estimates adaptation and net SLR costs for nearly 10 000 global coastline segments and administrative regions. Our approach accounts both for uncertainty in the magnitude of global mean sea level (g.m.s.l.) rise and spatial variability in local relative sea level rise. Using this platform, we evaluate costs across 230 possible socioeconomic and SLR trajectories in the 21st century. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report (AR6), g.m.s.l. is likely to rise during the 21st century by 0.40–0.69 m if late-century warming reaches 2 ∘C and by 0.58–0.91 m with 4 ∘C of warming (Fox-Kemper et al., 2021). With no forward-looking adaptation, we estimate that annual costs of sea level rise associated with a 2 ∘C scenario will likely fall between USD 1.2 and 4.0 trillion (0.1 % and 1.2 % of GDP, respectively) by 2100, depending on socioeconomic and sea level rise trajectories. Cost-effective, proactive adaptation would provide substantial benefits, lowering these values to between USD 110 and USD 530 billion (0.02 and 0.06 %) under an optimal adaptation scenario. For the likely SLR trajectories associated with 4 ∘C warming, these costs range from USD 3.1 to 6.9 trillion (0.3 % and 2.0 %) with no forward-looking adaptation and USD 200 billion to USD 750 billion (0.04 % to 0.09 %) under optimal adaptation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that deeply uncertain physical processes like marine ice cliff instability could drive substantially higher global sea level rise, potentially approaching 2.0 m by 2100 in very high emission scenarios. Accordingly, we also model the impacts of 1.5 and 2.0 m g.m.s.l. rises by 2100; the associated annual cost estimates range from USD 11.2 to 30.6 trillion (1.2 % and 7.6 %) under no forward-looking adaptation and USD 420 billion to 1.5 trillion (0.08 % to 0.20 %) under optimal adaptation. Our modeling platform used to generate these estimates is publicly available in an effort to spur research collaboration and support decision-making, with segment-level physical and socioeconomic input characteristics provided at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7693868 (Bolliger et al., 2023a) and model results at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7693869 (Bolliger et al., 2023b).</p

Coordination Cages Selectively Transport Molecular Cargoes Across Liquid Membranes.

Chemical purifications are critical processes across many industries, requiring 10-15% of humanity's global energy budget. Coordination cages are able to catch and release guest molecules based upon their size and shape, providing a new technological basis for achieving chemical separation. Here, we show that aqueous solutions of FeII4L6 and CoII4L4 cages can be used as liquid membranes. Selective transport of complex hydrocarbons across these membranes enabled the separation of target compounds from mixtures under ambient conditions. The kinetics of cage-mediated cargo transport are governed by guest binding affinity. Using sequential transport across two consecutive membranes, target compounds were isolated from a mixture in a size-selective fashion. The selectivities of both cages thus enabled a two-stage separation process to isolate a single compound from a mixture of physicochemically similar molecules

The surface science of quasicrystals

The surfaces of quasicrystals have been extensively studied since about 1990. In this paper we review work on the structure and morphology of clean surfaces, and their electronic and phonon structure. We also describe progress in adsorption and epitaxy studies. The paper is illustrated throughout with examples from the literature. We offer some reflections on the wider impact of this body of work and anticipate areas for future development. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version

The European Respiratory Society and European Society of Thoracic Surgeons clinical guidelines for evaluating fitness for radical treatment (surgery and chemoradiotherapy) in patients with lung cancer

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) established a joint task force with the purpose to develop clinical evidence-based guidelines on evaluation of fitness for radical therapy in patients with lung cancer. The following topics were discussed, and are summarized in the final report along with graded recommendations: Cardiologic evaluation before lung resection; lung function tests and exercise tests (limitations of ppoFEV1; DLCO: systematic or selective?; split function studies; exercise tests: systematic; low-tech exercise tests; cardiopulmonary (high tech) exercise tests); future trends in preoperative work-up; physiotherapy/rehabilitation and smoking cessation; scoring systems; advanced care management (ICU/HDU); quality of life in patients submitted to radical treatment; combined cancer surgery and lung volume reduction surgery; compromised parenchymal sparing resections and minimally invasive techniques: the balance between oncological radicality and functional reserve; neoadjuvant chemotherapy and complications; definitive chemo and radiotherapy: functional selection criteria and definition of risk; should surgical criteria be re-calibrated for radiotherapy?; the patient at prohibitive surgical risk: alternatives to surgery; who should treat thoracic patients and where these patients should be treated

11 pressing research questions on how light pollution affects biodiversity

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is closely associated with modern societies and is rapidly increasing worldwide. A dynamically growing body of literature shows that ALAN poses a serious threat to all levels of biodiversity—from genes to ecosystems. Many “unknowns” remain to be addressed however, before we fully understand the impact of ALAN on biodiversity and can design effective mitigation measures. Here, we distilled the findings of a workshop on the effects of ALAN on biodiversity at the first World Biodiversity Forum in Davos attended by several major research groups in the field from across the globe. We argue that 11 pressing research questions have to be answered to find ways to reduce the impact of ALAN on biodiversity. The questions address fundamental knowledge gaps, ranging from basic challenges on how to standardize light measurements, through the multi-level impacts on biodiversity, to opportunities and challenges for more sustainable use