Chemical fluxes from time series sampling of the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers, Myanmar

The Irrawaddy and Salween rivers in Myanmar deliver water fluxes to the ocean equal to ~ 70% of the Ganges–Brahmaputra river system. Together these systems are thought to deliver about half the dissolved load from the tectonically active Himalayan–Tibetan orogen. Previously very little data was available on the dissolved load and isotopic compositions of these major rivers. Here we present time series data of 171 samples collected fortnightly at intervals throughout 2004 to 2007 from the Irrawaddy and Salween at locations near both the river mouths, the up-stream Irrawaddy at Myitkyina, the Chindwin, a major tributary of the Irrawaddy and a set of 28 small tributaries which rise in the flood plain of the Irrawaddy between Yangon and Mandalay. The samples have been analysed for major cation, anion and 87Sr/86Sr ratios. The new data indicates that the Irrawaddy has an annual average Na concentration only a third of the widely quoted single previously published analysis. The Irrawaddy and Salween drain about 0.5% of global continental area and deliver about 3.3% of the global silicate-derived dissolved Ca + Mg fluxes and 2.6% of the global Sr riverine fluxes to the oceans. This compares with Ganges and Brahmaputra which deliver about 3.4% of the global silicate-derived dissolved Ca + Mg fluxes and 3.2% of the global Sr riverine fluxes to the oceans from about 1.1% of global continental area. The discharge-weighted mean 87Sr/86Sr ratio of the Irrawaddy is 0.71024 and the Salween 0.71466. The chemistry of the Salween and the Irrawaddy waters reflects their different bedrock geology. The catchment of the Salween extends across the Shan Plateau in Myanmar through the Eastern syntaxis of the Himalayas and into Tibet. The Irrawaddy flows over the Cretaceous and Tertiary magmatic and metamorphic rocks exposed along the western margin of the Shan Plateau and the Cretaceous to Neogene Indo-Burma ranges. The 87Sr/86Sr compositions of the Salween and Upper Irrawaddy (between 0.7128 and 0.7176) are significantly higher than the downstream Irrawaddy (0.7095 to 0.7108) and the Chindwin (0.7082 to 0.7095). The Irrawaddy and the Chindwin exhibit lower 87Sr/86Sr and Na/Ca ratios during and immediately post-monsoon, interpreted to reflect higher weathering of carbonate at high flow. The Salween exhibits higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios but lower Na/Ca ratios during the monsoon, interpreted to reflect higher inputs from the upper parts of the catchment in the Himalayas.The research was funded by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council grant NE/C513850/1.This is the final published version. It first appeared at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009254115000510#

Dual-Site Mediated Hydrogenation Catalysis on Pd/NiO: Selective Biomass Transformation and Maintaining Catalytic Activity at Low Pd Loading

Creating a new chemical ecosystem based on platform chemicals derived from waste biomass has significant challenges; catalysts need to be able to convert these highly functionalised molecules to specific target chemicals, economical – not relying on large quantities of precious metals - and maintain activity over many cycles. Herein, we demonstrate how Pd/NiO is able to direct the selectivity of furfural hydrogenation and maintain performance at low Pd loading by a unique dual-site mechanism. Sol-immobilization was used to prepare 1 wt% Pd nanoparticles supported on NiO and TiO2, with the Pd/NiO catalyst showing enhanced activity with a significantly different selectivity profile; Pd/NiO favours tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (72%), whereas Pd/TiO2 produces furfuryl alcohol as the major product (68%). Density functional theory studies evidenced significant differences on the adsorption of furfural on both NiO and Pd surfaces. Based on this observation we hypothesised that the role of Pd was to dissociate hydrogen, with the NiO surface adsorbing furfural. This dual-site hydrogenation mechanism was supported by comparing the performance of 0.1 wt% Pd/NiO and 0.1 wt% Pd/TiO2. In this study, the 0.1 and 1 wt% Pd/NiO catalysts had a comparable activity, whereas there was a 10-fold reduction in performance for 0.1 wt% Pd/TiO2. When using TiO2 as the support the Pd nanoparticles are responsible for both hydrogen dissociation and furfural adsorption, and the activity is strongly correlated with the effective metal surface area. This work has significant implications for the upgrading of bio-derived feedstocks, suggesting alternative ways for promoting selective transformations and reducing the reliance on precious metals

Dimerization of Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein Is Essential For Its Cytokine-Like Activity

BACKGROUND:Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP) found in nasal lavage fluids of allergic patients was named IgE-dependent histamine-releasing factor (HRF). Human recombinant HRF (HrHRF) has been recently reported to be much less effective than HRF produced from activated mononuclear cells (HRFmn). METHODS AND FINDINGS:We found that only NH(2)-terminal truncated, but not C-terminal truncated, TCTP shows cytokine releasing activity compared to full-length TCTP. Interestingly, only NH(2)-terminal truncated TCTP, unlike full-length TCTP, forms dimers through intermolecular disulfide bonds. We tested the activity of dimerized full-length TCTP generated by fusing it to rabbit Fc region. The untruncated-full length protein (Fc-HrTCTP) was more active than HrTCTP in BEAS-2B cells, suggesting that dimerization of TCTP, rather than truncation, is essential for the activation of TCTP in allergic responses. We used confocal microscopy to evaluate the affinity of TCTPs to its putative receptor. We detected stronger fluorescence in the plasma membrane of BEAS-2B cells incubated with Del-N11TCTP than those incubated with rat recombinant TCTP (RrTCTP). Allergenic activity of Del-N11TCTP prompted us to see whether the NH(2)-terminal truncated TCTP can induce allergic airway inflammation in vivo. While RrTCTP had no influence on airway inflammation, Del-N11TCTP increased goblet cell hyperplasia in both lung and rhinal cavity. The dimerized protein was found in sera from allergic patients, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from airway inflamed mice. CONCLUSIONS:Dimerization of TCTP seems to be essential for its cytokine-like activity. Our study has potential to enhance the understanding of pathogenesis of allergic disease and provide a target for allergic drug development

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Bilateral temporal lobectomy for necrosis induced by radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

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Unraveling the effect of ZrO2 modifiers on the nature of active sites on AuRu/ZrO2 catalysts for furfural hydrogenation

Ru and AuRu nanoparticles were prepared by a sol-immobilization methodology and deposited on different doped zirconia supports (ZrO2, Y\u2013ZrO2 and La\u2013ZrO2). The catalysts were characterized by analytic transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in a controlled atmosphere and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TEM analysis showed that AuRu catalysts consist of Au\u2013Ru particle aggregates with small Ru particles enriched on the Au surface. FTIR experiments of adsorbed CO and XPS analyses revealed that the presence of gold modifies the electronic properties of Ru, confirming the bimetallic nature of AuRu nanoparticles. The catalysts were tested in furfural hydrogenation using isopropanol as the hydrogen donor. The addition of Au to Ru did not significantly modify the activity and selectivity but enhanced the resistance to deactivation. The acid\u2013base properties were monitored by acetonitrile adsorption followed by FTIR spectroscopy. It was shown that the acidity of the support greatly influences the selectivity. In particular, 71% selectivity to gamma-valerolactone was achieved over AuRu/Y\u2013ZrO2, due to the modified acidic strength of Zr4+ sites on the Y-doped oxide