A SAXS outlook on disordered carbonaceous materials for electrochemical energy storage

Ordered and disordered carbonaceous materials cover a wide range of the energy storage materials market. In this work a thorough analysis of the Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) patterns of a number of carbon samples for energy storage (including graphite, soft carbon, hard carbon, activated carbon, glassy carbon and carbide-derived carbon) is shown. To do so, innovative geometrical models to describe carbon X-ray scattering have been built to refine the experimental SAXS data. The results obtained provide a full description of the atomic and pore structures of these carbons that in some cases challenge more traditional models. The correlative analysis of the descriptors here used provide novel insight into disordered carbons and can be used to shed light in charge storage mechanisms and to design improved carbonaceous materials

The effects of hypoxia on zooplankton population estimates and migration in lakes

Many zooplankton species typically exhibit diel vertical migration (DVM), where zooplankton migrate from the hypolimnion to the epilimnion of lakes at night. Zooplankton exhibit this behavior to avoid visual predators and UV radiation by remaining in the bottom waters during the day and ascending to the surface waters to feed on phytoplankton at night. However, hypoxic conditions in the hypolimnion of lakes mayinterfere with DVM and force zooplankton to increase diel horizontal migration (DHM) to find predation refuge in littoral zones. Climate change and eutrophication are expected to increase the prevalence and severity of hypoxic conditions worldwide and thereby possibly alter zooplankton migration patterns. We hypothesize that hypoxia will force zooplankton to shift their migration patterns from predominantly DVM to DHM to avoid oxygen-depleted bottom waters. To test our hypothesis, we are conducting a standardized global sampling program to test whether pelagic, full water column estimates of zooplankton are greater at night versus the day under hypolimnetic hypoxic versus oxic conditions. Participants are aiming to sample at least one lake with an oxic hypolimnion and one lake with a hypoxic hypolimnion during the thermally-stratified period at midday and midnight. With our global dataset (currently expecting about 60 lakes in 22 countries), our goal is to improve our understanding of how global change may alter zooplankton migration behavior and patterns in lakes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rare variant analysis of 4241 pulmonary arterial hypertension cases from an international consortium implicates FBLN2, PDGFD, and rare de novo variants in PAH

Abstract: Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a lethal vasculopathy characterized by pathogenic remodeling of pulmonary arterioles leading to increased pulmonary pressures, right ventricular hypertrophy, and heart failure. PAH can be associated with other diseases (APAH: connective tissue diseases, congenital heart disease, and others) but often the etiology is idiopathic (IPAH). Mutations in bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 (BMPR2) are the cause of most heritable cases but the vast majority of other cases are genetically undefined. Methods: To identify new risk genes, we utilized an international consortium of 4241 PAH cases with exome or genome sequencing data from the National Biological Sample and Data Repository for PAH, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and the UK NIHR BioResource – Rare Diseases Study. The strength of this combined cohort is a doubling of the number of IPAH cases compared to either national cohort alone. We identified protein-coding variants and performed rare variant association analyses in unrelated participants of European ancestry, including 1647 IPAH cases and 18,819 controls. We also analyzed de novo variants in 124 pediatric trios enriched for IPAH and APAH-CHD. Results: Seven genes with rare deleterious variants were associated with IPAH with false discovery rate smaller than 0.1: three known genes (BMPR2, GDF2, and TBX4), two recently identified candidate genes (SOX17, KDR), and two new candidate genes (fibulin 2, FBLN2; platelet-derived growth factor D, PDGFD). The new genes were identified based solely on rare deleterious missense variants, a variant type that could not be adequately assessed in either cohort alone. The candidate genes exhibit expression patterns in lung and heart similar to that of known PAH risk genes, and most variants occur in conserved protein domains. For pediatric PAH, predicted deleterious de novo variants exhibited a significant burden compared to the background mutation rate (2.45×, p = 2.5e−5). At least eight novel pediatric candidate genes carrying de novo variants have plausible roles in lung/heart development. Conclusions: Rare variant analysis of a large international consortium identified two new candidate genes—FBLN2 and PDGFD. The new genes have known functions in vasculogenesis and remodeling. Trio analysis predicted that ~ 15% of pediatric IPAH may be explained by de novo variants

Urban forest of Mendoza (Argentina): the role of Morus alba (Moraceae) in carbon storage

Carbon dioxide emissions have partially been attributed to urban areas. Nevertheless, cities provide valuable ecosystem services such as carbon storage. The aim of this study is to estimate the carbon storage of Morus alba trees as a dominant species in the urban forest of Mendoza city. A stratified random sampling was selected for both urban and suburban areas. Trees were analyzed considering the following parts: stem, primary and secondary branches, and leaves. Underground dry matter was also estimated. Tree dry matter was distributed as follows: crown 53%, stem 25%, root 20%, and leaf 2%. Considering the total M. alba coverage, the urban area accumulates 24,208 tonnes and the suburban area 43,000 tonnes of carbon, from which 544.6 tonnes (1998.6 t CO2) and 1123.3 tonnes (4,118.8 t CO2) are annually removed by leaves. These quantities are relevant considering the 13,000 t/year of CO released to the atmosphere in Mendoza city. The accumulated carbon values evidence the importance of preservation and conservation tasks that are essential in the management of the urban forest located in drylands

TRIVAC decision-support model for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccination.

The TRIVAC decision support model has been used widely in Latin America and other regions to help national teams evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccine (RV). We describe the structure and functioning of this model, and identify the parameters with the greatest influence on the results. The TRIVAC model is a spreadsheet software program that calculates incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) and other indicators for three childhood vaccines (Hib, PCV and RV) utilising parameters such as demography, disease burden, vaccine costs, vaccine coverage, vaccine efficacy, health service utilisation and costs. There is a good deal of uncertainty about the local values of many of the parameters that have most influence on the cost-effectiveness of these new vaccines. Cost-effectiveness models can be used to explore the implications of different values of these parameters. However, for such models to be seen as relevant and helpful by decision-makers, they need to be transparent, flexible, easy to use, and embedded in a process which is owned and led by national teams. In this paper the key drivers of cost-effectiveness in the model are identified by one-way sensitivity analyses, run for each vaccine in 147 countries. The data used are mainly from standard international sources and the published literature. The primary indicator was the discounted cost per Disability Adjusted Life-Year (DALY) averted, from a government perspective, over a 20-year period (2013-2032). For all three vaccines, the ICER was most sensitive to changes in relative coverage (the coverage of the children who would have become diseased or, more importantly, died if the population had not been vaccinated, as a % of overall national coverage) and the herd effect multiplier. Other influential parameters for all three vaccines were: the incidence and case fatality of disease, the baseline trend in disease mortality in the absence of vaccination, vaccine efficacy, vaccine price and the % decline in vaccine price per year. Important vaccine-specific parameters included the cost of Hib meningitis sequelae, PCV serotype coverage and the rotavirus gastro-enteritis (RVGE) admission rate. While vaccine efficacy, herd effects, disease mortality and vaccine price are commonly cited as important drivers of cost-effectiveness, this analysis highlights the potentially important influence of relative coverage, a parameter rarely considered in models of vaccine impact and cost-effectiveness

Urban forest of Mendoza (Argentina): the role of Morus alba (Moraceae) in carbon storage

Carbon dioxide emissions have partially been attributed to urban areas. Nevertheless, cities provide valuable ecosystem services such as carbon storage. The aim of this study is to estimate the carbon storage of Morus alba trees as a dominant species in the urban forest of Mendoza city. A stratified random sampling was selected for both urban and suburban areas. Trees were analyzed considering the following parts: stem, primary and secondary branches, and leaves. Underground dry matter was also estimated. Tree dry matter was distributed as follows: crown 53%, stem 25%, root 20%, and leaf 2%. Considering the total M. alba coverage, the urban area accumulates 24,208 tonnes and the suburban area 43,000 tonnes of carbon, from which 544.6 tonnes (1998.6 t CO2) and 1123.3 tonnes (4,118.8 t CO2) are annually removed by leaves. These quantities are relevant considering the 13,000 t/year of CO released to the atmosphere in Mendoza city. The accumulated carbon values evidence the importance of preservation and conservation tasks that are essential in the management of the urban forest located in drylands.Fil: Martinez Carretero, Eduardo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Moreno, Gabriela Analia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Duplancic Videla, María Andrea del Carmen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Abud, Adonis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Vento, Barbara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Jauregui, Jorge Alcalá. Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi; Méxic

Performing Country-led Economic Evaluations to Inform Immunization Policy: ProVac Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean.

New vaccines have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing morbidity and mortality, particularly in children, but come at increased costs to societies, governments, and their national immunization programs compared with other traditional childhood vaccines. Rational allocation of available resources requires systematic collection of the evidence base to decide whether to introduce a new vaccine, an important component of which is cost-effectiveness analysis. In this article, we develop in-depth case studies to examine the country experience of conducting cost-effectiveness analysis with the support of Pan American Health Organization ProVac Initiative and the implications of its process for decision making on new vaccine introduction in Latin America and the Caribbean. Key lessons regarding how cost-effectiveness analysis may be effectively used to inform evidence-based immunization policy are highlighted, drawing from the experience of Nicaragua and Paraguay. Based on the lessons identified, the vision going forward will focus on promoting the sustainability of multidisciplinary country teams while continuing to prioritize capacity development as an overarching guiding principle for preparing countries to face future new vaccine policy decisions