| 1. |
- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(författare)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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| 2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Martinez-Manuel, Leopoldo, et al.
(författare)
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A comprehensive analysis of the optical and thermal performance of solar absorber coatings under concentrated flux conditions
- 2022
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Ingår i: Solar Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0038-092X .- 1471-1257. ; 239, s. 319-336
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar Absorber Coatings (SACs) are widely used materials for improving thermal efficiencies of solar receivers. Traditionally, these SACs are investigated using heat treatments to test their optical-thermal properties; however, tests under concentrated flux conditions are still required. In this work, the thermal efficiency of different SACs is experimentally evaluated and compared. The analyzed SACs are: (1) Pyromark®2500, (2) Solkote®, (3) Thurmalox®250, (4) Comex® and (5) a new Soot from Forest Biomass (SFB) based coating. To assess the SACs performance, a High Flux Solar Simulator along with a calorimetric test bench are implemented under a well-controlled indoor environment applying two levels of concentrated irradiance of 100 ± 3 kW/m2 and 415 ± 12 kW/m2 named low and high flux level, respectively. Results show that, for a low flux level, the analyzed coatings present thermal efficiencies in a range from 91.74% to 83.24%, exhibiting a slightly close performance in most of the cases. Correspondingly, for a high flux level, the efficiencies range from 88.69% to 72.69%, with Pyromark®2500 being the most efficient in both cases. In addition, variations in the optical properties are reported for the experimental campaign with the high flux level, observing slight changes in the spectral absorptance and emittance. From these results, Pyromark presents the highest drop in solar absorptance of 1.22%, which is attributed to microcracks observed through the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Thus, the presented approach can provide valuable information about the effects that concentrated flux levels can have in the optical-thermal performance of the analyzed samples.
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| 5. |
- Alvarado-Kristensson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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SADB phosphorylation of gamma-tubulin regulates centrosome duplication.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature Cell Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-7392 .- 1476-4679. ; 11:9, s. 86-1081
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Symmetrical cell division requires duplication of DNA and protein content to generate two daughter cells. Centrosomes also duplicate during cell division, but the mechanism controlling this process is incompletely understood. We describe an alternative splice form of SadB encoding a short SADB Ser/Thr kinase whose activity fluctuates during the cell cycle, localizes to centrosomes, and controls centrosome duplication. Reduction of endogenous SADB levels diminished centrosome numbers, whereas enhanced SADB expression induced centrosome amplification. SADB exerted this action through phosphorylation of gamma-tubulin on Ser 131, as expression of a phosphomimetic Ser 131-to-Asp gamma-tubulin mutant alone increased centrosome numbers, whereas non-phosphorylatable Ala 131-gamma-tubulin impaired centrosome duplication. We propose that SADB kinase activity controls centrosome homeostasis by regulating phosphorylation of gamma-tubulin.
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| 6. |
- Black, Richard, et al.
(författare)
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Environment of Peace : Security in a New Era of Risk
- 2022
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The environmental crisis is increasing risks to security and peace worldwide, notably in countries that are already fragile. Indicators of insecurity such as the number of conflicts, the number of hungry people and military expenditure are rising; so are indicators of environmental decline, in climate change, biodiversity, pollution and other areas. In combination, the security and environmental crises are creating compound, cascading, emergent, systemic and existential risks. Without profound changes of approach by institutions of authority, risks will inevitably proliferate quickly. Environment of Peace surveys the evolving risk landscape and documents a number of developments that indicate a pathway to solutions––in international law and policy, in peacekeeping operations and among non-governmental organizations. It finds that two principal avenues need to be developed: (a) combining peace-building and environmental restoration, and (b) effectively addressing the underlying environmental issues. It also analyses the potential of existing and emerging pro-environment measures for exacerbating risks to peace and security. The findings demonstrate that only just and peaceful transitions to more sustainable practices can be effective––and show that these transitions also need to be rapid.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Ebrahimian, Farinaz, et al.
(författare)
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Iron limitation effect on H2/CO2 biomethanation : Experimental and model analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 2213-3437. ; 11:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Trace metals are indispensable for the metalloenzymes involved for efficient H2/CO2 biomethanation. In-depth understanding of trace metals requirements of methanogens cannot only lead to robust and stable operation, but also can enhance CH4 productivity. In this study, the effect of Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo and W on the H2/CO2 biomethanation was examined. In a period of nutrient deprivation, suppression of hydrogenotrophic archaea was revealed at higher feed gas rates, leading to a significant drop in CH4 content and a concomitant rise in acetic acid concentration. After nutrient supplementation, the increase in Co, Ni and Fe concentrations were pivotal factors for enhanced methanogenic activity, leading to a CH4 content of more than 98% in the outlet biogas and a sharp drop in acetic acid concentration. Moreover, mathematical modeling was employed to simulate the influence of the most prominent element, iron, on the biomethanation process. The amended BioModel demonstrated that Fe limitation suppresses hydrogenotrophic archaea which consequently leads to H2 accumulation and growth of homoacetogenic bacteria.
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| 9. |
- Loizides, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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Has taxonomic vandalism gone too far? A case study, the rise of the pay-to-publish model and the pitfalls of Morchella systematics
- 2022
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Ingår i: Mycological progress. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1617-416X .- 1861-8952. ; 21:1, s. 7-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The genus Morchella has gone through turbulent taxonomic treatments. Although significant progress in Morchella systematics has been achieved in the past decade, several problems remain unresolved and taxonomy in the genus is still in flux. In late 2019, a paper published in the open-access journal Scientific Reports raised serious concerns about the taxonomic stability of the genus, but also about the future of academic publishing. The paper, entitled “High diversity of Morchella and a novel lineage of the esculenta clade from the north Qinling Mountains revealed by GCPSR-based study” by Phanpadith and colleagues, suffered from gross methodological errors, included false results and artifactual phylogenies, had misapplied citations throughout, and proposed a new species name invalidly. Although the paper was eventually retracted by Scientific Reports in 2021, the fact that such an overtly flawed and scientifically unsound paper was published in a high-ranked Q1 journal raises alarming questions about quality controls and safekeeping procedures in scholarly publishing. Using this paper as a case study, we provide a critical review on the pitfalls of Morchella systematics followed by a series of recommendations for the delimitation of species, description of taxa, and ultimately for a sustainable taxonomy in Morchella. Problems and loopholes in the academic publishing system are also identified and discussed, and additional quality controls in the pre- and post-publication stages are proposed.
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| 10. |
- Roederer, Ian U., et al.
(författare)
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The discovery space of ELT-ANDES. Stars and stellar populations
- 2024
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - 0922-6435. ; 57:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph (ANDES) is the optical and near-infrared high-resolution echelle spectrograph envisioned for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). We present a selection of science cases, supported by new calculations and simulations, where ANDES could enable major advances in the fields of stars and stellar populations. We focus on three key areas, including the physics of stellar atmospheres, structure, and evolution; stars of the Milky Way, Local Group, and beyond; and the star-planet connection. The key features of ANDES are its wide wavelength coverage at high spectral resolution and its access to the large collecting area of the ELT. These features position ANDES to address the most compelling questions and potentially transformative advances in stellar astrophysics of the decades ahead, including questions which cannot be anticipated today.
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