•Shortage of facemask respirators is a challenge during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.•Decontamination and reuse are valid options for meeting the massive demand.•Biocidal efficacy, functioning, and ...residual toxicity are the aspects to consider.•UVGI and VHP seem to be the most promising decontamination methods for respirators.
As has happened in other emerging respiratory pandemics, demand for N95 filtering facemask respirators (FFRs) has far exceeded their manufacturing production and availability in the context of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. One of the proposed strategies for mitigating the massive demand for N95 FFRs is their reuse after a process of decontamination that allows the inactivation of any potentially infectious material on their surfaces. This article aims to summarize all of the available evidence on the different decontamination methods that might allow disposable N95 FFRs to be reused, with emphasis on decontamination from SARS-CoV-2.
We performed a systematic review of the literature in order to identify studies reporting outcomes of at least 1 decontamination method for inactivating or removing any potentially infectious material from the surface of N95 FFRs, specifically addressing issues related to reduction of the microbial threat (including SARS-CoV-2 when available), maintaining the function of N95 FFRs and a lack of residual toxicity.
We identified a total of 15 studies reporting on the different decontamination methods that might allow disposable N95 FFRs to be reused, including small-scale energetic methods and disinfecting solutions/spray/wipes. Among these decontamination methods, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation and vaporized hydrogen peroxide seem to be the most promising decontamination methods for N95 FFRs, based on their biocidal efficacy, filtration performance, fitting characteristics, and residual chemical toxicity, as well as other practical aspects such as the equipment required for their implementation and the maximum number of decontamination cycles.
Although all the methods for the decontamination and reuse of N95 FFRs have advantages and disadvantages, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation and vaporized hydrogen peroxide seem to be the most promising methods.
This self-contained introduction to the distributed control of robotic networks offers a distinctive blend of computer science and control theory. The book presents a broad set of tools for ...understanding coordination algorithms, determining their correctness, and assessing their complexity; and it analyzes various cooperative strategies for tasks such as consensus, rendezvous, connectivity maintenance, deployment, and boundary estimation. The unifying theme is a formal model for robotic networks that explicitly incorporates their communication, sensing, control, and processing capabilities--a model that in turn leads to a common formal language to describe and analyze coordination algorithms.
Seagrass meadows provide multiple ecosystem services, yet they are among the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Because of their role as carbon sinks, protection and restoration of seagrass meadows ...contribute to climate change mitigation. Blue Carbon strategies aim to enhance CO2 sequestration and avoid greenhouse gasses emissions through the management of coastal vegetated ecosystems, including seagrass meadows. The implementation of Blue Carbon strategies requires a good understanding of the habitat characteristics that influence Corg sequestration. Here, we review the existing knowledge on Blue Carbon research in seagrass meadows to identify the key habitat characteristics that influence Corg sequestration in seagrass meadows, those factors that threaten this function and those with unclear effects. We demonstrate that not all seagrass habitats have the same potential, identify research priorities and describe the implications of the results found for the implementation and development of efficient Blue Carbon strategies based on seagrass meadows.
•We review the effects of habitat characteristics on seagrass Corg sequestration.•Habitat characteristics that enhance or reduce Corg sequestration are provided.•Habitat characteristics with unresolved effects are identified for future research.•Implications for the development of efficient Blue Carbon strategies are indicated.
PREMISE OF THE STUDY:
Analyses of the influence of temporal variation in abiotic factors on flowering phenology of tropical dry forest species have not considered the possible response of species ...with different growth forms and pollination syndromes, while controlling for phylogenetic relationships among species. Here, we investigated the relationship between flowering phenology, abiotic factors, and plant functional attributes, while controlling for phylogenetic relationship among species, in a dry forest community in Mexico.
METHODS:
We characterized flowering phenology (time and duration) and pollination syndromes of 55 tree species, 49 herbs, 24 shrubs, 15 lianas, and 11 vines. We tested the influence of pollination syndrome, growth form, and abiotic factors on flowering phenology using phylogenetic generalized least squares.
KEY RESULTS:
We found a relationship between flowering duration and time. Growth form was related to flowering time, and the pollination syndrome had a more significant relationship with flowering duration. Flowering time variation in the community was explained mainly by abiotic variables, without an important phylogenetic effect. Flowering time in lianas and trees was negatively and positively correlated with daylength, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS:
Functional attributes, environmental cues, and phylogeny interact with each other to shape the diversity of flowering patterns. Phenological differentiation among species groups revealed multiples strategies associated with growth form and pollination syndromes that can be important for understanding species coexistence in this highly diverse plant community.
Abstract
The mpox virus (MPXV) is mutating at an exceptional rate for a DNA virus and its global spread is concerning, making genomic surveillance a necessity. With MpoxRadar, we provide an ...interactive dashboard to track virus variants on mutation level worldwide. MpoxRadar allows users to select among different genomes as reference for comparison. The occurrence of mutation profiles based on the selected reference is indicated on an interactive world map that shows the respective geographic sampling site in customizable time ranges to easily follow the frequency or trend of defined mutations. Furthermore, the user can filter for specific mutations, genes, countries, genome types, and sequencing protocols and download the filtered data directly from MpoxRadar. On the server, we automatically download all MPXV genomes and metadata from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) on a daily basis, align them to the different reference genomes, generate mutation profiles, which are stored and linked to the available metainformation in a database. This makes MpoxRadar a practical tool for the genomic survaillance of MPXV, supporting users with limited computational resources. MpoxRadar is open-source and freely accessible at https://MpoxRadar.net.
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
MpoxRadar: a worldwide genomic surveillance dashboard for MPXV.
This paper introduces the normalized and signed gradient dynamical systems associated with a differentiable function. Extending recent results on nonsmooth stability analysis, we characterize their ...asymptotic convergence properties and identify conditions that guarantee finite-time convergence. We discuss the application of the results to consensus problems in multi-agent systems and show how the proposed nonsmooth gradient flows achieve consensus in finite time.
Cervical carcinoma (CC) is one of the most common cancers and a leading cause of mortality in women worldwide. Epidemiologic and experimental data have clearly demonstrated a causal role of high-risk ...Human Papillomavirus (HR-HPV) types in CC initiation and progression, affecting the cellular processes by targeting and inactivating p53 and pRB host proteins. HR-HPV E5, E6 and E7 oncoproteins have the ability to deregulate several cellular processes, mostly apoptosis, cell cycle control, migration, immune evasion, and induction of genetic instability, which promote the accumulation of mutations and aneuploidy. In this scenario, genomic profiles have shown that aberrant expression of cellular oncogenic and tumor suppressive miRNAs have an important role in CC carcinogenesis. It has been stated that HPV infection and E6/E7 expression are essential but not sufficient to lead to CC development; hence other genetic and epigenetic factors have to be involved in this complex disease. Recent evidence suggests an important level of interaction among E6/E7 viral proteins and cellular miRNA, and other noncoding RNAs. The aim of the current review is to analyze recent data that mainly describe the interaction between HR-HPV established infections and specific cellular miRNAs; moreover, to understand how those interactions could affect radio-therapeutic response in tumor cells.
This volume, compiling and updating the marine biodiversity information of Costa Rica, consists of species lists, and comments on the state-of-knowledge of most taxonomical groups. It contains ...information about collections and experts for each taxonomic group as well as information gaps, thus serving as a starting point and basic reference for future research. Although focusing on Costa Rica, the book provides an overview of marine species diversity of Central America. This full color book with over 100 color illustrations should stimulate marine research in the region, and will be an asset for students and researchers as well as decision makers and conservation managers dealing with the sustainable use of marine and coastal areas. From the foreword by the President of Costa Rica: Oscar Arias Sanchez: 'The work of Ingo Wehrtmann, Jorge Cortes and their colleagues, who have created the first-ever compilation of knowledge of our marine organisms, allows the rest of us to imagine underwater life a bit more clearly. Such imagining is crucial if our marine habitats are to be saved. This work also underscores the urgency of our task as conservationists.' The Species' List can be obtained from http://extras.springer.com
Thunderstorm and hailstorm environments in Mexico León‐Cruz, José Francisco; Caetano, Ernesto; Cortés‐Ramos, Jorge ...
International journal of climatology,
August 2023, 2023-08-00, 20230801, Letnik:
43, Številka:
10
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Thunderstorm and hailstorm environments from 1981 to 2018 are analysed using the proximity soundings approach based on the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) ...reanalysis dataset. Given the nature of the severe weather dataset, four proximity soundings 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 local time were retrieved per day with hail activity or thunderstorms. After quality control, a total of 30,760 vertical profiles were used and grouped seasonally and spatially to consider the local variation of the convective environments. Diverse instability, kinematic, and composite parameters were calculated to characterize the environments for these two convective hazards. The results indicate differences mainly modulated by orographic features, continentality, regional climate, and general synoptic characteristics. Higher instability environments of thunderstorms and hailstorms are observed in the subregions near moisture sources such as oceans, principally during summer and autumn when tropical activity occurs. High wind shear environments are concentrated during winter and spring, mainly in central and northern regions of the country, associated with the passage of frontal systems. The covariates are reasonably accurate at predicting severe weather, but their prediction skill decreases during the warm season when severe weather is more common in Mexico. Increased knowledge of severe weather and associated convective hazards will improve weather forecasting and may be helpful in disaster risk reduction due to meteorological hazards in Mexico.
Thunderstorm and hailstorm environments were analysed in Mexico (1981–2018) using proximity soundings based on the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) dataset. Diverse instability, kinematic, and composite parameters were computed and compared seasonally and regionally, which allowed identifying how local conditions impact the characteristics of these convective hazards.
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