Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are conduits through which microplastics (MPs) are released into aquatic environments. However, the technical challenges in working with wastewater ...sample matrices have precluded reliable particle count budget calculations. We applied newly-adapted methods for MP collection and analysis to a study of a major WWTP serving a population of 1.3 million people near Vancouver, Canada. Suspected MP particles, including fibres, were counted and categorized using light microscopy in influent, primary effluent, secondary effluent, primary sludge and secondary sludge. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) confirmed that just 32.4% of the suspected MPs were plastic polymers. Using FT-IR corrected data, we estimate that 1.76 ± 0.31 trillion MPs enter the WWTP annually, with 1.28 ± 0.54 trillion MPs settling into primary sludge, 0.36 ± 0.22 into secondary sludge, and 0.03 ± 0.01 trillion MPs released into the receiving environment. This corresponds to a retention of microplastics of up to 99% in the WWTP.
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•Wastewater treatment plants release microplastics into aquatic environments.•An estimated 1.76 trillion microplastics per year enter a major urban WWTP in Vancouver.•98% of microplastics entering the WWTP were retained in solids, 70% being fibres.•With 30 billion particles released to the ocean, there exist concerns about risk to biota.
A high-gain broadband Fabry-Perot-type antenna is proposed, based on multilayer periodic partially reflective surfaces (PRSs). Three layers of PRSs are employed, consisting of metallic patches ...printed on thin dielectric substrates and placed in front of a ground plane, forming three open cavities. The antenna performance is based on the reflection characteristics of the PRS array, which are obtained using periodic analysis. An equivalent circuit approach is presented for the design of the multilayer PRSs showing very good agreement with full-wave analysis. The geometry has been optimized using full-wave simulations (CST Microwave Studio). An antenna of around 20-dBi gain at an operating frequency of 14.5 GHz is obtained with a 3-dB bandwidth of about 15%, outperforming earlier antenna designs based on two-layer PRS. A prototype has been fabricated and tested, validating the simulation results.
Novel miniaturized two-layer electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures are presented for reducing the electromagnetic coupling between closely spaced ultra wideband (UWB) planar monopoles on a common ...ground. The proposed EBG structures employ two closely coupled arrays, one comprising linear conducting patches and the other comprising apertures (slits) in the ground plane. The two arrays are printed on either side of a very thin dielectric layer (55 μm) with a rotation between the elements to produce maximum coupling for miniaturizing. A microstrip line excitation is initially used for the efficient analysis and design of the slit-patch EBG structures, which are subsequently employed between two UWB printed monopoles. The proposed EBG structure has a small footprint and produces a significant reduction of the mutual coupling across the wide operating band of the UWB antennas. Simulated results and measurements of fabricated prototypes are presented.
Killer whales (
) are among the most highly polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated mammals in the world, raising concern about the health consequences of current PCB exposures. Using an ...individual-based model framework and globally available data on PCB concentrations in killer whale tissues, we show that PCB-mediated effects on reproduction and immune function threaten the long-term viability of >50% of the world's killer whale populations. PCB-mediated effects over the coming 100 years predicted that killer whale populations near industrialized regions, and those feeding at high trophic levels regardless of location, are at high risk of population collapse. Despite a near-global ban of PCBs more than 30 years ago, the world's killer whales illustrate the troubling persistence of this chemical class.
The new discipline of 'real-world data science' has emerged over recent years. The clue to why RWD is an important component of any estimation of cost-effectiveness is in the name: the definition of ...effectiveness, as opposed to efficacy, refers to the measurement of effects in the real-world, rather than under the conditions of experimentation required for the unbiased measurement of efficacy. The demand for evidence arising from RWD is therefore driven by those authorities charged with reimbursement decision-making who seek evidence for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness through the process of health technology assessment (HTA).
A method for designing sub-wavelength-profile and broadband high-gain planar antennas is presented. A novel multi-layer periodic array design is proposed for sub-wavelength Fabry-Perot cavity type ...antennas with enhanced bandwidth performance. Three double-sided periodic arrays are designed and optimized, each double-sided array consisting of a capacitive artificial impedance surface (AIS) and an inductive partially reflective surface (PRS) printed on either side of a dielectric substrate. They are placed at about sixth of a wavelength from a ground plane and from each other. Thus, three air cavities are created with a total profile of λ/2. The proposed antenna has been simulated using CST Microwave Studio and measured achieving 16.9 dBi directivity with 10.7% 3 dB bandwidth. The gain-bandwidth product of the proposed designs outperforms any previous Fabry-Perot antenna design with this profile.
Early reports indicate that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are novel regulators of biological responses. However, their role in the human innate immune response, which provides the initial defence ...against infection, is largely unexplored. To address this issue, here we characterize the long non-coding RNA transcriptome in primary human monocytes using RNA sequencing. We identify 76 enhancer RNAs (eRNAs), 40 canonical lncRNAs, 65 antisense lncRNAs and 35 regions of bidirectional transcription (RBT) that are differentially expressed in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Crucially, we demonstrate that knockdown of nuclear-localized, NF-κB-regulated, eRNAs (IL1β-eRNA) and RBT (IL1β-RBT46) surrounding the IL1β locus, attenuates LPS-induced messenger RNA transcription and release of the proinflammatory mediators, IL1β and CXCL8. We predict that lncRNAs can be important regulators of the human innate immune response.
PREDICT is a widely used online prognostication and treatment benefit tool for patients with early stage breast cancer. The aim of this study was to conduct an independent validation exercise of the ...most up-to-date version of the PREDICT algorithm (version 2) using real-world outcomes from the Scottish population of women with breast cancer.
Patient data were obtained for all Scottish Cancer Registry (SCR) records with a diagnosis of primary invasive breast cancer diagnosed in the period between January 2001 and December 2015. Prognostic scores were calculated using the PREDICT version 2 algorithm. External validity was assessed by statistical analysis of discrimination and calibration. Discrimination was assessed by area under the receiver-operator curve (AUC). Calibration was assessed by comparing the predicted number of deaths to the observed number of deaths across relevant sub-groups.
A total of 45,789 eligible cases were selected from 61,437 individual records. AUC statistics ranged from 0.74 to 0.77. Calibration results showed relatively close agreement between predicted and observed deaths. The 5-year complete follow-up sample reported some overestimation (11.5%), while the 10-year complete follow-up sample displayed more limited overestimation (1.7%).
Validation results suggest that the PREDICT tool remains essentially relevant for contemporary patients with early stage breast cancer.
Non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) harboring mutations in MET exon 14 and its flanking introns may respond to c-Met inhibitors. We sought to describe the clinical, pathologic, and genomic ...characteristics of patients with cancer with MET exon 14 mutations.
We interrogated next-generation sequencing results from 6,376 cancers to identify those harboring MET exon 14 mutations. Clinical characteristics of MET exon 14 mutated NSCLCs were compared with those of NSCLCs with activating mutations in KRAS and EGFR. Co-occurring genomic mutations and copy number alterations were identified. c-Met immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction to detect exon 14 skipping were performed where sufficient tissue was available.
MET exon 14 mutations were identified in 28 of 933 nonsquamous NSCLCs (3.0%) and were not seen in other cancer types in this study. Patients with MET exon 14-mutated NSCLC were significantly older (median age, 72.5 years) than patients with EGFR-mutant (median age, 61 years; P < .001) or KRAS-mutant NSCLC (median age, 65 years; P < .001). Among patients with MET exon 14 mutations, 68% were women, and 36% were never-smokers. Stage IV MET exon 14-mutated NSCLCs were significantly more likely to have concurrent MET genomic amplification (mean ratio of MET to chromosome 7, 4.3) and strong c-Met immunohistochemical expression (mean H score, 253) than stage IA to IIIB MET exon 14-mutated NSCLCs (mean ratio of MET to chromosome 7, 1.4; P = .007; mean H score, 155; P = .002) and stage IV MET exon 14-wild-type NSCLCs (mean ratio of MET to chromosome 7, 1.2; P < .001; mean H score, 142; P < .001). A patient whose lung cancer harbored a MET exon 14 mutation with concurrent genomic amplification of the mutated MET allele experienced a major partial response to the c-Met inhibitor crizotinib.
MET exon 14 mutations represent a clinically unique molecular subtype of NSCLC. Prospective clinical trials with c-Met inhibitors will be necessary to validate MET exon 14 mutations as an important therapeutic target in NSCLC.
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