International trade is essential to bridge the imbalance between supply and demand of materials along with different nations effectively, especially for critical raw materials such as tungsten that ...are highly geographically unequally distributed. However, the international trade flows and their complex networks that link those participating nations have remained largely unexplored, which leads to inexplicable concerns for materials' criticality and their supply risks. By integrating the material flow analysis and the complex network analysis, this study traces the global trade flows of tungsten in various forms ranging from primary products to scrap among 223 countries and regions annually from 2000 to 2018 and explores the evolution of participating countries' role involved in international trade networks from both physical and monetary perspectives. We found that (1) there are ∼2673 thousand metric tons of tungsten feeding into supply chains globally during the 19 years, and about 96% of tungsten resources are re‐allocated from Asia to the high‐income regions; (2) the high‐income countries gain the potential benefits from both the resources and economic perspectives and they import 72% of tungsten resources in the form of primary and semi‐products from developing countries, meanwhile earning 87% of global tungsten trade value by exporting tungsten metal products with high value‐added back to those tungsten resources suppliers. Under the growing national interconnections of global tungsten trade networks, this study urges more cooperative actions and targeted supply chain management among the participating countries to secure the tungsten supply and sustainability of the global tungsten cycle.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, accounting for an annual estimated 1.8 million incident cases. With the increasing number of colonoscopies being performed, colorectal ...biopsies make up a large proportion of any histopathology laboratory workload. We trained and validated a unique artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning model as an assistive tool to screen for colonic malignancies in colorectal specimens, in order to improve cancer detection and classification; enabling busy pathologists to focus on higher order decision-making tasks. The study cohort consists of Whole Slide Images (WSI) obtained from 294 colorectal specimens. Qritive's unique composite algorithm comprises both a deep learning model based on a Faster Region Based Convolutional Neural Network (Faster-RCNN) architecture for instance segmentation with a ResNet-101 feature extraction backbone that provides glandular segmentation, and a classical machine learning classifier. The initial training used pathologists' annotations on a cohort of 66,191 image tiles extracted from 39 WSIs. A subsequent application of a classical machine learning-based slide classifier sorted the WSIs into 'low risk' (benign, inflammation) and 'high risk' (dysplasia, malignancy) categories. We further trained the composite AI-model's performance on a larger cohort of 105 resections WSIs and then validated our findings on a cohort of 150 biopsies WSIs against the classifications of two independently blinded pathologists. We evaluated the area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC) and other performance metrics. The AI model achieved an AUC of 0.917 in the validation cohort, with excellent sensitivity (97.4%) in detection of high risk features of dysplasia and malignancy. We demonstrate an unique composite AI-model incorporating both a glandular segmentation deep learning model and a classical machine learning classifier, with excellent sensitivity in picking up high risk colorectal features. As such, AI plays a role as a potential screening tool in assisting busy pathologists by outlining the dysplastic and malignant glands.
•Changing patterns and determinants of material stocks in three Chinese cities are investigated.•A comprehensive and up-to-date material stock inventory is provided.•A relative decoupling of the ...economic development from material stock addition is found.•Economic and population boom are the major factors driving the unprecedented rise of material stock.•Making cities compact rather than dispersed would be effective to reduce the material stock intensity.
Quantifying the changing patterns and determinants of material stocks (MS) is important for understanding the interplay between socioeconomic development and environment conservation, and for addressing the challenges in sustainable development. This paper conducts a MS accounting for 10 materials in 6 major infrastructures in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, and probes into the driving factors behind the change within the 1978–2013 period through a logarithmic mean divisia index decomposition method. The results suggest that MS changes through a rapid enhancement in the 1980s, a steadily growth in the 1990s, and an acceleration after the 2000s. A relative decoupling phenomenon was detected in the development of economy and MS, which was largely caused by the decline of MS intensity. The policy implications include paying more attentions to the improvement of MS efficiency especially in buildings, substituting for less energy-intensive construction materials, controlling the extensive urban sprawl, and raising the population density.
A Molecular Thermochromic Ferroelectric Liu, Jun‐Chao; Liao, Wei‐Qiang; Li, Peng‐Fei ...
Angewandte Chemie International Edition,
February 24, 2020, Letnik:
59, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Molecular ferroelectrics have attracted considerable interests because of their easy and environmentally friendly processing, low acoustical impedance and mechanical flexibility. Herein, a molecular ...thermochromic ferroelectric, N,N′‐dimethyl‐1,4‐diazoniabicyclo2.2.2octonium tetrachlorocuprate(II) (DMe‐DABCOCuCl4) is reported, which shows both excellent ferroelectricity and intriguing thermochromism. DMe‐DABCOCuCl4 undergoes a ferroelectric phase transition from Pca21 to Pbcm at a significantly high Curie temperature of 413 K, accompanied by a color change from yellow to red that is due to the remarkable deformation of CuCl42− tetrahedron, where the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases correspond to yellow and red, respectively. Combined with multiple bistable physical properties, DMe‐DABCOCuCl4 would be a promising candidate for next‐generation smart devices, and should inspire further exploration of multifunctional molecular ferroelectrics.
Set phases to stun: A molecular thermochromic ferroelectric, N,N′‐dimethyl‐1,4‐diazoniabicyclo2.2.2octonium tetrachlorocuprate(II), undergoes a ferroelectric phase transition from Pca21 to Pbcm at the significantly high Curie temperature (Tc) of 413 K. This is accompanied by a color change from yellow to red that is due to the remarkable deformation of the CuCl42− tetrahedron.
Solid waste recycling is crucial for easing China's resource constraints and for promoting the country's sustainable economic development. Previous studies regarding solid waste recycling have mainly ...assessed its economic value, the status quo, problems and challenges, however, little is known at this stage about its driving factors. The purpose of the current study is to identify the socioeconomic drivers of solid waste recycling, investigating it's evolution in China from 2005 to 2017. The study employs a systematic technique of input-output (IO) analysis and IO-based structural decomposition analysis (IO-SDA). Results reveal that China experienced an increase in the recycling of five types of solid waste, these include waste steel, waste nonferrous metals, waste plastics, waste paper and waste rubber for the period 2005–2017. The increase in solid waste recycling was driven mainly by fixed capital formation and exports, while urban household consumption was found to be a dominant driver due to China's increasing urban population. In order to better track and identify the recycling of solid waste, there is an urgent need to promote the classification of household solid waste at the national level. An increase of solid waste recycling was driven mainly by the growth of recycling intensity, population increase and changes in the structure of GDP, which was partly offset by per capita GDP changes. It is recommended that policy-makers increase the amount of investment in solid waste recycling capacity in rural areas so as to enhance recycling intensity contributing to the overall recycling effort.
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•Drivers of China’s solid waste recycling were quantitatively characterized.•Input-output model and structural decomposition analysis were used to understand China’s solid waste recycling trajectory.•Urban household consumption accounting for 7.4-22% should be the focus of planners’ attention.•Recycling intensity contributes to 80-147% of China’s five solid-waste recycling growth.
Plastic is one commonly used polymer material to support our daily lives. However, once the plastic waste enters the environment, it slowly degrades, which causes long-term and deep ecological ...environmental problems. As the world's largest plastic producer and consumer, China generated around 26.74 million tons of plastic waste in 2019, and has made ambitious policies to cope with the plastic waste issues. This study predicts the generation trends and management costs of plastic waste in China from 2020 to 2035 under three different scenarios (Business as usual-BAU, Current policy scenario -CPS, and Target policy scenario-TPS), in which China is divided into three regions for specific policy implications. In addition, the scenario analysis and Monte Carlo simulations are used to obtain confidence interval of assessments. The results show that the plastic waste emission will be 34.82 million tons under BAU, 13.49 million tons under CPS and 2.63 million tons under TPS in 2035, respectively, and there will be significant changes in regional contributions in plastic waste emission (e.g., Eastern region: 45.7% to 9.7%; Central region:25.2% to 30.9%; Western region: 29.1% to 59.4% from 2019 to 2035 under TPS). In addition, the environmental and economic benefits increase with the rigor of plastic waste management policy as there will generate a net income of US$3.01 billion under TPS compared to the cost of US$ 2.61 billion under BAU and US$120 million under CPS. In view of this, it is vital that China develop appropriate plastic management policies based on the status of various regions, attempt to achieve economic development while reducing plastic waste emissions, and finally achieving a “win-win” situation of economy and environment.
•Scenario analysis was used to predict plastic waste emissions of China.•The net economic cost of plastic waste management in China was predicted.•Different plastic waste policy interventions derived on regional variations.•Stronger policy interventions can help reduce plastic waste emissions.•China needs extraordinary efforts to achieve the goal of reducing plastic waste.
Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 5 (LPAR5) is involved in mediating thyroid cancer progression, but the underlying mechanism needs to be further revealed. In this study, we confirmed that LPAR5 is ...upregulated in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), especially in BRAF‐like PTC, by analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and performing immunohistochemistry assay in human thyroid cancer tissues. LPAR5‐specific antagonist TC LPA5 4 treatment inhibited CGTH‐W3, TPC‐1, B‐CPAP, and BHT‐101 cell proliferation, CGTH‐W3 and TPC‐1 cell migration significantly. In vivo, TC LPA5 4 treatment could delay CGTH‐W3 xenograft growth in nude mice. We also found that LPAR5‐specific antagonist TC LPA5 4, PI3K inhibitor wortmannin, or mTOR inhibitor rapamycin pretreatment abrogated phosphorylation of Akt and p70S6K1 stimulated by LPA in CGTH‐W3 and TPC‐1 cells. Stimulating CGTH‐W3 cells transfected with pEGFPC1‐Grp1‐PH fusion protein with LPA resulted in the generation of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)‐triphosphate, which indicates that PI3K was activated by LPA directly. The p110β‐siRNA instead of p110α‐siRNA transfection abrogated the increase of levels of phosphorylated Akt and S6K1 stimulated by LPA. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation assay confirmed an interaction between LPAR5 and p110β. Overall, we provide new insights that the downregulation of LPAR5 decreased the proliferation and migration phenotype via the PI3K/Akt pathway. Inhibition of LPAR5 or the PI3K/Akt signal may be a novel therapeutic strategy for treating thyroid cancer.
Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 5 (LPAR5) is upregulated in thyroid cancer and plays important roles in thyroid cancer proliferation and migration through activating PI3K kinase directly. Inhibition of LPAR5 or the PI3K/Akt pathway may be used for the therapy of metastatic and recurrent thyroid cancer expressing high levels of LPAR5.
The formation of the Himalaya was associated with the exhumation of high-grade metamorphosed rocks of the Higher Himalayan sequence (HHS) complex, which underwent amphibolite-, granulite- to ...eclogite-facies metamorphism and anatexis. Occurring along the Himalayan mountain crest in the south and the Lhagoi Kangri mountain in the north, the Himalayan leucogranites contain varying proportions of biotite (<5%), muscovite, tourmaline, and garnet, and are typically equigranular in texture with variable structures from foliated to massive. These peraluminous granites have been interpreted as purely crust-derived melts, without any input from the mantle, and may therefore record the timing of continental collision. However, they were emplaced between 44 and 7 Ma, much later than the timing of collision between India and Asia (c. 60 Ma). Although typically interpreted as products of in situ partial melting of the HHS during subduction and exhumation, we suggest that the Himalayan leucogranites underwent intense crystal fractionation, as recorded by crystal layering, sedimentary-like cross-bedding, and the occurrence of pegmatites with varying grain sizes. Geochemically, these leucogranites are low in siderophile but high in lithophile elements, with significant negative europium (Eu) anomalies, non-chondritic Nb/Ta and Zr/Hf ratios, and rare earth element (REE) tetrad effects. Many of the leucogranites and pegmatites contain rare-metal minerals, such as beryl and chrysoberyl; columbite–tantalite, tapiolite, and pyrochlore–microlite; rutile and fergusonite; and zinnwaldite, lepidolite, spodumene, and petalite, supporting an origin involving a high degree of magmatic fractionation. We suggest that the primary magma was generated through partial melting of subducted Indian crust due to input of heat from depth. The generation of magma triggered the exhumation of the Indian crust and subsequent formation of the Himalayan mountain chain. The magma ascended with the Indian crust along the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS), during which time it underwent significant fractionation. Anatectic melts generated from exhumed Indian crust through decompression melting are distinct from the leucogranites, indicating that exhumation of the Indian crust had a limited contribution to the generation and evolution of the leucogranites. Extensional faulting facilitated a high degree of magma fractionation and rare-metal mineralization.
•Leucogranites are widely distributed in the Himalayan mountains.•These rocks are peraluminous, and were considered as purely crustal derived.•They were not an in-situ melt, but formed by intensive magma fractionation.•Rare-metal mineralization is documented in these rocks and associated pegmatites.
This study retrospectively explored the effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with Qianzhengsan decoction (QZSD) for the treatment of peripheral facial paralysis (PFP). This retrospective ...study included patients with PFP admitted to a single hospital between July 2018 and June 2020. Ninety patients were included and divided into treatment (n = 45) and control (n = 45) groups. All the patients in both groups received oral prednisone tablets and mecobalamin. In addition, patients in the treatment group received EA and QZSD. The outcomes were the overall response rate, facial nerve function, facial nerve electromyography, and adverse events. All outcome data were analyzed before and after treatment. Patients in the treatment group achieved better outcomes than those in the control group in improving overall response rate ( P = .04), facial nerve function ( P < .01), and facial nerve electromyography ( P < .01). Patients in both groups reported adverse events. The results of this study showed that patients with PFP and QZSD received better outcomes than those who did not. Further studies are required to confirm these results.
•Evolution of material efficiency indicators and major findings are reviewed.•Alternative material efficiency metrics are mapped in anthropogenic material cycles.•A systematic framework for ...classifying material use indicators is developed.
Increasing material efficiency, or material productivity, is essential for decoupling resource depletion and associated environmental pressures from economic development. This paper reviews the historical evolution of indicators monitoring material efficiency, their underpinning methodologies and major findings in the past three decades. Early studies investigated the material-economy relationship through intensity of use (IU) of some selected single materials. Economy-wide material flow accounting (EW-MFA) established a standardized framework for aggregating overall material inputs into an economy. Consumption-based material footprint (MF) analysis extended the system boundary to cover global resource extraction along supply chains to satisfy final consumption. Studies on material cycles (MC), especially metal cycles, further helped trace all major life cycle stages of anthropogenic material use, with the capability to account for in-use stocks of materials and products. Impact-based indicators investigate the opportunities to reduce negative environmental, social and economic impacts of material use, which is the ultimate purpose of improving material efficiency. Monitoring material efficiency with different indicators might lead to very different conclusions regarding a society’s dependence on material and its dematerialization trend. We present a generalized framework for constructing all kinds of material efficiency/productivity indicators and make the case that election of indicators should be problem-oriented and policy-relevant.
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