Abstract
Pyrolysis of natural gas to produce H
2
and solid carbon through methane cracking can be characterized as a high-CH
4
, low-CO
2
process. It results in low CO
2
emissions because no direct ...CO
2
is generated at the point of H
2
generation if solid carbon is not combusted further. However, it results in high CH
4
emissions because of its higher natural gas consumption compared to the direct use of natural gas and, thus, higher CH
4
losses along the natural gas supply chain. Here, I analyzed whether this process can provide climate benefit in comparison to the direct, unabated utilization of natural gas and also in comparison with H
2
produced from water electrolysis with grid electricity. To this end, Monte Carlo simulations of time-resolved and US state-specific emission profiles and their impact on mid-century global warming under different CH
4
mitigation scenarios were conducted. It was found that the climate benefit of natural gas pyrolysis is highly dependent on plant location and the speed at which CH
4
emissions can be abated. New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio emerged as the most promising locations. This is because of their projected long reliance on natural gas for power generation, which renders electrolysis using grid electricity less attractive, as well as the relatively low estimate of current CH
4
emissions from the natural gas supply chain. However, without fast action on CH
4
emission mitigation, the climate benefit of natural gas pyrolysis is small or non-existent, irrespective of the plant location. Overall, the uncertainty in the relative climate benefit of natural gas pyrolysis was found to be large; however, this study developed an easy-to-adapt MS Excel/visual basic for applications (VBA) tool that can be updated as soon as more accurate data on CH
4
emissions becomes available. Policymakers, businesspeople, and scholars can use this tool to estimate the climate impact within their own scenarios and locations.
Research has suggested that African American and Latinx adults may develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at higher rates than White adults, and that the clinical course of PTSD in these ...minority groups is poor. Factors that may contribute to higher prevalence and poorer outcome in these groups are sociocultural factors and racial stressors, such as experiences with discrimination. To date, however, no research has explored the relationship between experiences with discrimination and risk for PTSD, and very little research has examined the course of illness for PTSD in African American and Latinx samples. The present study examined these variables in the only longitudinal clinical sample of 139 Latinx and 152 African American adults with anxiety disorders, the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Project-Phase II. Over 5 years of follow-up, remission rates for African Americans and Latinx adults with PTSD in this sample were 0.35 and 0.15, respectively, and reported frequency of experiences with discrimination significantly predicted PTSD diagnostic status in this sample, but did not predict any other anxiety or mood disorder. These findings demonstrate the chronic course of PTSD in African American and Latinx adults, and highlight the important role that racial and ethnic discrimination may play in the development of PTSD among these populations. Implications for an increased focus on these sociocultural stressors in the assessment and treatment of PTSD in African American and Latinx individuals are discussed.
•Though poorly understood, a small number of studies have noted an increase in pediatric firearm injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic.•In this study, the frequency and mortality of pediatric firearm ...injuries was found to have significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.•The rise in pediatric firearm injuries was driven by an increase in firearm assaults/homicides, primarily amongst Black youths.•Spikes in pediatric firearm assaults were found to occur during or within three months of COVID-19 death-rate surges.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased firearm injuries amongst adults, though the pandemic's effect on children is less clearly understood.
This cross-sectional study was performed at a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and included youths 0–19 years. The trauma registry was retrospectively queried for firearm injuries occurring pre-COVID-19 pandemic (March 2015-February 2020). Baseline data was compared to prospectively collected data occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-March 2022). Fischer's exact, Pearson's Chi-square and/or correlation analysis was used to compare pre and post-COVID-19 firearm injury rates and intent, victim demographics and disposition. Temporal relationships between firearm injury rates and local COVID-19 death rates were also described.
413 pre-COVID-19 firearm injuries were compared to 259 pandemic firearm injuries. Victims were mostly Black males with a mean age of 13.4 years. Compared to the 5 years pre-pandemic, monthly firearm injury rates increased 51.5% (6.8 vs 10.3 shootings/month), including a significant increase (p = 0.04) in firearm assaults/homicides and a relative decrease in unintentional shootings. Deaths increased 29%, and there were significantly fewer ED discharges and more admissions to OR and/or PICU (p = 0.005). There was a significant increase in Black victims (p = 0.01) and those having Medicaid or self-pay (p<0.001). Firearm injury spikes were noted during or within the 3 months following surges in local COVID-19 death rates.
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in the frequency and mortality of pediatric firearm injuries, particularly assaults amongst Black children following surges in COVID death rates. Increased violence-intervention services are needed, particularly amongst marginalized communities.
This is a prognostic study, evaluating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric firearm injuries, including victim demographics, injury intent and mortality. This study is retrospective and observational, making it Oxford Level III evidence.
Research and development activities directed toward commercial production of cellulosic ethanol have created the opportunity to dramatically increase the transformation of lignin to value-added ...products. Here, we highlight recent advances in this lignin valorization effort. Discovery of genetic variants in native populations of bioenergy crops and direct manipulation of biosynthesis pathways have produced lignin feedstocks with favorable properties for recovery and downstream conversion. Advances in analytical chemistry and computational modeling detail the structure of the modified lignin and direct bioengineering strategies for future targeted properties. Refinement of biomass pretreatment technologies has further facilitated lignin recovery, and this coupled with genetic engineering will enable new uses for this biopolymer, including low-cost carbon fibers, engineered plastics and thermoplastic elastomers, polymeric foams, fungible fuels, and commodity chemicals.
During the past decade, evidence from research on mood disorders has demonstrated that remission is the optimal outcome of treatment. However, there continues to be considerable variability in the ...specific characteristics that are accepted as indicators of remission. Increasing knowledge of mood disorders and their underlying mechanisms may allow for the development of a new diagnostic and assessment system that no longer is based solely on symptoms and other descriptive phenomena. Continued advances in neuroscience may allow for more knowledge of the underlying neurobiological status and more accurate assessments of the underlying disease state and response to treatment, thus enabling physicians to use treatments that will most effectively bring patients back to euthymia and a truly disease-free healthy state. Until then, remission should continue to be based on the descriptive and experiential phenomena of symptoms and psychosocial functioning.
Augmented feedback (AF) can play an important role when learning or improving a motor skill. As research dealing with AF is broad and diverse, the purpose of this review is to provide the reader with ...an overview of the use of AF in exercise, motor learning and injury prevention research with respect to how it can be presented, its informational content and the limitations. The term 'augmented' feedback is used because additional information provided by an external source is added to the task-intrinsic feedback that originates from a person's sensory system. In recent decades, numerous studies from various fields within sport science (exercise science, sports medicine, motor control and learning, psychology etc.) have investigated the potential influence of AF on performance improvements. The first part of the review gives a theoretical background on feedback in general but particularly AF. The second part tries to highlight the differences between feedback that is given as knowledge of result and knowledge of performance. The third part introduces studies which have applied AF in exercise and prevention settings. Finally, the limitations of feedback research and the possible reasons for the diverging findings are discussed. The focus of this review lies mainly on the positive influence of AF on motor performance. Underlying neuronal adaptations and theoretical assumptions from learning theories are addressed briefly.
Background: Persistent depressive disorder is prevalent, disabling, and often difficult to treat. The cognitive-behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP) is the only psychotherapy ...specifically developed for its treatment. However, we do not know which of CBASP, antidepressant pharmacotherapy, or their combination is the most efficacious and for which types of patients. This study aims to present personalized prediction models to facilitate shared decision-making in treatment choices to match patients’ characteristics and preferences based on individual participant data network metaregression. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search for randomized controlled trials comparing any two of CBASP, pharmacotherapy, or their combination and sought individual participant data from identified trials. The primary outcomes were reduction in depressive symptom severity for efficacy and dropouts due to any reason for treatment acceptability. Results: All 3 identified studies (1,036 participants) were included in the present analyses. On average, the combination therapy showed significant superiority over both monotherapies in terms of efficacy and acceptability, while the latter 2 treatments showed essentially similar results. Baseline depression, anxiety, prior pharmacotherapy, age, and depression subtypes moderated their relative efficacy, which indicated that for certain subgroups of patients either drug therapy or CBASP alone was a recommendable treatment option that is less costly, may have fewer adverse effects and match an individual patient’s preferences. An interactive web app (https://kokoro.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/CBASP/prediction/) shows the predicted disease course for all possible combinations of patient characteristics. Conclusions: Individual participant data network metaregression enables treatment recommendations based on individual patient characteristics.
Firearm injuries (FIs) are the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients. In this study, we aim to define evolving trends and avenues for prevention.
Following ...institutional review board approval, medical records of patients presenting to our two State-Designated Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Centers for treatment of FIs from 2010 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Data was analyzed with Chi-Squared and Student's t-test; P-value <0.05 was significant.
1037 FI encounters from 1005 unique patients aged 0-21 y were included. 70.4% (n = 730) were determined to be assaults, 26.1% (n = 271) unintentional, and 1.7% (n = 18) self-inflicted injuries. Overall mortality was 4.5% (n = 45). FI victims were most commonly African American (n = 836, 80.6%), male (n = 869, 83.8%), aged 13-17 (n = 753, 72.6%), and from single-parent families (n = 647, 62.4%). The incidence of FIs increased significantly over the last 5 y of the study (2010-2014, 6.8 FIs/month), compared to 2015-2019 (averaging 10.6 FIs/month, P < 0.0001). Concurrently, FI related fatality increased from an average of 2.6 deaths/year (2010-2014) to 6.4 deaths/year (2015-2019, P = 0.064). Results were subanalyzed for pediatric patients aged 0-14 y. For the entire cohort, 12.1% (n = 116) recidivists were identified. Geographic patterns of injury were identified, with 75% of all FIs clustered in a single urban region.
Incidence of pediatric FIs is increasing in recent years, with high mortality rates. Violence and recidivism are geographically concentrated, offering an opportunity for targeted interventions.
PDF
