In this review, the application of a wide variety of external electric fields in molecular simulation shall be discussed, including time-varying and electromagnetic, as well as the utility and ...potential impact and prospects for exploitation of such simulations for real-world and industrial end use. In particular, non-equilibrium molecular dynamics will be discussed, as well as challenges in addressing adequate thermostatting and scaling field amplitudes to more experimentally relevant levels. Attention shall be devoted to recent progress and advances in external fields in ab initio molecular simulation and dynamics, as well as elusive challenges thereof (and, to some extent, for molecular dynamics from empirical potentials), such as timescales required to observe low-frequency and intensity field effects. The challenge of deterministic molecular dynamics in external fields in sampling phase space shall be discussed, along with prospects for application of fields in enhanced-sampling simulations. Finally, the application of external electric fields to a wide variety of aqueous, nanoscale and biological systems will be discussed, often motivated by the possibility of exploitation in real-world applications, which serve to underpin our molecular-level understanding of field effects in terms of microscopic mechanisms, and possibly with a view to control thereof.
Developments in the assimilation of satellite data in numerical weather prediction (NWP), from the first experiments in the late 1960s to the present day, are presented in a two‐part review article. ...This first part reviews the early years, up to about the year 2000. It includes summaries of the relevant satellite remote sensing technologies, the theoretical and practical challenges faced when assimilating their data within NWP systems, and the impacts on forecast skill. An important part of this story concerns developments in the assimilation of information on atmospheric temperature and humidity provided by data from passive infrared and microwave radiometers. Following early successes with the assimilation of retrieved temperature profiles, there followed a problematic period, as other aspects of NWP systems improved and the impacts of satellite sounding data declined. Positive impacts were re‐established in the 1990s through moves towards more direct assimilation of radiance information. Another important theme concerns developments in the assimilation of wind information via atmospheric motion vectors, which underwent a series of improvements during these years. Additional contributions were provided by information on ocean surface wind from scatterometers. Some contributions from other technologies during this period are also summarised.
TOVS scan patterns for HIRS (small dots) and MSU (ellipses), from Smith et al. (1979).
The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a synoptic, all-sky radio sky survey with a unique combination of high angular resolution ( 2 5), sensitivity (a 1 goal of 70 Jy/beam in the coadded data), ...full linear Stokes polarimetry, time domain coverage, and wide bandwidth (2-4 GHz). The first observations began in 2017 September, and observing for the survey will finish in 2024. VLASS will use approximately 5500 hr of time on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to cover the whole sky visible to the VLA (decl. > −40°), a total of 33 885 deg 2 . The data will be taken in three epochs to allow the discovery of variable and transient radio sources. The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. By utilizing an "on the fly" interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey. In this paper, we present the science case and observational strategy for the survey, and also results from early survey observations.
Ground‐based observations show that persistent liquid‐containing Arctic clouds occur frequently and have a dominant influence on Arctic surface radiative fluxes. Yet, without a hemispheric multi‐year ...perspective, the climate relevance of these intriguing Arctic cloud observations was previously unknown. In this study, Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) observations are used to document cloud phase over the Arctic basin (60–82°N) during a five‐year period (2006–2011). Over Arctic ocean‐covered areas, low‐level liquid‐containing clouds are prevalent in all seasons, especially in Fall. These new CALIPSO observations provide a unique and climate‐relevant constraint on Arctic cloud processes. Evaluation of one climate model using a lidar simulator suggests a lack of liquid‐containing Arctic clouds contributes to a lack of “radiatively opaque” states. The surface radiation biases found in this one model are found in multiple models, highlighting the need for improved modeling of Arctic cloud phase.
Key Points
New CALIPSO‐GOCCP observations show ubiquitous liquid‐containing Arctic clouds
Insufficient liquid‐containing Arctic cloud leads to radiation biases in models
Reproducing observed cloud phase is an important target for model improvement
The effect of endovascular thrombectomy that is performed more than 6 hours after the onset of ischemic stroke is uncertain. Patients with a clinical deficit that is disproportionately severe ...relative to the infarct volume may benefit from late thrombectomy.
We enrolled patients with occlusion of the intracranial internal carotid artery or proximal middle cerebral artery who had last been known to be well 6 to 24 hours earlier and who had a mismatch between the severity of the clinical deficit and the infarct volume, with mismatch criteria defined according to age (<80 years or ≥80 years). Patients were randomly assigned to thrombectomy plus standard care (the thrombectomy group) or to standard care alone (the control group). The coprimary end points were the mean score for disability on the utility-weighted modified Rankin scale (which ranges from 0 death to 10 no symptoms or disability) and the rate of functional independence (a score of 0, 1, or 2 on the modified Rankin scale, which ranges from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating more severe disability) at 90 days.
A total of 206 patients were enrolled; 107 were assigned to the thrombectomy group and 99 to the control group. At 31 months, enrollment in the trial was stopped because of the results of a prespecified interim analysis. The mean score on the utility-weighted modified Rankin scale at 90 days was 5.5 in the thrombectomy group as compared with 3.4 in the control group (adjusted difference Bayesian analysis, 2.0 points; 95% credible interval, 1.1 to 3.0; posterior probability of superiority, >0.999), and the rate of functional independence at 90 days was 49% in the thrombectomy group as compared with 13% in the control group (adjusted difference, 33 percentage points; 95% credible interval, 24 to 44; posterior probability of superiority, >0.999). The rate of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage did not differ significantly between the two groups (6% in the thrombectomy group and 3% in the control group, P=0.50), nor did 90-day mortality (19% and 18%, respectively; P=1.00).
Among patients with acute stroke who had last been known to be well 6 to 24 hours earlier and who had a mismatch between clinical deficit and infarct, outcomes for disability at 90 days were better with thrombectomy plus standard care than with standard care alone. (Funded by Stryker Neurovascular; DAWN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02142283 .).
Contact allergies are complex diseases, and one of the important challenges for public health and immunology. The German 'Federal Institute for Risk Assessment' hosted an 'International Workshop on ...Contact Dermatitis'. The scope of the workshop was to discuss new discoveries and developments in the field of contact dermatitis. This included the epidemiology and molecular biology of contact allergy, as well as the development of new in vitro methods. Furthermore, it considered regulatory aspects aiming to reduce exposure to contact sensitisers. An estimated 15-20% of the general population suffers from contact allergy. Workplace exposure, age, sex, use of consumer products and genetic predispositions were identified as the most important risk factors. Research highlights included: advances in understanding of immune responses to contact sensitisers, the importance of autoxidation or enzyme-mediated oxidation for the activation of chemicals, the mechanisms through which hapten-protein conjugates are formed and the development of novel in vitro strategies for the identification of skin-sensitising chemicals. Dendritic cell cultures and structure-activity relationships are being developed to identify potential contact allergens. However, the local lymph node assay (LLNA) presently remains the validated method of choice for hazard identification and characterisation. At the workshop the use of the LLNA for regulatory purposes and for quantitative risk assessment was also discussed.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Although wastewater use in irrigation provides one solution to water scarcity, it also presents a threat to the environment. Thus, wastewater treatment prior to irrigation is necessary. Microbial ...Fuel Cell (MFC) is a sustainable technology that treats wastewater and generates electricity simultaneously while leaving low concentrations of nutrients in the effluent. In order to explore the economic returns of using MFC as a pre-irrigation treatment method for wastewater, a case study involving fruit processing wastewater in a semi-arid region was conducted. The potential profit from treated water and produced electricity was estimated. The analysis showed that MFC is a promising technology that appears to be economically feasible and that can reduce water and energy shortages.
Display omitted
•MFC technology is economically feasible to treat wastewater before irrigation.•The technology can be more feasible than conventional wastewater treatment.•MFC can improve water, energy and food security.
Subtilisin NAT, commonly known as “nattokinase,” is a fibrinolytic enzyme produced by the bacterial strain B. subtilis var. natto, which plays a central role in the fermentation of soybeans into the ...popular Japanese food natto. Recent studies have reported on the potential anticoagulatory and antihypertensive effects of nattokinase administration in humans, with no indication of adverse effects. To evaluate the safety of nattokinase in a more comprehensive manner, several GLP-compliant studies in rodents and human volunteers have been conducted with the enzyme product, NSK-SD (Japan Bio Science Laboratory Co., Ltd., Japan). Nattokinase was non-mutagenic and non-clastogenic in vitro, and no adverse effects were observed in 28-day and 90-day subchronic toxicity studies conducted in Sprague–Dawley rats at doses up to 167 mg/kg-day and 1000 mg/kg-day, respectively. Mice inoculated with 7.55 × 108 CFU of the enzyme-producing bacterial strain showed no signs of toxicity or residual tissue concentrations of viable bacteria. Additionally consumption of 10 mg/kg-day nattokinase for 4 weeks was well tolerated in healthy human volunteers. These findings suggest that the oral consumption of nattokinase is of low toxicological concern. The 90-day oral subchronic NOAEL for nattokinase in male and female Sprague–Dawley rats is 1000 mg/kg-day, the highest dose tested.
•Nattokinase is a fibrinolytic enzyme involved in the fermentation of soybeans into the popular Japanese food natto.•The purified nattokinase product did not cause adverse effects in rats given gavage doses of 1000 mg/kg-day for 90 days.•The source strain B. subtilis (natto) was not pathogenic or toxic in mice after a single oral dose of 7.55 x 108 CFU.•The purified nattokinase product was well tolerated in humans at a dose level of 10 mg/kg-day for 4 weeks.
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