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Larry E Miller, Ruemon Bhattacharyya, Anna L Miller Department of Biostatistics, Miller Scientific, Johnson City, TN, USACorrespondence: Larry E MillerMiller Scientific, Johnson City, TN, USATel +1 828-450-1895Email larry@millerscientific.comBackground: Since the first occurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), a number of online tools have become available to assist with tracking Covid-19 prevalence. Yet we are unaware of resources that provide country-specific Covid-19 incidence data.Methods: We undertook a descriptive analysis of the global impact of Covid-19 using data reported on March 17, 2020. The prevalence of Covid-19 cases, fatalities attributed to Covid-19, and the case fatality rate for each of the 238 countries were accessed from the World Health Organization global Covid-19 tracking site, and we additionally calculated Covid-19 incidence based on country-specific population data. We determined the country-specific point prevalence and incidence of Covid-19 and associated deaths while using geocoded data to display their spatial distribution with geographic heat maps.Results: The analysis included 193,197 Covid-19 cases and 7859 associated deaths. The point prevalence was highest in China (80,881), Italy (31,506), Iran (16,169), and Spain (11,312); no other country reported more than 10,000 cases. The incidence (per million population) was highest in San Marino (3389) followed by Iceland (645) and Italy (521); no other country had an incidence above 400 per million population.Conclusion: Countries with a high Covid-19 prevalence may not have a high incidence, and vice versa. Public health agencies that provide real-time infection tracking tools should report country-specific Covid-19 incidence metrics, in addition to prevalence data.Keywords: coronavirus, Covid-19, incidence, prevalence

Coastal communities face difficult choices regarding the use if their waterfront resources. The complexity of issues, contradictory scientific evidence, different visions of the future, and uncertainty regarding community interests add to the difficulty of reaching consensus. The community of Oconto, Wisconsin, attempted to integrate technical and socioeconomic information leading to consensus. (Author/JOW)

El pensamiento crítico ha consolidado diferentes apuestas teórico-metodológicas en el ámbito de la educación básica y media. Por esta razón, la investigación se implementó con el objetivo de establecer cómo las habilidades de pensamiento crítico permiten desarrollar mejores procesos de lectura, escritura y expresión verbal en el aula de clase. Ello a partir de la propuesta denominada niveles de lectura minuciosa y escritura sustantiva aplicada al espacio académico de ciencias sociales en la educación secundaria. La investigación se organizó desde los métodos mixtos, a partir del paradigma pragmático y un diseño concurrente. Se tuvo en cuenta desde el enfoque cuantitativo, cuestionarios como instrumentos de recolección de datos, y, del enfoque cualitativo, las técnicas de la observación participante, grupo focal y entrevista semiestructurada. En la investigación se observó cómo los niveles de lectura y escritura trabajadas en el aula con los libros guía y sus actividades complementarias permitieron a los estudiantes afianzar las habilidades de pensamiento crítico en ciencias sociales, así como reconocer desde diferentes perspectivas textuales las representaciones sociales que atraviesan la comprensión de la realidad.

Remediation using micro-algae offers an attractive solution to environmental phosphate (PO43-) pollution. However, for maximum efficiency, pre-conditioning of algae to induce ‘luxury phosphorus (P) uptake’ is needed. To replicate this process, we targeted the global regulator PSR1 (Myb transcription factor: Phosphate Starvation Response 1) for over-expression in algae. Manipulating a single gene (PSR1) drove uptake of both PO43- and a Mg2+ counter-ion leading to increased PolyP granule size, raising P levels 4-fold to 8% dry cell weight, and accelerated removal of PO43- from the medium. Examination of the gene expression profile showed that the P-starvation response was mimicked under P-replete conditions, switching on luxury uptake. Hyper-accumulation of P depended on a feed-forward mechanism, where a small set of ‘Class I’ P-transporter genes were activated despite abundant external PO43- levels. The transporters drove a reduction in external PO43- levels, permitting more genes to be expressed (Class II), leading to more P-uptake. Our data pointed toward a PSR1-independent mechanism for detection of external PO43- which suppressed Class II genes. This model provided a plausible mechanism for P-overplus where prior P-starvation elevates PSR1 and on P-resupply causes luxury P-uptake. This is because the Class I genes, which include P-transporter genes, are not suppressed by the excess PO43-. Taken together, these discoveries facilitate a bio-circular approach of recycling nutrients from wastewater back to agriculture.

Issues of scientific and technological development of the economy, increasing its competitiveness, including various aspects of technological integration, are the subject of foreign and domestic research. At the same time, technological integration is considered as a key direction of the new industrial and scientific-technical policy, as a means of transition to the digital economy, to production processes with higher added value, as a means of establishing a constructive dialogue between industrial enterprises and science. The reason for this is, on the one hand, the relative novelty of this economic phenomenon, and, on the other, the lack of theoretical and methodological tools for modelling the development of technological integration. The purpose of the article is to study the problems of modelling the development of technological integration in the context of priority scientific and technological development of the Russian economy. The article uses a wide range of general scientific methods: analysis and synthesis, grouping, typing, modelling, economicstatistical and graphical. The main methodological approaches used in the article are: structural-functional, instrumental and process approaches, which are reflected in the scientific and practical material of the general theory of systems, the theory of organization. The theoretical results of the study are the disclosure of the organizational model for the development of technological integration as a dynamic set of interconnected modules: management and coordination; structure; processes; resources designated to achieve the strategic objectives of technology integration participants. Classification characteristics of technological integration development processes have been identified and theoretically justified. The applied result is a specialized modelling tool based on a combination of a standardized approach and improved design quality with the ability to test simulated processes and the presence of stable feedback with all participants in technological integration. The process model of technological integration development was argued, its decomposition was carried out, which allows distinguishing the main, supporting and regulatory processes of participants in technological integration. The combination of these models facilitates the management of these processes in order to maximize the efficiency of the modern economy. An organizational and economic mechanism for modelling the development of technological integration is proposed, which allows the use of operational monitoring, due to the vector orientation of which it becomes possible to promptly carry out regular adjustments of key parameters of assessing the impact of technological integration on the results of technological development in national economies.

Technological challenges related to the “green” economy, digitalization of business processes, and intelligent manufacturing affect all sectors of the global economy. The oil and gas complex has a complexly organized production process, while the oil industry depends on the volatility of coal prices and the general decline of the world economy. In this regard, it is important to analyze the current state and propose environmental, technological, financial and economic measures to minimize the impact of scientific, technological, and financial risks on the companies’ technological integration. Oil and gas companies of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan were selected as the object of the study. In order to overcome the technological lag, increase the depth of processing of raw materials at enterprises, a search for new mechanisms was initiated through the development of the institute of stakeholder relations and the improvement of the scientific and technological risk management system. The study revealed that the combination of the advantages of internal and external growth contributes to the increase of the innovative potential of oil and gas companies. It is an important incentive when concluding transactions to combine the capital of related industries, support the education system, cultural traditions of the population in the regions of the presence of oil, gas, oil refining and petrochemical companies. An open system of “corporate integration spaces”, the innovativeness of the integration strategy, the knowledge economy, and the intellectualization of production were used as the elements of the concept of technological challenges mitigation. There is emphasized high importance of artificial intelligence in the management system of the oil industry economy.

Sustainable development, as a paradigm of a global scale, is the basis of global development, uniting the efforts of people to improve living conditions and solve environmental problems. Reality shows how vulnerable ecosystems with well-established industrial, logistical, and infrastructural ties have turned out to be, which fail in the face of man-made, geopolitical cataclysms. But, if people can preventively assess the impact of these factors, then environmental problems can carry a destructive effect, which many times exceeds the estimates of leading experts. It turns out that industrial corporations act as the driving force of sustainable development. They are at the center of “ecosystem” relations, while representing a source of potential threats of a technological nature, which is why the activities of industrial companies directly determine the ecological situation of entire regions. In the course of the study, it turned out that increased requirements for the design of complex economic facilities demonstrate in practice the possibility of reducing tension in the regions of their presence. With the support of companies, new production facilities for deep processing of raw materials are being created, the production of high-tech products appears, which is typical for both developed and developing regions. It turned out that industrial activity determines the effectiveness of the development of environmental innovations, and the strategy of low-carbon energy goes through a set of decisions on sustainable development under conditions of uncertainty. It is emphasized that the challenges of the external environment, caused by a combination of factors dependent and independent of the activities of industrial companies, increase the degree of responsibility of decisions made in companies that represent an innovative technological “core”.

This paper presents an analysis of the main methods of project financing to justify the source of funds when creating a regional information system for road transport, which is a database of the organizational activities operating on the principle of an information platform. The necessity of its use as an integral part of the transport digitalization process, the impact on strategic management and the efficiency of resource use has been substantiated. The functioning of the regional information system, its capabilities and the nature of its influence on the process of strategic management of a motor transport company are described. The possibility of its creation as a regional project has been substantiated in order to obtain the possibility of using project financing as a source of investment. The advantages of using an information system have been highlighted, as well as the main ways for further scientific research in the field of its legal organization and technological use of software. The novelty of the study has been reasoned by the absence of such information systems, as well as its consideration as a regional project that contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the Russian economy through the development of transport.

Hydrogen gas (H2) is an energy carrier that does not generate carbon dioxide emissions during combustion, but several processes in use for its production demand high energy inputs associated with fossil fuels and greenhouse emissions. Biological processes, such as dark fermentation (DF), have the potential to remove the dependency on fossil fuels in H2 production. DF is a process that encourages fermentative bacteria to ferment organic substrates to produce H2 as a truly clean energy carrier, but its success depends on removing the presence of competing H2−consuming microorganisms in the inoculum consortia. This paper addresses a strategy to enhance H2 production from different types of substrates by testing inoculum pre-treatment processes to inactivate H2−consuming bacteria, including acid-shock (pH 3), basic-shock (pH 10) and heat-shock (115 °C) methods. Digestate from anaerobic digesters processing sewage sludge was used to produce pre-treated inocula, which were subsequently tested in a batch bio-H2 potential (BHP) test using glucose as a substrate. The results show that heat-shock pre-treatment was the best method, reporting a H2 yield of 191.8 mL-H2/gVS added (the untreated inoculum reported 170.91 mL-H2/gVS added). Glucose conversion data show a high concentration of butyric acid in both treated and untreated inocula during BHP tests, which indicate that the butyrate pathway for H2 production was dominant; shifting this to the formate route could further enhance net H2 production. A standardised inoculum-conditioning method can help to consistently assess the biohydrogen potential of suitable feedstock for DF and maximise H2 yields.

A novel, integrated system is proposed for the cultivation and co-digestion of the invasive macrophyte water hyacinth (WH) with cow manure (CM) for the production of biogas for cooking in rural India. This study investigates the pre-treatment approaches and performs a techno-economic analysis of producing biogas in fixeddome digesters as a replacement for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Methodologies have been developed for the cultivation of WH collected from wild plants in the Indrayani River, Pune, India. Cultivation trials were performed in 350 litre tanks using water, which was nutrient fed with CM. Cultivation trials were performed over a 3 week period, and growth rates were determined by removing and weighing the biomass at regular time intervals. Cultivation results provided typical yields and growth rates of biomass, allowing predictions to be made for cultivation scaling. Samples of cultivated WH have been co-digested with CM at a 20:80 ratio in 200 L anaerobic digesters, allowing for the prediction of bio-methane yields from fixed-dome anaerobic digesters in real world conditions, which are commonly used in the rural locations of India. A calculator has been developed, allowing us to estimate the scaling requirements for the operation of an integrated biomass cultivation and anaerobic co-digestion unit to produce an equivalent amount of biogas to replace between one and three LPG cylinders per month. A techno-economic analysis of introducing WH into fixed-dome digesters in India demonstrated that the payback periods range from 9 years to under 1 year depending on the economic strategies. To replace between one and three LPG cylinders per month using the discussed feedstock ratio, the cultivation area of WH required to produce sufficient co-feedstock ranges within 10–55 m2.

Abstract The increasing rate of food waste (FW) generation around the world is a growing environmental concern, notwithstanding, its valorisation through anaerobic digestion (AD) makes it a potential resource. Moreover, there is a growing demand to optimise the biomethane from AD for gas‐to‐grid (GtG) and vehicular applications. This has spurred researches on hydrogen gas (H2) injection into AD systems to enhance the biological conversion of H2 and carbon dioxide (CO2) to methane (CH4), a process known as biomethanation. A simplistic approach for biomethanation is to add H2 directly into working AD reactors (in situ biomethanation). However, a competition for the injected H2 towards other biological reactions besides H2/CO2 conversion to CH4 could follow, thus, reducing the efficiency of the system. Hence, this study was conducted to understand how different H2 injection points would affect H2/CO2 conversion to CH4 during FW in situ biomethanation, to identify an optimal injection point. Experiments were designed using H2 equivalent to 5% of the head‐space of the AD reactor at three injection points representing different stages of AD: before volatile fatty acids (VFA) accumulation, during VFA accumulation and at depleted VFA intermediates. Lower potential for competitive H2 consumption before the accumulation of VFA enabled a high H2/CO2 conversion to CH4. However, enhanced competition for soluble substrates during VFA accumulation reduced the efficiency of H2/CO2 conversion to CH4 when H2 was added at this stage. In general, 12%, 4% and 10% CH4 increases as well as 39%, 25% and 34% CO2 removal were obtained for H2 added before VFA accumulation, during VFA accumulation and at depleted VFA intermediates, respectively. For immediate integration of biomethanation with existing AD facilities, it is suggested that the required H2 be obtained biologically by dark fermentation.

A background assumption of much of 20 th century and recent metaethics and moral psychology is that moral judgements either express beliefs rather than desire-like attitudes or express desire-like attitudes rather than beliefs. In a recent series of papers and а monograph, Michael Ridge seeks to reject this assumption, and thereby to steer the focus of metaethical debate away from the Frege-Geach problem. In particular, Ridge claims that we can formulate "ecumenical" views on which moral judgements express both beliefs and desire-like attitudes, and that his own favoured metaethical position-Ecumenical Expressivism-can use the resources of cognitivism to provide a relatively straightforward solution to the Frege-Geach problem. In this paper we argue that Ridge's Ecumenical Expressivist response to the Frege-Geach problem is inadequate and explore the consequences of this inadequacy for our outlook on moral psychology.

La formación de estruvita (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) para la recuperación de nutrientes en plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales ha sido ampliamente investigada; sin embargo, se ha prestado poca atención al efecto de las velocidades de agitación en el tamaño de partícula resultante, lo que podría afectar su valor agronómico como fertilizante de liberación lenta. En este estudio, la formación de estruvita del centrado se realizó a seis velocidades de agitación (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 rpm). Los cristales de estruvita resultantes se caracterizaron mediante difracción de rayos X y microscopía electrónica de barrido con espectroscopia de rayos X con dispersión de energía. El tamaño de partícula promedio de los cristales de estruvita aumentó de 55 µm a 0 rpm a 127 µm a 100 rpm y 128 μm a 200 rpm. Incrementos adicionales en las velocidades de agitación resultaron en tamaños de cristales más pequeños. Estos resultados indicaron que el mayor tamaño de partícula se puede obtener a velocidades de agitación entre 100-200 rpm, equivalente a un gradiente de velocidad entre 79 y 188 s-1, ya que no hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los valores medios (prueba t, p < 0.05). El rango óptimo de velocidad de agitación descrito aquí se puede usar para establecer condiciones operativas para la cristalización de estruvita con el beneficio de producir cristales grandes y reducir el consumo de energía en tanques agitados.

The strategy of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation defines the priority areas that are believed to become a foundation for innovative development of the domestic market of products/services and will contribute to the transition to environmentally friendly and resource-saving energy, increase the efficiency of production and deep processing of hydrocarbons. In the context of global competition, emphasis is placed on the creation of institutional, financial and legislative mechanisms to ensure the harmonization of scientific, technological, innovation, industrial, economic and social policies. The need to promote technological resources of industrial manufacturing enterprises determined the relevance of research of the technological integration process, as these enterprises are the key to the economic growth of the country and are in a dire need of a technological breakthrough. The aim of the article is to study the problems of formation and development of technological integration of manufacturing enterprises in the Russian Federation in the context of priority scientific and technological development of the Russian economy. The article uses a wide range of general scientific methods: description, generalization and abstraction, construction of concepts, argumentation, and comparison. The main methodological approaches used in the article are: system and process approaches that find their refraction in the scientific and practical material of the general theory of systems, organization theory, as well as technical and technological approach. A fundamental change in the situation in the manufacturing industries entails the need to diversify the refining sector, which consists in upgrading the production capacity of high-quality semi-finished products for the petrochemical industry. World experience shows that the synergetic effect of the integration of oil refining and petrochemicals provides savings of up to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and the main part of successful integration projects, located in the Persian Gulf countries, implements a strategy for the production of high-quality raw materials and petrochemical products. When solving the problems of transition to deep resource-saving technologies in the manufacturing industry, it becomes obvious that it is necessary to develop and implement special management technologies that will form the basis of the strategy of the technological revolution of the domestic industrial complex. According to the laws of technologization, this occurs within the framework of the formation of the sixth technological structure in the world economic system, characterized by the development of intelligent technologies such as "smart plant", as well as the living design of business processes. In this regard, technological integration, as a direction of system technologization, should be a scientifically based concept, which includes a set of mechanisms, tools and methods for practical implementation in the industrial enterprises of the Russian economy.

Social housing is recommended where possible for laboratory mice. In order to achieve this, mice must be individually identifiable. Although, various methods are available, permanent identification is often required, such as ear notching. This method is likely to be painful and to date there is limited literature on pain assessment and alleviation for this routine husbandry practice. Here we aimed to determine if the mouse grimace scale (MGS) could be used to assess pain in C57BL/6 mice following routine ear notching. Langford et al. found that very acute noxious stimuli (i.e. < 10 min in duration) did not produce a change in MGS score in comparison to baseline. Here, no significant difference was found between MGS scores at baseline and immediately post ear notching, potentially indicating that the pain associated with ear notching is either too acute to assess using the MGS tool or the practice is not painful. Studies in other species indicate that ear notching is painful, therefore, unless we can confidently conclude that the process of ear notching is not painful, we should err on the side of caution and assume it is painful due to the large number of mice ear-notched and potential welfare consequences. Alternative methods of assessing pain following this routine practice should be used in order to assess both the potential pain in mice, and the effectiveness of analgesics or local anaesthetics to relieve any associated pain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The integration of hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) and anaerobic digestion (AD) can overcome some of the disadvantages of thermal or biological processing alone. This study aims to investigate integrated HTC-AD across a range of integration strategies and HTC processing temperatures (150 °C, 200 °C and 250 °C) to improve the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) of grass, compared to AD alone. The separation of hydrochars (HCs) for combustion and process waters (PWs) for digestion appears to be the most energetically feasible HTC-AD integration strategy, compared to HC or HTC-slurry AD. Hydrochars represent the greater energy carrier with between 81–85% of total energy output. The ECE of grass was improved from 51% to 97% (150 °C), 83% (200 °C) and 68% (250 °C) through integrated HTC-AD. Therefore, lower HTC processing temperatures yield more favourable energetics. However, higher HTC temperatures favour more desirable HC properties as a combustion fuel. The hydrochar produced at 250 °C (HC-250) displayed the highest HHV (25.8 MJ/kg) and fixed carbon: volatile matter ratio (0.47), as well as the greatest reduction in slagging and fouling potential (ash flow temperature > 1550 °C). Overall, integrated HTC-AD is an effective energy valorisation strategy for grass. A compromise exists between the quality of hydrochar and the energetic balance. However, at 250 °C the process remains energetically feasible (EROI = 2.63).

Anaerobic digestion (AD) and sewage sludge digestion (SD) plants generate significant quantities of ammoniacal nitrogen in their digestate liquor. This article assesses the economic viability and CO2 abatement opportunity from the utilisation of this ammonia under three scenarios and proposes their potential for uptake in the United Kingdom. Each state-of-the-art process route recovers ammonia and uses it alongside AD-produced biomethane for three different end goals: (1) the production of H2 as a bus transport fuel, (2) production of H2 for injection to the gas grid and (3) generation of heat and power via solid oxide fuel cell technology. A rigorous assessment of UK anaerobic and sewage digestion facilities revealed the production of H2 as a bus fleet transport fuel scenario as the most attractive option, with 19 SD and 42 AD existing plants of suitable scale for process implementation. This is compared to 3 SD/1 AD and 13 SD/23 AD existing plants applicable with the aim of grid injection and SOFC processing, respectively. GHG emission analysis found that new plants using the NWaste2H2 technology could enable GHG reductions of up to 4.3 and 3.6 kg CO2e for each kg bio-CH4 supplied as feedstock for UK SD and AD plants, respectively.

Abstract Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for crop growth and the second most limiting after N. Current supplies rely on P‐rich rocks that are unevenly distributed globally and exploited unsustainably, leading to concerns about future availability and therefore food security. Duckweeds (Lemnaceae) are aquatic macrophytes used in wastewater remediation with the potential for nutrient recycling as feed or fertilizer. The use of duckweeds in this way is confined to tropical regions as it has previously been assumed that growth in the colder seasons of the temperate regions would be insufficient. In this study, the combined effects of cool temperatures and short photoperiods on growth and P uptake and accumulation in Lemna were investigated under controlled laboratory conditions. Growth and P accumulation in Lemna can be uncoupled, with significant P removal from the medium and accumulation within the plants occurring even at 8°C and 6‐hr photoperiods. Direct measurement of radiolabeled phosphate uptake confirmed that while transport is strongly temperature dependent, uptake can still be measured at 5°C. Prior phosphate starvation of the duckweed and use of nitrate as the nitrogen (N) source also greatly increased the rate of P removal and in‐cell accumulation. These results form the basis for further examination of the feasibility of duckweed‐based systems for wastewater treatment and P recapture in temperate climates, particularly in small, rural treatment works.

Growing interest in the use of microalgae as a sustainable feedstock to support a green, circular, bio-economy has led to intensive research and development initiatives aimed at increasing algal biomass production covering a wide range of scales. At the heart of this lies a common need for rapid and accurate methods to measure algal biomass concentrations. Surrogate analytical techniques based on chlorophyll content use solvent extraction methods for chlorophyll quantification, but these methods are destructive, time consuming and require careful disposal of the resultant solvent waste. Alternative non-destructive methods based on chlorophyll fluorescence require expensive equipment and are less suitable for multiple sampling of small cultures which need to be maintained under axenic growth conditions. A simple, inexpensive and non-destructive method to estimate chlorophyll concentration of microalgal cultures in situ from digital photographs using the RGB color model is presented. Green pixel intensity and chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll concentration, measured by conventional means, follow a strong linear relationship (R2 = 0.985–0.988). In addition, the resulting standard curve was robust enough to accurately estimate chlorophyll concentration despite changes in sample volume, pH and low concentrations of bacterial contamination. In contrast, use of the same standard curve during nitrogen deprivation (causing the accumulation of neutral lipids) or in the presence of high quantities of bacterial contamination led to significant errors in chlorophyll estimation. The low requirement for equipment (i.e., a simple digital camera, available on smartphones) and widely available standard software for measuring pixel intensity make this method suitable for both laboratory and field-based work, particularly in situations where sample, qualified personnel and/or equipment is limited. By following the methods described here it should be possible to produce a standard curve for chlorophyll analysis in a wide range of testing conditions including different microalga cultures, culture vessel and photographic set up in any particular laboratory.

Phosphorus (P), in the form of phosphate derived from either inorganic (Pi) or organic (Po) forms is an essential macronutrient for all life. P undergoes a biogeochemical cycle within the environment, but anthropogenic redistribution through inefficient agricultural practice and inadequate nutrient recovery at wastewater treatment works have resulted in a sustained transfer of P from rock deposits to land and aquatic environments. Our present and near future supply of P is primarily mined from rock P reserves in a limited number of geographical regions. To help ensure that this resource is adequate for humanity’s food security, an energy-efficient means of recovering P from waste and recycling it for agriculture is required. This will also help to address excess discharge to water bodies and the resulting eutrophication. Microalgae possess the advantage of polymeric inorganic polyphosphate (PolyP) storage which can potentially operate simultaneously with remediation of waste nitrogen and phosphorus streams and flue gases (CO2, SOx, and NOx). Having high productivity in photoautotrophic, mixotrophic or heterotrophic growth modes, they can be harnessed in wastewater remediation strategies for biofuel production either directly (biodiesel) or in conjunction with anaerobic digestion (biogas) or dark fermentation (biohydrogen). Regulation of algal P uptake, storage, and mobilization is intertwined with the cellular status of other macronutrients (e.g., nitrogen and sulphur) in addition to the manufacture of other storage products (e.g., carbohydrate and lipids) or macromolecules (e.g., cell wall). A greater understanding of controlling factors in this complex interaction is required to facilitate and improve P control, recovery, and reuse from waste streams. The best understood algal genetic model is Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in terms of utility and shared resources. It also displays mixotrophic growth and advantageously, species of this genus are often found growing in wastewater treatment plants. In this review, we focus primarily on the molecular and genetic aspects of PolyP production or turnover and place this knowledge in the context of wastewater remediation and highlight developments and challenges in this field.

Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) can be integrated with anaerobic digestion (AD) for the treatment of digestate, resulting in a solid hydrochar or bio-coal and a process water, which can be recirculated back into AD to produce biogas. The properties of digestate-derived hydrochars do not lend themselves to producing high quality bio-coal and blending with lignocellulosic feedstocks can improve its properties. This study investigates the co-processing of sewage sludge (SS) digestate with three lignocellulosic biomass (grass, privet hedge, and woodchip). The calorific value of the resulting bio-coal is increased following co-processing, although feedstock interactions result in non-additive behaviour. The largest increase in calorific value was observed for co-processing with woodchip. There is evidence for non-additive partitioning of metals during co-processing resulting in only moderate improvements in ash chemistry during combustion. Co-processing also effects the composition of process waters, influencing the potential for biogas production. Experimental biomethane potential (BMP) tests indicate that grass clippings are the most suitable co-feedstock for maintaining both calorific value and biogas production. However, above 200 °C, BMP yields appear to decrease, suggesting the process water may become more inhibitory. Co-processing with wood waste and privet hedge produce the higher CV bio-coal but significantly reduced BMP.

The article discusses the importance of leadership in a time of change of crisis. It focuses on the tenure of John Ruskay as executive vice-president and chief executive officer of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York. It highlights Ruskay's leadership and its role in providing services to New York's Jewish community. The authors cite the contribution and efforts of F.E.G.S., a nonprofit health, education, and social service provider, to helping the community deal with the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Depression is common - one-fourth of the U.S. population will have a depressive episode sometime in life. Folate deficiency is also relatively common in depressed people, with approximately one-third of depressed individuals having an outright deficiency. Folate is a water-soluble B-vitamin necessary for the proper biosynthesis of the monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin, epinephrine, and dopamine. The active metabolite of folate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF, L-methylfolate), participates in re-methylation of the amino acid metabolite homocysteine, creating methionine, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), the downstream metabolite of methionine, is involved in numerous biochemical methyl donation reactions, including reactions forming monoamine neurotransmitters. Without the participation of 5-MTHF in this process, SAMe and neurotransmitter levels decrease in the cerebrospinal fluid, contributing to the disease process of depression. SAMe supplementation was shown to improve depressive symptoms, 5MTHF also appears to stabilize, enhance production of, or possibly act as a substitute for, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), an essential cofactor in monoamine neurotransmitter biosynthesis. There are few intervention studies of folic acid or 5-MTHF as a stand-alone treatment for depression related to folate deficiency; however, the studies that have been conducted are promising. Depressed individuals with low serum folate also tend to not respond well to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant drugs. Correcting the insufficiency by dosing folate along with the SSRI results in a significantly better antidepressant response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The relative effectiveness of newly started antipsychotic drugs for individuals with schizophrenia may depend on multiple factors, including each patient's previous treatment response and the reason for a new medication trial. This randomized, double-blind study compared olanzapine, quetiapine, and risperidone in patients who had just discontinued the older antipsychotic perphenazine.Method: Subjects with schizophrenia (N=114) who had been randomly assigned to and then discontinued perphenazine in phase 1 of the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) schizophrenia study were reassigned randomly to double-blinded treatment with olanzapine, 7.5-30.0 mg/day (N=38); quetiapine, 200-800 mg/day (N=38); or risperidone, 1.5-6.0 mg/day (N=38). The primary aim was to determine whether there were differences among these three treatments in effectiveness, as measured by time to treatment discontinuation for any reason. Secondary outcomes included reasons for treatment discontinuation and measures of drug tolerability.Results: The time to treatment discontinuation was longer for patients treated with quetiapine (median, 9.9 months) and olanzapine (7.1 months) than with risperidone (3.6 months). There were no significant differences between treatments on discontinuation due to inefficacy, intolerability, or patient decision.Conclusions: Among this group of patients with chronic schizophrenia who had just discontinued the older antipsychotic perphenazine, quetiapine and olanzapine were more effective than risperidone, as reflected by longer time to discontinuation for any reason. In the context of other results from the CATIE study, the effectiveness and acceptability of antipsychotic drugs appears to vary considerably according to clinical circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published findings are mixed regarding the underlying factor structure of the PTSD Checklist (PCL). Studies have found two-, three-, and four-factor solutions, which are only partially consistent with DSM-IV-defined PTSD symptom clusters (reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal). The current study examined the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the PCL in a sample of dually diagnosed (substance use disorder and other psychiatric disorder) participants living with HIV/AIDS. Results supported the robust psychometric properties of the PCL, with high reliability and validity. Using confirmatory factor analysis, two models, a second-order (two-factor) and a first-order (fourfactor) solution were supported. The utility of the PCL and implications for the dimensionality of PTSD in this population are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common long-term illnesses in the United States, affecting approximately 14 percent of the population. CRS is a challenging condition to treat, partly due to its multifaceted, poorly understood pathophysiology. Treatment goals include maintaining open drainage and decreasing inflammation while improving tissue integrity and limiting causative factors. This review covers the etiology, pathology, and diagnosis of CRS, as well as mainstream and alternative treatments. Discussion of alternative therapeutics includes nutrients and botanicals (ascorbic acid, bromelain, N-acetylcysteine, quercetin, undecylenic acid, and Urtica dioica and other herbal medicines) and procedures (nasal irrigation and naso-sympatico treatments). The influences of diet and air quality on CRS are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular endothelial function is crucial to cardiovascular function and thus to blood perfusion to the heart and throughout the body. A number of substances are produced and secreted by vascular endothelial cells, the most important of which is nitric oxide, a potent regulator of vascular function. Nitric oxide diffuses from endothelial cells into underlying smooth muscle, causing relaxation, which results in vasodilation. When this process is inhibited or inadequate the arteries cannot dilate as necessary, resulting in hypertonicity and reduced blood flow. Such endothelial dysfunction also causes increased platelet and monocyte adhesiveness and smooth muscle proliferation, processes thought to be at the genesis of atherosclerotic plaque formation. Since L-arginine is the body's only substrate for nitric oxide synthesis, adequate L-arginine must be present for proper nitric oxide production. In this open label trial, a group of 29 asymptomatic individuals were given L-arginine (1,050 mg, as Perfusia-SR, a sustained-release preparation) twice daily (total 2.1 g daily) for one week. Systolic blood pressure was reduced in 62 percent of participants compared to baseline, with a non-significant mean decrease in all patients of 4 mm Hg. Diastolic blood pressure was reduced in 69 percent of participants, with a mean reduction of 3.7 mm Hg (p = 0.005). In the 10 individuals who were borderline or hypertensive (systolic > 130 or diastolic > 85), there was a mean systolic reduction of 11 mm Hg (p = 0.05), while normotensives (n = 19) had a mean systolic decrease of only 0.22 mm Hg. Diastolic blood pressure was decreased a non-significant 4.9 mm Hg in borderline or hypertensives and 4.5 mm Hg in normotensives (p = 0.026). Vascular elasticity relates to endothelial function, and can be measured non-invasively. At baseline and follow-up, vascular compliance was assessed via digital pulse wave analysis (DPA; Meridian Medical). After one week, pulse wave analysis showed a significant increase in large artery compliance (mean 23% improvement; p = 0.02) and a non-significant increase in small artery compliance (mean 23% improvement; p = 0.15). This study demonstrates blood pressure reductions, especially in patients with borderline or frank hypertension, as well as improved vascular compliance - an indicator of improved endothelial function and perfusion - after a one-week trial of sustained-release L-arginine. Poor endothelial function due to inadequate endothelial nitric oxide production is present in hypertension, as well as in numerous other aspects of cardiovascular disease, including angina, erectile dysfunction, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. This is the first study showing a moderate dose of sustained-release L-arginine can improve endothelial function and blood pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with schizophrenia have co-occurring medical conditions, like other patients, but may lack the capacity to provide good self-care or to work with their providers to ensure appropriate medical treatment. We hypothesized that death among patients with schizophrenia occurs more frequently after minimal care of comorbid conditions.Methods: All patients who died in veterans affairs (VA) hospitals during FY02 were categorized as to type of death: unforeseen (age <80 years, 1-2 inpatient days past year), cancer, organ failure (heart, lungs, kidneys), frailty (dementias, hip fractures, dehydration, etc.), or other deaths. Logistic regression explored factors in unforeseen death.Results: During the year, 27,798 patients died in VA facilities; 3% had schizophrenia (n = 943). Roughly two-thirds of all deaths were from cancer or organ failure, 11% frailty, 9% other, and 8% met criteria for unforeseen death. Among patients with schizophrenia, however, 20% fell into the unforeseen death category. In an adjusted model, schizophrenia was associated with a 2-fold increased risk of unforeseen death compared with any other category (odds ratio = 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.6-3.4). Unforeseen death was less likely among patients with substance abuse diagnoses in the year before death and more likely when patients had no outpatient medical care.Conclusions: VA patients with schizophrenia were more likely to die as inpatients with little previous-year care compared with other inpatient decedents without schizophrenia. Outreach efforts may be necessary to engage patients with schizophrenia in treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Despite increasing adoption of clinical practice guidelines in psychiatry, there is little measurement of provider implementation of these recommendations, and the resulting impact on clinical outcomes. The current study describes one effort to measure these relationships in a cohort of public sector out-patients with bipolar disorder.Method. Participants were enrolled in the algorithm intervention of the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP). Study methods and the adherence scoring algorithm have been described elsewhere. The current paper addresses the relationships between patient characteristics, provider experience with the algorithm, provider adherence, and clinical outcomes. Measurement of provider adherence includes evaluation of visit frequency, medication choice and dosing, and response to patient symptoms. An exploratory composite 'adherence by visit' score was developed for these analyses.Results. A total of 1948 visits from 141 subjects were evaluated, and utilized a two-stage declining effects model. Providers with more experience using the algorithm tended to adhere less to treatment recommendations. Few patient factors significantly impacted provider adherence. Increased adherence to algorithm recommendations was associated with larger decreases in overall psychiatric symptoms and depressive symptoms over time, but did not impact either immediate or long-term reductions in manic symptoms.Conclusions. Greater provider adherence to treatment guideline recommendations was associated with greater reductions in depressive symptoms and overall psychiatric symptoms over time. Additional research is needed to refine measurement and to further clarify these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little diagnostic information is available for those who represent a significant part of the HIV epidemic: substance-using members of racial and ethnic minority communities. Our paper describes the rates of psychiatric diagnoses in a convenience sample of HIV-positive, African American and Hispanic clients in methadone treatment in the Bronx, NY. Out of 139 HIV-positive volunteers, 99 subjects had diagnoses in addition to opioid dependence on agonist therapy. The mean number of diagnoses was 3.84 (SD = 1.41). These findings confirm the need to target mental health as part of the national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in inner cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Although diurnal variation of mood is a widely recognized symptom of depression, the clinical, neurobiological and psychopharmacological significance of this symptom has not previously been reported. METHOD: A total of 195 depressed out-patients underwent a detailed clinical and neurobiological assessment, and were then randomized to treatment with either fluoxetine or nortriptyline. RESULTS: Of the 195 depressed patients, 62 had a pattern of reversed diurnal variation (i.e. worse in the evening). Those with reversed diurnal variation had a poorer response to a serotonergic anti-depressant, were less likely to have bipolar II disorder, had a higher tryptophan: large neutral amino acid ratio and had different allele frequencies of the polymorphisms in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter. CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise the possibility of serotonergic influence on diurnal variation, and that the symptom of reversed diurnal variation is of relevance to antidepressant prescribing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much more seasonal difference in higher latitudes than in lower latitudes. In a significant portion of the population of the northern United States, the shorter days of fall and winter precipitate a syndrome that can consist of depression, fatigue, hypersomnolence, hyperphagia, carbohydrate craving, weight gain, and loss of libido. If these symptoms persist in the winter, abate as the days grow longer, and disappear in the summer, the diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can be made. Many hypotheses exist regarding the biochemical mechanisms behind the predisposition toward this disease, including circadian phase shifting, abnormal pineal melatonin secretion, and abnormal serotonin synthesis. Although the mechanism(s) behind this disease is not fully known, one treatment appears to address each of the theories. Light therapy is a natural, non-invasive, effective, well-researched method of treatment for SAD. Various light temperatures and times of administration of light therapy have been studied, and a combination of morning and evening exposure appears to offer the best efficacy. Other natural methods of treatment have been studied, including L-tryptophan, Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort), and melatonin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the global economic system leads to the fact that modern production is becoming more technological and capital intensive, requires highly skilled labor and cannot provide work places for a large number of low-skilled workers. In addition, each high-tech work place creates several additional work places in other industries. Many technologies that were first used in industrial production were later used in other industries, increasing their efficiency and competitiveness and thus ensuring the overall economic development. Scientific research and development for the industry are becoming more transdisciplinary; hybrid research areas as well as cross-disciplinary technologies appear. All this happens under the formation of the sixth technological structure in the world economic system. It is characterized by the development of nanotechnology, IT-technologies, a sharp decline in energy and materials production. This is the reason why the world's hi-tech-trends, such as software engineering, additive production, robotics, development of new materials for a specific product, which gives it unique properties, appear. The main problem is that the Russian industrial complex is not ready for unconditional acceptance of these global technological challenges for the most part organizationally, not economically. We need a simple and well-defined organizational and economic mechanism of technologizing of domestic production. Despite the current economic difficulties, there are enough sources of such technological transition funding. They are: entry into the large-scale investment and infrastructure projects on a national scale; participation in projects of field development of the leading oil and gas companies; the programmes of innovative development and R&D programmes of state companies, industrial state programmes; subsidies and grants of development institutions; private funds of enterprises, etc. This issue is extremely important and urgent but the Russian scientific community, by all accounts, currently is only moving from the generalization of the problems of the domestic industry technological backwardness to the development of the methodological basis of the Russian industry technological transition in the framework of clearly marked in recent years, promising areas and the availability of internal challenges and obstacles. It is important to emphasize that for some countries the current global trend is technologization but for Russia this trend can be classified as catching-up technologization that determines various subtleties of its scientific results.

Healing of wounds, whether from accidental injury or surgical intervention, involves the activity of an intricate network of blood cells, tissue types, cytokines, and growth factors. This results in increased cellular activity, which causes an intensified metabolic demand for nutrients. Nutritional deficiencies can impede wound healing, and several nutritional factors required for wound repair may improve healing time and wound outcome. Vitamin A is required for epithelial and bone formation, cellular differentiation, and immune function. Vitamin C is necessary for collagen formation, proper immune function, and as a tissue antioxidant. Vitamin E is the major lipid-soluble antioxidant in the skin; however, the effect of vitamin E on surgical wounds is inconclusive. Bromelain reduces edema, bruising, pain, and healing time following trauma and surgical procedures. Glucosamine appears to be the rate-limiting substrate for hyaluronic acid production in the wound. Adequate dietary protein is absolutely essential for proper wound healing, and tissue levels of the amino acids arginine and glutamine may influence wound repair and immune function. The botanical medicines Centella asiatica and Aloe vera have been used for decades, both topically and internally, to enhance wound repair, and scientific studies are now beginning to validate efficacy and explore mechanisms of action for these botanicals. To promote wound healing in the shortest time possible, with minimal pain, discomfort, and scarring to the patient, it is important to explore nutritional and botanical influences on wound outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]