Steep Rise Research Articles

Numerical model of an industrial refrigeration system for condensation temperature optimisation

Refrigeration plants in the food industry have a key role, yet are very energy-intensive, which poses a serious problem given the current steep rise of energy prices. In this framework, energy consumption minimisation represents a paramount goal for plant managers, yet most are loathe to test new control strategies in real-life plants, lest normal operation be disrupted and food be spoiled as a consequence. In this view, numerical models able to demonstrate the reduction in energy consumption which can be achieved with suitable conduction strategies, especially in the case when evaporative condensers are employed, appear the ideal tool to provide the manager with an estimation of the potential savings and spur them into adopting such strategies. In this work one such model is developed for the primary loop of the refrigeration plant of a warehouse for food storage located in northern Italy. The choice of the model type is discussed at length, as are modelling issues related to all main components of the loop. The model has been validated with operational data from the real-life plant and employed to determine the optimal condensation pressure corresponding to the minimum total energy consumption according to ambient conditions. The method and model can be applied to other, similar plants in order to minimise their energy consumption.

“I Can’t Breathe:” The Invisible Slow Violence of Breathing Politics in Minneapolis

Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, his utterance, “I can’t breathe,” reverberated internationally as the world population grappled with the twin specters of life-threatening COVID-19 respiratory morbidities and mounting years under increasingly polarized racist regimes. Despite crisis fatigue, national and international outpourings of solidarity trended on social and mainstream media. However, in this moment, the legacy of structural and slow violences against the living, breathing Minneapolis–St. Paul communities of color were obscured. This article addresses transdisciplinary breathing politics in this mid-sized American city to integrate atmospheric indicators (concentrations of criteria pollutants including particulate matter and gaseous pollutants), traffic indicators (Minnesota Department of Transportation permanent traffic monitoring station data), and social indicators (community responses in newspaper and Twitter archives), ultimately making visible how Floyd’s utterance reflects much deeper patterns of stratified urban public health risks and socio-environmental airscape politics. Bullet Points of Findings Breathing politics are racialized in Minneapolis, demonstrating stark differences in traffic and air quality across neighborhoods. Through content analysis, it is shown that social media platforms like Twitter can be rich historical records for tracking local public discourse, providing valuable insight to the ways people talk about and conceive topics like environmental justice, breathing politics, and urban equity. While hashtag activism on social media flourished in 2020 to address anti-Black racism, it was neither a “tipping point” nor did it show a discernible impact on the nature of environmental justice discourse about breathing politics, despite the steep rise of #ICantBreathe. Integrating social, economic, and environmental indicators has the overarching benefit of addressing complex, lived systems.

Imaging Recommendations for Diagnosis, Staging, and Management of Breast Cancer

AbstractIn a rapidly evolving world, with a steep rise in breast cancer incidence, there has been many advances in imaging and therapeutic options of breast cancer care. In this review article, we are trying to cover imaging guideline for cancer detection and their therapeutic options. These help in the reduction of morbidity and mortality.

Development and Delivery of a Hands-On Short Course in Adeno-Associated Virus Manufacturing to Support Growing Workforce Needs in Gene Therapy.

The manufacturing of gene therapy products is a rapidly growing industry bolstered by the tremendous potential of these therapies to provide lifesaving treatment for rare and complex genetic diseases. The industry's steep rise has resulted in a high demand for skilled staff required to manufacture gene therapy products of the expected high quality. To address this skill shortage, more opportunities for education and training in all aspects of gene therapy manufacturing are needed. The Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC) at the North Carolina State University (NC State) has developed and delivered (and continues to deliver) a 4-day, hands-on course titled Hands-on cGMP Biomanufacturing of Vectors for Gene Therapy. The course, which consists of 60% hands-on laboratory activities and 40% lectures, aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the gene therapy production process, from vial thaw through the final formulation step, and analytical testing. This article discusses the design of the course, the backgrounds of the nearly 80 students who have participated in the seven offerings held since March 2019, and feedback from the course participants.

An introduction to triboelectric nanogenerators

Today, there is a continuous rise in the requirement for upgraded healthcare systems that are self-driven, dynamic and very low in maintenance. With a steep rise in the evolution of devices and their applications, such as sensors, there is an increment in the supply of sustainable energy without the replacement and recharging of the installed charge storage devices. Among the various energy scavengers, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have garnered huge attention as they have a high instantaneous output power and can be developed from a broad selection of available materials, like aluminium (Al) and copper (Cu) metal films, fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and green materials like cellulose-based materials. TENGs have a great ability to convert extracted mechanical energies into electrical energies very effectively due to the coupling effects of contact electrification and electrostatic induction. They have tremendous potential in a diverse range of applications, such as medical therapies that include biomedical applications, energy scavenging and active sensing. TENGs are devices made of self-energizing materials that are non-polluting, long-lasting and small sized. They can be developed through inexpensive fabrication processes and are environmentally friendly. In this paper, the mechanism by which the triboelectric nanogenerators perform their applications and how strategies are being developed to improve their performance have been discussed. We have also discussed the future research directions that are being undertaken to advance development in this field. So far, TENGs have mainly been used as mechanical and chemical stimuli to detect sensors and as an electrical source for electronic equipment and devices. Most of the studies found in the literature have reported that TENGs are primarily focused on optimization of systems and circuit designs or on the application of TENGs. A thorough review of the fundamentals of TENGs has been presented here.

Development of a day-ahead solar power forecasting model chain for a 250 MW PV park in India

Due to the steep rise in grid-connected solar Photovoltaic (PV) capacity and the intermittent nature of solar generation, accurate forecasts are becoming ever more essential for the secure and economic day-ahead scheduling of PV systems. The inherent uncertainty in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) forecasts and the limited availability of measured datasets for PV system modeling impacts the achievable day-ahead solar PV power forecast accuracy in regions like India. In this study, an operational day-ahead PV power forecast model chain is developed for a 250 MWp solar PV park located in Southern India using NWP-predicted Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) from the European Centre of Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) models. The performance of the Lorenz polynomial and a Neural Network (NN)-based bias correction method are benchmarked on a sliding window basis against ground-measured GHI for ten months. The usefulness of GHI transposition, even with uncertain monthly tilt values, is analyzed by comparing the Global Tilted Irradiance (GTI) and GHI forecasts with measured GTI for four months. A simple technique for back-calculating the virtual DC power is developed using the available aggregated AC power measurements and the inverter efficiency curve from a nearby plant with a similar rated inverter capacity. The AC power forecasts are validated against aggregated AC power measurements for six months. The ECMWF derived forecast outperforms the reference convex combination of climatology and persistence. The linear combination of ECMWF and NCMRWF derived AC forecasts showed the best result.

Raising the Pension Age

Raising the Pension Age

Use case for predictive physiological models: tactical insights about frozen Russian soldiers in Ukraine

ABSTRACT Biomathematical models quantitatively describe human physiological responses to environmental and operational stressors and have been used for planning and real-time prevention of cold injury. These same models can be applied from a military tactical perspective to gain valuable insights into the health status of opponent soldiers. This paper describes a use case for predicting physiological status of Russian soldiers invading Ukraine using open-source information. In March 2022, media outlets reported Russian soldiers in a stalled convoy invading Ukraine were at serious risk of hypothermia and predicted these soldiers would be “freezing to death” within days because of declining temperatures (down to −20°C). Using existing Army models, clothing data and open-source intelligence, modelling and analyses were conducted within hours to quantitatively assess the conditions and provide science-based predictions. These predictions projected a significant increase in risks of frostbite for exposed skin and toes and feet, with a very low (negligible) risk of hypothermia. Several days later, media outlets confirmed these predictions, reporting a steep rise in evacuations for foot frostbite injuries in these Russian forces. This demonstrated what can be done today with the existing mathematical physiology and how models traditionally focused on health risk can be used for tactical intelligence.

Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers

Background: The ramifications of climate change are rampant: All stakeholders must act effectively and swiftly. Unsustainable and increased urbanization adds additional strain on combatting environmental degradation. Since the last decade, urban distribution centers (UDCs) have emerged in response to the steep rise in urban freight transportation and its negative impact on city congestion and air quality. Methods: In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive review of the performance of UDCs and investigate its alignment with the corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including the shareholders’ governance strategies and policies, as well as environmental, social, and economic measures. Our systematic literature review consists of multiple phases: In the first one, we utilize bibliometric tools to implement a quantitative analysis of the extant literature. Next, a cluster-based network analysis complements this analysis to describe the evolution of research in this area. Results: Our descriptive analysis categorizes existing research on UDCs based on CG- and CSR-compliant themes. We classify pertinent peer-reviewed articles into topical clusters and offer research opportunities related to improving the performance of UDCs. Conclusions: This study aims to stimulate further scholarly inquiry into sustainable city logistics and provides a knowledge-based guide for academicians and practitioners, logistics service providers, policymakers, and customers.

Features of hadronic and deconfined matter in a range of collision energies spanning from the BNL Alternating Gradient Synchrotron to the CERN Large Hadron Collider

Previous extensive studies on the dependence of the average transverse momentum, its slope as a function of the hadron mass, and the average transverse expansion on the particle multiplicity per unit rapidity and unit transverse overlap area of the colliding partners are extended to the ratio of the energy density to the entropy density. The behavior of the ratio between the average transverse momentum and the square root of the particle multiplicity per unit rapidity and unit transverse overlap area $\ensuremath{\langle}{p}_{T}\ensuremath{\rangle}/\sqrt{\ensuremath{\langle}dN/dy\ensuremath{\rangle}/{S}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}}$ as a function of collision energy for a given centrality or as a function of centrality for a given collision energy supports the predictions of color glass condensate and percolation based approaches. The dependence of the ratio of the energy density $\ensuremath{\langle}d{E}_{T}/dy\ensuremath{\rangle}/{S}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$ to the entropy density $\ensuremath{\langle}dN/dy\ensuremath{\rangle}/{S}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$ at different collision centralities for $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}A$ collisions from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, the Super Proton Synchrotron, the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and the CERN Large Hadron Collider energies is presented. The trend of this ratio towards a plateau at the highest RHIC energies followed by a steep rise at LHC energies is in agreement with theoretical predictions made 40 years ago that indicate this behavior as a signature of a phase transition. This pattern strongly depends on the collision geometry, converging towards the dependence that characterizes the $pp$ minimum bias collisions for the most peripheral $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}A$ collisions. Expected similarities between $pp$ and Pb-Pb collisions at LHC energies are confirmed.

Interplay between strain fitness and transmission frequency determines prevalence of antimicrobial resistance

The steep rise of infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobial agents threatens global health. However, the association between antimicrobial use and the prevalence of resistance is not straightforward. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify the importance of additional factors that affect this relationship. We theoretically explore how the prevalence of resistance is affected by the combination of three factors: antimicrobial use, bacterial transmission, and fitness cost of resistance. We present a model that combines within-host, between-hosts and between-populations dynamics, built upon the competitive Lotka-Volterra equations. We developed the model in a manner that allows future experimental validation of the findings with single isolates in the laboratory. Each host may carry two strains (susceptible and resistant) that represent the host’s commensal microbiome and are not the target of the antimicrobial treatment. The model simulates a population of hosts who are treated periodically with antibiotics and transmit bacteria to each other. We show that bacterial transmission results in strain co-existence. Transmission disseminates resistant bacteria in the population, increasing the levels of resistance. Counterintuitively, when the cost of resistance is low, high transmission frequencies reduce resistance prevalence. Transmission between host populations leads to more similar resistance levels, increasing the susceptibility of the population with higher antimicrobial use. Overall, our results indicate that the interplay between bacterial transmission and strain fitness affects the prevalence of resistance in a non-linear way. We then place our results within the context of ecological theory, particularly on temporal niche partitioning and metapopulation rescue, and we formulate testable experimental predictions for future research.

Sanctions and the Russian Federation's Economy: A Systematic Literature Review and Analysis of Global Energy Sector

The current paper examines how sanctions implemented by a number of countries, particularly the United States (US), the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom (UK), have affected the Russian Federation's economic and global energy sectors. The data demonstrates how the sanctions have impacted Russian Federation's economy and global energy sector. Because of the steep rise in oil, natural gas, and food costs, Russian Federation special military operation to Ukraine is steadily raising inflation, which has wrecked most worldwide economies. Due to political dangers, this situation is anticipated to outcome in greater global economic uncertainty, unpredictably high stock prices, supply chain disruptions, expensive bills, and a drop in investment. As a result, if Russian Federation responds by banning exports of critical global commodities, such as oil, natural gas, wheat, minerals (such as neon, titanium, palladium, and ammonium nitrate) for clean energy, it will be critical for the forecasts to intensify and many countries to seek ways to live economically. In this context, the study will attempt to highlight the importance of oil, natural gas, and other significant minerals for both Russian Federation and the global economy, as well as the effects of sanctions within the global energy sector.

Value of Right and Left Ventricular T1 and T2 Blood Pool Mapping in Patients with Chronic Thromboembolic Hypertension before and after Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty

Parametric imaging has taken a steep rise in recent years and non-cardiac applications are of increasing interest. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) blood pool T1 and T2 values in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) compared to control subjects and their correlation to pulmonary hemodynamic. 26 patients with CTEPH (mean age 64.8 years ± 12.8 SD; 15 female), who underwent CMR and right heart catheterization (RHC) before and 6-months after balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), were retrospectively included. Ventricular blood pool values were measured, compared to control subjects (mean age 40.5 years ± 12.8 SD; 16 female) and correlated to invasive measures (CI, mPAP, PVR). In both, control subjects and CTEPH patients, RVT1 and RVT2 were significantly reduced compared to LVT1 and LVT2. Compared to control subjects, RVT2 was significantly reduced in CTEPH patients (p = 0.0065) and increased significantly after BPA (p = 0.0048). Moreover, RVT2 was positively correlated with CI and negatively correlated with mPAP and PVR before (r = 0.5155, r = -0.2541, r = -0.4571) and after BPA (r = 0.4769, r = -0.2585, r = -0.4396). Ventricular blood pool T2 mapping might be novel non-invasive CMR imaging marker for assessment of disease severity, prognosis, follow-up and even therapy monitoring in PH.

Current and future concepts for the generation and application of genetically engineered CAR-T and TCR-T cells.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has seen a steep rise of new therapeutic approaches in its immune-oncology pipeline over the last years. This is in great part due to the recent approvals of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies and their remarkable efficacy in certain soluble tumors. A big focus of ACT lies on T cells and how to genetically modify them to target and kill tumor cells. Genetically modified T cells that are currently utilized are either equipped with an engineered CAR or a T cell receptor (TCR) for this purpose. Both strategies have their advantages and limitations. While CAR-T cell therapies are already used in the clinic, these therapies face challenges when it comes to the treatment of solid tumors. New designs of next-generation CAR-T cells might be able to overcome these hurdles. Moreover, CARs are restricted to surface antigens. Genetically engineered TCR-T cells targeting intracellular antigens might provide necessary qualities for the treatment of solid tumors. In this review, we will summarize the major advancements of the CAR-T and TCR-T cell technology. Moreover, we will cover ongoing clinical trials, discuss current challenges, and provide an assessment of future directions within the field.

Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in relation to natural infection and vaccination between October 2020 and September 2021 in the Czech Republic: a prospective national cohort study

ObjectiveExamine changes in SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity before and during the national vaccination campaign in the Czech Republic.DesignProspective national population-based cohort study.SettingMasaryk University, RECETOX, Brno.Participants22 130 persons provided blood samples at two...

Ferumoxytol: Another Exciting Addition to the Growing Field of Bone Marrow Imaging.

Ferumoxytol: Another Exciting Addition to the Growing Field of Bone Marrow Imaging.

Abstract 68: Interleukin-6, Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome in a Biracial Cohort: The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS)

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is more common in Black than White adults in the US. The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is implicated in DM pathogenesis and circulates at higher levels in Black people. Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a group of conditions related to insulin resistance, often precedes or coexists with DM. Little evidence is available on associations of IL-6 with these disorders in Black people. Methods: REGARDS enrolled 30,239 Black and White adults in 2003-07 and conducted a follow up visit 9.5 years later. Baseline IL-6 was measured in a sample of 4,400 participants (equal by race/sex groups) attending both visits. Modified Poisson regression estimated relative risk (RR) by level of baseline IL-6 for incident DM among those without prevalent DM; similar analyses were conducted for MetS. Inverse odds weighting estimated the percent mediation of the racial disparity in incident DM by IL-6. Results: Incident DM occurred in 460/3,399 (14%) at risk, and there were 384/1,957 (20%) cases of incident MetS. As shown in the Figure , DM and MetS incidence increased across baseline IL-6 quartiles overall, with a steeper rise and higher incidence among Black than White adults. Adjusting for confounders, the RR of DM for IL-6 in the 4 th vs 1 st quartile was 1.91 (95% CI 1.38-2.65). Higher IL-6 was also associated with MetS (RR 1.65 (95% CI 1.22-2.22)). In adjusted models there were no material differences in these associations by race. The RR of DM in Black compared with White people was 1.90 (95% CI 1.59-2.27); there was no association of race with MetS. IL-6 significantly mediated 13.4% of the racial disparity in DM adjusting for demographic factors. Conclusions: Higher IL-6 is a risk factor for incident DM and MetS in Black and White adults. The race disparity in DM was partly mediated by IL-6. Interventions to reduce IL-6 may lower risk of DM and MetS and lessen the racial disparity in DM. Figure: Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome Incidence (bars) and Relative Risk (95% CI) by Baseline IL-6 Quartile

Ecdysterone treatment restores constitutive NO synthesis and alleviates oxidative damage in heart tissue and mitochondria of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Constitutive NO synthases (cNOS) are the primary targets of diabetes mellitus and the impairment of cNOS functioning in cardiovascular system is one of the hallmarks of this disease. The aim of this work was to study the effect of a plant sterol ecdysterone (20-β-hydroxyecdysterone) on the NO synthases functioning and RNS metabolism in heart mitochondria and the heart tissue in the rat model of streptozotocin-induced type I diabetes. Diabetes development resulted in cNOS dysfunction both in heart mitochondria and heart tissue. cNOS activity was dramatically suppressed, but 3-fold and 6-fold rise of iNOS activity was observed in mitochondria and heart tissue respectively. Also, in mitochondria there was ~2.5 time’s increase in urea content and the activity of arginase 2 (ARG2), which could compete with NOS for the common substrate L-arginine. Total RNS production was dramatically elevated in mitochondria of diabetic animals, which well agreed with iNOS activation. Unlike this, in heart tissue dramatic increase of iNOS activity increased the content of nitrosothiols (RSNO), while total RNS production remained close to control. Both in the heart tissue and mitochondria, there was dramatic augmentation of superoxide production that correlated with sharp elevation of iNOS activity and steep rise of diene conjugates (DC) content, which indicated strong lipid oxidation. Ecdysterone treatment resulted in the reduction of iNOS activity and twofold elevation of mtNOS activity as compared to control. However, in the whole heart tissue eNOS was restored only by half of control level, which indicated specific action of ecdysterone on mtNOS isoform. RNS production returned to control in mitochondria, and was by half reduced in the heart tissue, which indicated the abolition of nitrosative stress. Correlation dependence between iNOS activity and superoxide production was found in mitochondria, which could indicate iNOS uncoupling. The restoration of cNOS activity and the reduction of iNOS activity to control level after ecdysterone treatment well correlated with the reduction of superoxide production and indicated possible ‘iNOS re-coupling‘, which resulted in the reduction of DC formation to control level. So, STZ-induced type I diabetes dramatically up-regulated iNOS activity and suppressed cNOS activity. Ecdysterone treatment reduced iNOS activity and restored constitutive NO biosynthesis to control level, which abolished oxidative and nitrosative stress in cardiac mitochondria and heart tissue of STZ-induced diabetic animals. Possible pathways involved in ecdysterone action on constitutive NO biosynthesis were discussed.

Crush syndrome: a review of current knowledge and treatment strategies

Crush syndrome is a severe systemic manifestation resulting from the breakdown of muscle cells leading to the release of toxic substances into the bloodstream. This condition can occur when a part of the body experiences a significant amount of pressure for an extended period. Crush syndrome presents with severe metabolic disruptions such as acute kidney injury, electrolyte disturbances, and cardiovascular collapse. It is essential to understand the pathophysiology and clinical features of crush syndrome for effective management and prevention of potentially devastating outcomes. The act of crushing and rupturing muscular cells generates a mechanical force that triggers the discharge of myoglobin. Subsequently, myoglobin undergoes a conversion into metmyoglobin and acid hematin, which are subsequently released into the systemic circulation. The muscular tissue harbors a variety of electrolytes and enzymes, which may attain toxic levels upon entry into the circulation in excessive quantities. The release of sodium, calcium, and fluids due to regional ischemia leads to increased muscle volume and tension, depletion of creatine kinase (CK) and ATP, and muscle vasodilation, further exacerbating hypotension. Crush syndrome can also lead to cardiovascular instability and renal failure due to vasomotor and nephrotoxic factors. Elevations in serum CK levels exceeding 1000 IU/l, along with accompanying clinical features, are widely recognized as indicative of crush syndrome. Diagnostic investigations commonly involve assessing serum levels of aldolase, myoglobin, and myoglobin degradation products. Progressive increases in serum levels of lactic acid, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are observed, while levels of serum urea and creatinine exhibit a steep rise, particularly following prolonged compression, and serve as valuable predictors of renal failure. The treatment of crush syndrome requires a multidisciplinary approach that addresses the metabolic, cardiovascular, and renal complications associated with this condition. The mainstay of treatment includes early release of the affected limb or compartment, fluid resuscitation, correction of electrolyte abnormalities, and alkalinization of urine. Additionally, renal replacement therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be beneficial in managing acute kidney injury and tissue hypoxia, respectively. Crush syndrome, albeit infrequent, represents a potentially fatal medical condition that demands a thorough comprehension of its underlying pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment modalities. Early recognition and appropriate management of this condition can significantly r,educe morbidity and mortality associated with crush syndrome.

Using COVID-19 as opportunity: the role of the AIIB’s leadership in its strategic adaptation to the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a steep rise in demand for COVID-recovery lending and a decrease in capacity for infrastructure borrowing in many countries struggling to cope with its economic effects. This has presented a significant challenge to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), as its project pipelines had been developed mainly for traditional infrastructure lending. This paper examines the strategies employed by the AIIB to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings showcase how its institutional leadership effectively employed its authority, resources, and leadership competences to push for an adaptive response strategy. This was achieved by pitching a response based on the expansion of the AIIB’s operational scope beyond traditional heavy infrastructure lending and the introduction of new policy instruments for funding COVID-recovery projects. The AIIB also engaged in collaborative partnerships with other MDBs to access their project pipelines and expertise. Thanks to these efforts, the AIIB not only managed to cope with the challenge, but its leadership also ensured the institution would come out of the pandemic having opportunistically benefited from it. The findings speak to the scholarship on IO resilience and bureaucratic politics. The analysis relies on official documents and original data from 20 interviews with IO officials and experts.