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Nick K. Jones1,2*, Lucy Rivett1,2*, Chris Workman3, Mark Ferris3, Ashley Shaw1, Cambridge COVID-19 Collaboration1,4, Paul J. Lehner1,4, Rob Howes5, Giles Wright3, Nicholas J. Matheson1,4,6¶, Michael P. Weekes1,7¶1 Cambridge University NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK2 Clinical Microbiology & Public Health Laboratory, Public Health England, Cambridge, UK3 Occupational Health and Wellbeing, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK4 Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK5 Cambridge COVID-19 Testing Centre and AstraZeneca, Anne Mclaren Building, Cambridge, UK6 NHS Blood and Transplant, Cambridge, UK7 Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK*Joint first authorship¶Joint last authorshipCorrespondence: mpw1001@cam.ac.ukThe UK has initiated mass COVID-19 immunisation, with healthcare workers (HCWs) given early priority because of the potential for workplace exposure and risk of onward transmission to patients. The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended maximising the number of people vaccinated with first doses at the expense of early booster vaccinations, based on single dose efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 disease.1-3At the time of writing, three COVID-19 vaccines have been granted emergency use authorisation in the UK, including the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech). A vital outstanding question is whether this vaccine prevents or promotes asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, rather than symptomatic COVID-19 disease, because sub-clinical infection following vaccination could continue to drive transmission. This is especially important because many UK HCWs have received this vaccine, and nosocomial COVID-19 infection has been a persistent problem.Through the implementation of a 24 h-turnaround PCR-based comprehensive HCW screening programme at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT), we previously demonstrated the frequent presence of pauci- and asymptomatic infection amongst HCWs during the UK’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.4 Here, we evaluate the effect of first-dose BNT162b2 vaccination on test positivity rates and cycle threshold (Ct) values in the asymptomatic arm of our programme, which now offers weekly screening to all staff.Vaccination of HCWs at CUHNFT began on 8th December 2020, with mass vaccination from 8th January 2021. Here, we analyse data from the two weeks spanning 18thto 31st January 2021, during which: (a) the prevalence of COVID-19 amongst HCWs remained approximately constant; and (b) we screened comparable numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated HCWs. Over this period, 4,408 (week 1) and 4,411 (week 2) PCR tests were performed from individuals reporting well to work. We stratified HCWs <12 days or > 12 days post-vaccination because this was the point at which protection against symptomatic infection began to appear in phase III clinical trial.226/3,252 (0·80%) tests from unvaccinated HCWs were positive (Ct<36), compared to 13/3,535 (0·37%) from HCWs <12 days post-vaccination and 4/1,989 (0·20%) tests from HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination (p=0·023 and p=0·004, respectively; Fisher’s exact test, Figure). This suggests a four-fold decrease in the risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination, compared to unvaccinated HCWs, with an intermediate effect amongst HCWs <12 days post-vaccination.A marked reduction in infections was also seen when analyses were repeated with: (a) inclusion of HCWs testing positive through both the symptomatic and asymptomatic arms of the programme (56/3,282 (1·71%) unvaccinated vs 8/1,997 (0·40%) ≥12 days post-vaccination, 4·3-fold reduction, p=0·00001); (b) inclusion of PCR tests which were positive at the limit of detection (Ct>36, 42/3,268 (1·29%) vs 15/2,000 (0·75%), 1·7-fold reduction, p=0·075); and (c) extension of the period of analysis to include six weeks from December 28th to February 7th 2021 (113/14,083 (0·80%) vs 5/4,872 (0·10%), 7·8-fold reduction, p=1x10-9). In addition, the median Ct value of positive tests showed a non-significant trend towards increase between unvaccinated HCWs and HCWs > 12 days post-vaccination (23·3 to 30·3, Figure), suggesting that samples from vaccinated individuals had lower viral loads.We therefore provide real-world evidence for a high level of protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection after a single dose of BNT162b2 vaccine, at a time of predominant transmission of the UK COVID-19 variant of concern 202012/01 (lineage B.1.1.7), and amongst a population with a relatively low frequency of prior infection (7.2% antibody positive).5This work was funded by a Wellcome Senior Clinical Research Fellowship to MPW (108070/Z/15/Z), a Wellcome Principal Research Fellowship to PJL (210688/Z/18/Z), and an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/P008801/1) and NHSBT workpackage (WPA15-02) to NJM. Funding was also received from Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. We also acknowledge contributions from all staff at CUHNFT Occupational Health and Wellbeing and the Cambridge COVID-19 Testing Centre.

Scene flow tracks the three-dimensional (3D) motion of each point in adjacent point clouds. It provides fundamental 3D motion perception for autonomous driving and server robot. Although the Red Green Blue Depth (RGBD) camera or Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) capture discrete 3D points in space, the objects and motions usually are continuous in the macro world. That is, the objects keep themselves consistent as they flow from the current frame to the next frame. Based on this insight, the Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) is utilized to self-learn 3D scene flow with no need for ground truth. The fake point cloud of the second frame is synthesized from the predicted scene flow and the point cloud of the first frame. The adversarial training of the generator and discriminator is realized through synthesizing indistinguishable fake point cloud and discriminating the real point cloud and the synthesized fake point cloud. The experiments on Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Toyota Technological Institute (KITTI) scene flow dataset show that our method realizes promising results without ground truth. Just as human, the proposed method can identify the similar local structures of two adjacent frames even without knowing the ground truth scene flow. Then, the local correspondence can be correctly estimated, and further the scene flow is correctly estimated.   Corresponding author(s) Email: wanghesheng@sjtu.edu.cn

Leukocyte differential test is a widely performed clinical procedure for screening infectious diseases. Existing hematology analyzers require labor-intensive work and a panel of expensive reagents. Here we report an artificial-intelligence enabled reagent-free imaging hematology analyzer (AIRFIHA) modality that can accurately classify subpopulations of leukocytes with minimal sample preparation. AIRFIHA is realized through training a two-step residual neural network using label-free images of isolated leukocytes acquired from a custom-built quantitative phase microscope. By leveraging the rich information contained in quantitative phase images, we not only achieved high accuracy in differentiating B and T lymphocytes, but also classified CD4 and CD8 cells, therefore outperforming the classification accuracy of most current hematology analyzers. We validated the performance of AIRFIHA in a randomly selected test set and cross-validated it across all blood donors. Owing to its easy operation, low cost, and accurate discerning capability of complex leukocyte subpopulations, we envision AIRFIHA is clinically translatable and can also be deployed in resource-limited settings, e.g., during pandemic situations for the rapid screening of infectious diseases.  Corresponding author(s) Email:    rjzhou@cuhk.edu.hk,  rishikesh.pandey@uconn.edu

Tam Hunt [1], Jonathan SchoolerUniversity of California Santa Barbara Synchronization, harmonization, vibrations, or simply resonance in its most general sense seems to have an integral relationship with consciousness itself. One of the possible “neural correlates of consciousness” in mammalian brains is a combination of gamma, beta and theta synchrony. More broadly, we see similar kinds of resonance patterns in living and non-living structures of many types. What clues can resonance provide about the nature of consciousness more generally? This paper provides an overview of resonating structures in the fields of neuroscience, biology and physics and attempts to coalesce these data into a solution to what we see as the “easy part” of the Hard Problem, which is generally known as the “combination problem” or the “binding problem.” The combination problem asks: how do micro-conscious entities combine into a higher-level macro-consciousness? The proposed solution in the context of mammalian consciousness suggests that a shared resonance is what allows different parts of the brain to achieve a phase transition in the speed and bandwidth of information flows between the constituent parts. This phase transition allows for richer varieties of consciousness to arise, with the character and content of that consciousness in each moment determined by the particular set of constituent neurons. We also offer more general insights into the ontology of consciousness and suggest that consciousness manifests as a relatively smooth continuum of increasing richness in all physical processes, distinguishing our view from emergentist materialism. We refer to this approach as a (general) resonance theory of consciousness and offer some responses to Chalmers’ questions about the different kinds of “combination problem.”  At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat: the sound of cycles in sync…. [T]hese feats of synchrony occur spontaneously, almost as if nature has an eerie yearning for order. Steven Strogatz, Sync: How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Universe, Nature and Daily Life (2003) If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.Nikola Tesla (1942) I.               Introduction Is there an “easy part” and a “hard part” to the Hard Problem of consciousness? In this paper, we suggest that there is. The harder part is arriving at a philosophical position with respect to the relationship of matter and mind. This paper is about the “easy part” of the Hard Problem but we address the “hard part” briefly in this introduction.  We have both arrived, after much deliberation, at the position of panpsychism or panexperientialism (all matter has at least some associated mind/experience and vice versa). This is the view that all things and processes have both mental and physical aspects. Matter and mind are two sides of the same coin.  Panpsychism is one of many possible approaches that addresses the “hard part” of the Hard Problem. We adopt this position for all the reasons various authors have listed (Chalmers 1996, Griffin 1997, Hunt 2011, Goff 2017). This first step is particularly powerful if we adopt the Whiteheadian version of panpsychism (Whitehead 1929).  Reaching a position on this fundamental question of how mind relates to matter must be based on a “weight of plausibility” approach, rather than on definitive evidence, because establishing definitive evidence with respect to the presence of mind/experience is difficult. We must generally rely on examining various “behavioral correlates of consciousness” in judging whether entities other than ourselves are conscious – even with respect to other humans—since the only consciousness we can know with certainty is our own. Positing that matter and mind are two sides of the same coin explains the problem of consciousness insofar as it avoids the problems of emergence because under this approach consciousness doesn’t emerge. Consciousness is, rather, always present, at some level, even in the simplest of processes, but it “complexifies” as matter complexifies, and vice versa. Consciousness starts very simple and becomes more complex and rich under the right conditions, which in our proposed framework rely on resonance mechanisms. Matter and mind are two sides of the coin. Neither is primary; they are coequal.  We acknowledge the challenges of adopting this perspective, but encourage readers to consider the many compelling reasons to consider it that are reviewed elsewhere (Chalmers 1996, Griffin 1998, Hunt 2011, Goff 2017, Schooler, Schooler, & Hunt, 2011; Schooler, 2015).  Taking a position on the overarching ontology is the first step in addressing the Hard Problem. But this leads to the related questions: at what level of organization does consciousness reside in any particular process? Is a rock conscious? A chair? An ant? A bacterium? Or are only the smaller constituents, such as atoms or molecules, of these entities conscious? And if there is some degree of consciousness even in atoms and molecules, as panpsychism suggests (albeit of a very rudimentary nature, an important point to remember), how do these micro-conscious entities combine into the higher-level and obvious consciousness we witness in entities like humans and other mammals?  This set of questions is known as the “combination problem,” another now-classic problem in the philosophy of mind, and is what we describe here as the “easy part” of the Hard Problem. Our characterization of this part of the problem as “easy”[2] is, of course, more than a little tongue in cheek. The authors have discussed frequently with each other what part of the Hard Problem should be labeled the easier part and which the harder part. Regardless of the labels we choose, however, this paper focuses on our suggested solution to the combination problem.  Various solutions to the combination problem have been proposed but none have gained widespread acceptance. This paper further elaborates a proposed solution to the combination problem that we first described in Hunt 2011 and Schooler, Hunt, and Schooler 2011. The proposed solution rests on the idea of resonance, a shared vibratory frequency, which can also be called synchrony or field coherence. We will generally use resonance and “sync,” short for synchrony, interchangeably in this paper. We describe the approach as a general resonance theory of consciousness or just “general resonance theory” (GRT). GRT is a field theory of consciousness wherein the various specific fields associated with matter and energy are the seat of conscious awareness.  A summary of our approach appears in Appendix 1.  All things in our universe are constantly in motion, in process. Even objects that appear to be stationary are in fact vibrating, oscillating, resonating, at specific frequencies. So all things are actually processes. Resonance is a specific type of motion, characterized by synchronized oscillation between two states.  An interesting phenomenon occurs when different vibrating processes come into proximity: they will often start vibrating together at the same frequency. They “sync up,” sometimes in ways that can seem mysterious, and allow for richer and faster information and energy flows (Figure 1 offers a schematic). Examining this phenomenon leads to potentially deep insights about the nature of consciousness in both the human/mammalian context but also at a deeper ontological level.

Cannabis sativa is an extraordinarily versatile species. Hemp and its cousin marijuana, both C. sativa, have been used for millennia as a source of fibre, oil and for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes. Because the consumption of Cannabis can have psychoactive effects, the plant has been widely banned throughout the last century. In the past decade, evidence of its medicinal properties did lead to the relaxation of legislation in many countries around the world. Consequently, the genetics and development of Cannabis as well as Cannabis-derived products are the subject of renewed attention.Here, we review the biology of C. sativa, including recent insights from taxonomy, morphology and genomics, with an emphasis on the genetics of cannabinoid synthesis. Because the female Cannabis flower is of special interest as the site of cannabinoid synthesis, we explore flower development, flowering time well as the species’ unique sex determination system in detail. Furthermore, we outline the tremendous medicinal, engineering, and environmental opportunities that Cannabis bears. Together, the picture emerges that our understanding of Cannabis biology currently progresses at an unusual speed. A future challenge will be to preserve the multi-purpose nature of Cannabis, and to harness its medicinal properties and sustainability advantages simultaneously.

Quantum chemistry must evolve if it wants to fully leverage the benefits of the internet age, where the world wide web offers a vast tapestry of tools that enable users to communicate and interact with complex data at the speed and convenience of a button press. The Open Chemistry project has developed an open source framework that offers an end-to-end solution for producing, sharing, and visualizing quantum chemical data interactively on the web using an array of modern tools and approaches. These tools build on some of the best open source community projects such as Jupyter for interactive online notebooks, coupled with 3D accelerated visualization, state-of-the-art computational chemistry codes including NWChem and Psi4 and emerging machine learning and data mining tools such as ChemML and ANI. They offer flexible formats to import and export data, along with approaches to compare computational and experimental data.

This paper responds to one by Graham Martin and colleagues, who offered a critique of my previous publications on masks for the lay public in the Covid-19 pandemic. I address their charges that my co-authors and I had misapplied the precautionary principle; drawn conclusions that were not supported by empirical research; and failed to take account of potential harms. But before that, I remind Martin et al that the evidence on mask wearing goes beyond the contested trials and observational studies they place centre stage. I set out some key findings from basic science, epidemiology, mathematical modelling, case studies and natural experiments, and use this rich and diverse body of evidence as the backdrop for my rebuttal of their narrowly-framed objections. I challenge my critics’ apparent assumption that a particular kind of systematic review should be valorised over narrative and real-world evidence, since stories are crucial to both our scientific understanding and our moral imagination. I conclude by thanking my academic adversaries for the intellectual sparring match, but exhort them to remember our professional accountability to a society in crisis. It is time to lay straw men to rest and engage, scientifically and morally, with the dreadful tragedy that is unfolding across the world.

This Supporting information includes interactive plots, videos, and data captured while performing evaluation and validation experiments for our paper. 

The construct of wellbeing has been criticised as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores wider systemic issues including increasing burden of chronic disease, widening inequality, concerns over environmental degradation and anthropogenic climate change. While these criticisms overlook recent developments, there remains a need for biopsychosocial models that extend theoretical grounding beyond individual wellbeing, incorporating overlapping contextual issues relating to community and environment. Our first GENIAL model \cite{Kemp_2017} provided a more expansive view of pathways to longevity in the context of individual health and wellbeing, emphasising bidirectional links to positive social ties and the impact of sociocultural factors. In this paper, we build on these ideas and propose GENIAL 2.0, focusing on intersecting individual-community-environmental contributions to health and wellbeing, and laying an evidence-based, theoretical framework on which future research and innovative therapeutic innovations could be based. We suggest that our transdisciplinary model of wellbeing - focusing on individual, community and environmental contributions to personal wellbeing - will help to move the research field forward. In reconceptualising wellbeing, GENIAL 2.0 bridges the gap between psychological science and population health health systems, and presents opportunities for enhancing the health and wellbeing of people living with chronic conditions. Implications for future generations including the very survival of our species are discussed.  

Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield across global regions is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control and pollination services in adjacent crops using a global dataset of 529 sites. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimize floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.

Researchers' ability to accurately screen fossil and subfossil specimens for preservation of DNA and protein sequences remains limited. Thermal exposure and geologic age are usable proxies for sequence preservation on a broad scale but are of nominal use for specimens of similar depositional environments. Cell and tissue biomolecular histology is thus proposed as a novel proxy for determining sequence preservation potential of ancient specimens with improved accuracy. Biomolecular histology as a proxy is hypothesized to elucidate why fossils/subfossils of some depositional environments preserve sequences while others do not and to facilitate selection of ancient specimens for use in molecular studies.

IntroductionConsistent with World Health Organization (WHO) advice [1], UK Infection Protection Control guidance recommends that healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) should use fluid resistant surgical masks type IIR (FRSMs) as respiratory protective equipment (RPE), unless aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) are being undertaken or are likely, when a filtering face piece 3 (FFP3) respirator should be used [2]. In a recent update, an FFP3 respirator is recommended if “an unacceptable risk of transmission remains following rigorous application of the hierarchy of control” [3]. Conversely, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19 should use an N95 or higher level respirator [4]. WHO guidance suggests that a respirator, such as FFP3, may be used for HCWs in the absence of AGPs if availability or cost is not an issue [1].A recent systematic review undertaken for PHE concluded that: “patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who are breathing, talking or coughing generate both respiratory droplets and aerosols, but FRSM (and where required, eye protection) are considered to provide adequate staff protection” [5]. Nevertheless, FFP3 respirators are more effective in preventing aerosol transmission than FRSMs, and observational data suggests that they may improve protection for HCWs [6]. It has therefore been suggested that respirators should be considered as a means of affording the best available protection [7], and some organisations have decided to provide FFP3 (or equivalent) respirators to HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients, despite a lack of mandate from local or national guidelines [8].Data from the HCW testing programme at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT) during the first wave of the UK severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic indicated a higher incidence of infection amongst HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19, compared with those who did not [9]. Subsequent studies have confirmed this observation [10, 11]. This disparity persisted at CUHNFT in December 2020, despite control measures consistent with PHE guidance and audits indicating good compliance. The CUHNFT infection control committee therefore implemented a change of RPE for staff on “red” (COVID-19) wards from FRSMs to FFP3 respirators. In this study, we analyse the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCWs before and after this transition.

Snowmelt drives a large portion of streamflow in many mountain areas of the world. However, the water pathways since snow melts until water reaches the streams, and its associated transit time is still largely unknown. Such processes are important for drawing conclusions about the hydrological role of the upstream snowpack after melting. This work analyzes for first time the influence of snowmelt on spring streamflow in years of different snow accumulation and duration, in an alpine catchment of the central Spanish Pyrenees. A multi-approach research was performed, by combining the analysis of climatic, snow, streamflow, piezometric levels, water temperature, electrical conductivity and isotopic (δ 18O) data. Results show that snow played a preeminent role on the hydrological response of the catchment during spring. Liquid precipitation during the melting period also determined the shape of the spring hydrographs. When snow cover disappeared from the catchment, soil water storage and streamflow showed a sharp decline. Consequently, streamflow electrical conductivity, temperature and δ 18O showed a marked tipping point towards higher values. The fast hydrological response of the catchment to snow and meteorological fluctuations, as well as the marked diel fluctuations of streamflow δ 18O during the melting period, strongly suggests soil storage was small, leading to short meltwater transit times. As a consequence of this hydrological behavior, independently of the amount of snow accumulated and of melting date, summer streamflow remained always low, with small runoff peaks driven by rainfall events. The expected reduction of snow accumulation and duration in the area in a next future will bring an earlier snowmelt and rise of stream water temperature. However, given the low storage capacity of the catchment and the contribution of rainfall events to spring runoff, the annual water balance and the runoff seasonality of the catchment would not change drastically.

Biodiesels constitute a growing class of fuel in the world which is increasingly inclined towards more ecological and sustainable energy. Despite their advantages, biodiesels are of limited cold flow properties and of larger NOx emissions, which are mostly attributed to the chemical composition of their oil feedstocks. This study presents a novel approach to produce Genetically Engineered Biodiesel from genetically manipulated oleaginous yeast oils for improving biodiesel properties and performances. Using full-factorial central composite design, the best chemical composition of an optimal biodiesel was predicted. Then, simple and combined MFE1, PEX10 and POX2 mutants of the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica were constructed and showed interesting lipid profiles whose biodiesel is predicted to have better cold flow properties. These mutants showed also higher lipid titers by 2-3 folds compared to the parent strain. This study provides a genetic engineering strategy for tailor design of biodiesel properties and performance.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are categorized according to their formation mechanisms and come in three basic types: exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. Exosomes are a subtype of EVs, which are small, round sacs with a diameter of between 30 and 120 nm that are released by most cell types. Exosomes have the potential to be used as novel therapeutic agents as well as tools for the diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases. The main requirement for exosomal large-scale implementation in medical practice is rapid, easy, high purity, high yield isolation, and characterization processes. In this review, various isolation and characterization methods of exosomes are discussed together with their advantages and disadvantages.

This study conducted a thorough investigation into the impact of two emulsification techniques, namely high-pressure homogenization (HPH) and microfluidization (MF), on the emulsification of krill oil. The comprehensive analysis encompassed various aspects, including particle size characterization, structural assessment, oxidative stability evaluation during storage, measurement of bioaccessibility, and in vitro simulated digestion analysis. Emulsions produced through MF exhibited several noteworthy advantages over those generated by HPH. Most prominently, MF-prepared emulsions featured smaller and more uniformly distributed particles, in stark contrast to the less uniform particles generated by HPH. Moreover, MF-based emulsions demonstrated significantly enhanced oxidative stability during storage, with astaxanthin degradation occurring at a substantially lower rate (38.11% for HPH compared to 89.44% for MF). When assessing emulsion behavior during in vitro simulated digestion, microfluidization formulations exhibited superior stability and markedly higher bioaccessibility in comparison to their HPH counterparts. Of particular significance was the remarkable increase in the release of free fatty acids observed during the intestinal phase of digestion in MF emulsions, indicating an improved lipid digestion process. This study firmly establishes microfluidization as the superior method for crafting emulsions of krill oil, especially within the context of the food industry. Microfluidization not only ensures the preservation of oil quality during storage but also significantly enhances emulsion stability and promotes improved digestibility. These findings hold substantial promise for the development of delivery systems for n-3 fatty acids, making them suitable for incorporation into a wide range of commercial food, beverage, and pharmaceutical products.

Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters [FAME]) is a renewable biomass-based diesel (BBD) fuel made from plant oils, animal fats and waste greases. Its production continues to increase globally, especially with more countries moving to increase the use of renewable fuels. One of the main disadvantages of biodiesel is its relatively poor oxidative stability. During longer periods of storage at fuel terminals or in vehicle tanks and fuel systems, biodiesel can react with oxygen in ambient air, leading to degradation that can adversely affect its viscosity and ignition quality. The shelf-life of biodiesel is an important property that can determine the conditions such as how long it can be stored at low temperatures. The objective of this work is to develop mathematical equations to estimating the shelf-life of biodiesel at T = 25 °C. This was done by measuring the induction period by Rancimat instrument (IP R) at different temperatures and extrapolating the results using two types of linear models. Model equations were developed from regression analysis performed on results for canola, palm and soybean oil-FAME (CaME, PME and SME), methyl oleate (MeC18:1) and methyl linoleate (MeC18:2). The best results from confirmation analysis were obtained for Model B type equations. This model type correlated ln(IP R) with inverse T (T −1) data and provided the most realistic estimates of the shelf-life (SL B) of the five FAME studied in this work.

Surgical retrieval of embolized atrial septum defect closure device from right pulmonary veinYu Xiong1, Yongjun Qian2#1 Operating Room, Department of Anesthesiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University/West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Guoxuexiang 37th, 610041 Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China.# Correspondence: Yongjun Qian, No. 37 GuoXue Xiang, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, People’s Republic of China; fax: + 86 28 85422897; e-mail: qianyongjun@scu.edu.cn .

Heart diseases and oncologic diseases are more often found simultaneously worldwide. There is an increasing tendency of both diseases’ incidence due to better diagnostic approaches and increasing aging population. Patients often come to hospital to treat one disease, but during preparation to surgery are found to have another additional. The present study represents the clinical case of patients with concomitant heart and colon disease. The patient underwent simultaneous surgery: CABG and laparoscopic anterior resection. The post-operative period went well with no complications. Patient was discharged with recommendations and referred to further rehabilitation. The chosen treatment method is consistent by many studies and was the best option for our patient.

For 40 years MAGIC has been used to simulate the acidification of soils and waters due to acid deposition. The original model has now been updated and re-implemented in the C++ Mobius platform and is available as open source. New features include multipoint calibration, forest growth, and a soil carbon module. The Mobius platform facilitates automatic optimisation of calibrated parameters and multiple-calibrations using Monte-Carlo routines. The usefulness of MAGIC is demonstrated by application to the 50-year data series for deposition and runoff at Birkenes, a small, calibrated catchment in southern Norway. Acid deposition has declined dramatically at Birkenes since the peak in the 1970s. Sulphate is 90% lower. Stream water has recovered strongly. Decreased concentrations of sulphate have led to increased acid neutralising capacity, pH and reduced concentrations of toxic aluminium. These changes are well-simulated by MAGIC. The new features added as part of Mobius improve the simulations. The MAGIC-Mobius modelling tool is now available for applications to scenarios of land-use and climate change.

In cell encapsulation, a suitable environment is provided for cell growth, proliferation and differentiation. Alginate hydrogel is an ideal medium for encapsulating cells and facilitating the production of cartilage tissue due to its desirable properties. Also using Layer by layer assembly of polyelectrolytes on microcapsules could be an ordinary imitation of zonal organization of cartilage and force hypoxia to cells encapsulated. In this project, alginate and chitosan, which are structurally similar to glycosaminoglycans, were assembled layer by layer on alginate microcapsules containing mesenchymal stem cells. The formation of these nanolayers was checked using uv-vis absorption technique and the amount of water absorption of different samples was determined within a week. FESEM images showed that the microcapsules have a completely porous and interconnected structure and the cells were well entrapped inside them. The results of AO/PI staining revealed that the cells showed viability for 7 days. The results of alcian blue staining, antibody staining and the expression of genes demonstrated that cartilaginous differentiation has occurred completely in the S10 sample, which has maximum number of nanolayers. These results showed that the hypoxia applied due to the assembly of nanolayers has an effective role in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocyte cells.

For decades community ecology has examined empirical relationships between ecosystem productivity and diversity. Despite this long history, tests of hypothesized mechanisms, namely the interplay between environmental filtering, biotic interactions, and dispersal, are lacking, largely due to their intractability using traditional approaches. Across a productivity gradient in a serpentine grassland in California, USA, we coupled occupancy data for four annual plants with persistence measures of paired transplants under natural conditions and reduced biotic interactions with neighbors. We found a positive relationship between productivity and biodiversity (i.e., the proportion of our four focal species found in a location) despite strong competition limiting species persistence in productive environments. Additionally, across species and for the community, we found a strong mismatch between occupancy and persistence, largely due to dispersal excess. Our results suggest that biodiversity-productivity relationships can be largely driven by dispersal and its interactive effects with local biotic and abiotic conditions.

A LITTLE MORE THAN JUST AIR AND FLUID: AN UNCOMMON CASE OF HYDROPNEUMOTHORAXDr. Akash Sengupta1, Dr. Saikat Dutta21 senior resident, department of chest medicine;2 Professor and head of the department, department of medicine, MJN medical college and hospital, Cooch behar, West BengalEmail:akashsengupta09@gmail.com (corresponding author)

Objective: Emotion intolerance and perfectionism are two maintaining mechanisms to eating disorder psychopathology. However, it is unclear how these mechanisms relate to one another. This study explored whether perfectionism is a vulnerability factor for facets of restrictive eating in the context of body-related emotions. Methods: Female undergraduate students ( N=148) completed questionnaires assessing baseline levels of self-critical perfectionism and personal standards perfectionism. Participants then engaged in an ecological momentary assessment protocol where body-related emotion intolerance and restrictive eating facets (cognitive restraint and behavioural restriction) were assessed over 10 consecutive days. Multi-level modeling and simple slopes analysis were used to explore these moderated relationships. Results: Based on the analyses, both self-critical and personal standards perfectionism dimensions interacted with body-related emotion intolerance to predict increases in restrictive eating facets. Conclusion: These findings indicate that personal standards perfectionism, though conceptualized as the less maladaptive dimension of perfectionism, should not be ignored in eating disorder conceptualizations and treatments. Recommendations are provided on how to refine treatment targets to be more attuned with situations that elicit body-related emotion intolerance.