It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, April 07, 2021
Skoltech scientists create a new electronegativity scale
SKOLKOVO INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SKOLTECH)
Skoltech chemists have proposed a new electronegativity scale and published their findings in Nature Communications.
The concept of electronegativity introduced by Linus Pauling, a great American chemist, in the 1930s refers to the ability of an atom to attract electron density. In a chemical bond, the more electronegative atom gains extra electrons, becoming negatively charged, while the less electronegative one loses electrons and becomes positively charged. Electronegativity is a fundamental notion, essential for explaining things that range from chemical bonds' energy to the (in)stability of chemical compounds and the color and hardness of crystals.
Since then, chemists have come up with various definitions and scales of electronegativity. Yet Pauling's scale is the first and the most common one, present in every chemistry textbook. Pauling deduced his electronegativity values from thermochemistry using the energies of some chemical bonds. He proposed the simplest formula to calculate a bond's stabilization due to the difference in electronegativity between the atoms. It later transpired that the predictions made with Pauling's scale had a rather low accuracy.
Skoltech Professor Artem R. Oganov and research scientist Christian Tantardini ventured to modify Pauling's formula and redefine the electronegativities of elements and ended up creating a new scale of electronegativity.
"It all started when we decided to calculate Pauling's electronegativities under pressure. The chemistry of high pressures is quite exotic. Still, you will likely be able to understand a lot of things once you find out how the electronegativities of elements change under pressure. We used Pauling's definition to calculate electronegativity under normal conditions. We were amazed to discover that his scale did not match either theoretical or experimental bond energies for significantly ionic molecules. Moreover, many publications in chemical literature mention this inconsistency, but none offer a consistent solution. I realized that the root cause was that Pauling treated the molecule's ionic stabilization as an additive effect. If we consider it a multiplicative effect, many drawbacks will be removed. With the new formula and experimental energies of chemical bonds, we determined the electronegativities of all the elements. We obtained a beautiful scale that works both for small and large differences in electronegativity," Professor Oganov explains.
The new scale uses electronegativity as a dimensionless quantity, which is very practical and accurately reproduces both molecules' energies and chemical reactions.
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Skoltech is a private international university located in Russia. Established in 2011 in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Skoltech is cultivating a new generation of leaders in the fields of science, technology, and business is conducting research in breakthrough fields and is promoting technological innovation with the goal of solving critical problems that face Russia and the world. Skoltech is focusing on six priority areas: data science and artificial intelligence, life sciences, advanced materials and modern design methods, energy efficiency, photonics, and quantum technologies, and advanced research. Web: https://www.skoltech.ru/.
Do school-based interventions help improve reading and math in at-risk children?
School-based interventions that target students with, or at risk of, academic difficulties in kindergarten to grade 6 have positive effects on reading and mathematics, according to an article published in Campbell Systematic Reviews.
The review analyzed evidence from 205 studies, 186 of which were randomized controlled trials, to examine the effects of targeted school-based interventions on students' performance on standardized tests in reading and math.
Peer-assisted instruction and small-group instruction by adults were among the most effective interventions. The authors noted that these have substantial potential to boost skills in students experiencing academic difficulties.
"It is exciting to see that there are many interventions with substantial impacts on math and reading skills, especially in these times when many students have not been able to attend school and the number of students who need extra help may be even larger than usual," said lead author Jens Dietrichson, PhD, of VIVE, the Danish Center for Social Science Research. "It is also interesting that there is large variation: far from all interventions have positive effects, and there are substantial and robust differences between the types of interventions. Thus, schools can boost the skills of students with difficulties by implementing targeted interventions, but it matters greatly how they do it."
Study examines ADHD symptoms, stress, and resilience in college students
In a study of 558 college students, those who reported more symptoms associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also reported higher levels of stress. Students reporting higher levels of ADHD symptoms also reported lower levels of resilience, according to the study published in the Journal of College Counseling.
Each of the 4 protective factors of resilience--social skills, social support, goal efficacy (the perception of one's own ability to reach a goal), and planning and prioritizing behaviors--influenced the relationship between ADHD symptoms and perceived stress.
"The results offer hope to students, because each of the resilience factors can be strengthened at any point in life either on one's own or with the help of a counselor," said senior author Shelia M. Kennison, PhD, Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University.
New USGS report shows high levels of arsenic and uranium in some wells
Connecticut public health officials urge private well owners to test water quality
THE CATO INSTITUTE TYPES ARGUE THAT PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF LAND OR ECOLOGICAL NICHE'S IS MORE RESPONSIVE TO ISSUES LIKE THIS
IMAGE: KENT FALLS STATE PARK IN KENT, CONNECTICUT. GROUNDWATER FROM THIS AREA SUPPLIES NEARBY PRIVATE WATER WELLS. view more
CREDIT: TIZIANA SHEA, CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
A new U.S. Geological Survey study provides an updated, statewide estimate of high levels of naturally occurring arsenic and uranium in private well water across Connecticut. This research builds on a USGS report published in 2017, with the new study including additional groundwater samples and focusing on previously underrepresented areas.
The research, undertaken in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, projects that approximately 3.9% of private wells across Connecticut contain water with arsenic at concentrations higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level for public drinking-water supplies. This research also projects that 4.7% of private wells in the state have uranium concentrations higher than the EPA's standards.
CT DPH officials urge all private well owners to have their water tested for possible arsenic and uranium.
Arsenic and uranium are naturally occurring metals in bedrock around the world. Sometimes wells drilled into bedrock aquifers can produce water containing arsenic or uranium. Unless wells are tested, there's no way to confirm the presence or absence of these contaminants.
According to the CT DPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, EPA and other health experts, there are potential health risks when concentrations of arsenic and uranium in groundwater used for drinking are higher than established human-health standards. Arsenic exposure has been related to increased cancer risk, low birth weight, decreased child intellectual development, immune system suppression and other adverse health outcomes. Ingestion of uranium, such as through drinking water, has been associated with kidney disease.
Data from this study can be used to better estimate the number of people potentially affected by high concentrations of naturally occurring arsenic and uranium in water from private wells.
An estimated 23% of Connecticut residents have private wells for their water supply. During the study, the CT DPH, with help from its state laboratory and local health officials, collected and analyzed water samples from more than 2,000 private wells throughout the state. Where high levels of arsenic or uranium were detected, state and local health officials worked with participating residents to inform and assist them with remedial measures to protect their water supply.
"This report provides essential tools to citizens, health officials, well drillers, government officials and others for better protecting their communities and the environment," said Eliza Gross, USGS physical scientist and lead author of the study. "The previous USGS study published in 2017 identified some areas where there were high contaminant levels, and we now have a more complete statewide assessment."
"Even though we know there are areas across our state that have higher concentrations than others, any private well in Connecticut has the potential to have elevated arsenic or uranium," said Ryan Tetreault, CT DPH Private Well Program supervisor. "Private well owners should have their well water tested at least once for these contaminants."
The CT DPH recommends that if tested well water has arsenic at a level greater than federal and state standards, an alternate source of water should be used or a treatment system should be installed. Also, if uranium in well water is at a concentration greater than the EPA standard of 30 micrograms per liter, the water should be treated to remove the uranium.
To ensure accuracy in the assessment, researchers separated Connecticut into grid cells for what's called a "spatially weighted analysis": a process that ensures areas with clusters of samples aren't overrepresented in a statewide estimate.
The USGS also found that certain bedrock types are more likely than others to yield high concentrations of arsenic and uranium in groundwater.
"While bedrock geology is not always predictive of higher or lower concentrations of arsenic or uranium in groundwater, knowing that certain geologic settings have a high likelihood can help inform decisions, such as drilling new wells, planning for development or deciding whether to conduct additional water-quality testing," said Gross. "This insight on geologic settings can also be applied to research in other states.
CAPTION
The colors on this map identify the estimated percentage of private wells in Connecticut with water containing uranium concentrations greater than 30 micrograms per liter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level for uranium in drinking water supplies. These percentages were determined based on an analysis of water samples from more than 2,000 private wells in the state as well as underlying geology, with bedrock types indicative uranium concentrations in groundwater. The green symbols identify uranium concentrations in water from sampled wells. White areas on the map, representing 2.3% of the state, indicate geologic units from which no uranium samples are available. Well locations are approximate.
CREDIT
USGS
CAPTION
The colors on this map identify the estimated percentage of private wells in Connecticut with water containing arsenic concentrations greater than 10 micrograms per liter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water supplies. These percentages were determined based on an analysis of water samples from more than 2,000 private wells in the state as well as underlying geology, with bedrock types indicative of arsenic concentrations in groundwater. The black symbols identify arsenic concentrations in water from sampled wells. White areas on the map, representing 1.9% of the state, indicate geologic units from which no arsenic samples are available. Well locations are approximate.
CREDIT
USGS
According to the CT DPH, routine testing for private well water does not usually include testing for arsenic and uranium; it is up to private well owners to have their well water additionally tested for these contaminants. The CT DPH also encourages new homebuyers to ask for such testing when purchasing a home with a private well. Under Connecticut law, the local director of health has the authority to require testing for arsenic and uranium in water from newly drilled wells if they have reason to believe there is a problem in their town.
Read the full study titled, Arsenic and Uranium Occurrence in Private Wells in Connecticut, 2013-18--A Spatially Weighted and Bedrock Geology Assessment, at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201111.
For health-related questions, contact the DPH Environmental & Occupational Health Assessment Program at dph.eoha@ct.gov or (860) 509-7740. Their website is mailto:DPH%20Environmental%20&%20Occupational%20Health%20Assessment%20Program.
OF COURSE THEY DID ROFLMAO
Researchers find a connection between Trump's tweets and the exchange rate of the rouble
NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
Tweets about Russia by Donald Trump during his presidency caused short but noticeable depreciations of the rouble. Meanwhile, the introduction of new sanctions, upon which the president did not comment, had no such effect. This was the finding of a group of researchers, which included Elena Fedorova, Professor of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of HSE University. The group published their findings in in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
With the growing influence of social media, officials, politicians, and entrepreneurs increasingly express their positions on various issues directly (for example, using Facebook or Twitter), and their messages serve as an independent source of financial and business information. When global political and economic processes depend on the decisions of this person (as in the case of the President of the United States), their social media posts can even affect indicators such as oil prices or the rouble exchange rate. Researchers have already examined the impact of Trump's tweets on the stock market.
To see if there is a connection between the former US president's tweets and the exchange rate of the Russian currency, researchers collected 5,548 of Trump's tweets posted from October 2016 to August 2018. Of these, the authors chose those that mentioned Russia, Moscow, the Kremlin, sanctions, the rouble, and other key words. For the remaining 296 tweets, they rated the tonality of the text (neutral, positive, or negative; those falling in the latter category were the most frequent).
'To assess the tonality of the English-language tweets, we used five already proven dictionaries, and as part of a textual analysis project group with undergraduate and graduate students, we are working on a toolkit for assessing economic and financial texts in Russian. So, I think there will be similar studies on the Russian market,' said Elena Fedorova, article co-author and professor of economics at HSE University.
Using mathematical methods, the authors of the study assessed the impact on the rouble exchange rate of several control variables reflecting oil prices; Central Bank policy; the intensity of sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, and other states; and the attention of the media to relations between Russia and Western countries. These were considered beyond the period of the tweets to make sure that the rouble exchange rate was in fact responding specifically to the tweets, and not these other factors.
The researchers found that of the two 'political' variables (tweets and the degree of sanctions), only the tweets affected the exchange rate. The authors of the work highlighted several episodes when, after Trump tweeted anti-Russia statements, the rouble exchange rate dropped and the drop lasted for several days. The researchers note that all these episodes coincide with the announcement of new sanctions. However, in cases where sanctions were introduced, but Trump did not comment on them on Twitter, the rouble did not fall.
Calculations of both Russian and foreign researchers show that if sanctions affect the Russian economy, they do so to a much lesser extent than fluctuations in oil prices. New research confirms this conclusion and additionally shows that the emotional reaction to the sanctions of various players affects the exchange rate more than the restrictions themselves. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors suggest that the way market participants assess the severity of the new sanctions and their consequences for the Russian economy is rather strongly influenced by the president's tweets and the reaction of the press.
'Our research, on the one hand, draws upon the contemporary field of behavioural finance. On the other hand, it partially touches upon the philosophical theories of Marxism-Leninism about the role of personality in history (which people of my generation studied both in school and college). Who would have thought more than a hundred years ago that now, with the development of technology for assessing the textual tonality, it would be possible to quantify the impact of statements made by important politicians on the financial and economic market!' said Elena Fedorova.
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Elena Fedorova co-authored the study with Svetlana Ledyaeva (Aalto University School of Business, Finland).
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted peoples' interactions with nature?
IMAGE: THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE GLOBAL RESPONSE TO IT HAVE CHANGED MANY OF THE INTERACTIONS THAT HUMANS HAVE WITH NATURE, ACCORDING TO A NEW ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN PEOPLE AND NATURE.... view more
CREDIT: DR. SOGA
The COVID-19 pandemic and the global response to it have changed many of the interactions that humans have with nature, in both positive and negative ways. A perspective article published in People and Nature considers these changes, discusses the potential long-term consequences, and provides recommendations for further research.
The authors of the article note that the pandemic constitutes a 'global natural experiment' in human-nature interactions that, without seeking to downplay or ignore its tragic consequences, provides a rare opportunity to produce in-depth knowledge about these interactions and to help establish actions that can have positive effects for both humans and nature.
"Although undeniably tragic, the COVID-19 pandemic may offer an invaluable opportunity to explore an appropriate future relationship between people and nature," said lead author Masashi Soga, PhD, of the University of Tokyo.
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Organic composts may help farmers prevent foodborne disease outbreaks
IMAGE: A NEW ANALYSIS OF A 27-YEAR EXPERIMENT COMPARING ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL SOIL MANAGEMENT INDICATES THAT ANIMAL-BASED COMPOSTS DO NOT PROMOTE PATHOGEN SURVIVAL AND MAY EVEN PROMOTE BACTERIAL COMMUNITIES THAT SUPPRESS... view more
CREDIT: DR. DEVARAJAN
Foodborne disease outbreaks linked to the consumption of fresh produce have caused farmers to re-evaluate their practices. A recent analysis of a 27-year experiment comparing organic and conventional soil management indicates that animal-based composts do not promote pathogen survival and may even promote bacterial communities that suppress pathogens.
The study, which is published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, comes following other research documenting a higher prevalence of foodborne pathogens in fields fertilized with raw animal manure compared with conventional fertilizers.
"Our findings suggest that abandoning animal-based composts should be reconsidered, both because of the known benefits of composts for soil health and because it may be possible to apply amendments so that food-safety risks are mitigated rather than exacerbated," said lead author Naresh Devarajan, PhD, of the University of California,
IMAGE: AN ILLUSTRATION OF TAILOCINS, AND THEIR ALTRUISTIC ACTION PAINTED BY AUTHOR VIVEK MUTALIK'S DAUGHTER, ANTARA. view more
CREDIT: ANTARA MUTALIK
Imagine there are arrows that are lethal when fired on your enemies yet harmless if they fall on your friends. It's easy to see how these would be an amazing advantage in warfare, if they were real. However, something just like these arrows does indeed exist, and they are used in warfare ... just on a different scale.
These weapons are called tailocins, and the reality is almost stranger than fiction.
"Tailocins are extremely strong protein nanomachines made by bacteria," explained Vivek Mutalik, a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) who studies tailocins and phages, the bacteria-infecting viruses that tailocins appear to be remnants of. "They look like phages but they don't have the capsid, which is the 'head' of the phage that contains the viral DNA and replication machinery. So, they're like a spring-powered needle that goes and sits on the target cell, then appears to poke all the way through the cell membrane making a hole to the cytoplasm, so the cell loses its ions and contents and collapses."
A wide variety of bacteria are capable of producing tailocins, and seem to do so under stress conditions. Because the tailocins are only lethal to specific strains - so specific, in fact, that they have earned the nickname "bacterial homing missiles" - tailocins appear to be a tool used by bacteria to compete with their rivals. Due to their similarity with phages, scientists believe that the tailocins are produced by DNA that was originally inserted into bacterial genomes during viral infections (viruses give their hosts instructions to make more of themselves), and over evolutionary time, the bacteria discarded the parts of the phage DNA that weren't beneficial but kept the parts that could be co-opted for their own benefit.
But, unlike most abilities that are selected through evolution, tailocins do not save the individual. According to Mutalik, bacteria are killed if they produce tailocins, just as they would be if they were infected by true phage virus, because the pointed nanomachines erupt through the membrane to exit the producing cell much like replicated viral particles. But once released, the tailocins only target certain strains, sparing the other cells of the host lineage.
"They benefit kin but the individual is sacrificed, which is a type of altruistic behavior. But we don't yet understand how this phenomenon happens in nature," said Mutalik. Scientists also don't know precisely how the stabbing needle plunger of the tailocin functions.
These topics, and tailocins as a whole, are an area of hot research due to the many possible applications. Mutalik and his colleagues in Berkeley Lab's Biosciences Area along with collaborators at UC Berkeley are interested in harnessing tailocins to better study microbiomes. Other groups are keen to use tailocins as an alternative to traditional antibiotics -which indiscriminately wipe out beneficial strains alongside the bad and are increasingly ineffective due to the evolution of drug-resistance traits.
In their most recent paper, the collaborative Berkeley team explored the genetic basis and physical mechanisms governing how tailocins attack specific strains, and looked at genetic similarities and differences between tailocin producers and their target strains.
After examining 12 strains of soil bacteria known to use tailocins, the biologists found evidence that differences in the lipopolysaccharides - fat- and sugar-based molecules - attached to the outer membranes could determine whether or not a strain is targeted by a particular tailocin.
"The bacteria we studied live in a challenging, resource-poor environment, so we're interested to see how they might be using tailocins to fight for survival," said Adam Arkin, co-lead author and a senior faculty scientist in the Biosciences Area and technical co-manager of the Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies (ENIGMA) Scientific Focus Area. Arkin noted that although scientists can easily induce bacteria to produce tailocins in the lab (and can easily insert the genes into culturable strains for mass production, which will be handy if we want to make tailocins into medicines) there are still a lot of unanswered questions about how bacteria deploy tailocins in their natural environment, as well as how - and why - particular strains are targeted with an assassin's precision.
"Once we understand the targeting mechanisms, we can start using these tailocins ourselves," Arkin added. "The potential for medicine is obviously huge, but it would also be incredible for the kind of science we do, which is studying how environmental microbes interact and the roles of these interactions in important ecological processes, like carbon sequestration and nitrogen processing."
Currently, it's very difficult to figure out what each microbe in a community is doing, as scientists can't easily add and subtract strains and observe the outcome. With properly harnessed tailocins, these experiments could be done easily.
Mutalik, Arkin, and their colleagues are also conducting follow-up studies aiming to reveal tailocins' mechanisms of action. They plan to use the advanced imaging facilities at Berkeley Lab to take atomic-level snapshots of the entire process, from the moment the tailocin binds to the target cell all the way to cell deflation. Essentially, they'll be filming frames of a microscopic slasher movie.
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This work is part of the ENIGMA Scientific Focus Area, a multi-institutional consortium led by Berkeley Lab focused on advancing our understanding of microbial biology and the impact of microbial communities on their ecosystems. ENIGMA is supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Science.
Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and its scientists have been recognized with 14 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Lab's facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory, managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
South Korea data helps create framework to identify COVID-19 vulnerable areas worldwide
IMAGE: TTUHSC'S YOONJUNG LEE, PHARM.D., PH.D., JOINED A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS WHO DEVELOPED A FRAMEWORK TO IDENTIFY POCKETS OF COVID-19-VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THROUGH THE USE OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS.... view more
CREDIT: TTUHSC
Though the U.S. and South Korea recorded their first official COVID-19 case on the same day, January 20, 2020, there were notable differences in how each country would ultimately address what has become the world's most severe pandemic since 1918.
Yoonjung Lee, Pharm.D., Ph.D., a pharmacy preceptor and pharmaceutical sciences researcher at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy, said she was surprised at how South Korea effectively managed the pandemic without the business shutdowns and lockdowns that occurred in China, the U.S. and many European countries.
"I am amazed at how the Korean government had prompt and effective public health interventions to not only address COVID-19, but also to address COVID-19-vulnerable populations simultaneously," Lee said. "That could be why the incidences of COVID-19 cases drastically decreased toward the late phase of our study."
The study Lee referred to is one that she and a group of researchers recently conducted to develop a methodological framework for identifying pockets of COVID-19-vulnerable populations through the use of socioeconomic status (SES) and epidemiological determinants. They then applied data taken from South Korea's response to COVID-19 to operationalize and demonstrate the value of the framework.
Other members of the research team included Principal Investigator David O. Carpenter, M.D., and primary author Bayarmagnai Weinstein, M.D., MPH, from the University of Albany; Alan R da Silva, Ph.D., (University of BrasÃlia); Dimitrios E. Kouzoukas, Ph.D., (Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital); Tanima Bose, Ph.D., (Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich); Gwang-Jin Kim, Ph.D., (University of Freiburg-Germany); Paola A. Correa, Ph.D., (Howard Hughes Medical Institute); Santhi Pondugula, Ph.D., (University of Florida); and Jihoo Kim, M.S., (Hanyang University-Seoul).
Their study, "Precision Mapping of COVID-19 Vulnerable Locales by Epidemiological and Socioeconomic Risk Factors, Developed Using South Korean Data," was published Jan. 12 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
In previous research conducted during and after more recent, and less severe pandemics such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), swine flu (H1N1) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), investigators had defined a gap in how these illnesses were detected and treated among differing populations. Those populations considered to be socioeconomically disadvantaged seemed to bear the brunt of the diseases while those populations considered to be more affluent and educated were significantly less affected.
Because of these earlier studies, Lee said the research team believed there was the potential to reduce the outbreak of COVID-19 by utilizing targeted interventions. However, those earlier studies focused solely on socioeconomic handpicked by their investigators. More recent studies also had provided COVID-19 risk factors but none had identified COVID-19-vulnerable locales associated with SES and epidemiological factors specific enough to the virus.
"Indeed, the previous studies used SES variables based on researchers' preferences, irrespective of their COVID-19 relevance. Consequently, the SES measures across these studies were incomparable, limiting their usefulness," she added.
Lee said her group's COVID-19 study identified and used seven specific socioeconomic and epidemiologic factors: health care access, health behavior, crowding, area morbidity, education, difficulty to social distancing and population mobility.
To ensure they captured information about the study population's socioeconomic and population health that was as complete as possible, Lee said the team applied Coleman's Foundations of Social Theory, which combines the observed social actions of individuals with the rational concept of economists that contends individuals acts independently of one another and for their own self-interest.
"Coleman's Social Theory guided us to collect data in each of three fundamental domains -- material, human and social capitals -- that concertedly characterize each geographic unit's SES and area-health status in the study," Lee explained.
Lee said the team further filtered the study's variables by utilizing Blumenshine's conceptual mechanistic framework, which describes the potential causes of disparities in the U.S. during an influenza or respiratory infection pandemic. It attributes those disparities to varying levels of exposure to the virus, differences in susceptibility to the disease and distinct variations in access to health care.
"That directed us to causally relevant variables to COVID-19, as they determine the likelihood of being exposed to the virus agent, of contracting the disease upon exposure and of receiving timely and effective treatment after the disease has developed," Lee said.
Integrating Coleman's Foundations of Social Theory and Blumenshine's mechanistic framework helped the research team formulate a universal SES definition and select SES indicators that were mechanistically and casually relevant to COVID-19 health outcomes. The development of this methodological framework made this research unique because it allowed the team to identify COVID-19-vulnerable locales through their associated SES and epidemiological determinants.
"Through this approach, we could have universal SES variables with acceptable generalizability and methodological capacity," Lee said. "Consequently, this helped make our study's regression model stronger and more accurate by using SES variables that were relevant to COVID-19."
Lee said the significance of the research is that it provides a methodological framework and precision mapping method that is globally replicable for COVID-19 and future pandemics because it provides robust SES measurements based on the established theories for reducing bias from arbitrary data selections. In fact, she contended, the novelty of the work speaks to the integrity of the study's design and the statistical methodology of the research.
"Firstly, the combined use of global and spatial statistical methods increased the accuracy as global models verified the geographical model," Lee said. "Secondly, we collaborated in this study with Alan da Silva, who developed the negative binomial extension of the geographically weighted regression. His application of this method eliminated the tool's erroneous use while also optimizing the model to study the data. Lastly, our study showed the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic over three consecutive time-periods, which was a novel approach at the time of the study."
In using the South Korea data, the study showed the risk of COVID-19 increased with higher area morbidity, risky health behaviors, crowding and population mobility. Other factors that influenced risk included education, lower social distancing and the ability to access health. Yet, Lee said, falling COVID-19 risks and spatial shifts over three consecutive time periods (early-phase, middle-phase and late-phase) reflected effective public health interventions in South Korea.
"This finding can be different if other data is used, though the South Korean data, based on our knowledge, was the most detailed and publicly available data with open access, which was the reason why we used South Korean data in our study," Lee said. "Therefore, as depicted in our study, it is crucial to identify COVID-19-vulnerable locales associated with SES and COVID-19 specific epidemiological factors and then to target prompt and effective public health interventions toward these locales for effective pandemic control."
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Development of a large CO2 conversionsystem, a core carbon neutrality technology
Features a high-performance, sea urchin-shaped nano copper catalyst electrode which provides a high selectivity for CO2 conversion; the realization of an electrochemical CO2 conversion stack system has laid the groundwork for commercialization
IMAGE: ENLARGED SCHEMATIC OF THE CU-KOH ELECTRODE. view more
CREDIT: KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY(KIST)
Studies on electrochemical CO2 conversion systems which can be used to obtain useful chemicals through conventional petrochemical processes while eliminating CO2, without polluting the environment, are essential for creating a carbon-neutral society. While significant progress has been made through a number of relevant studies, thus far, they have only been laboratory-scale in size. In fact, there are still many roadblocks to industrial application, such as the scaling up and development of suitable catalysts and electrodes.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), announced that a research team of Clean Energy Research Center, led by Dr. Hyung-Suk Oh, Dr. Yoon-Jung Hwang, and Dr. Woong-Hui Lee, has developed a sea urchin-shaped nano copper catalyst for a high-efficiency electrochemical CO2 conversion system that yields ethylene and ethanol, as well as a related system for mass production of the catalyst.
The urchin-shaped catalyst developed by the research team at KIST is capable of producing large quantities of ethylene, a petroleum-based substance used to manufacture various everyday products, including plastics, synthetic rubber, and construction materials. The catalyst features an array of irregularly-shaped needles and is similar in appearance to a sea urchin. This unique design enables increased catalytic activity by way of the sharp needle tips. Use of this catalyst conferred higher selective ethylene production at a lower voltage than conventional copper catalysts, improving the yield of ethylene by over 50%. Moreover, the establishment of a mass production system through the stacking of multiple layers of CO2 conversion cells confirms the potential for commercialization of the catalyst.
The research team performed various real-time (in-situ/operando) analyses to observe the chemical properties of the catalyst during reactions. Their results confirmed that carbon dioxide conversion efficiency increased as a result of the higher copper hydroxide and copper oxide content due to the alkaline substances which had been added to the team's catalyst. Based on their findings, it was identified that increasing the proportion of copper hydroxide and copper oxide during reactions is key to increasing the efficiency of ethylene production, which presented direction for designing the catalyst in future studies.
Dr. Hyung-Suk Oh of KIST stated that "this study has enabled us to significantly enhance the performance and scale of electrochemical CO2 conversion systems through the development of a sea urchin-shaped nano copper catalyst with added alkaline substances for large surface area conversion applications, which also presented direction for future research and development." He also mentioned that "the findings of this study are expected to make a substantial contribution to the commercialization of an electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion system."
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The study was conducted as part of KIST's key project and Next-Generation Carbon Resources Project supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). The findings of this study were published in the latest issue of the international journal "Nano Energy."
CAPTION
Schematic illustration of a three-cell stack with a zero-gap configuration. The humidified CO2 (99.999%) at 80? and 1M KOH solution flowed parallel to the cathode and anode, respectively.
