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Air pollution and climate change are potential drivers for the increasing burden of allergic diseases. The molecular mechanisms by which air pollutants and climate parameters may influence allergic diseases, however, are complex and elusive. This article provides an overview of physical, chemical and biological interactions between air pollution, climate change, allergens, adjuvants and the immune system, addressing how these interactions may promote the development of allergies. We reviewed and synthesized key findings from atmospheric, climate, and biomedical research. The current state of knowledge, open questions, and future research perspectives are outlined and discussed. The Anthropocene, as the present era of globally pervasive anthropogenic influence on planet Earth and, thus, on the human environment, is characterized by a strong increase of carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, and combustion- or traffic-related particulate matter in the atmosphere. These environmental factors can enhance the abundance and induce chemical modifications of allergens, increase oxidative stress in the human body, and skew the immune system toward allergic reactions. In particular, air pollutants can act as adjuvants and alter the immunogenicity of allergenic proteins, while climate change affects the atmospheric abundance and human exposure to bioaerosols and aeroallergens. To fully understand and effectively mitigate the adverse effects of air pollution and climate change on allergic diseases, several challenges remain to be resolved. Among these are the identification and quantification of immunochemical reaction pathways involving allergens and adjuvants under relevant environmental and physiological conditions.

It is unclear whether suicides by different methods are distinguishable by their sociodemographic or clinical characteristics. We set out to investigate whether completed suicides by different methods show disparities in their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Within the National Suicide Prevention Project in Finland, all 1,397 suicides occurring April 1, 1987, through March 31, 1988, were investigated using the psychological autopsy method. Disparities were found in characteristics of suicide completers using different methods. Intoxication suicides were more often female and had a history of both previous attempts and psychiatric treatment, whereas suicides by shooting were the opposite in character. Victims using vehicle exhaust gas were most frequently younger males who had experienced a recent interpersonal loss or other adverse event and committed suicide while intoxicated with alcohol. Thus, typical characteristics associate with certain suicide methods, probably due to differences in availability and acceptability of the methods. Various restrictions on the availability of suicide methods are likely to exert their possible impact on somewhat different subpopulations at risk. In terms of suicide prevention, it seems reasonable to target availability restrictions for certain identifiable groups of potential suicide attempters. For instance, carefulness in the practice of prescribing of intoxicating substances to particular psychiatric patients seems justified.

Due to their high theoretical capacity, transition metal oxide compounds are promising electrode materials for lithium‐ion batteries. However, one drawback is associated with relevant capacity fluctuations during cycling, widely observed in the literature. Such strong capacity variation can result in practical problems when positive and negative electrode materials have to be matched in a full cell. Herein, the study of ZnMn2O4 (ZMO) in a nonconventional electrolyte based on 3‐cyanopropionic acid methyl ester (CPAME) solvent and LiPF6 salt is reported for the first time. Although ZMO in LiPF6/CPAME electrolyte displays a dramatic capacity decay during the first cycles, it shows promising cycling ability and a suppressed capacity fluctuation when vinylene carbonate (VC) is used as an additive to the CPAME‐based electrolyte. To understand the nature of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), the electrochemical study is correlated to ex situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

This study examines the effects of oil supply and global demand shocks on the volatility of commodity prices in the metal and agricultural commodity markets using the SVAR model. The empirical evidence is based on real time daily closing international commodity prices covering the period 2 December 2019 to 1 October 2020. The findings are presented in cumulative impulse responses and variance decompositions. The former is utilized to examine the accumulated influence of structural shocks on the volatility of agricultural and metal commodities whereas the latter reflect the share of variation in the volatility of each commodity arising from each structural shock. Various patterns are provided on how metal and agricultural commodity prices have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy implications are discussed.

Abstract Electrochromic glazing allows the solar energy gain and daylighting in buildings and cars to be controlled. Here we report new results about a special type of electrochromic device. It consists of an electrochromic layer (WO 3 ) on a transparent electrode, an electrolyte containing Li + cations and a redox system (I − /I 3 − ), and a catalyst (Pt) on a second transparent electrode. The electrolyte is based on gelled ionic liquids. The change in the transmittance is extremely high; the visible (solar) transmittance can be switched between 63% (46%) and 1.2% (0.7%). A segmented 30×30 cm 2 sample with conductor paths reduces the transmittance by a factor of 10 in 8 s.

The participation of citizens in scientific research has a long tradition, and in some disciplines, especially medical research, it is even common practice. In Technology Assessment (TA), Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), and Sustainable Development (SD), the participation of citizens can be of considerable value. In this paper, we explore this value for three concepts, based on the researcher’s insights from three participatory research projects. The first project is the citizen science project TeQfor1, which was conducted with, for, and on the type 1 diabetes community, who do not feel adequately supported by the conventional health care system. In the second project, citizens with vision impairments participated in the technological development of an audio-tactile navigation tool in the TERRAIN project. The third project (Nachtlichter) dealt with light pollution. Based on the three projects presented, we show that citizen participation makes specific contributions to TA, RRI, and SD. We also investigate the specificity of citizen engagement and motivation by differentiating between existing and emerging involvement. In conclusion, we discuss the benefits that may be added by participatory approaches for the three concepts of TA, RRI, and SD.

Time-resolved formation of micro-structured mossy/dendritic lithium is investigated during battery cycling byoperandoEPR spectroscopy, using a novel electrochemical cell design.

Subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is a common occurrence in alcoholic men but has been claimed to be absent or very rare in alcoholic women. M-mode echocardiography was performed to study LV size, mass and systolic function, and Doppler ultrasound to study LV filling in 14 chronic female alcoholics aged 24 to 48 years and in 2 age-matched control groups consisting of 17 healthy women and 22 alcoholic men. Compared with healthy women, female alcoholics had no differences in heart rate or blood pressure but a shorter LV end-diastolic diameter (mean +/- standard deviation, 46 +/- 4 vs 48 +/- 3 mm, p less than 0.05), lower fractional shortening (31 +/- 6 vs 34 +/- 3%, p less than 0.05), increased wall thickness to radius ratio (0.43 +/- 0.08 vs 0.37 +/- 0.05, p less than 0.05), reduced peak early diastolic transmitral velocity (45 +/- 11 vs 68 +/- 7 cm/s, p less than 0.001), reduced deceleration of the early diastolic velocity (-274 +/- 69 vs -572 +/- 107 cm/s2, p less than 0.001), and an increased atrial filling fraction (35 +/- 12 vs 27 +/- 5%, p less than 0.05). Although alcoholic men had a longer duration of heavy drinking than alcoholic women (median 19 vs 5 years, p less than 0.001), and a higher systolic blood pressure (140 +/- 17 vs 120 +/- 17 mm Hg, p less than 0.001), there were no statistically significant differences between the sexes either in LV diameters, wall thickness or mass normalized to body area, or in indexes of systolic or diastolic LV function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)