The agglomeration of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in water makes the development of rGO inks for supercapacitor printing challenging. Cellulose nanofiber (CNF), a biodegradable and renewable nanomaterial, can act as a nanospacer, preventing the agglomeration and restacking of rGO flakes. In this work, rGO/CNF films were fabricated using an environmentally friendly water-based rGO/CNF ink. In the absence of an additional binder/surfactant, the rGO/CNF films demonstrated remarkably enhanced hydrophilicity while retaining good electrical conductivity. The concentration of CNF was varied to observe the variation in the electrochemical performance. At a current density of 1 mA/cm2, the rGO/CNF-15 film exhibited a maximum areal capacitance of 98.61 mF/cm2, closely matching that of pure rGO films. Because of its excellent electrical performance, ease of manufacturing, and environmental friendliness, this water-based rGO/CNF ink may have promising applications in the printing of supercapacitor electrodes.
Event-related potentials (ERPs) are tiny electrical brain responses in the human electroencephalogram that are typically not detectable until they are isolated by a process of signal averaging. Owing to the extremely smallsize of ERP components (ranging from less than 1 μV to tens of μV), compared to background brain rhythms, statistical analyses of ERPs are predominantly carried out in groups of subjects. This limitation is a barrier to the translation of ERP-based neuroscience to applications such as medical diagnostics. We show here that support vector machines (SVMs) are a useful method to detect ERP components in individual subjects with a small set of electrodes and a small number of trials for a mismatch negativity (MMN) ERP component. Such a reduced experiment setup is important for clinical applications. One hundred healthy individuals were presented with an auditory pattern containing pattern-violating deviants to evoke the MMN. Two-class SVMs were then trained to classify averaged ERP waveforms in response to the standard tone (tones that match the pattern) and deviant tone stimuli (tones that violate the pattern). The influence of kernel type, number of epochs, electrode selection, and temporal window size in the averaged waveform were explored. When using all electrodes, averages of all available epochs, and a temporal window from 0 to 900-ms post-stimulus, a linear SVM achieved 94.5 % accuracy. Further analyses using SVMs trained with narrower, sliding temporal windows confirmed the sensitivity of the SVM to data in the latency range associated with the MMN.
Event-related potentials (ERPs) may provide a non-invasive index of brain function for a range of clinical applications. However, as a lab-based technique, ERPs are limited by technical challenges that prevent full integration into clinical settings.
The mountains of Borneo are well known for their high endemicity and historical role in preserving Southeast Asian rainforest biodiversity, but the diversification of populations inhabiting these mountains is poorly studied. Here we examine the genetic structure of 12 Bornean montane passerines by comparing complete mtDNA ND2 gene sequences of populations spanning the island. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks are examined for common patterns that might signal important historical events or boundaries to dispersal. Morphological and ecological characteristics of each species are also examined using phylogenetic generalized least-squares (PGLS) for correlation with population structure. Populations in only four of the 12 species are subdivided into distinct clades or haplotype groups. Although this subdivision occurred at about the same time in each species (ca. 0.6-0.7Ma), the spatial positioning of the genetic break differs among the species. In two species, northeastern populations are genetically divergent from populations elsewhere on the island. In the other two species, populations in the main Bornean mountain chain, including the northeast, are distinct from those on two isolated peaks in northwestern Borneo. We suggest different historical forces played a role in shaping these two distributions, despite commonality in timing. PGLS analysis showed that only a single characteristic-hand-wing index-is correlated with population structure. Birds with longer wings, and hence potentially more dispersal power, have less population structure. To understand historical forces influencing montane population structure on Borneo, future studies must compare populations across the entirety of Sundaland.
PURPOSE: Since hypoxia increases erythropoietin production and inflammation, the complete blood count (CBC) has been proposed as an inexpensive alternative for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening. The objective of this study was to determine whether or not intermittent hypoxia and OSA severity, as measured by the mean oxygen saturation (SpO2) and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), affect parameters measured by the CBC.
METHODS: This retrospective study included a total of 941 surgical patients who had a pre-operative home sleep study. The pre-operative CBC was extracted from the electronic patient records. Patients were stratified according to their AHI scores, into mild (AHI ≥ 5 -
Pollution by chemicals and waste impacts human and ecosystem health on regional, national, and global scales, resulting, together with climate change and biodiversity loss, in a triple planetary crisis. Consequently, in 2022, countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental science-policy panel (SPP) on chemicals, waste, and pollution prevention, complementary to the existing intergovernmental science-policy bodies on climate change and biodiversity. To ensure the SPP's success, it is imperative to protect it from conflicts of interest (COI). Here, we (i) define and review the implications of COI, and its relevance for the management of chemicals, waste, and pollution; (ii) summarize established tactics to manufacture doubt in favor of vested interests, i.e., to counter scientific evidence and/or to promote misleading narratives favorable to financial interests; and (iii) illustrate these with selected examples. This analysis leads to a review of arguments for and against chemical industry representation in the SPP's work. We further (iv) rebut an assertion voiced by some that the chemical industry should be directly involved in the panel's work because it possesses data on chemicals essential for the panel's activities. Finally, (v) we present steps that should be taken to prevent the detrimental impacts of COI in the work of the SPP. In particular, we propose to include an independent auditor's role in the SPP to ensure that participation and processes follow clear COI rules. Among others, the auditor should evaluate the content of the assessments produced to ensure unbiased representation of information that underpins the SPP's activities.
Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard.