Fully wood based novel translucent and thermoplastic materials by solvent-free esterification

Wood has been investigated for bioplastic production because of its abundance and biorenewability to reduce dependence on petro-based plastics. A series of experiments have been carried out to graft myristic acid, chosen as the fatty acid model, onto spruce sawdust using trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) as the impelling agent without any solvent. The reaction was performed rapidly, leading to high ester content. Most of the hydroxyl groups in wood structure reacted with myristic acid, as demonstrated by FTIR and CPMAS ¹³C NMR. XRD measurements indicated a decrease in wood crystallinity. Myristic acid-esterified wood showed higher thermal stability by TGA and DSC and delivered several softening temperatures, as observed by TMA. Thermoplastic and translucent films were obtained after pressing at a high temperature. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that pressed esterified wood at the high temperature showed complete disappearance of fibrous structure to a smooth and homogenous surface, indicating that thermal fluidity was achieved during pressing. Esterified sawdust film also showed surface hydrophobicity by contact angle measurements.

New translucent and thermoplastic materials were prepared using spruce sawdust esterified by myristic acid with trifluoroacetic anhydride as the impelling agent at room temperature without any solvent.     

Therapeutic vaccines for tuberculosis—A systematic review

For eradication of tuberculosis (TB) by 2050, the declared aim of the Stop TB Partnership, novel treatment strategies are indispensable. The emerging epidemic of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB has fuelled the debate about TB vaccines, as increasing numbers of patients can no longer be cured by pharmacotherapy. Of several proposed modalities, TB vaccines administered in therapeutic manner represents a promising alternative, despite the controversial history due to the occurrence of exacerbated immune response. A modified concept of immunotherapy is required in order to justify further exploration. In this paper we systematically reviewed the most advanced therapeutic vaccines for TB. We address the rationale of immunotherapeutic vaccination combined with optimized pharmacotherapy in active TB. We summarize preclinical and patient data regarding the five most advanced therapeutic vaccines currently in the pipeline. Of the five products that have been tested in animal models and in humans during active or latent TB, the quality of the published clinical reports of two of these products justify further studies in patients with active TB. This systematic review fuels further clinical evaluation eventually including head-to-head comparative studies.     

The effect of a community-based spiritual life review program on Indonesian elders’ resilience

Objective

This quasi-experimental, pre-/post-test study aimed to examine the effect of a community-based spiritual life review program on the resilience of elders residing in a disaster-prone area.

Targeting multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) by therapeutic vaccines

Tuberculosis (TB) has scourged humankind for millennia, and latent infection affects nearly one-third of today’s world population. The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB is a major global threat and reflects treatment failure of drug-sensitive disease. MDR-TB management is a burden for patients and society; success rates are unacceptably low with prolonged treatment duration. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) possesses the ability to transform into a dormant state in which it can persist in the face of antimicrobial treatment and host defense. This sub-population of persisters is largely responsible for lengthy and difficult treatment. Targeting persistent bacilli could eventually improve the treatment success rate (currently 50–65 %) and shorten duration of treatment. A subset of therapies in the pipeline, termed therapeutic vaccines, use the host immune response to attack Mtb. The historical occurrence of an exacerbated host response has resulted in a negative perception of therapeutic vaccines. Thus, a renewed concept of immunotherapy is needed. We review current perspectives of immunotherapy in MDR-TB based on the knowledge of TB immunology and briefly discuss the profiles of several therapeutic vaccine products.     

Polymorphisms of the dopamine metabolic and signaling pathways are associated with susceptibility to motor levodopa-induced complications (MLIC) in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Neurological Sciences - Dopamine replacement therapy remains the gold standard for symptomatic management of Parkinson’s disease worldwide. However, most patients will develop debilitating...     

Correction: Solid-state nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles with tunable emission prepared by a microwave-assisted method

Correction for ‘Solid-state nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles with tunable emission prepared by a microwave-assisted method’ by Fitri Aulia Permatasari et al., RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 39917–39923, DOI: 10.1039/D1RA07290K.

The authors regret that affiliation a was incorrectly given in the original article. The correct affiliations are listed in this correction notice.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.     

Cognitive-Decision-Making Issues for Software Agents

Rational decision making depends on what one believes, what one desires, and what one knows. In conventional decision models, beliefs are represented by probabilities and desires are represented by utilities. Software agents are knowledgeable entities capable of managing their own set of beliefs and desires, and they can decide upon the next operation to execute autonomously. They are also interactive entities capable of filtering communications and managing dialogues. Knowledgeability includes representing knowledge about the external world, reasoning with it, and sharing it. Interactions include negotiations to perform tasks in cooperative, coordinative, and competitive ways. In this paper we focus on decision-making mechanisms for agent-based systems on the basis of agent interaction. We identify possible interaction scenarios and define mechanisms for decision making in uncertain environments. It is believed that software agents will become the underlying technology that offers the capability of distribution of competence, control, and information for the next generation of ubiquitous, distributed, and heterogeneous information systems.     

Glacial forcing of central Indonesian hydroclimate since 60,000 y B.P.

The Indo-Pacific warm pool houses the largest zone of deep atmospheric convection on Earth and plays a critical role in global climate variations. Despite the region’s importance, changes in Indo-Pacific hydroclimate on orbital timescales remain poorly constrained. Here we present high-resolution geochemical records of surface runoff and vegetation from sediment cores from Lake Towuti, on the island of Sulawesi in central Indonesia, that continuously span the past 60,000 y. We show that wet conditions and rainforest ecosystems on Sulawesi present during marine isotope stage 3 (MIS3) and the Holocene were interrupted by severe drying between ∼33,000 and 16,000 y B.P. when Northern Hemisphere ice sheets expanded and global temperatures cooled. Our record reveals little direct influence of precessional orbital forcing on regional climate, and the similarity between MIS3 and Holocene climates observed in Lake Towuti suggests that exposure of the Sunda Shelf has a weaker influence on regional hydroclimate and terrestrial ecosystems than suggested previously. We infer that hydrological variability in this part of Indonesia varies strongly in response to high-latitude climate forcing, likely through reorganizations of the monsoons and the position of the intertropical convergence zone. These findings suggest an important role for the tropical western Pacific in amplifying glacial–interglacial climate variability.Three major zones of deep atmospheric convection energize the Earth’s moisture and energy budgets: tropical Africa, the Amazon, and the Indo-Pacific. Convection over the Indo-Pacific warm pool (IPWP) is by far the largest of these, and exerts enormous influence on global climate through its role in coupled ocean–atmosphere circulation (1, 2) and its influence on the concentration of atmospheric water vapor, which is the Earth’s most important greenhouse gas (3). Despite the region’s importance, variations in Indo-Pacific hydroclimate on orbital timescales remain poorly constrained.Climate models and theory predict that Indo-Pacific hydrology responds strongly to, and interacts with, glacial–interglacial climate variations (4–6). This prediction is partly borne out by terrestrial sedimentary records that suggest widespread drying across the IPWP during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; refs. 7, 8) between 19,000 and 26,000 y ago (9). Unfortunately, many of these records are relatively short and discontinuous, limiting their utility to detect the relationship between regional climate change and global forcing. New, long, high-resolution oxygen isotopic (δ¹⁸O) records from speleothems from northern Borneo paint a very different picture of Indo-Pacific paleoclimate, suggesting that orbital-scale changes in regional convection are dominantly controlled by changes in equatorial insolation driven by orbital precession (10). On the other hand, marine sedimentary runoff records from southern Java imply little change in IPWP hydrology at glacial–interglacial timescales (11). Given this disagreement, new records—especially long proxy records that respond strongly to precipitation—are needed to understand the response of Indo-Pacific climate to glacial–interglacial climate change and forcing.Indonesia lies at the center of the IPWP and has thousands of lakes, the sediments of which represent a largely untapped archive of the region’s hydrologic history. Here we present a 60 thousand y (ky) B.P. record of IPWP hydrology from the sediments of Lake Towuti, located on the island of Sulawesi in central Indonesia (Fig. 1). Lake Towuti is the largest tectonic lake in Indonesia, and at 205 m depth, its sediments preserve perhaps the longest and most continuous terrestrial record of climate available from the region. In 2007–2010, we recovered 13 sediment piston cores from Lake Towuti; here we focus on the most continuous radiocarbon-dated stratigraphy from core TOW10-9B (Material and Methods and Fig. S1 and Tables S1 and S2).Open in a separate windowFig. 1.(Upper) A map of Indonesia showing the location of Lake Towuti and regional records discussed in the text. (Lower) A regional map showing the location of Lake Towuti (2.5°S, 121.5°E) within central Sulawesi.     

Vaccination against the Old World screwworm fly (Chrysomya bezziana)

Chrysomya bezziana is an endemic pest of livestock or a threat to livestock production in large areas of Africa, the Middle East, southern and south-east Asia and Australia. Its control is difficult. The feasibility of vaccinating against this pest has now been explored. In-vitro and in-vivo assays have been established. Using these assays, it has been shown that first instar larvae, third instar peritrophic membrane and cardia are all sources of material able to induce immunological reactions in sheep which lead to significant reductions in larval growth. In-vitro assays following vaccination with peritrophic membrane also show larval mortality. Taken together, these effects lead to an 82% reduction in the weight of recovered larvae in vitro and 45% reduction in vivo. Preliminary evidence suggests that the mechanism of protection may be complex.     

Solid-state nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles with tunable emission prepared by a microwave-assisted method

Tunable emissive solid-state carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have been successfully synthesized by a facile synthesis through microwave irradiation. Modulating microwave interaction with the sample to generate abrupt localized heating is a long-term challenge to tailor the photoluminescence properties of CNPs. This study systematically revealed that the sample temperature through microwave irradiation plays a crucial role in controlling the photoluminescence properties over other reaction conditions, such as irradiation time and microwave duty cycle. When the sample temperature reached 155 °C in less than three minutes, the CNP sample exhibited a green-yellowish emission with the highest quantum yield (QY) of 14.6%. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) study revealed that the tunable photoluminescence properties of the CNPs can possibly be ascribed to their nitrogen concentrations, which were dictated by the sample temperature during irradiation. This study opens up a promising route for the well-controlled synthesis of luminescent CNPs through microwave irradiation.

Tunable emissive solid-state carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have been successfully synthesized by a facile synthesis through microwave irradiation.