Assessing the choice of smoke-free policies for multiunit housing and its associated determinants in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the desire for smoke-free housing, determine the choice of smoke-free policies for multiunit housing (MUH), and identify the factors associated with policy choice among MUH residents in Bangladesh. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study from April to November 2019 using a semi-structured survey questionnaire. SETTING: This study was conducted in seven divisional cities of Bangladesh: Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal, and Rangpur. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 616 adult individuals living in MUH for at least 2 years participated in the study. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of the choice of smoke-free policies for MUH. RESULTS: Overall, 94.8% of the respondents wanted smoke-free housing. Among those who wanted smoke-free housing, 44.9% preferred a smoke-free building policy, 28.3% preferred a smoke-free common area policy, 20.2% favoured a smoke-free unit policy, and 6.7% did not know what policy they should choose. Three factors were found to be significantly associated with the choice of a smoke-free building policy: staying at home for more than 12 hours (adjusted OR (aOR): 2.6; 95% CI 1.035 to 6.493), being a non-smoker (aOR: 3.2; 95% CI 1.317 to 7.582), and having at least one family member who smoked (aOR: 3.0; 95% CI 1.058 to 8.422). Results also showed that residents having at least one child under 15 in the family (aOR: 0.3; 95% CI 0.152 to 0.778) were less likely to choose a smoke-free common area policy and that women (aOR: 3.7; 95% CI 1.024 to 13.188) were more likely to choose a smoke-free unit policy. CONCLUSIONS: MUH residents in urban Bangladesh highly demanded smoke-free housing. Most residents favoured a smoke-free building policy for MUH. Those who stayed at home for a longer time, were non-smokers, and had smoking family members were more likely to choose this policy.

Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect levels of burnout, anxiety and depression among doctors and nurses in Bangladesh? A cross-sectional survey study.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has caused severe disruption to clinical services in Bangladesh but the extent of this, and the impact on healthcare professionals is unclear. We aimed to assess the perceived levels of anxiety, depression and burnout among doctors and nurses during COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: We undertook an online survey using RedCap, directed at doctors and nurses across four institutions in Bangladesh (The Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver Institute & Hospital (SRNGIH), Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Mugda Medical College Hospital (MMCH) and M Abdur Rahim Medical College (MARMC) Hospital). We collected information on demographics, awareness of well-being services, COVID-19-related workload, as well as anxiety, depression and burnout using two validated questionnaires: the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). RESULTS: Of the 3000 participants approached, we received responses from 2705 (90.2%). There was a statistically significant difference in anxiety, depression and burnout scores across institutions (p<0.01). Anxiety, depression and burnout scores were statistically worse in COVID-19 active staff compared with those not working on COVID-19 activities (p<0.01 for HADS anxiety and depression and MBI emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA)). Over half of the participants exhibited some level of anxiety (SRNGIH: 52.2%; DMCH: 53.9%; MMCH: 61.3%; MARMC: 68%) with a high proportion experiencing depression (SRNGIH: 39.5%; DMCH: 38.7%; MMCH: 53.7%; MARMC: 41.1%). Although mean burnout scores were within the normal range for each institution, a high proportion of staff (almost 20% in some instances) were shown to be classified as experiencing burnout by their EE, DP and PA scores. CONCLUSION: We identified a high prevalence of perceived anxiety, depression and burnout among doctors and nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was worse in staff engaged in COVID-19-related activities. These findings could help healthcare organisations to plan for future similar events.

Prevalence and factors associated with depression and anxiety among COVID-19 survivors in Dhaka city.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global public health concern. Evidence shows that depression and anxiety are common among patients with COVID-19 after recovery. About one-third of the total COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh have been reported in Dhaka city. Therefore, the study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression and anxiety among COVID-19 survivors in Dhaka city as well as to identify the factors associated with these mental health conditions. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 384 COVID-19 survivors aged 18 years or older. Data collection was done through face-to-face and telephone interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scales were used to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of depression and anxiety among patients recovered from COVID-19. Results: The overall prevalence of depression and anxiety was 26.0% and 23.2%, respectively among COVID-19 survivors. The respondents who were ≥60 years were 2.62 and 3.02 times more likely to report depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively than those aged 18 to 39 years. Hospitalised patients recovered from COVID-19 had a 2.18 times higher chance of developing anxiety than their non-hospitalised counterparts. COVID-19 recovered patients with comorbidities were at 3.35 and 2.97 times higher risk of depression and anxiety, respectively compared to those without comorbidities. Similarly, the respondents who had already passed a period of 15 days to 3 months after recovery showed 3.06 and 1.85 times higher odds of depression and anxiety, respectively than those who had already passed a period of above 3 to 6 months after recovery. Conclusion: The study reported a high prevalence of depression and anxiety among COVID-19 survivors living in Dhaka city. The findings suggest the need for appropriate interventions to reduce mental health complications in COVID-19 survivors.

Testing the validity of Wagner's law in four income groups: A dynamic panel data analysis.

This study endeavors to examine the validity of Wagner's Law, which has received considerable attention in recent years. We develop a panel dataset of 20 countries, taking five countries from each income group defined by the World Bank, for the 1991-2018 periods. Five different versions of the law are tested using this dataset. We add further depth to the model by involve the government's revenue and the volume of trade as independent variables. We inquire into the subsistence of cross-sectional dependence. To determine the order of integration, we conduct LLC, IPS, and CADF tests. The results show that the dataset has I (0) and I (1) series, and no series is found to be of I (2). Then we perform the panel ARDL test, and calculate PMG and DFE estimates. We use the Hausman test to choose among the estimates. In each version of the law, the error correction term indicates the presence of both long-term associations within the variables and an economic convergence process. However, we find no evidence to support the law for any version. Additionally, we conduct the panel cointegration tests, such as Westerlund, Pedroni and Kao. These cointegration tests generate results accordant with the ARDL findings.

Cooperative Copper Single-Atom Catalyst in 2D Carbon Nitride for Enhanced CO2 Electrolysis to Methane.

Renewable-electricity-powered carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction (eCO2R) to high-value fuels like methane (CH4) holds the potential to close the carbon cycle at meaningful scales. However, this kinetically staggered 8-electron multistep reduction suffers from inadequate catalytic efficiency and current density. Atomic Cu-structures can boost eCO2R-to-CH4 selectivity due to enhanced intermediate binding energies (BEs) resulting from favorably shifted d-band centers. In this work, 2D carbon nitride (CN) matrices, viz. Na-polyheptazine (PHI) and Li-polytriazine imides (PTI), are exploited to host Cu-N2 type single-atom sites with high density (≈1.5 at%), via a facile metal-ion exchange process. Optimized Cu loading in nanocrystalline Cu-PTI maximizes eCO2R-to-CH4 performance with Faradaic efficiency (FECH4) of ≈68% and a high partial current density of 348 mA cm-2 at -0.84 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), surpassing the state-of-the-art catalysts. Multi-Cu substituted N-appended nanopores in the CN frameworks yield thermodynamically stable quasi-dual/triple sites with large interatomic distances dictated by the pore dimensions. First-principles calculations elucidate the relative Cu-CN cooperative effects between the matrices and how the Cu local environment dictates the adsorbate BEs, density of states, and CO2-to-CH4 energy profile landscape. The 9N pores in Cu-PTI yield cooperative Cu-Cu sites that synergistically enhance the kinetics of the rate-limiting steps in the eCO2R-to-CH4 pathway.

Partial Thermal Condensation Mediated Synthesis of High-Density Nickel Single Atom Sites on Carbon Nitride for Selective Photooxidation of Methane into Methanol.

Direct selective transformation of greenhouse methane (CH4) to liquid oxygenates (methanol) can substitute energy-intensive two-step (reforming/Fischer-Tropsch) synthesis while creating environmental benefits. The development of inexpensive, selective, and robust catalysts that enable room temperature conversion will decide the future of this technology. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with isolated active centers embedded in support have displayed significant promises in catalysis to drive challenging reactions. Herein, high-density Ni single atoms are developed and stabilized on carbon nitride (NiCN) via thermal condensation of preorganized Ni-coordinated melem units. The physicochemical characterization of NiCN with various analytical techniques including HAADF-STEM and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) validate the successful formation of Ni single atoms coordinated to the heptazine-constituted CN network. The presence of uniform catalytic sites improved visible absorption and carrier separation in densely populated NiCN SAC resulting in 100% selective photoconversion of (CH4) to methanol using H2O2 as an oxidant. The superior catalytic activity can be attributed to the generation of high oxidation (NiIII═O) sites and selective C─H bond cleavage to generate •CH3 radicals on Ni centers, which can combine with •OH radicals to generate CH3OH.

Modulating Cation and Water Transports for Enhanced CO Electrolysis via Ionomer Coating.

Electrification of the chemical industry has been considered an enabler for energy transition on a massive scale. In this context, carbon monoxide electroreduction (COR) to produce multi-carbon (C2+ ) products is considered one of the forefront emerging technologies. The key challenge in COR comes from the excessive cation crossover to the cathode via electromigration and water diffusion, which limits CO availability and impedes product selectivity. Commercial anion exchange membrane (AEM) suppresses the electromigration of cations, however, suffers from water diffusion which facilitates cation crossover. Here, we tackled these problems emerging from cation crossover and water diffusion by directly depositing an ultrathin Nafion ionomer on the cathode (sputtered Cu) surface. Our approach enables full-cell energy efficiency of 21 % for converting CO into ethylene (C2 H4 ) at 100 mA/cm2 with over 200 hours of stable operation. We also exhibited record high energy efficiency for ethanol (C2 H5 OH) production with CO-to-C2 H5 OH electrolysis efficiency of 17 %. This approach to directly depositing ultrathin ionomer on the cathode to enhance system performance may benefit other electrochemical systems to overcome challenges associated with scalability, stability, and efficiency to produce high-value chemicals.

Evaluating the ergonomic deficiencies in computer workstations and investigating their correlation with reported musculoskeletal disorders and visual symptoms among computer users in Bangladeshi university.

Nowadays, computer users are facing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and visual symptoms. Prolonged sitting in inappropriate, awkward, and static postures on the computer workstation may cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Similarly, inappropriate placement of monitors, illumination, and other factors such as prolonged usage of computers are related to visual symptoms. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the ergonomic deficiencies of computer workstations and their correlation with MSDs and visual symptoms. METHODS: This study involved 271 university employees from a Bangladeshi engineering university. Ergonomic deficiencies were evaluated through direct observations and Occupational Safety and Health Administration checklists. In addition, the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of MSDs and visual discomforts. Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) analysis was also used to examine the correlation between musculoskeletal symptoms and ergonomic deficiencies. RESULTS: Results showed serious deficiencies in workstation setup, seating arrangement, monitor orientations, keyboard orientations, other input device orientations, and accessory setup. Employees reported that the MSDs in different body regions during the last 12 months including lower back (62 %), upper back (53 %), shoulders (47 %), and neck (25 %). Moreover, itchy eyes (69 %), tired eyes (83 %), and unclear vision (56.83 %) were the most common visual discomforts or visual symptoms among the participants. Results also revealed that monitor ergonomics and its orientation deficits were significantly associated with visual discomforts. Gender, job type, age, BMI, work experience, duration of computer work, and beak taking after 2 h were the independent variables reliably predicting the MSDs and visual symptoms. CONCLUSION: It is evident that MSDs and visual symptoms were associated with computer workstation deficiencies and other work-related factors.

Towards green economy and sustainable development in Bangladesh: assessing the role of social and environmental indicators.

The evolution towards a green economy integrating social, economic, and environmental concerns has opened a new window to pursue the sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially for emerging nations. Nonetheless, despite being a pressing concern on a global scale, empirical research into the potential for green economy development in the context of Bangladesh has remained notably inadequate. To fill this void, this study is an attempt to evaluate the connection among economic growth, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, education, life expectancy, and technology to conclude the ecological and socio-economic repercussions of a green economy in Bangladesh's framework of achieving SDGs. Considering the statistical features of the annual data from 1990 to 2019, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method has been employed to analyze the connections between the chosen variables. The empirical outcomes show that an upsurge in CO2 is accompanied by a 3.66% increase in GDP over the long term, suggesting a positive and statistically significant relationship between the two variables. In addition, GDP increases by about 4.2% for every 1% increase in life expectancy. However, the relationship between technological innovation and education found an insignificant positive linkage with GDP. The most important takeaway from these findings is that the growth of Bangladesh's economy is occurring at the expense of the environment. Hence, this research recommends that, as a developing nation, Bangladesh should concentrate on environment-friendly alternatives, which can be done through the introduction of a green economy to achieve a sustainably developed economy.

Multifunctional carbon nitride nanoarchitectures for catalysis.

Catalysis is at the heart of modern-day chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and there is an urgent demand to develop metal-free, high surface area, and efficient catalysts in a scalable, reproducible and economic manner. Amongst the ever-expanding two-dimensional materials family, carbon nitride (CN) has emerged as the most researched material for catalytic applications due to its unique molecular structure with tunable visible range band gap, surface defects, basic sites, and nitrogen functionalities. These properties also endow it with anchoring capability with a large number of catalytically active sites and provide opportunities for doping, hybridization, sensitization, etc. To make considerable progress in the use of CN as a highly effective catalyst for various applications, it is critical to have an in-depth understanding of its synthesis, structure and surface sites. The present review provides an overview of the recent advances in synthetic approaches of CN, its physicochemical properties, and band gap engineering, with a focus on its exclusive usage in a variety of catalytic reactions, including hydrogen evolution reactions, overall water splitting, water oxidation, CO2 reduction, nitrogen reduction reactions, pollutant degradation, and organocatalysis. While the structural design and band gap engineering of catalysts are elaborated, the surface chemistry is dealt with in detail to demonstrate efficient catalytic performances. Burning challenges in catalytic design and future outlook are elucidated.

Secondhand smoke exposure and associated factors among city residents living in multiunit housing in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Secondhand smoke (SHS) poses a high health risk to those living in multiunit housing (MUH) since it can easily spread from unit to unit and throughout the building's communal areas. MUH residents in Bangladesh are particularly vulnerable to SHS due to the absence of smoking restrictions within a housing complex. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of SHS exposure and its associated factors among MUH residents living in seven divisional cities of Bangladesh- Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barishal, and Rangpur. METHODS: From April 2019 to November 2019, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 616 MUH residents aged 18 or older who had been residing in MUH for at least two years in the seven divisional cities of Bangladesh. A multivariable logistic regression model was performed to determine the associated factors of SHS exposure. RESULTS: In MUH complexes, more than half (54.9%) of the 616 respondents were exposed to SHS. The key factors positively associated with SHS exposure were females (aOR: 1.8, 95% CI:1.236-2.681), residents with a low monthly family income (aOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.162-3.220), those whose family members smoked (aOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.537-3.746), and Dhaka city residents (aOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.013-3.440). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a high prevalence of SHS exposure among Bangladeshi MUH residents. Therefore, a smoking ban is needed in and around MUH complexes to protect non-smoking residents from SHS exposure.

Biophysical and biochemical nature of amorphous protein oligomers determines the strength of immune response and the generation of T-cell memory.

Here, we used domain 3 of dengue virus serotype 3 envelope protein (D3ED3), a natively folded globular low-immunogenicity protein, to ask whether the biophysical nature of amorphous oligomers can affect immunogenicity. We prepared nearly identical 30 ~ 50 nm-sized amorphous oligomers in five distinct ways and looked at any correlation between their biophysical properties and immunogenicity. One oligomer type was produced using our SCP tag (solubility controlling peptide) made of 5 isoleucines (C5I). The others were prepared by miss-shuffling the SS bonds (Ms), heating (Ht), stirring (St) and freeze-thaw (FT). Dynamic light scattering showed that all five formulations contained oligomers of approximately identical sizes with hydrodynamic radii (Rh) between 30 and 55 nm. Circular dichroism (cd) indicated that the secondary structure content of oligomers formed by stirring and freeze-thaw was essentially identical to that of the native monomeric D3ED3. The secondary structure content of the Ms showed moderate changes, whereas the C5I and heat-induced (Ht) oligomers exhibited a significant change. The Ms contained D3ED3 with intermolecular SS bonds as assessed by nonreducing size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Immunization in JcL:ICR mice showed that both C5I and Ms significantly increased the anti-D3ED3 IgG titre. Ht, St and FT were only mildly immunogenic, similar to the monomeric D3ED3. Cell surface CD marker analysis by flow cytometry confirmed that immunization with Ms generated a strong central and effector T-cell memory. Our observations indeed suggest that controlled oligomerization can provide a new, adjuvant-free method for increasing a protein's immunogenicity, yielding a potentially powerful platform for protein-based (subunit) vaccines.

Ecological footprint in Bangladesh: Identifying the intensity of economic complexity and natural resources.

Recent years have seen a spike in the number of academics utilizing the ecological footprint as a stand-in for environmental depletion because of its extensive nature and its ability to capture the worsening of the ecosystem. Thus, this article brings a new effort to analyze the effect of Bangladesh's economic complexity and natural resources on its ecological footprint over a long period, from 1995 to 2018. Using a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model, this paper suggests that a more complex economy has a significantly positive effect on ecological footprint over the long term. If the economy is simplified, it has less impact on the environment. For Bangladesh, an increase in economic complexity of 1 unit leads to an ecological footprint increase of 0.13 units, while a drop in economic complexity of 1% causes an ecological footprint decrease of 0.41%. Results also demonstrate that both positive and negative changes in natural resources contribute to rises in environmental quality in Bangladesh, which negatively influences the country's ecological footprint. Quantitatively, a 1% increase in natural resources reduces the ecological footprint by 0.14%, whereas a 1% decrease in resources has the opposite effect, reducing it by 0.59%. In addition, an asymmetric Granger causality test confirms the existence of a unidirectional causal link from ecological footprint to a positive partial sum of natural resources and from a negative partial sum of natural resources to ecological footprint. Finally, the findings point to a two-way causal relationship between the size of an economy's ecological footprint and the complexity of its economy. Policymakers should boost technological advances and lessen operational costs by adopting an innovative Research and development framework and devoting more cash to natural resource policies that promote an adaptable ecological footprint.

Lignocellulosic biomass valorization via bio-photo/electro hybrid catalytic systems.

Lignocellulosic biomass valorization is regarded as a promising approach to alleviate energy crisis and achieve carbon neutrality. Bioactive enzymes have attracted great attention and been commonly applied for biomass valorization owing to their high selectivity and catalytic efficiency under environmentally benign reaction conditions. Same as biocatalysis, photo-/electro-catalysis also happens at mild conditions (i.e., near ambient temperature and pressure). Therefore, the combination of these different catalytic approaches to benefit from their resulting synergy is appealing. In such hybrid systems, harness of renewable energy from the photo-/electro-catalytic compartment can be combined with the unique selectivity of biocatalysts, therefore providing a more sustainable and greener approach to obtain fuels and value-added chemicals from biomass. In this review, we firstly introduce the pros/cons, classifications, and the applications of photo-/electro-enzyme coupled systems. Then we focus on the fundamentals and comprehensive applications of the most representative biomass-active enzymes including lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), glucose oxidase (GOD)/dehydrogenase (GDH) and lignin peroxidase (LiP), together with other biomass-active enzymes in the photo-/electro- enzyme coupled systems. Finally, we propose current deficiencies and future perspectives of biomass-active enzymes to be applied in the hybrid catalytic systems for global biomass valorization.

One-pot sequential cascade reaction for selective gluconic acid production from cellulose photobiorefining.

We demonstrate the feasibility of cellulose photobiocatalytic conversion with >75% cellulose conversion and >75% gluconic acid selectivity from converted glucose. This process is realized via a one-pot sequential cascade reaction by cellulase enzymes and a carbon nitride photocatalyst that can realize selective glucose photoreforming into gluconic acid. Cellulase enzymes breakdown cellulose into glucose, which will subsequently be converted into gluconic acid by essential oxidative species (˙O2- and ˙OH) via a selective photocatalysis process with simultaneous H2O2 formation. This work demonstrates a good example to realize direct cellulose photobiorefining into value-added chemicals via the photo-bio hybrid system.

High-Density Cobalt Single-Atom Catalysts for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Single atom catalysts (SACs) possess unique catalytic properties due to low-coordination and unsaturated active sites. However, the demonstrated performance of SACs is limited by low SAC loading, poor metal-support interactions, and nonstable performance. Herein, we report a macromolecule-assisted SAC synthesis approach that enabled us to demonstrate high-density Co single atoms (10.6 wt % Co SAC) in a pyridinic N-rich graphenic network. The highly porous carbon network (surface area of ∼186 m2 g-1) with increased conjugation and vicinal Co site decoration in Co SACs significantly enhanced the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 1 M KOH (η10 at 351 mV; mass activity of 2209 mA mgCo-1 at 1.65 V) with more than 300 h stability. Operando X-ray absorption near-edge structure demonstrates the formation of electron-deficient Co-O coordination intermediates, accelerating OER kinetics. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the facile electron transfer from cobalt to oxygen species-accelerated OER.

Bifunctional Gas Diffusion Electrode Enables In Situ Separation and Conversion of CO2 to Ethylene from Dilute Stream.

The requirement of concentrated carbon dioxide (CO2 ) feedstock significantly limits the economic feasibility of electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2 R) which often involves multiple intermediate processes, including CO2 capture, energy-intensive regeneration, compression, and transportation. Herein, a bifunctional gas diffusion electrode (BGDE) for separation and eCO2 R from a low-concentration CO2 stream is reported. The BGDE is demonstrated for the selective production of ethylene (C2 H4 ) by combining high-density-polyethylene-derived porous carbon (HPC) as a physisorbent with polycrystalline copper as a conversion catalyst. The BGDE shows substantial tolerance to 10 vol% CO2 exhibiting a Faradaic efficiency of ≈45% toward C2 H4 at a current density of 80 mA cm-2 , outperforming previous reports that utilized such partial pressure (PCO2 = 0.1 atm and above) and unaltered polycrystalline copper. Molecular dynamics simulation and mixed gas permeability assessment reveal that such selective performance is ensured by high CO2 uptake of the microporous HPC as well as continuous desorption owing to the molecular diffusion and concentration gradient created by the binary flow of CO2 and nitrogen (CO2 |N2 ) within the sorbent boundary. Based on detailed techno-economic analysis, it is concluded that this in situ process can be economically compelling by precluding the C2 H4 production cost associated with the energy-intensive intermediate steps of the conventional decoupled process.

Plastic Waste: Challenges and Opportunities to Mitigate Pollution and Effective Management.

The present world is now facing the challenge of proper management and resource recovery of the enormous amount of plastic waste. Lack of technical skills for managing hazardous waste, insufficient infrastructure development for recycling and recovery, and above all, lack of awareness of the rules and regulations are the key factors behind this massive pile of plastic waste. The severity of plastic pollution exerts an adverse effect on the environment and total ecosystem. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of plastic waste generation, as well as its effect on the human being and ecological system, is discussed in terms of source identification with respect to developed and developing countries. A detailed review of the existing waste to energy and product conversion strategies is presented in this study. Moreover, this study sheds light on sustainable waste management procedures and identifies the key challenges to adopting effective measures to minimise the negative impact of plastic waste.

Antibody-mediated SARS-CoV-2 entry in cultured cells.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters host cells by first engaging its cellular receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to induce conformational changes in the virus-encoded spike protein and fusion between the viral and target cell membranes. Here, we report that certain monoclonal neutralizing antibodies against distinct epitopic regions of the receptor-binding domain of the spike can replace ACE2 to serve as a receptor and efficiently support membrane fusion and viral infectivity in vitro. These receptor-like antibodies can function in the form of a complex of their soluble immunoglobulin G with Fc-gamma receptor I, a chimera of their antigen-binding fragment with the transmembrane domain of ACE2 or a membrane-bound B cell receptor, indicating that ACE2 and its specific interaction with the spike protein are dispensable for SARS-CoV-2 entry. These results suggest that antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 may help expand the viral tropism to otherwise nonpermissive cell types with potential implications for viral transmission and pathogenesis.

Sustainable valorization of asphaltenes via flash joule heating.

The refining process of petroleum crude oil generates asphaltenes, which poses complicated problems during the production of cleaner fuels. Following refining, asphaltenes are typically combusted for reuse as fuel or discarded into tailing ponds and landfills, leading to economic and environmental disruption. Here, we show that low-value asphaltenes can be converted into a high-value carbon allotrope, asphaltene-derived flash graphene (AFG), via the flash joule heating (FJH) process. After successful conversion, we develop nanocomposites by dispersing AFG into a polymer effectively, which have superior mechanical, thermal, and corrosion-resistant properties compared to the bare polymer. In addition, the life cycle and technoeconomic analysis show that the FJH process leads to reduced environmental impact compared to the traditional processing of asphaltene and lower production cost compared to other FJH precursors. Thus, our work suggests an alternative pathway to the existing asphaltene processing that directs toward a higher value stream while sequestering downstream emissions from the processing.