Robust optimization with equity and efficiency framework for basin-wide water resources planning.

This study proposes an equitable and effective water resource planning framework that handles competing regions and conflicting water departments within water-stressed watersheds under uncertainty. To cope with uncertainty, a robust optimization method based on an ellipsoidal uncertainty set is presented to keep the best solution viable and less conservative while attempting to find a balance between the reliability and optimum goals. The comprehensive framework consists of two predominant steps: equitable initial water allocation robust optimization programming, which employs the absolute difference between the supply and demand of water resources as the objective function and the Gini coefficient as the restricted condition, given that both surface water and groundwater are random, and subsequent effective water re-allocation robust modeling, which applies cooperative game theory to achieve maximum welfare in a river basin under uncertainty of the benefit coefficient. A realistic example of the Tuojiang River Basin was conducted, and the simulation experiments showed a significant increase (79.20%) in reliability with only an 11.44% increase in objective values and 2.76% and 15.17% decreases in the amount of surface water and groundwater, respectively. The findings of the analysis reveal that robust policies achieve adaptive optimal decision-making under uncertainty at a low cost.

Global intercompany assessment of ICIEF platform comparability for the characterization of therapeutic proteins.

An international team spanning 19 sites across 18 biopharmaceutical and in vitro diagnostics companies in the United States, Europe, and China, along with one regulatory agency, was formed to compare the precision and robustness of imaged CIEF (ICIEF) for the charge heterogeneity analysis of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) mAb and a rhPD-L1-Fc fusion protein on the iCE3 and the Maurice instruments. This information has been requested to help companies better understand how these instruments compare and how to transition ICIEF methods from iCE3 to the Maurice instrument. The different laboratories performed ICIEF on the NIST mAb and rhPD-L1-Fc with both the iCE3 and Maurice using analytical methods specifically developed for each of the molecules. After processing the electropherograms, statistical evaluation of the data was performed to determine consistencies within and between laboratory and outlying information. The apparent isoelectric point (pI) data generated, based on two-point calibration, for the main isoform of the NIST mAb showed high precision between laboratories, with RSD values of less than 0.3% on both instruments. The SDs for the NIST mAb and the rhPD-L1-Fc charged variants percent peak area values for both instruments are less than 1.02% across different laboratories. These results validate the appropriate use of both the iCE3 and Maurice for ICIEF in the biopharmaceutical industry in support of process development and regulatory submissions of biotherapeutic molecules. Further, the data comparability between the iCE3 and Maurice illustrates that the Maurice platform is a next-generation replacement for the iCE3 that provides comparable data.

Dissipation of sixteen pesticide residues from various applications of commercial formulations on strawberry and their risk assessment under greenhouse conditions.

Twelve commercial pesticide formulations containing sixteen active ingredients were applied on greenhouse strawberries at recommended and double doses. The dynamics and dietary risk analysis were investigated. A modified QuEChERS method based on the use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as adsorbent followed by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS detection was utilized for sample analysis. The half-lives of studied pesticides were 4.6-12.6 days and 3.8-15.8 days from two application doses. Dietary levels from the residue concentrations of the individual pesticides at harvest was contrasted with the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and acute reference dose (ARfD). The dietary risk assessment adopt the risk quotient (RQ) for chronic risk and risk probability (RP) for long-term dietary intake risk, respectively. The dietary risk induced by the studied pesticide residues in strawberry was acceptable for consumers except the pesticide fumigants. The pesticide residues at different pre-harvest intervals (PHIs) under greenhouse conditions were compared with the established maximum residue limits (MRLs). To reduce the residue levels and potential safety risk, a longer PHI or reduced application rates should be conducted.

Assessment of resistance to anoikis in ovarian cancer.

Anoikis, a form of programmed cell death that occurs due to cell detachment from the extracellular matrix, is a critical mechanism in preventing ectopic cell growth. Acquisition of resistance to anoikis is a prerequisite for epithelial ovarian cancer cells to survive in ascitic fluids before forming metastatic foci. Here we describe a colorimetric method for monitoring the resistance of anoikis of ovarian cancer cells in vitro.