Single-cluster Functionalized TiO2 Nanotube Array for Boosting Water Oxidation and CO2 Photoreduction to CH3OH.

Solar-driven CO2 reduction and water oxidation to liquid fuels represents a promising solution to alleviate energy crisis and climate issue, but it remains a great challenge for generating CH3OH and CH3CH2OH dominated by multi-electron transfer. Single-cluster catalysts with super electron acceptance, accurate molecular structure, customizable electronic structure and multiple adsorption sites, have led to greater potential in catalyzing various challenging reactions. However, accurately controlling the number and arrangement of clusters on functional supports still faces great challenge. Herein, we develop a facile electrosynthesis method to uniformly disperse Wells-Dawson- and Keggin-type polyoxometalates on TiO2 nanotube arrays, resulting in a series of single-cluster functionalized catalysts P2M18O62@TiO2 and PM12O40@TiO2 (M = Mo or W). The single polyoxometalate cluster can be distinctly identified and serves as electronic sponge to accept electrons from excited TiO2 for enhancing surface-hole concentration and promote water oxidation. Among these samples, P2Mo18O62@TiO2-1 exhibits the highest electron consumption rate of 1260 µmol g-1 for CO2-to-CH3OH conversion with H2O as the electron source, which is 11 times higher than that of isolated TiO2 nanotube arrays. This work supplied a simple synthesis method to realize the single-dispersion of molecular cluster to enrich surface-reaching holes on TiO2, thereby facilitating water oxidation and CO2 reduction.

Enhanced Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Formate over Phosphate-Modified In: Water Activation and Active Site Tuning.

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) offers a sustainable strategy for producing fuels and chemicals. However, it suffers from sluggish CO2 activation and slow water dissociation. In this work, we construct a (P-O)δ- modified In catalyst that exhibits high activity and selectivity in electrochemical CO2 reduction to formate. A combination of in-situ characterizations and kinetic analyses indicate that (P-O)δ- has a strong interaction with K+(H2O)n, which effectively accelerates water dissociation to provide protons. In-situ attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) measurements together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations disclose that (P-O)δ- modification leads to a higher valence state of In active site, thus promoting CO2 activation and HCOO* formation, while inhibiting competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). As a result, the (P-O)δ- modified oxide-derived In catalyst exhibits excellent formate selectivity across a broad potential window with a formate Faradaic efficiency as high as 92.1% at a partial current density of ~200 mA cm-2 and a cathodic potential of -1.2 V vs. RHE in an alkaline electrolyte.

Optimization strategies for CO2 biological fixation.

Global sustainable development faces a significant challenge in effectively utilizing CO2. Meanwhile, CO2 biological fixation offers a promising solution. CO2 has the highest oxidation state (+4 valence state), whereas typical multi­carbon chemicals have lower valence states. The Gibbs free energy (ΔG) changes of CO2 reductive reactions are generally positive and this renders it necessary to input different forms of energy. Although biological carbon fixation processes are friendly to operate, the thermodynamic obstacles must be overcome. To make this reaction occur favorably and efficiently, diverse strategies to enhance CO2 biological fixation efficiency have been proposed by numerous researchers. This article reviews recent advances in optimizing CO2 biological fixation and intends to provide new insights into achieving efficient biological utilization of CO2. It first outlines the thermodynamic characteristics of diverse carbon fixation reactions and proposes optimization directions for CO2 biological fixation. A comprehensive overview of the catalytic mechanisms, optimization strategies, and challenges encountered by common carbon-fixing enzymes is then provided. Subsequently, potential routes for improving the efficiency of biological carbon fixation are discussed, including the ATP supply, reducing power supply, energy supply, reactor design, and carbon enrichment system modules. In addition, effective artificial carbon fixation pathways were summarized and analyzed. Finally, prospects are made for the research direction of continuously improving the efficiency of biological carbon fixation.

Investigation on multi-parameter of hydrate-bearing synthetic sediment during hydrate replacement process: A in-situ X-ray computed tomography study.

Carbon sequestration can be achieved by carbon dioxide replacement in natural gas hydrate exploitation, which reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing an effective solution to address climate change, while simultaneously protecting the environment and promoting sustainable energy development. Gas replacement can achieve gas exploitation, gas storage, and stability enhancement simultaneously. However, time-varying microstructure evolution of the hydrate-bearing sediment (HBS) during this process remain a large amount of uncertainty. In this study, with microfocus computer tomography, hydrate replacement process is realized using xenon gas to replace krypton hydrate. During this period, the initial hydrate saturation and effective confining pressure were 63 % and 1 MPa respectively, the results were obtained as follows: 1. Hydrate occurrence dynamically adjusted during replacement process due to the "barrier effect" and "diffusion effect". 2. Dissociated water migration occurred in the sediment, and this induced local hydrate enrichment temporarily and blockages, but the blockages were eventually dredged with the dissociation of the Kr hydrate. 3. The sphericity and surface roughness of the hydrate particles were slightly improved, the pore space connectivity was well enhanced, and both tortuosity and absolute permeability was better strengthened after replacement process, where the absolute permeability was increased by 225.23 %, though the blockage occurrence temporarily weakened this strengthener.

Rapid and Accurate Screening of the COF Space for Natural Gas Purification: COFInformatics.

In this work, we introduced COFInformatics, a computational approach merging molecular simulations and machine learning (ML) algorithms, to evaluate all synthesized and hypothetical covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for the CO2/CH4 mixture separation under four different adsorption-based processes: pressure swing adsorption (PSA), vacuum swing adsorption (VSA), temperature swing adsorption (TSA), and pressure-temperature swing adsorption (PTSA). We first extracted structural, chemical, energy-based, and graph-based molecular fingerprint features of every single COF structure in the very large COF space, consisting of nearly 70,000 materials, and then performed grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations to calculate the CO2/CH4 mixture adsorption properties of 7540 COFs. These features and simulation results were used to develop ML models that accurately and rapidly predict CO2/CH4 mixture adsorption and separation properties of all 68,614 COFs. The most efficient separation process and the best adsorbent candidates among the entire COF spectrum were identified and analyzed in detail to reveal the most important molecular features that lead to high-performance adsorbents. Our results showed that (i) many hypoCOFs outperform synthesized COFs by achieving higher CO2/CH4 selectivities; (ii) the top COF adsorbents consist of narrow pores and linkers comprising aromatic, triazine, and halogen groups; and (iii) PTSA is the most efficient process to use COF adsorbents for natural gas purification. We believe that COFInformatics promises to expedite the evaluation of COF adsorbents for CO2/CH4 separation, thereby circumventing the extensive, time- and resource-intensive molecular simulations.

Heterotic growth of hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana is enhanced by elevated atmospheric CO2.

PREMISE: With the global atmospheric CO2 concentration on the rise, developing crops that can thrive in elevated CO2 has become paramount. We investigated the potential of hybridization as a strategy for creating crops with improved growth in predicted elevated atmospheric CO2. METHODS: We grew parent accessions and their F1 hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana in ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 and analyzed numerous growth traits to assess their productivity and underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: The heterotic increase in total dry mass, relative growth rate and leaf net assimilation rate was significantly greater in elevated CO2 than in ambient CO2. The CO2 response of net assimilation rate was positively correlated with the CO2 response of leaf nitrogen productivity and with that of leaf traits such as leaf size and thickness, suggesting that hybridization-induced changes in leaf traits greatly affected the improved performance in elevated CO2. CONCLUSIONS: Vegetative growth of hybrids seems to be enhanced in elevated CO2 due to improved photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency compared with parents. The results suggest that hybrid crops should be well-suited for future conditions, but hybrid weeds may also be more competitive.

CO2 capture using silica-immobilized dicationic ionic liquids with magnetic and non-magnetic properties.

The need to find alternative materials to replace aqueous amine solutions for the capture of CO2 in post-combustion technologies is pressing. This study assesses the CO2 sorption capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity of three dicationic ionic liquids with distinct anions immobilized in commercial mesoporous silica support (SBA- 15). The samples were characterized by UART-FTIR, NMR, Raman, FESEM, TEM, TGA, Magnetometry (VSM), BET and BJH. The highest CO2 sorption capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity were obtained for sample SBA@DIL_2FeCl4 [at 1 bar and 25 °C; 57.31 (±0.02) mg CO2/g; 12.27 (±0.72) mg CO2/g]. The results were compared to pristine SBA-15 and revealed a similar sorption capacity, indicating that the IL has no impact on the CO2 sorption capacity of silica. On the other hand, selectivity was improved by approximately 3.8 times, demonstrating the affinity of the ionic liquid for the CO2 molecule. The material underwent multiple sorption/desorption cycles and proved to be stable and a promising option for use in industrial CO2 capture processes.

Enriching surface-ordered defects on WO3 for photocatalytic CO2-to-CH4 conversion by water.

Defect engineering has been widely applied in semiconductors to improve photocatalytic properties by altering the surface structures. This study is about the transformation of inactive WO3 nanosheets to a highly effective CO2-to-CH4 conversion photocatalyst by introducing surface-ordered defects in abundance. The nonstoichiometric WO3-x samples were examined by using aberration-corrected electron microscopy. Results unveil abundant surface-ordered terminations derived from the periodic {013} stacking faults with a defect density of 20.2%. The {002} surface-ordered line defects are the active sites for fixation CO2, transforming the inactive WO3 nanosheets into a highly active catalyst (CH4: O2 = 8.2: 16.7 µmol h-1). We believe that the formation of the W-O-C-W-O species is a critical step in the catalytic pathways. This work provides an atomic-level comprehension of the structural defects of catalysts for activating small molecules.

Diagnostic utility of capnography in emergency department triage for screening acidemia: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Capnography is a quantitative and reliable method of determining the ventilatory status of patients. We describe the test characteristics of capnography obtained during Emergency Department triage for screening acidemia. RESULTS: We performed an observational, pilot study of adult patients presenting to Emergency Department (ED) triage. The primary outcome was acidemia, as determined by the basic metabolic panel and/or blood gas during the ED visit. Secondary outcomes include comparison of estimated and measured respiratory rates (RR), relationships between end-tidal CO2 (EtCO2) and venous partial pressure of CO2, admission disposition, in-hospital mortality during admission, and capnogram waveform analysis. A total of 100 adult ED encounters were included in the study and acidemia ([Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text]) was identified in 28 patients. The measured respiratory rate (20.3 ± 6.4 breaths/min) was significantly different from the estimated rate (18.4 ± 1.6 breaths/min), and its area under the receiver operating curve (c-statistic) to predict acidemia was only 0.60 (95% CI 0.51-0.75, p = 0.03). A low end-tidal CO2 (EtCO2 < 32 mmHg) had positive (LR+) and negative (LR-) likelihood ratios of 4.68 (95% CI 2.59-8.45) and 0.34 (95% CI 0.19-0.61) for acidemia, respectively-corresponding to sensitivity 71.4% (95% CI 51.3-86.8) and specificity 84.7% (95% CI 74.3-92.1). The c-statistic for EtCO2 was 0.849 (95% CI 0.76-0.94, p = 0.00). Waveform analysis further revealed characteristically abnormal capnograms that were associated with underlying pathophysiology. CONCLUSIONS: Capnography is a quantitative method of screening acidemia in patients and can be implemented feasibly in Emergency Department triage as an adjunct to vital signs. While it was shown to have only modest ability to predict acidemia, triage capnography has wide generalizability to screen other life-threatening disease processes such as sepsis or can serve as an early indicator of clinical deterioration.

Effects of Tcte1 knockout on energy chain transportation and spermatogenesis: implications for male infertility.

STUDY QUESTION: Is the Tcte1 mutation causative for male infertility? SUMMARY ANSWER: Our collected data underline the complex and devastating effect of the single-gene mutation on the testicular molecular network, leading to male reproductive failure. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Recent data have revealed mutations in genes related to axonemal dynein arms as causative for morphology and motility abnormalities in spermatozoa of infertile males, including dysplasia of fibrous sheath (DFS) and multiple morphological abnormalities in the sperm flagella (MMAF). The nexin-dynein regulatory complex (N-DRC) coordinates the dynein arm activity and is built from the DRC1-DRC7 proteins. DRC5 (TCTE1), one of the N-DRC elements, has already been reported as a candidate for abnormal sperm flagella beating; however, only in a restricted manner with no clear explanation of respective observations. STUDY DESIGN SIZE DURATION: Using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technique, a mouse Tcte1 gene knockout line was created on the basis of the C57Bl/6J strain. The mouse reproductive potential, semen characteristics, testicular gene expression levels, sperm ATP, and testis apoptosis level measurements were then assessed, followed by visualization of N-DRC proteins in sperm, and protein modeling in silico. Also, a pilot genomic sequencing study of samples from human infertile males (n = 248) was applied for screening of TCTE1 variants. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS SETTING METHODS: To check the reproductive potential of KO mice, adult animals were crossed for delivery of three litters per caged pair, but for no longer than for 6 months, in various combinations of zygosity. All experiments were performed for wild-type (WT, control group), heterozygous Tcte1+/- and homozygous Tcte1-/- male mice. Gross anatomy was performed on testis and epididymis samples, followed by semen analysis. Sequencing of RNA (RNAseq; Illumina) was done for mice testis tissues. STRING interactions were checked for protein-protein interactions, based on changed expression levels of corresponding genes identified in the mouse testis RNAseq experiments. Immunofluorescence in situ staining was performed to detect the N-DRC complex proteins: Tcte1 (Drc5), Drc7, Fbxl13 (Drc6), and Eps8l1 (Drc3) in mouse spermatozoa. To determine the amount of ATP in spermatozoa, the luminescence level was measured. In addition, immunofluorescence in situ staining was performed to check the level of apoptosis via caspase 3 visualization on mouse testis samples. DNA from whole blood samples of infertile males (n = 137 with non-obstructive azoospermia or cryptozoospermia, n = 111 samples with a spectrum of oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, including n = 47 with asthenozoospermia) was extracted to perform genomic sequencing (WGS, WES, or Sanger). Protein prediction modeling of human-identified variants and the exon 3 structure deleted in the mouse knockout was also performed. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: No progeny at all was found for the homozygous males which were revealed to have oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, while heterozygous animals were fertile but manifested oligozoospermia, suggesting haploinsufficiency. RNA-sequencing of the testicular tissue showed the influence of Tcte1 mutations on the expression pattern of 21 genes responsible for mitochondrial ATP processing or linked with apoptosis or spermatogenesis. In Tcte1-/- males, the protein was revealed in only residual amounts in the sperm head nucleus and was not transported to the sperm flagella, as were other N-DRC components. Decreased ATP levels (2.4-fold lower) were found in the spermatozoa of homozygous mice, together with disturbed tail:midpiece ratios, leading to abnormal sperm tail beating. Casp3-positive signals (indicating apoptosis) were observed in spermatogonia only, at a similar level in all three mouse genotypes. Mutation screening of human infertile males revealed one novel and five ultra-rare heterogeneous variants (predicted as disease-causing) in 6.05% of the patients studied. Protein prediction modeling of identified variants revealed changes in the protein surface charge potential, leading to disruption in helix flexibility or its dynamics, thus suggesting disrupted interactions of TCTE1 with its binding partners located within the axoneme. LARGE SCALE DATA: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files. RNAseq data are available in the GEO database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) under the accession number GSE207805. The results described in the publication are based on whole-genome or exome sequencing data which includes sensitive information in the form of patient-specific germline variants. Information regarding such variants must not be shared publicly following European Union legislation, therefore access to raw data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION: In the study, the in vitro fertilization performance of sperm from homozygous male mice was not checked. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This study contains novel and comprehensive data concerning the role of TCTE1 in male infertility. The TCTE1 gene is the next one that should be added to the 'male infertility list' because of its crucial role in spermatogenesis and proper sperm functioning. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: This work was supported by National Science Centre in Poland, grants no.: 2015/17/B/NZ2/01157 and 2020/37/B/NZ5/00549 (to M.K.), 2017/26/D/NZ5/00789 (to A.M.), and HD096723, GM127569-03, NIH SAP #4100085736 PA DoH (to A.N.Y.). The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

Recent Technologies for Transcutaneous Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Monitoring.

The measurement of partial pressures of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) is fundamental for evaluating a patient's conditions in clinical practice. There are many ways to retrieve O2/CO2 partial pressures and concentrations. Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis is the gold standard technique for such a purpose, but it is invasive, intermittent, and potentially painful. Among all the alternative methods for gas monitoring, non-invasive transcutaneous O2 and CO2 monitoring has been emerging since the 1970s, being able to overcome the main drawbacks of ABG analysis. Clark and Severinghaus electrodes enabled the breakthrough for transcutaneous O2 and CO2 monitoring, respectively, and in the last twenty years, many innovations have been introduced as alternatives to overcome their limitations. This review reports the most recent solutions for transcutaneous O2 and CO2 monitoring, with a particular consideration for wearable measurement systems. Luminescence-based electronic paramagnetic resonance and photoacoustic sensors are investigated. Optical sensors appear to be the most promising, giving fast and accurate measurements without the need for frequent calibrations and being suitable for integration into wearable measurement systems.

Physiological Variability during Prehospital Stroke Care: Which Monitoring and Interventions Are Used?

Prehospital care is a fundamental component of stroke care that predominantly focuses on shortening the time between diagnosis and reaching definitive stroke management. With growing evidence of the physiological parameters affecting long-term patient outcomes, prehospital clinicians need to consider the balance between rapid transfer and increased physiological-parameter monitoring and intervention. This systematic review explores the existing literature on prehospital physiological monitoring and intervention to modify these parameters in stroke patients. The systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022308991) and conducted across four databases with citation cascading. Based on the identified inclusion and exclusion criteria, 19 studies were retained for this review. The studies were classified into two themes: physiological-monitoring intervention and pharmacological-therapy intervention. A total of 14 included studies explored prehospital physiological monitoring. Elevated blood pressure was associated with increased hematoma volume in intracerebral hemorrhage and, in some reports, with increased rates of early neurological deterioration and prehospital neurological deterioration. A reduction in prehospital heart rate variability was associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes. Further, five of the included records investigated the delivery of pharmacological therapy in the prehospital environment for patients presenting with acute stroke. BP-lowering interventions were successfully demonstrated through three trials; however, evidence of their benefit to clinical outcomes is limited. Two studies investigating the use of oxygen and magnesium sulfate as neuroprotective agents did not demonstrate an improvement in patient's outcomes. This systematic review highlights the absence of continuous physiological parameter monitoring, investigates fundamental physiological parameters, and provides recommendations for future work, with the aim of improving stroke patient outcomes.

3D-CFD Modeling of Hollow-Fiber Membrane Contactor for CO2 Absorption Using MEA Solution.

Membrane technology is considered an innovative and promising approach due to its flexibility and low energy consumption. In this work, a comprehensive 3D-CFD model of the Hollow-Fiber Membrane Contactor (HFMC) system for CO2 capture into aqueous MEA solution, considering a counter-current fluid flow, was developed and validated with experimental data. Two different flow arrangements were considered for the gas mixture and liquid solution inside the HFMC module. The simulation results showed that the CO2 absorption efficiency was considerably higher when the gas mixture was channeled through the membranes and the liquid phase flowed externally between the membranes, across a wide range of gas and liquid flow rates. Sensitivity studies were performed in order to determine the optimal CO2 capture process parameters under different operating conditions (flow rates/flow velocities and concentrations) and HFMC geometrical characteristics (e.g., porosity, diameter, and thickness of membranes). It was found that increasing the membrane radius, while maintaining a constant thickness, positively influenced the efficiency of CO2 absorption due to the higher mass transfer area and residence time. Conversely, higher membrane thickness resulted in higher mass transfer resistance. The optimal membrane thickness was also investigated for various inner fiber diameters, resulting in a thickness of 0.2 mm as optimal for a fiber inner radius of 0.225 mm. Additionally, a significant improvement in CO2 capture efficiency was observed when increasing membrane porosity to values below 0.2, at which point the increase dampened considerably. The best HFMC configuration involved a combination of low porosity, moderate thickness, and large fiber inner diameter, with gas flow occurring within the fiber membranes.

Bryophyte-Bioinspired Nanoporous AAO/C/MgO Composite for Enhanced CO2 Capture: The Role of MgO.

A composite material composed of anodized aluminum oxide (AAO), carbon (C), and magnesium oxide (MgO) was developed for CO2 capture applications. Inspired by the bryophyte organism, the AAO/C/MgO composite mirrors two primary features of these species-(1) morphological characteristics and (2) elemental composition-specifically carbon, oxygen, and magnesium. The synthesis process involved two sequential steps: electroanodization of aluminum foil followed by a hydrothermal method using a mixture of glucose and magnesium chloride (MgCl2). The concentration of MgCl2 was systematically varied as the sole experimental variable across five levels-1 mM, 2 mM, 3 mM, 4 mM, and 5 mM-to investigate the impact of MgO formation on the samples' chemical and physical properties, and consequently, their CO2 capture efficiency. Thus, scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the AAO substrate's porous structure, with pore diameters measuring 250 ± 30 nm. The growth of MgO on the AAO substrate resulted in spherical structures, whose diameter expanded from 15 nm ± 3 nm to 1000 nm ± 250 nm with increasing MgCl2 concentration from the minor to major concentrations explored, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that carbon serves as a linking agent between AAO and MgO within the composite. Notably, the composite synthesized with a 4 mM MgCl2 concentration exhibited the highest CO2 capture efficiency, as determined by UV-Vis absorbance studies using a sodium carbonate solution as the CO2 source. This efficiency was quantified with a 'k' constant of 0.10531, significantly higher than those of other studied samples. The superior performance of the 4 mM MgCl2 sample in CO2 capture is likely due to the optimal density of MgO structures formed on the sample's surface, enhancing its adsorptive capabilities as suggested by the XPS results.

Isolation, Identification, and Carbonate Mineralization Characteristics of a Newly Carbonic Anhydrase-Producing Strain.

Carbonic anhydrase-producing microorganisms can rely on their metabolism for carbon sequestration and carbonate precipitation, which is a relatively effective mode among the known microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) methods. A newly carbonic anhydrase-producing strain was isolated from soil samples. 16S rDNA gene sequencing showed this strain had 99.18% sequence identity to Chryseobacterium gambrini. Various culture parameters (temperature, pH, rotational speed, inoculum size, and metal ions) were optimized for optimal microbial growth and CA activities. Optimal culture conditions were as follows: temperature of 30 °C, pH 6-7, rotational speed 150 rpm, and inoculum size 1%. It was observed that Co2+ and Mn2+ can improve CA activity with optimal concentrations of 0.02 mM and 0.01 mM, respectively. Furthermore, the introduction of CO2 for 15 min daily leads to a 36% increase in the final production of biotic CaCO3, reaching 2.884 g/L. Characterization of the mineralization precipitates was conducted to reveal the mechanism of the carbonic anhydrase-producing bacterium. Lastly, an analysis of the crystalline species and content of the biogenic CaCO3 was performed to lay the groundwork for future crystalline adjustments and to offer technical support for the application of the calcium method.

How causality impacts the renewable energy, carbon emissions, and economic growth nexus in the South Caucasus Countries?

Renewable energy is essential for boosting economic expansion and lowering carbon dioxide emission (CO2) to achieve carbon neutrality. This study's objective is to investigate the relationship between the use of renewable energy, economic growth, and CO2 for South Caucasus Countries. For analysis purposes, time series methods were applied on the panel data. Second-generation unit root and cointegration tests were used to test the cross-sectional dependence. Afterward, panel causality and panel VAR techniques were performed to examine the relationship between the variables. Based on feedback hypothesis, results of our causality analysis revealed a bidirectional causality relationship between growth and renewable energy consumption. Moreover, we revealed unidirectional causality from CO2 to renewable energy and from growth to CO2 emission. We also found that the effect of a shock in renewable energy on growth is increasing, and on CO2, it is decreasing implying that renewable energy consumption will trigger growth and have a reducing effect on CO2 emissions. We portrayed significant workable implications for policymakers, regulation bodies, companies, stakeholders, and managers. Results from this study should be extrapolated with caution since their applicability is limited to the South Caucasus Countries. In addition, the research heavily depends on summaries, which may obscure regional differences. In the future, researchers may want to dig deeper into the data and examine the subtle effect of renewable energy policy nationally. Moreover, including socio-economic aspects and technical improvements in the research might give a more thorough picture of the dynamics at play.

Chemiresistive Sensor for Enhanced CO2 Gas Monitoring.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensing and monitoring have gained prominence for applications such as smart food packaging, environmental monitoring of greenhouse gases, and medical diagnostic tests. Although CO2 sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors are readily available, they often suffer from limitations such as high operating temperatures (>250 °C), limited response at elevated humidity levels (>60% RH), bulkiness, and limited selectivity. In this study, we designed a chemiresistive sensor for CO2 detection to overcome these problems. The sensing material of this sensor consists of a CO2 switchable polymer based on N-3-(dimethylamino)propyl methacrylamide (DMAPMAm) and methoxyethyl methacrylate (MEMA) [P(D-co-M)], and diethylamine. The designed sensor has a detection range for CO2 between 103 and 106 ppm even at high humidity levels (>80% RH), and it is capable of differentiating ammonia at low concentrations (0.1-5 ppm) from CO2. The addition of diethylamine improved sensor performance such as selectivity, response/recovery time, and long-term stability. These data demonstrate the potential of using this sensor for the detection of food spoilage.

Reaction Environment Regulation for Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction in Acids.

The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a sustainable route for converting CO2 into value-added fuels and feedstocks, advancing a carbon-neutral economy. The electrolyte critically influences CO2 utilization, reaction rate and product selectivity. While typically conducted in neutral/alkaline aqueous electrolytes, the CO2RR faces challenges due to (bi)carbonate formation and its crossover to the anolyte, reducing efficiency and stability. Acidic media offer promise by suppressing these processes, but the low Faradaic efficiency, especially for multicarbon (C2+) products, and poor electrocatalyst stability persist. The effective regulation of the reaction environment at the cathode is essential to favor the CO2RR over the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and improve long-term stability. This review examines progress in the acidic CO2RR, focusing on reaction environment regulation strategies such as electrocatalyst design, electrode modification and electrolyte engineering to promote the CO2RR. Insights into the reaction mechanisms via in situ/operando techniques and theoretical calculations are discussed, along with critical challenges and future directions in acidic CO2RR technology, offering guidance for developing practical systems for the carbon-neutral community.

Constructing B─N─P Bonds in Ultrathin Holey g-C3N4 for Regulating the Local Chemical Environment in Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction to CO.

The lack of intrinsic active sites for photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and fast recombination rate of charge carriers are the main obstacles to achieving high photocatalytic activity. In this work, a novel phosphorus and boron binary-doped graphitic carbon nitride, highly porous material that exhibits powerful photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity, specifically toward selective CO generation, is disclosed. The coexistence of Lewis-acidic and Lewis-basic sites plays a key role in tuning the electronic structure, promoting charge distribution, extending light-harvesting ability, and promoting dissociation of excitons into active carriers. Porosity and dual dopants create local chemical environments that activate the pyridinic nitrogen atom between the phosphorus and boron atoms on the exposed surface, enabling it to function as an active site for CO2RR. The P-N-B triad is found to lower the activation barrier for reduction of CO2 by stabilizing the COOH reaction intermediate and altering the rate-determining step. As a result, CO yield increased to 22.45 µmol g-1 h-1 under visible light irradiation, which is ≈12 times larger than that of pristine graphitic carbon nitride. This study provides insights into the mechanism of charge carrier dynamics and active site determination, contributing to the understanding of the photocatalytic CO2RR mechanism.

Oncological Outcomes of Transoral Laser Microsurgery for Early Stage Glottic Cancer with Involvement of the Anterior Commissure.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the value of carbon dioxide transoral laser microsurgery (CO2 TOLMS) for early-stage glottic cancer with special regard to involvement of the anterior commissure (AC). STUDY DESIGN: Single-center retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Grade-A tertiary hospital. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with early-stage (Tis-T2) glottic cancer who underwent CO2 TOLMS. All patients had at least 2 years of follow-up. The univariate and multivariate survival analyses were used to identify the risk factors for recurrence and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze OS and DSS rates. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were included in the study. Eleven patients (10.78%) had recurrence. The univariate analysis showed that the recurrence was associated with the AC classification, T staging, tumor size, and tobacco use (P < .05). However, on multivariate analysis, the AC classification was the only independent risk factor for recurrence (P < .001, HR = 3.179). AC classification were distributed as follows: 59 (57.84%) AC0, 29 (28.43%) AC1, 8 (7.84%) AC2, and 6 (5.88%) AC3, 2-year/5-year OS and DSS rates were progressively reduced in the AC0, AC1, AC2, and AC3 groups (P < .001). At the same T staging, the OS rates incrementally decreased as the level of involvement of the AC became higher (P = .004). CONCLUSION: CO2 TOLMS is an effective treatment for early-stage glottic cancer. AC involvement is an independent risk factors for recurrence and poor prognosis. The AC classification system may be better at grading the prognosis of patients with early-stage glottic cancer and has prognostic value independent of T staging.