Explore the vast range of titles available.

Non-technical summaryGlobal income inequality and energy consumption inequality are related. High-income households consume more energy than low-income ones, and for different purposes. Here, we explore the global household energy consumption implications of global income redistribution. We show that global income inequality shapes not only inequalities of energy consumption but the quantity and composition of overall energy demand. Our results call for the inclusion of income distribution into energy system models, as well as into energy and climate policy.Technical summaryDespite a rapidly growing number of studies on the relationship between inequality and energy, there is little research estimating the effect of income redistribution on energy demand. We contribute to this debate by proposing a simple but granular and data-driven model of the global income distribution and of global household energy consumption. We isolate the effect of income distribution on household energy consumption and move beyond the assumption of aggregate income–energy elasticities. First, we model expenditure as a function of income. Second, we determine budget shares of expenditure for a variety of products and services by employing product-granular income elasticities of demand. Subsequently, we apply consumption-based final energy intensities to product and services to obtain energy footprint accounts. Testing variants of the global income distribution, we find that the ‘energy costs’ of equity are small. Equitable and inequitable distributions of income, however, entail distinct structural change in energy system terms. In an equitable world, fewer people live in energy poverty and more energy is consumed for subsistence and necessities, instead of luxury and transport.Social media summaryEquality in global income shifts household energy footprints towards subsistence, while inequality shifts them towards transport and luxury.

We performed a comparative study of the effects of carbachol, α,β-methylene-ATP, β,γ-methylene-ATP, and electric field stimulation on the contractile activity of the isolated uterus from rats aged 3 and 9 months with valproic model of autism. The contractile responses of isolated rat uterine preparations induced by P2X-receptor agonists α,β-methylene-ATP and β,γ-methylene-ATP were significantly lower than in the control. In addition, the contractions of the isolated uterus of 9-month-old rats induced by carbachol were significantly lower than in controls. No significant differences in uterine smooth muscle contractions in both age groups of rats induced by electric field stimulation in comparison with the control were found. Thus, significant impairment of uterine contractile activity was revealed in rats with valproic model of autism, which persisted up to the age of 9 months. The absence of changes in the contractions induced by electric field stimulation suggests that the changes in the contractile activity of the uterus of the rats with modeled autism spectrum disorder are caused by the disorders occurring at the postsynaptic level.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based fishing is a promising method for the detection of low-abundant proteins. This method is based on the capturing of the target proteins from the analyzed solution onto a solid substrate, with subsequent counting of the captured protein molecules on the substrate surface by AFM. Protein adsorption onto the substrate surface represents one of the key factors determining the capturing efficiency. Accordingly, studying the factors influencing the protein adsorbability onto the substrate surface represents an actual direction in biomedical research. Herein, the influence of water motion in a flow-based system on the protein adsorbability and on its enzymatic activity has been studied with an example of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme by AFM, attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and conventional spectrophotometry. In the experiments, HRP solution was incubated in a setup modeling the flow section of a biosensor communication. The measuring cell with the protein solution was placed near a coiled silicone pipe, through which water was pumped. The adsorbability of the protein onto the surface of the mica substrate has been studied by AFM. It has been demonstrated that incubation of the HRP solution near the coiled silicone pipe with flowing water leads to an increase in its adsorbability onto mica. This is accompanied by a change in the enzyme’s secondary structure, as has been revealed by ATR-FTIR. At the same time, its enzymatic activity remains unchanged. The results reported herein can be useful in the development of models describing the influence of liquid flow on the properties of enzymes and other proteins. The latter is particularly important for the development of biosensors for biomedical applications—particularly for serological analysis, which is intended for the early diagnosis of various types of cancer and infectious diseases. Our results should also be taken into account in studies of the effects of protein aggregation on hemodynamics, which plays a key role in human body functioning.

We studied the effect of carbachol, P 2 receptor agonists, and electric field stimulation on mechanical activity of isolated preparations of the duodenum, ileum, bladder, and vas deferens in 9-month-old rats with the valproic acid-induced model of autism. It was found that the contractions and relaxations of the isolated intestine of the experimental rats caused by various agonists and electric field stimulation did not differ from those in control animals. Carbachol induced more significant contractions of the bladder in rats with autism model than in controls and electric field stimulation induced more significant contractions of the vas deferens. We did not find significant differences in the effect of ATP, α,β-methylene-ATP and 2-methylthio-ATP on the contraction and relaxation of the studied smooth muscle organs of rats of the experimental and control groups. It was concluded that 9-month-old rats with an autism model retained increased contractile activity of the bladder and vas deferens, while intestinal contractions in experimental and control animals of this age did not differ significantly.

The formation of phosphating coatings on carbon steels by novel baths containing zinc and zinc-manganese phosphates has been investigated. By gravimetric, chemical, electrochemical and physical methods are determined the characteristics of preparations (density, pH, conductivity, total and free acidity) and those of the produced coatings (thickness, phase and chemical compositions, structure, protection ability). The concentration range has been varied from 5 to 20% vol., while the temperature effects have been studied in the range from 20 to 80°C. The thicknesses of the coatings and the amount of the substrate dissolved have been determined. It is proved that Mn-phosphate decreases the coating thickness for all working solution concentrations and temperatures, at the same time increases the mass of dissolved metal of the substrate. The results obtained indicate that the coatings developed in zinc and manganese baths contain the following phases: hopeite, phosphophyllite, quasihopeite, strunzite and mixtures of them.

New Findings What is the central question of this study? It has been suggested that the cardiovascular responses to a postural perturbation are centrally mediated and reflex mediated. We wanted to know the extent to which the cardiovascular responses to external perturbations could be executed in a feedforward manner, in anticipation of the perturbation. What is the main finding and its importance? We found no anticipatory component driving heart rate and systolic blood pressure responses, suggesting that reflexive mechanisms dominate cardiovascular regulation after a postural perturbation in young adults. Cardiovascular responses to postural perturbations have been reported, but whether the cardiovascular responses to external perturbations could be executed in anticipation of the perturbation is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of anticipated and reactionary perturbations on heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) responses in healthy young adults. A secondary aim was to determine whether perceived state anxiety scores were correlated with the change in HR response during postural perturbation. Twenty healthy young adults stood on a treadmill and experienced two perturbation conditions (anticipatory vs. reactionary), each with two intensity levels (Step vs. No Step). The HR and SBP were collected continuously. Two‐way repeated‐measures statistical non‐parametric mapping tests were used to compare HR and SBP responses to the perturbations over time (from −3 to +8 s). The results indicated that HR was significantly elevated in the higher intensity perturbations [Step vs. No Step, at 0.56–1.32 s (P < 0.0001) and 1.92–3.44 s (P < 0.0001) post‐perturbation], while there were no differences in HR between perturbation types (anticipatory vs. reactionary) or in SBP between perturbation types and intensity levels. The perceived state anxiety scores did not differ between perturbation types and intensity levels but were correlated with the change in HR post‐perturbation (P = 0.013). We suggest that reflexive mechanisms dominate cardiovascular regulation after anticipatory and reactionary perturbations. The data highlight the cardiovascular mechanism(s) associated with perturbations that should be considered when assessing postural stability in populations with poor balance performance.

Ectonucleotidases play an important role in regulating the level of extracellular nucleotides and nucleosides and are an important part of the regulation of the effects of adenosine and ATP on adenosine and P2 receptors, respectively. We have previously established the ambiguous effect of P2 receptor agonists on the contractile activity of smooth muscle tissue in rats with the valproate model of autism. In this work, HPLC was used to evaluate the activity of ectonucleotidases in the smooth muscle tissues of the internal organs of rats with a valproate model of autism. The activity of ectonucleotidases was significantly higher in the smooth muscle tissues of the duodenum, vas deferens, and bladder, but lower in the ileum and uterus. The results obtained make it possible to compare the activity of ectonucleotidases identified here with changes in P2 receptor-mediated contractility of smooth muscle tissues revealed in our previous experiments.

Maintaining standing balance is vital to completing activities in daily living. Recent findings suggest an interaction between cardiovascular and postural control systems. Volitional slow breathing can modulate the cardiovascular response and affect postural control during quiet standing. However, the effects of slow breathing during threats to standing balance have not been studied. The study examined the effect of slow breathing on the latency and amplitude of postural muscle responses to perturbations of the base of support in healthy, young adults. Twenty-seven participants completed two balance perturbation tasks in standing on an instrumented split-belt treadmill while breathing spontaneously and breathing at 6 breaths per minute. Each perturbation task consisted of 25 posteriorly directed translations of the treadmill belts every 8–12 s. Muscle latency and muscle burst amplitude were measured using surface electromyography from the right limb for the quadriceps (QUADS), medial hamstring (MH), gastrocnemii (GASTROC), soleus (SOL), and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle groups, while a respiratory belt was used to record respiratory rate. Results indicated that during the slow breathing task both muscle latency (p = 0.022) and muscle burst amplitude (p = 0.011) decreased compared to spontaneous breathing. The EMG pre-perturbation activation was not significantly different in any muscle group between conditions (p > 0.167). The study found that reducing respiratory rate to approximately 6 breaths per minute affects the neuromuscular responses in the lower limb muscles to perturbations.

We compare global‐scale changes in satellite estimates of the temperature of the lower troposphere (TLT) with model simulations of forced and unforced TLT changes. While previous work has focused on a single period of record, we select analysis timescales ranging from 10 to 32 years, and then compare all possible observed TLT trends on each timescale with corresponding multi‐model distributions of forced and unforced trends. We use observed estimates of the signal component of TLT changes and model estimates of climate noise to calculate timescale‐dependent signal‐to‐noise ratios (S/N). These ratios are small (less than 1) on the 10‐year timescale, increasing to more than 3.9 for 32‐year trends. This large change in S/N is primarily due to a decrease in the amplitude of internally generated variability with increasing trend length. Because of the pronounced effect of interannual noise on decadal trends, a multi‐model ensemble of anthropogenically‐forced simulations displays many 10‐year periods with little warming. A single decade of observational TLT data is therefore inadequate for identifying a slowly evolving anthropogenic warming signal. Our results show that temperature records of at least 17 years in length are required for identifying human effects on global‐mean tropospheric temperature. Key Points Models run with human forcing can produce 10‐year periods with little warming S/N ratios for tropospheric temp. are ∼1 for 10‐yr trends, ∼4 for 32‐yr trends Trends >17 yrs are required for identifying human effects on tropospheric temp

Maintenance of upright standing posture has often been explained using the inverted pendulum model. This model considers the ankle plantarflexors to act as a single synergistic group. There are differences in muscle properties among the medial and lateral gastrocnemius (MG and LG, respectively) and the soleus that may affect their activation. Twelve volunteers participated in an investigation to determine whether the activation of the ankle plantarflexor muscles was modulated according to perturbation direction during unilateral standing perturbations of 1% body mass. High-density surface electromyography (HDS-EMG) was used to determine the amplitude and barycenter of the muscle activation and kinematic analysis was used to evaluate ankle, knee, and hip joint movement. The HDS-EMG amplitude and barycenter of MG and LG were modulated with the perturbation direction (MG p < 0.05; LG p < 0.01; one-way repeated-measures ANOVA). In soleus, the HDS-EMG barycenter modulated across the perturbation direction (p < 0.01 for X&Y coordinates), but the HDS-EMG amplitude did not change. A repeated-measures correlation was used to interpret the HDS-EMG pattern in the context of the kinematics. The relative contribution of MG activation compared to the total gastrocnemii activation was significantly associated with ankle dorsi/plantarflexion (rrm = 0.620), knee flexion/extension and abduction/adduction (rrm = 0.622 and rrm = 0.547, respectively), and hip flexion/extension and abduction/adduction (rrm = 0.653 and rrm = 0.432, respectively). The findings suggest that the central nervous system activates motor units within different regions of MG, LG and SOL in response to standing perturbations in different directions.