SOCIAL COLLECTIVES AND NETWORKED MOVEMENT: DIFFUSION DYNAMICS IN THE GERMAN-SPEAKING #FRIDAYSFORFUTURE NETWORK ON TWITTER

Initiated by Greta Thunberg and carried by students who skip school every Friday to call for climate justice and the safeguarding of their future, FridaysForFuture emerged and proliferated along with both recognition and criticism. This study analyzes diffusion dynamics and connectivity formation in the German-speaking #FridaysForFuture network from its emergence to its expansion. Based on a diffusion network and cascade analysis (N = 238,458), it presents how different diffusion dynamics facilitated the emergence of #FridaysForFuture on Twitter. According to findings, FFF activists and organizations are the leading intermediaries and activators for movement diffusion. Most of the tweets in #FridaysForFuture are about activism, introducing the movement, and calling for action. During the development, news, liberal left, and right-wing actors joined, bringing discussions about the movement, the youth, and leading activists to the Twittersphere. While cascades by FFF clusters were more likely to gain attention and spread farther, faster, and deeper, cascades activated by right-wing actors were greater, but not broader, faster, or deeper. In contrast to the reciprocal reposting activities between left-wing and activist groups, right-wing actors are relatively isolated, expressing criticism of the movement. This study shows that the German-speaking #FridaysForFuture network serves as a facilitator of offline movements and features a public arena of political discourses. Through the mobilization endeavors of FFF clusters, engagement of left-wing hubs, and the counter-public of right-wing actors attacking the movement, it gained continuity and momentum to flourish.

Functional Characterization of Olfactory Receptors in the Thyroid Gland

Olfactory receptors (ORs) are almost ubiquitously expressed in the human body. However, information about their functions in these tissues is lacking. To date, no functional characterization of expressed ORs in the human thyroid has been performed. In this study, we detected and compared the expression of OR2H2 and OR2W3 in healthy and malignant cell lines and their corresponding tissues, respectively. We demonstrated that stimulation of ORs by their specific ligand resulted in a transient increase in intracellular calcium and cAMP concentrations. In the case of OR2H2, the downstream signaling cascade analysis revealed that adenylate cyclase (AC) and phosphoinositide phospholipase C (PLC) were involved. Furthermore, OR2H2 and OR2W3 activation affected migration, proliferation, and invasion. These are the first insights that ORs influence physiology-relevant processes in the healthy and malignant thyroid.

Management of rifampicin‐resistant TB: programme indicators and care cascade analysis in South Africa

BACKGROUND: Xpert® MTB/RIF was expected to revolutionise the management of rifampicin‐resistant TB (RR‐TB) by enabling rapid and decentralised diagnosis of rifampicin (RIF) resistance.METHODS: We performed a care cascade analysis for a cohort of RR‐TB patients managed under programmatic conditions. Cumulative incidences of time to completion of the RR‐TB care cascade steps were estimated, reasons for delay or attrition from the cascade investigated and WHO programme indicators for monitoring of RR‐TB programmes calculated.RESULTS: Of 502 patients diagnosed with RR‐TB using Xpert, 64% initiated multidrug‐resistant TB (MDR‐TB) treatment immediately, 20% after some first‐line treatment, 16% never initiated MDR‐TB treatment, mainly because of death (44%) or loss to follow‐up (26%) soon after diagnosis. A supplementary sputum sample was collected within 14 days of treatment in 58.8% of cases. Only 63% of RR‐TB cases were assessed for isoniazid resistance, and only 65% of MDR‐TB cases were evaluated for pre‐XDR‐TB (extensively drug‐resistant TB). Treatment was individualised in 57% of pre‐XDR and 68% of XDR‐TB patients. Only 8% completed the entire RR‐TB care cascade as intended.CONCLUSION: Fidelity to the RR‐TB algorithm was poor, with substantial losses at each step of the cascade, highlighting the fact that implementation of novel technologies needs to be accompanied by health system strengthening to maximise impact.

Pinch Technology Approach to Freshwater and Wastewater Minimisation in Brewing Operations

The rise in the cost of production of beer due to increasing demand for freshwater and high cost of treating wastewater, motivate research interests in resource management in beer production. This study determines and reduces the concentration of the contaminants in the wastewater samples collected from a brewery in Nigeria, to reduce freshwater demand and to save the cost of operation through wastewater reuse using pinch technology. The wastewater samples were analysed for the concentration of Chemical Oxygen Demand using standard procedures. The Total Dissolved Solids were measured using pH-EC-TDS metre. Water Cascade Analysis was used to evaluate the minimum freshwater demand and wastewater generated to design the maximum wastewater recovery network for minimum freshwater demand in the process. The results showed that for 41.54 t/hr of both the freshwater and wastewater used in the brewery operations, the Chemical Oxygen Demand concentration ranged between 0 – 74,775 ppm and the Total Dissolved Solids concentration ranged from 0 – 2,008 ppm. However, with the application of Water Cascade Analysis, the freshwater and wastewater flow rates reduced to 19.88 t/hr based on Chemical Oxygen Demand concentration and 21.54 t/hr based on Total Dissolved Solids concentration. The freshwater saving per annum based on the concentrations of Chemical Oxygen Demand and Total Dissolved Solids were ₦346,560,000:00 ($962,666.67) and ₦319,840,000:00 ($888,444.44), respectively. The study concluded that the application of Pinch Technology to brewery operation is viable because of its capacity to reduce freshwater demand and wastewater generation.

Optimal Design of Integrated Chiller Capacity with Ice Thermal Storage for Commercial Buildings through Cooling System Cascade Analysis

Chilled water air conditioning system is used to supply cooling systems in large capacity for industrial processes and commercial buildings. Air conditioners contribute more than 60 percent of electricity consumption in buildings. District Cooling System (DCS) technology comprises a central chiller plant which provides advantage compared to local air conditioning system. It has higher efficiency, uses less power in system operation, allows more usable space in buildings, and can be operated with minimum manpower while handling same amount of cooling load. The integration of a chiller with ice thermal storage (ITS) offers more operational flexibility while reducing space cooling expenses. This paper presents a systematic framework for design and operation of District Cooling Plant (DCP) comprising an integrated chiller and ice thermal storage system. The Cooling System Cascade Analysis (COSCA) based on pinch analysis is constructed to determine the chiller optimal size and ice thermal storage capacity. The District Cooling System configuration for this study comprises a cooling tower, chiller (centrifugal, variable centrifugal, glycol) and ice thermal storage system. The application of this technique to fulfil 66,284 refrigerant tonne hour (RTH) cooling load demand from commercial buildings reveals the optimal capacity of the chiller is 3068.91 refrigerant tonne (RT), ice tank rating at 989 refrigerant tonne (RT) and ice tank capacity is 9892.75 refrigerant tonne hour (RTH).