Extraordinary heat extremes occurred in the 1930s in areas of the Northern Hemisphere far from the record setting heat over the US associated with the Great Plains Dust Bowl drought. A climate model sensitivity experiment is used to identify a new mechanism involving a warm season circumglobal atmospheric teleconnection pattern that spread heat extremes over far-flung areas of the Northern Hemisphere arising from the intense heating over the desiccated Great Plains themselves. It has only been in the twenty-first century that human populations in these regions of the Northern Hemisphere have experienced heat extremes comparable to the 1930s. This demonstrates that humans influenced Northern Hemisphere temperature and heat extremes through disastrous and unprecedented regional land use practices over the Great Plains, and points to the possibility that future intense regional droughts could affect heat extremes on hemispheric scales. It was associated with anomalously warm temperatures over the U.S. that have only recently been equaled or exceeded  occurred over the Great Plains of North America and was one of the worst natural disasters of the twentieth century8) though those droughts were not nearly as severe as the Dust Bowl drought. The Dust Bowl was likely made worse by unprecedented and disastrous land use practices where most of the grassland ecosystem in the Great Plains was plowed up to plant dryland wheat to supply the enhanced demand during WWI that produced record high prices1. When a naturally occurring drought occurred during the 1930s with the coincidental onset of the Great Depression, wheat prices plummeted and farmers desperately plowed up millions more acres to survive1. But there was not enough precipitation to sustain crops that could have served as ground cover. The bare soil dried up and, as evapotranspiration plummeted, surface temperatures soared and the desiccated soil yielded tremendous dust storms. The combination of dryness and dust is thought to have intensified the drought and associated heat over the Great Plains to a level not seen again until the modern era  for each year averaged by country, and also sum the number of daily record low minimum temperatures in the same way. We then compute the ratio of the sum of the record highs divided by the sum of record lows, and form the ratio averaged by country and by year. We then perform decadal averages of the ratio. If the background climate is relatively stable, there would be an equal chance of setting a daily record high maximum or daily record low minimum at a given location, and the ratio would be around one. However, if the mean climate is anomalously warm, the odds are shifted towards a greater chance of record highs compared to record lows, and the ratio of record highs to record lows goes above one10. Over the U.S. there is a correlation of + 0.62 between the records ratio and average temperatures, such that higher average temperatures produce higher records ratios indicative of more extreme heat11. If the records ratios from weather stations over the U.S. for the warm season  are compiled by decade, the 1930s stand out  and where sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are specified to climatology and thus cannot react to the forcing from the Great plains (see Methods), the effect of the hot and dry Great Plains can be isolated to quantify the contribution to the wave-5 teleconnection pattern that rings the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes16 Fig. b. This a16 Fig. a16.Figur17. The pattern of warming anomalies in the model experiment in Fig. The anomalous heating over the Great Plains in the model experiment in the warm season produces surface temperature anomalies of + 4.4 °C over the Great Plains Fig. a. But ov11, these increases in average surface temperature in areas around the Northern Hemisphere are reflected in larger records ratios and thus greater extreme heat  anomalies in the model experiment show a heat low over the Great Plains, positive SLP anomalies across the North Pacific and North Atlantic, and negative anomalies over Northern Europe Fig. Sa. The coOur results show that the extremely dry conditions over the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s, which was made worse by unprecedented and catastrophic land use practices, acted to intensify a naturally-occurring drought that was likely initiated by internally generated decadal timescale SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic. The resulting dust storms arising from the unusually dry surface also intensified the drought and heat over the Great Plains. A climate model experiment identifies a new source, lower tropospheric heating over the Great Plains from the anomalously dry conditions, that spreads the temperature extremes arising from the regional drought to other areas of the Northern Hemisphere. This newly identified forcing related to heat extremes produces an anomalous warm season wave-5 teleconnection pattern driven by the lower tropospheric heating over the Great Plains. The resulting anomalies in vertical motion, clouds, net surface heat flux, and temperature advection produce anomalous warmth in most of North America outside the Great Plains drought region, and in areas of northern Europe, Russia and parts of eastern Asia. That warmth is associated with anomalous heat extremes in the 1930s in those regions that stand out from the record and were not matched or exceeded until the twenty-first century when warming has mostly been forced by increasing GHGs.A pacemaker model configuration run with the characteristics of anomalous SSTs that occurred on decadal timescales in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic in the 1930s confirms previous model results that the consequent teleconnection patterns spread anomalous warmth to some other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. But our model simulations show that the SST-forced circulation patterns cannot account for all of the areas of anomalous warmth of the 1930s. We show here for the first time that the teleconnections from the heating over the Great Plains themselves from the drought and land use conditions are necessary to account for the unprecedented heat extremes over large areas of the Northern Hemisphere in the 1930s that have only recently been approached or exceeded.1. If surface temperature anomalies are an indication of relative dryness, warming of over 4 °C in the model experiment is about twice the observed warming of over 2 °C, suggesting the forcing in the model experiment could be about twice what was observed. But even with that level of warming, the circumglobal wave 5 pattern would emerge and provide the teleconnection mechanism to spread heat extremes to far-field areas of the Northern Hemisphere, and this connection between Great Plains soil moisture and the circumglobal wave 5 pattern is present in observations as well16. Thus this sensitivity experiment demonstrates not only a new mechanism that can spread heat extreme far beyond the source, but also that the model response is likely representing a key contributing factor to the conditions that existed over the Northern Hemisphere during that very anomalous period over the Great Plains. This points to the possibility that future more intense regional droughts could have a previously unrecognized hemispheric influence on heat extremes.The model sensitivity experiment here is designed to provide a large forcing by totally drying out the Great Plains, and one could ask how realistic this forcing is compared to what actually occurred there during the Dust Bowl. While is it unlikely that the entire region had zero values of soil moisture, and it is impossible to know what the actual soil moisture values were during the Dust Bowl, anecdotal accounts from that time period point to vast expanses of bare denuded land where soil moisture likely approached extremely low values over huge areas of the Great Plains16 involves setting the soil water over the Great Plains to zero in an atmosphere/land stand-alone configuration of the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1)18 . It has 30 vertical levels and a horizontal resolution of roughly 1 degree. The land surface is fully coupled outside the Great Plains, and climatological SSTs are specified to long term monthly means from a fully-coupled long control run. There are 100 ensemble members run for the time period May through August, and these are compared to a 100 year control run with the same atmosphere/land initial conditions, taken from different years of the last 500 years of the 2600-year CAM5 control run18 and are at least five years apart. Averages are shown for the warm season when heat is most extreme, May–June–July–August (MJJA).The experiment10. By the end of 100 years, the ratio is close to 1 as expected for a stationary climate. Then we compute the ratio for the 100 ensemble members of the sensitivity experiments compiled in relation to the last year of the control run. We then produce geographic plots of that ratio for the Northern Hemisphere and averages of the records ratios over various regions  for 40° S to 60° N and Equator to 60° N, 75° W to 7.5° W, respectively, after subtracting the externally-forced component. The AMV and PDV spatial patterns of SST are then calculated by regressing the annual-mean observed SST time series onto the respective AMV and PDV indices. These index time series and the SST fields are low-pass filtered for the period 1870–2013 prior to the regressions using a Lanczos filter with a 10-year cutoff period using 21 weights. The global coupled climate model version used in the pacemaker experiments is the CESM1-CAM5 model (hereafter CESM1) that is the same model described in the CESM Large Ensemble Project18; the atmospheric component is used in the sensitivity study described above. All components have approximately 1° horizontal resolution. The ocean has 60 levels in the vertical and a meridional mesh refinement down to a quarter of degree near the equator, while the atmospheric component has 30 hybrid vertical levels.These are described by Meehl et al. (2020)Two sets of 30-member ensemble simulations are run for the idealized specified PDV and AMV configurations. All external forcings are held constant at pre-industrial values. One set consists of simulations for AMV + and AMV − , the other set has the simulations for PDV + and PDV − . Each experiment is run for 10 years during which the respective specified SST anomalies are kept constant in time while the rest of the model is fully coupled. The 30 ensemble members for each experiment are formed by introducing round-off perturbations in the initial atmospheric temperature.Supplementary Information.


They are typical of the Damour–Polyakov screening mechanism whereby deviations from General Relativity are suppressed by a vanishingly small direct coupling of the dilaton to matter in dense environments. We specifically focus on dilaton models which are compatible with the late time acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, i.e. the cosmological dilaton. We show how future laboratory experiments will essentially test a region of parameter space with We consider the environment-dependent dilaton in the laboratory and the solar system and derive approximate analytical solutions to the field theory equations of motion in the presence of a one or two mirror system or a sphere. The solutions obtained herein can be applied to  The accelerated expansion of the Universe may require the introduction of additional degrees of freedom 16\documFirst, we consider the case of low density from Eq. 20\documesing Eq.  gives21\Here, we consider the case of high density from Eq. 27\documesing Eq.  gives28\Using the boundary conditionsSummarising, we obtain the solutionentclass1pt{minimaqBOUNCE experiments as outlined in Sect. As already argued, we see in Fig. d in z-direction with In this section, we treat the case of two parallel infinitely thick mirrors separated at distance 2Here, we consider the case of low density  for Eq. 37\documeWe can read off the solution inside the mirrors directly from the corresponding solution in the one mirror case Eq. 43\documeUsing the boundary conditions at the mirror surfaceSummarising, we obtain the solutionOnce again we see in Fig. R and a homogenous high density qBOUNCE and Lunar Laser Ranging bounds.In this section we consider the dilaton field as caused by a static massive sphere surrounded by vacuum with radius qBOUNCE experiments and neutron interferometry, it is important to understand their interaction with the dilaton. For a certain parameter regime this interaction between neutron and dilaton becomes strong. In this case, the neutron affects the background dilaton field as generated by the mirrors of the experimental setup in a non-negligible way, which in turn weakens the effect on the neutron, viz. screening of the neutron sets in . Since Concerning Lunar Laser Ranging, we approximate the Sun, Earth and Moon as spherical sources of dilatons with homogenous density and employ the solutions derived in this section.The spherically symmetric field equation is given byIn the vacuum outside the sphere we approximaten by Eq. .For the field equation we findR the sphere becomes increasingly “unscreened” since the dilaton field inside the sphere decreases towards its minimum throughout the volume of the sphere. On the other hand, for large sphere radii the dilaton field reaches its minimum already before the center of the sphere, it is no longer “sourced” by the whole volume of the sphere, which becomes “screened”.The dilaton field has to satisfy the following boundary conditions at the surface of the sphereAn unscreened sphere has r we obtainFinally, we find for the solutionrived in  for a geqBOUNCE experiment and Lunar Laser Ranging in the following sections.The screening effects make the field excursion sub-Planckian as seen in Fig. qBOUNCE experiment [Here, we derive a discrete set of limits for the periment , 12, 32 periment . The ene}-15 peV .The experimental setup is such, that ultracold neutrons pass three regions, while being reflected on polished glass mirrors. In , the resg. With the substitutionThe quantum mechanical description of a neutron above a mirror in the gravitational potential is given by the Schrödinger equation . After srefer to  for furtsee e.g. ):83\docusee e.g. )84\documIn the one mirror case the unperturbed normalized wavefunction for see e.g. )86\docum use Eq.  and obtaIn order to account for the “screening” of the neutron itself for the extraction of the experimental limits, the transition energies should be replaced as followsNevertheless, in Table As can be seen in this table, the deviation can be larger than the experimental uncertainty of order Cannex) [Here, we consider limits that can be obtained by the Casimir And Non-Newtonian force EXperiment (Cannex)   –39). Thiz-axis as follows. Between the upper surface of the fixed lower mirror at D and above that at Cannex setup, we can apply the force induced on a point particle by dilatons in Eq. 92\documn in Eq. , while fn in Eq.  instead.analysis  where ththe Nordvedt effect, which relates to a difference between the free fall acceleration of the Earth and Moon towards the Sun ,deviations from the inverse-square law at distances comparable to the Earth–Moon separation andG.time-variation of Since the dilaton interaction is time-independent, it cannot induce a time-variation of the effective coupling G. Hence, only the first two constraints can lead to dilaton bounds and will be analyzed here.In this section we analyze bounds on dilatons due to Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR), which provides three separate constraints  due to tviz. an equivalence principle violation, is attributed to the dilaton field. For the equivalence principle violation quantified by the Eötvos parameterFor the first LLR test we consider the acceleration of the Earth (periment .R, and given by 74For the second LLR test we consider the precession of the lunar perigee caused by fifth forces. The corresponding Eq.  is derivqBOUNCE we obtain results by employing bouncing ultracold neutrons, second, Cannex provides bounds by measuring induced pressures between parallel plates and third, from Lunar Laser Ranging we obtain additional bounds in the astrophysical regime. We have shown here that the dilaton models will be mostly tested in the region of parameter space where We have derived approximate analytical solutions to the dilaton field theory in the presence of a one or two mirror system as well as for a sphere. The 1-dimensional equations of motion have been integrated in each case. The analytical results obtained herein provide the necessary input for the numerical study carried out in parallel to this work . The latron case . Finallyron case  and ther


Exposure to noise is a common and the most preventable cause of hearing loss. Occupational noise is responsible for approximately 16% of disabling hearing loss in adults. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is the second most common occupational illness or injury, even after decades of study, regulation and interventions in the workplace to try to prevent it.NIHL is irreversible, manifesting first and predominantly at the frequencies of 3 kHz, 4 kHz and 6 kHz. It takes longer for the frequencies of 0.25 kHz, 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 8 kHz to be compromised.2NIHL etiopathogenesis is a multifactorial one. Several genes are involved in different mechanisms that increase susceptibility to noise.Risk awareness must be associated with patient motivation to take the necessary measures to reduce exposure to potentially harmful noise, both in the workplace and during leisure activities.Listening to music during sports activities increases attention, reduces fatigue and increases alertness. The effects obtained on performance depend on the characteristics of the stimulus, the individual and the intensity and type of activity. The more pleasant a song is, the louder you want to hear it.The appropriate frequency of occupational audiometric tests is poorly studied, and it is not based on population studies. There is general medical agreement that it audiometry should be performed annually. Brazilian legislation is the only one that establishes that the first periodic audiometric examination must be performed after six months of work, becoming annual as of the second periodic examination.Although the improvement in the standards and control of exposure to noise have advanced since the end of World War II, NIHL remains a significant public health problem. The problems caused by NIHL go beyond the auditory symptoms and may affect the vestibule, which increases the risks of accidents in the workplace, in addition to insomnia, irritability and arterial hypertension, decreasing productivity and resulting in risks to the workers’ health. There is much to be done to prevent the condition in populations that are genetically at greater risk for NIHL. The popularization of headphones to listen to music has resulted in early sensorineural hearing loss in young individuals and adolescents. It makes it difficult to identify workers whose audiometric thresholds have worsened exclusively due to their professional activity.The authors declare no conflicts of interest.


In the event of a sudden illness or injury, elderly individuals are often dependent on self-help and mutual assistance from partners. With poor access to medical services during natural and other disasters, the importance of first aid knowledge of elderly individuals increases even more. We assessed the opinions of different generations of Slovenian population regarding the importance of knowing the basic first aid measures. In addition, we aimed to examine the knowledge of first aid in the most common emergencies that threaten elderly people’s health and lives, focusing on the knowledge of elderly.n = 1079). Statistically significant differences in average ratings of the importance of first aid knowledge were compared among different age groups with one-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc test. Significant differences in percentages of correct answers in particular cases of health conditions between different age groups were determined using the χ 2 test followed by post hoc tests.A structured questionnaire was conducted with a representative Slovenian adult population (Slovenes are well aware of the importance of first aid knowledge and feel personally responsible for acquiring this knowledge. The general opinion is that older retirees need less first aid knowledge than individuals in younger populations. We found a high level of knowledge about symptoms and first aid measures for some of the most common health conditions that occur in old age. The level of knowledge in the group of the oldest respondents was comparable with that of younger age groups. However, their recognition of health conditions was also somewhat worse, especially when recognising the symptoms and signs of hypoglycaemia and heart attack. Most of the tested knowledge did not depend on a person’s age but on the time since that person was last educated in first aid.The knowledge of people older than 80 years is somewhat poorer than that in the younger population, mainly because too much time has passed since they were last educated in first aid. Public awareness of first aid needs to be increased and appropriate guidelines should be given with a focus on the elderly population.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12873-022-00675-9. As the global population ages , the perA UK study showed that a relatively small proportion of elderly people had received FA education  and a Sl). The selection of units (persons) included in the sample was carried out based on the Central Register of Population of Slovenia as a sample list. The sample selection was a random two-stage procedure, whereby each person in the population was equally likely to be included. In the first stage, 200 primary sampling units (PSUs) were selected using the Statistical Office of Slovenia’s Cluster of Enumeration Arias (CEA). The PSUs were randomly selected with a probability that was proportional to the CEA population size. PSU selection also considered previous stratification . In the second stage, a fixed number  was selected within each of the 200 PSUs , using a simple random selection procedure. Thus, the size of the initial gross sample was 2,000 individuals (200 PSU * 10).A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted in 2019 as part of a more extensive survey of Slovenian public opinion (SJM19/1), performed by the Public Opinion and Mass Communication Research Centre of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. The survey population was a randomly selected sample of individuals aged 18 years and older from the overall Republic of Slovenia population . There were 139 inaccessible units in the sample , 403 refused to participate, and 379 refused for other reasons . All subjects were interviewed face-to-face by trained interviewers, and they completed a structured, pretested questionnaire. The interviewers interrupted the interviewees only to clarify a question if needed, but they did not reveal any information about the questions.Of the 2000 individuals sampled, the response rate was 54% . The results showed the same characteristics as the ANOVA results and did not change the values of the results. Therefore, we presented the ANOVA results for a more straightforward interpretation and comprehensibility of the averages compared to the ranks. Dependent variables obtained with substantive questions are expressed as the percentages (%) of affirmative/correct answers, and then the statistically significant differences among the different categories of age groups (independent variable) were determined using the χ2 square test followed by appropriate post hoc tests for multiple comparisons. Due to multiple comparisons, the level of statistical significance was adjusted (p < 0.05). With regression analysis, we determined the correlation among the variables of FA knowledge (achieved number of points on the knowledge test), the time that had elapsed since the last FA training  and the age (in years) of the respondents. We performed preliminary analyses for normality. Given that the distribution was not normal, we used Spearman’s rho.The data were analysed using the SPSS ver. 24 software package ; the demographic data were interpreted using descriptive statistics. For the elderly population, we selected persons older than 60 years, as the average retirement age in Slovenia was 60 years for women and 62 years for men between 2016 and 2020  and accoThe demographic data of 1,079 respondents are presented in Table p < 0.05) higher when compared to older retirees and children  was 4.49 ± 0.607, indicating that adult Slovenians generally believed that FA knowledge was important or very important. In all age groups of the respondents, the average levels of the importance of FA knowledge attributed to students and employed people, respectively, were statistically significantly (en Table . People en Table .Table 2Rp < 0.05) higher responsibility for the dissemination of FA knowledge to different organisations or individuals than to the media or personal physicians (Table p > 0.05) between the level of responsibility of organisations and individuals. The different age groups of respondents were almost unanimous in this opinion, as there were no significant differences among them (p > 0.05), except in the case of a personal physician, for which the ANOVA test showed a significant global effect, which was not confirmed by the post hoc tests  to all subjects as important or very important . The respondents attributed a statistically significantly (ns Table . There wts Table .Table 3Rp < 0.001). In contrast, the number of points scored on the knowledge test was not correlated with the age of the respondents .We tested the correlation among the variables of FA knowledge , the time since the last FA training (time categories) and the age (years) of the respondents with regression analysis. The correlation between FA knowledge and the time elapsed since the last FA training was negative but negligible (correlation strength -0.083). Nevertheless, the correlation was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The share of correct answers in the oldest age group was also statistically significantly lower than that in the group aged younger than 46 years (p < 0.001). Interestingly, although they less frequently recognised this disorder, those over 60 years of age were nevertheless more frequently aware of the correct FA measures for hypoglycaemia compared to those younger than 31 years . . The same was true for recognising a heart attack .Taking a closer look at the knowledge of people over 60 years of age Table , we founA layperson, by providing FA, can have a significant impact on improving health and survival in a medical emergency –10. HoweMost adults in Slovenia correctly recognised the signs and symptoms of a stroke and heart attack and were aware of the correct FA measures in these situations. This finding is in accordance with similar surveys from Europe , 27 and The findings regarding the recognition of a stroke and heart attack contrast with those regarding hypoglycaemia; the latter is less well recognised by elderly individuals in comparison to younger respondents, although they tend to apply the correct FA countermeasures. Interestingly, individuals younger than 30 recognised the symptoms of hypoglycaemia but were less well equipped in applying the correct FA measures. Other studies , 30 alsoWhen faced with a person who shows no signs of life, the overwhelming majority of respondents in Slovenia had difficulty determining the correct CPR procedure to follow. Most respondents incorrectly answered to use an AED instead of chest compressions . Heard eIf we examine the knowledge of people over the age of 60 years in more detail, the proportions of correct answers about the recognition of hypoglycaemia and heart attack in our survey were statistically significantly smaller among the oldest respondents (over 80 years old). Because the oldest people are the most vulnerable and fragile , 25 and n = 402). In contrast, we deliberately conducted a survey with the entire adult Slovenian population because it allowed us to compare different age groups.One of the limitations of our research is that we only studied the theoretical knowledge of FA. Behaviour in real situations could be different. In real situations of cardiac arrest, Park et al.  found thThe elderly population is a vulnerable group dependent on self-help and mutual assistance from partners in the event of sudden illnesses or injuries. With poor access to emergency medical services during natural and other disasters , the importance of the elderly population’s FA knowledge increases even more. It is encouraging that we found solid knowledge among the elderly population regarding some emergencies in our research. The low level of knowledge regarding the understanding of procedures of CPR with AEDs and recognising hypoglycaemia poses a challenge and commitment to engaging key stakeholders in the training of laypeople in FA. In the future, significant emphasis should be placed on those over 80 years of age who are exposed the most to sudden illnesses and injuries.Additional file 1: Appendix A. Survey questionnaire: The first section of the structured FA questionnaire assessed the importance of FA knowledge and the responsibility for FA to specific groups in the population. The other two sections assessed general knowledge of the symptoms and signs of the most common health issues as well as the FA procedures for the latter.


This paper presents the results of a study on the influence of the degree of impregnation and activation temperature on the formation of the porous structure of activated carbons (ACs) obtained from Pine cones by the chemical activation process using potassium hydroxide as an activator. The advanced new numerical clustering based adsorption analysis (LBET) method, together with the implemented unique numerical procedure for the fast multivariant identification were applied to nitrogen and carbon dioxide adsorption isotherms determined for porous structure characterization of the ACs. Moreover, the Quenched Solid Density Functional Theory (QSDFT) method was chosen to determine pore size distributions. The results showed a significant influence of the primary structure of Pine cones on the formation of the porous structure of the developed ACs. Among others, it was evidenced by a very high degree of surface heterogeneity of all the obtained ACs, irrespective of the degree of impregnation with potassium hydroxide and the activation temperature. Moreover, the analysis of carbon dioxide adsorption isotherms showed, that the porous structure of the studied ACs samples contains micropores accessible only to carbon dioxide molecules. The results also showed a significant advantage of the LBET method over those conventionally used for porous structure analysis based on Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Dubinin–Raduskevich (DR) equations, because it takes into account surface heterogeneities. The novel analyses methods were more fully validated as a reliable characterization tool, by extending their application to the isotherms for ACs developed from the same precursor by phosphoric acid activation, and for samples arising from these ACs, further subjected to additional post-treatments. The effect of the raw material used as precursor was moreover analysed by comparison with previous reported results for other ACs. The complementarity of the results obtained with the LBET and QSDFT methods is also noteworthy, resulting in a more complete and reliable picture of the analyzed porous structures. Hence, a great number of measures have been taken to reduce degradation of the natural environment. Among them, adsorption using microporous activated carbons (ACs) has attracted increasing attention17.The increase in the use of activated carbons observed in recent years is caused by their unique physicochemical properties, including a developed specific surface area, high adsorption capacity, mechanical strength and chemical resistance. An advantageous feature of activated carbons in comparison with other adsorbents is their ease of regeneration, relatively low cost production and large resources of raw materials26.The precursors for the production of activated carbons can be any carbonaceous feedstock. However, they should be characterised by high content of elemental carbon, low content of volatiles, and inorganic substances, as well as high mechanical and thermal resistance, together with easy availability and low price. Currently, there is a very high interest in obtaining activated carbons from biomass wastes from forestry, wood and food industries. Use of waste biomass for the production of carbonaceous adsorbents, not only allows to obtain high quality adsorbents, but also contributes to waste management that often poses a significant threat to the natural environment27. Physical activation is commonly used on an industrial scale for the production of activated carbons, due to relatively low production costs and no need for chemical substances28. It involves carbonization of the precursor in an inert atmosphere followed by the subsequent partial gasification of the carbonized precursor with a mild oxidizing agent, such as steam or CO2, at high temperatures (1073–1273 K) under strictly controlled conditions28.Activated carbons are basically obtained by the so-called physical or chemical activation process29. The mixture prepared in this way is then thermally treated at relatively moderate temperatures. In this process, the resulting solid products formed by mixtures of the remaining carbon and other side products require to be washed in order to eliminate the latter and to obtain a completely developed free pore structure30. An important advantage of chemical activation is that the process normally takes place at a lower temperature and shorter time than those used in physical activation. Moreover, yields in chemical activation are usually higher than in physical activation because the chemical agents used possess dehydrogenation properties that inhibit formation of tar and reduce the production of other volatile products12. In addition, activated carbons obtained by chemical activation have a larger surface area and well controlled microporosity32. The type of activating agent notably affects the textural characteristics of the solid obtained. Optimal operating conditions vary significantly depending on the reactive agent used33.Chemical activation consists of impregnation of the raw material selected as a precursor with a suitable chemical agent40. Since biopolymers constituting biomassic precursors are hydrolyzed in basic media, they are carbonized prior to impregnation with KOH solutions, to avoid disintegration and favour reaction with KOH40.Activation using KOH as the activating agent is an effective and popular method for the development of microporous carbonaceous materials with very high surface area and adsorption capacity, especially when they are derived from biomassic raw materials41 developed a series of activated carbons from Pine cones targeted at post-combustion CO2 capture through chemical activation with KOH, by varying the impregnation ratio and the final thermal treatment temperature. Textural characteristics of the developed activated carbons were assessed through the use of conventional methods applied to adsorption isotherms. Although the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET)42 and Dubinin–Radushkevich (DR)43 models are commonly employed to determine the specific surface area and micropore volume, these methods present certain limitations, mainly because they assume that the adsorption process takes place on a homogeneous surface.Textural characteristics of activated carbons are known to play a fundamental role in their adsorption performance, and therefore a comprehensive understanding and reliable characterization of their porous structures are relevant for practical applications. In a previous work Gomez Delgado et al.48, together with the Quenched Solid Density Functional Theory (QSDFT) method55. These methods, in contrast to the conventional ones, take into account the heterogeneity of the surface, among other factors, and are expected to lead to reliable textural parameters that contribute to an improved, more accurate representation of the developed porous structures.Within this framework, the aim of the present work is to deepen knowledge into the porous structures of the aforementioned Pine cones-derived activated carbons by applying the advanced new numerical clustering based adsorption analysis (LBET) method41 presents the results of an analysis of the influence of preparation conditions, on the formation of the porous structure of activated carbons developed from Pine cones. The method used to prepare the activated carbons was described in detail in41. Briefly, the preparation process was carried out in two stages: the first consisted of the carbonization of the precursor material at 773 K under a N2 flow, while the second stage consisted of the thermal treatment of the carbonized precursor after being impregnated with KOH. In particular, the effects of the degree of impregnation, i.e., the ratio R of KOH to the carbonization product of the cones , and the activation temperature T  on the development of the porous structure of the obtained activated carbons , were analyzed41.The paper by Gomez-Delgado et al.2) adsorption isotherms determined at 77 K, and carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption isotherms determined at 273 K using Micromeritics ASAP 2020 HV for individual activated carbon samples. The morphological characterization of the precursor and the resulting activated carbons was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), using a Zeiss Supra 40 electron cannon field emission microscope .Porous structure analysis was performed based on nitrogen (NSBET from the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) equation42, the total pore volume Vt from the volume of N2 adsorbed at maximum relative pressure P/P0 = 0.99, and the micropore volume Vmicro from the Dubinin-Raduskevich (DR) equation were calculated43. Bearing in mind the well-known limitations of the BET and DR methods, especially the lack of consideration for the surface heterogeneity, a concept has been developed to extend the conducted studies with a comprehensive analysis of the porous structure based on nitrogen adsorption isotherms using the LBET48 and QSDFT55 methods.On the basis of adsorption isotherms determined, the values of specific surface area 48. Therefore, only the most important information about the LBET method necessary for the correct interpretation of the results will be briefly presented, including a detailed discussion of the parameters of the implemented LBET models.The LBET method, the theoretical foundations of the LBET models and their derivations, as well as the numerical fast multivariate procedure for adsorption system identification are described in detail in earlier publications48.The LBET method considers the surface heterogeneity, the possibility of adsorbate molecule cluster branching, and the geometrical and energy limitations of the formation of clusters of adsorbate molecules. In this method, the process of adsorption on a heterogeneous surface is viewed as the clusterisation of adsorbate molecules in highly dispersed space limited by the geometry of micropores. The clusters are constructed by adding consecutive layers being in equilibrium with the volatile phase. The set of adsorbate molecules, which were adsorbed mainly due to adhesive interactions with the adsorbent matter, is treated as the first layer of adsorption. Joining of further adsorbate molecules is viewed as the second layer of adsorption48. The first model type refers to the adsorption system in which the limitation in the number of layers results from competing the physical adsorption. The second model type describes the systems in which limitations of cluster size result from pores size.The adsorbate clusters considered in this theory are assumed to be constructed in configurationally independent ways, each starting with a unique primary site. In the LBET method, there exists a distinction between the two types of models48: the dimensionless energy parameters QA/RT and BC, corresponding to the maximum value of the adsorption energy on the first and subsequent layers, respectively; the volume of the first adsorbed layer VhA (cm3/g) interpreted as the volume of space accessible for the first adsorption layer; the geometrical parameter of the porous structure α determining the height of the adsorbate molecule clusters, α∈  (0–1) and α = 0 meaning that in pores of the analysed material only individual molecules are present; the geometrical parameter of the porous structure β determining the width of the adsorbate molecule clusters; the surface heterogeneity parameter, h, expressing the energetical heterogeneity of the surface.In addition, the LBET method enables the determination of the shape of the adsorption energy distribution on the surface of the material, thus giving much more information on the porous structure of activated carbons being analysed. In particular, the following porous structure parameters were determined using the LBET method and a method for fast multivariant identification of adsorption systemsh and the shape of the distribution of adsorption energy on the first layer48.The energetical heterogeneity of the microporous adsorption systems significantly and negatively impacts the numerical conditioning of the system identification tasks. To solve this problem, a unique fast multivariate method for fitting the LBET class models to the adsorption isotherms was proposed, which is also employed to define the value of the surface heterogeneity indicator σe, expressing the quality of fitting the theoretical adsorption isotherm to empirical data. To make possible application of the LBET method for near and supercritical temperatures, an original fluid state model was elaborated.Additionally, it is calculated the dispersion of fitting error, The pine cones samples were supplied by a logging company. They constitute a by-product of the activity. The forestry activity in Argentina is regulated by the Forest Law No. 26331, whose enforcement authorities are the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation. The regulations of logging and forest care are included in the framework of the recommendations of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction. Pinus canariensis has been categorized by IUCN, as a least-concern species. Besides, guidelines of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are carefully taken in account for the forest activity.E. Gomez Delgado, G.V. Nunell, P.R. Bonelli, and A.L. Cukierman carried out the formal characterization of the Pine cones used in the present study, according to the keys to Pinus canariensis species as thoroughly outlined and illustrated in “A Handbook of the World’s Conifers” by Aljos Farjon .No voucher specimen has been deposited in a publicly herbarium since there are only few pine species in South America, all being introduced, that can be easily identified.On the basis of previous results of nitrogen adsorption isotherms analyses carried out by means of BET and DR methods, it was shown that with the increase in both the degree of impregnation as well as the activation process temperature, both the specific surface area and the volume of micropores of the obtained activated carbons increased significantly Table .Table 1PR = 3, were characterized by very large specific surface areas SBET as well as micropore volumes Vmicro; the highest values of these parameters were determined for activated carbon ACH3 obtained at the highest activation temperature i.e. 1073 K  obtained by applying the LBET method to the experimental data for the activated carbons are presented in Figs. The shapes of adsorption energy distribution (AED) for the first adsorbed layer determined for the analysed activated carbon samples based on the nitrogen adsorption isotherms indicate the occurrence of a wide range of adsorption energy on the first adsorbed layer.55. They are presented in Fig. As part of the research, pore size distributions (PSD) and cumulative pore volumes (CPV) were also determined based on the nitrogen adsorption isotherms using the QSDFT methodR = 1 or R = 2 reached diameters between 1.0 and 1.4 nm, but when R rose to 3 the upper limit of the PSD extended to ~ 2.0 nm. This can be attributed to the widening of the existing pores likely due to the rupture and weakening of the walls of the porous matrix, as might be inferred from certain signs of fragmentation and disintegrated particles in the SEM images for the activated carbons obtained with the highest R, that are later shown in Fig. R = 3 was used, resulting in a widening of the distributions towards larger pore sizes.The PSDs of the activated carbons obtained with R, the presence of micropores rises with increase in the temperature, even though the upper limits of the PSDs remain unchanged, thus indicating that the PSD broadness is more sensitive to changes in R.Likewise, as can be inferred from the cumulative pore volume plots, at constant 2 isotherm since for all samples this diameter is around 1.8 nm, being the smallest diameter that can be obtained from the information given by the N2 isotherm. This would also be in agreement with the data presented in Table Vt) and the volume of micropores (Vmicro) are similar for all the activated carbons.The PSDs plots indicate that all the samples are microporous, showing pores especially in the supermicroporous range (0.7 nm–2 nm). This result is consistent with the pore diameter calculated using the N2 at 77 K is widely used for porosity characterization, because it covers a wide relative pressure range (from 10–8 to 1 P/P0). However, it has the disadvantage of possible problems of N2 diffusion inside the narrow porosity (size < 0.7 nm). To overcome this problem, the use of other adsorbates at higher temperatures has been proposed. Carbon dioxide CO2 adsorption at 273 K is considered an easy alternative to N2 for the assessment of such narrow microporosity56. Despite the larger dimension of CO2 molecules compared to N2, the higher adsorption temperature, in contrast to N2 at 77 K, results in a larger kinetic energy of the CO2 molecules, that are able to enter into the narrow pores, thus avoiding the diffusional problems above mentioned. Therefore, in the present study, carbon dioxide adsorption isotherms determined at 273 K were additionally analyzed for all the obtained activated carbon samples from Pine cones. The DR, LBET, and QSDFT methods were used for the calculations analogously to the nitrogen adsorption isotherms, and the results are summarized in Table Physical adsorption of NVmicro, i.e. the volume of micropores calculated from the DR equation, increases; similarly, the values of the parameter VhA, i.e. the volume of the first absorbed layer calculated using the LBET method, also increases. It is pointed out that the increase in the values of the mentioned parameters is more influenced by the degree of impregnation compared to the influence of the temperature of the activation process.As can be seen from the results collected in Table QA/RT and BC, respectively, indicate strong interactions of the first layer with the surface of the tested activated carbon samples and much smaller interactions between the subsequent adsorbed layers.The values of the energy parameters for the first layer as well as for the higher layers, i.e. h determined for individual activated carbon samples indicate that the surface of these materials is strongly energetically heterogeneous. However, the values of geometric parameters α and β for most samples are practically similar to each other and indicate that high and significantly branching clusters of carbon dioxide molecules are formed in the micropores of these materials.In turn, the values of the surface heterogeneity parameter β were obtained. This is related to the fact that in the case of ACL1, the microporous structure did not develop significantly, which was influenced by both the low degree of impregnation and the relatively low temperature of the activation process. On the other hand, in the case of activated carbon marked as ACH3, a lower value of the parameter β, in comparison with the other samples indicates the formation of narrower clusters of carbon dioxide molecules, while the structure is more developed, which is shown by the highest value of the VhA parameter among all the samples analyzed.The exceptions are samples ACL1 and ACH3 for which lower values of geometric parameters Comparing the results obtained from the analysis of carbon dioxide adsorption isotherms with those obtained from nitrogen adsorption isotherms, an earlier suspicion that the porous structure of the studied activated carbons samples may contain pores inaccessible to nitrogen molecules, but accessible to carbon dioxide molecules, was confirmed.The values of energy parameters and especially geometric parameters of LBET method determined for carbon dioxide adsorption isotherms are very similar, so it can be concluded that in the case of the primary raw material used, its morphological structure has a significant effect on the development of the porous structure of the obtained activated carbons.The pore size distributions PSD and cumulative pore volumes CPV, shown in Fig. Based on these pore size distributions, it can be seen that the range from 0.3 to 0.9 nm is found for all the analyzed activated carbons, that have a bimodal structure of the smallest pores. This observation indicates the significant influence of the morphological structure of the original raw material on the formation of the microporous structure of the obtained activated carbons, as stated earlier. The mentioned feature of Pine cones as a primary material opens up many possibilities for obtaining adsorbents with unique porous structures, including those designed for carbon dioxide sequestration processes.57. The presence of simple and fairly uniform structures, composed of few types of elongated fibrous cells, i.e. tracheids, may be noticed. Comparison of the SEM images of the developed ACs with those of the precursor, indicates that the activation process promoted an increase in the cavities on the outer surface of the cell wall in all cases. The activated carbons show spongiform structures that present certain similarity to those of a honeycomb with some openings and rough terminations.Figure The presence of particles of different sizes and shapes can also be observed, possibly originated from fragmentation of the cell wall. On the other hand, it may be noticed that part of the original morphology of the precursor remained preserved after the activation process. This fact is more evident for the sample obtained with the lowest temperature and impregnation ratio (ACL1). In this image, it is even possible to visualize a fibrous structure composed of long channels arranged in parallel, showing that the directional pattern of the precursor vessels remained practically intact and without signs of structural collapse. Overall, the SEM images indicate that more severe conditions led to intensify the development of the porous structures of the activated carbons.3PO4 activation by Nunell et al.58. In the mentioned work, the activated carbons were obtained by activation of Pine cones using a 50% solution of H3PO4 acid, at a weight ratio of activator to precursor equal to 2, at 723 K (carbons designated as ACP).Furthermore, the effect of the chemical nature of the activator on the formation of the porous structure of activated carbons was also analyzed. For this purpose, the results of calculations for the activated carbons obtained by KOH activation were compared with the results of analyses for activated carbons obtained from the same precursor by H2 atmosphere (activated carbons designated as ACPT) and to impregnation with urea aqueous solution and subsequent heat treatment at 623 K (activated carbons designated as ACPU)58. The nitrogen adsorption isotherms were determined for the activated carbons obtained in this way and their structures were analyzed using BET, LBET and QSDFT methods. The results are summarized in Table The resulting activated carbons were also subjected to additional heat treatment at 1073 K in an inert NSBET specific surface area and a large pore volume. It was also shown from the LBET analysis that the volume of the first adsorbed layer defined by the parameter VhA is large. The values of energy parameters QA/RT and BC point to favorable conditions for the occurrence of the multilayer adsorption process, and the value of parameter h indicates that the surface of the activated carbon obtained with the acid is strongly heterogeneous, showing the same value than the KOH-derived carbons.From the results obtained, it can be concluded that the activated carbon designated as ACP has a relatively large h decreases markedly for the post-treated activated carbons, thus indicating that the additional treatments promote strong modifications in the surface heterogeneity of the phosphoric acid-derived activated carbon. On the other hand, the values of geometrical parameters α and β indicate that high and non-branching clusters of adsorbate molecules are formed in the pores of this adsorbent.The values of SBET, Vt and VhA parameters while having a lower degree of surface heterogeneity compared to the ACP sample without additional heat treatment .Analysis of the porous structure of activated carbons obtained at 1073 K also leads to interesting conclusions. As already mentioned in the case of activated carbons obtained from Kraft lignin, the sample obtained at this temperature was characterized by lower values of specific surface area, volume of micropores and volume of the first adsorbed layer, indicating the destructive effect of higher temperature on the pore structure, i.e. on the burning of walls between adjacent pores. The situation is different for activated carbons obtained from Pine cones, namely, at 1073 K, activated carbons with the largest values of specific surface area, volume of micropores and volume of the first adsorbed layer were obtained among carbons obtained from Pine cones. It is also worth noting that samples of activated carbons obtained from Kraft lignin were characterized by significantly lower degrees of surface heterogeneity compared to samples obtained from Pine cones, which, regardless of the temperature of the activation process, had the highest degree of surface heterogeneity , identical to those obtained from Pine cones. However, activated carbon obtained from Kraft lignin at the same temperature and mass ratio R = 3, was characterized by a much lower degree of surface heterogeneity.Interesting results are also provided by a comparison of the obtained structure parameters for activated carbons obtained from Kraft lignin and Pine cones at the activation process temperature R = 2 were characterized by a much narrower range of pore sizes, compared to activated carbons prepared at a mass ratio of R = 3.Significant differences were also observed in the shapes of the adsorption energy distribution on the first layer for activated carbons prepared from Kraft lignin obtained at different mass ratios, in contrast to activated carbons obtained from Pine cones, for which the energy adsorption distributions (AED) are characterized by virtually identical shapes. A comparison of the pore size distributions (PSD) determined for the analysed activated carbons also provided interesting observations, namely, activated carbons obtained at 60 presents the results of analysis of the structure of activated carbons produced from Pistachio nut, Hazelnuts and Pecan nuts shells. These adsorbents were obtained by a two-step process, i.e. carbonization at 773 K and KOH activation with mass ratios R = 1, 2, 3 and 4 at an activation process temperature of 1073 K. Comparing the results of the analysis of the structure of activated carbons prepared from the shells of the three kind of nuts with the results obtained for Pine cones activated carbons, it is noteworthy that the values of specific surface area and volume of the first adsorbed layer are significantly smaller, as well as the greater heights of clusters of adsorbate molecules in the case of activated carbons made from Pine cones. It is noteworthy that activated carbon with the largest volume of micropores, however, was obtained from Pine cones at a mass ratio of R = 3.Another article60 but lower than for the activated carbons produced from Pine cones under the same preparation conditions. However, the exception was the activated carbon obtained from pecan shells at a mass ratio R of 3 and at an activation process temperature of 1073 K. This sample was characterized by the lowest degree of surface heterogeneity60.Activated carbons obtained from the shells of the three kind of nuts were characterized by a high or very high degree of surface heterogeneityR = 1 and 2 with adsorbents obtained from Pine cones at mass ratios of 1, 2, and 3 respectively, one can see similarities in the pore size distribution. These similarities indicate not only similarities in the structure of the biomass material, but also the significant influence of the activator on the formation of the porous structure.The analysis of the shapes of adsorption energy distributions (AED) on the surface of the tested adsorbents and the determined pore size distributions also revealed differences in the porous structure of the obtained activated carbons related to the different structure of the primary raw material. Namely, the adsorption energy distributions determined for activated carbons obtained from Nut shells showed a predominant share of sites with high adsorption energy, while the aforementioned distributions determined for carbons obtained from Pine cones were characterized by a homogeneous distribution of sites with different energies. Some analogies between the porous structure of activated carbons obtained from Walnut shells and Pine cones were observed for the shape of the pore size distributions PSD. Namely, for lower mass ratios, much narrower PSDs were determined; however, the distributions determined for activated carbons prepared from Nut shells were bimodal, i.e., there were two peaks on the distributions corresponding to the proportions of dominant micropores and with an increase in the mass ratio of the activator to the activated substance, the proportion of larger micropores and mesopores increased, in contrast to activated carbons obtained from Pine cones, in which only micropores are present. However, if one compares activated carbons obtained from Nut shells at 61 presents the results of a study of the structure of activated carbons prepared from Mahogany, Ebony and Hornbeam wood, through a carbonization process at 773 K and a chemical activation process with potassium hydroxide at 1073 K, with mass ratios R = 1, 2 and 3. The aforementioned activated carbons obtained from high-density biomass materials were characterized by very high values of specific surface area, volume of micropores, and volume of the first adsorbed layer, which is not surprising given the properties of the primary raw material61. However, an interesting observation made in the aforementioned article was that as the mass ratio R increased from 1 to 2, the degree of surface heterogeneity increased, while already at a mass ratio R equal to 3, the surface heterogeneity decreased significantly. In comparison, in the case of activated carbons obtained from Pine cones, the degree of heterogeneity was constant and independent of the preparation conditions, which clearly indicates the specific properties of the original raw material.The article by Kwiatkowski and BroniekR = 1, medium-height clusters of adsorbate molecules were formed, and at a mass ratio of R = 2, significantly higher clusters of nitrogen molecules were already formed, while already at R = 3 in the case of activated carbons obtained from Ebony wood and Hornbeam wood, only single nitrogen molecules were adsorbed in the pores61. There are also significant differences in the shapes of adsorption energy distributions (AED) determined for activated carbons obtained from different woods and Pine cones, namely, in the case of activated carbons obtained from Mahogany, Ebony and Hornbeam woods, with a mass ratio of R = 1, the shapes of the AED plot indicate the dominant contribution of high-energy sites. On the other hand, for activated carbons obtained from Mahogany and Ebony wood at a mass ratio of R = 2, the shape of the adsorption energy distribution shows a dominant share of medium adsorption energy sites. While the shapes of the AEDs plots for activated carbons obtained from different types of wood at R = 3 indicate the presence of a wide range of adsorption sites with different adsorption energies61. In contrast, in the case of activated carbons obtained from Pine cone, the shapes of the AEDs plots point to the presence of a medium-width spectrum of sites with different adsorption energies on the first layer. Note that the shapes of the adsorption energy distributions for activated carbons obtained from Pine cones at different R mass ratios are very close to each other, indicating the dominant influence of the primary raw material on the formation of their adsorption properties.Another feature of activated carbons resulting from the characteristics of the primary raw material is the shape and size of the clusters of adsorbate molecules are formed. In the case of activated carbons obtained from hard wood species at R, there is a successive increase in the proportion of larger micropores and small mesopores, i.e., up to about 4 nm61. In the case of activated carbons obtained from Pine cones, analogously, as the mass ratio value increased, the width of the PSD plot increased, covering, however, at R = 3 the maximum only the range of micropores, i.e., up to 2 nm.A comparative analysis of the shapes of the PSDs plots determined for activated carbons obtained from different types of wood and Pine cones indicates both some analogies and differences due to the different structure of the primary raw material from which the said carbons were obtained. In the compared activated carbons, as the mass ratio of activator to activated substance increased, an increase in distribution width was observed, covering an increasingly wide range of pore sizes. However, the distributions determined for activated carbons obtained from Mahogany, Ebony and Hornbeam wood, have a bimodal structure of micropores, and with an increase in the mass ratio Based on the analysis of the various experimental results presented above, it is shown that using identical preparation conditions, activated carbons with different adsorption properties are obtained from different biomass materials, which indicates that the nature of the primary raw material has a dominant influence on the formation of the porous structure of the activated carbons obtained from it. Therefore, it is reasonable to search for new materials for the production of activated carbons, especially of biomass origin, which is the subject of many research works. However, it should be emphasized that in order to properly select preparation conditions taking into account the nature of the primary raw material to obtain a carbon adsorbent with specific adsorption properties, a detailed study of the effect of preparation methods and conditions on the formation of the porous structure is required. Such studies require suitably precise and reliable methods for assessing adsorption properties and the forming porous structure, especially the complementary analysis by LBET and QSDFT methods.As part of the analysis, the unique characteristics of activated carbons obtained from Pine cones were demonstrated, including the presence of only micropores in their structure, thanks to which they can be used in advanced adsorption techniques and technologies, including in particular carbon dioxide sequestration.2 and CO2 adsorption isotherms obtained for their characterization. The LBET analysis applied showed that the activated carbons were characterized by a very high degree of energy heterogeneity, very large values of the volume of the first adsorbed layer as well as specific surface areas. The analysis of nitrogen adsorption isotherms showed that single adsorbate molecules adsorb in the pores of the studied activated carbons. They also exhibited huge amounts of narrow micropores, as characterized in depth by the analysis applied to CO2 adsorption isotherms. This feature is of significant importance for the potential use of the analysed samples in carbon dioxide sequestration and other processes.A thorough analysis of the porous structures of activated carbons developed by chemical activation of Pine cones with KOH has been carried out by applying novel advanced numerical methods to NThe analyses also showed a significant advantage of the LBET method over popular methods of porous structure analysis based on BET, and DR methods. The LBET method made it possible to determine the size of micropores and the degree of surface heterogeneity. Nevertheless, it should be kept in mind that it is only an approximation of the real porous structure based to a large extent on the adsorption of its specific mathematical model as well as an approximate model of the mechanism of adsorption processes occurring on the surface of adsorbents. There are very complicated mechanisms occurring during the processes of chemical activation, and thus practically no possibility to predict them. Therefore, in order to obtain adsorbents with appropriate parameters of the porous structure, it is necessary to perform a series of experiments supplemented by a reliable analysis of the structure, using advanced methods.


The impact of environmental catastrophes and crises on religion and religious discourses in history and modernity has been described frequently and from different perspectives. However, the interpretations and narratives of scriptless civilizations have remained largely unnoticed. Due to the concrete lack of reliable sources of information, those interpretations and narratives can nowadays only be recorded and processed in the scientific discourse in a fragmentary way. Therefore, this article unfolds along the early work of ethnologist and linguist Curt Unckel (1883–1946), who was called Nimuendajú during his lifetime, the thesis that an indigenous group of the Apapocúava-Guaraní tribe in southeastern Brazil correlated the global information dissemination of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake with cosmological narratives of an impending apocalypse, leading to the decline and cultural degeneration of the group. The article thus demonstrates how cosmologies and world perceptions of an indigenous tribe at the dawn of globalization can be reconstructed and how information about catastrophic events from the news was processed with immediate local changes by a scriptless culture on the Brazilian frontier in the early twentieth century. In doing so, this article examines the role of media and communication in globalized modernity and how media literacy influences religious perception. Environmental catastrophes and calamities such as tsunamis and earthquakes have repeatedly raised the question of the metaphysical or supernatural. The meaningfulness of crises is being asked anew in human history. Accounts of such catastrophes and their respective interpretations are preserved especially in religious discourses. In some cases, the authors of such texts and traditions provided an apocalyptic undertone concluding that the events are a punishment or a warning from the God(s) or/and that “the end of the world is near.” In other cases, worldviews and cosmologies arrive at different interpretations in their narrative traditions, which rather help to deal with unknown events and provide coping strategies. Such strategies can be related to the notion of the functionality of religion. In this understanding, religion serves to deal with crises and other unexpected events, as could be observed in many cases worldwide during the COVID-19 crisis  in 1914. Nimuendajú’s article deals with the sagas of the creation and destruction of the world as a basis of the Apapocúava-Guaraní religion and provides detailed information about the worldview of an indigenous group in the state of São Paulo at the beginning of the twentieth century and how they incorporated information from newspapers into their world view. The time in which Nimuendajú lived among the Apapocúava-Guaraní and collected the research data falls into the period in which many globalization theorists locate the beginning of globalization  and conducted research for different museums and institutions. In 1913, Nimuendajú emigrated from São Paulo to Belém in the state of Pará. In all likelihood, the move to Belém was made at the suggestion of the director of the SPI, Marshal Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon (1865-1958). In Belém, Nimuendajú had his permanent residence until the end of his life , the ornithologist Emilie Snethlage (1868-1929), contacts were made with German academic ethnology, which opened the doors to the publication of Nimuendajú’s first scientific article on the religion of the Apapocúava-Guaraní In the summer when Europe entered the First World War, an article by an author with the foreign-sounding name of Nimuendajú was published in the German-language academic journal “„Meine Gewährsleute waren drei gute Freunde aus der Apapocúava-Horde, der ich selbst ja auch angehöre: der alte, konservative Guyrapaiju, der vielgereiste Tupäjü und besonders der religiös-schwärmerische Joguyrov.“ Subsequently, when the narratives were recorded and documented by different speakers, the narratives were logged and no longer revised so as not to falsify their content retrospectively. In his work, Nimuendajú was assisted by three members of the group, with whom he formed a research team. In his descriptions of the composition of the research group, Nimuendajú attaches great importance to showing the different character traits of each member in a well-founded manner and making his role within the group transparent.„Ich habe mit Vorliebe die Gesellschaft der Alten und besonders der Medizinmänner gesucht und mich mit ihnen viele Stunden lang über die alte Religion belehren lassen.“ Nimuendajú focused his research question primarily on religion and its practice under the conditions that the group was experiencing at the time. To obtain research data and to create an adequate sample, Nimuendajú primarily used the experts of religion, whom he preferred to interview and accompany during the practice of religious and cultural acts:Land ohne Schlechtes“. Welches einige, der Tradition zufolge im Mittelpunkt der Erde, die meisten jedoch im Osten, jenseits des Meeres vermuteten. Nur so hofften sie dem drohenden Verderben zu entrinnen.“ “Inspired by visions and dreams, medicine men appeared as prophets of the near end of the world, gathered followers around them in more or less large numbers, and went with them under medicine dances and magic chants on the search for the ‘Nimuendajú starts his argument with the observation that the traditional religions and world interpretations of the Apapocúava-Guaraní had been preserved astonishingly despite the Jesuits’ missionary attempts over many years and continued to present themselves as living phenomena in their communities :“Despachos agora recebidos de Washington e de S. Francisco da California dizem que esta cidade acaba de ser quasi totalmente destruida por pavoroso terremoto. Sabe-se que ha centenas de mortos, attingindo a milhares os feridos. Os prejuizos são calculados em cerca de trinta milhões de dollars. Outra parte da cidade está ameaçada de ser devorada por medonho inçendio. Os bombeiros e populares trabalham desesperadamente. Novos despachos chegados á tarde de S. Francisco da California asseguram que a população daquella cidade está fugindo transido de pavor, receiando a replicação do terremoto. É horrível o espectacolo que apresenta a cidade que se acha a meio em escombros e presa das chammas.”1“It has just been reported from Washington and San Francisco, California, that this city has been almost destroyed by a terrible earthquake. It is known that hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured. The damage is estimated at thirty million dollars. Another part of the city is in danger of being engulfed by a terrible fire. Firefighters and people are desperately working. New reports reaching us this afternoon from San Francisco, California, assure us that the population of that city is fleeing in fear of a repeat of the earthquake. It is a terrible spectacle that the city, half in ruins and trapped by flames, presents.” (Translation: SvdH)Archival newspaper articles indicate that coverage was also reported in Brazil in connection with the San Francisco earthquake on April 18, 1906. The newspaper land without evil, which could provide a safe haven for them. They surrendered to their fate and fell into a cultural pessimism that embedded itself with the looming decline of the way of life and threats from the outside due to growing migration and alienation.The information that a part of the world in the west had collapsed and gone up in flames may make the tribe conclude that the end of the world is near. As a consequence, the tribe gave up hope for the fulfillment of the prophecy that there would be a This event is of particular interest to the argument of this article, showing how globalization and mediatization can inspire religious imaginaries and influence religious interpretations even in indigenous tribes on the periphery of so-called civilization. Thus, such a correlation points to the fact that the influence of mediatized communication at the early time of globalization could also play a significant role for indigenous cultures on the periphery, in that they viewed global accounts through the lens of their cosmologies.Paradoxically, the Apapocúava-Guaraní tribe tried to deny themselves outside influence by accepting and externalizing Christian symbols and language. But it was precisely through the global dissemination of media that the cosmology of the worldview was shaken and the prophecy of the approaching end of the world was expected.In Nimuendajú’s further visits to the group in 1912, the stories of the near end of the world associated with the reporting of 6 years earlier were still virulent, and the members of the group expected the end of the world in the very near future  – so severe that it is hardly imaginable that these have taken place without leaving deep and structural traces within their cosmologies and socioreligious processes as we have come to know them” Wright : 44.However, it must be noted that the indigenous tribes in the region might still have managed to resist the invasion of the Bandeirantes and to mutually constitute themselves as a community or find a place to survive in another region. What led to the tribe’s extinction, however, was not a disease and physical annihilation, but the tribe’s religious worldview that did not provide hope for a better future somewhere else. Confronted with the globalized circulation of news and information, the tribe expected the immediate annihilation of the world. To return to Luhmann’s theory of globalization, the contact between the indigenous tribes and Western civilization boiled down to the fact that only one of the social systems could survive and that communication across the globe plays a crucial role in this regard: “Under modern conditions, however, and as a consequence of functional differentiation, only one societal system can exist. Its communicative network spreads over the globe. It includes all human  communication […]. A plurality of possible worlds becomes inconceivable” Luhmann : 132–133The passive defeat and lack of search for real or spiritual liberation among the Apapocúava-Guaraní can only be understood as a side effect of globalization in this context. Forced to keep up with the accelerated global spread of information, the Apapocúava-Guaraní could not adapt their religious interpretations to the velocity of the modern world. While religious interpretations about the end of the world in the Pentecostal movement and the Chinese diaspora in San Francisco faded over time, the Apapocúava-Guaraní hold on to the conviction that the end of the world is near. The different velocities of the two civilizations may have led to the dramatic extinction of the slower one when they came into contact. Thus, it can be shown that religion plays a fundamental resource in the global processing of media and that the increased speed with which news circulates the world requires from members of modern societies capacities which are not a priori inherent in human beings but are appropriated, learned, and incorporated in the course of socialization within modernity.


Florid oral papillomatosis is characterized by its tendency to local recurrence that requires multiple treatments, leading to important functional sequelae.We present 74‐year‐old woman with oral florid papillomatosis (OFP) who refused a new surgical treatment, and was treated with imiquimod 5% in orabase on alternate days for 16 weeks. Treatment was complemented with application of hyaluronic acid gel.There were no side effects to the treatment, nor signs of local recurrence, in the treated area at 2 years of follow‐up.After reviewing the literature and according to our knowledge, this is the first published case of oral florid papillomatosis treated topically with imiquimod 5% successfully. Topical treatment with imiquimod 5% in orabase may be a valid alternative for patients with recurrent OFP located in the anterior area of the oral cavity who refuse surgical treatment, although we must closely monitor the patient for the possibility of recurrence or malignant degeneration. We recommend maintaining good oral hygiene, rinsing the mouth in the morning and applying gel with hyaluronic acid on the nontreatment days to minimize side effects on the mucosa adjacent to the lesions. A weekly check was carried out and good tolerance was observed Figure , the tre3Topical treatment with imiquimod 5% in orabase may be a valid alternative for patients with recurrent OFP located in the anterior area of the oral cavity who refuse surgical treatment, although we must closely monitor the patient for the possibility of recurrence or malignant degeneration.4Imiquimod is an immunomodulator that lacks direct antiviral or antineoplastic effects. Its main mechanism of action is the promotion of the innate and adaptive immune response, by stimulating monocytes and macrophages to produce the release of a group of cytosines, such as interferon alfa, tumor necrosis factor, and interleukins 1, 6, and 8, and also gamma interferon and interleukin 12. All of the above leads to an increase in the immune response measured by Th‐1 lymphocytes, similar to delayed‐type hypersensitivity and induces proliferation and differentiation of B lymphocytes . This administration system is comfortable, it can improve the availability of the medication during the entire treatment process, prevent the loss of drug by mouth and protect the film from saliva and bioerosion produced by the tongue and teeth.We supplement the treatment with hyaluronic acid gel on the nontreatment days to help regenerate the perilesional mucosa that may be affected by the use of the drug. All these measures have prevented the appearance of side effects and the need for a new surgical intervention while preserving the patient's quality of life. To our knowledge, this is the first case of OFP successfully treated with topical imiquimod 5%, with a 24‐month follow‐up period that is higher than that published by other authors whose range ranges from 3 to 18 months (Allam et al., Pedro Ruiz‐Huertas: Created the treatment hypothesis and designed the protocol. Alicia Borrego‐Luque: Responsible for clinical procedures and follow‐up of patients. Ángel Rollón‐Mayordomo: Analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. Pilar Toledano‐Valero and Carolina Manzotti: Both the authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors contributed toward data analysis, drafting and revising the paper and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.The authors declare no conflicts of interest.


Percutaneous procedures to divert blood flow from one blood vessel to another can be performed with intravascular catheters but demand a method to align a crossing needle from one vessel to another. Fluoroscopic imaging alone is not adequate, and it is preferable to have a sensor on one catheter that detects the correct alignment of an incoming needle. This can be implemented by generating dipole electric fields from the crossing catheter which are detected by a receiving catheter in the target vessel and, thus, can calculate and display the degree of alignment, permitting the operator to rotate the crossing catheter to guarantee alignment when deploying a crossing needle. Catheters were built using this concept and evaluated in vitro. The results show that accurate alignment is achieved, and a successful crossing can be made. The concept is being further developed for further clinical evaluation. The treatment of some diseases requires the diversion of blood flow from one vessel to another. Procedures that require this include bypass re-entry in chronic total occlusion  and arteTo achieve the diversion of blood from one vessel to another, two catheters are used, one in each vessel, and these are termed the crossing catheter and the target device. The source electrodes are in direct electrical contact with the blood or other conductive media. An AC voltage is applied to the source electrodes on the crossing catheter via a switch . In switThe voltage has maximum amplitude adjacent to the bottom two (positive) source electrodes, and the amplitude is zero along the line that is equidistant from the top (negative) and bottom (positive) source electrodes where there is a phase inversion. At a fixed distance from the crossing catheter, the voltage detected by the sensing electrode has a sinusoidal dependence on the rotational angle of the crossing catheter relative to the needle exit point . This isThe display unit generates a low voltage AC signal with a current within the limits set by EN60601-1 and with a fixed frequency in the kHz range which is alternately applied to the front–back or left–right electrode pairs, switching at 30 Hz. The signal from the sensing electrode on the target device is then amplified and digitised and its amplitude and phase extracted for each switch mode .The angle ϴ between the reference direction and the target device is then calculated using the algorithm:There is no discernible delay due to the calculation, and the angle is displayed in real time on a clockface display on a 10” screen. The alignment angle is continuously displayed whether the crossing catheter is stationary or being rotated. The clinician rotates the crossing catheter until the alignment angle ϴ is shown as 0° at the 12 o’clock position, indicating that the needle now points toward the target device and can be manually deployed. This physical rotation of the crossing catheter is similar to that performed in other percutaneous crossing procedures ,6.The smallest vessels the devices are likely to be used for are in radiocephalic AVF creation. The minimum diameter of the radial artery is at least 2 mm, and a minimum cephalic vein diameter of at least 2 mm is also recommended to ensure suitable maturation and primary patency outcomes . TherefoUsing basic trigonometry  and assuα from θ′:The needle diameter can be accounted for by subtracting θ—angle tolerance (centre line of needle)θ′—angle tolerance (edge of needle)d—centre-to-centre distance between the target device and crossing cathetera—radius of the target vessel lumenD—tangential distance between vessel luminaDN—needle diameterα—needle centre line angleA—diameter of the target vessel lumen∅B—diameter of the crossing vessel lumen∅C—crossing catheter diameter∅The calculation is performed with the crossing catheter positioned at the rear of the first vessel B. This is realistic as the crossing catheter tends to be pushed back when the crossing needle is deployed and is also the worst case for alignment tolerance. For the worst case of 2 mm diameter vessels, an angle θ of 8° was calculated for an intra-catheter distance d of 5 mm. This means that the maximum alignment tolerance allowable is ±8° to ensure a successful needle crossing between two vessels. Using the same formula as above, crossing between two 3 mm vessels with an intra-catheter distance of 15 mm can be achieved with an alignment tolerance of ±4.2°.The technique works in slightly curved vessels. The curvature of the crossing needle has been designed to intersect with the plane of the source electrodes at the typical separation of vessels, and, if a vessel is curved, then it will still intersect if the sensing electrode is approximately in the plane of the source electrodes. In the clinic, this is readily achieved using X-ray fluoroscopy. Furthermore, it is only the distal part of the catheters around the electrodes that needs to be reasonably parallel; the proximal length of the catheters can be curved.The performance of the guidance system was verified with two in vitro bench tests and in one ex vivo model. First, the crossing catheter and target device were mounted in a jig that permitted the crossing catheter to be rotated and the angle displayed on the screen with the alignment verified with a camera . The assA second in vitro evaluation was performed using conductive gel tissue phantoms which simulate the electrical properties of tissue. The gel was based on a recipe generally used for magnetic resonance imaging  to simulThe crossing catheter was mounted in a 3 mm diameter tube formed in the gel matrix, and the target device was inserted into a neighbouring 3 mm diameter cavity . Both caThe ability of the display unit to guide the delivery of a needle from one vessel to another was demonstrated by aligning the crossing catheter relative to the target device using the indicator on the display only. The crossing catheter was rotated until the calculated alignment angle was 0° relative to the target device. The needle was then deployed and its final position observed; a guide wire was also inserted though the needle to check that it entered the target cavity . This waFinally, the performance of the guidance system was tested in a commercially acquired ex vivo porcine tissue sample doused in saline solution to emulate human tissue properties. Two parallel cuts a few millimeters deep were made in the meat 10 mm apart to hold the catheters; these were doused with physiological saline and then covered with a flap of the tissue to fully surround the catheters. The crossing catheter was rotated and aligned on the display unit screen before deploying the needle. The top flap was then removed and the position of the needle tip relative to the target device noted. The alignment and needle deployment procedure was repeated 5 times and the position of the needle noted.The signals obtained as a function of an angle on a test tank filled with physiological saline are shown in The signals from the two switching modes were perfectly sinusoidal and shifted by 90° as required, and the calculated (and displayed) angle corresponded to the actual crossing catheter alignment angle. The calculated angle was 0° when the alignment was 0°, and the needle was pointing directly at the target device and would, therefore, cross correctly. In addition, the relationship between the calculated angle and the actual angle was monotonic, so the user will always rotate in the correct direction when seeking alignment.Tests in the gel phantom  presents significant challenges since the radial artery and cephalic vein are not immediately adjacent, thus, requiring alignment technology. This radiocephalic site is currently the first-line option for surgical AVF creation as it provides an easy-to-cannulate vein for dialysis treatment and enables subsequent surgical AVF creation in more proximal sites if it fails.Electric-field-based guidance could help overcome these challenges and enable endovascular radiocephalic AVF creation at the wrist with the corresponding health and economic benefits. Further work is planned to obtain the requisite approvals to perform clinical trials with this new technology.Generating electric fields in a conductive media with electrodes mounted on an intravascular catheter creates an asymmetric voltage distribution that can be detected by a second, neighbouring catheter. This enables the first catheter to be accurately oriented to deliver a needle towards the second catheter in an adjacent blood vessel to permit the percutaneous creation of anastomoses between vessels. The technique was shown to permit accurate needle delivery in in vitro and ex vivo models.The work in this manuscript led to the filing of two patent families, WO2016145202 ‘Surgical Device for the Percutaneous Creation of an Arteriovenous Fistula (AVF)’ and WO2019202339 “Apparatus for Orientation Display and Alignment in Percutaneous Devices”.