Filetype
Leptons with essentially the same properties apart from their mass are grouped into three families (or flavours). The number of leptons of each flavour is conserved in interactions, but this is not imposed by fundamental principles. Since the formulation of the standard model of particle physics, the observation of flavour oscillations among neutrinos has shown that lepton flavour is not conserved
The use of biofilms to improve the removal of organic micropollutants in waste¬water treatment plants (WWTPs) has been investigated. The work is divided into two parts. In the first part, the use of biofilms for the biological degradation of micro¬pollutants was investigated. In the second part, micropollutant removal was investigated with biofilm processes in combination with ozonation or activat
Removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be required over the next decades to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C aiming at not exceeding 1.5°C. Technological and ecosystem-based options are considered for generating negative emissions through carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and several nations have already included these in their Long-Term Low Gree
The Events Research Programme (ERP) was a multi-disciplinary study undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission risks and mitigations around the reopening of mass events in the UK in 2021 – including a behavioural study, exploring how non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing, pre-event virus testing, and the use of face coverings might en
As a research domain, the smart city keeps growing, despite the remaining contradictions and ambiguity related to its conceptual aspects. We propose to dig deeper into the complex socio-technical nature of the smart city and examine the concept through the lens of different public governance paradigms, therefore aligning it with the sustainability outcomes. Embracing interrelated dimensions of hum
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a marine toxin responsible for many intoxications around the world. Its presence in some pufferfish species and, as recently reported, in shellfish, poses a serious health concern. Although TTX is not routinely monitored, there is a need for fast, sensitive, reliable, and simple methods for its detection and quantification. In this work, we describe the use of an automated pa
Objective: Emerging research suggests that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with intestinal dysbiosis. This prospective pilot study evaluates changes in intestinal microbial composition in patients with RA initiating treatment with either methotrexate (MTX) or a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi). Methods: Consecutive patients, fulfilling the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/EULAR
Ethylene is one of the most important products in the emissions-intensive petrochemical industry. Decarbonizing the ethylene industry is thus important for achieving global carbon neutrality. This study is the first to explore future long-term zero-emissions production pathways for the ethylene industry in China, the world's biggest ethylene producer. An optimization model was built in the context
In this paper, a factor-augmented version of the New Keynesian Phillips curve (NKPC) is assessed using a data set comprised of a large panel of European Union (EU) member countries. The factor-augmentation is natural given that country-level inflation rates are highly co-moving. The presence of unattended common factors is important because it raises the issue of omitted variables bias, as the rea
The introduction of autonomous machines (AMs) in human domains has raised challenging questions about the attribution of responsibility; referred to as the responsibility gap. In this paper, we address the gap by arguing that entities should not be granted the freedom of action unless they can also recognise the same right for others—and be subject to blame or punishment in cases of undermining th
Microbial, algal, plant and animal cells have been immobilized, with preserved viability, by entrapment in various matrices according to a new bead polymerization technique. The cell polymer/monomer mixture is kept suspended in a hydrophobic phase such as soy, paraffin, or silicon oil, tri-n-butylphosphate, or dibutyphtalate, which is compatible with the cells. The various monomers or polymers tes
This paper introduces a new lifting method for analyzing convergence of continuous-time distributed synchronization/consensus systems on the unit sphere. Points on the d-dimensional unit sphere are lifted to the (d+1)-dimensional Euclidean space. The consensus protocol on the unit sphere is the classical one, where agents move toward weighted averages of their neighbors in their respective tangent
Circularity in manufacturing is critical to reducing raw material usage and waste. Ecological embeddedness examines circular relationships intended to benefit both economic actors and the natural environment. By understanding circular relationships in the value chain, manufacturers can formulate strategies that are eco-effective. This work develops and validates an original circularity tool to mea
PURPOSE: Many municipalities today, together with other stakeholders, offer group exercises for the older population via municipal meeting places, focusing on promoting good health. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these group exercises either continued in a modified form or ceased. The aim of this study was to explore involved stakeholders' experiences of group exercises for older persons arranged v
Nature-based solutions is a new trend in the area of urban and suburban planning. Thanks to its complex nature, Nature-based solutions provide multiple services on different levels of cities functionality. On the other hand nature-based solutions complexity requires extended knowledge in multiple engineering and societal areas, so the implementation is not straightforward. In recent years, countle
Free-electron lasers are capable of producing high-quality radiation in a wide wavelength range and at very high power and brilliance. To reach improved performance especially regarding coherence, bandwidth and wavelength stability, different seeding techniques are often required. However, a successful implementation of seeding typically demands a very high-quality electron beam, in terms of energ
BACKGROUND: The sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera) is a key pest on sugarcane and other grasses in the Americas. Biological control as well as insecticide treatments are used for pest management, but economic losses are still significant. The use of female sex pheromones for mating disruption or mass trapping in pest management could be established for this species, provided that e
Microbial contaminants are responsible for several infectious diseases, and they have been introduced as important potential food- and water-borne risk factors. They become a global burden due to their health and safety threats. In addition, their tendency to undergo mutations that result in antimicrobial resistance makes them difficult to treat. In this respect, rapid and reliable detection of mi
The flavour-tagging algorithms developed by the ATLAS Collaboration and used to analyse its dataset of s=13 TeV pp collisions from Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider are presented. These new tagging algorithms are based on recurrent and deep neural networks, and their performance is evaluated in simulated collision events. These developments yield considerable improvements over previous jet-flavou
