In the present study, the application of a magnetic tracer-tracking method in measuring solids circulation in a fluidized bed standpipe is investigated, due to its advantages of little intervention and cost efficiency, especially in pressurized systems. The method only needs to inject one small magnetic tracer to follow the main solid flow in the standpipe, therefore predicting particles’ real-time velocities. The measurement accuracy was thoroughly tested via comparing to conventional descending and accumulation methods. Main tracer properties, including tracer shape, density, and magnet core, were considered. Solids flow patterns in the standpipe were also regulated by changing orifice sizes and adding an inclined pipe, for the purpose of investigating the measurement accuracy in various conditions. The adverse effect of a narrow orifice on measurement was addressed via constructing a model that includes sand particles’ non-uniform velocity distribution across the standpipe cross-section. To interpret behaviors of tracers varied in size and density, a mathematical model was constructed to describe forces exerted on the tracer in the solids bed. The behaviors of the tracer immersed into the solids bed were also examined, providing an insight to that in a standpipe with continuous solids circulation. The solids bed density was also regulated by varying the mixture of olivine sand and carbonaceous particles at different proportions. The magnetic tracer-tracking method has been successfully validated, demonstrating good measurement accuracy of solids discharge flow rates in the standpipe, particularly avoiding cumbersome calibration. Moreover, the method can also determine sand waving and oscillated discharge behaviors, which might be related to solids’ stick–slip phenomena and is unlikely to be accurately determined using conventional descending and accumulation methods. 

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is considered as a future key technology to provide baseload electricity, heat, pulp, paper, and biofuels, while also enabling atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Sweden seeks to lead the way in bringing this technology up to scale, introducing a EUR 3.6 billion reverse auction scheme to facilitate market entry of companies producing BECCS. We explore instrument design preferences among politicians, regulators, and prospective BECCS operators to identify trade-offs and explore feasible policy design. Based on 35 interviews with experts in the latent BECCS sector in Sweden, we identify under which circumstances prospective operators would be willing to place bids and discuss how actor preferences both align with and challenge auction theory. The analysis concludes that at least four dilemmas need attention. These concerns how to: (1) balance the state’s demand for BECCS to be implemented already in 2030 against the prospective BECCS operators’ fear of the winner’s curse, i.e., a fear of bidding for a contract that turns out to be too costly to implement; (2) allocate contracts at the margin of the auctioneer’s demand for BECCS without driving up costs; (3) design compliance mechanism to achieve effectiveness without undermining efficiency, and; 4) integrate the auction with the voluntary carbon market—if at all—in a manner that safeguards the environmental integrity of the auctions. 

Composite materials with 3-dimensional (3D) reinforcement were manufactured and corresponding simulation models were created in parallel. The used simulation approach has earlier been shown to produce close to authentic geometrical representation of the yarn architecture in 3D reinforcement. It is shown that although the as-woven reinforcement pattern can be modelled quite reliably, significant distortion from the nominal fibre arrangement might take place later in manufacturing, primarily related to compression during moulding. Such effects have earlier received significant attention for composites with 2-dimensional reinforcement but not as much for their 3D counterparts. The yarns in the real and the simulated materials are studied and compared, and some of the discrepancies and the mechanisms behind are discussed. The distortions are partly attributed to the relatively sparse weave that allows yarns oriented in the through-thickness direction, in particular, to deviate from their original positions. 

Lightweight, energy-efficient materials in building construction typically include polymeric and composite foams. However, these materials pose significant fire hazards due to their high combustibility and toxic gas emissions, including carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide. This study delves into the latter aspects by comparing hybrid systems based on nanofiber-reinforced silica-based Pickering foams with a synthetic reference (polyurethane foams). The extent and dynamics of fire retardancy and toxic gas evolution were assessed, and the results revealed the benefits of combining the thermal insulation of silica with the structural strength of biobased nanofibers, the latter of which included anionic and phosphorylated cellulose as well as chitin nanofibers. We demonstrate that the nanofiber-reinforced silica-based Pickering foams are thermal insulative and provide both fire safety and energy efficiency. The results set the basis for the practical design of hybrid foams to advance environmental sustainability goals by reducing energy consumption in built environments. 

Food contact materials (FCMs) i.e. materials that food is packaged or handled in, must be safe for their intended use. European FCM legislation uses a risk-based approach, with a cornerstone of FCM’s safety evaluation being measurement of migration of substances from FCMs to food simulants. The standard methods mainly developed for plastic FCMs are not always suitable for less inert and moisture sensitive materials such as paper and board. However, these are becoming increasingly common as FCMs e.g. to replace single-use plastics. In addition, there is a drive to further use recycled materials. To support this development, new methods for assessing the safety of these materials are needed. In the present feasibility study, a hydrogel crosslinked through freeze-thawing of poly(vinyl alcohol) was evaluated as a food simulant for moist foods. The migration of surrogate compounds from a spiked paperboard to the hydrogel was determined and compared to the migration to a real moist food (a slice of apple), the commonly used modified polyphenylene oxide (MPPO) and a water extract. Migration of polar surrogates to the hydrogel correlated well with the migration to the apple slice. However, our results indicate that the hydrogel is less suitable as simulant for non-polar surrogates. Overall, the study demonstrates the potential of this hydrogel-based simulant for improving risk assessment of less inert FCMs. 

For the first time in a telemonitoring context, we apply the Rome Proposal (RP), recently adopted by GOLD 2023, to assess the severity of exacerbations (ECOPD). So far, we have analysed 387 study weeks, which include only 18 ECOPDs; 4 mild, 13 moderate and 1 severe according to the criteria from RP. There is a promising potential of telemonitoring based on the RP.

Industrial thermal plasma torches can heat a gas up to 5000–20,000 K, i.e., well above the temperature needed to replace the heat generated from the combustion of traditional fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil, and natural gas) in large-scale process industry furnaces producing construction materials (e.g., iron, steel, lime, and cement). However, there is a risk for significant NOx emissions when air or N2 are used as plasma-forming gas since the temperature somewhere in the furnace always will be higher compared to the threshold NOx formation temperature of ∼1800 K. Torch NOx forms inside the high temperature region of the plasma torch (>5000 K) when air is used as gas. Process NOx forms instead when the hot gas (when air or nitrogen is used as plasma forming gas) from the plasma torch mixes with process air downstream the torch. By analysing the complex chemistry of both the torch- and process NOx formation with thermodynamic equilibrium and one-dimensional chemical kinetic calculations it was shown that adding H2 to the plasma-forming N2 gas significantly reduces the NOx emissions with more than 90 %. Verifying experiments with air, pure N2, and mixtures of H2 and N2 as plasma-forming gas were performed in a laboratory scale insulated laboratory furnace with different pre-heating temperatures of process air (293, 673, and 1073 K) which the plasma gas mixes with downstream the torch. Depending on the pre-heating temperature the NOx emissions were between 12,000–14,000 mg NO2/MJfuel when air was used as plasma forming gas. Substantial NOx emission reduction occurs both when N2 replaces air, where the NOx emissions was in the span of 8000–11,500 mg NO2/MJfuel and furthermore when H2 was mixed into the N2 gas stream. For the highest degree of H2 mixing (28.6 vol-%), the NOx emissions were between 450–1700 mg NO2/MJfuel depending on the pre-heat temperature of the process air, i.e., a reduction of 88–96 % and 85–94 %, respectively when air or N2 was used as plasma forming gas. The measured NOx emissions are then of the same order of magnitude as would be expected from the combustion of traditional fuels (coal, oil, biomass and pure H2). Finally, by analysing the aerodynamics in an axisymmetric furnace with an experimentally validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model using reduced chemistry for the NOx formation (19 species and 70 reactions), further guidelines into the process of NOx reduction from thermal plasma torches are given. 

This paper presents mode-I fracture energy release rates (GI) of European beech wood (Fagus sylvatica) adhesive bonds for three common types of adhesives pressed with two levels of pressure and glued with three spread rates. Flat double cantilever beam tests with a shear corrected compliance method were used to derive GI. A high pressing pressure of 1.0 versus 0.1 MPa resulted in higher GI-values for phenol resorcinol formaldehyde and melamine urea formaldehyde adhesive systems (not significant), but did not affect the polyvinyl acetate system. A low adhesive spread rate of 50 g m−2 clearly resulted in lower GI-values for all three systems, while no clear differences were found between spread rates of 100–200 g m−2 for the formaldehyde systems. The herein presented GI-values of beech adhesive bonds can be used to further evaluate the suitability of beech in glued load-bearing timber structures and promote optimising beech wood-adhesive systems for high GI.

ELOQUENT is a set of shared tasks for evaluating the quality and usefulness of generative language models. ELOQUENT aims to apply high-level quality criteria, grounded in experiences from deploying models in real-life tasks, and to formulate tests for those criteria, preferably implemented to require minimal human assessment effort and in a multilingual setting. One of the tasks for the first year of ELOQUENT was the robustness task, in which we assessed the robustness and consistency of a model output given variation in the input prompts. We found that indeed the consistency varied, both across prompt items and across models, and on a methodological note we find that using a oracle model for assessing the submitted responses is feasible, and intend to investigate consistency across such assessments for different oracle models. We intend to run this task in coming editions for ELOQUENT to establish a solid methodology for further assessing consistency, which we believe to be a crucial component of trustworthiness as a top level quality characteristic of generative language models. 

This paper characterised the potential of energy flexibility in relation to building envelop properties, heat emitters and ventilation for the Swedish context. Simulation results indicated that the potential was higher for newer houses with floor heating and lower for older houses with radiators in winter. Older houses with different levels of insulation showed a similar ability of conserving heat due to different extents of heat losses from ventilation. A house with balanced ventilation tended to be over-ventilated especially if the house was not airtight. The flexibility was decreased with increasing outdoor temperatures, and it was higher in winter and lower in spring/autumn. 

Cattle develop preferential relationships with other individuals in the herd. These social interactions between individuals have a significant impact on both animal welfare and production. Given the relevance of social behaviour in dairy cattle, scientific studies have focused on understanding social interactions among cattle. These may also be influenced by individual area preferences, particularly when animals are housed in confined spaces. Therefore, investigating the relationship between individual area preferences and social interactions is essential for understanding social behaviour in dairy cattle. Real-time location systems provide the opportunity to monitor individual area preferences and social contacts at the same time. This study aims to assess the impact of dairy cows’ area preferences on their daily social contacts and to determine the potential implications of overlooking individual area preferences in social behaviour studies. The individual position of the lactating cows was automatically collected once per second for two months on a Swedish commercial farm housing dairy cows inside a free-stall barn. The location data of 243 lactating cows was used to construct the social networks and to estimate the similarity of the area utilisation distributions between these individuals. The effect of utilisation distribution similarity in social networks was investigated by applying separable temporal exponential random graph mixed models. The role of different cow characteristics in the similarity of the utilisation distributions was assessed through a linear mixed model. Our analyses stressed the importance of similarity of area preference, parity, kindergarten effect, and filial relatedness in shaping daily social contacts in dairy cattle. The kindergarten effect refers to the effect on cow behaviour of being grouped together in the early stages of their lives. Similarity of area preference was influenced by the kindergarten effect and relatedness by pedigree, which favoured interactions between these individuals. The described approach allowed to disassociate the area preference from the social contacts between cows, providing more accurate results of the importance of the cow’s characteristics on their social behaviour. 

The environmental impact is a strong incentive for the development of upcycling processes for textile waste. However, toxic chemicals may occur in both brand-new textiles and post-consumer garments, and the chemical transfer in such routes is important to investigate. The present study applied non-target screening and quantification with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry to follow the fate of hazardous chemicals from post-consumer polycotton garments to a new material, cellulose nanocrystals, in a chemical upcycling utilizing strongly acidic conditions. The majority of hazardous chemicals detected within the process were found to be transferred to a residual of polyester material and not to the enriched cellulose. However, phthalates were found to be mainly attached to the cellulose nanocrystals. The detected total concentration, in this case, was below 5 μg/g, at least 200 times lower than the limit set by the European Union. This indicates the importance of monitoring and controlling the phthalate content in the starting material of the process, i.e., the post-consumer garments. The chemical release into the process waste effluent could be estimated based on water solubility data for chemicals under the applied conditions. Three compounds, the water-repellent substance perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and the dyes Crystal Violet and Victoria Pure Blue, were almost entirely transferred into the process waste effluent. Although the levels detected were very low in the present pilot process, their presence eventually indicates the need for wastewater purification at further upscaling, depending on the exposure and dose in relation to toxicological relevant thresholds. 

Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (ALE) of microorganisms can improve the efficiency of sustainable industrial processes important to the global economy. However, stochasticity and genetic background effects often lead to suboptimal outcomes during laboratory evolution. Here we report an ALE platform to circumvent these shortcomings through parallelized clonal evolution at an unprecedented scale. Using this platform, we evolved 104 yeast populations in parallel from many strains for eight desired wine fermentation-related traits. Expansions of both ALE replicates and lineage numbers broadened the evolutionary search spectrum leading to improved wine yeasts unencumbered by unwanted side effects. At the genomic level, evolutionary gains in metabolic characteristics often coincided with distinct chromosome amplifications and the emergence of side-effect syndromes that were characteristic of each selection niche. Several high-performing ALE strains exhibited desired wine fermentation kinetics when tested in larger liquid cultures, supporting their suitability for application. More broadly, our high-throughput ALE platform opens opportunities for rapid optimization of microbes which otherwise could take many years to accomplish.

High performance concrete (HPC) is a quite novel material which has been rapidly developed in the last few decades. It exhibits superior mechanical properties and durability comparing to normal concrete. HPC can achieve also superior tensile performance if strong fibres (steel or carbon) are implemented in the matrix. Thus, there exist the unabated interest in studying how the addition of different types of fibres modifies the behaviour of HPC. Nowadays, a standard numerical approaches to model the behaviour of fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) are carried out by means of the smeared or discrete crack modelling of homogenous media with appropriately changed stress-strain relationships. The objective of this paper is to develop a new and efficient mesoscale modelling approach for steel fibre reinforced high-performance concrete. The main idea of presented approach is to assume the fully 3D modelling with taking into account explicitly the distribution and orientation of the steel fibres. As a benchmark, results obtained from experimental campaign on beams and panels made from high-performance concrete with steel fibres of different sizes and dosages were taken. Results of numerical simulations were directly compared with experimental outcomes in order to validate and calibrate FE-model and to introduce the efficient numerical modelling tool.

The “Voight-Kampff” Generative AI Authorship Verification task aims to determine whether a text was generated by an AI or written by a human. As in its fictional inspiration,1 the Voight-Kampff task structures AI detection as a builder-breaker challenge: The builders, participants in the PAN lab, submit software to detect AI-written text and the breakers, participants in the ELOQUENT lab, submit AI-written text with the goal of fooling the builders. We formulate the task in a way that is reminiscent of a traditional authorship verification problem, where given a pair of texts, their human or machine authorship is to be inferred. For this first task installment, we further restrict the problem so that each pair is guaranteed to contain one human and one machine text. Hence the task description reads: Given two texts, one authored by a human, one by a machine: pick out the human. In total, we evaluated 43 detection systems (30 participant submissions and 13 baselines), ranging from linear classifiers to perplexity-based zero-shot systems. We tested them on 70 individual test set variants organized in 14 base collections, each designed on different constraints such as short texts, Unicode obfuscations, or language switching. The top systems achieve very high scores, proving themselves not perfect but sufficiently robust across a wide range of specialized testing regimes. Code used for creating the datasets and evaluating the systems, baselines, and data are available on GitHub.

Nearly 40 % current global annual energy-related CO2 emissions come from the fossil fuel-dominated power sector. Accurately accounting for carbon emissions in power systems from the consumption-based perspective is crucial for achieving the low-carbon power transition. Consumption-based carbon accounting has emerged as a major research focus, which aids in the implementation of targeted measures such as low-carbon demand response and dispatch. Choosing an appropriate method to account carbon emission needs thorough consideration of characteristics of various methods. There still lacks a systematic review that concludes the essence and application status of these methods, as well as comparing their advantages and disadvantages. To address this gap, a consumption-based carbon accounting framework for power systems is proposed. This framework groups four typical methods into two perspectives: Attributional methods and consequential methods. The principles, calculation approaches, and research application status of these methods are comprehensively summarized in a transparent, integrated and comparative manner, which makes progress in two critical limitations: (i) temporal and spatial granularity, and (ii) consideration of the actual topology and operational constraints of the power grid. As improvements in the transparency and quality of electricity data and expansion of application scenarios, the flexibility and applicability of the framework will continue to improve to achieve the unity of efficiency and fairness. The proposed framework can serve as a valuable guide to conducting research and exploration on low-carbon energy management, policy and regulatory decisions and to inform the development of effective strategies for the low-carbon transition of power systems. 

Vanadis 4E (V4E) is a powder metallurgical cold work tool steel predominantly used in application with demand for wear resistance, high hardness, and toughness. It is of interest to have a processing route that enables full density starting from clean gas-atomized powder allowing component shaping capabilities. This study presents a process involving freeze granulation of powder to facilitate compaction by means of cold isostatic pressing, followed by sintering to allow for capsule-free hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and subsequent heat treatments of fully densified specimens. The sintering stage has been studied in particular, and it is shown how sintering in pure nitrogen at 1150 °C results in predominantly closed porosity, while sintering at 1200 °C gives near full density. Microstructural investigation shows that vanadium-rich carbonitride (MX) is formed as a result of the nitrogen uptake during sintering, with coarser appearance for the higher temperature. Nearly complete densification, approximately 7.80 ± 0.01 g/cm3, was achieved after sintering at 1200 °C, and after sintering at 1150 °C, followed by capsule-free HIP, hardening, and tempering. Irrespective of processing once the MX is formed, the nitrogen is locked into this phase and the austenite is stabilised, which means any tempering tends to result in a mixture of austenite and tempered martensite, the former being predominate during the sequential tempering, whereas martensite formation during cooling from austenitization temperatures becomes limited. 

A partial ichthyosaur skeleton from the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) bituminous shales of the ‘Schistes Carton’ unit of southern Luxembourg is described and illustrated. In addition, associated remnant soft tissues are analyzed using a combination of imaging and molecular techniques. The fossil (MNHNL TV344) comprises scattered appendicular elements, together with a consecutive series of semi-articulated vertebrae surrounded by extensive soft-tissue remains. We conclude that TV344 represents a skeletally immature individual (possibly of the genus Stenopterygius) and that the soft parts primarily consist of fossilized skin, including the epidermis (with embedded melanophore pigment cells and melanosome organelles) and dermis. Ground sections of dorsal ribs display cortical microstructures reminiscent of lines of arrested growth (LAGs), providing an opportunity for a tentative age determination of the animal at the time of death (>3 years). It is further inferred that the exceptional preservation of TV344 was facilitated by seafloor dysoxia/anoxia with periodical intervals of oxygenation, which triggered phosphatization and the subsequent formation of a carbonate concretion. 

We present a framework –Digi-DOP- that includes a series of evidence-based recommendations to design and apply cognitive interventions for people with Neurocognitive Disorders (NCDs) using a relatively new approach, the Differential Outcomes Procedure (DOP). To do so, we critically review the substantial experimental research conducted with relevant clinical and non-clinical populations, and the theoretical underpinnings of this procedure. We further discuss how existing digital technologies that have been used for cognitive interventions could be applied to overcome some of the limitations of DOP-based interventions and further enhance DOP benefits. Specifically, we present three digital DOP developments that are currently being designed, investigated and/or tested. Finally, we discuss constraints, ethical and legal considerations that need to be taken into account to ensure that the use of technology in DOP-based interventions proposed here does not widen disparities and inequalities. We hope that this framework will inform and guide digital health leaders and developers, researchers and healthcare professionals to design and apply DOP-based interventions for people with NCDs. 

Anisotropic transport properties have been assessed in a number of cuprate superconductors, providing evidence for a nematic state. We have recently shown that in ultra-thin YBa2Cu3O7−δ films, where nematicity is induced via strain engineering, there is a suppression of charge density wave scattering along the orthorhombic a-axis and a concomitant enhancement of strange metal behavior along the b-axis. Here we develop a microscopic model, that is based on the strong interaction between the substrate facets and the thin film, to account for the unconventional phenomenology. Based on the atomic force microscopy imaging of the substrates’ surface, the model is able to predict the absence (presence) of nematicity and the resulting transport properties in films grown on SrTiO3 (MgO) substrates. Our result paves the way to new tuning capabilities of the ground state of high-temperature superconductors by substrate engineering. 

In the HalluciGen task we aim to discover whether LLMs have an internal representation of hallucination. Specifically, we investigate whether LLMs can be used to both generate and detect hallucinated content. In the cross-model evaluation setting we take this a step further and explore the viability of using an LLM to evaluate output produced by another LLM. We include generation, detection, and cross-model evaluation steps for two scenarios: paraphrase and machine translation. Overall we find that performance of the baselines and submitted systems is highly variable, however initial results are promising and lessons learned from this year’s task will provide a solid foundation for future iterations of the task. In particular, we highlight that human validation of generated output is ideally necessary to ensure the robustness of the cross-model evaluation results. We aim to address this challenge in future iterations of HalluciGen. 

Carbohydrates, vital components of biological systems, are well-known for their structural diversity. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy plays a crucial role in understanding their intricate molecular arrangements and is essential in assessing and verifying the molecular structure of organic molecules. An important part of this process is to predict the NMR chemical shift from the molecular structure. This work introduces a novel approach that leverages E(3) equivariant graph neural networks to predict carbohydrate NMR spectral data. Notably, our model achieves a substantial reduction in mean absolute error, up to threefold, compared to traditional models that rely solely on two-dimensional molecular structure. Even with limited data, the model excels, highlighting its robustness and generalization capabilities. The model is dubbed GeqShift (geometric equivariant shift) and uses equivariant graph self-attention layers to learn about NMR chemical shifts, in particular since stereochemical arrangements in carbohydrate molecules are characteristics of their structures. 

Marginal cost curves (MCCs) are popular decision-support tools for assessing and ranking the cost-effectiveness of different options in environmental policy and management. However, conventional MCC approaches have been criticized for lack of transparency and disregard for complexity; not accounting for interaction effects between measures; ignoring ancillary benefits and costs; and not considering intertemporal dynamics. In this paper, we present an approach to address these challenges using a system dynamics (SD)-based model for producing dynamic MCCs. We describe the approach by applying it to evaluate efforts to address water scarcity in a hypothetical, but representative, Swedish city. Our results show that the approach effectively addresses all four documented limitations of conventional MCC methods. They also show that combining MCCs with behavior-over-time graphs and causal-loop diagrams can lead to new policy insights and support a more inclusive decision-making process. 

The growing demand for sustainable products has spurred research into renewable materials, with cellulose-based materials emerging as prominent candidates due to their exceptional properties, abundance, and wide-ranging applications. In this context, there is a need to develop a better fundamental understanding of cellulose interactions such that we can continue to design and improve sustainable materials. Individual interactions can be difficult to assess in bulk fibre-based materials and therefore cellulose model materials have become indispensable tools for researchers as they can facilitate the study of cellulose interactions at a molecular level enabling the design of sustainable materials with enhanced properties. This study presents a new methodology for studying the effects of surface treatments on the individual fibre–fibre joint strength using wet-spun cellulose nanofiber (CNF) filaments as model materials. The Layer-by-Layer assembly technique is used to modify the surface chemistry of the model materials as well as bleached and unbleached hardwood Kraft fibres, demonstrating its potential to enhance adhesive properties and overall mechanical performance of papers made from these fibres. The study further explores the impact of increasing network density through wet-pressing during paper preparation, showcasing a comprehensive approach to molecularly tailor fibre-based materials to achieve superior mechanical properties. The proposed methodology provides a time-efficient evaluation of chemical additives in paper preparation.

Dairy slurry could be a significant source of nitrogen (N) for plants, but mismanagement can lead to atmospheric ammonia losses or nitrate leaching into groundwater. To make the use of dairy slurry efficient and reasonable, the loss of N pollution to the environment should be reduced. We used repacked lysimeters to comprehensively determine ammonia emission and N leaching losses in an alfalfa–soil system. The application of dairy slurry had no significant effect on alfalfa yield at the same rate of N application in comparison to chemical fertilizer, and adding humic acids significantly increased yield by about 12%. However, the application of dairy slurry increased the ammonia emission rate significantly, leading to an increase in the cumulative amount of ammonia emission, while the addition of humic acids reduced the ammonia emissions by 11%. Chemical fertilizer and dairy slurry application significantly increased nitrate leaching compared to the control treatment, while the addition of humic acids can significantly reduce ammonium N leaching. Dairy slurry was proven to be as effective as chemical N fertilizer in achieving the optimum biomass, and adding humic acids can significantly reduce N loss to the atmosphere and groundwater. This study showed the possibility of replacing chemical fertilizer with dairy slurry in alfalfa production and the advantages of humic acids’ addition to alfalfa to maintain production yield and improve environmental friendliness. 

More Digitalized Rural Businesses – The Path Forward…

This project targeted business promoters and Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), including micro-enterprises, within the green sectors (primarily agriculture and food).

The project has:

• Assessed the needs and opportunities for support for the target group micro and small enterprises in the green sectors.

• Evaluated the offerings of business promoters aimed at increasing the digital maturity of this target group.

• Highlighted experiences from digitalization in other industries and adapted a tool to digitalize SMEs in agriculture and food.

The European Union aims to accelerate the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises through a network of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) to enhance their competitiveness. However, how can this be best achieved for rural businesses? The project demonstrated how companies in primary production can benefit from the EDIH network.

The long-term goal of the project was to increase the digital maturity of Swedish micro and small enterprises in rural areas, contributing to increased production with robust economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Another goal was to enhance collaboration among business promotion actors to better understand how they can assist micro and small enterprises in rural areas to embrace the opportunities of digitalization

The project compared the support needs of SMEs and micro-enterprises in the green sectors in rural areas with the available support from business promoters. This comparison identified certain gaps that business promoters can address to develop and improve their offerings. The project disseminated knowledge about digitalization experiences from other industries and adapted a tool to further digitalize SMEs in agriculture and food. This tool is well-suited for use by EDIHs and has been shared with various business promoters. The project also compared the contributions of an EDIH focused on the needs of the target group with other initiatives aimed at the same group.

Different approaches have been used for translation of the EAT–Lancet reference diet into dietary scores that can be used to assess health and environmental impact. Our aim was to compare the different EAT–Lancet diet scores, and to estimate their associations with all-cause mortality, stroke incidence, and greenhouse gas emissions. We did a systematic review (PROSPERO, CRD42021286597) to identify different scores representing adherence to the EAT–Lancet reference diet. We then qualitatively compared the diet adherence scores, including their ability to group individuals according the EAT–Lancet reference diet recommendations, and quantitatively assessed the associations of the diet scores with health and environmental outcome data in three diverse cohorts: the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort (DCH; n=52 452), the Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer Cohort (MDC; n=20 973), and the Mexican Teachers’ Cohort (MTC; n=30 151). The DCH and MTC used food frequency questionnaires and the MDC used a modified diet history method to assess dietary intake, which we used to compute EAT–Lancet diet scores and evaluate the associations of scores with hazard of all-cause mortality and stroke. In the MDC, dietary greenhouse gas emission values were summarised for every participant, which we used to predict greenhouse gas emissions associated with varying diet adherence scores on each scoring system. In our review, seven diet scores were identified (Knuppel et al, 2019; Trijsburg et al, 2020; Cacau et al, 2021; Hanley-Cook et al, 2021; Kesse-Guyot et al, 2021; Stubbendorff et al, 2022; and Colizzi et al, 2023). Two of the seven scores (Stubbendorff and Colizzi) were among the most consistent in grouping participants according to the EAT–Lancet reference diet recommendations across cohorts, and higher scores (greater diet adherence) were associated with decreased risk of mortality (in the DCH and MDC), decreased risk of incident stroke (in the DCH and MDC for the Stubbendorff score; and in the DCH for the Colizzi score), and decreased predicted greenhouse gas emissions in the MDC. We conclude that the seven different scores representing the EAT–Lancet reference diet had differences in construction, interpretation, and relation to disease and climate-related outcomes. Two scores generally performed well in our evaluation. Future studies should carefully consider which diet score to use and preferably use multiple scores to assess the robustness of estimations, given that public health and environmental policy rely on these estimates. 

This article examines how environmental awareness, stakeholder pressure, circular economy orientation and internal barriers influence circular economy practices in international and non-international micro-firms. For this, we utilised fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) using data from 128 micro firms operating in different manufacturing industries in Estonia. Three paths were identified for explaining circular economy practices in internationally operating micro-firms and two paths for explaining it in micro-firms that do not operate internationally. Our results show that understanding the impact of the four before-mentioned aspects can be beneficial for engaging in circular economy efforts in both international and non-international micro-firms. The intricate five pathways (three for international and two for non-international) through which environmental awareness, stakeholder pressure, circular economy orientation, and internal barriers shape circular economy practices in micro-firms, challenging conventional understandings and offering nuanced insights for effective engagement in sustainable business practices. Based on the findings, theoretical and practical implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed. 

Through a soma design process, we explored how to design a shape-changing car seat as a point of interaction between the car and the driver. We developed a low-fdelity prototyping tool to support this design work and describe our experiences of using this tool in a workshop with a car manufacturer. We share the co-designed patterns that we developed: re-engaging in driving; dis-engaging from driving; saying farewell; and being held while turning. Our analysis contributes design knowledge on how we should design for a car seat to ‘touch’ larger, potentially heavier parts of the body including the back, shoulders, hips, and bottom. The non-habitual experience of shape-changing elements in the driver seat helped pinpoint the link between somatic experience and intelligent rational behaviour in driving tasks. Relevant meaning-making processes arose when the two were aligned, improving on the holistic coming together of driver, car, and the road travelled. 

This study investigates the potential of long-wave infrared (LWIR) free-space optical (FSO) transmission using multilevel signals to achieve high spectral efficiency. The FSO transmission system includes a directly modulated-quantum cascade laser (DM-QCL) operating at 9.1 µm and a mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector. The laser operated at the temperature settings of 15°C and 20°C. The experiment was conducted over a distance of 1 m and in a lab as a controlled environment. We conduct small-signal characterization of the system, including the DM-QCL chip and MCT detector, evaluating the end-to-end response of both components and all associated electrical elements. For large-signal characterization, we employ a range of modulation formats, including non-return-to-zero on-off keying (NRZ-OOK), 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), and 6-level PAM (PAM6), with the objective of optimizing both the bit rate and spectral efficiency of the FSO transmission by applying pre- and post-processing equalization. At 15°C, the studied LWIR FSO system achieves net bitrates of 15 Gbps with an NRZ-OOK signal and 16.9 Gbps with PAM4, both below the 6.25% overhead hard decision-forward error correction (6.25%-OH HD-FEC) limit, and 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK below the 2.7% overhead Reed-Solomon RS(528,514) pre-FEC (KR-FEC limit). At 20°C, we obtained net bitrates of 14.1 Gbps with NRZ-OOK, 16.9 Gbps with PAM4, and 16.4 Gbps with PAM6. Furthermore, we evaluate the BER performance as a function of the decision feedback equalization (DFE) tap number to explore the role of equalization in enhancing signal fidelity and reducing errors in FSO transmission. Our findings accentuate the competitive potential of DM-QCL and MCT detector-based FSO transceivers with digital equalization for the next generation of FSO communication systems. 

Swerea IVF has been coordinating the Vinnova sponsored project “Recycling of electrical cables with focus on mechanical recycling of polymers in end-of-life cables” with partners from the cable business. This report briefly summarizes the work performed and results from the project. Detailed documentation and results from the project are found in the project reports accessible for the partners on the project web site. The public reports and articles are found in the public part on the project web site; http://extra.ivf.se/cable_program/template.asp The main objective of this project was to develop know-how and technology for mechanical recycling of electrical cables with focus on recycling the various polymers in the cable waste; polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE) crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) and halogen free flame retardant (HFFR). Sorting models and separation methods for selected waste flows have been developed and tested practically within the project. Processability and possibilities to upgrade and optimize the material properties have been investigated by optimizing the particle size, by mixing with suitable compound and quality, by use of additives like compatibilizers and optimizing the process parameters. Recycling experiments have been conducted in collaboration with Nexans, AB Volvo, Hellermann Tyton, Riflex Film, Norner and Axjo Plastic. Products produced are: cables with recycled PVC in the jacket, PVC foil, cable channels for trucks with recycled XLPE and HDPE (high density polyethylene) compound and cable packaging with recycled XLPE and PP (polypropylene) compound. Demonstrators produced are: electrically conductive foil with XLPE (possible use is under floor heating) and rotational molded containers. The environmental benefits of increased sorting and recycling were quantified with environmental system analysis. Also cost analyses of different recycling options have been performed. In order to facilitate the assessment of recycling options in the cable manufacturing industry tools for environmental system analysis and cost analysis have been developed.. Results from the project show that the light weight cable plastic, which consists mainly of XLPE and some PE, can be recycled in compound with PE or PP. Both XLPE from manufacturing (cable scrap and extruder lumps) and end-of-life (EOL) cables can be recycled in high quality products. The most promising method is injection moulding of XLPE in compound with HDPE alternatively PP. Still, the light weight plastics are sent for incineration with energy recovery, but most likely this will change soon and the main part of the light weight plastic produced at Stena Recycling will be recycled. Automotive PVC wires scrap collected at Nexans has been successfully recycled into high quality products like cable jackets and in PVC foils. A drying system and an electrical separator have been installed at Stena Recycling in line with the output ”PVC fraction" from the PlastSep. The separation of metal residues from the plastic has thus been improved and conductive plastic/rubber is also separated. It has led to increased mechanical recycling and the majority, about 95%, of the "PVC cable plastic" can be recycled into products like hoses, pallets and traffic products. However, it is uncertain if the recycling of EOL PVC can continue due to the presence of environmentally and health hazardous additives in some of the PVC plastic waste. The sorting of cables needs to be improved to avoid spreading of hazardous substances, and to improve the purity and quality to enable quality recycling of PVC plastic. A difficulty has been to avoid mixing of PVC and HFFR cable waste. PVC is not very sensitive to contamination but HFFR are and only a few percent of PVC in HFFR would drastically reduce the mechanical properties. Therefore, it is challenging to recycle HFFR but also because of high filler content and filler decomposing.

This report can be seen as a contribution to a broader discussion regarding mounting systems and attachments of PV on flat roofs (<6°). It is a direct continuation of the SIS TK193 manual published 2021, in which the frameworks for these installations were compiled. Industries taking part of and participating in the work are waterproofing, insurance, insulation, roof construction and PV. The purpose was to via testing define values for deformation and forces, and put together an assessment method for the product. Testing was carried through at the RISE facilities in HUS 11, Borås. Material and expertise for the test objects were delivered by project participants. Test series concerning loading in compression, tension and fatigue for a couple of attachment plates and a new rail system were performed. The plates were tested as only glued and also as glued and attached to the roof construction, and for two different waterproofings, i.e. PVC and bitumen. Due to the complexity of this problem, not all parameters were able to be studied in this initial project. It is therefore proposed that additional parameters are explored in a continuation project. The next step is suggested to be an ageing project with similar testing and a following waterproof testing.

When hot forging components, wear can occur in the tool after a period of use, leading to incorrect geometry in the final component. This necessitates replacing the worn tool with a new one, which is costly. The current approach is to repair the tool using machining that removes the worn surface which is less efficient from a circularity standpoint. A more sustainable approach is to maximize the tool life by carefully adjusting the material and process parameters to slow the wearing process and repair without removing material as much as the cost is justified. Factors such as sliding distance, normal forces between the billet and forging tool, and the hardness of the tool all influence wear during forging. This study focuses on analytics of the process using measurements of the tool conditions and wear simulation based on Archard's law. The tool was analysed using stress, geometry, and hardness measurements. Several strategies to maintain or increase hardness, thereby extending tool life, are proposed. These include adjusting heat treatment before forging, modifying machining parameters, extending cooling time during hot forging, and replacing the current coolant with a more effective one.

I Sveriges växthusgasinventering används en nationellt anpassad metod för att skatta metan-emissioner från lagring av flytgödsel och rötning av stallgödsel i gårdsanläggningar (hela rötnings¬processen inklusive lagring av rötrest). Metoden består delvis av nationellt anpassade emissionsfaktorer och parametrar, och delvis av defaultvärden enligt IPCCs riktlinjer. Underlaget som ligger till grund för dagens inventering baseras på nationella emissionsmätningar som visar på högre metanutsläpp för rötad än för orötad gödsel. I växthusgas¬inventering¬en beräknas metanemissionerna från rötad gödsel vara cirka tre gånger högre än från orötad gödsel. Ser man på IPCCs standardvärden för metanemissioner för orötad flytgödsel respektive rötad gödsel så är förhållandet det omvända (IPCC, 2006; 2019). Sveriges nationella emissions¬faktor för orötad flytgödsel är dock väldigt låg i jämförelse med motsvarande värden i IPCCs riktlinjer. Vid denna studies genomgång av den vetenskapliga litteraturen, IPCCs riktlinjer och andra länders växthusgasinventeringar visas stora skillnader mellan emissionsfaktorer för flytgödsel¬lager och lager med rötat gödsel. Det saknas bra bakgrundsstudier om emissionsmätningar från gödsellager, särskilt studier som på ett rättvisande sätt jämför rötad och orötad gödsel. Generellt inom växthusgasinventeringen baseras många emissionsberäkningar på modell¬beräkningar och laboratorieförsök. Här saknas ofta bra dokumentation om modellerna, särskilt om indata och underlaget som använts för att bygga upp ekvationerna. Det görs även i flera fall antaganden som saknar kvalificerade argument, t ex att det inte kan bli några metanemissioner vid lagring av rötad gödsel eller att de måste vara mycket låga. Dessa antaganden kan dessutom ha stort genomslag i resultatet utan att det kommenteras eller problematiseras. Andra typer av referenser, som underlaget till förnybartdirektivet (Giuntoli m fl, 2017), ger inte heller någon extra information som kan ge större förståelse för emissioner från gödselhantering. Sveriges sätt att skatta metanemissioner från konventionell lagring av flytgödsel och lagring av rötad gödsel sticker ut på så sätt att MCF (metankonverteringsfaktorn) för flytgödsel är betydligt lägre än både andra länders nationella MCF och IPCC:s standardvärden medan förhållandet är det omvända för rötad gödsel där Sverige har ett högre MCF-värde. Vad vi kan se finns det stöd för att det är ett rimligt utfall för svenska förhållanden med tanke på vårt kalla klimat och snabba utgödsling från stall. Det är en fördel att Sverige redan har tagit fram egna MCF-värden, och att de baseras på försök och inte enbart på modellberäkningar, laboratorieförsök eller enkla antaganden. Vårt förslag är att Sverige fortsätter använda samma underlag till MCF som används idag, både för orötad och rötad gödsel. Det som kan förbättras i Sveriges underlag är att:

- Se över B0-värdet för grisgödsel då nuvarande värde bedöms vara för högt. En justering av grisgödselns B0-värde skulle ge lägre skattade metanemissioner, allt annat lika.

- Se över justeringen av reduktionen av VS och B0 vid rötning av gödsel, vilken bedömts vara underskattad. En högre reduktion av VS och B0 vid rötning av gödsel skulle ge lägre skattade metanemissioner vid rötning av stallgödsel i gårdsanläggningar, allt annat lika.

- Uppdatera den så kallade Sverigemixen, det vill säga mixen av gödsel som rötas i gårds- och samrötningsanläggningar, så att den följer statistiken från gödselgasstödet och därmed speglar hur gödselmixen förändrats över tid. Säkerställ korrekt omräkning mellan biogasstatistikens uppgifter om mängd rötad gödsel (ton våtvikt) och uppgifter som behövs i växthusgasinventeringen (ton VS i träck). Detta skulle förbättra data-kvaliteten och skattningarna av metanemissioner, särskilt som mixen ändrats över tid och mängden rötad fast- och djupströgödsel ökar.

Replacing petroleum-based with bio-based ingredients in articles and chemical products is one important step towards reducing the environmental impact, and promoting circular economy practices, aligning with the goal “Responsible Consumption and Production” within United Nations’ Agenda 2030. The aim of the project was to develop bio-based prototype ski waxes and to evaluate and benchmark them with commercial petroleum-based PFAS-free ski waxes, in terms of hydrophobicity, glide performance and biodegradation.

Bio-based ski wax prototypes were blended using a mixture of ingredients approved for either topical application or ingestion by humans. Which ingredients and relative ratios to mix were based on melting points, general hydrophobic properties and generated knowledge from testing of earlier prototypes. It should be noted that only Vallakokerskan has the information about the exact content in the ski wax prototypes.

The hypothesis is that more hydrophobic, i.e. more water repellent, ski wax allows better transportation of the water film away from the ski/snow interface, providing lower friction and better glide. The hydrophobicity of ski waxes and ingredients was quantified from contact angle measurements using water and ethylene glycol as the liquid in a climate-controlled room (23°C and 50% relative humidity). To measure contact angles at sub-zero degrees, a less sensitive but portable device was put in a freezer room at -5°C where contact angles were measured using ethylene glycol.

The ski waxes showed similar hydrophobicity, in the measured static, advancing and receding contact angles, both in room temperature and at -5°C. However, the roll-off angle when the water droplet started to roll, was slightly lower for the commercial ski waxes than the bio-based prototypes. Greater differences in hydrophobicity and roll-off angles were observed for the ingredients compared to the ski wax.

In the glide tests on snow, it was difficult to separate the bio-based and commercial ski wax. This was both when considering the total glide time from four skiers testing each ski wax (ski pair) twice, and in the pairwise comparisons as is normally done when selecting skis before competition. These results show that the bio-based prototypes are comparable to commercial ski wax that is used both for competition and recreational skiing. While having similar glide function, the advantage of the bio-based ski wax is that it contains only naturally derived ingredients and that it seems to degrade slightly more rapidly in the environment. The biodegradation was compared between one bio-based and one petroleum-based ski wax using a respiration test where formed CO₂ was quantified over time. The estimated number of days required for complete degradation of the bio-based ski wax and commercial ski wax would be 223 days and 335 days, respectively, if the degradation continues at the same rate and if all carbon is converted to CO₂. In comparison to cellulose, both ski waxes degrade relatively slowly, most likely due to their hydrophobic properties.

During the project it was decided to also quantify and compare the hardness of the waxes since that is being discussed more and more as one additional characterisation technique in the project. The hardness measurements were done at -5°C. The maximum force encountered (firmness) when a probe was lowered into the sample during the compression test was taken as the hardness. Differences were obtained between the samples where the average firmness (hardness) was higher for the commercial green, blue and purple commercial ski waxes compared to the corresponding bio-based wax. However, the bio-based yellow was harder than the corresponding yellow commercial ski wax. Large differences in hardness at -5°C for the ingredients were noted.

The prototypes have been made with a mixture of different ingredients. The results from the hydrophobicity and hardness measurements of ingredients, can be used to select and modify the relative amount of each ingredient in the ski wax. If the hypothesis is that more hydrophobic and harder ingredients are better for the glide, it could be interesting to see if a wax containing a higher amount of those harder and more hydrophobic ingredients could increase the performance.

The focus in this project has been to develop a bio-based ski wax matrix. As a next step it would be interesting to develop and incorporate bio-based additives to try to increase the performance further. Another future outlook is to make the bio-based wax as a liquid product that are becoming more popular due the ease of application and less waste during the waxing procedure.

The Perseverance rover has collected seven oriented samples of sedimentary rocks, all likely older than the oldest signs of widespread life on Earth, at the exposed base of the western fan in Jezero crater, Mars. The samples include a sulfate- and clay-bearing mudstone and sandstone, a fluvial sandstone from a stratigraphically low position at the fan front, and a carbonate-bearing sandstone deposited above the sulfate-bearing strata. All samples contain aqueously precipitated materials and most or all were aqueously deposited. Although the rover instruments have not confidently detected organic matter in the rocks from the fan front, the much more sensitive terrestrial instruments will still be able to search for remnants of prebiotic chemistries and past life, and study Mars’s past habitability in the samples returned to Earth. The hydrated, sulfate-bearing mudstone has the highest potential to preserve organic matter and biosignatures, whereas the carbonate-bearing sandstones can be used to constrain when and for how long Jezero crater contained liquid water. Returned sample science analyses of sulfate, carbonate, clay, phosphate and igneous minerals as well as trace metals and volatiles that are present in the samples acquired at the fan front would provide transformative insights into past habitable environments on Mars, the evolution of its magnetic field, atmosphere and climate and the past and present cycling of atmospheric and crustal water, sulfur and carbon.

The Universal Dependencies (UD) project has created an invaluable collection of treebanks with contributions in over 140 languages. However, the UD annotations do not tell the full story. Grammatical constructions that convey meaning through a particular combination of several morphosyntactic elements-for example, interrogative sentences with special markers and/or word orders-are not labeled holistically. We argue for (i) augmenting UD annotations with a “UCxn” annotation layer for such meaning-bearing grammatical constructions, and (ii) approaching this in a typologically informed way so that morphosyntactic strategies can be compared across languages. As a case study, we consider five construction families in ten languages, identifying instances of each construction in UD treebanks through the use of morphosyntactic patterns. In addition to findings regarding these particular constructions, our study yields important insights on methodology for describing and identifying constructions in language-general and language-particular ways, and lays the foundation for future constructional enrichment of UD treebanks. 

The interaction of active substances with molecular structures in stratum corneum (SC) is crucial for the efficacy and safety of cosmetic formulations and topical drugs. However, the molecular architecture of SC is highly complex and methods to unambiguously localize exogenous molecules within SC are lacking. Consequently, little is known about the distribution of actives within SC, and proposed penetration mechanisms through SC are typically limited to simple diffusion via a tortuous (lipid only) or transverse (across corneocytes and lipid matrix) pathway. In this work, 3D mass spectrometry imaging is used to determine the spatial distributions of four active substances at subcellular resolution in SC, including partitioning between the corneocytes and the intercellular lipid matrix. The results indicate that caffeine, 2-methyl resorcinol and oxybenzone are homogeneously distributed in the corneocytes but largely absent in the lipid matrix, despite considerable differences in lipophilicity. In contrast, the distribution- of jasmonic acid derivative is more inhomogeneous and indicates considerable localization to both the lipid phase and the corneocytes.

This paper highlights the potential of photonic-assisted analog fronthaul solutions, particularly analog radio-over-fiber (ARoF) and analog radio-over-free-space-optics (ARoFSO), as prospective alternatives for the development of 6G applications. First, we present (New-Radio) NR&#x002F;5G conformance testing of ARoF and ARoFSO fronthaul links, including the assessment of the error vector magnitude (EVM) and adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACLR) to demonstrate compliance with the minimum transmitter requirements outlined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards. Then, with focus on future 6G Distributed-MIMO (D-MIMO) networks, we conduct experimental validations of coherent joint transmissions (CJT) using ARoF and ARoFSO fronthaul links in a 2-transmitter D-MIMO network, demonstrating MIMO gains of up to 5.35 dB and that these links meet the stringent synchronization demands for CJT. These tests represent the first realizations of CJT utilizing ARoF and ARoFSO links. Finally, for consistency, we validate CJT in a 4-transmitter D-MIMO network with ARoF fronthaul links, with MIMO gains up to 9.4 dB and confirming our previous results. This evidence indicates that these technologies hold significant potential for applications in future 6G systems.

Background: Road transportation is one of the main sources of CO2 emissions. Making logistics more efficient, e.g., through co-loading freight transport, would reduce emissions. However, this requires the sharing of freight and routing data between actors in the logistics chain. Aim: This study aims to explore the literature on how Open Data Ecosystems (ODEs) can be applied to the logistics sector. The study focuses on ODE governance, the actors involved, and legal and quality aspects. Method: The literature review employed publication database search, snowball sampling, and selected governmental literature. Thematic analysis is carried out on the identified literature. Results: The results indicate how an ODE can be applied to the logistics sector, although primarily evident in public transport. For freight transport, literature refers to Horizontal Collaboration. The literature is consistent in terms of governance of the ODEs and Horizontal Collaboration where there is typically a need for a neutral actor to take on the role of a platform provider to promote trust and enable collaboration. Conclusions: We conclude that the two literature streams of ODEs and Horizontal Collaboration could be integrated and foster a more efficient logistics sector where data is shared among the involved actors. Our findings also indicate aspects underpinning the collaboration among actors.

With increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in high-stakes contexts, a race for “trustworthy AI” is under way. However, Dorsch and Deroy (Philosophy & Technology 37, 62, 2024) recently argued that regardless of its feasibility, morally trustworthy AI is unnecessary: We should merely rely on rather than trust AI, and carefully calibrate our reliance using the reliability scores which are often available. This short commentary on Dorsch and Deroy engages with the claim that morally trustworthy AI is unnecessary and argues that since there are important limits to how good calibration based on reliability scores can be, some residual roles for trustworthy AI (if feasible) are still possible. 

Two fire experiments have been conducted to study sprinkler system extinguishing performance in a compartment (13 m2) with an adjacent corridor (12 m2), both with exposed cross-laminated timber (CLT). Four nozzles were installed in the corridor and two in the compartment. In Experiment 1, the sprinkler system was fully functional and successfully controlled a concealed fire. In Experiment 2, nozzles in the compartment were disconnected, while the corridor nozzles were operative, giving flashover after 5 min with large flames emerging into the corridor, rapidly worsening evacuation conditions. Despite four activated nozzles in the corridor, the temperatures remained high, and flames spread through the corridor along the CLT ceiling and the upper parts of the wall, an area that was not effectively protected by the nozzles. After flashover, the compartment temperatures remained stable at ∼1000 °C until experiment termination at 96 min. This continued fire in the compartment can be explained by water from the corridor sprinklers not reaching this area, extensive radiative feedback by the CLT surfaces and delamination of CLT elements of the 20 mm layers. The charring rate was ≥1.1 mm/min for large parts of the exposed CLT wall and ceiling in the compartment during the fire. 

Aggregate management is equally significant for both streaming and query workloads. However, the prevalent approach of separating stream processing and query analysis impairs performance, hinders aggregate reuse, increases resource demands, and lowers data freshness. μWheel addresses this problem by unifying aggregate management needs within a single system optimized for continuous event streams. μWheel pre-aggregates and indexes timestamped data arriving out-of-order, enabling the sharing of aggregates across arbitrary time intervals while respecting low watermarks. Our performance analysis demonstrates that μWheel dramatically outperforms current aggregate sharing techniques for high-volume streaming, particularly when handling numerous concurrent window slides. Crucially, μWheel also delivers performance comparable to specialized pre-aggregation indexes for supporting ad-hoc queries and does so with significantly reduced storage requirements. μWheel’s efficiency stems from its compact wheel-based data layout, featuring implicit timestamps, a query-agnostic time hierarchy, and a query optimizer designed to minimize aggregate operations.

Dataflow systems are widely used today for building and running continuous data-intensive applications. However, the unavoidable semantic gap between the host languages of dataflow system libraries and the dataflow model creates programmability limitations that hinder performance, safety, and ease of use. We propose AquaLang, a new language designed for dataflow systems. Programs in AquaLang blend strongly typed relational and functional syntax and are verified using an effect system that prevents undefined behaviour that can occur when introducing user-defined logic that violates dataflow semantics. Unverified external code is also feasible in AquaLang through the novel use of sandboxing. Furthermore, on top of standard dataflow optimisations employed by current systems, AquaLang’s ability to analyze algebraic properties of user-defined functions further unlocks the potential of deeper dataflow program re-writing. In our evaluation, we measure up to one order of magnitude speedup for Nexmark queries against hand-written Flink programs attributed to pushdown and window incrementalisation techniques. .

Solid fuel conversion in a fixed-bed is a challenging modelling task due to different time and length scales and the importance of heat transfer mechanisms. The current study aims to propose a novel model that can capture all the main features of the conversion of fuel bed while maintaining a moderate computational cost. The model is based on the commonly applied porous media approach, which describes the solid phase using an Eulerian framework. A layered particle submodel with four types of solids, wet wood, dry wood, char, and ash, is implemented to account for different conversion stages. At each computational cell, a matrix is used to record the information on all the properties of the four types of solids, including the number and volume of particles. The model allows the exchange of particles between cells, thus capable of simulating the motion of the fuel bed during conversion, such as bed collapsing. In addition, the new model can efficiently calculate heat transfer between particles and particles and fluid in each computational cell. The proposed model is validated against a series of experiments on biomass conversion in a rectangular fixed-bed combustor operated in a counter-current mode with various air supply rates. Good agreement with experiments was found even at the limited combustion regime. With the overall low computational cost generated by the bed model, the proposed model framework has the potential to efficiently simulate a wide range of solid fuel conversion processes at a large scale, not only in fixed-beds but also in moving beds and rotary kilns. 

Introduction: Individuals recovering from COVID-19 often experience a range of post-recovery symptoms. However, the literature on post-COVID-19 symptoms reveals conflicting results, necessitating a heightened focus on longitudinal studies to comprehend the trajectory of impairments over time. Our study aimed to investigate changes in long-term impairments among individuals infected with COVID-19 and explore potential predictors influencing these changes. Methods: We conducted a web-survey targeting individuals that had been infected with COVID-19 at four time-points: T0 (baseline), T1 (three months), T2 (six months), and T3 (twelve months). The survey included contextual factors, factors related to body functions and structures, and post-COVID impairments. The longitudinal sample included 213 individuals (with a mean age of 48.92 years). Linear mixed models were employed to analyze changes in post-COVID impairments over time and identify impacting factors. Results: Findings revealed a general decline in post-COVID impairments over time, with each symptom exhibiting a dynamic pattern of fluctuations. Factors such as initial infection severity, education level, and work status were significantly associated with the levels of impairments. Discussion: The study emphasizes that post-COVID impairments are not static but exhibit variations over time. Personalized care, especially for vulnerable populations, is crucial. The results underscore the need for long-term monitoring and multidisciplinary treatment approaches. Targeted support and interventions are highlighted for individuals with severe initial infections and those in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.