| 1. |
- Merlone, A., et al.
(författare)
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The MeteoMet project - metrology for meteorology: challenges and results
- 2015
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Ingår i: Meteorological Applications. - : Wiley. - 1350-4827 .- 1469-8080. ; 22, s. 820-829
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study describes significant outcomes of the Metrology for Meteorology' project, MeteoMet, which is an attempt to bridge the meteorological and metrological communities. The concept of traceability, an idea used in both fields but with a subtle difference in meaning, is at the heart of the project. For meteorology, a traceable measurement is the one that can be traced back to a particular instrument, time and location. From a metrological perspective, traceability further implies that the measurement can be traced back to a primary realization of the quantity being measured in terms of the base units of the International System of Units, the SI. These two perspectives reflect long-standing differences in culture and practice and this project - and this study - represents only the first step towards better communication between the two communities. The 3 year MeteoMet project was funded by the European Metrology Research Program (EMRP) and involved 18 European National Metrological Institutes, 3 universities and 35 collaborating stakeholders including national meteorology organizations, research institutes, universities, associations and instrument companies. The project brought a metrological perspective to several long-standing measurement problems in meteorology and climatology, varying from conventional ground-based measurements to those made in the upper atmosphere. It included development and testing of novel instrumentation as well as improved calibration procedures and facilities, instrument intercomparison under realistic conditions and best practice dissemination. Additionally, the validation of historical temperature data series with respect to measurement uncertainties and a methodology for recalculation of the values were included.
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| 2. |
- Pollard, R. B., et al.
(författare)
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Safety and efficacy of the peptide-based therapeutic vaccine for HIV-1, Vacc-4x : A phase 2 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
- 2014
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Ingår i: The Lancet - Infectious diseases. - 1473-3099 .- 1474-4457. ; 14:4, s. 291-300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Present combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) alone does not cure HIV infection and requires lifelong drug treatment. The potential role of HIV therapeutic vaccines as part of an HIV cure is under consideration. Our aim was to assess the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of Vacc-4x, a peptide-based HIV-1 therapeutic vaccine targeting conserved domains on p24Gag, in adults infected with HIV-1. Methods: Between July, 2008, and June, 2010, we did a multinational double-blind, randomised, phase 2 study comparing Vacc-4x with placebo. Participants were adults infected with HIV-1 who were aged 18-55 years and virologically suppressed on cART (viral load <50 copies per mL) with CD4 cell counts of 400 × 106 cells per L or greater. The trial was done at 18 sites in Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Participants were randomly assigned (2:1) to Vacc-4x or placebo. Group allocation was masked from participants and investigators. Four primary immunisations, weekly for 4 weeks, containing Vacc-4x (or placebo) were given intradermally after administration of adjuvant. Booster immunisations were given at weeks 16 and 18. At week 28, cART was interrupted for up to 24 weeks. The coprimary endpoints were cART resumption and changes in CD4 counts during treatment interruption. Analyses were by modified intention to treat: all participants who received one intervention. Furthermore, safety, viral load, and immunogenicity (as measured by ELISPOT and proliferation assays) were assessed. The 52 week follow-up period was completed in June, 2011. For the coprimary endpoints the proportion of participants who met the criteria for cART resumption was analysed with a logistic regression model with the treatment effect being assessed in a model including country as a covariate. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00659789. Findings: 174 individuals were screened; because of slow recruitment, enrolment stopped with 136 of a planned 345 participants and 93 were randomly assigned to receive Vacc-4x and 43 to receive placebo. There were no differences between the two groups for the primary efficacy endpoints in those participants who stopped cART at week 28. Of the participants who resumed cART, 30 (34%) were in the Vacc-4x group and 11 (29%) in the placebo group, and percentage changes in CD4 counts were not significant (mean treatment difference -5·71, 95% CI -13·01 to 1·59). However, a significant difference in viral load was noted for the Vacc-4x group both at week 48 (median 23 100 copies per mL Vacc-4x vs 71 800 copies per mL placebo; p=0·025) and week 52 (median 19 550 copies per mL vs 51 000 copies per mL; p=0·041). One serious adverse event, exacerbation of multiple sclerosis, was reported as possibly related to study treatment. Vacc-4x was immunogenic, inducing proliferative responses in both CD4 and CD8 T-cell populations. Interpretation: The proportion of participants resuming cART before end of study and change in CD4 counts during the treatment interruption showed no benefit of vaccination. Vacc-4x was safe, well tolerated, immunogenic, seemed to contribute to a viral-load setpoint reduction after cART interruption, and might be worth consideration in future HIV-cure investigative strategies. Funding: Norwegian Research Council GLOBVAC Program and Bionor Pharma ASA.
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| 3. |
- Pollinger, F., et al.
(författare)
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The European GeoMetre project : developing enhanced large-scale dimensional metrology for geodesy
- 2023
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Ingår i: Applied Geomatics. - : Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. - 1866-9298 .- 1866-928X. ; 15:2, s. 371-381
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We provide a survey on the joint European research project “GeoMetre”, which explores novel technologies and their inclusion to existing surveying strategies to improve the traceability of geodetic reference frames to the SI definition of the metre. This work includes the development of novel distance meters with a range of up to 5 km, the realisation of optical multilateration systems for large structure monitoring at an operation distance of 50 m and beyond, and a novel strategy for GNSS-based distance determination. Different methods for refractivity compensation, based on classical sensors, on dispersion, on spectroscopic thermometry, and on the speed of sound to reduce the meteorological uncertainties in precise distance measurements, are developed further and characterised. These systems are validated at and applied to the novel European standard baseline EURO5000 at the Pieniny Kippen Belt, Poland, which was completely refurbished and intensely studied in this project. We use our novel instruments for a reduced uncertainty of the scale in the surveillance networks solutions for local tie measurements at space-geodetic co-location stations. We also investigate novel approaches like close-range photogrammetry to reference point determination of space-geodetic telescopes. Finally, we also investigate the inclusion of the local gravity field to consider the deviations of the vertical in the data analysis and to reduce the uncertainty of coordinate transformations in this complex problem.
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| 4. |
- Rojas-Lema, S., et al.
(författare)
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The effect of pine cone lignin on mechanical, thermal and barrier properties of faba bean protein films for packaging applications
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Food Engineering. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0260-8774 .- 1873-5770. ; 339
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the present work, faba bean protein (FBP) films plasticized with glycerol and reinforced with different amounts (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10% by weight of FBP) of lignin extracted from pine cones (PL) have been obtained by solution casting. The results obtained showed an elongation at break of 111.7% with the addition of 5% PL to the FBP film, which represents an increase of 107% compared to the FBP control film. On the other hand, it was observed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) that the incorporation of lignin improved the thermal stability of the FBP film, leading to an increase in the protein degradation temperature, being this increase higher in the sample film reinforced with 10% PL. The barrier properties of the FBP films were also affected by the presence of lignin, leading to a decrease in water vapor permeability (WVP) in comparison to the unreinforced film. The results show that the sample reinforced with 2.5% PL had the lowest WVP value, with a reduction of 25% compared to the control film. Chemical analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the formation of intramolecular interactions between lignin and proteins which, together with the inherent hydrophobicity of lignin, resulted in a decrease of the moisture content in the films reinforced with PL. This research work has allowed the development of biobased and biodegradable films with attractive properties that could be of potential use in sectors such as packaging. © 2022 The Authors
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| 5. |
- Alberini, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the stability of aromatic carboxylic acids in hydrated magnesium sulfate under UV irradiation to assist detection of organics on Mars
- 2024
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Research. - 2045-2322. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover detected so far some of the most intense fluorescence signals in association with sulfates analyzing abraded patches of rocks at Jezero crater, Mars. To assess the plausibility of an organic origin of these signals, it is key to understand if organics can survive exposure to ambient Martian UV after exposure by the Perseverance abrasion tool and prior to analysis by SHERLOC. In this work, we investigated the stability of organo-sulfate assemblages under Martian-like UV irradiation and we observed that the spectroscopic features of phthalic and mellitic acid embedded into hydrated magnesium sulfate do not change for UV exposures corresponding to at least 48 Martian sols and, thus, should still be detectable in fluorescence when the SHERLOC analysis takes place, thanks to the photoprotective properties of magnesium sulfate. In addition, different photoproduct bands diagnostic of the parent carboxylic acid molecules could be observed. The photoprotective behavior of hydrated magnesium sulfate corroborates the hypothesis that sulfates might have played a key role in the preservation of organics on Mars, and that the fluorescence signals detected by SHERLOC in association with sulfates could potentially arise from organic compounds.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Garcia-Ruiz, A., et al.
(författare)
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Hermetic all-fiber phase modulators using Joule heating in carbon-coated fibers
- 2018
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Ingår i: Optics InfoBase Conference Papers. - Washington, D.C. : OSA - The Optical Society. - 9781557528209
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Certain applications of fiber sensors (e.g. avionics, oil industry) imply extreme operating conditions spurring the development of hermetic all-fiber devices. We present a hermetic all-fiber phase modulator based on Joule heating in a carbon-coated fiber.
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| 8. |
- Hafez, H., et al.
(författare)
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A whole life cycle performance-based ECOnomic and ECOlogical assessment framework (ECO2) for concrete sustainability
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Concrete is the primary building material worldwide with a substantial impact on the built environment sustainability. Hence, it is necessary to assess concrete's combined functionality, economic and environmental impact. In this paper, two concrete sustainability assessment frameworks, MARS-SC and CONCRETop, were studied. Building on the identified gaps, a new framework, ECO2 was developed. ECO2 is a multi-criteria decision analysis framework that accounts for carbon sequestration of concrete, impact allocation of raw materials, and the impact from the use and end-of-life phases. Hence, it could be used to optimize the proportions of a concrete mix based on a user-defined sustainability objective. A case study concluded that, due to the whole life cycle scope, the environmental impact calculated through ECO2 is 20% higher than that by MARS-SC and CONCRETop. In case of reinforced concrete, where service life requirements are different, the ranking of the alternatives according to ECO2 will significantly change comparatively.
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| 9. |
- Hayatgheibi, Haleh, et al.
(författare)
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Implications of accounting for marker-based population structure in the quantitative genetic evaluation of genetic parameters related to growth and wood properties in Norway spruce
- 2024
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Ingår i: BMC Genomic Data. - : BioMed Central Ltd. - 2730-6844. ; 25:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Forest geneticists typically use provenances to account for population differences in their improvement schemes; however, the historical records of the imported materials might not be very precise or well-aligned with the genetic clusters derived from advanced molecular techniques. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of marker-based population structure on genetic parameter estimates related to growth and wood properties and their trade-offs in Norway spruce, by either incorporating it as a fixed effect (model-A) or excluding it entirely from the analysis (model-B). Results: Our results indicate that models incorporating population structure significantly reduce estimates of additive genetic variance, resulting in substantial reduction of narrow-sense heritability. However, these models considerably improve prediction accuracies. This was particularly significant for growth and solid-wood properties, which showed to have the highest population genetic differentiation (QST) among the studied traits. Additionally, although the pattern of correlations remained similar across the models, their magnitude was slightly lower for models that included population structure as a fixed effect. This suggests that selection, consistently performed within populations, might be less affected by unfavourable genetic correlations compared to mass selection conducted without pedigree restrictions. Conclusion: We conclude that the results of models properly accounting for population structure are more accurate and less biased compared to those neglecting this effect. This might have practical implications for breeders and forest managers where, decisions based on imprecise selections can pose a high risk to economic efficiency.
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| 10. |
- Jiménez-Ruano, A., et al.
(författare)
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Assessing human-caused wildfire ignition likelihood across Europe
- 2023
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Ingår i: Int. Conf. Smart Sustain. Technol., SpliTech. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. - 9789532901283
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fire ignition probability is an essential component of most fire risk assessment frameworks. This study, framed within the H2020 project FirEUrisk, features a cohesive modelling approach in a set of representative regions (pilot sites; PS) in terms of fire activity across the European territory. These PS encompass different wildfire regimes in contrasting environmental settings: PS-1 Northern Europe, Kalmar Iän (South-East Sweden); PS-2 Central Europe, Southern Brandenburg and Eastern Saxony (Germany), North Bohemia (Czechia), and Lower Silesia (Poland); PS-3 Central Portugal; PS-4 Barcelona province (Spain); and PS-5 Attica region (Greece). Our main goal was to develop a common approach to model human-caused ignitions at a fine-grained spatial resolution (100 meters). For each pilot site we: (i) ascertain which factors influence ignition, hence, addressing potential differences in driving forces and, (ii) provide a spatial-explicit depiction of the patterns of ignition probability. For that propose, we fitted a Random Forest (RF) model in each PS from historical fire records (compiled by local fire agencies) and geospatial layers for land cover, accessibility, and population related factors. All models attained a high predictive accuracy, with AUCs that ranging from 0.69 (Northern Europe) to 0.89 (Attica Region). In turn, the most relevant explanatory variable was the population density that ranked most influential in four out of the five PS, followed by the fuel type, distance to roads, distance to the WUI, and percent cover of forest and wildlands. These findings are a valuable product to upscale future solutions at regional level (beyond NUTS3-type areas), conduct fire behavior modelling simulations, and enrich the science-based decisions which come from the forest and fire management agents at national and European level. © 2023 University of Split, FESB.
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