| 1. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(author)
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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
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| 2. |
- Jones, Geraint H., et al.
(author)
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The Comet Interceptor Mission
- 2024
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In: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Nature. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 220:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar object originating at another star. The objectives of the mission are to address the following questions: What are the surface composition, shape, morphology, and structure of the target object? What is the composition of the gas and dust in the coma, its connection to the nucleus, and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind? The mission was proposed to the European Space Agency in 2018, and formally adopted by the agency in June 2022, for launch in 2029 together with the Ariel mission. Comet Interceptor will take advantage of the opportunity presented by ESA’s F-Class call for fast, flexible, low-cost missions to which it was proposed. The call required a launch to a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. The mission can take advantage of this placement to wait for the discovery of a suitable comet reachable with its minimum Δ V capability of 600 ms − 1 . Comet Interceptor will be unique in encountering and studying, at a nominal closest approach distance of 1000 km, a comet that represents a near-pristine sample of material from the formation of the Solar System. It will also add a capability that no previous cometary mission has had, which is to deploy two sub-probes – B1, provided by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and B2 – that will follow different trajectories through the coma. While the main probe passes at a nominal 1000 km distance, probes B1 and B2 will follow different chords through the coma at distances of 850 km and 400 km, respectively. The result will be unique, simultaneous, spatially resolved information of the 3-dimensional properties of the target comet and its interaction with the space environment. We present the mission’s science background leading to these objectives, as well as an overview of the scientific instruments, mission design, and schedule.
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| 3. |
- Almén, Markus Sällman, et al.
(author)
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Genome wide analysis reveals association of a FTO gene variant with epigenetic changes
- 2012
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In: Genomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0888-7543 .- 1089-8646. ; 99:3, s. 132-137
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Variants of the FTO gene show strong association with obesity, but the mechanisms behind this association remain unclear. We determined the genome wide DNA methylation profile in blood from 47 female preadolescents. We identified sites associated with the genes KARS, TERF2IP, DEXI, MSI1,STON1 and BCAS3 that had a significant differential methylation level in the carriers of the FTO risk allele (rs9939609). In addition, we identified 20 differentially methylated sites associated with obesity. Our findings suggest that the effect of the FTO obesity risk allele may be mediated through epigenetic changes. Further, these sites might prove to be valuable biomarkers for the understanding of obesity and its comorbidites.
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| 4. |
- Benedict, Christian, et al.
(author)
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The fat mass and obesity gene is linked to reduced verbal fluency in overweight and obese elderly men
- 2011
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In: Neurobiology of Aging. - : Elsevier BV. - 0197-4580 .- 1558-1497. ; 32:6, s. 1159.e1-1159.e5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Humans carrying the prevalent rs9939609 A allele of the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene are more susceptible to developing obesity than noncarries. Recently, polymorphisms in the FTO gene of elderly subjects have also been linked to a reduced volume in the frontal lobe as well as increased risk for incident Alzheimer disease. However, so far there is no evidence directly linking the FTO gene to functional cognitive processes. Here we examined whether the FTO rs9939609 A allele is associated with verbal fluency performance in 355 elderly men at the age of 82 years who have no clinically apparent cognitive impairment. Retrieval of verbal memory is a good surrogate measure reflecting frontal lobe functioning. Here we found that obese and overweight but not normal weight FTO A allele carriers showed a lower performance on verbal fluency than non-carriers (homozygous for rs9939609 T allele). This effect was not observed for a measure of general cognitive performance (i.e., Mini-Mental State Examination score), thereby indicating that the FTO gene primarily affects frontal lobe-dependent cognitive processes in elderly men.
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| 5. |
- Bergquist, Stefan, 1982, et al.
(author)
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AUTOMATION FOR IMPROVED SAFETY IN ROADSIDE CONSTRUCTION
- 2013
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In: Proceedings of the 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining. - : International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC). - 9781926872162 ; 2013
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, it is investigated how different types of automation would affect the safety forworkers in asphalt paving. The risk for the workers on road construction sites is consistently high incomparison to the average risk of the working population. Automation has been suggested as an alternativefor improving the safety in roadside construction assuming that removing workers will inherently eliminatethe risk of them being injured. In this paper, the potential for improving the safety using automation isanalyzed in detail. By investigating accident statistics and understanding the type of accidents that appear,several different automated functions for increased safety are proposed and described. Based on availablestatistics, it is possible to estimate the safety benefit, as the reduction in fatalities, for several of theproposed functions. The highest safety benefit would be achieved by automating the road traffic drivingthrough the work zones. This has the potential of reducing the total number of road worker fatalities withover 30 %. In addition, it would decrease the number of road traffic accidents in work zones. Automationof construction machinery and dump-trucks also has the potential to increase the safety.
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| 6. |
- Brooks, Samantha J., et al.
(author)
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Exposure to subliminal arousing stimuli induces robust activation in the amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate, insular cortex and primary visual cortex : A systematic meta-analysis of fMRI studies
- 2012
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In: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier BV. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 59:3, s. 2962-2973
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) demonstrates that the subliminal presentation of arousing stimuli can activate subcortical brain regions independently of consciousness-generating top-down cortical modulation loops. Delineating these processes may elucidate mechanisms for arousal, aberration in which may underlie some psychiatric conditions. Here we are the first to review and discuss four Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analyses of fMRI studies using subliminal paradigms. We find a maximum of 9 out of 12 studies using subliminal presentation of faces contributing to activation of the amygdala, and also a significantly high number of studies reporting activation in the bilateral anterior cingulate, bilateral insular cortex, hippocampus and primary visual cortex. Subliminal faces are the strongest modality, whereas lexical stimuli are the weakest. Meta-analyses independent of studies using Regions of Interest (ROI) revealed no biasing effect Core neuronal arousal in the brain, which may be at first independent of conscious processing, potentially involves a network incorporating primary visual areas, somatosensory, implicit memory and conflict monitoring regions. These data could provide candidate brain regions for the study of psychiatric disorders associated with aberrant automatic emotional processing.
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| 7. |
- Bäckström, Daniel, 1985, et al.
(author)
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On the use of alternative fuels in rotary kiln burners - An experimental and modelling study of the effect on the radiative heat transfer conditions
- 2015
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In: Fuel processing technology. - : Elsevier. - 0378-3820 .- 1873-7188. ; 138, s. 210-220
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abstract In this work, the radiative heat transfer conditions in a 400 kWfuel test furnace were studied. The test furnace is a scaled pilot of a rotary kiln furnace used in iron ore pellet production. In particular, the study focuses on the choice of fuel and the subsequent effect on temperature and radiative conditions in the flame. Several co-firing flames of coal and biomass were investigated and also other fuels such as heavy fuel oil and natural gas. The test furnace was used in the experiments, and radiative intensity was measured with a narrow angle radiometer. Detailed radiation modelling was performed using spectral models for gas and particle properties. The results show that all co-firing flames give a shorter radiating flame length. Based on the radiation modelling, it was also shown that the particle radiation dominates the heat transfer from the flames. Due to the high pre-heating temperature of the combustion air (1100°C), the flame temperatures were generally very high. The flame temperature in the natural gas flame was likely around 2000°C while the coal flame temperatures were estimated to 1500-1600°C. The two coals tested, having almost identical fuel specifications, resulted in a substantial difference in the radiation intensity emitted by the flame. This emphasizes the need of direct radiation measurements to evaluate fuel changes in industrial processes that are highly dependent on the heat transfer conditions.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Degerman, Bengt, et al.
(author)
-
Studies of two stage gas turbine combustor for biomass powder : Part 1 : atmospheric cyclone gasification experiments with wood powder
- 1998
-
Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This report summarises the research and development work regarding development of a two stage gas turbine combustor for wood powder carried out at the Luleå University of Technology from July 1993 to December 1996. The process being studied is based on cyclone gasification of the wood powder and combustion of the product gas in a suitably adapted gas turbine combustion chamber, without other gas cleaning than that obtained by the cyclone. A critical issue to be studied in the project is if the burned gases from such a cyclone gasifier lead to acceptably low deposition rates for K- and Na-compounds in a gas turbine with 850°C inlet temperature. The project strategy has been to study wood powder feeding and cyclone gasification first at atmospheric pressure, then run separate pressurised cyclone gasification tests for studies of the possibilities to achieve stable operation when the air flow is supplied by a separate compressor and finally to run integrated gasifier/gas turbine tests for studies of the deposition problem in practical operation.
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| 10. |
- Edland, Rikard, 1990, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of NOx-Reduction Measures for Iron-Ore Rotary Kilns
- 2020
-
In: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5029 .- 0887-0624. ; 34:4, s. 4934-4948
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The grate-kiln process is employed for sintering and oxidation of iron-ore pellets. In this process, a fuel (typically coal) is combusted with a large amount of excess air in a rotary kiln, and the high air-to-fuel ratio leads to significant NOx formation. The current Article is an assessment of NOx reduction measures that have been tested in pilot-scale and in full-scale by the Swedish iron-ore company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB). The results show that the scaling between the full-scale kiln and the pilot-scale kiln is crucial, and several primary measures that reduce NOx significantly in pilot-scale achieve negligible reduction in full-scale. In the investigated full-scale kiln, thermal NOx formation is efficiently suppressed and low compared with the NO formation from the fuel-bound nitrogen (especially char-bound nitrogen). Suppressing the NO formation from the char-bound nitrogen is difficult due to the high amounts of excess air, and all measures tested to alter mixing patterns have shown limited effect. Switching to a fuel with a lower nitrogen content is efficient and probably necessary to achieve low NOx emissions without secondary measures. Simulations show that replacing the reference coal with a biomass that contains 0.1% nitrogen can reduce NOx emissions by 90%.
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