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Ferric oxide-containing waterworks sludge can be used to reduce the formation of hydrogen sulfide during anaerobic digestion. The ferric compound is reduced biochemically in the digester and forms insoluble pyrite in digester sludge. Virgin ferric chloride is often used to solve the hydrogen sulfide problem. Since 2013, Sydvatten AB has supplied a growing number of digestion plants in Sweden with ferric-containing dewatered waterworks sludge derived from the drinking water treatment plant Ringsjöverket to limit the formation of hydrogen sulfide. At the waterworks, ferric chloride is added to enhance the coagulation of organic matter from the source water. The sludge formed in this process is dewatered and landfilled, but also recycled in biogas production in order to decrease the hydrogen sulfide concentration. In this study, the use of sludge for hydrogen sulfide removal in digesters was technically and economically evaluated via case studies from 13 full-scale digesters in Sweden. Compared with the use of fresh ferric chloride, the operational costs are reduced by up to 50% by using sludge. The quality of the sludge is high and its content in metals is low or very low, especially when compared with the requirements of different certification standards for biosolid reuse applied in Sweden. The addition of waterworks sludge containing iron to a digester for the removal of dissolved hydrogen sulfide is a technically and economically good alternative when producing biogas. It is also one step closer to a circular economy, as replacing the use of virgin chemicals with the by-product waterworks sludge saves energy and materials and reduces the carbon footprint of the waterworks.

In 2017, optics commissioning strategy for low- ß * operation of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) underwent a major revision. This was prompted by a need to extend the scope of beam-based commissioning at high energy, beyond the exclusively linear realm considered previously, and into the nonlinear regime. It also stemmed from a recognition that, due to operation with crossing angles in the experimental insertions, the linear and nonlinear optics quality were intrinsically linked through potentially significant feed-down at these locations. Following the usual linear optics commissioning therefore, corrections for (normal and skew) sextupole and (normal and skew) octupole errors in the high-luminosity insertions were implemented. For the first time, the LHC now operates at top energy with beam-based corrections for nonlinear dynamics, and for the effect of the crossing scheme on beta-beating and dispersion. The new commissioning procedure has improved the control of various linear and nonlinear characteristics of the LHC, yielding clear operational benefits

An amplitude dependent closest tune approach (ADeCTA) was first observed in the LHC in 2012. This potentially harmful effect can be generated by linear coupling in conjunction with octupoles. In this article we demonstrate experimentally and in simulations a configuration of the octupoles to suppress this recently observed effect. Furthermore, ADeCTA is investigated for the first time with driven oscillations. We show analytically that skew quadrupoles and normal octupoles do not generate ADeCTA for forced oscillations in the same way as for free oscillations. This adds an additional constraint to measure it since the forced oscillations, generated by an ac dipole, are the preferred option for optics measurements in the LHC. The analytical result is confirmed by both measurements and simulations.

Diagnostics of nonlinear beam dynamics has become more important for the LHC as it advances into increasingly challenging regimes of operation, as well as for the High Luminosity LHC where machine nonlinearities will have a significantly larger impact. Limitations of traditional excitation methods at top energy, in particular due to machine protection, have pushed the development of safe alternative methods using ac dipoles to characterize the nonlinear content of the LHC. One of the methods that has been proposed is the dynamic aperture under forced oscillation of ac dipoles. This new observable has the potential to help characterize relative changes in the nonlinear content of the machine, improve the understanding of the nonlinear models by comparing to simulations, validate nonlinear optics corrections, and give a qualitative lower bound estimate on the free dynamic aperture. This paper presents the first experimental demonstration of forced dynamic aperture measurements under forced oscillations performed using the LHC ac dipoles, and discusses the benefits of forced dynamic aperture measurements in circular colliders.

The environmental impacts of material production, processing and consumption are profound and increasing. The aim of this study was to examine the extent at which consumers of diverse products – specifically, cars and mobile phones – valued the sustainability of materials resourced to make them. Using two choice experiments in Germany, India, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the US (total N = 6,033), we found that economic and functional attributes dominated product choice. Respondents placed relatively little or no value on ethically- or sustainably- sourced materials whereas non-conventional (organic) materials were important only in some countries. The overall low average scores of self-reported knowledge (4.8 for cars and 4.7 for mobile phones; score range 1–10) and salience about the sustainability of vehicles and phones (5.7 for cars and 4.9 for mobile phones) were partially consistent with this relatively limited influence of the sustainable materials on product preferences. Findings showed considerable cross-national differences in consumer knowledge, preferences and willingness to pay. For example, respondents from all countries except the US placed a significantly positive value on cars made of ethically-sourced-organic materials with marginal willingness to pay values ranging from a minimum of €1,951 in Germany up to a maximum of €4,524 in the UK. In the case of mobile phones, respondents placed both positive and negative values against alternative materials relative to conventional materials, which was the reference case. Also, there was disparity between self-reported sustainability knowledge/concerns and experimental product choices. Policymakers should consider further economic and/or education measures to facilitate consumer demand for products made of sustainable-materials.

SixTrack is a single-particle tracking code for high-energy circular accelerators routinely used at CERN for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), its luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC), the Future Circular Collider (FCC) and the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) simulations. The code is based on a 6D symplectic tracking engine, which is optimized for long-term tracking simulations and delivers fully reproducible results on several platforms. It also includes multiple scattering engines for beam–matter interaction studies, as well as facilities to run the integrated simulations with external particle matter interaction codes. These features differentiate SixTrack from general-purpose, optics-design software. The code recently underwent a major restructuring to merge the advanced features into a single branch, such as multiple ion species, interface with external codes and high-performance input/output. This restructuring also removed a large number of compilation flags, instead enabling/disabling the functionality with runtime options. In the process, the code was moved from Fortran 77 to Fortran 2018 standard, also allowing and achieving a better modularization. Physics models (beam–beam effects, Radio-Frequency (RF) multipoles, current carrying wires, solenoid and electron lenses) and methods (symplecticity check) have also been reviewed and refined to offer more accurate results. The SixDesk runtime environment allows the user to manage the large batches of simulations required for accurate predictions of the dynamic aperture. SixDesk supports several cluster environments available at CERN as well as submitting jobs to the LHC@Home volunteering computing project, which enables volunteers contributing with their hardware to CERN simulation. SixTrackLib is a new library aimed at providing a portable and flexible tracking engine for single- and multi-particle problems using the models and formalism of SixTrack. The library is able to run in CPUs as well as graphical processing units (GPUs). This contribution presents the status of the code, summarizes the main existing features and provides details about the main development lines SixTrack, SixDesk and SixTrackLib.

The proposed Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) uses a high intensity, low energy drive beam to produce the RF power needed to accelerate a lower intensity main beam with 100 MV/m gradient. This scheme puts stringent requirements on drive beam stability in terms of phase, energy and current. The consequent experimental work was carried out in CLIC Test Facility CTF3. In this paper, we present a novel analysis technique in accelerator physics to find beam drifts and their sources in the vast amount of the continuously gathered signals. The instability sources are identified and adequately mitigated either by hardware improvements or by implementation and commissioning of various feedbacks, mostly beam-based. The resulting drive beam stability is of 0.2°@ 3 GHz in phase, 0.08% in relative beam energy and about 0.2% beam current. Finally, we propose a stabilisation concept for CLIC to guarantee the main beam stability.

This paper examines the potential role for Power to Gas (P2G) as applied to an island energy system with high levels of renewable electricity penetration. P2G systems require both a supply of green electricity and a source of CO2. Cheap electricity is essential for a financially sustainable P2G system. Using a PLEXOS model it was determined that deploying 50 MWe of P2G capacity on the 2030 Irish electrical grid may reduce absolute levels of curtailed wind by 5% compared to the base case. CO2 capture is expensive. The cheapest method of sourcing CO2 for a P2G system is to employ a methanation process whereby biogas from anaerobic digestion is mixed with hydrogen from surplus electricity. Anaerobic digestion in Ireland has a potential to produce biomethane to a level of 10.2% of energy in transport (19.2 PJ/a). The potential CO2 resource from anaerobic digestion could allow for a further 8.9% of energy in transport (16.6 PJ/a) from P2G production. An optimal model is proposed including for co-location of a biogas system with a P2G system. The model includes for demand-driven biogas concepts allowing electrical grid balancing and the supply of gaseous transportation fuel. Biofuel obligation certificates allows for a financially viable industry.

Since 2015 the LHC has been operating at 6.5 TeV. In 2016 the ß -functions at the interaction points of ATLAS and CMS were squeezed to 0.4 m. This is below the design ß * = 0.55 ¿ ¿ m at 7 TeV, and has been instrumental to surpass the design luminosity of 1 0 34 ¿ ¿ cm - 2 ¿ s - 1 . Achieving a lower than nominal ß * has been possible thanks to the extraordinary performance of the LHC, in which the control of the optics has played a fundamental role. Even though the ß -beating for the virgin machine was above 100%, corrections reduced the rms ß -beating below 1% at the two main experiments and below 2% rms around the ring. This guarantees a safe operation as well as providing equal amount of luminosity for the two experiments. In this article we describe the recent improvements to the measurement, correction algorithms and technical equipment which allowed this unprecedented control of the optics for a high-energy hadron collider.

The Achromatic Telescopic Squeezing scheme offers new techniques to deliver unprecedentedly small beam spot size at the interaction points of the ATLAS and CMS experiments of the LHC, while perfectly controlling the chromatic properties of the corresponding optics (linear and non-linear chromaticities, off-momentum beta-beating, spurious dispersion induced by the crossing bumps). The first series of beam tests with ATS optics were achieved during the LHC Run I (2011/2012) for a first validation of the basics of the scheme at small intensity. In 2016, a new generation of more performing ATS optics was developed and more extensively tested in the machine, still with probe beams for optics measurement and correction at ß* = 10 cm, but also with a few nominal bunches to establish first collisions at nominal ß* (40 cm) and beyond (33 cm), and to analysis the robustness of these optics in terms of collimation and machine protection. The paper will highlight the most relevant and conclusive results which were obtained during this second series of ATS tests.

In this paper the study of the mechanisms responsible for the time varying beam current losses in CTF3 (CLIC Test Facility 3), together with the feedbacks implemented to mitigate them, is presented. The study shows that the losses were linked mainly to the energy variation induced by the RF (Radio frequency) amplitude fluctuations. The RF-amplitude instability sources were identified. A feedback developed to mitigate this instability, acting on the RF-compression system by controlling the phase program of the klystron, is described in detail. The result is a significant improvement of the overall stability in the machine. The energy variation is reduced further with the use of an energy feedback operating on the RF-amplitude of the last klystron in the CTF3 linac. This feedback loop closes on the energy measured from a dispersive pickup after the linac. With the energy stabilized a beam current stability close to the CLIC (Compact Linear Collider) specification for a factor 4 combined beam was achieved.

SixTrack Version 5 is a major SixTrack release that introduces new features, with improved integration of the existing ones, and extensive code restructuring. New features include dynamic-memory management, scattering-routine integration, a new initial-condition module, and reviewed post-processing methods. Existing features like on-line aperture checking and Fluka-coupling are now enabled by default. Extensive performance regression tests have been developed and deployed as part of the new-release generation. The new features of the tracking environment developed for the massive numerical simulations will be discussed as well., Proceedings of the 10th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf., IPAC2019, Melbourne, Australia

The utilization of biogas produced from organic materials such as agricultural wastes or manure is increasing. However, the raw biogas contains a large share of carbon dioxide which must be removed before utilization in many applications, for example, using the gas as vehicle fuel. The process – biogas upgrading – can be performed with several technologies: water scrubbing, organic solvent scrubbing, amine scrubbing, pressure swing adsorption (PSA), and gas separation membranes. This perspective presents the technologies that are used commercially for biogas upgradin g today, recent developments in the fi eld and compares the technologies with egard to aspects such as technology maturity, investment cost, energy demand and consumables. Emerging technologies for small-scale upgrading and future applications of upgraded biogas such as liquefied biogas are also discussed. It shows that the market situation has changed rapidly in recent years, from being totally dominated by pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and water scrubbing to being more balanced with new technologies (amine scrubbing) reaching significant market shares. There are significant economies of scale for all the technologies investigated, the specific investment costs are similar for plants with a throughput capacity of 1500 Nm3 raw biogas per hour or larger. Biogas production is increasing in Europe and around the globe, and so is the interest in the effi cient use of upgraded biogas as vehicle fuel or in other applications. The market for biogas upgrading will most likely be characterized by harder competition with the establishment of new upgrading technologies and further optimization of the mature ones to decrease operation costs. (Less)

Hemicelluloses could be used to replace fossil-based materials in several high-value-added products. Today, vast amounts of hemicelluloses are discharged from pulp mills all over the world as waste, but these could be isolated by membrane filtration, and utilized in various applications. In this study, the hemicellulose galactoglucomannan was isolated from process water from a thermomechanical pulp mill using ultrafiltration. The retention of hemicelluloses and lignin, and the flux and fouling of three ultrafiltration membranes (ETNA01, ETNA10 and UFX5) were studied at various operating conditions. One of the membranes (UFX5) was found to have a high hemicellulose retention (above 90%) independent of flux and pressure. With the ETNA01 membrane it was impossible to combine a high flux with high hemicellulose retention, while with the ETNA10 membrane the hemicellulose retention could be increased above 90% by running at transmembrane pressures above the critical flux. The UFX5 membrane could be used at the temperature of the process water in the pulp mill (75-85 degrees C), while the ETNA10 membrane could only withstand temperatures below 60 degrees C, increasing the cost due to the need to cool the process water. However, the susceptibility of UFX5 to fouling was much greater than for ETNA10, which would increase the cleaning cost of the UFX5 membrane. (C) 2010 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (Less)

A method of extracting arabinoxylan from barley husks has previously been developed, but was found to suffer from three problems, namely: starch was dispersed in the aqueous phase during steam pretreatment, the yield of extracted arabinoxylan with high molecular mass was low in the steam pretreatment step, and there was high filtration resistance in the clarification step. This paper presents possible solutions to these problems. Starch was removed prior to steam pretreatment by boiling the husks in water for 1 h. This treatment decreased the content of glucan in the aqueous phase after steam pretreatment by 75%. The yield of arabinoxylan with a molecular mass greater than 5 kDa was increased from 5% to 25% by using alkaline impregnation (1 wt.% NaOH). A vibrating shear-enhanced microfiltration unit was proven to be an alternative method to traditional filtration for clarification of the aqueous phase.

Heat treatment of barley husks was performed to extract arabinoxylan with high yield and high weight-averaged molecular mass (M(W)). Microwave irradiation was employed for initial screening of suitable residence times (2-15min), temperatures (120-210 degrees C) and initial pH (3-13) of the reaction slurry. Microwave irradiation was shown to be a good method for predicting the effects of heat treatment on a larger scale using steam pretreatment. A M(W) of about 40,000Da was achieved without the addition of chemicals, by both microwave irradiation and steam pretreatment, with a yield of about 9%. The yield was significantly increased by slightly increasing the severity factor. However, the M(W) decreased below 20,000Da at severity factors above 3.7. Arabinosyl side groups were enzymatically hydrolysed from the arabinoxylan by alpha-l-arabinofuranosidase to a degree of 47%, demonstrating the ability to specifically alter the side group substitution of arabinoxylans with the use of enzymes. (Less)

In this work, arabinoxylan, the primary hemicellulose in barley husks, was isolated from barley husks by steam explosion and ultrafiltration. Ultrafiltration and diafiltration were used to concentrate and to increase the purity of the product which was intended for use as an oxygen barrier film in food packaging. A composite fluoropolymer membrane with a nominal molecular mass cut-off of 10,000 g/mol was used during ultrafiltration and diafiltration. The average flux during ultrafiltration to a volume reduction of 0.85 was 90 L/m(2) h. The flux was approximately constant (50 L/m(2) h) during diafiltration. Polysaccharides constituted about 40% of the solids fraction before ultrafiltration and nearly 70% after diafiltration. Arabinoxylan made up 45% of the polysaccharide fraction after diafiltration. (Less)

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) claims compensation for losses in expected oil export revenues due to CO2 mitigation measures in developing countries. These losses are expected for two primary reasons: a reduction in the consumption of oil in importing countries and a reduction in the producer price of oil (taxation in an importing country implies a transfer of rents from producers to consumers). So far, most studies have focused on these two mechanisms and corroborated that revenue losses for OPEC are to be expected. However, there are also mechanisms that may be expected to raise the price of oil products. In a cost-effective regime for dealing with climate change, i.e., a regime in which all or most countries participate and in which the same carbon price is applied on all carbon-emitting activities, the cost of using unconventional oil, or synthetic diesel from coal, will increase even more than the cost of using conventional oil. Given that reserves of conventional oil are expected to dwindle over time, heavy oils and coal to liquids might set the long-run price for liquid fuels, which means that the price of oil would increase beyond the carbon fee; i.e., the rent on conventional oil would increase. We use an energy-economic optimization model to analyze these three mechanisms. We find that the net present value of OPEC revenue from conventional oil increases slightly (at most by 4 percent) with a global CO2 restriction regime. We also consider conditions under which this result does not hold.

Carbon dioxide intensities in economic terms (GDP in PPP terms) in industrialized and developing countries have been shown to converge, and it has been argued that technology diffusion, leading to the use of similar technologies in all countries, is an important reason for this convergence. Indicators based on CO2 per output in PPP terms, however, give in comparison to physical indicators limited understanding of the process of technology diffusion. In order to analyze the technology diffusion hypothesis in more detail, we therefore study the trend in carbon dioxide emissions in relation to the production output in four separate sectors: iron and steel; paper, board and pulp; coal-fuelled power plants; and natural gas-fuelled power plants, in each of 12 countries, between 1980 and 1998. The indicators converge in each sector, indicating that across countries, technologies with more similar carbon dioxide efficiencies are used today than 25 years ago. We also find that at least some developing countries with high energy prices use more efficient technologies than industrialized countries with low energy prices.

Hemicelluloses, which are abundant in nature and have potential use in a wide variety of applications, may make an important contribution in helping relieve society of its dependence on petrochemicals. However, cost-efficient methods for the isolation of hemicelluloses are required. This article presents an economic evaluation of a full-scale process to isolate hemicelluloses from process water from a thermomechanical pulp mill. Experimental data obtained in laboratory scale were used for the scale up of the process by computer simulation. The isolation method consisted of two process steps. The suspended matter in the process water was removed by microfiltration and thereafter the hemicelluloses were concentrated by ultrafiltration, and at the same time, separated from smaller molecules and ions in the process water. The isolated hemicelluloses were intended for the production of oxygen barriers for food packaging, an application for which they have been shown to have suitable properties. The solution produced contained 30 g hemicelluloses/L with a purity (defined as the ratio between the hemicelluloses and the total solids) of approx 80%. The evaluation was performed for a plant with a daily production of 4 metric tonnes (t) of hemicelluloses, which is the estimated future need of barrier films at Tetra Pak (Lund, Sweden). The production cost was calculated to be 670 euros/t of hemicelluloses. This is approx 9 times lower than the price of ethylene vinyl alcohol, which is produced by petrochemicals and is currently used as an oxygen barrier in fiber-based packaging materials. This indicates that it is possible to produce oxygen barriers made of hemicelluloses at a price that is competitive with the materials used today.

Nonlinear magnetic errors in low-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ insertions can contribute significantly to detuning with amplitude, linear and nonlinear chromaticity, and lead to degradation of dynamic aperture and beam lifetime. As such, the correction of nonlinear errors in the experimental insertions of colliders can be of critical significance for successful operation. This is expected to be of particular relevance to the LHC's second run and its high luminosity upgrade, as well as to future colliders such as the Future Circular Collider. Current correction strategies envisioned for these colliders assume it will be possible to calculate optimized local corrections through the insertions, using a magnetic model of the errors. This paper shows however, that reliance purely upon magnetic measurements of the nonlinear errors of insertion elements is insufficient to guarantee a good correction quality in the relevant low-${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{*}$ regime. It is possible to perform beam-based examination of nonlinear magnetic errors via the feed-down to readily observed beam properties upon application of closed orbit bumps, and methods based upon feed-down to tune have been utilized at RHIC, SIS18, and SPS. This paper demonstrates the extension of such methodology to include direct observation of feed-down to linear coupling in the LHC. It is further shown that such beam-based studies can be used to complement magnetic measurements performed during LHC construction, in order to validate and refine the magnetic model of the collider. Results from first attempts of the measurement and correction of nonlinear errors in the LHC experimental insertions are presented. Several discrepancies of beam-based studies with respect to the LHC magnetic model are reported.

The economic impacts on developing regions following a global cap and trade system for carbon dioxide are assessed through the use of an energy-economy systems model. Both an equal per capita allocation and a contraction and convergence allocation with convergence of the per capita emissions by 2050 are shown to offer economic incentive for Africa, India and probably also Latin America to accept binding emissions commitments under a 450 ppm carbon dioxide stabilization scenario. The gain for Latin America is mainly a result of increased export revenues from sales of bio-fuels as a result of the climate policy. It is, on the other hand, unlikely that these allocation approaches would offer an economic incentive for China to join the regime because of its high economic growth, present higher per capita emissions than India and Africa, and more costly mitigation options than Latin America. A more stringent allocation for developing countries such as contraction with convergence of the per capita emissions by the end of this century is estimated to generate reduced net gains or increased net losses for the developing regions (though Africa is still expected to gain).

The function of LuxR homologues as quorum sensors is mediated by the binding of N-acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules to the N-terminal receptor site of the proteins. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was carried out of the amino acid residues comprising the receptor site of LuxR from Vibrio fischeri, and the ability of the L42A, L42S, Y62F, W66F, D79N, W94D, V109D, V109T and M135A LuxR mutant proteins to activate green fluorescent protein expression from a PluxI promoter was measured. X-ray crystallographic studies of the LuxR homologue TraR indicated that residues Y53 and W57 form hydrogen bonds to the 1-carbonyl group and the ring carbonyl group, respectively, of the cognate AHL signal. Based on the activity and signal specificity of the LuxR mutant proteins, and on molecular modelling, a model is suggested in which Y62 (corresponding to Y53 in TraR) forms a hydrogen bond with the ring carbonyl group rather than the 1-carbonyl group, while W66 (corresponding to W57 in TraR) forms a hydrogen bond to the 1-carbonyl group. This flips the position of the acyl side chain in the LuxR/signal molecule complex compared to the TraR/signal molecule complex. Halogenated furanones from the marine alga Delisea pulchra and the synthetic signal analogue N-(sulfanylacetyl)-l-homoserine lactone can block quorum sensing. The LuxR mutant proteins were insensitive to inhibition by N-(propylsulfanylacetyl)-l-homoserine lactone. In contrast, the mutations had only a minor effect on the sensitivity of the proteins to halogenated furanones, and the data strongly suggest that these compounds do not compete in a ‘classic’ way with N-3-oxohexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone for the binding site. Based on modelling and experimental data it is suggested that these compounds bind in a non-agonist fashion.

Parallel solution-phase synthesis of sulfide AHL analogues (10a-s) by one-pot or a sequential approach is reported. The corresponding sulfoxides 13a-e and sulfones 14a-e were prepared to expand the diversity of the 19-member array of sulfides . Likewise, dithianes 12a-c were prepared with similarity both to sulfides 10a-s and to bioactive structures from garlic. Design and biological screening of all compounds presented in this work targeted inhibition of quorum-sensing comprising competitive inhibition of transcriptional regulators LuxR and LasR. The design was based on critical interactions within the binding-site and structural motifs in molecular components isolated from garlic, 7 and 8, shown to be quorum-sensing inhibitors but not antibiotics. A potent quorum-sensing inhibitor N-(heptylsulfanylacetyl)-l-homoserine lactone (10c) was identified. Together with data collected for the other analogues, the resulting structure-activity relationship led to a hypothesis in which competitive binding was assumed.

The potent quorum sensing inhibitor (5Z)-4-bromo-5-(bromomethylene)-2(5H)-[2-14C]furanone has been prepared in five steps in 7.7% overall yield starting from bromo[1-14C]acetic acid. Condensation of ethyl bromo[1-14C]acetate with ethyl acetoacetate followed by decarboxylation was accelerated by microwave heating to afford [1-14C]levulinic acid. Subsequently, bromination and oxidation gave the targeted furan-2-one with a radiochemical purity of > 97% and a specific activity of 57 mCi/mmol. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Estimates the cost of meeting the Kyoto Protocol with an energy‐economic optimization model. Special focus is on the Russian and Ukrainian and the potential implications of the US decision to withdraw from the Protocol. Finds that the carbon permit price can be expected to drop substantially due to US withdrawal. In fact, the aggregated emission target could be met in the absence of US participation. However, Russia and the Ukraine could be the dominant sellers of emission permits and they could increase the permit price. Clearly no climate benefits would result from trading emission permits that do not correspond to real reductions in CO2 emissions. EU countries, Japan and Canada are not likely to be supportive of paying billions of dollars that do not result in emission reductions. One way of dealing with the Russian and Ukrainian surplus is to negotiate more stringent targets for subsequent commitment periods early, and to allow banking. The model suggests that, under these conditions, early action and banking do take place.

The control of the betatron coupling is of importance for safe beam operation in the LHC. In this article we show recent advancements in methods and algorithms to measure and correct coupling. The benefit of using a more precise formula relating the resonance driving term ${f}_{1001}$ to the $\mathrm{$\Delta${}}{Q}_{min}$ is presented. The quality of the coupling measurements is increased, with about a factor 3, by selecting beam position monitor (BPM) pairs with phase advances close to $\frac{$\pi${}}{2}$ and through data cleaning using singular value decomposition with an optimal number of singular values. These improvements are beneficial for the implemented automatic coupling correction, which is based on injection oscillations, presented in the article. Furthermore, a proposed coupling feedback for the LHC is presented. The system will rely on the measurements from BPMs equipped with a new type of high resolution electronics, diode orbit and oscillation, which will be operational when the LHC restarts in 2015. The feedback will combine the coupling measurements from the available BPMs in order to calculate the best correction.

In this article we present the measurement and correction of the chromatic coupling in the LHC. The transverse coupling is calculated from turn-by-turn data, exciting the beam with an ac dipole. By adjusting the momentum relative to the reference energy and repeating the measurement, we obtain the transverse coupling dependency on momentum. The measurements are compared to the predictions from the magnetic model, and show good agreement. We describe the algorithm used to calculate the corrections, which are performed using skew sextupoles in the LHC lattice. A reduction in the chromatic coupling of a factor 2.5 +/- 0.4 for beam 1 and 1.6 +/- 0.3 for beam 2 was obtained after applying the corrections.

The LHC is currently operating with a proton energy of 4 TeV and β^{*} functions at the ATLAS and CMS interaction points of 0.6 m. This is close to the design value at 7 TeV (β^{*}=0.55 m) and represented a challenge for various aspects of the machine operation. In particular, a huge effort was put into the optics commissioning and an unprecedented peak β beating of around 7% was achieved in a high energy hadron collider.

In this work process water from a thermomechanical pulp mill was divided into five fractions by filtration and membrane filtration. Suspended matter was mainly isolated in the retentate from the drum filter, extractives in the microfiltration retentate, hemicelluloses in the ultrafiltration retentate and lignin in the nanofiltration retentate. The final water fraction was of fresh water quality. For each tonne of pulp produced, about 10kg of suspended matter, more than 0.3kg of extractives, 11kg of hemicelluloses and 8kg of aromatic compounds (lignin) could be recovered from the drum filtration retentate, the microfiltration retentate, the ultrafiltration retentate and the nanofiltration retentate, respectively. About 40% of the treated process water could be recovered as fresh water.

In the UNFCCC process, energy exporting countries (primarily OPEC) claim compensation for losses in expected oil rent due to CO 2 mitigation measures. However, there are mechanisms that may raise rather than lower the oil rent. If a carbon price is implemented universally, the cost of using oil substitutes such as unconventional oil or synthetic diesel from coal or natural gas will increase even more than the cost of using conventional oil. Here, a dynamic model that takes into account OPEC's dominant position in the world's liquid fuel market is developed in order to analyze these mechanisms. In this model, OPEC is assumed to act as strategic leader while all other liquid fuel producers act as price-takers. We find that the net present value of OPECs conventional oil rent increases by about 5% due to the carbon prices needed to reach stringent CO 2 emission targets. For less ambitious targets, the increase in oil rent could be even higher. An extensive sensitivity analysis is also performed, which corroborates the main result.

The cost efficiency of the biorefining process can be improved by extracting high-molecular-mass hemicelluloses from lignocellulosic biomass prior to ethanol production. These hemicelluloses can be used in several high-value-added applications and are likely to be important raw materials in the future. In this study, steam pretreatment in an alkaline environment was used to pretreat the lignocellulosic biomass for ethanol production and, at the same time, extract arabinoxylan with a high-molecular-mass. It was shown that 30% of the arabinoxylan in barley straw could be extracted with high-molecular-mass, without dissolving the cellulose. The cellulose in the solid fraction could then be hydrolysed with cellulase enzymes giving a cellulose conversion of about 80-90% after 72 h. For wheat straw, more than 40% of the arabinoxylan could be extracted with high-molecular-mass and the cellulose conversion of the solid residue after 72 h was about 70-85%. The high cellulose conversion of the pretreated wheat and barley straw shows that they can be used for ethanol production without further treatment. It is therefore concluded that it is possible to extract high-molecular-mass arabinoxylan simultaneously with the pretreatment of biomass for ethanol production in a single steam pretreatment step.

Densely functionalised pyrazole carboxamides and carboxylic acids were synthesised in an expedient manner through saponification and transamidation, respectively, of ester-functionalised pyrazoles. This synthetic protocol allowed for three diversifying steps in which appendages on the pyrazole scaffold were adjusted to optimise inhibition of protein kinases. Thirty-five analogues were tested in CK2, AKT1, PKA, PKCα, and SAPK2a (p38) kinase inhibition bioassays. Blocking of these kinases may lead to effective therapies for treating inflammatory diseases and cancer. In order to investigate potential biological activity, MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were incubated with the most promising derivatives. Two analogues caused changes in MCF-7 cell growth, one of them through cell cycle arrest demonstrated by cell cycle analysis.

Hemicelluloses constitute one of the most abundant renewable resources on earth. To increase their utilization, the isolation of hemicelluloses from industrial biomass side-streams would be beneficial. A method was investigated to isolate hemicelluloses from process water from a thermomechanical pulp mill. The method consists of three steps: removal of solids by microfiltration, preconcentration of the hemicelluloses by ultrafiltration, and purification by either size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) or diafiltration. The purpose of the final purification step is to separate hemicelluloses from small oligosaccharides, monosaccharides, and salts. The ratio between galactose, glucose, and mannose in oligo- and polysaccharides after preconcentration was 0.8∶1∶2.8, which is similar to that found in galactoglucomannan. Continuous diafiltration was performed using a composite fluoro polymer membrane with cutoff of 1000 Da. After diafiltration with four diavolumes the purity of the hemicelluloses was 77% (gram oligo- and polysaccharides/ gram total dissolved solids) and the recovery was 87%. Purification by SEC was performed with 5, 20, and 40% sample loadings, respectively and a flow rate of 12 or 25 mL/min (9 or 19 cm/h). The purity of hemicelluloses after SEC was approx 82%, and the recovery was above 99%. The optimal sample load and flow rate were 20% and 25 mL/min, respectively. The process water from thermomechanical pulping of spruce is inexpensive. Thus, the recovery of hemicelluloses is not of main importance. If the purity of 77%, obtained with diafiltration, is sufficient for the utilization of the hemicelluloses, diafiltration probably offers a less expensive alternative in this application.

Udgivelsesdato: 2007-Dec-21 Densely functionalised pyrazole carboxamides and carboxylic acids were synthesised in an expedient manner through saponification and transamidation, respectively, of ester-functionalised pyrazoles. This synthetic protocol allowed for three diversifying steps in which appendages on the pyrazole scaffold were adjusted to optimise inhibition of protein kinases. Thirty-five analogues were tested in CK2, AKT1, PKA, PKCalpha, and SAPK2a (p38) kinase inhibition bioassays. Blocking of these kinases may lead to effective therapies for treating inflammatory diseases and cancer. In order to investigate potential biological activity, MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were incubated with the most promising derivatives. Two analogues caused changes in MCF-7 cell growth, one of them through cell cycle arrest demonstrated by cell cycle analysis.

Aim: To investigate the potential of quorum sensing inhibitors (QSI) as food preservative agents in a food product, where bacterial spoilage is controlled by quorum sensing (QS). Methods and Results: The effects of well-known QSI were tested on spoilage phenotypes and on QS-regulated genes of a bean sprout spoiling bacterial isolate (Pectobacterium A2JM) in laboratory substrates and in a bean sprout model system. The acylated homoserine lactones (AHL) analogues PenS-AHL and HepS-AHL decreased the specific protease activity of Pectobacterium A2JM in broth but did not reduce the expression of a QS-regulated secretion protein, and were without effect on soft rot of bean sprouts. The QSI ProS-AHL, furanone C-30, patulin, penicillic acid and 4-nitropyridine-N-oxide did not have any effect on protease activity, on gene expression or bean sprout appearance at nongrowth inhibitory concentrations. Extracts from garlic and bean sprouts induced the QS system of Pectobacterium in bean sprouts and a broth system, respectively. Conclusions: Among the several well-known QSI compounds, only PenS-AHL and HepS-AHL, inhibited QS-regulated protease activity of Pectobacterium A2JM in broth cultures, but had no effect on bean sprout spoilage. Significance and Impact of the Study: The QSI compounds must be selected in the specific system in which they are to function and they cannot easily be transferred from one QS system to another.

[Structure: see text] Weinreb amides react with the lithium or sodium acetylide of ethyl propynoate in a hitherto unexplored acyl substitution-conjugate addition sequence to furnish (E)-N-methoxy-N-methyl-beta-enaminoketoesters. This approach provides a diverse entry to densely functionalized heterocyclic compounds, including pyrazoles through regioselective cyclocondensations with hydrazines in a microwave-assisted reaction.

Skadeplatsarbete är en arbetsform med en speciell karaktär. Det som formar denna karaktär är dess uppkomst genom inträffandet av en olycka av något slag. Detta medför att olika aktörer och aktörsgrupper temporärt stålar samman och genomför ett samarbete med utgångspunkt från platsen för det inträffade. Ambulans, brandkår, polis och SOS Alarm AB är de vanligaste aktörsgrupperna på en skadeplats. Att rädda liv är ett samarbete mellan olika aktörsgruppers på en skadeplats. För att detta skall möjliggöras ställs det höga krav på både deltagande aktörer och de kommunikationsartefakter som används. Titeln ?Hör du vad jag ser?? syftar till att belysa problem som kan uppstå vid kommunikationen under ett skadeplatsarbete. Kommunikation är av direkt betydelse för koordineringen av ett skadeplatsarbete. Denna koordineringen sker via förmedling av information om pågående aktiviteter. Information kan fås genom en awareness om varandras arbete och aktiviteter. Med utgångspunkt i brandkårens verksamhet beskriver denna rapport skadeplatsarbete utifrån två grupper av aktörer vid ett skadeplatsarbete, dessa är sambandsaktörer och kemdykare. Utifrån beskrivning av deras aktiviteter belyses uppkomsten av problem med kommunikationen och dagens artefakter för kommunikation. Detta görs från två håll, dels utifrån sambandsgruppen med fokus på räddningsledaren och dels utifrån aktörerna som arbetar med aktiviteten kemdykning. Problemen med kommunikationen som belyses visar utifrån aktiviteterna utförda av grupperna sambandaktörer och kemdykare samt karaktären på skadeplatser, att det finns ett behov av vidareutveckling av kommunikationsartefakterna radio och mobiltelefonen. I rapporten presenteras tankar om möjliga lösningar på ovan nämnda problem.

Effects of increased adenosine dose in the assessment of fractional flow reserve (FFR) were studied in relation to FFR results, hemodynamic effects and patient discomfort. FFR require maximal hyperemia mediated by adenosine. Standard dose is 140 μg/kg/min administrated intravenously. Higher doses are commonly used in clinical practice, but an extensive comparison between standard intravenous dose and a high dose (220 μg/kg/min) has previously not been performed. Seventy-five patients undergoing FFR received standard dose adenosine, followed by high dose adenosine. FFR, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were analyzed. Patient discomfort measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was assessed. No significant difference was found between the doses in FFR value (0.85 [0.79–0.90] vs 0.85 [0.79–0.89], p = 0.24). The two doses correlated well irrespective of lesion severity (r = 0.86, slope = 0.89, p =