Search

In the FlexSNG project, a fluidized-bed gasification process is developed that can co-produce biochar and good-quality synthesis gas and can also switch between two operation modes: (1) co-producing biochar and synthesis gas that is further converted to biomethane or other synthesis products, and (2) maximizing the fuel conversion to syngas. Three test runs were conducted at an atmospheric-pressure Circulating Fluidized-Bed (CFB) gasification test rig of VTT to identify optimal gasification and gas clean-up process conditions for both operation modes. The studied gasification process consists of a fluidized-bed gasifier, a hot gas filter and a catalytic reformer. The tests were focused on finding optimal process conditions in the gasifier for the co-production of biochar and synthesis gas from woody residues and straw. Two different operating principles were examined: an ordinary CFB gasifier operated at different temperatures and a so-called Bubbling Circulating Fluidized-Bed (BCFB), in which the lower part of the gasifier is operated at low temperature and secondary oxygen is used to raise the temperature in the upper part of the gasifier.

Abstract Neutron-star cores contain matter at the highest densities in our Universe. This highly compressed matter may undergo a phase transition where nuclear matter melts into deconfined quark matter, liberating its constituent quarks and gluons. Quark matter exhibits an approximate conformal symmetry, predicting a specific form for its equation of state (EoS), but it is currently unknown whether the transition takes place inside at least some physical neutron stars. Here, we quantify this likelihood by combining information from astrophysical observations and theoretical calculations. Using Bayesian inference, we demonstrate that in the cores of maximally massive stars, the EoS is consistent with quark matter. We do this by establishing approximate conformal symmetry restoration with high credence at the highest densities probed and demonstrating that the number of active degrees of freedom is consistent with deconfined matter. The remaining likelihood is observed to correspond to EoSs exhibiting phase-transition-like behavior, treated as arbitrarily rapid crossovers in our framework.

Background and aims: To evaluate the effect of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on serum and lipoprotein lipids and serum biomarkers of cholesterol synthesis and absorption in myocardial infarction patients with a high-dose statin. Methods: Myocardial infarction patients (n = 59) with a constant statin dose were randomized to receive hydroxychloroquine 300 mg (n = 31) or placebo (n = 28) daily for six months and followed up for one year. Results: Statin reduced total-c (−26 ± 22% in hydroxychloroquine and −28 ± 19% in placebo group, P = 0.931), LDL-c (−38 ± 26% vs. −44 ± 23%, respectively, P = 0.299), and cholesterol synthesis biomarkers zymostenol, desmosterol, and lathosterol ratios from baseline to one year (e.g., serum lathosterol ratio −17 ± 45% vs. −15 ± 41%, respectively, P

We study universal features of the hydrodynamization process in heavy-ion collisions using QCD kinetic theory simulations for a wide range of couplings. We introduce the new concept of limiting attractors, which are obtained by extrapolation to vanishing and strong couplings. While the hydrodynamic limiting attractor emerges at strong couplings and is governed by the viscosity-related relaxation time scale τR, we identify a bottom-up limiting attractor at weak couplings. It corresponds to the late stages of the perturbative bottom-up thermalization scenario and exhibits isotropization on the time scale τBMSS=αs−13/5/Qs. In contrast to hydrodynamic limiting attractors, at finite couplings the bottom-up limiting attractor provides a good universal description of the pre-hydrodynamic evolution of jet and heavy-quark momentum broadening ratios qˆyy/qˆzz and κT/κz. We also provide parametrizations for these ratios for phenomenological studies of pre-equilibrium effects on jets and heavy quarks.

We study the jet quenching parameter qˆ in the initial pre-equilibrium stages of heavy-ion collisions using the QCD kinetic theory description of the anisotropic quark-gluon plasma. This allows us to smoothly close the gap in the literature between the early glasma stage of the collision and the onset of hydrodynamics. We find that the pre-hydrodynamic evolution of qˆ during the bottom-up kinetic scenario shows little sensitivity to the initial conditions, jet energies and models of the transverse momentum cutoff. We also observe that, similarly to the glasma case, the jet quenching parameter is enhanced along the beam axis as compared to the transverse direction during most of the kinetic evolution.

Abstract The equation of state of neutron-star cores can be constrained by requiring a consistent connection to the perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) calculations at high densities. The constraining power of the QCD input depends on uncertainties from missing higher-order terms, the choice of the unphysical renormalization scale, and the reference density where QCD calculations are performed. Within a Bayesian approach, we discuss the convergence of the perturbative QCD series, quantify its uncertainties at high densities, and present a framework to systematically propagate the uncertainties down to neutron-star densities. We find that the effect of the QCD input on the neutron-star inference is insensitive to the various unphysical choices made in the uncertainty estimation.

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a model cyanobacterium, glucose‐tolerant substrains of which are commonly used as laboratory strains. In recent years, it has become evident that ‘wild‐type’ strains used in different laboratories show some differences in their phenotypes. We report here the chromosome sequence of our Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 substrain, named substrain GT‐T. The chromosome sequence of GT‐T was compared to those of two other commonly used laboratory substrains, GT‐S and PCC‐M. We identified 11 specific mutations in the GT‐T substrain, whose physiological consequences are discussed. We also provide an update on evolutionary relationships between different Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 substrains.

Monkeypox virus was imported into Finland during late May–early June 2022. Intrahost viral genome variation in a sample from 1 patient comprised a major variant with 3 lineage B.1.3–specific mutations and a minor variant with ancestral B.1 nucleotides. Results suggest either ongoing APOBEC3 enzyme–mediated evolution or co-infection.

Olli Kurkela,1– 3 Jorma Lahtela,4 Martti Arffman,1,2 Leena Forma1,3 1Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, 30014, Finland; 2Department of Public Health and Welfare, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, 00271, Finland; 3Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Vantaa, 01300, Finland; 4Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, 33520, FinlandCorrespondence: Olli Kurkela, Health Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, P.O. Box 100, Tampere, 33014, Finland, Tel +358 50 5099170, Email olli.kurkela@tuni.fiAim: Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive technology for screening and early detection of diabetic foot. Real-world data and the Delphi technique were used to assess IRT’s potential effect on typical care pathways of diabetic foot and their costs in the Finnish healthcare setting.Methods: The most typical care pathways of diabetic foot were identified from national healthcare registers from 2011 to 2017. The effect of IRT in terms of avoidable care episodes was assessed by a Delphi panel including Finnish diabetic foot specialists (n=13). By combining a series of decision-analytic models, the IRT’s potential effect on the costs of each pathway and their sensitivity to model assumptions were estimated.Results: Hypothetical annual savings were estimated to be EUR ~1.7 million (EUR ~1.3 million–EUR ~2.5 million), constituting approximately 20% of the total annual care pathway costs examined. In the longer and more complex pathways, the application of IRT was estimated to result in notable savings while in the shorter pathways, IRT could increase costs.Conclusion: Our modeling suggests that IRT could potentially reduce costs in a Finnish healthcare setting. Given our analysis, generation of robust evidence on the effectiveness of recent IRT technologies with up-to-date protocols seems appropriate.Keywords: foot complication, infrared thermography, healthcare costs, cost analysis, expert panel, diabetic foot

European Union (EU) energy markets are changing rapidly. After the recent turmoil, a new wave of EU legislation is once again reshaping the way energy should be used in the EU, emphasizing not only the increasing importance of using renewable and local energy sources but also highlighting the importance of energy efficiency and decarbonization of high to abate sectors (including aviation and marine fuels). Heating and cooling account for about half of the total gross final energy consumption in the EU. This article explores the novel concept of using waste heat from the flexible Fischer–Tropsch (FT) process (FLEXCHX) in the existing district heating network, resulting in tri-generation: FT C5+ liquids, heat, and electricity. FLEXCHX provides operation flexibility and combines advanced biomass gasification, catalytic liquefaction, electrolysis, and waste heat recovery, allowing use of biomass residues in a more sustainable way. Our results, based on the Kaunas district heating (DH) system, show that this process could be integrated into the existing district heating network in Northern Europe and successfully compete with existing heat-only boilers and CHPs using biomass or municipal waste, resulting in more efficient use of biomass and savings accumulated up to EUR 200 million over the study period in the analysis (2020–2050), supplying up to 30% of the heat in the Kaunas DH system. Enriching the FT process with hydrogen (using electrolysis) could result in additional FLEXCHX utilization benefits by creating demand for cheap excess electricity that might otherwise be curtailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truong Nguyen, Kant, Van den Broeck et al. report the SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in Finland in 2020. Phylogeographic analysis suggests that 42 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions into Finland occurred, with a single introduction seeding one third of cases in the spring.

Multiple introductions of SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant BA.1 and BA.1.1. lineages to Finland were detected in early December 2021. Within 3 weeks, Omicron overtook Delta as the most common variant in the capital region. Sequence analysis demonstrated the emergence and spread through community transmission of a large cluster of BA.1.1 virus.

Multimessenger signals from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers are promising tools to infer the properties of nuclear matter at densities inaccessible to laboratory experiments. Gravitational waves (GWs) from BNS merger remnants can constrain the neutron-star equation of state (EOS) complementing constraints from late inspiral, direct mass-radius measurements, and ab-initio calculations. We perform a series of general-relativistic simulations of BNS systems with EOSs constructed to comprehensively cover the high-density regime. We identify a tight correlation between the ratio of the energy and angular-momentum losses in the late-time portion of the post-merger signal, called the long ringdown, and the EOS at the highest pressures and densities in neutron-star cores. Applying this correlation to post-merger GW signals significantly reduces EOS uncertainty at densities several times the nuclear saturation density, where no direct constraints are currently available. Hence, the long ringdown can provide stringent constraints on material properties of neutron stars cores. Gravitational-wave observatories explore nuclear matter properties under extreme conditions in neutron star mergers. Here, authors link the gravitational-wave signals from these mergers to the equation of state at the highest densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raloxifene has low bioavailability due to extensive glucuronidation in the intestine and the liver, and its pharmacokinetics is associated with high intra‐ and interindividual variability. Some of this variability could be explained by the enterohepatic recycling of raloxifene, which is driven by transporter‐mediated uptake and efflux and gut microbial deglucuronidation of raloxifene glucuronides. These individual processes involved in raloxifene disposition, however, have not been characterized in full detail. In this study, we evaluated the interactions of raloxifene and its three glucuronide metabolites (raloxifene 4′‐glucuronide, raloxifene 6‐glucuronide and raloxifene 4′,6‐diglucuronide) with drug transporters using Sf9 membrane vesicles and HEK293 cells. Additionally, we measured the deglucuronidation of raloxifene glucuronides in human faecal extracts. All raloxifene glucuronides were transported by MRP2 and MRP3, whereas raloxifene monoglucuronides were identified as substrates of OATP1B1, OATP1B3 and OATP2B1. All three raloxifene glucuronides were readily deglucuronidated in the presence of faecal extracts, although with high between‐subject variability. The results of this study provide further understanding of the disposition of raloxifene, which can help understand the sources behind the interindividual variability in raloxifene pharmacokinetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In these proceedings, we compute the heavy quark momentum diffusion coefficient using QCD effective kinetic theory for a plasma going through the bottom-up thermalization scenario until approximate hydrodynamization. This transport coefficient describes heavy quark momentum diffusion in the quark-gluon plasma and is used in many phenomenological frameworks, e.g. in the open quantum systems approach. Our extracted nonthermal diffusion coefficient matches the thermal one for the same energy density within 30%. At large occupation numbers in the earliest stage, the transverse diffusion coefficient dominates, while the longitudinal diffusion coefficient is larger for the underoccupied system in the later stage of hydrodynamization.

In this contribution to the Quark Matter 2023 proceedings, we study the hydrodynamization process in heavy-ion collisions using QCD kinetic theory and introduce the new concept of limiting attractors. They are defined via an extrapolation of observables to vanishing and infinite couplings. We find that the pressure ratio exhibits both a hydrodynamic and a bottom-up limiting attractor, while the ratios of hard probes transport coefficients q^zz/q^yy and κT/κz are better described in terms of the new bottom-up limiting attractor.

Abstract Background Foot-related diabetes complications reduce individual well-being, increase mortality and results in increased healthcare costs. Despite their notable stress on health services, studies examining the foot complication care pathways, especially from the viewpoint of health services, are limited. We aimed to identify the most typical care pathways following an initial foot-related diabetes complication, to characterize the patients on each pathway and calculate the related healthcare costs. Methods The identification of pathways was based on population-wide register-based data including all persons diagnosed with diabetes in Finland from 1964 to 2017. For each patient, initial foot-related complication from 2011–2016 was identified using the ICD-10 codes and related healthcare episodes were followed for two years until the end of 2017 or death. A sequence analysis was conducted on care episodes resulting in groups of typical care pathways, as well as their patient profiles. The costs of pathways resulting from the care episodes were calculated based on the data and the reported national unit costs and analyzed using linear models. Results We identified six groups of typical pathways each comprising mainly single type of care episodes. Three of the groups comprised over 10 000 patients while the remaining groups ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand. Majority of pathways consisted only single care episode. However, among the rest of the care pathways variability in length of care pathways was observed between and within group of pathways. On average, the patients were over 65 years of age and were diagnosed with diabetes for over a decade. The pathways resulted in an annual cost of EUR 13 million. The mean costs were nearly 20-fold higher in the group with the highest costs (EUR 11 917) compared to the group with the lowest costs (EUR 609). Conclusions We identified groups of typical care pathways for diabetic foot and discovered notable heterogeneity in the resource use within the groups. This information is valuable in guiding the development of diabetes care to meet the growing need. Nevertheless, reasons underlying the observed heterogeneity requires further examination. Since foot complications are largely preventable, substantial savings could be achieved using cost-effective technologies and more efficient organization of care.

The Bubbling Circulating Fluidized-Bed (BCFB) gasifier described in this paper is based on a combination of the two fluidized-bed reactor types: a bubbling and a circulating fluidized-bed. The BCFB gasifier was originally developed in the early 2000s and designed for air-blown gasification of waste-derived feedstocks that have very high volatile matter content resulting in high tar concentration in the raw product gas. In an ongoing EU project FlexSNG, the BCFB gasification technology is now adapted for the co-production of biochar and synthesis-quality gas, using steam and oxygen as fluidizing gases. In this paper, the pilot-scale development of the BCFB gasifier in air-blown operation with wood residues and a waste-derived feedstock is firstly presented. Then, the use of this gasifier design for the co-production of biochar and synthesis gas is described and the results from preliminary process simulations are presented. Estimated process performances are shown for two operation modes. In the maximized synthesis gas mode, the gasifier is operated at 900 °C resulting in a similar performance to a conventional CFB gasifier. In co-production operation mode, the bottom section of the BCFB gasifier acts as the carbonization zone producing good-quality biochar, which is recovered from the bottom of the gasifier.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Alpha and Beta variants became dominant in Finland in spring 2021 but had diminished by summer. We used phylogenetic clustering to identify sources of spreading. We found that outbreaks were mostly seeded by a few introductions, highlighting the importance of surveillance and prevention policies.

Abstract Motivated by recent interest in collectivity in small systems, we calculate the harmonic flow response to initial geometry deformations within weakly coupled QCD kinetic theory using the first correction to the free-streaming background. We derive a parametric scaling formula that relates harmonic flow in systems of different sizes and different generic initial gluon distributions. We comment on similarities and differences between the full QCD effective kinetic theory and the toy models used previously. Finally we calculate the centrality dependence of the integrated elliptic flow v 2 in oxygen-oxygen, proton-lead and proton-proton collision systems.