Refuse of the city: rethinking waste management in Brussels

The image and perception of a city are intrinsically tied to its cleanliness. Everywhere in the world, working-class neighbourhoods with rubbish piling up in the streets are subject to stigma and devaluation. This is the case in Cureghem, a multi-ethnic district of Brussels, Belgium, where the lack of cleanliness and maintenance of the public space are among the main concerns and complaints expressed by inhabitants. This paper examines the rubbish collection service in Brussels, focusing in particular on a shopping street in Cureghem with an abundance of ethnic restaurants, bars and greengrocers, where rubbish accumulation is largely attributed to the vibrant commercial activity. Based on fieldwork, interviews and workshops with local stakeholders conducted in the framework of a transdisciplinary research project, it aims to shed light on the rubbish problem in Cureghem and the proposals which emerge in the search for a solution

Stability of fermionic Feshbach molecules in a Bose-Fermi mixture

In the wake of successful experiments in Fermi condensates, experimental attention is broadening to study resonant interactions in degenerate Bose-Fermi mixtures. Here we consider the properties and stability of the fermionic molecules that can be created in such a mixture near a Feshbach resonance (FR). To do this, we consider the two-body scattering matrix in the many-body environment, and assess its complex poles. The stability properties of these molecules strongly depend on their centre-of-mass motion, because they must satisfy Fermi statistics. At low centre-of-mass momenta the molecules are more stable than in the absence of the environment (due to Pauli-blocking effects), while at high centre-of-mass momenta nontrivial many body effects render them somewhat less stable

Facing the small aortic root in aortic valve replacement: Enlarge or not enlarge?

In patients with severe aortic stenosis, aortic valve replacement (AVR) should aim to implant a prosthesis of adequate size to effectively eliminate left ventricular obstruction and avoid the risk of patient–prosthesis mismatch (PPM). PPM has been demonstrated to be associated with increased mortality, decreased exercise tolerance, and reduced left ventricular mass regression after AVR for aortic stenosis

Parallel pumping of magnetic vortex gyrations in spin-torque nano-oscillators

We experimentally demonstrate that large magnetic vortex oscillations can be parametrically excited in a magnetic tunnel junction by the injection of radio-frequency (rf) currents at twice the natural frequency of the gyrotropic vortex core motion. The mechanism of excitation is based on the parallel pumping of vortex motion by the rf orthoradial field generated by the injected current. Theoretical analysis shows that experimental results can be interpreted as the manifestation of parametric amplification when rf current is small, and of parametric instability when rf current is above a certain threshold. By taking into account the energy nonlinearities, we succeed to describe the amplitude saturation of vortex oscillations as well as the coexistence of stable regimes.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Delusional beliefs and reason giving

Delusions are often regarded as irrational beliefs, but their irrationality is not sufficient to explain what is pathological about them. In this paper we ask whether deluded subjects have the capacity to support the content of their delusions with reasons, that is, whether they can author their delusional states. The hypothesis that delusions are characterised by a failure of authorship, which is a dimension of self knowledge, deserves to be empirically tested because (a) it has the potential to account for the distinction between endorsing a delusion and endorsing a framework belief; (b) it contributes to a philosophical analysis of the relationship between rationality and self knowledge; and (c) it informs diagnosis and therapy in clinical psychiatry. However, authorship cannot provide a demarcation criterion between delusions and other irrational belief states

Integrated design optimization of wind turbines with noise emission constraints

This study integrates aeroacoustic noise emission models within a wind turbine design procedure to include overall sound pressure levels as design constraints. The proposed approach aims at the minimization of the cost of energy from wind, while ensuring the compliance with noise emission limits. The reference 3.35 MW onshore wind turbine developed within the international cooperation IEA Wind Task 37 is redesigned to reduce its noise emissions above and below rated wind speed, considering both single- and multi-objective design criteria. Results obtained with the proposed noise-constrained redesign methodology are compared with the simpler approach of reducing the tip speed without altering the blade shape. Results show that, while the simplistic approach causes a drop of −2.8% in annual energy production and a +2.5% increase in cost of energy, an optimized configuration fulfills the noise requirement without incurring into significant energy penalties

Fatigue characterization of Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) foam core sandwich composite using the G-control method

This paper presents experimental results from cyclic crack propagation tests performed on sandwich specimens with glass/epoxy face sheets and Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) foam cores using the G-controlled cyclic energy release rate (ΔG) test procedure. The face material was tested in tension, compression and shear to determine in-plane and out-of-plane mechanical properties, such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and shear modulus. These properties were then used in an analytical model of the mixed-mode bending sandwich specimen to calculate compliance and energy release rate. Finite element analysis was used to determine the mode-mixity of the crack loading. Experimental crack growth cyclic tests were carried out on pre-cracked mixed-mode bending sandwich specimens with H45, H100 and H160 PVC foam cores under two mode-mixities (mode I and mode II dominant). Post-mortem analysis was performed on tested specimens, highlighting the influence of mode mixity and foam density on the crack path. Crack propagation diagrams showing da/dN versus ΔG curves were obtained to establish the Paris-Erdogan relation for each material combination tested at the two mode-mixities. Results showed constant crack growth rates for all the materials tested and revealed the influence on mode-mixity on crack propagation speed and foam density (higher foam density, slower crack propagation). </jats:p

Anti-PD-L1 immunoconjugates for cancer therapy: Are available antibodies good carriers for toxic payload delivering?

Immune checkpoint mechanisms are important molecular cell systems that maintain tolerance toward autoantigens in order to prevent immunity-mediated accidental damage. It is well known that cancer cells may exploit these molecular and cellular mechanisms to escape recognition and elimination by immune cells. Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and its natural ligand programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) form the PD-L1/PD-1 axis, a well-known immune checkpoint mechanism, which is considered an interesting target in cancer immunotherapy. In fact, the expression of PD-L1 was found in various solid malignancies and the overactivation of PD-L1/PD-1 axis results in a poor patient survival rate. Breaking PD-L1/PD-1 axis, by blocking either the cancer side or the immune side of the axis, is currently used as anti-cancer strategy to re-establish a tumor-specific immune response. For this purpose, several blocking antibodies are now available. To date, three anti-PD-L1 antibodies have been approved by the FDA, namely atezolizumab, durvalumab and avelumab. The main advantages of anti-PD-L1 antibodies arise from the overexpression of PD-L1 antigen by a high number of tumor cells, also deriving from different tissues; this makes anti-PD-L1 antibodies potential pan-specific anti-cancer molecules. Despite the good results reported in clinical trials with anti-PD-L1 antibodies, there is a significant number of patients that do not respond to the therapy. In fact, it should be considered that, in some neoplastic patients, reduced or absent infiltration of cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells in the tumor microenvironment or presence of other immunosuppressive molecules make immunotherapy with anti-PD-L1 blocking antibodies less effective. A strategy to improve the efficacy of antibodies is to use them as carriers for toxic payloads (toxins, drugs, enzymes, radionuclides, etc.) to form immunoconjugates. Several immunoconjugates have been already approved by FDA for treatment of malignancies. In this review, we focused on PD-L1 targeting antibodies utilized as carrier to construct immunoconjugates for the potential elimination of neoplastic cells, expressing PD-L1. A complete examination of the literature regarding anti-PD-L1 immunoconjugates is here reported, describing the results obtained in vitro and in vivo. The real potential of anti-PD-L1 antibodies as carriers for toxic payload delivery is considered and extensively discussed