700 research outputs found

    Nonlinear resonant wave interaction in vacuum

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    The basic equations governing propagation of electromagnetic and gravitational waves in vacuum are nonlinear. As a consequence photon-photon interaction as well as photon-graviton interaction can take place without a medium. However, resonant interaction between less than four waves cannot occur in vacuum, unless the interaction takes place in a bounded region, such as a cavity or a waveguide. Recent results concerning resonant wave interaction in bounded vacuum regions are reviewed and extended.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; Talk given at ITCPP03, Santorini, Greece (2003

    Surplus food donation: Effectiveness, carbon footprint, and rebound effect

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    Surplus food redistribution can be a way to relieve co-existing food insecurity and food waste. The food waste hierarchy ranks surplus food donations for human consumption as the next best strategy, when food waste cannot be prevented. However, the effectiveness of food donation in terms of the amount consumed, or food donation as a food waste management measure have rarely been assessed. The few studies conducted to date report substantial environmental savings, but the results may be sensitive to assumptions regarding substituted food. Rebound effects are also not included, but are likely to offset environmental savings from food donation. Therefore, this study investigated the effectiveness, carbon footprint, and rebound effect of a food donation system run by a charity in Sweden, and compared the results with those of anaerobic digestion. Multiple analytical methods were used, including material flow analysis, life cycle assessment, questionnaire, and 24-hour dietary recall. In the life cycle assessment, carbon footprint of substituted products were credited to the overall results using a system expansion. In addition, direct and indirect rebound effects associated with re-spending of substitution-related monetary savings were included. The results revealed a complex but effective network aimed at salvaging as much of the redistributed food as possible, with 78% of redistributed food eaten, but there was also a substantial rebound effect, offsetting 51% of potential carbon emissions savings from food donation. Nonetheless, the net result of food donation was almost twice the climate benefit of anaerobic digestion (-0.40 vs. -0.22 kg CO2e/FU), supporting the food waste hierarchy

    D5.8 – Report on Demonstration – Mitakus

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    This deliverable reports on how the innovation Mitakus, provided by the German company Mitakus Analytics UG, which aims at reducing food waste in the food service sector, was applied in the LOWINFOOD project. Mitakus uses sales data provided by the users and combines this with external factors such as the weather or holidays to calculate a sales forecast. This can help users plan their production more accurately. Food waste can be reduced if the users avoid producing surpluses by utilizing the Mitakus forecast. In Germany, two users tested the Mitakus innovation as part of the LOWINFOOD project. Both users are university student canteens of differing sizes. This report presents the methodological approach to testing. The results of an initial food waste measurement in the businesses, an assessment of the forecasts’ performance, and the results of a survey on user-friendliness and potential improvements are presented. The innovation was highly affected by the COVID pandemic. Thus, the demonstration of Mitakus faced several challenges, such as acquiring businesses for testing or providing usable historical sales figures to create the forecasts. The opportunities offered by Mitakus included, for example, the company's responsiveness to customer requirements.The waste measurement in the businesses discovered that 46 and 41 grams of food were initially wasted per serving including plate, serving, and preparation waste. The user survey revealed that the implementation of the app was initially perceived as somewhat difficult. In contrast, use by management was described as rather simple. The dashboard and its features also received a good rating. The performance of Mitakus' short-term forecasts is better than those predicted by the users themselves. In contrast, the quality of the long-term forecast depends on the circumstances in the company and is strongly influenced by short-term changes to the menu.The current status of testing is that Mitakus is continuously improving the prediction models created

    On Molecular Classification of Bladder Cancer: Out of One, Many.

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    Comparative analysis showed that bladder cancer classification systems identify overlapping subtypes but at different levels. Muscle-invasive bladder cancer shows remarkable heterogeneity, and six subtypes were identified that differ in transcriptional networks, marker profiles, and expression of actionable targets

    Carbon footprint reduction potential of waste management strategies in tourism

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    Tourism is one of the major economic factors contributing to growth and jobs worldwide. The number of international travellers has increased more than 50-fold in the past 70 years. However, the contribution of tourism to (municipal) waste generation is also large and is increasing, accompanied by an increase in some environmental and socio-economic impacts. An average value of 1.67 kg waste is now generated per tourist (Obersteiner et al., 2017). Waste prevention and recycling should therefore be major objectives in tourist waste management by municipal authorities.Within the EU H2020-funded project "URBANWASTE - Urban Strategies for Waste Management in Tourist Cities", eco-innovative waste prevention and management strategies were implemented in 10 pilot cities with high levels of tourism, in order to reduce urban waste production and improve municipal waste management. This study examined the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings for three selected waste prevention and treatment options: food waste prevention, reductions in single use plastic and increased separate collection and recycling of waste. Benefits were expressed per kg waste prevented or diverted higher up the waste hierarchy and per 1000 tourists.The measures achieved potential GHG emission savings of between 4 and 189 kg CO2-eq. per 1000 tourists, depending on local conditions such as the existing waste management system. Measures tackling food waste reduction and separate collection had low emissions associated with the measure itself, whereas for assessed measures reducing the use of single use plastics by providing reusable alternatives, emissions associated with the measures were relatively high. This was due to the emissions associated with the production of the alternative reusable products. Influencing factors reducing the carbon footprint of waste management in tourism other than the kind of waste focused on were the existing waste management system (especially for biowaste) as well as the practicability and scalability of measures under the divers regional circumstances

    Automated quantification tool to monitor plate waste in school canteens

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    Automated tools for waste quantification hold promise in providing preciser understanding of food waste. This study evaluated a tool to quantify plate waste in primary school canteens. It encompassed data from 421,015 instances of food wastage. The evaluation revealed high accuracy, with the tool’s plate waste detection falling within ±10% of manual recordings. However, the tool estimated 40% fewer individual guests compared to manual entry due to not all students wasting food. As a result, the automatically collected data indicated a 35% higher waste-to-guest ratio. The findings showed that a minority of students (20%) accounted for a majority (60%) of plate waste. Halving the waste generated by this group would reduce overall plate waste by 31%, emphasizing the importance of tailored interventions for high-profile wasters rather than applying general measures to all students. Targeting areas with the greatest potential can contribute to a more sustainable food system with reduced waste

    Modeling the wind structure of AG Peg by fitting of C IV and N V resonance doublets

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    The latest outburst of AG Peg has lasted for 150 years, which makes itthe slowest nova eruption ever recorded. During the time of IUEobservations (1978-1995) line profiles and intensity ratios of the N Vand C IV doublet components changed remarkably, and we discuss plausiblereasons. One of them is radiative pumping of Fe II which is investigatedby studying the fluorescence lines from pumped levels. Three Fe IIchannels are pumped by C IV and one by N V. The pumping rates of thoseFe II channels as derived by the modeling agree well with the strengthsof the Fe II fluorescence lines seen in the spectra. We model the C IVand N V resonance doublets in IUE spectra recorded between 1978 and 1995in order to derive optical depths, expansion velocities, and theemissivities of the red giant wind, the white dwarf wind and theircollision region. The derived expansion velocities are ∼60 kms-1 for the red giant wind and ∼700 km s-1 forthe white dwarf wind. We also suggest a fast outflow from the system at∼150 km s-1. The expansion velocity is slightly higherfor N V than for C IV. Emission from the collision region stronglyaffects the profile of the N V and C IV resonance doublets indicatingits existence
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