Long term electricity storage by oxygen liquefaction and LNG oxy-combustion

The paper proposes an innovative scheme exploiting oxygen liquefaction as a means for storing excess electricity generation from renewable sources. Liquid oxygen is then used in an oxy-combustion process with LNG to generate electricity when renewable energy generation is below the demand. An equivalent round trip efficiency is defined to make it possible comparing the system performances with hybrid plants including conventional generation and storage. The proposed scheme exhibits very high equivalent round trip efficiency, giving the system operators the opportunity to integrate more and more renewable energy generation inside power systems. Liquefied carbon dioxide and water are byproducts of the process. The size of the plant and of the storage tanks needed for a 4 TWh yearly demand with a peak around 800 MW is compatible with state-of-the-art systems used for LNG storage in similar size gas power plants

How priming with body odors affects decision speeds in consumer behavior

To date, odor research has primarily focused on the behavioral efects of common odors on consumer perception and choices. We report a study that examines, for the frst time, the efects of human body odor cues on consumer purchase behaviors. The infuence of human chemosignals produced in three conditions, namely happiness, fear, a relaxed condition (rest), and a control condition (no odor), were examined on willingness to pay (WTP) judgments across various products. We focused on the speed with which participants reached such decisions. The central fnding revealed that participants exposed to human odors reached decisions signifcantly faster than the no odor control group. The main driving force is that human body odors activate the presence of others during decision-making. This, in turn, afects response speed. The broader implications of this fnding for consumer behavior are discussed.Comunidade Europeia e Generalitat Valencianainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The limits of inter-religious dialogue and the form of football rituals: The case of Bosnia-Herzegovina

The difficulties with interfaith dialogue are linked, at least in part, to the lack of ritual forms (consisting of rules, ceremonial idioms, liturgy, and repertoires of action) designed to unite and integrate the "meta-group "formed by the various religious communities. By means of ethnographic research conducted in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the author studied the mechanisms with which, under particular conditions, some forms of collective ritual were able to create opportunities for the re-integration of the Bosnian population, which had been profoundly divided after the terrible war of 199295. Comparing the forms of religious rituals and those of sports ritualsin particular, of football ritualsthe author develops some considerations that can be applied to the general debate about inter-religious dialogue. The comparison brings to light some of the limits and difficulties that religious institutions encounter in giving life to an interfaith dialogue that directly and concretely involves the members of different communities. © 2007 Social Compass

Concurrent chemoradiation in anal cancer patients delivered with bone marrow-sparing imrt: Final results of a prospective phase ii trial

We investigated the role of the selective avoidance of haematopoietically active pelvic bone marrow (BM), with a targeted intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) approach, to reduce acute hematologic toxicity (HT) in anal cancer patients undergoing concurrent chemo-radiation. We designed a one-armed two-stage Simon’s design study to test the hypothesis that BM-sparing IMRT would improve by 20% the rate of G0–G2 (vs. G3–G4) HT, from 42% of RTOG 0529 historical data to 62% (α = 0.05; β = 0.20). A minimum of 21/39 (54%) with G0–G2 toxicity represented the threshold for the fulfilment of the criteria to define this approach as ‘promising’. We employed18 FDG-PET to identify active BM within the pelvis. Acute HT was assessed via weekly blood counts and scored as per the Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Effects version 4.0. From December 2017 to October 2020, we enrolled 39 patients. Maximum observed acute HT comprised 20% rate of ≥G3 leukopenia and 11% rate of ≥G3 thrombocytopenia. Overall, 11 out of 39 treated patients (28%) experienced ≥G3 acute HT. Conversely, in 28 patients (72%) G0–G2 HT events were observed, above the threshold set. Hence,18 FDG-PET-guided BM-sparing IMRT was able to reduce acute HT in this clinical setting

Entomological Surveillance of Behavioural Resilience and Resistance in Residual Malaria Vector Populations.

The most potent malaria vectors rely heavily upon human blood so they are vulnerable to attack with insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) within houses. Mosquito taxa that can avoid feeding or resting indoors, or by obtaining blood from animals, mediate a growing proportion of the dwindling transmission that persists as ITNs and IRS are scaled up. Increasing frequency of behavioural evasion traits within persisting residual vector systems usually reflect the successful suppression of the most potent and vulnerable vector taxa by IRS or ITNs, rather than their failure. Many of the commonly observed changes in mosquito behavioural patterns following intervention scale-up may well be explained by modified taxonomic composition and expression of phenotypically plastic behavioural preferences, rather than altered innate preferences of individuals or populations. Detailed review of the contemporary evidence base does not yet provide any clear-cut example of true behavioural resistance and is, therefore, consistent with the hypothesis presented. Caution should be exercised before over-interpreting most existing reports of increased frequency of behavioural traits which enable mosquitoes to evade fatal contact with insecticides: this may simply be the result of suppressing the most behaviourally vulnerable of the vector taxa that constituted the original transmission system. Mosquito taxa which have always exhibited such evasive traits may be more accurately described as behaviourally resilient, rather than resistant. Ongoing national or regional entomological monitoring surveys of physiological susceptibility to insecticides should be supplemented with biologically and epidemiologically meaningfully estimates of malaria vector population dynamics and the behavioural phenotypes that determine intervention impact, in order to design, select, evaluate and optimize the implementation of vector control measures

Ecology: a prerequisite for malaria elimination and eradication

* Existing front-line vector control measures, such as insecticide-treated nets and residual sprays, cannot break the transmission cycle of Plasmodium falciparum in the most intensely endemic parts of Africa and the Pacific * The goal of malaria eradication will require urgent strategic investment into understanding the ecology and evolution of the mosquito vectors that transmit malaria * Priority areas will include understanding aspects of the mosquito life cycle beyond the blood feeding processes which directly mediate malaria transmission * Global commitment to malaria eradication necessitates a corresponding long-term commitment to vector ecolog

Transglutaminase-Mediated Semen Coagulation Controls Sperm Storage in the Malaria Mosquito

The mating plug is a key regulator of mosquito fertility