Developing a Pilot Case and Modelling the Development of a Large European CO₂ Transport Infrastructure -The GATEWAY H2020 Project

The H2020 GATEWAY project aims to develop a comprehensive model Pilot Case which, intentionally, will pave the ground for CCS deployment in Europe. It will result from the assessment of, technical, commercial, judicial and societal issues related to a future CO2 transport infrastructure. The Pilot Case derived on this basis, will emphasize a gateway for CO2 transport in the North Sea Basin. Four potential pilot cases have been evaluated through a combination of techno-economic modelling of the individual cases and evaluation against more qualitative criteria. The chosen Pilot Case, Rotterdam Nucleus, will be refined and developed during the remaining period of the GATEWAY project. To maximise impact, the GATEWAY project adapts its work to lay the foundation for a future application to a European ‘Project of Common Interest’ (PCI). Continuous dialogue with the most relevant stakeholders is an important part of GATEWAY, as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) H2020 project

Exploring the psychology of GPT-4's Moral and Legal Reasoning

Large language models have been used as the foundation of highly sophisticated artificial intelligences, capable of delivering human-like responses to probes about legal and moral issues. However, these models are unreliable guides to their own inner workings, and even the engineering teams behind their creation are unable to explain exactly how they came to develop all of the capabilities they currently have. The emerging field of machine psychology seeks to gain insight into the processes and concepts that these models possess. In this paper, we employ the methods of psychology to probe into GPT-4's moral and legal reasoning. More specifically, we investigate the similarities and differences between GPT-4 and humans when it comes to intentionality ascriptions, judgments about causation, the morality of deception, moral foundations, the impact of moral luck on legal judgments, the concept of consent, and rule violation judgments. We find high correlations between human and AI responses, but also several significant systematic differences between them. We conclude with a discussion of the philosophical implications of our findings

Эффективность комбинированных криоконсервантов, содержащих глицерин или 1,2-пропандиол, при замораживании эритроцитов

Исследовали осмотические свойства эритроцитов, замороженных в комбинированных криоконсервантах, содержащих полимерные непроникающие (декстран, полиэтиленгликоль) и проникающие (глицерин, 1,2-пропандиол) криопротекторы. Установлено, что в эритроцитах, замороженных-отогретых в среде с полимерами, отмечается повышение скорости потока ионов Н+ и осмотической хрупкости в среде, содержащей 0,45–0,9% NaCl. Для сохранения осмотических свойств замороженных- отогретых клеток достаточно включить в среду глицерин или 1,2-пропандиол (1,2-ПД) в концентрации 5%. Полученные результаты позволяют предположить, что криопротекторная эффективность комбинированных криоконсервантов, содержащих непроникающие и проникающие криопротекторы, определяется вкладом различных по механизму действия криозащитных компонентов в суммарную защитную эффективность при замораживании и ослаблением постгипертонического стресса на клетки при размораживании.Досліджували осмотичні властивості еритроцитів, заморожених-відігрітих у комбінованих кріоконсервантах, які містять полімерні непроникаючі (декстран, поліетиленгліколь) і проникаючі (гліцерин, 1,2-пропандіол) кріопротектори. Встановлено, що в еритроцитах, заморожених-відігрітих у середовищі з полімерами, визначається зростання швидкості потоку іонів Н+ і осмотичної крихкості в середовищі, яке містить 0,45–0,9% NaCl. Для збереження осмотичних властивостей заморожених- відігрітих клітин достатньо включити в середовище гліцерин або 1,2-пропандіол в концентрації 5%. Отримані результати дозволяють припустити, що кріопротекторна ефективність комбінованих кріоконсервантів, які містять непроникаючі і проникаючі кріопротектори, визначається внеском різноманітних за механізмом дії кріозахисних компонентів у сумарну захисну ефективність при заморожуванні та послабленням постгіпертонічного стресу на клітини при розморожуванні.The osmotic properties of erythrocytes frozen-thawed in combined cryopreservatives, containing polymeric non-penetrating (dextran, polyethylene glycol) and penetrating (glycerol, 1,2-propane diol) cryoprotectants were studied. It was established that in erythrocytes frozen-thawed in the presence of polymers the increasing of H+ ion flow rate and osmotic fragility in the environment with 0.45–0.9% NaCl was observed. It is sufficient to add 5% glycerol or 1,2-propane diol (1,2-PD) to the medium to preserve osmotic properties of frozen-thawed cells. The obtained results enable to suggest that cryoprotective efficiency of combined cryopreservatives, containing non-penetrating and penetrating cryoprotectants is determined both by the contribution of cryoprotective components differing by action mechanism into th

Lipopolysaccharide Lowers Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein by Activating F4/80Clec4fVsig4Ly6C Kupffer Cell Subsets

BACKGROUND: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) decreases hepatic CETP (cholesteryl ester transfer protein) expression albeit that the underlying mechanism is disputed. We recently showed that plasma CETP is mainly derived from Kupffer cells (KCs). In this study, we investigated the role of KC subsets in the mechanism by which LPS reduces CETP expression. METHODS AND RESULTS: In CETP-transgenic mice, LPS markedly decreased hepatic CETP expression and plasma CETP concentration without affecting hepatic macrophage number. This was paralleled by decreased expression of the resting KC markers C-type lectin domain family 4, member f (Clec4f) and V-set and immunoglobulin domain containing 4 (Vsig4), while expression of the infiltrating monocyte marker lymphocyte antigen 6 complex locus C (Ly6C) was increased. Simultaneously, the ratio of plasma high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol over non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol transiently increased. After ablation hepatic macrophages via injection with liposomal clodronate, the reappearance of hepatic gene and protein expression of CETP coincided with Clec4f and Vsig4, but not Ly6C. Double-immunofluorescence staining showed that CETP co-localized with Clec4f+ KCs and not Ly6C+ monocytes. In humans, microarray gene-expression analysis of liver biopsies revealed that hepatic expression and plasma level of CETP both correlated with hepatic VSIG4 expression. LPS administration decreased the plasma CETP concentration in humans. In vitro experiments showed that LPS reduced liver X receptor-mediated CETP expression. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic expression of CETP is exclusively confined to the resting KC subset (ie, F4/80+Clec4f+Vsig4+Ly6C-). LPS activated resting KCs, leading to reduction of Clec4f and Vsig4 expression and reduction of hepatic CETP expression, consequently decreasing plasma CETP and raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. This sequence of events is consistent with the anti-inflammatory role of HDL in the response to LPS and may be relevant as a defense mechanism against bacterial infections

High titers and low fucosylation of early human anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG promote inflammation by alveolar macrophages

Patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) become critically ill primarily around the time of activation of the adaptive immune response. Here, we provide evidence that antibodies play a role in the worsening of disease at the time of seroconversion. We show that early-phase severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum of critically ill COVID-19 patients induces excessive inflammatory responses by human alveolar macrophages. We identified that this excessive inflammatory response is dependent on two antibody features that are specific for patients with severe COVID-19. First, inflammation is driven by high titers of anti-spike IgG, a hallmark of severe disease. Second, we found that anti-spike IgG from patients with severe COVID-19 is intrinsically more proinflammatory because of different glycosylation, particularly low fucosylation, of the antibody Fc tail. Low fucosylation of anti-spike IgG was normalized in a few weeks after initial infection with SARS-CoV-2, indicating that the increased antibody-dependent inflammation mainly occurs at the time of seroconversion. We identified Fc gamma receptor (Fc gamma R) Ila and FeyRIII as the two primary IgG receptors that are responsible for the induction of key COVID-19-associated cytokines such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor. In addition, we show that anti-spike IgG-activated human macrophages can subsequently break pulmonary endothelial barrier integrity and induce microvascular thrombosis in vitro. Last, we demonstrate that the inflammatory response induced by anti-spike IgG can be specifically counteracted by fostamatinib, an FDA- and EMA-approved therapeutic small-molecule inhibitor of Syk kinase.Proteomic

Once the shovel hits the ground : Evaluating the management of complex implementation processes of public-private partnership infrastructure projects with qualitative comparative analysis

Much attention is being paid to the planning of public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. The subsequent implementation phase – when the contract has been signed and the project ‘starts rolling’ – has received less attention. However, sound agreements and good intentions in project planning can easily fail in project implementation. Implementing PPP infrastructure projects is complex, but what does this complexity entail? How are projects managed, and how do public and private partners cooperate in implementation? What are effective management strategies to achieve satisfactory outcomes? This is the fi rst set of questions addressed in this thesis. Importantly, the complexity of PPP infrastructure development imposes requirements on the evaluation methods that can be applied for studying these questions. Evaluation methods that ignore complexity do not create a realistic understanding of PPP implementation processes, with the consequence that evaluations tell us little about what works and what does not, in which contexts, and why. This hampers learning from evaluations. What are the requirements for a complexity-informed evaluation method? And how does qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) meet these requirements? This is the second set of questions addressed in this thesis

Two-colour infrared missile warning sensors

Current missile-warning sensors on aircraft mostly operate in the ultraviolet wavelength band. Aimed primarily at detecting short-range, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, the detection range of the sensors is of the same order as the threat range, which is 3-5 km. However, this range is only attained against older missiles, with bright exhaust flames. Modern missile developments include the use of new propellants, which generate low-intensity plumes. These threats are detected at much shorter ranges by current ultraviolet warning sensors, resulting in short reaction times. Infrared sensors are able to detect targets at a much longer range. In contrast with the ultraviolet band, in which a target is observed against an almost zero background, infrared sensors must extract targets from a complex background. This leads to a much higher false-alarm rate, which has thus far prevented the deployment of infrared sensors in a missile warning system. One way of reducing false-alarms levels is to make use of the spectral difference between missile plumes and the background. By carefully choosing two wavelength bands, the contrast between missile plume and background can be maximised. This paper presents a method to search for the best possible combination of two bands in the mid-wave infrared, that leads to the longest detection ranges and that works for a wide range of missile propellants. Detection ranges predicted in the infrared will be compared with those obtained in the ultraviolet, to demonstrate the increased range and, therefore, the increased reaction time for the aircraft

Keynote speech - Corrective measures for CO2 storage - The MiReCOL project

CO2 capture, transport and storage (CCS) has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon emission that follows from the use of fossil fuels in power production and industry. Integrated demo-scale projects are currently being developed to demonstrate the feasibility of CCS and the first such projects are expected to start operating in Europe under the Storage Directive in the period 2015- 2020. As part of the license application, these projects must develop a corrective measures plan, which describes the measures that can be taken when the CO2 in the subsurface behaves in an unexpected way. The MiReCOL project supports the development of corrective measures plans and helps building confidence in the safety of deep subsurface CO2 storage by providing a toolbox of techniques to mitigate and/or remediate undesired migration of CO2. MiReCOL aims to support CCS project operators and relevant authorities. Copyright © (2014) by the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers. All rights reserved