The former Spanish Netherlands experienced a period of social, cultural and economic prosperity in the seventeenth century, with Antwerp as its most important commercial and artistic centre. The era’s vibrant art scene, once pivotal culturally, economically, and diplomatically, now offers invaluable insights for scientific studies on art, trade, and craftsmanship. In a study on 294 panel paintings

Precise epitope determination of therapeutic antibodies is of great value as it allows for further comprehension of mechanism of action, therapeutic responsiveness prediction, avoidance of unwanted cross reactivity, and vaccine design. The golden standard for discontinuous epitope determination is the laborious X-ray crystallography method. Here, we present a combinatorial method for rapid mapping

Effects of pilot H2 injection on the thermoacoustic instability of premixed CH4/air flames were experimentally investigated with varied hydrogen injection rates and different injection strategies. The flames were stabilized on a swirl burner with a central pilot-fuel injection tube. The flame structure was captured using high-speed OH* chemiluminescence and OH-PLIF methods, while the CO and NOx em

Source-separated sanitation and greywater treatment have become an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional waste-water management systems in recent years due to their potential to combat water scarcity, ease resource recovery, and meet tightening effluent demands. In Helsingborg, Sweden, source-separated wastewater from the new city district of Oceanhamnen is being collected and treated

The removal of organic micropollutants in granular activated carbon (GAC) filters can be attributed to adsorption and biological degradation. These two processes can interact with each other or proceed independently. To illustrate the differences in their interaction, three 14C-labeled organic micropollutants with varying potentials for adsorption and biodegradation were selected to study their ad

Background: Digital speech assessment has potential relevance in the earliest, preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We evaluated the feasibility, test-retest reliability, and association with AD-related amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology of speech acoustics measured over multiple assessments in a remote setting. Methods: Fifty cognitively unimpaired adults (Age 68 ± 6.2 years, 58% female, 46%

Background: The PI*S variant is one of the most prevalent mutations within alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). The risk of developing AATD-related lung disease in individuals with the PI*SS genotype is poorly defined despite its substantial prevalence. Our study aimed to characterize this genotype and its risk for lung disease and compare it with the PI*ZZ and PI*SZ genotypes using data from th

The ring-like peripheral light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2) expressed by many phototrophic purple bacteria is a popular model system in biological light-harvesting research due to its robustness, small size, and known crystal structure. Furthermore, the availability of structural variants with distinct electronic structures and optical properties has made this group of light harvesters an attractive

The translational stem cell research field has progressed immensely in the past decade. Development and refinement of differentiation protocols now allows the generation of a range of cell types, such as pancreatic β-cells and dopaminergic neurons, from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in an efficient and good manufacturing practice-compliant fashion. This has led to the initiation of several

Background: There is variability in the use of sedatives and analgesics in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). We aimed to investigate the use of analgesics and sedatives and the management of neonatal pain and distress. Methods: This was a global, prospective, cross-sectional study. A survey was distributed May–November 2022. The primary outcome of this research was to compare results between

Sub-Neptunes with radii of 2-3 R ⊕ are intermediate in size between rocky planets and Neptune-sized planets. The orbital properties and bulk compositions of transiting sub-Neptunes provide clues to the formation and evolution of close-in small planets. In this paper, we present the discovery and follow-up of four sub-Neptunes orbiting M dwarfs (TOI-782, TOI-1448, TOI-2120, and TOI-2406), three of

More than ever, Machine Learning (ML) as a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on the rise and is finding its way into safety-critical software applications. However, when it comes to quality assurance (QA) and trustworthiness, integrating ML models into software comes with challenges that may not be apparent at first glance. The European Union (EU) aims to tackle this problem with new reg

Context. White-light stellar flares are proxies for some of the most energetic types of flares, but their triggering mechanism is still poorly understood. As they are associated with strong X and ultraviolet emission, their study is particularly relevant to estimate the amount of high-energy irradiation onto the atmospheres of exoplanets, especially those in their stars’ habitable zone. Aims. We u

Challenges in drilling nickel-based superalloys, such as Inconel 718 (IN718), are multifaceted. High requirement of hole surface quality in drilling such alloy must deal with extreme material properties and complex process condition in drilling operation. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of PVD coated solid carbide drills under different internal cooling schemes on h

Background: With the approval of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for early Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there is an increased need for efficient and non-invasive detection methods for cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology. Current methods, including positron emission tomography (PET) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, are costly and invasive methods that may limit access to new treatments. Plasm

The germ theory states that pathogenic microorganisms are responsible for causing infectious diseases. The theory is inherently microbe-centric and does not account for variability in disease severity among individuals and asymptomatic carriership—two phenomena indicating an important role for host variability in infection outcome. The basic tenet of the germ theory was recently challenged, and a