Pretreatments are crucial to achieve efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to soluble sugars. In this light, switchgrass was subjected to 13 pretreatments including steam explosion alone (195 °C for 5, 10 and 15 min) and after impregnation with the following catalysts: Ca(OH)2 at low (0.4%) and high (0.7%) concentration; Ca(OH)2 at high concentration and higher temperature (205 °C for 5,

The obligation to prosecute or extradite is a growing sensitive issue in international law. In the recent case Questions Relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite (Belgium v. Senegal), the International Court of Justice was confronted with determining a breach to the obligation to prosecute or extradite in relation to acts of torture set forth in Article 7(1) of the 1984 UN Convention A

A coarse-grained model has been implemented using the Metropolis-Hastings Monte Carlo method to simulate β-casein and acidic proline-rich protein 1 (PRP-1). The aim of the study is to directly compare the properties and behavior of β-casein and PRP-1, in both bulk solution and in the presence of a negatively charged surface, in order to evaluate the possibility of using β-casein as a replacement f

macular corneal dystrophy is a human genetic disorder characterized by corneal opacities that arise, in part, from a failure to synthesize mature keratan sulfate proteoglycans. The macromolecules in macular corneas and in keratoconus corneas, an abnormality not involving proteoglycans, were biosynthetically labeled with [3H]mannose and [14C]glucosamine in organ culture, and the keratan sulfate pro

Extraskeletal bone formation can be induced in rodents by implantation of demineralised bone matrix and such implantation has been used to treat bone defects in man, but it is uncertain if induction or merely conduction occurs. We studied bone induction in primates by excising segments of the fibulae of adult squirrel monkeys, defatting and demineralising them before reimplanting them into the qua

Joint cartilage consists of cells embedded in a matrix of fibrous collagen within a concentrated water-proteoglycan gel. The integrity of this matrix is crucial for the biomechanical properties of the joint cartilage. The different components of the matrix are synthesized and degraded by the cartilage cells, a process regulated by the amount of mechanical stress applied to the chondrocytes as well

The ReO3-type structure NbO2F, niobium dioxyfluoride, has been studied at high pressures using diamond anvil cells and synchrotron X-ray radiation. High-pressure powder diffraction measurements have been performed up to 40.1 GPa. A phase transition from the cubic (Pm3m) ambient pressure structure to a rhombohedral (R3c) structure at 0.47 GPa has been observed. Rietveld refinements at 1.38, 1.96, 3

Public diplomacy is the communication of an international actor’s policies to citizens of foreign countries. These citizens might include civil society representatives, nongovernmental organisations, multinationals, journalists and media institutions, specialists across different sectors of industry, politics and culture, and members of the general public. They are typically engaged by actors like

The Human Rights Council received well the ‘protect, respect, remedy’ framework that the SRSG for business and human rights, John Ruggie, presented in 2008 and his mandate was renewed for another 3 years. The corporate responsibility to respect human rights is defined narrowly for abuses linked to business activities only. In the same time, the SRSG remarks that conduct in the form of both acts an

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of disability and early retirement. Yet we lack the means to diagnose the disease in its early stages or to monitor the effects of treatment on the target tissue, the joint cartilage. Neither can we identify the disease mechanisms at the tissue or cell level. Current research focuses on the use of markers of cartilage matrix metabolism in body fluids as a means to d

The close linkage between iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P) suggests that changes in Fe speciation may have a strong effect on the bioavailability of P. At the same time Fe speciation in natural oxic environments is known to be affected by the presence of organic matter (OM), pH and total Fe concentrations, thus these parameters should also influence the Fe-P interactions. The main objective of the pre

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is to present arguments for an integrated empirical research on teaching and learning based on previous research and the phenomenographic research tradition. From 1970 and for some years after, the main focus in phenomenographic research was on students’ approaches to and understanding of subject matter. Later, based on Variation theory and in the form of Learning