A numerical and experimental study on the conversion of a biomass particle is carried out to quantify the effect of homogeneous volatile combustion on the biomass pyrolysis. The numerical domain consists of a particle and its surrounding and the model considers detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for reaction of pyrolysis products. A detailed pyrolysis model is employed which provides the composit

We address a new agricultural policy concern following the decoupling of CAP direct payments in 2005: passive farming, whereby landowners maintain their agricultural area to collect payments without producing commodities. It is claimed that passive farming is hindering agricultural development by 'blocking' access to farmland for expanding farmers. We evaluate the links between the EU's Single Pay

Optical mapping (OM) has been used in microbiology for the past 20 years, initially as a technique to facilitate DNA sequence-based studies; however, with decreases in DNA sequencing costs and increases in sequence output from automated sequencing platforms, OM has grown into an important auxiliary tool for genome assembly and comparison. Currently, there are a number of new and exciting applicati

Genetic polymorphisms are powerful model systems to study the maintenance of diversity in nature. In some systems, polymorphisms are limited to female coloration; these are thought to have arisen as a consequence of reducing male mating harassment, commonly resulting in negative frequency-dependent selection on female color morphs. One example is the damselfly Ischnura elegans, which shows three f

Pump-probe experiments are commonly used at Free Electron Lasers (FEL) to elucidate the femtosecond dynamics of atoms, molecules, clusters, liquids and solids. Maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements is often a primary need of the experiment, and the aggregation of repeated, rapid, scans of the pump-probe delay is preferable to a single long-lasting scan. The limited availability

Anthropogenic emissions and land use changes have modified atmospheric aerosol concentrations and size distributions over time. Understanding preindustrial conditions and changes in organic aerosol due to anthropogenic activities is important because these features (1) influence estimates of aerosol radiative forcing and (2) can confound estimates of the historical response of climate to increases

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs, which negatively regulate the expression of target genes. They have emerged as important modulators in beta cell compensation upon increased metabolic demand, failure of which leads to reduced insulin secretion and type 2 diabetes. To elucidate the function of miRNAs in beta cells, insulin-secreting cell lines, such as the rat insulinoma INS-1 832/13 and the hu

In order to increase the knowledge on human behaviour in smoke, an evacuation experiment was performed in a road tunnel in Stockholm in July 2014. Sixty-six participants, who were instructed to individually evacuate the tunnel, took part. Participants' walking speeds were measured in a smoke-filled section, as well as in a smoke-free section, of the tunnel. The walking speeds in non-irritant smoke

This paper proposes a framework for the analysis of technological innovation processes in transnational contexts. By drawing on existing innovation system concepts and recent elaborations on the globalization of innovation, we develop a multi-scalar conceptualization of innovation systems. Two key mechanisms are introduced and elaborated: the generation of resources in multi-locational subsystems

Software is today often composed of many sourced components, which potentially contain security vulnerabilities, and therefore require testing before being integrated. Tools for automated test case generation, for example, based on white-box fuzzing, are beneficial for this testing task. Such tools generally explore limitations of the specific underlying techniques for solving problems related to,

Industrial robots typically require very structured and predictable working environments, and explicit programming, in order to perform well. Therefore, expensive and time-consuming engineering work is a major obstruction when mediating tasks to robots. This thesis presents methods that decrease the amount of engineering work required for robot programming, and increase the ability of robots to ha

Taking a cross-cultural perspective, this book explores how privatization and globalization impact contemporary feminist and social justice approaches to public responsibility. Feminist legal theorists have long problematized divisions between the private and the political, an issue with growing importance in a time when the welfare state is under threat in many parts of the world and private mark

Precarious employment has been associated with poor mental health. Moreover, increasing labour market precariousness may cause individuals to feel ‘locked-in’, in non-desired workplaces or occupations, out of fear of not finding a new employment. This could be experienced as a ‘loss of control’, with similar negative health consequences. It is plausible that the extent to which being in a non-desi

Background: The prevalence of migraine with co-existing tension-type headache and neck pain is high in the general population. However, there is very little literature on the characteristics of these combined conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate a) the prevalence of migraine with co-existing tension-type headache and neck pain in a clinic-based sample, b) the level of physical acti

The evolution of family living is underpinned by conflict and cooperation between family members. While family groups can be maintained by reducing conflict between parents and offspring, interactions between siblings may play an equally important role. Here, we compared the level of aggressive interactions between siblings to that between parents and their offspring in the family living skink Lio