Objectives: The introduction of anti-TNF therapy has revolutionized the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aimed to investigate the impact of anti-TNF therapy on emergency subtotal colectomy rates in patients with IBD (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease or indeterminate colitis) during two time periods. Methods: IBD patients treated with emergency subtotal colectomy for ac

Although virtue ethics has repeatedly been proposed as a suitable framework for the development of artificial moral agents (AMAs), it has been proven difficult to approach from a computational perspective. In this work, we present the first technical implementation of artificial virtuous agents (AVAs) in moral simulations. First, we review previous conceptual and technical work in artificial virtu

In high performance gas turbine engines, the over tip leakage flow driven by the lateral pressure gradient is inevitably induced inside the blade tip gap in the high-pressure stage turbine due to the freestanding airfoil design methodology. To obtain an increasing level of thermal efficiency, the turbine inlet temperature is gradually increased in terms of the Brayton cycle. Hence, the blade tip a

We have reappraised the age and composition of the mid-Proterozoic Häme dyke swarm in southern Finland. The dominant trend of the dykes of this swarm is NW to WNW. Petrographic observations and geochemical data indicate uniform, tholeiitic low-Mg parental magmas for all of the dykes. Nevertheless, the variability in incompatible trace element ratios, such as Zr/Y and La/Nb, provides evidence of ch

Novel rotating-cylinder sliding vane rotary compressors (RC-SVRCs) are promising machines in energy conversion systems due to extremely low friction. However, three-dimensional visual investigations on geometrical optimizations of RC-SVRCs are highly limited. Besides, most flow mechanisms and leakage flow affected by geometric structures have not been fully revealed yet. Therefore, the sliding van

We don’t just need action, we need informed action. That’s the ambition behind the global research and action agenda for cities. In this episode, we discuss collaborative urban research and what co-creating means in practice. We interview Pourya Salehi who is the Head of the Urban Research Team at ICLEI. He discusses the importance of informed decision-making, genuinely engaging cities in research

In dry sandy soil, soil water is naturally redistributed by forces owing to matric and gravitational potential, and temperature gradients. Occurring shrub vegetation strongly influences these patterns by hydraulic redistribution within the soil. This means that plants can move water from moist to drier soil areas to extract nutrients from the drier soil and enhance nutrient uptake. This incorporat

The mission to the moon – an extraordinary achievement by humanity. But can we take that mission approach and apply it to cities? In this episode, we discuss the mission for 100 climate neutral cities in Europe by 2030. We interview Matthew Baldwin from the European Commission and the inaugural Mission Manager for the Mission on 100 Climate Neutral Cities. He gives a glimpse into the thinking behi

Background: In recent years a variety of eHealth solutions has been introduced to enhance efficiency and to empower patients, leading to a more accessible and equitable health care system. Within pediatric care eHealth has been advocated to reduce emergency and hospital outpatient visits, with many parents preferring eHealth to physical visits following the transition from hospital to home. Still,

The ‘Race to Zero’ emissions is here, where cities around the world have recognised the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. In this episode, we focus on cities within the USA, and the ‘Race to Zero’ as well as the ‘Race to Resilience’. We interview Angie Fyfe, the Executive Director of ICLEI USA. She provides insights into how cities in

Work rate has a direct impact on the systolic blood pressure (SBP) during aerobic exercise, which may be challenging in the evaluation of the SBP response in athletes reaching high work rates. We aimed to investigate the exercise SBP response in endurance athletes in relation to oxygen uptake (VO2), work rate and to recent reference equations for exercise SBP in the general population. Endurance a

It’s time for Africa. A continent that is home to 1.2 billion people. But how are cities and communities responding to a changing climate and building resilience? In this episode, we discuss how cities in Africa are working with nature and biodiversity. We interview Ingrid Coetzee who is the Director of Biodiversity, Nature and Health at ICLEI Africa and the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center. She t

The Taj Mahal, Bollywood, and a cricket powerhouse. India means many things to many people. It is also a country of some 1.3 billion people where mitigation and adaptation to climate change is rising up the agenda. In this episode, we discuss transformative urban action in the City of Pune in India. We interview Kunal Kumar who is Municipal Commissioner from the Pune Municipal Corporation in India

Medals at the Olympics, the Oscars in Hollywood, Nobel Prizes for scientists – but what about an award for cities working with sustainability? In this episode, we discuss the ‘Prize for Cities’ recognising transformative projects in cities around the world that are igniting innovation on sustainability and climate action. We interview Rogier Vandenberg – the Global Director for the Ross Centre for

Therapeutic resistance is one of the main reasons for treatment failure in cancer patients. The polyaneuploid cancer cell (PACC) state has been shown to promote resistance by providing a refuge for cancer cells from the effects of therapy and by helping them adapt to a variety of environmental stressors. This state is the result of aneuploid cancer cells undergoing whole genome doubling and skippi

Purpose: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an intensive curative treatment that increases family caregivers’ burden. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of remotely assessing and addressing family caregivers’ support needs in terms of demand and acceptability using the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool Intervention (CSNAT-I) in the HSCT context. Method

Droughts affect ecosystems at multiple time scales, but their sub-seasonal legacy effects on vegetation activity remain unclear. Combining the satellite-based enhanced vegetation index MODIS EVI with a novel location-specific definition of the growing season, we quantify drought impacts on sub-seasonal vegetation activity and the subsequent recovery in the Northern Hemisphere. Drought legacy effec

Heat exchanger network synthesis is an essential optimisation tool for Process Integration, particularly in energy-intensive industries. Proper design or retrofit of heat exchanger network can enable energy conservation, efficiency improvement, and process debottlenecking. Many earlier pieces of research have focused on the impact of the network structure and process features such as network topol