Direct test of the FLRW metric from strongly lensed gravitational wave observations.

The assumptions of large-scale homogeneity and isotropy underly the familiar Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric that appears to be an accurate description of our Universe. In this paper, we propose a new strategy of testing the validity of the FLRW metric, based on the galactic-scale lensing systems where strongly lensed gravitational waves and their electromagnetic counterparts can be simultaneously detected. Each strong lensing system creates opportunity to infer the curvature parameter of the Universe.

Publisher Correction: Precision cosmology from future lensed gravitational wave and electromagnetic signals.

The original PDF version of this Article inadvertently highlighted the author surnames and omitted the publication date. These have now been corrected in the PDF version of the Article. The HTML version was correct from the time of publication.

Precision cosmology from future lensed gravitational wave and electromagnetic signals.

The standard siren approach of gravitational wave cosmology appeals to the direct luminosity distance estimation through the waveform signals from inspiralling double compact binaries, especially those with electromagnetic counterparts providing redshifts. It is limited by the calibration uncertainties in strain amplitude and relies on the fine details of the waveform. The Einstein telescope is expected to produce 10-10 gravitational wave detections per year, 50-100 of which will be lensed.

Speed of Gravitational Waves from Strongly Lensed Gravitational Waves and Electromagnetic Signals.

We propose a new model-independent measurement strategy for the propagation speed of gravitational waves (GWs) based on strongly lensed GWs and their electromagnetic (EM) counterparts. This can be done in two ways: by comparing arrival times of GWs and their EM counterparts and by comparing the time delays between images seen in GWs and their EM counterparts. The lensed GW-EM event is perhaps the best way to identify an EM counterpart.

Urinary mercury and biomarkers of early renal dysfunction in environmentally and occupationally exposed adults: a three-country study.

We conducted a cross-sectional study in Sweden, Italy and Poland to assess environmental and occupational exposure to mercury from chloralkali (CA) plants and the potential association with biomarkers of early renal dysfunction. Questionnaire data and first-morning urine samples were collected from 757 eligible subjects. Urine samples were analysed for mercury corrected for creatinine (U-HgC), alpha-1-microglobulin (A1M), N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) and albumin.

Environmental burden of disease due to lead in urban children from Silesia, Poland.

We performed environmental burden of disease (EBD) assessment of the neurotoxic effects of lead in the Polish urban children, in accordance with the WHO guidelines. The EBD assessment was based on the data on blood lead levels (BLL) of more than 8500 children from the lead biomonitoring programme conducted in the urban centre of the Upper Silesia Province, Poland between 1993 and 2000. In order to make the EBD assessment region specific, in the projections to years 2001 and 2005 we used 4% annual decrease in BLL, derived from the earlier analysis of the Silesian BLL data instead of the WHO proposed 7.

Urinary mercury in adults in Poland living near a chloralkali plant.

We conducted a study within the framework of the interdisciplinary European Mercury Emission from Chloralkali Plants (EMECAP) project to assess exposure to mercury (Hg) and the contribution of Hg emissions from a mercury cell chloralkali plant to urinary mercury (U-Hg) in adults living near the plant. We collected data from questionnaires and first morning urine samples from 75 subjects living near the Tarnow plant in Poland and 100 subjects living in a reference area. Median U-Hg was 0.