ESG assessment methodology for emerging technologies: plasma conventional technology for ammonia production.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria demand that enterprises should not be assessed solely on their financial performance, but also on their environmental, social, and governance performance. This numerical assessment of ESG criteria enables them to be evaluated with the consideration of other financial issues of enterprises' performance and thereby guides financial investments into environmentally and socially responsible firms. ESG, however, solidifies the continuance of conventional technologies but can potentially disadvantage emerging technologies.

A lower bound for set-coloring Ramsey numbers.

The set-coloring Ramsey number is defined to be the minimum such that if each edge of the complete graph is assigned a set of colors from , then one of the colors contains a monochromatic clique of size . The case is the usual -color Ramsey number, and the case was studied by Erdős, Hajnal and Rado in 1965, and by Erdős and Szemerédi in 1972. The first significant results for general were obtained only recently, by Conlon, Fox, He, Mubayi, Suk and Verstraëte, who showed that if is bounded away from 0 and 1.

Extreme values of derivatives of zeta and -functions.

It is proved that as , uniformly for all positive integers , we have where . Here, is the Dickman function. We have  and  when , which significantly improves previous results in [17, 40].

Ubiquity of graphs with nowhere-linear end structure.

A graph is said to be -, where is the minor relation between graphs, if whenever is a graph with for all , then one also has , where is the disjoint union of many copies of . A well-known conjecture of Andreae is that every locally finite connected graph is -ubiquitous. In this paper we give a sufficient condition on the structure of the ends of a graph which implies that is -ubiquitous.

Random walks on the circle and Diophantine approximation.

Random walks on the circle group whose elementary steps are lattice variables with span or taken mod exhibit delicate behavior. In the rational case, we have a random walk on the finite cyclic subgroup , and the central limit theorem and the law of the iterated logarithm follow from classical results on finite state space Markov chains. In this paper, we extend these results to random walks with irrational span , and explicitly describe the transition of these Markov chains from finite to general state space as along the sequence of best rational approximations.

Enzymatic reactions towards aldehydes: An overview.

Many aldehydes are volatile compounds with distinct and characteristic olfactory properties. The aldehydic functional group is reactive and, as such, an invaluable chemical multi-tool to make all sorts of products. Owing to the reactivity, the selective synthesis of aldehydic is a challenging task.

Hydrogen and helium trapping in hcp beryllium.

Even though hydrogen-metal surface interactions play an important role in energy technologies and metal corrosion, a thorough understanding of these interactions at the nanoscale remains elusive due to obstructive detection limits in instrumentation and the volatility of pure hydrogen. In the present paper we use analytical spectroscopy in TEM to show that hydrogen adsorbs directly at the (0001) surfaces of hexagonal helium bubbles within neutron irradiated beryllium. In addition to hydrogen, we also found Al, Si and Mg at the beryllium-bubble interfaces.

Exponentially larger affine and projective caps.

In spite of a recent breakthrough on upper bounds of the size of cap sets (by Croot, Lev and Pach and by Ellenberg and Gijswijt), the classical cap set constructions had not been affected. In this work, we introduce a very different method of construction for caps in all affine spaces with odd prime modulus . Moreover, we show that for all primes with , the new construction leads to an exponentially larger growth of the affine and projective caps in and .

Light Stimulation of Neurons on Organic Photocapacitors Induces Action Potentials with Millisecond Precision.

Nongenetic optical control of neurons is a powerful technique to study and manipulate the function of the nervous system. This research has benchmarked the performance of organic electrolytic photocapacitor (OEPC) optoelectronic stimulators at the level of single mammalian cells: human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells with heterologously expressed voltage-gated K channels and hippocampal primary neurons. OEPCs act as extracellular stimulation electrodes driven by deep red light.

Hamiltonian decompositions of 4-regular Cayley graphs of infinite abelian groups.

A well-known conjecture of Alspach says that every -regular Cayley graph of a finite abelian group can be decomposed into Hamiltonian cycles. We consider an analogous question for infinite abelian groups. In this setting one natural analogue of a Hamiltonian cycle is a spanning double-ray.

Greenland Ice Core Record of Last Glacial Dust Sources and Atmospheric Circulation.

Abrupt and large-scale climate changes have occurred repeatedly and within decades during the last glaciation. These events, where dramatic warming occurs over decades, are well represented in both Greenland ice core mineral dust and temperature records, suggesting a causal link. However, the feedbacks between atmospheric dust and climate change during these Dansgaard-Oeschger events are poorly known and the processes driving changes in atmospheric dust emission and transport remain elusive.

Phylogenomics of trophically diverse cichlids disentangles processes driving adaptive radiation and repeated trophic transitions.

Cichlid fishes of the tribe Tropheini are a striking case of adaptive radiation, exemplifying multiple trophic transitions between herbivory and carnivory occurring in sympatry with other established cichlid lineages. Tropheini evolved highly specialized eco-morphologies to exploit similar trophic niches in different ways repeatedly and rapidly. To better understand the evolutionary history and trophic adaptations of this lineage, we generated a dataset of 532 targeted loci from 21 out of the 22 described Tropheini species.

Magnetic Structure and Propagation of Two Interacting CMEs From the Sun to Saturn.

One of the grand challenges in heliophysics is the characterization of coronal mass ejection (CME) magnetic structure and evolution from eruption at the Sun through heliospheric propagation. At present, the main difficulties are related to the lack of direct measurements of the coronal magnetic fields and the lack of 3D in-situ measurements of the CME body in interplanetary space. Nevertheless, the evolution of a CME magnetic structure can be followed using a combination of multi-point remote-sensing observations and multi-spacecraft in-situ measurements as well as modeling.

Bioengineering a glucose oxidase nanosensor for near-infrared continuous glucose monitoring.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) emit photostable near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence that is conducive for optical glucose monitoring. Such SWCNT-based optical sensors often require the immobilization of proteins that can confer glucose selectivity and reactivity. In this work, we immobilize a glucose-reactive enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOx), onto SWCNTs using a -(1-pyrenyl)maleimide (PM) crosslinker thiol bioconjugation of engineered cysteine residues.

Extreme values of derivatives of the Riemann zeta function.

It is proved that if is sufficiently large, then uniformly for all positive integers , we have where γ is the Euler constant. We also establish lower bounds for maximum of when and are fixed.

A method for a column-by-column EELS quantification of barium lanthanum ferrate.

High-resolution STEM-EELS provides information about the composition of crystalline materials at the atomic scale, though a reliable quantitative chemical analysis is often hampered by zone axis conditions, where neighbouring atomic column intensities contribute to the signal at the probe position. In this work, we present a procedure to determine the concentration of two elements within equivalent atomic columns from EELS elemental maps - in our case barium and lanthanum within the A-sites of BaLaFeO, a second order Ruddlesden-Popper phase. We took advantage of the large changes in the elemental distribution from column to column and introduced a technique, which substitutes inelastic scattering cross sections during the quantification step by using parameters obtained from the actual experiment.

Evaluation of CME Arrival Prediction Using Ensemble Modeling Based on Heliospheric Imaging Observations.

In this study, we evaluate a coronal mass ejection (CME) arrival prediction tool that utilizes the wide-angle observations made by STEREO's heliospheric imagers (HI). The unsurpassable advantage of these imagers is the possibility to observe the evolution and propagation of a CME from close to the Sun out to 1 AU and beyond. We believe that by exploiting this capability, instead of relying on coronagraph observations only, it is possible to improve today's CME arrival time predictions.

The Trimeric Major Capsid Protein of Mavirus is stabilized by its Interlocked N-termini Enabling Core Flexibility for Capsid Assembly.

Icosahedral viral capsids assemble with high fidelity from a large number of identical buildings blocks. The mechanisms that enable individual capsid proteins to form stable oligomeric units (capsomers) while affording structural adaptability required for further assembly into capsids are mostly unknown. Understanding these mechanisms requires knowledge of the capsomers' dynamics, especially for viruses where no additional helper proteins are needed during capsid assembly like for the Mavirus virophage that despite its complexity (triangulation number T = 27) can assemble from its major capsid protein (MCP) alone.

Climate projections for glacier change modelling over the Himalayas.

Glaciers are of key importance to freshwater supplies in the Himalayan region. Their growth or decline is among other factors determined by an interaction of 2-m air temperature (TAS) and precipitation rate (PR) and thereof derived positive degree days (PDD) and snow and ice accumulation (SAC). To investigate determining factors in climate projections, we use a model ensemble consisting of 36 CMIP5 general circulation models (GCMs) and 13 regional climate models (RCMs) of two Asian CORDEX domains for two different representative concentration pathways (RCP4.

Geochemistry of Vein Calcites Hosted in the Troodos Pillow Lavas and Their Implications for the Timing and Physicochemical Environment of Fracturing, Fluid Circulation, and Vein Mineral Growth.

Calcite veins hosted in pillow lavas of the Late Cretaceous Troodos suprasubduction zone ophiolite provide insights into the timing and physicochemical environment of postmagmatic fracturing and fluid circulation through oceanic crust. This study presents rare earth element and yttrium (REE+Y) concentrations, δC, δO, Sr/Sr, and clumped isotopic (Δ) compositions of vein calcites in order to investigate their fluid sources, formation temperatures, and precipitation ages. These geochemical data are combined with microtextural analyses.

Antimicrobial Activity of Medicinal Plants Correlates with the Proportion of Antagonistic Endophytes.

Medicinal plants are known to harbor potential endophytic microbes, due to their bioactive compounds. In a first study of ongoing research, endophytic bacteria were isolated from two medicinal plants, and with contrasting antimicrobial activities from the Chatkal Biosphere Reserve of Uzbekistan, and their plant-specific traits involved in biocontrol and plant growth promotion were evaluated. Plant extracts of exhibited a remarkable activity against bacterial and fungal pathogens, whereas extracts of did not exhibit any potential antimicrobial activity.

Mycobiome in the Lower Respiratory Tract - A Clinical Perspective.

Recently the paradigm that the healthy lung is sterile was challenged and it is now believed that the lungs harbor a diverse microbiota also contributing to the pathogenesis of various diseases. Most of the research studies targeting the respiratory microbiome have focused on bacteria and their impact on lung health and lung diseases. Recently, also the mycobiome has gained attention.

Evaluation of Different EEG Acquisition Systems Concerning Their Suitability for Building a Brain-Computer Interface: Case Studies.

One important aspect in non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) research is to acquire the electroencephalogram (EEG) in a proper way. From an end-user perspective, it means with maximum comfort and without any extra inconveniences (e.g.

Biological Control of Lettuce Drop and Host Plant Colonization by Rhizospheric and Endophytic Streptomycetes.

Lettuce drop, caused by the soil borne pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most common and serious diseases of lettuce worldwide. Increased concerns about the side effects of chemical pesticides have resulted in greater interest in developing biocontrol strategies against S. sclerotiorum.