Are electric vehicle batteries being underused? A review of current practices and sources of circularity.

The increasing demand for Lithium-ion batteries for Electric Vehicle calls for the adoption of sustainable practices and a switch towards a circular economy-based system to ensure that the electrification of transportation does not come at a high environmental cost. While driving patterns have not changed much over the years, the current Electric Vehicle market is evolving towards models with higher battery capacities. In addition, these batteries are considered to reach the End of Life at 70-80% State of Health, regardless of their capacity and application requirements.

Dimensionality reduction and ensemble of LSTMs for antimicrobial resistance prediction.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been rapidly increasing, resulting in low antibiotic effectiveness even treating common infections. The presence of resistant pathogens in environments such as a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) exacerbates the critical admission-acquired infections. This work focuses on the prediction of antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa nosocomial infections at the ICU, using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) artificial neural networks as the predictive method.

The Effect of Accelerated Aging on the Molecular Weight and Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polyester Yarns Containing Ceramic Particles.

The accelerated aging of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) multifilament yarns containing nano or microparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO), silicon carbide (SiC), or fluorite (CaF) at a maximum percentage of 2% has been studied. For this, the yarn samples were introduced into a climatic chamber at 50 °C, 50% relative humidity, and an ultraviolet A (UVA) irradiance of 1.4 W/m.

Rheological Behavior of the A356 Alloy in the Semisolid State at Low Shear Rates.

To control the semisolid processing of aluminum alloys produced by the additive manufacturing technique, an exhaustive knowledge of their rheological behavior is required. In the semisolid state, metallic materials can show rheological characteristics similar to those of polymers, so semisolid state shaping is one of the currently considered routes for additive manufacturing with metallic materials. In this work, an approximation of the rheological control of the A356 aluminum alloy for its subsequent 3D manufacturing was carried out at a very low shear rate.

Estimated Covid-19 burden in Spain: ARCH underreported non-stationary time series.

Background: The problem of dealing with misreported data is very common in a wide range of contexts for different reasons. The current situation caused by the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic is a clear example, where the data provided by official sources were not always reliable due to data collection issues and to the high proportion of asymptomatic cases. In this work, a flexible framework is proposed, with the objective of quantifying the severity of misreporting in a time series and reconstructing the most likely evolution of the process.

Immunoregulatory Biomarkers of the Remission Phase in Type 1 Diabetes: miR-30d-5p Modulates PD-1 Expression and Regulatory T Cell Expansion.

The partial remission (PR) phase of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an underexplored period characterized by endogenous insulin production and downmodulated autoimmunity. To comprehend the mechanisms behind this transitory phase and develop precision medicine strategies, biomarker discovery and patient stratification are unmet needs. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression and modulate several biological processes, functioning as biomarkers for many diseases.

Immediate-sustained lactate release using alginate hydrogel assembled to proteinase K/polymer electrospun fibers.

This work proposes a microfibers-hydrogel assembled composite as delivery vehicle able to combine into a single system both burst and prolonged release of lactate. The prolonged release of lactate has been achieved by electrospinning a mixture of polylactic acid and proteinase K (26.0 mg of proteinase K and 0.

Supporting Heterogenous Traffic on Top of Point-to-Multipoint Light-Trees.

New 5 G and beyond services demand innovative solutions in optical transport to increase efficiency and flexibility and reduce capital (CAPEX) and operational (OPEX) expenditures to support heterogeneous and dynamic traffic. In this context, optical point-to-multipoint (P2MP) connectivity is seen as an alternative to provide connectivity to multiple sites from a single source, thus potentially both reducing CAPEX and OPEX. Digital subcarrier multiplexing (DSCM) has been shown as a feasible candidate for optical P2MP in view of its ability to generate multiple subcarriers (SC) in the frequency domain that can be used to serve several destinations.

A Novel Device for Assessment and Treatment of Upper Cervical Spine: Test-Retest Reliability Study.

Introduction: Neck pain is one of the most frequent reasons for consultation in primary care. Clinicians evaluate different variables, including movement and cervical strength, to determine the prognosis of patients. Usually, the tools employed for this purpose are expensive and bulky, or more than one is needed.

Analysis of the Cardiorespiratory Pattern of Patients Undergoing Weaning Using Artificial Intelligence.

The optimal extubating moment is still a challenge in clinical practice. Respiratory pattern variability analysis in patients assisted through mechanical ventilation to identify this optimal moment could contribute to this process. This work proposes the analysis of this variability using several time series obtained from the respiratory flow and electrocardiogram signals, applying techniques based on artificial intelligence.

Surveillance of Daughter Micronodule Formation Is a Key Factor for Vaccine Evaluation Using Experimental Infection Models of Tuberculosis in Macaques.

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major worldwide health problem and models using non-human primates (NHP) provide the most relevant approach for vaccine testing. In this study, we analysed CT images collected from cynomolgus and rhesus macaques following exposure to ultra-low dose (Mtb) aerosols, and monitored them for 16 weeks to evaluate the impact of prior intradermal or inhaled BCG vaccination on the progression of lung disease. All lesions found (2553) were classified according to their size and we subclassified small micronodules (<4.

Comparative Study about Dimensional Accuracy and Surface Finish of Constant-Breadth Cams Manufactured by FFF and CNC Milling.

In this work, the design, manufacture and measurement process of constant-breadth cams is presented. The motion law of the cam was designed by means of Bézier curves and the corresponding design desmodromic constraints. The cams were manufactured in two different materials employing two different processes: PLA cams with fused filament fabrication (FFF) and aluminium cams with computer numerical control (CNC) milling.

Analysis of Operational Parameters in Acid and Base Production Using an Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes Pilot Plant.

In agreement with the Water Framework Directive, Circular Economy and European Union (EU) Green Deal packages, the EU-funded WATER-MINING project aims to validate next-generation water resource solutions at the pre-commercial demonstration scale in order to provide water management and recovery of valuable materials from alternative sources. In the framework of the WATER-MINING project, desalination brines from the Lampedusa (Italy) seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant will be used to produce freshwater and recover valuable salts by integrating different technologies. In particular, electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) will be used to produce chemicals (NaOH and HCl).

Effect of Ultra-High Pressure Homogenization (UHPH) and Conventional Thermal Pasteurization on the Volatile Composition of Tiger Nut Beverage.

Tiger nut beverages are non-alcoholic products that are characterized by their pale color and soft flavor. Conventional heat treatments are widely used in the food industry, although heated products are often damaging to their overall quality. Ultra-high pressure homogenization UHPH) is an emerging technology that extends the shelf-life of foods while maintaining most of their characteristics.

Differences between the Fittings of Dental Prostheses Produced by CAD-CAM and Laser Sintering Processes.

Digital dentistry and new techniques for the dental protheses' suprastructure fabrication have undergone a great evolution in recent years, revolutionizing the quality of dental prostheses. The aim of this work is to determine whether the best horizontal marginal fit is provided by the CAD-CAM technique or by laser sintering. These values have been compared with the traditional casting technique.

On the Design of a Network Digital Twin for the Radio Access Network in 5G and Beyond.

A Network Digital Twin (NDT) is a high-fidelity digital mirror of a real network. Given the increasing complexity of 5G and beyond networks, the use of an NDT becomes useful as a platform for testing configurations and algorithms prior to their application in the real network, as well as for predicting the performance of such algorithms under different conditions. While an NDT can be defined for the different subsystems of the network, this paper proposes an NDT architecture focusing on the Radio Access Network (RAN), describing the components to represent and model the operation of the different RAN elements, and to perform emulations.

Impact of Graphene Monolayer on the Performance of Non-Conventional Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells with MoO Hole-Selective Contact.

In this work, a new design of transparent conductive electrode based on a graphene monolayer is evaluated. This hybrid electrode is incorporated into non-standard, high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, where the conventional emitter is replaced by a MoO selective contact. The device characterization reveals a clear electrical improvement when the graphene monolayer is placed as part of the electrode.

Chemicals of emerging concern in coastal aquifers: Assessment along the land-ocean interface.

Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) is recognized as a relevant source of pollutants to the sea, but little is known about its relevance as a source of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs). Here, both the presence and distribution of a wide range of CECs have been evaluated in the most comprehensive manner to date, in a well-characterized Mediterranean coastal aquifer near Barcelona (Spain). Samples from coastal groundwater and seawater allowed for the unique spatial characterization of the pollutants present in the land-ocean interface, an outstanding research gap that required attention.

Reviewing social-ecological resilience for agroforestry systems under climate change conditions.

Global change is shaping social-ecological systems, threatening both natural and socio-economic ecosystems as a whole. Landscapes with combined nature-human interactions are particularly vulnerable to changing climatic conditions. Therefore, there is a need to find viable and practical solutions for the preservation and recovery of the affected systems.

Impact of the 2021 La Palma volcanic eruption on air quality: Insights from a multidisciplinary approach.

The La Palma 2021 volcanic eruption was the first subaerial eruption in a 50-year period in the Canary Islands (Spain), emitting ~1.8 Tg of sulphur dioxide (SO) into the troposphere over nearly 3 months (19 September-13 December 2021), exceeding the total anthropogenic SO emitted from the 27 European Union countries in 2019. We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of the 2021 volcanic eruption on air quality (SO, PM and PM concentrations) utilising a multidisciplinary approach, combining ground and satellite-based measurements with height-resolved aerosol and meteorological information.

Unveiling the Rolling to Kayak Transition in Propelling Nanorods with Cargo Trapping and Pumping.

Magnetic nanorods driven by rotating fields in water can be rapidly steered along any direction while generating strong and localized hydrodynamic flow fields. Here we show that, when raising the frequency of the rotating field, these nanopropellers undergo a dynamic transition from a rolling to a kayak-like motion due to the increase in viscous drag and acquire a finite inclination angle with respect to the plane perpendicular to the bottom surface. We explain these experimental observations with a theoretical model which considers the nanorod as a pair of ferromagnetic particles hydrodynamically interacting with a close stationary surface.

Deep Learning-Based Adaptive Compression and Anomaly Detection for Smart B5G Use Cases Operation.

The evolution towards next-generation Beyond 5G (B5G) networks will require not only innovation in transport technologies but also the adoption of smarter, more efficient operations of the use cases that are foreseen to be the high consumers of network resources in the next decades. Among different B5G use cases, the Digital Twin (DT) has been identified as a key high bandwidth-demanding use case. The creation and operation of a DT require the continuous collection of an enormous and widely distributed amount of sensor telemetry data which can overwhelm the transport layer.

Integrated Data Analysis Uncovers New COVID-19 Related Genes and Potential Drug Re-Purposing Candidates.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an acute and rapidly evolving global health crisis. To better understand this disease's molecular basis and design therapeutic strategies, we built upon the recently proposed concept of an integrated cell, iCell, fusing three omics, tissue-specific human molecular interaction networks. We applied this methodology to construct infected and control iCells using gene expression data from patient samples and three cell lines.