E4tech (United Kingdom)

Millions worldwide are living with long COVID. Since therapeutic research is ongoing, long COVID prevention is a pragmatic public health strategy. While prior analyses have shown the benefit of primary vaccination, the effect of booster vaccination on preventing long COVID caused by an Omicron infection has not been fully investigated. This systematic review identified 31 observational studies, among which 11 were deemed suitable for pairwise meta-analyses. Herein, the pooled risk of long COVID was 22-29% (P<0.0001 and P<0.0001, respectively) lower for vaccinated (any vaccination) populations versus unvaccinated (10 studies); 19% (P<0.0001) lower for primary course vaccination versus no vaccination (3 studies); 26% (P<0.0001) lower for booster vaccination versus no vaccination (4 studies) and 23% (P=0.0044) lower for booster vaccination versus primary course vaccination (3 studies). These findings indicate that booster vaccination can provide additional protection against long COVID; thereby, highlighting the importance of seasonal vaccination against new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

It has come to our attention that there was an error with the global average price paid at the refinery for aviation jet fuel in a recent article published in Johnson Matthey Technology Review (1).

<p>The ButaNexT project aims to demonstrate the techno-economic feasibility of the conversion of two</p> <p>sustainable lignocellulosic feedstocks (wheat straw and miscanthus) available at EU level, into biobutanol through the</p> <p>integration of different technology developments. The project has ended recently and the main achievements of the</p> <p>consortium have been the following: (1) design, construction and operation of a micronizing pilot prototype for</p> <p>controlled biomass particle size production up to 0.5 mm with a more reduced energy consumption and able to be</p> <p>scalable to industrial size; (2) development of a flexible and easy to adapt two-step fractionation process based on the</p> <p>combination of the micronizing prototype with a continuous thermochemical pretreatment; (3) development of</p> <p>tailored enzyme cocktails (MetZyme® SUNO™) that address harsh process-specific conditions and facilitate</p> <p>improved hydrolysis of pretreated biomass to monosaccharides; (4) development of a Clostridial strain able to</p> <p>ferment cellulosic sugars effectively (target butanol yield > 0.25 g/g pure sugar) and having 20% higher butanol</p> <p>tolerance than baseline strain; (5) development of a patent-pending “In situ product recovery process” based on</p> <p>improved pervaporation fluxes obtained during fermentation that allows continuous operation; (6) validation of the</p> <p>technical performance of the individual stages cited above in a pilot facility using wheat straw as feedstock from</p> <p>handling to product recovery in a 100 L bioreactor; (7) testing of properties and performance of butanol as a blend</p> <p>component in both diesel and gasoline fuels and (8) calculation of GHG emissions of biobutanol in a number of</p> <p>different scenarios based on the use of wheat straw and miscanthus as feedstocks and for the provision of heat,</p> <p>electricity and waste water treatment.</p>

The objectives of this project are a 1) Global Competitiveness Analysis of hydrogen and fuel cell systems and components manufactured including 700 bar compressed hydrogen storage system in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and other key areas to be identified to determine the global cost leaders, the best current manufacturing processes, the key factors determining competitiveness, and the potential means of cost reductions; and an 2) Analysis to assess the status of global hydrogen and fuel cell markets. The analysis of units, megawatts by country and by application will focus on polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems (automotive and stationary).

This paper focuses on describing how augmented reality (AR) and object tracking methods can become tools for overlaying real-time information, for assembly of structures with tessellated geometries. Within this context, guided assembly is explored as an alternative to the energy intensive construction and demolition processes currently used in the building industry. For the research, sheet folding is chosen as the process upon which all assembly data is based on, and object tracking and augmented reality software are used as tools to guide the assembly of the proposed system. Experiments across multiple scales are conducted to study various methods of translating digital geometric information into a series of physical guided manipulations, which form the techniques for achieving a correct degree of folding within the component. Through large scale assembly tests, the viability of using guided assembly techniques as well as the potential of applying them in construction scenarios is assessed. The paper concludes with a description of benefits and drawbacks in which such technology may be used for, and outlines suggestions for further developments of the system to become a viable tool for construction assembly.

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Growing concern over the health effects of airborne particles and a desire to reduce the associated cost has resulted in legislation, regulations and other measures, in the industrialised world to severely restrict particulate emissions from diesel-fuelled automotive transport. Developing countries are also introducing initiatives to try and reduce emissions, an example is the legislation in India to replace diesel engines with gas fuelled engines in some major conurbations. Such measures are expensive, both in terms of replacing the engines of the vehicles and of implementing the required infrastructure. There is still also debate over whether such measures reduce the number of ultra-fine particulates.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">A well-proven alternative is to fit diesel engines with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs), either as original equipment or as a retrofit system. Regenerating DPFs has in the past been an obstacle to their widespread application. The use of a Fuel Borne Catalyst (FBC) is an accepted method of promoting regeneration and hence widening the applicability of DPFs.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper considers some alternative solutions to reducing diesel particulate emissions, including the cost to implement these different solutions, the real benefits and possible negative effects. It concludes that the most cost-effective solution is to fit DPFs to new and existing vehicles and to use a FBC to ensure efficient regeneration of the DPF.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper also present the results of work that has been undertaken to prove the efficacy and durability of the DPF/FBC solution. A number of different vehicle types have been tested covering a range of engine technologies and vehicle size classifications. Details are also presented of techniques that can be used to reduce the cost of implementing DPF/FBC systems in retrofit applications.</div>