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Diffusion based scalable semantic communication framework for image compression and transmission
Get PDFSemantic communication for image transmission enhances efficiency by focusing on meaning rather than pixel accuracy. However, existing methods struggle to preserve semantic integrity due to challenges in identifying key content and contextual relationships. To address this, we propose a scalable semantic communication model that prioritizes object-based semantic extraction and dynamic weighting to enhance image representation. The framework detects and extracts objects within an image, assigning significance through a weight map that emphasizes key elements while de-emphasizing irrelevant details. The system dynamically adjusts weights in a weight map for scalable image transmission, adapting to network infrastructure constraints like bandwidth and latency. This ensures only the most relevant data is sent. The weighted semantic representation feeds into a diffusion-based reconstruction model, regenerating high-fidelity images at low bit rates. Experimental results show this approach significantly improves image representation while minimizing transmission overhead, scaling effectively with network conditions. The ability to adaptively control semantic granularity makes it ideal for real-world applications, paving the way for efficient, context-aware image transmission with improved resource utilization and semantic preservation
Healthcare as a border : the role of welfare state models in regulating EU migrant mobility
Get PDFThis article examines the evolving dynamics of migration control in the European Union, where traditional state borders are being redefined. As governance shifts to private and local actors, healthcare access increasingly serves as a tool of internal bordering, regulating migrant mobility and social rights within different welfare state models. Focusing on the experiences of free-moving EU migrants in Germany, Sweden, and the UK (an EU member at the time of this study), the research shows how healthcare provision selectively includes or excludes migrants. The findings reveal that these bordering strategies vary by welfare state model: the liberal welfare state model, as seen in the UK, aligns more closely with the EU’s ideal of free mobility, while the social-democratic model, exemplified by Sweden, struggles to accommodate this type of mobility, highlighting significant tensions in the EU’s commitment to universal access
Beyond uniform roughness : ship resistance with spatially non-uniform hull surface conditions
Get PDFTraditional ship resistance models often assume uniform hull surface roughness, potentially misrepresenting the heterogeneous fouling patterns observed in real-world operations. To address this limitation, we investigate the hydrodynamic impact of spatially non-uniform roughness on a KRISO Container Ship (KCS) hull using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Seven hull surface conditions were investigated, including a smooth baseline and six types of roughness distributions: uniform, linear gradient, non-linear gradient, random, direct-shear, and inverse-shear. All cases were designed to have the same arithmetic mean hull surface roughness, allowing isolation of the effects of spatial roughness distribution. Among the tested configurations, the linear gradient distribution exhibited the most favourable resistance characteristics, whereas the shear-based and random distributions showed relatively minor differences from the uniform case. Spatial roughness patterns significantly influenced boundary layer growth and wake development. Uniform, random, and shear-based distributions induced thicker boundary layers and delayed wake recovery, whereas the linear gradient case resulted in weaker momentum loss and faster wake recovery. These findings indicate that even under identical arithmetic mean roughness conditions, the spatial distribution of hull surface roughness can significantly affect resistance characteristics. Explicit modelling of roughness patterns is therefore essential for accurate performance prediction and motivates further experimental validation and integration with propeller-hull interaction and free surface effects
Novel composite reinforcement technique for HTS joints
Get PDFCommercial high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes are limited in length, while large-scale applications such as high-field magnets require several kilometers of conductor. Joints between tapes are therefore unavoidable, and their electrical and mechanical reliability is a critical bottleneck. Soldered joints are attractive due to their relatively low resistance, but their mechanical strength is limited because of low adhesion between layers in the HTS tapes. In this work, a new mechanical reinforcement strategy was proposed and demonstrated. Anchor holes in joints allow the new composite structures, introducing different reinforcement components inside the joint, while the effect of the holes is negligible on joint resistance and critical current (Ic). Carbon fiber and epoxy fillings were used as reinforcement materials. This approach enhanced the shear strength of the joint from ∼1.2 MPa to ∼2.4 MPa, while the electrical resistivity did not increase significantly and had a very low level of ∼30 nΩ.cm2. The results demonstrated that the novel FIRM (Filling-Induced Reinforcement Matrix) approach for HTS joint can significantly improve the mechanical properties for use in high-field coils and magnets
Correction: A case study on hybrid machine learning and quantum-informed modelling for solubility prediction of drug compounds in organic solvents
Get PDFCorrection for ‘A case study on hybrid machine learning and quantum-informed modelling for solubility prediction of drug compounds in organic solvents’ by Weiling Wang et al., Digital Discovery, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5DD00456
Carbon leakage in emissions trading systems : a systematic review and meta-analysis of ex-ante and ex-post evidence
Get PDFEmissions Trading Systems (ETSs) are a widely adopted policy tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, emission reductions achieved within ETSs can be partially offset by increases in emissions elsewhere—a phenomenon known as carbon leakage. This paper systematically reviews the global literature on carbon leakage associated with ETSs through a combined quantitative meta-analysis and qualitative synthesis. Findings show that ex-ante modelling studies generally report positive carbon leakage rates, with estimates varying widely across schemes. Leakage rates are typically lower when more of the global emissions are covered, anti-leakage measures are included, and when using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Ex-post studies find leakage through channels such as interstate electricity trade in the U.S. and investment relocation in the EU ETS and China pilot ETSs. Findings on goods trade and carbon transfer within firms are mixed. These findings highlight the differences in results between ex-ante and ex-post studies, the heterogeneity of leakage outcomes across schemes, and the critical role of country-specific context in designing ETSs and associated anti-leakage measures
The minimum age of criminal responsibility internationally-history, systems and the future
Get PDFBackground: In most countries, a criminal conviction requires evidence that the individual committed the act and that they had the mental capacity to understand what they were doing and that it was wrong. Youth, as an indicator of brain development, is one factor affecting criminal capacity. Worldwide, this has commonly been managed in part by setting in law an age below which criminal incapacity is presumed, so no prosecution is possible. Considerable variation in the MACR was confirmed across 195 countries. Some countries have no MACR. Otherwise, the MACR ranges from 7 years (some African and South Asian countries) to 18 (some South American countries); many North Asian, European and a few African countries set theirs at 14 which is the most frequently found level, and also the minimum age recommended by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Therefore, how do countries set or change their MACR? Aims: To explore change, efforts to change and impact of change in MACR internationally. Methods: Between February 1st 2022 and December 31st 2023, members of an international research group (GIRAF—Group of International Researchers in Adolescent Forensics) were asked to complete an emailed questionnaire about changes in the MACR, or efforts to change it, in their country since 2000. Reports were then collated, circulated and discussed within the group. Results: Among the 14 countries responding in detail about the MACR, efforts to raise the MACR had been successful in three, but in nine such efforts had been unsuccessful; in at least two countries pressures were to lower their MACR, but in only one, Denmark, did that happen (from 15 to 14) in the data collection period (though this change was subsequently reversed). Factors most influencing retention of a lower age were exceptional individual cases, which triggered press and political interest in retaining a higher age, and well-evidenced and developed arguments from legal, social and medical or other clinical bodies. Conclusions and Implications: The wide differences in the MACR between countries suggest under-use of evidence in deciding it. We need more governmental willingness to bring the MACR at least to the UN-recommended level—but accompanied by research into the impact of this. Efforts targeted exclusively on child and adolescent welfare may have less effect if they also force children through the criminal justice system, with consequent impact on self-identity and sense of citizenship. A low MACR is also likely to be more directly and indirectly costly than a higher one
An examination of pre-connection sub-synchronous oscillation study requirements in GB in an international framework
Get PDFThe rapid growth of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in modern power systems has increased the occurrence of sub-synchronous oscillations (SSOs), particularly in weak-grid conditions. In 2024, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) in Great Britain (GB) introduced new pre-connection SSO study requirements for IBRs. Unlike publications from ERCOT and CIGRÉ, the NESO framework omits preliminary screening stages and mandates a wide range of detailed studies over extensive operating points and frequency ranges, potentially exceeding 22,000 simulation scenarios. This paper benchmarks NESO’s approach against international practice, identifying significant differences in methodology, scope, and efficiency. Key challenges include the lack of targeted frequency screening, the adoption of excessively broad frequency ranges and the dependence on developer-led studies of inconsistent quality. Recommendations are proposed to improve the GB process, including adoption of staged screening to detailed study workflows, optimisation of study ranges, increased use of in-house modelling, and clearer criteria for study scope reduction. These changes aim to streamline connection assessments, reduce cost and complexity, and maintain robust technical evaluation of SSO risks in grids with high IBR penetration
Intrinsic atomic calibration of oscillating magnetic fields in ULF and VLF bands
No full textWe present a method for absolute calibration of received radio frequency in the ultra-low frequency and very low frequency range. This is achieved with the use of a radio frequency optically pumped magnetometer. We describe a method using an optically pumped sample where the RF broadening of the Cs magnetic resonance allows the magnitude of the received field to be calibrated against the ground-state gyromagnetic ratio of the Cs atoms. This frequency-based calibration avoids the geometric and electrostatic response functions that affect inductive sensors, such as fluxgates, search coils, and SQUID magnetometers. We demonstrate the calibration of magnetic measurement using oscillating magnetic fields in the 300 Hz–20 kHz range and a sensor noise floor of 15 fT Hz−1/2. This radio frequency sensor may be used as a widely tunable narrowband receiver for communication, ranging, or penetrative conductivity imaging
Hundreds of Jobs at Risk from Inaction at Sullom Voe Terminal
Get PDFThis research asks the question of what will happen to jobs and income generation at the Sullom Voe Terminal (SVT) and across the local Shetland supply chain if oil processing activity winds down with no action taken to transition to low carbon fuel production. We investigate using our Shetland Economy Model (SEM) computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Shetland economy and industry projections for the decline of oil and gas extraction activity in the East and West of Shetland oil fields. This policy brief concludes that, depending on whether the Clair filed expansion goes ahead or not, taking no action to transition SVT could ultimately cost up to 234 jobs across the Shetland economy by 2036 (80 jobs within SVT and 154 jobs across other local sectors), with the total job losses climbing to 402 by 2050. The job losses come alongside a sustained drop of Shetland's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of £30 million per annum by 2050. A timely transition is necessary both to avoid skilled workers and their families leaving the islands and in unlocking new economic opportunities, including shifting from export-focussed fossil fuel processing to the production of low carbon fuels in ways that sustain high quality jobs and income generation while meeting more of Shetland’s energy requirements locally
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