110830 research outputs found
Sort by
Hilbert modular Eisenstein congruences of local origin
No full textLet F be an arbitrary totally real field. Under standard conditions we prove the existence of certain Eisenstein congruences between parallel weight k Hilbert eigenforms of level MP and Hilbert Eisenstein series of level M, for arbitrary ideal and prime ideal P not dividing M of O_F. Such congruences have their moduli coming from special values of Hecke L-functions and their Euler factors, and our results allow for the eigenforms to have non-trivial Hecke character. After this, we consider the question of when such congruences can be satisfied by newforms, proving general results about this
Beyond Discards : Navigating Security and Space through Waste in Postwar Beirut
No full textSince the end of the civil war (1975-89), Beirut has endured over 25 years of waste crises resulting from years of corruption and mismanagement. At the centre of this crisis lies the postwar power-sharing agreement which, through contested politics and competition, has led to the uneven distribution of waste hazards, marginalising vulnerable groups and destroying ecosystems. Discard studies provide a critical lens to unpack these dynamics by revealing the co-constructive processes of securitisation and spatialisation. Waste, in this context, highlights the silent, slow and violent aspects of securitisation relating to the politics of hazardous waste exposure, while also showing how these politics are spatially reproduced through the marginalisation and exclusion of communities living adjacent to Beirut’s coastal landfills. An analysis of the three levels of national security, human security and ecological security sheds light on how waste governance in postwar Beirut simultaneously protects political elites, deepens marginalisation and degrades urban ecosystems. Together, these insights demonstrate how the theoretical convergence between waste, security and space broadens our understanding of the environmental complexities in postwar urban environments
Exercise treadmill testing for efficacy evaluation in randomized, controlled trials
No full textExercise treadmill testing measures functional capacity and inducible myocardial ischemia and has historically served as an endpoint in phase 2 trials. The Precision Medicine with Zibotentan in Microvascular Angina trial evaluated the selective endothelin-A receptor antagonist zibotentan as a potential disease-modifying therapy for microvascular angina. The trial had a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design and the primary outcome was exercise duration. Compared with placebo, zibotentan at a dose of 10-mg daily for 12-weeks did not improve exercise duration or angina symptoms. In this pre-specified analysis, exercise duration was compared across four sequential study visits and the factors associated with within-trial changes were evaluated. Exercise test duration increased progressively in all participants during sequential trial phases, independent of treatment with either zibotentan or placebo. This improvement in exercise duration was associated with female sex (interaction p-value = 0.0213; effect estimate [95% confidence interval]) 34.95 [13.99, 55.78] seconds, p=0.002). In conclusion, the exercise test has limitations as an objective endpoint of efficacy in randomized trials. PRIZE; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT0409731
A hybrid artificial neural network–Aspen Plus framework for CO2 -enhanced biomass gasification and gas turbine performance
Get PDFConcerns over climate change and fossil fuel dependency have intensified the development of renewable energy and sustainable energy globally. However, conventional mechanistic models often struggle to capture the complex nonlinear behavior of integrated gasification and turbine systems, limiting their predictive accuracy and suitability for real-time applications. This study presents a hybrid modeling framework that integrates a two-stage biomass gasification and gas turbine model with artificial neural networks (ANNs) to enhance prediction accuracy for integrated biomass-to-power performance. More than 5,000 simulation cases were generated using a parametric grid sampling strategy and validated against experimental data from the literature to ensure model fidelity. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis identified the air flow rate and the carbon dioxide (CO₂)-to-fuel ratio as the most influential parameters. The optimized ANN models achieved coefficients of determination (R²) exceeding 0.99 and root mean square errors (RMSE) below 5 %, substantially outperforming conventional modeling approaches. The proposed hybrid ANN–Aspen Plus framework enables rapid and reliable performance prediction, facilitates real-time optimization, and promotes carbon dioxide (CO₂) utilization in advanced biomass-to-power systems
Healthcare utilisation among children in contact with social services in England : An interrupted time series using ECHILD
No full textChildren in contact with children's social care (CSC) services have high levels of hospital utilisation, but patterns before and after referral remain insufficiently understood. To evaluate healthcare utilisation two years before and after CSC referral. Retrospective cohort using ECHILD linked health and social care data, including children with a first CSC referral between 2009 and 2018 in England. We compared monthly planned and unplanned hospital contact rates for Children in Need, Children under Protection Plans, and Children Looked After with age-sex-matched cohorts. We used interrupted time series analysis to examine how healthcare utilisation changed following referral. We also explored reasons for hospital contacts. We analysed >12 million hospital contacts for 1,014,330 Children in Need, 204,240 Children under Protection Plan and 177,640 Children Looked After. Children Looked After had the highest average number of total contacts (11.8 per child over a 4 year period), followed by Children in Need (8.8) and Children under Protection Plans (8.4). All CSC groups had about twice the contacts of matched peers. Healthcare utilisation increased sharply prior to referral, with a peak around referral. After referral, planned care increased and unplanned care decreased, with pre referral upward trends slowing or reversing. The most common reason for healthcare utilisation was mental health-related. At a population level, CSC referral marks a pivotal point in healthcare utilisation, with a shift from unplanned to planned care. This may reflect more structured engagement with health services and coordinated support for children and families
Participatory Photography for Reproductive Justice : Recommendations From a Community Collaborative Pilot Project Incorporating Care as an Ethical Foundation
No full textReproductive justice is a framework diversely applied to interrogate and challenge broad structural factors which constrain individual reproductive choices. This framework necessitates an intersectionally-aware and rights-based approach, which prioritises working with local communities and centres the reproductive experiences and needs of overlooked, devalued, repressed or marginalised populations. This paper considers the suitability of participatory photography as a tool for researching reproductive justice and describes a pilot project exploring reproductive justice challenges and opportunities in Northern England. We share our approach to co-design, collective interpretation and dissemination, offering methodological insight by incorporating care as an ethical foundation of the research. We consider the strengths and challenges of our approach, reflecting on relationship building, trauma-informed engagement of people with lived experience, informed consent, equitable inclusion, power sharing, and ‘empowerment’. Finally, we suggest recommendations for future participatory projects
