Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

This paper proposes a solution for the self-synchronization of grid-tied feeding inverters. Since the proposed algorithm allows the self-synchronization, it avoids using a voltage sensor for measuring the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) voltage. The algorithm is based on an adaptive non-linear observer that uses the measurement of the output inductor current. Unlike synchronization schemes based on the virtual synchronous generator, which is often used in control strategies based on power synchronization, when combined with a non-linear control strategy, the proposed algorithm allows obtaining an excellent dynamic performance, even in presence of large PCC voltage disturbances and fast varying references. The performance of the proposed observer when combined with a non-linear control strategy, designed by considering the non-linear model of the converter, is illustrated through experimental results.

The paper adds to the narrow literature on saltmarsh carbon storage. It aims at proposing and testing an original climate policy measure that encompasses other policies limitations, under specific conditions. In particular, the study aims at adopting nonmarket valuation methods (e.g., contingent valuation) for assessing the willingness to pay (WTP) of local CO2 polluters to carbon offsetting by refurbishing local stock of natural capital that absorbs CO2. We apply the framework to the Venice Lagoon ecosystem and the Murano artistic glass sector. Murano artistic glass producers are confronted with the choice to internalize CO2 emissions externalities through the reconstruction and conservation of Venetian barene, local saltmarshes that are very productive in carbon sequestration and stocking. Results show that local polluters present a very high WTP to contribute for the natural capital that stocks and absorb the CO2. However, only a small portion of polluters is willing to pay for the public good, even if the stated value exceeds literature and policy estimates of the social costs of carbon. Results suggest that WTP for a global public good could account for a significant part of the social costs of carbon (and could even exceed it) even though it represents only a few people’s WTP. The key is the context in which the payment is made. The experiment and results can support very local policies for carbon offsetting and climate change mitigation based on local Coasian bargaining.

Self‐healing materials solutions and rapid prototyping approaches are actively searched to improve the safety and the production processes of batteries at the gigascale. Here, a self‐reparable polymer electrolyte designed into 3D‐printable ink formulation for digital light processing is shown. For this purpose, covalent adaptable networks containing hindered urea dynamic bonds end‐capped with photopolymerizable methacrylate groups are designed and investigated in terms of dynamicity and self‐healing properties. Electrochemical performance of the electrolytes is tested and compared with a commercially available benchmark, showing in all cases superior electrolyte uptake, ionic conductivities, and full specific capacity recovery after being cut in operando. This work brings the first self‐healable and 3D‐photoprinted electrolyte system for lithium batteries, at once ensuring safety, performance, and upscalability; the concept is also exploitable in lithium‐mediated ammonia electrosynthesis.

The high impact of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals’ well-being was especially detrimental to those suffering from an eating disorder (ED). The aim of the present study was to examine the perceived adverse and beneficial effects of lockdown on people with ED symptoms from a qualitative approach. The sample was made of 129 adults (Mage = 33.63; SDage = 10.95; 78.3% women) with symptoms compatible with ED according to DSM-5-TR. Participants completed an online survey containing two open-ended questions inquiring about their lived experience regarding perceived negative and positive effects of the pandemic quarantine. Data were analyzed based on a content analysis using Atlas.ti software. In terms of negative effects, the following topics emerged: increased anxiety and perceived stress, loneliness perception, worsening symptoms and thoughts associated with ED, increased attention to body image, and detection of worse eating habits. Among the positive effects, the key themes were the ED recognition, linked to the awareness of the need to start therapy, the reduction of binge eating episodes, an increased self-esteem, a sense of protection and well-being, and improved health and eating behavior. Social isolation and the possibility to cover up ED symptomatology were also mentioned as positive features of the confinement. From a clinical viewpoint, examining positive perception on stressful events provides practitioners with therapeutic tools for treating individuals with ED based on a client-centered approach.

Triboelectrification is of great importance for many classical (petroleum, pharmaceutical, polymers) and emerging (generators, sensors) technologies. For energy generation, the contact area between the materials experiencing tribocharging is a key parameter: in addition to the nature of the materials, tribocharging scales with contact area. In this work, an approach is proposed to maximize tribocharging contact area by exploring the cycle of water intrusion–extrusion into–from hydrophobic nanopores with surface area orders of magnitude higher compared to flat or even nanotextured surfaces. Here this study reports the first experimental evidence of electrical energy generation upon water intrusion‐extrusion cycle under bias voltage‐free conditions. Combining these experiments with hierarchical molecular dynamic simulations/ab initio calculations, a microscopic mechanism of triboelectrification is hypothesized for water and grafted silica. The proposed approach provides a methodological alternative to studying solid–liquid contact electrification and an alternative root for a noticeable increase of specific contact area for solid–liquid triboelectric nanogenerators.

Given rapid glacier thinning and retreat observed in the Pyrenees in recent decades, an updated glacier inventory and continuous mass balance assessments are important to understand the ongoing variability and changes of these very small glaciers (< 0.5 km²). The mass balance years 2021/22 and 2022/23 were characterised by prolonged extreme heat waves and reduced snow duration that severely affected the Pyrenees, which also impacted their glaciers. This paper reviews the criteria for classifying ice bodies as glaciers or ice patches, presents the latest high-resolution glacier inventory for the Pyrenees, and quantifies the mass losses caused by the extreme climate conditions in 2022 and 2023. The glacierised area was determined by manual mapping of high-resolution (0.2 m spatial resolution) aerial orthomosaics acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and aerial orthophotos (0.25 m spatial resolution) for the few glaciers not surveyed by UAVs. 3D point clouds, also obtained from UAV flights, were used to update the results for the change in surface elevation (glacier thickness) and mass balance between 2020 and 2023. For the Pyrenees, the total glacierised area in 2023 is 143.2 ± 1.8 ha in 15 different glaciers and 8 ice masses were degraded to ice patches according to our criteria. The resulting area change between 2020 and 2023 is -94.8 ha, representing a -39.8% decrease of the glaciarised area from 2020 to 2023, increasing the annual ratio of area change from 2020 to 2023 by -8.7% yr⁻¹ compared to the period 2011–2020 (-2.4% yr⁻¹). The change in glacier thickness measured on 12 glaciers shows a decrease of -2.52 m yr⁻¹ for the period 2020–2023, which represents a significant acceleration in glacier thickness loss compared to -0.80 m yr⁻¹ for the period 2011–2020. The three glaciers (Infiernos, Monte Perdido and Aneto) on which annual geodetic measurements were carried out showed slightly higher glacier thickness losses (-0.91 m yr⁻¹) in the first mass balance year (2020/21) than in the previous decade (2011–2020), while the losses in the last two mass balance years (2021/22 and 2022/23) were three to four times higher (-3.42 m yr⁻¹ and -3.07 m yr⁻¹ respectively) and exceeded the record values.

The Linearbandkeramik (LBK) Neolithic communities were the first to spread farming across large parts of Europe. We report genome-wide data for 250 individuals: 178 individuals from whole-cemetery surveys of the Alföld Linearbankeramik Culture eastern LBK site of Polgár-Ferenci-hát, the western LBK site of Nitra Horné Krškany and the western LBK settlement and massacre site of Asparn-Schletz, as well as 48 LBK individuals from 16 other sites and 24 earlier Körös and Starčevo individuals from 17 more sites. Here we show a systematically higher percentage of western hunter-gatherer ancestry in eastern than in western LBK sites, showing that these two distinct LBK groups had different genetic trajectories. We find evidence for patrilocality, with more structure across sites in the male than in the female lines and a higher rate of within-site relatives for males. At Asparn-Schletz we find almost no relatives, showing that the massacred individuals were from a large population, not a small community.

An easily reproducible inexpensive microwave antenna that can generate a strong and homogeneous magnetic field of arbitrary polarization is presented, which enables fast and coherent control of electron spins over a large volume. Unlike preceding works, a resonant antenna with ample optical access and which maintains its resonant behavior regardless of the proximity of other experimental hardware components is presented. This robustness is crucial as it enables using microscope objectives with short working distances to perform wide‐field imaging/sensing with bulk diamonds. The antenna generates a magnetic field strength of 22.3 A m−1${\rm m}^{-1}$ for 1 W total driving power, which doubles the power efficiency compared with previously reported patch antenna designs. The magnetic field homogeneity in a volume of 0.3mm3$0.3\text{mm}^3$, 0.6mm3$0.6\text{mm}^3$ and 1mm3$1\text{mm}^3$ is within 3%, 8% and 14%, respectively. The antenna can be driven off‐resonance without affecting the ellipticity and inhomogeneity of the field, and has a full‐width‐at‐half‐maximum bandwidth of ∼$\sim$200 MHz. Its resonant frequency can be tuned over a 400 MHz range via varactors. The PCB files are provided open‐source. This work facilitates a robust and versatile piece of instrumentation, being particularly appealing for applications such as high sensitivity magnetometry and wide‐field imaging/sensing with nitrogen‐vacancy centers.

After a period of fifteen years since Fintech birth, it has come a long way up to now in which almost each point of the financial value chain has been affected by their irruption. At present, what is less understood is which are the elements that can definitively consolidate Fintech as a new, differentiated, and sustainable sector; these elements are connected to value creation. This research aims to identify those elements that contribute to their long-term sustainability. Thus, we will analyze economic and social view of Fintech industry. To respond, we have identified four key aspects: the relevance of business models, trust as powerful mediator, the paradox around sustainability so-called the Fintech Economic Unsustainability Paradox, and social value as a principal element in their social performance. We contribute to the literature by presenting the Fintech Sustainability Model, a new framework that aggregates the above four aspects, which could be the issues that underpin policies towards Fintech long-term sustainability, and allow understanding of the analysis of double materiality, what it entails their competitiveness in comparison to the traditional financial industry.

Direct-dynamics simulations monitor atomic nuclei trajectories during chemical reactions, where chemical bonds are broken and new ones are formed. While they provide valuable information about the ongoing nuclear dynamics, the evolution of the chemical bonds is customarily overlooked, thus, hindering key information about the reaction mechanism. Here we examine the evolution of the chemical bonds for the three main mechanisms of the F– + CH3CH2Cl reaction using quasi-classical trajectories for the nuclei, and global natural orbitals for the electrons. Key findings include (i) bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2) resembles a one-step bond breaking and formation process; (ii) the elimination mechanisms (syn- and anti-E2) feature a sequential two-step process of proton abstraction and Cl– elimination; and (iii) the anti-E2 mechanism is slower, exhibits rebound effects, and gets activated by specific vibrational modes. This study highlights the importance of correctly describing and thoroughly analyzing the dynamical evolution of chemical bonds for chemical reaction mechanistic studies.

Bariatric surgery is effective for the treatment and remission of obesity and type 2 diabetes, but pharmacological approaches which exert similar metabolic adaptations are needed to avoid post-surgical complications. Here we show how G49, an oxyntomodulin (OXM) analog and dual glucagon/glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GCGR/GLP-1R) agonist, triggers an inter-organ crosstalk between adipose tissue, pancreas, and liver which is initiated by a rapid release of free fatty acids (FFAs) by white adipose tissue (WAT) in a GCGR-dependent manner. This interactome leads to elevations in adiponectin and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), causing WAT beiging, brown adipose tissue (BAT) activation, increased energy expenditure (EE) and weight loss. Elevation of OXM, under basal and postprandial conditions, and similar metabolic adaptations after G49 treatment were found in plasma from patients with obesity early after metabolic bariatric surgery. These results identify G49 as a potential pharmacological alternative sharing with bariatric surgery hormonal and metabolic pathways.

Science education is generally perceived as a key facilitator in cultivating a scientifically literate society. In the last decade, however, this conventional wisdom has been challenged by evidence that greater scientific literacy and critical thinking skills may in fact inadvertently aggravate polarization on scientific matters in the public sphere. Supporting an alternative “scientific update hypothesis,” in a series of studies (total N = 2087), we show that increased science’s epistemology literacy might have consequential population-level effects on the public’s alignment with scientific results. In one exploratory study and a pre-registered national online survey, we first show that understanding scientific epistemology predicts refusal of pseudoscientific beliefs and higher scores in a methodology of science test. We also find and replicate a propensity for epistemologically literate citizens to endorse the norm of belief updating and the communicated scientific consensus following both ideologically congruent and incongruent scientific results. Notably, after 2 months of first being presented with scientific results on politically controversial issues, a one standard deviation higher score in epistemological literacy is associated with a 14% increase in the odds of individuals switching their beliefs to align with the scientifically communicated consensus. We close by discussing how, on the face of ideological incongruity, a general understanding of scientific epistemology might foster the acceptance of scientific results, and we underscore the need for a more nuanced appreciation of how education, public comprehension of scientific knowledge, and the dynamics of polarization intersect in the public sphere.

This paper proposes a philosophical interpretation of scientific controversies in pain research and management by examining underlying philosophical notions. Pain scholars typically frame these disagreements within the dichotomy of Aristotelian versus Cartesian perspectives on pain. However, I contend that such a dichotomous interpretation overlooks crucial elements of twentieth-century discussions. I posit that the limits of reductionism is a central philosophical theme persisting across both past and present scientific controversies in pain research and medicine. Through analyzing the scientific disagreements between groups of scientists within the scholarship of pain, the paper aims to demonstrate that underlying philosophical notions play a significant role in shaping these controversies. This approach highlights the relevance of philosophical ideas for understanding scientific debates, ultimately aiming to foster communication and collaboration between philosophy and science.

Dynamin 1 (Dyn1) GTPase, a principal driver of membrane fission during synaptic endocytosis, self-assembles into short mechanoactive helices cleaving the necks of endocytic vesicles. While structural information about Dyn1 helix is abundant, little is known about the nanoscale dynamics of the helical scaffolding at the moment of fission, complicating mechanistic understanding of Dyn1 action. To address the role of the helix dynamics in fission, we used High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy (HS-AFM) and fluorescence microscopy to track and compare the spatiotemporal characteristics of the helices formed by wild-type Dyn1 and its K44A mutant impaired in GTP hydrolysis on minimal lipid membrane templates. In the absence of nucleotide, membrane-bound WT Dyn1 and K44A Dyn1 self-assembled into tubular protein scaffolding of similar diameter encaging the lipid bilayer. In both cases, the GTP addition caused scaffold constriction coupled with formation of 20 to 30 nm nanogaps in the protein coverage. While both proteins reached scaffold diameters characteristic for membrane superconstriction causing fission, the fission was detected only with WT Dyn1. We associated the fission activity with the dynamic evolution of the nanogaps: K44A Dyn1 gaps were static, while WT Dyn1 gaps actively evolved via repetitive nonaxisymmetric constriction-bending deformations caused by localized GTP hydrolysis. Modeling of the deformations implicated filament twist as an additional deformation mode which combines with superconstriction to facilitate membrane fission. Our results thus show that the dynamics of the Dyn1 helical scaffold goes beyond radial constriction and involves nonaxisymmetric deformations, where filament twist emerges as a critical driver of membrane fission.

Despite its sizable errors, density functional theory (DFT) is extensively used to evaluate thermochemical properties of gases, liquids and their interfaces with solids. As numerous halogen‐containing compounds appear as reactants, products and/or electrolytes in electrochemical reactions, and ionic effects are currently an active area of research, it is important to evaluate the accuracy of DFT for halogen thermochemistry. Herein, we assess the formation energies of interhalogens, hydrogen halides, diatomic and atomic halogens and their ions using six widespread functionals at the GGA, meta‐GGA and hybrid levels. We observe that DFT errors with respect to experiments are correlated with the electronegativity of the species and there are systematic trends across functionals, such that swift corrections were devised. Specifically, the average of the mean absolute errors for the six functionals decreased from 0.19 eV before the corrections to 0.08 eV after them. Besides, the overall maximum absolute error (MAX) decreased from 0.76 to 0.44 eV and the average of the MAXs decreased from 0.51 to 0.24 eV. Finally, we illustrate the qualitative and quantitative impact of gas‐phase errors on the predictions of surface Pourbaix diagrams.

Background As compared to men, older women´s higher rates of depression diagnosis and antidepressant use are widely reported. We aimed to: a) explore whether there is a potential gender bias in the clinical diagnosis of depression and antidepressant prescription in an older population from Stockholm; and 2) analyze if such gender bias differs by patients’ age and socioeconomic status. Methods We used data from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, SNAC-K (N = 2,941). We compared gender differences in: (a) clinical diagnosis of depression according to the Swedish National Patient Register (ICD-10 codes F32-F34; F412) (“register-based diagnosis”); (b) SNAC-K-based diagnosis of depression, partially gender-blind, using the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and the DSM-IV-TR (“SNAC-K based diagnosis); and (c) antidepressant use (ATC code N06A). To analyze the magnitude of the gender bias in the register-based diagnosis of depression and in antidepressant use, and the role of potential moderating factors, prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated using Poisson regression models. Models were run separately by age and social class. Results Women had a 63% higher probability of having a register-based diagnosis of depression (PR = 1.63[1.23–2.15]) and a 79% higher probability of using antidepressants (PR = 1.79[1.34–2.40]). No gender differences were observed in the SNAC-K-based diagnosis of depression. The gender differences in the register-based diagnosis were narrowed, although remained significant, after considering age, depressive symptoms, and health services use (PR = 1.44[1.10–1.88]), as well as the register-based diagnosis in the case of antidepressant use (PR = 1.31[1.04–1.64]). This gender bias was larger among the younger-old and the most advantaged social class. Conclusion A gender-bias was identified in the diagnosis and treatment of depression in older adults within the Swedish healthcare setting, which could imply that health services may be contributing to the medicalization of women’s mental health. Gender-sensitive clinical and public health interventions are essential to reduce gender disparities in mental healthcare, also in old age.

Studying and understanding many‐body interactions, particularly electron‐boson interactions, is essential for a deeper elucidation of fundamental physical phenomena and the development of novel material functionalities. Here, this aspect is explored in the weak itinerant ferromagnet LaCo2P2 by means of momentum‐resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) and first‐principles calculations. The detailed ARPES patterns enable to unveil bulk and surface bands, spin splittings due to Rashba and exchange interactions, as well as the evolution of bands with temperature, which altogether creates a solid foundation for theoretical studies. The latter has allowed to establish the impact of electron‐boson interactions on the electronic structure, that are reflected in its strong renormalization driven by electron‐magnon interaction and the emergence of distinctive kinks of surface and bulk electron bands due to significant electron‐phonon coupling. Our results highlight the distinct impact of electron‐boson interactions on the electronic structure, particularly on the itinerant d states. Similar electronic states are observed in the isostructural iron pnictides, where electron‐boson interactions play a crucial role in the emergence of superconductivity. It is believed that further studies of material systems involving both magnetically active d‐ and f‐sublattices will reveal more advanced phenomena in the bulk and at distinct surfaces, driven by a combination of factors including Rashba and Kondo effects, exchange magnetism, and electron‐boson interactions.