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Prevalence of male DNA on female worn undergarments. How small datasets may support robust opinions in activity level evaluative reporting

In cases of sexual assault, the interpretation of biological traces on clothing, and particularly undergarments, may be complex. This is especially so when the complainant and defendant interact socially, for instance as (ex-)partners or by co-habitation. Here we present the results from a study where latent male DNA on female worn undergarments is recovered in four groups with different levels of male-female social interaction. The results conform to prior expectation, in that less interaction tend to result in less male DNA on undergarments. We explore the use of these experimental data for evaluative reporting given activity level propositions in a mock case scenario. We show how the selection of different populations to represent the social interaction between complainant and defendant may affect the strength of the evidence. We further show how datasets of limited size can be used for robust activity level evaluative reporting.

Conversion of a Xylose-rich Stream from Biomass-biorefining into Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) by Schlegelella thermodepolymerans

The transition to a biobased economy necessitates utilizing renewable resources as a sustainable alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Bioconversion is a way to produce many green chemicals from renewables, e.g., biopolymers like PHAs. However, fermentation and bioconversion processes mostly rely on expensive, and highly refined pure substrates. The utilization of crude fractions from biorefineries, especially herbaceous lignocellulosic feedstocks, could significantly reduce costs. This presentation shows the microbial production of PHA from such a crude stream by a wild-type thermophilic bacterium Schlegelella thermodepolymerans [1]. Specifically, it uses crude xylose-rich fractions derived from a newly developed biorefinery process for grassy biomasses (the ALACEN process). This new stepwise mild flow-through biorefinery approach for grassy lignocellulosic biomass allows the production of various fractions: a fraction containing esterified aromatics, a monomeric xylose-rich stream, a glucose fraction, and a native-like lignin residue [2]. The crude xylose-rich fraction was free of fermentation-inhibiting compounds meaning that the bacterium S.thermodepolymerans could effectively use it for the production of one type of PHA, polyhydroxybutyrate. Almost 90% of the xylose in the refined wheat straw fraction was metabolized with simultaneous production of PHA, matching 90% of the PHA production per gram of sugars, comparable to PHA yields from commercially available xylose. In addition to xylose, S. thermodepolymerans converted oligosaccharides with a xylose backbone (xylans) into fermentable xylose, and subsequently utilized the xylose as a source for PHA production. Since the xylose-rich hydrolysates from the ALACEN process also contain some oligomeric xylose and minor hemicellulose-derived sugars, optimal valorization of the C5-fractions derived from the refinery process can be obtained using S. thermodepolymerans. This opens the way for further exploration of PHA production from C5-fractions out of a variety of herbaceous lignocellulosic biomasses using the ALACEN process combined with S. thermodepolymerans. Overall, the innovative utilization of renewable resources in fermentation technology, as shown herein, makes a solid contribution to the transition to a biobased economy.[1] W. Zhou, D.I. Colpa, H. Permentier, R.A. Offringa, L. Rohrbach, G.J.W. Euverink, J. Krooneman. Insight into polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from xylose and extracellular PHA degradation by a thermophilic Schlegelella thermodepolymerans. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 194 (2023) 107006, ISSN 0921-3449, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107006. [2] S. Bertran-Llorens, W.Zhou. M.A.Palazzo, D.I.Colpa, G.J.W.Euverink, J.Krooneman, P.J.Deuss. ALACEN: a holistic herbaceous biomass fractionation process attaining a xylose-rich stream for direct microbial conversion to bioplastics. Submitted 2023.

Re-Organise - The Game - English- V2.0

New version of Re-Organise - The Game. Incl. translation to English.

CLIL Skills

CLIL Skills is a practical resource book for subject teachers working in bilingual schools. It supports them in their everyday practice and informs them about key CLIL issues. Good CLIL teaching interweaves content and language. This book covers six important CLIL Skills: activating, providing lesson input, guiding and understanding, encouraging speaking and writing, assessing and giving feedback, and using projects. This book is essential reading for CLIL teachers everywhere.CLIL Skills includes:• Over 70 practical lesson ideas• Case studies from schools• Examples and illustrations from teachers• Useful, clearly explained theory• A glossary of handy terms• Activities for teacher development.

Sad by Design (the essay)

Thermal disinfection of hospital wastewater in a pilot‑scale continuous‑flow system

Thermal disinfection is probably the oldest water treatment method ever used. Similarly to other disinfection processes, it targets the inactivation of pathogenic (micro)organisms present in water, wastewater and other media. In this work, a pilot-scale continuous-flow thermal disinfection system was investigated using highly contaminated hospital wastewater as influent without any pre-treatment step for turbidity removal. The results proved that the tested system can be used with influent turbidity as high as 100 NTU and still provide up to log 8 microbial inactivation. Further results have shown energy consumption comparable to other commercially available thermal disinfection systems and relatively low influence on the investigated physical–chemical parameters.