Low-Energy District Heating (DH) systems, providing great energy savings by means of very low operating temperatures of 55 °C and 25 °C for supply and return respectively, were considered to be the 4th generation of the DH systems for a low-energy future. Low-temperature operation is...

We study the bias induced by a weak (200 mT) external magnetic field on the preferred handedness of sodium chlorate crystals obtained by slow evaporation at ambient conditions of its saturated saline solution with 20 ppm of added racemic (dl) hydrophobic amino acids. By applying the Fisher test...

Smart grid has strong potential to advance and encourage renewable energy deployment, but given the multiple motivations for smart grid, renewables are not always central in smart grid policy discussions. The term “smart grid” represents a set of technologies, including advanced meters,...

We outline in this work a mathematical description of biodiversity evolution based on a second-order differential equation (also known as the “inertial/Galilean view”). After discussing the motivations and explicit forms of the simplest “forces”, we are lead to an equation analogue to a...

One of the unique features of several journals launched by me is that manuscripts regarding research proposals and research ideas are particularly welcomed for presentation. Now, a journal <em>Challenges</em> is created for this purpose. [...]

The past decade has seen an explosion of new technologies for assessment of <i>biogenicity</i> and <i>syngeneity</i> of carbonaceous material within sedimentary rocks. Advances have been made in techniques for analysis of<i> in situ</i> organic matter as well as for extracted bulk samples of soluble and insoluble...

ChEMBL Beaker is an open source web framework, exposing a versatile chemistry-focused API (Application Programming Interface) to support the development of new cheminformatics applications. This paper describes the current functionality offered by Beaker and outlines the future technology roadmap.

The natural and subsequent human disasters of March 11, 2011 in Japan have brought into focus more than ever the importance of resilience and risk mitigation in the construction of energy infrastructure. This article introduces some of the critical issues and discusses the implications of energy...

The food processing and packaging industry is becoming a multi-trillion dollar global business. The reason is that the recent increase in incomes in traditionally less economically developed countries has led to a rise in standards of living that includes a significantly higher consumption of...