Electrochemical Investigation of Doped Titanium Dioxide

Thin films of transition-metal doped (0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 atom%) TiO2 were prepared on titanium foil using a sol-gel route catalyzed by ammonium acetate. Dopants investigated were the fourth-period transition metals. The prepared films were characterised by Raman spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and photoelectrochemical methods. The films doped with transition metals showed a lower photocurrent response than undoped samples. No major red shift in the photocurrent response spectra of the doped films was observed. A photocurrent response was observed under visible light irradiation of the samples and was potential dependent peaking around −0.3 V (SCE), which is indicative of electron promotion from a filled defect level. Examination of the defect level potential dependence by analysis of the current-time response under chopped illumination at fixed potential (−0.8 V–+1.07 V) gave a good correlation with the potential dependence observed in the visible light irradiation studies

Cladding strategies for building-integrated photovoltaics

Photovoltaic cladding on the surfaces of commercial buildings has the potential for considerable reductions in carbon emissions due to embedded renewable power generation displacing conventional power utilization. In this paper, a model is described for the optimization of photovoltaic cladding densities on commercial building surfaces. The model uses a modified form of the ‘fill factor’ method for photovoltaic power supply coupled to new regression-based procedures for power demand estimation. An optimization is included based on a defined ‘mean index of satisfaction’ for matched power supply and demand (i.e., zero power exportation to the grid). The mean index of satisfaction directly translates to the reduction in carbon emission that might be expected over conventional power use. On clear days throughout the year, reductions of conventional power use of at least 60% can be achieved with an optimum cladding pattern targeted to lighting and small power load demands

Treatment of specific phobia in older adults

Phobias are common in later life, yet treatment research in this population remains scant. The efficacy of exposure therapy, in combination with other Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) components, in the treatment of specific phobia with a middle and older aged sample was examined. Sixteen adults aged 45–68 with DSM-IV diagnosis of a specific phobia received a manualized intervention over ten weeks, and were compared with a control group. Results indicated significant time effects in the treatment group for the primary outcome variables of phobic severity and avoidance as well as secondary outcome variables including depression and anxiety. Symptom presence and severity also significantly declined in the treatment group. No significant changes in state anxiety were noted across the treatment period. Such results provide support for the efficacy of exposure combined with CBT treatment for specific phobia in middle to older aged adults

Further towards the right to ‘safe leisure’: a case study of the Council of Europe’s 2016 Saint-Denis Convention

In the context of the right to leisure – enshrined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) – this article addresses how the Council of Europe’s (2016) Convention on an ‘Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events’ (‘Saint-Denis Convention’) provides a legal pathway towards what we conceptualize here as the right to ‘safe leisure’. This right to ‘safe leisure’, we locate within broader right to leisure discourses which this article reconsiders. We contend that the Convention has wider ramifications for the intersection between human rights and leisure and that the Convention’s potential resides in the fact that it enhances the existing and orthodox conceptualizations of leisure. Following an unpacking and operationalization of the right to leisure, this conceptual article then showcases how the 2016 Convention enshrines distinct duties and obligations which establish a clear right to ‘safe leisure’ within a significant realm of leisure life

Sport mega-event governance and human rights: the ‘Ruggie Principles’, responsibility and directions

In recent years, the discourses surrounding human rights and sport mega-events (SMEs) have grown immensely. These are often directed towards sport’s governing bodies responsible for the administration of these mega-events. Tapping into the growing scholarship, this article aims to advance the fields of sport, leisure and human rights. By reconsidering the commercial nature of sports’ governing bodies (focusing on IOC and FIFA), we argue that what is commonly referred to as the ‘Ruggie Principles’ both can and should be applied to FIFA and IOC’s practices and event-related operations. In this context, and by reflecting on the practical applications of human rights impact assessments in the context of sport governing bodies who are the awarding bodies of hosting rights, the paper argues that due diligence and human rights impact assessments should become an organisational mainstay of FIFA and IOC’s event-related operations. Whilst our normative argument can have implications for policy and practice, we also provide further directions for research in what remains a pivotal era of SMEs globally

The importance of geometry in the corneal micropocket angiogenesis assay

The corneal micropocket angiogenesis assay is an experimental protocol for studying vessel network formation, or neovascularization, in vivo. The assay is attractive due to the ease with which the developing vessel network can be observed in the same animal over time. Measurements from the assay have been used in combination with mathematical modeling to gain insights into the mechanisms of angiogenesis. While previous modeling studies have adopted planar domains to represent the assay, the hemispherical shape of the cornea and asymmetric positioning of the angiogenic source can be seen to affect vascular patterning in experimental images. As such, we aim to better understand: i) how the geometry of the assay influences vessel network formation and ii) how to relate observations from planar domains to those in the hemispherical cornea. To do so, we develop a three-dimensional, off-lattice mathematical model of neovascularization in the cornea, using a spatially resolved representation of the assay for the first time. Relative to the detailed model, we predict that the adoption of planar geometries has a noticeable impact on vascular patterning, leading to increased vessel ‘merging’, or anastomosis, in particular when circular geometries are adopted. Significant differences in the dynamics of diffusible aniogenesis simulators are also predicted between different domains. In terms of comparing predictions across domains, the ‘distance of the vascular front to the limbus’ metric is found to have low sensitivity to domain choice, while metrics such as densities of tip cells and vessels and ‘vascularized fraction’ are sensitive to domain choice. Given the widespread adoption and attractive simplicity of planar tissue domains, both in silico and in vitro, the differences identified in the present study should prove useful in relating the results of previous and future theoretical studies of neovascularization to in vivo observations in the cornea