Valence band excitations in V_2O_5

We present a joint theoretical and experimental investigation of the electronic and optical properties of vanadium pentoxide. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy in transmission was employed to measure the momentum-dependent loss function. This in turn was used to derive the optical conductivity, which is compared to the results of band structure calculations. A good qualitative and quantitative agreement between the theoretical and the experimental optical conductivity was observed. The experimentally observed anisotropy of the optical properties of V_2O_5 could be understood in the light of an analysis of the theoretical data involving the decomposition of the calculated optical conductivity into contributions from transitions into selected energy regions of the conduction band. In addition, based upon a tight binding fit to the band structure, values are given for the effective V3d_xy-O2p hopping terms and are compared to the corresponding values for alpha'-NaV_2O_5.Comment: 6 pages (revtex),6 figures (jpg

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries