Molecularly bonded inherently conductive polymers on substrates and shaped articles thereof

Organic inherently conductive polymers, such as those based on polyaniline, polypyrrole and polythiophene, are formed in-situ onto polymeric surfaces that are chemically activated to bond ionically the conductive polymers to the substrates. The polymeric substrate is preferably a preshaped or preformed thermoplastic film, fabric, or tube, although other forms of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers can be used as the substrates for pretreatment using, most preferably, phosphonylation-based processes followed by exposure to an oxidatively polymerizable compound capable of forming an electrically conductive polymer. The resultant conductive surface imparts unique properties to the substrates and allows their use in antistatic clothing, surface conducting films for electronic components and the like, and electromagnetic interference shielding

Molecularly bonded inherently conductive polymers on substrates and shaped articles thereof

Organic inherently conductive polymers, such as those based on polyaniline, polypyrrole and polythiophene, are formed in-situ onto polymeric surfaces that are chemically activated to bond ionically the conductive polymers to the substrates. The polymeric substrate is preferably a preshaped or preformed thermoplastic film, fabric, or tube, although other forms of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers can be used as the substrates for pretreatment using, most preferably, phosphonylation-based processes followed by exposure to an oxidatively polymerizable compound capable of forming an electrically conductive polymer. The resultant conductive surface imparts unique properties to the substrates and allows their use in antistatic clothing, surface conducting films for electronic components and the like, and electromagnetic interference shielding. In an alternative embodiment, metals such as gold or platinum are bonded to the chemically interactive surface of a preshaped thermoplastic or thermoset article

‘VIOLET’: a fluorescence-based simulation exercise for training healthcare workers in the use of personal protective equipment

Background Healthcare workers caring for patients with high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) require protection from pathogen exposure, for example by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Protection is acquired through the inherent safety of the PPE components, but also their safe and correct use, supported by adequate training and user familiarity. However, the evidence base for HCID PPE ensembles and any associated training is lacking, with subsequent variation between healthcare providers. Aim To develop an evidence-based assessment and training tool for evaluating PPE ensembles and doffing protocols, in the assessment of patients with suspected HCIDs. Methods VIOLET (Visualising Infection with Optimised Light for Education and Training) comprises a healthcare mannequin adapted to deliver simulated bodily fluids containing UV-fluorescent tracers. On demand and remotely operated, the mannequin projectile vomits (blue), coughs (red), has diarrhoea (yellow) and is covered in sweat (orange). Wearing PPE, healthcare staff participate in an HCID risk assessment and examination of the ‘patient’, thereby becoming exposed to these bodily fluids. Contamination of PPE is visualized and body-mapped under UV light before and after removal. Observational findings and participant feedback, around its use as a training exercise, is also recorded. Findings Significant contamination from different exposure events was seen, enabling evaluation of PPE and doffing procedures used. Observational data and participant feedback demonstrated its strengths and success as a training technique. Conclusion Simulation exercises using VIOLET provide evidence-based assessment of PPE ensembles, and are a valuable resource for training of healthcare staff in wearing and safe doffing of PPE

Use of ultraviolet-fluorescence-based simulation in evaluation of personal protective equipment worn for first assessment and care of a patient with suspected high-consequence infectious disease

Background: Variations currently exist across the UK in the choice of personal protective equipment (PPE) used by healthcare workers when caring for patients with suspected high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs). Aim: To test the protection afforded to healthcare workers by current PPE ensembles during assessment of a suspected HCID case, and to provide an evidence base to justify proposal of a unified PPE ensemble for healthcare workers across the UK. Methods: One ‘basic level’ (enhanced precautions) PPE ensemble and five ‘suspected case’ PPE ensembles were evaluated in volunteer trials using ‘Violet’; an ultraviolet-fluorescence-based simulation exercise to visualize exposure/contamination events. Contamination was photographed and mapped. Findings: There were 147 post-simulation and 31 post-doffing contamination events, from a maximum of 980, when evaluating the basic level of PPE. Therefore, this PPE ensemble did not afford adequate protection, primarily due to direct contamination of exposed areas of the skin. For the five suspected case ensembles, 1584 post-simulation contamination events were recorded, from a maximum of 5110. Twelve post-doffing contamination events were also observed (face, two events; neck, one event; forearm, one event; lower legs, eight events). Conclusion: All suspected case PPE ensembles either had post-doffing contamination events or other significant disadvantages to their use. This identified the need to design a unified PPE ensemble and doffing procedure, incorporating the most protective PPE considered for each body area. This work has been presented to, and reviewed by, key stakeholders to decide on a proposed unified ensemble, subject to further evaluation

Analysis of a Simple, Multi-Receiver GPS Spoof Detector

GPS spoofing is a hot topic of late; technical discussions vary widely based upon the assumed capabilities and a priori knowledge of the spoofer. For a single GPS receiver, various methods to detect a spoofing event have been proposed in the literature. These range from simple ideas (e.g. monitoring the power levels of the GPS signals) to more complex concepts (e.g. looking for vestigial peaks in the correlator outputs) to the comparison to non- GPS signals (e.g. an IMU). Much of this prior work has been on the conceptual level with limited experimentation; little appears to have been done to analyze the resulting detection performance. The detector of interest here monitors the GPS signals using not one, but two or more receivers with their antennas at known relative positions. The assumption is that during a spoofing event these multiple receivers will receive the same spoofer RF signal in that the satellites’ characteristics (i.e. relative times of arrival) are identical at all of the antennas. With no spoofer present, each antenna would receive a unique RF signal, consistent with its position in space. The concept of the detector, then, is that the presence of spoofing is discernible from the near equivalence of the receivers’ receptions. While one could compare these multiple receptions at the RF level, we compare the position solutions across receivers, declaring a spoofing event if the resulting position solutions are too close to each other as compared to the (known) relative locations of the antennas. The primary advantage of such an approach is that the hypothesis test does not require receiver hardware modification or even access to software GPS methods; a separate processor could easily monitor the positions output from the receivers. In this paper we analyze such a detector from a Neyman-Pearson perspective assuming Gaussian statistics on the position solution data. We consider four cases: (1) two receivers with fixed (known) locations, (2) two receivers with fixed separation and known orientation (but unknown absolute position), (3) two receivers with fixed separation and unknown orientation, and (4) a three receiver example

Development of an Ir/TiO₂ catalytic coating for plasma assisted hydrogenation of CO₂ to CH₄

The hydrogenation of CO2 to methane over a 20 wt% Ir/TiO2 catalytic coating has been investigated in a tubular dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The 1.2 µm Ir/TiO2 coating was deposited onto the inner wall of a quartz tube by a combustion-evaporation method from a mixture containing a Ti precursor and a colloidal suspension of Ir nanoparticles (2 nm). The catalyst was characterised by XRD, SEM, TEM/EDS and CO chemisorption. The Ir(0) state in the as-synthesised film was confirmed by XPS. The CH4 conversion increased by 1.5 times, as compared to an empty tube. A maximum CO2 conversion rate of 2.1 μmol s−1 was achieved at a fuel production efficiency of 3.5%. Surface reactions onto the catalyst surface are responsible for enhancement of reaction rate. The results presented in this work open up new possibilities in plasma-catalysis, whereby efficient reactions can be carried out over small volumes of catalyst.</p