Analysis of relevant technical issues and deficiencies of the existing sensors and related initiatives currently set and working in marine environment. New generation technologies for cost-effective sensors

The last decade has seen significant growth in the field of sensor networks, which are currently collecting large amounts of environmental data. This data needs to be collected, processed, stored and made available for analysis and interpretation in a manner which is meaningful and accessible to end users and stakeholders with a range of requirements, including government agencies, environmental agencies, the research community, industry users and the public. The COMMONSENSE project aims to develop and provide cost-effective, multi-functional innovative sensors to perform reliable in-situ measurements in the marine environment. The sensors will be easily usable across several platforms, and will focus on key parameters including eutrophication, heavy metal contaminants, marine litter (microplastics) and underwater noise descriptors of the MSFD. The aims of Tasks 2.1 and 2.2 which comprise the work of this deliverable are: • To obtain a comprehensive understanding and an up-to-date state of the art of existing sensors. • To provide a working basis on “new generation” technologies in order to develop cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production. This deliverable will consist of an analysis of state-of-the-art solutions for the different sensors and data platforms related with COMMONSENSE project. An analysis of relevant technical issues and deficiencies of existing sensors and related initiatives currently set and working in marine environment will be performed. Existing solutions will be studied to determine the main limitations to be considered during novel sensor developments in further WP’s. Objectives & Rationale The objectives of deliverable 2.1 are: • To create a solid and robust basis for finding cheaper and innovative ways of gathering data. This is preparatory for the activities in other WPs: for WP4 (Transversal Sensor development and Sensor Integration), for WP(5-8) (Novel Sensors) to develop cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production, reducing costs of data collection (compared to commercially available sensors), increasing data access availability for WP9 (Field testing) when the deployment of new sensors will be drawn and then realized

Departure from the vogel behaviour in the glass transition region-thermally stimulated recovery, creep and dynamic mechanical analysis studies

In this work the study of the dynamics of the segmental motions close to Tg of a poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, network was analysed by distinct mechanical spectroscopy techniques. Three techniques were employed: dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), creep and thermally stimulated recovery (TSR). The time–temperature superposition principle was applied to the DMA and creep results, and master curves were successfully constructed. A change from a Vogel to an Arrhenius behaviour was observed in these results. Above Tg it was found a distinct temperature dependence for the retardation times calculated from creep and the relaxation times calculated from DMA. This unexpected behaviour was attributed to the merging of the a and the b relaxations that occurs in PMMA systems. The apparent activation energies ðEaÞ were also calculated from DMA, creep and TSR experiments. Above Tg the Ea values obtained agreed very well for all the techniques. In addition, the fragility exhibited by this material was investigated by the mechanical spectroscopy techniques referred above and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The obtained values of the fragility index m indicated that the PMMA network is a kinetically fragile system. The thermodynamic manifestation of the fragility was also analysed

The role of the prostate cancer gene 3 urine test in addition to serum prostate-specific antigen level in prostate cancer screening among breast cancer, early-onset gene mutation carriers

Objective: To evaluate the additive value of the prostate cancer gene 3 (PCA3) urine test to serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in prostate cancer (PC) screening among breast cancer, early-onset gene (BRCA) mutation carriers. This study was performed among the Dutch participants of IMPACT, a large international study on the effectiveness of PSA screening among BRCA mutation carriers. Materials and methods: Urinary PCA3 was measured in 191 BRCA1 mutation carriers, 75 BRCA2 mutation carriers, and 308 noncarriers. The physicians and participants were blinded for the results. Serum PSA level≥3.0. ng/ml was used to indicate prostate biopsies. PCA3 was evaluated (1) as an independent indicator for prostate biopsies and (2) as an indicator for prostate biopsies among men with an elevated

Gendered self-views across 62 countries: a test of competing models

Social role theory posits that binary gender gaps in agency and communion should be larger in less egalitarian countries, reflecting these countries’ more pronounced sex-based power divisions. Conversely, evolutionary and self-construal theorists suggest that gender gaps in agency and communion should be larger in more egalitarian countries, reflecting the greater autonomy support and flexible self-construction processes present in these countries. Using data from 62 countries (N = 28,640), we examine binary gender gaps in agentic and communal self-views as a function of country-level objective gender equality (the Global Gender Gap Index) and subjective distributions of social power (the Power Distance Index). Findings show that in more egalitarian countries, gender gaps in agency are smaller and gender gaps in communality are larger. These patterns are driven primarily by cross-country differences in men’s self-views and by the Power Distance Index (PDI) more robustly than the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI). We consider possible causes and implications of these findings

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

Does intermolecular S=O?H–C–S=O hydrogen bonding in sulfoxides and sulfones provide a robust supramolecular synthon in the solid state?

Hydrogen bonding between the sulfur oxygens and the acidic alpha-hydrogens in sulfoxides and sulfones is proposed as a supramolecular synthon in crystal engineering. A systematic analysis of supramolecular interactions in the solid state of a series of structurally related aryl benzyl sulfides, sulfoxides and sulfones was undertaken to establish the extent to which such hydrogen bonds persist as a structure determining feature in the solid state. The impact of the level of oxidation at sulfur, steric and electronic effects of substituents on the aryl rings and methyl substitution a to the sulfur functional group on the solid state structure of the compounds have been explored. The impact of stereochemical features, including relative and absolute stereochemistry, is also discussed

Does soil biology hold the key to optimized slurry management? A manifesto for research

The application of agricultural biosolids to land is likely to increase on farms as pressures intensify to manage nutrients and carbon, especially with regard to slurry. Although much work has been carried out in this area, it has tended to focus on specific aspects of the application-use cycle, without a coherent framework and notably the role of soil biology has been little studied in this context, or considered appropriately in the development and application of slurry management systems. In this review article we present a hypothesis that the configuration of the soil microbial community is determined by the history of long-term inputs to which the community has been subjected and that the resultant configuration determines the instantaneous responses of the associated soil to the presence of slurries, and posit a set of critical questions which would effectively test this.</p