ERA-MIN Research Agenda

European Research Area - Network on the Industrial Handling of Raw Materials for European Industriesroadmap of the "ERA-MIN" eranetNon-energy and non-agricultural raw materials underpin the global economy and our quality of life. They are vital for the EU's economy and for the development of environmentally friendly technologies essential to European industries. However, the EU is highly dependent on imports, and securing supplies has therefore become crucial. A sustainable supply of mineral products and metals for European industry requires a more efficient and rational consumption, enhanced substitution and improved recycling. Recycling from scrap to raw materials has been rapidly gaining in quantity and efficiency over the last years. However, continuous re-use cannot provide alone the necessary quantities of mineral raw materials, due to i) recycling losses, ii) the worldwide growing demand in raw materials, and iii) the need of "new" elements for the industry. To fully meet future needs, metals and mineral products from primary sources will still be needed in the future. Most of them will continue to be imported from sources outside Europe; but others can, and should, be produced domestically. Advanced research and innovation are required to improve the capacity of existing technologies to discover new deposits, to improve the efficiency of the entire geomaterials life cycle from mineral extraction to the use as secondary resource of products at the end of their industrial life, and to reduce the environmental footprint of raw materials extraction and use. Research and innovation must be made to acquire knowledge as well, and to improve our basic understanding of all engineering and natural processes involved in the raw materials life cycle, as well as the coupling of these processes. Finally, research has to go beyond the present-day economic and technological constraints, and it should be closely associated with training and education in order to maintain existing skills and to share the most recent developments with the industrial sector. A long-term vision of research is necessary in order to have the capacity of evaluating the environmental and societal impacts of present and developing industrial activities and to imagine tomorrow's breakthrough concepts and technologies that will create new industrial opportunities. These objectives require the input of contrasted scientific and technical skills and competences (earth science, material science and technology, chemistry, physics, engineer, biology, engineering, environmental science, economy, social and human sciences, etc). An important challenge is to gather all these domains of expertise towards the same objective. The ERA-MIN Research Agenda aims at listing the most important topics of research and innovation that will contribute to i) secure the sustainable supply and management of non-energy and non-agricultural raw materials, and ii) offer opportunities of investment and employment opportunities in the EU

A Rapid Scoping Review of Gender Inequities in the Medical Profession

Introduction: There continue to be large inequities in the representation of women at progressive levels of training and seniority in both academic and community practice settings. Gender inequity in medicine is not only problematic in its own right but has the potential to deliver inequitable outcomes, including the neglect of important research and care that continues to disadvantage women patients. As significant evidence is emerging on gender inequities in the medical profession, it is an opportune time to review the current evidence on the persisting gaps, potential causes, and possible solutions. Methods: A rapid scoping review was conducted for articles on the topic of gender inequity and the medical profession in PubMed and Google Scholar. The search was limited to articles published from 1990 to the search date (June 1, 2017), and included only papers published in English. Results: An initial 1055 articles were screened according to established inclusion and exclusion criteria. After initial and full-text review, supplemented by a hand search through the article references, 45 articles were included in the review. Articles were classified as a) evidence for gender inequities, b) causes of inequities, and c) solutions for inequities. Only 13% of articles found (6 studies) addressed possible interventions to reduce inequities. Significant gaps exist in the literature, particularly around part-time work options, parental and family leave options, and ad-dressing implicit biases to reduce sexism in professional settings. Discussion: The evidence highlights substantial inequities in the representation of women in the medical profession, in both the academic and community settings, in medical literature, and in leadership positions. This review also highlighted substantial gaps in the literature on understanding what can be done to reduce these gaps. More research is needed in the area of gender inequities in medicine to improve the representation of women in medicine

Dielectric Replica Measurement : A New Technique for Obtaining the Complex Permittivity of Irregularly Shaped Objects

Dielectric measurements provide valuable information about the properties of materials, and could be used to classify and identify the source of objects in fields such as archaeology. Current methods of identification are all partly destructive, so an innovative electromagnetic method developed by the authors, based on resonant cavity perturbation (RCP), provides an attractive, non-destructive alternative. A problem with traditional RCP is that the changes in frequency and Q-factor vary with the object's shape; however, we overcome this by creating a replica of the object, from a material whose dielectric properties are known. Then, by combining three separate perturbations with orthogonal field directions, due firstly to the object and then to its replica, we eliminate the shape dependency, and thus determine the object's dielectric constant and loss factor. After developing the theory of this novel DRM technique, we demonstrate the principle using a set of geometric shapes made in both polytetrafluoroethylene and a 3D printed material. Further measurements then enable second-order terms to be included in the model, improving its accuracy. Finally, DRM is shown to be capable of distinguishing two irregularly shaped objects of different materials. Potential applications of DRM include determining the provenance of pottery, glasses and flints, and distinguishing ivory from bone. These would be of interest to customs and environmental agencies, as well as museum curators and archaeologists

Engagement with care, substance use, and adherence to therapy in HIV/AIDS

Engagement with care for those living with HIV is aimed at establishing a strong relationship between patients and their health care provider and is often associated with greater adherence to therapy and treatment (Flickinger, Saha, Moore, and Beach, 2013). Substance use behaviors are linked with lower rates of engagement with care and medication adherence (Horvath, Carrico, Simoni, Boyer, Amico, and Petroli, 2013). This study is a secondary data analysis using a cross-sectional design from a larger randomized controlled trial (n = 775) that investigated the efficacy of a self-care symptom management manual for participants living with HIV. Participants were recruited from countries of Africa and the US. This study provides evidence that substance use is linked with lower self-reported engagement with care and adherence to therapy. Data on substance use and engagement are presented. Clinical implications of the study address the importance of utilizing health care system and policy factors to improve engagement with care

Comparison of a possession score and a poverty index in predicting anaemia and undernutrition in pre-school children and women of reproductive age in rural and urban Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract Objective To determine whether a possession score or a poverty index best predicts undernutrition and anaemia in women of reproductive age (15-49 years; WRA) and children aged 6-59 months living in Côte d'Ivoire. Design Anthropometric measurements were converted to Z-scores to assess stunting, wasting and underweight in children, and converted to BMI in WRA. A venous blood sample was drawn, and Hb concentration and Plasmodium spp. infection were determined. A possession score was generated with categories of zero to four possessions. A five-point (quintile) poverty index using household assets was created using principal component analysis. These socio-economic measures were compared for their ability to predict anaemia and malnutrition. Setting Data were from a nationally representative survey conducted in Côte d'Ivoire in 2007. Subjects A sample of 768 WRA and 717 children aged 6-59 months was analysed. Results Overall, 74·9 % of children and 50·2 % of WRA were anaemic; 39·5 % of the children were stunted, 28·1 % underweight and 12·8 % wasted, while 7·4 % of WRA had BMI < 18·5 kg/m2. In general, there were more stunted and underweight children and thin WRA in rural areas. The poverty index showed a stronger relationship with nutritional status than the possession score; mean Hb difference between the poorest and wealthiest quintiles in children and WRA was 8·2 g/l and 6·5 g/l, respectively (13·9 % and 19·8 % difference in anaemia, respectively; P < 0·001), and Z-scores and BMI were significantly better in the wealthiest quintile (P < 0·001). Conclusions The poverty index was generally a better predictor of undernutrition in WRA and pre-school children than the possession scor

High Resolution mid-Infrared Imaging of SN 1987A

Using the Thermal-Region Camera and Spectrograph (T-ReCS) attached to the Gemini South 8m telescope, we have detected and resolved 10 micron emission at the position of the inner equatorial ring (ER) of supernova SN 1987A at day 6067. ``Hot spots'' similar to those found in the optical and near-IR are clearly present. The morphology of the 10 micron emission is globally similar to the morphology at other wavelengths from X-rays to radio. The observed mid-IR flux in the region of SN1987A is probably dominated by emission from dust in the ER. We have also detected the ER at 20 micron at a 4 sigma level. Assuming that thermal dust radiation is the origin of the mid-IR emission, we derive a dust temperature of 180^{+20}_{-10} K, and a dust mass of 1.- 8. 10^{-5} Mo for the ER. Our observations also show a weak detection of the central ejecta at 10 micron. We show that previous bolometric flux estimates (through day 2100) were not significantly contaminated by this newly discovered emission from the ER. If we assume that the energy input comes from radioactive decays only, our measurements together with the current theoretical models set a temperature of 90 leq T leq 100 K and a mass range of 10^{-4} - 2. 10^{-3} Mo for the dust in the ejecta. With such dust temperatures the estimated thermal emission is 9(+/-3) 10^{35} erg s^{-1} from the inner ring, and 1.5 (+/-0.5) 10^{36} erg s^{-1} from the ejecta. Finally, using SN 1987A as a template, we discuss the possible role of supernovae as major sources of dust in the Universe.Comment: aastex502, 14 pages, 4 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ Content changed: new observations, Referee's comments and suggestion

Effective Verification for Low-Level Software with Competing Interrupts

Interrupt-driven software is difficult to test and debug, especially when interrupts can be nested and subject to priorities. Interrupts can arrive at arbitrary times, leading to an exponential blow-up in the number of cases to consider. We present a new formal approach to verifying interrupt-driven software based on symbolic execution. The approach leverages recent advances in the encoding of the execution traces of interacting, concurrent threads. We assess the performance of our method on benchmarks drawn from embedded systems code and device drivers, and experimentally compare it to conventional approaches that use source-to-source transformations. Our results show that our method significantly outperforms these techniques. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first to demonstrate effective verification of low-level embedded software with nested interrupt

SN 1987A after 18 Years: Mid-Infrared GEMINI and SPITZER Observations of the Remnant

We present high resolution 11.7 and 18.3 micron mid-IR images of SN 1987A obtained on day 6526 since the explosion with the Thermal-Region Camera and Spectrograph (T-ReCS) attached to the Gemini South 8m telescope. The 11.7 micron flux has increased significantly since our last observations on day 6067. The images clearly show that all the emission arises from the equatorial ring (ER). Nearly contemporaneous spectra obtained on day 6184 with the MIPS at 24 micron, on day 6130 with the IRAC in 3.6- 8 micron region, and on day 6190 with the IRS in the 12-37 micron instruments on board the Spitzer Space Telescope's show that the emission consists of thermal emission from silicate dust that condensed out in the red giant wind of the progenitor star. The dust temperature is 1662(sup +18) (sub -12) K, and the emitting dust mass is (2.6(sup +2.0 (sub -1.4)) x 10 (exp -6) M(solar). Lines of [Ne II] 12.82 micron and [Ne III] 15.56 pm are clearly present in the Spitzer spectrum, as well as a weak [Si II] 3 34.8 micron line. We also detect two lines near 26 micron which we tentatively ascribe to [Fe II] 25.99 pm and [0 IV] 25.91 micron. Comparison of the mid-IR Gemini 11.7 micron image with X-ray images obtained by Chandra, UV-optical images obtained by HST, and radio synchrotron images obtained by the ATCA show generally good correlation of the images across all wavelengths. Because of the limited resolution of the mid-IR images we cannot uniquely determine the location. or heating mechanism of the dust giving rise to the emission. The dust could be collisionally heated by the X-ray emitting plasma, providing a unique diagnostic of plasma conditions. Alternatively, the dust could be radiatively heated in the dense UV-optical knots that are overrun by the advancing supernova blast wave. In either case the dust-to-gas mass ratio in the circumstellar medium around the supernova is significantly lower than that in the general interstellar medium of the LMC, suggesting either a low condensation efficiency in the wind of the progenitor star, or the efficient destruction of the dust by the SN blast wave. Overall, we are witnessing the interaction of the SN blast wave with its surrounding medium, creating an environment that is rapidly evolving at all wavelengths. Continuous multiwavelength observations of SN 1987A such as these provide unique snapshots of the very early evolution of supernova remnants