Use of Sea Waste to Enhance Sustainability in Composite Materials: A Review

The term "sea waste" generally refers to any solid, liquid, or gaseous material or substance that is discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in the ocean, sea, or any other body of salty water, such as a lagoon, etc. This includes waste generated by human activities on land that makes its way into the ocean, as well as waste generated by ships and other vessels at sea. Examples of sea waste include plastic debris, chemicals and toxic substances, oil spills, sewage, and other forms of pollution. These pollutants can harm marine ecosystems, endanger marine life, and impact human health and wellbeing. Efforts are being made by governments, organizations, researchers, and individuals to reduce the amount of sea waste generated, and to clean up existing waste in the ocean. Less attention is usually paid to waste materials of natural origin as they are considered (sometimes wrongly) to be less critical; an example is the tons of organic and inorganic material of natural origin that wash up on the beaches daily and must be landfilled or incinerated. The present paper intends to provide an updated review of research experiences and engineering solutions that are able to offer a second life to natural (biological) sea waste by incorporating it into the creation of new, more sustainable materials, and especially composites

Optimized proximity thermometer for ultra-sensitive detection

We present a set of experiments to optimize the performance of the noninvasive thermometer based on proximity superconductivity. Current through a standard tunnel junction between an aluminum superconductor and a copper electrode is controlled by the strength of the proximity induced to this normal metal, which in turn is determined by the position of a direct superconducting contact from the tunnel junction. Several devices with different distances were tested. We develop a theoretical model based on Usadel equations and dynamic Coulomb blockade which reproduces the measured results and yields a tool to calibrate the thermometer and to optimize it further in future experiments

Modernizing and harmonizing maritime education in Montenegro and Albania. MArED Project

This paper presents achieved results of the first stage of the TEMPUS project (544257-TEMPUS-1-2013-1-ME-TEMPUS-JPCR) titled Modernizing and Harmonizing Maritime Education in Montenegro and Albania, MArED Project. The main objective of MArED project is to overcome a problem of competent and qualified human resources in maritime sector in Montenegro and Albania. It will be achieved through the modernization and harmonization of educational and training system in accordance to IMO and STCW Convention requirements. The paper is divided into following sections: First section is an explanation of the background of the MArED project. Secondly, a general overview of the whole project and activities is described. After, a revision of the existing maritime undergraduate study programmes is carried out and taking into account the results obtained from this initial analysis; the development and design of a programme which meets the new requirements of the STCW for the University of Montenegro and Albania (PC) is explained in third section. Fourth section is focused in the identification of the STCW 95/2010 competencies within the nautical and engine degrees (considering Barcelona School of Nautical Studies (FNB) curricula) and which of them can be evaluated by approved simulator training and also (re) training of PC teaching staff is described. Finally, achieved results and conclusions are presented.Postprint (published version

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements