Investigation of Adsorption Behavior of Smoothing Additives in Copper Plating Electrolytes

Smoothing additives are the necessary component of copper plating electrolytes. Choice of the required additive is determined by the type of electrolyte and its pH values. Studies of adsorption behavior of such compounds in electrolytes with different acidities are of current interest. Adsorption activity of poly-N, N'-dimethylsafranine and poly-N, N'-diethylsafranine on the copper electrode in sulfate electrolytes was established in the present work. The dependencies of the differential capacitance of the double electric layer of the copper electrode on the potential which were obtained in acidic (pH 1.7) and neutral (pH 5.9) electrolytes indicate that acidity of the medium has a significant effect on the additive adsorption. The studied organic substances show high adsorption activity in an acidic solution. The likely cause of the established phenomenon in an acid medium is transition of these organic compounds to a protonated state with formation of positively charged amino groups. Cationic groups of the additives are responsible for an additional interaction with the cathode surface and provide stronger adsorption of poly-N, N'-dimethylsafranine and poly N, N'-diethylsafranine on the copper electrode in comparison with a neutral sulfate electrolyte. Poly-N, N'-diethylsafranine with its molecular weight higher than that of poly-N, N'-dimethylsafranine is characterized by higher adsorbability. Since the smoothing effect of additives in electrodeposition of copper coatings is determined by their adsorption properties, it should be expected that the most effective in this process will be the use of poly-N, N'-diethylsafranine at lower pH values of the copper plating electrolytes

Editorial. A supplement of Scires-it on the COCONET european project

The Supplement to vol. 6, 2016 of SCIRES-IT contains the result of CoCoNet (Towards COast to COast NETworks of marine protected areas, coupled with sea-based wind energy potential), a project of the EU Oceans of Tomorrow programme (http://www.coconet-fp7.eu). The European Union requires Open Access to the results of the projects resulting from its support to scientific advancement. This is in full accordance with the policy of SCIRES-IT, an eco-sustainable open–access journal, which joins the main principles of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access with the aims of the International Convention on Biological Diversity. CoCoNet tackled two problems that are closely linked with each other: the protection of the marine environment and clean energy production. Hence, the Supplement is divided into two parts that, together, form a unicum

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)