An investigation into the effect of thickness of titanium dioxide and gold-silver nanoparticle titanium dioxide composite thin-films on photocatalytic activity and photo-induced oxygen production in a sacrificial system

Thin films of titanium dioxide and titanium dioxide with incorporated gold and silver nanoparticles were deposited onto glass microscope slides, steel and titanium foil coupons by two sol–gel dip-coating methods. The film's photocatalytic activity and ability to evolve oxygen in a sacrificial solution were assessed. It was found that photocatalytic activity increased with film thickness (from 50 to 500 nm thick samples) for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in solution and resazurin redox dye in an intelligent ink dye deposited on the surface. Contrastingly, an optimum film thickness of [similar]200 nm for both composite and pure films of titanium dioxide was found for water oxidation, using persulfate (S2O82−) as a sacrificial electron acceptor. The nanoparticle composite films showed significantly higher activity in oxygen evolution studies compared with plain TiO2 films

Family support and cardiac rehabilitation: A comparative study of the experiences of South Asian and White-European patients and their carer's living in the United Kingdom

Background: Effective lifestyle modification facilitated by cardiac rehabilitation is known to reduce the occurrence of adverse coronary events and mortality. South Asians have poorer outcomes after a myocardial infarction than the general UK population, but little is known about their experiences of family support, cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle change. Aims: To explore the nature of family support available to a sample of South Asian and White-European cardiac patients and to highlight similarities and differences between these groups with regard to cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle modification. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews (in 1 of 6 languages) were conducted by researchers with; 45 South Asian patients and 37 carers and 20 White-European patients and 17 carers. Interviews were conducted in a home setting, up to eighteen months after discharge from hospital following myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery or unstable angina. Results: The main themes that emerged related to the provision of advice and information, family support and burden, dietary change and exercise regimes. Conclusions: Several cultural and ethnic differences were identified between patients and their families alongside similarities, irrespective of ethnicity. These may represent generic characteristics of recovery after a cardiac event. Health professionals should develop a cultural repertoire to engage with diversity and difference. Not every difficulty a person encounters as they try to access appropriate service delivery can be attributed to ethnic background. By improving services generally, support for South Asian populations can be improved. The challenge is to know when ethnicity makes a difference and mediates a person's relationship with service support and when it does not. (C) 2007 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Aerosol-assisted fabrication of tin-doped indium oxide ceramic thin films from nanoparticle suspensions

Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) thin films were fabricated on float glass substrates from a nanoparticle suspension using a new and inexpensive aerosol-assisted chemical transport (AACT) process. The influence of the solvent type, loading level and film deposition time on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the deposited thin films was investigated. In addition, the effect of the post-deposition heat-treatment of ITO films on the film resistivity and transparency was investigated using microwave radiation and compared with more conventional radiant heat-treated films. The SEM images of the films prepared using a 30 min deposition time with 0.20% (wt/vol%) methanolic ITO suspension provided better surface coverage compared to the other deposition times investigated. The optimised ITO films were heat-treated after deposition by either conventional radiant or microwave assisted heating methods in order to improve the inter-particle connections and film adherence. The films heat-treated after deposition by microwave annealing exhibited an average transmittance of >85% in the visible region with a resistivity of 12 Ω cm and a carrier concentration of −3.7 × 1016 cm3, which were superior to films that were heat-treated using more conventional thermal processing (despite the shorter processing time for the microwave process). The resistivity of ITO films was further decreased to 6.0 × 10−2 Ω cm with an increased carrier concentration of −8.0 × 1018 cm3 when ethyl cellulose was added to the ITO suspension prior to the AACT deposition. The enhanced conductivity of this film is due to the improved particle–particle and particle–substrate connections as observed by SEM imaging

Addressing key issues in the consanguinity-related risk of autosomal recessive disorders in consanguineous communities: lessons from a qualitative study of British Pakistanis

Currently there is no consensus regarding services required to help families with consanguineous marriages manage their increased genetic reproductive risk. Genetic services for communities with a preference for consanguineous marriage in the UK remain patchy, often poor. Receiving two disparate explanations of the cause of recessive disorders (cousin marriage and recessive inheritance) leads to confusion among families. Further, the realisation that couples in non-consanguineous relationships have affected children leads to mistrust of professional advice. British Pakistani families at-risk for recessive disorders lack an understanding of recessive disorders and their inheritance. Such an understanding is empowering and can be shared within the extended family to enable informed choice. In a three-site qualitative study of British Pakistanis, we explored family and health professional perspectives on recessively inherited conditions. Our findings suggest, first, that family networks hold strong potential for cascading genetic information, making the adoption of a family centred approach an efficient strategy for this community. However, this is dependent on provision of high quality and timely information from health care providers. Secondly, families’ experience was of ill-coordinated and time-starved services, with few having access to specialist provision from Regional Genetics Services; these perspectives were consistent with health professionals’ views of services. Thirdly, we confirm previous findings that genetic information is difficult to communicate and comprehend, further complicated by the need to communicate the relationship between cousin marriage and recessive disorders. A communication tool we developed and piloted is described and offered as a useful resource for communicating complex genetic information

Controller Area Network Based Distributed Control for Autonomous Vehicles

The goal of this project was to evaluate the potential of a controller area network (CAN bus) to be used as the communication network for a distributed control system on an autonomous agricultural vehicle. The prototype system utilized microcontroller-driven nodes to act as control points along a CAN bus. Messages were transferred to the steering, transmission, and hitch control nodes via a task computer. The task computer utilized global positioning system data to generate appropriate control commands. Laboratory and field testing demonstrated that each of the control nodes could function simultaneously over the CAN bus. Results showed that the task computer adequately applied a feedback control model to the system and achieved guidance accuracy levels well within the desired range. Testing also demonstrated the system’s ability to complete normal field operations, such as headland turning and implement control

Knowledge Transfer and Accomodation Effects in Multinational Corporations: Evidence from European Subsidiaries

Foreign subsidiaries in multinational corporations (MNCs) possess knowledge that has different sources (e.g., the firm itself or various sources in the environment). How such sources influence knowledge transfer is not well understood. Drawing on the “accommodation effect” from cognitive psychology, the authors argue that accumulation of externally sourced knowledge in a subsidiary may reduce the value of transferring that subsidiary’s knowledge to other parts of the MNC. The authors develop a parsimonious model of intrafirm knowledge transfer and test its predictions against a unique data set on subsidiary knowledge development that includes the sources of subsidiary knowledge and the extent of knowledge transfer to other MNC units. The authors show that a high level of externally sourced knowledge in a subsidiary is associated with a high level of knowledge transfer from that subsidiary only if a certain tipping point of internally sourced knowledge has been surpassed. This suggests that subsidiary knowledge stocks that are balanced in terms of their origins tend to be more valuable, congruous, and fungible, and therefore more likely to be transferred to other MNC units

Effect of Torrefaction on Water Vapor Adsorption Properties and Resistance to Microbial Degradation of Corn Stover

The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of biomass affects transportation, storage, downstream feedstock processing, and the overall economy of biorenewables production. Torrefaction is a thermochemical process conducted in the temperature regime between 200 and 300 °C under an inert atmosphere that, among other benefits, aims to reduce the innate hydrophilicity and susceptibility to microbial degradation of biomass. The objective of this study was to examine water sorption properties of torrefied corn stover. The EMC of raw corn stover, along with corn stover thermally pretreated at three temperatures, was measured using the static gravimetric method at equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) and temperatures ranging from 10 to 98% and from 10 to 40 °C, respectively. Five isotherms were fitted to the experimental data to obtain the prediction equation that best describes the relationship between the ERH and the EMC of lignocellulosic biomass. Microbial degradation of the samples was tested at 97% ERH and 30 °C. Fiber analyses were conducted on all samples. In general, torrefied biomass showed an EMC lower than that of raw biomass, which implied an increase in hydrophobicity. The modified Oswin model performed best in describing the correlation between ERH and EMC. Corn stover torrefied at 250 and 300 °C had negligible dry matter mass loss due to microbial degradation. Fiber analysis showed a significant decrease in hemicellulose content with the increase in pretreatment temperature, which might be the reason for the hydrophobic nature of the torrefied biomass. The outcomes of this work can be used for torrefaction process optimization, and decision-making regarding raw and torrefied biomass storage and downstream processing

A risk-benefit approach to the purchase and consumption of conventional vegetables in wet markets

The purchase and consumption of conventional vegetables from wet markets in Vietnam are like two sides of a coin: perceived food safety risks and perceived benefits. Drawing on a sample of 463 Hanoi consumers, this study employed a risk-benefit approach to analyze the purchase intention and consumption frequency of conventional vegetables at traditional markets. A confirmatory factor analysis examined the links among risk perception, perceived utilitarian benefits, perceived hedonic benefits, and trust. Finally, generalized ordered and Poisson regressions were performed on these psychological constructs and their identified links. We found that perceived hedonic benefits, trust in wet market actors, and the presence of homegrown vegetables determined purchase intention and consumption frequency. The joint influence of perceived hedonic and utilitarian benefits on purchase intention implies that consumers considered both benefit dimensions when thinking of their future purchase of conventional vegetables. The significant interaction between perceived risk and perceived hedonic benefits on consumption frequency supports the risk-benefit approach. The effect of perceived hedonic benefits and income on purchase intention and consumption frequency are evidence of wet markets' social and cultural relevance.fals

European Red List of Habitats Part 1. Marine habitats

The European Red List of Habitats provides an overview of the risk of collapse (degree of endangerment) of marine, terrestrial and freshwater habitats in the European Union (EU28) and adjacent regions (EU28+), based on a consistent set of categories and criteria, and detailed data and expert knowledge from involved countries1. A total of 257 benthic marine habitat types were assessed. In total, 19% (EU28) and 18% (EU28+) of the evaluated habitats were assessed as threatened in categories Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable. An additional 12% were Near Threatened in the EU28 and 11% in the EU28+. These figures are approximately doubled if Data Deficient habitats are excluded. The percentage of threatened habitat types differs across the regional seas. The highest proportion of threatened habitats in the EU28 was found in the Mediterranean Sea (32%), followed by the North-East Atlantic (23%), the Black Sea (13%) and then the Baltic Sea (8%). There was a similar pattern in the EU28+. The most frequently cited pressures and threats were similar across the four regional seas: pollution (eutrophication), biological resource use other than agriculture or forestry (mainly fishing but also aquaculture), natural system modifications (e.g. dredging and sea defence works), urbanisation and climate change. Even for habitats where the assessment outcome was Data Deficient, the Red List assessment process has resulted in the compilation of a substantial body of useful information to support the conservation of marine habitats