Mass transfer phenomena induced by surface gas flow rate in the hanging meniscus configuration: A case study of the methanol electro-oxidation reaction on Pt(100)

The study of electrochemical systems using single-crystal electrodes under conditions that allow the occurrence of an oscillatory response can be a valuable tool to obtain a proper correlation between structure, composition, and electrocatalytic activity. Measurements with single-crystal electrodes are usually performed in the hanging meniscus configuration, so, it is essential to understand the impact of different experimental parameters on the electrochemical response, mainly under oscillatory regime, which are very sensitive to the electrochemical environment. In this study, we investigated the influence of surface gas flow rate, commonly used to avoid the contribution of the oxygen reduction reaction to the electrochemical response, on the methanol electro-oxidation reaction on Pt(100) electrodes. Controlled experiments were conducted to analyze the effect of this parameter on the electrochemical behavior in the chronoamperometric, voltammetric, and oscillatory responses. The results show that while chronoamperometric and voltammetric profiles remain relatively unaffected by varying gas flow rates, the oscillatory response undergoes significant changes. The induction period, the existence region of potential oscillations, and the transition between oscillatory patterns are notably influenced. The observed effects suggest that the subtle agitation caused by increased gas flow rate enhances mass transfer phenomena near the electrode surface, impacting the presence of soluble species and their role in the oscillatory behavior. In addition, the occurrence of mixed-mode oscillations is attributed to the periodic re-establishment of methanol concentration in the double layer. The findings highlight the importance of controlling the surface gas flow rate to ensure reliable and reproducible results in electrochemical experiments performed in the hanging meniscus configuration.E.P-S. acknowledges Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial support (#140644/2020-2). H.V. acknowledges São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for financial support (#2019/22183-6); the support of the RCGI – Research Centre for Gas Innovation, hosted by the University of São Paulo (USP) and sponsored by FAPESP (#2020/15230-5) and Shell Brasil, and the strategic importance of the support given by ANP (Brazil's National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency) through the R&D levy regulation; and the CNPq for financial support (#306060/2017-5). This work is also partially financed by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Project PID2019-105653GB-I00) and Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEO/2020/063). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001

Community-owned rural water supplies in Galicia (Spain): supporting role in the groundwater self-management

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade da Coruña/CISUG[Abstract:] The community-owned rural water supplies in the rural areas of Galicia developed spontaneously in response to the historical shortcomings of local administrations, which are a clear example of commons management strategies. They have developed a water self-management model integrated into a complex network of actors. More than one-quarter of the total population rely on these systems. However, a large part of supplied water does not comply with the sanitary standards due to deficiencies in the system’s design, operation, and maintenance and the water catchment protection. Furthermore, the owners face difficulties complying with basic legal requirements due to the complexity of the regulatory framework and the lack of training of the water board members. COXAPO (‘Comunidad Xeral de Augas de Galicia’), an association of 150 community-owned water supplies, advises, trains, and supports the water boards for the legal, administrative, economic, and technical systems management. As a result, it gets the systems legally compliant concerning the institutional management and quality of supplied water. The success of this network governance recommends a role to the administration in promoting the networking of water boards by supporting the existing water supply associations and encouraging their constitution or provisioning equivalent services in regions where they do not exist.COXAPO; IN-0047-2

Unraveling the impact of temperature on the reaction kinetics of the electro-oxidation of methanol on Pt(1 0 0)

Methanol is one of the key molecules in the challenge towards a sustainable future, particularly as a renewable hydrogen carrier fuel and as a low-carbon and net carbon-neutral liquid chemical. For most applications, it is imperative to understand the impact of temperature on the methanol electro-oxidation reaction (MEOR). In this study, the influence of the temperature on the kinetics of the MEOR and the parallel reaction pathways is assessed by investigating responses in both conventional and oscillatory regimes using a single-crystal Pt(1 0 0) electrode. Our findings demonstrate that chronoamperometric measurements under steady-state conditions provide more reliable values for apparent activation energies compared to transient conditions. Furthermore, a temperature-dependent shift in the dominance of specific oxidation pathways is observed, analogous to a kinetic and thermodynamic control mechanism, preventing the complete poisoning of the electrode surface. Specifically, oxidation pathways leading to the formation of reaction byproducts predominate at lower temperatures, while the oxidation pathway via COad becomes dominant at temperatures exceeding 30 °C. Moreover, our research shows that, at shorter times, temperature changes minimally affect the mean potential required to sustain the applied current during the oscillations in a galvanostatic experiment, which is closely linked with the voltaic efficiency. However, over longer periods, when mass transport phenomena become significant and mixed-mode oscillations occur, elevated temperatures increase the mean potential, resulting in reduced voltaic efficiency. Therefore, to facilitate the complete conversion of methanol to CO2 without increasing the mean potential for current maintenance, it is essential not only to increase the temperature but also to improve the mass transport conditions to mitigate the mixed-mode oscillations, despite their lower minima reached during oscillation. This idea challenges the conventional assumption that a lower minimum potential implies a lower mean potential during oscillations. This advancement propels our understanding to a more sophisticated level, providing valuable insights to guide the materials design to increase the conversion efficiency and optimize the operating temperature of devices crucial to energy conversion.E.P-S. acknowledges Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial support (#140644/2020-2). H.V. acknowledges the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for financial support (#2019/22183-6); the support of the RCGI – Research Centre for Gas Innovation, hosted by the University of São Paulo (USP) and sponsored by FAPESP (#2020/15230-5) and Shell Brasil, and the strategic importance of the support given by ANP (Brazil’s National Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency) through the R&D levy regulation; and the CNPq for financial support (#306060/2017-5). This work is also partially financed by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Project PID2022-137350NB-I00). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001

Evolución de los Flujos de Capital y de la Deuda Externa del Sector Privado en Colombia 1990-2003

En este trabajo se describe la evolución del marco regulatorio del acceso a los capitales externos y la dinámica de los mismos para Colombia durante el período 1990-junio de 2003. El análisis se divide en dos períodos; en el primero 1990-1997, se recibieron importantes flujos de capital de endeudamiento externo de largo plazo e inversiones directas que financiaron, principalmente, la ejecución de proyectos de infraestructura física y y el crecimiento del gasto privado. En el segundo período, se frenó la entrada de nuevos recursos al país, especialmente los vinculados con crédito externo de largo plazo. Adicionalmente, en el documento se muestra el cambio en la estructura de financiamiento del sector privado hacia contrataciones de corto plazo, especialmente notoria a partir de 1998.

Papel de la Nueva Formación Ósea Perióstica (NFOP) en el desempeño de los criterios de CASPAR para diagnóstico de Artritis Psoriásica (PsA)

Objetivos: Determinar los cambios en el rendimiento diagnóstico de los criterios CASPAR al incluir un hallazgo radiológico diferente al usualmente utilizado. Métodos: 72 pacientes con psoriasis, 25 tenían PsA según el reumatólogo. Por radiólogo y reumatólogo se realizo el índice interobservador para la NFOP. Se calculo sensibilidad, especificidad y valores predictivos para nueva formación ósea yuxtarticular (NFOY), NFOP, criterios CASPAR y CASPAR modificado (CASPARm) que incluyo la NFOP. Resultados: valor kappa de 0.56, la NFOP fue el hallazgo radiológico más frecuente 24/25 pacientes, con mejor sensibilidad comparado con NFOY. No hubo diferencia entre la sensibilidad y especificidad de CASPAR y CASPARm (92% y 100%). Conclusiones: la NFOP en el contexto de los criterios CASPAR puede ser útil para el diagnóstico de PsA. Nota: Para consultar la carta de autorización de publicación de este documento por favor copie y pegue el siguiente enlace en su navegador de Internet: http://hdl.handle.net/10818/886

A framework for the management of research and innovation projects in academic settings

The contemporary complex settings under which research and innovation (R&I) activities are executed in academic institutions calls for the definition of suitable management and administration approaches. To this end, (1) the existing literature on the management of R&I projects in the academia is reviewed; (2) major specificities of R&I projects are discussed; (3) recent trends in project management are addressed; and (4) a specific framework for the management of R&I projects in higher education is proposed. The proposed management framework is defined in eight pillars, namely: (i) clarification of scope and goals; (ii) use of standards; (iii) scalability and flexibility; (iv) workflow modelling; (v) use of tools, techniques and templates; (vi) existence of a “project board” or similar; (vii) adequate risk management; and (viii) organizational learning. The authors argue that it should be seen as a practical tool for university managers and administrators to apply a structured and comprehensive overview of key action areas that will increase the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of R&I project management and administration in academic contexts.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). This article is a result of the project “ValorNatural – Valorização de Recursos Naturais através da Extração de Ingredientes de Elevado Valor Acrescentado para Aplicações na Indústria Alimentar” (NORTE-01-0247- FEDER-024479), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A framework for the management of research and innovation projects: mission impossible?

The shift from discipline-based research (“mode 1”) to interdisciplinary knowledge production involving industry or service partnerships and increased social accountability (“mode 2”) have led to deep changes in the organizational structure of research and innovation (R&I) ecosystems. In particular, public researchperforming organizations have been re-shaping their management and organizational structures towards a more market-oriented direction, with a strong executive control approach also known as ‘New managerialism’. Also, since the 1990s, R&I organizations have increasingly adopted collaborative research projects, seeking access to complementary knowledge and competencies, additional drive to innovate, and increasing funding opportunities (regional, national and supranational). In this type of environment, consortia of public, academic, and private agents that share a common research interest work across disciplinary, organizational, and national boundaries to achieve innovative results.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and European Regional Development Fund under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), and to Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020) for funding provided to the project “ValorNatural – Valorização de Recursos Naturais através da Extração de Ingredientes de Elevado Valor Acrescentado para Aplicações na Indústria Alimentar” (NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-024479), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Construindo "Europolis" a partir da cooperação local “informal” nos espaços de fronteira da Europa: o caso da RIET

Transcurridos veinticinco años del inicio de la cooperación formal transfronteriza en Europa, con la puesta en marcha de la Iniciativa Comunitaria Interreg (1990), el presente análisis exploratorio plantea un modelo de análisis de la cooperación de “segunda generación” a través del estudio de la experiencia de la Red Ibérica de Entidades Transfronterizas (RIET), que desarrolla su actividad en el espacio de frontera de España y Portugal. El caso de la RIET nos permite constatar la construcción de un modelo de cooperación ampliado (formal-informal) y reforzado (isopoliteia y sympoliteia), denominado Europolis, basado en prácticas de gobernanza transfronteriza local, que contempla los procesos de cooperación transfronteriza desde ópticas de diversidad y flexibilidad. Para analizar el modelo se toma como ejemplo la construcción de la isopoliteia y la sympoliteia practicada por las ligas de ciudades en la Grecia clásica, y se aplica a la realidad de las redes de ciudades que ponen en marcha proyectos en las fronteras interiores de la Unión Europea, en nuestro caso, la RIET. Para ello, se estudia su path dependence desde el neoinstitucionalismo histórico, además de su influencia en la definición de problemas públicos transfonterizos y en la posterior conformación de las agendas públicas de las Cumbres Ibéricas, que España y Portugal celebraron los años 2013 y 2014.After twenty five years of cross-border formal cooperation in Europe with origins in the landmark launch of the Communitarian Initiative Interreg (1990), this exploratory analysis offers a model for the study of “second generation” cooperation based on the experience of the Red Ibérica de Entidades Transfronterizas (RIET) that operates in the border space between Spain and Portugal. The case of RIET enables the observation of a model of widened (formal-informal) and reinforced (isopoliteia and sympoliteia) cooperation. Under the name of Europolis, it is based on practices of cross-border local governance that address the processes of cross-border cooperation from diversity and flexibility standpoints. For the examination of the model, the construction of the isopoliteia and sympoliteia put in practice by the leagues of classical Greek cities is taken as an example; and, in turn, applied to the realities of the cities’ networks that boost the development of projects across the European Union’s inner borders ―in our case, the RIET. To this end, their path-dependence is explored from a historical neo-institutionalist perspective, as well as their influence in the definition of cross-border public issues and the political agendas of the Iberian Summits, which brought Spain and Portugal together in the years 2013 and 2014.Depois de vinte cinco anos do início da cooperação transfronteiriça formal na Europa, com o lançamento da Iniciativa Comunitária Interreg (1990), esta análise exploratória apresenta um modelo de análise da cooperação de “segunda geração”, através do estudo da experiência da Rede Ibérica Entidades Transfronteiriças (RIET), que opera na zona fronteiriça entre Espanha e Portugal. O caso da RIET nos permite observar a construção de um modelo de cooperação ampliado (formal‐informal) e reforçado (isopoliteia e sympoliteia), chamado Europolis, com base em práticas de governança local transfronteiriça, que inclui os processos de cooperação transfronteiriça na perspectiva de diversidade e flexibilidade. Para analisar o modelo é tomado como um exemplo a construção da isopoliteia e da sympoliteia praticada pelas ligas de cidades na Grécia clássica, e se aplica à realidade das redes de cidades que implementam projetos nas fronteiras internas da União Europeia, no nosso caso, a RIET. Para esse fim, estuda‐se seu path dependence na ótica do institucionalismo histórico, além de sua influência sobre a definição de problemas públicos transfronteiriços e a subsequente formação de agendas públicas das Cúpulas Ibéricas, que Espanha e Portugal celebraram nos anos de 2013 e 2014

A framework for the management of research and innovation projects: mission impossible?

The shift from discipline-based research (“mode 1”) to interdisciplinary knowledge production involving industry or service partnerships and increased social accountability (“mode 2”) have led to deep changes in the organizational structure of research and innovation (R&I) ecosystems. In particular, public researchperforming organizations have been re-shaping their management and organizational structures towards a more market-oriented direction, with a strong executive control approach also known as ‘New managerialism’. Also, since the 1990s, R&I organizations have increasingly adopted collaborative research projects, seeking access to complementary knowledge and competencies, additional drive to innovate, and increasing funding opportunities (regional, national and supranational). In this type of environment, consortia of public, academic, and private agents that share a common research interest work across disciplinary, organizational, and national boundaries to achieve innovative results. Under “mode 2” R&I projects, managers must integrate individual and small-team research activities that demand high levels of creativity and innovation. However, funding bodies and institutions require clear work plans, perfectly defined and assigned responsibilities, and strict schedules, deliverables and milestones. This apparent contradiction calls for flexible and adaptable project management principles. In fact, “traditional” management strategies, such as pure “waterfall” methods tend to fail. Success or failure of contemporary R&I endeavours is, therefore, strongly linked to the project management practices adopted by institutions and teams along a collaborative and “open” context under which new knowledge and technologies are nowadays developed. The contextual complexity, uncertainty and creative nature of R&I does definitely not mean that no structure, no planning and no management is neither necessary nor possible. But it does mean that the way we organize and manage research projects should reflect and aim to accommodate this ambiguity and complexity. By presenting, assessing and discussing the case study of ValorNatural, a project funded by the Portuguese government under the country framework programme 2014-2020 of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), the authors propose a framework for the successful management of R&I projects. To this aim, the research methodology is based on action research, participatory observation and on the own experience of the authors. This framework should be seen as a practical tool for scientific projects managers. It seeks to provide a structured, comprehensive overview of key pillars that should underpin the development and implementation of project management to R&I endeavours. We conclude that (i) R&I projects substantially differ from “traditional” projects, (ii) R&I projects are characterized by high uncertainty, high contextual complexity, and high stakeholder heterogeneity, (iii) R&I projects are conditioned by the observed strong mismatch between the flexibility requested to researchers in the pre-award phase and the rigidity demanded by the funding agencies during the post-award phase, and (iv) adequate R&I project management helps avoid common pitfalls and improve project success. Learning Outcomes (max 50 words) - R&I projects substantially differ from “traditional” projects. - Key features: high uncertainty, high contextual complexity and high stakeholder heterogeneity. - R&I projects are conditioned by a mismatch between flexibility in the pre-award phase and rigidity during the post-award phase. - Adequate R&I project management helps avoid common pitfalls and improve success.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio