Search results for: heterogeneous catalyst

Authors: Gheorghiţa Mitran, Adriana Urdă, Mihaela Florea, Octavian Dumitru Pavel, Florentina Neaţu

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Oxidative dehydrogenation and hydrogenation reactions of L-malic acid are interesting ways for its transformation into valuable products, including oxaloacetic, pyruvic and malonic acids but also 1,4-butanediol and 1,2,4-butanetriol. Keto acids have a range of applicationsin many chemical syntheses as pharmaceuticals, food additives and cosmetics. 3-Hydroxybutyrolactone and 1,2,4-butanetriol are used for the synthesis of chiral pharmaceuticals and other fine chemicals, while 1,4-butanediol can be used for organic syntheses, such as polybutylene succinate (PBS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and for production of tetrahydrofuran (THF). L-malic acid is a non-toxic and natural organic acid present in fruits, and it is the main component of wine alongside tartaric acid representing about 90% of the wine total acidity. Iron oxides dopped with cobalt (CoxFe3-xO4; x= 0; 0.05; 0.1; 0.15) were studied as catalysts in these reactions. There is no mention in the literature of non-noble transition metal catalysts for these reactions. The method used for catalysts preparation was coprecipitation, whileBET XRD, XPS, FTIR and UV-VIS spectroscopy were used for the physicochemical properties evaluation.TheXRD patterns revealed the presence of α-Fe2O3 rhombohedral hematite structure, with cobalt atoms well dispersed and embedded in this structure. The studied samples are highly crystalline, with a crystallite size ranged from 58 to 65 nm. The optical absorption properties were investigated using UV-Vis spectroscopy, emphasizing the presence of bands that correspond with the reported hematite nanoparticle. Likewise, the presence of bands corresponding to lattice vibration of hexagonal hematite structurehas been evidenced in DRIFT spectra. Oxidative dehydrogenation of malic acid was studied using as solvents for malic acid ethanol or water(2, 5 and 10% malic acid in 5 mL solvent)at room temperature, while the hydrogenation reaction was evaluated in water as solvent (5%), in the presence of 1% catalyst. The oxidation of malic acid into oxaloacetic acid is the first step, after that, oxaloacetic acid is rapidly decarboxylated to malonic acid or pyruvic acid, depending on the active site. The concentration of malic acid in solution, it, in turn, has an influence on conversionthis decreases when the concentration of malic acid in the solution is high. The spent catalysts after the oxidative dehydrogenation of malic acid in ethanol were characterized by DRIFT spectroscopy and the presence of oxaloacetic, pyruvic and malonicacids, along with unreacted malic acidwere observed on the surface. The increase of the ratio of Co/Fe on the surface has an influence on the malic acid conversion and on the pyruvic acid yield, while the yield of malonic acid is influenced by the percentage of iron on the surface (determined from XPS). Oxaloacetic acid yield reaches a maximumat one hour of reaction, being higher when ethanol is used as a solvent, after which it suddenly decreases. The hydrogenation of malic acid occurs by consecutive reactions with the production of 3-hydroxy-butyrolactone, 1,2,4-butanetriol and 1,4-butanediol. Malic acid conversion increases with cobalt loading increasing up to Co/Fe ratio of 0.1, after which it has a slight decrease, while the yield in 1,4-butanediol is directly proportional to the cobalt content.

Keywords: malic acid, oxidative dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, oxaloacetic acid

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Authors: Alfonso J. García Osuna

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Background and Significance: The objective of this paper is to analyze the inception and development of identity archetypes in early XX century Latin America, to explore their roots in United States culture, to discuss the influences that came to bear upon Latin Americans as the United States began to export images of standard identity paradigms through its film industry, and to survey how these images evolved and impacted Latin Americans’ ideas of national distinctiveness from the early 1900s to the present. Therefore, the general hypothesis of this work is that United States film in many ways influenced national identity patterning in its neighbors, especially in those nations closest to its borders, Cuba and Mexico. Very little research has been done on the social impact of the United States film industry on the country’s southern neighbors. From a historical perspective, the US’s influence has been examined as the projection of political and economic power, that is to say, that American influence is seen as a catalyst to align the forces that the US wants to see wield the power of the State. But the subtle yet powerful cultural influence exercised by film, the eminent medium for exporting ideas and ideals in the XX century, has not been significantly explored. Basic Methodologies and Description: Gramscian Marxist theory underpins the study, where it is argued that film, as an exceptional vehicle for culture, is an important site of political and social struggle; in this context, it aims to show how United States capitalist structures of power not only use brute force to generate and maintain control of overseas markets, but also promote their ideas through artistic products such as film in order to infiltrate the popular culture of subordinated peoples. In this same vein, the work of neo-Marxist theoreticians of popular culture is employed in order to contextualize the agency of subordinated peoples in the process of cultural assimilations. Indication of the Major Findings of the Study: The study has yielded much data of interest. The salient finding is that each particular nation receives United States film according to its own particular social and political context, regardless of the amount of pressure exerted upon it. An example of this is the unmistakable dissimilarity between Cuban and Mexican reception of US films. The positive reception given in Cuba to American film has to do with the seamless acceptance of identity paradigms that, for historical reasons discussed herein, were incorporated into the national identity grid quite unproblematically. Such is not the case with Mexico, whose express rejection of identity paradigms offered by the United States reflects not only past conflicts with the northern neighbor, but an enduring recognition of the country’s indigenous roots, one that precluded such paradigms. Concluding Statement: This paper is an endeavor to elucidate the ways in which US film contributed to the outlining of Latin American identity blueprints, offering archetypes that would be accepted or rejected according to each nation’s particular social requirements, constraints and ethnic makeup.

Keywords: film studies, United States, Latin America, identity studies

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Authors: Lia Marchi, Ernesto Antonini

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The impact of industrial sites on people’s living environment both involves detrimental effects on the ecosystem and perceptual-aesthetic interferences with the scenery. These, in turn, affect the economic and social value of the landscape, as well as the wellbeing of workers and local communities. Given the diffusion of the phenomenon and the relevance of its effects, it emerges the need for a joint approach to assess and thus mitigate the impact of factories on the landscape –being this latest assumed as the result of the action and interaction of natural and human factors. However, the impact assessment tools suitable for the purpose are quite heterogeneous and mostly monodisciplinary. On the one hand, green building rating systems (GBRSs) are increasingly used to evaluate the performance of manufacturing sites, mainly by quantitative indicators focused on environmental issues. On the other hand, methods to detect the visual and social impact of factories on the landscape are gradually emerging in the literature, but they generally adopt only qualitative gauges. The research addresses the integration of the environmental impact assessment and the perceptual-aesthetic interferences of factories on the landscape. The GBRSs model is assumed as a reference since it is adequate to simultaneously investigate different topics which affect sustainability, returning a global score. A critical analysis of GBRSs relevant to industrial facilities has led to select the U.S. GBC LEED protocol as the most suitable to the scope. A revision of LEED v4 Building Design+Construction has then been provided by including specific indicators to measure the interferences of manufacturing sites with the perceptual-aesthetic and social aspects of the territory. To this end, a new impact category was defined, namely ‘PA - Perceptual-aesthetic aspects’, comprising eight new credits which are specifically designed to assess how much the buildings are in harmony with their surroundings: these investigate, for example the morphological and chromatic harmonization of the facility with the scenery or the site receptiveness and attractiveness. The credits weighting table was consequently revised, according to the LEED points allocation system. As all LEED credits, each new PA credit is thoroughly described in a sheet setting its aim, requirements, and the available options to gauge the interference and get a score. Lastly, each credit is related to mitigation tactics, which are drawn from a catalogue of exemplary case studies, it also developed by the research. The result is a modified LEED scheme which includes compatibility with the landscape within the sustainability assessment of the industrial sites. The whole system consists of 10 evaluation categories, which contain in total 62 credits. Lastly, a test of the tool on an Italian factory was performed, allowing the comparison of three mitigation scenarios with increasing compatibility level. The study proposes a holistic and viable approach to the environmental impact assessment of factories by a tool which integrates the multiple involved aspects within a worldwide recognized rating protocol.

Keywords: environmental impact, GBRS, landscape, LEED, sustainable factory

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Authors: Santos Maza, Enzo Aldoradin, Carlos Pariona, Eliud Arpi, Maria Rosales

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The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of flaying then bleeding anchovy (Engraulis ringens) immersed within a sodium citrate solution. Anchovy is a pelagic fish that readily deteriorates due to its high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. As such, within the Peruvian food industry, the shelf life of frozen anchovy is explicitly 6 months, this short duration imparts a barrier to use for direct consumption human. Thus, almost all capture of anchovy by the fishing industry is eventually used in the production of fishmeal. We offer this an alternative to its typical production process in order to increase shelf life. In the present study, 100 kg of anchovies were captured and immediately mixed with ice on ship, maintaining a high quality sensory metric (e.g., with color blue in back) while still arriving for processing less than 2 h after capture. Anchovies with fat content of 3% were immediately flayed (i.e., reducing subcutaneous fat), beheaded, gutted and bled (i.e., removing hemoglobin) by immersion in water (Control) or in a solution of 2.5% sodium citrate (treatment), then subsequently frozen at -30 °C for 8 h in 2 kg batches. Subsequent glazing and storage at -25 °C for 14 months completed the experiments parameters. The peroxide value (PV), acidity (A), fatty acid profile (FAP), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), heme iron (HI), pH and sensory attributes of the samples were evaluated monthly. The results of the PV, TBARS, A, pH and sensory analyses displayed significant differences (p<0.05) between treatment and control sample; where the sodium citrate treated samples showed increased preservation features. Specifically, at the beginning of the study, flayed, beheaded, gutted and bled anchovies displayed low content of fat (1.5%) with moderate amount of PV, A and TBARS, and were not rejected by sensory analysis. HI values and FAP displayed varying behavior, however, results of HI did not reveal a decreasing trend. This result is indicative of the fact that levels of iron were maintained as HI and did not convert into no heme iron, which is known to be the primary catalyst of lipid oxidation in fish. According to the FAP results, the major quantity of fatty acid was of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PFA) followed by saturated fatty acid (SFA) and then monounsaturated fatty acid (MFA). According to sensory analysis, the shelf life of flayed, beheaded and gutted anchovy (control and treatment) was 14 months. This shelf life was reached at laboratory level because high quality anchovies were used and immediately flayed, beheaded, gutted, bled and frozen. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the shelf life of anchovies for a long time. Overall, this method displayed a large increase in shelf life relative to that commonly seen for anchovies in this industry. However, these results should be extrapolated at industrial scales to propose better processing conditions and improve the quality of anchovy for direct human consumption.

Keywords: citrate sodium solution, heme iron, polyunsaturated fatty acids, shelf life of frozen anchovy

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Authors: Sam Bartlett, Thomas Bacquart, Arul Murugan, Abigail Morris

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Fuel cell electric vehicles provide the potential to decarbonise road transport, create new economic opportunities, diversify national energy supply, and significantly reduce the environmental impacts of road transport. A potential issue, however, is that the catalyst used at the fuel cell cathode is susceptible to degradation by impurities, especially sulphur-containing compounds. A recent European Directive (2014/94/EU) stipulates that, from November 2017, all hydrogen provided to fuel cell vehicles in Europe must comply with the hydrogen purity specifications listed in ISO 14687-2; this includes reactive and toxic chemicals such as ammonia and total sulphur-containing compounds. This requirement poses great analytical challenges due to the instability of some of these compounds in calibration gas standards at relatively low amount fractions and the difficulty associated with undertaking measurements of groups of compounds rather than individual compounds. Without the available reference materials and analytical infrastructure, hydrogen refuelling stations will not be able to demonstrate compliance to the ISO 14687 specifications. The hydrogen purity laboratory at NPL provides world leading, accredited purity measurements to allow hydrogen refuelling stations to evidence compliance to ISO 14687. Utilising state-of-the-art methods that have been developed by NPL’s hydrogen purity laboratory, including a novel method for measuring total sulphur compounds at 4 nmol/mol and a hydrogen impurity enrichment device, we provide the capabilities necessary to achieve these goals. An overview of these capabilities will be given in this paper. As part of the EMPIR Hydrogen co-normative project ‘Metrology for sustainable hydrogen energy applications’, NPL are developing a validated analytical methodology for the measurement of speciated sulphur-containing compounds in hydrogen at low amount fractions pmol/mol to nmol/mol) to allow identification and measurement of individual sulphur-containing impurities in real samples of hydrogen (opposed to a ‘total sulphur’ measurement). This is achieved by producing a suite of stable gravimetrically-prepared primary reference gas standards containing low amount fractions of sulphur-containing compounds (hydrogen sulphide, carbonyl sulphide, carbon disulphide, 2-methyl-2-propanethiol and tetrahydrothiophene have been selected for use in this study) to be used in conjunction with novel dynamic dilution facilities to enable generation of pmol/mol to nmol/mol level gas mixtures (a dynamic method is required as compounds at these levels would be unstable in gas cylinder mixtures). Method development and optimisation are performed using gas chromatographic techniques assisted by cryo-trapping technologies and coupled with sulphur chemiluminescence detection to allow improved qualitative and quantitative analyses of sulphur-containing impurities in hydrogen. The paper will review the state-of-the art gas standard preparation techniques, including the use and testing of dynamic dilution technologies for reactive chemical components in hydrogen. Method development will also be presented highlighting the advances in the measurement of speciated sulphur compounds in hydrogen at low amount fractions.

Keywords: gas chromatography, hydrogen purity, ISO 14687, sulphur chemiluminescence detector

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Authors: Hanna Abbo, Siyasanga Noganta, Salam Titinchi

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The global lack of clean water for human sanitation and other purposes has become an emerging dilemma for human beings. The presence of organic pollutants in wastewater produced by textile industries, leather manufacturing and chemical industries is an alarming matter for a safe environment and human health. For the last decades, conventional methods have been applied for the purification of water but due to industrialization these methods fall short. Advanced oxidation processes and their reliable application in degradation of many contaminants have been reported as a potential method to reduce and/or alleviate this problem. Lately it has been assumed that incorporation of some metal nanoparticles such as magnetite nanoparticles as photocatalyst for Fenton reaction which could improve the degradation efficiency of contaminants. Core/shell nanoparticles, are extensively studied because of their wide applications in the biomedical, drug delivery, electronics fields and water treatment. The current study is centred on the synthesis of silver-doped Fe3O4/SiO2/TiO2 photocatalyst. Magnetically separable Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 composite with core–shell structure were synthesized by the deposition of uniform anatase TiO2 NPs on Fe3O4@SiO2 by using titanium butoxide (TBOT) as titanium source. Then, the silver is doped on SiO2 layer by hydrothermal method. Integration of magnetic nanoparticles was suggested to avoid the post separation difficulties associated with the powder form of the TiO2 catalyst, increase of the surface area and adsorption properties. The morphology, structure, composition, and magnetism of the resulting composites were characterized and their photocatalytic activities were also evaluated. The results demonstrate that TiO2 NPs were uniformly deposited on the Fe3O4@SiO2 surface. The silver nanoparticles were also uniformly distributed on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles. The aim of this work is to study the suitability of photocatalysis for the treatment of aqueous streams containing organic pollutants such as methylene blue which is selected as a model compound to represent one of the pollutants existing in wastewaters. Various factors such as initial pollutant concentration, photocatalyst dose and wastewater matrix were studied for their effect on the photocatalytic degradation of the organic model pollutants using the as synthesized catalysts and compared with the commercial titanium dioxide (Aeroxide P25). Photocatalysis was found to be a potential purification method for the studied pollutant also in an industrial wastewater matrix with the removal percentages of over 81 % within 15 minutes. Methylene blue was removed most efficiently and its removal consumed the least of energy in terms of the specific applied energy. The magnetic Ag/SiO2/TiO2 composites show high photocatalytic performance and can be recycled three times by magnetic separation without major loss of activity, which meant that they can be used as efficient and conveniently renewable photocatalyst.

Keywords: Magnetite nanoparticles, Titanium, Photocatalyst, Organic pollutant, Water treatment

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Authors: Albert Mufundirwa, Satoru Yoshioka, K. Ogi, Takeharu Sugiyama, George F. Harrington, Bretislav Smid, Benjamin Cunning, Kazunari Sasaki, Akari Hayashi, Stephen M. Lyth

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Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are electrochemical energy conversion devices used for portable, residential and vehicular applications due to their low emissions, high efficiency, and quick start-up characteristics. However, PEMFCs generally use expensive, Pt-based electrocatalysts as electrode catalysts. Due to the high cost and limited availability of platinum, research and development to either drastically reduce platinum loading, or replace platinum with alternative catalysts is of paramount importance. A combination of high surface area supports and nano-structured active sites is essential for effective operation of catalysts. We synthesize carbon foam supports by thermal decomposition of sodium ethoxide, using a template-free, gram scale, cheap, and scalable pyrolysis method. This carbon foam has a high surface area, highly porous, three-dimensional framework which is ideal for electrochemical applications. These carbon foams can have surface area larger than 2500 m²/g, and electron microscopy reveals that they have micron-scale cells, separated by few-layer graphene-like carbon walls. We applied this carbon foam as a platinum catalyst support, resulting in the improved electrochemical surface area and mass activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), compared to carbon black. Similarly, silver-decorated carbon foams showed higher activity and efficiency for electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion than silver-decorated carbon black. A promising alternative to Pt-catalysts for the ORR is iron-impregnated nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts (Fe-N-C). Doping carbon with nitrogen alters the chemical structure and modulates the electronic properties, allowing a degree of control over the catalytic properties. We have adapted our synthesis method to produce nitrogen-doped carbon foams with large surface area, using triethanolamine as a nitrogen feedstock, in a novel bottom-up protocol. These foams are then infiltrated with iron acetate (FeAc) and pyrolysed to form Fe-N-C foams. The resulting Fe-N-C foam catalysts have high initial activity (half-wave potential of 0.68 VRHE), comparable to that of commercially available Pt-free catalysts (e.g., NPC-2000, Pajarito Powder) in acid solution. In alkaline solution, the Fe-N-C carbon foam catalysts have a half-wave potential of 0.89 VRHE, which is higher than that of NPC-2000 by almost 10 mVRHE, and far out-performing platinum. However, the durability is still a problem at present. The lessons learned from X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical measurements will be used to carefully design Fe-N-C catalysts for higher performance PEMFCs.

Keywords: carbon-foam, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, platinum, Pt-free, Fe-N-C, ORR

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Authors: Muhammad Ahnaf Zahin, Yaw Adu-Gyamfi

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Bus transit is a crucial component of transportation networks, especially in urban areas. Any intelligent transportation system must have accurate real-time information on bus travel times since it minimizes waiting times for passengers at different stations along a route, improves service reliability, and significantly optimizes travel patterns. Bus agencies must enhance the quality of their information service to serve their passengers better and draw in more travelers since people waiting at bus stops are frequently anxious about when the bus will arrive at their starting point and when it will reach their destination. For solving this issue, different models have been developed for predicting bus travel times recently, but most of them are focused on smaller road networks due to their relatively subpar performance in high-density urban areas on a vast network. This paper develops a deep learning-based architecture using a single-step multi-station forecasting approach to predict average bus travel times for numerous routes, stops, and trips on a large-scale network using heterogeneous bus transit data collected from the GTFS database. Over one week, data was gathered from multiple bus routes in Saint Louis, Missouri. In this study, Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) neural network was followed to predict the mean vehicle travel times for different hours of the day for multiple stations along multiple routes. Historical time steps and prediction horizon were set up to 5 and 1, respectively, which means that five hours of historical average travel time data were used to predict average travel time for the following hour. The spatial and temporal information and the historical average travel times were captured from the dataset for model input parameters. As adjacency matrices for the spatial input parameters, the station distances and sequence numbers were used, and the time of day (hour) was considered for the temporal inputs. Other inputs, including volatility information such as standard deviation and variance of journey durations, were also included in the model to make it more robust. The model's performance was evaluated based on a metric called mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The observed prediction errors for various routes, trips, and stations remained consistent throughout the day. The results showed that the developed model could predict travel times more accurately during peak traffic hours, having a MAPE of around 14%, and performed less accurately during the latter part of the day. In the context of a complicated transportation network in high-density urban areas, the model showed its applicability for real-time travel time prediction of public transportation and ensured the high quality of the predictions generated by the model.

Keywords: gated recurrent unit, mean absolute percentage error, single-step forecasting, travel time prediction.

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Authors: Brayden Mi

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Reverse time migration has been widely used in the Petroleum exploration industry to reveal subsurface images and to detect rock and fluid properties since the early 1980s. The seismic technology involves the construction of a velocity model through interpretive model construction, seismic tomography, or full waveform inversion, and the application of the reverse-time propagation of acquired seismic data and the original wavelet used in the acquisition. The methodology has matured from 2D, simple media to present-day to handle full 3D imaging challenges in extremely complex geological conditions. Conventional Ultrasound computed tomography (USCT) utilize travel-time-inversion to reconstruct the velocity structure of an organ. With the velocity structure, USCT data can be migrated with the “bend-ray” method, also known as migration. Its seismic application counterpart is called Kirchhoff depth migration, in which the source of reflective energy is traced by ray-tracing and summed to produce a subsurface image. It is well known that ray-tracing-based migration has severe limitations in strongly heterogeneous media and irregular acquisition geometries. Reverse time migration (RTM), on the other hand, fully accounts for the wave phenomena, including multiple arrives and turning rays due to complex velocity structure. It has the capability to fully reconstruct the image detectable in its acquisition aperture. The RTM algorithms typically require a rather accurate velocity model and demand high computing powers, and may not be applicable to real-time imaging as normally required in day-to-day medical operations. However, with the improvement of computing technology, such a computational bottleneck may not present a challenge in the near future. The present-day (RTM) algorithms are typically implemented from a flat datum for the seismic industry. It can be modified to accommodate any acquisition geometry and aperture, as long as sufficient illumination is provided. Such flexibility of RTM can be conveniently implemented for the application in USCT imaging if the spatial coordinates of the transmitters and receivers are known and enough data is collected to provide full illumination. This paper proposes an implementation of a full 3D RTM algorithm for USCT imaging to produce an accurate 3D acoustic image based on the Phase-shift-plus-interpolation (PSPI) method for wavefield extrapolation. In this method, each acquired data set (shot) is propagated back in time, and a known ultrasound wavelet is propagated forward in time, with PSPI wavefield extrapolation and a piece-wise constant velocity model of the organ (breast). The imaging condition is then applied to produce a partial image. Although each image is subject to the limitation of its own illumination aperture, the stack of multiple partial images will produce a full image of the organ, with a much-reduced noise level if compared with individual partial images.

Keywords: illumination, reverse time migration (RTM), ultrasound computed tomography (USCT), wavefield extrapolation

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Authors: N. Šarlija, S. Pfeifer, M. Jeger, A. Bilandžić

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Enterprise growth is generally considered as a key driver of competitiveness, employment, economic development and social inclusion. As such, it is perceived to be a highly desirable outcome of entrepreneurship for scholars and decision makers. The huge academic debate resulted in the multitude of theoretical frameworks focused on explaining growth stages, determinants and future prospects. It has been widely accepted that enterprise growth is most likely nonlinear, temporal and related to the variety of factors which reflect the individual, firm, organizational, industry or environmental determinants of growth. However, factors that affect growth are not easily captured, instruments to measure those factors are often arbitrary, causality between variables and growth is elusive, indicating that growth is not easily modeled. Furthermore, in line with heterogeneous nature of the growth phenomenon, there is a vast number of measurement constructs assessing growth which are used interchangeably. Differences among various growth measures, at conceptual as well as at operationalization level, can hinder theory development which emphasizes the need for more empirically robust studies. In line with these highlights, the main purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to compare structure and performance of three growth prediction models based on the main growth measures: Revenues, employment and assets growth. Secondly, to explore the prospects of financial indicators, set as exact, visible, standardized and accessible variables, to serve as determinants of enterprise growth. Finally, to contribute to the understanding of the implications on research results and recommendations for growth caused by different growth measures. The models include a range of financial indicators as lag determinants of the enterprises’ performances during the 2008-2013, extracted from the national register of the financial statements of SMEs in Croatia. The design and testing stage of the modeling used the logistic regression procedures. Findings confirm that growth prediction models based on different measures of growth have different set of predictors. Moreover, the relationship between particular predictors and growth measure is inconsistent, namely the same predictor positively related to one growth measure may exert negative effect on a different growth measure. Overall, financial indicators alone can serve as good proxy of growth and yield adequate predictive power of the models. The paper sheds light on both methodology and conceptual framework of enterprise growth by using a range of variables which serve as a proxy for the multitude of internal and external determinants, but are unlike them, accessible, available, exact and free of perceptual nuances in building up the model. Selection of the growth measure seems to have significant impact on the implications and recommendations related to growth. Furthermore, the paper points out to potential pitfalls of measuring and predicting growth. Overall, the results and the implications of the study are relevant for advancing academic debates on growth-related methodology, and can contribute to evidence-based decisions of policy makers.

Keywords: growth measurement constructs, logistic regression, prediction of growth potential, small and medium-sized enterprises

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Authors: Chitresh Prasad, Arvind Ramesh, Aditya Virkar, Karan Dholkaria, Vinayak Malhotra

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Solid Propellant Rocket is a rocket that utilises a combination of a solid Oxidizer and a solid Fuel. Success in Solid Rocket Motor design and development depends significantly on knowledge of burning rate behaviour of the selected solid propellant under all motor operating conditions and design limit conditions. Most Solid Motor Rockets consist of the Main Engine, along with multiple Boosters that provide an additional thrust to the space-bound vehicle. Though widely used, they have been eclipsed by Liquid Propellant Rockets, because of their better performance characteristics. The addition of a catalyst such as Iron Oxide, on the other hand, can drastically enhance the performance of a Solid Rocket. This scientific investigation tries to emulate the working of a Solid Rocket using Sparklers and Energized Candles, with a central Energized Candle acting as the Main Engine and surrounding Sparklers acting as the Booster. The Energized Candle is made of Paraffin Wax, with Magnesium filings embedded in it’s wick. The Sparkler is made up of 45% Barium Nitrate, 35% Iron, 9% Aluminium, 10% Dextrin and the remaining composition consists of Boric Acid. The Magnesium in the Energized Candle, and the combination of Iron and Aluminium in the Sparkler, act as catalysts and enhance the burn rates of both materials. This combustion of Metallized Propellants has an influence over the regression rate of the subject candle. The experimental parameters explored here are Separation Distance, Systematically varying Configuration and Layout Symmetry. The major performance parameter under observation is the Regression Rate of the Energized Candle. The rate of regression is significantly affected by the orientation and configuration of the sparklers, which usually act as heat sources for the energized candle. The Overall Efficiency of any engine is factorised by the thermal and propulsive efficiencies. Numerous efforts have been made to improve one or the other. This investigation focuses on the Orientation of Rocket Motor Design to maximize their Overall Efficiency. The primary objective is to analyse the Flame Spread Rate variations of the energized candle, which resembles the solid rocket propellant used in the first stage of rocket operation thereby affecting the Specific Impulse values in a Rocket, which in turn have a deciding impact on their Time of Flight. Another objective of this research venture is to determine the effectiveness of the key controlling parameters explored. This investigation also emulates the exhaust gas interactions of the Solid Rocket through concurrent ignition of the Energized Candle and Sparklers, and their behaviour is analysed. Modern space programmes intend to explore the universe outside our solar system. To accomplish these goals, it is necessary to design a launch vehicle which is capable of providing incessant propulsion along with better efficiency for vast durations. The main motivation of this study is to enhance Rocket performance and their Overall Efficiency through better designing and optimization techniques, which will play a crucial role in this human conquest for knowledge.

Keywords: design modifications, improving overall efficiency, metallized combustion, regression rate variations

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Authors: A. Falenski, A. Kaesbohrer, M. Filter

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Introduction: Risk assessments can be performed in various ways and in different degrees of complexity. In order to assess risks associated with imported foods additional information needs to be taken into account compared to a risk assessment on regional products. The present review is an overview on currently available best practise approaches and data sources used for food import risk assessments (IRAs). Methods: A literature review has been performed. PubMed was searched for articles about food IRAs published in the years 2004 to 2014 (English and German texts only, search string “(English [la] OR German [la]) (2004:2014 [dp]) import [ti] risk”). Titles and abstracts were screened for import risks in the context of IRAs. The finally selected publications were analysed according to a predefined questionnaire extracting the following information: risk assessment guidelines followed, modelling methods used, data and software applied, existence of an analysis of uncertainty and variability. IRAs cited in these publications were also included in the analysis. Results: The PubMed search resulted in 49 publications, 17 of which contained information about import risks and risk assessments. Within these 19 cross references were identified to be of interest for the present study. These included original articles, reviews and guidelines. At least one of the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission were referenced in any of the IRAs, either for import of animals or for imports concerning foods, respectively. Interestingly, also a combination of both was used to assess the risk associated with the import of live animals serving as the source of food. Methods ranged from full quantitative IRAs using probabilistic models and dose-response models to qualitative IRA in which decision trees or severity tables were set up using parameter estimations based on expert opinions. Calculations were done using @Risk, R or Excel. Most heterogeneous was the type of data used, ranging from general information on imported goods (food, live animals) to pathogen prevalence in the country of origin. These data were either publicly available in databases or lists (e.g., OIE WAHID and Handystatus II, FAOSTAT, Eurostat, TRACES), accessible on a national level (e.g., herd information) or only open to a small group of people (flight passenger import data at national airport customs office). In the IRAs, an uncertainty analysis has been mentioned in some cases, but calculations have been performed only in a few cases. Conclusion: The current state-of-the-art in the assessment of risks of imported foods is characterized by a great heterogeneity in relation to general methodology and data used. Often information is gathered on a case-by-case basis and reformatted by hand in order to perform the IRA. This analysis therefore illustrates the need for a flexible, modular framework supporting the connection of existing data sources with data analysis and modelling tools. Such an infrastructure could pave the way to IRA workflows applicable ad-hoc, e.g. in case of a crisis situation.

Keywords: import risk assessment, review, tools, food import

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Authors: Kiana Taheri

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Rural tourism has garnered significant attention as a catalyst for rural development and sustainability, particularly in regions like Tuscany, Italy, where the convergence of cultural heritage, picturesque landscapes, and agricultural traditions provides a fertile ground for tourism activities. This paper investigates the pivotal role of women entrepreneurs in driving sustainable rural tourism development, with a specific focus on Tuscany. Drawing upon a synthesis of literature on rural tourism, entrepreneurship, and gender studies, this research offers insights into how women entrepreneurs contribute to the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of rural tourism in Tuscany. The conceptual framework of this study is rooted in the evolving landscape of rural development, shaped by shifting paradigms in agricultural policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. This framework underscores the transition from traditional agrarian economies to dynamic rural tourism destinations characterized by a consumer-centric approach and a focus on sustainable development. Against this backdrop, the study delves into the multifaceted contributions of women entrepreneurs within the rural tourism sector. Central to the analysis is the recognition of rural tourism as a nexus of social, cultural, economic, and environmental interactions, wherein women entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in leveraging local resources, preserving cultural heritage, and fostering community engagement. By capitalizing on their unique perspectives, skills, and networks, women entrepreneurs drive innovation, diversification, and inclusivity within the tourism sector, thereby enhancing its resilience and long-term viability. Moreover, the study highlights the symbiotic relationship between rural tourism development and women's empowerment, as evidenced by the increasing prominence of women entrepreneurs in Tuscany's rural economy. Through their leadership roles in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and agritourism ventures, women entrepreneurs not only contribute to economic growth but also challenge traditional gender norms and empower local communities. A key empirical focus of this research is a comprehensive case study of Tuscany, renowned for its successful rural tourism model and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through qualitative interviews, surveys, and archival analysis, the study elucidates the strategies, challenges, and impacts of women entrepreneurs on sustainable rural tourism development in Tuscany. By examining the experiences of women entrepreneurs across diverse sectors of rural tourism, including hospitality, gastronomy, and cultural heritage, the study offers nuanced insights into their contributions to regional development and empowerment. In conclusion, this research contributes to the burgeoning scholarship on rural tourism, entrepreneurship, and gender studies by shedding light on the transformative role of women entrepreneurs in driving sustainable development agendas in rural areas. By elucidating the interplay between gender dynamics, entrepreneurial activities, and tourism development, this study seeks to inform policy interventions and strategic initiatives aimed at fostering inclusive and sustainable rural tourism ecosystems.

Keywords: rural tourism, women empowerment, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

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Authors: Alberto Veses, Olga Sanhauja, María Soledad Callén, Tomás García

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The appropriate use of renewable sources emerges as a decisive point to minimize the environmental impact caused by fossil fuels use. Particularly, the use of lignocellulosic biomass becomes one of the best promising alternatives since it is the only carbon-containing renewable source that can produce bioproducts similar to fossil fuels and it does not compete with food market. Among all the processes that can valorize lignocellulosic biomass, pyrolysis is an attractive alternative because it is the only thermochemical process that can produce a liquid biofuel (bio-oil) in a simple way and solid and gas fractions that can be used as energy sources to support the process. However, in order to incorporate bio-oils in current infrastructures and further process in future biorefineries, their quality needs to be improved. Introducing different low-cost catalysts and/or incorporating different polymer residues to the process are some of the new, simple and low-cost strategies that allow the user to directly obtain advanced bio-oils to be used in future biorefineries in an economic way. In this manner, from previous thermogravimetric analyses, local agricultural wastes such as grape seeds (GS) were selected as lignocellulosic biomass while, waste tires (WT) were selected as polymer residue. On the other hand, CaO was selected as low-cost catalyst based on previous experiences by the group. To reach this aim, a specially-designed fixed bed reactor using N₂ as a carrier gas was used. This reactor has the peculiarity to incorporate a vertical mobile liner that allows the user to introduce the feedstock in the oven once the selected temperature (550 ºC) is reached, ensuring higher heating rates needed for the process. Obtaining a well-defined phase distribution in the resulting bio-oil is crucial to ensure the viability to the process. Thus, once experiments were carried out, not only a well-defined two layers was observed introducing several mixtures (reaching values up to 40 wt.% of WT) but also, an upgraded organic phase, which is the one considered to be processed in further biorefineries. Radical interactions between GS and WT released during the pyrolysis process and dehydration reactions enhanced by CaO can promote the formation of better-quality bio-oils. The latter was reflected in a reduction of water and oxygen content of bio-oil and hence, a substantial increase of its heating value and its stability. Moreover, not only sulphur content was reduced from solely WT pyrolysis but also potential and negative issues related to a strong acidic environment of conventional bio-oils were minimized due to its basic pH and lower total acid numbers. Therefore, acidic compounds obtained in the pyrolysis such as CO₂-like substances can react with the CaO and minimize acidic problems related to lignocellulosic bio-oils. Moreover, this CO₂ capture promotes H₂ production from water gas shift reaction favoring hydrogen-transfer reactions, improving the final quality of the bio-oil. These results show the great potential of grapes seeds to carry out the catalytic co-pyrolysis process with different plastic residues in order to produce a liquid bio-oil that can be considered as a high-quality renewable vector.

Keywords: advanced bio-oils, biorefinery, catalytic co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste tires, lignocellulosic biomass

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Authors: Binder Hans

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Cancer is no longer seen as solely a genetic disease where genetic defects such as mutations and copy number variations affect gene regulation and eventually lead to aberrant cell functioning which can be monitored by transcriptome analysis. It has become obvious that epigenetic alterations represent a further important layer of (de-)regulation of gene activity. For example, aberrant DNA methylation is a hallmark of many cancer types, and methylation patterns were successfully used to subtype cancer heterogeneity. Hence, unraveling the interplay between different omics levels such as genome, transcriptome and epigenome is inevitable for a mechanistic understanding of molecular deregulation causing complex diseases such as cancer. This objective requires powerful downstream integrative bioinformatics methods as an essential prerequisite to discover the whole genome mutational, transcriptome and epigenome landscapes of cancer specimen and to discover cancer genesis, progression and heterogeneity. Basic challenges and tasks arise ‘beyond sequencing’ because of the big size of the data, their complexity, the need to search for hidden structures in the data, for knowledge mining to discover biological function and also systems biology conceptual models to deduce developmental interrelations between different cancer states. These tasks are tightly related to cancer biology as an (epi-)genetic disease giving rise to aberrant genomic regulation under micro-environmental control and clonal evolution which leads to heterogeneous cellular states. Machine learning algorithms such as self organizing maps (SOM) represent one interesting option to tackle these bioinformatics tasks. The SOMmethod enables recognizing complex patterns in large-scale data generated by highthroughput omics technologies. It portrays molecular phenotypes by generating individualized, easy to interpret images of the data landscape in combination with comprehensive analysis options. Our image-based, reductionist machine learning methods provide one interesting perspective how to deal with massive data in the discovery of complex diseases, gliomas, melanomas and colon cancer on molecular level. As an important new challenge, we address the combined portrayal of different omics data such as genome-wide genomic, transcriptomic and methylomic ones. The integrative-omics portrayal approach is based on the joint training of the data and it provides separate personalized data portraits for each patient and data type which can be analyzed by visual inspection as one option. The new method enables an integrative genome-wide view on the omics data types and the underlying regulatory modes. It is applied to high and low-grade gliomas and to melanomas where it disentangles transversal and longitudinal molecular heterogeneity in terms of distinct molecular subtypes and progression paths with prognostic impact.

Keywords: integrative bioinformatics, machine learning, molecular mechanisms of cancer, gliomas and melanomas

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Authors: Claudio Di Benedetto, Irene Bengo

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The objective of the paper is to study how large European companies develop social business (SB) at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP). BoP markets are defined as the four billions people living with an annual income below $3,260 in local purchasing power. Despite they are heterogeneous in terms of geographic range they present some common characteristics: the presence of significant unmet (social) needs, high level of informal economy and the so-called ‘poverty penalty’. As a result, most people living at BoP are excluded from the value created by the global market economy. But it is worth noting, that BoP population with an aggregate purchasing power of around $5 trillion a year, represent a huge opportunity for companies that want to enhance their long-term profitability perspective. We suggest that in this context, the development of SB is, for companies, an innovative and promising way to satisfy unmet social needs and to experience new forms of value creation. Indeed, SB can be considered a strategic model to develop CSR programs that fully integrate the social dimension into the business to create economic and social value simultaneously. Despite in literature many studies have been conducted on social business, only few have explicitly analyzed such phenomenon from a company perspective and their role in the development of such initiatives remains understudied with fragmented results. To fill this gap the paper analyzes the key characteristics of the social business initiatives developed by European companies at BoP. The study was performed analyzing 1475 European companies participating in the United Nation Global Compact, the world’s leading corporate social responsibility program. Through the analysis of the corporate websites the study identifies companies that actually do SB at BoP. For SB initiatives identified, information were collected according to a framework adapted from the SB model developed by preliminary results show that more than one hundred European companies have already implemented social businesses at BoP accounting for the 6,5% of the total. This percentage increases to 15% if the focus is on companies with more than 10.440 employees. In terms of geographic distribution 80% of companies doing SB at BoP are located in western and southern Europe. The companies more active in promoting SB belong to financial sector (20%), energy sector (17%) and food and beverage sector (12%). In terms of social needs addressed almost 30% of the companies develop SB to provide access to energy and WASH, 25% of companies develop SB to reduce local unemployment or to promote local entrepreneurship and 21% of companies develop SB to promote financial inclusion of poor. In developing SB companies implement different social business configurations ranging from forms of outsourcing to internal development models. The study identifies seven main configurations through which company develops social business and each configuration present distinguishing characteristics respect to the involvement of the company in the management, the resources provided and the benefits achieved. By performing different analysis on data collected the paper provides detailed insights on how European companies develop SB at BoP.

Keywords: base of the economic pyramid, corporate social responsibility, social business, social enterprise

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Authors: Timothy Gray

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This paper will present work and discuss lessons learned during a semester-long travel study based in Southeast Asia, which was run in the Spring Semester of 2019 and again in the summer of 2023. The first travel group consisted of fifteen students, and the second group consisted of twelve students ranging from second-year to graduate level, student participants majoring in either architecture or planning. Students worked in interdisciplinary teams, each team beginning their travel study, living together in a separate small town for over a month in (relatively) remote conditions in rural Thailand. Students became intimately familiar with these towns, forged strong personal relationships, and built reservoirs of knowledge one conversation at a time. Rather than impose external ideas and solutions, students were asked to learn from and be open to lessons from the people and the place. The following design statement was used as a point of departure for their investigations: It is our shared premise that architecture exists in small villages and towns of Southeast Asia in the ingenuity of the people, that architecture exists in a shared language of making, modifying, and reusing. It is a modest but vibrant architecture, an architecture that is alive and evolving, an architecture that is small in scale, accessible, and one that emerges from the people. It is an architecture that can exist in a modified bicycle, a woven bamboo bridge, or a self-built community. Students were challenged to engage in existing conditions as design professionals, both empowering and lending coherence to the energies that already existed in the place. As one of the student teams noted in their design narrative: “During our field study, we had the unique opportunity to tour a number of informal settlements and meet and talk to residents through interpreters. We found that many of the residents work in nearby factories for dollars a day. Others find employment in self-generated informal economies such as hand carving and textiles. Despite extreme poverty, we found these places to be vibrant and full of life as people navigate these challenging conditions to live lives with purpose and dignity.” Students worked together with local community members and colleagues to develop a series of varied proposals that emerged from their interrogations of place and partnered with community members and professional colleagues in the development of these proposals. Project partners included faculty and student colleagues Yangon University, the mayor's Office, Planning Department Officials and religious leaders in Sawankhalok, Thailand, and community leaders in Natonchan, Thailand, to name a few. This paper will present a series of student community-based design projects that emerged from these conditions. The paper will also discuss this model of travel study as a way of building an architecture which uses social and cultural issues as a catalyst for design. The paper will discuss lessons relative to sustainable development that the Western students learned through their travels in Southeast Asia.

Keywords: travel study, CAPasia, architecture of empowerment, modular housing

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Authors: M. F. Abreu, A. I. Aguiar, R. Gaio, R. Duarte

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Background: Prison establishments constitute high-risk environments for the transmission and spread of tuberculosis (TB), given their epidemiological context and the difficulty of implementing preventive and control measures. Guidelines for control and prevention of tuberculosis in prisons have been described as incomplete and heterogeneous internationally, due to several identified obstacles, for example scarcity of human resources and funding of prisoner health services. In Portugal, a protocol was created in 2014 with the aim to define and standardize procedures of detection and prevention of tuberculosis within prisons. Objective: The main objective of this study was to identify and describe barriers to tuberculosis detection in prisons of Porto and Lisbon districts in Portugal. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 2ⁿᵈ January 2018 till 30ᵗʰ June 2018. Semi-structured questionnaires were applied to health care professionals working in the prisons of the districts of Porto (n=6) and Lisbon (n=8). As inclusion criteria we considered having work experience in the area of tuberculosis (either in diagnosis, treatment, or follow up). The questionnaires were self-administered, in paper format. Descriptive analyses of the questionnaire variables were made using frequencies and median. Afterwards, a hierarchical agglomerative clusters analysis was performed. After obtaining the clusters, the chi-square test was applied to study the association between the variables collected and the clusters. The level of significance considered was 0.05. Results: From the total of 186 health professionals, 139 met the criteria of inclusion and 82 health professionals were interviewed (62,2% of participation). Most were female, nurses, with a median age of 34 years, with term employment contract. From the cluster analysis, two groups were identified with different characteristics and behaviors for the procedures of this protocol. Statistically significant results were found in: elements of cluster 1 (78% of the total participants) work in prisons for a longer time (p=0.003), 45,3% work > 4 years while 50% of the elements of cluster 2 work for less than a year, and more frequently answered they know and apply the procedures of the protocol (p=0.000). Both clusters answered frequently the need of having theoretical-practical training for TB (p=0.000), especially in the areas of diagnosis, treatment and prevention and that there is scarcity of funding to prisoner health services (p=0.000). Regarding procedures for TB screening (periodic and contact screening) and procedures for transferring a prisoner with this disease, cluster 1 also answered more frequently to perform them (p=0.000). They also referred that the material/equipment for TB screening is accessible and available (p=0.000). From this clusters we identified as barriers scarcity of human resources, the need to theoretical-practical training for tuberculosis, inexperience in working in health services prisons and limited knowledge of protocol procedures. Conclusions: The barriers found in this study are the same described internationally. This protocol is mostly being applied in portuguese prisons. The study also showed the need to invest in human and material resources. This investigation bridged gaps in knowledge that could help prison health services optimize the care provided for early detection and adherence of prisoners to treatment of tuberculosis.

Keywords: barriers, health care professionals, prisons, protocol, tuberculosis

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Authors: Shatakshi Garg

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As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, India, one of the most populous democratic federal developing nation, continues to report the highest active cases and deaths, as well as struggle to let its health infrastructure not succumb to the exponentially growing requirements of hospital beds, ventilators, oxygen to save thousands of lives daily at risk. In this context, the paper outlines the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic since it first hit India in January 2020 – the policy decisions taken by the Union and the State governments from the larger perspective of its federal structure. The Constitution of India adopted in 1950 enshrined the federal relations between the Union and the State governments by way of the constitutional division of revenue-raising and expenditure responsibilities. By way of the 72nd and 73rd Amendments in the Constitution, powers and functions were devolved further to the third tier, namely the local governments, with the intention of further strengthening the federal structure of the country. However, with time, several constitutional amendments have shifted the scales in favour of the union government. The paper briefly traces some of these major amendments as well as some policy decisions which made the federal relations asymmetrical. As a result, data on key fiscal parameters helps establish how the union government gained upper hand at the expense of weak state governments, reducing the local governments to mere constitutional bodies without adequate funds and fiscal autonomy to carry out the assigned functions. This quasi-federal structure of India with the union government amassing the majority of power in terms of ‘funds, functions and functionaries’ exposed the perils of weakening sub-national governments post COVID-19 pandemic. With a complex quasi-federal structure and a heterogeneous population of over 1.3 billion, the announcement of a sudden nationwide lockdown by the union government was followed by a plight of migrants struggling to reach homes safely in the absence of adequate arrangements for travel and safety-net made by the union government. With limited autonomy enjoyed by the states, they were mostly dictated by the union government on most aspects of handling the pandemic, including protocols for lockdown, re-opening post lockdown, and vaccination drive. The paper suggests that certain policy decisions like demonetization, the introduction of GST, etc., taken by the incumbent government since 2014 when they first came to power, have further weakened the states and local governments, which have amounted to catastrophic losses, both economic and human. The role of the executive, legislature and judiciary are explored to establish how all these three arms of the government have worked simultaneously to further weaken and expose the fault-lines of the federal structure of India, which has lent the nation incapacitated to handle this pandemic. The paper then suggests the urgency of re-looking at the federal structure of the country and undertaking measures that strengthen the sub-national governments and restore the federal spirit as was enshrined in the constitution to avoid mammoth human and economic losses from a pandemic of this sort.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, India, federal structure, economic losses

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Authors: J. C. Colmenares, M. Paszkiewicz-Gawron, D. Lomot, S. R. Pradhan, A. Qayyum

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This work is a report of recent selected experiments of photocatalysis intensification using flow microphotoreactors (fabricated by an ultrasound-based technique) for photocatalytic selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BnOH) to benzaldehyde (PhCHO) (in the frame of the concept of lignin valorization), and the proof of concept of intensifying a flow selective photocatalytic oxidation process by acoustic cavitation. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by using different techniques such as UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, nitrogen sorption, thermal gravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. More specifically, the work will be on: a Design and development of metal-containing TiO₂ coated microflow reactor for photocatalytic partial oxidation of benzyl alcohol: The current work introduces an efficient ultrasound-based metal (Fe, Cu, Co)-containing TiO₂ deposition on the inner walls of a perfluoroalkoxy alkanes (PFA) microtube under mild conditions. The experiments were carried out using commercial TiO₂ and sol-gel synthesized TiO₂. The rough surface formed during sonication is the site for the deposition of these nanoparticles in the inner walls of the microtube. The photocatalytic activities of these semiconductor coated fluoropolymer based microreactors were evaluated for the selective oxidation of BnOH to PhCHO in the liquid flow phase. The analysis of the results showed that various features/parameters are crucial, and by tuning them, it is feasible to improve the conversion of benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde selectivity. Among all the metal-containing TiO₂ samples, the 0.5 at% Fe/TiO₂ (both, iron and titanium, as cheap, safe, and abundant metals) photocatalyst exhibited the highest BnOH conversion under visible light (515 nm) in a microflow system. This could be explained by the higher crystallite size, high porosity, and flake-like morphology. b. Designing/fabricating photocatalysts by a sonochemical approach and testing them in the appropriate flow sonophotoreactor towards sustainable selective oxidation of key organic model compounds of lignin: Ultrasonication (US)-assitedprecipitaion and US-assitedhydrosolvothermal methods were used for the synthesis of metal-oxide-based and metal-free-carbon-based photocatalysts, respectively. Additionally, we report selected experiments of intensification of a flow photocatalytic selective oxidation through the use of ultrasonic waves. The effort of our research is focused on the utilization of flow sonophotocatalysis for the selective transformation of lignin-based model molecules by nanostructured metal oxides (e.g., TiO₂), and metal-free carbocatalysts. A plethora of parameters that affects the acoustic cavitation phenomena, and as a result the potential of sonication were investigated (e.g. ultrasound frequency and power). Various important photocatalytic parameters such as the wavelength and intensity of the irradiated light, photocatalyst loading, type of solvent, mixture of solvents, and solution pH were also optimized.

Keywords: heterogeneous photo-catalysis, metal-free carbonaceous materials, selective redox flow sonophotocatalysis, titanium dioxide

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Authors: Justyna P. Majewska, Szymon M. Truskolaski

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The growing importance of digitalized services in the so-called new economy, including the e-sports industry, can be observed recently. Various demographic or technological changes lead consumers to modify their needs, not regarding the services themselves but the method of their application (attracting customers, forms of payment, new content, etc.). In the case of leisure-related to competitive spectating activities, there is a growing need to participate in events whose content is not sports competitions but computer games challenge – e-sport. The literature in this area so far focuses on determining the number of e-sport fans with elements of a simple statistical description (mainly concerning demographic characteristics such as age, gender, place of residence). Meanwhile, the development of the industry is influenced by a combination of many different, intertwined demographic, personality and psychosocial characteristics of customers, as well as the characteristics of their environment. Therefore, there is a need for a deeper recognition of the determinants of the behavioral patterns upon selecting digitalized services by customers, which, in the absence of available large data sets, can be achieved by using econometric simulations – multi-agent modeling. The cognitive aim of the study is to reveal internal and external determinants of behavioral patterns of customers taking into account various variants of economic development (the pace of digitization and technological development, socio-demographic changes, etc.). In the paper, an agent-based model with heterogeneous agents (characteristics of customers themselves and their environment) was developed, which allowed identifying a three-stage development scenario: i) initial interest, ii) standardization, and iii) full professionalization. The probabilities regarding the transition process were estimated using the Method of Simulated Moments. The estimation of the agent-based model parameters and sensitivity analysis reveals crucial factors that have driven a rising trend in e-sport spectating and, in a wider perspective, the development of digitalized services. Among the psychosocial characteristics of customers, they are the level of familiarization with the rules of games as well as sports disciplines, active and passive participation history and individual perception of challenging activities. Environmental factors include general reception of games, number and level of recognition of community builders and the level of technological development of streaming as well as community building platforms. However, the crucial factor underlying the good predictive power of the model is the level of professionalization. While in the initial interest phase, the entry barriers for new customers are high. They decrease during the phase of standardization and increase again in the phase of full professionalization when new customers perceive participation history inaccessible. In this case, they are prone to switch to new methods of service application – in the case of e-sport vs. sports to new content and more modern methods of its delivery. In a wider context, the findings in the paper support the idea of a life cycle of services regarding methods of their application from “traditional” to digitalized.

Keywords: agent-based modeling, digitalized services, e-sport, spectators motives

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Authors: Leo Nnamdi Ozurumba-Dwight

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Messenger ribooxynucleic acid (mRNA) molecules are compositional, protein-based. These proteins, encoding mRNA molecules (which collectively connote the transcriptome), when analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNAseq), unveils the nature of gene expression in the RNA. The obtained gene expression provides clues of cellular traits and their dynamics in presentations. These can be studied in relation to function and responses. RNAseq is a practical concept in Genomics as it enables detection and quantitative analysis of mRNA molecules. Single cell and spatial transcriptomics both present varying avenues for expositions in genomic characteristics of single cells and pooled cells in disease conditions such as cancer, auto-immune diseases, hematopoietic based diseases, among others, from investigated biological tissue samples. Single cell transcriptomics helps conduct a direct assessment of each building unit of tissues (the cell) during diagnosis and molecular gene expressional studies. A typical technique to achieve this is through the use of a single-cell RNA sequencer (scRNAseq), which helps in conducting high throughput genomic expressional studies. However, this technique generates expressional gene data for several cells which lack presentations on the cells’ positional coordinates within the tissue. As science is developmental, the use of complimentary pre-established tissue reference maps using molecular and bioinformatics techniques has innovatively sprung-forth and is now used to resolve this set back to produce both levels of data in one shot of scRNAseq analysis. This is an emerging conceptual approach in methodology for integrative and progressively dependable transcriptomics analysis. This can support in-situ fashioned analysis for better understanding of tissue functional organization, unveil new biomarkers for early-stage detection of diseases, biomarkers for therapeutic targets in drug development, and exposit nature of cell-to-cell interactions. Also, these are vital genomic signatures and characterizations of clinical applications. Over the past decades, RNAseq has generated a wide array of information that is igniting bespoke breakthroughs and innovations in Biomedicine. On the other side, spatial transcriptomics is tissue level based and utilized to study biological specimens having heterogeneous features. It exposits the gross identity of investigated mammalian tissues, which can then be used to study cell differentiation, track cell line trajectory patterns and behavior, and regulatory homeostasis in disease states. Also, it requires referenced positional analysis to make up of genomic signatures that will be sassed from the single cells in the tissue sample. Given these two presented approaches to RNA transcriptomics study in varying quantities of cell lines, with avenues for appropriate resolutions, both approaches have made the study of gene expression from mRNA molecules interesting, progressive, developmental, and helping to tackle health challenges head-on.

Keywords: transcriptomics, RNA sequencing, single cell, spatial, gene expression.

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Authors: Nelomi Anandagoda, Leanne J. Eveson

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge in in-patient admissions across the medical directorate of a district general hospital necessitated the implementation of an incident rota. Conscious of the impact on training and professional development, the idea of developing a virtual teaching programme was conceived. The programme initially aimed to provide junior doctors, specialist nurses, pharmacists, and allied healthcare professionals from medical specialties and those re-deployed from other specialties (e.g., ophthalmology, GP, surgery, psychiatry) the knowledge and skills to manage the deteriorating patient with COVID-19. The programme was later developed to incorporate the general internal medicine curriculum. To facilitate continuing medical education whilst maintaining social distancing during this period, a virtual platform was used to deliver teaching to junior doctors across two large district general hospitals and two community hospitals. Teaching sessions were recorded and uploaded to a common platform, providing a resource for participants to catch up on and re-watch teaching sessions, making strides towards reducing discrimination against the professional development of less than full-time trainees. Thus, creating a learning environment, which is inclusive and accessible to adult learners in a self-directed manner. The negative impact of the pandemic on the well-being of healthcare professionals is well documented. To support the multi-disciplinary team, the virtual teaching programme evolved to included sessions on well-being, resilience, and work-life balance. Providing teaching for learners across the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) has been an eye-opening experience. By challenging the concept that learners should only be taught within their own peer groups, the authors have fostered a greater appreciation of the strengths of the MDT and showcased the immense wealth of expertise available within the trust. The inclusive nature of the teaching and the ease of joining a virtual teaching session has facilitated the dissemination of knowledge across the MDT, thus improving patient care on the frontline. The weekly teaching programme has been running for over eight months, with ongoing engagement, interest, and participation. As described above, the teaching programme has evolved to accommodate the needs of its learners. It has received excellent feedback with an appreciation of its inclusive, multi-disciplinary, and holistic nature. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a catalyst to rapidly develop novel methods of working and training and widened access/exposure to the virtual technologies available to large organisations. By merging pedagogical expertise and technology, the authors have created an effective online learning environment. Although the authors do not propose to replace face-to-face teaching altogether, this model of virtual multidisciplinary team, cross-site teaching has proven to be a great leveler. It has made high-quality teaching accessible to learners of different confidence levels, grades, specialties, and working patterns.

Keywords: cross-site, cross-speciality, inter-disciplinary, multidisciplinary, virtual teaching

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Authors: A. Odoom, A. Salama, H. Ibrahim

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Hydrogen is a clean source of energy for power production and transportation. The main source of hydrogen in this research is biodiesel. Glycerol also called glycerine is a by-product of biodiesel production by transesterification of vegetable oils and methanol. This is a reliable and environmentally-friendly source of hydrogen production than fossil fuels. A typical composition of crude glycerol comprises of glycerol, water, organic and inorganic salts, soap, methanol and small amounts of glycerides. Crude glycerol has limited industrial application due to its low purity thus, the usage of crude glycerol can significantly enhance the sustainability and production of biodiesel. Reforming techniques is an approach for hydrogen production mainly Steam Reforming (SR), Autothermal Reforming (ATR) and Partial Oxidation Reforming (POR). SR produces high hydrogen conversions and yield but is highly endothermic whereas POR is exothermic. On the downside, PO yields lower hydrogen as well as large amount of side reactions. ATR which is a fusion of partial oxidation reforming and steam reforming is thermally neutral because net reactor heat duty is zero. It has relatively high hydrogen yield, selectivity as well as limits coke formation. The complex chemical processes that take place during the production phases makes it relatively difficult to construct a reliable and robust numerical model. Numerical model is a tool to mimic reality and provide insight into the influence of the parameters. In this work, we introduce a finite volume numerical study for an 'in-house' lab-scale experiment of ATR. Previous numerical studies on this process have considered either using Comsol or nodal finite difference analysis. Since Comsol is a commercial package which is not readily available everywhere and lab-scale experiment can be considered well mixed in the radial direction. One spatial dimension suffices to capture the essential feature of ATR, in this work, we consider developing our own numerical approach using MATLAB. A continuum fixed bed reactor is modelled using MATLAB with both pseudo homogeneous and heterogeneous models. The drawback of nodal finite difference formulation is that it is not locally conservative which means that materials and momenta can be generated inside the domain as an artifact of the discretization. Control volume, on the other hand, is locally conservative and suites very well problems where materials are generated and consumed inside the domain. In this work, species mass balance, Darcy’s equation and energy equations are solved using operator splitting technique. Therefore, diffusion-like terms are discretized implicitly while advection-like terms are discretized explicitly. An upwind scheme is adapted for the advection term to ensure accuracy and positivity. Comparisons with the experimental data show very good agreements which build confidence in our modeling approach. The models obtained were validated and optimized for better results.

Keywords: autothermal reforming, crude glycerol, hydrogen, numerical model

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Authors: E. Loffi Borghese

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In this comprehensive study, we delve into the intricate dynamics of the big tech oligopoly, focusing particularly on Apple as a case study. The core objective is to scrutinize the evolving relationship between a firm's commitment to positive social impact as its primary purpose and its resilience in the face of disruptive innovations within the big tech market. Our exploration begins with a theoretical framework, emphasizing the significance of distinguishing between corporate social responsibility and social impact as a primary purpose. Drawing on insights from Drumwright and Bartkus and Glassman, we underscore the transformative potential when a firm aligns its core business with a social mission, transcending mere side activities. Examining successful firms, such as Apple, we adopt Sinek's perspective on inspirational leadership and the "golden circle." This framework sheds light on why some organizations, like Apple, succeed in making positive social impact their primary purpose. Apple's early-stage life cycle is dissected, revealing a profound commitment to challenging the status quo and promoting simpler alternatives that resonate with its users' lives. The study then navigates through industry life cycles, drawing on Klepper's stages and Christensen's disruptive innovations. Apple's dominance in the big tech oligopoly is contrasted with companies like Harley Davidson and Polaroid, illustrating the consequences of failing to adapt to disruptive innovations. The data and methods employed encompass a qualitative approach, leveraging sources like ECB, Forbes, World in Data, and scientific articles. A secondary data analysis probes Apple's market evolution within the big tech oligopoly, emphasizing the shifts in market context and innovation trends that demand strategic adaptations. The subsequent sections scrutinize Apple's present innovation strategies, highlighting its diversified product portfolio and intensified focus on big data. We examine the implications of these shifts on Apple's capacity to maintain positive social impact as its primary purpose, pondering potential consequences on its brand perception. The study culminates in a reflection on the broader implications of the big tech oligopoly's dominance. It contemplates the diminishing competitiveness in the market and the potential sidelining of positive social impact as a competitive advantage. The expansion of tech firms into diverse sectors raises concerns about negative societal impacts, prompting a call for increased regulatory attention and awareness. In conclusion, this research serves as a catalyst for heightened awareness and discussion on the intricate interplay between firms' social impact goals, disruptive innovations, and the broader societal implications within the evolving landscape of the big tech oligopoly. Despite limitations, this study aims to stimulate further research, urging a conscious and responsible approach to shaping the future economic system.

Keywords: innovation trends, market dynamics, social impact, tech oligopoly

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Authors: Sascha Kraus, Wolfgang Hora, Philipp Stieg, Thomas Niemand, Ferdinand Thies, Matthias Filser

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In most countries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are the backbone of the economy due to their impact on job creation, innovation and wealth creation. Moreover, the ongoing globalization makes it inevitable – even for SME that traditionally focused on their domestic markets – to internationalize their business activities to realize further growth and survive in international markets. Thus, internationalization has become one of the most common growth strategies for SME and has received increasing scholarly attention over the last two decades. One the downside internationalization can be also regarded as the most complex strategy that a firm can undertake. Particularly for family firms, that are often characterized by limited financial capital, a risk-averse nature and limited growth aspirations, it could be argued that family firms are more likely to face greater challenges when taking the pathway to internationalization. Especially the triangulation of family, ownership, and management (so-called ‘familiness’) manifests in a unique behavior and decision-making process which is often characterized by the importance given to noneconomic goals and distinguishes a family firm from other businesses. Taking this into account, the concept of socio-emotional wealth (SEW) has been evolved to describe the behavior of family firms. In order to investigate how different internal and external firm characteristics shape internationalization success of family firms, we drew on a sample consisting of 297 small and medium-sized family firms from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Thus, we include SEW as essential family firm characteristic and added the two major intra-organizational characteristics, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), absorptive capacity (AC) as well as collaboration intensity (CI) and relational knowledge (RK) as two major external network characteristics. Based on previous research we assume that these characteristics are important to explain internationalization success of family firm SME. Regarding the data analysis, we applied a Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), an approach that allows identifying configurations of firm characteristics, specifically used to study complex causal relationships where traditional regression techniques reach their limits. Results indicate that several combinations of these family firm characteristics can lead to international success, with no permanently required key characteristic. Instead, there are many roads to walk down for family firms to achieve internationalization success. Consequently, our data states that family owned SME are heterogeneous and internationalization is a complex and dynamic process. Results further show that network related characteristics occur in all sets, thus represent an essential element in the internationalization process of family owned SME. The contribution of our study is twofold, as we investigate different forms of international expansion for family firms and how to improve them. First, we are able to broaden the understanding of the intersection between family firm and SME internationalization with respect to major intra-organizational and network-related variables. Second, from a practical perspective, we offer family firm owners a basis for setting up internal capabilities to achieve international success.

Keywords: entrepreneurial orientation, family firm, fsQCA, internationalization, socio-emotional wealth

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Authors: Babatunde Kolawole

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This paper embarks on an exploration of the compelling interplay between documentary filmmaking and activism, delving into their symbiotic relationship and profound impact on advocacy and social justice causes. Through an in-depth analysis of diverse case studies, it seeks to illuminate the instances where documentary films have emerged as potent tools for effecting social change and advancing the principles of justice. This research underscores the vital role played by documentary filmmakers in harnessing the medium's unique capacity to engage, educate, and mobilize audiences while advocating for societal transformation. The primary focus of this study is on a selection of compelling case studies spanning various topics and causes, each exemplifying the marriage between documentary filmmaking and activism. These case studies encompass a broad spectrum of subjects, from environmental conservation and climate change to civil rights movements and human rights struggles. By examining these real-world instances, this paper endeavors to provide a comprehensive understanding of the strategies, challenges, and ethical considerations that underpin the practice of documentary filmmaking as a form of activism. Throughout the paper, it becomes evident that the potency of documentary filmmaking lies in its ability to blend artistry with social impact. The selected case studies vividly demonstrate how documentary filmmakers, armed with cameras and a passion for change, have emerged as critical agents of societal transformation. Whether it be exposing environmental atrocities, shedding light on systemic inequalities, or giving voice to marginalized communities, these documentaries have played a pivotal role in pushing the boundaries of advocacy and social justice. One of the key themes explored in this paper is the evolving nature of documentary filmmaking as a tool for activism. It delves into the shift from traditional observational documentaries to more participatory and immersive approaches, highlighting the dynamic ways in which filmmakers engage with their subjects and audiences. This evolution is exemplified in case studies where filmmakers have collaborated with the communities they document, fostering a sense of agency and empowerment among those whose stories are being told. Furthermore, this research underscores the ethical considerations inherent in the intersection of documentary filmmaking and activism. It scrutinizes questions surrounding representation, objectivity, and the responsibility of filmmakers in portraying complex social issues. By dissecting ethical dilemmas faced by documentary filmmakers in these case studies, this paper encourages a critical examination of the ethical boundaries and obligations in the realm of advocacy-driven filmmaking. In conclusion, this paper aims to shed light on the remarkable potential of documentary filmmaking as a catalyst for activism and social justice. Through the lens of compelling case studies, it illustrates the transformative power of the medium in effecting change, amplifying underrepresented voices, and mobilizing global audiences. It is hoped that this research will not only inform the discourse on documentary activism but also inspire filmmakers, scholars, and advocates to continue leveraging the cinematic art form as a formidable force for a more just and equitable world.

Keywords: film, filmmaker, documentary, human right

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Authors: Izabela P. Vatanabe, Rafaela Peron, Patricia Manzine, Marcia R. Cominetti

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Introduction: Considering the increase in life expectancy of world population, there is an emerging concern in health services to allocate better care and care to elderly, through promotion, prevention and treatment of health. It has been observed that frailty syndrome is prevalent in elderly people worldwide and this complex and heterogeneous clinical syndrome consist of the presence of physical frailty associated with cognitive dysfunction, though in absence of dementia. This can be characterized by exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, decreased walking speed, weakness and low level of physical activity, in addition, each of these symptoms may be a predictor of adverse outcomes such as hospitalization, falls, functional decline, institutionalization, and death. Cognitive frailty is a recent concept in literature, which is defined as the presence of physical frailty associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) however in absence of dementia. This new concept has been considered as a subtype of frailty, which along with aging process and its interaction with physical frailty, accelerates functional declines and can result in poor quality of life of the elderly. MCI represents a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in view of high conversion rate for this disease. Comorbidities and physical frailty are frequently found in AD patients and are closely related to heterogeneity and clinical manifestations of the disease. The decreased platelets ADAM10 levels in AD patients, compared to cognitively healthy subjects, matched by sex, age and education. Objective: Based on these previous results, this study aims to evaluate whether ADAM10 platelet levels of could act as a biomarker of cognitive frailty. Methods: The study was approved by Ethics Committee of Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and conducted in the municipality of São Carlos, headquarters of Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). Biological samples of subjects were collected, analyzed and then stored in a biorepository. ADAM10 platelet levels were analyzed by western blotting technique in subjects with MCI and compared to subjects without cognitive impairment, both with and without presence of frailty. Statistical tests of association, regression and diagnostic accuracy were performed. Results: The results have shown that ADAM10/β-actin ratio is decreased in elderly individuals with cognitive frailty compared to non-frail and cognitively healthy controls. Previous studies performed by this research group, already mentioned above, demonstrated that this reduction is still higher in AD patients. Therefore, the ADAM10/β-actin ratio appears to be a potential biomarker for cognitive frailty. The results bring important contributions to an accurate diagnosis of cognitive frailty from the perspective of ADAM10 as a biomarker for this condition, however, more experiments are being conducted, using a high number of subjects, and will help to understand the role of ADAM10 as biomarker of cognitive frailty and contribute to the implementation of tools that work in the diagnosis of cognitive frailty. Such tools can be used in public policies for the diagnosis of cognitive frailty in the elderly, resulting in a more adequate planning for health teams and better quality of life for the elderly.

Keywords: ADAM10, biomarkers, cognitive frailty, elderly

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Authors: Pedro Llanos, Diego García

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This paper is addressed to expanding our understanding of the effects of hypoxia training on our bodies to better model its dynamics and leverage some of its implications and effects on human health. Hypoxia training is a recommended practice for military and civilian pilots that allow them to recognize their early hypoxia signs and symptoms, and Scientist Astronaut Candidates (SACs) who underwent hypobaric hypoxia (HH) exposure as part of a training activity for prospective suborbital flight applications. This observational-analytical study describes physiologic responses and symptoms experienced by a SAC group before, during and after HH exposure and proposes a model for assessing predicted versus observed physiological responses. A group of individuals with diverse Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) backgrounds conducted a hypobaric training session to an altitude up to 22,000 ft (FL220) or 6,705 meters, where heart rate (HR), breathing rate (BR) and core temperature (Tc) were monitored with the use of a chest strap sensor pre and post HH exposure. A pulse oximeter registered levels of saturation of oxygen (SpO₂), number and duration of desaturations during the HH chamber flight. Hypoxia symptoms as described by the SACs during the HH training session were also registered. This data allowed to generate a preliminary predictive model of the oxygen desaturation and O₂ pressure curve for each subject, which consists of a sixth-order polynomial fit during exposure, and a fifth or fourth-order polynomial fit during recovery. Data analysis showed that HR and BR showed no significant differences between pre and post HH exposure in most of the SACs, while Tc measures showed slight but consistent decrement changes. All subjects registered SpO₂ greater than 94% for the majority of their individual HH exposures, but all of them presented at least one clinically significant desaturation (SpO₂ < 85% for more than 5 seconds) and half of the individuals showed SpO₂ below 87% for at least 30% of their HH exposure time. Finally, real time collection of HH symptoms presented temperature somatosensory perceptions (SP) for 65% of individuals, and task-focus issues for 52.5% of individuals as the most common HH indications. 95% of the subjects experienced HH onset symptoms below FL180; all participants achieved full recovery of HH symptoms within 1 minute of donning their O₂ mask. The current HH study performed on this group of individuals suggests a rapid and fully reversible physiologic response after HH exposure as expected and obtained in previous studies. Our data showed consistent results between predicted versus observed SpO₂ curves during HH suggesting a mathematical function that may be used to model HH performance deficiencies. During the HH study, real-time HH symptoms were registered providing evidenced SP and task focusing as the earliest and most common indicators. Finally, an assessment of HH signs of symptoms in a group of heterogeneous, non-pilot individuals showed similar results to previous studies in homogeneous populations of pilots.

Keywords: slow onset hypoxia, hypobaric chamber training, altitude sickness, symptoms and altitude, pressure cabin

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Authors: S. A. Krutovertsev, A. E. Tarasova, L. S. Krutovertseva, O. M. Ivanova

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The aim of the work was to get stable sensitive films with good sensitivity to ethanolamine (C2H7NO) in air. Ethanolamine is used as adsorbent in different processes of gas purification and separation. Besides it has wide industrial application. Chemical sensors of sorption type are widely used for gas analysis. Their behavior is determined by sensor characteristics of sensitive sorption layer. Forming conditions and characteristics of chemical gas sensors based on nanostructured modified silica films activated by different admixtures have been studied. As additives molybdenum containing polyoxometalates of the eighteen series were incorporated in silica films. The method of hydrolythic polycondensation from tetraethyl orthosilicate solutions was used for forming such films in this work. The method’s advantage is a possibility to introduce active additives directly into an initial solution. This method enables to obtain sensitive thin films with high specific surface at room temperature. Particular properties make polyoxometalates attractive as active additives for forming of gas-sensitive films. As catalyst of different redox processes, they can either accelerate the reaction of the matrix with analyzed gas or interact with it, and it results in changes of matrix’s electrical properties Polyoxometalates based films were deposited on the test structures manufactured by microelectronic planar technology with interdigitated electrodes. Modified silica films were deposited by a casting method from solutions based on tetraethyl orthosilicate and polyoxometalates. Polyoxometalates were directly incorporated into initial solutions. Composite nanostructured films were deposited by drop casting method on test structures with a pair of interdigital metal electrodes formed at their surface. The sensor’s active area was 4.0 x 4.0 mm, and electrode gap was egual 0.08 mm. Morphology of the layers surface were studied with Solver-P47 scanning probe microscope (NT-MDT, Russia), the infrared spectra were investigated by a Bruker EQUINOX 55 (Germany). The conditions of film formation varied during the tests. Electrical parameters of the sensors were measured electronically in real-time mode. Films had highly developed surface with value of 450 m2/g and nanoscale pores. Thickness of them was 0,2-0,3 µm. The study shows that the conditions of the environment affect markedly the sensors characteristics, which can be improved by choosing of the right procedure of forming and processing. Addition of polyoxometalate into silica film resulted in stabilization of film mass and changed markedly of electrophysical characteristics. Availability of Mn3P2Mo18O62 into silica film resulted in good sensitivity and selectivity to ethanolamine. Sensitivity maximum was observed at weight content of doping additive in range of 30–50% in matrix. With ethanolamine concentration changing from 0 to 100 ppm films’ conductivity increased by 10-12 times. The increase of sensor’s sensitivity was received owing to complexing reaction of tested substance with cationic part of polyoxometalate. This fact results in intramolecular redox reaction which sharply change electrophysical properties of polyoxometalate. This process is reversible and takes place at room temperature.

Keywords: ethanolamine, gas analysis, polyoxometalate, silica film

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