Participatory scenario planning is a powerful approach to guide diverse stakeholders in creating and reflecting on visions of plausible and desired futures. However, this process requires tools to ...guide collective action to implement such visions within management agendas. This study develops, applies, and analyzes a novel visual tool within a virtual participatory scenario planning process about the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Madrid, Spain). Building on the identification of stakeholders who might engage in scenario strategies, the visual tool guided them in defining tasks to be developed and envisioning their willingness to collaborate in their implementation. We qualitatively analyzed data from recordings, online field observations, a post-survey from the scenario planning process, and a successive policy workshop. Our findings show that the visual tool fosters dialogue between stakeholders to redistribute tasks for working together on needed strategies in the protected area while promoting reflection on their willingness to collaborate as a group to implement them. The visual tool provided graphic outcomes for nine strategies corresponding to pictures of who may or may not be willing to engage in implementing such strategies. We argue that the visual tool is a robust method that can complement participatory scenario planning processes by providing a useful starting point for creating action networks to incorporate the resulting scenario strategies into management agendas. We deliberate on the nature of the visual tool as a boundary object and discuss its role as a decision-support tool. In particular, we reflect on the potential contributions and limitations of the visual tool to four dimensions of participatory conservation governance during participatory scenario planning processes: inclusivity, integration, adaptation, and pluralism. Our study provides a practical orientation to adapt the tool to other contexts and knowledge co-creation processes.
Background and purpose
An association between high blood pressure (BP) in acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and hematoma growth (HG) has not been clearly demonstrated. Therefore, the impact of BP ...changes and course on HG and clinical outcome in patients with acute ICH was determined.
Methods
In total, 117 consecutive patients with acute (<6 h) supratentorial ICH underwent baseline and 24‐h CT scans, CT angiography for the detection of the spot sign and non‐invasive BP monitoring at 15‐min intervals over the first 24 h. Maximum and minimum BP, maximum BP increase and drop from baseline, and BP variability values from systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were calculated. SBP and MAP loads were defined as the proportion of readings >180 and >130 mmHg, respectively. HG (>33% or >6 ml), early neurological deterioration (END) and 3‐month mortality were recorded.
Results
Baseline BP variables were unrelated to either HG or clinical outcome. Conversely, SBP 180‐load independently predicted HG (odds ratio 1.05, 95% CI 1.010–1.097, P = 0.016), whilst both SBP 180‐load (odds ratio 1.04, 95% CI 1.001–1.076, P = 0.042) and SBP variability (odds ratio 1.2, 95% CI 1.047–1.380, P = 0.009) independently predicted END. Although none of the BP monitoring variables was associated with HG in the spot‐sign‐positive group, higher maximum BP increases from baseline and higher SBP and MAP loads were significantly related to HG in the spot‐sign‐negative group.
Conclusions
In patients with acute supratentorial ICH, SBP 180‐load independently predicts HG, whilst both SBP 180‐load and SBP variability predict END.
Amino acids are important compounds for GO functionalization because they can improve GO properties for many applications ranging from biomedicine to depollution. However, amino acids can act as ...nucleophiles or as reducing agents for GO functionalization or reduction, respectively. Hence, we systematically studied the GO functionalization/reduction using glycine as a model amino acid under basic conditions at room temperature. Attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the modified GO with glycine. We found that low glycine concentrations produced an epoxide ring opening reaction, whereas an increase in glycine concentration led to GO reduction. The basic medium allowed to conserve the carboxylic acid groups, whereas the GO reduction mechanism was governed by the partial hydrolysis of epoxide groups and the subsequent reduction of carboxylic acids to carbonyls. This article opens up the opportunity to study and control the conditions in which different amino acids could be used for either GO functionalization or GO reduction.
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•The reaction conditions can control either covalent functionalization or reduction.•Low glycine concentrations produce epoxide-ring opening reactions.•Basic medium leads to selective reactions on epoxide groups.•Excess of glycine promotes green reduction of graphene oxide.
•New, reliable, sensitive method for the analysis of organotin compounds in water.•The very restrictive limits fixed by the EU Directive 2013/39/EU are achieved.•This method fulfills the principles ...of green analytical chemistry.•Allows implementation in control laboratories for monitoring studies.
The European Union Water Framework Directive (2013/39/EU) sets very restrictive environmental quality standards for 45 priority substances and other pollutants, including organotin compounds (OTCs). Therefore, it is necessary to develop analytical methods in compliance with the environmental quality standard (EQSs) proposed to protect the aquatic environment and humans. The proposed method (HS-SPME-GC–QqQ-MS/MS) allows the determination of OTCs, i.e. monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT) and TBT in water in the range of few ngL−1. The method is nearly full automated, sensitive and simple; it involves less reagents, reduces waste, and is less-time consuming than traditional methods for OTCs. As such, the procedure connects with the principles of green analytical chemistry. Additionally, good precision (RSD<20%), a very low method quantification limit (MQL) (0.76ngL−1 for TBT by using only 10mL of sample) and excellent linearity (range MQL–20ngL−1) are achieved. Under these conditions, the very restrictive limits for the environmental quality standards (EQS) fixed by the 2013/39/EU Directive are achieved.
This work studies airborne quality in a geographical area that has not been investigated broadly: a suburban site nearby A Coruña (Galicia, NW Iberian Peninsula). In contrast to major Spanish cities, ...the site has Atlantic characteristics: rainy, scarce calm weather and infrequent prolonged sunny periods. The relationships between several gaseous pollutants (NO, NO2, NOx, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5 and PM1) and their temporal trends (daily, monthly and seasonal) were evaluated. The aim was to unravel whether medium- and long-distance sources were impacting upon the site. Univariate studies focused on factorizing the pollutants according to a codifying factor (wind direction, hour of the day, season and month). Multivariate studies (Varimax-rotated factorial analysis) were done separately on both weekdays and weekends. The intensity of the daily maxima for NO, NO2, NOx and CO was lower during the weekends, with O3 behaving opposite. PM average values agreed with previous historical reports for a rural background station relatively close to the site and they decreased daily between 11:00 and 19:00 h, likely because of the marine breeze. With moderate wind speeds the pollutants were associated to medium-distance pollution sources, mainly the city of A Coruña and a combination of industrial pollution sources (a power plant, a solid waste incinerator and a regional airport).
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•Ag nanoparticles (NPs) size is reduced by laser re-irradiating a NPs thin flow.•Composition and crystal structure are not modified in the re-irradiation process.•The obtained NPs ...show remarkably bactericidal effects after 13 hours.•The re-irradiation process improves the antibacterial properties of the NPs.
The rapid evolution of resistant bacteria is a huge problem in medicine because makes the treatment of infections more and more difficult. The bactericidal properties of noble metal nanoparticles could be a solution.
In this work silver nanoparticles were produced by using two nanosecond Nd:YVO4 lasers operating at 1064 and 532 nm respectively to ablate a silver target submerged in pure de-ionized water. Part of the resulting colloidal solution was injected as a fine stream by a compressed air system and re-irradiated one and three times with the same laser to resize and get uniform nanoparticles.
The obtained nanoparticles by ablation and re-irradiation consisted of crystalline Ag nanoparticles with a bimodal size distribution. The particle size has been reduced by subsequent laser re-irradiation with both laser sources, reaching a 40% of mean size reduction. Inhibitory effects on the proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus was demonstrated on silver nanoparticles obtained after re-irradiation with the infrared laser.
Simultaneous analysis of 24 carbonyl compounds (alkanals, unsaturated, dicarbonylic and aromatic aldehydes and ketones) derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and 16 polycyclic aromatic ...hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a photodiode-array (PDA) and a fluorescence (FL) detector in series is proposed.
The separation is carried out with a reversed-phase column and gradient elution using four solvents (acetonitrile, water, tetrahydrofuran and methanol) in less than 35
min. Several critical pairs of carbonyl compounds with 3 and 4 carbon atoms and different functional groups, isomers of tolualdehyde, aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes were conditional on the gradient elution. Common pre-treatment for two groups of compounds consists in a step of extraction and derivatization in aqueous medium and a further clean-up using a polymeric phase SPE and concentration in a mixture of dichloromethane:methanol. A pre-concentration factor of 50 was achieved by this procedure. Acetone and formaldehyde blanks were minimized and remain controlled with a specific cleaning of glass material and washing the SPE cartridge.
The limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.006 to 0.18
ng
mL
−1 for PAHs and from 2.4 to 10.1
ng
mL
−1 for carbonyl compounds and method precision was ≤15% for all analysed compounds. Recoveries were within the range of 95–104% for PAHs except for more volatile compounds (acenaphthene and fluorene) and within the range of 72–113% for carbonyl compounds. The method was applied in water-soluble fraction of PM
10 (atmospheric particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10
μm) and the spectral contrast technique was used in the identification of carbonyl compounds.
Design and performance of a lead fluoride detector as a luminosity monitor Pérez Benito, R.; Khaneft, D.; O'Connor, C. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
08/2016, Letnik:
826, Številka:
C
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Precise luminosity measurements for the OLYMPUS two-photon exchange experiment at DESY were performed by counting scattering events with alternating beams of electrons and positrons incident on ...atomic electrons in a gaseous hydrogen target. Final products of Møller, Bhabha, and pair annihilation interactions were observed using a pair of lead fluoride Cherenkov calorimeters with custom housings and electronics, adapted from a system used by the A4 parity violation experiment at MAMI. This paper describes the design, calibration, and operation of these detectors. An explanation of the Monte Carlo methods used to simulate the physical processes involved both at the scattering vertices and in the detector apparatus is also included.
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