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Space and social distancing in managing and preventing COVID-19 community spread: An overview.
Get PDFThe spread of COVID-19 at a large scale and at a rapid pace indicates the lack of social distancing measures at multiple levels. The individuals are not to be blamed, nor should we assume the early measures were ineffective or not implemented. It is all down to the multiplicity of transmission factors that made the situation more complicated than initially anticipated. Therefore, in facing the COVID-19 pandemic, this overview paper discusses the importance of space in social distancing measures. The methods used to investigate this study are literature review and case study. Many scholarly works have already provided us with evidence-based models that suggest the influential role of social distancing measures in preventing COVID-19 community spread. To further elaborate on this important topic, the aim here is to look at the role of space not only at the individual level but at larger scales of communities, cities, regions, etc. The analysis helps better management of cities during the pandemics such as COVID-19. By reflecting on some of the ongoing research on social distancing, the study concludes with the role of space at multiple scales and how it is central to the practice of social distancing. We need to be more reflective and responsive to achieve earlier control and containment of the disease and the outbreak at the macro level. [Abstract copyright: © 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Synthesis and optical characterization of lead-free phenylenediammonium bismuth halide perovskites: a long charge carrier lifetime in phenylenediammonium bismuth iodide
Get PDFToxicity and regulatory concerns over the use of (CH3NH3)PbI3 in photovoltaic devices have resulted in significant interest in lead-free, organic-inorganic metal halides with excellent light absorbing properties and stability. Here we report the synthesis of three new lead-free bismuth halides which accommodate the symmetric conjugated p-phenylenediammonium cation (PPD = (H3NC6H4NH3)2+) in the structures. These are (PPD)BiI5, (PPD)[BiBr4]2·2H2O (2) and (PPD)2BiCl7·H2O. We also synthesized β-(PPD)2Bi2I10. The band gap of the iodide, β (PPD)2Bi2I10 (1.83 eV) is lower than that of the bromide, (PPD)[BiBr4]2·2H2O ( 2.64 eV) and chloride, (PPD)2BiCl7·H2O (2.93 eV). Photophysical studies show that β (PPD)2Bi2I10 has the longest average charge carrier lifetime (>1 us) of the materials studied here, of the same order of magnitude as that of (CH3NH3)PbI3 and has a low band gap. This suggests that β (PPD)2Bi2I10 may be a promising candidate for use in lead-free photovoltaic devices
"Ending death, not ending life": Understanding Positive Attitudes toward Assisted Dying in the UK
Get PDFOver 200 million people worldwide have access to a form of assisted dying, with the number of countries legalising assisted dying growing. Yet, in the UK, assisted dying is not available and those that help a loved one to die are at risk of prosecution. This research explored why people hold positive attitudes toward assisted dying. Eighteen individuals who are terminally ill, family members of those who experienced a bad death, and family members who helped take a loved one abroad for an assisted death
were interviewed. Findings suggest that assisted dying allows quality of life, enabling people to fulfil their basic human needs of Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness at the end of life. Furthermore, feeling like a burden was not the driving factor behind the pursuit of an assisted death, instead pain, suffering, loss of diginity and autonomy were the most important reasons. Importantly, participants indicated that assisted dying legislation will enable more safeguards than current unregulated processes, with some terminally ill individuals attempting to end their suffering alone or travelling abroad to access an assisted death. Overall, findings are supportive of a law change in favour of assisted dying in the UK
Iatrogenic effects of Reboot/ NoFap on public health: A preregistered survey study
Get PDF“Reboot,” especially NoFap, promotes abstinence from masturbation and/or pornography to treat “pornography addiction,” an unrecognized diagnosis. While the intention
of Reboot/NoFap is to decrease distress, qualitative studies have consistently suggested
that “Reboots” paradoxically cause more distress. The distress appears to occur in
response to (1) the abstinence goal, which recasts common sexual behaviors as personal
“failures,” and (2) problematic and inaccurate Reboot/NoFap forum messaging regarding
sexuality and addiction. This preregistered survey asked men about their experience with
perceived “relapse” and NoFap forums. Participants reported that their most recent
relapse was followed by feeling shameful, worthless, sad, a desire to commit suicide, and
other negative emotions. A novel predictor of identifying as a pornography addict in this
lower religiosity sample was higher narcissism. Participants reported that NoFap forums
contained posts that were misogynist (73.7% of participants), bullying (49.1%), anti-LGBT
(42.9%), antisemitic (32.0%), instructing followers to harm or kill themselves (23.5%), or
threats to hurt someone else (21.1%). More engagement in NoFap online forums was
associated with worse symptoms of erectile dysfunction, depression, anxiety, and more
sex negativity. Results support and expand previously documented harms and problems
with Reboot/NoFap claims of treating pornography addiction from qualitative research
A Study on Modelling Energy Performance in Buildings
Get PDFThe UK property industry needs to verify its energy usage; without this, the market cannot achieve the performance improvements necessary in order to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. In the UK, there is a stock of buildings with ‘performance gaps’. This means that the energy performance of a modelled building does not equate to its actual operational performance. Design focuses on theoretical performance under standard conditions instead of paying attention to how buildings perform in reality. In this study, TAS software was used to perform conventional dynamic thermal simulation and advanced simulation for the chosen building. The aim of the dynamic simulation is to verify compliance with Building Regulations. The advanced simulation focused on the HVAC plant and its predicted energy use. The results of these two simulations were compared and analysed, and demonstrate that there are strong drivers and a coherent rationale for establishing a scheme to support Design for Performance. Dynamic simulation models include simplifications and assumptions compared to how a real building operates and underestimates the real energy consumption of the building
Thermo-physical characteristics of 3C-SiC structure subjected to microwave exposure: A molecular dynamics study
Get PDFSilicon carbide (SiC) is widely used as a susceptor for microwave hybrid heating applications owing to its exceptional microwave absorbing characteristics. In practice, it is challenging to characterize the thermo-physical behaviour of the microwave irradiated SiC-based targets experimentally due to interference of integrated measurement devices with microwaves. In this article, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to understand the atomistic response of a bulk 3C-SiC model during microwave heating. Atomistic simulations were performed at different electric field strengths (ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 V/Å) and frequencies (ranging from 100 to 500 GHz) to develop a numerical relationship between temperature and time in order to predict the thermal response of bulk 3C-SiC. On the other hand, the physical characteristics of the bulk 3C-SiC were determined by the plots between mean square displacement (MSD), time and diffusion coefficients. The results showed that at 0.5 V/Å electric field strength and 500 GHz frequency, the diffusion coefficient increased up to 88% as compared to the electric field strength of 0.1 V/Å at 500 GHz. A change of 75% in the physical phase of 3C-SiC structure with respect to the initial structure was confirmed by the distorted density distribution profil
Acoustic wave propagation through panels that are made of used tea bags
Get PDFThese days more than ever, society habits raise the necessity to consider the future of the environment. This presentation will tackle the aspect of more eco-friendly acoustic materials, more specifically analysing the properties of consumed tea bags, starting from the collection up to the application and measurement of the final product. Many good options are often avoided, or not implemented for the lack of reliable properties analysis, encouraging existing materials to be chosen instead, the more information could be found about new materials, the more these could have a chance to be used, compared, or eventually improved. Sound absorbing panels that are made of tea bags were designed and developed to investigate acoustic sound transmission through tea-bag panels. Measurements were carried out on tea-bag panels in an impedance tube using a transfer function method to determine their sound absorption and transmission loss. Furthermore, the impedance gun system was used to determine acoustical properties of larger panels. Results show that 70 mm thick panels give an absorption coefficient higher than 0.8 between 500 Hz and 1600 Hz while 17 mm thick panels give an absorption coefficient that is mostly effective at higher frequencies. Up to 9 dB sound transmission loss is obtained at some frequencies
Microfluidic synthesis of monodisperse and size-tunable CsPbBr3 supraparticles
Get PDFThe highly controlled, microfluidic template-assisted self-assembly of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals into spherical supraparticles is presented, achieving precise control over average supraparticle size through the variation of nanocrystal concentration and droplet size; thus facilitating the synthesis of highly monodisperse, sub-micron supraparticles (with diameters between 280 and 700 nm)
Reframing migrant narratives through arts practice
Get PDFIn this article, we reflect on our collaborative practice-as-research piece Project Finding Home, that arose from our experiences of working and living in the UK as ‘non-British’ citizens. Engaging with other refugee and migrant artists over three years, we worked deliberately as co-researchers and co-creators in a non-hierarchical dynamic to produce a series of four films reflecting on how we find home when it is so impacted by government policy, social and cultural integration, and intergenerational relationships. This article focuses on two of these films, one made with partici-patory theatre company of Sanctuary, PSYCHEdelight, and one made with conceptual artist, Khaled Barakeh. Through observations of their work, we discuss how their respective uses of comedy (in PSYCHEdelight's show Mohand and Peter) and visual representation (in Barakeh's in-stallation On the Ropes) resist singular views of migrant narratives. Additionally, we analyse our creative and ethical processes for making films with them about their work. Discussing how their aesthetics informed our processes for showcasing who they are and what they do as artists to a wider audience, we examine how artistic practice, its documentation and its dissemination can question dominant aesthetic norms and existing migration and cultural policies in the UK and Europe
Impact of stirring regime on piezocatalytic dye degradation using BaTiO3 nanoparticles
Get PDFThere is increasing demand to use readily accessible waste energy to drive environmentally friendly processes. Piezocatalysis, the process of converting mechanical energy such as vibration into a chemical process, is a breakthrough next generation approach to meet this challenge. However, these systems currently focus on using ultrasound to drive the chemical reaction and are therefore expensive to operate. We show that by using simple mechanical stirring and BaTiO3 particles we can remove Rhodamine B dye molecules from solution. After evaluating a range of stirring parameters, we demonstrate that there is an interplay between stirring speed, volume of liquid, catalyst structure and rate of dye removal. Our maximum degradation rate was 12.05 mg. g-1 catalyst after 1 hour of mechanical stirring at favourable conditions. This development provides a new insight into a low energy physical technique that can be used in environmental remediation processes