It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, November 05, 2022
Sustainable recycling using electrochemistry: Carl Zeiss Foundation supports new research project
New Halocycles project aims to develop a halogen recovery technique contributing to the stabilization of the power grid and the defossilization of the future industrial society
IMAGE: THE HALOCYCLES RESEARCH PROJECT AIMS TO USE GREEN ELECTRICITY TO RECLAIM HALOGENS WHILE LEAVING THE CARBON STRUCTURES OF THE RELATED WASTE COMPOUNDS INTACT.view more
Increasing the recovery of valuable fossil raw materials, avoiding climate-damaging carbon dioxide emission, and stabilizing our energy supply network – these are the three major objectives of a new joint research project of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and TU Kaiserslautern. With their pioneering concept, the two partners convinced the Carl Zeiss Foundation (CZS) to fund their project in its CZS Breakthroughs program with around EUR 4 million over the next six years. In the new Halocycles project, the researchers aim to develop an electrochemical technique to recover halogens – such as bromine, chlorine, and fluorine – from waste products. The carbon structure present in halogen compounds will be preserved in the process, thus preventing the corresponding emissions, while the flexibility of the technique will help contribute to the stabilizing of power grids.
Previous methods of recovering halogens from compounds were highly complex and unsustainable
Halogen compounds are present in a wide range of everyday products. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), for example, is used in various construction materials, while polytetrafluroethylene (Teflon) is employed for non-stick coatings or in batteries. It is difficult if not impossible to find alternatives to them because they often have unique properties. Unfortunately, the halogens most in demand – fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine – are becoming increasingly expensive, while in some cases resources are growing scarce. Recycling is difficult. Where it is at all possible, halogens have to be recovered from the flue gases generated by burning the corresponding waste, meaning large amounts of energy are required. To exacerbate the problem, many halogen compounds are also used in flame retardants so that the burning process requires assistance by additional gas or oil. This results in the disintegration of the carbon structures and thus the release of large quantities of carbon dioxide. "In our new Halocycles project, we are approaching this issue a completely different direction," said Professor Siegfried Waldvogel of JGU's Department of Chemistry, who is the project's spokesperson. "Our idea is to use an electrochemical technique to recover the halogens without burning the carbon structures. Thus, we also avoid the formation of dioxins." The results then form the basis for a circular economy of halogens.
Outstanding expertise in the field of electrochemistry at Mainz University
It is possible, for instance, to power the electrosynthesis process using renewable electricity generated by wind turbines at night when there is less demand of electricity. This would thus also assist with the stabilization of energy supplies. "We here at Mainz do have a great understanding of the process of electrosynthesis. We have been working in this field for 25 years now and have gained a level of expertise that only few in the world can match," emphasized Waldvogel. Involved in the project in addition to the Mainz-based researchers at JGU and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research are their colleagues at TU Kaiserslautern providing their know-how in chemistry and process engineering as well as those at the Leibniz-Institut für Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH (IVW), also based in Kaiserslautern. The partners also consider to utilize and exploit the results of research in a spin-off to be established later on in the process.
The researchers anticipate that among the outcomes of the Halocycles project will be a more effective use of resources and a reduction of the dependence on Earth's dwindling fossil reserves. This may well help pave the way towards raw materials sovereignty in Europe, a very important topic now and in the future.
Carl Zeiss Foundation funds top-level international research within its CZS Breakthroughs program
Within the framework of its CZS Breakthroughs program, the Carl Zeiss Foundation is promoting globally relevant research projects being undertaken at universities in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Thuringia. To be eligible for funding, the applying universities must demonstrate a level of expertise in their field that is unique nationally. Funding projects are selected through competition and based on excellence criteria in a two-stage review process.
A researcher working on an electrochemical flow reactor
It was the information she couldn’t find that led Amy Kirkham, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE), to her latest discovery.
Asked by the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance to co-author a scientific statement paper in 2020 on the state of women’s heart health in Canada, Kirkham - whose research is focused on preventing and treating the risk of heart disease related to breast cancer treatment – needed to know what percentage of the Canadian female population has a history of breast cancer.
But the most recent statistic she could find – one percent – was from 2007.
“Nearly 15 years had passed and I could not find a more recent citation about the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in Canada,” says Kirkham. “Breast cancer mortality rates had continued to improve 26 per cent over this time period, so I suspected that this number was no longer accurate.”
So, in collaboration with Katarzyna Jerzak, a medical oncologist at Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre and assistant professor in the department of medicine in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Kirkham embarked on a new study that would determine an up-to-date estimate of the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in Canada in 2022 using the Canadian Cancer Society’s annual cancer statistic reports.
The study, recently published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, found that in the 15-year span from 2007 to 2021, there were 370,756 patients (2.1 per cent of the adult female population in Canada in 2022) diagnosed with breast cancer and 86 per cent of these women would have survived breast cancer by 2022.
“This indicates that the prevalence of breast cancer survivors in the Canadian female population has doubled and that there are 2.5 times more survivors since the last estimate in 2007,” says Kirkham.
The prior estimate did not include the age group of survivors, but according to the new estimate provided by Kirkham and Jerzak, breast cancer survivors represent one per cent of Canadian women in the typical working and/or child-raising age group (20 to 64 years) and 5.4 per cent of senior (aged 65-plus) Canadian women.
But it’s not all good news.
Many of the treatments that have improved breast cancer mortality rates also cause short-term and long-term side effects, which, in turn, can raise the risk of death from other causes such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, liver disease and other non-fatal health outcomes.
“The most common cause of death in women with breast cancer is heart disease,” Kirkham says.
Such conditions also affect overall health-care costs.
To demonstrate the excess health-care costs related to heart disease, Kirkham and Jerzak performed an additional analysis using Canadian data on rates of hospitalization for heart failure and their costs. They found that two per cent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2007 and 2021 would likely experience heart failure hospitalization costing $66.5 million in total. As much as 25 per cent of these costs, or $16.5 million, were in excess of those costs that would be associated with women who did not have breast cancer.
“Given the excess health-care costs, potential for reduced contributions to the workforce and reduced quality of life associated with long-term side effects and risk of excess death among breast cancer survivors, our work highlights that there is a growing segment of the population who require services to support recovery following breast cancer treatment," says Kirkham.
“The goal of my research lab is to develop new therapies to improve the health of women after surviving breast cancer.”
JOURNAL
Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Prevalence of Breast Cancer Survivors Among Canadian Women
“The Ripple Effect” new study illustrates vast influence children’s mental health concerns have on workforce challenges in America
On Our Sleeves® releases new data that shows one-third of working parents report changing or quitting their jobs during the past two years because of their child’s mental health
COLUMBUS, Ohio (November 3, 2022)– As the American economy has undergone rapid and dramatic change, so too has America’s workforce. Trending terms, such as “the great resignation” and “quiet quitting,” have been coined as we seek to better understand workplace challenges across the country. There have been many contributing factors reported to be driving these issues, but new research shows that the pediatric mental health crisis is a significant and surprising contributor among working parents in America’s workforce.
In a first of its kind national study conducted by On Our Sleeves, the movement for children’s mental health, the “Great Collide” found that employees' work performance and productivity were negatively impacted by their children’s mental health.
Now, in its second iteration, “The Ripple Effect” study from On Our Sleeves found that the mental health of their children remains a concern for the large majority of working parents, with almost half of all parents reporting that in the past year their child's mental health has been somewhat or extremely disruptive to their ability to work on most days.
“After discovering the impact that children’s mental health was having on the national workforce, it was important for us to dig in deeper and flesh out the scope of the impact and look for ways to provide relief to parents and employers,” Marti Bledsoe Post, executive director of On Our Sleeves, said. “Having these honest conversations can be difficult and new to many parents, but, luckily, this data points to solutions.”
In addition to daily work disruptions, many working parents reported long-term disruptions to their careers due to their children’s mental health. For working parents who feel as though they’ve been placed in a position to choose between their child and their work, the choice is clear - with one-third (32%) of working parents reporting that they’ve changed or quit their job during the past two years because of their child’s mental health.
“I left my job to adjust my schedule and workload around my kids. My kids were suffering and I was too exhausted to come home and address things going on. I knew I needed to let the job go because it was affecting my entire household.” Demetris, a working mom, said.
Furthermore, among parents who still have some degree of concerns and interruptions regarding their child’s mental health, significantly more Black/African-American parents (37%) reported changing their work arrangements because of their child’s mental health than white-only parents (26%).
With so many working parents struggling, On Our Sleeves also asked what would help ease the strain they were feeling and make them more likely to stay with their employer. Many pointed to the need for collaboration with their employers to address the impact of their children’s mental health on their work.
Nearly three-quarters of working parents surveyed said jobs that provide their children with mental health benefits and resources are more attractive than jobs that do not offer such benefits.
“We’re seeing that caregivers will choose family over work if the mental health needs of their child are involved, and so the U.S. workforce will continue to be affected by pediatric mental health,” said Dr. Ariana Hoet, clinical director of On Our Sleeves and pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Our kids are having a hard time and, as a result, their caregivers are too. Equipping caregivers and their employers with resources to address youth mental health is key to our path forward.”
On Our Sleeves is pushing for changes across the country. As a national advocate in the youth mental health movement, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently traveled to meet with pediatric behavioral health experts at On Our Sleeves and Nationwide Children’s Hospital to discuss the study and actions being taken right now to protect youth mental health.
“We must all work together to address the youth mental health crisis and improve mental health at work. This research reinforces the fact that youth mental health impacts not only children but also parents, caregivers and employers,”said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.“My Surgeon General’sAdvisory on Youth Mental Health and Framework on Mental Health and Well-Being in the Workplace both outline steps that employers can take to support the mental health of their employees and their families, recognizing that employers have a role to play as we work to lay the foundation for a healthier nation.”
Striving to provide the best possible work environment for its employees, Nationwide Insurance’s foundation, the Nationwide Foundation, partnered with On Our Sleeves to help fund this important research. The hope is to raise awareness of the challenges many working parents face and that more companies nationwide will be able to create a safe space for their employees to thrive.
“As business leaders, it’s important for us to understand what an employee needs in order to be successful in the workplace.” said Vinita Clements, Executive Vice President & Chief of Human Resources at Nationwide Insurance whose Foundation funded the study. “By fostering a work environment where employees feel comfortable opening up, we’re able to better provide support.”
About On Our Sleeves® Children don’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves. With 1 in 5 children living with a significant mental health concern and half of all lifetime mental health concerns starting by age 14, we need to give them a voice. On Our Sleeves®, powered by behavioral health experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, aims to provide every community in America with free resources necessary for breaking child mental health stigmas and educating families and advocates, because no child or family should struggle alone.
Since the inception of On Our Sleeves® in 2018, more than 3 million people in every state across America have interacted with the movement’s free pediatric mental health educational resources at OnOurSleeves.org and educator curriculums have reached more than four of five classrooms across the United States.
About Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Behavioral Health Services & The Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion As a national leader in pediatric behavioral and mental health, Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Big Lots Behavioral Health Services offers a comprehensive, team approach which brings together more than 1,100 staff members in psychiatry, psychology, pediatrics, advanced practice providers, nursing, counseling, social work, clinical therapies and parent support specialists to help with every aspect of a child’s treatment for more than 257,000 visits. This includes the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion, America’s largest treatment and research center on a pediatric medical campus. Nationwide Children’s Behavioral Health is also the creator of the On Our Sleeves movement for children’s mental health, aimed at providing every community in America with free, evidence-informed resources.
About the Nationwide Foundation The Nationwide Foundation, established in 1959, is a nonprofit, private foundation to which Nationwide companies are the donors. Their mission is to improve the quality of life in communities in which a large number of Nationwide members, associates, partners and their families live and work. Since 2000, the Nationwide Foundation has contributed more than $550 million to nonprofit organizations across the country that work to meet crucial needs in communities with a significant presence of Nationwide associates.
German Study: Public more likely to support climate action if other countries commit as well
The public is more willing to bear the costs of climate action if other countries contribute as well. This is the result of a study conducted by Professor Dr Michael Bechtel, member of the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute (University of Cologne), Professor Dr Kenneth Scheve (Yale University), and Dr Elisabeth van Lieshout (Stanford University), which has recently been published in the journal Nature Communications.
In representative surveys, the researchers investigated whether the extent to which the public supports costly climate policies, e.g., the introduction of a domestic carbon tax, depends on whether other countries also pursue climate action. The results suggest that if other countries invest in climate action, the domestic public is more willing to approve introducing a domestic carbon tax because individuals expect these policy efforts to be fairer and more likely to be effective.
The team surveyed a total of 10,000 citizens in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States in early 2019. Respondents were asked to indicate who much they approved or disapproved the introduction of a carbon tax. 60 percent of respondents supported a tax if other countries also introduced one. However, when other countries did not joint these efforts, domestic carbon tax approval dopped to 53 percent. ‘We also find that when domestic climate measures are embedded internationally, people are more likely to believe that these reforms will have a positive impact on important social, economic, and environmental sustainability goals, ' says Michael Bechtel.
In a second study, the research team investigated whether the costs of climate action would be more broadly accepted domestically if other countries pursued more ambitious and thus more costly measures. Participants were asked whether they would be willing to support costly climate policy scenarios in which the researchers varied the level of contributions made by other countries. If domestic monthly household costs increased from a low to a higher level, in the case of Germany for example from EUR 39 to 77 per month, support decreased by seven percentage points if the price of carbon dioxide remained low abroad. However, if other industrialized countries decided to introduce high monthly household costs, domestic policy support fell only by about five percentage points in response to a domestic CO2 price increase. ‘Even if people generally dislike costs, they are more willing to accept cost increases if other countries also make higher contributions, ' says Michael Bechtel.
Climate change measures in other countries thus play a crucial role in securing mass support for domestic climate policy, according to the study. ‘Investing in well-functioning international agreements is worthwhile not only from a natural science perspective, but also for policymakers interested in securing broader public support for costly climate action domestically, ' says Bechtel.
ECONtribute is the only Cluster of Excellence in economics funded by the DFG, supported by the Universities of Bonn and Cologne. The Cluster conducts research on markets at the intersections of business, policy, and society. With a new approach to markets, it analyses market failures in times of social, technological and economic challenges, including inequality, global financial crises, and digitalization.
IMAGE: HIGHER STRAIN CAUSED BY ARTIFICIAL VENTILATORS (LEFT) AND LESS STRETCH WHEN THE SAME LUNG IS MADE TO BREATHE NATURALLY.view more
CREDIT: MONA ESKANDARI/UCR
Breakthrough research addresses a long-standing question in pulmonary medicine about whether modern ventilators overstretch lung tissue. They do.
These cutting-edge findings by UC Riverside researchers were recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. They demonstrate major differences between how we naturally breathe versus how ventilators make us breathe. These results are critical, particularly in context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rush to build ventilators.
“Using novel techniques, we observed that ventilators can overextend certain regions of the lungs,” said Mona Eskandari, UCR assistant professor of mechanical engineering and the BREATHE Center in the School of Medicine, who led the research. These results provide an explanation for the decline in lung health experienced by patients the longer they spend on the machines, especially in the case of disease.
Eskandari’s bMECH lab pioneered a technique to study lungs as they are made to breathe. On a custom-built ventilator designed in their lab, the researchers imitated both natural and artificial breathing. Then, they observed isolated lungs involved in both types of breathing using multiple cameras collecting fast, high-resolution images, a method called digital image correlation.
“Our setup allows us to imitate both physiological and artificial breathing on the same lung with the switch of a button,” Eskandari said. “The unique combination of our ventilator with digital image correlation gives us unprecedented insights into the way specific regions of the lungs work in concert with the whole.”
Using their innovative method to interface these two systems, UCR researchers collected evidence demonstrating that natural breathing stretches certain parts of the lung as little as 25% while those same regions stretch to as much as 60% when on a ventilator.
Scholars traditionally model the lungs like balloons, or what they refer to as thin-walled pressure vessels, where pushing air in and pulling air out are understood to be mechanically equivalent.
To explain what they observed in this study, the researchers propose moving away from thin-walled pressure vessel models and instead towards thick-walled models. Unlike thin-walled pressure vessels theory, a thick-walled model accounts for the differing levels of stress in airways resulting from ventilators pushing air in versus natural breathing, which pulls air in. This helps to explain how airways are more engaged and air is more evenly distributed in the lung during physiological breathing.
Iron lungs, the gigantic ventilators used during the late 1940s polio outbreak, acted more like a human chest cavity, expanding the lung as it naturally would. This creates a vacuum effect that pulls air into the lungs. Though this action is gentler for the lungs, these bulky systems prevented easy access to monitoring other organs in hospital care.
By contrast, modern ventilators are more portable and easier for caretakers to work with. However, they push air into the lungs that is not evenly distributed, overstretching some parts and causing a decline in lung health over time.
While it is unlikely that hospitals will return to the iron lung models, it is possible that modern machines can be altered to reduce injury.
“Now that we know about excessive strain when air is delivered to the lungs, the question for us becomes about how we can improve ventilation strategies by emulating natural breathing,” Eskandari said.
Mona Eskandari, principal investigator of UC Riverside's bMECH laboratory.
CREDIT
Jonathan Alcorn/UCR
JOURNAL
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
Positive- and Negative-Pressure Ventilation Characterized by Local and Global Pulmonary Mechanics
GlycoNet and partners invest $6.5 million in carbohydrate research with One Health focus
This investment will support state-of-the-art glycomics research that focuses on different aspects of One Health—human, animal and environmental health.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA (November 3, 2022) – GlycoNet, one of the world’s leaders in glycomics research and discovery, announced a $2.46 million investment for 21 glycomics projects across Canada. Industry collaborators, health foundations and business partners are also co-investing $4 million, bringing the total funding to almost $6.5 million. This funding will support research critical to improving the health of humans, animals and the environment.
“As the study of carbohydrates, known as glycomics, continues to rapidly improve our understanding of biological systems, our research and collaboration have grown to focus on One Health, which recognizes the interconnections among people, animals, and the environment,” says Elizabeth Nanak, CEO, GlycoNet. “Our funding will further the development of made-in-Canada health solutions while building a sustainable, diverse bioeconomy, through advancing Canadian glycomics research, commercialization, and training of top talent.”
One of the funded initiatives is advancing a carbohydrate-based “cage” technology that enables anti-inflammatory drugs to be delivered more efficiently to the lower gastrointestinal tract, reducing the potential for side effects. Dr. Harry Brumer at the University of British Columbia is leading the team developing this technology, which could be used to improve the treatment of lower gut diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease—a condition that affects 300,000 Canadians (Crohn’s and Colitis Canada).
“Support from GlycoNet and other partners has been invaluable to enable us to build a diverse team of chemists, microbiologists, and clinical scientists across different provinces to accelerate technology development toward translation,” says Brumer.
Further, the announced funding will support a project set to develop a carbohydrate-based vaccine to protect pigs against the infection caused by Streptococcus suis, a common cause of severe disease and death in piglets. Dr. Mariela Segura, who is leading the project at the University of Montreal, anticipates that the vaccine will provide an alternative to the use of antimicrobials, helping combat the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance, while also supporting the Canadian economy. Across the country, more than 7,000 pig farms contribute to the creation of tens of thousands of jobs and a resulting economic output of $23.8 billion (Canadian Pork Council).
This investment is also funding research to develop innovative biomarkers for measuring the health status of ocean food resources in the context of climate change. The research led by Dr. Yves St-Pierre at Institut national de la recherche scientifique involves integrating our knowledge of carbohydrates in biological processes to enhance the analysis of samples collected from mussels and fish.
“With climate change putting continuous pressure on marine resources, it is increasingly important that we have sensitive and predictive biomarkers to help with routine monitoring of marine resources,” says St-Pierre. “Changes in the health of ocean food sources have profound impacts in terms of food safety, as well as economical and social consequences for local fishing communities or northern communities.”
Mobilizing knowledge, expertise and collaborations in the study of carbohydrates opens new doors to understanding the relationships that underpin human, animal and environmental health. This funding will enable researchers to develop made-in-Canada One Health solutions, while also yielding the creation of new companies, jobs and economic growth.
Quick Facts
Glycomics is the study of carbohydrates or sugars (called glycans) in all living organisms.
Today’s announcement is for $2.46 million in funding for glycomics research plus $4 million in co-funding from research partners and industry collaborators across Canada.
Since 2015, GlycoNet has invested $32 million from the federal Network of Centres of Excellence program and leveraged $39 million of partner funding into R&D, trained over 590 highly qualified personnel and has supported the start-up of 5 new Canadian companies.
Learn morehere about the projects receiving funding.
About GlycoNet GlycoNet is the network under which GlycoNet Integrated Services (GIS) operates. GlycoNet is advancing research, innovation, and training in glycomics to improve the quality of life of Canadians using a One Health approach. GlycoNet is a pan-Canadian research network consisting of 175 researchers in 35 institutions across the country participating in 125 funded projects. GlycoNet researchers use the study of carbohydrates (sugars) in living cells to find solutions to unmet health needs through the development of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. GlycoNet focuses on four major research areas: cancer, chronic diseases, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. GlycoNet is also a leader in training the next generation of glycoscientists and promoting collaboration and advancement in glycomics research. Learn more on our website: glyconet.ca.
UK
Periods and pregnancy still taboo in women’s football
Sport and exercise experts are calling for better education around periods and pregnancy in women’s football.
IMAGE: THE EUROPEAN WOMEN IN SPORT (E-WINS) PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE ERASMUS+ SPORT PROGRAMME AND BRINGS TOGETHER EXPERTS FROM NINE UNIVERSITIES AND SPORTS ORGANISATIONS.view more
CREDIT: E-WINS
Sport and exercise experts are calling for better education around periods and pregnancy in women’s football.
New research carried out at women’s football clubs across six European countries shows that education around the menstrual cycle, hormonal contraception and pregnancy is severely lacking.
The study, led by academics from Staffordshire University, involved more than 1,100 players, coaches and managers from grassroots to elite level clubs in Bulgaria, England, Finland, France, Poland and Spain. It investigated policies, perceptions and understanding through an online survey and a series of focus groups.
Dr Jacky Forsyth, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology, explained: “The topic of ovarian hormones and their effects on training and performance, in addition to pregnancy and postpartum, seems to have received scant consideration within any formal coach education courses.
“In sport, these topics also come with varying degrees of stigma and silence, as well as being a barrier to gender equality. To address this, we wanted to collect best practice across Europe to learn what clubs are doing well, what is effective and what can be improved.
“Despite some good practices in individual clubs across different countries, there was limited knowledge and understanding of how training, performance and health are affected. Knowledge was generally left up to the individual without support from governing bodies or coach education providers.”
69% of all participants said that educational provision on menstrual cycle was ‘not at all’ provided at their clubs and while some clubs tracked players’ menstrual cycle this was varied and inconsistent.
Approaching coaches about menstrual cycle was identified as difficult for some players with one barrier being that ‘the female game is still predominantly coached by males’ and that ‘males won’t understand’. Because of this, some players supported each other, keeping it ‘between us girls’ rather than approaching their coaches.
Similarly, 77% of respondents reported no educational provision on hormonal contraception and 64% reported no educational provision on pregnancy. Furthermore, only 5% knew of club policies on pregnancy, maternity leave, motherhood and caring responsibilities/childcare.
Recommendations arising from the study include hiring more women coaches and to formalise coach education to include research on menstrual cycle, hormonal contraception, and pregnancy, to encourage an open dialogue between coaches and athletes. The research is also directly informing teaching across Staffordshire University’s Sport and Exercise degrees.
Co-author Dr Alex Blackett said: “These findings shine a light on the fact that football training and education is still geared towards the men’s games. The development of women’s football seems to be surface level at the moment and underneath it all there’s still a lot more that needs to be done.
“The willingness to have open discussions is so important because, as our paper suggests, there is still a stigma attached to some of these issues. While it’s good that there is this solidarity and players support one another, we sometimes find that pseudo-science principals are perpetuated and so it is important that the correct information and support comes from the top.”
The study was part of the European Women in Sport (E-WinS) project which is funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme and brings together experts from nine universities and sports organisations.
The team at Staffordshire University will now work directly with football clubs in the UK to put some of their findings into practice and E-WinS project partners are producing toolkits which will be freely available online.
In 2022, Chelsea F.C. Women became the first football club in the world to tailor training to players’ menstrual cycles and the England women’s manager Sarina Wiegman introduced menstrual tracking apps ahead of the team’s victory at the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship.
More recently, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion women’s teams announced a switch to coloured shorts with their home kit because of player concerns about wearing white during their periods.
Dr Forsyth added: “Initially, it is about creating awareness that the menstrual cycle is not just about PMT and getting moody and bloated. Variations in ovarian hormone levels occur across the lifespan, so understanding their effects are important for women’s football to progress.
“Something as simple as tracking players’ menstrual cycles can make a huge difference. For instance, performance may be optimised at certain phases of the menstrual cycle and training could be adapted in order to avoid injury and muscle soreness.
“Coaches should be knowledgeable about issues that are specific to women and my hope is this will be incorporated into the FA’s coaching awards because it is clearly needed.”
Menstrual cycle, hormonal contraception and pregnancy in women’s football: perceptions of players, coaches and managers
Blind spots in the monitoring of plastic waste
KIT researchers and partners suspect that much more plastic is transported in flowing waters than previously assumed and are developing new modelling approaches
IMAGE: FOR THEIR STUDY, THE RESEARCHERS USED RIVER MODELS THAT WERE FILLED WITH PLASTIC WASTE (PHOTO: DANIEL VALERO / KIT).view more
CREDIT: PHOTO: DANIEL VALERO / KIT
Rivers play a key role in the transport of plastic in the environment. "As soon as plastic enters a river, it is transported rapidly and can spread throughout the environment," says Dr Daniel Valero from the Institute of Water and River Basin Management at KIT and lead author of a new study on plastic transport. "But, depending on its size and material, plastic can behave very differently in the process. It can sink, be suspended in the water, remain afloat or be stopped by obstacles." Current methods for estimating plastic pollution in rivers, however, are mainly based on surface observations. “This is the only way to effectively monitor large rivers from bridges. However, what happens under the water surface has not been sufficiently verified so far," says Valero.
Plastic particles are transported very differently
Together with his research partners, Valero now investigated the behaviour of over 3,000 particles in the size range from 30 millimetres to larger objects such as plastic cups in flowing waters. In laboratory models, each individual particle was tracked in 3D with millimetre precision using a multi-camera system, whereby the entire water column - from the water surface to the bottom - was recorded. With this experiment, the researchers were able to statistically prove that plastic particles behave very differently depending on exactly where they are located in a river. Plastic that is transported below the water surface behaves as predicted by common models for turbulent flows. "The particles are dispersed like dust in the wind" says Valero. As soon as plastic emerges the water surface, however, the situation changes radically: "On contact with the water surface, the particles are caught by the surface tension like flies in a spider's web. Then they cannot escape easily." This adhesive effect is just as relevant for surface transport in rivers as the specific buoyancy of a plastic particle.
Better models for visual monitoring
On the one hand, the results of the experiment show that it is not enough to consider only floating plastic on the surface to estimate the amount of plastic in rivers. "The bias is significant. If the turbulent character of the transport of plastic particles under the water surface is not considered, then the amount of plastic waste in rivers can be underestimated by up to 90 percent," says Daniel Valero. On the other hand, the results confirm that existing knowledge about the behaviour of particles in turbulent flows is relevant for the transport of plastic in rivers and that it can help to estimate the total amount more realistically. To this end, the researchers have quantified the ratio between concentrations of plastic particles at the water surface and at greater depths with different transport conditions. On this basis, monitoring can still be carried out by visual observation of the water surface and the actual transported quantity can be calculated relatively accurately. In addition, the results can help in a very practical way, namely in the development of new approaches for plastic removal: "If you can estimate where the most plastic is, then you also know where a clean-up is most effective," says Valero. (mhe)
Original publication Daniel Valero, Biruk S. Belay, Antonio Moreno-Rodenas, Matthias Kramer, Mário J. Franca: The key role of surface tension in the transport and quantification of plastic pollution in rivers. Water Research, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119078
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
Earlier this year,an IPCC report found that the majority of all adaptation actions (changes humans will need to make in response to climate change) are water-related.
A new global partnership, led by the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA), aims to ensure every country is prepared for water security issues such as droughts and floods as the climate changes.
Meeting at COP27 in Egypt, the partnership will promote "water resilience" – making sure water-related policies, plans and investments can cope with climate impacts, so that countries can adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.
The COP27 event will launch phase two of the Water Tracker for National Climate Planning tool, which helps countries assess and enhance water resilience in their national climate plans.
The event is hosted by AGWA, Arup, Deltares, the University of Exeter'sGlobal Systems Institute, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Walker Institute at the University of Reading.
"We are already seeing increased risks to water security caused by climate change," said Professor Richard Betts MBE, from the University of Exeter and the Met Office and a Lead Author on the IPCC Water chapter.
"Climate change is causing more extreme weather, and we are seeing more droughts in many parts of the world, and heavy rain leading to floods.
"The impacts of this are not just about climate, it's also about how people and societies respond – what we do with water, how much we need and how we manage it.
"Disadvantaged people around the world are most at risk from our growing water security issues.
"We are all entitled to clean, fresh water, and we need to plan ahead to ensure access for everyone as the climate changes."
John Matthews, Executive Director at the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation, adds: “Right now, most of us are responding to news about climate change with fear: how do brace for negative impacts like extreme floods and droughts?
“Clearly, we need to prepare, but we also need to think about what thriving looks like with climate change.
“Water resilience is about being proactive and forward thinking – not just how can we get ready for worse impacts, but how can we enable prosperous and healthy economies, ecosystems and societies, even as the climate continues to change?”
Speakers at the COP27 event, on Saturday 12 November from 16:45-18:15 Eastern European Time (GMT +2), include:
Lord Zac Goldsmith, UK Minister of State for Asia, Energy, Climate and Environment
Dr Hani Sewilam, Egypt's Minister of Water Resources & Irrigation
Professor Rosalind Cornforth, Walker Institute, University of Reading
Professor Richard Betts, University of Exeter and UK Met Office
Ms Sarita Dawadi, Joint Secretary, Water Resources Research and Development Center (WRRDC), Nepal
Ms Ibtisam Abuhaija, Director of Climate Change and Drought Management, Ministry of Agriculture
A panel discussion will feature representatives from countries and finance institutions on the topic of: "Water resilience as the key to effective climate action."
The event will provide an overview of climate risks to water security, including drought, floods, and human vulnerability and demonstrate how the Water Tracker tool addresses these issues.
It will also showcase examples of climate-resilient water management from Water Tracker pilot countries including Palestine, Egypt and Nepal.
In Palestine, the Water Tracker has helped decision-makers assess the water needs of their climate plans and identify ways to become more resilient. These include flexible operational rules and monitoring for water use under climate uncertainty, the tracking of climate investments and improving accountability in the use of climate finance.
Ms Salam Abu Hantash, of the Palestinian Water Authority, said: “The Water Tracker has been a fantastic tool in helping us see how water is included in these policies, and what we can do to better manage it and increase water resilience through all sectors with regards to climate change in the future.”
