Alternative Friendships to Improve Men's Health Status. The Impact of the New Alternative Masculinities' Approach.

BACKGROUND: Men who develop behaviors connected with the model of hegemonic masculinity present several health problems. Previous research has shown the types of problems that men commonly suffer in this regard such as chronic diseases, dietary disorders, and traffic accidents. To combat and overcome this situation, several campaigns, policies and recommendations have been undertaken, and consequently, their influence has been analyzed. However, there have been few investigations into the role of men's friendship in the reduction of these physical health problems. The findings presented in this article are focused on this issue, illustrating the impact of male friendship on the shaping of healthy behaviors. METHODS: Drawing upon a qualitative-based methodology articulated in a case study of the Men in Dialogue association, located in Spain, the study has followed the premises of the communicative approach, a total of 15 structured online open-ended questionnaires have been performed and analyzed. The median age of the participants is 37.5 years. RESULTS: The findings show how men involved in Men in Dialogue are promoting a kind of masculine friendship that is improving men's emotional well-being and, consequently, their physical health.

An Innovative Modular eNose System Based on a Unique Combination of Analog and Digital Metal Oxide Sensors.

An innovative concept for an electronic nose (eNose) system based on a unique combination of analog and digital sensors for online monitoring is presented. The developed system consists of small sensing arrays of commercially available semiconducting metal oxide (MOX) gas sensors in a compact, modular, low sample volume, temperature-controlled sensing chamber. The sensing chamber comprises three compartments, each of which may contain several analog and/or digital MOX sensors. Additional sensors within the digital compartment allow for pressure, humidity, and temperature measurements. The presented prototype eNose system comprises one compartment with 8 analog MOX sensors and two compartments with 10 digital sensors each and was explicitly tested here for the discrimination between midrange (3-18 ppm) concentrations of ethanol and acetone at dry and moderately humid conditions.

Using the Transient Response of WO3 Nanoneedles under Pulsed UV Light in the Detection of NH3 and NO2.

Here we report on the use of pulsed UV light for activating the gas sensing response of metal oxides. Under pulsed UV light, the resistance of metal oxides presents a ripple due to light-induced transient adsorption and desorption phenomena. This methodology has been applied to tungsten oxide nanoneedle gas sensors operated either at room temperature or under mild heating (50 °C or 100 °C). It has been found that by analyzing the rate of resistance change caused by pulsed UV light, a fast determination of gas concentration is achieved (ten-fold improvement in response time). The technique is useful for detecting both oxidizing (NO2) and reducing (NH3) gases, even in the presence of different levels of ambient humidity. Room temperature operated sensors under pulsed UV light show good response towards ammonia and nitrogen dioxide at low power consumption levels. Increasing their operating temperature to 50 °C or 100 °C has the effect of further increasing sensitivity.

Enhanced detection of nitrogen dioxide via combined heating and pulsed UV operation of indium oxide nano-octahedra.

We report on the use of combined heating and pulsed UV light activation of indium oxide gas sensors for enhancing their performance in the detection of nitrogen dioxide in air. Indium oxide nano-octahedra were synthesized at high temperature (900 °C) via vapour-phase transport and screen-printed onto alumina transducers that comprised interdigitated electrodes and a heating resistor. Compared to the standard, constant temperature operation of the sensor, mild heating (e.g., 100 °C) together with pulsed UV light irradiation employing a commercially available, 325 nm UV diode (square, 1 min period, 15 mA drive current signal), results in an up to 80-fold enhancement in sensitivity to nitrogen dioxide. Furthermore, this combined operation method allows for making savings in power consumption that range from 35% to over 80%. These results are achieved by exploiting the dynamics of sensor response under pulsed UV light, which convey important information for the quantitative analysis of nitrogen dioxide.