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The meaning of "professional misconduct" in RICS disciplinary cases
The meaning of "professional misconduct" in MPTS / GMC, GDC, HCPC and NMC disciplinary proceedings.
In practice as in life we regularly use language that we do not pause to define. For those who practise in the field of professional discipline, we speak of "professional misconduct". Cast your eye down the list of the kinds of issues prosecuted by regulators and you will find a spectrum of offences from dishonesty down to the most technical or even footling breach of a professional code. Many regulators will assert that all of these are cases of "professional misconduct". But if that is right, then we have systems of control that are based on strict liability where intent and motive are irrelevant. Thankfully, save in respect of breaches of the Solicitors Accounts Rules, no such system pervades. What is required is a working definition of "professional misconduct" that sufficiently ensures that the full weight of a disciplinary process is brought to bear only on the most serious cases and that less serious cases are dealt with in some other way, such as a system of internal advice-giving. That is surely the essence of "outcomes focussed" regulation.
There is a touchstone that has been developed in barrister disciplinary cases that can usefully and pertinently be applied across all of the professional disciplinary regimes. The touchstone is to be found in Walker v Bar Standards Board (2013) unreported, an appeal to the Visitors to the Inns of Court in which May LJ adopted and applied the Scottish test for professional misconduct.
In Howd v Bar Standards Board, [2017] EWHC 210 at [51], per Lang J, a High Court appeal under section 24 of the Courts and Crime Act 2013, the author's written submissions for Mr Howd about the effect of Walker were accepted and adopted as follows:
"In Walker v BSB PC 2011/0219, 19 September 2013, Sir Anthony May, the former Lord Justice of Appeal, sitting as a Visitor to the Inns of Court, considered the meaning of "professional misconduct" in an earlier edition of the Bar's Code of Conduct which was in similar terms. He concluded that on a literal interpretation, any breach of the Code however trivial would constitute professional misconduct. He held that this could not be the correct approach, saying:
"11. ...consistent authorities (including, it appears, other decisions of Bar Standards Board Tribunals) have made clear that the stigma and sanctions attached to the concept of professional misconduct across the professions generally are not to be applied for trivial lapses and, on the contrary, only arise if the misconduct is properly regarded as serious.......
"16. ...the concept of professional misconduct carries resounding overtones of seriousness, reprehensible conduct which cannot extend to the trivial."
The terms of vital importance in the search for a working definition that can be applied flexibly to all cases are, "serious" and "reprehensible". Their precise philological inter-relation is a matter of debate. Returning to their Scottish origin, it is useful to recall Lord President Emslie in Sharp v Law Society of Scotland (1984) SC 129 at 134/5:
"There are certain standards of conduct to be expected of competent and reputable solicitors. A departure from these standards which would be regarded by competent and reputable solicitors as serious and reprehensible may properly be categorised as professional misconduct'"
So, in Scotland, the test is the conjunctive one of "serious" and "reprehensible". An alternative is to turn "serious" into the adverb "seriously", so, "seriously reprehensible", but it is submitted that this adds nothing. Since it is desirable that the test be capable of easy and formulaic application by decision-makers, many of whom will be non-lawyers, the test "serious and reprehensible" is perhaps to be preferred.
Two unreported decisions of Bar Disciplinary Tribunals in which the author defended both of the barristers concerned, applied the Walker test (pre-Howd). In both, the barristers were acquitted. In the first decision, BSB v S (2014), what was a technical breach of the old Code of Conduct by a barrister who declined to cooperate fully with the Legal Ombudsman's investigation of him, was excused by way of a complete acquittal by a panel chaired by Mr Alan Steinfeld QC. The panel considered that the barrister had some considerable justification in requiring disclosure from the LeO before he replied to the complaint, rather than after the case officer had written her report.
In the second decision, BSB V C (2016), conducted after the coming into force of the BSB Handbook, a Panel chaired by Mr. William Rhodri Davies QC, had to consider the case of a barrister who had practised for 15 months without a practising certificate, which, prima facie, is a criminal offence under section 14(1) of the Legal Services Act 2007. C managed successfully to invoke the Walker principle by showing that the Bar Council's online renewal system had been defective and had led to him wrongly assuming that he had paid his certification fee, when in fact he had not. This was not mere mitigation, but was held to be a complete defence.
It was noticeable in these cases that had the author acting for the defence not drawn the attention of the tribunal to the Walker test, the tribunal would have been none the wiser. BSB Prosecutors do not appear routinely to draw the test, or Walker, or Howd to the tribunal's attention. This is ironic, since the BSB is able to prosecute those who do not draw adverse authorities to the attention of a tribunal: see, BSB Handbook, rC3.4. It is surely seriously reprehensible conduct not to draw the test of "serious and reprehensible" articulated in Walker and Howd to the attention of Bar disciplinary tribunals. It is submitted that this test should be cited and applied in every disciplinary case before the Bar tribunals.
The argument has been introduced by the author in other regulatory jurisdictions, most notably before the Conduct Committee of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. In RICS v Benjamin Mire (2015), all charges were dismissed on the basis of a submission by the author of no case to answer, which combined the Galbraith test (in Reg v Galbraith [1981] 1 WLR 1039), with a Walker formulation, as well as the RICS Conduct Committee's own overarching discretion to find that there is no "liability to disciplinary action". The question whether a surveyor is "liable to disciplinary action", confers a free-standing discretion and enables a tribunal to acquit even if there is a technical breach of the Code of Conduct for Chartered Surveyors or RICS-regulated firms. It therefore accommodates the Walker / Howd Once again, prosecutors do not cite these cases without defence prompting, and since so many surveyors attend disciplinary trials without being legally represented at all, it is thought that they often fail to articulate their cases in a way that might lead to acquittal.
In MPTS/GMC, NMC, GDC and HCPC cases, the decision-maker has to grapple with the concept of "fitness to practise" ("FTP"), being a discrete stage of the disciplinary trial process. It is submitted that a breach of a rule that fails to reach a threshold of "serious and reprehensible" is one where fitness to practise may well not be impaired. The FTP part of the trial in medical disciplinary forums, like the "liability to disciplinary action" stage of RICS trials, amply accommodates an argument that the instant breach lacks serious reprehensibility to such an extent as not to impact on "fitness to practise". Once again, what might be thought only to be mitigation at best, may well become the basis for a substantive defence to the instant charge.
The Walker / Howd test impacts on investigations as well as trials. Regulators regularly fail to test projected prospects of success according to a test of "serious reprehensibility". They are frequently not asked to do so by those who advise professionals at the investigatory stage. Some commentators say that the Solicitors Regulation Authority tends to view the disciplinary world as one in which any breach of a code requires a sanction, in other words that the entire disciplinary regime is (or ought to be) one of strict liability, where gradations of intention, motive and basic human error are irrelevant.
This is a dangerous approach to professional discipline because it would mean that every single act of negligence for example, is not only actionable in damages, but should in parallel be prosecuted before a disciplinary tribunal. In reality, this is not what happens. Jurisprudentially, that must be because the only species of professional negligence that warrants a disciplinary prosecution is in respect of acts or omissions by professionals that are both "serious" and "reprehensible" in all the three pre-requisites of: (a) mental element, (b) deficient performance and (c) practical impact. This is reflected in the principles espoused by Jackson J. (as he then was) in R (Calhaem) v General Medical Council [2007] EWHC 2606 (Admin). Not all kinds of negligence are "professional misconduct."
In the most serious cases, it will often be pointless to make submissions about "serious reprehensibility". But many disciplinary cases occupy a position at the equator of professional discipline. A case that has crossed that equator in the investigator's eyes may not have crossed it by any great distance, if at all. It is in those cases that the invocation of the Walker / Howd test is likely to be of most significance. The deployment of such an argument will often be made in the face of strong objection (even threats of dire consequences, in the author's experience) from the prosecutor. It requires courage and mettle to advance such points, but as can be seen, tribunals will give the issue serious consideration if the point is well taken, sometimes with positive results.
Marc Beaumont is a Legal 500 leading barrister in professional disciplinary law. He defends barristers, solicitors, surveyors, medical and many other professionals in such cases. He can be contacted at mcb@windsorchambers.com
The meaning of "professional misconduct" in barrister and solicitor disciplinary proceedings.
The Walker /Howd test impacts on investigations as well as trials. Regulators regularly fail to test projected prospects of success according to a test of "serious reprehensibility". They are frequently not asked to do so by those who advise professionals at the investigatory stage. Some commentators say that the Solicitors Regulation Authority tends to view the disciplinary world as one in which any breach of a code requires a sanction, in other words that the entire disciplinary regime is (or ought to be) one of strict liability, where gradations of intention, motive and basic human error are irrelevant.
The Walker/Howd test impacts on investigations as well as trials. Regulators regularly fail to test projected prospects of success according to a test of "serious reprehensibility". They are frequently not asked to do so by those who advise professionals at the investigatory stage. Some commentators say that the Solicitors Regulation Authority tends to view the disciplinary world as one in which any breach of a code requires a sanction, in other words that the entire disciplinary regime is (or ought to be) one of strict liability, where gradations of intention, motive and basic human error are irrelevant.
Marc Beaumont is a Legal 500 leading barrister in professional disciplinary law at Windsor Chambers and No. 8 Chambers, Birmingham. He defends barristers, solicitors, surveyors, medical and many other professionals in such cases. He can be contacted at mcb@windsorchambers.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


As the President and CEO of ThreatQuotient, John Czupak drives the company's global expansion and manages financial growth. John has played a critical role in multiple companies that resulted in successful liquidity events. Prior to ThreatQuotient he served as General Manager for Cisco Systems' Advanced Malware Protection ("FireAMP") product line following its $2.7 billion acquisition of Sourcefire, Inc. John served in a number of additional roles during his 12-year career at Sourcefire, including Senior Vice President, Corporate and Business Development, General Manager FireAMP and Senior Vice President, International & Business Development. Before Sourcefire, John was the SVP of Worldwide Sales for Mountain Wave, Inc., which was acquired by Symantec Corporation in July of 2002. Prior to Mountain Wave, John was the Vice President of Worldwide Channels for Riverbed Technologies, a leader in mobile and wireless computing. Earlier in his career, John was an original member of the management team and Vice President of Asia Pacific and Latin America for AXENT Technologies. John also serves as an Advisor and Board member to a number of technology companies, including Sonatype, PFP CyberSecurity and Cybrary.
As the CFO of ThreatQuotient, Leonard Kurtzman utilizes his 25+ year career in financial and operational leadership to guide the company's financial operations. His venture-backed software company experience includes multiple rounds of equity and debt financings, M&A activity, and building financial infrastructure and processes to support an organization through periods of significant growth. He began his career in public accounting with Deloitte, before transitioning to the corporate technology sector with Reston, VA-based Systems Center ($130M company) where he served as VP and Controller. After Systems Center was acquired by Sterling Software, he served as CFO of Sterling's $100M International Group based in London, England and then as CFO of a $120M operating group based in Reston, VA. Prior to joining ThreatQuotient, Lenn was the CFO of Approva Corporation (sold to Infor in 2011) and newBrandAnalytics (sold to Sprinklr in 2015). Lenn also serves as a Board member to a number of technology companies, including Avizia Inc. and Co-Brain Inc.
As SVP of Worldwide Sales of ThreatQuotient, Gigi Schumm is responsible for the revenue growth and driving global channel strategy. Gigi brings over two decades of experience leading high-performing sales and services organizations, spanning commercial sales, services, channels, alliances, business development and operations. Prior to ThreatQuotient, Gigi served as VP and General Manager Public Sector at Symantec. During her 15-year Symantec tenure, her roles included VP Eastern Area and VP Services. Gigi has also held leadership roles at various technology companies, including Oracle, NeXT Software and Sun Microsystems, and has a proven track record of leading change, optimizing sales organizations and exceeding revenue and margin goals. Additionally, Gigi co-hosts the long-running weekly radio show on WFED, Women of Washington, where she interviews the most accomplished female executives from the area to share their life lessons and secrets to success.
As the CMO of ThreatQuotient, Marc Solomon leads all aspects of the company's global marketing strategies, initiatives and programs. He has a strong track record driving growth and building teams for fast growing security companies, resulting in several successful liquidity events. Prior to ThreatQuotient he served as Vice President of Security Marketing for Cisco Systems' following its $2.7 billion acquisition of Sourcefire, Inc. While at Sourcefire, Marc served as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Products. He has also held leadership positions at Fiberlink MaaS360 (acquired by IBM), McAfee (acquired by Intel), Everdream (acquired by Dell), Deloitte Consulting and HP. Marc also serves as an Advisor to a number of technology companies, including Phantom Cyber.
As the SVP of Engineering of ThreatQuotient, Tom Ashoff leverages his 20+ years of experience building cybersecurity products to drive engineering and infrastructure capabilities. Prior to joining ThreatQuotient, Tom held senior executive engineering roles at Cisco and Sourcefire. Tom was responsible for achieving the successful integration of Sourcefire's Engineering and Product Development team with Cisco's Security Business Group. While at Cisco he successfully drove a Software & Hardware strategy for an integrated Network Security product portfolio covering Next Generation Firewall, VPN, Intrusion Detection/Prevention, and Threat Management. Prior to Cisco, he served as the SVP of Engineering for Sourcefire. For over a decade Tom led the building and execution of Sourcefire's Engineering organization, delivering market leading Network Security and Enterprise Threat Detection – culminating in the $2.7 billion acquisition and successful integration by Cisco.
As SVP of Strategy of ThreatQuotient, Jonathan Couch utilizes his 20+ years of experience in information security, information warfare and intelligence collection to focus on the development of people, process, and technology within client organizations to assist in the consumption, use, and communication of cyber threat intelligence. Jonathan's expertise is in leading advanced cyber warfare, cybersecurity, information operations, and intelligence technologies research. Prior to ThreatQuotient, Jonathan was a Co-Founder and VP of Threat Intelligence Services for iSIGHT Partners. There he created and managed a threat fusion center to help clients transition to intelligence-led security programs. Jonathan also has previously served in the Air Force at the NSA, Air Force Information Warfare Center, and in Saudi Arabia as the regional network engineer for the Joint Task Force (SW Asia). After leaving the military, Jonathan led a 25-member research and development team at Sytex Inc., later acquired by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Labs in 2005.
As the Chief Architect and Co-Founder of ThreatQuotient, Wayne Chiang utilizes his 10+ years of cross-functional industry experience in software engineering and cybersecurity to help drive engineering and product initiatives. Wayne has a passion for developing innovative solutions to complex problems and managing execution strategies, and will harness that passion to drive the company's innovative technology and cybersecurity research efforts. Prior to co-founding ThreatQuotient Wayne held key positions with IBM Global Business Services to deliver technical implementations under the Air Force Financial Management Transformation contract to save the USAF more than $200 million over 10 years. Additionally, Wayne has first hand tactical operations experience during his time with the General Dynamics Security Operations Center where he designed strategies to enhance network security operations. His deep experience in delivering technology operations has spanned many different areas including Federal government, healthcare, and the Defense Industrial Base. Wayne also serves as an Advisor for the Virginia Tech Apex Systems Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
As the SVP of Corporate and Business Development of ThreatQuotient, Matt McCormick focuses primarily on developing relationships that drive revenue for ThreatQuotient as well as partners. Matt has worked in the cybersecurity industry for over 20 years with experience as a programmer, cybersecurity consultant and sales engineer. Prior to joining ThreatQuotient, Matt was the VP of Business Development at Sourcefire, Inc. for 11 years prior to its $2.7 billion acquisition by Cisco Systems. At Cisco he was responsible for Strategic Alliances and running Cisco's global security channel. Prior to Sourcefire, Matt led strategic alliances at Axent Technologies, which was purchased by Symantec in 2000. Matt has a B.S. in Engineering Science from Loyola University and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Bucknell University.
As VP of Product Management, Leon Ward leverages his 15+ years of experience in information and network security to lead product aspects of ThreatQuotient's innovative threat intelligence platform, ThreatQ. In this role, Leon drives the ThreatQ product roadmap aimed at improving the efficiency of analysts, security teams and threat operations. Prior to ThreatQuotient, Leon was Cisco's Group Product Manager of Security Innovation, contributing to a number of exciting product launches that were aimed to change the infosecurity world. Leon was previously a Director of Product Management at Sourcefire, where he managed the detection capabilities in the company's line of network products (SNORT).
As Vice President for Europe at ThreatQuotient, Cyrille Badeau steers the vendor development strategy throughout the region. Prior to joining ThreatQuotient, Cyrille was instrumental in the commercial success of several cybersecurity vendors. Cyrille launched Sourcefire's French office in 2006, and as the Director for Southern Europe, managed the vendor's IDS-IPS solutions for six years. Following Cisco's $2.7 billion acquisition of Sourcefire, Inc. in 2013, Cyrille was appointed Cisco's Cybersecurity Director for Southern Europe. Prior to joining Sourcefire, Cyrille participated in the opening of Webwasher's French subsidiary in 2002, and served as Regional Director for Southern Europe, and continued to serve for another year after the Cyberguard acquisition. Cyrille started his career in 2001 as a sales representative for large accounts at Passgo, which was acquired by Axent, which in turn was acquired by Symantec France, before joining Secure Computing as Sales Director.
As VP, International for ThreatQuotient, Anthony Perridge leads all aspects of international sales, business development and marketing. Anthony leverages significant experience for sales growth and new business development – accelerated through the implementation of strategic partner programs. Anthony is strategically focused on customer success, building long term customer and partner relationships and loyalty. Prior to joining ThreatQuotient, Anthony served as Sales Director for Cisco Security following its acquisition of Sourcefire, Inc. At Sourcefire, Anthony served as the EMEA Sales and Channel Director and previously held senior leadership roles at AirDefense and McAfee.
As VP of Threat Intelligence Engineering, Chris Jacob leads a global team of engineers in working with prospects and customers to assess their current approach to intelligence, understand their needs, and provide them with a product driven solution. Chris has over 15 years of experience in Information Security, beginning with serving as Battalion Information Systems Coordinator during his time in the Marine Corps, and including leadership positions at Sourcefire, Fidelis Cybersecurity and Webroot.


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Any change to marriage law must include protections for religious freedom
Archbishop Denis Hart, President, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Image: ACBC.
Parliament must work to unify Australians by respecting different views on marriage, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Denis Hart said today in the wake of the result of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.
"The Catholic Church, and many others who sought to retain the definition of marriage as it has been understood for centuries, continues to view marriage as a special union between a woman and a man, which allows for the creation and nurture of children," Archbishop Hart said.
"A change in civil law does not change the Catholic understanding of the nature of marriage.
"The Catholic Church continues to respect the dignity of LGBTIQ Australians and our ministries will continue to care deeply about the dignity and value of all people we encounter.
"Parliamentarians must recognise and respect the concerns of the more than 4.8 million Australians who opposed a change to the definition of marriage by putting in place strong conscience and religious freedom protections.
"These protections must ensure that Australians can continue to express their views on marriage, that faith-based schools can continue to teach the traditional understanding of marriage and that organisations can continue to operate in a manner that is consistent with those values."
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Application of dielectric surface barrier discharge for food storage
Yassine BELLEBNA, Rabah OUIDDIR, Said NEMMICH, Amar TILMATINE
*APELEC Laboratory, Djillali Liabes University of Sidi Bel-Abbes, Algeria
E-mails: yassinebellebna@yahoo.fr, said_etl@yahoo.fr, rabah61@yahoo.fr, atilmatine@gmail.com
* Corresponding author, phone: +213 557 072 141
Ozone (O3) is a powerful oxidizer and has much higher disinfection potential than chlorine and other disinfectants. Ozone finds its application mainly in water treatment and air purification Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) method has proved to be the best method to produce ozone. Dried air or oxygen is forced to pass through a 1-2 mm gap. The aim of this study was to show that disinfection system using ozone generated by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is an effective alternative to be used in food industry and ensures a safe quality of air for optimum preservation of fruits and vegetables. The DBDs are specific kind of discharges because one (or sometimes both electrodes) is covered by a dielectric material, thereby preventing the discharge to move towards electrical breakdown. A succession of micro-discharges occurs rapidly; their "lifetime" is in the range of a few nanoseconds. One of their most important applications is the production of ozone for air treatment, used mainly in the area of food industry, for extending the storage life of foods. After the achievement of a surface DBD reactor of cylindrical shape and its electrical characterization, it was then used as an ozone generator for air disinfection. Obtained results have shown that this reactor used as an ozone generator is effective for disinfection of air by removing viruses, bacteria and pathogens, causing the slowdown of the ripening process of fruits and vegetables.
Dielectric Barrier Discharge; High voltage, Ozone; Electrodes; Plasma; Ozone generator
Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor enables the generation of plasma-active species at atmospheric pressure without expensive vacuum systems [1]. Active species can include ultraviolet or visible photons, charged particles, including electrons, ions and free radicals, and highly reactive neutral species, such as reactive atoms (oxygen, fluorine, ozone, nitrogen oxides, etc), exited states atoms, and reactive molecular fragments [2]. Emission of UV-light and generation of radicals and charged particles contribute for destruction of microorganisms in plasmas.
Figure 1. Classical configuration of DBD discharge
Ozone produced in plasma region is a powerful oxidizer that could destroy microorganisms effectively [3]. Ozone concentration in nature varies between 0.01 ppm to 0.05 ppm, depending on season and geographic location. High voltage ozone generators produce ozone/gas mixture, which contains 1 % to 3 % ozone when using dry air, and from 3 % to 6 % ozone when high purity oxygen is used as a feed gas [4].
The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) has been known more than a century and the early experiences on such discharges were reported by Siemens in 1857 [5,6]. Their field of application is very large: ozone generation, waste gas treatment, activation and surface treatment, CO2 laser, excimer lamps, plasma screens and involves many industrial fields: water treatment, environment, electronics, textile, packaging, automotive [7-9]. One of their largest applications is the generation of ozone for treatment of water and disinfection of air.
This type of electrical discharge is a "cold non-equilibrium" plasma source, characterized by the presence of at least one dielectric layer between two metal electrodes (Figure 1). The presence of insulation can reduce energy flowing through the discharge channel and avoid the transition to the arc; however this requires the use of an alternative electric excitation.
The aim of this paper is to show that the ozone generated by a dielectric barrier discharge can be considered as an advantageous solution for air disinfection and storage of the food in the food industry.
Operating principle of DBD discharge
Under the action of a sufficiently high electric field applied to the gas space (a distance of the order of a few millimetres), an electron avalanche may be initiated in the gas and establish a conductive channel is called micro-discharge (Figure.2.a).
This conduction channel leads to the appearance of a space charge. The accumulation of charges in the vicinity or on the dielectric leads to a rapid decrease in the potential difference of the gas space. The discharge stops, micro-discharges are initiated in new places: the current pulse is generated (Figure.2.b).
The change of polarity (Figure.2.c), the charges previously deposited on the dielectric permit restrict of micro-discharges in a lower than at the first alternating field [10].
A surface DBD reactor of cylindrical shape was achieved. The dielectric barrier is constituted by a glass tube having a diameter of 50 mm and a thickness of 2 mm. The electrodes are a fine strip of adhesive aluminum bonded directly on the outer surface of the glass tube (Figure 3). The other metal electrode, a stainless steel mesh was placed inside the glass tube in contact with it (Figure 4). When a high voltage is applied to these electrodes, bluish color plasma is formed on the surface of the tube in contact with the mesh electrode and is distributed homogeneously along the tube (Figure 5).
Figure 2. Discharge mechanism OF DBD
Figure 3. Schematic description of the DBD reactor the surface 1. High voltage Electrode 2. Ground Electrode 3. Glass tube (dielectrique barrier) 4. DBD Discharge
Figure 4. Dielectric barrier discharge surface (photo of day)
Figure 5. Dielectric barrier discharge occurring in the reactor (night photo)
An experimental study was conducted including two aspects:
-Electrical characterization of the plasma reactor.
-Using the reactor as ozone generator for air treatment.
Experimental procedure and electrical characterization
This part of the study was to make an experimental study for the electrical characterization of the reactor, for calculating its power by measuring the applied voltage and the current through the discharge. The circuit assembly used is shown schematically in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Schematic representation of the experimental setup for studying the DBD
An electrostatic voltmeter and an oscilloscope where used to measure the applied high voltage and the current. The high voltage was delivered by a power supply of voltage 6 kV, current 30 mA and frequency 10 kHz. A 100 Ω resistor was placed in series with the circuit, whose voltage drop is visualized by the oscilloscope to measure the current generated by the DBD (Figure 7).
Figure 7. The experimental device for measuring the current 1. Variac; 2. HV Transformer, 3. Electrostatic voltmeter; 4. Resistance; 5. DBD reactor; 6. Scope
The measured values from the current diagram are the peak value of micro-discharges and the "glow" current amplitude; these parameters are shown in figure 8 on the diagram of the current registered by the oscilloscope. The power measured is the product of the "glow" current amplitude by the applied voltage. Obtained results for different values of voltage are shown in Table 1.
Figure 8. Characteristic parameters of discharge current
The current is made of series of pulses appear at each half-period, after turning off the voltage reaches its maximum value. This current waveform is typically a series of micro-discharges which occur in a dielectric barrier discharge.
These results provide a first approach to the study of the dielectric barrier discharge, and open the way for further work to optimize a cell for the treatment of air and water pollution control. However, these preliminary studies have used, for the first time in the laboratory.
Table 1. Current values measured as function of voltage
(kV)
Peak values of micro-discharges (mA)
« glow »
It appears from these results that the DBD filamentary discharge starts from 2 kV, which is a rather low breakdown voltage compared to a volume DBD. Indeed, in the case of a surface discharge there is almost a micrometer intervals gas between the mesh electrode and the dielectric barrier, while this interval is of the order of millimeters in volume DBD. Micro-discharges reach high peak values, much greater than the "glow" current amplitude. Also, should be noted that for this reactor, having length of 25 cm and a diameter of 8 cm, consumed power varies from 16 to 138 Watts (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Power consumed by reactor DBD
Application of the reactor DBD surface for food storage
The reactor was then used as an ozone generator for disinfection of air in order to extend the shelf life of food products. The laboratory setup used is described in figure 10. The products to be stocked are put inside a glass enclosure; ventilation system allows the injection of ozone inside the enclosure (Figure 11).
Ozone is mainly used for the treatment of air and water, removing bacteria, viruses and unpleasant odors, but it must not exceed a certain limit amount which may produce the opposite effect. The recommended amount of ozone is approximately 20 ppm (parts per million) for effective conservation of food products [11].
Figure 10. Schematic description of the disinfection process 1 - Ozone generator, 2 - Foods to be processed; 3 – Enclosure of air treated, 4- power supply
Figure 11. Photography of enclosure of air traited (1) and enclosure control (2)
Production of ozone is controlled by two main parameters:
-applied high voltage;
-application period of ozone generator.
The influence of these two factors was studied by setting one factor a constant value and varying the other. After switching on the generator for determined values of voltage and period application, the rate of ozone which decreases according to time was measured at time intervals of 2 minutes.
The rate of ozone depletion for different values of voltage is shown in Figure 12, and in Figure 13 for different values of period application. It follows from these results that the level of ozone is proportional to the voltage and period exposure and it is halved after nearly 30 minutes. The values of appropriate values of voltage and duration derived from these results that achieve a rate of 20 ppm is U = 2.5 kV and T= 8 s respectively.
Figure 12. Change in ozone levels according to the applied voltage
A second enclosure of untreated "normal" air, within which identical food are placed, was used as an "indicator enclosure". The results were expressed in days of food preservation by taking photographs of the food put in the two enclosures. Obtained results are shown in the following figures, comparing the state of the products, after several days of storage (Figure 14, 15 and 16).
These results show clearly that food stored in the enclosure treated with ozone are resistant to contamination much more compared to products placed in the untreated enclosure, eliminating bacteria and slowing their development. Production of ozone by DBD reactor is an effective way to disinfect air and represents a well-adapted solution in the agro-food sector.
Figure 13. Change in ozone levels according to the application period
Figure 14. Comparison between the states of the strawberry treated with ozone
(up) and food products untreated (down)
Figure 15. Comparison between the states of the apple treated with ozone
Figure 16. Comparison between the states of the cucumber treated with ozone (up) and food products untreated (down)
The application of this method based on a DBD discharge type for the air disinfection was effective. Indeed, the results showed that the disinfection of air by this method can extend the shelf life of food products. This method can be used very well in cold storage life of food products.
Production of ozone by dielectric barrier discharge is a cost effective method, which achieves high levels of ozone. Using the dielectric barrier discharge reactor as an ozone generator is effective for disinfection of air in agro-food industry for extending the shelf life of foods. The DBD which consists in a multitude of micro-discharges, enables the generation of ozone which is then pumped into the air, killing bacteria and viruses. The generation of ozone by a dielectric barrier discharge depends on the high voltage applied and the duration of this discharge. These two parameters are proportional to Ozone rate generated.
The results presented in this paper clearly show the effectiveness of ozone in the air disinfection and the extension of the shelf life of the food. Indeed, it has been proven through experiments performed on samples of fruits and vegetables, that the installation of a system of air disinfection by ozone for food storage provides an ambience of pure disinfected and a well oxygenated air.
1. Kogelshatz U. Dielectric-barrier discharges: their History, discharge Physics and Industrial Applications, Plasma Chem. Plasma Process, 2003, 33(1), p. 1-46.
2. Reece R. J., Industrial Plasma Engineering: Volume 1: Principles, by CRC Press January1, 1995.
3. Shi C., Fan J., Guo D., Yuan R., Zhou B., Zhang C., Gu J, Mass transfer in ozone contactor for drinking water treatment IEEE, Electric Technology and Civil Engineering (ICETCE), 2011 International Conference on 22-24 April 2011.
4. Kobayashi M., Asano T., Kajiyama M., Tomita B., Effect of ozone treatment of wood on its liquefaction, Journal of Wood Science, 2005, 51(4), p. 348-356.
5. Xu X., Dielectric barrier discharge properties and applications, Thin Solid Films, 2001, 309, p. 237-242.
6. Bogaerts A., Neyts E., Gijbels R., van der Mullen J., Gas discharge plasmas and their applications, Spectrochimica Acta Part B, 2002, 57, p. 609-658.
7. Massines F., Ségur P., Gherardi N., Khamphan C. and Ricard A., Physics and chemistry in a glow dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure: diagnostics and modelling, Surface and Coatings Technology, 2003, 174-175, p. 8-14.
8. Ráhel' J., Sherman MD., The transition from a filamentary dielectric barrier discharge to a diffuse barrier discharge in air at atmospheric pressure, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2005, 38(4), p. 547-554.
9. Massines F., Gherardi N., Naudé N., Ségur P., Glow and Townsend dielectric barrierdischarge in various atmosphere, Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 2005, 47(12B), p. B577-B588.
10. Acda MN, Devera EE, Cabangon RJ, Pabelina KG, Ramos HJ, Effects of dielectric barrier discharge plasma modification on surface properties of tropical hardwoods at low pressure, Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 2012, 24(3), p. 416-425.
11. Margosan D.A., Smilanick J.L., Effects of Ozone Gas on Fruit & Vegetable Quality, April 2000, USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Research, Available from: http://www.earthsafeozone.com/pdf_docs/Ozone%20for%20Gaseous%20Storage.pdf


The scheduled RAD class has been postponed and there are openings available. Class is expected to start in two weeks and will run 5 consecutive Wednesday Nights. Call the Department ( 467-9222) and speak to Chief Barry, Lt. Wishart or Sergeant Smith if interested.
Numerous Granby residents have reported receiving telephone calls allegedly from the Polish National Credit Union and the Chicopee Savings Bank requesting account information. These calls are NOT being made by the bank and are reminiscent of a fraud which o0ccurred last year. DO NOT GIVE BANKING OR OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION OUT OVER THE TELEPHONE!
Police and Fire personnel responded to a brush fire near 290 Amherst Street on Saturday.
A 1 car rollover accident closed Batchelor Street for almost 5 hours on Tuesday afternoon. At approximately 2:30pm a car driven by Sophal Khun of 54 Barton St. Belchertown, struck a telephone pole, causing the vehicle to roll over. Sophal, 27 yers of age, was treated at the scene by medical personnel.
Don't forget- our resident Black Bears are active again, like this mother and cub seen on School Street Saturday. Please take in your bird feeders , keep your trash secure, feed your pets indoors, and enjoy the bears - from a safe distance. If you do have one that is too close to your house or bus stops, please call the Department.
A large pine tree broke in half, blocking Porter Street ( at the intersection of Crescent) for approximately 1 hour this afternoon ( Wednesday). The tree landed on the power lines causing a line to snap which ignited a small fire.
Traffic was diverted while waiting for National Grid to shut off the power after which the Fire Department extinguished a small fire and the Highway Department removed the tree.
There are openings for the next RAD class which will start April 29th and run for 5 weeks. For further information contact Lt. Al Wishart at the Police Department (467-9222). The classes will be held on Wednesday nights 6 pm to 8 pm nights at the East Meadow School. The program is free of charge.
At approximately 1:58 AM , a Tractor Trailer truck driven by Joseph S. Lemire of Columbia Ct. struck the Historic Aldrich Mill on Aldrich Street. The truck was attempting to deliver a load of sod to the Orchards when the driver took a wrong turn.
The top the the Trailer unit, owned by Hirschbach and Son of South Sioux City Nebraska, got caught on the uppper wall of the unit while trying to cross the bridge over Batchelor Brook, causing damage to the wall and roof. Cost to repair is unknown. The road was closed until approximately 5:30 AM when the truck was removed. The accident was investigated by Sgt. Kevin O'Grady and Ptl. Bob Ash. The Mill is featured on the Town seal.
Cops in Shops program continues.
The Granby Police Department is continuing to work in cooperation with local liquor establishments to curb the sale of alcohol that comes into the hands of minors. Police officers working in plain clothes will be stationed at local package stores in an attempt to prevent alcohol purchases by minors. These officers will also be attempting to stop adults who are purchasing alcohol and providing it to minors. These enforcement activities have been funded by a grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The enforcement will be scheduled at varying times and will take place at varying locations. Police officers will be enforcing several laws associated with alcohol sales to minors, possession or transportation of alcohol by minors, procuring alcohol for minors and also the use or possession of fake or false identification. These activities have been ongoing since January and police have found people violating the law. In those instances people have been charged. These planned enforcement activities will continue for the next couple of months. Anyone caught violating these laws will be prosecuted.


The question was posed, "How do we draw upon the Father's strength?" The answer is simple: invite Him with genuineness to be your Father and open your hearts unconditionally to Him. If you cannot presently do the latter, for some reason or another, ask God the Father for all the graces necessary to become able to do so and the Father will give them to you with great joy. Turn your lives over to Him in their entirety and abandon yourselves in Him, through His Son and His Spirit. Become consecrated to Him, to become fully His property, thus consenting to give Him full reign over your hearts and lives. Remember that our Father, unlike the prince of darkness, will never override your free-will or violate you in any way.
Allow yourselves to lie passively in the Almighty Father's hands, so as not to obstruct the workings of His Divine Will within you, with your own wills. Our beautiful Father will start turning you, bit by sure bit, into whom He wants you to be; giving you the tasks He wants you to do. He will also give you all the strength you need to accomplish what He sets before you, in whatever situations He may place you – strength and fearlessness, the quality and quantity of which you most likely never knew before. Stop being or attempting to be independent. Attempting to rely primarily on your natural resources is the epitome of futility itself, because you would have no resources in the first instance had our Father not allowed you to have them. Moreover, if He so desires, they will be taken away from you in a flash.
Turn to God our Father, therefore, like little children running to and trusting their Father for everything, as He is perfectly capable of anything, including the most surprising and impossible things. Ask Him, invite Him, to participate in your daily lives – He loves participating especially when invited, because it is what He always desired: real intimacy with His children. Speak to Him from your hearts. When you turn to the Father in the aforementioned manner, He will accept you with immeasurable joy and love from His Divine Heart, because He is unable to resist such a request when it is made to Him with sincerity of heart and mind. Finally, remember this: God the Father is a Father in the truest sense of the word. Once you trust Him and abandon yourselves in the palms of His mighty hands, He will never let you down. It will also be the beginning of the most exciting adventure of your earthly lives.
Posted in Being the Father's Child, God the Father, Praying to God, Questions, Spirituality of the Heart and tagged Child of the Father, Christianity, God, God the Father, Questions, Religion & Spirituality on January 21, 2013 by mba.