bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Empowerment and IPV in Married Women of Reproductive Age: Evidence from Pakistan Demographic Health Survey 2017–2018
Authors: Ali Mohammad Vaqas , Tariq Jawad
Published: January 2021

The study was an attempt to identify demographic, household, and women empowerment factors that predicted emotional, physical, and sexual violence in ever-married women of reproductive age (15–49 years, n = 3,965) in Pakistan by performing secondary analysis on Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey, 2017–2018. The analysis was done using SPSS (v.22) and binary and multivariate logistic regression techniques were performed for analyses. The analysis found that 30.2% of women experienced emotional, 24.1% reported less severe physical, 6.5% experienced severe physical, and 4.3% experienced sexual violence, respectively. The multivariate analysis found that husband’s age, education, wealth, and alcohol consumption were significant predictors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Additionally, womens’ age, education, and number of children also significantly predicted IPV. With respect to empowerment variables, ownership of house was a significant predictor of less severe physical violence, ownership of property significantly predicted emotional violence, and autonomy in household purchase decisions was significantly related to severe physical violence. The control on husband’s income as a measure of empowerment significantly predicted all four types of IPV. Belief in patriarchy also turned out to be an important factor in determining emotional and less severe physical violence. The study concludes that women empowerment in household context can prevent less serious forms of violence but to hinder serious forms of violence, interventions at family and community level will be required.
Incarcerated Women in Spain: The Salience of Traumatic Exposure
Authors: Caravaca-Sánchez Francisco , Vidovic Kristina R. , Fearn Noelle E. , Vaughn Michael G.
Published: January 2021

Incarcerated women are at high risk of exposure to traumatic events with subsequent development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study builds on prior research by adding new findings from Spain on the association between childhood and prison victimization, and negative emotional states with PTSD symptoms during incarceration among women. The study sample ( N = 174) included female prison inmates enrolled from two prisons located in Southeast Spain. Participants completed self-report questionnaires including demographic and criminal variables, childhood and prison victimization (including emotional, physical and sexual victimization), negative emotional states (including depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms) and PTSD symptoms. Logistic regression analysis revealed that women screening positive for trauma had significantly greater odds for the assortment of childhood victimization, prison victimization (specifically physical victimization) and depression, anxiety, and stress. Current findings suggest a need to include these construct assessments in the screening and identification of PTSD among incarcerated women in Spain.
Explicit and Implicit Self-esteem and Aggression: Differential Effects of Agency and Communion
Authors: Snowden Robert J. , Amad Suzana , Morley Emily , Butkute Nora , Budd Rick , Jackson Lindsay , Abbasi Naader , Gray Nicola S.
Published: January 2021

Previous work has shown that self-esteem is related to aggression and violence. However, self-esteem is a multidimensional construct, and so we isolated self-esteem related to agency (e.g., competence and assertiveness) and self-esteem related to communion (e.g., warmth and morality) using both explicit and implicit techniques and examined their relationship to two forms of aggression (proactive and reactive aggression) in two samples. In an undergraduate sample ( N = 130), high levels of explicit agency were associated with increased aggression but only for those with low implicit agency. On the other hand, high levels of either explicit or implicit communion showed reduced proactive aggression, while high levels of explicit communion were also associated with low levels of reactive aggression. In a community sample of people with problems due to homelessness ( N = 101), we found that high levels of explicit communion were also associated with lower levels of both forms of aggression. The results show that different aspects of self-esteem, namely agency and communion, have quite different relationships to aggression and that implicit measures of these self-evaluations are also important constructs in the prediction of aggression. Implicit measures of self-esteem could be used by clinicians to understand the motivations behind an individual’s aggression and its management.
Moderating Effects of Friendship and Family Support on the Association Between Bullying Victimization and Perpetration in Adolescents
Authors: Ho Hsing-Ying , Chen Yi-Lung , Yen Cheng-Fang
Published: January 2021

School bullying can cause severe mental health problems for both victims and perpetrators. However, the association between bullying victimization and perpetration has rarely been discussed, and no study has investigated the effects of social support, such as friendship and family support, in moderating this association. Therefore, the authors examined the moderating effects of friendship and family support on the association between bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents. Data were obtained from the 2009 Project for the Health of Adolescents. Through multistage stratified cluster sampling, 13 junior and 10 senior high schools in southern Taiwan were selected, resulting in a representative sample of 6,445 students from grades 7 to 12. School bullying and family support were examined using the Chinese version of the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire and the Family adaptability, partnership, growth, affection, resolve instrument, respectively. Friendship support was measured using the subscale of the Taiwanese Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adolescents and adolescents’ number of friends, time spent with friends, and friend distributions. Linear regression modeling and the Johnson–Neyman technique were used to examine the moderating effects of friendship and family support on the association between bullying victimization and perpetration. For active bullying, having fun and talkative friends and friends outside school negatively moderated the intensity of the association between bullying victimization and perpetration (regression coefficients: −0.02 to −0.05), whereas, for passive bullying, only friends outside school negatively moderated the intensity of the association (regression coefficient: −0.05). By contrast, some components of friendship support positively moderated the associations. These findings suggest that higher friendship quality and having more friends outside of school attenuate the association between bullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents, thus increasing the understanding of the moderating role that social support play in such associations.
Men, women and STEM: Why the differences and what should be done?
Authors: Stewart-Williams Steve , Halsey Lewis G
Published: January 2021

It is a well-known and widely lamented fact that men outnumber women in a number of fields in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). The most commonly discussed explanations for the gender gaps are discrimination and socialization, and the most common policy prescriptions target those ostensible causes. However, a great deal of evidence in the behavioural sciences suggests that discrimination and socialization are only part of the story. The purpose of this paper is to highlight other aspects of the story: aspects that are commonly overlooked or downplayed. More precisely, the paper has two main aims. The first is to examine the evidence that factors other than workplace discrimination contribute to the gender gaps in STEM. These include relatively large average sex differences in career and lifestyle preferences, and relatively small average differences in cognitive aptitudes – some favouring males, others favouring females – which are associated with progressively larger differences the further above the average one looks. The second aim is to examine the evidence suggesting that these sex differences are not purely a product of social factors but also have a substantial biological (i.e. inherited) component. A more complete picture of the causes of the unequal sex ratios in STEM may productively inform policy discussions.
The DOOR to Antibiotic Stewardship: Refining Assessments of Interventions With Desirability of Outcome Ranking
Authors: Smoke Steven M. , Patel Vishal V. , Leonida Nicole I.
Published: January 2021

Background:

Limited sample size and disparate outcome measures can hinder the ability of antimicrobial stewardship programs to assess the utility of their quality improvement interventions. Desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) is a novel methodology that incorporates multiple outcomes into a single value to more comprehensively compare therapeutic strategies. The objective of this study was to apply DOOR to a single center antibiotic stewardship intervention.

Methods:

A pre- and post-interventional study was conducted evaluating the impact of prospective pharmacist review of rapid molecular diagnostic testing (RDT) of blood cultures on antibiotic optimization. Outcomes included the percentage of patients who were switched to appropriate therapy, the time to appropriate therapy, and the percentage of patients who had missed de-escalation opportunities.

Results:

A total of 19 and 29 patients were included in the final analysis. The percentage of patients reaching appropriate therapy was 84% (16/19) and 97% ([28/29], p = 0.16) in the pre-intervention and post-intervention groups respectively. Median time to appropriate therapy was 26 hours and 36 minutes (IQR 13:05-50:45) and 22:40 (IQR 3:42-48:23, p = 0.32), respectively. One missed de-escalation opportunity was identified in the post-intervention group (0% vs 3%, p = 1.00). DOOR analysis indicated that the probability of a better outcome for the post-intervention group than the pre-intervention group was 58% (95% CI 54-62).

Conclusion:

In this analysis, DOOR revealed a benefit that would not have been apparent with traditional outcomes assessments. Antimicrobial stewardship programs conducting quality improvement studies should consider incorporating DOOR into their methodology.
‘Because I love him’: Children’s relationships to their parents in the context of intimate partner violence
Authors: Henze-Pedersen Sofie
Published: January 2021

This paper investigates how children experience and practice parental relationships after moving to a women’s refuge. Most research has explored the moving and separation process from women’s perspectives, but this paper focus on children’s perspectives. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with children at a refuge, the analysis shows how children’s parental relationships – despite the violence – remain important under difficult family circumstances, and how children practice intimate social bonds while being embedded within complex family relationships. This brings attention to the wider contexts of children’s relationships and how these affect children’s experiences and practices of intimate social bonds.
Masters of None? How Cultural Workers Use Reframing to Achieve Legitimacy in Portfolio Careers
Authors: Stokes Allyson
Published: January 2021

This article examines how cultural workers interpret and respond to reputational challenges they encounter when leading portfolio careers. Specifically, the portfolio career model involves the cultivation and signalling of adaptability through broad competencies and diverse portfolios comprised of boundary-spanning work. These practices conflict with standards of artistic legitimacy and highlight specialist-generalist tensions, since they can make workers appear to be ‘jacks of all trades, masters of none’ – unskilled, opportunistic dabblers, lacking expertise and artistic integrity. The article draws on 56 interviews with cultural producers working as filmmakers, fashion designers and musicians. Findings show how workers engage in ‘reframing’ to reinterpret the symbolic meanings attached to their behaviours and, in the process, carve out new positions and standards for legitimacy within their fields. Reframing is structured by field and labour market conditions, but also represents the possibility of change as a form of culture in action.
Epistemic justice during a global pandemic: Transforming curricula and pedagogical practices to improve student experiences of innovation studies
Authors: Walwyn David R. , Combrinck Celeste
Published: January 2021

Current pedagogical approaches to science and technology policy studies in southern African universities may fail to provide students with the necessary capabilities to be effective as innovation policy practitioners. This study investigated whether consideration of epistemic diversity and the situatedness of knowledge could enhance student outcomes in terms of agency and self-efficacy. A pedagogical intervention was designed and implemented for a postgraduate course in engineering economics, following which the students rated their experiences through an online questionnaire. The COVID-19 pandemic partly disrupted the intervention, but also accelerated the use of blended learning as a means of mitigating the harmful effects of the consequent lockdown. The study revealed that most respondents felt that the intervention had helped them to feel more confident, respected and included. However, blended learning could not prevent the stressful experiences due to forced sheltering at home. The results support the importance of finding innovative ways to transform curricula and teaching methods in science and technology studies. Pedagogy based on the principles of epistemic justice, essential to ensure that students from different backgrounds have equal opportunities for personal growth, is challenging under remote learning conditions.
Electoral competition in the presence of identity politics
Authors: Karakas Leyla D. , Mitra Devashish
Published: January 2021

This paper studies the effects of cultural identity on electoral and policy outcomes when voters are “behavioral.” Building on the evidence that voters assess political or economic events through the lens of their partisan identifications, we analyze an election between two office-motivated candidates in which voters over-reward or under-punish the candidate that shares their cultural identity. Focusing on issues with cultural as well as distributional implications for voters such as immigration and the cultural divide based on nativism as the source of identity politics, we find that the candidates’ equilibrium policies are always preferred by the electorally dominant cultural group to the policy that would be optimal if policies only had distributional consequences. We also show that candidates do not necessarily target their own cultural bases in equilibrium. Furthermore, stronger identity politics increases policy polarization. Our findings contribute to the debates on the decoupling of voting behavior from economic interests, and the rise of immigration, trade protectionism, or engagement with global governing institutions as electoral issues that can shift historical voting patterns.
Synthesis and enhanced CO2/CH4 selectivity of hyperbranched copolyimide membranes
Authors: Yang Tao , Pang Hongchang , Chen Zan , Duan Cuijia , Yuan Biao , Yan Shuo
Published: January 2021

A series of hyperbranched copolyimides (co-HBPIs), as the completely symmetrical tetraamine monomer successfully incorporated into the linear polyimide 6FDA-ODA, were synthesized under the chemical imidization after the gel formation was avoided, as to more effectively separate CO2/CH4. CO2/CH4 selectivity (74%) was observed to be improved significantly under 7‰ tetraamine contents at 2 bar and 35°C; thus, the acceptable CO2 permeability was maintained compared with the pure membrane, exceeding the 1991 upper bound. Moreover, the as-prepared membrane with 6FDA-ODA-7‰ was reported to exhibit higher CO2/CH4 selectivity (109.14) at 10 bar and 35°C. Accordingly, the hyperbranched copolyimides will be promising candidates as membrane materials for the further separation of CO2/CH4 gas pair.
Thermal modelling of cutting tool temperatures and heat partition in orthogonal machining of high-strength alloy steel
Authors: Akbar Faraz , Arsalan Muhammad
Published: January 2021

Cutting temperatures and heat partition into the cutting tool are critical factors that significantly affect tool life and part accuracy during metal removal operations, especially in dry machining. Among many thermal modelling studies, uniform heat partition ratio, and/or uniform heat intensity along the tool-chip interface are frequently assumed. This assumption is not valid in actual machining and can lead to erroneous estimated results in the presence of sticking and sliding friction zones. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately predict the cutting tool temperature and heat partition during machining. This paper presents an analytical thermal modelling approach which considers the combined effect of the primary and the secondary heat sources and determines the temperature rise and non-uniform heat partition ratio along the tool-chip interface. Cutting tests were conducted on AISI/SAE 4140 high-strength alloy steel using carbide cutting tools over a wide range of cutting speeds. Cutting temperatures were measured experimentally using an infrared thermal imaging camera. Experimentally established sticking and sliding friction regions were used to evaluate non-uniform frictional heat intensity along the tool-chip interface. The temperature matching condition along the tool-chip interface leads to the solution of distributed non-uniform heat partition ratio by solving a set of linear equations through programming in MATLAB®. Experimental results show to be consistent well with those obtained from the thermal model, yielding a relative difference of predicted average tool-chip interface temperature from −0.8% to 6.3%. It is found that average heat partition into the cutting tool ( RT) varies from 35% down to 15% for the entire range of cutting speeds. These results suggest that, to address the thermal problem in metal cutting, the research and development of tooling should also focus on reducing friction on the tool rake face in addition to the contribution of the combined effect of primary and secondary heat sources on temperature rise at the tool-chip interface.
Investigation of residual stress in butt-welded plates considering phase transformation
Authors: Zhang Hongwei , Gui Liangjin , Wang Qi , Fan Zijie , Li Jian
Published: January 2021

This paper presents a new approach to predict the residual stresses caused by welding in a butt-welded specimen. Based on the developed three-dimensional finite element model, both the process of material filling and the effects of phase transformation are considered through the material properties which depend on both the temperature and temperature history. For simulating the change in volume caused by phase transformation, a linear model is proposed to relate the start temperatures with the peak temperatures. A comparison of the computational and experimental results verifies the applicability of the proposed approach for welding involving material filling and phase transformation. Four models were built to analyze the influence of the material-filling process and phase transformation. The results demonstrated that without the use of material filling process, the residual stress is underestimated. In addition, without phase transformation, the transverse stress in the weld region is underestimated, while the longitudinal and transverse stresses in the weld region and HAZ, respectively, are overestimated.
Models of a hybrid wheeled hopping self-balanced robot
Authors: Li Qimin , Zeng Haibing , Bai Long , An Zijian
Published: January 2021

Combining wheeled structure with hopping mechanism, this paper purposes a self-balanced hopping robot with hybrid motion pattern. The main actuator which is the cylindrical cam, optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO), is equipped with the motor to control the hopping motion. Robotic system dynamics model is established and solved by Lagrangian method. After linearization, control characteristics of the system is obtained by classical control theory based on dynamics equations. By applying Adams and Matlab to simulate the system, hopping locomotion and self-balanced capability are validated respectively, and result shows that jump height can reach 750 mm theoretically. Then PID control scheme is developed and specific models of hardware and software are settled down accordingly. Finally, prototype is implemented and series of hopping experiments are conducted, showing that with different projectile angle, prototype can jump 550 mm in height and 460 mm in length, transcending majority of other existing hopping robots.
Dynamic behavior of chloride ion-electrically charged open carbon nanocone oscillators: A molecular dynamics study
Authors: Ajori S , Sadeghi F , Ansari R
Published: January 2021

This paper is intended to study the dynamic oscillatory behavior of chloride ion inside electrically charged open carbon nanocones (CNCs) using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The small and wide ends of nanocone are assumed to be identically and uniformly charged with positive electric charges. In the simulation, the Tersoff-Brenner (TB) and the Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential functions are employed to evaluate the interatomic interactions between carbon atoms and the van der Waals (vdW) interactions between the ion and the nanocone, respectively. The Coulomb potential is also adopted to evaluate the electrostatic interactions between the ion and the electric charges distributed at both ends of nanocone. Numerical results are presented to examine the effects of magnitude of electric charges, initial separation distance and initial velocity on the mechanical oscillatory behavior of system and the obtained results are also compared with the ones related to an uncharged nanocone. It is found that operating frequency as well as escape velocity enhance considerably as a result of electrostatic interactions. It is further found that regardless of the value of electric charges, optimal oscillation frequency is achievable when no initial velocity is imposed on the ion initially located inside of nanocone with an offset of 2 Å from its small end.
Misfire detection of diesel engine based on convolutional neural networks
Authors: Zhang Pan , Gao Wenzhi , Li Yong , Wang Yanjun
Published: January 2021

With the ever-stringent vehicles exhaust emission standard and higher requirements on on-board diagnostic technology, the importance of misfire detection in vehicle emission control is emerging. The performance of a traditional misfire detection algorithm predominantly depends on the features and classifier selected. Fixed and handcrafted features require either a reliable dynamic model of an engine or a large number of experiment data to define the threshold, and then, form a map. Since convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have an inherent adaptive design and integrate the feature extraction with classification functions into a compact learning framework, the misfire fault-sensitive features can be auto-discovered from raw speed signals. Furthermore, CNNs can detect the fault features of the misfire through network training with fewer engine operating conditions. In this paper, the theory and method of the misfire diagnosis based on CNNs are presented. The experimental data for network training and testing are sampled on a six-cylinder inline diesel engine. The misfire patterns containing every one-cylinder and two-cylinder misfire are tested under the wide speed and load conditions of the engine. The results show that when the engine operates under steady-state conditions, one-cylinder or two-cylinder complete misfires can be detected accurately by CNNs. In addition, one-cylinder partial misfire is employed to examine the adaptability of trained 1-D CNN. It turns out that when the partial misfire reaches the same level as half amount of the normal fuel injection quantity, one-cylinder partial misfire can be detected with accuracy more than 96%. At last, the misfire detection under the non-stationary conditions, such as acceleration or deceleration, is conducted. The results show the 1-D CNN performed well in a limited acceleration range, and network failure occurs when the absolute acceleration of the engine speed is more than 100 r/min/s.
The Long-Term Effects of New Evidence on Implicit Impressions of Other People
Authors: Cone Jeremy , Flaharty Kathryn , Ferguson Melissa J.
Published: January 2021

Implicit impressions are often assumed to be difficult to update in light of new information. Even when an intervention appears to successfully change implicit evaluations, the effects have been found to be fleeting, reverting to baseline just hours or days later. Recent findings, however, show that two properties of new evidence—diagnosticity and believability—can result in very rapid implicit updating. In the current studies, we assessed the long-term effects of evidence possessing these two properties on implicit updating over periods of days, weeks, and months. Three studies assessed the malleability of implicit evaluations after memory consolidation (Study 1; N = 396) as well as the longer-term trajectories of implicit responses after exposure to new evidence about novel targets (Study 2; N = 375) and familiar ones (Study 3; N = 341). In contrast with recent work, our findings suggest that implicit impressions can exhibit both flexibility after consolidation and durability weeks or months later.
The Lure of Counterfactual Curiosity: People Incur a Cost to Experience Regret
Authors: FitzGibbon Lily , Komiya Asuka , Murayama Kou
Published: January 2021

After you make a decision, it is sometimes possible to seek information about how things would be if you had acted otherwise. We investigated the lure of this counterfactual information, namely, counterfactual curiosity. In a set of five experiments (total N = 150 adults), we used an adapted Balloon Analogue Risk Task with varying costs of information. At a cost, people were willing to seek information about how much they could have won, even though it had little utility and a negative emotional impact (i.e., it led to regret). We explored the downstream effects of seeking information on emotion, behavior adjustment, and ongoing performance, showing that it has little or even negative performance benefit. We also replicated the findings with a large-sample ( N = 361 adults) preregistered experiment that excluded possible alternative explanations. This suggests that information about counterfactual alternatives has a strong motivational lure—people simply cannot help seeking it.
Climate and land-use effects on hydrological and vegetation signals during the last three millennia: Evidence from sedimentary leaf waxes in southwestern Morocco
Authors: Baqloul Asmae , Schefuß Enno , Kölling Martin , Dupont Lydie , Groeneveld Jeroen , Zhao Xueqin , Reddad Hanane , Bouchaou Lhoussaine , Bouimetarhan Ilham
Published: January 2021

The southwest of Morocco is considered to be an area of refuge within the Mediterranean region, hosting the endemic tropical Argan tree. This region is presently subject to severe droughts, desertification and land degradation, and likely facing increased climate variability and socio-economic stress in the future. Here, we use the stable hydrogen and carbon isotope composition (δD and δ13C) of plant-waxes in a high-resolution marine sediment core (GeoB8601-3) collected off Cape Ghir in southwestern Morocco, in combination with published data on pollen and XRF element ratios from the same archive. We aim to reconstruct the hydroclimate and vegetation history during the last 3000 years. Stable carbon isotope compositions of leaf waxes (δ13Cwax) show that natural vegetation in southwestern Morocco consists of C3 plants. Minor variations in δ13Cwax were positively correlated to changes in stable hydrogen isotope compositions of leaf waxes (δDwax) before 700 CE. Changes in rainfall amounts and water use efficiency indicate a clear vegetation response to precipitation changes and thus to climate forcing. After 700 CE, δDwax and δ13Cwax became de-coupled suggesting that the plant wax discharge and their isotope signals were no longer solely controlled by climate; the waxes likely mainly originate from the lowlands and carry an enriched (dry) δD signal but a depleted 13C signature. The depletion of δ13Cwax correlates with the increase of Argan pollen concentration in the record. The period between ~700 and 900 CE coincides with the Arabization of Morocco which had an impact on the demographic composition of the country leading to new agricultural habits and, as a result, on the land-use triggering a higher erosion of lowland material by the Souss River.
Promoting Savings for Financial Resilience: Expanding the Psychological Perspective
Authors: Hall Crystal C.
Published: January 2021

In the United States, the lack of personal savings has been a perennial concern in the world of public policy. Policymakers and other practitioners constantly struggle with how to encourage families to accumulate funds in preparation for inevitable, but often unpredictable, financial emergencies. The field of applied behavioral science has attempted to address this challenge—often with mixed or modest results. I argue that psychological science (personality and social psychology in particular) offers underappreciated insights into the design and implementation of policy interventions to improve the rate of individual savings. In this article, I briefly discuss examples of prior interventions that have attempted to increase saving and then lay out some opportunities that have not been deeply explored. Future research in this area should broaden and deepen the way that psychology is leveraged as a tool to improve the financial security of the people who are the most vulnerable.
Pharaoh’s Daughter: The Adoptive Mother’s Sacrifice
Authors: Quine Cat
Published: January 2021

In Exodus 2, Moses has two mothers; his Hebrew mother, who nurses him and the daughter of Pharaoh, who financially supports his Hebrew mother, adopts him, and names him. Pharaoh’s daughter appears in scholarly discussions, yet little attention is given to her role as mother of Moses. Indeed, this motherhood is downplayed in the biblical texts, and also in biblical scholarship, wherein the daughter of Pharaoh is absent from many discussions of biblical mothers and is at times relegated beneath the birthmother in commentaries. This article argues that we should remember and celebrate the daughter of Pharaoh as a mother of Moses.
Effect of temperature and age on near infrared spectra of amino resins
Authors: Gonçalves M , Paiva NT , Ferra JM , Martins J , Magalhães F , Carvalho L
Published: January 2021

Quality control of amino resins must be based on reproducible and rapid methods. Fourier-transform near infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIR) has been gaining increasing interest in this context. However, it is not always possible to perform the analysis under the same conditions. Temperature and storage time, in particular, are two factors that often vary. However, their influence on the FT-NIR results is not yet well understood. This work describes how temperature and resin ageing affect the near infrared spectra of amino resins. It is shown that a previously calibrated near infrared model to assess the molar ratio of amino resins has a linear response with temperature. To counteract this effect and improve the speed of analysis, the spectral pre-processing of extended multiplicative scattering correction was used in conjunction with the loadings of water at different temperatures. This procedure was able to diminish the dependency of the model in relation to temperature for two amino resins (an R2 above 95 % of a linear fit went down to below 1%). With respect to the ageing of amino resins, NIR spectra of two resins were examined for a period of 9 days. It was found that the spectra are influenced by the continuation of the condensation reactions and the formation of aggregates, which causes increase in absorbance with resin ageing. This was proven by checking the differences between NIR spectra of amino resins before and after being subjected to ultrasonic treatment to promote deagglomeration.
Moldability improvement in microinjection molding via film lamination
Authors: Kim Dah Hee , Song Young Seok
Published: January 2021

The purpose of this study is to integrate a polymeric film onto a mold to impede thermal heat transfer during resin infusion. A thin plastic plate was fabricated by using microinjection molding. A polyimide (PI) film was laminated onto a mold in an effort to produce a thin light guide plate (LGP). The film could decelerate the solidification of molten polymer in the cavity of mold and enhance the wall slip of resin on the mold. The insulation effect was modeled numerically. The surface roughness and pattern transfer characteristics of the LGP were evaluated. It was found that the fluidity of the resin increased due to the decreased skin layer during mold filling. The results showed that the strategy proposed in this study could help decrease the thickness of LGP effectively when manufacturing the part via injection molding.
Mechanical properties of multiwall carbon nanotubes/unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy hybrid nanocomposites in transverse and longitudinal fiber directions
Authors: Saadatyar Saeedeh , Beheshty Mohammad Hosain , Sahraeian Razi
Published: January 2021

Unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy (UCFRE) is suffering from weak transverse mechanical properties and through-thickness properties. The effect of different amount (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 phr which is proportional to 0.09, 0.27 and 0.46 wt%, respectively) of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT), on transverse tensile properties, flexural strength, fracture toughness in transverse and longitudinal fiber directions, interlaminar shear strength and lap shear strength of UCFRE has been investigated. Dicyandiamide was used as a thermal curing agent of epoxy resin. MWCNT was dispersed in the epoxy resin by ultrasonic instrument and their dispersion state was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The curing behavior of epoxy resin and its nanocomposites was assessed by differential scanning calorimetry. Results show that transverse tensile strength, modulus and strain-at-break were increased by 28.5%, 25% and 14%, respectively by adding 0.1 phr of MWCNT. Longitudinal flexural properties of UCFRE was not changed by adding different amount of MWCNT. Although longitudinal flexural strength was increased by 5% by adding 0.1 phr of MWCNT. Fracture toughness in transverse and longitudinal fiber directions was increased by 39% and 9%, respectively at 0.3 phr of MWCNT. Results also show that interlaminar shear strength and lap shear strength were increased at 0.3 phr of MWCNT by 8% and 5%, respectively. These increases in mechanical properties were due to the good adhesion of fibers to the matrix, interlocking and toughening action of MWCNT as revealed by SEM.
A weapon too far: The British radiological warfare experience, 1940–1955
Authors: King William
Published: January 2021

Between 1940 and 1955, Britain explored controversial radiological weapons. Keen to discover further military uses for atomic energy, defence officials and scientists initially approached the field with much hope and optimism. However, technical difficulties, economic costs, public and political aversion, competition from other controversial weapons, and even the resistance of scientists themselves, soon came to dominate the direction of policy. This article explores the unique British experience with radiological weapons, determines how far Britain ventured down this questionable path, and accounts for why, after over a decade of research, they were judged a step too far.
Vulnerability: An integrative bioethics review and a proposed taxonomy
Authors: Mergen Merve , Akpınar Aslıhan
Published: January 2021

Background:

Vulnerability is a concept frequently encountered in the bioethical literature, particularly in the context of research ethics. It can be said that the usage of the concept expanded in the 2000s and started to be used in many new contexts in the literature. However, there appears to be no systematic review that examines the definition of the concept of vulnerability.

Objectives:

The rationale for this study constitutes the questions regarding how vulnerability is defined and which components are used to define the concept of vulnerability in the bioethics literature.

Research design:

The integrative review method was conducted to reach various definitions of the concept of vulnerability in bioethics. Whittemore and Knafl’s revised framework for integrative reviews guided the analysis. ‘Vulnerability’ and ‘vulnerable’ keywords, intercrossing with the words ‘bioethics’ and ‘medical ethics’, were searched in three different databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus). Collected data were analysed thematically and a taxonomy was developed.

Findings:

A total of 1287 studies obtained through search were reduced to 123 that kept the definition of vulnerability. As a result of the review, a comprehensive taxonomy of vulnerability has been proposed. The proposed taxonomy of vulnerability has two categories, ontological and circumstantial, with three subcategories each, which might provide a multidimensional perspective.

Discussion:

Publication dates, origins and contexts of included publications were discussed. Specifications of the term vulnerability and components of its definition and factors that constitute these components provided from the view were evaluated and also discussed.

Conclusion:

The proposed taxonomy provides a useful classification for assessing vulnerability in bioethics. It is hoped that the taxonomy we put forward as a result of the review will increase awareness on the issue and also take into account the factors that create vulnerability in the context of research, healthcare and nursing care policies.

Ethical considerations:

The review was conducted in accord with ethical and scientific standards.
Validation of the Dutch-language version of Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale
Authors: Numminen Olivia , Konings Kasper , Claerhout Roelant , Gastmans Chris , Katajisto Jouko , Leino-Kilpi Helena , de Casterlé Bernadette Dierckx
Published: January 2021

Background:

Moral courage as a part of nurses’ moral competence has gained increasing interest as a means to strengthen nurses acting on their moral decisions and offering alleviation to their moral distress. To measure and assess nurses’ moral courage, the development of culturally and internationally validated instruments is needed.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to validate the Dutch-language version of the four-component Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale originally developed and validated in Finnish data.

Research design:

This methodological study used non-experimental, cross-sectional exploratory design.

Participants and research context:

A total of 559 nurses from two hospitals in Flanders, Belgium, completed the Dutch-language version of the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale.

Ethical considerations:

Good scientific inquiry guidelines were followed throughout the study. Permission to translate the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale was obtained from the copyright holder, and the ethical approval and permissions to conduct the study were obtained from the participating university and hospitals, respectively.

Findings:

The four-component 21-item, Dutch-language version of the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale proved to be valid and reliable as the original Finnish Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale. The scale’s internal consistency reliability was high (0.91) corresponding with the original Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale validation study (0.93). The principal component analysis confirmed the four-component structure of the original Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale to be valid also in the Belgian data explaining 58.1% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis based on goodness-of-fit indices provided evidence of the scale’s construct validity. The use of a comparable sample of Belgian nurses working in speciality care settings as in the Finnish study supported the stability of the structure.

Discussion and conclusion:

The Dutch-language version of the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale is a reliable and valid instrument to measure nurses’ self-assessed moral courage in speciality care nursing environments. Further validation studies in other countries, languages and nurse samples representing different healthcare environments would provide additional evidence of the scale’s validity and initiatives for its further development.
The right to double compensation where the re-routed flight suffers a long delay – Upholding high standards of EU consumer protection
Authors: Kučko Magdalena
Published: January 2021

In March 2020, the CJEU delivered its judgment in the Case C-832/18 A and Others v. Finnair Oyj concerning the application of EU Regulation 261/2004 on air passenger compensation. It considered whether passengers are entitled to compensation for cancellations or long delays of ‘re-routed’ flights to which they have been placed following cancellations of their original flight. In its preliminary ruling, the CJEU also considered whether a technical failure of a part which has been identified by aircraft manufacturer as being potentially defective but is only replaced once it is actually defective (a so-called ‘on condition’ part), constitutes an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ that could exempt airlines from their obligation to compensate passengers. By answering the first question in the positive and the second in the negative, the CJEU reaffirmed its well-established practice of a passenger-friendly interpretation of Regulation 261/2004.
Who receives occupational welfare? The importance of skills across Europe’s diverse industrial relations regimes
Authors: Riva Egidio , Rizza Roberto
Published: January 2021

This study investigates the association between eligibility for occupational welfare and employees’ skill levels. In particular, building on Visser’s classification, we explore (i) the extent to which this relationship is moderated by industrial relations regimes and (ii) whether the moderating effect of industrial relations regimes has changed over time. Analyses draw on the latest three waves (2005, 2010, 2015) of the European Working Conditions Survey, and consider a nationally representative sample (N = 64,122) of employees in 30 European countries (the then 28 EU Member States plus Norway and Turkey). Findings indicate a significant, persistent, skill-biased disparity in access to occupational welfare in any industrial relations regime, with the only exception of the organised corporatism regime (that is, the Nordic countries).
Oral and pulmonary necrobacillosis in a juvenile reticulated giraffe
Authors: Wang Jinling , Wang Yu , Ding Yulin , Suljid Jirintai , Wang Wenlong
Published: January 2021

A 1-mo-old reticulated giraffe had progressive anorexia and died at the Ordos Zoo. Autopsy revealed necrotic stomatitis with severe bilateral necroulcerative lesions at the base of the tongue and of the cheeks near the commissures of the mouth. There was also severe bilateral confluent bronchopneumonia with a pronounced bronchial pattern and multifocal fibrinous pleuritis. Histologically, there was serofibrinous-suppurative bronchopneumonia with necrosuppurative bronchiolitis and necrotic arteritis. Filamentous bacteria with morphology consistent with Fusobacterium necrophorum were observed at the advancing edge of the necrotic tissue in the tongue and cheeks, as well as in the affected alveolar spaces and bronchioles. Aggregates of slender, gram-negative, rod-like or filamentous bacteria were identified in the lung impression smear. PCR results of 16S rDNA of the tongue and lung lesions had 100% homology to the F. necrophorum subsp. funduliforme B35 sequence (EF447425.1). The gross, histologic, Gram stain, and PCR product sequencing features in our case were consistent with oral and pulmonary necrobacillosis in ruminants, a rare disease of giraffes.
Three-dimensional modeling of static deformation of arbitrary functionally graded multilayered multiferroic composites plates with weakly and highly conducting imperfect interfaces
Authors: Ewolo Ngak Frank Pékin , Ntamack Guy Edgar , Azrar Lahcen
Published: January 2021

In this paper, a three-dimensional static deformation of arbitrary functionally graded multilayered multiferroic composites plates with weakly and highly conducting imperfect interfaces is derived. The magnetoelectroelastic properties of each layer of the composite plates have been assumed varying throughout the thickness direction. The imperfect interfaces between the layers are assumed to be mechanically compliant, dielectrically and magnetically weakly or highly conducting. In each layer, the state-space approach is firstly applied leading to space variable. Cauchy’s problem and adapted Runge-Kutta numerical procedure is used to solve the established state-space equation. The elaborated semi-analytical solution has been propagated throughout the multilayered multiferroic composites plates using the propagator matrix method and accounting the transfers matrices at each imperfect interface. The developed formulas have been programmed and the numerical obtained results have been well compared with available ones. For the computation process, the piezoelectric material [Formula: see text] and piezomagnetic material [Formula: see text] are used. In addition, these numerical tests showed that the proposed solution is in good agreement with the available 3D asymptotic approach, the modified Pagano method, the pseudo-Stroh formalism, the finite elements method and the Peano series solution. Furthermore, the effects of mechanically compliant, dielectrically and magnetically weakly or highly conducting imperfect interface on the static response and the magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of the functionally graded multilayered multiferroic composites plates for various configurations have been also analyzed. It has been carried out that, the bending response and the magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of the multiferroic composites plates remarkably depend on the kind of imperfect interface, the used sequences as well as on the loadings conditions namely mechanical, electric or magnetic, respectively.
Electromechanical response of multilayered piezoelectric BaTiO3/PZT-7A composites with wavy architecture
Authors: Tu Wenqiong , Chen Qiang
Published: January 2021

Electromechanical laminated composites with piezoelectric phases are increasingly being explored as multifunctional materials providing energy conversion between electric and mechanical energies. The current work explores thus-far undocumented combined microstructural effects of amplitude-to-wavelength ratio, volume fraction, poling direction of piezoelectric phases on both the homogenized properties and localized stress/electric field distributions in multilayered configurations under fully coupled electro-mechanical loading. In particular, the Multiphysics Finite-Volume Direct Averaging Micromechanics (FVDAM) and its counterpart, an in-house micromechanical multiphysics finite-element model, are utilized to investigate the homogenized and localized responses of wavy multilayered piezoelectric BaTiO3/PZT-7A architectures. These two methods generate highly agreeable results. Moreover, we critically examine the convergence of the finite-volume and finite element-based approaches via the Average Stress Theorem and Average Electric Displacement Theorem. The comparison shows the finite volume-based approach possesses a better numerical convergence. This study illustrates the FVDAM’s ability toward the analysis and design of engineered multilayered piezoelectric materials with wavy architecture.