Digital consumption and socio-normative vulnerability

Digital consumption is expanding human boundaries and offering us unprecedented opportunities, while simultaneously redefining human capabilities, eroding individuality, and compromising ethical purpose; this is giving rise to a condition of digital consumerism through technological overdependence. Individuals' self-preserving autonomy, reasoning, ideologies, and ethical status are being compromised due to a growing compulsion for digital consumption, which is leading to the onset of digital harm. This study offers novel insights into the technological interventions that are giving rise to excessive digital consumption leading to digital harm. It also suggests how the effects of such harm can be mitigated through the lenses of two complementary theories: Self-determination theory (SDT) and Agentic theory. We identify five constructs of digital harm through epistemic discourse analysis and use thematic analysis to examine how the digital harm that affects individual rationality, maturity and autonomy can be mitigated by practising attributes of SDT and Agentic theory. This study shows the extent to which SDT and Agentic theory can help to explain how people collectively conceptualize, adapt, define and use the technology that constrains them as self-realizing rational beings

Systematic literature review on remanufacturing trade based on bibliometric analysis

With the extensive development of remanufacturing, remanufacturing trade, as an essential part of it, has also attracted much attention from researchers. Quite a large number of studies related to remanufacturing trade, such as pricing, sales, competition, channel expansion and service strategy, have been published in various journals. This paper aims to focus on the research status on remanufacturing trade through bibliometric analysis that can provide the primary research trends and the future research hotspots by analyzing the progress, parties and themes of the re-search. In this paper, the review and analysis are conducted on over 121 articles from 2000 until July 2021 with the help of VOS viewer (Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands) and Citespace (Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA). The results of the analysis of research progress and research parties suggest that: (a) more and more researchers have started to pay attention to consumers during modeling; (b) sustainable/green aspects are frequently taken into account as a factor, but the sustainable/green standards for remanufacturing trade need to be further developed; (c) studies on remanufacturing trade are more abundant in heavy industry countries. Additionally, the hotspots for future research are identified via the theme analysis, including: (1) with the issuing of various government policies, the impact of these policies on decisions related to remanufacturing trade has been studied gradually and is expected to become a hot topic in the future; (2) a large number of papers conduct research on the basis of the supply chain of remanufactured products; (3) research on the online distribution channel has already been carried out and is constantly deepening; (4) the digital technology is increasingly introduced to remanufacturing trade in recent years.</p

Aqueous electrochemical activity of the Mg surface: The role of group 14 and 15 microalloying elements

Comparatively little is known about the aqueous electrochemical characteristics of magnesium (Mg) alloyed with group 14 and 15 elements. A combined analysis of theoretical and experimental studies was used to evaluate the role of such alloying elements in Mg surface reactions. The surface work function and surface hydroxylation reaction enthalpies were calculated, and the surface Pourbaix diagrams were constructed using first principles calculations. Group 14 and 15 elements exhibit the ability to restrict the water splitting and surface hydroxylation reaction upon Mg, thus providing an insight into their ability to suppress cathodic activation of Mg. Experimental studies using polarization, immersion testing, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Raman spectroscopy verify a decreased electrochemical activity of Mg-0.3 Ge and Mg-0.3 Sb alloys, compared to that of pure Mg. The approaches presented here provide a means by which a metallurgical alloying can be used as a valuable mechanism for controlling Mg surface activity with beneficial implications for various applications of Mg

Dual transition metal-doped heterostructured nanocarbon enables flame-retardant, solar de-icing thermoplastic polyurethane composites

Dual transition metal-doped heterostructured nanocarbon enables flame-retardant, solar de-icing thermoplastic polyurethane composite

Review of metal (hydr)oxide and other adsorptive materials for phosphate removal from water

Eutrophication, a worldwide problem, threatens the ecology of freshwater bodies and marine environments. However, the control of nutrients, especially phosphate in water bodies and contaminated sediments, poses major technical and economic challenges. Today, various attempts have been made to investigate a cost-effective way to have phosphate control. Among the various techniques applied to remove phosphate, the process of adsorption has drawn great attention due to its low cost, ease of operation, and simplicity of design. Another attractive feature of adsorption is the usage of nutrient-loaded adsorbents, which can be used as a phosphate fertilizer and a soil conditioner in agriculture. In this regard, many different types of chemicals with various structures have been synthesized and applied for the capture of phosphate from water. This review summaries contemporary development of adsorbents for phosphate removal, most specifically, the adsorption by metal-based materials, mesoporous materials, organic and metal-organic hybrid materials, carbon-supported materials, minerals, and modified wastes. The effects of operational parameters on phosphate adsorption and fitting of adsorption process, as well as regeneration of used adsorbents are also examined. Metal (hydr)oxides loaded adsorbents have been widely researched. Additional modifying of material characteristics such as improving porosity and surface area, the stability and potential risks of adsorbents in complex condition, and their efficient separation and regeneration should be taken into consideration in further studies

Suppressing infiltration and coffee-ring effects of colorimetric reagents on paper for trace-level detection of Ni(II)

A PVA matrix was used to suppress infiltration and coffee-ring effects during colorimetric analysis on a paper substrate and improve the trace-level detection of nickel ions (Ni2+) in environmental samples. To improve the color response, a cross-linked PVA matrix was used to anchor the indicator reagent of Ni2+ on the surface of the porous paper substrate as well as reduce evaporation flow by increasing hydrogen bonding in the sample droplet. These phenomena mitigated the loss of color signal by suppressing infiltration and coffee-ring effects. Under optimized conditions, including crosslinker concentration and addition order, type of commercial filter paper, and loading volume of the PVA/indicator mixture, the sensor obtained a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.92 ppm and a notable linear behavior of R2 > 0.97 at a linear range of 0.5–50 ppm, which is sufficient for the detection of legal maximum residue limit (MRL) of Ni2+ in wastewaters in China. The PVA-assisted sensor showed good selectivity to most metal ions and could work at different pH levels ranging from 3 to 9. The sensor also exhibited highly sensitive and stable performance in repetitive measurements and had a shelf-life of more than 3 months. These results suggest that our work provides a facile approach to improving the sensitivity and reliability of paper-based sensors for monitoring trace-level Ni2+ concentration in aqueous samples with good selectivity and prolonged shelf-life. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Sustainable management of landfill leachate concentrate via nanofiltration enhanced by one-step rapid assembly of metal-organic coordination complexes

Sustainable treatment of the highly saline landfill leachate concentrate for application as green fertilizer calls for effective fractionation of the existing humic substances and inorganic salts; advanced selective nanofiltration membranes are proposed for this. One-step, rapid assembly of a tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex is a promising strategy to endow the membranes with an enhanced nanofiltration performance. In this study, a robust and homogeneous tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex layer was effectively coated onto the surface of a loose nanofiltration substrate in an extremely short time (15 s). After the coating of the tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex layer, the nanofiltration membrane showed a significantly reduced molecule weight cutoff (i.e., reduction from 601 to 279 Da) and thus enhanced selectivity towards humic substances. Specifically, the rejection to humic substances of the coated nanofiltration membrane increased from 95.31±0.54% to 99.32±0.18% with negligible rise in salt rejection, demonstrating an enhanced fractionation efficacy for humic substances and salts. Assisted by a diafiltration operation with the coated nanofiltration membrane, humic substances in the landfill leachate concentrate were effectively purified and extracted with 96.60% recovery. Particularly, the humic substances were linearly enriched by ca. 7.8 folds (i.e., from 1837 to 13970 mg·L−1) with a purity of 98.91% for potential application as liquid fertilizer. The one-step rapid tannic acid-Fe3+ coordination complex coating exhibits an impressive efficacy to engineer advanced nanofiltration membranes that could be applied at a large scale for sustainable resource extraction from landfill leachate concentrate

Grazing intensity significantly affects belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems: A meta-analysis

Livestock grazing activities potentially alter ecosystem carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles in grassland ecosystems. Despite the fact that numerous individual studies and a few meta-analyses had been conducted, how grazing, especially its intensity, affects belowground C and N cycling in grasslands remains unclear. In this study, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis of 115 published studies to examine the responses of 19 variables associated with belowground C and N cycling to livestock grazing in global grasslands. Our results showed that, on average, grazing significantly decreased belowground C and N pools in grassland ecosystems, with the largest decreases in microbial biomass C and N (21.62% and 24.40%, respectively). In contrast, belowground fluxes, including soil respiration, soil net N mineralization and soil N nitrification increased by 4.25%, 34.67% and 25.87%, respectively, in grazed grasslands compared to ungrazed ones. More importantly, grazing intensity significantly affected the magnitude (even direction) of changes in the majority of the assessed belowground C and N pools and fluxes, and C : N ratio as well as soil moisture. Specifically,light grazing contributed to soil C and N sequestration whereas moderate and heavy grazing significantly increased C and N losses. In addition, soil depth, livestock type and climatic conditions influenced the responses of selected variables to livestock grazing to some degree. Our findings highlight the importance of the effects of grazing intensity on belowground C and N cycling, which may need to be incorporated into regional and global models for predicting effects of human disturbance on global grasslands and assessing the climate-biosphere feedbacks. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Lt

Real-time dissolution of a compositionally complex alloy using inline ICP and correlation with XPS

The real-time dissolution of the single-phase compositionally complex alloy (CCA), Al1.5TiVCr, was studied using an inline inductively coupled plasma method. Compositionally complex alloys (CCAs), a term encompassing high entropy alloys (HEAs) or multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs), are—in general—noted for their inherently high corrosion resistance. In order to gain an insight into the dissolution of Al1.5TiVCr alloy, atomic emission spectroelectrochemistry was utilised in order to measure the ion dissolution of the alloy during anodic polarisation. It was revealed that incongruent dissolution occurred, with preferential dissolution of Al, and essentially no dissolution of Ti, until the point of alloy breakdown. Results were correlated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which revealed a complex surface oxide inclusive of unoxidised metal, and metal oxides in disproportion to the bulk alloying element ratio

Aesthetic dissatisfaction in patients with hand osteoarthritis and its impact on daily life

<p><b>Objectives:</b> To evaluate the nature and extent of aesthetic dissatisfaction in patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA), and to investigate its impact on daily life and its determinants.</p> <p><b>Method:</b> Patients with primary hand OA, consulting secondary care, underwent physical examination for the number of joints with bony joint enlargements, soft tissue swelling and deformities, and radiographs. Questionnaires were filled in to measure pain and function (Functional Index for Hand Osteoarthritis, FIHOA), dissatisfaction with the appearance of the hands and its impact (aesthetic scales from the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire, MHQ), anxiety and depression (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), and illness perceptions (the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire, IPQ-R). Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression as measures of relative risk for dissatisfaction with appearance or its impact, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and joint-specific abnormalities (bony joint enlargements, deformities, or radiographic severity), self-reported pain and function.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Of 247 patients (mean age 61.6 years, 88% women), 63 (26%) were aesthetically dissatisfied and 33 (13%) reported impact on daily life due to dissatisfaction. Patients with joint-specific abnormalities were at higher risk for reporting dissatisfaction. Patients who reported impact also reported more depression and negative illness perceptions, independently from joint-specific abnormalities.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Hand OA patients report aesthetic dissatisfaction with their hands regularly, especially in those with joint abnormalities. This dissatisfaction has a negative impact in a small group of patients who also reported more depression and negative illness perceptions. These results indicate the influence of psychosocial factors on outcome measures in patients with hand OA.</p