Role of discrimination and resilience on birth weight: A systematic examination in a sample of Black, Latina, and White women

Introduction: Health inequities begin before birth with Black women being more likely to have low birth weight babies than White and Latina women. Although both Latina and Black women experience discrimination, only Black women appear to be affected. Methods: In this study using medical records and face-to-face interviews, we systematically examined the role of discrimination (daily, environmental, vicarious) on continuous birth weight (controlling for gestational age and baby’s gender) in a sample of 329 Black, Latina, and White pregnant women, as well as whether familism, prayer, and/or discrimination attribution buffered this association. Results: Linear regression analyses revealed that only prayer acted as a resilience factor, with Latina women appearing to benefit from prayer in the link between vicarious and daily discrimination on birth weight conditional on gestational age, whereas Black women showed no moderation and White women showed an exacerbation in the link. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that sociocultural norms may play a role in explaining the Latina epidemiological paradox, but more research is needed to understand the significance. © The Author(s) 2022.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Airbag for the closing of pipelines on explosions and leakages

This paper is a result of international effort aimed at the construction of a device for quick closing of pipelines in the case of explosion propagation and/or chemical leakage. Such a problem exists in industries where flammable substances are transported by pipelines. The basic solution principle was the idea to use airbags similar to those utilized in cars. Two pipeline applications were taken into consideration: a low-pressure module able to suppress explosion propagation and a high-pressure module to stop leakages from, e.g. natural gas pipeline capable to be used for duct diameters up to 0.6 m, pressures up to 5 MPa and reaction times of 50 ms. It was necessary to construct a new airbag, capable of withstanding up to 10 bar pressure. The choice of material was critical to ensure sufficient strength and chemical resistance while retaining impermeability. CFD modeling of the bag deployment into a pipe flow and analysis of the bag shapes was also completed. Two gas generators were constructed and tested with novel propellant materials. Different airbag models were tested to evaluate their effectiveness. Risk analysis approach was applied to evaluate the safety and economic benefits of the new technology in different fields of application