1,940 research outputs found
Three tests of the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model: Independent prediction, mediation, and generalizability
ObjectiveEfforts to understand why some marriages thrive while others falter are (a) not well integrated conceptually and (b) rely heavily on data collected from White middle-class samples. The Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model (VSA; Karney and Bradbury, 1995) is used here to integrate prior efforts and is tested using data collected from couples living with low incomes.BackgroundThe VSA Model assumes (a) that enduring vulnerabilities, stress, and couple communication account for unique variance in relationship satisfaction, (b) that communication mediates the effects of vulnerabilities and stress on satisfaction, and (c) that the predictors of satisfaction generalize across socioeconomic levels. To date, these assumptions remain untested.Materials and methodsWith 388 couples from diverse backgrounds (88% Black or Hispanic), we used latent variable structural equation models to examine enduring vulnerabilities, chronic stress, and observed communication as predictors of 4-wave, 27-month satisfaction trajectories, first as main effects and then interacting with a validated 10-item index of sociodemographic risk.Results(a) The three variable sets independently predict satisfaction trajectories; (b) couple communication does not mediate the effects of enduring vulnerabilities or stress on satisfaction; and (c) in 19% of tests, effects were stronger among couples with higher sociodemographic risk.ConclusionEffects of established predictor domains on satisfaction replicate in a diverse sample of newlywed couples, and most findings generalize across levels of sociodemographic risk. The failure of couple communication to mediate effects of enduring personal vulnerabilities and stress raises new questions about how these two domains undermine committed partnerships
Numerical and experimental characterisation of polylactic acid (PLA) processed by additive manufacturing (AM): bending and tensile tests
In additive manufacturing (AM), one of the most popular procedures is material extrusion
(MEX). The materials and manufacturing parameters used in this process have a significant impact on
a printed product’s quality. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of infill percentage
and filament orientation on the mechanical properties of printed structures. For this reason, the
characterisation of polylactic acid (PLA) was done numerically using the finite element method and
experimentally through mechanical tests. The experiments involved three-point bending and tensile
tests. The results showed that mechanical performance is highly dependent on these processing
parameters mainly when the infill percentage is less than 100%. The highest elastic modulus was
exhibited for structures with filament align at 0◦ and 100% infill, while the lowest one was verified for
specimen filament aligned at 0◦ and 30% infill. The results demonstrated that the process parameters
have a significant impact on mechanical performance, particularly when the infill percentage is less
than 100%. Structures with filament aligned at 0◦ and 100% infill showed the maximum elastic
modulus, whereas specimens with filament oriented at 0◦ and 30% infill showed the lowest. The
obtained numerical agreement indicated that an inverse method based only on the load–displacement
curve can yield an accurate value for this material’s elastic modulus.National Innovation Agency (ANI) for MSc grant of Mariana Salgueiro nº POCI-01-0247-
FEDER-039733 and Portuguese Foundations for Science and Technology. This project was co-financed
by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through SI&IDT Projects in the framework of
co-hosting—Competitiveness and Internationalisation Operational Programme (CIOP)—COMPETE
2020, Portugal 2020, with the National Innovation Agency (ANI) as the Intermediate Partner. Fabio
Pereira acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project
UIDB/04033/2020. Mariana Salgueiro and Andrea Zille acknowledge the European Commission and
the National Innovation Agency (ANI) for the financial support through the project “ARCHKNIT:
Innovative smart textile interfaces for architectural applications”, Ref.: POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039733.
This project was co-financed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through SI&IDT
Projects in the framework of co-hosting—Competitiveness and Internationalisation Operational
Programme (CIOP)—COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020, with the National Innovation Agency (ANI)
as the Intermediate Partner. Nuno Dourado acknowledges FCT for the conceded financial support
through the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2019 and “Programa bilateral de Portugal com a
Tunísia”. Charii Fakher acknowledges the « Fondation pour la Recherche Scientifique” for the
conceded financial support through “Programa bilateral de Portugal com a Tunísia”
Circulating Growth Differentiation Factor 15 Is Increased Preceding Preeclampsia Diagnosis: Implications as a Disease Biomarker
Background We investigated the biomarker potential of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), a stress response protein highly expressed in placenta, to predict preeclampsia. Methods and Results In 2 prospective cohorts (cohort 1: 960 controls, 39 women who developed preeclampsia; cohort 2: 950 controls, 41 developed preeclampsia), plasma concentrations of GDF-15 at 36 weeks' gestation were significantly increased among those who developed preeclampsia (P<0.001), area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of 0.66 and 0.71, respectively. In cohort 2 a ratio of sFlt-1/PlGF (a clinical biomarker for preeclampsia) had a sensitivity of 61.0% at 83.2% specificity to predict those who will develop preeclampsia (AUC of 0.79). A ratio of GDF-15×sFlt-1/PlGF yielded a sensitivity of 68.3% at 83.2% specificity (AUC of 0.82). GDF-15 was consistently elevated across a number of international cohorts: levels were higher in placenta and blood from women delivering <34 weeks' gestation due to preterm preeclampsia in Melbourne, Australia; and in the blood at 26 to 32 weeks' gestation among 57 women attending the Manchester Antenatal Vascular Service (MAViS, UK) who developed preeclampsia (P=0.0002), compared with 176 controls. In the Preeclampsia Obstetric adVerse Events biobank (PROVE, South Africa), plasma GDF-15 was significantly increased in women with preeclampsia with severe features (P=0.02; n=14) compared to controls (n=14). Conclusions We conclude circulating GDF-15 is elevated among women more likely to develop preeclampsia or diagnosed with the condition. It may have value as a clinical biomarker, including the potential to improve the sensitivity of sFlt-1/PlGF ratio
Continuous fungal treatment of non-sterile veterinary hospital effluent: pharmaceuticals removal and microbial community assessment
Source point treatment of effluents with a high load of pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), such as hospital wastewater, is a matter of discussion among the scientific community. Fungal treatments have been reported to be successful in degrading this type of pollutants and, therefore, the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor was applied for the removal of PhACs from veterinary hospital wastewater. Sixty-six percent removal was achieved in a non-sterile batch bioreactor inoculated with T. versicolor pellets. On the other hand, the study of microbial communities by means of DGGE and phylogenetic analyses led us to identify some microbial interactions and helped us moving to a continuous process. PhAC removal efficiency achieved in the fungal treatment operated in non-sterile continuous mode was 44 % after adjusting the C/N ratio with respect to the previously calculated one for sterile treatments. Fungal and bacterial communities in the continuous bioreactors were monitored as well.Authors want to acknowledge the UAB veterinary hospital staff for their kind permission and help for the samplings. This work has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER (projects CTM2013-48545-C2 and AIB2010PT-00169) and supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Consolidated Research Groups 2014-SGR-476 and 2014-SGR-291). The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) is a member of the Xarxa de Referencia en Biotecnologia de la Generalitat de Catalunya. M. Badia-Fabregat and D. Lucas acknowledge the predoctoral grants from UAB and from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (AP-2010-4926), respectively. The authors also thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462 co-funded by Operational Competitiveness Programme, FEDER, and Project "BioEnv-Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world," REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000048, co-funded by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER
Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory
A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding
eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers
with zenith angles greater than detected with the Pierre Auger
Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum
confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above
eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law with
index followed by
a smooth suppression region. For the energy () at which the
spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence
of suppression, we find
eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger
Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers.
These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of
the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray
energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30
to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of
the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is
determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated
using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due
to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components.
The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of
the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the
AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air
shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy
-- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy
estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the
surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator
scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent
emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for
the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at
least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy
We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio
emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate
energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of
15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV
arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling
quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from
state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our
measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric
energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with
our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector
against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI.
Supplemental material in the ancillary file
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