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Influence of extruder screw designs and speeds on the mechanical properties of melt-blended nylon 6-graphene nanoplatelet nanocomposites
No full textIn this work, the influence of different screw designs and speeds of a twin-screw extruder on the mechanical properties of nylon 6/graphene nanoplatelet (GnP) nanocomposites is investigated. Nanocomposites are prepared using 3 wt% GnPs and three screw designs designated as high, medium and low shear screws at speeds of 100, 200 and 300 rpm. Tensile and Charpy impact tests are performed to investigate the mechanical properties of nanocomposites. An increase in the Young’s modulus (in the range of 4.3% to 29.7%) is observed for all nanocomposite samples as compared to neat nylon 6 while tensile strength is either reduced or increased. It is also observed that nanocomposites have a lower strain at break (in the range of 82.9% to 95.2%) and a corresponding reduction in the tensile energy at break (in the range of 88.3% to 97.3%). Furthermore, nanocomposites exhibit lower impact strength (in the range of 25.2% to 65.6%) compared to neat nylon 6, and the screw designs influence this impact strength variation
Self-assembled multifunctional supraparticle films for label-free direct SERS quantitation of weakly adsorbing molecules in serum
No full textDetecting and quantifying molecular species at trace levels is crucial for understanding fundamental processes in chemistry and biology; however, the complexity of real-life samples renders their direct analysis extremely challenging. Here, we demonstrate a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic approach for the direct on-site detection and quantification of trace analytes in real-life samples. The key to our approach is the creation of multifunctional plasmonic films via interfacial self-assembly using colloidal Au@Prussian blue (PB) supraparticles as the functional building block. The supraparticles contain 3-dimensional hot-spots that give rise to strong plasmonic near-field enhancement, while the PB shell acts simultaneously as a molecular sieve and internal standard to induce selective analyte adsorption and to calibrate signal fluctuations. This enables direct identification and quantitation of a range of weakly adsorbing targets in biological and environmental samples using a portable Raman spectrometer, which paves the way for rapid on-site chemical analysis in important applications, including therapeutic drug monitoring and environmental analysis
A five-country comparison of midwifery students' confidence in facilitating normal labor and birth
No full textMidwifery students need confidence in recognizing and supporting normal birth, the backbone of the midwifery professional role. Developing this confidence in the face of decreasing rates of physiological birth worldwide is a critical challenge. Midwife researchers from Australia, England, Northern Ireland, Poland, and the USA investigated midwifery student confidence for supporting normal birth and explored enhancing and detracting factors. A cross-sectional survey design was undertaken with 570 midwifery students at 8 academic midwifery programs across 5 countries The Student Confidence for Supporting Normal Birth Questionnaire with free text and Likert-type questions on a 1 (least influential) to 4 (most influential) scale was used. The survey was distributed between 2019 and 2023. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis tests of difference. Free text responses were analyzed thematically. Overall confidence mean was 2.06/4.00, with Poland (1.67) having the lowest confidence and the USA the highest (2.88). Factors rated most influential were the student-mentor midwife relationship (3.40) and theoretical education (3.09). In addition, birth environment emerged as important in the qualitative themes. Interacting with a mentor midwife that supports physiological birth and is respectful of students, and repeated exposure to birth environments that privilege women-centered physiological birth are crucial to ensuring midwifery students can transition to confident midwifery professionals who are advocates for physiological birth. Didactic education that emphasizes the basic physiological and psychological principles that underlie midwifery care processes, contributes to midwifery student confidence for supporting normal birth
Technical status report on plasma components and systems in the context of EuPRAXIA
No full textThe EuPRAXIA project [Walker et al., J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 874, 012029 (2017)] aims to construct two state-of-the-art accelerator facilities based on plasma accelerator technology. Plasma-based accelerators offer the possibility of a significant reduction in facility size and cost savings over current radio frequency (RF) accelerators. The two facilities—one laser-driven, one a beam-driven—are envisioned to provide electron beams with an energy in the range of 1-5 GeV and beam quality comparable to existing RF machines. This will enable a versatile portfolio of applications from compact free-electron laser drivers to sources for medical and industrial imaging. At the heart of both facilities is the use of plasma-based accelerator components and systems, which encompass not only the accelerating medium itself but also a range of auxiliary systems such as plasma-based electron beam optics and plasma-based mirrors for high-intensity lasers. From a technical standpoint, a high-degree of control over these plasma devices will be essential for EuPRAXIA to achieve its target performance goals. The ability to diagnose and characterize these plasma devices and to simulate their operation will be further essential success factors. Additionally, compatibility with extended operation at high-repetition rates and integration into the accelerator beamline will also prove crucial. In this work, we aim to review the current status of plasma components and related systems for both laser-driven and beam-driven plasma accelerators and to assess challenges to be addressed regarding implementation at future EuPRAXIA facilities.</p
From global to local: advancing PRME at the local and regional levels
No full textThis session introduces PRME Chapter UK and Ireland’s Local Networks, seven regional fora where PRME Signatories collaborate, share best practices, and engage with the PRME Principles and UN SDGs at a more localised level. The Local Networks’ success shows how PRME Chapters and individual Signatory schools can partner with academic institutions, business leaders, policymakers, and students to respond to local needs and challenges. Participants will gain (1) understanding of the benefits of addressing the Principles of PRME at more localised levels; (2) inspiration from examples of the PRME Chapter UK & Ireland Local Networks; (3) opportunities to share their stories of localising PRME and generate ideas for future development; and (4) post-event blog collating key insights from our session
Contesting translation: studies in honour of Mona Baker
No full textContesting Translation, a celebratory edited volume honours Professor Mona Baker, one of the most influential scholars in translation, interpreting and intercultural studies. The eleven original chapters were especially commissioned from scholars who have developed enduring personal, professional and intellectual connections with Baker through her teaching and research.The chapters are framed by a reflective introduction, and clustered into three inter-related sections: ‘Trajectories and concepts’, ‘Narratives and corpora’, and ‘Activism and solidarity’, which together map the routes and approaches that characterise Baker’s oeuvre. Individual chapters offer studies on topics ranging from literary translation, knowledge translation, journalistic translation and museum translation to political and aspirational translation. Studies are situated in diverse temporal and geographical environments, extending from seventeenth-century Low Countries to present-day Palestine. Chapters resonate with each other through critical scholarly engagement with the history, discourse, and politics of translation, and through a shared interest in the significance of the stories we tell each other and ourselves. Relevant for students new to translation and interpreting studies as well as established and emerging scholars more familiar with the field’s contours, Contesting Translation is a landmark contribution to a dynamic discipline that has itself been significantly shaped by one of its most forthright and creative scholars