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Technical textiles in transport (land, sea and air)
No full textTechnical textiles feature throughout the transport sector where they are used in functional roles such as reinforcement in flexible composites, for example tyres, and rigid composites as structural elements. These latter function as metal replacements and so offer the main means of reducing overall vehicle mass to yield improvement in fuel efficiency. In parallel, increases in vehicle safety are driven by developments in technical textiles such as passenger seat belts and airbags. However, one essential feature that many vehicle components require, especially in passenger compartments, is a minimal level of fire resistance and as land, marine and air transport becomes more safety conscious, achieves higher velocities and capacities and increasingly uses composites within their structural components as a means of weight reduction, so the potential flammability of all materials used to construct them becomes of increasing importance.This chapter is divided into three parts the first of which discusses technical textiles used as reinforcements of flexible and so-called mechanical rubber products which include tyres, hoses and drive beltings. Secondly, those products that increase passenger passive safety such as seat belts and airbags are outlined. Finally components and products which require certified levels of fire resistance, usually defined by international regulations and fire standards, are described for land, marine and air commercial transport. This section in particular, describes the major uses of technical textiles having both technical and aesthetic properties, especially within the passenger compartments, as well as composites for structural components, their respective fire risks, test regimes and favoured textile materials
Sustainability of a pay-as-you-go pension system in a small open economy with ageing, human capital and endogenous fertility.
No full textThe aim of the article is to theoretically investigate if a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system is sustainable in the presence of a declining population and increasing longevity of the retired generation. For this purpose, we use an overlapping generation model with endogenous fertility, endogenous longevity and human capital accumulation in a small open economy. We find that pensions will always increase as long as it is beneficial for parents to invest in human capital.Furthermore, we get the result that the ratio between pension benefits and the consumption of the young generation will strive to a positive limit value, and that a pure PAYG pension system will not run into any solvency problem due to a decreasing fertility rate or ageing
A qualitative examination of engagement with support services by victims of violent crime
No full textResearch elsewhere has suggested that the level of victim engagement with support services is generally low, and that many individuals are at risk of trauma symptomology and associated negative psychological outcomes as a result. The existing literature examining barriers to engagement with victim services is relatively small and largely quantitative, and a detailed qualitative examination of decisions to engage with victim services has yet to be undertaken. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined the provision of information and referral processes by the police, initial and follow-up contact with support services, and perceived barriers to engagement. Victim evaluations of the services used were also examined. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with the victims of violent crime during a six-month period in a police force in England and Wales. Participants who engaged with victim services reported experiencing significant benefits as a result of the support they received; however, there was a generally low level of engagement with Victim Support and other services in the sample. Several different factors associated with lack of engagement were identified by the analysis, consistent with the results of previous research. The implications of the study for developing more effective strategies for increasing victim engagement, in ways consistent with current local, national and European policy, are considered
Employees? propensity for emotional contagion as a mediating variable between job satisfaction and perceptions of customers? mood: a comparative case study.
No full textPast investigations have demonstrated the important role of emotions in the workplace. The present research focuses on frontline employees and on how the relation between their perceptions of customers? mood and job satisfaction can be moderated by their levels of emotional contagion. A comparative case study was conducted with two conditions of service encounters: face-to-face and telephone. The results show that for both conditions there is a positive and significant correlation between perceptions of customers? mood and job satisfaction. Only for the face to face group this relation was moderated by employees? propensity for emotional contagion. The author suggests that where all the sources of emotional contagion are present (proxemics, kinesics, and paralinguistic) the emotional contagion scale created by Doherty (1997) could and should be used as a recruitment tool. For the job environments where employees are not exposed to the visual sources, more research is still needed to understand how the contagion process takes place
A facile one-pot synthesis of N-La codoped TiO2 porous materials with bio-hierarchical architectures and enhanced photocatalytic activity
No full textBio-hierarchical TiO2-based porous structures (denoted as morph-TiO2) with N and La co-doping (denoted as N-La-morph-TiO2) are successfully synthesized via a facile one-pot reaction by using butterfly wings as bio-template and surfactant as co-template. Due to the novel dual-template strategy, the well-aligned 3D bio-hierarchical porous structures in combination with N-La codoping not only modify the band structure of TiO2 to make it more responsive to visible light, but also increase the surface area and lead TiO2 to have enhanced photocatalytic activity for methyl orange (MO) degradation under UV and/or visible light illumination as compared with P25 TiO2 and pristine TiO2. The optimized N-La-morph-TiO2 nanostructures present a narrow pore size distribution with an average pore diameter of 8.7 nm and a high specific surface area (196 m2 g−1), which is nearly four times that of P25 TiO2. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the combination of the doped inorganic elements, the fine hierarchical and well-aligned porous nanostructures as analyzed by SEM, TEM, XPS, BET, UV–vis absorption and photodegradation tests. The promotional mechanisms and principles reported in this work are believed to have great significance in heterogeneous photocatalysis
Can technology provide a glimmer of hope for economic growth in the midst of chaos? A case of Zimbabwe.
No full textIn this paper we examine the effect of technology on economic growth in Zimbabwe over the period 1975–2014 whilst accounting for structural breaks. We use the extended Cobb–Douglas type Solow (Q J Econ 70(1):65–94, 1956) framework and the ARDL bounds procedure to examine cointegration and short run and long run effects.Using unit root tests, we note that structural changes in Zimbabwe are generally marked by the period 1982 onwards. We find that mobile technology has a positive short-run (0.09 %) and long-run (0.08 %) impact on the output per capita. The structural changes post-1982 periods show positive impact in the short-run (0.06) and the long-run (0.09), whereas the coefficient of trend in the short-run (-0.03) and the long-run (-0.04) is negative. The Granger non-causality test shows a unidirectional causality from capital stock (investment) per capita to output per capita and a bi-directional causality between mobile cellular technology and output per capita. The plausible reasons for estimated magnitude effects and the direction of causality are explained for policy deliberation
Do Staphylococcus epidermidis genetic clusters predict isolation sources?
No full textStaphylococcus epidermidis is a ubiquitous colonizer of human skin and a common cause of medical device-associated infections. The extent to which the population genetic structure of S. epidermidis distinguishes commensal from pathogenic isolates is unclear. Previously, Bayesian clustering of 437 multilocus sequence types (STs) in the international database revealed a population structure of six genetic clusters (GCs) that may reflect the species' ecology. Here, we first verified the presence of six GCs, including two (GC3 and GC5) with significant admixture, in an updated database of 578 STs. Next, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay was developed that accurately assigned 545 (94%) of 578 STs to GCs. Finally, the hypothesis that GCs could distinguish isolation sources was tested by SNP typing and GC assignment of 154 isolates from hospital patients with bacteremia and those with blood culture contaminants and from nonhospital carriage. GC5 was isolated almost exclusively from hospital sources. GC1 and GC6 were isolated from all sources but were overrepresented in isolates from nonhospital and infection sources, respectively. GC2, GC3, and GC4 were relatively rare in this collection. No association was detected between fdh-positive isolates (GC2 and GC4) and nonhospital sources. Using a machine learning algorithm, GCs predicted hospital and nonhospital sources with 80% accuracy and predicted infection and contaminant sources with 45% accuracy, which was comparable to the results seen with a combination of five genetic markers (icaA, IS256, sesD [bhp], mecA, and arginine catabolic mobile element [ACME]). Thus, analysis of population structure with subgenomic data shows the distinction of hospital and nonhospital sources and the near-inseparability of sources within a hospital
Being "on the margins": exploring intersections
No full textThis book is a collection of the proceedings from the Symposium of the Street, a one-day conference convened at the University of Manchester in June 2014 and funded by the North West Doctoral Training Centre. The event brought together civil society organisations and academics to share experiences of working and facilitating research with street-connected children and youth, and other young people in vulnerable situations. The chapters in this book represent a number of different organisations and researchers working in countries across Europe, Africa and Asia. All explore the realities of people who live on the margins, positioned as out-of-place and unable to access aspects of mainstream society, be they education and schooling, welfare or care services.The authors discuss their work and research with children, youth and people who are street-connected or rough sleeping, refugees, asylum seekers or migrant populations; live in slum areas; are learners of English as an additional language; or have disabilities. The chapters present the day-to-day issues practitioners and organisations face when delivering interventions, advocating for effective social policy, litigating for inclusion, or monitoring and evaluating the progress made. Together, the chapters offer a multidimensional approach to being on the margins of society, or working with excluded communities, and encourages a cross-sectoral approach to inclusion in its many forms
Female gender is independently associated with increased carotid temperatures in patients with coronary artery disease
No full textBackground :Limited are the data regarding the sex differences in functional carotid artery characteristics. Microwave Radiometry (MWR) is a new noninvasive method, which measures in vivo instantly the internal temperatures of tissues, reflecting inflammation. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), gender related differences apply in carotid plaque functional characteristics, as assessed by MWR.Methods :Consecutive patients with significant CAD were included in the study. All patients underwent evaluation of both carotid arteries by 1) ultrasound and 2) MWR. During ultrasound common carotid IMT and plaque thickness were assessed according to Mannheim consensus. During MWR measurements, temperature difference (ΔT) was assigned as maximal temperature along the carotid artery minus minimum. ΔT ≥ 0.90 °C was assigned as high ΔT.Results :In total 364 patients with significant CAD were included in the study. Of these 54 were female and 310 were male. Max plaque thickness and ccIMT were similar between males and females (2.38 ± 1.16 vs. 2.46 ± 1.12 mm, p = 0.63 and 0.944 ± 0.172 vs. 0.942 ± 0.169 mm, p = 0.96). Carotid arteries of females showed higher ΔT values (1.16 ± 0.48 vs 0.87 ± 0.45 °C, p < 0.001). Interestingly, females had more commonly high ΔT values bilaterally (35.2% vs 15.5%, p = 0.001). In multivariate analysis, female sex was independently associated with bilateral high ΔT, when adjusted to potential covariates (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.42–5.45, p = 0.003).Conclusions :In patients with CAD, sex specific differences apply in functional but not in structural carotid artery characteristics. Whether this discrepancy has prognostic significance, remains to be clarified in future studies