Improving the Corrosion Performance of Organically Coated Steel Using a Sol-Gel Overcoat.

Organically coated steels are widely used in applications in which they are subjected to the natural environment and therefore require excellent corrosion resistance. Organic clearcoats are typically employed as a barrier that improves the overall corrosion resistance; however, they are typically derived from fossil fuel-based feedstock. A more sustainable alternative could be possible using sol-gel coatings. The application of a simple tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-based sol-gel was applied to polyurethane-coated steels using a spray coater. The concentration of TEOS was altered to produce coatings containing either 2.5% or 10%. The 10% TEOS resulted in dense, homogeneous coatings that offered a significant improvement in corrosion resistance compared to an uncoated substrate. Whereas the 2.5% TEOS coatings were inhomogeneous and porous, which indicated a limitation of concentration required to produce a uniform coating. The successful demonstration of using a simple TEOS-based coating to improve the corrosion resistance of organically coated steel highlights the potential for further investigation into the use of sol-gels for these applications.

Quantifying Infiltration for Quality Control in Printed Mesoscopic Perovskite Solar Cells: A Microscopic Perspective.

Mesoscopic carbon-based perovskite solar cells (CPSCs) are often cited as a potential frontrunner to perovskite commercialization. Infiltration, the extent to which perovskite fills the mesoporous scaffold, is critical for optimum performance and stability. However, infiltration data are usually presented as qualitative photographic comparisons of samples with extreme infiltration variation. This work examines how small infiltration defects impact performance using an optical microscopy examination of the base TiO2 layer to identify issues and develop targeted techniques for infiltration enhancement. Critically, the uninfiltrated area at the base of the stack was found to correlate well with PCE across multiple batches of varied print quality and ZrO2 thickness. Through reduction of mesh mark defects and improvement of print quality in the ZrO2 and carbon layers, a champion PCE of 15.01% is attained. It follows that this facile, multiscaled, nondestructive technique could enable targeted performance enhancement and quality control in future scale-up initiatives.

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guided Self-Help for Overweight and Obese Adults High in Weight Self-Stigma.

Weight self-stigma, in which individuals internalize stigmatizing messages about weight, is a prevalent problem that contributes to poor quality of life and health. This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) guided self-help using The Diet Trap for 55 overweight/obese adults high in weight self-stigma. Participants were randomized to the ACT self-help book plus phone coaching (GSH-P; n = 17), self-help book plus email prompts only (GSH-E; n = 20), or a waitlist condition (n = 18), with online self-report assessments at baseline and posttreatment (8 weeks later). Participants reported high satisfaction ratings and engagement with the ACT self-help book, with no differences between GSH-P and GSH-E. Both GSH-P and GSH-E improved weight self-stigma relative to waitlist with large effect sizes. There were mixed findings for health outcomes. The GSH-P condition improved more on healthy eating behaviors and general physical activity, but neither ACT condition improved more than waitlist on self-reported body mass index, emotional eating, and a second measure of physical activity. Results suggest an ACT self-help book with email prompts can reduce weight self-stigma and potentially improve some health behavior outcomes. Phone coaching may provide additional benefits for generalizing ACT to diet and physical activity.

Speech-language therapy students' auditory-perceptual judgements of simulated concurrent hypernasality and articulation disorders.

Auditory-perceptual judgements are regarded as the standard method for assessing speech disorders. However, the results of auditory-perceptual evaluations and rater reliability can be affected by various factors, such as concurrent problems in multiple speech subsystems. This study investigated the effect of a co-occurring articulation disorder on auditory-perceptual judgements of hypernasality and the effect of co-occurring hypernasality on judgements of an articulation disorder. The speech stimuli were sentences produced by a male speaker who simulated four levels of hypernasality (typical nasality, and mild, moderate, and severe hypernasality) at four levels of disordered articulation (typical articulation, and mild, moderate, and severe articulation disorder). Thirty speech and language therapy students used visual analogue scales to rate the severity of hypernasality and articulation disorder for each speech sample. Results showed that the hypernasality ratings were significantly higher when articulation disorder co-occurred compared to those without. However, there was no significant difference between mild, moderate and severe concurrent articulation disorder on hypernasality ratings. The speech samples with typical articulation and those with severe articulation disorder were rated as more severe in terms of articulation problem when combined with severe hypernasality. However, there was no significant hypernasality effect on articulation ratings for speech with mild or moderate articulation disorder. The present results generally agreed with previous findings regarding the effect of co-occurring speech problems on auditory-perceptual judgements. Clinicians are advised to be cautious of the potential impact. If possible, speech evaluation using instrumental techniques should be used to supplement auditory-perceptual judgements.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Multiple Versions of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Matrix App for Well-Being.

Mobile apps may be useful in teaching psychological skills in a high-frequency, low-intensity intervention. The acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) matrix is a visual tool to help develop psychological flexibility by categorizing moment-to-moment experience and is well suited to a mobile app. This pilot study tested the effects of a simple and complex version of a novel app using the ACT matrix in two distinct samples: help-seeking individuals (n = 35) and students receiving SONA credit (n = 63). Findings indicated no differences between app conditions and a waitlist condition in the SONA credit sample. However, in the help-seeking sample, improvements were found on well-being and valued action in participants who used the app, with greater improvements and app adoption for those using a complex version with additional skills. A mobile app based on the ACT matrix has benefits for help-seeking individuals, but supplementary features may be necessary to support consistent use and benefits.

When is experiential avoidance harmful in the moment? Examining global experiential avoidance as a moderator.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although experiential avoidance has been shown to predict a wide range of mental health problems, there has been minimal research to-date on the more immediate effects of engaging in experiential avoidance in the moment or the moderators that predict when it is more or less harmful. METHODS: An ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study was conducted with 70 undergraduate students who completed assessments three times a day, over 7 day as well as a baseline assessment of global questionnaires. RESULTS: Both greater global experiential avoidance and momentary experiential avoidance independently predicted greater momentary negative affect, lower positive affect, and lower valued action. Global experiential avoidance was also a significant moderator of momentary experiential avoidance such that experiential avoidance in the moment was more strongly related to negative effects among those high in global experiential avoidance. LIMITATIONS: Study limitations include a non-clinical student sample and use of unvalidated EMA items. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results suggest engaging in experiential avoidance in the moment has more negative, immediate effects particularly among those who engage in global, inflexible patterns of experiential avoidance.

Influence of maternal nutrition and heat stress on bovine oocyte and embryo development.

The global population is expected to increase from 7.6 to 9.6 billion people from 2017 to 2050. Increased demand for livestock production and rising global temperatures have made heat stress (HS) a major challenge for the dairy industry. HS been shown to have negative effects on production parameters such as dry matter intake, milk yield, and feed efficiency. In addition to affecting production parameters, HS has also been shown to have negative effects on the reproductive functions of dairy cows. Mitigation of HS effects on dairy cow productivity and fertility necessitate the strategic planning of nutrition, and environmental conditions. The current review will discuss the potential nutriepigenomic strategies to mitigate the effect of HS on bovine embryo.

The effect of graphite and carbon black ratios on conductive ink performance.

Conductive inks based on graphite and carbon black are used in a host of applications including energy storage, energy harvesting, electrochemical sensors and printed heaters. This requires accurate control of electrical properties tailored to the application; ink formulation is a fundamental element of this. Data on how formulation relates to properties have tended to apply to only single types of conductor at any time, with data on mixed types of carbon only empirical thus far. Therefore, screen printable carbon inks with differing graphite, carbon black and vinyl polymer content were formulated and printed to establish the effect on rheology, deposition and conductivity. The study found that at a higher total carbon loading ink of 29.4% by mass, optimal conductivity (0.029 Ω cm) was achieved at a graphite to carbon black ratio of 2.6 to 1. For a lower total carbon loading (21.7 mass %), this ratio was reduced to 1.8 to 1. Formulation affected viscosity and hence ink transfer and also surface roughness due to retention of features from the screen printing mesh and the inherent roughness of the carbon components, as well as the ability of features to be reproduced consistently.

Genomic Prediction of Single Crosses in the Early Stages of a Maize Hybrid Breeding Pipeline.

Prediction of single-cross performance has been a major goal of plant breeders since the beginning of hybrid breeding. Recently, genomic prediction has shown to be a promising approach, but only limited studies have examined the accuracy of predicting single-cross performance. Moreover, no studies have examined the potential of predicting single crosses among random inbreds derived from a series of biparental families, which resembles the structure of germplasm comprising the initial stages of a hybrid maize breeding pipeline. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the potential of genomic prediction for identifying superior single crosses early in the hybrid breeding pipeline and optimize its application. To accomplish these objectives, we designed and analyzed a novel population of single crosses representing the Iowa Stiff Stalk synthetic/non-Stiff Stalk heterotic pattern commonly used in the development of North American commercial maize hybrids. The performance of single crosses was predicted using parental combining ability and covariance among single crosses. Prediction accuracies were estimated using cross-validation and ranged from 0.28 to 0.77 for grain yield, 0.53 to 0.91 for plant height, and 0.49 to 0.94 for staygreen, depending on the number of tested parents of the single cross and genomic prediction method used. The genomic estimated general and specific combining abilities showed an advantage over genomic covariances among single crosses when one or both parents of the single cross were untested. Overall, our results suggest that genomic prediction of single crosses in the early stages of a hybrid breeding pipeline holds great potential to redesign hybrid breeding and increase its efficiency.