Sociodemographic and psychological predictors of changes in dietary fat consumption in adults with high blood cholesterol following counseling in primary care.

The associations between sociodemographic variables, psychological factors, and changes in dietary fat consumption over 4 months were assessed in a randomized controlled trial of behavioral counseling versus standard advice. Patients were 141 men and 150 women, with an average age of 52.1 years and total cholesterol level of 7.27 mmol/l (278 mg/dl). Smokers, younger patients, and those with greater body mass index had higher fat intake at baseline. Behavioral counseling led to greater reductions in fat intake than did standard advice. Self-efficacy and ratings of benefits of low-fat diets were related to fat consumption at baseline, and changes in these measures were correlated with changes in fat intake. Family support, baseline anticipated regret, and (for the behavioral counseling group only) baseline behavioral intentions predicted reductions in fat intake. The results indicated that psychosocial variables associated cross-sectionally with fat consumption do not necessarily predict change and that factors involved in the process of change and the prediction of change need to be differentiated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thermal desorption of hydrogen from magnesium hydride (MgH2): An in situ microscopy study by environmental SEM and TEM

As-received magnesium hydride (MgH₂), and MgH₂ doped with lithium borohydride (LiBH₄) and titanium (III) chloride (TiCl₃) catalyst were heated - in situ - in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Morphological and structural changes during heating and hydrogen desorption were recorded in real time. The studies show that native MgH₂ undergoes dramatic and destructive structural changes upon heating, whereas the doped/catalyzed MgH₂ mixture showed a benign outgassing with little structural change. Videos of the morphological changes during heating can be viewed online at the McGrady group website: http://www.unb.ca/fredericton/science/chem/smcgrady/group/shanebeattie/InsituESEMandTEM-MgH2.html.     

A glass polyalkenoate cement carrier for bone morphogenetic proteins

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine - A series of high molecular weight polymers were prepared by ring opening polymerization of l-lactide (l-LA), 1,3-trimethylene carbonate (TMC)...     

Sulfur infiltration and allotrope formation in porous cathode hosts for lithium-sulfur batteries

We investigate sulfur infiltration and formation of lower order allotropes in heated porous hosts during fabrication of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery cathodes. Sulfur existence in cathode ultramicropores has been an important question for Li-S batteries, as ultramicropores reduce the polysulfides “shuttle effect” but also delay sulfur dissolution and Li⁺ ion diffusion in the trapped solid sulfur. A novel continuum-level model is presented including heat transfer and sulfur infiltration, either from the top of a porous host or from the porous host particle surface, and taking into account the pore size distribution. A novel decay factor in modeling sulfur infiltration incorporates the pore wall repulsion energy and allotrope formation energy (predicted by density functional theory [DFT] simulations). Simulations are performed for a microporous carbon fabric host and an activated carbon powder host with bimodal micropore and macropore size distribution, with Raman and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) spectroscopy confirming the predicted existence of linear S₆ and S₄ in ultramicropores.     

Studies of freezing–melting hysteresis in cryoporometry scanning loop experiments using NMR diffusometry and relaxometry

Theories of freeze–thaw hysteresis in NMR cryoporometry of disordered mesoporous solids have been rigorously tested using scanning loop experiments together with concurrently obtained (PFG) NMR diffusometry and relaxometry data. PFG-NMR and relaxometry have revealed that the spatial disposition of frozen and molten phases, at a particular point in a loop, depends upon the prior thermal history, as expected from previous work. However, these data have also shown the vital importance of incorporating the advanced melting process in order to adequately interpret cryoporometry data, and thence the ability to distinguish between interpretations arising from structural or thermodynamic considerations. The advanced melting process has been shown to greatly impact the accuracy of pore size distributions derived from the melting curve using the conventional approach that neglects it. Further, it has been shown that the freeze/thaw hysteresis can be progressively expunged using ‘mini-loop’-type experiments. Hence, the potential reversibility of freeze/thaw processes, even in disordered materials, has been demonstrated. This lack of hysteresis is consistent with the axial freezing and melting expected when both heterogeneous nucleation of freezing, and advanced melting, occur.     

Language and socioeconomics predict geographic variation in peer review outcomes at an ecology journal

Scientometrics - Papers submitted by scientists located in western nations generally fare better in the peer review process than do papers submitted by scientists from elsewhere. This paper...     

Online engagement during COVID-19: Role of agency on collaborative learning orientation and learning expectations

During the COVID-19 outbreak, students had to cope with succeeding in video-conferencing classes susceptible to technical problems like choppy audio, frozen screens and poor Internet connection, leading to interrupted delivery of facial expressions and eye-contact. For these reasons, agentic engagement during video-conferencing became critical for successful learning outcomes. This study explores the mediating effect agentic engagement has on collaborative language learning orientations (CLLO) within an EFL video-conferencing course to understand better how interactions influence academic learning expectations. A total of 329 (Male = 132, Female = 197) students were recruited from four South Korean universities to participate in this questionnaire study. Data analysis was carried out using the statistical software packages SPSS, and a series of data screening procedures were carried out. Findings revealed that collaborative language learning orientations were a statistically significant predictor of academic learning expectations, but this relationship was fully mediated when agentic engagement was added to the model. Students with a propensity for social language learning strategies believe they will succeed; however, this relationship is explained by their propensity to interact with the instructor when video-conferencing. An assortment of learning activities should be provided to support both collaborative and individual learning orientations for academic success. Students with collaborative learning tendencies and a propensity to actively engage the instructor during video conference classes are active participants in the eLearning context, possibly leading to positive course expectations.     

Enhancing hydrogen gas separation performance of thin film composite membrane through facilely blended polyvinyl alcohol and PEBAX

Polymeric membranes offer economic separation processes but are less explored for H₂ separation application. This work aims to unveil the H₂ separation potential of polymeric membrane by developing PVA-based reverse selective composite membrane. CO₂-selective PEBAX was blended at different PVA:PEBAX ratio. The effect of PEBAX blending on membrane morphology, crystallinity and gas separation behavior was studied. Incorporation of PEBAX at <50 wt% resulted in composite with improved CO₂ permeability but selectivity loss. Blending of >60 wt% PEBAX enhanced both permeance and selectivity of the resulted composite as the host matrix was dominated by this PEO containing material thus greatly enhancing polymer chain mobility and promoting CO₂-solubility. The best composite which contains 60 wt% PEBAX exhibited CO₂ permeability of 20.0 Barrer and CO₂/H₂ selectivity of 7.6. This performance surpasses the Robeson's boundary and unleashes the potential of tailoring the properties of polymeric nanocomposite membrane for H₂ separation application through facile PVA/PEBAX blending.