Investigation of the influence of operational factors on the heat-protective characteristics of a package of materials for firefighter combat clothing

The article is devoted to the assessment of the impact of operational factors on the heat-protective performance of a package of materials of firefighter's combat clothing. The paper considers the influence of high humidity, compression of a package of materials, the presence of reflective elements in a package of clothing materials. The operational factors of influence on the heat-protective indicators of the package of materials of the firefighter's combat clothing, which reduce the protective action time by more than 3 times, are determined. The paper notes that it is the humidity and compression of the package of materials that change the nature of heating, which is due to an increase in the thermal conductivity of the layers when these factors affect the porous material.

O (nie tylko estetycznych) pożytkach z lektury fantastyki naukowej

The article is devoted to the potential benefits of a variety of natures from reading science fiction. They are divided into aesthetic and non-artistic, related to the functioning of this phenomenon in the congregational imagination, which models and at the same time is modelled by it. Given the properties of science fiction and its role in the reading circuit, one can conclude about the importance of science fiction as an artistic formula that approximates both the future and the dilemmas of the present, hidden in a futuristic stack of props (this is evident especially when reading socio-political fiction). At the same time, the reading experience contradicts such a high rating of science literature, most often – above – aspiring only to readily attractive “adventurials in space/cyberspace”. Indeed, if there are any advantages of reading science fiction, it must be realised, first of all, that they depend mainly on the expectations of the audience; their reading attitude (that is whether they will treat science fiction as a manifestation of literary escapism, or perhaps a medium of important socio-civilizational issues). However, readers who treat novels in an escapist way can be contrasted with those who equate it with the specific language of discourse over the present day. Therefore, it is important how the author will treat the chosen convention: as an excuse to present further “adventure in space”, or as an opportunity to look at the present from a special perspective, which is provided by the narrative future of action time of science fiction novels. Only then will it be possible to speak of the benefit of reading science fiction, which is more or less indirectly linked to the life of the reader.

Delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals

Action binding is the effect that the perceived time of an action is shifted towards the action related feedback. A much larger action binding effect in schizophrenia compared to normal controls has been shown, which might be due to positive symptoms like delusions. Here we investigated the relationship between delusional thinking and action binding in healthy individuals, predicting a positive correlation between them. The action binding effect was evaluated by comparing the perceived time of a keypress between an operant (keypress triggering a sound) and a baseline condition (keypress alone), with a novel testing method that massively improved the precision of the subjective timing measurement. A positive correlation was found between the tendency of delusional thinking (measured by the 21-item Peters et al. delusions inventory) and action binding across participants after controlling for the effect of testing order between operant and baseline conditions. The results indicate that delusional thinking in particular influences action time perception and support the notion of a continuous distribution of schizotypal traits with normal controls at one end and clinical patients at the other end.

Sputter-Deposited Cr–Ag Films for Environmental Antimicrobial Applications

Chromium–silver films with ≤ 39.2 at.% Ag were deposited by magnetron sputtering for antibacterial applications. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses indicate that the films consist of Cr and Ag, and silver segregation is not obvious at the surface. The films are hard (628–968 HV0.001) and hydrophobic with low surface energy (12.8–26.8 mJ/m2). The drying time of water droplets is dependent on ambient conditions, material wettability and droplet size. The test against Escherichia coli indicates antibacterial ratios of 100% for the Cr–Ag films (action time 3 h). However, bacteria died within 15 min due to quick drying of the bacterial suspension in open ambient conditions. The Cr–Ag films would have potential antimicrobial applications in public environmental facilities.

Study on ignition performance of tantalum nitride film energy exchangers based on new bridge area

In order to reduce the ignition energy of the tantalum nitride film transducer, a new type of energy exchangers bridge area was designed in this paper, and it was fabricated by MEMS technology. The parameters of ignition voltage, ignition energy, as well as action time were tested. The experimental results showed that in terms of ignition voltage, ignition energy, and action time, the value of the energy exchangers element of the new bridge area was lower than the value of the energy exchangers element of the conventional bridge area. In addition, ignition performance can be reduced by many energy exchangers in the new bridge area.

Patients and general practitioners assessment of the main outcomes employed in the acute and preventive treatment of migraine: a cross sectional study

Background We aim to describe and compare patients and general practitioners’ opinions about the different variables related to acute and preventive treatment for migraine. Patients and methods An observational descriptive study was performed. Patients with episodic migraine and general practitioners, from our healthcare area, were invited to answer a survey about the different variables related to migraine treatment. They were asked for their opinions on the different variables, and to consider the desired efficacy in percentage terms and the desired action times of treatment. Results Fifty-five patients and fifty-five general practitioners were selected. Effectiveness was considered the most important variable for symptomatic and preventive treatment. Cost was considered the least important variable. Patients desired percentage of efficacy was 84.0% (±16.7%) for symptomatic treatment and 79.9% (±17.1%) for preventive treatment. General practitioners desired percentage of efficacy was 75.0% (±14.0) for symptomatic treatment and 70.4% (±14.3) for preventive treatment. For symptomatic treatment the desired action time for pain cessation was selected as 27.5 min (±13.8) for patients and 24.0 min (±18.3) for GPs. For preventive treatment the desired action time for effect was 7.1 days (±4.5) for patients and 13.9 days (±8.9) for general practitioners. Conclusion The most important endpoints were, for acute: effectiveness, a short action time and a persistent effect. For prophylactic: effectiveness, sustained effect and tolerability. Both patients and general practitioners agreed on the most and least preferred endpoints. Desired percentage of efficacy was above 75% for both symptomatic and preventive treatment; and the desired action time was below 30 min for acute treatment and 2 weeks for preventive treatment.

Single-Sided Portable NMR Investigation to Assess and Monitor Cleaning Action of PVA-Borax Hydrogel in Travertine and Lecce Stone

In this work, we investigated the potential of PVA-borax hydrogel for cleaning limestones and the dependence of the cleaning on the porosity of the rock and on the action time of the hydrogel treatment. Towards this goal, we used a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, developed for non-invasive and non-destructive applications on cultural heritage. T2-NMR parameters were quantified on different samples of Lecce stone and Travertine cut perpendicular (Pe) and parallel (Pa) to the bedding planes under different experimental conditions: untreated samples, treated with Paraloid B72 and cleaned with PVA-PEO-borax hydrogel applied for 4 min and 2 h. The T2 results suggest that the effectiveness of the cleaning strongly depended on the porosity of the stones. In Lecce stone, the hydrogel seemed to eliminate both the paramagnetic impurities (in equal measure with 4 min and 2 h treatment) and Paraloid B72. In Travertine Pe, characterized by a smaller pore size compared to Lecce stone, no significant effects were found regarding both the cleaning and the treatment with Paraloid B72. In Travertine Pa, characterized by a larger pore size than the other two samples, the hydrogel seemed to clean the paramagnetic agents (it worked better if applied for a longer time) but it did not appear to have any effect on Paraloid B72 removal.