The Composite Face Effect Between Young and Older Chinese Adults Remains Stable

Holistic face perception is often considered to be a cornerstone of face processing. However, the development of the ability to holistically perceive faces in East Asian individuals is unclear. Therefore, we measured and compared holistic face processing in groups of Chinese children, young adults, and older adults by employing the complete composite face paradigm. The results demonstrate a similar magnitude of the composite effect in all three groups although face recognition performance in the task was better in young adults than in the two other groups. These findings suggest that holistic face perception in Eastern individuals is stable from late childhood to at least age 60, whereas face memory may be subject to later development and earlier decline.

Reinforcement of Montmorillonite Clay in Epoxy/Unsaturated Polyester Blended Composite: Effect on Composite Properties

Montmorillonite (MMT) clay was disseminated into Unsaturated Polyester (UP) and Epoxy blend systems in diverse weight ratios namely, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5% to prepare Epoxy/UP/MMT clay composite. The specimen was characterized by thermal and chemical analysis. Homogeneous mixture of blended composites is obtained through mechanical stirring and ultrasonication processes. The testing of thermal and chemical properties was performed. Evidence acquired from the above tests indicate that Epoxy reinforced with UP and further strengthened with MMT clay enhanced the thermal and chemical properties of the composite to a considerable extent. The purpose of this study was to recognize an appropriate composite offering a stronger material with enhanced performance; that is suitable for diverse industrial uses.

Link Between Unmet Need and Economic Status in Bangladesh: Gap in Urban and Rural Areas

Background: Unmet need for family planning (FP) is a core concept in designing FP programmes and reduction of unmet need for FP can improve reproductive and maternal health services. Bangladesh is still away from achieving the target regarding unmet need for FP. This study aimed to explore the composite effect of economic status and place of residence on unmet need for FP among currently married women of reproductive age in Bangladesh after controlling the effect of other selected covariates.Methods: The study used the data extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2017-2018, which is a nationally representative survey implemented using a stratified two-stage cluster sample design. A total of 13031 currently married women of reproductive age were included in the final analysis. Binary logistic regression model has been employed to identify the factors influencing the unmet need for FP. Model-I investigated the effect of composite variable place-wealth on unmet need for FP and Model-II examined the effect of place-wealth on unmet need for FP after adjusting for the effect of other selected covariates. The Odds Ratios with p-values were reported to identify significant covariates.Results: The rate of unmet need for FP was 15.48%. The composite factor of economic status and place of residence had significant influence on unmet need for FP in both models. Generally, rural women were significantly more likely to have unmet need for FP than their urban counterparts. In particular, women from rural areas and belong to rich families had the highest likelihoods of unmet need for FP. The other selected covariates also had significant influence on unmet need for FP. Conclusion: This study shows that rural women had higher odds of unmet need for FP than urban women. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) should take necessary actions to motivate women to use contraceptive specially the women who are residing in the rural areas.

Fracture Toughness of Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)/Hydroxyapatite Denture Base Composite: Effect of Planetary Ball Milling Mixing Time

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has great potential as a reinforcing filler for poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) denture base materials. Nevertheless, filler particles need to be homogeneously distributed throughout the PMMA particles to get the maximum benefit from using the filler. Therefore, the physical mixing of the powder components (PMMA and the filler) is strongly preferred to provide the required dispersion of the filler in the matrix. However, conventional techniques that have been tried, such as hand mixing and stirrer mixing techniques, were not effective. Therefore, the current study was designed to experimentally investigate the effect of different mixing times on the fracture toughness of PMMA/HA using a developed ball milling method. In this study, heat cured PMMA reinforced with 15 wt% HA ceramic powder was ground for different times (i.e., 10, 20, 30, and 40 min) via the technique of planetary ball milling (PBM). The ground powder mixtures were used for the fabrication of denture base testing samples. The particle size and distribution of the PMMA/HA composites after milling for several times were determined by the laser light scattering technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the PMMA/HA composites were obtained. However, no new phase was observed. The effects of mixing time using the PBM technique on the fracture toughness were investigated. The effect of mixing time on the microporosity (voids) on the fractured surface of PMMA/HA was studied with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Within the limitation of the current study, 30 min is considered the optimum mixing time for the tested PMMA/HA composite.

Ultimate Shear Strength of Component Model of Composite Beam with Perfobond Shear Connector

In general, a steel beam is assembled with a concrete slab by shear connectors. The connection requires high stiffness and strength to secure the composite effect even in the ultimate state. Facing this need, perfobond shear connectors are attracting a great attention by virtue of its outstanding mechanical performance. However, the connector is subjected to the fully reversed cyclic stress between the compression and tension during an earthquake. Therefore, as presented in the earlier research addressing stud shear connectors, the concrete may originate cracks under the tensile stress; and eventually, the expected composite effect is not possibly performed. To address this concern, this research carried out a total of three fully reversed cyclic loading tests using the component model of perfobond shear connection. The parameters are the presence of reinforcing bars and concrete strength. In conclusion, it was found that perfobond shear connectors exhibit more stable mechanical behavior and capacity than stud shear connectors regardless of stress orientation due to a localized stress transfer mechanism that results in smaller cracks in the slab under a fully reversed cyclic loading.

A prospective study of early-pregnancy thyroid markers, lipid species, and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus

Context While the associations between thyroid markers and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have been extensively studied, the results are inconclusive and the mechanisms remain unclear. Objective We aimed to investigate the prospective associations of thyroid markers in early gestation with GDM risk, and examine the mediating effects through lipid species. Methods This study included 6068 pregnant women from the Tongji-Shuangliu Birth Cohort. Maternal serum thyroid markers (free triiodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroid peroxidase antibody, and thyroglobulin antibody) were measured before 15 weeks. Deiodinase activity was assessed by fT3/fT4 ratio. Plasma lipidome were quantified in a subset of 883 participants. Results Mean age of the participants was 26.6 ± 3.7 years, and mean gestational age was 10.3 ± 2.0 weeks. Higher levels of fT4 were associated with a decreased risk of GDM (OR=0.73 comparing the extreme quartiles; 95% CI 0.54, 0.98, Ptrend =0.043), while higher fT3/fT4 ratio was associated with an increased risk of GDM (OR=1.43 comparing the extreme quartiles; 95% CI 1.06, 1.93, Ptrend =0.010) after adjusting for potential confounders. Multiple linear regression suggested that fT3/fT4 ratio was positively associated with alkylphosphatidylcholine 36:1, phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogen 38:6, diacylglyceride 18:0/18:1, sphingomyelin 34:1, and phosphatidylcholine 40:7 (false discovery rate adjusted P<0.05). Mediation analysis indicated 67.9% of the association between fT3/fT4 ratio and GDM might be mediated through the composite effect of these lipids. Conclusions Lower concentration of serum fT4 or higher fT3/fT4 ratio in early pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of GDM. The association of fT3/fT4 ratio with GDM was largely mediated by specific lipid species.