Development of a Questionnaire to Measure the Perceived Injustice of People Who Have Experienced Violence in War and Conflict Areas: Perceived Injustice Questionnaire (PIQ)

Objectives: The primary aim of this research was to develop a questionnaire that assesses perceived injustice among survivors of war and trauma in conflict areas and to evaluate its psychometric properties. This paper presents the first preliminary validation. Furthermore, the assumption that the general perception of injustice correlates with one’s own experiences of injustice and violence was tested. Methods: The 24-item Perceived Injustice Questionnaire (PIQ) was administered partly online and partly in a paper–pencil version to 89 students of the University of Dohuk in Northern Iraq, an area that has been affected by crisis and war for many years. Principal component analysis was used for factor extraction and internal consistency was determined. The Mann–Whitney-U test was used to calculate the group differences between people with and without experience of physical violence and strong experiences of injustice because Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests showed that the data are not normally distributed. Results: Principal component analysis yielded a four-component solution with eigenvalues being the greater one. Cronbach’s alpha for each scale was acceptable to satisfactory. Significant results of the Mann–Whitney U tests supported our assumptions of between-group differences on each of the subscales (emotional and cognitive consequences, injustice perception, injustice experience, revenge, and forgiveness). Discussion: The findings of this study support the construct validity and the reliability of the PIQ. For this reason, it can be seen as a useful addition to the psychological assessment in psychotherapeutic settings of survivors of war and violence. In conclusion, and based on the PIQ, we suggest the development of a new set of therapy modules with worksheets, focusing on the perception, dealing, and understanding of feeling of injustice as an addition to the existing trauma therapy manual for therapy in war and conflict areas.

Socially desirable responding in geriatric outpatients with and without mild cognitive impairment and its association with the assessment of self-reported mental health

Background Socially desirable responding is a potentially relevant issue in older adults and can be evaluated with the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCSDS). However, the eight-item MCSDS has never been specifically administered to geriatric subjects, and there is a dearth of literature on the relationship between social desirability and cognitive impairment. Also, the connection between social desirability and subjective measures of psychological well-being is a matter of controversy. This study has three main aims. First, to determine the psychometric properties of the eight-item MCSDS in geriatric outpatients without dementia (i.e. with normal cognition (NC) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI)). Second, to investigate the link between social desirability and cognitive functioning. Third, to determine the association between social desirability and the assessment of self-reported mental health. Methods Community-dwelling outpatients (aged ≥ 65) were consecutively recruited and neuropsychologically tested to diagnose NC or MCI (n = 299). Social desirability was assessed with the eight-item MCSDS. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured with the short Geriatric Depression (GDS-s) and the State-Trait Personality Inventory Trait Anxiety (STPI-TA) scales. Results On principal components analysis, the eight-item MCSDS was found to have a multidimensional structure. Of the initial three-component solution, only two subscales had acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.6): “Acceptance of responsibility” and “Integrity”. The third subscale (“Kindness towards others”) appeared to gauge two distinct constructs of formal (i.e. politeness) versus substantive (i.e. forgiveness) compassion. On binary logistic regression, only higher income was a significant predictor of formal compassion. Test-retest reliability was substantial to excellent (Gwet’s AC2 ≥ 0.8). There were no meaningful differences in social desirability between the NC and MCI groups. Likewise, negative Spearman’s correlations between social desirability and cognitive Z-scores across the whole sample were weak (rs < |0.3|) and confined to one MCSDS item. Although social desirability was an independent predictor of the STPI-TA score in multiple linear regression, it explained only a marginal amount of incremental variance in anxiety symptoms (less than 2%). Conclusions Our results suggest that social desirability need not be a major concern when using questionnaires to assess mental health in geriatric outpatients without dementia.

Managing, storing, and sharing long-form recordings and their annotations

The technique of long-form recordings via wearables is gaining momentum in different fields of research, notably linguistics and pathology. This technique, however, poses several technical challenges, some of which are amplified by the peculiarities of the data, including their sensitivity and their volume. In this paper, we begin by outlining key problems related to the management, storage, and sharing of the corpora that emerge when using this technique. We continue by proposing a multi-component solution to these problems, specifically in the case of daylong recordings of children. As part of this solution, we release ChildProject, a python package for performing the operations typically required by such datasets and for evaluating the reliability of annotations using a number of measures commonly used in speech processing and linguistics. Our proposal could be generalized to other populations.

Sorption of U(VI) compounds on inorganic composites containing partially unzipped multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Unlike ion-exchange resins, inorganic sorbents possess high selectivity towards heavy metal ions and stability against ionizing radiation. However, sorption on these materials is rather slow. Moreover, sorption capacity strongly depends on the solution pH. In order to improve sorption properties of inorganic ion-exchangers, composites containing advanced carbon materials are obtained. Regularities of sorption of U(VI) compounds from low-concentrated aqueous solutions (up to 0.1 mmol dm–3 of uranium) on hydrated zirconium dioxide and zirconium hydrophosphate are considered. The sorbents were modified with partially unzipped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PUMWCNTs). Sorption isotherms were obtained and analyzed. They obey Dubinin-Radushkevich model indicating sorption sites, a size of which is comparable with that of ions being sorbed. As found, the sorption mechanism is ion exchange. The effect of the solution pH on the sorption rate of U(VI) ions and capacity of inorganic ion-exchangers and their composites has been considered. Carbon additions increase sorption capacity of zirconium dioxide and zirconium hydrophosphate, when the initial pH of one-component solution is 3–4 and 5–7 respectively. Under these conditions, U(VI)-containing cations are removed from the solution practically completely. The rate of sorption obeys the model of chemical reaction of pseudo-second order, when uranium is removed from one-component solution. PUMWCNTs slow down sorption on zirconium dioxide and accelerate it on zirconium hydrophosphate. The dependence of the pseudo second order equation constants on the pH of U(VI) solutions was analyzed. The reaction of the first order occurs, when the solution contains also Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. Regeneration was carried out using HNO3 and NaHCO3 solutions: the rate-determining stage of desorption is particle diffusion. It has been shown that one-component ZHP can be regenerated with a NaHCO3 solution practically completely. The most suitable solution for U(VI) desorption from ZHP-PUMWCNTs composite is a 1 M HNO3 solution.

Characterization and application of wood-ZrO2 sorbent for simultaneous removal of chromium (III) and chromium (VI) from binary mixture

A new woodchips-ZrO2 biosorbent (W-ZrO2) was synthesized using wood residue material generated from the oak tree (Quercus robur) during furniture manufacturing. Biosorbent was tested for the simultaneous removal of both chromium (Cr) ions: Cr(III) and Cr(VI), in the binary component solution. Biosorbent characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). To define optimal process parameters for simultaneous removal of both Cr species, effects of pH, temperature, sorbent dosage and Cr ions concentration on the sorption process were investigated. Sorption of Cr ions onto W-ZrO2 was highly pH-dependent. Optimal pH for simultaneous removal of both Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions is 4.0 with removal efficiency over 99.5 % in both cases. Equilibrium experimental results are the best fitted by the Langmuir sorption isotherm model. The maximal sorption capacities of the biosorbent for simultaneous removal of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions in binary-component system are 16.18 and 83.52 mg g−1, respectively. The present study shows that using wood residue material to produce a low-cost sorbent can effectively decrease the water pollution simultaneously removing both chromium species from water and also reduce wood waste and increase reuse/recycling options.

Features of the Electrochemical Deposition of Films from a Triple System of CoNiFe

The nature of phenomena that occurs in the electrolyte during the electrochemical deposition of CoNiFe films and the mechanism leading to the difference in the relative content of elements in the electrolyte and film was clarified. This clarification was obtained with the help of a spectrophotometric study of chloride electrolytes and the electrochemical deposition of CoNiFe films at 70 °C. An experimental study of the absorption spectra and the pH values of the FeCl2, NiCl2 and CoCl2 salt solutions at concentrations of 0.005 to 1 mol/l showed the complex nature of the ion-formation balance in single-component and mixed solutions and the dependence of ion formation on acidic and alkaline additives. The deposited CoNiFe film was made from a chloride electrolyte with a component content ratio of 1:1:1 at both high (0.5 mol/l) and low (0.006 mol\l) concentrations of each component. The content of each component in the film after the electrochemical deposition of the three component solution (FeCl2, CoCl2, and NiCl2 at equal concentrations) did not correspond to the composition of the electrolyte. The mechanism for the abnormal deposition of Co, Fe, Ni occurred due to the incomplete ionization of atoms and the differences in the mobility of ions. The magnetic susceptibility of the films formed in the triple CoNiFe system was higher than that of a permalloy. Therefore, the triple system shows promise for use in magnetic field converters.

Principal component regression of the morphostructural traits of West African dwarf sheep

Evaluation of body weight and seven morphostructural traits (body length, wither's height, rump height, fore cannon bone length, chest depth, hip width and hearth girth) of 200 West African dwarf (WAD) sheep of age range 0-1, 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 was used in determining age and sex effects using General linear model procedure. The sheep were traditionally managed in flocks of southern and north central Nigeria. Interdependence magnitude (redundancy) was estimated to be positive and significant through pearson's correlation estimates between body weight and linear body dimensions (r = 0.04 - 0.81, P<0.01). Among the linear type traits, highest correlation was observed between body weight and hearth girth in males (r = 0.85) and females (r = 0.81) respectively. Multicollinearity contrast at variance inflation factor (VIF) threshold 3.0 was found to be most associated with rump height, hearth girth and body length; with low tolerance modules. Collinearity effects were further orchestrated with computations of eigen values, condition indexes and variance proportions. The component solution through VARIMAX orthogonal rotation generated one principal component for WAD sheep of age range 0-2 years, and two principal components for age range 2-4 years, The principal component based on regression models revealed, body weight was best predicted from heart girth, and combination of rump height and wither's height measurements.

Principal component regression of the morphostructural traits of West African dwarf sheep

Evaluation of body weight and seven morphostructural traits (body length, wither's height, rump height, fore cannon bone length, chest depth, hip width and hearth girth) of 200 West African dwarf (WAD) sheep of age range 0-1, 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 was used in determining age and sex effects using General linear model procedure. The sheep were traditionally managed in flocks of southern and north central Nigeria. Interdependence magnitude (redundancy) was estimated to be positive and significant through pearson's correlation estimates between body weight and linear body dimensions (r = 0.04 – 0.81; P < 0.01). Among the linear type traits, highest correlation was observed between body weight and hearth girth in males (r = 0.85) and females (r = 0.81) respectively. Multicollinearity contrast at variance inflation factor (VIF) threshold 3.0 was found to be most associated with rump height, hearth girth and body length; with low tolerance modules. Collinearity effects were further orchestrated with computations of eigen values, condition indexes and variance proportions. The component solution through VARIMAX orthogonal rotation generated one principal component for WAD sheep of age range 0-2 years, and two principal components for age range 2-4 years. The principal component based on regression models revealed, body weight was best predicted from heart girth, and combination of rump height and wither's height measurements.