Bad but Bold: Ambivalent Attitudes Toward Men Predict Gender Inequality in 16 Nations.

A 16-nation study involving 8,360 participants revealed that hostile and benevolent attitudes toward men, assessed by the Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (P. Click & S.T. Fiske, 1999), were (a) reliably measured across cultures, (b) positively correlated (for men and women, within samples and across nations) with each other and with hostile and benevolent sexism toward women (Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, P. Click & S.T. Fiske, 1996), and (c) negatively correlated with gender equality in cross-national comparisons. Stereotype measures indicated that men were viewed as having less positively valenced but more powerful traits than women. The authors argue that hostile as well as benevolent attitudes toward men reflect and support gender inequality by characterizing men as being designed for dominance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multistable Circuits for Analog Memories Implementation

In this work two multistable circuits suitable for analog memories implementation will be presented. These circuits have been used to implement completely asynchronous analog memories, one type based on a flash converter and thus having a linear complexity in resolution; the other based on an asynchronous successive approximation converter and thus having a logarithmic complexity in resolution.Experimental results from measurements over prototype chips will be shown and analyzed, and connections with design choiches highlighted.     

Solid state synthesis of stoichiometric LiCoO2 from mechanically activated Co–Li2CO3 mixtures

Stoichiometric lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂) has been synthesized by solid state reaction of mixtures of the system Co–0.5Li₂CO₃ after mechanical activation by high energy milling. The differences in the reaction mechanism and in product stoichiometry with respect to what happens when starting from the non activated (physical) system have been brought into evidence by TG analysis. Furthermore it has been shown that stoichiometric LiCoO₂ is obtained by a 200 h annealing of the activated mixture at temperatures as low as 400 °C. Finally, it has been revealed that longer activation times (150 h) result in Co oxidation to Co₃O₄ that, in turn, hampers the formation of stoichiometric LiCoO₂.     

The Influence of Pore Solutions Properties on Drying in Cementitious Materials

The drying of cementitious materials can be influenced by the properties of the fluid in the pores. While there are numerous studies on drying, very few explicitly focus on the properties of the pore fluid. This work investigates the influence of deicing salts on the properties of the pore fluid. The change that deicing salts cause in surface tension and viscosity is described in this study as a function of concentration and temperature. As a relatively limited number of measurements have been reported in literature, it can be difficult to describe the properties over a wide range of concentrations or temperatures. To overcome this limitation, this work provides measurements over concentration and temperature ranges. Semiempirical relationships were successfully fitted to the data confirming the possibility to predict viscosity and surface tension changes with temperature and salt concentration. The implications of the fluid properties on the drying behavior are also discussed as they relate to the diffusion coefficient. The models applied effectively predict the initiation of drying. Further improvements are however necessary to describe the diffusion coefficient as function of the degree of saturation in the presence of deicing salts which appear to be needed to account for the chemical interaction between the matrix and the fluid.     

Beyond Vitruvius: New Insight in the Technology of Egyptian Blue and Green Frits

Archeological campaigns along the track of the Domitian road in Cuma resulted in the recovery of a large amount of potshards and crucible fragments (both open and closed forms), covered with residues of blue and green frits, respectively. Typological analysis of the crucibles combined with mineralogical and petrological analyses on the ceramic body and frit residues revealed that the forms are intimately related to the technological data. Newly formed calcium silicates indicate high firing treatments of crucibles during pigment making (not lower than 950°C). In particular, different working temperatures for the two types of crucibles have been estimated by the presence/absence of sodalite‐nosean feldspathoid. This mineral formed after the reaction of Si‐Al‐rich material (the sintered ceramic body) and alkalis transferred to ceramics via chemical diffusion during the pigment synthesis. Thus, the estimated working temperatures are higher for closed forms (>1100°C) and lower for the open ones (950–1050°C). This different thermal treatment perfectly fits with the temperatures of green and blue pigment synthesis; higher temperatures for green pigments allowed the formation of abundant Cu‐bearing glassy phase, whereas, blue pigment is prone to the formation and thermal stability of cuprorivaite crystals (950–1050°C). Moreover, the two frits showed similar recipes (quartz‐feldspar‐calcite‐rich sand) with the exception of more abundant Cu‐bearing colorant agent in blue hue and higher proportion of alkaline flux in green frit. The obtained data suggested that crucibles were a fundamental tool for pigment manufacturing, likely one of the best example of ancient technical ceramics, as they permitted controlling the temperatures along with the fuel and the treatment time. Combining analytical and archeological data, the production and the technology of the two colored compounds identified as Egyptian Blue and Green frits in ancient Cuma has been inferred. Finally, considering the Vitruvius excerpt that identified an Egyptian Blue production in Puteoli, the area of production can be widen up to the northern Phlegraean Fields, also including Cumae and Liternum.     

Ni‐Ti Codoped Hibonite Ceramic Pigments by Combustion Synthesis: Crystal Structure and Optical Properties

Hibonite (CaAl₁₂O₁₉, space group [s.g.] P6₃/mmc) has the structural formula A^[XII]M1^[VI] M2^[V]M3₂^[IV]M4₂^[VI]M5₆^[VI]O₁₉, where Ca is 12‐fold coordinated at site A and Al³⁺ ions are distributed over five different sites: three distinct octahedra [M1 (point symmetry D_3d), M4 (C_3v) and M5 (C_s)], the M3 tetrahedron (C_3v), and the unusual fivefold coordinated trigonal bipyramid M2 (D_3h). Hibonite is able to accommodate a wide range of ions with different valence and coordination, making its structure a promising ceramic pigment. One of the main challenges is to understand and control incorporation mechanisms and the threshold of chromophores solubility. It is known that M²⁺ ions tend to be hosted at the M3 site, while M⁴⁺ ions are preferentially accommodated at the M4 site: the introduction of divalent ions might be promoted by the associated incorporation of tetravalent cations, which ensure the lattice electroneutrality and are ordered over the M4 face‐sharing octahedral dimers. In this work, the mechanism of the coupled substitution 2Al³⁺→(Ni²⁺+Ti⁴⁺) was investigated by combining X‐ray powder diffraction and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques. Hibonite turquoise pigments with increasing Ni+Ti doping (CaAl_12?2xNi_xTi_xO₁₉ where x = 0.1?2.0 apfu) were prepared by combustion synthesis, utilizing a fuel mixture (urea, glycine, β‐alanine) set up according to their compatibility with metal nitrates used as raw materials. The ignition temperature of combustion reaction was 400°C, but samples underwent an additional annealing at 1200°C. Samples up to x = 0.4 are monophasic; for higher doping, hibonite is the main component accompanied by growing percentages of spinel and perovskite phases. The Ni and Ti addition induced a regular increase in the hibonite unit‐cell parameters until x = 1.0, that is proportional to the amount and difference in ionic radii of dopants. In particular, an elongation of the 〈M–O〉 bond distances of both M3 and M4 sites was observed. In terms of optical parameters, Ni²⁺ is preferentially incorporated in tetrahedral coordination, up to 0.3 apfu at the M3 site, and at the M4 octahedron as well (up to 0.19 apfu). The crystal field strength of fourfold coordinated Ni²⁺ is regularly decreasing, implying an elongation of the local Ni–O bond that is coherent with the volume increasing from AlO₄ to NiO₄ tetrahedra registered by XRD. Ti⁴⁺ ions are accommodated at both the M2 and M4 octahedra which expand proportionally to the amount of dopants. Pigment purity and color strength vary with doping depending on the multistep mechanism of Ni and Ti incorporation in the hibonite lattice.     

Patterning and Conductivity Modulation of Conductive Polymers by UV Light Exposure

A novel patterning technique of conductive polymers produced by vapor phase polymerization is demonstrated. The method involves exposing an oxidant film to UV light which changes the local chemical environment of the oxidant and subsequently the polymerization kinetics. This procedure is used to control the conductivity in the conjugated polymer poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):tosylate by more than six orders of magnitude in addition to producing high‐resolution patterns and optical gradients. The mechanism behind the modulation in the polymerization kinetics by UV light irradiation as well as the properties of the resulting polymer are investigated.     

Emission comparison of urban bus engine fueled with diesel oil and 'biodiesel' blend

The chemical and toxicological characteristics of emissions from an urban bus engine fueled with diesel and biodiesel blend were studied. Exhaust gases were produced by a turbocharged EURO 2 heavy-duty diesel engine, operating in steady-state conditions on the European test 13 mode cycle (ECE R49). Regulated and unregulated pollutants, such as carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitrated derivatives (nitro-PAHs), carbonyl compounds and light aromatic hydrocarbons were quantified. Mutagenicity of the emissions was evaluated by the Salmonella typhimurium/mammalian microsome assay. The effect of the fuels under study on the size distribution of particulate matter (PM) was also evaluated. The use of biodiesel blend seems to result in small reductions of emissions of most of the aromatic and polyaromatic compounds; these differences, however, have no statistical significance at 95% confidence level. Formaldehyde, on the other hand, has a statistically significant increase of 18% with biodiesel blend. In vitro toxicological assays show an overall similar mutagenic potency and genotoxic profile for diesel and biodiesel blend emissions. The electron microscopy analysis indicates that PM for both fuels has the same chemical composition, morphology, shape and granulometric spectrum, with most of the particles in the range 0.06-0.3 microm.     

Gas sensing properties of columnar CeO2 nanostructures prepared by chemical vapor deposition

Columnar CeO2 nanostructures are grown on alumina substrates by a template- and catalyst-free Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) approach and subsequently tested as resistive gas sensors of CH3COCH3, H2, NO2. The sensor response is stable and reproducible throughout the whole working temperature range (200-500 degrees C) and directly dependent on the analyte gas and the adopted operating conditions. The higher sensitivity with respect to that displayed by continuous CeO2 thin films demonstrates the potential of fabricating nanostructured sensing devices characterized by improved functional performances.