A serial mediation model reveals the association between parental over-protection and academic entitlement among nursing students.

The study aims to explore the influence of parental over-protection on academic entitlement of nursing students, and examine the mediating roles of external locus of control and psychological entitlement. The study sampled two medical universities in Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, China. Participants were nursing students in grades one to four (N = 1003; mean age = 19.51 years; 81.95% female). Using a structural equation model, we examined the mediating effect of external locus of control and psychological entitlement on parental over-protection and academic entitlement. The results show that there was a significant correlation between all variables, and external locus of control and psychological entitlement played a serial mediating role between parental over-protection and academic entitlement. Our findings suggest that academic entitlement of nursing students can be reduced by adjusting parental rearing behaviors, reducing students' psychological entitlement, and teaching them how to form a healthier attribution style.

Recovering chromium from electroplating sludge using an integrated technology of bipolar membrane electrodialysis and H2O2 oxidation.

Chromium electroplating produces Cr(III)-containing electroplating sludge (EPS) in large volumes, which is easily oxidised to Cr(Ⅵ) and is harmful to the environment and human health. This study recovered Cr(III) as Na2CrO4 from EPS using an integrated bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED)-H2O2 oxidation technology. During the treatment process, Cr(III) was oxidised to Cr(VI) using H2O2 in an alkaline environment, BMED was used to separate and recover Cr(VI). Experimental results showed that H2O2 dosage and pH affected Cr(III) oxidation-the highest Cr(III) oxidation ratio of 68.4% was observed when H2O2 dosage and pH were 5.5 mL and 12.0, respectively. The current density, solid/liquid ratio and sludge particle size affected Cr(III) recovery, energy consumption and current efficiency. Under a current density of 20.0 mA/cm2, solid/liquid ratio of 1.0:45 and sludge particle size of 100 mesh, 58.2% of Cr(III) was recovered. When the number of the equipped EPS compartments was increased from one to two and three, the specific energy consumption decreased from 1.04 to 0.87 and 0.81 kW·h/g, respectively, but the current efficiency remained almost constant. After EPS treatment, the Cr(III) remaining in the sludge was mainly in the residual state, which is less environmentally harmful. The obtained Na2CrO4 had similar properties according to X-ray diffraction analysis. Thus, the proposed integrated technology effectively recovers Cr(III) from EPS and other chromium-containing solid wastes.

Recovery of copper from electroplating sludge using integrated bipolar membrane electrodialysis and electrodeposition.

Electroplating sludge, though a hazardous waste, is a valuable resource as it contains a large amount of precious metals. In this study, copper was recovered from the electroplating sludge using a technology that integrates bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) and electrodeposition. The experimental results showed that Cu2+ in the electroplating sludge was successfully separated and concentrated in the BMED system without adding any chemical reagents; the concentrated Cu2+ was recovered in the form of copper foil in an electrodeposition system. Current density clearly affected the Cu2+ separation and concentration in the BMED system; the current density, solution pH and Cu2+ concentration drastically affected the Cu2+ electrodeposition ratio and the morphology and purity of the obtained copper foil. Under the optimised experimental conditions, 96.4% of Cu2+ was removed from the electroplating sludge and 65.4% of Cu2+ was recovered in the foil form. On increasing the number of electroplating sludge compartments from one to two and three, the current efficiency for recovering Cu2+ increased from 17.4% to 28.5% and 35.2%, respectively, and the specific energy consumption decreased from 11.3 to 6.7 and 5.3 kW h/kg of copper, respectively. The purity of the copper foil was higher than 99.5%. Thus, the integrated technology can be regarded as an effective method for recovering copper from electroplating sludge.

Improvement of the Optoelectrical Properties of a Transparent Conductive Polymer via the Introduction of ITO Nanoparticles and Its Application in Crystalline Silicon/Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Compared with conventional transparent conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) films, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) as a conductive polymer material has been diffusely applied in organic optoelectronic devices. However, its optoelectrical properties need to be further improved. Therefore, a simple and universal approach with introducing ITO nanoparticles (NPs) was proposed to improve the optoelectrical properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films. The results show that the vertical conductivity (σDC⊥) and average transmittance (from 300 to 1200 nm) of PEDOT:PSS films were enhanced about 26.8 and 6.3%, respectively. Crystalline silicon (c-Si)/organic heterojunction solar cells (HSCs) with PEDOT:PSS/ITO NP hybrid films were fabricated and performances led to further improvement. The spatial distributions of relative electrical field intensity and the carrier generation rate of the HSCs under the standard AM 1.5 G condition were simulated, which were in good agreement with the experimental conclusions.

Improvement of the Optoelectrical Properties of a Transparent Conductive Polymer via a Simple Mechanical Pressure Treatment.

In this study, a simple and novel mechanical pressure treatment (MPT) was used to effectively improve the electrical and optical properties of ethylene glycol (EG)-doped PEDOT:PSS (EG-PEDOT:PSS) thin films, one of the most successful organic conductor materials ever which is are widely used in organic electronics because of their admirable film-forming property, high light transmittance, and excellent thermal stability. It is found that the conductivity of the EG-PEDOT:PSS films increased by 32% due to dramatically enhanced carrier mobility because an MPT improves the phase separation between PEDOT and PSS and then yields an interpenetrating conductive network. Meanwhile, the transmittance of the EG-PEDOT:PSS films in the near-infrared band was enhanced, and the surface roughness was reduced. These thin films retain their incredible flexibility as well; after 5000 times of 180° bending, the sheet resistance is basically unchanged. Considering that this MPT approach is already well developed in industrial applications, it is very hopeful to extend this technique in the field of organic electronics.