Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (STUST; Chinese: 南臺科技大學) is a private university in Yongkang District, Tainan, Taiwan..
Fe-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have high potential to be applied in biomedical devices, automotive and aerospace, and sports equipment due to their exceptional mechanical, physical and chemical properties. However, they have low glass forming ability (GFA) and high tendency to crack during solidification, restricting its critical casting size to a few millimeters which represents the bottleneck for broader industrial-scale utilization. Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM) is a promising strategy to fabricate BMGs with larger sizes and complex geometries, bypassing the current bottleneck. Nevertheless, the fusion-based-AM techniques such as selective laser melting (SLM) trigger crystallization of the amorphous structure due to high thermal input. Sinter-based MAM is another strategy that decouples shaping and consolidation, preventing cracking and ability to process difficult-to-print materials. Lithography MAM (LMAM) offers exceptional surface quality, dimensional accuracy, and ability to process fine powders. Hence, this research proposes a novel approach hybridizing LMAM and pressure-less sintering approach to fabricate high-precision, complex, and dense monolithic Fe-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) components, achieving maximum amorphous content and exceeding the critical casting thickness limitations. The sample achieved a relative density of 65.934
The performance of nonreturn valves (NRVs) in injection molding significantly affects melt delivery and part quality, particularly under wear conditions that induce melt backflow. Although pressure-based monitoring methods have been widely studied, most existing approaches rely on instantaneous indicators and are limited in capturing time-dependent sealing degradation. In this study, a pressure-integral-based approach is proposed to diagnose NRV wear and evaluate its impact on melt backflow and part quality. The pressure integral, defined as the time integration of nozzle pressure over the injection and packing stages, reflects the cumulative pressure transmission applied to the melt and is therefore sensitive to both the magnitude and duration of pressure evolution. Experimental investigations were conducted under different NRV wear modes (axial and radial), material flowabilities (virgin and recycled polypropylene), and processing conditions (injection speed and packing pressure). The results show that the pressure integral exhibits consistent relationships with part weight and effectively distinguishes between wear mechanisms. Axial wear primarily causes delayed pressure buildup, whereas radial wear leads to continuous leakage and unstable pressure behavior. In addition, higher material flowability increases melt backflow under wear conditions. A simplified compensation strategy based on the pressure integral was implemented, and a reduction in part weight variation was observed under mild wear conditions. These findings indicate that the proposed approach provides a physically meaningful and practically applicable framework for NRV wear diagnosis and process stabilization. Nozzle pressure is superior to system pressure in NRV wear detection. Axial and radial NRV wear exhibit distinct, stage-dependent backflow mechanisms. Nozzle pressure integral is correlated with part weight and filling stability. High-flowability recycled PP increases NRV wear under low-speed conditions. Back-pressure compensation is effective only for mild NRV wear.
PURPOSE:To develop and evaluate a community-based infectious disease board game intervention aimed at enhancing intergenerational learning between nursing students and older adults, and improving competencies related to dengue fever, scabies, SARS, and HIV/AIDS. DESIGN:This quasi-experimental study used an independent, non-matched, two-group pretest - posttest design. METHODS:Third-year nursing students in southern Taiwan were recruited and assigned to either an intervention or a control group. The intervention group participated in a five-week program consisting of three weeks of classroom instruction followed by two weeks of board game - based learning sessions conducted with older adults. The control group received traditional lecture-based instruction. Outcomes measured included students' communication, teamwork, and social responsibility, as well as older adults' knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors regarding infectious diseases. FINDINGS:Students in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements than the control group in health communication (t = 2.82, p = .006), team collaboration (t = 5.33, p < .001), and social responsibility (t = 4.07, p < .001). Older adults also showed significant improvements in infectious disease knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors, all p < .001. CONCLUSIONS:The integration of educational board games into nursing curricula is an effective and scalable strategy for enhancing intergenerational learning, fostering key professional competencies among students, and improving health literacy among older adults. CLINICAL RELEVANCE:This approach provides practical implications for gerontological nursing education by promoting intergenerational collaboration, strengthening community engagement, and supporting the development of preventive health behaviors among older populations.
The Technology Acceptance Model is one of the most employed frameworks applied by academics worldwide to explain why individuals accept or do not use technology. Since then, several studies have confirmed the influence of Internal Beliefs on Attitude and Behavioral Intention toward technology, preceded by a wide range of external factors. Domain-relevant knowledge is a crucial external factor in determining users’ behavioral intention to use enterprise resource technology systems, corroborating findings from the technology acceptance model. From a literature scope review, we explore a different and complementary approach regarding knowledge, not only as an external factor, but as a component of the organizational cycle of knowledge creation. The consideration of organizational knowledge creation processes and the nature of the technology used by individuals may bring new light to behavioral intention studies, tying together different study fields, and allowing further academic research work to provide constructive insights and contributions in the quest to determine where the individual’s technology acceptance fits in dynamic organizational knowledge creation.
This study investigates the mechanisms that link digital transformation to environmental performance in Chinese manufacturing firms through open innovation, a sense of empowerment, a digital organizational culture, and technological work engagement, while considering digital leadership as a critical human-centered enabler. This research develops and tests an integrative conceptual framework. This study employed a purposive sampling methodology and collected data from 589 senior and middle-level managers of manufacturing firms in China. The results reveal that DT and DL are significantly and positively associated with OI, SOE, DOC, and TWE. Furthermore, OI, SOE, and TWE significantly predict ENP, while DOC shows an insignificant relationship with ENP. By employing technological capabilities, leadership practices, collaborative innovation, psychological states, cultural dimensions, and behavioral engagement, this research provides comprehensive insights into sustainable digital transformation in resource-constrained, rapidly industrializing contexts.
