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This paper aims to use an imidazole-based n-ionic Gemini surfactant derived from palm oil to inhibit the sulfide stress corrosion cracking of a supermartensitic stainless steel.

The slow strain rate testing technique, hydrogen permeation tests and potentiodynamic polarization curves have been used.

Addition of the inhibitor below the critical micelle concentration (CMC) decreased the corrosion current density (i_corr), but not enough to avoid embrittlement due to the entry of hydrogen into the steel. Instead, the addition of the inhibitor close to the CMC decreased the i_corr, suppressed the entry of hydrogen and inhibited the sulfide stress cracking of steel. Finally, the addition of inhibitor above the CMC led to a slight increase of i_corr and promoted localized corrosion, however, the sulfide stress cracking of steel was inhibited.

A green sulfide stress corrosion cracking inhibitor of a supermartensitic stainless steel has been obtained.

Brush border intestinal disaccharidases (maltase, sucrase and lactase) play an important role in carbohydrate assimilation. These enzymes are located on the brush border and may interact with legume seed components such as dietary fiber and polyphenols. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of legume dietary fiber on rat disaccharidase in vitro.

Rat intestinal disaccharidases from Sprague‐Dawley rats fed a basal diet for 21 days were partially purified from intestinal scrapings. Enzyme activities were tested in vitro in the absence and presence of total dietary fiber isolated from Phaseolus vulgaris (Varieties Tacarigua and Montalbán) and Vigna unguiculata (Varieties Unare and Tuy) seeds that differ in fiber and polyphenol content. Dietary fiber was purified using the AOAC method.

The specific activities of the intestinal brush‐border disaccharidases from rats fed the basal diet were 3.29 ± 0.06, 3.13 ± 0.62 and 0.18 ± 0.04 umoles of glucose released/mg of protein/min for maltase, sucrase and lactase, respectively. Total dietary fiber from the legume tested inhibited both sucrase and maltase. Fiber from the four seeds tested affected sucrase similarly (average inhibition 35 per cent) whereas the fiber residue from P. vulgaris Montalbán was more effective on maltase (26.7 per cent) than that from P. vulgaris Tacarigua (12.2 per cent). Effect of V. unguiculata fibers on maltase was similar and somewhat in between those from P. vulgaris.

These results suggest that dietary fiber, as well as other factors from beans with anti‐physiological effect, such as condensed tannins and fitic acid possibly associated with the dietary fiber, may impair carbohydrate availability and may contribute to the low glycemic index proper of these foodstuffs.

The aim of this paper is to solve the toxic and harmful problems caused by traditional volatile corrosion inhibitor (VCI) and to analyze the effect of the layered structure on the enhancement of the volatile corrosion inhibition prevention performance of amino acids.

The carbon dots-montmorillonite (DMT) hybrid material is prepared via hydrothermal process. The effect of the DMT-modified alanine as VCI for mild steel is investigated by volatile inhibition sieve test, volatile corrosion inhibition ability test, electrochemical measurement and surface analysis technology. It demonstrates that the DMT hybrid materials can improve the ability of alanine to protect mild steel against atmospheric corrosion effectively. The presence of carbon dots enlarges the interlamellar spacing of montmorillonite and allows better dispersion of alanine. The DMT-modified alanine has higher volatilization ability and an excellent corrosion inhibition of 85.3% for mild steel.

The DMT hybrid material provides a good template for the distribution of VCI, which can effectively improve the vapor-phase antirust property of VCI.

The increased volatilization rate also means increased VCI consumption and higher costs.

Provides a new way of thinking to replace the traditional toxic and harmful VCI.

For the first time, amino acids are combined with nano laminar structures, which are used to solve the problem of difficult volatilization of amino acids.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between auditor industry specialization and accounting quality in the European Union (EU).

This study employs a difference-in-differences design and explores audit quality from different industry specialist perspectives and different accounting standard regimes. Specifically, this study examines accounting quality among audits performed by non-industry specialists, EU member country-level industry specialists (EUM-level), EU community-level industry specialists (EUC-level), as well as joint industry specialists.

This study finds evidence of an improvement in accounting quality among audits performed by non-industry specialists post-IFRS. There is also evidence of an improvement in accounting quality among audits performed by EUC-level industry specialists post-IFRS. In addition, accounting quality among audits performed by EUM-level industry specialists seems to be greater than that of audits performed by non-industry specialists in either the pre-IFRS period or the post-IFRS period. Overall, the mandatory adoption of IFRS in the EU appears to be associated with an improvement in accounting quality among some auditor groups.

Industry specialization and accounting quality are not directly observable constructs; this study inevitably employs proxy measures for both. The findings of this study are location-specific and apply to mandatory IFRS adopters only.

This study informs regulators with respect to the importance of industry specialist auditors and financial reporting quality, particularly within the context of the EU. The findings suggest that industry specialists were a significant accounting quality determinant during the mandatory adoption of IFRS. The findings have implications for regulators in the EU and beyond.

This study is among the first to investigate the impact of auditor specialization on accounting quality in the EU, particularly in connection with the adoption of IFRS.

The purpose of this paper is to present research on vulnerability and service life indexes applied to cultural heritage buildings. The construction and rehabilitation industry is concerned with the maintenance of monuments and reducing the economic costs of urgent interventions by taking preventive conservation action in historic cities. By applying a vulnerability index or analyzing the service life of buildings, it is possible to reduce risk and optimize the identification, evaluation and prioritization of urgent monument restoration tasks in a city or a region to establish preventive conservation policies.

This research sets out the concepts of vulnerability and service life, focusing on their methodologies in comparison with other techniques for building diagnosis, discussing the differences between indexes that measure the vulnerability and service life of buildings.

The vulnerability of three churches in Seville (Spain) was studied by means of their vulnerability index, based on Delphi analysis, and the service life of these buildings was also assessed, based on artificial intelligence tools. Delphi and artificial intelligence tools allow us to compare and dovetail different scenarios and expert opinions. The degree of each monument’s conservation is defined as its vulnerability index, which is an indirect function of deterioration levels. The service life of buildings, on the other hand, includes the assessment of vulnerability and hazards.

This study is useful for stakeholders, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and policymakers, as an important reference on diagnosis, including updated, inexpensive and sustainable methodologies to manage the conservation of monuments, which are easy to implement in developed and developing countries. The application of vulnerability and/or service life indicators is crucial to ensuring the sustainability and improvement of maintenance carried out on cultural heritage buildings.

This study details new approaches based on artificial intelligence and Delphi analysis to prioritize preventive conservation actions in a city or region.

The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review of research development on auditing in the European Union over the past decade and suggest future research directions.

Following the PRISMA protocol, the authors systematically reviewed the relevant literature and conducted a qualitative content analysis of 107 studies on auditing in the European Union published between 2012 and 2023.

The results indicate increased auditing literature in the European Union from 2012 to August 2023. Around 40% of the papers were focused on six nations: Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK, Sweden and France. Additionally, 35.5% of papers have been published in three major journals: Accounting in Europe, International Journal of Auditing and the European Accounting Review. Moreover, 82.24% of papers used quantitative methods, with a few using qualitative or mixed methods. Also, most of the studies in the sample endorsed the European Union’s auditing reforms, which included implementing a cap on nonaudit fees and enhancing the independence of audit committees. Contrary to this viewpoint, multiple studies have expressed disagreement with enforcing a total prohibition on nonaudit services, as certain services can enhance auditing quality. Similarly, other studies have contested the necessity of mandatory auditor rotation every 10 years, citing the significant additional expenses associated with this practice. Finally, further studies supported the European Union’s decision to make the joint audit voluntary, as it is related to high audit fees and low audit quality.

The limitations of this research primarily stem from the authors’ choices in selecting the database and defining the criteria for searching the studied papers.

This paper offers valuable insights into the future research prospects in the European Union’s auditing field. Hence, this analysis can be helpful for researchers and practitioners in developing this field based on future research recommendations and the identified themes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first study to systematically review the developments of the European Union auditing literature over the past decade.

In response to the challenges posed by the social environment, numerous individuals with autism use coping strategies, engaging in a phenomenon known as “camouflaging” to mask their distinctive traits. Despite the growing attention directed toward this area of study, to date, there are no bibliometric studies delineating the evolution of this research theme. This study aims to analyze scientific research on camouflage and the autistic spectrum published in Web of Science (WoS).

Articles on camouflage and autism were retrieved from the WoS. The advanced search interface used was “Title, Abstract, Keywords (autistic OR asperger syndrome OR Autism OR ASD AND camouflage OR camouflaging AND Masking).” The analysis and visualization of the selected records and their data were carried out using MS Excel (v16.0) and Biblioshiny (v2.0, R package).

Following the selection process, a total of 70 articles were included. Notably, the UK emerged as the leading contributor in terms of the number of published articles. Prominent authors in this domain included William Mandy, Laura Hull and Meng-Chuan Lai, who exhibited the highest number of published articles and citations. The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders stood out as the most prolific journal. Predominant research themes encompassed camouflage (and its synonyms, masking or compensation), gender differences and mental health.

This study contributes to existing knowledge on this topic, as well as identifying new areas of research related to autism and camouflage. Moreover, it serves as a valuable resource for health-care professionals, including physicians and clinical psychologists, who may seek to augment their understanding and proficiency in the field.

The process of chronic pain (CP) and strategies is to improve the patient’s health and well-being. CP is a frequent medical problem that presents a major challenge to healthcare providers because of its complex natural history, imprecise aetiology, and inadequate response to pharmacological treatment. Although different definitions exist it is widely accepted that CP is an ongoing pain that lasts more than 3 months or that persists longer than the reasonably expected healing time for the involved tissues. Also, it is acknowledged that its treatment is much different than the treatment for acute pain. When addressing a person with CP, one should always keep in mind that pain is much more about the individual than the underlying medical condition. Every person is different, and healthcare providers should take a tailor-made approach to managing their pain. This is the only way to ensure good results in pain treatment. Treatment goals should be discussed and adapted to the patient profile. It is fundamental to have clear goals from the beginning and to ensure these are realistic, individualized, and measurable. Effective treatment for CP is only achieved through a holistic framework in which the patient’s well-being is the first concern and an interdisciplinary and societal approach is implemented from the first day.