An innovative microstructured flat optical fiber is designed to obtain a multiaxial strain sensor for composite material monitoring. The sensing regions are constituted by the two eyelets where Bragg gratings are written. To achieve multiaxial sensing, a suitable microstructure is designed close to only one of the eyelets. The effect of the strain field, evaluated via a 3D finite element method approach, is considered to obtain the change of the refractive index distribution. The electromagnetic modal analysis and the coupled mode theory are exploited to evaluate the Bragg wavelength shift for the slow and fast axis fundamental modes, guided in the two eyelets and affecting the sensor response. The designed microstructured flat optical fiber is technologically feasible and promises sensing performance higher than that obtainable with the conventional optical fibers. In addition, flat optical fiber can be embedded in composite materials reducing the drawbacks related to both orientation and excess resin.
Anti-contagion measures restricting individual freedom, such as social distancing and wearing a mask, are crucial to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Decision-making patterns and attitudes about uncertainty can highly influence the adherence to these restrictive measures. Here we investigated the relationship between risky behavior and individual preferences for immediate vs. delayed reward, as indexed by temporal discounting (TD), as well as the association between these measures and confidence in the future, perceived risk and confidence in the containment measures. These measures were collected through an online survey administered on 353 participants at the end of the more restrictive phase of the first Italian lockdown. The results showed an unexpected inverse relationship between the individual pattern of choice preferences and risky behavior, with an overall greater adherence to containment measures in more discounter participants. These findings were interpreted in terms of a reframing process in which behaviors aimed at protecting oneself from contagion turn into immediate gains rather than losses. Interestingly, an excessive confidence in a better future was correlated with a higher tendency to assume risky behavior, thereby highlighting the downside of an overly and blindly optimistic view.
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