Avoidance Of Failure Research Articles

Confluence Effect of Debris-Filled Damage and Temperature Variations on Guided-Wave Ultrasonic Testing (GWUT)

Continuous monitoring of structural health is essential for the timely detection of damage and avoidance of structural failure. Guided-wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT) assesses structural damages by correlating its sensitive features with the damage parameter of interest. However, few or no studies have been performed on the detection and influence of debris-filled damage on GWUT under environmental conditions. This paper used the pitch–catch technique of GWUT, signal cross-correlation, statistical root mean square (RMS) and root mean square deviation (RMSD) to study the combined influence of varying debris-filled damage percentages and temperatures on damage detection. Through experimental result analysis, a predictive model with an R2 of about 78% and RMSE values of about 7.5×10−5 was established. When validated, the model proved effective, with a comparable relative error of less than 10%.

Privacy-aware secured discrete framework in wireless sensor network

Rapid expansion of wireless sensor network-internet of things (WSN-IoT) in terms of application and technologies has led to wide research considering efficiency and security aspects. Considering the efficiency approach such as data aggregation along with consensus mechanism has been one of the efficient and secure approaches, however, privacy has been one of major concern and it remains an open issue due to low classification and high misclassification rate. This research work presents the privacy and reliable aware discrete (PRD-aggregation) framework to protect and secure the privacy of the node. It works by initializing the particular variable for each node and defining the threshold; further nodes update their state through the functions, and later consensus is developed among the sensor nodes, which further updates. The novelty of PRD is discretized transmission for efficiency and security. PRD-aggregation offers reliability through efficient termination criteria and avoidance of transmission failure. PRD-aggregation framework is evaluated considering the number of deceptive nodes for securing the node in the network. Furthermore, comparative analysis proves the marginal improvisation in terms of discussed parameter against the existing protocol.

Shift Happens

Abstract. Taking a dynamic perspective on goals and their representation over the course of goal pursuit, we explore shifts in goal orientation, particularly when encountering setbacks during goal pursuit. In general, goals can be oriented toward achieving gains, maintaining a current state, and avoiding a loss (i.e., goal orientation; Freund & Ebner, 2005 ). Existing research on goal orientation has focused on age-related differences in goal orientation but assumed that goal orientation is stable over the course of goal pursuit. Taking a short-term, dynamic approach focusing on changes in goal orientation during the pursuit of a given goal, we propose that goal orientation can shift depending on goal progress and the perceived likelihood to achieve the desired outcome. In particular, we suggest that goal orientation remains stable during goal pursuit when progress occurs at the expected rate. However, when goal progress is hampered by setbacks or failures, we propose that people are more likely to shift their orientation toward the avoidance of failure or loss, particularly when they pursue their goal with a backup plan in mind ( Napolitano & Freund, 2016 ). Similarly, when progressing unexpectedly fast in counteracting a loss, we posit that people likely shift from a loss to a gain orientation. After proposing foundational processes for motivational shifts during goal pursuit, we discuss how a “motivational shift” perspective can impact future work on self-regulation and goal striving.

How does quality-dominant logic ensure marketing analytics success and tackle business failure in industrial markets?

Despite the burgeoning research on business failure in industrial markets, not much has been conducted on the role played by marketing analytics in mitigating such failure in the post-pandemic period. Against this backdrop, this study was aimed at investigating the antecedents of marketing analytics success (MAS) and its overall effects on strategic business value and profitability. Drawing on quality-dominant logic through the dynamic capability lens, this study yielded a model that, on the basis of data, model, and deployment quality, explains the achievement of MAS and the avoidance of business failure. This study, the data for which were gathered in Australia from 314 sample elements, shows that MAS significantly contributes to strategic business value and profitability. Such findings present a theoretically rigorous and practically relevant framework of MAS capable of mitigating the causes of business failure by harnessing analytics insights.

An assessment of the mechanical performance of a novel sand bentonite-glass fiber composite for the avoidance of catastrophic landfill failure

• Octahedral shear stress increased higher at the fiber aspect ratio than at the fiber dosage. • At peak and residual stress, bearing capacity factors improved significantly. • Negative excess pore waster pressure increased with an aspect ratio of 40. • Energy absorption capacity was the function of fiber dosage and fiber aspect ratio. Compacted sand bentonite (CSB) blend is one of the finest materials for landfill construction. CSB mixes with a strain-softening tendency may fail abruptly, increasing soil permeability. Water movement over the shear zone can induce flow slides, triggering a catastrophic collapse. Waste glass fiber was added to the CSB mixture (90:10) in various fractions (0.5 %, 1, and 1.5 %) and aspect ratios (l/d = 40, 80, and 120) to prevent the soil structure from collapsing. A full-scale consolidated undrained (CU) test was conducted to assess (i.e., c-phi-analysis) the load-carrying capabilities of waste fiber soil composite. The octahedral shear stress was increased significantly for both stress level (i.e., peak and residual stress). Positive pore water pressure (PWP) increased progressively after initial yield, while negative PWP reduced as the aspect ratio increased from 80 to 120. Fiber dosage and fiber aspect ratio improved bearing capacity factors (N c ,N q ,N ϒ ) and undrained bearing capacity. The EAC (Energy absorption capacity) was determined using a numerical integration approach through MATLAB (version14), and the use of waste fiber resulted in a considerable improvement. Several variables contributed to the principal stress and soil modulus. Accordingly, they were framed with all the variables and built a model that matched the experimental results well.

Preliminary thermal and mechanical analysis on the reactor core of a new heat pipe cooled reactor applied in the underwater environment

The heat pipe cooled nuclear reactor (HPR) has great potential in the underwater applications, as a reliable energy system provider, due to its advantages in the passive heat removal capability and avoidance of single point failure. For the newly proposed HPR concept design, NUclear Silence ThermoElectric Reactor (NUSTER), the thermal and mechanical analysis is performed, on the three-dimensional detailed solid core model, through the coupling of ANSYS Fluent and Mechanical. The safety limits are preliminarily proposed for the NUSTER, based on which the paper analyzes the reactor thermal and mechanical characteristics under the normal and heat pipe failure accidents. It is found that the core components, including the fuel rods, matrix and heat pipe can operate with large thermal margin in the normal condition. The heat pipe failure accidents will cause the large temperature increase of the fuel rods, matrix and heat pipes and significantly change the thermal stress distribution in the fuel Molybdenum (Mo) cladding and matrix. The Mo matrix temperature exceeds its temperature limit and the average thermal stress increases significantly in the two adjacent heat pipes failure accident of the 1/8 reactor core, indicating the further optimization of the matrix material in the future design.

Hospital Culture and Healthcare Workers' Provision of Patient-Centered Care: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

BackgroundPatient-centered care (PCC) is globally recognized as a high-quality and high-value healthcare service. It emphasizes the broad participation of patients and families in health-related decision-making and the provision of healthcare services that cater to patients' needs, preferences, and values. However, the mechanisms driving healthcare workers' provision of PCC are yet to be fully uncovered.MethodsUsing stratified random sampling, we recruited 1,612 healthcare workers from different levels of public hospitals in Hangzhou. We conducted survey interviews using questionnaires based on psychometrically sound scales. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the effects of hospital culture, self-efficacy, and achievement motivation on the perceived provision of PCC by healthcare workers and to explore the mechanisms underlying their relationships.ResultsSelf-efficacy had a positive mediating effect in the relationship between hospital culture and healthcare workers' perceived provision of PCC (β = 0.424, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the pursuit of success positively moderated the mediating role of self-efficacy (β = 0.128, p < 0.001), whereas, the avoidance of failure negatively moderated the mediating role of self-efficacy (β = -0.017, p < 0.001).ConclusionThe findings suggest that hospitals should foster patient-centered and innovative cultures and develop strategies focusing on both internal motivation (self-efficacy and achievement motivation) and external environments (hospital culture) to help and encourage healthcare workers to implement PCC. For example, hospitals could further communication skills training, enhance leadership, build team spirit, and promote collaboration among healthcare workers.

Clinical Recommendations of the Northwest Society for Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition, Interregional Association for Emergency Surgery, Russian Gastroenterological Association, Union of Rehabilitation Therapists of Russia and Russian Transplantation Society on Diagnosis and Treatment of Short Bowel Syndrome-Associated Intestinal Failure in Adults

Aim. Current clinical recommendations address the epidemiology, causes, clinical manifestations and pathogenesis of possible immediate and long-term complications, as well as the problematic issues related to treatment and rehabilitation of adult short bowel syndrome patients.Key points. Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a symptom complex of impaired digestion caused by the reduction of small intestine absorptive surface and manifested by intestinal failure (IF) of various severity (maldigestion and malabsorption) developing into malnutrition and systemic somatogenic disorders. The vital strategic aspects of its treatment are the personalisation of liquid, macro- and micronutrients consumption as well as avoidance of intestinal failure- and parenteral nutrition-associated complications. Various nutritional support regimes and the indications for infusion therapy and maintenance parenteral nutrition are considered in this patient category, also in outpatient settings. To mitigate the dependence on intravenous fluid- and nutrient administration and attain enteral autonomy in SBS-IF patients, the use of recombinant glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is justified as exerting a pronounced trophic effect on the epithelial regenerative potential as well as structural and functional adaptation of intestinal mucosa. The SBS-IF patients prescribed with home parenteral nutrition and/or their caregivers should be trained in a special programme that covers the catheter care, preparation of infusion solutions and nutrient mixture container, infusion pump operation as well as the prevention, recognition and management of complications. The main referral indications for small bowel transplantation (SBT) are: fast-progressing cholestatic liver disease-complicated irreversible intestinal failure; thrombosis of two or more central venous conduits used for parenteral nutrition; recurrent catheter-associated bloodstream infection.Conclusion. Current recommendations on diagnosis and treatment as well as the developed criteria of medical aid quality assessment are applicable at different levels of healthcare.

Confronting the Truth: The Necessity of Love for Justice

AbstractThis essay examines the interplay between law, Christianity, and oppression in the thought of James Baldwin. This essay begins its inquiry from Baldwin’s own essay, Equal in Paris, and expands out to his broader writing. The essay makes four contributions. First, it shows that Equal in Paris presents a view of law and Christianity as simultaneously serving as instruments and sources of hypocrisy and injustice while representing critically important, if difficult to achieve, standards of justice and love. Second, the essay shows that for Baldwin avoidance and denial of collective moral failure underlies the hypocritical use of law and Christianity to perpetrate injustice rather than justice. Third, the essay reveals that Baldwin would see current legislative bans of critical race theory as a means of avoidance and denial of collective moral failure. Moreover, from a Baldwinian perspective, the maintenance of innocence through bans on critical race theory is a “crime” that typifies the problem at the root of racial oppression in America, which is the refusal to come to terms with the reality of white supremacy. Fourth, while agreeing with scholars who find significant overlap between Baldwin’s approach to law and critical race theory, the essay concludes that Baldwin’s work suggests that critical race theory’s neglect of love constitutes a critical shortcoming for critical race theory’s anti-subordinationist agenda.

Reach for the STARS? The role of academic contingent self-worth in statistics anxiety and learning

Research is mixed regarding whether academic contingent self-worth (ACSW) bears negative or positive outcomes for one’s learning. Distinctions between upward (i.e., drive for success) and downward (i.e., avoidance of failure) contingencies might help provide stronger insight into when ACSW may be linked with more positive or negative outcomes. The present research examines these ideas in relation to statistics learning. Study 1 provides evidence for these mixed results as ACSW is related to positive outcomes, but not with negative outcomes found in past research, when upward and downward contingencies are not separated. Study 2 found that upward and downward contingencies account for different reactions to threatening situations (e.g., a difficult test). Downward contingencies led to increased self-handicapping, while upward contingencies led to increased state anxiety. Our research highlights the importance of considering upward or downward contingencies and how they may result in different outcomes for one’s studies.

Emergency Laparotomy.

Emergency laparotomy is a high-risk surgical procedure with mortality and morbidity up to 10 times higher than for a similar procedure performed electively. An enhanced recovery approach has been shown to improve outcomes. A focus on rapid correction of underlying deranged acute physiology and proactive management of conditions associated with aging such as frailty and delirium are key. Patients are at high risk of complications and prevention and avoidance of failure to rescue are essential to improve outcomes. Other enhanced recovery components such as opioid-sparing analgesia and early postoperative mobilization are beneficial.

Choosing antibiotic therapy for severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is known as a major worldwide health concern considering it has been shown to account for 78% of infection-related deaths in the USA. It is a common cause for hospitalization with a continued incidence rise in the elderly, high mortality rate and long-term sequelae in critically ill patients. Severe CAP (sCAP) is an accepted terminology used to describe ICU admitted patients with CAP. The aim of this review is to further report on the major advances in treatment for patients with sCAP including new antibiotic treatments despite macrolide resistance as seen in the ICU, and multifaceted antibiotic stewardship interventions that may lead to the reduction broad-spectrum antibiotic use in CAP. We aim to examine the most recent findings in order to determine appropriate empirical antibiotic choices, timing regimens and evidence for clinical effectiveness. This will be addressed by focusing on the use combination therapies, the usefulness of severity scores and the difficulty to treat multidrug-resistant pathogens, including gram negatives such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Relevant reports referenced within included randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, observational studies, systematic reviews and international guidelines where applicable. New antibiotics have been recently launched with direct agent-specific properties that have been shown to avoid the overuse of previous broad-spectrum antibiotics when treating patients sCAP. Although narrow-spectrum antibiotics are now recommended and imperative in improving a patients' prognosis, there are also some considerations when prescribing antibiotics that are beyond the spectrum. There is a need to implement effective policies of de-escalation to avoid antibiotic resistance and the risk for developing subsequent infections by combining informed clinical judgement and the application of biomarkers. Reaching clinical stability and avoidance of treatment failure are the most important pillars in treatment success.

Navigating Exploitative and Explorative Leadership in Support of Infrastructure Resilience

Leadership is a critical component in approaching infrastructure resilience. Leadership, the formal and informal governance within an organization, drives an infrastructure system's ability to respond to changing circumstances. Due to the instability of the Anthropocene, infrastructure managers (individuals who design, build, maintain, and decommission infrastructure) can no longer rely on assumptions of stationarity, but instead that shifts are occurring at a faster rate than institutions and infrastructure organizations are adapting. Leadership and organizational change literature provide considerable insights into the ability of organizations to navigate uncertainty and complexity, and infrastructure organizations may be able to learn from this knowledge to avoid obsolescence. Therefore, this article asks: what leadership capabilities do infrastructure organizations need to readily respond to stability and instability? An integrative leadership framework is proposed, exploring capabilities of collaboration, perception and exploration toward learning, and flexible informal and formal governance leveraged by leadership. These capabilities are driven by underlying tensions (e.g., climate change, emerging technologies) and managed through enabling leadership, a set of processes for pivoting between stability and instability. The framework is then applied to infrastructure organizations. Lack of market competition may make infrastructure organizations more open to collaboration and, therefore, learning. However, the need to provide specific services may cause risk adversity and an avoidance of failure, restricting flexibility and innovation. It is critical for infrastructure organizations to identify their strengths and weaknesses so they may develop an approach to change at pace with their external environments.

FEATURES OF THE FORMATION OF SOCIAL ACTIVITY OF YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES

Introduction. The integration of youth with disabilities, as well as their inclusion in a full and active life, is an important stage in the development of modern Ukrainian society. Accordingly, the values of inclusion, its principles and ideas provide that no person should be separated from society, and the status of a disabled person cannot deprive one of the opportunity to be a full member of society. Despite the positive experience of solving important youth issues, in Ukraine there are also challenges for young people with disabilities, related to the need for self-realization and development of their potential, which affects the ability to be an independent, sustainable, active member of the community. The relevance of the issue of inclusion of young people with disabilities in life in society is related both to the psychological characteristics of the individual (shyness, isolation, avoidance of failure, inability to adapt to new circumstances, imperfection of social and communication skills, etc.), and to their lack of active life position and the development of dependent tendencies (insufficient formation of prosocial motives for behavior, reluctance to change one’s own life or fear of change). The reduced activity of young people with disabilities, in a certain way, is related to barriers that prevent people of this category from receiving such services as health care, education, professional employment, active leisure, mobility, as well as access to information resources, etc. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the formation of social activity of young people with special educational needs in the process of obtaining an education and in extracurricular activities. Achieving the set goal was facilitated by solving the following tasks: – disclosure of the concept of «social activity»; – consideration of the factors of formation of social activity of student youth of different levels; – determination of specific features of the formation of social activity of youth with disabilities. Results. The factors of the formation of social activity of student youth at the macro level (levels of society), meso level (levels of the educational environment) and micro level (personal level) are analyzed. Modern priority vectors of theoretical and practical experience of scientists regarding the issue of formation of social activity in the process of socialization of the individual under the direct influence of a complex of external and internal factors are outlined. The specifics of the activity and activity of students with disabilities in the process of studying at a higher education institution and in extracurricular activities have been clarified. Ways of formation and development of social activity of young people with health disorders are proposed.

Machine Learning-Based Model for Prediction of Power Consumption in Smart Grid

An electric grid consists of transformers, generation centers, communication links, control stations, and distributors. Collectively these components help in moving power from one electricity station to commercial and domestic consumers. Traditional grid stations can’t predict the dynamic need of consumers’ electricity. Furthermore, these traditional grids are not sufficiently strong and adaptable. This is the driving force for the transition towards a smart grid. A modern smart grid is a self-healing, long-lasting electrical system that can adapt to changing client needs. Machine learning has aided in grid stability calculation in the face of dynamically shifting consumer demands. By avoiding a breakdown, the smart grid has been transformed into a reliable smart grid. The authors of this study used a variety of machine learning-based algorithms to estimate grid stability to avoid a breakdown situation. An open-access dataset lying on Kaggle repository has been used for experimental work. Experiments are conducted in a simulation environment generated through Python. Using the Bagging classifier algorithm, the suggested model has attained an accuracy level of 97.9% while predicting the load. A precise prediction of power demand will aid in the avoidance of grid failure, hence improving grid stability and robustness.

Mobile Phone Buying Decisions among Young Adults: An Empirical Study of Influencing Factors

Owing to the novelty and dynamism of mobile phone shopping behavior of adults within the context of contemporary social, technological, and market norms necessitated the need to study this phenomenon frequently. In the same league, there is a pressing need to empirically examine the mobile shopping behavior of young adults in Pakistan. This paper examines the factors influencing mobile phone shopping behavior within the context of young adults in Pakistan. First, a questionnaire-based survey consisting of a five-point Likert scale was conducted. A total of 416 respondents provided their complete responses. Then, we employed the structural equation modeling (SEM) model using AMOS 24 to empirically test the hypothesized model. The empirical results revealed that price and attractiveness positively influence mobile phone buying behavior among young adults in Pakistan. On the other hand, Service Encounter, Convenience, Avoidance of Core Service Failure, and Response have negative but statistically insignificant influences on mobile phone buying behavior in Pakistan. This finding revealed that the mobile shopping behavior of young Pakistani adults is predominantly influenced by the price of mobile phones and their attractiveness. Therefore, it is highly recommended that companies need to offer affordable mobile phone prices. Additionally, the attractiveness of the mobile phone needs to be maintained at competitive prices.

Empirical Research of the Self-education Motivation of Students

The aim of the article is to present results of an empirical research of self-education motivation of students. The following methods are used: empirical: «Method for studying the motivation for success and avoidance of failure» by A.О. Rean, «Method for studying the motivation of higher education» by T.I. Iliina, «Test for assessing the ability to self-development and self-education» by V.I. Andreev, «Personal Orientation Inventory» by E. Shostrom; mathematical and statistical methods of data processing. The results of the research. The data of studying the components of self-education motivation (motivation for achieving success, motivation of learning, the ability to self-education and self-actualization) have been presented. Diagnostics of the motivation for success and avoidance of failure has shown that in the group of the first and third year undergraduate students, motivation for success prevails, but it is not marked, and in the 1–2nd year of magistracy, most students have a stable motivation for success. An empirical study of the motivation of educational activity has shown that the motive «Acquisition of knowledge» is the leading motive for students, and the motives «Mastering a profession» and «Getting a diploma» are almost at the same level. This demonstrates that students show curiosity, interest in acquiring knowledge, but still formally assimilate them. It has been found that the motivation for self-education of students grows during the course of study – from the level below average (at the 1st year of the higher education level «Bachelor») to above the average (at the 1st year of the higher education level «Master»). Diagnostics of the degree of self-actualization has shown that students of the first and third years of the baccalaureate have an average degree of self-actualization, and the first year of the magistracy – a high one, which indicates the desire to develop personal capabilities. Conclusions. Results of the empirical research and correlation analysis of components of the self-education motivation have confirmed the research hypothesis in that part that the self-education motivation of students increases during the course of education; it has been stated the ability for self-education leads to the desire to achieve success and depends on self-actualization.

Pavement Design of Coal Mine Hauling Road in Indonesia using California Bearing Ratio (CBR) data

Mine activities in the open-pit method are usually dominated by digging-loading-hauling. This hauling road is the infrastructures that is highly essential in mine area and serve as main linkage some locations. Design of the road requires careful attend in avoidance of failure in construction and disruption in production activities. Field investigations such as insitu CBR testing and laboratory testing (Proctor Modified and CBR laboratory) were chosen to determine the geotechnical parameters of soils that needed in the design of hauling road. The average value of the laboratory CBR testing at 0.1 inch penetration was 16%. The modified type of proctor test comprise some parameters such as the average value of the maximum dry density was 1.64 gr/cm3; the maximum wet density was 1.97 gr/cm3; the average value of dry unit weight was 16.07 kN/m3; saturated unit weight was 19.30 kN/m3; optimum moisture content was 20.2%. The average value of insitu CBR testing at 0.1 inch penetration was 19%. The average load of tire pressures on the front and rear wheels is 7000 lbs. The ability of road to carry the load should have the bearing capacity > 20800 psf = 144.44 psi = 20.95 kPa. The thickness of each pavement layer is as follows: 17 inches of sub grade layer; 2 inches of sub-base course layer; 15 inches of base course layer; 5 inches of surface course layer.

The Role Of Visionary Leadership In Reducing The Financial Failure Of Banks: An Exploratory Study In A Sample Of Iraqi Commercial Banks

The study aims to diagnose the causal relationships between visionary leadership and banking failure through the researcher's reliance on the descriptive-analytical approach by employing the implications of deductive analysis in the fields of theory and practical tests of the model and hypotheses the study. The researcher also adopted the exploratory study methodology in the procedural measurement of the study variables. The study data was collected for a sample of eleven commercial banks in Basra Governorate. It is one of the important banks in the country's economy, facing severe challenges due to the rapid changes in the security, political and economic conditions that have swept the country. The procedures for distributing the questionnaire to officials at the levels of implementing the strategic decisions of the researched banks were, and the number of respondents was (205). The survey tool was designed according to the (Likert) five-point scale, and the data was processed through advanced statistical methods (Smart Pulls) and (Spss v.21) program. The analysis results show that visionary leadership has a strong positive relationship in banks' avoidance of banking failure. This study contributed to uncovering the role of an essential type of leadership, namely visionary leadership. This study also clarified cases of banking failure and the techniques needed to avoid them.

Reducing the risk of rostral bending failure in Curculio Linnaeus, 1758

With over 300 species worldwide, the genus Curculio Linnaeus, 1758 is a widespread, morphologically diverse lineage of weevils that mainly parasitize nuts. Females use the rostrum, an elongate cuticular extension of the head, to excavate oviposition sites. This process causes extreme bending and deformation of the rostrum, without apparent harm to the structure. The cuticle of the rostral apex exhibits substantial modifications to its composite structure that enhance the elasticity and resiliency of this structure. Here we develop finite element models of the head and rostrum for three Curculio species representing disparate North American clades and rostral morphotypes. The models were subjected to varying apical loads and to prescribed dislocation of the head capsule, with and without representing the cuticular modifications of the rostral apex. We found that the altered layer thicknesses and macrofiber orientation angles of the rostral apex fully explain the observed elasticity of the rostrum. These modifications have a synergistic effect that greatly enhances the flexibility of the rostral apex. Consequently, the cuticle composite profile of the rostral apex substantially mitigates the risk of fracture in dorso-apical flexion. Removing the cuticular modifications, in turn, causes a negative margin of safety for rostral bending, implying strong risk of catastrophic structural failure. The occipital sulci were identified as an important source of biomechanical constraint upon the elasticity of the rostrum, and exhibit the greatest risk of failure within this structure. The apical cuticle profile greatly reduced the maximum stresses and strain energy accumulated in the rostrum, thereby resulting in a positive margin of safety and reducing the risk of fracture. Our findings imply that the primary selective pressure influencing the evolution of the rostral cuticle was most likely negative selection of structural failure caused by bending. Statement of significanceWeevils are among the most diverse and evolutionarily successful animal lineages on Earth. Their success is driven in part by a structure called the rostrum, which gives weevil heads a characteristic “snout-like” appearance. Nut weevils in the genus Curculio use the rostrum to drill holes into developing fruits and nuts, into which they deposit their eggs. During oviposition this exceedingly slender structure is bent into a straightened configuration – in some species up to 90∘ – but does not suffer any damage during this process. Using finite element models of the rostra of three morphologically distinct species, we show that the Curculio rostrum is only able to withstand repeated, extreme bending because of modifications to the composite structure of the cuticle in the rostral apex. These modifications were shown previously to enhance the intrinsic toughness of the cuticle; in this study, we demonstrate that modification of the rostral cuticle also results in more evenly distributed bending stresses, further reducing the risk of fracture. This is the first time that the laminate profile, orthotropic behavior, and functional gradation of the cuticle have been incorporated into a three-dimensional finite element model of an insect cuticular structure. Our models highlight the significance of biomechanical constraint – i.e., avoidance of catastrophic structural failure – on the evolution of insect morphology.