Evaluation of the completion of influenza vaccination

OBJECTIVE: To find the reasons which determine failures to comply with anti-flu vaccinations, so that these can be corrected and the coverage of this preventive action be increased. DESIGN: Observational crossover study, done by means of a telephone survey of people over 65. A questionnaire with closed questions, composed after a pilot study and validated by Cronbach's alpha. SETTING: Primary Care Centre (PCC). PATIENTS: We calculated a population sample for qualitative variables (_ = 0.05; p = 0.60; e = 0.05) of 294 people over 65, chosen from the PCC records, by means of random sampling (K = 4) stratified for age and discounting the telephone selection bias. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The proportion of vaccinated patients (60.9%) obtained in our study did not significantly differ from that in the general population. The percentage of patients included in the programme for the first time was 14%. Level of satisfaction among those vaccinated was 89.4%, with 8.9% of problems detected being light. Main causes of non-vaccination were: thinking that they didn't need it (63.5%), ignorance of the campaign (35.7%), fear of the reaction (24.3%), forgetting (10.4%). The main form of access to the campaign information was from the PCC, both through individuals and posters. Lack of information was statistically significant (p < 0.00001) as a determinant of non-vaccination, without other factors (age, sex, associated pathologies...) explaining these differences. CONCLUSIONS: Individualised and on-going health education by the PCC is fundamental. This would enable the identification of the group not vaccinated due to their express refusal and the recovery of non-vaccinated patients.     

Swept Volume Approximation of Polygon Soups

We present a fast algorithm to approximate the swept volume (SV) boundary of arbitrary polygon soup models. Despite the extensive research on calculating the volume swept by an object along a trajectory, the efficient algorithms described have imposed constraints on both the trajectories and geometric models. By proposing a general algorithm that handles flat surfaces as well as volumes and disconnected objects, we allow SV calculation without resorting to preprocessing mesh repair nor deforming offsets. This is of particular interest in the domain of product lifecycle management (PLM), which deals with industrial computer aided design (CAD) models that are malformed more often than not. We incorporate the bounded distance operator used in path planning to efficiently sample the trajectory while controlling the total error. We develop a triangulation scheme that draws on the unique data set created by an advancing front level-set method to tessellate the SV boundary in linear time. We analyze its performance, and demonstrate its effectiveness both theoretically and on real cases taken from PLM.     

A heterogeneous modular robotic design for fast response to a diversity of tasks

This paper describes a heterogeneous modular robot system design which attempts to give a quick solution to a diversity of tasks. The approach is based on the use of an inventory of three types of modules i.e., power and control module, joint module and specialized module. Each module type aims to balance versatility and functionality. Their design permits rapid and cost effective design and fabrication. They are interchangeable in different ways to form different robot or system configurations. Depending on the task, the operator decides what type of robot can provide the best performance within the mission. A spherical joint module is described and used to build different robots, hence, forward and inverse kinematics models are obtained. Finally, from the modules described in this work, several robot configurations such as robotic arms, leg-based robots and wheel-based robots are assembled to demonstrate the execution of manipulation and locomotion tasks.     

RESCUER: Development of a Modular Chemical,Biological, Radiological,and Nuclear Robot for Intervention,Sampling, and Situation Awareness*

This paper describes the development of a robot prototype for intervention, sampling, and situation awareness in CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) missions. It outlines the mission requirements, design specifications, the solutions that were developed and integrated, and the final tests done. The solution addresses one of the most important mission requirements in CBRN scenarios: the capability to decontaminate the robot once it has been used in real missions. As microdoses of CBRN contaminants are sufficient to cause significant damage to human beings, prevention of robot contamination is always of top priority. If there is a potential danger of real contamination, it can only be removed by effective decontamination. The way to deal with this problem imposes significant design conditions; the proposed design allows an easy and fast decontamination of the robot. The work presents a new way to approach this kind of robot, based on modular component architecture over a robot operating system that permits the attachment and detachment of robot components via unique electromechanical interfaces. The resulting modular robot introduces an innovative kinematic solution that can be dynamically configured for the different mission requirements.     

Ge/SiGe Superlattices for Thermoelectric Devices Grown by Low-Energy Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells are presented as efficient material for room-temperature thermoelectric generators monolithically integrated onto silicon. We have deposited and characterized 10-μm-thick heterostructures engineered for lateral devices, in which both heat and current flow parallel to the multilayer. In this paper we investigate in detail the structural and interface quality by means of x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Thermoelectric measurements, giving a figure of merit of 0.04 to 0.08, together with mobility spectra and defect analysis suggest possibilities of even higher efficiency. Nevertheless, the high power factor of 2 mW/K²m to 6 mW/K²m is promising for applications.     

Inhibition of calcium influx during hypoxia/reoxygenation in primary cultured rat hepatocytes

Calcium has been demonstrated to play an important role in hepatocyte damage during ischemia/reperfusion phases. Calcium influx was determined in primary cultured rat hepatocytes submitted to a succession of warm hypoxia and reoxygenation phases in the presence of diltiazem, gallopamil and a Na+/H+ antiport inhibitor, HOE-694. Only diltiazem significantly inhibited calcium influx with higher potency after reoxygenation than after hypoxia only, suggesting a complex mechanism of action of diltiazem which could act on different physiological functions involved in Ca2+ invasion of hepatocytes after hypoxic insult.     

Fracture characterisation of a nuclear vessel steel under dynamic conditions in the transition region

The Master Curve (MC) methodology, originally proposed by Kim Wallin, is a standardised engineering tool for analysing the fracture toughness of ferritic steels in the ductile to brittle transition (DBT) region by means of the reference temperature T₀. This temperature is normally estimated from quasi-static fracture toughness tests, nevertheless, it has been recently extended to the determination of dynamic fracture toughness. The aim of the present contribution is to characterise the fracture resistance in the DBT region under high strain rate conditions by applying the MC methodology to the steel of the Santa María de Garoña Spanish nuclear power plant (NPP). In this sense, 15 Charpy instrumented tests were performed on pre-cracked specimens from the surveillance program of the plant. The dynamic reference temperature, T_0,dyn, was obtained and compared with the quasi-static reference temperature, T_0,sta. The reliability of a semi-empirical formula proposed by Wallin to obtain T_0,dyn from T_0,sta has been analysed for this material.     

Crystalline silicon surface passivation by amorphous silicon carbide films

This article reviews the surface passivation of n- and p-type crystalline silicon by hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide films, which provide surface recombination velocities in the range of 10 cm s⁻¹. Films are deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from a silane/methane plasma. We determine the passivation quality measuring the injection level (Δn)-dependent lifetime (τ_eff(Δn)) by the quasi-steady-state photoconductance technique. We analyze the experimental τ_eff(Δn)-curves using a physical model based on an insulator/semiconductor structure and an automatic fitting routine to calculate physical parameters like the fundamental recombination velocities of electrons and holes and the fixed charge created in the film. In this way, we get a deeper insight into the effect of the deposition temperature, the gas flow ratio, the doping density of the substrate and the film thickness on surface passivation quality.     

Cytogenetic changes in 67 cranial and spinal meningiomas: relation to histopathological and clinical pattern

The cytogenetic analysis of 67 meningiomas (58 intracranial and 9 spinal tumors) identified chromosomal abnormalities in 63% of cases. When chromosomes involved in numerical and structural changes with a frequency of more than one standard deviation above the mean were considered, distinct cytogenetic patterns could be identified according to sex, anatomical location and histology. The chromosomes more frequently affected were 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 14, 15, 19, 22, Y. No conclusion could be drawn regarding the prognostic significance of these karyotypic alterations.     

42-V/3-V Watkins-Johnson converter for automotive use

In this paper, the Watkins-Johnson (WJ) converter was found to best step down the future automotive 42-V power network to 3 V or lower for the supply of microcontrollers and semiconductors. The particularity of the WJ converter is that it only employs a tapped-inductor and three other components. The use of a tapped-inductor is well-known and gives an extra-degree of freedom by the insertion of the winding ratio of the tapped-inductor into the transfer function of the WJ converter. It also permits the duty cycle to be adjusted to a value at which the efficiency of the converter is improved. The converter can be slightly modified and used as a multiple output converter while employing few components, diminishing the weight, size, cost, and complexity of a system. Practical test results for the single-output WJ converter are presented.