Erratum to “Behavioural change phases of different stakeholders involved in the implementation process of ergonomics measures in bricklaying”: [Applied Ergonomics 36 (2005) 449-459]

The objective of this qualitative study was to assess whether a hypothesised sequential order of behavioural change phases would be fulfilled in different groups of stakeholders involved at the start of a process to implement ergonomic measures in bricklaying teams. The measures include trestles, bricklaying scaffolds, mast climbing work platforms and cranes. The behavioural change phases were: (1) being aware of measures, (2) understanding measures, (3) wanting measures, (4) intention to buy or hire measures, (5) ability to use measures, (6) using measures (experience), and (7) continuing to use measures. Structured interviews were conducted to examine the change phases in two groups of stakeholders (employers/work planners (n=11) and foremen/bricklayers (n=9) from nine companies) thought to be relevant in the decision to adopt and use the ergonomic measures. The results show that the fulfilled behavioural change phases differ between individual stakeholders, groups of stakeholders, companies and also between ergonomic measures. The hypothesised order of fulfilled consecutive behavioural change phases for individual stakeholders has not been confirmed by this study. The relationship between fulfilled and unfulfilled change phases by each stakeholder (group) and actual use of each ergonomic measure requires further study, so as to improve the selection of suitable implementation strategies.     

Positron Annihilation Investigation of Embrittlement Behavior in Chinese RPV Steels after Fe-Ion IrradiationEI北大核心CSCD

The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is the key component in the nuclear power plant, which is considered irreplaceable and can be the life-limiting feature of the operation of nuclear power plant if its mechanical properties degrade sufficiently. High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) has perfect inherent safety, which is intended to be one of the fourth generation advanced nuclear reactors. However, HTGR has different service temperature with pressurized water reactor (PWR), that the service temperature of HTGR is 250 degrees C and that of PWR is 290 degrees C. So the irradiation behaviour of RPV in HTGR is expected to be investigated. In this wok, 3 MeV Fe-ion irradiation was performed on Chinese A508-3 reactor pressure vessel steel which is employed by high-temperature gas-cooled reactors and pure Fe under room temperature (about 25 degrees C) and high temperature (250 degrees C). The ion doses were 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 dpa for both room temperature irradiation and high temperature irradiation. SRIM modeling was performed before irradiation experiments to guide the experimental details. Positron annihilation Doppler broadening (PADB) spectroscopy experiments and nano-indentation tests (to study embrittlement behavior) were conducted for characterization. It is found that after both room temperature irradiation and high temperature irradiation, the densities of defects in the reactor pressure vessel steel and pure Fe increase, and the type of defects could be vacancy-type and solute cluster type from PADB results. The vacancy-type defect density under high temperature irradiation is lower than that under room temperature irradiation. That is because high temperature can recover the defects formed during irradiation. The hardness test results show that for both the reactor pressure vessel steel and pure Fe, the irradiation hardening increases with increasing dose. Compared to room temperature irradiation, high temperature irradiation can produce more solute clusters and fewer vacancy-type defects in the reactor pressure vessel steel. So the irradiation hardening of the reactor pressure vessel steel might be caused mainly by the formation of solute clusters.     

Plasma folate levels are associated with the lipoprotein profile: a retrospective database analysis

Background

Several studies demonstrated an association of homocysteine plasma levels and the plasma lipoprotein profile. This cross-sectional pilot study aimed at analyzing whether blood levels of the two important cofactors of homocysteine metabolism, folate and vitamin B12, coincide with the lipoprotein profile.

Methods

In a retrospective single center approach, we analyzed the laboratory database (2003-2006) of the University Hospital Bonn, Germany, including 1743 individuals, in whom vitamin B12, folate and at least one lipoprotein parameter had been determined by linear multilogistic regression.

Results

Higher folate serum levels were associated with lower serum levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; Beta = -0.164; p < 0.001), higher levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; Beta = 0.094; p = 0.021 for trend) and a lower LDL-C-C/HDL-C-ratio (Beta = -0.210; p < 0.001). Using ANOVA, we additionally compared the individuals of the highest with those of the lowest quartile of folate. Individuals of the highest folate quartile had higher levels of HDL-C (1.42 ± 0.44 mmol/l vs. 1.26 ± 0.47 mmol/l; p = 0.005), lower levels of LDL-C (3.21 ± 1.04 mmol/l vs. 3.67 ± 1.10 mmol/l; p = 0.001) and a lower LDL-C/HDL-C- ratio (2.47 ± 1.18 vs. 3.77 ± 5.29; p = 0.002). Vitamin B12 was not associated with the lipoprotein profile.

Conclusion

In our study sample, high folate levels were associated with a favorable lipoprotein profile. A reconfirmation of these results in a different study population with a well defined status of health, diet and medication is warranted.     

正交异性钢桥面板改造的组合粘结系统

<正>交异性钢桥面板改造的问题在于既有钢板与第二个钢板的粘结,以降低应力和增加正交异性钢板的使用寿命。通过试验和分析,对梁的弯曲性能进行参数研究。试验考虑不同厚度、温度和跨度的影响。从试验结果可见,应力降低与温度无关。最小化第二块钢板的厚度及最大化粘结层厚度,可降低重量,增加组合结构的刚度,这是最有效的解决方法。组合梁的弹性性能和屈服荷载取决于钢板的性能,温度的影响不显著。然而,粘结层的受剪最终导致梁的破坏,而粘结层的性能受温度的影响较大。     

Viability, efficacy, and storage stability of freeze-dried biocontrol agent Candida sake using different protective and rehydration media

Viability, efficacy against Penicillium expansum on Golden Delicious apples, and storage stability of freeze-dried Candida sake strain CPA-1 were studied. The effect of several protective agents and rehydration media was investigated in the freeze drying of C. sake. Skimmed milk at 10% concentration was a good rehydration medium for all protectants tested. In general, good viability results were obtained when the same solution was used as a protectant and as a rehydration medium. The best survival was obtained when C. sake cells were protected with 10% lactose + 10% skimmed milk and rehydrated with skimmed milk (85% viability). The potential for biocontrol of the best freeze-dried treatments against P. expansum on apples was compared with that of fresh cells. Freeze-dried treatments at 1 x 10(7) CFU/ml reduced the incidence of decay by 45 to 66%. The best biocontrol effect was obtained with cells that had been freeze dried using 10% lactose + 10% skimmed milk as a protectant and 1% peptone as a rehydration medium, with a 66% reduction in rot incidence. However, in all treatments, the efficacy of freeze-dried cells was significantly lower than fresh cells. The stability of freeze-dried samples decreased during storage and was influenced by storage temperature. In the best treatment, storage of C. sake cells for 60 days at 4 degrees C resulte in final concentrations of 2.5 x 10(8) CFU/ml, which was a 10-fold reduction in relation to the initial starting concentration of cells prior to freeze drying.     

Effect of freeze drying and protectants on viability of the biocontrol yeast Candida sake

The effects of freezing method, freeze drying process, and the use of protective agents on the viability of the biocontrol yeast Candida sake were studied. Freezing at -20 degrees C was the best method to preserve the viability of C. sake cells after freeze drying using 10% skim milk as a protectant (28.9% survival). Liquid nitrogen freezing caused the highest level of damage to the cells with viability < 10%. Different concentrations of exogenous substances including sugars, polyols, polymers and nitrogen compounds were tested either alone or in combination with skim milk. There was little or no effect when additives were used at 1% concentration. Galactose, raffinose and sodium glutamate at 10% were the best protective agents tested alone but the viability of freeze-dried C. sake cells was always < 20%. Survival of yeast cells was increased from 0.2% to 30-40% by using appropriate protective media containing combinations of skim milk and other protectants such as 5% or 10% lactose or glucose, and 10% fructose or sucrose.     

Intrinsic instability of flame–acoustic coupling

This paper shows that a flame can be an intrinsically unstable acoustic element. The finding is clarified in the framework of an acoustic network model, where the flame is described by an acoustic scattering matrix. The instability of the flame acoustic coupling is shown to become dominating in the limit of no acoustic reflections. This is in contrast to classical standing-wave thermoacoustic modes, which originate from the positive feedback loop between system acoustics and the flame. These findings imply that the effectiveness of passive thermoacoustic damping devices is limited by the intrinsic stability properties of the flame.     

A Safari Through the MPSoC Run-Time Management Jungle

The multiprocessor SoC (MPSoC) revolution is fueled by the need to execute multiple advanced multimedia applications on a single embedded computing platform. At design-time, the applications that will run in parallel and their respective user requirements are unknown. Hence, a run-time manager (RTM) is needed to match all application needs with the available platform resources and services. Creating such a run-time manager requires two decisions. First, one needs to decide what functionality to implement. Second, one has to decide how to implement this functionality in order to meet boundary conditions like e.g. real-time performance. This paper is the first to detail a generic view on MPSoC run-time management functionality and its design space trade-offs. We substantiate the run-time components and the implementation trade-offs with academic state-of-the-art solutions and a brief overview of some industrial multiprocessor run-time management examples. We show a clear trend towards more hardware acceleration, a limited distribution of management functionality over the platform and increasing support for adaptive multimedia applications. In addition, we briefly detail upcoming run-time management research issues.     

Normally Oriented Adhesion versus Friction Forces in Bacterial Adhesion to Polymer‐Brush Functionalized Surfaces Under Fluid Flow

Bacterial adhesion is problematic in many diverse applications. Coatings of hydrophilic polymer chains in a brush configuration reduce bacterial adhesion by orders of magnitude, but not to zero. Here, the mechanism by which polymer‐brush functionalized surfaces reduce bacterial adhesion from a flowing carrier fluid by relating bacterial adhesion with normally oriented adhesion and friction forces on polymer (PEG)‐brush coatings of different softness is studied. Softer brush coatings deform more than rigid ones, which yields extensive bond‐maturation and strong, normally oriented adhesion forces, accompanied by irreversible adhesion of bacteria. On rigid brushes, normally oriented adhesion forces remain small, allowing desorption and accordingly lower numbers of adhering bacteria result. Friction forces, generated by fluid flow and normally oriented adhesion forces, are required to oppose fluid shear forces and cause immobile adhesion. Summarizing, inclusion of friction forces and substratum softness provides a more complete mechanism of bacterial adhesion from flowing carrier fluids than available hitherto.