Effectiveness of participatory ergonomic interventions on health outcomes: a systematic review

The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of participatory ergonomic (PE) interventions for improving workers' health. The search strategy targeted six electronic databases and identified 442 potential articles. Each article was examined by pairs of reviewers for relevance (assessed a participative ergonomic workplace intervention, with at least one health outcome, published in English in peer reviewed literature). Twenty-three articles met relevance criteria and were then appraised for methodological strength. Using a best evidence synthesis approach, 12 studies that were rated as 'medium' or higher provided partial to moderate evidence that PE interventions have a positive impact on: musculoskeletal symptoms, reducing injuries and workers' compensation claims, and a reduction in lost days from work or sickness absence. However, the magnitude of the effect requires more precise definition.     

Polyamine deactivation of integrated poly(dimethylsiloxane) structures investigated by radionuclide imaging and capillary electrophoresis experiments

The poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) material provides a number of advantageous features, such as flexibility, elasticity, and transparency, making it useful in integrated analytical systems. Hard fused-silica capillary structures and soft PDMS channels can easily be combined by a tight fit, which offers many alternatives for structure combinations. PDMS and fused silica are in different ways prone to adsorption of low levels of organic compounds. The need for modification of the inner wall surface of PDMS channels may often be necessary, and in this paper, we describe an easy and effective method using the amine-containing polymer PolyE-323 to deactivate both fused-silica and PDMS surfaces. The adsorption of selected peptides to untreated surfaces was compared to PolyE-323-modified surfaces, using both radionuclide imaging and capillary electrophoresis experiments. The polyamine modification displayed a substantially reduced adsorption of three hydrophobic test peptides compared to the native PDMS surface. Filling and storage of aqueous solution were also possible in PolyE-323-modified PDMS channels. In addition, hybrid microstructures of fused silica and PDMS could simultaneously be deactivated in one simple coating procedure.     

A fuzzy decision tree method for fault classification in the steam generator of a pressurized water reactor

This paper extends a method previously introduced by the authors for building a transparent fault classification algorithm by combining the fuzzy clustering, fuzzy logic and decision trees techniques. The baseline method transforms an opaque, fuzzy clustering-based classification model into a fuzzy logic inference model based on linguistic rules which can be represented by a decision tree formalism. The classification model thereby obtained is transparent in that it allows direct interpretation and inspection of the model. An extension in the procedure for the development of the fuzzy logic inference model is introduced to allow the treatment of more complicated cases, e.g. splitted and overlapping clusters. The corresponding computational tool developed relies on a number of parameters which can be tuned by the user to optimally compromise the level of transparency of the classification process and its efficiency. A numerical application is presented with regards to the fault classification in the Steam Generator of a Pressurized Water Reactor.     

Fluorinated graphene: Fluorographene: A Two‐Dimensional Counterpart of Teflon (Small 24/2010)

A stoichiometric derivative of graphene with a fluorine atom attached to each carbon is reported. Raman, optical, structural, micromechanical, and transport studies show that the material is qualitatively different from the known graphene‐based nonstoichiometric derivatives. Fluorographene is a high‐quality insulator (resistivity >10¹² Ω) with an optical gap of 3 eV. It inherits the mechanical strength of graphene, exhibiting a Young’s modulus of 100 N m^?1 and sustaining strains of 15%. Fluorographene is inert and stable up to 400 °C even in air, similar to Teflon.     

Congratulations to Vladimir Viktorovich Baulin

Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering -     

Effect of water content on thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of xanthan powder: A comparison between standard and novel techniques

In this work, the sorption isotherms of xanthan powder obtained under static and dynamic conditions and their fitting with mathematical models were discussed. The transitions within xanthan-water systems have been investigated using a standard material characterization technique - Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) - and two novel techniques - Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) material pocket and Phase Transition Analysis (PTA). It was found that within water-xanthan systems, the onset temperature for the melting of freezable water obtained from DSC method was in agreement with freezable water melting peaks obtained via DMTA material pocket at levels of hydration when the freezable water was present. Also, low-temperature transitions, related to polysaccharide-water interactions, were observed by both techniques within xanthan systems which contained no freezable water. However, the use of the PTA technique was limited to xanthan systems with low water content.     

The mechanism of the oxidative polymerization of aniline and the formation of supramolecular polyaniline structures

Polyaniline is one of the most important conducting and responsive polymers. A molecular mechanism for the oxidation of aniline is proposed. This mechanism explains the specific features of aniline oligomerization and polymerization in various acidity ranges. The formation of polyaniline precipitates, colloids and thin films is reviewed and discussed on the basis of the chemistry of aniline oxidation. The generation of nanostructures, i.e. granules, nanotubes, nanowires and microspheres, is also considered. Oligomers containing phenazine constitutional units play an important role in self‐assembly to form templates. Polyaniline chains then grow from these templates and produce the various individual morphologies. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Magnetometric Studies of Catalyst Refuses in Nanocarbon Materials

It is shown that magnetometry can be employed as an effective tool to control the content of a ferromagnetic constituent in nanocarbon materials. We propose a thermochemical treatment protocol to achieve extensive cleaning of the source nanocarbon materials from ferromagnetic refuses.     

Towards a Dual-Tip STM Application in Mesoscopic Electron Transport

A new design for a dual-tip scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is presented. The design is a variation on the mechanically controllable break-junction with two electron beam-induced deposition nano-tips. The new design enables one to scan surfaces simultaneously with two probes having a nano-gap separation. By collecting the lateral current flowing between the tips, the transconductance map can then be compared with the STM images for local characterizations of the electron transport. Since the lateral beam carries the property of the density of states of the surface at momentum space, the dispersion of the electronic structure should give an orientation and position dependence of the local transconductance current. In addition, the reduced terminal separation, on the order of the characteristic mesoscopic length scales, is likely to be sensitive to a variety of typically observed interactions and interference effects.