Assessment of the development and implementation of tools in contract cleaning

This paper illustrates and discusses problems with the implementation and use of ergonomic tools and techniques in the process of cleaning. Cleaning is an occupation with a high risk of developing work-related disorders. One high-strain task where recommended tools and techniques are difficult to apply is cleaning staircases. This study evaluated the muscular activity of cleaners while mopping staircases using two different mop handles and found that an easily adjustable mop handle can decrease a cleaner's physical load. The results also show that the implementation and contextualization of the mop are of great importance for how a mop is used. A more holistic approach is needed to improve the benefits of good tools and techniques in cleaning work. More research is needed on how workplace organization can be improved to support the implementation of strategies to increase the health of professional cleaners.     

Identity and publication in non-university settings: academic co-authorship and collaboration

Increased collaboration between researchers working in university, industry, and governmental settings is changing the landscape of academic science. Traditional models of the interaction between these sectors, such as the triple helix concept, draw clear distinctions between academic and non-academic settings and actors. This study surveyed scientists (n = 469) working outside of university settings who published articles indexed in the Web of Science about their modes of collaboration, perceptions about publishing, workplace characteristics, and information sources. We study the association between these variables, and use text analysis to examine the roles, duties, sites, topics, and workplace missions among non-university based authors. Our analysis shows that 72% of authors working in non-university settings who collaborate and publish with other scientists self-identify as academics. Furthermore, their work life resembles that of those working in university settings in that the majority report doing fundamental research in government research organizations and laboratories. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, this research suggests that peer-reviewed publications are much more dominated by non-university academics than we previously thought and that collaboration as co-authors on academic publications is not likely to be a primary conduit for the transfer of scientific knowledge between academe and industry.

     

Overview of the Structural Design of World Trade Center 1, 2, and 7 Buildings

This paper summarizes the primary structural systems that comprised World Trade Center (WTC) 1, 2, and 7, which were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There were four major structural subsystems in the towers: the exterior walls, the core, the floor system, and the hat truss. The major structural systems within WTC 7 were the foundation, exterior moment frames, floor system, interior columns, and column transfer trusses and girders. At the time of design and construction, the WTC towers were innovative in many ways, and resulted in a tremendous increase of open-plan commercial office space in downtown Manhattan. As the first of four papers, this paper summarizes the structural and passive fire protection features of each building, and focuses on the structural systems which played a critical role in the outcome of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Three companion papers address the effects of aircraft impact damage on the WTC towers and debris damage on WTC 7, the effects of fire on the three buildings, and how these events contributed to building collapse by describing the contribution of key structural systems to the overall building behavior and collapse, such as the floor systems and hat trusses in WTC 1 and WTC 2 and the floor connections around Column 79 in WTC 7.     

Usability of residential thermostats: Preliminary investigations

Residential thermostats control 9% of the total energy use in the United States and similar amounts in most developed countries; however, the details of how people use them have been largely ignored. Five parallel investigations related to the usability of residential thermostats were undertaken. No single investigation was representative of the whole population, but each gave insights into different groups or usage patterns.     

CONFECT: Conformations from an Expert Collection of Torsion Patterns

The generation of sets of low‐energy conformations for a given molecule is a central task in drug design. Herein we present a new conformation generator called CONFECT that builds on our previously published library of torsion patterns. Conformations are generated as well as ranked by means of normalized frequency distributions derived from the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). Following an incremental construction approach, conformations are selected from a systematic enumeration within energetic boundaries. The new tool is benchmarked in several different ways, indicating that it allows the efficient generation of high‐quality conformation ensembles. These ensembles are smaller than those produced by state‐of‐the‐art tools, yet they effectively cover conformational space.     

Surface immobilized zoledronate improves screw fixation in rat bone: A new method for the coating of metal implants

Previous studies show that surface immobilized bisphosphonates improve the fixation of stainless steel screws in rat tibia after 2–8 weeks of implantation. We report here about the immobilization of a potent bisphosphonate, zoledronate, to crosslinked fibrinogen by the use of another technique, i.e. ethyl-dimethyl-aminopropylcarbodiimide (EDC)/imidazole immobilization. Bone fixation of zoledronate-coated screws was compared to screws coated with crosslinked fibrinogen only and ditto with EDC/N-hydroxy-succinimide immobilized pamidronate. Fixation in rat tibia was evaluated by a pull-out test at either 2 or 6 weeks after implantation. Both bisphosphonate coatings increased the pull-out force at both time points, and zoledronate showed a significantly higher pull-out force than pamidronate. To further evaluate the new coating technique we also performed a morphometric study, focusing on the area surrounding the implant. The zoledronate coating resulted in an increased bone density around the screws compared to controls. No pronounced increase was seen around the pamidronate coated screws. Together, the results demonstrate the possibility of obtaining a significant local therapeutic effect with minute amounts of surface immobilized zoledronate.     

A method for the large-scale isolation of β-casein

A method for the large-scale isolation of β-casein from renneted skim milk was developed. The curd from renneted skim milk was dispersed in hot (?70 °C) water to inactivate residual chymosin. The heated curd was subsequently recovered by centrifugation, resuspended in water and incubated at 5 °C, during which β-casein dissociated from the curd; the suspension was centrifuged and the aqueous phase lyophilised. The isolated protein consisted mainly of β-casein, containing a minor amount of γ-caseins and traces of other caseins. Unless chymosin was fully inactivated by heating, some β-casein was hydrolysed at the Leu₁₉₂–Tyr₁₉₃ bond. The yield of β-casein increased with incubation time, up to ∼20% of the β-casein present in the milk after 24 h at 5 °C. Reducing milk pH to 5.5 or 6.0, prior to renneting, caused a high level of contamination with α_s-caseins. This isolation procedure can be easily scaled-up to an industrial process and the β-casein-depleted curd may be used for the manufacture of rennet casein or processed cheese.     

Omega-3 Index Correlates with Healthier Food Consumption in Adolescents and with Reduced Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adolescent Boys

The Omega-3 Index, a measure of long-chain omega-3 fats in red blood cell membranes, predicts heart disease mortality in adults, but its association with cardiovascular risk factors in younger populations is unknown. We determined the Omega-3 Index in adolescents participating in the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Cohort, assessed associations with diet, lifestyle and socioeconomic factors, and investigated independent associations with cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. Red blood cell fatty acid analysis was determined for 1,301 adolescents aged 13–15 years. Risk factors examined were blood pressure, fasting blood insulin and glucose concentrations, and fasting blood lipids including ratios. The mean Omega-3 Index was 4.90 ± 1.04% (range 1.41–8.42%). When compared with categories identified in adults, 15.6% of adolescents were in the high risk category (Index < 4%). Age (P < 0.01), maternal education (P < 0.01) and BMI (P = 0.05) were positively associated with the Omega-3 Index. The Index was positively associated with dietary intakes of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid (P < 0.01), protein (P < 0.01), omega-3 fats (P < 0.04), and food groups of fish and wholegrains (both P < 0.01), and negatively associated with intakes of soft drinks and crisps (both P < 0.01). In boys, the Omega-3 Index was independently associated with total (β = 0.06, P = 0.01) and HDL-cholesterol (β = 0.03, P = 0.01), and diastolic blood pressure (β = −0.68, P = 0.04). The predictability of the Index for the risk of cardiovascular disease later in life warrants further investigation in the adolescent population.     

Isolation of a virulent Lactobacillus brevis phage and its application in the control of beer spoilage

Beer quality can be compromised by the growth of certain lactobacilli, in particular Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus plantarum, and various strategies have been used to control such bacterial spoilage. Biocontrol by means of bacteriophage is a reemerging approach for the suppression of spoilage bacteria in food and beverage matrices. A virulent phage capable of infecting L. brevis beer-spoilage strains was isolated and morphologically assessed by electron microscopy. The myophage SA-C12 was shown to be stable in beer and capable of controlling the growth of its host, L. brevis strain 56, in commercial beer. The results of this study indicate that bacteriophage-based treatments may be used as an alternative and natural strategy for the control of bacterial contamination of beer.     

Implementation of Extra Efficient Bandwidth Utilization Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation Algorithm to Support Differentiated Service Classes in XGPON

Wireless Personal Communications - The Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA) algorithm is required for efficient bandwidth utilization in XG-PON. The majority of existing DBA algorithms do not make...