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.     

Thermal efficiency of manifold-heat-pipe heat exchangers

The thermal efficiency of manifold-heat-pipe heat exchangers is considered. A method for predicting the efficiency and an analysis of effects of various factors of the actual process are presented.Academic Scientific Complex A. V. Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 173–178, February, 1994.     

Composites of hydroxyapatite and bisphosphonate: properties and alveolar bone response

A composite was made by adsorption of the bisphosphonate [(3-dimethylamino-1-hydroxypropylidene)-1,1-bisphosphonate; dimethyl-APD] into an hydroxyapatite (HA) tube. Adsorbed dimethyl-APD did not change the bulk properties of the HA tube but the surface properties were altered. The amount of 0.1 mmol/L dimethyl-APD adsorbed into the HA tube was 0.78 ( ± 0.20) g after 4 weeks. The composite tube of HA and dimethyl-APD placed after extraction of teeth in the premolar regions of dogs were biocompatible, stable and bonded strongly and intimately to the alveolar bone. Although there was no bone resorption around the composite tubes, no conclusion can be drawn yet from this study as far as local inhibition of alveolar bone resorption is concerned.     

Metal Single-Site Molecular Complex–MXene Heteroelectrocatalysts Interspersed Graphene Nanonetwork for Efficient Dual-Task of Water Splitting and Metal–Air Batteries

Development of multifunctional electrocatalysts with high efficiency and stability is of great interest in recent energy conversion technologies. Herein, a novel heteroelectrocatalyst of molecular iron complex (Fe_MC)-carbide MXene (Mo₂TiC₂T_x) uniformly embedded in a 3D graphene-based hierarchical network (GrH) is rationally designed. The coexistence of Fe_MC and MXene with their unique interactions triggers optimum electronic properties, rich multiple active sites, and favorite free adsorption energy for excellent trifunctional catalytic activities. Meanwhile, the highly porous GrH effectively promotes a multichannel architecture for charge transfer and gas/ion diffusion to improve stability. Therefore, the Fe_MC–MXene/GrH results in superb performances towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline medium. The practical tests indicate that Zn/Al–air batteries derived from Fe_MC–MXene/GrH cathodic electrodes produce high power densities of 165.6 and 172.7 mW cm⁻², respectively. Impressively, the liquid-state Zn–air battery delivers excellent cycling stability of over 1100 h. In addition, the alkaline water electrolyzer induces a low cell voltage of 1.55 V at 10 mA cm⁻² and 1.86 V at 0.4 A cm⁻² in 30 wt.% KOH at 80 °C, surpassing recent reports. The achievements suggest an exciting multifunctional electrocatalyst for electrochemical energy applications.     

The so-called congenital trigger digit: further experience

The authors reviewed 53 patients with 70 congenital trigger digits. Three of these were seen at an early age. Most "congenital" trigger digits present later than the neonatal period. A clear difference exists between trigger thumbs and trigger fingers. In our series, thumbs were more frequently affected, 30% were bilateral and none resolved spontaneously. The long fingers were less frequently affected, and two of them (28%) recovered without operation. All other children had an operative release of the A1 pulley of the flexor tendon sheath, with excellent results.     

Wave Groups in Uni-Directional Surface-Wave Models

Uni-directional wave models are used to study wave groups that appear in wave tanks of hydrodynamic laboratories; characteristic for waves in such tanks is that the wave length is rather small, comparable to the depth of the layer. In second-order theory, the resulting Nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation for the envelope of the wave group contains the dispersion of the group velocity multiplying the linear term and a gen-coefficient that results from mode generation multiplying the nonlinear term. The signs of these coefficients determine whether experimentally relevant wave groups are possible or not. If the dispersion is modelled in such a way that it is correct for all wave lengths for infinitesimal waves, relevant wave groups are obtained consisting of constituent waves with a certain maximal wave length; other models for the dispersion (such as in the KdV-equation) lead to different results.     

3种本质安全评价方法在EDC过程中的应用研究

简要叙述ISI、i-safe和IBI 3种典型的本质安全评价方法,说明其含有的参数及指数的计算方法;然后使用这3种方法评价了直接氯化法、氧氯化法、改进的氧氯化法3个EDC生产流程.评价结果表明:不同方法评价相同的几个过程,得到的各过程安全性的高低是一致的:直接氯化法最高、氧氯化法次之、改进的氧氯化法安全性最差:评价同一个流程时,ISI法评价得到的数值最大,i-Safe法次之,IBI法最小.结合评价的过程从参数的个数及覆盖面的大小、参数取值的主观性程度、获取所需信息的难易程度和结果的灵敏性4方面比较和分析3种评价方法,最后总结得到3种方法中IBI法的优势最大.     

Using an online tool to support school‐based ICT policy planning in primary education

An important step towards the successful integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools is to facilitate their capacity to develop a school‐based ICT policy resulting in an ICT policy plan. Such a plan can be defined as a school document containing strategic and operational elements concerning the integration of ICT in education. To write such a plan in an efficient way is challenging for schools. Therefore, an online tool [Planning for ICT in Schools (pICTos)] has been developed to guide schools in this process. A multiple case study research project was conducted with three Flemish primary schools to explore the process of developing a school‐based ICT policy plan and the supportive role of pICTos within this process. Data from multiple sources (i.e. interviews with school leaders and ICT coordinators, school policy documents analysis and a teacher questionnaire) were collected and analysed. The results indicate that schools shape their ICT policy based on specific school data collected and presented by the pICTos environment. School teams learned about the actual and future place of ICT in teaching and learning. Consequently, different policy decisions were made according to each school's vision on ‘good’ education and ICT integration.