Symptoms and risks for musculoskeletal disorders among male and female footwear industry workers

BackgroundConsidering the growing participation of woman in the labor market and the high prevalence of the musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the footwear industry workers, the aim of this study was to evaluate and compare female and male footwear industry workers in relation to their demographics, occupational characteristics, stress levels, MSD symptoms prevalence, physical activity levels, alcohol and tobacco use.MethodsThe study included 175 female and 182 male footwear industry workers. Data was collected using the Perceived Stress Scale – 10, the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Fagerstrom test for Nicotine Dependence.ResultsThe female workers were younger, had less time in the company and in the current job. They reported more stress (p = 0.001), had less time for physical activity (p = 0.004), higher prevalence of MSD symptoms in the last 12 months (p = 0.003), and consumed less alcohol (p = 0.006) than the male workers.ConclusionsFemale and male footwear industry workers presented significant differences in their demographics, occupational characteristics, stress levels, MSD prevalence, physical activity levels, alcohol and tobacco use. These differences should be taken into consideration in the implementation of intervention programs for optimum outcomes.Relevance to industryFemale footwear industry workers were more stressed, presented higher prevalence of MSD symptoms, and reported less time for physical activity than male footwear industry workers. The differences between male and female workers should be taken into consideration in the implementation of MSD prevention programs.     

Effect of the cultivation mode on red pigments production from Monascus ruber

In submerged cultures performed in chemically defined fermentation medium containing glucose and glutamate, the growth and production of water‐soluble red pigments and citrinin by the filamentous fungus Monascus ruber were studied under various carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios. The specific production of the red pigments was optimal at a glucose/glutamate ratio of about 10 and then steadily decreased at higher C/N ratio. In contrast, the production of the mycotoxin increased with increased C/N with an optimum in the range of 30–45. In a fed‐batch mode, it was also found that the production of pigments was not favoured in fed‐batch mode by feeding the medium with glucose while keeping the C/N ratio lower than 10. This low production likely resulted from concurrent high accumulation of L‐malic acid that was reported to inhibit this production. In contrast, this mode of cultivation was rather favourable for the production of the mycotoxin.     

Producing fully-lamellar microstructure for wrought beta-gamma TiAl alloys without single α-phase field

Fine-grained fully-lamellar (FL) microstructure is desired for TiAl components to serve as compressor/turbine blades and turbocharger turbine wheels. This study deals with the process and phase transformation to produce FL microstructure for Mo stabilized beta-gamma TiAl alloys without single α-phase field. Unlike the α + γ two-phased TiAl or beta-gamma TiAl with single α-phase field, the wrought multi-phase TiAl–4/6Nb–2Mo–B/Y alloys exhibit special annealing process to obtain FL microstructure. Short-term annealing at temperatures slightly above β-transus is recommended to produce the desired FL microstructure. The related mechanism is to guarantee the sufficient diffusion homogenization of β stabilizers during single β-phase annealing, and further avoid α decomposition by α → γ + β when cooling through α + β + γ phase field. The colony boundary β phase contributes to fine-grained nearly FL microstructure, by retarding the coarsening of the α phase grains.     

Apparent power-law distributions in animal movements can arise from intraspecific interactions

Lévy flights have gained prominence for analysis of animal movement. In a Lévy flight, step-lengths are drawn from a heavy-tailed distribution such as a power law (PL), and a large number of empirical demonstrations have been published. Others, however, have suggested that animal movement is ill fit by PL distributions or contend a state-switching process better explains apparent Lévy flight movement patterns. We used a mix of direct behavioural observations and GPS tracking to understand step-length patterns in females of two related butterflies. We initially found movement in one species (Euphydryas editha taylori) was best fit by a bounded PL, evidence of a Lévy flight, while the other (Euphydryas phaeton) was best fit by an exponential distribution. Subsequent analyses introduced additional candidate models and used behavioural observations to sort steps based on intraspecific interactions (interactions were rare in E. phaeton but common in E. e. taylori). These analyses showed a mixed-exponential is favoured over the bounded PL for E. e. taylori and that when step-lengths were sorted into states based on the influence of harassing conspecific males, both states were best fit by simple exponential distributions. The direct behavioural observations allowed us to infer the underlying behavioural mechanism is a state-switching process driven by intraspecific interactions rather than a Lévy flight.     

Third order optical nonlinearities characteristics of Disperse Red1 organic dye molecules inside of polymeric nanocapsules

Measuring nonlinear optical response of a specific material in a mixture, not only leads to investigate the behavior of a particular component in various circumstances, but also can be a way to select suitable combination and optimum concentration of additives and therefore obtaining the maximum nonlinear optical signals. In this work, by using dual-arm Z-scan technique, the nonlinear refractive index of Disperse Red1 (DR1) organic dye molecules inside the core of prepared polymeric nanocapsules was measured among various materials which prepared nanocapsules were made of them. Then the measured value was compared with nonlinear refractive index of DR1 solved in dichloromethane.     

基于学生群体心理测试系统的设计

心理测试的根本目的是为了让人们在测试过程中，产生某些特定行为，即个体对测试题目的反应，并根据这些行为反应来推论其相应的心理特性。在一定程度上帮助我们了解人类的心理活动，并从中得到帮助。因此，本文对基于学生群体心理测试系统的设计进行深入研究。     

一种实用的多数据库量子信息检索协议

针对目前量子私有信息检索不能适用与云存储的多数据库问题,基于现在成熟的量子密钥分发方法,提出了一种适合在多数据库环境下,实用的量子私有信息检索协议。对于不同大小的数据库,协议可通过调节参数θ和k,在保证数据库安全及用户隐私的情况下,完成信息的检索。性能分析结果表明,协议的通信复杂度低,检索成功率高、易于实施。     

一款紧凑增强型可变阻抗电磁带隙结构

基于传统AI-EBG结构,提出了一种小尺寸的增强型电磁带隙结构,实现了从0.5~9.4 GHz的宽频带-40 dB噪声抑制深度,且下截止频率减少到数百MHz,可有效抑制多层PCB板间地弹噪声。文中同时研究了EBG结构在高速电路应用时的信号完整性问题,使用差分信号方案可改善信号完整性。     

继电保护中多路模拟量采集系统的设计

介绍了一种基于高性能浮点DSP芯片TMS320C32、CPLD芯片XC95288和A/D采样芯片AD976组成的多路采集系统的工作原理以及设计方法。通过对第一路施加特殊的电压量,在CCS开发环境下读取采样缓冲区的值,并利用Matlab对采样数据进行了全波傅氏变换。此外,该系统已在继电保护中得到广泛应用,实践表明,该系统能较好地解决多路模拟量的采集,并确保了采样数据的安全可靠性。