Using smartphone logging to gain insight about phone use in traffic

Cognition, Technology & Work - The prevalence of mobile phone usage in traffic has been studied by road-side counting, naturalistic driving data, surveillance cameras, smartphone logging, and...     

Cataract surgery from a gender perspective--a population based study in Sweden

PURPOSE: To determine the presence of any gender-related differences of preoperative subjective visual functional problems that may explain the higher frequency of cataract surgery found in women. METHODS: All patients (n=453) who, during a one-year period, underwent cataract surgery at Norrlands University Hospital, Ume?, Sweden, were included in the study. Incidence, age-distribution, visual acuity, self-estimated ability to perform vision dependent tasks as well as subjective symptoms from the cataractous eyes preoperatively and visual acuity after surgery were analyzed separately in males and females. RESULTS: Before surgery there were no statistically significant differences between men and women in visual acuity of the eyes to be operated on and the fellow eyes. Preoperatively women had significantly more subjective problems with distance-estimation for near and far (57% and 60%, respectively) compared to males (45% and 43%, respectively). Women had significantly larger problems orientating in unfamiliar surroundings. CONCLUSION: There are gender-related differences in self-assessed visual function before surgery that might contribute to the higher incidence of cataract surgery in women. Preoperatively women experience a higher degree of visual functional problems than men. Women were not found to demand cataract surgery earlier than men when preoperative visual acuities were compared.     

EELS studies of carbide derived carbons

Carbide derived carbons (CDCs) have been synthesized from VC, WC, TaC, NbC, HfC and ZrC at T = 1000 °C, and from TiC at T = 700-1200 °C via a chlorination reaction. The CDCs have been studied by means of high resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). These studies show that the structures of CDCs are strongly dependent upon the nature of the starting carbide and the synthesis temperature. The structures range from very disordered nanoporous carbon, consisting of randomly curved graphene layers, to compact spherical entities of compactly packed graphitic layers. EELS studies of carbon core-loss spectra show that the relative sp² content in these carbons varies between 83% and 98%. The low-loss part of the EEL spectra shows that the positions of the π-plasmons and the bulk plasmons are more dependent on the carbide precursor, than the synthesis temperature. The densities of the CDC particles have been estimated using the bulk plasmon positions as well as the sp³ content determined from the C-K edge spectra. The densities calculated from sp³ are close to the pycnometric ones, while the densities calculated from bulk plasmon positions are lower and reflects the nanostructure of CDCs.     

Analyse der Kolbengruppenreibung und -schmierung von Ottomotoren – Die Bedeutung des Ölabstreifrings

Forschung im Ingenieurwesen - Für die Realisierung der in Paris definierten Klimaschutzziele wird die Optimierung des Verbrennungsmotors weiterhin eine tragende Rolle spielen. Sowohl für...     

Characterization of hemoglobin adducts from a 4, 4'-methylenedianiline metabolite evidently produced by peroxidative oxidation in vivo

4,4'-Methylenedianiline (MDA) is a widely used mutagenic and carcinogenic industrial chemical. It is also a metabolite of 4, 4'-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), which is used in the manufacturing of polyurethane foams. Biomonitoring of MDA, like other aromatic amines, is mainly carried out by GC/MS measurement of cysteine adducts in Hb from the nitroso metabolite, released by alkaline hydrolysis. In the present study it was investigated whether the formation of Hb adducts from non-nitroso metabolites of MDA can be used for the dosimetry of MDA. The study was carried out by treatment of mice with MDA and tritiated MDA or deuterated MDA and by identification of their products of reaction with Hb, after enzymatic hydrolysis of the globin and enrichment of the adducts. The main adduct, about 50% of the total amount of MDA associated with Hb, was characterized by MS and was shown to be a reaction product of MDA and the amino group of N-terminal valine in Hb, the derived structure being 1-[(4-imino-2, 5-cyclohexadien-1-ylidene)methyl]benzene-4-azo-2-isovaleric acid. It is likely that this quinonoid MDA imine adduct to valine was formed by an attack of a metabolite formed through peroxidative oxidation of MDA, in analogy with earlier observed oxidation of some other aromatic amines, e.g., benzidine. The reactive intermediate is suggested to be [(4-imino-2, 5-cyclohexadien-1-ylidene)methyl]-4-aminobenzene. The formation of the adduct was confirmed by incubating MDA with valine methyl ester in vitro in the presence of H2O2 and lactoperoxidase. Further, the same adduct was detected in MDI-exposed and control rats, the level in the exposed animals being about 60 times higher than in the controls. This study indicates that, at least in the mouse, extrahepatic peroxidative metabolism is an important pathway for the bioactivation of MDA, possibly leading to a genotoxic reactive intermediate. This study also demonstrates the usefulness of Hb adduct analysis for the identification of reactive intermediates in vivo.     

Implementation of Gold deconvolution for enhanced energy resolution in EEL spectra

Gold’s iterative deconvolution algorithm has been applied to one-dimensional EEL spectra from hexagonal BN. The experimental resolution was varied from 1.1 to 2.25 eV and Gold’s algorithm was able to restore low-loss and core-loss spectra overall well. To estimate the instrument response function, the most convenient method was to extract the zero-loss peak from the low-loss spectrum. By instead using low-loss spectra as kernel, as suggested by Egerton, enhanced energy resolution could also be obtained with plural scattering simultaneously removed. It is further shown how the FWHM of the π^? peak in the boron K-edge of hexagonal BN is reduced from 1.4 to 0.7 eV with almost no noise amplification after 500 iterations while resolving the σ^? doublet. The result was almost identical after a stunning 5000-10,000 iterations, implying that Gold’s method converges and can be stable for a large number of iterations. However, for lower-intensity spectra the number of iterations is limited. The results close to the intense zero-loss peak were uncertain and further testing with better experimental resolution is recommended. It is also found that to improve the resolution and not just sharpen the spectra, a large number of iterations is required.     

Chloroquine retinopathy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The paper presents data on the differential fertility of schizophrenics and controls, and the fertility of their siblings. This study used several methodological procedures in the study of schizophrenia reproduction, which strengthens the validity of the findings. Firstly, both male and female rates were examined. Secondly, the method of selection of a control avoided the biases introduced by using census data or other non-matched controls. Third, a diagnostic criterion was used which minimizes the possibility of the inclusion of other psychiatric illnesses. The results obtained support prior reports of the lowered reproductive rates of schizophrenics. Further, the siblings of schizophrenics were found not to have a reproductive advantage when contrasted to control siblings. The failure to find a reproductive advantage conflicts with a hypothesis of a balanced polymorphism as the mechanism maintaining an apparent constant rate of schizophrenia.     

The impact of cataract surgery on low vision patients. A population based study

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of cataract surgery on low vision patients. METHODS: Self-estimated ability to perform visually demanding tasks before and after cataract surgery and expectations and satisfaction with the surgery were analysed in all low-vision patients (n = 52), who during a one-year period underwent surgery at Norrlands University Hospital in Ume?, Sweden. Self-administered questionnaires were used and the records of the patients were studied. RESULTS: The majority (81%) of the low vision patients reported an improved ability to perform visually demanding tasks after surgery. The number of patients who were unable to read newspaper-size print decreased significantly, from 44% to 21% after surgery. The subjectively improved visual ability as well as the augmentation of VA of the operated eye were both significantly related to satisfaction with the outcome of surgery. CONCLUSION: Most low-vision patients with significant cataract benefit from surgery, both subjectively by increased ability to perform visually demanding tasks as well as by an improved visual acuity. Particularly patients with loss of peripheral visual fields subjectively gain in orientation ability. It is important to reduce unreasonable expectations about the outcome of the surgery.     

Verbesserung der Floating-Liner Methode zur Messung der Kolbengruppenreibung durch Einsatz doppelschrägverzahnter Zahnriemen

Forschung im Ingenieurwesen - Die mechanischen Verluste von Verbrennungsmotoren hängen maßgeblich von den auftretenden Reibkräften innerhalb der Kolbengruppe ab. Da die Kolbengruppe...