Design Requirements for Manned Orbital and Lunar Bases

Satisfaction of his physiological needs is the prime requirement for assuring man ! s performance in a short-duration space mission. Many authorities feel that long-duration missions will require essentially only an increase in requirements proportional to the length of the mission, based upon short-term figures. The authors contend, on the other hand, that considerations regarding the most efficient use of man in an actual space environment presume that all of the environmental requirements for human existance have been provided. These needs can be satisfied through appropriate design requirements, established early in the developmental program, so that man can exist and operate satisfactorily in an orbital or lunar base environment. This paper describes the essential habitability needs that allow man to perform for long periods of time

The longitudinal association between homelessness, injection drug use, and injection-related risk behavior among persons with a history of injection drug use in Baltimore, MD

AbstractBackgroundFew studies have assessed the temporal association between homelessness and injection drug use, and injection-related risk behavior.MethodsAmong a cohort of 1405 current and former injection drug users in follow-up from 2005 to 2009, we used random intercept models to assess the temporal association between homelessness and subsequent injection drug use, and to determine whether the association between homelessness and sustained injection drug use among active injectors differed from the association between homelessness and relapse among those who stopped injecting. We also assessed the association between homelessness and subsequent injection-related risk behavior among participants who injected drugs consecutively across two visits. Homelessness was categorized by duration: none, <1 month, and ≥1 month.ResultsHomelessness was reported on at least one occasion by 532 (38%) participants. The relationship between homelessness and subsequent injection drug use was different for active injectors and those who stopped injecting. Among those who stopped injecting, homelessness was associated with relapse [<1 month: AOR=1.67, 95% CI (1.01, 2.74); ≥1 month: AOR=1.34 95% CI (0.77, 2.33)]. Among active injectors, homelessness was not associated with sustained injection drug use [<1 month: AOR=1.03, 95% CI (0.71, 1.49); ≥1 month: AOR=0.81 95% CI (0.56, 1.17)]. Among those injecting drugs across two consecutive visits, homelessness ≥1 month was associated with subsequent injection-related risk behavior [AOR=1.61, 95% CI (1.06, 2.45)].ConclusionHomelessness appears to be associated with relapse and injection-related risk behavior. Strengthening policies and interventions that prevent homelessness may reduce injection drug use and injection-related risk behaviors

Medical responsibility, insurance policies, new laws and European directives. Is it time to reform the status of Italian medical residents?

In Italy there is an ongoing debate on the need to clarify the legal aspects related to the clinical activities of medical residents. While residents attend university medical schools, specific policies should be implemented to guarantee their proper utilization in health organizations also for the direct and indirect legal responsibilities of patients health and safety. It seems necessary to create an uniform and clearer legal framework to surmount criticism of the utilization of residents. We recommend Ministries of University and Health to change the current training contract into a job-training one, in line with experiences for residents of other European countries. This initiative could promote a no-blame culture and also help Italian specialist doctors of future generations to be trained in order to move and be competitive across European country borders and finally promote the sustainability of the Italian public NHS through a patient-centred and inter-professional integrated approach

Tree and litter composition influences soil macrofauna in multi-strata agroforestry systems of Talamanca, Costa Rica

Humanity is facing a rapid decline in global biodiversity, caused mainly by tropical forest deforestation for industrial and smallholder agriculture. However, smallholder agriculture landscapes host areas of home gardens and other agroforestry systems (AFS) that have proven highly relevant for soil and biodiversity conservation. The positive interactions between aboveground and below-ground biodiversity is probably a key element to understand and promote the efficiency of these agro-ecosystems. To determine whether a relation exists between tree and soil macrofauna diversity and composition, we compared cacao AFS with contrasted tree diversity along a topography and forest cover gradient in Talamanca, Costa Rica. To determine which components of the tree cover composition (species), structure (density, richness, Shannon, Pielou) and agroforest floor (litter more ground cover) best explain the composition (orders and families) and structure (density, richness, Shannon, Pielou) of the macrofauna community we performed two separate redundancy analyses (composition and structure) and constructed the “best models” based on the tree composition, tree structure and agroforest floor as explanatory matrices. Macrofauna composition was best explained by a mix of tree species and litter composition variables (R2=26.5%) and macrofauna and vegetation share a low but significant co-variation with topography (R2=12%). Conversely, macrofauna structure is best explained by a selection of seven tree species (R2=10.9%). Tree evenness (Pielou index) only explained 7% of macrofauna community structure while other diversity indices were not correlated with macrofauna composition or structure. The soil macrofauna is therefore more influenced by tree and litter composition than by the overall diversity or evenness of the tree community. This information is important to design the optimal combinations of species for the intensification of production and ecosystem services provision in cacao-based AFS

Is HIV Screening in the Labor and Delivery Unit Feasible and Acceptable in Low-Income Settings

David Celentano discusses a new study evaluating the uptake of 24-hour rapid HIV testing of women in a labor and delivery center in a rural teaching hospital in India

Experimental and numerical analysis of effect of cooling rate on thermal–microstructural response of spheroidal graphite cast iron solidification

This work presents an experimental and numerical study of the solidification process of an eutectic spheroidal graphite cast iron (SGI). The effect of the cooling rate on the thermal–microstructural response is particularly analysed. To this end, experiments as well as numerical simulations were carried out. The experiments consisted in a solidification test in a wedge-like casting such that different cooling rates were measured at specific positions along the part. A metallographic analysis was also performed in five locations of the sample with the aim of obtaining the number and size of graphite nodules at the end of the process. The numerical simulations were made using multinodular based and uninodular based models. These two models predicted similar results in terms of cooling curves and nodule counts. Besides, good experimental–numerical agreements were obtained for both the cooling curves and the graphite nodule counts

Delineating Interpersonal Communication Networks: A Study of the Diffusion of an Intervention Among Female Entertainment Workers in Shanghai, China

Diffusion of innovation (DOI) is widely cited in the HIV behavior change literature; however there is a dearth of research on the application of DOI in interventions for sex workers. Following a randomized-controlled trial of HIV risk reduction among female entertainment workers (FEWs) in Shanghai, China, we used qualitative approaches to delineate potential interpersonal communication networks and contributing factors that promote diffusion of information in entertainment venues. Results showed that top-down communication networks from the venue owners to the FEWs were efficient for diffusion of information. Mammies/madams, who act as intermediaries between FEWs and clients form an essential part of FEWs\u27 social networks but do not function as information disseminators due to a conflict of interest between safer sex and maximizing profits. Diffusion of information in large venues tended to rely more on aspects of the physical environment to create intimacy and on pressure from managers to stimulate communication. In small venues, communication and conversations occurred more spontaneously among FEWs. Information about safer sex appeared to be more easily disseminated when the message and the approach used to convey information could be tailored to people working at different levels in the venues. Results suggest that safer sex messages should be provided consistently following an intervention to further promote intervention diffusion, and health-related employer liability systems in entertainment venues should be established, in which employers are responsible for the health of their employees. Our study suggests that existing personal networks can be used to disseminate information in entertainment venues and one should be mindful about the context-specific interactions between FEWs and others in their social networks to better achieve diffusion of interventions