The Word-Surgeon\u27s Compendium

For years, logophiles have amused themselves by converting one word to another by various processes. Herein is an effort to bring some degree of order to this brand of wordplay

Biomechanics

Biomechanics is a vast discipline within the field of Biomedical Engineering. It explores the underlying mechanics of how biological and physiological systems move. It encompasses important clinical applications to address questions related to medicine using engineering mechanics principles. Biomechanics includes interdisciplinary concepts from engineers, physicians, therapists, biologists, physicists, and mathematicians. Through their collaborative efforts, biomechanics research is ever changing and expanding, explaining new mechanisms and principles for dynamic human systems. Biomechanics is used to describe how the human body moves, walks, and breathes, in addition to how it responds to injury and rehabilitation. Advanced biomechanical modeling methods, such as inverse dynamics, finite element analysis, and musculoskeletal modeling are used to simulate and investigate human situations in regard to movement and injury. Biomechanical technologies are progressing to answer contemporary medical questions. The future of biomechanics is dependent on interdisciplinary research efforts and the education of tomorrow’s scientists

Used infant mattresses and sudden infant death syndrome in Scotland: case-control study

<P>OBJECTIVE: To examine the proposition that a used infant mattress is associated with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Scotland (population 5.1 million, with about 53 000 births a year).</P> <P>PARTICIPANTS: 131 infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome between 1 January 1996 and 31 May 2000 and 278 age, season, and obstetric unit matched control infants.</P> <P>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Routine use of an infant mattress previously used by another child and place of last sleep.</P> <P>RESULTS: Routine use of an infant mattress previously used by another child was significantly associated with an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (multivariate odds ratio 3.07, 95% confidence interval 1.51 to 6.22). Use of a used infant mattress for last sleep was also associated with increased risk (6.10, 2.31 to 16.12). The association was significantly stronger if the mattress was from another home (4.78, 2.08 to 11.0) than if it was from the same home (1.64, 0.64 to 4.2).</P> <P>CONCLUSION: A valid significant association exists between use of a used infant mattress and an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, particularly if the mattress is from another home. Insufficient evidence is available to judge whether this relation is cause and effect.</P&gt

Ion Exchange-Precipitation for Nutrient Recovery from Dilute Wastewater

Regulated phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) discharges and the cost of fertilizer provide economic drivers for nutrient removal and recovery from wastewater. This study used ion exchange (IX) in dilute (domestic) wastewater to concentrate nutrients with subsequent recovery by struvite precipitation. This is the first tertiary wastewater treatment study directly comparing P removal using a range of Fe, Cu, and Al-based media followed by clinoptilolite IX columns for N removal and precipitation using the combined regenerants. Phosphate removal prior to breakthrough was 0.5–2.0 g P Lmedia−1, providing effluent concentrations −1 PO4-P and −1 NH4-N for ≥80 bed volumes. Dow-FeCu resin provided effective P removal, efficient neutral pH regeneration and 560 mg P L−1 in the regeneration eluate (≥100× concentration factor). Exchange capacity of clinoptilolite in column mode was 3.9–6.1 g N Lmedia−1 prior to breakthrough. Precipitation using the combined cation and anion regenerants resulted in a maximum of 74% P removal using Dow-FeCu. Precipitates contained impurities, including Al3+, Ca2+, and Fe. Overall, the IX-precipitation recovery process removed ≥98% P and 95% N and precipitates contained 13% P and 1.6% N. This sequential process can satisfy increasingly stringent wastewater standards and offers an effective alternative to traditional treatment technologies that simply remove nutrients. Approximately 84% of total P and 97% of total Kjeldahl N entering a treatment plant can be captured (accounting for primary clarifier removal), whereas most existing technologies target side streams that typically contain only 20–30% of influent P and 15–20% of influent N

The Impact of Capsid Proteins on Virus Removal and Inactivation During Water Treatment Processes

This study examined the effect of the amino acid composition of protein capsids on virus inactivation using ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and titanium dioxide photocatalysis, and physical removal via enhanced coagulation using ferric chloride. Although genomic damage is likely more extensive than protein damage for viruses treated using UV, proteins are still substantially degraded. All amino acids demonstrated significant correlations with UV susceptibility. The hydroxyl radicals produced during photocatalysis are considered nonspecific, but they likely cause greater overall damage to virus capsid proteins relative to the genome. Oxidizing chemicals, including hydroxyl radicals, preferentially degrade amino acids over nucleotides, and the amino acid tyrosine appears to strongly influence virus inactivation. Capsid composition did not correlate strongly to virus removal during physicochemical treatment, nor did virus size. Isoelectric point may play a role in virus removal, but additional factors are likely to contribute

Occupational Learning, Financial Knowledge, and the Accumulation of Retirement Wealth

This study explores the relationship between general human capital investment, financial knowledge, occupational spillovers, and the accumulation of wealth in a primarily descriptive manner. Drawing upon human capital theory and following previous related work by Delavande, Rohwedder and Willis (2008), we hypothesized that individuals with daily exposure to financial knowledge through their occupation would benefit by having greater financial knowledge that would translate into greater wealth accumulation than individuals who do not enjoy such spillovers from their occupation. Using data from the Cognitive Economics Study and the Health and Retirement Study, we find strong evidence that individuals in financial occupations tend to have greater financial knowledge and moderate evidence that they also have greater wealth accumulation.