Analysis of the fabric of undisturbed and pluviated silty sand under load over time

Microstructure of two undisturbed silty sands with 4% fines and 35% fines is described and quantified. The materials were sampled by the gel push sampling method. Upon reloading to their in situ stresses, the material fabric was fixed by resin impregnation. A qualitative and quantitative comparison of the microstructure was made with laboratory prepared dry deposited specimens (15% fines) which were loaded over different periods of time. The microstructure is quantified statistically by measuring particle orientation and the distribution of spatial distance between particles. Both undisturbed and reconstituted specimens show a preferred horizontal particle orientation, with little detectable change over time in the reconstituted samples. Spatial microstructural change was assessed using new parameter called index of dispersion. A greater index of dispersion suggests a more interlocked structure (hence, more structurally stable sample). Analysis of the reconstituted samples show that index of dispersion tends to increase with ageing, with the denser sample displaying greater change over time than the looser sample. Values of index of dispersion of reconstituted samples (15% fines) tend to lie between those of the undisturbed sample with 35% silt fines and with 5% fines, showing that this measure is not independent of the particle size distribution

In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were <it>level of education </it>and <it>working experience</it>, while for the caregivers the <it>level of education </it>was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, <it>age, marital status</it>, and <it>level of education </it>of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.</p

Влияние фосфатных связующих на физико-механические свойства периклазохромитовых огнеупоров

У данній статті наведено та порівняно фізико-механічні властивості периклазо-хромітових матеріалів в залежності від різних типів фосфатних зв’язуючих та введення різних домішок. Визначено, що найбільш раціональним є введення триполіфосфату натрію.In given clause are resulted and the physycal-mechanical properties periclase-cgromite of materials are compared depending on different of types phosphate binding and introduction of the various additives. Is determined, that most rational is the introduction treepolyphosphate sodume