Community (Make) Shift: Bringing urban communities together through the activation of underutilized spaces with social programming in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

In current times society is gravitating towards urban communities. Although cities have higher amounts of people per proximity in these areas, it does not stop people from feeling lonely. Loneliness is defined as the involuntary feeling of isolation, even when one is surrounded among others. To counteract the effects of loneliness would be to create more interactions. The interactions made will help guide someone to feeling social belonging. Research has shown that social belonging has been linked to a need for all mankind, otherwise when we suffer from loneliness our wellbeing is in jeopardy. My thesis is in Georgetown, which is located in Seattle, WA area, the project will explore the need for social belonging in the growing urban environment through the design of underutilized spaces with social programming

Predictors of inappropriate hospital days in a department of internal medicine

Background This study aimed to identify predictors of inappropriate hospital days in a deparUnent of internal medicine, as a basis for quality improvement interventions. Methods The appropriateness of 5665 hospital days contributed by 500 patients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland, was assessed by means of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol. Predictor variables included patient's age and sex, manner of admission and discharge, and characteristics of hospital days (weekend, holiday, sequence). Results Overall, 15% of hospital admissions and 28% of hospital days were rated as inappropriate. In multivariate models, inappropriate hospital days were more frequent among patients whose admission was inappropriate (odds ratio [OR] = 5.3, 95% CI: 3.1-8.4) and among older patients (80-95 years: OR = 3.6. 95% CI: 1.7-7.0, versus <50 years). The likelihood of inappropriateness also increased with each subsequent hospital day, culminating on the day of discharge, regardless of the total length of stay. Conclusions This study identified both the admission and the discharge processes as important sources of inappropriate hospital use in a department of internal medicine. The oldest patients were also at high risk of remaining in the hospital inappropriately. Surprisingly, long hospital stays did not generate a higher proportion of inappropriate days than short hospital stays. This information proved useful in developing interventions to improve the hospitalization proces

Combined written and oral information prior to gastrointestinal endoscopy compared with oral information alone: a randomized trial

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how to most effectively deliver relevant information to patients scheduled for endoscopy. METHODS: To assess the effects of combined written and oral information, compared with oral information alone on the quality of information before endoscopy and the level of anxiety. We designed a prospective study in two Swiss teaching hospitals which enrolled consecutive patients scheduled for endoscopy over a three-month period. Patients were randomized either to receiving, along with the appointment notice, an explanatory leaflet about the upcoming examination, or to oral information delivered by each patient's doctor. Evaluation of quality of information was rated on scales between 0 (none received) and 5 (excellent). The analysis of outcome variables was performed on the basis of intention to treat-analysis. Multivariate analysis of predictors of information scores was performed by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Of 718 eligible patients 577 (80%) returned their questionnaire. Patients who received written leaflets (N = 278) rated the quality of information they received higher than those informed verbally (N = 299), for all 8 quality-of-information items. Differences were significant regarding information about the risks of the procedure (3.24 versus 2.26, p &lt; 0.001), how to prepare for the procedure (3.56 versus 3.23, p = 0.036), what to expect after the procedure (2.99 versus 2.59, p &lt; 0.001), and the 8 quality-of-information items (3.35 versus 3.02, p = 0.002). The two groups reported similar levels of anxiety before procedure (p = 0.66), pain during procedure (p = 0.20), tolerability throughout the procedure (p = 0.76), problems after the procedure (p = 0.22), and overall rating of the procedure between poor and excellent (p = 0.82). CONCLUSION: Written information led to more favourable assessments of the quality of information and had no impact on patient anxiety nor on the overall assessment of the endoscopy. Because structured and comprehensive written information is perceived as beneficial by patients, gastroenterologists should clearly explain to their patients the risks, benefits and alternatives of endoscopic procedures. Trial registration: Current Controlled trial number: ISRCTN34382782

Mobilité, Immobilismes : l'emprunt et son refus

Colloque Nanterre ( 3 ; 2006

Stable isotopes used in the definition of corrosion mechanisms

International audienceThe ability of secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to separate isotopes and to analyze thin layers by sputtering provides unique tools for studying corrosion mechanisms. The methodology with oxygen 18 has been tested with success at the beginning of the 70s for the oxidation of tantalum (Ta) by water in two steps: first oxidation by H216O and subsequent one by H218O [1]. Nevertheless, very few corrosion studies have taken the advantage of isotope substitution for the investigation of corrosion mechanisms. The objective of the paper is to show that the use of stable isotopes has been a major step in the understanding and the modeling of several corrosion phenomena. The first illustrations will be linked to the localization of the anodic and cathodic reactions on archeological analogues. Then the use of isotopic tracers will be shown in more complex environments.In liquid lead-bismuth, sequential experiments with dissolved 18O and 16O have been performed to determine the mechanisms of growth of the duplex structure oxide layer: It was found that the magnetite layer grows at the Pb–Bi/oxide interface whereas the Fe–Cr spinel layer grows at the metal/oxide interface. The modeling of the growth mechanisms of the duplex layer lead to the evaluation of corrosion damages, in accordance with available data. It should be underlined that the same type of growth of duplex layer has been observed in supercritical water with the subsequent used of H216O followed by an exposure to H218O.Stress corrosion cracking of Alloy 600 in water at 300-350°C has been investigated with Alloy 600 (nickel base alloy with 15% Cr and more than 72% Ni) samples exposed to heavy water with dissolved hydrogen (D2O / H2, diss) or to natural water with dissolved deuterium (H2O / D2, diss). SIMS analysis of D (2H) and 16O were done to determine the deuterium concentration profiles together with the oxide film thickness on the alloy surface. Almost no deuterium is observed for samples exposed in the H2O/D2 environment and only in the oxide layer, whereas the intensity of the deuterium profile is much larger in D2O/H2 with deuterium observed not only in the oxide layer but also in the alloy. Clearly, the main source of hydrogen is the cathodic reaction (water dissociation). Two mechanisms may be proposed for modelling the hydrogen transport associated with the oxide growth during alloy passivation: (i) diffusion of hydrogen as an interstitial proton through the oxide lattice, or (ii) diffusion as a hydroxide ion towards the oxide in the anionic sub-lattice. The latter hypothesis implies the oxygen and hydrogen diffusivities through the oxide layer to be the same. To check which hypothesis is correct, Alloy 600 specimens have been exposed in PWR primary conditions using 2H and 18O as markers. The values obtained for diffusion coefficient of 2H and 18O are very close (around 5 10-17 cm2/s) which supports the idea of a hydrogen transport mechanism through the oxide layer as hydroxide ions. The strong correlation between hydrogen absorption and oxidation occurs not only for the formation of the oxide layer on the surface of the alloy, but also during intergranular oxidation of grain boundaries. The question here is to assess whether the oxide grown at the grain boundaries in the case of intergranular corrosion would act as a barrier to hydrogen arrival to the oxide/crack tip or not. After a primary oxidation in nominal primary water followed by a short period under the same conditions but with D and 18O isotopes, deuterium and oxygen 18 are found at the tip of the intergranular oxidation, even for short exposure times. The results lead to the conclusion that oxygen and hydrogen transport in the oxidized grain boundary are not the rate-controlling step for SCC initiation in PWR nominal conditions. To check if chromium diffusion is the limiting step, diffusion experiments with 54Cr in Ni-Cr alloys have been performed.The conclusive remarks will include some recommendations and some interests for the use of radioactive tracers to determine corrosion kinetics

User Evaluation of Conversational Agents for Aerospace Domain

The aerospace industry can benefit from conversational agents that provide efficient solutions for safety-of-life scenarios. This industry is characterized by products and systems that require years of engineering to achieve optimal performance within complex environments. With recent advances in retrieval and language models, conversational agents can be developed to enhance the system’s question-answering capabilities. However, evaluating the added-value of such systems in the context of industrial applications, such as pilots in a cockpit, can be challenging. This article presents the design, implementation, and user evaluation of a conversational agent called Smart Librarian, which is tailored to the aerospace domain’s specific requirements to support pilots in their tasks. Our results based on a controlled user experiment with flight school students indicate that the user’s perception of the usefulness of the system in completing the search task is a good predictor of both task score and time spent. The system’s responses to the relevance of the topic is also a good predictor of task score. The perceived difficulty of the search task and its interaction with the relevance of the system’s responses to the topic also play a key role in search performance. The mixed-effects models constructed in this study had large effect sizes, demonstrating participants’ ability to assess their performance accurately. Nevertheless, user satisfaction with the system’s responses may not be a reliable predictor of user search performance. Implications for the design of conversational agents based on the domain’s specific requirements are discussed

Le Team X et le logement à grande échelle en Europe

Ce qui caractérise le Team X est une tentative de synthèse entre les contraintes matérielles d'une production de programmes de logements à différentes échelles, la volonté délibérée de prendre en compte le goût ordinaire (la culture de masse) et le contexte local (réalités matérielles et culturelles), mais aussi une exigence intellectuelle et une appartenance proclamée à l'avant-garde artistique. Sa dimension internationale l'inscrit dans le mouvement actuel de mondialisation des références, des modèles et des pratiques. Cet ouvrage offre une analyse critique de programmes de logements collectifs réalisés par des membres de ce courant autour des années 1950-70. Sont ainsi étudiés les projets d'Alison et Peter Smithson à Londres, l'œuvre de Jaap Bakema aux Pays-Bas, l'extension de Bagnols-sur-Cèze menée par l'équipe Georges Candilis, Alexis Josic et Shadrach Woods, la création de la ville nouvelle du Vaudreuil par les architectes Lods, Depond et Beauclair influencés par le Team X, ainsi que l'opération expérimentale de la ZUP de Toulouse-Le Mirail aussi menée par l'équipe G. Candilis, Alexis Josic et Shadrach Woods à partir de 1961 (ou de 1961 à 1981). En contrepoint, le dernier texte présente la maison du paysan Rodakis dans l'île d'Égine en Grèce parce qu'elle a constitué pour Candilis l'essence de l'architecture et un prototype de la maison originelle.Qu'il nous est difficile De trouver un abri Même dans notre cœur Toute la place est prise Et toute la chaleur Jules Superviell