Atomic layer deposition for the conformal coating of nanoporous materials

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is ideal for applying precise and conformal coatings over nanoporous materials. We have recently used ALD to coat two nanoporous solids: anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) and silica aerogels. AAO possesses hexagonally ordered pores with diameters d ∼ 40 nm and pore length L ∼ 70 microns. The AAO membranes were coated by ALD to fabricate catalytic membranes that demonstrate remarkable selectivity in the oxidative dehydrogenation of cyclohexane. Additional AAO membranes coated with ALD Pd films show promise as hydrogen sensors. Silica aerogels have the lowest density and highest surface area of any solid material. Consequently, these materials serve as an excellent substrate to fabricate novel catalytic materials and gas sensors by ALD

Functional assessment of older patients in the emergency department: comparison between standard instruments, medical records and physicians' perceptions

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the accuracy of physician recognition of functional status impairment in older emergency departments (ED) patients. In particular, we evaluated the accuracy of medical records (a comparison of the information in the medical record with the functional status based on proxy interviews), and the accuracy of physician knowledge (a comparison of the information obtained from the responsible physician with the functional status based on proxy interviews). METHODS: Cross-sectional study on 101 frail older patients selected at random from among those attending ED, their ED physicians, and respondents. The study was conducted at ED in four general university teaching hospitals in a city, from July through November 2003. Functional data shown on patients' medical records were compared against functional data obtained from respondents (family members), using Kendall's Tau-b statistic. In addition patients' Katz Indices (which assesses six basic activities of daily living – basic ADL) based on interviews with ED physicians were compared against those obtained from respondents, using the coefficient of concordance weighted kappa (κ). Each patient and his respondent were paired with a single physician. RESULTS: The correlation between information on dependence for basic ADL obtained from medical records and that furnished by respondents, was 0.41 (95% CI 0.27–0.55). Concordance between the respective Katz Indices obtained from physicians and respondents was 0.47 (95% CI 0.38–0.57). CONCLUSION: Older subjects' functional status is not properly assessed by emergency department physicians

Integration of decision support systems to improve decision support performance

Decision support system (DSS) is a well-established research and development area. Traditional isolated, stand-alone DSS has been recently facing new challenges. In order to improve the performance of DSS to meet the challenges, research has been actively carried out to develop integrated decision support systems (IDSS). This paper reviews the current research efforts with regard to the development of IDSS. The focus of the paper is on the integration aspect for IDSS through multiple perspectives, and the technologies that support this integration. More than 100 papers and software systems are discussed. Current research efforts and the development status of IDSS are explained, compared and classified. In addition, future trends and challenges in integration are outlined. The paper concludes that by addressing integration, better support will be provided to decision makers, with the expectation of both better decisions and improved decision making processes

Atmospheric pressure roll-to-roll plasma enhanced CVD of high quality silica-like bilayer encapsulation films

A glow like atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in a roll-to-roll setup was used to synthesize 90 nm silica-like bilayer encapsulation films composed of a 30 nm dense “barrier layer” and a comparatively less dense 60 nm “buffer layer” onto a polyethylene 2,6 naphthalate substrate by means of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Tetraethyl orthosilicate was used as the precursor gas, together with a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. The microstructure, chemical composition, morphology, and permeation properties of the films were studied as a function of the specific energy delivered per precursor molecule, and oxygen concentration in the gas mixture, during the deposition of the barrier layer. The presence of the buffer layer within the bilayer architecture critically enhanced the encapsulation performance of the bilayer films, and this in conjunction with increasing the specific energy delivered per precursor molecule during the barrier layer deposition to a value of 20 keV, enabled an effective water vapor transmission rate as low as 6.9 × 10−4 g m−2 d−1 (at 40 °C, 90% relative humidity (RH)) to be achieved. Furthermore, the bilayer film structure has given rise to a remarkable 50% reduction in deposition energy consumption per barrier area with respect to single layer silica-like films of equivalent encapsulation performance and thickness.</p

Alirocumab therapy in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease:analysis of the ODYSSEY DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA and DM-INSULIN studies

Background Individuals with diabetes often have high levels of atherogenic lipoproteins and cholesterol reflected by elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), and LDL particle number (LDL-PN). The presence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) increases the risk of future cardiovascular events. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, alirocumab, among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), high LDL-C or non-HDL-C, and established ASCVD receiving maximally tolerated statin in ODYSSEY DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA (NCT02642159) and DM-INSULIN (NCT02585778). Methods In DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA, individuals with T2DM and mixed dyslipidemia (non-HDL-C ≥ 100 mg/dL; n = 413) were randomized to open-label alirocumab 75 mg every 2 weeks (Q2W) or usual care (UC) for 24 weeks, with UC options selected before stratified randomization. In DM-INSULIN, insulin-treated individuals with T2DM (LDL-C ≥ 70 mg/dL; n = 441) were randomized in a double-blind fashion to alirocumab 75 mg Q2W or placebo for 24 weeks. Study participants also had a glycated hemoglobin < 9% (DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA) or < 10% (DM-INSULIN). Alirocumab dose was increased to 150 mg Q2W at week 12 if week 8 LDL-C was ≥ 70 mg/dL (DM-INSULIN) or non-HDL-C was ≥ 100 mg/dL (DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA). Lipid reductions and safety were assessed in patients with ASCVD from these studies. Results This analysis included 142 DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA and 177 DM-INSULIN participants with ASCVD, including 95.1% and 86.4% with coronary heart disease, and 32.4% and 49.7% with microvascular diabetes complications, respectively. At week 24, alirocumab significantly reduced LDL-C, non-HDL-C, ApoB, and LDL-PN from baseline versus control. This translated into a greater proportion of individuals achieving non-HDL-C < 100 mg/dL (64.6% alirocumab/23.8% UC [DM-DYSLIPIDEMIA]; 65.4% alirocumab/14.9% placebo [DM-INSULIN]) and ApoB < 80 mg/dL (75.1% alirocumab/35.4% UC and 76.8% alirocumab/24.8% placebo, respectively) versus control at week 24 (all P < 0.0001). In pooling these studies, 66.4% (alirocumab) and 67.0% (control) of individuals reported treatment-emergent adverse events. The adverse event pattern was similar with alirocumab versus controls. Conclusions Among individuals with T2DM and ASCVD who had high non-HDL-C/LDL-C levels despite maximally tolerated statin, alirocumab significantly reduced atherogenic cholesterol and LDL-PN versus control. Alirocumab was generally well tolerated

Effects of feeding zilpaterol hydrochloride for twenty to forty days on carcass cutability and subprimal yield of calf-fed Holstein steers

El presente trabajo de investigación se realizó con el propósito de Determinar la relación de los estilos de aprendizaje en el rendimiento académico- área de Ingles- en estudiantes de cuarto grado de secundaria del C.P.M. "San Pedro Chanel", Sullana- Piura, 2017. Para el desarrollo de la investigación se utilizó un diseño Correlacional, No Experimental Transversal, así como una población de 1700 estudiantes del nivel secundaria y una muestra No probabilística de 36 estudiantes de cuarto grado de secundaria del aula ?B?. Para la recopilación de la información se utilizó como técnica a la encuesta y como instrumento un cuestionario con escala valorativa referido a la variable Estilos de aprendizaje y para la variables Rendimiento académico se utilizó como técnica al análisis documental y como instrumento una ficha de análisis documental. La información recopilada se registró y procesó utilizando el programa SPSS V19, a partir de lo cual se presentan los resultados en tablas, así como también se realizó el análisis correlacional a través del coeficiente de Pearson. Según los resultados obtenidos existe relación moderada entre las dimensiones estilo de aprendizaje activo y estilo de aprendizaje pragmático en el rendimiento académico en los estudiantes con un coeficiente de Pearson de (0.480 y 0.561); existe relación alta entre el estilo de aprendizaje reflexivo y el rendimiento académico en los estudiantes con un coeficiente de Pearson de (0.634) y existe relación baja entre el estilo de aprendizaje teórico y el rendimiento académico en los estudiantes con un coeficiente de Pearson de (0.382).Tesi

Empowerment/sexism: Figuring female sexual agency in contemporary advertising

This paper argues that there has been a significant shift in advertising representations of women in recent years, such that rather than being presented as passive objects of the male gaze, young women in adverts are now frequently depicted as active, independent and sexually powerful. This analysis examines contemporary constructions of female sexual agency in advertisements examining three recognizable ‘figures’: the young, heterosexually desiring ‘midriff’, the vengeful woman set on punishing her partner or ex partner for his transgressions, and the ‘hot lesbian’, almost always entwined with her beautiful Other or double. Using recent examples of adverts the paper asks how this apparent ‘agency’ and ‘empowerment’ should be understood. Drawing on accounts of the incorporation or recuperation of feminist ideas in advertising the paper takes a critical approach to these representations, examining their exclusions, their constructions of gender relations and heteronormativity, and the way power is figured within them. A feminist poststructuralist approach is used to interrogate the way in which ‘sexual agency’ becomes a form of regulation in these adverts, that requires the re-moulding of feminine subjectivity to fit the current postfeminist, neoliberal moment in which young women should not only be beautiful but sexy, sexually knowledgeable/practised and always ‘up for it’. The paper makes an original contribution to debates about representations of gender in advertising, to poststructuralist analyses about the contemporary operation of power, and to writing about female ‘sexual agency’ by suggesting that ‘voice’ or ‘agency’ may not be the solution to the ‘missing discourse of female desire' but may in fact be a technology of discipline and regulation

Self-Limiting Layer Synthesis of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

This work reports the self-limiting synthesis of an atomically thin, two dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) in the form of MoS2. The layer controllability and large area uniformity essential for electronic and optical device applications is achieved through atomic layer deposition in what is named self-limiting layer synthesis (SLS); a process in which the number of layers is determined by temperature rather than process cycles due to the chemically inactive nature of 2D MoS2. Through spectroscopic and microscopic investigation it is demonstrated that SLS is capable of producing MoS2 with a wafer-scale (similar to 10 cm) layer-number uniformity of more than 90%, which when used as the active layer in a top-gated field-effect transistor, produces an on/off ratio as high as 10(8). This process is also shown to be applicable to WSe2, with a PN diode fabricated from a MoS2/WSe2 heterostructure exhibiting gate-tunable rectifying characteristics.ope