Availability and use of electrotherapy devices: a survey

This item is published and the copyright holder of this article is the International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation © 2010 MA Healthcare Limited, http://www.ijtr.co.uk/. The article is available here with the permission of the copyright holder. Any use of the article from this site for personal use is permitted; however, if it is to be used for any other purpose, or reproduced in part or in full, the copyright holder must be contacted.Electrophysical agents such as radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (shortwave and microwave), ultrasound, laser and electrical stimulation are used for therapeutic purpose in physiotherapy departments. They are primarily used for treating a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries. This study investigated the availability and use of therapeutic diathermy, ultrasound, laser, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential equipment in 46 physiotherapy departments in NHS hospitals in the south of England, using a self-administered questionnaire. Results indicated that therapeutic ultrasound was the most commonly available and most often used modality by surveyed departments. Pulsed shortwave diathermy, interferential, and laser were available to a lesser degree and also used less often. Continuous shortwave diathermy was used rarely and only in larger departments. Microwave diathermy was not available in any of the surveyed departments. The level of non-use of equipment despite availability was highest for continuous shortwave diathermy followed by pulsed shortwave diathermy and then laser. The rare use and total non-use of some of the modalities, despite availability of equipment, may have implications for purchasers of this expensive equipment. While the findings of this study show a regional trend in NHS physiotherapy departments, this may not be generalizable to a national level.This study was funded by the Health and Safety Executive, UK, (Grant No. 4371/R47.022

Synthesis of conducting graphite-like nanometer wires via soluble precursors

Graphite - like conducting materials were encapsulated in the channels of new mesoporous MCM- 41 materials with typical channel diameters of 30-40 Ä. Acrylonitrile was introduced into the hosts via vapor transport, then polymerized with external radical initiators, K2S2O8 and HNaSOß. The polymers in the host cavities were further pyrolyzed at different temperatures under vacuum or nitrogen atmosphere. The properties of the polymer systems were studied while encapsulated or after dissolution of the host. The crystallinity of the hosts is intact after insertion of the polymer (even after pyrolysis at 800°C). The formation of conducting graphite - like materials inside the hosts was demonstrated with Raman and UV spectra. The nitrogen to carbon ratio of the pyrolyzed polymers depends on the pyrolysis temperature and the polymer environment. Most interestingly, the normalized AC absorption of pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile in MCM-41 (at 800°C) is comparable to graphite

Arendt et le procès Eichmann:La responsabilité en question

Dans le cadre d'un retour sur le procès Eichmann, l'auteur trace les destinées parallèles de ce qui en fit l'un des évènements philosophiques, politiques et juridiques les plus marquants de l'après guerre, à savoir non pas seulement le procès en soi, mais aussi et peut-être surtout l'ouvrage qu'en tira la philosophe Hannah Arendt, "Eichmann à Jérusalem", cinglant réquisitoire contre les autorités israéliennes du moment et leur incapacité à juger la "banalité du mal"

Evolution of the microstructure of cobalt during diffusionless transformation cycles

Differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study thermal fatigue due to diffusionless phase transformation cycling in pure cobalt. Thermal cycling through the allotropic (hcp ↔ fcc) transformation results in a temperature shift of the calorimetric peaks, which means a delay of the transformation. In addition, the transformation enthalpy, which is greater on heating than on cooling, diminishes when the number of transformation cycles increases. This is interpreted as being due to an evolution of the microstructure. Transmission electron microscopy shows the appearance of transformation-induced defects, which are mainly sessile dislocations. We can interpret the calorimetry results (enthalpy evolution and transformation delay) as due to the interactions between interface dislocations and these sessile dislocation

Report of the user requirements and web based access for eResearch workshops

The User Requirements and Web Based Access for eResearch Workshop, organized jointly by NeSC and NCeSS, was held on 19 May 2006. The aim was to identify lessons learned from e-Science projects that would contribute to our capacity to make Grid infrastructures and tools usable and accessible for diverse user communities. Its focus was on providing an opportunity for a pragmatic discussion between e-Science end users and tool builders in order to understand usability challenges, technological options, community-specific content and needs, and methodologies for design and development. We invited members of six UK e-Science projects and one US project, trying as far as possible to pair a user and developer from each project in order to discuss their contrasting perspectives and experiences. Three breakout group sessions covered the topics of user-developer relations, commodification, and functionality. There was also extensive post-meeting discussion, summarized here. Additional information on the workshop, including the agenda, participant list, and talk slides, can be found online at http://www.nesc.ac.uk/esi/events/685/ Reference: NeSC report UKeS-2006-07 available from http://www.nesc.ac.uk/technical_papers/UKeS-2006-07.pd

Modifications structurales et défauts ponctuels paramagnétiques induits par irradiation électronique externe de la hollandite Ba1.16Al2.32Ti5.68O16

Des matrices BaxCsy (M,Ti)8O16 (x+y<2, M cation trivalent) de type hollandite, sont envisagées pour confiner spécifiquement le césium radioactif. Afin de simuler l'effet des rayonnements b, les modifications structurales et les défauts ponctuels paramagnétiques produits par irradiation électronique externe à température proche de l'ambiante d'une hollandite de composition simplifiée sans césium Ba1,16Al2,32Ti5,68O16 ont été étudiés par RPE et RMN. Des modifications ont été observées au niveau de l'environnement des cations Al3+ et Ti4+, résultant de la formation de lacunes d'oxygène et d'une augmentation du désordre dans les tunnels associée à des déplacements d'ions baryum. Des centres à électrons (Ti3+) et à trous électroniques (O2-) ont été observés. Ceux-ci sont relativement stables à température ambiante mais des recuits (traitements isochrones entre 50 et 800°C, traitements isothermes à 300°C) engendrent la formation d'autres défauts issus des défauts précédents correspondant à des ions Ti3+ de surface de type titanyl et des agrégats d'oxygène

Nanoporous beta-PVDF membranes with selectively functionalized pores

International audiencePoly (vinylidene fluoride) ( -PVDF) nanoporous membranes are obtained by heavy ion irradiation and track etching leading to cylindrical pores. Pores diameter measured by Scanning Electron Microscopy and Small Angle Neutron Scattering lies in the 20-50nm range. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance study gives evidence that radicals still remains in PVDF membrane after track-etching. These radicals allows acrylic acid polymerization to be initiated onto membrane. So radiografted and functionalized membranes are characterized using Infrared Spectroscopy, weighing measurements and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. Finally, radiografted poly(acrylic-acid) (PAA) has been selectively labeled by fluorophores and imaged by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. Images show the localisation of PAA specifically inside nanopores

Ressources documentaires de l\u27Université de Savoie face à la dispersion des sites d\u27enseignement en économie-gestion

Esnouf, Aud

Plasmon channels in the electronic relaxation of diamond under high-order harmonics femtosecond irradiation

We used high order harmonics of a femtosecond titanium-doped sapphire system (pulse duration 25 fs) to realise Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) measurements on diamond. The UPS spectra were measured for harmonics in the range 13 to 27. We also made ab initio calculations of the electronic lifetime of conduction electrons in the energy range produced in the UPS experiment. Such calculations show that the lifetime suddenly diminishes when the conduction electron energy reaches the plasmon energy, whereas the UPS spectra show evidence in this range of a strong relaxation mechanism with an increased production of low energy secondary electrons. We propose that in this case the electronic relaxation proceeds in two steps : excitation of a plasmon by the high energy electron, the latter decaying into individual electron-hole pairs, as in the case of metals. This process is observed for the first time in an insulator and, on account of its high efficiency, should be introduced in the models of laser breakdown under high intensity