Risk factors of falls among elderly living in Urban Suez - Egypt

Introduction: Falling is one of the most common geriatric syndromes threatening the independence of older persons. Falls result from a complex and interactive mix of biological or medical, behavioral and environmental factors, many of which are preventable. Studying these diverse risk factors would aid early detection and management of them at the primary care level. Methods: This is a cross sectional study about risk factors of falls was conducted to 340 elders in Urban Suez. Those are all patients over 60 who attended two family practice centers in Urban Suez. Results: When asked about falling during the past 12 months, 205 elders recalled at least one incident of falling. Of them, 36% had their falls outdoors and 24% mentioned that stairs was the most prevalent site for indoor falls. Falls were also reported more among dependant than independent elderly. Using univariate regression analysis, almost all tested risk factors were significantly associated with falls in the studied population. These risk factors include: living alone, having chronic diseases, using medications, having a physical deficit, being in active, and having a high nutritional risk. However, the multivariate regression analysis proved that the strongest risk factors are low level of physical activity with OR 0.6 and P value 0.03, using a cane or walker (OR 1.69 and P value 0.001) and Impairment of daily living activities (OR 1.7 and P value 0.001). Conclusion: Although falls is a serious problem among elderly with many consequences, it has many preventable risk factors. Health care providers should advice people to remain active and more research is needed in such an important area of Family Practice.Pan African Medical Journal 2013; 14:2

Microfabrication of net shape zirconia/alumina nanocomposite micro parts

Recently, there are growing demands in manufacturing of net shape micro parts for wide range of applications due to the increasing interest in miniaturization. In this paper, the fabrication of tetragonal phase zirconia/alumina (YSZ/Al2O3) nanocomposite micro-parts with high quality is presented. The fabrication process is based on soft lithography and colloidal powder dispersion. Experimental results showed that by optimizing the soft lithography and the dispersion process, it was possible to produce high-resolution micro-parts with well dispersed alumina. The X-ray diffraction results had confirmed the important role of the alumina particles in eliminating the emergence of monoclinic phase while the microstructures reveal a pure tetragonal phase. In addition, the sintered YSZ/Al2O3 micro parts achieved micro hardness with 20% superior to the pure YSZ sintered micro-parts with the addition of 5% alumina

Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and Fe(III) complexes of 4-((3-formyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)diazenyl)-N-(4-methyloxazol-2-yl) benzenesulfonamide

The sulfonamide derivative, 4-((3-formyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)diazenyl)-N-(4-methyloxazol-2-yl) benzenesulfonamide (FDMB), was synthesized and characterized. Additionally, its Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Mn(II) and Fe(III) complexes were prepared and their structures were investigated by elemental analysis, thermal analysis and (IR, electronic and EPR) spectroscopy. The mode of binding indicates that the ligand binds to the metal ion through carbonyl oxygen and OH phenolic with displacement of its proton. The Co(II) complex was applied for the hydrolysis of nerve agent-like compound, bis-(p-nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP). The results showed a significant rate enhancement of 2.5 million fold with respect to the auto-hydrolysis of BNPP under the same conditions

Designing Lightweight 3D-Printable Bioinspired Structures for Enhanced Compression and Energy Absorption Properties

Recent progress in additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has offered several bene-fits, including high geometrical freedom and the ability to create bioinspired structures with intri-cate details. Mantis shrimp can scrape the shells of prey molluscs with its hammer-shaped stick, while beetles have highly adapted forewings that are lightweight, tough, and strong. This paper introduces a design approach for bioinspired lattice structures by mimicking the internal micro-structures of a beetle’s forewing, a mantis shrimp’s shell, and a mantis shrimp’s dactyl club, with improved mechanical properties. Finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental characterisation of 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) samples with bioinspired structures were performed to deter-mine their compression and impact properties. The results showed that designing a bioinspired lattice with unit cells parallel to the load direction improved quasi-static compressive perfor-mance, among other lattice structures. The gyroid honeycomb lattice design of the insect forewings and mantis shrimp dactyl clubs outperformed the gyroid honeycomb design of the mantis shrimp shell, with improvements in ultimate mechanical strength, Young’s modulus, and drop weight impact. On the other hand, hybrid designs created by merging two different designs reduced bend-ing deformation to control collapse during drop weight impact. This work holds promise for the development of bioinspired lattices employing designs with improved properties, which can have potential implications for lightweight high-performance applications

Designing Lightweight 3D-Printable Bioinspired Structures for Enhanced Compression and Energy Absorption Properties

Recent progress in additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, has offered several bene-fits, including high geometrical freedom and the ability to create bioinspired structures with intri-cate details. Mantis shrimp can scrape the shells of prey molluscs with its hammer-shaped stick, while beetles have highly adapted forewings that are lightweight, tough, and strong. This paper introduces a design approach for bioinspired lattice structures by mimicking the internal micro-structures of a beetle’s forewing, a mantis shrimp’s shell, and a mantis shrimp’s dactyl club, with improved mechanical properties. Finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental characterisation of 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) samples with bioinspired structures were performed to deter-mine their compression and impact properties. The results showed that designing a bioinspired lattice with unit cells parallel to the load direction improved quasi-static compressive perfor-mance, among other lattice structures. The gyroid honeycomb lattice design of the insect forewings and mantis shrimp dactyl clubs outperformed the gyroid honeycomb design of the mantis shrimp shell, with improvements in ultimate mechanical strength, Young’s modulus, and drop weight impact. On the other hand, hybrid designs created by merging two different designs reduced bend-ing deformation to control collapse during drop weight impact. This work holds promise for the development of bioinspired lattices employing designs with improved properties, which can have potential implications for lightweight high-performance applications