Urbanization and non-communicable disease mortality in Thailand: an ecological correlation study.

This study provides strong evidence from an LMIC that urbanization is associated with mortality from three lifestyle-associated diseases at an ecological level. Furthermore, our data suggest that both average household income and number of doctors per population are important factors to consider in ecological analyses of mortality

Effects of Foaming Agents and Calcium Carbonate on Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber Foams

Pjene od prirodnog kaučuka pripremljene su umreživanjem prirodnog kaučuka u sustavu sumpornog umreživanja pri 396 K s pomoću dvovaljčanog mlina s pjenilima: natrijev bikarbonatom (NaHCO3) ili N, N´-dinitrosopentametilen tetraminom (DNPT, C5H10N6O2), te s 0, 20, 40 i 60 phr kalcijeva karbonata (CaCO3) kao punilom. Dobivene pjene od prirodnog kaučuka su lagane, dobrih toplinskih i mehaničkih svojstava, prikladne za toplinsku izolaciju, apsorpciju energije i strukturne uporabe. Oba pjenila dodana u smjesu s prirodnim kaučukom, NaHCO3 i DNPT, razgradila su se i oslobodila plinove pri temperaturi umreživanja (umreživalištu) od 396 K, kako bi se stvorile otvorene i zatvorene stanične strukture. Dodavanje 60 phr CaCO3 čestica punila u pjene prirodnog kaučuka poboljšalo je mehanička i toplinska svojstva kako su ionski naboji Ca2+ i CO 3+ 2- proizveli veze među atomima unutar matrice pjene prirodnog kaučuka. Dobivena pjena od prirodnog kaučuka s punilom 60 phr CaCO3 i s NaHCO3 imala je nasipnu gustoću od 240,5 kg/m3, zaostalu pritisnu deformaciju od 32,60 % i toplinsku provodnost od 0,066 W/mK. Dobivena pjena od prirodnog kaučuka s punilom 60 phr CaCO3 i s DNPT imala je nasipnu gustoću od 219,0 kg/m3, zaostalu pritisnu deformaciju od 11,30 % i toplinsku provodnost od 0,070 W/mK, pri temperaturama iznad 800 °C.Natural rubber foams were prepared from the vulcanization of natural rubber in a sulfur curing system at 396 K by a two roll mill with foaming agents; sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) or N, N´-dinitrosopentamethylene tetramine (DNPT, C5H10N6O2), and with 0, 20, 40, and 60 phr calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as a fi ller. The obtained natural rubber foams are lightweight, with good thermal and mechanical properties, suitable for thermal insulation, energy absorption, and structural uses. Both foaming agents added in the natural rubber, namely NaHCO3 and DNPT, decomposed and released gases at the vulcanization temperature of 396 K to produce open and closed cell structures. Adding of 60 phr CaCO3 fi ller particles into the natural rubber foams enhanced the mechanical and thermal properties as the ionic charges Ca2+ and CO3+ 2- produced the interatomic bondings within the natural rubber foam matrix. The obtained natural rubber foam with the 60 phr CaCO3 fi ller and with NaHCO3 possessed the bulk density, compression set, and thermal conductivity of 240.5 kg/m3, 32.60%, and 0.066 W/mK, respectively. The obtained natural rubber foam with the 60 phr CaCO3 fi ller and with DNPT possessed the bulk density, compression set, and thermal conductivity of 219.0 kg/m3, 11.30%, and 0.070 W/mK, respectively, temperatures above 800°C

Lead zirconate (PbZrO3) embedded in natural rubber as electroactive elastomer composites

Perovskite lead zirconate (PbZrO3) was synthesized in an orthorhombic form at a temperature below the Curie temperature, TC. The orthorhombic form is a noncentrosymmetric structure which is capable of spontaneous polarization. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirm the successful synthesis of the lead zirconate; and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs indicate that PbZrO3 particles are moderately dispersed in the natural rubber (NR) matrix. Without an electrical field, the particles merely act as a ferroelectric filler, which can absorb and store additional stress. Under an electrical field, particle-induced dipole moments are generated, leading to interparticle interaction and a substantial increase in the storage modulus. At a small amount of lead zirconate particulates present in the natural rubber matrix, at a volume fraction of 0.007306, the electrical conductivity increases dramatically by nearly two orders of magnitude at the electrical frequency of 500 kHz

Capacity building in counseling service to staffs in primary care unit (PCU) Chonburi hospital

Thesis (M.P.H.)--Chulalongkorn University, 2006This was a study to build the capacity of PCU staff members in Muang district of Chonburi province in providing client-center counseling service by participatory learning training program. The purpose of this study to assess knowledge, attitude and skills on client-center counseling service among 22 PCU staff members working in 11 PCUs which are under the supervision of Chonburi Hospital. The study was implemented into two phases. The first phase was a workshop to provide knowledge about client-center counseling theory for three days. The secondary phase was a seven month on-the-job training program in providing counseling for hypertension patients at the PCU to continuously improve counseling skills of PCU staff. During this program, after 4 and 7 months on duty, a workshop will be organized to evaluate attitudes and skills of the staff that have undergone the on-the-job training program. And because several PCU staff members dropped off from the attitude and skill evaluation, a focus group discussion was decided to conduct with the PCU staff to evaluate achievements of this project and seek other possibilities to further develop the project in the future. The results after the 3-day intensive training, PCU staff had a higher level of knowledge of the client centered counseling at a statistical significance (p-value = .031) and the number of the staff with “good” and “very good” levels increased from 68.10% to 77.30%. The mean after the 3-day training was higher than before the training at 0.95%. The comparison of the PCU staff’s attitudes before an on-the-job training program and 4 months after the on-the-job training was found that they had more positive attitudes towards counseling and it showed a statistical significance (p-value = .000). The number of staff with “good level” of attitudes increased considerably from 22.7% to 78.9% and the mean of the attitude score after the on-the-job training increased by 7.79%. In this study the researcher cannot make any conclusion in terms of quantity on PCU staff’s client centered counseling skills at the fourth and seventh months after the on-the-job training program due to insufficient quantitative data for statistical analysis. From the result of the focus group discussion with PCU staff, they felt more self-confident and strongly believed that they could use their acquired knowledge to organize and provide counseling services for their clients after 3 day intensive training. All of PCU staff agreed that this project was useful for general populations and for themselves, monitoring and evaluation of this program at every 3 months and 6 months was quite useful as it allowed them to learn continuously from resource persons and made them feel more confident in providing counseling services. However, some PCU staff members suggested the intensive training program should have included a session for them to practice giving counseling to actual clients

Gelatine microbubble as bioactive porogen in calcium phosphate cement

The objective of this study was to prepare instant macroporous calcium phosphate cement (CPC) with enhanced degradation rate and improved initial cell adhesion by simply incorporating lab-made gelatine microbubble (Gel MB) as dry porogen into the cement. From the study, it was found that viscosity of the cement paste was a key parameter to produce small or large macropores in the cements. Pore size was also determined by microbubble size, which was originally controlled by gelatine concentration in a bubble fabrication process. CPC with high porosity (60%) and acceptable cement setting time could be obtained from the study by incorporating 10 wt.% gelatine into the cement. Greater number of MC3T3-cells were found on the surface of the Gel MB loaded CPCs. The increase of initial cell adhesion may be attributed to protein molecules adhered on the cement surface and increase of surface roughness after porogen disintegration. In sum, a one-step composite cement paste production, proposed in the study, may be applicable for fabricating rapid macropores in CPCs with improved cell adhesion for bone tissue engineering applications.</jats:p

Effect of Heat Treatment on Mechanical and Setting Properties of TTCP-Based Calcium Phosphate Cement

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of heat treatment on setting reaction and mechanical properties of tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) and dicalcium phosphase (DCP)-based calcium phosphate cements. CPC pastes were prepared at room temperature and heated at different temperatures (from 37 to 60°C) for 10 min. Then, the preheated CPC pastes were rapidly cooled down to room temperature before further heated at 37°C until they set. Three different CPC formulations prepared from different particle sizes of TTCPs were used for the investigation. From the study, it was found that preheating could accelerate setting reaction for all CPCs according to increasing speed of hydroxyapatite (HA) conversion. The higher the preheating temperature, the faster the cements could set. However, at preheating temperature higher than 60°C longer cement setting times were observed. It may be that at high temperature some liquid content in the CPC paste evaporated, resulting in slow setting reaction rate. Compressive strengths of the cements after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7 days increased as a result of an increase of HA conversion.</jats:p