Which older women could benefit from interventions to decrease sitting time and increase physical activity? [Letter to the Editor]

In addition to the well-known health risks associated with lack of physical activity (PA), evidence is emerging about the health risks of sedentary behaviour (sitting). Research about patterns and correlates of sitting and PA in older women is scarce. METHODS: Self-report data from 6,116 women aged 76-81 years were collected as part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Woman’s Health. Linear regression models were computed to examine whether demographic, social and health factors were associated with sitting and PA. RESULTS: Women who did no PA sat more than women who did any PA (p<0.001). Seven correlates were associated with sitting and PA (p<0.05). Five of these were associated with more sitting and less PA: three health-related (BMI, chronic conditions, anxiety/depression) and two social correlates (caring duties, volunteering). One demographic (being from another English-speaking country) and one social correlate (more social interaction) were associated with more sitting and more PA. Four correlates, two demographic (living in a city; post-high school education), one social (being single), and one health-related correlate (dizziness/loss of balance) were associated with more sitting only. Two other health-related correlates (stiff/painful joints; feet problems) were associated with less PA only. CONCLUSION: Sedentary behaviour and PA are distinct behaviours in older Australian women. Information about the correlates of both behaviours can be used to identify population groups who might benefit from interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour and/or increase PA

The impact of child life non-pharmacologic pain interventions on pediatric patient\u27s pain perception in the emergency department

The purpose of this current study is to examine the impact of non-pharmacologic pain interventions administered by trained Child Life professionals in an emergency department on pain perception in children. Results showed no significant decrease in children\u27s pain report during the medical procedure compared to before the medical procedure. However, pain after the medical procedure is significantly less than pain during the medical procedure

Metallic membranes for N2 separation & post-combustion CO2 capture improvement

Carbon (CO2) capture represents an important role in the reduction greenhouse gas emissions. Among various CO2 capture technologies currently investigated, post-combustion capture allows for the retrofitting of existing plants and industrial units. Today, the amine scrubbing is considered the most competitive method for CO2 removal in the flue gases from power plants in comparison to other technologies. Nevertheless, recent work has shown that the energy requirement for solvent recovery can decrease the overall efficiency of the power plants up to 16%1. Moreover, additional costs may occur in the solvent absorption technology because of solvent disposal and its continuous replacement due to chemical deterioration. In contrast, membrane systems usually do not require additional chemicals or solvents. In addition, membranes offer higher energy efficiencies, greater operational flexibility as well as simplicity of operation and maintenance. Polymeric membrane operations are currently being explored for CO2 capture in power plants. However, some issues still remain regarding the scalability and reliability of the polymeric materials under real operating conditions where the temperature is often too high for polymer stability. Metallic membranes, by contrast, usually require high temperature for operation and may be more beneficial in saving energy under high temperature conditions. In particular, their use for N2 removal from coal-fired flue gases located nearby the boiler exit may result in increased concentrations of CO2 and pollutants with a significant reduced gas volume in the downstream, allowing for traditional emissions controls to perform more efficiently and, consequently, lowering the overall energy consumption and capital and operating costs. Therefore, the aim of this work is to explore the potentiality of N2-selective metallic membranes for post-combustion CO2 capture. In particular, the effect of different temperature and pressure conditions as well as the effect of different gas exposure on membrane performance, in terms of N2 permeating flux and ideal selectivity of N2 with respect to other gas is studied and analyzed. Moreover, scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron microprobe analyzer (EMPA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses are used for investigating the effect of the different operating conditions on the membrane surface. Based on a preliminary theoretical investigation using density functional theory, the Group V transition metals (e.g., vanadium (V), niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta)) show strong affinity toward N2. Therefore, these metals are chosen as membrane materials in this study. Pure V, Nb, and Ta foils with a thickness of 40 μm are used. Dp [kPa] 200 300 400 500 N2 Permeance [mol/s·m2·kPa] 3.23·10-8 2.85·10-8 2.78·10-8 2.55·10-8 Permeation tests with pure gases (He, N2 and CO2) are performed to characterize the membranes in terms of N2 permeating flux and ideal selectivity at different temperature and pressure, which are varied from 400 to 600 °C and from 2.0 to 6 bar, respectively. Nb test results are only shown as a particular example in this abstract. In Table 1, the N2 permeances as a function of Δp are reported. The Nb membrane showed complete selectivity towards N2 permeation at 400 °C and trans-membrane pressure (Dp) greater than 3.0 bar. At lower pressure, no N2 permeating flux through the membrane is detected. The Nb membrane is completely destroyed when the temperature is increased up to 500 °C. EMPA analysis on this membrane showed the presence of oxygen on the surface, as illustrated in Figure 1. Among the metallic membranes used in this study, V membrane showed better performance in terms of N2 permeating flux and long-term stability. Therefore, the future study will be focused on the synthesis and analysis of V alloys in order to enhance the N2 permeance and improve the resistant of membrane towards oxidation

Baryon magnetic moments in the background field method

We present a calculation of the magnetic moments for the baryon octet and decuplet using the background-field method and standard Wilson gauge and fermion actions in the quenched approximation of lattice QCD. Progressively smaller static magnetic fields are introduced on a $24^4$ lattice at beta=6.0 and the pion mass is probed down to about 500 MeV. Magnetic moments are extracted from the linear response of the masses to the background field.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Magnetic polarizability of hadrons from lattice QCD in the background field method

We present a calculation of hadron magnetic polarizability using the techniques of lattice QCD. This is carried out by introducing a uniform external magnetic field on the lattice and measuring the quadratic part of a hadron's mass shift. The calculation is performed on a $24^4$ lattice with standard Wilson actions at beta=6.0 (spacing $a=0.1$ fm) and pion mass down to about 500 MeV. Results are obtained for 30 particles covering the entire baryon octet ($n$, $p$, $\Sigma^0$, $\Sigma^-$, $\Sigma^+$, $\Xi^-$, $\Xi^0$, $\Lambda$) and decuplet ($\Delta^0$, $\Delta^-$, $\Delta^+$, $\Delta^{++}$, $\Sigma^{*0}$, $\Sigma^{*-}$, $\Sigma^{*+}$, $\Xi^{*0}$, $\Xi^{*-}$, $\Omega^-$), plus selected mesons ($\pi^0$, $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $K^0$, $K^+$, ${K}^-$, $\rho^0$, $\rho^+$, $\rho^-$, $K^{*0}$, $K^{*+}$, $K^{*-}$). The results are compared with available values from experiments and other theoretical calculations.Comment: 30 pages, 23 figures, 5 table

Electric Polarizability of Neutral Hadrons from Lattice QCD

By simulating a uniform electric field on a lattice and measuring the change in the rest mass, we calculate the electric polarizability of neutral mesons and baryons using the methods of quenched lattice QCD. Specifically, we measure the electric polarizability coefficient from the quadratic response to the electric field for 10 particles: the vector mesons $\rho^0$ and $K^{*0}$; the octet baryons n, $\Sigma^0$, $\Lambda_{o}^{0}$, $\Lambda_{s}^{0}$, and $\Xi^0$; and the decouplet baryons $\Delta^0$, $\Sigma^{*0}$, and $\Xi^{*0}$. Independent calculations using two fermion actions were done for consistency and comparison purposes. One calculation uses Wilson fermions with a lattice spacing of $a=0.10$fm. The other uses tadpole improved L\"usher-Weiss gauge fields and clover quark action with a lattice spacing $a=0.17$fm. Our results for neutron electric polarizability are compared to experiment.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figure

Magnetic moments of vector, axial, and tensor mesons in lattice QCD

We present a calculation of magnetic moments for selected spin-1 mesons using the techniques of lattice QCD. This is carried out by introducing progressively small static magnetic field on the lattice and measuring the linear response of a hadron's mass shift. The calculations are done on $24^4$ quenched lattices using standard Wilson actions, with $\beta$=6.0 and pion mass down to 500 MeV. The results are compared to those from the form factor method where available.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

Baryon magnetic moments in the external field method

We present a calculation of the magnetic moments of the baryon octet and decuplet using the external field method and standard Wilson gauge and fermion actions in the quenched approximation. Progressively smaller static magnetic fields are introduced on a $24^4$ latticeat beta=6.0 and the pion mass is probed down to about 500 MeV. Magnetic moments are extracted from the linear response of the masses to the external field.Comment: Lattice2004 (weak matrix elements), 3 pages, 8 figure

Investigation of spiral blood flow in a model of arterial stenosis

The spiral component of blood flow has both beneficial and detrimental effects in human circulatory system [Stonebridge PA, Brophy CM. Spiral laminar flow in arteries? Lancet 1991; 338: 1360–1]. We investigate the effects of the spiral blood flow in a model of three-dimensional arterial stenosis with a 75% cross-sectional area reduction at the centre by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. The standard &#954;–&#969; model is employed for simulation of the blood flow for the Reynolds number of 500 and 1000. We find that for Re = 500 the spiral component of the blood flow increases both the total pressure and velocity of the blood, and some significant differences are found between the wall shear stresses of the spiral and non-spiral induced flow downstream of the stenosis. The turbulent kinetic energy is reduced by the spiral flow as it induces the rotational stabilities in the forward flow. For Re = 1000 the tangential component of the blood velocity is most influenced by the spiral speed, but the effect of the spiral flow on the centreline turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress is mild. The results of the effects of the spiral flow are discussed in the paper along with the relevant pathological issues