Relationship between functional status and the capacity to regulate behavior among elderly persons following hip fracture.

Objective: To assess the relationship between behavioral self-regulation and functional status among older rehabilitation inpatients. Study Design: Prospective outcome study. Setting: Fourteen inpatient rehabilitation units and skilled nursing facilities. Participants: Two hundred twelve older adults following hip fracture or replacement. Measures: Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale, Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale (BDS), and nurse-rated functioning on activities of daily living (ADLs) and the Barthel Index. Results: Risk-adjusted analyses found the BDS to be strongly associated with all 11 ADLs and the Barthel Index. The MMSE made an additional contribution to 4 models. Conclusion: The results suggest that the ability to use intentions to guide purposeful behavior is an important contributor to functioning among older adults, affecting rehabilitation potential. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing a computer workshop to facilitate computer skills and minimize anxiety for early childhood educators.

Early childhood educators (n=133) were assigned to 1 of 3 instructional conditions (direct, guided discovery, or no-exposure control) to assess the impact of computer workshops on their level of computer anxiety, computer knowledge, and comfort with computer technology. Groups were matched for computer experience and anxiety, early childhood education (ECE) experience, and ECE center. The direct and guided discovery groups attended a 3-hr hands-on workshop covering hardware, software, and Internet material. Immediately after the workshops, computer anxiety was lower and comfort with computer technology increased. Six months later, the control group had reduced computer anxiety, but the other groups maintained greater knowledge and comfort. Direct instruction reduced computer anxiety slightly but did not promote the acquisition of information of the guided condition. Overall, workshops provided gains that could translate into more effective and efficient computer use in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Study of oxidation after monoacrylate grafting on polyethylene

BACKGROUND: The surface properties of high‐density polyethylene and linear low‐density polyethylene were modified by grafting urethane monoacrylate monomer under UV irradiation. This graft polymerization was carried out on native substrates and on substrates pre‐treated by wet oxidation, for different oxidation times. RESULTS: As the urethane monacrylate layer is crosslinked, its grafting efficiency was checked by dissolving the polyethylene substrates in hot toluene. Grafting was evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of the obtained residues, which showed that both the characteristic urethane acrylate (3350 cm^?1) and polyethylene (2920, 730 and 720 cm^?1) bands were observable for any polyethylene oxidation time. For an oxidation time longer than 10 hours, acrylate grafting was homogeneous and the grafted surface was smooth with a roughness of less than 10 nm. In addition, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the residues revealed that O/C had an average value of 0.19, which is lower than the value corresponding to pure acrylate (0.42), whereas N/C had an average value of 0.068, also lower than that of pure acrylate (0.09), thus confirming the grafting. CONCLUSION: A urethane monoacrylate layer was grafted on native and oxidized polyethylene films. For highly oxidized films, the grafted surfaces are smooth and homogeneous. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Factor structure of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic Whites.

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess whether Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) scores represent the same underlying construct in randomly selected non-Hispanic White (n?=?1,149), U.S.-born Mexican-American (n?=?538), and Mexico-born Mexican-American (n?=?706) community residents. The factor structure identified in previous studies (e.g., V. A. Clark et al, 1981) fit the data well. Although the factor structure was not statistically identical across ethnic and immigration groups, factor loadings were substantively similar in the 3 groups. The exception was sleep disturbance, which loaded primarily on a Somatic factor for U.S.-born Mexican Americans, primarily on a Negative Affect factor for the Mexico-born, and about equally on these factors for non-Hispanic Whites. The results indicate high (but imperfect) conceptual equivalence of the CES-D in these cultural groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A software tool for research in linguistics and lexicography: Application to Somali

General-purpose database management systems, whose structure is built in, are not an appropriate solution to situations where problems of translation or areas of research cannot be bounded in advance, for example, when lexicography and linguistic research are closely related. Consequently, an original system has been developed, and is being applied to linguistic and lexicographical data on the Somali language.Jacqueline Lecarme has a master's degree in Lettres Classiques (University of Grenoble, 1969) and a Ph.D. in linguistics (University of Montreal, 1978). Carole Maury has a master's degree and a doctorate in computer science (University of Nice, 1986).     

Cultural perspectives on contraceptive technology

The cultural setting in which people live influences how they view contraceptives and, ultimately, what method—if any—they decide to use. While a method's effectiveness, safety and convenience always are important to users, these attributes and others may be viewed differently by different groups. If specific attributes are viewed negatively, method acceptability and use will be low. It is imperative that organizations conducting contraceptive research and development take cultural factors into account so that they can design methods that will have broad appeal. Family planning programs and other groups working to introduce and adapt contraceptive methods to specific populations also need to take cultural factors into account in order to develop the most appropriate distribution channels, publicity campaigns, and educational materials. Agencies and programs working to make methods more culturally appropriate must obtain ethnographic data on how people perceive family planning, and integrate this information into their plans.     

Eating characteristics of Chilean indigenous and non-indigenous adolescent girls

During childhood and adolescence, eating habits become established which are instrumental in determining eating behavior later in life. Various authors have described the acculturation of the Mapuche people toward Western culture. The objective of this study was to analyze the eating characteristics of indigenous and non-indigenous adolescent girls in the Araucania Region of Chile. A cross-sectional design was used with a probabilistic sample of 281 adolescents comprised of 139 indigenous and 142 non-indigenous girls attending 168 elementary schools. A modified food frequency questionnaire was applied, designed to obtain information about eating habits and consumption of Mapuche foods. The eating schedules are similar in both ethnic groups, with dinner being the meal that is least consumed. Total snack consumption per week has a mean of 7 with an interquartile range (IQR) of 5 to 10 without any differences between ethnic groups; of these snacks, only 2 were healthy (IQR = 1 to 3). The indigenous girls had a higher probability of consumption of native foods including mote (boiled wheat) (OR = 2.00; IC = 0.93-4.29), muday (fermented cereal alcohol) (OR = 3.45; IC = 1.90-6.27), and yuyo (field mustard) (OR = 4.40; IC = 2.06-9.39). The study's conclusion is that the the eating habits and behavior of indigenous adolescents are similar to those of non-indigenous girls, though the former still consume more indigenous foods.     

Large‐Area Fabrication of Periodic Arrays of Nanoholes in Metal Films and Their Application in Biosensing and Plasmonic‐Enhanced Photovoltaics

Plasmonics is a fast developing research area with a great potential for practical applications. However, the implementation of plasmonic devices requires low cost methodologies for the fabrication of organized metallic nanostructures that covers a relative large area (～1 cm²). Here the patterning of periodic arrays of nanoholes (PANHs) in gold films by using a combination of interference lithography, metal deposition, and lift off is reported. The setup allows the fabrication of periodic nanostructures with hole diameters ranging from 110 to 1000 nm, for 450 and 1800 nm of periodicity, respectively. The large areas plasmonic substrates consist of 2 cm × 2 cm gold films homogeneously covered by nanoholes and gold films patterned with a regular microarray of 200 μm diameter circular patches of PANHs. The microarray format is used for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging and its potential for applications in multiplex biosensing is demonstrated. The gold films homogeneously covered by nanoholes are useful as electrodes in a thin layer organic photovoltaic. This is first example of a large area plasmonic solar cell with organized nanostructures. The fabrication approach reported here is a good candidate for the industrial‐scale production of metallic substrates for plasmonic applications in photovoltaics and biosensing.     

Permeability of low molecular weight organics through nanofiltration membranes

The removal of natural organic matter (NOM) using nanofiltration (NF) is increasingly becoming an option for drinking water treatment. Low molecular weight (LMW) organic compounds are nevertheless only partially retained by such membranes. Bacterial regrowth and biofilm formation in the drinking water distribution system is favoured by the presence of such compounds, which in this context are considered as the assimilable organic carbon (AOC). In this study, the question of whether NF produces microbiologically stable water was addressed. Two NF membranes (cut-off of about 300 Da) were tested with different natural and synthetic water samples in a cross-flow filtration unit. NOM was characterised by liquid chromatography with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD) using a size-exclusion column in addition to specific organic acid measurements, while AOC was measured in a batch growth bioassay.Similarly to high molecular weight organic compounds like polysaccharides or humic substances that have a permeability lower than 1%, charged LMW organic compounds were efficiently retained by the NF membranes tested and showed a permeability lower than 3%. However, LMW neutrals and hydrophobic organic compounds permeate to a higher extent through the membranes and have a permeability of up to 6% and 12%, respectively. Furthermore, AOC was poorly retained by NF and the apparent AOC concentration measured in the permeated water was above the proposed limit for microbiologically stable water. This indicates that the drinking water produced by NF might be biologically unstable in the distribution system. Nevertheless, in comparison with the raw water, NF significantly reduced the AOC concentration.