Image processing for safety assessment in Civil Engineering

Behaviour analysis of construction safety systems is of fundamental importance to avoid accidental injuries. Traditionally, measurements of dynamic actions in Civil Engineering have been done through accelerometers, but high-speed cameras and image processing techniques can play an important role in this area. Here, we propose using morphological image filtering and Hough transform on high-speed video sequence as tools for dynamic measurements on that field. The presented method is applied to obtain the trajectory and acceleration of a cylindrical ballast falling from a building and trapped by a thread net. Results show that safety recommendations given in construction codes can be potentially dangerous for workers.

Plantas atípicas de Cymbalaria aequitriloba (Viv.) A.Chev. cultivadas en la comarca del Matarraña (Teruel)

Cymbalaria aequitriloba (Viv.) A.Chev., es una planta endémica del área Tirrénica (Sicilia, Córcega, Cerdeña y algunos puntos de Italia peninsular), que también alcanza las Islas Baleares. Ha sido encontrada en Torre de Arcas (Teruel) como una planta cultivada o accidental, presente en jardineras de floración invernal, constituyendo un elemento muy particular de la jardinería popular del Matarraña aragonés. Que sepamos, es la primera vez que se cita esta especie en España peninsular. Presenta una gran variabilidad morfológica lo que dificulta su identificación, no obstante es fácilmente diferenciable de C. muralis, la especie más cultivada en la zona. En esta región, tienen por costumbre remover la tierra tras la floración pues la planta pierde belleza, luego vuelve a aparecer en la siguiente estación por renuevo vegetativo o algunas plantas de semilla, motivo que no nos ha permitido estudiar plantas en fructificación. Todo Aragón, pero especialmente el Matarraña, tuvieron estrechos lazos comerciales con Italia durante el s. XIV-XV (principalmente exportando la lana), hecho que pudo favorecer el intercambio de materiales vegetales, como ya se ha podido constatar previamente con otras plantas similares.

Valores de referencia españoles para la versión reducida de la Escala de Autoeficacia para la Lactancia Materna BSES-SF

Fundamento. Describir los valores de referencia para la versión española de la Escala de Autoeficacia para la Lactancia Materna en su versión reducida (BSES-SF), considerando las diferencias según la experiencia previa en lactancia y la paridad. Metodología. Estudio transversal realizado en cinco hospitales de Alicante y uno de la Región de Murcia, con una muestra accidental de 949 mujeres que ofrecieron lactancia materna en el posparto, sin problemas médicos, propios o del recién nacido, que dificultaran la lactancia. Se obtuvieron datos sociodemográficos, obstétricos y sobre autoeficacia materna para la lactancia mediante la escala BSES-SF. Se calcularon datos de tendencia central, dispersión y percentiles de las puntuaciones de la escala BSES-SF para generar valores de referencia para toda la muestra y según la paridad y experiencia previa. Resultados. El nivel de autoeficacia fue significativamente menor (p<0,001) entre las mujeres primíparas (media =47,67±11,03) o sin experiencia previa (media =47,30±11,18) que entre las multíparas (media =52,87±10,66) o con experiencia anterior (media =53,93±9,93). La puntuación de los percentiles P25 y P75 de la escala BSES-SF fue, respectivamente, para toda la muestra de 42 y 59; para las mujeres sin hijos o sin experiencia previos de 39 y 56; para madres con hijos de 46 y 61; y para las madres con experiencia previa de 47 y 62. Conclusión. Los percentiles específicos obtenidos, según la paridad o la experiencia previa, pueden considerarse como valores de referencia para comparar el nivel de autoeficacia de un caso dado, evaluar intervenciones educativas y planificar intervenciones de apoyo durante el posparto.

Hábitos alimenticios en alumnos y trabajadores de la Universidad Miguel Hernández

Objetivo: Describir los hábitos alimenticios de una comunidad universitaria. Material y métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo transversal. El instrumento utilizado fue un cuestionario de frecuencias de consumo, administrado por entrevista personal a una muestra accidental de 147 personas. Constaba de cuatro secciones: 1) número de comidas y lugar donde se realizan, 2) patrones de consumo de los distintos grupos de alimentos, 3) modos de preparación de los alimentos, 4) datos de identificación y demográficos. Resultados: En comparación con el patrón de Vivanco y Palacios, nuestra muestra se caracteriza por: alto consumo de carnes (4 veces/semana), disminución del consumo de huevos (2v/sem.), incremento del consumo de hidratos de carbono complejos (5v/sem.), consumo ligeramente inferior de frutas (5v/sem.), ingesta insuficiente de verduras (4v/sem), legumbres (2v/sem) y pescados (2,5v/sem). Conclusiones y Recomendaciones: Atendiendo a los estudios referenciados, es conveniente disminuir el consumo de carnes, aumentando los aportes de pescados, verduras, hortalizas y legumbres, alimentos que, habiendo sido habituales en nuestra dieta mediterránea, parecen haber sido abandonados en beneficio de la conformación de una dieta que tiende a la homogeneización cultural.

Estudio descriptivo de los hábitos alimenticios y del consumo de alcohol en una muestra de estudiantes de la Universidad de Alicante

Objetivo. Describir la frecuencia de consumo de determinados alimentos y bebidas alcohólicas en una muestra de estudiantes de la Universidad de Alicante. Material y métodos. El instrumento utilizado para la recogida de datos fue un cuestionario de frecuencias de consumo, aplicado mediante entrevista personal a una muestra accidental de 1250 personas, (692 mujeres y 488 hombres), con un rango de edad de 17-40 años. Constaba de cuatro secciones: 1ª) número de comidas y lugar donde se realizan; 2ª) patrones de consumo de los distintos grupos de alimentos; 3ª) patrones de consumo de bebidas alcohólicas, diferenciando lo bebido de lunes a jueves y de viernes a domingo; y 4ª) datos de identificación y demográficos. Resultados. Los datos obtenidos coinciden con los expuestos por otros autores, y muestran que nuestro modelo alimentario se caracteriza por un alto consumo de carnes (=4 veces/semana), adecuada ingesta de huevos (=2,5 v/sem.) e hidratos de carbono complejos (arroz y pastas =4,2 v/sem.), consumo ligeramente inferior al recomendado de frutas (=5,3 v/sem.) e insuficiente de legumbres (=2,2 v:/sem.), verduras y hortalizas frescas (=3,9 v/sem.), y pescados (=2 v/sem.). El consumo de bebidas alcohólicas fue: 2,6 vasos/semana de cerveza, 2,1 v/sem. de combinados, 1,2 v/sem. de licores y 0,8 v/sem. de vino. Los porcentajes de consumidores fueron para la cerveza del 51,1 %, para los combinados del 61,4%, para los licores del 40,9%, y para el vino 18,7%. Los datos señalan que los hombres consumen más bebidas alcohólicas que las mujeres (t=7,79 p<0,001) y que quienes empiezan antes a consumirlas son quienes en mayor cantidad lo hacen (t=-3,17 p<0,001). Conclusiones. Pese a la diferencia existente entre medias de edad y nivel cultural, existe una similitud entre los datos obtenidos en este estudio y el realizado sobre la población de la ciudad de Alicante. Las encuestas alimentarias y de consumo de alcohol realizadas en España son escasas y con diversa metodología, lo que dificulta la comparación de los resultados obtenidos con otros estudios previos.

Usando la Web 2.0 en la distribución de puestos de prácticas en Enfermería: proyecto piloto

Las prácticas clínicas de Enfermería, son un elemento fundamental para el proceso de enseñanza – aprendizaje de los estudiantes de Grado en Enfermería. En estos entornos, los estudiantes toman contacto con su futura profesión aplicando los conocimientos teóricos y desarrollando habilidades para la prestación de cuidados a los pacientes. En este trabajo de investigación acción, se describen y aportan resultados de las dos etapas determinadas en este estudio piloto. En primer lugar, se estudia y analiza la opinión de una muestra accidental de estudiantes del grado en Enfermería sobre la organización y distribución de puestos de prácticas en este momento, empleando como instrumento un cuestionario de 15 ítems. Posteriormente y tras el análisis de los datos obtenidos en la fase previa, se decide diseñar y aplicar un instrumento basado en la Web 2.0 y se formula un protocolo en el que la elección de las unidades de prácticas las realiza la estudiante o el estudiante, siguiendo los pasos establecidos.

Journal of College Disorders, 1788-1797

This journal contains entries about various student "disorders" which occurred during Eliphalet Pearson’s tenure at Harvard. Daily entries describe a wide range of students’ rebellious conduct, which included: hissing at speakers in chapel, throwing snowballs and stones at College buildings and people (including tutors and then-President Joseph Willard), disrupting lectures by scraping chairs and feet, breaking windows, intoxication, moving and breaking furniture, stealing firewood, firing pistols, building bonfires, stealing supplies (food, cider and candles), throwing food and utensils during meals, stealing Bibles, wearing hats indoors, filling door locks with stones, drawing on lecture room walls with gravel, and silencing the morning chapel bell by filling it with molten pewter plates (stolen from the kitchen). There are also entries pertaining to more malicious offenses, including the drowning of a dog in a well. Several entries describe meetings of the College government to determine the appropriate punishments for each offense. Students were often fined, expelled, or suspended ("rusticated") for their unruly behavior.

Commonplace book of Moses Appleton, 1791-1815 (inclusive)

Volume containing medicinal recipes, medical notes, poetry, and obituaries written by Dr. Moses Appleton (1773-1849). Many of the recipes were copied from medical texts or other publications. His "cure for the dropsy," taken from the New York Herald, contained stale cider, parsley, horseradish, oxymel squills (sea onion in honey), and juniper berries. For diarrhea, he prescribed a blackberry syrup. Several entries indicate Appleton practiced Thomsonian medicine, an alternative system based on use of botanicals. The medical notes include an account of his treatment of a man with smallpox in 1815, and entries on patients he inoculated with cowpox matter. Another entry dated in 1796 provides instructions from the Massachusetts Humane Society for "treatment to be used with persons apparently dead from drowning," which included blowing tobacco smoke in the victim's lungs and applying warm blankets for several hours. Appleton adds a note questioning whether or not the lungs also should be "often artificially inflated." There is additionally a history of prominent physicians dating from ancient Greece.

Boston, Massachusetts Region, Digital Elevation Model with Bathymetry

This raster layer represents surface elevation and bathymetry data for the Boston Region, Massachusetts. It was created by merging portions of MassGIS Digital Elevation Model 1:5,000 (2005) data with NOAA Estuarine Bathymetric Digital Elevation Models (30 m.) (1998). DEM data was derived from the digital terrain models that were produced as part of the MassGIS 1:5,000 Black and White Digital Orthophoto imagery project. Cellsize is 5 meters by 5 meters. Each cell has a floating point value, in meters, which represents its elevation above or below sea level.

Aristotelian predicables, universality and realism: the logic of comparison in topics as denying the view that Aristotle was a realist

Aristotle is reportedly held to have been a Moderate Realist in that he would maintain that a concept derives from an act of grasping a mind-independent universal object that exists somehow inside of the many different things which the concept is predicated of. As far as a universal is independent of mind, it would stand for the proper object of a concept that subsumes a given number of things as its own instantiations. But we claim that Aristotle rejected such a view and instead did perceive and comprehend universality as a feature of thought rather than as a feature of reality in its own right. As showed in the chapters of Topics regarding the so-called logic of comparison (with the support of Albert the Great’s commentary), each predicate can be more or less consistent with the attribute of the subject of which it may be predicated. Both essential and accidental attributes assume a definite degree of being related to the degree of belonging to substance. Unlike particular things, the universality of a concept is to be understood always in comparison with another concept according to a hierarchy of predicates in terms of universality degree arranged by comparative terms such as ‘more’, ‘less’, and ‘likewise’. What is really mind-independent are the truth conditions which make a universal true when exclusively referring to a set of things identically meant by the same predicate whose universality is given by the place occupied in the hierarchy of predicates.

Dependência no autocuidado dos idosos residentes em lar

O autocuidado é indispensável à conservação da vida e resulta do crescimento diário da pessoa, na experiência como cuidador de si mesmo e de quem faz parte das suas relações. É a chave dos cuidados de saúde, sendo interpretado como uma orientação para a ação de enfermagem que, através das ações de autocuidado, podem implementar intervenções para a promoção da saúde e/ou prevenção da doença. Os objetivos do estudo direcionam-se para a importância na identificação do perfil de autocuidado dos idosos, ou seja, na determinação dos diferentes níveis de dependência no autocuidado dos idosos a residir em lar. Entendemos este conhecimento, (proveniente dos resultados do estudo) como um contributo relevante no sentido de melhorar o modo como o apoio e/ou a ajuda pode ser ajustada a cada indivíduo, uma vez que estas adaptações só são possíveis perante o diagnóstico real da dependência das pessoas. Metodologia: Este estudo inclui-se num paradigma de investigação quantitativa, do tipo não experimental, transversal, descritivo e correlacional. A população em estudo são os idosos residentes no lar Residência Rainha D. Leonor em Viseu. Utilizou-se uma amostra não probabilística acidental, em função do peso relativo dos idosos desta instituição constituída por 136 idosos. O instrumento de colheita de dados inclui a escala de dependência no autocuidado. Resultados: Os idosos são maioritariamente mulheres, viúvas, com baixa instrução literária e com média de idade de 86 anos. Verificamos que as patologias predominantes são do foro cardíaco (70,6%), osteoarticular (62,5%) e neurológico (55,1%). Considerando o nível global de dependência no autocuidado, verificamos que 46,4% da amostra é independente, 36,0% é dependente em grau elevado e 17,6% dependente em grau parcial, ou seja, 53,6% apresenta algum grau de dependência no autocuidado. Conclusão: Os resultados deste estudo permitem a aquisição de conhecimento e desenvolvimento de competências que são de extrema importância na prática de cuidados de enfermagem de reabilitação, pois as necessidades de saúde desta população sofrem contínuas modificações ao longo do processo de envelhecimento, exigindo práticas atualizadas, no sentido de abranger a promoção dos processos de preservação e de autonomia. Palavras-Chave: Autocuidado, Idoso, Institucionalização.

Risco de queda em idosos institucionalizados

Os idosos institucionalizados apresentam risco de queda aumentado, quando comparado com os idosos não institucionalizados. A questão das quedas deve ser encarada como um grave problema de saúde pública, dadas as suas consequências e os custos irreversíveis. Assim, o estudo pretende avaliar o risco de queda em idosos institucionalizados e determinar os fatores que lhe estão associados. Trata-se de um estudo transversal descritivo-correlacional e de natureza quantitativa, que utilizou uma amostra não probabilística por conveniência composta por 136 idosos, com idades que variam entre os 65 anos e os 99 anos de idade, com uma média de idades de 85,98 anos. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um questionário, que procurava obter uma caracterização sociodemográfica, e clínica dos idosos e conhecer a história e circunstâncias das quedas. Foram utilizadas as escalas de Funcionalidade Familiar, Escala de Avaliação da Dependência nos Autocuidados e por último a POMA I (Índice de Tinetti). Os resultados revelam risco de queda bastante considerável, uma vez que se verificou que cerca de 45,6% dos idosos apresenta elevado risco de queda, 16,2% médio risco e 38,2% baixo risco. Verificamos ainda que, ser do sexo feminino e ter um baixo grau de escolaridade são fatores relacionados com o aumento do risco de queda. O mesmo apuramos relativamente ao défice cognitivo, á presença de doenças neurológicas, osteoarticulares, diminuição da acuidade visual e auditiva. Contrariamente, os idosos mais autónomos na deambulação, tomar banho e na toma da medicação são aqueles que apresentam menor risco de queda. Palavras-chave: idosos, risco de queda, institucionalização, capacidade funcional e equilíbrio.

(Table 2) Aragonite, high and low magnesium calcite, major elements, bioclast and planktic foraminifera from ODP Hole 133-817A

Investigation of the Middle Miocene-Pleistocene succession in cores at ODP Site 817A (Leg 133), drilled on the slope south of the Queensland Plateau, identified the various material fluxes contributing to sedimentation and has determined thereby the paleogeographic events which occurred close to the studied area and influenced these fluxes. To determine proportions of platform origin and of plankton origin of carbonate mud, two reference sediments were collected: (1) back-reef carbonate mud from the Young Reef area (Great Barrier Reef); and (2) Late Miocene chalk from the Loyalty Basin, off New Caledonia. Through their biofacies and mineralogical and geochemical characters, these reference sediments were used to distinguish the proportions of platform and basin components in carbonate muds of 25 core samples from Hole 817A. Two "origin indexes" (i1 and i2) relate the proportion in platform and basin materials. The relative sedimentation rate is inferred from the high-frequency cycles determined by redox intervals in the cores. Bulk carbonate deposited in each core has been calculated in two ways with close results: (1) from calcimetric data available in the Leg 133 preliminary reports (Davies et al., 1991); and (2) from average magnetic susceptibility of cores, a value negatively correlated to the average carbonate content. Vertical changes in sedimentation rates, in carbonate content, in origin indexes and in "linear fluxes" document the evolution of sediment origins from platform carbonates, planktonic carbonates and insoluble material through time. These data are augmented with the variations in organic-matter content through the 817A succession. The observed changes and their interpretation are not modified by compaction, and are compatible with major paleogeographic events including drowning of the Queensland Plateau (Middle Miocene-Early Pliocene) and the renewal of shallow carbonate production, (1) during the Late Pliocene, and (2) from the Early Pleistocene. The birth and growth of the Great Barrier Reef is also recorded from 0.5 Ma by a strengthening of detrital carbonate deposition and possibly by a lack of clay minerals in the 4 upper cores, a response to trapping of terrigenous material behind this barrier. In addition, a maximum of biological silica production is displayed in the Middle Miocene. These changes constrain the time of events and the sequence-stratigraphy framework some components of which are transgression surface, maximum flooding surface and low-stand turbidites. Sedimentation rates and material fluxes show cycles lasting 1.75 Myr. Whatever their origin (climatic and/or eustatic) these cycles affected the planktonic production primarily. The changes also show that major carbonate variations in the deposits are due to a dilution effect by insoluble material (clay, biogenic silica and volcanic glasses) and that plankton productivity, controlling the major fraction of carbonate sedimentation, depends principally on terrigenous supplies, but also on deep-water upwelling. Accuracy of the method is reduced by redeposition, reworking, and probable occurrence of hiatuses.

(Table 1) Biostratigraphic datums of ODP Leg 133 sites

We use benthic foraminifers to reconstruct the Neogene paleobathymetric history of the Marion Plateau, Queensland Plateau, Townsville Trough, and Queensland Trough on the northeastern Australian margin (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 133). Western Queensland Plateau Site 811/825 (present depth, ~938 m) deepened from the neritic zone (0-200 m) to the upper bathyal zone (200-600 m) during the middle Miocene (~13-14 Ma), with further deepening into the middle bathyal zone (600-1000 m) occurring during the late Miocene (~7 Ma). A depth transect across the southern Queensland Plateau shows that deepening from the outer neritic zone (100-200 m) to the upper bathyal zone began during the latest Miocene (~6 Ma) at the deepest location (Site 813, present depth, 539.1 m), whereas the shallower Sites 812 and 814 (present depths, 461.6 and 520.4 m, respectively) deepened during the late Pliocene (~2.7 and ~2.9 Ma). At Marion Plateau Site 815 (present depth, 465.5 m), water depth increased during the late Miocene (~6.7 Ma) from the outer neritic to the upper bathyal zone. Nearby Site 816 (present water depth, 437.3 m) contains Pliocene upper bathyal assemblages that directly overlie middle Miocene shallow neritic deposits; the timing of the deepening is uncertain because of a late Miocene hiatus. On the northern slope of the Townsville Trough (Site 817, present depth, 1015.8 m), benthic foraminifers and sponge spicules indicate deepening from the lower upper bathyal (400-600 m) to the middle bathyal zone in the late Miocene (by ~6.8 Ma). Benthic foraminiferal faunas at nearby Site 818 (present water depth, 752.1 m) do not show evidence of paleobathymetric change; however, a late Pliocene (~2-3 Ma) increase in downslope transport may have been related to the drowning of the Queensland Plateau. Site 822 (present depth, 955.2 m), at the base of the Great Barrier Reef slope, deepened from the upper bathyal to the middle bathyal zone during the late Pliocene (by ~2.3 Ma). Queensland Trough Site 823 (present depth, 1638.4 m) deepened from the middle bathyal to the lower bathyal (1000-2000 m) zone during the late Miocene (~6.5 Ma). Benthic foraminiferal faunal changes at these Leg 133 sites indicate that rapid deepening occurred during the middle Miocene (~13-14 Ma), late Miocene (6-7 Ma), and late Pliocene (2-3 Ma) along the northeastern Australian margin.

Sea-surface paleotemperature reconstructions for the middle Miocene-Holocene of ODP Site 133-811 in the Coral Sea off northeast Australia

The derivation of a detailed sea-surface paleotemperature curve for the middle Miocene-Holocene (10-0 Ma) from ODP Site 811 on the Queensland Plateau, northeast Australia, has clarified the role of sea-surface temperature fluctuations as a control on the initiation and development of the extensive carbonate platforms of this region. This curve was derived from isotopic analyses of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber, and converted to temperature using the surface-water paleotemperature equation accounting for variations in global ice volume. The accuracy of these data were confirmed by derivation of paleotemperatures using the water column isotopic gradient (Delta delta18O), corrected for salinity and variations in seafloor water mass temperature. Results indicate that during this period surface-water temperatures were, on average, greater than the minimum required for tropical reef growth (20°C; Veron, 1986), with the exception of the late Miocene and earliest early Pliocene (10-4.9 Ma), when there were repeated intervals of temperatures between 18-20°C. Tropical reef growth on the Queensland Plateau was extensive from the early to early middle Miocene (~21-13 Ma), after which reef development began to decline. A lowstand near 11 Ma probably exposed shallower portions of the plateau; after re-immersion near 7 Ma, the areal extent of reef development was greatly reduced (~ 50%). Paleotemperature data from Site 811 indicate that decreased sea-surface temperatures were likely to have been instrumental in reducing the area of active reef growth on the Queensland Plateau. Reduced reefal growth rates continued until the late Pliocene or Quaternary, despite the increase of average sea-surface paleotemperatures to 22-23°C. Studies on modern corals show that when sea-surface temperatures are below ~24°C, as they were from the late Miocene to the Pleistocene off northeast Australia, corals are stressed and growth rates are greatly reduced. Consequently, when temperatures are in this range, corals have difficulty keeping pace with subsidence and changing environmental factors. In the late Pliocene, sedimentation rates increased due to increases in non-reefal carbonate production and falling sea levels. It was not until the mid-Quaternary (0.6-0.7 Ma) that sea-surface paleotemperatures increased above 24°C as a result of the formation of a western Coral Sea warm water pool. Because of age discrepancies, it is unclear exactly when an effective barrier developed on the central Great Barrier Reef; the formation of the warm water pool was likely to have either assisted the formation of this barrier and/or permitted increased coral growth rates. Fluctuations in sea-surface temperature can account for much of the observed spatial and temporal variations of reef growth and carbonate platform distribution off northeast Australia, and therefore we conclude that paleotemperature variations are a critical control on the development of carbonate platforms, and must be considered an important cause of ancient platform "drowning".