Specific radioactivity of europium-152 in roof tiles exposed to atomic bomb radiation in Nagasaki. (1/74)

Specific radioactivities of residual europium (Eu)-152 were measured in six roof tile samples exposed to the Nagasaki atomic bomb at two locations. The ground distances of the two locations from the hypocenter are 1020 m and 1060 m. In order to obtain reliable data, Eu-enriched samples (from 207 to 855 mg) were prepared by separating Eu from each roof tile sample (from 1 to 2 kg). For the major aliquot of the Eu-enriched sample, residual radioactivity of 152Eu was measured using a low-energy photon spectrometer. For the minor aliquot of the Eu-enriched sample, Eu content was determined by neutron activation analysis. Results of the specific radioactivity (152Eu/Eu, Bq mg-1) corrected to the time of bombing were in a range from 0.080 to 0.446. Although the measured values showed some scattering, they are moderately consistent with the calculated values by the DS86 methodology, i.e. the average ratio of the calculated to measured values is 1.3 +/- 0.8.  (+info)

Evaluating the impact of a street barrier on urban crime. (2/74)

OBJECTIVES: Violence is a major urban public health problem in the United States. The impact of a physical barrier placed across a street in a public housing project to prevent street violence and drug activity was evaluated. METHODS: Hartford Police Department data on violent and drug related crime incidence within the housing project containing the barrier were analyzed by use of a computerized geographic information system. RESULTS: Violent crime decreased 33% on the intervention street during the 15 month period after erection of the barrier, compared with the 15 month period before erection of the barrier, but there was no change in drug related crime. On adjoining streets and surrounding blocks, violent crime decreased 30%-50% but drug related crimes roughly doubled. A non-adjacent area of the housing project and the entire city experienced 26% and 15% decreases in violent crimes, and 414% and 25% increases in drug crimes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The barrier decreased violent crime but displaced drug crimes to surrounding areas of the housing project. These results have important implications for other cities that have erected or are considering erecting similar barriers.  (+info)

Dating Caral, a preceramic site in the Supe Valley on the central coast of Peru. (3/74)

Radiocarbon dates from the site of Caral in the Supe Valley of Peru indicate that monumental corporate architecture, urban settlement, and irrigation agriculture began in the Americas by 4090 years before the present (2627 calibrated years B.C.) to 3640 years before the present (1977 calibrated years B.C.). Caral is located 23 kilometers inland from the Pacific coast and contains a central zone of monumental, residential, and nonresidential architecture covering an area of 65 hectares. Caral is one of 18 large preceramic sites in the Supe Valley.  (+info)

Designing a library: everyone on the same page? (4/74)

Excerpts are presented from an interview by the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association buildings projects editor with four academic health sciences library directors: one who had recently completed a major library building project and three who were involved in various stages of new building projects. They share their experiences planning for and implementing library-building programs. The interview explores driving forces leading to new library buildings, identifies who should be involved, recalls the most difficult and exciting moments of the building projects, relates what they wished they had known before starting the project, assesses the impact of new library facilities on clients and services, reviews what they would change, and describes forces impacting libraries today and attributes of the twenty-first century library.  (+info)

Biological consequences of environmental control through housing. (5/74)

Housing was originally devised as a control of the thermal environment, but numerous other functions have been added with resulting competition and confusion. Current design gives insufficient attention to thermal factors and relies upon supplementary heating and cooling to compensate for faults. These are wasteful of energy, and the exhaust from air conditioners adds to the heat island conditions in city cores. The impact of consumerism on domestic space and the importance of personal space and privacy are reviewed.  (+info)

Wellbeing of professionals at entry into the labour market: a follow up survey of medicine and architecture students. (6/74)

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Knowledge about changes in wellbeing during the passage from professional studies to working life is scarce and controversial. This study examined these changes among university graduates with good and poor employment prospects. DESIGN: A longitudinal study with four postal questionnaire surveys of a closed cohort. SETTING: Cohorts of graduating Finnish physicians and architects were followed up from 1994 to 1998. In 1994 Finland's national economy was still struggling to break loose from a period of severe recession, and unemployment rates were high even among educated professionals. As economic growth eventually got under way the unemployment situation began to ease for physicians but not for architects. PARTICIPANTS: Architecture students (n = 189) from Finland's three technical universities and medical students (n = 638) from Finland's five medical faculties. Both had started their studies in 1989. RESULTS: In the first questionnaire survey there were no differences between the professions in strain resistance resources, as indicated by Sense of Coherence (SOC), or in psychological distress, as indicated by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Profession emerged as a significant between subject factor in analysis of variance for repeated measures of both SOC and GHQ. Physicians' scores on the 13 item SOC questionnaire improved during the follow up from 62.6 to 67.5 and on the 12 item GHQ questionnaire from 24.2 to 22.2. Among architects the corresponding scores remained unchanged (62.5-62.2 and 23.1-22.6). The significance of profession remained unchanged when gender and individuals' graduation and total work experience were introduced to the statistical models as between subject factors. CONCLUSIONS: Improved SOC in physicians but not in architects supports the hypothesis that good employment prospects are important to employee wellbeing. Although less consistent, indicating fluctuations in day to day psychological distress, GHQ findings are also in line with the hypothesis. In both professions the indicators studied were independent of individuals' graduation and career. It is concluded that rather than individually, the mechanisms that connect employment prospects with wellbeing operate collectively within the whole profession. Highly educated professionals do not complete their studies until almost 30, and if for reasons of insecure employment they are unable to develop their SOC to the optimum level at that age, their resources for resisting health endangering strain may remain permanently poor.  (+info)

Suicide mortality among electricians in the Swedish construction industry. (7/74)

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk of suicide in Swedish electricians employed in the construction industry. A few studies have indicated an increased risk of suicide for electricians in the construction industry and electricians exposed to electromagnetic fields. METHODS: This is a cohort study. Electricians were identified through a computerised register of construction workers who had participated in health examinations in 1971-92. In this register, 33,719 male electricians were identified together with a reference group consisting of 72,653 male glass or woodworkers. Through a linkage with the Swedish Death Register, the cause of death was identified to the end of 1997. Mortality as a result of suicide was also compared with the general population with adjustments for sex, age, and period. RESULTS: The risk of mortality from suicide was decreased for electricians (standardised mortality ratio (SMR) 0.58, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.47 to 0.71) and for the reference group of construction workers (SMR 0.81, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.91) compared with the general population. CONCLUSION: Contrary to some other studies, risk of suicide was not increased among electricians in the construction industry.  (+info)

Henry Currey FRIBA (1820-1900): leading Victorian hospital architect, and early exponent of the "pavilion principle". (8/74)

The "pavilion plan" for hospital design originated in France in the 18th century and was popularised in England by John Roberton and George Godwin in the mid-19th century; the underlying rationale was that with improved ventilation the mortality rate (at that time exceedingly high) was significantly reduced. Among the enthusiasts for this new style was Florence Nightingale (herself a miasmatist)--who had experienced astronomically high death rates in the hospital at Scutari during the Crimean War (1854-6). One of the leading exponents of this style of hospital architecture was Henry Currey (1820-1900) whose greatest achievement was undoubtedly the design for the new St Thomas's Hospital on the Lambeth Palace Road.  (+info)

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