Silicone Rubber—A Perspective

1976 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 909-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Warrick

Abstract Silicone rubber began as a polydimethylsiloxane elastomer vulcanized by benzoyl peroxide. Today, 33 years after its discovery, silicone rubber is a line of products of widely different compositions and vulcanized by many different systems. Our knowledge of the rubber is far better than it was but it is by no means complete. Applications are many, but in general, they are in vital areas where extreme environmental conditions will not permit the use of any other material. Service life cost is usually lower than for other rubbers, despite higher initial cost. Uses in surgery fulfill a unique role in saving lives or improving the quality of life for many. Dr. R. R. McGregor said of the field of silicones, in general, “What had been started as a search for further knowledge proved to be the groundwork for technological advances that have proved helpful to industry, and in so doing, have contributed to improving our standard of living”. What he said of silicones as a whole, certainly applies to silicone rubber, and I have been happy to have contributed to the knowledge of silicone rubber and to have been a part of these advances which, in addition, contribute to our physical wellbeing by their use in the human body. These remarks are not in any way an epitaph for silicone rubber, but rather, they are the opening words in a book of growing usefulness for silicone rubber for us all. The adventure has just begun.

2020 ◽  
pp. 36-48
Author(s):  
I. M. Loskutova ◽  
N. G. Romanova

This article is devoted to the application of an integrated approach in the study of the quality of life of the population of the North Ossetia. Aspects of the specifity of objective and subjective approaches are substantiated. The increasing importance of the concept of “quality of life” in the XXI century is indicated. A review of sociological studies of the level and quality of life in Russia, as well as a range of monographic works on the analyzed issues. The results of empirical sociological studies in 2014 and 2018 (a study of the quality and standard of living of the population of North Ossetia and a study of the social wellbeing of the population of North Ossetia using the methodology developed by Lapin N. I. and Belyaeva L. A.) are presented.


Author(s):  
Pasquale F. Innominato ◽  
David Spiegel

The circadian timing system temporally regulates biological functions relevant for psycho-physical wellbeing, spanning all the systems related to health. Hence, disruption of circadian rhythms, along with sleep cycles, is associated with the development of several diseases, including cancer. Moreover, altered circadian and sleep functions negatively impact on cancer patients’ quality of life and survival, above and beyond known determinants of outcome. This alteration can occur as a consequence of cancer, but also of anti-cancer treatments. Indeed, circadian rhythms govern also the ability of detoxifying chemotherapy agents across the 24 hours. Hence, adapting chemotherapy delivery to the molecular oscillations in relevant drug pathways can decrease toxicity to healthy cells, while increasing the number of cancer cells killing. This chronomodulated chemotherapy approach, together with the maintenance of proper circadian function throughtout the whole disease challenge, would finally result in safer and more active anticancer treatments, and in patients experiencing better quality and quantity of life.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212199104
Author(s):  
Monica Daibert-Nido ◽  
Yulia Pyatova ◽  
Michelle Markowitz ◽  
Maryam Taheri-Shirazi ◽  
Samuel N Markowitz

Purpose: Biofeedback training (BT) was adapted to idiopathic infantile nystagmus syndrome (IINS) cases to enhance visual functions and quality of life (QoL). Methods: 10 patients (age 9 ± 3.2 years) treated with the audio-visual BT module of the MAIA microperimeter (Centervue, Padova, Italy) were assessed in two baseline visits and 1week post-BT (BT 80 min in total). The outcomes were distance and near binocular best corrected visual acuity (BBCVA), fixation stability, reading speed, contrast sensitivity, stereopsis and Children’s Visual Function Questionnaire. One-way repeated measured ANOVA and paired t-tests were used. Results: Distance BBCVA improved from 0.46 ± 0.21 and 0.43 ± 0.18 pre-BT to 0.33 ± 0.2 logMAR post-BT ( F (2,27) = 13.75, p = 0.0002). Post-BT was better than baseline ( p = 0.0001) and pre-BT ( p = 0.001). Near BBCVA improved from 0.23 ± 0.09 and 0.21 ± 0.14 pre-BT to 0.04 ± 0.08 post-BT (F (2,27) = 22.12, p = 0.000014), post-BT was better than baseline ( p = 0.0001) and pre-BT ( p = 0.0006). Stereopsis improved from 283 ± 338″ to 39 ± 32.2″ ( p = 0.04), contrast sensitivity from 0.26 ± 0.17 to 0.08 ± 0.12 log units ( p = 0.01), and reading speed improved from 74.7 ± 51.2 wpm to 104.7 ± 53.6 wpm ( p = 0.0006). Fixation stability improved from 33.6 ± 28.1 to 14.3 ± 10.1 sq. QoL increased from 23.8 ± 2.2 to 26.3 ± 2.3 units ( p = 0.001). Conclusion: BT benefited all visual functions and QoL in this pilot study, heralding a new possibility for Low Vision Rehabilitation in IINS.


1985 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L.K. Rao ◽  
Ramesh G. Tagat

The paper argues for a new role for rural marketing, namely, that of delivering a better standard of living and quality of life for the rural people. It discusses the role of conflict, corporation, and competition in the modernization of rural society brought by rural marketing. It conceptualizes rural marketing as an interactive activity in which the major participants are the government, voluntary agencies, the corporate sector, and the rural clientele, each with its distinctive activities, mode of operating, and stake.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
BEATRICE MORING

The aim of this article is to explore the economic status and the quality of life of widows in the Nordic past, based on the evidence contained in retirement contracts. Analysis of these contracts also shows the ways in which, and when, land and the authority invested in the headship of the household were transferred between generations in the Nordic countryside. After the early eighteenth century, retirement contracts became more detailed but these should be viewed not as a sign of tension between the retirees and their successors but as a family insurance strategy designed to protect the interests of younger siblings of the heir and his or her old parents, particularly if there was a danger of the property being acquired by a non-relative. Both the retirement contracts made by couples and those made by a widow alone generally guaranteed them an adequate standard of living in retirement. Widows were assured of an adequately heated room of their own, more generous provision of food than was available to many families, clothing and the right to continue to work, for example at spinning and milking, but to be excused heavy labour. However, when the land was to be retained by the family, in many cases there was no intention of establishing a separate household.


Author(s):  
Egor Vladimirovich Eroshin ◽  
◽  
Irina Vyacheslavovna Bogatyreva ◽  

The article considers the indicator of the standard of living of the population as an indicator of the economic characteristics of the quality of life of people, which is a complex socio-economic category. The authors of the article examined various methods for its determination and presented an analysis of the standard of living of the population of the Samara region


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1137-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Nunes ◽  
Ángel Hernando ◽  
Ida Lemos ◽  
Lara Ayala-Nunes ◽  
Cristina Romero Oliva ◽  
...  

Abstract The aim of this study was to analyse differences in quality of life (QOL) between Spanish and Portuguese immigrant and native adolescents. In total, 475 native and immigrant adolescents (52% boys) from Algarve (Portugal) and Huelva (Spain), aged between 12 and 17 years old, were assessed with the KIDSCREEN-52. QOL dimensions were not related to most academic variables, with the exception of number of school failures, Financial Resources and Social Support from Peers. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine statistical differences in adolescents QOL. Age differences in QOL levels were not found. Girls reported worse QOL levels on Physical Wellbeing than boys (F = 10.32, p = .001, η2 =.02). Immigrant Portuguese adolescents scored higher on Mood (F = 17.57, p = .000, η2 =.11), and native Portuguese adolescents scored higher on Social Acceptance (F = 4.87, p = .002, η2 =.033). Immigrant and native adolescents had similar levels of perceived QOL. Overall, it seems that in both countries, the living contexts for immigrant and native adolescents are fairly homogeneous.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie D. Bland

Colic is the major cause of morbidity and mortality, premature deaths, and is the number one health concern in horses. To increase the quality of life for horses, it is vital to understand the causes, signs, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of colic. Horses are hindgut fermenters and their cecal microbiome can easily be altered due to environmental and physiological changes. Colic can be induced from starch overloading, which can have detrimental effects on the cecum microbiome, such as decreasing hindgut pH and altering the production of volatile fatty acids. In addition, if the immune system becomes compromised, causing changes in the hindgut microbiome, this will trigger a proliferation of opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria, which can cause numerous gastrointestinal diseases, resulting in colic. However, identifying a variety of microorganisms in the cecum is extremely difficult and understudied because difficulties in sampling and not all bacteria strains can be cultured. Therefore, next generation sequencing has helped in identifying microbes found in the gastrointestinal tract. Using the application of metagenomics, allows scientists to be able to sequence thousands of microorganisms simultaneously. In addition, exploring new techniques to help identify and achieve a clearer picture of the microbiome population and how it may change during bouts of colic could revolutionize the way veterinarians diagnose colic and tailoring a treatment specific to the microoganisms that are proliferating. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of colic and next technological advances could increase the quality of life for horses and minimize the mortality rates.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 882-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Tabani Mpofu

This study looked at the phenomenon of the quality of life (QoL) as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), which is a composite statistic used to rank countries by the level of “human development”. Measuring and determining what is QoL is not an easy task. In this study, using HDI as the yardstick for QoL, the concepts of standard of living and per capita income were examined closely in relation to the role of government in its public expenditure programmes and how these programmes in turn influenced QoL. This research question was seen as the key to addressing the phenomenon of QoL. In particular, the role of government expenditure on health and education seems to signify the commitment of a government in improving the HDI or QoL. Using data on government expenditure of South Africa for the period 1995 to 2011, the relationships amongst these variables were examined. The findings indicate that there seems to be a significant correlation between HDI and government spending on health and education as a percentage of GDP, but there seems to be of no significance to include the variable government spending on health and education as a percentage of total government spending. The findings tell us that between 1995 and 2011, government spending on education as a percentage of GDP has had a positive impact on HDI. However, government spending on health as a percentage of GDP has had a retarding effect as shown by the negative coefficient of variation. It then implies that for South Africa to realize the MDG goals and improve on the HDI, public spending on health as a percentage of GDP needs to be significantly increased.


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