We have studied the response of Tl-doped and Na-doped CsI crystals to nuclear recoils and γ's below 10 keV. The response of CsI crystals to nuclear recoil was studied with mono-energetic neutrons produced by the 3 H(p,n) 3 He reaction. This was compared to the response to Compton electrons scattered by 662 keV γ-ray. Pulse shape discrimination between the response to these γ's and nuclear recoils was studied, and quality factors were estimated. The quenching factors for nuclear recoils were derived for both CsI(Na) and CsI(Tl) crystals.

The MANW is the least favorable condition of HRQoL for men, suggesting that metabolic health may associate with HRQoL more than obesity for males. In women, the MAO and MHO groups had the most adversely affected HRQoL, implying that MHO is not a favorable health condition and that obesity, in general, may be strongly associated with HRQoL in women.

The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of life (QOL) and analyze its determinants among Cambodian adults living with HIV/AIDS who are on antiretroviral therapy (ART). A cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling to select 150 adults 18 years of age or older from the patient population at the HIV/AIDS care hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. QOL was assessed using the World Health Organization Quality of Life HIV BREF; socio-demographic characteristics, time elapsed since HIV diagnosis, months on ART, CD4 cell count, family and community support, depression, and anxiety were included in the survey. Results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that positive predictors of QOL included being female, being less 40 years old, having a household monthly income greater than 300 USD, having an education beyond the secondary level, or being employed. However, time elapsed since HIV diagnosis and duration of ART were not significantly associated with QOL and CD4 cell count and the World Health Organization clinical stage had little association with QOL. Perceiving oneself as healthy and happy and reporting no depression or anxiety were associated with a positive QOL. These findings suggest the importance of group-specific interventions to improve the QOL for those people living with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia who are male, have a low household income or education level, are unemployed, or are anxious or depressed.

No abstract

Improving adhesion at the metal-polymer interface is a critical issue for metal-polymer sandwich composites. Herein, we report an efficient way to increase the adhesion via grafted organic layers. A redox activation process was used to graft organic layers to steel surfaces using 4-paranitrobenezenediazonium (NBD) salt and L-ascorbic acid (LAA). Successful formation of a grafted organic layer was confirmed by microstructural analysis and its performance as an adhesion primer was evaluated by the single-lap shear test under various temperature and wet conditions. The introduction of NBD-induced layers grafted to various steel surfaces provided more than a 100% increase in adhesion between the polymer and the steel surface due to the interaction between the polymer chains of the substrate polymer and the organic layer covalently grafted to the metal surface. Finally, exposure of the steel and polymer composites to hot water demonstrated that the grafted adhesion primer enhanced the durability of the steel and polymer interface under harsh conditions.