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This study assessed the hand hygiene performance in French nursing homes using the consumption of alcohol-based hand rubs (AHRs) as a surrogate. Nursing homes from the 17 French regions were contacted to collect their AHR consumption and occupancy in 2018 and 2019. A total of 1290 nursing homes from 15 French regions participated in the survey. The estimated median number of hand hygiene actions per resident-day was 1.48 (interquartile range: 1.04-2.03) in 2018 and 1.60 (1.10-2.26) in 2019. A significantly higher AHR consumption was observed in public nursing homes with an infection control team or link nurse.

Abstract: Five groups of NMRI mice were fed ethanol or sucrose in a nutritionally adequate liquid diet for 9 days. The dietary fat consisted of olive oil with the fatty acid composition 18:1 77%, 18:2 10%, 18:0 and 16:0 12%. The ethanol treated groups received 5% w/v ethanol (E) or isocaloric sucrose (S). Two groups (S‐ and E‐) received the diet without supplement. In two groups (S+ and E +) 7% of the fat was exchanged for arachidonic acid (20:4). In a fifth group (IE +) treated with ethanol and arachidonic acid the diet also contained indomethacin (10 mg/1). The mean intake of ethanol was about 20 g/kg/day. After 9 days animals were killed and liver lipids analyzed after Folch extraction. The post mortem accumulation of prostaglandin E2 in the kidney was measured by GC‐MS. Dietary 20:4 was found to protect mice against fatty liver caused both by a high fat diet alone and in combination with ethanol. The liver triglycerides were 30.7 + 4.3 (S ‐), 46.1+6.9 (E ‐), 6.8 + 0.4 (S +) and 19.4 ±1.8 (E +). Prostaglandin levels in the kidney were depressed by ethanol treatment. Indomethacin gave variable degrees of PG synthesis inhibition. The degree of liver triglyceride accumulation in the IE+ group was inversely propotional to the degree of PG synthesis. The data suggest a role for liver 20:4 cyclooxyganase metabolites in fatty liver caused by high fat diets and ethanol.

Abstract Thirty healthy male volunteers drank ethyl alcohol (1.75 g/kg) from 6 p. m. to 9 p. m., which resulted in hangover the next morning, and 10 subjects served as controls. The twenty subjects, who drank alcohol, received glucose or fructose during the same evening (1.0 g/kg) or on the following morning (0.5 g/kg). In the hangover phase psychomotor performance was recorded by a choice reaction test, two coordination tests and an attention test. The intensity of the hangover was graded subjectively and objectively. Blood ethanol, acetaldehyde and glucose concentrations were analysed. The testing procedure was repeated at 8, 10 and 12 a. m. Ethanol, administered alone, increased significantly the number of mistakes on the choice reaction test in hangover phase, but this effect was abolished by the simultaneous administration of sugar. On the other hand, after the combined administration of ethanol and sugars the number of mistakes and mistake percentage on one coordination test were increased. The etiology on the impaired psychomotor skill during the hangover period is probably not directly related to the pathophysiology of the hangover, as there was no correlation between the impairment of the psychomotor performance and the intensity of the hangover of the subjects.

This study assessed the current secular trends in unintentional injury deaths among persons 15 years of age or older in Finland. For this purpose, we obtained from the Finnish Official Cause-of-Death Statistics (OCDS) the data for persons aged 15 years or older whose deaths occurred in 1971--2003 due to an unintentional injury. Among Finnish men, the most drastic change occurred in road traffic crashes. The age-standardised death rate (per 100,000 person-years) of men's road traffic crashes was 47 in 1971 but only 11 in 2003. In contrast, the rate of fall-induced deaths among Finnish men gradually rose, from 18 in 1971 to 24 in 2003, by which time falls became the leading category of men's unintentional injury death. Also alcohol poisonings seemed to bypass road traffic crashes as the cause of men's injury death. Among Finnish women, the age-standardised rate of fall-induced deaths decreased till 1975, after which the curve was rather flat. The death rate (per 100,000 person-years) of women's falls was 30 in 1971 and 18 in 2003. During the entire period of 1971--2003, traffic caused fewer deaths in women than men, but the declining trend in women's death rates was also clear, from 17 in 1971 to 5 in 2003. Other unintentional causes accounted for few deaths in women during 1971--2003, although it was of interest that the rate of women's deaths due to alcohol poisoning rose from 1 in 1971 to 4 in 2003. In conclusion, during 1971--2003 falls replaced road traffic crashes as the leading cause of unintentional injury death in adult Finns. The rise in men's fall-induced deaths occurred even with a rate that cannot be explained merely by demographic changes, and therefore, systematic fall prevention measures are needed to control the development. The rising incidence of women's deaths due to alcohol poisoning needs close follow-up.

The use of ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes promises to improve the energy density of electrochemical capacitors (ECs) by allowing for operation at higher voltages. Several studies have also shown that the pore size distribution of materials used to produce electrodes is an important factor in determining EC performance. In this research the capacitative, energy and power performance of ILs 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMImBF4), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide (EMImN(CN)2), 1,2-dimethyl-3-propylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (DMPImTFSI), and 1-butyl-3-methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate (BMPyT(F5Et)PF3) were studied and compared with the commercially utilised organic electrolyte 1 M tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate solution in anhydrous propylene carbonate (Et4NBF4–PC 1 M). To assess the effect of pore size on IL performance, controlled porosity carbons were produced from phenolic resins activated in CO2. The carbon samples were characterised by nitrogen adsorption–desorption at 77 K and the relevant electrochemical behaviour was characterised by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The best capacitance performance was obtained for the activated carbon xerogel with average pore diameter 3.5 nm, whereas the optimum rate performance was obtained for the activated carbon xerogel with average pore diameter 6 nm. When combined in an EC with IL electrolyte EMImBF4 a specific capacitance of 210 F g−1 was obtained for activated carbon sample with average pore diameter 3.5 nm at an operating voltage of 3 V. The activated carbon sample with average pore diameter 6 nm allowed for maximum capacitance retention of approximately 70% at 64 mA cm−2.

Self-poisoning in children is a serious health concern accounting for 2% and 5% of childhood deaths in the developed and developing world, respectively. Type of poison and intent varies between age groups, with alcohol poisoning becoming increasingly common in teenagers. The aim of the study was to identify the characteristics of paediatric self-poisoning at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, as a function of age, sex, intent and type of poison. Data from patients under the age of 17 presenting to Ninewells Hospital's Emergency Department with self-poisoning from 1 December 2008 to 30 November 2009 inclusive were identified, classified and analysed using chi-square testing. Overall there was no significant difference in gender. However, females significantly dominated in the ≥12<17 years age group, with older females also significantly more likely to deliberately self-poison. Alcohol was the sole cause of accidental self-poisoning in this age group while paracetamol was used in the majority of cases of deliberate self-poisoning. In the <6 years age group, household chemical ingestion and over-the-counter medications were the most common poisons. The findings reflect previous published data and national trends. The prevalence of alcohol abuse in the ≥12<17 years age group is a major public health issue that must be addressed.

Redox flow batteries are promising devices for large-scale stationary energy storage.

Abstract A high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyser (PEMWE) was investigated at temperatures between 80 and 130 °C and pressures between 0.5 and 4 bar. Nanometer size Ru 0.7 Ir 0.3 O 2 and Pt/C were employed as anode and cathode catalysts respectively. The catalyst coated on membrane (CCM) method was used to fabricate the membrane electrode assemblies. The membrane, oxygen evolution catalysts and MEAs were characterized with SEM, XRD and TEM. The influence of high temperature and pressure was investigated using in situ electrochemical measurements. Increasing temperature and pressure produced higher current densities for oxygen evolution, and smaller terminal voltages. The high temperature PEMWE achieved a voltage of 1.51 V at a current density of 1 A cm −2 , at 130 °C and 4 bar pressure.

Thirty-five patients with Hodgkin's disease experienced alcohol pain. Nodular sclerosis was the predominant histological grade (77%). Alcohol pain was associated with other factors generally considered to indicate an unfavorable prognosis--systemic symptoms, Stage II disease with multiple site involvement, Stage III or IV disease. Enlargment and a rise in temperature of lymph nodes were both present at or appeared at the site of pain in the majority (86%) of patients with this symptom.