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Background: Literature on the disease profile of prisoners that differentiates by age and gender remains sparse. This study aimed to describe the health of correctional inmates in terms of substance abuse problems and mental and somatic health conditions, and compare it by gender and age. Methods: This study examined cross-sectional data from the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland on the health conditions of detainees who were in prison on January 1, 2011 or entered prison in 2011. Health conditions validated by physician examination were reported using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) version 10. The analyses were descriptive by groups of prisoners: the entire sample (All), Men, Older adults and Women. Results: A total of 1,664 individuals were included in the analysis. Men comprised 91.5 % of the sample and had a mean age of 33 years. The other 8.5 % were women and had an average age of 39. Older adults (i.e., age 50 and older) represented 7 % of the total sample. Overall, 80 % of inmates were non-Swiss citizens, but the proportion of Swiss prisoners was higher among the older adults (51 %) and women (29 %). Overall, 41 % of inmates self-reported substance abuse problems. Of those, 27 % were being treated by psychiatrists for behavioral disorders related to substance abuse. Chronic infectious diseases were found in 9 % of the prison population. In addition, 27 % of detainees suffered from serious mental health conditions. Gender and age had an influence on the disease profile of this sample: compared to the entire prison population, the older inmates were less likely to misuse illegal drugs and to suffer from communicable infections but exhibited more problems with alcohol and a higher burden of chronic health conditions. Female prisoners were more disposed to mental health problems (including drug abuse) and infectious diseases. In terms of chronic diseases, women suffered from the same conditions as men, but the diseases were more prevalent in women. Conclusion: It is important to understand the different disease profiles of prisoners by gender and age, as it helps identify the needs of different groups and tailor age-and gender-specific interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Literature on the disease profile of prisoners that differentiates by age and gender remains sparse. This study aimed to describe the health of correctional inmates in terms of substance abuse problems and mental and somatic health conditions, and compare it by gender and age.Methods: This study examined cross-sectional data from the Canton of Vaud in Switzerland on the health conditions of detainees who were in prison on January 1, 2011 or entered prison in 2011. Health conditions validated by physician examination were reported using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) version 10. The analyses were descriptive by groups of prisoners: the entire sample (All), Men, Older adults and Women.Results: A total of 1,664 individuals were included in the analysis. Men comprised 91.5 % of the sample and had a mean age of 33 years. The other 8.5 % were women and had an average age of 39. Older adults (i.e., age 50 and older) represented 7 % of the total sample. Overall, 80 % of inmates were non-Swiss citizens, but the proportion of Swiss prisoners was higher among the older adults (51 %) and women (29 %). Overall, 41 % of inmates self-reported substance abuse problems. Of those, 27 % were being treated by psychiatrists for behavioral disorders related to substance abuse. Chronic infectious diseases were found in 9 % of the prison population. In addition, 27 % of detainees suffered from serious mental health conditions. Gender and age had an influence on the disease profile of this sample: compared to the entire prison population, the older inmates were less likely to misuse illegal drugs and to suffer from communicable infections but exhibited more problems with alcohol and a higher burden of chronic health conditions. Female prisoners were more disposed to mental health problems (including drug abuse) and infectious diseases. In terms of chronic diseases, women suffered from the same conditions as men, but the diseases were more prevalent in women.Conclusion: It is important to understand the different disease profiles of prisoners by gender and age, as it helps identify the needs of different groups and tailor age-and gender-specific interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prison healthcare is an important public health concern given the increasing healthcare needs of a growing and aging prison population, which accumulates vulnerability factors and suffers from higher disease prevalence than the general population. This study identifies the key factors associated with outpatient general practitioner (GP), nursing or psychiatric healthcare utilization (HCU) within prisons. Cross-sectional data systematically collected by the prison medical staff were obtained for a sample of 1664 adult prisoners of the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, for the year 2011. They contain detailed information on demographics (predisposing factors), diagnosed chronic somatic and psychiatric disorders (needs factors), as well as prison stay characteristics (contextual factors). For GP, nurse and psychiatric care, two-part regressions are used to model separately the probability and the volume of HCU. Predisposing factors are generally not associated with the probability to use healthcare services after controlling for needs factors. However, female inmates use higher volumes of care, and the volume of GP consultations increases with age. Chronic somatic and psychiatric conditions are the most important predictors of the probability of HCU, but associations with volumes differ in their magnitude and significance across disease groups. Infectious, musculoskeletal, nervous and circulatory diseases actively mobilize GP and nursing staff. Schizophrenia, illicit drug and pharmaceuticals abuse are strongly positively associated with psychiatric and nurse HCU. The occupancy rate displays positive associations among contextual factors. Prison healthcare systems face increasingly complex organizational, budgetary and ethical challenges. This study provides relevant insights into the HCU patterns of a marginalized and understudied population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy are used to investigate plasmon losses of aluminum nanospheres and carbon nanotubes with high spatial resolution. We observe that some features of the spectra depend on the size of the particles. The suitability of a dielectric theory model to interpret the spectra is tested in the case of Al spheres. The model permits the identification of the observed peaks and reproduces the size dependent fetures. A similar model is applied to calculate excitation probabilities for carbon nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of composition fluctuations around threading dislocations at scales ranging from atomic distances to tens of nanometers is provided by z-contrast imaging, strain measurement, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy in AlxIn1-xN/GaN heterostructures. The atomic core rings of edge-type dislocations are shown to lie across highly antisymmetric elemental environments, and the indium-rich pit centers of mixed dislocation are found to lie on the tensile side of their atomic core ring. The observed composition fluctuations around pure-edge dislocations are compared with an elastostatic free energy model calculation and a good qualitative and quantitative agreement is obtained. Hydrostatic stress is shown to be their principal cause: Tensile stress regions are indium rich and compressive stress regions are aluminum rich. We show that the stress field of a mixed dislocation can impact the composition of the alloy more than a hundred nanometers away from its core. Indium core segregation on pure-screw threading dislocation is also evidenced and explained by the model, as shear stress is also expected to affect composition. Furthermore, threading dislocations are shown to bend less in the AlxIn1-xN alloy than in GaN, suggesting that they are "pinned" by stress-induced fluctuations. Such concentration modulations can have an important impact on optical and electrical properties of Group-III nitride devices that generally contain a high dislocation density (in the 108 to 1010 cm-2 range). We propose that stress-induced composition modulation could be the origin of defect insensitivity in indium-containing nitride ternary alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Compared with traditional drug solutions or suspensions, polymeric microparticles represent a valuable means to achieve controlled and prolonged drug delivery into joints, but still suffer from the drawback of limited retention duration in the articular cavity. In this study, our aim was to prepare and characterize magnetic biodegradable microparticles containing dexamethasone acetate (DXM) for intra-articular administration. The superparamagnetic properties, which result from the encapsulation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), allow for microparticle retention with an external magnetic field, thus possibly reducing their clearance from the joint. Two molecular weights of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) were used, 12 and 19kDa. The prepared batches were similar in size (around 10μm), inner morphology, surface morphology, charge (neutral) and superparamagnetic behaviour. The SPION distribution in the microparticles assessed by TEM indicates a homogeneous distribution and the absence of aggregation, an important factor for preserving superparamagnetic properties. DXM release profiles were shown to be quite similar in vitro (ca. 6days) and in vivo, using a mouse dorsal air pouch model (ca. 5days). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The core–shell structure of a range of acrylic–acrylic latexes has been investigated by combining different specimen preparation methods with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (DSTEM) and low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LV-SEM), including the first reported use of LV-SEM to observe composite latex particles at ambient and subambient temperatures. Spin-coating of liquid latex dispersions directly onto TEM grids or SEM stubs is shown to be a relatively straightforward mean of avoiding film formation during specimen preparation. In conjunction with double staining techniques, it has been found to be particularly convenient for characterizing the fine structure of particles with diameters down to below 100nm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope can be used to study the excitation of plasmons in nanometre-size particles with high spatial resolution. For isotropic particles of various shapes, models which allow the attribution of the experimental peaks to a certain excitation mechanism and to understand size- or geometry-dependent variations are well established. Recently, locally anisotropic particles such as nested concentric-shell fullerenes and carbon nanotubes have been discovered and have attracted considerable interest. The plasmon losses of these anisotropic particles measured by EELS could contribute to a better understanding of their physical properties, once the theoretical basis for the interpretation is adapted for anisotropic particles. Encouraged by very good qualitative agreement between a model of the plasmons of nested concentricshell fullerenes based on non-relativistic local dielectric response theory with experimental data, we present here a model for the plasmon excitations of multiwall carbon nanotubes based on the same theoretical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed a straightforward synthetic route to prepare core-shell systems based on gold nanoparticles (NPs) surrounded with J-aggregates molecules. This synthesis allows the direct and efficient coating, at room temperature, of pretreated citrate-stabilized gold NPs with 5, 5′, 6, 6′-tetrachloro-1-1′-diethyl-3, 3′-di (4-sulfobutyl)-benzimidazolocarbocyanine (TDBC), without supplementary adding of salts and bases during the synthesis. As the size of gold particle is tunable, the precise optimization of the strong coupling between the electronic transitions of organic components (TDBC) and the plasmon modes of the gold NPs is achieved corresponding to a Rabi energy of 220 meV, a value not yet obtained in such a system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on measurements of the plasmon losses of individual single-wall carbon nanotubes by electron energy-loss spectroscopy in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The experimental data are compared to simulated excitation probabilities calculated using the hydrodynamic theory of the interaction between a probe electron and a two-dimensional quasifree electron gas confined on a cylindrical shell. Depending on the nanotube geometry, the first- or the second-order oscillation mode dominates the loss spectrum. The resonance energy of the dominant resonance mode is found to depend on the radius of the nanotube. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]