Fire casualties and their relation to fire company response distance and demographic factors

Fatalities and injuries per structural fire in New York City have been compared by time of day, season, year, construction, region of the city, floor of origin, and occupancy. The relationship between response distance and fire casualties has also been studied.     

Effect of free monomer content on the drawing behavior of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Cold drawing has been used to produce oriented samples of various molecular weight grades of poly(methyl methacrylate), all of which exhibited marked strain hardening characteristics over a range of drawing temperatures. The differences between the yield and drawing behavior of the grades did not correlate with molecular weight but could instead be attributed to the plasticizing effect of additional free monomer, generated by degradation during melt processing of the polymer.     

Forestomach acidosis in six New World camelids

Forestomach acidosis was diagnosed in 2 llamas and 4 alpacas. All were young, group-housed, sexually intact males. Clinical signs included forestomach atony, lethargy, ataxia, diarrhea, and tachycardia. Forestomach distention was observed in only 1 llama. Clinicopathologic abnormalities included low forestomach fluid pH, hyperchloremia, hypokalemia, and metabolic acidosis. Although camelids differ from domestic ruminants in typical management practices and behavioral, anatomic, and physiologic characteristics, they are, nonetheless, susceptible to forestomach acidosis. Gastric fluid analysis was essential for an accurate diagnosis. Four of 6 camelids recovered after PO and IV treatment with alkalinizing agents and fluids, antibiotics, and thiamine.     

Problems found in the isolation of mycelial fungi (Fusarium solani) from blood culture (Bacter NR-860)

BACKGROUND: F. solani fungemia is unusual. Patients at risk are immunosuppressed, have underlying malignancy or severe debilitating diseases. METHODS: We report two cases of F. solani fungemia in two non neutropenic patients who had been treated with wide-spectrum antibiotics an/or systemic corticosteroids, parenteral nutrition and intravenous lines. Bactec NR-860 (Becton-Dickinson) system was used, and growth was detected in aerobic conditions (between 3-7 days of incubation). RESULTS: Removal of the catheters with or without i.v. amphotericin B were used successfully. CONCLUSION: The spectrum of Fusarium sp. fungemia is discussed. Current available antifungal therapy is also reviewed.     

A model for the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Willamette River Basin (Oregon)

The Willamette River drains a 32,000 km2 basin (Basin) in northwestern Oregon. Owing to their persistence and toxicity, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in resident fish within the Basin at levels above consumption advisory thresholds are a human and environmental health concern. This concern may trigger a Willamette River Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for PCBs, at which time both their probable sources and the mechanism by which they came to be distributed throughout the Basin will be of considerable regulatory interest. Deposition within the Basin of some portion of global primary (1930-1980) and secondary (post-1980) emissions arriving via long-range advective transport in the atmosphere was posited as an explanation. This proposition was explored with a seasonally responsive, dynamic mass balance watershed-scale model that estimated concentrations of toxicologically relevant congeners (PCB-077, -118, -169) in various environmental media over a 90-year period, assuming advective inflow to the Basin's atmosphere to be the only PCB congener source. Model results suggest that rising air concentrations, and associated advective inflows, from increasing primary emissions between 1930 and 1975 (PCB-118 peak inflow, 1970, approximately equal to 11 kg y(-1)) and declining primary and secondary emissionsthereafter, could have yielded congener concentrations observed in air, soil, and fish between 1993 and 2003. The possibility that observed concentrations may be obtainable entirely with inputs from global legacy sources raises questions as to the efficacy of a TMDL directed primarily at local point or area sources. Better characterization of potential sources, and collection of additional soil and air data combined with more sophisticated modeling, appear to be necessary precursors to any PCB TMDL for the Willamette River.     

Influence of the number of questions on the student''s achievement in tests of anatomy

The authors compare student's achievement in tests with low and moderately high number of questions requiring short answers. Five groups of Medical School students underwent their regular Anatomy evaluation tests, which consisted of 13 questions (one group), 15 (two groups) and 25 (two groups). In each group five questions were chosen at random, average scores being calculated from their marks. These scores were statistically compared to the ones calculated from the marks given to the full-length evaluation tests; it became quite evidente that averages go up when the number of questions is increased. Putting the averages in terms of A, B, C and D scores (very good, good, regular and insufficient), it was noted that failure to reach at least the C score is inversely proportional to the number of questions. The results are discussed in terms of determining the most proper number of questions to be given in a test.     

Spontaneous emission from the C3 radical in carbon plasma

Spontaneous emission measurements are discussed for the Swings transitions of the C(3) radical in laser-generated graphite plasma, and the spectroscopy of the C(3) radical in carbon vapor and plasma is summarized. A review is given of some theoretical calculations and emission spectroscopic investigations are presented. Time-averaged, laser-induced optical breakdown spectra are reported from Nd:YAG laser generated graphite microplasma. In 200-300 Torr of argon and helium, and depending on the specific experimental configuration, a weak emission continuum is observed centered at 400 nm when using a laser fluence of typically 1 J/cm(2). Such continua were not detected in our previous experiments using focused laser radiation. The possibilities for the origin of this continuum are considered.