Design should help use of patients' data

Checklists and other tools help doctors to use published evidence in clinical practice. Two other important sources of evidence, however, are the patient and his or her medical record. This series aims to advance the practice of evidence-based medicine by helping in redesign of medical records, drawing on insights from psychology, information design, and medical informatics; and by promoting changes analogous to those occurring in the medical literature. The four papers look at: the uses of medical records and importance of organising them so doctors can use the data they contain; different methods doctors use to search for data and how design of records can help or hinder these approaches; how we interpret data once found, and how record formatting assists this process; and the issues raised by computerisation of records.     

Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc. (SGNA) Endoscopic Disinfectant Survey results compared with control group

Disinfectant surveys from responding members of the American Society of Postanesthesia Nurses were divided into two groups based on whether or not they considered themselves to be exposed to disinfectants in their work environment. Their survey responses were then compared with those obtained previously from members of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc., who were regularly exposed to 2% alkaline glutaraldehyde in the work setting. There were significant differences among the groups in the percentage of respondents who reported having headaches, eye irritations, respiratory problems, shortness of breath, rashes, memory loss, mood swings, and fatigue. These findings support the association of these complaints with 2% alkaline glutaraldehyde exposure. In contrast, there were no significant differences among the groups in the percentage of respondents who reported having asthma, rhinitis, chest pain, nausea, diarrhea, muscle/joint pain, visual disturbances, or dermatitis.     

Survival Skills for The is Professional

IS professionals can only dream of the days when technical brilliance alone was enough to ensure a successful career. Now business acumen and a strong understanding of customer expectations are vital to long-term career survival. Based on their study of 75 experienced IS professionals, the authors present guidelines for fostering the development of customer-oriented IS professionals.     

Non-equilibrium electrolyte permeability in poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes

Permeability of poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes was studied as a function of exposure time in 45% aqueous potassium hydroxide and quantity of residual water in film. The presence of non-equilibrium and equilibrium periods in electrolyte permeability of PVA films containing aqueous KOH solution or residual water were found and were explained from the viewpoint of change in the diffusion mechanism of permeability. The influence of cross-linking on permeability of PVA films was examined.     

The dc volume resistivity of plasticized PVC

A study has been made of the dc volume resistivity of plasticized PVC using a guarded-electrode system in a sensitive vibrating capacitor–electrometer circuit. Transient effects were found to be pronounced in all but the least plasticized compositions, and the behavior in general was non-Ohmic. The resistivity decreases with plasticizer concentration and with temperature; an Arrhenius-type relationship is observed and resistivity undergoes an inflection at the glass transition temperature. The mechanism of conduction appears to be electrolytic rather than charge injection or semiconduction.     

Recovery of heterokaryons at high cell densities following isolation using irreversible biochemical inhibitors

The selection of heterokaryons using irreversible biochemical inhibitors provides an effective method for isolating fusion products between any types of cultured cells. One weakness of the technique is that the surviving heterokaryons can only be obtained at low culture densities, making their analysis cumbersome. This report describes the use of Ficoll-sodium diatrizoate gradients to partially separate viable from nonviable cells and characterizes the effects of initial plating density and medium volume on heterokaryon survival. The combined result of optimizing these parameters increases cell rescue and permits heterokaryons to attach at densities of 60,000 cells/cm 2 instead of 600 cells/cm 2. These modifications substantially improve the ease of using irreversible biochemical inhibitors to isolate purified populations of heterokaryons.     

Silicon diode detectors used in radiological physics measurements. Part II: Measurement of dosimetry data for high-energy photons

Initial calibration of a linear accelerator requires physics instruments to measure accurately central axis depth-dose and off-axis data, both in and out of the beam. These data for an 8- MeV unit were first measured using film, a Farmer 0.6-cm3 ion chamber, a 0.3-cm3 ion chamber, and a 0.1-cm3 silicon diode. Both small probes and film gave a high response compared to the Farmer probe, which has a uniform energy response. Measurements with the diode interfaced to an X-Y recorder required only a fraction of the time required with the chambers, minimizing error due to change in machine output, and permitted resolution of isodose lines in the penumbra. However, corrections required at points in depth due to nonuniform energy response of the unshielded diode were laborious. Construction of a partially shielded diode which duplicates the response of the Farmer probe eliminated the necessity for corrections, permitting rapid accumulation of a wide range of depth-dose and off-axis data.