A high-temperature laser-pulse thermal diffusivity apparatus

A high-temperature laser-pulse apparatus for the measurement of thermal diffusivity in the temperature range from 1500 to 2500 K has been designed. constructed, and tested at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. A curve-fitting method is introduced by which the entire experimental temperature history curve is fitted with the theoretical curve under the boundary condition of radiative heat losses. The new apparatus and the curve-fitting method permit thermal diffusivity measurements with an uncertainty of not more than 3%.     

Check your cultural competence

Intrapersonal reactions such as ethnocentrism, prejudice, anxiety, stereotyping, and our comfort zone with the familiar can influence our interactions with culturally diverse people. Here, we explore these stumbling blocks, the dynamics behind these reactions, and strategies nurse managers can employ to enhance their cultural competence.     

Effects of cold and compression dressings on early postoperative outcomes for the arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction patient

Efforts to minimize the morbidity of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction include the use of cryotherapy and/or compressive dressings in the immediate postoperative period. We undertook the present study to determine if the alleged benefits of the Cryo/Cuff, which combines these modalities, are more attributable to its compressive effect rather than cold application. Seventy-eight patients admitted for primary endoscopic ACL reconstruction using a bone-patella tendon-bone autograft were randomized to receive Cryo/Cuff compressive dressings postoperatively. Forty subjects (Group 1) had the cuff applied with continuous circulating ice water using the Autochill device, while 38 others (Group 2) received the cuff with room temperature water. Cases were performed as inpatients and all subjects were administered intravenous morphine postoperatively via a patient-controlled infusion pump for the first 24 postoperative hours. At baseline, the groups were well matched in age, sex, duration of symptoms, operative time, and associated meniscal surgery. No significant difference between groups was detected with respect to length of hospitalization, Hemovac knee drainage, oral and intravenous narcotic requirement, or subjective pain as measured by a visual analog scale. No apparent complications related to the use of the Cryo/Cuff dressings were noted. The clinical effect of the Cryo/Cuff in this study was not influenced by the use of continuous ice water vs. room temperature water. Further study should focus on variations in compression to evaluate the clinical impact of this device.     

Underperforming doctors: a postal survey of the Northern Deanery

OBJECTIVES: To discover the perceived size of pool of doctors considered to be underperforming in general practice in the Northern Deanery and to discover whether these perceptions are based on formal assessments. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire. SETTING: Area covered by the Northern Deanery. SUBJECTS: Seven health authority directors of primary care, seven secretaries of local medical committees, and 14 chief officers of community health councils. RESULTS: The response rate was 100% for directors of primary care and secretaries of local medical committees and, after one reminder, 92% for chief officers of community health councils. Numbers of doctors perceived to be underperforming ranged from none to over 15 in different health authority areas. Main areas for concern were communication skills, clinical skills, and management skills. Patients' representatives were concerned about lack of power of patients and health authorities and doctors' lack of accountability. Health authorities were concerned about lack of power, identification of underperforming doctors, and doctors' professional loyalty. Local medical committees were concerned about the problem of identifying underperformance. A number of methods were used for identification, and there was no common method applied. CONCLUSIONS: The number of doctors thought to be underperforming was small. Work still needs to be done on developing tools that can be used in everyday practice to enable doctors to confirm for themselves, their colleagues, and their patients that they are providing an adequate level of care.     

A hierarchical exception handler binding mechanism

A mechanism is proposed for binding exception handlers to exceptions. Hierarchical exception classes can be defined and changed during program execution. In addition, the action taken when an exception of a particular class is raised depends upon the type of the current exception handler for that class. The mechanism can be implemented in programming languages that allow runtime determination of an identifier's binding; most dynamically scoped programming languages meet this criterion.     

Time-dependent gain and absorption in a 5 J UV preionized XeCl laser

The operating characteristics of a wide aperture (5 × 4.5 cm²), high output energy (5 J), UV preionized XeCl laser are described. The time dependence of the gain and absorption have been measured for both He and Ne based laser gas mixes. These measurements were correlated with the discharge current and voltage waveforms. For optimized laser gas mixes and pressures, the absorption for He based laser mixes was ten times higher than for Ne based mixes. Absorption data are also presented for the component gas mixes.     

Psycholinguistic abilities of children in isolated communities of Labrador.

A total of 101 kindergarten and Grade-1 children from 4 isolated coastal communities in Labrador were given the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, and Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities. The differential psycholinguistic profiles of the Ss are reported. These results offer support for the claim that ecological demands to some extent determine cognitive structures. Results also indicate that the Ss had abilities in a number of areas that were within 1 standard deviation of the mean for the normative sample. These suggest areas that could be capitalized upon in order to make the educational system more meaningful to these children. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Standards for microsystems

Standardization is emerging as a very important element to be considered when larger computer systems are specified and designed. This article reviews some types of standard which might be applied and the effects of their application.