Exploring similarities and differences in teamwork across diverse healthcare contexts using communication analysis

Teamwork is prevalent in many work contexts. This study explored the similarities and differences in teamwork processes across different healthcare work contexts with the aim of assessing knowledge transfer feasibility. The research approach was to aggregate team communication analyses from four healthcare contexts to uncover teamwork similarities and differences. The four healthcare contexts included two handoffs and two surgery contexts. The communication analysis segmented communication into meaningful sequences. It categorized utterances into content categories and verbal behaviors. There were a few similar content categories across the four contexts. A clear information structure emerged in the two handoff contexts. In addition, there were more dialogues and requests in the surgeries compared to more reports in the handoffs. The content similarities suggest that some knowledge is transferable among the contexts. However, the differences in communication patterns reflect fundamental differences between handoff and surgery contexts in some teamwork processes. This research demonstrated that using communication analysis can uncover similarities and differences in team cognition and teamwork processes across work contexts. This in turn can help determine what knowledge and methods pertaining to team training, procedures, and technology are transferable across the contexts.     

Developments in iron and steel making

A survey is presented of the direct reduction processes which are presently in commercial operation for the production of iron and steel as an alternative to the classical blast furnace route. The relative advantages and disadvantages of each technology are presented and their relative energy efficiencies discussed.     

Gas-based direct reduction processes for iron and steel production

Gas-based processes for the direct reduction of iron are discussed and compared in terms of their costs and energy effectiveness. Possible future lines of development are presented.     

The performance of heat pumps in service-comparison of a computer model with a real installation

A comparison is made between a computer model which was developed in an earlier paper and experimental results in which a heat pump was used to heat a house during the heating season 1978–1979. The heat pump used was an air-to-water machine, and it is found that the radiator temperature in the experiment varies according to the heat demand of the house because of the effect of thermal inertia of the water and other thermal masses in the heat transfer system. The computer model simulates this effect, using hourly weather data to calculate the heat demand of the house and assuming that the radiators run at the temperature necessary to supply the heat demand during each hour. The model also calculates the coefficient of performance of the heat pump, and hence calculates the running cost in kilowatt-hours for each hour. The calculated running cost is compared with daily readings of kilowatt-hour meters. It is found that the comparison is very accurate during normal operation of the heat pump, with an accuracy of better than 1 per cent over a period of four months of the heating season, although the accuracy is not always quite so good. A comparison is also made between hourly calculated radiator temperatures and continuous recordings of flow and return temperatures. The comparison in this case is satisfactory, but there is a time lag due to the effect of thermal inertia of the building fabric which the computer model is not intended to simulate.     

Endothelin receptor blockade prevents the rise in pulmonary vascular resistance after cardiopulmonary bypass in lambs with increased pulmonary blood flow

BACKGROUND: Children with increased pulmonary blood flow may experience morbidity as the result of increased pulmonary vascular resistance after operations in which cardiopulmonary bypass is used. Plasma levels of endothelin-1, a potent vasoactive substance implicated in pulmonary hypertension, are increased after cardiopulmonary bypass. OBJECTIVES: In a lamb model of increased pulmonary blood flow after in utero placement of an aortopulmonary shunt, we characterized the changes in pulmonary vascular resistance induced by hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass and investigated the role of endothelin-1 and endothelin-A receptor activation in postbypass pulmonary hypertension. METHODS: In eleven 1-month-old lambs, the shunt was closed, and vascular pressures and blood flows were monitored. An infusion of a selective endothelin-A receptor blocker (PD 156707; 1.0 mg/kg/h) or drug vehicle (saline solution) was then begun 30 minutes before cardiopulmonary bypass and continued for 4 hours after bypass. The hemodynamic variables were monitored, and plasma endothelin-1 concentrations were determined before, during, and for 6 hours after cardiopulmonary bypass. RESULTS: After 90 minutes of hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass, both pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance increased significantly in saline-treated lambs during the 6-hour study period (P <.05). In lambs pretreated with PD 156707, pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased (P <. 05). After bypass, plasma endothelin-1 concentrations increased in all lambs; there was a positive correlation between postbypass pulmonary vascular resistance and plasma endothelin-1 concentrations (P <.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that endothelin-A receptor-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction mediates, in part, the rise in pulmonary vascular resistance after cardiopulmonary bypass. Endothelin-A receptor antagonists may decrease morbidity in children at risk for postbypass pulmonary hypertension. This potential therapy warrants further investigation.     

Experimental observation of the improvement in MTF from backthinning a CMOS direct electron detector

The advantages of backthinning monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) based on complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) direct electron detectors for electron microscopy have been discussed previously; they include better spatial resolution (modulation transfer function or MTF) and efficiency at all spatial frequencies (detective quantum efficiency or DQE). It was suggested that a ‘thin’ CMOS detector would have the most outstanding properties [1], [2] and [3] because of a reduction in the proportion of backscattered electrons. In this paper we show, theoretically (using Monte Carlo simulations of electron trajectories) and experimentally that this is indeed the case.     

SMOS: The Payload

The European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite comprises a single payload instrument known as the Microwave Interferometric Radiometer with Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) coupled to a PROTEUS platform. MIRAS synthesizes a large aperture from a reasonably sized 2-D array of passive microwave radiometers. By using interferometric techniques, the required coverage and spatial resolution can be achieved without the need for a large antenna. This paper describes the MIRAS instrument, its observation modes, the imaging geometry, and data products.     

Experimental studies of low-temperature drying by dehumidification. Part 1—Apparatus and theory

The feasibility of using a heat pump is considered as an alternative to other forms of drying where low temperature drying of a substance is necessary, either through quality control or because of inherent vulnerability to higher temperatures. This paper describes the construction and instrumentation of a purpose-built dryer, using uniformly saturated cotton as a constant drying load. The machine incorporates both a heat pump cycle using R12 refrigerant and also controllable electrical resistance heaters. A liquid-line subcooler is included to remove heat from the system. Instrumentation includes measurements of wet and dry bulb temperature, refrigerant temperature and pressure, air and refrigerant flow rates, and thermal and electrical energy. Drying rate is monitored by weighing samples.