Using nurses and office staff to report prescribing errors in primary care

Objective. To implement a prescribing-error reporting system in primary care offices and analyze the reports. Design. Descriptive analysis of a voluntary prescribing-error-reporting system Setting. Seven primary care offices in Vermont, USA. Participants. One hundred and three prescribers, managers, nurses and office staff. Intervention. Nurses and office staff were asked to report all communications with community pharmacists regarding prescription problems

Temperature dependence of surface reconstructions of Au on Pd(110)

Surface reconstructions of Au film on Pd(110) substrate are studied using a local Einstein approximation to quasiharmonic theory with the Sutton-Chen interatomic potential. Temperature dependent surface free energies for different coverages and surface structures are calculated. Experimentally observed transformations from $(1\times1)$ to $(1 \times 2)$ and $(1 \times 3)$ structures can be explained in the framework of this model. Also conditions for Stranski-Krastanov growth mode are found to comply with experiments. The domain of validity of the model neglecting mixing entropy is analyzed.Comment: 7 pages, REVTeX two-column format, 3 postscript figures available on request from [email protected] To appear in Phys. Rev. Letter

Modeling of transformation toughening in brittle materials

Results from modeling of transformation toughening in brittle materials using a discrete micromechanical model are presented. The material is represented as a two-dimensional triangular array of nodes connected by elastic springs. Microstructural effects are included by varying the spring parameters for the bulk, grain boundaries, and transforming particles. Using the width of the damage zone and the effective compliance (after the initial creation of the damage zone) as measures of fracture toughness, we find that there is a strong dependence of toughness on the amount, size, and shape of the transforming particles, with the maximum toughness achieved with the higher amounts of larger particles.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29978/1/0000341.pd

Hydrogen atom in a spherical well: linear approximation

We discuss the boundary effects on a quantum system by examining the problem of a hydrogen atom in a spherical well. By using an approximation method which is linear in energy we calculate the boundary corrections to the ground-state energy and wave function. We obtain the asymptotic dependence of the ground-state energy on the radius of the well.Comment: Revised version to appear in European Journal of Physic

Industrial application for the Los Alamos Materials Modeling Platform

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Casting and solidification of molten metals and metal alloys is a critical step in the production of high-quality metal stock and in the fabrication of finished parts. Control of the casting process can be the determining factor in both the quality and cost of the final metal product. Major problems with the quality of cast stock or finished parts can arise because of the difficulty of preventing variations in the alloy content, the generation of porosity or poor surface finish, and the loss of microstructure controlled strength and toughness resulting from the poor understanding and design of the mold filling and solidification processes. In this project, we sought to develop a new set of applications focused on adding the ability to accurately model solidification and grain growth to casting simulations. We implemented these applications within the Los Alamos Materials Modeling Platform, LAMMP, a graphical-based materials, and materials modeling environment being created at the Computational Testbed for Industry

Influence of the thermo-hydro-mechanical treatments of wood on the performance against wood degrading fungi

Hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides × Populus trichocarpa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) wood specimens were densified with three variations of Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) treatment. The THM treatments differed in the steam environment, including transient steam (TS), saturated steam (SS), and saturated steam with 1 minute post-heat-treatment at 200°C (SS+PHT). The bending properties, FTIR spectra, and color of the THM wood specimens were studied before and after exposure to two different wood decay fungi; brown rot Gloeophyllum trabeum and white rot Trametes versicolor. The results showed that the performance of densified hybrid poplar wood was considerably poorer than performance of Douglas-fir heartwood. The FTIR spectra measurements did not show changes in the densified hybrid poplar wood, while some changes were evident in densified Douglas-fir specimens. After fungal degradation the most prominent changes were observed on the SS+PHT specimens. Color is one of the most important parameter predominantly influenced by the wood species and the intensity of the densification process for both wood species, while after the fungal exposure the color of all densified Douglas-fir specimens became more or less of the same appearance and densified hybrid poplar specimens resulted in lighter color tones, indicating that the patterns of degradation of the densified and nondensified specimens are similar. The 3-point bending test results determined that the THM treatment significantly increased the modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) of the densified wood specimens, while the fungal exposure decreased the MOE and MOR in hybrid poplar and Douglas-fir specimens.This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by Springer and can be found at: http://link.springer.com/journal/226.Keywords: Color, Wood decay, FTIR, Densification, Wood, TH

A Comparison of Tourism-Related Stressors Experienced by Residents of Three Island Destinations

Residents of island tourism destinations are subject to a variety of impacts their quality of life. One impact that has recently emerged as an issue is psychological stress. Psychological stress can often lead to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Island destinations develop along Butler’s (1980) Tourism Area Life Cycle in different ways based on geography, population, accessibility, and a variety of other variables. Oftentimes rapid development follows the creation of transportation links like a new airport or cruise port. The development of cruise ports in particular often bring rapid development with unforeseen consequences. In this study, we examine the tourism related stressors experienced by residents of three island destinations with varying levels of development and cruise tourism visitation. Thematic analysis of residents’ perceived stressors revealed that level of development and type of tourism play a role in the breadth, depth, and type of stressors perceived by residents