Anaesthetic breathing circuit obstruction due to blockage of tracheal tube connector by a foreign body - two cases

Publisher's copy made available with the permission of the publisher© 1999 Australian Society of AnaesthetistsTwo cases are presented which illustrate the disastrous consequences possible when an anaesthetic breathing circuit is obstructed by a foreign body. Despite reports of previous similar cases, work practices and equipment manufacture or design continue to allow for such events to occur. The importance of both pre-anaesthetic testing of the entire circuit including attachments such as the tracheal tube connector and filters, and the removal of these parts should obstruction occur, is emphasised. Use of “clear” transparent breathing circuit components and opaque or brightly coloured packaging and caps which could potentially cause obstruction should decrease the incidence and facilitate the diagnosis of this problem.M.J. Foreman, D. G. Moye

Design and mathematical analysis of a three-mirror X-ray telescope based on ATM S-056 X-ray telescope hardware

The mathematical design of the aspheric third mirror for the three-mirror X-ray telescope (TMXRT) is presented, along with the imaging characteristics of the telescope obtained by a ray trace analysis. The present design effort has been directed entirely toward obtaining an aspheric third mirror which will be compatible with existing S-056 paraboloidal-hyperboloidal mirrors. This compatability will facilitate the construction of a prototype model of the TMXRT, since it will only be necessary to fabricate one new mirror in order to obtain a working model

Vignetting characteristics of the S-056 X-ray telescope

A ray trace analysis of the vignetting characteristics of the S-056 X ray telescope is presented. The relative energy is calculated in the spot formed in the focal plane of the S-056 X ray telescope by an off axis point source at infinity for off axis angles of 0, 1, 2, ..., 35 arc minutes. At each off axis angle, the relative energies are evaluated using theoretical X ray reflectivity curves for wavelengths of 8.34 A, 17.57 A, and 27.39 A, and also using an experimental X ray reflectivity curve for 8.34 A. The effects of vignetting due purely to the geometry of the S-056 optical system are evaluated separately, as well as jointly with the effects of mirror reflectivity

Lattice model theory of the equation of state covering the gas, liquid, and solid phases

The three stable states of matter and the corresponding phase transitions were obtained with a single model. Patterned after Lennard-Jones and Devonshires's theory, a simple cubic lattice model containing two fcc sublattices (alpha and beta) is adopted. The interatomic potential is taken to be the Lennard-Jones (6-12) potential. Employing the cluster variation method, the Weiss and the pair approximations on the lattice gas failed to give the correct phase diagrams. Hybrid approximations were devised to describe the lattice term in the free energy. A lattice vibration term corresponding to a free volume correction is included semi-phenomenologically. The combinations of the lattice part and the free volume part yield the three states and the proper phase diagrams. To determine the coexistence regions, the equalities of the pressure and Gibbs free energy per molecule of the coexisting phases were utilized. The ordered branch of the free energy gives rise to the solid phase while the disordered branch yields the gas and liquid phases. It is observed that the triple point and the critical point quantities, the phase diagrams and the coexistence regions plotted are in good agreement with the experimental values and graphs for argon

Ray-trace analysis of glancing-incidence X-ray optical systems

The results of a ray-trace analysis of several glancing-incidence X-ray optical systems are presented. The object of the study was threefold. First, the vignetting characteristics of the S-056 X-ray telescope were calculated using experimental data to determine mirror reflectivities. Second, a small Wolter Type I X-ray telescope intended for possible use in the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite program was designed and ray traced. Finally, a ray-trace program was developed for a Wolter-Schwarzschild X-ray telescope

MSFC holographic correlation techniques facility study

The basic theory of the holographic correlation system is illustrated. The effect of translating the object distribution in the object plane when the hologram is illuminated is investigated. The effect of translating the object along the optical axis is discussed and preliminary results presented

Design of a Heat Pump Assisted Solar Thermal System

This paper outlines the design of an active solar thermal loop system that will be integrated with an air source heat pump hot water heater to provide highly efficient heating of a water/propylene glycol mixture. This system design uses solar energy when available, but reverts to the heat pump at night or during cloudy weather. This new design will be used for hydronic heating in the Applied Energy Laboratory, a teaching laboratory at Purdue University, but it is more generally applicable for a residential scale system that could be used for both hydronic heating and hot water production. This combined system should provide efficient heating at a fraction of the operating costs of competing electric, gas, or even heat pump water heaters. The initial cost of installing a similar system is currently relatively high, but it should be noted that the design is still in the prototype stage. The price should reduce dramatically when the system is commercialized. There are multiple applications where the production of heated fluid by a combined solar/heat pump hydronic system can be much more attractive than conventional heating methods. Construction and implementation of this proposed design will take place summer of 2014 and data collection will be pursued afterwards

National and regional seasonal dynamics of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the USA from 1980 to 2016

In temperate climates, winter deaths exceed summer ones. However, there is limited information on the timing and the relative magnitudes of maximum and minimum mortality, by local climate, age group, sex and medical cause of death. We used geo-coded mortality data and wavelets to analyse the seasonality of mortality by age group and sex from 1980 to 2016 in the USA and its subnational climatic regions. Death rates in men and women ≥ 45 years peaked in December to February and were lowest in June to August, driven by cardiorespiratory diseases and injuries. In these ages, percent difference in death rates between peak and minimum months did not vary across climate regions, nor changed from 1980 to 2016. Under five years, seasonality of all-cause mortality largely disappeared after the 1990s. In adolescents and young adults, especially in males, death rates peaked in June/July and were lowest in December/January, driven by injury deaths