9,992 research outputs found
The introduction of a surgical safety checklist in a tertiary referral obstetric centre
Background: Surgery-related adverse events remain
a significant and often under-reported problem. In
a recent study, the introduction of a perioperative
checklist by the WHO reduced deaths and
complications by 46% and 36% respectively. The
authors wished to evaluate the introduction of
a surgical safety checklist in a busy obstetric tertiary
referral centre by assessing staff attitudes, checklist
compliance and effects upon patients.
Methods: A questionnaire-based assessment was
performed on staff working in obstetric theatres before
and after the introduction of the surgical safety
checklist. Checklist compliance was assessed at
3 months and 1 year. Patients were asked questions
relating to the performance of the surgical safety
checklist in order to evaluate any anxiety caused.
Results: Non-medical staff were significantly more
likely than medical staff to feel familiar with other team
members both before (p<0.001) and after (
Auxin-induced growth inhibition a natural consequence of two-point attachment
It is characteristic of a great number of biologically active substances that the responses which they elicit are twofold, low concentrations of the material promoting a particular activity, and higher concentrations inhibiting it. This is the case with the auxin-induced growth responses of plants. An active auxin such as indole acetic acid (IAA) brings about and is essential to growth in length of stems, hypocotyls and other plant organs including the Avena coleoptile
Extending the Latent Multinomial Model with Complex Error Processes and Dynamic Markov Bases
The latent multinomial model (LMM) model of Link et al. (2010) provided a
general framework for modelling mark-recapture data with potential errors in
identification. Key to this approach was a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC)
scheme for sampling possible configurations of the counts true capture
histories that could have generated the observed data. This MCMC algorithm used
vectors from a basis for the kernel of the linear map between the true and
observed counts to move between the possible configurations of the true data.
Schofield and Bonner (2015) showed that a strict basis was sufficient for some
models of the errors, including the model presented by Link et al. (2010), but
a larger set called a Markov basis may be required for more complex models. We
address two further challenges with this approach: 1) that models with more
complex error mechanisms do not fit easily within the LMM and 2) that the
Markov basis can be difficult or impossible to compute for even moderate sized
studies. We address these issues by extending the LMM to separately model the
capture/demographic process and the error process and by developing a new MCMC
sampling scheme using dynamic Markov bases. Our work is motivated by a study of
Queen snakes (Regina septemvittata) in Kentucky, USA, and we use simulation to
compare the use of PIT tags, with perfect identification, and brands, which are
prone to error, when estimating survival rates
The Fast Wandering of Slow Birds
I study a single "slow" bird moving with a flock of birds of a different, and
faster (or slower) species. I find that every "species" of flocker has a
characteristic speed , where is the mean speed of the
flock, such that, if the speed of the "slow" bird equals , it
will randomly wander transverse to the mean direction of flock motion far
faster than the other birds will: its mean-squared transverse displacement will
grow in with time like , in contrast to for the
other birds. In , the slow bird's mean squared transverse displacement
grows like , in contrast to for the other birds. If , the mean-squared displacement of the "slow" bird crosses over from
to scaling in , and from to scaling in
, at a time that scales according to .Comment: 10 pages; 5 pages of which did not appear in earlier versions, but
were added in response to referee's suggestion
A tow concept for the space shuttle orbiter approach and landing test
The tow concept provides the means for evaluating the orbiter aerodynamic performance and handling qualities in the same configuration as expected in actual space shuttle flight operation. A Boeing 747-100 aircraft has engine-out capability to tow the orbiter to an altitude that permits a safe orbiter approach and landing. The tow concept also provides a means for conducting a comprehensive ground test program before proceeding into the actual ALT flight operations. The implementation of the tow concept requires only a minor structural modification in the nose section of the orbiter vehicle; requires minor modifications in the 747 cargo bay; and makes use of those orbiter onboard systems installed in the ALT orbiter vehicle. The 747 wake turbulence does not constitute a problem for the orbiter during take-off or climb to altitude. The impact that the tow concept would have on the cost and schedule of the space shuttle program was not evaluated in this study
Crystal Structure and Magnetism of the Linear-Chain Copper Oxides Sr5Pb3-xBixCuO12
The title quasi-1D copper oxides (0=< x =<0.4) were investigated by neutron
diffraction and magnetic susceptibility studies. Polyhedral CuO4 units in the
compounds were found to comprise linear-chains at inter-chain distance of
approximately 10 A. The parent chain compound (x = 0), however, shows less
anisotropic magnetic behavior above 2 K, although it is of substantially
antiferromagnetic (mu_{eff}= 1.85 mu_{B} and Theta_{W} = -46.4 K) spin-chain
system. A magnetic cusp gradually appears at about 100 K in T vs chi with the
Bi substitution. The cusp (x = 0.4) is fairly characterized by and therefore
suggests the spin gap nature at Delta/k_{B} ~ 80 K. The chain compounds hold
electrically insulating in the composition range.Comment: To be published in PR
Using Direct-Sequenced Spread Spectrum in a Wired Local Area Network
Code division multiple access provides an ability to share channel bandwidth amongst users at the same time. Individual user performance is not degraded with the addition of more users, unlike traditional Ethernet. Using direct sequenced spread spectrum in a wired local area network, network performance is improved. For a network in overload conditions, individual station throughput is increased by nearly 212% while mean end-to-end delay was reduced by 800%. The vast improvement demonstrated by this research has the capability to extend legacy-cabling infrastructures for many years to come while easily accommodating new bandwidth intensive multimedia applications
Geochemistry of biomolecules
A highly sensitive fluorometric technique is developed for the determination of biological and geo-organic compounds in ancient sediments and extraterrestrial samples. This technique is used to establish chemical evidence for fossil pigments in an extraterrestrial sample. Also developed is a highly sensitive and specific fluorometric method for the determination of total primary amine nitrogen in soil samples
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