Understanding needle-related distress in children with cystic fibrosis

Objective. To explore the nature and management of needle-related distress in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF). Design. Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Methods. Fourteen child–parent dyads took part. Children (5 male; 9 female) had a mean age of 12.4 years (range 7–17) and were mostly diagnosed with CF at birth (N= 11). Frequency of needle procedures ranged from once to six times a year. Parents (3 male; 11 female) had a mean age of 41.5 years and were from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. Most participants identified previous needle experiences and pain as related to their needle anxiety. Over half of parents and children considered ‘taking control’ to be the optimum coping strategy. The majority of parents and children thought inhaled nitrous oxide gas during needle procedures was helpful in managing needle-related distress. Parent and staff influences on needle-related distress are also examined. Conclusions. Needle-related distress in children with CF has a substantial impact on children and their parents, and may lead to management problems and treatment refusal. Psychological and pharmacological interventions could reduce distress and aid management

X-ray Coherent diffraction interpreted through the fractional Fourier transform

Diffraction of coherent x-ray beams is treated through the Fractionnal Fourier transform. The transformation allow us to deal with coherent diffraction experiments from the Fresnel to the Fraunhofer regime. The analogy with the Huygens-Fresnel theory is first discussed and a generalized uncertainty principle is introduced.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Flour Bin and Sifter.

Patent for a flour bin and sifter that improves on a patent that was previously granted to the inventor (No. 411,671). The improvements improve "in an adjustable attachment to the bin whereby said bin may be easily and adjustable attached to a wall; a cut-off inserted near the base of the bin to regulate the flow of material into the sifter; a scraper adapted to scrape the upper side of the cut-off so that no material can be drawn out with said cut-off; in having the sifter connected to the base of the bin by single instead of double pins, and in a single door hinged to the front face of the sifter, and so closely hinged that when the same is open no dust can fly out in the face of the operator" (lines 20-33)

Investigating Signal Processing Theory With Mathematica

We present extensions to the computer algebra and multimediaenvironment Mathematica to enable students to investigate signal processing theory. Students interact with the extensions at two levels. The lower level is a set of Mathematica programs called the Signal Processing Packages #SPP# that implement signals and systems not found in the core of Mathematica. The higher level is a set of interactivemultimedia Notebook tutorials on analog #lters, convolution, Fourier analysis, and the transform. Other Notebooks have been written to help students evaluate their knowledge of digital #lter design and convolution