Greenhouse gas emissions from soils under organic management

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Land emissions of N2O, CO2 and NH3 have been subject to little study under organic systems, yet form important aspects of sustainability of such systems. We describe innovative methods developed at SAC to assess trace gas emission using both automatic closed chamber systems (intensive, short term monitoring) and manually-operated closed chamber systems (occasional, long term monitoring). Long-term data were collected from organic ley-arable rotation trials in North-east of Scotland. Short term data were collected to show the effect of timing and depth of ploughing-out of the ley phase on gas emissions. Ploughing gave a shortterm stimulation of CO2 and, more markedly, of N2O emission. Emissions of N2O from organic grass-clover leys were considerably lower than from conventional grass. However, some N2O emissions from organic arable are higher than from conventional systems, particularly in the first year after ploughing out ley. Ammonia emissions after spreading manure on grass were significant in the summer, though only short-lived

Conductivity phenomena in polycrystalline zinc oxide films

Photoconductivity and electric conductivity of polycrystalline zinc oxide thin film under low intensity irradiatio

Effect of Re-Wetting Treatment on the Dimensional Changes of Sugar Maple Wood

Air-dry wood samples are often simply re-wetted by direct immersion in order to raise the moisture content above the fiber saturation point. It is assumed that this treatment has no effect on the properties of wood and is equivalent to the green condition. A preliminary study was undertaken here to evaluate the influence of water re-saturation processes on the dimensional changes in sugar maple wood. Matched samples were subjected to three different full-water saturation treatments, from a four-step mild procedure to a one-step drastic procedure. Results showed that the re-wetting process had a significant effect on swelling and shrinkage of sugar maple wood

User Testing to Improve Retrieval and Comprehension of Information in Guidelines to Improve Medicines Safety

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of user testing for improving healthcare professionals’ retrieval and comprehension of information in medicines guidelines. Methods: The United Kingdom’s Injectable Medicines Guide was selected as a case study. This gives guidance to nurses on preparing and administering intravenous medicines on hospital wards, in line with standard UK practice. Three rounds of user testing were completed with 10 hospital nurses per round, using the Injectable Medicines Guide for voriconazole and aminophylline. Participants used the guidelines to answer 17 questions related to the administration of these medicines. Answers were scored for “finding” and “understanding” the required information. Semistructured interviews explored participants’ opinions of guideline content, design, and wording, with responses analyzed thematically. The guidelines were revised between rounds. Results: In round 1, 8 of 17 questions were answered correctly by all participants. Participants had difficulty with dose, dilution, administration rate, and adverse effects questions. Revisions included new subsections and increased calculation support. In round 2, 14 of 17 questions were answered correctly by all participants. Difficulty persisted with dose and administration rate questions and further revisions made. In round 3, 15 of 17 questions were answered correctly by all participants. Across all rounds, participants considered appropriate subheadings and information order as important for fast location of information. Specific, detailed, and practical instructions were perceived as important to improve understandability and usefulness. Conclusions: Key information in medicines guidelines may not be found and/or understood by healthcare professionals. User testing increased information retrieval and comprehension and could have an important role in improving the safety of medicines use

User-testing guidelines to improve the safety of intravenous medicines administration: a randomised in situ simulation study

Background: User-testing and subsequent modification of clinical guidelines increases health professionals’ information retrieval and comprehension. No study has investigated whether this results in safer care. Objective: To compare the frequency of medication errors when administering an intravenous medicine using the current National Health Service Injectable Medicines Guide (IMG) versus an IMG version revised with user-testing. Method: Single-blind, randomised parallel group in situ simulation. Participants were on-duty nurses/midwives who regularly prepared intravenous medicines. Using a training manikin in their clinical area, participants administered a voriconazole infusion, a high-risk medicine requiring several steps to prepare. They were randomised to use current IMG guidelines or IMG guidelines revised with user-testing. Direct observation was used to time the simulation and identify errors. Participant confidence was measured using a validated instrument. The primary outcome was the percentage of simulations with at least one moderatesevere IMG-related error, with error severity classified by an expert panel. Results: In total, 133 participants were randomised to current guidelines and 140 to user-tested guidelines. Fewer moderate-severe IMG-related errors occurred with the user-tested guidelines (n=68, 49%) compared with current guidelines (n=79, 59%), but this difference was not statistically significant (risk ratio: 0.82; 95% CI 0.66 to 1.02). Significantly more simulations were completed without any IMG-related errors with the usertested guidelines (n=67, 48%) compared with current guidelines (n=26, 20%) (risk ratio: 2.46; 95% CI 1.68 to 3.60). Median simulation completion time was 1.6min (95% CI 0.2 to 3.0) less with the user-tested guidelines. Participants who used user-tested guidelines reported greater confidence. Conclusion: User-testing injectable medicines guidelines reduces the number of errors and the time taken to prepare and administer intravenous medicines, while increasing staff confidence. Trial registration: number researchregistry5275

User-testing guidelines to improve the safety of intravenous medicines administration: a randomised in situ simulation study

Background: User-testing and subsequent modification of clinical guidelines increases health professionals’ information retrieval and comprehension. No study has investigated whether this results in safer care. Objective: To compare the frequency of medication errors when administering an intravenous medicine using the current National Health Service Injectable Medicines Guide (IMG) versus an IMG version revised with user-testing. Method: Single-blind, randomised parallel group in situ simulation. Participants were on-duty nurses/midwives who regularly prepared intravenous medicines. Using a training manikin in their clinical area, participants administered a voriconazole infusion, a high-risk medicine requiring several steps to prepare. They were randomised to use current IMG guidelines or IMG guidelines revised with user-testing. Direct observation was used to time the simulation and identify errors. Participant confidence was measured using a validated instrument. The primary outcome was the percentage of simulations with at least one moderate-severe IMG-related error, with error severity classified by an expert panel. Results: In total, 133 participants were randomised to current guidelines and 140 to user-tested guidelines. Fewer moderate-severe IMG-related errors occurred with the user-tested guidelines (n=68, 49%) compared with current guidelines (n=79, 59%), but this difference was not statistically significant (risk ratio: 0.82; 95% CI 0.66 to 1.02). Significantly more simulations were completed without any IMG-related errors with the user-tested guidelines (n=67, 48%) compared with current guidelines (n=26, 20%) (risk ratio: 2.46; 95% CI 1.68 to 3.60). Median simulation completion time was 1.6 min (95% CI 0.2 to 3.0) less with the user-tested guidelines. Participants who used user-tested guidelines reported greater confidence. Conclusion: User-testing injectable medicines guidelines reduces the number of errors and the time taken to prepare and administer intravenous medicines, while increasing staff confidence. Trial registration number: researchregistry5275

Hall and photoresponse measurements associated with ultraviolet and near ultraviolet degradation of thin zinc oxide films

Optical and electrical parameters of zinc oxide degradation during exposure to spectral radiatio

Stakeholder Perceptions about Guam Police Department Service Provision: Community Perceptions Survey

This project, ‘Stakeholder Perceptions about Guam Police Department Service Provision’ was commissioned by the Guam Police Department in December 2017. The project was actioned under a Memorandum of Agreement between the Guam Police Department and the University of the South Pacific. A letter of Agreement for Research Collaboration was entered among the University of the South Pacific, University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, University of Guam and the Guam Police Department to undertake the study. The project was funded by the Guam Police Department. The USP Ethics Approval Number for the project is FALE11/18. The project also has formal approval from the University of Guam Committee on Human Research Subjects – Approved CHRS#19-16 (Reference Date: 03/14/2019 and Expiration Date:02/12/2020). All participation in the project was voluntary

First Fruits of the Spitzer Space Telescope: Galactic and Solar System Studies

This article provides a brief overview of the Spitzer Space Telescope and discusses its initial scientific results on galactic and solar system science.Comment: Review article to appear in slightly different format in Vol.44 of Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 200

On the gas temperature in circumstellar disks around A stars

In circumstellar disks or shells it is often assumed that gas and dust temperatures are equal where the latter is determined by radiative equilibrium. This paper deals with the question whether this assumption is applicable for tenous circumstellar disks around young A stars. In this paper the thin hydrostatic equilibrium models described by Kamp & Bertoldi (2000) are combined with a detailed heating/cooling balance for the gas. The most important heating and cooling processes are heating through infrared pumping, heating due to the drift velocity of dust grains, and fine structure and molecular line cooling. Throughout the whole disk gas and dust are not efficiently coupled by collisions and hence their temperatures are quite different. Most of the gas in the disk models considered here stays well below 300 K. In the temperature range below 300 K the gas chemistry is not much affected by T_gas and therefore the simplifying approximation T_gas = T_dust can be used for calculating the chemical structure of the disk. Nevertheless the gas temperature is important for the quantitative interpretation of observations, like fine structure and molecular lines.Comment: 16 pages, 31 figures, A&A accepted May 4, 200