CRADA final report for CRADA number Y1294-0296: Optical particulate emission monitor

The Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology (ORCMT) and Environmental Systems Corporation (ESC) have collaborated on an effort to develop the optical system for an enhanced particulate emission monitor. The purpose of this effort was to assist a small East Tennessee company in perfecting an instrument that would meet or exceed the performance of competing foreign instruments and provide measurement capabilities necessary to assure compliance of Department of Energy facilities and other industrial facilities with expected EPA regulations. The two parties collaborated on design, assembly, and bench testing of the prototype instrument. The prototype system was targeted to have the capability for measuring micron size particles in concentrations as low as 10 micrograms per cubic meter and to have the added benefit of improving sampling statistics (i.e. measurements will be made over larger regions of the stack) over current instruments. Project deliverables were a prototype optical system and characterization data

Adherence and Concordance between Serious Illness Care Planning Conversations and Oncology Clinician Documentation among Patients with Advanced Cancer

Background:Serious illness conversations are part of advance care planning (ACP) and focus on prognosis, values, and goals in patients who are seriously ill. To be maximally effective, such conversations must be documented accurately and be easily accessible. Objectives:The two coprimary objectives of the study were to assess concordance between written documentation and recorded audiotaped conversations, and to evaluate adherence to the Serious Illness Conversation Guide questions. Methods:Data were obtained as part of a trial in patients with advanced cancer. Clinicians were trained to use a guide to conduct and document serious illness conversations. Conversations were audiotaped. Two researchers independently compared audiorecordings with the corresponding documentation in an electronic health record (EHR) template and free-text progress notes, and rated the degree of concordance and adherence. Results:We reviewed a total of 25 audiorecordings. Clinicians addressed 87% of the conversation guide elements. Prognosis was discussed least frequently, only in 55% of the patients who wanted that information. Documentation was fully concordant with the conversation 43% of the time. Concordance was best when documenting family matters and goals, and least frequently concordant when documenting prognostic communication. Most conversations (64%) were documented in the template, a minority (28%) only in progress notes and two conversations (8%) were not documented. Concordance was better when the template was used (62% vs. 28%). Conclusion:Clinicians adhered well to the conversation guide. However, key information elicited was documented and fully concordant less than half the time. Greater concordance was observed when clinicians used a prespecified template. The combined use of a guide and EHR template holds promise for ACP conversations

A Qualitative Study of Serious Illness Conversations in Patients with Advanced Cancer

BACKGROUND: Conversations with seriously ill patients about their values and goals have been associated with reduced distress, a better quality of life, and goal-concordant care near the end of life. Yet, little is known about how such conversations are conducted. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the content of serious illness conversations and identify opportunities for improvement. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of audio-recorded, serious illness conversations using an evidence-based guide and obtained through a cluster randomized controlled trial in an outpatient oncology setting. Setting/Measurements: Clinicians assigned to the intervention arm received training to use the "Serious Illness Conversation Guide" to have a serious illness conversation about values and goals with advanced cancer patients. Conversations were de-identified, transcribed verbatim, and independently coded by two researchers. Key themes were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 25 conversations conducted by 16 clinicians were evaluated. The median conversation duration was 14 minutes (range 4-37), with clinicians speaking half of the time. Thematic analyses demonstrated five key themes: (1) supportive dialogue between patients and clinicians; (2) patients' openness to discuss emotionally challenging topics; (3) patients' willingness to articulate preferences regarding life-sustaining treatments; (4) clinicians' difficulty in responding to emotional or ambiguous patient statements; and (5) challenges in discussing prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Data from this exploratory study suggest that seriously ill patients are open to discussing values and goals with their clinician. Yet, clinicians may struggle when disclosing a time-based prognosis and in responding to patients' emotions. Such skills should be a focus for additional training for clinicians caring for seriously ill patients

Digestive tract morphometry and breast muscle microstructure in spent breeder ducks maintainedin a conservation programme of genetic resources

The objective of this study was to compare three genetic groups of ducks: P9 (French Pekin), K2 (bred from wild mallards – Anas platyrhynchos L. and Pekin duck), and KhO1 (hybrid of Khaki Campbell drake and Orpington Fauve duck) after two breeding seasons for body weight and length, length of intestine and its segments, percentage of other internal organs, and breast muscle microstructure. The study used 60 ducks, 20 birds (10 males and 10 females) from each genetic group. At 110 weeks of age, P9 ducks exhibited significantly (p&lt;0.05) greater body weight and length, and length of intestine and its segments (except for colon length) compared to K2 and KhO1 ducks. KhO1 ducks had significantly shorter jejunum and ileum compared to K2 birds. The lighter K2 and KhO1 ducks had significantly greater relative length of intestine and its segments. In P9 ducks, liver, heart, and gizzard were heavier and spleen percentage in body weight significantly lower than in K2 and KhO1 birds. KhO1 ducks had a significantly higher percentage of proventriculus compared to the other duck groups. The different genetic origins of the ducks had no effect on microstructural characteristics of m. pectoralis superficialis except for perimysium and endomysium thickness. Our study provided information about differences in the digestive tract morphometry and breast muscle microstructure of ducks from three genetic groups after two reproductive seasons, which are maintained in a conservation programme of genetic resources in Poland.</p

Quantum Optics and Photonics

Contains table of contents for Part II, table of contains for Section 1 and reports on three research projects.Charles Stark Draper LaboratoryJoint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAL03-86-K-0002)National Science Foundation (Grant PHY 82-10369)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Contract F49620-82-C-0091)U.S. Air Force - Rome Air Development Cente

Hybrid optics for the visible produced by bulk casting of sol-gel glass using diamond-turned molds

Recent combinations of diffractive and refractive functions in the same optical component allow designers additional opportunities to make systems more compact and enhance performance. This paper describes a research program for fabricating hybrid refractive/diffractive components from diamond-turned molds using the bulk casting of sol-gel silica glass. The authors use the complementary dispersive nature of refractive and diffractive optics to render two-color correction in a single hybrid optical element. Since diamond turning has matured as a deterministic manufacturing technology, techniques previously suitable only in the infrared are now being applied to components used at visible wavelengths. Thus, the marriage of diamond turning and sol-gel processes offers a cost-effective method for producing highly customized and specialized optical components in high quality silica glass. With the sol-gel casting method of replication, diamond-turned mold costs can be shared over many pieces. Diamond turning takes advantage of all of the available degrees of freedom in a single hybrid optical element: aspheric surface to eliminate spherical aberration, kinoform surface for control of primary chromatic aberration, and the flexibility to place the kinoform on non-planar surfaces for maximum design flexibility. The authors discuss the critical issues involved in designing the hybrid element, single point diamond-turning the mold, and fabrication in glass using the sol-gel process