Teenager loner in a chat room tangled up in guile and guilability : a review

ADAM Cass's I Love You, Bro is an engaging portrayal of just how far some young people can go in constructing fantasy worlds online. The play is, according to Cass, based on the case of two teenage boys in Britain in the early 2000s. Troubled teen Johnny lives at home with his mother and her new partner. Lurking in an online chat room one day, he strikes up a conversation with MarkyMark, a slightly older soccer-playing boy from the popular crowd in his own local town, who mistakes him for a girl. The plot unfolds from this one moment of mistaken identity. Johnny concocts an increasingly tenuous series of characters, plot twists and intrigues to try to maintain his relationship with MarkyMark and deal with the lie at the heart of his first love, eventually conspiring - as he tells us from the first moment - to cause his own murder.

Thermal behavior and decomposition of kaolinite-potassium acetate intercalation composite

A series of kaolinite-potassium acetate intercalation composite was prepared. The thermal behavior and decomposition of these composites were investigated by simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transformation infrared (FT-IR). The XRD pattern at room temperature indicated that intercalation of potassium acetate into kaolinite causes an increase of the basal spacing from 0.718 to 1.428nm. The peak intensity of the expanded phase of the composite decreased with heating above 300°C, and the basal spacing reduced to 1.19nm at 350°C and 0.718nm at 400°C. These were supported by DSC-TGA and FT-IR measurements, where the endothermic reactions are observed between 300 and 600°C. These reactions can be divided into two stages: 1) Removal of the intercalated molecules between 300-400°C. 2) Dehydroxylation of kaolinite between 400-600°C. Significant changes were observed in the infrared bands assigned to outer surface hydroxyl, inner surface hydroxyl, inner hydroxyl and hydrogen bands.

Flexural and torsional rigidity of colonoscope at room and body temperatures

A series of experiments have been conducted to determine the flexural, EI, and torsional, GJ, rigidity of an Olympus colonoscope CF‐140S and torsional rigidity of a Pentax colonoscope EC‐3870 and the dependency of these properties on temperature and on the presence of loops. Along the length of the colonoscope, the Olympus colonoscope flexural rigidity varied between 260 and 400 Ncm2 and torsional rigidity varied between 68 and 88 Ncm2/deg, with an average of 76 Ncm2/deg for tests involving 0.86 Nm of anti‐clockwise torque. Results show a significant decrease of 10% in torsional rigidity between clockwise and anti‐clockwise torque. For the Pentax colonoscope flexural rigidity was not tested; its torsional rigidity varied between 34 and 76 Ncm2/deg, with an average of 46 Ncm2/deg for tests involving 0.43 Nm of anti‐clockwise torque. An increase in temperature of the Olympus colonoscope from 24°C to 37°C reduces EI by an average of 17% and GJ by an average of 7%. A right‐handed loop caused a significant increase in flexural rigidity, but other looping configurations had no significant influence.

Room ventilation and the risk of airborne infection transmission in three health care settings within a large teaching hospital

Background: Room ventilation is a key determinant of airborne disease transmission. Despite this, ventilation guidelines in hospitals are not founded on robust scientific evidence related to prevention of airborne transmission. Methods: We sought to assess the effect of ventilation rates on influenza, tuberculosis (TB) and rhinovirus infection risk within three distinct rooms in a major urban hospital; a Lung Function Laboratory, Emergency Department (ED) Negative-pressure Isolation Room and an Outpatient Consultation Room were investigated. Air exchange rate measurements were performed in each room using CO2 as a tracer. Gammaitoni and Nucci’s model was employed to estimate infection risk. Results: Current outdoor air exchange rates in the Lung Function Laboratory and ED Isolation Room limited infection risks to between 0.1 and 3.6%. Influenza risk for individuals entering an Outpatient Consultation Room after an infectious individual departed ranged from 3.6 to 20.7%, depending on the duration for which each person occupied the room. Conclusions: Given the absence of definitive ventilation guidelines for hospitals, air exchange measurements combined with modelling afford a useful means of assessing, on a case-by-case basis, the suitability of room ventilation at preventing airborne disease transmission.

The sewing room

Poem

Pulling apart the mid to late Cenozoic magmatic record of the Gulf of California : no room for the Comondú Arc

Understanding the link between tectonic-driven extensional faulting and volcanism is crucial from a hazard perspective in active volcanic environments, while ancient volcanic successions provide records on how volcanic eruption styles, compositions, magnitudes and frequencies can change in response to extension timing, distribution and intensity. Significantly, incorrect tectonic interpretations can be made when the spatial-temporal-compositional trends of, and source contributions to magmatism are not properly considered. This study draws on intimate relationships of volcanism and extension preserved in the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) and Gulf of California (GoC) regions of western Mexico. Here, a major Oligocene rhyolitic ignimbrite “flare-up” (>300,000 km3) switched to a dominantly bimodal and mixed effusive-explosive volcanic phase in the Early Miocene (~100,000 km3), associated with distributed extension and opening of numerous grabens. Rhyolitic dome fields were emplaced along graben edges and at intersections of cross-graben and graben-parallel structures during early stages of graben development. Concomitant with this change in rhyolite eruption style was a change in crustal source as revealed by zircon chronochemistry with rapid rates of rhyolite magma generation due to remelting of mid- to upper crustal, highly differentiated igneous rocks emplaced during earlier SMO magmatism. Extension became more focused ~18 Ma resulting in volcanic activity being localised along the site of GoC opening. This localised volcanism (known as the Comondú “arc”) was dominantly effusive and andesite-dacite in composition. This compositional change resulted from increased mixing of basaltic and rhyolitic magmas rather than fluid flux melting of the mantle wedge above the subducting Guadalupe Plate. A poor understanding of space-time relationships of volcanism and extension has thus led to incorrect past tectonic interpretations of Comondú-age volcanism.

Compliance with standard precautions and occupational exposure reporting among operating room nurses in Australia

Occupational exposures of healthcare workers tend to occur because of inconsistent compliance with standard precautions. Also, incidence of occupational exposure is underreported among operating room personnel. The purpose of this project was to develop national estimates for compliance with standard precautions and occupational exposure reporting practices among operating room nurses in Australia. Data was obtained utilizing a 96-item self-report survey. The Standard Precautions and Occupational Exposure Reporting survey was distributed anonymously to 500 members of the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses. The Health Belief Model was the theoretical framework used to guide the analysis of data. Data was analysed to examine relationships between specific constructs of the Health Belief Model to identify factors that might influence the operating room nurse to undertake particular health behaviours to comply with standard precautions and occupational exposure reporting. Results of the study revealed compliance rates of 55.6% with double gloving, 59.1% with announcing sharps transfers, 71.9% with using a hands-free sharps pass technique, 81.9% with no needle recapping and 92.0% with adequate eye protection. Although 31.6% of respondents indicated receiving an occupational exposure in the past 12 months, only 82.6% of them reported their exposures. The results of this study provide national estimates of compliance with standard precautions and occupational exposure reporting among operating room nurses in Australia. These estimates can now be used as support for the development and implementation of measures to improve practices in order to reduce occupational exposures and, ultimately, disease transmission rates among this high-risk group.

Influences on compliance with standard precautions among operating room nurses

Background Occupational exposures of health care workers occur because of inconsistent compliance with standard precautions. The purpose of this study was to develop national estimates of compliance with standard precautions and occupational exposure reporting among operating room nurses (specifically, scrub nurses) in Australia and to assess variables that influence compliance. Methods A descriptive correlation design was used to investigate relationships between variables and compliance, using a theoretical framework, the Health Belief Model, to give meaning to the variables. Data collection was done through mail-out surveys to members of the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses. Results This article reports the results of compliance with the following 2 specific self-protective behaviors: double-gloving and wearing adequate eye protection. Mean compliance rates were 55.6% with always double-gloving during surgical procedures and 92% with always wearing adequate eye protection. In addition, the variable that had the most influence on compliance was the perception of barriers to compliance, specifically, that adhering to standard precautions interfered with duties. Conclusion These results have implications for the development of multifaceted perioperative infection control programs, including strategies for prevention, education, and policy development, to improve practices aimed at reducing occupational exposures among this high-risk group.

'In the Room' and 'School Chemistry Class'

Two poems in journal Axon. 2013 Issue 4.

A bricoleur (or two) in the consulting room

In popular contemporary use, the French term bricolage refers to the activities of the home handyman. It is sometimes used in a disparaging way to refer to work that is improvised, uninformed by expertise or specialist knowledge, and probably inferior in its results when compared with the work of a tradesman or professional. In 1962, anthropologist and philosopher Claude Lévi-Strauss argued that bricolage is a modality of human thought. Since then, the importance of bricolage as a mental activity has been identified in relation to art and architecture, as well as other fields of cultural activity. In this paper I consider bricolage as an activity of the ego and explore its role in the consulting room. I argue that by necessity the psychoanalytic work undertaken between patient and analyst relies on this modality of thought and, furthermore, that the use of bricolage is entirely compatible with evidence-based practice.

Experimental and numerical analysis of the relationship between indoor and outdoor airborne particles in an operating room

This work investigated the impact of the HVAC filtration system and indoor particle sources on the relationship between indoor and outdoor airborne particle size and concentrations in an operating room. Filters with efficiency between 65% and 99.97% were used in the investigation and indoor and outdoor particle size and concentrations were measured. A balance mass model was used for the simulation of the impact of the surgical team, deposition rate, HVAC exhaust and air change rates on indoor particle concentration. The experimental results showed that high efficiency filters would not be expected to decrease the risk associated with indoor particles larger than approximately 1 µm in size because normal filters are relatively efficient for these large particles. A good fraction of outdoor particles were removed by deposition on the HVAC system surfaces and this deposition increased with particle size. For particles of 0.3-0.5 µm in diameter, particle reduction was about 23%, while for particles >10 µm the loss was about 78%. The modelling results showed that depending on the type of filter used, the surgical team generated between 93-99% of total particles, while the outdoor air contributed only 1-6%.

Harnessing the influence of reactive edges and defects of graphene substrates for achieving complete cycle of room-temperature molecular sensing

Molecular doping and detection are at the forefront of graphene research, a topic of great interest in physical and materials science. Molecules adsorb strongly on graphene, leading to a change in electrical conductivity at room temperature. However, a common impediment for practical applications reported by all studies to date is the excessively slow rate of desorption of important reactive gases such as ammonia and nitrogen dioxide. Annealing at high temperatures, or exposure to strong ultraviolet light under vacuum, is employed to facilitate desorption of these gases. In this article, the molecules adsorbed on graphene nanoflakes and on chemically derived graphene-nanomesh flakes are displaced rapidly at room temperature in air by the use of gaseous polar molecules such as water and ethanol. The mechanism for desorption is proposed to arise from the electrostatic forces exerted by the polar molecules, which decouples the overlap between substrate defect states, molecule states, and graphene states near the Fermi level. Using chemiresistors prepared from water-based dispersions of single-layer graphene on mesoporous alumina membranes, the study further shows that the edges of the graphene flakes (showing p-type responses to NO2 and NH3) and the edges of graphene nanomesh structures (showing n-type responses to NO2 and NH3) have enhanced sensitivity. The measured responses towards gases are comparable to or better than those which have been obtained using devices that are more sophisticated. The higher sensitivity and rapid regeneration of the sensor at room temperature provides a clear advancement towards practical molecule detection using graphene-based materials.