bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An exploration of health‐related quality of life in adults with haemophilia – a qualitative perspective
Authors: Beeton K. , Neal D. , Lee C.
Published: March 2005

Summary.  Musculoskeletal dysfunction is a common feature of haemophilia and along with other manifestations of this condition, there is a general perception that health‐related quality of life (QoL) will be affected. Previous research using standardized questionnaires has demonstrated that QoL is lower in haemophilia groups compared with normal populations. However, disability studies and interviews with disabled people suggest that many disabled people experience positive life changes as a result of their illness and an affirmative model of disability has been proposed. A qualitative study involving focus groups and interviews was undertaken to explore these issues in a group of 19 severely affected adults with haemophilia. The focus groups and interviews were tape recorded and fully transcribed and the results subjected to thematic analysis. This paper focuses specifically on key issues that impacted on perceptions of QoL. The findings suggest that the participants’ perceptions of their QoL were very positive. Possible reasons for this are proposed including the benefits of factor replacement, participants' recollections of their lifestyle before factor replacement, that having haemophilia was integral to the ‘self’ and finding a niche where they could be successful. A more positive affirmation of haemophilia may need to be considered when developing QoL measures.
Litmus tests for verification of feeding tube location in infants: evaluation of their clinical use
Authors: Nyqvist Kerstin Hedberg , Sorell Annette , Ewald Uwe
Published: March 2005

Aims.  To examine the clinical use of litmus paper tests for the assessment of aspirates in infants.

Background.  In connection with establishing a programme for home care of infants with requirement of tube feeding with parents as the infants’ carers, the need for a research‐based method for verification of feeding tube position was identified by nurses as a complement to other methods. In adult care the litmus paper test is commonly used when visual inspection is not sufficient for assessment of aspirates obtained from feeding tubes.

Design.  Observational study.

Methods and material.  Nurses performed litmus tests for verification of feeding tube location in a convenience sample of 60 infants born at a gestational age (GA) of 24–42 weeks. Presence/absence and volumes of aspirates were recorded as well as positive/negative litmus test reactions. Analyses on the association between test results and the infants’ GA and postmenstrual and postnatal age at the time of the tests were conducted.

Results.  Data were obtained from 2970 tube feeds. Aspirates were present on 1840 occasions (62%). A higher proportion of infants with absence of aspirates were born at a GA below 32 weeks. A positive reaction occurred in 97% of the tests in volumes between 0.01 and 22 ml. Birth at a GA below 32 weeks and respiratory problems were associated with negative tests.

Conclusion.  The high ratio of positive litmus reactions at all maturational levels supports the bedside use of analysis of pH in gastric aspirates for verification of feeding tube location.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Application of pH indicator paper is recommended as a complementary method for assessment of aspirates from feeding tubes.
A framework for portfolio development in postgraduate nursing practice
Authors: Joyce Pauline
Published: March 2005

Aims and objectives.  The aim of this study is to explore the introduction of portfolios into the first year of an MSc in Nursing Programme.

Background.  This paper outlines a framework for portfolio development in postgraduate nursing practice. The framework is being piloted, within the Irish context, with students in the first year of a Masters in Nursing programme and has the potential to be developed for other nursing programmes at postgraduate level.

Design and method.  An action research approach has been chosen to study the implementation of the portfolio and the development of a framework to guide this initiative. To date the development of the framework is being piloted as part of the ‘taking action’ phase of a first action research cycle.

Results.  In its current stage of development the framework is constructed to embrace the core concepts of specialist nursing practice and the nursing management competencies, from current Irish health care documents. In addition the portfolio is anchored around personal development planning and is supported by the use of action learning tutorials and academic and practice facilitators. The first evaluating phase will take place later this year and will involve the collection of data from students, facilitators and lecturers.

Conclusion.  The introduction of the portfolio at postgraduate level has highlighted, to date, issues of confidentiality in committing experiences to paper, issues around its assessment, and issues around sharing this document with other students.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Portfolio development at postgraduate level emphasizes linking theory and practice and stresses the importance of reflection on practice. The portfolio can also be used by nurses to develop their clinical career pathways and encourage personal development planning.
Comparing mercury‐in‐glass, tympanic and disposable thermometers in measuring body temperature in healthy young people
Authors: Khorshid Leyla , Eşer İsmet , Zaybak Ayten , Yapucu Ülkü
Published: March 2005

Aim and objectives.  The aim of this study was to determine whether a disposable thermometer was at least as accurate as a tympanic thermometer when compared with a mercury‐in‐glass thermometer and to investigate the waiting periods of mercury‐in‐glass thermometers.

Background.  Although different methods of temperature measurement have been widely studied and described during the last decade, comparison between readings obtained when measuring body temperature using disposable, mercury‐in‐glass and tympanic thermometers is little documented and there is confusion about the waiting periods of mercury‐in‐glass thermometers.

Methods.  This research was descriptive and comparative. Temperature measurements included three sequential readings using first a tympanic thermometer in the left ear, then a disposable thermometer in the left axillary area and finally a mercury‐in‐glass thermometer in the right axillary area. All the temperatures were measured on the Celsius (°C) scale. To identify the stabilization periods of the mercury‐in‐glass thermometers, the temperature measurement was repeated until the reading stabilized. F‐tests were used to compare readings of the mean temperatures.

Results.  It was found that body temperature readings measured by tympanic thermometer were higher than axillary mercury‐in‐glass thermometer by 0.12 °C, body temperature readings measured by tympanic thermometer were higher than axillary disposable thermometer readings by 0.65 °C and body temperature readings measured by axillary mercury‐in‐glass thermometer were higher by 0.53 °C than readings measured by axillary disposable thermometer. It was found that readings measured by mercury‐in‐glass thermometer stabilized in the eighth minute.

Relevance to clinical practice.  When assessing body temperature it is important to take the type of thermometer into consideration. In addition, axillary mercury‐in‐glass thermometers must be kept in place a minimum of eight minutes.
Evidence‐based health care: development and audit of a clinical standard for research and its impact on an NHS trust
Authors: Parkin Claire , Bullock Ian
Published: March 2005

Background.  Working within a modern National Health Service in the United Kingdom, the place for research and its dissemination is increasingly important. The organization of this within each National Health Service (NHS) Trust is challenging but nevertheless essential. If health care professionals are to be empowered to adopt an evidence‐based approach in both the planning and delivery of care, research aware employees are crucial.

Aims and objectives.  This paper highlights the importance of NHS hospital trusts implementing initiatives that will facilitate this process. One such initiative has been the development and survey of a clinical standard for research. The primary development aim was to provide a benchmark standard for all nursing research. The standard was developed to fit within the current dynamic quality improvement (DQI) programme and has directly contributed to an evolving culture of research by shaping nurses’ awareness, and offering a support and consultancy network within the Trust. The standard is one aspect of a research awareness programme, with the primary objective of providing guidance and education whilst developing nurses throughout the research process. The planned strategic outcome is to see a positive outcome on the quality of research in the Trust.

Design.  A baseline survey was conducted to provide a definitive snap shot of research understanding and practice within the Trust following the introduction of the research standard.

Methods.  The standard was developed by a team of clinicians led by a member of the quality team, to ensure that it fitted the DQI structure, and a member of the Nursing Research Unit (NRU). The standard was distributed to every clinical area and 192 nurses were surveyed to evaluate its impact on their awareness of educational opportunities, their use of the consultancy and support service, their use of other support services, their research utilization and research quality.

Results.  The survey demonstrated that the implementation of the standard had increased awareness related to both formal and informal educational and research opportunities. It identified current nurses’ strengths and weaknesses relative to all aspects of the research process, particularly in obtaining ethical approval for studies. A rolling programme of research education enabled nurses to gain essential knowledge and skills in supporting their developing research awareness, consumption and conduct of research.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The NRU, through this process, has formed an effective alliance between clinical nurses and research facilitators in promoting high quality research. The foundations to continue to support this within the Trust are now well established.
The needs and experiences of family members of adult patients in an intensive care unit: a review of the literature
Authors: Verhaeghe Sofie , Defloor Tom , Van Zuuren Florence , Duijnstee Mia , Grypdonck Mieke
Published: March 2005

Aims and objectives.  Insight into the needs and experiences of family members is an initial but necessary step in providing appropriate care for both family members and the patient. This literature review aims to structure the available scientific knowledge on needs and experiences of family members of intensive care unit patients with particular extension to coma patients. Qualitative as well as quantitative studies are discussed.

Method.  Literature review.

Results.  Needs are divided into four categories: cognitive, emotional, social and practical needs. The need for accurate and comprehensible information that leaves room for hope is universal. Family members want to speak to a doctor every day about the condition of and the prognosis for the patient, and want a nurse to explain to them about the care, the unit, the equipment and what they can do for the patient during visiting hours. Family members place great importance on being called at home if the condition of the patient changes. Emotional needs as hope, reassurance and being able to remain in the vicinity of the patient are crucial. Family members always give priority to the welfare of their relative. In their confused state, they often do not get around to paying attention to themselves. Caregivers underestimate all of the needs of family members and do not do enough to meet these needs.

Relevance to clinical practice.  Priority needs should be central in the nurses’ approach of family members. The initiative for meeting the needs must be with the caregivers. Future, focused and well‐designed qualitative research over a longer period of time could clarify the process that family members go through and explain the results of quantitative studies.
Overcoming the barriers to patient‐centred care: time, tools and training
Authors: West Elizabeth , Barron David N , Reeves Rachel
Published: March 2005

Aims and objectives.  To investigate whether nurses experience barriers to delivering high quality care in areas that are of particular concern to patients and to describe which aspects of care are most affected when nurses lack the required resources, such as time, tools and training to do their job.

Background.  Patient surveys conducted in the National Health Service of the United Kingdom tend to show there is variation in the extent to which they are satisfied with care in a number of important areas, such as physical comfort, emotional support and the coordination of care. 

Design.  A sample of nurses working in 20 acute London hospitals was asked to complete a postal questionnaire based on a prototype employee survey developed in the United States and adapted by the authors for use in the United Kingdom.

Method.  Staff in the human resources departments of participating hospitals mailed the questionnaires to nurses’ home addresses. After two reminders, 2880 (out of 6160) useable responses were returned, giving a response rate of 47%.

Results.  Nurses are aware that there are deficits in standards of care in areas that are particularly important to patients. The majority feel overworked (64%) and report that they do not have enough time to perform essential nursing tasks, such as addressing patients’ anxieties, fears and concerns and giving patients and relatives information. Their work is often made more difficult by the lack of staff, space, equipment and cleanliness. They are often unable to control noise and temperature in clinical areas. Nurses in acute London hospitals are subject to high levels of aggressive behaviour, mainly from patients and their relatives, but also from other members of staff. More positively, high proportions of the nurses in our survey expressed the desire for further training, particularly in social and interpersonal aspects of care.

Relevance to clinical practice.  This paper goes beyond reporting problems with the quality and safety of care to try to understand why patients do not always receive optimum care in areas that are important to them. In many cases nurses lack the time, tools and training to deliver high quality care in acute London hospitals. We suggest a number of low‐cost interventions that might remove some of the barriers to patient‐centred care. The questionnaire we have developed could be a useful tool for improving quality locally.
Computer‐aided disease prediction system: development of application software with SAS component language
Authors: Chang Chi‐Ming , Kuo Hsu‐Sung , Chang Shu‐Hui , Chang Hong‐Jen , Liou Der‐Ming , Laszlo Tabar , Chen Tony Hsiu‐Hsi
Published: March 2005

Aims  The intricacy of predictive models associated with prognosis and risk classification of disease often discourages medical personnel who are interested in this field. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a computer‐aided disease prediction model underpinning a step‐by‐step statistics‐guided approach including five components: (1) data management; (2) exploratory analysis; (3) type of predictive model; (4) model verification; (5) interactive mode of disease prediction using SAS 8.02 Windows 2000 as a platform.

Methods  The application of this system was illustrated by using data from the Swedish Two‐County Trial on breast cancer screening. The effects of tumour size, node status, and histological grade on breast cancer death using logistic regression model or survival models were predicted. A total of 20 questions were designed to exemplify the usefulness of each component. We also evaluated the system using a controlled randomized trial. Times to finish the above 20 questions were used as endpoint to evaluate the performance of the current system. User satisfaction with the current system such as easy to use, the efficiency of risk prediction, and the reduction of barrier to predictive  model  was also evaluated.

Results  The intervention group not only performed more efficiently than the control group but also satisfied with this application software.

Conclusions  The MD‐DP‐SOS system characterized by menu‐driven style, comprehensiveness, accuracy and adequacy assessment, and interactive mode of disease prediction is helpful for medical personnel who are involved in disease prediction.
Understanding safer practices in health care: a prologue for the role of indicators
Authors: Kazandjian Vahé A. , Wicker Karol , Ogunbo Sam , Silverman Nicole
Published: March 2005

Objectives  Patient safety and safer practices are central themes to many national strategies for accountability. The multinational Quality Indicator Project® (QI Project®) database is used to identify patterns of indicator use to measure safety of care in Asia, Europe, and the USA. The second objective is to assess, within the context of an indicator project, the usefulness of indicators to measure errors or mishaps. 

Design and setting   This descriptive study retrospectively analyses indicator use patterns among hospitals in Asia, Europe, and the USA. The QI Project® database is used for the 1999–2002 period. Statistical testing (P‐value) of the differences in use percentages across five countries is based on ‘country’ rather than ‘hospital’ as the unit of analysis.

Results  There was a significant increase in overall QI Project® indicator use worldwide between 1999 and 2002. The average change in use was 6.8% for safety indicators and 4.2% for all other indicators. When analysed by country (USA, Austria, Belgium, UK, and Taiwan), the average increases in use percentage were highest in Taiwan and Belgium. When the country‐specific differences were tested for significance, Taiwan showed the largest (and statistically significant) increase in safety indicator use between 1999 and 2002 (P < 0.0001). In the USA, the rates of safety indicator use have decreased (P = 0.0502) during the same time period.

Conclusion  This paper identifies, perhaps for the first time, how traditional indicators of hospital performance are being used to understand a hospital's performance and associated safety of care. Although the study's time frame is limited to 3 years, the findings seem to suggest that the interest in using these traditional indicators as proxies for safer practice measures is increasing among the QI Project® participants worldwide. The challenge of using inherently value‐free indicators as indicators of safety (hence de facto labelled as ‘error’ focused) should be further studied.
Medicine and literature: writing and reading
Authors: Bolton Gillie
Published: March 2005

The humanities and arts are appropriate areas of study within interdisciplinary medicine. Medicine has long been considered to be both a science and an art. Within each patient, the psychological, emotional, spiritual, and the physical are all inextricably linked. The values, ideas and images of individuals and culture, as well as the way the human body and mind physically function and dysfunction, impinge in an equally inextricable way upon all these elements. The humanities and arts, included within medical study, enable people, the subject of medicine, to be usefully considered in their entirety. Literature has a particularly vital role to play in medicine and health care. It opens up a wealth of experience and knowledge, as well as offering vital understandings of the narrative nature of human lives. A knowledge of the nature of narrative, and the way we understand our lives narratively can be vital for effective communication and understanding of patients’ situations. Literature also offers dynamic ethical issues with which to grapple. Expressive and explorative writing is used in professional development, and undergraduate courses. Medical humanities, literature and medicine and narrative medicine are established in the USA and developing fast in Britain.
Transgenic rice hybrids that carry the Rf‐1 gene at multiple loci show improved fertility at low temperature
Authors: KOMORI TOSHIYUKI , IMASEKI HIDEMASA
Published: March 2005

By using a genomic fragment that carries the rice (Oryza sativa L.) fertility restorer gene, Rf‐1, rice restorer lines harbouring multiple Rf‐1 genes on different chromosomes were developed by genetic engineering and crossing. Hybrid lines that were obtained by crossing the restorer lines having two and three Rf‐1 genes with a cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) line had nearly 75 and 87.5% pollen fertility rates under a normal condition, respectively, whereas a conventional hybrid line showed a 50% pollen fertility rate. Furthermore, the seed set percentage under low temperature conditions was much higher in the hybrid lines with multiple Rf‐1 genes than the conventional hybrid line. These results indicate that multiplication of the Rf‐1 gene conferred cold tolerance at the booting stage to hybrid rice through increasing the potentially fertile pollen grains. This strategy to improve fertility at low temperature of hybrids could be applied to any grain crops that are developed based on CMS and its gametophytic restorer gene, let alone rice.
Salt‐induced expression of peroxisome‐associated genes requires components of the ethylene, jasmonate and abscisic acid signalling pathways
Authors: CHARLTON WAYNE L. , MATSUI KYOKO , JOHNSON BARBARA , GRAHAM IAN A. , OHME‐TAKAGI MASARU , BAKER ALISON
Published: March 2005

Peroxisomes participate in many biological functions including detoxification of reactive oxygen species and biosynthesis of oxylipin signalling molecules. Peroxisome protein and enzyme activities have been reported to change in response to salt stress. To investigate the relationship between peroxisomes and salt stress the level of expression of three peroxisome‐associated genes, thiolase (PED1), PEX10 and PEX1 was analysed by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The steady‐state transcript level of all three genes was increased by salt and ABA treatment, and was blocked in the abi1‐1 mutant. Salt‐dependent increase of transcript for all three genes also required the JAR1 gene as it was prevented in the jar1‐1 mutant. Expression of thiolase, and to a lesser extent PEX1, was increased in the jar1‐1 mutant in the absence of salt, suggesting jasmonate may negatively regulate these genes in the absence of salt stress. PEX1 was up‐regulated in the ethylene over‐producer eto1‐1 and salt had an additive effect on PEX1 transcript level, but salt induction may be inhibited in the ethylene‐insensitive line etr1‐1. Consistent with this, PEX1 was also up‐regulated in transgenic plants over‐expressing the ethylene response element binding factors AtERF1 and AtERF5.
Phycobiliprotein fluorescence of Nostoc punctiforme changes during the life cycle and chromatic adaptation: characterization by spectral confocal laser scanning microscopy and spectral unmixing
Authors: WOLF ELKE , SCHÜΒLER ARTHUR
Published: March 2005

Many cyanobacteria are highly adaptable to light quality, and many species undergo a complex life cycle. In this study we show that adaptive changes in the photosynthetic apparatus of cyanobacteria are not only caused by environmental, but also by developmental factors. Spectral confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was used to analyse in vivo the fluorescence spectra of the photosynthetic pigments chlorophyll a (Chl a), allophycocyanin (APC), phycocyanin (PC) and phycoerythrin (PE) of two Nostoc punctiforme strains. Changes in pigment fluorescence emission occurred in different developmental stages. Strain 1:1‐26 showed an emission maximum at 674 nm in motile hormogonia stages, whereas vegetative stages showed maxima at 658 and 575 nm. These changes were not caused by chromatic adaptation. In contrast, the second strain (1:1‐26lg) showed distinct fluorescence spectra, pigment localization and clear chromatic adaptation in red light. When these properties are known, both strains can be easily distinguished by the spectral CLSM method, which also allows the localization of the pigments within single cells. To calculate the contribution of individual phycobiliproteins to the observed changes, fluorescence spectra were analysed by spectral unmixing. This allowed the mathematical estimation of fluorescence shares for the individual phycobiliproteins in different developmental stages and both before and after chromatic adaptation. It is concluded that care should be taken when characterizing cyanobacteria by differences in pigment fluorescence, because these differences are influenced not only by chromatic adaptation, but also developmental stages. Spectral CLSM offers a powerful method to study the phycobiliprotein composition in vivo.
Root navigation by self inhibition
Authors: FALIK OMER , REIDES PERLA , GERSANI MORDECHAI , NOVOPLANSKY ARIEL
Published: March 2005

Circumventing physical obstacles is critical for a plant's survival and performance. Although the ability of roots to circumvent obstacles has been known for over 100 years, the phenomena and its mechanisms have received relatively little attention. In this study it is demonstrated that roots of Pisum sativum are able to detect and avoid growth towards inanimate obstacles and the hypothesis that this behaviour is based on the sensitivity of roots to their own allelopathic exudates that accumulate in the vicinity of physical obstacles is tested. The development of lateral roots of Pisum sativum towards an obstacle (a piece of nylon string, similar in dimensions to a plant root) was followed. Lateral roots were similar in number, but significantly shorter in the direction of the nylon string. In addition, up to half of the lateral roots that developed towards the nylon string withered, whereas no withering was observed in the absence of the nylon string. These avoidance growth patterns were suppressed in the presence of potassium permanganate or activated carbon, indicating a role of allelopathic exudates in promoting obstacle avoidance. The demonstrated obstacle avoidance by self inhibition could increase plant performance by limiting resource allocation to less promising parts of the root system.
Site and extent of starch degradation in the dairy cow – a comparison between in vivo, in situ and in vitro measurements
Authors: Hindle V. A. , Vuuren van A. M. , Klop A. , Mathijssen‐Kamman A. A. , Van Gelder A. H. , Cone J. W.
Published: March 2005

Prediction of the supply of glycogenic precursors to dairy cows and the site of degradation of wheat, maize and potato starch (PS) were determined in an in vivo experiment and the results were compared with data obtained from experiments involving in situ nylon bag and in vitro gas production techniques. In a Latin square design experiment four lactating dairy cows fitted with a rumen cannula and T‐piece cannulae in the duodenum and terminal ileum, received either a low‐starch control diet or diets in which sugar beet pulp in the concentrate mixture had been replaced by wheat, maize or PS. Starch from the different sources was almost completely degraded in the total gastrointestinal tract. For all starches, the rumen was the main site of degradation in vivo. No digestion of PS in the small intestine was observed. In situ results suggested that 14% of wheat starch (WS), 47% of maize starch and 34% of PS escaped rumen fermentation. According to the gas production technique WS ferments quickest and potato slowest. PS had a low degradability during the first 8 (gas production) to 11 (in situ) h. However, according to both in vitro and in vivo measurements rumen degradability of PS was high. The results suggest that in situ and in vitro techniques should be performed in animals that have adapted to starch source to provide a more accurate simulation of the in vivo situation.
Involvement of Xtr (Xenopus tudor repeat) in microtubule assembly around nucleus and karyokinesis during cleavage in Xenopus laevis
Authors: Hiyoshi Masateru , Nakajo Nobushige , Abe Sin‐Ichi , Takamune Kazufumi
Published: March 2005

We have previously shown that the transcriptional product of the novel gene, Xenopus tudor repeat (Xtr), occurred exclusively in germline cells and early embryonic cells and that the putative Xtr contained plural tudor domains which are thought to play a role in the protein–protein interactions. To understand the role of Xtr, we produced an antibody against a polypeptide containing Xtr tudor domains as an antigen and investigated the distribution and the function of the Xtr. Immunoprecipitation/Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses indicated a similar occurrence of the Xtr to the mRNA except for a slightly different profile of its amount during spermatogenesis. In spite of a large amount of Xtr mRNA at late‐secondary spermatogonial stage, the amount of Xtr was kept at a low level until this stage and increased after entering into the meiotic phase. Depletion of the Xtr function in the activated eggs by injection of the anti‐Xtr antibody caused the inhibition both of microtubule assembly around nucleus and of karyokinesis progression after prophase, but not of the oscillation of H1 kinase activity. These results suggest that the karyokinesis of at least early embryonic cells are regulated by unique mechanisms in which the Xtr is involved.
Electron impact excitation and uv emission in the Franck–Hertz experiment
Authors: Buhr Werner , Klein Werner , Pressler S.
Published: March 2005

With the Franck–Hertz experiment described here the inelastic collision of electrons with mercury atoms and the ultraviolet emission of the excited atoms can be observed simultaneously. The Franck–Hertz tube is a four electrode tube with a concentric system and a quartz window. An electron current stabilization allows the observation of a stepwise increase in light intensity by means of a photomultiplier. The emission spectrum shows the Hg 2536-Å line and two molecular emission bands arising from Hg dimer and trimer transitions. The light emission from the trimer state reveals the influence of geometrical factors of the tube at different accelerating potentials.
Some novel delta-function identities
Authors: Frahm Charles P.
Published: March 2005

Two novel identities arising from the second- and thirdorder derivatives of the reciprocal radial distance and involving delta functions are introduced, proven, and illustrated. A general procedure is described for establishing similar identities for higher-order derivatives of the reciprocal radial distance.
How batteries work: A gravitational analog
Authors: Roberts Dana
Published: March 2005

There is a region in any battery where the charges move in a direction opposite to that of the electric force on them. A ‘‘gravitational cell’’ is used to show that this motion is a diffusion analogous to that against pressure gradients in osmotic pressure situations. The driving mechanism for the diffusion is the existence of lower lying states in one region compared to an adjacent region, and it is relaxation into these low lying states that is the source of energy for the circuit.
The Born Centenary: Remarks about classical thermodynamics
Authors: Landsberg P. T.
Published: March 2005

Max Born (1882–1970) advocated Carathéodory’s approach to thermodynamics in 1921 and 1949, and it was expounded by various authors in the intervening years, but it did not come into general use. Some historical remarks are made concerning the discussions between Born and Carathéodory. Although the Carathéodory approach continues to be regarded as ‘‘difficult,’’ it is here noted that his principle (as contrasted with what is called his theorem) is really straightforward in concept. It is here emphasized that there was a need to push Carathéodory’s approach further since it did not cover the third law of thermodynamics, and that set theory and simple topological concepts provided the ideal tools to achieve this aim. This led to a more complete geometrization of thermodynamics. Although specialized and mathematical work on the axiomatization of thermodynamics continued in the 1960s and 1970s, there also emerged a reasonably simple way of combining elements of the geometrical approach and the approach via thermodynamic cycles, as it is here recalled. When Born died in 1970 this work was essentially complete.
An electrostatic example to illustrate dimensional regularization and renormalization group technique
Authors: Hans Michel
Published: March 2005

An easy and intuitive introduction to the regularization and renormalization techniques in elementary particle physics is given. It is based on the use of a simple electrostatic problem.
A coupled angular momentum model for the Josephson junction
Authors: DiRienzo Andrew L. , Young Richard A.
Published: March 2005

A model for the Josephson junction is constructed based on two macroscopic angular momentum vectors. These vectors, which interact via a Heisenberg-like Hamiltonian, are defined by using Anderson’s pseudospin concept in superconductivity. The resulting equations of motion lead directly to the basic Josephson results and at the same time provide a simple physical picture for the dynamical behavior of the junction. Both the Anderson (n,φ) and Feynman two-state models of the junction are shown to be equivalent to a restricted form of the angular momentum approach. The process of formulating the junction problem in terms of pseudo-angular-momentum together with the above identification constitutes a microscopic derivation of the Feynman method.
Computerized administration of personalized-system-of-instruction courses
Authors: McFarland E. L. , Hallett F. R. , Hunt J. L.
Published: March 2005

Course administration and record keeping in two large-enrollment courses offered in the personalized-system-of-instruction (PSI) format are being handled by a minicomputer. The features of the on-line system are described, the advantages discussed, and a cost–saving analysis presented.
Determination of force laws from observed plane motions
Authors: Yan C. C.
Published: March 2005

Procedures leading from the observed plane motions to the determination of the force laws are discussed. An elliptic orbit is used as an illustrative example. Some possible interpretations of the force laws are discussed.
Viscous flow of gases: A simple experiment to study Poiseuille’s law
Authors: Vergnat-Grandjean D. , Vergnat P.
Published: March 2005

A simple setup is presented to study the viscosity of a gas and its flow through a tube. The dependence of the flow on the length and radius of the tube are separately examined.
Undergraduate experiment in critical phenomena: Light scattering in a binary fluid mixture
Authors: Mowery A. C. , Jacobs D. T.
Published: March 2005

A relatively simple experiment has been designed to allow advanced undergraduates to investigate light scattering phenomena above the critical consolute point in a binary fluid mixture: methanol–cyclohexane. A He–Ne laser beam penetrates a fluid mixture sealed in a cylindrical aluminum cell while a dc Wheatstone bridge allows the cell temperature to be controlled to 0.01 °K. Transmitted light intensity measurements taken from 0.1 to 10 °K above the critical consolute point allow the turbidity to be calculated. The critical exponent gamma γ, is determined using a modified Ornstein–Zernike theory.
Exact partition functions for some one-dimensional models via the isobaric ensemble
Authors: Bishop Marvin , Boonstra Martin A.
Published: March 2005

The isobaric ensemble is employed to obtain the exact partition functions of a number of one-dimensional models: rigid rod, square well, and triangle well. The equations of state are also determined.
The pro-solar, anti-nuclear movement: A philosophical perspective
Authors: Adler Carl G.
Published: March 2005

An analysis is presented of the nontechnical reasons for opposing hard technology, such as nuclear power, and supporting soft technology, such as rooftop solar. The positions taken by various advocates are imbedded in an historical and philosophical perspective. Suggestions are brought forth for improving the level of the debate over the various issues discussed.
Simple multisoliton solutions
Authors: Abdel-Rahman A-M. M.
Published: March 2005

Malfliet has proposed a simple solution method for the Kortweg–de Vries equation. We show that a slight modification in this method makes it effective in obtaining multisoliton solutions for a number of other nonlinear dispersive wave equations.
Potential difference and current in simple electric circuits: A study of students’ concepts
Authors: Cohen R. , Eylon B. , Ganiel U.
Published: March 2005

A study which was designed to identify students’ concepts of simple electric circuits is reported. A diagnostic questionnaire was administered to a sample of 145 high school students and 21 physics teachers. The questionnaire included mainly qualitative questions which were designed to examine students’ understanding of the functional relationships between the variables in an electric circuit. The main findings obtained from the analysis of the responses are current is the primary concept used by students, whereas potential difference is regarded as a consequence of current flow, and not as its cause. Consequently students often use V=IR incorrectly. A battery is regarded as a source of constant current. The concepts of emf and internal resistance are not well understood. Students have difficulties in analyzing the effect which a change in one component has on the rest of the circuit. This is probably due to the more general difficulty students have in dealing with a simultaneous change of several variables.
Aristotle is not dead: Student understanding of trajectory motion
Authors: Whitaker Robert J.
Published: March 2005

The study of motion presents problems to students of beginning physics at all levels. Part of this problem arises because of students’ ‘‘common sense’’ ideas of motion. Six questions on trajectory motion, based on Galileo’s ‘‘thought experiments’’ in his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, were given to students in several different introductory physics classes. These responses are analyzed and discussed.
Maximum projectile range with drag and lift, with particular application to golf
Authors: Erlichson Herman
Published: March 2005

This paper explores the interesting problem of projectile motion without the vacuum idealization. Particular attention is paid to golf ball trajectories with and without lift. No lift trajectories with linear and quadratic drag are considered first. Then, trajectories with lift and linear drag are investigated. Projection angles for maximum range are determined for all these cases. Computer solutions are used throughout, with a Runge–Kutta routine used for all cases except for the well-known closed solution for the no lift, linear drag projectile.
How can a particle absorb more than the light incident on it?
Authors: Bohren Craig F.
Published: March 2005

A particle can indeed absorb more than the light incident on it. Metallic particles at ultraviolet frequencies are one class of such particles and insulating particles at infrared frequencies are another. In the former strong absorption is associated with excitation of surface plasmons; in the latter it is associated with excitation of surface phonons. In both instances the target area a particle presents to incident light can be much greater than its geometrical cross-sectional area. This is strikingly evident from the field lines of the Poynting vector in the vicinity of a small sphere illuminated by a plane wave.
Science and society test VIII: The arms race revisited
Authors: Hafemeister David W.
Published: March 2005

Approximate numerical estimates are developed in order to quantify a variety of aspects of the arms race. The results of these calculations are consistent with either direct observations or with more sophisticated calculations. This paper will cover some of the following aspects of the arms race: (1) the electromagnetic pulse (EMP); (2) spy satellites; (3) ICBM accuracy; (4) NAVSTAR global positioning satellites; (5) particle and laser beam weapons; (6) the neutron bomb; and (7) war games.
Gauge invariance in quantum mechanics: zero electromagnetic field
Authors: Kobe Donald H. , Yang Kuo-Ho
Published: March 2005

The case of a single charged particle with potential energy is considered when the classical electromagnetic field is zero. The vector and scalar potentials describing this situation are not necessarily zero. When the conventional approach to radiation problems using the interaction A⋅p plus p⋅A plus A2 plus A0 (constants omitted) is used, time-dependent probabilities are predicted if the vector potential A=−∇Λ≠0 even though the electromagnetic field is zero. The reason for this unphysical behavior is that eigenfunctions of the unperturbed Hamiltonian, which is not gauge invariant, are used to calculate the probability amplitudes. When a manifestly gauge-invariant procedure is applied to this case the probabilities are constant in all gauges. The reason that physical results are obtained is that eigenstates of the energy operator are used to calculate the probability amplitudes.
Electromagnetic waves without Maxwell’s equations
Authors: Steinberg Melvin S.
Published: March 2005

Elementary experimental information about magnetostatic field production by turned-on current sources suggests that such fields are nonpropagating superpositions of electromagnetic waves. It is shown that the local structure of these waves may be deduced from the Lorentz force law and the transformations of special relativity, without the intervention of Maxwell’s equations. The electromagnetic energy density formula is identified in the context of field production by a model ‘‘circuit’’ consisting of opposed parallel current sheets. Coulomb’s law of electrostatics is deduced by transforming the magnetostatic field of this circuit into the rest frames of the source particles.
Radial photon paths in a cosmic model: A student exercise
Authors: Higbie Jack
Published: March 2005

We address primarily the question of why it is that early light has taken so long to reach us given that initially all galaxies were so close together in a big bang model. We perform a pair of simple numerical integrations in order to trace the present photon trajectory backward in time. We find that this data not only answers our initial question but is also sufficient to make several model predictions and alternative ‘‘world maps’’ of galactic trajectories.
Adding plane waves to find the complete TM and TE wave solutions for metallic rectangular waveguide
Authors: White D. J. , Everett G.
Published: March 2005

The superposition of plane waves, ray optics, and geometrical arguments are used to find the complete set of transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) modes in rectangular waveguide. These same methods are used to find the TEn0 modes in rectangular waveguide partially filled with a dielectric. This approach gives a clear physical picture of guided wave propagation. The partial differential wave equation, which perhaps tends to obscure the relations between plane waves, TE and TM modes, as well as group and phase velocities, need not be directly solved using this approach.
Energy gaps in one-dimensional amorphous materials: a disordered Kronig–Penney model
Authors: Saperstein Alvin M.
Published: March 2005

With use of a model of equal rectangular potential barriers, randomly spaced, without overlapping, along an infinite axis, it is shown how gaps can be derived in the continuum of energies allowed to electrons in a one-dimensional amorphous material. The simple derivation allows a direct comparison between the energy gaps in amorphous materials and those in perfect crystals.
Early observations of negative pressures in liquids
Authors: Kell George S.
Published: March 2005

In 1661–62 Huygens discovered that liquid water could exist metastably at a pressure lower than the vapor pressure. At first Boyle could not reproduce the results, but following a visit to London made by Huygens in 1663, Boyle demonstrated that the mercury in a barometer could stick and support a tension of two atmospheres. This was still known in 1805 to Young and Laplace, who explained the phenomenon in terms of cohesion, but seems then to have been forgotten. Modern work on negative pressures starts with the independent rediscovery of the phenomenon several times starting in 1846, and it is now explained in terms of metastable regions of the equation of state.
Physics education in China
Authors: Shi Tian-yi
Published: March 2005

Of all the countries in the world, China probably has the largest number of students learning physics. How is physics taught in China? And how are the Chinese physics teachers trained? This article will try to give a birds-eye view of these and related topics.
Quasibound-state resonances for a particle in a two-dimensional well
Authors: Bayman B. F. , Mehoke C. J.
Published: March 2005

The problem of a particle moving in a two-dimensional potential well is used to illustrate many of the features of collisions between systems with internal structure. Resonance phenomena are shown to occur when the total energy is close to the energy of a quasibound state, and the width of the resonance is related to the coupling between the quasibound state and the open channels. Explicit calculations are performed for a rectangular potential well.
Are acoustic intensity and potential energy density first- or second-order quantities?
Authors: Chu Boa-Teh , Apfel Robert E.
Published: March 2005

A reviewer’s comment to our manuscript ‘‘Acoustic radiation produced by a beam of sound,’’ [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 72, 1673 (1982) has prompted us to consider the question posed by the title of this manuscript, which is not an uncommon one when dealing with nonlinear problems. As might be expected, we demonstrate that the problems reside mostly with semantics. To set the record straight we define and distinguish among acoustic potential energy density, potential energy density relative to a reference state, and internal energy density, as well as intensity and acoustic intensity.
Optical properties of dissipative media
Authors: Felske J. D.
Published: March 2005

General expressions for the optical properties of dissipative media are developed within a framework which retains the separate identities of conduction and polarization currents. The resulting formalism thereby facilitates the physical interpretations that the displacement of bound charges produces polarization while at the same time the motion of free carriers produces conduction currents. The ability of the approach to achieve a clear and consistent physical interpretation of the origins of dispersion in semiconductors is then illustrated by application to the Drude–Lorentz electron model. Finally, the results are related to those based on the conventional treatment wherein effective optical properties are introduced and hence the distinction between conduction and polarization currents does not exist.
The role of continuum states in perturbation theory
Authors: Urumov Viktor , Ivanovski G. J.
Published: March 2005

An example of a three-dimensional Schrödinger equation is solved exactly and it is shown that the potential can sustain an arbitrary number of bound states. Nevertheless, in the second-order perturbation theory all the contributions for all bound states come from the continuum states if the perturbation is spherically symmetric. This is also true for any central potential that does not show accidental degeneracy and has both bound and unbound states, when the perturbation is another central potential.
The propagation of electromagnetic waves across a diffuse plasma boundary
Authors: Zito Richard R.
Published: March 2005

Electromagnetic waves may undergo partial reflection from a plasma whose interface with free space is diffuse. Waves reflected from different differential slabs of plasma may interfere constructively or destructively resulting in a total reflected intensity which is either relatively large or a complete null, respectively. The latter effect is called antireflection.