In a study of injection safety in Abha health district, Saudi Arabia, data were collected from 47 physicians and 85 nurses at 24 primary health care centres, using an observation checklist and an interview questionnaire. All centres used individually packed disposable syringes and puncture-proof containers to collect used needles. Needlestick injury in the previous year was reported by 14.9% of...

This chapter discusses the equilibrium crystal shape (ECS) from a physical perspective, beginning with a historical introduction to the Wulff theorem. It takes advantage of excellent prior reviews, particularly in the late 1980s, recapping highlights from them. It contains many ideas and experiments subsequent to those reviews. Alternatives to Wulff constructions are presented. Controversies ab...

Evidence for capped poly(A) leaders of variable lengths located immediately upstream of the translation initiation codon was obtained by direct analyses of a major late mRNA species. A decapping-recapping method was used to specifically substitute a radioactively labeled phosphate for an unlabeled one within the cap structure. RNase H-susceptible sites were made by hybridizing synthetic oligode...

Risk factors for HIV transmission within a hospital setting were assessed using pre-structured questionnaires and observations. Of 409 respondents, 66.3% corresponded to the nursing staff, 14.4% doctors and 8.3% laboratory staff. The irregular use of gloves and other protective clothing for risky tasks, and recapping of needles after use were some of the risk factors identified, especially amon...

We report on a 12-year-old boy in whom a glass fragment migrated into the lumbar spinal canal causing low back pain and radiculopathy 6 years after injury. Computed tomography showed a foreign body in the anterior spinal canal of L5/S1. The patient underwent recapping T-saw laminoplasty to remove the foreign body. Scar formation was noted at the anterior dura. The glass fragment seemed to have ...

Newspaper articles and economic commentaries have ascribed the decline in interest rates in Canada in late 1995 and in 1996, virtually as a matter of demonstrated fact, to a diminishing risk premium on financial investments in Canada. They have argued that lower interest rates are an economic dividend that Canadians have rightly earned in return for swallowing the tough medicine of monetary and...

We analyzed occupational exposure to potentially infectious body fluids among health care workers (HCWs). Nurses were the most common exposed category of HCWs. In 73.6% cases needle sticks had been the reason of exposure. Recapping a needle was the cause of exposure in 6.9% accidents. Among 189 registered HCWs, 66 (34.9%) performed invasive procedures without any personal protective equipment. ...

System Metaphor is one of the key practices of Extreme Programming (XP). Unfortunately, the System Metaphor practice is poorly understood, and is the practice XP teams most commonly choose to ignore. In this paper, we provide a small collection of patterns that teams can use to develop metaphors for their systems, and for evaluating system metaphors. We hope these patterns will encourage Extrem...