Observation and characterization of the fluorescence decay of the 2s2p(6)np 1P(o) excited states of Ne.

Fluorescence decay of the 2s2p(6)np (1)P(o) excited states of neon has been observed directly for the first time. This process has also been observed indirectly by threshold photoelectron spectroscopy and in electron/photon coincidences. The measurements have allowed this weak decay channel to be characterized and branching ratios derived.

A review of the evaluation of clinical teaching: new perspectives and challenges.

Purpose: This article discusses the importance of the process of evaluation of clinical teaching for the individual teacher and for the programme. Measurement principles, including validity, reliability, efficiency and feasibility, and methods to evaluate clinical teaching are reviewed.

Context: Evaluation is usually carried out from the perspective of the learner.

Strategic planning in medical education: enhancing the learning environment for students in clinical settings.

Background: The 1999 Cambridge Conference was held in Northern Queensland, Australia, on the theme of clinical teaching and learning. It provided an opportunity for groups of academic medical educators to consider some of the challenges posed by recent changes to health care delivery and medical education across a number of countries.

Purpose: This paper describes the issues raised by the practical challenges posed by the current environment and how they might be addressed in ways that could promote more effective learning in clinical settings.

Effects of sexual behavioral manipulation on brain plasticity in adult rats.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of sexual behaviorial manipulation on brain plasticity in adult male rats. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats that copulated during male sexual behavior testing were divided into four groups: control male; gonadectomized (Gdx) male; sexually active male; and sexually nonactive male. Female animals were used as an additional control group.

Needleless i.v. therapy: comparing three systems for safety.

Three needleless systems were compared for general usability and cost. A closed, one-piece, nonmechanical unit was chosen as it proved safe in both peripheral and central lines, required minimal inservicing and yielded significant cost savings.

Anterior neopharyngeal diverticulum following laryngectomy.

While less common than stricture, recurrent neoplasm, and neuromuscular dysfunction, neopharyngeal diverticulum must be considered in the differential diagnosis of postlaryngectomy dysphagia. Symptoms of difficulty clearing the neopharynx during and after a swallow, with regurgitation of undigested material, should alert the clinician to this possibility. Experience with 3 postlaryngectomy patients with anterior neopharyngeal divericulae serve as the springboard for discussion of the clinical spectrum, radiologic features, contributory pathophysiologic factors, and therapeutic options concerning this condition.

Trauma and forensic medicine.

Trauma physicians are frequently involved in the evaluation and treatment of patients who are victims of crimes or themselves criminals. These physicians usually have little or no training in the forensic aspects of emergency medical care and therefore necessary evidence may often be overlooked, lost, inadvertently discarded, or its admissibility denied because of improper handling or documentation. Criteria were developed to evaluate the forensic medical aspects of such trauma cases and to discern the magnitude of the problem.