Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus-the 'D-shuttle' project.

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter 'D-shuttle' for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the terrestrial background radiation level of other regions/countries.

Role of the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries' Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) in the 2007 equine influenza emergency animal disease response.

A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) was used to manage the laboratory data and support planning and field activities as part of the response to the equine influenza outbreak in Australia in 2007. The database structure of the LIMS and the system configurations that were made to best handle the laboratory implications of the disease response are discussed. The operational aspects of the LIMS and the related procedures used at the laboratory to process the increased sample throughput are reviewed, as is the interaction of the LIMS with other corporate systems used in the management of the response. Outcomes from this tailored configuration and operation of the LIMS resulted in effective provision and control of the laboratory and laboratory information aspects of the response. The extent and immediate availability of the information provided from the LIMS was critical to some of the activities of key operatives involved in controlling the response.

A simple calculation for the buildup and decay of radon progeny.

A Markov chain in conjunction with an electronic spreadsheet is used to generate the buildup and decay patterns of radon progeny in a procedure involving only multiplication and addition. Markov chains are highly suitable for calculations of this type. Because the Markov matrix may not be readily available, and because some health physicists may not be familiar with this procedure, we give the values of a Markov matrix and demonstrate how it can be used to produce a Markov chain describing the buildup and decay of radon progeny.

Beneficial effects of dopamine combined with intravenous nitroglycerin on hemodynamics in patients with severe left ventricular failure.

Hemodynamic effects of dopamine and intravenous nitroglycerin alone, and in combination, were studied in 27 patients with severe left ventricular failure. Dopamine alone increased cardiac index from 1.8 to 2.5 l/min/m2 but also increased wedge pressure from 24 to 30 mm Hg and heart rate from 88 to 101 beats/min. Arterial oxygen saturation fell from 92% to 87% (p less than .001). Nitroglycerin alone had a lesser effect on cardiac index (1.8 to 2.2 l/min/m2) but decreased wedge pressure from 26 to 16 mm Hg and heart rate from 91 to 86 beats/min. Arterial oxygen saturation fell from 91% to 90% (NS). Combined dopamine and nitroglycerin administration resulted in optimal hemodynamics, with cardiac index of 2.9 l/min/m2, wedge pressure of 17 mm Hg, and heart rate of 96 beats/min. Arterial oxygen saturation remained low at 88% in spite of the reduction in left ventricular filling pressure, which probably reflects increased intrapulmonary right-to-left shunting coupled with increased pulmonary blood flow. These results suggest that the combination of dopamine with intravenous nitroglycerin should be considered for patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction who require temporary pharmacologic support.