No. 204 January 2000
OBSIDIAN CLOCK Obsidian is the term for the material known as volcanic glass. Obsidian was a material of choice for prehistoric tool and weapon makers. Determining the age of these obsidian arrowheads, knives, and spear points left by our Mexican and Central American ancestors has always been a challenge for archaeologists. If you read The Obsidian Clock, ORNL method chips away barriers to dating prehistoric human artifacts at http://www.ornl.gov/reporter/no7/clock.htm you will learn how ORNL and University of Tennessee, Dept. of Anthropology Researchers have created the Obsidian Clock dating technique called ODDSIMS (Obsidian Diffusion Dating by SIMS (Secondary Ionization Mass Spectrometry)). The Obsidian Clock tools AKA ODDSIMS method is fully explain as to how and why it works, as well as the problems encountered in field use. It seems "some established chronological systems may go out the window if the ODDSIMS method continues to provide consistent and reproducible results." With more progress on this dating technique science may finally know exactly how long ago many ancient civilizations and cultures flourished.
"AS THE LEAVES TURN" That is the Fall daily action drama of deciduous trees leaves turning from green to red, yellow, brown, etc. Normally one will see this in any city which has the proper deciduous (that’s trees that grow and shed leaves annually) trees visible from one’s car, house, or office window. Needless to say there are several thousand urban inhabitants whose workplace, home, or travel between the two does not afford the daily (fall) view of leaves changing from green to some other color. This online USDA Forest Service (National Headquarters Office) is a good substitute, but not a replacement for viewing "as the leaves turn". The Fall Color Hotline website found at http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fall.shtml will lead to the Fall Colors Press Release: Fall Information Now Available. This one-page article dated September 9, 1999 in the Forest Service WWW web site which was open for the fall 1999 season. Currently this site "is inactive until fall 2000, but the links still function. Just a "click on the link(s)" will lead to 13 (different) National Forest Web Sites to view the leaves turning colors. There are also about 14 links to Non Forest web sites for addition related information such as the chemistry of "how the leaves turn" which is explained in a online version of Chemical Week magazine. A 4 page online version of Chemical of the Week, "The Chemistry of Fall Colors" is at http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/fallcolr/fallcolr.html . A St. Paul Forest Service web site entitled Why Leaves Change Color at http://willow.ncfes.umn.edu/leaves/leaves.htm is also helpful.
HOSPITALS CLOSINGS On December 12, 1999 front page of the Kentucky Enquirer (newspaper), the article "Could Tristate Lose More Hospitals?" was about the March 2000 closing of the Bethesda Oak Hospital, in Cincinnati. This would be the second tristate area (Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati, and Southeastern Indiana) hospital to close in just over two years. Per this lengthy article, some hospitals are closing, making internal organizational adjustments, merging with/acquiring others, and some are extending service via rural branch/extension sites. For hospitals that have (closed) or will close in Cincinnati or any (other) city/county/state as of 1987 through 1997, Hospital Closure gives the number, reasons for, impact of, extent and characteristics, building(s) use, and name by state and location of (closed) hospitals. Issued by the Dept of HH&S’s Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Office of Evaluation and Inspections (EOI) ( http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oei/ ) Hospital Closure information in OIG Evaluation Reports. One web page for Hospital Closure reports is http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oei/reportindex.html , a lengthy and comprehensive "untitled" Subject List(ing) of all the OIG Evaluative reports which includes all the annual issues (except 1995 )of the Hospital Closure: 1987 through 1997 as PDF files. The Hospital Closure: 1995 is not listed on this web page, but a keyword search with "hospital closures" at another OEI search page ( http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oei/topicpdf.html ) should yield 29 reports including the Hospital Closure: 1995 . As of December 1999, the 1995 edition was found only via the latter web page and there were cumulative editions (1987-1993) of Hospital Closure for rural hospital closure information. Each annual issue takes almost a year to be published and http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oei/search.html is the OIG/EIO primary search engine for future comprehensive website searches.
MEDICAL ERRORS: REPORT To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System prepared by the Institute of Medicine and published by the National Academy Press is the name of the November 1999 source of information about the estimated 98,000 patients who die as the result of medical errors in hospitals each year. At http://www.nap.edu/books/0309068371/html/ is order information, a text version, and PDF file for this report. At the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Care web page Research on Medical Errors http://www.ahcpr.gov/errors.htm there are eight links to this report and seven related publications providing basic information about the proposed National Center for Patient Safety which will include a national database and clearinghouse for medical error information, the Mandatory and Voluntary Reporting Systems, and the role of the FDA, health professionals, consumers, accreditation groups, and the Building of a Culture of Safety. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Care has been mandated by the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999, Section 912 (c) "REDUCING ERRORS IN MEDICINE" (PL 106-129, December 12, 1999) to work on the "Building a Safer Health System" aspect of this problem.
HARDEST SUBSTANCES The hardest substance is a diamond. Less commonly known cubic boron-nitride was until October 25, 1999, the second hardest substance. The Ames Lab scientists discover second-hardest known substance is the October 25, 1999 Ames Laboratory News Release http://www.external.ameslab.gov/News/release/substance.html . This is the first part of all the details about a new substance identified as AlMgB14. This compound is composed of "a small amount of silicon and other additives into an alloy of aluminum, magnesium, and boron" and tests showed that a diamond was the only substance that would cut this new compound. Other than its cutting capabilities, the immediate value of AlMgB14 is its cost. AlMgB14 cost only $700 per pound to produce. Diamonds cost about $2,000 per pound, and cubic boron-nitride costs $7,000 per pound. Manufacturers who used diamonds or cubic boron-nitride cutting tools now have AlMgB14, a cheaper and harder cutting tool. The Ames researchers hope that experiments with other additives will further increase AlMgB14 hardness. Those who are interested in the chemical/physical characteristics of AlMgB14 can click on the "For technical information on the compound, click here" and find a 4 page PDF file entitled: Summary Information for New High-hardness Materials Based on AlMgB14 which includes a table comparing the hardness of these new and old hard materials http://www.external.ameslab.gov/News/release/borides.PDF .
BIOINFORMATICS: VIRTUAL MEDICINE, HOSPITALS DOCTORS, COLLABORATIVE CLINICS, SURGERY, PATIENTS, THE CYBERSCALPEL, ETC, ETC, ETC. Bioinformatics May Forever Change Medicine" found in Aerospace Technology Innovation v. 7, no. 5 September/October 1999 pages 11-13 http://www.nctn.hq.nasa.gov/innovation/Innovation_75/index.htm is a start for basic information about the health professionals new applications of computer technology and products to medicine. A visit to the NASA Ames Center for Bioinformatics website http://www.biocomp.arc.nasa.gov/home.html will show how and why Bioinformatics will change medicine forever. The National Library of Medicine Fact Sheet, The Visible Human Project http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/visible_human.html provides information about the Visible Man and Visible Woman who are the Virtual Patients for doctors. Surgeons can do preliminary virtual surgery on the Visible Man or Woman in preparation for actual operations. The Fact Sheet is supplemented by The Visible Human Project Overview http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible, The Visible Human Project Conference Proceedings, October 7 & 8, 1996 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/vhp_conf/vhpconf.htm and the 1998 Conference on the Visible Human: The Visible Humans: Coming of Age http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/press_releases/vhpr98.html shows how the visible human is utilized in the health professional in the age of the CyberScalpel. The CyberScalpel and other Interactive tools for use in virtual surgery are some the latest computerized medial technology http://biocomp.arc.nasa.gov/cutter . The NGI (Next Generation Internet) is needed to realize and maintain a virtual hospital, virtual collaborative clinic, or make use of the Telemedicine Information Exchange (TIE) as explained in the National Library of Medicine’s NGI & Telecommunication Projects on the web pages http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/telfront.html . Does this mean the medical doctors of the 21st century can and will make "house calls" if the patient has a computer link with his local virtual doctor or hospital?
DOCTORS MAKE HOUSE CALLS "Making House Calls: Using Telecommunications to Bring Health Care into the Home" by Ron Chepesiuk Environmental Health Perspectives v. 107, no. 11, November 1999 pages A556-A560 (HE 20.3995:107/11) tells us that the doctor will not be visiting houses with his little black bag. He has been and will be making use of computer technology and the Next Generation Internet to provide health service to his patients. He will use e-mail and live audio and video to communicate and interact with other health providers and patients. Telemedicine has snowballed since the early 1990's because of the developments in digital imaging and image transmission. Telemedicine comes with its own set of problems and issues such as privacy and confidentiality of patient/user information. There are also issues of cost and how this new health care technique can be used and possibly abused. Telemedicine is going to allow people anywhere in the world to have access to excellent health care without having to travel great distances. Current house calls will require the patient to have a computer, computer expertise, and the technology to handle the doctor's visit. http://www.fda.gov/ is one of the eleven website addresses found in "Making House Calls."
WOOD PHOTODEGRADION AND LIGHT Sunlight deteriorates wood. In 1982, Chang, Hon, and Feist, concerned about the deterioration and preservation of outdoor wood studied of the effects of solar radiation, moisture, and other atmospheric elements on southern yellow pine wood. Water is a primary factor in the deterioration of wood, as shown when water glass rings appear on a wooden table. Deterioration of wood is caused by the ultraviolet waves in sunlight because ultraviolet light is "a particularly degrading influence" on wood. Wood, which is an excellent light absorber, is very sensitive to the ultraviolet light that eventually destroys the cell walls of the wood's surface. The surface of deteriorated wood will feel rough and pitted when touched. The examination of this wood's surface with an electron microscope would reveal pits and cell wall damage in honeycomb appearance. The authors' recommendation is to protect the wood surface by treating the wood with chromic acid or ferric chloride. Photodegradation and Photoprotection of Wood Surfaces by Shang-Tzen Chang, David N. S. Hon, and William C. Feist is (also found) in Wood and Fiber, V. 14, No. 2, 1982, pages 104-117 and was reprinted and issued by the Forest Service as SuDoc No. A 13.27/2:P56/4 and you may find either or both of these in a local federal depository library.
Janruary 24, 2000
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0001.html