Spreadsheet Analysis Research Articles

Spreadsheet analysis of stability and meta-stability of low-dimensional magnetic particles using the Ising approach

Modelling hysteresis behaviour, as it can be found in a broad variety of dynamical systems, can be performed in different ways. An elementary approach, applied for a set of elementary cells, which uses only two possible states per cell, is the Ising model. While such Ising models allow for a simulation of many systems with sufficient accuracy, they nevertheless depict some typical features which must be taken into account with proper care, such as meta-stability or the externally applied field sweeping speed. This paper gives a general overview of recent results from Ising models from the perspective of a didactic model, based on a 2D spreadsheet analysis, which can be used also for solving general scientific problems where direct next-neighbour interactions take place.

The effectiveness of tools used to evaluate successful critical decision making skills for applicants to healthcare graduate educational programs: a systematic review

Background Students leave healthcare academic programs for a variety of reasons. When they attrite, it is disappointing for the student as well as their faculty. Advanced practice nursing and other healthcare professions require not only extensive academic preparation, but also the ability to critically evaluate patient care situations. The ability to critically evaluate a situation is not innate. Critical decision making skills are high level skills that are difficult to assess. For the purpose of this review, critical decision making and critical thinking skills refer to the same constructs and will be referred to globally as critical decision making skills. Objective The objective of this review was to identify the effectiveness of tools used to evaluate critical decision making skills for applicants to healthcare graduate educational programs. Inclusion criteria Types of participants Adult (18 years of age or older) applicants, students enrolled and/or recent graduates (within one year from completion) of healthcare graduate educational programs. Types of interventions This review considered studies that evaluated the utilization of unique tools as well as standard tools, such as the Graduate Record Exam or grade point average, to evaluate critical decision making skills in graduate healthcare program applicants. Types of studies Experimental and non-experimental studies were considered for inclusion. Types of outcomes Successful quantitative evaluations based on specific field of study standards. Search strategy The search strategy aimed to find both published and unpublished studies. Studies published in English after 1969 were considered for inclusion in this review. Databases that included both published and unpublished (grey) literature were searched. Additionally, reference lists from all articles retrieved were examined for articles for inclusion. Methodological quality Selected papers were assessed by two independent reviewers using standardized critical appraisal instruments from Joanna Briggs Institute. Any disagreement between reviewers was resolved through discussion or with a third reviewer. Data collection Data was extracted independently by each reviewer from papers included in the review using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Included data included study type, r values, number of subjects and reported p values. These were indexed by author, year and study title. Data synthesis The meta-analysis was performed using the method for effect size analysis from Hunter and Schmidt. The syntax for equations was transposed into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for data entry, analysis and graph creation. Results No articles or paper addressing unique tools for ascertaining critical decision making skills met the inclusion criteria. Standard tools, which were represented in the literature, assess critical decision making skills via prediction of academic and clinical success, which indicates the presence of critical decision making skills in graduate healthcare students. A total of 16 studies addressing standard tools were included in this review. All were retrospective case series studies. The date range for the included studies was 1970 to 2009. The strongest relationship was undergraduate grade point average's correlation to graduate grade point average (small effect size with an r value of 0.27, credibility interval [CrI] of 0.18–0.37). The second strongest relationship was between Graduate Record Examination's verbal section and graduate grade point average (small effect size with an r value of 0.24, CrI of 0.11–0.37). Conclusions An applicant's undergraduate GPA has the strongest correlation with graduate healthcare program success of the indicators analyzed (r = 0.27, small effect size). The next best predictor of graduate healthcare program success was the GRE Verbal score (r = 0.24, small effect size). However, all of the variables carried positive correlations with graduate success, just of lesser effect size strength. With this information in mind, the review reinforces that traditional predictors of graduate school success and CDM skills are valid. Implications for practice This review supports the continued use of traditional indicators of graduate school potential in the undergraduate grade point average and the various sections of the Graduate Record Examination for the selection of graduate healthcare applicants. Implications for research Primary studies should be funded and performed to assess the use of unique tools in assessing critical thinking in graduate healthcare students.

The effectiveness of tools used to evaluate successful critical decision making skills for applicants to healthcare graduate educational programs: a systematic review.

Students leave healthcare academic programs for a variety of reasons. When they attrite, it is disappointing for the student as well as their faculty. Advanced practice nursing and other healthcare professions require not only extensive academic preparation, but also the ability to critically evaluate patient care situations. The ability to critically evaluate a situation is not innate. Critical decision making skills are high level skills that are difficult to assess. For the purpose of this review, critical decision making and critical thinking skills refer to the same constructs and will be referred to globally as critical decision making skills. The objective of this review was to identify the effectiveness of tools used to evaluate critical decision making skills for applicants to healthcare graduate educational programs. Adult (18 years of age or older) applicants, students enrolled and/or recent graduates (within one year from completion) of healthcare graduate educational programs. Types of interventions: This review considered studies that evaluated the utilization of unique tools as well as standard tools, such as the Graduate Record Exam or grade point average, to evaluate critical decision making skills in graduate healthcare program applicants. Types of studies: Experimental and non-experimental studies were considered for inclusion. Types of outcomes: Successful quantitative evaluations based on specific field of study standards. The search strategy aimed to find both published and unpublished studies. Studies published in English after 1969 were considered for inclusion in this review. Databases that included both published and unpublished (grey) literature were searched. Additionally, reference lists from all articles retrieved were examined for articles for inclusion. Selected papers were assessed by two independent reviewers using standardized critical appraisal instruments from Joanna Briggs Institute. Any disagreement between reviewers was resolved through discussion or with a third reviewer. Data was extracted independently by each reviewer from papers included in the review using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Included data included study type, 'r' values, number of subjects and reported 'p' values. These were indexed by author, year and study title. The meta-analysis was performed using the method for effect size analysis from Hunter and Schmidt. The syntax for equations was transposed into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for data entry, analysis and graph creation. No articles or paper addressing unique tools for ascertaining critical decision making skills met the inclusion criteria. Standard tools, which were represented in the literature, assess critical decision making skills via prediction of academic and clinical success, which indicates the presence of critical decision making skills in graduate healthcare students. A total of 16 studies addressing standard tools were included in this review. All were retrospective case series studies. The date range for the included studies was 1970 to 2009. The strongest relationship was undergraduate grade point average's correlation to graduate grade point average (small effect size with an 'r' value of 0.27, credibility interval of 0.18-0.37). The second strongest relationship was between Graduate Record Examination’s verbal section and graduate grade point average (small effect size with an r value of 0.24, CrI of 0.11-0.37). An applicant’s undergraduate GPA has the strongest correlation with graduate healthcare program success of the indicators analyzed (r = 0.27, small effect size). The next best predictor of graduate healthcare program success was the GRE Verbal score (r = 0.24, small effect size). However, all of the variables carried positive correlations with graduate success, just of lesser effect size strength. This review supports the continued use of traditional indicators of graduate school potential in the undergraduate grade point average and the various sections of the Graduate Record Examination for the selection of graduate healthcare applicants. Primary studies should be funded and performed to assess the use of unique tools in assessing critical thinking in graduate healthcare students.

Estimated impacts of the sulphur directive on the Nordic industry

The International Maritime Organization and the European Parliament (EP) have stated that ships must lower sulphur emissions significantly in a specific region in Northern Europe, that is, in the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), where sulphur content in bunkers is not allowed to exceed 0.1 percent. The Nordic companies have been examined somewhat marginally from the point of view of the SECA-directive, and how it will affect the cost-efficiency of the industry. The research data contains information about export to four large European countries that form the biggest markets in Europe for the case mill. The transport costs (freight costs per ton) were taken from the mill database on the customer level. The actual and forecasted mill data was copied into Excel spreadsheets for analysis. Results of this case study strongly indicate that the sulphur directive has direct impacts to the economy of the Nordic bulk industry. When the bunker fuel prices increase from the year 2015 onward, it reflects directly to sea freight prices in the SECA-region. This will noticeably increase the total transportation costs per ton. The sulphur directive will be an additional cost burden for the Nordic industry, which in turn is something that from 2015 onward local European paper mills and other manufacturing industries will benefit from. The sulphur directive will probably indicate that from 2015 onward Central European paper mills and other manufacturing industries will benefit from outside the traditional business environment. The impacts of the sulphur directive will vary heavily from market to market and transportation costs from Finland to Europe can increase by average more than 20 percent in €/t; this can also be an underestimation. Profitability can drop by tens of percentage due to more expensive logistics. Logistics costs’ percentage in turnover will increase in the Nordic countries, but existing low oil price (2015) will mitigate the expected price increase of the MDO in the near future.

Burns in Jammu: Retrospective analysis from a regional centre

BackgroundDespite clinical, socio-political and academic interest, little is known about the incidence and demographic characteristics of patients with major burns in India. ObjectivesTo better understand the epidemiological and clinico-pathological aspects of burns in Jammu, we undertook a study in the Government Medical College which caters to a population of 50 lakhs. The study was done to identify and analyze the demographic and socio-cultural aspects of burn patients and various etiological factors causing burns in Jammu province and to suggest measures to prevent and reduce their incidence. Materials and methodsWe conducted a retrospective study on 2230 burn patients over a 17 year period from January 1994 to September 2010 who were admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu, India. The criteria for admission were, patients who had sustained (1) >10% total body surface area (TBSA), second-degree burns (2) any third-degree burn and (3) any electric or chemical burn. The information was obtained from the burn ward database. Additional data was collected from the ward and patient admission records. All data were entered into MS–Excel spreadsheets for further analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze variables. The patients were analyzed for epidiomology data, risk factors, cause of burns and outcome of burns. ResultsSixty percent (1333) were females with a male: female ratio of 1:1.67. Eighty one percent (1811) were adults greater than 15 years, of whom 57% (1268) were aged between 21 and 40 years and 19% (419) were children (0–15 years). Eighty one percent (1684) of patients were Hindus. Flame burns were the most common in adults 83% (1510) and scalds most common in children (0–10 years) 55% (144). Fifty three percent (1046) patients had extensive burns involving 41% or more of their body surface area with 33% (738) having burns involving greater than 60% body surface area (BSA). The overall mortality rate was 45% (1011). It was 73% (733) in females and 27% (278) in males. Mortality was directly in proportion to increase in the TBSA burnt. There was an 88% (650) mortality in more than 60% TBSA burn, 64% (208) in 51–60% TBSA, 45% (238) in 41–50% TBSA burn and 7.2% (15) in 0–20% TBSA burn. The average length of hospital stay was 22 days. ConclusionsIn Jammu region burns are a major public health problem with about 60% of those affected being in their third and fourth decades of life. Adults mainly had flame burns and were predominantly women. Children sustained scalds. The overall mortality rate was 45% with 73% of females burnt dying.Being a public health problems, urgent social, political and educational measures should be taken to prevent burns in Jammu.

A simple model of hysteresis behavior using spreadsheet analysis

Hysteresis loops occur in many scientific and technical problems, especially as field dependent magnetization of ferromagnetic materials, but also as stress-strain-curves of materials measured by tensile tests including thermal effects, liquid-solid phase transitions, in cell biology or economics. While several mathematical models exist which aim to calculate hysteresis energies and other parameters, here we offer a simple model for a general hysteretic system, showing different hysteresis loops depending on the defined parameters. The calculation which is based on basic spreadsheet analysis plus an easy macro code can be used by students to understand how these systems work and how the parameters influence the reactions of the system on an external field. Importantly, in the step-by-step mode, each change of the system state, compared to the last step, becomes visible. The simple program can be developed further by several changes and additions, enabling the building of a tool which is capable of answering real physical questions in the broad field of magnetism as well as in other scientific areas, in which similar hysteresis loops occur.

Retrospective study of the prevalence of Pseudoloma neurophilia shows male sex bias in zebrafish Danio rerio (Hamilton-Buchanan).

Retrospective study of the prevalence of Pseudoloma neurophilia shows male sex bias in zebrafish Danio rerio (Hamilton-Buchanan).

Study of prior preparedness and awareness regarding the MBBS course amongst first year students admitted at rural medical college, of PIMS-DU, Loni

Background: Adolescents in India choose career in medicine under the influence and pressure from parents, family members, peers and external sources. There are no measures taken to study whether these medical students understand the demands and priorities of a career in medicine once they decide to choose it. Hence the study was undertaken at PIMS-DU with Ist year MBBS students as participants. Aims: 1) Assess the factors influencing the choice of MBBS. 2) Analyze the prior knowledge and awareness of medical students regarding the course. 3) Their career trend in future. Material and Methods: All newly admitted students present at the orientation programme in September 2014 at PIMS –DU were included as participants. Their written responses to a 14 point questionnaire were entered into a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and descriptive analysis was done. Results: A majority of students had their parents and family members in medical profession indicating prior idea amongst the students regarding the course, even when the choice was made at an early stage of academics or without appearing for aptitude tests due to unawareness. Appearance for entrance exams to kept their options wide open but caused unnecessary stress, anxiety and economic burden to parents. However, these participants had limited knowledge about medical curriculum but had decisive ideas regarding future trend in career. Conclusions: Family being strong motivator for career choice for medical students; should encourage students to undertake aptitude tests, career guidance courses and investigate about future prospects to create a strong foundation as MBBS students.

Simulation-based optimization of lattice support structures for offshore wind energy converters with the simultaneous perturbation algorithm

Support structures for offshore wind turbines are contributing a large part to the total project cost, and a cost saving of a few percent would have considerable impact. At present support structures are designed with simplified methods, e.g., spreadsheet analysis, before more detailed load calculations are performed. Due to the large number of loadcases only a few semimanual design iterations are typically executed. Computer-assisted optimization algorithms could help to further explore design limits and avoid unnecessary conservatism.In this study the simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation method developed by Spall in the 1990s was assessed with respect to its suitability for support structure optimization. The method depends on a few parameters and an objective function that need to be chosen carefully. In each iteration the structure is evaluated by time-domain analyses, and joint fatigue lifetimes and ultimate strength utilization are computed from stress concentration factors. A pseudo-gradient is determined from only two analysis runs and the design is adjusted in the direction that improves it the most.The algorithm is able to generate considerably improved designs, compared to other methods, in a few hundred iterations, which is demonstrated for the NOWITECH 10 MW reference turbine.

Методические рекомендации по предварительной оценке и анализу состояния сферы бытового обслуживания населения в субъектах Российской Федерации

The article presents the results of the author’s attempt at developing a complex of methodological recommendations for the preliminary assessment and analysis of the public amenities capacity and status in different constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The recommendations as developed by the author are based on specific examples, and are supported by information sources regarded by the author as necessary to use in the course of the analysis. The author also provides recommendations on the graphic representation of the results of the analysis (spread sheets) as well as recommendations on rating of the regions (ranking and grouping the regions in accordance with the level of public amenities development they demonstrate), a thorough analysis of the system of the public administration of the industry, the competences and authority of the federal executive bodies, regional agencies of State power and the local authorities responsible for the regulation of relations in the sphere of public services, an assessment of the capacity of public service providers, and a comparison of public service user prices as quoted by municipal entities in different constituents of the Russian Federation.

‘There's an app for that’: a new program for the collection of behavioural field data

Researchers have long sought an inexpensive, reliable, flexible and efficient method to collect behavioural data in the field. Techniques such as free-form notebooks, pre-prepared data sheets and audio/video recordings are inexpensive and require little training but are inefficient, requiring almost as much time to encode the data as to collect it. Conversely, current digital solutions remove the need for data entry after collection, but require users either to purchase commercial software and hardware, or to have the skills and time to design a software solution. This paper introduces a freely available application for the Android operating system, Prim8 Mobile, which can be used for any captive or wild animal study that uses a behavioural sampling protocol combining continuous focal follow, instantaneous scan, all-occurrence and/or ad libitum data. It can also be used to catalogue biological samples, such as animal tissues and faecal or plant matter. This application has been validated for consistency and stability on the Motorola A855 under both controlled and field conditions, including a 12-month field study of baboons in the southern region of the Kafue National Park, Zambia. Advantages of the application include the ability to import and alter protocols on the device, to backup and export the data without internet availability and to use the exported data directly in spreadsheet or statistical analysis software.

Laboratory Experiment Investigating the Impact of Ocean Acidification on Calcareous Organisms

The increase in ocean acidity since preindustrial times may have deleterious consequences for marine organisms, particularly those with calcareous structures. We present a laboratory experiment to investigate this impact with general, introductory, environmental, and nonmajors chemistry students. For simplicity and homogeneity, calcite was substituted for calcareous organisms and placed in buffer solutions of variable acidity. After 30 min, students quantified the percent mass loss of calcite in their buffer. Individual student data was then pooled into a class spreadsheet for further analysis. This experiment could enable a class discussion on ocean acidification supplemented with primary and secondary literature.

A corpus-based study of phrasal verbs: CARRY OUT, FIND OUT, and POINT OUT

This study, which is exploratory and corpus-based research, aims to investigate the grammatical patterns and the collocates of three phrasal verbs (PVs) in English, i.e., carry out, find out, and point out . They were chosen because the combination of the lexical verbs carry, find, and point , and the adverbial particle out put the three PVs among the top 50 PVs in the British National Corpus or BNC (Gardner & Davies, 2007), and in the Corpus of Contemporary American English or COCA (Liu, 2011). A total of 500 concordance lines were searched from COCA for each PV, and were then placed in an Excel spreadsheet for analysis. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD, 2010) was used as the main reference for information about the definitions of the target PVs, as well as grammatical information and collocates. The results reveal that although most of the grammatical patterns found in this study seem to be in accordance with those displayed in OALD (2010), certain patterns are not provided in the dictionary. The reason could be the limited space of the dictionary and users’ stylistic variation in PV use. Regarding the collocates of the target PVs, most of them are lexical collocation, such as nouns, pronouns, and wh-words, followed by grammatical collocation, such as preposition. Pedagogically speaking, the corpus-based data could help provide additional information not illustrated in dictionaries. In addition, learners can explore the language patterns and search for naturally-occurring samples through the use of corpora.

Opening cultural heritage in the age of OAI-PMH: finding Armenia in the OATD discovery service

Purpose – Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD) distinguishes itself from other ETD databases by providing immediate access to theses that are freely available online. The Republic of Armenia is a small geographical area in Central Asia with a population of only three million, yet an estimated total of five to seven million people of Armenian ancestry live outside of Armenia. What knowledge of Armenian cultural heritage can be discovered by searching OATD for open access theses that relate to Armenian history and culture?. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The OATD database was searched for the terms Armenia or Armenian. Discovered thesis records were exported into citation management tools and analysed for subject content, year of publication, institutional repository source, and a determination of whether Armenia was a primary or secondary topic. Access to theses was also tested to verify their open access. The remaining thesis records (n=152) were exported into an Excel spread sheet for numerical analysis and graphic production. Findings – From the records getting enhanced metadata (n=152), slightly more (52 per cent) were master's theses. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) used the Republic and culture of Armenia as a primary theme. English was the predominant author language (85 per cent) with Portuguese and French represented less than 5 per cent. World history and social sciences research were the most represented subjects. Most open access theses on Armenia or Armenian culture date from after 2000. All enhanced records, along with their abstracts and direct links, are available in a searchable RefWorks shared folder. Originality/value – The OATD database was evaluated for scholarly representation of a particular country and culture.

Perimortem Cesarean Delivery

INTRODUCTION: Currently, cardiopulmonary resuscitation of pregnant women in the third trimester is informed by the 4-Minute Rule. Cesarean delivery is begun at 4 minutes after the arrest if the mother is not responding to resuscitation so that the fetus can be delivered in the next minute, yet this guideline has never had much empirical support. METHODS: All English language case reports of perimortem cesarean deliveries through the present (N=53) were abstracted into an Excel spreadsheet for statistical analysis to examine the relationship of time intervals to key outcomes. RESULTS: For mothers, the mean time from arrest to birth for injury-free survivors was 9.44 minutes, whereas for those who died, it was 24.7 minutes (P=.016). For newborns, the mean for injury-free survivors was 10.08 minutes, whereas for those who died, it was 20.29 minutes (P=.035). Mean skin incision to birth interval was 3.94 minutes (standard deviation 5.95). No discontinuity in injury-free survival rates was noted with a 5-minute arrest to delivery interval. Injury-free survival for both mothers and newborns decreased in a roughly linear fashion as the time from arrest to delivery increased. CONCLUSION: With a direct relationship of increasing injury and mortality for both mother and neonate with increasing arrest to delivery intervals, cesarean delivery should be an integral part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the third trimester. These data do not support a 4-minute delay to evaluate resuscitation nor a 1-minute incision to delivery time. Language: en

Factors Influencing Poverty Alleviation amongst Microfinance Adopting Households in Zambia

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the factors having the most influence on the alleviation of poverty amongst the households adopting microfinance in Zambia. Ninety nine (n=99) respondents were randomly and purposively selected from amongst 340 microfinance adopters of the so-called Micro Bankers Trust programme operating a microfinance business in the Makululu Compound of Kabwe, Zambia. Socio-demographic primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews based on a semi-structured questionnaire instrument. The data were entered into an excel spreadsheet for analysis. The descriptive data were thereafter exported and fitted to an empirical model. The descriptive results revealed that the majority of the respondents were married, unemployed, fairly educated younger women from larger-sized poor households who drew their household income mainly from microfinance activities. The majority of the respondents thought microfinance had improved their well-being in some crucial areas. The results of the empirical model found that some respondents were indeed alleviated from poverty through microfinance. Conclusion drawn in this paper is that microfinance does alleviate poverty of the poor.

Comparison of water-based foam and carbon dioxide gas emergency depopulation methods of turkeys

Recommended response strategies for outbreaks of avian influenza and other highly contagious poultry diseases include surveillance, quarantine, depopulation, disposal, and decontamination. The best methods of emergency mass depopulation should maximize human health and safety while minimizing disease spread and animal welfare concerns. The goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 mass depopulation methods on adult tom turkeys. The methods tested were carbon dioxide gassing and water-based foam. The time to unconsciousness, motion cessation, brain death, and altered terminal cardiac activity were recorded for each bird through the use of an electroencephalogram, accelerometer, and electrocardiogram. Critical times for physiological events were extracted from sensor data and compiled in a spreadsheet for statistical analysis. A statistically significant difference was observed in time to brain death, with water-based foam resulting in faster brain death (µ = 190 s) than CO2 gas (µ = 242 s). Though not statistically significant, differences were found comparing the time to unconsciousness (foam: µ = 64 s; CO2 gas: µ = 90 s), motion cessation (foam: µ = 182 s; CO2 gas: µ = 153 s), and altered terminal cardiac activity (foam: µ = 208 s; CO2 gas µ = 242 s) between foam and CO2 depopulation treatments. The results of this study demonstrate that water-based foam can be used to effectively depopulate market size male turkeys.

A random walk to stochastic diffusion through spreadsheet analysis

This paper describes a random walk simulation using a number cube and a lattice of concentric rings of tiled hexagons. At the basic level, it gives beginning students a concrete connection to the concept of stochastic diffusion and related physical quantities. A simple algorithm is presented that can be used to set up spreadsheet files to calculate these simulated quantities and even to “discover” the diffusion equation. Lattices with different geometries in two and three dimensions are also presented. This type of simulation provides fertile ground for independent investigations by all levels of undergraduate students.

Effect of Barcode-assisted Medication Administration on Emergency Department Medication Errors

Barcode-assisted medication administration (BCMA) is technology with demonstrated benefit in reducing medication administration errors in hospitalized patients; however, it is not routinely used in emergency departments (EDs). EDs may benefit from BCMA, because ED medication administration is complex and error-prone. A naïve observational study was conducted at an academic medical center implementing BCMA in the ED. The rate of medication administration errors was measured before and after implementing an integrated electronic medical record (EMR) with BCMA capacity. Errors were classified as wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong route of administration, or a medication administration with no physician order. The error type, severity of error, and medications associated with errors were also quantified. A total of 1,978 medication administrations were observed (996 pre-BCMA and 982 post-BCMA). The baseline medication administration error rate was 6.3%, with wrong dose errors representing 66.7% of observed errors. BCMA was associated with a reduction in the medication administration error rate to 1.2%, a relative rate reduction of 80.7% (p < 0.0001). Wrong dose errors decreased by 90.4% (p < 0.0001), and medication administrations with no physician order decreased by 72.4% (p = 0.057). Most errors discovered were of minor severity. Antihistamine medications were associated with the highest error rate. Implementing BCMA in the ED was associated with significant reductions in the medication administration error rate and specifically wrong dose errors. The results of this study suggest a benefit of BCMA on reducing medication administration errors in the ED.

MS Excel Spreadsheet Add-in for Thermodynamic Properties and Process Simulation of R152a

Microsoft Excel add-in has been developed for the thermodynamic properties of refrigerant DiflouroEthane (R152a) an alternative refrigerant to R134a, which has no Ozone Depletion Potential. Thermodynamic properties’ equations for R152a were formulated from a popular equation of state. The equations were transformed into a computer program in Microsoft Excel-Visual Basic for Application in Integrated Development Environment as an Excel add-in. The add-in is able to compute the thermodynamic properties of R152a refrigerant - specific volume, internal energy, enthalpy, and entropy in the wet, subcooled and superheated-vapor regions. The calculated values are accurate compared to the standard reference properties tables for refrigerants. Computed properties’ data can easily be used in the Excel spreadsheet for process analysis, simulation and design of R152a refrigerating plants. The solution scheme and computer language adopted in this work are easy to apply and use as opposed to the available sophisticated and expensive computer software packages; and the MS Excel add-in presented in this paper would be useful to both practicing engineers and engineering students in the area. An application was illustrated by solving a typical problem in R152a refrigerating process analysis.