A simple single-beam spectrometer suitable for the study of optoacoustic spectra from small solid samples is described and the design of a suitable sample cell is reported. The performance characteristics of the spectrometer have been evaluated using different types of sample. A preliminary assessment of the predicted advantages of optoacoustic spectrometry over conventional techniques of ultravioletvisible absorption and reflectance spectrometry for solid samples has been made.
Some preliminary studies concerned with the application of optoacoustic spectrometry to chemical analysis are described and modifications made to improve the performance of the spectrometer that was discussed in Part I of this series are reported.This instrument has been used in the investigation of a variety of sample types ; several inorganic species, including rutile and anatase titanium(1V) oxide, organometallic and water-sensitive compounds, have been examined and optoacoustic spectra have been obtained from a series of haemoproteins of biological origin and from botanical samples. Where comparisons are possible the spectra obtained by using optoacoustic spectrometry are similar to those obtained by use of conventional transmission or reflectance spectrometry. In general, however, optoacoustic spectrometry has the advantage of the requirement of only small (microlitre or microgram) amounts of sample. Spectra obtained from fresh leaf tissue indicate that optoacoustic spectrometry has a particular advantage over conventional techniques in that for heterogeneous samples of this type it is possible to generate separate spectra from different compounds by observing spectra in a phase-delayed mode; this effect can be used to advantage in the examination of surface layers without interference from substrate material.
Information technology teams in health care are tasked with maintaining a variety of information systems with complex support requirements. In radiology, this includes picture archive and communication systems, radiology information systems, speech recognition systems, and other ancillary systems. Hospital information technology (IT) departments are required to provide 24 x 7 support for these mission-critical systems that directly support patient care in emergency and other critical care departments. The practical know-how to keep these systems operational and diagnose problems promptly is difficult to maintain around the clock. Specific details on infrequent failure modes or advanced troubleshooting strategies may reside with only a few senior staff members. Our goal was to reduce diagnosis and recovery times for issues with our mission-critical systems. We created a knowledge base for building and quickly disseminating technical expertise to our entire support staff. We used an open source, wiki-based, collaborative authoring system internally within our IT department to improve our ability to deliver a high level of service to our customers. In this paper, we describe our evaluation of the wiki and the ways in which we used it to organize our support knowledge. We found the wiki to be an effective tool for knowledge management and for improving our ability to provide mission-critical support for health care IT systems.
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