We have studied the growth and magnetic properties of molecular beam epitaxy grown layers of bcc Fe(001) on MgO(001) substrates at a wide range of temperatures. For growth temperatures in the range 80−595 K, the iron forms islands which increase in lateral size with increasing temperature. Completed films in the same temperature range show the magnetic properties expected for a system with biaxial anisotropy, and a coercivity of <10 Oe. The value of the first cubic anisotropy constant divided by the magnetization (K1/M) remained constant. No evidence for uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the films was found. Above 595 K, the films’ structure and magnetic properties changed dramatically to those characteristic of a particulate system.

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Despite advances in assistive technology, challenges remain in pre-college computer science outreach and university programs for visually impaired students. The use of robotics has been popular in pre-college classrooms and outreach programs, including those that serve underrepresented groups. This paper describes the specific accessibility features implemented in software that provides an accessible Lego Mindstorms NXT programming environment for teenage students who are visually impaired. JBrick is designed to support students with diverse visual acuity and who use needed assistive technology. Field tests over several days showed that JBrick has the potential to accommodate students who are visually impaired as they work together to program Lego Mindstorms NXT robots.

BackgroundPrimary care health professionals, especially family physicians, see a variety of wounds, and yet—despite the frequency of providing wound care—many family physicians do not feel confident in wound care management. This is partly due to a lack of formal wound education in Family Medicine programs. While there are numerous electronic wound care resources available in the UK and North America, none were identified that address the specific need in supporting clinical decision-making in wound dressing selection. At the same time, healthcare providers are increasingly using technology in personal and professional contexts, and a logical extension is to use technology for knowledge translation strategies.ObjectiveThis work developed a prototype mobile health software application named WounDS, designed to support clinical decision-making in selecting wound dressings. This article presents the development and evaluation plan for the WounDS app.MethodsWounDS has been developed on the iOS platform. The primary specification included ease of use, in that one of the primary influences in user adoption would be the ability to receive a wound dressing recommendation in under 30 seconds and under 5 taps on the screen. The WounDS app guides users through a series of binary decisions for assessing the wound and provides a wound dressing recommendation. The selection algorithm is based in best practices using the Wound Bed Preparation Paradigm.ResultsCurrent work is underway to examine the implementation needs for WounDS to be most effectively utilized and to pilot test its feasibility and use in clinical care. Data will be collected through user trials, focus groups, and user metadata will be collected within the app. Optimizing these preconditions will enable a subsequent phase of study to determine effects on clinical decision-making and clinical outcomes.ConclusionsWounDS is designed for knowledge translation, use of technology in clinical decision-making, and continuity of care. The benefits of WounDS include the potential to improve healthcare providers’ competency in wound management and to improve wound healing through better alignment with evidence-based best practices in wound dressing selection, consistency in care from primary to community care, and subsequent downstream impacts in quality of life for patients.

We report that a 10-nm thick Fe film grown at an elevated temperature on MgO͑001͒ forms isolated islands of diameter between 10 and 100 nm. Increasing the deposition temperature causes the islands to decrease in diameter. The resulting films are electrically insulating but show electrical transport properties that vary strongly with growth temperature when capped with 2 nm Au. Films grown at a temperature of 743 K showed a giant magnetoresistance of 0.7% when measured at room temperature. ͓S0163-1829͑99͒01012-7͔