This study evaluated different models for calculating the effective thermal conductivity of fibrous insulation by comparing predicted values with certified values of Standard Reference Material 1450c, Fibrous Glass Board. This comparison involved the coupled effects of radiation and conduction heat transfer. To support these comparisons, the fiber diameter distribution was measured using X-ray computed tomography, and this distribution was used in several heat transfer models considered in this paper. For the evaluation of the radiative heat transfer, the diffusion approximation, the Schuster-Schwarzschild approximation, and the Milne-Eddington approximation were considered. The conduction of the gas and the fibers was treated by the kinetic theory and a semi-empirical model, respectively. Two models were considered for the evaluation of the radiative properties: the large specular reflecting approach and the application of Mie theory for media composed of infinite cylinders.

A survey among patients about physician virtues that they value Background: Theoretically, the exercise of good medicine requires physicians who possess and practice virtues. There are good reasons to believe that virtue ethics would be highly appreciated by patients. Aim: To determine the importance that patients attribute to the possession virtues among physicians. Material and Methods: Patients hospitalized in a private and a public hospital were invited to answer a three-question survey. The questions were: first, what do you expect of a good physician? Second, please evaluate, in a scale from 1 to 5, the importance of physician virtues to consider him a good doctor (fidelity to trust given by the patient, benevolence, postponement of self-interests, compassion, intellectual honesty, justice and prudence). Third, among the seven former virtues, select the three more important, and then the most important of all. Results: Most patients responded that they valued that a good physician should have good communication skills, a cordial relationship, commitment to the patient and knowledge. All virtues studied were considered important or very important by almost all patients. The virtues considered the most important were intellectual honesty and fidelity to trust given by the patient. Conclusions: These results support the theoretical argument that, for patients, the practice of virtue ethics is essential for a good medical practice.

No abstract

Capacitive hygrometers are widely used in industrial and environmental measurements. One of the limitations of these sensors is their temperature dependence. While in temperatures beyond 50 °C the effect has been proven to be significant, for standard conditions in calibration laboratories the magnitude of this dependence has not been rigorously studied. This paper presents the analysis and results of a study of the temperature influence in the calibration of capacitive hygrometers designed for monitoring environmental conditions. Ninety measurements were taken on 15 models of capacitive hygrometers using a two-pressure humidity generator between 30%rh and 80%rh and temperatures from 20 to 30 °C. A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the data. The results show that the calibration correction is independent of the temperature for the conditions considered; however, there is a correlation between the temperature and the devices, indicating that the gradients in temperature affect each technology of fabrication in a different way.