Hospitalized children who undergo painful procedures are more susceptible than others to experiencing iatrogenic effects, such as anxiety, pain, and severe stress. Clowns in clinical setting have been found to be effective in reducing children's experiences of these effects during hospitalization and before procedures. This article provides an overview of clowning in health care settings; reviews major studies conducted on clowning for hospitalized children, discussing evidence that clown interventions decrease pain and distress in pediatric patients; and concludes with a discussion of health care clowning as a profession.

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The industrial manufacturing of ferronickel in electric furnaces produces large amounts of slag with strong acidic character and high melting points, which seriously stresses the furnace refractory lining. In this study, the melting behavior of synthetically produced ferronickel slags on magnesia as refractory material was determined by means of a hot stage microscope. Therefore, slags comprising the main oxides SiO 2 (35-70 wt.%), MgO (15-45 wt.%) and Fe 2 O 3 (5-35 wt.%) were melted in a graphite crucible and afterwards analyzed by a hot stage microscope. The design of experiments, which was created by the statistic software MODDE Ò , included 20 experiments with varying slag compositions as well as atmospheres. The evaluation of the test results occurred at three different characteristic states of the samples like the softening point according to DIN 51730 and the temperatures at which the area of residual cross-section of the samples amounted to 30% and 40%, respectively, of the original value depending of their SiO 2 /MgO ratio and iron oxide content. Additionally, the thickness of the zone influenced by the slag was measured and evaluated.

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