Limited water resources restrict winter wheat grain yield and quality in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of North China, and establishing optimal planting patterns according to crop water requirements is the key factor for achieving rational water use. In this paper, 4 planting patterns were applied, namely, uniform row (30 cm; traditional pattern), wide (40 cm)-narrow (20 cm) row, furrow (double line...

Optimization of permanent seed implant brachytherapy plans for treatment of prostate cancer should be based on biological effective dose (BED) distributions, since dose does not accurately represent biological effects between different types of sources. Currently, biological optimization for these plans is not feasible due to the amount of time necessary to calculate the BED distribution. This ...

Caroline Dowsett is Nurse Consultant in Tissue Viability, Newham Primary Care Trust, London, and Heather Newton is Nurse Consultant in Tissue Viability, Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, Cornwall Wound bed preparation is now a well established concept and the TIME framework has been developed as a practical tool to assist practitioners when assessing and managing patients with wounds. It is import...

This article explores the role of the nurse in wound bed preparation. Wounds cannot be tended to in isolation--many patient factors will influence healing. The nurse needs to have an understanding of the process of wound healing and have undertaken a full patient assessment before focusing on the patient's wound. Recognising and managing problems at the wound bed, for example necrotic tissue an...