The international system of units (SI) in historical perspective.
(10/14)
American medical journals are shifting to selected SI (Systeme International d'Unites) units for reporting measurements. Limitation of SI units deemed suitable for use in reporting clinical laboratory results stems from recommendations put forth by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Limitations are: 1) the liter as sole recommended unit of volume in concentration measurement; 2) substance concentration (unit mole) favored over mass concentration (submultiples of the kilogram); and 3) discouraging the use of the prefixes hecto-, deca-, deci-, and centi-. Further discussion by the American Medical Association and other organizations is required before consensus in the US medical community can be reached as to extent of and time frame for conversion to SI for reporting clinical laboratory measurements. (+info)
Manuscript requirements: the advance from Vancouver.
(11/14)
The agreement on uniform requirements for manuscripts developed in January 1978 in Vancouver, British Columbia, by a small group of clinical editors is now adhered to by more than 130 journals. This development was reported at a meeting of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors held at Leeds Castle, Kent, England, in October 1980. Suggestions for revision of the requirements document were reviewed, and closer consideration of possible changes was scheduled for October 1981. (+info)
The use of SI units in medicine: a WHO memorandum.
(12/14)
In view of the widespread difficulties being encountered in introducing the kilopascal for blood pressure measurements, the 1981 World Health Assembly endorsed an earlier recommendation for a gradual change to the SI unit, but recommended that both the millimetre of mercury and the kilopascal be used simultaneously in the interim. A new name, "the sievert" (Sv), for the SI unit of dose equivalent (ionizing radiation), and other changes related to the "litre", the "candela", and the "radian" and "steradian" are reported. (+info)
The international system of units (si)and medicine.
(13/14)
A major international movement is in progress to extend metrication using the International System of Units. Significantly involved is the field of medicine. Extensive changes adopted abroad now appear in foreign medical literature, and physicians in the United States commonly are unprepared to interpret medical information from abroad because the data are reported in unfamiliar terms. The system has broad immediate and future implications to American physicians. (+info)
Predicting the hazards of whole-body vibration--considerations of a standard.
(14/14)
International Standard 2631 (1997) is concerned with the standardisation of the measurement, evaluation and assessment of whole-body vibration. With respect to health effects of whole-body vibration, the standard offers a combination of alternative methods so that different conclusions can be reached according to what is measured, how it is evaluated and how it is assessed. Various matters requiring consideration during a revision of the standard are suggested. The guidance for assessing the severity of whole-body vibration in ISO 2631 (1997) is compared with equivalent guidance for assessing hand-transmitted vibration in ISO 5349 (1986). It is suggested that when revising these standards some consideration should be given to the apparent contradictions suggesting that some exposures to whole-body vibration may be acceptable even though the same conditions would be considered unacceptable for hand-transmitted vibration. (+info)