Biomedical subjects

Y C Tsao

Publications and source records attributed to Y C Tsao.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Audit of phlebotomy turnaround time in a private hospital setting.

An audit on the turnaround time (TAT) of a hospital phlebotomy service was undertaken to assess whether or not the existing service standards can satisfy the needs and expectations of both the external and internal customers. A job request survey form was designed and implemented in June 2005 to be used by the day shift to record the number of phlebotomy cases and the corresponding TAT. The success rate and complaints related to phlebotomy were also recorded. Phlebotomists provided the data for this study on an honor system basis. Out of 2,118 test requests received by the laboratory, 1,867 (88.1 percent) were phlebotomy requests. Approximately 62 phlebotomy requests were recorded, on average, per day shift. The average time, expressed in mean +/- standard deviation (SD) needed for response, arrival, and job completion was 7.4 +/- 1.5 minutes, 5.6 +/- 1.6 minutes, and 10.4 +/- 2.4 minutes respectively, with an average overall TAT of 23.4 +/- 4.1 minutes per phlebotomy request. The success rate at first phlebotomy attempt was 97 percent, and only one complaint was received during the audit period. This study may help hospital management identify possible bottlenecks that delay phlebotomy TAT, thus improving service standards in this area.

Hong Kong↗

PubMed1997

Interspeaker variation in habitual speaking rate: evidence for a neuromuscular component.

Neuromuscular and sociolinguistic hypotheses were proposed to explore and account for the nature of individuals' idiosyncratic speech rates. One hundred subjects (50 males and 50 females) read the Farm Script passage at both habitual and maximum rates. FAST and SLOW subgroups of subjects were selected for both genders based on their overall speaking rates. The articulation rate data derived from 30 selected subjects (SLOW and FAST) revealed the following findings: (a) a significant linear regression function existed between the habitual and maximum rates, (b) significantly different maximum rates were found for the SLOW and the FAST groups, (c) roughly equivalent relative changes from habitual to maximum rate for both SLOW and FAST groups. No significant gender differences were found across different speech tasks and measures of speech rates. The weight of the evidence seems to suggest that neuromuscular constraints play a role in the determination of an individual's habitual speaking rate. Nevertheless, the study did not suggest that either neuromuscular hypotheses or sociolinguistic hypotheses alone can account for the control of individuals' speaking rates due to the unusual ability demonstrated by a few subjects in the SLOW group, to speak at very fast maximum rates.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Interference effects in the picture-word stroop task.

Line drawings of common objects with an embedded three-or four-letter word or scrambled word were presented either to the right or left visual field. Subjects were to name the line drawing of a common object as fast and as accurately as possible. Reaction times and response accuracy were recorded and analyzed. Percent errors were significantly higher when a line drawing with a word was presented in the right visual field than in the left visual field. Sex of subject was not significant. This finding is analogous to results found when the color-word Stroop task is used.

Female↗

PubMed1983

Time estimation of a secondary event.

This study explored time estimation for a secondary event while the subjects were attentively engaged in a primary one. It also examined whether the perception of time is hemispherically lateralized as estimated by the dichotic listening technique. A tone of 500 Hz was delivered to either ear equally often while the subject was shadowing a recorded passage also presented to either ear. At the end of the tone, the subject estimated the tone's duration. There were three levels of shadowing demands, i.e., control, slow and fast, and four tonal durations, i.e., 6, 14, 27, 63 sec. Subjects tended to underestimate more the tonal duration when the primary task, i.e., shadowing the passage, was more demanding. No clearcut indication of hemispheric lateralization of temporal duration was found.

Adult↗

PubMed1981