bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Open access to nursing journals: an audit of the 2010 ERA journal list
Authors: Bail Kasia , Ranse Jamie , Clarke Roger , Rattray Ben
Published: June 2024

Objective: To determine the proportion of nursing journals that are fully open access or have some elements of openness, and hence are readily accessible by nurses in clinical settings.
Design: A descriptive study, with interpretive analysis of existing data sources.
Setting: Access to online journals from the perspective of a nurse as a consumer.
Subjects: Nursing specific journals from the 2010 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) list of publications.
Main outcome measure: The proportion of nursing journals with unrestricted online open access as of October 2011.
Results: Of the 224 journals included in this research, 12% (27/224) had unrestricted open access to all published manuscripts, 39% (88/224) had partial or conditional access and 49% (109/224) had no elements of open access, and required the consumer to have access to a paid subscription.
Conclusion: Approximately half (51%) of nursing journals surveyed have all or some articles that are open access. This is higher than other studies of open access research articles globally. However, barriers at an institutional level may need to be addressed to ensure nurses can be informed in their care of patients.
Getting the message out - disseminating research findings to employees in large rural mining organisations
Authors: Drury Vicki , Hart Kristy
Published: June 2024

Objective: To identify that effective dissemination of research results in large organisations is possible through novel approaches.
Setting: Two mine sites in Western Australia.
Subjects: All employees working in two large mining organisations in rural Australia.
Primary argument: To encourage employees to participate in research it is essential to disseminate findings. Currently utilised dissemination methods include conference presentations, journal articles and company reports. However these methods of dissemination do not reach all employees and often neglect to inform employees below middle management levels of the outcomes of projects. It is imperative that researchers develop strategies through a consultative process with industry to inform people of research findings. This paper argues that despite ongoing rhetoric concerning the need to disseminate research there is little evidence in the literature that describes effective methods of dissemination in large organisations.
Conclusion: Discussion during each focus group highlighted the dissatisfaction staff had regarding involvement in research projects as they rarely received any feedback or perceived any improvement. By organising a research steering group including membership by all key stakeholder groups from senior management to junior staff and identifying dissemination of results as a priority the research team developed a climate of trust. Dissemination of results through posters was a decision made by the team in response to staff dissatisfaction. This ‘bottom up’ approach created a climate of ownership catalysing behaviour change.
Clinical placement in Jordan: qualitative views of final year nursing students
Authors: Shoqirat Noordeen , Abu-Qamar Ma'en
Published: June 2024

Objective: This study explored the nurse student’s experience of the final year placement, and uncovered contributing factors to a positive clinical experience in Jordan.
Design: A qualitative explorative approach was used. Two focus group discussions were conducted in Arabic language with a total of 12 participants selected randomly from the list of students who completed the period of pre-graduation intensive clinical placement. The focus discussions were digitally recorded.
Setting: The setting for this study was a public faculty of nursing located in the southern province, Jordan.
Subjects: Twelve final year nursing students including seven males and five females took part in the study.
Main outcomes measures: The recorded discussions were translated independently into English text and were uploaded into Nvivo 9 for thematic analysis.
Results: Three themes emerged from the data. The first theme related to the environment of clinical placement and included two sub-themes: ‘from orientation-to-team work‘ and ‘from tiredness-to-ignorance’. The second theme is about the faculty and preceptors as reflected by the lack of coordination between the clinical settings and the faculty, plus inconsistency in students’ evaluation. The third theme concerned patient preferences that included a lack of interest in receiving care from students.
Conclusion: Creating a supportive learning environment guided by issues identified and implications put forward by this research is a prerequisite for successfully executed nursing programs. Failure to do so could lead to a stressful transitional journey and detachment from the classroom and the real world of clinical work.
Utilisation of a Native American nursing conceptual framework: implications for practice and research
Authors: Lowe John , Nichols Lee Anne
Published: June 2024

Objective: To explore how Native American nurses and non-Native American nurses perceive how the Nursing in the Native American Culture conceptual framework can be utilised in nursing practice and research.
Setting: The Eleventh Annual Indian Nursing Education Conference in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in the United States of America (USA).
Participants: A total of 50 female and six male participants who were Native American nursing students, Native American nurses, and non-Native American nurses who were nursing educators and/or delivered health care to Native American populations.
Main outcome measures: Participants were placed into 14 small groups and were asked “What is the usefulness of the Native American Nursing conceptual framework in guiding nursing practice and research?” The small groups were allotted 45 minutes to dialogue and answer the research question. Each group recorded field notes of their discussion.
Results: Overall themes emerged from the data that relate to the usefulness of the conceptual framework for nursing practice and research which include: (a) serves as a cultural foundation in practice, (b) supports and guides the value for personal and professional growth, (c) guides research when investigating and exploring Native American phenomenon that are health related, and (d) guides the development of cultural appropriate nursing and health care resources.
Conclusions: The Nursing in the Native American Culture conceptual framework should be used as a guide when planning and implementing health care and research with Native American populations. Health care providers and researchers should utilise the conceptual framework to establish trust and commitment to deliver care and conduct research in a culturally respectful manner.
Adolescents’ perceptions about their weight and practices to lose weight
Authors: Hisar Filiz , Toruner Ebru
Published: June 2024

Purpose: This descriptive study aimed to determine perceptions of adolescents about their weight and practices to lose weight.
Methods: A convenience sample of adolescents (n=703) in grades 9 through 12 completed a questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics, perceptions about their weight, practices to lose weight and their information sources for losing weight. These students were then weighed and had their height measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated.
Results: According to the measured BMIs, 11.2% of students were underweight, 74.1% were a healthy weight, 6.4% were overweight and 8.2% were obese. Of the adolescents, 13.1% perceived themselves as underweight, 65.0% perceived themselves as having a healthy weight, 19.7% perceived themselves as overweight, and 2.2 % perceived themselves as obese. There was poor agreement between measured BMI and adolescents’ perceptions (p < .05). Of the adolescents, 33% had tried/were trying to lose weight.
Conclusion: The study determined that there are differences between the real weights and self-perceived weights of adolescents. School training programs should include information on proper body weight and form, and healthy methods of weight loss.
Sleep quality in the elderly either living at home or in a nursing home
Authors: Dağlar Gülseren , Pınar Şükran E , Sabancıoğulları Selma , Kav Sultan
Published: June 2024

Objective: Changes in sleep duration, pattern, and quality occur with ageing. The aim of this study was to analyse the sleep quality and affecting factors in the elderly living either at home or in nursing homes.
Design: Descriptive and cross‑sectional study.
Setting: Sivas, a central Anatolian city in Turkey.
Subject: This study was carried out with 112 individuals; 52 were living in a nursing home and 60 at home.
Main outcome measures: A personal information form and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Results: There was no statistically significant difference between mean scores and sleep qualities of both groups (p > 0.05). The sleep quality of the individuals in both groups was not significantly influenced by personal variables such as age, gender, education, income, having children, and having a physical illness (p > 0.05). Individuals in both groups who reported their sleep as inadequate had sleep problems, and those who reported their sleep was affected for various reasons and who perceived their health as poor had significantly worse sleep quality (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The sleep quality of the elderly living either at home or in a nursing home were at similar levels and more than half of individuals in both groups had poor sleep quality.
Knowledge and practices of nurses concerning intravenous potassium administration in a Turkish hospital
Authors: Güneş Ayşegül , Senol Celik Sevilay
Published: June 2024

Objective: Based on this literature review, it is clear that intravenous potassium is a potentially toxic electrolyte, which has been responsible for a large number of deaths in hospitals. In Turkey, research on intravenous potassium administration is limited in the available literature. In addition, clinical observations made by the researchers suggests there is knowledge and practice deficiencies among nurses related to potassium administration. Thus, this study aimed to determine how wide the knowledge and practice deficiencies among nurses was concerning intravenous potassium administration in a Turkish Hospital.
Design: This was a descriptive study.
Setting: This study was conducted in a university hospital in Turkey.
Subjects and Method: The sample of this study consisted of a total 105 nurses working in surgery clinics or surgical intensive care units of a university hospital, who volunteered to participate in the study.The questionnaire used in this study was developedby the researchers with the help of material obtained from the literature review. Questionnaires were distributed and collected to participants by researcher. In the calculation of knowledge and practice scores, every correct answer was assigned 1 point, while incorrect answers were assigned 0. Mean, percentage, ANOVA, the kruskal-wallis h test, the mann-whitney u test and pearson correlation were used for data analysis.
Results: The mean knowledge score of nurses on intravenous potassium administration was found to be 9.48±3.21, while the mean practice score was 10.85±2.04. These results suggest that the nurses’ knowledge and practice scores were found to be relatively lower compared to 17 which is the highest scores of both knowledge and practice about intravenous potassium administration. It is also important to state that statistically significant and positive relationship was found (r: 0.595; p< 0.05). The majority of the nurses (61.9%) did not know all the elements of a correct potassium order. The differences in nurses’ knowledge scores according to the type of hospital unit and training status on liquid electrolyte balance were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Nurses with duration of employment of over 10 years were found to have higher knowledge scores than nurses with employment duration of below four years. This difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05).
Conclusion: In light of the findings of this study it is recommended that nursing curriculum and in-service training programs in Turkey should address intravenous potassium administration more extensively and that protocols related to intravenous potassium administration be developed and implemented.
Exploring why some terminally ill people die in hospital when home was their preferred choice
Authors: Champion Nicola , Morrison Paul , Medigovich Kristina
Published: June 2024

Objective: This small study was designed to gain a better understanding of issues that led to hospital admission of palliative care clients who had a preference for home death, but died in hospital.
Design: A mixed method approach was chosen for the study using descriptive analysis of routinely collected client demographic and clinical data, and conventional content analysis of case note entries.
Setting: The study was undertaken in two community based palliative care services located in rural South Australia.
Subjects: The case notes of fourteen deceased adults registered with the Northern Yorke Peninsula and Port Pirie Palliative Care Services, with a recorded preferred site of death (PSD) of home and who died in hospital were studied.
Main outcome measure: Understanding of issues that may have led to hospital admission of palliative care clients who had a preference for home death but who died in hospital.
Results: The findings reported here focus only on the qualitative aspect of the study. Issues that may lead to hospital admission include: unstable symptoms, deteriorating condition, client/caregiver decision making, lack of services over twenty four hours and the caregiver’s ability to manage client care.
Conclusion: Services can now consider these findings and develop local strategies to improve support for clients with a preference to die at home, and in particular, those that focus on improving caregiver training and information.
Y doesn't Gen Y like 2 w8?
Authors: Jackson Karen , Drew Kerry , Shaw Jacqueline
Published: June 2024

Objective: The aim of this small scaled research project was to identify any generational differences in expectations and satisfaction in waiting times, amongst Minor Injury patients with an ATS (Australian Triage score) four and five and how, or indeed if these relate to overall satisfaction of the Emergency Department (ED) Fast track or Treatment Stream (TS) Service. The question for this research was: In what ways do generational groups perceive waiting times for the service provided by an Emergency Department Fast track or Treatment Stream Service and with what implications for future services?
Design: A descriptive survey design where patients entering the TS area of the ED were given a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire to complete during their stay, in order to quantify their expectations of the waiting times and their level of satisfaction. Data was descriptively analysed and discussed within the conceptual framework of generational descriptions.
Setting: Emergency Department, within an independent Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP) led TS service.
Subjects: Convenience sample, limited to a maximum of every third adult patient attending the Armadale ED TS area, was offered the opportunity to participate in the study.
Main outcome measures: Expectations of waiting times and levels of satisfaction across generational groups.
Results: There was no difference between the expectations of Gen Y and other generational groups (Pr Chi 0.135), however Gen Y were still significantly less satisfied with the service than the other generational groups (P=0.018).
Conclusion: More research is required to address the expectations and satisfaction in waiting times and health services offered to different generational groups. This study offers beginning insights.
A mental health nursing transition program for enrolled nurses at a forensic mental health hospital
Authors: Quinn Chris , Ryan Jo
Published: June 2024

Objective: There are difficulties in recruiting enrolled nurses to mental health positions. A six month program was developed with the aim to bridge possible knowledge gaps for enrolled nurses, and to provide them practical support to consolidate skills and knowledge for nursing in a forensic mental health hospital.
Setting: The setting was a 116 bed secure forensic mental health hospital in the state of Victoria, Australia.
Subjects: Nine enrolled nurses who had completed a Diploma of Nursing, were recruited into the program.
Primary argument: There is a national decrease in enrolled nursing supply, and a paucity of data exploring the training needs of enrolled nurses transitioning from the Diploma to a mental health nursing role. Nursing programs are required to assist enrolled nurses with the knowledge and skills, and support required to effectively make their transition into mental health nursing.
Conclusion: The results demonstrate the importance in providing a program to assist enrolled nurses transition to mental health and that the mental health course requirements within the Diploma of Nursing and placement length may not be adequate in preparing enrolled nurses for direct entry to mental health nursing. Providing a structured transition program for a group of enrolled nurses is a useful strategy to improve knowledge, skills, and retention.
Stoma and shame: engaging affect in the adaptation to a medical device
Authors: Diebold Lionel
Published: June 2024

Objective: The objective is to understand difficulties some patients have with their adaptation to a medical device, specifically a stoma and an ostomy appliance, following gastro-enterologic surgery. A partial or total colectomy is typically performed in cases of digestive cancers, Crohn’s disease, or anal incontinence. A psychotherapeutic application deduced from this understanding is described. The therapeutic approach is informed by Lacanian psychoanalysis.
Setting: The setting is the digestive surgery services section of a large public teaching hospital in France. The clinical team conducting the interventions described perform their work with patients post-operatively.
Subjects: Selected cases are chosen to provide brief illustrations of the analysis and the psychotherapeutic approach developed.
Primary argument: This study focuses on the impact of the stoma and the ostomy appliance on the subjectivity of the patient and shows how the affect of shame can appear. It is noted that the affect of shame in the adaptation to an ostomy appliance has not been investigated to date. This affect can in turn have psychological effects on the gastroenterologist treatment itself, even to the point of the patient’s abandonment of ongoing care. The analysis reported here explores the recognition of shame when it might be present, and the process of accompanying the patient therapeutically, engaging the logic of the transference.
Conclusion: Shame cannot be treated by ignorance or by indifference. A psychotherapeutic application engaging the transference between the patient and members of the nursing and psychotherapeutic team, helps patients support shame and adapt well to the ostomy bag.
Literature review: Why do we continue to lose our nurses?
Authors: Goodare Pete
Published: June 2024

Objective: To decrypt what determining factors contribute to nurses leaving the clinical facet of the profession.
Primary argument: Nurses encompass the largest professional constituent of the health care workforce in most countries, resulting in the impact of a shortage of these professionals, as immense. A projection in the shortage of nurses is upon us, and the margin in the reduction of these health professionals is thought to be worse than any of the preceding cyclical reductions. More than half of the nursing profession feel they are underpaid and overworked, resulting in the likelihood of patient’s needs not being met, significantly increasing. Lengthy hours, quality of working environments, lack of leadership and the ageing population and workforce, can all be seen as influential factors, in which have the potential to leave this profession in a situation of calamity.
Conclusion: In light of the predicted global demand for nurses over the next decade, the departure and retirement of the existing nursing workforce will potentially result in the loss of significant and treasured experience and organisational knowledge, weakening the capacity and capability of the nursing profession.
The Art of Clinical Supervision: the Traffic Light System for the Delegation of Care
Authors: Russell Kylie , Williamson Sarah , Hobson Ann
Published: June 2024

Objective: The Traffic Light System for the Delegation of Care was developed as a tool to assist student nurses and their allocated clinical supervisor on clinical shift, to determine their scope of practice for the delivery of patient care.
Setting: Western Australian health services.
Primary Argument: With each clinical placement student nurses are required to determine their scope of practice according to the health service polices and guidelines in conjunction with their own School of Nursing practice policies and legislation. Health service nurses support students in this scope of practice determination, but often themselves are perplexed by the different placement structure in each university course, and the lack of consistency across these.
Conclusion: Participant feedback and implementation of the tool supports its usefulness as a practical strategy to assist decision-making in the delegation of care to student nurses.
Assessment and management of acute pain in older people: barriers and facilitators to nursing practice
Authors: Fitzgerald Sally , Tripp Henrietta , Halksworth-Smith Gillian
Published: June 2024

Objective: The aim of this review was to examine the pain management practices of nurses, and identify barriers and facilitators to the assessment and management of pain for older people, within the acute hospital setting.
Design:  Integrative literature review.
Setting: Acute care for inpatients in a tertiary hospital.
Subjects: Older people defined as 65 years of age or over.
Primary argument: A nurse’s individual practice was found to significantly influence how pain is managed in the older patient; this encompassed nurses attitudes, communication, documentation, and the use of pharmacological and nonpharmacological strategies. Nurses’ ability to provide optimal care was found to be influenced by organisational factors such as workforce planning and the workplace environment. Provision of knowledge and skills to both nurses and older patients through education was found to facilitate better pain management; whilst a model of care whereby the nurse has authority and the patient is perceived as a passive recipient was found to be a hindrance to optimal pain management outcomes.
Conclusion: Findings indicate that nurses need to improve communication with older patients, increase their knowledge of pain assessment and management principles in regards to this population, and have a greater awareness of human and social influences. Whilst organisational factors can impact upon nursing care, pain management needs to be highly prioritised and promoted as  essential. Targeted education is required to overcome many of the identified barriers, and is a key recommendation from this review.
Incorporating an Undergraduate Student in Nursing program into the workforce: a prospective observational study
Authors: Raffelt Alison , Sidwell Danny , Fennah Wendy , Davies Shari , Jauncey-Cooke Jacqueline
Published: June 2024

Objectives: The objective was to describe the organisational perspective of the implementation of the Undergraduate Student in Nursing (USIN) program and to describe the experience of nursing staff working with these Undergraduate Students in Nursing.
Design: Prospective, observation design.
Setting: The study took place at a large tertiary paediatric hospital in Brisbane, Australia over a twelve month period.
Subjects: Participants were registered nurses (n=169) employed in a permanent capacity in the following clinical areas – medical, surgical, rehabilitation, paediatric intensive care unit and perioperative.
Interventions: Pre and post staff questionnaires were distributed to staff based on three domains; anticipated thought; assertion in the workplace and role delineation; and reflective practice.
Results: Prior to implementation of USINs, the primary concerns of staff surrounding the introduction of the role included; impact on patient safety, poor skill mix, decrease in quality of care and patient and family satisfaction, impact on unit/ward operation, and the potential attitudes of the students. At 12 months post-implementation, respondents felt that patient safety had increased, skill mix had not been adversely impacted, workload had improved, overall quality of patient care and satisfaction had increased among children and parents.
Conclusion: This introduction improved important elements within the clinical space such as patient safety and quality of care. Registered nurses perceived their workload was reduced and parent and child satisfaction was increased. The results of this study could be generalised beyond paediatrics to adult facilities. We would recommend other organisations consider this model if faced with similar workforce demands.
Is provision of professional development by RNs to nursing students a choice?
Authors: Anderson Carina , Moxham Lorna , Broadbent Marc
Published: June 2024

Objective: This paper reports on a major category that emerged as a result of a Grounded Theory study that explored Registered Nurses’ (RN) understanding of the nursing standard requirement to provide nursing students with professional development during their clinical placements.
Design: Grounded Theory study.
Setting: Nursing clinical education.
Subjects: Fifteen registered nurses participated in this study (n=15). Thirteen were female and two were male.
Main outcome measures: In-depth semi-structured interviews were the means of data collection. Constant comparative method was used to analyse data.
Results: The notion of choice emerged as a major finding. Choice is conceptualised as choosing whether or not to be involved in the professional development of nursing students. The category choice is informed by two themes; unsuited to teaching, and respecting peers.
Conclusion: According to the Australian nursing standards RNs are responsible for providing professional development to nursing students on clinical placements. Results from this Grounded Theory study revealed that participants perceived it is an RNs choice whether or not to provide professional development to nursing students.
The Art of Clinical Supervision: strategies to assist with the delivery of student feedback
Authors: Russell Kylie
Published: June 2024

Objective: The Art of Clinical Supervision (ACS) seminar was developed to provide health professionals with the essentialknowledge, skill and attitude to support student clinical learning. This paper provides an outline of the strategies provided to participants to support the delivery of feedback to students on clinical placement.
Setting: Western Australian health services.
Primary argument: The provision of timely and descriptive feedback to students on clinical placement is essential for learning andachievement of competence. Health professionals working with students in the delivery of patient care, termed clinical supervisors, require effective strategies to support this communication technique.
Conclusion: ACS participant feedback supports the use of both strategies to formulate the delivery of feedback. This ensuresthat the student and supervising health professional have discussed the required learning needs, strategies for learning and evaluation.
Workplace environment for nurses and healthcare assistants in residential aged care facilities in New Zealand
Authors: Kussmaul Joerg , Peri Kathy , Boyd Michal
Published: June 2024

Objective: Continuous work under environmental and thermal discomfort such as cold, heat, and dim light has the potential to affect the health of nurses and healthcare assistants working in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF). The resulting health issues to workers from exposure to thermal discomfort include fatigue, concentration difficulty and work-related diseases such as cold and muscle tensions. Consequently, this often leads to higher labour absenteeism due to sick-leave which in turn correlates to poor nursing care quality for residents. This research investigated environmental factors which are temperature, humidity, noise, and lighting in nurse offices and resident lounges in RACFs in New Zealand and compared them with international standards.
Design: Quantitative study approach.
Setting: Seventeen Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF) participated in this study, which were categorised in stand-alone (S-RACF), chain (C-RACF), and religious and charitable (RC-RACF) providers. The environmental measurements were conducted for 24 hours in the nurse offices and 12 hours in resident lounges.
Results: The findings demonstrated that the environmental factors, noise and humidity level met international standards predominately, but temperature and lighting levels failed to comply in nursing offices and resident lounges in RACF.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that nurses and healthcare assistants are working in environmental conditions that partially impedes the health and safety of nursing staff, and could affect their nursing care performance adversely for residents in RACF.
Evaluating the efficacy and impact of the Nursing and Midwifery Exchange Program: a study protocol
Authors: Byrne Amy-Louise , Harvey Clare , Baldwin Adele , Heritage Brody , Chamberlain Diane , Wood Elspeth
Published: June 2024

Objective: The following research protocol evaluates the Queensland Health Nursing and Midwifery Exchange Program (NMEP) and evaluates how exposure to diverse clinical settings, may impact the nursing and midwifery workforce on individual and organisational levels.
Design: This protocol details a mixed methodology allowing for both quantitative and qualitative data. The study is being undertaken in three stages; a survey of the participating nurses and midwives; a systematic review; and a Delphi study with an expert review group.
Setting: The study is a Queensland wide study across rural/remote, regional and metropolitan locations.
Subjects: This study will follow approximately 70 nurses and midwives employed by Queensland Health from diverse areas and streams at various stages within their clinical career.
Interventions: Nurses and Midwives participate in a three or six-month professional exchange to a rural/remote or metropolitan location.
Main outcome measure(s): This study will evaluate the impact and sustainability of the NMEP program through measurement of burnout, job embeddedness, job strain, job satisfaction and attrition through a series of surveys. In addition to this, a systematic review and Delphi with executive experts will be conducted to consider a future pathway/model for nursing and midwifery exchange.
Results: This study has commenced and will be completed September of 2019.
Conclusion: The NMEP program is one novel approach to nursing and midwifery workforce concerns and looks to present excellent opportunities for the crossover of skills and ideas related to clinical, professional and service integration between metropolitan and rural practice.
Rethinking student night duty placements - a replication study
Authors: Zielinksi Valerie , Beardmore Denielle
Published: June 2024

Objective: This paper reports findings as a replicated qualitative study (McKenna and French 2010) that investigated experiences and value of night duty; with the variance that the students’ were undergraduate enrolled nurse students as opposed to undergraduate registered nurse student nurses’.
Design: Enrolled nurse students’ from one private Registered Training Organisation (RTO) were invited to participate in a two week night shift placement as their preparation for practice in an acute care facility. A qualitative approach involving focus groups with  students and ward nurses, prior to, and following that clinical placements was used. In addition, individual interviews were conducted with other key stakeholders from the RTO and Health Care Service.
Setting: The study was conducted in one regional public hospital in Victoria, Australia. A clinical teacher, who was also the clinical coordinator, was employed by the RTO to provide student supervision during the placement.
Subjects: Thirty eight enrolled nursing students, six permanent night staff from the hospital and four key personnel representing the education provider and hospital perspectives consented to participate.
Main Outcome Measures: All transcripts were thematically analysed together with the context of placement value and experiences.
Results: Four themes emerged from pre-placement interviews: coping with travelling, nature of night shift, preparing to be a graduate, and change and adjustment. Post placement interviews revealed four themes; time to learn and time to teach, adjusting, continuity and preparing to be a graduate and night duty as a recommended clinical placement for the enrolled nurse student.
Conclusions: This replication study has added evidentiary support that night duty is a highly appropriate model of professional clinical practice for the enrolled nurse. Within a collaborative model it has enabled the student enrolled nurse to consolidate theory to practice, exposure to reality of nursing as a twenty four hour continuity of care and met professional and education competency standards. It also demonstrated that with visionary partnerships new models of clinical experience for the enrolled nurse can be developed that meet today’s challenges to provideflexible models of clinical experience.
Alanine aminotransferase predicts incident steatotic liver disease of metabolic etiology: Long life to the old biomarker!
Authors: Lonardo Amedeo
Published: June 2024

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serum levels increase because of hepatocellular damage. Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), which identifies steatotic liver disease (SLD) associated with ≥ 2 metabolic abnormalities, has prominent sexual differences. The Metabolic Syndrome defines a cluster comprising abdominal obesity, altered glucose metabolism, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Male sex, body mass index, glucose, lipids, ferritin, hypertension, and age independently predict ALT levels among blood donors. Over the last few decades, the reference range of ALT levels has been animatedly debated owing to attempts to update sex-specific reference ranges. With this backset, Chen et al have recently published a study which has two main findings. First, > 80% of individuals with MAFLD had normal ALT levels. Second, there was a linear increasing trend in the association between cumulative excess high-normal ALT levels and the rate of incident MAFLD. This study has biologically credible findings. However, it inaccurately considered sex differences in the MAFLD arena. Therefore, future studies on SLD owing to metabolic dysfunction should adopt locally determined and prospectively validated reference ranges of ALT and carefully consider sex differences in liver enzymes and MAFLD pathobiology.
Managing immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated gastritis: Insights and strategies
Authors: Yu Li-Li , He Zhi-Lin , Qian Xin-Lai
Published: June 2024

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are widely used due to their effectiveness in treating various tumors. Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are defined as adverse effects resulting from ICI treatment. Gastrointestinal irAEs are a common type of irAEs characterized by intestinal side effects, such as diarrhea and colitis, which may lead to the discontinuation of ICIs.
Gastric microbiota transplantation as a potential treatment for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated gastritis
Authors: Ma Bo-Tong , Sang Li-Xuan , Chang Bing
Published: June 2024

Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are complications of the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). ICI-associated gastritis is one of the main irAEs. The gastric microbiota is often related to the occurrence and development of many gastric diseases. Gastric microbiota adjustment may be used to treat gastric disorders in the future. Faecal microbiota transplantation can alter the gut microbiota of patients and has been used for treating ICI-associated colitis. Therefore, we propose gastric microbiota transplantation as a supplementary treatment for patients with ICI-associated gastritis who do not respond well to conventional therapy.
Peculiarities of the Accumulation of Mineral Elements and Nitrogen in the Assimilation Apparatus of Scots Pine
Authors:   Federal Research Center for the Integrated Study of the Arctic named after Academician N.P. Laverov of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Feklistov Pavel A. , Bolotov Ivan N. , Tarkhanov Sergey N. , Tyukavina Olga N. ,   Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Sungurova Nataliya R. , Makarov Sergey S. ,   Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy
Published: June 2024

The research has been carried out in the Arkhangelsk forestry of the Arkhangelsk Region in a drained shrub-sphagnum pine forest. Census trees of medium diameter and height for the stand have been selected, from which samples of needles, both living and dying yellow ones, and shoots of different ages have been taken on model branches. Soil samples have also been taken from the 3 upper horizons. It has been established that most of all nitrogen and mineral elements accumulate in the living needles – 4.4 % on average, in the dying needles and shoots there are 37–40 % less. Among all the elements, nitrogen, potassium and calcium make up the largest proportion; while the rest of the chemical elements are several time less. In descending order of the share, they are arranged in the following sequence: magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, manganese, silicon, iron and aluminum. The most important mineral elements are derived in significant quantities from the dying yellow needles. The content of sulfur, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and iron decreases in them by 3.3, 2.1, 8.0, 1.5 and 1.4 times, respectively, compared to the living needles. Data on the presence of nitrogen and mineral elements in the soil horizons A0, T1 and T2 have been obtained. It has been established that some of the essential elements for the life of a tree are concentrated in the living needles in much larger quantities than in the soil: potassium, phosphorus, manganese and calcium – by 12.0, 4.0, 6.0 and 1.9, respectively. The yellow falling needles create a biological cycle of substances. The amount of nitrogen and ash constituents in these needles is proportional to their presence in the soil. In turn, the content of mineral elements in the shoots is close to their amount in the yellow falling needles, on the one hand, and on the other, depends on the age of the shoots. There is a steady trend of decreasing the content of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur with the age of the shoots.
The Influence of Aerosols on Forest Vegetation Cover in the South-West of Azerbaijan
Authors:   Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency, Institute of Ecology, Mamedaliyeva Valida M. , Heydarzade Gunel S. ,   Baku State University
Published: June 2024

Atmospheric pollution by anthropogenic emissions leads to an increase in the content of aerosols in the air. This causes distortions in the Earth remote sensing data in the visible ranges. Thus, the use of vegetation indices, in particular, the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), is difficult. In this regard, interest in the use of satellite images obtained in the short-wave infrared bands SWIR1 and SWIR2 has recently increased. Unlike NDVI, when calculating the AFRI-1600 and AFRI-2100 indices, the values of these bands are taken into account (instead of visible red). Therefore, these indices are called aerosol-free. The article addresses the issues of the NDVI and AFRI indices. The studies have been carried out in three regions located in the south-west of Azerbaijan. The initial data has been taken from 2000 and 2021 images obtained using the Landsat-5 and Landsat-8 satellites, respectively. The scanners of these satellites have ranges of 1600 and 2100 μm. The study has taken place in several stages. At the first stage, the AFRI-1600 indices have been calculated and the areas with high aerosol content for the indicated years have been identified. By studying the dynamics of the amount of aerosols, two types of sites have been identified. Type 1 sites are those where the aerosol content was high in 2000, but dropped in 2021. In type 2 sites, a high value of this indicator was not previously recorded, but was noted in 2021. The NDVI index value has been obtained for both categories, and the classification of the site coverage has been carried out. The results of superimposing index maps on each other have shown that an increase in aerosol content corresponds to a decrease in vegetation density, and vice versa, a decrease in aerosols corresponds to an increase in this indicator. Thus, the increased aerosol content has a negative effect on the condition of forest cover. This is confirmed by the VCI (vegetation condition index) maps.
Growth and Condition of the English Oak in the Mixed Stands of Forest Shelterbelts
Authors:   Voronezh Federal Agricultural Scientific Centre named after V.V. Dokuchaev, Chekanyshkin Aleksey S.
Published: June 2024

An analysis of the creation and operation of protective forest plantations at agricultural enterprises of the Central Chernozem Region allows us to assert that positive ameliorative functions are performed by those forest plantations that have good growth, high stability and longevity. Russian forestry scientists have recognized that the main species in the steppe conditions for all types of protective forest plantations is the English oak. The aim of the research has been to assess the current state of the stands in forest shelterbelts planted via different methods with the English oak as the main species. Taxation works and forest pathology research were carried out in 1997–2021 in the forest shelterbelt no. 9, established in the spring of 1989 by 2-year-old seedlings in the land-use territory of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Experimental Production Farm “Znamya Oktyabrya” of the Talovskiy District of the Voronezh Region. It has been established that the influence of combinations of tree species in forest belts on the growth of the English oak at the age of 32 years is quite significant. As a result of competitive relations for environmental resources by fast-growing and associate species, the number of live oak trees in a continuous row planting option is 35.6...52.1 % less than in intermittent forest belt options, of their number during planting. The remaining sharply oppressed oak trees in the plantation sown in the continuous row planting way are far behind in height and stem diameter (by 0.8...7.6 m and 4.1...12.7 cm, respectively) compared to the oaks growing in the intermittent forest belts sown in a block planting way. The absence of improvement felling in the experimental plantations during their growth and formation has led to a significant number of dead oak wood and non-viable trees of this species. Moreover, the proportion of dead oak wood and non-viable trees in the forest belt sown via continuous row planting exceeds the indicator in the intermittent forest belts by 36.6...40.6 %. The number of viable oak trees in the intermittent belt options is 17.7...27.3 % higher than in the continuous row planting option, and the number of limitedly viable trees is 11.5...18.9 % higher.
Microbial Mobilization and Reprecipitation of Transition Metals in Waste Rock from an Abandoned Pyrite Mine: Implications for Metal Recovery
Authors: Tam Wing Lam Savina , McParland Decla , Jones Thomas R. , Power Ian M. , Langendam Andrew , Southam Gordon , McCutcheon Jenine
Published: June 2024

The Pyrite Mines in Sulphide, Ontario are a collection of historic mine workings representing one of more than 6000 abandoned mines in Ontario. Historic mines are receiving renewed interest as potential sources of critical minerals for use in low carbon technologies. This study characterizes waste rock from the Pyrite Mines in the context of metal distribution, microbial activity, bioleaching, and acid mine drainage (AMD) bioremediation for the recovery of metals. Acidophilic Fe-oxidizing bacteria cultured from the waste rock produced schwertmannite [Fe8O8(OH)8−2x(SO4)x·nH2O] and ammoniojarosite [NH4Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6] with similar morphologies to those often observed in acidic sulfidic mine settings. Fe- and S-oxidizing bacteria found naturally in the waste rock were used in waste rock bioleaching column experiments that demonstrated AMD formation and metal mobilization. The columns produced acidic leachates (pH = 1.75) containing dissolved constituents, including sulfur (1577 mg/L), iron (547.7 mg/L), nickel (12.6 mg/L), manganese (7.3 mg/L), copper (2.3 mg/L), zinc (2.0 mg/L), chromium (1.5 mg/L), and titanium (0.7 mg/L). The proportion of metals successfully leached from the waste rock was variable, with leaching efficiencies calculated for nickel (31%), manganese (10.5%), iron (1.5%), chromium (1.4%), and titanium (0.02%). The leachates produced by the bioleaching columns were amended in subsequent bioremediation columns using sulfate reducing bacteria cultured from the mine site. Remediation efficiencies for elements of interest were calculated as cobalt (100%), chromium (100%), copper (100%), iron (90%), titanium (68%), nickel (52%), manganese (52%), and sulfur (43%). Mapping elemental distributions in thin sections from one of the bioleaching columns using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy revealed the heterogeneity of the waste rock. Iron was observed in both euhedral mineral grains, likely pyrite, and in secondary cements coating grains in the waste rock. Nickel, manganese, and chromium were primarily co-located with the iron. Titanium was primarily co-located with calcium in titanite (CaTiSiO5), making it challenging to target with bioleaching. This study demonstrates the heterogeneous nature of metal distribution in waste rock from this historic mine site. It indicates that successful metal recovery from legacy mine waste will require such materials to be treated as anthropogenic mineral deposits that require “exploration” and characterization much like naturally occurring ore deposits.
Construction of the domain of attraction based on Lyapunov functions for general nonlinear systems
Authors:   Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University ", Romanov S. A. ,   LETI”, Dushin S. E. ,   Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI”, Shpakovshaya I. I. ,   Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI”
Published: June 2024

The paper proposes an algorithm for constructing Lyapunov candidate neural network functions in order to maximize the estimate of the area of attraction of the equilibrium position. To do this, it is necessary that the invariant subset, given by the level set, occupy the largest possible share of the empirical estimate of the attraction region obtained by the simulation. The implementation of this goal is carried out by introducing an additional term in the loss function. The algorithm makes it possible to construct candidate functions for systems with non-linearities of a rather general form. The operation of the algorithm is illustrated by an example.
THE E MULTIDIMENSIONAL NATURE OF THE CAUCASIAN FRONTIER AS AN OBJECT OF SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Authors:   Pyatigorsk Institute (branch) NCFU, Shebzukhova T. A.
Published: June 2024

The article is devoted to the systematic analysis of the Caucasian frontier as a unique phenomenon of national history. The article shows the multidimensional nature of the Caucasian frontier, analyzes the modern typology of the concept of "frontier". The substantiation of the necessity and expediency of a systematic approach to the study of the frontier as an objective reality that affects the development and stability of the state is carried out.