bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Understanding complex need in palliative care: the perceptions of professionals across 3 settings
Authors: Johnston Sarah , Winstanley Catherine , Morrish Jamie , Finucane Anne , Spiller Juliet , Carduff Emma
Published: August 2016

Introduction

Complex needs for palliative care patients are not well defined, yet clarity is necessary to meet the needs of patients and their families in all settings, round the clock.

Aim

To explore professionals’ understandings of patient complexity in palliative care across 3 settings.

Methods

We triangulated the findings from 3 qualitative studies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals from primary, specialist palliative and acute care. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded thematically and analysed by each study researcher, independently. Emerging themes were then discussed as a team and a framework was devised to comprehensively collate, compare and contrast all three sets of results.

Results

Thirty-four interviews were conducted across the 3 settings. A number of themes spanned all three settings. The interaction between diverse physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs, existing co-morbidities, intractable symptoms and complicated social issues exacerbated patient complexity, particularly for primary care professionals ‘out of hours’. Poor communication was highlighted, particularly between generalists and specialists, although primary care professionals highlighted the potential of electronic care summaries. Generalists felt they lacked skill in identifying and caring for complex patients and time for professional development in palliative care.

Conclusion

Patient complexity is influenced by patient factors but also environmental factors, specific to each setting. Better communication between disciplines could improve the care of patients outside normal working hours. A clear definition of complexity will improve the identification of patients for specialist palliative care, which has implications for resource allocation across all settings.

References

Grant RW, Ashburner JM, Clemens CH,et al. Defining Patient Complexity from the Primary Care Physician’s Perspective.Ann Intern Med2011;155:797–804

Weissman DE, Meier DE. Identifying patients in need of a palliative care assessment in the hospital setting a consensus report from the to advance palliative care.J Palliat Med2011;14(1):1723
The bereavement experiences and support needs of family carers: a supplementary qualitative analysis of free text data from the peolcpsp research priority setting exercise
Authors: Harrop Emily J , Byrne Anthony , Morgan Fiona , Nelson Annmarie
Published: August 2016

Background

Although grief is a natural process, in which most people learn to adjust without the need for formal support, the relationship between grief and poor mental and physical health is well established (Agnewet al., 2010). Research also suggests that there may be grief experiences and support needs which are specific to family members who have provided end of life care (eg Stajduharet al., 2013).

Methods

A research priority setting exercise for palliative and end of life care was conducted, involving a public survey of 1403 people. Respondents included patients, current and bereaved carers, health and social care professionals, volunteers and members of the public. To fully explore the views and experiences reported by participants a supplementary thematic analysis was carried out on the free text data. This presentation reports on themes relating to bereavement.

Results

Responses demonstrated a relationship between traumatic deaths, feelings of guilt and bereavement experiences. Respondents also highlighted the “void” caused by the sudden withdrawal of professional support to families after death. Communication and support needs which were identified by participants included more effective communication and emotional support around end of life care planning and decision making and continuity of care and follow up support post-death.

Conclusion

This analysis demonstrates some of the specific effects that caring for a loved one at the end of life can have on grief experiences. Clinical implications are identified, namely improved communication around the time of death and more effective follow up approaches post death.

Reference

Tapsfield J, Hall C, Lunan C,et al. Many people in Scotland now benefit from anticipatory care before they die: an after death analysis and interviews with general practitioners.BMJ Support Palliat Care2016. doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2015-001014
Striving to become research active hospices: the story in one region through roles and collaboration
Authors: Leung Joanne , Brigden Charlotte
Published: August 2016

Background

Owing to different governance structures and procedures outside NHS organisations, independent hospices often face challenges to conduct research (Perkinset al., 2014). Yet, The Commission into the Future of Hospice Care highlighted the importance of research in hospices recommending how research could be implemented, including introduction of staff with ‘research’ in job titles and partnerships with universities (Payneet al., 2013).

Aims

Five hospices within one region in England have begun implementing research through appointing a research facilitator and a research practitioner. They aim to

facilitate collaboration between organisations

enhance research awareness among staff

support and develop research projects within hospices

engage in others’ research

Method

The research posts have reached beyond their hospices. One belongs to the regional NIHR CRN and another has a formal link with a local university. In 2015, a local palliative care research group was formed, invited clinicians and academics to develop research activity collaboratively. Both research facilitator and practitioner are members and facilitators of the group.

Results

Reviewing the research strategy of the hospices has been initial work to reflect and standardise the research practices across hospices. Abundant information on training, funding opportunities and research studies has also been widely shared amongst hospices. A local research day, the research group and research posts have allowed hospices to work collectively.

Conclusion

Work within and between hospices is a stimulating opportunity to include wider patient participation in research, extending the audience to comprehend the importance of research and increasing potential for evidence based palliative care.

References

Payne S, Preston N, Turner M, Rolls L. Research in palliative care: can hospices afford not to be involved? A report for the Commission into the Future of Hospice Care; 2013.https://www.hospiceuk.org/what-we-offer/commission-into-the-future-of-hospice-care/commission-resources. Accessed May 24, 2016

Perkins P, Day R, Hapeshi J, Dixon L, Nyakuhwa R.How to conduct research in an independent hospice: practical tips and advice; 2014.http://apmonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/EJPC_21_5_Final-Paper.pdf. Accessed May 18, 2016
Family’s voice helping relatives or friends in the last days of life
Authors: McEvoy Mel , Blenkinsopp John , Scott Eileen
Published: August 2016

Difficulties exist with end of life in acute hospitals. EoLC (NHS, 2013). They are not designed for dying patients and families (Caswellet al.,2015). Health professionals struggle to recognise and manage palliative care transitions. Shared understanding between relatives and staff relate to an improvement in care (Gottet al.,2011). ‘The Family’s Voice’ diary improves communication by involving families to document contemporaneously their observations of care (McEvoyet al.,2012).

Can a communication tool developed for family members, in one trust, be transferable to other hospital and health settings? Using a mixed method approach the quantitative approach rated the symptom management of the dying patient, the qualitative data captured the quality of the perceived care being delivered. Combined they provide a comprehensive account of the family’s experience of care. The analysis of the data used SPSS software and the (free text) by Content Analysis.

All sites participated. Scores concerning symptoms control improved. Families felt staff treated the patient well and felt supported. Specific diagnosis and difficulty of symptom management were linked. The categories that emerged were: awareness of approaching death; communication and compassion; symptom management; the environment; concerns about clinical and fundamental care, family’s expectations; building relationship; spirituality and the need to address concerns immediately.

The Diary is used by relatives who record aspects of clinical care. It has been tested across nine organisations. The diary is a process of empowering family members and a measurement of the relative’s perception of care. It develops palliative care skills in clinical staff and promotes spirituality and pre-bereavement management.

References

Caswell G, Pollock K, Harwood R,Porock D.Communication between family carers and health professionals about end of life care for older people in a cute hospital setting: a qualitative study.BMC Palliat Care2015;14:35

Gott M, Ingleton C, Bennett MI, Gardiner C. Transitions to palliative care in acute hospitals in England: qualitative study.Br Med J2011;342:1773

McEvoy M, Pugh E,Blenkinsopp J.Communication diary to aid care at the end of life.Nurs Times2012;108(17):24–27
Involving prisoners in action research to improve palliative care: findings from the ‘both sides of the fence’ study
Authors: Turner Mary , Peacock Marian , Varey Sandra , Froggatt Katherine , Payne Sheila , Gibson Bob , Scott Gill , Fletcher Andrew
Published: August 2016

Introduction

With more than 12,000 older prisoners in the UK, deaths in custody are increasing ,1as is the need for palliative care. The ‘Both sides of the fence’ study used action research methodology in one prison with a high population of older offenders. Interviews with staff and prisoners in Phase 1 provided the foundation for action cycles that took place in Phase 2; this paper reports action cycles directly involving older prisoners.

Aim(s) and method(s)

The aim was to engage with prisoners in making meaningful improvements to palliative care. First, an Older Prisoners Group (OPG) was established and facilitated by prison staff and researchers. The OPG met bi-monthly, with smaller groups of prisoners working on tasks between meetings. OPG members created an information leaflet on planning for the end of life in prison. They were also involved in the development of an Older Prisoners Unit (OPU) to reduce intimidation of vulnerable older prisoners by younger offenders.

Results

One thousand copies of the leaflet were produced for use by prisoners in the research site and other prisons. The OPU is a protected environment for prisoners over 50, with medication lockers in each room; prisoners in the OPU have reported feeling safer and less stressed. They also reported increased self-esteem through their involvement in the research.

Conclusion(s)

Involving prisoners in action research can have positive benefits for both prisoners and staff. Sustainability of these benefits will be achieved by the continuation of the OPG after the end of the study.

Reference

Prison Reform Trust.Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, Autumn 2015. London: Prison Reform Trust; 2015.
Supporting family caregivers in the transition between hospital and their relative’s preferred place for end of life care
Authors: Campling Natasha , Duke Sue , Firth Pam , Lund Susi , Lunt Neil , May Carl , Richardson Alison
Published: August 2016

Introduction

A recent national survey of carers found that only half of family carers providing end of life care received the support they needed and this support was less likely to be provided in hospital.1Similarly, a study of discharge in older adults found that most family caregivers are not involved in discharge decisions.2

Aims

This study aims to understand and support family in the work they do to facilitate end of life discharge. The study objectives are to:

Design and assess the usability of the intervention for family members supporting a person being transferred from hospital to their preferred place for end of life care.

Implement the intervention in hospital practice to reveal the factors that promote and inhibit implementation of the intervention; and develop toolkits to facilitate transfer of the intervention between settings.

Methods

The intervention integrates tested support components (reduction of uncertainty, information provision and coaching) within the framework of Family Sense of Cohesion Theory, to promote family resilience and, thereby, facilitate effective 24/7 care. The intervention has been clinically modelled with practitioners as conversational prompts, each addressing an intervention component (meaningfulness, uncertainty, comprehensibility and manageability). Using Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methodology the study will be conducted in five developmental cycles.

Results

The intervention will be piloted at three clinical sites from July 2016. Following this, there will be further roll out to 7 additional sites across England (through to September 2017).

References

National Council for Palliative Care.Who Cares? Support for carers of people approaching the end of life. London: The National Council for Palliative Care; 2013

Waring J, Marshall F, Bishop S,et al. An ethnographic study of knowledge sharing across the boundaries between care processes, services and organisations: the contribution to 'safe' hospital discharge.Health Services and Delivery Research2014;2(29)
Sexual healing: is there something we are missing?
Authors: Middleton-Green Laura , Ward Andrea
Published: August 2016

Background

Psychosexual health concerns in life limiting illness can result from treatments, altered body image, carer strain, depression, symptoms and medication (Shell, 2008). However, there is evidence that under-assessment of sexual health concerns leads to unmet need (Taylor 2009).

Aim

This study seeks to explore how well psychosexual assessment is undertaken within a hospice inpatient unit. The aim was to identify areas of strengths and weakness in order to guide future staff education and support.

Method

An audit tool was developed and piloted. Data was collected on documented assessment of altered sexuality, libido, intimate relationships, and the presence of any symptoms or medications known to influence sexual function. Data was obtained from 15 randomly selected patient notes.

Results

14/15 patients received a psychosocial assessment including the impact of illness on mood and relationships. However, none of the clinical notes included an assessment of psychosexual health concerns despite identifications of common risk factors including medication and symptomatic effects.

Conclusion

Good assessment and psychosocial care in life limiting illness is the key to enable the patients to achieve a maximum quality of life. Although the study found a range of psychosocial foci by the multidisciplinary team, there was much less of a focus on needs around sexuality and intimacy. Plans for future work include multiprofessional education, introduction of a personalised care plan, and research to identify barriers to discussing sexuality.

References

Shell JA. Sexual issues in the palliative care population.Seminars in Oncol Nurs2008;2:131–134

Taylor B. Experiences of sexuality and intimacy in terminal illness: a phenomenological study.J Palliative Med2009;28(5):438–447
A stepwise stochastic simulation approach to estimate life history parameters for data-poor fisheries
Authors: Nadon Marc O. , Ault Jerald S.
Published: August 2016

Coastal fisheries are typically characterized by species-rich catch compositions and limited management resources, which typically leads to notably data-poor situations for stock assessment. Some parsimonious stock assessment approaches rely on cost-efficient size composition data, but these also require estimates of life history parameters associated with natural mortality, growth, and maturity. These parameters are unavailable for most exploited stocks. Here, we present a novel approach that uses a local estimate of maximum length and statistical relationships between key life history parameters to build multivariate probability distributions that can be used to parameterize stock assessment models in the absence of species-specific life history data. We tested this approach on three fish species for which empirical length-at-age and maturity data were available (from Hawaii and Guam) and calculated probability distributions of spawning potential ratios (SPR) at different exploitation rates. The life history parameter and SPR probability distributions generated from our data-limited analytical approach compared well with those obtained from bootstrap analyses of the empirical life history data. This work provides a useful new tool that can greatly assist fishery stock assessment scientists and managers in data-poor situations, typical of most of the world’s fisheries.
Linking groundwater – surface water exchange to food production and salmonid growth
Authors: Mejia Francine H. , Baxter Colden V. , Berntsen Eric K. , Fremier Alexander K.
Published: August 2016

Materials, energy, and organisms from groundwater serve as resource subsidies to lotic systems. These subsidies influence food production and post-emergent fish growth and condition through nutrient inputs and water temperature changes. To test whether post-emergent fish grew faster in gaining sites, we grew hatchery post-emergent salmon in enclosures, sampled periphyton, benthic invertebrates, and wild salmon, and modeled fish growth across a gradient of groundwater – surface water exchange. Fish grew almost twice as fast in gaining (2.7%·day−1) than in losing (1.5%·day−1) sites. Fish from transient sites grew as much as gaining sites, but their condition was significantly lower (18.3% vs. 20.7%). Results suggest that groundwater – surface water exchange affects fish growth and energetic condition through direct and indirect pathways. Elevated nitrogen concentrations and consistently warmer water temperature in gaining sites have a strong effect on basal production with subsequent effects on invertebrate biomass, fish growth, and condition. Findings highlight the importance of groundwater – surface water exchange as a subsidy to rearing salmon and may inform strategies for restoring fish rearing habitat.
Energy levels and radiative transitions of the K-shell excited sextet states in boron-like sulfur ion
Authors: Sun Yan , Sang CuiCui , Li KaiKai , Qian XinYu , Hu Feng , Liu DongDong , Gou BingCong
Published: August 2016

Theoretical calculations are reported for energy levels and transition probabilities of the K-shell excited sextet series 6Se,o(m) and 6Po,e(m) (m = 1–7) for the astrophysically important element sulfur. Energy levels, fine structure splittings, and transition parameters of the high-lying sextet series 6Se,o(m) and 6Po,e(m) (m = 1–7) in boron-like sulfur ion are calculated with the multi-configuration Rayleigh–Ritz variation method. To obtain the accurate energy level, the relativistic corrections and mass polarization effect are included by using the first-order perturbation theory. Configuration structures of these sextet series are assigned according to the energies, percentage contributions of basis states to the eigenvector, relativistic effect corrections, and verification of fine structure splittings. The oscillator strengths, transition probabilities, and wavelengths of electric-dipole transitions between 6So,e(m) and 6Pe,o(m) (m = 1–7) states are also systematically calculated and discussed.
Bianchi type VI0 generalized ghost pilgrim dark energy model in Brans–Dicke theory of gravitation
Authors: Rao V.U.M. , Prasanthi U.Y. Divya
Published: August 2016

In this paper, we solve Brans–Dicke (BD) theory (Phys. Rev. D, 24, 925) field equations for anisotropic Bianchi type VI0 space–time and discuss evolution of the expanding Universe. Here, we consider pressureless fluid and isotropic generalized ghost pilgrim dark energy as the source of matter and dark energy, respectively. To get the determinate solution of the field equations we have used (i) scalar expansion proportional to the shear scalar and (ii) scalar field (in BD theory) proportional to average scale factor of the model. Some physical and geometrical properties of the model are also discussed.
Thermodynamic geometry of charged dilaton black holes in AdS spaces
Authors: Sheykhi Ahmad , Hendi Seyed Hossein , Naeimipour Fatemeh , Panahiyan Shahram , Eslam Panah Behzad
Published: August 2016

It was shown that with the combination of three Liouville-type dilaton potentials, one can derive dilaton black holes in the background of anti-de-Sitter (AdS) spaces. In this paper, we further extend the study on the dilaton AdS black holes by investigating their thermodynamic instability through a geometry approach. First, we review thermodynamic quantities of the solutions and check the validity of the first law of thermodynamics. Then, we investigate phase transitions and stability of the solutions. In particular, we disclose the effects of the dilaton field on the stability of the black holes. We also employ the geometrical approach toward thermodynamical behavior of the system and find that the divergencies in the Ricci scalar coincide with roots and divergencies in the heat capacity. We find that the behavior of the Ricci scalar around divergence points depends on the type of the phase transition.
Extension of van Stockum cylinder in Einstein–Cartan theory
Authors: Manna B. , Sinha S. , Sahoo S.
Published: August 2016

The Einstein–Cartan field equation of infinitely rotating rigid cylinder is obtained and solved using the techniques of Manko–Gutsunaev and Quevedo to describe gravitational field due to extended van-Stockum cylindrically perfect fluid distribution using improved energy–momentum tensor by Ray and Smalley.
The restoration of Wigner’s SU(4)-symmetry in the superheavy nucleus and its correlation with the problem “island of stability”, or does the “island of stability” exist?
Authors: Nurmukhamedov A. M.
Published: August 2016

This paper reviews the history and stages of experimental verification of the hypothesis of Wigner’s spin–isospin SU(4)-symmetry restoration in the field of heavy atomic nuclei and its implications on hypothesis of the “island of stability”. Energies of [Formula: see text]-decay of a number of [Formula: see text]-chains of new superheavy nuclei were calculated based on Wigner’s mass formula without contribution of spin–orbit interaction that correspond to the restoration of Wigner’s spin–isospin symmetry. Calculated energies of the [Formula: see text]-decay fit the experimental data better than other theoretical approaches. It is concluded that there is a need to continue theoretical research of the “island of stability” taking into account mechanisms of restoration of Wigner’s spin–isospin SU(4)-symmetry.
Gauge B–L model of radiative neutrino mass with multipartite dark matter
Authors: Ma Ernest , Pollard Nicholas , Popov Oleg , Zakeri Mohammadreza
Published: August 2016

We propose an extension of the Standard Model of quarks and leptons to include gauge B–L symmetry with an exotic array of neutral fermion singlets for anomaly cancellation. With the addition of suitable scalars also transforming under U(1)[Formula: see text], this becomes a model of radiative seesaw neutrino mass with possible multipartite dark matter. If leptoquark fermions are added, necessarily also transforming under U(1)[Formula: see text], the diphoton excess at 750 GeV, recently observed at the Large Hadron Collider, may also be explained.
An Improved Chaotic Binary Bat Algorithm for QoS Multicast Routing
Authors: Meraihi Yassine , Acheli Dalila , Ramdane-Cherif Amar
Published: August 2016

The quality of service (QoS) multicast routing problem is one of the main issues for transmission in communication networks. It is known to be an NP-hard problem, so many heuristic algorithms have been employed to solve the multicast routing problem and find the optimal multicast tree which satisfies the requirements of multiple QoS constraints such as delay, delay jitter, bandwidth and packet loss rate. In this paper, we propose an improved chaotic binary bat algorithm to solve the QoS multicast routing problem. We introduce two modification methods into the binary bat algorithm. First, we use the two most representative chaotic maps, namely the logistic map and the tent map, to determine the parameter [Formula: see text] of the pulse frequency [Formula: see text]. Second, we use a dynamic formulation to update the parameter α of the loudness [Formula: see text]. The aim of these modifications is to enhance the performance and the robustness of the binary bat algorithm and ensure the diversity of the solutions. The simulation results reveal the superiority, effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed algorithms compared with some well-known algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Jumping Particle Swarm Optimization (JPSO), and Binary Bat Algorithm (BBA).
Higher-derivative f(R,□R,T) theories of gravity
Authors: Houndjo M. J. S. , Rodrigues M. E. , Mazhari N. S. , Momeni D. , Myrzakulov R.
Published: August 2016

In literature, there is a model of modified gravity in which the matter Lagrangian is coupled to the geometry via trace of the stress–energy–momentum tensor [Formula: see text]. This type of modified gravity is denoted [Formula: see text] in which [Formula: see text] is Ricci scalar [Formula: see text]. We extend manifestly this model to include the higher derivative term [Formula: see text]. We derived equations of motion (EOM) for the model by starting from the basic variational principle. Later we investigate FLRW cosmology for our model. We show that de Sitter (dS) solution is unstable for a generic type of [Formula: see text] model. Furthermore we investigate an inflationary scenario based on this model. A graceful exit from inflation is guaranteed in this type of modified gravity.
Homogenization of the conormal derivative problem for elliptic systems in Reifenberg domains
Authors: Byun Sun-Sig , Jang Yunsoo
Published: August 2016

We study homogenization of the conormal derivative problem for an elliptic system with discontinuous coefficients in a bounded domain. A uniform global [Formula: see text] estimate for [Formula: see text] is obtained under optimal assumptions that the coefficients have a small bounded mean oscillation (BMO) seminorm and the domain is a [Formula: see text]-Reifenberg flat domain whose boundary might be fractal.
Cobalt(II), copper(II), and iron(II) tetrasulfophthalocyanines covalently supported on wool: Synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity
Authors: Shaabani Ahmad , Hezarkhani Zeinab
Published: August 2016

Functionalized wool with cobalt(II), copper(II), and iron(II) tetrasulfophthalocyanine (CoTSPc@wool, CuTSPc@wool, and FeTSPc@wool) have been synthesized and their structures characterized by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), FT-IR, UV-vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The catalytic activity of the synthesized catalysts was investigated for the aerobic oxidation of alkyl arenes and alcohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds in the absence of any co-promoter and additional oxidizing reagent. We found the best catalyst for the mentioned reactions is the CoTSPc@wool from the solvent, conversion, temperature, and reaction time point of views. The synthesized catalysts can be readily recycled and reused for several runs without significant loss of efficiency.
Climate Mitigation Efforts After the Paris Agreement: Achievements, Remaining Debates, and New Challenges
Authors: Yitian Huang
Published: August 2016

Climate change has been widely recognized as a global challenge that must be addressed in the twenty-first century. As an important step toward a post-2020 climate regime, the Paris Agreement has shown great achievements as well as future directions of global climate mitigation. Although some key features can be found in the mitigation provisions of the agreement, such as dual goals of temperature increase, reliance on “nationally determined contributions,” the blending of market and non-market elements, and ambiguity in financial and technology transfer, yet remaining debates including the allocation of responsibilities and the fairness of international transfer of mitigation outcomes will continue to affect the future of global climate governance. Furthermore, new challenges have also emerged after the Paris deal. Political and economic uncertainties, “carbon leakage” among industrializing countries, and the overgrowth of climate financial institutions will all generate impacts on future climate mitigation efforts. There is no ready panacea to these problems. Nevertheless, a few options of policy and institutional innovation at the technical level should be considered to generate incremental progress.
The relationship between normal drag, relay ramp aspect ratio and fault zone structure
Authors: Childs C. , Manzocchi T. , Nicol A. , Walsh J. J. , Soden A. M. , Conneally J. C. , Delogkos E.
Published: August 2016

The boundaries between pairs of adjacent fault segments within normal fault arrays define a spectrum of structures, from relay ramps where the length of overlap between the fault segments is much larger than the separation, through low aspect ratio (overlap/separation) relay ramps and ultimately to underlapping fault segments. Where fault segments underlap, transfer of displacement between them is accommodated by a connecting monocline. When displacement increases and a through-going fault forms, relay ramps are preserved as fault-bounded zones of elevated bed dip and monoclines are preserved as areas of normal drag. Therefore, the orientation and magnitude of bed dips within and adjacent to a fault zone, and the numbers of segments seen on a cross-section through it, depend largely on the aspect ratios of relay ramps in the initial fault array. The aspect ratio of relay ramps varies between different fault systems. An analysis of the geometry of 512 relay ramps from 13 different fault systems suggests that the main controls on aspect ratio are the strength of the sequence at the time of faulting and the underlying structure.
Towards a history of women in the geosciences
Authors: Kölbl-Ebert M. , Turner S.
Published: August 2016

Women have been pioneers in geoscience disciplines such as the structure of the Earth, palaeontology, oil exploration, organic geochemistry and plate tectonics theory. Gaining professional employment and geological credence came slowly, with few women recognized before the late nineteenth century. We highlight their important roles and the obstacles they have overcome to gain degrees and employment, as well as high office.

Supplementary material:
Supplementary table 1 shows a selection of women geological pioneers who lived, worked and died mainly within the nineteenth century or earlier, and supplementary table 2 gives a selection of geoscience women who lived, worked and died mainly within the twentieth century; they are both available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3283388
A Bayesian Approach to Parameter Inference in Queueing Networks
Authors: Wang Weikun , Casale Giuliano , Sutton Charles
Published: August 2016

The application of queueing network models to real-world applications often involves the task of estimating the service demand placed by requests at queueing nodes. In this article, we propose a methodology to estimate service demands in closed multiclass queueing networks based on Gibbs sampling. Our methodology requires measurements of the number of jobs at resources and can accept prior probabilities on the demands.

Gibbs sampling is challenging to apply to estimation problems for queueing networks since it requires one to efficiently evaluate a likelihood function on the measured data. This likelihood function depends on the equilibrium solution of the network, which is difficult to compute in closed models due to the presence of the normalizing constant of the equilibrium state probabilities. To tackle this obstacle, we define a novel iterative approximation of the normalizing constant and show the improved accuracy of this approach, compared to existing methods, for use in conjunction with Gibbs sampling. We also demonstrate that, as a demand estimation tool, Gibbs sampling outperforms other popular Markov Chain Monte Carlo approximations. Experimental validation based on traces from a cloud application demonstrates the effectiveness of Gibbs sampling for service demand estimation in real-world studies.
Algorithm 967
Authors: Malhotra Dhairya , Biros George
Published: August 2016

The solution of a constant-coefficient elliptic Partial Differential Equation (PDE) can be computed using an integral transform: A convolution with the fundamental solution of the PDE, also known as a volume potential. We present a Fast Multipole Method (FMM) for computing volume potentials and use them to construct spatially adaptive solvers for the Poisson, Stokes, and low-frequency Helmholtz problems. Conventional N-body methods apply to discrete particle interactions. With volume potentials, one replaces the sums with volume integrals. Particle N-body methods can be used to accelerate such integrals. but it is more efficient to develop a special FMM. In this article, we discuss the efficient implementation of such an FMM. We use high-order piecewise Chebyshev polynomials and an octree data structure to represent the input and output fields and enable spectrally accurate approximation of the near-field and the Kernel Independent FMM (KIFMM) for the far-field approximation. For distributed-memory parallelism, we use space-filling curves, locally essential trees, and a hypercube-like communication scheme developed previously in our group. We present new near and far interaction traversals that optimize cache usage. Also, unlike particle N-body codes, we need a 2:1 balanced tree to allow for precomputations. We present a fast scheme for 2:1 balancing. Finally, we use vectorization, including the AVX instruction set on the Intel Sandy Bridge architecture to get better than 50% of peak floating-point performance. We use task parallelism to employ the Xeon Phi on the Stampede platform at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC). We achieve about 600
gflop
/s of double-precision performance on a single node. Our largest run on Stampede took 3.5s on 16K cores for a problem with 18
e
+9 unknowns for a highly nonuniform particle distribution (corresponding to an effective resolution exceeding 3
e
+23 unknowns since we used 23 levels in our octree).
Redesigning an Object-Oriented Programming Course
Authors: Kaila Erkki , Kurvinen Einari , Lokkila Erno , Laakso Mikko-Jussi
Published: August 2016

Educational technology offers several potential benefits for programming education. Still, to facilitate the technology properly, integration into a course must be carefully designed. In this article, we present a redesign of an object-oriented university-level programming course. In the redesign, a collaborative education tool was utilized to enhance active learning, facilitate communication between students and teachers, and remodel the evaluation procedure by utilizing automatically assessed tasks. The redesign was based on the best practices found in our own earlier research and that of the research community, with a focus on facilitating active learning methods and student collaboration. The redesign was evaluated by comparing two instances of the redesigned course against two instances using the old methodology. The drop-out rate decreased statistically significantly in the redesigned course instances. Moreover, there was a trend toward higher grade averages in the redesigned instances. Based on the results, we can conclude that the utilization of educational technology has a highly positive effect on student performance. Still, making major changes to course methodology does not come without certain difficulties. Hence, we also present our experiences and suggestions for the course redesign to help other educators and researchers perform similar design changes.
Evaluation of Model Driven Architecture-Based Instruction for Understanding Phase Transitions in Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
Authors: Shin Shin-Shing
Published: August 2016

Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD) courses enable students to establish a requirements model of an application, successively transform those requirements into logical design models, and then transform the logical models into physical design models. However, students attending OOAD courses typically encounter difficulties in the transition. Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) provides a model transformation framework for transitioning between OOAD phases. Considering the advantages of MDA in phase transitions, this study proposes that integrating conventional OOAD instruction with the MDA framework and describing transition relations in diagrammatic representations might improve students’ understanding of the transitions. This study used an empirical design that involved using two treatments (MDA-based and conventional instruction) to examine the relevance of MDA-based instruction in the effective understanding of the transitions on the basis of cognitive load theory, the split-attention principle, and theories of representation format. The results indicate that, compared with conventional instruction, MDA-based instruction is more efficient because it improves mental efficiency by reducing extraneous cognitive load. This study can assist educators in understanding the difficulties in learning phase transitions and motivate researchers to develop more effective learning instructions for transitioning between OOAD phases.
High potassium promotes mutual interaction between (pro)renin receptor and the local renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in rat inner medullary collecting duct cells
Authors: Xu Chuanming , Fang Hui , Zhou Li , Lu Aihua , Yang Tianxin
Published: August 2016

(Pro)renin receptor (PRR) is predominantly expressed in the collecting duct (CD) with unclear functional implication. It is not known whether CD PRR is regulated by high potassium (HK). Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of HK on PRR expression and its role in regulation of aldosterone synthesis and release in the CD. In primary rat inner medullary CD cells, HK augmented PRR expression and soluble PPR (sPRR) release in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which was attenuated by PRR small interfering RNA (siRNA), eplerenone, and losartan. HK upregulated aldosterone release in parallel with an increase of CYP11B2 (cytochrome P-450, family 11, subfamily B, polypeptide 2) protein expression and upregulation of medium renin activity, both of which were attenuated by a PRR antagonist PRO20, PRR siRNA, eplerenone, and losartan. Similarly, prorenin upregulated aldosterone release and CYP11B2 expression, both of which were attenuated by PRR siRNA. Interestingly, a recombinant sPRR (sPRR-His) also stimulated aldosterone release and CYP11B2 expression. Taken together, we conclude that HK enhances a local renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), leading to increased PRR expression, which in turn amplifies the response of the RAAS, ultimately contributing to heightened aldosterone release.
Reassessing wanting and liking in the study of mesolimbic influence on food intake
Authors: Nicola Saleem M.
Published: August 2016

Humans and animals such as rats and mice tend to overconsume calorie-dense foods, a phenomenon that likely contributes to obesity. One often-advanced explanation for why we preferentially consume sweet and fatty foods is that they are more “rewarding” than low-calorie foods. “Reward” has been subdivided into three interdependent psychological processes: hedonia (liking a food), reinforcement (formation of associations among stimuli, actions, and/or the food), and motivation (wanting the food). Research into these processes has focused on the mesolimbic system, which comprises both dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area and neurons in their major projection target, the nucleus accumbens. The mesolimbic system and closely connected structures are commonly referred to as the brain’s “reward circuit.” Implicit in this title is the assumption that “rewarding” experiences are generally the result of activity in this circuit. In this review, I argue that food intake and the preference for calorie-dense foods can be explained without reference to subjective emotions. Furthermore, the contribution of mesolimbic dopamine to food intake and preference may not be a general one of promoting or coordinating behaviors that result in the most reward or caloric intake but may instead be limited to the facilitation of a specific form of neural computation that results in conditioned approach behavior. Studies on the neural mechanisms of caloric intake regulation must address how sensory information about calorie intake affects not just the mesolimbic system but also many other forms of computation that govern other types of food-seeking and food-oriented behaviors.
Could kDNA-PCR in Peripheral Blood Replace the Examination of Bone Marrow for the Diagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis?
Authors: de Godoy Natalia Souza , Andrino Marcos Luiz Alves , de Souza Regina Maia , Gakiya Erika , Amato Valdir Sabbaga , Lindoso José Ângelo Lauletta , Almeida Braz Lucia Maria
Published: August 2016

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the molecular (kDNA-PCR) and parasitological diagnosis in peripheral blood (PB) could replace the invasive and painful bone marrow collection (BM) in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). PB from suspected VL patients was evaluated by parasitological and molecular techniques using as the gold standard (GS) a combination of clinical, epidemiological, and immunochromatographic test (PB-rK39) results and parasitological examination of BM. Based on the GS, 38 samples from 32 patients were grouped: Group 1, 20 samples of VL cases, and Group 2, 18 samples of non-VL cases. In order to evaluate the parasitological and molecular techniques in PB, the samples were examined. From Group 1, PB kDNA-PCR was positive in 20 samples and in 19 of 20 in BM kDNA-PCR examination. However, the parasitological examination of buffy coat was insensitive, being able to detect only 4 cases from Group 1. All samples from Group 2 were negative. We concluded that, for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis, the parasitological examination of peripheral blood was not useful; however, molecular diagnosis by kDNA-PCR, performed in peripheral blood, could be useful to replace the parasitological examination of bone marrow.
A Probabilistic Physics of Failure Approach for Structure Corrosion Reliability Analysis
Authors: Xie Chaoyang , Huang Hong-Zhong
Published: August 2016

Corrosion is recognized as one of the most important degradation mechanisms that affect the long-term reliability and integrity of metallic structures. Studying the structural reliability with pitting corrosion damage is useful for risk control and safety operation for the corroded structure. This paper proposed a structure corrosion reliability analysis approach based on the physics-based failure model of pitting corrosion, where the states of pitting growth, pit-to-crack, and cracking propagation are included in failure model. Then different probabilistic analysis methods such as Monte-Carlo Simulation (MCS), First-Order Reliability Method (FORM), Second-Order Reliability Method (SORM), and response surface method are employed to calculate the reliability. At last, an example is presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed structural reliability model and calculating methods for structural corrosion failure analysis.
Phylogenetic Analysis of the North American Beetle GenusTrichiotinus(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Trichiinae)
Authors: Philips T. Keith , Callahan Mark , Orozco Jesús , Rowland Naomi
Published: August 2016

A hypothesized evolutionary history of the North American endemic trichiine scarab genusTrichiotinusis presented including all eight species and three outgroup taxa. Data from nineteen morphological traits and CO1 and 28S gene sequences were used to construct phylogenies using both parsimony and Bayesian algorithms. All results show thatTrichiotinusis monophyletic. The best supported topology shows that the basal speciesT. lunulatusis sister to the remaining taxa that form two clades, with four and three species each. The distribution of one lineage is relatively northern while the other is generally more southern. The ancestralTrichiotinuslineage arose from 23.8–14.9 mya, and east-west geographic partitioning of ancestral populations likely resulted in cladogenesis and new species creation, beginning as early as 10.6–6.2 mya and as recently as 1.2–0.7 mya. Morphological character evolution is also briefly discussed. The limited distribution ofT. rufobrunneusin Florida andT. viridansin the Midwest mainly due to urban development and widespread agriculture makes these two species of conservation concern.
Role of miRNAs in Epicardial Adipose Tissue in CAD Patients with T2DM
Authors: Liu Yang , Fu Wenbo , Lu Mu , Huai Shitao , Song Yaqin , Wei Yutao
Published: August 2016

Background. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is identified as an atypical fat depot surrounding the heart with a putative role in the involvement of metabolic disorders, including obesity, type-2 diabetes mellitus, and atherosclerosis. We profiled miRNAs in EAT of metabolic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) versus metabolically healthy patients by microarray. Compared to metabolically healthy patients, we identified forty-two miRNAs that are differentially expressed in patients with CAD and T2DM from Xinjiang, China. Eleven miRNAs were selected as potential novel miRNAs according toPvalue and fold change. Then the potential novel miRNAs targeted genes were predicted via TargetScan, PicTar, and miRTarbase, and the function of the target genes was predicted via Gene Ontology (GO) analysis while the enriched KEGG pathway analyses of the miRNAs targeted genes were performed by bioinformatics software DAVID. Then protein-protein interaction networks of the targeted gene were conducted by online software STRING. Finally, using microarray, bioinformatics approaches revealed the possible molecular mechanisms pathogenesis of CAD and T2DM. A total of 11 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified and among them, hsa-miR-4687-3p drew specific attention. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that insulin signaling pathway is the central way involved in the progression of metabolic disorders.Conclusions. The current findings support the fact that miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders in EAT of CAD patients with T2DM, and validation of the results of these miRNAs by independent and prospective study is certainly warranted.