Row-Hamiltonian Latin squares and Falconer varieties

A \emph{Latin square} is a matrix of symbols such that each symbol occurs exactly once in each row and column. A Latin square $L$ is \emph{row-Hamiltonian} if the permutation induced by each pair of distinct rows of $L$ is a full cycle permutation. Row-Hamiltonian Latin squares are equivalent to perfect $1$-factorisations of complete bipartite graphs. For the first time, we exhibit a family of Latin squares that are row-Hamiltonian and also achieve precisely one of the related properties of being column-Hamiltonian or symbol-Hamiltonian. This family allows us to construct non-trivial, anti-associative, isotopically $L$-closed loop varieties, solving an open problem posed by Falconer in 1970

How to...deconstruct the research paradigm: supporting the non-social scientist researching in medical education

Finding effective methods to guide novice clinical education researchers to interrogate their beliefs about paradigms can be a challenge for education practitioners leading training in this area. We share why we believe it is important for healthcare educators to build an understanding of research paradigms and how we demystified the teaching of philosophy and the ‘-ologies’ of research, to support novice researchers in their development. Through our use of gamification techniques based on Socratic questioning, we show how educators may be supported in the process of deconstructing their research project’s paradigm into its component parts. This comprises key questions about coherent alignment of their ontologies, epistemologies, and methods, and encouraging researchers to think openly about their assumptions to improve the conduct of research, particularly in the qualitative field

Optogenetic insights on the relationship between anxiety-related behaviors and social deficits

Many psychiatric illnesses are characterized by deficits in the social domain. For example, there is a high rate of co-morbidity between autism spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders. However, the common neural circuit mechanisms by which social deficits and other psychiatric disease states, such as anxiety, are co-expressed remains unclear. Here, we review optogenetic investigations of neural circuits in animal models of anxiety-related behaviors and social behaviors and discuss the important role of the amygdala in mediating aspects of these behaviors. In particular, we focus on recent evidence that projections from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) modulate anxiety-related behaviors and also alter social interaction. Understanding how this circuit influences both social behavior and anxiety may provide a mechanistic explanation for the pathogenesis of social anxiety disorder, as well as the prevalence of patients co-diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, elucidating how circuits that modulate social behavior also mediate other complex emotional states will lead to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which social deficits are expressed in psychiatric disease

From building blocks to programming: Investigating how best to integrate computational thinking into early years settings

This study aims to examine the different ways in which early years teachers lay solid foundations for computational thinking in the early years. Moreover, it aims to uncover the materials and activities that tend to run in the classroom background to promote computational thinking skills of children without being noticed as part of a daily routine. Therefore, it is designed to understand more about the attitudes of early childhood teachers towards computational thinking, the linkage between their attitudes and teaching practices, and the potential computational thinking benefits of children reaped from classroom games and activities

What determines duration of palliative care before death for patients with advanced disease? A retrospective cohort study of community and hospital palliative care provision in a large UK city

Objective For patients with advanced cancer, several randomised controlled trials have shown that access to palliative care at least 6 months before death can improve symptoms, reduce unplanned hospital admissions, minimize aggressive cancer treatments and enable patients to make choices about their end of life care, including exercising the choice to die at home. This study determines in a UK population the duration of palliative care before death and explores influencing factors. Design This retrospective cohort study analysed referrals to three specialist palliative care services; a hospital based inpatient palliative care team, and two community based services (hospices). For each patient referred to any of the above services we identified the date of first referral to that team and calculated the median interval between first referral and death. We also calculated how referral time varied by age, sex, diagnosis and type of palliative care service. Participants 4,650 patients referred to specialist palliative care services in Leeds UK between April 2012 and March 2014. Results Median age of the sample was 75 years. 3,903 (84.0%) patients had a diagnosis of cancer. Age, diagnosis and place of referral were significant predictors of duration of palliative care before death. Age was independently associated (J = 2672078, z = -392046.14, r = .01) with duration of palliative care regardless of diagnosis. Patients over 75 years have 29 fewer days of palliative care than patients under 50. Patients with non-cancer diagnoses have 13 fewer days of palliative care than patients with cancer. Additionally, patients referred to hospital palliative care receive 24.5 fewer days palliative care than those referred to community palliative care services. Conclusions The current timing of referral to palliative care may limit the benefits to patient in terms of improvements in end of life care, particularly for older patients and patients with conditions other than cancer

Physical characteristics of localized surface plasmons resulting from nano-scale structured multi-layer thin films deposited on D-shaped optical fiber

Novel surface plasmonic optical fiber sensors have been fabricated using multiple coatings deposited on a lapped section of a single mode fiber. UV laser irradiation processing with a phase mask produces a nano-scaled surface relief grating structure resembling nano-wires. The resulting individual corrugations produced by material compaction are approximately 20 μm long with an average width at half maximum of 100 nm and generate localized surface plasmons. Experimental data are presented that show changes in the spectral characteristics after UV processing, coupled with an overall increase in the sensitivity of the devices to surrounding refractive index. Evidence is presented that there is an optimum UV dosage (48 joules) over which no significant additional optical change is observed. The devices are characterized with regards to change in refractive index, where significantly high spectral sensitivities in the aqueous index regime are found, ranging up to 4000 nm/RIU for wavelength and 800 dB/RIU for intensity

Using information and communication technologies to improve the management of pain from advanced cancer in the community: Qualitative study of the experience of implementation for patients and health professionals in a trial

In cancer care, there are emerging information and communication technology systems being developed, enabling real-time information sharing between patients and health professionals. This study explored health professionals' and patients' perceptions of their engagement with an information and communication technology system for pain management to understand the mechanisms that could support implementation into routine palliative care practice. This was a qualitative study, embedded within a randomised control trial, using semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The role of health professionals was a key component to patient engagement with the information and communication technology system. Where patients engaged with the information and communication technology system, both patients and health professionals reported benefits to system use in addition to usual care. Implementation issues were identified that can be used to guide future system development to support pain management in the context of routine clinical care in palliative care services. Where interventions are dependent on multiple providers, collaborative working and consideration of the context within which they are set are needed