Unsteady Simulations of Flow Around a Smooth Circular Cylinder at Very High Reynolds Numbers Using OpenFOAM

The purpose of this study is to determine if unsteady formulations of RANS turbulence models lead to an improved description of incompressible turbulent flows. Wind tunnel experiments for a smooth circular cylinder at very high Reynolds numbers with an incompressible fluid are expensive. The use of Computational Fluid Dynamics, to predict flow around and behind a smooth circular cylinder, is growing in the scientific community and provides an alternative to traditional wind tunnel experiments. One method for predicting flow characteristics is the open-source toolbox OpenFOAM. OpenFOAM is a robust code used for accurately capturing and predicting incompressible turbulent flow with separation. In this study OpenFOAM is used to implement standardized turbulence models and predict the complex flow physics associated with a smooth circular cylinder. The complex flow physics is predicted with steady and unsteady formulations of the Wilcox 2006 k-\u03c9 turbulence model and Menters 1993 SST turbulence model. A grid convergence study is done to determine the effect that mesh refinement has on simulation results. Results obtained are in agreement with experimental data and with simulations conducted by other research groups.\u2

Developing an integrated approach to the assessment of student nurse competence using the Total Client Care (TCC) assessment tool

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of an integrated assessment of competence using the Total Client Care (TCC) assessment tool within an undergraduate Nursing course. The Total Client Care Assessment Tool aims to assess multiple competencies in an integrated way thereby mirroring the way in which registered nurses are expected to practice. TCC is a tool designed to assess the student's ability to provide holistic care to a client over a specified period of time. TCC measures the student's performance around four constructs, these are: Communication, Planning and Responding, Care Delivery and Assessing and Evaluating. G-theory analysis revealed satisfactory levels of global reliability on single use G co-efficient 0.90 although this dropped to 0.76 when used on eight occasions to assess the same students over a two-year period. Analysis of variance revealed that students and assessment occasions accounted for most of the variance. The TCC assessment tool is useful as it provides data about the student's performance when providing actual care. When used as part of a wider system of assessment involving triangulation of evidence from a number of sources the tool can support mentor judgements about the achievement of competence

Development and Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of the Leading and Managing Care Pre-Registration Nursing Student Assessment Tool

Background: Clinical nursing leadership influences patient safety and the quality of care provided. Nurses at all levels require leadership and management skills. Despite recognition of the importance of leadership, student nurses often feel ill prepared to make the transition to Registered Nurse and struggle with prioritisation and delegation. In order to standardise student experience and promote the development of skills and attributes, a leadership and management competency assessment was developed and implemented. Aims: This study aimed to identify the constructs that should be part of an assessment of student nurse competence in relation to clinical nursing leadership, and to evaluate the tool’s reliability. Method: The first phase was to construct the competency assessment tool, using a mixture of deductive methods, including literature and expert review. Second, psychometric evaluation of the tool, including tests to examine its internal consistency and reliability, comparing test and retest reliability, exploratory factor analysis and generalisability theory analysis to identify reliability and sources of error. Results: Five attributes were identified for inclusion in the tool alongside a scale of competence. 150 assessments were conducted with an average time between each assessment of three days. The results show that the tool was consistent over time with no significant difference in the mean scores. The Cronbach alpha was 0.84 and the tool had good internal consistency. The results of the factor analysis revealed loading onto a single construct. Generalisability theory analysis revealed 0.90 global reliability, with students accounting for the majority of the variation in scores. Conclusions: The Leading and Managing Care assessment tool represents a valid and reliable assessment of student nurse competence to lead care delivery. Use of the tool during practice placement allows for a structured approach to the development of skills around prioritisation, management of resources, communication and the management of risk

Preliminary assessment of pre-morbid DNA methylation in individuals at high genetic risk of mood disorders

OBJECTIVES: Accumulating evidence implicates altered DNA methylation in psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). It is not clear, however, whether these changes are causative or result from illness progression or treatment. To disentangle these possibilities we profiled genome‐wide DNA methylation in well, unrelated individuals at high familial risk of mood disorder. DNA methylation was compared between individuals who subsequently developed BD or MDD [ill later (IL)] and those who remained well [well later (WL)]. METHODS: DNA methylation profiles were obtained from whole‐blood samples from 22 IL and 23 WL individuals using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. Differential methylation was assessed on a single‐locus and regional basis. Pathway analysis was performed to assess enrichment for particular biological processes amongst nominally significantly differentially methylated loci. RESULTS: Although no locus withstood correction for multiple testing, uncorrected P‐values provided suggestive evidence for altered methylation at sites within genes previously implicated in neuropsychiatric conditions, such as Transcription Factor 4 (TCF4) and Interleukin 1 Receptor Accessory Protein‐Like 1 ([IL1RAPL1]; P≤3.11×10(−5)). Pathway analysis revealed significant enrichment for several neurologically relevant pathways and functions, including Nervous System Development and Function and Behavior; these findings withstood multiple testing correction (q≤0.05). Analysis of differentially methylated regions identified several within the major histocompatibility complex (P≤.000 479), a region previously implicated in schizophrenia and BD. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide provisional evidence for the involvement of altered whole‐blood DNA methylation in neurologically relevant genes in the aetiology of mood disorders. These findings are convergent with the findings of genome‐wide association studies

SNP and Haplotype Regional Heritability Mapping (SNHap-RHM):Joint Mapping of Common and Rare Variation Affecting Complex Traits

We describe a genome-wide analytical approach, SNP and Haplotype Regional Heritability Mapping (SNHap-RHM), that provides regional estimates of the heritability across locally defined regions in the genome. This approach utilises relationship matrices that are based on sharing of SNP and haplotype alleles at local haplotype blocks delimited by recombination boundaries in the genome. We implemented the approach on simulated data and show that the haplotype-based regional GRMs capture variation that is complementary to that captured by SNP-based regional GRMs, and thus justifying the fitting of the two GRMs jointly in a single analysis (SNHap-RHM). SNHap-RHM captures regions in the genome contributing to the phenotypic variation that existing genome-wide analysis methods may fail to capture. We further demonstrate that there are real benefits to be gained from this approach by applying it to real data from about 20,000 individuals from the Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study. We analysed height and major depressive disorder (MDD). We identified seven genomic regions that are genome-wide significant for height, and three regions significant at a suggestive threshold (p-value < 1 × 10(−5)) for MDD. These significant regions have genes mapped to within 400 kb of them. The genes mapped for height have been reported to be associated with height in humans. Similarly, those mapped for MDD have been reported to be associated with major depressive disorder and other psychiatry phenotypes. The results show that SNHap-RHM presents an exciting new opportunity to analyse complex traits by allowing the joint mapping of novel genomic regions tagged by either SNPs or haplotypes, potentially leading to the recovery of some of the “missing” heritability

Large-scale exome array summary statistics resources for glycemic traits to aid effector gene prioritization

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies for glycemic traits have identified hundreds of loci associated with these biomarkers of glucose homeostasis. Despite this success, the challenge remains to link variant associations to genes, and underlying biological pathways.METHODS: To identify coding variant associations which may pinpoint effector genes at both novel and previously established genome-wide association loci, we performed meta-analyses of exome-array studies for four glycemic traits: glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, up to 144,060 participants), fasting glucose (FG, up to 129,665 participants), fasting insulin (FI, up to 104,140) and 2hr glucose post-oral glucose challenge (2hGlu, up to 57,878). In addition, we performed network and pathway analyses.RESULTS: Single-variant and gene-based association analyses identified coding variant associations at more than 60 genes, which when combined with other datasets may be useful to nominate effector genes. Network and pathway analyses identified pathways related to insulin secretion, zinc transport and fatty acid metabolism. HbA1c associations were strongly enriched in pathways related to blood cell biology.CONCLUSIONS: Our results provided novel glycemic trait associations and highlighted pathways implicated in glycemic regulation. Exome-array summary statistic results are being made available to the scientific community to enable further discoveries.</p

Measurement of H₂O₂ within living drosophila during aging using a ratiometric mass spectrometry probe targeted to the mitochondrial matrix

Hydrogen peroxide (H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;) is central to mitochondrial oxidative damage and redox signaling, but its roles are poorly understood due to the difficulty of measuring mitochondrial H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; in vivo. Here we report a ratiometric mass spectrometry probe approach to assess mitochondrial matrix H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; levels in vivo. The probe, MitoB, comprises a triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cation driving its accumulation within mitochondria, conjugated to an arylboronic acid that reacts with H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; to form a phenol, MitoP. Quantifying the MitoP/MitoB ratio by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry enabled measurement of a weighted average of mitochondrial H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; that predominantly reports on thoracic muscle mitochondria within living flies. There was an increase in mitochondrial H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; with age in flies, which was not coordinately altered by interventions that modulated life span. Our findings provide approaches to investigate mitochondrial ROS in vivo and suggest that while an increase in overall mitochondrial H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; correlates with aging, it may not be causative

Mental Well-Being in UK Higher Education During Covid-19: Do Students Trust Universities and the Government?

This paper draws upon the concept of recreancy to examine the mental well-being of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Briefly, recreancy is loss of societal trust that results when institutional actors can no longer be counted on to perform their responsibilities. Our study of mental well-being and recreancy focuses on the role of universities and government regulators within the education sector. We surveyed 600 UK students attending 161 different public higher education providers in October 2020 during a time when many UK students were isolated in their residences and engaged in online learning. We assessed student well-being using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (scored 7–35) and found the mean score to be 19.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 19.6, 20.2]. This level of well-being indicates that a significant proportion of UK students face low levels of mental well-being. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicates that high recreancy—measured as a low trust in universities and the government—is associated with low levels of mental well-being across the student sample. While these findings are suggestive, they are also important and we suggest that government and university leaders should not only work to increase food and housing security during the Covid-19 pandemic, but also consider how to combat various sector trends that might intensify recreancy