Wetting and particle adsorption in nanoflows

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the behavior of closely-fitting spherical and ellipsoidal particles moving through a fluid-filled cylinder at nanometer scales. The particle, the cylinder wall and the fluid solvent are all treated as atomic systems, and special attention is given to the effects of varying the wetting properties of the fluid. Although the modification of the solid-fluid interaction leads to significant changes in the microstructure of the fluid, its transport properties are found to be the same as in bulk. Independently of the shape and relative size of the particle, we find two distinct regimes as a function of the degree of wetting, with a sharp transition between them. In the case of a highly-wetting suspending fluid, the particle moves through the cylinder with an average axial velocity in agreement with that obtained from the solution of the continuum Stokes equations. In contrast, in the case of less-wetting fluids, only the early-time motion of the particle is consistent with continuum dynamics. At later times, the particle is eventually adsorbed onto the wall and subsequently executes an intermittent stick-slip motion.We show that van der Walls forces are the dominant contribution to the particle adsorption phenomenon and that depletion forces are weak enough to allow, in the highly-wetting situation, an initially adsorbed particle to spontaneously desorb

National survey of commissioners' and service planners' views of public health nursing in the UK

Improving public health is a key policy area both in the United Kingdom (UK) and internationally. The governments across the four UK countries each have specific strategies to guide improvements in public health services, promote greater emphasis on how people can best be helped to live healthier lives and to help address the unprecedented challenges of both an increasing population and financial austerity. Nurses are often ideally suited and uniquely placed to respond to public health challenges as they understand the particular risks of individuals but also know the population and the communities they work in. Traditionally in the UK public health nurses have been seen as those in specialist community roles such as health visitors, school nurses and occupational health nurses and in some cases specialist practitioners. However, there is an increasing need for all nurses to embrace the contribution they can have to make every contact count. During 2015 the Royal College of Nursing in the UK (RCN) undertook a programme of work building on a previous project2 to showcase public health nursing (see www.nurses4PH.org.uk). As part of this wider RCN programme, a survey was conducted to explore the views of commissioners and others involved in designing and planning public health services about the nursing and midwifery contribution to public health. The aims were to explore the perceived value of nursing in public health, to better understand the roles of nurses and midwives in public health, how these roles were valued, and what and where the gaps were in public health nursing knowledge and education

Community singing, wellbeing and older people: implementing and evaluating an English singing tool for health intervention in Rome

Aim: The aim of this research was to explore the transferability and effectiveness of the English Silver Song Clubs model for older people in a different social and cultural context, i.e. in the capital city of Italy, Rome. Methods: A single condition, pre-test, post-test design was implemented. Participants completed two questionnaires: EQ-5D and York SF-12. Results: After the singing experience, participants showed a decrease in their levels of anxiety and depression. An improvement was also found from baseline to follow up in reported performance of usual activities. The English study showed a difference between the singing and non-singing groups at three and six months on mental health, and after three months on specific anxiety and depression measures. The current (Rome) study shows similar findings with an improvement on specific anxiety and depression items. Conclusions: Policy makers in different national contexts should consider social singing activities to promote the health and wellbeing of older adults as they are inexpensive to run and have been shown to be enjoyable and effective

Screening for Depressive Disorders in Patients with Skin Diseases: A Comparison of Three Screeners

Despite being common, depression often goes undetected in patients with skin diseases. Our aim was to examine and compare the performance of three depression screeners. We studied dermatological inpatients aged 18-65 years. They completed the questionnaires Primary Care Screener for Affective Disorders (PC-SAD), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and were administered a standardized psychiatric interview (SCID-I) by a mental health professional, who was unaware of the questionnaire answers. The analysis was performed on 141 patients with complete data (79% of all eligible patients, 89% of all patients who agreed to participate). The prevalence of the main forms of depression, major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder, was 8.4% and 6.3%, respectively. For major depressive disorder, the sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaires were as follows: PC-SAD, 73% and 88%; PHQ, 55% and 91%; GHQ-12, 73% and 78%. For dysthymic disorder, the sensitivity and specificity were as follows: PC-SAD, 56% and 95%; PHQ, 44% and 90%; GHQ-12, 56% and 76%. The small sample size suggests caution in drawing conclusions about the relative merits of these screeners. Although both the GHQ and the PHQ are short and easily hand scored, the first is a generic screener for psychiatric morbidity that is not specific for depression, while the second displayed modest sensitivity. The PC-SAD, with short average administration time, acceptable sensitivity and high specificity, might be particularly useful in settings where the technology for computer automated scoring is available. Although screening programmes might be useful, they should be supplemented by quality improvement programmes and by the development of consultation-liaison services

Review of microdialysis in brain tumors, from concept to application: First Annual Carolyn Frye-Halloran Symposium

In individuals with brain tumors, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies of therapeutic agents have historically used analyses of drug concentrations in serum or cerebrospinal fluid, which unfortunately do not necessarily reflect concentrations within the tumor and adjacent brain. This review article introduces to neurological and medical oncologists, as well as pharmacologists, the application of microdialysis in monitoring drug metabolism and delivery within the fluid of the interstitial space of brain tumor and its surroundings. Microdialysis samples soluble molecules from the extracellular fluid via a semipermeable membrane at the tip of a probe. In the past decade, it has been used predominantly in neurointensive care in the setting of brain trauma, vasospasm, epilepsy, and intracerebral hemorrhage. At the first Carolyn Frye-Halloran Symposium held at Massachusetts General Hospital in March 2002, the concept of microdialysis was extended to specifically address its possible use in treating brain tumor patients. In doing so we provide a rationale for the use of this technology by a National Cancer Institute consortium, New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy, to measure levels of drugs in brain tissue as part of phase 1 trials. Originally published Neuro-oncology, Vol. 6, No. 1, Jan 200