Adverse events in veterans affairs inpatient psychiatric units: Staff perspectives on contributing and protective factors.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to identify risk factors and protective factors in hospital-based mental health settings in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), with the goal of informing interventions to improve care of persons with serious mental illness. METHODS: Twenty key informants from a stratified sample of 7 VHA inpatient psychiatric units were interviewed to gain their insights on causes of patient safety events and the factors that constrain or facilitate patient safety efforts. RESULTS: Respondents identified threats to patient safety at the system-, provider-, and patient-levels. Protective factors that, when in place, made patient safety events less likely to occur included: promoting a culture of safety; advocating for patient-centeredness; and engaging administrators and organizational leadership to champion these changes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the impact of systems-level policies and procedures on safety in inpatient mental health care. Engaging all stakeholders, including patients, in patient safety efforts and establishing a culture of safety will help improve the quality of inpatient psychiatric care. Successful implementation of changes require the knowledge of local experts most closely involved in patient care, as well as support and buy-in from organizational leadership

Note and Comment

Liability of Principal for Mistake or Fraud of Agent; Contracts by Correspondence; The Police Power and city ordinances for the disposal of Garbage; Restriction Upon the Right of a Carrier to Deal in Commodities Transported by It

Multi-taxa neo-taphonomic analysis of bone remains from barn owl pellets and cross-validation of observations: a case study from Dominica (Lesser Antilles)

Paleo- and neo-taphonomic analyses of bone assemblages rarely consider all the occurring taxa in a single study and works concerning birds of prey as accumulators of microvertebrate bone remains mostly focus on small mammals such as rodents and soricomorphs. However, raptors often hunt and consume a large range of taxa, including vertebrates such as small mammals, fishes, amphibians, squamates and birds. Bone remains of all these taxonomic groups are numerous in many paleontological and archaeological records, especially in cave deposits. To better characterize the predators at the origin of fossil and sub-fossil microvertebrate accumulations and the taphonomic history of the deposit, it is thus mandatory to conduct global and multi-taxa taphonomic approaches. The aim of this study is to provide an example of such a global approach through the investigation of a modern bone assemblage from a sample of pellets produced by the Lesser Antillean Barn Owl (Tyto insularis) in the island of Dominica. We propose a new methodology that allows us to compare different taxa (rodents, bats, squamates and birds) and to experiment with a cross-validation process using two observers for each taxonomic group to test the reliability of the taphonomic observations.1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Owl Pellets Sampling 2.2. Prey Identification 2.3. Taphonomic Analysis 2.3.1. Anatomical Representation 2.3.2. Fragmentation 2.3.3. Surface Modifications 2.3.4. Size/Weight Classes of Preys 2.4. Cross-Validation of Observations 3. Results 3.1. Faunal Spectrum 3.2. Anatomical Representation 3.3. Fragmentation 3.4. Modifications of Bone Surface 4. Discussion 4.1. Diet of Tyto Insularis in Dominica 4.2. Taphonomic Impact of Tyto Insularis on Small Vertebrate Bone Assemblage 4.2.1. Remarks on the Size/Weight Classes of Preys 4.2.2. Anatomical Representation 4.2.3. Fragmentation 4.2.4. Digestion 4.3. Degree of Inter-Observer Differences and Potential Outcomes 4.4. Towards an “Inter-Taxa Calibration” 5. Conclusion

Water driven adsorption of amino acids on the (101) anatase TiO2 surface: an ab initio study

Arg, Lys and Asp amino acids are known to play a critical role in the adhesion of the RKLPDA engineered peptide on the (101) surface of the titania anatase phase. To understand their contribution to peptide adhesion, we have considered the relevant charge states due to protonation (Arg and Lys) or deprotonation (Asp) occurring in neutral water solution, and studied their adsorption on the (101) anatase TiO2 surface by ab initio total energy calculations based on density functional theory. The adsorption configurations on the hydrated surface are compared to those on the dry surface considering also the presence of the hydration shell around amino acid side-chains. This study explains how water molecules mediate the adsorption of charged amino acids showing that protonated amino acids are chemically adsorbed much more strongly than de-protonated Asp. Moreover it is shown that the polar screening of the hydration shell reduces the adsorption energy of the protonated amino acids to a small extent, thus evidencing that both Arg and Lys strongly adhere on the (101) anatase TiO2 surface in neutral water solution and that they play a major role in the adhesion of the RKLPDA peptide

Continuous Mixtures of Tractable Probabilistic Models

Probabilistic models based on continuous latent spaces, such as variational autoencoders, can be understood as uncountable mixture models where components depend continuously on the latent code. They have proven expressive tools for generative and probabilistic modelling, but are at odds with tractable probabilistic inference, that is, computing marginals and conditionals of the represented probability distribution. Meanwhile, tractable probabilistic models such as probabilistic circuits (PCs) can be understood as hierarchical discrete mixture models, which allows them to perform exact inference, but often they show subpar performance in comparison to continuous latent-space models. In this paper, we investigate a hybrid approach, namely continuous mixtures of tractable models with a small latent dimension. While these models are analytically intractable, they are well amenable to numerical integration schemes based on a finite set of integration points. With a large enough number of integration points the approximation becomes de-facto exact. Moreover, using a finite set of integration points, the approximation method can be compiled into a PC performing `exact inference in an approximate model'. In experiments, we show that this simple scheme proves remarkably effective, as PCs learned this way set new state-of-the-art for tractable models on many standard density estimation benchmarks

Heavy flooding effects on home range and habitat selection of free-ranging Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) in Doñana National Park (SW Spain)

The Iberian hare Lepus granatensis is a common and abundant species throughout the Iberian Peninsula; however, studies documenting its ecology are scarce. Between August 1996 and September 1997, after a long drought, we studied the effects of a widespread flood on the Iberian hare ecology in ecotone pastures of Doñana National Park. Hares were captured using vertical nets through part of 1996 and 1997. Fourteen adult hares (nine females and five males) were tagged with radiocollars and located by triangulation on a daily basis at least once a week. Habitat use was estimated using a geographical information system. The average home range size was 28 ha for males and 24 ha for females. No significant differences were observed between sexes. Significant differences were observed in the use of scrub areas and in dry pastures. During the dry and wet seasons, males and females were most often located in the pastures of the ecotone, rush stands and scrub. The dense bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) and seaside bulrush (Scirpus maritimus) communities were avoided. These results are the first on the spatial ecology of this species in its native habitat.Plan Andaluz de Investigación. Junta de Andalucía. RNM-118Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología de España. Proyecto “Efecto de las inundaciones en poblaciones de liebres en el pantano de Doñana". CICYT (1996-1997

Emotional and mental nuances and technological approaches: Optimising Fact-Check dissemination through cognitive reinforcement technique †

The issue of the dissemination of fake news has been widely addressed in the literature, but the issue of the dissemination of fact checks to debunk fake news has not received sufficient attention. Fake news is tailored to reach a wide audience, a concern that, as this paper shows, does not seem to be present in fact checking. As a result, fact checking, no matter how good it is, fails in its goal of debunking fake news for the general public. This paper addresses this problem with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of the fact checking of online social media posts through the use of cognitive tools, yet grounded in ethical principles. The paper consists of a profile of the prevalence of fact checking in online social media (both from the literature and from field data) and an assessment of the extent to which engagement can be increased by using simple cognitive enhancements in the text of the post. The focus is on Snopes and (Formula presented.) (formerly Twitter).FCT -Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia(2022.06822

Feeding Habits of the Invasive Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) in the Gulf of Cadiz

Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) has been present in Iberian waters since at least 2011, when it was first recorded in the Guadalquivir estuary. Little is known about the preferences and feeding strategies of weakfish outside of its native range; therefore, in this work, we carried out a comprehensive study between March 2021 and September 2021 to elucidate these matters. In total, the stomach contents of 300 fish were examined. The fish were collected in spring and summer in the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain), with individuals caught ranging from 185 to 590 mm in total length. Due to the sampling period and size range of individuals, ontogenic and seasonal (spring–summer) variations in the diet were also explored. Overall, fish and crustaceans were the dominant groups consumed by weakfish. The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and caramote prawn (Penaeus kerathurus) were the most abundant prey in each group. While no differences were found in the percentage of occurrence of fish in the non-empty stomachs analyzed in spring and summer (83%), a small increase was found in the percentage of occurrence of crustaceans from spring (20%) to summer (29%). In addition, the analysis of the results also suggested that weakfish of smaller sizes feed more on crustaceans, while bigger individuals feed mainly on fish. Our findings indicate that weakfish is a fully carnivorous species with a preference for fish. All this is in line with the diet and strategy that weakfish exhibits in its native area and with the first assessment made with the existing population in the Sado Estuary (Portugal). In recent years, due to the appearance of non-native species, there is increasing concern among local fishermen and the local authorities about the reduction in captures of certain species such as Penaeus kerathurus; therefore, this study could help researchers to understand the role of weakfish concerning this matter. The present study contributes to the ecological knowledge about this species in the Iberian Peninsula and the Gulf of Cadiz, helping the local authorities to establish, if needed, an appropriate management program to cope with this recently introduced species

Relationship between “a body shape index (ABSI)” and body composition in obese patients with type 2 diabetes

Background: Obesity is known to be related to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The most commonly used anthropometric indicator (body mass index [BMI]) presents several limitations such as the lack of possibility to distinguish adipose tissue distribution. Thus, this study examines the suitability of a body shape index (ABSI) for prediction of body composition and sarcopenic obesity in obese or overweight T2D subjects. Methods: Cross-sectional study in 199 overweight/obese T2D adults. Anthropometric (BMI, ABSI) and body composition (fat mass [FM], fat-free mass [FFM], fat mass index [FMI] and fat-free mass index, and the ratio FM/FFM as an index of sarcopenic obesity) data was collected, as well as metabolic parameters (glycated haemoglobin [ HbA1c], mean blood glucose, fasting plasma glucose [FPG], high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL], low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides [TG] levels; the ratio TG/HDL was also calculated as a surrogate marker for insulin resistance). Results: ABSI was significantly associated with age and waist circumference. It showed a statistically significant correlation with BMI exclusively in women. Regarding body composition, in men, ABSI was associated with FM (%), while in women it was associated with both FM and FFM. Both males and females groups with high ABSI scores were significantly older (men: 59.3 ± 10.8 vs 54.6 ± 10.1, p ≤ 0.05; women: 65.1 ± 9.8 vs 58.1 ± 13.3, p ≤ 0.005) and showed lower FFM values (men: 62.3 ± 9.0 vs 66.2 ± 9.3, p ≤ 0.05; women: 48.7 ± 5.6 vs 54.5 ± 8.9, p ≤ 0.001) compared with low-ABSI groups. Multiple linear regression revealed that ABSI independently predict FMI and the FM/FFM ratio in women. Sarcopenic obesity was identified in 70 (36.5%) individuals according to the FM/FFM ratio. The AUROC of ABSI was 63.1% (95% CI 54.6–71.6%; p = 0.003) and an ABSI value of 0.083 m11/6 kg−2/3 was the optimal threshold in discriminating patients with sarcopenic obesity (sensitivity: 48%, specificity: 73%). Moreover, a significant association between ABSI and FPG was found in men. Conclusions: ABSI could be useful to identify visceral and sarcopenic obesity in overweight/obese adults with T2D, adding some relevant clinical information to traditional anthropometric measures