A new view of the spin echo diffusive diffraction on porous structures

Analysis with the characteristic functional of stochastic motion is used for the gradient spin echo measurement of restricted motion to clarify details of the diffraction-like effect in a porous structure. It gives the diffusive diffraction as an interference of spin phase shifts due to the back-flow of spins bouncing at the boundaries, when mean displacement of scattered spins is equal to the spin phase grating prepared by applied magnetic field gradients. The diffraction patterns convey information about morphology of the surrounding media at times long enough that opposite boundaries are restricting displacements. The method explains the dependence of diffraction on the time and width of gradient pulses, as observed at the experiments and the simulations. It also enlightens the analysis of transport properties by the spin echo, particularly in systems, where the motion is restricted by structure or configuration

A cooperative approach to academic entrepreneurial initiatives

In this article we introduce a novel entrepreneurial model, the “Faculty Cooperative”, an eco-system for creating and managing academic entrepreneurial initiatives. The goal of this model is to promote academic entrepreneurism, by providing a guiding concept and tools that overcome the lack of alignment between individual academic attributes and faculty efforts in driving academic spin-out companies. Through an empirical inquiry based on an academic spin-out company in a UK university context, we have explored the key activities, actors, organisational processes and outcomes related to the formation and development stages of the academic entrepreneurship process. The empirical evidence reveals that the key principles embodied by the “Faculty Cooperative Model” namely, openness, freedom and collective shareholding, are likely to promote the entrepreneurial culture within a university context. The paper argues for the importance of developing entrepreneurial culture in conventional research focused universities, which not only improves the traditional values of teaching and research, but also enhances the dynamic capabilities of universities in a global marketplace. It is suggested that the entrepreneurial ideal is not contradictory to the conventional university missions, rather it is complementary

A Review of the Nurse Consultant Role

Background This paper reports the results of a review of the Nurse Consultant role at Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust the aim of which was to provide a clear picture of the current role remit and impact of each Nurse Consultant to inform recommendations for [any] required revision and ensure that Nurse Consultant’s roles and responsibilities are aligned to the evidence on best practice, reflect the Trusts business priorities, and that there is a well understood model in operation. Methods Using multiple methods of data collection, we investigated perceptions of the impact of Nurse Consultants among general managers and clinical directors, service users and carers, and selected other colleagues using semi-structured interviews and a focus group, as well as exploring with Nurse Consultants their view of the impact of their role via semi-structured interviews. In addition, we evaluated the leadership skills of Nurse Consultants using a 360 degree evaluation. Finally, we examined the activities of Nurse Consultants by analysing their diaries during a three month period. Results Nurse Consultants spend 38% of their activity on expert practice, 26% on professional leadership and practice, 19% on education, training and supervision and 15% on practice development, research and evaluation; 2% is spent on other activities. On the 360 degree evaluations, Nurse Consultants scored highest on enabling others (median 52/60), followed by modelling, encouraging and inspiring others (51/60). They scored lowest on challenging others (47/60). General Managers and Clinical Directors reported the positive impact Nurse Consultants have on clinical leadership and their contribution to improving clinical strategies and service developments. Service users and carers reported that they value the role, but were critical of the absence of Nurse Consultants in acute mental health wards. Conclusions The practices of Nurse Consultants at Nottinghamshire Healthcare Trust reflect the suggested domains of the role, but they fall short of national expectations of the percentage time NC should spend on expert clinical practice. There is widespread recognition of the positive impact of the role on service development and evidence of the positive impact of Nurse Consultants on practice. In general, colleagues recognise that Nurse Consultants are positive role models, who inspire, challenge, encourage and enable others. There is a widespread belief in the untapped potential for Nurse Consultants to play a more strategic leadership role in the Trust. Recommendations are made for the future development of the Nurse Consultant role

The effect of exercise on resilience, its mediators and moderators, in a general population during the UK COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: a cross-sectional online study.

BackgroundResilience is central to positive mental health and well-being especially when faced with adverse events. Factors such as exercise, location, sleep, mental health, and personality are moderators and mediators of resilience. However, the impact of these factors on resilience during severe adverse events are unknown. The present study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected resilience and its moderators and mediators by investigating whether there was a difference in resilience and quality of life between people with varying levels of exercise, including those who changed their exercise levels pre and during a COVID-19-related lockdown, and whether location affected the relationship between levels of exercise and resilience and quality of life.MethodsFollowing ethical approval, a cross-sectional online survey capturing data on self-reported key moderators and mediators of resilience before and during the COVID-19 lockdown imposed on the 23rd March 2020 in the UK was distributed via social media and completed over a three week time period during July 2020 via a self-selecting sample of the general population (N = 85). The key moderators and mediators of resilience the survey assessed were exercise, location, life-orientation, mental health, and sleep quality. All data were self-reported.ResultsParticipants' exercise intensity level increased as resilience increased (F(2,82) = 4.22, p = .003: Wilks' lambda = .82, partial n2 = 0.09). The relationship between exercise, and resilience and quality of life was independent of sleep and mental health status pre-lockdown (p = .013, p = .027 respectively). In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, this relationship was dependent on mental health but not sleep quality (p = ConclusionExercise is strongly correlated to resilience and during a pandemic such as COVID-19 it becomes a mechanism in which to moderate resilience. The relationship between exercise and resilience is supported by this study. The influence that a pandemic had on mental health is mediated by its effect on quality of life

Evaluation of the impact of a psycho-educational intervention for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers in Jordan: A randomized controlled trial

© Hasan et al. Background: Psycho-educational interventions for people diagnosed with schizophrenia (PDwS) and their primary caregivers appear promising, however, the majority of trials have significant methodological shortcomings. There is little known about the effects of these interventions delivered in a booklet format in resource-poor countries. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted from September, 2012 to July, 2013 with 121 dyads of PDwS and their primary caregivers. Participants aged 18 years or older with DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and their primary caregivers, from four outpatient mental health clinics in Jordan, were randomly assigned to receive 12 weeks of a booklet form of psycho-education, with follow-up phone calls, and treatment as usual [TAU] (intervention, n = 58), or TAU (control, n = 63). Participants were assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention (post-treatment1) and at three months follow-up. The primary outcome measure was change in knowledge of schizophrenia. Secondary outcomes for PDwS were psychiatric symptoms and relapse rate, with hospitalization or medication (number of episodes of increasing antipsychotic dosage), and for primary caregivers were burden of care and quality of life. Results: PDwS in the intervention group experienced greater improvement in knowledge scores (4.9 vs -0.5; p <0.001) at post-treatment and (6.5 vs -0.7; p <0.001) at three month-follow-up, greater reduction in symptom severity (-26.1 vs 2.5; p <0.001: -36.2 vs -4.9; p <0.001, at follow-up times respectively. Relapse rate with hospitalization was reduced significantly at both follow-up times in the intervention group (p <0.001), and relapse with medication increased in the intervention group at both follow-up times (p <0.001). Similarly there was a significant improvement in the primary caregivers knowledge score at post-treatment (6.3 vs -0.4; P < 0.001) and three month-follow-up (7.3 vs -0.7; p <0.001). Primary caregivers burden of care was significantly reduced in the intervention group (-6.4 vs 1.5; p <0.001; -9.4 vs 0.8; p <0.001), and their quality of life improved (9.2 vs -1.6; p = 0.01; 17.1 vs -5.3; p <0.001) at post-treatment and three month-follow-up. Conclusions: Psycho-education and TAU was more effective than TAU alone at improving participants' knowledge and psychological outcomes

The Phantom of Palais Brongniart: “Economic Patriotism” and the Paris Stock Exchange

French governments are famous for promoting national champions, notably by preventing foreign takeovers, but in 2005–2006, the Villepin administration allowed the New York Stock Exchange to take control of Euronext, a French-led pan-European company that includes the Paris Bourse. By mapping the public discourse surrounding this striking case of non-intervention, we explain why opponents of the transatlantic merger failed in their appeals to “economic patriotism.” Discursive strategies designed to justify discrimination against territorially defined outsiders ran into several hurdles, including weak patriotic sentiments for the company concerned; a lack of patriotic alternatives to the proposed merger; and the questionable patriotic credentials of those demanding intervention. Our findings advance research on the demand side of “economic patriotism,” including its discursive dimension. Beyond that, they inform research on business–government relations, and on the political implications of corporate ownership structures.Französische Regierungen sind eigentlich dafür bekannt, dass sie einheimische Unternehmen vor Auslandsübernahmen schützen. Im Jahr 2005–2006 gestattete Villepins Regierung jedoch der New York Stock Exchange die Übernahme von Euronext, einer paneuropäischen Gesellschaft unter französischer Leitung, zu der auch die Pariser Börse gehört. Der öffentliche Diskurs zu diesem bedeutenden Fall von Nichtintervention gibt Aufschluss darüber, warum die Gegner der transatlantischen Fusion mit ihren Forderungen nach Wirtschaftspatriotismus scheiterten. Diskursiven Strategien zur Rechtfertigung von Diskriminierung gegen territorial definierte Außenseiter standen mehrere Hindernisse im Weg, etwa unzureichend ausgeprägte patriotische Gefühle für den Übernahmekandidaten, der Mangel patriotischer Alternativen zu einer transatlantischen Fusion und die mangelnde patriotische Glaubwürdigkeit derer, die eine staatliche Einmischung forderten. Der vorliegende Aufsatz ergänzt mit seinem diskursiven Schwerpunkt die aktuelle Forschung zu Wirtschaftspatriotismus. Außerdem trägt er zur Forschung über die Beziehungen zwischen Staat und Unternehmen und über die politischen Auswirkungen von Veränderungen in der Struktur von Unternehmenseigentum bei.1 Introduction 2 The surprising absence of territorially based discrimination 3 Demand for and opposition to government intervention 4 The discursive limitations of “economic patriotism” 5 Conclusion Sources (Interviews, References

Investigation into use of double-layer grid structures as frequency selective surfaces for buildings

A simple Double–Layer Grid plane wave filter structure is proposed that can provide multiple transmission bands for cellular phone frequencies but with a reflection band for WLAN signals. The approach offers ease of construction making it applicable to building applications. A parametric study using simulation supported by simple experimental data investigates the proposed, novel desig

The effect of exercise on depressive symptoms in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The purpose of this review was to examine the treatment effect of physical exercise on depressive symptoms for adolescents aged 13 to 17 years. Method: A systematic search of 7 electronic databases identified relevant randomized controlled trials. Following removal of duplicates, 543 texts were screened for eligibility. Screening, data extraction, and trial methodological quality assessment (using the Delphi list) were undertaken by 2 independent researchers. Standardized mean differences were used for pooling postintervention depressive symptom scores. Results: Eleven trials met the inclusion criteria, 8 of which provided the necessary data for calculation of standardized effect size. Exercise showed a statistically significant moderate overall effect on depressive symptom reduction (standardized mean difference [SMD] = −0.48, 95% CI = −0.87, −0.10, p = .01, I2 = 67%). Among trials with higher methodological scoring, a nonsignificant moderate effect was recorded (SMD = −0.41, 95% CI = −0.86, 0.05, p = .08). In trials with exclusively clinical samples, exercise showed a statistically significant moderate effect on depressive symptoms with lower levels of heterogeneity (SMD = −0.43, 95% CI = −0.84, −0.02, p = .04, I2 = 44%). Conclusion: Physical exercise appears to improve depressive symptoms in adolescents, especially in clinical samples in which the moderate antidepressant effect, higher methodological quality, and lowered statistical heterogeneity suggest that exercise may be a useful treatment strategy for depression. Larger trials with clinical samples that adequately minimize the risk of bias are required for firmer conclusions on the effectiveness of exercise as an antidepressant treatment

An exploration of predictors of children's nurses' attitudes, knowledge, confidence and clinical behavioural intentions towards children and young people who self-harm

Aims and objectives: To explore the potential predictors of children's nurses? attitudes, knowledge and confidence towards caring for children and young people admitted to hospital with self-harm. Background Admissions to paediatric inpatient settings for individuals who have self-harmed are growing. Limited previous research suggests that nurses have mixed attitudes towards people who have self-harmed and potentially lack the confidence to provide effective care. There is a specific paucity of research in this area for children's nurses. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was used to gather data for exploration of variables associated with attitudes, confidence, knowledge and clinical behavioural intentions of 98 registered children's nurses in a single tertiary children's hospital, colocated in a large acute NHS Trust in the UK. Methods: Data were collected over a 4 weeks in 2015, using an online survey tool. The predictive effect of several demographic variables was tested on the outcomes of attitudes, knowledge, confidence and behavioural intentions, which were collected using relevant, previously used outcome measures. Results: Increased experience was found to be associated with improved attitudes relating to negativity. Previous training in caring for children who had self-harmed was found to be associated with improved attitudes around perceived effectiveness of their care. Higher academic qualifications and having undertaken previous training on self-harm were each found to be associated with increased knowledge of self-harm, and increased age was associated with reduced knowledge of self-harm. Conclusions: This study provides an initial exploration of variables associated with attitudes, knowledge, confidence and behaviour intentions of registered children's nurses in relation to caring for CYP who have self-harmed. Relevance to clinical practice: Targeted training on caring for CYP who have self-harmed should be considered as a component of continuing education for registered children's nurses in the UK to improve the experience and outcomes for this patient group

Dynamic decoherence control of a solid-state nuclear quadrupole qubit

We report on the application of a dynamic decoherence control pulse sequence on a nuclear quadrupole transition in $Pr^{3+}:Y_2SiO_5$ . Process tomography is used to analyse the effect of the pulse sequence. The pulse sequence was found to increase the decoherence time of the transition to over 30 seconds. Although the decoherence time was significantly increased, the population terms were found to rapidly decay on the application of the pulse sequence. The increase of this decay rate is attributed to inhomogeneity in the ensemble. Methods to circumvent this limit are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure