Spin squeezing via quantum feedback

We propose a quantum feedback scheme for producing deterministically reproducible spin squeezing. The results of a continuous nondemolition atom number measurement are fed back to control the quantum state of the sample. For large samples and strong cavity coupling, the squeezing parameter minimum scales inversely with atom number, approaching the Heisenberg limit. Furthermore, ceasing the measurement and feedback when this minimum has been reached will leave the sample in the maximally squeezed spin state.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex

Male frequent attenders of general practice and their help seeking preferences

Background: Low rates of health service usage by men are commonly linked to masculine values and traditional male gender roles. However, not all men conform to these stereotypical notions of masculinity, with some men choosing to attend health services on a frequent basis, for a variety of different reasons. This study draws upon the accounts of male frequent attenders of the General Practitioner's (GP) surgery, examining their help-seeking preferences and their reasons for choosing services within general practice over other sources of support. Methods: The study extends thematic analysis of interview data from the Self Care in Primary Care study (SCinPC), a large scale multi-method evaluation study of a self care programme delivered to frequent attenders of general practice. Data were collected from 34 semi-structured interviews conducted with men prior to their exposure to the intervention. Results: The ages of interviewed men ranged from 16 to 72 years, and 91% of the sample (n= 31) stated that they had a current health condition. The thematic analysis exposed diverse perspectives within male help-seeking preferences and the decision-making behind men's choice of services. The study also draws attention to the large variation in men's knowledge of available health services, particularly alternatives to general practice. Furthermore, the data revealed some men's lack of confidence in existing alternatives to general practice. Conclusions: The study highlights the complex nature of male help-seeking preferences, and provides evidence that there should be no 'one size fits all' approach to male service provision. It also provides impetus for conducting further studies into this under researched area of interest. © 2011 WPMH GmbH

The effectiveness of social work in the management of depressed women patients in general practice

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX194020 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Working with community mental health professionals: a survey among general practitioners

Links between general practitioners and mental health professionals, such as counsellors, psychiatrists, community psychiatric nurses, clinical psychologists and social workers, are increasing in number and type. The aim of this survey was to elicit general practitioners' attitudes to these workers, comparing those with a link with a mental health worker and those without. General practitioners in two district health authorities were surveyed and a response rate of 70% was obtained. General practitioner linked to a mental health professional were more likely to have made a referral to that service in the previous three months and, on the whole, were more satisfied with that service. The commonest problem reported by respondents was the length of waiting lists. Regarding liaison with social workers, inadequate feedback and difficulty with contact were the problems mentioned most by doctors. A number of general practitioners expressed a desire for closer contact with all these mental health services. While caution is required in ascribing causality to these relationships, it is clear that a closer working relationship between general practitioners and mental health workers is productive and is valued by general practitioners. The challenge for policy makers is to structure mental health provision in such a way that more general practitioners are able to benefit than at present

Psychosexual implications of gynaecological cancer

Sexual dysfunction is common among adults with cancer,1 and women with gynaecological cancer are no exception.2,3 Much of this is easily explained, given that most patients with cancer experience anxiety or depression after diagnosis and during treatment. To this may be added other aspects of their condition or treatment that make sex difficult - chronic fatigue, nausea, diarrhoea, altered genital appearance or loss of the vagina, tender scars, pain, malodour, alopecia, nervousness about breakdown of the wound, embarrassment about stomas, or advanced disease. What is less clear is why, after “successful” treatment, some women continue to have sexual difficulties. Most of the organic causes of this problem relate to treatments that alter the genital area. Radical vulvectomy removes the clitoris (although orgasm may still occur4), renders the tissues tight and devoid of fat “cushioning,” and may result in prolapse of the posterior vaginal wall or vaginal stenosis. Radical hysterectomy shortens the vagina, and pelvic exenteration removes it entirely. Radiotherapy renders the vaginal mucosa dry, easily traumatised, stenosed, and less distensible; to this is added the effect of ovarian failure, which in itself causes substantial sexual dysfunction.5 Both surgery and

Native dominants in British woodland – a potential cause of reduced species-richness?

The invasion of native habitats by alien species has received considerable attention. However, in Britain high levels of dominance by a small number of aggressive native plant species may have an equal, or greater, impact on the richness of native woodlands. Here, we examine this hypothesis by modelling the realized niche of native-dominant species along the principal coenocline of British woodlands, and examined niche overlaps with 78 woodland specialist species and two alien species. Four native species had a much greater cover than all other field-layer species, and between them they entirely covered the response range of all other field-layer species, replacing one another along the coenocline. These findings, combined with autecological information suggest that Hedera helix, Mercurialis perennis, Pteridium aquilinum and Rubus fruticosus have the potential to become ‘over-dominant’ and perhaps may impinge on other field-layer species. Our results also identified which field-layer species are likely to be impacted by a change in abundance of each of these dominant-species, and as such, provide a novel quantitative method of risk assessment to aid conservation policy. Understanding how woodland communities remain diverse, even in the presence of aggressive native species, may provide insights into how the impact of exotic invasive species can be managed

Counselling work in normal general practice: An analysis of Australian consultations.

As counselling is potentially an area of overlap between the functions of medical practitioners and of clinical health psychologists, it is important to know exactly what counselling encompasses in primary health care. A set of 68 counselling consultations were identified from collected transcripts of normal general practice work; seven representative examples are described and analysed in this article. The major purpose of three consultations was for the general practitioner (GP) to help the patient with psychological illness or behaviour disorder, and the question of most interest was how the parties negotiated this topic and how the GPs provided help. In four other consultations the major purpose was for the GP to answer the patient's questions. The results have implications for the delivery of primary health care and the work satisfaction of GPs, as well as for the collaborative relationships which may develop between GPs and clinical health psychologists