Casualisation of the nursing workforce in Australia: driving forces and implications.

This article provides an overview of the extent of casualisation of the nursing workforce in Australia, focusing on the impact for those managing the system. The implications for nurse managers in particular are considerable in an industry where service demand is difficult to control and where individual nurses are thought to be increasingly choosing to work casually. While little is known of the reasons behind nurses exercising their preference for casual work arrangements, some reasons postulated include visa status (overseas trained nurses on holiday/working visas); permanent employees taking on additional shifts to increase their income levels; and those who elect to work under casual contracts for lifestyle reasons. Unknown is the demography of the casual nursing workforce, how these groups are distributed within the workforce, and how many contracts of employment they have across the health service--either through privately managed nursing agencies or hospital managed casual pools. A more detailed knowledge of the forces driving the decisions of this group is essential if health care organisations are to equip themselves to manage this changing workforce and maintain a standard of patient care that is acceptable to the community

Predicting and Controlling Resolution and Surface Finish of Ceramic Objects Produced by Stereodeposition Processes

Stereodeposition techniques are well suited for the Solid Freeform Fabrication of dense ceramic components. As opposed to forming a pattern in a particle bed or polymer bath, stereodeposition processes deposit material directly onto the previously created layer. The key to stereodeposition is a material's ability to be dispensed as a fluid, yet rapidly stiffen to hold the shape of the object. This is accomplished by either solidification of a thermoplastic binder upon cooling from a melt (Fused Deposition) or by polymerization of a binder (Reactive Stereodeposition). We are developing both techniques for the production of functional ceramic and engineering polymer objects. A key issue in developing a successful stereodeposition system is controlling the rate of bead transformation from liquid to solid. Control is critical to achieving high resolution and low surface roughness of the finished product, but is made complex by the large number of parameters involved. These include binder parameters (surface tension, gelling characteristics), slurry parameters (viscosity, particle loading and size distribution), and process parameters (deposition rate, temperature). Current efforts at the University of Arizona are focused on modeling and controlling the deposition and transformation of ceramic slurries used in the Reactive Stereodeposition process.Mechanical Engineerin

Optical absorption spectra in fullerenes C60 and C70: Effects of Coulomb interactions, lattice fluctuations, and anisotropy

Effects of Coulomb interactions and lattice fluctuations in the optical absorption spectra of C60 and C70 are theoretically investigated by using a tight binding model with long-range Coulomb interaction and bond disorder. Anisotropy effects in C70 are also considered. Optical spectra are calculated by using the Hartree-Fock approximation followed by the configuration interaction method. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The broad peaks at excitation energies, 3.7eV, 4.7eV, and 5.7eV, observed in experiments of C60 molecules in a solution are reasonably described by the present theory. Peak positions and relative oscillator strengths are in overall agreement with the experiments. The broadening of peaks by lattice fluctuations is well simulated by the bond disorder model. (2) The optical gap of C70 is larger when the electric field of light is parallel to the long axis of the molecule. The shape of the frequency dispersion also depends on the orientation of the molecule. These properties are common in the free electron model and the model with Coulomb interactions. (3) The spectrum of C70 averaged over bond disorder and random orientations is compared with experiments in a solution. There is an overall agreement about the spectral shape. Differences in the spectra of C60 and C70 are discussed in connection with the symmetry reduction from a soccerball to a rugbyball.Comment: PACS numbers: 78.66.Qn, 78.20.Dj, 71.35.+z, 31.20.Tz; LaTeX, 15 pages, 5 figures (Physical Review B); Note: Please request figures to Authors. They will be sent via snail mai

Observation and Assignment of Silent and Higher Order Vibrations in the Infrared Transmission of C60 Crystals

We report the measurement of infrared transmission of large C60 single crystals. The spectra exhibit a very rich structure with over 180 vibrational absorptions visible in the 100 - 4000 cm-1 range. Many silent modes are observed to have become weakly IR-active. We also observe a large number of higher order combination modes. The temperature (77K - 300K) and pressure (0 - 25KBar) dependencies of these modes were measured and are presented. Careful analysis of the IR spectra in conjunction with Raman scattering data showing second order modes and neutron scattering data, allow the selection of the 46 vibrational modes C60. We are able to fit *all* of the first and second order data seen in the present IR spectra and the previously published Raman data (~300 lines total), using these 46 modes and their group theory allowed second order combinations.Comment: REVTEX v3.0 in LaTeX. 12 pages. 8 Figures by request. c60lon

The heterogeneity of wooded-agricultural landscape mosaics influences woodland bird community assemblages

Context Landscape heterogeneity (the composition and configuration of different landcover types) plays a key role in shaping woodland bird assemblages in wooded-agricultural mosaics. Understanding how species respond to landscape factors could contribute to preventing further decline of woodland bird populations. Objective To investigate how woodland birds with different species traits respond to landscape heterogeneity, and to identify whether specific landcover types are important for maintaining diverse populations in wooded-agricultural environments. Methods Birds were sampled from woodlands in 58 2 x 2 km tetrads across southern Britain. Landscape heterogeneity was quantified for each tetrad. Bird assemblage response was determined using redundancy analysis combined with variation partitioning and response trait analyses. Results For woodland bird assemblages, the independent explanatory importance of landscape composition and landscape configuration variables were closely interrelated. When considered simultaneously during variation partitioning, the community response was better represented by compositional variables. Different species responded to different landscape features and this could be explained by traits relating to woodland association, foraging strata and nest location. Ubiquitous, generalist species, many of which were hole-nesters or ground foragers, correlated positively with urban landcover while specialists of broadleaved woodland avoided landscapes containing urban areas. Species typical of coniferous woodland correlated with large conifer plantations. Conclusions At the 2 x 2 km scale, there was evidence that the availability of resources provided by proximate landcover types was highly important for shaping woodland bird assemblages. Further research to disentangle the effects of composition and configuration at different spatial scales is advocated

Diet and Alzheimer's disease

Healthy eating habits are important for good health, and eating the right foods can reduce the risk of developing nutrition-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer. Diet also plays an important part in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, and can improve quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s disease. This chapter focuses on the relationship between diet and Alzheimer’s disease, and how you can eat your way to a healthier life. We will also show how diet can help to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, with tips about foods that can help maintain good brain health

The adulteration of insect powder with powdered daisy flowers (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum L.) /

no.795 (1919