Functional modelling of complex multi‑disciplinary systems using the enhanced sequence diagram

YesThis paper introduces an Enhanced Sequence Diagram (ESD) as the basis for a structured framework for the functional analysis of complex multidisciplinary systems. The ESD extends the conventional sequence diagrams (SD) by introducing a rigorous functional flow-based modelling schemata to provide an enhanced basis for model-based functional requirements and architecture analysis in the early systems design stages. The proposed ESD heuristics include the representation of transactional and transformative functions required to deliver the use case sequence, and fork and join nodes to facilitate analysis of combining and bifurcating operations on flows. A case study of a personal mobility device is used to illustrate the deployment of the ESD methodology in relation to three common product development scenarios: (i) reverse engineering, (ii) the introduction of a specific technology to an existent system; and (iii) the introduction of a new feature as user-centric innovation for an existing system, at a logical design level, without reference to any solution. The case study analysis provides further insights into the effectiveness of the ESD to support function modelling and functional requirements capture, and architecture development. The significance of this paper is that it establishes a rigorous ESD-based functional analysis methodology to guide the practitioner with its deployment, facilitating its impact to both the engineering design and systems engineering communities, as well as the design practice in the industry

Functional modelling of complex multi‑disciplinary systems using the enhanced sequence diagram

YesThis paper introduces an Enhanced Sequence Diagram (ESD) as the basis for a structured framework for the functional analysis of complex multidisciplinary systems. The ESD extends the conventional sequence diagrams (SD) by introducing a rigorous functional flow-based modelling schemata to provide an enhanced basis for model-based functional requirements and architecture analysis in the early systems design stages. The proposed ESD heuristics include the representation of transactional and transformative functions required to deliver the use case sequence, and fork and join nodes to facilitate analysis of combining and bifurcating operations on flows. A case study of a personal mobility device is used to illustrate the deployment of the ESD methodology in relation to three common product development scenarios: (i) reverse engineering, (ii) the introduction of a specific technology to an existent system; and (iii) the introduction of a new feature as user-centric innovation for an existing system, at a logical design level, without reference to any solution. The case study analysis provides further insights into the effectiveness of the ESD to support function modelling and functional requirements capture, and architecture development. The significance of this paper is that it establishes a rigorous ESD-based functional analysis methodology to guide the practitioner with its deployment, facilitating its impact to both the engineering design and systems engineering communities, as well as the design practice in the industry

Exploring extreme magnetization phenomena in directly driven imploding cylindrical targets

This paper uses extended-magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations to explore an extreme mag netized plasma regime realisable by cylindrical implosions on the OMEGA laser facility. This regime is characterized by highly compressed magnetic fields (greater than 10 kT across the fuel), which contain a significant proportion of the implosion energy and induce large electrical currents in the plasma. Parameters governing the different magnetization processes such as Ohmic dissipation and suppression of instabilities by magnetic tension are presented, allowing for optimization of experi ments to study specific phenomena. For instance, a dopant added to the target gas-fill can enhance magnetic flux compression while enabling spectroscopic diagnosis of the imploding core. In par ticular, the use of Ar K-shell spectroscopy is investigated by performing detailed non-LTE atomic kinetics and radiative transfer calculations on the MHD data. Direct measurement of the core elec tron density and temperature would be possible, allowing for both the impact of magnetization on the final temperature and thermal pressure to be obtained. By assuming the magnetic field is frozen into the plasma motion, which is shown to be a good approximation for highly magnetized implo sions, spectroscopic diagnosis could be used to estimate which magnetization processes are ruling the implosion dynamics; for example, a relation is given for inferring whether thermally-driven or current-driven transport is dominating.Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto de investigación PID2019- 108764RB-I00 del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, y de la Research Grant No. GOB-ESP2019-13 de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canari

Emergency department transfers and hospital admissions from residential aged care facilities: a controlled pre-post design study

Background: Older people living in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACF) are a vulnerable, frail and complex population. They are more likely than people who reside in the community to become acutely unwell, present to the Emergency Department (ED) and require admission to hospital. For many, hospitalisation carries with it risks. Importantly, evidence suggests that some admissions are avoidable. A new collaborative model of care, the Aged Care Emergency Service (ACE), was developed to provide clinical support to nurses in the RACFs, allowing residents to be managed in place and avoid transfer to the ED. This paper examines the effects of the ACE service on RACF residents' transfer to hospital using a controlled pre-post design. Methods: Four intervention RACFs were matched with eight control RACFs based on number of total beds, dementia specific beds, and ratio of high to low care beds in Newcastle, Australia, between March and November 2011. The intervention consisted of a clinical care manual to support care along with a nurse led telephone triage line, education, establishing goals of care prior to ED transfer, case management when in the ED, along with the development of collaborative relationships between stakeholders. Outcomes included ED presentations, length of stay, hospital admission and 28-day readmission pre- and post-intervention. Generalised estimating equations were used to estimate mean differences in outcomes between intervention and controls RACFs, pre- and post-intervention means, and their interaction, accounting for repeated measures and adjusting for matching factors. Results: Residents had a mean age of 86 years. ED presentations ranged between 16 and 211 visits/100 RACF beds/year across all RACFs. There was no overall reduction in ED presentations (OR = 1.17, p = 0.56) with the ACE intervention. However, when compared to the controls, the intervention group reduced their ED length of stay by 45 min (p = 0.0575), and was 40 % less likely to be admitted to hospital, . The latter was highly significant (p = 0.0012). Transfers to ED and admission to hospital are common for residents of RACFs. This study has demonstrated that a complex multi-strategy intervention led by nursing staff can successfully reduce hospital admissions for older people living in Residential Aged Care Facilities. By defining goals of care prior to transfer to the ED, clinicians have the opportunity to better deliver care that patients require. Integrated care requires accountability from multiple stakeholders.The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registration number is ACTRN12616000588493 It was registered on 6(th) May 2016

Teaching Implicit Leadership Theories to develop leaders and leadership – How and why it can make a difference

Implicit leadership theories (ILTs) are lay images of leadership, which are individually and socially determined. We discuss how teaching ILTs contributes to developing leaders and leaderships by raising self- and social awareness for the contexts in which leadership takes place. We present and discuss a drawing exercise to illustrate different ILTs and discuss the implications for leaders and leadership, with a particular focus on how leaders claim, and are granted, leader identities in groups

An explorative qualitative study to determine the footwear needs of workers in standing environments

Background: Many work places require standing for prolonged periods of time and are potentially damaging to health, with links to musculoskeletal disorders and acute trauma from workplace accidents. Footwear provides the only interaction between the body and the ground and therefore a potential means to impact musculoskeletal disorders. However, there is very limited research into the necessary design and development of footwear based on both the physical environmental constraints and the personal preference of the workers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore workers needs for footwear in the ‘standing’ workplace in relation to MSD, symptoms, comfort and design. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from demanding work environments that require standing for high proportions of the working day. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the results and gain an exploratory understanding into the footwear needs of these workers. Results: Interviews revealed the environmental demands and a very high percentage of musculoskeletal disorders, including day to day discomfort and chronic problems. It was identified that when designing work footwear for standing environments, the functionality of the shoe for the environment must be addressed, the sensations and symptoms of the workers taken into account to encourage adherence and the decision influencers should be met to encourage initial footwear choice. Meeting all these criteria could encourage the use of footwear with the correct safety features and comfort. Development of the correct footwear and increased education regarding foot health and footwear choice could help to reduce or improve the effect of the high number of musculoskeletal disorders repeatedly recorded in jobs that require prolonged periods of standing. Conclusion: This study provides a unique insight into the footwear needs of some workers in environments that require prolonged standing. This user based enquiry has provided information which is important to workplace footwear design

Current and emerging treatment of osteoporosis

The goal of treating a patient with recent fragility fracture should not only be to treat the patient in the acute phase but also to prevent further fractures. Interventions to increase bone mass to preventing further fragility fractures can be classified as non-pharmacological and pharmacological. All European and international guidelines base the need for treatment, not on the diagnosis of osteoporosis (based on the T-score), but on the risk of fracture, which is strongly influenced by the presence of a fragility fracture, especially vertebral or femoral fractures. Before treatment, it is important to make a differential diagnosis between primary and secondary osteoporosis because anti-osteoporotic drug treatment would be useless if the primary illness causing osteoporosis is not treated too. Some studies show that anti-osteoporotic drugs are frequently interrupted within 1 month of their prescription; this happens not so much due to the occurrence of adverse events but mostly because patients have not been sufficiently informed about the importance of taking the drug and because are not receiving personalised treatment. All data confirm that, in older people, vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent and calcium intake is often not adequate. So, osteoporosis guidelines recommend calcium and vitamin D for all patients in association with antiosteoporotic therapy. We have many drugs for the treatment of patients at high risk of fracture, but we should use drugs based on evidence of their efficacy and safety in older-age subgroups, provided by targeted studies or extrapolated data. In this chapter, we describe efficacy, route of administration, adverse events and recent technical remarks of current antiresorptive and anabolic osteoporosis therapies. Furthermore, we describe emerging therapies, such as Abaloparatide and Romosozumab

Electrochemistry of nanozeolite-immobilized cytochrome c in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions

peer-reviewedThe electrochemical properties of cytochrome c (cyt c) immobilized on multilayer nanozeolite-modified electrodes have been examined in aqueous and nonaqueous solutions. Layers of Linde type-L zeolites were assembled on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass electrodes followed by the adsorption of cyt c, primarily via electrostatic interactions, onto modified ITO electrodes. The heme protein displayed a quasi-reversible response in aqueous solution with a redox potential of +324 mV (vs NHE), and the surface coverage (Gamma*) increased linearly for the first four layers and then gave a nearly constant value of 200 pmol cm(-2). On immersion of the modified electrodes in 95% (v/v) nonaqueous solutions, the redox potential decreased significantly, a decrease that originated from changes in both the enthalpy and entropy of reduction. On reimmersion of the modified electrode in buffer, the faradic response immediately returned to its original value. These results demonstrate that nanozeolites are potential stable supports for redox proteins and enzymes.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe