Analytical and Computational Model for Aortic Hemodynamics Accounting for Aortic Elasticity and Arterial Branch-Flow Effects

The causes of atherosclerotic plaque formation in the abdominal aorta has been researched for many years. It has been hypothesized that certain hemodynamic factors, such as wall shear stress, blood velocity, and blood pressure, may play an important role in its development. In order to study these properties, several models have previously been developed to try and simulate blood flow through the abdominal section of the aorta since it is at this location along the length of the aorta where the greatest incidence of atherosclerosis is known to occur. Many of these models depict the abdominal aorta as being a rigid tube and do not account for elasticity. In this study an analytical and computational model that accounts for both elasticity and taper is developed. This model is used to determine the effects that blood flow through the abdominal aorta, when modeled as a straight rigid tube, straight elastic tube, tapered rigid tube, and tapered elastic tube without branches, has on the blood velocity, blood pressure, wall shear stress, and anatomical and physiological diameters.The effect that the seven major branch flows has on these hemodynamic factors is also studied. It has been found that taper and elasticity do have an effect and certainly should be accounted for when modeling the aorta. It has also been found that the addition of branch flows causes the blood velocity and wall shear stress to decrease at the infrarenal section of the abdominal aorta. Other studies have found that it is at this location along the aorta where atherosclerotic plaque is more prone to develop

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Irish Potato Famine Apology

In June 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a statement expressing remorse for the British government’s inaction to assist the Irish during the potato famine of the late 1840s. Blair’s contrition was met with praise and criticism, but it proved to be part of the larger narrative in the peace negotiations within Northern Ireland. Although Blair’s apology is often cited as an exemplar of political leaders apologizing for historical injustices, little actual scholarly work on this subject has been conducted. To that end, this paper examines Blair’s potato famine apology through the theory of collective apology. We argue that collective apologies serve to build, repair, renew, and strengthen bonds between communities harmed by historical wrongdoing. Moreover, collective apologies are meditations in collective memory about the past, present, and future relationship between communities. We assess Blair’s apology through this theoretical lens, discussing the potential impact that it had on the Northern Ireland peace process

Intern Self-Care: An Exploratory Study Into Strategy Use and Effectiveness

In this exploratory study, 363 interns were surveyed to assess the frequency of use and effectiveness of self-care strategies used during the internship year. Among the most frequently used strategies were family and friend social support, active problem solving, and humor. The most effective strategies were family and friend social support, seeking pleasurable experiences, and humor. A strong positive relationship was found between total scores for Frequency and Effectiveness subscales, and women reported significantly more use and effectiveness of strategies. Recommendations and resources are provided for interns and internship sites that seek to further understand and encourage intern self-care

Understanding and mitigating thiaminase activity in silver carp

A deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), an essential cofactor for enzymes involved in metabolic processes, can be caused by the enzyme thiaminase. Thiaminase in food stocks has been linked to morbidity and mortality due to thiamine depletion in many ecologically and economically important species. Thiaminase activity has been detected in certain bacteria, plants, and fish species, including carp. The invasive silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) presents an enormous burden to ecosystems throughout the Mississippi River watershed. Its large biomass and nutritional content offer an attractive possibility as a food source for humans, wild animals, or pets. Additionally, harvesting this fish could alleviate some of the effects of this species on waterways. However, the presence of thiaminase would detract from its value for dietary consumption. Here we confirm the presence of thiaminase in several tissues from silver carp, most notably the viscera, and systematically examine the effects of microwaving, baking, dehydrating, and freeze-drying on thiaminase activity. Certain temperatures and durations of baking and microwaving reduced thiaminase activity to undetectable levels. However, caution should be taken when carp tissue is concentrated by processes without sufficient heat treatment, such as freeze-drying or dehydration, which results in concentration, but not inactivation of the enzyme. The effects of such treatments on the ease of extracting proteins, including thiaminase, and the impact on data interpretation using the 4-nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) thiaminase assay were considered

A Meta-Analysis Of Resource Pulse-Consumer Interactions

Resource Pulses are infrequent, large-magnitude, and short-duration events of increased resource availability. They include a diverse set of extreme events in a wide range of ecosystems, but identifying general patterns among the diversity of pulsed resource phenomena in nature remains an important challenge. Here we present a meta-analysis of resource pulse-consumer interactions that addresses four key questions: (1) Which characteristics of pulsed resources best predict their effects on consumers? (2) Which characteristics of consumers best predict their responses to resource pulses? (3) How do the effects of resource Pulses differ in different ecosystems? (4) What are the indirect effects of resource pulses in communities\u27? To investigate these questions, we built a data set of diverse Pulsed resource-consumer interactions from around the world, developed metrics to compare the effects of resource pulses across disparate systems, and conducted multilevel regression analyses to examine the manner in which variation in the characteristics of resource pulse-consumer interactions affects important aspects Of Consumer responses. Resource pulse magnitude, resource trophic level, resource Pulse duration, ecosystem type and subtype, consumer response mechanisms, and consumer body mass were found to be key. explanatory factors predicting the magnitude, duration, and timing of consumer responses. Larger consumers showed more persistent responses to resource pulses, and reproductive responses were more persistent than aggregative responses. Aquatic systems showed shorter temporal lags between peaks of resource availability and consumer response compared to terrestrial systems, and temporal lags were also shorter for smaller consumers compared to larger consumers. The magnitude of consumer responses relative to their resource pulses was generally smaller for the direct consumers of primary resource pulses, compared to consumers at greater trophic distances from the initial resource pulse. In specific systems, this data set showed both attenuating and amplifying indirect effects. We consider the mechanistic processes behind these patterns and their implications for the ecology of resource pulses

What adolescents living with long-term conditions say about being involved in decision-making about their healthcare: A systematic review and narrative synthesis of preferences and experiences

Objective To understand the preferences and experiences of adolescents (age 10–19) with long-term conditions (LTCs) towards involvement in discussions and decisions regarding management of their condition. Methods A systematic review and narrative synthesis of mixed-methods, quantitative and qualitative and research was performed. Six databases were searched from inception to March 2017. The quality of the articles was assessed, and relevant data were extracted and coded thematically. Results The search yielded 27 articles which met the inclusion criteria. Decision-making involvement preferences and experiences were reported from the adolescents’ perspectives. Adolescents often report that they do not have any choice of treatment options. Variability in preferences and experiences were found within and between individuals. Mismatches between preferences and experiences are common, and often with negative emotional consequences. Discussion Adolescent preferences for involvement in the decision-making process are situational and individualistic. Healthcare professionals can encourage involvement by ensuring that adolescents are informed of treatment options, and aware of the value of their contribution. Future research should explore adolescent perceived barriers and facilitators to SDM. Practical implications Interventions are needed to effectively train HCPs in the delivery of shared decision-making, and to support the participation of adolescents with LTCs in shared decision-making

"I'd like to have more of a say because it's my body?: Adolescents' perceptions around barriers and facilitators to shared decision-making

PURPOSE: Adolescents living with long-term conditions (LTCs) often feel as though they are left out of discussions and decisions with healthcare professionals, which can give them the impression that their views are not important. Research around decision-making during clinical encounters often fails to represent adolescents' perspectives. This study explores adolescents' perceptions and experiences, focusing on identifying the perceived barriers to, and facilitators for, their involvement in shared decision-making (SDM). METHODS: Nineteen adolescents (aged 13-19 years) with LTCs were recruited from endocrinology, rheumatology, neurology, and nephrology clinics. Participatory qualitative interviews were conducted using life grids and pie charts, and transcripts were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Four overarching themes and nine sub-themes were identified which describe barriers and facilitators around SDM. Adolescents need to feel, as though their involvement is supported by parents and healthcare professionals, that their contribution to the decision-making process is important and will yield a positive outcome. Adolescents often feel it is their right to be involved in decisions that affect them but also feel as though the adults' contributions to the decisions are considered more valuable. Adolescents need to feel capable of being involved, in terms of being able to understand and process information about the available options and ask appropriate questions. CONCLUSIONS: This work highlights a number of ways SDM can be facilitated between healthcare practitioners and adolescents with LTCs. Identifying the needs of adolescents with LTCs is necessary for optimizing the SDM process and to support them during healthcare consultation

The Return: A Native Environmental Health Story

The Native Tradition, Environment And Community Health (TEACH) Project began in 2008 with a small collaborative grant funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. The Northwest Indian College and the Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health at the University of Washington shared the funding and co-managed the project. In the Western scientific tradition, “Environmental Health” is the study of how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. One of the goals of the Native TEACH Project was to find out how Native ways of understanding the world and our place in it might lead to a unique understanding of environmental health – a “NATIVE Environmental Health Science.” To do this, we got input from Tribal college students, staff and faculty from 30 Tribal colleges around the U.S. We did this through a combination of talking circles, interviews, and written surveys administered at the Northwest Indian College and at the 2009 American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) student conference in Missoula, MT. When we sifted through the information we gathered, we identified three core themes that seemed to appear over and over: Community, Wellness, and Inter-Relationship. Each of these core themes contains many rich associations and layers. Each theme can best be understood as a circle. Native Environmental Health Science is the study of how these three circles intersect and overlap, and what this means for our actions as individuals and communities. The Return is an original story based on our research findings. With it, we hope to share the essence of what we learned from the rich conversations we had with Tribal college students, staff and faculty. It can be read quietly or aloud, used as a coloring book, or even serve as the spark for a group or classroom discussion. Mostly though, it is meant as a gift back to the many people who helped create it by sharing their time, insights, and wisdom.https://digitalcommons.tacoma.uw.edu/ias_books/1086/thumbnail.jp

What are the effects that two author-fee subsidy programs have on researchers’ work practices and publishing behaviors?

Emerging alternatives or complements to ‘traditional’ publication practices include publishing in open access journals; self-archiving manuscripts; submitting pre- and post-prints to institutional- and disciplinary-repositories; and complying with funding agency mandates for sharing results from federally-funded research. Each of these alternatives bears an associated set of economic, temporal, technological, and procedural challenges for authors. This in-progress pilot study elicits perspectives of UNC authors—particularly regarding the ways in which these individuals utilize support services provided by campus administration, University Libraries, and agencies that fund their research

"Better Living with Non-memory-led Dementia": protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial of a web-based caregiver educational programme

BACKGROUND: Non-memory-led dementias such as posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) are low prevalent and often affect individuals under the age of 65. Tailored educational and support resources for caregivers of people living with these dementia phenotypes are scarce and unevenly distributed geographically. Web-based educational programmes are emerging as promising alternatives to improve caregiver self-efficacy and well-being. Here, we present the protocol of a study aiming to assess the feasibility of a co-produced online educational programme for caregivers of people living PCA, PPA and bvFTD: the Better Living with Non-memory-led Dementia programme. METHODS: A randomised controlled feasibility trial will be conducted on a sample of 30 caregivers of people living with PCA, PPA and bvFTD. Participants will be recruited among members of the support organisation Rare Dementia Support (based at UCL in the UK). The intervention group will be given access to an 8-week co-produced web-based educational programme consisting of 6 modules addressing education about PCA, PPA and bvFTD and support strategies for the person with dementia and for the caregiver. The control group will receive treatment as usual (TAU). Feasibility will be measured through feasibility of recruitment, clinical measurement tools and acceptability. Clinical measures will be used to assess preliminary efficacy and data on completion rates, missing data and variability used to decide on measures to be included in a full-scale trial. Allocation ratio will be 2:1 (intervention:control) stratified by diagnosis. Feasibility of recruitment and acceptability will be assessed. Clinical measures will be administered at baseline and 8-week and 3-month post-randomisation. The control group will be offered access to the intervention at the completion of data collection. Participants will be unblinded, and all measures will be self-reported online. DISCUSSION: Online-delivered educational programmes show potential for improving care competency of caregivers and may contribute to overcoming geographical inequalities in local provision of support services. This pilot study will inform a fully powered international trial to determine the effectiveness of Better Living with Non-memory-led Dementia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial has been registered prospectively on the Clinical Trials Registry on 1st September 2022, registration number NCT05525377