Emotional intelligence and its role in recruitment of nursing students

This article considers the concept of emotional intelligence and how it can be used in the recruitment and development of nursing students. The links between emotional intelligence and the qualities of compassion and caring are examined. The ethical difficulties surrounding the use of emotional intelligence tests are explored and the value of using a variety of recruitment methods is emphasised. The article suggests that emotional intelligence is an ability which may be developed through nurse education programmes, even if not fully present at interview. The contribution of service users to the recruitment of nursing students is examined, suggesting that they offer some important observations about interviewees. These observations may be more valid than the insights gained from the use of emotional intelligence tests

The effect of school resources on pupil attainment: a multilevel simultaneous equation modelling approach

Improving educational achievement in UK schools is a priority, and of particular concern is the low achievement of specific groups, such as those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. An obvious question is whether we should be improving the outcomes of these students by spending more on their education. The literature on the effect of educational spending on pupil achievement has a number of methodological difficulties, in particular the endogeneity of school resource levels, and the intra-school correlations in student responses. In this paper, we adopt a multilevel simultaneous equation modelling approach to assess the impact of school resources on student attainment at age 14. This paper is the first to apply a simultaneous equation model to estimate the impact of school resources on pupil achievement, using the newly available National Pupil Database (NPDB)

Reporting of conflicts of interest in oral presentations at medical conferences : a delegate-based prospective observational study

© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A novel, resistance-linked ovine PrP variant and its equivalent mouse variant modulate the in vitro cell-free conversion of rPrP to PrPres

Prion diseases are associated with the conversion of the normal cellular prion protein, PrPc, to the abnormal, disease-associated form, PrPSc. This conversion can be mimicked in vitro by using a cell-free conversion assay. It has recently been shown that this assay can be modified to use bacterial recombinant PrP as substrate and mimic the in vivo transmission characteristics of rodent scrapie. Here, it is demonstrated that the assay replicates the ovine polymorphism barriers of scrapie transmission. In addition, the recently identified ovine PrP variant ARL168Q, which is associated with resistance of sheep to experimental BSE, modulates the cell-free conversion of ovine recombinant PrP to PrPres by three different types of PrPSc, reducing conversion efficiencies to levels similar to those of the ovine resistance-associated ARR variant. Also, the equivalent variant in mice (L164) is resistant to conversion by 87V scrapie. Together, these results suggest a significant role for this position and/or amino acid in conversion

Are current ecological restoration practices capturing natural levels of genetic diversity? A New Zealand case study using AFLP and ISSR data from mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus)

Sourcing plant species of local provenance (eco-sourcing) has become standard practice in plant community restoration projects. Along with established ecological restoration practices, knowledge of genetic variation in existing and restored forest fragments is important for ensuring the maintenance of natural levels of genetic variation and connectivity (gene flow) among populations. The application of restoration genetics often employs anonymous ‘fingerprinting’ markers in combination with limited sample sizes due to financial constraints. Here, we used two such marker systems, AFLPs and ISSRs, to estimate population-level genetic variation of a frequently used species in restoration projects in New Zealand, māhoe (Melicytus ramiflorus, Violaceae). We examined two rural and two urban forest fragments, as potential local source populations, to determine whether the māhoe population at the recently (re)constructed ecosystem at Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park (WNHP), Hamilton, New Zealand reflects the genetic variation observed in these four potential source populations. Both marker systems produced similar results and indicated, even with small population sizes, that levels of genetic variation at WNHP were comparable to in situ populations. However, the AFLPs did provide finer resolution of the population genetic structure than ISSRs. ISSRs, which are less expensive and technically less demanding to generate than AFLPs, may be sufficient for restoration projects where only a broad level of genotypic resolution is required. We recommend the use of AFLPs when species with a high conservation status are being used due to the greater resolution of this technique

Barcoding of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) indicates a recent introduction of Ciona savignyi into New Zealand and provides a rapid method for Ciona species discrimination

Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene sequencing (DNA barcoding) of Ciona specimens from New Zealand (NZ) led to the first record of the solitary ascidian Ciona savignyi in the Southern Hemisphere. We sought to quantify C. savignyi COI genetic diversity around the NZ archipelago and to compare this with diversity within C. savignyi's native range in the north-west Pacific. Ciona savignyi specimens were collected from two NZ sites and from three sites around Japan. COI sequences (595 bp) were amplified and measures of genetic diversity were calculated. Based on differences between their COI sequences we developed a PCR-based assay to distinguish C. savignyi from the morphologically similar C. intestinalis. A total of 12 C. savignyi COI haplotypes were recovered from the 76 samples. Of the four haplotypes observed in NZ, two were unique. From the 10 haplotypes observed in the Japan samples, eight were unique. The C. savignyi populations in Japan were found to contain higher haplotype diversity when compared with those in NZ. The NZ samples contained only a small subset of the haplotype variation of the Japan samples, however, NZ samples did harbor two haplotypes not observed in the Japan samples. A PCR-based assay developed from the COI sequences was able to reliably discriminate the two Ciona species. The low COI genetic diversity within the two NZ C. savignyi populations sampled is consistent with a founder effect associated loss of genetic diversity. The robust PCR-based assay for distinguishing C. savignyi and C. intestinalis may find application in ecological and taxonomic studies and can be applied to both archival materials and live animals

One-pot synthesis of 5-amino-2,5-dihydro-1-benzoxepines: access to pharmacologically active heterocyclic scaffolds

A one-pot multibond-forming process involving a thermally mediated Overman rearrangement and a ring closing metathesis reaction of allylic trichloroacetimidates bearing a 2-allyloxyaryl group has been developed for the synthesis of 5-amino-substituted 2,5-dihydro-1-benzoxepines. Chemoselective reduction and functionalization of these compounds allowed access to a range of pharmacologically active 5-amino-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1-benzoxepine scaffolds