Why are some people with neurological illness more resilient than others?

The current qualitative study was designed to evaluate the coping strategies of people living with a chronic progressive neurological illness and their carers. The neurological illnesses were Huntington&rsquo;s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson&rsquo;s disease. Participants included 15 people who showed high levels of adjustment and 15 who showed low levels of adjustment. Participants were selected from an earlier study, to ensure that they satisfied the inclusion criteria for the current study. Interviews were completed to determine the strategies used to cope with the demands of the illness. Participants who demonstrated good adjustment were more likely to draw on social support to provide them with the resources to deal with the illness. In contrast, those who evidenced poor adjustment were more likely to draw on external supports to complete tasks for them. The implications of these findings for people with chronic neurological illnesses and their families are discussed.<br /

Nonverbal Behavior During Face-to-face Social Interaction in Schizophrenia

Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia display social cognitive deficits. However, little is known about patients’ nonverbal communication during their social encounters with others. This review identified 17 studies investigating nonverbal communication in patients’ unscripted face-to-face interactions, addressing a) nonverbal differences between patients and others, b) nonverbal behavior of the patients’ partners, c) the association between nonverbal behavior and symptoms, and d) the association between nonverbal behavior and social outcomes. Patients displayed fewer nonverbal behaviors inviting interaction, with negative symptoms exacerbating this pattern. Positive symptoms were associated with heightened nonverbal behavior. Patients’ partners changed their own nonverbal behavior in response to the patient. Reduced prosocial behaviors, inviting interaction, were associated with poorer social outcomes. The evidence suggests that patients’ nonverbal behavior, during face-to-face interaction, is influenced by patients symptoms and impacts the success of their social interactions

A comparison of available guidelines for the detection of cauda equina syndrome and assessing the need for further clinical guidance in Ireland

The cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a rare but critical disorder, which can result in devastating motor weakness and sensory deficit, alongside often irreversible bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction. In addition to the clinical burden of disease, this syndrome results in a disproportionately high medicolegal strain due to missed or delayed diagnoses. Despite being an emergency diagnosis, often necessitating urgent surgical decompression to treat, we believe there is a lack of clarity for clinicians in the current literature, with no published Irish guideline concerning screening or detection. The current study aims to identify and analyse appropriate guidelines in relation to CES screening which are available to clinicians in Ireland. The study design included a comprehensive literature review and comparison of existing guidelines. The review identified 13 sources of appropriate guidance for clinicians working in Ireland. These resources included textbooks, websites and guidelines developed in the UK. No Irish guidelines or advice were available on CES screening/treatment at the time of review. This review demonstrated the lack of consensus and guidance for clinicians in Ireland on how to effectively screen for CES, judge who requires further imaging and investigations and how to rule out the condition. A national consensus on thorough screening and prompt investigation for CES is necessary, and the formulation of new CES guidelines would be a welcome addition to what is available to clinicians currently

An investigation into the fertilizer potential of slaughterhouse cattle paunch

In Australia, the red meat processing industry actively seeks approaches to improve the management of solid waste from processing operations and enhance the environmental performance. Recycling of paunch waste to farmland could be a cost-effective and practicable environmental option. However, little is known about the agronomic value of fresh and composted paunch, and the associated requirements for land application. Therefore, a short-term experimental work was undertaken to assess potential risks due to weed seed contamination and determine the agronomic response of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) to soil incorporation of paunch. The risk of weed contamination from soil application of paunch appeared to be low; however, methods that account for viability of seeds may be required to fully discard such a risk. Soil application of paunch at field equivalent rates of 150-300 kg ha-1 of N increased dry matter yield by ≈30% on average compared with untreated grass, but was approximately 35% lower than a mineral fertilizer treatment applied at the same rates. Dry matter yield of paunch-treated grass was between 2000 and 3000 kg per ha over four consecutive cuts at 25-day intervals. Nitrogen use-efficiency of paunch was approximately 10% (range: 3% to 20%, depending on paunch type), and total N in harvested plant material showed values, which were between 2% and 3%. Overall, there appears to be potential for paunch-derived products to be used as a source of carbon and nutrients in crop production. Areas that merit a research priority within this space are also outlined in this paper. Such work is required to inform soil-, climate- and crop-specific land application rates, optimize agronomic performance, and minimize environmental concerns. There is also a requirement for the value proposition to industry to be determined, including reduced cost of disposal of material via gate fees and fertilizer replacement value

Practical long-distance quantum key distribution system using decoy levels

Quantum key distribution (QKD) has the potential for widespread real-world applications. To date no secure long-distance experiment has demonstrated the truly practical operation needed to move QKD from the laboratory to the real world due largely to limitations in synchronization and poor detector performance. Here we report results obtained using a fully automated, robust QKD system based on the Bennett Brassard 1984 protocol (BB84) with low-noise superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and decoy levels. Secret key is produced with unconditional security over a record 144.3 km of optical fibre, an increase of more than a factor of five compared to the previous record for unconditionally secure key generation in a practical QKD system.Comment: 9 page

On the Behavior of Solutions of Xenon in Liquid n-Alkanes: Solubility of Xenon in n-Pentane and n-Hexane

The solubility of xenon in liquid n-pentane and n-hexane has been studied experimentally, theoretically, and by computer simulation. Measurements of the solubility are reported for xenon + n-pentane as a function of temperature from 254 to 305 K. The uncertainty in the experimental data is less than 0.15%. The thermodynamic functions of solvation such as the standard Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy of solvation have been calculated from Henry’s law coefficients for xenon + n-pentane solutions and also for xenon + n-hexane, which were reported in previous work. The results provide a further example of the similarity between the xenon + n-alkane interaction and the n-alkane + n-alkane interactions. Using the SAFT-VR approach we were able to quantitatively predict the experimental solubility for xenon in n-pentane and semiquantitatively that of xenon in n-hexane using simple Lorentz−Berthelot combining rules to describe the unlikely interaction. Henry’s constants at infinite dilution for xenon + n-pentane and xenon + n-hexane were also calculated by Monte Carlo simulation using a united atom force field to describe the n-alkane and the Widom test particle insertion method

Dryland ecohydrology and climate change: critical issues and technical advances

Drylands cover about 40% of the terrestrial land surface and account for approximately 40% of global net primary productivity. Water is fundamental to the biophysical processes that sustain ecosystem function and food production, particularly in drylands where a tight coupling exists between ecosystem productivity, surface energy balance, biogeochemical cycles, and water resource availability. Currently, drylands support at least 2 billion people and comprise both natural and managed ecosystems. In this synthesis, we identify some current critical issues in the understanding of dryland systems and discuss how arid and semiarid environments are responding to the changes in climate and land use. The issues range from societal aspects such as rapid population growth, the resulting food and water security, and development issues, to natural aspects such as ecohydrological consequences of bush encroachment and the causes of desertification. To improve current understanding and inform upon the needed research efforts to address these critical issues, we identify some recent technical advances in terms of monitoring dryland water dynamics, water budget and vegetation water use, with a focus on the use of stable isotopes and remote sensing. These technological advances provide new tools that assist in addressing critical issues in dryland ecohydrology under climate change

Changing women's roles, changing environmental knowledges: evidence from Upper Egypt

The aim of this paper is to investigate the ways in which changing gender roles in a Bedouin community in Upper Egypt, brought about by settlement over the last 20 years on the shores of Lake Nasser, have impacted on the accumulation and development of indigenous environmental knowledges by Bedouin women. The research was carried out among four groups of Ababda Bedouin in the Eastern Desert of Egypt and involved in-depth monthly conversations carried out over a period of 12 months. The main conclusions of the study are that the women of the study area have had to develop new knowledges which, in some cases, are now different from those held by men because of the different economic circumstances in which many find themselves; that these knowledges are fluid, dynamic and ever-changing with their own internal dynamism; and that socially constructed notions of gender are vital in the development process, notions that are sensitive to both men's and women's interests and their interrelationships