The future of clinical leadership: evidence for physician leadership and the educational pathway for new leaders

Until recently, the title ‘physician leader’ was rarely heard particularly in the UK. But that is changing. Doctors are being drawn into leadership and management more systematically. New educational opportunities are being tailored to the specific needs of doctors. The change towards physician leadership is being driven by research showing that leaders who are experts in the core business, such as doctors, are associated with improved organisational performance. This article summarises that evidence and then reviews what we have learnt about how best to train future physician leaders

In situ spectroscopic monitoring of CO2 reduction at copper oxide electrode

Copper oxide modified electrodes were investigated as a function of applied electrode potential using in situ infrared spectroscopy and ex situ Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In deoxygenated KHCO3 electrolyte bicarbonate and carbonate species were found to adsorb to the electrode during reduction and the CuO was reduced to Cu(I) or Cu(0) species. Carbonate was incorporated into the structure and the CuO starting material was not regenerated on cycling to positive potentials. In contrast, in CO2 saturated KHCO3 solution, surface adsorption of bicarbonate and carbonate was not observed and adsorption of a carbonato-species was observed with in situ infrared spectroscopy. This species is believed to be activated, bent CO2. On cycling to negative potentials, larger reduction currents were observed in the presence of CO2; however, less of the charge could be attributed to the reduction of CuO. In the presence of CO2 CuO underwent reduction to Cu2O and potentially Cu, with no incorporation of carbonate. Under these conditions the CuO starting material could be regenerated by cycling to positive potentials

On designing observers for time-delay systems with nonlinear disturbances

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below - Copyright 2002 Taylor & Francis LtdIn this paper, the observer design problem is studied for a class of time-delay nonlinear systems. The system under consideration is subject to delayed state and non-linear disturbances. The time-delay is allowed to be time-varying, and the non-linearities are assumed to satisfy global Lipschitz conditions. The problem addressed is the design of state observers such that, for the admissible time-delay as well as non-linear disturbances, the dynamics of the observation error is globally exponentially stable. An effective algebraic matrix inequality approach is developed to solve the non-linear observer design problem. Specifically, some conditions for the existence of the desired observers are derived, and an explicit expression of desired observers is given in terms of some free parameters. A simulation example is included to illustrate the practical applicability of the proposed theory.The work of Z. Wang was supported in part by the University of Kaiserslautern of Germany and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Making Change Happen: Black and White Activists talk to Kevin Cook about Aboriginal, Union and Liberation Politics

This book is a unique window into a dynamic time in the politics and history of Australia. The two decades from 1970 to the Bicentennial in 1988 saw the emergence of a new landscape in Australian Indigenous politics. There were struggles, triumphs and defeats around land rights, community control of organisations, national coalitions and the international movement for Indigenous rights. The changes of these years generated new roles for Aboriginal people. Leaders had to grapple with demands to be administrators and managers as well as spokespeople and lobbyists. The challenges were personal as well as organisational, with a central one being how to retain personal integrity in the highly politicised atmosphere of the `Aboriginal Industry. Kevin Cook was in the middle of many of these changes as a unionist, educator, land rights campaigner, cultural activist and advocate for liberation movements in Southern Africa, the Pacific and around the world. But `Cookie has not wanted to tell the story of his own life in these pages. Instead, with Heather Goodall, a long time friend, he has gathered together many of the activists with whom he worked to tell their stories of this important time. Readers are invited into the frank and vivid conversations Cookie had with forty-five black and white activists about what they wanted to achieve, the plans they made, and the risks they took to make change happen

Physiological sex differences affect the integrative response to exercise: Acute and chronic implications

The anatomical and physiological differences between males and females are thought to determine differences in the limits of human performance. The notion of studying sex as a biological variable has recently been emphasized in the biosciences as a vital step in enhancing human health. In this review, we contend that the effects of biological sex on acute and chronic responses must be studied and accounted for when prescribing aerobic exercise, much like any intervention targeting the optimization of physiological function. Emerging evidence suggests that the response of physiological systems to exercise differs between males and females, potentially mediating the beneficial effects in healthy and clinical populations. We highlight evidence that integrative metabolic thresholds during exercise are influenced by phenotypical sex differences throughout many physiological systems. Furthermore, we discuss evidence that female skeletal muscle is more resistant to fatigue elicited by equivalent dosages of high‐intensity exercise. How the different acute responses affect the long‐term trainability of males and females is considered, with discussion about tailoring exercise to the characteristics of the individual presented within the context of biological sex. Finally, we highlight the influence of endogenous and exogenous sex hormones on physiological responses to exercise in females. Sex is one of many mediating influences on the outcomes of exercise, and with careful experimental designs, physiologists can advance the collective understanding of diversity in physiology and optimize outcomes for both sexes

Effect of Method of Delivering Nicarbazin to Mallards on Plasma 4,4′-Dinitrocarbanilide Levels and Reproduction

Nicarbazin (NCZ), a coccidiostat used in the poultry industry, has been developed as a contraceptive for resident Canada geese. We tested the efficacy of NCZ as a contraceptive using mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) as a model for Canada geese. Nicarbazin-treated corn was fed ad libitum for 14 d at 0, 750, 1,000, or 1,500 ppm. Plasma and egg levels of 4,4′-dinitrocarbanilide (DNC), the active anticoccidial component of NCZ, differed among treatment groups in a dose-response relationship, but plasma levels did not differ between sexes. Nicarbazin caused a decrease in egg weight, but there was no effect of NCZ on the numbers of eggs laid per female per day. Nicarbazin did not significantly impact bird health. An additional trial tested the effect of the method of NCZ delivery on plasma DNC levels. Mallards were given NCZ daily for 12 d either by gavage with a corn oil suspension, gavage with a water suspension, peroral administration of a capsule, or feeding 500 mg of NCZ/kg of pelleted feed ad libitum. The method of delivery significantly affected plasma DNC levels, with the highest levels in the corn oil suspension group and the lowest levels in the pelleted feed group. This is likely due to decreased availability of NCZ in a pellet compared with gavage with a suspension or capsule. Mallards receiving 34.2 mg of NCZ/kg of BW when fed cracked corn coated with NCZ daily for 14 d had higher plasma DNC levels than those obtained by liquid gavage, capsule, or pelleted NCZ feed. For maximum effect in the field, NCZ should be coated onto corn. A higher concentration of NCZ is needed in pelleted feed to obtain comparable plasma DNC levels to allow for the decreased absorption of DNC

Primary Connections: Linking science with literacy Stage 6 research evaluation final report

This report presents findings from the External Independent Evaluation and Research for Primary Connections Stage 6 (2014–2018) conducted by a research team from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Cut-free Calculi and Relational Semantics for Temporal STIT Logics

We present cut-free labelled sequent calculi for a central formalism in logics of agency: STIT logics with temporal operators. These include sequent systems for Ldm , Tstit and Xstit. All calculi presented possess essential structural properties such as contraction- and cut-admissibility. The labelled calculi G3Ldm and G3Tstit are shown sound and complete relative to irreflexive temporal frames. Additionally, we extend current results by showing that also Xstit can be characterized through relational frames, omitting the use of BT+AC frames