Organisational design for an integrated oncological department

OBJECTIVE: The outcomes of a Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat (SWOT) analysis of three Integrated Oncological Departments were compared with their present situation three years later to define factors that can influence a successful implementation and development of an Integrated Oncological Department in- and outside (i.e. home care) the hospital. RESEARCH DESIGN: Comparative Qualitative Case Study. METHODS: Auditing based on care-as-usual norms by an external, experienced auditing committee. RESEARCH SETTING: Integrated Oncological Departments of three hospitals. RESULTS: Successful multidisciplinary care in an integrated, oncological department needs broad support inside the hospital and a well-defined organisational plan

A revision of the genus Tephrosia (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) in Malesia

In Malesia the genus Tephrosia is represented by 20 species, native or introduced and naturalized, including 6 subspecies and 5 varieties; 4 species are restricted to Malesia. Two of these species are newly described: T. barbatala and T. elliptica; the former includes one new variety (var. glabra). Two new subspecies and one new variety are distinguished: T. filipes subsp. longifolia, T. purpurea subsp. barbigera, and T. maculata var. elongata. Two taxa are given a new status: T. maculata var. appressepilosa and T. pumila subsp. aldabrensis. Four species, T. dichotoma, T. repentina, T. coarctata, and Kiesera sumatrana are for the first time sunk into synonymy. A key to the taxa, synonymy, and full descriptions with plates and distribution maps are given

Supramolecular interactions between catalytic species allow rational control over reaction kinetics

The adaptivity of biological reaction networks largely arises through non-covalent regulation of catalysts' activity. Such type of catalyst control is still nascent in synthetic chemical networks and thereby hampers their ability to display life-like behavior. Here, we report a bio-inspired system in which non-covalent interactions between two complementary phase-transfer catalysts are used to regulate reaction kinetics. While one catalyst gives bimolecular kinetics, the second displays autoinductive feedback, resulting in sigmoidal kinetics. When both catalysts are combined, the interactions between them allow rational control over the shape of the kinetic curves. Computational models are used to gain insight into the structure, interplay, and activity of each catalytic species, and the scope of the system is examined by optimizing the linearity of the kinetic curves. Combined, our findings highlight the effectiveness of regulating reaction kinetics using non-covalent catalyst interactions, but also emphasize the risk for unforeseen catalytic contributions in complex systems and the necessity to combine detailed experiments with kinetic modelling