7,710 research outputs found
The myth of patient centrality
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the extent of patient centrality within integrated chronic back pain management services and compare policy rhetoric with practice reality.
Context: Integrated chronic back pain management services.
Data sources: We have drawn on theories of integration and context specific journals related to integration and pain management between 1966 and 2006 to identify evidence of patient centrality within integrated chronic pain management services.
Discussions: Despite policy rhetoric and guidelines which promote patient centrality within multidisciplinary services, we argue that evaluations of these services are scant. Many papers have focused on the assessment of pain in multidisciplinary services as opposed to the patient’s experience of these services.
Conclusions: A latent measure of the reality of its magnitude needs to be captured through analysis of the patient perspectives. Capturing patient’s thoughts about integrated services will promote patient centrality and support the reality rather than endorse the rhetoric
Characteristics and classification of A-type supergiants in the Small Magellanic Cloud
We address the relationship between spectral type and physical properties for
A-type supergiants in the SMC. We first construct a self-consistent
classification scheme for A supergiants, employing the calcium K to H epsilon
line ratio as a temperature-sequence discriminant. Following the precepts of
the `MK process', the same morphological criteria are applied to Galactic and
SMC spectra with the understanding there may not be a correspondence in
physical properties between spectral counterparts in different environments. We
then discuss the temperature scale, concluding that A supergiants in the SMC
are systematically cooler than their Galactic counterparts at the same spectral
type, by up to ~10%. Considering the relative line strengths of H gamma and the
CH G-band we extend our study to F and early G-type supergiants, for which
similar effects are found. We note the implications for analyses of
extragalactic luminous supergiants, for the flux-weighted gravity-luminosity
relationship and for population synthesis studies in unresolved stellar
systems.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted by MNRAS; minor section removed prior
to final publicatio
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Development of an Integrated Governance Strategy for the Voluntary and Community Sector
This report on governance provides a framework for thinking about how policy makers, funders,regulators and advisers can all work with Board members and staff to enhance the effectiveness of nonprofit organisations. It was commissioned by the Active Community Unit (ACU) of the Home Office, in parallel with other reviews designed to improve the capacity of the voluntary and community sector, at a time when the sector plays an increasingly important role in the delivery of services using public funds. That role has recently been investigated in two Government reports, the Cross Cutting Review carried out by the Treasury, and the Strategy Unit review of charities and nonprofits. Our report proposes actions of three types: some that can be taken immediately, some that require further discussion with key interests, and some integration with the other ACU reviews. Taken together they provide the starting point for an evolving strategy to improve governance across the sector. We recommend ACU chairs a group charged with the responsibility for planning and implementing this. Our focus is on governance as 'the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, supervision and accountability of an organisation'. This is often taken to mean the way that a Board, management committee or other governing body steers the overall development of an organisation, where day-to-day management is in the hands of staff or volunteers. Sometimes, of course, the committee and volunteers are the same. They – like all governing bodies – have to balance the interests of the organisation and those they are trying to serve, while being conscious of financial and legal responsibilities, and the requirements of funders and other supporters
Discovery of a strong magnetic field on the O star HD 191612: new clues to the future of theta1 Orionis C?
From observations made with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter, recently
installed on the 3.6-m Canada--France--Hawaii Telescope, we report the
discovery of a strong magnetic field in the Of?p spectrum variable HD 191612 --
only the second known magnetic O star (following theta1 Ori C). The stability
of the observed Zeeman signature over four nights of observation, together with
the non-rotational shape of line profiles, argue that the rotation period of HD
191612 is significantly longer than the 9-d value previously proposed. We
suggest that the recently identified 538-d spectral-variability period is the
rotation period, in which case the observed line-of-sight magnetic field of
-220+-38 G implies a large-scale field (assumed dipolar) with a polar strength
of about -1.5 kG. If confirmed, this scenario suggests that HD 191612 is,
essentially, an evolved version of the near-ZAMS magnetic O star theta1 Ori C,
but with an even stronger field (about 15 kG at an age similar to that of
theta1Ori C). We suggest that the rotation rate of HD 191612, which is
exceptionally slow by accepted O-star standards, could be due to
angular-momentum dissipation through a magnetically confined wind.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS Letters, 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 table
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Is tertiary education in dire straits? (Is it money for nothing of just another brick in the wall?)
Surface abundances of ON stars
Massive stars burn hydrogen through the CNO cycle during most of their
evolution. When mixing is efficient, or when mass transfer in binary systems
happens, chemically processed material is observed at the surface of O and B
stars. ON stars show stronger lines of nitrogen than morphologically normal
counterparts. Whether this corresponds to the presence of material processed
through the CNO cycle or not is not known. Our goal is to answer this question.
We perform a spectroscopic analysis of a sample of ON stars with atmosphere
models. We determine the fundamental parameters as well as the He, C, N, and O
surface abundances. We also measure the projected rotational velocities. We
compare the properties of the ON stars to those of normal O stars. We show that
ON stars are usually helium-rich. Their CNO surface abundances are fully
consistent with predictions of nucleosynthesis. ON stars are more chemically
evolved and rotate - on average - faster than normal O stars. Evolutionary
models including rotation cannot account for the extreme enrichment observed
among ON main sequence stars. Some ON stars are members of binary systems, but
others are single stars as indicated by stable radial velocities. Hence, mass
transfer is not a simple explanation for the observed chemical properties. We
conclude that ON stars show extreme chemical enrichment at their surface,
consistent with nucleosynthesis through the CNO cycle. Its origin is not clear
at present.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures (+ appendix). A&A accepte
The role of astrocytes in CNS tumors: pre-clinical models and novel imaging approaches
Brain metastasis is a significant clinical problem, yet the mechanisms governing tumor
cell extravasation across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and CNS colonization are unclear.
Astrocytes are increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of brain metastasis but
in vitro
work suggests both tumoricidal and tumor-promoting roles for astrocyte-derived
molecules. Also, the involvement of astrogliosis in primary brain tumor progression
is under much investigation. However, translation of
in vitro
findings into
in vivo
and
clinical settings has not been realized. Increasingly sophisticated resources, such as
transgenic models and imaging technologies aimed at astrocyte-specific markers, will
enable better characterization of astrocyte function in CNS tumors. Techniques such as
bioluminescence and
in vivo
fluorescent cell labeling have potential for understanding the
real-time responses of astrocytes to tumor burden. Transgenic models targeting signaling
pathways involved in the astrocytic response also hold great promise, allowing translation
of
in vitro
mechanistic findings into pre-clinical models. The challenging nature of
in vivo
CNS work has slowed progress in this are
a. Nonetheless, there has been a surge of
interest in generating pre-clinical models, yiel
ding insights into cell extravasation across
the BBB, as well as immune cell recruitment to the parenchyma. While the function
of astrocytes in the tumor microenvironment is still unknown, the relationship between
astrogliosis and tumor growth is evident. Here, we review the role of astrogliosis in both
primary and secondary brain tumors and outlin
e the potential for the use of novel imaging
modalities in research and clinical settings. These imaging approaches have the potential
to enhance our understanding of the local host response to tumor progression in the brain,
as well as providing new, more sensitive diagnostic imaging methods
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