The role of UK alcohol and drug (AOD) nurses in a changing workforce

Background: This paper presents the findings from an exploratory study on alcohol and other drugs (AOD) nurses’ views on current career opportunities and challenges and on how their role has been affected by clinical and structural changes in service delivery. Methods: The paper is based on qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of twelve AOD nurses in the UK. A narrative approach to interviewing aimed to encourage emergence of new insights and suggest theories for future examination. Interview domains were informed by the research team’s knowledge of AOD nursing and by themes from published literature. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded and a reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Key themes emerging focused on the growth, advantages, and challenges of non-medical prescribing (NMP), and the impact on AOD nursing of changes in workforce structures and environments. The findings indicate considerable doubts about career opportunities for nurses in AOD services although NMP may offer some limited routes to career advancement. Conclusions: Some long-standing issues around the identity and professional status of AOD nurses persist and current clinical and structural changes have created a “liminal space” within which the nursing role and AOD nurse identity are disrupted and in transition

Universal Mandelbrot Set as a Model of Phase Transition Theory

The study of Mandelbrot Sets (MS) is a promising new approach to the phase transition theory. We suggest two improvements which drastically simplify the construction of MS. They could be used to modify the existing computer programs so that they start building MS properly not only for the simplest families. This allows us to add one more parameter to the base function of MS and demonstrate that this is not enough to make the phase diagram connectedComment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Grain Sorghum and Soybean Variety Tests on Reconstructed Prime Land - 1985

Prime farmland disturbed by surface mining must by law be returned to a productivity level equal to that before mining. The coal operator has several test crops that can be selected to determine whether these production standards have been met before final bond release will be made. Grain sorghum and soybeans are two of the crops that may be used. The purposes of this research are (1) to determine the crop yield potential of restored prime farmland from surface mined areas, (2) to determine varietal adaptation on restored prime farmland as compared to non-mined prime farmland, and (3) to provide crop yield data to Kentucky farmers on grain sorghum and soybeans from restored prime farmland

Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer on Reproductive Tiller Development in Perennial Ryegrass

The objective of this study was to compare reproductive tiller development in two ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivars, when fertilized with nitrogen. Plots of the cultivars ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ and ‘Ellett’ ryegrass were sown in April 1996. Half of each plot received nitrogen fertilizer (30 kg N/ha) after each grazing by dairy cows from September 1996 to May 1997 and from October 1997 to April 1998. Ryegrass tiller dynamics was monitored from September 1996 to March 1998. The proportion of reproductive tillers in the total tiller population was higher, on average, over the first flowering period (October 1996 to January 1997) for ‘Ellett’ (19.5%) than for ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ (13.0%) ryegrass, and there was no response to nitrogen. Over the second flowering (September 1997 to January 1998), ‘Ellett’ ryegrass slightly increased the proportion of reproductive tillers in response to nitrogen (averaging 20%) while ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ decreased (P \u3c 0.05) the number of reproductive tillers (averaging 6%). Significant cultivar x nitrogen interactions occurred in December 1997 and January 1998 when reproductive tiller number for nitrogen treated plants averaged 24.1% for ‘Ellett’ compared with 7.8% for ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ ryegrass. This work suggests current New Zealand ryegrasses (here represented by ‘Ellett’) may produce more reproductive tillers in response to spring applied nitrogen fertilizer than do older types. To encourage vegetative tillering from the bases of dying reproductive tillers and the likelihood of improved ryegrass persistence, applications of nitrogen fertilizer in early summer are recommended

Variability of sclerosis along the longitudinal hippocampal axis in epilepsy: A post mortem study

Detailed neuropathological studies of the extent of hippocampal sclerosis (HS) in epilepsy along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus are lacking. Neuroimaging studies of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy support that sclerosis is not always localised. The extent of HS is of relevance to surgical planning and poor outcomes may relate to residual HS in the posterior remnant. In 10 post mortems from patients with long histories of drug refractory epilepsy and 3 controls we systematically sampled the left and right hippocampus at seven coronal anatomical levels along the body to the tail. We quantified neuronal densities in CA1 and CA4 subfields at each level using Cresyl Violet (CV), calretinin (CR), calbindin (CB) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) immunohistochemistry. In the dentate gyrus we graded the extent of granule cell dispersion, patterns of CB expression, and synaptic reorganisation with CR and NPY at each level. We identified four patterns of HS based on patterns of pyramidal and interneuronal loss and dentate gyrus reorganisation between sides and levels as follows: (1) symmetrical HS with anterior–posterior (AP) gradient, (2) symmetrical HS without AP gradient, (3) asymmetrical HS with AP gradient and (4) asymmetrical cases without AP gradient. We confirmed in this series that HS can extend into the tail. The patterns of sclerosis (classical versus atypical or none) were consistent between all levels in less than a third of cases. In conclusion, this series highlights the variability of HS along the longitudinal axis. Further studies are required to identify factors that lead to focal versus diffuse HS

Stable States of Biological Organisms

A novel model of biological organisms is advanced, treating an organism as a self-consistent system subject to a pathogen flux. The principal novelty of the model is that it describes not some parts, but a biological organism as a whole. The organism is modeled by a five-dimensional dynamical system. The organism homeostasis is described by the evolution equations for five interacting components: healthy cells, ill cells, innate immune cells, specific immune cells, and pathogens. The stability analysis demonstrates that, in a wide domain of the parameter space, the system exhibits robust structural stability. There always exist four stable stationary solutions characterizing four qualitatively differing states of the organism: alive state, boundary state, critical state, and dead state.Comment: Latex file, 12 pages, 4 figure

Análisis del módulo de rigidez y la resistencia a fatiga de mezclas asfálticas recicladas en frio fabricadas con betún espumado para su uso en el diseño de firmes para aeropuertos

Cold recycled bound materials (CRBMs) provide an economic and environmental advantage for pavements since they decrease energy and raw material consumption. However, design methods for airfield pavements do not include key CRBM properties. In this paper an empirical-mechanistic method is used to study airfield pavement design with CRBM in order to develop design guidance. The aim of the paper is to obtain the inputs related to material properties needed for use in this method. For this purpose, CRBM containing reclaimed asphalt, with fly ash, cement and foamed bitumen as stabilising agents, was characterised. The methodology included indirect tensile stiffness modulus (ITSM) and indirect tensile fatigue tests (ITFT) in strain control mode. The inputs needed for a pavement design analysis with CRBM were then obtained. The results showed the importance of further study on CRBM fatigue to understand the behaviour of these mixes under cyclic loading.El uso de mezclas asfálticas recicladas en frío (MARF) proporciona ventajas tanto económicas como medioambientales al disminuir el consumo de energía y materias primas. Sin embargo, los métodos de diseño para firmes de aeropuertos no incluyen las propiedades de MARFs. En este artículo un método empírico-mecanístico se emplea para estudiar el diseño de firmes de aeropuertos con MARF. El objetivo es obtener los inputs relacionados con las propiedades de MARF necesarios para llevar a cabo el diseño del pavimento. Con este propósito, MARF con asfalto reciclado, ceniza volante, cemento y betún espumado ha sido caracterizado. La metodología incluye ensayo de tracción indirecta para la obtención del módulo de rigidez y ensayo de fatiga con tracción indirecta en modo de deformación controlada. Los inputs necesarios han sido obtenidos y los resultados muestran la importancia de un estudio adicional del comportamiento a fatiga de MARF para entender su comportamiento bajo cargas cíclicas

The curvaton scenario in the MSSM and predictions for non-Gaussianity

We provide a model in which both the inflaton and the curvaton are obtained from within the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model, with known gauge and Yukawa interactions. Since now both the inflaton and curvaton fields are successfully embedded within the same sector, their decay products thermalize very quickly before the electroweak scale. This results in two important features of the model: firstly, there will be no residual isocurvature perturbations, and secondly, observable non-Gaussianities can be generated with the non-Gaussianity parameter $f_\mathrm{NL}\sim {\cal O}(5-1000)$ being determined solely by the combination of weak-scale physics and the Standard Model Yukawas.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

Generation of scalar-tensor gravity effects in equilibrium state boson stars

Boson stars in zero-, one-, and two-node equilibrium states are modeled numerically within the framework of Scalar-Tensor Gravity. The complex scalar field is taken to be both massive and self-interacting. Configurations are formed in the case of a linear gravitational scalar coupling (the Brans-Dicke case) and a quadratic coupling which has been used previously in a cosmological context. The coupling parameters and asymptotic value for the gravitational scalar field are chosen so that the known observational constraints on Scalar-Tensor Gravity are satisfied. It is found that the constraints are so restrictive that the field equations of General Relativity and Scalar-Tensor gravity yield virtually identical solutions. We then use catastrophe theory to determine the dynamically stable configurations. It is found that the maximum mass allowed for a stable state in Scalar-Tensor gravity in the present cosmological era is essentially unchanged from that of General Relativity. We also construct boson star configurations appropriate to earlier cosmological eras and find that the maximum mass for stable states is smaller than that predicted by General Relativity, and the more so for earlier eras. However, our results also show that if the cosmological era is early enough then only states with positive binding energy can be constructed.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX, 11 figures, to appear in Class. Quantum Grav., comments added, refs update