Women in Leadership: They Persist

This Spotlight Presentation features the expertise of higher education leaders at different stages of their career. These individuals pursued unique professional pathways within different educational contexts and been exposed to opportunities and challenges calling for a range of problem-solving skills. They will share experiences, what it means to advocate for oneself as a leader, for others, and how to create conditions for sustainable change supporting inclusivity within the complex, shifting landscape of higher education

Silicon Sheets By Redox Assisted Chemical Exfoliation

In this paper, we report the direct chemical synthesis of silicon sheets in gram-scale quantities by chemical exfoliation of pre-processed calcium di-silicide (CaSi2). We have used a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to characterize the obtained silicon sheets. We found that the clean and crystalline silicon sheets show a 2-dimensional hexagonal graphitic structure.Comment: Accepted in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

Building resilience in contemporary nursing practice

YesThe nursing profession is being threatened by staff shortages. Catherine Best explains why building resilience from within the profession is vital to safeguarding its future, by keeping newly qualified nurses in the job and preventing emotional ‘burnout’ across disciplines Resilience in nursing has been critiqued and challenged throughout the nursing literature. Trends in nursing have led to many nurses leaving the profession early in their career, often due to the immense pressures that they work under. There are many opinions on how nurses can develop the resilience needed to maintain professional integrity and continue to provide safe and effective care, while attempting to shoulder the considerable impact of political and professional drivers. This not only leaves nurses exhausted but often without hope. By taking collective action, this article argues that nurses may benefit from sharing ideas and learning from others, and in so doing rekindle hope and a belief that things can change

Measurements of proton-induced reactions on ruthenium-96 in the ESR at GSI

8th International Conference on Nuclear Physics at Storage Rings Stori11, October 9-14, 2011 Laboratori Nazionale di Frascati, Italy. Storage rings offer the possibility of measuring proton- and alpha-induced reactions in inverse kinematics. The combination of this approachwith a radioactive beamfacility allows, in principle, the determination of the respective cross sections for radioactive isotopes. Such data are highly desired for a better understanding of astrophysical nucleosynthesis processes like the p-process. A pioneering experiment has been performed at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI using a stable 96Ru beam at 9-11 AMeV and a hydrogen target. Monte-Carlo simulations of the experiment were made using the Geant4 code. In these simulations, the experimental setup is described in detail and all reaction channels can be investigated. Based on the Geant4 simulations, a prediction of the shape of different spectral components can be performed. A comparison of simulated predictions with the experimental results shows a good agreement and allows the extraction of the cross section

Nanocharacterization of Proton Radiation Damage on Magnetically Oriented Epoxy

Abstract: In this study we investigate the shielding effectiveness of a structural epoxy against high-energy proton radiation. To study the influence of material texture on its radiation shielding effectiveness we induced orientations in the epoxy using a high magnetic field of 15 T and exposed it to proton beams of energy 6-15 MeV. The microstructure of the samples was characterized using ESEM and AFM microscopy. The effect of the radiation on the mechanical properties of the epoxy samples such as modulus and hardness was measured using nanoindentation tests

Updated clinical diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Several molecular subtypes of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease have been identified and electroencephalogram and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers have been reported to support clinical diagnosis but with variable utility according to subtype. In recent years, a series of publications have demonstrated a potentially important role for magnetic resonance imaging in the pre-mortem diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Magnetic resonance imaging signal alterations correlate with distinct sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease molecular subtypes and thus might contribute to the earlier identification of the whole spectrum of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease cases. This multi-centre international study aimed to provide a rationale for the amendment of the clinical diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and fluid attenuated inversion recovery or diffusion-weight imaging were recruited from 12 countries. Patients referred as ‘suspected sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease’ but with an alternative diagnosis after thorough follow up, were analysed as controls. All magnetic resonance imaging scans were assessed for signal changes according to a standard protocol encompassing seven cortical regions, basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were evaluated in 436 sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease patients and 141 controls. The pattern of high signal intensity with the best sensitivity and specificity in the differential diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease was identified. The optimum diagnostic accuracy in the differential diagnosis of rapid progressive dementia was obtained when either at least two cortical regions (temporal, parietal or occipital) or both caudate nucleus and putamen displayed a high signal in fluid attenuated inversion recovery or diffusion-weight imaging magnetic resonance imaging. Based on our analyses, magnetic resonance imaging was positive in 83% of cases. In all definite cases, the amended criteria would cover the vast majority of suspected cases, being positive in 98%. Cerebral cortical signal increase and high signal in caudate nucleus and putamen on fluid attenuated inversion recovery or diffusion-weight imaging magnetic resonance imaging are useful in the diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. We propose an amendment to the clinical diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease to include findings from magnetic resonance imaging scans

Updated clinical diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Several molecular subtypes of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease have been identified and electroencephalogram and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers have been reported to support clinical diagnosis but with variable utility according to subtype. In recent years, a series of publications have demonstrated a potentially important role for magnetic resonance imaging in the pre-mortem diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Magnetic resonance imaging signal alterations correlate with distinct sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease molecular subtypes and thus might contribute to the earlier identification of the whole spectrum of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease cases. This multi-centre international study aimed to provide a rationale for the amendment of the clinical diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and fluid attenuated inversion recovery or diffusion-weight imaging were recruited from 12 countries. Patients referred as ‘suspected sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease' but with an alternative diagnosis after thorough follow up, were analysed as controls. All magnetic resonance imaging scans were assessed for signal changes according to a standard protocol encompassing seven cortical regions, basal ganglia, thalamus and cerebellum. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were evaluated in 436 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease patients and 141 controls. The pattern of high signal intensity with the best sensitivity and specificity in the differential diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was identified. The optimum diagnostic accuracy in the differential diagnosis of rapid progressive dementia was obtained when either at least two cortical regions (temporal, parietal or occipital) or both caudate nucleus and putamen displayed a high signal in fluid attenuated inversion recovery or diffusion-weight imaging magnetic resonance imaging. Based on our analyses, magnetic resonance imaging was positive in 83% of cases. In all definite cases, the amended criteria would cover the vast majority of suspected cases, being positive in 98%. Cerebral cortical signal increase and high signal in caudate nucleus and putamen on fluid attenuated inversion recovery or diffusion-weight imaging magnetic resonance imaging are useful in the diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. We propose an amendment to the clinical diagnostic criteria for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease to include findings from magnetic resonance imaging scan

Small Vessel Ischemic Disease of the Brain and Brain Metastases in Lung Cancer Patients

Brain metastases occur commonly in patients with lung cancer. Small vessel ischemic disease is frequently found when imaging the brain to detect metastases. We aimed to determine if the presence of small vessel ischemic disease (SVID) of the brain is protective against the development of brain metastases in lung cancer patients.A retrospective cohort of 523 patients with biopsy confirmed lung cancer who had received magnetic resonance imaging of the brain as part of their standard initial staging evaluation was reviewed. Information collected included demographics, comorbidities, details of the lung cancer, and the presence of SVID of the brain. A portion of the cohort had the degree of SVID graded. The primary outcome measure was the portion of study subjects with and without SVID of the brain who had evidence of brain metastases at the time of initial staging of their lung cancer.109 patients (20.8%) had evidence of brain metastases at presentation and 345 (66.0%) had evidence of SVID. 13.9% of those with SVID and 34.3% of those without SVID presented with brain metastases (p<0.0001). In a model including age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and tobacco use, SVID of the brain was found to be the only protective factor against the development of brain metastases, with an OR of 0.31 (0.20, 0.48; p<0.001). The grade of SVID was higher in those without brain metastases.These findings suggest that vascular changes in the brain are protective against the development of brain metastases in lung cancer patients