Using Social Media to Generate and Collect Primary Data: The #ShowsWorkplaceCompassion Twitter Research Campaign

BACKGROUND: Compassion is a core value embedded in the concept of quality in healthcare. The need for compassion toward healthcare staff in the workplace, for their own health and well-being and also to enable staff to deliver compassionate care for patients, is increasingly understood. However, we do not currently know how healthcare staff understand and characterize compassion toward themselves as opposed to patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use social media for the generation and collection of primary data to gain understanding of the concept of workplace compassion. METHODS: Tweets that contained the hashtag #ShowsWorkplaceCompassion were collected from Twitter and analyzed. The study took place between April 21 and May 21, 2016. Participants were self-selecting users of the social media service Twitter. The study was promoted by a number of routes: the National Health Service (NHS) England website, the personal Twitter accounts of the research team, internal NHS England communications, and via social media sharing. Participants were asked to contribute their views about what activities, actions, policies, philosophies or approaches demonstrate workplace compassion in healthcare using the hashtag #ShowsWorkplaceCompassion. All tweets including the research hashtag #ShowsWorkplaceCompassion were extracted from Twitter and studied using content analysis. Data concerning the frequency, nature, origin, and location of Web-based engagement with the research campaign were collected using Bitly (Bitly, Inc, USA) and Symplur (Symplur LLC, USA) software. RESULTS: A total of 260 tweets were analyzed. Of the 251 statements within the tweets that were coded, 37.8% (95/251) of the statements concerned Leadership and Management aspects of workplace compassion, 29.5% (74/251) were grouped under the theme related to Values and Culture, 17.5% (44/251) of the statements related to Personalized Policies and Procedures that support workplace compassion, and 15.2% (38/251) of the statements concerned Activities and Actions that show workplace compassion. Content analysis showed that small acts of kindness, an embedded organizational culture of caring for one another, and recognition of the emotional and physical impact of healthcare work were the most frequently mentioned characteristics of workplace compassion in healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a new and innovative research approach using Twitter. Although previous research has analyzed the nature and pattern of tweets retrospectively, this study used Twitter to both recruit participants and collect primary data

A second Cretaceous ornithuromorph bird from the Changma Basin, Gansu Province, Northwestern China

Finely-bedded lacustrine deposits of the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) Xiagou Formation exposed in the Changma Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China, have yielded numerous fossil vertebrate remains, including approximately 100 avian specimens. Though the majority of these birds appear referable to the ornithuromorph Gansus yumenensis, a number of enantiornithine fossils have also been recovered. Here we report on a specimen consisting of a complete, three-dimensionally preserved sternum, furcula, and sternal ribs that represents a second ornithuromorph taxon from the Xiagou Formation at Changma. The fossil exhibits morphologies that distinguish it from all previously-known Xiagou birds and demonstrate that it represents a derived non-ornithurine member of Ornithuromorpha. Though it is morphologically distinct from the equivalent elements of all other described ornithuromorphs, the material is too incomplete to justify the erection of a new taxon. Nonetheless, it increases the taxonomic diversity of the Xiagou avifauna, thereby expanding our knowledge of Early Cretaceous avian diversity and evolution

HOSTED—England's Household Transmission Evaluation Dataset: preliminary findings from a novel passive surveillance system of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is an important component of the community spread of the pandemic. Little is known about the factors associated with household transmission, at the level of the case, contact or household, or how these have varied over the course of the pandemic. METHODS: The Household Transmission Evaluation Dataset (HOSTED) is a passive surveillance system linking laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases to individuals living in the same household in England. We explored the risk of household transmission according to: age of case and contact, sex, region, deprivation, month and household composition between April and September 2020, building a multivariate model. RESULTS: In the period studied, on average, 5.5% of household contacts in England were diagnosed as cases. Household transmission was most common between adult cases and contacts of a similar age. There was some evidence of lower transmission rates to under-16s [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66-0.74). There were clear regional differences, with higher rates of household transmission in the north of England and the Midlands. Less deprived areas had a lower risk of household transmission. After controlling for region, there was no effect of deprivation, but houses of multiple occupancy had lower rates of household transmission [aOR 0.74 (0.66-0.83)]. CONCLUSIONS: Children are less likely to acquire SARS-CoV-2 via household transmission, and consequently there was no difference in the risk of transmission in households with children. Households in which cases could isolate effectively, such as houses of multiple occupancy, had lower rates of household transmission. Policies to support the effective isolation of cases from their household contacts could lower the level of household transmission

High prevalence of albuminuria amongst people who inject drugs: A cross-sectional study.

Albuminuria is a key biomarker for cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. Our study aimed to describe the prevalence of albuminuria amongst people who inject drugs in London and to test any potential associations with demographic characteristics, past diagnoses, and drug preparation and administration practices. We carried out a cross-sectional survey amongst people who use drugs in London. The main outcome measure was any albuminuria including both microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria. Three-hundred and sixteen samples were tested by local laboratory services. Our study initially employed point-of-care testing methods but this resulted in a high number of false positives. Our findings suggest the prevalence of albuminuria amongst PWID is twice that of the general population at 19% (95%CI 15.3-24.0%). Risk factors associated with albuminuria were HIV (aOR 4.11 [95% CI 1.37-12.38]); followed by overuse of acidifier for dissolving brown heroin prior to injection (aOR 2.10 [95% CI 1.04-4.22]). Albuminuria is high amongst people who inject drugs compared to the general population suggesting the presence of increased cardiovascular and renal pathologies. This is the first study to demonstrate an association with acidifier overuse. Dehydration may be common amongst this population and may affect the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care testing for albuminuria

The pre-main sequence binary HK Ori : Spectro-astrometry and EXPORT data

In this paper we present multi-epoch observations of the pre-main sequence binary HK Ori. These data have been drawn from the EXPORT database and are complemented by high quality spectro-astrometric data of the system. The spectroscopic data appear to be very well represented by a combination of an A dwarf star spectrum superposed on a (sub-)giant G-type spectrum. The radial velocity of the system is consistent with previous determinations, and does not reveal binary motion, as expected for a wide binary. The spectral, photometric and polarimetric properties and variability of the system indicate that the active object in the system is a T Tauri star with UX Ori characteristics. The spectro-astrometry of HK Ori is sensitive down to milli-arcsecond scales and confirms the speckle interferometric results from Leinert et al. The spectro-astrometry allows with fair certainty the identification of the active star within the binary, which we suggest to be a G-type T Tauri star based on its spectral characteristics.Comment: MNRAS in press 8 pages 7 figure

Etoricoxib-induced life-threatening hyperkalemia and acute kidney dysfunction against the background of telmisartan and a low sodium diet

Drug-induced hyperkalemia is not uncommon and may be life-threatening when presenting acutely in the emergency department. We present a case of severe hyperkalemia precipitated acutely by etoricoxib in a patient who was on telmisartan and a low sodium (potassium chloride-rich) diet. A 75-year-old male with a past medical history of well-controlled diabetes and hypertension was prescribed etoricoxib (90 mg daily) for 3 days for musculoskeletal backache. He had been taking his routine medications including telmisartan and a potassium-rich salt substitute for many years, without any recent change in dosage or quantity. There was evidence of microalbuminurea; however, the renal functions and electrolytes prior to starting etoricoxib were normal. He presented to the emergency department with signs and symptoms of life-threatening hyperkalemia (serum potassium 7.7 mEq/dl), accelerated hypertension, congestive heart failure, pulmonary edema and acute renal failure. Acute medical management and withholding all drugs that could cause hyperkalemia improved his serum potassium levels over 24 h and renal parameters within 5 days. All the other drugs except etoricoxib were restarted under observation over 8 weeks with no recurrence of the acute episode. Non-steroidal analgesics and other COX-2 inhibitors (rofecoxib and celecoxib) have been known to precipitate renal failure and hyperkalemia specially in patients at risk for the same; although not unexpected, this may be the first reported case of life-threatening hyperkalemia precipitated by etoricoxib in a previously stable patient having increased risk of renal failure and hyperkalemia

Influence of Motor Planning on Distance Perception within the Peripersonal Space

We examined whether movement costs as defined by movement magnitude have an impact on distance perception in near space. In Experiment 1, participants were given a numerical cue regarding the amplitude of a hand movement to be carried out. Before the movement execution, the length of a visual distance had to be judged. These visual distances were judged to be larger, the larger the amplitude of the concurrently prepared hand movement was. In Experiment 2, in which numerical cues were merely memorized without concurrent movement planning, this general increase of distance with cue size was not observed. The results of these experiments indicate that visual perception of near space is specifically affected by the costs of planned hand movements

Depressive disorders in caregivers of dementia patients: a systematic review.

Although depressive symptomatology has been well studied in caregivers of patients with dementia, depressive disorders have been examined much less. We conducted a systematic literature search in major bibliographical databases (Medline, Psychinfo, Dissertation Abstracts), and included studies examining caregivers of dementia patients that reported the prevalence of major depressive disorder, according to diagnostic criteria as assessed with a standardized psychiatric diagnostic interview. Ten studies with a total of 790 caregivers were identified (sample sizes: 22–147). In only one of the studies, a representative community sample was used. A total of 176 subjects (22.3%) had a depressive disorder (prevalence range from 0.15–0.32). In the three studies reporting differential prevalence rates for men and women somewhat smaller prevalence rates were found for men than for women. In six studies caregivers were compared to a (mostly matched) control group. The relative risks of having a depressive disorder in caregivers ranged from 2.80–38.68 (all RR’s were significant). In the three prospective studies relatively high incidence rates were found (0.48). This study made it clear that prevalence and incidence of depressive disorders are increased in caregivers of dementia patients. More research is clearly needed in this population

Changes in biomass allocation buffer low CO2 effects on tree growth during the last glaciation

Isotopic measurements on junipers growing in southern California during the last glacial, when the ambient atmospheric [CO2] (ca) was ~180 ppm, show the leaf-internal [CO2] (ci) was approaching the modern CO2 compensation point for C3 plants. Despite this, stem growth rates were similar to today. Using a coupled light-use efficiency and tree growth model, we show that it is possible to maintain a stable ci/ca ratio because both vapour pressure deficit and temperature were decreased under glacial conditions at La Brea, and these have compensating effects on the ci/ca ratio. Reduced photorespiration at lower temperatures would partly mitigate the effect of low ci on gross primary production, but maintenance of present-day radial growth also requires a ~27% reduction in the ratio of fine root mass to leaf area. Such a shift was possible due to reduced drought stress under glacial conditions at La Brea. The necessity for changes in allocation in response to changes in [CO2] is consistent with increased below-ground allocation, and the apparent homoeostasis of radial growth, as ca increases today