Molecular modeling of microstructure and thermodynamics of bulk and inhomogeneous polymer systems

Modeling of thermodynamics and microstructure of polymer systems is important in their production, processing, and applications. Success in modeling these systems is contingent upon the ability of the molecular model to describe specific interactions, and capture the size and shape effects. Molecular models for polymers are divided into areas that separately focus on the bulk and inhomogeneous aspects of polymer systems. In current work, a new equation of state (EOS) based on Wertheim's thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT1) has been developed for bulk polymer systems. Treating the polymeric fluid as a fluid mixture of associating spheres in the limit of complete association, the EOS more accurately accounts for the architecture and interactions of the polymer molecules. The EOS accurately predicts the phase behavior of bulk polymer systems over the whole range of polymer weight fractions in comparison to previous theoretical approaches, and the improvement is significant near the critical region. For inhomogeneous polymer systems, a new density functional theory (DFT) based on TPT1 has been developed. The DFT derived in terms of the segment density, offers accuracy comparable to the previous molecular density-based, simulation-dependent theories at a computational expense comparable to atomic DFTs. Comparisons with molecular simulations for the microstructure of the heteronuclear (model lipids and block copolymers) and star-like branched polymer melts near a surface, demonstrate the capability of the theory to accurately capture the effects of the polymer chain architecture, segment-segment, and segment-surface interactions. The DFT has been applied to analyze the lamellar morphologies of symmetric diblock copolymers in bulk melts and ultra-thin films confined between two surfaces. Effects of the chain length of the copolymer, incompatibility between the two blocks, surface-block interactions, and film thickness on the microstructure are investigated. Finally, the DFT has also been applied to predict the microstructure of the monolayers formed by grafted polymers (on a planar surface) and the force of interaction between two such monolayers. The theory successfully accounts for the difference in the segment sizes of the grafted polymer and the free polymer solvent. This has not been investigated with the previous theoretical approaches for grafted polymers

Middle lobe syndrome: An exceptional presentation of concomitant lepidic adenocarcinoma and bronchial anthracofibrosis

Lepidic adenocarcinoma previously known as bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is a non-small cell lung cancer with an indolent presentation. Bronchial anthracofibrosis (BAF) is caused by long-standing exposure to biomass fuel smoke often in poorly ventilated kitchen. Middle lobe syndrome (MLS) due to BAF is not uncommon however, lepidic adenocarcinoma then known as BAC, presenting as MLS has been documented only once before in the Polish literature. A 68-year-old never-smoker female with biomass fuel smoke exposure presented with cough and breathlessness. Imaging revealed MLS. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy visualised bluish-black hyperpigmentation with narrowing and distortion of right middle lobe bronchus suggestive of BAF. Transbronchial biopsy confirmed presence of lepidic adenocarcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed description of lepidic adenocarcinoma and BAF presenting as MLS.

Workplace Deviant Behaviour in Response to Breach of Psychological Contract: The Mediation Effect of Moral Disengagement

With the increased instances of deviant behaviours, there is a pressing need to explore its instigating variables. This article explores the influence of Breach of Psychological Contract (BPC) on two dimensions of workplace deviant behaviour namely, organisational deviance and interpersonal deviance through the mediating role of moral disengagement, a construct whose role has not been studied in the literature. The study is to explore the socio cognitive reaction of employees when the social exchange relationship between employer and employee is disturbed. It focuses on the fact that promises made to the employees matter. The data were collected from 248 employees working in private sector in India with at least one year of experience and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling and Mediation model developed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Hayes (2008). Cross sectional study design is followed. The results show that Breach of Psychological Contract significantly affects both types of workplace deviant behaviour (organisational and interpersonal) with moral disengagement partially mediating the relationship. The conclusion drawn from the study will guide the managers to focus on maintaining psychological contracts for establishing a healthy social exchange relationship between employer and employee. It will help them to not go overboard with false promises and design their policies in such a manner that employee's psychological contracts are fulfilled. Use of moral disengagement as a mediator will highlight the importance of studying socio-cognitive reaction of employees to certain actions of the organisation

Pilot implementation and evaluation of a national quality improvement taught curriculum for urology residents: Lessons from the United Kingdom

Background : We report the immediate educational impact of a previously developed quality improvement (QI) curriculum for UK urology residents. Materials and methods : Prospective pre/post-training evaluation, using the Kirkpatrick framework: residents’ QI knowledge, skills and attitudes were assessed via standardized assessments. We report descriptive/inferential statistics and scales psychometric analyses. Results : Ninety-eight residents from across the UK provided full datasets. Scale reliability was good (Cronbach-alphas = 0.485–0.924). Residents' subjective knowledge (Mpre = 2.71, SD = 0.787; Mpost = 3.97, SD = 0.546); intentions to initiate QI (Mpre = 3.65, SD = 0.643; Mpost = 4.09, SD = 0.642); attitudes towards doing QI (Mpre = 3.67, SD = 0.646; Mpost = 4.11, SD = 0.591); attitudes towards QI at work (Mpre = 3.80, SD = 0.511; Mpost = 4.00, SD = 0.495); and attitudes towards influencing QI (Mpre = 3.65, SD = 0.482; Mpost = 3.867, SD = 0.473) all improved post-training (all ps  0.05). Residents’ satisfaction was high. Conclusions : Our novel QI training is educationally sound and feasible to deliver. Longitudinal evaluation and scalability are planned

Global Assessment of Urological Endoscopic Skills (GAUES):development and validation of a novel assessment tool to evaluate endourological skills

Objective: To develop and evaluate an assessment tool for endourological skills during simulation including cystoscopy, ureteroscopy (URS) and transurethral resection (TUR) procedures. Methods: We designed a Global Assessment of Urological Endoscopic Skills (GAUES) tool, comprised of nine endourology task-specific and two global-rating skills items. The tool was developed through two rounds of the Delphi process. The GAUES tool was used to assess acquisition of URS and TUR skills of novices (Year 2 core surgical trainees, CT2) and intermediate level trainees (residents at the start of the UK higher surgical training programme in Urology, Speciality Trainee Year 3, ST3) at the Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC) between 2016 and 2018. Validity was evaluated by comparing scores between trainees with different levels of urological experience. Inter-rater reliability was also assessed. Results: We evaluated 130 residents, 52% of trainees were at an intermediate stage of training and 39% were novices. In all, 9% of the anonymous forms were missing demographics. The completion rate of the GAUES tool during the USBC for URS and TUR was 85% and 89%, respectively. Our analysis demonstrated a significant difference in all domains between intermediates and novices at assessment in URS, except for one domain more suited to clinical assessment (P\ua0=\ua00.226). There was excellent intraclass correlation (ICC) overall between the two experts’ judgements, ICC\ua0=\ua00.841 (95% confidence interval 0.767–0.893; P\ua