8,357 research outputs found
Information theoretical analysis of differences in information transmission in cerebellar Purkinje cells across species
Abstract from the 23rd Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting CNS 2014. © 2014 Kidd et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise statedThe dendrite of the cerebellar Purkinje cell is one of the most complex structures in the mammalian brain, receiving more than 150,000 synaptic inputs. It is also one of the most extensively modelled neurons in the mammalian brain, with theoretical analysis of the input-output relationships in its dendrite extending back 40 years. While most of this experimental and modelling work has been conducted using mammalian neurons, it has also often been noted that overall cerebellar structure as well as the general morphology of Purkinje cells has been highly conserved in all vertebrate species. The work described here seeks to identify conserved features of Purkinje cell function by examining the relationship between structure and function in a range of vertebrate species from fish to mammalsPeer reviewedFinal Published versio
Health literacy practices in social virtual worlds and the influence on health behaviour
This study explored how health information accessed via a 3D social virtual world and the representation of ‘self’ through the use of an avatar impact physical world health behaviour.
In-depth interviews were conducted in a sample of 25 people, across 10 countries, who accessed health information in a virtual world (VW): 12 females and 13 males. Interviews were audio-recorded via private in-world voice chat or via private instant message. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
The social skills and practices evidenced demonstrate how the collective knowledge and skills of communities in VWs can influence improvements in individual and community health literacy through a distributed model. The findings offer support for moving away from the idea of health literacy as a set of skills which reside within an individual to a sociocultural model of health literacy. Social VWs can offer a place where people can access health information in multiple formats through the use of an avatar, which can influence changes in behaviour in the physical world and the VW. This can lead to an improvement in social skills and health literacy practices and represents a social model of health literacy
Greening the judiciary
Much of South Africa’s environmental law is relatively new. Most of SouthAfrica’s judges received their formal legal educations before promulgation of the major part of our environmental law and almost certainly beforeenvironmental law was taught at universities. In recent years, there have been increasing instances of cases involving environmental matters coming to the courts. How are judges performing in these cases? It would appear that the judges’ performance is rather 'chequered' in environmental cases, which suggests that the judiciary needs to become more attuned to environmental law. I call this process, for purposes of this note, ‘greening the judiciary’. What I mean by this is not that judges must decide all environmental cases in a way that favours the environment, but that they must correctly consider, interpret and apply the relevant environmental law, and give environmental considerations appropriate deliberation. This note aims to identify, in admittedly somewhat general terms, the current state of environmental decision-making by judges and to suggest what needs to happen for such decisions to be improved
Measurement of the elastic scattering cross section of neutrons from argon and neon
Background: The most significant source of background in direct dark matter
searches are neutrons that scatter elastically from nuclei in the detector's
sensitive volume. Experimental data for the elastic scattering cross section of
neutrons from argon and neon, which are target materials of interest to the
dark matter community, were previously unavailable. Purpose: Measure the
differential cross section for elastic scattering of neutrons from argon and
neon in the energy range relevant to backgrounds from (alpha,n) reactions in
direct dark matter searches. Method: Cross-section data were taken at the
Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) using the neutron
time-of-flight technique. These data were fit using the spherical optical
model. Results: The differential cross section for elastic scatting of neutrons
from neon at 5.0 and 8.0 MeV and argon at 6.0 MeV was measured. Optical-model
parameters for the elastic scattering reactions were determined from the best
fit to these data. The total elastic scattering cross section for neon was
found to differ by 6% at 5.0 MeV and 13% at 8.0 MeV from global optical-model
predictions. Compared to a local optical-model for 40Ar, the elastic scattering
cross section was found to differ from the data by 8% at 6.0 MeV. Conclusions:
These new data are important for improving Monte-Carlo simulations and
background estimates for direct dark matter searches and for benchmarking
optical models of neutron elastic scattering from these nuclei
The development, implementation and evaluation of a shared care model of nursing in a tertiary hospital using participatory action research and practice development
For the last decade there has been a growing body of international evidence demonstrating the adverse effects on patient care caused by the continued international shortage of registered nurses (RN). One solution being explored in hospitals in Australia is to change their staffing mix by recruiting more graduate RNs, enrolled nurses (EN) and introducing unregulated workers (nursing assistants) as a strategy to increase the nursing workforce. To assist with managing the varied skill mix, hospitals have investigated team nursing as an alternative to the established RN dependent patient allocation model of nursing delivery. There is no conclusive evidence that demonstrates the impact of one model of care as compared to another in terms of satisfaction, quality and cost of care.Major deficits exist in team based nursing research. These are largely due to the small scale of the studies; focus on its use in medical and surgical wards and limited evaluation measures for staff and patients’ satisfaction and patient outcomes. Consequently, these studies have not demonstrated team nursing as an effective model in supporting nurses deliver care nor as a model that ensures the provision of quality patient care. This study addresses these deficits and provides a strong evidence base for the use of team based nursing in tertiary hospitals to both support nursing staff and contribute to positive patient outcomes.The purpose of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate a team based model (subsequently coined Shared Care Model or SCM), that supported the different levels of skill mix in the provision of safe care for patients admitted to 21 nominated wards (571 beds) at the study hospital. The impact the SCM had on nurses’ workload, team approach to organisation and provision of nursing care, culture of support, nursing rounds, bedside and board handover were investigated. In addition, the impact the SCM had on patient satisfaction, patient complaints and adverse incidents was investigated.The philosophical base for this study was critical social theory and the methodology participatory action research (PAR), underpinned by principles and processes of emancipatory practice development (ePD). Data instruments included validated staff and patient satisfaction questionnaires and the study hospital’s clinical incident and complaint management’s electronic systems and databases.The major findings of the study were statistically significant increases in learning opportunities and more manageable workloads associated with a less experienced nurse working with a more experienced nurse. However, this did not have an overall statistically significant effect on improving the culture of support nor ensuring manageable workloads. Statistically significant reductions were found in the four major adverse events measured of medications, falls, injuries and behaviour. Patient satisfaction was statistically significantly improved in relation to discharge planning and there were significant reductions in complaints associated with the manner in which patient were treated by nurses. Despite maintaining high levels of patient satisfaction throughout the study period there were statistically significantly more complaints in relation to the quality of clinical care. These findings establish that combinations of RNs of different levels of experience when working together as a team either in pairs or with unregistered staff provides safe patient care for a diverse range of clinical specialities
Prioritising the care of critically ill children: a pilot study using SCREEN reduces clinic waiting times
Objective In low-resource settings, childhood mortality secondary to delays in triage and treatment remains high. This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of the novel Sick Children Require Emergency Evaluation Now (SCREEN) tool on the waiting times of critically ill children who present for care to primary healthcare clinics in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods We used a pre/postevaluation study design to calculate the median waiting times of all children who presented to four randomly chosen clinics for 5 days before, and 5 days after, the implementation of SCREEN. Findings The SCREEN programme resulted in statistical and clinically significant reductions in waiting times for children with critical illness to see a professional nurse (2 hours 45 min to 1 hour 12 min; p<0.001). There was also a statistically significant reduction in the proportion of children who left without being seen by a professional nurse (25.8% to 18.48%; p<0.001). Conclusions SCREEN is a novel programme that uses readily available laypersons, trained to make a subjective assessment of children arriving at primary healthcare centres, and provides a low cost, simple methodology to prioritise children and reduce waiting times in low-resource healthcare clinics
The prose writings of the Rev. Alexander MacGregor, 1806-1881
This thesis considers the Gaelic and English prose writings of the Rev. Alexander
MacGregor (1806 -1881), who was a minister of the Established Church in Kilmuir,
Skye, in Edinburgh, and latterly in Inverness. Along with the Rev. Dr. Norman
MacLeod (Caraid nan Gaidheal), he was one of the most prolific writers of Gaelic
prose in the nineteenth century. The thesis includes a catalogue of all his known
writings, published and unpublished, numbering 278 separate entries. Although use is
made of his writings in English there is a particular emphasis on those written in
Gaelic. His writings span the period 1838 -1881. The thesis considers the subjects
which he chose to write about, the style in which he wrote, and the purpose to which
he put his writing. It begins by providing background to the period, biographical
information about the writer and discussion of the forms and styles which he used in
his writing. A thematic approach is then adopted, considering by chapter, his writings
on famine and emigration, slavery, the natural world, Highland folklore, proverbs and
moral tales and finally his attitude to the Gaelic language. Account is taken of those
influences both from within and outwith the Highlands which moulded his writing,
influences such as English language journals, the Victorian ethos of improvement and
self -help, the romanticisation of the Highlands, and the impulse to preserve the past.
These chapters offer insights into the activities and interests of the Moderate Gaelic -
speaking clergyman of the nineteenth century, of whom there were a significant
number involved in activities similar to MacGregor's, whether as writers of Gaelic
prose, collectors of proverbs, or those with an active interest in Highland folklore. His
writings shed light on social change in the Highlands in the nineteenth century, from
the perspective of a minister whose parishioners experienced famine and emigration in
the 1840s. Equally revealing is his perspective on the issues of land rights in the
period immediately prior to the Land Agitation period of the 1880s. MacGregor's
writing also furnishes information about the emerging Gaelic periodical press in the
nineteenth century, demonstrating the way in which it provided the clergy with a
wider audience than was previously available to them, to whom they could preach and
teach through the printed word. The thesis concludes that MacGregor's writings show
how a new role had emerged for ministers both in interpreting the outside world for
the Gaels in their native language, and in interpreting the Highlands for the outside
world, as demonstrated by MacGregor's writings in both Gaelic and English
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