Exploring BScN Recent Graduates’ Perceived Readiness to Practice

Assessing BScN recent graduates and their readiness to practice is of vital importance in the climate of high nursing turnover and nursing migration. The literature confirms that readiness to practice is a longstanding issue in nursing and the practice-education gap remains an issue to date. The purpose of this research was to explore BScN recent graduates’ perceived readiness to practice in nursing and make recommendations for nursing practice, education, and future research. A cross-sectional descriptive correlational mixed-methods research design was used for this research. The results confirm that the majority of BScN recent graduates from this study reported feeling ready for their professional nursing role. Key areas that participants reported less confidence in relation to their clinical and relational skills were identified. The impact of Covid-19 on the participants’ readiness to practice was also assessed. Recommendations to improve nursing education and implications for practice were addressed. Future research should be repeated at different universities, with larger sample sizes, and more purposeful sampling

Radiotherapy and technetium-99m-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy for hemoptysis from chronic MRSA infection

AbstractAimTo discuss the application of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and technetium-99m-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy (LRBCS) in life-threatening hemoptysis from a non-malignant condition.Materials and methodsThis case report presents a patient with persistent hemoptysis secondary to chronic Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in whom conventional management failed to localize the site of pulmonary bleeding or to provide effective therapy.ResultsEBRT was successfully given for life-threatening hemoptysis with improvement in quality of life for nearly 1 year. LRBCS was used to localize the source of further bleeding and facilitate targeted therapy.ConclusionEBRT can be an effective and well-tolerated modality in treating life-threatening hemoptysis refractory to conventional methods. LRBCS is a non-invasive diagnostic tool that can be used to detect the source of pulmonary bleeding

Openness, access, and governance in Asian "Network Societies" : developing an open governance index; final technical report

This ICT index measures the extent of civil society groups’ utilization of ICTs measured against the extent of the ‘openness’ of the social and political environment. In each country, Thailand, India, Pakistan and the Philippines, a team of researchers undertook activities to map national level indicators related to project objectives: a) to further understand democratic e-governance, particularly through developing the discourse of “Open E- Governance”; b) to develop policy on ICT and governance, and engage policy stakeholders directly around the notions of “Open Governance”; and c) to develop a concrete resource for citizens/individuals, groups/non-government organizations to engage policymakers on “Open E-Governance”

A descriptive pilot survey of behavioural addictions in an adolescent secondary school population in Ireland

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the levels of possible internet addiction, gaming addiction, gambling addiction and associated mental health difficulties in a secondary school population in Ireland. Methods: An online survey containing questions related to internet addiction, gaming addiction, gambling addiction and associated mental health difficulties was administered to secondary school adolescents in Ireland. Participants were self-selecting and answered questions on the characteristics of each topic and screening questionnaires for addiction to each behaviour, as well as their respective effects on mental health. Results: A total of 234 children participated in the survey (156 males; aged 12–18 years; average age of 14.2 years; S.D. 1.60). Internet addiction as assessed using the Chen Internet Addiction Scale was present for between 11.5% and 22.6% and levels of gaming addiction as assessed using by the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short Form was present for between 0.5% and 1.6%. Weak positive correlations were found between time spent on the internet and time spent gaming with internet addiction and gaming addiction, respectively. There were weak positive correlations between higher internet addiction scores, higher gaming addiction scores, and increased depression and anxiety scores. Using the South Oaks Gambling Screen–Revised for Adolescents, two participants were classed as ‘at-risk’ for gambling addiction and one participant was classed as a problem gambler. Conclusions: The present study examined behavioural addictions and their effects on mental health on a self-selecting sample of schoolchildren at two schools in Ireland. A low number were identified as being at risk or problem gamblers

Greater loss and fragmentation of savannas than forests over the last three decades in Yunnan Province, China

Yunnan Province, southwest China, has a monsoonal climate suitable for a mix of fire-driven savannas and fire-averse forests as alternate stable states, and has vast areas with savanna physiognomy. Presently, savannas are only formally recognised in the dry valleys of the region, and a no-fire policy has been enforced nationwide since the 1980s. Misidentification of savannas as forests may have contributed to their low protection level and fire-suppression may be contributing to vegetation change towards forest states through woody encroachment. Here, we present an analysis of vegetation and land-use change in Yunnan for years 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016 by classifying Landsat imagery using a hybrid of unsupervised and supervised classification. We assessed how much savanna area had changed over the 3 decades (area loss, fragmentation), and of this how much was due to direct human intervention versus vegetation transition. We also assessed how climate (mean annual temperature, aridity), landscape accessibility (slope, distance to roads), and fire had altered transition rates. Our classification yielded accuracy values of 77.89%, 82.16%, 94.93%, and 86.84% for our four maps, respectively. In 1986, savannas had the greatest area of any vegetation type in Yunnan at 40.30%, whereas forest cover was 30.78%. Savanna coverage declined across the decades mainly due to a drop in open parkland savannas, while forest cover remained stable. Savannas experienced greater fragmentation than forests. Savannas suffered direct loss of coverage to human uses and to woody encroachment. Savannas in more humid environments switched to denser vegetation at a higher rate. Fire slowed the rate of conversion away from savanna states and promoted conversion towards them. We identified remaining savannas in Yunnan that can be considered when drafting future protected areas. Our results can inform more inclusive policy-making that considers Yunnan\u27s forests and savannas as distinct vegetation types with different management needs

Molecular Identification of Endophytic Fungi from Rice (Oryza sativa L.) and its Anatagonistic Effect Against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli

Endophytes are organisms living inside the tissue of the host organism. Most of them usually do not cause detrimental effect to its host species. The study aimed to isolate and identify endophytic fungi from the leaves and roots of rice plant, and evaluates their antagonistic effect against Staphylococcus aureus BIOTECH 158 and Escherichia coli BIOTECH 1634 bacteria. Identification of the collected endophytic fungi was done through PCR based approach using the internal transcribed spacer region of the ITS gene sequence. Three fungi were collected, isolated and were identified as Anthostomella leucospermi (EU552100.1), Ceriporia lacerata (KP689233.1) and Fusarium equiseti (KT277307.1). The isolates Anthostomella leucospermi and Fusarium equiseti have growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. On the otherhand, the growth of Ceriporia lacerata was not inhibited by E. coli but inhibited by S. aureus. The potentials of endophytes that have antibacterial property in this study are good source of important bioactive compounds and are important for discovery of drug components also important for industry and in agricultural and biotechnological research

A review on the toxicology and dietetic role of bacterial cellulose

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biopolymer synthesized by certain acetic acid bacteria strains. The safety of BC regarding its potential use in food applications is here reviewed. The acute, sub-acute and subchronic oral toxicity assays showed that consumption of BC had no adverse effects in rats. Several studies demonstrated that BC is not genotoxic, did not induce chromosomal aberrations in CHO cells under both non-activating and metabolic activating conditions, is inactive in the in vitro Rat Primary Hepatocyte Unscheduled DNA Synthesis Assay, had no reproductive toxicity in mice and exerted no embryotoxicity and teratogenicity effects in rats. Several studies on the BC in biomedical applications further reinforces its safety: a primary eye and dermal irritation studies in the rabbit showed that BC was non-irritating. The inflammatory reaction to subcutaneously implanted BC has been evaluated in animal models and for different periods of time, demonstrating that BC is biocompatible and does not trigger a harsh inflammatory reaction. Altogether, and considering its longstanding history of human consumption in Asian countries, as well as its utilization in biomedical devices, it may be concluded that BC is safe for applications in food technology.FCT -Fuel Cell Technologies Program(NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Investigating the influence of music tempo on arousal and behaviour in laboratory virtual roulette

A number of studies indicate that fast music influences performance in everyday activities including shopping and gambling, but the mechanisms through which this effect is realised are not well understood. This study investigates whether fast tempo music influences gambling via an effect on arousal using a laboratory virtual roulette task. One hundred and forty-four participants played virtual roulette whilst listening to fast tempo, slow tempo or no music. Music tempo alone did not influence betting speed, expenditure or risk-taking. Furthermore tempo did not influence participants’ physiological or subjective arousal levels, nor participants’ opinions of the musical stimuli in terms of liking, familiarity, fit or its ability to aid concentration. Our findings suggest that there are some circumstances under which the effect of music tempo does not operate and therefore provides an insight into the limits of music tempo as an explanation for music effects on behaviour. This study has implications for the way that musical characteristics are operationalised in future research into music’s effects on behaviour