Suzaku observations of X-ray excess emission in the cluster of galaxies A3112

We analysed the Suzaku XIS1 data of the A3112 cluster of galaxies in order to examine the X-ray excess emission in this cluster reported earlier with the XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites. The best-fit temperature of the intracluster gas depends strongly on the choice of the energy band used for the spectral analysis. This proves the existence of excess emission component in addition to the single-temperature MEKAL in A3112. We showed that this effect is not an artifact due to uncertainties of the background modeling, instrument calibration or the amount of Galactic absorption. Neither does the PSF scatter of the emission from the cool core nor the projection of the cool gas in the cluster outskirts produce the effect. Finally we modeled the excess emission either by using an additional MEKAL or powerlaw component. Due to the small differencies between thermal and non-thermal model we can not rule out the non-thermal origin of the excess emission based on the goodness of the fit. Assuming that it has a thermal origin, we further examined the Differential Emission Measure (DEM) models. We utilised two different DEM models, a Gaussian differential emission measure distribution (GDEM) and WDEM model, where the emission measure of a number of thermal components is distributed as a truncated power law. The best-fit XIS1 MEKAL temperature for the 0.4-7.0 keV band is 4.7+-0.1 keV, consistent with that obtained using GDEM and WDEM models.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, accepted to A&

Publishing trends in the field of psychiatry in Finland 2019

Peer reviewe

Collaboration in Software Development: Lesson Learned from Two Large Multinational Organizations

Collaborative software development, through inter-organizational collaboration or outsourcing, has become increasingly attractive for organizations. However, little is known about the problems associated with collaboration. Therefore, organizations engaging in collaboration need to be aware of the potential pitfalls involved. For this purpose, this study explores problems and important factors for successful collaboration in relation to inter-organizational collaboration in software development in Nokia and Philips. The problems in collaborative software development were communication, unclear agreements, security policy issues, inflexibility over changes, adaptation to the environment, team coordination, misunderstanding of the goals, lack of human resources, difficulties monitoring the work, and commitment. The results suggest that the success factors of collaborative software development are effective communication, careful preparation, technical experts, managers and legal experts involved in contract negotiations, a clear understanding of cultural differences, clear specifications, logical architecture, efficient information distribution between the parties, and the right competences

The required competencies of physicians within palliative care from the perspectives of multi-professional expert groups : a qualitative study

Background Although statements on the competencies required from physicians working within palliative care exist, these requirements have not been described within different levels of palliative care provision by multi-professional workshops, comprising representatives from working life. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the competencies required from physicians working within palliative care from the perspectives of multi-professional groups of representatives from working life. Methods A qualitative approach, using a workshop method, was conducted, wherein the participating professionals and representatives of patient organizations discussed the competencies that are required in palliative care, before reaching and documenting a consensus. The data (n = 222) was collected at workshops held in different parts of Finland and it was analyzed using a qualitative content analysis method. Results The description of the competencies required of every physician working within palliative care at the general level included 13 main categories and 50 subcategories in total. 'Competence in advanced care planning and decision-making' was the main category which was obtained from the highest number of reduced expressions from the original data (f = 125). Competence in social interactions was another strong main category (f = 107). In specialist level data, six main categories with 22 subcategories in total were found. 'Competence in complex symptom management' was the main category which was obtained from the biggest number of reduced expressions (f = 46). A notable association between general level and specialist level data was related to networking, since one of the general level categories was 'Competence in consultations and networking' (f = 34) and one of the specialist level categories was 'Competence to offer consultative and educational support to other professionals' (f = 30). Moreover, part of the specialist level results were subcategories which belonged to the main categories produced from the general level data. Conclusions The competencies described in this study emphasize decision-making, social interactions and networking. It is important to listen to the voices of the working-life representatives when planning curricula. Moreover, the views of the working-life representatives inform how the competencies gained during their education meet the challenges of the ordinary work.Peer reviewe

Undergraduate curriculum in palliative medicine at Tampere University increases students' knowledge

Background: Education in palliative medicine (PM) at medical schools reveals wide variation despite the increasing importance of palliative care. Many universities present poor description of the benefits and detailed content of the total curriculum in PM. Using the recommendations of European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) as a reference, we evaluated the content and outcomes of the curriculum in PM at the University of Tampere, Finland. Methods: We searched for a PM curriculum by examining the teaching offered by every specialty and compared it to EAPC recommendations. Students' knowledge was evaluated using a progress test over three consecutive years. Results: We found 53.5 teaching hours addressing PM issues, which exceeds the recommendation of the EAPC. Basics, symptom management, ethics, and communication skills were well established, while education in psychosocial/spiritual aspects, teamwork and self-reflection failed to reach the recommendations. Out of the maximum of 4.0, the progress test mean scores in PM among the third, fourth, fifth and sixth year students were 0.1 (SD 0.71), 0.69 (SD 1.28), 1.38 (SD 1.46) and 2.53 (SD 1.26), respectively (p <0.001). This growing knowledge was associated with the timely increase in teaching provided through the PM discipline. In addition, the students who completed the optional PM course achieved better mean scores (2.66; SD 1.27) than the others (1.33; SD 1.43) (p <0.001). Conclusions: The curriculum in PM at the University of Tampere is integrated into the teaching of many disciplines and complied well with the EAPC recommendations. This education led to increasing knowledge in PM among medical students.Peer reviewe

Marked deterioration in the quality of life of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis during the last two years of life

BackgroundIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic disease with a high symptom burden and poor survival that influences patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We aimed to evaluate IPF patients' symptoms and HRQOL in a well-documented clinical cohort during their last two years of life.MethodsIn April 2015, we sent the Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (MMRC), the modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and a self-rating HRQOL questionnaire (RAND-36) to 300 IPF patients, of which 247 (82%) responded. Thereafter, follow-up questionnaires were sent every six months for two years.ResultsNinety-two patients died by August 2017. Among these patients, HRQOL was found to be considerably low already two years before death. The most prominent declines in HRQOL occurred in physical function, vitality, emotional role and social functioning (pPeer reviewe

The Trail, 1961-05-02

https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/thetrail_all/1827/thumbnail.jp

Stability of undissociated screw dislocations in zinc-blende covalent materials from first principle simulations

The properties of perfect screw dislocations have been investigated for several zinc-blende materials such as diamond, Si, $\beta$-SiC, Ge and GaAs, by performing first principles calculations. For almost all elements, a core configuration belonging to shuffle set planes is favored, in agreement with low temperature experiments. Only for diamond, a glide configuration has the lowest defect energy, thanks to an sp$^2$ hybridization in the core

The chaotic behavior of the black hole system GRS 1915+105

A modified non-linear time series analysis technique, which computes the correlation dimension $D_2$, is used to analyze the X-ray light curves of the black hole system GRS 1915+105 in all twelve temporal classes. For four of these temporal classes $D_2$ saturates to $\approx 4-5$ which indicates that the underlying dynamical mechanism is a low dimensional chaotic system. Of the other eight classes, three show stochastic behavior while five show deviation from randomness. The light curves for four classes which depict chaotic behavior have the smallest ratio of the expected Poisson noise to the variability ($< 0.05$) while those for the three classes which depict stochastic behavior is the highest ($> 0.2$). This suggests that the temporal behavior of the black hole system is governed by a low dimensional chaotic system, whose nature is detectable only when the Poisson fluctuations are much smaller than the variability.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa