5,698 research outputs found
A Novel Aerobic Mechanism for Reductive Palladium Biomineralization and Recovery by Escherichia coli
Aerobically grown E. coli cells reduced Pd(II) via a novel mechanism using formate as the electron donor. This reduction was monitored in real-time using extended X-ray absorption fine structure. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that Pd(0) nanoparticles, confirmed by X-ray diffraction, were precipitated outside the cells. The rate of Pd(II) reduction by E. coli mutants deficient in a range of oxidoreductases was measured, suggesting a molybdoprotein-mediated mechanism, distinct from the hydrogenase-mediated Pd(II) reduction previously described for anaerobically grown E. coli cultures. The potential implications for Pd(II) recovery and bioPd catalyst fabrication are discussed
Adapting QOF to focus on wellbeing and health
This is the final version of the article. Available from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this record
Characteristics of global naturopathic education, regulation, and practice frameworks: results from an international survey.
BackgroundThis descriptive study provides the first examination of global naturopathic education, regulation and practice frameworks that have potential to constrain or assist professional formation and integration in global health systems. Despite increasing public use, a significant workforce, and World Health Organization calls for national policy development to support integration of services, existent frameworks as potential barriers to integration have not been examined.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey utilized purposive sampling of 65 naturopathic organisations (educational institutions, professional associations, and regulatory bodies) from 29 countries. Organizational representatives completed an on-line survey, conducted between Nov 2016 - Aug 2019. Frequencies and cross-tabulation statistics were analyzed using SPSSv.25. Qualitative responses were hand-coded and thematically analysed where appropriate.ResultsSixty-five of 228 naturopathic organizations completed the survey (29% response rate) from 29 of 46 countries (63% country response rate). Most education programs (68%) were delivered via a national framework. Higher education qualifications (60%) predominated. Organizations influential in education were professional associations (75.4%), particularly where naturopathy was unregulated, and accreditation bodies (41.5%) and regulatory boards (33.8%) where regulated. Full access to controlled acts, and to health insurance rebates were more commonly reported where regulated. Attitude of decision-makers, opinions of other health professions and existing legislation were perceived to most impact regulation, which was globally heterogeneous.ConclusionEducation and regulation of the naturopathic profession has significant heterogeneity, even in the face of global calls for consistent regulation that recognizes naturopathy as a medical system. Standards are highest and consistency more apparent in countries with regulatory frameworks
(Pseudo) Random Quantum States with Binary Phase
We prove a quantum information-theoretic conjecture due to Ji, Liu and Song
(CRYPTO 2018) which suggested that a uniform superposition with random
\emph{binary} phase is statistically indistinguishable from a Haar random
state. That is, any polynomial number of copies of the aforementioned state is
within exponentially small trace distance from the same number of copies of a
Haar random state.
As a consequence, we get a provable elementary construction of
\emph{pseudorandom} quantum states from post-quantum pseudorandom functions.
Generating pseduorandom quantum states is desirable for physical applications
as well as for computational tasks such as quantum money. We observe that
replacing the pseudorandom function with a -wise independent function
(either in our construction or in previous work), results in an explicit
construction for \emph{quantum state -designs} for all . In fact, we show
that the circuit complexity (in terms of both circuit size and depth) of
constructing -designs is bounded by that of -wise independent
functions. Explicitly, while in prior literature -designs required linear
depth (for ), this observation shows that polylogarithmic depth suffices
for all .
We note that our constructions yield pseudorandom states and state designs
with only real-valued amplitudes, which was not previously known. Furthermore,
generating these states require quantum circuit of restricted form: applying
one layer of Hadamard gates, followed by a sequence of Toffoli gates. This
structure may be useful for efficiency and simplicity of implementation
From programme theory to logic models for multispecialty community providers: a realist evidence synthesis
This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Background: The NHS policy of constructing multispecialty community providers (MCPs) rests on a complex
set of assumptions about how health systems can replace hospital use with enhanced primary care for
people with complex, chronic or multiple health problems, while contributing savings to health-care
budgets.
Objectives: To use policy-makers’ assumptions to elicit an initial programme theory (IPT) of how MCPs can
achieve their outcomes and to compare this with published secondary evidence and revise the programme
theory accordingly.
Design: Realist synthesis with a three-stage method: (1) for policy documents, elicit the IPT underlying the
MCP policy, (2) review and synthesise secondary evidence relevant to those assumptions and (3) compare
the programme theory with the secondary evidence and, when necessary, reformulate the programme
theory in a more evidence-based way.
Data sources: Systematic searches and data extraction using (1) the Health Management Information
Consortium (HMIC) database for policy statements and (2) topically appropriate databases, including
MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, the Cumulative Index to Nursing
and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA). A total of
1319 titles and abstracts were reviewed in two rounds and 116 were selected for full-text data extraction.
We extracted data using a formal data extraction tool and synthesised them using a framework reflecting
the main policy assumptions.
Results: The IPT of MCPs contained 28 interconnected context–mechanism–outcome relationships.
Few policy statements specified what contexts the policy mechanisms required. We found strong
evidence supporting the IPT assumptions concerning organisational culture, interorganisational network
management, multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), the uses and effects of health information technology (HIT)
in MCP-like settings, planned referral networks, care planning for individual patients and the diversion
of patients from inpatient to primary care. The evidence was weaker, or mixed (supporting some of
the constituent assumptions but not others), concerning voluntary sector involvement, the effects of
preventative care on hospital admissions and patient experience, planned referral networks and demand management systems. The evidence about the effects of referral reductions on costs was equivocal.
We found no studies confirming that the development of preventative care would reduce demands on
inpatient services. The IPT had overlooked certain mechanisms relevant to MCPs, mostly concerning MDTs
and the uses of HITs.
Limitations: The studies reviewed were limited to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development countries and, because of the large amount of published material, the period 2014–16,
assuming that later studies, especially systematic reviews, already include important earlier findings.
No empirical studies of MCPs yet existed.
Conclusions: Multidisciplinary teams are a central mechanism by which MCPs (and equivalent networks
and organisations) work, provided that the teams include the relevant professions (hence, organisations)
and, for care planning, individual patients. Further primary research would be required to test elements of
the revised logic model, in particular about (1) how MDTs and enhanced general practice compare and
interact, or can be combined, in managing referral networks and (2) under what circumstances diverting
patients from in-patient to primary care reduces NHS costs and improves the quality of patient experience.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR
The impact of child problem behaviours of children with ASD on parent mental health: The mediating role of acceptance and empowerment
DOI: 10.11771362361311422708Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has often been associated with higher levels of parenting stress and psychological distress, and a number of studies have examined the role of psychological processes as mediators of the impact of child problem behaviour on parent mental health. The current study examined the relations among child problem behaviour, parent mental health, psychological acceptance, and parent empowerment. Participants included 228 parents of children diagnosed with ASD, 6-21 years of age. As expected, psychological acceptance and empowerment were negatively related to the severity of parent mental health problems. When acceptance and empowerment were compared with each other through a test of multiple mediation, only psychological acceptance emerged as a significant partial mediator of the path between child problem behaviour and parent mental health problems. As child problem behaviour increased, parent psychological acceptance decreased, resulting in an increase in parent mental health problems. These findings suggest that for problems that are chronic and difficult to address, psychological acceptance may be an important factor in coping for parents of young people with ASD, in line with the growing literature on positive coping as compared with problem-focused coping.Ontario Mental Health Foundatio
Simulation of an SEIR infectious disease model on the dynamic contact network of conference attendees
The spread of infectious diseases crucially depends on the pattern of
contacts among individuals. Knowledge of these patterns is thus essential to
inform models and computational efforts. Few empirical studies are however
available that provide estimates of the number and duration of contacts among
social groups. Moreover, their space and time resolution are limited, so that
data is not explicit at the person-to-person level, and the dynamical aspect of
the contacts is disregarded. Here, we want to assess the role of data-driven
dynamic contact patterns among individuals, and in particular of their temporal
aspects, in shaping the spread of a simulated epidemic in the population.
We consider high resolution data of face-to-face interactions between the
attendees of a conference, obtained from the deployment of an infrastructure
based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices that assess mutual
face-to-face proximity. The spread of epidemics along these interactions is
simulated through an SEIR model, using both the dynamical network of contacts
defined by the collected data, and two aggregated versions of such network, in
order to assess the role of the data temporal aspects.
We show that, on the timescales considered, an aggregated network taking into
account the daily duration of contacts is a good approximation to the full
resolution network, whereas a homogeneous representation which retains only the
topology of the contact network fails in reproducing the size of the epidemic.
These results have important implications in understanding the level of
detail needed to correctly inform computational models for the study and
management of real epidemics
Quantum biology on the edge of quantum chaos
We give a new explanation for why some biological systems can stay quantum
coherent for long times at room temperatures, one of the fundamental puzzles of
quantum biology. We show that systems with the right level of complexity
between chaos and regularity can increase their coherence time by orders of
magnitude. Systems near Critical Quantum Chaos or Metal-Insulator Transition
(MIT) can have long coherence times and coherent transport at the same time.
The new theory tested in a realistic light harvesting system model can
reproduce the scaling of critical fluctuations reported in recent experiments.
Scaling of return probability in the FMO light harvesting complex shows the
signs of universal return probability decay observed at critical MIT. The
results may open up new possibilities to design low loss energy and information
transport systems in this Poised Realm hovering reversibly between quantum
coherence and classicality
Response to Cult of the "I"
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to respond to an earlier article in the Journal of Documentation: The Cult of the “I”. / Design/methodology/approach: The method is a form of critical response. / Findings: Numerous problems regarding the The Cult of the “I” article are discussed. / Originality/value: This paper puts forward views about the iSchools Movement
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