Recommendations From the International Consortium on Professional Nursing Practice in Long-Term Care Homes

In response to the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics’ global agenda for clinical research and quality of care in nursing homes, the International Consortium on Professional Nursing Practice in Long Term Care Homes (the Consortium) was formed to develop nursing leadership capacity in nursing homes and address the concerns regarding the current state of nursing leadership in long-term care homes (LTCHs). At its invitational, two-day inaugural meeting, the Consortium brought together international nurse experts to explore the potential of registered nurses (RNs) who work as supervisors or charge nurses within the LTCHs and the value of their contribution in nursing homes, consider what RN competencies might be needed, discuss effective educational (curriculum and practice) experiences, health care policy, and human resources planning requirements, and to identify what sustainable nurse leadership strategies and models might enhance the effectiveness of RNs in improving resident, family, and staff outcomes. The Consortium made recommendations about the following priority issues for action: (1) define the competencies of RNs required to care for older adults in LTCH; (2) create a LTCH environment where the RN role is differentiated from other team members and they can practice to their full scope; and (3) prepare RN leaders to operate effectively in person-centered care LTCH environments. In addition to clear recommendations for practice, the consortium identified several areas where further research is needed. The research agenda the consortium advocated for emphasizes an international coordination of research efforts to explore similar issues, the pursuit of examining the impact of nursing and organizational models, and the showcasing of excellence in nursing practice in care homes, so that others might learn from what works. Several studies already underway will also be described

Casimir interaction between two concentric cylinders: exact versus semiclassical results

The Casimir interaction between two perfectly conducting, infinite, concentric cylinders is computed using a semiclassical approximation that takes into account families of classical periodic orbits that reflect off both cylinders. It is then compared with the exact result obtained by the mode-by-mode summation technique. We analyze the validity of the semiclassical approximation and show that it improves the results obtained through the proximity theorem.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures include

The Relational Power of Education: The immeasurability of knowledge, value and meaning

Recognizing the challenge of adequate evaluation in higher education, this essay introduces some of the critical, alternative-seeking conversation about educational measurement. The thesis is that knowledge, value, and meaning emerge in the relational dynamics of education, thus requiring complex approaches to evaluation, utilizing relational criteria. The method of the essay is to analyse two educational case studies à à à ¢ a travel seminar and a classroom course à à à ¢ in dialogue with educational literature and a process-relational philosophy of education. Building from this analysis, the essay concludes with proposals for relational criteria of evaluation: relations with self, community and culture, difference, earth, and social structures

Lattice gauge theory with baryons at strong coupling

We study the effective Hamiltonian for strong-coupling lattice QCD in the case of non-zero baryon density. In leading order the effective Hamiltonian is a generalized antiferromagnet. For naive fermions, the symmetry is U(4N_f) and the spins belong to a representation that depends on the local baryon number. Next-nearest-neighbor (nnn) terms in the Hamiltonian break the symmetry to U(N_f) x U(N_f). We transform the quantum problem to a Euclidean sigma model which we analyze in a 1/N_c expansion. In the vacuum sector we recover spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry for the nearest-neighbor and nnn theories. For non-zero baryon density we study the nearest-neighbor theory only, and show that the pattern of spontaneous symmetry breaking depends on the baryon density.Comment: 31 pages, 5 EPS figures. Corrected Eq. (6.1

Optical Light Curves of Supernovae

Photometry is the most easily acquired information about supernovae. The light curves constructed from regular imaging provide signatures not only for the energy input, the radiation escape, the local environment and the progenitor stars, but also for the intervening dust. They are the main tool for the use of supernovae as distance indicators through the determination of the luminosity. The light curve of SN 1987A still is the richest and longest observed example for a core-collapse supernova. Despite the peculiar nature of this object, as explosion of a blue supergiant, it displayed all the characteristics of Type II supernovae. The light curves of Type Ib/c supernovae are more homogeneous, but still display the signatures of explosions in massive stars, among them early interaction with their circumstellar material. Wrinkles in the near-uniform appearance of thermonuclear (Type Ia) supernovae have emerged during the past decade. Subtle differences have been observed especially at near-infrared wavelengths. Interestingly, the light curve shapes appear to correlate with a variety of other characteristics of these supernovae. The construction of bolometric light curves provides the most direct link to theoretical predictions and can yield sorely needed constraints for the models. First steps in this direction have been already made.Comment: To be published in:"Supernovae and Gamma Ray Bursters", Lecture Notes in Physics (http://link.springer.de/series/lnpp

Recommendations for reporting ion mobility Mass Spectrometry measurements

Here we present a guide to ion mobility mass spectrometry experiments, which covers both linear and nonlinear methods: what is measured, how the measurements are done, and how to report the results, including the uncertainties of mobility and collision cross section values. The guide aims to clarify some possibly confusing concepts, and the reporting recommendations should help researchers, authors and reviewers to contribute comprehensive reports, so that the ion mobility data can be reused more confidently. Starting from the concept of the definition of the measurand, we emphasize that (i) mobility values (K0) depend intrinsically on ion structure, the nature of the bath gas, temperature, and E/N; (ii) ion mobility does not measure molecular surfaces directly, but collision cross section (CCS) values are derived from mobility values using a physical model; (iii) methods relying on calibration are empirical (and thus may provide method‐dependent results) only if the gas nature, temperature or E/N cannot match those of the primary method. Our analysis highlights the urgency of a community effort toward establishing primary standards and reference materials for ion mobility, and provides recommendations to do so. © 2019 The Authors. Mass Spectrometry Reviews Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362