Revie ⊕: the influence of a life review intervention including a positive, patient-centered approach towards enhancing the personal dignity of patients with advanced cancer-a study protocol for a feasibility study using a mixed method investigation.

It is generally recognized that existential concerns must be addressed to promote the dignity of patients with advanced cancer. A number of interventions have been developed in this regard, such as dignity therapy and other life review interventions (LRI). However, so far, none have focused on a positive approach or evaluated its effects on dignity and personal growth. This study aims to explore the feasibility of Revie ⊕, a life review intervention comprising a positive, patient-centered approach, and to determine potential changes of patients' sense of dignity, posttraumatic growth, and satisfaction with life. A mixed method study will be performed, which includes specialized nurses and 40 patients with advanced cancer in an ambulatory and in-patient setting of a Swiss university hospital. Quantitative methods involve a single group, pre- and post-intervention, and outcome measurements include the Patient Dignity Inventory, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Feasibility data relating to process, resource, and scientific elements of the trial will also be collected. A semi-directed interview will be used to collect qualitative data about the process and the participants' experiences of the intervention. In this way, enhanced quantitative-qualitative evidence can be drawn from outcome measures as well as individual, contextualized personal views, to help inform researchers about the plausibility of this complex intervention before testing its effectiveness in a subsequent full trial. Patient dignity is a goal of quality end-of-life care. To our knowledge, this is the first trial to evaluate the role of a life review intervention that is focused on personal growth and on changes relating to the experience of having cancer. This study will evaluate the feasibility of a novel intervention, Revie ⊕, which we hope will contribute to promote the dignity, personal growth, and overall life satisfaction of patients with advanced cancer. ISRCTN, ISRCTN12497093

A Model of Habitability Within the Milky Way Galaxy

We present a model of the Galactic Habitable Zone (GHZ), described in terms of the spatial and temporal dimensions of the Galaxy that may favour the development of complex life. The Milky Way galaxy is modelled using a computational approach by populating stars and their planetary systems on an individual basis using Monte-Carlo methods. We begin with well-established properties of the disk of the Milky Way, such as the stellar number density distribution, the initial mass function, the star formation history, and the metallicity gradient as a function of radial position and time. We vary some of these properties, creating four models to test the sensitivity of our assumptions. To assess habitability on the Galactic scale, we model supernova rates, planet formation, and the time required for complex life to evolve. Our study improves on other literature on the GHZ by populating stars on an individual basis and by modelling SNII and SNIa sterilizations by selecting their progenitors from within this preexisting stellar population. Furthermore, we consider habitability on tidally locked and non-tidally locked planets separately, and study habitability as a function of height above and below the Galactic midplane. In the model that most accurately reproduces the properties of the Galaxy, the results indicate that an individual SNIa is ~5.6 \times more lethal than an individual SNII on average. In addition, we predict that ~1.2% of all stars host a planet that may have been capable of supporting complex life at some point in the history of the Galaxy. Of those stars with a habitable planet, ~75% of planets are predicted to be in a tidally locked configuration with their host star. The majority of these planets that may support complex life are found towards the inner Galaxy, distributed within, and significantly above and below, the Galactic midplane.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrobiology. 40 pages, 12 figures, 3 table

Assessing sex dimorphic species using Stock Synthesis: the case of the Atlantic southern hake stock

Southern European hake (Merluccius merluccius) is a quite relevant stock in social and economic terms in Iberian waters. Even though there are some knowledge gaps that have complicated the implementation of a data rich model to provide a sound catch advice and it is currently assessed with a data limited model. Due to the need for a new assessment model, it was decided to use Stock Synthesis (SS) (Methot and Wetzel (2013), as it is one of the main models currently used for age- and length-based species (such as the South Atlantic hake stock). As an integrated model, SS allows the input of incomplete trends of data from different sources, such as catch data, catch per unit effort (CPUE) and survey indices. Among the multiple configurations of SS, we can find the alternative of single biology (sex, growth and natural mortality), as established in the previous stock assessment model, or separate sexes. In addition, this model allows to indicate that each stock entity starts to grow in the first month of the year, but also different recruitment peaks can be specified. It is important to mention that i) European hake is a highly dimorphic species as females are considerably larger than males, ii) this stock presents different spawning peaks throughout the year and iii) information on the sex-separated size distribution and hence the sex ratio of the stock has been recently obtained from oceanographic surveys. For these reasons, alternative SS models with various configurations have been tested for this species. Results are presented and discussed together in order to find the best alternative for the assessment of this stock

Impact of an Operating Room Nurse Preoperative Dialogue on Anxiety, Satisfaction and Early Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Major Visceral Surgery-A Single Center, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Anxiety is common before surgery and known to negatively impact recovery from surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a preoperative nurse dialogue on a patient's anxiety, satisfaction and early postoperative outcomes. This 1:1 randomized controlled trial compared patients undergoing major visceral surgery after a semistructured preoperative nurse dialogue (interventional group: IG) to a control group (CG) without nursing intervention prior to surgery. Anxiety was measured with the autoevaluation scale State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Y-form) pre and postoperatively. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) In-Patsat32 questionnaire was used to assess patient satisfaction at discharge. Further outcomes included postoperative pain (visual analogue scale: VAS 0-10), postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), opiate consumption and length of stay (LOS). Over a period of 6 months, 35 participants were randomized to either group with no drop-out or loss to follow-up (total n = 70). The median score of preoperative anxiety was 40 (IQR 33-55) in the IG vs. 61 (IQR 52-68) in the CG (p < 0.001). Postoperative anxiety levels were comparable 34 (IQR 25-46) vs. 32 (IQR 25-44) for IG and CG, respectively (p = 0.579). The IG did not present higher overall satisfaction (90 ± 15 vs. 82.9 ± 16, p = 0.057), and pain at Day 2 was similar (1.3 ± 1.7 vs. 2 ± 1.9, p = 0.077), while opiate consumption, PONV levels and LOS were comparable. A preoperative dialogue with a patient-centered approach helped to reduce preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing major visceral surgery