A VERITAS/Breakthrough Listen Search for Optical Technosignatures

The Breakthrough Listen Initiative is conducting a program using multiple telescopes around the world to search for "technosignatures": artificial transmitters of extraterrestrial origin from beyond our solar system. The VERITAS Collaboration joined this program in 2018, and provides the capability to search for one particular technosignature: optical pulses of a few nanoseconds duration detectable over interstellar distances. We report here on the analysis and results of dedicated VERITAS observations of Breakthrough Listen targets conducted in 2019 and 2020 and of archival VERITAS data collected since 2012. Thirty hours of dedicated observations of 136 targets and 249 archival observations of 140 targets were analyzed and did not reveal any signals consistent with a technosignature. The results are used to place limits on the fraction of stars hosting transmitting civilizations. We also discuss the minimum-pulse sensitivity of our observations and present VERITAS observations of CALIOP: a space-based pulsed laser onboard the CALIPSO satellite. The detection of these pulses with VERITAS, using the analysis techniques developed for our technosignature search, allows a test of our analysis efficiency and serves as an important proof-of-principle.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Psychological Empowerment and Structural Empowerment among Nurse Practitioners

Purpose: Empowering workplaces provide practitioners with access to information, support, resources, and opportunities to learn and grow. Empowerment is also a psychological process, which occurs when one has a sense of motivation in relation to the workplace environment. There is no previous research on the relationship of psychological empowerment and structural empowerment in nurse practitioner (NP) practice. Data Sources: Structural empowerment was measured using the conditions of work effectiveness questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II), and psychological empowerment measured using Spreitzer’s psychological empowerment scale. The sample consisted of 74 NPs in the state of Connecticut. The correlational scores for the instruments were derived with n = 72 as two subjects had extreme scores on multiple variables and were excluded. There were significant correlations between psychological and structural empowerment for total scores, and within 10 of these tools’ subscales. Conclusions: The NPs who participated in this study scored high on perceptions of structural empowerment and psychological empowerment. The results of the psychological empowerment instrument indicated that the NPs value their work and find meaning in what they do. Implications for Practice: The relationships between psychological empowerment and structural empowerment have been linked to work effectiveness, quality patient care, cost-effectiveness, and retention. Study results support an implication that it is of critical importance for the organization or practice setting to facilitate both psychological and structural empowerment to the NP to ensure successful practice

Emotional Intelligence and Nursing Performance among Nursing Students

Summary: Some scholars have proposed that the educational preparation of nurses can be improved by incorporating emotional intelligence lessons into the nursing curricula. However, the relationship between emotional intelligence and nursing performance in nursing students is unknown. The purpose of the study was to examine this relationship among nursing students. A descriptive correlational design with non-probability sampling methods of 87 nursing students in a university setting was conducted. The variables of focus were emotional intelligence and nursing performance. Emotional intelligence was measured with the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). Nursing performance was measured using the Six Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (6-D Scale). The sample was predominately Caucasian (91%), female (93%), mean age 24 years. The mean score for emotional intelligence was 0.53, SD ± 0.06 indicating moderate emotional intelligence. The mean score for nursing performance was 3.14, SD ± 0.40 indicating moderate nursing performance. Emotional intelligence was related to nursing performance. Four of the six nursing performance subscale scores were significantly correlated with the total emotional intelligence scores. Implications for nursing education and clinical practice are discussed

Spirituality and well being among elders: differences between elders with heart failure and those without heart failure

Mary T Quinn Griffin1, Yi-Hui Lee2, Ali Salman1, Yaewon Seo1, Patricia A Marin3, Randall C Starling3, Joyce J Fitzpatrick11Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH; 2College of Nursing and Health Wright State University Dayton, OH; 3Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OhioAbstract: Heart failure is a chronic debilitating disease that affects all aspects of a person’s life, including physical, mental and spiritual dimensions. The associations among these dimensions, and the relationship to overall health status, have not been clearly identified. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive study was to explore differences between spirituality, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among elders with and without heart failure. A total of 44 elders with heart failure and 40 non-heart failure elders completed several questionnaires including: The Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES), Spirituality Index of Well-Being (SIWB), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and SF-12™ Health Survey. There were significant differences in the groups on gender and ethnicity; thus these variables were controlled in the analyses related to the dependent variables. After controlling for gender and ethnicity, there were significant differences in the physical component of quality of life and spiritual well-being. The heart failure patients had significantly lower physical quality of life but more spiritual well-being than the non-heart failure patients. There were no significant differences in daily spiritual experiences, mental component of quality of life, and depressive symptoms between the two groups.Keywords: spiritual experience, spiritual well-being, heart failure, depressive symptoms, quality of life, elder

Caring Behaviors: Perceptions of Acute Care Nurses and Hospitalized Patients with Diabetes

Caring behaviors Perceptions of acute care nurses and hospitalized patients with diabetes Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of caring behaviors that influence the patient experience in acute care nurses and hospitalized patients with diabetes. Background Nurses are the caregivers who render most of the direct care patients receive while they are hospitalized. Understanding what patients perceive as caring behaviors is essential in tailoring nursing interventions to meet patient needs. Data sources Data collection occurred at a 1,200 bed, nonprofit academic medical center located in the Midwest. Description Sixty-four nurses and 54 patients with diabetes were queried about their experience with diabetes caring behaviors. Conclusion Nurses consistently reported providing caring behaviors more frequently than patients reported receiving them. Implications This study has implications for understanding the patient experience in the hospital setting specifically related to patient education. Providing patient education is an important caring intervention that directly affects the patient experience. However, none of the patients in this study identified this as a caring behavior used by nurses

Mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

The genetic make-up of an individual contributes to the susceptibility and response to viral infection. Although environmental, clinical and social factors have a role in the chance of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and the severity of COVID-191,2, host genetics may also be important. Identifying host-specific genetic factors may reveal biological mechanisms of therapeutic relevance and clarify causal relationships of modifiable environmental risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection and outcomes. We formed a global network of researchers to investigate the role of human genetics in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity. Here we describe the results of three genome-wide association meta-analyses that consist of up to 49,562 patients with COVID-19 from 46 studies across 19 countries. We report 13 genome-wide significant loci that are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection or severe manifestations of COVID-19. Several of these loci correspond to previously documented associations to lung or autoimmune and inflammatory diseases3–7. They also represent potentially actionable mechanisms in response to infection. Mendelian randomization analyses support a causal role for smoking and body-mass index for severe COVID-19 although not for type II diabetes. The identification of novel host genetic factors associated with COVID-19 was made possible by the community of human genetics researchers coming together to prioritize the sharing of data, results, resources and analytical frameworks. This working model of international collaboration underscores what is possible for future genetic discoveries in emerging pandemics, or indeed for any complex human disease