Biomass scoping study: opportunities for agriculture in Western Australia

This report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully be of some value to industry proponents that are interested in pursuing the opportunities provided by what are currently low value agricultural waste products. We outline three processes for obtaining energy from these by-products that may be appropriate for the farming sector in Western Australia (WA).https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1064/thumbnail.jp

General practice palliative care: Patient and carer expectations, advance care plans and place of death-a systematic review

Background: With an increasing ageing population in most countries, the role of general practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs) in providing optimal end of life (EoL) care is increasingly important. Objective: To explore: (1) patient and carer expectations of the role of GPs and GPNs at EoL; (2) GPs’ and GPNs’ contribution to advance care planning (ACP) and (3) if primary care involvement allows people to die in the place of preference. Method: Systematic literature review. Data sources: Papers from 2000 to 2017 were sought from Medline, Psychinfo, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane databases. Results: From 6209 journal articles, 51 papers were relevant. Patients and carers expect their GPs to be competent in all aspects of palliative care. They valued easy access to their GP, a multidisciplinary approach to care and well-coordinated and informed care. They also wanted their care team to communicate openly, honestly and empathically, particularly as the patient deteriorated. ACP and the involvement of GPs were important factors which contributed to patients being cared for and dying in their preferred place. There was no reference to GPNs in any paper identified. Conclusions: Patients and carers prefer a holistic approach to care. This review shows that GPs have an important role in ACP and that their involvement facilitates dying in the place of preference. Proactive identification of people approaching EoL is likely to improve all aspects of care, including planning and communicating about EoL. More work outlining the role of GPNs in end of life care is required

Pupil reactivity to emotional faces among convicted violent offenders: The role of psychopathic traits

Psychopathy is characteristically associated with impairments in recognizing others’ facial expressions of emotion, and there is some evidence that these difficulties are specific to the callousness features of the disorder. However, it remains unclear whether these difficulties are accompanied by reductions in autonomic reactivity when viewing others’ emotional expressions, and whether these impairments are particular to expressions showing another’s distress or are more pervasive across different emotional expressions. In this study, 73 adult male prisoners with histories of serious sexual or violent offenses—who ranged across the psychopathy continuum—completed a facial emotion recognition task. For the first time in a convicted offender sample, we used pupillometry techniques to measure changes in the pupil dilation response, a measure of sympathetic autonomic arousal to affective stimuli. We found that the callousness features of psychopathy were related to impaired recognition of fearful faces. Strikingly, we also showed that increasing callousness was associated with a reduction in the pupil dilation response and that this was pervasive across different emotional expressions. Our results highlight a potential role of the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline system in the pathophysiology of psychopathy and demonstrate the potential of the pupillary response as a technique for understanding attention– emotion interactions in psychopathy

The Iowa Homemaker vol.23, no.14

Winter in Iowa, page 2 Keeping Up With Today, Mary Elizabeth Lush, page 2 Presenting Martha Duncan, D. Jean Merrill, page 3 Students Create Furniture, Marjorie Lund, page 4 Describe Food in South Pacific, Gertrud Ortgies, page 5 Vicky Previews a New Year, Josephine Ahern, page 6 Teaches Homemaking in India, Mrs. Edgar Vestal, page 7 What’s New in Home Economics, Marilyn Mitchell, page 8 Thoughtful Reading, Jo Ann Reeves, page 10 Across Alumnae Desks, Harriet Keen, page 12 Alum Chooses Food Publicity, Rowena Lincoln, page 14 Betty Heileman Feeds Trainees, Ann Turner, page 1

General practice physicians\u27 and nurses\u27 self- reported multidisciplinary end-of-life care: A systematic review

Background: General practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs) face increasing demands to provide end-of-life care (EoLC) as the population ages. To enhance primary palliative care (PC), the care they provide needs to be understood to inform best practice models of care. Objective: To provide a comprehensive description of the self-reported role and performance of GPs and GPNs in (1) specific medical/nursing roles, (2) communication, (3) care co-ordination, (4) access and out-of-hours care, and (5) multidisciplinary care. Method: Systematic literature review. Data included papers (2000 to 2017) sought from Medline, Psychinfo, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane databases. Results: From 6209 journal articles, 29 reviewed papers reported the GPs’ and GPNs’ role in EoLC or PC practice. GPs report a central role in symptom management, treatment withdrawal, non-malignant disease management and terminal sedation. Information provision included breaking bad news, prognosis and place of death. Psychosocial concerns were often addressed. Quality of communication depended on GP–patient relationships and GP skills. Challenges were unrealistic patient and family expectations, family conflict and lack of advance care planning. GPs often delayed endof-life discussions until 3 months before death. Home visits were common, but less so for urban, female and part-time GPs. GPs co-ordinated care with secondary care, but in some cases parallel care occurred. Trust in, and availability of, the GP was critical for shared care. There was minimal reference to GPNs’ roles. Conclusions: GPs play a critical role in palliative care. More work is required on the role of GPNs, case finding and models to promote shared care, home visits and out-of-hours services

The Iowa Homemaker vol.23, no.15

Keeping Up With Today, D. Jean Merrill, page 2 Institution Recipes Are Acclaimed, Victoria McKibben, page 3 Democracy Begins in the Home, Jean Larson, page 4 Schools Sponsor Nutrition Program, Jean Bunge, page 5 Vicky Rehearses for Spring, Josephine Ahern, page 6 What’s New in Home Economics, Marilyn Mitchell, page 8 Benefit from College Placement, Mary Elva Sather, page 10 Well-known Cooks Open Their Kitchens, Mary E. Lush, page 11 Alums in the News, Patricia Maddex, page 12 Distinguished Alumnus Credits Home, Marjorie Shuler, page 14 Across Alumnae Desks, Harriet Keen, page 15 Women’s Follies in Fashion, Lila Mae Hummel, page 1

The Iowa Homemaker vol.23, no.13

Winter in Iowa, page 2 Keeping Up With Today, D. Jean Merrill, page 3 “We’re in The Army Now”, Jeannette Pickford, page 4 Decorate For Christmas Festivities, June Hudek, page 5 Make Your Christmas Gifts, Marian Hoppe, page 6 Public Relations To The Fore, Dorothy Ann Roost, page 7 Vicky Fashions Her Christmas, Josephine Ahern, page 8 Occupational Therapists, Gertrud Ortgies, page 10 Dress Up Your Christmas Packages, Rosalie Riglin, page 11 Express Yourself To Impress Others, Doris Ann Gregg, page 12 Their Diets Are Supervised, Eugenia Crawford, page 13 What’s New In Home Economics, Marilyn Mitchell, page 14 Across Alumnae Desks, Harriet Keen, page 18 He Cooked In The Clouds¸ Dick Crowther, page 20 Plans For Her Country’s Future, Thelma Estevez, page 22 Foods of the Future, Shirley Rolfs, page 24 Yuletide Celebrations In Other Lands, Mary Rothacker, page 26 Alums In The News, Patricia Maddex, page 2

ACTH and gonadotrophin deficiency predict mortality in patients treated for nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA): long-term follow-up of 519 patients in two large European centres

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) are the most common subtype of pituitary tumour. Hypopituitarism is observed in NFPAs due to tumour‐ or treatment‐related factors and may increase mortality risk. Here, we analysed the associations of hypopituitarism, hormone replacement and mortality in a large NFPA cohort derived from two large European centres. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Case note review of all patients treated for NFPA in University Hospitals Birmingham and Beaumont Hospital Dublin between 1999 and 2014 was performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical presentation, treatment strategies, pituitary function and vitality status were recorded in each patient. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to examine the association between hypopituitarism, hormone replacement and premature mortality. RESULTS: A total of 519 patients were included in the analysis. Median duration of follow‐up was 7·0 years (0·5–43). A total of 81 deaths were recorded (15·6%). On multivariate analysis, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and gonadotropin (Gn) deficiencies were associated with an increased relative risk of death (OR 2·26, 95% CI 1·15–4·47, P = 0·01 and OR 2·56, 95% CI 1·10–5·96, P = 0·01, respectively). Increased hydrocortisone (HC) (P‐trend = 0·02) and lower levothyroxine (LT4) doses (P‐trend = 0·03) were associated with increased risk of death. Mortality increased with the degree of pituitary failure observed (P‐trend = 0·04). CONCLUSION: ACTH and gonadotropin‐deficient patients have higher mortality rates compared to those with intact hormonal axes. Excessive HC and suboptimal LT4 replacement may also increase risk of death. Complex associations between hormone deficiency and replacement underpin the increased mortality risk in NFPA patients