Knowledge of intensive care nurses in selected care areas commonly guided by protocols

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of nurses working in ICU with respect to pain management, glycaemic control and weaning from mechanical ventilation, care areas that are commonly guided by protocols. The effect of formal ICU training and years of ICU experience on this knowledge was elicited. A non-experimental, descriptive and contextual two-phase research design was used. The first phase of the study consisted of developing and validating a data collection instrument, using purposive sampling to select two groups of ICU nursing experts. The second phase of the study used the instrument developed in phase one to test the knowledge of nurses working in ICU. The knowledge of 136 ICU nurses (68 ICU trained and 68 non-ICU trained) from three (n=3) public sector and two (n=2) private sector hospitals in Gauteng was tested using the data collection instrument developed by the researcher and the two groups of ICU nursing experts. Knowledge of nurses, both ICU trained and non-ICU trained, working in the ICUs of three public and two private hospitals in Gauteng was found to be lacking in the three care areas tested in this study, namely pain management, glycaemic control and weaning from mechanical ventilation. The difference in knowledge between ICU trained and non-ICU trained nurses was statistically significant but relatively small. A weak correlation was found between level of knowledge and years of ICU experience. Recommendations to address this lack of knowledge of ICU nurses are given for clinical nursing practice, nursing management and nursing educators, as well as recommendations for further research in this area

От поэтики литературы к истории крестьянства: мои ранние приключения в области русистики

The article was submitted on 30.01.2015.The Editorial Board of the journal is rightly proud that it managed to persuade Professor Maureen Perrie, the eminent British historian of Russia, to write this memoir, intriguingly entitled ‘From Poetry to Peasantry: my Early Adventures in Russian Studies’. The memoir is written with such candour, and in such a lively and entertaining style, that its appeal will extend beyond specialists in the humanities. The reader is presented with a portrait of an entire generation, with its insights and its delusions, its loyalty to its parents’ moral code and its aspiration towards new visions of humanity. Maureen Perrie’s remarkable memory for detail enables her to create a complex and dynamic picture of the attitude of British society towards Russia, of cultural interactions and the cruel political prejudice that played such a pernicious role. At the same time we have a valuable account of her youthful enthusiasms, heartfelt experiences and the role of personal relationships in her development as a historian. The author followed a complex path, beginning with an interest in Russian literature and the Symbolists (her favourite poet was Alexander Blok), and leading on to research on the Russian peasantry, pretenderism and the Russian monarchy. This trajectory provides evidence of her inquiring mind and her desire to get to the very heart of a phenomenon – because a true understanding of Russia involves first and foremost an understanding of the patriarchal mindset, the peasant world, popular utopias and the cruelty of the regime towards its own people. Maureen Perrie has brilliantly succeeded in her task. Her publications make a major contribution to international Russian Studies; and this autobiographical essay, which is so revealing of the author’s personality, provides entertaining and moving reading for all lovers of Russian culture. Translated by Elena Galitsyna.Редколлегия журнала по праву гордится тем, что ей удалось заинтересовать выдающегося английского профессора истории России Морин Перри предложением написать воспоминания, интригующе озаглавленные «От поэтики литературы к истории крестьянства: мои ранние приключения в области русистики». Воспоминания написаны с таким доверительным чувством, настолько живо и занимательно, что должны привлечь внимание не только специалистов в сфере гуманитарной науки. Перед читателем возникает портрет целого поколения с его проницательностью и заблуждениями, верностью родительской морали и устремлением к новым горизонтам человечности. Удивительная память Морин Перри на детали позволяет воспроизвести объемную и динамичную картину отношения британского общества к России, культурных взаимодействий и политической античеловеческой ангажированности, играющей губительную роль. Вместе с тем перед нами драгоценные страницы, описывающие увлечения юности, тонкие переживания, роль человеческих взаимоотношений в формировании историка. Проделанный автором непростой путь, начавшийся с интереса к русской литературе и младосимволистам (любимый поэт – А. Блок) и приведший к изучению русского крестьянства, самозванчества и российской монархии, свидетельствует о пытливости ума и стремлении проникнуть в самую глубь явления, потому что действительно понять Россию – это, в первую очередь, понять патриархальное сознание, крестьянский мир, народные утопии и жестокость режима к своему народу. Это блестяще удалось Морин Перри. Ее работы являются важной страницей мировой русистики, а ее биографические заметки, раскрывающие личность автора, представляют занимательное и эмоциональное чтение для всех любящих русскую культуру

Mechanisms of femtosecond laser-induced refractive index modification of poly(methyl methacrylate)

The mechanisms of refractive index change in poly(methyl methacrylate) by frequency doubled femtosecond laser pulses are investigated. It is demonstrated that positive refractive index modificaton can be caused by a combination of depolymerization and crosslinking

Enhancing vaccine design strategies : applications for protein science, proteomics and adjuvants

Vaccines have saved millions of lives. Currently, and for infectious diseases in humans at least, sanitation and vaccination remain the most efficient and the most cost- effective prophylactic treatment available. Vaccination has led to the global eradiation of smallpox, the virtual eradication of polio and a reduction of over 95% in the incidence of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella. [1] Indeed, successful vaccine strategies have circumvented mortality caused by infectious diseases in developed countries and have thus increased our lifespan. [1] Today’s society in developed countries has a life expectancy of more than 80 years, and there is a higher proportion of elderly to young people. However, there remains a continued need for the development of new vaccines to offer protection for infections where we currently have no effective vaccine (infections such as malaria or human immunodeficiency virus) and have recurrent diseases (such as tuberculosis, respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A and B), plus newly emergent diseases, such as West Nile fever or Ebola. Vaccination is also increasingly recognised as an important strategy for food security, by providing protection to livestock against existing and emerging pathogens

Moscow in 1666: New Jerusalem, Third Rome, Third Apostasy

The article was submitted on 18.04.2014.In this essay the author examines the disappearance from official Russian discourse of the idea of Muscovy as the New Israel. She suggests that it may partly be explained in relation to his opponents’ accusations of blasphemy against Patriarch Nikon for naming his monastery on the River Istra as New Jerusalem. These accusations were made in the context of apocalyptic rumours about Nikon as the Antichrist, and about the imminent appearance of the Antichrist in Jerusalem in 1666. The decisions of the Church council of 1666–1667 — including its repudiation of the idea of the Third Rome — seemed to many Old Believers to confirm prophecies about 1666 as the date of a third and final apostasy from the true faith, after the Great Schism of 1054 and the Union of Brest of 1596. The ideas of the Third Rome and New Israel persisted among some Old Believers; but unlike the idea of the Third Rome, which was re-interpreted in the 19th and 20th centuries as evidence of Russian messianism and imperialism, the idea of the New Israel has been comparatively neglected.В данном очерке рассматривается исчезновение из официального российского дискурса идеи «Московское государство — Новый Израиль». Автор предполагает, что это исчезновение отчасти объясняется обвинениями в богохульстве, выдвинутыми против патриарха Никона, назвавшего свой монастырь на реке Истре Новым Иерусалимом. Его противники выдвинули эти обвинения в контексте эсхатологических слухов о Никоне-Антихристе и о предстоящем появлении Антихриста в Иерусалиме в 1666 г. По мнению многих старообрядцев, решения церковного собора 1666–1667 гг., в том числе отрицание идеи «Москва — Третий Рим», подтвердили пророчества о 1666 г. как о дате третьего, последнего отступления от истинной веры после Великого раскола 1054 г. и Брестской церковной унии 1596 г. Идеи «Москва — Третий Рим» и «Россия — Новый Израиль» сохранялись в старообрядческой среде; но, в отличие от идеи «Москва — Третий Рим», которую интерпретировали по-новому в XIX и XX вв. как свидетельство российского мессианизма и империализма, идея «Россия — Новый Израиль» оказалась обделена вниманием ученых

Polarization correlations in the two--photon decay of hydrogen--like ions

Polarization properties of the photons emitted in the two-photon decay of hydrogen-like ions are studied within the framework of the density matrix and second-order perturbation theory. In particular, we derive the polarization correlation function that gives the probability of the (two-photon) coincidence measurement performed by polarization-sensitive detectors. Detailed calculations of this function are performed for the $2s_{1/2} \to 1s_{1/2}$ transition in neutral hydrogen as well as Xe$^{53+}$ and U$^{91+}$ ions. The obtained results allow us to understand the influence of relativistic and non-dipole effects on the polarization correlations in the bound-bound two-photon transitions in heavy ions

Robust spatially resolved pressure measurements using MRI with novel buoyant advection-free preparations of stable microbubbles in polysaccharide gels

MRI of fluids containing lipid coated microbubbles has been shown to be an effective tool for measuring the local fluid pressure. However, the intrinsically buoyant nature of these microbubbles precludes lengthy measurements due to their vertical migration under gravity and pressure-induced coalescence. A novel preparation is presented which is shown to minimize both these effects for at least 25 min. By using a 2% polysaccharide gel base with a small concentration of glycerol and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine coated gas microbubbles, MR measurements are made for pressures between 0.95 and 1.44 bar. The signal drifts due to migration and amalgamation are shown to be minimized for such an experiment whilst yielding very high NMR sensitivities up to 38% signal change per bar

Ultrafast laser beam shaping for material processing at imaging plane by geometric masks using a spatial light modulator

We have demonstrated an original ultrafast laser beam shaping technique for material processing using a spatial light modulator (SLM). Complicated and time-consuming diffraction far-field phase hologram calculations based on Fourier transformations are avoided, while simple and direct geometric masks are used to shape the incident beam at diffraction near-field. Various beam intensity shapes, such as square, triangle, ring and star, are obtained and then reconstructed at the imaging plane of an f-theta lens. The size of the shaped beam is approximately 20 µm, which is comparable to the beam waist at the focal plane. A polished stainless steel sample is machined by the shaped beam at the imaging plane. The shape of the ablation footprint well matches the beam shape

Novel nano-biomaterials for inhibition of respiratory syncytial virus

The liposomes were prepared using the conventional thin film hydration method with and without peptide RF-482. The loading of RF-482 was determined using BCA assay and the RSV inhibition was studied using immune-fluorescence imaging, plaque assay and PCR. There was little size change observed after loading RF-482. However, this change was not significant. It was observed that 77.3 % (n=3, ±2.2 %) protein was found non-encapsulated, hence it can be concluded that 22.7 % of peptide RF-482 was encapsulated. Plaque assay confirms above 60 % inhibition with just peptide RF-482 and liposomes. However, with peptide loaded liposomes more than 70 % inhibition was observed. Screening of RSV-F gene amplicon and comparison of viral gene amplicon and peptide, liposomes as well as functionalised liposomes along with water as negative control confirms the competitive inhibition of RSV by RF-482 as well as liposomes with and without peptide. Overall, it was found that similar to GNPs and FGNPs (Tiwari et al., 2014), empty liposomes as well as liposomes loaded with RF-482 can inhibit RSV fusion to HEP-2 cells and thereby save HEP-2 cells from infection. Immunofluorescence imaging confirms the inhibitory effect of liposomes with and without peptide RF-482