The impact of facilities management on patient outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which practicing National Health Service (NHS) facilities managers thought that the contribution of facilities management (FM) could be measured in terms of health outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was distributed to NHS facilities or estate managers from the majority of NHS trusts in England and Wales. Findings – In general, there is little or no evidence from pre-existing research to prove the contribution of FM in terms of health outcomes. However, in spite of this, 59 per cent of facilities managers in the NHS believe that the contribution of FM could be measured yet only a relatively small number of Trusts (16 per cent) have attempted to measure the contribution of FM. The analysis of the secondary data does not show any conclusive evidence of a correlation between FM and health outcomes. Research limitations/implications – The scope of the study did not extend to collecting empirical evidence to prove the contribution of FM to health outcomes – it was only focusing on whether facilities managers thought it was possible, and if so how they would measure the contribution. However, as part of the project some secondary data were tested for a relationship between FM services and health outcomes. Originality/value – This is the first time any study has gathered opinion from facilities managers as to whether they believe their contribution can be measured in terms of organisational outcomes, in this case patient care or health outcomes. It provides a useful starting point in order to develop a future study to prove the contribution from FM to health outcomes.</p

How to find an attractive solution to the liar paradox

The general thesis of this paper is that metasemantic theories can play a central role in determining the correct solution to the liar paradox. I argue for the thesis by providing a specific example. I show how Lewis’s reference-magnetic metasemantic theory may decide between two of the most influential solutions to the liar paradox: Kripke’s minimal fixed point theory of truth and Gupta and Belnap’s revision theory of truth. In particular, I suggest that Lewis’s metasemantic theory favours Kripke’s solution to the paradox over Gupta and Belnap’s. I then sketch how other standard criteria for assessing solutions to the liar paradox, such as whether a solution faces a so-called revenge paradox, fit into this picture. While the discussion of the specific example is itself important, the underlying lesson is that we have an unused strategy for resolving one of the hardest problems in philosophy

Impact of Different Mulching Materials on the Growth and Yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in Dehradun region of Uttarakhand

Field trials were carried out in 2013-2014 cropping seasons to assess the impact of different mulching materials on the growth and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) region of India. The crop growth and fruit yield were studied for two cultivars namely Cherry Tomato and Marglobe under two inorganic mulches (black polythene, white polythene) and four organic mulches (FYM, rice straw, dry leaves, sugarcane trash) and compared with unweeded control. Four competitive plants were randomly selected from each treatment to record data on various parameters. The experiment comprising these treatments was laid out as factorial randomized block design with three replications. It was observed that among all the treatments black polythene mulch showed significantly higher plant height (89.92 cm, 59.17 cm) and (97.17 cm, 63.42 cm) after 30 and 45 days respectively, number of trusses per plant (109 and 6.33), number of fruits per truss (14.50 and 6.42) and weight of immature and mature fruits (4.59 gm and 6.73 gm) and (42.08 gm and 54.25 gm) in Cherry Tomato and Marglobe varieties. Among all the treatments, black polythene mulch was found to be the best for tomato cultivation in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) region of India

Ammonia Emissions in the United States, European Union, and China Derived by High-Resolution Inversion of Ammonium Wet Deposition Data: Interpretation with a New Agricultural Emissions Inventory (MASAGE_NH3)

We use the adjoint of a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to optimize ammonia $(NH_3)$ emissions in the U.S., European Union, and China by inversion of 2005–2008 network data for $NH^+_4$ wet deposition fluxes. Optimized emissions are derived on a 2° × 2.5° grid for individual months and years. Error characterization in the optimization includes model errors in precipitation. Annual optimized emissions are $2.8 Tg NH_3−N a^{−1}$ for the contiguous U.S., $3.1 Tg NH_3−N a^{−1}$ for the European Union, and $8.4 Tg NH_3−N a^{−1}$ for China. Comparisons to previous inventories for the U.S. and European Union show consistency $(\sim \pm 15$ in annual totals but some large spatial and seasonal differences. We develop a new global bottom-up inventory of $NH_3$ emissions (Magnitude And Seasonality of Agricultural Emissions model for NH3 (MASAGE_NH3)) to interpret the results of the adjoint optimization. MASAGE_NH3 provides information on the magnitude and seasonality of $NH_3$ emissions from individual crop and livestock sources on a 0.5° × 0.5° grid. We find that U.S. emissions peak in the spring in the Midwest due to corn fertilization and in the summer elsewhere due to manure. The seasonality of European emissions is more homogeneous with a well-defined maximum in spring associated with manure and mineral fertilizer application. There is some evidence for the effect of European regulations of $NH_3$ emissions, notably a large fall decrease in northern Europe. Emissions in China peak in summer because of the summertime application of fertilizer for double cropping.Engineering and Applied Science

Impact of lightning-NO on eastern United States photochemistry during the summer of 2006 as determined using the CMAQ model

A lightning-nitrogen oxide (NO) algorithm is implemented in the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) and used to evaluate the impact of lightning-NO emissions (LNO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt;) on tropospheric photochemistry over the United States during the summer of 2006. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; For a 500 mole per flash lightning-NO source, the mean summertime tropospheric NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; column agrees with satellite-retrieved columns to within −5 to +13%. Temporal fluctuations in the column are moderately well simulated; however, the addition of LNO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; does not lead to a better simulation of day-to-day variability. The contribution of lightning-NO to the model column ranges from &amp;sim;10% in the northern US to &gt;45% in the south-central and southeastern US. Lightning-NO adds up to 20 ppbv to upper tropospheric model ozone and 1.5–4.5 ppbv to 8-h maximum surface layer ozone, although, on average, the contribution of LNO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; to model surface ozone is 1–2 ppbv less on poor air quality days. LNO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; increases wet deposition of oxidized nitrogen by 43% and total deposition of nitrogen by 10%. This additional deposition reduces the mean magnitude of the CMAQ low-bias in nitrate wet deposition with respect to National Atmospheric Deposition monitors to near zero. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Differences in urban/rural biases between model and satellite-retrieved NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; columns were examined to identify possible problems in model chemistry and/or transport. CMAQ columns were too large over urban areas. Biases at other locations were minor after accounting for the impacts of lightning-NO emissions and the averaging kernel on model columns. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; In order to obtain an upper bound on the contribution of uncertainties in NO&lt;sub&gt;y&lt;/sub&gt; chemistry to upper tropospheric NO&lt;sub&gt;x&lt;/sub&gt; low biases, sensitivity calculations with updated chemistry were run for the time period of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-A) field campaign (summer 2004). After adjusting for possible interferences in NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; measurements and averaging over the entire campaign, these updates reduced 7–9 km biases from 32 to 17% and 9–12 km biases from 57 to 46%. While these changes lead to better agreement, a considerable unexplained NO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; low-bias remains in the uppermost troposphere

Perturbative Calculation of the Adiabatic Geometric Phase and Particle in a Well with Moving Walls

We use the Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory to calculate the corrections to the adiabatic geometric phase due to a perturbation of the Hamiltonian. We show that these corrections are at least of second order in the perturbation parameter. As an application of our general results we address the problem of the adiabatic geometric phase for a one-dimensional particle which is confined to an infinite square well with moving walls.Comment: Plain Latex, accepted for publication in J. Phys. A: Math. Ge

Second chances: Investigating athletes’ experiences of talent transfer

Talent transfer initiatives seek to transfer talented, mature individuals from one sport to another. Unfortunately talent transfer initiatives seem to lack an evidence-based direction and a rigorous exploration of the mechanisms underpinning the approach. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify the factors which successfully transferring athletes cite as facilitative of talent transfer. In contrast to the anthropometric and performance variables that underpin current talent transfer initiatives, participants identified a range of psychobehavioral and environmental factors as key to successful transfer. We argue that further research into the mechanisms of talent transfer is needed in order to provide a strong evidence base for the methodologies employed in these initiatives

Aquatic community response to volcanic eruptions on the Ecuadorian Andean flank: evidence from the palaeoecological record

Aquatic ecosystems in the tropical Andes are under increasing pressure from human modification of the landscape (deforestation and dams) and climatic change (increase of extreme events and 1.5 °C on average temperatures are projected for AD 2100). However, the resilience of these ecosystems to perturbations is poorly understood. Here we use a multi-proxy palaeoecological approach to assess the response of aquatic ecosystems to a major mechanism for natural disturbance, volcanic ash deposition. Specifically, we present data from two Neotropical lakes located on the eastern Andean flank of Ecuador. Laguna Pindo (1°27.132′S–78°04.847′W) is a tectonically formed closed basin surrounded by a dense mid-elevation forest, whereas Laguna Baños (0°19.328′S–78°09.175′W) is a glacially formed lake with an inflow and outflow in high Andean Páramo grasslands. In each lake we examined the dynamics of chironomids and other aquatic and semi-aquatic organisms to explore the effect of thick (> 5 cm) volcanic deposits on the aquatic communities in these two systems with different catchment features. In both lakes past volcanic ash deposition was evident from four large tephras dated to c.850 cal year BP (Pindo), and 4600, 3600 and 1500 cal year BP (Baños). Examination of the chironomid and aquatic assemblages before and after the ash depositions revealed no shift in composition at Pindo, but a major change at Baños occurred after the last event around 1500 cal year BP. Chironomids at Baños changed from an assemblage dominated by Pseudochironomus and Polypedilum nubifer-type to Cricotopus/Paratrichocladius type-II, and such a dominance lasted for approximately 380 years. We suggest that, despite potential changes in the water chemistry, the major effect on the chironomid community resulted from the thickness of the tephra being deposited, which acted to shallow the water body beyond a depth threshold. Changes in the aquatic flora and fauna at the base of the trophic chain can promote cascade effects that may deteriorate the ecosystem, especially when already influenced by human activities, such as deforestation and dams, which is frequent in the high Andes

(De)synchronization of advanced visual information and ball flight characteristics constrains emergent information–movement couplings during one-handed catching

Advance visual information of a projection action and ball flight information is important for organizing dynamic interceptive actions like catching. However, how the central nervous system (CNS) manages the relationship between advance visual information and emerging ball flight information in regulating behavior is less well understood. Here, we sought to examine the extent that advance visual information to the CNS constrains regulation of catching actions by synchronizing and desynchronizing its relationship with ball trajectory characteristics. Novel technology was used to present video footage of an actor throwing a ball at three different speeds, integrated with information from a real ball projected by a machine set to the three speeds. The technology enabled three synchronized and six desynchronized conditions between advance visual information and subsequent ball flight trajectories. Catching performance, kinematic data from the catching hand and gaze behaviors were recorded. Findings revealed that desynchronization of video images of ball projection shaped emergent catching behaviors. Footage of slower throws, paired with faster ball projection speeds, caused catching performance decrements. Timing in early phases of action was organized by the CNS to match the advance visual information presented. In later phases, like the grasp, ball flight information constraints adapted and regulated behaviors. Gaze behaviors showed increased ball projection speed resulted in participants tracking the ball for a smaller percentage of ball flight. Findings highlighted the role of the two visual systems in perception and action, implicating the importance of coupling advanced visual information and ball flight to regulate emergent movement coordination tendencies during interceptive behaviors

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry