Communicating security: technical communication, fire security and fire engine "experts" in the early modern period

"This Article deals with the question weather, and if so how, security could be produced by technical innovations and communication about these innovations in the Early Modern period. The linkage between fire Security, by fire engines, technical knowledge and communication about this knowledge will be pointed out. With the discourse of the improvement of fire engines in journals of the Enlightenment a trigger for the change in the communication about fire engines can be found. But Further it is discussed how inventions for fire-safety can be evaluated in the transforming scientific society in the Early Modern period." (author's abstract)"Der Artikel fragt in erster Linie nach dem Konnex von Sicherheit mit technischen Innovationen und der Kommunikation von technischem Wissen in der Frühen Neuzeit. Der Zusammenhang zwischen Produktion von Feuersicherheit durch Feuerspritzen und technischer Kommunikation steht im Focus. Im Diskurs über die Verbesserung von Feuerspritzen in Zeitschriften der Aufklärung kann unter anderem ein Auslöser zu einer entpersonalisierenden Veränderung in kommunikativen Prozessen gefunden werden. Des Weiteren wird diskutiert, wie sich Erfindungen zur Feuersicherheit innerhalb der sich transformierenden Wissenschaftsgesellschaft einordnen könnten." (Autorenreferat

The impact of dental caries and its treatment under general anaesthetic on the everyday lives of children and their families

Objectives: To assess the impact of dental caries and treatment under general anaesthetic (GA) on the everyday lives of children and their families, using measures of quality of life (QoL) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Methods: Participants, aged 5-16 years old requiring treatment for caries under GA, were recruited. OHRQoL was measured before and three months after treatment using the Caries Impacts and Experiences Questionnaire for Children (CARIES-QC). Overall QoL was measured using the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D). Parents/caregivers completed the Family Impact Scale (FIS). Change in scores after treatment were analysed using Wilcoxontests. Path analysis was conducted to investigate the relationships between clinical, individual and environmental factors and QoL outcomes, guided by a theoretical model. Results: In total, 85 parent-child dyads completed the study. Three-quarters (76%) of children were living in the most deprived areas of England. There was a statistically significant improvement in OHRQoL (mean interval score difference in CARIES-QC=4.43, p<0.001) and QoL (mean score difference in CHU9D=2.48, p<0.001) following treatment, with moderate to large effect sizes. Path analyses revealed that 47% of the variance in OHRQoL scores was accounted for by the variables in the model. There were significant relationships between change in OHRQoL score and treatment type [extraction only vs. comprehensive care (β=1.41, p=0.07)] and number of extractions (β=0.46, p<0.001). There was statistically significant improvement in FIS scores following treatment (mean score difference= 5.48, p=0.03). Overall, 95% of parents felt their child’s dental health had improved, and 74% reported improvement in their child’s QoL. Conclusion: Treatment under GA was associated with significant improvement in QoL and OHRQoL as reported by both children and their parents. Path analysis suggests that treatment type, via number of extractions, may impact on child OHRQoL and QoL following treatment under GA. Increased number of extractions was associated with worse OHRQoL and QoL. The results could have implications for treatment planning and the provision and commissioning of services

Integration in Greek Philosophy: Hellenistic Thought as a Case Study for Emerging Philosophic Methodology

What is offered here is a comparative study between two Hellenistic schools of philosophy: Epicureanism and Stoicism. The author explores the similarities and differences between them, emphasizing their shared sense of an overriding integrated system of philosophical thought—which they owe to Plato. Despite their divergent appeals to pragmatism and idealism, both philosophies urge followers to strive to imitate their gods, thereby demonstrating a strong logical connection between metaphysical and ethical ideas. To make her case, the author cites from various Greek philosophers and prominent commentators

The feasibility and acceptability of using the Mother-Generated Index (MGI) as a Patient Reported Outcome Measure in a randomised controlled trial of maternity care

Background: Using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to assess Quality of Life (QoL) is well established, but commonly-used PROM item-sets do not necessarily capture what all respondents consider important. Measuring complex constructs is particularly difficult in randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The Mother-Generated Index (MGI) is a validated antenatal and postnatal QoL instrument in which the variables and scores are completely respondent-driven. This paper reports on the feasibility and acceptability of the MGI in an RCT, and compares the resulting variables and QoL scores with more commonly used instruments. Methods: The single-page MGI was included at the end of a ten page questionnaire pack and posted to the RCT participants at baseline (28-32 weeks' gestation) and follow-up (six weeks postnatal). Feasibility and acceptability were assessed by ease of administration, data entry and completion rates. Variables cited by women were analysed thematically. MGI QoL scores were compared with outcomes from the EQ-5D-3 L; Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; Satisfaction With Life Scale; and State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results: Six hundred and seventy eight pregnant women returned the pack at baseline; 668 completed the MGI (98.5 %); 383/400 returns at follow up included a completed MGI (95.7 %). Quantitative data were scanned into SPSS using a standard data scanning system, and were largely error-free; qualitative data were entered manually. The variables recorded by participants on the MGI forms incorporated many of those in the comparison instruments, and other outcomes commonly used in intrapartum trials, but they also revealed a wider range of issues affecting their quality of life. These included financial and work-related worries; moving house; and concerns over family illness and pets. The MGI scores demonstrated low-to-moderate correlation with other tools (all r values p &lt;.01). Conclusions: Without face-to-face explanation and at the end of a long questionnaire, the MGI was feasible to use, and acceptable to RCT participants. It allowed individual participants to include issues that were important to them, but which are not well captured by existing tools. The MGI unites the explanatory power of qualitative research with the comparative power of quantitative designs, is inexpensive to administer, and requires minimal linguistic and conceptual translation. Trial registration: ISRCTN27575146 (date assigned 23 March 2011)</p

Graduate Recital: Rebecca Stuckey Stephens, Soprano; Joy Knapp, Piano; July 28, 1977

Centennial East Recital HallThursday EveningJuly 28, 19778:00 p.m

Providing additional information about the benefits of statins in a leaflet for patients with coronary heart disease : a qualitative study of the impact on attitudes and beliefs

OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of providing additional information about the potential benefits of simvastatin in a patient leaflet on attitudes and beliefs. DESIGN: Interview-based study using a generic qualitative approach and framework analysis. PARTICIPANTS: 21 participants receiving a prescription for simvastatin were recruited from a general practitioner practice (from a total of 120). 8 participants were women; the age range was 55-92. INTERVENTION: Participants were provided with leaflets showing one of 3 types of additional benefit information: (1) textual statement, (2) number needed to treat (NNT) or (3) natural frequency. Semistructured interviews explored patient's attitudes and beliefs. RESULTS: A descriptive narrative of preferences for format suggested patients prefer textual as opposed to numerical benefit information. Significant barriers to the acceptance of numerical benefit information included difficulty in understanding the numbers. Patients overestimated the benefits of statins and expressed surprise at the numerical information. CONCLUSIONS: Textual information was preferred but numerical information, in particular in the form of a natural frequency, may help patients make judgements about their medicines. NNTs were found to be very difficult to understand. This raises the prospect that some patients might reject medicines because of disappointment with the perceived low benefits of their medicines. The self-reported impact on behaviour appeared minimal with reports of intentions to 'do what the doctor tells me'. Further research is needed to explore the impact of such statements on people who are yet to be prescribed a statin

Environmental impacts of decommissioning : onshore versus offshore wind farms

Increasing concerns over climate change have prompted rapid growth of renewable energy over the past few decades, particularly wind energy. However, as the installation of wind farms rises, so will the need for decommissioning and analysis of the environmental impacts associated with decommissioning. This paper investigates how Environmental Impacts Assessments (EIA) identify, estimate and manage potential impacts of decommissioning. EIAs from 12 onshore and offshore windfarms consented between 2009 and 2014 in England and Scotland were analysed and compared. Attributes of these windfarms' Environmental Statements (ES) were scored under six categories: decommissioning in EIA stages, definitions of decommissioning, amount of analysis, depth of analysis, impacts identified, and proactive planning. Onshore windfarms generally tended to investigate the impacts of decommissioning less than offshore windfarms, even those which gained consent in the same year. The investigation of the impact of decommissioning improved for windfarms consented in the latter years of the study period. Across the ESs there was a lack of analysis of potential impacts from decommissioning in their own right: not simply as a reversal of the construction process. The impacts of different end of life scenarios were not analysed in any of the ESs studied. There is evidence to suggest the presence of windfarms, especially offshore, could in some cases be environmentally beneficial for certain species. However, the ecological impact of removing offshore structures at the end of life is unknown and is currently not investigated nor predicted in EIAs. Understanding the potential implications of full or partial removal of marine structures, or alternatives to decommissioning, could ensure that appropriate mitigation is considered at an early stage by both developer and consenting authority. That being said, it is also important to update the assessment of potential impacts over the life of the project as more information on the environment is gathered and end of life plans develop

Can the legacy of industrial pollution influence antimicrobial resistance in estuarine sediments?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a major global health threat, as well as a major hazard to sustainable economic development and national security. It remains, therefore, vital that current research aligns to policy development and implementation to alleviate a potential crisis. One must consider, for example, whether drivers of antibiotic resistance can be controlled in the future, or have they already accumulated in the past? Whether from antibiotics and/or other pollutants. Unfortunately, industrial heritage and its pollution impact on the prevalence of environmental AMR have largely been ignored. Focussing on industrialised estuaries we demonstrate that anthropogenic pollution inputs in addition to the natural diurnal environmental conditions can sufficiently create stressful conditions to the microbiome, and thus promote selective pressures to shift the resistome (i.e., collection of resistance traits in the microbiological community). Unfortunately, the bacteria’s survival mechanisms, via co-selective pressures, can affect their susceptibility to antibiotics. This review highlights the complexity of estuarine environments, using two key contaminant groups (metals/toxic elements and polyaromatic hydrocarbons), through which a variety of possible chemical and biological pollutant stressors can promote the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. We find compelling divers to call on more focused research on historically disrupted ecosystems, in propagating AMR in the real world

Design and Performance of the AERO-VISTA Magnetometer

We describe the design and performance of the magnetometer instrument for the CubeSat mission AERO-VISTA. AERO-VISTA requires in-situ vector magnetic measurements with magnetic precision and repeatability better than 100 nT at a minimum rate of 10 Hz. Our magnetometer system uses the three-axis Honeywell HMC1053 anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensor. As built, our instrument exhibits intrinsic magnetic noise better than 10 nTrms from 0.1 to 10 Hz, though self-interference effects degrade performance to about 50 nT to 200 nT uncertainty. The analog and mixed signal portion of each magnetometer occupies about 8 square centimeters of circuit board space and draws about 100 mW. We describe the selection of major components, detail the schematic design of the analog electronics, and derive a noise budget from datasheet component specifications. The theoretical noise budget matches experimental results to better than 20%. We also describe the digital electronics and software which operates an analog to digital converter interface and implements a sampling method that allows for improved separation of offset and magnetic field signal contributions. We show the spectral characteristics of the magnetic field noise floor including self-interference effects. Our magnetometer design can be used in whole or in part on other small satellites which plan to use similar AMR magnetic sensors