Drivers for renewal and reform of contemporary nursing curricula: A blueprint for change

The creation of a curriculum blueprint appropriate to the development of a professional nurse who is practice-ready for the current and future context of health service delivery must take account of the extant context as well as an unpredictable and sometimes ambiguous future. The curriculum renewal process itself ought to challenge existing long held ideals, practices, and sacred cows within the health and higher education sectors. There is much to consider and importantly curriculum developers need to be mindful of reform within the health sector and health workforce education, as well as the concomitant vision and requirements of the nursing profession. Curriculum must develop more than discipline knowledge and skills: it must provide an infrastructure for generic abilities both social and intellectual in order to better prepare students for the registered nurse role. This paper discusses a number of forces that are essential to consider in curriculum development in undergraduate nursing education. © eContent Management Pty Ltd

A web-based tool for teaching pharmacy practice competency

Aims to implement and assess the effectiveness of the Strathclyde Computerized Randomized Interactive Prescription Tutor (SCRIPT) in teaching a competency-based undergraduate pharmacy course. Data on students' access to SCRIPT, collected by quantitative electronic data capture, were analyzed to determine student usage patterns and correlations between usage and grades in class assessments. Data on students' perceptions were collected by electronic questionnaire and semistructured interviews. Teaching staff members also were interviewed. Two hundred forty-three students accessed SCRIPT a median of 23 times each. Students accessed SCRIPT predominantly at times outside normal teaching hours and tended to access the tool more often in the 48 hours preceding class assessments. Feedback from students indicated overall satisfaction with the tool to compliment the timetabled teaching sessions but highlighted that more specific feedback on the examples was required. All staff comments were positive. Students and teaching staff members valued SCRIPT as a tool to compliment teaching of the competency-based pharmacy practice classes in the MPharm degree

Fermi Gamma-ray Imaging of a Radio Galaxy

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected the gamma-ray glow emanating from the giant radio lobes of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. The resolved gamma-ray image shows the lobes clearly separated from the central active source. In contrast to all other active galaxies detected so far in high-energy gamma-rays, the lobe flux constitutes a considerable portion (>1/2) of the total source emission. The gamma-ray emission from the lobes is interpreted as inverse Compton scattered relic radiation from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with additional contribution at higher energies from the infrared-to-optical extragalactic background light (EBL). These measurements provide gamma-ray constraints on the magnetic field and particle energy content in radio galaxy lobes, and a promising method to probe the cosmic relic photon fields.Comment: 27 pages, includes Supplementary Online Material; corresponding authors: C.C. Cheung, Y. Fukazawa, J. Knodlseder, L. Stawar

A change in the optical polarization associated with a gamma-ray flare in the blazar 3C 279

It is widely accepted that strong and variable radiation detected over all accessible energy bands in a number of active galaxies arises from a relativistic, Doppler-boosted jet pointing close to our line of sight. The size of the emitting zone and the location of this region relative to the central supermassive black hole are, however, poorly known, with estimates ranging from light-hours to a light-year or more. Here we report the coincidence of a gamma-ray flare with a dramatic change of optical polarization angle. This provides evidence for co-spatiality of optical and gamma-ray emission regions and indicates a highly ordered jet magnetic field. The results also require a non-axisymmetric structure of the emission zone, implying a curved trajectory for the emitting material within the jet, with the dissipation region located at a considerable distance from the black hole, at about 10^5 gravitational radii.Comment: Published in Nature issued on 18 February 2010. Corresponding authors: Masaaki Hayashida and Greg Madejsk

Manovacuometria realizada por meio de traqueias de diferentes comprimentos

Manovacuometry is a simple, fast, and non-invasive test, with maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) obtained to assist respiratory muscle assessment. Currently, there is a wide variety of models and brands of manovacuometers with different trachea diameters and lengths. However, the interference of these models in the measurements obtained by these equipments needs to be investigated. Thus, this study mainly aimed to verify the influence of tracheal length on maximal respiratory pressures (MRP), obtained by an analog manovacuometer, in healthy individuals. Our secondary objective was to verify the correlation between measurements. Fifty individuals, aged 18 to 30, of both sexes, were evaluated by spirometry and manovacuometry. MIP and MEP were performed using tracheas with same internal diameter (0.5 cm) and 30 cm, 60 cm, and 90 cm length. Significantly lower MIP values were observed when comparing a 90 cm trachea to 30 and 60 cm tracheas (Friedman’s ANOVA test and Wilcoxon test with Bonferroni adjustment). Tracheas with 30, 60, and 90 cm length and same diameter did not affect MIP and MEP values, except the 90 cm trachea for MIP values, which may interfere in the physical therapy clinical practice. Further studies are required to analyze the need for standardizing the trachea length used in manovacuometers.La manovacuometría es una prueba sencilla, rápida y no invasiva por la cual se obtienen la presión inspiratoria máxima (PImax) y la presión espiratoria máxima (PEmax), con el objetivo de ayudar en el examen muscular respiratorio. Hoy día se encuentran una gran variedad de modelos y marcas de manovacuometros, con diferentes diámetros y longitudes de las tráqueas, pero hacen falta estudios sobre la interferencia de estos modelos en las mediciones por este instrumento. En este texto se propone examinar en sujetos sanos, en primer lugar, la influencia en la longitud de las tráqueas en las presiones respiratorias máximas, obtenidas por manovacuometros analógicos, y en segundo lugar comprobar la existencia de correlación entre las mediciones. Se evaluaron a cincuenta sujetos entre 18 y 30 años de edad, tanto varones como mujeres, empleando la espirometría y la manovacuometría. Se midió la PImax y la PEmax empleando tráqueas de mismo diámetro interno (0,5 cm) y con longitudes de 30, 60 e 90 cm. Se observaron valores significativamente menores de PImax con la tráquea de longitud de 90 cm en comparación con las PImax con las tráqueas de 30 y 60 cm (prueba de Friedman’s ANOVA, la de Wilcoxon con ajustes de Bonferroni). Las tráqueas de 30, 60 y 90 cm de longitud y mismo diámetro no influyeron en los valores de la PEmax y de la PImax, con excepción de la tráquea de 90 cm en los valores de la PImax, lo que puede interferir la práctica clínica fisioterapéutica. Se necesitan más estudios para evaluar la necesidad de estándares de la longitud de tráqueas empleadas en manovacuometros.A manovacuometria é um teste simples, rápido e não invasivo por meio do qual a pressão inspiratória máxima (PImáx) e a pressão expiratória máxima (PEmáx) são obtidas, a fim de auxiliar na avaliação muscular respiratória. Atualmente, há grande variedade de modelos e marcas de manovacuômetros, com diferentes diâmetros e comprimentos de traqueias, no entanto, a interferência desses modelos nas medidas obtidas por esses equipamentos necessita de investigação. Desta forma, o objetivo primário deste estudo foi verificar a influência do comprimento de traqueias nas pressões respiratórias máximas, obtidas por meio de manovacuômetro analógico, em indivíduos saudáveis e, secundariamente, se há correlação entre as medidas. Foram avaliados 50 indivíduos, de 18 a 30 anos, de ambos os sexos, por meio da espirometria e manovacuometria. As PImáx e PEmáx foram realizadas com uso de traqueias de mesmo diâmetro interno (0,5 cm) e comprimentos de 30, 60 e 90 cm. Foram observados valores significativamente menores de PImáx obtidos com a traqueia de comprimento de 90 cm comparados às PImáx obtidas com as traqueias de 30 e 60 cm (teste de Friedman’s ANOVA com teste de Wilcoxon com ajuste de Bonferroni). As traqueias de 30, 60 e 90 cm de comprimento e mesmo diâmetro não influenciaram os valores de PEmáx e PImáx, exceto a traqueia de 90 cm para os valores de PImáx, o que pode interferir na prática clínica fisioterapêutica. Novos estudos são necessários para analisar a necessidade de padronização do comprimento da traqueia utilizada em manovacuômetros

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

The Single-Phase ProtoDUNE Technical Design Report

ProtoDUNE-SP is the single-phase DUNE Far Detector prototype that is under construction and will be operated at the CERN Neutrino Platform (NP) starting in 2018. ProtoDUNE-SP, a crucial part of the DUNE effort towards the construction of the first DUNE 10-kt fiducial mass far detector module (17 kt total LAr mass), is a significant experiment in its own right. With a total liquid argon (LAr) mass of 0.77 kt, it represents the largest monolithic single-phase LArTPC detector to be built to date. It's technical design is given in this report