1,482 research outputs found
End of life care in intensive care settings: a case study approach to explore decision making and processes. National Institute for Health Research, Research for Patient Benefit Programme PB-PG-0107-12274
Examining the Link Between Pledging, Hazing, and Organizational Commitment Among Members of a Black Greek Fraternity
Black Greek-Letter Organization (BGLO) members hold strong opinions about the purposes and efficacy of pledging and hazing as a means of member initiation. Those who argue in favor of the pledge process claim it is needed to help remove those not genuinely interested in membership, develop appreciation for and pride in the organization, and generate longterm organizational commitment and sustained participation. Those who call for an end to pledging argue that whatever benefit might be gained from such bonding experiences is overshadowed by the mortal, legal, reputational, emotional, and financial risks posed for both the associations and the individuals involved. Despite decades of conjectural debate on the efficacy of pledging and hazing, to the authorsâ knowledge, no empirical study has examined its impact on BGLO alumni-level membership continuance. To address this deficiency, the researchers conducted a logistic regression analysis of survey responses from alumni members of a BGLO fraternity (n = 285). Results revealed no statistically significant relationship between participation in a pledge process and alumni level membership. The implication of these findings for BGLOs and their members and leaders are discussed
Product renovation and shared ownership: sustainable routes to satisfying the world's growing demand for goods
It has been estimated that by 2030 the number of people who are wealthy enough to be considered as middle class consumers will have tripled. This will have a dramatic impact on the demands for primary materials and energy. Much work has been carried out on sustainable ways of meeting the Worldâs energy demands and some work has been carried out on the sustainable production and consumption of goods. It has been estimated that with improvements in design and manufacturing it is possible to reduce the primary material requirements by 30% to produce the current demand for goods. Whilst this is a crucial step on the production side, there will still be a doubling of primary material requirements by the end of the century because of an absolute rise in demand for goods and services. It is therefore clear that the consumption of products must also be explored. This is a key areas of research for the UK INDEMAND centre, which is investigating ways of reducing the UKâs industrial energy demand and demand for energy intensive materials. Our ongoing work shows that two strategies would result in considerable reductions in the demand for primary materials: product longevity and using goods more intensively (which may requires increased durability). Product longevity and durability are not new ideas, but ones that can be applied across a raft of goods as methods of reducing the consumption of materials. With long life products there is a potential risk of outdated design and obsolescence, consequently there is a need to ensure upgradability and adaptability are incorporated at the design stage. If products last longer, then the production of new products can be diverted to emerging markets rather than the market for replacement goods. There are many goods which are only used occasionally; these goods do not normally wear out. The total demand for such could be drastically reduced if they were shared with other people. Sharing of goods has traditionally been conducted between friends or by hiring equipment. The use of modern communication systems and social media could enable the development of sharing co-ops and swap spaces that will increase the utilisation of goods and hence reduce the demand for new goods. This could also increase access to a range of goods for those on low incomes. From a series of workshops it has been found that the principal challenges are sociological rather than technological. This paper contains a discussion of these challenges and explores possible futures where these two strategies have been adopted. In addition, the barriers and opportunities that these strategies offer for consumers and businesses are identified, and areas where government policy could be instigated to bring about change are highlighted
On the completeness of quantum computation models
The notion of computability is stable (i.e. independent of the choice of an
indexing) over infinite-dimensional vector spaces provided they have a finite
"tensorial dimension". Such vector spaces with a finite tensorial dimension
permit to define an absolute notion of completeness for quantum computation
models and give a precise meaning to the Church-Turing thesis in the framework
of quantum theory. (Extra keywords: quantum programming languages, denotational
semantics, universality.)Comment: 15 pages, LaTe
Voiceless stop lenition and reduction as linguistic and social phenomena in ConcepciĂłn, Chile
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This study investigates voiceless stop lenition in Chilean Spanish. Recent studies (e.g. Pérez 2007, Figueroa & Evans 2014 among others) have documented high levels of lenition of /bdg/ in Chilean Spanish. As a result, the present study seeks to document the degree to which the voiceless stops /ptk/ undergo lenition in this variety of Spanish. Furthermore, the relationship between lenition and social factors (e.g., age, gender, and socioeconomic stratification) is examined. Data was taken from the sociolinguistic interviews of 32 speakers from the Province of Concepción, Chile. In all, 4,419 intervocalic tokens of /ptk/ were analyzed for lenition using three different measurement criteria: total voicing, articulatory reduction, and duration.  Results confirm that, according to all three criteria, elevated levels of lenition are observed in the production of /ptk/ in Concepción. Likewise, results indicate that as a social phenomenon, voiceless stop lenition in Concepcion is primarily conditioned by age and gender
Towards precision medicine for pain: diagnostic biomarkers and repurposed drugs
We endeavored to identify objective blood biomarkers for pain, a subjective sensation with a biological basis, using a stepwise discovery, prioritization, validation, and testing in independent cohorts design. We studied psychiatric patients, a high risk group for co-morbid pain disorders and increased perception of pain. For discovery, we used a powerful within-subject longitudinal design. We were successful in identifying blood gene expression biomarkers that were predictive of pain state, and of future emergency department (ED) visits for pain, more so when personalized by gender and diagnosis. MFAP3, which had no prior evidence in the literature for involvement in pain, had the most robust empirical evidence from our discovery and validation steps, and was a strong predictor for pain in the independent cohorts, particularly in females and males with PTSD. Other biomarkers with best overall convergent functional evidence for involvement in pain were GNG7, CNTN1, LY9, CCDC144B, and GBP1. Some of the individual biomarkers identified are targets of existing drugs. Moreover, the biomarker gene expression signatures were used for bioinformatic drug repurposing analyses, yielding leads for possible new drug candidates such as SC-560 (an NSAID), and amoxapine (an antidepressant), as well as natural compounds such as pyridoxine (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), and apigenin (a plant flavonoid). Our work may help mitigate the diagnostic and treatment dilemmas that have contributed to the current opioid epidemic
Challenging lanthanide relaxation theory: erbium and thulium complexes that show NMR relaxation rates faster than dysprosium and terbium analogues
Measurements of the proton NMR paramagnetic relaxation rates for several series of isostructural lanthanide(III) complexes have been performed in aqueous solution over the field range 1.0 to 16.5 Tesla. The field dependence has been modeled using BlochâRedfieldâWangsness theory, allowing values for the electronic relaxation time, Tle and the magnetic susceptibility, ÎŒeff, to be estimated. Anomalous relaxation rate profiles were obtained, notably for erbium and thulium complexes of low symmetry 8-coordinate aza-phosphinate complexes. Such behaviour challenges accepted theory and can be interpreted in terms of changes in Tle values that are a function of the transient ligand field induced by solvent collision and vary considerably between Ln3+ ions, along with magnetic susceptibilities that deviate significantly from free-ion values
Association between dental caries and obesity in children and young people : a narrative review
Objectives. To explore the association between obesity and dental caries in children and adolescents. Furthermore, to consider the possible reasons behind this relationship.
Methods. A database search for papers published between January 2015 and May 2018, inclusive, addressing the association between obesity and dental caries was conducted. A review and critical appraisal of all included studies was performed.
Results. Twenty-six studies were included in this review from different populations worldwide. Eight studies assessed the primary dentition, nine studies were conducted on permanent dentition, and remaining nine studies on both dentitions. The results regarding the association between obesity and dental caries were conflicting and inconsistent. Nine studies concluded that there was no relationship between obesity and dental caries. A positive association was reported in five studies, while the inverse association was reported in eleven studies. Studies included in this review had significant variations in methodology and the investigated cofactors. Possible explanations of the controversial association between obesity and dental caries are discussed in this review.
Conclusion. Both obesity and dental caries are multifactorial diseases, and their association is far more complex that can be explained by a single common risk factor, presenting evidence for the complexity of this association
In-situ velocity imaging of ultracold atoms using slow--light
The optical response of a moving medium suitably driven into a slow-light
propagation regime strongly depends on its velocity. This effect can be used to
devise a novel scheme for imaging ultraslow velocity fields. The scheme turns
out to be particularly amenable to study in-situ the dynamics of collective and
topological excitations of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. We illustrate
the advantages of using slow-light imaging specifically for sloshing
oscillations and bent vortices in a stirred condensate
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