Constraints on the Mode and Extent of Sedimentary Rock Alteration in Hyper-Arid and Hypo-Thermal Environments

Geologic evidence suggests that the surface of Mars has been dominated by cold, dry, and relatively stable environmental conditions over the past ~3.5 Ga. These conditions differ from those pre-sumed to be present prior to ~3.5 Ga, when observa-tions indicate that the martian surface was at least in-termittently able to support the prolonged flow of liq-uid water. Despite the more than 75% of martian his-tory dominated by cold, dry, and stable conditions, few investigations have studied weathering and alteration processes that may influence the martian surface dur-ing this time. Please see attachment

Perspectives of staff nurses of the reasons for and the nature of patient-initiated call lights: an exploratory survey study in four USA hospitals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little research has been done on patient call light use and staff response time, which were found to be associated with inpatient falls and satisfaction. Nurses' perspectives may moderate or mediate the aforementioned relationships. This exploratory study intended to understand staff's perspectives about call lights, staff responsiveness, and the reasons for and the nature of call light use. It also explored differences among hospitals and identified significant predictors of the nature of call light use.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This cross-sectional, multihospital survey study was conducted from September 2008 to January 2009 in four hospitals located in the Midwestern region of the United States. A brief survey was used. All 2309 licensed and unlicensed nursing staff members who provide direct patient care in 27 adult care units were invited to participate. A total of 808 completed surveys were retrieved for an overall response rate of 35%. The SPSS 16.0 Window version was used. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The primary reasons for patient-initiated calls were for toileting assistance, pain medication, and intravenous problems. Toileting assistance was the leading reason. Each staff responded to 6 to 7 calls per hour and a call was answered within 4 minutes (estimated). 49% of staff perceived that patient-initiated calls mattered to patient safety. 77% agreed that that these calls were meaningful. 52% thought that these calls required the attention of nursing staff. 53% thought that answering calls prevented them from doing the critical aspects of their role. Staff's perceptions about the nature of calls varied across hospitals. Junior staff tended to overlook the importance of answering calls. A nurse participant tended to perceive calls as more likely requiring nursing staff's attention than a nurse aide participant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>If answering calls was a high priority among nursing tasks, staff would perceive calls as being important, requiring nursing staff's attention, and being meaningful. Therefore, answering calls should not be perceived as preventing staff from doing the critical aspects of their role. Additional efforts are necessary to reach the ideal or even a reasonable level of patient safety-first practice in current hospital environments.</p

Fundulus as the premier teleost model in environmental biology : opportunities for new insights using genomics

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2007. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics 2 (2007): 257-286, doi:10.1016/j.cbd.2007.09.001.A strong foundation of basic and applied research documents that the estuarine fish Fundulus heteroclitus and related species are unique laboratory and field models for understanding how individuals and populations interact with their environment. In this paper we summarize an extensive body of work examining the adaptive responses of Fundulus species to environmental conditions, and describe how this research has contributed importantly to our understanding of physiology, gene regulation, toxicology, and ecological and evolutionary genetics of teleosts and other vertebrates. These explorations have reached a critical juncture at which advancement is hindered by the lack of genomic resources for these species. We suggest that a more complete genomics toolbox for F. heteroclitus and related species will permit researchers to exploit the power of this model organism to rapidly advance our understanding of fundamental biological and pathological mechanisms among vertebrates, as well as ecological strategies and evolutionary processes common to all living organisms.This material is based on work supported by grants from the National Science Foundation DBI-0420504 (LJB), OCE 0308777 (DLC, RNW, BBR), BES-0553523 (AW), IBN 0236494 (BBR), IOB-0519579 (DHE), IOB-0543860 (DWT), FSML-0533189 (SC); National Institute of Health NIEHS P42-ES007381(GVC, MEH), P42-ES10356 (RTD), ES011588 (MFO); and NCRR P20 RR-016463 (DWT); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery (DLM, TDS, WSM) and Collaborative Research and Development Programs (DLM); NOAA/National Sea Grant NA86RG0052 (LJB), NA16RG2273 (SIK, MEH,GVC, JJS); Environmental Protection Agency U91620701 (WSB), R82902201(SC) and EPA’s Office of Research and Development (DEN)

Dual Diagnosis

Although the problem of patients with dual diagnoses is not new, it has only been in the last few years that their unique and complex problems have begun to be addressed. This recognition coincides with society\u27s concern regarding the magnitude of substance abuse problems in general. Currently, treatment consists of integrating concepts from substance abuse and mental health fields. This integration may improve the therapeutic outcome for these patients. As more experience is gained in this specialty, it is hoped that new treatment concepts will evolve that will more powerfully address the interactive aspect of substance abuse and psychiatric disorders

Investigating the role of anhydrous oxidative weathering on sedimentary rocks in the Transantarctic Mountains and implications for the modern weathering of sedimentary lithologies on Mars

International audienceAlteration of the uppermost surfaces of geologic materials is a pervasive process on planetary surfaces that is dependent upon factors including parent composition and the environment under which alteration is occurring. While rapid and pervasive in hot and humid climates on Earth, chemical weathering of rock surfaces has also been found to dominate in some of Earth's coldest and driest landscapes as well. Specifically, surfaces dominated by resistant fine-grained igneous rocks in the Antarctic preserve evidence of oxidative weathering processes, which represent the initial immature surface alteration processes that stagnate due to the lack of available water and kinetics necessary for the production of more mature alteration phases. In this study, we test the hypothesis that oxidative weathering also dominates the surfaces of sedimentary rocks throughout the Antarctic. We investigated the chemistry and mineralogy of a suite of sedimentary rocks from the Transantarctic Mountains ranging from fine-grained tuffs to coarse-grained sandstones and conglomerates. Our results show that, like the previously studied fine-grained igneous rocks in the Antarctic, sedimentary rocks generally showed only minor chemical weathering signatures at their surfaces relative to their interiors. However, unlike the igneous rocks in this earlier study, the sedimentary rocks exhibited a wide variety of non-systematic differences between surface and interior compositions. This variability of surface weathering signatures is equally as complex as the physical properties and compositions inherently present within these different sedimentary lithologies. Based on these analyses, it is apparent that oxidative weathering products do not dominate the surfaces of sedimentary rocks throughout the Transantarctic Mountains, which instead exhibit a wide array of weathering signatures that are likely dependent on both lithological and environmental factors. Considering that sedimentary lithologies are widespread across a significant fraction of the martian surface, our results suggest that observed alteration signatures limited to the surfaces of martian sedimentary rocks are most likely to be minor and to vary as a result of the lithological properties of the specific rock unit and not as a result of the widespread influences of the modern cold and dry climatic conditions