Validation of the English and Chinese versions of the Quick-FLIC quality of life questionnaire.

A useful measure of quality of life should be easy and quick to complete. Recently, we reported the development and validation of a shortened Chinese version of the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), which we called the Quick-FLIC. In the present study of 327 English-speaking and 221 Chinese-speaking cancer patients, we validated the English version of the Quick-FLIC and further assessed the Chinese version. The 11 Quick-FLIC items were administered alongside the 11 remaining items of the full FLIC, but there appeared to be little context effect. Validity of the English version of the Quick-FLIC was attested by its strong correlation with two other measures of quality of life, and its ability to detect differences between patients with different performance status and treatment status (each P<0.001). Its internal consistency (alpha=0.86) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.76) were also satisfactory. The measure was responsive to changes in performance status (P<0.001). The Chinese version showed similar characteristics. The Quick-FLIC behaved in ways that are highly comparable with the FLIC, even though the Quick-FLIC comprised only 11 items whereas the FLIC comprised 22. Further research is required to see whether the use of shorter instruments can improve data quality and response rates, but the fact that shorter instruments place less burden on the patients is itself inherently important

Patient-Related Barriers to Timely Dialysis Access Preparation: A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of Patients, Family Members, and Health Care Providers

Rational & Objective A key aspect of smooth transition to dialysis is the timely creation of a permanent access. Despite early referral to kidney care, initiation onto dialysis is still suboptimal for many patients, which has clinical and cost implications. This study aimed to explore perspectives of various stakeholders on barriers to timely access creation. Study Design Qualitative study. Setting & Participants Semi-structured interviews with 96 participants (response rate, 67%), including patients with stage 4 chronic kidney disease (n = 30), new hemodialysis patients with (n = 18) and without (n = 20) permanent access (arteriovenous fistula), family members (n = 19), and kidney health care providers (n = 9). Analytical Approach Thematic analysis. Results Patients reported differential levels of behavioral activation toward access creation: avoidance/denial, wait and see, or active intention. 6 core themes were identified: (1) lack of symptoms, (2) dialysis fear and practical concerns (exaggerated fear, pain, cost, lifestyle disruptions, work-related concerns, burdening their families), (3) evaluating value against costs/risks of access creation (benefits, threat of operation, viability, prompt for early initiation), (4) preference for alternatives, (5) social influences (hearsay, family involvement, experiences of others), and (6) health care provider interactions (mistrust, interpersonal tension, lack of clarity on information). Themes were common to all groups, whereas nuanced perspectives of family members and health care providers were noted in some subthemes. Limitations Response bias. Conclusions Individual, interpersonal, and psychosocial factors compromise dialysis preparation and contribute to suboptimal dialysis initiation. Our findings support the need for interventions to improve patient and family engagement and address emotional concerns and misperceptions about preparing for dialysis

Strong suppression of superconductivity by divalent Ytterbium Kondo-holes in CeCoIn_5

To study the nature of partially substituted Yb-ions in a Ce-based Kondo lattice, we fabricated high quality Ce_{1-x}Yb_xCoIn_5 epitaxial thin films using molecular beam epitaxy. We find that the Yb-substitution leads to a linear decrease of the unit cell volume, indicating that Yb-ions are divalent forming Kondo-holes in Ce_{1-x}Yb_xCoIn_5, and leads to a strong suppression of the superconductivity and Kondo coherence. These results, combined with the measurements of Hall effect, indicate that Yb-ions act as nonmagnetic impurity scatters in the coherent Kondo lattice without serious suppression of the antiferromagnetic fluctuations. These are in stark contrast to previous studies performed using bulk single crystals, which claim the importance of valence fluctuations of Yb-ions. The present work also highlights the suitability of epitaxial films in the study of the impurity effect on the Kondo lattice.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Anisotropic Superconducting Properties of Optimally Doped BaFe2_2(As0.65_{0.65}P0.35_{0.35})2_2 under Pressure

Magnetic measurements on optimally doped single crystals of BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_2$ ($x\approx0.35$) with magnetic fields applied along different crystallographic axes were performed under pressure, enabling the pressure evolution of coherence lengths and the anisotropy factor to be followed. Despite a decrease in the superconducting critical temperature, our studies reveal that the superconducting properties become more anisotropic under pressure. With appropriate scaling, we directly compare these properties with the values obtained for BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_2$ as a function of phosphorus content.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Controllable Rashba spin-orbit interaction in artificially engineered superlattices involving the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5

By using a molecular beam epitaxy technique, we fabricate a new type of superconducting superlattices with controlled atomic layer thicknesses of alternating blocks between heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn_5, which exhibits a strong Pauli pair-breaking effect, and nonmagnetic metal YbCoIn_5. The introduction of the thickness modulation of YbCoIn_5 block layers breaks the inversion symmetry centered at the superconducting block of CeCoIn_5. This configuration leads to dramatic changes in the temperature and angular dependence of the upper critical field, which can be understood by considering the effect of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction arising from the inversion symmetry breaking and the associated weakening of the Pauli pair-breaking effect. Since the degree of thickness modulation is a design feature of this type of superlattices, the Rashba interaction and the nature of pair-breaking are largely tunable in these modulated superlattices with strong spin-orbit coupling.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Evolution of precision agriculture computing towards sustainable oil palm industry

Precision technology elements have not been implemented yet into the sustainable oil palm industry because the knowledge and technology gap. To resolve the gaps, promote sustainability and integrate the technologies, Oil Palm Management System (OPAMS) was introduced. The precision technologies in OPAMS comprises of Geographical Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing and yield monitoring. A phase by phase System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodology was used to generate the said system with feedbacks from oil palm planters as the inputs for OPAMS’s key features. OPAMS ultimately aims to increase the awareness of the industry on the benefits of utilizing technology to improve plantation performances, increase business and environmental sustainability

Cluster size dependence of high-order harmonic generation

We investigate high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from noble gas clusters in a supersonic gas jet. To identify the contribution of harmonic generation from clusters versus that from gas monomers, we measure the high-order harmonic output over a broad range of the total atomic number density in the jet (from 3*10^16 cm^{-3} to 3x10^18 cm{-3}) at two different reservoir temperatures (303 K and 363 K). For the firrst time in the evaluation of the harmonic yield in such measurements, the variation of the liquid mass fraction, g, versus pressure and temperature is taken into consideration, which we determine, reliably and consistently, to be below 20% within our range of experimental parameters. By comparing the measured harmonic yield from a thin jet with the calculated corresponding yield from monomers alone, we find an increased emission of the harmonics when the average cluster size is less than 3000. Using g, under the assumption that the emission from monomers and clusters add up coherently, we calculate the ratio of the average single-atom response of an atom within a cluster to that of a monomer and find an enhancement of around 10 for very small average cluster size (~200). We do not find any dependence of the cut-off frequency on the composition of the cluster jet. This implies that HHG in clusters is based on electrons that return to their parent ions and not to neighbouring ions in the cluster. To fully employ the enhanced average single-atom response found for small average cluster sizes (~200), the nozzle producing the cluster jet must provide a large liquid mass fraction at these small cluster sizes for increasing the harmonic yield. Moreover, cluster jets may allow for quasi-phase matching, as the higher mass of clusters allows for a higher density contrast in spatially structuring the nonlinear medium.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure