Linking emerging contaminants to production and consumption practices

Emerging contaminants (ECs) associated with consumer products such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and plastics, are an issue of growing concern for water quality and human and environmental health. Growth in use of products associated with ECs is an outcome of growing populations, increased incomes and the emergence of new consumer products. Two examples are used illustrate the value of social science research in understanding patterns of consumption and sources of ECs, in order to identify potential interventions to reduce ECs in the environment—flushing inappropriate materials down the toilet, and antibiotic use in global livestock production. Antimicrobial resistance is a major policy driver to control the use of antibiotics in human healthcare and livestock production. Global antibiotic consumption increased 65% 2000–2015. Disposal of products, including unused pharmaceuticals and plastics, is influenced by regulation, consumer behavior, and infrastructure. This range of factors and trends demonstrates the complexity in understanding why ECs enter the aquatic environment and the extent that the issue can be tackled at the source rather than mitigated once in the environment

A Systematic Review and Development of Best Practice in the Usage of Video Recording During Debriefing of Simulation with Undergraduate Nursing Students

The purpose of this evidence based project was to evaluate current literature and synthesize the best practice guidelines for debriefing and video-assisted debriefing (VAD) as it relates to simulation-based learning for undergraduate nursing students. Presently, high fidelity patient simulators (HFPS) and various debriefing techniques are used in many different occupational fields. Facilitator led verbal debriefing is a standard practice in nursing schools following a simulation to guide student reflection and learning. Newer technology, however, is now allowing for video-recording and annotation of simulations for enhanced debriefing sessions and can be used for immediate review. Some evidence-based guidelines exist for standard debriefing; however, there is limited research for both VAD and the facilitator’s role. This project provides an operational definition which promotes assimilation into real-world practice by explaining the attributes of VAD: reflection, feedback, self-efficacy, and behavioral identification. Guidelines focus on tools for the facilitator to lead a VAD session. The Kolb Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and framework was used for this project (Kolb, 1984)

Difficulty of distinguishing product states locally

Non-locality without entanglement is a rather counter-intuitive phenomenon in which information may be encoded entirely in product (unentangled) states of composite quantum systems in such a way that local measurement of the subsystems is not enough for optimal decoding. For simple examples of pure product states, the gap in performance is known to be rather small when arbitrary local strategies are allowed. Here we restrict to local strategies readily achievable with current technology; those requiring neither a quantum memory nor joint operations. We show that, even for measurements on pure product states there can be a large gap between such strategies and theoretically optimal performance. Thus even in the absence of entanglement physically realizable local strategies can be far from optimal for extracting quantum information.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

A new methodology for automatic fault tree construction based on component and mark libraries

During the design stage of the development of a new system, automated fault tree construction would produce results a lot sooner than the manual process and hence be highly beneficial in order to modify the system design based on identified weakest areas. Although much work has been performed in this area, the construction of fault trees is still generally done manually. In this paper, a new methodology of constructing fault trees from a system description is proposed. Multi-state input/output tables are introduced, which have the capability to capture output deviations during the normal operation of a component as well as under the influence of abnormality or failure. Two libraries, namely, a component library and a mark library, are introduced. The former stores component models and the latter stores a range of marks. The main purpose of a mark is to identify a certain feature of the system, such as a feedback loop or multiple redundancies. These two libraries are used to redraw the system in a graphical environment where the designer can witness the system come together and also input the necessary failure data for each component. An algorithm has been developed, that uses input/output tables and marks, to automatically construct fault trees for failure modes of interest. In order to demonstrate this methodology, it is applied to an automotive emission control system, and a fault tree is generated using the algorithm developed in this work

Smart Drugs “As Common As Coffee”: Media Hype about Neuroenhancement

Background: The use of prescription drugs to improve cognitive functioning in normal persons -"neuroenhancement" - has gained recent attention from bioethicists and neuroscientists. Enthusiasts claim that the practice is widespread and increasing, and has many potential benefits; however recent evidence provides weak support for these claims. In this study we explored how the newsprint media portrays neuroenhancement

Observatory/data centre partnerships and the VO-centric archive: The JCMT Science Archive experience

We present, as a case study, a description of the partnership between an observatory (JCMT) and a data centre (CADC) that led to the development of the JCMT Science Archive (JSA). The JSA is a successful example of a service designed to use Virtual Observatory (VO) technologies from the start. We describe the motivation, process and lessons learned from this approach.Comment: Accepted for publication in the second Astronomy & Computing Special Issue on the Virtual Observatory; 10 pages, 5 figure

How can we better prepare new doctors for the tasks and challenges of ward rounds?:An observational study of junior doctors' experiences

Founding: Economic and Social Research Council Open access via T&F agreement Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank participating FY1 doctors and the senior staff who made this study possible. Funding The study was funded by the ESRC via a Doctoral Studentship awarded to CB.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A genetic network that suppresses genome rearrangements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and contains defects in cancers.

Gross chromosomal rearrangements (GCRs) play an important role in human diseases, including cancer. The identity of all Genome Instability Suppressing (GIS) genes is not currently known. Here multiple Saccharomyces cerevisiae GCR assays and query mutations were crossed into arrays of mutants to identify progeny with increased GCR rates. One hundred eighty two GIS genes were identified that suppressed GCR formation. Another 438 cooperatively acting GIS genes were identified that were not GIS genes, but suppressed the increased genome instability caused by individual query mutations. Analysis of TCGA data using the human genes predicted to act in GIS pathways revealed that a minimum of 93% of ovarian and 66% of colorectal cancer cases had defects affecting one or more predicted GIS gene. These defects included loss-of-function mutations, copy-number changes associated with reduced expression, and silencing. In contrast, acute myeloid leukaemia cases did not appear to have defects affecting the predicted GIS genes

Methanethiol, Dimethyl Sulfide and Acetone Over Biologically Productive Waters in the Southwest Pacific Ocean

Atmospheric methanethiol (MeSHa), dimethyl sulfide (DMSa) and acetone (acetonea) were measured over biologically productive frontal waters in the remote southwest Pacific Ocean in summertime 2012 during the Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP) voyage. MeSHa mixing ratios varied from below the detection limit (\u3c 10 ppt) up to 65 ppt and were 3 %–36 % of parallel DMSa mixing ratios. MeSHa and DMSa were correlated over the voyage (R2=0.3, slope = 0.07) with a stronger correlation over a coccolithophore-dominated phytoplankton bloom (R2=0.5, slope 0.13). The diurnal cycle for MeSHa shows similar behaviour to DMSa with mixing ratios varying by a factor of ∼ 2 according to time of day with the minimum levels of both MeSHa and DMSa occurring at around 16:00 LT (local time, all times in this paper are in local time). A positive flux of MeSH out of the ocean was calculated for three different nights and ranged from 3.5 to 5.8 µmol m−2 d−1, corresponding to 14 %–24 % of the DMS flux (MeSH ∕ (MeSH + DMS)). Spearman rank correlations with ocean biogeochemical parameters showed a moderate-to-strong positive, highly significant relationship between both MeSHa and DMSa with seawater DMS (DMSsw) and a moderate correlation with total dimethylsulfoniopropionate (total DMSP). A positive correlation of acetonea with water temperature and negative correlation with nutrient concentrations are consistent with reports of acetone production in warmer subtropical waters. Positive correlations of acetonea with cryptophyte and eukaryotic phytoplankton numbers, and high-molecular-weight sugars and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), suggest an organic source. This work points to a significant ocean source of MeSH, highlighting the need for further studies into the distribution and fate of MeSH, and it suggests links between atmospheric acetone levels and biogeochemistry over the mid-latitude ocean. In addition, an intercalibration of DMSa at ambient levels using three independently calibrated instruments showed ∼ 15 %–25 % higher mixing ratios from an atmospheric pressure ionisation chemical ionisation mass spectrometer (mesoCIMS) compared to a gas chromatograph with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector (GC-SCD) and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS). Some differences were attributed to the DMSa gradient above the sea surface and differing approaches of integrated versus discrete measurements. Remaining discrepancies were likely due to different calibration scales, suggesting that further investigation of the stability and/or absolute calibration of DMS standards used at sea is warranted