Consistency between the radio and MIR faint source counts using the radio-MIR correlation

We show from the recent extrapolation of the radio-FIR correlation to the MIR that the 20 cm and 15 um differential source counts are likely to come from the same parent population.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to appear in proceedings of 'Multi-wavelength AGN surveys', Cozumel, 200

Agronomy of wheat cultivars.

Location: Northam, Wongan Hills, East Beverley, Corrigin and Merredin. Time of sowing x wheat cultivars, 87N07, 87N011, 87WH7, 87NA4, 87M11. Time of sowing x wheat cultivars. Nitrogen rates x wheat cultivars, 87N05, 87N09, 87WH5, 87NA2, 87M9. Seed rates x wheat cultivars, 87N06, 87N010, 87WH6, 8JNA3, 87M10. Wheat cultivar factorial, 87N04, 87N08, 87WH4, 87NA1

Do nursing homes for older people have the support they need to provide end-of-life care? A mixed methods enquiry in England

Nursing homes are a common site of death, but older residents receive variable quality of end-of-life care. We used a mixed methods design to identify external influences on the quality of end-of-life care in nursing homes. Two qualitative case studies were conducted and a postal survey of 180 nursing homes surrounding the case study sites. In the case studies, qualitative interviews were held with seven members of nursing home staff and 10 external staff. Problems in accessing support for end-of-life care reported in the survey included variable support by general practitioners (GPs), reluctance among GPs to prescribe appropriate medication, lack of support from other agencies, lack of out of hours support, cost of syringe drivers and lack of access to training. Most care homes were implementing a care pathway. Those that were not rated their end-of-life care as in need of improvement or as average. The case studies suggest that critical factors in improving end-of-life care in nursing homes include developing clinical leadership, developing relationships with GPs, the support of 'key' external advocates and leverage of additional resources by adoption of care pathway tools

A modified systematic review of research evidence about education for pre-registration nurses in palliative care

Background: We undertook a modified systematic review of research regarding educational approaches to and effectiveness of pre-registration palliative care nursing, to inform the development of a short course in palliative care for pre-registration nursing students in Cameroon. The aim of this review was to examine educational approaches applied to pre-registration palliative care nursing education and their effectiveness, and to discuss implications for the development of palliative care curricula in resource-poor countries. Method: A modified systematic review of research on palliative care educational interventions, conducted with pre-registration student nurses was undertaken. Relevant literature was gathered from CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsychINFO databases for the period 2000–2013. Inclusion was limited to studies of educational interventions evaluating the effectiveness and outcomes of palliative and end of life care education with pre-registration student nurses. Results: 17 studies were found, all of which were conducted in resource-rich countries: United States of America, Canada, Australia, and United Kingdom. Palliative care nursing education at pre-registration level is either delivered as a discrete course within the curriculum or palliative care content is embedded into other nursing specialty courses throughout the wider curriculum. Palliative care education is delivered to students at a variety of stages in their nursing program, using a mix of both didactic and experiential educational strategies. Course facilitators span palliative care specialists, educators who have attended ‘train-the-trainer’ courses in palliative care, and nurses with hospice experience. Education is underpinned by transformative and experiential learning theories and reported as effective in improving students’ attitudes towards care of the dying. Conclusion: The educational strategies identified in this review may be applicable to resource-poor countries. However, there are challenges in transferability because of the lack of availability of specialist palliative care practitioners who can serve as educators, specialist palliative care units/institutions for experiential learning, funds to design and use high fidelity simulations, and palliative care textbooks and other educational materials. There is thus a need for innovative educational strategies that can bridge these barriers in resource-poor countries. There is also a need for further research into how palliative care education impacts on pre-registration student nurses’ knowledge and practice

A continental rift model for the La Grande greenstone belt

Stratigraphic relationships and the geochemistry of volcanic rocks contrain the nature and timing of the tectonic and magmatic processes in the pre-deformational history of the La Grande greenstone belt in the Superior Province of north-central Quebec. The lowermost supracrustals in this belt are obscured by syntectonic granitoid intrusives. The supracrustal succession in the western part of the belt consists of a lower sequence of immature clastic sediments and mafic volcanoclastics, overlain by pillowed and massive basalts. Further east, along tectonic strike, a lower sequence of mafic volcanoclastics and immature clastic sediments is overlain by a thick sequence of pillowed and massive basalts, and resedimented coarse clastic sediments and banded iron formation. These are overlain by assive basaltic andesites, andesites and intermediate volcanoclastics intercalated with immature clastic sediments. In contrast, in the eastern part of the belt lenses of felsic volcanics and volcanoclastics occur at the base of the succession and pillowed and massive basalts are overlain by komatiites at the top. The La Grande greenstone belt can be explained as the product of continental rifting. The restricted occurence of komatiites, and eastwardly directed paleocurrents in clastic sediments in the central part of the belt are consistent with rifting commencing in the east and propagating westward with time. The increase in depth of emplacement and deposition with time of the lower three units in the central part of the belt reflects deposition in a subsiding basin. These supracrustal rocks are believed to represent the initial rift succession