Specialist palliative care nursing and the philosophy of palliative care: a critical discussion

Nursing is the largest regulated health professional workforce providing palliative care across a range of clinical settings. Historically, palliative care nursing has been informed by a strong philosophy of care which is soundly articulated in palliative care policy, research and practice. Indeed, palliative care is now considered to be an integral component of nursing practice regardless of the specialty or clinical setting. However, there has been a change in the way palliative care is provided. Upstreaming and mainstreaming of palliative care and the dominance of a biomedical model with increasing medicalisation and specialisation are key factors in the evolution of contemporary palliative care and are likely to impact on nursing practice. Using a critical reflection of the authors own experiences and supported by literature and theory from seminal texts and contemporary academic, policy and clinical literature, this discussion paper will explore the influence of philosophy on nursing knowledge and theory in the context of an evolving model of palliative care

Mechanical Flexibility Reduces the Foreign Body Response to Long-Term Implanted Microelectrodes in Rabbit Cortex.

Micromotion between the brain and implanted electrodes is a major contributor to the failure of invasive microelectrodes. Movements of the electrode tip cause recording instabilities while spike amplitudes decline over the weeks/months post-implantation due to glial cell activation caused by sustained mechanical trauma. We compared the glial response over a 26-96 week period following implantation in the rabbit cortex of microwires and a novel flexible electrode. Horizontal sections were used to obtain a depth profile of the radial distribution of microglia, astrocytes and neurofilament. We found that the flexible electrode was associated with decreased gliosis compared to the microwires over these long indwelling periods. This was in part due to a decrease in overall microgliosis and enhanced neuronal density around the flexible probe, especially at longer periods of implantation

From the Andes to the Outback : Acclimatising Alpacas in the British Empire

This article examines attempts to naturalise the alpaca in the British Empire. In the nineteenth century Britain made concerted efforts to appropriate useful plants and animals and acclimatise them within its own colonies. The alpaca was a prime target for acclimatisers on account of its silken wool, which was manufactured into a range of luxury textiles. Its export was, however, banned by law in Peru and Bolivia, so the animals had to be smuggled out of the Andean states and shipped illegally to Britain and Australia. The article studies the circuits of exchange that facilitated the transfer of alpacas from one continent to another and considers how British subjects in places as diverse as Bradford, Liverpool, Sydney and Arequipa promoted and benefited from the naturalisation scheme. It situates alpaca acclimatisation within a wider discourse of agricultural ‘improvement’, bio-piracy and imperial adventure

Antibodies and relative concentrations used for analysing the immune response around electrode implants.

<p>All antibodies were diluted in PBS-0.3% triton.</p

Astrocytic response for the tip region for the sinusoidal probe and microwire probe for 26 (A,B), 52 (C,D) and 96 (E,F) week time points.

<p>Decreased astrocytosis was found at 24 and 96 weeks for the flexible probe.</p

The microglial response for the top profile for the sinusoidal probe and microwire probe for 52 (A,B) and 96 (C,D) week time points.

<p>Reduction in microgliosis was found at 52 and 96 weeks for the flexible probe.</p

Side-by-Side comparison of the sinusoidal and microwire probe used in this study.

<p>The sinusoidal probe is a flexible Parylene-C based electrode. Scale bar = 500 μm.</p

Microglial response for the tip region for the sinusoidal probe and microwire probe for 52 (A,B) and 96 (C,D) week time points.

<p>Decreased microgliosis was found at 52 and 96 weeks for the flexible probe at all the distance comparisons.</p

The sequential steps for glial response normilisation and subsequent statistical analysis using a radial distribution to compare staining intensity for microgliosis, astrcytosis and neuralfilament staining.

<p>The sequential steps for glial response normilisation and subsequent statistical analysis using a radial distribution to compare staining intensity for microgliosis, astrcytosis and neuralfilament staining.</p

Summary of histological comparisons at 24,52 and 96 week chronic indwelling points for both microwire and sinusoidal probe.

<p>Summary of histological comparisons at 24,52 and 96 week chronic indwelling points for both microwire and sinusoidal probe.</p