Nurse-friendly nutritional screening for patient benefit

Screening for undernutrition is highly important and may reduce morbidity and mortality. The Minimal Eating Observation and Nutrition Form – Version II (MEONF-II) is a nutritional screening tool specifically developed for use by nurses. Here, we describe the translation, performance and appropriateness of the MEONF-II for the UK. Following translation from Swedish to British English, the user-friendliness and appropriateness of the British MEONF-II was tested by 29 registered nurses and final year student nurses on 266 hospital inpatients. The new British MEONF-II was perceived as highly user-friendly and appropriate. They found the MEONF-II to compare favourably to other similar tools in terms of preference, usefulness and helpfulness in providing good nutritional care. Dependency in activities and poorer subjective health were associated with a higher undernutrition risk. These findings support the appropriateness of the British MEONF-II version and suggest it may act as a user-friendly facilitator towards good nutritional nursing care

Nuevas formas de aprendizaje informales: ¿O estamos formalizando lo informal?

En l’actualitat, alguns autors veuen l’aprenentatge informal com un canvi en els sistemes educatius actuals. Basant-se en una tendència instigada pel connectivisme, pel qual es creen xarxes informals entre persones que s’ajuden les unes a les altres a aprendre, l’aprenentatge informal sembla ser una alternativa a formes tradicionals d’ensenyament i aprenentatge. Les noves tecnologies són fonamentals per al desenvolupament d’aquests models d’aprenentatge informal. Així, els recursos educatius oberts (OER) digitals i, més recentment, els cursos oberts en línia i massius (MOOC) són dos mètodes diferents, tot i que relacionats, per a fer possible aquest desenvolupament. Si bé encara estan en emergència i creixement, alguns d’aquests nous mètodes semblen intents de formalitzar l’informal. Basats en models de transmissió tradicional, alguns dels models que s’han desenvolupat són només transformacions dels antics models, encara que utilitzen noves tecnologies per a assolir els objectius. Aquest article presenta una revisió crítica dels últims desenvolupaments en l’aprenentatge informal, i assenyala la necessitat de realitzar recerca basada en proves per a establir quin aprenentatge real pot assolir-se informalment.Informal learning is currently seen by some authors as a shift in current educational systems. Based on a trend instigated by connectivism, whereby informal networks are created between people who help each other to learn, it seems to be an alternative to traditional ways of teaching and learning. New technologies are key to the development of these informal learning models. Thus, digital Open Educational Resources (OER) and, more recently, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are two different yet related ways of making such development possible. While still emerging and growing, some of these ways appear to be attempts at formalising the informal. Based on traditional transmissive models, some of the models that have been developed are simply makeovers of the old ones, albeit using new technologies to achieve their goals. This article presents a critical review of the latest developments in informal learning, and points out the need for evidence-based research to establish what actual learning can be attained informally.En la actualidad, algunos autores ven el aprendizaje informal como un cambio en los sistemas educativos actuales. Basándose en una tendencia instigada por el conectivismo, por el que se crean redes informales entre personas que se ayudan unas a otras a aprender, el aprendizaje informal parece ser una alternativa a las formas tradicionales de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Las nuevas tecnologías son claves para el desarrollo de estos modelos de aprendizaje informal. Así, los recursos educativos abiertos (OER) digitales y, más recientemente, los cursos abiertos en línea y masivos (MOOC) son dos métodos diferentes, si bien relacionados, para hacer posible este desarrollo. Aunque todavía están en emergencia y crecimiento, algunos de estos nuevos métodos parecen intentos de formalizar lo informal. Basados en modelos de transmisión tradicional, algunos de los modelos que se han desarrollado son solo transformaciones de los antiguos modelos, aunque utilizan nuevas tecnologías para conseguir sus objetivos. Este artículo presenta una revisión crítica de los últimos desarrollos en el aprendizaje informal, y señala la necesidad de realizar investigación basada en pruebas para establecer qué aprendizaje real puede conseguirse informalmente

The nature and role of experiential knowledge for environmental conservation

Understanding the nature and role of experiential knowledge for environmental conservation is a necessary step towards understanding if it should be used and how it might be applied with other types of knowledge in an evidence-based approach. This paper describes the nature of experiential and expert knowledge. It then discusses the role of experiential knowledge as a complement to scientific knowledge and explains the interplay between experiential knowledge with conservation research and practice using a simple conceptual model of how individuals learn. There are five main conclusions: (1) because experiential knowledge will always play a role in decision-making, enhancing ability to learn from experiences (including research) will have a significant influence on the effectiveness of conservation outcomes; (2) while experiential knowledge is qualitatively very different from quantitative information, both are important and complementary; (3) some experiential knowledge can be expressed quantitatively, but experiential knowledge can be difficult to isolate as single facts or propositions and qualitative methods will therefore often be required to elicit experiential knowledge; (4) because each person's expertise is unique, when using experiential knowledge the extent of a person's experience and its relevance to a particular problem need to be specified; and (5) as with any form of knowledge, there are limitations to that derived from personal experience. Synthesis and communication of research is therefore essential to help prevent erroneous thinking and, where possible, experiential knowledge should be used in conjunction with other types of information to guide conservation actions.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Design study for a moored surface-scanning sonar

This report contains the results of a design study for a surface scanning sonar instrument capable of long-term deployment on ocean moorings. The instrument is intended to sample the bubble field just below the ocean's surface and compute the backscattered intensity and Doppler velocity in small unit volumes. The principal motivation for the development of such an instrument is to enhance the study of upper ocean processes by utilizing the ability of the sonar to detect surface waves and Langmuir circulation. Important design parameters for the instrument are investigated and a detailed design proposed. Key technical issues such as the trade-offs among spatial resolution, temporal resolution, velocity precision, total range, and power are discussed. The azimuthal motion of the instrument on a mooring is considered as a potential problem, and possible solutions are discussed. Matlab functions used for the investigations are included in an appendix.Funding was provided by a grant from the Webster Foundation to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Preliminary Investigation of Rural-Use Aquifers of Boone, Carroll, and Madison Counties, Arkansas

Approximately 500 water wells having driller\u27s lithologic logs were plottedin Boone, Carroll, and Madison Counties, Arkansas. Three aquifers were found to be used by the rural residents and smaller communities. The most shallow of these is the Mississippian Boone-St. Joe aquifer. This aquifer is generally the least productive having a range of .25 to 60 gpm but a median productivity of only 5 gpm. Well depths for the Boone-St. Joe range from 46 to 464 ft. and have a median depth of 225 ft. The Boone-St. Joe aquifer is unconfined to semi-confined and yields sufficient quantities of water only when there is an adequate saturated thickness (generally\u3e100 ft.) and/or a fracture or water-filled cave is intersected. The next aquifer is the first sand below the Chattanooga Shale which can be composed on one to three of the following sandstones: upper Everton, Clifty, and/or Sylamore. The range in yield for this newly designated aquifer is 1 to 70 gpm with a median productivity of 10 gpm. Well depths for the aquifer range from 150 to 824 ft. with a median depth of 460 feet. An isopach map was prepared for this sandstone aquifer zone. There is a rapid thinning trend to the north from 250 ft in central Madison County to 0 ft near the Missouri border. If there is insufficiency or permeability of this aquifer, residents must drill deeper to the Cotter Dolomite. The Cotter-Jefferson City Dolomite is the next aquifer below the Sylamore-Clifty-Everton aquifer. This aquifer zone has a range in yield of 1.5 to 200 gpm and a median yield of 15 gpm. Well depths range from 130 to 1010 ft. with a median depth of 475 feet. A statistical correlation procedure was made among well yield (gpm), photo-lineament proximity, and regolith thickness for all these aquifers in Boone County. The results indicate that more water can be obtained in areas of deep weathering and that deeper weathering is found closer to photo-lineaments. A strong relationship between lineament proximity and yield exists when the aquifers are combined but not for each of the individual aquifers

Human Behavior and Performance Support for ISS Operations and Astronaut Selections: NASA Operational Psychology for Six-Crew Operations

The Behavioral Health and Performance group at NASA Johnson Space Center provides psychological support services and behavioral health monitoring for ISS astronauts and their families. The ISS began as an austere outpost with minimal comforts of home and minimal communication capabilities with family, friends, and colleagues outside of the Mission Control Center. Since 1998, the work of international partners involved in the Space Flight Human Behavior and Performance Working Group has prepared high-level requirements for behavioral monitoring and support. The "buffet" of services from which crewmembers can choose has increased substantially. Through the process of development, implementation, reviewing effectiveness and modifying as needed, the NASA and Wyle team have proven successful in managing the psychological health and well being of the crews and families with which they work. Increasing the crew size from three to six brought additional challenges. For the first time, all partners had to collaborate at the planning and implementation level, and the U.S. served as mentor to extrapolate their experiences to the others. Parity in available resources, upmass, and stowage had to be worked out. Steady progress was made in improving off-hours living and making provisions for new technologies within a system that has difficulty moving quickly on certifications. In some respect, the BHP support team fell victim to its previous successes. With increasing numbers of crewmembers in training, requests to engage our services spiraled upward. With finite people and funds, a cap had to placed on many services to ensure that parity could be maintained. The evolution of NASA BHP services as the ISS progressed from three- to six-crew composition will be reviewed, and future challenges that may be encountered as the ISS matures in its assembly-complete state will be discussed

Scaffold filling, contig fusion and comparative gene order inference

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been a trend in increasing the phylogenetic scope of genome sequencing without finishing the sequence of the genome. Increasing numbers of genomes are being published in scaffold or contig form. Rearrangement algorithms, however, including gene order-based phylogenetic tools, require whole genome data on gene order or syntenic block order. How then can we use rearrangement algorithms to compare genomes available in scaffold form only? Can the comparative evidence predict the location of unsequenced genes?</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our method involves optimally filling in genes missing from the scaffolds, while incorporating the augmented scaffolds directly into the rearrangement algorithms as if they were chromosomes. This is accomplished by an exact, polynomial-time algorithm. We then correct for the number of extra fusion/fission operations required to make scaffolds comparable to full assemblies. We model the relationship between the ratio of missing genes actually absent from the genome versus merely unsequenced ones, on one hand, and the increase of genomic distance after scaffold filling, on the other. We estimate the parameters of this model through simulations and by comparing the angiosperm genomes <it>Ricinus communis </it>and <it>Vitis vinifera</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The algorithm solves the comparison of genomes with 18,300 genes, including 4500 missing from one genome, in less than a minute on a MacBook, putting virtually all genomes within range of the method.</p