“It’s my dream to work with Olympic athletes”: Neophyte sport psychologists’ expectations and initial experiences regarding service delivery

We examined trainee practitioners' initial experiences of applied sport psychology practice. Semi-structured interviews (4) were conducted over 6 months with 7 full-time MSc students before, during, and after the applied sport psychology module, when they were working with clients. Participants also kept reflective diaries over an 8-week period whilst working with clients. Findings included: (a) motivations and expectations of an ASP practice career, (b) perceptions of service delivery, (c) emotional demands, and (d) pivotal experiences. Findings extend previous literature on the initial stages of practitioner development, providing micro-level detail on aspects of the intense development process during this pivotal perio

CD40-targeted adenoviral GM-CSF gene transfer enhances and prolongs the maturation of human CML-derived dendritic cells upon cytokine deprivation

Vaccination with autologous leukaemia-derived dendritic cells (DC) presents an adjuvant treatment option for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Here, we show that high-efficiency CD40-targeted adenoviral gene transfer of GM-CSF to CML-derived DC induces long-lived maturation in the absence of exogenous cytokines and may thus ensure protracted stimulation of CML-specific T cells upon vaccination

Evidence for Supercurrent Connectivity in Conglomerate Particles in NdFeAsO1-d

Here we use global and local magnetometry and Hall probe imaging to investigate the electromagnetic connectivity of the superconducting current path in the oxygen-deficient fluorine-free Nd-based oxypnictides. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy show strongly-layered crystallites, evidence for a ~ 5nm amorphous oxide around individual particles, and second phase neodymium oxide which may be responsible for the large paramagnetic background at high field and at high temperatures. From global magnetometry and electrical transport measurements it is clear that there is a small supercurrent flowing on macroscopic sample dimensions (mm), with a lower bound for the average (over this length scale) critical current density of the order of 103 A/cm2. From magnetometry of powder samples and local Hall probe imaging of a single large conglomerate particle ~120 microns it is clear that on smaller scales, there is better current connectivity with a critical current density of the order of 5 x 104 A/cm2. We find enhanced flux creep around the second peak anomaly in the magnetisation curve and an irreversibility line significantly below Hc2(T) as determined by ac calorimetry.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Best Practices for Reliable and Robust Spacecraft Structures

A study was undertaken to capture the best practices for the development of reliable and robust spacecraft structures for NASA s next generation cargo and crewed launch vehicles. In this study, the NASA heritage programs such as Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle program were examined. A series of lessons learned during the NASA and DoD heritage programs are captured. The processes that "make the right structural system" are examined along with the processes to "make the structural system right". The impact of technology advancements in materials and analysis and testing methods on reliability and robustness of spacecraft structures is studied. The best practices and lessons learned are extracted from these studies. Since the first human space flight, the best practices for reliable and robust spacecraft structures appear to be well established, understood, and articulated by each generation of designers and engineers. However, these best practices apparently have not always been followed. When the best practices are ignored or short cuts are taken, risks accumulate, and reliability suffers. Thus program managers need to be vigilant of circumstances and situations that tend to violate best practices. Adherence to the best practices may help develop spacecraft systems with high reliability and robustness against certain anomalies and unforeseen events

Practice level costs of office-based hypertension performance improvement: The Heart Healthy Lenoir study

Primary care practice leaderswho consider engaging in quality improvement (QI) need to understand the practice level costs incurred when asking staff to take on new tasks. The HeartHealthy Lenoir study is a prospective cohort trial in whichQImethods were used to enhance hypertension (HTN) care and reduce racial disparities in blood pressure control in small rural primary care practices inNorth Carolina. As part of this effort, we performed an activity-based costing analysis to describe the costs incurred to develop, implement, and maintain key tasks. We interviewed 20 practice stakeholders and phone-based health coaches during 2012-2014. We calculated the time invested by individuals to perform each task within each study phase and applied national hourly wages to generate cost estimates. Our descriptive analyses focus on four of themost widely used practices. Activities included time to abstract HTN control data, participate in project meetings, identify patients with uncontrolled HTN, create standardized work, and provide additional health coaching for patients with uncontrolled HTN. Despite practice and staffing differences, the developmental phase costs were similar, ranging from $879 to$1, 417. Implementation costs varied more widely as practices took different approaches to identifying patients with uncontrolled HTN. Practice-specific phone health coaching costs ranged from $19, 508 to more than$38, 000. This study adds to the growing literature regarding practice level costs of engaging in systems change. Understanding these costs and balancing them against practice incentives may be helpful as stakeholders make decisions regarding HTN QI

Thermal tides in the Martian middle atmosphere as seen by the Mars Climate Sounder

The first systematic observations of the middle atmosphere of Mars (35–80km) with the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) show dramatic patterns of diurnal thermal variation, evident in retrievals of temperature and water ice opacity. At the time of writing, the data set of MCS limb retrievals is sufficient for spectral analysis within a limited range of latitudes and seasons. This analysis shows that these thermal variations are almost exclusively associated with a diurnal thermal tide. Using a Martian general circulation model to extend our analysis, we show that the diurnal thermal tide dominates these patterns for all latitudes and all seasons

Regulation and drug modulation of a voltage-gated sodium channel: Pivotal role of the S4–S5 linker in activation and slow inactivation

Voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels control excitable cell functions. While structural investigations have revealed conformation details of different functional states, the mechanisms of both activation and slow inactivation remain unclear. Here, we identify residue T140 in the S4–S5 linker of the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NaChBac as critical for channel activation and drug effects on inactivation. Mutations at T140 either attenuate activation or render the channel nonfunctional. Propofol, a clinical anesthetic known to inhibit NaChBac by promoting slow inactivation, binds to a pocket between the S4–S5 linker and S6 helix in a conformation-dependent manner. Using 19F-NMR to quantify site-specific binding by saturation transfer differences (STDs), we found strong STDs in inactivated, but not activated, NaChBac. Molecular dynamics simulations show a highly dynamic pocket in the activated conformation, limiting STD buildup. In contrast, drug binding to this pocket promotes and stabilizes the inactivated states. Our results provide direct experimental evidence showing distinctly different associations between the S4–S5 linker and S6 helix in activated and inactivated states. Specifically, an exchange occurs between interaction partners T140 and N234 of the same subunit in activation, and T140 and N225 of the domain-swapped subunit in slow inactivation. The drug action on slow inactivation of prokaryotic NaV channels seems to have a mechanism similar to the recently proposed “door-wedge” action of the isoleucine-phenylalanine-methionine (IFM) motif on the fast inactivation of eukaryotic NaV channels. Elucidating this gating mechanism points to a possible direction for conformation-dependent drug development