Five minutes with Thomas Tweed: “We might see a Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, or Buddhist U.S. president before we see an avowed atheist”

Despite the separation of church and state set out in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, religion has been an important part of politics for much of the country’s history. But are the softening views towards gay marriage and the acceptance of greater religious diversity among political candidates signalling a change in American religious attitudes? USApp Editor, Chris Gilson talks to Thomas A. Tweed, the Harold and Martha Welch Endowed Chair in American Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and president-elect of the American Academy of Religion, about religion and how its role in contemporary American society may be evolving

Obtaining tissue diagnosis in lung cancer patients with poor performance status and its influence on treatment and survival

Introduction: 25% of patients with lung cancer have performance status 3 or 4. A pragmatic approach to investigative procedures is often adopted based on the risks and benefits in these patients and whether tissue diagnosis is necessary for anticipated future treatment. This cohort study investigated factors influencing a clinician's decision to pursue a tissue diagnosis in patients with lung cancer and performance status 3 and 4 and to examine the association of tissue diagnosis with subsequent management and survival. Methods: All patients with lung cancer diagnosed in North Glasgow from 2009 to 2012 were prospectively recorded in a registry. We investigated the relationships between achieving a tissue diagnosis, treatment and survival. Results: Of 2493 patients diagnosed with lung cancer, 490 patients (20%) were PS 3 and 122 patients (5%) were PS 4. Tissue diagnosis was attempted in 60% and 35% patients with PS 3 and PS 4 respectively. Younger age, better performance status and having stage 4 disease were independently associated with a diagnostic procedure being performed. Only 5% of patients with poor performance status received treatment conventionally requiring a tissue diagnosis. Age, stage and performance status were independent predictors of mortality. Achieving a tissue diagnosis was not associated with mortality. Receiving treatment requiring tissue diagnosis is associated with survival benefit. Conclusions: The majority of patients with poor fitness undergo a diagnostic procedure which does not influence further treatment or affect survival. However, the cohort of patients who do undergo therapy determined by tissue diagnosis have improved survival

Early formation of massive, compact, spheroidal galaxies with classical profiles by violent disc instability or mergers

We address the formation of massive stellar spheroids between redshifts $z=4$ and 1 using a suite of AMR hydro-cosmological simulations. The spheroids form as bulges, and the spheroid mass growth is partly driven by violent disc instability (VDI) and partly by mergers. A kinematic decomposition to disc and spheroid yields that the mass fraction in the spheroid is between 50\% and 90\% and is roughly constant in time, consistent with a cosmological steady state of VDI discs that are continuously fed from the cosmic web. The density profile of the spheroid is typically "classical", with a Sersic index $n = 4.5\pm 1$, independent of whether it grew by mergers or VDI and independent of the feedback strength. The disc is characterized by $n=1.5\pm 0.5$, and the whole galaxy by $n=3\pm 1$. The high-redshift spheroids are compact due to the dissipative inflow of gas and the high universal density. The stellar surface density within the effective radius of each galaxy as it evolves remains roughly constant in time after its first growth. For galaxies of a fixed stellar mass, the surface density is higher at higher redshifts.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figures, accepted in MNRA

Toy Models for Galaxy Formation versus Simulations

We describe simple useful toy models for key processes of galaxy formation in its most active phase, at z > 1, and test the approximate expressions against the typical behaviour in a suite of high-resolution hydro-cosmological simulations of massive galaxies at z = 4-1. We address in particular the evolution of (a) the total mass inflow rate from the cosmic web into galactic haloes based on the EPS approximation, (b) the penetration of baryonic streams into the inner galaxy, (c) the disc size, (d) the implied steady-state gas content and star-formation rate (SFR) in the galaxy subject to mass conservation and a universal star-formation law, (e) the inflow rate within the disc to a central bulge and black hole as derived using energy conservation and self-regulated Q ~ 1 violent disc instability (VDI), and (f) the implied steady state in the disc and bulge. The toy models provide useful approximations for the behaviour of the simulated galaxies. We find that (a) the inflow rate is proportional to mass and to (1+z)^5/2, (b) the penetration to the inner halo is ~50% at z = 4-2, (c) the disc radius is ~5% of the virial radius, (d) the galaxies reach a steady state with the SFR following the accretion rate into the galaxy, (e) there is an intense gas inflow through the disc, comparable to the SFR, following the predictions of VDI, and (f) the galaxies approach a steady state with the bulge mass comparable to the disc mass, where the draining of gas by SFR, outflows and disc inflows is replenished by fresh accretion. Given the agreement with simulations, these toy models are useful for understanding the complex phenomena in simple terms and for back-of-the-envelope predictions.Comment: Resubmitted to MNRAS after responding to referee's comments; Revised figure

The Paternalistic Relationship: Authenticity and credibility as a source of healthy relationships

This article explores the how the Paternalistic Leadership model can be viewed as part of a relationship-based paradigm of leadership, and can incorporate concepts such as credibility and authenticity. The review highlights the need to understand paternalistic leadership as an approach to establishing productive relationships within a cultural context, with implications for researchers and practitioners in both collectivist and individualistic cultures

When are empiric antibiotics appropriate for urinary tract infection symptoms?

Healthy, nonpregnant women presenting with the triad of frequency, dysuria, and no vaginal symptoms have about a 96% chance of having an urinary tract infection (UTI) (positive likelihood ratio [LR+]=24.6). Since no urinalysis result would substantially change the high likelihood of disease for these patients, empiric therapy is appropriate (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B)

Tools for low-energy building design: an exploratory study of the design process in action

Building designers face increased pressure to design low-energy buildings. Consequently, there is a growing interest in providing computational support for low-energy design via building performance simulation. This article presents an ethnographic study that investigated the design process of five low-energy buildings in England and Wales. The study was informed by design science literature and phenomenology of technology. The investigation analysed the methods deployed by designers to embed low-energy performance during design problem-solving. The findings illustrate how experience-based methods and simulation tools were used to inform low-energy building design. The work identified some of the challenges faced by designers to incorporate simulation methodologies during a routine design process. It illustrates the status of simulation tools as boundary objects that mediate the communication and negotiation between design team members. The work advocates considering the design problem-solving patterns and preferences in the development and improvement of support methods for low-energy design