Synthesis and Characterisation of New Dimolybdenum (II,II) Dicarboxylates and Their Use as Polymerization Catalysts

The purpose of this work was to prepare a series of new dimolybdenum(II,II) dicarboxylate complexes, to characterize the complexes and to investigate their use as potential catalysts for the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of the bicyclic monomer norbornene

Thomas Kabdebo (Kabdebó Tamás) 1934-2018

Obituary of Dr Thomas Kabdebo, Librarian of the National University of Maynooth from 1983-1999 and one of the great figures of Hungarian literary emigration

Election Reform in Virginia: Deliberation and Incremental Change

Several key factors explain the incremental approach to election law after the 2000 presidential election. The close election in Florida spurred lawmakers in Virginia to create the Joint Subcommittee Studying Virginia\u27s Election Process and Voting Technologies. This special subcommittee was formed to learn more about the capacity of election administration. Through that process, Virginia officials concluded that the election system was fundamentally sound, though they identified a need for additional resources to increase staff, improve polling place access for disabled voters, and clean up registration rolls. A declining fiscal outlook limited budget resources and constrained the legislature from adopting the joint subcommittee\u27s modest recommendations for additional spending. Interestingly, partisan differences over the most controversial issue-recounting ballots-were overcome as a result of deliberation. The joint subcommittee\u27s study created a forum within which a leading Republican senator changed his initial preference for how to recount ballots, and his view prevailed against the wishes of the Republican majority in the House of Delegates. Thus, in the case of Virginia, the deliberative process altered the policy views of a key committee leader, who in turn affected the outcome of the legislative process during the 2002 session. The legislature continued to pass incremental changes to upgrade the electoral system during 2003

Stories Give Form to a Complex Reality: A Narrative Inquiry of DNP Prepared APRNs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Virtual Presentation Background: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of healthcare, yet there is a gap in the literature concerning Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To gather an authentic understanding of DNP prepared APRN experiences (stories) caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a qualitative narrative inquiry study. A purposive sample of DNP prepared APRNs (N=8) were recruited to participate. All interviews were audio recorded, recordings were transcribed, and then the authors crafted each participant’s narrative story. Results: Four overarching themes were identified: Do the Right Thing, Stepping Up, From Here to Reality, and Complex COVID Coping. Twelve subthemes were also identified. Participant stories were profound and indicated that their DNP education prepared them well for the healthcare crisis, but that the emotional toll was difficult. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: This research provides insight into the experiences of DNPs working during the height of the pandemic and elucidates the duty of nursing leaders and educators to appropriately plan, safeguard, and guide DNPs, students, and nurses at all levels. Preparation in epidemiology, public health, disaster planning, tele practice, and wellness is paramount

Stories Give Form to a Complex Reality: A Narrative Inquiry of DNP Prepared APRNs during the COVID-19 Crisis. Educational Implications

Virtual presentation. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of healthcare and nursing education as we know it. Faculty in the DNP program at Molloy College were concerned regarding the newest DNP graduates who were thrust into both a new role and a pandemic, and little information was published in the literature concerning this group of professionals. Objective: To gather an authentic understanding of DNP prepared APRN experiences (stories) caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was a qualitative narrative inquiry study. A purposive sample of DNP prepared APRNs (N=8) were recruited to participate. All interviews were audio recorded, recordings were transcribed, and then the authors crafted each participant’s narrative story. Results: Four overarching themes were identified: Do the Right Thing, Stepping Up, From Here to Reality, and Complex COVID Coping. Twelve subthemes were also identified. Participant stories were profound and indicated that their DNP education prepared them well for the healthcare crisis, but that the emotional toll was difficult. Conclusions/Implications for Practice and Education: This research provides insight into the experiences of DNPs working during the height of the pandemic and elucidates the duty of nursing leaders and educators to appropriately plan, safeguard, and guide DNPs, students, and nurses at all levels. Preparation in epidemiology, public health, disaster planning, tele practice, and wellness is paramount

Ethical Predisposition of Project Managers in the Delivery of Construction Projects in the NHS

The National Health Service (NHS) is a major client of the construction industry with cost of the healthcare estate estimated to be over £8 billion and capital investment of £2 billion in 2015/16. The aim is to investigate if project team members are ethically predisposed to make decisions based on rules or outcome and to examine its relationship with governance and project outcome. A two-stage approach was used based on survey and interviews with senior project managers. Out of 51 participants, formalism predominated regardless of age or gender with 45 formalists (‘rules followers’), and 4 utilitarians (‘outcome driven’ or ‘ends focused’). The NHS culture is rules and protocol-driven for patient safety and for its duty of accountability to the tax payer. Project governance was more effective as the corporate governance layer did not have sufficient knowledge about construction projects, risk mitigation, and are often perceived to be uninterested in project details. The findings suggest that NHS projects are managed by people with high ethical standards and the governance process whilst acknowledged to be important was sometimes perceived to be ineffective due to difficulties at the interface between corporate and project governance which needs to be addressed for project ‘success’. Keywords: ethical predisposition, governance structure, NHS, project outcome

Characterizing a psychiatric symptom dimension related to deficits in goal-directed control.

Prominent theories suggest that compulsive behaviors, characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction, are driven by shared deficits in goal-directed control, which confers vulnerability for developing rigid habits. However, recent studies have shown that deficient goal-directed control accompanies several disorders, including those without an obvious compulsive element. Reasoning that this lack of clinical specificity might reflect broader issues with psychiatric diagnostic categories, we investigated whether a dimensional approach would better delineate the clinical manifestations of goal-directed deficits. Using large-scale online assessment of psychiatric symptoms and neurocognitive performance in two independent general-population samples, we found that deficits in goal-directed control were most strongly associated with a symptom dimension comprising compulsive behavior and intrusive thought. This association was highly specific when compared to other non-compulsive aspects of psychopathology. These data showcase a powerful new methodology and highlight the potential of a dimensional, biologically-grounded approach to psychiatry research.Funded by a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship (101521/Z/12/Z) awarded to CM Gillan. Claire M Gillan: Wellcome Trust 101521/Z/12/Z Nathaniel D Daw: National Institute on Drug Abuse 1R01DA038891 Nathaniel D Daw: James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar AwardThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from eLife Sciences Publications via http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.1130

Medical students as whole persons – tending to the elephants in clinical practice training

BackgroundFor years, we have known that many medical students lose empathy and experience burn out during the last part of their undergraduate education, despite starting with high motivation and above average mental health. The most powerful learning environment is the clinic, where students in the final stages of their program interact with real patients and practice doctor’s skills in authentic environments. We wondered how students at this stage are cared for as learners and novice professionals. We tried to identify explicit and hidden professional norms and competence goals that students are measured by, and sanctioned for not conforming with, in daily practice. We asked: Is there a mismatch between what medical students need to manage in their professional lives and the affordances inherent to the workplace environment where learning takes place?  Can we intervene to mitigate any gaps? MethodInspired by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we engaged leaders, physicians, residents, and medical students at a small Norwegian hospital in a three-year project aiming to improve students’ motivation, participation, and clinical learning, by strengthening pedagogical and affective support during an 8-week practice period. ResultsMedical students and residents identified needs for preparation and orientation, continuity, and secure relationships where learners are acknowledged as unique individuals. A simple model of learning needs was developed, where educational goals can be arranged on three levels: 1) social survival, 2) medical knowledge and skills, and 3) clinical wisdom

Recruiting patients to a digital self-management study whilst in hospital for a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation: A feasibility analysis

Background Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are often hospitalised with acute exacerbations (AECOPD) and many patients get readmitted. Intervening with hospitalised patients may be optimal timing to provide support. Our previous work demonstrated use of a digital monitoring and self-management support tool in the community. However, we wanted to explore the feasibility of recruiting patients whilst hospitalised for an AECOPD, and to identify the rate of dropout attrition around admission for AECOPD. Methods Patients were recruited to the EDGE2 study between May 2019 and March 2020. Patients were identified by the clinical teams and patients were recruited by members of the clinical research team. Participants were aged 40 years or older, had a diagnosis of COPD and were attending or admitted to hospital for an AECOPD. Participants were given a tablet computer, Bluetooth-linked pulse oximeter and wrist-worn physical activity monitor to use until 6 months post-discharge. Use of the system aimed to support COPD self-management by enabling self-monitoring of vital signs, COPD symptoms, mood and physical activity, and access to multi-media educational resources. Results 281 patients were identified and 126 approached. The main referral source was the specialist respiratory nursing and physiotherapist team (49.8% of patients identified). Twenty-six (37.1%) patients were recruited. As of 21 April 2020, 14 (53.8%) participants withdrew and 11 (of 14; 78.6%) participants withdrew within four weeks of discharge. The remaining participants withdrew between one and three months follow-up (1 of 14; 7.1%) and between three and six months follow-up (2 of 14; 14.3%). Conclusion A large number of patients were screened to recruit a relatively small sample and a high rate of dropout was observed. It does not appear feasible to recruit patients with COPD to digital interventional studies from the hospital setting when they have the burden of coping with acute illness