Oxygen isotope geochemistry of the second HSDP core

Oxygen isotope ratios were measured in olivine phenocrysts (~1 mm diameter), olivine microphenocrysts (generally ~100–200 µm diameter), glass, and/or matrix from 89 samples collected from depths down to 3079.7 m in the second, and main, HSDP core (HSDP-2). Olivine phenocrysts from 11 samples from Mauna Loa and 34 samples from the submarine section of Mauna Kea volcano have delta18O values that are similar to one another (5.11 ± 0.10‰, 1sigma, for Mauna Loa; 5.01 ± 0.07‰, for submarine Mauna Kea) and within the range of values typical of olivines from oceanic basalts (delta18O of ~5.0 to 5.2‰). In contrast, delta18O values of olivine phenocrysts from 20 samples taken from the subaerial section of Mauna Kea volcano (278 to 1037 mbsl) average 4.79 ± 0.13‰. Microphenocrysts in both the subaerial (n = 2) and submarine (n = 24) sections of Mauna Kea are on average ~0.2‰ lower in delta18O than phenocrysts within the same stratigraphic interval; those in submarine Mauna Kea lavas have an average delta18O of 4.83 ± 0.11‰. Microphenocrysts in submarine Mauna Kea lavas and phencrysts in Mauna Loa lavas are the only population of olivines considered in this study that are typically in oxygen isotope exchange equilibrium with coexisting glass or groundmass. These data confirm the previous observation that the stratigraphic boundary between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea lavas defines a shift from “normal” to unusually low delta18O values. Significantly, they also document that the distinctive 18O-depleted character of subaerial Mauna Kea lavas is absent in phenocrysts of submarine Mauna Kea lavas. Several lines of evidence suggest that little if any of the observed variations in delta18O can be attributed to subsolidus alteration or equilibrium fractionations accompanying partial melting or crystallization. Instead, they reflect variable proportions of an 18O-depleted source component or contaminant from the lithosphere and/or volcanic edifice that is absent in or only a trace constituent of subaerial Mauna Loa lavas, a minor component of submarine Mauna Kea lavas, and a major component of subaerial Mauna Kea lavas. Relationships between the delta18O of phenocrysts, microphenocrysts, and glass or groundmass indicate that this component (when present) was added over the course of crystallization-differentiation. This process must have taken place in the lithosphere and most likely at depths of between ~5 and 15 km. We conclude that the low-delta18O component is either a contaminant from the volcanic edifice that was sampled in increasingly greater proportions as the volcano drifted off the center of the Hawaiian plume or a partial melt of low-delta18O, hydrothermally altered perdotites in the shallow Pacific lithosphere that increasingly contributed to Mauna Kea lavas near end of the volcano's shield building stage. The first of these alternatives is favored by the difference in delta18O between subaerial and submarine Mauna Kea lavas, whereas the second is favored by systematic differences in radiogenic and trace element composition between higher and lower delta18O lavas

A qualitative study of the views of residents with dementia, their relatives and staff about work practice in long-term care settings

Background: Most people living in 24-hour care settings have dementia, and little is known about what makes long-term care a positive experience for them.Method: This carer-led qualitative study examined working practices in 24-hour long-term care-settings, including hospitals, nursing and residential homes, with the aim of finding out and making recommendations about such settings. Using semi-structured interviews, managers, nurses and care assistants were asked about work practices, such as how they coped with difficult behavior, about shifts, staffing levels, staff retention and training. Relatives of residents with dementia were asked about their role and perceptions of the care provided, and residents were asked for their opinions of their care.Results: Staff reported that residents presented with increasingly challenging behavior compared to the past, and that sometimes staffing levels and skills were inadequate. Of all the settings, hospitals had the most problems with staffing levels and retention, staff-relative relationships and staff support systems. Relatives saw their own role as positive. People with dementia of varying severity could usefully evaluate some of the services they received.Discussion: Dementia-specific training and education of staff in all long-term care-settings, including induction, should address the management of problem behavior in dementia and thereby improve staff fulfilment and relatives' satisfaction. The long-stay hospital may not be appropriate as a "home for life" for those with dementia, and we recommend that long-stay care settings should be able to cater flexibly for a range of resident needs

The Long and Winding Road from Positive Psychology Theory to Corporate Application

This paper is intended to develop preliminary thoughts regarding implementation of positive psychology methods in organizations for the benefit of both the workforce and business. The first section examines the extension of positive psychology into scholarship for positive organizations. The second section reports informal qualitative interviews with selected senior corporate executives. The focus of investigation is the preliminary discovery regarding corporate awareness of, and interest in, positive psychology. The interviews will also investigate corporate executives’ attitudes regarding the practical use of academic research. The paper concludes by digging deeply into an advanced positive construct for organizations, psychological capital, substantiating that it is a greatly developed, well-studied topic acceptable for organizational application. Psychological capital will be presented as a model representing the conclusions reached in this paper regarding the state of positive psychology applications in organizations

Work of Heart: Myself as Both Teacher and Learner

This autoethnographic paper explores my role as a teacher-learner. Who am I as a teacher? How has my past and present shaped me into the teacher that I am and want to become? To address these questions, I examine the cultural context into which I fit as a college instructor of English in a college community. I also examine my memories of my own mentors and students, which emphasize how my most valued learning experiences stemmed from mentors who have seen me as an individual, and when I see my own students as individuals. To explore the conditions that produce effective teaching and learning environments, I will use an autoethnography, which is a form of qualitative research that the author uses for self-reflection to explore their personal experience and connect this autobiographical story to broader cultural, political, and social perspectives. To record my observations, reflections, and actions, I keep a teacher’s log which details the data sources I draw upon, including emails and meetings with mentors and students, interaction with students during class time, students’ teacher evaluations, and one letter to myself. Thus, the method becomes appropriate to explore my research questions. My autoethnographic journey bridges my personal observations to pedagogical theory. They discuss what can contribute to the identity of students and teachers (which affects relationship), including race, class, and gender. Woven together, the literature emphasizes relationships between teachers and students, reflecting qualities of the humanizing pedagogy which redefines and rebuilds my continuously developing teacher-learner self. Thus, in changing myself, I can effectively change my own classroom. In knowing myself, I can better know my students and better serve them. Furthermore, while helping me to improve my own teaching, the autoethnography will also help other students and teachers to connect to my stories, perhaps discovering or rediscovering a humanizing pedagogy as I did, to undergo their own process of growth

Aberrations in shift-invariant linear optical imaging systems using partially coherent fields

Here the role and influence of aberrations in optical imaging systems employing partially coherent complex scalar fields is studied. Imaging systems require aberrations to yield contrast in the output image. For linear shift-invariant optical systems, we develop an expression for the output cross-spectral density under the space-frequency formulation of statistically stationary partially coherentfields. We also develop expressions for the output cross{spectral density and associated spectral density for weak-phase, weak-phase-amplitude, and single-material objects in one transverse spatial dimension

Factor VIII assay variability in postinfusion samples containing full length and B-domain deleted FVIII

Introduction Although the variability in factor VIII (FVIII):C measurement is well recognized, this has not been widely reported for post-FVIII infusion samples. Aim/Methods Three samples from haemophilia A patients were distributed in a UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme survey, each after treatment with either ReFacto AF, Kogenate FS or Advate. Fifty-two UK haemophilia centres performed FVIII assays using one-stage (n = 46) and chromogenic (n = 10) assays. Centres calibrated assays with the local plasma standard and with ReFacto AF laboratory standard for the ReFacto AF sample. Results/Conclusions Chromogenic assays gave significantly higher results than one-stage assays (P < 0.0001, 32% difference) in the post-Kogenate sample but not in the post-ReFacto AF (11% higher by chromogenic assay, ns) or post-Advate samples (3% lower by chromogenic, ns) when assays were calibrated with plasma standards. Twenty centres used all Instrumentation Laboratory (IL)-activated partial thromboplastin time reagents (Synthasil)/IL deficient plasma/reference plasma) in the one-stage assay and 15 used all Siemens reagents (Actin FS/Siemens deficient plasma/reference plasma); this made a significant difference to results post-ReFacto AF (41% higher by IL reagents, P < 0.0001) and Advate (39% higher by IL reagents, P < 0.0001), but not Kogenate (7% higher by IL, ns) when calibrated with plasma standards. Differences between results obtained with different one-stage assay reagents for monitoring Advate have implications for dosing patients. Furthermore, there was considerable inter-laboratory variation as indicated by CVs in the range 15–26% for chromogenic assay and 12–19% for one-stage assay results. This study suggests that external quality assessment schemes should offer participation in post-FVIII infusion schemes where haemophilic patients are monitored

Clotting and chromogenic factor VIII assay variability in post-infusion and spiked samples containing full-length recombinant FVIII or recombinant factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc).

INTRODUCTION: Variability in FVIII measurement is a recognized problem. There are limited data for samples containing recombinant Factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc). Many studies use samples for which factor concentrate has been spiked into FVIII deficient plasma in vitro. This approach requires validation. AIM/METHODS: Four samples were distributed in a UK National External Quality Assessment Scheme for Blood Coagulation (NEQAS BC) survey. One contained Advate (full-length recombinant FVIII) (rFVIII) added to FVIII deficient plasma, one was from a severe haemophilia A patient after infusion of Advate, one was prepared by addition of rFVIIIFc (marketed as Elocta/Eloctate) to FVIII deficient plasma and the fourth was collected from a severe haemophilia A patient following rFVIIIFc (Eloctate) infusion. Fifty-three haemophilia centres (UK and Scandinavia) performed one-stage FVIII assays and 27 performed chromogenic FVIII assays. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: One-stage assays gave significantly lower results than chromogenic assays by 7% (P < 0.01) and 13%(P < 0.001) for post-Advate and Advate spiked samples, and by 22% (P < 0.001) and 23% (P < 0.001) for post-rFVIIIFc and rFVIIIFc spiked samples. The interlaboratory variation was similar for all samples, with CVs of 12%-16% (chromogenic) and 10%-13% (one stage). The data indicate that either product can be safely monitored by one-stage or chromogenic assay. Spiked samples behaved in a similar way to post-infusion samples for both products and could be substituted for post-infusion samples for use in proficiency testing exercises (ie, samples were commutable)

Developing corporate communications: insights from the Italian scenario

Purpose - Based on business manager perceptions in large firms, this paper explores the emergence, growth and importance of corporate communications and how it is evolving and creating competitive advantage in Italian firms. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative approach is deployed, comprising depth interviews with senior managers from corporations from a broad spectrum of industries including: energy, telecommunications, automotive, transport, retail chain, appliances, technology and engineering, private shipping, government-owned holdings, marketing consultancy, and construction. Findings - The paper provides insights of corporate communication (corpcom) practices in the sampled companies. The research shows that corpcoms involves a complex range of activities leading to performances managed and implemented under CEO direction. Practical implications - Corpcoms is perceived as a strategic concept with effective application relative to managing corporate image and reputation. The findings offer insights for communication professionals who deal with corpcoms, branding, and marketing communications. Originality/value - Corpcoms can be viewed via lens of social actors’ perspectives, i.e. via practitioners – including brand managers and senior executives as they possess practical knowledge of contextual business setting and the managerial capacity to design and implement integrated corporate communications

The value and significance of corporate community relations: an Italian SME perspective

Purpose – This paper investigates the link between community of place and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lombard industrial districts in Italy. Design/methodology/approach – A brief literature review of international authors from the stakeholder approach and Corporate Community Relations field is presented. This paper refers to a survey of Lombard industrial districts conducted by ALTIS. The data was collected via a telephone survey from 834 firms. Findings – The main finding is that managing Corporate Community Relations (CCR) is of major importance for company success. The results of the survey show that there are some tools and actions that Italian industrial district SMEs uses to interact with their particular communities of place to develop effective and coherent relationships with their stakeholder groups. Moreover, although the survey shows that though SMEs do implement different CCR activities, they are not able to communicate these effectively through systematic communication strategies. However, the narrow sample includes only a sample of some Lombard districts. Nonetheless, the findings indicate that effective CCR seems to confer competitive advantage based on stakeholder responses and rewards sought. Research limitations/implications – The framework could assist in supporting CCR developments between industrial districts as various players would know how to improve CCR activities. One further suggestion is that University and Research Centres could have a role to play in creating and communicating codified knowledge concerning community relations in industrial districts, while other public players still have to develop specific tasks in improving infrastructures. Originality/value – This study is in line with the main focus of CCR, which is in striving to meet stakeholder and societal needs. However, industrial district SMEs have to learn how to communicate their CCR activities from the examples set by large Italian companies. The paper links the notion of CCR with tools and actions to develop meaningful relationships with both community of place and interest. Moreover, considering the survey results, a new framework for local player roles is proposed