The Affectionate Walrus

Many different species of very young seal and sea lion pups are extremely friendly to man after they overcome their initial fear upon being captured. Sometimes this will require a matter of days but in other species, such as a few-days-old Steller sea lion pup, they will have lost all sense of fear within the first fifteen minutes after their capture. ... the walrus which has been hunted by the Eskimos for many years is the most naturally affectionate of all marine mammals. They weigh about one hundred and twenty pounds at birth and show almost no fear of man even up to a year of age in the wild. Very young walrus can be easily trained to nurse a special formula from a bottle and they require about a gallon of formula per day. ... Whereas the Weddell seal pup may rest its head upon your knee, the walrus is not satisfied unless it can climb all over you even after he gets up to fifteen hundred pounds or more. It therefore soon becomes unsafe to get into a pool with them because of the danger of being drowned, and out of water one may be pinned down so as to require help to get up, particularly if there is more than one walrus. If anyone sits down where there are two or three young walrus being raised by hand, they will all try to climb upon you at the same time. In the case of most marine mammals if any object such as a hydrophone is placed in their pool they completely ignore it, but the walrus is there almost immediately and has it in his mouth or is playing with it in his flippers. It is therefore difficult to obtain underwater recordings of them unless the hydrophone is placed in some inaccessible place. Even placing dummy hydrophones in the tank for a week ahead of time helps very little if they see the new hydrophone go in. If one throws a half gallon nursing bottle half full of formula into their pool, they will occasionally pick it up in their flippers, lie on their back and nurse from the bottle while holding it up over them with their flippers. Their baby-like whimper and low-pitch woof! woof! and their apparent desire for physical contact with human beings make them one of the most attractive of the marine mammals

Factors affecting the adoption and use of Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems in cancer treatment services

Background: Healthcare services around the world have developed computerised information systems to gradually replace traditional paper-based medical records. In oncology services, a diverse range of multi-organisational patient record systems are currently undergoing continuous development and improvement. Achieving technology acceptance in clinical environments is a complex aspect of the development and implementation of socio-technical systems. Whilst there has been previous research conducted about technology acceptance in oncology, gaps and limitations remain unexplored, particularly in relation to the full range of EPR system functionality. From a clinical end users’ perspective, this research aimed to discover the factors that influence clinicians’ attitudes towards and their use of oncology EPR systems. Methodology: This mixed methods research comprised two studies. In the first exploratory study, a patient records survey questionnaire was conducted to gather information about participants’ use of patient records and clinical information systems at a large regional cancer hospital. The findings and themes that emerged from the first study were used in conjunction with a social-technical systems theoretical framework to design and structure the second study. In the second study, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with oncologists to further investigate their views and identify key factors that affect their adoption and use of EPR systems. Phenomenography was used as the main qualitative approach for analysing the interview transcripts, and the researcher identified categories of description and the “outcome space” that explains the different ways that oncologists think about EPR systems. Following triangulation of the results, the findings were developed into recommendations for further research and practical guidance for health informatics practitioners in the form of a conceptual reference model, CICERO (Comprehensive, Integrated, Customised Electronic Records for Oncology). Findings: The exploratory study found that while the majority of respondents found the existing EPR systems easy to use, a range of factors affected the full adoption and use of these systems. Medical staff, in particular, reported problems with accessibility, integration, and usability. The qualitative study found that the alignment of technology, tasks, and individuals could be improved with increased emphasis on understanding the fit between oncologists and the clinical tasks they perform. Phenomenographical analyses produced an outcome space that included three categories of description related to the qualitatively different ways in which oncologists think about EPR systems. In the first category, oncologists thought of EPR systems as a simple legal record of a patient’s care and treatment; in the second category, where most oncologists were positioned, they viewed EPR systems as a means of providing information to aid memory and communication; and in the third category, oncologists thought of EPR systems as advanced tools for clinical workflow, decision support, and interoperability. Conclusion: Various socio-technical factors should be considered when designing, developing, and implementing EPR systems in oncology, with a view to maximising technology acceptance by clinical end users. In line with prior studies, the key factors identified were accessibility, integration, and usability. Additional factors included clinical staff participation in system design and development activities. In summary, oncologists are more likely to perceive EPR systems in the third category of description and adopt them if they can see specific benefits being gained from their use. Keywords: Oncology, information systems, electronic patient records, technology acceptance, cancer services, socio-technical systems

The actin binding proteins cortactin and HS1 are dispensable for platelet actin nodule and megakaryocyte podosome formation

A dynamic, properly organised actin cytoskeleton is critical for the production and haemostatic function of platelets. The Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp) and Actin-Related Proteins 2 & 3 Complex (Arp2/3 complex) are critical mediators of actin polymerisation and organisation in many cell types. In platelets and megakaryocytes, these proteins have been shown to be important for proper platelet production and function. The cortactin family of proteins (Cttn & HS1) are known to regulate WASp-Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerisation in other cell types and so here we address the role of these proteins in platelets using knockout mouse models. We generated mice lacking Cttn and HS1 in the megakaryocyte/platelet lineage. These mice had normal platelet production, with platelet number, size and surface receptor profile comparable to controls. Platelet function was also unaffected by loss of Cttn/HS1 with no differences observed in a range of platelet function assays including aggregation, secretion, spreading, clot retraction or tyrosine phosphorylation. No effect on tail bleeding time or in thrombosis models was observed. In addition, platelet actin nodules, and megakaryocyte podosomes, actin-based structures known to be dependent on WASp and the Arp2/3 complex, formed normally. We conclude that despite the importance of WASp and the Arp2/3 complex in regulating F-actin dynamics in many cells types, the role of cortactin in their regulation appears to be fulfilled by other proteins in platelets

The Effect of Pressures up to 16000 Atmospheres Upon the E.M.F. of the Weston Standard Cell

A variety of types of Weston standard cells were constructed and the electromotive force was found to increase with the pressure. The shape of the curve being effected somewhat by the material of which the cell case was constructed

A Study of Phosphorescent Zinc Sulphide Screens and Radioactivity Under Extremely High Pressure

For a study of the effect of pressure on fluorescent zinc sulphide screens, an arrangement very similar to that used in the preceeding paper was employed. In this case the fluorescent zinc sulphide was mounted on the inner surface of the pressure window with a transparent cement

Vector trace cells in the subiculum of the hippocampal formation

Successfully navigating in physical or semantic space requires a neural representation of allocentric (map-based) vectors to boundaries, objects and goals. Cognitive processes such as path-planning and imagination entail the recall of vector representations, but evidence of neuron-level memory for allocentric vectors has been lacking. Here, we describe a novel neuron type, vector trace cell (VTC), whose firing generates a new vector field when a cue is encountered and a ‘trace’ version of that field for hours after cue removal. VTCs are concentrated in subiculum, distal to CA1. Compared to non-trace cells, VTCs fire at further distances from cues and exhibit earlier-going shifts in preferred theta phase in response to newly introduced cues, which demonstrates a theta-linked neural substrate for memory encoding. VTCs suggest a vector-based model of computing spatial relationships between an agent and multiple spatial objects, or between different objects, freed from the constraints of direct perception of those objects

May measurement month 2017: An analysis of the blood pressure screening campaign results in Pakistan-south Asia

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programs worldwide. Hypertension is a global health concern for developing countries. In Pakistan, apart from few population-based studies which evaluated the prevalence of hypertension, there is no current nationally representative study (the latest nationwide survey was conducted more than two decades ago). Pakistan Hypertension League, in accordance with the International Society of Hypertension directive under the banner of the May Measurement Month 2017 (MMM17) campaign, carried out a nationwide cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 in May 2017 through its 14 regional chapters. Blood pressure measurement recorded through digital apparatus, the definition of hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg or being on BP-lowering treatment) and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM protocol. A total of 5333 individuals were screened during the MMM17 campaign with mean age 45.0 (11.6). Males had a higher rate (66.3%, n = 3536) in those screened than females (33.0%, n = 1757). A total of 55.2% (n = 2943) people had hypertension. This result shows very high rates of hypertension in Pakistani people. Therefore, there is an urgent need for federal implementation of BP screening as well as awareness programs across the nation

A Study of the Absorption of Hydrogen Bromide by Cinnamic Acid in the Presence of Ultra Violet Light

In the absorption of various reagents at the double bond of organic compounds it has been noted that in some cases a different product was obtained when the absorption was carried out in the presence of ultra-violet light. This difference has been frequently explained on the basis that the polarity of the reagent being absorbed was changed by the ultra-violet light. The question has been raised as to whether the difference was actually due to the change in polarity in the double bond