Teaching Qualitative Research for Human Services Students: A Three-Phase Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goussinsky, Ruhama; Reshef, Arie; Yanay-Ventura, Galit; Yassour-Borochowitz, Dalit

2011-01-01

Qualitative research is an inherent part of the human services profession, since it emphasizes the great and multifaceted complexity characterizing human experience and the sociocultural context in which humans act. In the department of human services at Emek Yezreel College, Israel, we have developed a three-phase model to ensure a relatively…

The Voices of Higher Education Service-Learning Directors: A Qualitative Inductive Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodard, Kelsey

2013-01-01

This research explored issues surrounding service-learning directors (SLDs) within higher education institutions, including who they are, how they became SLDs, and what they experience in the role. Qualitative data were drawn from in-depth interviews of 11 SLDs, as well as review of their vitaes. A qualitative inductive analysis was conducted in…

A Systematic Quantitative-Qualitative Model: How To Evaluate Professional Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoda, Koji

1973-01-01

The proposed evaluation model provides for the assignment of relative weights to each criterion, and establishes a weighting system for calculating a quantitative-qualitative raw score for each service activity of a faculty member being reviewed. (Author)

Ultra-relativistic Au+Au and d+Au collisions:

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Chai, Z.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Hauer, M.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Seals, H.; Sedykh, I.; Skulski, W.; Smith, C. E.; Stankiewicz, M. A.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Vaurynovich, S. S.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wenger, E.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

In this talk I will review PHOBOS data on charged particle multiplicities, obtained in Au+Au and d+Au collisions at RHIC. The general features of the Au+Au pseudorapidity distributions results will be discussed and compared to those of /line{p}p collisions. The total charged particle multiplicity, scaled by the number of participant pairs, is observed to be about 40% higher in Au+Au collisions than in /line{p}p and d+Au systems, but, surprisingly at the same level of e+e- collisions. Limiting fragmentation scaling is seen to be obeyed in Au+Au collisions.

Identification of Au–S complexes on Au(100)

DOE PAGES

Walen, Holly; Liu, Da -Jiang; Oh, Junepyo; ...

2016-01-25

In this study, using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have identified a set of related Au–S complexes that form on Au(100), when sulfur adsorbs and lifts the hexagonal surface reconstruction. The predominant complex is diamond-shaped with stoichiometry Au 4S 5. All of the complexes can be regarded as combinations of S–Au–S subunits. The complexes exist within, or at the edges of, p(2 × 2) sulfur islands that cover the unreconstructed Au regions, and are observed throughout the range of S coverage examined in this study, 0.009 to 0.12 monolayers. A qualitative modelmore » is developed which incorporates competitive formation of complexes, Au rafts, and p(2 × 2) sulfur islands, as Au atoms are released by the surface structure transformation.« less

Trans people's experiences with assisted reproduction services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

James-Abra, S; Tarasoff, L A; Green, D; Epstein, R; Anderson, S; Marvel, S; Steele, L S; Ross, L E

2015-06-01

What are the experiences of trans persons (i.e. those whose gender identity does not match the gender assigned to them at birth) who sought or accessed assisted reproduction (AR) services in Ontario, Canada, between 2007 and 2010? The majority of trans persons report negative experiences with AR service providers. Apart from research examining desire to have children among trans people, most of the literature on this topic has debated the ethics of assisting trans persons to become parents. To-date, all of the published research concerning trans persons' experiences with AR services is solely from the perspective of service providers; no studies have examined the experiences of trans people themselves. Secondary qualitative research study of data from nine trans-identified people and their partners (total n = 11) collected as part of a community-based study of access to AR services for sexual and gender minority people between 2010 and 2012. Trans-identified volunteers (and their partners, when applicable) who had used or attempted to access AR services since 2007 from across Ontario, Canada, participated in a 60-90 minute, semi-structured qualitative interview. Qualitative analysis was performed using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Emerging themes were continually checked against the data as part of an iterative process. The data highlight barriers to accessing AR services for trans people. Participant recommendations for improving AR service provision to better meet the needs of this population are presented. These recommendations address the following areas: (i) AR service provider education and training; (ii) service provider and clinic practices and (iii) clinic environment. The majority of study participants were trans people who identified as men and who resided in major urban areas; those living in smaller communities may have different experiences that were not adequately captured in this analysis. While existing literature debates the ethics of

The Development of Qualitative Classroom Action Research Workshop for In-Service Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buaraphan, Khajornsak

2016-01-01

In-service science teachers in Thailand are mandated to conduct classroom research, which can be quantitative and qualitative research, to improve teaching and learning. Comparing to quantitative research, qualitative research is a research approach that most of the Thai science teachers are not familiar with. This situation impedes science…

Developing longitudinal qualitative designs: lessons learned and recommendations for health services research.

PubMed

Calman, Lynn; Brunton, Lisa; Molassiotis, Alex

2013-02-06

Longitudinal qualitative methods are becoming increasingly used in the health service research, but the method and challenges particular to health care settings are not well described in the literature.We reflect on the strategies used in a longitudinal qualitative study to explore the experience of symptoms in cancer patients and their carers, following participants from diagnosis for twelve months; we highlight ethical, practical, theoretical and methodological issues that need to be considered and addressed from the outset of a longitudinal qualitative study. Key considerations in undertaking longitudinal qualitative projects in health research, include the use of theory, utilizing multiple methods of analysis and giving consideration to the practical and ethical issues at an early stage. These can include issues of time and timing; data collection processes; changing the topic guide over time; recruitment considerations; retention of staff; issues around confidentiality; effects of project on staff and patients, and analyzing data within and across time. As longitudinal qualitative methods are becoming increasingly used in health services research, the methodological and practical challenges particular to health care settings need more robust approaches and conceptual improvement. We provide recommendations for the use of such designs. We have a particular focus on cancer patients, so this paper will have particular relevance for researchers interested in chronic and life limiting conditions.

Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles-based localized surface plasmon resonance and surface-enhanced Raman scattering biosensor for sensitive detection of 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole.

PubMed

Liao, Xue; Chen, Yanhua; Qin, Meihong; Chen, Yang; Yang, Lei; Zhang, Hanqi; Tian, Yuan

2013-12-15

In this paper, Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles were prepared based on the reduction of the metal salts HAuCl4 and AgNO3 at the surface of seed particles. Due to the synergistic effect between Au and Ag, the hybrid nanoparticles are particularly stable and show excellent performances on the detection of 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazole (methimazole). The binding of target molecule at the surface of Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles was demonstrated based on both localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra. The LSPR intensity is directly proportional to the methimazole concentration in the range of 0.10-3.00×10(-7) mol L(-1). The SERS spectrum can be applied in identification of methimazole molecule. The LSPR coupled with SERS based on the Au-Ag-Au double shell nanoparticles would be very attractive for the quantitative determination and qualitative analysis of the analytes in medicines. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stream dynamics between 1 AU and 2 AU: A detailed comparison of observations and theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burlaga, L. F.; Pizzo, V.; Lazarus, A.; Gazis, P. R.

1984-01-01

A radial alignment of three solar wind stream structures observed by IMP-7 and -8 (at 1.0 AU) and Voyager 1 and 2 (in the range 1.4 to 1.8 AU) in late 1977 is presented. It is demonstrated that several important aspects of the observed dynamical evolution can be both qualitatively and quantitatively described with a single-fluid 2-D MHD numerical model of quasi-steady corotating flow, including accurate prediction of: (1) the formation of a corotating shock pair at 1.75 AU in the case of a simple, quasi-steady stream; (2) the coalescence of the thermodynamic and magnetic structures associated with the compression regions of two neighboring, interacting, corotating streams; and (3) the dynamical destruction of a small (i.e., low velocity-amplitude, short spatial-scale) stream by its overtaking of a slower moving, high-density region associated with a preceding transient flow. The evolution of these flow systems is discussed in terms of the concepts of filtering and entrainment.

Involving mental health service users in suicide-related research: a qualitative inquiry model.

PubMed

Lees, David; Procter, Nicholas; Fassett, Denise; Handley, Christine

2016-03-01

To describe the research model developed and successfully deployed as part of a multi-method qualitative study investigating suicidal service-users' experiences of mental health nursing care. Quality mental health care is essential to limiting the occurrence and burden of suicide, however there is a lack of relevant research informing practice in this context. Research utilising first-person accounts of suicidality is of particular importance to expanding the existing evidence base. However, conducting ethical research to support this imperative is challenging. The model discussed here illustrates specific and more generally applicable principles for qualitative research regarding sensitive topics and involving potentially vulnerable service-users. Researching into mental health service users with first-person experience of suicidality requires stakeholder and institutional support, researcher competency, and participant recruitment, consent, confidentiality, support and protection. Research with service users into their experiences of sensitive issues such as suicidality can result in rich and valuable data, and may also provide positive experiences of collaboration and inclusivity. If challenges are not met, objectification and marginalisation of service-users may be reinforced, and limitations in the evidence base and service provision may be perpetuated.

Self-Authoring a Civic Identity: A Qualitative Analysis of Change-Oriented Service Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iverson, Susan V.; James, Jennifer H.

2013-01-01

This qualitative case study explored how undergraduate students' involvement with change-oriented service-learning contributed to their civic-political development. Using Baxter Magolda's notion of self-authorship as an analytic lens, findings suggested that students' involvement with change-oriented service-learning led to (a)…

Paucity of qualitative research in general medical and health services and policy research journals: analysis of publication rates.

PubMed

Gagliardi, Anna R; Dobrow, Mark J

2011-10-12

Qualitative research has the potential to inform and improve health care decisions but a study based on one year of publications suggests that it is not published in prominent health care journals. A more detailed, longitudinal analysis of its availability is needed. The purpose of this study was to identify, count and compare the number of qualitative and non-qualitative research studies published in high impact health care journals, and explore trends in these data over the last decade. A bibliometric approach was used to identify and quantify qualitative articles published in 20 top general medical and health services and policy research journals from 1999 to 2008. Eligible journals were selected based on performance in four different ranking systems reported in the 2008 ISI Journal Citation Reports. Qualitative and non-qualitative research published in these journals were identified by searching MEDLINE, and validated by hand-searching tables of contents for four journals. The total number of qualitative research articles published during 1999 to 2008 in ten general medical journals ranged from 0 to 41, and in ten health services and policy research journals from 0 to 39. Over this period the percentage of empirical research articles that were qualitative ranged from 0% to 0.6% for the general medical journals, and 0% to 6.4% for the health services and policy research journals. This analysis suggests that qualitative research it is rarely published in high impact general medical and health services and policy research journals. The factors that contribute to this persistent marginalization need to be better understood.

How will we know "good" qualitative research when we see it? Beginning the dialogue in health services research.

PubMed

Devers, K J

1999-12-01

To lay the foundation for an explicit review and dialogue concerning the criteria that should be used to evaluate qualitative health services research. Clear criteria are critical for the discipline because they provide a benchmark against which research can be assessed. Existing literature in the social sciences and health services research, particularly in primary care and medicine. Traditional criteria for evaluating qualitative research are rooted in the philosophical perspective (positivism) most closely associated with quantitative research and methods. As a result, qualitative research and methods may not be used as frequently as they can be and research results generated from qualitative studies may not be disseminated as widely as possible. However, alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research have been proposed that reflect a different philosophical perspective (post-positivism). Moreover, these criteria are tailored to the unique purposes for which qualitative research is used and the research designs traditionally employed. While criteria based on these two different philosophical perspectives have much in common, some important differences exist. The field of health services research must engage in a collective, "qualitative" process to determine which criteria to adopt (positivist or post-positivist), or whether some combination of the two is most appropriate. Greater clarity about the criteria used to evaluate qualitative research will strengthen the discipline by fostering a more appropriate and improved use of qualitative methods, a greater willingness to fund and publish "good" qualitative research, and the development of more informed consumers of qualitative research results.

Les campagnes communautaires de promotion du depistage VIH en Afrique de l’Ouest : perceptions des usagers au Burkina Faso

PubMed Central

Desclaux, Alice; Ky-Zerbo, Odette; Somé, Jean-François; Makhlouf-Obermeyer, Carla

2014-01-01

Résumé La politique actuelle de lutte contre le sida qui repose sur l’extension de l’accès aux traitements et à la prévention exige qu’une proportion élevée de la population connaisse son statut en matière de VIH. Pour cela, l’OMS a proposé le développement de stratégies communautaires délivrant le dépistage et le conseil au-delà des services de soins, comme le test à domicile ou les campagnes de sensibilisation et dépistage de grande envergure, appliqués en Afrique australe et de l’Est. Pour définir les stratégies pertinentes dans des régions de basse prévalence comme l’Afrique de l’Ouest, les expériences communautaires de promotion du dépistage doivent y être évaluées. Cet article présente une évaluation des campagnes au Burkina Faso du point de vue des usagers. Dans le cadre d’un projet sur les pratiques et l’éthique du dépistage dans quatre pays africains (MATCH), une enquête qualitative spécifique a été menée pendant la campagne de 2008, auprès de personnes ayant fait le test pendant la campagne, ayant fait le test hors campagne ou n’ayant pas fait le test. Les appréciations sont globalement très favorables aux campagnes, notamment à cause de l’information dispensée, l’accessibilité des sites, la gratuité du test, la qualité des services et l’effet d’entrainement. Les limites ou critiques sont essentiellement liées à l’affluence ou à la crainte de ne pas être soutenu en cas de résultat positif. La démarche de recours au test ne fait plus l’objet de suspicion, au moins pendant la campagne. Cette « normalisation » du recours au test et la mobilisation collective facilitent des pratiques en groupe, ce qui peut rendre difficile de garder son statut VIH secret. L’évaluation des campagnes par les usagers les présente comme une opportunité pour accéder facilement au test et pour communiquer à ce sujet dans divers espaces sociaux à partir des informations délivrées sur le VIH

Stakeholder experiences with general practice pharmacist services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Tan, Edwin C K; Stewart, Kay; Elliott, Rohan A; George, Johnson

2013-09-11

To explore general practice staff, pharmacist and patient experiences with pharmacist services in Australian general practice clinics within the Pharmacists in Practice Study. Qualitative study. Two general practice clinics in Melbourne, Australia, in which pharmacists provided medication reviews, patient and staff education, medicines information and quality assurance services over a 6-month period. Patients, practice staff and pharmacists. Semi-structured telephone interviews with patients, focus groups with practice staff and semi-structured interviews and periodic narrative reports with practice pharmacists. Data were analysed thematically and theoretical frameworks used to explain the findings. 34 participants were recruited: 18 patients, 14 practice staff (9 general practitioners, 4 practice nurses, 1 practice manager) and 2 practice pharmacists. Five main themes emerged: environment; professional relationships and integration; pharmacist attributes; staff and patient benefits and logistical challenges. Participants reported that colocation and the interdisciplinary environment of general practice enabled better communication and collaboration compared to traditional community and consultant pharmacy services. Participants felt that pharmacists needed to possess certain attributes to ensure successful integration, including being personable and proactive. Attitudinal, professional and logistical barriers were identified but were able to be overcome. The findings were explained using D'Amour's structuration model of collaboration and Roger's diffusion of innovation theory. This is the first qualitative study to explore the experiences of general practice staff, pharmacists and patients on their interactions within the Australian general practice environment. Participants were receptive of colocated pharmacist services, and various barriers and facilitators to integration were identified. Future research should investigate the feasibility and sustainability of

Paucity of qualitative research in general medical and health services and policy research journals: analysis of publication rates

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Qualitative research has the potential to inform and improve health care decisions but a study based on one year of publications suggests that it is not published in prominent health care journals. A more detailed, longitudinal analysis of its availability is needed. The purpose of this study was to identify, count and compare the number of qualitative and non-qualitative research studies published in high impact health care journals, and explore trends in these data over the last decade. Methods A bibliometric approach was used to identify and quantify qualitative articles published in 20 top general medical and health services and policy research journals from 1999 to 2008. Eligible journals were selected based on performance in four different ranking systems reported in the 2008 ISI Journal Citation Reports. Qualitative and non-qualitative research published in these journals were identified by searching MEDLINE, and validated by hand-searching tables of contents for four journals. Results The total number of qualitative research articles published during 1999 to 2008 in ten general medical journals ranged from 0 to 41, and in ten health services and policy research journals from 0 to 39. Over this period the percentage of empirical research articles that were qualitative ranged from 0% to 0.6% for the general medical journals, and 0% to 6.4% for the health services and policy research journals. Conclusions This analysis suggests that qualitative research it is rarely published in high impact general medical and health services and policy research journals. The factors that contribute to this persistent marginalization need to be better understood. PMID:21992238

A Qualitative Case Study Exploring the Impact of Experienced Teachers' Stories on Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Kristi Johnson

2010-01-01

This qualitative study explores the impact of experienced teachers' stories on pre-service teachers. Specifically, it examines what stories pre-service teachers hear and remember, if/how those stories impact thoughts or actions, and what factors influence impact. Analyzing pre-service teachers' reactions to stories and utilizing their direct…

A qualitative evaluation of medication management services in six Minnesota health systems.

PubMed

Sorensen, Todd D; Pestka, Deborah; Sorge, Lindsay A; Wallace, Margaret L; Schommer, Jon

2016-03-01

The initiation, establishment, and sustainability of medication management programs in six Minnesota health systems are described. Six Minnesota health systems with well-established medication management programs were invited to participate in this study: Essentia Health, Fairview Health Services, HealthPartners, Hennepin County Medical Center, Mayo Clinic, and Park Nicollet Health Services. Qualitative methods were employed by conducting group interviews with key staff from each institution who were influential in the development of medication management services within their organization. Kotter's theory of eight steps for leading organizational change served as the framework for the question guide. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for recurring and emergent themes. A total of 13 distinct themes were associated with the successful integration of medication management services across the six healthcare systems. Identified themes clustered within three stages of Kotter's model for leading organizational change: creating a climate for change, engaging and enabling the whole organization, and implementing and sustaining change. The 13 themes included (1) external influences, (2) pharmacists as an untapped resource, (3) principles and professionalism, (4) organizational culture, (5) momentum champions, (6) collaborative relationships, (7) service promotion, (8) team-based care, (9) implementation strategies, (10) overcoming challenges, (11) supportive care model process, (12) measuring and reporting results, and (13) sustainability strategies. A qualitative survey of six health systems that successfully implemented medication management services in ambulatory care clinics revealed that a supportive culture and team-based collaborative care are among the themes identified as necessary for service sustainability. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

How will we know "good" qualitative research when we see it? Beginning the dialogue in health services research.

PubMed Central

Devers, K J

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To lay the foundation for an explicit review and dialogue concerning the criteria that should be used to evaluate qualitative health services research. Clear criteria are critical for the discipline because they provide a benchmark against which research can be assessed. DATA SOURCES: Existing literature in the social sciences and health services research, particularly in primary care and medicine. PRINCIPAL FINDING: Traditional criteria for evaluating qualitative research are rooted in the philosophical perspective (positivism) most closely associated with quantitative research and methods. As a result, qualitative research and methods may not be used as frequently as they can be and research results generated from qualitative studies may not be disseminated as widely as possible. However, alternative criteria for evaluating qualitative research have been proposed that reflect a different philosophical perspective (post-positivism). Moreover, these criteria are tailored to the unique purposes for which qualitative research is used and the research designs traditionally employed. While criteria based on these two different philosophical perspectives have much in common, some important differences exist. CONCLUSION: The field of health services research must engage in a collective, "qualitative" process to determine which criteria to adopt (positivist or post-positivist), or whether some combination of the two is most appropriate. Greater clarity about the criteria used to evaluate qualitative research will strengthen the discipline by fostering a more appropriate and improved use of qualitative methods, a greater willingness to fund and publish "good" qualitative research, and the development of more informed consumers of qualitative research results. Images Figure 1 PMID:10591278

Psychiatric service users' experiences of emergency departments: a CERQual review of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Carstensen, Kathrine; Lou, Stina; Groth Jensen, Lotte; Konstantin Nissen, Nina; Ortenblad, Lisbeth; Pfau, Margarete; Vedel Ankersen, Pia

2017-05-01

There is increased clinical and political attention towards integrating general and psychiatric emergency departments (ED). However, research into psychiatric service users' experiences regarding general EDs is limited. To identify and summarize current, qualitative evidence regarding service users' experiences attending EDs. A secondary aim is to apply and test the newly developed CERQual approach to summarizing qualitative review findings. A systematic literature review of five databases based on PRISMA guidelines yielded 3334 unique entries. Screening by title/abstract identified 57 studies and, after full text assessment, nine studies were included. The included studies were critically appraised using CASP. Thematic synthesis was applied for data extraction and identification of findings. The CERQual approach was utilized to assess the confidence of the findings. The results of the review showed moderate confidence in the findings that service users experience meeting caring and judgmental ED staff, and that waiting times and a stressful environment are integral to their ED experiences. In contrast, low-to-very low confidence was seen in the findings that service users experience having their symptoms ignored and that EDs are used due to a lack of alternatives. A companion may improve service users experience and outcome of ED visits. Service users experience stress and discomfort in the ED. Service users highly appreciate knowing staff who can ease the discomfort. Overall, the results of this review speak in favour of integrated EDs where service users' needs are more likely to be recognized and accommodated.

Domestic Violence Survivors' Access of Career Counseling Services: A Qualitative Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chronister, Krista M.; Linville, Deanna; Kaag, Kristi Palmer

2008-01-01

The present study was a qualitative investigation of the impact of domestic violence on women's career development and the contextual barriers and supports that affect women's ability to access career counseling services. Our sample included 11 women who completed various stages of a community-based career counseling intervention program. The…

Adolescents Confusion in Receiving Health Services: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Azh, Nezal; Ozgoli, Giti; Ardalan, Gelayol

2017-01-01

Introduction Providing health services for adolescents requires exploration of hidden factors from the perspective of adolescents, providers, and key individuals. Understanding the process of providing health services from adolescents point of view will help receiving and continuation of services. Although many studies have been conducted in Iran on adolescents health needs, few studies have dealt with provision of these services to adolescents. Aim The present study aimed to explain the adolescents and key informants’ perception of healthcare provision. Materials and Methods The present qualitative study was conducted according to grounded theory. Data were collected using deep semi-structured individual interviews and group discussion. Participants were selected through purposive sampling followed by theoretical sampling. Participants in present study were 65 adolescents, nine youths (19-24-year-old), and 19 parents and key people involved in providing health services. Adolescents and their parents were selected from different parts of Tehran. Data collection continued until data saturation, and was analysed using Corbin-Strauss (2008) method. Results Issues relating to adolescents perception of the process of providing services included health concerns, society’s inappropriate behaviours, and weakness of the health services system in responding to adolescents needs, which as underlying factors contributed to adolescents confusion in receiving services and their proper coping with puberty. Conclusion Due to lack of education on how to manage puberty by parents, schools, society, and the health system, participating adolescents from Tehran were confused about receiving information and unable to manage puberty problems. Solving this problem requires continuity of services and interaction of family, school and community. PMID:28658809

Kondo effect in single cobalt phthalocyanine molecules adsorbed on Au(111) monoatomic steps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Aidi; Hu, Zhenpeng; Wang, Bing; Xiao, Xudong; Yang, Jinlong; Hou, J. G.

2008-06-01

The Kondo effect in single dehydrogenated cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) molecules adsorbed on Au(111) monoatomic steps was studied with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The CoPc molecules adsorbed on Au(111) monoatomic steps show two typical configurations, which can be dehydrogenated to reveal Kondo effect. Moreover, the Kondo temperatures (TK) measured for different molecules vary in a large range from ~150 to ~550 K, increasing monotonically with decreasing Co-Au distance. A simple model consisting of a single Co 3dz2 orbital and a Au 6s orbital is considered and gives a qualitative explanation to the dependence. The large variation of TK is attributed to the variation of the interaction between the magnetic-active cobalt ion and the Au substrate resulted from different Co-Au distances.

Azimuthal Angle Dependence of HBT Radii in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC-PHENIX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niida, Takafumi

Measurement of Hanbury-Brown and Twiss (HBT) interferometry with respect to the event plane have been performed in Au+Au collisions at √{sNN} = 200 GeV at PHENIX, which is a unique tool to study the spatial extent of the created matter at final state in heavy ion collisions and the detailed picture of the space-time evolution from the initial state to the final state. The Gaussian source radii was measured for charged pions and kaons with respect to 2nd-order event plane. There was a difference in final eccentricity between both species, which may imply the different freeze-out mechanism by the particle species. The pion source radii was also measured relative to 3rd-order event plane, and the azimuthal angle dependence of the radii was observed, which qualitatively agrees with the recent hydrodynamic calculation and the oscillation may be driven from the triangular flow.

The Recovery College: A unique service approach and qualitative evaluation.

PubMed

Newman-Taylor, Katherine; Stone, Nicola; Valentine, Paul; Hooks, Zoe; Sault, Katherine

2016-06-01

This study examined the impact of a Recovery College, an educational service model focusing specifically on health care to engage people's hope, agency, and opportunities for recovery. For the purpose of the study, a qualitative approach was used given the absence of research in this area. Eleven people completed semistructured interviews conducted by an independent researcher. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. The analyses yielded themes emphasizing the impact of the organizational structure of the college. Coproduction of service delivery was contrasted with traditional provision and identified as fundamental to personal and professional changes made. Recovery College participants described clear gains. These findings are discussed in relation to the recovery literature and highlight the need for routine coproduction of services to facilitate recovery from the often devastating impact of mental ill-health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Magnetic susceptibilities of liquid Cr-Au, Mn-Au and Fe-Au alloys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ohno, S.; Shimakura, H.; Tahara, S.

The magnetic susceptibility of liquid Cr-Au, Mn-Au, Fe-Au and Cu-Au alloys was investigated as a function of temperature and composition. Liquid Cr{sub 1-c}Au{sub c} with 0.5 ≤ c and Mn{sub 1-c}Au{sub c} with 0.3≤c obeyed the Curie-Weiss law with regard to their dependence of χ on temperature. The magnetic susceptibilities of liquid Fe-Au alloys also exhibited Curie-Weiss behavior with a reasonable value for the effective number of Bohr magneton. On the Au-rich side, the composition dependence of χ for liquid TM-Au (TM=Cr, Mn, Fe) alloys increased rapidly with increasing TM content, respectively. Additionally, the composition dependences of χ for liquidmore » Cr-Au, Mn-Au, and Fe-Au alloys had maxima at compositions of 50 at% Cr, 70 at% Mn, and 85 at% Fe, respectively. We compared the composition dependences of χ{sub 3d} due to 3d electrons for liquid binary TM-M (M=Au, Al, Si, Sb), and investigated the relationship between χ{sub 3d} and E{sub F} in liquid binary TM-M alloys at a composition of 50 at% TM.« less

Youth experiences of transition from child mental health services to adult mental health services: a qualitative thematic synthesis.

PubMed

Broad, Kathleen L; Sandhu, Vijay K; Sunderji, Nadiya; Charach, Alice

2017-11-28

Adolescence and young adulthood is a vulnerable time during which young people experience many development milestones, as well as an increased incidence of mental illness. During this time, youth also transition between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS). This transition puts many youth at risk of disengagement from service use; however, our understanding of this transition from the perspective of youth is limited. This systematic review aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of youth experiences of transition from CAMHS to AMHS, through a qualitative thematic synthesis of the extant literature in this area. Published and unpublished literature was searched using keywords targeting three subject areas: Transition, Age and Mental Health. Studies were included if they qualitatively explored the perceptions and experiences of youth who received mental health services in both CAMHS and AMHS. There were no limitations on diagnosis or age of youth. Studies examining youth with chronic physical health conditions were excluded. Eighteen studies, representing 14 datasets and the experiences of 253 unique service-users were included. Youth experiences of moving from CAMHS and AMHS are influenced by concurrent life transitions and their individual preferences regarding autonomy and independence. Youth identified preparation, flexible transition timing, individualized transition plans, and informational continuity as positive factors during transition. Youth also valued joint working and relational continuity between CAMHS and AMHS. Youth experience a dramatic culture shift between CAMHS and AMHS, which can be mitigated by individualized and flexible approaches to transition. Youth have valuable perspectives to guide the intelligent design of mental health services and their perspectives should be used to inform tools to evaluate and incorporate youth perspectives into transitional service improvement

Caregiver involvement in behavioural health services in the context of child welfare service referrals: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Jolles, Mónica Pérez; Flick, Jodon Anne Jodi; Wells, Rebecca; Chuang, Emmeline

2017-05-01

Human service agencies serve a growing number of adults with behavioral health needs. Despite these agencies' key role in identifying need and facilitating services, many individuals do not receive care or end services prematurely. Few studies have explored the experiences of families referred to behavioral health services by such agencies or the extent to which families' perceptions of service need align with those of treatment providers and frontline workers. This study presents findings from a qualitative study of caregivers involved with child welfare agencies who were referred to behavioral health services. Researchers reviewed agencies' case records and conducted in-depth interviews with 16 caregivers, 9 child welfare caseworkers, and 12 behavioral health treatment counselors. Findings suggest that when deciding to engage in services, caregivers weigh not only their individual and family behavioral health needs but also potential agency intervention, including loss of child custody. Many professionals reported that involvement with a child welfare agency hindered the caregiver's disclosure of behavioral health care needs. Implications for managers and practitioners are discussed.

Caregiver involvement in behavioural health services in the context of child welfare service referrals: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Jolles, Mónica Pérez; Flick, Jodon Anne (Jodi); Wells, Rebecca; Chuang, Emmeline

2016-01-01

Human service agencies serve a growing number of adults with behavioral health needs. Despite these agencies’ key role in identifying need and facilitating services, many individuals do not receive care or end services prematurely. Few studies have explored the experiences of families referred to behavioral health services by such agencies or the extent to which families’ perceptions of service need align with those of treatment providers and frontline workers. This study presents findings from a qualitative study of caregivers involved with child welfare agencies who were referred to behavioral health services. Researchers reviewed agencies’ case records and conducted in-depth interviews with 16 caregivers, 9 child welfare caseworkers, and 12 behavioral health treatment counselors. Findings suggest that when deciding to engage in services, caregivers weigh not only their individual and family behavioral health needs but also potential agency intervention, including loss of child custody. Many professionals reported that involvement with a child welfare agency hindered the caregiver's disclosure of behavioral health care needs. Implications for managers and practitioners are discussed. PMID:28706461

Cultural Competence Development, Critical Service Learning, and Latino/a Youth Empowerment: A Qualitative Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vargas, Lucila C.; Erba, Joseph

2017-01-01

As universities create service-learning programs, educators are experimenting with pedagogical approaches that enhance learning outcomes while benefiting communities. We present a qualitative case study of a radio-based, service-learning program, grounded in a Freirean foundation and aimed at developing the cultural competence and sense of…

Systematic study of charged-pion and kaon femtoscopy in Au + Au collisions at √{sNN}=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adare, A.; Afanasiev, S.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.; Akiba, Y.; Al-Bataineh, H.; Alexander, J.; Alfred, M.; Aoki, K.; Apadula, N.; Aramaki, Y.; Asano, H.; Atomssa, E. T.; Averbeck, R.; Awes, T. C.; Azmoun, B.; Babintsev, V.; Bai, M.; Baksay, G.; Baksay, L.; Bandara, N. S.; Bannier, B.; Barish, K. N.; Bassalleck, B.; Basye, A. T.; Bathe, S.; Baublis, V.; Baumann, C.; Bazilevsky, A.; Beaumier, M.; Beckman, S.; Belikov, S.; Belmont, R.; Bennett, R.; Berdnikov, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Bickley, A. A.; Blau, D. S.; Bok, J. S.; Boyle, K.; Brooks, M. L.; Bryslawskyj, J.; Buesching, H.; Bumazhnov, V.; Bunce, G.; Butsyk, S.; Camacho, C. M.; Campbell, S.; Chen, C.-H.; Chi, C. Y.; Chiu, M.; Choi, I. J.; Choi, J. B.; Choudhury, R. K.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Chung, P.; Chvala, O.; Cianciolo, V.; Citron, Z.; Cole, B. A.; Connors, M.; Constantin, P.; Csanád, M.; Csörgő, T.; Dahms, T.; Dairaku, S.; Danchev, I.; Danley, D.; Das, K.; Datta, A.; Daugherity, M. S.; David, G.; Deblasio, K.; Dehmelt, K.; Denisov, A.; Deshpande, A.; Desmond, E. J.; Dietzsch, O.; Dion, A.; Diss, P. B.; Do, J. H.; Donadelli, M.; Drapier, O.; Drees, A.; Drees, K. A.; Durham, J. M.; Durum, A.; Dutta, D.; Edwards, S.; Efremenko, Y. V.; Ellinghaus, F.; Engelmore, T.; Enokizono, A.; En'yo, H.; Esumi, S.; Fadem, B.; Feege, N.; Fields, D. E.; Finger, M.; Finger, M.; Fleuret, F.; Fokin, S. L.; Fraenkel, Z.; Frantz, J. E.; Franz, A.; Frawley, A. D.; Fujiwara, K.; Fukao, Y.; Fusayasu, T.; Gal, C.; Gallus, P.; Garg, P.; Garishvili, I.; Ge, H.; Giordano, F.; Glenn, A.; Gong, H.; Gonin, M.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Grau, N.; Greene, S. V.; Grosse Perdekamp, M.; Gunji, T.; Gustafsson, H.-Å.; Hachiya, T.; Haggerty, J. S.; Hahn, K. I.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamblen, J.; Hamilton, H. F.; Han, R.; Han, S. Y.; Hanks, J.; Hartouni, E. P.; Hasegawa, S.; Haseler, T. O. S.; Hashimoto, K.; Haslum, E.; Hayano, R.; He, X.; Heffner, M.; Hemmick, T. K.; Hester, T.; Hill, J. C.; Hohlmann, M.; Hollis, R. S.; Holzmann, W.; Homma, K.; Hong, B.; Horaguchi, T.; Hornback, D.; Hoshino, T.; Hotvedt, N.; Huang, J.; Huang, S.; Ichihara, T.; Ichimiya, R.; Ide, J.; Ikeda, Y.; Imai, K.; Inaba, M.; Iordanova, A.; Isenhower, D.; Ishihara, M.; Isobe, T.; Issah, M.; Isupov, A.; Ivanishchev, D.; Jacak, B. V.; Jezghani, M.; Jia, J.; Jiang, X.; Jin, J.; Johnson, B. M.; Joo, K. S.; Jouan, D.; Jumper, D. S.; Kajihara, F.; Kametani, S.; Kamihara, N.; Kamin, J.; Kanda, S.; Kang, J. H.; Kapustinsky, J.; Karatsu, K.; Kawall, D.; Kawashima, M.; Kazantsev, A. V.; Kempel, T.; Key, J. A.; Khachatryan, V.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kijima, K. M.; Kim, B. I.; Kim, C.; Kim, D. H.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, E.; Kim, E.-J.; Kim, G. W.; Kim, M.; Kim, S. H.; Kim, Y.-J.; Kimelman, B.; Kinney, E.; Kiriluk, K.; Kiss, Á.; Kistenev, E.; Kitamura, R.; Klatsky, J.; Kleinjan, D.; Kline, P.; Koblesky, T.; Kochenda, L.; Komkov, B.; Konno, M.; Koster, J.; Kotchetkov, D.; Kotov, D.; Kozlov, A.; Král, A.; Kravitz, A.; Kunde, G. J.; Kurita, K.; Kurosawa, M.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G. S.; Lacey, R.; Lai, Y. S.; Lajoie, J. G.; Lebedev, A.; Lee, D. M.; Lee, J.; Lee, K.; Lee, K. B.; Lee, K. S.; Lee, S.; Lee, S. H.; Leitch, M. J.; Leite, M. A. L.; Leitner, E.; Lenzi, B.; Li, X.; Liebing, P.; Lim, S. H.; Linden Levy, L. A.; Liška, T.; Litvinenko, A.; Liu, H.; Liu, M. X.; Love, B.; Luechtenborg, R.; Lynch, D.; Maguire, C. F.; Makdisi, Y. I.; Makek, M.; Malakhov, A.; Malik, M. D.; Manion, A.; Manko, V. I.; Mannel, E.; Mao, Y.; Masui, H.; Matathias, F.; McCumber, M.; McGaughey, P. L.; McGlinchey, D.; McKinney, C.; Means, N.; Meles, A.; Mendoza, M.; Meredith, B.; Miake, Y.; Mignerey, A. C.; Mikeš, P.; Miki, K.; Milov, A.; Mishra, D. K.; Mishra, M.; Mitchell, J. T.; Miyasaka, S.; Mizuno, S.; Mohanty, A. K.; Montuenga, P.; Moon, T.; Morino, Y.; Morreale, A.; Morrison, D. P.; Moukhanova, T. V.; Murakami, T.; Murata, J.; Mwai, A.; Nagamiya, S.; Nagashima, K.; Nagle, J. L.; Naglis, M.; Nagy, M. I.; Nakagawa, I.; Nakagomi, H.; Nakamiya, Y.; Nakamura, T.; Nakano, K.; Nattrass, C.; Netrakanti, P. K.; Newby, J.; Nguyen, M.; Niida, T.; Nishimura, S.; Nouicer, R.; Novak, T.; Novitzky, N.; Nyanin, A. S.; O'Brien, E.; Oda, S. X.; Ogilvie, C. A.; Oka, M.; Okada, K.; Onuki, Y.; Orjuela Koop, J. D.; Osborn, J. D.; Oskarsson, A.; Ouchida, M.; Ozawa, K.; Pak, R.; Pantuev, V.; Papavassiliou, V.; Park, I. H.; Park, J.; Park, J. S.; Park, S.; Park, S. K.; Park, W. J.; Pate, S. F.; Patel, M.; Pei, H.; Peng, J.-C.; Pereira, H.; Perepelitsa, D. V.; Perera, G. D. N.; Peresedov, V.; Peressounko, D. Yu.; Perry, J.; Petti, R.; Pinkenburg, C.; Pinson, R.; Pisani, R. P.; Proissl, M.; Purschke, M. L.; Purwar, A. K.; Qu, H.; Rak, J.; Rakotozafindrabe, A.; Ramson, B. J.; Ravinovich, I.; Read, K. F.; Reygers, K.; Reynolds, D.; Riabov, V.; Riabov, Y.; Richardson, E.; Rinn, T.; Roach, D.; Roche, G.; Rolnick, S. D.; Rosati, M.; Rosen, C. A.; Rosendahl, S. S. E.; Rosnet, P.; Rowan, Z.; Rubin, J. G.; Rukoyatkin, P.; Ružička, P.; Sahlmueller, B.; Saito, N.; Sakaguchi, T.; Sakashita, K.; Sako, H.; Samsonov, V.; Sano, S.; Sarsour, M.; Sato, S.; Sato, T.; Sawada, S.; Schaefer, B.; Schmoll, B. K.; Sedgwick, K.; Seele, J.; Seidl, R.; Semenov, A. Yu.; Sen, A.; Seto, R.; Sett, P.; Sexton, A.; Sharma, D.; Shein, I.; Shibata, T.-A.; Shigaki, K.; Shimomura, M.; Shoji, K.; Shukla, P.; Sickles, A.; Silva, C. L.; Silvermyr, D.; Silvestre, C.; Sim, K. S.; Singh, B. K.; Singh, C. P.; Singh, V.; Slunečka, M.; Snowball, M.; Soltz, R. A.; Sondheim, W. E.; Sorensen, S. P.; Sourikova, I. V.; Sparks, N. A.; Stankus, P. W.; Stenlund, E.; Stepanov, M.; Stoll, S. P.; Sugitate, T.; Sukhanov, A.; Sumita, T.; Sun, J.; Sziklai, J.; Takagui, E. M.; Taketani, A.; Tanabe, R.; Tanaka, Y.; Tanida, K.; Tannenbaum, M. J.; Tarafdar, S.; Taranenko, A.; Tarján, P.; Themann, H.; Thomas, T. L.; Tieulent, R.; Timilsina, A.; Todoroki, T.; Togawa, M.; Toia, A.; Tomášek, L.; Tomášek, M.; Torii, H.; Towell, C. L.; Towell, R.; Towell, R. S.; Tserruya, I.; Tsuchimoto, Y.; Vale, C.; Valle, H.; van Hecke, H. W.; Vazquez-Zambrano, E.; Veicht, A.; Velkovska, J.; Vértesi, R.; Vinogradov, A. A.; Virius, M.; Vrba, V.; Vznuzdaev, E.; Wang, X. R.; Watanabe, D.; Watanabe, K.; Watanabe, Y.; Watanabe, Y. S.; Wei, F.; Wei, R.; Wessels, J.; White, A. S.; White, S. N.; Winter, D.; Wood, J. P.; Woody, C. L.; Wright, R. M.; Wysocki, M.; Xia, B.; Xie, W.; Xue, L.; Yalcin, S.; Yamaguchi, Y. L.; Yamaura, K.; Yang, R.; Yanovich, A.; Ying, J.; Yokkaichi, S.; Yoo, J. H.; Yoon, I.; You, Z.; Young, G. R.; Younus, I.; Yu, H.; Yushmanov, I. E.; Zajc, W. A.; Zelenski, A.; Zhang, C.; Zhou, S.; Zolin, L.; Zou, L.; Phenix Collaboration

2015-09-01

We present a systematic study of charged-pion and kaon interferometry in Au +Au collisions at √{s NN}=200 GeV. The kaon mean source radii are found to be larger than pion radii in the outward and longitudinal directions for the same transverse mass; this difference increases for more central collisions. The azimuthal-angle dependence of the radii was measured with respect to the second-order event plane and similar oscillations of the source radii were found for pions and kaons. Hydrodynamic models qualitatively describe the similar oscillations of the mean source radii for pions and kaons, but they do not fully describe the transverse-mass dependence of the oscillations.

Systematic study of charged-pion and kaon femtoscopy in Au+Au collisions at √s NN = 200 GeV

DOE PAGES

Adare, A.

2015-09-23

We present a systematic study of charged pion and kaon interferometry in Au+Au collisions at √s NN=200 GeV. The kaon mean source radii are found to be larger than pion radii in the outward and longitudinal directions for the same transverse mass; this difference increases for more central collisions. The azimuthal-angle dependence of the radii was measured with respect to the second-order event plane and similar oscillations of the source radii were found for pions and kaons. Hydrodynamic models qualitatively describe the similar oscillations of the mean source radii for pions and kaons, but they do not fully describe themore » transverse-mass dependence of the oscillations.« less

Qualitative Phenomenological Study of Data Management Information System Deployments: Financial Services Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerns, Dannie J.

2014-01-01

The qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of financial services industry change managers to understand the genesis of low data management information system project adoption rates. The goal of the study was to find methods to improve data management information system adoption rates. The participant pool consisted of 19…

Improving continence services for older people from the service-providers’ perspective: a qualitative interview study

PubMed Central

Orrell, Alison; McKee, Kevin; Dahlberg, Lena; Gilhooly, Mary; Parker, Stuart

2013-01-01

Objective To examine in depth the views and experiences of continence service leads in England on key service and continence management characteristics in order to identify and to improve our understanding of barriers to a good-quality service and potential facilitators to develop and to improve services for older people with urinary incontinence (UI). Design Qualitative semistructured interviews using a purposive sample recruited across 16 continence services. Setting 3 acute and 13 primary care National Health Service Trusts in England. Participants 16 continence service leads in England actively treating and managing older people with UI. Results In terms of barriers to a good-quality service, participants highlighted a failure on the part of commissioners, managers and other health professionals in recognising the problem of UI and in acknowledging the importance of continence for older people and prevalent negative attitudes towards continence and older people. Patient assessment and continence promotion regardless of age, rather than pad provision, were identified as important steps for a good-quality service for older people with UI. More rapid and appropriate patient referral pathways, investment in service capacity, for example, more trained staff and strengthened interservice collaborations and a higher profile within medical and nurse training were specified as being important facilitators for delivering an equitable and high-quality continence service. There is a need, however, to consider the accounts given by our participants as perhaps serving the interests of their professional group within the context of interprofessional work. Conclusions Our data point to important barriers and facilitators of a good-quality service for older people with UI, from the perspective of continence service leads. Further research should address the views of other stakeholders, and explore options for the empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of identified service

Older people's adoption of e-learning services: a qualitative study of facilitators and barriers.

PubMed

Bai, Xue; He, Yiqin; Kohlbacher, Florian

2018-05-14

This research investigates the facilitators and barriers for older people to adopt e-learning services using qualitative data of older people in a Chinese city. A qualitative approach was applied to explore the perceived facilitators and obstacles toward e-learning adoption with 10 older Chinese aged over 50. The results indicate the following: (1a) Age-related changes and cohort effects were found to be the internal barriers for the adoption of e-learning. (1b) Equipment problems, lack of time, and the availability of alternatives were found to have negative effects on the acceptance of e-learning services. It is notable that alternatives including the University of the Third Age (U3A) were found to be more attractive for older Chinese. (2a) Work requirements and flexibility of e-learning services were found to have direct effects on the acceptance of services. (2b) User-friendly design and stimulation from family would facilitate older people to adopt. Practical implications of this research include that policymakers should consider investing more in education in later life and introducing e-learning services in public lectures and tutorials and that the age-related barrier should be taken into consideration in the design phase of e-learning services. U3As should consider integrating e-learning approaches and cooperating with the community.

Recovery in Psychosis from a Service User Perspective: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Current Qualitative Evidence.

PubMed

Wood, L; Alsawy, S

2017-11-29

There is a growing number of qualitative accounts regarding recovery from psychosis from a service user perspective. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of these qualitative accounts. A thematic synthesis was utilised to synthesise and analyse seventeen studies included in the review. Studies were included if they used a qualitative methodology to explore service users' experiences of recovery from psychosis as a primary research question. All included studies were subjected to a quality assessment. The analysis outlined three subordinate themes: the recovery journey, facilitators of recovery (e.g. faith and spirituality, personal agency and hope), and barriers to recovery (e.g. stigma and discrimination, negative effects of mental health services and medication). Recovery is an idiosyncratic process but includes key components which are important to people who experience psychosis. These should be explored within clinical practice.

(Tl, Au)/Si(1 1 1){\\sqrt7 \\times \\sqrt7} 2D compound: an ordered array of identical Au clusters embedded in Tl matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mihalyuk, A. N.; Hsing, C. R.; Wei, C. M.; Eremeev, S. V.; Bondarenko, L. V.; Tupchaya, A. Y.; Gruznev, D. V.; Zotov, A. V.; Saranin, A. A.

2018-01-01

Formation of the highly-ordered \\sqrt7 × \\sqrt7 -periodicity 2D compound has been detected in the (Tl, Au)/Si(1 1 1) system as a result of Au deposition onto the Tl/Si(1 1 1) surface, its composition, structure and electronic properties have been characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy, angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and density-functional-theory calculations. On the basis of these data, the structural model of the Tl-Au compound has been proposed, which adopts 12 Tl atoms and 10 Au atoms (in total, 22 atoms) per \\sqrt7 × \\sqrt7 unit cell, i.e.  ˜1.71 ML of Tl and  ˜1.43 ML of Au (in total, ˜3.14 ML). Qualitatively, the model can be visualized as consisting of truncated-pyramid-like Au clusters with a Tl atom on top, while the other Tl atoms form a double layer around the Au clusters. The (Tl, Au)/Si(1 1 1)\\sqrt7 × \\sqrt7 compound has been found to exhibit pronounced metallic properties at least down to temperatures as low as  ˜25 K, which makes it a promising object for studying electrical transport phenomena in the 2D metallic systems.

A Grateful Recollecting: A Qualitative Study of the Long-Term Impact of Service-Learning on Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fullerton, Ann; Reitenauer, Vicki L.; Kerrigan, Seanna M.

2015-01-01

Service-learning practitioners design community engagement activities to affect students in powerful and even transformative ways. This qualitative study explores the long-term impacts (3-16 years after graduation) of participation in a senior-level service-learning course. Through interviews with 20 randomly selected participants, the researchers…

The Impact of Service Dogs on Engagement in Occupation among Females with Mobility Impairments: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

PubMed Central

Herlache-Pretzer, Ellen; Winkle, Melissa Y.; Csatari, Rachel; Kolanowski, Alyssa; Londry, Amy; Dawson, Rachel

2017-01-01

It is becoming more common for people with disabilities to procure service dogs as a form of assistive technology (AT). However, there is little qualitative research examining the impact of service dogs on engagement in valued daily activities (occupations) among persons with mobility impairments. This study used a qualitative descriptive methodology to learn about the experiences of four female service dog owners with mobility impairments, with a focus on the impact of service dog use on the performance of daily occupations and participation in social activities, and their experiences utilizing a service dog as a form of AT. Data analysis indicated that each participant’s service dog made a significant impact on their everyday lives and their ability to independently perform everyday activities; however, there are also unique challenges associated with service dog ownership that must be considered when evaluating benefits of service dog partnership. Overall, the positive outcomes reported by participants indicate that service dogs can be considered a beneficial, adaptable form of AT for some persons with mobility impairments. PMID:28621752

The Impact of Service Dogs on Engagement in Occupation among Females with Mobility Impairments: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

PubMed

Herlache-Pretzer, Ellen; Winkle, Melissa Y; Csatari, Rachel; Kolanowski, Alyssa; Londry, Amy; Dawson, Rachel

2017-06-16

It is becoming more common for people with disabilities to procure service dogs as a form of assistive technology (AT). However, there is little qualitative research examining the impact of service dogs on engagement in valued daily activities (occupations) among persons with mobility impairments. This study used a qualitative descriptive methodology to learn about the experiences of four female service dog owners with mobility impairments, with a focus on the impact of service dog use on the performance of daily occupations and participation in social activities, and their experiences utilizing a service dog as a form of AT. Data analysis indicated that each participant's service dog made a significant impact on their everyday lives and their ability to independently perform everyday activities; however, there are also unique challenges associated with service dog ownership that must be considered when evaluating benefits of service dog partnership. Overall, the positive outcomes reported by participants indicate that service dogs can be considered a beneficial, adaptable form of AT for some persons with mobility impairments.

Study on the failure temperature of Ti/Pt/Au and Pt5Si2-Ti/Pt/Au metallization systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jie; Han, Jianqiang; Yin, Yijun; Dong, Lizhen; Niu, Wenju

2017-09-01

The Ti/Pt/Au metallization system has an advantage of resisting KOH or TMAH solution etching. To form a good ohmic contact, the Ti/Pt/Au metallization system must be alloyed at 400 °C. However, the process temperatures of typical MEMS packaging technologies, such as anodic bonding, glass solder bonding and eutectic bonding, generally exceed 400 °C. It is puzzling if the Ti/Pt/Au system is destroyed during the subsequent packaging process. In the present work, the resistance of doped polysilicon resistors contacted by the Ti/Pt/Au metallization system that have undergone different temperatures and time are measured. The experimental results show that the ohmic contacts will be destroyed if heated to 500 °C. But if a 20 nm Pt film is sputtered on heavily doped polysilicon and alloyed at 700 °C before sputtering Ti/Pt/Au films, the Pt5Si2-Ti/Pt/Au metallization system has a higher service temperature of 500 °C, which exceeds process temperatures of most typical MEMS packaging technologies. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61376114).

From the ternary Eu(Au/In) 2 and EuAu 4(Au/In) 2 with remarkable Au/In distributions to a new structure type: The gold-rich Eu 5Au 16(Au/In) 6 structure

DOE PAGES

Steinberg, Simon; Card, Nathan; Mudring, Anja -Verena

2015-08-13

The ternary Eu(Au/In) 2 (EuAu 0.46In 1.54 (2)) (I), EuAu 4(Au/In) 2 (EuAu 4+xIn 2–x with x = 0.75(2) (II), 0.93(2), and 1.03(2)), and Eu 5Au 16(Au/In) 6 (Eu 5Au 17.29In 4.71(3)) (III) have been synthesized, and their structures were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. I and II crystallize with the CeCu 2-type (Pearson Symbol oI12; Imma; Z = 4; a = 4.9018(4) Å; b = 7.8237(5) Å; c = 8.4457(5) Å) and the YbAl 4Mo 2-type (tI14; I4/ mmm; Z = 2; a = 7.1612(7) Å; c = 5.5268(7) Å) and exhibit significant Au/In disorder. I is composed ofmore » an Au/In-mixed diamond-related host lattice encapsulating Eu atoms, while the structure of II features ribbons of distorted, squared Au 8 prisms enclosing Eu, Au, and In atoms. Combination of these structural motifs leads to a new structure type as observed for Eu 5Au 16(Au/In) 6 (Eu 5Au 17.29In 4.71(3)) (oS108; Cmcm; Z = 4; a = 7.2283(4) Å; b = 9.0499(6) Å; c = 34.619(2) Å), which formally represents a one-dimensional intergrowth of the series EuAu 2–“EuAu 4In 2”. The site preferences of the disordered Au/In positions in II were investigated for different hypothetical “EuAu 4(Au/In) 2” models using the projector-augmented wave method and indicate that these structures attempt to optimize the frequencies of the heteroatomic Au–In contacts. Furthermore, a chemical bonding analysis on two “EuAu 5In” and “EuAu 4In 2” models employed the TB-LMTO-ASA method and reveals that the subtle interplay between the local atomic environments and the bond energies determines the structural and site preferences for these systems.« less

From the ternary Eu(Au/In) 2 and EuAu 4(Au/In) 2 with remarkable Au/In distributions to a new structure type: The gold-rich Eu 5Au 16(Au/In) 6 structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Steinberg, Simon; Card, Nathan; Mudring, Anja -Verena

The ternary Eu(Au/In) 2 (EuAu 0.46In 1.54 (2)) (I), EuAu 4(Au/In) 2 (EuAu 4+xIn 2–x with x = 0.75(2) (II), 0.93(2), and 1.03(2)), and Eu 5Au 16(Au/In) 6 (Eu 5Au 17.29In 4.71(3)) (III) have been synthesized, and their structures were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. I and II crystallize with the CeCu 2-type (Pearson Symbol oI12; Imma; Z = 4; a = 4.9018(4) Å; b = 7.8237(5) Å; c = 8.4457(5) Å) and the YbAl 4Mo 2-type (tI14; I4/ mmm; Z = 2; a = 7.1612(7) Å; c = 5.5268(7) Å) and exhibit significant Au/In disorder. I is composed ofmore » an Au/In-mixed diamond-related host lattice encapsulating Eu atoms, while the structure of II features ribbons of distorted, squared Au 8 prisms enclosing Eu, Au, and In atoms. Combination of these structural motifs leads to a new structure type as observed for Eu 5Au 16(Au/In) 6 (Eu 5Au 17.29In 4.71(3)) (oS108; Cmcm; Z = 4; a = 7.2283(4) Å; b = 9.0499(6) Å; c = 34.619(2) Å), which formally represents a one-dimensional intergrowth of the series EuAu 2–“EuAu 4In 2”. The site preferences of the disordered Au/In positions in II were investigated for different hypothetical “EuAu 4(Au/In) 2” models using the projector-augmented wave method and indicate that these structures attempt to optimize the frequencies of the heteroatomic Au–In contacts. Furthermore, a chemical bonding analysis on two “EuAu 5In” and “EuAu 4In 2” models employed the TB-LMTO-ASA method and reveals that the subtle interplay between the local atomic environments and the bond energies determines the structural and site preferences for these systems.« less

Traveler information services in rural tourism areas : appendix B, qualitative interviews and focus groups

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-06-30

This report documents results from surveys which were conducted for qualitatively assessing the use of traveler information services in rural areas. The focus of the surveys was to identify those factors which influence travel planning and thus impro...

From Assessment to Implementation: Using Qualitative Interviews to Inform Distance Learning Library Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wharton, Lindsey N.

2017-01-01

While broad assessment projects are often used to steer library strategic planning initiatives, this article will present the benefits of qualitative interviews with distance learning constituents as a framework for developing a focused vision and targeted services. This article will describe the planning and execution of an assessment project…

"Everybody Kind of Looked at Me Like I Was from Mars:" Preparing Educators through Qualitative Service-Research Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorner, Lisa M.; Kim, Sujin; Floros, Alice; Mujanovic, Midheta

2017-01-01

Skills developed through qualitative research and community partnerships can be essential for developing education students' cultural competency and understandings about diverse student populations. Toward this end, we developed a qualitative "service-research" project in a teacher education course focused on child development, whereby…

Physicians' attitudes toward home healthcare services in Turkey: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Aksoy, Hilal; Kahveci, Rabia; Döner, Pınar; Aksoy, İhsan; Ayhan, Duygu; Koç, E Meltem; Şencan, İrfan; Kasım, İsmail; Özkara, Adem

2015-01-01

Because of the growth of the older population and the prevalence of chronic diseases, home care services (HCS) have become an important aspect of healthcare worldwide. However, various difficulties and deficiencies are present in the provision of these recently implemented services in Turkey. Modifications to home healthcare services are in progress. Physicians have an active role in home healthcare services. The present study was performed to examine physicians' attitudes toward this service in detail. Twenty-six physicians who provide home healthcare services in the city of Ankara were included in the study. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and qualitatively analysed. Most physicians thought that home care could be provided to patients who are bedridden, are very old, have a chronic disease, have problems leaving the house, or do not have family support. They also expressed displeasure about the abuse of services and discordance of organization between hospitals and primary care centres. They noted that real circumstances in practice were not compatible with regulations and that cooperation and coordination between departments are necessary and important. The current study underlines physicians' interest in and support of the home care system, which has various drawbacks and limitations. Legislation needs to be further changed to improve the quality of service and eliminate deficiencies in home healthcare.

Provider and service-user perspectives of volunteer health-worker service provision in Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Watt, Nicola; Yupar, Aye; Sender, Paul; Campbell, Fiona; Legido-Quigley, Helena; Howard, Natasha

2016-12-09

To explore perspectives and reported experiences of service users, community providers and policymakers related to volunteer health-worker services provision in a rural area of Myanmar. A qualitative interview study was conducted in rural communities with 54 service users and 17 community providers in Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar, and with 14 national managers and policymakers in Yangon Myanmar. Topics included reasons for seeking health services, views and experiences, and comparison with experiences of other services. Data were analysed thematically using deductive and inductive coding. Accessibility and affordability were important to all participants. Service users described the particular relevance of trust, familiarity and acceptability in choosing a provider. Perceived quality and effectiveness were necessary for trust to develop. Perceived value of volunteers was a cross-cutting dimension, which was interpreted differently by different participants. Results suggest that volunteers are appropriate and valued, and support 'availability', 'accessibility' and 'acceptability' as dimensions of health services access in this setting. However, social complexities should be considered to ensure effective service delivery. Further research into trust-building, developing quality perceptions and resulting service-user choices would be useful to inform effective policy and planning. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Optimizing lay counsellor services for chronic care in South Africa: a qualitative systematic review.

PubMed

Petersen, Inge; Fairall, Lara; Egbe, Catherine O; Bhana, Arvin

2014-05-01

To conduct a qualitative systematic review on the use of lay counsellors in South Africa to provide lessons on optimizing their use for psychological and behavioural change counselling for chronic long-term care in scare-resource contexts. A qualitative systematic review of the literature on lay counsellor services in South Africa. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Five randomized control trials and two cohort studies reported that lay counsellors can provide behaviour change counselling with good outcomes. One multi-centre cohort study provided promising evidence of improved anti-retroviral treatment adherence and one non-randomized controlled study provided promising results for counselling for depression. Six studies found low fidelity of lay counsellor-delivered interventions in routine care. Reasons for low fidelity include poor role definition, inconsistent remuneration, lack of standardized training, and poor supervision and logistical support. Within resource-constrained settings, adjunct behaviour change and psychological services provided by lay counsellors can be harnessed to promote chronic care at primary health care level. Optimizing lay counsellor services requires interventions at an organizational level that provide a clear role definition and scope of practice; in-service training and formal supervision; and sensitization of health managers to the importance and logistical requirements of counselling. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Cluster-to-cluster transformation among Au6, Au8 and Au11 nanoclusters.

PubMed

Ren, Xiuqing; Fu, Junhong; Lin, Xinzhang; Fu, Xuemei; Yan, Jinghui; Wu, Ren'an; Liu, Chao; Huang, Jiahui

2018-05-22

We present the cluster-to-cluster transformations among three gold nanoclusters, [Au6(dppp)4]2+ (Au6), [Au8(dppp)4Cl2]2+ (Au8) and [Au11(dppp)5]3+ (Au11). The conversion process follows a rule that states that the transformation of a small cluster to a large cluster is achieved through an oxidation process with an oxidizing agent (H2O2) or with heating, while the conversion of a large cluster to a small one occurs through a reduction process with a reducing agent (NaBH4). All the reactions were monitored using UV-Vis spectroscopy and ESI-MS. This work may provide an alternative approach to the synthesis of novel gold nanoclusters and a further understanding of the structural transformation relationship of gold nanoclusters.

Interfacial nanodroplets guided construction of hierarchical Au, Au-Pt, and Au-Pd particles as excellent catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Aijing; Xu, Jie; Zhang, Xuehua; Zhang, Bin; Wang, Dayang; Xu, Haolan

2014-05-01

Interfacial nanodroplets were grafted to the surfaces of self-sacrificed template particles in a galvanic reaction system to assist the construction of 3D Au porous structures. The interfacial nanodroplets were formed via direct adsorption of surfactant-free emulsions onto the particle surfaces. The interfacial nanodroplets discretely distributed at the template particle surfaces and served as soft templates to guide the formation of porous Au structures. The self-variation of footprint sizes of interfacial nanodroplets during Au growth gave rise to a hierarchical pore size distribution of the obtained Au porous particles. This strategy could be easily extended to synthesize bimetal porous particles such as Au-Pt and Au-Pd. The obtained porous Au, Au-Pt, and Au-Pd particles showed excellent catalytic activity in catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol.

Qualitative assessment of the dental health services provided at a dental school in Kerman, Iran.

PubMed

Rad, Maryam; Haghani, Jahangir; Shahravan, Arash; Khosravifar, Ali

2009-01-01

Increasing the quality of the services provided in a Dental School can raise the satisfaction level of patients and consequently increase the level of their oral health. This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of dental care and services provided to patients referred to a Dental School in Kerman, Iran. In this qualitative study, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 41 participants [25 patients (P), 5 nurses (N), 6 dental academic staff (AS), and 5 dental students (S)]. Then, the interviews were transcribed and analyzed, using content analysis of data. Data analysis in qualitative research involves breaking down the data and searching for codes and categories that are then reassembled to form themes. Both positive and negative themes emerged. Positive themes included: good infection control, service accessibility, patient appointments and visits were not assigned on merit, precise examinations, and comprehensive treatment plans. Negative themes included: long wait time, lack of options to pass waiting time, such as newspapers and television, an insufficient number of nurses, and not enough professors for supervision. In addition, the results of this study show that the patients and dental staff have high expectations in relation to dental services, and that implementation of these expectations would increase the overall satisfaction with and the quality of the level of services. Finally, some recommendations for improving services in the Kerman Dental School were given to the managing team of the Dental School.

Searching for best practices of youth friendly services - a study protocol using qualitative comparative analysis in Sweden.

PubMed

Goicolea, Isabel; Christianson, Monica; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; Marchal, Bruno; San Sebastian, Miguel; Wiklund, Maria

2016-07-29

Swedish youth clinics constitute one of the most comprehensive and consolidated examples of a nationwide network of health care services for young people. However, studies evaluating their 'youth-friendliness' and the combination of factors that makes them more or less 'youth-friendly' have not been conducted. This protocol will scrutinise the current youth-friendliness of youth clinics in northern Sweden and identify the best combination of conditions needed in order to implement the criteria of youth-friendliness within Swedish youth clinics and elsewhere. In this study, we will use qualitative comparative analysis to analyse the conditions that are sufficient and/or necessary to implement Youth Friendly Health Services in 20 selected youth-clinics (cases). In order to conduct Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we will first identify the outcomes and the conditions to be assessed. The overall outcome - youth-friendliness - will be assessed together with specific outcomes for each of the five domains - accessible, acceptable, equitable, appropriate and effective. This will be done using a questionnaire to be applied to a sample of young people coming to the youth clinics. In terms of conditions, we will first identify what might be the key conditions, to ensure the youth friendliness of health care services, through literature review, interviews with professionals working at youth clinics, and with young people. The combination of conditions and outcomes will form the hypothesis to be further tested later on in the qualitative comparative analysis of the 20 cases. Once information on outcomes and conditions is gathered from each of the 20 clinics, it will be analysed using Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The added value of this study in relation to the findings is twofold: on the one hand it will allow a thorough assessment of the youth-friendliness of northern Swedish youth clinics. On the other hand, it will extract lessons from one of the most consolidated

Les facteurs associés à l'infection au cours de la polyarthrite rhumatoïde

PubMed Central

Akasbi, Nessrine; Tahiri, Latifa; Houssaini, Ghita Sqalli; Harzy, Taoufik

2013-01-01

Les complications infectieuses sont redoutables au cours de la polyarthrite rhumatoïde (PR). Le but de notre étude est d'estimer leur fréquence et de déterminer les facteurs associés à l'infection chez ces patients. Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective incluant les cas de PR établis recensés entre 2007 et 2011 au service de rhumatologie au CHU Hassan II de Fès au Maroc. Nous avons inclu 164 patients atteint de PR, l’âge moyen des patients était de 47,9 ans, avec une prédominance féminine (137 F/27H). La fréquence des infections dans notre série était de 26,2%, dominées par les infections urogénitales (22 cas), pleuro pulmonaires (11 cas) dont 2 cas de tuberculose pulmonaire et un cas d'infection H1N1, 3 cas d'infections cutanées et 4 cas d'arthrite septiques. Dans notre série 127 patients étaient sous corticothérapie orale, 147 patients étaient sous méthotrexate, 25 patients étaient sous rituximab et 8 patients étaient sous tocilizumab. Dans notre étude, les facteurs associés à la survenue d'infection étaient l’âge avancé (p= 0,02), une CRP élevée (p= 0,04) et une dose de corticothérapie - 7.5 mg/j (p= 0,03). Notre étude a mis en évidence certains facteurs associés à la survenue d'une infection au cours de la PR. En connaissant ces facteurs, il faut instaurer une surveillance particulière pour améliorer la qualité de prise en charge. PMID:25120853

The Use of Qualitative Case Studies as an Experiential Teaching Method in the Training of Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arseven, Ilhami

2018-01-01

This study presents the suitability of case studies, which is a qualitative research method and can be used as a teaching method in the training of pre-service teachers, for experiential learning theory. The basic view of experiential learning theory on learning and the qualitative case study paradigm are consistent with each other within the…

[Advantages and disadvantages of incorporating qualitative methodology in the evaluation of health services. A practical case: evaluation of a high-resolution clinic].

PubMed

Alvarez Del Arco, D; Rodríguez Rieiro, C; Sanchidrián De Blás, C; Alejos, B; Plá Mestre, R

2012-01-01

We examined the usefulness of incorporating a qualitative phase in the evaluation of the quality of care in a high-resolution medical service carried out with quantitative methods. A quantitative research was performed using a structured questionnaire and selecting interviewees by systematic randomized sampling methods (n=320). In addition, a qualitative research was carried on through semi-structured interviews with patients selected by convenience criteria (n=11), observations in the care assistance circuit, and a group interview with health professionals working in the service. A multidisciplinary research team conducted an individual analysis of the information collected in both quantitative and qualitative phases. Subsequently, three meetings based on group brainstorming techniques were held to identify the diverse contributions of each of the methodologies employed to the research, using affinity graphs to analyse the different results obtained in both phases and evaluate possible bias arising from the use of qualitative methods. Qualitative research allowed examining specific aspects of the health care service that had been collected in the quantitative phase, harmonizing the results obtained in the previous phase, giving in-depth data on the reasons for patient dissatisfaction with specific aspects, such as waiting times and available infrastructures, and identifying emerging issues of the service which had not been previously assessed. Overall, the qualitative phase enriched the results of the research. It is appropriate and recommendable to incorporate this methodological approach in research aimed at evaluating the quality of the service in specific health care settings, since it is provided first hand, by the voice of the customer. Copyright © 2011 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Qualitative methods in health services and management research: pockets of excellence and progress, but still a long way to go.

PubMed

Devers, Kelly J

2011-02-01

The 10-year systematic review of published health services and management research by Weiner et al. (2011) chronicles the contributions of qualitative methods, highlights areas of substantial progress, and identifies areas in need of more progress. This article (Devers, 2011) discusses possible reasons for lack of progress in some areas--related to the under-supply of well-trained qualitative researchers and more tangible demand for their research--and mechanisms for future improvement. To ensure a robust health services research toolbox, the field must take additional steps to provide stronger education and training in qualitative methods and more funding and publication opportunities. Given the rapidly changing health care system post the passage of national health reform and the chalresearch issues associated with it, the health services research and management field will not meet its future challenges with quantitative methods alone or with a half-empty toolbox.

Music in the Early Childhood Curriculum: Qualitative Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers' Reflective Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barry, Nancy H.; Durham, Sean

2017-01-01

This qualitative study employed grounded theory to explore how a university-based summer practicum experience with community children (N = 55) revealed and shaped pre-service teachers' (N = 24) understanding of young children and their musical skills and dispositions; how early childhood music curriculum is designed; and supports and barriers to…

A Meta-Summary of Qualitative Findings about Professional Services for Survivors of Sexual Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martsolf, Donna S.; Draucker, Claire B.; Cook, Christina B.; Ross, Ratchneewan; Stidham, Andrea Warner; Mweemba, Prudencia

2010-01-01

Sexual violence occurs at alarming rates in children and adults. Survivors experience myriad negative health outcomes and legal problems, which place them in need of professional services. A meta-summary was conducted of 31 published qualitative studies on adults' responses to sexual violence, with a focus on survivors' use of professional…

The acceptability to patients of PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice services; a qualitative interview study.

PubMed

Pearson, Jennifer; Richardson, Jane; Calnan, Michael; Salisbury, Chris; Foster, Nadine E

2016-03-28

In response to long waiting lists and problems with access to primary care physiotherapy, several Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) (now Clinical Commissioning Groups CCGs) developed physiotherapy-led telephone assessment and treatment services. The Medical Research Council (MRC) funded PhysioDirect trial was a randomised control trial (RCT) in four PCTs, with a total of 2252 patients that compared this approach with usual physiotherapy care. This nested qualitative study aimed to explore the acceptability of the PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice service to patients with musculoskeletal conditions. We conducted 57 semi-structured interviews with adults from 4 PCTs who were referred from general practice to physiotherapy with musculoskeletal conditions and were participating in the PhysioDirect trial. The Framework method was used to analyse the qualitative data. The PhysioDirect service was largely viewed as acceptable although some saw it as a first step to subsequent face-to-face physiotherapy. Most participants found accessing the PhysioDirect service straightforward and smooth, and they valued the faster access to physiotherapy advice offered by the telephone service. Participants generally viewed both the PhysioDirect service and the physiotherapists providing the service as helpful. Participants' preferences and priorities for treatment defined the acceptable features of PhysioDirect but the acceptable features were traded off against less acceptable features. Some participants felt that the PhysioDirect service was impersonal and impaired the development of a good relationship with their physiotherapist, which made the service feel remote and less valuable. The PhysioDirect service was broadly acceptable to participants since it provided faster access to physiotherapy advice for their musculoskeletal conditions. Participants felt that it is best placed as one method of accessing physiotherapy services, in addition to, rather than as a replacement for

Suppression of Υ production in d + Au + and Au + Au collisions at √ sNN =200 GeV

DOE PAGES

None

2014-07-01

We report measurements of Upsilon meson production in p + p, d +Au, and Au+Au collisions using the STAR detector at RHIC. We compare the Upsilon yield to the measured cross section in p + p collisions in order to quantify any modifications of the yield in cold nuclear matter using d +Au data and in hot nuclear matter using Au+Au data separated into three centrality classes. Our p +p measurement is based on three times the statistics of our previous result. We obtain a nuclear modification factor for Upsilon (1S + 2S + 3S) in the rapidity range |y|more » < 1 in d + Au collisions of R dAu = 0.79 ± 0.24(stat.) ± 0.03(syst.) ± 0.10(p + p syst.). A comparison with models including shadowing and initial state part on energy loss indicates the presence of additional cold-nuclear matter suppression. Similarly, in the top 10% most-central Au + Au collisions, we measure a nuclear modification factor of R AA = 0.49 ±0.1(stat.) ±0.02(syst.) ±0.06(p + p syst.), which is a larger suppression factor than that seen in cold nuclear matter. Our results are consistent with complete suppression of excited-state Upsilon mesons in Au + Au collisions. The additional suppression in Au + Au is consistent with the level expected in model calculations that include the presence of a hot, deconfined Quark–Gluon Plasma. However, understanding the suppression seen in d + Au is still needed before any definitive statements about the nature of the suppression in Au + Au can be made.« less

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Integrate Technology in Education: A Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tondeur, Jo; van Braak, Johan; Sang, Guoyuan; Voogt, Joke; Fisser, Petra; Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Anne

2012-01-01

This study reviewed qualitative studies that focused on strategies to prepare pre-service teachers to integrate technology into their lessons. A meta-ethnography approach was utilized to locate, critically appraise, and synthesize the results of these studies. Based on an extensive search in the Web of Science, 19 articles were included in this…

Chiral magnetic effect search in p+Au, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jie

2018-01-01

Metastable domains of fluctuating topological charges can change the chirality of quarks and induce local parity violation in quantum chromodynamics. This can lead to observable charge separation along the direction of the strong magnetic field produced by spectator protons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, a phenomenon called the chiral magnetic effect (CME). A major background source for CME measurements using the charge-dependent azimuthal correlator (Δϒ) is the intrinsic particle correlations (such as resonance decays) coupled with the azimuthal elliptical anisotropy (v2). In heavy-ion collisions, the magnetic field direction and event plane angle are correlated, thus the CME and the v2-induced background are entangled. In this report, we present two studies from STAR to shed further lights on the background issue. (1) The Δϒ should be all background in small system p+Au and d+Au collisions, because the event plane angles are dominated by geometry fluctuations uncorrelated to the magnetic field direction. However, significant Δϒ is observed, comparable to the peripheral Au+Au data, suggesting a background dominance in the latter, and likely also in the mid-central Au+Au collisions where the multiplicity and v2 scaled correlator is similar. (2) A new approach is devised to study Δϒ as a function of the particle pair invariant mass (minv) to identify the resonance backgrounds and hence to extract the possible CME signal. Signal is consistent with zero within uncertainties at high minv. Signal at low minv, extracted from a two-component model assuming smooth mass dependence, is consistent with zero within uncertainties.

Methodological Reflections on the Contribution of Qualitative Research to the Evaluation of Clinical Ethics Support Services.

PubMed

Wäscher, Sebastian; Salloch, Sabine; Ritter, Peter; Vollmann, Jochen; Schildmann, Jan

2017-05-01

This article describes a process of developing, implementing and evaluating a clinical ethics support service intervention with the goal of building up a context-sensitive structure of minimal clinical-ethics in an oncology department without prior clinical ethics structure. Scholars from different disciplines have called for an improvement in the evaluation of clinical ethics support services (CESS) for different reasons over several decades. However, while a lot has been said about the concepts and methodological challenges of evaluating CESS up to the present time, relatively few empirical studies have been carried out. The aim of this article is twofold. On the one hand, it describes a process of development, modifying and evaluating a CESS intervention as part of the ETHICO research project, using the approach of qualitative-formative evaluation. On the other hand, it provides a methodological analysis which specifies the contribution of qualitative empirical methods to the (formative) evaluation of CESS. We conclude with a consideration of the strengths and limitations of qualitative evaluation research with regards to the evaluation and development of context sensitive CESS. We further discuss our own approach in contrast to rather traditional consult or committee models. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Service impact of a national clinical leadership development programme: findings from a qualitative study.

PubMed

Fealy, Gerard M; McNamara, Martin S; Casey, Mary; O'Connor, Tom; Patton, Declan; Doyle, Louise; Quinlan, Christina

2015-04-01

The study reported here was part of a larger study, which evaluated a national clinical leadership development programme with reference to resources, participant experiences, participant outcomes and service impact. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the programme's service impact. Clinical leadership development develops competencies that are expressed in context. The outcomes of clinical leadership development occur at individual, departmental and organisational levels. The methods used to evaluate the service impact were focus groups, group interviews and individual interviews. Seventy participants provided data in 18 separate qualitative data collection events. The data contained numerous accounts of service development activities, initiated by programme participants, which improved service and/or improved the culture of the work setting. Clinical leadership development programmes that incorporate a deliberate service impact element can result in identifiable positive service outcomes. The nuanced relationship between leader development and service development warrants further investigation. This study demonstrates that clinical leadership development can impact on service in distinct and identifiable ways. Clinical leadership development programmes should focus on the setting in which the leadership competencies will be demonstrated. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hearing the voices of service user researchers in collaborative qualitative data analysis: the case for multiple coding.

PubMed

Sweeney, Angela; Greenwood, Kathryn E; Williams, Sally; Wykes, Til; Rose, Diana S

2013-12-01

Health research is frequently conducted in multi-disciplinary teams, with these teams increasingly including service user researchers. Whilst it is common for service user researchers to be involved in data collection--most typically interviewing other service users--it is less common for service user researchers to be involved in data analysis and interpretation. This means that a unique and significant perspective on the data is absent. This study aims to use an empirical report of a study on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) to demonstrate the value of multiple coding in enabling service users voices to be heard in team-based qualitative data analysis. The CBTp study employed multiple coding to analyse service users' discussions of CBT for psychosis (CBTp) from the perspectives of a service user researcher, clinical researcher and psychology assistant. Multiple coding was selected to enable multiple perspectives to analyse and interpret data, to understand and explore differences and to build multi-disciplinary consensus. Multiple coding enabled the team to understand where our views were commensurate and incommensurate and to discuss and debate differences. Through the process of multiple coding, we were able to build strong consensus about the data from multiple perspectives, including that of the service user researcher. Multiple coding is an important method for understanding and exploring multiple perspectives on data and building team consensus. This can be contrasted with inter-rater reliability which is only appropriate in limited circumstances. We conclude that multiple coding is an appropriate and important means of hearing service users' voices in qualitative data analysis. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

'Questerviews': using questionnaires in qualitative interviews as a method of integrating qualitative and quantitative health services research.

PubMed

Adamson, Joy; Gooberman-Hill, Rachael; Woolhead, Gillian; Donovan, Jenny

2004-07-01

Multi-method approaches are increasingly advocated in health services research (HSR). This paper examines the use of standardised self-completion questionnaires and questions, during in-depth interviews, a technique termed 'questerviews'. 'Questerview' techniques were used in four empirical studies of health perceptions conducted by the authors. The studies included both standardised self-completion questions or questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Respondents were tape-recorded while they completed the standardised questionnaires and were encouraged to discuss their definitions of terms and responses to items in-depth. In all studies, 'questerviews' were fully transcribed and data analysis involved the scrutinising of transcripts to identify emergent themes. Responses to the standardised items led to rich sources of qualitative data. They proved to be useful triggers as respondents discussed their understanding and definitions of terms, often explaining their responses with stories from their own experiences. The items triggered detailed exploration of the complex factors that comprise health, illness and healthcare seeking, and gave considerable insight into the ways in which people respond to standardised questions. Apparently simple questions and response categories conceal considerable complexity. Inclusion of standardised survey questions in qualitative interviews can provide an easy and fruitful method to explore research issues and provide triggers to difficult or contested topics. Well designed and validated questionnaires produce data of immense value to HSR, and this value could be further enhanced by their use within a qualitative interview. We suggest that the technique of 'questerviews' is a tangible and pragmatic way of doing this.

Disability Experiences and Perspectives Regarding Reproductive Decisions, Parenting, and the Utility of Genetic Services: a Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Roadhouse, C; Shuman, C; Anstey, K; Sappleton, K; Chitayat, D; Ignagni, E

2018-06-16

Genetic counselors adopt seemingly contradictory roles: advocating for individuals with genetic conditions while offering prenatal diagnosis and the option of selective termination to prevent the birth of a child with a disability. This duality contributes to the tension between the disability and clinical genetics communities. Varying opinions exist amongst the disability community: some value genetic services while others are opposed. However, there is limited research exploring the opinions of individuals with a disability regarding issues related to reproduction and genetic services in the context of personal experience. This exploratory qualitative study involved interviews with seven women and three men who self-identify as having a disability. We sought to gain their perspectives on experiences with disability, thoughts about reproduction and parenting, and perceptions of genetic services. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed thematically using qualitative content analysis. Data analysis showed that societal views of disability affected the lived experience and impacted reproductive decision-making for those with a disability. It also showed differing interest in genetic services. Concerns about the perceived collective implications of genetic services were also raised. These findings contribute to the understanding of the disability perspective toward reproductive decision-making and genetic services. A further goal is to promote a meaningful dialogue between the genetics and disability communities, with the potential to enhance the genetic and reproductive care provided to individuals with disabilities.

A Qualitative Study of Facilitators and Barriers Related to Comprehensive and Integrated School Psychological Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Jose M.; Wolgemuth, Jennifer R.; Barclay, Chris; Mattison, Amira; Tan, Sim Yin; Sabnis, Sujay; Brundage, Amber; Marshall, Leslie

2016-01-01

Recent studies indicate that the majority of school psychologists' time continues to be dedicated to SPED related activities. Despite ongoing calls for school psychologists to expand their roles, why many practitioners do not deliver more comprehensive services is not well understood. This qualitative study investigated facilitators of and…

Successful synthesis and thermal stability of immiscible metal Au-Rh, Au-Ir andAu-Ir-Rh nanoalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shubin, Yury; Plyusnin, Pavel; Sharafutdinov, Marat; Makotchenko, Evgenia; Korenev, Sergey

2017-05-01

We successfully prepared face-centred cubic nanoalloys in systems of Au-Ir, Au-Rh and Au-Ir-Rh, with large bulk miscibility gaps, in one-run reactions under thermal decomposition of specially synthesised single-source precursors, namely, [AuEn2][Ir(NO2)6], [AuEn2][Ir(NO2)6] х [Rh(NO2)6]1-х and [AuEn2][Rh(NO2)6]. The precursors employed contain all desired metals ‘mixed’ at the atomic level, thus providing significant advantages for obtaining alloys. The observations using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy show that the nanoalloy structures are composed of well-dispersed aggregates of crystalline domains with a mean size of 5 ± 3 nm. Еnergy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) measurements confirm the formation of AuIr, AuRh, AuIr0.75Rh0.25, AuIr0.50Rh0.50 and AuIr0.25Rh0.75 metastable solid solutions. In situ high-temperature synchrotron XRD (HTXRD) was used to study the formation mechanism of nanoalloys. The observed transformations are described by the ‘conversion chemistry’ mechanism characterised by the primary development of particles comprising atoms of only one type, followed by a chemical reaction resulting in the final formation of a nanoalloy. The obtained metastable nanoalloys exhibit essential thermal stability. Exposure to 180 °C for 30 h does not cause any dealloying process.

Successful synthesis and thermal stability of immiscible metal Au-Rh, Au-Ir andAu-Ir-Rh nanoalloys.

PubMed

Shubin, Yury; Plyusnin, Pavel; Sharafutdinov, Marat; Makotchenko, Evgenia; Korenev, Sergey

2017-05-19

We successfully prepared face-centred cubic nanoalloys in systems of Au-Ir, Au-Rh and Au-Ir-Rh, with large bulk miscibility gaps, in one-run reactions under thermal decomposition of specially synthesised single-source precursors, namely, [AuEn 2 ][Ir(NO 2 ) 6 ], [AuEn 2 ][Ir(NO 2 ) 6 ] х [Rh(NO 2 ) 6 ] 1-х and [AuEn 2 ][Rh(NO 2 ) 6 ]. The precursors employed contain all desired metals 'mixed' at the atomic level, thus providing significant advantages for obtaining alloys. The observations using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy show that the nanoalloy structures are composed of well-dispersed aggregates of crystalline domains with a mean size of 5 ± 3 nm. Еnergy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) measurements confirm the formation of AuIr, AuRh, AuIr 0.75 Rh 0.25 , AuIr 0.50 Rh 0.50 and AuIr 0.25 Rh 0.75 metastable solid solutions. In situ high-temperature synchrotron XRD (HTXRD) was used to study the formation mechanism of nanoalloys. The observed transformations are described by the 'conversion chemistry' mechanism characterised by the primary development of particles comprising atoms of only one type, followed by a chemical reaction resulting in the final formation of a nanoalloy. The obtained metastable nanoalloys exhibit essential thermal stability. Exposure to 180 °C for 30 h does not cause any dealloying process.

Tunable VO{sub 2}/Au hyperbolic metamaterial

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prayakarao, S.; Noginov, M. A., E-mail: mnoginov@nsu.edu; Mendoza, B.

2016-08-08

Vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) is known to have a semiconductor-to-metal phase transition at ∼68 °C. Therefore, it can be used as a tunable component of an active metamaterial. The lamellar metamaterial studied in this work is composed of subwavelength VO{sub 2} and Au layers and is designed to undergo a temperature controlled transition from the optical hyperbolic phase to the metallic phase. VO{sub 2} films and VO{sub 2}/Au lamellar metamaterial stacks have been fabricated and studied in electrical conductivity and optical (transmission and reflection) experiments. The observed temperature-dependent changes in the reflection and transmission spectra of the metamaterials and VO{sub 2}more » thin films are in a good qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions. The demonstrated optical hyperbolic-to-metallic phase transition is a unique physical phenomenon with the potential to enable advanced control of light-matter interactions.« less

Stats Don't Tell the Whole Story: Using Qualitative Data Analysis of Chat Reference Transcripts to Assess and Improve Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mungin, Michael

2017-01-01

In the five years following implementation of a chat reference service at James Madison University (JMU), the service proved very popular but was not closely assessed for quality of service. Using grounded theory and qualitative data analysis techniques, a comprehensive assessment effort was begun in earnest and is in progress. Preliminary results…

77 FR 58979 - Boundary Establishment for the Au Sable, Bear Creek, Manistee, and the Pine Wild and Scenic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-25

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Boundary Establishment for the Au Sable, Bear Creek..., Washington Office, is transmitting the final boundary of the Au Sable, Bear Creek, Manistee, and the Pine..., Cadillac, MI 49601, (231) 775- 5023, ext. 8756. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Au Sable, Bear Creek...

Au38(SPh)24: Au38 Protected with Aromatic Thiolate Ligands.

PubMed

Rambukwella, Milan; Burrage, Shayna; Neubrander, Marie; Baseggio, Oscar; Aprà, Edoardo; Stener, Mauro; Fortunelli, Alessandro; Dass, Amala

2017-04-06

Au 38 (SR) 24 is one of the most extensively investigated gold nanomolecules along with Au 25 (SR) 18 and Au 144 (SR) 60 . However, so far it has only been prepared using aliphatic-like ligands, where R = -SC 6 H 13 , -SC 12 H 25 and -SCH 2 CH 2 Ph. Au 38 (SCH 2 CH 2 Ph) 24 when reacted with HSPh undergoes core-size conversion to Au 36 (SPh) 24 , and existing literature suggests that Au 38 (SPh) 24 cannot be synthesized. Here, contrary to prevailing knowledge, we demonstrate that Au 38 (SPh) 24 can be prepared if the ligand exchanged conditions are optimized, under delicate conditions, without any formation of Au 36 (SPh) 24 . Conclusive evidence is presented in the form of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), electrospray ionization mass spectra (ESI-MS) characterization, and optical spectra of Au 38 (SPh) 24 in a solid glass form showing distinct differences from that of Au 38 (S-aliphatic) 24 . Theoretical analysis confirms experimental assignment of the optical spectrum and shows that the stability of Au 38 (SPh) 24 is not negligible with respect to that of its aliphatic analogous, and contains a significant component of ligand-ligand attractive interactions. Thus, while Au 38 (SPh) 24 is stable at RT, it converts to Au 36 (SPh) 24 either on prolonged etching (longer than 2 hours) at RT or when etched at 80 °C.

Evidence of final-state suppression of high-p{_ T} hadrons in Au + Au collisions using d + Au measurements at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Becker, B.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Harrington, A. S.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lee, J. W.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sedykh, I.; Skulski, W.; Smith, C. E.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wysłouch, B.; Zhang, J.

Transverse momentum spectra of charged hadrons with pT < 6 GeV/c have been measured near mid-rapidity (0.2 < ɛ < 1.4) by the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC in Au + Au and d + Au collisions at {√ {s{NN}} = {200 GeV}}. The spectra for different collision centralities are compared to {p + ¯ {p}} collisions at the same energy. The resulting nuclear modification factor for central Au + Au collisions shows evidence of strong suppression of charged hadrons in the high-pT region (>2 GeV/c). In contrast, the d + Au nuclear modification factor exhibits no suppression of the high-pT yields. These measurements suggest a large energy loss of the high-pT particles in the highly interacting medium created in the central Au + Au collisions. The lack of suppression in d + Au collisions suggests that it is unlikely that initial state effects can explain the suppression in the central Au + Au collisions. PACS: 25.75.-q

3D morphology of Au and Au@Ag nanobipyramids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgin, Julien; Florea, Ileana; Majimel, Jérôme; Dobri, Adam; Ersen, Ovidiu; Tréguer-Delapierre, Mona

2012-02-01

The morphologies of Au and Au@Ag nanobipyramids were investigated using electron tomography. The 3D reconstruction reveals that the Au bipyramids have an irregular six-fold twinning structure with highly stepped dominant {151} facets. These short steps/edges stabilized via surface adsorbed CTAB favor the growth of silver on the lateral facets leading to strong blue shifts in longitudinal plasmon surface resonance.The morphologies of Au and Au@Ag nanobipyramids were investigated using electron tomography. The 3D reconstruction reveals that the Au bipyramids have an irregular six-fold twinning structure with highly stepped dominant {151} facets. These short steps/edges stabilized via surface adsorbed CTAB favor the growth of silver on the lateral facets leading to strong blue shifts in longitudinal plasmon surface resonance. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2nr11454b

Collaboration between non-governmental organizations and public services in health - a qualitative case study from rural Ecuador.

PubMed

Biermann, Olivia; Eckhardt, Martin; Carlfjord, Siw; Falk, Magnus; Forsberg, Birger C

2016-01-01

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have a key role in improving health in low- and middle-income countries. Their work needs to be synergistic, complementary to public services, and rooted in community mobilization and collective action. The study explores how an NGO and its health services are perceived by the population that it serves, and how it can contribute to reducing barriers to care. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in remote Ecuador, characterized by its widespread poverty and lack of official governance. An international NGO collaborated closely with the public services to deliver preventative and curative health services. Data were collected using focus group discussions and semistructured interviews with purposively sampled community members, healthcare personnel, and community health workers based on their links to the health services. Conventional qualitative content analysis was used, focusing on manifest content. Emerging themes relate to the public private partnership (PPP), the NGO and its services, and community participation. The population perceives the NGO positively, linking it to healthcare improvements. Their priority is to get services, irrespective of the provider's structure. The presence of an NGO in the operation may contribute to unrealistic expectations of health services, affecting perceptions of the latter negatively. To avoid unrealistic expectations and dissatisfaction, and to increase and sustain the population's trust in the organization, an NGO should operate in a manner that is as integrated as possible within the existing structure. The NGO should work close to the population it serves, with services anchored in the community. PPP parties should develop a common platform with joint messages to the target population on the provider's structure, and regarding partners' roles and responsibilities. Interaction between the population and the providers on service content and their expectations is key to positive

Qualitative evaluation: A critical and interpretative complementary approach to improve health programs and services

PubMed Central

Tayabas, Luz María Tejada; León, Teresita Castillo; ESPINO, JOEL MONARREZ

2014-01-01

This short essay aims at commenting on the origin, development, rationale, and main characteristics of qualitative evaluation (QE), emphasizing the value of this methodological tool to evaluate health programs and services. During the past decades, different approaches have come to light proposing complementary alternatives to appraise the performance of public health programs, mainly focusing on the implementation process involved rather than on measuring the impact of such actions. QE is an alternative tool that can be used to illustrate and understand the process faced when executing health programs. It can also lead to useful suggestions to modify its implementation from the stakeholders’ perspectives, as it uses a qualitative approach that considers participants as reflective subjects, generators of meanings. This implies that beneficiaries become involved in an active manner in the evaluated phenomena with the aim of improving the health programs or services that they receive. With this work we want to encourage evaluators in the field of public health to consider the use of QE as a complementary tool for program evaluation to be able to identify areas of opportunity to improve programs’ implementation processes from the perspective of intended beneficiaries. PMID:25152220

Optical Coronagraphic Spectroscopy of AU Mic: Evidence of Time Variable Colors?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lomax, Jamie R.; Wisniewski, John P.; Roberge, Aki; Donaldson, Jessica K.; Debes, John H.; Malumuth, Eliot M.; Weinberger, Alycia J.

2018-02-01

We present coronagraphic long slit spectra of AU Mic’s debris disk taken with the STIS instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Our spectra are the first spatially-resolved, scattered light spectra of the system’s disk, which we detect at projected distances between approximately 10 and 45 au. Our spectra cover a wavelength range between 5200 and 10200 Å. We find that the color of AU Mic’s debris disk is bluest at small (12–17 au) projected separations. These results both confirm and quantify the findings qualitatively noted by Krist et al. and are different than IR observations that suggested a uniform blue or gray color as a function of projected separation in this region of the disk. Unlike previous literature, which reported that the color of AU Mic’s disk became increasingly more blue as a function of projected separation beyond ∼30 au, we find the disk’s optical color between 35 and 45 au to be uniformly blue on the southeast side of the disk and decreasingly blue on the northwest side. We note that this apparent change in disk color at larger projected separations coincides with several fast, outward moving “features” that are passing through this region of the southeast side of the disk. We speculate that these phenomenon might be related and that the fast moving features could be changing the localized distribution of sub-micron-sized grains as they pass by, thereby reducing the blue color of the disk in the process. We encourage follow-up optical spectroscopic observations of AU Mic to both confirm this result and search for further modifications of the disk color caused by additional fast moving features propagating through the disk.

Qualitative exploration of family perspectives of smoke-free mental health and addiction services.

PubMed

Missen, Rebecca Leigh; Brannelly, Tula; Newton-Howes, Giles

2013-08-01

The significant health disparities experienced by people with mental illness indicate the need for mental health service improvement. This qualitative study explored family and whānau (Māori family group) perspectives of smoke-free mental health services. Thematic analysis found that family and whānau identified a number of barriers to the implementation of successful smoke-free policy, including lack of coordination and consistency, and limited, if any, family and whānau inclusion. Family and whānau discussed smoking as a strategy for coping with anxiety and boredom; therefore, the need for other activities and strategies to replace smoking was identified as necessary in effective service delivery. The attitude that mental health service policy should be different from general health policy, due to the experience of mental distress, was also identified. In this paper, we argue that the development and implementation of quality mental health services would be strengthened by involving family and whānau in smoke-free initiatives. Furthermore, the provision of relevant information to family, whānau, and service users would help dispel myths and stigma associated with tobacco and mental health. © 2012 The Authors; International Journal of Mental Health Nursing © 2012 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Centrality Dependence of Charged-Hadron Transverse-Momentum Spectra in d+Au Collisions at (sNN)=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Becker, B.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Harrington, A. S.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lee, J. W.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Noell, A.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Sedykh, I.; Skulski, W.; Smith, C. E.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S.; Sukhanov, A.; Teng, R.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.; Zhang, J.

2003-08-01

We have measured transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in d+Au collisions at (sNN)=200 GeV. The spectra were obtained for transverse momenta 0.25qualitatively different from observations in Au+Au collisions at the same energy. The results provide important information for discriminating between different models for the suppression of high-pT hadrons observed in Au+Au collisions.

Navigating identity, territorial stigma, and HIV care services in Vancouver, Canada: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Collins, Alexandra B; Parashar, Surita; Closson, Kalysha; Turje, Rosalind Baltzer; Strike, Carol; McNeil, Ryan

2016-07-01

This study examines the influence of territorial stigma on access to HIV care and other support services. Qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty people living with HIV (PLHIV) who use drugs recruited from the Dr. Peter Centre (DPC), an HIV care facility located in Vancouver, Canada's West End neighbourhood that operates under a harm reduction approach. Findings demonstrated that territorial stigma can undermine access to critical support services and resources in spatially stigmatized neighbourhoods among PLHIV who use drugs who have relocated elsewhere. Furthermore, PLHIV moving from spatially stigmatized neighbourhoods - in this case, Vancouver's Downtown Eastside - to access HIV care services experienced tension with different groups at the DPC (e.g., men who have sex with me, people who use drugs), as these groups sought to define who constituted a'normative' client. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the urgent need to consider the siting of HIV care services as the epidemic evolves. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contemporary women's secure psychiatric services in the United Kingdom: A qualitative analysis of staff views.

PubMed

Walker, T; Edge, D; Shaw, J; Wilson, H; McNair, L; Mitchell, H; Gutridge, K; Senior, J; Sutton, M; Meacock, R; Abel, K

2017-11-01

service users or staff views on working with women in secure care. Aim This qualitative study, embedded in a multimethod evaluation of WEMSS, aimed to explore the views and experiences of staff in WEMSS and comparator medium secure services. Methods Qualitative interviews took place with nine WEMSS staff and nine comparator medium secure staff. Interviews focused on factors important for recovery, barriers to facilitating recovery and operational aspects of the service. Discussion This study provides a rare insight into the perspectives of staff working in UK women's secure services, an under-researched area in the UK and internationally. Findings suggest that the success of services, including WEMSS, is compromised by operational factors such as the use of bank staff. Implications for practice Comprehensive training and supervision should be mandatory for all staff, so best practice is met and staff adequately supported. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sexual and reproductive health services for women with disability: a qualitative study with service providers in the Philippines.

PubMed

Lee, Kira; Devine, Alexandra; Marco, Ma Jesusa; Zayas, Jerome; Gill-Atkinson, Liz; Vaughan, Cathy

2015-10-15

The Philippines has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and recently passed domestic legislation protecting the sexual and reproductive rights of people with disability. However women in the Philippines continue to report barriers to sexual and reproductive health services, and there is limited empirical evidence available to inform policy makers' efforts to respond. This study aims to contribute to the available evidence by examining service providers' perceptions of disability and their experiences providing sexual and reproductive health services to women with disability. The study was conducted as part of a larger three-year program of participatory action research that aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women with disabilities in the Philippines. Fourteen in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted with a total of thirty-two sexual and reproductive health service providers in Quezon City and Ligao. Qualitative data were analysed to identify key themes in participants' discussion of service provision to women with disability. Analysis of service providers' accounts suggests a range of factors undermine provision of high quality sexual and reproductive health services to women with disability. Service providers often have limited awareness of the sexual and reproductive health needs of women with disability and inadequate understanding of their rights. Service providers have had very little training in relation to disability, and limited access to the resources that would enable them to provide a disability inclusive service. Some service providers hold prejudiced attitudes towards women with disability seeking sexual and reproductive health services, resulting in disability-based discrimination. Service providers are also often unaware of specific factors undermining the health of women with disability, such as violence and abuse. Recent legislative change in the Philippines

Combining survey data, GIS and qualitative interviews in the analysis of health service access for persons with disabilities.

PubMed

Eide, Arne H; Dyrstad, Karin; Munthali, Alister; Van Rooy, Gert; Braathen, Stine H; Halvorsen, Thomas; Persendt, Frans; Mvula, Peter; Rød, Jan Ketil

2018-06-26

Equitable access to health services is a key ingredient in reaching health for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. So far, research on access to health services in low- and middle-income countries has largely relied on self-reported survey data. Realizing that there may be substantial discrepancies between perceived and actual access, other methods are needed for more precise knowledge to guide health policy and planning. The objective of this article is to describe and discuss an innovative methodological triangulation where statistical and spatial analysis of perceived distance and objective measures of access is combined with qualitative evidence. The data for the study was drawn from a large household and individual questionnaire based survey carried out in Namibia and Malawi. The survey data was combined with spatial data of respondents and health facilities, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. To analyse access and barriers to access, a model is developed that takes into account both measured and perceived access. The geo-referenced survey data is used to establish four outcome categories of perceived and measured access as either good or poor. Combined with analyses of the terrain and the actual distance from where the respondents live to the health facility they go to, the data allows for categorising areas and respondents according to the four outcome categories. The four groups are subsequently analysed with respect to variation in individual characteristics and vulnerability factors. The qualitative component includes participatory map drawing and is used to gain further insight into the mechanisms behind the different combinations of perceived and actual access. Preliminary results show that there are substantial discrepancies between perceived and actual access to health services and the qualitative study provides insight into mechanisms behind such divergences. The novel combination of survey data, geographical

Why Older Adults May Decline Offers of Post-Acute Care Services: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

PubMed Central

Sefcik, Justine S.; Ritter, Ashley Z.; Flores, Emilia J.; Nock, Rebecca H.; Chase, Jo-Ana D.; Bradway, Christine; Potashnik, Sheryl; Bowles, Kathryn H.

2016-01-01

The most common post-acute care (PAC) services available to patients after hospital discharge include home care, skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, inpatient rehabilitation, and hospice. Patients who need PAC and receive services have better outcomes, however almost one-third of those offered services decline. Little research exists on PAC decision-making and why patients may decline services. This qualitative descriptive study explored the responses of thirty older adults to the question: “Can you, from the patient point of view, tell me why someone would not want post hospital care?” Three themes emerged. Participants may decline due to 1) previous negative experiences with PAC, or 2) a preference to be home. Some participants stated, “I'd be there” and would not decline services. Participants also discussed 3) why other patients might decline PAC which included patients’ past experiences, fear of the unknown, and preferences. Clinical implications include assessing patients’ knowledge and experience before providing recommendations. PMID:27964972

Why older adults may decline offers of post-acute care services: A qualitative descriptive study.

PubMed

Sefcik, Justine S; Ritter, Ashley Z; Flores, Emilia J; Nock, Rebecca H; Chase, Jo-Ana D; Bradway, Christine; Potashnik, Sheryl; Bowles, Kathryn H

The most common post-acute care (PAC) services available to patients after hospital discharge include home care, skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, inpatient rehabilitation, and hospice. Patients who need PAC and receive services have better outcomes, however almost one-third of those offered services decline. Little research exists on PAC decision-making and why patients may decline services. This qualitative descriptive study explored the responses of thirty older adults to the question: "Can you, from the patient point of view, tell me why someone would not want post hospital care?" Three themes emerged. Participants may decline due to 1) previous negative experiences with PAC, or 2) a preference to be home. Some participants stated, "I'd be there" and would not decline services. Participants also discussed 3) why other patients might decline PAC which included patients' past experiences, lack of understanding/preconceived ideas, and preferences. Clinical implications include assessing patients' knowledge and experience before providing recommendations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methodological and practical viewpoints of qualitative-driven mixed method design: the case of decentralisation of primary healthcare services in Nepal.

PubMed

Regmi, Krishna

2018-01-01

Although considerable attention has been paid to the use of quantitative methods in health research, there has been limited focus on decentralisation research using a qualitative-driven mixed method design. Decentralisation presents both a problematic concept and methodological challenges, and is more context-specific and is often multi-dimensional. Researchers often consider using more than one method design when researching phenomena is complex in nature. Aim To explore the effects of decentralisation on the provision of primary healthcare services. Qualitative-driven mixed method design, employing three methods of data collections: focus group discussions (FGDs), semi-structured interviews (SSIs) and participant observations under two components, that is, core component and supplementary components were used. Four FGDs with health service practitioners, three FGDs with district stakeholders, 20 SSIs with health service users and 20 SSIs with national stakeholders were carried out. These were conducted sequentially. NVivo10, a data management program, was utilised to code the field data, employing a content analysis method for searching the underlying themes or concepts in the text material. Findings Both positive and negative experiences related to access, quality, planning, supplies, coordination and supervision were identified. This study suggests some evidence of the effects of decentralisation on health outcomes in general, as well as filling a gap of understanding and examining healthcare through a qualitative-driven mixed methods approach, in particular. Future research in the area of qualitative in-depth understanding of the problems (why decentralisation, why now and what for) would provoke an important data set that benefits the researchers and policy-makers for planning and implementing effective health services.

[Qualitative research methodology in health care].

PubMed

Bedregal, Paula; Besoain, Carolina; Reinoso, Alejandro; Zubarew, Tamara

2017-03-01

Health care research requires different methodological approaches such as qualitative and quantitative analyzes to understand the phenomena under study. Qualitative research is usually the least considered. Central elements of the qualitative method are that the object of study is constituted by perceptions, emotions and beliefs, non-random sampling by purpose, circular process of knowledge construction, and methodological rigor throughout the research process, from quality design to the consistency of results. The objective of this work is to contribute to the methodological knowledge about qualitative research in health services, based on the implementation of the study, “The transition process from pediatric to adult services: perspectives from adolescents with chronic diseases, caregivers and health professionals”. The information gathered through the qualitative methodology facilitated the understanding of critical points, barriers and facilitators of the transition process of adolescents with chronic diseases, considering the perspective of users and the health team. This study allowed the design of a transition services model from pediatric to adult health services based on the needs of adolescents with chronic diseases, their caregivers and the health team.

Nucleation and growth of order in Cu(3)Au (111) films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonham, Scott William

The present work epitaxial investigated two types of ordering phenomena using films of Cusb3Au, the order-disorder phase transition on the (111) crystal surface, and preferential selection of one of two possible stacking domains. Cusb3Au has long been a model system for studying order-disorder phase transition. Bulk material exhibits a discontinuous transition while the surfaces exhibit continuos transitions and the long-range order parameter S is proportional to (Tsb{c}-T)sp{beta}, where Tsb{c} is the critical temperature. The transition of the (111) surface is studied with qualitative reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), which is sensitive to only the first few atomic layers. This work significantly improves on an earlier study through both improved data collection and more comprehensive data analysis. The measured value of beta =0.50± 0.02 agrees with both the earlier measurements and with predictions of mean field theory. In addition, data on surface defects during the transition and on the kinetics of ordering are presented. During epitaxial growth of (111) face-centered cubic crystal films, such as disordered Cusb3Au, there are two possible ways that successive layers can be laid down, leading to two types of stacking domains. However, a small vicinal miscut (0.5sp° {-}1sp° ) of the crystal surface introduces step edges that change nucleation preferences of the domains, resulting in one being preferred over the other by ratios up to 700:1. Fifteen samples were measured and this preference has been found to depend systematically and strongly on the magnitude and direction of the sample miscut. A qualitative RHEED study confirms that a preference for one of the stacking senses is present after deposition of a few monlolayers of Cusb3Au. The observed behavior of the film can be explained by a model in which Cu and Au atoms minimize their number of Nb nearest neighbors when growing over the Nb step edges. This represents both a discovery of a

The use of patient experience survey data by out-of-hours primary care services: a qualitative interview study.

PubMed

Barry, Heather E; Campbell, John L; Asprey, Anthea; Richards, Suzanne H

2016-11-01

English National Quality Requirements mandate out-of-hours primary care services to routinely audit patient experience, but do not state how it should be done. We explored how providers collect patient feedback data and use it to inform service provision. We also explored staff views on the utility of out-of-hours questions from the English General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS). A qualitative study was conducted with 31 staff (comprising service managers, general practitioners and administrators) from 11 out-of-hours primary care providers in England, UK. Staff responsible for patient experience audits within their service were sampled and data collected via face-to-face semistructured interviews. Although most providers regularly audited their patients' experiences by using patient surveys, many participants expressed a strong preference for additional qualitative feedback. Staff provided examples of small changes to service delivery resulting from patient feedback, but service-wide changes were not instigated. Perceptions that patients lacked sufficient understanding of the urgent care system in which out-of-hours primary care services operate were common and a barrier to using feedback to enable change. Participants recognised the value of using patient experience feedback to benchmark services, but perceived weaknesses in the out-of-hours items from the GPPS led them to question the validity of using these data for benchmarking in its current form. The lack of clarity around how out-of-hours providers should audit patient experience hinders the utility of the National Quality Requirements. Although surveys were common, patient feedback data had only a limited role in service change. Data derived from the GPPS may be used to benchmark service providers, but refinement of the out-of-hours items is needed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Qualitative exploration of barriers and facilitators of dental service utilization of pregnant women: A triangulation approach.

PubMed

Bahramian, Hoda; Mohebbi, Simin Z; Khami, Mohammad Reza; Quinonez, Rocio Beatriz

2018-05-10

Pregnant women are vulnerable to a wide range of oral health conditions that could be harmful to their own health and future child. Despite the usefulness of regular dental service utilization in prevention and early detection of oral diseases, it is notably low among pregnant women. In this qualitative study, we aimed to explore barriers and facilitators influencing pregnant women's dental service utilization. Using a triangulation approach, we included pregnant women (n = 22) from two public health centers, midwives (n = 8) and dentists (n = 12) from 12 other public centers in Tehran (Iran). Data was gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviewing and focus group discussion methods. The analysis of qualitative data was performed using conventional content analysis with MAXQDA10 software. Reported barriers of dental service utilization among pregnant women were categorized under emerging themes: Lack of knowledge and misbelief, cost of dental care, physiological changes, fear and other psychological conditions, time constraint, dentists' unwillingness to accept pregnant women treatment, cultural taboos and lack of interprofessional collaboration. Solutions proposed by dentists, midwives and pregnant women to improve dental care utilization during pregnancy were categorized under three themes: Provision of knowledge, financial support and establishing supportive policies. Understanding perceived barriers of dental service utilization during pregnancy can serve as baseline information for planning and formulating appropriate oral health education, financial support, and legislations tailored for lower income pregnant women, midwives and dentists in countries with developing oral health care system.

Collaboration between non-governmental organizations and public services in health – a qualitative case study from rural Ecuador

PubMed Central

Biermann, Olivia; Eckhardt, Martin; Carlfjord, Siw; Falk, Magnus; Forsberg, Birger C.

2016-01-01

Background Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have a key role in improving health in low- and middle-income countries. Their work needs to be synergistic, complementary to public services, and rooted in community mobilization and collective action. The study explores how an NGO and its health services are perceived by the population that it serves, and how it can contribute to reducing barriers to care. Design A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in remote Ecuador, characterized by its widespread poverty and lack of official governance. An international NGO collaborated closely with the public services to deliver preventative and curative health services. Data were collected using focus group discussions and semistructured interviews with purposively sampled community members, healthcare personnel, and community health workers based on their links to the health services. Conventional qualitative content analysis was used, focusing on manifest content. Results Emerging themes relate to the public private partnership (PPP), the NGO and its services, and community participation. The population perceives the NGO positively, linking it to healthcare improvements. Their priority is to get services, irrespective of the provider's structure. The presence of an NGO in the operation may contribute to unrealistic expectations of health services, affecting perceptions of the latter negatively. Conclusions To avoid unrealistic expectations and dissatisfaction, and to increase and sustain the population's trust in the organization, an NGO should operate in a manner that is as integrated as possible within the existing structure. The NGO should work close to the population it serves, with services anchored in the community. PPP parties should develop a common platform with joint messages to the target population on the provider's structure, and regarding partners’ roles and responsibilities. Interaction between the population and the providers on service content and

How the I Shapes the Eye: The Imperative of Reflexivity in Global Service-Learning Qualitative Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, Emily

2015-01-01

While literature on research methods abounds, little attention has been given to understanding how qualitative researchers and their approaches to research (i.e., the researcher's stance) shape what we know about global service-learning (GSL) and how we come to know what we know about GSL. Researchers often uncritically adopt a particular research…

How do pre-service teachers picture various electromagnetic phenomenon? A qualitative study of pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding of fundamental electromagnetic interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beer, Christopher P.

This study analyzes the nature of pre-service teachers' conceptual models of various electromagnetic phenomena, specifically electrical current, electrical resistance, and light/matter interactions. This is achieved through the students answering the three questions on electromagnetism using a free response approach including both verbal and pictorial representation. The student responses are then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively utilizing a multi-tiered approach. These analyses include epistemological representation, misconceptions, correct conceptions, and the impact of high school physics exposure on student conceptions. This study is unique in three primary respects; the free response questionnaire approach, a subject group that consists of pre-service teachers, and a primarily female demographic.

Kinetic Investigation of Homogeneous H(2)-D(2) Equilibration Catalyzed by Pt-Au Cluster Compounds. Characterization of the Cluster [(H)Pt(AuPPh(3))(9)](NO(3))(2).

PubMed

Rubinstein, Leon I.; Pignolet, Louis H.

1996-11-06

The new Pt-Au hydrido cluster compound [(H)Pt(AuPPh(3))(9)](NO(3))(2) (3) has been synthesized and characterized by NMR, FABMS, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction [triclinic, P&onemacr;, a = 17.0452(1) Å, b = 17.4045(2) Å, c = 55.2353(1) Å, alpha = 89.891(1) degrees, beta = 85.287(1) degrees, gamma = 75.173(1) degrees, V = 15784.0(2) Å(3), Z = 4 (two molecules in asymmetric unit), residual R = 0.089 for 45 929 observed reflections and 3367 variables, Mo Kalpha radiation]. The Pt(AuP)(9) core geometry is a distorted icosahedron with three vertices vacant. The Pt-Au, Au-Au, and Au-P distances are within the normal ranges observed in other Pt-Au clusters. This cluster is a catalyst for H(2)-D(2) equilibration in homogeneous solution phase and has been used in a general mechanistic study of this reaction catalyzed by Pt-Au clusters. We previously proposed that a key step in the mechanism for catalytic H(2)-D(2) equilibration is the dissociation of a PPh(3) ligand to give a cluster with an open Au site for bonding of H(2) or D(2). This was based on qualitative observations that PPh(3) inhibited the rate of HD production with [Pt(AuPPh(3))(8)](NO(3))(2) (1) as catalyst. In order to test this hypothesis, phosphine inhibition (on the rate of HD production) and phosphine ligand exchange kinetic experiments were carried out with [(H)(PPh(3))Pt(AuPPh(3))(7)](NO(3))(2) (2) and 3. In this paper we show that the rate constant for phosphine dissociation determined from the PPh(3) inhibition rate study of H(2)-D(2) equilibration with cluster 2 is nearly identical to the rate constant for dissociative phosphine ligand exchange. The slower rate for H(2)-D(2) equilibration observed with 3 compared with 2 (5.5 x 10(-3) vs 7.7 x 10(-2) turnover s(-1)) is explained by its smaller rate constant for phosphine dissociation (2.8 x 10(-5) vs 2.9 x 10(-4) s(-1)). The fact that clusters 2 and 3 show similar kinetic behaviors suggests that the PPh(3) dissociation step in the catalytic H(2

Qualitative methods: beyond the cookbook.

PubMed

Harding, G; Gantley, M

1998-02-01

Qualitative methods appear increasingly in vogue in health services research (HSR). Such research, however, has utilized, often uncritically, a 'cookbook' of methods for data collection, and common-sense principles for data analysis. This paper argues that qualitative HSR benefits from recognizing and drawing upon theoretical principles underlying qualitative data collection and analysis. A distinction is drawn between problem-orientated and theory-orientated research, in order to illustrate how problem-orientated research would benefit from the introduction of theoretical perspectives in order to develop the knowledge base of health services research.

Factors and misperceptions of routine childhood immunization service uptake in Ethiopia: findings from a nationwide qualitative study

PubMed Central

Tadesse, Tefera; Getachew, Kinde; Assefa, Tersit; Ababu, Yohannes; Simireta, Tesfaye; Birhanu, Zewdie; Hailemichael, Yohannes

2017-01-01

Introduction While the routine childhood immunization program might be affected by several factors, its identification using qualitative evidence of caretakers is generally minimal. This article explores the various factors and misperceptions of routine childhood immunization service uptake in Ethiopia and provides possible recommendations to mitigate them. Methods In this study, we used a qualitative multiple case study design collecting primary data from 63 focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted with a purposefully selected sample of children's caretakers (n = 630). Results According to the results of this study, the use of routine childhood immunization is dependent on four major factors: caretakers' behavior, family characteristics, information and communication and immunization service system. In addition, the participants had some misperceptions about routine childhood immunization. For example, immunization should be taken when the child gets sick and a single dose vaccine is enough for a child. These factors and misperceptions are complex and sometimes context-specific and vary between categories of caretakers. Conclusion Our interpretations suggest that no single factor affects immunization service uptake alone in a unique way. Rather, it is the synergy among the factors that has a collective influence on the childhood immunization system. Therefore, intervention efforts should target these multiple factors simultaneously. Importantly, this study recommends improving the quality of existing childhood immunization services and building awareness among caretakers as crucial components. PMID:29675124

Sociocultural barriers to maternity services delivery: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature.

PubMed

Sumankuuro, J; Crockett, J; Wang, S

2018-04-01

Maternal and neonatal healthcare outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain poor despite decades of different health service delivery interventions and stakeholder investments. Qualitative studies have attributed these results, at least in part, to sociocultural beliefs and practices. Thus there is a need to understand, from an overarching perspective, how these sociocultural beliefs affect maternal and neonatal health (MNH) outcomes. A qualitative meta-synthesis of primary studies on cultural beliefs and practices associated with maternal and neonatal health care was carried out, incorporating research conducted in any country within SSA, using data from men, women and health professionals gathered through focus group discussions, structured and semistructured interviews. A systematic search was carried out on seven electronic databases, Scopus, Ovid Medline, PubMed, CINAHL Plus, Humanities and Social Sciences (Informit), EMBASE and Web of Science, and on Google Scholar, using both manual and electronic methods, between 1st January 1990 and 1st January 2017. The terms 'cultural beliefs'; 'cultural beliefs AND maternal health'; 'cultural beliefs OR maternal health'; 'traditional practices' and 'maternal health' were used in the search. Key components of cultural beliefs and practices associated with adverse health outcomes on pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period were identified in five overarching factors: (a) pregnancy secrecy; (b) labour complications attributed to infidelity; (c) mothers' autonomy and reproductive services; (d) marital status, trust in traditional medicines and traditional birth attendants; and (e) intergenerational beliefs attached to the 'ordeal' of giving birth. Cultural beliefs and practices related to maternal and neonatal health care are intergenerational. Therefore, intensive community-specific education strategies to facilitate behaviour changes are required for improved MNH outcomes. Adopting practical approaches such as

Evolution of Excited-State Dynamics in Periodic Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52 Nanoclusters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Meng; Zeng, Chenjie; Sfeir, Matthew Y.

An understanding of the correlation between the atomic structure and optical properties of gold nanoclusters is essential for exploration of their functionalities and applications involving light harvesting and electron transfer. We report the femto-nanosecond excited state dynamics of a periodic series of face-centered cubic (FCC) gold nanoclusters (including Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52), which exhibit a set of unique features compared with other similar sized clusters. Molecular-like ultrafast S n → S 1 internal conversions (i.e., radiationless electronic transitions) are observed in the relaxation dynamics of FCC periodic series. Excited-state dynamics with near-HOMO–LUMO gap excitation lacksmore » ultrafast decay component, and only the structural relaxation dominates in the dynamical process, which proves the absence of core–shell relaxation. Interestingly, both the relaxation of the hot carriers and the band-edge carrier recombination become slower as the size increases. The evolution in excited-state properties of this FCC series offers new insight into the structure-dependent properties of metal nanoclusters, which will benefit their optical energy harvesting and photocatalytic applications.« less

Evolution of Excited-State Dynamics in Periodic Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52 Nanoclusters

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Meng; Zeng, Chenjie; Sfeir, Matthew Y.; ...

2017-08-10

An understanding of the correlation between the atomic structure and optical properties of gold nanoclusters is essential for exploration of their functionalities and applications involving light harvesting and electron transfer. We report the femto-nanosecond excited state dynamics of a periodic series of face-centered cubic (FCC) gold nanoclusters (including Au 28, Au 36, Au 44, and Au 52), which exhibit a set of unique features compared with other similar sized clusters. Molecular-like ultrafast S n → S 1 internal conversions (i.e., radiationless electronic transitions) are observed in the relaxation dynamics of FCC periodic series. Excited-state dynamics with near-HOMO–LUMO gap excitation lacksmore » ultrafast decay component, and only the structural relaxation dominates in the dynamical process, which proves the absence of core–shell relaxation. Interestingly, both the relaxation of the hot carriers and the band-edge carrier recombination become slower as the size increases. The evolution in excited-state properties of this FCC series offers new insight into the structure-dependent properties of metal nanoclusters, which will benefit their optical energy harvesting and photocatalytic applications.« less

Service user involvement for mental health system strengthening in India: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Samudre, Sandesh; Shidhaye, Rahul; Ahuja, Shalini; Nanda, Sharmishtha; Khan, Azaz; Evans-Lacko, Sara; Hanlon, Charlotte

2016-07-28

There is a wide recognition that involvement of service users and their caregivers in health system policy and planning processes can strengthen health systems; however, most evidence and experience has come from high-income countries. This study aimed to explore baseline experiences, barriers and facilitators to service user-caregiver involvement in the emerging mental health system in India, and stakeholders' perspectives on how greater involvement could be achieved. A qualitative study was conducted in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh, India. In-depth interviews (n = 27) and a focus group discussion were conducted among service users, caregivers and their representatives at district, state and national levels and policy makers, service providers and mental health researchers. The topic guide explored the baseline situation in India, barriers and facilitators to service user and caregiver involvement in the following aspects of mental health systems: policy-making and planning, service development, monitoring and quality control, as well as research. Framework analysis was employed. Respondents spoke of the limited involvement of service users and caregivers in the current Indian mental health system. The major reported barriers to this involvement were (1) unmet treatment and economic needs arising from low access to mental health services coupled with the high burden of illness, (2) pervasive stigmatising attitudes operating at the level of service user, caregiver, community, healthcare provider and healthcare administrators, and (3) entrenched power differentials between service providers and service users. Respondents prioritised greater involvement of service users in the planning of their own individual-level mental health care before considering involvement at the mental health system level. A stepwise progression was endorsed, starting from needs assessment, through empowerment and organization of service users and caregivers, leading finally to

Di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV Au + Au and d + Au collisions at STAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamczyk, L.; Adkins, J. K.; Agakishiev, G.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Ahammed, Z.; Alekseev, I.; Aparin, A.; Arkhipkin, D.; Aschenauer, E. C.; Averichev, G. S.; Bai, X.; Bairathi, V.; Banerjee, A.; Bellwied, R.; Bhasin, A.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattarai, P.; Bielcik, J.; Bielcikova, J.; Bland, L. C.; Bordyuzhin, I. G.; Bouchet, J.; Brandenburg, D.; Brandin, A. V.; Bunzarov, I.; Butterworth, J.; Caines, H.; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M.; Campbell, J. M.; Cebra, D.; Cervantes, M. C.; Chakaberia, I.; Chaloupka, P.; Chang, Z.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chen, X.; Chen, J. H.; Cheng, J.; Cherney, M.; Christie, W.; Contin, G.; Crawford, H. J.; Das, S.; De Silva, L. C.; Debbe, R. R.; Dedovich, T. G.; Deng, J.; Derevschikov, A. A.; di Ruzza, B.; Didenko, L.; Dilks, C.; Dong, X.; Drachenberg, J. L.; Draper, J. E.; Du, C. M.; Dunkelberger, L. E.; Dunlop, J. C.; Efimov, L. G.; Engelage, J.; Eppley, G.; Esha, R.; Evdokimov, O.; Eyser, O.; Fatemi, R.; Fazio, S.; Federic, P.; Fedorisin, J.; Feng, Z.; Filip, P.; Fisyak, Y.; Flores, C. E.; Fulek, L.; Gagliardi, C. A.; Garand, D.; Geurts, F.; Gibson, A.; Girard, M.; Greiner, L.; Grosnick, D.; Gunarathne, D. S.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, S.; Gupta, A.; Guryn, W.; Hamad, A.; Hamed, A.; Haque, R.; Harris, J. W.; He, L.; Heppelmann, S.; Heppelmann, S.; Hirsch, A.; Hoffmann, G. W.; Hofman, D. J.; Horvat, S.; Huang, T.; Huang, B.; Huang, H. Z.; Huang, X.; Huck, P.; Humanic, T. J.; Igo, G.; Jacobs, W. W.; Jang, H.; Jia, J.; Jiang, K.; Judd, E. G.; Kabana, S.; Kalinkin, D.; Kang, K.; Kauder, K.; Ke, H. W.; Keane, D.; Kechechyan, A.; Khan, Z. H.; Kikoła, D. P.; Kisiel, A.; Kochenda, L.; Koetke, D. D.; Kosarzewski, L. K.; Kraishan, A. F.; Kravtsov, P.; Krueger, K.; Kumar, L.; Lamont, M. A. C.; Landgraf, J. M.; Landry, K. D.; Lauret, J.; Lebedev, A.; Lednicky, R.; Lee, J. H.; Li, X.; Li, W.; Li, Z. M.; Li, Y.; Li, C.; Li, X.; Lisa, M. A.; Liu, F.; Ljubicic, T.; Llope, W. J.; Lomnitz, M.; Longacre, R. S.; Luo, X.; Ma, G. L.; Ma, Y. G.; Ma, R.; Ma, L.; Magdy, N.; Majka, R.; Manion, A.; Margetis, S.; Markert, C.; Masui, H.; Matis, H. S.; McDonald, D.; Meehan, K.; Mei, J. C.; Minaev, N. G.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mishra, D.; Mohanty, B.; Mondal, M. M.; Morozov, D. A.; Mustafa, M. K.; Nandi, B. K.; Nasim, Md.; Nayak, T. K.; Nigmatkulov, G.; Niida, T.; Nogach, L. V.; Noh, S. Y.; Novak, J.; Nurushev, S. B.; Odyniec, G.; Ogawa, A.; Oh, K.; Okorokov, V.; Olvitt, D.; Page, B. S.; Pak, R.; Pan, Y. X.; Pandit, Y.; Panebratsev, Y.; Pawlik, B.; Pei, H.; Perkins, C.; Peterson, A.; Pile, P.; Pluta, J.; Poniatowska, K.; Porter, J.; Posik, M.; Poskanzer, A. M.; Pruthi, N. K.; Putschke, J.; Qiu, H.; Quintero, A.; Ramachandran, S.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Ray, R. L.; Ritter, H. G.; Roberts, J. B.; Rogachevskiy, O. V.; Romero, J. L.; Roy, A.; Ruan, L.; Rusnak, J.; Rusnakova, O.; Sahoo, N. R.; Sahu, P. K.; Sakrejda, I.; Salur, S.; Sandweiss, J.; Sarkar, A.; Schambach, J.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Schmah, A. M.; Schmidke, W. B.; Schmitz, N.; Seger, J.; Seyboth, P.; Shah, N.; Shahaliev, E.; Shanmuganathan, P. V.; Shao, M.; Sharma, B.; Sharma, M. K.; Shen, W. Q.; Shi, S. S.; Shou, Q. Y.; Sichtermann, E. P.; Sikora, R.; Simko, M.; Singha, S.; Skoby, M. J.; Smirnov, N.; Smirnov, D.; Song, L.; Sorensen, P.; Spinka, H. M.; Srivastava, B.; Stanislaus, T. D. S.; Stepanov, M.; Strikhanov, M.; Stringfellow, B.; Sumbera, M.; Summa, B.; Sun, Y.; Sun, Z.; Sun, X. M.; Sun, X.; Surrow, B.; Svirida, D. N.; Szelezniak, M. A.; Tang, A. H.; Tang, Z.; Tarnowsky, T.; Tawfik, A.; Thomas, J. H.; Timmins, A. R.; Tlusty, D.; Todoroki, T.; Tokarev, M.; Trentalange, S.; Tribble, R. E.; Tribedy, P.; Tripathy, S. K.; Tsai, O. D.; Ullrich, T.; Underwood, D. G.; Upsal, I.; Van Buren, G.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Varma, R.; Vasiliev, A. N.; Vertesi, R.; Videbæk, F.; Viyogi, Y. P.; Vokal, S.; Voloshin, S. A.; Vossen, A.; Wang, J. S.; Wang, F.; Wang, H.; Wang, G.; Wang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Webb, G.; Webb, J. C.; Wen, L.; Westfall, G. D.; Wieman, H.; Wissink, S. W.; Witt, R.; Wu, Y. F.; Wu; Xiao, Z. G.; Xie, W.; Xin, K.; Xu, H.; Xu, Z.; Xu, Q. H.; Xu, Y. F.; Xu, N.; Yang, S.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Q.; Yang, Y.; Yang, C.; Yang, Y.; Ye, Z.; Ye, Z.; Yepes, P.; Yi, L.; Yip, K.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yu, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zha, W.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, J. B.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, X. P.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, J.; Zhao, J.; Zhong, C.; Zhou, L.; Zhu, X.; Zoulkarneeva, Y.

2015-12-01

The STAR Collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au + Au and minimum-bias d + Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au + Au data with respect to the d + Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the ridge region, is found to be significantly higher for leading non-pions than pions. The consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.

Reassurance as a key outcome valued by emergency ambulance service users: a qualitative interview study.

PubMed

Togher, Fiona J; O'Cathain, Alicia; Phung, Viet-Hai; Turner, Janette; Siriwardena, Aloysius Niroshan

2015-12-01

There is an increasing need to assess the performance of emergency ambulance services using measures other than the time taken for an ambulance to arrive on scene. In line with government policy, patients and carers can help to shape new measures of ambulance service performance. To investigate the aspects of emergency ambulance service care valued by users. Qualitative interview study. One of 11 ambulance services in England. Twenty-two users and eight of their spouses (n = 30). Users of the emergency ambulance service, experiencing different types of ambulance service response, valued similar aspects of their pre-hospital care. Users were often extremely anxious about their health, and the outcome they valued was reassurance provided by ambulance service staff that they were receiving appropriate advice, treatment and care. This sense of being reassured was enhanced by the professional behaviour of staff, which instilled confidence in their care; communication; a short wait for help; and continuity during transfers. A timely response was valued in terms of allaying anxiety quickly. The ability of the emergency ambulance service to allay the high levels of fear and anxiety felt by users is crucial to the delivery of a high quality service. Measures developed to assess and monitor the performance of emergency ambulance services should include the proportion of users reporting feeling reassured by the response they obtained. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Improving mental health service users' with medical co-morbidity transition between tertiary medical hospital and primary care services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Cranwell, Kate; Polacsek, Meg; McCann, Terence V

2016-07-26

Mental health service users have high rates of medical co-morbidity but frequently experience problems accessing and transitioning between tertiary medical and primary care services. The aim of this study was to identify ways to improve service users' with medical co-morbidity care and experience during their transition between tertiary medical hospitals and primary care services. Experience-based co-design (EBCD) qualitative study incorporating a focus group discussion. The study took place in a large tertiary medical service, incorporating three medical hospitals, and primary care services, in Melbourne, Australia. A purposive sample of service users and their caregivers and tertiary medical and primary care clinicians participated in the focus group discussion, in August 2014. A semi-structured interview guide was used to inform data collection. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Thirteen participants took part in the focus group interview, comprising 5 service users, 2 caregivers and 6 clinicians. Five themes were abstracted from the data, illustrating participants' perspectives about factors that facilitated (clinicians' expertise, engagement and accessibility enhancing transition) and presented as barriers (improving access pathways; enhancing communication and continuity of care; improving clinicians' attitudes; and increasing caregiver participation) to service users' progress through tertiary medical and primary care services. A sixth theme, enhancing service users' transition, incorporated three strategies to enhance their transition through tertiary medical and primary care services. EBCD is a useful approach to collaboratively develop strategies to improve service users' with medical co-morbidity and their caregivers' transition between tertiary medical and primary care services. A whole-of-service approach, incorporating policy development and implementation, change of practice philosophy, professional development education and support for

Seeking to understand: using generic qualitative research to explore access to medicines and pharmacy services among resettled refugees.

PubMed

Bellamy, Kim; Ostini, Remo; Martini, Nataly; Kairuz, Therese

2016-06-01

Introduction There are challenges associated with selecting a qualitative research approach. In a field abundant with terminology and theories, it may be difficult for a pharmacist to know where and how to begin a qualitative research journey. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into generic qualitative research and to describe the journey of data collection of a novice qualitative researcher in the quest to answer her research question: 'What are the barriers to accessing medicines and pharmacy services for resettled refugees in Queensland, Australia?' Methodology Generic qualitative research draws on the strengths of one or more qualitative approaches. The aim is to draw out participants' ideas about things that are 'outside themselves'; rather than focussing on their inner feelings the research seeks to understand a phenomenon, a process, or the perspectives of participants. Sampling is designed to obtain a broad range of opinions about events and experiences and data collection includes interviews, questionnaires or surveys; thematic analysis is often used to analyse data. When to use Generic qualitative research provides an opportunity to develop research designs that fit researchers' epistemological stance and discipline, with research choices, including methodology and methods, being informed by the research question. Limitations Generic qualitative research is one of many methodologies that may be used to answer a research question and there is a paucity of literature about how to do it well. There is also debate about its validity as a qualitative methodology.

Connected Au network in annealed Ni/Au thin films on p-GaN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, S. P.; Jang, H. W.; Noh, D. Y.

2007-11-12

We report the formation of a connected Au network in annealed Ni/Au thin films on p-GaN, which was studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and synchrotron x-ray diffraction. As the Ni was oxidized into NiO upon annealing at 530 deg. C in air, the Au layer was transformed to an interconnected network with an increased thickness. During annealing, Ni atoms diffuse out onto the Au through defects to form NiO, while Au atoms replace the Ni positions. The Au network grows downward until it reaches the p-GaN substrate, and NiO columns fill the space between the Au network.

Plasmon-enhanced versatile optical nonlinearities in a Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure.

PubMed

Yao, Lin-Hua; Zhang, Jun-Pei; Dai, Hong-Wei; Wang, Ming-Shan; Zhang, Lu-Man; Wang, Xia; Han, Jun-Bo

2018-06-27

A Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure has been synthesized by using an electrodeposition method based on an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. The third-order optical nonlinearities, second harmonic generation (SHG) and photoluminescence (PL) properties containing ultrafast supercontinuum generation and plasmon mediated thermal emission have been investigated. Significant optical enhancements have been obtained near surface plasmon resonance wavelength in all the abovementioned nonlinear processes. Comparative studies between the Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure and the corresponding single-component Au and Ag hybrid structures demonstrate that the Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure has much larger optical nonlinearities than its counterparts. These results demonstrate that the Au-Ag-Au hybrid structure is a promising candidate for applications in plasmonic devices and enhancement substrates.

Di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV Au + Au and d + Au collisions at STAR

DOE PAGES

Adamczyk, L.

2015-10-23

The STAR Collaboration presents for the first time two-dimensional di-hadron correlations with identified leading hadrons in 200 GeV central Au + Au and minimum-bias d + Au collisions to explore hadronization mechanisms in the quark gluon plasma. The enhancement of the jet-like yield for leading pions in Au + Au data with respect to the d + Au reference and the absence of such an enhancement for leading non-pions (protons and kaons) are discussed within the context of a quark recombination scenario. The correlated yield at large angles, specifically in the ridge region, is found to be significantly higher formore » leading non-pions than pions. As a result, the consistencies of the constituent quark scaling, azimuthal harmonic model and a mini-jet modification model description of the data are tested, providing further constraints on hadronization.« less

Exploration of the administrative aspects of the delivery of home health care services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Shahsavari, Hooman; Nasrabadi, Alireza Nikbakht; Almasian, Mohammad; Heydari, Heshmatolah; Hazini, Abdolrahim

2018-01-01

Because of the variety of services and resources offered in the delivery of home health care, its management is a challenging and difficult task. The purpose of this study was to explore the administrative aspects of the delivery of home health care services. This qualitative study was conducted based on the traditional content analysis approach in 2015 in Iran. The participants were selected using the purposeful sampling method and data were collected through in-depth semi-structured personal interviews and from discussions in a focus group. The collected data were analyzed using the Lundman and Graneheim method. 23 individuals participated in individual interviews, and the collected data were categorized into the two main themes of policymaking and infrastructures, each of which consisted of some subcategories. Health policymakers could utilize the results of this study as baseline information in making decisions about the delivery of home health care services, taking into account the contextual dimensions of home care services, leading to improvements in home health care services.

Business Models, Vaccination Services, and Public Health Relationships of Retail Clinics: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Arthur, Bayo C; Fisher, Allison Kennedy; Shoemaker, Sarah J; Pozniak, Alyssa; Stokley, Shannon

2015-01-01

Despite the rapid growth of retail clinics (RCs), literature is limited in terms of how these facilities offer preventive services, particularly vaccination services. The purpose of this study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of the RC business model pertaining to vaccine offerings, profitability, and decision making. From March to June 2009, we conducted 15 interviews with key individuals from three types of organizations: 12 representatives of RC corporations, 2 representatives of retail hosts (i.e., stores in which the RCs are located), and 1 representative of an industry association. We analyzed interview transcripts qualitatively. Our results indicate that consumer demand and profitability were the main drivers in offering vaccinations. RCs in this sample primarily offered vaccinations to adults and adolescents, and they were not well integrated with local public health and immunization registries. Our findings demonstrate the potential for stronger linkages with public health in these settings. The findings also may help inform future research to increase patient access to vaccination services at RCs.

Making the case for a fracture liaison service: a qualitative study of the experiences of clinicians and service managers.

PubMed

Drew, Sarah; Gooberman-Hill, Rachael; Farmer, Andrew; Graham, Laura; Javaid, M Kassim; Cooper, Cyrus; Judge, Andrew

2015-10-01

To develop services, healthcare professionals must make business cases to managerial bodies within Hospital Trusts and if approved, to commissioning bodies. Patients with hip fracture are at high risk of subsequent fracture. To prevent this, guidance recommends structuring fracture prevention services around coordinator based models. These are known as Fracture Liaison Services (FLS). 33 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals with experience of making business cases for FLS. Data was analysed thematically. Challenges in the development of business cases included collecting all the relevant data and negotiating compartmentalised budgets that impeded service development. Participants described communication and cooperation between providers and commissioners as variable. They felt financial considerations were the most important factor in funding decisions, while improved quality of care was less influential. Other factors included national guidelines and political priorities. The personalities of clinicians championing services, and the clinical interests of commissioners were seen to influence the decision-making process, suggesting that participants felt that decisions were not always made on the basis of evidence-based care. Effective strategies included ways of providing support, demonstrating potential cost effectiveness and improved quality of care. Using a range of sources including audit data collected on the successful Glasgow FLS, and improving cooperation between stakeholders was advocated. Participants felt that the work of commissioners and providers should be better integrated and suggested strategies for doing this. This study provides information to healthcare professionals about how best to develop business cases for FLS. We conclude with recommendations on how to develop effective cases. These include using guidance such as toolkits, aligning the aims of FLS with national priorities and benchmarking

Sidération myocardique au cours d'une intoxication au monoxyde de carbone (CO) chez une femme enceinte

PubMed Central

Coulibaly, Mahamadoun; Berdai, Mohamed Adnane; Labib, Smael; Harandou, Mustapha

2015-01-01

L'intoxication au monoxyde de carbone (CO) est la première cause de décès par intoxication en France. La littérature est ancienne et peu connue. Les signes les plus fréquents de l'intoxication sont la triade: Céphalées; asthénie, faiblesse musculaire surtout des membres inférieurs. Ses conséquences sont potentiellement graves pour le fœtus quand elle survient chez la femme enceinte, il est particulièrement exposé au risque d'hypoxie en raison de la forte affinité de son hémoglobine pour le CO qui traverse aisément le placenta. Les événements cardiovasculaires ne sont pas rares et peuvent être responsable d'une morbi-mortalité assez importante qui peuvent être d'apparition rapide ou secondaire mais régressent habituellement en quelques jours. Des SCA peuvent survenir lors d'une une intoxication au CO avec à l'extrême infarctus myocardique avec surélévation du segment ST. Il paraît légitime de proposer pour toutes les patientes: l’éloignement maternel de la source de CO; l'oxygénothérapie à 100% au masque facial par les services de secours et pendant le transfert; le traitement par oxygénothérapie hyperbare pour toutes les femmes enceintes, le plus rapidement possible et quelque soit l’âge gestationnel. PMID:26405502

Using secondary analysis of qualitative data of patient experiences of health care to inform health services research and policy.

PubMed

Ziebland, Sue; Hunt, Kate

2014-07-01

Qualitative research is recognized as an important method for including patients' voices and experiences in health services research and policy-making, yet the considerable potential to analyse existing qualitative data to inform health policy and practice has been little realized. This failure may partly be explained by: a lack of awareness amongst health policy makers of the increasing wealth of qualitative data available; and around 15 years of internal debates among qualitative researchers on the strengths, limitations and validity of re-use of qualitative data. Whilst acknowledging the challenges of qualitative secondary data analysis, we argue that there is a growing imperative to be pragmatic and to undertake analysis of existing qualitative data collections where they have the potential to contribute to health policy formulation. Time pressures are inherent in the policy-making process and in many circumstances it is not possible to seek funding, conduct and analyse new qualitative studies of patients' experiences in time to inform a specific policy. The danger then is that the patient voice, and the experiences of relatives and carers, is either excluded or included in a way that is easily dismissed as 'unrepresentative'. We argue that secondary analysis of qualitative data collections may sometimes be an effective means to enable patient experiences to inform policy decision-making. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Biosynthesis and stabilization of Au and Au Ag alloy nanoparticles by fungus, Fusarium semitectum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasaratrao Sawle, Balaji; Salimath, Basavaraja; Deshpande, Raghunandan; Dhondojirao Bedre, Mahesh; Krishnamurthy Prabhakar, Belawadi; Venkataraman, Abbaraju

2008-09-01

Crystallized and spherical-shaped Au and Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles have been synthesized and stabilized using a fungus, F . semitectum in an aqueous system. Aqueous solutions of chloroaurate ions for Au and chloroaurate and Ag+ ions (1 : 1 ratio) for Au-Ag alloy were treated with an extracellular filtrate of F . semitectum biomass for the formation of Au nanoparticles (AuNP) and Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles (Au-AgNP). Analysis of the feasibility of the biosynthesized nanoparticles and core-shell alloy nanoparticles from fungal strains is particularly significant. The resultant colloidal suspensions are highly stable for many weeks. The obtained Au and Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles were characterized by the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks using a UV-vis spectrophotometer, and the structure, morphology and size were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Possible optoelectronics and medical applications of these nanoparticles are envisaged.

Necessity and feasibility of improving mental health services in China: A systematic qualitative review.

PubMed

Zhao, Xudong; Liu, Liang; Hu, Chengping; Chen, Fazhan; Sun, Xirong

2017-07-01

It has been nearly 40 years since the reform and opening up of Mainland China. The mental health services system has developed rapidly as a part of the profound socioeconomic changes that ensued. However, its development has not been as substantial as other areas of medical care. For the current qualitative systematic review, we searched databases, including China Biology Medicine disc, Weipu, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang digital periodical full text data, China's important newspaper full text database, China Statistical Yearbook database, etc. The content of primary research, literature, and policy papers about the evolution and development of Chinese mental health services was systemically reviewed and analysed by using thematic analysis. Two main themes relative to the necessity and feasibility of reforming the current mental health services system emerged. We discuss 5 corresponding subthemes under the umbrella of the necessity of improving the current treatment, rehabilitation, prevention, and service systems and 7 requirements for the feasibility of reforming the current system. We conclude that as the development of the Chinese economy and the spirit of humanistic care continue, the improvement and reformation of the mental health services system are both necessary and feasible. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Qualitative Study of US Clinical Ethics Services: Objectives and Outcomes.

PubMed

McClimans, Leah; Pressgrove, Geah; Rhea, James

2016-01-01

The quality of clinical ethics services in health care organizations is increasingly seen as an important aspect of the overall quality of care. But measuring this quality is difficult because there is a lack of clarity and consensus regarding the objectives of clinical ethics and the best outcome domains to measure. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the views of experts about the objectives and outcomes of clinical ethics services in the US. We interviewed 19 experts in clinical ethics, focusing on the appropriate objectives and outcomes of a clinical ethics service (CES). Participants were selected using a purposive snowball sampling strategy. The development of the interview protocol was informed by the clinical ethics literature as well as by research and theories that inform clinical ethics practice. Interviews were conducted by phone, recorded, and transcribed for individual analysis. Analysis proceeded through the development of a codebook of categories using QDA Miner software. Our experts identified 12 objectives and nine outcomes. Some of these identifications were familiar (e.g., mediation and satisfaction) and some were novel (e.g., be of service and transformation). We found that experts are divided in their emphasis on the kinds of objectives that are most important. In terms of outcomes, our experts were concerned with the appropriateness of different proxy and direct measures. This study provides the perspectives of a select group of experts on the objectives and outcomes appropriate for a CES in the United States. The themes identified will be used in future research to inform a Delphi study to refine and obtain expert consensus.

Fermi surfaces properties of AuAl2, AuGa2, and AuIn2 with the CaF2-type cubic structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishimura, K.; Kakihana, M.; Suzuki, F.; Yara, T.; Hedo, M.; Nakama, T.; Ōnuki, Y.; Harima, H.

2018-05-01

We grew high-quality single crystals of AuAl2, AuGa2, and AuIn2 with the fluorite (CaF2)-type cubic structure and determined the Fermi surface properties by the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) experiments using full-potential LAPW bad calculations. The Fermi surface and optical properties for three compounds were once studied from an interest of colors because AuAl2 has a striking bright reddish-purple color, whereas AuGa2 and AuIn2 are, respectively, neutral and bluish. The detected dHvA frequencies in the present study are found to be in a wide range of (0.1-13)×107 Oe. The main dHvA branches for three compounds are in excellent agreement with the theoretical ones, but some dHvA branches with small dHvA frequencies are slightly deviated from the theoretical ones, especially in AuGa2 and AuIn2.

How Does Amino Acid Ligand Modulate Au Core Structure and Characteristics in Peptide Coated Au Nanocluster?

PubMed

Li, Nan; Li, Xu; Zhao, Hongkang; Zhao, Lina

2018-03-01

The atomic structures and the corresponding physicochemical properties of peptide coated Au nanoclusters determine their distinctive biological targeting applications. To learn the modulation of amino acid ligand on the atomic structure and electronic characteristics of coated Au core is the fundamental knowledge for peptide coated Au nanocluster design and construction. Based on our recent coated Au nanocluster configuration study (Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 11454), we built the typically simplified Au13(Cys-Au-Cys) system to more clearly learn the basic modulation information of amino acid ligand on Au core by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. There are two isomers as ligand adjacent bonding (Iso1) and diagonal bonding (Iso2) to Au13 cores. The geometry optimizations indicate the adjacent bonding Iso1 is more stable than Iso2. More important, the Au13 core of Iso1 distorts much more significantly than that of Iso2 by Cys-Au-Cys bonding through the root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) analysis, which modulate their electronic characteristics in different ways. In addition, the frontier molecular orbital results of Au13(Cys-Au-Cys) isomers confirm that the Au cores mainly determine the blue shifts of Au13(Cys-Au-Cys) systems versus the original Au13 core in their UV-visible absorption spectrum studies. The configuration of Au13 core performs deformation under Cys-Au-Cys ligand modulation to reach new stability with distinct atomic structure and electronic properties, which could be the theory basis for peptide coated AuNCs design and construction.

Analyse Pharmaceutique de la prescription des antibiotiques au service des brules et chirurgie plastique de l'Hopital Militaire d'Instruction Mohammed V, Maroc

PubMed Central

Benziane, H.; Karfo, R.; Siah, S.; Taoufik, J.

2011-01-01

Summary L'infection est longtemps restée la principale cause de mortalité chez le brûlé grave. Ce travail a pour but d'évaluer la prescription des antibiotiques dans notre Service des Brûlés et Chirurgie Plastique, au regard du dossier d'autorisation de mise sur le marché (Résumé des caractéristiques du produit). Tous les patients sous antibiothérapie, au Service des Brûlés et Chirurgie Plastique de l'Hôpital Militaire d'Instruction Mohammed V de Rabat, Maroc, durant la période janvier 2008/mai 2009, ont été inclus. Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective qui a analysé 41 dossiers de patients. Les antibiotiques utilisés par le service appartiennent à différentes familles. Les plus utilisés sont les bêta-lactamines (65%), glycopeptides (10,5%), aminosides (9%), quinolones (7%) et colistine (4,3%), avec 4,2% pour les autres classes d'antibiotiques (métronidazole 500 mg en perfusion, fluconazole injectable 100 mg/50 ml, rifampicine 600 mg en perfusion, sulfadiazine argentique crème, acide fusidique 2% crème, etc.); 70% des prescriptions sont non documentées. La voie injectable est prépondérante (89%). En tout, 227 ordonnances nominatives d'antibiothérapie ont été analysées: la posologie et les contre-indications ont été respectées par rapport à l'autorisation de mise sur le marché. Trois cas d'interactions médicamenteuses ont été relevés (fluconazole-rifampicine, fluconazole-Saccharomyces boulardii, amikacine-vancomycine). Ce constat montre l'importance de l'analyse pharmaceutique des prescriptions des antibiotiques dans un service utilisant des antibiotiques de la réserve hospitalière, donc actifs mais très toxiques. PMID:22396670

Barriers and facilitators of disclosures of domestic violence by mental health service users: qualitative study.

PubMed

Rose, Diana; Trevillion, Kylee; Woodall, Anna; Morgan, Craig; Feder, Gene; Howard, Louise

2011-03-01

Mental health service users are at high risk of domestic violence but this is often not detected by mental health services. To explore the facilitators and barriers to disclosure of domestic violence from a service user and professional perspective. A qualitative study in a socioeconomically deprived south London borough, UK, with 18 mental health service users and 20 mental health professionals. Purposive sampling of community mental health service users and mental healthcare professionals was used to recruit participants for individual interviews. Thematic analysis was used to determine dominant and subthemes. These were transformed into conceptual maps with accompanying illustrative quotations. Service users described barriers to disclosure of domestic violence to professionals including: fear of the consequences, including fear of Social Services involvement and consequent child protection proceedings, fear that disclosure would not be believed, and fear that disclosure would lead to further violence; the hidden nature of the violence; actions of the perpetrator; and feelings of shame. The main themes for professionals concerned role boundaries, competency and confidence. Service users and professionals reported that the medical diagnostic and treatment model with its emphasis on symptoms could act as a barrier to enquiry and disclosure. Both groups reported that enquiry and disclosure were facilitated by a supportive and trusting relationship between the individual and professional. Mental health services are not currently conducive to the disclosure of domestic violence. Training of professionals in how to address domestic violence to increase their confidence and expertise is recommended.

Comparison of the space-time extent of the emission source in d +Au and Au + Au collisions at √{sNN} = 200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajitanand, N. N.; Phenix Collaboration

2014-11-01

Two-pion interferometry measurements in d +Au and Au + Au collisions at √{sNN} = 200 GeV are used to extract and compare the Gaussian source radii Rout, Rside and Rlong, which characterize the space-time extent of the emission sources. The comparisons, which are performed as a function of collision centrality and the mean transverse momentum for pion pairs, indicate strikingly similar patterns for the d +Au and Au + Au systems. They also indicate a linear dependence of Rside on the initial transverse geometric size R bar , as well as a smaller freeze-out size for the d +Au system. These patterns point to the important role of final-state re-scattering effects in the reaction dynamics of d +Au collisions.

Qualitative Assessment of the Integration of HIV Services With Infant Routine Immunization Visits in Tanzania

PubMed Central

Wallace, Aaron; Kimambo, Sajida; Dafrossa, Lyimo; Rusibamayila, Neema; Rwebembera, Anath; Songoro, Juma; Arthur, Gilly; Luman, Elizabeth; Finkbeiner, Thomas; Goodson, James L.

2015-01-01

Background In 2009, a project was implemented in 8 primary health clinics throughout Tanzania to explore the feasibility of integrating pediatric HIV prevention services with routine infant immunization visits. Methods We conducted interviews with 64 conveniently sampled mothers of infants who had received integrated HIV and immunization services and 16 providers who delivered the integrated services to qualitatively identify benefits and challenges of the intervention midway through project implementation. Findings Mothers’ perceived benefits of the integrated services included time savings, opportunity to learn their child's HIV status and receive HIV treatment, if necessary. Providers’ perceived benefits included reaching mothers who usually would not come for only HIV testing. Mothers and providers reported similar challenges, including mothers’ fear of HIV testing, poor spousal support, perceived mandatory HIV testing, poor patient flow affecting confidentiality of service delivery, heavier provider workloads, and community stigma against HIV-infected persons; the latter a more frequent theme in rural compared with urban locations. Interpretation Future scale-up should ensure privacy of these integrated services received at clinics and community outreach to address stigma and perceived mandatory testing. Increasing human resources for health to address higher workloads and longer waiting times for proper patient flow is necessary in the long term. PMID:24326602

Counselors' Experience of Providing Services to Looked-After Children in the United Kingdom: A Generic Qualitative Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ina-Egbe, Esther Funmilayo

2017-01-01

This study was conducted to examine counselors' experience of providing services to looked-after children in the United Kingdom. The generic qualitative design was used. A purposeful sample of 15 counselors was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis and constant…

Qualitative assessment of silver and gold nanoparticle synthesis in various plants: a photobiological approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajasekharreddy, Pala; Usha Rani, Pathipati; Sreedhar, Bojja

2010-06-01

The development of rapid and ecofriendly processes for the synthesis of silver (Ag) and gold (Au) nanoparticles is of great importance in the field of nanotechnology. In this study, the extracellular production of Ag and Au nanoparticles was carried out from the leaves of the plants, Tridax procumbens L. (Coat buttons), Jatropa curcas L. (Barbados nut), Calotropis gigantea L. (Calotropis), Solanum melongena L. (Eggplant), Datura metel L. (Datura), Carica papaya L. (Papaya) and Citrus aurantium L. (Bitter orange) by the sunlight exposure method. Qualitative comparisons of the synthesized nanoparticles between the plants were measured. Among these T. procumbens, J. curcas and C. gigantea plants synthesized <20 nm sized and spherical-shaped Ag particles, whereas C. papaya, D. metel and S. melongena produced <20 nm sized monodispersed Au particles. The amount of nanoparticles synthesized and its qualitative characterization was done by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for structural confirmation. Further analysis carried out by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), provided evidence for the presence of amino groups, which increased the stability of the synthesized nanoparticles.

The extraction characteristic of Au-Ag from Au concentrate by thiourea solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Bongju; Cho, Kanghee; On, Hyunsung; Choi, Nagchoul; Park, Cheonyoung

2013-04-01

The cyanidation process has been used commercially for the past 100 years, there are ores that are not amenable to treatment by cyanide. Interest in alternative lixiviants, such as thiourea, halogens, thiosulfate and malononitrile, has been revived as a result of a major increase in gold price, which has stimulated new developments in extraction technology, combined with environmental concern. The Au extraction process using the thiourea solvent has many advantages over the cyanidation process, including higher leaching rates, faster extraction time and less than toxicity. The purpose of this study was investigated to the extraction characteristic of Au-Ag from two different Au concentrate (sulfuric acid washing and roasting) under various experiment conditions (thiourea concentration, pH of solvent, temperature) by thiourea solvent. The result of extraction experiment showed that the Au-Ag extraction was a fast extraction process, reaching equilibrium (maximum extraction rate) within 30 min. The Au-Ag extraction rate was higher in the roasted concentrate than in the sulfuric acid washing. The higher the Au-Ag extraction rate (Au - 70.87%, Ag - 98.12%) from roasted concentrate was found when the more concentration of thiourea increased, pH decreased and extraction temperature increased. This study informs extraction method basic knowledge when thiourea was a possibility to eco-/economic resources of Au-Ag utilization studies including the hydrometallurgy.

The midwives service scheme: a qualitative comparison of contextual determinants of the performance of two states in central Nigeria.

PubMed

Okpani, Arnold I; Abimbola, Seye

2016-01-01

The federal government of Nigeria started the Midwives Service Scheme in 2009 to address the scarcity of skilled health workers in rural communities by temporarily redistributing midwives from urban to rural communities. The scheme was designed as a collaboration among federal, state and local governments. Six years on, this study examines the contextual factors that account for the differences in performance of the scheme in Benue and Kogi, two contiguous states in central Nigeria. We obtained qualitative data through 14 in-depth interviews and 2 focus group discussions: 14 government officials at the federal, state and local government levels were interviewed to explore their perceptions on the design, implementation and sustainability of the Midwives Service Scheme. In addition, mothers in rural communities participated in 2 focus group discussions (one in each state) to elicit their views on Midwives Service Scheme services. The qualitative data were analysed for themes. The inability of the federal government to substantially influence the health care agenda of sub-national governments was a significant impediment to the achievement of the objectives of the Midwives Service Scheme. Participants identified differences in government prioritisation of primary health care between Benue and Kogi as relevant to maternal and child health outcomes in those states: Kogi was far more supportive of the Midwives Service Scheme and primary health care more broadly. High user fees in Benue was a significant barrier to the uptake of available maternal and child health services. Differential levels of political support and prioritisation, alongside financial barriers, contribute substantially to the uptake of maternal and child health services. For collaborative health sector strategies to gain sufficient traction, where federating units determine their health care priorities, they must be accompanied by strong and enforceable commitment by sub-national governments.

Factors affecting access to healthcare services by intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Hannah, Chona T; Lê, Quynh

2012-10-01

Access to health care services is vital for every migrant's health and wellbeing. However, migrants' cultural health beliefs and views can hinder their ability to access available services. This study examined factors affecting access to healthcare services for intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania, Australia. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews was employed to investigate the factors affecting access to healthcare services for 30 intermarried Filipino women in rural Tasmania. The study used grounded theory and thematic analysis for its data analysis. Nvivo v8 (www.qsrinternational.com) was also used to assist the data coding process and analysis. Five influencing factors were identified: (1) language or communication barriers; (2) area of origin in the Philippines; (3) cultural barriers; (4) length of stay in Tasmania; and (5) expectations of healthcare services before and after migration. Factors affecting intermarried Filipino women in accessing healthcare services are shaped by their socio-demographic and cultural background. The insights gained from this study are useful to health policy-makers, healthcare professionals and to intermarried female migrants. The factors identified can serve as a guide to improve healthcare access for Filipino women and other migrants.

A qualitative description of service providers' experiences of ethical issues in HIV care.

PubMed

Sabone, Motshedisi B; Mogobe, Keitshokile Dintle; Matshediso, Ellah; Shaibu, Sheila; Ntsayagae, Esther I; Corless, Inge B; Cuca, Yvette P; Holzemer, William L; Dawson-Rose, Carol; Baez, Solymar S Soliz; Rivero-Mendz, Marta; Webel, Allison R; Eller, Lucille Sanzero; Reid, Paula; Johnson, Mallory O; Kemppainen, Jeanne; Reyes, Darcel; Nokes, Kathleen; Wantland, Dean; Nicholas, Patrice K; Lingren, Teri; Portillo, Carmen J; Sefcik, Elizabeth; Long-Middleton, Ellen

2018-01-01

Managing HIV treatment is a complex multi-dimensional task because of a combination of factors such as stigma and discrimination of some populations who frequently get infected with HIV. In addition, patient-provider encounters have become increasingly multicultural, making effective communication and provision of ethically sound care a challenge. This article explores ethical issues that health service providers in the United States and Botswana encountered in their interaction with patients in HIV care. A descriptive qualitative design was used to collect data from health service providers and patients using focused group discussions. This article is based on responses from health service providers only. Participants and context: This article is based on 11 focused group discussions with a total sample of 71 service providers in seven US sites and one Botswana site. Ethical considerations: Ethical review boards at all the study sites reviewed the study protocol and approved it. Ethical review boards of the study's coordinating centers, Rutgers University and the University of California at San Francisco, also approved it. The study participants provided a written informed consent to participate. HIV service providers encountered ethical challenges in all the four Beauchamp and Childress' biomedical ethics of respect for patients' autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence. The finding that HIV service providers encounter ethical challenges in their interaction with patients is supported by prior studies. The ethical challenges are particularly prominent in multicultural care and resource-constrained care environments. Provision of HIV care is fraught with ethical challenges that tend to pose different issues depending on a given care environment. It is important that strong partnerships are developed among key stakeholders in HIV care. In addition, health service providers need to be provided with resources so they can provide quality and ethically sound

Structure-activity relationships in cytotoxic Au(I)/Au(III) complexes derived from 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazole.

PubMed

Maiore, Laura; Aragoni, Maria Carla; Deiana, Carlo; Cinellu, Maria Agostina; Isaia, Francesco; Lippolis, Vito; Pintus, Anna; Serratrice, Maria; Arca, Massimiliano

2014-04-21

Gold(I) and gold(III) complexes derived from 2-(2'-pyridyl)benzimidazole (pbiH) were proven to be a promising class of in vitro antitumor agents against A2780 human ovarian cancer cells. In this paper, a comparative electrochemical, UV-vis absorption, and emission spectroscopic investigation is reported on pbiH, the two mononuclear Au(III) complexes [(pbi)AuX2] (X = Cl (1), AcO (2)), the four mononuclear Au(I) derivatives [(pbiH)AuCl] (3), [(pbiH)Au(PPh3)]PF6 ((4(+))(PF6(-))), [(pbi)Au(PPh3)] (5), and [(pbi)Au(TPA)] (6), the three mixed-valence Au(III)/Au(I) complexes [(μ-pbi)Au2Cl3] (7), [(Ph3P)Au(μ-pbi)AuX2]PF6 (X = Cl ((8(+))(PF6(-))), AcO ((9(+))(PF6(-)))), and the binuclear Au(I)-Au(I) compound [(μ-pbi)Au2(PPh3)2]PF6 ((10(+))(PF6(-))). All complexes feature irreversible reduction processes related to the Au(III)/Au(I) or Au(I)/Au(0) processes and peculiar luminescent emission at about 360-370 nm in CH2Cl2, with quantum yields that are remarkably lower ((0.7-14.5) × 10(-2)) in comparison to that determined for the free pbiH ligand (31.5 × 10(-2)) in the same solvent. The spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of all complexes were interpreted on the grounds of time-dependent PBE0/DFT calculations carried out both in the gas phase and in CH2Cl2 implicitly considered within the IEF-PCM SCRF approach. The electronic structure of the complexes, and in particular the energy and composition of the Kohn-Sham LUMOs, can be related to the antiproliferative properties against the A2780 ovarian carcinoma cell line, providing sound quantitative structure-activity relationships and shedding a light on the role played by the global charge and nature of ancillary ligands in the effectiveness of Au-based antitumor drugs.

Perspectives on medicine adherence in service users and carers with experience of legally sanctioned detention and medication: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Gault, Iris; Gallagher, Ann; Chambers, Mary

2013-01-01

To explore and analyze perceptions of service users and caregivers on adherence and nonadherence to medication in a mental health care context. Mental health medication adherence is considered problematic and legal coercion exists in many countries. This was a qualitative study aiming to explore perceptions of medication adherence from the perspective of the service user (and their caregiver, where possible). Eighteen mental health service users (and six caregivers) with histories of medication nonadherence and repeated compulsory admission were recruited from voluntary sector support groups in England. Data were collected between 2008 and 2010. Using qualitative coding techniques, the study analyzed interview and focus group data from service users, previously subjected to compulsory medication under mental health law, or their caregivers. The process of medication adherence or nonadherence is encapsulated in an explanatory narrative. This narrative constitutes participants' struggle to negotiate acceptable and effective routes through variable quality of care. Results indicated that service users and caregivers eventually accepted the reality of their own mental illness and their need for safety and treatment. They perceived the behavior of professionals as key in their recovery process. Professionals could be enabling or disabling with regard to adherence to medication. This study investigated service user and caregiver perceptions of medication adherence and compulsory treatment. Participants described a process perceived as variable and potentially doubly faceted. The behavior of professionals was seen as crucial in collaborative decision making on medication adherence.

The importance of service-users' perspectives: A systematic review of qualitative evidence reveals overlooked critical features of weight management programmes.

PubMed

Sutcliffe, Katy; Melendez-Torres, G J; Burchett, Helen E D; Richardson, Michelle; Rees, Rebecca; Thomas, James

2018-03-14

Extensive research effort shows that weight management programmes (WMPs) targeting both diet and exercise are broadly effective. However, the critical features of WMPs remain unclear. To develop a deeper understanding of WMPs critical features, we undertook a systematic review of qualitative evidence. We sought to understand from a service-user perspective how programmes are experienced, and may be effective, on the ground. We identified qualitative studies from existing reviews and updated the searches of one review. We included UK studies capturing the views of adult WMP users. Thematic analysis was used inductively to code and synthesize the evidence. Service users were emphatic that supportive relationships, with service providers or WMP peers, are the most critical aspect of WMPs. Supportive relationships were described as providing an extrinsic motivator or "hook" which helped to overcome barriers such as scepticism about dietary advice or a lack confidence to engage in physical activity. The evidence revealed that service-users' understandings of the critical features of WMPs differ from the focus of health promotion guidance or descriptions of evaluated programmes which largely emphasize educational or goal setting aspects of WMPs. Existing programme guidance may not therefore fully address the needs of service users. The study illustrates that the perspectives of service users can reveal unanticipated intervention mechanisms or underemphasized critical features and underscores the value of a holistic understanding about "what happens" in complex psychosocial interventions such as WMPs. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forward neutral pion production in p + p and d + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV.

PubMed

Adams, J; Aggarwal, M M; Ahammed, Z; Amonett, J; Anderson, B D; Arkhipkin, D; Averichev, G S; Badyal, S K; Bai, Y; Balewski, J; Barannikova, O; Barnby, L S; Baudot, J; Bekele, S; Belaga, V V; Bellingeri-Laurikainen, A; Bellwied, R; Berger, J; Bezverkhny, B I; Bharadwaj, S; Bhasin, A; Bhati, A K; Bhatia, V S; Bichsel, H; Bielcik, J; Bielcikova, J; Billmeier, A; Bland, L C; Blyth, C O; Blyth, S-L; Bonner, B E; Botje, M; Boucham, A; Bouchet, J; Brandin, A V; Bravar, A; Bystersky, M; Cadman, R V; Cai, X Z; Caines, H; Sánchez, M Calderón de la Barca; Catu, O; Cebra, D; Chajecki, Z; Chaloupka, P; Chattopadhyay, S; Chen, H F; Chen, J H; Chen, Y; Cheng, J; Cherney, M; Chikanian, A; Choi, H A; Christie, W; Coffin, J P; Cormier, T M; Cosentino, M R; Cramer, J G; Crawford, H J; Das, D; Das, S; Daugherity, M; de Moura, M M; Dedovich, T G; Dephillips, M; Derevschikov, A A; Didenko, L; Dietel, T; Dogra, S M; Dong, W J; Dong, X; Draper, J E; Du, F; Dubey, A K; Dunin, V B; Dunlop, J C; Mazumdar, M R Dutta; Eckardt, V; Edwards, W R; Efimov, L G; Emelianov, V; Engelage, J; Eppley, G; Erazmus, B; Estienne, M; Fachini, P; Faivre, J; Fatemi, R; Fedorisin, J; Filimonov, K; Filip, P; Finch, E; Fine, V; Fisyak, Y; Fornazier, K S F; Fox, B D; Fu, J; Gagliardi, C A; Gaillard, L; Gans, J; Ganti, M S; Geurts, F; Ghazikhanian, V; Ghosh, P; Gonzalez, J E; Gorbunov, Y G; Gos, H; Grachov, O; Grebenyuk, O; Grosnick, D; Guertin, S M; Guo, Y; Gupta, A; Gupta, N; Gutierrez, T D; Hallman, T J; Hamed, A; Harris, J W; Heinz, M; Henry, T W; Hepplemann, S; Hippolyte, B; Hirsch, A; Hjort, E; Hoffmann, G W; Horner, M J; Huang, H Z; Huang, S L; Hughes, E W; Humanic, T J; Igo, G; Ishihara, A; Jacobs, P; Jacobs, W W; Jiang, H; Jones, P G; Judd, E G; Kabana, S; Kang, K; Kaplan, M; Keane, D; Kechechyan, A; Khodyrev, V Yu; Kim, B C; Kiryluk, J; Kisiel, A; Kislov, E M; Klein, S R; Koetke, D D; Kollegger, T; Kopytine, M; Kotchenda, L; Kowalik, K L; Kramer, M; Kravtsov, P; Kravtsov, V I; Krueger, K; Kuhn, C; Kulikov, A I; Kumar, A; Kutuev, R Kh; Kuznetsov, A A; Lamb, R; Lamont, M A C; Landgraf, J M; Lange, S; Laue, F; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lednicky, R; Lee, C-H; Lehocka, S; Levine, M J; Li, C; Li, Q; Li, Y; Lin, G; Lindenbaum, S J; Lisa, M A; Liu, F; Liu, H; Liu, J; Liu, L; Liu, Q J; Liu, Z; Ljubicic, T; Llope, W J; Long, H; Longacre, R S; Lopez-Noriega, M; Love, W A; Lu, Y; Ludlam, T; Lynn, D; Ma, G L; Ma, J G; Ma, Y G; Magestro, D; Mahajan, S; Mahapatra, D P; Majka, R; Mangotra, L K; Manweiler, R; Margetis, S; Markert, C; Martin, L; Marx, J N; Matis, H S; Matulenko, Yu A; McClain, C J; McShane, T S; Melnick, Yu; Meschanin, A; Miller, M L; Minaev, N G; Mironov, C; Mischke, A; Mishra, D K; Mitchell, J; Mioduszewski, S; Mohanty, B; Molnar, L; Moore, C F; Morozov, D A; Munhoz, M G; Nandi, B K; Nayak, S K; Nayak, T K; Nelson, J M; Netrakanti, P K; Nikitin, V A; Nogach, L V; Nurushev, S B; Odyniec, G; Ogawa, A; Okorokov, V; Oldenburg, M; Olson, D; Pal, S K; Panebratsev, Y; Panitkin, S Y; Pavlinov, A I; Pawlak, T; Peitzmann, T; Perevoztchikov, V; Perkins, C; Peryt, W; Petrov, V A; Phatak, S C; Picha, R; Planinic, M; Pluta, J; Porile, N; Porter, J; Poskanzer, A M; Potekhin, M; Potrebenikova, E; Potukuchi, B V K S; Prindle, D; Pruneau, C; Putschke, J; Rakness, G; Raniwala, R; Raniwala, S; Ravel, O; Ray, R L; Razin, S V; Reichhold, D; Reid, J G; Reinnarth, J; Renault, G; Retiere, F; Ridiger, A; Ritter, H G; Roberts, J B; Rogachevskiy, O V; Romero, J L; Rose, A; Roy, C; Ruan, L; Russcher, M J; Sahoo, R; Sakrejda, I; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Sarsour, M; Savin, I; Sazhin, P S; Schambach, J; Scharenberg, R P; Schmitz, N; Schweda, K; Seger, J; Selyuzhenkov, I; Seyboth, P; Shabetai, A; Shahaliev, E; Shao, M; Shao, W; Sharma, M; Shen, W Q; Shestermanov, K E; Shimanskiy, S S; Sichtermann, E; Simon, F; Singaraju, R N; Smirnov, N; Snellings, R; Sood, G; Sorensen, P; Sowinski, J; Speltz, J; Spinka, H M; Srivastava, B; Stadnik, A; Stanislaus, T D S; Stock, R; Stolpovsky, A; Strikhanov, M; Stringfellow, B; Suaide, A A P; Sugarbaker, E; Sumbera, M; Surrow, B; Swanger, M; Symons, T J M; de Toledo, A Szanto; Tai, A; Takahashi, J; Tang, A H; Tarnowsky, T; Thein, D; Thomas, J H; Timmins, A R; Timoshenko, S; Tokarev, M; Trainor, T A; Trentalange, S; Tribble, R E; Tsai, O D; Ulery, J; Ullrich, T; Underwood, D G; Buren, G Van; van der Kolk, N; van Leeuwen, M; Molen, A M Vander; Varma, R; Vasilevski, I M; Vasiliev, A N; Vernet, R; Vigdor, S E; Viyogi, Y P; Vokal, S; Voloshin, S A; Waggoner, W T; Wang, F; Wang, G; Wang, G; Wang, X L; Wang, Y; Wang, Y; Wang, Z M; Ward, H; Watson, J W; Webb, J C; Westfall, G D; Wetzler, A; Whitten, C; Wieman, H; Wissink, S W; Witt, R; Wood, J; Wu, J; Xu, N; Xu, Q H; Xu, Z; Xu, Z Z; Yepes, P; Yoo, I-K; Yurevich, V I; Zborovsky, I; Zhang, H; Zhang, W M; Zhang, Y; Zhang, Z P; Zhong, C; Zoulkarneev, R; Zoulkarneeva, Y; Zubarev, A N; Zuo, J X

2006-10-13

Measurements of the production of forward pi0 mesons from p + p and d + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV are reported. The p + p yield generally agrees with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The d + Au yield per binary collision is suppressed as eta increases, decreasing to approximately 30% of the p + p yield at eta =4.00, well below shadowing expectations. Exploratory measurements of azimuthal correlations of the forward pi0 with charged hadrons at eta approximately 0 show a recoil peak in p + p that is suppressed in d + Au at low pion energy. These observations are qualitatively consistent with a saturation picture of the low-x gluon structure of heavy nuclei.

Charged hadron transverse momentum distributions in Au+Au collisions at S=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roland, Christof; PHOBOS Collaboration; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Ballintijn, M.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stodulski, M.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2003-03-01

We present transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The evolution of the spectra for transverse momenta p_T from 0.25 to 5GeV/c is studied as a function of collision centrality over a range from 65 to 344 participating nucleons. We find a significant change of the spectral shape between proton-antiproton and peripheral Au+Au collisions. Comparing peripheral to central Au+Au collisions, we find that the yields at the highest p_T exhibit approximate scaling with the number of participating nucleons, rather than scaling with the number of binary collisions.

Telephone-delivered problem-solving training after mild traumatic brain injury: Qualitative analysis of service members' perceptions.

PubMed

Brockway, Jo Ann; St De Lore, Jef; Fann, Jesse R; Hart, Tessa; Hurst, Samantha; Fey-Hinckley, Sara; Savage, Jocelyn; Warren, Michael; Bell, Kathleen R

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the specific reasons for service members' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with problem-solving training (PST), telephone delivery, and other aspects of a telephone-delivered PST intervention in order to determine what might enhance this approach for future clinical use. Standard qualitative methods were employed, using a "process" coding strategy to explore the conceptual perceptions of the intervention experience as suggested by the data recorded from final telephone interviews of 80 service members who participated in a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of telephone-delivered PST after having sustained concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries during recent (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Corrigendum to “Suppression of Υ production in d+Au and Au+Au collisions at √ SNN = 200 GeV" [Phys. Lett. B 735 (2014) 127-137

DOE PAGES

Adamczyk, L.

2015-04-01

We report measurements of Υ meson production in p + p, d + Au, and Au+Au collisions using the STAR detector at RHIC. We compare the Υ yield to the measured cross section in p + p collisions in order to quantify any modifications of the yield in cold nuclear matter using d + Au data and in hot nuclear matter using Au+Au data separated into three centrality classes. Our p + p measurement is based on three times the statistics of our previous result. We obtain a nuclear modification factor for Upsilon (1S + 2S + 3S) in themore » rapidity range |y| < 1 in d + Au collisions of R dAu = 0.79 ± 0.24(stat.) ± 0.03(syst.) ± 0.10(p + p syst.). A comparison with models including shadowing and initial state parton energy loss indicates the presence of additional cold-nuclear matter suppression. Similarly, in the top 10% most-central Au + Au collisions, we measure a nuclear modification factor of R AA = 0.49 ±0.1(stat.) ±0.02(syst.) ±0.06(p + p syst.), which is a larger suppression factor than that seen in cold nuclear matter. Our results are consistent with complete suppression of excited-state Upsilon mesons in Au + Au collisions. The additional suppression in Au + Au is consistent with the level expected in model calculations that include the presence of a hot, deconfined Quark–Gluon Plasma. However, understanding the suppression seen in d + Au is still needed before any definitive statements about the nature of the suppression in Au + Au can be made.« less

Corrigendum to “Suppression of Υ production in d+Au and Au+Au collisions at √ SNN = 200 GeV" [Phys. Lett. B 735 (2014) 127-137

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adamczyk, L.

We report measurements of Υ meson production in p + p, d + Au, and Au+Au collisions using the STAR detector at RHIC. We compare the Υ yield to the measured cross section in p + p collisions in order to quantify any modifications of the yield in cold nuclear matter using d + Au data and in hot nuclear matter using Au+Au data separated into three centrality classes. Our p + p measurement is based on three times the statistics of our previous result. We obtain a nuclear modification factor for Upsilon (1S + 2S + 3S) in themore » rapidity range |y| < 1 in d + Au collisions of R dAu = 0.79 ± 0.24(stat.) ± 0.03(syst.) ± 0.10(p + p syst.). A comparison with models including shadowing and initial state parton energy loss indicates the presence of additional cold-nuclear matter suppression. Similarly, in the top 10% most-central Au + Au collisions, we measure a nuclear modification factor of R AA = 0.49 ±0.1(stat.) ±0.02(syst.) ±0.06(p + p syst.), which is a larger suppression factor than that seen in cold nuclear matter. Our results are consistent with complete suppression of excited-state Upsilon mesons in Au + Au collisions. The additional suppression in Au + Au is consistent with the level expected in model calculations that include the presence of a hot, deconfined Quark–Gluon Plasma. However, understanding the suppression seen in d + Au is still needed before any definitive statements about the nature of the suppression in Au + Au can be made.« less

Magnetic Hysteresis in Nanocomposite Films Consisting of a Ferromagnetic AuCo Alloy and Ultrafine Co Particles

PubMed Central

Chinni, Federico; Spizzo, Federico; Montoncello, Federico; Mattarello, Valentina; Maurizio, Chiara; Mattei, Giovanni; Del Bianco, Lucia

2017-01-01

One fundamental requirement in the search for novel magnetic materials is the possibility of predicting and controlling their magnetic anisotropy and hence the overall hysteretic behavior. We have studied the magnetism of Au:Co films (~30 nm thick) with concentration ratios of 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2, grown by magnetron sputtering co-deposition on natively oxidized Si substrates. They consist of a AuCo ferromagnetic alloy in which segregated ultrafine Co particles are dispersed (the fractions of Co in the AuCo alloy and of segregated Co increase with decreasing the Au:Co ratio). We have observed an unexpected hysteretic behavior characterized by in-plane anisotropy and crossed branches in the loops measured along the hard magnetization direction. To elucidate this phenomenon, micromagnetic calculations have been performed for a simplified system composed of two exchange-coupled phases: a AuCo matrix surrounding a Co cluster, which represents an aggregate of particles. The hysteretic features are qualitatively well reproduced provided that the two phases have almost orthogonal anisotropy axes. This requirement can be plausibly fulfilled assuming a dominant magnetoelastic character of the anisotropy in both phases. The achieved conclusions expand the fundamental knowledge on nanocomposite magnetic materials, offering general guidelines for tuning the hysteretic properties of future engineered systems. PMID:28773075

Diphosphine-protected ultrasmall gold nanoclusters: opened icosahedral Au 13 and heart-shaped Au 8 clusters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Shan-Shan; Feng, Lei; Senanayake, Ravithree D.

Two ultrasmall gold clusters, Au 13 and Au 8 , were identified as a distorted I h icosahedral Au 13 and edge-shared “core + 4 exo ” structure Au 8 S 2 cores, respectively. They showed interesting luminescence and electrochemical properties.

Diphosphine-protected ultrasmall gold nanoclusters: opened icosahedral Au 13 and heart-shaped Au 8 clusters

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Shan-Shan; Feng, Lei; Senanayake, Ravithree D.; ...

2018-01-01

Two ultrasmall gold clusters, Au 13 and Au 8 , were identified as a distorted I h icosahedral Au 13 and edge-shared “core + 4 exo ” structure Au 8 S 2 cores, respectively. They showed interesting luminescence and electrochemical properties.

An attempt for empowering education: A qualitative study of in-service training of nursing personnel

PubMed Central

Chaghari, Mahmood; Ebadi, Abbas; Ameryoun, Ahmad; Safari, Mohsen

2016-01-01

Background: In-service training of nursing personnel has a significant role in increasing the empowerment of nurses and promotion of the quality of health services. The objective of this study is to identify and explain the process of in-service training of nursing personnel in the hospitals affiliated with Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. Materials and Methods: The present study employed a qualitative approach using Corbin and Strauss method (2008) in 2015, and examined the viewpoints and experiences of 35 nurses, nurse managers, and educational managers with the in-service education of nursing staffs. According to this method, comparisons, asking questions, flip-flop technique, depicting personal experiences, and raising red flag were used for data analysis. Results: In this study, five major themes including unsuccessful mandatory education, empowering education, organizational challenges, weakness in the educational management, and educational-job resiliency were derived from the results. Unsuccessful mandatory education was the main concern of participants and empowering education was the core category derived from this study. Conclusions: Empowering education emphasizes the practice-oriented and self-directed training. It is an applied education, is participation-oriented, facilitates job functions, and is based on exploration. PMID:27904634

An attempt for empowering education: A qualitative study of in-service training of nursing personnel.

PubMed

Chaghari, Mahmood; Ebadi, Abbas; Ameryoun, Ahmad; Safari, Mohsen

2016-01-01

In-service training of nursing personnel has a significant role in increasing the empowerment of nurses and promotion of the quality of health services. The objective of this study is to identify and explain the process of in-service training of nursing personnel in the hospitals affiliated with Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. The present study employed a qualitative approach using Corbin and Strauss method (2008) in 2015, and examined the viewpoints and experiences of 35 nurses, nurse managers, and educational managers with the in-service education of nursing staffs. According to this method, comparisons, asking questions, flip-flop technique, depicting personal experiences, and raising red flag were used for data analysis. In this study, five major themes including unsuccessful mandatory education, empowering education, organizational challenges, weakness in the educational management, and educational-job resiliency were derived from the results. Unsuccessful mandatory education was the main concern of participants and empowering education was the core category derived from this study. Empowering education emphasizes the practice-oriented and self-directed training. It is an applied education, is participation-oriented, facilitates job functions, and is based on exploration.

Identified particle distributions in pp and Au+Au collisions atsqrt sNN=200 GeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, J.; Adler, C.; Aggarwal, M.M.

2003-10-06

Transverse mass and rapidity distributions for charged pions, charged kaons, protons and antiprotons are reported for {radical}sNN = 200 GeV pp and Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The transverse mass distributions are rapidity independent within |y| < 0.5, consistent with a boost-invariant system in this rapidity interval. Spectral shapes and relative particle yields are similar in pp and peripheral Au+Au collisions and change smoothly to central Au+Au collisions. No centrality dependence was observed in the kaon and antiproton production rates relative to the pion production rate from medium-central to central collisions. Chemical and kinetic equilibrium model fits to our data revealmore » strong radial flow and relatively long duration from chemical to kinetic freeze-out in central Au+Au collisions. The chemical freeze-out temperature appears to be independent of initial conditions at RHIC energies.« less

Long-Term Outcomes of Services for Two Persons with Significant Disabilities with Differing Educational Experiences: A Qualitative Consideration of the Impact of Educational Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryndak, Diane Lea; Ward, Terri; Alper, Sandra; Montgomery, Jennifer Wilson; Storch, Jill F.

2010-01-01

Though research exists related to effective services in inclusive general education settings for students with significant disabilities, there are no longitudinal investigations of adult outcomes for persons with significant disabilities who received services in inclusive general education settings. This study uses qualitative methods to describe…

Charged hadron transverse momentum distributions in Au+Au collisions at √ SNN = 200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Ballintijn, M.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stodulski, M.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.; van Nieuwenhuizen, Gerrit; PHOBOS Collaboration

2003-04-01

We present transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in Au+Au collisions at √ SNN = 200 GeV. The evolution of the spectra for transverse momenta p T from 0.25 to 5 GeV/C is studied as a function of collision centrality. We find a significant change of the spectral shape between proton-antiproton and peripheral Au+Au collisions. When comparing peripheral to central Au+Au collisions, we find that the yields at the highest p T exhibit approximate scaling with the number of participating nucleons, rather than scaling with the number of binary collisions.

Synthesis, structure, and bonding in K12Au21Sn4. A polar intermetallic compound with dense Au20 and open AuSn4 layers.

PubMed

Li, Bin; Kim, Sung-Jin; Miller, Gordon J; Corbett, John D

2009-12-07

The new phase K(12)Au(21)Sn(4) has been synthesized by direct reaction of the elements at elevated temperatures. Single crystal X-ray diffraction established its orthorhombic structure, space group Pmmn (No. 59), a = 12.162(2); b = 18.058(4); c = 8.657(2) A, V = 1901.3(7) A(3), and Z = 2. The structure consists of infinite puckered sheets of vertex-sharing gold tetrahedra (Au(20)) that are tied together by thin layers of alternating four-bonded-Sn and -Au atoms (AuSn(4)). Remarkably, the dense but electron-poorer blocks of Au tetrahedra coexist with more open and saturated Au-Sn layers, which are fragments of a zinc blende type structure that maximize tetrahedral heteroatomic bonding outside of the network of gold tetrahedra. LMTO band structure calculations reveal metallic properties and a pseudogap at 256 valence electrons per formula unit, only three electrons fewer than in the title compound and at a point at which strong Au-Sn bonding is optimized. Additionally, the tight coordination of the Au framework atoms by K plays an important bonding role: each Au tetrahedra has 10 K neighbors and each K atom has 8-12 Au contacts. The appreciably different role of the p element Sn in this structure from that in the triel members in K(3)Au(5)In and Rb(2)Au(3)Tl appears to arise from its higher electron count which leads to better p-bonding (valence electron concentrations = 1.32 versus 1.22).

Redesign and commissioning of sexual health services in England - a qualitative study.

PubMed

Walker, I F; Leigh-Hunt, N; Lee, A C K

2016-10-01

Responsibility for the commissioning of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services transferred from the National Health Service to local authorities in England in 2013. This transfer prompted many local authorities to undertake new procurements of these SRH services. This study was undertaken to capture some of the lessons learnt in order to inform future commissioning and system redesign. A qualitative study was carried out involving semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with 13 local authority sexual health commissioners in Yorkshire and the Humber from 11 interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from transcripts of the interviews with the 13 participants. Key themes identified were as follows: the challenge and complexity to those new to clinical commissioning; the prerequisites of robust infrastructural inputs to undertake the process, including technical expertise, a dependable project team, with clarity over the timescales and the budget; the requirement for good governance, stakeholder engagement and successful management of relationships with the latter; and the need to focus on the outcomes, aiming for value for money and improved system performance. Several key issues emerged from our study that significantly influenced the outcome of the redesign and commissioning process for sexual health services. An adapted model of the Donabedian evaluation framework was developed to provide a tool to inform future system redesign. Our model helps identify the key determinants for successful redesign in this context which is essential to both mitigate potential risks and maximize the likelihood of successful outcomes. Our model may have wider applications. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Voluntary community service in medical school: A qualitative study on student leaders' motivations, experiences, and outcomes.

PubMed

Loh, Alvona Zi Hui; Tan, Julia Shi Yu; Lee, Jeannette Jen-Mai; Koh, Gerald Choon-Huat

2016-07-01

Participation in community service within underprivileged communities among medical students is associated with numerous positive outcomes, such as promoting empathy, enhancing leadership qualities, and fostering civic and social responsibility. We conducted a qualitative study to understand the experiences, motivations and student-reported outcomes on personal growth, when medical students in a developed Asian country participate in local and overseas community services. We recruited medical students from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM), National University of Singapore, who were leaders of a community service project organized in medical school. Twelve one-to-one interviews were held for the participants from 6 to 8 January 2013. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed into free-flow text. Thematic analysis was performed independently by three researchers. Motivations to participate in community service include past-positive community service experience and present motivations such as compassion, self-discovery etc. Students reported higher empathy levels, improved communication, organization, decision-making, interpersonal, and leadership skills. The degree of influence on academic work and residency choice were varied. Community service in medical school enriches medical students by bringing about improved self-reported outcomes, leadership skills, and interpersonal skills. It has some bearing on residency choice and academic work.

Service provider perceptions of telerehabilitation as an additional service delivery option within an Australian neurosurgical and orthopaedic physiotherapy screening clinic: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Cottrell, Michelle A; Hill, Anne J; O'Leary, Shaun P; Raymer, Maree E; Russell, Trevor G

2017-12-01

The Neurosurgical & Orthopaedic Physiotherapy Screening Clinic and Multidisciplinary Service (N/OPSC&MDS) originated as a complementary, non-surgical pathway for patients referred to public neurosurgical and orthopaedic specialist services. Patient access to the N/OPSC&MDS could potentially be improved with the implementation of telerehabilitation as an additional method of service delivery. To evaluate service provider's views on (1) current barriers to patients' accessing N/OPSC & MD services, and (2) the implementation of telerehabilitation within the N/OPSC&MDS. Qualitative descriptive study design. Healthcare providers (n = 26) were recruited from six N/OPSC&MD services located throughout Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore service providers' views with respect to existing barriers to patients accessing the N/OPSC&MDS, and if telerehabilitation could be feasibly adopted to address current barriers. Template analysis resulted in six themes: (1) barriers to some patients' accessing current N/OPSC&MD services are complex & multifaceted; (2) telerehabilitation could improve patient access to appropriate management for their musculoskeletal condition; (3) telerehabilitation may have limitations when compared to face-to-face healthcare; (4) the delivery of telerehabilitation needs to be flexible; (5) perceived barriers, and (6) facilitators to the successful implementation of telerehabilitation within the N/OPSC&MDS. This study represents a critical step in determining the readiness of service providers for the implementation of telerehabilitation within the N/OPSC&MDS. Although cautious, service providers are overall accepting of the implementation of telerehabilitation, acknowledging that it could eliminate several current barriers, subsequently achieving more equitable access to the service. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidence from d+Au measurements for final-state suppression of high-p(T) hadrons in Au+Au collisions at RHIC.

PubMed

Adams, J; Adler, C; Aggarwal, M M; Ahammed, Z; Amonett, J; Anderson, B D; Anderson, M; Arkhipkin, D; Averichev, G S; Badyal, S K; Balewski, J; Barannikova, O; Barnby, L S; Baudot, J; Bekele, S; Belaga, V V; Bellwied, R; Berger, J; Bezverkhny, B I; Bhardwaj, S; Bhaskar, P; Bhati, A K; Bichsel, H; Billmeier, A; Bland, L C; Blyth, C O; Bonner, B E; Botje, M; Boucham, A; Brandin, A; Bravar, A; Cadman, R V; Cai, X Z; Caines, H; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M; Carroll, J; Castillo, J; Castro, M; Cebra, D; Chaloupka, P; Chattopadhyay, S; Chen, H F; Chen, Y; Chernenko, S P; Cherney, M; Chikanian, A; Choi, B; Christie, W; Coffin, J P; Cormier, T M; Cramer, J G; Crawford, H J; Das, D; Das, S; Derevschikov, A A; Didenko, L; Dietel, T; Dong, X; Draper, J E; Du, F; Dubey, A K; Dunin, V B; Dunlop, J C; Dutta Majumdar, M R; Eckardt, V; Efimov, L G; Emelianov, V; Engelage, J; Eppley, G; Erazmus, B; Fachini, P; Faine, V; Faivre, J; Fatemi, R; Filimonov, K; Filip, P; Finch, E; Fisyak, Y; Flierl, D; Foley, K J; Fu, J; Gagliardi, C A; Ganti, M S; Gagunashvili, N; Gans, J; Gaudichet, L; Germain, M; Geurts, F; Ghazikhanian, V; Ghosh, P; Gonzalez, J E; Grachov, O; Grigoriev, V; Gronstal, S; Grosnick, D; Guedon, M; Guertin, S M; Gupta, A; Gushin, E; Gutierrez, T D; Hallman, T J; Hardtke, D; Harris, J W; Heinz, M; Henry, T W; Heppelmann, S; Herston, T; Hippolyte, B; Hirsch, A; Hjort, E; Hoffmann, G W; Horsley, M; Huang, H Z; Huang, S L; Humanic, T J; Igo, G; Ishihara, A; Jacobs, P; Jacobs, W W; Janik, M; Johnson, I; Jones, P G; Judd, E G; Kabana, S; Kaneta, M; Kaplan, M; Keane, D; Kiryluk, J; Kisiel, A; Klay, J; Klein, S R; Klyachko, A; Koetke, D D; Kollegger, T; Konstantinov, A S; Kopytine, M; Kotchenda, L; Kovalenko, A D; Kramer, M; Kravtsov, P; Krueger, K; Kuhn, C; Kulikov, A I; Kumar, A; Kunde, G J; Kunz, C L; Kutuev, R Kh; Kuznetsov, A A; Lamont, M A C; Landgraf, J M; Lange, S; Lansdell, C P; Lasiuk, B; Laue, F; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lednický, R; Leontiev, V M; LeVine, M J; Li, C; Li, Q; Lindenbaum, S J; Lisa, M A; Liu, F; Liu, L; Liu, Z; Liu, Q J; Ljubicic, T; Llope, W J; Long, H; Longacre, R S; Lopez-Noriega, M; Love, W A; Ludlam, T; Lynn, D; Ma, J; Ma, Y G; Magestro, D; Mahajan, S; Mangotra, L K; Mahapatra, D P; Majka, R; Manweiler, R; Margetis, S; Markert, C; Martin, L; Marx, J; Matis, H S; Matulenko, Yu A; McShane, T S; Meissner, F; Melnick, Yu; Meschanin, A; Messer, M; Miller, M L; Milosevich, Z; Minaev, N G; Mironov, C; Mishra, D; Mitchell, J; Mohanty, B; Molnar, L; Moore, C F; Mora-Corral, M J; Morozov, V; de Moura, M M; Munhoz, M G; Nandi, B K; Nayak, S K; Nayak, T K; Nelson, J M; Nevski, P; Nikitin, V A; Nogach, L V; Norman, B; Nurushev, S B; Odyniec, G; Ogawa, A; Okorokov, V; Oldenburg, M; Olson, D; Paic, G; Pandey, S U; Pal, S K; Panebratsev, Y; Panitkin, S Y; Pavlinov, A I; Pawlak, T; Perevoztchikov, V; Peryt, W; Petrov, V A; Phatak, S C; Picha, R; Planinic, M; Pluta, J; Porile, N; Porter, J; Poskanzer, A M; Potekhin, M; Potrebenikova, E; Potukuchi, B V K S; Prindle, D; Pruneau, C; Putschke, J; Rai, G; Rakness, G; Raniwala, R; Raniwala, S; Ravel, O; Ray, R L; Razin, S V; Reichhold, D; Reid, J G; Renault, G; Retiere, F; Ridiger, A; Ritter, H G; Roberts, J B; Rogachevski, O V; Romero, J L; Rose, A; Roy, C; Ruan, L J; Rykov, V; Sahoo, R; Sakrejda, I; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Savin, I; Schambach, J; Scharenberg, R P; Schmitz, N; Schroeder, L S; Schweda, K; Seger, J; Seliverstov, D; Seyboth, P; Shahaliev, E; Shao, M; Sharma, M; Shestermanov, K E; Shimanskii, S S; Singaraju, R N; Simon, F; Skoro, G; Smirnov, N; Snellings, R; Sood, G; Sorensen, P; Sowinski, J; Spinka, H M; Srivastava, B; Stanislaus, S; Stock, R; Stolpovsky, A; Strikhanov, M; Stringfellow, B; Struck, C; Suaide, A A P; Sugarbaker, E; Suire, C; Sumbera, M; Surrow, B; Symons, T J M; Szanto de Toledo, A; Szarwas, P; Tai, A; Takahashi, J; Tang, A H; Thein, D; Thomas, J H; Tikhomirov, V; Tokarev, M; Tonjes, M B; Trainor, T A; Trentalange, S; Tribble, R E; Trivedi, M D; Trofimov, V; Tsai, O; Ullrich, T; Underwood, D G; Van Buren, G; VanderMolen, A M; Vasiliev, A N; Vasiliev, M; Vigdor, S E; Viyogi, Y P; Voloshin, S A; Waggoner, W; Wang, F; Wang, G; Wang, X L; Wang, Z M; Ward, H; Watson, J W; Wells, R; Westfall, G D; Whitten, C; Wieman, H; Willson, R; Wissink, S W; Witt, R; Wood, J; Wu, J; Xu, N; Xu, Z; Xu, Z Z; Yakutin, A E; Yamamoto, E; Yang, J; Yepes, P; Yurevich, V I; Zanevski, Y V; Zborovský, I; Zhang, H; Zhang, H Y; Zhang, W M; Zhang, Z P; Zołnierczuk, P A; Zoulkarneev, R; Zoulkarneeva, J; Zubarev, A N

2003-08-15

We report measurements of single-particle inclusive spectra and two-particle azimuthal distributions of charged hadrons at high transverse momentum (high p(T)) in minimum bias and central d+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The inclusive yield is enhanced in d+Au collisions relative to binary-scaled p+p collisions, while the two-particle azimuthal distributions are very similar to those observed in p+p collisions. These results demonstrate that the strong suppression of the inclusive yield and back-to-back correlations at high p(T) previously observed in central Au+Au collisions are due to final-state interactions with the dense medium generated in such collisions.

Is it time to abandon care planning in mental health services? A qualitative study exploring the views of professionals, service users and carers.

PubMed

Brooks, Helen L; Lovell, Karina; Bee, Penny; Sanders, Caroline; Rogers, Anne

2018-06-01

It has been established that mental health-care planning does not adequately respond to the needs of those accessing services. Understanding the reasons for this and identifying whose needs care plans serve requires an exploration of the perspectives of service users, carers and professionals within the wider organizational context. To explore the current operationalization of care planning and perceptions of its function within mental health services from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Participants included 21 mental health professionals, 29 service users and 4 carers from seven Mental Health Trusts in England. All participants had experience of care planning processes within secondary mental health-care services. Fifty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants and analysed utilizing a qualitative framework approach. Care plans and care planning were characterized by a failure to meet the complexity of mental health needs, and care planning processes were seen to prioritize organizational agendas and risk prevention which distanced care planning from the everyday lives of service users. Care planning is recognized, embedded and well established in the practices of mental health professionals and service users. However, it is considered too superficial and mainly irrelevant to users for managing mental health in their everyday lives. Those responsible for the planning and delivery of mental health services should consider ways to increase the relevance of care planning to the everyday lives of service users including separating risk from holistic needs assessment, using support aids and utilizing a peer workforce in this regard. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Flow in Au+Au collisions at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belt Tonjes, Marguerite; the PHOBOS Collaboration; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Wozniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2004-08-01

The study of flow can provide information on the initial state dynamics and the degree of equilibration attained in heavy-ion collisions. This contribution presents results for both elliptic and directed flow as determined from data recorded by the PHOBOS experiment in Au+Au runs at RHIC at \\sqrt{sNN} = 19.6, 130 and 200 GeV. The PHOBOS detector provides a unique coverage in pseudorapidity for measuring flow at RHIC. The systematic dependence of flow on pseudorapidity, transverse momentum, centrality and energy is discussed.

Flow in Au+Au collisions at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belt Tonjes, Marguerite; PHOBOS Collaboration; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Holynski, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Wozniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wyslouch, B.

2004-08-01

The study of flow can provide information on the initial state dynamics and the degree of equilibration attained in heavy-ion collisions. This contribution presents results for both elliptic and directed flow as determined from data recorded by the PHOBOS experiment in Au+Au runs at RHIC at \\sqrt{s_{{\\rm NN}}} = 19.6, 130 and 200 GeV. The PHOBOS detector provides a unique coverage in pseudorapidity for measuring flow at RHIC. The systematic dependence of flow on pseudorapidity, transverse momentum, centrality and energy is discussed.

Nanoporous Au structures by dealloying Au/Ag thermal- or laser-dewetted bilayers on surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruffino, F.; Torrisi, V.; Grillo, R.; Cacciato, G.; Zimbone, M.; Piccitto, G.; Grimaldi, M. G.

2017-03-01

Nanoporous Au attracts great technological interest and it is a promising candidate for optical and electrochemical sensors. In addition to nanoporous Au leafs and films, recently, interest was focused on nanoporous Au micro- and nano-structures on surfaces. In this work we report on the study of the characteristics of nanoporous Au structures produced on surfaces. We developed the following procedures to fabricate the nanoporous Au structures: we deposited thin Au/Ag bilayers on SiO2 or FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrates with thickness xAu and xAg of the Au and Ag layers; we induced the alloying and dewetting processes of the bilayers by furnace annealing processes of the bilayers deposited on SiO2 and by laser irradiations of the bilayers deposited on FTO; the alloying and dewetting processes result in the formation of AuxAgy alloy sub-micron particles being x and y tunable by xAu and xAg. These particles are dealloyed in HNO3 solution to remove the Ag atoms. We obtain, so, nanoporous sub-micron Au particles on the substrates. Analyzing the characteristics of these particles we find that: a) the size and shape of the particles depend on the nature of the dewetting process (solid-state dewetting on SiO2, molten-state dewetting on FTO); b) the porosity fraction of the particles depends on how the alloying process is reached: about 32% of porosity for the particles fabricated by the furnace annealing at 900 °C, about 45% of porosity for the particles fabricated by the laser irradiation at 0.5 J/cm2, in both cases independently on the Ag concentration in the alloy; c) After the dealloying process the mean volume of the Au particles shrinks of about 39%; d) After an annealing at 400 °C the nanoporous Au particles reprise their initial volume while the porosity fraction is reduced. Arguments to justify these behaviors are presented.

Efficacité de la gestion de vaccins et qualité de vaccination à l'antenne PEV Kisangani en République Démocratique du Congo

PubMed Central

Labama, Matthieu Betofe; Longembe, Eugène Basandja; Likwela, Joris Losimba

2017-01-01

Introduction La qualité des vaccins conditionne les résultats attendus de la vaccination. Elle est tributaire de l'efficacité de système de gestion technique et logistique mis en place. Cette étude est menée pour évaluer l'efficacité de la gestion des vaccins et d'en tirer des leçons. Méthodes Une étude rétrospective est menée pendant la période de 2010 à 2014 sur la gestion logistique de vaccins au niveau de l'antenne PEV Kisangani. La revue documentaire complétée par les entretiens semi-dirigés des gestionnaires et prestataires de services de vaccination ont permis d'évaluer la gestion de vaccins en se servant des modèle GEV de l'OMS, en vue de dégager les écarts. Résultats Il est observé une faible connaissance des prestataires sur les vaccins qui ne peuvent pas être congelés, sur les tests de congélation et d'autres dommages de vaccins. La gestion informatisée des données au niveau de l'antenne est correctement assurée. Aucun critère évalué n'a atteint l'objectif de 80%. Le respect de la température de stockage est de 70% au niveau de l'antenne ; le critère relatif à la gestion de vaccins est respectivement de 65% et 67% au niveau du BCZ et CS. Le critère relatif à la maintenance est nul à tous les niveaux. Conclusion Le dysfonctionnement de système logistique est remarquable à tous les niveaux de la pyramide sanitaire, ceci pourrait interférer avec la qualité et l'impact attendu de la vaccination. Une attention particulière doit être accordée à la maintenance des équipements. PMID:28748006

Gender-Related Barriers and Delays in Accessing Tuberculosis Diagnostic and Treatment Services: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

PubMed Central

Akande, Tokunbo; Shankar, Anita V.; McIntire, Katherine N.; Gounder, Celine R.; Gupta, Amita; Yang, Wei-Teng

2014-01-01

Background. Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global public health problem with known gender-related (male versus female) disparities. We reviewed the qualitative evidence (written/spoken narrative) for gender-related differences limiting TB service access from symptom onset to treatment initiation. Methods. Following a systematic process, we searched 12 electronic databases, included qualitative studies that assessed gender differences in accessing TB diagnostic and treatment services, abstracted data, and assessed study validity. Using a modified “inductive coding” system, we synthesized emergent themes within defined barriers and delays limiting access at the individual and provider/system levels and examined gender-related differences. Results. Among 13,448 studies, 28 studies were included. All were conducted in developing countries and assessed individual-level barriers; 11 (39%) assessed provider/system-level barriers, 18 (64%) surveyed persons with suspected or diagnosed TB, and 7 (25%) exclusively surveyed randomly sampled community members or health care workers. Each barrier affected both genders but had gender-variable nature and impact reflecting sociodemographic themes. Women experienced financial and physical dependence, lower general literacy, and household stigma, whereas men faced work-related financial and physical barriers and community-based stigma. Conclusions. In developing countries, barriers limiting access to TB care have context-specific gender-related differences that can inform integrated interventions to optimize TB services. PMID:24900921

STM imaging ortho- and para-fluorothiophenol self-assembled monolayers on Au(111).

PubMed

Jiang, Peng; Deng, Ke; Fichou, Denis; Xie, Si-Shen; Nion, Aymeric; Wang, Chen

2009-05-05

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of para- and ortho-fluorothiophenol (p- and o-FTP) spontaneously formed on Au(111) substrate have been contrasted through investigation by a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at room temperature. High-resolution STM imaging reveals that p-FTP adopts a 6 x radical3R30 degrees molecule arrangement containing six molecules. Two different kinds of p-FTP molecule dimer line structures have been formed on Au(111) by intermolecular pi-pi stacking along 112 substrate directions, besides a single p-FTP molecule line. In contrast, o-FTP molecules self-assemble into a much looser wave-like SAM, which can be described as a 5 x 3 radical3R30 degrees structure containing two molecules. Periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations for the two systems suggest that these kinds of FTP molecules preferentially take the asymmetrical positions between 3-fold face-centered cubic (fcc) hollow and bridge sites on Au(111), tilting from the substrate surface. Theoretical simulation gives apparent average tilted angles of 58 degrees and 68 degrees for p-FTP and o-FTP with respect to the surface normal, respectively. This simulation shows that o-FTP is more inclined to lie down toward the Au(111) surface compared to p-FTP. The difference between p-FTP and o-FTP SAM structures can be qualitatively understood in terms of the variation of intermolecular dipole-dipole orientation. This suggests that, besides well-known Au-S and pi-pi interactions, electrostatic interactions including dipole-dipole, quadrupole-quadrupole, and dipole-quadrupole interactions might also play an important role in influencing the SAM structures formed by aromatic thiols with a permanent dipole moment.

Carers' experiences of involvement in care planning: a qualitative exploration of the facilitators and barriers to engagement with mental health services.

PubMed

Cree, Lindsey; Brooks, Helen L; Berzins, Kathryn; Fraser, Claire; Lovell, Karina; Bee, Penny

2015-08-29

Formal recognition and involvement of carers in mental health services has been the focus of recent policy and practice initiatives as well as being supported by carers themselves. However, carers still report feeling marginalised and distanced from services. A prominent theme is that that they are not listened to and their concerns are not taken seriously. Compared to service user views, the reasons underpinning carers' dissatisfaction with care-planning procedures have been relatively neglected in the research literature, despite the substantial and significant contribution that they make to mental health services. The aim of the study was to explore carers' experiences of the care planning process for people with severe mental illness. Qualitative interviews and focus groups were undertaken with carers. Data were combined and analysed using framework analysis. Whilst identifying a shared desire for involvement and confirming a potential role for carers within services, our data highlighted that many carers perceive a lack of involvement in care planning and a lack of recognition and appreciation of their role from health professionals. Barriers to involvement included structural barriers, such as the timing and location of meetings, cultural barriers relating to power imbalances within the system and specific barriers relating to confidentiality. This qualitative study led by a researcher who was a carer herself has developed the understanding of the potential role of carers within the care planning process within mental health services, along with the facilitators and barriers to achieving optimal involvement.

Comment on “the ground-state structures of Au10-, Au8Ni and Au9Ni clusters”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Ben-Xia; Die, Dong; Li, Qian-Qian; Dai, Ming-Liang; Li, Zhi-Qin; Yang, Ji-Xian

2017-09-01

The lowest energy structures of Aun+1- and AunNi (n = 2-9) clusters have been researched using the CALYPSO structure searching method in conjunction with the density functional theory. It is found that the most stable structures of Au10-, Au8Ni and Au9Ni clusters reported by Tang et al. [C. M. Tang, X. X. Chen and X. D. Yang, Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 28, 1450138 (2014)] are low-lying isomers. The correct ground states and vibrational spectra are given in this paper.

Inverse Catalysts for CO Oxidation: Enhanced Oxide–Metal Interactions in MgO/Au(111), CeO 2/Au(111), and TiO 2/Au(111)

DOE PAGES

Palomino, Robert M.; Gutiérrez, Ramón A.; Liu, Zongyuan; ...

2017-09-26

Au(111) does not bind CO and O 2 well. The deposition of small nanoparticles of MgO, CeO 2, and TiO 2 on Au(111) produces excellent catalysts for CO oxidation at room temperature. In an inverse oxide/metal configuration there is a strong enhancement of the oxide–metal interactions, and the inverse catalysts are more active than conventional Au/MgO(001), Au/CeO 2(111), and Au/TiO 2(110) catalysts. An identical trend was seen after comparing the CO oxidation activity of TiO2/Au and Au/TiO 2 powder catalysts. In the model systems, the activity increased following the sequence: MgO/Au(111) < CeO 2/Au(111) < TiO 2/Au(111). Ambient pressure X-raymore » photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) was used to elucidate the role of the titania–gold interface in inverse TiO 2/Au(111) model catalysts during CO oxidation. Stable surface intermediates such as CO(ads), CO 3 2–(ads), and OH(ads) were identified under reaction conditions. CO 3 2–(ads) and OH(ads) behaved as spectators. The concentration of CO(ad) initially increased and then decreased with increasing TiO 2 coverage, demonstrating a clear role of the Ti–Au interface and the size of the TiO 2 nanostructures in the catalytic process. Overall, our results show an enhancement in the strength of the oxide–metal interactions when working with inverse oxide/metal configurations, a phenomenon that can be utilized for the design of efficient catalysts useful for green and sustainable chemistry.« less

Inverse Catalysts for CO Oxidation: Enhanced Oxide–Metal Interactions in MgO/Au(111), CeO 2/Au(111), and TiO 2/Au(111)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palomino, Robert M.; Gutiérrez, Ramón A.; Liu, Zongyuan

Au(111) does not bind CO and O 2 well. The deposition of small nanoparticles of MgO, CeO 2, and TiO 2 on Au(111) produces excellent catalysts for CO oxidation at room temperature. In an inverse oxide/metal configuration there is a strong enhancement of the oxide–metal interactions, and the inverse catalysts are more active than conventional Au/MgO(001), Au/CeO 2(111), and Au/TiO 2(110) catalysts. An identical trend was seen after comparing the CO oxidation activity of TiO2/Au and Au/TiO 2 powder catalysts. In the model systems, the activity increased following the sequence: MgO/Au(111) < CeO 2/Au(111) < TiO 2/Au(111). Ambient pressure X-raymore » photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) was used to elucidate the role of the titania–gold interface in inverse TiO 2/Au(111) model catalysts during CO oxidation. Stable surface intermediates such as CO(ads), CO 3 2–(ads), and OH(ads) were identified under reaction conditions. CO 3 2–(ads) and OH(ads) behaved as spectators. The concentration of CO(ad) initially increased and then decreased with increasing TiO 2 coverage, demonstrating a clear role of the Ti–Au interface and the size of the TiO 2 nanostructures in the catalytic process. Overall, our results show an enhancement in the strength of the oxide–metal interactions when working with inverse oxide/metal configurations, a phenomenon that can be utilized for the design of efficient catalysts useful for green and sustainable chemistry.« less

Pre-Service Teachers' Comments toward Official Teacher Selection System (Civil Servant Selection Examination, KPSS) in Turkey: A Qualitative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ugulu, Ilker; Yorek, Nurettin

2015-01-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate the opinions of the pre-service teachers toward teacher selection system and civil servant selection exam (KPSS). In this study, qualitative re-search methods and semi-structured interviews were used and researcher-made questionnaires containing open-ended questions were administered. The study group…

Influence of Au and TiO2 structures on hydrogen dissociation over TiO2/Au(100)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, I.; Mantoku, H.; Furukawa, T.; Takahashi, A.; Fujitani, T.

2012-11-01

We performed H2-D2 exchange reactions over TiOx/Au(100) and compared the observed reaction kinetics with those reported for TiOx/Au(111) in order to clarify the influence of the Au and TiO2 structures on dissociation of H2 molecules. Low energy electron diffraction observations showed that the TiO2 produced on Au(100) was disordered, in contrast to the comparatively ordered TiO2 structure formed on Au(111). The activation energies and the turnover frequencies for HD formation over TiO2/Au(100) agreed well with those for TiO2/Au(111), clearly indicating that the hydrogen dissociation sites created over TiO2/Au(100) were the perimeter interface between stoichiometric TiO2 and Au, as was previously concluded for TiO2/Au(111). We concluded that the creation of active sites for hydrogen dissociation was independent of the Au and TiO2 structures consisting perimeter interface, and that local bonds that formed between Au and O atoms of stoichiometric TiO2 were essential for the creation of active sites.

Perceptions des jeunes victimes de violence sexuelle au sein de leurs relations amoureuses sur leur pire expérience

PubMed Central

Van Camp, Tinneke; Hébert, Martine; Fernet, Mylène; Blais, Martin; Lavoie, Francine

2016-01-01

Cette étude explore les pires expériences vécues dans les relations amoureuses de jeunes qui ont rapporté avoir vécu de la violence sexuelle dans une relation de couple récente. Quelles sont les situations perçues comme étant les plus difficiles par les jeunes et est-ce que celles-ci se limitent à des incidents violents? Le questionnaire sur les parcours amoureux des jeunes (PAJ) a été complété par des jeunes Québécois âgés de 14 à 18 ans. Au total, plus de 600 participants ont rapporté au moins un épisode de violence sexuelle (souvent en combinaison avec d’autres formes de violence). Nous présentons les résultats de l’analyse qualitative inductive fondée sur une question ouverte concernant la pire expérience vécue. Les observations suggèrent que, en plus des expériences de violence, les difficultés relationnelles, les ruptures amoureuses et les sentiments amoureux non réciproques sont des situations particulièrement difficiles selon les propos des jeunes. Ces différents enjeux vécus par les jeunes devraient être pris en considération dans l’offre de services d’intervention à leur intention. PMID:28191266

Magnetic field directional discontinuities. 2: Characteristics between 0.46 and 1.0 AU. [interplanetary magnetic fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lepping, R. P.; Benhannon, K. W.

1980-01-01

The characteristics of directional discontinuities (DD's) in the interplanetary magnetic field are studied using data from the Mariner 10 primary mission between 1.0 and 0.46 AU. Statistical and visual survey methods for DD identification resulted in a total of 644 events. Two methods were used to estimate the ratio of the number of tangential discontinuities (TD's) to the number of rotational discontinuities (RD's). Both methods show that the ratio of TD's to RD's varied with time and decreased with decreasing radial distance. A decrease in average discontinuity thickness of approx. 40 percent was found between 1.0 and 0.72 AU and approx. 54 percent between 1.0 and 0.46 AU, independent of type (TD or RD). This decrease in thickness for decreasing r is in qualitative agreement with Pioneer 10 observations between 1 and 5 AU. When the individual DD thickness are normalized with respect to the estimated local proton gyroradius (RA sub L), the average thickness at the three locations is nearly constant, 43 + or - 6 R sub L. This also holds true for both RD's and TD's separately. Statistical distributions of other properties, such as normal components and discontinuity plane angles, are presented.

Charged hadron transverse momentum distributions in Au+Au collisions at √sNN=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Ballintijn, M.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Lee, J. W.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2004-01-01

We present transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in Au+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV. The spectra were measured for transverse momenta pT from 0.25 to 4.5 GeV/c in a pseudorapidity range of 0.2<η<1.4. The evolution of the spectra is studied as a function of collision centrality, from 65 to 344 participating nucleons. The results are compared to data from proton-antiproton collisions and Au+Au collisions at lower RHIC energies. We find a significant change of the spectral shape between proton-antiproton and semi-peripheral Au+Au collisions. Comparing semi-peripheral to central Au+Au collisions, we find that the yields at high pT exhibit approximate scaling with the number of participating nucleons, rather than scaling with the number of binary collisions.

A comparative theoretical study of the catalytic activities of Au2(-) and AuAg(-) dimers for CO oxidation.

PubMed

Liu, Peng; Song, Ke; Zhang, Dongju; Liu, Chengbu

2012-05-01

The detailed mechanisms of catalytic CO oxidation over Au(2)(-) and AuAg(-) dimers, which represent the simplest models for monometal Au and bimetallic Au-Ag nanoparticles, have been studied by performing density functional theory calculations. It is found that both Au(2)(-) and AuAg(-) dimers catalyze the reaction according to the similar mono-center Eley-Rideal mechanism. The catalytic reaction is of the multi-channel and multi-step characteristic, which can proceed along four possible pathways via two or three elementary steps. In AuAg(-), the Au site is more active than the Ag site, and the calculated energy barrier values for the rate-determining step of the Au-site catalytic reaction are remarkably smaller than those for both the Ag-site catalytic reaction and the Au(2)(-) catalytic reaction. The better catalytic activity of bimetallic AuAg(-) dimer is attributed to the synergistic effect between Au and Ag atom. The present results provide valuable information for understanding the higher catalytic activity of Au-Ag nanoparticles and nanoalloys for low-temperature CO oxidation than either pure metallic catalyst.

Academic physicians' views on low-value services and the choosing wisely campaign: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Bishop, Tara F; Cea, Meagan; Miranda, Yesenia; Kim, Robert; Lash-Dardia, Meredith; Lee, Jennifer I; Steel, Peter; Goldberg, Jordan; Mechanic, Elaine; Fener, Victoria; Gerber, Linda M

2017-03-01

In 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation launched a campaign called Choosing Wisely which was intended to start a national dialogue on services that are not medically necessary. More research is needed on the in-depth reasons why doctors overuse low-value services, their views on Choosing Wisely specifically, and ways to help them change their practice patterns. We performed a qualitative study of focus groups with physicians to explore their views on the problem of overuse of low-value services, the reasons why they overuse, and ways that they think could be effective at curbing overuse. Participants were attendings in the fields of emergency medicine, internal medicine, hospital medicine, and cardiology. All physicians felt that overuse of low-value services was a significant problem. Physicians frequently cited that patient expectations drove the use of low-value services and lack of time was the most cited reason why behavior change was difficult. Facilitators that could promote behavior change included decision support through the electronic medical record, motivation to maintain their reputation among their colleagues, internal motivation to be a good doctor, objective data showing their rates of overuse, alignment of institutional goals, and forums to discuss evidence and new research. In focus groups with physicians, we found that physicians perceived that overuse of low-value services was a problem. Participants cited many barriers to behavior change. Methods that help address patient expectations, physician time, and social norms may help physicians reduce their use of low-value services. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Improving the interface between informal carers and formal health and social services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

McPherson, K M; Kayes, N K; Moloczij, N; Cummins, C

2014-03-01

Reports about the impact of caring vary widely, but a consistent finding is that the role is influenced (for better or worse) by how formal services respond to, and work with informal carers and of course the cared for person. We aimed to explore the connection between informal and formal cares and identify how a positive connection or interface might be developed and maintained. We undertook a qualitative descriptive study with focus groups and individual interviews with informal carers, formal care service providers and representatives from carer advocacy groups. Content analysis was used to identify key factors impacting on the interface between informal and formal carers and propose specific recommendations for service development. Community setting including urban and rural areas of New Zealand. Seventy participants (the majority informal carers) took part in 13 focus groups and 22 individual interviews. Four key themes were derived: Quality of care for the care recipient; Knowledge exchange (valuing carer perspectives); One size does not fit all (creating flexible services); and A constant struggle (reducing the burden services add). An optimum interface to address these key areas was proposed. In addition to ensuring quality care for the care recipient, specific structures and processes to support a more positive interface appear warranted if informal carers and services are to work well together. An approach recognising the caring context and carer expertise may decrease the additional burden services contribute, and reduce conflicting information and resultant confusion and/or frustration many carers experience. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward hybrid Au nanorods @ M (Au, Ag, Pd and Pt) core-shell heterostructures for ultrasensitive SERS probes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Xiaobin; Gao, Guanhui; Kang, Shendong; Lei, Yanhua; Pan, Zhengyin; Shibayama, Tamaki; Cai, Lintao

2017-06-01

Being able to precisely control the morphologies of noble metallic nanostructures is of essential significance for promoting the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect. Herein, we demonstrate an overgrowth strategy for synthesizing Au @ M (M = Au, Ag, Pd, Pt) core-shell heterogeneous nanocrystals with an orientated structural evolution and highly improved properties by using Au nanorods as seeds. With the same reaction condition system applied, we obtain four well-designed heterostructures with diverse shapes, including Au concave nanocuboids (Au CNs), Au @ Ag crystalizing face central cube nanopeanuts, Au @ Pd porous nanocuboids and Au @ Pt nanotrepangs. Subsequently, the exact overgrowth mechanism of the above heterostructural building blocks is further analysed via the systematic optimiziation of a series of fabrications. Remarkably, the well-defined Au CNs and Au @ Ag nanopeanuts both exhibit highly promoted SERS activity. We expect to be able to supply a facile strategy for the fabrication of multimetallic heterogeneous nanostructures, exploring the high SERS effect and catalytic activities.

[Sb{sub 4}Au{sub 4}Sb{sub 4}]{sup 2−}: A designer all-metal aromatic sandwich

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tian, Wen-Juan; You, Xue-Rui; Guo, Jin-Chang

We report on the computational design of an all-metal aromatic sandwich, [Sb{sub 4}Au{sub 4}Sb{sub 4}]{sup 2−}. The triple-layered, square-prismatic sandwich complex is the global minimum of the system from Coalescence Kick and Minima Hopping structural searches. Following a standard, qualitative chemical bonding analysis via canonical molecular orbitals, the sandwich complex can be formally described as [Sb{sub 4}]{sup +}[Au{sub 4}]{sup 4−}[Sb{sub 4}]{sup +}, showing ionic bonding characters with electron transfers in between the Sb{sub 4}/Au{sub 4}/Sb{sub 4} layers. For an in-depth understanding of the system, one needs to go beyond the above picture. Significant Sb → Au donation and Sb ←more » Au back-donation occur, redistributing electrons from the Sb{sub 4}/Au{sub 4}/Sb{sub 4} layers to the interlayer Sb–Au–Sb edges, which effectively lead to four Sb–Au–Sb three-center two-electron bonds. The complex is a system with 30 valence electrons, excluding the Sb 5s and Au 5d lone-pairs. The two [Sb{sub 4}]{sup +} ligands constitute an unusual three-fold (π and σ) aromatic system with all 22 electrons being delocalized. An energy gap of ∼1.6 eV is predicted for this all-metal sandwich. The complex is a rare example for rational design of cluster compounds and invites forth-coming synthetic efforts.« less

Chiral Magnetic Effect Search in p(d)+Au, Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jie

The chiral magnetic effect (CME) refers to charge separation along a strong magnetic field of single-handed quarks, caused by interactions with topological gluon fields from QCD vacuum fluctuations. A major background of CME measurements in heavy-ion collisions comes from resonance decays coupled with elliptical flow anisotropy. These proceedings present two new studies from STAR to shed further light on the background issue: (1) small system p+Au and d+Au collisions where the CME signal is not expected, and (2) pair invariant mass dependence where resonance peaks can be identified.

Challenges, coping strategies, and recommendations related to the HIV services field in the HAART era: a systematic literature review of qualitative studies from the United States and Canada.

PubMed

Kerr, Zachary Y; Miller, Katye R; Galos, Dylan; Love, Randi; Poole, Charles

2013-02-01

Qualitative research methods have been utilized to study the nature of work in the HIV services field. Yet current literature lacks a Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Treatment (HAART) era compendium of qualitative research studying challenges and coping strategies in the field. This study systematically reviewed challenges and coping strategies that qualitative researchers observed in the HIV services field during the HAART era, and their recommendations to organizations. Four online databases were searched for peer-reviewed research that utilized qualitative methods, were published from January 1998 to February 2012, utilized samples of individuals in the HIV services field; occurred in the U.S. or Canada, and contained information related to challenges and/or coping strategies. Abstracts were identified (n=846) and independently read and coded for inclusion by at least two of the four first authors. Identified articles (n=26) were independently read by at least two of the four first authors who recorded the study methodology, participant demographics, challenges and coping strategies, and recommendations. A number of challenges affecting those in the HIV services field were noted, particularly interpersonal and organizational issues. Coping strategies were problem- and emotion-focused. Summarized research recommendations called for increased support, capacity-building, and structural changes. Future research on challenges and coping strategies must provide up-to-date information to the HIV services field while creating, implementing, and evaluating interventions to manage current challenges and reduce the risk of burnout.

Enhanced middle-infrared light transmission through Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au aperture arrays.

PubMed

Xiao, Gongli; Yao, Xiang; Ji, Xinming; Zhou, Jia; Bao, Zongming; Huang, Yiping

2011-12-01

The enhanced middle-infrared light transmission through Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au aperture arrays by changing the refractive index and the thickness of a dielectric layer was studied experimentally. The results indicated that the transmission spectra was highly dependent on the refractive index and the thickness of SiO(x)N(y). We found that the transmission peaks redshifted regularly along with the refractive index from 1.6 to 1.8, owing to the role of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) coupling in the Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au cascaded metallic structure. Simultaneously, a higher transmission efficiency and narrower transmission peak was obtained in Au/SiO2.1N0.3/Au cascaded metallic structure with small refractive index (1.6) than in Au/SiO0.6N1/Au cascaded metallic structure with large refractive index (1.8). When the thickness of SiO(x)N(y) changes from 0.2 to 0.4 microm, the shape of transmission spectra exhibits a large change. It was found that a higher transmission efficiency and narrower transmission peak was obtained in Au/SiO(x)N(y)/Au cascaded metallic structure with a thin dielectric film (0.2 microm), with the increase of SiO(x)N(y) film's thickness, the transmission peak gradually widened and disappeared finally. This effect is useful in applications of biochemical sensing and tunable integrated plasmonic devices in the middle-infrared region.

Largely enhanced photocatalytic activity of Au/XS2/Au (X = Re, Mo) antenna-reactor hybrids: charge and energy transfer.

PubMed

Chen, Kai; Ding, Si-Jing; Luo, Zhi-Jun; Pan, Gui-Ming; Wang, Jia-Hong; Liu, Jia; Zhou, Li; Wang, Qu-Quan

2018-02-22

An antenna-reactor hybrid coupling plasmonic antenna with catalytic nanoparticles is a new strategy to optimize photocatalytic activity. Herein, we have rationally proposed a Au/XS 2 /Au (X = Re, Mo) antenna reactor, which has a large Au core as the antenna and small satellite Au nanoparticles as the reactor separated by an ultrathin two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide XS 2 shell (∼2.6 nm). Due to efficient charge transfer across the XS 2 shell as well as energy transfer via coupling of the Au antenna and Au reactor, the photocatalytic activity has been largely enhanced: Au/ReS 2 /Au exhibits a 3.59-fold enhancement, whereas Au/MoS 2 /Au exhibits a 2.66-fold enhancement as compared to that of the sum of the three individual components. The different enhancement in the Au/ReS 2 /Au and Au/MoS 2 /Au antenna-reactor hybrid is related to the competition and cooperation of charge and energy transfer. These results indicate the great potential of the Au/XS 2 /Au antenna-reactor hybrid for the development of highly efficient plasmonic photocatalysts.

Transitioning a home telehealth project into a sustainable, large-scale service: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Wade, Victoria A; Taylor, Alan D; Kidd, Michael R; Carati, Colin

2016-05-16

This study was a component of the Flinders Telehealth in the Home project, which tested adding home telehealth to existing rehabilitation, palliative care and geriatric outreach services. Due to the known difficulty of transitioning telehealth projects services, a qualitative study was conducted to produce a preferred implementation approach for sustainable and large-scale operations, and a process model that offers practical advice for achieving this goal. Initially, semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior clinicians, health service managers and policy makers, and a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was undertaken to identify the range of options for ongoing operations, plus the factors affecting sustainability. Subsequently, the interviewees and other decision makers attended a deliberative forum in which participants were asked to select a preferred model for future implementation. Finally, all data from the study was synthesised by the researchers to produce a process model. 19 interviews with senior clinicians, managers, and service development staff were conducted, finding strong support for home telehealth but a wide diversity of views on governance, models of clinical care, technical infrastructure operations, and data management. The deliberative forum worked through these options and recommended a collaborative consortium approach for large-scale implementation. The process model proposes that the key factor for large-scale implementation is leadership support, which is enabled by 1) showing solutions to the problems of service demand, budgetary pressure and the relationship between hospital and primary care, 2) demonstrating how home telehealth aligns with health service policies, and 3) achieving clinician acceptance through providing evidence of benefit and developing new models of clinical care. Two key actions to enable change were marketing telehealth to patients, clinicians and policy-makers, and building a community of

A one-year longitudinal qualitative study of peer support services in a non-Western context: The perspectives of peer support workers, service users, and co-workers.

PubMed

Tse, Samson; Mak, Winnie W S; Lo, Iris W K; Liu, Lucia L; Yuen, Winnie W Y; Yau, Sania; Ho, Kimmy; Chan, Sau-Kam; Wong, Stephen

2017-09-01

This study explored the changing views of key stakeholders (peer support workers, their co-workers, and service users) about peer support services in a non-Western community, using a longitudinal qualitative approach. Five trainee peer support workers (PSWs), 15 service users, and 14 co-workers were interviewed over a 12-month period, under the auspices of the Peer Support Workers Project (also known as the Mindset project) in Hong Kong. A total of 77 interviews were transcribed and thematic analyses were conducted across the participant groups at three different time points (training, work placements, and employment). During the initial implementation of the services, uncertainty about the role of the PSWs were reported. However, trusting and beneficial relationships with service users were gradually built, showing growing resilience and confidence over time. The participants realized that PSWs' experiences of mental illnesses were a unique asset that could help service users to alleviate their own somatic symptoms and improve their connections with others. Our findings highlight that the perceptions of peer support services changed from confusion to viewing PSWs as an asset, to an awareness of the importance of family support, and to the belief that implementing such a program will benefit both service users and PSWs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the nature of L1{sub 0} ordering in equiatomic AuNi and AuCu thin films grown on Au(001)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dynna, M.; Marty, A.; Gilles, B.

1997-01-01

The L1{sub 0} ordering of thin epitaxial films having a (001) surface normal subject to elastic constraints imposed by a similarly oriented substrate has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Thin AuNi films grown by MBE at room temperature on Au(001) by means of the alternating deposition of Au and Ni are found to possess a L1{sub 0} structure free of periodic antiphase boundaries when growth is controlled in such a way as to ensure that the quantity of Au or Ni deposited is almost exactly equal to one monolayer. If such control is not exercised during growth, a structuremore » having periodic antiphase boundaries is formed. This behavior stands in contrast to that of AuCu during room temperature MBE growth on Au(001), where a strongly ordered L2{sub 0} structure free of antiphase boundaries is formed even on the codeposition of Au and Cu. The effect of elastic constraints on the state of order in an alloy film which undergoes an L2{sub 0} order-disorder transition is examined as a function of temperature, lattice mismatch, and film thickness within the context of a model which allows for the introduction of dislocations in order to relieve misfit strain. Calculations are performed in detail for the case of AuCu, where particular attention is paid to the coupling between film thickness, the number of misfit dislocations present at equilibrium, and the state of order.« less

Mind mapping in qualitative research.

PubMed

Tattersall, Christopher; Powell, Julia; Stroud, James; Pringle, Jan

We tested a theory that mind mapping could be used as a tool in qualitative research to transcribe and analyse an interview. We compared results derived from mind mapping with those from interpretive phenomenological analysis by examining patients' and carers' perceptions of a new nurse-led service. Mind mapping could be used to rapidly analyse simple qualitative audio-recorded interviews. More research is needed to establish the extent to which mind mapping can assist qualitative researchers.

Barriers in access to home care services among ethnic minority and Dutch elderly--a qualitative study.

PubMed

Suurmond, Jeanine; Rosenmöller, Doenja L; El Mesbahi, Hakima; Lamkaddem, Majda; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

2016-02-01

Ethnic minority elderly have a high prevalence of functional limitations and chronic conditions compared to Dutch elderly. However, their use of home care services is low compared to Dutch elderly. Explore the barriers to access to home care services for Turkish, Moroccan Surinamese and ethnic Dutch elderly. Qualitative semi-structured group interviews and individual interviews. The Netherlands. Seven group interviews (n=50) followed by individual interviews (n=5) were conducted, in the preferred language of the participants. Results were ordered and reported according to a framework of access to health care services. This framework describes five dimensions of accessibility to generate access to health care services, from the perspective of the users: ability to perceive health needs, ability to seek health care, ability to reach, ability to pay and ability to engage. This study shows that while barriers are common among all groups, several specific barriers in access to home care services exist for ethnic minority elderly. Language and communication barriers as well as limited networks and a preference for informal care seem to mutually enforce each other, resulting in many barriers during the navigation process to home care. In order to provide equal access to home care for all who need it, the language and communication barriers should be tackled by home care services and home care nurses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Superparamagnetic Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles: one-pot synthesis, biofunctionalization and toxicity evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pariti, A.; Desai, P.; Maddirala, S. K. Y.; Ercal, N.; Katti, K. V.; Liang, X.; Nath, M.

2014-09-01

Superparamagnetic Au-Fe3O4 bifunctional nanoparticles have been synthesized using a single step hot-injection precipitation method. The synthesis involved using Fe(CO)5 as iron precursor and HAuCl4 as gold precursor in the presence of oleylamine and oleic acid. Oleylamine helps in reducing Au3+ to Au0 seeds which simultaneously oxidizes Fe(0) to form Au-Fe3O4 bifunctional nanoparticles. Triton® X-100 was employed as a highly viscous solvent to prevent agglomeration of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Detailed characterization of these nanoparticles was performed by using x-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning tunneling electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, Mössbauer and magnetometry studies. To evaluate these nanoparticles’ applicability in biomedical applications, L-cysteine was attached to the Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles and cytotoxicity of Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles was tested using CHO cells by employing MTS assay. L-cysteine modified Au-Fe3O4 nanoparticles were qualitatively characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy; and quantitatively using acid ninhydrin assay. Investigations reveal that that this approach yields Au-Fe3O4 bifunctional nanoparticles with an average particle size of 80 nm. Mössbauer studies indicated the presence of Fe in Fe3+ in A and B sites (tetrahedral and octahedral, respectively) and Fe2+ in B sites (octahedral). Magnetic measurements also indicated that these nanoparticles were superparamagnetic in nature due to Fe3O4 region. The saturation magnetization for the bifunctional nanoparticles was observed to be ˜74 emu g-1, which is significantly higher than the previously reported Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Mössbauer studies indicated that there was no significant Fe(0) impurity that could be responsible for the superparamagnetic nature of these nanoparticles. None of the investigations showed any presence of other impurities such as Fe2O3 and FeOOH. These Au-Fe3O4 bifunctional

Role of Au(NPs) in the enhanced response of Au(NPs)-decorated MWCNT electrochemical biosensor

PubMed Central

Mehmood, Shahid; Ciancio, Regina; Carlino, Elvio; Bhatti, Arshad S

2018-01-01

Background The combination of Au-metallic-NPs and CNTs are a new class of hybrid nanomaterials for the development of electrochemical biosensor. Concentration of Au(nanoparticles [NPs]) in the electrochemical biosensor is crucial for the efficient charge transfer between the Au-NPs-MWCNTs modified electrode and electrolytic solution. Methods In this work, the charge transfer kinetics in the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with Au(NPs)–multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanohybrid with varied concentrations of Au(NPs) in the range 40–100 nM was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the attachment of Au(NPs) on the surface of MWCNTs. Results The cyclic voltammetry and EIS results showed that the charge transfer mechanism was diffusion controlled and the rate of charge transfer was dependent on the concentration of Au(NPs) in the nanohybrid. The formation of spherical diffusion zone, which was dependent on the concentration of Au(NPs) in nanohybrids, was attributed to result in 3 times the increase in the charge transfer rate ks, 5 times increase in mass transfer, and 5% (9%) increase in Ipa (Ipc) observed in cyclic voltammetry in 80 nM Au(NP) nanohybrid-modified GCE from MWCNT-modified GCE. The work was extended to probe the effect of charge transfer rates at various concentrations of Au(NPs) in the nanohybrid-modified electrodes in the presence of Escherichia coli. The cyclic voltammetry results clearly showed the best results for 80 nM Au(NPs) in nanohybrid electrode. Conclusion The present study suggested that the formation of spherical diffusion zone in nanohybrid-modified electrodes is critical for the enhanced electrochemical biosensing applications. PMID:29713161

Women's maternity care needs and related service models in rural areas: A comprehensive systematic review of qualitative evidence.

PubMed

Hoang, Ha; Le, Quynh; Ogden, Kathryn

2014-12-01

Understanding the needs of rural women in maternity care and service models available to them is significant for the development of effective policies and the sustainability of rural communities. Nevertheless, no systematic review of studies addressing these needs has been conducted. To synthesise the best available evidence on the experiences of women's needs in maternity care and existing service models in rural areas. Literature search of ten electronic databases, digital theses, and reference lists of relevant studies applying inclusion/exclusion criteria was conducted. Selected papers were assessed using standardised critical appraisal instruments from JBI-QARI. Data extracted from these studies were synthesised using thematic synthesis. 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. There were three main themes and several sub-themes identified. A comprehensive set of the maternity care expectations of rural women was reported in this review including safety (7), continuity of care (6) and quality of care (6), and informed choices needs (4). In addition, challenges in accessing maternity services also emerged from the literature such as access (6), risk of travelling (9) and associated cost of travel (9). Four models of maternity care examined in the literature were medically led care (5), GP-led care (4), midwifery-led care (7) and home birth (6). The systematic review demonstrates the importance of including well-conducted qualitative studies in informing the development of evidence-based policies to address women's maternity care needs and inform service models. Synthesising the findings from qualitative studies offers important insight for informing effective public health policy. Copyright © 2014 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Healthcare seeking practices and barriers to accessing under-five child health services in urban slums in Malawi: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Lungu, Edgar Arnold; Biesma, Regien; Chirwa, Maureen; Darker, Catherine

2016-08-19

Access to child health services is an important determinant of child health. Whereas, child health indicators are generally better in urban than rural areas, some population groups in urban areas, such as children residing in urban slums do not enjoy this urban health advantage. In the context of increasing urbanisation and urban poverty manifesting with proliferation of urban slums, the health of under-five children in slum areas remains a public health imperative in Malawi. This paper explores healthcare-seeking practices for common childhood illnesses focusing on use of biomedical health services and perceived barriers to accessing under-five child health services in urban slums of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city. Qualitative data from 8 focus group discussions with caregivers and 11 in-depth interviews with key informants conducted from September 2012 to April 2013 were analysed using conventional content analysis. Whereas, caregivers sought care from biomedical health providers, late care-seeking also emerged as a major theme and phenomenon. Home management was actively undertaken for childhood illnesses. Various health system barriers: lack of medicines and supplies; long waiting times; late facility opening times; negative attitude of health workers; suboptimal examination of the sick child; long distance to health facility; and cost of healthcare were cited in this qualitative inquiry as critical health system factors affecting healthcare-seeking for child health services. Interventions to strengthen the health system's responsiveness to expectations are essential to promote utilisation of child health services among urban slum populations, and ultimately improve child health and survival.

Understanding the Psychosocial and Environmental Factors and Barriers Affecting Utilization of Maternal Healthcare Services in Kalomo, Zambia: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sialubanje, Cephas; Massar, Karlijn; Hamer, Davidson H.; Ruiter, Robert A. C.

2014-01-01

This qualitative study aimed to identify psychosocial and environmental factors contributing to low utilization of maternal healthcare services in Kalomo, Zambia. Twelve focus group discussions (n = 141) and 35 in-depth interviews were conducted in six health centre catchment areas. Focus group discussions comprised women of reproductive age…

Investigation of the thermal annealing effect on electrical properties of Ni/Au, Ni/Mo/Au and Mo/Au Schottky barriers on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sleptsov, E. V.; Chernykh, A. V.; Chernykh, S. V.; Dorofeev, A. A.; Gladysheva, N. B.; Kondakov, M. N.; Sleptsova, A. A.; Panichkin, A. V.; Konovalov, M. P.; Didenko, S. I.

2017-03-01

Investigation of the thermal annealing effect on Schottky barrier parameters and the leakage current of Ni/Au, Ni/Mo/Au and Mo/Au Schottky barriers on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures has been performed. Improvement of Schottky barrier parameters after annealing of the investigated metallization schemes was observed. Ni/Au and Mo/Au contacts drastically degrade after annealing at the temperatures higher than 400 °C, whereas the Ni/Mo/Au contact exhibits excellent parameters after 500 °C annealing (qϕb = 1.00 eV, n = 1.13 и Ileak = 5 μA).

Utilization of mobile phones for accessing menstrual regulation services among low-income women in Bangladesh: a qualitative analysis.

PubMed

Messinger, Chelsea Jordan; Mahmud, Ilias; Kanan, Sushama; Jahangir, Yamin Tauseef; Sarker, Malabika; Rashid, Sabina Faiz

2017-01-14

As many as one-third of all pregnancies in Bangladesh are unplanned, with nearly one-half of these pregnancies ending in either menstrual regulation (MR) or illegal clandestine abortion. Although MR is provided free of charge, or at a nominal cost, through the public sector and various non-profits organizations, many women face barriers in accessing safe, affordable MR and post-MR care. Mobile health (mHealth) services present a promising platform for increasing access to MR among low-income women at risk for clandestine abortion. We sought to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding mHealth of both MR clients and formal and informal sexual and reproductive healthcare providers in urban and rural low-income settlements in Bangladesh. A total of 58 interviews were conducted with MR clients, formal MR providers, and informal MR providers in four low-income settlements in the Dhaka and Sylhet districts of Bangladesh. Interview data was coded and qualitatively analysed for themes using standard qualitative research practices. Our findings suggest that low-income MR clients in Bangladesh have an inadequate understanding of how to use their mobile phones to obtain health service information or counselling related to MR, and correspondingly low levels of formal or informal mHealth service utilization. Few were aware of any formal mHealth services in place in their communities, despite the fact that providers stated that hotlines were available. Overall, MR clients expressed positive opinions of mHealth services as a means of improving women's access to affordable and timely MR. Formal and informal MR providers believed that mobile phones had benefits with respect to information dissemination and making appointments, but emphasized the necessity of in-person consultations for effective sexual and reproductive healthcare. We report low utilization yet high acceptability of mHealth services among low-income MR clients in Bangladesh. Expanding formal and

Depression, financial problems and other reasons for suspending medical studies, and requested support services: findings from a qualitative study.

PubMed

Soh, Nerissa; Ma, Colleen; Lampe, Lisa; Hunt, Glenn; Malhi, Gin; Walter, Garry

2012-12-01

This study aimed to qualitatively explore medical students' reasons for suspending, or thinking of suspending, their studies and the types of support services they request. Data were collected through an anonymous online survey. Medical students' responses to open-ended questions were analyzed thematically. Responses were received from 475 students. Financial problems, doubts as to whether medicine was the right vocation, and depression were the most commonly reported themes. Students endorsed a wide range of other pressures and concerns, barriers to obtaining assistance, and also suggested solutions and services to address their concerns. Medical students' financial concerns and potential depressive symptoms should be addressed by university and faculty support services. Government financial support mechanisms for students should also be reviewed. Students' suggestions of the types of services and their location must be borne in mind when allocating resources.

Giving Voice to the Medically Under-Served: A Qualitative Co-Production Approach to Explore Patient Medicine Experiences and Improve Services to Marginalized Communities

PubMed Central

Latif, Asam; Tariq, Sana; Abbasi, Nasa; Mandane, Baguiasri

2018-01-01

Background: With an aging population, the appropriate, effective and safe use of medicines is a global health priority. However, “‘medically under-served” patients continue to experience significant inequalities around access to healthcare services. Aim: This study forms part of a wider project to co-develop and evaluate a digital educational intervention for community pharmacy. The aim of this paper is to explore the medicine needs of patients from marginalized communities and suggest practical way on how services could be better tailored to their requirements. Method: Following ethical approval, qualitative data was gathered from: (1) workshops with patients and professionals (n = 57 attendees); and (2) qualitative semi-structured interviews (10 patients and 10 pharmacists). Results: Our findings revealed that patients from marginalized communities reported poor management of their medical conditions and significant problems with adherence to prescribed medicines. Their experience of pharmacy services was found to be variable with many experiencing discrimination or disadvantage as a result of their status. Discussion: This study highlights the plight of medically under-served communities and the need for policy makers to tailor services to an individual’s needs and circumstances. Furthermore, patients and professionals can work in collaboration using a co-production approach to develop educational interventions for pharmacy service improvements. PMID:29382062

Giving Voice to the Medically Under-Served: A Qualitative Co-Production Approach to Explore Patient Medicine Experiences and Improve Services to Marginalized Communities.

PubMed

Latif, Asam; Tariq, Sana; Abbasi, Nasa; Mandane, Baguiasri

2018-01-27

With an aging population, the appropriate, effective and safe use of medicines is a global health priority. However, "'medically under-served" patients continue to experience significant inequalities around access to healthcare services. This study forms part of a wider project to co-develop and evaluate a digital educational intervention for community pharmacy. The aim of this paper is to explore the medicine needs of patients from marginalized communities and suggest practical way on how services could be better tailored to their requirements. Following ethical approval, qualitative data was gathered from: (1) workshops with patients and professionals ( n = 57 attendees); and (2) qualitative semi-structured interviews (10 patients and 10 pharmacists). Our findings revealed that patients from marginalized communities reported poor management of their medical conditions and significant problems with adherence to prescribed medicines. Their experience of pharmacy services was found to be variable with many experiencing discrimination or disadvantage as a result of their status. This study highlights the plight of medically under-served communities and the need for policy makers to tailor services to an individual's needs and circumstances. Furthermore, patients and professionals can work in collaboration using a co-production approach to develop educational interventions for pharmacy service improvements.

Slab melting and the origin of gold in Au and Au-Cu deposits: geochemical clues from recent adakites.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polve, M.; Maury, R.; Joron, J. L.

2003-04-01

Understanding the genetic processes responsible for the common occurrence of Au and Au-Cu deposits in subduction environments is a fairly "hot" question nowadays, as it is clear that most subduction-related magmatic rocks are barren. Studies of space and time relationships between magmatic intrusions, hydrothermal episodes and Au deposits have shown that, very often, Au deposits are associated with adakitic intrusions (Thieblemont et al, 1997, Sajona and Maury, 1998). Adakites are here understood as being generated by melting of the subducting oceanic crust. This study aims to check wether or not magmas derived from melted oceanic crust do contain significantly more Au than regular calc-alkaline magmas by measuring directly Au concentrations in fresh (and barren) adakites and equivalent calc-alkaline andesites. There is a lack of reliable data on Au content in unaltered adakites and andesites, because Au analyses are generally done on hydrothermalized rocks in connection with Au deposits and also because old measurements may give overestimated Au contents, due to technical limitations. Therefore we compiled recent literature data on gold contents of fresh calc-alkaline rocks, and measured Au on a selection of 40 well studied and dated adakites from different localities (Philippines, Baja California). Analyses have been performed either by INAA or by ICP-MS after Au extraction with aqua regia, following the method described by Terashima (1988). Preliminary results show that, for equivalent Si02 contents, adakites are systematically enriched in Au compared to regular dacites, even if regional trends also exist. Moreover, Au seems to behave as an incompatible element in adakitic magmas, whereas in calc-alkaline dacites it is controlled by sulfide crystallization. Our data suggest that, not excluding any other processes related to the hydrothermal phase in the deposit generation, adakites may indeed represent the source of Au, a possible explanation for the adakite-Au

The role of community-based health planning and services strategy in involving males in the provision of family planning services: a qualitative study in Southern Ghana

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Reproductive health and Family Planning (FP) services have been of global concern especially in developing countries where fertility rates are high. Traditionally FP services had always targeted females with little or no attention given to males. To ensure equitable distribution of health services, Ministry of Health (MOH), Ghana adopted the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) as a nationwide health policy with the aim of reducing obstacles to physical and geographical access to health care delivery including FP services. However, not much is known about the extent to which this policy has contributed to male involvement in FP services. This qualitative descriptive study was therefore designed to explore male involvement in FP services in communities with well functioning CHPS and those with less or no functioning CHPS structures. The study further solicited views of the community on the health status of children. Methods This was a qualitative descriptive study and adapted the design of an ongoing study to assess the impact of male involvement in FP referred to as the Navrongo experiment in Northern Ghana. Twelve focus group discussions were held with both male and female community members, six in communities with functional CHPS and six for communities with less/no-functional CHPS. In addition, fifty- nine (59) in-depth interviews were held with Community Health Officers (CHOs), Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and Health Managers at both the districts and regional levels. The interviews and discussions were tape recorded digitally, transcribed and entered into QSR Nvivo 10© for analysis. Results The results revealed a general high perception of an improved health status of children in the last ten years in the communities. These improvements were attributed to immunization of children, exclusive breastfeeding, health education given to mothers on childcare, growth monitoring of children and accessible health care. Despite these

Characteristics of Au Migration and Concentration Distributions in Au-Doped HgCdTe LPE Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Quanzhi; Yang, Jianrong; Wei, Yanfeng; Zhang, Juan; Sun, Ruiyun

2015-08-01

Annealing techniques and secondary ion mass spectrometry have been used to study the characteristics of Au migration and concentration distributions in HgCdTe materials grown by liquid phase epitaxy. Secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements showed that Au concentrations had obvious positive correlations with Hg-vacancy concentration and dislocation density of the materials. Au atoms migrate toward regions of high Hg-vacancy concentration or move away from these regions when the Hg-vacancy concentration decreases during annealing. The phenomenon can be explained by defect chemical equilibrium theory if Au atoms have a very large migration velocity compared with Hg vacancies. Au atoms will also migrate toward regions of high dislocation density, leading to a peak concentration in the inter-diffusion region of HgCdTe materials near the substrate. By use of an Hg and Te-rich annealing technique, different concentration distributions of both Au atoms and Hg vacancies in HgCdTe materials were obtained, indicating that Au-doped HgCdTe materials can be designed and prepared to satisfy the requirements of HgCdTe devices.

How is a specialist depression service effective for persistent moderate to severe depressive disorder?: a qualitative study of service user experience.

PubMed

Thomson, Louise; Barker, Marcus; Kaylor-Hughes, Catherine; Garland, Anne; Ramana, Rajini; Morriss, Richard; Hammond, Emily; Hopkins, Gail; Simpson, Sandra

2018-06-15

A specialist depression service (SDS) offering collaborative pharmacological and cognitive behaviour therapy treatment for persistent depressive disorder showed effectiveness against depression symptoms versus usual community based multidisciplinary care in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) in specialist mental health services in England. However, there is uncertainty concerning how specialist depression services effect such change. The current study aimed to evaluate the factors which may explain the greater effectiveness of SDS compared to Treatment as Usual (TAU) by exploring the experience of the RCT participants. Qualitative audiotaped and transcribed semi-structured interviews were conducted 12-18 months after baseline with 21 service users (12 SDS, 9 TAU arms) drawn from all three sites. Inductive thematic analysis using a grounded approach contrasted the experiences of SDS with TAU participants. Four themes emerged in relation to service user experience: 1. Specific treatment components of the SDS: which included sub-themes of the management of medication change, explaining and developing treatment strategies, setting realistic expectations, and person-centred and holistic approach; 2. Individual qualities of SDS clinicians; 3. Collaborative team context in SDS: which included sub-themes of communication between healthcare professionals, and continuity of team members; 4. Accessibility to SDS: which included sub-themes of flexibility of locations, frequent consultation as reinforcement, gradual pace of treatment, and challenges of returning to usual care. The study uncovered important mechanisms and contextual factors in the SDS that service users experience as different from TAU, and which may explain the greater effectiveness of the SDS: the technical expertise of the healthcare professionals, personal qualities of clinicians, teamwork, gradual pace of care, accessibility and managing service transitions. Usual care in other specialist mental health

A qualitative study comparing commercial and health service weight loss groups, classes and clubs.

PubMed

Allan, K; Hoddinott, P; Avenell, A

2011-02-01

Group-based interventions for weight loss are popular; however, little is known about how health service groups compare with the commercial sector, from either the participant or the group leader perspective. Currently, health professionals have little guidance on how to deliver effective group interventions. The present study aimed to compare and contrast leaders' and attendees' experiences of health service and commercial weight loss groups, through in-depth interviews and group observations. Purposive sampling, guided by a sampling frame, was employed to identify diverse groups operating in Scotland with differing content, structures and style. Data collection and analysis took place concurrently in accordance with a grounded theory approach. Thirteen semi-structured group observations and in-depth audio-recorded interviews with 11 leaders and 22 attendees were conducted. Identification of themes and the construction of matrices to identify data patterns were guided by the Framework Method for qualitative analysis. Compared to commercial groups, health service 'groups' or 'classes' tended to offer smaller periodic fixed term groups, involving gatekeeper referral systems. Commercial organisations provide a fixed branded package, for 'club' or 'class' members, and most commercial leaders share personal experiences of losing weight. Health service leaders had less opportunity for supervision, peer support or specific training in how to run their groups compared to commercial leaders. Commercial and health service groups differ in access; attendee and leader autonomy; engagement in group processes; and approaches to leadership and training, which could influence weight loss outcomes. Health service groups can provide different group content and experiences, particularly for those with chronic diseases and for populations less likely to attend commercial groups, such as men. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Local structure and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism of Au in Au-Co nanoalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurizio, C.; Michieli, N.; Kalinic, B.; Mattarello, V.; Bello, V.; Wilhelm, F.; Ollefs, K.; Mattei, G.

2018-03-01

Coupling a plasmonic metal with a magnetic one in thin films and nanostructures is very interesting for the emerging field of magnetoplasmonics. In particular, coupling through alloying is a promising strategy to induce a magnetic moment on the plasmonic metal atoms, in a way that is intimately related to the local structure of the (metastable) alloy material. In this framework, Au:Co bimetallic films have been produced via magnetron co-sputtering deposition. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at both Au- and Co-edges clearly indicates the formation of a full-metallic layer composed for the major part of a binary AuxCo1-x alloy, with x = 0.7-0.8. XAS and transmission electron microscopy analyses suggest the presence of a minor fraction of segregated metals. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) analysis at Au L2,3 edges detected a net magnetic moment of Au atoms (μ = 0.06 μB), significantly larger (≈3.5 times) that the one for Au-capped Co nanoclusters and comparable to the one for a Co-rich Au/Co multilayer, despite the 4 times larger concentration of Co with respect to the present case. This Au-Co magnetic coupling is favored by a high degree of mixing of the two metals in the alloy.

A Qualitative Study of Elementary Afterschool Teachers' Perceptions of the Impact of Afterschool Programs on Students Receiving Special Education Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Legaspi, Margareth

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study, "A Qualitative Study of Elementary Afterschool Teachers' Perceptions of the Impact of Afterschool Programs on Students Receiving Special Education Services," was to assess elementary afterschool teachers' perceptions of the impact of afterschool programs on students receiving special education…

[Challenges for home care services in the pain management of cancer patients : A qualitative study].

PubMed

Gnass, I; Krutter, S; Nestler, N

2018-03-21

People with cancer are increasingly supported by home care services. Pain is a relevant symptom of these diseases and nurses of home care services are involved in the treatment. The German National Expert Standard "Pain management in nursing" includes evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of adequate pain management. Considering the given structural conditions of home care services, nurses describe both barriers and challenges with the implementation. By means of five guideline-based discussion groups, nurses of 14 home care services were questioned about the challenges they had experienced in pain management. The questioning focuses on the level of implementation of the recommendation for each aspect: pain assessment, pharmacological pain therapy, non-pharmacological pain therapy, pain-related side effects, information, training, and counseling in the care of people with cancer. A qualitative content analysis was conducted. On the one hand, the results illustrate a need for further knowledge and possibilities, e.g., for the assessment of pain as a multidimensional phenomenon and, on the other hand, that the conditions for continuous pain monitoring of cancer patients in home care services are limited. The need for short-term reconciliation with the treatment team and the practitioners proved to be more difficult than the cooperation with the palliative care network. Involvement of family members is important to ensure uninterrupted treatment. Beside knowledge and competencies regarding nursing care, structures and processes for interprofessional pain management need further development and research.

Implementing integrated services for people with epilepsy in primary care in Ethiopia: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Catalao, Raquel; Eshetu, Tigist; Tsigebrhan, Ruth; Medhin, Girmay; Fekadu, Abebaw; Hanlon, Charlotte

2018-05-21

In order to tackle the considerable treatment gap for epilepsy in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a task sharing model is recommended whereby care is integrated into primary health services. However, there are limited data on implementation and impact of such services in LMICs. Our study aimed to explore the perspectives of service users and caregivers on the accessibility, experience and perceived impact of epilepsy treatment received in a task-shared model in a rural district of Ethiopia. A qualitative study was carried out using interviews with purposively sampled service users (n = 13) and caregivers (n = 3) from a community-ascertained cohort of people with epilepsy receiving integrated services in primary care in rural Ethiopia. Interviews followed a topic guide with questions regarding acceptability, satisfaction, barriers to access care, pathways through care and impact of services. Framework analysis was employed to analyse the data. Proximity of the new service in local primary health centers decreased the cost of transportation for the majority of service users thus improving access to services. First-hand experience of services was in some cases associated with a willingness to promote the services and inform others of the existence of effective biomedical treatment for epilepsy. However, most service users and their caregivers continued to seek help from traditional healers alongside biomedical care. Most of the care received was focused on medication provision with limited information provided on how to manage their illness and its effects. Caregivers and service users spoke about the high emotional and financial burden of the disease and lack of ongoing practical and emotional support. The majority of participants reported clinical improvement on medication, which in over half of the participants was associated with ability to return to money generating activities. Task-sharing improved the accessibility of epilepsy care for

Rationing is a reality in rural physiotherapy: a qualitative exploration of service level decision-making.

PubMed

Adams, Robyn; Jones, Anne; Lefmann, Sophie; Sheppard, Lorraine

2015-03-27

Deciding what health services are provided is a key consideration in delivering appropriate and accessible health care for rural and remote populations. Despite residents of rural communities experiencing poorer health outcomes and exhibiting higher health need, workforce shortages and maldistribution mean that rural communities do not have access to the range of services available in metropolitan centres. Where demand exceeds available resources, decisions about resource allocation are required. A qualitative approach enabled the researchers to explore participant perspectives about decisions informing rural physiotherapy service provision. Stakeholder perspectives were obtained through surveys and in-depth interviews. A system theory-case study heuristic provided a framework for exploration across sites within the investigation area: a large area of one Australian state with a mix of rural, regional and remote communities. Thirty-nine surveys were received from participants in eleven communities. Nineteen in-depth interviews were conducted with physiotherapist and key decision-makers. Increasing demand, organisational priorities, fiscal austerity measures and workforce challenges were identified as factors influencing both decision-making and service provision. Rationing of physiotherapy services was common to all sites of this study. Rationing of services, more commonly expressed as service prioritisation, was more evident in responses of public sector physiotherapy participants compared to private physiotherapists. However, private physiotherapists in rural areas reported capacity limits, including expertise, space and affordability that constrained service provision. The imbalance between increasing service demands and limited physiotherapy capacity meant making choices was inevitable. Decreased community access to local physiotherapy services and increased workforce stress, a key determinant of retention, are two results of such choices or decisions

76 FR 49838 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-11

... Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery AGENCY: Internal... of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery. DATES: Written comments should be received on or... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service...

Gold(I) Complexes with N-Donor Ligands. 2.(1) Reactions of Ammonium Salts with [Au(acac-kappaC(2))(PR(3))] To Give [Au(NH(3))L](+), [(AuL)(2)(&mgr;(2)-NH(2))](+), [(AuL)(4)(&mgr;(4)-N)](+), or [(AuL)(3)(&mgr;(3)-O)](+). A New and Facile Synthesis of [Au(NH(3))(2)](+) Salts. Crystal Structure of [{AuP(C(6)H(4)OMe-4)(3)}(3)(&mgr;(3)-O)]CF(3)SO(3).

PubMed

Vicente, José; Chicote, María-Teresa; Guerrero, Rita; Jones, Peter G.; Ramírez De Arellano, M. Carmen

1997-09-24

The complexes [Au(acac-kappaC(2))(PR(3))] (acac = acetylacetonate, R = Ph, C(6)H(4)OMe-4) react with (NH(4))ClO(4) to give amminegold(I), [Au(NH(3))(PR(3))]ClO(4), amidogold(I), [(AuPR(3))(2)(&mgr;(2)-NH(2))]ClO(4), or nitridogold(I), [(AuPR(3))(4)(&mgr;(4)-N)]ClO(4), complexes, depending on the reaction conditions. Similarly, [Au(acac-kappaC(2))(PPh(3))] reacts with (NH(3)R')OTf (OTf = CF(3)SO(3)) (1:1) or with [H(3)N(CH(2))(2)NH(2)]OTf (1:1) to give (amine)gold(I) complexes [Au(NH(2)R')(PPh(3))]OTf (R' = Me, C(6)H(4)NO(2)-4) or [(AuPPh(3))(2){&mgr;(2)-H(2)N(CH(2))(2)NH(2)}](OTf)(2), respectively. The ammonium salts (NH(2)R'(2))OTf (R' = Et, Ph) react with [Au(acac-kappaC(2))(PR(3))] (R = Ph, C(6)H(4)OMe-4) (1:2) to give, after hydrolysis, the oxonium salts [(AuPR(3))(3)(&mgr;(3)-O)]OTf (R = Ph, C(6)H(4)OMe-4). When NH(3) is bubbled through a solution of [AuCl(tht)] (tht = tetrahydrothiophene), the complex [Au(NH(3))(2)]Cl precipitates. Addition of [Au(NH(3))(2)]Cl to a solution of AgClO(4) or TlOTf leads to the isolation of [Au(NH(3))(2)]ClO(4) or [Au(NH(3))(2)]OTf, respectively. The crystal structure of [(AuPR(3))(3)(&mgr;(3)-O)]OTf.Me(2)CO (R = C(6)H(4)OMe-4) has been determined: triclinic, space group P&onemacr;, a = 14.884(3) Å, b = 15.828(3) Å, c = 16.061(3) Å, alpha = 83.39(3) degrees, beta = 86.28(3) degrees, gamma = 65.54(3) degrees, R1 (wR2) = 0.0370 (0.0788). The [(AuPR(3))(3)(&mgr;(3)-O)](+) cation shows an essentially trigonal pyramidal array of three gold atoms and one oxygen atom with O-Au-P bond angles of ca. 175 degrees and Au.Au contacts in the range 2.9585(7)-3.0505(14) Å. These cations are linked into centrosymmetric dimers through two short Au.Au [2.9585(7), 3.0919(9) Å] contacts. The gold atoms of the dimer form a six-membered ring with a chair conformation.

Development of amperometric lysine biosensors based on Au nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotubes/polymers modified Au electrodes.

PubMed

Chauhan, Nidhi; Singh, Anamika; Narang, Jagriti; Dahiya, Swati; Pundir, C S

2012-11-07

The construction of two amperometric l-lysine biosensors is described in this study. The construction comprises the covalent immobilization of lysine oxidase (LOx) onto nanocomposite composed of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNT), decorated on (i) polyaniline (PANI) and (ii) poly 1,2 diaminobenzene (DAB), electrodeposited on Au electrodes. The biosensors were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies. The optimum response (current) was observed within 2 s at pH 7.0 and 25 °C for LOx/AuNPs/c-MWCNT/PANI/Au, and 4 s at pH 7.0 and 30 °C for LOx/AuNPs/c-MWCNT/DAB/Au electrodes. There was a linear relationship between current and lysine concentration ranging from 5.0 to 600 μM for LOx/AuNPs/c-MWCNT/PANI/Au with a detection limit of 5.0 μM, and 20 to 600 μM for the LOx/AuNPs/c-MWCNT/DAB/Au electrode with a detection limit of 20 μM. The PANI modified electrode was in good agreement with the standard HPLC method, with a better correlation (r = 0.992) compared to the DAB modified electrode (r = 0.986). These observations revealed that the PANI modified Au electrode was better than the DAB modified electrode, and hence it was employed for the determination of lysine in milk, pharmaceutical tablets and sera. The PANI modified electrode showed a half life of 120 days, compared to that of 90 days for the DAB modified electrode, after their 100 uses, when stored at 4 °C.

Synthesis of Au38(SCH2CH2Ph)24, Au36(SPh-tBu)24, and Au30(S-tBu)18 Nanomolecules from a Common Precursor Mixture.

PubMed

Rambukwella, Milan; Dass, Amala

2017-10-17

Phenylethanethiol protected nanomolecules such as Au 25 , Au 38 , and Au 144 are widely studied by a broad range of scientists in the community, owing primarily to the availability of simple synthetic protocols. However, synthetic methods are not available for other ligands, such as aromatic thiol and bulky ligands, impeding progress. Here we report the facile synthesis of three distinct nanomolecules, Au 38 (SCH 2 CH 2 Ph) 24 , Au 36 (SPh-tBu) 24 , and Au 30 (S-tBu) 18 , exclusively, starting from a common Au n (glutathione) m (where n and m are number of gold atoms and glutathiolate ligands) starting material upon reaction with HSCH 2 CH 2 Ph, HSPh-tBu, and HStBu, respectively. The systematic synthetic approach involves two steps: (i) synthesis of kinetically controlled Au n (glutathione) m crude nanocluster mixture with 1:4 gold to thiol molar ratio and (ii) thermochemical treatment of the purified nanocluster mixture with excess thiols to obtain thermodynamically stable nanomolecules. Thermochemical reactions with physicochemically different ligands formed highly monodispersed, exclusively three different core-size nanomolecules, suggesting a ligand induced core-size conversion and structural transformation. The purpose of this work is to make available a facile and simple synthetic method for the preparation of Au 38 (SCH 2 CH 2 Ph) 24 , Au 36 (SPh-tBu) 24 , and Au 30 (S-tBu) 18 , to nonspecialists and the broader scientific community. The central idea of simple synthetic method was demonstrated with other ligand systems such as cyclopentanethiol (HSC 5 H 9 ), cyclohexanethiol(HSC 6 H 11 ), para-methylbenzenethiol(pMBT), 1-pentanethiol(HSC 5 H 11 ), 1-hexanethiol(HSC 6 H 13 ), where Au 36 (SC 5 H 9 ) 24 , Au 36 (SC 6 H 11 ) 24 , Au 36 (pMBT) 24 , Au 38 (SC 5 H 11 ) 24 , and Au 38 (SC 6 H 13 ) 24 were obtained, respectively.

Service provider perceptions of transitioning from audio to video capability in a telehealth system: a qualitative evaluation.

PubMed

Clay-Williams, Robyn; Baysari, Melissa; Taylor, Natalie; Zalitis, Dianne; Georgiou, Andrew; Robinson, Maureen; Braithwaite, Jeffrey; Westbrook, Johanna

2017-08-14

Telephone consultation and triage services are increasingly being used to deliver health advice. Availability of high speed internet services in remote areas allows healthcare providers to move from telephone to video telehealth services. Current approaches for assessing video services have limitations. This study aimed to identify the challenges for service providers associated with transitioning from audio to video technology. Using a mixed-method, qualitative approach, we observed training of service providers who were required to switch from telephone to video, and conducted pre- and post-training interviews with 15 service providers and their trainers on the challenges associated with transitioning to video. Two full days of simulation training were observed. Data were transcribed and analysed using an inductive approach; a modified constant comparative method was employed to identify common themes. We found three broad categories of issues likely to affect implementation of the video service: social, professional, and technical. Within these categories, eight sub-themes were identified; they were: enhanced delivery of the health service, improved health advice for people living in remote areas, safety concerns, professional risks, poor uptake of video service, system design issues, use of simulation for system testing, and use of simulation for system training. This study identified a number of unexpected potential barriers to successful transition from telephone to the video system. Most prominent were technical and training issues, and personal safety concerns about transitioning from telephone to video media. Addressing identified issues prior to implementation of a new video telehealth system is likely to improve effectiveness and uptake.

Photoluminescence from Au nanoparticles embedded in Au:oxide composite films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Hongbo; Wen, Weijia; Wong, George K.

2006-12-01

Au:oxide composite multilayer films with Au nanoparticles sandwiched by oxide layers (such as SiO2, ZnO, and TiO2) were prepared in a magnetron sputtering system. Their photoluminescence (PL) spectra were investigated by employing a micro-Raman system in which an Argon laser with a wavelength of 514 nm was used as the pumping light. Distinct PL peaks located at a wavelength range between 590 and 680 nm were observed in most of our samples, with Au particle size varying from several to hundreds of nanometers. It was found that the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in these composites exerted a strong influence on the position of the PL peaks but had little effect on the PL intensity.

Multiple Nonstoichiometric Phases with Discrete Composition Ranges in the CaAu5−CaAu4Bi−BiAu2 System. A Case Study of the Chemistry of Spinodal Decomposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Qisheng; Corbett, John D.

2010-04-01

Synthetic explorations in the CaAu{sub 5}-CaAu{sub 4}Bi-BiAu{sub 2} system at 400 C reveal five separate solid solution regions that show three distinct substitution patterns in the CaAu{sub 5} parent: (I) CaAu{sub 4}(Au{sub 1-m}Bi{sub m}) with 0 {le} m {le} 0.15(1), (II) 0.33(1) {le} m {le} 0.64(1), (III) 0.85(4) {le} m {le} 0.90(2); (IV) (Ca{sub 1-r}Au{sub r})Au{sub 4}(Bi{sub 1-s}Au{sub s}) with 0 {le} r {le} 0.39(1) and 0 {le} s {le} 0.12(2); (V) (Ca{sub 1-p-q}Au{sub p}Bi{sub q})Au{sub 4}Bi with 0.09(2) {le} p {le} 0.13(1) and 0.31(2) {le} q {le} 0.72(4). Single crystal X-ray studies establish that all of these phase regionsmore » have common cubic symmetry F{sub 4}3m and that their structures (MgCu{sub 4}Sn-type, an ordered derivative of MgCu{sub 2}) all feature three-dimensional networks of Au{sub 4} tetrahedra, in which the truncated tetrahedra are centered and capped by Ca/Au, Au/Bi, or Ca/Au/Bi mixtures to give 16-atom Friauf polyhedra. TB-LMTO-ASA and -COHP calculations also reveal that direct interactions between Ca-Au and Ca-Bi pairs of atoms are relatively weak and that the Bi-Au interactions in the unstable ideal CaAu{sub 4}Bi are antibonding in character at E{sub F} but that their bonding is optimized at {+-}1 e. Compositions between the five nonstoichiometric phases appear to undergo spinodal decompositions. The last phenomenon has been confirmed by HRTEM, STEM-HAADF, EPMA, and XRD studies of the nominal composition CaAu{sub 4.25}Bi{sub 0.75}. Its DTA analyses suggest that the phases resulting from spinodal decomposition have nearly the same melting point ({approx}807 C), as expected, and that they are interconvertible through peritectic reactions at {approx}717 C.« less

Transforming Educational Experiences in Low-Income Communities: A Qualitative Case Study of Social Capital in a Full-Service Community School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galindo, Claudia; Sanders, Mavis; Abel, Yolanda

2017-01-01

Full-service community schools aim to reduce educational inequality by addressing the multifaceted needs of low-income children and youth. Critical to this task is the ability of these schools to generate sufficient social capital to provide students, families, and teachers with essential resources. Using data from a qualitative case study, this…

Nanoporous Au: An experimental study on the porosity of dealloyed AuAg leafs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grillo, R.; Torrisi, V.; Ruffino, F.

2016-12-01

We present a study on the fraction of porosity for dealloyed nanoporous Au leafs. Nanoporous Au is attracting great scientific interest due to its peculiar plasmonic properties and the high exposed surface (∼10 m2/g). As examples, it was used in prototypes of chemical and biological devices. However, the maximization of the devices sensitivity is subjected to the maximization of the exposed surface by the nanoporous Au, i. e. maximization of the porosity fraction. So, we report on the analyses of the porosity fraction in nanoporous Au leafs as a function of the fabrication process parameters. We dealloyed 60 μm-thick Au23Ag77 at.% leafs and we show that: a) for dealloying time till to 6 h, only a 450 nm-thick surface layer of the leafs assumes a nanoporous structure with a porosity fraction of 32%. For a dealloying time of 20 h the leafs result fragmented in small black pieces with a porosity fraction increased to 60%. b) After 600 °C-30 minutes annealing of the previous samples, the nanopores disappear due to the Au/residual Ag inter-diffusion. c) After a second dealloying process on the previously annealed samples, the surface nanoporous structure is, again, obtained with the porosity fraction increased to 50%.

The effect of Au amount on size uniformity of self-assembled Au nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, S.-H.; Wang, D.-C.; Chen, G.-Y.; Chen, K.-Y.

2008-03-01

The self-assembled fabrication of nanostructure, a dreaming approach in the area of fabrication engineering, is the ultimate goal of this research. A finding was proved through previous research that the size of the self-assembled gold nanoparticles could be controlled with the mole ratio between AuCl4- and thiol. In this study, the moles of Au were fixed, only the moles of thiol were adjusted. Five different mole ratios of Au/S with their effect on size uniformity were investigated. The mole ratios were 1:1/16, 1:1/8, 1:1, 1:8, 1:16, respectively. The size distributions of the gold nanoparticles were analyzed by Mac-View analysis software. HR-TEM was used to derive images of self-assembled gold nanoparticles. The result reached was also the higher the mole ratio between AuCl4- and thiol the bigger the self-assembled gold nanoparticles. Under the condition of moles of Au fixed, the most homogeneous nanoparticles in size distribution derived with the mole ratio of 1:1/8 between AuCl4- and thiol. The obtained nanoparticles could be used, for example, in uniform surface nanofabrication, leading to the fabrication of ordered array of quantum dots.

Validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research

PubMed Central

Leung, Lawrence

2015-01-01

In general practice, qualitative research contributes as significantly as quantitative research, in particular regarding psycho-social aspects of patient-care, health services provision, policy setting, and health administrations. In contrast to quantitative research, qualitative research as a whole has been constantly critiqued, if not disparaged, by the lack of consensus for assessing its quality and robustness. This article illustrates with five published studies how qualitative research can impact and reshape the discipline of primary care, spiraling out from clinic-based health screening to community-based disease monitoring, evaluation of out-of-hours triage services to provincial psychiatric care pathways model and finally, national legislation of core measures for children's healthcare insurance. Fundamental concepts of validity, reliability, and generalizability as applicable to qualitative research are then addressed with an update on the current views and controversies. PMID:26288766

Colloidal Au and Au-alloy catalysts for direct borohydride fuel cells: Electrocatalysis and fuel cell performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atwan, Mohammed H.; Macdonald, Charles L. B.; Northwood, Derek O.; Gyenge, Elod L.

Supported colloidal Au and Au-alloys (Au-Pt and Au-Pd, 1:1 atomic ratio) on Vulcan XC-72 (with 20 wt% metal load) were prepared by the Bönneman method. The electrocatalytic activity of the colloidal metals with respect to borohydride electro-oxidation for fuel cell applications was investigated by voltammetry on static and rotating electrodes, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry and fuel cell experiments. The fundamental electrochemical techniques showed that alloying Au, a metal that leads to the maximum eight-electron oxidation of BH 4 -, with Pd or Pt, well-known catalysts of dehydrogenation reactions, improved the electrode kinetics of BH 4 - oxidation. Fuel cell experiments corroborated the kinetic studies. Using 5 mg cm -2 colloidal metal load on the anode, it was found that Au-Pt was the most active catalyst giving a cell voltage of 0.47 V at 100 mA cm -2 and 333 K, while under identical conditions the cell voltage using colloidal Au was 0.17 V.

Prediction du profil de durete de l'acier AISI 4340 traite thermiquement au laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maamri, Ilyes

Les traitements thermiques de surfaces sont des procedes qui visent a conferer au coeur et a la surface des pieces mecaniques des proprietes differentes. Ils permettent d'ameliorer la resistance a l'usure et a la fatigue en durcissant les zones critiques superficielles par des apports thermiques courts et localises. Parmi les procedes qui se distinguent par leur capacite en terme de puissance surfacique, le traitement thermique de surface au laser offre des cycles thermiques rapides, localises et precis tout en limitant les risques de deformations indesirables. Les proprietes mecaniques de la zone durcie obtenue par ce procede dependent des proprietes physicochimiques du materiau a traiter et de plusieurs parametres du procede. Pour etre en mesure d'exploiter adequatement les ressources qu'offre ce procede, il est necessaire de developper des strategies permettant de controler et regler les parametres de maniere a produire avec precision les caracteristiques desirees pour la surface durcie sans recourir au classique long et couteux processus essai-erreur. L'objectif du projet consiste donc a developper des modeles pour predire le profil de durete dans le cas de traitement thermique de pieces en acier AISI 4340. Pour comprendre le comportement du procede et evaluer les effets des differents parametres sur la qualite du traitement, une etude de sensibilite a ete menee en se basant sur une planification experimentale structuree combinee a des techniques d'analyse statistiques eprouvees. Les resultats de cette etude ont permis l'identification des variables les plus pertinentes a exploiter pour la modelisation. Suite a cette analyse et dans le but d'elaborer un premier modele, deux techniques de modelisation ont ete considerees, soient la regression multiple et les reseaux de neurones. Les deux techniques ont conduit a des modeles de qualite acceptable avec une precision d'environ 90%. Pour ameliorer les performances des modeles a base de reseaux de neurones, deux

Experiences of health care providers with integrated HIV and reproductive health services in Kenya: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Mutemwa, Richard; Mayhew, Susannah; Colombini, Manuela; Busza, Joanna; Kivunaga, Jackline; Ndwiga, Charity

2013-01-11

There is broad consensus on the value of integration of HIV services and reproductive health services in regions of the world with generalised HIV/AIDS epidemics and high reproductive morbidity. Integration is thought to increase access to and uptake of health services; and improves their efficiency and cost-effectiveness through better use of available resources. However, there is still very limited empirical literature on health service providers and how they experience and operationalize integration. This qualitative study was conducted among frontline health workers to explore provider experiences with integration in order to ascertain their significance to the performance of integrated health facilities. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 frontline clinical officers, registered nurses, and enrolled nurses in Kitui district (Eastern province) and Thika and Nyeri districts (Central province) in Kenya. The study was conducted in health facilities providing integrated HIV and reproductive health services (post-natal care and family planning). All interviews were conducted in English, transcribed and analysed using Nvivo 8 qualitative data analysis software. Providers reported delivering services in provider-level and unit-level integration, as well as a combination of both. Provider experiences of actual integration were mixed. At personal level, providers valued skills enhancement, more variety and challenge in their work, better job satisfaction through increased client-satisfaction. However, they also felt that their salaries were poor, they faced increased occupational stress from: increased workload, treating very sick/poor clients, and less quality time with clients. At operational level, providers reported increased service uptake, increased willingness among clients to take an HIV test, and reduced loss of clients. But the majority also reported infrastructural and logistic deficiencies (insufficient physical room space, equipment

Women's experiences and views about costs of seeking malaria chemoprevention and other antenatal services: a qualitative study from two districts in rural Tanzania.

PubMed

Mubyazi, Godfrey M; Bloch, Paul; Magnussen, Pascal; Olsen, Øystein E; Byskov, Jens; Hansen, Kristian S; Bygbjerg, Ib C

2010-02-17

The Tanzanian government recommends women who attend antenatal care (ANC) clinics to accept receiving intermittent preventive treatment against malaria during pregnancy (IPTp) and vouchers for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) at subsidized prices. Little emphasis has been paid to investigate the ability of pregnant women to access and effectively utilize these services. To describe the experience and perceptions of pregnant women about costs and cost barriers for accessing ANC services with emphasis on IPTp in rural Tanzania. Qualitative data were collected in the districts of Mufindi in Iringa Region and Mkuranga in Coast Region through 1) focus group discussions (FGDs) with pregnant women and mothers to infants and 2) exit-interviews with pregnant women identified at ANC clinics. Data were analyzed manually using qualitative content analysis methodology. FGD participants and interview respondents identified the following key limiting factors for women's use of ANC services: 1) costs in terms of money and time associated with accessing ANC clinics, 2) the presence of more or less official user-fees for some services within the ANC package, and 3) service providers' application of fines, penalties and blame when failing to adhere to service schedules. Interestingly, the time associated with travelling long distances to ANC clinics and ITN retailers and with waiting for services at clinic-level was a major factor of discouragement in the health seeking behaviour of pregnant women because it seriously affected their domestic responsibilities. A variety of resource-related factors were shown to affect the health seeking behaviour of pregnant women in rural Tanzania. Thus, accessibility to ANC services was hampered by direct and indirect costs, travel distances and waiting time. Strengthening of user-fee exemption practices and bringing services closer to the users, for example by promoting community-directed control of selected public health services, including IPTp

High-temperature stability of Au/Pd/Cu and Au/Pd(P)/Cu surface finishes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, C. E.; Hsieh, W. Z.; Lee, P. T.; Huang, Y. H.; Kuo, T. T.

2018-03-01

Thermal reliability of Au/Pd/Cu and Au/Pd(4-6 wt.% P)/Cu trilayers in the isothermal annealing at 180 °C were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The pure Pd film possessed a nanocrystalline structure with numerous grain boundaries, thereby facilitating the interdiffusion between Au and Cu. Out-diffusion of Cu through Pd and Au grain boundaries yielded a significant amount of Cu oxides (CuO and Cu2O) over the Au surface and gave rise to void formation in the Cu film. By contrast, the Pd(P) film was amorphous and served as a good diffusion barrier against Cu diffusion. The results of this study indicated that amorphous Pd(P) possessed better oxidation resistance and thermal reliability than crystalline Pd.

Cultural barriers in access to healthcare services for people with disability in Iran: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Soltani, Shahin; Takian, Amirhossein; Akbari Sari, Ali; Majdzadeh, Reza; Kamali, Mohammad

2017-01-01

Background: People with disability experience various problems to access to healthcare services. This study aimed to identify cultural barriers in access to healthcare services for people with disability in Iran. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using content analysis to identify the cultural barriers. We used semi-structured interviews to collect data. Participants were selected through purposeful sampling with maximum variation. 50 individual interviews were conducted with three groups of people with disability, healthcare services providers and policy makers, September to May 2015, at different locations in Tehran, Iran. Results: We identified a number of different cultural barriers in access to health services for people with disability in Iran. These related to health service providers, namely reluctance to provide health services and disrespect; related to People with disability, namely denial of disability, disproportionate expectation, shame and insufficient sociocultural supports; and related to policy makers, namely lack of concern, little attention to the culture of disability and discrimination. We categorized misconception as a barrier that was observed at all levels of the society. Conclusion: Disability is a reality that some human being may experience and live with it. The negative attitude towards people with disability has a close relationship with the cultural norms of a society. The culture of disability in different dimensions should be a priority for all policy makers. Removing cultural barriers in access to healthcare for people with a disability needs collective efforts and collaborations among all stakeholders.

Developing a change model for peer worker interventions in mental health services: a qualitative research study.

PubMed

Gillard, S; Gibson, S L; Holley, J; Lucock, M

2015-10-01

A range of peer worker roles are being introduced into mental health services internationally. There is some evidence that attests to the benefits of peer workers for the people they support but formal trial evidence in inconclusive, in part because the change model underpinning peer support-based interventions is underdeveloped. Complex intervention evaluation guidance suggests that understandings of how an intervention is associated with change in outcomes should be modelled, theoretically and empirically, before the intervention can be robustly evaluated. This paper aims to model the change mechanisms underlying peer worker interventions. In a qualitative, comparative case study of ten peer worker initiatives in statutory and voluntary sector mental health services in England in-depth interviews were carried out with 71 peer workers, service users, staff and managers, exploring their experiences of peer working. Using a Grounded Theory approach we identified core processes within the peer worker role that were productive of change for service users supported by peer workers. Key change mechanisms were: (i) building trusting relationships based on shared lived experience; (ii) role-modelling individual recovery and living well with mental health problems; (iii) engaging service users with mental health services and the community. Mechanisms could be further explained by theoretical literature on role-modelling and relationship in mental health services. We were able to model process and downstream outcomes potentially associated with peer worker interventions. An empirically and theoretically grounded change model can be articulated that usefully informs the development, evaluation and planning of peer worker interventions.

A qualitative analysis of health professionals' job descriptions for surgical service delivery in Uganda.

PubMed

Buwembo, William; Munabi, Ian G; Galukande, Moses; Kituuka, Olivia; Luboga, Samuel A

2014-01-01

The ever increasing demand for surgical services in sub-Saharan Africa is creating a need to increase the number of health workers able to provide surgical care. This calls for the optimisation of all available human resources to provide universal access to essential and emergency surgical services. One way of optimising already scarce human resources for health is by clarifying job descriptions to guide the scope of practice, measuring rewards/benefits for the health workers providing surgical care, and informing education and training for health professionals. This study set out to determine the scope of the mandate to perform surgical procedures in current job descriptions of surgical care health professionals in Uganda. A document review was conducted of job descriptions for the health professionals responsible for surgical service delivery in the Ugandan Health care system. The job descriptions were extracted and subjected to a qualitative content data analysis approach using a text based RQDA package of the open source R statistical computing software. It was observed that there was no explicit mention of assignment of delivery of surgical services to a particular cadre. Instead the bulk of direct patient related care, including surgical attention, was assigned to the lower cadres, in particular the medical officer. Senior cadres were assigned to perform predominantly advisory and managerial roles in the health care system. In addition, a no cost opportunity to task shift surgical service delivery to the senior clinical officers was identified. There is a need to specifically assign the mandate to provide surgical care tasks, according to degree of complexity, to adequately trained cadres of health workers. Health professionals' current job descriptions are not explicit, and therefore do not adequately support proper training, deployment, defined scope of practice, and remuneration for equitable surgical service delivery in Uganda. Such deliberate assignment

Uncommon and Emissive {[Au2(C3H6NS2)2][Au(C3H6NS2)2]2(PF6)2} Mixed Au+ and Au3+ Pseudotetranuclear Crystalline Compound: Synthesis, Structural Characterization, and Optical Properties.

PubMed

Langaro, Ana P; Souza, Ana K R; Morassuti, Claudio Y; Lima, Sandro M; Casagrande, Gleison A; Deflon, Victor M; Nunes, Luiz A O; Da Cunha Andrade, Luis H

2016-11-23

An uncommon emissive pseudotetranuclear compound, {[Au 2 (C 3 H 6 NS 2 ) 2 ][Au(C 3 H 6 NS 2 ) 2 ] 2 (PF 6 ) 2 }, was synthesized and characterized in terms of its structure and optical properties. The synthesis produced a crystalline compound composed of four gold atoms with two different oxidation states (Au + and Au 3+ ) in the same crystalline structure. The title complex belonged to a triclinic crystalline system involving the centrosymmetric P1̅ space group. X-ray diffractometry and vibrational spectroscopy (infrared, Raman, and SERS) were used for structural characterization of the new crystal. The vibrational spectroscopy techniques supported the X-ray diffraction results and confirmed the presence of bonds including Au-Au and Au-S. Optical characterization performed using UV-vis spectroscopy showed that under ultraviolet excitation, the emissive crystalline complex presented characteristic broad luminescent bands centered at 420 and 670 nm.

Lived experiences of routine antenatal dietetic services among women with obesity: A qualitative phenomenological study.

PubMed

Heslehurst, Nicola; Dinsdale, Sarah; Brandon, Helene; Johnston, Camilla; Summerbell, Carolyn; Rankin, Judith

2017-06-01

to understand the lived experiences and views of being referred to an antenatal dietetic service from the perspective of pregnant women with obesity. a qualitative, interpretive approach using one-to-one in-depth interviews to explore the lived experience of pregnant women with obesity following referral to an antenatal dietetics service. Thematic content analysis was carried out by two researchers independently to develop data-driven themes. one NHS Trust maternity and dietetic services, North East England, UK. fifteen pregnant women with a booking body mass index ≥30kg/m 2 attending an obesity-specific antenatal dietetic service. All women were White, parity between 0 and 2, and BMI range 30-51kg/m 2 . four themes were identified. (1) Women's overall experience of the service: experiences were predominately positive with only two negative cases identified. (2) Process of referral: women placed importance on informative and in-person communication about the service, with health professionals, at the point of referral. (3) Delivery of the service: dietitians were considered to be the experts and women wanted more frequent contact. (4) Content of the service: tailored advice enabled behaviour change, and women desired increased physical activity support and weight monitoring. women reported an overall positive experience and thought that dietitians were the expert health professionals to support them. Women in this study felt that tailoring advice specific to their personal circumstances helped them implement changes, and had a strong interest in the nutritional benefits for fetal development. Women considered weight monitoring to be a positive element of the service; however, further research is required given the limited and conflicting evidence-base. it is important to incorporate women's experiences in the development and delivery of antenatal weight management services to facilitate person-centred care. Communication by health professionals at the point of

Compound formation and superconductivity in Au-Si: X-ray absorption measurements on ion-beam-mixed Au-Si films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jeon, Y.; Jisrawi, N.; Liang, G.

Multilayered Au-Si thin films have been deposited with the net compositions ''Au/sub 1-//sub x/Si/sub x/,'' x = 0.29, 0.5, and 0.8. After ion-beam mixing these films exhibited superconductivity in the 0.3--1.2 K range despite the nonsuperconducting character of both Au and Si. Near-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements on the Au L/sub 3/ edge in these films indicate that metastable Au-Si compound formation occurs in these ion-mixed materials. Specifically, the XAS measurements indicate changes in Au 5d-orbital occupancy and changes in the local Au structural environment which are both consistent with local compound formation.

A Qualitative Analysis of Pre-Service Primary School Teachers' TPACK Development over the Four Years of Their Teacher Preparation Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Lincoln; Dalgarno, Barney

2017-01-01

This article reports on a qualitative case study which examined the development of six Australian pre-service teachers' Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK), through a series of six semi-structured interviews, over the duration of their four-year teacher preparation programme. Consistent with the research design employed,…

Au plasmonics in a WS{sub 2}-Au-CuInS{sub 2} photocatalyst for significantly enhanced hydrogen generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Zhongzhou; School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083; Wang, Zhenxing, E-mail: wangzx@nanoctr.cn, E-mail: hej@nanoctr.cn

2015-11-30

Promoting the activities of photocatalysts is still the critical challenge in H{sub 2} generation area. Here, a Au plasmon enhanced photocatalyst of WS{sub 2}-Au-CuInS{sub 2} is developed by inserting Au nanoparticles between WS{sub 2} nanotubes and CuInS{sub 2} (CIS) nanoparticles. Due to the localized surface plasmonic resonance properties from Au nanoparticles, WS{sub 2}-Au-CIS shows the best performance as compared to Au-CIS, CIS, WS{sub 2}-CIS, CIS-Au, WS{sub 2}-Au, and WS{sub 2}-CIS-Au. The surface plasmonic resonance effects dramatically intensify the absorption of visible light and help to inject hot electrons into the semiconductors. Our findings open up an efficient method to optimizemore » the type-II structures for photocatalytic water splitting.« less

Tunable optical properties of plasmonic Au/Al2O3 nanocomposite thin films analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry accounting surface characteristics.

PubMed

Jaiswal, Jyoti; Mourya, Satyendra; Malik, Gaurav; Chandra, Ramesh

2018-05-01

In the present work, we have fabricated plasmonic gold/alumina nanocomposite (Au/Al 2 O 3 NC) thin films on a glass substrate at room temperature by RF magnetron co-sputtering. The influence of the film thickness (∼10-40  nm) on the optical and other physical properties of the samples was investigated and correlated with the structural and compositional properties. The X-ray diffractometer measurement revealed the formation of Au nanoparticles with average crystallite size (5-9.2 nm) embedded in an amorphous Al 2 O 3 matrix. The energy-dispersive X ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of Au/Al 2 O 3 NC quantitatively and qualitatively and it was observed that atomic% of Au increased by increasing thickness. The optical constants of the plasmonic Au/Al 2 O 3 NC thin films were examined by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wide spectral range of 246-1688 nm, accounting the surface characteristics in the optical stack model, and the obtained results are expected to be unique. Additionally, a thickness-dependent blueshift (631-590 nm) of surface plasmon resonance peak was observed in the absorption spectra. These findings of the plasmonic Au/Al 2 O 3 NC films may allow the design and fabrication of small, compact, and efficient devices for optoelectronic and photonic applications.

What influences patients’ acceptance of a blood pressure telemonitoring service in primary care? A qualitative study

PubMed Central

Abdullah, Adina; Liew, Su May; Hanafi, Nik Sherina; Ng, Chirk Jenn; Lai, Pauline Siew Mei; Chia, Yook Chin; Loo, Chu Kiong

2016-01-01

Background Telemonitoring of home blood pressure (BP) is found to have a positive effect on BP control. Delivering a BP telemonitoring service in primary care offers primary care physicians an innovative approach toward management of their patients with hypertension. However, little is known about patients’ acceptance of such service in routine clinical care. Objective This study aimed to explore patients’ acceptance of a BP telemonitoring service delivered in primary care based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Methods A qualitative study design was used. Primary care patients with uncontrolled office BP who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled into a BP telemonitoring service offered between the period August 2012 and September 2012. This service was delivered at an urban primary care clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Twenty patients used the BP telemonitoring service. Of these, 17 patients consented to share their views and experiences through five in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions. An interview guide was developed based on the TAM. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used for analysis. Results Patients found the BP telemonitoring service easy to use but struggled with the perceived usefulness of doing so. They expressed confusion in making sense of the monitored home BP readings. They often thought about the implications of these readings to their hypertension management and overall health. Patients wanted more feedback from their doctors and suggested improvement to the BP telemonitoring functionalities to improve interactions. Patients cited being involved in research as the main reason for their intention to use the service. They felt that patients with limited experience with the internet and information technology, who worked out of town, or who had an outdoor hobby would not be able to benefit from such a service. Conclusion Patients found BP telemonitoring service in

Identified particles in Au+Au collisions at S=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phobos Collaboration; Wosiek, Barbara; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Ballintijn, M.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stodulski, M.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2003-03-01

The yields of identified particles have been measured at RHIC for Au+Au collisions at S=200 GeV using the PHOBOS spectrometer. The ratios of antiparticle to particle yields near mid-rapidity are presented. The first measurements of the invariant yields of charged pions, kaons and protons at very low transverse momenta are also shown.

Involving consumers in assessing service quality: benefits of using a qualitative approach.

PubMed Central

Powell, J; Lovelock, R; Bray, J; Philp, I

1994-01-01

Although important to users, practice standards rarely incorporate users' views of care provided. These views are a valuable source of information, even though there are limits to their value. To improve the standards of care in a 20 bed hospital elderly care unit caring for acute medical conditions a qualitative approach was used. Patients' and carers' perceptions of care and problems with the process of care in the unit were elicited with a specially designed semistructured interview schedule in 83 separate tape recorded interviews with a research nurse in patients' homes. In all, 50 patients and 35 carers were interviewed between 6 June 1991 and 28 May 1992. Of the 50 patients, 33 were female; seven patients were aged less than 80 years, 16, 80-85; 21, 86-90; and six over 90. A total of 16 patients lived with spouses or other carers, two with non-carers, and 32 lived alone, 18 of whom received informal care. Content analysis of the interviews disclosed patients' and carers' general satisfaction with individualised professional care and planning of follow up services on discharge but dissatisfaction in the lack of information about and involvement in treatment and care and about specific staff notes. These findings have prompted remedial changes in clinical practice in the unit; they have also formed the structure of a criterion based survey of practice. The authors conclude that the qualitative approach suited elderly users and also provided the basis for the findings to be incorporated into a continuous audit cycle through a process of feedback and standard setting. PMID:10140234

Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in mental health in-patient services: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Purcell, Audrey; Clarke, Mary; Maidment, Ian

2018-06-01

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important and potentially preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalised patients. It is a significant, international patient safety issue affecting medical, surgical and mental health in-patients. There is a paucity of published evidence on the incidence of VTE, and the role of VTE risk-assessment and prophylaxis, in mental healthcare settings. Epidemiological evidence indicates that antipsychotic medications are an independent risk factor for VTE. Objective To explore healthcare practitioners' experiences and perspectives regarding VTE prophylaxis for in-patients in mental health services in Ireland. Setting This study was conducted in two national teaching hospitals in Dublin, Ireland. Method This experiential, qualitative study was conducted using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to allow strategic selection of participants from the pharmacy, medical and nursing disciplines. Data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies guidelines were used as a reporting framework. Main outcome measure Participants' views on VTE prophylaxis for mental health in-patients. Results Five key themes were derived: risk factors in mental health, attitudes to risk-assessment, challenges with VTE prophylaxis, lack of awareness, and lack of evidence in mental health. Conclusion The results indicate considerable diversities in perceived risk of VTE, and in experiences with VTE risk-assessment and prophylaxis. VTE risk was considered in practice specifically for immobile, older adults and eating disorder patients on bed rest. Specific research is required to address this area of clinical uncertainty in mental health.

Transition experiences of mental health service users, parents, and professionals in the United Kingdom: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Hovish, Kimberly; Weaver, Tim; Islam, Zoebia; Paul, Moli; Singh, Swaran P

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) users, parents and professionals in relation to transition between CAMHS and adult mental health services (AMHS) in the United Kingdom. Young people were sampled from an observational study population of people reaching the transition boundary between CAMHS and AMHS. We thematically analyzed qualitative interviews with service users, parents and clinicians. Eleven service users were interviewed and linked interviews were completed with parents (n=6), and responsible clinicians in CAMHS (n=3) and AMHS (n=6). Informal and gradual preparation, transfer planning meetings, periods of parallel care, and consistency in key-workers promoted positive experiences of transition. Transfers between AMHS, changes of key-worker and waiting lists were viewed negatively. Other life transitions, including changes in housing, pregnancy, physical illness, and the involvement of parents or other services were sometimes powerful extraneous influences on transition experiences. The cumulative effect of multiple transitions is a complex and unsettling experience for many service users. Service user experiences are more likely to be positive if healthcare transition is a gradual process, tailored to the young person's needs and managed in the context of the other simultaneous practical, developmental and psychosocial transitions. Transfer planning meetings and parallel care were valued by all parties and should be standard practice at transition. CAMHS and AMHS need to work jointly to improve the transition process in these ways in order to enhance the outcomes for young people.

pH-Induced transformation of ligated Au25 to brighter Au23 nanoclusters.

PubMed

Waszkielewicz, Magdalena; Olesiak-Banska, Joanna; Comby-Zerbino, Clothilde; Bertorelle, Franck; Dagany, Xavier; Bansal, Ashu K; Sajjad, Muhammad T; Samuel, Ifor D W; Sanader, Zeljka; Rozycka, Miroslawa; Wojtas, Magdalena; Matczyszyn, Katarzyna; Bonacic-Koutecky, Vlasta; Antoine, Rodolphe; Ozyhar, Andrzej; Samoc, Marek

2018-05-01

Thiolate-protected gold nanoclusters have recently attracted considerable attention due to their size-dependent luminescence characterized by a long lifetime and large Stokes shift. However, the optimization of nanocluster properties such as the luminescence quantum yield is still a challenge. We report here the transformation of Au25Capt18 (Capt labels captopril) nanoclusters occurring at low pH and yielding a product with a much increased luminescence quantum yield which we have identified as Au23Capt17. We applied a simple method of treatment with HCl to accomplish this transformation and we characterized the absorption and emission of the newly created ligated nanoclusters as well as their morphology. Based on DFT calculations we show which Au nanocluster size transformations can lead to highly luminescent species such as Au23Capt17.

Measurements of mass-dependent azimuthal anisotropy in central p + Au, d + Au, and He 3 + Au collisions at s N N = 200 GeV

DOE PAGES

Adare, A.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.; ...

2018-06-11

Here, we present measurements of the transverse-momentum dependence of elliptic flow v 2 for identified pions and (anti)protons at midrapidity (|η| < 0.35), in 0%–5% central p+Au and 3He+Au collisions at √ s NN = 200 GeV. When taken together with previously published measurements in d + Au collisions at √ s NN = 200 GeV, the results cover a broad range of small-collision-system multiplicities and intrinsic initial geometries. We observe a clear mass-dependent splitting of v 2(p T) in d + Au and 3He + Au collisions, just as in large nucleus-nucleus (A + A) collisions, and a smallermore » splitting in p + Au collisions. Both hydrodynamic and transport model calculations successfully describe the data at low p T (< 1.5GeV/c), but fail to describe various features at higher p T. In all systems, the v 2 values follow an approximate quark-number scaling as a function of the hadron transverse kinetic energy per constituent quark (KE T/n q), which was also seen previously in A + A collisions.« less

Measurements of mass-dependent azimuthal anisotropy in central p + Au, d + Au, and He 3 + Au collisions at s N N = 200 GeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adare, A.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.

Here, we present measurements of the transverse-momentum dependence of elliptic flow v 2 for identified pions and (anti)protons at midrapidity (|η| < 0.35), in 0%–5% central p+Au and 3He+Au collisions at √ s NN = 200 GeV. When taken together with previously published measurements in d + Au collisions at √ s NN = 200 GeV, the results cover a broad range of small-collision-system multiplicities and intrinsic initial geometries. We observe a clear mass-dependent splitting of v 2(p T) in d + Au and 3He + Au collisions, just as in large nucleus-nucleus (A + A) collisions, and a smallermore » splitting in p + Au collisions. Both hydrodynamic and transport model calculations successfully describe the data at low p T (< 1.5GeV/c), but fail to describe various features at higher p T. In all systems, the v 2 values follow an approximate quark-number scaling as a function of the hadron transverse kinetic energy per constituent quark (KE T/n q), which was also seen previously in A + A collisions.« less

Supporting the use of theory in cross-country health services research: a participatory qualitative approach using Normalisation Process Theory as an example

PubMed Central

Mair, Frances S; Dowrick, Christopher; Brún, Mary O’Reilly-de; de Brún, Tomas; Burns, Nicola; Lionis, Christos; Saridaki, Aristoula; Papadakaki, Maria; van den Muijsenbergh, Maria; van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn; Gravenhorst, Katja; Cooper, Lucy; Princz, Christine; Teunissen, Erik; Mareeuw, Francine van den Driessen; Vlahadi, Maria; Spiegel, Wolfgang; MacFarlane, Anne

2017-01-01

Objectives To describe and reflect on the process of designing and delivering a training programme supporting the use of theory, in this case Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), in a multisite cross-country health services research study. Design Participatory research approach using qualitative methods. Setting Six European primary care settings involving research teams from Austria, England, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland. Participants RESTORE research team consisting of 8 project applicants, all senior primary care academics, and 10 researchers. Professional backgrounds included general practitioners/family doctors, social/cultural anthropologists, sociologists and health services/primary care researchers. Primary outcome measures Views of all research team members (n=18) were assessed using qualitative evaluation methods, analysed qualitatively by the trainers after each session. Results Most of the team had no experience of using NPT and many had not applied theory to prospective, qualitative research projects. Early training proved didactic and overloaded participants with information. Drawing on RESTORE’s methodological approach of Participatory Learning and Action, workshops using role play, experiential interactive exercises and light-hearted examples not directly related to the study subject matter were developed. Evaluation showed the study team quickly grew in knowledge and confidence in applying theory to fieldwork. Recommendations applicable to other studies include: accepting that theory application is not a linear process, that time is needed to address researcher concerns with the process, and that experiential, interactive learning is a key device in building conceptual and practical knowledge. An unanticipated benefit was the smooth transition to cross-country qualitative coding of study data. Conclusion A structured programme of training enhanced and supported the prospective application of a theory, NPT, to our work but raised

Recent HBT results in Au+Au and p+p collisions from PHENIX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

PHENIX Collaboration; Glenn, Andrew; PHENIX Collaboration

2009-11-01

We present Hanbury-Brown Twiss measurements from the PHENIX experiment at RHIC for final results for charged kaon pairs from s=200 GeV Au+Au collisions and preliminary results for charged pion pairs from s=200 GeVp+p collisions. We find that for kaon pairs from Au+Au, each traditional 3D Gaussian radius shows approximately the same linear increase as a function of Npart1/3. An imaging analysis reveals a significant non-Gaussian tail for r≳10 fm. The presence of a tail for kaon pairs demonstrates that similar non-Gaussian tails observed in earlier pion measurements cannot be fully explained by decays of long-lived resonances. The preliminary analysis of pions from s=200 GeV p+p minimum biased collisions show correlations which are well suited to traditional 3D HBT radii extraction via the Bowler-Sinyukov method, and we present R, R, and R as a function of mean transverse pair mass.

{phi} meson production in Au + Au and p + p collisions at {radical}s{sub NN}=200 GeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, J.; Adler, C.; Aggarwal, M.M.

2004-06-01

We report the STAR measurement of {psi} meson production in Au + Au and p + p collisions at {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV. Using the event mixing technique, the {psi} spectra and yields are obtained at midrapidity for five centrality bins in Au+Au collisions and for non-singly-diffractive p+p collisions. It is found that the {psi} transverse momentum distributions from Au+Au collisions are better fitted with a single-exponential while the p+p spectrum is better described by a double-exponential distribution. The measured nuclear modification factors indicate that {psi} production in central Au+Au collisions is suppressed relative to peripheral collisions when scaledmore » by the number of binary collisions (). The systematics of versus centrality and the constant {psi}/K{sup -} ratio versus beam species, centrality, and collision energy rule out kaon coalescence as the dominant mechanism for {psi} production.« less

Solvent effects on the adsorption and self-organization of Mn12 on Au(111).

PubMed

Pineider, Francesco; Mannini, Matteo; Sessoli, Roberta; Caneschi, Andrea; Barreca, Davide; Armelao, Lidia; Cornia, Andrea; Tondello, Eugenio; Gatteschi, Dante

2007-11-06

A sulfur-containing single molecule magnet, [Mn12O12(O2CC6H4SCH3)16(H2O)4], was assembled from solution on a Au(111) surface affording both submonolayer and monolayer coverages. The adsorbate morphology and the degree of coverage were inspected by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) allowed the determination of the chemical nature of the adsorbate on a qualitative and quantitative basis. The properties of the adsorbates were found to be strongly dependent on the solvent used to dissolve the magnetic complex. In particular, systems prepared from tetrahydrofuran solutions gave arrays of isolated and partially ordered clusters on the gold substrate, while samples prepared from dichloromethane exhibited a homogeneous monolayer coverage of the whole Au(111) surface. These findings are relevant to the optimization of magnetic addressing of single molecule magnets on surfaces.

Measurements of mass-dependent azimuthal anisotropy in central p + Au, d + Au, and 3He + Au collisions at √{sN N}=200 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adare, A.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.; Akiba, Y.; Alfred, M.; Andrieux, V.; Apadula, N.; Asano, H.; Azmoun, B.; Babintsev, V.; Bagoly, A.; Bai, M.; Bandara, N. S.; Bannier, B.; Barish, K. N.; Bathe, S.; Bazilevsky, A.; Beaumier, M.; Beckman, S.; Belmont, R.; Berdnikov, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Blau, D. S.; Boer, M.; Bok, J. S.; Boyle, K.; Brooks, M. L.; Bryslawskyj, J.; Bumazhnov, V.; Campbell, S.; Canoa Roman, V.; Cervantes, R.; Chen, C.-H.; Chi, C. Y.; Chiu, M.; Choi, I. J.; Choi, J. B.; Chujo, T.; Citron, Z.; Connors, M.; Cronin, N.; Csanád, M.; Csörgő, T.; Danley, T. W.; Datta, A.; Daugherity, M. S.; David, G.; Deblasio, K.; Dehmelt, K.; Denisov, A.; Deshpande, A.; Desmond, E. J.; Dion, A.; Diss, P. B.; Dixit, D.; Do, J. H.; Drees, A.; Drees, K. A.; Durham, J. M.; Durum, A.; Enokizono, A.; En'yo, H.; Esumi, S.; Fadem, B.; Fan, W.; Feege, N.; Fields, D. E.; Finger, M.; Finger, M.; Fokin, S. L.; Frantz, J. E.; Franz, A.; Frawley, A. D.; Fukuda, Y.; Gal, C.; Gallus, P.; Garg, P.; Ge, H.; Giordano, F.; Glenn, A.; Goto, Y.; Grau, N.; Greene, S. V.; Grosse Perdekamp, M.; Gunji, T.; Guragain, H.; Hachiya, T.; Haggerty, J. S.; Hahn, K. I.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamilton, H. F.; Han, S. Y.; Hanks, J.; Hasegawa, S.; Haseler, T. O. S.; Hashimoto, K.; He, X.; Hemmick, T. K.; Hill, J. C.; Hill, K.; Hodges, A.; Hollis, R. S.; Homma, K.; Hong, B.; Hoshino, T.; Hotvedt, N.; Huang, J.; Huang, S.; Imai, K.; Imrek, J.; Inaba, M.; Iordanova, A.; Isenhower, D.; Ivanishchev, D.; Jacak, B. V.; Jezghani, M.; Ji, Z.; Jia, J.; Jiang, X.; Johnson, B. M.; Jorjadze, V.; Jouan, D.; Jumper, D. S.; Kanda, S.; Kang, J. H.; Kapukchyan, D.; Karthas, S.; Kawall, D.; Kazantsev, A. V.; Key, J. A.; Khachatryan, V.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kim, C.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, E.-J.; Kim, G. W.; Kim, M.; Kim, M. H.; Kimelman, B.; Kincses, D.; Kistenev, E.; Kitamura, R.; Klatsky, J.; Kleinjan, D.; Kline, P.; Koblesky, T.; Komkov, B.; Kotov, D.; Kudo, S.; Kurgyis, B.; Kurita, K.; Kurosawa, M.; Kwon, Y.; Lacey, R.; Lajoie, J. G.; Lebedev, A.; Lee, S.; Lee, S. H.; Leitch, M. J.; Leung, Y. H.; Lewis, N. A.; Li, X.; Li, X.; Lim, S. H.; Liu, M. X.; Loggins, V.-R.; Lökös, S.; Lovasz, K.; Lynch, D.; Majoros, T.; Makdisi, Y. I.; Makek, M.; Manion, A.; Manko, V. I.; Mannel, E.; Masuda, H.; McCumber, M.; McGaughey, P. L.; McGlinchey, D.; McKinney, C.; Meles, A.; Mendoza, M.; Metzger, W. J.; Mignerey, A. C.; Mihalik, D. E.; Milov, A.; Mishra, D. K.; Mitchell, J. T.; Mitsuka, G.; Miyasaka, S.; Mizuno, S.; Mohanty, A. K.; Montuenga, P.; Moon, T.; Morrison, D. P.; Morrow, S. I.; Moukhanova, T. V.; Murakami, T.; Murata, J.; Mwai, A.; Nagai, K.; Nagashima, K.; Nagashima, T.; Nagle, J. L.; Nagy, M. I.; Nakagawa, I.; Nakagomi, H.; Nakano, K.; Nattrass, C.; Netrakanti, P. K.; Niida, T.; Nishimura, S.; Nouicer, R.; Novák, T.; Novitzky, N.; Nyanin, A. S.; O'Brien, E.; Ogilvie, C. A.; Orjuela Koop, J. D.; Osborn, J. D.; Oskarsson, A.; Ottino, G. J.; Ozawa, K.; Pak, R.; Pantuev, V.; Papavassiliou, V.; Park, J. S.; Park, S.; Pate, S. F.; Patel, M.; Peng, J.-C.; Peng, W.; Perepelitsa, D. V.; Perera, G. D. N.; Peressounko, D. Yu.; Perezlara, C. E.; Perry, J.; Petti, R.; Phipps, M.; Pinkenburg, C.; Pinson, R.; Pisani, R. P.; Pun, A.; Purschke, M. L.; Radzevich, P. V.; Rak, J.; Ramson, B. J.; Ravinovich, I.; Read, K. F.; Reynolds, D.; Riabov, V.; Riabov, Y.; Richford, D.; Rinn, T.; Rolnick, S. D.; Rosati, M.; Rowan, Z.; Rubin, J. G.; Runchey, J.; Safonov, A. S.; Sahlmueller, B.; Saito, N.; Sakaguchi, T.; Sako, H.; Samsonov, V.; Sarsour, M.; Sato, K.; Sato, S.; Schaefer, B.; Schmoll, B. K.; Sedgwick, K.; Seidl, R.; Sen, A.; Seto, R.; Sett, P.; Sexton, A.; Sharma, D.; Shein, I.; Shibata, T.-A.; Shigaki, K.; Shimomura, M.; Shioya, T.; Shukla, P.; Sickles, A.; Silva, C. L.; Silvermyr, D.; Singh, B. K.; Singh, C. P.; Singh, V.; Skoby, M. J.; Slunečka, M.; Snowball, M.; Soltz, R. A.; Sondheim, W. E.; Sorensen, S. P.; Sourikova, I. V.; Stankus, P. W.; Stepanov, M.; Stoll, S. P.; Sugitate, T.; Sukhanov, A.; Sumita, T.; Sun, J.; Sziklai, J.; Takeda, A.; Taketani, A.; Tanida, K.; Tannenbaum, M. J.; Tarafdar, S.; Taranenko, A.; Tarnai, G.; Tieulent, R.; Timilsina, A.; Todoroki, T.; Tomášek, M.; Towell, C. L.; Towell, R.; Towell, R. S.; Tserruya, I.; Ueda, Y.; Ujvari, B.; van Hecke, H. W.; Vazquez-Carson, S.; Velkovska, J.; Virius, M.; Vrba, V.; Vukman, N.; Wang, X. R.; Wang, Z.; Watanabe, Y.; Watanabe, Y. S.; Wei, F.; White, A. S.; Wong, C. P.; Woody, C. L.; Wysocki, M.; Xia, B.; Xu, C.; Xu, Q.; Xue, L.; Yalcin, S.; Yamaguchi, Y. L.; Yamamoto, H.; Yanovich, A.; Yin, P.; Yoo, J. H.; Yoon, I.; Yu, H.; Yushmanov, I. E.; Zajc, W. A.; Zelenski, A.; Zharko, S.; Zhou, S.; Zou, L.; Phenix Collaboration

2018-06-01

We present measurements of the transverse-momentum dependence of elliptic flow v2 for identified pions and (anti)protons at midrapidity (|η |<0.35 ), in 0%-5% central p +Au and 3He+Au collisions at √{sNN}=200 GeV. When taken together with previously published measurements in d +Au collisions at √{sNN}=200 GeV, the results cover a broad range of small-collision-system multiplicities and intrinsic initial geometries. We observe a clear mass-dependent splitting of v2(pT) in d +Au and 3He+Au collisions, just as in large nucleus-nucleus (A +A ) collisions, and a smaller splitting in p +Au collisions. Both hydrodynamic and transport model calculations successfully describe the data at low pT (<1.5 GeV /c ), but fail to describe various features at higher pT. In all systems, the v2 values follow an approximate quark-number scaling as a function of the hadron transverse kinetic energy per constituent quark (K ET/nq ), which was also seen previously in A +A collisions.

A National Health Service Hospital's cardiac rehabilitation programme: a qualitative analysis of provision.

PubMed

O'Driscoll, Jamie M; Shave, Robert; Cushion, Christopher J

2007-10-01

This paper reports a study examining the effectiveness of a London National Health Service Trust Hospital's cardiac rehabilitation programme, from the perspectives of healthcare professionals and patients. Cardiovascular disease is the world's leading cause of death and disability. Substantial research has reported that, following a cardiac event, cardiac rehabilitation can promote recovery, improve exercise capacity and patient health, reduce various coronary artery disease risk factors and subsequently reduce hospitalization costs. Despite these findings and the introduction of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease, there is wide variation in the practice, management and organization of cardiac rehabilitation services. A purposeful sample of three postmyocardial infarction patients registered on the selected hospital's cardiac rehabilitation programme, coupled with 11 healthcare professionals were selected. The patients acted as individual case studies. The authors followed all three patients through phase III of their cardiac rehabilitation programme. The research attempted to explore the roles and procedures of a London hospital's cardiac rehabilitation programme through an interpretative framework involving qualitative research methods. Participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews were the instruments used to collect data. Whilst the healthcare professionals were enthusiastic about coronary heart disease prevention, the London NHS trust hospital's cardiac rehabilitation programme had several barriers, which reduced the programme's success and prevented it from achieving National Service Framework targets. The barriers were complex and mainly included service-related factors, such as lack of professional training, weak communication between primary and secondary care and confused roles and identities. Although the study has immediate relevance for the local area, it highlighted issues of more general relevance to cardiac

Pakistani women's use of mental health services and the role of social networks: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative research.

PubMed

Kapadia, Dharmi; Brooks, Helen Louise; Nazroo, James; Tranmer, Mark

2017-07-01

Pakistani women in the UK are an at-risk group with high levels of mental health problems, but low levels of mental health service use. However, the rates of service use for Pakistani women are unclear, partly because research with South Asian women has been incorrectly generalised to Pakistani women. Further, this research has been largely undertaken within an individualistic paradigm, with little consideration of patients' social networks, and how these may drive decisions to seek help. This systematic review aimed to clarify usage rates, and describe the nature of Pakistani women's social networks and how they may influence mental health service use. Ten journal databases (ASSIA, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, HMIC, IBSS, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index and Sociological Abstracts) and six sources of grey literature were searched for studies published between 1960 and the end of March 2014. Twenty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Ten studies (quantitative) reported on inpatient or outpatient service use between ethnic groups. Seven studies (four quantitative, three qualitative) investigated the nature of social networks, and four studies (qualitative) commented on how social networks were involved in accessing mental health services. Pakistani women were less likely than white (British) women to use most specialist mental health services. No difference was found between Pakistani and white women for the consultation of general practitioners for mental health problems. Pakistani women's networks displayed high levels of stigmatising attitudes towards mental health problems and mental health services, which acted as a deterrent to seeking help. No studies were found which compared stigma in networks between Pakistani women and women of other ethnic groups. Pakistani women are at a considerable disadvantage in gaining access to and using statutory mental health services, compared with white women; this, in part, is due to

Facilitators of and barriers to accessing clinical prevention services for the South Asian population in Surrey, British Columbia: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Majid, Sanaa; Douglas, Rachel; Lee, Victoria; Stacy, Elizabeth; Garg, Arun K; Ho, Kendall

2016-01-01

British Columbia falls short in uptake of recommended clinical prevention services, with even lower rates among immigrant populations. This study explored facilitators of and barriers to uptake of clinical prevention services among people from South Asia, who represent 31% of the population in Surrey, British Columbia. We used a qualitative descriptive approach and employed vignettes in a focus group setting to elicit perspectives of South Asian people on accessing clinical prevention services. Participants aged 40 years or more were recruited between October 2014 and February 2015 from health care and community settings such as older-adult housing, day programs and health education events. Letters of introduction to the study were provided in English or Punjabi or both to all potential participants. We conducted qualitative content analysis of the results. Sixty-two South Asian adults (36 women and 26 men) aged 40-87 years participated in 1 of 8 focus groups in health care or community settings. Facilitators of and barriers to accessing clinical prevention services were noted at the patient, primary care provider and health care system levels. Facilitators at the patient level included taking ownership over one's health, health literacy and respecting the provider's advice; barriers included fear of the diagnosis, death and/or procedures, perceived low risk of disease or utility of the intervention, and side effects of procedures. Provider factors centred on a trust-based patient-provider relationship, strong communication and adequate time during visits. Health care system factors included such facilitators as processes to routinely offer prevention services as part of other health care or social services, systems that encourage prevention-oriented family practice and services at low or no cost to the patient. Our findings validate previously identified facilitators of and barriers to accessing preventive care for immigrant populations. However, the results

Service users’ experiences and views of aggressive situations in mental health care: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies

PubMed Central

Gudde, Camilla Buch; Olsø, Turid Møller; Whittington, Richard; Vatne, Solfrid

2015-01-01

Background Aggressive situations occurring within mental health services can harm service users, staff, and the therapeutic environment. There is a consensus that the aggression phenomenon is multidimensional, but the picture is still unclear concerning the complex interplay of causal variables and their respective impact. To date, only a small number of empirical studies include users’ views of relevant factors. The main objective of this review is to identify and synthesize evidence relating to service users’ experiences and views of aggressive situations in mental health settings. Methods We included qualitative studies of any design reporting on service users’ own experiences of conditions contributing to aggressive situations in mental health care and their views on preventative strategies. Eligible articles were identified through an electronic database search (PsycINFO, PubMed, Ovid Nursing Database, Embase, and CINAHL), hand search, and cross-referencing. Extracted data were combined and interpreted using aspects of thematic synthesis. Results We reviewed 5,566 records and included 13 studies (ten qualitative and three mixed methods). Service users recognized that both their own mental state and negative aspects of the treatment environment affected the development of aggressive situations. Themes were derived from experiential knowledge and included calls to be involved in questions regarding how to define aggression and relevant triggers, and how to prevent aggressive encounters effectively. The findings suggest that incidents are triggered when users experience staff behavior as custodial rather than caring and when they feel ignored. Conclusion The findings highlight the importance of staffs’ knowledge and skills in communication for developing relationships based on sensitivity, respect, and collaboration with service users in order to prevent aggressive situations. An important factor is a treatment environment with opportunities for

Service users' experiences and views of aggressive situations in mental health care: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Gudde, Camilla Buch; Olsø, Turid Møller; Whittington, Richard; Vatne, Solfrid

2015-01-01

Aggressive situations occurring within mental health services can harm service users, staff, and the therapeutic environment. There is a consensus that the aggression phenomenon is multidimensional, but the picture is still unclear concerning the complex interplay of causal variables and their respective impact. To date, only a small number of empirical studies include users' views of relevant factors. The main objective of this review is to identify and synthesize evidence relating to service users' experiences and views of aggressive situations in mental health settings. We included qualitative studies of any design reporting on service users' own experiences of conditions contributing to aggressive situations in mental health care and their views on preventative strategies. Eligible articles were identified through an electronic database search (PsycINFO, PubMed, Ovid Nursing Database, Embase, and CINAHL), hand search, and cross-referencing. Extracted data were combined and interpreted using aspects of thematic synthesis. We reviewed 5,566 records and included 13 studies (ten qualitative and three mixed methods). Service users recognized that both their own mental state and negative aspects of the treatment environment affected the development of aggressive situations. Themes were derived from experiential knowledge and included calls to be involved in questions regarding how to define aggression and relevant triggers, and how to prevent aggressive encounters effectively. The findings suggest that incidents are triggered when users experience staff behavior as custodial rather than caring and when they feel ignored. The findings highlight the importance of staffs' knowledge and skills in communication for developing relationships based on sensitivity, respect, and collaboration with service users in order to prevent aggressive situations. An important factor is a treatment environment with opportunities for meaningful activities and a preponderance of trained

The relationship between leadership style and provision of the first Danish publicly reimbursed cognitive pharmaceutical service--a qualitative multicase study.

PubMed

Kaae, Susanne; Søndergaard, Birthe; Haugbølle, Lotte Stig; Traulsen, Janine Morgall

2011-06-01

Evidence suggests that leadership style is important to the sustainability of cognitive pharmaceutical services, yet only scarce literature on the relationship exists. Support of the sustainability of the first publicly reimbursed cognitive service in Denmark, the Inhaler Technique Assessment Service (ITAS), was ascertained through a qualitative study to explore how leadership style shapes the implementation process of the service. Sustainability in this project was defined as the state where those asthma patients whose symptom status is negatively clinically affected (as defined by Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines) by inappropriate inhalation technique are identified and offered the service by pharmacy staff. The study was an exploratory qualitative multicase study that used triangulation of both data sources and methods. A theoretical framework of Bolman and Deal inspired the analysis of how leadership style influenced the local process of implementation of the ITAS. Four pharmacies were selected for the analysis because they differed in terms of leadership actions in their implementation process and achievement of ITAS sustainability. The analysis was inductive and linked factors that influence ITAS provision as perceived by employees with the interpreted leadership style of the owner. Three main themes emerged: (1) the alignment of the owner and staff values, (2) whether owners perceived ITAS development as being under their own control, and (3) whether owners explicated the responsibilities of employees in the implementation process. The themes were interrelated. Pharmacy owner's leadership style was significant to sustainability of the ITAS. A strong wish by the owner to have ITAS implemented was important, followed by aligning the owner's values and visions with those of the employees. The widespread perception by owners that experienced users are not interested in the ITAS needs to be addressed to achieve sustainability. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier

Electronic behaviour of Au-Pt alloys and the 4f binding energy shift anomaly in Au bimetallics- X-ray spectroscopy studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dongniu; Cui, Xiaoyu; Xiao, Qunfeng; Hu, Yongfeng; Wang, Zhiqiang; Yiu, Y. M.; Sham, T. K.

2018-06-01

The electronic structure and charge redistribution of 6s conduction charge and 5d charge in Au and Pt alloys, Au9Pt and AuPt9 have been investigated using a charge compensation model. It is found that, both the Au and Pt 4f binding energy (BE) exhibits a negative shift in the alloys relatively to the pure metal in apparent disagreement with electroneutrality considerations (Au is the most electronegative metallic element); more interestingly, the negative Au 4f BE shift in Au-Pt alloy is in contrast to previous observations for a large number of Au bimetallic systems with more electropositive hosts in which the more electropositive the host„ the more positive the Au 4f BE shift. This anomaly is counter intuitive to electronegativity considerations. This dilemma was resolved by the charge compensation model in which both electronegativity and charge neutrality can be satisfied and the overall charge flow δ, onto Au is small and positive and δ arises from charge flow of 6s conduction charge, Δnc onto Au site, which is partially compensated by the depletion of 6d charge Δnd at the Au site (δ = Δnc+ Δnd ˜0.1 >0). The much larger Coulomb interaction between 4f and 5d than that between 4f and 6s results in positive 4f BE shifts. The Au 4f BE shift in Au-Pt alloys together with 193Au Mössbauer data were used in the charge compensation model analysis which shows that the model is still valid in that the Au 4f shift in Au-Pt alloy arises from mainly conduction charge gain with little depletion of d charge at the Au site. The model also works for Pt. The Au and Pt 5d character in the alloys have been examined with valence band spectra which show both maintain their d characteristic in dilute alloys with Pt d piling up at the Fermi level, and the top of the Au valence band being pushed toward the Fermi level; this is confirmed with DFT densities of state calculations. When Pt is diluted in Au, it gains d charge as evident from the reduction in whiteline intensity

Au99(SPh)42 nanomolecules: aromatic thiolate ligand induced conversion of Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60.

PubMed

Nimmala, Praneeth Reddy; Dass, Amala

2014-12-10

A new aromatic thiolate protected gold nanomolecule Au99(SPh)42 has been synthesized by reacting the highly stable Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60 with thiophenol, HSPh. The ubiquitous Au144(SR)60 is known for its high stability even at elevated temperature and in the presence of excess thiol. This report demonstrates for the first time the reactivity of the Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60 with thiophenol to form a different 99-Au atom species. The resulting Au99(SPh)42 compound, however, is unreactive and highly stable in the presence of excess aromatic thiol. The molecular formula of the title compound is determined by high resolution electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and confirmed by the preparation of the 99-atom nanomolecule using two ligands, namely, Au99(SPh)42 and Au99(SPh-OMe)42. This mass spectrometry study is an unprecedented advance in nanoparticle reaction monitoring, in studying the 144-atom to 99-atom size evolution at such high m/z (∼12k) and resolution. The optical and electrochemical properties of Au99(SPh)42 are reported. Other substituents on the phenyl group, HS-Ph-X, where X = -F, -CH3, -OCH3, also show the Au144 to Au99 core size conversion, suggesting minimal electronic effects for these substituents. Control experiments were conducted by reacting Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60 with HS-(CH2)n-Ph (where n = 1 and 2), bulky ligands like adamantanethiol and cyclohexanethiol. It was observed that conversion of Au144 to Au99 occurs only when the phenyl group is directly attached to the thiol, suggesting that the formation of a 99-atom species is largely influenced by aromaticity of the ligand and less so on the bulkiness of the ligand.

[Teaching and learning the science of qualitative research in the health area].

PubMed

Calderón, Carlos

2012-03-01

Qualitative research constitutes a necessary perspective of knowledge within the field of health services. Healthcare always occurs in complex contexts and its enhancement requires research methodologies that address this complexity. Nevertheless, the knowledge and use of qualitative research in health services is still very limited. Among the different factors that affect its development, the teaching and learning of qualitative research proves to be fundamental, even beyond undergraduate education. Healthcare professionals and health services present certain specific aspects that must be considered in the design and development of the teaching and learning of qualitative research. Based on an eight-year online training experience with Primary Healthcare professionals, the main challenges are indentified and discussed.

Etude descriptive et analytique du cancer de l’œsophage au Togo

PubMed Central

Oumboma, Bouglouga; Mawuli, Lawson-Ananissoh Laté; Aklesso, Bagny; Laconi, Kaaga; Datouda, Redah

2014-01-01

Introduction Décrire les aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques, endoscopiques et histologiques du cancer de l’œsophage (CO) au Togo. Méthodes Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective descriptive et analytique menée sur 8 ans (Janvier 2005-Décembre 2012) dans le service d'hépato-gastroentérologie (HGE) du CHU Campus de Lomé. Etaient inclus les dossiers des patients hospitalisés pour CO confirmé histologiquement. Résultats Sur 8 ans, 24 patients remplissant nos critères d'inclusion ont été retenus soit 3cas de CO par an et 0,55% des hospitalisations. L’âge moyen des patients était de 57,08 ans (extrêmes: 32 et 82 ans). La dysphagie et l’épigastralgie étaient les motifs d'hospitalisation les plus rencontrés. L'alcool (n=15), le tabac (n=13) étaient les facteurs de risque les plus présents. A la fibroscopie, les lésions étaient ulcéro-bourgeonnantes et hémorragiques (n=12), ulcéro-bourgeonnantes (n=5); ces lésions siégeaient au niveau du 1/3 inférieur (n= 11), à l'union 1/3 supérieur 1/3moyen de l’œsophage (n= 13) et aucun au niveau du 1/3 supérieur. Seize lésions étaient des carcinomes épidermoïdes et 3 des adénocarcinomes. L’évolution dans le service a été fatale dans 2cas; 16 patients avaient été transférés en chirurgie pour des soins palliatifs et 5 patients (20,8%) étaient perdus de vue. Conclusion Le CO semble en augmentation au Togo. L'alcool et le tabac sont les facteurs de risque et le pronostic sévère dans notre série est lié au retard diagnostic. Son dépistage précoce passe par une consultation rapide devant toute dysphagie chez un sujet de 50 ans et plus. PMID:25883742

Reasons for compliance or noncompliance with advice to test for hepatitis C via an internet-mediated blood screening service: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Zuure, Freke R; Heijman, Titia; Urbanus, Anouk T; Prins, Maria; Kok, Gerjo; Davidovich, Udi

2011-05-10

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is mainly transmitted by exposure to infected blood, and can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Since the onset of HCV and the development of liver cirrhosis usually are asymptomatic, many HCV-infected individuals are still undiagnosed. To identify individuals infected with HCV in the general population, a low threshold, internet-mediated blood testing service was set up. We performed a qualitative study examining reasons for compliance and noncompliance with advice to test for HCV via the online blood testing service. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 33 website visitors who had been advised to test for HCV (18 testers, 15 non-testers). Transcribed interviews were analyzed qualitatively and interpreted using psychosocial theories of health behavior. Reasons for testing pertaining to the online service were: the testing procedure is autonomous, personalized test advice is provided online, reminder emails are sent, and there is an online planning tool. Reasons for testing not specific to the online service were: knowing one's status can prevent liver disease and further transmission of HCV, HCV is curable, testing can provide reassurance, physical complaints are present, and there is liver disease in one's social environment. Service-related reasons for not testing pertained to inconvenient testing facilities, a lack of commitment due to the low threshold character of the service, computer/printing problems, and incorrectly interpreting an online planning tool. The reasons for not testing that are not specific to the online service were: the belief that personal risk is low, the absence of symptoms, low perceived urgency for testing and treatment, fear of the consequences of a positive test result, avoiding threatening information, and a discouraging social environment. Features specific to the online service played a significant role in motivation to test for HCV above and beyond the more conventional perceived

Qualitative methods: what are they and why use them?

PubMed Central

Sofaer, S

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of reasons why qualitative methods have been used and can be used in health services and health policy research, to describe a range of specific methods, and to give examples of their application. DATA SOURCES: Classic and contemporary descriptions of the underpinnings and applications of qualitative research methods and studies that have used such methods to examine important health services and health policy issues. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Qualitative research methods are valuable in providing rich descriptions of complex phenomena; tracking unique or unexpected events; illuminating the experience and interpretation of events by actors with widely differing stakes and roles; giving voice to those whose views are rarely heard; conducting initial explorations to develop theories and to generate and even test hypotheses; and moving toward explanations. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be complementary, used in sequence or in tandem. The best qualitative research is systematic and rigorous, and it seeks to reduce bias and error and to identify evidence that disconfirms initial or emergent hypotheses. CONCLUSIONS: Qualitative methods have much to contribute to health services and health policy research, especially as such research deals with rapid change and develops a more fully integrated theory base and research agenda. However, the field must build on the best traditions and techniques of qualitative methods and must recognize that special training and experience are essential to the application of these methods. PMID:10591275

Uptake of Au(III) Ions by Aluminum Hydroxide and Their Spontaneous Reduction to Elemental Gold (Au(0)).

PubMed

Yokoyama; Matsukado; Uchida; Motomura; Watanabe; Izawa

2001-01-01

The behavior of AuCl(4)(-) ions during the formation of aluminum hydroxide at pH 6 was examined. With an increase in NaCl concentration, the content of gold taken up by aluminum hydroxide decreased, suggesting that chloro-hydroxy complexes of Au(III) ion were taken up due to the formation of Al-O-Au bonds. It was found unexpectedly that the Au(III) ions taken up were spontaneously reduced to elemental gold without addition of a specific reducing reagent and then colloidal gold particles were formed. The mechanisms for the uptake of Au(III) ions by aluminum hydroxide and for their spontaneous reduction are discussed. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

Facile Syntheses of Monodisperse Ultra-Small Au Clusters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bertino, Massimo F.; Sun, Zhong-Ming; Zhang, Rui

2006-11-02

During our effort to synthesize the tetrahedral Au20 cluster, we found a facile synthetic route to prepare monodisperse suspensions of ultra-small Au clusters AuN (N<12) using diphosphine ligands. In our monophasic and single-pot synthesis, a Au precursor ClAu(I)PPh3 and a bidentate phosphine ligand P(Ph)2(CH2)MP(Ph)2 (Ph = phenyl) are dissolved in an organic solvent. Au(I) is reduced slowly by a borane-tert-butylamine complex to form Au clusters coordinated by the diphosphine ligand. The Au clusters are characterized by both high resolution mass spectrometry and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. We found that the mean cluster size obtained depends on the chain length M ofmore » the ligand. In particular, a single monodispersed Au11 cluster is obtained with the P(Ph)2(CH2)3P(Ph)2 ligand, whereas P(Ph)2(CH2)MP(Ph)2 ligands with M = 5 and 6 yield Au10 and Au8 clusters. The simplicity of our synthetic method makes it suitable for large-scale production of nearly monodisperse ultrasmall Au clusters. It is suggested that diphosphines provide a set of flexible ligands to allow size-controlled synthesis of Au nanoparticles.« less

Conflict escalation in paediatric services: findings from a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Forbat, Liz; Teuten, Bea; Barclay, Sarah

2015-01-01

Objective To explore clinician and family experiences of conflict in paediatric services, in order to map the trajectory of conflict escalation. Design Qualitative interview study, employing extreme-case sampling. Interviews were analysed using an iterative thematic approach to identify common themes regarding the experience and escalation of conflict. Participants Thirty-eight health professionals and eight parents. All participants had direct experience of conflict, including physical assault and court proceedings, at the interface of acute and palliative care. Setting Two teaching hospitals, one district general hospital and two paediatric hospices in England, in 2011. Results Conflicts escalate in a predictable manner. Clearly identifiable behaviours by both clinicians and parents are defined as mild, moderate and severe. Mild describes features like the insensitive use of language and a history of unresolved conflict. Moderate involves a deterioration of trust, and a breakdown of communication and relationships. Severe marks disintegration of working relationships, characterised by behavioural changes including aggression, and a shift in focus from the child's best interests to the conflict itself. Though conflicts may remain at one level, those which escalated tended to move sequentially from one level to the next. Conclusions Understanding how conflicts escalate provides clinicians with a practical, evidence-based framework to identify the warning signs of conflict in paediatrics. PMID:25940425

STAR Au + Au Fixed Target Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meehan, Kathryn; STAR Collaboration

2015-10-01

The RHIC Beam Energy Scan (BES) program was proposed to look for the turn-off of signatures of the quark gluon plasma (QGP), search for a possible QCD critical point, and study the nature of the phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter. The results from the NA49 experiment at CERN have been used to claim that the onset of deconfinement occurs at a collision energy around a center-of-mass energy of 7 GeV, the low end of the BES range. Data from lower energies are needed to test if this onset occurs. The goal of the STAR Fixed-Target Program is to extend the collision energy range in BES II with the same detector to energies that are likely below the onset of deconfinement. Currently, STAR has inserted a gold target into the beam pipe and conducted test runs at center-of-mass energies 3.9 and 4.5 GeV. Tests have been done with both Au and Al beams. First physics results from a Coulomb analysis of Au + Au fixed-target collisions, which are found to be consistent with previous experiments, will be presented. These results demonstrate that STAR has good particle identification capabilities in this novel detector setup. Furthermore, the Coulomb potential, which is sensitive to the Z of the projectile and degree of baryonic stopping, will be compared with published results from the AGS. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1068833.

Exploring the experiences of pregnant women using an NHS stop smoking service: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Pledger, Anne B

2015-05-01

The purpose of this article was to explore women's experiences of attempting to stop smoking while pregnant using National Health Service (NHS) support. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted to enable the researcher to develop an understanding of the women's experiences. Six individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who accessed an NHS stop smoking service while pregnant. The data were analysed using comparative analysis. Five themes were identified: health risks, motivations to stop smoking, influences on smoking behaviour, feelings about smoking and experiences of using NHS stop smoking support. Motivation to stop smoking was predominantly due to concerns about their unborn baby's health, and knowledge of health risks was generally good. Limited information relating to the associated health risks of continued smoking in pregnancy from healthcare professionals appeared to be a common experience. External pressures both positively and negatively influenced the smoking status of the women. Stress was cited by all the women as a significant challenge to smoking cessation and something which they all struggled with. The women's experiences of using NHS support while pregnant was varied; some felt it adequately met their needs, while others felt that their expectations were not met. Continued smoking in pregnancy is complex, and it appears that successful smoking cessation is related to a number of internal and external factors which present significant challenges for expectant mothers who smoke. Stress was found to be a major contributor in continued smoking; therefore, NHS stop smoking services should incorporate stress management techniques into stop smoking interventions. In addition, services should be flexible, adapting service provision to meet women's needs. © Royal Society for Public Health 2015.

Lessons learned from implementing service-oriented clinical decision support at four sites: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Wright, Adam; Sittig, Dean F; Ash, Joan S; Erickson, Jessica L; Hickman, Trang T; Paterno, Marilyn; Gebhardt, Eric; McMullen, Carmit; Tsurikova, Ruslana; Dixon, Brian E; Fraser, Greg; Simonaitis, Linas; Sonnenberg, Frank A; Middleton, Blackford

2015-11-01

To identify challenges, lessons learned and best practices for service-oriented clinical decision support, based on the results of the Clinical Decision Support Consortium, a multi-site study which developed, implemented and evaluated clinical decision support services in a diverse range of electronic health records. Ethnographic investigation using the rapid assessment process, a procedure for agile qualitative data collection and analysis, including clinical observation, system demonstrations and analysis and 91 interviews. We identified challenges and lessons learned in eight dimensions: (1) hardware and software computing infrastructure, (2) clinical content, (3) human-computer interface, (4) people, (5) workflow and communication, (6) internal organizational policies, procedures, environment and culture, (7) external rules, regulations, and pressures and (8) system measurement and monitoring. Key challenges included performance issues (particularly related to data retrieval), differences in terminologies used across sites, workflow variability and the need for a legal framework. Based on the challenges and lessons learned, we identified eight best practices for developers and implementers of service-oriented clinical decision support: (1) optimize performance, or make asynchronous calls, (2) be liberal in what you accept (particularly for terminology), (3) foster clinical transparency, (4) develop a legal framework, (5) support a flexible front-end, (6) dedicate human resources, (7) support peer-to-peer communication, (8) improve standards. The Clinical Decision Support Consortium successfully developed a clinical decision support service and implemented it in four different electronic health records and four diverse clinical sites; however, the process was arduous. The lessons identified by the Consortium may be useful for other developers and implementers of clinical decision support services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influencing sceptical staff to become supporters of service improvement: a qualitative study of doctors' and managers' views

PubMed Central

Gollop, R; Whitby, E; Buchanan, D; Ketley, D

2004-01-01

Objective: To explore scepticism and resistance towards changes in working practice designed to achieve service improvement. Two principal questions were studied: (1) why some people are sceptical or resistant towards improvement programmes and (2) what influences them to change their minds. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 clinicians and 19 managers who held national and regional roles in two national programmes of service improvement within the NHS involving systematic organisational changes in working practices: the National Booking Programme and the Cancer Services Collaborative (now the Cancer Services Collaborative Improvement Partnership). Results: Scepticism and resistance exist in all staff groups, especially among medical staff. Reasons include personal reluctance to change, misunderstanding of the aims of improvement programmes, and a dislike of the methods by which programmes have been promoted. Sceptical staff can be influenced to become involved in improvement, but this usually takes time. Newly won support may be fragile, requiring ongoing evidence of benefits to be maintained. Conclusions: The support of health service staff, particularly doctors, is crucial to the spread and sustainability of the modernisation agenda. Scepticism and resistance are seen to hamper progress. Leaders of improvement initiatives need to recognise the impact of scepticism and resistance, and to consider ways in which staff can become positively engaged in change. PMID:15069217

Thiol ligand-induced transformation of Au38(SC2H4Ph)24 to Au36(SPh-t-Bu)24.

PubMed

Zeng, Chenjie; Liu, Chunyan; Pei, Yong; Jin, Rongchao

2013-07-23

We report a disproportionation mechanism identified in the transformation of rod-like biicosahedral Au38(SCH2CH2Ph)24 to tetrahedral Au36(TBBT)24 nanoclusters. Time-dependent mass spectrometry and optical spectroscopy analyses unambiguously map out the detailed size-conversion pathway. The ligand exchange of Au38(SCH2CH2Ph)24 with bulkier 4-tert-butylbenzenethiol (TBBT) until a certain extent starts to trigger structural distortion of the initial biicosahedral Au38(SCH2CH2Ph)24 structure, leading to the release of two Au atoms and eventually the Au36(TBBT)24 nanocluster with a tetrahedral structure, in which process the number of ligands is interestingly preserved. The other product of the disproportionation process, i.e., Au40(TBBT)m+2(SCH2CH2Ph)24-m, was concurrently observed as an intermediate, which was the result of addition of two Au atoms and two TBBT ligands to Au38(TBBT)m(SCH2CH2Ph)24-m. The reaction kinetics on the Au38(SCH2CH2Ph)24 to Au36(TBBT)24 conversion process was also performed, and the activation energies of the structural distortion and disproportionation steps were estimated to be 76 and 94 kJ/mol, respectively. The optical absorption features of Au36(TBBT)24 are interpreted on the basis of density functional theory simulations.

Cervical cancer: a qualitative study on subjectivity, family, gender and health services.

PubMed

Villafuerte, Blanca E Pelcastre; Gómez, Laura L Tirado; Betancourt, Alejandro Mohar; Cervantes, Malaquías López

2007-03-01

In 2002, cervical cancer was one of the leading causes of death in Mexico. Quantitative techniques allowed for the identification of socioeconomic, behavioral and biological characteristics that are part of its etiology. However such characteristics, are inadequate to explain sufficiently the role that emotions, family networks and socially-constructed categories such as gender play in the demand and utilization of health services for cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment and neither the timely undertaking of preventive actions, such as getting a PAP smear or seeking adequate and continuous treatment. A qualitative study was carried out to analyze the role of different social and cultural factors in the timely detection of cervical cancer. As part of a multi-level, multi-method research effort, this particular study was based on individual interviews with women diagnosed with cervical cancer (identified as the "cases"), their female friends and relatives (identified as the "controls") and the cases' husbands. The results showed that both: denial and fear are two important components that regulate the behavior of both the women and their partners. Women with a small support network may have limited opportunities for taking action in favor of their own health and wellbeing. Women tend not to worry about their health, in general and neither about cervical cancer in particular, as a consequence of their conceptualizations regarding their body and feminine identify - both of which are socially determined. Furthermore, it is necessary to improve the quality of information provided in health services.

The State of Leadership Education in Emergency Medical Services: A Multi-national Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Leggio, William Joseph

2014-10-01

This study investigated how leadership is learned in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) from a multi-national perspective by interviewing EMS providers from multiple nations working in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A phenomenological, qualitative methodology was developed and 19 EMS providers from multiple nations were interviewed in June 2013. Interview questions focused on how participants learned EMS leadership as an EMS student and throughout their careers as providers. Data were analyzed to identify themes, patterns, and codes to be used for final analysis to describe findings. Emergency Medical Services leadership is primarily learned from informal mentoring and on-the-job training in less than supportive environments. Participants described learning EMS leadership during their EMS education. A triangulation of EMS educational resources yielded limited results beyond being a leader of patient care. The only course that yielded results from triangulation was EMS Management. The need to develop EMS leadership courses was supported by the findings. Findings also supported the need to include leadership education as part of continuing medical education and training. Emergency Medical Services leadership education that prepares students for the complexities of the profession is needed. Likewise, the need for EMS leadership education and training to be part of continuing education is supported. Both are viewed as a way to advance the EMS profession. A need for further research on the topic of EMS leadership is recognized, and supported, with a call for action on suggested topics identified within the study.

Autonomous Repair Mechanism of Creep Damage in Fe-Au and Fe-Au-B-N Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, S.; Kwakernaak, C.; Tichelaar, F. D.; Sloof, W. G.; Kuzmina, M.; Herbig, M.; Raabe, D.; Brück, E.; van der Zwaag, S.; van Dijk, N. H.

2015-12-01

The autonomous repair mechanism of creep cavitation during high-temperature deformation has been investigated in Fe-Au and Fe-Au-B-N alloys. Combined electron-microscopy techniques and atom probe tomography reveal how the improved creep properties result from Au precipitation within the creep cavities, preferentially formed on grain boundaries oriented perpendicular to the applied stress. The selective precipitation of Au atoms at the free creep cavity surface results in pore filling, and thereby, autonomous repair of the creep damage. The large difference in atomic size between the Au and Fe strongly hampers the nucleation of precipitates in the matrix. As a result, the matrix acts as a reservoir for the supersaturated solute until damage occurs. Grain boundaries and dislocations are found to act as fast transport routes for solute gold from the matrix to the creep cavities. The mechanism responsible for the self-healing can be characterized by a simple model for cavity growth and cavity filling.

AuNP-PE interface/phase and its effects on the tensile behaviour of AuNP-PE composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yue; Wang, Ruijie; Wang, Chengyuan; Yu, Xiaozhu

2018-06-01

A comprehensive study was conducted for a gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-polyethylene (PE) composite. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulations were employed to construct the AuNP-PE systems, achieve their constitutive relations, and measure their tensile properties. Specifically, the AuNP-PE interface/phase was studied via the mass density profile, and its effect was evaluated by comparing the composite with a pure PE matrix. These research studies were followed by the study of the fracture mechanisms and the size and volume fraction effects of AuNPs. Efforts were also made to reveal the underlying physics of the MD simulations. In the present work, an AuNP-PE interface and a densified PE interphase were achieved due to the AuNP-PE van der Waals interaction. Such an interface/phase is found to enhance the Young's modulus and yield stress but decrease the fracture strength and strain.

Flow and bose-einstein correlations in Au-Au collisions at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phobos Collaboration; Manly, Steven; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; Garcia, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyinski, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stodulski, M.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2003-03-01

Argonne flow and Bose-Einstein correlations have been measured in Au-Au collisions at S=130 and 200 GeV using the PHOBOS detector at RHIC. The systematic dependencies of the flow signal on the transverse momentum, pseudorapidity, and centrality of the collision, as well as the beam energy are shown. In addition, results of a 3-dimensional analysis of two-pion correlations in the 200 GeV data are presented.

Design and Preparation of Supported Au Catalyst with Enhanced Catalytic Activities by Rationally Positioning Au Nanoparticles on Anatase.

PubMed

Wang, Liang; Wang, Hong; Rice, Andrew E; Zhang, Wei; Li, Xiaokun; Chen, Mingshu; Meng, Xiangju; Lewis, James P; Xiao, Feng-Shou

2015-06-18

A synergistic effect between individual components is crucial for increasing the activity of metal/metal oxide catalysts. The greatest challenge is how to control the synergistic effect to obtain enhanced catalytic performance. Through density functional theory calculations of model Au/TiO2 catalysts, it is suggested that there is strong interaction between Au nanoparticles and Ti species at the edge/corner sites of anatase, which is favorable for the formation of stable oxygen vacancies. Motivated by this theoretical analysis, we have rationally prepared Au nanoparticles attached to edge/corner sites of anatase support (Au/TiO2-EC), confirmed by their HR-TEM images. As expected, this strong interaction is well characterized by Raman, UV-visible, and XPS techniques. Very interestingly, compared with conventional Au catalysts, Au/TiO2-EC exhibits superior catalytic activity in the oxidations using O2. Our approach to controlling Au nanoparticle positioning on anatase to obtain enhanced catalytic activity offers an efficient strategy for developing more novel supported metal catalysts.

Probing Phase Evolutions of Au-Methyl-Propyl-Thiolate Self-Assembled Monolayers on Au(111) at the Molecular Level.

PubMed

Gao, Jianzhi; Lin, Haiping; Qin, Xuhui; Zhang, Xin; Ding, Haoxuan; Wang, Yitao; Rokni Fard, Mahroo; Kaya, Dogan; Zhu, Gangqiang; Li, Qing; Li, Youyong; Pan, Minghu; Guo, Quanmin

2018-06-18

A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) consisting of a mixture of CH 3 S-Au-SCH 3 , CH 3 S-Au-S(CH 2 ) 2 CH 3 , and CH 3 (CH 2 ) 2 S-Au-S(CH 2 ) 2 CH 3 was studied systematically using scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional calculations. We find that the SAM is subjected to frequent changes at the molecular level on the time scale of ∼minutes. The presence of CH 3 S or CH 3 S-Au as a dissociation product of CH 3 S-Au-SCH 3 plays a key role in the dynamical behavior of the mixed SAM. Slow phase separation takes place at room temperature over hours to days, leading to the formation of methyl-thiolate-rich and propyl-thiolate-rich phases. Our results provide new insights into the chemistry of the thiolate-Au interface, especially for ligand exchange reaction in the RS-Au-SR staple motif.

Implementing oral chemotherapy services in community pharmacies: a qualitative study of chemotherapy nurses' and pharmacists' views.

PubMed

Butt, Farida; Ream, Emma

2016-05-01

Changes in health-care provision have led to cancer patients being offered oral chemotherapy in the community. Three levels of oral chemotherapy services have been proposed (levels 1, 2 and 3) with community pharmacies playing differing roles within them. This study aims to explore health-care professionals' views on oral chemotherapy services being delivered by community pharmacies and to gain insights into the barriers, facilitators and training/knowledge needs of community pharmacists with respect to providing them. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of three chemotherapy nurses, five oncology pharmacists and five community pharmacists. Data were analysed thematically using Framework Analysis. Findings for level 1 and 2 services included uncertainty on community pharmacists' professional responsibilities, the expertise of GPs in prescribing oral chemotherapy and the training and competency of community pharmacists. The lack of patient information, care and support provision was emphasised for all the models. Although level 1 was achievable in current practice, level 2 was considered the safest option, while level 3 was ideal but risky option. For all levels, training and education for community pharmacists and inter-professional issues were facilitators to oral chemotherapy services. The service environment, dispensing process-related constraints (access to blood test results and protocols) were significant barriers for levels 2 and 3. Advanced communication skills, patient education and counselling were identified as key areas for education and training for community pharmacists. The study suggests there are significant concerns and challenges associated with community pharmacies implementing any of the proposed levels of oral chemotherapy services. Educational and training opportunities for community pharmacists and the careful development of safe infrastructures will be essential in the future planning and

Photoinduced Glycerol Oxidation over Plasmonic Au and AuM (M = Pt, Pd and Bi) Nanoparticle-Decorated TiO2 Photocatalysts

PubMed Central

Jedsukontorn, Trin; Saito, Nagahiro; Hunsom, Mali

2018-01-01

In this study, sol-immobilization was used to prepare gold nanoparticle (Au NP)-decorated titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts at different Au weight % (wt. %) loading (Aux/TiO2, where x is the Au wt. %) and Au–M NP-decorated TiO2 photocatalysts (Au3M3/TiO2), where M is bismuth (Bi), platinum (Pt) or palladium (Pd) at 3 wt. %. The Aux/TiO2 photocatalysts exhibited a stronger visible light absorption than the parent TiO2 due to the localized surface plasmon resonance effect. Increasing the Au content from 1 wt. % to 7 wt. % led to increased visible light absorption due to the increasing presence of defective structures that were capable of enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared catalyst. The addition of Pt and Pd coupled with the Au3/TiO2 to form Au3M3/TiO2 improved the photocatalytic activity of the Au3/TiO2 photocatalyst by maximizing their light-absorption property. The Au3/TiO2, Au3Pt3/TiO2 and Au3Pd3/TiO2 photocatalysts promoted the formation of glyceraldehyde from glycerol as the principle product, while Au3Bi3/TiO2 facilitated glycolaldehyde formation as the major product. Among all the prepared photocatalysts, Au3Pd3/TiO2 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with a 98.75% glycerol conversion at 24 h of reaction time. PMID:29690645

Measurements of J/ψ Production and Polarization in p+p and p+Au Collisions at s NN = 200 GeV with the STAR Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhen

We present the measurements of J/ψ production at mid-rapidity via the di-muon decay channel in p+p and p+Au collisions at s NN = 200 GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. In p+p collisions, the measured inclusive J/ψ cross section can be qualitatively described by model calculations. The J/ψ polarization parameters, λ𝜃, λϕ as well as the frame-invariant quantity λinv, are presented as a function of transverse momentum in both the helicity and Collins-Soper frames. No significant polarization is observed. In addition, the nuclear modification factor for inclusive J/ψ in p+Au collisions is similar to that measured in d+Au collisions and favors an additional nuclear absorption effect on top of the nuclear PDF effect.

Sharp Transition from Nonmetallic Au246 to Metallic Au279 with Nascent Surface Plasmon Resonance.

PubMed

Higaki, Tatsuya; Zhou, Meng; Lambright, Kelly J; Kirschbaum, Kristin; Sfeir, Matthew Y; Jin, Rongchao

2018-05-02

The optical properties of metal nanoparticles have attracted wide interest. Recent progress in controlling nanoparticles with atomic precision (often called nanoclusters) provide new opportunities for investigating many fundamental questions, such as the transition from excitonic to plasmonic state, which is a central question in metal nanoparticle research because it provides insights into the origin of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as well as the formation of metallic bond. However, this question still remains elusive because of the extreme difficulty in preparing atomically precise nanoparticles larger than 2 nm. Here we report the synthesis and optical properties of an atomically precise Au 279 (SR) 84 nanocluster. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic analysis reveals that the Au 279 nanocluster shows a laser power dependence in its excited state lifetime, indicating metallic state of the particle, in contrast with the nonmetallic electronic structure of the Au 246 (SR) 80 nanocluster. Steady-state absorption spectra reveal that the nascent plasmon band of Au 279 at 506 nm shows no peak shift even down to 60 K, consistent with plasmon behavior. The sharp transition from nonmetallic Au 246 to metallic Au 279 is surprising and will stimulate future theoretical work on the transition and many other relevant issues.

Barriers to Integrating Mental Health Services in Community-Based Primary Care Settings in Mexico City: A Qualitative Analysis.

PubMed

Martinez, William; Galván, Jorge; Saavedra, Nayelhi; Berenzon, Shoshana

2017-05-01

Despite the high prevalence of mental disorders in Mexico, minimal mental health services are available and there are large gaps in mental health treatment. Community-based primary care settings are often the first contact between patients and the health system and thus could serve as important settings for assessing and treating mental disorders. However, no formal assessment has been undertaken regarding the feasibility of implementing these services in Mexico. Before tools are developed to undertake such an assessment, a more nuanced understanding of the microprocesses affecting mental health service delivery must be acquired. A qualitative study used semistructured interviews to gather information from 25 staff in 19 community-based primary care clinics in Mexico City. Semistructured interviews were analyzed by using the meaning categorization method. In a second phase of coding, emerging themes were compared with an established typology of barriers to health care access. Primary care staff reported a number of significant barriers to implementing mental health services in primary care clinics, an already fragile and underfunded system. Barriers included the following broad thematic categories: service issues, language and cultural issues, care recipient characteristics, and issues with lack of knowledge. Results indicate that the implementation of mental health services in primary care clinics in Mexico will be difficult. However, the information in this study can help inform the integration of mental health into community-based primary care in Mexico through the development of adequate evaluative tools to assess the feasibility and progress of integrating these services.

Au crystal growth on natural occurring Au-Ag aggregate elucidated by means of precession electron diffraction (PED)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roqué Rosell, Josep; Portillo Serra, Joaquim; Aiglsperger, Thomas; Plana-Ruiz, Sergi; Trifonov, Trifon; Proenza, Joaquín A.

2018-02-01

In the present work, a lamella from an Au-Ag aggregate found in Ni-laterites has been examined using Transmission Electron Microscope to produce a series of Precision Electron Diffraction (PED) patterns. The analysis of the structural data obtained, coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray microanalysis, made it possible to determine the orientation of twinned native gold growing on the Au-Ag aggregate. The native Au crystal domains are found to have grown at the outermost part of the aggregate whereas the inner core of the aggregate is an Au-Ag alloy (∼4 wt% Ag). The submicron structural study of the natural occurring Au aggregate points to the mobilization and precipitation of gold in laterites and provides insights on Au aggregates development at supergene conditions. This manuscript demonstrates the great potential of electron crystallographic analysis, and in particular, PED to study submicron structural features of micron sized mineral aggregates by using the example of a gold grain found in a Ni-laterite deposits.

Fluorescent probe for turn-on sensing of L-cysteine by ensemble of AuNCs and polymer protected AuNPs.

PubMed

Xu, Xiaozhe; Qiao, Juan; Li, Nan; Qi, Li; Zhang, Shufeng

2015-06-16

A new fluorescent probe based on ensemble of gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) and polymer protected gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for turn-on sensing of L-cysteine was designed and prepared. The AuNCs were protected by bovine serum albumin and had strong fluorescence. The polymer protected AuNPs were synthesized by a facile in situ strategy at room temperature and could quench the fluorescence of AuNCs due to the Förster resonance energy transfer. Interestingly, it has been observed that the quenched fluorescence of AuNCs was recovered by L-cysteine, which could induce the aggregation of polymer protected AuNPs by sulfur group. Then the prepared fluorescent probe was successfully used for determination of L-Cys in human urines, which would have an evolving aspect and promote the subsequent exploration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Qualitative research and the profound grasp of the obvious.

PubMed Central

Hurley, R E

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the value of promoting coexistent and complementary relationships between qualitative and quantitative research methods as illustrated by presentations made by four respected health services researchers who described their experiences in multi-method projects. DATA SOURCES: Presentations and publications related to the four research projects, which described key substantive and methodological areas that had been addressed with qualitative techniques. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Sponsor interest in timely, insightful, and reality-anchored evidence has provided a strong base of support for the incorporation of qualitative methods into major contemporary policy research studies. In addition, many issues may be suitable for study only with qualitative methods because of their complexity, their emergent nature, or because of the need to revisit and reexamine previously untested assumptions. CONCLUSION: Experiences from the four projects, as well as from other recent health services studies with major qualitative components, support the assertion that the interests of sponsors in the policy realm and pressure from them suppress some of the traditional tensions and antagonisms between qualitative and quantitative methods. PMID:10591276

Au-nanoparticles grafted on plasma treated PE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Švorčík, V.; Chaloupka, A.; Řezanka, P.; Slepička, P.; Kolská, Z.; Kasálková, N.; Hubáček, T.; Siegel, J.

2010-03-01

Polyethylene (PE) surface was treated with Ar plasma. Activated surface was grafted from methanol solution of 1,2-ethanedithiol. Then the sample was immersed into freshly prepared colloid solution of Au-nanoparticles. Finally Au layer was sputtered on the samples. Properties of the modified PE were studied using various methods: AFM, EPR, RBS and nanoindentation. It was shown that the plasma treatment results in degradation of polymer chain (AFM) and creation of free radicals by EPR. After grafting with dithiol, the concentration of free radicals declines. The presence of Au and S in the surface layer after the coating with Au-nanoparticles was proved by RBS. Plasma treatment changes PE surface morphology and increases surface roughness, too. Another significant change in surface morphology and roughness was observed after deposition of Au-nanoparticles. Nanoindentation measurements show that the grafting with Au-nanoparticles increases adhesion of subsequently sputtered Au layer.

Au/ZnO nanoarchitectures with Au as both supporter and antenna of visible-light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tianyu; Chen, Wei; Hua, Yuxiang; Liu, Xiaoheng

2017-01-01

In this paper, we fabricate Au/ZnO nanostructure with smaller ZnO nanoparticles loaded onto bigger gold nanoparticles via combining seed-mediated method and sol-gel method. The obtained Au/ZnO nanocomposites exhibit excellent properties in photocatalysis process like methyl orange (MO) degradation and oxidative conversion of methanol into formaldehyde under visible light irradiation. The enhanced properties were ascribed to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of Au nanoparticles, which could contribute to the separation of photo-excited electrons and holes and facilitate the process of absorbing visible light. This paper contributes to the emergence of multi-functional nanocomposites with possible applications in visible-light driven photocatalysts and makes the Au/ZnO photocatalyst an exceptional choice for practical applications such as environmental purification of organic pollutants in aqueous solution and the synthesis of fine chemicals and intermediates.

Qualitative research publication rates in top-ranked nursing journals: 2002-2011.

PubMed

Gagliardi, Anna R; Umoquit, Muriah; Webster, Fiona; Dobrow, Mark

2014-01-01

Journal publication is the traditional means of disseminating research. Few top-ranked general medical and health services and policy research journals publish qualitative research. This study examined qualitative research publication rates in top-ranked nursing journals with varying characteristics (general vs. specialty focus, number of issues per year) and compared publication rates with those previously reported for journals in related fields. A bibliometric approach was used to identify and quantify qualitative articles published in 10 top-ranked nursing journals from 2002 to 2011. The percentage of qualitative empirical studies varied within and across nursing journals with no apparent association with journal characteristics. Although variable, qualitative research appears more common in high-ranking nursing journals than in general medical and health services and policy research journals. Examining factors that contribute to inconsistent rates may identify strategies to optimize qualitative research reporting and publication.

Isomorphism and solid solutions among Ag- and Au-selenides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palyanova, Galina A.; Seryotkin, Yurii V.; Novosibirsk State University

Au-Ag selenides were synthesized by heating stoichiometric mixtures of elementary substances of initial compositions Ag{sub 2−x}Au{sub x}Se with a step of x=0.25 (0≤x≤2) to 1050 °C and annealing at 500 °C. Scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and X-ray powder diffraction methods have been applied to study synthesized samples. Results of studies of synthesized products revealed the existence of three solid solutions with limited isomorphism Ag↔Au: naumannite Ag{sub 2}Se – Ag{sub 1.94}Au{sub 0.06}Se, fischesserite Ag{sub 3}AuSe{sub 2} - Ag{sub 3.2}Au{sub 0.8}Se{sub 2} and gold selenide AuSe - Au{sub 0.94}Ag{sub 0.06}Se. Solid solutions and AgAuSe phases were added tomore » the phase diagram of Ag-Au-Se system. Crystal-chemical interpretation of Ag-Au isomorphism in selenides was made on the basis of structural features of fischesserite, naumannite, and AuSe. - Highlights: • Au-Ag selenides were synthesized. • Limited Ag-Au isomorphism in the selenides is affected by structural features. • Some new phases were introduced to the phase diagram Ag-Au-Se.« less

Nature of Molecular Interactions of Peptides with Gold, Palladium, and Pd-Au Bimetal Surfaces in Aqueous Solution

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-24

bimetallic surfaces also possess additional polarity, approximated by atomic charges of +0.3e and -0.3e at the Pd and Au sides of the interface , which...as well as polarization and charge transfer at the metal interface (only qualitatively considered here). A hexagonal spacing of ∼1.6 Å between...as results from quantum-mechanical calculations on small peptide and surface fragments. Interfaces were modeled using the consistent valence force

Successes and Challenges in School Meal Reform: Qualitative Insights From Food Service Directors.

PubMed

Asada, Yuka; Ziemann, Margaret; Zatz, Lara; Chriqui, Jamie

2017-08-01

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revise school meal standards to increase healthy food offerings. A critical stakeholder in the implementation of standards is Food Service Directors (FSDs). We sought to examine FSDs' perspectives on revised school meal standards to gain insight into successful implementation strategies. Semistructured interviews were conducted with FSDs (N = 9) from high schools that had achieved HealthierUS Schools Challenge: Smarter Lunchrooms (HUSSC: SL) status. Qualitative interview data were team coded in Atlas.ti v7 and analyzed with principles of constant comparative analysis. FSDs reported overall positive perceptions of the revised school meal standards and its potential impacts, as well as improved fruit and vegetable consumption, despite initial challenges with plate waste, procurement of whole grain-rich products, and fast paced sodium targets. Implementation was described as complex, ongoing processes; with time and in-service trainings, student acceptance to these changes improved. These findings are directly relevant to future reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and to revisions to the implementation time line for the federal school meal standards related to sodium, whole grains, and flavored milk. Insights into FSDs' strategies suggest that more time and targeted technical assistance at federal, state, and local levels is warranted. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Barriers to Health Service Utilization Among Iranian Female Sex Workers: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Merghati-Khoei, Effat

2018-01-01

Objectives In most countries around the world, sex work is an illegal activity. Female sex workers (FSWs) in Iran hide their identities, and they are known to be a hard-to-reach population. Despite free access to HIV testing, fewer than half of FSWs receive HIV testing. The purpose of this study was to characterize the reasons for which FSWs do not seek testing at drop-in centers (DICs) and voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) centers in Iran. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in 2016. The participants were 24 FSWs who received services at VCT centers and DICs for vulnerable females in the north of Iran and 9 males who were the clients of FSWs. In this study, we made use of purposive sampling and carried out a thematic analysis. Results We found 4 major and 6 minor themes. The major themes were: fear of being infected (with HIV), stigma, indifference, and knowledge. Conclusions Despite the significant efforts made by the government of Iran to establish and expand DICs for vulnerable females, the number of FSWs receiving services at these centers has not been very considerable. Consequently, by introducing and implementing training programs for peer groups, it may be possible to take steps toward establishing strategic programs for the control and prevention of HIV/AIDS. PMID:29631351

Energy Dependence of Particle Multiplicities in Central Au+Au Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Corbo, J.; Decowski, M. P.; Garcia, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Henderson, C.; Hicks, D.; Hofman, D.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A.; Mülmenstädt, J.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Rafelski, M.; Rbeiz, M.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sagerer, J.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S.; Stodulski, M.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2002-01-01

We present the first measurement of the pseudorapidity density of primary charged particles in Au+Au collisions at (sNN) = 200 GeV. For the 6% most central collisions, we obtain dNch/dη\\|\\|η\\|<1 = 650+/-35(syst). Compared to collisions at (sNN) = 130 GeV, the highest energy studied previously, an increase by a factor of 1.14+/-0.05 at 90% confidence level, is found. The energy dependence of the pseudorapidity density is discussed in comparison with data from proton-induced collisions and theoretical predictions.

Electronic and geometric structures of Au30 clusters: a network of 2e-superatom Au cores protected by tridentate protecting motifs with u3-S

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Zhimei; Cheng, Longjiu

2015-12-01

Density functional theory calculations have been performed to study the experimentally synthesized Au30S(SR)18 and two related Au30(SR)18 and Au30S2(SR)18 clusters. The patterns of thiolate ligands on the gold cores for the three thiolate-protected Au30 nanoclusters are on the basis of the ``divide and protect'' concept. A novel extended protecting motif with u3-S, S(Au2(SR)2)2AuSR, is discovered, which is termed the tridentate protecting motif. The Au cores of Au30S(SR)18, Au30(SR)18 and Au30S2(SR)18 clusters are Au17, Au20 and Au14, respectively. The superatom-network (SAN) model and the superatom complex (SAC) model are used to explain the chemical bonding patterns, which are verified by chemical bonding analysis based on the adaptive natural density partitioning (AdNDP) method and aromatic analysis on the basis of the nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) method. The Au17 core of the Au30S(SR)18 cluster can be viewed as a SAN of one Au6 superatom and four Au4 superatoms. The shape of the Au6 core is identical to that revealed in the recently synthesized Au18(SR)14 cluster. The Au20 core of the Au30(SR)18 cluster can be viewed as a SAN of two Au6 superatoms and four Au4 superatoms. The Au14 core of Au30S2(SR)18 can be regarded as a SAN of two pairs of two vertex-sharing Au4 superatoms. Meanwhile, the Au14 core is an 8e-superatom with 1S21P6 configuration. Our work may aid understanding and give new insights into the chemical synthesis of thiolate-protected Au clusters.Density functional theory calculations have been performed to study the experimentally synthesized Au30S(SR)18 and two related Au30(SR)18 and Au30S2(SR)18 clusters. The patterns of thiolate ligands on the gold cores for the three thiolate-protected Au30 nanoclusters are on the basis of the ``divide and protect'' concept. A novel extended protecting motif with u3-S, S(Au2(SR)2)2AuSR, is discovered, which is termed the tridentate protecting motif. The Au cores of Au30S(SR)18, Au30(SR)18 and Au30S

Measurements of Strangeness Production on Au+Au collisions at 62 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guimaraes, K. S. F. F.; Munhoz, M. G.; Takahashi, J.; Moura, M. M.; Suaide, A. A. P.; Cosentino, M.

2005-10-01

The STAR (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) experiment is a large acceptance collider detector that measures primarily hadronic observables to search for signatures of the quark-gluon plasma phase transition and study strongly interacting matter at high energy density. Operational since June 2000, the new heavy ion collider RHIC has already provided Au+Au collisions at σNN = 62, 130 and 200 GeV as well as p+p and d+Au collisions at 200 GeV. The various collision energies and systems allow the systematic study of particle production in heavy ion collisions. In particular, the production of strange (anti-)particles is one of the major topics of STAR. This detector allows the measurement of a variety of particle species at mid-rapidity, like neutral kaons; Λ, Ξ, and Ω. hyperons; and their anti-particles that are reconstructed via their decay topology. The strangeness measurements should provide important information on various phenomenological aspects of ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. The goal of this work is to perform the measurement of neutral kaons on Au+Au collisions at 62 GeV. This measurement will bring important information about strangeness production in the energy range between the top RHIC energy and the top SPS energy, where important questions regarding particle production are still open. In this poster, preliminary results of the analysis will be presented, mainly the evaluation of the topological cuts necessary for the neutral kaon reconstruction and the corrections that are necessary to obtain the transverse momentum spectra.

Supporting the use of theory in cross-country health services research: a participatory qualitative approach using Normalisation Process Theory as an example.

PubMed

O'Donnell, Catherine A; Mair, Frances S; Dowrick, Christopher; Brún, Mary O'Reilly-de; Brún, Tomas de; Burns, Nicola; Lionis, Christos; Saridaki, Aristoula; Papadakaki, Maria; Muijsenbergh, Maria van den; Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn van; Gravenhorst, Katja; Cooper, Lucy; Princz, Christine; Teunissen, Erik; Mareeuw, Francine van den Driessen; Vlahadi, Maria; Spiegel, Wolfgang; MacFarlane, Anne

2017-08-21

To describe and reflect on the process of designing and delivering a training programme supporting the use of theory, in this case Normalisation Process Theory (NPT), in a multisite cross-country health services research study. Participatory research approach using qualitative methods. Six European primary care settings involving research teams from Austria, England, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland. RESTORE research team consisting of 8 project applicants, all senior primary care academics, and 10 researchers. Professional backgrounds included general practitioners/family doctors, social/cultural anthropologists, sociologists and health services/primary care researchers. Views of all research team members (n=18) were assessed using qualitative evaluation methods, analysed qualitatively by the trainers after each session. Most of the team had no experience of using NPT and many had not applied theory to prospective, qualitative research projects. Early training proved didactic and overloaded participants with information. Drawing on RESTORE's methodological approach of Participatory Learning and Action, workshops using role play, experiential interactive exercises and light-hearted examples not directly related to the study subject matter were developed. Evaluation showed the study team quickly grew in knowledge and confidence in applying theory to fieldwork.Recommendations applicable to other studies include: accepting that theory application is not a linear process, that time is needed to address researcher concerns with the process, and that experiential, interactive learning is a key device in building conceptual and practical knowledge. An unanticipated benefit was the smooth transition to cross-country qualitative coding of study data. A structured programme of training enhanced and supported the prospective application of a theory, NPT, to our work but raised challenges. These were not unique to NPT but could arise with the application of any

Colorimetric determination of glutathione in human serum and cell lines by exploiting the peroxidase-like activity of CuS-polydopamine-Au composite.

PubMed

Wang, Yanying; Liu, Yaqin; Ding, Fang; Zhu, Xiaoyan; Yang, Li; Zou, Ping; Rao, Hanbing; Zhao, Qingbiao; Wang, Xianxiang

2018-06-07

In this study, we developed a simple colorimetric approach to detect glutathione (GSH). The proposed approach is based on the ability of CuS-PDA-Au composite material to catalytically oxidize 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to ox-TMB to induce a blue color with an absorption peak centered at 652 nm. However, the introduction of GSH can result in a decrease in oxidized TMB; similarly, it can combine with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the surface of CuS-PDA-Au composite material. Both approaches can result in a fading blue color and a reduction of the absorbance at 652 nm. Based on this above, we proposed a technique to detect GSH quantitatively and qualitatively through UV-Vis spectroscopy and naked eye, respectively. This approach demonstrates a low detection limit of 0.42 μM with a broad detection range of 5 × 10 -7 -1 × 10 -4  M with the assistance of UV-Vis spectroscopy. More importantly, this approach is convenient and rapid. This method was successfully applied to GSH detection in human serum and cell lines. Graphical abstract A colorimetric approach has been developed by exploiting the peroxidase-like activity of CuS-polydopamine-Au composite for sensitive glutathione detection.

J/ψ suppression at forward rapidity in Au + Au collisions at sNN=39 and 62.4 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adare, A.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.; Akiba, Y.; Akimoto, R.; Al-Ta'ani, H.; Alexander, J.; Angerami, A.; Aoki, K.; Apadula, N.; Aramaki, Y.; Asano, H.; Aschenauer, E. C.; Atomssa, E. T.; Awes, T. C.; Azmoun, B.; Babintsev, V.; Bai, M.; Bannier, B.; Barish, K. N.; Bassalleck, B.; Bathe, S.; Baublis, V.; Baumgart, S.; Bazilevsky, A.; Belmont, R.; Berdnikov, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Bing, X.; Blau, D. S.; Boyle, K.; Brooks, M. L.; Buesching, H.; Bumazhnov, V.; Butsyk, S.; Campbell, S.; Castera, P.; Chen, C.-H.; Chi, C. Y.; Chiu, M.; Choi, I. J.; Choi, J. B.; Choi, S.; Choudhury, R. K.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Chvala, O.; Cianciolo, V.; Citron, Z.; Cole, B. A.; Connors, M.; Csanád, M.; Csörgő, T.; Dairaku, S.; Datta, A.; Daugherity, M. S.; David, G.; Denisov, A.; Deshpande, A.; Desmond, E. J.; Dharmawardane, K. V.; Dietzsch, O.; Ding, L.; Dion, A.; Donadelli, M.; Drapier, O.; Drees, A.; Drees, K. A.; Durham, J. M.; Durum, A.; D'Orazio, L.; Edwards, S.; Efremenko, Y. V.; Engelmore, T.; Enokizono, A.; Esumi, S.; Eyser, K. O.; Fadem, B.; Fields, D. E.; Finger, M.; Finger, M., Jr.; Fleuret, F.; Fokin, S. L.; Frantz, J. E.; Franz, A.; Frawley, A. D.; Fukao, Y.; Fusayasu, T.; Gainey, K.; Gal, C.; Garishvili, A.; Garishvili, I.; Glenn, A.; Gong, X.; Gonin, M.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Grau, N.; Greene, S. V.; Grosse Perdekamp, M.; Gunji, T.; Guo, L.; Gustafsson, H.-Å.; Hachiya, T.; Haggerty, J. S.; Hahn, K. I.; Hamagaki, H.; Hanks, J.; Hashimoto, K.; Haslum, E.; Hayano, R.; He, X.; Hemmick, T. K.; Hester, T.; Hill, J. C.; Hollis, R. S.; Homma, K.; Hong, B.; Horaguchi, T.; Hori, Y.; Huang, S.; Ichihara, T.; Iinuma, H.; Ikeda, Y.; Imrek, J.; Inaba, M.; Iordanova, A.; Isenhower, D.; Issah, M.; Ivanischev, D.; Jacak, B. V.; Javani, M.; Jia, J.; Jiang, X.; Johnson, B. M.; Joo, K. S.; Jouan, D.; Kamin, J.; Kaneti, S.; Kang, B. H.; Kang, J. H.; Kang, J. S.; Kapustinsky, J.; Karatsu, K.; Kasai, M.; Kawall, D.; Kazantsev, A. V.; Kempel, T.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kijima, K. M.; Kim, B. I.; Kim, C.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, E.-J.; Kim, H. J.; Kim, K.-B.; Kim, Y.-J.; Kim, Y. K.; Kinney, E.; Kiss, Á.; Kistenev, E.; Klatsky, J.; Kleinjan, D.; Kline, P.; Komatsu, Y.; Komkov, B.; Koster, J.; Kotchetkov, D.; Kotov, D.; Král, A.; Krizek, F.; Kunde, G. J.; Kurita, K.; Kurosawa, M.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G. S.; Lacey, R.; Lai, Y. S.; Lajoie, J. G.; Lebedev, A.; Lee, B.; Lee, D. M.; Lee, J.; Lee, K. B.; Lee, K. S.; Lee, S. H.; Lee, S. R.; Leitch, M. J.; Leite, M. A. L.; Leitgab, M.; Lewis, B.; Lim, S. H.; Linden Levy, L. A.; Liu, M. X.; Love, B.; Maguire, C. F.; Makdisi, Y. I.; Makek, M.; Manion, A.; Manko, V. I.; Mannel, E.; Masumoto, S.; McCumber, M.; McGaughey, P. L.; McGlinchey, D.; McKinney, C.; Mendoza, M.; Meredith, B.; Miake, Y.; Mibe, T.; Mignerey, A. C.; Milov, A.; Mishra, D. K.; Mitchell, J. T.; Miyachi, Y.; Miyasaka, S.; Mohanty, A. K.; Moon, H. J.; Morrison, D. P.; Motschwiller, S.; Moukhanova, T. V.; Murakami, T.; Murata, J.; Nagae, T.; Nagamiya, S.; Nagle, J. L.; Nagy, M. I.; Nakagawa, I.; Nakamiya, Y.; Nakamura, K. R.; Nakamura, T.; Nakano, K.; Nattrass, C.; Nederlof, A.; Nihashi, M.; Nouicer, R.; Novitzky, N.; Nyanin, A. S.; O'Brien, E.; Ogilvie, C. A.; Okada, K.; Oskarsson, A.; Ouchida, M.; Ozawa, K.; Pak, R.; Pantuev, V.; Papavassiliou, V.; Park, B. H.; Park, I. H.; Park, S. K.; Pate, S. F.; Patel, L.; Pei, H.; Peng, J.-C.; Pereira, H.; Peressounko, D. Yu.; Petti, R.; Pinkenburg, C.; Pisani, R. P.; Proissl, M.; Purschke, M. L.; Qu, H.; Rak, J.; Ravinovich, I.; Read, K. F.; Reynolds, R.; Riabov, V.; Riabov, Y.; Richardson, E.; Roach, D.; Roche, G.; Rolnick, S. D.; Rosati, M.; Sahlmueller, B.; Saito, N.; Sakaguchi, T.; Samsonov, V.; Sano, M.; Sarsour, M.; Sawada, S.; Sedgwick, K.; Seidl, R.; Sen, A.; Seto, R.; Sharma, D.; Shein, I.; Shibata, T.-A.; Shigaki, K.; Shimomura, M.; Shoji, K.; Shukla, P.; Sickles, A.; Silva, C. L.; Silvermyr, D.; Sim, K. S.; Singh, B. K.; Singh, C. P.; Singh, V.; Slunečka, M.; Soltz, R. A.; Sondheim, W. E.; Sorensen, S. P.; Soumya, M.; Sourikova, I. V.; Stankus, P. W.; Stenlund, E.; Stepanov, M.; Ster, A.; Stoll, S. P.; Sugitate, T.; Sukhanov, A.; Sun, J.; Sziklai, J.; Takagui, E. M.; Takahara, A.; Taketani, A.; Tanaka, Y.; Taneja, S.; Tanida, K.; Tannenbaum, M. J.; Tarafdar, S.; Taranenko, A.; Tennant, E.; Themann, H.; Todoroki, T.; Tomášek, L.; Tomášek, M.; Torii, H.; Towell, R. S.; Tserruya, I.; Tsuchimoto, Y.; Tsuji, T.; Vale, C.; van Hecke, H. W.; Vargyas, M.; Vazquez-Zambrano, E.; Veicht, A.; Velkovska, J.; Vértesi, R.; Virius, M.; Vossen, A.; Vrba, V.; Vznuzdaev, E.; Wang, X. R.; Watanabe, D.; Watanabe, K.; Watanabe, Y.; Watanabe, Y. S.; Wei, F.; Wei, R.; White, S. N.; Winter, D.; Wolin, S.; Woody, C. L.; Wysocki, M.; Yamaguchi, Y. L.; Yang, R.; Yanovich, A.; Ying, J.; Yokkaichi, S.; You, Z.; Younus, I.; Yushmanov, I. E.; Zajc, W. A.; Zelenski, A.

2012-12-01

We present measurements of the J/ψ invariant yields in sNN=39 and 62.4 GeV Au + Au collisions at forward rapidity (1.2<|y|<2.2). Invariant yields are presented as a function of both collision centrality and transverse momentum. Nuclear modifications are obtained for central relative to peripheral Au + Au collisions (RCP) and for various centrality selections in Au + Au relative to scaled p + p cross sections obtained from other measurements (RAA). The observed suppression patterns at 39 and 62.4 GeV are quite similar to those previously measured at 200 GeV. This similar suppression presents a challenge to theoretical models that contain various competing mechanisms with different energy dependencies, some of which cause suppression and others enhancement.

Disappearance of back-to-back high-pT hadron correlations in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s NN ] =200 GeV.

PubMed

Adler, C; Ahammed, Z; Allgower, C; Amonett, J; Anderson, B D; Anderson, M; Averichev, G S; Balewski, J; Barannikova, O; Barnby, L S; Baudot, J; Bekele, S; Belaga, V V; Bellwied, R; Berger, J; Bichsel, H; Billmeier, A; Bland, L C; Blyth, C O; Bonner, B E; Boucham, A; Brandin, A; Bravar, A; Cadman, R V; Caines, H; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M; Cardenas, A; Carroll, J; Castillo, J; Castro, M; Cebra, D; Chaloupka, P; Chattopadhyay, S; Chen, Y; Chernenko, S P; Cherney, M; Chikanian, A; Choi, B; Christie, W; Coffin, J P; Cormier, T M; Corral, M M; Cramer, J G; Crawford, H J; Derevschikov, A A; Didenko, L; Dietel, T; Draper, J E; Dunin, V B; Dunlop, J C; Eckardt, V; Efimov, L G; Emelianov, V; Engelage, J; Eppley, G; Erazmus, B; Fachini, P; Faine, V; Faivre, J; Fatemi, R; Filimonov, K; Finch, E; Fisyak, Y; Flierl, D; Foley, K J; Fu, J; Gagliardi, C A; Gagunashvili, N; Gans, J; Gaudichet, L; Germain, M; Geurts, F; Ghazikhanian, V; Grachov, O; Grigoriev, V; Guedon, M; Gushin, E; Hallman, T J; Hardtke, D; Harris, J W; Henry, T W; Heppelmann, S; Herston, T; Hippolyte, B; Hirsch, A; Hjort, E; Hoffmann, G W; Horsley, M; Huang, H Z; Humanic, T J; Igo, G; Ishihara, A; Ivanshin, Yu I; Jacobs, P; Jacobs, W W; Janik, M; Johnson, I; Jones, P G; Judd, E G; Kaneta, M; Kaplan, M; Keane, D; Kiryluk, J; Kisiel, A; Klay, J; Klein, S R; Klyachko, A; Kollegger, T; Konstantinov, A S; Kopytine, M; Kotchenda, L; Kovalenko, A D; Kramer, M; Kravtsov, P; Krueger, K; Kuhn, C; Kulikov, A I; Kunde, G J; Kunz, C L; Kutuev, R Kh; Kuznetsov, A A; Lakehal-Ayat, L; Lamont, M A C; Landgraf, J M; Lange, S; Lansdell, C P; Lasiuk, B; Laue, F; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lednický, R; Leontiev, V M; LeVine, M J; Li, Q; Lindenbaum, S J; Lisa, M A; Liu, F; Liu, L; Liu, Z; Liu, Q J; Ljubicic, T; Llope, W J; LoCurto, G; Long, H; Longacre, R S; Lopez-Noriega, M; Love, W A; Ludlam, T; Lynn, D; Ma, J; Magestro, D; Majka, R; Margetis, S; Markert, C; Martin, L; Marx, J; Matis, H S; Matulenko, Yu A; McShane, T S; Meissner, F; Melnick, Yu; Meschanin, A; Messer, M; Miller, M L; Milosevich, Z; Minaev, N G; Mitchell, J; Moore, C F; Morozov, V; de Moura, M M; Munhoz, M G; Nelson, J M; Nevski, P; Nikitin, V A; Nogach, L V; Norman, B; Nurushev, S B; Odyniec, G; Ogawa, A; Okorokov, V; Oldenburg, M; Olson, D; Paic, G; Pandey, S U; Panebratsev, Y; Panitkin, S Y; Pavlinov, A I; Pawlak, T; Perevoztchikov, V; Peryt, W; Petrov, V A; Planinic, M; Pluta, J; Porile, N; Porter, J; Poskanzer, A M; Potrebenikova, E; Prindle, D; Pruneau, C; Putschke, J; Rai, G; Rakness, G; Ravel, O; Ray, R L; Razin, S V; Reichhold, D; Reid, J G; Renault, G; Retiere, F; Ridiger, A; Ritter, H G; Roberts, J B; Rogachevski, O V; Romero, J L; Rose, A; Roy, C; Rykov, V; Sakrejda, I; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Savin, I; Schambach, J; Scharenberg, R P; Schmitz, N; Schroeder, L S; Schüttauf, A; Schweda, K; Seger, J; Seliverstov, D; Seyboth, P; Shahaliev, E; Shestermanov, K E; Shimanskii, S S; Simon, F; Skoro, G; Smirnov, N; Snellings, R; Sorensen, P; Sowinski, J; Spinka, H M; Srivastava, B; Stephenson, E J; Stock, R; Stolpovsky, A; Strikhanov, M; Stringfellow, B; Struck, C; Suaide, A A P; Sugarbaker, E; Suire, C; Sumbera, M; Surrow, B; Symons, T J M; Szanto de Toledo, A; Szarwas, P; Tai, A; Takahashi, J; Tang, A H; Thein, D; Thomas, J H; Thompson, M; Tikhomirov, V; Tokarev, M; Tonjes, M B; Trainor, T A; Trentalange, S; Tribble, R E; Trofimov, V; Tsai, O; Ullrich, T; Underwood, D G; Van Buren, G; VanderMolen, A M; Vasilevski, I M; Vasiliev, A N; Vigdor, S E; Voloshin, S A; Wang, F; Ward, H; Watson, J W; Wells, R; Westfall, G D; Whitten, C; Wieman, H; Willson, R; Wissink, S W; Witt, R; Wood, J; Xu, N; Xu, Z; Yakutin, A E; Yamamoto, E; Yang, J; Yepes, P; Yurevich, V I; Zanevski, Y V; Zborovský, I; Zhang, H; Zhang, W M; Zoulkarneev, R; Zubarev, A N

2003-02-28

Azimuthal correlations for large transverse momentum charged hadrons have been measured over a wide pseudorapidity range and full azimuth in Au+Au and p+p collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV. The small-angle correlations observed in p+p collisions and at all centralities of Au+Au collisions are characteristic of hard-scattering processes previously observed in high-energy collisions. A strong back-to-back correlation exists for p+p and peripheral Au+Au. In contrast, the back-to-back correlations are reduced considerably in the most central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial interaction as the hard-scattered partons or their fragmentation products traverse the medium.

Why do women not use antenatal services in low- and middle-income countries? A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Finlayson, Kenneth; Downe, Soo

2013-01-01

Almost 50% of women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) don't receive adequate antenatal care. Women's views can offer important insights into this problem. Qualitative studies exploring inadequate use of antenatal services have been undertaken in a range of countries, but the findings are not easily transferable. We aimed to inform the development of future antenatal care programmes through a synthesis of findings in all relevant qualitative studies. Using a predetermined search strategy, we identified robust qualitative studies reporting on the views and experiences of women in LMICs who received inadequate antenatal care. We used meta-ethnographic techniques to generate themes and a line-of-argument synthesis. We derived policy-relevant hypotheses from the findings. We included 21 papers representing the views of more than 1,230 women from 15 countries. Three key themes were identified: "pregnancy as socially risky and physiologically healthy", "resource use and survival in conditions of extreme poverty", and "not getting it right the first time". The line-of-argument synthesis describes a dissonance between programme design and cultural contexts that may restrict access and discourage return visits. We hypothesize that centralised, risk-focused antenatal care programmes may be at odds with the resources, beliefs, and experiences of pregnant women who underuse antenatal services. Our findings suggest that there may be a misalignment between current antenatal care provision and the social and cultural context of some women in LMICs. Antenatal care provision that is theoretically and contextually at odds with local contextual beliefs and experiences is likely to be underused, especially when attendance generates increased personal risks of lost family resources or physical danger during travel, when the promised care is not delivered because of resource constraints, and when women experience covert or overt abuse in care settings.

Observation of D 0 meson nuclear modifications in Au + Au collisions at s NN = 200 GeV

DOE PAGES

Adamczyk, L.; Adkins, J. K.; Agakishiev, G.; ...

2014-09-30

We report the first measurement of charmed-hadron (D 0) production via the hadronic decay channel (D 0→K -+π +) in Au+Au collisions at √ sNN=200 GeV with the STAR experiment. The charm production cross section per nucleon-nucleon collision at midrapidity scales with the number of binary collisions, N bin, from p+p to central Au+Au collisions. The D 0 meson yields in central Au+Aucollisions are strongly suppressed compared to those in p+p scaled by N bin, for transverse momenta p T>3 GeV/c, demonstrating significant energy loss of charm quarks in the hot and dense medium. An enhancement at intermediate p Tmore » is also observed. Model calculations including strong charm-medium interactions and coalescence hadronization describe our measurements.« less

Communication and context are important to Indigenous children with physical disability and their carers at a community-based physiotherapy service: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Greenstein, Caroline; Lowell, Anne; Thomas, David

2016-01-01

What are the experiences of Indigenous children with physical disability and their carers of their community-based physiotherapy service? What factors influence their experiences of the physiotherapy service and how could the service be improved? A qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structured open-ended interviews consistent with the researchers' interpretivist perspectives and ethical principles of Indigenous health research. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and coded for themes with qualitative research software using inductive analysis. The interviews were then checked for transcription accuracy and the themes were confirmed with the participants. Nine parents and foster carers of children with physical disability aged 0 to 21 years, five children and youth with physical disability aged 8 to 21 years. The data generated three themes, which informed practice recommendations: carers of children with physical disability experience increased demands and complexity in their lives; relationships involving caring, consistency and communication are important to consumers using the physiotherapy service; and being Indigenous influences consumers' experiences in ways that may not be obvious to non-Indigenous service providers. The issue of communication underpinned the participants' experiences throughout these themes. The research highlighted the importance of effective communication, developing relationships, viewing the child wholistically and recognising the influence of being Indigenous on clients' healthcare needs and experiences. The results suggested that community-based physiotherapists adopt a family/person-centred, context-specific approach when working with Indigenous children with a physical disability and their carers. Copyright © 2015 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bi-functional Au/FeS (Au/Co3O4) composite for in situ SERS monitoring and degradation of organic pollutants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Shuzhen; Cai, Qian; Lu, Kailing; Liao, Fan; Shao, Mingwang

2016-01-01

The bi-functional Au/FeS (Au/Co3O4) composite was fabricated by in situ reducing Au nanoparticles onto the surface of FeS (Co3O4). The as-prepared FeS possessed a multi-structure composed of plenty of nanoplates, which were coated by Au nanoparticles with an average size of 47.5 nm. While the Co3O4 showed a thin hexagonal sheet containing Au nanoparticles on its surface with an average size of 79.0 nm. Both the as-prepared Au/FeS and Au/Co3O4 composites exhibited excellent SERS performance, capable of enhancing the Raman signals of R6G molecules with the enhancement factor up to 1.81 × 106 and 7.60 × 104, respectively. Moreover, Au/FeS (Au/Co3O4) composite also has been verified to have intrinsic peroxidase-like activity, which could decompose H2O2 into hydroxyl radicals and then degrade organic pollutants into small molecules. Therefore, SERS can be used to real-time and in situ monitoring the degradation process of R6G molecules, employing the Au/FeS (Au/Co3O4) composite both as SERS substrate and catalyst.

Gold surfaces and nanoparticles are protected by Au(0)-thiyl species and are destroyed when Au(I)-thiolates form.

PubMed

Reimers, Jeffrey R; Ford, Michael J; Halder, Arnab; Ulstrup, Jens; Hush, Noel S

2016-03-15

The synthetic chemistry and spectroscopy of sulfur-protected gold surfaces and nanoparticles is analyzed, indicating that the electronic structure of the interface is Au(0)-thiyl, with Au(I)-thiolates identified as high-energy excited surface states. Density-functional theory indicates that it is the noble character of gold and nanoparticle surfaces that destabilizes Au(I)-thiolates. Bonding results from large van der Waals forces, influenced by covalent bonding induced through s-d hybridization and charge polarization effects that perturbatively mix in some Au(I)-thiolate character. A simple method for quantifying these contributions is presented, revealing that a driving force for nanoparticle growth is nobleization, minimizing Au(I)-thiolate involvement. Predictions that Brust-Schiffrin reactions involve thiolate anion intermediates are verified spectroscopically, establishing a key feature needed to understand nanoparticle growth. Mixing of preprepared Au(I) and thiolate reactants always produces Au(I)-thiolate thin films or compounds rather than monolayers. Smooth links to O, Se, Te, C, and N linker chemistry are established.

Identified particle distributions in pp and Au+Au collisions at square root of (sNN)=200 GeV.

PubMed

Adams, J; Adler, C; Aggarwal, M M; Ahammed, Z; Amonett, J; Anderson, B D; Anderson, M; Arkhipkin, D; Averichev, G S; Badyal, S K; Balewski, J; Barannikova, O; Barnby, L S; Baudot, J; Bekele, S; Belaga, V V; Bellwied, R; Berger, J; Bezverkhny, B I; Bhardwaj, S; Bhaskar, P; Bhati, A K; Bichsel, H; Billmeier, A; Bland, L C; Blyth, C O; Bonner, B E; Botje, M; Boucham, A; Brandin, A; Bravar, A; Cadman, R V; Cai, X Z; Caines, H; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M; Carroll, J; Castillo, J; Castro, M; Cebra, D; Chaloupka, P; Chattopadhyay, S; Chen, H F; Chen, Y; Chernenko, S P; Cherney, M; Chikanian, A; Choi, B; Christie, W; Coffin, J P; Cormier, T M; Cramer, J G; Crawford, H J; Das, D; Das, S; Derevschikov, A A; Didenko, L; Dietel, T; Dong, X; Draper, J E; Du, F; Dubey, A K; Dunin, V B; Dunlop, J C; Dutta Majumdar, M R; Eckardt, V; Efimov, L G; Emelianov, V; Engelage, J; Eppley, G; Erazmus, B; Estienne, M; Fachini, P; Faine, V; Faivre, J; Fatemi, R; Filimonov, K; Filip, P; Finch, E; Fisyak, Y; Flierl, D; Foley, K J; Fu, J; Gagliardi, C A; Ganti, M S; Gutierrez, T D; Gagunashvili, N; Gans, J; Gaudichet, L; Germain, M; Geurts, F; Ghazikhanian, V; Ghosh, P; Gonzalez, J E; Grachov, O; Grigoriev, V; Gronstal, S; Grosnick, D; Guedon, M; Guertin, S M; Gupta, A; Gushin, E; Hallman, T J; Hardtke, D; Harris, J W; Heinz, M; Henry, T W; Heppelmann, S; Herston, T; Hippolyte, B; Hirsch, A; Hjort, E; Hoffmann, G W; Horsley, M; Huang, H Z; Huang, S L; Humanic, T J; Igo, G; Ishihara, A; Jacobs, P; Jacobs, W W; Janik, M; Johnson, I; Jones, P G; Judd, E G; Kabana, S; Kaneta, M; Kaplan, M; Keane, D; Kiryluk, J; Kisiel, A; Klay, J; Klein, S R; Klyachko, A; Koetke, D D; Kollegger, T; Konstantinov, A S; Kopytine, M; Kotchenda, L; Kovalenko, A D; Kramer, M; Kravtsov, P; Krueger, K; Kuhn, C; Kulikov, A I; Kumar, A; Kunde, G J; Kunz, C L; Kutuev, R Kh; Kuznetsov, A A; Lamont, M A C; Landgraf, J M; Lange, S; Lansdell, C P; Lasiuk, B; Laue, F; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lednický, R; Leontiev, V M; LeVine, M J; Li, C; Li, Q; Lindenbaum, S J; Lisa, M A; Liu, F; Liu, L; Liu, Z; Liu, Q J; Ljubicic, T; Llope, W J; Long, H; Longacre, R S; Lopez-Noriega, M; Love, W A; Ludlam, T; Lynn, D; Ma, J; Ma, Y G; Magestro, D; Mahajan, S; Mangotra, L K; Mahapatra, D P; Majka, R; Manweiler, R; Margetis, S; Markert, C; Martin, L; Marx, J; Matis, H S; Matulenko, Yu A; McShane, T S; Meissner, F; Melnick, Yu; Meschanin, A; Messer, M; Miller, M L; Milosevich, Z; Minaev, N G; Mironov, C; Mishra, D; Mitchell, J; Mohanty, B; Molnar, L; Moore, C F; Mora-Corral, M J; Morozov, V; de Moura, M M; Munhoz, M G; Nandi, B K; Nayak, S K; Nayak, T K; Nelson, J M; Nevski, P; Nikitin, V A; Nogach, L V; Norman, B; Nurushev, S B; Odyniec, G; Ogawa, A; Okorokov, V; Oldenburg, M; Olson, D; Paic, G; Pandey, S U; Pal, S K; Panebratsev, Y; Panitkin, S Y; Pavlinov, A I; Pawlak, T; Perevoztchikov, V; Peryt, W; Petrov, V A; Phatak, S C; Picha, R; Planinic, M; Pluta, J; Porile, N; Porter, J; Poskanzer, A M; Potekhin, M; Potrebenikova, E; Potukuchi, B V K S; Prindle, D; Pruneau, C; Putschke, J; Rai, G; Rakness, G; Raniwala, R; Raniwala, S; Ravel, O; Ray, R L; Razin, S V; Reichhold, D; Reid, J G; Renault, G; Retiere, F; Ridiger, A; Ritter, H G; Roberts, J B; Rogachevski, O V; Romero, J L; Rose, A; Roy, C; Ruan, L J; Sahoo, R; Sakrejda, I; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Savin, I; Schambach, J; Scharenberg, R P; Schmitz, N; Schroeder, L S; Schweda, K; Seger, J; Seliverstov, D; Seyboth, P; Shahaliev, E; Shao, M; Sharma, M; Shestermanov, K E; Shimanskii, S S; Singaraju, R N; Simon, F; Skoro, G; Smirnov, N; Snellings, R; Sood, G; Sorensen, P; Sowinski, J; Spinka, H M; Srivastava, B; Stanislaus, S; Stock, R; Stolpovsky, A; Strikhanov, M; Stringfellow, B; Struck, C; Suaide, A A P; Sugarbaker, E; Suire, C; Sumbera, M; Surrow, B; Symons, T J M; de Toledo, A Szanto; Szarwas, P; Tai, A; Takahashi, J; Tang, A H; Thein, D; Thomas, J H; Tikhomirov, V; Tokarev, M; Tonjes, M B; Trainor, T A; Trentalange, S; Tribble, R E; Trivedi, M D; Trofimov, V; Tsai, O; Ullrich, T; Underwood, D G; Van Buren, G; VanderMolen, A M; Vasiliev, A N; Vasiliev, M; Vigdor, S E; Viyogi, Y P; Voloshin, S A; Waggoner, W; Wang, F; Wang, G; Wang, X L; Wang, Z M; Ward, H; Watson, J W; Wells, R; Westfall, G D; Whitten, C; Wieman, H; Willson, R; Wissink, S W; Witt, R; Wood, J; Wu, J; Xu, N; Xu, Z; Xu, Z Z; Yakutin, A E; Yamamoto, E; Yang, J; Yepes, P; Yurevich, V I; Zanevski, Y V; Zborovský, I; Zhang, H; Zhang, H Y; Zhang, W M; Zhang, Z P; Zołnierczuk, P A; Zoulkarneev, R; Zoulkarneeva, J; Zubarev, A N

2004-03-19

Transverse mass and rapidity distributions for charged pions, charged kaons, protons, and antiprotons are reported for square root of [sNN]=200 GeV pp and Au+Au collisions at Relativistic Heary Ion Collider (RHIC). Chemical and kinetic equilibrium model fits to our data reveal strong radial flow and long duration from chemical to kinetic freeze-out in central Au+Au collisions. The chemical freeze-out temperature appears to be independent of initial conditions at RHIC energies.

Family planning providers' perspectives on family planning service delivery in Ibadan and Kaduna, Nigeria: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Hebert, Luciana Estelle; Schwandt, Hilary Megan; Boulay, Marc; Skinner, Joanna

2013-01-01

In Nigeria, fertility continues to be high and contraceptive prevalence remains low. This study was conducted in order to understand the perceptions of, experiences with and challenges of delivering family planning services in two urban areas of Nigeria from the perspectives of family planning service providers. A qualitative study using 59 in-depth interviews was conducted among family planning providers working in hospitals, primary health centres, clinics, pharmacies and patent medicine vendors in Ibadan and Kaduna, Nigeria. Providers support a mix of individuals and organisations involved in family planning provision, including the government of Nigeria. The Nigerian government's role can take a variety of forms, including providing promotional materials for family planning facilities as well as facilitating training and educational opportunities for providers, since many providers lack basic training in family planning provision. Providers often describe their motivation to provide in terms of the health benefits offered by family planning methods. Few providers engage in any marketing of their services and many providers exclude youth and unmarried individuals from their services. The family planning provider community supports a diverse network of providers, but needs further training and support in order to improve the quality of care and market their services. Adolescents, unmarried individuals and women seeking post-abortion care are vulnerable populations that providers need to be better educated about and trained in how to serve. The perspectives of providers should be considered when designing family planning interventions in urban areas of Nigeria.

Surface plasmon aided high sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor using Au/NiAu multilayered nanowire arrays.

PubMed

Wang, Lanfang; Zhu, Weiqi; Lu, Wenbo; Qin, Xiufang; Xu, Xiaohong

2018-07-15

A novel plasmon aided non-enzymatic glucose sensor was first constructed based on the unique half-rough Au/NiAu multilayered nanowire arrays. These multilayered and half-rough nanowires provide high chemical activity and large surface area for glucose oxidation in an alkaline solution. Under visible light irradiation, the surface plasmons originated from Au part enhance the electron transfer in the vertically aligned nanowires, leading to high sensitivity and wide detection range. The resulting sensor exhibits a wide glucose detection concentration range, low detection limit, and high sensitivity for plasmon aided non-enzymatic glucose sensor. Moreover, the detection sensitivity is enhanced by almost 2 folds compared to that in the dark, which significantly enhanced the performance of Au/NiAu multilayered nanowire arrays sensor. An excellent selectivity and acceptable stability were also achieved. These results indicate that surface plasmon aided nanostructures are promising new platforms for the construction of non-enzymatic glucose sensors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Collective flow measurements with HADES in Au+Au collisions at 1.23A GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kardan, Behruz; Hades Collaboration

2017-11-01

HADES has a large acceptance combined with a good mass-resolution and therefore allows the study of dielectron and hadron production in heavy-ion collisions with unprecedented precision. With the statistics of seven billion Au-Au collisions at 1.23A GeV recorded in 2012, the investigation of higher-order flow harmonics is possible. At the BEVALAC and SIS18 directed and elliptic flow has been measured for pions, charged kaons, protons, neutrons and fragments, but higher-order harmonics have not yet been studied. They provide additional important information on the properties of the dense hadronic medium produced in heavy-ion collisions. We present here a high-statistics, multidifferential measurement of v1 and v2 for protons in Au+Au collisions at 1.23A GeV.

Coincidence studies of He ionized by C{sup 6+}, Au{sup 24+}, and Au{sup 53+}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McGovern, M.; Walters, H. R. J.; Assafrao, D.

2010-04-15

A recently developed [Phys. Rev. A 79, 042707 (2009)] impact parameter coupled pseudostate approximation (CP) is applied to calculate triple differential cross sections for single ionization of He by C{sup 6+}, Au{sup 24+}, and Au{sup 53+} projectiles at impact energies of 100 and 2 MeV/amu for C{sup 6+} and 3.6 MeV/amu for Au{sup 24+} and Au{sup 53+}. For C{sup 6+}, satisfactory, but not perfect, agreement is found with experimental measurements in coplanar geometry, but there is substantial disagreement with data taken in a perpendicular plane geometry. The CP calculations firmly contradict a projectile-nucleus interaction model which has been used tomore » support the perpendicular plane measurements. For Au{sup 24+} and Au{sup 53+}, there is a complete lack of accord with the available experiments. However, for Au{sup 24+} the theoretical position appears to be quite firm with clear indications of convergence in the CP approximation and very good agreement between CP and the completely different three-distorted-waves eikonal-initial-state (3DW-EIS) approximation. The situation for Au{sup 53+} is different. At the momentum transfers at which the measurements were made, there are doubts about the convergence of the CP approximation and a factor of 2 difference between the CP and 3DW-EIS predictions. The discord between theory and experiment is even greater with the experiment giving cross sections a factor of 10 larger than the theory. A study of the convergence of the CP approximation shows that it improves rapidly with reducing momentum transfer. As a consequence, lower-order cross sections than the triple are quite well converged and present an opportunity for a more reliable test of the experiment.« less

Cervical cancer: a qualitative study on subjectivity, family, gender and health services

PubMed Central

Pelcastre-Villafuerte, Blanca E; Tirado-Gómez, Laura L; Mohar-Betancourt, Alejandro; López-Cervantes, Malaquías

2007-01-01

Background In 2002, cervical cancer was one of the leading causes of death in Mexico. Quantitative techniques allowed for the identification of socioeconomic, behavioral and biological characteristics that are part of its etiology. However such characteristics, are inadequate to explain sufficiently the role that emotions, family networks and socially-constructed categories such as gender play in the demand and utilization of health services for cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment and neither the timely undertaking of preventive actions, such as getting a PAP smear or seeking adequate and continuons treatment. Methods A qualitative study was carried out to analyze the role of different social and cultural factors in the timely detection of cervical cancer. As part of a multi-level, multi-method research effort, this particular study was based on individual interviews with women diagnosed with cervical cancer (identified as the "cases"), their female friends and relatives (identified as the "controls") and the cases' husbands. Results The results showed that both: denial and fear are two important components that regulate the behavior of both the women and their partners. Women with a small support network may have limited opportunities for taking action in favor of their own health and wellbeing. Conclusion Women tend not to worry about their health, in general and neither about cervical cancer in particular, as a consequence of their conceptualizations regarding their body and feminine identify – both of which are socially determined. Furthermore, it is necessary to improve the quality of information provided in health services. PMID:17331256

Isomorphism and solid solutions among Ag- and Au-selenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palyanova, Galina A.; Seryotkin, Yurii V.; Kokh, Konstantin A.; Bakakin, Vladimir V.

2016-09-01

Au-Ag selenides were synthesized by heating stoichiometric mixtures of elementary substances of initial compositions Ag2-xAuxSe with a step of х=0.25 (0≤х≤2) to 1050 °С and annealing at 500 °C. Scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and X-ray powder diffraction methods have been applied to study synthesized samples. Results of studies of synthesized products revealed the existence of three solid solutions with limited isomorphism Ag↔Au: naumannite Ag2Se - Ag1.94Au0.06Se, fischesserite Ag3AuSe2 - Ag3.2Au0.8Se2 and gold selenide AuSe - Au0.94Ag0.06Se. Solid solutions and AgAuSe phases were added to the phase diagram of Ag-Au-Se system. Crystal-chemical interpretation of Ag-Au isomorphism in selenides was made on the basis of structural features of fischesserite, naumannite, and AuSe.

A qualitative study of patient experiences of decentralized acute healthcare services.

PubMed

Linqvist Leonardsen, Ann-Chatrin; Del Busso, Lilliana; Abrahamsen Grøndahl, Vigdis; Ghanima, Waleed; Barach, Paul; Jelsness-Jørgensen, Lars-Petter

2016-09-01

Municipality acute wards (MAWs) have recently been launched in Norway as an alternative to hospitalizations, and are aimed at providing treatment for patients who otherwise would have been hospitalized. The objective of this study was to explore how patients normally admitted to hospitals perceived the quality and safety of treatment in MAWs. The study had a qualitative design. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The study was conducted in a county in south-eastern Norway and included five different MAWs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 participants who had required acute health care and who had been discharged from the five MAWs. Three subthemes were identified that related to the overarching theme of hospital-like standards ("almost a hospital, but…"), namely (a) treatment and competence, (b) location and physical environment, and (c) adequate time for care. Participants reported the treatment to be comparable to hospital care, but they also experienced limitations. Participants spoke positively about MAW personnel and the advantages of having a single patient room, a calm environment, and proximity to home. Participants felt safe when treated at MAWs, even though they realized that the diagnostic services were not similar to that in hospitals. Geographical proximity, treatment facilities and time for care positively distinguished MAWs from hospitals, while the lack of diagnostic resources was stressed as a limitation. Key points   Municipality acute wards (MAWs) have been implemented across Norway. Research on patient perspectives on the decentralization of acute healthcare in MAWs is lacking.   • Patients perceive decentralized acute healthcare and treatment as being comparable to the quality they would have expected in hospitals.   • Geographical proximity, a home-like atmosphere and time for care were aspects stressed as positive features of the decentralized services.   • Lack of diagnostic

Strange baryon resonance production in sqrt s NN=200 GeV p+p and Au+Au collisions.

PubMed

Abelev, B I; Aggarwal, M M; Ahammed, Z; Amonett, J; Anderson, B D; Anderson, M; Arkhipkin, D; Averichev, G S; Bai, Y; Balewski, J; Barannikova, O; Barnby, L S; Baudot, J; Bekele, S; Belaga, V V; Bellingeri-Laurikainen, A; Bellwied, R; Benedosso, F; Bhardwaj, S; Bhasin, A; Bhati, A K; Bichsel, H; Bielcik, J; Bielcikova, J; Bland, L C; Blyth, S-L; Bonner, B E; Botje, M; Bouchet, J; Brandin, A V; Bravar, A; Burton, T P; Bystersky, M; Cadman, R V; Cai, X Z; Caines, H; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M; Castillo, J; Catu, O; Cebra, D; Chajecki, Z; Chaloupka, P; Chattopadhyay, S; Chen, H F; Chen, J H; Cheng, J; Cherney, M; Chikanian, A; Christie, W; Coffin, J P; Cormier, T M; Cosentino, M R; Cramer, J G; Crawford, H J; Das, D; Das, S; Dash, S; Daugherity, M; de Moura, M M; Dedovich, T G; DePhillips, M; Derevschikov, A A; Didenko, L; Dietel, T; Djawotho, P; Dogra, S M; Dong, W J; Dong, X; Draper, J E; Du, F; Dunin, V B; Dunlop, J C; Dutta Mazumdar, M R; Eckardt, V; Edwards, W R; Efimov, L G; Emelianov, V; Engelage, J; Eppley, G; Erazmus, B; Estienne, M; Fachini, P; Fatemi, R; Fedorisin, J; Filimonov, K; Filip, P; Finch, E; Fine, V; Fisyak, Y; Fu, J; Gagliardi, C A; Gaillard, L; Ganti, M S; Gaudichet, L; Ghazikhanian, V; Ghosh, P; Gonzalez, J E; Gorbunov, Y G; Gos, H; Grebenyuk, O; Grosnick, D; Guertin, S M; Guimaraes, K S F F; Gupta, N; Gutierrez, T D; Haag, B; Hallman, T J; Hamed, A; Harris, J W; He, W; Heinz, M; Henry, T W; Hepplemann, S; Hippolyte, B; Hirsch, A; Hjort, E; Hoffman, A M; Hoffmann, G W; Horner, M J; Huang, H Z; Huang, S L; Hughes, E W; Humanic, T J; Igo, G; Jacobs, P; Jacobs, W W; Jakl, P; Jia, F; Jiang, H; Jones, P G; Judd, E G; Kabana, S; Kang, K; Kapitan, J; Kaplan, M; Keane, D; Kechechyan, A; Khodyrev, V Yu; Kim, B C; Kiryluk, J; Kisiel, A; Kislov, E M; Klein, S R; Kocoloski, A; Koetke, D D; Kollegger, T; Kopytine, M; Kotchenda, L; Kouchpil, V; Kowalik, K L; Kramer, M; Kravtsov, P; Kravtsov, V I; Krueger, K; Kuhn, C; Kulikov, A I; Kumar, A; Kuznetsov, A A; Lamont, M A C; Landgraf, J M; Lange, S; LaPointe, S; Laue, F; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lednicky, R; Lee, C-H; Lehocka, S; LeVine, M J; Li, C; Li, Q; Li, Y; Lin, G; Lin, X; Lindenbaum, S J; Lisa, M A; Liu, F; Liu, H; Liu, J; Liu, L; Liu, Z; Ljubicic, T; Llope, W J; Long, H; Longacre, R S; Love, W A; Lu, Y; Ludlam, T; Lynn, D; Ma, G L; Ma, J G; Ma, Y G; Magestro, D; Mahapatra, D P; Majka, R; Mangotra, L K; Manweiler, R; Margetis, S; Markert, C; Martin, L; Matis, H S; Matulenko, Yu A; McClain, C J; McShane, T S; Melnick, Yu; Meschanin, A; Millane, J; Miller, M L; Minaev, N G; Mioduszewski, S; Mironov, C; Mischke, A; Mishra, D K; Mitchell, J; Mohanty, B; Molnar, L; Moore, C F; Morozov, D A; Munhoz, M G; Nandi, B K; Nattrass, C; Nayak, T K; Nelson, J M; Netrakanti, P K; Nogach, L V; Nurushev, S B; Odyniec, G; Ogawa, A; Okorokov, V; Oldenburg, M; Olson, D; Pachr, M; Pal, S K; Panebratsev, Y; Panitkin, S Y; Pavlinov, A I; Pawlak, T; Peitzmann, T; Perevoztchikov, V; Perkins, C; Peryt, W; Phatak, S C; Picha, R; Planinic, M; Pluta, J; Poljak, N; Porile, N; Porter, J; Poskanzer, A M; Potekhin, M; Potrebenikova, E; Potukuchi, B V K S; Prindle, D; Pruneau, C; Putschke, J; Rakness, G; Raniwala, R; Raniwala, S; Ray, R L; Razin, S V; Reinnarth, J; Relyea, D; Retiere, F; Ridiger, A; Ritter, H G; Roberts, J B; Rogachevskiy, O V; Romero, J L; Rose, A; Roy, C; Ruan, L; Russcher, M J; Sahoo, R; Sakuma, T; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Sarsour, M; Sazhin, P S; Schambach, J; Scharenberg, R P; Schmitz, N; Schweda, K; Seger, J; Selyuzhenkov, I; Seyboth, P; Shabetai, A; Shahaliev, E; Shao, M; Sharma, M; Shen, W Q; Shimanskiy, S S; Sichtermann, E; Simon, F; Singaraju, R N; Smirnov, N; Snellings, R; Sood, G; Sorensen, P; Sowinski, J; Speltz, J; Spinka, H M; Srivastava, B; Stadnik, A; Stanislaus, T D S; Stock, R; Stolpovsky, A; Strikhanov, M; Stringfellow, B; Suaide, A A P; Sugarbaker, E; Sumbera, M; Sun, Z; Surrow, B; Swanger, M; Symons, T J M; Szanto de Toledo, A; Tai, A; Takahashi, J; Tang, A H; Tarnowsky, T; Thein, D; Thomas, J H; Timmins, A R; Timoshenko, S; Tokarev, M; Trainor, T A; Trentalange, S; Tribble, R E; Tsai, O D; Ulery, J; Ullrich, T; Underwood, D G; Buren, G Van; van der Kolk, N; van Leeuwen, M; Molen, A M Vander; Varma, R; Vasilevski, I M; Vasiliev, A N; Vernet, R; Vigdor, S E; Viyogi, Y P; Vokal, S; Voloshin, S A; Waggoner, W T; Wang, F; Wang, G; Wang, J S; Wang, X L; Wang, Y; Watson, J W; Webb, J C; Westfall, G D; Wetzler, A; Whitten, C; Wieman, H; Wissink, S W; Witt, R; Wood, J; Wu, J; Xu, N; Xu, Q H; Xu, Z; Yepes, P; Yoo, I-K; Yurevich, V I; Zhan, W; Zhang, H; Zhang, W M; Zhang, Y; Zhang, Z P; Zhao, Y; Zhong, C; Zoulkarneev, R; Zoulkarneeva, Y; Zubarev, A N; Zuo, J X

2006-09-29

We report the measurements of Sigma(1385) and Lambda(1520) production in p+p and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s{NN}]=200 GeV from the STAR Collaboration. The yields and the p(T) spectra are presented and discussed in terms of chemical and thermal freeze-out conditions and compared to model predictions. Thermal and microscopic models do not adequately describe the yields of all the resonances produced in central Au+Au collisions. Our results indicate that there may be a time span between chemical and thermal freeze-out during which elastic hadronic interactions occur.

Reasons for compliance or noncompliance with advice to test for hepatitis C via an internet-mediated blood screening service: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is mainly transmitted by exposure to infected blood, and can lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Since the onset of HCV and the development of liver cirrhosis usually are asymptomatic, many HCV-infected individuals are still undiagnosed. To identify individuals infected with HCV in the general population, a low threshold, internet-mediated blood testing service was set up. We performed a qualitative study examining reasons for compliance and noncompliance with advice to test for HCV via the online blood testing service. Methods Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 33 website visitors who had been advised to test for HCV (18 testers, 15 non-testers). Transcribed interviews were analyzed qualitatively and interpreted using psychosocial theories of health behavior. Results Reasons for testing pertaining to the online service were: the testing procedure is autonomous, personalized test advice is provided online, reminder emails are sent, and there is an online planning tool. Reasons for testing not specific to the online service were: knowing one's status can prevent liver disease and further transmission of HCV, HCV is curable, testing can provide reassurance, physical complaints are present, and there is liver disease in one's social environment. Service-related reasons for not testing pertained to inconvenient testing facilities, a lack of commitment due to the low threshold character of the service, computer/printing problems, and incorrectly interpreting an online planning tool. The reasons for not testing that are not specific to the online service were: the belief that personal risk is low, the absence of symptoms, low perceived urgency for testing and treatment, fear of the consequences of a positive test result, avoiding threatening information, and a discouraging social environment. Conclusions Features specific to the online service played a significant role in motivation to test for HCV above and

Growth of germanium on Au(111): formation of germanene or intermixing of Au and Ge atoms?

PubMed

Cantero, Esteban D; Solis, Lara M; Tong, Yongfeng; Fuhr, Javier D; Martiarena, María Luz; Grizzi, Oscar; Sánchez, Esteban A

2017-07-19

We studied the growth of Ge layers on Au(111) under ultra-high vacuum conditions from the submonolayer regime up to a few layers with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), Direct Recoiling Spectroscopy (DRS) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). Most STM images for the thicker layers are consistent with a commensurate 5 × 8 arrangement. The high surface sensitivity of TOF-DRS allows us to confirm the coexistence of Au and Ge atoms in the top layer for all stages of growth. An estimation of the Au to Ge ratio at the surface of the thick layer gives about 1 Au atom per 2 Ge ones. When the growth is carried out at sample temperatures higher than about 420 K, a fraction of the deposited Ge atoms migrate into the bulk of Au. This incorporation of Ge into the bulk reduces the growth rate of the Ge films, making it more difficult to obtain films thicker than a few layers. After sputtering the Ge/Au surface, the segregation of bulk Ge atoms to the surface occurs for temperatures ≥600 K. The surface obtained after segregation of Ge reaches a stable condition (saturation) with an n × n symmetry with n on the order of 14.

Exploring Barriers of the Health System to Rehabilitation Services for People with Disabilities in Iran: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Abdi, Kianoush; Arab, Mohammad; Rashidian, Arash; Kamali, Mohammad; Khankeh, Hamid Reza; Farahani, Farideh Khalajabadi

2015-01-01

Introduction The United Nations (UN) identified health as a basic human right, but, unfortunately, the evidence shows that people with disabilities (PWD) often have lower levels of health than the general population. This can be associated with problems in access to the services and programs. The aim of this study was to explore barriers of the health system to rehabilitation services for PWD in Iran. Methods This was a qualitative study conducted on 21 participants using semi-structured, in-depth interviews and content analysis from June 2014 to July 2015. Data analysis was performed by MAXQDA version 10. Results “Barriers” were the most prominent challenge of people with disabilities that needed access to rehabilitation services. These barriers were categorized into eight concepts of deficiency in the system that provides rehabilitation services, defect of education, deficiency in detecting and screening of people with disability, defect of stewardship in rehabilitation, ignoring socio-cultural factors, accessibility hardships, lack of identification, and financial hardships in rehabilitation. Conclusions An efficient rehabilitation plan requires a common understanding, considering the long-term complications involved in addressing the barriers. Understanding the barriers of the health system to rehabilitation services requires comprehensive management that first should be familiar with all of PWD, providers, policy makers, and other beneficiaries. It also is necessary for policy makers to consider rehabilitation services as a main part of the health plan; especially, they must change their oversight of rehabilitation services and programs. Thus, policy makers should have need comprehensive management and recommended further research. PMID:26767101

Service Provision for Autism in Mainland China: A Service Providers' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Xiang; Allison, Carrie; Auyeung, Bonnie; Matthews, Fiona E.; Murray, Stuart; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Brayne, Carol

2013-01-01

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with service providers regarding the current healthcare provision and education services for children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and their families in mainland China. 10 service providers described the current policy and identified unmet needs within current practice. Providers…

Electron flow in large metallomacromolecules and electronic switch of nanoparticle stabilization: new click ferrocenyl dentromers that reduce Au(III) to Au nanoparticles.

PubMed

Astruc, Didier; Wang, Qi; Fu, Fangyu; Martinez-Villacorta, Angel M; Moya, Sergio; Salmon, Lionel; Ruiz, Jaime; Hunel, Julien; Vax, Amélie

2018-06-04

Click ferrocenyl-terminal dentromers, a family of arene-cored dendrimers with triple branching (9-Fc, 27-Fc, 81-Fc and 243-Fc) reduce Au(III) to ferricinium dentromer-stabilized Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). Cyclic voltammetry studies in CH2Cl2 show reversible CV waves with some adsorption for the 243-Fc dentromer and a number of redox groups found, 255 ± 25, using the Bard-Anson method, close to the theoretical number of 243. The dentromers reduce aqueous HAuCl4 to water-soluble ferricinium chloride dentromer-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with core sizes between 30 and 47 nm. These triazolylferricinium dentromer-stabilized AuNPs are reduced by cobaltocene to cobalticinium chloride and ferrocene dentromer-weakly stabilized AuNPs together with red shift of the AuNP plasmon. The weakness of the AuNP stabilization is characterized by dentromer extraction with CH2Cl2 along with irreversible AuNP agglomeration for the 9, 27 and 81-ferrocenyl dentromer, only the 243-ferrocenyl dentromer-AuNP withstanding this process. Altogether this demonstrates the electronic switch of the dentromer-mediated AuNP stabilization. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mental health of South Asian youth in Peel Region, Toronto, Canada: a qualitative study of determinants, coping strategies and service access

PubMed Central

Multani, Amanpreet; Hynie, Michaela; Shakya, Yogendra; McKenzie, Kwame

2017-01-01

Objectives This qualitative study set out to understand the mental health challenges and service access barriers experienced by South Asian youth populations in the Peel Region of Toronto, Canada. Setting In-depth semistructured interviews were carried out with South Asian youth living in Peel Region (Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon), a suburb of Toronto, Canada, home to over 50% of Ontario’s South Asian population. Participants South Asian youth (n=10) engaged in thoughtful, candid dialogue about their mental health and service access barriers. Primary and secondary outcome measures Qualitative interview themes related to mental health stressors and mental health service access barriers experienced by youth living in Peel Region were assessed using thematic analysis. Results South Asian youth face many mental health stressors, from intergenerational and cultural conflict, academic pressure, relationship stress, financial stress and family difficulties. These stressors can contribute to mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety and drug use, with marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes cited as the most popular substances. South Asian youth were only able to identify about a third (36%) of the mental health resources presented to them and did not feel well informed about mental health resources available in their neighbourhood. Conclusions They offered recommendations for improved youth support directed at parents, education system, South Asian community and mental health system. Institutions and bodies at all levels of the society have a role to play in ensuring the mental health of South Asian youth. PMID:29101148

Highly Stable [C60AuC60]+/- Dumbbells.

PubMed

Goulart, Marcelo; Kuhn, Martin; Martini, Paul; Chen, Lei; Hagelberg, Frank; Kaiser, Alexander; Scheier, Paul; Ellis, Andrew M

2018-05-17

Ionic complexes between gold and C 60 have been observed for the first time. Cations and anions of the type [Au(C 60 ) 2 ] +/- are shown to have particular stability. Calculations suggest that these ions adopt a C 60 -Au-C 60 sandwich-like (dumbbell) structure, which is reminiscent of [XAuX] +/- ions previously observed for much smaller ligands. The [Au(C 60 ) 2 ] +/- ions can be regarded as Au(I) complexes, regardless of whether the net charge is positive or negative, but in both cases, the charge transfer between the Au and C 60 is incomplete, most likely because of a covalent contribution to the Au-C 60 binding. The C 60 -Au-C 60 dumbbell structure represents a new architecture in fullerene chemistry that might be replicable in synthetic nanostructures.

A qualitative study examining the perceived barriers and facilitators to medical healthcare services among women with a serious mental illness.

PubMed

Borba, Christina P C; DePadilla, Lara; McCarty, Frances A; von Esenwein, Silke A; Druss, Benjamin G; Sterk, Claire E

2012-03-01

This qualitative study investigates the barriers and facilitators to accessing and utilizing healthcare services among women with a serious mental illness (SMI). A purposive sample of 30 poor, urban, predominantly African-American women with a diagnosis of an SMI was recruited. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was guided by a modified constant comparison approach. The findings highlight a variety of nonmedical factors that serve as both barriers and facilitators to accessing and utilizing medical healthcare services, such as a trusting relationship with a mental health provider and a women's social network. Nonmedical factors and personal circumstances seem to be important factors influencing pathways to healthcare services among women with an SMI. Efforts to better engage and retain women with an SMI into healthcare will need to better acknowledge and incorporate the larger social context of the women's lives. Copyright © 2012 Jacobs Institute of Women

Heterojunction metal-oxide-metal Au-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-Au single nanowire device for spintronics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reddy, K. M., E-mail: mrkongara@boisestate.edu; Punnoose, Alex; Hanna, Charles

2015-05-07

In this report, we present the synthesis of heterojunction magnetite nanowires in alumina template and describe magnetic and electrical properties from a single nanowire device for spintronics applications. Heterojunction Au-Fe-Au nanowire arrays were electrodeposited in porous aluminum oxide templates, and an extensive and controlled heat treatment process converted Fe segment to nanocrystalline cubic magnetite phase with well-defined Au-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} interfaces as confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy. Magnetic measurements revealed Verwey transition shoulder around 120 K and a room temperature coercive field of 90 Oe. Current–voltage (I-V) characteristics of a single Au-Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-Au nanowire have exhibited Ohmic behavior. Anomalous positivemore » magnetoresistance of about 0.5% is observed on a single nanowire, which is attributed to the high spin polarization in nanowire device with pure Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} phase and nanocontact barrier. This work demonstrates the ability to preserve the pristine Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} and well defined electrode contact metal (Au)–magnetite interface, which helps in attaining high spin polarized current.« less

Disentangling flow and signals of Chiral Magnetic Effect in U+U, Au+Au and p+Au collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tribedy, Prithwish; STAR Collaboration

2017-11-01

We present STAR measurements of the charge-dependent three-particle correlator γ a , b = 〈 cos ⁡ (ϕ1a + ϕ2b - 2ϕ3) 〉 /v2 { 2 } and elliptic flow v2 { 2 } in U+U, Au+Au and p+Au collisions at RHIC. The difference Δγ = γ (opposite-sign) - γ (same-sign) measures charge separation across the reaction plane, a predicted signal of the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME). Although charge separation has been observed, it has been argued that the measured separation can also be explained by elliptic flow related backgrounds. In order to separate the two effects we perform measurements of the γ-correlator where background expectations differ from magnetic field driven effects. A differential measurement of γ with the relative pseudorapidity (Δη) between the first and second particles indicate that Δγ in peripheral A+A and p+A collisions are dominated by short-range correlations in Δη. However, a relatively wider component of the correlation in Δη tends to vanish the same way as projected magnetic field as predicted by MC-Glauber simulations.

Challenges Women with Disability Face in Accessing and Using Maternal Healthcare Services in Ghana: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Ganle, John Kuumuori; Otupiri, Easmon; Obeng, Bernard; Edusie, Anthony Kwaku; Ankomah, Augustine; Adanu, Richard

2016-01-01

While a number of studies have examined the factors affecting accessibility to and utilisation of healthcare services by persons with disability in general, there is little evidence about disabled women's access to maternal health services in low-income countries and few studies consult disabled women themselves to understand their experience of care and the challenges they face in accessing skilled maternal health services. The objective of this paper is to explore the challenges women with disabilities encounter in accessing and using institutional maternal healthcare services in Ghana. A qualitative study was conducted in 27 rural and urban communities in the Bosomtwe and Central Gonja districts of Ghana with a total of 72 purposively sampled women with different physical, visual, and hearing impairments who were either lactating or pregnant at the time of this research. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to gather data. Attride-Stirling's thematic network framework was used to analyse the data. Findings suggest that although women with disability do want to receive institutional maternal healthcare, their disability often made it difficult for such women to travel to access skilled care, as well as gain access to unfriendly physical health infrastructure. Other related access challenges include: healthcare providers' insensitivity and lack of knowledge about the maternity care needs of women with disability, negative attitudes of service providers, the perception from able-bodied persons that women with disability should be asexual, and health information that lacks specificity in terms of addressing the special maternity care needs of women with disability. Maternal healthcare services that are designed to address the needs of able-bodied women might lack the flexibility and responsiveness to meet the special maternity care needs of women with disability. More disability-related cultural competence and patient-centred training for healthcare

Initial Eccentricity in Deformed 197Au+197Au and 238U+238U Collisions at RHIC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Filip, Peter; Lednicky, Richard; Masui, Hiroshi

2010-07-07

Initial eccentricity and eccentricity fluctuations of the interaction volume created in relativistic collisions of deformed {sup 197}Au and {sup 238}U nuclei are studied using optical and Monte-Carlo (MC) Glauber simulations. It is found that the non-sphericity noticeably influences the average eccentricity in central collisions and eccentricity fluctuations are enhanced due to deformation. Quantitative results are obtained for Au+Au and U+U collisions at energy {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV.

Citizens advice in primary care: a qualitative study of the views and experiences of service users and staff.

PubMed

Burrows, J; Baxter, S; Baird, W; Hirst, J; Goyder, E

2011-10-01

To examine the views and experiences of staff and users of Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) services located in general practice, and to identify key factors perceived as contributing to the intervention's effectiveness. A qualitative study in an urban and rural primary care setting in the UK. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews (n = 22) with primary care and practice staff, CAB advisors and 12 service users. Key positive service features reported by all groups were: the confidential, non-stigmatizing and familiar environment of a general practitioner's (GP) surgery; the ability to make appointments and experienced advisor availability and continuity. Outcomes for service users were described as financial gain, managed debt, and beneficial social and mental health impacts. Perceived staff benefits were appropriate referral and better use of GP consultation time. Welfare advice in primary care has financial benefits and was perceived by participants to offer health and other benefits to patients and staff. However, while perceptions of gain from the intervention were evident, demonstration of measurable health improvement and well-being presents challenges. Further empirical work is needed in order to explore these complex cause-effect links and the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Une alternative au cobalt pour la synthese de nanotubes de carbone monoparoi par plasma inductif thermique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrier, Jean-Francois

Les nanotubes de carbone de type monoparoi (C-SWNT) sont une classe recente de nanomateriaux qui ont fait leur apparition en 1991. L'interet qu'on leur accorde provient des nombreuses proprietes d'avant-plan qu'ils possedent. Leur resistance mecanique serait des plus rigide, tout comme ils peuvent conduire l'electricite et la chaleur d'une maniere inegalee. Non moins, les C-SWNT promettent de devenir une nouvelle classe de plateforme moleculaire, en servant de site d'attache pour des groupements reactifs. Les promesses de ce type particulier de nanomateriau sont nombreuses, la question aujourd'hui est de comment les realiser. La technologie de synthese par plasma inductif thermique se situe avantageusement pour la qualite de ses produits, sa productivite et les faibles couts d'operation. Par contre, des recherches recentes ont permis de mettre en lumiere des risques d'expositions reliees a l'utilisation du cobalt, comme catalyseur de synthese; son elimination ou bien son remplacement est devenu une preoccupation importante. Quatre recettes alternatives ont ete mises a l'essai afin de trouver une alternative plus securitaire a la recette de base; un melange catalytique ternaire, compose de nickel, de cobalt et d'oxyde d'yttrium. La premiere consiste essentiellement a remplacer la proportion massique de cobalt par du nickel, qui etait deja present dans la recette de base. Les trois options suivantes contiennent de nouveaux catalyseurs, en remplacement au Co, qui sont apparus dans plusieurs recherches scientifiques au courant des dernieres annees: le dioxyde de zircone (ZrO2), dioxyde de manganese (MnO2) et le molybdene (Mo). La methode utilisee consiste a vaporiser la matiere premiere, sous forme solide, dans un reacteur plasma a haute frequence (3 MHz) a paroi refroidi. Apres le passage dans le plasma, le systeme traverse une section dite de "croissance", isolee thermiquement a l'aide de graphite, afin de maintenir une certaine plage de temperature favorable a la

"Recovery" in bipolar disorder: how can service users be supported through a self-management intervention? A qualitative focus group study.

PubMed

Todd, Nicholas J; Jones, Steven H; Lobban, Fiona A

2012-04-01

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and recurrent affective disorder. Recovery is defined as the process by which people can live fulfilling lives despite experiencing symptoms. To explore how an opportunistically recruited group of service users with BD experience recovery and self-management to understand more about how a service users' recovery may be supported. Twelve service users with BD took part in a series of focus groups. Service users' responses to questions about their personal experiences of self-management and recovery were analysed. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis ([ Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101]) was employed to identify common themes in the data. Four key themes were identified: (1) Recovery is not about being symptom free; (2) Recovery requires taking responsibility for your own wellness; (3) Self-management: building on existing techniques; (4) Overcoming barriers to recovery: negativity, stigma and taboo. Service users with BD have provided further support for the concept of recovery and have suggested a number of ways recovery can be supported. A self-management approach informed by the recovery literature has been proposed as a way to support service users' recovery.

Controlling Au Nanorod Dispersion in Thin Film Polymer Blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hore, Michael J. A.; Composto, Russell J.

2012-02-01

Dispersion of Au nanorods (Au NRs) in polymer thin films is studied using a combination of experimental and theoretical techniques. Here, we incorporate small volume fractions of polystyrene-functionalized Au NRs (φrod 0.05) into polystyrene (PS) thin films. By controlling the ratio of the brush length (N) to that of the matrix polymers (P), we can selectively obtain dispersed or aggregated Au NR structures in the PS-Au(N):PS(P) films. A dispersion map of these structures allows one to choose N and P to obtain either uniformly dispersed Au NRs or aggregates of closely packed, side-by-side aligned Au NRs. Furthermore, by blending poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phenylene oxide) (PPO) into the PS films, we demonstrate that the Au nanorod morphology can be further tuned by reducing depletion-attraction forces and promoting miscibility of the Au NRs. These predictable structures ultimately give rise to tunable optical absorption in the films resulting from surface plasmon resonance coupling between the Au NRs. Finally, self-consistent field theoretic (SCFT) calculations for both the PS-Au(N):PS(P) and PS-Au(N):PS(P):PPO systems provide insight into the PS brush structure, and allow us to interpret morphology and optical property results in terms of wet and dry PS brush states.

"Be kind to young people so they feel at home": a qualitative study of adolescents' and service providers' perceptions of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services in Vanuatu.

PubMed

Kennedy, Elissa C; Bulu, Siula; Harris, Jennifer; Humphreys, David; Malverus, Jayline; Gray, Natalie J

2013-10-31

Sexual activity during adolescence is common in Vanuatu, however many adolescents lack access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and subsequently suffer a disproportionate burden of poor SRH. There is limited peer-reviewed research describing adolescents' SRH service delivery preferences in Vanuatu to inform policy and programs. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the barriers preventing adolescents from accessing SRH services in Vanuatu and the features of a youth-friendly health service as defined by adolescents. Sixty-six focus group discussions were conducted with 341 male and female adolescents aged 15-19 years in rural and urban communities. Additionally, 12 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with policymakers and service providers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Socio-cultural norms and taboos regarding adolescent sexual behaviour were the most significant factors preventing adolescents from accessing services. These contributed to adolescents' own fear and shame, judgmental attitudes of service providers, and disapproval from parents and community gate-keepers. Lack of confidentiality and privacy, costs, and adolescents' lack of SRH knowledge were also important barriers. Adolescents and service providers identified opportunities to make existing services more youth-friendly. The most important feature of a youth-friendly health service described by adolescents was a friendly service provider. Free or affordable services, reliable commodity supply, confidentiality and privacy were also key features. The need to address socio-cultural norms and community knowledge and attitudes was also highlighted. There are significant demand and supply-side barriers contributing to low utilisation of SRH services by adolescents in Vanuatu. However, there are many opportunities to make existing SRH services more youth-friendly, such as improving service provider training. Investment is also required in strategies that aim to

Identified hadron transverse momentum spectra in Au+Au collisions at sNN=62.4 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Ballintijn, M.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Chai, Z.; Decowski, M. P.; García, E.; Gburek, T.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Hauer, M.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Khan, N.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Reed, C.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Sagerer, J.; Seals, H.; Sedykh, I.; Smith, C. E.; Stankiewicz, M. A.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Sukhanov, A.; Tonjes, M. B.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; Nieuwenhuizen, G. J. Van; Vaurynovich, S. S.; Verdier, R.; Veres, G. I.; Wenger, E.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wysłouch, B.

2007-02-01

Transverse momentum spectra of pions, kaons, protons, and antiprotons from Au+Au collisions at sNN = 62.4 GeV have been measured by the PHOBOS experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The identification of particles relies on three different methods: low momentum particles stopping in the first detector layers; the specific energy loss (dE/dx) in the silicon spectrometer, and time-of-flight measurement. These methods cover the transverse momentum ranges 0.03 0.2, 0.2 1.0, and 0.5 3.0 GeV/c, respectively. Baryons are found to have substantially harder transverse momentum spectra than mesons. The pT region in which the proton to pion ratio reaches unity in central Au+Au collisions at sNN = 62.4 GeV fits into a smooth trend as a function of collision energy. At low transverse mass, the spectra of various species exhibit a significant deviation from transverse mass scaling. The observed particle yields at very low pT are comparable to extrapolations from higher pT for kaons, protons and antiprotons. By comparing our results to Au+Au collisions at sNN = 200 GeV, we conclude that the net proton yield at midrapidity is proportional to the number of participant nucleons in the collision.

Parameterization and study of elliptic flow coefficient for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at RHIC energy 200 GeV/A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Somani Ajit; Bright, Keswani; Sudhir, Bhardwaj; Ashish, Agnihotri

2018-05-01

Elliptic flow coefficient is important observable in search of Quark Gluon Plasma. The variation of elliptic flow coefficient with centrality were studied using events generated by AMPT (Default) for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at center of mass energy of 200 GeV/A. We compared the simulated data results with RHIC-PHENIX experimental results and found close agreement between them. The study of the variation of the v2 for Au+Au and Cu+Cu was parameterized by fitting. We proposed a new formula to predict the expected value of v2 at particular centrality for Au+Au or Cu+Cu at 200 GeV/A.

Atomic and electronic structures of Si(1 1 1)-(√3 x √3)R30°-Au and (6 × 6)-Au surfaces.

PubMed

Patterson, C H

2015-12-02

Si(1 1 1)-Au surfaces with around one monolayer of Au exhibit many ordered structures and structures containing disordered domain walls. Hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations presented here reveal the origin of these complex structures and tendency to form domain walls. The conjugate honeycomb chain trimer (CHCT) structure of the [Formula: see text]-Au phase contains Si atoms with non-bonding surface states which can bind Au atoms in pairs in interstices of the CHCT structure and make this surface metallic. Si adatoms adsorbed on the [Formula: see text]-Au surface induce a gapped surface through interaction with the non-bonding states. Adsorption of extra Au atoms in interstitial sites of the [Formula: see text]-Au surface is stabilized by interaction with the non-bonding orbitals and leads to higher coverage ordered structures including the [Formula: see text]-Au phase. Extra Au atoms bound in interstitial sites of the [Formula: see text]-Au surface result in top layer Si atoms with an SiAu4 butterfly wing configuration. The structure of a [Formula: see text]-Au phase, whose in-plane top atomic layer positions were previously determined by an electron holography technique (Grozea et al 1998 Surf. Sci. 418 32), is calculated using total energy minimization. The Patterson function for this structure is calculated and is in good agreement with data from an in-plane x-ray diffraction study (Dornisch et al 1991 Phys. Rev. B 44 11221). Filled and empty state scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images are calculated for domain walls and the [Formula: see text]-Au structure. The [Formula: see text]-Au phase is 2D chiral and this is evident in computed and actual STM images. [Formula: see text]-Au and domain wall structures contain the SiAu4 motif with a butterfly wing shape. Chemical bonding within the Si-Au top layers of the [Formula: see text]-Au and [Formula: see text]-Au surfaces is analyzed and an explanation for the SiAu4 motif structure is given.

Qualitative investigation of barriers to accessing care by people who inject drugs in Saskatoon, Canada: perspectives of service providers

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background People who inject drugs (PWID) often encounter barriers when attempting to access health care and social services. In our previous study conducted to identify barriers to accessing care from the perspective of PWIDs in Saskatoon, Canada: poverty, lack of personal support, discrimination, and poor knowledge and coordination of service providers among other key barriers were identified. The purpose of the present investigation was to explore what service providers perceive to be the greatest barriers for PWIDs to receive optimal care. This study is an exploratory investigation with a purpose to enrich the literature and to guide community action. Methods Data were collected through focus groups with service providers in Saskatoon. Four focus groups were held with a total of 27 service providers. Data were transcribed and qualitative analysis was performed. As a result, concepts were identified and combined into major themes. Results Four barriers to care were identified by service providers: inefficient use of resources, stigma and discrimination, inadequate education and the unique and demanding nature of PWIDs. Participants also identified many successful services. Conclusion The results from this investigation suggest poor utilization of resources, lack of continuing education of health care providers on addictions and coping skills with such demanding population, and social stigma and disparity. We recommend improvements in resource utilization through, for example, case management. In addition, sensitivity training and more comprehensive service centers designed to meet PWID’s complex needs may improve care. However, community-wide commitment to addressing injection drug issues will also be required for lasting solutions. PMID:24079946

CO oxidation on Alsbnd Au nano-composite systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajesh, C.; Majumder, C.

2018-03-01

Using first principles method we report the CO oxidation behaviour of Alsbnd Au nano-composites in three different size ranges: Al6Au8, Al13Au42 and a periodic slab of Alsbnd Au(1 1 1) surface. The clusters prefer enclosed structures with alternating arrangement of Al and Au atoms, maximising Auδ-sbnd Alδ+ bonds. Charge distribution analysis suggests the charge transfer from Al to Au atoms, corroborated by the red shift in the density of states spectrum. Further, CO oxidation on these nano-composite systems was investigated through both Eley - Rideal and Langmuir Hinshelwood mechanism. While, these clusters interact with O2 non-dissociatively with an elongation of the Osbnd O bond, further interaction with CO led to formation of CO2 spontaneously. On contrary, the CO2 evolution by co-adsorption of O2 and CO molecules has a transition state barrier. On the basis of the results it is inferred that nano-composite material of Alsbnd Au shows significant promise toward effective oxidative catalysis.

A qualitative systematic review of service user and service provider perspectives on the acceptability, relative benefits, and potential harms of art therapy for people with non-psychotic mental health disorders.

PubMed

Scope, Alison; Uttley, Lesley; Sutton, Anthea

2017-03-01

This systematic review aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence relating to user and service provider perspective on the acceptability and relative benefits and potential harms of art therapy for people with non-psychotic mental disorders. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in 13 major bibliographic databases from May to July 2013. A qualitative evidence synthesis was conducted using thematic framework synthesis. The searches identified 10,270 citations from which 12 studies were included. Ten studies included data from 183 service users, and two studies included data from 16 service providers. The evidence demonstrated that art therapy was an acceptable treatment. The benefits associated with art therapy included the following: the development of relationships with the therapist and other group members; understanding the self/own illness/the future; gaining perspective; distraction; personal achievement; expression; relaxation; and empowerment. Small numbers of patients reported varying reasons for not wanting to take part, and some highlighted potentially negative effects of art therapy which included the evoking of feelings which could not be resolved. The findings suggest that for the majority of respondents art therapy was an acceptable intervention, although this was not the case for all respondents. Therefore, attention should be focussed on both identifying those who are most likely to benefit from art therapy and ensuring any potential harms are minimized. The findings provide evidence to commissioners and providers of mental health services about the value of future art therapy services. Art therapy was reported to be an acceptable treatment for the majority of respondents. Art therapy may not be a preferred treatment option for a small number of patients, emphasizing the importance of considering patient preference in choice of treatment, and selection of the most suitable patients for art therapy. Consideration should be made of adjustments

Comparison of the Effects of Magnetic Field on Low Noise MoAu and TiAu TES Bolometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hijmering, R. A.; Khosropanah, P.; Ridder, M.; Gao, J. R.; Hoevers, H.; Jackson, B.; Goldie, D.; Withington, S.; Kozorezov, A. G.

2014-08-01

Recently we have reported on the effects of magnetic field on our low noise (NEP = 4 W/Hz) [1] TiAu TES bolometers that are being developed at SRON for the SAFARI FIR Imaging Spectrometer on SPICA telescope that will be operated in three different wavelength bands: S-band for 30-60 , M-band for 60-110 and L-band for 110-210 . The arrays for the S- and M- band will be based on TiAu TES bolometer arrays, developed by SRON. The L-band array will be based on a MoAu TES bolometer developed by University of Cambridge. We have investigated the effect of the magnetic field on the current, responsivity, speed and critical current for both the TiAu and MoAu TES bolometers in our high accuracy magnetic field set-up. A clear difference in weak link behavior is observed between the two types of TES bolometers in both strength of the effect and period of the oscillations.

Lateral spreading of Au contacts on InP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fatemi, Navid S.; Weizer, Victor G.

1990-01-01

The contact spreading phenomenon observed when small area Au contacts on InP are annealed at temperatures above about 400 C was investigated. It was found that the rapid lateral expansion of the contact metallization which consumes large quantities of InP during growth is closely related to the third stage in the series of solid state reactions that occur between InP and Au, i.e., to the Au3In-to-Au9In4 transition. Detailed descriptions are presented of both the spreading process and the Au3In-to-Au9In4 transition along with arguments that the two processes are manifestations of the same basic phenomenon.

"I Am Ready and Willing to Provide the Service … Though My Religion Frowns on Abortion"-Ghanaian Midwives' Mixed Attitudes to Abortion Services: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Oppong-Darko, Prince; Amponsa-Achiano, Kwame; Darj, Elisabeth

2017-12-04

Unsafe abortion is a major preventable public health problem and contributes to high mortality among women. Ghana has ratified international conventions to prevent unwanted pregnancies and provide safe abortion services, legally authorizing midwives to provide induced abortion services in certain circumstances. The aim of the study was to understand midwives' readiness to be involved in legal induced abortions, should the law become less restricted in Ghana. A qualitative study design, with a topic guide for individual in-depth interviews of selected midwives, was adopted. The interviews were tape-recorded and analyzed using content analysis. Participants emphasized their willingness to reduce maternal mortalities, their experiences of maternal deaths, and their passion for the health of pregnant women. Knowledge of Ghana's abortion law was generally low. Different views were expressed regarding readiness to engage in abortion services. Some expressed it as being sinful and against their religion to assist in abortion care, whilst others felt it was good to save the lives of women. The midwives made it clear that unsafe abortions are common, stigmatizing and contributing to maternal mortality, issues that must be addressed. They made various suggestions to reduce this preventable tragedy.

Scaling Properties of Proton and Antiproton Production in (sNN)=200 GeV Au+Au Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adler, S. S.; Afanasiev, S.; Aidala, C.; Ajitanand, N. N.; Akiba, Y.; Alexander, J.; Amirikas, R.; Aphecetche, L.; Aronson, S. H.; Averbeck, R.; Awes, T. C.; Azmoun, R.; Babintsev, V.; Baldisseri, A.; Barish, K. N.; Barnes, P. D.; Bassalleck, B.; Bathe, S.; Batsouli, S.; Baublis, V.; Bazilevsky, A.; Belikov, S.; Berdnikov, Y.; Bhagavatula, S.; Boissevain, J. G.; Borel, H.; Borenstein, S.; Brooks, M. L.; Brown, D. S.; Bruner, N.; Bucher, D.; Buesching, H.; Bumazhnov, V.; Bunce, G.; Burward-Hoy, J. M.; Butsyk, S.; Camard, X.; Chai, J.-S.; Chand, P.; Chang, W. C.; Chernichenko, S.; Chi, C. Y.; Chiba, J.; Chiu, M.; Choi, I. J.; Choi, J.; Choudhury, R. K.; Chujo, T.; Cianciolo, V.; Cobigo, Y.; Cole, B. A.; Constantin, P.; D'Enterria, D. G.; David, G.; Delagrange, H.; Denisov, A.; Deshpande, A.; Desmond, E. J.; Dietzsch, O.; Drapier, O.; Drees, A.; Du Rietz, R.; Durum, A.; Dutta, D.; Efremenko, Y. V.; El Chenawi, K.; Enokizono, A.; En'yo, H.; Esumi, S.; Ewell, L.; Fields, D. E.; Fleuret, F.; Fokin, S. L.; Fox, B. D.; Fraenkel, Z.; Frantz, J. E.; Franz, A.; Frawley, A. D.; Fung, S.-Y.; Garpman, S.; Ghosh, T. K.; Glenn, A.; Gogiberidze, G.; Gonin, M.; Gosset, J.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Grau, N.; Greene, S. V.; Grosse Perdekamp, G.; Guryn, W.; Gustafsson, H.-Å.; Hachiya, T.; Haggerty, J. S.; Hamagaki, H.; Hansen, A. G.; Hartouni, E. P.; Harvey, M.; Hayano, R.; He, X.; Heffner, M.; Hemmick, T. K.; Heuser, J. M.; Hibino, M.; Hill, J. C.; Holzmann, W.; Homma, K.; Hong, B.; Hoover, A.; Ichihara, T.; Ikonnikov, V. V.; Imai, K.; Isenhower, L. D.; Ishihara, M.; Issah, M.; Isupov, A.; Jacak, B. V.; Jang, W. Y.; Jeong, Y.; Jia, J.; Jinnouchi, O.; Johnson, B. M.; Johnson, S. C.; Joo, K. S.; Jouan, D.; Kametani, S.; Kamihara, N.; Kang, J. H.; Kapoor, S. S.; Katou, K.; Kelly, S.; Khachaturov, B.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kikuchi, J.; Kim, D. H.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, D. W.; Kim, E.; Kim, G.-B.; Kim, H. J.; Kistenev, E.; Kiyomichi, A.; Kiyoyama, K.; Klein-Boesing, C.; Kobayashi, H.; Kochenda, L.; Kochetkov, V.; Koehler, D.; Kohama, T.; Kopytine, M.; Kotchetkov, D.; Kozlov, A.; Kroon, P. J.; Kuberg, C. H.; Kurita, K.; Kuroki, Y.; Kweon, M. J.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G. S.; Lacey, R.; Ladygin, V.; Lajoie, J. G.; Lebedev, A.; Leckey, S.; Lee, D. M.; Lee, S.; Leitch, M. J.; Li, X. H.; Lim, H.; Litvinenko, A.; Liu, M. X.; Liu, Y.; Maguire, C. F.; Makdisi, Y. I.; Malakhov, A.; Manko, V. I.; Mao, Y.; Martinez, G.; Marx, M. D.; Masui, H.; Matathias, F.; Matsumoto, T.; McGaughey, P. L.; Melnikov, E.; Messer, F.; Miake, Y.; Milan, J.; Miller, T. E.; Milov, A.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mischke, R. E.; Mishra, G. C.; Mitchell, J. T.; Mohanty, A. K.; Morrison, D. P.; Moss, J. M.; Mühlbacher, F.; Mukhopadhyay, D.; Muniruzzaman, M.; Murata, J.; Nagamiya, S.; Nagle, J. L.; Nakamura, T.; Nandi, B. K.; Nara, M.; Newby, J.; Nilsson, P.; Nyanin, A. S.; Nystrand, J.; O'Brien, E.; Ogilvie, C. A.; Ohnishi, H.; Ojha, I. D.; Okada, K.; Ono, M.; Onuchin, V.; Oskarsson, A.; Otterlund, I.; Oyama, K.; Ozawa, K.; Pal, D.; Palounek, A. P.; Pantuev, V. S.; Papavassiliou, V.; Park, J.; Parmar, A.; Pate, S. F.; Peitzmann, T.; Peng, J.-C.; Peresedov, V.; Pinkenburg, C.; Pisani, R. P.; Plasil, F.; Purschke, M. L.; Purwar, A.; Rak, J.; Ravinovich, I.; Read, K. F.; Reuter, M.; Reygers, K.; Riabov, V.; Riabov, Y.; Roche, G.; Romana, A.; Rosati, M.; Rosnet, P.; Ryu, S. S.; Sadler, M. E.; Saito, N.; Sakaguchi, T.; Sakai, M.; Sakai, S.; Samsonov, V.; Sanfratello, L.; Santo, R.; Sato, H. D.; Sato, S.; Sawada, S.; Schutz, Y.; Semenov, V.; Seto, R.; Shaw, M. R.; Shea, T. K.; Shibata, T.-A.; Shigaki, K.; Shiina, T.; Silva, C. L.; Silvermyr, D.; Sim, K. S.; Singh, C. P.; Singh, V.; Sivertz, M.; Soldatov, A.; Soltz, R. A.; Sondheim, W. E.; Sorensen, S. P.; Sourikova, I. V.; Staley, F.; Stankus, P. W.; Stenlund, E.; Stepanov, M.; Ster, A.; Stoll, S. P.; Sugitate, T.; Sullivan, J. P.; Takagui, E. M.; Taketani, A.; Tamai, M.; Tanaka, K. H.; Tanaka, Y.; Tanida, K.; Tannenbaum, M. J.; Tarján, P.; Tepe, J. D.; Thomas, T. L.; Tojo, J.; Torii, H.; Towell, R. S.; Tserruya, I.; Tsuruoka, H.; Tuli, S. K.; Tydesjö, H.; Tyurin, N.; van Hecke, H. W.; Velkovska, J.; Velkovsky, M.; Villatte, L.; Vinogradov, A. A.; Volkov, M. A.; Vznuzdaev, E.; Wang, X. R.; Watanabe, Y.; White, S. N.; Wohn, F. K.; Woody, C. L.; Xie, W.; Yang, Y.; Yanovich, A.; Yokkaichi, S.; Young, G. R.; Yushmanov, I. E.; Zajc, W. A.; Zhang, C.; Zhou, S.; Zolin, L.

2003-10-01

We report on the yield of protons and antiprotons, as a function of centrality and transverse momentum, in Au+Au collisions at (sNN)=200 GeV measured at midrapidity by the PHENIX experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In central collisions at intermediate transverse momenta (1.5Au+Au, p+p, and e+e- collisions. This enhancement is limited to pT<5 GeV/c as deduced from the ratio of charged hadrons to π0 measured in the range 1.5

X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Combined with Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Elucidates Differential Substitution Pathways of Au(I) and Au(III) with Zinc Fingers.

PubMed

Abbehausen, Camilla; de Paiva, Raphael Enoque Ferraz; Bjornsson, Ragnar; Gomes, Saulo Quintana; Du, Zhifeng; Corbi, Pedro Paulo; Lima, Frederico Alves; Farrell, Nicholas

2018-01-02

A combination of two elements' (Au, Zn) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) allowed the elucidation of differential substitution pathways of Au(I) and Au(III) compounds reacting with biologically relevant zinc fingers (ZnFs). Gold L 3 -edge XAS probed the interaction of gold and the C-terminal Cys 2 HisCys finger of the HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein NCp7, and the Cys 2 His 2 human transcription factor Sp1. The use of model compounds helped assign oxidation states and the identity of the gold-bound ligands. The computational studies accurately reproduced the experimental XAS spectra and allowed the proposition of structural models for the interaction products at early time points. The direct electrophilic attack on the ZnF by the highly thiophilic Au(I) resulted in a linear P-Au-Cys coordination sphere after zinc ejection whereas for the Sp1, loss of PEt 3 results in linear Cys-Au-Cys or Cys-Au-His arrangements. Reactions with Au(III) compounds, on the other hand, showed multiple binding modes. Prompt reaction between [AuCl(dien)] 2+ and [Au(dien)(DMAP)] 3+ with Sp1 showed a partially reduced Au center and a final linear His-Au-His coordination. Differently, in the presence of NCp7, [AuCl(dien)] 2+ readily reduces to Au(I) and changes from square-planar to linear geometry with Cys-Au-His coordination, while [Au(dien)(DMAP)] 3+ initially maintains its Au(III) oxidation state and square-planar geometry and the same first coordination sphere. The latter is the first observation of a "noncovalent" interaction of a Au(III) complex with a zinc finger and confirms early hypotheses that stabilization of Au(III) occurs with N-donor ligands. Modification of the zinc coordination sphere, suggesting full or partial zinc ejection, is observed in all cases, and for [Au(dien)(DMAP)] 3+ this represents a novel mechanism for nucleocapsid inactivation. The combination of XAS and TD-DFT presents the first direct experimental

Evidence of significant covalent bonding in Au(CN)(2)(-).

PubMed

Wang, Xue-Bin; Wang, Yi-Lei; Yang, Jie; Xing, Xiao-Peng; Li, Jun; Wang, Lai-Sheng

2009-11-18

The Au(CN)(2)(-) ion is the most stable Au compound known for centuries, yet a detailed understanding of its chemical bonding is still lacking. Here we report direct experimental evidence of significant covalent bonding character in the Au-C bonds in Au(CN)(2)(-) using photoelectron spectroscopy and comparisons with its lighter congeners, Ag(CN)(2)(-) and Cu(CN)(2)(-). Vibrational progressions in the Au-C stretching mode were observed for all detachment transitions for Au(CN)(2)(-), in contrast to the atomic-like transitions for Cu(CN)(2)(-), revealing the Au-C covalent bonding character. In addition, rich electronic structural information was obtained for Au(CN)(2)(-) by employing 118 nm detachment photons. Density functional theory and high-level ab initio calculations were carried out to understand the photoelectron spectra and obtain insight into the nature of the chemical bonding in the M(CN)(2)(-) complexes. Significant covalent character in the Au-C bonding due to the strong relativistic effects was revealed in Au(CN)(2)(-), consistent with its high stability.

A comparison of the home-care and healthcare service use and costs of older Australians randomised to receive a restorative or a conventional home-care service.

PubMed

Lewin, Gill; Allan, Janine; Patterson, Candice; Knuiman, Matthew; Boldy, Duncan; Hendrie, Delia

2014-05-01

Restorative home-care services, or re-ablement home-care services as they are now known in the UK, aim to assist older individuals who are experiencing difficulties in everyday living to optimise their functioning and reduce their need for ongoing home care. Until recently, the effectiveness of restorative home-care services had only been investigated in terms of singular outcomes such as length of home-care episode, admission to hospital and quality of life. This paper reports on a more complex and perhaps more significant measure--the use and cost of the home-care and healthcare services received over the 2-year period following service commencement. Seven hundred and fifty older individuals referred for government-funded home care were randomly assigned to a restorative or standard service between June 2005 and August 2007. Health and aged care service data were sourced and linked via the Western Australian Data Linkage System. Restorative clients used fewer home-care hours (mean [SD], 117.3 [129.4] vs. 191.2 [230.4]), had lower total home-care costs (AU$5570 vs. AU$8541) and were less likely to be approved for a higher level of aged care (N [%], 171 [55.2] vs. 249 [63.0]) during follow-up. They were also less likely to have presented at an emergency department (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.50-0.94) or have had an unplanned hospital admission [OR (95% CI), 0.69 (0.50-0.95)]. Additionally, the aggregated health and home-care costs of the restorative clients were lower by a factor of 0.83 (95% CI 0.72-0.96) over the 2-year follow-up (AU$19,090 vs. AU$23,428). These results indicate that at a time when Australia is facing the challenges of population ageing and an expected increase in demand for health and aged care services, the provision of a restorative service when an older person is referred for home care is potentially a more cost-effective option than providing conventional home care. © 2014 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John

Identifying acceptable components for home-based health promotion services for older people with mild frailty: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Frost, Rachael; Kharicha, Kalpa; Jovicic, Ana; Liljas, Ann E M; Iliffe, Steve; Manthorpe, Jill; Gardner, Benjamin; Avgerinou, Christina; Goodman, Claire; Drennan, Vari M; Walters, Kate

2018-05-01

Mild frailty is common in later life, increasing the risk of hospitalisation, loss of independence and premature death. Targeted health promotion services may reduce adverse outcomes and increase quality of life; however, effective, well-developed theory-based interventions are lacking. We aimed to explore perceptions of health promotion behaviours undertaken by older people with mild frailty, barriers and facilitators to engagement, and identify potential components for new home-based health promotion services. We carried out 17 semi-structured qualitative interviews and six focus groups with 53 stakeholders, including 14 mildly frail older people, 12 family carers, 19 community health and social care professionals, and 8 homecare workers, in one urban and one semi-rural area of England. Transcripts were thematically analysed. Older people with mild frailty reported engaging in a variety of lifestyle behaviours to promote health and well-being. Key barriers or facilitators to engaging in these included transport, knowledge of local services, social support and acceptance of personal limitations. Older people, carers and professionals agreed that any new service should address social networks and mobility and tailor other content to each individual. Services should aim to increase motivation through focussing on independence and facilitate older people to continue carrying out behaviours that improve their well-being, as well as provide information, motivation, psychological support and practical support. Stakeholders agreed services should be delivered over a sustained period by trained non-specialist workers. New services including these components are likely to be acceptable to older people with mild frailty. © 2017 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Barriers to sexual reproductive health services and rights among young people in Mtwara district, Tanzania: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Mbeba, Rita Moses; Mkuye, Martin Sem; Magembe, Grace Elias; Yotham, William Lubazi; Mellah, Alfred obeidy; Mkuwa, Serafina Baptist

2012-01-01

Background In Tanzania over 1/3 of the population is under 24 years. Nationwide 23% of teenagers have started childbearing. However, Mtwara Region has the highest percentage (25.5%) of teenagers who begin childbearing early. Mtwara District has a teenage pregnancy rate of 11% with young people utilizing sexual reproductive health services (SRHS) less frequently than adults.This study aimed at gaining insights on barriers to the utilization of SRHS in Mtwara district. Methods A qualitative study was carried out using focus group discussions, facility assessment interviews and case studies. A total of nine focus group discussions (comprising 8 to10 persons per group) were conducted among girls (10-18 years), community leaders and adults. Data was transcribed using pattern matching methods then merged into relevant themes for analysis and interpretation. Results The study revealed that a good number of health facilities do not have skilled service providers (SPs) on sexual reproductive health rights. Girls start sexual intercourse between 9 and12 years. Services sought included; education, family planning and voluntary counseling and testing. However, the services were inaccessible due to lack of privacy, confidentiality, equipments and negative attitudes from SPs. Initiation ceremonies, early marriages and gender disparities were mentioned as social-cultural barriers to SRH rights. Conclusion This study has demonstrated that factors such as lack of youth friendly services, gender disparity and unfavorable socio-cultural practices may create barriers to accessing adolescent SRHS and rights. Therefore, there is a need to integrate youth friendly services in health facilities and advocate for behavior change. PMID:23467684

Au13(8e): A secondary block for describing a special group of liganded gold clusters containing icosahedral Au13 motifs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Wen Wu; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Gao, Yi

2017-05-01

A grand unified model (GUM) has been proposed recently to understand structure anatomy and evolution of liganded gold clusters. In this work, besides the two types of elementary blocks (triangular Au3(2e) and tetrahedral Au4(2e)), we introduce a secondary block, namely, the icosahedral Au13 with 8e valence electrons, noted as Au13(8e). Using this secondary block, structural anatomy and evolution of a special group of liganded gold nanoclusters containing icosahedral Au13 motifs can be conveniently analyzed. In addition, a new ligand-protected cluster Au49(PR3)10(SR)15Cl2 is predicted to exhibit high chemical and thermal stability, suggesting likelihood of its synthesis in the laboratory.

Conflict escalation in paediatric services: findings from a qualitative study.

PubMed

Forbat, Liz; Teuten, Bea; Barclay, Sarah

2015-08-01

To explore clinician and family experiences of conflict in paediatric services, in order to map the trajectory of conflict escalation. Qualitative interview study, employing extreme-case sampling. Interviews were analysed using an iterative thematic approach to identify common themes regarding the experience and escalation of conflict. Thirty-eight health professionals and eight parents. All participants had direct experience of conflict, including physical assault and court proceedings, at the interface of acute and palliative care. Two teaching hospitals, one district general hospital and two paediatric hospices in England, in 2011. Conflicts escalate in a predictable manner. Clearly identifiable behaviours by both clinicians and parents are defined as mild, moderate and severe. Mild describes features like the insensitive use of language and a history of unresolved conflict. Moderate involves a deterioration of trust, and a breakdown of communication and relationships. Severe marks disintegration of working relationships, characterised by behavioural changes including aggression, and a shift in focus from the child's best interests to the conflict itself. Though conflicts may remain at one level, those which escalated tended to move sequentially from one level to the next. Understanding how conflicts escalate provides clinicians with a practical, evidence-based framework to identify the warning signs of conflict in paediatrics. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Au particle formation on the electron beam induced membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Seong Soo; Park, Myoung Jin; Han, Chul Hee; Oh, Sae-Joong; Kim, Sung-In; Park, Nam Kyou; Park, Doo-Jae; Choi, Soo Bong; Kim, Yong-Sang

2017-02-01

Recently the single molecules such as protein and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) have been successfully characterized by using a portable solidstate nanopore (MinION) with an electrical detection technique. However, there have been several reports about the high error rates of the fabricated nanopore device, possibly due to an electrical double layer formed inside the pore channel. The current DNA sequencing technology utilized is based on the optical detection method. In order to utilize the current optical detection technique, we will present the formation of the Au nano-pore with Au particle under the various electron beam irradiations. In order to provide the diffusion of Au atoms, a 2 keV electron beam irradiation has been performed During electron beam irradiations by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Au and C atoms would diffuse together and form the binary mixture membrane. Initially, the Au atoms diffused in the membrane are smaller than 1 nm, below the detection limit of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), so that we are unable to observe the Au atoms in the formed membrane. However, after several months later, the Au atoms became larger and larger with expense of the smaller particles: Ostwald ripening. Furthermore, we also observe the Au crystalline lattice structure on the binary Au-C membrane. The formed Au crystalline lattice structures were constantly changing during electron beam imaging process due to Spinodal decomposition; the unstable thermodynamic system of Au-C binary membrane. The fabricated Au nanopore with an Au nanoparticle can be utilized as a single molecule nanobio sensor.

Conductive Au nanowires regulated by silk fibroin nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Bo-Ju; Lu, Qiang

2014-03-01

Conductive Au-biopolymer composites have promising applications in tissue engineering such as nerve tissue regeneration. In this study, silk fibroin nanofibers were formed in aqueous solution by regulating silk self-assembly process and then used as template for Au nanowire fabrication. We performed the synthesis of Au seeds by repeating the seeding cycles for several times in order to increase the density of Au seeds on the nanofibers. After electroless plating, densely decorated Au seeds grew into irregularly shaped particles following silk nanofiber to fill the gaps between particles and finally form uniform continuous nanowires. The conductive property of the Au-silk fibroin nanowires was studied with current-voltage ( I-V) measurement. A typical ohmic behavior was observed, which highlighted their potential applications in nerve tissue regeneration.

Identified baryon and meson distributions at large transverse momenta from Au + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV.

PubMed

Abelev, B I; Aggarwal, M M; Ahammed, Z; Anderson, B D; Anderson, M; Arkhipkin, D; Averichev, G S; Bai, Y; Balewski, J; Barannikova, O; Barnby, L S; Baudot, J; Bekele, S; Belaga, V V; Bellingeri-Laurikainen, A; Bellwied, R; Benedosso, F; Bhardwaj, S; Bhasin, A; Bhati, A K; Bichsel, H; Bielcik, J; Bielcikova, J; Bland, L C; Blyth, S-L; Bonner, B E; Botje, M; Bouchet, J; Brandin, A V; Bravar, A; Burton, T P; Bystersky, M; Cadman, R V; Cai, X Z; Caines, H; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M; Castillo, J; Catu, O; Cebra, D; Chajecki, Z; Chaloupka, P; Chattopadhyay, S; Chen, H F; Chen, J H; Cheng, J; Cherney, M; Chikanian, A; Christie, W; Coffin, J P; Cormier, T M; Cosentino, M R; Cramer, J G; Crawford, H J; Das, D; Das, S; Dash, S; Daugherity, M; de Moura, M M; Dedovich, T G; Dephillips, M; Derevschikov, A A; Didenko, L; Dietel, T; Djawotho, P; Dogra, S M; Dong, W J; Dong, X; Draper, J E; Du, F; Dunin, V B; Dunlop, J C; Dutta Mazumdar, M R; Eckardt, V; Edwards, W R; Efimov, L G; Emelianov, V; Engelage, J; Eppley, G; Erazmus, B; Estienne, M; Fachini, P; Fatemi, R; Fedorisin, J; Filip, P; Finch, E; Fine, V; Fisyak, Y; Fu, J; Gagliardi, C A; Gaillard, L; Ganti, M S; Ghazikhanian, V; Ghosh, P; Gonzalez, J E; Gorbunov, Y G; Gos, H; Grebenyuk, O; Grosnick, D; Guertin, S M; Guimaraes, K S F F; Gupta, N; Gutierrez, T D; Haag, B; Hallman, T J; Hamed, A; Harris, J W; He, W; Heinz, M; Henry, T W; Hepplemann, S; Hippolyte, B; Hirsch, A; Hjort, E; Hoffman, A M; Hoffmann, G W; Horner, M J; Huang, H Z; Huang, S L; Hughes, E W; Humanic, T J; Igo, G; Jacobs, P; Jacobs, W W; Jakl, P; Jia, F; Jiang, H; Jones, P G; Judd, E G; Kabana, S; Kang, K; Kapitan, J; Kaplan, M; Keane, D; Kechechyan, A; Khodyrev, V Yu; Kim, B C; Kiryluk, J; Kisiel, A; Kislov, E M; Klein, S R; Kocoloski, A; Koetke, D D; Kollegger, T; Kopytine, M; Kotchenda, L; Kouchpil, V; Kowalik, K L; Kramer, M; Kravtsov, P; Kravtsov, V I; Krueger, K; Kuhn, C; Kulikov, A I; Kumar, A; Kuznetsov, A A; Lamont, M A C; Landgraf, J M; Lange, S; Lapointe, S; Laue, F; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lednicky, R; Lee, C-H; Lehocka, S; Levine, M J; Li, C; Li, Q; Li, Y; Lin, G; Lin, X; Lindenbaum, S J; Lisa, M A; Liu, F; Liu, H; Liu, J; Liu, L; Liu, Z; Ljubicic, T; Llope, W J; Long, H; Longacre, R S; Love, W A; Lu, Y; Ludlam, T; Lynn, D; Ma, G L; Ma, J G; Ma, Y G; Magestro, D; Mahapatra, D P; Majka, R; Mangotra, L K; Manweiler, R; Margetis, S; Markert, C; Martin, L; Matis, H S; Matulenko, Yu A; McClain, C J; McShane, T S; Melnick, Yu; Meschanin, A; Millane, J; Miller, M L; Minaev, N G; Mioduszewski, S; Mironov, C; Mischke, A; Mishra, D K; Mitchell, J; Mohanty, B; Molnar, L; Moore, C F; Morozov, D A; Munhoz, M G; Nandi, B K; Nattrass, C; Nayak, T K; Nelson, J M; Nepali, N S; Netrakanti, P K; Nogach, L V; Nurushev, S B; Odyniec, G; Ogawa, A; Okorokov, V; Oldenburg, M; Olson, D; Pachr, M; Pal, S K; Panebratsev, Y; Panitkin, S Y; Pavlinov, A I; Pawlak, T; Peitzmann, T; Perevoztchikov, V; Perkins, C; Peryt, W; Phatak, S C; Picha, R; Planinic, M; Pluta, J; Poljak, N; Porile, N; Porter, J; Poskanzer, A M; Potekhin, M; Potrebenikova, E; Potukuchi, B V K S; Prindle, D; Pruneau, C; Putschke, J; Rakness, G; Raniwala, R; Raniwala, S; Ray, R L; Razin, S V; Reinnarth, J; Relyea, D; Ridiger, A; Ritter, H G; Roberts, J B; Rogachevskiy, O V; Romero, J L; Rose, A; Roy, C; Ruan, L; Russcher, M J; Sahoo, R; Sakuma, T; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Sarsour, M; Sazhin, P S; Schambach, J; Scharenberg, R P; Schmitz, N; Seger, J; Selyuzhenkov, I; Seyboth, P; Shabetai, A; Shahaliev, E; Shao, M; Sharma, M; Shen, W Q; Shimanskiy, S S; Sichtermann, E P; Simon, F; Singaraju, R N; Smirnov, N; Snellings, R; Sood, G; Sorensen, P; Sowinski, J; Speltz, J; Spinka, H M; Srivastava, B; Stadnik, A; Stanislaus, T D S; Stock, R; Stolpovsky, A; Strikhanov, M; Stringfellow, B; Suaide, A A P; Subba, N L; Sugarbaker, E; Sumbera, M; Sun, Z; Surrow, B; Swanger, M; Symons, T J M; Szanto de Toledo, A; Tai, A; Takahashi, J; Tang, A H; Tarnowsky, T; Thein, D; Thomas, J H; Timmins, A R; Timoshenko, S; Tokarev, M; Trainor, T A; Trentalange, S; Tribble, R E; Tsai, O D; Ulery, J; Ullrich, T; Underwood, D G; Van Buren, G; van der Kolk, N; van Leeuwen, M; Vander Molen, A M; Varma, R; Vasilevski, I M; Vasiliev, A N; Vernet, R; Vigdor, S E; Viyogi, Y P; Vokal, S; Voloshin, S A; Waggoner, W T; Wang, F; Wang, G; Wang, J S; Wang, X L; Wang, Y; Watson, J W; Webb, J C; Westfall, G D; Wetzler, A; Whitten, C; Wieman, H; Wissink, S W; Witt, R; Wood, J; Wu, J; Xu, N; Xu, Q H; Xu, Z; Yepes, P; Yoo, I-K; Yurevich, V I; Zhan, W; Zhang, H; Zhang, W M; Zhang, Y; Zhang, Z P; Zhao, Y; Zhong, C; Zoulkarneev, R; Zoulkarneeva, Y; Zubarev, A N; Zuo, J X

2006-10-13

Transverse momentum spectra of pi+/-, p, and p up to 12 GeV/c at midrapidity in centrality selected Au + Au collisions at square root sNN=200 GeV are presented. In central Au + Au collisions, both pi +/- and p(p) show significant suppression with respect to binary scaling at pT approximately >4 GeV/c. Protons and antiprotons are less suppressed than pi+/-, in the range 1.5 approximately < pT approximately < 6 GeV/c. The pi-/pi+ and p/p ratios show at most a weak pT dependence and no significant centrality dependence. The p/pi ratios in central Au + Au collisions approach the values in p + p and d + Au collisions at pT approximately >5 GeV/c. The results at high pT indicate that the partonic sources of pi+/-, p, and p have similar energy loss when traversing the nuclear medium.

Synthesis of Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles with concave Au nanocuboids as seeds and their enhanced electrocatalytic properties in the ethanol oxidation reaction.

PubMed

Tan, Lingyu; Li, Lidong; Peng, Yi; Guo, Lin

2015-12-18

Herein, a new type of uniform and well-structured Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs) with highly active concave Au nanocuboids (NCs) as seeds was successfully synthesized by using the classic seed-mediated method. Electrochemical measurements were conducted to demonstrate their greatly enhanced catalytic performance in the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). It was found that the electrochemical performance for Au@Pt BNPs with the concave Au NCs as seeds, which were enclosed by {611} high-index facets, could be seven times higher than that of the Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles with regular spherical Au NPs as seeds. Furthermore, our findings show that the morphology and electrocatalytic activity of the Au@Pt BNPs can be tuned simply by changing the compositional ratios of the growth solution. The lower the amount of H2PtCl6 used in the growth solution, the thinner the Pt shell grew, and the more high-index facets of concave Au NCs seeds were exposed in Au@Pt BNPs, leading to higher electrochemical activity. These as-prepared concave Au@Pt BNPs will open up new strategies for improving catalytic efficiency and reducing the use of the expensive and scarce resource of platinum in the ethanol oxidation reaction, and are potentially applicable as electrochemical catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells.

Synthesis of Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles with concave Au nanocuboids as seeds and their enhanced electrocatalytic properties in the ethanol oxidation reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Lingyu; Li, Lidong; Peng, Yi; Guo, Lin

2015-12-01

Herein, a new type of uniform and well-structured Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs) with highly active concave Au nanocuboids (NCs) as seeds was successfully synthesized by using the classic seed-mediated method. Electrochemical measurements were conducted to demonstrate their greatly enhanced catalytic performance in the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). It was found that the electrochemical performance for Au@Pt BNPs with the concave Au NCs as seeds, which were enclosed by {611} high-index facets, could be seven times higher than that of the Au@Pt bimetallic nanoparticles with regular spherical Au NPs as seeds. Furthermore, our findings show that the morphology and electrocatalytic activity of the Au@Pt BNPs can be tuned simply by changing the compositional ratios of the growth solution. The lower the amount of H2PtCl6 used in the growth solution, the thinner the Pt shell grew, and the more high-index facets of concave Au NCs seeds were exposed in Au@Pt BNPs, leading to higher electrochemical activity. These as-prepared concave Au@Pt BNPs will open up new strategies for improving catalytic efficiency and reducing the use of the expensive and scarce resource of platinum in the ethanol oxidation reaction, and are potentially applicable as electrochemical catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells.

76 FR 37825 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-28

... requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed sample size, the expected response rate, methods... Activities; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery AGENCY: U...): ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery '' to OMB for...

Health services for survivors of gender-based violence in northern Uganda: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Henttonen, Mirkka; Watts, Charlotte; Roberts, Bayard; Kaducu, Felix; Borchert, Matthias

2008-05-01

The 20-year war in northern Uganda has resulted in up to 1.7 million people being internally displaced, and impoverishment and vulnerability to violence amongst the civilian population. This qualitative study examined the status of health services available for the survivors of gender-based violence in the Gulu district, northern Uganda. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in 2006 with 26 experts on gender-based violence and general health providers, and availability of medical supplies was reviewed. The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines on gender-based violence interventions in humanitarian settings were used to prepare the interview guides and analyse the findings. Some legislation and programmes do exist on gender-based violence. However, health facilities lacked sufficiently qualified staff and medical supplies to adequately detect and manage survivors, and confidential treatment and counselling could not be ensured. There was inter-sectoral collaboration, but greater resources are required to increase coverage and effectiveness of services. Intimate partner violence, sexual abuse of girls aged under 18, sexual harassment and early and forced marriage may be more common than rape by strangers. As the IASC guidelines focus on sexual violence by strangers and do not address other forms of gender-based violence, we suggest the need to explore this issue further to determine whether a broader concept of gender-based violence should be incorporated into the guidelines.

Stabilizing ultrasmall Au clusters for enhanced photoredox catalysis.

PubMed

Weng, Bo; Lu, Kang-Qiang; Tang, Zichao; Chen, Hao Ming; Xu, Yi-Jun

2018-04-18

Recently, loading ligand-protected gold (Au) clusters as visible light photosensitizers onto various supports for photoredox catalysis has attracted considerable attention. However, the efficient control of long-term photostability of Au clusters on the metal-support interface remains challenging. Herein, we report a simple and efficient method for enhancing the photostability of glutathione-protected Au clusters (Au GSH clusters) loaded on the surface of SiO 2 sphere by utilizing multifunctional branched poly-ethylenimine (BPEI) as a surface charge modifying, reducing and stabilizing agent. The sequential coating of thickness controlled TiO 2 shells can further significantly improve the photocatalytic efficiency, while such structurally designed core-shell SiO 2 -Au GSH clusters-BPEI@TiO 2 composites maintain high photostability during longtime light illumination conditions. This joint strategy via interfacial modification and composition engineering provides a facile guideline for stabilizing ultrasmall Au clusters and rational design of Au clusters-based composites with improved activity toward targeting applications in photoredox catalysis.

Innovation and the English National Health Service: a qualitative study of the independent sector treatment centre programme.

PubMed

Turner, Simon; Allen, Pauline; Bartlett, Will; Pérotin, Virginie

2011-08-01

Over the past two decades, an international trend of exposing public health services to different forms of economic organisation has emerged. In the English National Health Service (NHS), care is currently provided through a quasi-market including 'diverse' providers from the private and third sector. The predominant scheme through which private sector companies have been awarded NHS contracts is the Independent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) programme. ISTCs were designed to produce innovative models of service delivery for elective care and stimulate innovation among incumbent NHS providers. This paper investigates these claims using qualitative data on the impact of an ISTC upon a local health economy (LHE) composed of NHS organisations in England. Using the case of elective orthopaedic surgery, we conducted semi-structured interviews with senior managers from incumbent NHS providers and an ISTC in 2009. We show that ISTCs exhibit a different relationship with frontline clinicians because they counteract the power of professional communities associated with the NHS. This has positive and negative consequences for innovation. ISTCs have introduced new routines unencumbered by the extant norms of professional communities, but they appear to represent weaker learning environments and do not reproduce cooperation across organisational boundaries to the same extent as incumbent NHS providers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cross section of the 197Au(n,2n)196Au reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalamara, A.; Vlastou, R.; Kokkoris, M.; Diakaki, M.; Serris, M.; Patronis, N.; Axiotis, M.; Lagoyannis, A.

2017-09-01

The 197Au(n,2n)196Au reaction cross section has been measured at two energies, namely at 17.1 MeV and 20.9 MeV, by means of the activation technique, relative to the 27Al(n,α)24Na reference reaction cross section. Quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were produced at the 5.5 MV Tandem T11/25 accelerator laboratory of NCSR "Demokritos", by means of the 3H(d,n)4He reaction, implementing a new Ti-tritiated target of ˜ 400 GBq activity. The induced γ-ray activity at the targets and reference foils has been measured with HPGe detectors. The cross section for the population of the second isomeric (12-) state m2 of 196Au was independently determined. Auxiliary Monte Carlo simulations were performed using the MCNP code. The present results are in agreement with previous experimental data and with theoretical calculations of the measured reaction cross sections, which were carried out with the use of the EMPIRE code.

Evaluation des prescriptions antibiotiques au service des urgences de l’Hôpital Militaire d’Instruction Mohammed V (HMIMV)

PubMed Central

Elbouti, Anass; Rafai, Mostafa; Chouaib, Naoufal; Jidane, Said; Belkouch, Ahmed; Bakkali, Hicham; Belyamani, Lahcen

2016-01-01

Cette étude à pour objectifs de décrire les pratiques des prescriptions, évaluer leur pertinence et leur conformité aux règles d’utilisations et étudier les facteurs susceptibles de les influencer. Il s’agit d’une étude transversale d’évaluation des prescriptions antibiotiques portant sur 105 patients réalisée au service des urgences médico-chirurgicales de l’H.M.I.Med V de Rabat sur une période d’un mois. Le recueil des données était fait à l’aide d’un questionnaire rapportant les données démographiques et anamnestiques, les antécédents, la notion d’allergie, les données spécifiques de l’examen clinique, les données para cliniques, la prescription détaillée de l’antibiotique. Les données récoltées ont été ensuite évaluées par un médecin référent, chargé d’indiquer les éventuelles erreurs de traitement. Parmi les infections ayant motivé la prescription des antibiotiques, les affections des systèmes respiratoires et urinaires étaient au premier rang, les familles d’antibiotiques les plus couramment employées sont les pénicillines, les quinolones et les céphalosporines. 74 prescriptions soit (70,5%) étaient à la fois pertinentes et conformes contre 9 prescriptions soit (8,6%) justifiées mais non pertinentes et 6 prescriptions soit (5,7%) étaient jugées injustifiées par le médecin référent par absence d’infection. Les évaluations des pratiques médicales sont rarement menées dans les établissements de santé; c’est dans ce cadre que nous avons voulu nous inscrire en produisant cette étude afin d’améliorer la pertinence de nos prescriptions antibiotiques et d’optimiser leur conformité aux différentes recommandations. PMID:28292124

Mechanical properties and grindability of experimental Ti-Au alloys.

PubMed

Takahashi, Masatoshi; Kikuchi, Masafumi; Okuno, Osamu

2004-06-01

Experimental Ti-Au alloys (5, 10, 20 and 40 mass% Au) were made. Mechanical properties and grindability of the castings of the Ti-Au alloys were examined. As the concentration of gold increased to 20%, the yield strength and the tensile strength of the Ti-Au alloys became higher without markedly deteriorating their ductility. This higher strength can be explained by the solid-solution strengthening of the a titanium. The Ti-40%Au alloy became brittle because the intermetallic compound Ti3Au precipitated intensively near the grain boundaries. There was no significant difference in the grinding rate and grinding ratio among all the Ti-Au alloys and the pure titanium at any speed.

Evaluation of an academic service-learning course on special needs patients for dental hygiene students: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Keselyak, Nancy T; Simmer-Beck, Melanie; Bray, Kimberly Krust; Gadbury-Amyot, Cynthia C

2007-03-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of a service-learning course on special needs patients for dental hygiene students by considering student reflections, community site coordinators' feedback, and faculty reflections in a qualitative analysis. Twenty-three female dental hygiene students beginning their fourth semester in the program provided preventive oral health services at eight community sites serving six diverse groups of people having special health care needs. Students reflected on the experience via commentaries written in self-reflection journals. The investigators applied the constant comparative method to analyze and unitize the data, ultimately reaching consensus on three category topics: awareness, higher order thinking, and professionalism. End of course project assessments provided additional data that was used to triangulate with data from the reflective journals. Telephone interviews with the site coordinators and personal interviews with the course faculty provided data from multiple perspectives. The outcomes of this study suggest that service-learning pedagogy can facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject matter and provide an opportunity for students to use critical thinking strategies in addition to becoming aware of complex social and professional issues related to the oral health care of individuals with special needs.

Deep sub-threshold ϕ production in Au+Au collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamczewski-Musch, J.; Arnold, O.; Behnke, C.; Belounnas, A.; Belyaev, A.; Berger-Chen, J. C.; Biernat, J.; Blanco, A.; Blume, C.; Böhmer, M.; Bordalo, P.; Chernenko, S.; Chlad, L.; Deveaux, C.; Dreyer, J.; Dybczak, A.; Epple, E.; Fabbietti, L.; Fateev, O.; Filip, P.; Fonte, P.; Franco, C.; Friese, J.; Fröhlich, I.; Galatyuk, T.; Garzón, J. A.; Gernhäuser, R.; Golubeva, M.; Greifenhagen, R.; Guber, F.; Gumberidze, M.; Harabasz, S.; Heinz, T.; Hennino, T.; Hlavac, S.; Höhne, C.; Holzmann, R.; Ierusalimov, A.; Ivashkin, A.; Kämpfer, B.; Karavicheva, T.; Kardan, B.; Koenig, I.; Koenig, W.; Kolb, B. W.; Korcyl, G.; Kornakov, G.; Kotte, R.; Kühn, W.; Kugler, A.; Kunz, T.; Kurepin, A.; Kurilkin, A.; Kurilkin, P.; Ladygin, V.; Lalik, R.; Lapidus, K.; Lebedev, A.; Lopes, L.; Lorenz, M.; Mahmoud, T.; Maier, L.; Mangiarotti, A.; Markert, J.; Maurus, S.; Metag, V.; Michel, J.; Mihaylov, D. M.; Morozov, S.; Müntz, C.; Münzer, R.; Naumann, L.; Nowakowski, K. N.; Palka, M.; Parpottas, Y.; Pechenov, V.; Pechenova, O.; Petukhov, O.; Pietraszko, J.; Przygoda, W.; Ramos, S.; Ramstein, B.; Reshetin, A.; Rodriguez-Ramos, P.; Rosier, P.; Rost, A.; Sadovsky, A.; Salabura, P.; Scheib, T.; Schuldes, H.; Schwab, E.; Scozzi, F.; Seck, F.; Sellheim, P.; Siebenson, J.; Silva, L.; Sobolev, Yu. G.; Spataro, S.; Ströbele, H.; Stroth, J.; Strzempek, P.; Sturm, C.; Svoboda, O.; Szala, M.; Tlusty, P.; Traxler, M.; Tsertos, H.; Usenko, E.; Wagner, V.; Wendisch, C.; Wiebusch, M. G.; Wirth, J.; Zanevsky, Y.; Zumbruch, P.; Hades Collaboration

2018-03-01

We present data on charged kaons (K±) and ϕ mesons in Au(1.23A GeV)+Au collisions. It is the first simultaneous measurement of K- and ϕ mesons in central heavy-ion collisions below a kinetic beam energy of 10A GeV. The ϕ /K- multiplicity ratio is found to be surprisingly high with a value of 0.52 ± 0.16 and shows no dependence on the centrality of the collision. Consequently, the different slopes of the K+ and K- transverse-mass spectra can be explained solely by feed-down, which substantially softens the spectra of K- mesons. Hence, in contrast to the commonly adapted argumentation in literature, the different slopes do not necessarily imply diverging freeze-out temperatures of K+ and K- mesons caused by different couplings to baryons.

An Informed Pedagogy of Community, Care, and Respect for Diversity: Evidence from a Qualitative Evaluation of Early Years Services in the West of Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrity, Sheila; Moran, Lisa; McGregor, Caroline; Devaney, Carmel

2017-01-01

This article draws on qualitative evidence from an evaluation of the "Greater Tomorrow" Crèche and Ballyhaunis Community Preschool in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, Ireland in 2016. The article focuses on the approach to practice and the underlying ethos of these two services, reflecting a clearly articulated respect for diversity and the…

K(892)* resonance production in Au+Au and p+p collisions at {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV at RHIC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, J.; Aggarwal, M.M.; Ahammed, Z.

2004-12-09

The short-lived K(892)* resonance provides an efficient tool to probe properties of the hot and dense medium produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We report measurements of K* in {radical}s{sub NN} = 200 GeV Au+Au and p+p collisions reconstructed via its hadronic decay channels K(892)*{sup 0} {yields} K{pi} and K(892)*{sup +-} {yields} K{sub S}{sup 0}{pi}{sup +-} using the STAR detector at RHIC. The K*{sup 0} mass has been studied as function of p{sub T} in minimum bias p + p and central Au+Au collisions. The K* p{sub T} spectra for minimum bias p + p interactions and for Au+Au collisions inmore » different centralities are presented. The K*/K ratios for all centralities in Au+Au collisions are found to be significantly lower than the ratio in minimum bias p + p collisions, indicating the importance of hadronic interactions between chemical and kinetic freeze-outs. The nuclear modification factor of K* at intermediate p{sub T} is similar to that of K{sub S}{sup 0}, but different from {Lambda}. This establishes a baryon-meson effect over a mass effect in the particle production at intermediate p{sub T} (2 < p{sub T} {le} 4 GeV/c). A significant non-zero K*{sup 0} elliptic flow (v{sub 2}) is observed in Au+Au collisions and compared to the K{sub S}{sup 0} and {Lambda} v{sub 2}.« less

Stakeholders' perspectives on facilitators of and barriers to the utilisation of and access to maternal health services in Eritrea: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Chol, Chol; Hunter, Cynthia; Debru, Berhane; Haile, Berhana; Negin, Joel; Cumming, Robert G

2018-01-19

Wars affect maternal health services by destroying health systems. Eritrea experienced two wars with neighbouring Ethiopia. Despite this, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Eritrea fell by 69% from 1590 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 501 in 2015. This study aimed to examine facilitators of and barriers to the utilisation of and access to maternal health services in Eritrea. Using in-depth interviews and field observations for data collection, this qualitative study was conducted in five healthcare facilities in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, in February and March 2016. The participants were: women (n = 40), husbands (n = 5), healthcare providers (n = 10), and decision makers (n = 5). There were two perceived facilitators of utilisation of and access to maternal health services: health education (related to the WHO health service delivery building blocks) and improvement in gender equality driven by the role played by Eritrean women as combatants during the War of Independence (1961-1991). The only perceived barrier was poor quality of care due to lack of ultrasound machines, short clinic opening hours, and shortage of healthcare workers (related to the WHO health workforce building block). This study assessed women and their husbands/partners' perceptions and the possible effects of contemporary Eritrean culture and the history of war on the utilisation of and access to maternal health services in the country. As well, we examined healthcare providers' and decision makers' perspectives. The two key facilitators of women's utilisation of and access to maternal health services were health education and women's empowerment driven by their role as combatants during the War of Independence. One main barrier was poor quality of care due to lack of ultrasound machines, short clinic opening hours, and a shortage of healthcare workers. As only a limited number of qualitative studies have been published about maternal health services in war

Rationalization of Au concentration and distribution in AuNi@Pt core-shell nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction

DOE PAGES

An, Wei; Liu, Ping

2015-09-18

Improving the activity and stability of Pt-based core–shell nanocatalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells while lowering Pt loading has been one of the big challenges in electrocatalysis. Here, using density functional theory, we report the effect of adding Au as the third element to enhance the durability and activity of Ni@Pt core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Our results show that the durability and activity of a Ni@Pt NP can be finely tuned by controlling Au concentration and distribution. For a NiAu@Pt NP, the durability can be greatly promoted by thermodynamically favorable segregation of Au tomore » replace the Pt atoms at vertex, edge, and (100) facets on the shell, while still keeping the ORR activity on the active Pt(111) shell as high as that of Ni@Pt nanoparticles. Such behavior strongly depends on a direct interaction with the Ni interlayer. The results not only highlight the importance of interplay between surface strain on the shell and the interlayer–shell interaction in determining the durability and activity but also provide guidance on how to maximize the usage of Au to optimize the performance of core–shell (Pt) nanoparticles. As a result, such understanding has allowed us to discover a novel NiAu@Pt nanocatalyst for the ORR.« less

Why Do Women Not Use Antenatal Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

PubMed Central

Finlayson, Kenneth; Downe, Soo

2013-01-01

Background Almost 50% of women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) don't receive adequate antenatal care. Women's views can offer important insights into this problem. Qualitative studies exploring inadequate use of antenatal services have been undertaken in a range of countries, but the findings are not easily transferable. We aimed to inform the development of future antenatal care programmes through a synthesis of findings in all relevant qualitative studies. Methods and Findings Using a predetermined search strategy, we identified robust qualitative studies reporting on the views and experiences of women in LMICs who received inadequate antenatal care. We used meta-ethnographic techniques to generate themes and a line-of-argument synthesis. We derived policy-relevant hypotheses from the findings. We included 21 papers representing the views of more than 1,230 women from 15 countries. Three key themes were identified: “pregnancy as socially risky and physiologically healthy”, “resource use and survival in conditions of extreme poverty”, and “not getting it right the first time”. The line-of-argument synthesis describes a dissonance between programme design and cultural contexts that may restrict access and discourage return visits. We hypothesize that centralised, risk-focused antenatal care programmes may be at odds with the resources, beliefs, and experiences of pregnant women who underuse antenatal services. Conclusions Our findings suggest that there may be a misalignment between current antenatal care provision and the social and cultural context of some women in LMICs. Antenatal care provision that is theoretically and contextually at odds with local contextual beliefs and experiences is likely to be underused, especially when attendance generates increased personal risks of lost family resources or physical danger during travel, when the promised care is not delivered because of resource constraints, and when women experience covert or

Ag@Au concave cuboctahedra: A unique probe for monitoring Au-catalyzed reduction and oxidation reactions by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Jiawei; Winget, Sarah A.; Wu, Yiren; ...

2016-01-26

In this paper, we report a facile synthesis of Ag@Au concave cuboctahedra by titrating aqueous HAuCl4 into a suspension of Ag cuboctahedra in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA), NaOH, and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) at room temperature. Initially, the Au atoms derived from the reduction of Au 3+ by AA are conformally deposited on the entire surface of a Ag cuboctahedron. Upon the formation of a complete Au shell, however, the subsequently formed Au atoms are preferentially deposited onto the Au{100} facets, resulting in the formation of a Ag@Au cuboctahedron with concave structures at the sites of {111} facets. The concavemore » cuboctahedra embrace excellent SERS activity that is more than 70-fold stronger than that of the original Ag cuboctahedra at an excitation wavelength of 785 nm. The concave cuboctahedra also exhibit remarkable stability in the presence of an oxidant such as H 2O 2 because of the protection by a complete Au shell. These two unique attributes enable in-situ SERS monitoring of the reduction of 4-nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) to 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) by NaBH4 through a 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene ( trans-DMAB) intermediate and the subsequent oxidation of 4-ATP back to trans-DMAB upon the introduction of H 2O 2.« less

Ag@Au concave cuboctahedra: A unique probe for monitoring Au-catalyzed reduction and oxidation reactions by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Jiawei; Winget, Sarah A.; Wu, Yiren

In this paper, we report a facile synthesis of Ag@Au concave cuboctahedra by titrating aqueous HAuCl4 into a suspension of Ag cuboctahedra in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA), NaOH, and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) at room temperature. Initially, the Au atoms derived from the reduction of Au 3+ by AA are conformally deposited on the entire surface of a Ag cuboctahedron. Upon the formation of a complete Au shell, however, the subsequently formed Au atoms are preferentially deposited onto the Au{100} facets, resulting in the formation of a Ag@Au cuboctahedron with concave structures at the sites of {111} facets. The concavemore » cuboctahedra embrace excellent SERS activity that is more than 70-fold stronger than that of the original Ag cuboctahedra at an excitation wavelength of 785 nm. The concave cuboctahedra also exhibit remarkable stability in the presence of an oxidant such as H 2O 2 because of the protection by a complete Au shell. These two unique attributes enable in-situ SERS monitoring of the reduction of 4-nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) to 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) by NaBH4 through a 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene ( trans-DMAB) intermediate and the subsequent oxidation of 4-ATP back to trans-DMAB upon the introduction of H 2O 2.« less

Improving access to optometry services for people at risk of preventable sight loss: a qualitative study in five UK locations.

PubMed

Leamon, S; Hayden, C; Lee, H; Trudinger, D; Appelbee, E; Hurrell, D-L; Richardson, I

2014-12-01

Reducing preventable sight loss is an increasing priority for public health and health care providers. We examined the factors affecting people's use of optometry services in population groups at increased risk of sight loss. This is a qualitative study in five UK locations. In England, participants were from the Pakistani and Black Caribbean communities; in Scotland from the Pakistani community; and in Northern Ireland and Wales from white socio-economically deprived communities. Thirty-four focus groups were conducted (n = 289). The study included people who attend optometry services and people not engaged with services. Barriers to access included limited awareness of eye health and eye disease, concern about the cost of spectacles and the appropriateness of optometry in a commercial setting. Attendance at the optometrist was primarily symptom led. A positive previous experience or continuing relationship with the optometrist helped to alleviate the barriers and promote attendance. Addressing the disparity between the broader messages about eye health and the current perception of the function of optometry could help improve access to services. Uptake may be improved through the co-production of interventions that better resonate with local communities. Non-retail service delivery options should be explored. © The Author 2014, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.

Low-threshold support services for people with dementia within the scope of respite care in Germany - A qualitative study on different stakeholders' perspective.

PubMed

Hochgraeber, Iris; von Kutzleben, Milena; Bartholomeyczik, Sabine; Holle, Bernhard

2017-07-01

Low-threshold support services are provided within the basket of services of German long-term care insurance as a part of respite care to support family carers and people with dementia. This study investigates various stakeholders' (providers, coordinators, volunteers, family carers and people with dementia) perspectives on low-threshold support service regarding its organisation and conceptualisation as well as how stakeholders and users value low-threshold support service using a qualitative approach. Twelve guided interviews and group discussions were conducted with 31 participants. Organisation and conceptualisation are characterised by the lowness of the service thresholds, which is perceived to be quick and simple forms of support with no user requirements. Multiple barriers such as the challenging behaviour of people with dementia and their initial refusal as well as their holding low-threshold support service in low esteem can hinder the utilisation of these services. Low-threshold support service within the scope of the long-term care insurance law can be separated into two types: low-cost (non-professional) services and high-cost services with comprehensive training for 'employed' volunteers (professional). Both types are constantly developing within the landscape of the German long-term care system, and low-threshold support service appears to be adapted to diverse needs. Therefore, it is important to avoid replacing non-professional services with professional services.

The electric dipole moments in the ground states of gold oxide, AuO, and gold sulfide, AuS.

PubMed

Zhang, Ruohan; Yu, Yuanqin; Steimle, Timothy C; Cheng, Lan

2017-02-14

The B 2 Σ - - X 2 Π 3/2 (0,0) bands of a cold molecular beam sample of gold monoxide, AuO, and gold monosulfide, AuS, have been recorded at high resolution both field free and in the presence of a static electric field. The observed electric field induced splittings and shifts were analyzed to produce permanent electric dipole moments, μ→ el , of 2.94±0.06 D and 2.22±0.05 D for the X 2 Π 3/2 (v = 0) states of AuO and AuS, respectively. A molecular orbital correlation diagram is used to rationalize the trend in ground state μ→ el values for AuX (X = F, Cl, O, and S) molecules. The experimentally determined μ→ el are compared to those computed at the coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) level augmented with a perturbative inclusion of triple excitations (CCSD(T)) level of theory.

Two Barium Gold Iodates: Syntheses, Structures, and Properties of Polar BaAu(IO3)5 and Nonpolar HBa4Au(IO3)12 Materials.

PubMed

Yang, Bing-Ping; Hu, Chun-Li; Mao, Fei-Fei; Xu, Xiang; Mao, Jiang-Gao

2017-06-19

Two new barium gold iodates, namely, BaAu(IO 3 ) 5 and HBa 4 Au(IO 3 ) 12 , have been prepared. BaAu(IO 3 ) 5 crystallizes in the polar space group Pca2 1 , whereas HBa 4 Au(IO 3 ) 12 crystallizes in the centrosymmetric space group P2 1 /c. BaAu(IO 3 ) 5 consists of unique polar [Au(IO 3 ) 4 ] - anions whose four iodate groups are located at both sides of the AuO 4 plane and the polarity points in the [001̅] direction. BaAu(IO 3 ) 5 displays strong second-harmonic-generation (SHG) effects about 0.6KTiOPO 4 (KTP) and is phase-matchable. Thermal properties, optical spectra analyses, and theoretical calculations are also reported.

Participation in mental healthcare: a qualitative meta-synthesis.

PubMed

Stomski, Norman J; Morrison, Paul

2017-01-01

Facilitation of service user participation in the co-production of mental healthcare planning and service delivery is an integral component of contemporary mental health policy and clinical guidelines. However, many service users continue to experience exclusion from the planning of their care. This review synthesizes qualitative research about participation in mental healthcare and articulates essential processes that enable service user participation in mental health care. Electronic databases were systematically searched. Studies were included if they were peer reviewed qualitative studies, published between 2000 and 2015, examining participation in mental health care. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist was used to assess the quality of each included study. Constant comparison was used to identify similar constructs across several studies, which were then abstracted into thematic constructs. The synthesis resulted in the identification of six principal themes, which articulate key processes that facilitate service user participation in mental healthcare. These themes included: exercising influence; tokenism; sharing knowledge; lacking capacity; respect; and empathy. This meta-synthesis demonstrates that service user participation in mental healthcare remains a policy aspiration, which generally has not been translated into clinical practice. The continued lack of impact on policy on the delivery of mental healthcare suggests that change may have to be community driven. Systemic service user advocacy groups could contribute critically to promoting authentic service user participation in the co-production of mental health services.

Exfoliation restacking route to Au nanoparticle-clay nanohybrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paek, Seung-Min; Jang, Jae-Up; Hwang, Seong-Ju; Choy, Jin-Ho

2006-05-01

A novel gold-pillared aluminosilicate (Au-PILC) were synthesized with positively charged gold nanoparticles capped by mercaptoammonium and exfoliated silicate layers. Gold nanoparticles were synthesized by NaBH4 reduction of AuCl4- in the presence of N,N,N-Trimethyl (11-mercaptoundecyl)ammonium (HS(CH2)11NMe3+) protecting ligand in an aqueous solution, and purified by dialysis. The resulting positively charged and water-soluble gold nanoparticles were hybridized with exfoliated silicate sheets by electrostatic interaction. The formation of Au clay hybrids could be easily confirmed by the powder X-ray diffraction with the increased basal spacing of clay upon insertion of Au nanoparticles. TEM image clearly revealed that the Au particles with an average size of 4 nm maintain their structure even after intercalation. The Au nanoparticles supported by clay matrix were found to be thermally more stable, suggesting that the Au nanoparticles were homogeneously protected with clay nanoplates. The present synthetic route could be further applicable to various hybrid systems between metal nanoparticles and clays.

Template growth of Au, Ni and Ni–Au nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111): a combined STM, TPD and AES study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Fanglue; Huang, Dali; Yue, Yuan

In this study, the template growth of Au, Ni, and Ni–Au bimetallic nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111), i.e. h-BN/Rh(111), was investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), temperature programmed-desorption (TPD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). STM study shows that template growth of Au clusters on h-BN/Rh(111) forms mainly well-dispersed monolayer clusters. In contrast, Ni forms large multilayer clusters showing a relatively high diffusivity on h-BN/Rh(111) substrate. Ni–Au bimetallic clusters are effectively formed first by Au deposition followed by Ni deposition, with the Au clusters functioning as nucleation sites for the subsequently deposited Ni. Further structural analysis was carried out via TPDmore » and AES. The resulting TPD and AES data show the surface composition and charge transfer between Au and Ni of the bimetallic clusters. These results suggest that the h-BN/Rh(111) substrate represents a unique candidate for supporting Ni–Au bimetallic clusters in further catalytic reactions.« less

Template growth of Au, Ni and Ni–Au nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111): a combined STM, TPD and AES study

DOE PAGES

Wu, Fanglue; Huang, Dali; Yue, Yuan; ...

2017-09-12

In this study, the template growth of Au, Ni, and Ni–Au bimetallic nanoclusters on hexagonal boron nitride/Rh(111), i.e. h-BN/Rh(111), was investigated via scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), temperature programmed-desorption (TPD), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). STM study shows that template growth of Au clusters on h-BN/Rh(111) forms mainly well-dispersed monolayer clusters. In contrast, Ni forms large multilayer clusters showing a relatively high diffusivity on h-BN/Rh(111) substrate. Ni–Au bimetallic clusters are effectively formed first by Au deposition followed by Ni deposition, with the Au clusters functioning as nucleation sites for the subsequently deposited Ni. Further structural analysis was carried out via TPDmore » and AES. The resulting TPD and AES data show the surface composition and charge transfer between Au and Ni of the bimetallic clusters. These results suggest that the h-BN/Rh(111) substrate represents a unique candidate for supporting Ni–Au bimetallic clusters in further catalytic reactions.« less

Transformation of Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60 to Au133(SPh-tBu)52 Nanomolecules: Theoretical and Experimental Study.

PubMed

Nimmala, Praneeth Reddy; Theivendran, Shevanuja; Barcaro, Giovanni; Sementa, Luca; Kumara, Chanaka; Jupally, Vijay Reddy; Apra, Edoardo; Stener, Mauro; Fortunelli, Alessandro; Dass, Amala

2015-06-04

Ultrastable gold nanomolecule Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)60 upon etching with excess tert-butylbenzenethiol undergoes a core-size conversion and compositional change to form an entirely new core of Au133(SPh-tBu)52. This conversion was studied using high-resolution electrospray mass spectrometry which shows that the core size conversion is initiated after 22 ligand exchanges, suggesting a relatively high stability of the Au144(SCH2CH2Ph)38(SPh-tBu)22 intermediate. The Au144 → Au133 core size conversion is surprisingly different from the Au144 → Au99 core conversion reported in the case of thiophenol, -SPh. Theoretical analysis and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations show that rigid p-tBu groups play a crucial role by reducing the cluster structural freedom, and protecting the cluster from adsorption of exogenous and reactive species, thus rationalizing the kinetic factors that stabilize the Au133 core size. This 144-atom to 133-atom nanomolecule's compositional change is reflected in optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry.

Na8Au9.8(4)Ga7.2 and Na17Au5.87(2)Ga46.63: The diversity of pseudo 5-fold symmetries in the Na-Au-Ga system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smetana, Volodymyr; Corbett, John D.; Miller, Gordon J.

2013-11-01

The Na-rich part (~30% Na) of the Na-Au-Ga system between NaAu2, NaGa4, and Na22Ga39 has been found to contain the ternary phases Na8Au9.8(4)Ga7.2 (I) and Na17Au5.87(2)Ga46.63 (II), according to the results of single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. I is orthorhombic, Cmcm, a=5.3040(1), b=24.519(5), c=14.573(3) Å, and contains a network of clusters with local 5-fold symmetry along the a-axis. Such clusters are frequent building units in decagonal quasicrystals and their approximants. II is rhombohedral, R3¯m, a=16.325(2), c=35.242(7) Å, and contains building blocks that are structurally identical to the Bergman-type clusters as well as fused icosahedral units known with active metals, triels and late transition elements. II also contains a polycationic network with elements of the clathrate V type structure. Tight-binding electronic structure calculations using linear muffin-tin-orbital (LMTO) methods on idealized models of I and II indicate that both compounds are metallic with evident pseudogaps at the corresponding Fermi levels. The overall Hamilton bond populations are generally dominated by Au-Ga and Au-Au bonds in I and by Ga-Ga bonds in II; moreover, the Na-Au and Na-Ga contributions in I are unexpectedly large, ~20% of the total. A similar involvement of sodium in covalent bonding has also been found in the electron-richer i-Na13Au12Ga15 quasicrystal approximant.

Analyzing qualitative data with computer software.

PubMed Central

Weitzman, E A

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To provide health services researchers with an overview of the qualitative data analysis process and the role of software within it; to provide a principled approach to choosing among software packages to support qualitative data analysis; to alert researchers to the potential benefits and limitations of such software; and to provide an overview of the developments to be expected in the field in the near future. DATA SOURCES, STUDY DESIGN, METHODS: This article does not include reports of empirical research. CONCLUSIONS: Software for qualitative data analysis can benefit the researcher in terms of speed, consistency, rigor, and access to analytic methods not available by hand. Software, however, is not a replacement for methodological training. PMID:10591282

First-principles study of Au-decorated carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ju, Weiwei; Li, Tongwei; Zhou, Qingxiao; Li, Haisheng; Li, Xiaohong

2018-07-01

The electronic structures and spin-orbit (SO) coupling of carbon nanotubes with adsorbed Au atoms are investigated based on density functional theory. Three kinds of zigzag single-walled CNT (8,0), (10,0) and (12,0) are selected. The Au atoms prefer to adsorb on the top of C atoms. The adsorption of Au atoms can introduce impurity states in the band gap, modifying the electronic properties of systems. Furthermore, the influence of SO coupling on these impurity states is also explored. Considerable SO splitting (∼130 meV) can be obtained. We find that the SO splitting decreases with the increase of the concentration of Au atoms, which can be ascribed to the interaction between Au atoms, suppressing the SO splitting. Our work provides imperative understanding on the electronic properties and SO coupling effect in Au-decorated CNTs.

Transverse-momentum dependent modification of dynamic texture in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 200 GeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, J.; Aggarwal, M.M.; Ahammed, Z.

2005-01-10

Correlations in the hadron distributions produced in relativistic Au+Au collisions are studied in the discrete wavelet expansion method. The analysis is performed in the space of pseudorapidity (|{eta}| {le} 1) and azimuth (full 2{pi}) in bins of transverse momentum (p{sub t}) from 0.14 {le} p{sub t} {le} 2.1 GeV/c. In peripheral Au+Au collisions a correlation structure ascribed to minijet fragmentation is observed. It evolves with collision centrality and p{sub t} in a way not seen before which suggests strong dissipation of minijet fragmentation in the longitudinally-expanding medium.

'How shall we survive': a qualitative study of women's experiences following denial of menstrual regulation (MR) services in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Hossain, Altaf; Moseson, Heidi; Raifman, Sarah; Gerdts, Caitlin; Biswas, Kamal Kanti; Foster, Diana Greene

2016-07-22

About one quarter of women in Bangladesh are denied menstrual regulation (MR) due to advanced gestation [J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 41(3):161-163, 2015, Issues Brief (Alan Guttmacher Inst) (3):1-8, 2012]. Little is known about barriers to MR services, and whether women denied MR seek abortion elsewhere, self-induce, or continue the pregnancy. After obtaining authorization from four health facilities in Bangladesh, we recruited eligible and interested women in to the study and requested informed consent for study participation. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 women denied MR from four facilities in four districts in Bangladesh. Interviews were translated and transcribed, and the transcripts were analyzed by two researchers through an iterative process using a qualitative content analysis approach. Of those interviewed, 12 women sought abortion elsewhere and eight of these women were successful; four women who sought subsequent services were denied again. Two of the eight women who subsequently terminated their pregnancies suffered from complications. None of the participants were aware of the legal gestational limit for government-approved MR services. Given that all participants were initially denied services because they were beyond the legal gestational limit for MR and there were no reported risks to any of the mothers' health, we presume that the eight terminations performed subsequently were done illegally. Barriers to seeking safe MR services need to be addressed to reduce utilization of potentially unsafe alternative abortion services and to improve women's health and well being in Bangladesh. Findings from this study indicate a need to raise awareness about legal MR services; provide information to women on where, how and when they can access these services; train more MR providers; improve the quality and safety of second trimester services; and strengthen campaigns to educate women about contraception and pregnancy risk throughout the

Tuning SPT-3G Transition-Edge-Sensor Electrical Properties with a Four-Layer Ti-Au-Ti-Au Thin-Film Stack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, F. W.; Ade, P. A. R.; Ahmed, Z.; Anderson, A. J.; Austermann, J. E.; Avva, J. S.; Thakur, R. Basu; Bender, A. N.; Benson, B. A.; Carlstrom, J. E.; Cecil, T.; Chang, C. L.; Cliche, J. F.; Cukierman, A.; Denison, E. V.; de Haan, T.; Ding, J.; Divan, R.; Dobbs, M. A.; Dutcher, D.; Everett, W.; Foster, A.; Gannon, R. N.; Gilbert, A.; Groh, J. C.; Halverson, N. W.; Harke-Hosemann, A. H.; Harrington, N. L.; Henning, J. W.; Hilton, G. C.; Holzapfel, W. L.; Huang, N.; Irwin, K. D.; Jeong, O. B.; Jonas, M.; Khaire, T.; Kofman, A. M.; Korman, M.; Kubik, D.; Kuhlmann, S.; Kuo, C. L.; Kutepova, V.; Lee, A. T.; Lowitz, A. E.; Meyer, S. S.; Michalik, D.; Miller, C. S.; Montgomery, J.; Nadolski, A.; Natoli, T.; Nguyen, H.; Noble, G. I.; Novosad, V.; Padin, S.; Pan, Z.; Pearson, J.; Posada, C. M.; Rahlin, A.; Ruhl, J. E.; Saunders, L. J.; Sayre, J. T.; Shirley, I.; Shirokoff, E.; Smecher, G.; Sobrin, J. A.; Stan, L.; Stark, A. A.; Story, K. T.; Suzuki, A.; Tang, Q. Y.; Thompson, K. L.; Tucker, C.; Vale, L. R.; Vanderlinde, K.; Vieira, J. D.; Wang, G.; Whitehorn, N.; Yefremenko, V.; Yoon, K. W.; Young, M. R.

2018-04-01

We have developed superconducting Ti transition-edge sensors with Au protection layers on the top and bottom for the South Pole Telescope's third-generation receiver (a cosmic microwave background polarimeter, due to be upgraded this austral summer of 2017/2018). The base Au layer (deposited on a thin Ti glue layer) isolates the Ti from any substrate effects; the top Au layer protects the Ti from oxidation during processing and subsequent use of the sensors. We control the transition temperature and normal resistance of the sensors by varying the sensor width and the relative thicknesses of the Ti and Au layers. The transition temperature is roughly six times more sensitive to the thickness of the base Au layer than to that of the top Au layer. The normal resistance is inversely proportional to sensor width for any given film configuration. For widths greater than five micrometers, the critical temperature is independent of width.

Professional perspectives on service user and carer involvement in mental health care planning: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Bee, Penny; Brooks, Helen; Fraser, Claire; Lovell, Karina

2015-12-01

Involving users/carers in mental health care-planning is central to international policy initiatives yet users frequently report feeling excluded from the care planning process. Rigorous explorations of mental health professionals' experiences of care planning are lacking, limiting our understanding of this important translational gap. To explore professional perceptions of delivering collaborative mental health care-planning and involving service users and carers in their care. Qualitative interviews and focus groups with data combined and subjected to framework analysis. UK secondary care mental health services. 51 multi-disciplinary professionals involved in care planning and recruited via study advertisements. Emergent themes identified care-planning as a meaningful platform for user/carer involvement but revealed philosophical tensions between user involvement and professional accountability. Professionals emphasised their individual, relational skills as a core facilitator of involvement, highlighting some important deficiencies in conventional staff training programmes. Although internationally accepted on philosophical grounds, user-involved care-planning is poorly defined and lacks effective implementation support. Its full realisation demands greater recognition of both the historical and contemporary contexts in which statutory mental healthcare occurs. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Centrality and collision system dependence of antiproton production from p+A to Au+Au collisions at AGS energies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sako, H.; Ahle, L.; Akiba, Y.; Ashktorab, K.; Baker, M. D.; Beavis, D.; Britt, H. C.; Chang, J.; Chasman, C.; Chen, Z.;

A qualitative study of patient experiences of decentralized acute healthcare services

PubMed Central

Linqvist Leonardsen, Ann-Chatrin; Del Busso, Lilliana; Abrahamsen Grøndahl, Vigdis; Ghanima, Waleed; Barach, Paul; Jelsness-Jørgensen, Lars-Petter

2016-01-01

Objective Municipality acute wards (MAWs) have recently been launched in Norway as an alternative to hospitalizations, and are aimed at providing treatment for patients who otherwise would have been hospitalized. The objective of this study was to explore how patients normally admitted to hospitals perceived the quality and safety of treatment in MAWs. Design The study had a qualitative design. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Setting The study was conducted in a county in south-eastern Norway and included five different MAWs. Patients Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 participants who had required acute health care and who had been discharged from the five MAWs. Results Three subthemes were identified that related to the overarching theme of hospital-like standards (“almost a hospital, but…”), namely (a) treatment and competence, (b) location and physical environment, and (c) adequate time for care. Participants reported the treatment to be comparable to hospital care, but they also experienced limitations. Participants spoke positively about MAW personnel and the advantages of having a single patient room, a calm environment, and proximity to home. Conclusions Participants felt safe when treated at MAWs, even though they realized that the diagnostic services were not similar to that in hospitals. Geographical proximity, treatment facilities and time for care positively distinguished MAWs from hospitals, while the lack of diagnostic resources was stressed as a limitation. Key Points Municipality acute wards (MAWs) have been implemented across Norway. Research on patient perspectives on the decentralization of acute healthcare in MAWs is lacking.  • Patients perceive decentralized acute healthcare and treatment as being comparable to the quality they would have expected in hospitals.  • Geographical proximity, a home-like atmosphere and time for care were aspects stressed as positive features of the decentralized

Distributions of charged hadrons associated with high transverse momentum particles in pp and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV.

PubMed

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2005-10-07

Charged hadrons in [EQUATION: SEE TEXT] associated with particles of [EQUATION: SEE TEXT] are reconstructed in pp and Au+Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV. The associated multiplicity and p magnitude sum are found to increase from pp to central Au+Au collisions. The associated p distributions, while similar in shape on the nearside, are significantly softened on the awayside in central Au+Au relative to pp and not much harder than that of inclusive hadrons. The results, consistent with jet quenching, suggest that the awayside fragments approach equilibration with the medium traversed.