A practical condition for migration dynamic recrystallization

A readily evaluated condition for migration dynamic recrystallization is developed. It is based on the postulate that “the distance traversed by the boundary of a hypothetical growing grain in the time taken for the attainment of a recovery steady state must exceed the size of a critical nucleus”. A method for estimating the boundary mobility based on the kinetics of static recrystallization is also developed to facilitate evaluation of the condition. The derivation focuses first on developing an upper limit for the dynamically recrystallized grain size. This upper limit is only slightly higher than experimental values. The critical condition also agrees well with a limited set of experimental data. These data include the occurrence (and, in two cases, suppression) of dynamic recrystallization in Cu, Ni, Mg, α-Fe, γ-Fe and Al.

Health-related religious rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church : their uptake and meanings

Aim
To examine the uptake of religious rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church by relatives of patients in critical condition in Greece and to explore their symbolic representations and spiritual meanings.
Background
Patients and their relatives want to be treated with respect and be supported for their beliefs, practices, customs and rituals. However nurses may not be ready to meet the spiritual needs of relatives of patients, while the health-related religious beliefs, practices and rituals of the Greek Orthodox Christian denomination have not been explored.
Method
This study was part of a large study encompassing 19 interviews with 25 informants, relatives of patients in intensive care units of three large hospitals in Athens, Greece, between 2000 and 2005. In this paper data were derived from personal accounts of religious rituals given by six participants.
Results
Relatives used a series of religious rituals, namely blessed oil and holy water, use of relics of saints, holy icons, offering names for pleas and pilgrimage.
Conclusion
Through the rituals, relatives experience a sense of connectedness with the divine and use the sacred powers to promote healing of their patients.
Implications for nursing management
Nurse managers should recognize, respect and facilitate the expression of spirituality through the practice of religious rituals by patients and their relatives.

Critically low levels of genetic diversity in fragmented populations of the endangered Glenelg spiny freshwater crayfish Euastacus bispinosus

The Glenelg spiny freshwater crayfish Euastacus bispinosus is a large endangered freshwater invertebrate of southeastern Australia that has suffered major population declines over the last century. Disjunct populations in the state of South Australia are in a particularly critical condition, restricted to a few isolated rising-spring habitats and in an ongoing state of decline. We assessed genetic diversity and gene flow within E. bispinosus across its current range using allele frequencies from 11 nuclear microsatellite loci and DNA sequence data from a single mitochon -drial locus (cytochrome oxidase subunit I). Populations were characterized by low levels of genetic diversity and found to be highly structured, with gene flow restricted both within and across catchments, highlighting the species' vulnerability to further habitat fragmentation and the importance of managing environmental threats on local scales across its current natural range. South Australian populations were characterized by critically low levels of genetic diversity generally, highlighting their potential vulnerability to localized extinction. Holistic conservation efforts are necessary to conserve populations, including local habitat management and, potentially, translocations to increase genetic diversity and evolutionary potential, and reduce possible inbreeding effects and the threat of extinction.

Quality of life in restless legs syndrome: A systematic review of clinical trials and a critical review of instruments

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological movement disorder characterized by sensory symptoms and motor disturbances. While the underlying cause remains unknown, it is suggested that 20–25% of people with RLS are affected seriously enough to require pharmacological treatment. Dopamine agonists (DAs) are the most common treatment and act by increasing the low levels of dopamine to which RLS is often attributed. A growing literature highlights the debilitating and distressing nature of this condition from the patient's perspective. While sleep problems are most commonly reported, the impact of RLS on quality of life (QOL) is wide ranging, affecting relationships with partners, sex life, family life, social life, leisure activities, friendships, everyday activities, concentration, travel, career/work, sleep, and health.

We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials in which DAs have been evaluated in terms of RLS-specific QOL, i.e. their impact on the QOL of people with RLS, and critically reviewed the development history and measurement properties of RLS-specific QOL instruments.

A systematic search using terms synonymous with RLS, DAs and QOL was conducted using Scopus software, which includes MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Our search covered publications from 2000 (prior to which RLS-specific QOL measures did not exist) to August 2009. Trials were included in our review if they evaluated DAs for the treatment of adults with RLS and reported evaluation using an RLS-specific QOL measure. We also ran citation searches to identify papers reporting the development history and measurement properties of the identified RLS-specific QOL instruments.

Three measures of RLS-specific QOL have been developed in recent years and are reviewed here: the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life (RLSQOL) questionnaire, the Restless Legs Syndrome Quality of Life Instrument (RLS-QLI), and the Quality of Life Restless Legs Syndrome (QOL-RLS) measure. Critical review indicates that each has limitations (particularly in terms of published developmental history and content validity). Eleven trials of DAs were identified that included assessment of RLS-specific QOL (nine using the RLSQOL and two using the QOL-RLS). In all studies, significant improvements in RLS-specific QOL were observed, although these were mostly short term (12 weeks) and large placebo effects were also noted.

In people with RLS, the use of DAs has been shown to improve RLS-specific QOL. Longer-term, large-scale studies may be needed to confirm these findings and demonstrate statistically significant improvements in RLS-specific QOL at lower doses. Further development of the RLS-specific QOL measures is needed to ensure that the full impact of RLS (and the full benefit of new treatments) on aspects of life identified as important to individuals is captured in future studies.

Critical design features for establishing a childhood obesity monitoring program in Australia

Efforts to combat childhood obesity in Australia are hampered by the lack of quality epidemiological data to routinely monitor the prevalence and distribution of the condition. This paper summarises the literature on issues relevant to childhood obesity monitoring and makes recommendations for implementing a school-based childhood obesity monitoring program in Australia. The primary purpose of such a program would be to collect population-level health data to inform both policy and the development and evaluation of community-based obesity prevention interventions. Recommendations are made for the types of data to be collected, data collection procedures and program management and evaluation. Data from an obesity monitoring program are crucial for directing and informing policies, practices and services, identifying subgroups at greatest risk of obesity and evaluating progress towards meeting obesity-related targets. Such data would also increase the community awareness necessary to foster change.

A brief review on offshore wind turbine fault detection and recent development in condition monitoring based maintenance system

Offshore wind turbine requires more systematized operation and maintenance strategies to ensure systems are harmless, profitable and cost-effective. Condition monitoring and fault diagnostic systems ominously plays an important role in offshore wind turbine in order to cut down maintenance and operational costs. Condition monitoring techniques which describing complex faults and failure mode types and their generated traceable signs to provide cost-effective condition monitoring and predictive maintenance and their diagnostic schemes. Continuously monitor the condition of critical parts are the most efficient way to improve reliability of wind turbine. Implementation of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) strategy provides right time maintenance decisions and Predictive Health Monitoring (PHM) data to overcome breakdown and machine downtime. Fault detection and CBM implementation is challenging for off shore wind farm due to the complexity of remote sensing, components health and predictive assessment, data collection, data analysis, data handling, state recognition, and advisory decision. The rapid expansion of wind farms, advanced technological development and harsh installation sites needs a successful CM approach. This paper aims to review brief status of recent development of CM techniques and focusing with major faults takes place in gear box and bearing, rotor and blade, pitch, yaw and tower system and generator and control system.

Rise of the machines: a critical consideration of automated leadership decision making in organizations

Machines are increasingly becoming a substitute for human skills and intelligence in a number of fields where decisions that are crucial to group performance have to be taken under stringent constraints—for example, when an army contingent has to devise battlefield tactics or when a medical team has to diagnose and treat a life-threatening condition or illness. We hypothesize a scenario where similar machine-based intelligent technology is available to support, and even substitute human decision making in an organizational leadership context. We do not engage in any metaphysical debate on the plausibility of such a scenario. Rather, we contend that given what we observe in several other fields of human decision making, such a scenario may very well eventuate in the near future. We argue a number of “positives” that can be expected to emerge out of automated group and organizational leadership decision making. We also posit several anti-theses—“negatives” that can also potentially emerge from the hypothesized scenario and critically consider their implications. We aim to bring leadership and organization theorists, as well as researchers in machine intelligence, together at the discussion table for the first time and postulate that while leadership decision making in a group/organizational context could be effectively delegated to an artificial-intelligence (AI)-based decision system, this would need to be subject to the devising of crucial safeguarding conditions.