Temporal behaviour of marine landing in Karnataka 2. Seasonal patterns

Seasonal patterns of 21 fisheries in Karnataka (after isolation from time-series components) are presented. Depending on the pattern of seasonal fluctuation in landings, 19 fisheries have been grouped into five patterns, A, B, C, D and E. Ribbon fishes and 'other clupeids' did not exhibit any significant seasonal pattern. Pattern A with highest landings in the 4th quarter (October to December), followed by the 1, 2 and 3 quarters, is the most common in 10 species/groups (comprising 78% of the total landings). Harmonic analysis has been carried out using the seasonal indices.

On the arrival time, waiting time to unload, unloading time and waiting time for departure for purse seiners at Mangalore landing centre

Fifty four purse-seine boats at Mangalore landing centre were observed during different stages of unloading fish catch. It was found that a boat takes 75% of the berthing time to unload an average quantity of 2.4 tons of fish. Further, unloading period and catch were found to be directly related where it was estimated that 5 to 7 minutes are spent in unloading about half a ton of fish to a nearby tempo by employing 9 ± 2 laborers.

Economic impacts of globalisation at the district, landing site and sub-sector enterprise levels on Lakes Kyoga, Albert and Victoria

The Globalisation and fish utilisation and marketing study is a collaboration between the Fisheries Resources Research Institute (FIRRI) and the Mike Dillon Associates Limited , with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the Government of the United Kingdom. The study is designed to examine the impact of the development of the export fishery on the fish producers, processors, traders and consumers in the artisanal fishery in Uganda. FIRRI 's role is to collect field data relating to the livelihoods of artisanal fish producers, processors, traders and consumers. in particular data relating to income and revenue flow. The initial focus is on the eccnomic structure of fish landing sites. The purpose of this paper is to review the progress in implementation of the project and present the interim findings for discussion. During the first quarter, namely April to June, 2002, work was carried out on Lakes Kyoga and Albert and a report produced. During the second quarter, July to September, 2002, Lake Victoria was covered. In both phases, the focus has been on the economic structure of fish landings.

Emergency department crowding: prioritising quantified crowding measures using a Delphi study.

AimsEmergency department (ED) crowding has been associated with a number of negative health outcomes, including unnecessary deaths, increased waiting times and a decrease in care quality. Despite the seriousness of this issue, there is little agreement on appropriate crowding measures to assess crowding effects on ED operations. The objective of this study was to prioritise a list of quantified crowding measures that would assess the current state of a department.MethodsA three round Delphi study was conducted via email and an Internet based survey tool. The panel consisted of 40 professionals who had exposure to and expertise in crowding. Participants submitted quantified crowding measures which, through three rounds, were evaluated and ranked to assess participant agreement for inclusion.ResultsThe panel identified 27 measures of which eight (29.6%) reached consensus at the end of the study. These measures comprised: (1) ability of ambulances to offload; (2) patients who leave without being seen or treated; (3) time until triage; (4) ED occupancy rate; (5) patients' total length of stay in the ED; (6) time to see a physician; (7) ED boarding time; and (8) number of patients boarding in the ED.ConclusionsThis study resulted in the identification of eight quantified crowding measures, which present a comprehensive view of how crowding is affecting ED operations, and highlighted areas of concern. These quantified measures have the potential to make a considerable contribution to decision making by ED management and to provide a basis for learning across different departments.

Investigating landing gear noise using fly-over data: The case of a Boeing 747-400

Modeling the noise originating from a landing gear has proven to be a challenging task, because of its complicated structure. In full-scale, landing gear noise can only be investigated experimentally by source localization techniques and fly-over measurements with microphone arrays. In the present work, measurements of a Boeing B747-400 were used to determine the contribution of the landing gear to the overall noise emitted during a fly-over and how the broadband noise from the landing gear scales with the flight velocity. A tonal source from the nose landing gear was identified at 380 Hz with a harmonic at 760 Hz and it most likely originates from a cavity. It was also found that the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the high frequency broadband component varies linearly with frequency and there is some scaling with the ow velocity. Finally, the nose landing gear was shown to be a significant contributor to the overall airframe noise as expected.

The Emergency of a Party System

Korosteleva-Polglase Elena, 'The Emergency of a Party System', In: Postcommunist Belarus, Rowman & Littlefield, pp.35-57, 2005 RAE2008

Alignment of the genomes of brachypodium distachyon and temperate cereals and grasses using bacterial artificial chromosome landing with fluorescence in situ hybridization

Robert Hasterok, Agnieszka Marasek, Iain S. Donnison, Ian Armstead, Ann Thomas, Ian P. King, Elzbieta Wolny, Dominika Idziak, John Draper and Glyn Jenkins (2006). Alignment of the genomes of brachypodium distachyon and temperate cereals and grasses using bacterial artificial chromosome landing with fluorescence in situ hybridization.Genetics, 73 (1), 349-362. Sponsorship: Royal Society / BBSRC;BBSRC RAE2008

Clinical autonomy and nurse/physician collaboration in emergency nurses

Aim: To investigate clinical autonomy and Nurse/Physician collaboration among emergency nurses and the relationship between these concepts, personal characteristics and organisational influences. Background: Nurses have been identified as having a significant role in addressing the challenges of providing modern healthcare. Emergency nurses have reported competence in a wide range of emergency care skills. However, there is evidence that Emergency Department (ED) nurses may have lower levels of clinical autonomy than other areas of practice. Levels of clinical autonomy appear to be influenced by levels of collaboration with physicians and the organisations in which nurses work Methods: A descriptive correlational study using a survey design with a purposive convenience sample of 141 ED staff nurses (response 70.9%) from 3 EDs in Ireland. Data were collected using the Dempster Practice Behaviours Scale (DPBS) the Nurse/Physician Collaboration Scale (NPCS) and the newly developed Organisational Influences on Nursing Scale. Demographic information was also sought from participants. Results: Participants were largely female (87%), relatively young (mean age 35.57, SD=7.83) and educated to degree level (48%) or higher (31%) with 40% posessing specialist emergency nursing qualifications. Participants reported moderate levels of clinical autonomy and Nurse/Physician collaboration. No relationships were found between sample characteristics and clinical autonomy and Nurse/Physician collaboration among emergency nurses. Relationships were found between levels of clinical autonomy and Nurse/Physician collaboration (r=-0.395, n=100, p<0.001), and organisational influence on nursing (r=0.455, p<0.001) and also between Nurse/Physician collaboration and organisational influence on nursing (r=-0.413, p<0.001). Discussion: Clinical autonomy of nurses has been linked with quality outcomes in healthcare. The quest for quality in modern healthcare in a challenging environment should acknowledge that strategies need to focus beyond education and skills provision and include essential elements such as Nurse/Physician collaboration and the organisational influence on nursing to ensure the greater involvement of nurses in patient care.

From respect for nature to agency as realisation in response to the ecological emergency

'The ecological emergency’ describes both our emergence into, and the way we relate within, a set of globally urgent circumstances, brought about through anthropogenic impact. I identify two phases to this emergency. Firstly, there is the anthropogenic impact itself, interpreted through various conceptual models. Secondly, however, is the increasingly entrenched commitment to divergent conceptual positions, that leads to a growing disparateness in attitudes, and a concurrent difficulty with finding any grounds for convergence in response. I begin by reviewing the environmental ethics literature in order to clarify which components of the implicit narratives and beliefs of different positions create the foundations for such disparateness of views. I identify the conceptual frameworks through which moral agency and human responsibility are viewed, and that justify an ethical response to the ecological emergency. In particular, I focus on Paul Taylor's thesis of 'respect for nature' as a framework for revising both the idea that we are ‘moral’ and the idea that we are ‘agents’ in this unique way, and I open to question the idea that any response to the ecological emergency need be couched in ethical terms. This revision leads me to formulate an alternative conceptual model that makes use of Timothy Morton’s idea of enmeshment. I propose that we dramatically revise our idea of moral agency using the idea of enmeshment as a starting point. I develop an alternative framework that locates our capacity for responsibility within our capacity for realisation, both in the sense of understanding, and of making real, sets of conditions within our enmeshment. I draw parallels between this idea of ‘realisation as agency’ and the work of Dōgen and other non-dualists. I then propose a revised understanding of ‘the good’ of systems from a biophysical perspective, and compare this with certain features of Asian traditions of thought. I consider the practical implications of these revisions, and I conclude that the act of paying close attention, or realising, contains our agency, as does the attitude, or manner, with which we focus. This gives us the basis for a convergent response to the ecological emergency: the way of our engagement that is the key to responding to the ecological emergency

Analysis of traumatic injuries presenting to a referral hospital emergency department in Moshi, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Injuries represent a significant and growing public health concern in the developing world, yet their impact on patients and the emergency health-care system in the countries of East Africa has received limited attention. This study evaluates the magnitude and scope of injury related disorders in the population presenting to a referral hospital emergency department in northern Tanzania. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients presenting to the emergency department at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre was performed. A standardized data collection form was used for data abstraction from the emergency department logbook and the complete medical record for all injured patients. Patient demographics, mechanism of injury, location, type and outcomes were recorded. RESULTS: Ten thousand six hundred twenty-two patients presented to the emergency department for evaluation and treatment during the 7-month study period. One thousand two hundred twenty-four patients (11.5%) had injuries. Males and individuals aged 15 to 44 years were most frequently injured, representing 73.4% and 57.8%, respectively. Road traffic injuries were the most common mechanism of injury, representing 43.9% of injuries. Head injuries (36.5%) and extremity injuries (59.5%) were the most common location of injury. The majority of injured patients, 59.3%, were admitted from the emergency department to the hospital wards, and 5.6%, required admission to an intensive care unit. Death occurred in 5.4% of injured patients. CONCLUSIONS: These data give a detailed and more robust picture of the patient demographics, mechanisms of injury, types of injury and patient outcomes from similar resource-limited settings.

Emergency Department Efficiency in an Academic Hospital: A Simulation Study

Gemstone Team HOPE (Hospital Optimal Productivity Enterprise)

Changes in landing mechanics in patients following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction when wearing an extension constraint knee brace.

BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is associated with a high incidence of second tears (graft tears and contralateral ACL tears). These secondary tears have been attributed to asymmetrical lower extremity mechanics. Knee bracing is one potential intervention that can be used during rehabilitation that has the potential to normalize lower extremity asymmetry; however, little is known about the effect of bracing on movement asymmetry in patients following ACL reconstruction. HYPOTHESIS: Wearing a knee brace would increase knee joint flexion and joint symmetry. It was also expected that the joint mechanics would become more symmetrical in the braced condition. OBJECTIVE: To examine how knee bracing affects knee joint function and symmetry over the course of rehabilitation in patients 6 months following ACL reconstruction. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. METHODS: Twenty-three adolescent patients rehabilitating from ACL reconstruction surgery were recruited for the study. The subjects all underwent a motion analysis assessment during a stop-jump activity with and without a functional knee brace on the surgical side that resisted extension for 6 months following the ACL reconstruction surgery. Statistical analysis utilized a 2 × 2 (limb × brace) analysis of variance with a significant alpha level of 0.05. RESULTS: Subjects had increased knee flexion on the surgical side when they were braced. The brace condition increased knee flexion velocity, decreased the initial knee flexion angle, and increased the ground reaction force and knee extension moment on both limbs. Side-to-side asymmetry was present across conditions for the vertical ground reaction force and knee extension moment. CONCLUSION: Wearing a knee brace appears to increase lower extremity compliance and promotes normalized loading on the surgical side. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Knee extension constraint bracing in postoperative ACL patients may improve symmetry of lower extremity mechanics, which is potentially beneficial in progressing rehabilitation and reducing the incidence of second ACL tears.