PROCESAMIENTO DE METALES DURANTE EL HORIZONTE MEDIO EN EL ALTIPLANO SURANDINO (ESCARAMAYU, PULACAYO, POTOSÍ, BOLIVIA)

In this article we present and analyze the results obtained to date in the metallurgical sector of site Pulac 050 (Escaramayu, Pulacayo, Bolivia). Thus far the studies conducted in this sector present evidence of a complex of four metallurgical furnaces that are spatially associated with a group of enclosures at the site that have been dated to the Middle Horizon. The remains of various materials including slags, metals, and minerals are found together with thefurnaces. Lead isotope analyses of these materials suggest strongly that the ore smelted at the site was obtained from the complex lead, silver, copper, zinc deposit at Pulacayo. Three of the furnaces appear to have been used to smelt ore; the fourth furnace likely refined impure metal contained in ceramic crucibles. Key words: metallurgy, smelting and refining furnaces, Middle Horizon

‘Our Care through our Eyes’: a mixed methods,evaluative study of a service user,co-produced education programme to improve inpatient care of children and young people admitted following self-harm

Introduction: Within Europe, the UK has one of the highest rates of self-harm, with a particularly high prevalence in children and young people (CYP). CYP who are admitted to paediatric hospital wards with self-harm are cared for by registered children's nurses who have been identified to lack specific training in caring for this patient group. This may impede the delivery of high quality care. Therefore, this study aims to co-produce, implement and evaluate an education programme for registered children's nurses to improve their knowledge, attitudes and confidence when caring for CYP admitted with self-harm. Methods and analysis: This mixed-methods evaluative study will involve a three-stage design. Stage 1: A priority-setting workshop will be conducted with 19 registered children's nurses. A Delphi technique will be used to establish consensus of information needs. Stage 2: An online educational intervention will be co-produced with 25 CYP and 19 registered children's nurses based on the priorities identified in Stage 1. Stage 3: The intervention will be implemented and evaluated with 250 registered children's nurses at a single hospital. Online Likert scale questionnaires will be administered at baseline and postintervention to assess levels of knowledge, attitudes and confidence in caring for CYP who self-harm. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used to analyse the data. Statistical significance will be assessed at the 5% (two-sided) level. One-to-one qualitative interviews will also be undertaken with approximately 25 participants to explore any perceived impact on clinical practice. An interpretive descriptive approach will guide qualitative data collection and analysis. Ethics and dissemination: This study aims to develop, trial and evaluative a service-user, co-produced education programme for acute hospital registered children's nurses to improve the care of CYP admitted due to self-harm. The study has ethical approval from the National Health Services Research Ethics Committee and full governance clearance

Visual ASL : An American Sign Language Computer-Assisted Instruction Software

Visual ASL is a computer-assisted instruction software for teaching beginner ASL (American Sign Language). The purpose of this software is to guide users through interactive lessons and quizzes in order to teach this language. In current state of the software, it covers material taught in a level one ASL class. It will teach similar content as the lessons from the ASL instruction book, Signing Naturally

Contractile Activity-Induced Signaling Mechanisms in Aged Skeletal Muscle: Influence on Mitochondria

The process of aging has an influential impact on the quality of skeletal muscle. With advancing age, even in the absence of disease, skeletal muscle has been acknowledged to decline in quantity and quality, a phenomenon referred to as sarcopenia. Currently, the mechanisms which instigate this process remain incompletely defined. However, considerable research has occurred surrounding the role of the mitochondria and their potential to contribute to sarcopenia. Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses supplying the majority of biochemical energy through ATP generation. Mitochondria require proper maintenance within the cellular milieu and this occurs through a balance between the biogenesis and mitophagic degradation of the organelles. Interestingly, exercise is a potent stimulus for both of these cellular pathways. In this work, we sought to examine aspects of mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy in aged skeletal muscle to determine how they may change compared to young subjects and whether these processes remain responsive to exercise, in the face of aging. We examined the transcription of PGC-1, a key player in the synthesis of mitochondria. PGC-1 has been acknowledged to decline in aged skeletal muscle, however whether this is due to impaired transcription, was previously unexplored. We identified that PGC-1 transcription was reduced basally in aged muscle compared to their younger counterparts. Interestingly, the gene remained responsive to an acute bout of contractile activity. We next assessed the degree of autophagy and mitophagy flux in aged skeletal muscle, at rest and following adaptation to chronic contractile activity (CCA). Aged muscle exhibited increased mitophagic turnover compared to young muscle, in contrast to prevalent notions in the literature. Following CCA, evaluation of mitophagic flux revealed a decrease in organelle turnover, likely due to an improvement in organelle quality. Taken together, the significance of this research is that we have uncovered the molecular basis for the decline in mitochondrial content in aging muscle. Furthermore, exercise is capable of restoring a healthy mitochondrial pool through restoration of the balance between biogenesis and mitophagy

Authentic thresholds : interior design client involvement in the creation of sense of home

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 6, 2013).The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Ruth TofleIncludes bibliographical references.M.S. University of Missouri--Columbia, 2012."December 2012"For middle-class householders interested in elevating an image of their status, residential interior designers may be viewed as destroyers of authentic sense of home. By contrast, designers may seek to contribute to the house owner's sense of home, the positive feeling of belonging, comfort, and security associated with one's personal living space, rather than focus on anonymous status and image. To understand the motivation and outcomes of residential interior design work, a deeper understanding of owners' perceptions of sense of home and their involvement to create that sense of home is required. Current literature, however, says very little about owners' perceptions and preferences of physical attributes that contribute to their sense of home as they are working with an interior designer. This study seeks to utilize qualitative research methods to gather and analyze data in order to answer the question, "For those owners who have used residential interior designers for their dwellings, what perceptions and preferences of physical attributes do they believe contribute to their sense of home and what was their level of involvement in its creation?

Nurses Information Appraisal Within the Clinical Setting

Information appraisal is foundational to information literacy, a necessary skill to support evidence-based practice. Little discussion in nursing literature exists regarding how nurses appraise information. If nurses lack information appraisal skills they cannot safely and effectively apply evidence in practice. Furthermore, if nurses at all levels are to engage in evidence-based practice, information appraisal in the clinical setting must be understood. The research study used an interpretive description design to define and describe the process of information appraisal in the clinical setting. Participants of this study represented a stratified purposeful sample of 44 registered nurses employed at a regional medical center in west Alabama. Most participants were middle-aged women who were licensed an average of 16 years. Emphasis was placed on how nurses describe and evaluate information as they critically reflect on acquired information in the clinical setting. The research questions were: 1) What is information appraisal within the clinical setting? and 2) How do nurses perform information appraisal in the clinical setting? Participants were assigned to one of seven audio-recorded focus groups of approximately five to seven participants. A semi-structured interview guide assisted in data collection. Participants completed a brief demographic survey. Transcripts from each focus group were coded inductively. Analysis was first done by looking at responses to each question within individual groups, then among groups. ATLAS.ti software was used to aid in data management. Findings suggest that information appraisal is described a number of ways by nurses and an agreed upon definition for the process seems to be lacking among nurses. Based on the descriptions offered by participants information appraisal contains three dimensions: information gathering, information analysis, and information application. In addition, nurses perform information appraisal by way of an unspoken algorithm with two major decision points. First, nurses determine the urgency of the situation. Next, they select the resource of choice based on prior knowledge of available resources, not the content provided by the resources. In most cases, the trusted resource served as a proxy for evaluating the information that was provided by the resource. Research with nurses in the clinical setting is challenging, however, much was gained from discussions with those that had firsthand knowledge of providing direct patient care. Understanding the perceptions of this sample has given insight into how nurses describe and perform information evaluation. Knowledge gained from this study may be used by nurse educators in the academic and clinical setting as they work to deliver relevant information that facilitates providing the highest quality care

Co-producing a digital educational programme for registered children’s nurses to improve care of children and young people admitted with self-harm

Despite the increasing prevalence of hospital admissions for self-harm in children and young people (CYP), there is paucity of registered children’s nurse (rCN) training or involvement of children to improve care for this often stigmatized patient group. This article describes a participatory approach towards using co-production with CYP and rCN to develop a digital educational programme to improve nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and confidence in caring for CYP with self-harm injuries. A priority-setting workshop with rCNs was used to establish consensus of information needs. This was followed by an e-learning content development workshop undertaken with CYP whom had previously experienced hospital admissions for self-harm injuries. Findings from the nurse priority-setting workshop identified three educational priorities: (1) knowledge of self-harm, (2) effective communication and (3) risk management. The CYP subsequently developed these topic areas to ensure the contents and design of the e-learning resource had fidelity by reflecting the experiences of CYP and needs when cared for in hospital. This article illustrates that involving service users to co-develop educational materials is a feasible and important step in designing educational resources and ensures the content is relevant, appropriate and sensitive to both the recipient of care and those responsible for its delivery