Effects of EU policy regulations on ferry operation: sustainability issues in public procurement of ferry services

This report brings together the activity from the Institute for Sustainability and UCL Energy Institute to explore the effects of EU policy regulation on ferry operations. UCL Energy Institute investigated the sustainability issues related to public procurement of ferry services in the North Sea Region. This report identifies the key drivers for public procurement and identifies some of the challenges that ferry operators and procurers can face. The report begins with a brief overview of the procurement process in EU and the problems that are currently being faced in the EU ferries sector. This report highlights how different types of ‘split incentives’ can stymie attempts to improve quality or sustainability of ferry services through the tender and procurement process. Policy recommendations that can avoid, alleviate or minimise the issues of split incentives include; Policies that target the design based efficiencies, such as the EEDI, policies that incentivise the improvements in operational or in-service efficiency of ferries, revisiting some aspects of public procurement and standardising them for uniform application across all the member states This report, coupled with the iTransfer Ferry Toolkit, produced by SEStran, forms a comprehensive guidance to all operators and procurers of ferry services in the North Sea Region and beyond. This report is part of iTransfer, a North Sea Region Interreg programme project, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. For more information visit www.itransferproject.e

Meiotic nuclear divisions in budding yeast require PP2ACdc55-mediated antagonism of Net1 phosphorylation by Cdk

During meiosis, one round of deoxyribonucleic acid replication is followed by two rounds of nuclear division. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, activation of the Cdc14 early anaphase release (FEAR) network is required for exit from meiosis I but does not lead to the activation of origins of replication. The precise mechanism of how FEAR regulates meiosis is not understood. In this paper, we report that premature activation of FEAR during meiosis caused by loss of protein phosphatase PP2ACdc55 activity blocks bipolar spindle assembly and nuclear divisions. In cdc55 meiotic null (cdc55-mn) cells, the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk)–counteracting phosphatase Cdc14 was released prematurely from the nucleolus concomitant with hyperphosphorylation of its nucleolar anchor protein Net1. Crucially, a mutant form of Net1 that lacks six Cdk phosphorylation sites rescued the meiotic defect of cdc55-mn cells. Expression of a dominant mutant allele of CDC14 mimicked the cdc55-mn phenotype. We propose that phosphoregulation of Net1 by PP2ACdc55 is essential for preventing precocious exit from meiosis I

Utilizing the Boston Syncope Observation Management Pathway to Reduce Hospital Admission and Decrease Adverse Outcomes

Introduction: In an age of increasing scrutiny of each hospital admission, emergency department (ED) observation has been identified as a low-cost alternative. Prior studies have shown admission rates for syncope in the United States to be as high as 70%. However, the safety and utility of substituting ED observation unit (EDOU) syncope management has not been well studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of EDOU for the management of patients presenting to the ED with syncope and its efficacy in reducing hospital admissions. Methods: This was a prospective before-and-after cohort study of consecutive patients presenting with syncope who were seen in an urban ED and were either admitted to the hospital, discharged, or placed in the EDOU. We first performed an observation study of syncope management and then implemented an ED observation-based management pathway. We identified critical interventions and 30-day outcomes. We compared proportions of admissions and adverse events rates with a chisquared or Fisher’s exact test. Results: In the “before” phase, 570 patients were enrolled, with 334 (59%) admitted and 27 (5%) placed in the EDOU; 3% of patients discharged from the ED had critical interventions within 30 days and 10% returned. After the management pathway was introduced, 489 patients were enrolled; 34% (p\u3c0.001) of pathway patients were admitted while 20% were placed in the EDOU; 3% (p=0.99) of discharged patients had critical interventions at 30 days and 3% returned (p=0.001). Conclusion: A focused syncope management pathway effectively reduces hospital admissions and adverse events following discharge and returns to the ED. [West J Emerg Med. 2019;20(2)250–255.

Communication organizational orientations in an instructional setting

This study sought to determine if the organizational orientations of upward mobility, ambivalence, and indifference applied to students in the instructional setting. The McCroskey, Richmond, Johnson, and Smith (2004) Organizational Orientation Measure was adapted to a classroom setting to measure student orientations, and then the relationships between student orientations and student perceptions of teacher credibility, teacher nonverbal immediacy, student trait motivation, student state motivation, student beliefs and attitudes toward college, student affective learning, and student cognitive learning. Results indicate upward mobility had significant positive correlations with the dependent variables except cognitive learning while ambivalent and indifferent orientations had significant negative correlations with the dependent variables except cognitive learning

Necessity of a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Refreshment Course Among Registered Nurses

Abstract Aims and objective: To (1) examine the level of comfort in performing CPR skills among registered nurses, and (2) assess the need for supplemental education between periods of recertification. Background: While Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and other Basic Life Support (BLS) skills are pivotal for patients experiencing life-threatening arrhythmias and cardiopulmonary arrest, there are limited studies assessing the comfort of registered nurses in performing these necessary skills. Design. A descriptive survey design was used to determine the comfort level of Registered Nurses performing CPR and perceived need for a CPR refresher course over the 24-month interval of CPR certification in registered nurses. Method: An online quantitative survey consisting of thirteen items was used to assess comfort, the need for supplemental education, and demographic variables in participating registered nurses. Results: Forty-one registered nurses (RNs) completed the online survey. Ninety percent (n=37) of the RNs responding indicated that they would feel comfortable performing CPR in an emergency situation, leaving 10% (n=4) of nurses who would not feel comfortable. Although the majority reported they would feel comfortable performing CPR, 63.2% (n=24) expressed an interest in taking a refresher course to improve their comfort. When asked about the motivation leading the need to refresh their CPR skills, 37.21% (n=16) reported due to a lack of practice, 30.23% (n=13) reported as the drive to become proficient, and 18.6% (n=8) because of their experience with witnessing/participation in cardiac arrest situations. Limitations: A small sample size (Comfort, n=41 & Need Assessment, n=24) and our tool of measurement was not previously validated. This can serve as a pilot for further research, although we would like to continue to have the survey open so as to increase the sample size and then recalculate and analyze the data. Conclusions. Ninety percent (90%) of registered nurses indicated that they felt comfortable in performing CPR, however, more than half expressed an interest in taking a refresher course to improve their comfort. Relevance to clinical practice. Providing frequent refresher courses between recertification periods is suggested as a way to increase the level of comfort among registered nurses in emergency situations where those skills are required. Key words: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, refresher course, comfort, need assessment, registered nurse

CDK-dependent nuclear localization of B-Cyclin Clb1 promotes FEAR activation during meiosis I in budding yeast

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) are master regulators of the cell cycle in eukaryotes. CDK activity is regulated by the presence, post-translational modification and spatial localization of its regulatory subunit cyclin. In budding yeast, the B-cyclin Clb1 is phosphorylated and localizes to the nucleus during meiosis I. However the functional significance of Clb1's phosphorylation and nuclear localization and their mutual dependency is unknown. In this paper, we demonstrate that meiosis-specific phosphorylation of Clb1 requires its import to the nucleus but not vice versa. While Clb1 phosphorylation is dependent on activity of both CDK and polo-like kinase Cdc5, its nuclear localization requires CDK but not Cdc5 activity. Furthermore we show that increased nuclear localization of Clb1 during meiosis enhances activation of FEAR (Cdc Fourteen Early Anaphase Release) pathway. We discuss the significance of our results in relation to regulation of exit from meiosis I

Exploring the negotiation thesis application among ski resort tourists: a segmentation approach

The negotiation thesis offers a framework for understanding the participation decision making of tourists. Unlike previous studies that investigate the causal relationship between constraints and tourists’ revisit intention, this study identified distinct segments of ski tourist based on the relative strength of constraints experienced and then investigated their decision-making process across a sample of 1,348 tourists of ski resorts. Chi-Squared Automated Interaction Detection (CHAID) analysis revealed that the decision making process regarding intention to revisit a ski destination varies between highly versus less constrained ski tourists, indicating different relative strengths of interpersonal, intrapersonal and structural constraints and different interactions among them when predicting revisit intention. On a practical basis, albeit the vast majority of participants were willing to repeat its visit, we offer customized per segment recommendations on increasing frequency of visitation and spending levels

The seasonal dynamics of coastal Arctic lagoons in Northwest Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2018Lagoons are zones of habitat transitions between freshwater and marine ecosystems, providing safe and productive feeding habitats for whitefishes in Northwest Alaska, important to subsistence users in the region. However, many important lagoon processes are not understood. Therefore, the goal of this thesis was to gain a baseline understanding of two important seasonal processes of lagoons in Northwest Alaska. First, I attempted to identify environmental processes correlated with Arctic lagoon breaching for three indicator lagoons that represent a range of environmental characteristics using generalized linear models (GLM) in an information theoretic approach and model averaging. Second, I developed a habitat suitability (HS) model to identify the range of physical conditions that whitefishes may experience if overwintering under ice of these lagoons during the Arctic winter, for the same three lagoons. The GLM model suggested that lagoon breaching day of year was slightly negatively related to day of year of river break-up, but other unconditional confidence intervals for the covariate parameters overlapped zero indicating considerable uncertainty in these estimates. Further data collection and monitoring in the region is needed to improve and verify lagoon breaching modelling results. The HS model indicated that lagoons have reduced suitability as whitefish habitat in winter due to loss of habitat due to the presence of bottomfast ice and a reduction of liquid water quality due to cold temperatures, high salinities and low dissolved oxygen levels. Importantly, small lagoons without freshwater inputs were potential sinks for fish populations. The results from this research will help the National Park Service and the Native Village of Kotzebue in a joint effort to understand and manage these important habitats that are critical for subsistence fisheries as the Arctic faces an uncertain future with climate change, oil spill threats, and increased coastal development.The Biomedical Learning and Student Training group, National Park Service, Wildlife Conservation Society and the College of Fisheries and Ocean Science