Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiology appointments in a tertiary children’s hospital: a retrospective study

In this retrospective observational study, we evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in London on paediatric radiology activity, as a surrogate of overall hospital activity. We showed a large reduction in overall outpatient imaging activity: 49 250 records occurred in the 371 days post COVID-19 period compared with an expected 67 806 records pre COVID-19 period, representing 18 556 ‘missed’ records. Governmental restrictions were associated with reductions in activity, with the largest reduction in activity during tiers 3 and 4 restrictions. Rescheduling such missed outpatients’ appointments represents considerable resource planning and the associated clinical impact on paediatric healthcare remains to be determined.

INTENSIVE ENERGY SAVING METHOD OF GRAIN DRYING

The method of drying of grain and removal of moisture which is based on receiving and processing of arising thermal processes described by the thermodynamics equation is developed. This way was a little studied and was less often applied because of considerable imperfection of the production technology of the converter of frequency of big power (to some hundred kilowatts) and frequencies (to some hundred kHz). However, at present the equipment for induction heating gained big development and its application on drying installations in comparison with traditional ways of heating more preferably. Offered induction way of drying of grain where the grain material passes through drying mine by gravity. For carrying out pilot studies, it is developed the transistor–thyristor device, which consists of the control unit, the converter of frequency, the bunker with the screw in it that has helix surface, inductor windings, and a hydrometer. The algorithm of receiving and data processing is developed in the MATLAB software. At further increase in frequency the coefficient of losses won't change, therefore, considering that our device works in GHz range coefficient of losses will be constant, i.e. equal 0,6. Therefore when studying influence of humidity of grain on coefficient of losses we can consider with confidence that frequency doesn't influence the accuracy of measurements. The amount of heat received by moisture in a weevil increases with increase in its humidity. It is a first time when the Maxwell’s formula is suitable for calculating a heat taken from grain moisture. Reduction in specific cost of all plants demands the appeal to development and introduction simple on a design of induction heaters that is an actual problem. Agricultural production, unlike other types of production, possesses a considerable resource – the reserved energy in a biological object. Thus, use of information approach to the description of reactions of biological objects on external influence allows to develop electrotechnologies for increase of productivity, productivity of the grain drying equipment, decrease in power consumption of process of drying of grain.

INTENSIVE ENERGY SAVING METHOD OF GRAIN DRYING

The method of drying of grain and removal of moisture which is based on receiving and processing of arising thermal processes described by the thermodynamics equation is developed. This way was a little studied and was less often applied because of considerable imperfection of the production technology of the converter of frequency of big power (to some hundred kilowatts) and frequencies (to some hundred kHz). However, at present the equipment for induction heating gained big development and its application on drying installations in comparison with traditional ways of heating more preferably. Offered induction way of drying of grain where the grain material passes through drying mine by gravity. For carrying out pilot studies, it is developed the transistor–thyristor device, which consists of the control unit, the converter of frequency, the bunker with the screw in it that has helix surface, inductor windings, and a hydrometer. The algorithm of receiving and data processing is developed in the MATLAB software. At further increase in frequency the coefficient of losses won't change, therefore, considering that our device works in GHz range coefficient of losses will be constant, i.e. equal 0,6. Therefore when studying influence of humidity of grain on coefficient of losses we can consider with confidence that frequency doesn't influence the accuracy of measurements. The amount of heat received by moisture in a weevil increases with increase in its humidity. It is a first time when the Maxwell’s formula is suitable for calculating a heat taken from grain moisture. Reduction in specific cost of all plants demands the appeal to development and introduction simple on a design of induction heaters that is an actual problem. Agricultural production, unlike other types of production, possesses a considerable resource – the reserved energy in a biological object. Thus, use of information approach to the description of reactions of biological objects on external influence allows to develop electrotechnologies for increase of productivity, productivity of the grain drying equipment, decrease in power consumption of process of drying of grain.

Minimizing Resource Waste in Heterogeneous Resource Allocation for Data Stream Processing on Clouds

Resource allocation is vital for improving system performance in big data processing. The resource demand for various applications can be heterogeneous in cloud computing. Therefore, a resource gap occurs while some resource capacities are exhausted and other resource capacities on the same server are still available. This phenomenon is more apparent when the computing resources are more heterogeneous. Previous resource-allocation algorithms paid limited attention to this situation. When such an algorithm is applied to a server with heterogeneous resources, resource allocation may result in considerable resource wastage for the available but unused resources. To reduce resource wastage, a resource-allocation algorithm, called the minimizing resource gap (MRG) algorithm, for heterogeneous resources is proposed in this study. In MRG, the gap between resource usages for each server in cloud computing and the resource demands among various applications are considered. When an application is launched, MRG calculates resource usage and allocates resources to the server with the minimized usage gap to reduce the amount of available but unused resources. To demonstrate MRG performance, the MRG algorithm was implemented in Apache Spark. CPU- and memory-intensive applications were applied as benchmarks with different resource demands. Experimental results proved the superiority of the proposed MRG approach for improving the system utilization to reduce the overall completion time by up to 24.7% for heterogeneous servers in cloud computing.

Review Article: We Mark Your Memory: Writings from the Descendants of Indenture (2018)

Writing the history of indentured diaspora primarily depends on the available archives that contain the official and personal documents related to this history. While the State archives contain scanty materials for research in this area, considerable efforts have been made by the descendants of the indentured labourers to retrieve personal narratives of their ancestors. Retrieving these personal narratives, have indeed, played a major role in creating small family archives, which have inspired the present generation of authors/researchers to document the history of indentured diaspora. Indeed, this history is the outcome of intensive research on the genealogies of the descendants of indentured labourers. Stories narrated by the indentured labourers, old photographs, diary writings, travel documents and such other records are significant archival materials based on which the present generation of authors/researchers trace their family’s past as well as that of the community. These family archives provide considerable resource for research on history of indentured diaspora. It is in the context of this background that the anthology, We Mark Your Memory: Writings from the Descendants of Indenture (2018) edited by David Dabydeen, Maria del Pilar Kaladeen and Tina K. Ramnarine may be considered as a worthy contribution to the history of indenture diaspora. This anthology, which the editors of the book claim to be a “commemorative volume” (Dabydeen, Kaladeen, & Ramnarine, 2018, p. xii), is an attempt to collate the creative/critical pieces written by the descendants of indentured labourers (coolies). Production of such an anthology to mark the centenary year of the abolition of indentureship (1917) is a praiseworthy initiative. The publication of this book is the outcome of a collaborative venture between the School of Advanced Studies, University of London and the association of Commonwealth Writers, which inevitably foregrounds the active global network of almost thirty writers from various regions of the world working seriously on this project of retrieving the lost indentured narratives. The editors of the book acknowledge the genuine contribution of the association of Commonwealth Writers, which is “the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation” and this association, the editors claim, “inspires and connects writers and storytellers across the world, bringing personal stories to a global audience” (Dabydeen et al., 2018, p. vii). The pronoun ‘we’ of the title of this book represents the storytellers of the present generation, while the determiner ‘your’, mentioned in the title, refers to the coolies, the ancestors of these storytellers. The book therefore is indicative of academic activism that seeks to highlight the significance of reading, researching and discussing these personal narratives in the context of indenture diaspora

Associations between double-checking and medication administration errors: a direct observational study of paediatric inpatients

BackgroundDouble-checking the administration of medications has been standard practice in paediatric hospitals around the world for decades. While the practice is widespread, evidence of its effectiveness in reducing errors or harm is scarce.ObjectivesTo measure the association between double-checking, and the occurrence and potential severity of medication administration errors (MAEs); check duration; and factors associated with double-checking adherence.MethodsDirect observational study of 298 nurses, administering 5140 medication doses to 1523 patients, across nine wards, in a paediatric hospital. Independent observers recorded details of administrations and double-checking (independent; primed—one nurse shares information which may influence the checking nurse; incomplete; or none) in real time during weekdays and weekends between 07:00 and 22:00. Observational medication data were compared with patients’ medical records by a reviewer (blinded to checking-status), to identify MAEs. MAEs were rated for potential severity. Observations included administrations where double-checking was mandated, or optional. Multivariable regression examined the association between double-checking, MAEs and potential severity; and factors associated with policy adherence.ResultsFor 3563 administrations double-checking was mandated. Of these, 36 (1·0%) received independent double-checks, 3296 (92·5%) primed and 231 (6·5%) no/incomplete double-checks. For 1577 administrations double-checking was not mandatory, but in 26·3% (n=416) nurses chose to double-check. Where double-checking was mandated there was no significant association between double-checking and MAEs (OR 0·89 (0·65–1·21); p=0·44), or potential MAE severity (OR 0·86 (0·65–1·15); p=0·31). Where double-checking was not mandated, but performed, MAEs were less likely to occur (OR 0·71 (0·54–0·95); p=0·02) and had lower potential severity (OR 0·75 (0·57–0·99); p=0·04). Each double-check took an average of 6·4 min (107 hours/1000 administrations).ConclusionsCompliance with mandated double-checking was very high, but rarely independent. Primed double-checking was highly prevalent but compared with single-checking conferred no benefit in terms of reduced errors or severity. Our findings raise questions about if, when and how double-checking policies deliver safety benefits and warrant the considerable resource investments required in modern clinical settings.

Influence of SiC Sludge on the Microstructure of Geopolymers

There are considerable resource reuse and environmental concerns regarding SiC sludge (SiCS) that results from cutting silicon ingots into wafers. In the current study, the effect of the Na2SiO3 solution/sodium hydroxide solution (NS/SS) mass ratio and SiCS amount on metakaolin geopolymers was found during geopolymerization system performance. The results indicate that while NS/SS ratio was relatively low, increasing the NaOH content resulted in a sufficient amount of OH− in the system to increase the solubility and hinder polycondensation, as indicated by the bulk density and setting-time results; since the polycondensation was inhibited, the mechanical strength was reduced. This study demonstrated that a geopolymer can be formed from a substitution of 10% SiCS and with an NS/SS ratio of 1.6, and that this geopolymer is a feasible material.

Straight-to-test for the two-week-wait colorectal cancer pathway under the updated NICE guidelines reduces time to cancer diagnosis and treatment

Introduction The 2015 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines widened the referral criteria for the two-week-wait pathway for suspected lower gastrointestinal cancer. We implemented a straight-to-test protocol to accommodate the anticipated increase in referrals. We evaluated the impact of these changes for relevant pathway metrics and clinical outcomes using a retrospective cohort study with historic controls. Materials and methods We analysed data from all patients referred to a teaching hospital via the two-week-wait pathway for suspected lower gastrointestinal cancer under the previous guidelines between 1 March and 31 August 2015 compared with the same period in 2016, when the updated guidelines and straight-to-test protocol had been implemented. Results In the 2015 cohort, there were 64 cancer diagnoses from 664 referrals (9.6% pick-up) compared with 58 cancer diagnoses from 954 referrals in the 2016 cohort (6.1% pick-up). Our straight-to-test protocol reduced the median time to cancer diagnosis by 12.5 days (P < 0.001) and reduced the median time to cancer treatment by 7.5 days (P < 0.05) An increased proportion of non-colorectal cancers were diagnosed in 2016 compared with 2015, (37.9% vs 17.2%, P < 0.05) and more adenomas were removed in 2016 compared with 2015 (377 vs 193). Discussion and conclusion Our straight-to-test protocol has resulted in a reduction in times to cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment, despite an increase in the number of referrals. The new referral criteria have considerable resource implications, but their implementation did not result in an increase in the total number of cancers diagnosed.

The modern context of volunteering

Volunteering extends into almost every facet of life but the circumstances in which it takes place are subject to almost constant change. Historical roots of altruistic, charitable, and campaigning behaviours are still evident, but the importance of different motivations maybe be altering. Organizations involving volunteers seek to understand volunteer motivations and to find better ways to manage volunteers. And yet there is still disagreement as to how far management techniques from paid work are suitable for volunteers. Meanwhile, the reach of government seems ever stronger as volunteering continues to offer ways to affirm what it means to be a participatory citizen and to provide a considerable resource to stretched welfare budgets. This chapter looks at these points with a view to introducing how these challenges shape the chapters that follow.

СПРОЩЕНА МАТЕМАТИЧНА МОДЕЛЬ ПРОЦЕСУ ГРАФІТУВАННЯ ВУГЛЕЦЕВИХ ЕЛЕКТРОДІВ

Production of carbon electrodes characterized by considerable resource and energy consumption, so important is the task of improving the efficiency of production through the introduction of optimal modes of its component processes. Developed and studied a simplified mathematical model of carbon electrodes graphitization, which differs from the known models almost zero time to calculate it. Constructed simplified mathematical model allows increasing effectiveness research process temperature control graphitization carbon electrodes by reducing the time a study to determine the temperature at any point in the process. Research conducted simplified models accuracy by comparing the temperature values calculated by these models, with temperatures calculated for the original complex model, which in this case is regarded as experimental data. As a result, a simplified mathematical model can be used for the synthesis of process control systems, as well as in the control system real time.