Publications by authors named "McLean D"

Background: Operations Management meetings in NHS hospitals provide an opportunity for operational and clinical staff to monitor demand and capacity and manage patient flow. These meetings play an important role in the achievement of resilient performance over time. However, little is known about the work that takes place within these meetings in the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Amidst the difficulty and contentiousness of improving hospitals, a relatively new approach is the Relational Model of Organizational Change (RMOC). However, this approach has its own challenges, including reports that its focus on communication and relationships is undervalued despite evidence supporting its use to facilitate practice improvements in hospitals. Research suggests power dynamics in hospitals influences how the RMOC is used, but the precise mechanisms through which this occurs have not been fully examined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Deciphering the connectome, the ensemble of synaptic connections that underlie brain function, is a central goal of neuroscience research. Here we report the in vivo mapping of connections between presynaptic and postsynaptic partners in zebrafish, by adapting the trans-Tango genetic approach that was first developed for anterograde transsynaptic tracing in Drosophila. Neural connections were visualized between synaptic partners in larval retina, brain and spinal cord and followed over development.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to improve the efficiency of measuring neurotransmitter metabolites (5-HIAA, VMA, and HVA) in urine, which are crucial for diagnosing neuroendocrine tumors, through automation.
  • The method involved using automated supported liquid extraction (SLE) combined with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for accurate measurement and analysis of these metabolites.
  • Results showed high recovery rates and successful validation across various performance criteria, with automation leading to significant time savings in the process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Batesian mimicry, mimetic traits are not always as convincing as predicted by theory-in fact, inaccurate mimicry with only a superficial model resemblance is common and taxonomically widespread. The "selection trade-offs hypothesis" proposes a life-history trade-off between accurate mimetic traits and one or more vital biological functions. Here, using an accurate myrmecomorphic (ant-mimicking) jumping spider species, Myrmarachne smaragdina, we investigate how myrmecomorphic modifications to the body shape impact the internal anatomy in a way that could be functionally limiting.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Proximal junctional kyphosis is an infrequent complication in AIS; however, equipoise remains on the effects of ending a fusion proximally at the C7-T1 junction on the future development of PJK. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of PJK in patients with AIS who had a UIV of T1 vs those with a UIV of T2 at 5 years of follow-up.

Methods: A query was performed of a prospective, multi-center AIS database of patients who received a PSF with at least 5 years of follow-up.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Many ant species, like the Australian desert ant (Melophorus bagoti), can relocate their entire colonies when faced with sudden environmental changes, such as heavy rainfall.
  • The study examined their relocation behavior by observing five types of movements: exploration between the old and new nests, transporting resources, and relearning walks at both locations.
  • Findings revealed that while relearning walks at the old nest were slow and helped with exploratory movement, those at the new nest were quicker and facilitated efficient navigation for foraging trips.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * The researchers derived analytical models that demonstrate that evolutionary outcomes might not always align with the life-dinner principle due to factors like the rare-enemy principle, where predators are outnumbered by prey.
  • * Overall, while the life-dinner principle provides a useful metaphor for understanding predator-prey dynamics, it can be easily influenced by other evolutionary factors that can change the expected outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze the landing mechanics and foot muscle strength in gymnasts, cheerleaders, and non-athletes, particularly comparing barefoot and shod landings.
  • Results showed gymnasts had better performance in landing stability and force metrics compared to non-athletes, but cheerleaders' landing mechanics were similar to both groups.
  • Overall, wearing shoes decreased initial ground reaction forces during landings, but did not have a significant impact on stabilization times across the groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This dataset is the output of a long term multi-resolution calibrated hydrodynamic model of Bass Strait waters in south-eastern Australia. The model is 3 dimensional with 16 sigma layers. It is forced by tides, wind, non-tidal sea level variability as well as salinity and temperature through a nudging scheme.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: We performed an integrated analysis of molecular classification systems proposed by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG), and the tumor microenvironment (TME) score to identify which classification scheme(s) are most promising to pursue in subsequent translational investigations.

Experimental Design: Supervised machine learning classifiers were created using 10-fold nested cross-validation for TCGA, ACRG, and TME subtypes and applied to 2,202 patients with gastric cancer from 11 separate publicly available datasets. Overall survival was assessed with a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Different speeds of locomotion require heterogeneous spinal populations, but a common mode of rhythm generation is presumed to exist. Here, we explore the cellular versus synaptic origins of spinal rhythmicity at different speeds by performing electrophysiological recordings from premotor excitatory interneurons in larval zebrafish. Chx10-labeled V2a neurons are divided into at least two morphological subtypes proposed to play distinct roles in timing and intensity control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Therapies are needed to address worsening congestion, without hospitalization, in patients with chronic heart failure (HF).

Objectives: This pilot study assessed outcomes of a novel subcutaneous (SC) furosemide formulation compared to usual care in outpatients with worsening congestion.

Methods: Participants with chronic HF and worsening congestion were randomized open-label 2:1 to SC furosemide compared to usual care (UC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Animal groups need to achieve and maintain consensus to minimize conflict among individuals and prevent group fragmentation. An excellent example of a consensus challenge is cooperative transport, where multiple individuals cooperate to move a large item together. This behaviour, regularly displayed by ants and humans only, requires individuals to agree on which direction to move in.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In 2013, the Alberta Colorectal Cancer Screening Program (ACRCSP) initially published recommendations for post-colonoscopy follow-up and polypectomy. Over time, emerging evidence and evolving surveillance guidelines from various expert groups necessitated a comprehensive review to align with the healthcare landscape in Alberta. To accomplish this, an expert panel was convened.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Statistical analysis and data visualization are integral parts of science communication. One of the major issues in current data analysis practice is an overdependency on-and misuse of-p-values. Researchers have been advocating for the estimation and reporting of effect sizes for quantitative research to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of data analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alcohol is toxic to neurons and can trigger alcohol-related brain damage, neuronal loss, and cognitive decline. Neuronal cells may be vulnerable to alcohol toxicity and damage from oxidative stress after differentiation. To consider this further, the toxicity of alcohol to undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells was compared with that of cells that had been acutely differentiated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Australian red honey ant (Melophorus bagoti) is the most heat-tolerant ant species in Australia, active during the hottest parts of summer days.
  • These ants use path integration and visual landmarks to navigate, primarily during nest excavation and structure maintenance activities.
  • After a single exploratory walk, the ants can find their way home from nearby locations but struggle with distances greater than 2 meters, showcasing their ability to learn and use surrounding visual cues effectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many shark populations are in decline around the world, with severe ecological and economic consequences. Fisheries management and marine protected areas (MPAs) have both been heralded as solutions. However, the effectiveness of MPAs alone is questionable, particularly for globally threatened sharks and rays ('elasmobranchs'), with little known about how fisheries management and MPAs interact to conserve these species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Decommissioning consequences of offshore oil and gas infrastructure removal on marine population dynamics, including connectivity, are not well understood. We modelled the connectivity and metapopulation dynamics of three fish and two benthic invertebrate species inhabiting the natural rocky reefs and offshore oil and gas infrastructure located in the Bass Strait, south-east Australia. Using a network approach, we found that platforms are not major sources, destinations, or stepping-stones for most species, yet act as modest sources for connectivity of Corynactis australis (jewel anemone).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: While there are many papers on maternal and foetal radiation doses from computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) lung scanning examinations for diagnosing pulmonary embolism in pregnant patients, few have used clinical data to examine the patient lifetime attributable risk (LAR) of different cancer types. This paper aims to estimate the cancer risk from maternal radiation doses from CTPA and V/Q examinations and associated foetal doses.

Methods: Dosimetric data were determined for 267 pregnant patients who received CTPA and/or V/Q examinations over 8 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In identifying the print colors of words when some combinations of color and word occur more frequently than others, people quickly show evidence of learning these associations. This contingency learning effect is evident in faster and more accurate responses to high-contingency combinations than to low-contingency combinations. Across four experiments, we systematically varied the number of response-irrelevant word stimuli connected to response-relevant colors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adaptive evolution relies on both heritable variation and selection. Variation is the raw material upon which selection acts, so any mechanism that limits or prevents the generation of heritable variation reduces the power of selection to lead to adaptation. Such limitations are termed evolutionary constraints.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF