Investigating immersion and migration decisions for agent-based modelling: A cautionary tale.

Background: Agent-based modelling provides an appealing methodological choice for simulating human behaviour and decisions. The currently dominant approaches based on static transition rates or unverified assumptions are restrictive, and could be enhanced with insights from cognitive experiments on actual decision making. Here, one common concern is that standard surveys or experiments may lack ecological validity, limiting the extent to which research findings can be generalised to real-life settings.

Mapping secondary data gaps for social simulation modelling: A case study of the journeys of Syrian asylum seekers to Europe.

Simulation models of social processes may require data that are not readily available, have low accuracy, are incomplete or biased. The paper presents a formal process for collating, assessing, selecting, and using secondary data as part of creating, validating, and documenting an agent-based simulation model of a complex social process, in this case, asylum seekers' journeys to Europe. The process starts by creating an inventory of data sources, and the associated metadata, followed by assessing different aspects of data quality according to pre-defined criteria.

Order Set Usage is Associated With Lower Hospital Mortality in Patients With Sepsis.

Unlabelled: The Surviving Sepsis Campaign recommends standard operating procedures for patients with sepsis. Real-world evidence about sepsis order set implementation is limited.

Objectives: To estimate the effect of sepsis order set usage on hospital mortality.

The neonatal nurse: advocating for breastfeeding mothers.

Accurate information and support from healthcare professionals as well as respect for parental choice are all factors which contribute to effective breastfeeding in the neonatal unit; with this in mind, Colm Darby and Sharon Nurse discuss the potential problems in expressing breast milk and the interventions which might be effective in avoiding them. Advocacy is an inherent part of neonatal nurses' role whilst caring for sick, vulnerable babies. Colm Darby is a male neonatal nurse working in a predominantly female environment and passionately believes in supporting and advocating for mothers who want to provide breast milk for their babies.

From pregnancy to palliative care: advancing professional midwifery practice?

Historically midwives may have not considered palliative care as a part of their professional role. Enhanced technologies and antenatal screening have broadened the boundaries of care. However do midwives truly embrace the philosophy of palliative care into their practice? This paper presents the discussion round a case study that demonstrates the evolving area of advanced practice: perinatal palliative care.

Perspectives of an international education initiative in children's palliative care.

Education is viewed as central to improving future palliative care for children and families across all countries. International education initiatives will ensure practitioners are aware of global health issues and can provide culturally sensitive care. Creative and innovative means of meeting such directives are required to achieve meaningful student learning.

Preferences and intention of rural adolescents toward seeking help for mental health problems.

Unlabelled: INTRODUCTION In Australia, rural adolescents still face barriers to obtaining professional psychological help due to poor availability and accessibility of services in rural areas when delay in seeking help for mental health problems can lead to poorer treatment outcomes. The aims of this study were to: investigate the preferences and intentions of rural Australian youth towards seeking help for mental health problems; determine predictors of help-seeking intention among rural adolescents; and verify results from previous qualitative research on the barriers to help-seeking in a rural context.

Method: Participants were 201 adolescents recruited from 8 rural schools in the state of Victoria, Australia.

Clinician's perspectives of the relocation of a regional child and adolescent mental health service from co-located to stand alone premises.

Introduction: Australia's National Mental Health Strategy's statement of rights and responsibilities states that children and adolescents admitted to a mental health facility or community program have the right to be separated from adult patients and provided with programs suited to their developmental needs. However, in rural Australia, where a lack of healthcare services, financial constraints, greater service delivery areas and fewer mental healthcare specialists represent the norm, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are sometimes co-located with adult mental health services. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a recent relocation of a regional CAMHS in Victoria from co-located to stand alone premises.

Australian rural adolescents' experiences of accessing psychological help for a mental health problem.

Objective: This study aims to explore Australian rural adolescents' experiences of accessing help for a mental health problem in the context of their rural communities.

Design And Setting: A qualitative research design was used whereby university students who had sought help for a mental health problem during their adolescence were interviewed about their experiences. Interviews were conducted face-to-face at the university.

The mydriatic effect of multiple doses of tropicamide.

Purpose: We investigated whether two drops of 0.5% tropicamide produced a wider pupillary dilation when compared with a single drop and saline control in subjects with dark-colored irides.

Methods: Twelve young adult subjects with dark irides and who were free from ocular disease participated in the study.

Sensitivity of synaptic GABA(A) receptors to allosteric modulators in hippocampal oriens-alveus interneurons.

GABA(A) receptors are heteropentamers that are heterogeneously distributed at different synapses in the central nervous system. Although the modulation of GABA(A) receptors received much attention in hippocampal pyramidal cells, information is scarce regarding the pharmacology of these receptors in inhibitory interneurons. We investigated the pharmacological properties of GABA(A)-mediated miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) using whole-cell voltage clamp recordings in two morphologically identified types of hippocampal CA1 interneurons, horizontal and vertical cells of stratum oriens-alveus.

Late maturation of GABA(B) synaptic transmission in area CA1 of the rat hippocampus.

Whole cell voltage clamp recordings were used to investigate the postnatal development of GABA(B) synaptic transmission in CA1 pyramidal cells of rat hippocampal slices. In the presence of antagonists of glutamate and GABA(A) ionotropic receptors, electrical stimulation evoked slow IPSCs in pyramidal cells from mature animals (35-45 days postnatal, P35-45). Brief trains of stimulation evoked slow IPSCs of greater magnitude.

Distinct GABAB actions via synaptic and extrasynaptic receptors in rat hippocampus in vitro.

Intracellular recordings were obtained from pyramidal cells to examine gamma-aminobutyric acid-B (GABAB)-mediated synaptic mechanisms in the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices. To investigate if heterogeneous ionic mechanisms linked to GABAB receptors originate from distinct sets of inhibitory fibers, GABAB-mediated monosynaptic late inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) were elicited in the presence of antagonists of ionotropic glutamate and GABAA receptors and of an inhibitor of GABA uptake and were compared after direct stimulation of inhibitory fibers in three different CA1 layers: stratum oriens, radiatum, and lacunosum-moleculare. No significant differences were found in mean amplitude, rise time, or time to decay to half-amplitude of IPSPs evoked from the three layers.

The problem of assessing effective neuroprotection in experimental cerebral ischemia.

In animal models of global and focal ischemia neuroprotection is typically determined by quantifying the degree of cell loss or reduction in infarct volume shortly after the ischemic insult. These methods are unable to reliably detect more subtle forms of neuronal death and dysfunction that arise from injury to non-homogeneous cell populations (e.g.

Hypothermic neuroprotection. A global ischemia study using 18- to 20-month-old gerbils.

Background And Purpose: Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that mild intraischemic or prolonged (i.e., 12 to 24 hours) postischemic hypothermia conveys long-lasting (1 to 6 months) protection against CA1 injury.

Do GABAA and GABAB inhibitory postsynaptic responses originate from distinct interneurons in the hippocampus?

GABAergic inhibition of hippocampal pyramidal cells is mediated by two distinct subtypes of postsynaptic receptors, GABAA and GABAB. Electrical stimulation of inhibitory cells or fibres in the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus yields a biphasic inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) in pyramidal cells, consisting of an early GABAA- and a late GABAB-mediated component. CA1 interneurons are a heterogeneous population of cells, which differ on the basis of their morphology, physiological properties, target selectivity onto principal cells, and network connectivity.

Neuroprotection after several days of mild, drug-induced hypothermia.

Stroke trials are initiated after demonstrated pharmacological protection in animal models. NBQX protects CA1 neurons against global ischemia; however, this glutamate antagonist induces a period of subnormal temperature (e.g.

Direct measurement of brain temperature during and after intraischemic hypothermia: correlation with behavioral, physiological, and histological endpoints.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate critically the protection afforded by hypothermia against ischemic injury to the hippocampus. Hypothermic treatment was applied selectively to the brain during a 5 min carotid artery occlusion in gerbils. Following a period of recovery, two independent measures were used to assess hippocampal function: (1) an open field test of spatial memory (assessment was made during the first 10 d after ischemia) and (2) measurement of evoked potentials from area CA1 in hippocampal slices (3 weeks after the ischemic episode).

Pubertal development of the pouch and teats in the marsupial Macropus eugenii.

In the female tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, which has a highly seasonal breeding pattern, teat eversion and enlargement of the pouch occur at puberty, about 40 weeks after birth. The most obvious sign of puberty is teat eversion: 22 of 23 wild caught, and 23 of 24 captive postpubertal animals had fully everted or everting teats. Full eversion of the teats took on average two to three weeks after puberty.

Spontaneous postischemic hyperthermia is not required for severe CA1 ischemic damage in gerbils.

We have recently shown that brain temperature can drop even though rectal and skull readings are maintained near 37 degrees C during global forebrain ischemia in the gerbil. In this study gerbils were subjected to 5 min of ischemia followed by 85 min of extended halothane anesthesia, while rectal and skull temperatures were kept at normal values. This extended anesthesia procedure prevented the development of spontaneous postischemic hyperthermia.

Temperature changes associated with forebrain ischemia in the gerbil.

Changes in brain temperature during and following ischemia have not been systematically examined in the gerbil. In this study, gerbils were subjected to a 5-min bilateral carotid artery occlusion. During surgery, skull and body temperatures were maintained with a heated water blanket and a homeothermic blanket unit, respectively.

Impaired acquisition of the Morris water maze following global ischemic damage in the gerbil.

Five minutes of global ischemia in the Mongolian gerbil impaired acquisition of a Morris water maze task when testing began 72 h after surgery. In spite of extensive damage to CA1 pyramidal cells, ischemic animals eventually learned to locate a submerged platform and performed normally on a subsequent retention test. Animals that were allowed a more protracted recovery period (21 days) acquired the task as readily as control gerbils.