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Empathy in Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A theoretical review
No full textEmpathy is a multidimensional construct encompassing the ability to feel and understand the emotion of another person. It is seen as the precursor and facilitator for many therapies. Psychodynamic Interpersonal Therapy (PIT) is an evidence-based therapy for people with a range of mental health difficulties. A central component of PIT is using empathic communication to support people’s understanding of their emotional experiences, yet this is rarely referred to explicitly in PIT literature. Through this narrative review we investigate the role of empathy within PIT. Illuminating the role of empathy in PIT could reciprocally enhance treatment delivery and training. We begin by articulating core concepts and processes in PIT, then summarise contemporary empathy research. We conclude by bringing these together to describe the nature and role of empathic communication in PIT, and the potential role of PIT in enhancing empathy both within and outside therapy. Findings concur that empathy is a nuanced concept combining both cognitive and affective components, which when combined, map onto PIT processes and skills. Innovations in empathy theory could support developing PIT therapy and training. Furthermore, PIT concepts and skills could be deployed to build empathy skills within other therapy modalities and outside the therapeutic sphere
Verifying Security Vulnerabilities for Blockchain-based Smart Contracts
No full textIn a modern world, aspects of cybersecurity becomemore of a requirement to software, systems, applications than justa feature implemented by programmers in their spare time. Onthe one hand, blockchain remains a pastime for people interestedin digital currencies or decentralized, anonymous environmentssuch as auctions or voting. On the other hand, cyberattacksare also not an exception to the blockchain community. Mostof those attacks were made through smart contracts - pieces ofcode through which blockchain users interact with the actualblockchain. This paper analyses the background of blockchaintechnology, the implementation of smart contracts, and thecybersecurity aspect in the field of blockchain. We describe anin-depth analysis of five static analysis tools (or code verifiers),their capabilities, and their drawbacks. These are tested withsmart contracts with vulnerabilities deliberately included in theirsource code. The vulnerabilities are tailored so that they fit intothe cybersecurity properties. After the implementation process,analysis is presented. We have found out which state-of-the-artstatic analysis tool is the best to secure the smart contract codefrom future cyberattacks on the blockchain
Formal Methods by Stealth: The INSPEX Experience
No full textINSPEX is an INtegrated Smart sPatial EXploration system. It relies on a family of sensors, like automatedvehicles do, to provide enough information to a digital system for it to make reliable inferencesabout the location of obstacles and other impediments in its environment. Unlike the automated vehiclecase, INSPEX is minaturised, because it is intended for lightweight applications and for portable use byhumans, e.g. visually impaired persons navigating outdoors (among many similar use cases). The complexityof this hardware-focused system merited the introduction of formal methods during its (essentiallyconventionally structured) development. The aim was to improve the dependability of parts of the implementedsystem, and to estimate system characteristics via modelling and calculation that could not beobtained experimentally within the scope of the project. The paper overviews the experience of the verymuch human-in-the-loop use of formal techniques in the INSPEX project, and focuses particularly on thehuman issues that impacted the cooperation between the conventional techniques and formal methods
Online support group users’ perceptions and experiences of bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs): A qualitative study
No full textObjective: Better understanding of the decision-making process for bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) candidates has been identified by clinicians as a research priority. This study aimed to understand experiences and perceptions of BAHA candidates and users who use online support groups. Design: One thousand posts retrieved from a public UK-based online support group were thematically analysed. Study sample: Messages were posted by 270 BAHA users and candidates. Results: Individuals used the online group to obtain information about BAHAs and support for decision-making regarding accepting BAHA surgery and wearing a percutaneous device. BAHA users evaluated the efficacy of the system, perceiving it to be highly effective in improving their hearing. The BAHA influenced individuals’ self-image and impacted their social lives. Fears of surgery and post-implantation infections were regarded as challenges to be faced when choosing to accept implantation. Conclusions: BAHA candidates found the online support group useful in helping them to decide whether or not to proceed with surgery, and the personal experiences of BAHA users were predominantly positive. However, it is not clear to what extent such positive experiences are representative of BAHA users more generally, and candidates need to be aware of this when using these groups to support decision-making.<br/
Molecular Characterisation of Biomass Pyrolysis Oil and Petroleum Fraction Blends
No full textMixing biomass pyrolysis oil with existing petroleum fractions is one potential options for integration of renewable sources into the oil refinery. To achieve such optimal integration, it is first important to conduct detailed molecular-level characterisation of the blended streams such as biomass fast pyrolysis oil (FPO), vacuum gas oil (VGO), and FPO-VGO mixture. Existing molecular-level characterisation method based on Molecular Type and Homologous Series (MTHS) matrix approach is extended to allow for characterisation of oxygenated molecules in bio oil. The group contribution method is introduced into the transformation methodology in order to calculate bulk properties of oxygenated homologous series within the representation matrix. Different constraints strategies proposed in the existing literature are applied to reduce the degrees of freedom and solution space of the optimisation problem. The computational results show a good agreement between measured and model-predicted results
Measuring the local dark matter density with LAMOST DR5 and Gaia DR2
No full textWe apply the vertical Jeans equation to the kinematics of Milky Way stars in the solar neighbourhood to measure the local dark matter density. More than 90,000 G- and K-type dwarf stars are selected from the cross-matched sample of LAMOST DR5 and Gaia DR2 for our analyses. The mass models applied consist of a single exponential stellar disc, a razor thin gas disc and a constant dark matter density. We first con- sider the simplified vertical Jeans equation which ignores the tilt term and assumes a flat rotation curve. Under a Gaussian prior on the total stellar surface density, the local dark matter density inferred from Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations is +0.0024 M pc −3 . The local dark matter densities for subsamples in an azimuthal 0.0133 −0.0022 angle range of −10 ◦ < φ < 5 ◦ are consistent within their 1σ errors. However, the northern and southern subsamples show a large discrepancy due to plateaux in the northern and southern vertical velocity dispersion profiles. These plateaux may be the cause of the different estimates of the dark matter density between the north and south. Taking the tilt term into account has little effect on the parameter estimations and does not explain the north and south asymmetry. Taking half of the difference of σ z profiles as unknown systematic errors, we then obtain consistent measurements for the northern and southern subsamples. We discuss the influence of the vertical data range, the scale height of the tracer population, the vertical distribution of stars and the sample size on the uncertainty of the determination of the local dark matter density
Sepsis: Recognition and Management for Nurses
No full textCaring for a patient with suspected sepsis is a challenging nursing role. Earlyrecognition and appropriate management of a patient with sepsis saves lives. Nurses play a fundamental role in detecting changes in physiological observations that could indicate the onset of sepsis. Additionally, an awareness of the pathophysiology of sepsis allows the nurse to better understand how rapid intervention prevents the onset of septic shock. Furthermore, knowledge and use of clinical guidelines and sepsis screening tools are established methods to help reduce patient mortality. Nurse familiarity with ‘Red Flag’ criteria for sepsis and thorough completion of Early Warning Scores (EWS) facilitate earlier recognition and time critical intervention. Delivery of the ‘Sepsis Six’ within one hour of suspected sepsis saves lives
High-cadence observations and variable spin behaviour of magnetar Swift J1818.0-1607 after its outburst
No full textWe report on multi-frequency radio observations of the new magnetar Swift J1818.0-1607, following it for more than one month with high cadence. The observations commenced less than 35 hours after its registered first outburst. We obtained timing, polarisation and spectral information. Swift J1818.0-1607 has an unusually steep spectrum for a radio emitting magnetar and also has a relatively narrow and simple pulse profile. The position angle swing of the polarisation is flat over the pulse profile, possibly suggesting that our line-of-sight grazes the edge of the emission beam. This may also explain the steep spectrum. The spin evolution shows large variation in the spin-down rate, associated with four distinct timing events over the course of our observations. Those events may be related to the appearance and disappearance of a second pulse component. The first timing event coincides with our actual observations, while we did not detect significant changes in the emission properties which could reveal further magnetospheric changes. Characteristic ages inferred from the timing measurements over the course of months vary by nearly an order of magnitude. A longer-term spin-down measurement over approximately 100 days suggests an characteristic age of about 500 years, larger than previously reported. Though Swift J1818.0-1607 could still be one of the youngest neutron stars (and magnetars) detected so far, we caution using the characteristic age as a true-age indicator given the caveats behind its calculation
