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© 2015 McLoughlin et al. Background: For most people, home is the preferred place of care and death. Despite the development of specialist palliative care and primary care models of community based service delivery, people who are dying, and their families/carers, can experience isolation, feel excluded from social circles and distanced from their communities. Loneliness and social isolation can have a detrimental impact on both health and quality of life. Internationally, models of social and practical support at the end of life are gaining momentum as a result of the Compassionate Communities movement. These models have not yet been subjected to rigorous evaluation. The aims of the study described in this protocol are: (1) to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness of The Good Neighbour Partnership (GNP), a new volunteer-led model of social and practical care/support for community dwelling adults in Ireland who are living with advanced life-limiting illness; and (2) to pilot the method for a Phase III Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). Design: The INSPIRE study will be conducted within the Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework for the Evaluation of Complex Interventions (Phases 0-2) and includes an exploratory two-arm delayed intervention randomised controlled trial. Eighty patients and/or their carers will be randomly allocated to one of two groups: (I) Intervention: GNP in addition to standard care or (II) Control: Standard Care. Recipients of the GNP will be asked for their views on participating in both the study and the intervention. Quantitative and qualitative data will be gathered from both groups over eight weeks through face-to-face interviews which will be conducted before, during and after the intervention. The primary outcome is the effect of the intervention on social and practical need. Secondary outcomes are quality of life, loneliness, social support, social capital, unscheduled health service utilisation, caregiver

"For myself, I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use to be anything else". Winston Churchill Optimism has its modern roots in philosophy dating back to the 17th century in the writings of philosophers such as Descartes and Voltaire (Domino & Conway, 2001). Previous to these philosophical writings, the concept of optimism was revealed in the teaching of many of the great spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity (Miller, Richards, & Keller, 2001). In the 20th century, optimism became defined in juxtaposition to pessimism, sometimes conceptualized as a bipolar unidimensional construct and by others as two related but separate constructs (Garber, 2000). Contemporary models (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Seligman, 1991) have increasingly focused on distinguishing optimism-pessimism as a general dispositional orientation, as described by expectancy theory, and as an explanatory process, described by explanatory style theory.

Delphin2 is a hover capable torpedo style Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), developed at the University of Southampton to provide a test bed for research in marine robotics, primarily to enhance the manoeuvring capability of AUVs. This paper describes the mechanical design of the vehicle and its software architecture. The performance of the vehicle is presented as well as preliminary findings from the vehicle’s first fully autonomous video survey issions in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland. It is interesting to note that the low-cost of the vehicle and its development using a succession of MEng and PhD students has provided an excellent training environment for specialists in the growing area of marine autonomous vehicles.

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of home-care 're-ablement' services compared to usual care, or to a wait list control group, in terms of maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults.

Students who experience high levels of anger both in and out of school are at risk of exhibiting multiple negative developmental outcomes including poor school performance, peer problems, behavioral difficulties, and concurrent emotional distress. Given this developmental trajectory, it is important for mental health professionals working within school settings to accurately identify those students manifesting anger-related problems at an early age. This chapter provides an overview of instruments designed to assess levels of anger and associated cognitive and behavioral manifestations in children and youth. Among those instruments highlighted is the Multidimensional School Anger Inventory (MSAI)specifically designed to measure anger, hostility, and aggressive behavioral expression in school settings. The role of anger assessment in developing appropriate early intervention and anger management treatment plans is also discussed.

School connectedness is “the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment” (Goodenow, 1993, p. 80). It is an important predictor of school violence, as well as related outcomes such as health risk behaviors and mental health. Connectedness reduces initial incidents of violence, buffers the effect of violence exposure, and promotes an anti-bullying culture. School violence and bullying have also been associated with a subsequent decrease in school connectedness. Several theories contribute to our understanding of these relations but the construct, theoretical underpinnings, and pathways in and out of school connectedness require further examination. Despite numerous promising interventions, this line of research is in its infancy. Interventions harnessing this protective factor may have a ubiquitous positive impact on adolescent development.

In this work a depth and pitch controller for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is developed. This controller uses the model predictive control method to manoeuvre the vehicle whilst operating within the defined constraints of the AUV actuators. Experimental results are given for the AUV performing a step change in depth whilst maintaining zero pitch.

The maneuvering performance of an over-actuated AUV (2m long, 254mm diameter) has been tested operating on the free surface (97% displacement submerged). Straight line speed tests and turning circle tests have been performed. Both rear control surfaces and through-body tunnel thrusters were used to maneuver the vehicle. The turning circle diameter, turning rate and forward velocity data is presented with rudder, thruster and hybrid tests. The rudder actuated turning diameters (TD) reduced as forward speed increased. The thruster actuated TD are smaller than the rudder actuated and the TD for thruster actuated increases with forward speed. For the smallest TD, a hybrid system using both the rudders and thrusters were used. An inverse open loop control algorithm is presented that delegates actuator set-points for a given propeller set-point and TD

In March 2010, the Autosub6000 AUV embarked on a cruise to discover, locate and map hydrothermal vent sites in an active spreading centre, the Cayman trough in the Caribbean sea. The environment provided the challenge of steep and rugged terrain together with deep water (in places greater than 5000 m). Autosub6000 is a flight class, hydrodynamically shaped AUV, with good endurance capability, making it well suited for searching for plume signals and mapping terrain over the required moderately large areas. However, it must fly at a forward speed greater than 0.8 ms-1 to achieve control, and so it requires a capable forward look collision avoid capability. Another potential challenge is navigation. To make best use of ship time, Autosub6000 missions are commonly conducted with neither the support ship in attendance, nor an acoustic transponder long baseline network. Hence positioning is dependent upon the AUV autonomous navigation (aided by a position fix after the AUV’s descent to within ADCP bottom tracking range of the seabed). For the cruise on the UK research ship RRS James Cook, the AUV was equipped with sensors for EH (redox potential), turbidity, CTD, tri axis magnetometer, and an EM2000 multibeam sonar. The paper describes the Autosub6000 vehicle, its systems, capabilities, the missions it undertook in the deep Caribbean sea, and the discoveries it made. The missions, although ultimately very successful, were not without problems, with, for example, the steep seabed slopes, at times affecting the accuracy for the navigation system. The paper will also discuss these issues and how they might be addressed in the future.

The missions being proposed for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), by both marine scientists and industry, are becoming increasingly complex and challenging. In order to meet these demands the next generation of AUVs will need to be faster, to operate for longer durations, and to be more manoeuvrable than existing vehicles. It is therefore vital that the hydrodynamic forces and moments acting on a self-propelled manoeuvring AUV can be predicted accurately at the initial design stage. In order to achieve this, the use of a computational-fluid-dynamics-based analysis is suggested. The approaches developed are predominantly steady state and suitable for running on a workstation personal computer using a commercial software licence. It is estimated that the proposed simulations would take a competent user less than 1 month for a new concept design. The total cost of these simulations is significantly lower than the cost of building a model and having it commercially tested to capture the same level of detail for the resistance, propulsion, and manoeuvring performance. Based on the validation studies presented, it is estimated that on a 2×106 element structured mesh a competent user should be able to predict hydrodynamic forces to within at least 10 per cent and moments to within 20 per cent of in-service performance.

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Autosub6000, has been shown to operate safely at altitudes as low as 3 m above rugged and complex sea floor environments. This capability is essential for future AUV missions in such environments, e.g. high-resolution surveys using colour photography or multi-beam sonar bathymetry. This was achieved through the development of an obstacle avoidance system for the AUV, incorporating relatively low-cost off-the-shelf components and simple algorithms. This paper details the specification, design, and testing at sea of Autosub6000's obstacle avoidance system. It describes how the specification of the system was influenced by the need to retrofit it into the existing control architecture, together with the pragmatic need to minimize overall complexity. The sensor used in the obstacle avoidance system is a mechanically scanned forward-looking sonar, and the control algorithm is based upon the detection of the range and elevation of the horizon relative to the AUV. The avoidance behaviour is by default to fly over obstacles but, if this is not possible, a turn-around and retry collision avoidance algorithm is invoked. Results are presented of the system's performance during recent deep-water trials of the AUV over the Casablanca Seamount region of the Atlantic Ocean.

gamma-Cyhalothrin was proposed as an agent for management of lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), in Australian broiler houses. From 2007 to 2009, baseline susceptibility of 20 Australian broiler farm beetle populations plus an insecticide-susceptible laboratory population was determined for gamma-cyhalothrin by using topical application. In addition, repeat testing and regression analyses of specific beetle populations to gamma-cyhalothrin showed that topical application was a very reliable and repeatable testing method. The 21 populations were tested with a cyfluthrin discriminating concentration (based on LC99.9, 0.0007% [AI]) to identify possible cross-resistance. Across all populations, there was a significant linear relationship between the gamma-cyhalothrin LC50 value and mortality induced by the cyfluthrin LC99.9. Full cyfluthrin baseline studies of seven populations indicated that gamma-cyhalothrin was twice as toxic as cyfluthrin, even against susceptible beetles and resistance ratios at the cyfluthrin LC50 and LC99.9 varied considerably, with maxima of 56.6 and 83.6 respectively. Corresponding ratios for gamma-cyhalothrin for the same populations were 8.6 (LC50) and 7.9 (LC99.9). There were no significant correlations between beetle weights and gamma-cyhalothrin LC50 or LC99.9 values. A discriminating concentration of 0.005% (Al) gamma-cyhalothrin was chosen to detect any future changes in susceptibility. Results of this study suggest that cyfluthrin can confer cross-resistance to gamma-cyhalothrin in A. diaperinus, but the magnitude of this resistance is unpredictable. Thus, widespread and frequent cyfluthrin use in broiler houses in eastern Australia, which has selected for cyfluthrin resistance, also has resulted in reduced susceptibility to gamma-cyhalothrin. Due to its higher relative toxicity, gamma-cyhalothrin is still potentially useful for management of lesser mealworm, but due to cross-resistance issues

Optimism has its modern roots in philosophy dating back to the 17th century in the writings of philosophers such as Descartes and Voltaire (Domino & Conway, 2001). Previous to these philosophical writings, the concept of optimism was revealed in the teachings of many of the great spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity (Miller, Richards, & Keller, 2001). It has been reported that people with spiritual faith tend to have a more optimistic and hopeful outlook on life (Myers, 2000). This spiritual connection has provided the basis for research that sought to distinguish the differences between the positive psychological constructs of optimism and hope. Optimism has been defined as a general expectation for good outcomes in the future (Scheier & Carver, 1985), whereas hope has been defined as a set of cognitive processes that were directed at attaining specific goals (see the Lopez et al. chapter, this book; Snyder, Sympson, Michael, & Cheavens, 2001). Recent research supports this distinction (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004). In the 20th century, optimism research involving youth focused on its association with academic achievement and attainment (Gough, 1953; Teahan, 1958). These early studies examined optimism as a personality trait emphasizing its association with future time orientation, which characterized high-performing students. As research progressed, optimism became defined in juxtaposition to pessimism, sometimes conceptualized as a bipolar unidimensional construct and others as two related, but separate constructs (Garber, 2000). Contemporary models (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Seligman, 1991) have increasingly focused on distinguishing optimism–pessimism as a general dispositional orientation, as described by expectancy theory, and a coping explanatory process, as described by explanatory style theory. Optimism as an expectancy is "a sense of confidence or doubt about the attainability of a goal value" (Carver & Scheier, 199

In September 2007 on RRS Discovery, the Autosub6000 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) completed its first deepwater engineering trials and, fitted with a multibeam bathymetric mapping sonar, carried out its first science missions less than a year later as part of a geology and geophysics science cruise onboard the RRS James Cook. This paper describes how the issues of energy storage, navigation and buoyancy control were tackled that specifically affect a deep-diving AUV, capable of operating with true autonomy independently of the mother ship.

Chronically high levels of anger and hostility have been identified as important contributors to violence potential at school (Dwyer, Osher, & Warger, 1998; McGee & DeBernardo, 1999; Reddy et al., 2001; Verlinden, Hersen, & Thomas, 2000). In published lists of warning signs posted by the American Psychological Association (APA, 1999) and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education (Dwyer et al., 1998), for example, aspects of uncontrolled anger and hostility are among the key indices of violence potential. Additionally, profiles of perpetrators of serious acts of violence at school, such as those developed by the FBI (O'Toole, 2000), frequently cite intense anger and resentment toward others as common characteristics of violence-prone youth. Given the potential impact of anger and hostility on aggressive and violent behaviour, it is imperative that educators, psychologists, and other mental health personnel have reliable and valid methods for assessing anger in school settings. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of selected instruments designed to measure levels of anger and hostility in school-age populations. This review begins with a brief discussion of some of the fundamental concerns associated with measuring anger and hostility and then provides a description and critique of selected instuments of interest to school personnel. The chapter concludes with a summary of best practices in anger assessment as well as some of the limitations and other obstacles associated with measuring students' anger in school environments.