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Abstract Background Needle-related distress is a common yet poorly recognised and managed problem among haemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this pilot study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of the INJECT Intervention—an innovative psychology-based intervention to empower patients to self-manage needle distress with the support of dialysis nurses. Methods This investigator-initiated, single-arm, non-randomised feasibility study will take place in a large dialysis service in Adelaide, Australia. Participants will include patients aged ≥ 18 years, commencing or already receiving maintenance HD, recruited through dialysis physicians and nursing staff as individuals believed to be at risk of needle distress. They will be screened for inclusion using the Dialysis Fear of Injection Questionnaire (DFIQ) and enrolled into the study if the score is ≥ 2. The multi-pronged intervention encompasses (i) psychologist review, (ii) patient self-management program and (iii) nursing education program. The primary aim is to evaluate feasibility and acceptability of the intervention from patient and dialysis nurse perspectives, including recruitment, retention, engagement with the intervention and completion. Secondary exploratory outcomes will assess suitability of various tools for measuring needle distress, evaluate acceptability of the nursing education program and measure cannulation-related trauma and vascular access outcomes. Conclusion The results will inform the protocol for larger trials addressing needle distress in HD patients. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12621000229875, approved 4 April 2021, https://www.anzctr.org.au/ .

The article aims to update the evidence and to diversify the research agenda on leadership roles of women senior-managers. This research work draws attention to the essential gap in the research of women as senior-managers and organizational leaders. In the first place, it notices that while the conceptualization of leadership has expanded to define leadership from interpersonal to organizational influence, the research on women leadership has not updated accordingly. The article claims that research agenda on women in organizations overlooks examination of women as senior-managers and respectively overlooks understanding of the leadership roles that women perform to organizations. Second, the article aims to examine and update the evidence as per the interplay of gender and women senior-managers’ leadership roles in organizational context. Namely, the research examines how women senior-managers perceive their leadership mandate, and whether organizations enable or constrain it. Results of the 21 indepth semi-standardized interviews identified three distinct leadership roles that women senior-managers perceive as requisite for the roles of senior-manager. That is followed by a discussion of implications for organizational leadership theory and organizational routines. Key words: women senior-managers, gender, organizational behavior, leadership roles.

ABSTRACT Floating offshore wind (FOW) is a renewable energy source that is set to play an essential role in addressing climate change and the need for sustainable development. However, due to the increasing threat of climate emergency, more wind turbines are required to be deployed in deep water locations, further offshore. This presents heightened challenges for accessing the turbines and performing maintenance, leading to increased costs. Naturally, methods to reduce operational expenditure (OpEx) are highly desirable. One method that shows potential for reducing OpEx of FOW is LIDAR‐assisted pitch control. This approach uses wind velocity measurements from a nacelle‐mounted LIDAR to enable feedforward control of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) and can result in reductions to the variations of structural loads. Results obtained from a previous study of combined feedforward collective and individual pitch control (FFCPC + FFIPC) are translated to OpEx reductions via reduced component failure rates for future FOW developments, namely, in locations awarded in the recent ScotWind leasing round. The results indicate that LIDAR‐assisted pitch control may allow for an up to 5% reduction in OpEx, increasing to up to 11% with workability constraints included. The results varied across the three ScotWind sites considered, with sites furthest from shore reaping the greatest benefit from LIDAR‐assisted control. This work highlights the potential savings and reduction in the overall levelised cost of energy for future offshore wind turbine projects deliverable through the implementation of LIDAR‐assisted pitch control.

Understanding green turtle habitat use during the nesting season is important for informing management decisions relating to green turtles and ecosystems that support them. Despite patterns such as migration being described, few studies investigate behaviour during the inter-nesting period. This research aims to describe and quantify the spatial distribution patterns of green turtles during 2 nesting seasons on Raine Island in the northern Great Barrier Reef. Satellite telemetry data were used to analyse the inter-nesting movements and patterns of green turtles in 2017 (n = 19) and 2018 (n = 20). The inter-nesting period ranged from 51 to 100 d (76.33 ± 15.98 d) across both seasons. The average inter-nesting area of individual turtles did not differ between nesting seasons (2017: 12.31 ± 13.22 km2, 2018: 12.01 ± 21.92 km2). In addition, it was established that 39 individuals are a sufficient sample size to describe the spatial distribution. Approximately half of the tracked individuals remained at the same reef for their entire inter-nesting season (n = 19), and half used habitat on nearby reefs (n = 20). Most turtles showed fidelity to Raine Island as a nesting site (n = 37), laying all their clutches on the island. However, 2 individuals travelled 479 and 337 km during the inter-nesting period. This study thus highlights where the habitats used by green turtles during the inter-nesting season are and how they are used. Therefore, management strategies and conservation decisions can be informed to maintain the viability of these essential habitats.

The Benkar Fault Zone (BFZ) is a recently recognized, NNE-striking, brittle to ductile, cross fault that cuts across the dominant metamorphic fabric of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) and the Lesser Himalayan Sequence (LHS) in eastern Nepal. 40Ar/39Ar-muscovite cooling ages along a transect across the BFZ in the GHS indicate movement younger than 12 Ma. To understand the mode of genesis, and seismo-tectonic implications of the BFZ, we mapped this fault from the Everest region in the upper Khumbu valley toward the south, across the Main Central Thrust, into the LHS and the Greater Himalayan Nappe. We recognize a series of cross faults segments, which we interpret the BFZ system. The currently mapped section of the BFZ is >100 km long, and its width is up to 4 km in the LHS. The BFZ is semi-ductile in the GHS region but is brittle in the south, where it is expressed as gouge zones, tectonically brecciated zones, sharp fault planes, and segments of nonpenetrative brittle deformation zones. From petrographic and kinematic analysis, we interpret largely a right-lateral, extensional sense of shear. Our work did not continue into the Sub-Himalaya, but the BFZ may continue through this zone into the foreland as documented in other Himalayan cross faults. While several genetic models have been proposed for cross faults in the Himalaya and other convergent orogens, we suggest that the BFZ may be related to extensional structures in Tibet. Understanding cross faults is not only important for the tectonic history of the Himalaya but due to the co-location of cross faults and seismogenic boundaries, there may be a causal relationship. Cross faults also follow many of the north-south river segments of the Himalaya and weakened fault rocks on the valley walls may enhance the landslide hazard in these areas.

Abstract Nacelle‐mounted, forward‐facing light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology can deliver benefits to rotor speed regulation and loading reductions of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) when assisting with blade pitch control in above‐rated wind speed conditions. Large‐scale wind turbines may be subject to significant variations in structural loads due to differences in the wind profile across the rotor‐swept area. These loading fluctuations can be mitigated by individual pitch control (IPC). This paper presents a novel LIDAR‐assisted feedforward IPC approach that uses each blade's rotor azimuth position to allocate an individual pitch command from a multi‐beam LIDAR. In this study, the source code of OpenFAST wind turbine modelling software was modified to enable LIDAR simulation and LIDAR‐assisted control. The LIDAR simulation modifications were accepted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and are now present within OpenFAST releases from v3.5 onwards. Simulations of a 15 MW FOWT were performed across the above‐rated wind spectrum. Under a turbulent wind field with an average wind speed of 17 ms−1, the LIDAR‐assisted feedforward IPC delivered up to 54% reductions in the root mean squared errors and standard deviations of key FOWT parameters. Feedforward IPC delivered enhancements of up to 12% over feedforward collective pitch control, relative to the baseline feedback controller. The reductions to the standard deviation and range of the rotor speed may enable structural optimization of the tower, while the reductions in the variations of the loadings present an opportunity for reduced fatigue damage on turbine components and, consequently, a reduction in maintenance expenditure.

Abstract Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X‐linked recessive myopathy due to mutations in the dystrophin gene. Diaphragmatic weakness in DMD causes hypoventilation and elevated afterload on the right ventricle (RV). Thus, RV dysfunction in DMD develops early in disease progression. Herein, we deliver a 30‐min sustained RV preload/afterload challenge to isolated hearts of wild‐type (Wt) and dystrophic (Dmdmdx‐4Cv) mice at both young (2–6 month) and middle‐age (8–12 month) to test the hypothesis that the dystrophic RV is susceptible to dysfunction with elevated load. Young dystrophic hearts exhibited greater pressure development than wild type under baseline (Langendorff) conditions, but following RV challenge exhibited similar contractile function as wild type. Following the RV challenge, young dystrophic hearts had an increased incidence of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) compared to wild type. Hearts of middle‐aged wild‐type and dystrophic mice had similar contractile function during baseline conditions. After RV challenge, hearts of middle‐aged dystrophic mice had severe RV dysfunction and arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia. Following the RV load challenge, dystrophic hearts had greater lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release than wild‐type mice indicative of damage. Our data indicate age‐dependent changes in RV function with load in dystrophin deficiency, highlighting the need to avoid sustained RV load to forestall dysfunction and arrhythmia.

Understanding insect dispersal helps us predict the spread of insect pests and their natural enemies. Dispersal can be studied by marking, releasing, and recapturing insects, known as mark–release–recapture (MRR). MRR techniques should be convenient, economical, and persistent. Currently, there are limited options for marking small parasitoids that do not impact their fitness and dispersal ability. We evaluated commercially available fluorescent markers used in forensics. These fluorophores can easily be detected by ultraviolet (UV) light, requiring minimal costs and labor to process the marked specimens. This fluorophore marking technique was evaluated with the pest Drosophila suzukii and three parasitoids: Trissolcus japonicus, Pachycrepoideus vindemiae, Ganaspis brasiliensis (=G. kimorum). We evaluated the persistence of the marks on all the insects over time and examined the parasitoids for impacts on longevity, parasitism, locomotor activity, and flight take-off. The green fluorophore marker persisted for over 20 days on all four species. Marking generally did not consistently reduce the survival, parasitism rate, locomotor activity, or take-off of the parasitoids tested. Marked T. japonicus were recaptured in the field up to 100 m away from the release point and three weeks after release, indicating that this technique is a viable method for studying parasitoid dispersal.

Abstract Background Advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often leads to hospitalisation and invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a serious complication. Aspergillus sensitisation may worsen symptoms in COPD. Methods We identified published papers between January 2000 and May 2019 with > 50 subjects and GOLD criteria for grade II, III or IV (FEV1/FVC 0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of COPD is much higher than previously estimated. Overall COPD mortality may be higher than estimated and IA probably contributes to many deaths. Improved rapid diagnosis of IA using culture and non-culture based techniques is required in COPD hospital admissions to reduce mortality.