Objective Caring for a child with cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rigorous daily commitment for caregivers and treatment burden is a major concern. We aimed to develop and validate a short form version of a 46-item tool assessing the Challenge of Living with Cystic Fibrosis (CLCF) for clinical or research use. Design A novel genetic algorithm based on ‘evolving’ a subset of items from a pre-specified set of criteria, was applied to optimise the tool, using data from 135 families. Main outcome measures Internal reliability and validity were assessed; the latter compared scores to validated tests of parental well-being, markers of treatment burden, and disease severity. Results The 15-item CLCF-SF demonstrated very good internal consistency [Cronbach’s alpha 0.82 (95%CI 0.78–0.87)]. Scores for convergent validity correlated with the Beck Depression Inventory (Rho = 0.48), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-State, Rho = 0.41; STAI-Trait, Rho = 0.43), Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised, lung function (Rho = −0.37), caregiver treatment management (r = 0.48) and child treatment management (r = 0.45), and discriminated between unwell and well children with CF (Mean Difference 5.5, 95%CI 2.5–8.5, p < 0.001), and recent or no hospital admission (MD 3.6, 95%CI 0.25–6.95, p = 0.039). Conclusion The CLCF-SF provides a robust 15-item tool for assessing the challenge of living with a child with CF.

Introduction: The article deals with the issues of protection against noise and vibrations of engineering equipment, which spread into the residential area through ventilation shafts, and the problems of bringing noise to standards during the operation of diesel generators. The purpose of this work was the development and implementation of methods and means to reduce the vibration levels of the walls of the technological room in which the diesel generator set was installed. Materials and Methods: The article presents studies using computational and graphical and resonance and statistical methods. Measurements of the noise level from the operation of a diesel generator located on the site of the residential buildings under consideration, as well as in residential premises, were carried out. Results and Discussion: The estimated calculation showed that the noise levels on the territory do not meet the requirements of sanitary standards. The results of measurements of the sound pressure level before and after noise protection measures for an individual living space gave an assessment of the qualitative and quantitative ratio of the accepted and new types of measures and materials. Conclusions: The effectiveness of vibration isolation of engineering equipment depends on the applied vibration isolation scheme; the wrong choice of vibration isolation scheme can lead to an uncontrolled increase in the amplitude of vibrations of the foundation of engineering equipment. To eliminate low frequencies, it is necessary to install vibration isolating supports under the foundation of the diesel generator set.

ABSTRACTMost catchments in tropical regions are ungauged and data deficient, complicating the simulation of water quantity and quality. Yet, developing and testing hydrological models in data-poor regions is vital to support water management. Here, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to predict stream runoff in Halda Basin in Bangladesh. While the calibrated model’s performance was satisfactory (R2 = 0.80, NSE = 0.71), the model was unable to track the extreme low flow peaks due to the temporal and spatial variability of rainfall which may not be fully captured by using data from one rainfall gauging station. Groundwater delay time, baseflow alpha factor and curve number were the most sensitive parameters influencing model performance. This study improves understanding of the key processes of a catchment in a data-poor, monsoon driven, small river basin and could serve as a baseline for scenario modelling for future water management and policy framework.

Many studies have failed to show an increase in the radial growth of trees in response to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration [CO2] despite the expected enhancement of photosynthetic rates and water-use efficiency at high [CO2]. A global light use efficiency model of photosynthesis, coupled with a generic carbon allocation and tree-growth model based on mass balance and tree geometry principles, was used to simulate annual ring-width variations for the gymnosperm Callitris columellaris in the semi-arid Great Western Woodlands, Western Australia, over the past 100 years. Parameter values for the tree-growth model were derived from independent observations except for sapwood specific respiration rate, fine-root turnover time, fine-root specific respiration rate and the ratio of fine-root mass to foliage area (ζ), which were calibrated to the ring-width measurements by approximate Bayesian optimization. This procedure imposed a strong constraint on ζ. Modelled and observed ring-widths showed quantitatively similar, positive responses to total annual photosynthetically active radiation and soil moisture, and similar negative responses to vapour pressure deficit. The model also produced enhanced radial growth in response to increasing [CO2] during recent decades, but the data do not show this. Recalibration in moving 30-year time windows produced temporal shifts in the estimated values of ζ, including an increase by ca 12% since the 1960s, and eliminated the [CO2]-induced increase in radial growth. The potential effect of CO2 on ring-width was thus shown to be small compared to effects of climate variability even in this semi-arid climate. It could be counteracted in the model by a modest allocation shift, as has been observed in field experiments with raised [CO2].

Anthropologists, borrowing techniques from evolutionary biology, have demonstrated that some common fairy tales can be traced back 5,000 years, or more, long before the development of written traditions.

Many species have the ability to resprout vegetatively after a substantial loss of biomass induced by environmental stress, including drought. Many of the regions characterised by ecosystems where resprouting is common are projected to experience more frequent and intense drought during the 21st Century. However, in assessments of ecosystem response to drought disturbance there has been scant consideration of the resilience and post-drought recovery of resprouting species. Systematic differences in hydraulic and allocation traits suggest that resprouting species are more resilient to drought-stress than nonresprouting species. Evidence suggests that ecosystems dominated by resprouters recover from disturbance more quickly than ecosystems dominated by nonresprouters. The ability of resprouters to avoid mortality and withstand drought, coupled with their ability to recover rapidly, suggests that the impact of increased drought stress in ecosystems dominated by these species may be small. The strategy of resprouting needs to be modelled explicitly to improve estimates of future climate-change impacts on the carbon cycle, but this will require several important knowledge gaps to be filled before resprouting can be properly implemented.

Background and objectivesIt has recently been identified that feelings of contamination can arise in the absence of physical contact with a stimulus. This concept, known as ‘mental contamination’ has particular relevance to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in which compulsive cleaning is a common symptom presentation. Experimental studies have begun to examine the psychopathology of mental contamination. The aims of the two experiments reported here were to explore the evocation and spontaneous decay of mental contamination. MethodsIn Experiment 1, a variant of the autobiographical memory task was used in which 40 non-clinical participants were asked to recall autobiographical memories associated with betrayal, harm, humiliation and violation of moral standards. In Experiment 2, 60 participants with moderate levels of mental contamination were asked to complete five short tasks designed to induce mental contamination, including recalling unwanted memories and images. ResultsIn both experiments, participants reported significant increases in mental contamination, anxiety, urges to wash and actual washing behaviour. In experiment 1, the effect of the induction decayed spontaneously. Experiment 2 found that re-evoking contamination and repeated washing led to the persistence of mental contamination. LimitationsThe studies were conducted on non-clinical samples. ConclusionsThese findings demonstrated that repeated triggers may be causally connected to the maintenance of mental contamination fears in non-clinical samples.

There has been a recent expansion of interest in the concept of mental contamination. Despite a growing number of experiments and interview-based studies of mental contamination, there is a need for questionnaire-based assessment measures, and for a further understanding of the degree to which mental contamination is related to other aspects of OCD symptomatology and/or to established cognitive constructs relevant to OCD. We assessed the psychometric properties of three new measures of mental contamination (the Vancouver Obsessional Compulsive Inventory—Mental Contamination Scale, the Contamination Sensitivity Scale, and the Contamination Thought-Action Fusion Scale) in participants diagnosed with OCD (n=57), participants diagnosed with an anxiety disorder other than OCD (n=24) and in undergraduate student controls (n=410). For some of these analyses, our OCD sample was subdivided into those with contamination-related symptoms and concerns (n=30) and those whose OCD excluded concerns related to contamination fear (n=27). Results showed that the three new scales had excellent psychometric properties, including internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and discriminant validity. Further, the new measures accounted for significant unique variance in OCD symptoms over and above that accounted for by depression, anxiety, traditional contact-based contamination, and OCD beliefs. Results are discussed in terms of the clinical utility of the scales, and of the nature of contamination fears in OCD.