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We present 947 radial velocities of RR Lyrae variable stars in four fields located toward the Galactic bulge, observed within the data from the ongoing Bulge RR Lyrae Radial Velocity Assay (BRAVA-RR). We show that these RR Lyrae stars exhibit hot kinematics and null or negligible rotation and are therefore members of a separate population from the bar/pseudobulge that currently dominates the mass and luminosity of the inner Galaxy. Our RR Lyrae stars predate these structures, and have metallicities, kinematics, and spatial distribution that are consistent with a "classical" bulge, although we cannot yet completely rule out the possibility that they are the metal-poor tail of a more metal rich ([Fe/H]∼−1 dex) halo-bulge population. The complete catalog of radial velocities for the BRAVA-RR stars is also published electronically.

This article describes the nursing shortage situation in China and the causes for it. China is a major donor of nurses to other parts of the world and this article discusses the solutions China has implemented to address its nursing shortage, and the challenges that it is currently facing. The strategies that have been employed include: improving the health care system, improving work cultures for increased retention through policy and regulation, making greater investments in nursing education to build sustainable nursing education infrastructures, and enhancing the image of the nursing profession. These solutions may serve as a reference to other countries to deal with the crisis of a nursing shortage.

We present new radial velocity measurements from the Bulge Radial Velocity Assay, a large-scale spectroscopic survey of M-type giants in the Galactic bulge/bar region. The sample of ∼4500 new radial velocities, mostly in the region −10 • < l < +10 • and b ≈ −6 • , more than doubles the existent published data set. Our new data extend our rotation curve and velocity dispersion profile to +20 • , which is ∼2.8 kpc from the Galactic center. The new data confirm the cylindrical rotation observed at −6 • and −8 • and are an excellent fit to the Shen et al. N-body bar model. We measure the strength of the TiOε molecular band as a first step toward a metallicity ranking of the stellar sample, from which we confirm the presence of a vertical abundance gradient. Our survey finds no strong evidence of previously unknown kinematic streams. We also publish our complete catalog of radial velocities, photometry, TiO band strengths, and spectra, which is available at the Infrared Science Archive as well as at UCLA.

We study the structure of the inner Milky Way (MW) using the latest data release of the Vista Variables in Via Lactea (VVV) survey. The VVV is a deep near-infrared, multi-colour photometric survey with a coverage of 300 square degrees towards the Bulge/Bar. We use Red Clump (RC) stars to produce a high-resolution dust map of the VVV's field of view. From de-reddened colour-magnitude diagrams we select Red Giant Branch stars to investigate their 3D density distribution within the central 4 kpc. We demonstrate that our best-fit parametric model of the Bulge density provides a good description of the VVV data, with a median percentage residual of 5 % over the fitted region. The strongest of the otherwise low-level residuals are overdensities associated with a low-latitude structure as well as the so-called X-shape previously identified using the split RC. These additional components contribute only ∼ 5% and ∼ 7% respectively to the Bulge mass budget. The best-fit Bulge is "boxy" with an axis ratio of [1:0.44:0.31] and is rotated with respect to the Sun-Galactic Centre line by at least ∼ 20• . We provide an estimate of the total, full sky, mass of the Bulge of M Chabrier Bulge = 2.36 × 10 10 M for a Chabrier initial mass function. We show there exists a strong degeneracy between the viewing angle and the dispersion of the Red Clump (RC) absolute magnitude distribution. The value of the latter is strongly dependent on the assumptions made about the intrinsic luminosity function of the Bulge.