Consulting parents and carers of children with complex needs who use rehabilitation therapy services about research - what issues are important?

With the aim of establishing a foundation for collaboration and partnership in research, parents and carers of children with complex needs were invited through a local parent carer forum to take part in a consultation about their priorities for research, with a focus on rehabilitation therapy. Three meetings were organised where researchers and parents and carers could discuss issues and topics of importance. Potential research ideas were generated at these meetings and shared via email with other parents and carers who were unable to attend face-to-face meetings and professionals who work with children with complex need. A number of researchable questions were developed, based on these topics during the time allocated to the consultation. The aim is to build on this work to develop a proposal for funded research that will make a difference to parents and carers and their families

Running a research consultation group with parents and carers of children with complex health needs who use children’s rehabilitation therapy services: practical considerations and insights

Participatory research, user involvement, consultation, co-production, and service user participation are terms and approaches that ensure the beneficiaries of research shape how it is developed and conducted. While such approaches are accepted practice there is little guidance for researchers on how to conduct such activities with parents/carers of children with complex health needs. Using insights from a series of consultation activities, the authors explore ways to work effectively with parents/ carers when care responsibilities and other constraints may restrict or limit their ability to participate. We defined children with complex needs children as those who use two or more therapy services (Occupational therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Physiotherapy) on a regular basis

Effectiveness of a social support intervention on infant feeding practices : randomised controlled trial

Background: To assess whether monthly home visits from trained volunteers could improve infant feeding practices at age 12 months, a randomised controlled trial was carried out in two disadvantaged inner city London boroughs. Methods: Women attending baby clinics with their infants (312) were randomised to receive monthly home visits from trained volunteers over a 9-month period (intervention group) or standard professional care only (control group). The primary outcome was vitamin C intakes from fruit. Secondary outcomes included selected macro and micro-nutrients, infant feeding habits, supine length and weight. Data were collected at baseline when infants were aged approximately 10 weeks, and subsequently when the child was 12 and 18 months old. Results: Two-hundred and twelve women (68%) completed the trial. At both follow-up points no significant differences were found between the groups for vitamin C intakes from fruit or other nutrients. At first follow-up, however, infants in the intervention group were significantly less likely to be given goats’ or soya milks, and were more likely to have three solid meals per day. At the second follow-up, intervention group children were significantly less likely to be still using a bottle. At both follow-up points, intervention group children also consumed significantly more specific fruit and vegetables. Conclusions: Home visits from trained volunteers had no significant effect on nutrient intakes but did promote some other recommended infant feeding practices

Planetary Companions Around Two Solar Type Stars: HD 195019 and HD 217107

We have enlarged the sample of stars in the planet search at Lick Observatory. Doppler measurements of 82 new stars observed at Lick Observatory, with additional velocities from Keck Observatory, have revealed two new planet candidates. The G3V/IV star, HD 195019, exhibits Keplerian velocity variations with a period of 18.27 d, an orbital eccentricity of 0.03 +/- 0.03, and M sin i = 3.51 M_Jup. Based on a measurement of Ca II H&K emission, this star is chromospherically inactive. We estimate the metallicity of HD 195019 to be approximately solar from ubvy photometry. The second planet candidate was detected around HD 217107, a G7V star. This star exhibits a 7.12 d Keplerian period with eccentricity 0.14 +/- 0.05 and M sin i = 1.27 M_Jup. HD 217107 is also chromospherically inactive. The photometric metallicity is found to be [Fe/H] = +0.29 +/- 0.1 dex. Given the relatively short orbital period, the absence of tidal spin-up of HD 217107 provides a theoretical constraint on the upper limit of the companion mass of < 11 M_Jup.Comment: 15 pages, plus 6 figures. To appear in Jan 1999 PAS

The C_2 heat-kernel coefficient in the presence of boundary discontinuities

We consider the heat-kernel on a manifold whose boundary is piecewise smooth. The set of independent geometrical quantities required to construct an expression for the contribution of the boundary discontinuities to the C_{2} heat-kernel coefficient is derived in the case of a scalar field with Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions. The coefficient is then determined using conformal symmetry and evaluation on some specific manifolds. For the Robin case a perturbation technique is also developed and employed. The contributions to the smeared heat-kernel coefficient and cocycle function are calculated. Some incomplete results for spinor fields with mixed conditions are also presented.Comment: 25 pages, LaTe

Effect of Dilution and Contaminants on Strength and Hydraulic Conductivity of Sand Grouted With Colloidal Silica Gel

Colloidal silica (CS) is a low-viscosity liquid that can be made to gel by addition of brine. This property allows it to be injected into, or mixed with, soil, so that after gelling the colloidal silica blocks the pore space in the soil and forms a barrier to the flow of contaminated groundwater or non-aqueous liquids (NAPLs). Gelled-in-place CS was first studied for the petroleum industry and later for protecting groundwater quality. Noll investigated the use of colloidal silica diluted so that its solids content was reduced from 30% (a typical nominal value for material as delivered) to values as low as 5%. The more dilute colloids could still be made to gel, although more slowly, and the resulting gel was weaker. Because the proposed application of colloidal silica grout involves emplacing it in the subsurface by permeation, jet grouting, or soil mixing where its role as a barrier will be to resist flow of contaminants, the effects of these contaminants on the properties of the grouted soil is also of interest. This work comprised four tasks. In Task 1, samples of grouted sand were prepared with a range of CS dilutions, for measurement of hydraulic conductivity and unconfined-compressive strength. In Task 2, these properties were measured on samples of grouted sand that incorporated 5% volumetric saturation of NAPLs. In Task 3, samples, prepared without any contaminants, were immersed in contaminant liquids and tested after 30 and 90 days. Task 4 was added because NAPL contamination in the samples of Tasks 2 and 3 impelled modifications in the test methods, and comparison of the results of Task 2 and Task 1 suggested that these modifications had introduced errors. In Task 4, samples were tested both ways, to confirm that in Tasks 2 and 3 strength was underestimated and hydraulic conductivity was overestimated. Despite the existence of these known systematic errors, the inclusion of control samples in Tasks 2 and 3 permits conclusions to be drawn from these data

Ten Low Mass Companions from the Keck Precision Velocity Survey

Ten new low mass companions have emerged from the Keck precision Doppler velocity survey, with minimum (msini) masses ranging from 0.8 mjup to 0.34 msun. Five of these are planet candidates with msini < 12 mjup, two are brown dwarf candidates with msini ~30 mjup, and three are low mass stellar companions. Hipparcos astrometry reveals the orbital inclinations and masses for three of the (more massive) companions, and it provides upper limits to the masses for the rest. A new class of extrasolar planet is emerging, characterized by nearly circular orbits and orbital radii greater than 1 AU. The planet HD 4208b appears to be a member of this new class. The mass distribution of extrasolar planets continues to exhibit a rapid rise from 10 mjup toward the lowest detectable masses near 1 msat.Comment: 26 pages, TeX, plus 13 postscript figure

PENGEMBANGAN JOBSHEET TRAINER PLC SEBAGAI SUMBER PEMBELAJARAN PRAKTIKUM OTOMASI INDUSTRI

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan sebuah media pembelajaran sebagai sumber belajar mahasiswa berupa jobsheet praktikum Otomasi Industri. Selain itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kelayakan dari jobsheet yang telah dikembangkan serta melihat hasil implementasi jobsheet setelah digunakan oleh para mahasiswa. Penelitian ini dirasa perlu dilakukan untuk membuat sebuah sumber belajar yang layak serta dapat memberikan manfaat lebih khususnya mahasiswa Elektronika Indsutri. Metodologi yang digunakan oleh penulis pada penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian campuran dengan model rancangan campuran sekuensial eksploratori, menggunakan pendekatan penelitian dan pengembangan (Research and Development). Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang telah dilakukan didapatkan hasil bahwa jobsheet trainer PLC Phoenix Contact ILC 130/131 Starterkit telah dikembangkan sesuai tahapan penelitian dan layak digunakan serta dapat diimplementasikan dalam praktikum Otomasi Industri.---This study aims to develop learning media as a source of students learning in form of practical Industrial Automation jobsheet. Besides, this study aims to prove the feasibility of jobsheet that has been developed and the result of jobsheet implementation by students. This study is considered important to create a decent learning resource and provide benefits, especially for Electronics Industries Students, Department of Electrical Engineering Education, Faculty of Technology and Vocational Skills Education. The methodology used by the authors in this study is mixed research model with exploratory sequences, using a research and development approach (research and development). Based on study results, trainer jobsheet of PLC Phoenix Contact ILC 130/131 Starterkit feasible to be used and can be implemented in practice Industrial Automation