Solid state television camera system Patent

Solid state television camera system consisting of monolithic semiconductor mosaic sensor and molecular digital readout system

Issues of alcohol misuse among older people : attitudes and experiences of social work practitioners

This small-scale qualitative research focused on the experiences of social workers vis--vis older people who misuse alcohol. Based in an Older People's Team in the west of Scotland, the study explored service provision for alcohol misuse and examined whether practitioners felt the existing services provided by the Substance Misuse Team were effective in meeting the needs of older people with an alcohol problem. Using semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 18 participants, the majority (14) of whom were female and whose ages ranged from 31 to 54 years. Several key themes emerged including the extent of alcohol problems among older people and the complex reasons that cause older people to misuse alcohol. These reasons commonly related to the increasing challenges of old age. The data also demonstrated that current services are not meeting the needs of older people. Practitioners identified a need for an 'age-specific' approach to target more effectively the complex needs of older people. Recommendations from practitioners included ways to develop new and more effective services, including a more age-specific service, such as providing longer term support in older people's own homes, using a specialised support worker, and increasing staff training on alcohol use among older people

Predictive Factors of Literacy Achievement in Young Gifted Children in Rural Schools

The present study investigated predictive factors of literacy achievement in third-grade students identified as gifted in rural schools. The sample consisted of 180 identified students in a total of eight districts, three of which were randomly assigned to the treatment condition and five of which were randomly assigned to the control condition. Students in the treatment condition received instruction with a place-based folklore unit of the Challenge Leading to Engagement, Achievement, and Results (CLEAR) curriculum, a language arts based curriculum designed to challenge gifted learners, in addition to an intervention promoting an incremental mind-set. Results of the present study indicated that prior achievement, mind-set, and gender were all statistically and practically significant predictors of literacy achievement for students identified as gifted in rural areas. A stronger incremental mind-set was associated with lower literacy achievement scores. Practical implications and recommendations, as well as limitations and directions for further research, were discussed

Effect of collaborative depression treatment on risk for diabetes: A 9-year follow-up of the IMPACT randomized controlled trial

Considerable epidemiologic evidence and plausible biobehavioral mechanisms suggest that depression is an independent risk factor for diabetes. Moreover, reducing the elevated diabetes risk of depressed individuals is imperative given that both conditions are leading causes of death and disability. However, because no prior study has examined clinical diabetes outcomes among depressed patients at risk for diabetes, the question of whether depression treatment prevents or delays diabetes onset remains unanswered. Accordingly, we examined the effect of a 12-month collaborative care program for late-life depression on 9-year diabetes incidence among depressed, older adults initially free of diabetes. Participants were 119 primary care patients [M (SD) age: 67.2 (6.9) years, 41% African American] with a depressive disorder but without diabetes enrolled at the Indiana sites of the Improving Mood-Promoting Access to Collaborative Treatment (IMPACT) trial. Incident diabetes cases were defined as diabetes diagnoses, positive laboratory values, or diabetes medication prescription, and were identified using electronic medical record and Medicare/Medicaid data. Surprisingly, the rate of incident diabetes in the collaborative care group was 37% (22/59) versus 28% (17/60) in the usual care group. Even though the collaborative care group exhibited greater reductions in depressive symptom severity (p = .024), unadjusted (HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.69-2.43, p = .428) and adjusted (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 0.61-2.29, p = .616) Cox proportional hazards models indicated that the risk of incident diabetes did not differ between the treatment groups. Our novel preliminary findings raise the possibility that depression treatment alone may be insufficient to reduce the excess diabetes risk of depressed, older adults

Cells in Space

Discussions and presentations addressed three aspects of cell research in space: the suitability of the cell as a subject in microgravity experiments, the requirements for generic flight hardware to support cell research, and the potential for collaboration between academia, industry, and government to develop these studies in space. Synopses are given for the presentations and follow-on discussions at the conference and papers are presented from which the presentations were based. An Executive Summary outlines the recommendations and conclusions generated at the conference

Effect of collaborative care for depression on risk of cardiovascular events: data from the IMPACT randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: Although depression is a risk and prognostic factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), depression trials involving cardiac patients have not observed the anticipated cardiovascular benefits. To test our hypothesis that depression treatment delivered before clinical CVD onset reduces risk of CVD events, we conducted an 8-year follow-up study of the Indiana sites of the Improving Mood-Promoting Access to Collaborative Treatment (IMPACT) randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Participants were 235 primary care patients 60 years or older with major depression or dysthymia who were randomized to a 12-month collaborative care program involving antidepressants and psychotherapy (85 without and 35 with baseline CVD) or usual care (83 without and 32 with baseline CVD). Hard CVD events (fatal/nonfatal) were identified using electronic medical record and Medicare/Medicaid data. RESULTS: A total of 119 patients (51%) had a hard CVD event. As hypothesized, the treatment × baseline CVD interaction was significant (p = .021). IMPACT patients without baseline CVD had a 48% lower risk of an event than did usual care patients (28% versus 47%, hazard ratio = 0.52, 95% confidence interval = 0.31-0.86). The number needed to treat to prevent one event for 5 years was 6.1. The likelihood of an event did not differ between IMPACT and usual care patients with baseline CVD (86% versus 81%, hazard ratio = 1.19, 95% confidence interval, 0.70-2.03). CONCLUSIONS: Collaborative depression care delivered before CVD onset halved the excess risk of hard CVD events among older, depressed patients. Our findings raise the possibility that the IMPACT intervention could be used as a CVD primary prevention strategy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01561105

The Political Economy of Myanmar's Transition

This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ASIA, 07 Feb 2013, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00472336.2013.764143.Since holding elections in 2010, Myanmar has transitioned from a direct military dictatorship to a formally democratic system and has embarked on a period of rapid economic reform. After two decades of military rule, the pace of change has startled almost everyone and led to a great deal of cautious optimism. To make sense of the transition and assess the case for optimism, this article explores the political economy of Myanmar's dual transition from state socialism to capitalism and from dictatorship to democracy. It analyses changes within Myanmar society from a critical political economy perspective in order to both situate these developments within broader regional trends and to evaluate the country's current trajectory. In particular, the emergence of state-mediated capitalism and politico-business complexes in Myanmar's borderlands are emphasised. These dynamics, which have empowered a narrow oligarchy, are less likely to be undone by the reform process than to fundamentally shape the contours of reform. Consequently, Myanmar's future may not be unlike those of other Southeast Asian states that have experienced similar developmental trajectories

Using Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentration and Character Data to Assess Land Use Change Effects on Coastal Waters

2016 South Carolina Water Resources Conference South Carolina Water Resources at a Crossroads: Response, Readiness and Recover