451 research outputs found
Community Use of the Sacred Heart School
In October 2005, the Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) released a report entitled The Sacred Heart Collective: An Effective Use of a Closed School? which evaluated the unique initiative implemented by the Sacred Heart Collective (the Collective), a group of seven non-profits located in the former Sacred Heart School. In agreement with Edmonton Catholic Schools, the Collective sought to provide free access to meeting and recreational space located in the school to other non-profits and local community groups.The following is a follow-up to the October 2005 report, and details usage of the Sacred Heart facilities for a six month period, from August 2005 to end of January 2006
Happy Hearts: A Caregiver\u27s Guide to Assisting Patients with Heart Failure
The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop a holistic guide that could be provided by occupational therapists (OTs) to caregivers of individuals with heart failure (HF). A thorough literature review was completed on the impact that caregiving for individuals with HF has on mental, physical and environmental aspects of the caregiver and their role as a caregiver. The literature revealed that there is a significant number of individuals with HF and the role of caregiving is on the rise. As the need for caregivers’ increases, the demands associated with caregiving responsibilities increases accordingly. Activities that caregivers assist HF patients with are: bathing, dressing, toileting, feeding, medical health, home care, financial assistance, and medication assistance. The current literature lacks information pertaining ways caregivers received and utilized resources to improve quality of life while caring for an individual with HF. Based on the unmet needs of caregivers of individuals with HF, Happy Hearts: A Caregiver Guide to Assisting Patients with Heart Failure was created.
Guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation Model, this guide addresses the transactive interaction between the person, environment and occupation and strives to achieve the best fit between those components. The Adult Learning Theory was also considered in the creation of this guide as it presents concepts that assist with the most effective methods of learning for adults. By using this model, it provided a way for the information to be followed and easily understood by caregivers of various educational levels.
Within this caregiver guide, the following areas are addressed: the definition and stages of HF, the role of the caregiver, the role of healthcare professionals, the physical and mental factors that influence caregiving, optimizing the caregiver’s environment, and maximizing efficiency in the caregiver role. A supplemental guide was created to demonstrate how OTs can educate and assist caregivers of HF in their everyday lives. Overall, this guide was created to find the best fit between the caregiver’s health and caring for the individual with HF
JOINT ANGLES AND FORCES ON WRIST STRUCTURES DURING VARIATIONS OF YOGA POSES
The current study analysed joint angles of the wrists and forces on the structures in the hands and wrists in a hyperextended position and a neutral position during three different yoga poses. Participants (n = 9) performed three yoga poses (plank, side plank, and upward dog), with their wrists in a hyperextended position (H) and a neutral position (N). Each pose was completed three times for 10 seconds in H and N, for a total of six trials per pose. A two-way Repeated Measures ANOVA found significant differences in both wrist joint angles and GRF between H and N. Due to the suggested path transmission of forces, as well as the increased longitudinal loading that comes with wrist hyperextension, it is recommended that plank, side plank, and upward dog be performed in a neutral wrist position
ELECTROMYOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF FOREARM MUSCLES DURING VARIOUS YOGA POSES
The current study examined muscle activity via electromyography of the flexor carpi radialis (FCR), ulnaris (FCU), and extensor carpi radialis (ECR), ulnaris (ECU) during two variations of three separate yoga poses. Nine participants (n=9) performed three different yoga poses: plank, side-plank, and upward dog; in two separate variations, (V1) with the wrists in a passive hyperextended position, and (V2) with the wrists in a neutral position where the participants made a fist and performed the pose in that position. There were no differences between poses or variations for ECR. A difference was found between variations, but not poses for ECU. FCR and FCU were different between poses, but not variations. The only interaction was for the FCR. Due to the increased muscle activity in V2, performing yoga in V1 position may allow a yoga session to be completed with less fatigue and risk for injury
3D visualization of bioerosion in archaeological bone
Palaeoradiology is increasingly being used in archaeological and forensic sciences as a minimally invasive alternative to traditional histological methods for investigating bone microanatomy and its destruction by diagenetic processes. To better understand ancient mortuary practices, taphonomic studies using microCT scanning methods are gaining an ever more important role. Recently it was demonstrated that 2D virtual sections obtained by microCT scanning of intact samples are comparable to physical sections for the rating and diagnosis of bioerosion in archaeological bone. Importantly, volume image data obtained from tomographic methods also allow the rendering and analysis of 3D models. Building on these methods we provide (1) detailed descriptions of bioerosion in 3D volume renderings, virtual sections, and traditional micrographs, and (2) accessible techniques for the visualization of bioerosion in skeletal samples. The dataset is based on twenty-eight cortical bone samples, including twenty femora (of which five are cremated), two ribs, two parietals, one mandibular ramus, one humerus, and two faunal long bones from five archaeological sites in Lower Austria dating from the Early Neolithic to the Late Iron Age. Notably, we reduce the need for time-consuming image segmentation by sequentially applying two noise-reducing, edge-preserving filters, and using an image-display transfer function that visualizes bioerosion, as well as Haversian and Volkmann canal structure and density in 3D. In doing so we are also able to visualize in 3D the invasion of canals by microbiota, which has previously only been reported in 2D sections. Unlike conventional thin sections, the 3D volume images shown here are easy to create and interpret, even for archaeologists inexperienced in histology, and readily facilitate the illustration and communication of microtaphonomic effects
Environment Constrains Fitness Advantages of Division of Labor in Microbial Consortia Engineered for Metabolite Push or Pull Interactions
Fitness benefits from division of labor are well documented in microbial consortia, but the dependency of the benefits on environmental context is poorly understood. Two synthetic Escherichia coli consortia were built to test the relationships between exchanged organic acid, local environment, and opportunity costs of different metabolic strategies. Opportunity costs quantify benefits not realized due to selecting one phenotype over another. The consortia catabolized glucose and exchanged either acetic or lactic acid to create producer-consumer food webs. The organic acids had different inhibitory properties and different opportunity costs associated with their positions in central metabolism. The exchanged metabolites modulated different consortial dynamics. The acetic acid-exchanging (AAE) consortium had a “push” interaction motif where acetic acid was secreted faster by the producer than the consumer imported it, while the lactic acid-exchanging (LAE) consortium had a “pull” interaction motif where the consumer imported lactic acid at a comparable rate to its production. The LAE consortium outperformed wild-type (WT) batch cultures under the environmental context of weakly buffered conditions, achieving a 55% increase in biomass titer, a 51% increase in biomass per proton yield, an 86% increase in substrate conversion, and the complete elimination of by-product accumulation all relative to the WT. However, the LAE consortium had the trade-off of a 42% lower specific growth rate. The AAE consortium did not outperform the WT in any considered performance metric. Performance advantages of the LAE consortium were sensitive to environment; increasing the medium buffering capacity negated the performance advantages compared to WT
Substantiating microCT for diagnosing bioerosion in archaeological bone using a new Virtual Histological Index (VHI)
Recent technological advances have broadened the application of palaeoradiology for non-destructive investigation of ancient remains. X-ray microtomography (microCT) in particular is increasingly used as an alternative to histological bone sections for interpreting pathological alterations, trauma, microstructure, and, more recently, bioerosion with direct or ancillary use of histological indices. However, no systematic attempt has been made to confirm the reliability of microCT for histotaphonomic analysis of archaeological bone. The objective of this study is therefore to compare thin sections of human femora rated with the Oxford Histological Index to microCT sections using the newly developed Virtual Histological Index in order to provide an accessible methodology for the evaluation of bioerosion in archaeological bone. We provide detailed descriptions of virtual sections and assess the efficacy of the method on cranial and postcranial elements, cremated long bones, and faunal samples. The traditional histological and virtual methods showed a strong correlation, providing the first systematic data substantiating lab-based microCT as a suitable alternative tool for reconstructing post-mortem history in the archaeological record, and for the reliable, non-destructive screening of samples for further analyses
Associations of food addiction and nonsuicidal selfâ injury among women with an eating disorder: A common strategy for regulating emotions?
ObjectiveWe examined the association between lifetime nonsuicidal selfâ injury (NSSI), emotion regulation, and food addiction (FA) in women (n = 220) with eating disorders (ED) compared with (n = 121) healthy controls (HC).MethodParticipants were assessed via faceâ toâ face interviews for ED diagnosis and lifetime NSSI. FA was assessed with Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 and emotion regulation using the Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).ResultsThe prevalence of FA was significantly higher among women with an ED when compared with HC (75.9% vs. 4.1%, p < 0.001). Similarly, subjects presenting FA showed a high prevalence of lifetime NSSI, in both ED and HC (40.7% and 60.0%, respectively). Our predictive model revealed FA and DERS total scores as indicators of the presence of lifetime NSSI independent of group assignment, ED diagnosis, and age.ConclusionsThese findings suggest a shared aetiology between ED, NSSI, and FA, explained possibly in part by emotionâ regulation deficits.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146570/1/erv2646.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146570/2/erv2646_am.pd
Fishery-induced selection on an Alpine whitefish: quantifying genetic and environmental effects on individual growth rate
Size-selective fishing, environmental changes and reproductive strategies are expected to affect life-history traits such as the individual growth rate. The relative contribution of these factors is not clear, particularly whether size-selective fishing can have a substantial impact on the genetics and hence on the evolution of individual growth rates in wild populations. We analysed a 25-year monitoring survey of an isolated population of the Alpine whitefish Coregonus palaea. We determined the selection differentials on growth rate, the actual change of growth rate over time and indicators of reproductive strategies that may potentially change over time. The selection differential can be reliably estimated in our study population because almost all the fish are harvested within their first years of life, i.e. few fish escape fishing mortality. We found a marked decline in average adult growth rate over the 25 years and a significant selection differential for adult growth, but no evidence for any linear change in reproductive strategies over time. Assuming that the heritability of growth in this whitefish corresponds to what was found in other salmonids, about a third of the observed decline in growth rate would be linked to fishery-induced evolution. Size-selective fishing seems to affect substantially the genetics of individual growth in our study population
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