84 research outputs found
Preterm labour decision-making and experiences of care for women and clinicians (QUIDS Qualitative):A qualitative exploration
Patient perspectives of managing fatigue in ankylosing spondylitis, and views on potential interventions: a qualitative study
<p>Background: Fatigue is a major component of living with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), though it has been largely over-looked, and currently there are no specific agreed management strategies.</p>
<p>Methods: This qualitative exploratory study involved participants who are members of an existing population-based ankylosing spondylitis (PAS) cohort. Participants residing in South West Wales were invited to participate in a focus group to discuss; (1) effects of fatigue, (2) self-management strategies and (3) potential future interventions. The focus groups were audio-recorded and the transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.</p>
<p>Results: Participants consisted of 3 males/4 females (group 1) and 4 males/3 females (group 2), aged between 35 and 73âyears (mean age 53âyears). Three main themes were identified: (1) The effects of fatigue were multi-dimensional with participants expressing feelings of being âdrainedâ (physical), âupsetâ (emotional) and experiencing âlow-moodâ (psychological); (2) The most commonly reported self-management strategy for fatigue was a balanced combination of activity (exercise) and rest. Medication was reluctantly taken due to side-effects and worries over dependency; (3) Participants expressed a preference for psychological therapies rather than pharmacological for managing fatigue. Information on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) was received with interest, with recommendations for delivery in a group format with the option of distance-based delivery for people who were not able to attend a group course.</p>
<p>Conclusions: Patients frequently try and manage their fatigue without any formal guidance or support. Our research indicates there is a need for future research to focus on psychological interventions to address the multi-faceted aspects of fatigue in AS.</p>
Marvellous to mediocre: findings of national survey of UK practice and provision of care in pregnancies after stillbirth or neonatal death
"A renewed sense of purpose": mothers' and fathers' experience of having a child following a recent stillbirth.
Most research has focused on mothers' experiences of perinatal loss itself or on the subsequent pregnancy, whereas little attention has been paid to both parents' experiences of having a child following late perinatal loss and the experience of parenting this child. The current study therefore explored mothers' and fathers' experiences of becoming a parent to a child born after a recent stillbirth, covering the period of the second pregnancy and up to two years after the birth of the next baby.
In depth interviews were conducted with 7 couples (14 participants). Couples were eligible if they previously had a stillbirth (after 24 weeks of gestation) and subsequently had another child (their first live baby) who was now under the age of 2 years. Couples who had more than one child after experiencing a stillbirth and those who were not fluent in English were excluded. Qualitative analysis of the interview data was conducted using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.
Five superordinate themes emerged from the data: Living with uncertainty; Coping with uncertainty; Relationship with the next child; The continuing grief process; Identity as a parent. Overall, fathers' experiences were similar to those of mothers', including high levels of anxiety and guilt during the subsequent pregnancy and after the child was born. Coping strategies to address these were identified. Differences between mothers and fathers regarding the grief process during the subsequent pregnancy and after their second child was born were identified. Despite difficulties with bonding during pregnancy and at the time when the baby was born, parents' perceptions of their relationship with their subsequent child were positive.
Findings highlight the importance of tailoring support systems not only according to mothers' but also to fathers' needs. Parents', and particularly fathers', reported lack of opportunities for grieving as well as the high level of anxiety of both parents about their baby's wellbeing during pregnancy and after birth implies a need for structured support. Difficulties experienced in bonding with the subsequent child during pregnancy and once the child is born need to be normalised
Habitat use at fine spatial scale: how does patch clustering criteria explain the use of meadows by red deer ?
Large mammalian herbivores are keystone species
in different ecosystems. To mediate the effects of large
mammalian herbivores on ecosystems, it is crucial to understand
their habitat selection pattern. At finer scales, herbivore
patch selection depends strongly on plant community
traits and therefore its understanding is constrained by patch
definition criteria. Our aim was to assess which criteria for
patch definition best explained use of meadows by wild,
free-ranging, red deer (Cervus elaphus) in a study area in
Northeast Portugal. We used two clustering criteria types
based on floristic composition and gross forage classes, respectively.
For the floristic criteria, phytosociological approach
was used to classify plant communities, and its
objectivity evaluated with a mathematical clustering of the
floristic relevés. Cover of dominant plant species was tested
as a proxy for the phytosociological method. For the gross
forage classes, the graminoids/forbs ratio and the percentage
cover of legumes were used. For assessing deer relative use of
meadows we used faecal accumulation rates. Patches clustered
according to floristic classification better explained selection of patches by deer. Plant community classifications based on
phytosociology, or proxies of this, used for characterizing
meadow patches resulted useful to understand herbivore selection
pattern at fine scales and thus potentially suitable to
assist wildlife management decisions
The SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil Program
The SPARC Toroidal Field Model Coil (TFMC) Program was a three-year effort
between 2018 and 2021 that developed novel Rare Earth Yttrium Barium Copper
Oxide (REBCO) superconductor technologies and then successfully utilized these
technologies to design, build, and test a first-in-class, high-field (~20 T),
representative-scale (~3 m) superconducting toroidal field coil. With the
principal objective of demonstrating mature, large-scale, REBCO magnets, the
project was executed jointly by the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC)
and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). The TFMC achieved its programmatic goal
of experimentally demonstrating a large-scale high-field REBCO magnet,
achieving 20.1 T peak field-on-conductor with 40.5 kA of terminal current, 815
kN/m of Lorentz loading on the REBCO stacks, and almost 1 GPa of mechanical
stress accommodated by the structural case. Fifteen internal demountable
pancake-to-pancake joints operated in the 0.5 to 2.0 nOhm range at 20 K and in
magnetic fields up to 12 T. The DC and AC electromagnetic performance of the
magnet, predicted by new advances in high-fidelity computational models, was
confirmed in two test campaigns while the massively parallel, single-pass,
pressure-vessel style coolant scheme capable of large heat removal was
validated. The REBCO current lead and feeder system was experimentally
qualified up to 50 kA, and the crycooler based cryogenic system provided 600 W
of cooling power at 20 K with mass flow rates up to 70 g/s at a maximum design
pressure of 20 bar-a for the test campaigns. Finally, the feasibility of using
passive, self-protection against a quench in a fusion-scale NI TF coil was
experimentally assessed with an intentional open-circuit quench at 31.5 kA
terminal current.Comment: 17 pages 9 figures, overview paper and the first of a six-part series
of papers covering the TFMC Progra
"A renewed sense of purpose": Mothers' and fathers' experience of having a child following a recent stillbirth
Review of mathematical programming applications in water resource management under uncertainty
Parents' experiences and expectations of care in pregnancy after stillbirth or neonatal death: a metasynthesis.
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