A Comparison of Self-Administered Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation To Static Stretching On Range of Motion and Flexibility

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The Criminal Justice Response to Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes: A Routine Activities Perspective

Politicians and researchers have begun to pay more attention to elder abuse in recent times. Most of the research on elder abuse has focused on cases of abuse perpetrated by family members, treating the phenomenon as a social problem, but it is increasingly being conceptualized as a crime problem. The current study examines elder abuse in nursing homes from a criminological perspective. Using routine activities theory as a guide, particular attention is given to the criminal justice system\u27s response to abusive activities committed by nursing home employees. In all, 801 cases of abuse investigated by Medicaid Fraud Control Units are examined. Results suggest that past research has mischaracterized the motivated offender and that legislative policies fall short of providing capable guardianship. In addition, increases in vulnerability are related to abuse type. Implications are provided

The Influence of Demographic Factors on the Experience of House Arrest

A great deal of research has focused on how various groups perceive and experience incarceration. Research into this area is justified on the grounds that understanding will yield information about appropriate strategies to effectively and efficiently supervise, protect, and treat incarcerated offenders. Groups whose incarceration experiences have been considered by criminologists include female prisoners (Enos, 2001; Kruttschnitt, Gartner, & Miller, 2000; Loucks & Zamble, 2000), older prisoners (Edwards, 1998; Fry & Frese, 1992; King & Bass, 2000), and minority prisoners (Frazier, 1995; Wright, 1989). Researchers have also considered the influence that length of sentence has on the incarceration experience. Together, research suggests that different kinds of offenders will experience incarceration differently and length of sentence will have a significant influence on the offender’s adaptation (Curran, 2000; Casey & Bakken, 2001; Moyer, 1984). While a great deal of research has considered the role of demographic factors in the adaptation to incarceration, much less research has considered how various groups adapt and respond to certain alternative sanctions. The current study examines the way that different types of offenders respond to the experience of being placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. Four questions guide this research: 1) Do male and female offenders perceive and respond to house arrest with electronic monitoring differently? 2) Do black and white offenders perceive and respond to house arrest with electronic monitoring differently? 3) Do older offenders perceive and respond to house arrest with electronic monitoring differently than younger offenders? And 4) How does length of sentence influence offenders’ perceptions about, and experiences with, house arrest with electronic monitoring? In the review of literature, research on the incarceration experiences of different offenders will be considered to set the framework for research on the way offenders experience house arrest with electronic monitoring. The results of this study will aid in understanding strategies that would be most useful in supervising and treating different types of monitored offenders

Justifications for the Probation Sanction Among Residents of Virginia--Cool or Un-Cool?

Perhaps as evidence of a growing cultural gap between our students and ourselves, one of the authors was recently amused when a student asked whether probation was a cool sanction. In this study, we begin an investigation into how cool the probation sanction is in the eyes of residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Specifically, we use data from a telephone survey of 840 registered voters to explore three questions. First, how often would they recommend the probation sanction in comparison to other sanctions? Second, how do they justify the sanction relative to justifications for other sanctions? Finally, are their justifications and sentencing recommendations consistent across crimes? We address these questions in this study to see whether the sanction is cool or uncool. In the review of literature, we discuss punishment justifications in general and probation as a punitive experience

A cross-discipline approach to healthcare needs

With rapid advancements in technology and growing demand for better healthcare, hospitals are struggling to find a balance between providing the best possible care and maintaining a responsible budget. This issue is especially evident in small hospitals lacking resources and infrastructure to keep up with modern technology. The Engineering for Modern Healthcare Creative Inquiry is a collaboration between Industrial Engineering and Bioengineering students. Our goal is to help small hospitals to develop efficient, cost-effective solutions to their needs. Currently, we are working with hospitals in South Carolina and Virginia to explore these solutions. We are interviewing clinicians, nurses, and other staff members to better understand current practices and identify improvement opportunities. Our initial focus will be on inventory management and sterile processing. Utilizing both departments\u27 expertise, we will develop a comprehensive solution to this complicated need

Saponite Dissolution Experiments and Implications for Mars

Recent work suggests that the mineralogical sequence of the Murray formation at Gale crater may have resulted from diagenetic alteration after sedimentation, or deposition in a stratified lake with oxic surface and anoxic bottom waters. Fe-containing clay minerals are common both at Gale crater, and throughout the Noachian-aged terrains on Mars. These clay minerals are primarily ferric (Fe3+), and previous work suggests that these ferric clay minerals may result from alteration of ferrous (Fe2+) smectites that were oxidized after deposition. The detection of trioctahedral smectites at Gale crater by CheMin suggests Fe2+ smectite was also deposited during the early Hesperian. However, due to their sensitivity to oxygen, Fe2+ smectites are difficult to analyze on Earth and very few saponite dissolution rates exist in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, no experiments have measured the dissolution rates of ferrous saponites under oxidizing and reducing conditions. In order to better understand the characteristics of water-rock interaction at Gale crater, particularly the oxidation state, we report our results to date on ongoing syntheses of ferrous and magnesium saponites and dissolution experiments of natural saponite under ambient conditions. Future experiments will include the dissolution of synthetic ferric, ferrous, and magnesium saponites under oxidizing and anoxic conditions at a range of pH values

Designing medical technology for developing countries

Resource-poor countries have markedly different healthcare systems. Many developed nations donate medical supplies to these countries, but this often does not meet the needs of the recipients. Our goal is to develop simple healthcare solutions that can be produced in-country so the developing area does not depend on outside sources for its supplies. Our group works on many projects, including sustainable woven grass neck braces and a variety of low-cost sensors. Our designs do not require frequent donations, minimize the use of consumables, and provide better detection and/or treatment of prevalent medical concerns. Our baby monitor will detect skin temperature and control a heating element based on the needs of the infant. Our low-cost glucometer operates with the use of test strips that can be printed for a penny with a standard inkjet printer. This will allow the hospital or clinic to print the strips themselves rather than depend on donated strips. Our bacterial sensor will measure resistance to quickly detect the quantity of bacteria in a sample. We seek sustainable solutions for in-house manufacturing to advance more self-sufficient healthcare systems

Production of π0 and η mesons in Cu+Au collisions at sNN =200 GeV

Production of π0 and η mesons has been measured at midrapidity in Cu+Au collisions at sNN=200GeV. Measurements were performed in π0(η)→γγ decay channel in the 1(2)-20GeV/c transverse momentum range. A strong suppression is observed for π0 and η meson production at high transverse momentum in central Cu+Au collisions relative to the p+p results scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. In central collisions the suppression is similar to Au+Au with comparable nuclear overlap. The η/π0 ratio measured as a function of transverse momentum is consistent with mT-scaling parametrization down to pT=2GeV/c, its asymptotic value is constant and consistent with Au+Au and p+p and does not show any significant dependence on collision centrality. Similar results were obtained in hadron-hadron, hadron-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions as well as in e+e- collisions in a range of collision energies sNN=3-1800 GeV. This suggests that the quark-gluon-plasma medium produced in Cu+Cu collisions either does not affect the jet fragmentation into light mesons or it affects the π0 and η the same way

Comparison of intraoperative radiotherapy as a boost vs. simultaneously integrated boosts after breast-conserving therapy for breast cancer

BackgroundCurrently, there are no data from randomized trials on the use of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) as a tumor bed boost in women at high risk of local recurrence. The aim of this retrospective analysis was to compare the toxicity and oncological outcome of IORT or simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) with conventional external beam radiotherapy (WBI) after breast conserving surgery (BCS).MethodsBetween 2009 and 2019, patients were treated with a single dose of 20 Gy IORT with 50 kV photons, followed by WBI 50 Gy in 25 or 40.05 in 15 fractions or WBI 50 Gy with SIB up to 58.80–61.60 Gy in 25–28 fractions. Toxicity was compared after propensity score matching. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method.ResultsA 1:1 propensity-score matching resulted in an IORT + WBI and SIB + WBI cohort of 60 patients, respectively. The median follow-up for IORT + WBI was 43.5 vs. 32 months in the SIB + WBI cohort. Most women had a pT1c tumor: IORT group 33 (55%) vs. 31 (51.7%) SIB group (p = 0.972). The luminal-B immunophenotype was most frequently diagnosed in the IORT group 43 (71.6%) vs. 35 (58.3%) in the SIB group (p = 0.283). The most reported acute adverse event in both groups was radiodermatitis. In the IORT cohort, radiodermatitis was grade 1: 23 (38.3%), grade 2: 26 (43.3%), and grade 3: 6 (10%) vs. SIB cohort grade 1: 3 (5.1%), grade 2: 21 (35%), and grade 3: 7 (11.6%) without a meaningful difference (p = 0.309). Fatigue occurred more frequently in the IORT group (grade 1: 21.7% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.041). In addition, intramammary lymphedema grade 1 occurred significantly more often in the IORT group (11.7% vs. 1.7%; p = 0.026). Both groups showed comparable late toxicity. The 3- and 5-year local control (LC) rates were each 98% in the SIB group vs. 98% and 93% in the IORT group (LS: log rank p = 0.717).ConclusionTumor bed boost using IORT and SIB techniques after BCS shows excellent local control and comparable late toxicity, while IORT application exhibits a moderate increase in acute toxicity. These data should be validated by the expected publication of the prospective randomized TARGIT-B study