Stress Theory, Health, and Health Care: Self-care Technology and Self-Identity Reinvigoration

How does self-care technology influence self-concept in patients with chronic health care needs? Progressive patient reliance on self-care is tantamount to the extension of independence and self-reliance in all countries with populations experiencing chronic health challenges. With remarkable advancements in medical technology of late, understanding the effects of self-care technology on patient well-being is critical. This work explores existing literature on the intersection of medical care and technological interventions in populations dealing with chronic illnesses, through the lens of a researcher involved with the HOPE Project in Hawai\u27i exploring technology use by patients undergoing dialysis treatments. The perspective of this researcher is of note: a patient with type 1 diabetes implementing self-care technology every day. The interplay of self-identity and self-concept is discussed. Stress theory identifies critical areas of risk for patients with chronic medical needs: perceptions of self-efficacy, social support availability and maintenance, and patient experiences as medical patients and social organisms. Research involving self-care technology shows marked improvement in perceptions of self-efficacy, perceptions of socialsupport availability, and positive gains in the lives of people dealing with chronic illnesses. The overarching discussion of human rights must include the narratives of people struggling to find success with chronic illnesse

Capital Flows, Capital Account Liberalisation and the Mediterranean Countries

This paper examines questions related to possible capital account liberalisation in the Mediterranean countries. First, we provide an overview of the extent to which these countries have capital controls along with their exchange rate regimes and some basic macroeconomic aggregates. Second, we examine the case for capital account liberalisation, along with the prerequisites for successful liberalisation. Here we consider issues such as sequencing and possible benefits of synchronisation. Finally, we examine the experience with capital flows – both FDI and other capital flows. We explain these flows and use the past experience of these countries to draw some conclusions for the successful opening up of the capital account.capital account liberalisation, Mediterranean countries, capital flows

The Origins of the University of Wales Robes

For those of us who regard the range of University of Wales shot silks as among the most beautiful and dignified of silks that adorn academic robes, the fact that details of their origins are unknown has been a source of irritation. The University of Wales Registry has often denied any knowledge of the origins of the University’s robes, and the University of Wales archives in the National Library of Wales contain no papers relating to the design of the robes. However, the recent development of the British Library’s Nineteenth Century Newspapers digital project, available through the Gale Group, has at last revealed something of the origins of the robes. [Excerpt]

Dispersion of the solar magnetic flux in undisturbed photosphere as derived from SDO/HMI data

To explore the magnetic flux dispersion in the undisturbed solar photosphere, magnetograms acquired by Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) were utilized. Two areas, a coronal hole area (CH) and an area of super-granulation pattern, SG, were analyzed. We explored the displacement and separation spectra and the behavior of the turbulent diffusion coefficient, $K$. The displacement and separation spectra are very similar to each other. Small magnetic elements (of size 3-100 squared pixels and the detection threshold of 20 Mx sm$^{-2}$) in both CH and SG areas disperse in the same way and they are more mobile than the large elements (of size 20-400 squared pixels and the detection threshold of 130 Mx sm$^{-2}$). The regime of super-diffusivity is found for small elements ($\gamma \approx 1.3$ and $K$ growing from $\sim$100 to $\sim$ 300 km$^2$ s$^{-1}$). Large elements in the CH area are scanty and show super-diffusion with $\gamma \approx 1.2$ and $K$ = (62-96) km$^2$ s$^{-1}$ on rather narrow range of 500-2200 km. Large elements in the SG area demonstrate two ranges of linearity and two diffusivity regimes: sub-diffusivity on scales (900-2500) km with $\gamma=0.88$ and $K$ decreasing from $\sim$130 to $\sim$100 km$^2$ s$^{-1}$, and super-diffusivity on scales (2500-4800) km with $\gamma \approx 1.3$ and $K$ growing from $\sim$140 to $\sim$200 km$^2$ s$^{-1}$. Comparison of our results with the previously published shows that there is a tendency of saturation of the diffusion coefficient on large scales, i.e., the turbulent regime of super-diffusivity is gradually replaced by normal diffusion.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Can a renal nurse assess fluid status using ultrasound on the inferior vena cava? A cross-sectional interrater study: Ultrasound on the inferior vena cava

Introduction: Ultrasound of the inferior vena cava (IVC-US) has been used to estimate intravascular volume status and fluid removal during a hemodialysis session. Usually, renal nurses rely on other, imprecise methods to determine ultrafiltration. To date, no study has examined whether renal nurses can reliably perform ultrasound for volume assessment and for potential prevention of intradialytic hypotension. This pilot study aimed to determine if a renal nurse could master the skill of performing and correctly interpreting Point of Care Ultrasound on patients receiving hemodialysis. Methods: After receiving theoretical training and performing 100 training scans, a renal nurse performed 60 ultrasound scans on 10 patients. These were categorized by the nurse into hypovolemic, euvolemic, or hypervolemic through measurement of the maximal diameter and degree of collapse of the IVC. Scans were subsequently assessed for adequacy and quality by two sonologists, who were blinded to each other\u27s and the nurse\u27s results. Findings: The interrater reliability of 60 scans was good, with intraclass correlation 0.79 (95% confidence interval (CI) =0.63–0.87) and with a good interrater agreement for the following estimation of intravascular volume (Cohen\u27s weighted Kappa κw = 0.62), when comparing the nurse to an expert sonographer. Discussion: A renal nurse can reliably perform ultrasound of the IVC in hemodialysis patients, obtaining high quality scans for volume assessment of hemodialysis patients. This novel approach could be more routinely applied by other renal nurses to obtain objective measures of patient volume status in the dialysis setting

Activation of Glial FGFRs Is Essential in Glial Migration, Proliferation, and Survival and in Glia-Neuron Signaling during Olfactory System Development

Development of the adult olfactory system of the moth Manduca sexta depends on reciprocal interactions between olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) axons growing in from the periphery and centrally-derived glial cells. Early-arriving ORN axons induce a subset of glial cells to proliferate and migrate to form an axon-sorting zone, in which later-arriving ORN axons will change their axonal neighbors and change their direction of outgrowth in order to travel with like axons to their target areas in the olfactory (antennal) lobe. These newly fasciculated axon bundles will terminate in protoglomeruli, the formation of which induces other glial cells to migrate to surround them. Glial cells do not migrate unless ORN axons are present, axons fail to fasciculate and target correctly without sufficient glial cells, and protoglomeruli are not maintained without a glial surround. We have shown previously that Epidermal Growth Factor receptors and the IgCAMs Neuroglian and Fasciclin II play a role in the ORN responses to glial cells. In the present work, we present evidence for the importance of glial Fibroblast Growth Factor receptors in glial migration, proliferation, and survival in this developing pathway. We also report changes in growth patterns of ORN axons and of the dendrites of olfactory (antennal lobe) neurons following blockade of glial FGFR activation that suggest that glial FGFR activation is important in reciprocal communication between neurons and glial cells