464 research outputs found
The Co-Occurring Disorder Patient: Effects of Stigma, Perception of Care, and Treatment
The topic of stigma as it relates to the mentally ill and chemically addicted population has recently become more prominent in clinician discussion than it has been in the past. Patient’s perception of care regarding this topic has also been amplified in discovering more information about stigma. This article will provide insight from a program evaluation that looks into the topics of perception of care, stigma, as well as implications for treatment
Assessing motor skills to inform a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder diagnosis focusing on persons older than 12 years: A systematic review of the literature
Background Motor impairments are one of the difficulties present in people prenatally exposed to alcohol, and are included in the diagnostic criteria for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Objectives The aim of this review was to examine the extent and common types of motor impairment present in persons aged over 12 years prenatally exposed to alcohol as evidence for determining the skills that should be assessed and addressed in intervention. Methods A systematic review of curren t evidence using various electronic databases was conducted. Studies were appraised using a recognized clinical appraisal tool. Results Seven studies published between 1998 and 2014 met the inclusion criteria. There is some evidence that difficulties with fine motor skills, visual motor integration, and balance skills persist in people who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol. Most studies did not focus on adolescent or adult participants in isolation, making it difficult to generalize results. Varied methodological designs made it difficult to compare studies as few used common standardized assessments. Conclusion A review of functional difficulties in each individual would be required to determine if a motor assessment is warranted. Further research is required using assessments recommended in diagnostic guidelines to determine the common motor difficulties seen in adolescents and adults
TWO CASES OF NON-ALCOHOLIC WERNICKE ENCEPHALOPATHY SUCCESSFULLY TREATED BY THIAMINE REPLACEMENT: DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC CONSIDERATIONS
Wernicke\u2019s encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neurologi- cal disorder, due to a lack of thiamin (vitamin B1) which is observed mainly in alcoholic patients. Unfortunately, the syn- drome is underestimated in clinical practice and most often recognized only on autopsy, especially among non-alcoholics. The common clinical picture include mental status changes, ocular dysfunction, and gait ataxia. Treatment consists of timely thiamine replacement through intravenous infusion.
We describe the case of two patients who developed a non-alcoholic WE post-surgical, regressed completely after intravenous infusion of thiamine. These cases suggest intere- sting diagnostic and therapeutic implications
Online video instruction on hand expression of colostrum in pregnancy is an effective educational tool
The use of antenatal colostrum expression in the weeks prior to birth may help improve long-term breastfeeding, but few large-scale studies exist. Typically, antenatal colostrum expression instruction relies on face-to-face education, making large interventions costly. We aimed to determine whether an expert online instructional video can improve knowledge and confidence around antenatal colostrum expressing. Pregnant women were asked to complete a questionnaire pre- and post-watching the instructional video online. Ninety five pregnant women completed both pre- and post-questionnaires. Total antenatal colostrum expression knowledge scores improved after watching the video, from a mean of 3.05 ± 1.70 correct out of a maximum of 7, to 6.32 ± 0.76 (p \u3c 0.001). Self-reported confidence around hand expressing in pregnancy also improved from an average ranking of not confident (2.56 ± 1.17, out of a possible 5) to confident (4.32 ± 0.80, p \u3c 0.001). Almost all women (98%) reported that they would recommend the video to a friend or family member if antenatal colostrum expression was suggested by their healthcare provider. Findings suggest that the use of an online expert video is an acceptable and effective way to educate pregnant women in antenatal colostrum expression
A Nexafs Study of Nitric Oxide Layers Adsorbed from a nitrite Solution onto a Pt(111) Surface
NO molecules adsorbed on a Pt(111) surface from dipping in an acidic nitrite
solution are studied by near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy
(NEXAFS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy electron
diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) techniques. LEED
patterns and STM images show that no long range ordered structures are formed
after NO adsorption on a Pt(111) surface. Although the total NO coverage is
very low, spectroscopic features in N K-edge and O K-edge absorption spectra
have been singled out and related to the different species induced by this
preparation method. From these measurements it is concluded that the NO
molecule is adsorbed trough the N atom in an upright conformation. The maximum
saturation coverage is about 0.3 monolayers, and although nitric oxide is the
major component, nitrite and nitrogen species are slightly co-adsorbed on the
surface. The results obtained from this study are compared with those
previously reported in the literature for NO adsorbed on Pt(111) under UHV
conditions
The inhomogeneous mechanical behaviour of Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurism (ATAA)
Surgical management of ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (aTAAs) relies on maximum diameter,
growth rate, and presence of connective tissue disorders. The surgical decision however is often
not considering that dissection and rupture do occur in patients who do not meet criteria for surgical
repair [1,2]. In this study the authors aim to investigate the mechanical properties of aTAAs to be
implemented in computational biomechanics models for a preclinical risk evaluation. Additionally,
in some recent studies, some data about the biomechanical properties of the aTAAs have been reported
[3], but without any relation to bicuspidal or tricuspidal aTAA. The aim of this study was to
investigate aTAA mechanical properties using a biaxial system to compare the circumferential and
axial stress-strain relations for bicuspidal and tricuspidal aTAAs
Measuring magnetic profiles at manganite surfaces with monolayer resolution
The performance of manganite-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) has
suffered from reduced magnetization present at the junction interfaces that is
ultimately responsible for the spin polarization of injected currents; this
behavior has been attributed to a magnetic "dead layer" that typically extends
a few unit cells into the manganite. X-ray magnetic scattering in resonant
conditions (XRMS) is one of the most innovative and effective techniques to
extract surface or interfacial magnetization profiles with subnanometer
resolution, and has only recently been applied to oxide heterostructures. Here
we present our approach to characterizing the surface and interfacial
magnetization of such heterostructures using the XRMS technique, conducted at
the BEAR beamline (Elettra synchrotron, Trieste). Measurements were carried out
in specular reflectivity geometry, switching the left/right elliptical
polarization of light as well the magnetization direction in the scattering
plane. Spectra were collected across the Mn L2,3 edge for at least four
different grazing angles in order to better analyse the interference phenomena.
The resulting reflectivity spectra have been carefully fit to obtain the
magnetization profiles, minimizing the number of free parameters as much as
possible. Optical constants of the samples (real and imaginary part of the
refractive index) in the interested frequency range are obtained through
absorption measurements in two magnetization states and subsequent
Kramers-Kronig transformation, allowing quantitative fits of the magnetization
profile at different temperatures. We apply this method to the study of
air-exposed surfaces of epitaxial La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (001) films grown on SrTiO3
(001) substrates.Comment: 11 pages + 3 figures; accepted to JMMM (2009
Determination of the magnetization profile of Co/Mg periodic multilayers by magneto-optic Kerr effect and X-ray magnetic resonant reflectivity
The resonant magnetic reflectivity of Co/Mg multilayers around the Co L2,3
absorption edge is simulated then measured on a specifically designed sample.
The dichroic signal is obtained when making the difference between the two
reflectivities measured with the magnetic field applied in two opposite
directions parallel to the sample surface. The simulations show that the
existence of magnetic dead layers at the interfaces between the Co and Mg
layers leads to an important increase of the dichroic signal measured in the
vicinity of the third Bragg peak that otherwise should be negligible. The
measurements are in agreement with the model introducing 0.25 nm thick dead
layers. This is attributed to the Co atoms in contact with the Mg layers and
thus we conclude that the Co-Mg interfaces are abrupt from the magnetic point
of view.Comment: 8 page
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