1,656 research outputs found
Towards the development of the psychosocial impact of assistive devices scale for continence (C-PIADS)
BACKGROUND: Current outcome measures for continence management devices do not adequately address psychosocial impact. The PIADS is an assessment tool that has been shown to reliably predict the adoption and use of assistive technology devices, but it is not widely used for continence devices. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the PIADS requires modification to address the particular needs of continence device users and to inform any subsequent item development. METHODS: The study used interpretive methods in which qualitative information from semi-structured interviews was combined with the findings from cognitive interviews for questionnaire pre-testing. A total of 40 participants in UK and Canada were interviewed. RESULTS: Few participants had difficulty in understanding or relating to the majority of PIADS items. Several items were not considered relevant to continence and some areas for potential new items were uncovered. Embarrassment and concealment of urinary incontinence from others were common topics. CONCLUSIONS: The PIADS appears to fundamentally address many, but not all, of the important psychosocial concerns of adults who have continence difficulties. A version for continence, the C-PIADS, will require modification of the PIADS and is likely to contain some new items
Tibetan sheep are better able to cope with low energy intake than Small-tailed Han sheep due to lower maintenance energy requirements and higher nutrient digestibilities
Tibetan sheep are indigenous to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and are well-adapted to and even thrive under the harsh alpine conditions. Small-tailed Han sheep were introduced to the plateau because of their high prolificacy and are maintained mainly in feedlots. Because of their different backgrounds, we hypothesised that Tibetan and Small-tailed Han sheep would differ in their utilization of energy intake and predicted that Tibetan sheep would cope better with low energy intake than Small-tailed Han sheep. To test this prediction, we determined nutrient digestibilities, energy requirements for maintenance and blood metabolite and hormone concentrations involved in energy metabolism in these breeds. Sheep of each breed (n = 24 of each, all wethers and 1.5 years of age) were distributed randomly into one of four groups and offered ad libitum diets of different digestible energy (DE) densities: 8.21, 9.33, 10.45 and 11.57 MJ DE/kg Dry matter (DM). Following 42 d of measuring feed intake, a 1-week digestion and metabolism experiment was done. DM intakes did not differ between breeds nor among treatments but, by design, DE intake increased linearly in both breeds as dietary energy level increased (P < 0.001). The average daily gain (ADG) was significantly greater in the Tibetan than Small-tailed Han sheep (P = 0.003) and increased linearly in both breeds (P < 0.001). In addition, from the regression analysis of ADG on DE intake, daily DE maintenance requirements were lower for Tibetan than for Small-tailed Han sheep (0.41 vs 0.50 MJ/BW0.75, P < 0.05). The DE and metabolizable energy (ME) digestibilities were higher in the Tibetan than Small-tailed Han sheep (P < 0.001) and increased linearly as the energy level increased in the diet (P < 0.001). At the lowest energy treatment, Tibetan sheep when compared with Small-tailed Han sheep, had: 1) higher serum glucose and glucagon, but lower insulin concentrations (P < 0.05), which indicated a higher capacity for gluconeogenesis and ability to regulate glucose metabolism; and 2) higher non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and lower very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations (P < 0.05), which indicated a higher capacity for NEFA oxidation but lower ability for triglyceride (TG) synthesis. We concluded that our prediction was supported as these differences between breeds conferred an advantage for Tibetan over Small-tailed Han sheep to cope better with low energy diets
Generating Neutrino Mass in the 331 Model
A mechanism for generating small tree-level Majorana mass for neutrinos is
implemented in the 331 Model. No additional fermions or scalars need to be
added, and no mass scale greater than a few TeV is invoked.Comment: LaTex, 7 pages, no figures. Revised version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Magnetic and Mössbauer spectroscopy studies of nanocrystalline iron oxide aerogels
A sol-gel synthesis was used to produce iron oxide aerogels. These nanocrystalline aerogels have a pore-solid structure similar to silica aerogels but are composed entirely of iron oxides. Mössbauer experiments and x-ray diffraction showed that the as-prepared aerogel is an amorphous or poorly crystalline iron oxide, which crystallized as a partially oxidized magnetite during heating in argon. After further heat treatment in air, the nanocrystallites are fully converted to maghemite. The particles are superparamagnetic at high temperatures, but the magnetic properties are strongly influenced by magnetic interactions between the particles at lower temperatures
Early stage morphology of quench condensed Ag, Pb and Pb/Ag hybrid films
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) has been used to study the morphology of
Ag, Pb and Pb/Ag bilayer films fabricated by quench condensation of the
elements onto cold (T=77K), inert and atomically flat Highly Oriented Pyrolytic
Graphite (HOPG) substrates. All films are thinner than 10 nm and show a
granular structure that is consistent with earlier studies of QC films. The
average lateral diameter, , of the Ag grains, however, depends on
whether the Ag is deposited directly on HOPG ( = 13 nm) or on a Pb
film consisting of a single layer of Pb grains ( = 26.8 nm). In
addition, the critical thickness for electrical conduction () of Pb/Ag
films on inert glass substrates is substantially larger than for pure Ag films.
These results are evidence that the structure of the underlying substrate
exerts an influence on the size of the grains in QC films. We propose a
qualitative explanation for this previously unencountered phenomenon.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures and one tabl
A Two-Step Quantum Direct Communication Protocol Using Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Pair Block
A protocol for quantum secure direct communication using blocks of EPR pairs
is proposed. A set of ordered EPR pairs is used as a data block for sending
secret message directly. The ordered EPR set is divided into two particle
sequences, a checking sequence and a message-coding sequence. After
transmitting the checking sequence, the two parties of communication check
eavesdropping by measuring a fraction of particles randomly chosen, with random
choice of two sets of measuring bases. After insuring the security of the
quantum channel, the sender, Alice encodes the secret message directly on the
message-coding sequence and send them to Bob. By combining the checking and
message-coding sequences together, Bob is able to read out the encoded messages
directly. The scheme is secure because an eavesdropper cannot get both
sequences simultaneously. We also discuss issues in a noisy channel.Comment: 8 pages and 2 figures. To appear in Phys Rev
Virtual Constraints and Hybrid Zero Dynamics for Realizing Underactuated Bipedal Locomotion
Underactuation is ubiquitous in human locomotion and should be ubiquitous in
bipedal robotic locomotion as well. This chapter presents a coherent theory for
the design of feedback controllers that achieve stable walking gaits in
underactuated bipedal robots. Two fundamental tools are introduced, virtual
constraints and hybrid zero dynamics. Virtual constraints are relations on the
state variables of a mechanical model that are imposed through a time-invariant
feedback controller. One of their roles is to synchronize the robot's joints to
an internal gait phasing variable. A second role is to induce a low dimensional
system, the zero dynamics, that captures the underactuated aspects of a robot's
model, without any approximations. To enhance intuition, the relation between
physical constraints and virtual constraints is first established. From here,
the hybrid zero dynamics of an underactuated bipedal model is developed, and
its fundamental role in the design of asymptotically stable walking motions is
established. The chapter includes numerous references to robots on which the
highlighted techniques have been implemented.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, bookchapte
Using electronic structure changes to map the H-T phase diagram of alpha'-NaV2O5
We report polarized optical reflectance studies of \alpha'-NaV2O5 as a
function of temperature (4-45 K) and magnetic field (0-60 T). Rung directed
electronic structure changes, as measured by near-infrared reflectance ratios
\Delta R(H)=R(H)/R(H=0 T), are especially sensitive to the phase boundaries. We
employ these changes to map out an H-T phase diagram. Topological highlights
include the observation of two phase boundaries slightly below T_{SG}, enhanced
curvature of the 34 K phase boundary above 35 T, and, surprisingly, strong
hysteresis effects of both transitions with applied field.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, PRB accepte
Defining dual diagnosis : a qualitative study of the views of health care workers
Background: \u27Dual diagnosis\u27 is the term of choice in many countries to describe clients with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues. However, it is not known if its meaning is consistently represented within and across health care services. This uncertainty has significant implications for referral, consultation and research.Aim: To obtain information about the way that different health care professionals understand the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27.Method: Twenty-nine health care workers across five service types (medical, mental health, AOD, dual diagnosis and community health) in Victoria, Australia were interviewed about their understanding of the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27.Results: The findings indicated that service providers working in AOD and Mental Health had a shared general understanding of what was meant by \u27dual diagnosis\u27, despite uncertainties about more specific inclusion criteria. In contrast, medical and community health staff lacked a similar shared understanding, and were more likely to recommend change, but offered no consensus on alternatives.Conclusion: The results indicate that while the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27 has value in efficiently directing attention to the complexity of treatment issues, health practitioners cannot assume it will convey the intended meaning outside mental health or AOD services. Clear articulation of the intended definition may be a necessary requirement in wider health care communication. <br /
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