Biometric monitor with electronics disposed on or in a neck collar

A highly portable biometric monitor is disclosed. At least one remote sensor member (12, 12') includes one or more biometric sensors (20, 22, 24, 25) configured for operative coupling with a patient. A neck collar (14, 114, 214, 314, 414) includes electronics (36, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48) for operating the at least one remote sensor member. The at least one remote sensor member is separate from and not disposed on the neck collar. Optionally, the collar also includes one or more biometric sensors (53). A communication link (18) operatively connects the remote sensor member and the electronics of the neck collar.; A motion sensor (26) and position sensor (28) may be disposed with the one or more biometric sensors to sense movement and position, and the electronics (36, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48) configured to account for error in a signal produced by the one or more biometric sensors due to movement sensed by the motion sensor or position sensed by the position sensor. The electronics (36, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48) may log patient activity and body position

A methodology to determine the contribution of stakeholders to the robustness of environmental policy decisions

A methodology is developed in this paper to test the effectiveness of successful stakeholder participation in creating substantively more robust policy, and to identify the factors responsible for that. The comparison is made to a more traditional management of government policy, in which experts in administrative agencies perform the policy analyses. The methodology compares the substantive robustness of the preferred alternative developed in a stakeholder participation process to the robustness of the preferred alternative developed for the same case in an expert-based process. It comprises a case study design that enables realistic performance of both processes, ensures their comparability and guards their quality. The developed methodology appears promising and is currently being applied. A systematic investigation of the relation between stakeholder contribution and the robustness of policy analyses helps formulating arguments for stakeholder involvement. Furthermore it can improve the effectiveness of a participation activity

Multiple-photon resolving fiber-loop detector

We show first reconstructions of the photon-number distribution obtained with a multi-channel fiber-loop detector. Apart from analyzing the statistics of light pulses this device can serve as a sophisticated postselection device for experiments in quantum optics and quantum information. We quantify its efficiency by means of the Fisher information and compare it to the efficiency of the ideal photodetector.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

The effectiveness of assertive community treatment for elderly patients with severe mental illness: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Due to fragmented mental, somatic, and social healthcare services, it can be hard to engage into care older patients with severe mental illness (SMI). In adult mental health care, assertive community treatment (ACT) is an organizational model of care for treating patients with SMI who are difficult to engage. So far all outcome studies of assertive community treatment have been conducted in adults.Methods: In a randomized controlled trial design we compared the effectiveness of ACT for elderly patients with that of treatment as usual (TAU). Sixty-two outpatients (60 years and older) with SMI who were difficult to engage in psychiatric treatment were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group (32 to ACT for elderly patients and 30 to TAU). Primary outcomes included number of patients who had a first treatment contact within 3 months, the number of dropouts (i.e. those discharged from care due to refusing care or those who unintentionally lost contact with the service over a period of at least 3 months); and patients' psychosocial functioning (HoNOS65+ scores) during 18 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes included the number of unmet needs and mental health care use. Analyses were based on intention-to-treat.Results: Of the 62 patients who were randomized, 26 were lost to follow-up (10 patients in ACT for elderly patients and 16 in TAU). Relative to patients with TAU, more patients allocated to ACT had a first contact within three months (96.9 versus 66.7%; X2 (df = 1) = 9.68, p = 0.002). ACT for elderly patients also had fewer dropouts from treatment (18.8% of assertive community treatment for elderly patients versus 50% of TAU patients; X2 (df = 1) = 6.75, p = 0.009). There were no differences in the other primary and secondary outcome variables.Conclusions: These findings suggest that ACT for elderly patients with SMI engaged patients in treatment more successfully.Trial registration: NTR1620

Ісак Мазепа: перші кроки у великій політиці

Досліджується становлення світоглядних позицій та формування політичних поглядів І. Мазепи.Исследуется становление мировоззренческих позиций и формирование политических взглядов И. Мазепы.Formation world outlook positions and formation of political views of I. Mazepa is investigated

Gene-environment interactions in the causation of neural tube defects : folate deficiency increases susceptibility conferred by loss of Pax3 function

Risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) is determined by genetic and environmental factors, among which folate status appears to play a key role. However, the precise nature of the link between low folate status and NTDs is poorly understood, and it remains unclear how folic acid prevents NTDs. We investigated the effect of folate level on risk of NTDs in splotch (Sp(2)(H)) mice, which carry a mutation in Pax3. Dietary folate restriction results in reduced maternal blood folate, elevated plasma homocysteine and reduced embryonic folate content. Folate deficiency does not cause NTDs in wild-type mice, but causes a significant increase in cranial NTDs among Sp(2)(H) embryos, demonstrating a gene-environment interaction. Control treatments, in which intermediate levels of folate are supplied, suggest that NTD risk is related to embryonic folate concentration, not maternal blood folate concentration. Notably, the effect of folate deficiency appears more deleterious in female embryos than males, since defects are not prevented by exogenous folic acid. Folate-deficient embryos exhibit developmental delay and growth retardation. However, folate content normalized to protein content is appropriate for developmental stage, suggesting that folate availability places a tight limit on growth and development. Folate-deficient embryos also exhibit a reduced ratio of s-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to s-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH). This could indicate inhibition of the methylation cycle, but we did not detect any diminution in global DNA methylation, in contrast to embryos in which the methylation cycle was specifically inhibited. Hence, folate deficiency increases the risk of NTDs in genetically predisposed splotch embryos, probably via embryonic growth retardation