Role of immersive experience technology for autonomy in older adults transitioned into assisted living: A user-centered design approach

The purpose of this study was to explore how immersive experience technology may impact older adults in transition into assisted living; through the perspective of older adults within those assisted living facilities. By creating a preliminary/exploratory study for future applied research, the goal of this study was to gather information on understanding and then specifying the resident's experiences in their transitions and their perspectives on the barriers and benefits in the use of immersive experience technologies prior to transitions. Understanding and specifying user needs are the first two steps in user-centered design, which helped guide this research, and will inform future research in production and evaluation of an immersive experience intervention design. This study was broken up into three phases, Phases 1 and 2 were two focus groups to gather qualitative data and Phase 3 was an online survey questionnaire to gather quantitative responses. The Phase 3 data is only included in the Appendix due to low response rates. Findings of this study revealed that loss of autonomy occurs prior to the transition, following two types of transitions; independent and dependent. The two types of transitions were found to have two different intervention paths, independent transitions leading to limited to no intervention and the dependent transitions having the children as the primary intervention. It was suggested that the virtual walkthrough would help improve autonomy in the independently transitioned older adults, through easing concern during the transition, as well as improving navigation and control within the new assisted living apartment once the transition is complete

Experimental Observation of the Temperature at the Liquid/Gas Interface

Experimental studies on measurements of the temperature profile in the vicinity of the evaporating distilled water layer were carried out. The temperature was measured with a chromel-alumel thermocouple, when it moves under the action of the precision actuator directed perpendicular to the evaporating layer. According to the experimental results the fluctuation in temperature of the air and liquid was found in the immediate vicinity of the liquid/gas interface. However, temperature jumps near the interface was not observed

The relationship of the carriership of allelic variations in rs2228145 (A > C) of the<i>IL6R</i> gene with the levels of <i>VCAM1</i> and <i>ICAM1</i> gene transcripts in patients with essential hypertension

The levels of plasma interleukin 6 and its soluble receptors were found to be elevated in subjects with cardiovascular diseases, which points to amplification of the IL-6-mediated trans-signaling pathway in cells and the development of chronic inflammation. The allelic variation in the rs2228145 IL6R gene is associated with a change in the contents of the soluble and membrane-bound receptor forms mediating the biological activity of IL-6. Cytokine IL-6 is involved in the development of endothelial dysfunction by regulating the expression of the VCAM1 and ICAM1 genes, encoding intercellular adhesion molecules. Prior to this work, no data on the association of essential arterial hypertension (EAH) with rs2228145 allelic variations of the IL6R gene have been reported. The aim of our work was to study the relationship of the carriership of rs2228145 (A &gt; C) allelic variations with the development of EAH and the VCAM1 and ICAM1 transcript levels. We analyzed samples of DNA isolated from the whole blood of 148 healthy donors and 152 patients with EAH (stages I-II). The genotyp-ing was performed by PCR-RFLP. The level of transcripts in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) was assessed by real-time PCR. Differences in the frequency distributions of rs2228145 (A &gt; C) genotypes between the control group and the group of patients with EAH (χ2 = 9.303) were found. The frequency of the CC genotype in EAH patients was higher than in healthy people (0.191 and 0.095, respectively). The risk of EAH (I-II stages) development was shown to be 2.3 times higher in CC genotype carriers as compared to individuals with other genotypes (OR = 2.257, 95 % confidence interval 1.100-4.468). The levels of VCAM1 and ICAM1 gene transcripts in PBL of patients with EAH were significantly higher than in healthy people. The level of ICAM1 gene transcripts was almost 4 times higher in patients with CC genotype. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance revealed an effect of rs2228145 (A &gt; C) genotype on the transcriptional activity of ICAM1, which argues for its role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction and essential hypertension

FOXP3, IL2R, CD8A and RORγ gene expression in peripheral blood leukocytes of healthy people and patients with arterial hypertension

Impaired balance of T regulatory and T effector lymphocytes has recently been considered as an important pathogenetic link in arterial hypertension (AH). There are, however, contradictory literature data about contents of these cells in the patients with hypertension, or obtained in experimental animal models of induced hypertension. Most results about changed patterns of immune cells in cardiovascular diseases were obtained by means of flow cytometry. There are also some works on expression of genes encoding surface and cytoplasmic differentiation antigens of immune cells in the patients with cardiovascular pathologies. These results coincide with the data obtained with flow cytometric techniques. Purpose of the present study was to analyze of the levels of gene transcripts encoding differentiation markers of regulatory (FOXP3, IL2R) T cells, effector T subpopulations (T helpers 17 (RORγ), and CD8 lymphocytes (CD8A) in healthy subjects and the patients with arterial hypertension (stages I-II). We examined healthy individuals (40 people, 20 men and 20 women), 27 patients with hypertension who did not receive antihypertensive therapy (14 men and 13 women), 26 hypertensive patients taking β-adrenergic receptor blockers (metoprolol or bisoprolol), including 12 men and 14 women. The relative levels of transcripts in peripheral blood leukocytes were assessed by real-time RT-PCR. It was shown that the transcriptional activity of FOXP3, IL2R, RORγ, and CD8A genes in peripheral blood leukocytes of the diseased people was significantly higher than in healthy individuals (p &lt; 0.01). This finding may indicate an increased number of circulating T regulatory lymphocytes, CD8+ cells and T helpers 17 in hypertensive patients, and activation of T cell immunity in these patients. There were no statistically significant gender differences in FOXP3, IL2R, RORγ and CD8A gene expression in leukocytes, both in the group of healthy people and in hypertensive patients. The patients receiving cardioselective β-adrenergic receptor blockers (metoprolol and bisoprolol) exhibited lower expression of these genes, thus, probably, indicating antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of these drugs

Features of Spiritual and Moral Education of Students of Educational Organizations of Secondary Vocational Education

В статье рассматриваются особенности духовно-нравственного воспитания студентов образовательных организаций среднего профессионального образования и основные проблемы и пути их решения.The article discusses the features of spiritual and moral education of students of educational institutions of secondary vocational education and the main problems and ways to solve them

Development and Approbation of a Questionnaire for Subjective Assessment of the Level of Work Tasks Regulation

Background. In the modern world, there are organizations in which a high level of task regulation is associated with the cost of erroneous actions and safety requirements. If the perceptions of work regulation, formed in a professional, do not coincide with the real requirements of the activity, it can lead to a decrease in the quality of work, as well as to the development of negative states. This necessitates the creation of a psychodiagnostic methodology to assess the subjective perception of the level of regulation in their professional activities by professionals. Objectives. The focus is on the development and approbation of the method for subjective assessment of the level of work tasks regulation. Study Participants. To reach the goal of the study, the sample included representatives of professions with different levels of work tasks regulation: military personnel serving under contract (n = 96), medical staff (n = 57), artists and musicians (n = 67). In total 220 people participated in the study. Methods. Based on the results of the analysis of existing studies in the field of regulation of professional activity, a technique for subjective assessment of the level of work tasks regulation was developed. The questionnaire included 18 items assessing the following scales: “Regulation” (9 items) and “Creativity” (9 items). Questionnaires with scales evaluating individual parameters of professional activity related to its regulation (the 16-scale semantic differential “My job” and the questionnaire for assessing subjectively important characteristics of the “Job Diagnostic Survey” activity) were selected as an external criterion for assessing the validity of the technique. The approbation allowed us to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the developed questionnaire. Results. The developed questionnaire for subjective assessment of the level of work tasks regulation is characterized by acceptable construct validity but insufficient reliability and consistency. Conclusions. The developed version of the questionnaire needs further improvement. However, it can already be considered as a situational questionnaire, the use of which is acceptable in combination with other methods

Subjective Semantics of Representations of Creativity in Psychology Cadets

Background. The necessity of studying perceptions of creativity in psychology cadets is conditioned by the fact that the “soft” skill of creativity is associated with the ability to go beyond the given conditions and to act effectively in uncertain situations, and also by the fact that the successful adaptation of a young specialist to work depends on whether his perceptions of his activity coincide with its real content. Objectives. The research is meant to identify the peculiarities of representations of creativity in psychology cadets at the adept stage. Study Participants. A total of 201 people (122 men and 79 women) participated in the study, including representatives of different professions: working professionals and trainees, students and cadets. The average age of the sample was 31 years. Methods. Psychosemantic methods were used in the study: group associative experiment and card sorting method. They allow to construct a subjective semantic space reflecting the peculiarities of perceptions of creativity. Results. As a result of the associative experiment, a list of 86 frequent words describing professional activity was obtained. Sorting of the obtained 86 words by cadet psychologists, psychology students, and psychologists of the scientific platoon revealed significant differences in the content and structure of representations of creativity. Comparison of the semantics of creativity in psychologists at the adept stage shows that university students have a more complex structure of representations in comparison with cadets, connected with the allocation of a separate cluster “hobby, interest, development” and at the same time similar in content to the representations of working psychologists on the proximity of “labor, work” with creativity. At the same time, the similarity of clusters in the description of creativity by students and cadets indicates that the ideas about it are laid down at the early stages of professional training. Conclusions. Reconstruction of subjective semantics of creativity by the method of semantic spaces in psychology cadets is a promising qualitative description method for specific characteristics of professional activity

Immunological predictors of type 1 diabetes mellitus (literature review)

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by insulin deficiency due β-cell destruction and following hyperglycaemia. Specific markers of T1DM are pancreatic islet-targeting autoantibodies that are found months to years before symptom onset, and can be used to identify individuals who are at risk of developing T1DM.Aim: The study is aimed at the review of current knowledge of diabetes-related autoantibodies as biomarkers of T1DM.Materials and methods: Foreign and national clinical studies on this topic were included. PubMed, Medline and ­eLibrary were searched.Results: Modern ideas about known diabetes-specific autoantibodies as markers of autoimmune inflammation of β-cells of the pancreas were discussed. The analysis of their independent diagnostic value in predicting the occurrence of T1DM were carried out.Conclusion: There is no unified concept in the literature on this issue. Current data on autoantibodies in T1DM show a ­significant individual variability in the timing, dynamic changes and autoantibody composition in T1DM progression

Tensiometric estimation of material properties of tissue spheroids

Tissue spheroids have been proposed to use as building blocks in biofabrication and as bioinks in 3D bioprinting technologies. Tissue fusion is an ubiqious phenomenon during embryonic development. Biomimetic tissue spheroid fusion is a fundamental constructional principle of emerging organ printing technology because closely placed tissue spheroids could fuse into tissue and organ-like constructs in fusion permissive bioprintable hydrogel. From physical point of view tissue spheroids could be considered as a visco-elastic-plastic soft matter or complex fluid. We hypothesize that quantitative estimation of material properties of tissue spheroids using tensiometry could predict their tissue spreading and tissue fusion behavior as well as provide a powerful insight about possible speed of post-printed tissue and organ-like constructs compaction and maturation. Tissue spheroids from human fibroblasts, ovine and human chondrocytes and immortalised human keratinocytes have been biofabricated using non-adhesive cell culture plates (Corning, USA). For estimation of material properties of tissue spheroids commercial tensiometer Microsquisher have been emploied (CellScale, Toronto, Canada). Modulus of elasticity of tissue spheroids have been calculated based on peformed tissue compression tests. In order to identify structural determinants of material properties of tissue spheroids standard perturbants of cytoskeleton such as Cytochalasin D (Sigma, USA) for disruption of microfilaments and Nocodazole (Sigma, USA) for disruption of microtubules have been used. Viability of tissue spheroids have been also estimated and their morphology have been analysed using light microscopy, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, semithin sections stained wih toluidine blue and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Kinetics of tissue spheroids spreading on electrospun polyurethane matrices have been analysed. Kinetics of two closely placed tissue spheroids fusion have been analysed in hanging drop. Additionally toxic effect of water solution of paramagnetic gadolinium salt (Omniscan®, GE Health Care, USA) on material properties of tissue spheroids have been investigated. It have been demonstrated that material properties of tissue spheroids biofabricated from different cell types have different modulus of elasticity. Even tissue spheroids biofabricated the same cell types but from different species have different material properties. Incubation with Cytochlasin D dramatically reduces estimated material properties of tissue spheroids. Incubation with Nocodazole does not significantly change material properties of tissue spheroids. Material properties of tissue spheroids from chondrocytes (chondrospheres) correlates very well with increasing deposition and accumulation of extracellular matrix (confirmed by expression of collagen type II and glycosoaminoglycans). The incubation with toxic concentration of gadolinium solution dramatically reduces material properties of chondrospheres. There is no any significant correlation between material properties of tissue spheriods and their spreading kinetics. However, there is a certain correction between material properties of tissue spheroids and their tissue fusion kinetics. Our data demonstrate that beside already well established role of cell adhesion receptors such as cadherin and integrins in the realisation of cell cohesion inside tissue spheroids the structural determinants of material properties of tissue spheroids also include components of cytoskeleton such as actin micofilaments and accumulated extracellular matrix. It is possible to predict post-printing tissue fusion behaviour of tissue spheroids based on preliminary estimation of their material properties. Finally, it have been also shown that material properties of tissue spheroids correlate with their viability. Thus, tensiometry is a valuable method for systematic characterization of material properties of tissue spheroids and for prediction of tissue spheroids post-printed tissue fusion behaviour