A multi-agent system for administering the prescription of anti-retroviral and anti-TB drugs

Thesis (M. Tech.) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2007Multi-agent systems (MAS) consist of a number of autonomous agents that communicate among themselves to coordinate their activities in order to solve collectively a complex problem that cannot be tackled by any agent individually. These kinds of systems are appropriate in many domains where problems that are complex, distributed and heterogeneous require communication and coordination between separate autonomous agents, which may be running on different machines distributed over the Internet and are located in many different places. In the health care domain, MAS have been used for distributed patient scheduling, organ and tissue transplant management, community care, decision support, training and so on. One other promising area of application is in the prescription of antiretroviral and antiTB drugs. The drugs used to treat the two diseases have many and similar side effects that complicate the prescription process. These factors have to be considered when prescribing medication to a person coinfected with HIV and tuberculosis. This is usually done manually using drug recommendation tables, which are complicated to use and require a great deal of decisionmaking. The design and implementation of a multiagent system that assists health care staff in carrying out the complex task of combining antiretroviral and antiTB drugs in an efficient way is described. The system consists of a number of collaborating agents requiring the communication of complex and diverse forms of information between a variety of clinical and other settings, as well as the coordination between groups of health care professionals (doctors, nurses, counsellors, etcetera.) with very different skills and roles. The agents in the system include: patient agents, nurse agents, lab agents, medication agents and physician agents. The agents may be hosted on different machines, located in many different places distributed over the Internet. The system saves time, minimises decision errors and increases the standard of health care provided to patients

Critically ill patients' experiences of nursing care and the effect on their personhood : a retrospective study

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Research data is not shared.AIM : This study aims to report patients' experiences of nursing care in the critical care unit and the resulting effect of such care on the personhood of patients. DESIGN AND METHOD : The study adopted a qualitative design and aimed to include both descriptive and exploratory information. It involved a single participant group comprising ten previously critically ill patients with whom retrospective, semi-structured interviews were conducted in a natural setting during 2018. Private hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa, were targeted for data collection. RESULTS : The findings of this study were categorised and described according to Kitwood's conceptualisation of person-centred care. Five categories were identified by patients as impacting their personhood and perceived person-centred care. CONCLUSION : Nurses ability to support perceived personhood of patients during person-centred care is integral to the betterment of the patient. Patient's experiences of nursing care can often be affected if they perceive their personhood as not being valued by nurses. This study creates increased awareness of these components to ensure that patient-nurse relationships are established adequately to meet both the patients' and the nurses' needs.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nop2hj2024Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC)Non

Revue parapluie de revues systématiques : caractéristiques des formations des partenaires de communication qui favorisent l’apprentissage chez les interlocuteurs d’adultes atteints d’un trouble acquis de la communication d’origine neurologique

Communication partner training is typically designed to equip communication partners of adults with acquired neurogenic communication disorders with the necessary skills to create communication opportunities. Communication partner training allows for opportunities for expression, language expansion, enhanced interaction, participation, and well-being in these adults. However, successful implementation of communication partner training programs is not guaranteed as various factors, such as adult learning principles, the teaching style of the trainer, and trainee engagement, impact on the quality of training, and training outcomes predict training transfer. An umbrella review of systematic reviews was employed for this article. Initially the searches yielded 75 systematic reviews, in which 40 duplicates were identified. The remaining reviews (n = 35) were then screened on title, abstract, and full-text levels, resulting in a final inclusion of eight systematic review studies. A deductive approach to narrative synthesis was used to analyze the data based on previous theory. First, codes were identified, then themes, subthemes, categories, and subcategories were listed based on six adult learning principles and three trainee engagement components. This review highlights the importance of adult learning principles and trainee engagement when designing and implementing communication partner training within natural, real-life communication settings.Les formations des partenaires de communication sont généralement conçues pour outiller les interlocuteurs d’adultes atteints d’un trouble acquis de la communication d’origine neurologique avec les habiletés nécessaires à la création d’opportunités de communication. Ces formations sont donc conçues pour générer des occasions où les personnes atteintes d’un trouble acquis de la communication peuvent s’exprimer, améliorer leurs habiletés de langage, ainsi qu’augmenter leurs interactions, leur participation et leur bien-être. Cependant, le succès de la mise en oeuvre de ces programmes de formation n’est pas garanti; divers facteurs, tels que les principes de l’apprentissage chez l’adulte, le style pédagogique du formateur et le degré d’engagement des apprenants, ont une incidence sur la qualité et les résultats des formations. Ces facteurs sont également prédictifs de la rétention des acquis chez les apprenants. Une revue parapluie de revues systématiques a été réalisée dans cet article. Parmi les 75 revues systématiques initialement recensées, 40 se sont finalement révélées être des doublons. Les revues restantes (n = 35) ont ensuite été analysées à différents niveaux (titre, abrégé ou texte intégral) et le résultat de ce processus a abouti en l’inclusion de huit revues systématiques. Une approche déductive s’appuyant sur des théories précédemment publiées a été utilisée pour analyser les données et créer une synthèse narrative. Spécifiquement, des codes ont d’abord été identifiés, puis des thèmes, des sous-thèmes, des catégories et des souscatégories ont été établis en tenant compte de six principes de l’apprentissage chez l’adulte et de trois composantes liées à l’engagement des apprenants. La présente revue souligne l’importance de tenir compte des principes de l’apprentissage chez l’adulte et de l’engagement des apprenants aux moments de la conception et de la mise en oeuvre de formations des partenaires de communication dans des contextes de communication naturels et représentatifs de la vie réelle.https://www.cjslpa.caam2024Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC)Non

GPCRs in the round:SMA-like copolymers and SMALPs as a platform for investigating GPCRs

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of membrane proteins, regulate a plethora of physiological responses and are the therapeutic target for 30–40% of clinically-prescribed drugs. They are integral membrane proteins deeply embedded in the plasma membrane where they activate intracellular signalling via coupling to G-proteins and β-arrestin. GPCRs are in intimate association with the bilayer lipids and that lipid environment regulates the signalling functions of GPCRs. This complex lipid ‘landscape’ is both heterogeneous and dynamic. GPCR function is modulated by bulk membrane properties including membrane fluidity, microdomains, curvature, thickness and asymmetry but GPCRs are also regulated by specific lipid:GPCR binding, including cholesterol and anionic lipids. Understanding the molecular mechanisms whereby GPCR signalling is regulated by lipids is a very active area of research currently. A major advance in membrane protein research in recent years was the application of poly(styrene-co-maleic acid) (SMA) copolymers. These spontaneously generate SMA lipid particles (SMALPs) encapsulating membrane protein in a nano-scale disc of cell membrane, thereby removing the historical need for detergent and preserving lipid:GPCR interaction. The focus of this review is how GPCR-SMALPs are increasing our understanding of GPCR structure and function at the molecular level. Furthermore, an increasing number of ‘second generation’ SMA-like copolymers have been reported recently. These are reviewed from the context of increasing our understanding of GPCR molecular mechanisms. Moreover, their potential as a novel platform for downstream biophysical and structural analyses is assessed and looking ahead, the translational application of SMA-like copolymers to GPCR drug discovery programmes in the future is considered

Depression, the Family, and Family Therapy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100166/1/j.1467-8438.1992.tb00921.x.pd

Die skuldlose aanspreeklikheid van die pers weens laster

Thesis (LLM) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1986.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record

Physically crosslinked thermo-responsive hydrogel nanofibres with tunable hydrophobicity based on poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)-graft-poly(dimethyl siloxane)

Chemistry and Polymer ScienceMaster