404 research outputs found
“everything in one place”
Purpose: To describe older adults’ perspectives on a new patient education
manual for the recovery process after hip fracture. Materials and methods: The
Fracture Recovery for Seniors at Home (FReSH) Start manual is an evidence-
based manual for older adults with fall-related hip fracture. The manual aims
to support the transition from hospital to home by facilitating self-
management of the recovery process. We enrolled 31 community-dwelling older
adults with previous fall-related hip fracture and one family member. We
collected data using a telephone-based questionnaire with eight five-point
Likert items and four semi-structured open-ended questions to explore
participants’ perceptions on the structure, content, and illustration of the
manual. The questionnaire also asked participants to rate the overall utility
(out of 10 points) and length of the manual. We used content analysis to
describe main themes from responses to the open-ended interview questions.
Results: Participants’ ratings for structure, content, and illustrations
ranged from 4 to 5 (agree to highly agree), and the median usefulness rating
was 9 (10th percentile: 7, 90th percentile: 10). Main themes from the content
analysis included: ease of use and presentation; health literacy; illustration
utility; health care team delivery; general impression, information support
from hospital to home; emotional and decision-making support; and the novelty
of the manual. Conclusion: The FReSH Start manual was perceived as
comprehensive in content and acceptable for use with older adults post-fall-
related hip fracture. Participants expressed a need for delivery and
explanation of the manual by a health care team member
A global evaluation of streamflow drought characteristics
How drought is characterised depends on the purpose and region of the study and the available data. In case of regional applications or global comparison a standardisation of the methodology to characterise drought is preferable. In this study the threshold level method in combination with three common pooling procedures is applied to daily streamflow series from a wide range of hydrological regimes. Drought deficit characteristics, such as drought duration and deficit volume, are derived, and the methods are evaluated for their applicability for regional studies. Three different pooling procedures are evaluated: the moving-average procedure (MA-procedure), the inter-event time method (IT-method), and the sequent peak algorithm (SPA). The MA-procedure proved to be a flexible approach for the different series, and its parameter, the averaging interval, can easily be optimised for each stream. However, it modifies the discharge series and might introduce dependency between drought events. For the IT-method it is more difficult to find an optimal value for its parameter, the length of the excess period, in particular for flashy streams. The SPA can only be recommended as pooling procedure for the selection of annual maximum series of deficit characteristics and for very low threshold levels to ensure that events occurring shortly after major events are recognized. Furthermore, a frequency analysis of deficit volume and duration is conducted based on partial duration series of drought events. According to extreme value theory, excesses over a certain limit are Generalized Pareto (GP) distributed. It was found that this model indeed performed better than or equally to other distribution models. In general, the GP-model could be used for streams of all regime types. However, for intermittent streams, zero-flow periods should be treated as censored data. For catchments with frost during the winter season, summer and winter droughts have to be analysed separately
Nimbus 7 solar backscatter ultraviolet (SBUV) ozone products user's guide
Three ozone tape products from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) experiment aboard Nimbus 7 were archived at the National Space Science Data Center. The experiment measures the fraction of incoming radiation backscattered by the Earth's atmosphere at 12 wavelengths. In-flight measurements were used to monitor changes in the instrument sensitivity. Total column ozone is derived by comparing the measurements with calculations of what would be measured for different total ozone amounts. The altitude distribution is retrieved using an optimum statistical technique for the inversion. The estimated initial error in the absolute scale for total ozone is 2 percent, with a 3 percent drift over 8 years. The profile error depends on latitude and height, smallest at 3 to 10 mbar; the drift increases with increasing altitude. Three tape products are described. The High Density SBUV (HDSBUV) tape contains the final derived products - the total ozone and the vertical ozone profile - as well as much detailed diagnostic information generated during the retrieval process. The Compressed Ozone (CPOZ) tape contains only that subset of HDSBUV information, including total ozone and ozone profiles, considered most useful for scientific studies. The Zonal Means Tape (ZMT) contains daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly averages of the derived quantities over 10 deg latitude zones
ĂŤndices de sĂtios para Hovenia dulcis Thunberg na regiĂŁo central do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Este trabalho teve como objetivo construir curvas Ăndice de sĂtios florestais, a partir da altura dominante e idade, de populações localizadas na regiĂŁo central do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, foram utilizadas informações de trĂŞs povoamentos (sĂtios) com idades de 25 anos, localizados na Fundação de Pesquisa Agropecuária (FEPAGRO). Para classificar os sĂtios florestais, coletaram-se informações de 18 árvores dominantes nos locais, observando a metodologia para análise de tronco. Na construção das curvas de Ăndice de sĂtio, foi o selecionado o modelo de Backman, ficando constatada a necessidade da construção de dois conjuntos de curvas, com intervalo de 2 m, da idade de 5 a 25 anos, com idade Ăndice de 25 anos. Para o SĂtio I-A, foram geradas 3 curvas Ăndices, de 22 a 24 m e, para os SĂtios I-B+II+III, 6 curvas Ăndices de 8 a 18 m
Relações morfométricas para árvores dominantes de Pinus taeda no Estado do Paraná.
Este trabalho objetivou estudar as relações morfomĂ©tricas de árvores dominantes de Pinus taeda no municĂpio de Ponta Grossa, Paraná. Em cada amostra a árvore de maior diâmetro a altura do peito (DAP) foi considerada dominante em relação Ă s suas vizinhas. Destas foram mensuradas dap, altura total, altura da copa e oito raios de copa. As variáveis morfomĂ©tricas analisadas foram: diâmetro de copa, altura da copa, proporção de copa, grau de esbeltez, Ăndice de saliĂŞncia, Ăndice de abrangĂŞncia e formal de copa. Estas foram correlacionadas com o dap e altura atravĂ©s de correlação de Pearson. De acordo com os Ăndices, as árvores analisadas possuem mĂ©dia instabilidade, copas arredondadas e nĂŁo há necessidade de desbaste na área. O diâmetro a altura do peito se correlacionou melhor com as variáveis morfomĂ©tricas estudadas, indicando que estas sofrem alterações conforme as árvores incrementam em diâmetro
Automated detection of bacteria in urine
A method for detecting the presence of bacteria in urine was developed which utilizes the bioluminescent reaction of adenosine triphosphate with luciferin and luciferase derived from the tails of fireflies. The method was derived from work on extraterrestrial life detection. A device was developed which completely automates the assay process
COST 733 - WG4: Applications of weather type classification
The main objective of the COST Action 733 is to achieve a general numerical method for
assessing, comparing and classifying typical weather situations in the European regions. To
accomplish this goal, different workgroups are established, each with their specific aims:
WG1: Existing methods and applications (finished); WG2: Implementation and development of
weather types classification methods; WG3: Comparison of selected weather types
classifications; WG4: Testing methods for various applications.
The main task of Workgroup 4 (WG4) in COST 733 implies the testing of the selected weather
type methods for various classifications. In more detail, WG4 focuses on the following topics:•
Selection of dedicated applications (using results from WG1),
• Performance of the selected applications using available weather types provided by WG2,
• Intercomparison of the application results as a results of different methods
• Final assessment of the results and uncertainties,
• Presentation and release of results to the other WGs and external interested
• Recommend specifications for a new (common) method WG2
Introduction
In order to address these specific aims, various applications are selected and WG4 is divided in
subgroups accordingly:
1.Air quality
2. Hydrology (& Climatological mapping)
3. Forest fires
4. Climate change and variability
5. Risks and hazards
Simultaneously, the special attention is paid to the several wide topics concerning some other
COST Actions such as: phenology (COST725), biometeorology (COST730), agriculture (COST 734)
and mesoscale modelling and air pollution (COST728).
Sub-groups are established to find advantages and disadvantages of different classification
methods for different applications. Focus is given to data requirements, spatial and temporal
scale, domain area, specifi
a pilot randomized controlled trial
Objectives: Our primary aim of this pilot study was to test feasibility of the
planned design, the interventions (education plus telephone coaching), and the
outcome measures, and to facilitate a power calculation for a future
randomized controlled trial to improve adherence to recovery goals following
hip fracture. Design: This is a parallel 1:1 randomized controlled feasibility
study. Setting: The study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Vancouver,
BC, Canada. Participants: Participants were community-dwelling adults over 60
years of age with a recent hip fracture. They were recruited and assessed in
hospital, and then randomized after hospital discharge to the intervention or
control group by a web-based randomization service. Treatment allocation was
concealed to the investigators, measurement team, and data entry assistants
and analysts. Participants and the research physiotherapist were aware of
treatment allocation. Intervention: Intervention included usual care for hip
fracture plus a 1-hour in-hospital educational session using a patient-
centered educational manual and four videos, and up to five postdischarge
telephone calls from a physiotherapist to provide recovery coaching. The
control group received usual care plus a 1-hour in-hospital educational
session using the educational manual and videos. Measurement: Our primary
outcome was feasibility, specifically recruitment and retention of
participants. We also collected selected health outcomes, including health-
related quality of life (EQ5D-5L), gait speed, and psychosocial factors
(ICEpop CAPability measure for Older people and the Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale). Results: Our pilot study results indicate that it is
feasible to recruit, retain, and provide follow-up telephone coaching to older
adults after hip fracture. We enrolled 30 older adults (mean age 81.5 years;
range 61–97 years), representing a 42% recruitment rate. Participants excluded
were those who were not community dwelling on admission, were discharged to a
residential care facility, had physician-diagnosed dementia, and/or had
medical contraindications to participation. There were 27 participants who
completed the study: eleven in the intervention group, 15 in the control
group, and one participant completed a qualitative interview only. There were
no differences between groups for health measures. Conclusion: We highlight
the feasibility of telephone coaching for older adults after hip fracture to
improve adherence to mobility recovery goals
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