The evidence-base for stroke education in care homes

<b>Summary.</b> <b>Research questions:</b> 1. What are registered care home nurses’ educational priorities regarding stroke care? 2. What are senior care home assistants’ educational priorities regarding stroke care? 3. How do care home nurses conceive stroke care will be delivered in 2010? <b>Study design:</b> This was a 2-year study using focus groups, stroke guidelines, professional recommendations and stroke literature for the development of a questionnaire survey for data collection. Workshops provided study feedback to participants. Data were collected in 2005–2006. <b>Study site:</b> Greater Glasgow NHS Health Board. <b>Population and sample:</b> A stratified random selection of 16 private, 3 voluntary and 6 NHS continuing care homes from which a sample of 115 trained nurses and 19 senior care assistants was drawn. <b>Results:</b> The overall response rate for care home nurses was 64.3% and for senior care assistants, 73.6%. Both care home nurses and senior care assistants preferred accredited stroke education. Care home nurses wanted more training in stroke assessment, rehabilitation and acute interventions whereas senior care assistants wanted more in managing depression, general stroke information and communicating with dysphasic residents. Senior care assistants needed more information on multidisciplinary team working while care home nurses were more concerned with ethical decision-making, accountability and goal setting. <b>Conclusions:</b> Care home staff need and want more stroke training. They are clear that stroke education should be to the benefit of their resident population. Guidelines on stroke care should be developed for care homes and these should incorporate support for continuing professional learning in relation to the resident who has had a stroke

Stroke education for healthcare professionals: making it fit for purpose

<b>Research questions:</b> 1. What are healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) educational priorities regarding stroke care? 2. Do stroke care priorities vary across the primary and secondary sectors? 3. How do HCPs conceive stroke care will be delivered in 2010? <b>Study design:</b> This was a two-year study using focus groups and interviews for instrument development, questionnaires for data collection and workshops to provide study feedback. Data were collected in 2005–06. <b>Study site:</b> One Scottish health board. <b>Inclusion criteria:</b> All National Health Service healthcare professionals working wherever stroke care occurred. <b>Population and sample:</b> Participants were drawn from 4 university teaching hospitals, 2 community hospitals, 1 geriatric medicine day hospital, 48 general practices (GPs), 12 care homes and 15 community teams. The sample comprised 155 doctors, 313 nurses, 133 therapists (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists), and 29 ‘other HCPs’ (14 dieticians, 7 pharmacists, 2 podiatrists and 6 psychologists). <b>Results:</b> HCPs prefer face-to-face, accredited education but blended approaches are required that accommodate uni- and multidisciplinary demands. Doctors and nurses are more inclined towards discipline-specific training compared to therapists and other healthcare professionals (HCPs). HCPs in primary care and stroke units want more information on the social impact of stroke while those working in stroke units in particular are concerned with leadership in the multidisciplinary team. Nurses are the most interested in teaching patients and carers. <b>Conclusions</b> Stroke requires more specialist stroke staff, the upskilling of current staff and a national education pathway given that stroke care is most effectively managed by specialists with specific clinical skills. The current government push towards a flexible workforce is welcome but should be educationally-sound and recognise the career aspirations of healthcare professionals

Biodiversity of nematode assemblages from the region of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, an area of commercial mining interest

BACKGROUND: The possibility for commercial mining of deep-sea manganese nodules is currently under exploration in the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone. Nematodes have potential for biomonitoring of the impact of commercial activity but the natural biodiversity is unknown. We investigate the feasibility of nematodes as biomonitoring organisms and give information about their natural biodiversity. RESULTS: The taxonomic composition (at family to genus level) of the nematode fauna in the abyssal Pacific is similar, but not identical to, the North Atlantic. Given the immature state of marine nematode taxonomy, it is not possible to comment on the commonality or otherwise of species between oceans. The between basin differences do not appear to be directly linked to current ecological factors. The abyssal Pacific region (including the Fracture Zone) could be divided into two biodiversity subregions that conform to variations in the linked factors of flux to the benthos and of sedimentary characteristics. Richer biodiversity is associated with areas of known phytodetritus input and higher organic-carbon flux. Despite high reported sample diversity, estimated regional diversity is less than 400 species. CONCLUSION: The estimated regional diversity of the CCFZ is a tractable figure for biomonitoring of commercial activities in this region using marine nematodes, despite the immature taxonomy (i.e. most marine species have not been described) of the group. However, nematode ecology is in dire need of further study

Orientation of dichroic dyes in ultra-drawn polyethylenes

The excellent solid-state drawing characteristics of linear polyethylenes were exploited for the orientation of dichroic dyes. Polarizers with high transparency and high level of optical anisotropy were produced from the drawn films contg. anthraquinone or azo dyes. [on SciFinder (R)

A rapid, chromatography-free route to substituted acridine–isoalloxazine conjugates under microwave irradiation

Microwave irradiation was applied to a sequence of condensation reactions from readily available 9-chloroacridines to provide a range of novel acridine–isoalloxazine conjugates. The combination of these two moieties, both of biological interest, was achieved by a chromatography free route

Lincoln’s Speech Memorial

This postcard features the Lincoln Speech Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/5914/thumbnail.jp

A cross sectional study of the prevalence and associated risks for bursitis in 6250 weaner, grower and finisher pigs from 103 British pig farms

A cross-sectional study of 93 farms in England was carried out to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors for bursitis. A total of 6250 pigs aged 6–22 weeks were examined for presence and severity of bursitis. Details of pen construction, pen quality and farm management were recorded including floor type, presence of bedding, condition of the floor and floor materials. The prevalence of bursitis was 41.2% and increased with each week of age (OR 1.1). Two-level logistic regression models were developed with the outcome as the proportion of pigs affected with bursitis in a pen. Pigs kept on soil floors with straw bedding were used as the reference level. In comparison with these soil floors, bursitis increased on concrete floors where the bedding was deep throughout (OR 4.6), deep in part (OR 3.7), and sparse throughout (OR 9.0), part slatted floors (OR 8.0), and fully slatted floors (OR 18.8). Slip or skid marks in the dunging area (OR 1.5), pigs observed slipping during the examination of the pen (OR 1.3) and wet floors (OR 3.6) were also associated with an increased risk of bursitis. The results indicate that bursitis is a common condition of growing pigs and that the associated risk factors for bursitis were a lack of bedding in the lying area, presence of voids and pen conditions which increased the likelihood of injury

John Burn’s Memorial

This postcard features the John Burns Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/5938/thumbnail.jp

Alabama Memorial

This postcard features the Alabama Memorial in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/5940/thumbnail.jp

Examining environmental drivers of spatial variability in aflatoxin accumulation in Kenyan maize: potential utility in risk prediction models

Maize, a staple food in most African countries, is prone to contamination by aflatoxins, toxic secondary metabolites mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Aflatoxins are known to cause liver cancer, and chronic exposure has been linked to other adverse health outcomes including growth faltering in children. To mitigate exposure in maize-dependent populations, there is need to identify the factors associated with aflatoxin contamination. This is difficult, however, because of high sampling cost and lack of affordable and accurate analytical methods. Publicly available, remotely-sensed data on vegetation, precipitation, and soil properties could be useful in predicting locations at risk for aflatoxin contamination in maize. This study investigates the utility of publicly available remotely-sensed data on rainfall, vegetation cover (indicated by normalized difference vegetation index or NDVI), and soil characteristics as potential predictors of aflatoxin contamination in Kenyan maize. Aflatoxin was analyzed in maize samples (n=2466) that were collected in 2009 and 2010 at 243 local hammer mills in eastern and western Kenya. Overall, 60% of maize samples had detectable aflatoxin. Global positioning system coordinates of each mill location were linked to remotely-sensed, spatially explicit indicators of average monthly NDVI, total monthly rainfall, and soil properties. Higher rainfall and vegetation cover during the maize pre-flowering period were significantly associated with higher prevalence of aflatoxin contamination. Conversely, higher rainfall and vegetation cover during the maize flowering and post-flowering periods (not including harvest) were associated with lower prevalence of aflatoxin contamination. Water stress throughout the growing season may cause increased plant susceptibility to fungal colonization and aflatoxin accumulation. Soil organic carbon content, pH, total exchangeable bases, salinity, texture, and soil type were significantly associated with aflatoxin. In conclusion, this study shows that remotely-sensed data can be regressed on available aflatoxin data highlighting important potential predictors that could reduce the cost of data collection and the cost of aflatoxin risk forecasting models.Keywords: Aflatoxin, GIS, NDVI, soil characteristics, rainfall, mycotoxins, East Africa, Keny