Developing a Word Processing Curriculum for Northampton High School Using Validated Tasks Lists

This research study was designed to answer the following questions concerning the word processing curriculum at Northampton High School: 1. Should word processing be offered at Northampton High School? 2. Which approach should be used in developing a curriculum in word processing? 3. Is the business curriculum adequate to prepare students

Assessing radiative transfer models trained by numerical weather forecasts using sun-tracking radiometric measurements for satellite link characterization up to W band

Radio communications, and in particular Earth-to-satellite links, are worldwide used for delivering digital services. The bandwidth demand of such services is increasing accordingly to the advent of more advanced applications (e.g., multimedia services, deep-space explorations, etc.) thus pushing the scientific community toward the investigation of channel carriers at higher frequencies. When using carrier frequencies above X band, the main drawback is how to tackle the impact of tropospheric processes (i.e., rain, cloud, water vapor). This work assesses the joint use of weather forecast models, radiative transfer models and Sun-tracking radiometric measurements to explore their potential benefits in predicting path attenuation and sky noise temperature for slant paths at frequencies between K and W band, thus paving the way to the optimization of satellite link-budgets

Descriptive account of 18 adults with known HIV infection hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection

OBJECTIVE: To report on the clinical characteristics and outcome of 18 people living with HIV (PLWH) hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection in a London teaching hospital. METHODS: The hospital notes of 18 PLWH hospitalised with SARS-CoV-2 infection were retrospectively reviewed alongside data concerning their HIV demographics from an established HIV Database. RESULTS: The majority (16/18) had positive PCR swabs for SARS-CoV-2, and two had negative swabs but typical COVID-19 imaging and history. Most were male (14/18, 78%), median age 63 years (range 47-77 years). Two-thirds were migrants, nine (50%) of Black, Asian and minority ethnicity (BAME). All were diagnosed with HIV for many years (range 8-31 years), and all had an undetectable HIV viral load (<40 copies/mL). The median CD4 prior to admission was 439 (IQR 239-651), and 10/16 (63%) had a CD4 nadir below 200 cells/mm3. Almost all (17/18) had been diagnosed with at least one comorbidity associated with SARS-CoV-2 prior to admission. 3/18 patients died. None received mechanical ventilation. Hospital stay and clinical course did not appear prolonged (median 9 days). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that PLWH may not necessarily have prolonged or complex admissions to hospital when compared with the general hospital and national population admitted with COVID-19. Many had low nadir CD4 counts and potentially impaired functional immune restoration. The PLWH group was younger than generally reported for COVID-19, and the majority were male with multiple complex comorbidities. These patients had frequent contact with hospital settings increasing potential for nosocomial acquisition and increased risk of severe COVID-19

"Fortunate are those who take the first steps"? The psychosocial impact of novel drug development.

Novel drug development offers people with cystic fibrosis exciting opportunities but is not without challenges. Currently, there is an understandable emphasis on protecting patients' physical health when developing treatments. However, there appears to be little consideration of how novel drug development impacts on psychosocial wellbeing, or the downstream consequences of this. Using an illustrative case and reviewing the literature we explore themes regarding the psychosocial impact of trial participation and novel drug development and identify areas requiring further research. Through this, we hope to prepare healthcare professionals to better understand the needs of their patients in this rapidly evolving landscape

The Primary Care Electronic Library: RSS feeds using SNOMED-CT indexing for dynamic content delivery

BACKGROUND: Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds are a method for disseminating and syndicating the contents of a website using extensible mark-up language (XML). The Primary Care Electronic Library (PCEL) distributes recent additions to the site in the form of an RSS feed. When new resources are added to PCEL, they are manually assigned medical subject headings (MeSH terms), which are then automatically mapped to SNOMED-CT terms using the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) Metathesaurus. The library is thus searchable using MeSH or SNOMED-CT. Our syndicate partner wished to have remote access to PCEL coronary heart disease (CHD) information resources based on SNOMED-CT search terms. OBJECTIVE: To pilot the supply of relevant information resources in response to clinically coded requests, using RSS syndication for transmission between web servers. METHOD: Our syndicate partner provided a list of CHD SNOMED-CT terms to its end-users, a list which was coded according to UMLS specifications. When the end-user requested relevant information resources, this request was relayed from our syndicate partner's web server to the PCEL web server. The relevant resources were retrieved from the PCEL MySQL database. This database is accessed using a server side scripting language (PHP), which enables the production of dynamic RSS feeds on the basis of Source Asserted Identifiers (CODEs) contained in UMLS. RESULTS: Retrieving resources using SNOMED-CT terms using syndication can be used to build a functioning application. The process from request to display of syndicated resources took less than one second. CONCLUSION: The results of the pilot illustrate that it is possible to exchange data between servers using RSS syndication. This method could be utilised dynamically to supply digital library resources to a clinical system with SNOMED-CT data used as the standard of reference

Air regurgitation in patients on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy following dacrocystorhinostomy with or without Lester-Jones tube insertion

Aim: To describe air regurgitation as a complication in patients on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) following dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) surgery with or without Lester–Jones tube (LJT) insertion. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients with air regurgitation on CPAP therapy who previously underwent a DCR/LJT procedure. Patient demographics, lacrimal surgical history, CPAP therapy and outcome were recorded. Results: Four male patients were identified. The mean age at presentation was 54 years. Two patients had an LJT inserted, and two patients had a DCR procedure, one was external, and one was endonasal. All four patients had resolution of their epiphora. Three patients had superficial epithelial keratopathy requiring lubricant therapy. All patients attempted using ointment to act as a barrier over the neo-ostium, which was unsuccessful. One patient had the LJT removed with resolution of the air regurgitation. Two patients changed their CPAP machines to variable, and three patients reduced the pressure of their CPAP therapy without any improvement. All three patients had persistence of air regurgitation at a mean follow-up of 18 months. Conclusions: Air regurgitation can occur following naso-lacrimal surgery in patients on CPAP therapy. Although this is an unusual complication, it should be discussed with the patient at the time of obtaining informed consent.Paul S. Cannon, Simon N. Madge, Dinesh Selv

Primary reading exercises for use with the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Detection of low-frequency K103N mutants after unstructured discontinuation of efavirenz in the presence of the CYP2B6 516 TT polymorphism

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A Permanência de Mulheres em Situações de Violência:: Considerações de Psicólogas

The aim of this paper is to identify what psychologists think who attend women in situations of domestic /marital violence, about the reasons for the persistence of some of the women in these situations.In this study qualitative research methods were used including semi-structured interviews and content analysis.The results show the following motivations for women to stay in violent situations: the strength of patriarchy; the identifying marks of romantic loveand secondary gains of women in the lived experience. These results partially confirm previous studies, but something new stands out. In contrast to what some studies have pointed out,psychologists consider the determination of the sociocultural phenomenon of violence against women in the construction of psychological distress and the proposed intervention.O objetivo desse artigo é identificar o que pensam psicólogas, que atendem/atenderam mulheres em situação de violência doméstica/conjugal, sobre as motivações para a permanência de algumas delas nessas situações. A proposta metodológica é um estudo qualitativo, utilizando-se entrevistas semiestruturadas e análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apontam como motivação para as mulheres permanecerem em situação de violência: a força do patriarcado; as marcas identitárias do amor romântico e os ganhos secundários das mulheres na experiência vivida. Esses resultados confirmam em parte estudos anteriores, porém algo novo se destaca. Ao contrário do que apresentam alguns estudos, as psicólogas consideram a determinação sociocultural do fenômeno da violência contra as mulheres na construção do sofrimento psíquico e da intervenção proposta

Children and Adults Tai Chi Study: a randomised feasibility study comparing internet delivered with face to face Tai Chi lessons in cystic fibrosis

Virtual health care is fast entering medical practice. Research into the feasibility of using it to teach treatment regimens such as exercise has not been explored. Maintaining an exercise regime can be difficult in cystic fibrosis: group classes risk potential infection yet motivation is hard to maintain when alone. Tai Chi is low impact and involves gentle, demanding movements. This study aimed to assess the feasibility, safety and acceptability of learning Tai Chi via an internet based approach and compared patient reported outcomes. Methods: Children and adults with cystic fibrosis were recruited to a randomised, comparative effectiveness trial. Participants learnt eight Tai Chi movements, teaching was delivered in eight lessons over 3 months: either internet delivered or face to face. Assessments were at three monthly intervals over nine-months. Outcomes included health status, quality of life, sleep, mindfulness and instructor-led questions. Results: Forty adults and children completed the eight sets of Tai Chi lessons. The median age was 22.8 years (range 6.1 to 51.5). Twenty-seven were female. Twenty-six adults (>16 years), six teenagers and eight <12 years. The groups were well matched. Feasibility and safety were demonstrated. Participants showed significant improvements in self-reported sleep, cough (both day and night time), stomach ache and breathing. No differences in lung function, health status, QoL, sleep or mindfulness was shown before or after completing the lessons. Conclusions: Tai Chi was safe well tolerated, it was feasible to deliver individual lessons via the internet reducing concerns regarding cross infection and appeared to improve self-reported symptoms. Copyright ©ERS 201