101 research outputs found
Effectiveness of a self-management program for dual sensory impaired seniors in aged care settings:study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial
<p>Background: Five to 25 percent of residents in aged care settings have a combined hearing and visual sensory impairment. Usual care is generally restricted to single sensory impairment, neglecting the consequences of dual sensory impairment on social participation and autonomy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-management program for seniors who acquired dual sensory impairment at old age.</p><p>Methods/Design: In a cluster randomized, single-blind controlled trial, with aged care settings as the unit of randomization, the effectiveness of a self-management program will be compared to usual care. A minimum of 14 and maximum of 20 settings will be randomized to either the intervention cluster or the control cluster, aiming to include a total of 132 seniors with dual sensory impairment. Each senior will be linked to a licensed practical nurse working at the setting. During a five to six month intervention period, nurses at the intervention clusters will be trained in a self-management program to support and empower seniors to use self-management strategies. In two separate diaries, nurses keep track of the interviews with the seniors and their reflections on their own learning process. Nurses of the control clusters offer care as usual. At senior level, the primary outcome is the social participation of the seniors measured using the Hearing Handicap Questionnaire and the Activity Card Sort, and secondary outcomes are mood, autonomy and quality of life. At nurse level, the outcome is job satisfaction. Effectiveness will be evaluated using linear mixed model analysis.</p><p>Discussion: The results of this study will provide evidence for the effectiveness of the Self-Management Program for seniors with dual sensory impairment living in aged care settings. The findings are expected to contribute to the knowledge on the program's potential to enhance social participation and autonomy of the seniors, as well as increasing the job satisfaction of the licensed practical nurses. Furthermore, an extensive process evaluation will take place which will offer insight in the quality and feasibility of the sampling and intervention process. If it is shown to be effective and feasible, this Self-Management Program could be widely disseminated.</p>
Thermal effects on the photoelastic coefficient of polymer optical fibers
We measure the radial profile of the photoelastic coefficient C(r) in single-mode polymer optical fibers (POFs), and we determine the evolution of C(r) after annealing the fibers at temperatures from 40°C to 80°C. We demonstrate that C(r) in the fibers drawn from a preform without specific thermal pre-treatment changes and converges to values between 1.2 and 1.6×10-12 Pa-1 following annealing at 80°C. The annealed fibers display a smoothened radial profile of C(r) and a lowered residual birefringence. In contrast, the mean value of C(r) of the fiber drawn from a preform that has been pre-annealed remains constant after our annealing process and is significantly higher, i.e., 4×10-12 Pa-1. The annealing process decreases the residual birefringence to a lower extent as well. These measurements indicate the impact of annealing on the thermal stability of the photoelastic coefficient of POFs, which is an essential characteristic in view of developing POF-based thermomechanical sensors
The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) on the Herschel Space Observatory
The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three
science instruments on ESA's far infrared and submillimetre observatory. It
employs two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays (stressed and unstressed) with 16x25
pixels, each, and two filled silicon bolometer arrays with 16x32 and 32x64
pixels, respectively, to perform integral-field spectroscopy and imaging
photometry in the 60-210\mu\ m wavelength regime. In photometry mode, it
simultaneously images two bands, 60-85\mu\ m or 85-125\mu\m and 125-210\mu\ m,
over a field of view of ~1.75'x3.5', with close to Nyquist beam sampling in
each band. In spectroscopy mode, it images a field of 47"x47", resolved into
5x5 pixels, with an instantaneous spectral coverage of ~1500km/s and a spectral
resolution of ~175km/s. We summarise the design of the instrument, describe
observing modes, calibration, and data analysis methods, and present our
current assessment of the in-orbit performance of the instrument based on the
Performance Verification tests. PACS is fully operational, and the achieved
performance is close to or better than the pre-launch predictions
Value of Speckle Tracking-Based Deformation Analysis in Screening Relatives of Patients With Asymptomatic Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Effectiveness of a nurse-supported self-management programme for dual sensory impaired older adults in long-term care:A cluster randomised controlled trial
Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse supported self-management programme to improve social participation of dual sensory impaired older adults in long-term care homes. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting Thirty long-term care homes across the Netherlands. Participants Long-term care homes were randomised into intervention clusters (n=17) and control clusters (n=13), involving 89 dual sensory impaired older adults and 56 licensed practical nurses. Intervention Nurse-supported self-management programme. Measurements Effectiveness was evaluated by the primary outcome social participation using a participation scale adapted for visually impaired older adults distinguishing four domains: instrumental activities of daily living, social-cultural activities, high physical-demand and low-physical-demand leisure activities. A questionnaire assessing hearing-related participation problems was added as supportive outcome. Secondary outcomes were autonomy, control, mood and quality of life and nurses' job satisfaction. For effectiveness analyses, linear mixed models were used. Sampling and intervention quality were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Self-management did not affect all four domains of social participation; however. the domain 'instrumental activities of daily living' had a significant effect in favour of the intervention group (P=0.04; 95% CI 0.12 to 8.5). Sampling and intervention quality was adequate. Conclusions A nurse-supported self-management programme was effective in empowering the dual sensory impaired older adults to address the domain 'instrumental activities of daily living', but no differences were found in addressing the other three participation domains. Self-management showed to be beneficial for managing practical problems, but not for those problems requiring behavioural adaptations of other persons
An industry consensus study on an HPLC fluorescence method for the determination of (±)-catechin and (±)-epicatechin in cocoa and chocolate products
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This manuscript describes the results of an HPLC study for the determination of the flavan-3-ol monomers, (±)-catechin and (±)-epicatechin, in cocoa and plain dark and milk chocolate products. The study was performed under the auspices of the National Confectioners Association (NCA) and involved the analysis of a series of samples by laboratories of five member companies using a common method.</p> <p>Methodology</p> <p>The method reported in this paper uses reversed phase HPLC with fluorescence detection to analyze (±)-epicatechin and (±)-catechin extracted with an acidic solvent from defatted cocoa and chocolate. In addition to a variety of cocoa and chocolate products, the sample set included a blind duplicate used to assess method reproducibility. All data were subjected to statistical analysis with outliers eliminated from the data set.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The percent coefficient of variation (%CV) of the sample set ranged from approximately 7 to 15%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Further experimental details are described in the body of the manuscript and the results indicate the method is suitable for the determination of (±)-catechin and (±)-epicatechin in cocoa and chocolate products and represents the first collaborative study of this HPLC method for these compounds in these matrices.</p
A quantitative synthesis of the medicinal ethnobotany of the Malinké of Mali and the Asháninka of Peru, with a new theoretical framework
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although ethnomedically and taxonomically guided searches for new medicinal plants can improve the percentage of plants found containing active compounds when compared to random sampling, ethnobotany has fulfilled little of its promise in the last few decades to deliver a bounty of new, laboratory-proven medicinal plants and compounds. It is quite difficult to test, isolate, and elucidate the structure and mechanism of compounds from the plethora of new medicinal plant uses described each year with limited laboratory time and resources and the high cost of clinical trials of new drug candidates.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A new quantitative theoretical framework of mathematical formulas called "relational efficacy" is proposed that should narrow down this search for new plant-derived medicines based on the hypothesis that closely related plants used to treat closely related diseases in distantly related cultures have a higher probability of being effective because they are more likely to be independent discoveries of similar plant compounds and disease mechanisms. A prerequisite to this hypothesis, the idea that empirical testing in traditional medicine will lead to choosing similar medicinal plants and therefore the medicinal flora of two distant cultures will prove to be more similar than their general flora, is tested using resampling statistics on cross-cultural field data of the plants used by the MalinkĂ© of Mali and the Asháninka of Peru to treat the diseases malaria, African sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis, diabetes, eczema, asthma, and uterine fibroids.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this case, the similarity of the medicinal floras is found to be significantly greater than the similarity of the general floras, but only when the diseases in question are grouped into the categories of parasitic and autoimmune diseases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>If the central theoretical framework of this hypothesis is shown to be true, it will allow the synthesis of medicinal plant information from around the world to pinpoint the species with the highest potential efficacy to take into the laboratory and analyze further, ultimately saving much field and laboratory time and resources.</p> <p><b>Spanish abstract</b></p> <p>Las bĂşsquedas que utilizan la etnomedicina y la taxonomĂa para descubrir nuevas plantas medicinales, pueden aumentar la probabilidad de Ă©xito de encontrar compuestos quĂmicos activos en plantas, en comparaciĂłn con las bĂşsquedas aleatorias. A pesar de lo anterior, en las Ăşltimas dĂ©cadas, la etnobotánica no ha cumplido con las expectativas de proveer numerosas plantas medicinales y quĂmicos nuevos una vez examinados en el laboratorio. Cada año se describen una plĂ©tora de plantas medicinales y sus usos, sin embargo las limitaciones de tiempo y recursos en los laboratorios, unidos al alto coste de los ensayos clĂnicos de las drogas potenciales, hacen muy difĂcil probar, aislar, y elucidar la estructura y el mecanismo de los compuestos de estas plantas. Se propone un nuevo marco teĂłrico cuantitativo cuyo fin es focalizar la bĂşsqueda de nueva plantas medicinales. Este marco teĂłrico está basado en la hipĂłtesis que las plantas cercanamente relacionadas, usadas para tratar enfermedades cercanamente relacionadas en culturas distantemente relacionadas, tienen una eficacia potencial más alta, debido a que es más probable que estos hallazgos sean descubrimientos independientes de compuestos quĂmicos similares. Parte de esta hipĂłtesis, que las escogencias racionales se hacen para elegir plantas medicinales similares y que la flora medicinal de dos culturas distantes es más similar que su flora general, se probĂł usando mĂ©todos estadĂsticos de remuestreo con datos de campo de la comunidad MalinkĂ© de MalĂ y de la Asháninka de PerĂş, y las enfermedades de paludismo, enfermedad africana del sueño, enfermedad de Chagas, leishmania, diabetes, eczema, asma, y fibromas uterinos. Se encontrĂł, en este caso, que la similitud de las floras medicinales es significativamente mayor a la similitud de las floras generales, solamente cuando las enfermedades analizadas se agruparon en las categorĂas de enfermedades parasitarias y enfermedades autoinmunes. Si se demostrara que las otras partes de esta hipĂłtesis son ciertas, se podrĂa sintetizar la informaciĂłn sobre plantas medicinales alrededor del mundo, para establecer asĂ las plantas potencialmente más eficaces para llevarlas al laboratorio y analizarlas más profundamente.</p> <p><b>French abstract</b></p> <p>Par rapport aux recherches menĂ©es de façon alĂ©atoire, les recherches effectuĂ©es par des critères ethnobotaniques et taxonomiques ont de meilleures chances Ă dĂ©couvrir de nouvelles plantes mĂ©dicinales Ă produit chimique actifs. Pendant les dernières dĂ©cennies pourtant, l'ethnobotanique a rĂ©alisĂ© peu de ces promesses Ă rĂ©vĂ©ler un grand nombre de plantes mĂ©dicinales et de nouveaux produits chimiques, testĂ©s au laboratoire. Avec les ressources limitĂ©es pour la recherche au laboratoire et le coĂ»t Ă©levĂ© des Ă©preuves cliniques pour trouver de nouveaux candidats aux mĂ©dicaments, il est difficile d'Ă©tudier, d'isoler et d'Ă©lucider la structure et le mĂ©canisme des produits chimiques de chacune des nombreuses plantes mĂ©dicinales (et les utilisations de ces plantes) dĂ©crites chaque annĂ©e. Nous proposons une nouvelle technique thĂ©orique et quantitative pour prĂ©ciser la recherche de nouvelles plantes mĂ©dicinales; elle est basĂ©e sur l'hypothèse que les plantes Ă©troitement apparentĂ©es, employĂ©es pour traiter les maladies Ă©troitement apparentĂ©es dans les cultures très Ă©loignĂ©es les unes des autres, ont une potentialitĂ© d'efficacitĂ© supĂ©rieure parce qu'elles reprĂ©sentent la dĂ©couverte indĂ©pendante des propriĂ©tĂ©s chimiques semblables des plantes. Une partie de cette hypothèse-qui dĂ©montre que la sĂ©lection des plantes mĂ©dicinales semblables est un choix rationnel et qu'il y a davantage de ressemblance dans la flore mĂ©dicinale de deux cultures Ă©loignĂ©es que dans leur flore gĂ©nĂ©rale-est examinĂ©e par un re-Ă©chantillonnage des donnĂ©es de recherches effectuĂ©es parmi les MalinkĂ© au Mali et les Asháninka au PĂ©rou, en particulier sur la malaria, la maladie africaine du sommeil, la maladie de Chagas, la leishmania, le diabète, l'eczĂ©ma, l'asthme et les fibromes utĂ©rins. Dans ces cas prĂ©cis, la similitude de la flore mĂ©dicinale s'avère sensiblement plus grande que la similitude de la flore gĂ©nĂ©rale, mais seulement quand les maladies en question sont regroupĂ©es ensemble comme maladies parasitaires et auto-immunitaires. Si cette hypothèse est prouvĂ©e, elle permettra la synthèse des informations recueillies sur les plantes mĂ©dicinales du monde entier pour en sĂ©lectionner de façon plus prĂ©cise celles qui sont les plus efficaces et qui mĂ©ritent analyse plus approfondie au laboratoire.</p> <p><b>Asháninka abstract</b></p> <p>Aayiantyarori iròpero aavintane, ontzimatye ancovacovatero ayotero ovaqueraripaye incashi iyoyetziri ashaninka, ayotzityaro aajatzi iyotane viracocha paitachari "quimica" ancantero aaca oshintsinka inchashipaye. Atziri yotacotzirori cametsa, ishtoriajacotzirori iyotane ashaninkapaye te iroñà rantero maaroni ocaratzi yamenacotaqueri laboratorioki. Aaviantyarori cametsa, ayotacotero aavintarontsiyetatsiri osamani antzimaventero ishtoriatacotaro, aajatzi osheki opinata ampinaventero aparopaye inchashi, acoviriqui ayotacotero, osaretsikipaye. Tzimatsi ovaquerari quenquishiriantsitatsiri ero opinata osheki ashitoriatacotero aparopaye inchashi, asampiyetatyrey pashinipaye atziri saicatsiri intaina puitarika inchasshi yavintari, ajatzirica oshiyaro ayotzi aaca, quemetachari atziri saikatsiri nampitsiki malinke aajatzi ishiyari ashaninka saicatsiri peruki, tzimatsi inchashi aajatzi yaavintari osheki okamètsatzi aririka anteri mantsiyarentsi icantaitziri ompetarentsi catsirentsi, pochokirentsi, patsarontsi(matatsi) ashipetate maaroni, ampochavathate, ancainikentsite, oncatsithakite tsinani. Aririka añaker aajatzi ahiyaro inchashi yaavintayetari pashinipaye atziri intainasatzi irdotake ahitoriatacoperoteri anĂ ashityard aavintarontsi ovamairiri shithanentsi, onĂ shitaavintarontsi tzicaacoventairi ero antane mantsiyarentsi. Omanperotatyarica iròperotzi avintarontsi, oshitovake laboratorioki aritaque iyoitanaquero maaroni quipatsiki iroperori avintarontsi.</p
Assimilation—On (Not) Turning White: Memory and the Narration of the Postwar History of Japanese Canadians in Southern Alberta
This essay explores understandings of “race” – specifically, what it means to be Japanese – of nisei (“second generation”) individuals who acknowledge their near complete assimilation structurally and normatively into the Canadian mainstream. In historically-contextualized analyses of memory fragments from oral-history interviews conducted between 2011-2017, it focusses on voices and experiences of southern Alberta, an area whose significance to local, national, continental, and trans-Pacific histories of people of Japanese descent is belied by a lack of dedicated scholarly attention. In this light, this essay reveals how the fact of being Japanese in the latter half of the twentieth century was strategically central to nisei lives as individuals and in their communities. In imagining a racial hierarchy whose apex they knew they could never share with the hakujin (whites), the racial heritage they nevertheless inherited and would bequeath could be so potent as to reverse the direction of the colonial gaze with empowering effects in individual engagements then and as remembered now. We see how the narration and validation of one’s life is the navigation of wider historical contexts, the shaping of the post-colonial legacy of Imperial cultures, as Britain and Japan withdrew from their erstwhile colonial projects in Canada
Investigation on the effects of guava (Psidium guajava L.) infusions on germination, root tips and meristematic cells of Latuca sativa
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