Chronic Migraines and Couples: A Grounded Theory of Adaptation to Chronic Migraines for Patients and their Partners

This study was completed to better understand and treat couples wherein one partner suffers from chronic migraines. I interviewed eight couples about their experiences in dealing with migraines as a patient, as a partner, and together. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by a team of seven researchers. We developed a theory that can be used to understand how patients and their partners adapt to chronic migraines. The theory was grounded in the experiences of the patients and partners who were interviewed. We found that patients and partners alike dealt with burdens and costs associated with chronic migraines. Coping, healthcare, couple experience, and identity were found to be the means through which patients and partners adapted to their burdens. These concepts are broken down and discussed in greater detail. A model is provided that can be used to create a visual representation of how well a couple deals with migraines. Suggestions for couples who are dealing with chronic migraines, and for medical providers and therapists who work with couples affected by chronic migraines, are provided

The Effects of Non-cash Incentives, Payoff Timing, and Task Type on Performance

My study investigates whether the effects of non-cash incentives on employee performance depend on when the incentive is paid and what type of task is being performed. Although firms frequently use non-cash incentives, such as merchandise, travel awards and gift cards, the effects of non-cash incentives, relative to cash incentives, are not well understood by researchers. Drawing on economic and psychology theories, I predict that the effects of incentive type (cash or non-cash) on performance depend on incentive payoff timing (near or distant future) and task type (analytic or creative). Specifically, for an analytic task, I predict and find that a cash incentive paid in the near future is most effective. For a creative task, I predict and find that a cash incentive paid in the near future and a non-cash incentive paid in the distant future are most effective. The results of my study should benefit theory and practice by identifying the most effective combination of incentive type and payoff timing for a given task type

Genetic parameters and responses of performance and body composition traits in pigs selected for high and low growth rate on a fixed ration over a set time

Two lines of Large White pigs of common genetic origin were divergently selected over four years for high and low growth rate during a 6 week post-weaning test period in which all pigs were fed the same total amount of food (80% of estimated ad libitum intake). Genetic parameters and direct and correlated responses in performance and carcass traits were estimated on 2884 pigs with pedigrees comprising a total of 5324 animals, with restricted maximum likelihood and best linear unbiased prediction methods applied to a multi-trait animal model. Estimates of heritability (± SE) were 0.19 ± 0.04 for lifetime daily gain (LDG), 0.16 ± 0.03 for test daily gain (TDG), 0.25 ± 0.04 for ultrasound P2 backfat (UBF) and 0.16 ± 0.03 for food conversion ratio during test (TFC), and 0.15 ± 0.04 for daily carcass weight gain (CDG), 0.43 ± 0.06 for carcass backfat (CFT) and 0.40 ± 0.06 for carcass lean percentage (LEAN). Common litter effects for TDG, UBF and TFC were less than 5% and for LDG, 17% of total phenotypic variance. Genetic correlations between performance and carcass traits were moderately to highly favourable. After four years of divergent selection for growth rate, the selection responses in estimated breeding value (EBV) for TDG were 40.14 and -41.11 g (SED 2.95) for the high and low growth lines, respectively. The regressions of EBV on year of birth, indicate that the annual genetic trend for TDG, was 8.73 g/yr in the high and -8.48 g/yr in the low lines (P < 0.001). Correlated genetic responses in the high and low lines respectively were 5.28 g and -12.40 g (SED 2.09) in LDG, -0.35 mm and 0.56 mm (SED 0.009) in UBF, -0.145 units and 0.185 units (SED 0.012) in TFC, 3.17 g and -10.97 g (SED 1.53) in CDG, -1.13 mm and 1.01 mm (SED 0.155) in CFT and 1.24% and -1.27% (SED 0.150) in LEAN. It was concluded that selection for increased post-weaning daily gain on a ration of fixed amount reduces the age at slaughter and the level of backfat and increases the efficiency of food utilisation, weight and leanness of pig carcasses

The shock of the new: ethics, law and the introduction of public access defibrillation

There have been recent moves to include Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) in emergency response strategies. The value of this development is explored in this article. The benefits and limitations of extending AutomaticExternal Defibrillator (AED) use to non-traditional first responders, minimally trained witnesses and citizens are examined and the cost-effectiveness of such developments is discussed. The authors contend that, at the present time, enthusiasm for PAD would seem misplaced and that there is a series of economic, ethical and legal uncertainties that need to be addressed before widespread distribution of AED technology should be pursued

Single-shooting homotopy method for parameter identification in dynamical systems

An algorithm for identifying parameters in dynamical systems is developed in this work using homotopy transformations and the single-shooting method. The equations governing the dynamics of the mathematical model are augmented with observer-like homotopy terms that smooth the objective function. As a result, premature convergence to a local minimum is avoided and the obtained parameter estimates are globally optimal. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed approach to chaotic systems

Epidemiology of Injury in Women’s Super League Football: A Cohort Study

Introduction: The epidemiology of injury in male professional football has been well documented (Ekstrand, Hägglund, & Waldén, 2011) and used as a basis to understand injury trends for a number of years. The prevalence and incidence of injuries occurring in women’s super league football is unknown. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence and incidence of injury in an English Super League Women’s Football squad. Methods: Following ethical approval from Leeds Beckett University, players (n = 25) signed to a Women’s Super League Football club provided written informed consent to complete a self-administered injury survey. Measures of exposure, injury and performance over a 12-month period was gathered