Development of a method to recover fingerprints from textured surfaces

Latent fingerprints have a high evidentiary value but are currently being underutilized from textured surfaces like dashboards. There is no current method to lift latent fingerprints from a textured surface. Dashboards are the principal surfaces for several crime types, and being able to lift fingerprints from their surfaces would help investigators. The problem with dashboards is the textured nature of their surface prevents the current methods from working. Enhancement methods looked at is the powder type used for initial enhancement. A lifter or casting material could be used to detach the print from the surface without texture affecting the fingerprint. It was noted that after lifting, the fingerprint would not have high contrast with the surface, so cyanoacrylate fuming and dyed with rhodamine 6G would happen to increase contrast, both cyanoacrylate fuming and rhodamine 6G both works used extensively for current methods to enhance contrast. Lifters and casting materials were neither research in there use for and results on textured surfaces and should be researched more extensively

Chronic Pain Assessment and Documentation Protocol Implementation in Home Health Care

Background/Purpose: Chronic pain management protocols are necessary in all aspects of health care to reduce negative perceptions and improve knowledge and comfort when caring for patients with chronic pain.Methods: A pre-implementation Simplified Knowledge and Attitude Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) and Comfort Survey were administered to rural Midwest home health nursing staff followed by implementation of a chronic pain management protocol. The protocol included an educational session on understanding and managing chronic pain, the use of the OPQRST handout to guide proper documentation, Pain Risk Factors Assessment Form, and a Managing Chronic Pain handout. The Simplified KASRP and Comfort Surveys were readministered 3.5 months after implementation for a total timeline of 5 months.Results: The overall mean scores of pre and post implementation Simplified KASRP Surveys were 0.74 and 0.73, respectively with a p-value of 0.95. The overall mean scores of pre and post implementation Comfort Surveys were 0.83 and 0.84, respectively with a p-value of 0.42. Clinically, the project stakeholder reported improved documentation. Discussion: Despite the lack of significant change in pre and post-implementation surveys, improvements in documentation and improved ability to care for chronic pain patients were reported.Implications for Practice: A chronic pain assessment and documentation protocol has the potential to increase the knowledge, attitudes, and comfort level of home health nurses caring for patients with chronic pain

Relative contributions of lean and fat mass to bone mineral density: Insight from Prader-Willi syndrome

© 2018 Viardot, Purtell, Nguyen and Campbell. Context: Low bone mineral density (BMD) is the most important risk factor for fragility fracture. Body weight is a simple screening predictor of difference in BMD between individuals. However, it is not clear which component of body weight, lean (LM), or fat mass (FM), is associated with BMD. People with the genetic disorder of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) uniquely have a reduced LM despite increased FM. Objective: We sought to define the individual impact of LM and FM on BMD by investigating subjects with and without PWS. Design, Setting and Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Clinical Research Facility of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, with PWS and control participants recruited from a specialized PWS clinic and from the general public by advertisement, respectively. The study involved 11 adults with PWS, who were age- and sex-matched with 12 obese individuals (Obese group) and 10 lean individuals (Lean group). Main Outcome Measures: Whole body BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Total body FM and LM were derived from the whole body scan. Differences in BMD between groups were assessed by the analysis of covariance model, taking into account the effects of LM and FM. Results: The PWS group had significantly shorter height than the lean and obese groups. As expected, there was no significant difference in FM between the Obese and PWS group, and no significant difference in LM between the Lean and PWS group. However, obese individuals had greater LM than lean individuals. BMD in lean individuals was significantly lower than in PWS individuals (1.13 g/cm2 vs. 1.21 g/cm2, p < 0.05) and obese individuals (1.13 g/cm2 vs. 1.25 g/cm2, p < 0.05). After adjusting for both LM and FM, there was no significant difference in BMD between groups, and the only significant predictor of BMD was LM. Conclusions: These data from the human genetic model Prader-Willi syndrome suggest that LM is a stronger determinant of BMD than fat mass