Health literacy among non-familial caregivers of older adults: A study conducted in Tuscany (Italy)

Many older adults who live at home depend on a caregiver. When familial support cannot provide the necessary care, paid caregivers are frequently hired. Health literacy (HL) is the knowledge and competence required of people to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. The aim of this study is to assess the HL level of paid non-familial caregivers who were enrolled through two different sources: from the homes of assisted people in two Tuscan health districts (first sample) and during job interviews in a home care agency operating in Florence (second sample). The two different recruitment contexts allow us to provide a broader view of the phenomenon, presenting a picture of the HL level of those who are already working and those who are looking for a new job in this field. One-on-one face-to-face interviews, which include the administration of the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) to measure HL, were conducted. Recruitment resulted in 84 caregivers in the first sample and 68 in the second sample. In the first sample, the mean age was 51.2 ± 9 years; 94% of the participants were women. A high likelihood or likelihood of inadequate HL (i.e., a low level of HL) was found in 73.8% of cases. In the second sample, the mean age was 43.7 ± 11.5 years; 83.8% of the participants were women, and 80.9% had a low level of HL. In both samples, HL was statistically associated with the level of understanding of the Italian language. In conclusion, inadequate HL is an under-recognized problem among non-familial caregivers. Educational programs that aim to increase HL skills could be an effective approach to improving the qualification of informal healthcare professionals

Gold/Silica biochips: applications to Surface Plasmon Resonance and fluorescence quenching

We report Gold/Silica biochips for low cost biosensor devices. Firstly, the study of biochemical interactions on silica by means of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is presented. Secondly, Gold/Silica biochips are employed to reduce the strong quenching that occurs when a fluorophore is close to the gold surface. Furthermore, the control of the Silica-like thickness allows optimizing the distance between the metallic surface and the fluorophore in order to enhance the fluorescent signal. These results represent the first steps towards highly sensitive, specific and low cost biosensors based, for example, on Surface Plasmon Coupled Emission (SPCE) techniques

Biological Qualification of Oocyte Maturity with the Use of the Karhunen-Loeve Transform: Computer-aided Decision for Selecting Best Oocytes Before Fertilization

International audienceThe estimation of the a priori maturity degree of oocytes before fertilizing is a critical step in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). This kind of analysis is currently done by the practitioner with a visual microscope inspection and is therefore subjective. In this paper, we propose the use of an image processing called Karhunen-Loeve Transform (KLT). The KLT exploits the covariance matrix and its eigenvectors for obtaining a representation of information in several images. We show that the KLT permits the determination of the oocyte maturity by examining the KL images and more precisely the eigenvalues of each. The KLT could thus be a useful tool for IVF and we intend to develop a dedicated server for all French IVF centers as a computer aided decision for fertilization

Pain and efficiency in neonatal blood sample screenings, New devices for reducing pain and improving blood sample quality

International audienceNeonatal blood sample screening is recognised as a difficult gesture and painful to the newborns. The number of detected diseases is still relatively low and depends on the country where it is performed. There is a real need for new techniques that reduce pain, facilitate the blood sampling, increase the quantity of sampled blood and improve the collection of blood of the cardboard blotter actually used. In this paper, we present systems that are currently developed in Besançon (France) in collaboration between the FEMTO-ST Institute and the University Hospital. They mainly concern micro-needles arrays and pressure free blood sampling devices. The choice of these systems has been dictated by a study of the pain that newborns feel during the gesture. The ulterior motive of this work is to improve neonatal blood sample screenings and therefore, to increase the number of screened diseases and try to generalise this technique to places where it is not yet done

Utilisation de la Transformée de Karhunen-Loeve pour l'aide au diagnostic en Fécondation In Vitro

Une des étapes critiques en Fécondation In Vitro (FIV) est la sélection des meilleurs ovocytes destinés à la fertilisation. Actuellement, cette sélection se fait visuellement au microscope par le praticien et est ainsi subjective. Nous proposons ici une méthode objective de qualification de la maturité des ovocytes (essentiellement stades métaphase I (immatures) et métaphase II (matures)) basée sur l'utilisation de la Transformée de Karhunen-Loeve (TKL), utilisée généralement en traitement d'images pour la reconnaissance de visages. La TKL repose sur l'analyse de la matrice de corrélation d'une base d'images (12 dans notre cas) et la décomposition de cette dernière sur ses vecteurs propres (12 canaux) et ses valeurs propres (pourcentages d'information dans les canaux). On peut préciser que l'information commune à beaucoup des images de la base se retrouve dans les premiers canaux alors que celle attachée à une ou deux images dans les derniers. L'idée générale utilisée ici est d'utiliser une base de 12 images d'ovocytes dont le stade de maturité est connu et d'appliquer la TKL. Ensuite, une des images est retirée et remplacée par celle d'un ovocyte inconnu