3,835 research outputs found
The relationship between perceived social support and psychological distress in carers of older relatives: A longitudinal cross-lagged analysis
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although a large body of research has examined the relationship between social support and psychological health of family carers of frail older people, the exact nature and direction of this relationship is not well understood with most research to date being cross-sectional. This longitudinal study explored the relationship between perceived social support and psychological distress in carers of older relatives. METHODS: We used data from two longitudinal cohorts which included a total of 332 family carers of frail older people. We used cross-lagged panel analysis to investigate the longitudinal association between perceived social support and carer psychological distress controlling for a number of covariates over time. RESULTS: Fully-adjusted Generalised Estimating Equations (GEE) and cross-lagged models indicated that higher social support was significantly associated with lower carer psychological distress over time (regression coefficient [B]âŻ=âŻ-0.178, standard error [SE]âŻ=âŻ0.028), with levels of perceived social support exerting an effect on psychological distress rather than vice versa (ÎČâŻ=âŻ0.03, pâŻ=âŻ0.32). LIMITATIONS: All observations were based on self-report data, and there may be other variables that may explain the results that we did not account for. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Our study finds that the directionality of the relationship appears to be from perceived social support to carer psychological distress suggesting that social support directly affects carer psychological health but not vice versa. This finding has important implications for the provision of social support interventions for carers of frail older people at risk of experiencing psychological distress
Laser-induced chemical transformation of freestanding graphene oxide membranes in liquid and gas ammonia environments
Laser-induced chemical conversion of graphene oxide (GO) is an effective way to modify its properties and expand its potential use for numerous applications. In this work, a mechanically stable and flexible free-standing GO membrane is synthesized and further processed by ultraviolet laser radiation in gas and liquid ammonia-rich environments. Electron and atomic force microscopy, as well as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, reveal that laser irradiation in gas leads to a large defect-induced morphology modification and high deoxygenation process, accompanied by the slight incorporation of nitrogen functionality to the reduced GO structure. Conversely, irradiation in liquid provokes significant integration of nitrogen groups, essentially amines, into a partially reduced GO structure, without evident modification of the morphology. Electrical measurements on the macro- and nano-scale point to a complex contribution of morphology and oxidized regions to the overall resistance of the rGO.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish
Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under the project
ENE2014-56109-C3-3-R, in addition to the Romanian National
Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, CNCS â
UEFISCDI, under the Grants PN-II-ID-PCE-2012-4-0292 and PNII-
RU-TE-2014-4-1194. ICMAB acknowledges financial support
from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness,
through the âSevero Ochoaâ Programme for Centres of Excellence
in R&D (SEV-2015-0496).Peer reviewe
The mediating role of sense of coherence on mental health outcomes in carers of older dependent relatives: a longitudinal study
Background:
Sense of coherence (SOC) is an important protective factor for carer wellâbeing but research to date remains crossâsectional, focusing primarily on the direct effects of SOC on carersâ mental health. The study's aim was to investigate the mediating role of SOC in the longitudinal relationship between caregiver strain and carersâ psychological health, and its stability over time. /
Methods:
Prospective longitudinal study conducted in JaĂ©n (Spain) with a probabilistic sample of 132 carers of older people, with data collected at baseline and at oneâyear followâup. We measured SOC, caregiver strain, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and several care recipient characteristics and intensity of care provided. We used multiple linear regression modelling and the Sobel test to analyse mediation effects. /
Results:
SOC was significantly negatively longitudinally associated with both anxiety (ÎČ= â0.38, p= 0.001) and depressive symptoms (ÎČ= â0.28, p= 0.023), after controlling for several confounders. SOC mediated both the relationship between caregiver strain and anxiety and caregiver strain and depressive symptoms (Sobel test; p< 0.001 for anxiety and p< 0.001 for depressive symptoms). Differences between baseline and oneâyear followâup SOC scores were not statistically significant (p= 0.617). /
Conclusions:
SOC appears to buffer the impact of caregiver strain on symptoms of depression and anxiety in informal carers of older people. Our data showed that SOC is an important psychological resource for carers that remained relatively stable under nonâexperimental conditions over a period of one year in this sample. Findings suggest that interventions aimed at strengthening SOC may protect carer psychological wellâbeing
Subjective caregiver burden and anxiety in informal caregivers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
There is increasing evidence that subjective caregiver burden is an important determinant of clinically significant anxiety in family carers. This meta-analysis aims to synthesise this evidence and investigate the relationship between subjective caregiver burden and anxiety symptoms in informal caregivers. We searched PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO up to January 2020. Combined estimates were obtained using a random-effects model. After screening of 4,312 articles, 74 studies (with 75 independent samples) were included. There was a large, positive association between subjective caregiver burden and anxiety symptoms (r = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.47, 0.54; I2 = 0.0%). No differences were found in subgroup analyses by type of study design (cross-sectional vs. longitudinal), sampling, control of confounders or care-recipient characteristics. Subjective caregiver burden is an important risk factor for anxiety in informal caregivers. Targeting subjective caregiver burden could be beneficial in preventing clinically significant anxiety for the increasing number of family carers worldwide
Defining a roadmap for harmonizing quality indicators in Laboratory Medicine: A consensus statement on behalf of the IFCC Working Group "laboratory Error and Patient Safety" and EFLM Task and Finish Group "performance specifications for the extra-analytical phases"
The improving quality of laboratory testing requires a deep understanding of the many vulnerable steps involved in the total examination process (TEP), along with the identification of a hierarchy of risks and challenges that need to be addressed. From this perspective, the Working Group \u201cLaboratory Errors and Patient Safety\u201d (WG-LEPS) of International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) is focusing its activity on implementation of an efficient tool for obtaining meaningful information on the risk of errors developing
throughout the TEP, and for establishing reliable information about error frequencies and their distribution. More recently, the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) has created the Task and Finish Group \u201cPerformance specifications for the extraanalytical phases\u201d (TFG-PSEP) for defining performance specifications for extra-analytical phases. Both the IFCC and EFLM groups are working to provide laboratories with a system to evaluate their performances and recognize the critical aspects where improvement actions are needed. A Consensus Conference was organized in Padova, Italy, in 2016 in order to bring together all the experts and interested parties to achieve a consensus for effective harmonization of quality indicators (QIs). A general agreement was achieved and the main outcomes have been the release of a new version of model of quality indicators (MQI), the approval of a criterion for establishing performance specifications and the definition of the type of information that should be provided within the report to the clinical laboratories participating to the QIs project
Tratamiento de las fracturas complejas del fémur: nuestra experiencia con el clavo de Brooker-Wills
Se estudian 26 casos de fracturas de fémur tratadas con clavo de Brooker-Wills.
De ellas, 22 fueron cerradas y 4 abiertas. El trazo de fractura fue simple en 8 casos y con cominuciĂłn
en 18. El tipo de montaje realizado fue dinĂĄmico, con encerrojado distal, en 13 casos
(50%) y estĂĄtico en 12 (46%). En un caso no se practicĂł ninguna clase de bloqueo. En 5 pacientes
(19%) ocurrió alguna complicación peroperatoria relacionada con la técnica. Eos resultados
obtenidos valorados segĂșn los criterios de Thoresen han sido: 17 excelentes (65%), 6 buenos
(23%), 2 regulares (8%) y 1 malo (4%). Hubo una rotura del clavo relacionada con una pseudoartosis.
En nuestra experiencia el clavo de Brooker-Wills se ha mostrado como un dispositivo eficaz
en el tratamiento de las fracturas complejas de la diĂĄlisis femoral capaz de prevenir el acortamiento,
las angulaciones y la rotaciĂłn de los fragmentos.We studied 26 femoral fractures treated with Brooker-Wills nail. There were 22
closed and 4 open fractures. Eight were simple fractures and 18 conminuted. We performed distal
(dynamic) locking in 13 cases (50%) and static locking in 12 (46%). One case had no locking.
In 5 cases (19%) we had some complications, all of them related with the technique. Following the
Thoresen's criteria, the results obtained were excelent in 17 cases (65%), good in 6 (23%), fair in
2 (8%) and poor in one (4%). We found a broken nail in a case who developed a pseudarthrosis.
In our experience Brooker-Wills nail was found to be an effective device for the treatment of complex
femoral shaft fractures, being able to avoid shortening, angulation and rotation of the fragments
Quadrature nonreciprocity: unidirectional bosonic transmission without breaking time-reversal symmetry
Nonreciprocity means that the transmission of a signal depends on its
direction of propagation. Despite vastly different platforms and underlying
working principles, the realisations of nonreciprocal transport in linear,
time-independent systems rely on Aharonov-Bohm interference among several
pathways and require breaking time-reversal symmetry. Here we extend the notion
of nonreciprocity to unidirectional bosonic transport in systems with a
time-reversal symmetric Hamiltonian by exploiting interference between
beamsplitter (excitation preserving) and two-mode-squeezing (excitation
non-preserving) interactions. In contrast to standard nonreciprocity, this
unidirectional transport manifests when the mode quadratures are resolved with
respect to an external reference phase. Hence we dub this phenomenon quadrature
nonreciprocity. First, we experimentally demonstrate it in the minimal system
of two coupled nanomechanical modes orchestrated by optomechanical
interactions. Next, we develop a theoretical framework to characterise the
class of networks exhibiting quadrature nonreciprocity based on features of
their particle-hole graphs. In addition to unidirectionality, these networks
can exhibit an even-odd pairing between collective quadratures, which we
confirm experimentally in a four-mode system, and an exponential end-to-end
gain in the case of arrays of cavities. Our work opens up new avenues for
signal routing and quantum-limited amplification in bosonic systems.Comment: Includes: Main Text (7 pages, 4 figures), Methods & References (5
pages, 1 figure), Supplementary Information (14 pages, 2 figures
NGC 6705 a young -enhanced Open Cluster from OCCASO data
The stellar [/Fe] abundance is sometimes used as a proxy for stellar
age, following standard chemical evolution models for the Galaxy, as seen by
different observational results. In this work we show that the Open Cluster
NGC6705/M11 has a significant -enhancement [/Fe] dex,
despite its young age (300 Myr), challenging the current paradigm. We use
high resolution (R) high signal-to-noise (70) spectra of 8 Red
Clump stars, acquired within the OCCASO survey. We determine very accurate
chemical abundances of several elements, using an equivalent width
methodology (Si, Ca and Ti), and spectral synthesis fits (Mg and O). We obtain
[Si/Fe]=, [Mg/Fe]=, [O/Fe]=,
[Ca/Fe]= and [Ti/Fe]=. Our results place these
cluster within the group of young [/Fe]-enhanced field stars recently
found by several authors in the literature. The ages of our stars have an
uncertainty of around 50 Myr, much more precise than for field stars. By
integrating the cluster's orbit in several non-axisymmetric Galactic
potentials, we establish the M11's most likely birth radius to lie between
6.8-7.5 kpc from the Galactic center, not far from its current position. With
the robust Open Cluster age scale, our results prove that a moderate
[/Fe]-enhancement is no guarantee for a star to be old, and that not
all -enhanced stars can be explained with an evolved blue straggler
scenario. Based on our orbit calculations, we further argue against a Galactic
bar origin of M11.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted in A&
- âŠ