The Age-related Effects of Reproduction on Bone Mineral Density in Saddle-back Tamarins (\u3cem\u3eSaguinus fuscicollis, Callitrichidae, Primates\u3c/em\u3e)

This research examines the age-related effects of reproduction on bone mineral density in saddle-back tamarins (Sanguinus fuscicollis). Analyses of variance and bootstrapping statistical techniques were performed on a sample of 69 tamarins (31 males and 38 females) in order to determine the relationship between bone mineral density, age, gender, and reproductive status. The total sample of tamarins exhibits a significant decrease in bone mineral density with age, paralleling the condition observable in humans and Old World monkeys. Of particular interest are the results observable in the female sample relative to reproductive status. A significant increase in bone mineral density with age is exhibited by the non-reproducing females, while a significant decrease with age is observable in the reproducing females. It should be noted, however, that there was no sample representation for non-reproducing females within the older age range (\u3e150 months). Thus, it is questionable as to whether the decrease observed in the reproducing females is the direct result of reproduction and lactation, or primarily an artifact of age

Technology and embodiment in Jennifer Egan’s fiction: the digitisation of bodies, brains, and books

This thesis offers a reading of Jennifer Egan’s fiction that names the relationship between technologies and bodies as a central thread uniting all of her work. Combating the critical tendency to focus on 2010 novel A Visit from the Goon Squad as the primary example when discussing Egan’s work, my argument takes a thematic approach and pairs Egan’s many texts together in varied combinations in order to highlight the consistent featuring of this relationship across her body of work. In charting this, I utilise cognitive and digital theories in order to map the ways in which Egan’s characters and texts adopt the abilities of technologies. To begin, I explore the importance of flesh within Egan’s novels and analyse bodies in her work as crucial locations that mediate and contribute to the interaction between brain and world. Later chapters move onto discussing the active use of technologies to alter and improve human ability, using cognitive theory as a lens to determine the varying success of these technologies within Egan’s texts. Through doing so, I foreground embodiment as a central concern within Egan’s fiction and an important component of her discussions of technology and digital culture. Another level to this analysis considers the transformation of fiction and the digitisation of the novel. I perform a similar analysis of the book body as with the human body, charting the ways in which Egan’s work demonstrates a progressive reliance upon digital technologies—incorporating them into the visual form of her books, as a site of reading, and as a method of publicity and type of paratext. Within this analysis I comment upon the adaptive nature of fiction and situate Egan’s narrative experimentation within the long legacy of literary experimentation with narrative form. An undercurrent to my argument concerns Egan’s interaction with the legacy of postmodernism: her work begins in the countdown to the millennium and carries on into the twenty-first century. My thesis demonstrates how Egan’s relationship with technology shows her adaptation of certain postmodern concepts, bringing its ironic critique of a mediated, information heavy society into the increasingly digitised world of the 2000s. This thesis emphasises the lack of critical attention given to female authors in the postmodern and contemporary periods, and attempts to combat this by providing focused analysis of one female author

Communication skills of people with severe traumatic brain injury can be improved by training everyday communication partners: Findings from a single-blind multi-centre clinical trial

This controlled group comparison study examined the effectiveness of everyday communication partner (ECP) training for people with TBI. 44 participants with severe TBI and their ECPs were allocated to a) TBI SOLO group where the person with TBI was trained; b) JOINT group where the communication partner was also trained; or c) a delayed CONTROL. Conversations were videotaped pre and post training and rated by two blind assessors on conversational skills. Training ECPs was more efficacious than training the person with TBI alone. Involving communication partners in treatment appears crucial for improved communication interactions for people with severe TBI

A case-control study of risk factors for wound infection in a colorectal unit

INTRODUCTION Postoperative wound infections have been responsible for increasing morbidity and are associated with an increased use of hospital resources. Previous studies have identified several risk factors. However, most studies are outdated, and few relate to the era of enhanced recovery and laparoscopic surgery. This study investigated the association between patient and operative factors and the development of postoperative wound infections in colorectal surgery. METHODS Patients with documented wound infections or dehiscences were identified from a database of elective and emergency colorectal surgery. Patients with wound infections were matched by operation type to a control group of colorectal patients. Differences in patient and operative factors between case and control group were analysed using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS A total of 56 patients with wound infection were identified from 647 operations (8.6%). Fifty-seven per cent were emergency operations and eighty-eight per cent were performed as open surgery or as laparoscopic surgery converted to open. Forty per cent of patients had high ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) grades (3 or 4). Multivariate logistical regression showed that obese patients and those having open surgery had the highest risk of infections. The median postoperative hospital stay for patients with wound infections was twice as long as for those patients without wound infections. CONCLUSIONS Open surgery and obesity are independent risk factor for wound infections. An increase in laparoscopically performed operations and new strategies for managing wounds in obese patients may help to reduce the rate of wound infection

Using PAT data to inform teaching and learning

ACER works with thousands of Australian schools to set up Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) functionality, assign and administer tests, and to assist teachers to understand and interrogate the resulting test data and act upon findings. This session provides participants with an opportunity to hear about a school’s journey, and discuss this with the ACER team and our PAT school guest. ACER researchers have evaluated and documented assessment implementation and professional development opportunities, observing this school’s ability to track student and educator progress over time, which is a critical element in ACER’s Progressive Achievement approach. ACER’s educational consultants will demonstrate how PAT data ‘champions’ support staff across a primary and secondary school. Finally, we address and discuss the question many schools ask when using their data – ‘What does a year’s growth look like?

Inter-rater reliability of the Measure of Support in Conversation and Measure of Participation in Conversation (Kagan et al., 2004) adapted for people with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and their communication partners

Aim: This study reports inter-rater reliability of the Adapted Measure of Support in Conversation (MSC) and Measure of Participation in Conversation (MPC) for TBI interactions. Method: The MSC and MPC were adapted to reflect theoretical models of cognitive-communication support for people with TBI. 10 casual and 10 purposeful TBI interactions were independently rated. Results: Strong inter-rater agreement was established on the MSC (ICC = 0.85-0.97) and the MPC (ICC = 0.85-0.97). All ratings scored within 0.5 on a 9 point scale. Conclusion: This is the first scale to measure the communication partner during TBI interactions. It shows promise in evaluating communication partner training programs

Influence of providers and nurses on completion of non-targeted HIV screening in an urgent care setting

Introduction: Despite recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that all adults be offered non-targeted HIV screening in all care settings, screening in acute-care settings remains unacceptably low. We performed an observational study to evaluate an HIV screening pilot in an academic-community partnership health center urgent care clinic. Methods: We collected visit data via encounter forms and demographic and laboratory data from electronic medical records. A post-pilot survey of perceptions of HIV screening was administered to providers and nurses. Multivariable analysis was used to identify factors associated with completion of testing. Results: Visit provider and triage nurse were highly associated with both acceptance of screening and completion of testing, as were younger age, male gender, and race/ethnicity. 23.5% of patients completed tests, although 36.0% requested screening; time constraints as well as risk perceptions by both the provider and patient were cited as limiting completion of screening. Post-pilot surveys showed mixed support for ongoing HIV screening in this setting by providers and little support by nurses. Conclusions: Visit provider and triage nurse were strongly associated with acceptance of testing, which may reflect variable opinions of HIV screening in this setting by clinical staff. Among patients accepting screening, visit provider remained strongly associated with completion of testing. Despite longstanding recommendations for non-targeted HIV screening, further changes to improve the testing and results process, as well as provider education and buy-in, are needed to improve screening rates

Illness-related suffering and need for palliative care in Rohingya refugees and caregivers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND:Despite recognition that palliative care is an essential component of any humanitarian response, serious illness-related suffering continues to be pervasive in these settings. There is very limited evidence about the need for palliative care and symptom relief to guide the implementation of programs to alleviate the burden of serious illness-related suffering in these settings. A basic package of essential medications and supplies can provide pain relief and palliative care; however, the practical availability of these items has not been assessed. This study aimed to describe the illness-related suffering and need for palliative care in Rohingya refugees and caregivers in Bangladesh. METHODS AND FINDINGS:Between November 20 and 24, 2017, we conducted a cross-sectional study of individuals with serious health problems (n = 156, 53% male) and caregivers (n = 155, 69% female) living in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, using convenience sampling to recruit participants at the community level (i.e., going house to house to identify eligible individuals). The serious health problems, recent healthcare experiences, need for medications and medical supplies, and basic needs of participants were explored through interviews with trained Rohingya community members, using an interview guide that had been piloted with Rohingya individuals to ensure it reflected the specificities of their refugee experience and culture. The most common diagnoses were significant physical disabilities (n = 100, 64.1%), treatment-resistant tuberculosis (TB) (n = 32, 20.5%), cancer (n = 15, 9.6%), and HIV infection (n = 3, 1.9%). Many individuals with serious health problems were experiencing significant pain (62%, n = 96), and pain treatments were largely ineffective (70%, n = 58). The average age was 44.8 years (range 2-100 years) for those with serious health problems and 34.9 years (range 8-75 years) for caregivers. Caregivers reported providing an average of 13.8 hours of care per day. Sleep difficulties (87.1%, n = 108), lack of appetite (58.1%, n = 72), and lack of pleasure in life (53.2%, n = 66) were the most commonly reported problems related to the caregiving role. The main limitations of this study were the use of convenience sampling and closed-ended interview questioning. CONCLUSIONS:In this study we found that many individuals with serious health problems experienced significant physical, emotional, and social suffering due to a lack of access to pain and symptom relief and other essential components of palliative care. Humanitarian responses should develop and incorporate palliative care and symptom relief strategies that address the needs of all people with serious illness-related suffering and their caregivers

Integrating the little talks intervention into Early Head Start: An experimental examination of implementation supports involving fidelity monitoring and performance feedback

Enriching home visiting services by incorporating scientifically-supported interventions is a means for improving their effectiveness in promoting child development. However, deliberate efforts to ensure that home visitors are fully knowledgeable and supported to implement interventions with parents of young children are necessary. In this experimental study, a randomly-assigned group of Early Head Start home visitors monitored the fidelity of their provision of a scientifically-based intervention, Little Talks, and the program\u27s general child development services. On a bi-weekly basis, home visitors received performance feedback specific to their implementation of Little Talks and based upon the fidelity data. Findings demonstrated that home visitors showed immediate and consistent mastery of the Little Talks content, while the quality of their implementation, including their clinical decision-making and collaborative processes, improved to adequate levels over time. The Little Talks home visitors showed generalized improvements in their ability to obtain Parent Input while providing the program\u27s typical child development services were detected. In fact, Little Talks home visitors\u27 were superior in obtaining Parent Input relative to comparison home visitors. Further, parents for whom low-quality intervention implementation was observed discontinued their enrollment in home visiting prematurely, while high-quality implementation was associated with sustained enrollment. Limitations for this study are identified, leading to future directions for advancing home visitors\u27 incorporation of evidence-based practices