Living Independently: Exploring the Experiences of Visually Impaired People Living in Age-Related and Lifetime Housing Through Qualitative Synthesis

Objectives: The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of visually impaired older people living independently at home. Background: As populations are aging globally, there is now an increase in the prevalence of visual impairment. That means for ongoing and future aging-in-place strategies that seek to enable older people to remain independent for longer, more attention needs to be given to the needs of those with visual impairment. As people develop visual impairment, they use adaptive strategies including modifying long-term homes or relocating to more suitable accommodation. In the United Kingdom, aging-in-place strategies include employing statutory lifetime home standards (LTHS) in the home or relocating to sheltered housing to live independently with support available if required. Methods: To get a better understanding of the needs of the visually impaired in the home, 12 interviews with six visually impaired occupants of LTHS homes and six from sheltered accommodation were analyzed separately using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Secondly, qualitative synthesis was used to further analyze themes generated from both samples before interview results were conceptualized in two superordinate concepts, namely, “negotiating priorities” and “understanding visual impairment.” Results: Participants from both groups had similar needs and were willing to compromise by living with some negative features. Those who coped well with moving utilized various resources. Conclusions: These findings will shed more understanding on providing good quality housing for those with visual impairment wanting to live either independently or within healthcare home environments

Syndemics and the PrEP Cascade: Results from a Sample of Young Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men.

Young Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) are a highly vulnerable population for HIV infection. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a novel biomedical HIV prevention tool that may aid in reducing the disparity in HIV incidence among Latino MSM. However, PrEP use is disproportionally low among Latino MSM and, therefore, identifying barriers along the PrEP continuum of care (the "PrEP cascade") would provide insight into how to best deploy PrEP interventions. Syndemics theory is a prominent framework employed in HIV prevention; however, to date, no known studies have applied this theory to PrEP. Thus, the aim of the current study was to explore the association between syndemics and the PrEP cascade, including the degree to which psychosocial and structural syndemic constructs are related to the PrEP cascade. Participants were 151 young Latino MSM (M age = 24 years; SD = 3) residing in San Diego, California, who completed a battery of online self-report measures. Results indicated high levels of syndemic indicators and varying levels of engagement across the PrEP cascade. As syndemic indicators increased, the odds of engagement across the PrEP cascade were significantly lowered. Psychosocial and structural syndemic factors accounted for unique variance in the PrEP cascade. Results highlight the need for combination interventions that address both psychosocial and structural barriers to PrEP use and persistence among young Latino MSM

The internal structure and composition of a plate-boundary-scale serpentinite shear zone: the Livingstone Fault, New Zealand

Abstract. Deciphering the internal structure and composition of large serpentinite-dominated shear zones will lead to an improved understanding of the rheology of the lithosphere in a range of tectonic settings. The Livingstone Fault in New Zealand is a terrane-bounding structure that separates the basal portions (peridotite; serpentinised peridotite; metagabbros) of the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt from the quartzofeldspathic schists of the Caples and Aspiring Terrane. Field and microstructural observations from 11 localities along a strike length of ca. 140 km show that the Livingstone Fault is a steeply dipping, serpentinite-dominated shear zone tens of metres to several hundred metres wide. The bulk shear zone has a pervasive scaly fabric that wraps around fractured and faulted pods of massive serpentinite, rodingite and partially metasomatised quartzofeldspathic schist up to a few tens of metres long. S–C fabrics and lineations in the shear zone consistently indicate a steep east-side-up shear sense, with significant local dispersion in kinematics where the shear zone fabrics wrap around pods. The scaly fabric is dominated (>98 % vol) by fine-grained (≪10 µm) fibrous chrysotile and lizardite–polygonal serpentine, but infrequent (<1 % vol) lenticular relicts of antigorite are also preserved. Dissolution seams and foliation surfaces enriched in magnetite, as well as the widespread growth of fibrous chrysotile in veins and around porphyroclasts, suggest that bulk shear zone deformation involved pressure–solution. Syn-kinematic metasomatic reactions occurred along all boundaries between serpentinite, schist and rodingite, forming multigenerational networks of nephritic tremolite veins that are interpreted to have caused reaction hardening within metasomatised portions of the shear zone. We propose a conceptual model for plate-boundary-scale serpentinite shear zones which involves bulk-distributed deformation by pressure–solution creep, accompanied by a range of physical (e.g. faulting in pods and wall rocks; smearing of magnetite along fault surfaces) or chemical (e.g. metasomatism) processes that result in localised brittle deformation within creeping shear zone segments

Crystallographic orientation mapping of lizardite serpentinite by Raman spectroscopy

The serpentine mineral lizardite displays strong Raman anisotropy in the OH-stretching region, resulting in significant wavenumber shifts (up to ca. 14.5 cm−1) that depend on the orientation of the impinging excitation laser relative to the crystallographic axes. We quantified the relationship between crystallographic orientation and Raman wavenumber using well-characterised samples of Monte Fico lizardite by applying Raman spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) mapping on thin sections of polycrystalline samples and grain mounts of selected single crystals, as well as by a spindle stage Raman study of an oriented cylinder drilled from a single crystal. We demonstrate that the main band in the OH-stretching region undergoes a systematic shift that depends on the inclination of the c-axis of the lizardite crystal. The data are used to derive an empirical relationship between the position of this main band and the c-axis inclination of a measured lizardite crystal: y=14.5cos 4 (0.013x+0.02)+(3670±1), where y is the inclination of the c-axis with respect to the normal vector (in degrees), and x is the main band position (wavenumber in cm −1) in the OH-stretching region. This new method provides a simple and cost-effective technique for measuring and quantifying the crystallographic orientation of lizardite-bearing serpentinite fault rocks, which can be difficult to achieve using EBSD alone. In addition to the samples used to determine the above empirical relationship, we demonstrate the applicability of the technique by mapping the orientations of lizardite in a more complex sample of deformed serpentinite from Elba Island, Italy.publishedVersio

Finding a way: long-term care homes to support dementia

An ageing demographic has increased the number of people with dementia. Although dementia is commonly associated with memory loss, other early symptoms include difficulty with wayfinding. Dementia alters visuo-spatial perception and the processes used to interpret the physical environment. The role of the design of the physical environment for people with dementia has gained increased recognition. Despite this, design for dementia is often overlooked, focusing on issues relating to physical impairment. This paper presents the results of a PhD study and aims to examine the role of the design of the physical environment in supporting wayfinding for people with dementia living in long-term care settings in Northern Ireland. Mixed methods combined the observation of wayfinding walks and conversational style interviews to elicit perspectives and experiences of residents with dementia. The findings aim to promote well-being for those with dementia living in long-term care settings

Laser Photochemistry and Transient Raman Spectroscopy of Silyl-Substituted Fischer-Type Carbene Complexes

Pulsed laser irradiation of the silyl-substituted carbene complexes (CO)5W=C(XR)SiPh3 (XR = NC4H8 (1); = OEt (2)) in various solvents has been investigated using transient absorbance and time-resolved resonance Raman scattering as monitoring techniques. Irradiation of (1) in noncoordinating or weakly-coordinating solvents at 355 nm within the ligand field absorption band results in the rapid formation, within the laser pulse duration, of a permanent photoproduct. Saturation of the irradiated solution with CO results in regeneration of the starting complex 1. IR and Raman spectral data suggest that the photoproduct is the internally stabilized 16- electron species (CO)4W=C(NC,iH8)SiPh3. The observations are discussed in relation to the previously reported formation of the same 16-electron species by thermolysis of 1. When the irradiation is carried out in CH3CN as solvent, UV-visible evidence suggests formation of the photosubstituted species (CO)4(CH3CN) W=C(NC4Hg)SiPh3. No photoactivity, either transient or permanent, is seen in any solvent when the irradiation is carried out at 416 nm, a wavelength which falls within the MLCT absorption region of 1. When the ethoxy-substituted carbene complex 2 is irradiated in either the LF or MLCT absorption regions a transient species forms rapidly, within the laser pulse duration, and decays on a time scale of several μß, with a lifetime dependent on solvent polarity but independent of CO concentration in solution. Time-resolved resonance Raman studies in which the sample is photolyzed at 355 nm and probed by means of a delayed pulse at 406 nm show the formation and decay of a transient consistent with the flash photolysis results. The data are interpreted in terms of photoinduced anti-syn isomerization of 2 about the Ccarbene~0 bond

Recommendations for determining HPV status in patients with oropharyngeal cancers under TNM8 guidelines : a two-tier approach

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The funders had no role in study design, collection, data analysis or interpretation of the data. This work received funding from the Medical Research Council (D.Mc.C. and J.J.), the Health and Social Care Research and Development Division of the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency (D.M.c.C., J.J., M.Mo.), the Wellcome Trust through the Wellcome-FDS Research Training Fellowship, the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (A.G.S.) and GlaxoSmithKline Ltd (T.J.). The Northern Ireland OPSCC TMAs used in this research were received from the Northern Ireland Biobank which has received funds from Health and Social Care Research and Development Division of the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland and the Friends of the Cancer Centre. The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry who receives funding from the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency carried out collection of clinical data for the Northern Ireland OPSCC patients. The Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Liverpool Bio-innovation Hub Biobank carried out collection of clinical data for the Liverpool OPSCC patients.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Upper mantle temperature and the onset of extension and break-up in Afar, Africa

It is debated to what extent mantle plumes play a role in continental rifting and eventual break-up. Afar lies at the northern end of the largest and most active present-day continental rift, where the East African Rift forms a triple junction with the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden rifts. It has a history of plume activity yet recent studies have reached conflicting conclusions on whether a plume still contributes to current Afar tectonics. A geochemical study concluded that Afar is a mature hot rift with 80 km thick lithosphere, while seismic data have been interpreted to reflect the structure of a young, oceanic rift basin above mantle of normal temperature. We develop a self-consistent forward model of mantle flow that incorporates melt generation and retention to test whether predictions of melt chemistry, melt volume and lithosphere–asthenosphere seismic structure can be reconciled with observations. The rare- earth element composition of mafic samples at the Erta Ale, Dabbahu and Asal magmatic segments can be used as both a thermometer and chronometer of the rifting process. Low seismic velocities require a lithosphere thinned to 50 km or less. A strong positive impedance contrast at 50 to 70 km below the rift seems linked to the melt zone, but is not reproduced by isotropic seismic velocity alone. Combined, the simplest interpretation is that mantle temperature below Afar is still elevated at 1450◦C, rifting started around 22–23 Ma, and the lithosphere has thinned from 100 to 50 km to allow significant decompressional melting