Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid groups – delivering cognitive stimulation with technology

INTRODUCTION: Group-based cognitive stimulation is the only nonpharmacological intervention recommended by the UK National Institute for Clinical and Health Excellence (NICE) for people with dementia. The potential of technology to extend the availability of group-based cognitive stimulation has not been tested. METHOD: One hundred and sixty-one people with dementia participated in an 8-session group activity using Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid (CIRCA). Cognition, quality of life and general health were assessed pre-, post- and three-months later. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in cognition and quality of life at the end of the CIRCA group intervention, which was further improved at three-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: CIRCA group sessions improved cognition and quality of life similar to group-base cognitive stimulation approved by NICE. These benefits were maintained at three-month follow-up. The data confirm the potential of CIRCA, which can be populated with different cultural and language contents for different user groups

The use of social media as a conduit to promote social justice in the Deaf Community, as a cultural and linguistic minority, through the visual language of American Sign Language: A movement against Audism

This research employed a case study approach to understand emerging themes that may be garnered through documenting the lived experiences of online Deaf activists who have used the video feature available through social media outlets, such as YouTube, as a way to overcome the language barrier typically present for linguistic minorities who are leading social movements within an English-speaking, hearing majority. The focus of this study was the members of the Deaf Community that have taken to an online podium in their fight for autonomy and equality. They champion their Deaf identity, their right to agency and autonomy in areas of language, access, education and employment, in what has exploded into the largest social movement in their cultural history. Therefore, two questions were at the center of this research: 1. How has experiencing audism affected the lives of Deaf people? , and 2. How has the use of social media as a platform to fight against audism through natural linguistic expression in American Sign Language impacted that experience? . The growth of individual Deaf identity has created a community action network for the Deaf Community, and access to the technology of videophones and instant access to wireless Internet has brought with it the use of video blogs, or vlogs, within the Deaf Community at explosive rates. The movement from disability to a place of diversity and cultural, ethnic and linguistic minority personhood for the Deaf is a path that is still being forged. Presented in this study is a glimpse into this journey, through a case study of their lived experience

Double-Peaked Narrow-Line Active Galactic Nuclei. II. The Case Of Equal Peaks

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with double-peaked narrow lines (DPAGNs) may be caused by kiloparsec-scale binary AGNs, bipolar outflows, or rotating gaseous disks. We examine the class of DPAGNs in which the two narrow-line components have closely similar intensity as being especially likely to involve disks or jets. Two spectroscopic indicators support this likelihood. For DPAGNs from Smith et al., the "equal-peaked" objects (EPAGNs) have [Ne V]/[O III] ratios lower than for a control sample of non-double-peaked AGNs. This is unexpected for a pair of normal AGNs in a galactic merger, but may be consistent with [O III] emission from a rotating ring with relatively little gas at small radii. Also, [O III]/H beta ratios of the redshifted and blueshifted systems in the EPAGN are more similar to each other than in a control sample, suggestive of a single ionizing source and inconsistent with the binary interpretation.University Cooperative Society of the University of Texas at AustinJane and Roland Blumberg Cenntenial Professorship in AstronomyAlfred P. Sloan FoundationNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNational Science FoundationU.S. Department of EnergyJapanese MonbukagakushoMax Planck SocietyUniversity of ChicagoInstitute for Advanced StudyJapan Participation GroupJohns Hopkins UniversityKorean Scientist GroupLos Alamos National LaboratoryMax-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA)Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics (MPA)New Mexico State UniversityUniversity of PittsburghUniversity of PortsmouthPrinceton UniversityUnited States Naval ObservatoryUniversity of WashingtonFermilabAstronom

The Jet-Driven Outflow In The Radio Galaxy SDSS J1517+3353: Implications For Double-Peaked Narrow-Line Active Galactic Nucleus

We report on the study of an intriguing active galaxy that was selected as a potential multiple supermassive black hole merger in the early-type host SDSS J151709.20+335324.7 (z = 0.135) from a complete search for double-peaked [O III] lines from the SDSS spectroscopic quasi-stellar object (QSO) database. Ground-based SDSS imaging reveals two blue structures on either side of the photometric center of the host galaxy, separated from each other by about 5.7 kpc. From a combination of SDSS fiber and Keck/HIRES long-slit spectroscopy, it is demonstrated that, in addition to these two features, a third distinct structure surrounds the nucleus of the host galaxy. All three structures exhibit highly ionized line emission with line ratios characteristic of Seyfert II active galactic nuclei. The analysis of spatially resolved emission-line profiles from the HIRES spectrum reveal three distinct kinematic subcomponents, one at rest and the other two moving at -350 km s(-1) and 500 km s(-1) with respect to the systemic velocity of the host galaxy. A comparison of imaging and spectral data confirm a strong association between the kinematic components and the spatial knots, which implies a highly disturbed and complex active region in this object. A comparative analysis of the broadband positions, colors, kinematics, and spectral properties of the knots in this system lead to two plausible explanations: (1) a multiple active galactic nucleus (AGN) produced due to a massive dry merger, or (2) a very powerful radio jet-driven outflow. Subsequent VLA radio imaging reveals a clear jet aligned with the emission-line gas, confirming the latter explanation. We use the broadband radio measurements to examine the impact of the jet on the interstellar medium of the host galaxy, and find that the energy in the radio lobes can heat a significant fraction of the gas to the virial temperature. Finally, we discuss tests that may help future surveys distinguish between jet-driven kinematics and true black-hole binaries. J1517+3353 is a remarkable laboratory for AGN feedback and warrants deeper follow-up study. In the Appendix, we present high-resolution radio imaging of a second AGN with double-peaked [O III] lines, SDSS J112939.78+605742.6, which shows a sub-arcsecond radio jet. If the double-peaked nature of the narrow lines in radio-loud AGNs are generally due to radio jet interactions, we suggest that extended radio structure should be expected in most of such systems.NSF AST-0507483, AST-0808133University of Texas at AustinAlfred P. Sloan FoundationParticipating InstitutionsNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationU.S. Department of EnergyJapanese MonbukagakushoMax Planck SocietyAstronom

Developing live projects as part of an assessment regime within a dispersed campus model

Our newly designed MSc unit, Sustainable Business Management (SBM), is designed to engage students in the real‐life practical application of sustainability at work. The authentic assessment uses a live project approach to develop and evaluate both the practical and academic skills needed to deliver sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the unit assessment needed to change beyond the original, intended design (March to December, 2016) and its first delivery (February to March, 2017) in order to accommodate the inclusion of a new transnational education partner delivering the unit synchronously. The use of video technology, weaved into a revised assessment design and adapted in an imaginative way, allowed for a localised delivery that retained the authenticity and creativity of the original assessment while ensuring the maintenance of academic standards

Effects of Peripheral Nerve Injury on the Cells of the Dorsal Root Ganglion: a Role for Primary Cilia

Primary cilia are ubiquitous sensory organelles found on most cell types including cells of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The DRG are groups of peripheral neurons that relay sensory information from the periphery to the CNS. Other cell types in the DRG include a type of glial cell, the satellite glial cells (SGCs). The SGCs surround the DRG neurons and, with the neurons, form functional sensory units. Currently are no reports describing the numbers of DRG cells that have cilia. We found that 26% of the SGCs had primary cilia. The incidence of cilia on neurons varied with neuron size, a property that roughly correlates with physiological characteristics. We found that 29% of the small, 16% of the medium and 5% of the large neurons had primary cilia. Primary cilia have been shown to have a role in cell proliferation in a variety of cell types. In some of the cells the cilia mediate the proliferative effects of Sonic hedgehog (Shh). In the CNS, Shh signaling through primary cilia affects proliferation during development as well as following injury, but no studies have looked at this function in the PNS. The SGCs and neurons of the DRG undergo complex changes following peripheral nerve injury such as axotomy. One marked change seen after axotomy is SGC proliferation and at later stages, neuronal death. We found that following axotomy there is a significant increase in the percentage of SGCs with primary cilia. We also found a significant increase in the percentage of medium-sized neurons with primary cilia. In other experiments we tested the idea that Shh plays a role in SGC proliferation. When Shh signaling was blocked following axotomy we found decreased proliferation of SGCs. This is the first report of a change in the percentage of cells with cilia following injury in the PNS, and the first report of a role for Shh in SGC proliferation following axotomy

Fecal-Sac Ingestion by Spotted Towhees

Altricial nestlings encase excrement in fecal sacs that parents remove by either ingesting them or transporting them away from the nest. Ingestion may allow energetically or nutritionally deprived parents to recapture energy or nutrients that might be lost because of nestlings\u27 inefficient digestion (the parental-nutrition hypothesis ), but ingestion may also permit parents to avoid flights from the nest that interfere with parental care (e.g., brooding young; the economic-disposal hypothesis ). We used a hypothetico-deductive approach to test the two hypotheses\u27 ability to account for fecal-sac ingestion by the Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus). We confirmed the parental-nutrition hypothesis\u27 predictions that more fecal sacs should be ingested in years of food shortage (males only), late in the season when food supplies decline (both sexes), by parents that had the greatest difficulty raising young (i.e., underweight young), and that adults\u27 body condition should vary directly with their rate of fecal-sac ingestion (females only). We rejected the economic-disposal hypothesis\u27 prediction of a decline in fecal-sac ingestion with increasing brood size. The latter, plus the observation that nearly 40% of males ingest fecal sacs despite their spending virtually no time attending nests, suggests that fecal-sac ingestion is not a mechanism to avoid needless and time-consuming flights from the nest that interfere with parental care. Fecal-sac ingestion by Spotted Towhees is better interpreted as either a resource supplement to parents or as a mechanism to satiate hunger so that parents can maintain rates of feeding to dependent young