Vision and hearing impairment and occupational therapy education : needs and current practice

Introduction It is unclear what sensory impairment screening content should be included in the core-educational process for occupational therapists. The purpose of this study was to identify what content is currently being taught with regard to screening for vision and hearing loss, and to gather recommendations from specialists in this field of practice in order to formulate recommendations to improve professional entry-level occupational therapy curriculum content. Method Using a mixed-methods design, the two-phase study investigated the perceptions of five curriculum chairs, as well as 10 occupational therapists specializing in sensory rehabilitation. Results Curriculum chairs reported minimal course content with regard to training in the sensory domain, a dearth that was corroborated by specialists working with individuals affected by sensory loss. While vision-related topics were well covered, hearing-related information was sparser, and dual sensory impairment was mostly absent. Conclusion Occupational therapists are well positioned to play an essential role with the population living with sensory loss. However, most clinicians are not adequately prepared to practice with this clientele, and most expertise is gained after graduation. There is a need for stakeholders to discuss the minimal acceptable curriculum content needed to ensure that graduates are prepared to work in this growing area

Spatial Competition: Roughening of an Experimental Interface

Limited dispersal distance generates spatial aggregation. Intraspecific interactions are then concentrated within clusters, and between-species interactions occur near cluster boundaries. Spread of a locally dispersing invader can become motion of an interface between the invading and resident species, and spatial competition will produce variation in the extent of invasive advance along the interface. Kinetic roughening theory offers a framework for quantifying the development of these fluctuations, which may structure the interface as a self-affine fractal, and so induce a series of temporal and spatial scaling relationships. For most clonal plants, advance should become spatially correlated along the interface, and width of the interface (where invader and resident compete directly) should increase as a power function of time. Once roughening equilibrates, interface width and the relative location of the most advanced invader should each scale with interface length. We tested these predictions by letting white clover (Trifolium repens) invade ryegrass (Lolium perenne). The spatial correlation of clover growth developed as anticipated by kinetic roughening theory, and both interface width and the most advanced invader’s lead scaled with front length. However, the scaling exponents differed from those predicted by recent simulation studies, likely due to clover’s growth morphology. In many plant communities, limited dispersal aggregates conspecific individuals1. In particular, most invasive plants are clonal and propagate vegetatively2, so that invaders initially cluster among residents3. Aggregation of conspecifics has consequences for population interactions. Individual plants usually compete at the nearest-neighbor scale4,5. When different species each aggregate spatially and interact locally, intraspecific competition will predominate within clusters, while interspecific competition will localize at the interface between clusters6,7,8. This interaction geometry implies that the advance versus extinction of an invasive species may depend on development and subsequent movement of a between-species interface9,10. An invading species’ local density declines from positive equilibrium to rarity across the width of an ecological interface11. As a competitively superior invader excludes the resident species within the interface width, the front is pushed forward. Dispersal limitation promotes spatially correlated invasive advance along the interface. These correlations, generated through lateral growth, invite application of the theory of kinetic roughening, a framework for identifying quantitative characteristics shared by different interface-growth processes12. Previous applications of the theory span materials science13, temporal pattern in parallel-computing14,15, and ecological invasion11,16. Kinetic roughening theory predicts power-law scaling relationships governing both the development and the equilibrium statistical structure of an invader-resident interface. Our analyses emphasize scaling of both the interface width and the relative position of the “front-runner,” the most advanced invader, a metric used at both local and regional scales17,18,19. Interestingly, the exponents of scaling relationships predicted by kinetic roughening sometimes identify an interface as a member of a particular universality class. That is, quite distinct local processes may exhibit the same dependence of interface roughening on time, and the equilibrium width may exhibit the same dependence on interface length; universality implies powerful generality13. Previously, we modeled the front produced when a dispersal limited, but competitively superior, invader advances across a habitat occupied by a resident species11,20. That model’s kinetic roughening belongs to the KPZ universality class, for Kardar-Parisi-Zhang12. We begin by analyzing spatial competition as a problem for kinetic roughening theory, and then report a field experiment testing the predictions. We let Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens) advance into plots of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). We monitored the development of spatial correlations along the fronts, and estimated a series of power-law scaling relationships from roughened fronts of different lengths. The exponents implied by the observed scaling allowed us, in addition, to ask if the experimental interface belonged to the KPZ universality class12,13

Casimir effect between anti-de Sitter braneworlds

We calculate the one-loop effective action of a scalar field with general mass and coupling to the curvature in the detuned Randall-Sundrum brane world scenario, where the four-dimensional branes are anti-de Sitter. We make use of conformal transformations to map the problem to one on the direct product of the hyperbolic space H^4 and the interval. We also include the cocycle function for this transformation. This Casimir potential is shown to give a sizable correction to the classical radion potential for small values of brane separation.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, revtex. Typos corrected and references added. Minor mistakes in Eq. 48 and Eq. A10 correcte

Assessment of Microvascular Disease in Heart and Brain by MRI: Application in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction and Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

The objective of this review is to investigate the commonalities of microvascular (small vessel) disease in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Furthermore, the review aims to evaluate the current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnostic techniques for both conditions. By comparing the two conditions, this review seeks to identify potential opportunities to improve the understanding of both HFpEF and CSVD

Christian Correspondence: Being A Collection Of Letters Written By The Late Rev. John Wesley And Several Methodists Preachers, In Connection With Him. To The Late Mrs. Eliza Bennis, With Her Answers

Facsimile Reproductionhttps://place.asburyseminary.edu/bennisbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

A novel soft cardiac assist device based on a dielectric elastomer augmented aorta: an in vivo study

Although heart transplant is the preferred solution for patients suffering from heart failures, cardiac assist devices remain key substitute therapies. Among them, aortic augmentation using dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) might be an alternative technological application for the future. The electrically driven actuator does not require bulky pneumatic elements (such as conventional intra-aortic balloon pumps) and conforms tightly to the aorta thanks to the manufacturing method presented here. In this study, the proposed DEA-based device replaces a section of the aorta and acts as a counterpulsation device. The feasibility and validation of in vivo implantation of the device into the descending aorta in a porcine model, and the level of support provided to the heart are investigated. Additionally, the influence of the activation profile and delay compared to the start of systole is studied. We demonstrate that an activation of the DEA just before the start of systole (30 ms at 100 bpm) and deactivation just after the start of diastole (0-30 ms) leads to an optimal assistance of the heart with a maximum energy provided by the DEA. The end-diastolic and left ventricular pressures were lowered by up to 5% and 1%, respectively, compared to baseline. The early diastolic pressure was augmented in average by up to 2%

Benefits of Automated Crystallization Plate Tracking, Imaging, and Analysis

SummaryWe describe the design of a database and software for managing and organizing protein crystallization data. We also outline the considerations behind the design of a fast web interface linking protein production data, crystallization images, and automated image analysis. The database and associated interfaces underpin the Oxford Protein Production Facility (OPPF) crystallization laboratory, collecting, in a routine and automatic manner, up to 100,000 images per day. Over 17 million separate images are currently held in this database. We discuss the substantial scientific benefits automated tracking, imaging, and analysis of crystallizations offers to the structural biologist: analysis of the time course of the trial and easy analysis of trials with related crystallization conditions. Features of this system address requirements common to many crystallographic laboratories that are currently setting up (semi-)automated crystallization imaging systems

Clustering in surgical trials : database of intracluster correlations

PMID: 22217216 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3311136 Free PMC ArticlePeer reviewedPublisher PD