Experiences and needs of direct support staff working with people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic:A thematic analysis

Background The present study aimed to explore the experiences and needs of direct support staff during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 lockdown in the Netherlands. Method Overall, eleven direct support staff were recruited from five intellectual disability services to participate in this descriptive qualitative study. They recorded 34 audio messages during the considered period. Thematic analysis was used to analyse these audio recordings. Results Four themes emerged: (1) Emotional impact, which pertained to various emotions they experienced in their work; (2) Cognitive impact, which referred to challenges and changes they had undergone in their work; (3) Practical impact, which centred on the practical impact of the pandemic on their work; and (4) Professional impact, which concerned their experiences with other professionals. Conclusions This study provides valuable insights into the experiences and needs of direct support staff during the COVID‐19 pandemic, which, in turn, can help inform practice in preparation for a second wave of COVID‐19 or another future pandemic

Identification of sixteen grapevine rootstocks by RFLP and RFLP analysis of nuclear DNA extracted from the wood

Sixteen rootstocks of the Vitis genus have been identified by the RFLP analysis methodology with the restriction enzyme HinfI. Uniques or moderately repeated DNA sequences of the nuclear genome of the Chardonnay V. vinifera variety were used as probes. RFLP analysis of 5 clones of SO 4 (V. berlandieri x V. riparia) and of 3 clones of 41 B Mgt (V. berlandieri x V. vinifera) with 4 probes and HinfI did not lead to any polymorphism. This is not surprising because of the vegetative origin of the clones. A simple method of nuclear DNA extraction of wood is described for the grapevine. We propose now the RFLP analysis methodology to complement or to replace in certain cases the ampelographical methods of identification of the rootstocks. The extension of this application to the V. vinifera varieties is considered.Identification de 16 porte-greffes de vigne par analyse RFLP, et analyse RFLP d'ADN nucléaire extrait à partir du boisNous avons identifié 16 porte-greffes du genre Vitis par la méthodologie d'analyse du polymorphisme de longueur des fragments de restriction (RFLP) de l'ADN avec l'enzyme de restriction HinfI. Pour cela, nous avons utilisé comme sondes des fragments d'ADN uniques ou peu répétés du génome de la variete Chardonnay de Vitis vinifera. L'analyse RFLP de cinq clones de SO 4 (V. berlandieri x V. riparia) et de trois clones de 41 B Mgt (V. berlandieri x V. vinifera) avec quatre sondes RFLP et l'enzyme HinfI n'a pas permis de différencier les clones d'un même hybride, dont les genomes sont extrêmement proches puisqu'ils sont obtenus de façon végétative. Nous présentons aussi une méthode simple d'extraction d'ADN nucléaire à partir du bois de vigne. Les analyses RFLP de cet ADN ont donné des résultats identiques à ceux obtenus avec l'ADN des feuilles. Nous sommes maintenant en mesure de proposer que la méthodologie d'analyse RFLP complète ou remplace dans certains cas les méthodes ampélographiques d'identification des portegreffes du genre Vitis. L'élargissement de cette application est envisagé pour les varietes de Vitis vinifera

The experiences of psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 lockdown in the Netherlands. METHOD: Five psychologists, who were affiliated with three intellectual disability services, participated in this descriptive qualitative study. Overall, they recorded 22 audio messages during the period under examination, which were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified: (a) Working from home; (b) Adapting to the new reality; and (c) Advising and coaching support staff. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides critical insights into the experiences of psychologists working with people with intellectual disabilities during the initial stage of the COVID‐19 lockdown. These insights can help policymakers and practitioners to prepare for either a potential second wave of COVID‐19 or a future pandemic

Évolution de la qualité de vie après un traumatisme crânien par accident de la route : un suivi à cinq ans de la cohorte ESPARR

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Electronic Instability in a Zero-Gap Semiconductor: The Charge-DensityWave in (TaSe4)(2)I

We report a comprehensive study of the paradigmatic quasi-1D compound (TaSe4)(2)I performed by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first-principles electronic structure calculations. We find it to be a zero-gap semiconductor in the nondistorted structure, with non-negligible interchain coupling. Theory and experiment support a Peierls-like scenario for the charge-density wave formation below T-CDW = 263 K, where the incommensurability is a direct consequence of the finite interchain coupling. The formation of small polarons, strongly suggested by the ARPES data, explains the puzzling semiconductor-to-semiconductor transition observed in transport at T-CDW.open114sciescopu

Six degrees of freedom estimation using monocular vision and moiré patterns

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-107).We present the vision-based estimation of the position and orientation of an object using a single camera relative to a novel target that incorporates the use of moire patterns. The objective is to acquire the six degree of freedom estimation that is essential for the operation of vehicles in close proximity to other craft and landing platforms. A target contains markers to determine relative orientation and locate two sets of orthogonal moire patterns at two different frequencies. A camera is mounted on a small vehicle with the target in the field of view. An algorithm processes the images extracting the attitude and position information of the camera relative to the target utilizing geometry and 4 single-point discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs) on the moire patterns. Manual and autonomous movement tests are conducted to determine the accuracy of the system relative to ground truth locations obtained through an external indoor positioning system. Position estimations with accompanying control techniques have been implemented including hovering, static platform landings, and dynamic platform landings to display the algorithm's ability to provide accurate information to precisely control the vehicle. The results confirm the moire target system's feasibility as a viable option for low-cost relative navigation for indoor and outdoor operations including landing on static and dynamic surfaces.by Glenn P. Tournier.S.M

Evaluating 35 Methods to Generate Structural Connectomes Using Pairwise Classification

There is no consensus on how to construct structural brain networks from diffusion MRI. How variations in pre-processing steps affect network reliability and its ability to distinguish subjects remains opaque. In this work, we address this issue by comparing 35 structural connectome-building pipelines. We vary diffusion reconstruction models, tractography algorithms and parcellations. Next, we classify structural connectome pairs as either belonging to the same individual or not. Connectome weights and eight topological derivative measures form our feature set. For experiments, we use three test-retest datasets from the Consortium for Reliability and Reproducibility (CoRR) comprised of a total of 105 individuals. We also compare pairwise classification results to a commonly used parametric test-retest measure, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).Comment: Accepted for MICCAI 2017, 8 pages, 3 figure

Perceptions of people with mild intellectual disability and their family members about family-based social capital in the Netherlands

Families play an important role in the lives of people with intellectual disability as they do for everyone. However, little research has addressed the views of people with intellectual disability about their families by using self-report. Individual family members may hold different views about their family relationships. Therefore, we used a social capital theoretical perspective to examine (a) how perceptions of people with mild intellectual disability (MID) about their family support networks compare to those of their family members and (b) what factors are associated with any diverging perceptions. Randomly selected participants with MID (n = 111) and their family members (n = 111) were interviewed individually at their homes using the Family Network Method-Intellectual Disability (FNM-ID). The FNM-ID examines how people define their family groups and how they perceive existing supportive relationships within this group. The findings showed that participants with MID perceived that they had somewhat denser family networks (i.e., bonding social capital) than family members perceived them to have and were more likely to report bridging social capital. They reported more relationships that involved them providing support to family members. This difference in estimation was greater when the participant with MID displayed higher levels of externalizing behaviour problems. They also perceived more reciprocity in their relationships with family. No differences were found in the estimated numbers of significant family members and relationships in which support was received. It is concluded that people with MID and their family members have different perceptions on several aspects of the family support network. Family professionals and services should seek the views of people with intellectual disability and their family members when carrying out assessments or organizing supports. [Abstract copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.