219 research outputs found
Painting pictures of progress : representations of Africa's changing socio-economic realities in South African print media
Unravelling effectiveness of a nurse-led behaviour change intervention to enhance physical activity in patients at risk for cardiovascular disease in primary care: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Self-management interventions are considered effective in patients with chronic disease, but trials have shown inconsistent results, and it is unknown which patients benefit most. Adequate self-management requires behaviour change in both patients and health care providers. Therefore, the Activate intervention was developed with a focus on behaviour change in both patients and nurses. The intervention aims for change in a single self-management behaviour, namely physical activity, in primary care patients at risk for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Activate intervention. METHODS/DESIGN: A two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted to compare the Activate intervention with care as usual at 31 general practices in the Netherlands. Approximately 279 patients at risk for cardiovascular disease will participate. The Activate intervention is developed using the Behaviour Change Wheel and consists of 4 nurse-led consultations in a 3-month period, integrating 17 behaviour change techniques. The Behaviour Change Wheel was also applied to analyse what behaviour change is needed in nurses to deliver the intervention adequately. This resulted in 1-day training and coaching sessions (including 21 behaviour change techniques). The primary outcome is physical activity, measured as the number of minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity using an accelerometer. Potential effect modifiers are age, body mass index, level of education, social support, depression, patient-provider relationship and baseline number of minutes of physical activity. Data will be collected at baseline and at 3 months and 6 months of follow-up. A process evaluation will be conducted to evaluate the training of nurses, treatment fidelity, and to identify barriers to and facilitators of implementation as well as to assess participants' satisfaction. DISCUSSION: To increase physical activity in patients and to support nurses in delivering the intervention, behaviour change techniques are applied to change behaviours of the patients and nurses. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention, exploration of which patients benefit most, and evaluation of our theory-based training for primary care nurses will enhance understanding of what works and for whom, which is essential for further implementation of self-management in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02725203 . Registered on 25 March 2016
High accuracy theoretical investigations of CaF, SrF, and BaF and implications for laser-cooling
The NL-eEDM collaboration is building an experimental setup to search for the
permanent electric dipole moment of the electron in a slow beam of cold barium
fluoride molecules [Eur. Phys. J. D, 72, 197 (2018)]. Knowledge of molecular
properties of BaF is thus needed to plan the measurements and in particular to
determine an optimal laser-cooling scheme. Accurate and reliable theoretical
predictions of these properties require incorporation of both high-order
correlation and relativistic effects in the calculations. In this work
theoretical investigations of the ground and the lowest excited states of BaF
and its lighter homologues, CaF and SrF, are carried out in the framework of
the relativistic Fock-space coupled cluster (FSCC) and multireference
configuration interaction (MRCI) methods. Using the calculated molecular
properties, we determine the Franck-Condon factors (FCFs) for the transition, which was successfully used for
cooling CaF and SrF and is now considered for BaF. For all three species, the
FCFs are found to be highly diagonal. Calculations are also performed for the
transition recently
exploited for laser-cooling of CaF; it is shown that this transition is not
suitable for laser-cooling of BaF, due to the non-diagonal nature of the FCFs
in this system. Special attention is given to the properties of the
state, which in the case of BaF causes a leak channel, in contrast
to CaF and SrF species where this state is energetically above the excited
states used in laser-cooling. We also present the dipole moments of the ground
and the excited states of the three molecules and the transition dipole moments
(TDMs) between the different states.Comment: Minor changes; The following article has been submitted to the
Journal of Chemical Physics. After it is published, it will be found at
https://publishing.aip.org/resources/librarians/products/journals
Advance Care Planning in the Netherlands
The Dutch health care system fosters a strong public health sector offering accessible generalist care including generalist palliative care. General practitioners are well positioned to conduct ACP, for example, to continue or initiate conversations after hospitalization. However, research shows that ACP conversations are often ad hoc and in frail patients, ACP is often only initiated when admitted to a nursing home by elderly care physicians who are on the staff. Tools that raise awareness of triggers to initiate ACP, screening tools, information brochures, checklists and training have been developed and implemented with funding by national programs which currently focus on implementation projects rather than or in addition to, research. The programs commonly require educational deliverables, patient and public involvement and addressing diversity in patient groups. A major challenge is how to implement ACP systematically and continuously across sectors and disciplines in a way that supports a proactive yet person-centered approach rather than an approach with an exclusive focus on medical procedures. Digital solutions can support continuity of care and communication about care plans. Solutions should fit a culture that prefers trust-based, informal deliberative approaches. This may be supported by involving disciplines other than medicine, such as nursing and spiritual caregiving, and public health approaches.</p
Neurological condition in 18-month-old children perinatally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins
Perinatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and dioxins and its effect on neonatal neurological development
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), and dibenzofurans (PCDFs)) are widespread environmental contaminants which are neurotoxic in animals. Perinatal exposure to PCBs, PCDDs, and PCDFs occurs prenatally via the placenta and postnatally via breast milk. To investigate whether such an exposure affects the neonatal neurological condition, the neurological optimality of 418 Dutch newborns was evaluated with the Prechtl neurological examination. Half of the infants were breast-fed, the other half were formula-fed, representing a relatively high against a relatively low postnatally exposed group, respectively. As an index of prenatal exposure, four non-planar PCBs in cord and maternal plasma were used. These PCB levels were not related to neurological function. As measures of combined pre- and early neonatal exposure, 17 dioxin congeners, three planar, and 23 non-planar PCB congeners were determined in human milk in the second week after delivery. Higher levels of PCBs, PCDDs, and PCDFs in breast milk were related to reduced neonatal neurological optimality. Higher levels of planar PCBs in breast milk were associated with a higher incidence of hypotonia. This study confirms previous reports about the neurotoxic effects of these compounds on the developing brain of newborn infants
Novel spin-precession method for sensitive EDM searches
We demonstrate a spin-precession method to observe and analyze multi-level coherence between all hyperfine levels in the ground state of barium monofluoride (BaF). The signal is sensitive to the state-preparation Rabi frequency and external electric and magnetic fields applied in searches for a permanent electric dipole moment (EDM). In the obtained interference spectrum, the electric field and Rabi frequency become observable simultaneously with the EDM. This method reduces systematic biases and the number of auxiliary measurements for such precision measurements
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