Person-Centered Care Education for Caregivers of Patients With Dementia in Long-Term Care Settings

Person-centered care (PCC) guidelines are being used as a care model to improve health outcomes for residents with impaired cognition. The researcher utilized PCC guidelines to educate caregivers in residential homes to provide care based on the residents’ individualized needs and choices to reduce worsening health conditions and potentially avoidable hospitalizations. The researcher created an educational tool to improve prompt management of health conditions for residents with cognitive impairment and set up a control group (n = 4) and an intervention group (n = 4) to conduct this project. The intervention group received the PCC education guidelines, whereas the control group did not. The researcher utilized Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) and Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT) questionnaires to identify caregivers’ perceptions of the person-centeredness and quality of life for residents under their care before and after the PCC education. Caregivers in the intervention group did not show any significant changes in PCC or QUALID scores pre- and post-intervention. In addition, caregivers in the control group had a mean preintervention P-CAT total score (M = 51.00, SD = 4.24) that was significantly higher than the mean post-intervention P-CAT total score (M = 49.50, SD = 4.12). The scores of both groups indicated that their work environments had a high level of PCC before the intervention. Further studies should be done on PCC education in residential care homes to identify the health outcomes of residents with impaired cognition whose caregivers received PCC education and training for 6 months to 1 year

Development of an Upper Limb Neuroprosthesis: Conquering Weakness and Fatigue

Neuroprosthetics are devices that substitute for or supplant motor, sensory or cognitive modalities damaged as a result of spinal cord injury or stroke. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) neuroprosthetics utilize artificial stimulation to restore motor function in paralyzed muscles, where control exerted by higher nervous system centers over muscle may be impaired. Although promising, FES has failed to gain widespread acceptance due in part to weak contraction strength and rapid fatigue observed with artificial stimulation. This dissertation documents an attempt to create an upper limb FES neuroprosthetic and subsequently to address the issues of weakness and fatigue. To exploit the capabilities of the musculoskeletal system the neural drive to muscle first must be decoded. Decoding the neural drive for specific movements has been approached using either a deterministic (engineering) or machine learning model. While a deterministic model accounts for all components of a limb, number of joints, degrees of freedom, limb length, muscle length, etc, machine learning characterizes the relationship between select variables, in this case whole muscle electromyographic data (EMG) and limb kinematics. Ultimately, the output of both approaches is used to predict the neural drive required to generate movements. In this study we first attempt to build an upper limb FES neuroprosthetic. Utilizing machine learning, we characterize the relationship between limb kinematics and EMG. Then, predict EMG based solely on limb kinematics. Finally, stimulation pulses were generated and delivered via intramuscular electrodes to produce movement. Additionally, to address force generation we hypothesized that due to the distributed nature of motor axons within a muscle stimulating with multiple spatially distributed electrodes would activate a larger muscle volume thus generating additional force. This in turn would facilitate load sharing among muscle fibers, and reduce fatigue. To evaluate fatigue we compared interleaved and synchronous patterns of stimulation as well as single electrode vs multiple electrode stimulation. We approached these questions and aims with a combination of strategies and techniques including machine learning, implantation of stimulating electrodes in a non-human primate model and finally human subjects. While machine learning provided EMG predictions with high R values, we were unable to generate substantive movements activating all the muscle in a complete joint system. However, we were able to generate movements stimulating a single muscle in an intact joint system. We found that single electrode force could be augmented with multiple electrodes. Additional results indicate that multiple electrode stimulation was less fatiguing than single electrode stimulation. Interleaved stimulation however, did not result in less fatigue than synchronous stimulation

Symmetry Breaking in Jetting

In the bubble-jet printing process, it has been observed that the drop that ultimately pinches off from the ink jet sometimes moves sideways rather than straight relative to the symmetry axis of the liquid jet. We examined various mechanisms that might lead to the deflection of the ink drop. In particular, we focused on whether the liquid filament that connects the lead drop to the nozzle is capable of supporting lateral waves which might propagate from the nozzle toward the lead drop and break the symmetry at pinch-off

Twenty-one lessons: preventing domestic violence in the Caribbean

Domestic violence infringes the basic right to security of the individual and affects society as a whole – it impacts on demography, education and health systems, the economy, political participation and the overall security of a country. Domestic violence is a universal problem which affects all parts of the social fabric; it transcends ethnic, gender, religious, generational and economic lines. In Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, beyond the ratification of a number of international instruments, domestic violence is widely recognised as a persistent challenge. On average, more than one in three women in the Caribbean experience gender-based violence in their lifetime; child sexual abuse is also a concern. The causes behind domestic violence in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean are complex and deeply entrenched in cultural and behavioural norms. The prevention of domestic violence is vital if protection rights are to be effectively safeguarded. To this end, a sustainable and community driven approach -involving civil society and the various stakeholders - is crucial in effecting changes in cultural attitudes towards domestic violence. Early and continuous education about gender based violence and a focus on the prosecution and rehabilitation of perpetrators are both necessary to address the problem at its root. In addition, it is important that the relevant legal framework - and accompanying measures - is fortified and effectively enforced, so that the safety of victims and their families is adequately provided for. A co-ordinated approach between the various stakeholders is important to allow public and private mitigation and response mechanisms toward both protective and restorative safety nets (European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), ‘Towards a Future Free from Domestic Violence’, Guidelines for grant applicants 2014)

On definitions of "mathematician"

The definition of who is or what makes a ``mathematician" is an important and urgent issue to be addressed in the mathematics community. Too often, a narrower definition of who is considered a mathematician (and what is considered mathematics) is used to exclude people from the discipline -- both explicitly and implicitly. However, using a narrow definition of a mathematician allows us to examine and challenge systemic barriers that exist in certain spaces of the community. This paper explores and illuminates tensions between narrow and broad definitions and how they can be used to promote both inclusion and exclusion simultaneously. In this article, we present a framework of definitions based on identity, function, and qualification and exploring several different meanings of ``mathematician". By interrogating various definitions, we highlight their risks and opportunities, with an emphasis on implications for broadening and/or narrowing participation of underrepresented groups.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figure

Multidimensional Homeier's generalized class and its application to planar 1D Bratu problem

[EN] In this paper, a parametric family of iterative methods for solving nonlinear systems, including Homeier’s scheme is presented, proving its third-order of convergence. The numerical section is devoted to obtain an estimation of the solution of the classical Bratu problem by transforming it in a nonlinear system by using finite differences, and solving it with different elements of the iterative family.This research was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MTM2014-52016-C02-02.Cordero Barbero, A.; Franqués García, AM.; Torregrosa Sánchez, JR. (2015). Multidimensional Homeier's generalized class and its application to planar 1D Bratu problem. Journal of the Spanish Society of Applied Mathematics. 70(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40324-015-0037-xS110701Abad, M. F., Cordero, A., Torregrosa, J. R.: Fourth-and fifth-order for solving nonlinear systems of equations: an application to the global positioning system, Abstr. Appl. Anal. (2013) (Article ID 586708)Andreu, C., Cambil, N., Cordero, A., Torregrosa, J.R.: Preliminary orbit determination of artificial satellites: a vectorial sixth-order approach, Abstr. Appl. Anal. (2013) (Article ID 960582)Awawdeh, F.: On new iterative method for solving systems of nonlinear equations. Numer. Algorithms 54, 395–409 (2010)Boyd, J.P.: One-point pseudospectral collocation for the one-dimensional Bratu equation. Appl. Math. Comput. 217, 5553–5565 (2011)Bratu, G.: Sur les equation integrals non-lineaires. Bull. Math. Soc. France 42, 113–142 (1914)Buckmire, R.: Applications of Mickens finite differences to several related boundary value problems. In: Mickens, R.E. (ed.) Advances in the Applications of Nonstandard Finite Difference Schemes, pp. 47–87. World Scientific Publishing, Singapore (2005)Cordero, A., Hueso, J.L., Martínez, E., Torregrosa, J.R.: A modified Newton-Jarratt’s composition. Numer. Algorithms 55, 87–99 (2010)Gelfand, I.M.: Some problems in the theory of quasi-linear equations. Trans. Am. Math. Soc. Ser. 2, 295–381 (1963)Homeier, H.H.H.: On Newton-tyoe methods with cubic convergence. J. Comput. Appl. Math. 176, 425–432 (2005)Jacobsen, J., Schmitt, K.: The Liouville-Bratu-Gelfand problem for radial operators. J. Differ. Equ. 184, 283–298 (2002)Jalilian, R.: Non-polynomial spline method for solving Bratu’s problem. Comput. Phys. Comm. 181, 1868–1872 (2010)Kanwar, V., Kumar, S., Behl, R.: Several new families of Jarratts method for solving systems of nonlinear equations. Appl. Appl. Math. 8(2), 701–716 (2013)Mohsen, A.: A simple solution of the Bratu problem. Comput. Math. with Appl. 67, 26–33 (2014)Petković, M., Neta, B., Petković, L., Džunić, J.: Multipoint Methods for Solving Nonlinear Equations. Academic Press, Amsterdam (2013)Sharma, J.R., Guna, R.K., Sharma, R.: An efficient fourth order weighted-Newton method for systems of nonlinear equations. Numer. Algorithms 62, 307–323 (2013)Sharma, J.R., Arora, H.: On efficient weighted-Newton methods for solving systems of nonlinear equations. Appl. Math. Comput. 222, 497–506 (2013)Traub, J.F.: Iterative Methods for the Solution of Equations. Chelsea Publishing Company, New York (1982)Wan, Y.Q., Guo, Q., Pan, N.: Thermo-electro-hydrodynamic model for electrospinning process. Int. J. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul. 5, 5–8 (2004

Randomised clinical trial: high-dose acid suppression for chronic cough - a double-blind, placebo-controlled study: Randomised clinical trial: high-dose PPI for chronic cough

Cough may be a manifestation of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). The utility of acid suppression in GERD-related cough is uncertain

Copper as a signal for alginate sythesis in Pseudomonas syringae pv. Syringae

Plant-associated pseudomonads are commonly exposed to copper bactericides, which are applied to reduce the disease incidence caused by these bacteria. Consequently, many of these bacteria have acquired resistance or tolerance to copper salts. We recently conducted a survey of 37 copper-resistant (Cu^r) Pseudomonas spp., including P. cepacia, P. fluorescens, P. syringae, and P. viridiflava, and found that a subset of the P. syringae strains showed a dramatic increase in exopolysaccharide (EPS) production on mannitol-glutamate medium containing CuSO4 at 250 mg/ml. A modified carbazole assay indicated that the EPS produced on copperamended media contained high levels of uronic acids, suggesting that the EPS was primarily alginic acid. Uronic acids extracted from selected strains were further confirmed to be alginate by demonstrating their sensitivity to alginate lyase and by descending paper chromatography following acid hydrolysis. Subinhibitory levels of arsenate, cobalt, lithium, rubidium, molybdenum, and mercury did not induce EPS production, indicating that alginate biosynthesis is not induced in P. syringae cells exposed to these heavy metals. A 200-kb plasmid designated pPSR12 conferred a stably mucoid phenotype to several P. syringae recipients and also increased their resistance to cobalt and arsenate. A cosmid clone constructed from pPSR12 which conferred a stably mucoid phenotype to several P. syringae strains but not to Pseudomonas aeruginosa was obtained. Results obtained in this study indicate that some of the signals and regulatory genes for alginate production in P. syringae differ from those described for alginate production in P. aeruginosa.Peer reviewedPlant Patholog