Financial Strain, Employment, and Subjective Stressors Over Time Among Caregivers of Individuals with Dementia

This study examined how financial strain and employment impact subjective stress over 12 months in 184 family caregivers of individuals with dementia. Subjective stressors of role overload, role captivity, and employment status were measured at baseline, 6-, and 12-months. Self reports on financial insufficiency were measured at baseline only. Growth curve analyses were conducted to examine within-person changes in subjective stress of caregiving and associations with employment and financial strains. The findings showed that caregivers with greater financial strain at baseline had higher levels of overload and increasing captivity longitudinally. Although caregivers who were consistently unemployed reported lower role overload, they also had steeper increase over time than those who consistently worked. To conclude, while a caregiver’s perception of financial strain does add to the long-term stress of the role, his or her employment outside the home may have complex associations with feelings of stress over time

The Role of Social Support in Dementia Care Facilities: Staff Member Perspectives

In this study, certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who work regularly with long-term care residents with dementia were interviewed to investigate whether they considered providing social and emotional support to people with dementia an important part of their jobs. They were given an online survey, then each participated in an in-person interview that was recorded and later transcribed and analyzed for common themes. Through data analysis, I found that the participating CNAs unanimously considered social support to be an important aspect of caring for someone with dementia, and several personal values were associated with this perspective. They also reported the trainings they had received in preparation for dementia care were largely not sufficient to prepare them for interacting effectively with the residents. Additionally, they cited various other barriers that impede their ability to provide the social support they feel is necessary to provide. Overall, this sample of CNAs did not provide great diversity, and future research should compare these results to more diverse groups

The sacramental mysteries: The personal and existential approach of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite

Ὁ κίνδυνος νὰ ἐλαττωθοῦν τὰ ἅγια Μυστήρια τῆς Ἐκκλησίας σὲ ἁπλὸ ριτουαλισμὸ ἔχει πάντοτε ὑπάρξει, μεταβάλλοντας τὴ μυστηριακὴ ζωὴ σὲ κάτι ποὺ πρέπει νἀ γίνει σὰν θρησκευτικὸ καθῆκον. Ἀκόμα χειρότερα, τὰ Μυστήρια συχνὰ ἀντιλαμβάνονται δεισιδαιμονικὰ ὡς μαγικά, σὰν ὁ ρόλος ἢ ἡ διάθεση ἑνὸς προσώπου πρὸς τὰ Μυστήρια εἶναι ἄσχετα. Αύτὴ ἡ τάση πρὸς μία νομικίστικη κατανόηση τῶν Μυστηρίων καὶ μία στείρη θρησκευτικότητα ἔχει παρατηρηθεῖ σὲ ἀμφότερους τοὺς κληρικοὺς καὶ τοὺς λαϊκούς, καθὼς καὶ μεταξὺ τῶν θεολόγων καὶ τῶν διδακτικῶν βιβλίων τους. Τέτοια κατηγορία ἔχει ἀκόμα ἐπιφερθεῖ ἐναντίον τοῦ Ὁσίου Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Νικοδήμου τοῦ Ἁγιορείτου. Ἀλλὰ μία ἀπὸ τὶς πολλὲς συνεισφορὲς ποὺ ἔχει προσφέρει ὁ Ἅγιος Νικόδημος στήν Ἐκκλησία μέσω τῶν συγγραμμάτων του ἀφορᾶ αὐτὸ τὸ θέμα. Ὅταν γράφει γιὰ τὰ Μυστήρια, ὁ ἅγιος Νικόδημος συνεχῶς κάνει τόν ἀναγνώστη του ἐνήμερο τοῦ κινδύνου τοῦ ριτουαλισμοῦ τῶν ἁγίων Μυστηρίων. Θέλει οἱ ἀναγνῶστες νὰ τὰ αἰσθανθοῦν στὰ βάθη τῶν καρδιῶν τους σὲ ἕνα ὑπαρξιακὸ τρόπο. Γιὰ νὰ ἐπιδειχθεῖ αὐτὴ ἡ ἄποψη τῶν διδασκαλιῶν τοῦ Ἁγίου, σὲ αὐτὸ τὸ κείμενο ἐπικαλοῦνται τὰ συγγράμματα τοῦ Ἁγιορείτου μὲ εἰδικὴ ἀναφορὰ στὸ Βάπτισμα, Θεία Κοινωνία, καὶ Ἐξομολόγηση. Ὁ Ἅγιος Νικόδημος πιστεύει ὅτι ὁ Χριστιανὸς πρέπει νὰ εἶναι ἐνήμερος καθ’ ὁλοκληρία καὶ νὰ ἔχει συναίσθηση ὅτι βαπτίσθηκε στὸ θάνατο καὶ στήν ἀνάσταση τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ὅτι πρέπει νὰ ζεῖ μία νέα ζωὴ σύμφωνα μὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ οὕτως ὥστε νὰ καρποφορήσει ἡ βαπτιστικὴ χάρη. Ὅσον ἀφορᾶ τὴ Θεία Εὐχαριστία, ὁ πιστὸς πρέπει νὰ πιστεύει ἀπόλυτα στὴ πραγματικότητα τοῦ σώματος καὶ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ κεκρυμμένα στὸ Μυστήριο καὶ νὰ λαμβάνει τὴ Θεία Κοινωνία μὲ κατάλληλη προετοιμασία καὶ μὲ καθαρὴ συνείδηση γιὰ νὰ ὠφελειθεῖ ἀπὸ τὰ θεία Δώρα. Ὅταν κανεἰς πηγαίνει στὸ Μυστήριο τῆς Ἐξομολογήσεως, ἡ ἀναπόληση τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν του καὶ ἡ προφορικὴ του ἐξομολόγηση τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν δὲν ἐπαρκοῦν καθ᾽ ἑαυτὰ νὰ πραγματοποιηθεῖ μία ἐπωφελὴ καὶ γόνιμη ἐξομολόγηση. Ὁ Ἅγιος Νικόδημος τονίζει ὅτι ὁ μετανοῶν πρέπει νὰ ἔχει ἐγκάρδια τύψη συνειδήσεως γιὰ τίς ἁμαρτίες του καὶ ὅτι ὁ πόνος τῆς καρδιᾶς πρέπει νὰ εἶναι παρὼν γιὰ νὰ ὑπάρξει πλήρη συγχώρηση καὶ θεράπευση. Ἐν συντομία, τὰ Μυστήρια τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἐὰν δὲν προσεγγιθοῦν μὲ κατάλληλο τρόπο καὶ μὲ πρέποντα ὑπαρξιακὴ ἐνημερότητα, δύναται νὰ ἀπομείνουν κενοὶ τύποι. Ὁ Ἅγιος Νικόδημος προσπαθεῖ μὲ κάθε τρόπο νὰ ἐνσταλάξει στοὺς ἀκροατάς του μία μυστηριακὴ συναίσθηση γιὰ τὴν πραγματικότητα τῶν Μυστηρίων. Ἐπιθυμεῖ ὅτι κάθε συνάντηση μὲ ἕνα Μυστήριο τῆς Ἐκκλησίας νὰ εἶναι μία ὑπαρξιακὴ συνειδητη-πεῖρα μὲ τὸ Θεό. Ὁ Ἅγιος Νικόδημος ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον ἐνδιαφέρεται στὰ ἔργα του μὲ τὴν ὑποκειμενικὴ διάθεση καὶ τὴν ἀνοιχτοσύνη τῶν ἐν Χριστῷ ἀδελφῶν του πρὸς τὴ μυστικὴ χάρη στὰ Μυστήρια οὕτως ὥστε νὰ δυνηθοῦν νὰ λάβουν τὴ μέγιστη ὠφέλεια. Ὑπεράνω ὅλων, ὁ ὅσιος Πατὴρ εἶναι ἕνας ἱεροκήρυκας μέσω τῶν συγγραμμάτων του καὶ πάντοτε ἔχει ἕνα πραγματικὸ τελικὸ σκοπὸ καὶ ποιμαντικὸ στόχο ἐν ὄψει. Αὐτὸ ποὺ κάνει ὁ ἅγιος Νικόδημος, στὴν οὐσία, εἶναι νὰ καλεῖ τὸν ἀναγνώστη του σὲ μία θετικὴ καὶ προσωπικὴ ἀπάντηση στὴν ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ποὺ εἶναι διαθέσιμη σὲ ὅλους στὰ ἅγια Μυστήρια ὤστε, μέσω προσωπικῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ συνεργίας, νὰ οἰκοιοποιήσει θεικὴ ζωὴ στὴ δική του ζωή

Permutation patterns and statistics

Let S_n denote the symmetric group of all permutations of the set {1, 2, ...,n} and let S = \cup_{n\ge0} S_n. If Pi is a set of permutations, then we let Av_n(Pi) be the set of permutations in S_n which avoid every permutation of Pi in the sense of pattern avoidance. One of the celebrated notions in pattern theory is that of Wilf-equivalence, where Pi and Pi' are Wilf equivalent if #Av_n(Pi)=#Av_n(Pi') for all n\ge0. In a recent paper, Sagan and Savage proposed studying a q-analogue of this concept defined as follows. Suppose st:S->N is a permutation statistic where N represents the nonnegative integers. Consider the corresponding generating function, F_n^{st}(Pi;q) = sum_{sigma in Av_n(Pi)} q^{st sigma}, and call Pi,Pi' st-Wilf equivalent if F_n^{st}(Pi;q)=F_n^{st}(Pi';q) for all n\ge0. We present the first in-depth study of this concept for the inv and maj statistics. In particular, we determine all inv- and maj-Wilf equivalences for any Pi containd in S_3. This leads us to consider various q-analogues of the Catalan numbers, Fibonacci numbers, triangular numbers, and powers of two. Our proof techniques use lattice paths, integer partitions, and Foata's fundamental bijection. We also answer a question about Mahonian pairs raised in the Sagan-Savage article.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, tightened up the exposition, noted that some of the conjectures have been prove

An ethnopharmacological survey in Paphos district of Cyprus: the hypoglycemic and other therapeutical properties of Salvia fruticosa Mill

The current report is analyzing the results of an extensive ethnopharmacological survey accomplished in Paphos district of Cyprus. Local people seem to be very familiar with the use, preparation and therapeutic properties of medical plants, most of which grow in the wild. According to the study, Salvia fruticosa Mill., a specific species of sage, is widely used in Cyprus, especially by local people of Paphos villages as a hypoglycemic agent. Further experimental studies need to be accomplished so as to validate the use of Salvia fruticosa Mill. as a hypoglycemic agent

In the quest for the etiology of the delayed union of fractures: the inhibitory role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - a complex pharmacological phenomenon?

Failure of fracture healing is one of the problems that clinical orthopaedics face in practice. This review will examine the role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in fracture healing. It is believed that they are inhibitors of the early stages of fracture healing process, according to experimental models. Clinical studies in this area are few in number and without clear evidence regarding the inhibitory effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Surprisingly the new substances of this class of drugs (COX-2 inhibitors) have the same action in fracture healing. Despite the possible adverse effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular systems and fracture healing, they are widely used for post-surgery orthopaedic pain and inflammation

Insulation Test Cryostat with Lift Mechanism

A multi-purpose, cylindrical thermal insulation test apparatus is used for testing insulation materials and systems of materials using a liquid boil-off calorimeter system for absolute measurement of the effective thermal conductivity (k-value) and heat flux of a specimen material at a fixed environmental condition (cold-side temperature, warm-side temperature, vacuum pressure level, and residual gas composition). The apparatus includes an inner vessel for receiving a liquid with a normal boiling point below ambient temperature, such as liquid nitrogen, enclosed within a vacuum chamber. A cold mass assembly, including the upper and lower guard chambers and a middle test vessel, is suspended from a lid of the vacuum canister. Each of the three chambers is filled and vented through a single feedthrough. All fluid and instrumentation feedthroughs are mounted and suspended from a top domed lid to allow easy removal of the cold mass. A lift mechanism allows manipulation of the cold mass assembly and insulation test article

Receptors in the pathophysiology of migraine: Facing a highly promising anti-migraine target

Migraine is a severe neurological recurring type of headache with high socioeconomical impact. The pathophysiologic mechanisms behind migraine involve a range of interactions within the CNS that seem to be induced by environmental and psychological stimuli. It has been observed that an abnormal excitation begins followed by a cascade of responses including transmission of pain signals by TNC neurones, release of vasoactive neuropeptides, meningeal vasodilation, neurogenic inflammation and the appearance of autonomic symptoms. Under the supervision of extensive research, at both molecular and pharmacological level, cell receptors emerge among the most significant participants in the etiologic basis of migraine. Serotonin, dopamine, CGRP, vanilloid, glutamate and opioid receptors are discussed thoroughly in this article. Some of them are already approved as treatment targets while others still remain under the spectrum of clinical studies despite the fact that they are considered a highly promising section of antimigraine strategies. Scientists are focusing now on revealing all the aspects behind these biomolecular components and move forward on discovering novel therapies for neurological conditions such as migrain