A Study of Problems in Family Functioning in Long Term Male Hospital Patients

The topic for this exploratory study arose out of the question “What happens to long term male hospital patients when they return home?” The assumption is that men who have been absent from their homes and families for long term hospital treatment have some difficulty fitting in to the pattern of family life on their return. They may have difficulty in re-establishing a mutually satisfactory relationship with their wives and children. They may find it stress producing to reassume their role in decision making, in exercising authority and in providing economic security and a satisfactory style of living. The results of this study will indicate to medical social workers when and in what areas treatment around discharge to home situations should begin. This would be preventative social work, following the identification of a potential problem-solving situation. There might be a use for family therapy here in fostering some husband/father role retention and in preparing all members of the family to deal with the necessary adjustment in accommodating the long absent family member. Treatment of patient groups might be a method of helping the men foresee their problems and motivate their resources to deal with them as effectively as possible

A Study of Problems in Family Functioning in Long Term Male Hospital Patients

The topic for this exploratory study arose out of the question “What happens to long term male hospital patients when they return home?” The assumption is that men who have been absent from their homes and families for long term hospital treatment have some difficulty fitting in to the pattern of family life on their return. They may have difficulty in re-establishing a mutually satisfactory relationship with their wives and children. They may find it stress producing to reassume their role in decision making, in exercising authority and in providing economic security and a satisfactory style of living. The results of this study will indicate to medical social workers when and in what areas treatment around discharge to home situations should begin. This would be preventative social work, following the identification of a potential problem-solving situation. There might be a use for family therapy here in fostering some husband/father role retention and in preparing all members of the family to deal with the necessary adjustment in accommodating the long absent family member. Treatment of patient groups might be a method of helping the men foresee their problems and motivate their resources to deal with them as effectively as possible

A Modified Importance-Performance Framework for Evaluating Recreation-Based Experiential Learning Programs

This article describes a modified importance-performance framework for use in evaluation of recreation-based experiential learning programs. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) provides an effective and readily applicable means of evaluating many programs, but the near universal satisfaction associated with recreation inhibits the use of IPA in this area. Two specific modifications to the traditional IPA framework are proposed: (a) a reorganized matrix and (b) the inclusion of statistical variance. Sample data from a recreation-based experiential learning program are used to illustrate both the traditional and modified frameworks. Suggestions for Extension evaluators are provided

Counselling in primary care : a systematic review of the evidence

Primary objective: To undertake a systematic review which aimed to locate, appraise and synthesise evidence to obtain a reliable overview of the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and user perspectives regarding counselling in primary care. Main results: Evidence from 26 studies was presented as a narrative synthesis and demonstrated that counselling is effective in the short term, is as effective as CBT with typical heterogeneous primary care populations and more effective than routine primary care for the treatment of non-specific generic psychological problems, anxiety and depression. Counselling may reduce levels of referrals to psychiatric services, but does not appear to reduce medication, the number of GP consultations or overall costs. Patients are highly satisfied with the counselling they have received in primary care and prefer counselling to medication for depression. Conclusions and implications for future research: This review demonstrates the value of counselling as a valid choice for primary care patients and as a broadly effective therapeutic intervention for a wide range of generic psychological conditions presenting in the primary care setting. More rigorous clinical and cost-effectiveness trials are needed together with surveys of more typical users of primary care services

Uterine miR-877-3p and let-7a-5p are increased during simulated menstruation in a mouse model

Heavy periods are common and debilitating, but we do not fully understand how they are caused. Increased understanding of menstrual bleeding could result in new treatments for problematic periods. Low oxygen levels are present in the womb lining during a period. These low oxygen levels help trigger the repair process required to stop menstrual bleeding. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small molecules that can affect cell function, and some are regulated by oxygen levels. We examined whether such miRNAs were present in the womb lining during a period. To overcome the variability present in humans, we studied the womb of mice given hormones to mimic the human menstrual cycle. We revealed that two miRNAs known to be regulated by oxygen levels were increased in the womb during menstruation. These miRNAs may help regulate menstrual blood loss and merit further study as a potential target for future treatments for heavy periods

Tau Aggregation Inhibitor Therapy : An Exploratory Phase 2 Study in Mild or Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank patients and their caregivers for their participation in the study and are indebted to all the investigators involved in the study, particularly Drs. Douglas Fowlie and Donald Mowat for their helpful contributions to the clinical execution of the study in Scotland. We thank Sharon Eastwood, Parexel, for assistance in preparing initial drafts of the manuscript. We acknowledge constructive comments provided by Professors G. Wilcock and S. Gauthier on drafts of the article. CMW, CRH, and JMDS are officers of, and hold beneficial interests in, TauRx Therapeutics. RTS, PB, KK, and DJW are paid consultants to TauRx Therapeutics. The study was financed entirely by TauRx TherapeuticsPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Uncertainty in geological interpretations : Effectiveness of expert elicitations

We would like to thank all those who took part in our elicitations, as well as all those who helped in their facilitation. This work was undertaken while C.H. Randle held a joint University of Aberdeen, College of Physical Science Ph.D. Award and British Geological Survey University Funding Initiative (BUFI) Ph.D. Studentship at Aberdeen University, through Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The contributions by C.H. Randle, R.M. Lark, and A.A. Monaghan are published with the permission of the Executive Director of BGS (NERC). The authors would like to thank Hazel Gibson and an anonymous reviewer for their comments on the manuscript and confirm that all views expressed are the opinions of the authors.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Can uncertainty in geological cross-section interpretations be quantified and predicted?

This work was undertaken while C.H. Randle held a joint British Geological Survey University Funding Initiative (BUFI) and University of Aberdeen, College of Physical Sciences Ph.D. Studentship at Aberdeen University. The contributions by C.H. Randle, R.M. Lark, and A.A. Monaghan are published with the permission of the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey Natural Environment Research Council. We would also like to thank all those who took part in both experiments as well as the many people who have given input on our results.Peer reviewedPublisher PD