Suggested Mechanical Model of Elephant Trunk Muscle Tissue and its Sheer Conjecture

A detailed simile modeling elephant trunk muscle tissue

The resilience of older adults receiving hospital care: Validation of the Making it CLEAR questionnaire, and an exploration of protective and vulnerability factors

Background ‘Resilience’ is the process by which individuals adapt to and manage adversity. Through the identification of older adults who may struggle to ‘adapt well’ following health difficulties, resilience research may support health improvement. As resilience is influenced by an individual’s personal characteristics, resources, and physical and social environment, resilience measures that comprehensively capture resilience are important. Furthermore, due to the contextual nature of resilience, research findings should not be generalised across populations who experience unique adversities. Despite this, most resilience measures used with older adults assess resilience at the individual level, and current resilience research has largely recruited community-dwelling older adults, preventing the findings from being generalised to those receiving hospital care. The Making it CLEAR (Community Living, Enablement and Resilience) (MiC) questionnaire was designed to measure the individual and environmental determinants of an older adult’s resilience. This work focuses on assessing its validity with a population of older adults receiving inpatient care and uses the data to investigate the protective and vulnerability factors of this population. Methods The study analyses data collected from older adults recruited during acute hospital admission across three Medicine of the Elderly wards. Exploratory factor analysis and item analysis was used to assess the validity of the MiC questionnaire, while item response analysis identified the key ‘resilience needs’ of the population. Regression analyses identified the protective and vulnerability factors of the sample and investigated the mediatory effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between frailty and resilience. Results Exploratory factor analyses and item analysis demonstrated acceptable construct validity, internal consistency, discriminant validity, and item difficulty for each subscale of the MiC questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis found that gender, marital state, perceived physical and mental health, and receipt of a daily care package predicted individual determinants of resilience. Religion, frailty status, perceived physical and mental health, and visual impairment predicted environmental determinants of resilience. Self-efficacy was found to mediate the relationship between frailty and resilience; and low self-efficacy, poor person-environment fit, and a lack of social support from friends were identified as the most common resilience needs. Conclusion The results demonstrate that the MiC questionnaire is a valid measure of both the individual and environmental determinants of resilience of older adults during hospital admission, thus supporting the use of the MiC questionnaire with this population. In addition, the regression analyses suggest potential characteristics of older adults with low resilience, while the identified resilience needs are suggested as potential priorities for targeted intervention

A Quantitative Study of Employees\u27 Perceptions of the Relationship Between the Organizational Culture of a Toronto-Based Technology Company, and Their Job Satisfaction and Engagement

Problem There are gaps in the literature related to organizational culture, job satisfaction, and employee engagement. Researchers have noted that these variables, and the relationships amongst them, have not been studied enough and there exists a need for further research. The purpose of this study was to examine employees’ perceptions of the relationship between the organizational culture of a Toronto-based technology company, and their job satisfaction and engagement. Method This study utilized a quantitative, non-experimental, correlational method, while employing a cross-sectional approach with secondary data. This study used data collected by a Toronto-based technology company in June of 2016. The goal of this survey was to measure employee engagement and overall employee happiness, for the purpose of determining what areas of the organization’s culture, if any, needed to be improved. The participants for this study were all full-time employees of the organization. Seventy-three percent of the employee workforce - 76 out of a total of 104 employees - completed the survey. The hypotheses were tested using bivariate correlation analysis to examine the relationship between the variables. Results The results showed that (1) employees’ perceived organizational culture was positively correlated with their job satisfaction; (2) employees’ perceived organizational culture was positively correlated with their engagement; (3) there is no statistically significant correlation between employees’ length of time with the organization, and their job satisfaction; and (4) employees’ gender was not correlated with their job satisfaction. Two of the hypotheses were supported, while two were not. Research Hypothesis H1: There is a statistically significant relationship between employees’ perception of the organizational culture of a Toronto-based technology company, and their job satisfaction. This hypothesis was supported Research Hypothesis H2: There is a statistically significant relationship between employees’ perceptions of the organizational culture of a Toronto-based technology company, and their job engagement. This hypothesis was supported. Research Hypothesis H3: There is a statistically significant relationship between employees’ length of time at a Toronto-based technology company, and their job satisfaction. This hypothesis was rejected Research Hypothesis H4: There is a statistically significant relationship between employees’ gender and their job satisfaction. This hypothesis was rejected. Conclusions The results of this study confirmed that there is a strong positive, significant, relationship between organizational culture and the job satisfaction and engagement of employees. Organizations should therefore strategically plan to develop an organizational culture that will lead to high levels of job satisfaction and engagement among their employees, as this may result in positive business outcomes including employee retention and higher levels of commitment to the organization, and to the achievement of its goals

Educating and Transitioning Students with Emotional Behavioral Disorders: A Working Manual for Teachers, Counselors and Administrators

This project examines incarceration rates, education, employment, substance abuse and intervention models for young adults with Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD). The results of the data demonstrate the discrepancies between persons with EBD and the general population. A manual is provided as a tool for teachers, counselors and administrators to use at the secondary level to assist them with the diverse educational and transition needs of students with EBD

Dose-Effect Relations in Simulated Psychotherapy as Measured by the Outcome Questionnaire-45.11

Outcome assessment has been used to evaluate the length of treatment needed and has been disputed for some time. Changes within both mental health and health insurance companies have contributed to a trend toward time-limited therapy and the optimal number of sessions has become a central issue. This study sought to extend research in the area of treatment outcome. Specifically. it examined the efficacy of psychotherapy after five and ten sessions on the subjective well-being of university students. Three hypotheses were tested in th.is study: (1) Subjective Well-Being scores (as measured by the Outcome Questionnaire-45. l l) for the treatment group will be significantly higher than those of the control group on the mid and post-tests. (2) Subjective Well-Being scores will be higher for the treatment group subjects tested after five, and ten sessions of individual psychotherapy than the scores of the same subjects on the pretest. (3) Subjective Well-Being scores will be higher for the treatment group subjects tested after ten sessions than the scores of the same subjects after five sessions. The results did not support the three hypotheses as clinically significant change was not demonstrated. When time was compared to group and gender, there were interaction effects. There was a quadratic effect on the interpersonal Relationships scale and a quadratic effect was found when time. group and sex were compared on the Social Role Performance scale. Chi-square analyses were performed and the interpersonal Relationships scale, F(l,19)=3.446; p=.079, approached significance. Although there were no significant group effects found when the two treatment groups were compared, there were three quadratic effects and interaction effects. Future dose-effect studies may benefit from taking their treatment group from a clinical s\u3c1mple. Using a more diverse sample would also be a better representative of the greater population. ln addition, it is proposed that dose-effect studies examine the effects of more or less therapy for a particular problem and avoid seeking to show a particular treatment duration as optimal

Cost, value and effectiveness of librray and information service

Several things conspired to encourage me to attempt this thesis: •My job as a library manager during an economic recession forced me to take an interest in the costing and valuation of library services. I attended courses, seminars and workshops on the subject; but although I learned a great deal I found that could not progress beyond a certain point. The work done in the area seemed a confused jumble of theoretical ideas from librarians and information scientists, contributions from economists which seemed to illuminate parts of the area, and the occasional intrusion of very down to earth but apparently effective ideas from practising librarians. I needed a bird's eye view of evaluation to understand it. • The realisation that the business of cost, value and effectiveness is becoming a theoretical sub-discipline of library and information studies, and will be treated as such by educators and practitioners unless it can be seen as part of the very practical business of resource management. • A point made by Oldman (1976) about there being two approaches to the management of library resources: listening to the users and trying to fulfil their needs, and investing the resources available in a responsible manner. What is needed is an amalgam of the two approaches, she maintains. • A question from a student: "How can the library user influence the effectiveness of library services?

Diagnostic stewardship : the impact of rapid diagnostic testing for paediatric respiratory presentations in the emergency setting : a systematic review

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health crisis, propelled by inappropriate antibiotic prescription, in particular the over-prescription of antibiotics, prolonged duration of antibiotic therapy and the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The paediatric population, in particular, those presenting to emergency settings with respiratory symptoms, have been associated with a high rate of antibiotic prescription rates. Further research has now shown that many of these antibiotic prescriptions may have been avoided, with more targeted diagnostic methods to identify underlying aetiologies. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the impact of rapid diagnostic testing, for paediatric respiratory presentations in the emergency setting, on antibiotic prescription rates. To review the relevant history, a comprehensive search of Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was performed. Eighteen studies were included in the review, and these studies assessed a variety of rapid diagnostic testing tools and outcome measures. Overall, rapid diagnostic testing was found to be an effective method of diagnostic antibiotic stewardship with great promise in improving antibiotic prescribing behaviours. Further studies are required to evaluate the use of rapid diagnostic testing with other methods of antibiotics stewardship, including clinical decisions aids and to increase the specificity of interventions following diagnosis to further reduce rates of antibiotic prescriptio

Biophysical characteristics of tears in children

Purpose : The tear film forms an important part of our visual system and is essential for the functioning of the ocular surface. A stable tear film is required for preventing the most common ocular surface disease - dry-eye. Most of the studies on tears are conducted using samples from adult subjects and only few reports are available on tears of infants and children while it is known that infants and children have more stable tear film than adults. It is likely that nature of tears is different in children because dry-eye mainly occurs in adults. This study aimed at characterizing the biophysical characteristics of the tear film of children to look into tear film stability

Ips Pini (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is a Vector of the Fungal Pathogen, Sphaeropsis Sapinea (Coelomycetes), to Austrian Pines, Pinus Nigra (Pinaceae)

Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.:Fr.) Dyko and Sutton, is among the most common and widely distributed pathogens of conifers worldwide. S. sapinea is disseminated over short distances by rain splash and moist wind, but significant knowledge gaps regarding long-range dispersal remain. Our objective was to determine whether or not the pine engraver beetle, Ips pini Say, is a vector of the pathogen onto Austrian pines (Pinus nigra Arnold). In 2004 and 2005, individuals of I. pini were collected with pheromone traps at two locations in central Ohio (197 and 1,017 individuals for 2004 and 2005, respectively) and screened for the presence of S. sapinea. In the field, fresh logs of Austrian pine were baited with pheromone lures, mechanically wounded, or left undisturbed. After 2 mo, logs were evaluated for insect feeding and the presence of S. sapinea along beetle galleries. Fresh logs were also inoculated in the greenhouse with adult I. pini that were either artificially infested or uninfested with S. sapinea spores to determine vectoring potential. Phoresy rates for individual collections ranged from 0 to 4.1%; average rates were 1.5 and 2.0% for 2004 and 2005, respectively. Isolation frequencies of S. sapinea from baited (15 ± 5%) and unbaited logs (3 ± 1%) differed significantly (P = 0.009). I. pini was also capable of transmitting the pathogen under controlled conditions. Based on phoresy rates, association, and artificial inoculation studies, we conclude that I. pini is able to transmit S. sapinea to Austrian pine stems