155 research outputs found
sj-docx-1-cre-10.1177_02692155221091510 - Supplemental material for Measures of self-regulation used in adult rehabilitation populations: A systematic review and content screening
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-cre-10.1177_02692155221091510 for Measures of self-regulation used in adult rehabilitation populations: A systematic review and content screening by T.I. Mol, C.A.M. van Bennekom, E.W.M. Scholten, and M.W.M. Post in Clinical Rehabilitation</p
Next Generation Steam Cracking Reactor Concept
No full textThe steam cracking process is an important asset in the hydrocarbon processing industry. The main products are lower olefins and hydrogen, with ethylene being the world's largest volume organic chemical at a worldwide capacity of ~ 120 million tonnes per year. Feed stocks are hydrocarbons such as: ethane, LPG, naphtha's, gas condensates and gas oil. The research goal of this thesis is to search for the intrinsic optimal steam cracking reaction conditions, pushing the olefin yields to the maximum that the fundamental reaction kinetic models allow for. To get to that goal we have: firstly, identified and assessed alternative process concepts published in the literature. Secondly, developed the concepts and software for an equation based modelling tool suitable for optimisation of large scale reaction kinetic models. Thirdly, developed a new reactor concept, d-RMix for homogeneous reactions with distributed feed allocation, product removal and macro-mixing. Fourthly, applied the optimisation tool to the new reactor concept model and an advanced reaction kinetic model for steam cracking, SPYRO(r). For four different feed stocks optimisations of ethylene yield and of ethylene plus propylene yields have been carried out. For the cracking of ethane a linear-concave unconstrained temperature profile with a (free) maximum temperature of ~1260 K proves optimal. For propane and heavier feed stocks an isothermal profile at the upper temperature bound is optimal, with dips at the beginning and the middle of the reaction volume coordinate. For these heavier hydrocarbon feeds a distribution along the reactor volume coordinate does result in higher yields. Having established that the steam cracking chemistry offers a potential for significantly higher olefins yields, these equipment engineering considerations pose a significant challenge to actually realise this potential and arrive at a next generation steam cracking reactor.Chemical EngineeringApplied Science
Social skills: A resource for more social support, lower depression levels, higher quality of life and participation in individuals with spinal cord injury?
No full textObjective: to examine the relevance of social skills and their different dimensions (i.e. expressivity, sensitivity and control) in relation to social support, depression, participation and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).Design: cross-sectional data collection within Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort (SwiSCI).Setting: community-based.Participants: a total of 503 individuals with SCI.Interventions: not applicable.Main Outcome Measures: depression, participation and QoL were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation (USER-Participation) and 5 selected items of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF). The Social Skills Inventory (SSI), and the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6) were used to assess social skills (expressivity, sensitivity, control) and social support.Results: structural equation modeling was conducted. In model 1 (chi-square 27.81, df=19, p=.087, RMSEA=.033, 90% CI=.000–.052) social skills as a latent variable was related to social support (?=.31/R2=.10), depression (?=-.31/Total R2=.42) and QoL (?=.46/R2=.25). Social support partially mediated the effect of social skills on QoL (indirect effect: ?=.04, p=.02) but not on depression or participation. In model 2 (chi-square of 27.96, df=19, p=.084, RMSEA=.031, 90%CI=.000–.053) the social skills dimension expressivity showed a path coefficient of ?=.20 to social support and ?=.18 to QoL. Sensitivity showed a negative path coefficient to QoL (?=-.15) and control a path coefficient of ?=-.15 to depression and ?=.24 to QoL.Conclusions: social skills are a resource related to more social support, lower depression scores and higher QoL<br/
Participation after stroke: Towards personalized care
No full textStroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. The incidence of stroke and the post-stroke survival rates have increased over the last decades, resulting in more people that have to deal with the long term consequences of stroke, such as physical, emotional, and cognitive problems, causing considerable long term restrictions in social and community participation and poorer Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). The general aim of this Thesis is to gain a better understanding of participation after stroke by answering the following research questions: How should we measure participation and HRQoL after stroke? What is the course of participation over time after stroke? What are the determinants of participation after stroke?
The first part of the Thesis focusses on the validation of and comparison between commonly used patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in the participation and HRQoL domains after stroke. Measurement properties of the USER-P-R, EQ-5D-5L and PROMIS-10 are discussed, and recommendations are given on the preferred PROM to evaluate participation and HRQoL after stroke depending on the setting and underlying goal. Overall, the results show the additional value of PROMs to evaluate participation and HRQoL post-stroke, providing clinicians with relevant person-centered information on the impact of stroke. The second part of this Thesis provides valuable insights into the long term course of participation after stroke and explores the influence of several potential factors on participation, including age-specific predictors, mood, psychological factors, cognitive functioning and movement behavior.
The findings of this Thesis emphasize the need to pay more attention to individuals with stroke who experience restrictions in participation or who are at risk for restrictions in participation. Although recent developments in the acute treatment of stroke (such as intravenous thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy) have led to higher rates of “favorable functional outcome” (often defined as modified Rankin Scale 0-2 in clinical stroke trials), a considerable number of these “mildly affected” individuals with stroke (according to the clinician) still experiences long term restrictions in participation. This shows the need for a paradigm shift in current stroke research and clinical practice, as the impact of stroke on the individual needs to be acknowledged in order to achieve “favorable outcome” according to the individual as well.
Although participation improves on average up to one year after stroke onset, many individuals experience long term restrictions in participation. Old age, mood problems, the absence of adaptive psychological factors, cognitive problems and a sedentary and inactive lifestyle are determinants associated with worse participation after stroke. Early identification of individuals with stroke who are at risk for an unfavorable course of participation is important, as modifiable factors can be managed and follow-up assessments after stroke can be extended for those at risk for restrictions in participation. Regular assessment of participation after stroke (in post-stroke care, stroke audits and stroke research), taking into account the impact of stroke from the patients’ perspective, would be a major step towards personalized stroke care
Corrigendum to ‘Associations between illness cognitions and health-related quality of life in the first year after diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis’ [Journal of Psychosomatic Research 132 (2020) 109974] (Journal of Psychosomatic Research (2020) 132, (S0022399919310049), (10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.109974))
No full textThe authors regret that in the original published article the first and surnames for two authors were presented in the incorrect order and should be swapped around. The correct names for the second and fifth authors are M.W.M. Post and J.M.A. Visser-Meily respectively. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused
The importance of psychological factores : The Restore4Stroke Patient Cohort study
No full textBackground: Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability in the Western world and can lead to limitations in the patient’s physical, psychological, and psychosocial functioning. To know how we can help these stroke patients to adapt to the consequences of their condition, we need to know which patients are vulnerable and at risk of poor long-term quality of life (QoL). It is hypothesized that psychological factors, such as personality and coping styles, play an important role in successful adaptation to the adverse consequences of stroke and regaining QoL, and these factors may be amendable to treatment.
Aims: The aims of this thesis were to investigate the course of quality of life (QoL) in stroke patients and to determine factors predicting QoL with special interest in psychological factors.
Methods: A multicenter longitudinal cohort study was conducted: the Restore4Stroke Patient Cohort study. In total, 395 stroke patients were included and 5 assessments were executed: in the acute phase, and at 2 months, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months post stroke. The main outcome was QoL, and this was investigated with generic measures of participation, emotional functioning and subjective well-being and with a measure of stroke-specific QoL.
Results: With respect to the first aim it was found that most recovery of QoL takes place in the first six months post stroke. In the second year post stroke no significant changes in any QoL domain were found. The frequency of participation declines after a stroke in comparison with the pre-stroke situation. This decrease in frequency of participation was most apparent in vocational activities and less in leisure and social activities. Further analysis showed that not all patients experience the same degree of recovery of HRQoL. Four trajectories for both physical and psychosocial HRQoL post stroke were revealed: high, low, recovery and decline of HRQoL.
Regards the second aim, we found that psychological factors were strongly related with QoL. Positive psychological factors, like acceptance and perceived benefits of the stroke and self-efficacy, were independently related with higher levels of QoL. Negative psychological factors, like neuroticism, passive coping, and hopelessness were independently related with lower levels of QoL.
Conclusion: The findings in the present thesis have led to new insights regarding the long-term course of QoL post stroke and the significant influence of psychological factors on QoL. Professionals should become more aware of the role of psychological factors during rehabilitation and of the fact that patients differ from each other in terms of personality, illness cognitions and coping styles. We should shift towards personalized healthcare in which we tailor the management and treatment of each patient to his or her individual characteristics, instead of just following protocols. The results from the present thesis have led to the development of a course for paramedics in which professionals gain insight into the role of psychological factors on adaptation in terms of QoL and in how these factors could be taken into account during general stroke care without changing them
Corrigendum to ‘Associations between illness cognitions and health-related quality of life in the first year after diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis’ [Journal of Psychosomatic Research 132 (2020) 109974] (Journal of Psychosomatic Research (2020) 132, (S0022399919310049), (10.1016/j.jpsychores.2020.109974))
No full textThe authors regret that in the original published article the first and surnames for two authors were presented in the incorrect order and should be swapped around. The correct names for the second and fifth authors are M.W.M. Post and J.M.A. Visser-Meily respectively. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused
Terry L. Griffith Collection
No full textPhotograph of a post card of the Hudson Hotel, corner of Grand and Hudson Avenues, Oklahoma City, OK. Printed by M.W.M., Aurora, MO
Comparison of Equilibrium- Stage and Rate Based Model of an Absorption Column for a CO2-MEA system
No full textThe desorption step of the carbon dioxide absorption/desorption process is an extremely energy intensive process, which accounts for approximately 70% of operating cost according to Mofarahi et al. [2008]. Technip-ECN has proposed a solution of Heat integrated distillation column which will be adapted for the absorption process. In order to develop a model for this new column, an equation based model of the regular absorption column was required to be made where the equations are written in residual form so that the programmer has control over the parameters and equations. In this study, two models of CO2 absorption were developed in Python which represent the two different approaches that exist in literature, namely the rate based model and the equilibrium model. These models are then compared against each other on the basis of their ability to predict experimental data in four varying conditions. The key research question is to find out if the models can predict the temperature bulge inside the absorption column and what factors affect the position and shape of the temperature bulge. The results show that the rate based model gives better predictions as compared to the equilibrium model. The rate based model further reveals that competing absorption and evaporation processes produce the temperature bulge and that the position and shape of the bulge can be changed by changing the extent of absorption and evaporation. It is observed that the results of the rate based model are dependent on the model parameters such as mass transfer coefficient, enhancement factors, rate constants etc. This model is recommended to be used in the second stage of the project.Mechanical, Maritime and Materials EngineeringProcess and Energ
Towards Self-Reliant Development: Inhabitant Housing Capacity Gap of Rural Inhabitants on Mt. Elgon
No full textRural communities in developing countries show a socially inclusive, resilient, and self-reliant model for their housing, despite the lack of individual capacities. However, due to scarce opportunities, many people move to the cities, often returning to challenging living conditions. As a result, both urban and rural inhabitants struggle to reach the desired living standards and well-being. This article explores general capacities of rural inhabitants in Kenya and identifies what shortages prevent inhabitant well-being within their housing. Outcomes of the interviews performed on two hundred families (four communities) evaluate whether the different communities still build housing by themselves, if they would like to continue this ‘self-reliant model’, or would prefer professionals ro realize their housing. The conclusion indicates that inhabitants would prefer to build housing by themselves and exposes why these communities change to ‘external’, housing solutions. Housing alternatives which lie within their capacities, play a crucial role in sustaining the communities’ self-reliance in relation to their housing.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Situated Architectur
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