15 research outputs found
Parents' Perspectives of School Mental Health Promotion Initiatives are Related to Parents' Self-Assessed Parenting Capabilities
No full textAuthor version made available in accordance with publisher copyright policy.Achieving broad-scale parenti engagement with school initiatives has proven elusive. This paper reports survey data from 287 Maltese parents about their perceptions of the quality of their child's school’s initiatives for promoting students' wellbeing and mental health. Findings indicate that, on average, parents rated school initiatives highly. However, a MANCOVA of respondents grouped into three categories of Self-assessed Parenting Capabilities (low; medium; high) showed that parents who held low perceptions of their own parenting capabilities also held significantly lower perceptions of the quality of schools’ mental health promotion initiatives. Less favourable dispositions towards school mental health promotion initiatives by parents with relatively low-parenting capabilities have implications for the design and delivery of school-based initiatives. For example, typical parent engagement, support and information provision activities (e.g., parent-teacher meetings, newsletters) might be less well received in families that arguably have a greater need to engage with such initiatives. This study has implications for whole-school mental health promotion initiatives that seek to include all parents
Paradigmatic Challenges in School Counselling: Correlates and Reflections on Practice
No full textWe examined the paradigmatic position of school counsellors as it relates to their practice. A survey and interviews were conducted with counsellors, counsellor educators, and teachers. Findings demonstrated that counsellors lacked skills regarding theoretical orientation and applications, counselling practices remained arbitrary and less effective due to the confusion experienced in the adaptation and application of counselling approaches, and the confusion in paradigms stemmed from problems in the identification of local needs, direct transfer of Eurocentric paradigms, training, and professional roles. Copyright © The Author(s) 2018
Research on Three-Level Supply Chain Coordination Based on Revenue Sharing Contract and Option Contract
No full textSupply chain coordination is an important goal of supply chain management. Considering a three-level supply chain, which is consisting of a manufacturer, a distributor, and a seller, it studies the problem of the coordination of the three-level supply chain under the combination contracts. Distributor and seller will cooperate in the form of option contract, and distributor and manufacturer will cooperate in the form of revenue sharing contract. Firstly, the supply chain contract model under the assumption of risk neutral is established, so the optimal order quantity of supply chain is obtained and the coordination of the three-level supply chain is studied. Also, the relationship between the contract parameters is given when the supply chain can achieve coordination. Then, this paper introduces the risk factors, and establishes the new contract model under the consideration of the seller's risk seeking and the distributor's risk aversion. Finally, the relevant conclusions are proved by numerical examples.National Natural Science Foundation of China [61203148, 13 JGC 096, 61472027]CPCI-S(ISTP)1215-122650
School counsellors' resilience in Turkey: A phenomenological study
No full textResilience is a crucial personal characteristic of school counsellors to protect and maintain their wellbeing against the effects of occupational stress factors in school settings. However, there has been a lack of research investigating school counsellors' resilience in Turkey. Therefore, this study aims to explore the resilience of school counsellors working in schools with at-risk students in terms of stress and protective factors. The study was conducted using a qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach. The data were collected through semistructured interviews from 10 school counsellors working in schools with at-risk students. The data analysis was carried out with an inductive approach using an NVivo 11 software package program. The analysis revealed a variety of findings, both positive and negative, regarding the resilience of school counsellors. In this scope, three interrelated themes emerged as 'Occupational Stressors', 'Personal Factors: Strength versus Vulnerability', and 'Positive and Negative Results: Happiness and Satisfaction versus Helplessness and Burnout'. The results show that school counsellors working in schools with at-risk students experience a variety of occupational stresses and that their experience of happiness and satisfaction, or helplessness and burnout, depends on a level of strengths or weaknesses with reference to personal factors. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Cambridge University Press
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in One Cat and Three Dogs Living in COVID-19-Positive Households in Madrid, Spain.
No full textAuthor Contributions:
GM and LMOM proposed and designed the study. JRC and AM collected the samples and participated in the clinical assessment together with GM. CDD and JRC carried out the serological and PCR analysis. JGC, PB, and JA carried out SARS-CoV-2 sequencing. GM, JRC, and LMOM wrote the manuscript, interpreted the results, and were helped by the other co-authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.In this study, we describe SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in one cat and three dogs from households with confirmed human cases of COVID-19 living in the Madrid Community (Spain) at the time of expansion (December 2020 through June 2021) of the alpha variant (lineage B.1.1.7). A thorough physical exam and nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, and rectal swabs were collected for real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) SARS-CoV-2 testing on day 0 and in successive samplings on days 7, 14, 21, and 47 during monitoring. Blood was also drawn to determine complete blood counts, biochemical profiles, and serology of the IgG response against SARS-CoV-2. On day 0, the cat case 1 presented with dyspnea and fever associated with a mild bronchoalveolar pattern. The dog cases 2, 3, and 4 were healthy, but case 2 presented with coughing, dyspnea, and weakness, and case 4 exhibited coughing and bilateral nasal discharge 3 and 6 days before the clinical exam. Case 3 (from the same household as case 2) remained asymptomatic. SARS-CoV-2 detection by RT-qPCR showed that the cat case 1 and the dog case 2 exhibited the lowest cycle threshold (Ct) (Ct < 30) when they presented clinical signs. Viral detection failed in successive samplings. Serological analyses revealed a positive IgG response in cat case 1 and dog cases 3 and 4 shortly after or simultaneously to virus shedding. Dog case 2 was seronegative, but seroconverted 21 days after SARS-CoV-2 detection. SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing was attempted, and genomes were classified as belonging to the B.1.1.7 lineage.Comunidad de MadridNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (EEUU)Depto. de Sanidad AnimalFac. de VeterinariaTRUEpu
Mild cognitive impairment: the Manchester consensus
No full text\ua9 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.Given considerable variation in diagnostic and therapeutic practice, there is a need for national guidance on the use of neuroimaging, fluid biomarkers, cognitive testing, follow-up and diagnostic terminology in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is a heterogenous clinical syndrome reflecting a change in cognitive function and deficits on neuropsychological testing but relatively intact activities of daily living. MCI is a risk state for further cognitive and functional decline with 5-15% of people developing dementia per year. However, ~50% remain stable at 5 years and in a minority, symptoms resolve over time. There is considerable debate about whether MCI is a useful clinical diagnosis, or whether the use of the term prevents proper inquiry (by history, examination and investigations) into underlying causes of cognitive symptoms, which can include prodromal neurodegenerative disease, other physical or psychiatric illness, or combinations thereof. Cognitive testing, neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers can improve the sensitivity and specificity of aetiological diagnosis, with growing evidence that these may also help guide prognosis. Diagnostic criteria allow for a diagnosis of Alzheimer\u27s disease to be made where MCI is accompanied by appropriate biomarker changes, but in practice, such biomarkers are not available in routine clinical practice in the UK. This would change if disease-modifying therapies became available and required a definitive diagnosis but would present major challenges to the National Health Service and similar health systems. Significantly increased investment would be required in training, infrastructure and provision of fluid biomarkers and neuroimaging. Statistical techniques combining markers may provide greater sensitivity and specificity than any single disease marker but their practical usefulness will depend on large-scale studies to ensure ecological validity and that multiple measures, e.g. both cognitive tests and biomarkers, are widely available for clinical use. To perform such large studies, we must increase research participation amongst those with MCI
Association between proton pump inhibitor therapy and clostridium difficile infection: a contemporary systematic review and meta-analysis.
No full textAbstract
Introduction
Emerging epidemiological evidence suggests that proton pump inhibitor (PPI) acid-suppression therapy is associated with an increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
Methods
Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and Scopus were searched from 1990 to January 2012 for analytical studies that reported an adjusted effect estimate of the association between PPI use and CDI. We performed random-effect meta-analyses. We used the GRADE framework to interpret the findings.
Results
We identified 47 eligible citations (37 case-control and 14 cohort studies) with corresponding 51 effect estimates. The pooled OR was 1.65, 95% CI (1.47, 1.85), I2 = 89.9%, with evidence of publication bias suggested by a contour funnel plot. A novel regression based method was used to adjust for publication bias and resulted in an adjusted pooled OR of 1.51 (95% CI, 1.26–1.83). In a speculative analysis that assumes that this association is based on causality, and based on published baseline CDI incidence, the risk of CDI would be very low in the general population taking PPIs with an estimated NNH of 3925 at 1 year.
Conclusions
In this rigorously conducted systemic review and meta-analysis, we found very low quality evidence (GRADE class) for an association between PPI use and CDI that does not support a cause-effect relationship
Acute psychomotor, memory and subjective effects of MDMA and THC co-administration over time in healthy volunteers
No full textIn Western societies a considerable percentage of young people expose themselves to the combination of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy') and cannabis. The aim of the present study was to assess the acute effects of co-administration of MDMA and THC (the main psychoactive compound of cannabis) on pharmacokinetics, psychomotor performance, memory and subjective experience over time. We performed a four-way, double blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study in 16 healthy volunteers (12 male, four female) between the ages of 18 and 27. MDMA (100 mg) was given orally, THC (4, 6, and 6 mg, interval of 90 min) was vaporized and inhaled. THC induced more robust cognitive impairment compared with MDMA, and co-administration did not exacerbate single drug effects on cognitive function. However, co-administration of THC with MDMA increased desired subjective drug effects and drug strength compared with the MDMA condition, which may explain the widespread use of this combination. © The Author(s) 2010
A field of practise or a mere house of detention? : the asylum and its integration, with special reference to the county asylums of Yorkshire, c.1844-1888
No full textThe nineteenth century witnessed a continuous growth in both the number of lunatic
asylums, and in the numbers of people held within them. For many, contemporaries,
and more recent commentators alike, the period was marked by the growing failure of
the asylum as a curative institution. The reasons cited for this failure have varied, and
at different times attention has focussed on a number of key themes. The purpose of
this thesis is to critically examine each of these themes and to assess the expectations
of those who built the asylum, those who worked in it, those who lived near it, and
perhaps most importantly of all, those who used it. As such, the six chapters examine
the asylum management and their motivations; the social separation of the insane
patient, and how this was affected by external factors; the asylum's relationship with
the various Poor Law authorities; the motivations that the families of the insane had
for committing, and not committing their kin; the treatment regimes within the
asylums, and how they differed between the sexes; and the central role that the
asylum attendants had in caring for the insane.
In each of these areas, perceptions of the asylums' supposed failure will be called into
question, and there will be a continuing consideration of its function as both a
custodial and a curative institution. Recent studies of extra-institutional care have
emphasised that treatment in the asylum remained just one option in the `mixed
economy of care'. Building on this, this thesis contests that the continued growth and
development of the asylum system could not rest on its custodial function alone.
Conversely, it shows that its ability to `cure' significant numbers of people continued
to be a significant factor throughout the period
Rights and remedies for public access to documents as an aspect of multidimensional transparency within the European Union,
No full textFor some time, academics, politicians and officials within the European Union have been debating the Union's legitimacy. Broadly speaking, legitimacy concerns the (lack of) esteem in which citizens of the Union hold the Union’s laws, policies and institutions. In order to legitimate the Union, 'to bring Europe closer to its citizens', and to democratise the Union's law- and policy-making processes, so that ordinary Europeans will more willingly agree to further integration and more readily obey Union laws, transparency has been called for. This thesis first seeks to define transparency. If legitimacy is to be achieved by means of an increase in transparency, the concept of transparency must be multidimensional, including a right of the public to scrutinise and to participate indecision-making processes. Various claims concerning transparency-related issues are considered, including the claim that the right of public access to government- held documents is a fundamental human right. The thesis then asks whether the institutions and Member States are actively seeking to provide an appropriate level of transparency, and, if not, whether transparency as officially defined by the institutions and Member States - i.e. transparency as a right of public access to documents held by the institutions - is capable of providing legitimacy. The substantive rules governing public access to such documents are examined, and the thesis evaluates the effectiveness of the remedies available to persons to whom such access is denied. The creation of a new institution is recommended, to ensure the effectiveness of the Union's transparency policy, with a view to legitimating and democratising the Union. This new institution could facilitate a change in the Union’s culture, from a culture of secrecy to a culture of openness and willingness to permit public scrutiny of, and public participation within, the Union's decision-making processes
