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Background: Promoting the health and well-being of couples where one partner has dementia is an overlooked area of care practice. Most postdiagnostic services currently lack a couple-centered approach and have a limited focus on the couple relationship. To help address this situation, we developed a tablet-based self-management guide (DemPower) focused on helping couples enhance their well-being and relationship quality. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the DemPower app. Methods: A nonrandomized feasibility design was used to evaluate the DemPower intervention over 3 months among couples where a partner had a diagnosis of dementia. The study recruited 25 couples in the United Kingdom and 19 couples in Sweden. Outcome measures were obtained at baseline and postintervention. The study process and interventions were evaluated at various stages. Results: The study was completed by 48% (21/44) of couples where one partner had dementia, of whom 86% (18/21) of couples accessed all parts of the DemPower app. Each couple spent an average of 8 hours (SD 3.35 hours) using the app during the study period. In total, 90% (19/21) of couples reported that all sections of DemPower were useful in addressing various aspects of daily life and helped to focus on how they interacted in their relationship. Of the 4 core subjects on which the DemPower app was structured, home and neighborhood received the highest number of visits. Couples used activity sections more often than the core subject pages. The perception of DemPower's utility varied with each couple's lived experience of dementia, geographic location, relationship dynamics, and opportunities for social interaction. A 5.2-point increase in the dementia quality of life score for people with dementia and a marginal increase in the Mutuality scale (+1.23 points) for caregiver spouses were found. Design and navigational challenges were reported in the DemPower app. Conclusions: T

Background: Promoting the health and well-being of couples where one partner has dementia is an overlooked area of care practice. Most postdiagnostic services currently lack a couple-centered approach and have a limited focus on the couple relationship. To help address this situation, we developed a tablet-based self-management guide (DemPower) focused on helping couples enhance their well-being and relationship quality. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the DemPower app. Methods: A nonrandomized feasibility design was used to evaluate the DemPower intervention over 3 months among couples where a partner had a diagnosis of dementia. The study recruited 25 couples in the United Kingdom and 19 couples in Sweden. Outcome measures were obtained at baseline and postintervention. The study process and interventions were evaluated at various stages. Results: The study was completed by 48% (21/44) of couples where one partner had dementia, of whom 86% (18/21) of couples accessed all parts of the DemPower app. Each couple spent an average of 8 hours (SD 3.35 hours) using the app during the study period. In total, 90% (19/21) of couples reported that all sections of DemPower were useful in addressing various aspects of daily life and helped to focus on how they interacted in their relationship. Of the 4 core subjects on which the DemPower app was structured, home and neighborhood received the highest number of visits. Couples used activity sections more often than the core subject pages. The perception of DemPower's utility varied with each couple's lived experience of dementia, geographic location, relationship dynamics, and opportunities for social interaction. A 5.2-point increase in the dementia quality of life score for people with dementia and a marginal increase in the Mutuality scale (+1.23 points) for caregiver spouses were found. Design and navigational challenges were reported in the DemPower app. Conclusions: T

Inertial and magnetic sensors offers a sourceless and mobile option to obtain body posture and motion for personal sports or healthcare assistants, if sensors could be unobtrusively integrated in casual garments and accessories. We present in this paper design, implementation, and evaluation results for a novel miniature attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) named ETHOS using current off-the-shelf technologies. ETHOS has a unit size of 2.5cm$^3$, which is substantially below most currently marketed attitude heading reference systems, while the unit contains processing resources to estimate its orientation online. Results on power consumption in relation to sampling frequency and sensor use are presented. Moreover two sensor fusion algorithms to estimate orientation: a quaternion-based Kalman-, and a complementary filter. Evaluations of orientation estimation accuracy in static and dynamic conditions revealed that complementary filtering reached sufficient accuracy while consuming 46% of a Kalman's power. The system runtime of ETHOS was found to be 10 hours at a complementary filter update rate of 128Hz. Furthermore, we found that a ETHOS prototype functioned with a sufficient accuracy in estimating human movement in real-life conditions using an arm rehabilitation robot.

Udgivelsesdato: 2001-Jun-1, A collaborative exercise was carried out by the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP) in the frame work of the STADNAP program, i.e. standardization of DNA profiling in Europe, in order to evaluate the performance of a Y-chromosome STR pentaplex, which includes the loci DYS19, DYS389 I and II, DYS390 and DYS393 and to determine whether uniformity of results could be achieved among different European laboratories.Laboratories were asked to analyze the five Y-STRs using singleplex and multiplex conditions in three bloodstains and one mixed stain (95% female and 5% male).All the laboratories reported the same results even for the mixed stain included in the exercise. This demonstrates the reproducibility and robustness of Y-chromosome STR typing even with multiplex formats and proves the usefulness of Y-STR systems for analyzing mixed stains with a male component.A total of 930 male samples from 10 different populations from Europe were also analysed for all the loci included in the pentaplex. Eight of these ten populations also included haplotype data.As for single gene analysis, haplotype diversity was higher in Germany and Italy and lower in Western European countries and Finland.Pairwise haplotype analysis shows the Finnish departure from the rest of the populations and a relatively homogeneity in the other European populations with F(ST) estimates lower than 0.05.UPGMA analysis shows an association of Western European population (Ireland, UK, Portugal and Galicia) on the one hand and central European populations on the other.

The ultimate computational system would consist of logic devices that are ultra dense, ultra fast, and molecular-sized. Even though state-of-the-art nanopatterning techniques allow lithographic probe assemblies to be engineered down to the 100 A gap regime, the issue of electronic conduction based upon single or small packets of molecules has not been addressed and the feasibility of molecular electronics remains theoretically controversial. In an attempt to assess the possibility of molecular wire conduction by spanning the 100 A probe gaps with small packets of molecules, we describe here the synthesis of phenylene-alkynylene oligomers that remain in a near-linear conformation due to 1,4-phenylene- substitution patterns and alkyne linearity. This linear arrangement should minimize undesired conformational movement during adhesion and testing between nanofabricated probes. Our approach to such a molecular framework involves a rapid iterative method that doubles molecular length at each iteration to provide an air and light-stable linear conjugated oligomer that is 128 A long that could also serve as a useful model for understanding bulk polymeric material properties. Moreover, the product could easily permit independent functionalization of the ends to serve as "molecular alligator clips" that might be required for surface contacts to metal probes for molecular electronic studies. jg p. 3