The Possibility of Promoting User Participation in Working with High-Risk Youth

Advocacy for promoting user participation in the helping process of social work has been reported in the literature since the 1970s, but the practicality of the concept for different clienteles of social work has been rarely explored. This paper presents a recent qualitative study on exploring the applicability of user participation in work with high-risk youth in the streets who are usually regarded as immature and low in both self-confidence and the ability to make the 'right' decisions. The findings of the study support the promotion of the concept of user participation in working with high-risk youth. Positive changes and growth were observed among this group with the application of user participation in the helping process. Ways for promoting the implementation of this concept in work with high-risk youth are suggested.postprin

Peristaltic Pumping of Blood Through Small Vessels of Varying Cross-section

The paper is devoted to a study of the peristaltic motion of blood in the micro-circulatory system. The vessel is considered to be of varying cross-section. The progressive peristaltic waves are taken to be of sinusoidal nature. Blood is considered to be a Herschel-Bulkley fluid. Of particular concern here is to investigate the effects of amplitude ratio, mean pressure gradient, yield stress and the power law index on the velocity distribution, streamline pattern and wall shear stress. On the basis of the derived analytical expression, extensive numerical calculations have been made. The study reveals that velocity of blood and wall shear stress are appreciably affected due to the non-uniform geometry of blood vessels. They are also highly sensitive to the magnitude of the amplitude ratio and the value of the fluid index.Comment: Accepted for publication in ASME journal of Applied Mechanics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1108.1285v

ZZ--Z′Z' mixing and oblique corrections in an SU(3)×U(1){\rm SU(3) \times U(1)} model

A global fit for experiments is included in this revised version.Comment: IFP-460-UNC, TRI-PP-93-11, 20 pages, 2 figures are appende

First steps towards an innovative governance and management model for a new type of alliance. Concepts, challenges and lessons learned from the higher education sector and beyond

Report presented to the Rectors Assembly of the CHARM-EU European University alliance. 26 October 2020This report was commissioned in order to inform the preparation of the European University Alliance CHARM-EU’s governance and management model, by providing innovative ideas and lessons learned on how other strategic alliances respond to the challenges of governance in a diverse and multicentric environment. Governing and managing strategic alliances is extremely challenging, particularly when an alliance brings together a huge variety of partners which are themselves decentralised organisations. There are no blueprint solutions. However, it is important to learn from the experience, both by monitoring projects within CHARM-EU and by seeking inspiration from other alliances. In the field of higher education, research and innovation, our benchmark focuses on three strategic alliances (Eucor, U4Society Network, EIT Health). Beyond the higher education sector, we explore the logic of strategic alliances in the private sector

The Difficulty in the Diagnosis and Management of Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome

Background: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS) is a condition that occurs in about 20% of patients following the abrupt reduction/stoppage of any antidepressant medication that has been taken continuously for at least 1 month. The difficulty of diagnosing ADS lies in the fact that the symptoms tend to be mistaken for other illnesses. Symptoms are commonly variable per individual, and the staggered presentation of symptoms can contribute to the difficulty in diagnosing ADS. Case Presentation: We present a 36-year-old Hispanic woman who comes for evaluation of worsening, generalized body aches for the past 3 days. Associated signs and symptoms included rhinorrhea, trouble sleeping, fatigue, and headaches. She reports recent exposure to a sick co-worker. She has a prior history of MDD and GAD. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 showed both mild depression and mild anxiety. Vitals signs and physical exam were unremarkable. Rapid flu, strep, and COVID tests came back negative. Pt was diagnosed with a viral URI and was discharged with counseling on supportive treatment. The patient returned two days later due to severe worsening symptoms, uncontrollable episodes of crying, new-onset tremors, and bilateral upper extremity paresthesia. She denies SI, HI, and drug use. Upon questioning of psychiatric history, the patient noted recent one-week hospitalization in a psychiatric facility around 1.5 months ago in which she was weaned off venlafaxine 150 mg PO daily and switched to fluoxetine 20 mg PO daily. Upon discharge, she took fluoxetine for about 5 weeks but abruptly stopped taking the fluoxetine 2 weeks ago because her mood symptoms had resolved. Vitals sign noted elevated blood pressure at 131/82. Physical exam noted an anxious, tearful woman that is in visible discomfort. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were administered and her scores were 27 and 21, indicating both severe depression and severe anxiety. The patient was advised to restart fluoxetine 20 mg PO daily. She was counseled on the importance of medication compliance. UDS and TSH levels were both negative. During the one-week follow-up, the patient reported that her symptoms have largely resolved. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were readministered which were 12 and 9 respectively, indicating moderate depression and mild anxiety. A referral for counseling services was placed in order to address her cognitive distortions and mood symptoms. Discussion:This case illustrates the complexity of the diagnosis and management of ADS. It is vital for clinicians to keep a high index of suspicion when symptoms occur especially with patients with a prior history of psychiatric illness. Patient education on the importance of medication compliance is critical to prevent the formation of ADS. A significant challenge in treatment lies in the fact that there is a lack of consensus on the rate of medication tapering across different studies. Many studies have recommended that it is unnecessary to taper long-acting antidepressants, such as fluoxetine. As depicted in this case, it is important to slowly taper all antidepressant medications as some patients can still exhibit rare but severe discontinuation symptoms from long-acting antidepressants

Applying SIR Modeling Data to Predict the Growth of COVID-19 Cases in Hidalgo County and Guide Public Policy Interventions

The results of this project demonstrate a practical application of the SIR (Susceptible, Infectious, or Recovered) epidemiological model to predict the growth of the COVID-19 case counts in Hidalgo County, TX. Using the standard SIR model with no stochastic variables considered, we looked at COVID-19 data from March 21, 2020, the day when the first positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Hidalgo County, through June 1, 2020. We considered plausible values for Hidalgo County for the probability of infection (pI) and contacts per day (cPD) by taking a survey from the current literature. Values for pI ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0703. While contacts per day ranged from 2.13 to 4.13. This resulted in corresponding infection rates (=pI×cPD) that ranged from 0.00319 to 0.219. Having such small pI, cPD, and values may be attributed to different reasons: (1) Hidalgo County has a low population density compared to other larger cities (2) The lifestyle and culture of the area (3) The majority of people were abiding by the Shelter-At-Home Order. To further reduce the spread of infection, it is necessary to continue to enact policies that preferably give the lowest statistically significant probability that the virus may be spread when people do need to be in public, such as being at least 9 or more feet apart, wearing a mask (preferably a surgical mask or an N95), wearing an eye shield, and properly washing hands \u3c1 minute after touching something that may be contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 viral particles

The Difficulty in the Diagnosis and Management of Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome

Background: Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome (ADS) is a condition that occurs in about 20% of patients following the abrupt reduction/stoppage of any antidepressant medication that has been taken continuously for at least one month. Case Presentation: We present a 36-year-old Hispanic woman who initially presented for evaluation of flu-like symptoms (subjective fever, rhinorrhea) and worsening body aches, trouble sleeping, and headaches for the past three days. She also reported recent exposure to a sick co-worker. Rapid flu, strep, and COVID tests came back negative. Pt was diagnosed with a viral URI and was discharged with counseling on supportive treatment. The patient returned two days later due to severe worsening symptoms, uncontrollable crying episodes, new-onset tremors, and bilateral upper extremity paresthesia. She denies SI, HI, and drug use. Upon questioning of psychiatric history, the patient noted a recent one-week hospitalization in a psychiatric facility around 1.5 months ago. She was weaned off venlafaxine 150 mg PO daily and switched to fluoxetine 20 mg PO daily. Upon discharge, she took fluoxetine for about five weeks but abruptly stopped taking the fluoxetine two weeks ago because her mood symptoms had resolved. The patient was advised to restart fluoxetine 20 mg PO daily. She was counseled on the importance of medication compliance. During the one-week follow-up, the patient reported that her symptoms had largely resolved. A referral for counseling services was placed to address her cognitive distortions and mood symptoms. Discussion: Diagnosing ADS can be challenging as it is often mistaken for other illnesses. Clinical presentation is often misdiagnosed as viral URI due to somatic symptoms. Clinicians should keep a broad differential as they risk falling prey to availability bias in the diagnosis process. Fluoxetine, a long-acting antidepressant, is not usually tapered in clinical practice due to the low probability of ADS. However, in this rare case of ADS due to fluoxetine, it is important to consider the population of CYP450 rapid metabolizers that may be at a higher risk of ADS symptoms. Further research is necessary to explore the length of antidepressant use, specifically venlafaxine, and its effect on the development of ADS and the probability of the late emergence of ADS symptoms, as this may have played a factor in the patient’s presentation. A high index of suspicion should be maintained when ADS symptoms occur, especially when patients have a prior history of psychiatric illness. This includes acquiring a detailed psychiatric history with special attention to an accidental or purposeful reduction or stoppage of any antidepressant medication. Patient education on the importance of medication compliance is critical to prevent the formation of ADS

BREASTFEEDING DURATION: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF WOMEN RECEIVING LEVONORGESTREL INTRAUTERINE SYSTEM IMMEDIATELY AND 6 WEEKS POSTPARTUM

Objectives: Describe and compare the characteristics and breastfeeding duration of women receiving levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) immediately postpartum and 6 weeks postpartum Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of a completed randomized clinical trial. Women desiring a LNG_IUS postpartum were randomized to early post-delivery insertion or late insertion 6-8 weeks after vaginal delivery. Breastfeeding status was assessed at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. Only women with continuous use of an IUS were included in this analysis. Results: Twenty-two women (7 early insertions, 15 late insertions) were included in this analysis. Seventeen (77.3%) and 13 (59.1%) of the women continued breastfeeding through 6 weeks and 6 months respectively. Women with longer durations of breastfeeding showed a trend toward being older, having higher income and stronger intention to breastfeed. Women with shorter durations of breastfeeding showed a trend toward being non-white. The rate of breastfeeding was slightly higher among continuous IUS users who received the IUS early after vaginal delivery, compared to the late group, at 6 weeks and 6 months but the difference was not significant. Conclusions: Among a group of women who received and used the LNG-IUS continuously either immediately after a vaginal delivery, or 6 weeks later, breastfeeding outcomes were similar. Many published trends in determinants of breastfeeding duration were seen among women receiving an LNG-IUS postpartum. There did not appear to be a difference in the breastfeeding duration of continuous users in the early insertion group compared to the late insertion group. The relationship between type and timing of postpartum contraception and breastfeeding should be explored further.Master of Public Healt

Post-materialism, political grievances, information and beliefs : implications for Hong Kong protests

Why do ordinary citizens protest? Given the collective action problem, what are the factors motivating individual citizens to participate in social movements? Considering the information and beliefs about possibility of repression, under what conditions would the civil society organize protests? When is it rational for the government to repress mass protests? This dissertation explores the factors motivating ordinary citizens to participate in social movements, with reference to post-handover Hong Kong. It argues that Hongkongers have higher propensity to protest if they have stronger post-materialist values and higher levels of dissatisfaction with how the government is functioning. Post-materialist values and political-oriented grievances interact in enhancing individuals’ tendency to protest. Through a n-person coordination game, this dissertation illustrates that individual citizens will contribute to collective action when they (1) perceive a higher value of the public good, (2) obtain higher expressive benefits, (3) anticipate a higher turnout, and (4) perceive lower costs of participation. Employing an online conjoint survey experiment, this dissertation contends that China-related political issues have higher likelihood of driving ordinary Hongkongers to protest relative to socioeconomic issues. International media coverage, prior belief of a high turnout, and lower probability of police repression also increase the inclination to protest for individual citizens. With a game of incomplete information, this study analyzes the strategic interactions between the regime and the pro-democracy civil society during the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Movement. It argues that the civil society was uncertain about the extent of Chinese pressure prior to the protests. Though the government initially moved the Extradition Bill forward, protesters mistakenly interpreted the government’s signals and formed low posterior beliefs about a hardline government. The civil society protested with unprecedented turnouts, until increasing evidence of Beijing’s intervention which led to the protest movement’s demise in early 2020.Governmen