The Effect of Virtual Reality Glasses on the Behavior of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Dental Setting

Purpose: The study investigated if viewing a simulated dental exam on virtual reality glasses between two visits would desensitize participants with autism spectrum disorder to the dental environment and improve their anxiety and behavior. Methods: This randomized prospective cohort study compared behavior between a Control Group and Experimental Group who wore the glasses between visits. Blinded raters watched video recordings of participants and assessed behavior using the Venham scale. Heart rate and post-visit questionnaires completed by guardians were also analyzed. Results: Five subjects were enrolled (two in the Control and three in the Experimental groups). The median heart rate at visit one was 61 and reduced to 55 for visit two. The maximum heart rate was always observed in the waiting room (n=10, 100%). Raters agreed on anxiety scores for 10% of visits and 80% for behavior scores (k=0.2, 0.5 respectively). Guardians that completed the post-study surveys agreed (n=3, 100%) the glasses were easy to use, enjoyed by the child, and improved anxiety and cooperation at visit two. Conclusion: Although not statistically significant, median heart rate deceased and behavior stayed the same or improved at the second visit in both groups. The maximum heart rate was observed in the waiting room at each visit. Post-visit questionnaires demonstrated high guardian satisfaction with the virtual reality simulation and they felt their child’s anxiety and behavior improved at the second visit

Public Utilities and Public Transportation - Generation and Distribution of Electricity

The Act establishes requirements for solar power facility agreements executed or renewed after July 1, 2024, including the grantee’s responsibility to decommission and remove solar power equipment upon lease termination. The Act specifies decommissioning procedures, allows for landowner requests, and requires the grantee to provide financial assurance for removal costs. It also prohibits local governments from imposing additional financial assurance requirement

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) applied to microalgal production.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will become one of the world's most important light sources and their integration in microalgal production systems (photobioreactors) needs to be considered. LEDs can improve the quality and quantity of microalgal biomass when applied during specific growth phases. However, microalgae need a balanced mix of wavelengths for normal growth, and respond to light differently according to the pigments acquired or lost during their evolutionary history. This review highlights recently published results on the effect of LEDs on microalgal physiology and biochemistry and how this knowledge can be applied in selecting different LEDs with specific technical properties for regulating biomass production by microalgae belonging to diverse taxonomic groups

Tracers reveal limited influence of plantation forests on surface runoff in a UK natural flood management catchment

Study region United Kingdom (UK). Study focus Natural flood management (NFM) schemes are increasingly prominent in the UK. Studies of NFM have not yet used natural tracers at catchment scale to investigate how interventions influence partitioning during storms between surface rainfall runoff and water already stored in catchments. Here we investigate how catchment properties, particularly plantation forestry, influence surface storm rainfall runoff. We used hydrograph separation based on hydrogen and oxygen isotopes (2H, 18O) and acid neutralising capacity from high flow events to compare three headwater catchments (2.4-3.1 km2) with differences in plantation forest cover (Picea sitchensis: 94%, 41%, 1%) within a major UK NFM pilot, typical of the UK uplands. New hydrological insights Plantation forest cover reduced the total storm rainfall runoff fraction during all events (by up to 11%) when comparing two paired catchments with similar soils, geology and topography but ∼50% difference in forest cover. However, comparison with the third catchment, with negligible forest cover but different characteristics, suggests that soils and geology were dominant controls on storm rainfall runoff fraction. Furthermore, differences between events were greater than differences between catchments. These findings suggest that while plantation forest cover may influence storm rainfall runoff fractions, it is not a dominant control in temperate upland UK catchments, especially for larger events. Soils and geology may exert greater influence, with implications for planning NFM

Content of patient education for chronic renal failure patients undergoing dialysis treatments

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the content of patient education for chronic renal failure patients undergoing dialysis treatments. The goal was to find knowledge that can be utilized when developing patient education for dialysis patients. The study question was: what is the content of patient education among chronic renal failure patients undergoing dialysis treatments? Fifteen articles were obtained using CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Medic databases (n=15) and analyzed by applying to the principles of inductive content analysis. The findings are presented in a form of literature review. Education for patients undergoing dialysis predominantly focuses on the bio-physiological and functional aspects. A sweeping majority of the analyzed articles concentrate on content areas such as nutrition, fluid restrictions, care of the vascular access site, treatment options, and self-care objectives. A small portion of the articles mentioned physical activity and medication management, but not one of them studied the content of the education. Social aspects were also insufficiently covered in the reviewed articles. Two articles pointed out the benefits of peer support, and one discovered a need for information on peer support groups and patient organizations. Social aspects should be strongly emphasized in the future considering the broad impact of dialysis treatments on a patient's life. This literature review revealed that patients have inadequate knowledge on various aspects of dialysis treatments, indicating that further researched and developed of patient education is necessary.Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli kuvailla nykyistä saatavilla olevaa kroonista munuaisten vajaatoimintaa sairastavien dialyysipotilaiden ohjauksen sisältöä. Tavoitteena oli kerätä tietoa, jota hyödyntämällä voitaisiin kehittää dialyysipotilaiden ohjauksen laatua. Tutkimuskysymykseksi muotoutui: “Millaista on kroonista munuaisten vajaatoimintaa sairastavien dialyysipotilaiden ohjauksen sisältö?” Analysoitavaksi valittiin yhteensä viisitoista tutkimusartikkelia CINAHL, MEDLINE ja Medic tietokannoista (n=15). Analyysi toteutettiin induktiivisen sisällönanalyysin periaatteita noudattaen. Opinnäytetyön tulokset on esitetty kirjallisuuskatsauksen muodossa. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen perusteella voidaan todeta dialyysipotilaan ohjauksen sisällön keskittyvän pääasiassa bio-fysiologiseen ja toiminnalliseen tietoon. Suurimmassa osassa tutkimusartikkeleista painotettiin aihealueita kuten ruokavalio, nesterajoitukset, hoitomuodot, veritien hoito ja itsehoito. Osassa artikkeleista mainittiin liikunta ja lääkehoito, mutta varsinaista potilasohjauksen sisältöä niihin liittyen ei tutkittu. Sosiaalinen ulottuvuus potilasohjauksessa oli myös rajallista. Kahdessa artikkelissa painotettiin vertaistuen merkitystä ja yhdessä artikkelissa todettiin potilaiden saavan liian vähän tietoa vertaistukiryhmistä ja potilasjärjestöistä. Potilasohjauksessa tulisi erityisesti korostaa sosiaalista ulottuvuutta. Ohjauksessa tulisi myös huomioida dialyysihoitojen laaja-alainen vaikutus potilaiden elämään. Tutkimusartikkeleiden analyysi osoitti, että potilasohjauksen sisältöä tulee edelleen tutkia ja kehittää, sillä potilaiden tietämys on puutteellista monilla eri dialyysihoitojen aihealueilla

The Implementation of International-Law Gender Equality Standards (Frameworks) in the Republic of Croatia with Emphasis on Croatian Parliamentary Elections

Predmet rada su međunarodni standardi ravnopravnosti spolova i njihov utjecaj na donošenje pozitivnih propisa u Republici Hrvatskoj. Autorica razmatra međunarodne ugovore kojih je Republika Hrvatska stranka te njihov utjecaj na stvaranje institucionalne platforme za postizanje ravnopravnijeg sudjelovanja žena u politici. Polazeći od pretpostavke da su kandidatura i izbori za parlament u predstavničkoj demokraciji najbolji pokazatelj razine političke participacije žena, autorica je kronološki analizirala šest posljednjih parlamentarnih ciklusa te kroz njih primjenu zakonodavnih okvira koji su doneseni s ciljem povećanja broja žena u tijelu zakonodavne vlasti. Autorica zaključuje da Republika Hrvatska unatoč postizanju institucionalnih okvira te donošenju niza zakona kojima se pokušala ispraviti ženska podzastupljenost u predstavničkim tijelima građana, nije postigla značajniji napredak u tom području, pa je broj žena u Hrvatskom saboru na razini koju je Republika Hrvatska imala prije donošenja institucionalnih i zakonskih mehanizama.The topic of this paper is international gender equality standards and their impact on making positive policies in the Republic of Croatia. The author investigated international legal contracts in which the Republic of Croatia is a participating party, in order to determine their impact on making positive policies in the Republic of Croatia. Based on the assumption that the candidacy and the parliamentary elections are the best indicator of the female political participation in representative democracy, the author chronologically analyzed the last six parliamentary cycles and the implementation of legal frameworks aimed at increasing the number of women representatives in legislative authorities. The author concluded that the Republic of Croatia has not achieved any significant progress in the above mentioned field despite creating institutional frameworks and laws. The number of women in the Croatian Parliament is at the same level as before the implementation of the various institutional and legal mechanisms