The assessment and management of pain in older people : a systematic review of the literature

This paper presents the findings of a systematic literature which was carried out to determine the most appropriate strategies that could be carried out for the assessment and management of pain in residents living in care homes. Five hundred and seventy-one papers were initially identified and from this total 70 papers were found to be appropriate. These papers were organised into five key themes; Assessment & Behavioural Assessment, Barriers/Attitudes/Perceptions, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Complementary Therapies and Education/Guidelines. Most of the papers related to pain in this group were pharmacological suggesting that health care professionals generally feel that pharmacological approaches are the only way to manage pain in this group. Nevertheless, the non-pharmacological papers do suggest that there are other methods of pain control which should be considered. Recommendations for further research are made.Burdett Trust for Nursin

SAW torque transducers for disturbance rejection and tracking control of multi-inertia servo-drive systems

The paper proposes a resonance ratio control (RRC) technique for the coordinated motion control of multi-inertia mechanical systems, based on the measurement of shaft torque via a SAW-based torque sensor. Furthermore, a new controller structure, RRC plus disturbance feedback is proposed, which enables the controller to be designed to independently satisfy tracking and regulation performance. A tuning method for the RRC structure is given based on the ITAE index, normalized as a function of the mechanical parameters enabling a direct performance comparison between a basic proportional and integral (PI) controller. The use of a reduced-order state observer is presented to provide a dynamic estimate of the load-side disturbance torque for a multi-inertia mechanical system, with an appraisal of the composite closed-loop dynamics. It is shown that the integrated formulation of the tuning criteria enables lower bandwidth observers to be implemented with a corresponding reduction in noise and computational load. The control structures are experimentally validated via a purpose designed test facility and demonstrate significant improvement in dynamic tracking performance, whilst additionally rejecting periodic load side disturbances, a feature previously unrealisable except by other, high-gain control schemes that impose small stability margins

High-performance control of dual-inertia servo-drive systems using low-cost integrated SAW torque transducers

Abstract—This paper provides a systematic comparative study of compensation schemes for the coordinated motion control of two-inertia mechanical systems. Specifically, classical proportional–integral (PI), proportional–integral–derivative (PID), and resonance ratio control (RRC) are considered, with an enhanced structure based on RRC, termed RRC+, being proposed. Motor-side and load-side dynamics for each control structure are identified, with the “integral of time multiplied by absolute error” performance index being employed as a benchmark metric. PID and RRC control schemes are shown to be identical from a closed-loop perspective, albeit employing different feedback sensing mechanisms. A qualitative study of the practical effects of employing each methodology shows that RRC-type structures provide preferred solutions if low-cost high-performance torque transducers can be employed, for instance, those based on surface acoustic wave tecnologies. Moreover, the extra degree of freedom afforded by both PID and RRC, as compared with the basic PI, is shown to be sufficient to simultaneously induce optimal closed-loop performance and independent selection of virtual inertia ratio. Furthermore, the proposed RRC+ scheme is subsequently shown to additionally facilitate independent assignment of closed-loop bandwidth. Summary attributes of the investigation are validated by both simulation studies and by realization of the methodologies for control of a custom-designed two-inertia system

Observer based tuning techniques and integrated SAW torque transducers for two-inertia servo-drive systems

A controller design and tuning methodology is proposed that facilitates the rejection of periodic load-side disturbances applied to a torsional mechanical system, whilst simultaneously compensating for the disturbance observer's inherent phase delay, thereby facilitating the used of lower bandwidth, practically realisable, disturbance observers. The merits of implementing both a full- and reduced order observer, is investigated, with the latter being implemented with a new low-cost, high-bandwidth torque sensing device based on surface acoustic wave technolog

Phenomenological Transport Equation for the Cuprate Metals

We observe that the appearance of two transport relaxation times in the various transport coefficients of cuprate metals may be understood in terms of scattering processes that discriminate between currents that are even, or odd under the charge conjugation operator. We develop a transport equation that illustrates these ideas and discuss its experimental and theoretical consequences.Comment: Replaced with journal ref. Latex+ p

A multiple profile approach to the palynological reconstruction of Norse landscapes in Greenland's Eastern Settlement

Acknowledgments The Leverhulme Trust is thanked for financial support. Gordon Cook provided radiocarbon dates. Thanks are also due to Andy McMullen for botanical identifications and assistance in the field, and to Sikuu Motzfeld for hospitality during fieldwork. We are also grateful to Emilie Gauthier, Mike Kaplan, Pete Langdon and Alan Gillespie for their comments.Peer reviewedPostprin

Correlated noise in networks of gravitational-wave detectors: subtraction and mitigation

One of the key science goals of advanced gravitational-wave detectors is to observe a stochastic gravitational-wave background. However, recent work demonstrates that correlated magnetic fields from Schumann resonances can produce correlated strain noise over global distances, potentially limiting the sensitivity of stochastic background searches with advanced detectors. In this paper, we estimate the correlated noise budget for the worldwide Advanced LIGO network and conclude that correlated noise may affect upcoming measurements. We investigate the possibility of a Wiener filtering scheme to subtract correlated noise from Advanced LIGO searches, and estimate the required specifications. We also consider the possibility that residual correlated noise remains following subtraction, and we devise an optimal strategy for measuring astronomical parameters in the presence of correlated noise. Using this new formalism, we estimate the loss of sensitivity for a broadband, isotropic stochastic background search using 1 yr of LIGO data at design sensitivity. Given our current noise budget, the uncertainty with which LIGO can estimate energy density will likely increase by a factor of ~4--if it is impossible to achieve significant subtraction. Additionally, narrowband cross-correlation searches may be severely affected at low frequencies f < 45 Hz without effective subtraction.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Laser fluorescence studies of the chemical interactions of sodium species with sulfur bearing fuels

By using a large matrix of fuel rich and fuel lean H2/O2/N2 and fuel rich C2H2/O2/N2 flames, the behavior of sodium and its interactions with sulfur at high temperatures was extensively characterized. OH concentrations were measured for each flame using the previously validated laser induced fluorescence technique. Sodium atomic concentrations were obtained by the saturated laser fluorescence method. Measurements were made in the absence and presence of up to 2% sulfur. In oxygen rich systems sodium is depleted by NaO2 and NaOH formation. The relative amounts of each are controlled by the degree of nonequilibration of the flame radicals and by the temperature. The bond strength of NaO2 was established. For the first time, a complete understanding of the complex behavior of sodium in fuel lean H2/O2 flames has emerged and computer modeling has permitted various rate constants of Na, NaO2 and NaOH reactions to be approximately fixed

Double-blind, randomised, placebo controlled, parallel group study of sativex® in the treatment of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain, associated with allodynia [poster]

No abstract available