Enhancing Care Transitions for Older People through Interprofessional Simulation: A Mixed Method Evaluation

Introduction: The educational needs of the health and social care workforce for delivering effective integrated care are important. This paper reports on the development, pilot and evaluation of an interprofessional simulation course, which aimed to support integrated care models for care transitions for older people from hospital to home. Theory and methods: The course development was informed by a literature review and a scoping exercise with the health and social care workforce. The course ran six times and was attended by health and social care professionals from hospital and community (n=49). The evaluation aimed to elicit staff perceptions of their learning about care transfers of older people and to explore application of learning into practice and perceived outcomes. The study used a sequential mixed method design with questionnaires completed pre (n=44) and post (n=47) course and interviews (n=9) 2-5 months later. Results:Participants evaluated interprofessional simulation as a successful strategy. Post-course, participants identified learning points and at the interviews, similar themes with examples of application in practice were: Understanding individual needs and empathy; Communicating with patients and families; Interprofessional working; Working across settings to achieve effective care transitions. Conclusions and discussion:An interprofessional simulation course successfully brought together health and social care professionals across settings to develop integrated care skills and improve care transitions for older people with complex needs from hospital to home

Quantification of the Individual Characterstics of the Human Dentition: Methodology

This study provides a method for comparing six individual human dentition characteristics using the standard measuring tool in Adobe Photoshop CS2 as compared to measuring individual characteristics with an automated software program under development at Marquette University, which has been adapted for bitemark analysis. The algorithm identifies color-specific pixels and automatically calculates the measurements

Effect of wind turbulence on gas transport in porous media: experimental method and preliminary results

We demonstrate a novel experimental arrangement for measuring wind turbulence-induced gas transport in dry porous media under controlled conditions. This equipment was applied to assess the effect of wind turbulence on gas transport (quantified as a dispersion coefficient) as a function of distance to the surface of the porous medium exposed to wind. Two different strategies for the measurement of wind-induced gas transport were compared. Experiments were carried out with O2 and CO2 as tracer gases with average vertical wind speeds of 0.02–1.06 m s−1. Oxygen breakthrough curves as a function of distance to the wind-exposed surface of the porous medium were analysed numerically with a finite-difference-based model to assess gas transport. We showed that wind turbulence-induced gas transport is an important transport mechanism that can be 20–70 times larger than molecular diffusion-induced transport. Wind conditions and properties of the porous medium had strong controlling effects on this relationship. Importantly, we show that even though wind-induced gas transport is greatest near to the wind-exposed surface, it can have marked effects on the variation in gas concentration at much greater depths

A Pingo in the Mala River Valley, Baffin Island, Northwest Territories, Canada

A single pingo is located on an alluvial fan within the deeply incised Mala River valley of the Borden Peninsula, Baffin Island. Its formation appears to be related to the abandonment of the river channel due to the influx of alluvium from a tributary stream.&nbsp

Chemical Composition of Forage Plants from the Reindeer Preserve, Northwest Territories

Quantitative analyses of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, ash, calcium, phosphorus, and carotene were performed on 9 forage species, collected on 5 dates during a year. Crude protein levels were low in most forage species by mid-winter. Phosphorus levels were low in most plants throughout the year. Lichens, an important winter forage of reindeer, appear to be deficient in crude protein, calcium, phosphorus, and carotene

A review of aflatoxin M1 in liquid milk

Mycotoxins continue to pose a health concern via human exposure to contaminated food. Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), the hydroxylated metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), may be found in the milk of dairy cattle and other mammals. In humans, AFM1 is excreted through the feces, urine, and in the case of lactating mothers, also in breast milk after consumption of aflatoxin contaminated food. Concentration of AFM1 in milk is a function of several factors, namely: animal type, milking day, milk yield, season, feeding regime, geographic, and climatic conditions. A linear relationship has been established between the amount of AFM1 in milk and the amount of AFB1 in feed consumed by animals, emphasized at first on the reduction or removal of AFB1 from feedstuffs and then elimination of AFM1 from milk. This review aims to bring up to date the current global status of AFM1 contamination of liquid milk destined for human consumption and the effects of processing and reduction methods on the elimination of aflatoxins from liquid milk

Earth Hummocks in the Sunshine Area of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta and British Columbia

Earth hummocks were found on the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains in a non-permafrost environment. Many hummocks show involutions of organic layers within 25 cm of the surface, suggesting that the hummocks are still active. The soil material is a non-plastic, silt-textured volcanic ash. During brief periods in the spring the upper soil horizons can become super-saturated with water; the soil then becomes liquid, resulting in involutions in the surface layers. This mechanism is generally erosional and it is unlikely that it contributed to the formation of earth hummocks. The hummocks are believed to be relict features that were formed under colder conditions, when permafrost was likely present in the ground.Key words: Rocky Mountains, hummocks, permafrost, soil horizonsMots clés: Rocheuses, monticules, pergélisol, horizons du so

The Quantification of Displacement of the Anterior Teeth in the Human Dentition

The credibility of bite mark analysis as a forensic science is under fire in our legal system. The basis of opinions regarding the probability of a dental pattern observed in bite mark evidence matching a suspect\u27s dentition has not been objectively substantiated. Though guidelines and standards are in place, bite mark analyses have failed to provide basic scientific methods in order to be deemed of evidentiary value. Forensic scientists need to take a step back and develop valid and reliable methodologies that provide a statistical approach for defining dental characteristics in the human dentition. For this study, three computer-generated, mathematically derived curves were chosen to describe and quantify in a statistical manner the dental characteristic of displacement of eight anterior teeth in the human dentition. The Bezier, ellipse, and polynomial curves were digitally applied to scanned images from 75 dentitions comprising 150 wax exemplars of dental imprints of a male population, ages 18-44. Measurements of each tooth were made using Adobe Photoshop® software to provide maximum standardization and objectivity. Statistical tests established the best-fit-curve for determining displacement of the anterior teeth. Of the three curves, the polynomial curve had the lowest average of variance and the lowest sum of the absolute value of displacement from the curve for the anterior teeth; thus, it was shown to be the best-fit-curve based on the statistical variance for measuring displacement of the anterior teeth. Allowing for tooth displacement to be a measurable dental characteristic that can be scientifically quantified, the polynomial curve provides a valid and reliable methodology for bite mark analysis in future population studies. The polynomial curve may significantly enhance the judicial process associated with bite mark evidence by providing a scientific basis for objective interpretation of a unique dental characteristic based on an individual curve and the individuality of a bite pattern or imprint from a victim and/or suspect(s)