An exploration of how specialist dementia nurses perceive and maintain the skills and competencies that frame their specialism: A qualitative survey.

Background: UK policy for complex and long-term health conditions including dementia has recommended that specialist nursing intervention is offered across the trajectory of the condition, but there is a lack of agreement regarding the skills and competencies that specialist nurses are expected to possess. Admiral Nurses are the largest UK group of specialist dementia nurses.

Objective: To explore how Admiral Nurses met and were supported to meet competencies as defined in the Admiral Nurse Competency Framework, and to develop and maintain skills as dementia specialists.

Contrasting allelic effects for pistachio salinity tolerance in juvenile and mature trees.

Breeding perennial tree crops often requires prediction of mature performance from juvenile data. To assess the utility of juvenile screens to predict salinity tolerance of mature pistachio trees, we compared performance of 3-month ungrafted seedlings and 4-year-old grafted rootstocks under salinity stress. The QTL allele associated with higher salt exclusion from seedling leaves conferred lower growth in saline field conditions, suggesting that mapping QTL in seedlings may be easier than discerning the optimal allele for field performance.

Specialist dementia nursing models and impacts: a systematic review.

Purpose Of Review: Dementia policy priorities recommend that people who are living with dementia and their family should have access to support and interventions delivered by dementia specialists, including specialist nurses. However, specialist dementia nursing models and role-related competencies are not clearly defined. We systematically review the current evidence regarding specialist dementia nursing models and their impacts.

Haplotyping interspecific hybrids by dual alignment to both parental genomes.

Sequencing-based genotyping of heterozygous diploids requires sufficient depth to accurately call heterozygous genotypes. In interspecific hybrids, alignment of reads to both parental genomes simultaneously can generate haploid data, potentially eliminating the problem of heterozygosity. Two populations of interspecific hybrid rootstocks of walnut (Juglans) and pistachio (Pistacia) were genotyped using alignment to the maternal genome, paternal genome, and dual alignment to both genomes simultaneously.

What are the information needs of people with dementia and their family caregivers when they are admitted to a mental health ward and do current ward patient information leaflets meet their needs?

Introduction: An admission to a mental health ward is an uncertain and unexpected part of a person's journey with dementia and consequently, families require information about what to expect and how to prepare. This study aimed to establish the information needs of people with dementia and their families at the point of admission to a mental health ward and to collate existing ward information leaflets to explore if they meet these information needs.

Methods: This research was conducted in two parts: (1) a qualitative study using focus groups, one with people with dementia and family carers with lived experience of such an admission (n = 6), and another with Admiral Nurses (n = 6) to explore information needs at the point of admission.

Assessing and managing agitation as a symptom of dementia.

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) affect more than one third of people with dementia at some point during the course of their condition. Agitation is the third most common BPSD but is the least well understood in terms of identification and management. Furthermore, agitation as a symptom of dementia is often confused with agitation as a way of expressing an emotion or unmet need.

How does the delivery of paid home care compare to the care plan for clients living with dementia?

Many people living with dementia choose to remain in their own homes, supported by home-care workers, who provide care that is specified in care plans. We explored how care plans of clients living with dementia, compared with ethnographic observations of home care they received. In a secondary, reflexive thematic analysis, we reviewed care plans for 17 clients living with dementia and transcripts from 100 h of observations with 16 home-care workers delivering care to them.

Supporting family carers via the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline: reflection on a case study.

In the UK, the quality of post-diagnostic care and support for people with dementia and their family carers is variable and depends on the availability of services in each person's local area. This article considers the support services available for families affected by dementia and discusses how telephone helplines can assist those who may have no access to other types of support. It presents a case study describing a call to the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, a service run by nurses with expertise in dementia care and provided by the charity Dementia UK.

Identification of QTL for Target Leaf Spot resistance in Sorghum bicolor and investigation of relationships between disease resistance and variation in the MAMP response.

Target leaf spot (TLS) of sorghum, a foliar disease caused by the necrotrophic fungus Bipolaris cookei (also known as Bipolaris sorghicola), can affect grain yield in sorghum by causing premature drying of leaves and defoliation. Two sorghum recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, BTx623/BTx642 and BTx623/SC155-14E, were assessed for TLS resistance in replicated trials. Using least square mean trait data, four TLS resistance QTL were identified, two in each population.

Introducing case management for people with dementia in primary care: a mixed-methods study.

Background: Case management may be a feasible solution to the problem of service fragmentation for people with dementia.

Aim: To adapt a US model of primary care-based case management for people with dementia and test it in general practice.

Design And Setting: Mixed-methodology case studies of case management implementation in four general practices: one rural, one inner-city, and two urban practices.

Aging with a disability and state vocational rehabilitation services.

Background: Disability prevalence in older adults is increasing. Given the low rates of employment among people with disabilities, especially those aging with multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury (SCI), late effects of polio (LEP), and muscular dystrophy (MD), services from federal-state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs could positively impact employment status.

Objective: To describe VR services for individuals aging with MS, SCI, LEP and MD and the impact of aging on employment status.

Cognitive support technologies for people with TBI: current usage and challenges experienced.

Purpose: We investigated the current use of off-the-shelf cognitive support technologies (CSTs) by individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI), the challenges they and their caregivers face when using these technologies, the functional areas where support is needed, and their current experience in learning new technologies.

Method: We conducted two focus groups with participants with TBI and their caregivers. Focus group interactions were captured using recordings and a court reporter.

High levels of genomic aberrations in serous ovarian cancers are associated with better survival.

Genomic instability and copy number alterations in cancer are generally associated with poor prognosis; however, recent studies have suggested that extreme levels of genomic aberrations may be beneficial for the survival outcome for patients with specific tumour types. We investigated the extent of genomic instability in predominantly high-grade serous ovarian cancers (SOC) using two independent datasets, generated in Norway (n = 74) and Australia (n = 70), respectively. Genomic instability was quantified by the Total Aberration Index (TAI), a measure of the abundance and genomic size of copy number changes in a tumour.

Conducting systematic evidence reviews: core concepts and lessons learned.

A systematic review (SR) is an essential component of evidence-based practice, because it synthesizes information on a particular topic that is necessary to inform health-related decision making. The purpose of this article is to document the process of producing a high-quality SR within the field of rehabilitation in contrast to other fields (eg, pharmaceutic research). We describe the notable methodologic challenges to producing high-quality SRs for rehabilitation researchers.

Extensive gene-specific translational reprogramming in a model of B cell differentiation and Abl-dependent transformation.

To what extent might the regulation of translation contribute to differentiation programs, or to the molecular pathogenesis of cancer? Pre-B cells transformed with the viral oncogene v-Abl are suspended in an immortalized, cycling state that mimics leukemias with a BCR-ABL1 translocation, such as Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Inhibition of the oncogenic Abl kinase with imatinib reverses transformation, allowing progression to the next stage of B cell development. We employed a genome-wide polysome profiling assay called Gradient Encoding to investigate the extent and potential contribution of translational regulation to transformation and differentiation in v-Abl-transformed pre-B cells.

Aging with disability in the workplace.

Aging with disabilities, such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, and postpolio syndrome, can lead to barriers to participation, including employment barriers. Many individuals develop strategies for overcoming these barriers that may become less successful as they experience more secondary conditions concomitant with the aging process. Rehabilitation professionals can help to overcome barriers to workplace participation and should work with clients to enhance employment outcomes.

Information needs of people with spinal cord injuries.

Background/objective: To determine the information needs, level of Internet access, and current and preferred formats and sources of information of adults with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Individuals with SCIs have a high lifetime risk for medical complications and other health conditions secondary to their injury. Many secondary conditions can be prevented or mitigated through appropriate self-care and/or self-management.

Understanding employers' hiring intentions in relation to qualified workers with disabilities: preliminary findings.

Introduction: As part of the planning process for a larger survey study to examine factors affecting employers' intention to hire and hiring of people with disabilities, a series of three semi-structured focus groups were held with key hiring decision makers, such as Human Resources directors, Chief Operating Officers (COOs), or Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of small, medium, and large Seattle area companies.

Aim: The chief goals of the focus groups were to elicit and refine the participants' beliefs, normative influences, and perceived control relative to hiring workers with disabilities.

Method: Narrative data obtained from the focus group discussion were examined using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to identify themes expressed by the focus group participants within the context of company size.

The role of pretreatment percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in facilitating therapy of head and neck cancer and optimizing the body mass index of the obese patient.

Background: Chemoradiation of head and neck cancer induces severe dysphagia and malnutrition, which may lead to interruptions in therapy and reduction in its efficacy. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feedings bypass the oropharynx, allowing administration of nutrients and medications into the stomach, thus preventing malnutrition, dehydration, and treatment interruption.

Methods: Medical records of 161 patients treated for head and neck cancer who had PEGs placed prior to chemoradiation and 2 PEGs placed during chemoradiation were reviewed from the date of PEG placement throughout treatment and utilization.

Measuring depression in persons with spinal cord injury: a systematic review.

Background/objective: Depression has been studied extensively among people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, basic questions persist regarding the reliability and validity of depression measurement in the context of SCI. The objective of this study was to evaluate the state of knowledge of depression measurement in persons with SCI.

Indoor wayfinding: developing a functional interface for individuals with cognitive impairments.

Purpose: Assistive technology for wayfinding will significantly improve the quality of life for many individuals with cognitive impairments. The user interface of such a system is as crucial as the underlying implementation and localisation technology. We studied the user interface of an indoor navigation system for individuals with cognitive impairments.

Expression of cytokeratins 17 and 5 identifies a group of breast carcinomas with poor clinical outcome.

While several prognostic factors have been identified in breast carcinoma, the clinical outcome remains hard to predict for individual patients. Better predictive markers are needed to help guide difficult treatment decisions. In a previous study of 78 breast carcinoma specimens, we noted an association between poor clinical outcome and the expression of cytokeratin 17 and/or cytokeratin 5 mRNAs.