Caregiver Burden in a Culturally Diverse Memory Clinic Population: The Caregiver Strain Index-Expanded

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Although qualitative studies have highlighted substantial barriers to dementia diagnosis and care in culturally diverse populations in Europe, quantitative studies examining the level of caregiver burden in these populations have been lacking thus far and are urgently needed. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We compared the caregiver burden levels on the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)-Expanded of 63 culturally diverse patient-caregiver dyads from a multicultural memory clinic with 30 native Dutch patient-caregiver dyads and examined the association between caregiver burden and determinants of burden. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Informal caregivers in the multicultural memory clinic cohort experienced a high level of caregiver burden (mean CSI-score multicultural cohort: 6.1 [SD: 3.3]; mean CSI-score native Dutch cohort: 4.8 [SD: 3.2]). Burden was significantly associated with impairment on proxy-rated and objective measures of cognitive functioning, such as the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline and the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale, and with instrumental activities of daily living. Burden was the highest in spousal caregivers. The positive subscale of the CSI-Expanded provided limited additional information. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Caregivers of culturally diverse patients experience a high level of caregiver burden, in particular at more advanced disease stages. This study highlights the need to screen culturally diverse caregivers in European memory clinics on caregiver burden to identify those in need of caregiver support.

Bone Strain Index predicts fragility fracture in osteoporotic women: an artificial intelligence-based study

Background We applied an artificial intelligence-based model to predict fragility fractures in postmenopausal women, using different dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) parameters. Methods One hundred seventy-four postmenopausal women without vertebral fractures (VFs) at baseline (mean age 66.3 ± 9.8) were retrospectively evaluated. Data has been collected from September 2010 to August 2018. All subjects performed a spine x-ray to assess VFs, together with lumbar and femoral DXA for bone mineral density (BMD) and the bone strain index (BSI) evaluation. Follow-up exams were performed after 3.34 ± 1.91 years. Considering the occurrence of new VFs at follow-up, two groups were created: fractured versus not-fractured. We applied an artificial neural network (ANN) analysis with a predictive tool (TWIST system) to select relevant input data from a list of 13 variables including BMD and BSI. A semantic connectivity map was built to analyse the connections among variables within the groups. For group comparisons, an independent-samples t-test was used; variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Results For each patient, we evaluated a total of n = 6 exams. At follow-up, n = 69 (39.6%) women developed a VF. ANNs reached a predictive accuracy of 79.56% within the training testing procedure, with a sensitivity of 80.93% and a specificity of 78.18%. The semantic connectivity map showed that a low BSI at the total femur is connected to the absence of VFs. Conclusion We found a high performance of ANN analysis in predicting the occurrence of VFs. Femoral BSI appears as a useful DXA index to identify patients at lower risk for lumbar VFs.

IDENTIFIKASI POSTUR KERJA PENGRAJIN BATIK JUMPUTAN DENGAN METODE JOB STRAIN INDEX (JSI)

UKM Batik Jumputan Ishak Palembang merupakan salah satu UKM yang memproduksi batik jumputan. Dimana seluruh aktivitas pada proses pembuatan batik jumputan dilakukan secara manual dengan posisi duduk dan berdiri dalam jangka waktu yang lama. Aktivitas tersebut dapat menimbulkan resiko cedera pada pekerja. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu untuk mengetahui tingkat resiko ergonomi pada pekerja batik jumputan dan memberikan rekomendasi ususlan perbaikan dari hasil pengukuran tingkat resiko ergonomi pada pengrajin batik jumputan. Penilaian tingkat resiko ergonomi menggunakan metode Job Strain Index (JSI), dimana pada metode JSI ini menggunakan enam parameter yaitu intensitas penggunaan usaha, durasi pengunaan tenaga, jumlah usaha permenit, posisi tangan, kecepatan kerja, serta durasi aktifitas perhari . Dari hasil penilaian menunjukan bawah tingkat resiko ergonomi berdasarkan metode JSI bahwa terdapat 7 aktivitas kerja berada pada tingkat risiko rendah atau pekerja tersebut aman dengan nilai skor JSI ≤ 3, dan terdapat 2 aktivitas kerja yang berada pada tingkat risiko sedang dengan nilai skor JSI ≤ 7 yaitu aktivitas tersebut berpotensi menimbulkan risiko kerja dimana aktivitas yang masuk kategori risiko sedang adalah proses pengecapan kain dan pencoletan kain. Untuk perbaikan kerja pada proses produksi batik jumputan ini dapat diberikan tambahan fasilitas kerja seperti meja dan kursi yang dalam perancangannya memperhatikan faktor antropometri, sehingga tenaga yang digunakan saat bekerja dapat berkurang dan dapat terhindar dari risiko kecelakaan kerja. Kata Kunci: Resiko Ergonomi, Postur Kerja, Job Strain Index (JSI)

NGHIÊN CỨU GÁNH NẶNG CHĂM SÓC BỆNH NHÂN PARKINSON CÓ SA SÚT TRÍ TUỆ BẰNG CHỈ SỐ CĂNG THẲNG CHO NGƯỜI CHĂM SÓC CÓ SỬA ĐỔI

Mục tiêu: Đánh giá gánh nặng chăm sóc bệnh nhân Parkinson có sa sút trí tuệ bằng “Chỉ số căng thẳng cho người chăm sóc có sửa đổi” (MCSI – Modified Caregiver Strain Index). Đối tượng và phương pháp nghiên cứu: Nghiên cứu cắt ngang so sánh trên người chăm sóc chính của 100 bệnh nhân được chẩn đoán bệnh Parkinson theo tiêu chuẩn của Ngân hàng não hội Parkinson Vương quốc Anh (UKPDSBB/United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank), nhóm bệnh nhân Parkinson có sa sút trí tuệ (SSTT) chẩn đoán theo tiêu chuẩn của Hiệp hội Tâm thần học Hoa Kỳ (DSM –V) tại Bệnh viện Lão khoa Trung Ương từ tháng 06 năm 2020 đến tháng 05 năm 2021. Kết quả: 50 người chăm sóc chính của bệnh nhân Parkinson không bị SSTT và 50 người chăm sóc chính bệnh nhân Parkinson có SSTT. Điểm MCSI của người chăm sóc trung bình là 9.73 ± 7.558. Điểm MCSI trung bình có sự khác biệt giữa 2 nhóm nghiên cứu, cao hơn ở nhóm người chăm sóc bệnh nhân có SSTT (p<0.05). Trong nhóm người chăm sóc chính của bệnh nhân có SSTT, mức độ rất căng thẳng là 32%, căng thẳng trung bình 48%, không căng thẳng 20%. Nhóm không có SSTT có điểm PDQ-carer trung bìnhcủa người chăm sóc chính là 30.42 ± 26.437, của nhóm có SSTT cao hơn là 74.44 ± 33.72, có sự khác biệt có ý nghĩa thống kê với giá trị p < 0.05. Kết luận: Gánh nặng chăm sóc cho bệnh nhân Parkinson tăng lên khi có sa sút trí tuệ đi kèm.

YIELD AND QUALITY OF SPRING WHEAT GRAIN DEPENDING ON CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL IN LLC «TERBUNY-AGRO» OF THE LIPETSK REGION

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of chemical properties of the soil on the yield and quality of the grain of spring wheat. The highest yield of grain of spring wheat of Aquilon va-riety is observed at very high nitrification capacity of soil. As the amount of nitrate nitrogen in the soil increases, the protein content of the spring wheat grain increases. The higher the hydrolytic acidity of the soil, the lower the vitreousness of the spring wheat grain. As the sum of the soil ex-change bases increases, the nature of the egg wheat grain increases. As the yield of spring wheat grain increases, the weight of 1000 seeds and the gluten strain index decrease. As the percentage of weed impurity increases, the natural weight of the grain decreases. As the gluten content of the grain increased, the gluten strain index and the vitreous of the grain increased.