A new family of Marx generator based on resonant converter

This paper presents a novel topology to generate high voltage with utilization of slow and fast power switches. New concepts used in this topology include numbers of diode-capacitor units in parallel with resonant circuits which are connected to a positive buck-boost converter. The resonant circuit reverses the voltage polarity of the capacitors. This configuration has capability of generating a flexible high voltage with certain number of capacitors. The advantage of this topology is to use slow switches, less number of diodes and capacitors compare to Marx generator. Simulations have been performed to verify the proposed topology.

Work-related driving safety in light vehicle fleets : a review of past research and the development of an intervention framework

This paper presents a critical review of past research in the work-related driving field in light vehicle fleets (e.g., vehicles < 4.5 tonnes) and an intervention framework that provides future direction for practitioners and researchers. Although work-related driving crashes have become the most common cause of death, injury, and absence from work in Australia and overseas, very limited research has progressed in establishing effective strategies to improve safety outcomes. In particular, the majority of past research has been data-driven, and therefore, limited attention has been given to theoretical development in establishing the behavioural mechanism underlying driving behaviour. As such, this paper argues that to move forward in the field of work-related driving safety, practitioners and researchers need to gain a better understanding of the individual and organisational factors influencing safety through adopting relevant theoretical frameworks, which in turn will inform the development of specifically targeted theory-driven interventions. This paper presents an intervention framework that is based on relevant theoretical frameworks and sound methodological design, incorporating interventions that can be directed at the appropriate level, individual and driving target group.

Vulnerability factors for disaster-induced child post-traumatic stress disorder : the case for low family resilience and previous mental illness

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether parent report of family resilience predicted children’s disaster-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general emotional symptoms, independent of a broad range of variables including event-related factors, previous child mental illness and social connectedness. ---------- Methods: A total of 568 children (mean age = 10.2 years, SD = 1.3) who attended public primary schools, were screened 3 months after Cyclone Larry devastated the Innisfail region of North Queensland. Measures included parent report on the Family Resilience Measure and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)–emotional subscale and child report on the PTSD Reaction Index, measures of event exposure and social connectedness. ---------- Results: Sixty-four students (11.3%) were in the severe–very severe PTSD category and 53 families (28.6%) scored in the poor family resilience range. A lower family resilience score was associated with child emotional problems on the SDQ and longer duration of previous child mental health difficulties, but not disaster-induced child PTSD or child threat perception on either bivariate analysis, or as a main or moderator variable on multivariate analysis (main effect: adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.13–2.44). Similarly, previous mental illness was not a significant predictor of child PTSD in the multivariate model (ORadj = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.16–3.61). ---------- Conclusion: In this post-disaster sample children with existing mental health problems and those of low-resilience families were not at elevated risk of PTSD. The possibility that the aetiological model of disaster-induced child PTSD may differ from usual child and adolescent conceptualizations is discussed.

Aggression in Sexually Abused Trafficked Girls and Efficacy of Intervention

The broad objective of this study was to understand the incidence and severity of aggression among sexually abused girls who were trafficked and who were then further used for commercial sexual exploitation (referred to subsequently as sexually abused trafficked girls). In addition, the impact of counseling for minimizing aggression in these girls was investigated. A group of 120 sexually abused trafficked Indian girls and a group of 120 nonsexually abused Indian girls, aged 13 to 18, participated in the study. The sexually abused trafficked girls were purposively selected from four shelters located in and around Kolkata, India. The nonsexually abused girls were selected randomly from four schools situated near the shelters, and these girls were matched by age with the sexually abused trafficked girls. Data were collected using a Background Information Schedule and a standardized psychological test, that is, The Aggression Scale. Results revealed that 16.7% of the girls were first sexually abused between 6 and 9 years of age, 37.5% between 10 and 13 years of age, and 45.8% between 14 and 17 years of age. Findings further revealed that 4.2% of the sexually abused trafficked girls demonstrated saturated aggression, and 26.7% were highly aggressive, that is, extremely frustrated and rebellious. Across age groups, the sexually abused trafficked girls suffered from more aggression (p < .05), compared with the nonvictimized girls. Psychological interventions, such as individual and group counseling, were found to have a positive impact on the sexually abused trafficked girls. These findings should motivate counselors to deal with sexually abused children. It is also hoped that authorities in welfare homes will understand the importance of counseling for sexually abused trafficked children, and will appoint more counselors for this purpose.

Infant and young child feeding indicators and determinants of poor feeding practices in India : secondary data analysis of National Family Health Survey 2005–06

Background: In India, poor feeding practices in early childhood contribute to the burden of malnutrition and infant and child mortality. Objective. To estimate infant and young child feeding indicators and determinants of selected feeding practices in India. Methods: The sample consisted of 20,108 children aged 0 to 23 months from the National Family Health Survey India 2005–06. Selected indicators were examined against a set of variables using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Only 23.5% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, 99.2% had ever breastfed their infant, 89.8% were currently breastfeeding, and 14.8% were currently bottle-feeding. Among infants under 6 months of age, 46.4% were exclusively breastfed, and 56.7% of those aged 6 to 9 months received complementary foods. The risk factors for not exclusively breastfeeding were higher household wealth index quintiles (OR for richest = 2.03), delivery in a health facility (OR = 1.35), and living in the Northern region. Higher numbers of antenatal care visits were associated with increased rates of exclusive breastfeeding (OR for ≥ 7 antenatal visits = 0.58). The rates of timely initiation of breastfeeding were higher among women who were better educated (OR for secondary education or above = 0.79), were working (OR = 0.79), made more antenatal clinic visits (OR for ≥ 7 antenatal visits = 0.48), and were exposed to the radio (OR = 0.76). The rates were lower in women who were delivered by cesarean section (OR = 2.52). The risk factors for bottle-feeding included cesarean delivery (OR = 1.44), higher household wealth index quintiles (OR = 3.06), working by the mother (OR=1.29), higher maternal education level (OR=1.32), urban residence (OR=1.46), and absence of postnatal examination (OR=1.24). The rates of timely complementary feeding were higher for mothers who had more antenatal visits (OR=0.57), and for those who watched television (OR=0.75). Conclusions: Revitalization of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in health facilities is recommended. Targeted interventions may be necessary to improve infant feeding practices in mothers who reside in urban areas, are more educated, and are from wealthier households.

Adherence to fish oil intervention in patients with chronic kidney disease

Objective: With growing recognition of the role of inflammation in the development of chronic and acute disease, fish oil is increasingly used as a therapeutic agent, but the nature of the intervention may pose barriers to adherence in clinical populations. Our objective was to investigate the feasibility of using a fish oil supplement in hemodialysis patients. ---------- Design: This was a nonrandomized intervention study.---------- Setting: Eligible patients were recruited at the Hemodialysis Unit of Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Patients The sample included 28 maintenance hemodialysis patients out of 43 eligible patients in the unit. Exclusion criteria included patients regularly taking a fish oil supplement at baseline, receiving hemodialysis for less than 3 months, or being unable to give informed consent.---------- Intervention: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was administered at 2000 mg/day (4 capsules) for 12 weeks. Adherence was measured at baseline and weekly throughout the study according to changes in plasma EPA, and was further measured subjectively by self-report.---------- Results: Twenty patients (74%) adhered to the prescription based on changes in plasma EPA, whereas an additional two patients self-reported good adherence. There was a positive relationship between fish oil intake and change in plasma EPA. Most patients did not report problems with taking the fish oil. Using the baseline data, it was not possible to characterize adherent patients.---------- Conclusions: Despite potential barriers, including the need to take a large number of prescribed medications already, 74% of hemodialysis patients adhered to the intervention. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using fish oil in a clinical population.

Adherence to medicines in the older-aged with chronic conditions : does an intervention concerning adherence by an allied health professional help?

Adherence to medicines is a major determinant of the effectiveness of medicines. However, estimates of non-adherence in the older-aged with chronic conditions vary from 40 to 75%. The problems caused by non-adherence in the older-aged include residential care and hospital admissions, progression of the disease, and increased costs to society. The reasons for non-adherence in the older-aged include items related to the medicine (e.g. cost, number of medicines, adverse effects) and those related to person (e.g. cognition, vision, depression). It is also known that there are many ways adherence can be increased (e.g. use of blister packs, cues). It is assumed that interventions by allied health professions, including a discussion of adherence, will improve adherence to medicines in the older aged but the evidence for this has not been reviewed. There is some evidence that telephone counselling about adherence by a nurse or pharmacist does improve adherence, short- and long-term. However, face-to-face intervention counselling at the pharmacy, or during a home visit by a pharmacist, has shown variable results with some studies showing improved adherence and some not. Education programs during hospital stays have not been shown to improve adherence on discharge, but education programs for subjects with hypertension have been shown to improve adherence. In combination with an education program, both counselling and a medicine review program have been shown to improve adherence short-term in the older-aged. Thus, there are many unanswered questions about the most effective interventions to promote adherence. More studies are needed to determine the most appropriate interventions by allied health professions, and these need to consider the disease state, demographics, and socio-economic status of the older-aged subject, and the intensity and duration of intervention needed.

Case management educational intervention with public health nurses : cluster randomized controlled trial

Aim: This paper is a report of a study conducted to determine the effectiveness of a community case management collaborative education intervention in terms of satisfaction, learning and performance among public health nurses. Background: Previous evaluation studies of case management continuing professional education often failed to demonstrate effectiveness across a range of outcomes and had methodological weaknesses such as small convenience samples and lack of control groups. Method: A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted between September 2005 and February 2006. Ten health centre clusters (5 control, 5 intervention) recruited 163 public health nurses in Taiwan to the trial. After pre-tests for baseline measurements, public health nurses in intervention centres received an educational intervention of four half-day workshops. Post-tests for both groups were conducted after the intervention. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance was performed to evaluate the effect of the intervention on target outcomes. Results: A total of 161 participants completed the pre- and post-intervention measurements. This was almost a 99% response rate. Results revealed that 97% of those in the experimental group were satisfied with the programme. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in knowledge (p = 0.001), confidence in case management skills (p = 0.001), preparedness for case manager role activities (p = 0.001), self-reported frequency in using skills (p = 0.001), and role activities (p = 0.004). Conclusion: Collaboration between academic and clinical nurses is an effective strategy to prepare nurses for rapidly-changing roles.

ACE research briefing paper 001 : the role of family in new business start-ups

This report uses data from the first two years of the CAUSEE study and focuses on the role of family in new business start-ups. While CAUSEE was not designed specifically to probe deeply into family matters the study does reveal interesting information on family orientated aspects including parental role models, family involvement on the start-up team, and family as a source of funding and advice. These findings can also be related to other information gathered as part of the comprehensive phone interviews that are used to gather the research data for CAUSEE. Furthermore we are also able to compare firm founders and 'Regular' nascent firm and young firm start-ups with their 'High Potential' counterparts in terms of their degrees of family involvement. Unless otherwise stated any differences or effects we comment on are 'statistically significant' at the five per cent level - that is, they are likely to reflect true differences or effects in the entire population of Australian start-ups.

Repeat participation in colorectal cancer screening utilizing fecal occult blood testing : a community-based project in a rural setting

Background and Aim: To investigate participation in a second round of colorectal cancer screening using a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) in an Australian rural community, and to assess the demographic characteristics and individual perspectives associated with repeat screening. ---------- Methods: Potential participants from round 1 (50–74 years of age) were sent an intervention package and asked to return a completed FOBT (n = 3406). Doctors of participants testing positive referred to colonoscopy as appropriate. Following screening, 119 participants completed qualitative telephone interviews. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated the association between round-2 participation and other variables.---------- Results: Round-2 participation was 34.7%; the strongest predictor was participation in round 1. Repeat participants were more likely to be female; inconsistent screeners were more likely to be younger (aged 50–59 years). The proportion of positive FOBT was 12.7%, that of colonoscopy compliance was 98.6%, and the positive predictive value for cancer or adenoma of advanced pathology was 23.9%. Reasons for participation included testing as a precautionary measure or having family history/friends with colorectal cancer; reasons for non-participation included apathy or doctors’ advice against screening.---------- Conclusion: Participation was relatively low and consistent across rounds. Unless suitable strategies are identified to overcome behavioral trends and/or to screen out ineligible participants, little change in overall participation rates can be expected across rounds.

A preferred music listening intervention to reduce anxiety in older adults with dementia in nursing homes

Aim: This article reports the results of a study evaluating a preferred music listening intervention for reducing anxiety in older adults with dementia in nursing homes. Background. Anxiety can have a significant negative impact on older adults’ functional status, quality of life and health care resources. However, anxiety is often under-diagnosed and inappropriately treated in those with dementia. Little is known about the use of a preferred music listening intervention for managing anxiety in those with dementia.---------- Design: A quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design was used. ---------- Methods: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a preferred music listening intervention on anxiety in older adults with dementia in nursing home. Twenty-nine participants in the experimental group received a 30-minute music listening intervention based on personal preferences delivered by trained nursing staff in mid-afternoon, twice a week for six weeks. Meanwhile, 23 participants in the control group only received usual standard care with no music. Anxiety was measured by Rating Anxiety in Dementia at baseline and week six. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine the effectiveness of a preferred music listening intervention on anxiety at six weeks while controlling for pretest anxiety, age and marital status. Results. ANCOVA results indicated that older adults who received the preferred music listening had a significantly lower anxiety score at six weeks compared with those who received the usual standard care with no music (F = 12Æ15, p = 0Æ001).---------- Conclusions: Preferred music listening had a positive impact by reducing the level of anxiety in older adults with dementia. Relevance to clinical practice. Nursing staff can learn how to implement preferred music intervention to provide appropriate care tailored to the individual needs of older adults with dementia. Preferred music listening is an inexpensive and viable intervention to promote mental health of those with dementia.

The influence of family ownership on the quality of accounting information

This article explores the quality of accounting information in listed family firms. The authors exploit the features of the Italian equitymarket characterizd by high ownership concentration across all tpes of firms to disentangle the effects of family ownership from other major block holders on the quality of accounting information. The findings document that family firms convey financial information of higher quality compared to the nonfamily peers. Furthermore the authors provide evidence that the determinants of accounting quality differ across family and nonfamily firms.

Ownership structure and business evaluation practices in family SMEs : evidence from empirical research in Italy

This paper presents early results from a pilot project which aims to investigate the relationship between proprietary structure of small and medium- sized Italian family firms and their owners’ orientation towards a “business evaluation process”. Evidence from many studies point out the importance of family business in a worldwide economic environment: in Italy 93% of the businesses are represented by family firms; 98% of them have less than 50 employees (Italian Association of Family Firms, 2004) so we judged family SMEs as a relevant field of investigation. In this study we assume a broad definition of family business as “a firm whose control (50% of shares or voting rights) is closely held by the members of the same family” (Corbetta,1995). “Business evaluation process” is intended here both as “continuous evaluation process” (which is the expression of a well developed managerial attitude) or as an “immediate valuation” (i.e. in the case of new shareholder’s entrance, share exchange among siblings, etc). We set two hypotheses to be tested in this paper: the first is “quantitative” and aims to verify whether the number of owners (independent variable) in a family firm is positively correlated to the business evaluation process. If a family firm is led by only one subject, it is more likely that personal values, culture and feelings may affect his choices more than “purely economic opportunities”; so there is less concern about monitoring economic performance or about the economic value of the firm. As the shareholders’ number increases, economic aspects in managing the firm grow in importance over the personal values and "value orientation" acquires a central role. The second hypothesis investigates if and to what extent the presence of “non- family members” among the owners affects their orientation to the business evaluation process. The “Cramer’s V” test has been used to test the hypotheses; both were not confirmed from these early results; next steps will lead to make an inferential analysis on a representative sample of the population.