No abstract

The Chinese version of the Modified Barthel Index (MBI-C) seems to be valid and reliable for use with older people with stroke. Changes were made to the item content and the rating criteria that were specific to Chinese culture. The structural validity and the reliability of the Chinese version were shown to be robust across the original and Chinese groups.

No abstract

This pilot study investigated teachers' symptoms of stress and their coping strategies. Measurements of 'stress levels' and 'coping strategies' used were acquired by constructing a questionnaire made up of four individual standardized questionnaires. The data were analysed by a series of correlational analyses that highlighted significant relationships between ways of coping and levels of distress. Differences between the stress-related areas were measured using the Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed rank test for hierarchy. The findings implied that 'escape avoidance', 'accepting responsibility' and 'uncontrolled aggression' were used as negative coping strategies and only one strategy, 'exercise', was indicated to be an effective way of coping. The teachers' strategies were examined for similarities and differences with those recommended by occupational therapists. This pilot study was limited to two schools and it is recommended that it be extended to better generalize the results. Furthermore, ways of coping, as measured by psychological measures, do not seem to reduce stress so it is possible that the activity-based Stress Management Questionnaire, as advocated by Stein et al. (2003), might be more advantageous.

Background Dinoflagellates in the family Symbiodiniaceae are important photosynthetic symbionts in cnidarians (such as corals) and other coral reef organisms. Breakdown of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis due to environmental stress (i.e. coral bleaching) can lead to coral death and the potential collapse of reef ecosystems. However, evolution of Symbiodiniaceae genomes, and its implications for the coral, is little understood. Genome sequences of Symbiodiniaceae remain scarce due in part to their large genome sizes (1–5 Gbp) and idiosyncratic genome features. Results Here, we present de novo genome assemblies of seven members of the genus Symbiodinium, of which two are free-living, one is an opportunistic symbiont, and the remainder are mutualistic symbionts. Integrating other available data, we compare 15 dinoflagellate genomes revealing high sequence and structural divergence. Divergence among some Symbiodinium isolates is comparable to that among distinct genera of Symbiodiniaceae. We also recovered hundreds of gene families specific to each lineage, many of which encode unknown functions. An in-depth comparison between the genomes of the symbiotic Symbiodinium tridacnidorum (isolated from a coral) and the free-living Symbiodinium natans reveals a greater prevalence of transposable elements, genetic duplication, structural rearrangements, and pseudogenisation in the symbiotic species. Conclusions Our results underscore the potential impact of lifestyle on lineage-specific gene-function innovation, genome divergence, and the diversification of Symbiodinium and Symbiodiniaceae. The divergent features we report, and their putative causes, may also apply to other microbial eukaryotes that have undergone symbiotic phases in their evolutionary history.

We discuss the functional ability of all 258 surviving patients with first stroke referred for inpatient comprehensive rehabilitation in Brisbane, Australia, during 1984 and derive an equation to predict the discharge Barthel Index score from characteristics assessed at admission to comprehensive rehabilitation. A boundary condition limiting improvement for patients with high admission Barthel Index scores and the lesser improvement observed for low-scoring patients indicate that the relation between initial and discharge Barthel Index scores is nonlinear. A quadratic equation including initial Barthel Index score and six other independent variables selected by stepwise regression analysis explained 61% of the variance in discharge Barthel Index scores. (Stroke 1989;20:766-769) S troke demands much of medical and rehabilitation services. With limited resources, it is important to use those resources for patients who are most likely to benefit from labor-intensive rehabilitation. Therefore, accurate prediction of outcome is highly desirable to identify those patients who are likely to improve the most, to plan for discharge, to judge the success of treatment, and to plan services for stroke survivors. -2 The critical factor in the discharge disposition of a patient is his or her level of independence in performing the activities of daily living (ADL). -4 Among the different measures of functional ability, the Barthel Index (BI) is regarded as superior because of its completeness, its sensitivity to change, the ease of statistical manipulation of its results, and its established reliability and validity.2 ' 5 -7We examined the possibility of predicting discharge BI scores of patients with first stroke admitted to comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation from information available from the initial assessment. Subjects and MethodsThe study methodology was a prospective pretestposttest design based on the population of all patients with first stroke referred for inpatient comprehensive rehabilitation during 1984.From the Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.Supported by a Health Services Research and Developments Grant, Commonwealth Department of Community Services and Health, Australia.Address for reprints: Associate Professor Shah, Occupational Therapy, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia.Received July 5, 1988; accepted December 7, 1988. Stroke was defined as a rapidly developed clinical manifestation of a focal loss of cerebral function lasting >24 hours or leading to death within 24 hours. 8 The diagnosis was based on neuroradiologic investigations for 52% of the patients. For the other 48%, the diagnosis was based on the clinical impression of the consulting physician and/or a neurologist. Comprehensive rehabilitation was defined as the combined and coordinated use of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and a rehabilitation nurse in a multidisciplinary team, with the services of a speech therapist, a social worker, and a psychologist ...

No abstract

As the British population becomes increasingly diverse, cultural differences pose challenges for health and social care workers. The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate occupational therapy students' perceptions of cultural issues and their perceived level of cultural awareness. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to target the occupational therapy students from a university occupational therapy degree course in the North East of England. Fifty-one of the 65 questionnaires were completed. Two questionnaires were returned as address unknown and, therefore, were excluded from the study. The overall response rate was 81%. The results showed that the students seemed to have a positive attitude towards cultural influences on occupational therapy services. However, a lack of knowledge and skills about different cultures was expressed. The need for more information and education on these issues was emphasised. The findings confirmed that there was a significant negative correlation between the stage of education and training and the amount of exposure to cultural issues in occupational therapy theory. This study offers some insights, which would be beneficial in the development of a culturally sensitive education curriculum and the provision of quality occupational therapy services for people from different cultural commitments.