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Volunteers play an important role in many organisations that deliver services for the public good. Many people within the community choose to volunteer and there is a rich literature on the reasons why people do so, as well as the benefits that accrue to individuals, organisations and the community. However, there are few reports of people with long-standing disability becoming volunteers. The aim of this study was to explore the views of volunteer coordinators in not-for-profit organisations concerning people with long-standing disability as volunteers. Seven coordinators participated in two focus groups. The participants identified opportunities for people with a disability to contribute as volunteers, but were also quick to point out significant barriers. The findings from this exploratory study suggest that if people with long-standing disability are to volunteer, consideration must be given to their individual requirements and overcoming negative community attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To use the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale Version 3 to (a) explore and compare the levels of loneliness experienced between two groups of older adults (aged 40 years and over) with cerebral palsy, a group who use natural speech to communicate and a group who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and (b) to test the reliability of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) when used with the older adults with cerebral palsy who use a variety of communication modes. METHOD: The UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) was administered twice to two groups of older participants with cerebral palsy. Group 1 consisted of 11 participants who used natural speech and Group 2 consisted of nine participants who used augmentative and alternative communication systems. The scores from the second assessment were used to calculate test retest reliability. RESULTS: The mean loneliness scores for the two groups indicated that older people with cerebral palsy experience more loneliness than older adults without disability. There was no significant difference between the scores of Groups 1 and 2. The UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) is a reliable tool for use with people who communicate using a variety of communication modes. CONCLUSIONS: The UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) items are pertinent to participants' perceived satisfaction with the quantity and quality of their relationships with others. Policy makers, service providers and the general community have a responsibility to ensure that older people with cerebral palsy are given the support they need to achieve satisfactory relationships and thus facilitate a good quality of life as they age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Two Australian undergraduate speech pathology students completed a series of clinical placements working with people with complex communication needs in cross-cultural contexts.Aims: To describe the challenges that the students faced and how best to prepare future students for such experiences.Methods & Procedures: The students completed the placements in Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, India and South Africa. They used personal journaling to record their experiences. The students used the journals as the basis for reflective discussion when considering the challenges they experienced in applying their knowledge and skills.Outcomes & Results: The challenges were (1) to prepare adequately ahead of the placements; (2) to select appropriate models of service delivery; (3) to use existing service approaches, resources and infrastructure appropriately; (4) to access professional support; (5) to define their professional role; (6) to manage variable shared language proficiency; (7) to adapt personally; and (8) to work using an undergraduate level of knowledge, skills and experience.Conclusions: The students encountered challenges related to their clinical preparation and their capacity to adapt in both a professional and personal sense. Future students preparing to undertake such placements need to attain at least minimum clinical competencies before placements. They will be helped if they have some clinical experience in working with people with complex communication needs in cross-cultural contexts, information about the cultures they will visit, and if they set professional and personal learning goals for each clinical placement. This preparation will aid students in maximizing their learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing number of people with disabilities surviving to old age raises questions regarding the type of day support programs necessary to meet their needs. In this paper the results of a national survey of specialist disability day programs used by older 2Definitions of old age selected by researchers should reflect differences in culture and life expectancy within and between developing and developed nations. Fifty-five years was used to denote older people in both the Australian national survey (Ashman et al., 1995) and a Victorian study (Bigby, 2001). Consequently, 55 years and older has been used to denote older people in this study.People with a lifelong disability are discussed. A postal survey of 596 day programs for people with disabilities was conducted, with a response rate of 28%. Findings show that only 19% of service users were aged over 55, and the largest subgroup were people with intellectual disability. Many older people attended programs that were not age specific and a typology of the seven program types utilised was constructed. Individualised planning, flexibility and choice were perceived as fundamental to a successful program. The location of activities in the community, maintenance of social relationships, and opportunities to develop new contacts were also seen as important. Little understanding, however, of the diversity of the ageing process or notions of healthy ageing was demonstrated by service providers, many of whom had limited expectations of older people. Challenges identified in providing day support for older people were lack of financial resources, knowledge and expertise amongst staff, and difficulties interfacing with other service systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Effective communication with patients is critical to effective nursing practice. Surprisingly, there is little information on nurses' experiences in caring for patients who are unable to speak. PURPOSE AND METHOD: This study provides descriptive information from interviews with 20 nurses who cared for patients with severe communication impairment. The interview protocol explored positive and negative experiences of nursing patients with severe communication impairment. Frequency counts and descriptive analyses were conducted to identify the major themes emerging from the interviews. RESULTS: The results suggest that nurse-patient communication is difficult when the patient has severe communication impairment, although some nurses discovered effective strategies to facilitate communication with such patients. Many of the difficulties could be viewed as a breakdown in understanding arising from the lack of a readily interpretable communication system that could be used by nurse and patient. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a need for training nurses in the use of alternative modes of communication. Nurses also need access to a variety of simple augmentative communication devices for use with patients who are unable to speak. Finally, nurses should collaborate with speech pathologists on the development of preadmission information and bedside training for people who are admitted to hospital with severe communication impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 279 adults with cerebral palsy from across Australia responded to a survey which sought information about their health, modes of communication, access to information and perception of their own ageing process. Results indicated that 77% of the respondents believed that their physical condition was changing and 78% were taking medication. All but 11% indicated that the ageing process was having some effect on their lifestyle. A total of 22% had made retirement plans. Respondents discussed their health concerns with their family or attendants and 57% judged their general practitioner knowledgeable about cerebral palsy. The implications of the results for future service planning and delivery are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current crisis caused by a lockdown puts many challenges on every corporation. In a situation of an unprecedently low demand in many spheres of business it is essential for companies to stay sustainable. Another key trend of the year 2020 is social unrest. Customers and partners expect companies to follow generally accepted companies responsibility principles. For companies one of the key instruments that can address both these issues is its dividend policy. This article describes how the leading Russian private O&G company Lukoil uses its new dividend policy to overcome the challenges.

In certain conditions, plasma processes lead to the formation of a dispersed phase. A phase transformation is associated with the formation of a chemical bond and grouping of valence electrons of the surface and adsorbed atom, Pauli's principle being met. According to the experiment presented herein, nanoparticles generated from the plasma in laser-induced breakdown in a weak (80 mT) constant magnetic field, possess the smaller size than field-free nanoparticles. The paper studies processes affecting the nanoparticle size formed from the plasma in laser-induced breakdown in the weak constant magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of a growing global threat of antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered to be representatives of a new generation of drugs for a treatment of various infectious diseases. In this review, AMPs are discussed as an alternative to traditional antibiotics, many of which have already lost or have a decreased effectiveness against a number of critically important pathogenic microorganisms. Recent outbreaks of secondary infections during the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the interest in AMPs due to an acute shortage of effective agents against bacterial and fungal infections. The review summarizes current data on clinical studies of AMPs, emphasizes the importance of a search for and investigation of new AMPs, and describes various AMP-based therapeutic agents for which clinical trials are continuing or have already finished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper reports on the feasibility and outcomes of a transition to retirement programme for older adults with disability. Without activities and social inclusion, retirees with disability are likely to face inactivity, isolation and loneliness. Methods Matched intervention and comparison groups each consisted of 29 older individuals with disability. There were 42 men and 16 women with a mean age of 55.6 years While attending their individual mainstream community group 1 day per week, intervention group participants received support from community group members trained as mentors. We assessed participants' loneliness, social satisfaction, depression, life events, quality of life, community participation, social contacts, and work hours before and 6 months after joining a community group. Results Twenty-five (86%) of the intervention group attended their community group weekly for at least 6 months. They increased their community participation, made an average of four new social contacts and decreased their work hours. Intervention participants were more socially satisfied post-intervention than comparison group members. Conclusions The results demonstrate that participation in mainstream community groups with support from trained mentors is a viable option for developing a retirement lifestyle for older individuals with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinant analogs of a number of natural host-defense mammalian cathelicidins were obtained and predominant mechanism of their antibacterial action was studied. The ability of cathelicidins to suppress the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa producing metallo-β-lactamases (MβL) was studied, and the possibility of appearance of cathelicidin-resistant bacteria was evaluated. Among peptides with different structures and mechanisms of action, only the strains resistant to ChMAP-28 were not obtained, which indicated minimum risk of the development of natural resistance to this cathelicidin. High antibacterial activity, wide spectrum of action, and the absence of cross-resistance effects allow considering ChMAP-28 peptide as a candidate to be developed further as a therapeutic agent against MβL-producing bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on the particle size distribution of Al2O3, Zr2O3, and ChS-68 nonmagnetic steel dispersed particles formed from laser plasma in a weak magnetic field are presented. It was found that dispersed particles formed in a magnetic field have sharper edges and smaller sizes than without a magnetic field. A model of physicochemical processes that explains this result is presented. It is shown that the formation probability of a singlet pair of electrons of unpaired electrons of an adsorbed atom and an atom on the surface of a dispersed particle in the first collision increases in a magnetic field. Therefore, in a magnetic field, condensation nuclei form faster and diameter growth of the dispersed particles is greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genes encoding two three-finger toxins TFT-AF and TFT-VN, nucleotide sequences of which were earlier determined by cloning cDNA from venom glands of vipers Azemiops feae and Vipera nikolskii, respectively, were expressed for the first time in E. coli cells. The biological activity of these toxins was studied by electrophysiological techniques, calcium imaging, and radioligand analysis. It was shown for the first time that viper three-finger toxins are antagonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of neuronal and muscle type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition of stable carbon isotopes in plants, plant litter, leaf litter, and soil organic matter was studied experimentally in the western part of the northern foothills of the Caucasus and mountainsides. It was found that the changes in carbon isotope composition depending on the vertical zonation do not exceed 8‰ and depend on the type of C3 plant communities, its presence in biogeocenosis components (living matter, plant litter, soil organic matter), and the degree of moistening of the plot studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim of this study was to explore what community living staff talked about and did with people with intellectual disability ( ID) to assist them to understand dying and death. Method Guided by grounded theory methodology, focus groups and one-to-one interviews were conducted with 22 staff who had talked about any topic relating to dying and death with their clients. Results There was little evidence that staff talked with, or did things with clients to assist understanding of the end of life, both prior to and after a death. Prior to death staff assisted clients in a limited way to understand about determining wishes in preparation for death, and what dying looks like by observance of its passage. Following a death staff offered limited assistance to clients to understand the immutability of death, and how the dead can be honoured with ritual, and remembered. Conclusions The findings have implications for why people with ID have only partial understanding of the end of life, the staff skills required to support clients' understanding, and when conversations about the end of life should occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We compared responsiveness to two self-report assessments of loneliness: the UCLA Loneliness Scale ( UCLALS) designed for the general community, and the Modified Worker Loneliness Questionnaire ( MWLQ) designed for people with intellectual disability ( ID). Methods Participants were 56 older adults with disability - 40 individuals with ID and 16 without ID. They were individually assessed on the MWLQ and the UCLALS. The difficulty of the items in both scales was evaluated in relation to readability, features of question wording, question length and response format. Results The UCLALS was more difficult than the MWLQ on each of the difficulty dimensions assessed. There was significantly greater responsiveness to the MWLQ than the UCLALS, especially among people with ID. Conclusions To enable as many people with ID as possible express their views on loneliness, the ID-specific MWLQ is a much better choice. However, this choice comes at the cost of ready comparison to loneliness data for the general community, which is available for widely used assessments such as the UCLALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim of this study was to explore the way in which community living staff engaged with people with intellectual disability (ID) about dying and death. Method Guided by grounded theory methodology, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with staff who had either no experience with client death, experience of a client sudden death, or a client death experience which was pre-dated by a period of end-of-life care. Results While in principle, staff unanimously supported the belief that people with ID should know about dying, there was limited in-practice engagement with clients about the topic. Engagement varied according to staff experience, client capacity to understand and the nature of the 'opportunity' to engage. Four 'opportunities' were identified: 'when family die', 'incidental opportunities', 'when clients live with someone who is dying' and 'when a client is dying'. Despite limited engagement by staff, people with ID are regularly exposed to dying and death. Conclusions People with ID have a fundamental right to know about dying and death. Sophisticated staff skills are required to ensure that people with ID can meaningfully engage with end-of-life issues as opportunities arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To systematically review the research relating to views and experiences of people with disability eating out in cafés, restaurants, and other settings; and identify factors that impede or enhance accessibility of eating out experiences, inform future inclusive research, and guide policy development., Materials and Methods: This study involved systematic search and review procedures with qualitative metasynthesis of the barriers to and facilitators for participation and inclusion in eating/dining-out activities. In total, 36 studies were included., Results: Most studies reviewed related to people with physical or sensory disability eating out, with few studies examining the dining experiences of adults with intellectual or developmental disability, swallowing disability, or communication disability. People with disability encountered negative attitudes and problems with physical and communicative access to the venue. Staff lacked knowledge of disability. Improvements in the design of dining spaces, consultation with the disability community, and staff training are needed., Conclusion: People with disability may need support for inclusion in eating out activities, as they encounter a range of barriers to eating out. Further research within and across both a wide range of populations with disability and eating out settings could guide policy and practice and help develop training for hospitality staff.

Purpose: Although 3D food printing is expected to enable the creation of visually appealing pureed food for people with disability and dysphagia, little is known about the user experience in engaging with 3D food printing or the feasibility of use with populations who need texture-modified foods. The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility and usability of using domestic-scale 3D food printer as an assistive technology to print pureed food into attractive food shapes for people with dysphagia., Materials and Methods: In total, 16 participants engaged in the unfamiliar, novel process of using a domestic-scale 3D food printer (choosing, printing, tasting), designed for printing pureed food, and discussed their impressions in focus group or individual interviews., Results and Conclusions: Overall, results demonstrated that informed experts who were novice users perceived the 3D food printing process to be fun but time consuming, and that 3D food printers might not yet be suitable for people with dysphagia or their supporters. Slow response time, lack of user feedback, scant detail on the appropriate recipes for the pureed food to create a successful print, and small font on the user panel interface were perceived as barriers to accessibility for people with disability and older people. Participants expected more interactive elements and feedback from the device, particularly in relation to resolving printer or user errors. This study will inform future usability trials and food safety research into 3D printed foods for people with disability and dysphagia. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION3D food printers potentially have a role as an assistive technology in the preparation of texture-modified foods for people with disability and dysphagia.To increase feasibility, 3D food printers should be co-designed with people with disability and their supporters and health professionals working in the field of dysphagia and rehabilitation.Experts struggled to be able to print 3D pureed shapes owing to relatively low usability of the 3D food printer tested with problems using the interface and resolving problems in the print.3D food printing is a fun and novel activity and may help to engage people with disability and dysphagia in making choices around the shape of the food to be printed.

Purpose: The researchers aimed to discover what might prevent people with complex communication needs ( CCNs) from making complaints if they experienced social exclusion in the retail environment., Method: Qualitative research methods were used to gather data from two groups of participants: adults with CCN and retail customer service staff. Seven adults who used speech-generating devices ( SGDs) and who shopped independently were interviewed about their perceptions of retail customer service communication. Nine retail customer service staff were interviewed about their communication with customers with disability. Analysis using grounded theory provided insights into experiences of people with CCN., Result: All participants with CCN had experienced being ignored, patronised and excluded when shopping but faced barriers that prevented them from complaining. Those who did complain exhibited strong self-esteem., Conclusion: Participants with CCN experienced social exclusion because customer complaint mechanisms were inaccessible. Retailers and government agencies monitoring inclusion, as well as speech-language pathologists and disability advocates, place insufficient emphasis on retail communication as a vehicle for social inclusion. The researchers recommend strategies to strengthen self-advocacy by people with CCN and systemic changes to improve accessibility of complaints procedures in the retail sector.

We performed structural and functional studies of minibactenecin mini-ChBac7.5Nα, a natural proline-rich cathelicidin from domestic goat Capra hircus. To identify the key residues important for the biological action of the peptide, a panel of its alanine-substituted analogues was produced. The development of E. coli resistance to the natural minibactenecin, as well as to its analogues carrying substitutions for hydrophobic amino acids in the C-terminal residues was studied. The data obtained indicate the possibility of rapid development of the resistance to this class of peptides. The main factors in the formation of the antibiotic resistance are various mutations leading to inactivation of the SbmA transporter., (© 2023. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)