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Introduction Crisis admissions of persons with dementia are more prevalent due to the rising number of people with dementia living longer at home. Moreover, societal dependency on informal care grows, which negatively impacts caregivers' wellbeing. This is often a direct reason for crisis admission of the person with dementia. Therefore, we developed REMIND, a digital tool for frequent monitoring of wellbeing and resilience of caregivers, which enables case managers to provide timely support, thereby preventing deterioration in caregiver wellbeing and eventually crisis admissions. The aim of this pilot study is to explore the usability and acceptability of REMIND. Theory/Methods During a 3-month period case manager-caregiver duo's used REMIND. The monitor was developed in co-creation with end-users during focus groups. The pilot version of REMIND consisted of a weekly set of questions on social support, reciprocity, burden, wellbeing, own activities and small crises, filled in via a chat on a smartphone or computer. Caregiver wellbeing was displayed in graphs on a dashboard for case managers to act upon. Usability and acceptability of the tool were explored in semi-structured interviews with the caregivers and case managers. Two independent researchers applied content analysis on the transcripts. Results Eight case managers and fourteen caregivers participating considered the tool easy to use. Caregivers appreciated REMIND, because it stimulated self-reflection regarding the burden of their caregiving processes. Case managers valued the tool's ability to gain better insight in the actual wellbeing of caregivers, because some caregivers find it hard to acknowledge themselves being burdened during a face-to-face conversation. The fact that REMIND provided insight in wellbeing patterns over time instead of a single assessment during a monthly home visit, was highly appreciated by case managers. The monitor outcomes were therefore considered a suitable starting point for conversations with caregivers. Suggestions for improvements included, more diverse set of questions and additional functions including peers support. Discussions In this pilot, REMIND was found highly usable and acceptable for both caregivers and casemanagers. The use a co-design approach in the development likely contributed to these findings. Conclusions Pilot evaluation of digital monitor for caregivers and case managers showed that the tool was easy to use and stimulated self-reflection in caregivers. For case managers it provided a starting point for conversations. The tool is able to monitor wellbeing of caregivers and thereby has the potential to prevent crisis. Lessons learned Developing a monitoring tool for caregivers of persons with dementia in a co-creation design process with end-users led to a well-accepted and easy-to-use device. Limitations Casemanagers in this pilot study were early adopters. Further research should include a more diverse group of case managers. Suggestions for future research A future randomized controlled study with longer follow-up may determine whether its use prevents (small) crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Atomised and milled Ferrosilicon with average particle diameters of 38 and 50 µm respectively were fluidised with air at ambient conditions. The entrainment rate of the more spherical atomised particles was on average six times that of the irregularly shaped milled particles over the range of superficial velocities investigated. In an attempt to decouple the effect of particle size from shape, the bed was divided into theoretically isolated bins based on the distributions of particle sizes. This indicated that the atomised particles had a higher entrainment rate for particles smaller than approximately 25 µm whereas the opposite was true for particles greater than this size. None of the entrainment correlations investigated was able to predict the switch in entrainment behaviour as a function of particle sphericity and diameter. Furthermore, the traditional critical particle diameter associated with cohesive Geldart A particles was not observed for either of the two particle shapes. It is therefore concluded that neither the hydrodynamic nor Van der Waals forces acting on the particles can adequately explain the entrainment rate behaviour of differently shaped high-density Geldart A particles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Focuses on the significance of information technology during the study of the author about judicial processes in Europe. Sources of information; Emphasis on civil procedural law and constitutional law; Assessment on the socio-political characteristics of the society.

Vibrotactile feedback can be built into clothing such as vests. This means that often vibrotactile information is presented to the back. It is known that the back has a relatively low spatial acuity. Spatial acuity varies across different limbs and sometimes with different locations on a limb. These known anisotropies suggest that there might be systematic variations in vibrotactile spatial acuity for different areas of the back and also for different orientations (i.e. horizontal vs. vertical). Here we systematically measured spatial acuity in four areas of the back for both horizontal and vertical orientations. The results show no significant differences in spatial acuity for the back areas that were tested. Spatial acuity was, however, higher in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction by roughly a factor of two. This means that when designing vibrotactile displays for the back the tactor density can be lower in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction and density should be constant for different areas of the back. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]