Learning to drive with neurological conditions: profile of users of an adapted driver training program and cognitive factors associated with success

PURPOSE

To describe the sociodemographic and cognitive profile of participants enrolled in an adapted driving program for individuals with neurological conditions, to explore the association between cognitive functioning and driving program outcome, and to describe driving habits after program completion.

METHODS

This study combined retrospective chart review and cross-sectional data collection.

RESULTS

The sample included 71 participants with neurological disorders (aged 15-56 years, M = 22.2 ± 8.6; 39% women). Driving program was either successful (47%), failed (7%), discontinued (34%), or ongoing (13%). Among 35 participants with complete neuropsychological and driving program outcome data, those who successfully completed the program showed better attention functioning, and better performance relative to global functioning for attention, executive functions, and working memory, compared to those who discontinued/failed the program. Among 21 participants who completed a telephone questionnaire on average 3.7 years after program enrollment, 67% obtained their driver's license and drove regularly. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the program.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that approximately half of the persons enrolled in a driver training program designed for learners with neurological conditions, obtain a driver's license; and that attention, and to a lesser extent executive functioning and working memory, are related to driving program success.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONIn individual with neurological conditions, learning how to drive can be challenging.An adapted driver training program, involving collaboration between driving instructors and healthcare professionals, simplification of theoretical learning, and increasing driving practice opportunities, can be effective, both in terms of licensing success and client satisfaction.Conducting a pre-driving program neuropsychological assessment, with identification of cognitive strengths and weaknesses, can provide valuable information for clinicians and driving instructors for optimizing training and predicting outcome.Better performance in attention, and better relative to global cognitive functioning in attention, executive functions, and working memory, are related to higher success rate of an adapted driving program.

Absence of Zika virus among pregnant women in Vietnam in 2008

BACKGROUND

Despite being first identified in 1947, Zika virus-related outbreaks were first described starting from 2007 culminating with the 2015 Latin American outbreak. Hypotheses indicate that the virus has been circulating in Asia for decades, but reports are scarce.

METHODS

We performed serological analysis and screened placental samples isolated in 2008 for the presence of Zika virus from pregnant women in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).

RESULTS

None of the placental samples was positive for Zika virus. Four serum samples out of 176 (2.3%) specifically inhibited Zika virus, with variable degrees of cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses. While one of the four samples inhibited only Zika virus, cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses not included in the study could not be ruled out.

CONCLUSION

Our results support the conclusion that the virus was not present among pregnant women in the Vietnamese largest city during the initial phases of the epidemic wave.

Non-sterile corn steep liquor a novel, cost effective and powerful culture media for Sporosarcina pasteurii cultivation for sand improvement

AIMS

Microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is one of the bio-cementation methods for improving granular soils. This study evaluate the feasibility of obtaining a bacterial solution with high optical density and urease activity by an inexpensive corn steep liquor (CSL) medium in non-sterile conditions in order to achieve sand improvement.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Corn steep liquor media with different concentrations (different dilution rates) were prepared and, without any autoclaving (non-sterile conditions), different percentage of the inoculum solutions were added to them and incubated. Effect of inoculum solution percentage and CSL dilution rates on specifications of bacterial solution was evaluated. Urease activity and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were used to efficiency of CLS media in sand improvement. The considerable urease activity was measured as 5·7 mS cm^-1  min^-1 using nonsterile CLS. By using CYNU (CSL-Yeast extract-NH4Cl-Urea) bacterial solution, the urease activity of 5·5 mS cm^-1  min^-1 for the OD₆₀₀ (optical density at 600 nm) of 1·88 and, consequently, specific urease activity of 2·93 mS cm^-1  min^-1  OD₆₀₀ ^-1 was obtained. The highest unconfined compressive strength (811 kPa) was obtained for the CYNU. XRD revealed new calcite peaks next to the quartz peaks.

CONCLUSIONS

Production of inexpensive bacterial solution using diluted CSL as the inexpensive, effective and powerful culture media for Sporosarcina pasteurii cultivation in nonsterile conditions, allows geotechnical and biotechnological engineers to use MICP technology more widely in land improvement and field-scale bio-cementation and bioremediation projects.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Obtaining high urease activity of inexpensive microbial solution using diluted CSL as the culture medium in nonsterile conditions, as the unique results of this study, can be significant in the field of bioremediation studies using MICP.

Induced interval-valued Pythagorean trapezoidal fuzzy aggregation operators based on Einstein operations and their application in group decision making

The aim of this paper is to investigate the information aggregation methods under induced interval-valued Pythagorean trapezoidal fuzzy environment. Some Einstein operational laws on Pythagorean trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are defined based on Einstein sum and Einstein product. In this paper, we introduce the idea of induced interval-valued Pythagorean trapezoidal fuzzy Einstein ordered weighted geometric (I-IVPTFEOWG) operator and induced interval-valued Pythagorean trapezoidal fuzzy Einstein hybrid geometric (I-IVPTFEHG) operator. We discuss some basic properties of the proposed operator, including idempotency, commutativity and monotonicity. We construct an algorithm for multiple attribute group decision making problem, and apply the proposed aggregation operator to deal with multiple attribute group decision making. Finally we construct a numerical example for multiple attribute group decision making and compare the result with existing methods.

Effect of alloy on the evolution of created magnons in the multilayer system FexCo1−x/Cu

The properties of magnons created in FeCo/Cu multilayers are studied in the framework of the Heisenberg model. The excitation spectra, gap of creation, lifetimes, and magnetization are calculated. The magnetization agrees well with measured values, and it undergoes a 3D to 2D transition when the temperature increases.

In situ functionalization of self-assembled dendrimer nanofibers with cadmium sulfide quantum dots through simple ionic-substitution

Cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS-QDs) can be generated along poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimer-based self-assembled nanofibers through a simple approach based on ionic substitution.