Guidelines for assistive technology service provision - A scoping review.

PURPOSE: Despite the high unmet need for effective AT provision, multiple service delivery models across different countries, and a shortage of personnel trained in this field, no widely useable and accepted Assistive Technology (AT) service provision guidelines currently exist. This review aims to provide an overview of the literature regarding AT service provision guidelines to inform the development of globally useable AT provision guidance, aligned with contemporary global initiatives to improve access to AT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The rapid scoping review method used a two-tiered approach to identifying relevant publications: (1) systematic search of academic databases (Medline, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar); (2) consultation with international AT organisations and experts. The search was conducted in March 2023 with no date limitations. Analysis was guided by the TIDE-funded HEART research on quality AT provision and service delivery processes in Europe, as well as the WHO-GATE 5 P framework for strengthening access to AT. RESULTS: 35 publications were identified from various countries, and directed at differing assistive products, personnel, and provision contexts. No established guidelines for AT service provision currently exist. However, despite the variety in contexts, the range of assistive products and the range of stakeholders to whom guidelines are directed, several key service delivery steps were identified that may form part of such guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: This review offers a strong starting point for developing guidance for AT provision to meet global needs. Careful consideration of vocabulary, process, and application to the diversity of assistive products is recommended in systematizing globally applicable guidance.

Guidelines offer accepted benchmarks for clinical practice.Evidence-based guidelines ensure consistent and appropriate interventions, including assistive technology provision.The evidence suggests global guidance is required, and a substantial evidence base can be drawn upon to formulate such guidelines.

Role of school preparedness on children's in-person schooling decision during Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

Background: Due to Covid-19 impacted disruption, Bangladesh government had temporarily shut all the educational institutes down in March 2020 though it was prolonged until September 2021. After continuous concern of UNICEF, when government considered about reopening of schools for in-person classes amid the pandemic, many parents were found to be worried regarding the status of school preparedness. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate compliance status of school preparedness as per UNICEF's guidelines and its effect on children's schooling decision during the pandemic. Methods: The study considers 30 primary schools and 310 parents by employing a simple random sampling technique in Dhaka city. Along with the descriptive analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and a logistic regression model have been executed to come up the goal of the study. Results: The findings explore that classroom density, level of preparedness on health and hygiene, social distancing and awareness, reporting and referral mechanism, communication with school authority, and school arrival on foot have a positive association with the likelihood of parents' decision for sending their children back to school. On the other hand, monthly expenditure and distance from school to home have a negative relationship with the likelihood on sending children to in-person schooling. Conclusion: The level of school preparedness greatly affects the parent's decision for children's physical schooling during pandemic. So, to keep mental stability of the children amidst any pandemic, the authorities should take care on school preparedness to ensure physical schooling of the children.

Theoretical study of formate, tartrate, tartronate, and glycolate production from 6-carbon trioxylate intermediate in the citric acid cycle.

Reaction pathways of side products (formate, glycolate, and tartronate) from dihydroxyfumarate (DHF) were theoretically investigated as DHF is an intermediate in the process of producing tartrates and oxalate from glyoxylate of the citric acid cycle. The proposed pathways for each reaction were mapped by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The transitions states were confirmed by analyzing the vibrational frequency and the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) theory. The corresponding reaction activation energy, enthalpy change, Gibb's free energy change, and rate of reactions were calculated to get a clear picture of the whole reaction pathway. In the whole process, the decarboxylation reaction showed the highest energy barrier of 20-23 kcal/mol. Proton transfer and hydroxylation reactions were almost barrierless. As most of these reactions have very low energy barrier, our findings elucidate the high probability of those reactions under experimental conditions.

Interactions of Substituted Nitroaromatics with Model Graphene Systems: Applicability of Hammett Substituent Constants To Predict Binding Energies.

Applicability of Hammett parameters (σ m and σ p ) was tested in extended π-systems in gas phase. Three different model graphene systems, viz. 5,5-graphene (GR), 3-B-5,5-graphene (3BGR), and 3-N-5,5-graphene (3NGR), were designed as extended π-systems, and interactions of various nitrobenzene derivatives (mainly m- and p-substituted together with some multiple substitutions) on such platforms were monitored using density functional theory (M06/cc-pVDZ, M06/cc-pVTZ, M06/sp-aug-cc-pVTZ) and Møller-Plesset second-order perturbation (MP2/cc-pV-DZ) theory. Offset face to face (OSFF) stackings were found to be the favored orientations, and reasonable correlations were found between binding energies (ΔE B) and the ∑|σ m | values of the substituted nitrobenzenes. It was proposed previously that |σ m | contains information about the substituents' polarizability and controls electrostatic and dispersion interactions. The combination of ∑|σ m | and molar refractivity (as ∑M r) or change in polarizability (Δα: with respect to benzene) of nitrobenzene derivatives generated statistically significant correlation with respect to ΔE B, thereby supporting the hypothesis related to the validity of |σ m | correlations. The |σ p | parameters also maintain similar correlations for the various p-substituted nitrobenzene derivatives together with several multiply-substituted nitrobenzene derivatives. The correlation properties in such cases are similar to the |σ m | cases, and the energy partition analysis for both the situations reveled importance of electrostatic and dispersion contributions in such interactions. The applicability of Hammett parameters was observed previously on the restricted parallel face to face orientation of benzene···substituted benzene systems, and the present results show that such an idea could be used to predict ΔE B values in OSFF orientations, if the scaffolds are designed in such a way that substituted benzene systems cannot escape their π-clouds.