Personal preferences of participation in fall prevention programmes: A descriptive study

Background: Participation in fall prevention programmes is associated with lower risk of injurious falls among older adults. However participation rates in fall prevention interventions are low. The limited participation in fall prevention might increase with a preference based approach. Therefore, the aims of this study are to a) determine the personal preferences of older adults regarding fall prevention and b) explore the association between personal preferences and participation. Methods: We assessed the personal preferences of older adults and the association between their preferences, chosen programme and participation level. Nine different programmes, with a focus on those best matching their personal preferences, were offered to participants. Twelve weeks after the start of the programme, participation was assessed by questionnaire. Logistic regression was performed to test the association between preferences and participation and an ANOVA was performed to assess differences between the number of preferences included in the chosen programme and participation level. Results: Of the 134 participants, 49% preferred to exercise at home versus 43% elsewhere, 46% preferred to exercise alone versus 44% in a group and 41% indicated a programme must be free of charge while 51% were willing to pay. The combination of an external location, in a group and for a fee was preferred by 27%, whereas 26% preferred at home, alone and only for free. The presence of preferences or the extent to which the programme matched earlier preferences was not associated with participation. Conclusion: Despite the fact that preferences can vary greatly among older adults, local programmes should be available for at least the two largest subgroups. This includes a programme at home, offered individually and for free. In addition, local healthcare providers should cooperate to increase the accessibility of currently available group programmes

A search for transiting companions in the J1407 (V1400 Cen) system

In 2007, the young star 1SWASP J140747.93-394542.6 (V1400 Cen) underwent a complex series of deep eclipses over 56 days. This was attributed to the transit of a ring system filling a large fraction of the Hill sphere of an unseen substellar companion. Subsequent photometric monitoring has not found any other deep transits from this candidate ring system, but if there are more substellar companions and they are coplanar with the potential ring system, there is a chance that they will transit the star as well. This young star is active and the light curves show a 5% modulation in amplitude with a dominant rotation period of 3.2 days due to star spots rotating in and out of view. We model and remove the rotational modulation of the J1407 light curve and search for additional transit signatures of substellar companions orbiting around J1407. We combine the photometry of J1407 from several observatories, spanning a 19 year baseline. We remove the rotational modulation by modeling the variability as a periodic signal, whose periodicity changes slowly with time over several years due to the activity cycle of the star. A Transit Least Squares (TLS) analysis searches for any periodic transiting signals within the cleaned light curve. We identify an activity cycle of J1407 with a period of 5.4 years. A Transit Least Squares search does not find any plausible periodic eclipses in the light curve, from 1.2% amplitude at 5 days up to 1.9% at 20 days. This sensitivity is confirmed by injecting artificial transits into the light curve and determining the recovery fraction as a function of transit depth and orbital period. J1407 is confirmed as a young active star with an activity cycle consistent with a rapidly rotating solar mass star. With the rotational modulation removed, the TLS analysis rules out transiting companions with radii larger than about 1 Jupiter.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Reduced data and reduction scripts on github at https://github.com/StanBarmentloo/J1407_transit_search_activit

Barriers and facilitators for screening older adults on fall risk in a hospital setting: Perspectives from patients and healthcare professionals

We aimed to gain insight into the barriers and facilitators to fall risk screening of older adults visiting the hospital as experienced by patients and healthcare professionals, and to examine the differences between chronic- and acute-care patients. We invited patients (≥ 70 years) attending the nephrology and emergency department to participate in the screening. Patients and their healthcare professionals were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire based on the “Barriers and Facilitators Assessment Instrument”. Differences in barriers and facilitators between acute- and chronic-care patients were examined with chi-square tests. A total of 216 patients were screened, and 103 completed the questionnaire. They considered many factors as facilitators, and none as barriers. Acute-care patients were more positive than chronic-care patients about healthcare worker characteristics, such as knowledge and skills. After screening, patients were more open to receiving advice regarding fall prevention. The 36 healthcare professionals considered program characteristics to be facilitators and mainly factors regarding healthcare worker characteristics as barriers to implementation. For patients, the outpatient setting seemed to be a good place to be screened for fall risk. Healthcare professionals also suggested that program characteristics could enhance implementation. However, healthcare professionals’ mindsets and the changing of routines are barriers that have to be addressed first

Dramatic rebrightening of the type-changing stripped-envelope supernova SN 2023aew

Multipeaked supernovae with precursors, dramatic light-curve rebrightenings, and spectral transformation are rare, but are being discovered in increasing numbers by modern night-sky transient surveys like the Zwicky Transient Facility. Here, we present the observations and analysis of SN 2023aew, which showed a dramatic increase in brightness following an initial luminous (−17.4 mag) and long (∼100 days) unusual first peak (possibly precursor). SN 2023aew was classified as a Type IIb supernova during the first peak but changed its type to resemble a stripped-envelope supernova (SESN) after the marked rebrightening. We present comparisons of SN 2023aew's spectral evolution with SESN subtypes and argue that it is similar to SNe Ibc during its main peak. P-Cygni Balmer lines are present during the first peak, but vanish during the second peak's photospheric phase, before Hα resurfaces again during the nebular phase. The nebular lines ([O i], [Ca ii], Mg i], Hα) exhibit a double-peaked structure that hints toward a clumpy or nonspherical ejecta. We analyze the second peak in the light curve of SN 2023aew and find it to be broader than that of normal SESNe as well as requiring a very high 56Ni mass to power the peak luminosity. We discuss the possible origins of SN 2023aew including an eruption scenario where a part of the envelope is ejected during the first peak and also powers the second peak of the light curve through interaction of the SN with the circumstellar medium