Why Should 4-H Horse and Pony Youth Wear Certified Equestrian Helmets?

This article reviews literature that pertains to the use and function of equestrian helmets. It provides health reasons that may be used to justify the use of equestrian helmets. The article covers equestrian injuries, helmet wearing habits, head injuries, and equestrian helmets. The authors use the information provided to advocate the use of helmets and to recommend that Extension professionals promote helmet use among youth equestrians

Accommodating Youth with Disabilities in 4-H Horse Programs

Including and accepting youth with disabilities in horse programs is an important part of our positive youth development mission. There are some inherent dangers and concerns in working with horses that create some unique challenges for volunteers and Extension staff providing an inclusive and inviting program. This article discusses how inclusion of youth with disabilities in educational programs benefits youth with and without disabilities, and strategies we have found successful in our efforts to increase the accessibility of our 4-H horse program to youth with disabilities

Lung Screening Benefits and Challenges: A Review of The Data and Outline for Implementation

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for almost a fifth of all cancer-related deaths. Annual computed tomographic lung cancer screening (CTLS) detects lung cancer at earlier stages and reduces lung cancer-related mortality among high-risk individuals. Many medical organizations, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, recommend annual CTLS in high-risk populations. However, fewer than 5% of individuals worldwide at high risk for lung cancer have undergone screening. In large part, this is owing to delayed implementation of CTLS in many countries throughout the world. Factors contributing to low uptake in countries with longstanding CTLS endorsement, such as the United States, include lack of patient and clinician awareness of current recommendations in favor of CTLS and clinician concerns about CTLS-related radiation exposure, false-positive results, overdiagnosis, and cost. This review of the literature serves to address these concerns by evaluating the potential risks and benefits of CTLS. Review of key components of a lung screening program, along with an updated shared decision aid, provides guidance for program development and optimization. Review of studies evaluating the population considered "high-risk" is included as this may affect future guidelines within the United States and other countries considering lung screening implementation

Risk factors for the introduction and within-herd transmission of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection on 59 Irish dairy herds

Since 1994, Irish cattle have been exposed to greater risks of acquiring Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection as a consequence of the importation of over 70,000 animals from continental Europe. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of reported clinical cases of paratuberculosis in Ireland. This study examines the prevalence of factors that promote the introduction and within-herd transmission of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) on selected Irish dairy farms in the Cork region, and the association between these factors and the results of MAP screening tests on milk sock filter residue (MFR). A total of 59 dairy farms, selected using non-random methods but apparently free of endemic paratuberculosis, were enrolled into the study. A questionnaire was used to collect data about risk factors for MAP introduction and transmission. The MFR was assessed on six occasions over 24 months for the presence of MAP, using culture and immunomagnetic separation prior to polymerase chain reaction (IMS-PCR). Furthermore, blood samples from all entire male and female animals over one year of age in 20 herds were tested by ELISA. Eighteen (31%) farms had operated as closed herds since 1994, 28 (47%) had purchased from multiple sources and 14 (24%) had either direct or indirect (progeny) contact with imported animals. Milk and colostrum were mixed on 51% of farms, while 88% of farms fed pooled milk. Thirty (51%) herds tested negative to MFR culture and IMS-PCR, 12 (20%) were MFR culture positive, 26 (44%) were IMS-PCR positive and seven (12%) were both culture and IMS-PCR positive. The probability of a positive MFR culture was significantly associated with reduced attendance at calving, and with increased use of individual calf pens and increased (but not significantly) if mulitiple suckling was practised. There was poor agreement between MFR culture and MFR IMS-PCR results, but moderate agreement between MFR culture and ELISA test results. This study highlights a lack of awareness among Irish dairy farmers about the effect of inadequate biosecurity on MAP introduction. Furthermore, within-herd transmission will be facilitated by traditional calf rearing and waste management practices. The findings of viable MAP in the presence of known transmission factors in non-clinically affected herds could be a prelude to long-term problems for the Irish cattle and agri-business generally

Hydrogen and Metal Line Absorption Around Low-Redshift Galaxies in Cosmological Hydrodynamic Simulations

We study the physical conditions of the circum-galactic medium (CGM) around z=0.25 galaxies as traced by HI and metal line absorption, using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations that include galactic outflows. Using lines of sight targeted at impact parameters from 10 kpc to 1 Mpc around galaxies with halo masses from 10^11-10^13 M_solar, we study the physical conditions and their variation with impact parameter b and line-of-sight velocity delta v in the CGM as traced by HI, MgII, SiIV, CIV, OVI, and NeVIII absorbers. All ions show a strong excess of absorption near galaxies compared to random lines of sight. The excess continues beyond 1 Mpc, reflecting the correlation of metal absorption with large-scale structure. Absorption is particularly enhanced within about v<300 km/sec and roughly 300 kpc of galaxies (with distances somewhat larger for the highest ion), approximately delineating the CGM; this range contains the majority of global metal absorption. Low ions like MgII and SiIV predominantly arise in denser gas closer to galaxies and drop more rapidly with b, while high ions OVI and NeVIII trace more diffusely distributed gas with a comparatively flat radial profile; CIV is intermediate. All ions predominantly trace T~10^4-4.5 K photo-ionised gas at all b, but when hot CGM gas is present (mostly in larger halos), we see strong collisionally-ionised OVI and NeVIII at b <= 100 kpc. Larger halo masses generally produce more absorption, though overall the trends are not as strong as that with impact parameter. These findings arise using our favoured outflow scalings as expected for momentum-driven winds; with no winds, the CGM gas remains mostly unenriched, while our outflow model with a constant velocity and mass loading factor produce hotter, more widely dispersed metals.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, published in MNRAS. Updates to citations from previous versio

The clinical effectiveness of individual behaviour change interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviour after a negative human immunodeficiency virus test in men who have sex with men: systematic and realist reviews and intervention development

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) experience significant inequalities in health and well-being. They are the group in the UK at the highest risk of acquiring a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Guidance relating to both HIV infection prevention, in general, and individual-level behaviour change interventions, in particular, is very limited. Objectives: To conduct an evidence synthesis of the clinical effectiveness of behaviour change interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviour among MSM after a negative HIV infection test. To identify effective components within interventions in reducing HIV risk-related behaviours and develop a candidate intervention. To host expert events addressing the implementation and optimisation of a candidate intervention. Data sources: All major electronic databases (British Education Index, BioMed Central, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, Educational Resource Index and Abstracts, Health and Medical Complete, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PubMed and Social Science Citation Index) were searched between January 2000 and December 2014. Review methods: A systematic review of the clinical effectiveness of individual behaviour change interventions was conducted. Interventions were examined using the behaviour change technique (BCT) taxonomy, theory coding assessment, mode of delivery and proximity to HIV infection testing. Data were summarised in narrative review and, when appropriate, meta-analysis was carried out. Supplemental analyses for the development of the candidate intervention focused on post hoc realist review method, the assessment of the sequential delivery and content of intervention components, and the social and historical context of primary studies. Expert panels reviewed the candidate intervention for issues of implementation and optimisation. Results: Overall, trials included in this review (n = 10) demonstrated that individual-level behaviour change interventions are effective in reducing key HIV infection risk-related behaviours. However, there was considerable clinical and methodological heterogeneity among the trials. Exploratory meta-analysis showed a statistically significant reduction in behaviours associated with high risk of HIV transmission (risk ratio 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.62 to 0.91). Additional stratified analyses suggested that effectiveness may be enhanced through face-to-face contact immediately after testing, and that theory-based content and BCTs drawn from ‘goals and planning’ and ‘identity’ groups are important. All evidence collated in the review was synthesised to develop a candidate intervention. Experts highlighted overall acceptability of the intervention and outlined key ways that the candidate intervention could be optimised to enhance UK implementation. Limitations: There was a limited number of primary studies. All were from outside the UK and were subject to considerable clinical, methodological and statistical heterogeneity. The findings of the meta-analysis must therefore be treated with caution. The lack of detailed intervention manuals limited the assessment of intervention content, delivery and fidelity. Conclusions: Evidence regarding the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions suggests that they are effective in changing behaviour associated with HIV transmission. Exploratory stratified meta-analyses suggested that interventions should be delivered face to face and immediately after testing. There are uncertainties around the generalisability of these findings to the UK setting. However, UK experts found the intervention acceptable and provided ways of optimising the candidate intervention. Future work: There is a need for well-designed, UK-based trials of individual behaviour change interventions that clearly articulate intervention content and demonstrate intervention fidelity

Somatic mutations and progressive monosomy modify SAMD9-related phenotypes in humans

It is well established that somatic genomic changes can influence phenotypes in cancer, but the role of adaptive changes in developmental disorders is less well understood. Here we have used next-generation sequencing approaches to identify de novo heterozygous mutations in sterile α motif domain–containing protein 9 (SAMD9, located on chromosome 7q21.2) in 8 children with a multisystem disorder termed MIRAGE syndrome that is characterized by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with gonadal, adrenal, and bone marrow failure, predisposition to infections, and high mortality. These mutations result in gain of function of the growth repressor product SAMD9. Progressive loss of mutated SAMD9 through the development of monosomy 7 (–7), deletions of 7q (7q–), and secondary somatic loss-of-function (nonsense and frameshift) mutations in SAMD9 rescued the growth-restricting effects of mutant SAMD9 proteins in bone marrow and was associated with increased length of survival. However, 2 patients with –7 and 7q– developed myelodysplastic syndrome, most likely due to haploinsufficiency of related 7q21.2 genes. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence that progressive somatic changes can occur in specific tissues and can subsequently modify disease phenotype and influence survival. Such tissue-specific adaptability may be a more common mechanism modifying the expression of human genetic conditions than is currently recognized

Generation rent and the fallacy of choice

‘Generation Rent’ reflects the growing phenomenon in the UK of young people living in the private rental sector for longer periods of their lives. This is a significant change given the importance of leaving home in youth transitions to adulthood. It is further critical given the rapid expansion of the private rented sector in the UK in recent decades, and the more limited rights such private tenants have. This paper draws on qualitative evidence to highlight the impact this has on young peoples’ lives, and broader patterns of social-spatial inequality. Our research highlights that whilst young people maintain long-term preferences for homeownership they nonetheless deconstructed this normalized ideal as a ‘fallacy of choice’, for it was unachievable in reality. Influenced by the work of Foucault, Bourdieu and Bauman, we emphasize how these dominant norms of housing consumption are in tension with objective reality, for their ability to become ‘responsible homeowners’ is tempered by their material resources and the local housing opportunities available to them. Nonetheless, this does not exempt them from the ‘moral distinctions’ being made in which renting is problematized and constructed as ‘flawed consumption’. These conceptual arguments advance international scholarly debates about the governance of consumption, offering a novel theoretical lens through which to examine the difficulties facing ‘Generation Rent’

Writing in Britain and Ireland, c. 400 to c. 800

No abstract available