Physical Activity Inclusion in Dementia-Friendly Communities: A Mixed Methods Study

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Human Kinetics, Inc. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0International License, CC BY 4.0. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.Dementia-friendly communities (DFCs) are a policy-endorsed approach to community engagement in England that promotes social inclusion to enable people affected by dementia to live well. Research suggests that physical activity is beneficial in encouraging social connection and improving health. A mixed method sequential study design in England involving a national survey (n = 31) and semi structured interviews (n = 65) in three DFCs was carried out. The aim was to understand how DFC senable people affected by dementia to participate in physical activities. An evaluation framework for DFCs was used to organize and interpret the data, and analysis was informed by the inclusive (social) citizen lens. Findings showed that DFCs offered a range of adapted dementia-inclusive and dementia-specific activities; however, people were not routinely offered information at time of diagnosis. Local authorities (councils) were key to enable access to information and infrastructure change to support sustainable inclusion within their local community.Peer reviewe

Using sniffing behavior to differentiate true negative from false negative responses in trained scent-detection dogs

False negatives are recorded in every chemical detection system, but when animals are used as a scent detector, some false negatives can arise as a result of a failure in the link between detection and the trained alert response, or a failure of the handler to identify the positive alert. A false negative response can be critical in certain scenarios, such as searching for a live person or detecting explosives. In this study, we investigated whether the nature of sniffing behavior in trained detection dogs during a controlled scent-detection task differs in response to true positives, true negatives, false positives, and false negatives. A total of 200 videos of 10 working detection dogs were pseudorandomly selected and analyzed frame by frame to quantify sniffing duration and the number of sniffing episodes recorded in a Go/No-Go single scent-detection task using an eight-choice test apparatus. We found that the sniffing duration of true negatives is significantly shorter than false negatives, true positives, and false positives. Furthermore, dogs only ever performed one sniffing episode towards true negatives, but two sniffing episodes commonly occurred in the other situations. These results demonstrate how the nature of sniffing can be used to more effectively assess odor detection by dogs used as biological detection devices

Computational mechanisms underlying social evaluation learning and associations with depressive symptoms during adolescence

There is a sharp increase in depression in adolescence, but why this occurs is not well understood. We investigated how adolescents learn about social evaluation and whether learning is associated with depressive symptoms. In a cross-sectional school-based study, 598 adolescents (aged 11-15 years) completed a social evaluation learning task and the short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. We developed and validated reinforcement learning models, formalising the processes hypothesised to underlie learning about social evaluation. Adolescents started the learning task with a positive expectation that they and others would be liked, and this positive bias was larger for the self than others. Expectations about the self were more resistant to feedback than expectations about others. Only initial expectations were associated with depressive symptoms; adolescents whose expectations were less positive had more severe symptoms. Consistent with cognitive theories, prior beliefs about social evaluation may be a risk factor for depressive symptoms

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in hospital wastewater:a reservoir that may be unrelated to clinical isolates [star]

Summary Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are an emerging infection control problem in hospitals worldwide. Identifying carriers can help reduce potential spread and infections. Aim: To assess whether testing hospital wastewater for CPE can supplement patient based screening for infection prevention purposes in a hospital without a recognised endemic CPE problem. Methods: Wastewater collected from hospital pipework on 16 occasions during February-March 2014 was screened for CPE using chromID®CARBA agar and chromID®CPS agar with a 10 μg ertapenem disc and combination disc testing. MICs were determined using British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy methodology and carbapenemase genes detected by PCR or wholegenome sequencing. Selected isolates were typed by PFGE. Findings: Suspected CPE were recovered from all 16 wastewater samples. Of 17 isolates sent to Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections Reference Unit, six (four Citrobacter freundii and two Enterobacter cloacae complex) were New Delhi metallo–beta-lactamase (NDM) producers and the remaining 11 (six Klebsiella oxytoca and five Enterobacter cloacae complex), Guiana-Extended-Spectrum-5 (GES-5) producers, the first to be described in Enterobacteriaceae in the UK. The four NDM-producing C. freundii, two NDM-producing E. cloacae complex and 4/5 GES-5-producing E. cloacae complex were each indistinguishable isolates of the same three strains, whereas the six GES-5-producing K. oxytoca overall shared 79% similarity. Conclusion: CPE are readily isolated from hospital wastewater using simple culture methods. There are either undetected carriers of CPE excreting into the wastewater, or these CPE represent colonisation of the pipework. Surveillance of hospital wastewater for CPE does not appear helpful for infection control purposes

Working on Wellness: A Capacity Building Program for Massachusetts Employers

In recent years, more worksites have shown an interest in offering wellness programs to their employees. However, uptake of worksite wellness programs remains low among certain employer groups, such as small businesses and employers in low wage industries. This poster will highlight the Working on Wellness (WoW) program; an innovative \u27capacity building\u27 program designed to help employers across the state implement evidence-based worksite initiatives and policies that foster a healthier work environment. Through a collaborative partnership with the MA Department of Public Health, a public health institute, a cadre of worksite wellness experts, and university researchers, over 150 businesses were recruited to participate in WoW this past year. This poster will describe WoW\u27s innovative framework, the tools and resources available to businesses (e.g., seed funding, community connections and collaboration, access to a comprehensive online curriculum, and technical assistance), and examine program strengths and weaknesses. The methods used in this model to teach the concepts and skills of building a worksite wellness program will be examined. The evaluation aspects of the program, undertaken by UMass Medical and UMass Lowell will be identified. Lastly, the poster will feature case studies of participating organizations, highlighting the interventions implemented in their worksites to impact employee health. This poster is one of a series of posters on this project presented by the project team: UMass Medical, UMass Lowell, Health Resources in Action and AdvancingWellness

Working on Wellness: Building Capacity through Community Partnerships

Establishing a wellness initiative in the workplace is a popular way for employers to attract and retain top talent, reduce health costs, and increase productivity. However, building a comprehensive wellness initiative can put a strain on an organization\u27s time and resources. Working on Wellness (WoW) is an innovative \u27capacity building\u27 program designed to help employers across Massachusetts implement evidence-based worksite initiatives and policies that foster a healthier work environment. To broaden the understanding among employers about what influences health, WoW\u27s Community Partnerships component introduces organizations to the notion that businesses can play a key role in building healthy communities. The curriculum describes how employers can join efforts to improve the places where they live, work and play. Businesses are encouraged to incorporate interventions into their worksite wellness programs and policies that show mutually beneficial outcomes between employers and community partners. This poster will introduce tools and resources created through WoW including our approach to introduce community partnerships through our online training modules and our Community Scan assessment tool, which provides a roadmap to consider traditional and nontraditional partners for organization\u27s wellness interventions. The poster will feature case studies highlighting how participants used the Community Scan to find and establish strong partnerships to reach their goals of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, reducing stress, and increasing physical activity among employees and community residents. This poster is one of a series of posters on this project presented by the project team: UMass Medical, UMass Lowell, Health Resources in Action and AdvancingWellness

Canine Olfactory Thresholds to Amyl Acetate in a Biomedical Detection Scenario

Dogs’ abilities to respond to concentrations of odorant molecules are generally deemed superior to electronic sensors. This sensitivity has been used traditionally in many areas; but is a more recent innovation within the medical field. As a bio-detection sensor for human diseases such as cancer and infections, dogs often need to detect volatile organic compounds in bodily fluids such as urine and blood. Although the limits of olfactory sensitivity in dogs have been studied since the 1960s, there is a gap in our knowledge concerning these limits in relation to the concentration of odorants presented in a fluid phase. Therefore the aim of this study was to estimate olfactory detection thresholds to an inert substance, amyl acetate presented in a liquid phase. Ten dogs were trained in a “Go/No go” single scent-detection task using an eight-choice carousel apparatus. They were trained to respond to the presence of solutions of amyl acetate diluted to varying degrees in mineral oil by sitting in front of the positive sample, and not responding to the seven other control samples. Training and testing took place in an indoor room with the same handler throughout using a food reward. After 30 weeks of training, using a forward chaining technique, dogs were tested for their sensitivity. The handler did not assist the dog during the search and was blind to the concentration of amyl acetate tested and the position of the target in the carousel. The global olfactory threshold trend for each dog was estimated by fitting a least-squares logistic curve to the association between the proportion of true positives and amyl acetate concentration. Results show an olfactory detection threshold for fluid mixtures ranging from 40 parts per billion to 1.5 parts per trillion. There was considerable inter-dog difference in sensitivity, even though all dogs were trained in the same way and worked without the assistance of the handler. This variation highlights factors to be considered in future work assessing olfactory detection performance by dogs

Reconstructing Antarctic Holocene climate/environmental changes from ice and marine cores

Paleotemperature reconstructions from Antarctic ice cores rely mainly on δD and δ18O records, with the main key factors controlling their observed distribution in Antarctic surface snow being related to the condensation temperature of the precipitation and the origin of the moisture. Reconstructions of past sea-surface temperatures (SST) and sea ice cover (SIC) from marine cores at high southern latitudes mainly rely on diatom-based transfer functions. However, quantitative records of SST and SIC are concentrated in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Ocean and only few records exist in the Antarctic coastal areas. Here we present an overview of the Holocene climate records that have been compiled in the framework of the ESF-HOLOCLIP project, as well as a new isotopic record from the TALDICE ice core, recently drilled in a peripheral dome facing the Ross Sea. One of the main goals of HOLOCLIP is to reconstruct Holocene climate/environmental changes from ice and marine cores and integrate these data in model simulations. The main common features recognized in Holocene climate records obtained from ice cores are a warm early Holocene (from about 10 to 11.5 ka BP), a cool period centred at ~8 ka BP and a secondary optimum peaking at ~4 ka BP. The Holocene climate reconstructions obtained from sediment cores demonstrate a warmer early-mid Holocene hypsithermal followed by a cooler neoglacial with an amplitude and timing of the transitions variable regionally around Antarctica. Though there exist some problems in both ice and marine core records (chronologies, temporal resolution, global vs. regional, annual vs. seasonal), such approach is unique to fuel paleoclimate models and to better understand the ocean-ice-atmosphere interactions at high southern latitudes beyond the instrumental period

Red-flag sepsis and SOFA identifies different patient population at risk of sepsis-related deaths on the general ward

Controversy exists regarding the best diagnostic and screening tool for sepsis outside the intensive care unit (ICU). Sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score has been shown to be superior to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria, however, the performance of “Red Flag sepsis criteria” has not been tested formally. The aim of the study was to investigate the ability of Red Flag sepsis criteria to identify the patients at high risk of sepsis-related death in comparison to SOFA based sepsis criteria. We also investigated the comparison of Red Flag sepsis to quick SOFA (qSOFA), SIRS, and national early warning score (NEWS) scores and factors influencing patient mortality. Patients were recruited into a 24-hour point-prevalence study on the general wards and emergency departments across all Welsh acute hospitals. Inclusion criteria were: clinical suspicion of infection and NEWS 3 or above in-line with established escalation criteria in Wales. Data on Red Flag sepsis and SOFA criteria was collected together with qSOFA and SIRS scores and 90-day mortality. 459 patients were recruited over a 24-hour period. 246 were positive for Red Flag sepsis, mortality 33.7% (83/246); 241 for SOFA based sepsis criteria, mortality 39.4% (95/241); 54 for qSOFA, mortality 57.4% (31/54), and 268 for SIRS, mortality 33.6% (90/268). 55 patients were not picked up by any criteria. We found that older age was associated with death with OR (95% CI) of 1.03 (1.02–1.04); higher frailty score 1.24 (1.11–1.40); DNA-CPR order 1.74 (1.14–2.65); ceiling of care 1.55 (1.02–2.33); and SOFA score of 2 and above 1.69 (1.16–2.47). The different clinical tools captured different subsets of the at-risk population, with similar sensitivity. SOFA score 2 or above was independently associated with increased risk of death at 90 days. The sequalae of infection-related organ dysfunction cannot be reliably captured based on routine clinical and physiological parameters alone