Is it feasible to nest a Trial within a Cohort Study (TwiCS) to evaluate an early years parenting programme? : A Born in Bradford’s Better Start study protocol

Background Evaluating the effectiveness of early years parenting interventions provides evidence to improve the development and wellbeing of children. This protocol paper describes a study to explore the feasibility of evaluating the Incredible Years Toddler early life intervention programme, which is offered to parents of 1–3-year-olds via the Better Start Bradford programme. The study aims to use a Trial Within a Cohort Study (TwiCS) design that randomly selects individuals participating in a cohort to be offered an intervention. The TwiCS information and consent process is person-centred and aims to replicate real world practice whereby only those who are offered the intervention are given information about the intervention. The cohort is the Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) cohort, an interventional birth cohort recruiting expectant parents in three areas of Bradford, UK. The study will assess the feasibility of TwiCS procedures, staged consent, and intervention take-up. Methods We will conduct a feasibility TwiCS to test study procedures. We aim to establish: (1) whether TWiCS methodology can be implemented to create control and intervention arms, while documenting any incidences of contamination within the cohort; (2) whether satisfactory rates of intervention uptake are achieved among participants allocated to the intervention; and (3) whether satisfactory rates of retention of participants in the intervention can be achieved. A RAG rating system has been applied to support the feasibility assessment of each objective: to be rated red (not achieved), amber (partly achieved) and green (achieved). Eligible participants in the BiBBS cohort will be individually randomised 1:1 to the intervention or control arms, with stratification by child age (1 or 2-years-old at the time of randomisation) and ethnicity (White British, South Asian, or other). BiBBS researchers will seek consent from participants randomised to the intervention to pass their contact details onto Incredible Years’ delivery agents. Discussion This feasibility study will inform the utility of the TwiCs approach within an experimental birth cohort to evaluate interventions for infants, toddlers, and their families. Trial registration The study was prospectively registered on ISRCTN (ISRCTN16150114)

Female athlete health domains:A supplement to the International Olympic Committee consensus statement on methods for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport

The IOC made recommendations for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injuries and illness in sports in 2020, but with little, if any, focus on female athletes. Therefore, the aims of this supplement to the IOC consensus statement are to (i) propose a taxonomy for categorisation of female athlete health problems across the lifespan; (ii) make recommendations for data capture to inform consistent recording and reporting of symptoms, injuries, illnesses and other health outcomes in sports injury epidemiology and (iii) make recommendations for specifications when applying the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-Sport Injury and Illness Surveillance (STROBE-SIIS) to female athlete health data. In May 2021, five researchers and clinicians with expertise in sports medicine, epidemiology and female athlete health convened to form a consensus working group, which identified key themes. Twenty additional experts were invited and an iterative process involving all authors was then used to extend the IOC consensus statement, to include issues which affect female athletes. Ten domains of female health for categorising health problems according to biological, life stage or environmental factors that affect females in sport were identified: menstrual and gynaecological health; preconception and assisted reproduction; pregnancy; postpartum; menopause; breast health; pelvic floor health; breast feeding, parenting and caregiving; mental health and sport environments. This paper extends the IOC consensus statement to include 10 domains of female health, which may affect female athletes across the lifespan, from adolescence through young adulthood, to mid-age and older age. Our recommendations for data capture relating to female athlete population characteristics, and injuries, illnesses and other health consequences, will improve the quality of epidemiological studies, to inform better injury and illness prevention strategies

Optimising the biopiling of weathered hydrocarbons within a risk management framework.

Thirty years of research into petroleum microbiology and bioremediation have bypassed an important observation – that many hydrocarbon contaminated sites posing potential risks to human health harbour weathered, ‘mid-distillate’ or heavy oils rather than ‘fresh product’ (Pollard, 2003). Ex-situ biopiling is an important technology for treating soils contaminated with weathered hydrocarbons. However, its performance continues to be represented by reference to reductions in the hydrocarbon ‘load’ in the soils being treated, rather than reductions in the risks posed by the hydrocarbon contamination (Owens and Bourgouin, 2003; Tien et al., 1999). The absence of ‘risk’ from the vocabulary of many operators and remediation projects reduces stakeholder (regulatory, investor, landowner, and public) confidence in remediation technologies, and subsequently limits the market potential of these technologies. Stakeholder confidence in the biopiling of weathered hydrocarbons may be improved by demonstrating process optimisation within a validated risk ma

Large-scale assessment of 7-11-year-olds’ cognitive and sensorimotor function within the Born in Bradford longitudinal birth cohort study [version 2; peer review: 3 approved, 1 approved with reservations]

Background: Cognitive ability and sensorimotor function are crucial aspects of children’s development, and are associated with physical and mental health outcomes and educational attainment. This paper describes cross-sectional sensorimotor and cognitive function data collected on over 15,000 children aged 7-10 years, collected as part of the Born in Bradford (BiB) longitudinal birth-cohort study. Methodological details of the large-scale data collection process are described, along with initial analyses of the data involving the relationship between cognition/sensorimotor ability and age and task difficulty, and associations between tasks. Method: Data collection was completed in 86 schools between May 2016 and July 2019. Children were tested at school, individually, using a tablet computer with a digital stylus or finger touch for input. Assessments comprised a battery of three sensorimotor tasks (Tracking, Aiming, & Steering) and five cognitive tasks (three Working Memory tasks, Inhibition, and Processing Speed), which took approximately 40 minutes. Results: Performance improved with increasing age and decreasing task difficulty, for each task. Performance on all three sensorimotor tasks was correlated, as was performance on the three working memory tasks. In addition, performance on a composite working memory score correlated with performance on both inhibition and processing speed. Interestingly, within age-group variation was much larger than between age-group variation. Conclusions: The current project collected computerised measures of a range of cognitive and sensorimotor functions at 7-10 years of age in over 15,000 children. Performance varied as expected by age and task difficulty, and showed the predicted correlations between related tasks. Large within-age group variation highlights the need to consider the profile of individual children in studying cognitive and sensorimotor development. These data can be linked to the wider BiB dataset including measures of physical and mental health, biomarkers and genome-wide data, socio-demographic information, and routine data from local health and education services

Optimising the biopiling of weathered hydrocarbons within a risk management framework - PROMISE.

Thirty years of research into petroleum microbiology and bioremediation have bypassed an important observation – that many hydrocarbon contaminated sites posing potential risks to human health harbour weathered, ‘mid-distillate’ or heavy oils (Pollard, 2003). Ex-situ biopiling is an important technology for treating soils contaminated with weathered hydrocarbons. However, its performance continues to be represented by reference to reductions in the hydrocarbon ‘load’ in the soils being treated, rather than reductions in the risks posed by the hydrocarbon contamination (Owens and Bourgouin, 2003; Tien et al., 1999). The absence of ‘risk’ from the vocabulary of many operators and remediation projects reduces stakeholder (regulatory, investor, landowner, and public) confidence in remediation technologies, and subsequently limits the market potential of these technologies. Stakeholder confidence in the biopiling of weathered hydrocarbons may therefore be improved by demonstrating process optimisation within a validated risk management framework. To address these issues, a consortium led by Cranfield University’s Integrated Waste Management Centre has secured funding from the Government’s Bioremediation LINK programme. Project PROMISE (involving BP, SecondSite Regeneration Ltd., Dew Remediation Ltd., TES Bretby (Mowlem Group), technology translators PERA, and academics from Aberdeen, Cranfield and Lancaster Universities) aims to improve market confidence in biopiling by demonstrating how this treatment may be applied within a risk

Children's behavioural and emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic : Findings from the Born in Bradford COVID-19 mixed methods longitudinal study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic led to a multitude of immediate social restrictions for many across the world. In the UK, the lives of children and young people were quickly impacted when COVID-19 restrictions led to school closures for most children and restrictions on social interactions. The Born in Bradford COVID-19 longitudinal research study explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of children and their families living in Bradford. Methods Surveys were administered during the first wave of the pandemic (March to June 2020) and compared to findings from before the pandemic. The current study examined the social and emotional wellbeing of children from before to during the pandemic, measured using the parent completed Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). Regression analyses looked at associations between a range of social determinants of health and changes in SDQ scores. Results The results showed that those children most likely to experience difficulties during the pandemic were boys, younger children, those from White British ethnicity (compared to Pakistani heritage children) and those living in the most deprived areas. There were associations between experiencing difficulties and: food insecurity; financial worry; getting below recommended levels of physical activity; and having less than the recommended amount of sleep. Conclusions The effect of COVID-19 restrictions are likely to have had negative consequences on children that could, in time, have long-lasting impacts on the health, wellbeing and development of children in the UK