The effect of a home-based, gamified stability skills intervention on 4-5-year-old children's physical and cognitive outcomes:A pilot study

Background: Stability skills (e.g., static/dynamic balance) are a precursor for other movement skill development (e.g., jumping, catching). However, young children consistently demonstrate low stability and movement skill ability. There is therefore a need to develop effective strategies to improve stability skills in early childhood. Aim: To pilot the effect of a home-based gamified stability skills intervention on 4-5-year-old children's physical skills, self-perceptions and cognitions. Methods: One-hundred-and-eleven 4-5-year-old children participated from three schools. Two schools were allocated into the intervention group (n = 66 children, 33 boys) and one to the control group (n = 45 children, 25 boys). Stability, fundamental movement skills, perceived motor competence, and cognition were assessed at baseline and at post-intervention. The intervention group was given a booklet detailing the 12-week gamified stability skill intervention. The control group participated in their usual weekly activities. Results: A series of ANCOVAs controlling for baseline values demonstrated significantly higher stability skills (F(1,93) = 24.79, p &lt; 0.001, partial η2 = 0.212), fundamental movement skills (F(1,94) = 15.5, p = &lt; 0.001, partial η2 = 0.139), perceived motor competence (F(1,96) = 5.48, p = 0.021, partial η2 = 0.054) and cognition (F(1,96) = 15.5, p = &lt; 0.001, partial η2 = 0.139) at post-test for the intervention versus control groups. Discussion: This study demonstrates that a home-based, gamified, stability skills intervention enhances stability skills, fundamental movement skills, perceived motor competence and cognition in children aged 4-5-years old.</p

Micro RNA Expression after Ingestion of Fucoidan; A Clinical Study

Fucoidans are a class of fucose‐rich sulfated polysaccharides derived from brownmacroalgae that exert a range of biological activities in vitro and in vivo. To generate an unbiasedassessment of pathways and processes affected by fucoidan, a placebo‐controlled double‐blind pilotstudy was performed in healthy volunteers. Blood samples were taken immediately before and 24h after ingestion of a single dose of 1 g of Undaria pinnatifida fucoidan (UPF) or placebo. Levels ofisolated miRNAs were analyzed using Taqman Open Array Human MicroRNA panels. Out of 754miRNAs screened, UPF affected a total of 53 miRNAs. Pathway analysis using the TALOS dataanalysis tool predicted 29 different pathways and processes that were largely grouped into cellsurface receptor signaling, cancer‐related pathways, the majority of which were previouslyassociated with fucoidans. However, this analysis also identified nine pathways and processes thathave not been associated with fucoidans before. Overall, this study illustrates that even a single doseof fucoidans has the potential to affect the expression of genes related to fundamental cellularprocesses. Moreover, it confirms previous data that fucoidans influence immunity, cancer cells,inflammation, and neurological function

Modelling spatial and inter-annual variations of nitrous oxide emissions from UK cropland and grasslands using DailyDayCent

This work contributes to the Defra funded projects AC0116: ‘Improving the nitrous oxide inventory’, and AC0114: ‘Data Synthesis, Management and Modelling’. Funding for this work was provided by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) AC0116 and AC0114, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government. Rothamsted Research receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. This study also contributes to the projects: N-Circle (BB/N013484/1), U-GRASS (NE/M016900/1) and GREENHOUSE (NE/K002589/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The effect of a home-based, gamified stability skills intervention on 4-5-year-old children's physical and cognitive outcomes: A pilot study

Background: Stability skills (e.g., static/dynamic balance) are a precursor for other movement skill development (e.g., jumping, catching). However, young children consistently demonstrate low stability and movement skill ability. There is therefore a need to develop effective strategies to improve stability skills in early childhood. Aim: To pilot the effect of a home-based gamified stability skills intervention on 4-5-year-old children's physical skills, self-perceptions and cognitions. Methods: One-hundred-and-eleven 4-5-year-old children participated from three schools. Two schools were allocated into the intervention group (n = 66 children, 33 boys) and one to the control group (n = 45 children, 25 boys). Stability, fundamental movement skills, perceived motor competence, and cognition were assessed at baseline and at post-intervention. The intervention group was given a booklet detailing the 12-week gamified stability skill intervention. The control group participated in their usual weekly activities. Results: A series of ANCOVAs controlling for baseline values demonstrated significantly higher stability skills (F(1,93) = 24.79, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.212), fundamental movement skills (F(1,94) = 15.5, p = < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.139), perceived motor competence (F(1,96) = 5.48, p = 0.021, partial η2 = 0.054) and cognition (F(1,96) = 15.5, p = < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.139) at post-test for the intervention versus control groups. Discussion: This study demonstrates that a home-based, gamified, stability skills intervention enhances stability skills, fundamental movement skills, perceived motor competence and cognition in children aged 4-5-years old

A multicentre, randomised controlled trial of PDSAFE, a physiotherapist-delivered fall prevention programme for people with Parkinson’s

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this record.Objective: To estimate the effect of a physiotherapist-delivered fall-prevention programme for people with Parkinson’s (PwP). Methods: People at risk of falls with confirmed Parkinson’s were recruited to this multi-centre, pragmatic, investigator blind, individually randomised controlled trial with pre-specified sub-group analyses. 474 PwP (Hoehn and Yahr 1-4) were randomised: 238 allocated to a physiotherapy programme and 236 to control. All participants had routine care; the control group received a DVD about Parkinson’s and single advice session at trial completion. The intervention group (PDSAFE) had an individually tailored, progressive home-based fall-avoidance strategy training programme with balance and strengthening exercises. The primary outcome was risk of repeat-falling, collected by self-report monthly diaries, 0 to 6 months post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes included, Mini-BESTest for balance, chair stand test, Falls Efficacy, freezing of gait, health related quality of life (Euroqol EQ-5D), Geriatric Depression Scale, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly and Parkinson’s disease Questionnaire, fractures and rate of near-falling. Results: Average age, 72 years and 266 (56%) were men. By 6 months 116 (55%) of the control group, and 125 (61.5%) of the intervention group reported repeat falls (controlled odds ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 0.74 to 1.98, P=0.447). Secondary sub-group analyses suggested a different response to the intervention between moderate and severe disease severity groups. Balance, falls efficacy and chair stand time improved with near-falls reduced in the intervention arm. Conclusion: PDSAFE did not reduce falling in this pragmatic trial of PwP. Other functional tasks improved and reduced fall rates were apparent among those with moderate disease.Department of HealthNational Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Domestic smart metering infrastructure and a method for home appliances identification using low‐rate power consumption data

The deployment of domestic smart metering infrastructure in Great Britain provides the opportunity for identification of home appliances utilising non-intrusive load monitoring methods. Identifying the energy consumption of certain home appliances generates useful insights for the energy suppliers and for other bodies with a vested interest in energy consumption. Consequently, the domestic smart metering system, which is an integral part of the smart cities' infrastructure, can also be used for home appliance identification purposes taking into account the limitations of the system. In this article, a step-by-step description on accessing data directly from the domestic Smart Meter via an external Consumer Access Device is described, as well as an easy-to-implement method for identifying commonly used home appliances through their power consumption signals sampled at a rate similar to the rate available by the domestic smart metering system. The experimental results indicate that the combination of time domain with frequency domain features extracted either from the 1D/2D Discrete Fourier Transform or the Discrete Cosine Transform provides improved recognition performance compared to the case where the time domain or the frequency domain features are used separately

Supporting the consumption and co-authoring of locative media experiences for a rural village community: design and field trial evaluation of the SHARC2.0 framework

Locative Media Experiences (LMEs) have significant potential in enabling visitors to engage with the places that they visit through an appreciation of local history. For example, a visitor to Berlin that is exploring remnants of the Berlin Wall may be encouraged to appreciate (or in part experience) the falling of the Berlin wall by consuming multimedia directly related to her current location such as listening to audio recordings of the assembled crowds on 10th November 1989. However, despite the growing popularity of enabling technologies (such as GPS-equipped smart phones and tablets), the availability of tools that support the authoring of LMEs is limited. In addition, mobile apps that support the consumption of LMEs typically adopt an approach that precludes users from being able to respond with their own multimedia contributions. In this article we describe the design and evaluation of the SHARC2.0 framework that has been developed as part of our long-term and participatory engagement with the rural village of Wray in the north of England. Wray has very limited cellular data coverage which has placed a requirement on the framework and associated tools to operate without reliance on network connectivity. A field study is presented which featured a LME relating to Wray’s local history and which contained multimedia content contributed by members of the community including historic photos (taken from an existing ‘Digital Noticeboard’ system), audio-clips (from a local historian and village residents) and video (contributed during a design workshop). The novelty of our approach relates to the ability of multiple authors to contribute to a LME in-situ, and the utilisation of personal cloud storage for storing the contents associated with a multi-authored LME

Louisville Seamount Trail: implications for geodynamic mantle flow models and the geochemical evolution of primary hotspots

The Louisville Seamount Trail is a 4300 km long volcanic chain that has been built in the past 80 m.y. as the Pacific plate moved over a persistent mantle melting anomaly or hotspot. Because of its linear morphology and its long-lived age-progressive volcanism, Louisville is the South Pacific counterpart of the much better studied Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Trail. Together, Louisville and Hawaii are textbook examples of two primary hotspots that have been keystones in deciphering the motion of the Pacific plate relative to a set of "fixed" deep-mantle plumes. However, drilling during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 197 in the Emperor Seamounts documented a large ~15° southward motion of the Hawaiian hotspot prior to 50 Ma. Is it possible that the Hawaiian and Louisville hotspots moved in concert and thus constitute a moving reference frame for modeling plate motion in the Pacific? Alternatively, could they have moved independently, as predicted by mantle flow models that reproduce the observed latitudinal motion for Hawaii but that predict a largely longitudinal shift for the Louisville hotspot? These two end-member geodynamic models were tested during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 330 to the Louisville Seamount Trail. In addition, existing data from dredged lavas suggest that the mantle plume source of the Louisville hotspot has been remarkably homogeneous for as long as 80 m.y. These lavas are predominantly alkali basalts and likely represent a mostly alkalic shield-building stage, which is in sharp contrast to the massive tholeiitic shield-building stage of Hawaiian volcanoes. Geochemical and isotopic data for the recovered lavas during Expedition 330 will provide insights into the magmatic evolution and melting processes of individual Louisville volcanoes, their progression from shield-building to postshield and (maybe) posterosional stages, the temperature and depth of partial melting of their mantle plume source, and the enigmatic long-lived and apparent geochemical homogeneity of the Louisville mantle source. Collectively, this will enable us to characterize the Louisville Seamount Trail as a product of one of the few global primary hotspots, to better constrain its plume-lithosphere interactions, and to further test the hypothesis that the Ontong Java Plateau formed from the plume head of the Louisville mantle plume around 120 Ma. During Expedition 330 we replicated the drilling strategy of Leg 197, the first expedition to provide compelling evidence for the motion of the Hawaiian mantle plume between 80 and 50 Ma. For that reason we targeted Louisville seamounts that have ages similar to Detroit, Suiko, Nintoku, and Koko Seamounts in the Emperor Seamount Trail. In total, five seamounts were drilled in the Louisville Seamount Trail: Canopus, Rigil, Burton, Achernar, and Hadar Guyots (old to young). By analyzing a large number of time-independent in situ lava flows (and other volcanic eruptive products) from these seamounts using modern paleomagnetic, 40Ar/39Ar geochronological, and geochemical techniques, we will be able to directly compare the paleolatitude estimates and geochemical signatures between the two longest-lived hotspot systems in the Pacific Ocean. We drilled into the summits of the five Louisville guyots and reached volcanic basement at four of these drilling targets. In two cases we targeted larger seamount structures and drilled near the flanks of these ancient volcanoes, and in the other three cases we selected smaller edifices that we drilled closer to their centers. Drilling and logging plans for each of these sites were similar, with coring reaching 522.0 meters below seafloor (mbsf) for Site U1374 and 232.9, 65.7, 11.5, 182.8, and 53.3 mbsf for Sites U1372, U1373, U1375, U1376, and U1377, respectively. Some Expedition 330 drill sites were capped with only a thin layer of pelagic ooze between 6.6 and 13.5 m thick, and, if present, these were cored by using a low-rotation gravity-push technique with the rotary core barrel to maximize recovery. However, at Sites U1373 and U1376 no pelagic ooze was present, and the holes needed to be started directly into cobble-rich hardgrounds. In all cases, the bulk of the seamount sediment cover comprised sequences of volcanic sandstones and various kinds of basalt breccia or basalt conglomerate, which often were interspersed with basaltic lava flows, the spatter/tephra products of submarine eruptions, or other volcanic products, including auto-brecciated flows or peperites. Also several intervals of carbonate were cored, with the special occurrence of a ~15 m thick algal limestone reef at Site U1376 on Burton Guyot. In addition, some condensed pelagic limestone units were recovered on three of the other seamounts, but these did not exceed 30 cm in thickness. Despite their limited presence in the drilled sediment, these limestones provide valuable insights for the paleoclimate record at high ~50° southern latitudes since Mesozoic times. Several Louisville sites progressed from subaerial conditions in the top of volcanic basement into submarine eruptive environments, or drilling of the igneous basement immediately started in submarine volcanic sequences, as was the case for Sites U1376 and U1377 on Burton and Hadar Guyots. At three sites we cored >100 m into the igneous basement: 187.3 m at Site U1372, 505.3 m at Site U1374, and 140.9 m at Site U1376. At the other sites we did not core into basement (Site U1375) or we cored only 38.2 m (Site U1377) because of unstable hole conditions. Even so, drilling during Expedition 330 resulted in a large number of in situ lava flows, pillow basalts, or other types of volcanic products such as auto-brecciated lava flows, intrusive sheets or dikes, and peperites. In particular, the three holes on Canopus and Rigil Guyots (the two oldest seamounts drilled in the Louisville Seamount Trail), resulted in adequate numbers of in situ lava flows to average out paleosecular variation, with probable eruption ages estimated at ~78 and 73 Ma, respectively. Remarkably, at all drill sites large quantities of hyaloclastites, volcanic sandstones, and basaltic breccias were also recovered, which in many cases show consistent paleomagnetic inclinations compared to the lava flows bracketing these units. For Site U1374 on Rigil Guyot we also observed a magnetic polarity reversal in the cored sequence. Overall, this is very promising for determining a reliable paleolatitude record for the Louisville Seamounts following detailed postcruise examinations. The deeper penetrations of several hundred meters required bit changes and reentries using free-fall funnels. Basement penetration rates were 1.8–2.5 m/h depending on drill depth. In total, 1114 m of sediment and igneous basement at five seamounts was drilled, and 806 m was recovered (average recovery = 72.4%). At Site U1374 on Rigil Guyot, a total of 522 m was drilled, with a record-breaking 87.8% recovery. Most outstandingly, nearly all Expedition 330 core material is characterized by low degrees of alteration, providing us with a large quantity of samples of mostly well-preserved basalt, containing, for example, pristine olivine crystals with melt inclusions, fresh volcanic glass, unaltered plagioclase, carbonate, zeolite and celadonite alteration minerals, various micro- and macrofossils, and, in one case, mantle xenoliths and xenocrysts. The large quantity and excellent quality of the recovered sample material allow us to address all the scientific objectives of this expedition and beyond

Participant expectations and experiences of a tailored physiotherapy intervention for people with Parkinson’s and a history of falls

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI In this recordPurpose People with Parkinson’s are twice as likely to fall as older people within the general population. This longitudinal qualitative study was part of a larger programme of research including a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a tailored physiotherapy intervention. Specific qualitative aims focused on a subsample of trial participants in the intervention arm of the trial, and comprised the following: - To explore the expectations of participants about the intervention - To investigate participants’ experiences of the intervention, and its perceived impacts - To understand the facilitators and barriers to engagement Methods Two semi-structured interviews were completed with a theoretical sample of people with Parkinson’s from the intervention arm, initially after randomisation but before the intervention commenced, and then again six months later. Results Forty two participants out of a large clinical trial were interviewed initially, with 37 agreeing to a second interview at six months. Prior experience of rehabilitation plus information accessed through the trial consent procedure informed participants’ realistic expectations. Most found the level of the intervention acceptable, and perceived a range of benefits. However, views about equipment provided were more equivocal. The biggest barriers to participation were time and motivation, whilst social support facilitated engagement with the intervention. Conclusion This study is the first to capture expectations about participation in a programme of exercises and strategies. It highlights that previous challenges to engagement in physical exercises and activities are not a barrier to future participation and provides new insights into the role of equipment and technology in programmes of physical activity for people with Parkinson’s. The challenge of ensuring that programmes of exercise and strategies become an embedded feature of everyday life is highlighted, particularly alongside busy social engagements and leisure pursuits.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR