Reactions of (-)-sparteine with alkali metal HMDS complexes : conventional meets the unconventional

Conventional (-)-sparteine adducts of lithium and sodium 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazide (HMDS) were prepared and characterised, along with an unexpected and unconventional hydroxyl-incorporated sodium sodiate, [(-)-sparteine·Na(-HMDS)Na·(-)-sparteine]+[Na4(-HMDS)4(OH)]--the complex anion of which is the first inverse crown ether anion

Are accelerometers a useful way to measure activity in care home residents?

Introduction: Accurate measurement of activity in care home residents is important for monitoring and evaluating interventions for activity promotion. Accelerometers provide a potential method. However, their usefulness in this population has not been well documented. We aimed to explore the feasibility of these in care home residents. Method: Mobile residents who had fallen in the past year, were asked to wear a tri-axial accelerometer (ActivPAL3TM) on the lower thigh for 7 days. Care staff were trained in device application. Users’ skin and problems with use were checked daily. Activity data sought were: step count, time sedentary, time standing and Metabolic Equivalent of Task. Care records were checked for falls. Results: 10/16 residents agreed to wear accelerometers. 7 wore them for 7 days and the remainder for 4, 5 and 6 days respectively. No falls were recorded. Data indicated 1 resident continuously standing which was verified not to be the case by observation. Problems were: data disturbance through removal/fidgeting, hydrofilm dressing flaccidity, premature detachment, care staff non-compliance to waterproof continuous wear, resident skin check non-compliance, prior leg ache attributed to accelerometers (with no worsening), pink skin and activity restriction by care staff. The accelerometers and attachment materials cost £2062.59. Conclusion: In this small feasibility study of care home residents tri-axial accelerometers were so problematic to be of negligible use and we will not be using them in our definitive trial. Activity levels, where recorded were in keeping with published literature showing care residents to be highly sedentary

Do high-protein diets have the potential to reduce gut barrier function in a sex-dependent manner?

Purpose Impaired gut barrier function is associated with systemic inflammation and many chronic diseases. Undigested dietary proteins are fermented in the colon by the gut microbiota which produces nitrogenous metabolites shown to reduce barrier function in vitro. With growing evidence of sex-based differences in gut microbiotas, we determined whether there were sex by dietary protein interactions which could differentially impact barrier function via microbiota modification. Methods Fermentation systems were inoculated with faeces from healthy males (n=5) and females (n=5) and supplemented with 0.9 g of non-hydrolysed proteins sourced from whey, fish, milk, soya, egg, pea, or mycoprotein. Microbial populations were quantified using fluorescence in situ hybridisation with flow cytometry. Metabolite concentrations were analysed using gas chromatography, solid phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ELISA. Results Increased protein availability resulted in increased proteolytic Bacteroides spp (p<0.01) and Clostridium coccoides (p<0.01), along with increased phenol (p<0.01), p-cresol (p<0.01), indole (p=0.018) and ammonia (p<0.01), varying by protein type. Counts of Clostridium cluster IX (p=0.03) and concentration of p-cresol (p=0.025) increased in males, while females produced more ammonia (p=0.02), irrespective of protein type. Further, we observed significant sex-protein interactions affecting bacterial populations and metabolites (p<0.005). Conclusions Our findings suggest that protein fermentation by the gut microbiota in vitro is influenced by both protein source and the donor’s sex. Should these results be confirmed through human studies, they could have major implications for developing dietary recommendations tailored by sex to prevent chronic illnesses

Synthesis of an alkylmagnesium amide and interception of a ring-opened isomer of the important utility amide 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (TMP)

Two new magnesium complexes containing the important utility amide 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (TMP) have been synthesised. Treating the magnesium bis(alkyl) reagent (Me3SiCH2)2Mg with a molar equivalent of TMP(H) in hydrocarbon medium produces the dimeric alkylmagnesium amide complex [(Me3SiCH2)Mg(μ-TMP)]22, which was isolated in high yield. X-ray crystallography revealed that 2 was an unsymmetrical dimer as unusually the two TMP ligands adopt different conformations – one a chair, the other a twisted boat. Solution studies (multinuclear NMR and DOSY NMR spectroscopies) show that 2 undergoes a monomerisation and Schlenk equilibrium in d8-THF. When (Me3SiCH2)2Mg was reacted with two molar equivalents of TMP(H) in hydrocarbon medium [in an effort to prepare Mg(TMP)2] a crystalline sample of a surprising product, a tetranuclear triheteroanionic amide-alkoxide-amidoalkene [(TMP)Mg(μ-TMP){μ-N(H)C(Me)2CH2CH2CH2C(Me) = CH2}Mg(μ-OCH2SiMe3)]23 was obtained. Complex 3 contains two unexpected anions, namely the alkoxide produced via oxygen insertion into a Mg–C bond, and the primary amidoalkene which is produced via ring opening of the TMP anion

Do images of a personalised future body shape help with weight loss? A randomised controlled study

Background: This randomised controlled study evaluated a computer-generated future self-image as a personalised, visual motivational tool for weight loss in adults. Methods: One hundred and forty-five people (age 18–79 years) with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 25 kg/m2 were randomised to receive a hard copy future self-image at recruitment (early image) or after 8 weeks (delayed image). Participants received general healthy lifestyle information at recruitment and were weighed at 4-weekly intervals for 24 weeks. The image was created using an iPad app called ‘Future Me’. A second randomisation at 16 weeks allocated either an additional future self-image or no additional image. Results: Seventy-four participants were allocated to receive their image at commencement, and 71 to the delayed-image group. Regarding to weight loss, the delayed-image group did consistently better in all analyses. Twenty-four recruits were deemed non-starters, comprising 15 (21%) in the delayed-image group and 9 (12%) in the early-image group (χ2(1) = 2.1, p = 0.15). At 24 weeks there was a significant change in weight overall (p \u3c 0.0001), and a difference in rate of change between groups (delayed-image group: −0.60 kg, early-image group: −0.42 kg, p = 0.01). Men lost weight faster than women. The group into which participants were allocated at week 16 (second image or not) appeared not to influence the outcome (p = 0.31). Analysis of all completers and withdrawals showed a strong trend over time (p \u3c 0.0001), and a difference in rate of change between groups (delayed-image: −0.50 kg, early-image: −0. 27 kg, p = 0.0008). Conclusion: One in five participants in the delayed-image group completing the 24-week intervention achieved a clinically significant weight loss, having received only future self-images and general lifestyle advice. Timing the provision of future self-images appears to be significant, and promising for future research to clarify their efficacy. Trial Registration: Australian Clinical Trials Registry, identifier: ACTRN12613000883718. Registered on 8 August 2013

The Falls In Care Home study: a feasibility randomized controlled trial of the use of a risk assessment and decision support tool to prevent falls in care homes

Objective:To explore the feasibility of implementing and evaluating the Guide to Action Care Home fall prevention intervention.Design:Two-centre, cluster feasibility randomized controlled trial and process evaluation.Setting:Purposive sample of six diverse old age/learning disability, long stay care homes in Nottinghamshire, UK.Subjects:Residents aged over 50?years, who had fallen at least once in the past year, not bed-bound, hoist-dependent or terminally ill.Interventions:Intervention homes (n?=?3) received Guide to Action Care Home fall prevention intervention training and support. Control homes (n?=?3) received usual care.Outcomes:Recruitment, attrition, baseline and six-month outcome completion, contamination and intervention fidelity, compliance, tolerability, acceptance and impact.Results:A total of 81 of 145 (56%) care homes expressed participatory interest. Six of 22 letter respondent homes (27%) participated. The expected resident recruitment target was achieved by 76% (52/68). Ten (19%) residents did not complete follow-up (seven died, three moved). In intervention homes 36/114 (32%) staff attended training. Two of three (75%) care homes received protocol compliant training. Staff valued the training, but advised greater management involvement to improve intervention implementation. Fall risks were assessed, actioned and recorded in care records. Of 115 recorded falls, 533/570 (93%) of details were complete. Six-month resident fall rates were 1.9 and 4.0 per year for intervention and control homes, respectively.Conclusions:The Guide to Action Care Home is implementable under trial conditions. Recruitment and follow-up rates indicate that a definitive trial can be completed. Falls (primary outcome) can be ascertained reliably from care records

Exploring the solid state and solution structural chemistry of the utility amide potassium hexamethyldisilazide (KHMDS)

The structural chemistry of eleven donor complexes of the important Brønsted base potassium 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazide (KHMDS) has been studied. Depending on the donor, each complex adopted one of four general structural motifs. Specifically, in this study the donors employed were toluene (to give polymeric 1 and dimeric 2), THF (dimeric 3), N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) (dimeric 4), (R,R)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-1,2-diaminocyclohexane [(R,R)-TMCDA] (dimeric 5), 12-crown-4 (dimeric 6), N,N,N',N'-tetramethyldiaminoethyl ether (TMDAE) (tetranuclear dimeric 8 and monomeric 10), N,N,N',N',N''-pentamethyldiethylentriamine (PMDETA) (tetranuclear dimeric 7), tris[2-dimethyl(amino)ethyl]amine (Me6TREN) (tetranuclear dimeric 9) and tris{2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl}amine (TMEEA) (monomeric 11). The complexes were also studied in solution by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy as well as DOSY NMR spectroscopy

A pilot study of Aboriginal health promotion from an ecological perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For health promotion to be effective in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, interventions (and their evaluation) need to work within a complex social environment and respect Indigenous knowledge, culture and social systems. At present, there is a lack of culturally appropriate evaluation methods available to practitioners that are capable of capturing this complexity. As an initial response to this problem, we used two non-invasive methods to evaluate a community-directed health promotion program, which aimed to improve nutrition and physical activity for members of the Aboriginal community of the Goulburn-Murray region of northern Victoria, Australia. The study addressed two main questions. First, for members of an Aboriginal sporting club, what changes were made to the nutrition environment in which they meet and how is this related to national guidelines for minimising the risk of chronic disease? Second, to what degree was the overall health promotion program aligned with an ecological model of health promotion that addresses physical, social and policy environments as well as individual knowledge and behaviour?</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Rather than monitoring individual outcomes, evaluation methods reported on here assessed change in the nutrition environment (sports club food supply) as a facilitator of dietary change and the 'ecological' nature of the overall program (that is, its complexity with respect to numbers of targets, settings and strategies).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were favourable changes towards the provision of a food supply consistent with Australian guidelines at the sports club. The ecological analysis indicated that the design and implementation of the program were consistent with an ecological model of health promotion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The evaluation was useful for assessing the impact of the program on the nutrition environment and for understanding the ecological nature of program activities.</p