Running free: the impact of frame running on the psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life of novice and experienced athletes with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in childhood and occurs in approximately 1 in 500 live births. CP is characterised by disorders of the development of movement and posture leading to abnormal movement patterns and affecting limb movement and muscle tone causing activity limitations. The severity of impairments varies between individuals thus their activity limitations will also vary. Secondary impairments of CP include cognitive, behavioural, and emotional deficits. The difficulties with motor ability combined with the presence of any associated impairments can cause a cycle of exclusion and deterioration contributing to an inactive lifestyle with associated health risks. Physical benefits of physical activity are well researched for children with disabilities. There is less research available on the psychosocial benefits of physical activity, for children with disabilities, including those with CP. The importance of being physically active is well documented, however barriers to physical activity such as a lack of suitable activities, fear of not enjoying it, fear of failure, or fear of social exclusion are further inhibiting physical activity participation of children with CP. Frame running is an adaptive sport that offers the opportunity for children with CP to be physically active, especially those with more severe CP who are further restricted in their physical activity opportunities. Given the complex and individual nature of CP it can be difficult to identify which aspects of wellbeing (physical, psychological, or social) are most important to measure as the focus of an intervention, rehabilitation, and therapeutic programme. A two-stage Delphi survey involving parents of children with CP, health care professionals and frame running coaches identified the factors that are deemed most important when evaluating the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention for children with CP. Participants of the Delphi survey identified social inclusion, enjoyment and psychological wellbeing as the most important factors, and these results shaped the selection of psychosocial constructs for the following study. Frame running (formally known as racerunning) is a growing sport, however there is very limited research exploring frame running, and currently no research examining the effects of the frame running participation on the psychosocial wellbeing of children with CP. Five participants took part in a single-case design which examined the effects of a 12-week frame running training programme on the QoL and psychosocial wellbeing of five novice athletes around Scotland. Participants completed outcome measures in their home environment on four separate occasions, baseline, pre-, mid-, and post-training. They were also asked to rate their enjoyment level of each session to identify if frame running is viewed as an enjoyable sport, which is key for promoting engagement and adherence to the sport. The results did not show any consistent patterns regarding the impact of frame running on the participants’ psychosocial wellbeing. However, visual analysis of the data showed some trends towards improvement in some aspects of psychosocial wellbeing, specifically self-esteem and psychological wellbeing, however it is not possible to attribute these results solely to frame running participation. Furthermore, the mean rating of enjoyment (out of 5) across the 12 sessions was high at 4.7, highlighting that frame running is perceived as an enjoyable opportunity for physical activity for children with all severities of CP. The quantitative results provide an insight into the positive impact frame running participation can have on psychosocial wellbeing of children with CP, but further research is needed to confirm these findings in a larger sample to a control population may provide a clearer picture. With no consistent pattern of the effect of frame running participation on QoL and psychosocial wellbeing established for novice athletes, a subsequent qualitative study explored the perceived impact of frame running on competitive athletes’ QoL and psychosocial wellbeing. Furthermore, this study focused on the same psychosocial constructs as the previous study. Ten frame running athletes of local to international level completed the online survey, and through thematic analysis, the identified themes and subthemes suggested that participation has had, and does have, a positive influence on their perceived QoL and psychosocial wellbeing. The athletes reported new and enhanced life experiences through frame running, and highlighted the importance of frame running socially, with athletes describing how frame running gave them the opportunity to build and develop friendships worldwide, giving them a sense of inclusion, belonging, and enabling their social confidence, thus enhancing social development. Furthermore, athletes perceived frame running participation to have enhanced their psychological development with improved self-esteem, development of self-concept and self-confidence, and psychological wellbeing, which are reported to positively impact QoL and health outcomes. The results from the current thesis provide new insight into the impact of frame running participation on the QoL and psychosocial wellbeing of both novice and competitive athletes with CP. The combined results suggest results suggests that frame running may have a positive influence on psychological development, through self-esteem and self-concept, as well as impacting on psychological wellbeing and in turn enhancing QoL. The current research shows frame running as an enjoyable and accessible opportunity for individuals with CP to be physically active, which has the potential to contribute to an enhanced QoL and psychosocial wellbeing

Endemic Infection of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus in a Frog Community Post-Decline

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been implicated in the decline and extinction of numerous frog species worldwide. In Queensland, Australia, it has been proposed as the cause of the decline or apparent extinction of at least 14 high-elevation rainforest frog species. One of these, Taudactylus eungellensis, disappeared from rainforest streams in Eungella National Park in 1985–1986, but a few remnant populations were subsequently discovered. Here, we report the analysis of B. dendrobatidis infections in toe tips of T. eungellensis and sympatric species collected in a mark-recapture study between 1994 and 1998. This longitudinal study of the fungus in individually marked frogs sheds new light on the effect of this threatening infectious process in field, as distinct from laboratory, conditions. We found a seasonal peak of infection in the cooler months, with no evidence of interannual variation. The overall prevalence of infection was 18% in T. eungellensis and 28% in Litoria wilcoxii/jungguy, a sympatric frog that appeared not to decline in 1985–1986. No infection was found in any of the other sympatric species. Most importantly, we found no consistent evidence of lower survival in T. eungellensis that were infected at the time of first capture, compared with uninfected individuals. These results refute the hypothesis that remnant populations of T. eungellensis recovered after a B. dendrobatidis epidemic because the pathogen had disappeared. They show that populations of T. eungellensis now persist with stable, endemic infections of B. dendrobatidis

Evaluating Groundwater Nitrate Status across the River Ythan Catchment (Scotland) following Two Decades of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone Designation

Publication history: Accepted - 14 April 2023; Published - 18 April 2023.Diffuse agricultural pollution is one of the greatest challenges to achieving good chemical and ecological status of Scotland’s water bodies. The River Ythan in Aberdeenshire was designated a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) in the year 2000, due to the eutrophication of the Ythan Estuary and rising nitrate trends in Private Water Supply (PWS) groundwater abstractions. The third River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for Scotland reported the Ellon groundwater body of the River Ythan catchment to be of poor chemical status as of 2021 with respect to nitrate, and forecasted groundwater recovery beyond 2027. Following two decades of NVZ designation, we investigated the drivers of groundwater nitrate across the River Ythan catchment through an analysis of long-term (2009–2018) groundwater quality monitoring data collected by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and a recent synoptic groundwater nitrate sampling survey of PWSs. Groundwater nitrate was found to remain elevated across the catchment area, and appeared to be highly sensitive to agricultural practices and meteorological forcing, indicating a high sensitivity of groundwater quality to environmental change. Further hydrogeological characterisation is recommended to better understand the effects of agricultural practices on groundwater quality, and to facilitate achievement of future RBMP goals under a changing climate.This research was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and the QUADRAT Doctoral Training Partnership [NE/S007377/1]

Competing risk bias in prognostic models predicting hepatocellular carcinoma occurrence: impact on clinical decision making

Existing models predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence do not account for competing risk events and, thus, may overestimate the probability of HCC. Our goal was to quantify this bias for patients with cirrhosis and cured hepatitis C. We analyzed a nationwide cohort of patients with cirrhosis and cured hepatitis C infection from Scotland. Two HCC prognostic models were developed: (1) a Cox regression model ignoring competing risk events and (2) a Fine-Gray regression model accounting for non-HCC mortality as a competing risk. Both models included the same set of prognostic factors used by previously developed HCC prognostic models. Two predictions were calculated for each patient: first, the 3-year probability of HCC predicted by model 1 and second, the 3-year probability of HCC predicted by model 2. The study population comprised 1629 patients with cirrhosis and cured HCV, followed for 3.8 years on average. A total of 82 incident HCC events and 159 competing risk events (ie, non-HCC deaths) were observed. The mean predicted 3-year probability of HCC was 3.37% for model 1 (Cox) and 3.24% for model 2 (Fine-Gray). For most patients (76%), the difference in the 3-year probability of HCC predicted by model 1 and model 2 was minimal (ie, within 0 to ±0.3%). A total of 2.6% of patients had a large discrepancy exceeding 2%; however, these were all patients with a 3-year probability exceeding >5% in both models. Prognostic models that ignore competing risks do overestimate the future probability of developing HCC. However, the degree of overestimation—and the way it is patterned—means that the impact on HCC screening decisions is likely to be modest

Extension and stress during continental breakup: seismic anisotropy of the crust in Northern Afar

Studies that attempt to simulate continental rifting and subsequent breakup require detailed knowledge of crustal stresses, however observational constraints from continental rifts are lacking. In addition, a knowledge of the stress field around active volcanoes can be used to detect sub-surface changes to the volcanic system. Here we use shear wave splitting to measure the seismic anisotropy of the crust in Northern Afar, a region of active, magma-rich continental breakup. We combine shear wave splitting tomography with modelling of gravitational and magmatic induced stresses to propose a model for crustal stress and strain across the rift. Results show that at the Ethiopian Plateau, seismic anisotropy is consistently oriented N–S. Seismic anisotropy within the rift is generally oriented NNW–SSE, with the exception of regions north and south of the Danakil Depression where seismic anisotropy is rift-perpendicular. These results suggest that the crust at the rift axis is characterized by rift-aligned structures and melt inclusions, consistent with a focusing of tectonic extension at the rift axis. In contrast, we show that at regions within the rift where extension rate is minimal the seismic anisotropy is best explained by the gravitationally induced stress field originating from variations in crustal thickness. Seismic anisotropy away from the rift is controlled by a combination of inherited crustal structures and gravitationally induced extension whereas at the Dabbahu region we show that the stress field changes orientation in response to magmatic intrusions. Our proposed model provides a benchmark of crustal stress in Northern Afar which will aid the monitoring of volcanic hazard. In addition we show that gravitational forces play a key role in measurements of seismic anisotropy, and must be considered in future studies. We demonstrate that during the final stages of continental rifting the stress field at the rift axis is primarily controlled by tectonic extension, but that gravitational forces and magmatic intrusions can play a key role in the orientation of the stress field

Protecting children in low-income and middle-income countries from COVID-19

CITATION: Ahmed, S. et al. 2020. Protecting children in low-income and middle-income countries from COVID-19. BMJ Global Health, 5:e002844. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002844.The original publication is available at https://gh.bmj.comA saving grace of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-income and upper middle-income countries has been the relative sparing of children. As the disease spreads across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), long-standing system vulnerabilities may tragically manifest, and we worry that children will be increasingly impacted, both directly and indirectly. Drawing on our shared child pneumonia experience globally, we highlight these potential impacts on children in LMICs and propose actions for a collective response.https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/5/e002844.abstractPublisher's versio

The potential mental health effects of remote control in an autonomous maritime world

Many maritime activities, such as loading, unloading and transporting cargoes, consist primarily of long periods of low-stress, with some moments of high stress during complex manoeuvres or unanticipated, dangerous, incidences. The increase in autonomy provided by machines and AI is beginning to take over certain tasks in the maritime sector, to reduce costs and mitigate human error. However, with the current levels of autonomous technology available, legislation, and public trust in the technology, such solutions are only able to remove majority of tasks associated with low-stress periods. In fact, many current remote control solutions still suggest relying on human operators to deal with the complex situations AI struggle with. Such a human–automation relationship could endanger the human element. The concern is that, if the human user is spending a disproportionate part of their time dealing with multiple, unconnected, high-stress tasks, without periods to de-stress, this could increasingly put workers at risk. This paper seeks to highlight potential technical, social, and mental, issues that may arise as the sector begins implementing semi-autonomous and fully autonomous maritime operations