Town of Harrison Maine Ordinances

Ordinances cover: Bear River Aquifer Protection; Building Permit; Cable TV; Cell Tower; Curfew; Dog; Emergency Management; Fireworks; Flood Plain; Loitering; Mass Gatherings; Mooring; New Road Construction; Safe Zone; Shoreland Zoning; Site Plan Review; Skateboarding; Street Name and Numbering; Subdivision; Traffic Parkin

Apathy as a determinant of health behaviors in older adults: Implications for dementia risk reduction

INTRODUCTION: Long-term improvements in physical inactivity and other behavioral risk factors are integral to dementia risk reduction; however, sustained behavior change is challenging. Apathy, depression, and fatigue may impact engagement in health behaviors, but their presentation overlaps. This study investigates whether these symptoms are differentially associated with multiple health behaviors. METHODS: In 1037 community-dwelling older adults without dementia (aged 70–90, 55% women), regression analyses examined apathy, depression, and fatigue as predictors of health behaviors (physical activity, diet, alcohol, smoking) and a behavioral risk index. RESULTS: Apathy was associated with reduced physical activity and alcohol use, and one or multiple behavioral risk factors. No or inconsistent relations were found between depression or fatigue and health behaviors. DISCUSSION: Apathy is relevant to multiple health behaviors and should be considered when designing health promotion for older adults, including interventions for dementia risk reduction. Findings highlight the importance of distinguishing apathy from comorbid symptoms. Highlights: Novel theory-based perspective on behavioural risk factors for dementia. Higher apathy predicted less physical activity and alcohol use, and increased odds of lifestyle risk factors. Depressive symptoms were not associated with any health behavior. Apathy may be a determinant of multiple health behaviors in older adults, distinct from depression and fatigue. Considering apathy in precision prevention of dementia appears warranted

Presentation of glaucoma in the greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana

Background: This study addresses the prevalence and clinical presentation of patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in the greater Accra metropolitan area.Methods: This is a retrospective case series of 455 patients (813 eyes) at the Emmanuel Eye Clinic. Patients were diagnosed from May 2008 to Nov 2011. The definition of POAG conformed to the International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology (ISGEO) criteria. Information collected included basic demographic data, distribution of glaucoma subtypes, measured intraocular pressure (IOP), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optic disc measurements.Results: Nearly 24% presented blind in at least one eye. The average age was 56.7 +/-16.7 years and the average IOP was 33.9 mmHg +/- 12.7 mmHg for right eyes and 33.5 mmHg +/-12.0 mmHg for left eyes. Themean vertical cup to disc ratio (vCDR) was 0.83 for right eyes versus 0.82 for left eyes. A total of 32 patients (53 eyes) were diagnosed with normal tension glaucoma (NTG). Statistically significant differences between the NTG and high tension groups included age (45.3 +/- 16.7 vs. 56.7 +/-16.7, p<0.001), mean IOP (19.1 mmHg +/- 4.5 mmHg vs. 33.7 +/- 12.4 mmHg,p<0.001) and mean vCDR (0.76 +/- 0.17 vs. 0.83 +/- 0.10, p<0.01). Comparing age-matched NTG patients with high tension glaucoma patients showed no significant difference in vCDR.Conclusions: The clinical presentation of POAG at the Emmanuel Eye Center is characterized by elevated IOP and grossly advanced optic neuropathy. Significant differences between high tension glaucoma and NTG were identified.Keywords: Primary Open Angle Glaucoma, Normal Tension Glaucoma, Ghana, Accra, Afric

Comparison of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma Patients in Rural and Urban Ghana

Purpose: To compare the clinical features of glaucoma patients who present at a rural hospital in North Eastern Ghana and an urban hospital in the capital city of Accra.Methods: This is a multi-center retrospective case series involving records of newly diagnosed glaucoma patients with emphasis on primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Information collected included basic demographic data, intraocular pressures and optic disc measurements.Results: A total of 949 patients (437 rural; 512 urban; 1868 eyes) were included. Rural vs. urban comparisons, respectively: mean age, 53.2 ± 16.3 vs. 54.5 ± 16.4 years; male: female ratio, 3:2 vs. 1:1; POAG, 78.1% vs. 50.6%; POAG suspect, 10.3% vs. 41.9%; IOP, 39.2 ± 7.1 vs. 31.8 ± 7.3 mmHg; bilateral blindness, 34.1% vs. 17.5%; uniocular blindness, 52.2% vs. 32.9%. Females at the rural hospital were twice as likely to present blind in at least one eye (OR 2.04, CI 1.36 - 3.07, p<0.001).Conclusions: Patients with POAG at the rural hospital present with more advanced disease characteristics.Keywords: glaucoma, open angle,Ghana, Urban, rura

Genomic surveillance reveals low prevalence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the East of England

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is an emerging problem in many parts of the world. LA-MRSA has been isolated previously from animals and humans in the United Kingdom (UK), but the prevalence is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and to describe the molecular epidemiology of LA-MRSA isolated in the East of England (broadly Cambridge and the surrounding area). We accessed whole genome sequence data for 2,283 MRSA isolates from 1,465 people identified during a 12-month prospective study between 2012 and 2013 conducted in the East of England, United Kingdom. This laboratory serves four hospitals and 75 general practices. We screened the collection for multilocus sequence types (STs) and for host specific resistance and virulence factors previously associated with LA-MRSA. We identified 13 putative LA-MRSA isolates from 12 individuals, giving an estimated prevalence of 0.82% (95% CI 0.47% to 1.43%). Twelve isolates were mecC-MRSA (ten CC130, one ST425 and one ST1943) and single isolate was ST398. Our data demonstrate a low burden of LA-MRSA in the East of England, but the detection of mecC-MRSA and ST398 indicates the need for vigilance. Genomic surveillance provides a mechanism to detect and track the emergence and spread of MRSA clones of human importance.Supported by grants from the UKCRC Translational Infection Research (TIR) Initiative, and the Medical Research Council (Grant Number G1000803) with contributions to the Grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research on behalf of the Department of Health, and the Chief Scientist Ofce of the Scottish Government Health Directorate (to Prof. Peacock); a Hospital Infection Society Major Research Grant, and by Wellcome Trust grant number 098051 awarded to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Tis work was supported by the Wellcome Trust 201344/Z/16/Z. M.E.T. is a Clinician Scientist Fellow, supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Health Foundation, and by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre

Designing for digital wellbeing: A research & practice agenda

Traditionally, many consumer-focused technologies have been designed to maximize user engagement with their products and services. More recently, many technology companies have begun to introduce digital wellbeing features, such as for managing time spent and for encouraging breaks in use. These are in the context of, and likely in response to, renewed concerns in the media about technology dependency and even addiction. The promotion of technology abstinence is also increasingly widespread, e.g., via digital detoxes. Given that digital technologies are an important and valuable feature of many people's lives, digital wellbeing features are arguably preferable to abstinence

Longitudinal genomic surveillance of MRSA in the UK reveals transmission patterns in hospitals and the community

Genome sequencing has provided snapshots of the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during suspected outbreaks in isolated hospital wards. Scale-up to populations is now required to establish the full potential of this technology for surveillance. We prospectively identified all individuals over a 12-month period who had at least one MRSA-positive sample processed by a routine diagnostic microbiology laboratory in the East of England, which received samples from three hospitals and 75 general practitioner (GP) practices. We sequenced at least 1 MRSA isolate from 1465 individuals (2282 MRSA isolates) and recorded epidemiological data. An integrated epidemiological and phylogenetic analysis revealed 173 transmission clusters containing between 2 and 44 cases and involving 598 people (40.8%). Of these, 118 clusters (371 people) involved hospital contacts alone, 27 clusters (72 people) involved community contacts alone, and 28 clusters (157 people) had both types of contact. Community- and hospital-associated MRSA lineages were equally capable of transmission in the community, with instances of spread in households, long-term care facilities, and GP practices. Our study provides a comprehensive picture of MRSA transmission in a sampled population of 1465 people and suggests the need to review existing infection control policy and practice.This work was supported by grants from the UK Clinical Research Collaboration Translational Infection Research Initiative and the Medical Research Council (grant no. G1000803) with contributions to the grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on behalf of the Department of Health, and the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorate (to S.J.P.); by a Hospital Infection Society Major Research Grant; by Wellcome Trust grant no. 098051 awarded to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; and by Wellcome Trust 201344/Z/16/Z awarded to F.C. M.S.T. is a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD fellow. M.E.T. is a Clinician Scientist Fellow, supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Health Foundation and by the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centr

Leptons in Holographic Composite Higgs Models with Non-Abelian Discrete Symmetries

We study leptons in holographic composite Higgs models, namely in models possibly admitting a weakly coupled description in terms of five-dimensional (5D) theories. We introduce two scenarios leading to Majorana or Dirac neutrinos, based on the non-abelian discrete group $S_4\times \Z_3$ which is responsible for nearly tri-bimaximal lepton mixing. The smallness of neutrino masses is naturally explained and normal/inverted mass ordering can be accommodated. We analyze two specific 5D gauge-Higgs unification models in warped space as concrete examples of our framework. Both models pass the current bounds on Lepton Flavour Violation (LFV) processes. We pay special attention to the effect of so called boundary kinetic terms that are the dominant source of LFV. The model with Majorana neutrinos is compatible with a Kaluza-Klein vector mass scale $m_{KK}\gtrsim 3.5$ TeV, which is roughly the lowest scale allowed by electroweak considerations. The model with Dirac neutrinos, although not considerably constrained by LFV processes and data on lepton mixing, suffers from a too large deviation of the neutrino coupling to the $Z$ boson from its Standard Model value, pushing $m_{KK}\gtrsim 10$ TeV.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figures; v2: Note added in light of recent T2K and MINOS results, figures updated with new limit from MEG, references added, various minor improvements, matches JHEP published versio