The Frail-LESS (LEss Sitting and Sarcopenia in Frail older adults) intervention to improve sarcopenia and maintain independent living via reductions in prolonged sitting: A randomised controlled feasibility trial protocol

Background Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalised loss of muscle mass and function with advancing age and is a major contributor to frailty. These conditions lead to functional disability, loss of independence, and lower quality of life. Sedentary behaviour is adversely associated with sarcopenia and frailty. Reducing and breaking up sitting should thus be explored as an intervention target for their management. The primary aim of this study, therefore, is to examine the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of conducting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that evaluates a remotely delivered intervention to improve sarcopenia and independent living via reducing and breaking up sitting in frail older adults. Methods This mixed-methods randomised controlled feasibility trial will recruit 60 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years with very mild or mild frailty. After baseline measures, participants will be randomised to receive the Frail-LESS (LEss Sitting and Sarcopenia in Frail older adults) intervention or serve as controls (usual care) for 6 months. Frail-LESS is a remotely delivered intervention comprising of tailored feedback on sitting, information on the health risks of excess sitting, supported goal setting and action planning, a wearable device that tracks inactive time and provides alerts to move, health coaching, and peer support. Feasibility will be assessed in terms of recruitment, retention and data completion rates. A process evaluation will assess intervention acceptability, safety, and fidelity of the trial. The following measures will be taken at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months: sitting, standing, and stepping using a thigh-worn activPAL4 device, sarcopenia (via hand grip strength, muscle mass, and physical function), mood, wellbeing, and quality of life. Discussion This study will determine the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of evaluating a remote intervention to reduce and break up sitting to support improvements in sarcopenia and independent living in frail older adults. A future definitive RCT to determine intervention effectiveness will be informed by the study findings. Trial registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN17158017; Registered 6 August 2021, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17158017Abbeyfield Research Foundatio

User-centered development and testing of a monitoring system that provides feedback regarding physical functioning to elderly people

Purpose: To involve elderly people during the development of a mobile interface of a monitoring system that provides feedback to them regarding changes in physical functioning and to test the system in a pilot study. Methods and participants: The iterative user-centered development process consisted of the following phases: (1) selection of user representatives; (2) analysis of users and their context; (3) identification of user requirements; (4) development of the interface; and (5) evaluation of the interface in the lab. Subsequently, the monitoring and feedback system was tested in a pilot study by five patients who were recruited via a geriatric outpatient clinic. Participants used a bathroom scale to monitor weight and balance, and a mobile phone to monitor physical activity on a daily basis for six weeks. Personalized feedback was provided via the interface of the mobile phone. Usability was evaluated on a scale from 1 to 7 using a modified version of the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ); higher scores indicated better usability. Interviews were conducted to gain insight into the experiences of the participants with the system. Results: The developed interface uses colors, emoticons, and written and/or spoken text messages to provide daily feedback regarding (changes in) weight, balance, and physical activity. The participants rated the usability of the monitoring and feedback system with a mean score of 5.2 (standard deviation 0.90) on the modified PSSUQ. The interviews revealed that most participants liked using the system and appreciated that it signaled changes in their physical functioning. However, usability was negatively influenced by a few technical errors. Conclusion: Involvement of elderly users during the development process resulted in an interface with good usability. However, the technical functioning of the monitoring system needs to be optimized before it can be used to support elderly people in their self-management

Optimisation of octinyl succinic anhydride starch stablised w1/o/w2 emulsions for oral destablisation of encapsulated salt and enhanced saltiness

Sodium (salt) was encapsulated within the inner water phase of w1/o/w2 food emulsions externally stabilised by starch particles with the ultimate aim of enhancing saltiness perception. The physical properties of the starch particles were modified by octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) treatment (0 - 3 %) to vary the degree of hydrophobicity of the emulsifying starch. During oral processing native salivary amylase hydrolysed the starch and destabilised the o/w emulsion releasing the inner w/o phase and subsequently sodium into the oral cavity, resulting in a salty taste. Whilst increasing OSA treatment levels increased the stability of the emulsion, intermediate or low levels of starch modification resulted in enhanced saltiness. It is therefore proposed that 1.5% OSA modified starch is optimal for sodium delivery and 2% OSA modified starch is optimal for sodium delivery in systems that require greater process stability. It is also shown that sodium release was further enhanced by oral processing and was positively correlated with native amylase activity. The results demonstrate a promising new approach for the reduction of salt or sugar in emulsion based foods

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Correction: Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from Australian meat chickens remain susceptible to critically important antimicrobial agents

Correction to Abraham S, O’Dea M, Sahibzada S, Hewson K, Pavic A, Veltman T, et al. (2019) Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from Australian meat chickens remain susceptible to critically important antimicrobial agents. PLoS ONE 14(10): e0224281. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224281 pmid:31644602 There are errors in Tables 2 and 4. The vertical bars representing ECOFFs are not visible in Tables 2 and 4. There is an additional error in the title of Table 4. The value for number of Salmonella (n) is 53, not 206

Situación actual de los fondos autonomicos de asistencia municipal: una evaluacion de la experiencia aragonesa

Correction to Abraham S, O’Dea M, Sahibzada S, Hewson K, Pavic A, Veltman T, et al. (2019) Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from Australian meat chickens remain susceptible to critically important antimicrobial agents. PLoS ONE 14(10): e0224281. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224281 pmid:31644602 There are errors in Tables 2 and 4. The vertical bars representing ECOFFs are not visible in Tables 2 and 4. There is an additional error in the title of Table 4. The value for number of Salmonella (n) is 53, not 206

Tolerância de três cultivares de cebola ao Ioxynil e Oxyfluorfen em semeadura direta Tolerance of three direct drilled onion cultivars to Ioxynil and Oxyfluorfen

Estimou-se, em um experimento instalado em Viçosa (MG), a tolerância de três cultivares de cebola. Allium cepa L., Baia Periforme Super Precoce, Granex Ouro e Texas Grano 502 PRR. cultivados por semeadura direta, ao Ioxynil e Oxyfluorfen, e a eficiência dos tratamentos com relação ao controle de plantas daninhas. Avaliaram-se três doses de cada herbicida (0,125, 0,250 e 0,375 kg/ha, e 0,096, 0,192, 0,288 kg/ha respectivamente) aplicadas 27 dias após a semeadura, distribuídas em um modelo hierárquico com quatro repetições no delineamento em blocos casualizados. O Ioxynil foi mais seletivo para a cebola do que o Oxyfluorfen, principalmente nas doses mais altas; a mais baixa de Ioxynil mostrou-se inadequada para um controle eficaz da maior parte das plantas daninhas presentes. A tolerância das plantas de cebola foi maior para o cultivar Baia Periforme Super Precoce em relação ao Texas Grano 502 PRR. A suscetibilidade do 'Texas Grano 502 PRR' ao Oxyfluorfen expressou-se por meio de reduções significativas na população final de plantas e na produção de bulbos.<br>To estimate the tolerance of three onion (Allium cepa L.) cultivars (Baia Periforme Super Precoce, Granex Ouro and Texas Grano 502 PRR), cultivated under direct drilled system, to Ioxynil and Oxyfluorfen, and the efficiency of these herbicides in weed control a trial was installed in Viçosa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Three rates of each herbicide (0.125, 0.250, 0.372 kg/ha and 0.096, 0.192, 0.288 kg/ha) were applied 27 days after drilling, in a nested factorial design with four replications. Ioxynil was more selective than Oxyfluorfen, specially at higher rates. The lowest rate of Ioxynil did not provide effective control of most weeds present. Baia Periforme Super Precoce cultivar was more tolerant in relation to Texas Grano 502 PRR. The susceptibility of Texas Grano 502 PRR to Oxyfluorfen was expressed by significant decreases in final onion plant population and bulb yield