Promoting library engagement through employability (among other things)

Jennifer Wilson and Laurence Morris explain how a simple reminder about library resources at Leeds Beckett University developed into a service aimed at improving employability amongst students. Utilising existing resources and working in collaboration, the library has created a new way for students to discover and engage with employability skills and services

Diet quality in older age: the influence of childhood and adult socio-economic circumstances.

Socio-economic gradients in diet quality are well established. However, the influence of material socio-economic conditions particularly in childhood, and the use of multiple disaggregated socio-economic measures on diet quality have been little studied in the elderly. In the present study, we examined childhood and adult socio-economic measures, and social relationships, as determinants of diet quality cross-sectionally in 4252 older British men (aged 60-79 years). A FFQ provided data on daily fruit and vegetable consumption and the Elderly Dietary Index (EDI), with higher scores indicating better diet quality. Adult and childhood socio-economic measures included occupation/father's occupation, education and household amenities, which combined to create composite scores. Social relationships included social contact, living arrangements and marital status. Both childhood and adult socio-economic factors were independently associated with diet quality. Compared with non-manual social class, men of childhood manual social class were less likely to consume fruit and vegetables daily (OR 0·80, 95 % CI 0·66, 0·97), as were men of adult manual social class (OR 0·65, 95 % CI 0·54, 0·79), and less likely to be in the top EDI quartile (OR 0·73, 95 % CI 0·61, 0·88), similar to men of adult manual social class (OR 0·66, 95 % CI 0·55, 0·79). Diet quality decreased with increasing adverse adult socio-economic scores; however, the association with adverse childhood socio-economic scores diminished with adult social class adjustment. A combined adverse childhood and adulthood socio-economic score was associated with poor diet quality. Diet quality was most favourable in married men and those not living alone, but was not associated with social contact. Diet quality in older men is influenced by childhood and adulthood socio-economic factors, marital status and living arrangements

Sarcopenic obesity and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality: a population-based cohort study of older men.

OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between sarcopenia, obesity, and sarcopenic obesity and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in older men. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: British Regional Heart Study. PARTICIPANTS: Men aged 60-79 years (n = 4,252). MEASUREMENTS: Baseline waist circumference (WC) and midarm muscle circumference (MAMC) measurements were used to classify participants into four groups: sarcopenic, obese, sarcopenic obese, or optimal WC and MAMC. The cohort was followed for a mean of 11.3 years for CVD and all-cause mortality. Cox regression analyses assessed associations between sarcopenic obesity groups and all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, CVD events, and coronary heart disease (CHD) events. RESULTS: There were 1,314 deaths, 518 CVD deaths, 852 CVD events, and 458 CHD events during follow-up. All-cause mortality risk was significantly greater in sarcopenic (HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.22-1.63) and obese (HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.03-1.42) men than in the optimal reference group, with the highest risk in sarcopenic obese (HR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.35-2.18), after adjustment for lifestyle characteristics. Risk of CVD mortality was significantly greater in sarcopenic and obese but not sarcopenic obese men. No association was seen between sarcopenic obesity groups and CHD or CVD events. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia and central adiposity were associated with greater cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality. Sarcopenic obese men had the highest risk of all-cause mortality but not CVD mortality. Efforts to promote healthy aging should focus on preventing obesity and maintaining muscle mass

A comparison of genetic data from New Zealand and France on twin calving in cattle

Data on twin calvings were compared from New Zealand (1559 cows in 3 selected private herds; two Milking Shorthorn and one Friesian) and France (216 cows in 11 Maine Anjou pedigree herds). Twin calving rates (France only) and cumulative numbers of twin calvings per lifetime (both countries) were obtained for all cows, classified according to their sire and dam groups. Dam groups were defined according to the number of twin calvings in the dam’s lifetime. In New Zealand, the 2 sire groups were defined as follows : (1) no daughter producing 2 or more sets of twins; (2) at least one such daughter. In France, the discrimination was based on the twin calving rate of daughters recorded in the whole population with group 1 below 6% and group 2 over that value. The mean frequencies of cows with at least one set of twins were 0.112 in the New Zealand herds and 0.125 in France. In both countries, there were significant effects of sire and dam groups, but no interaction on a logit scale. In addition, the 2 data sets showed a similar increase (x 1.9 to x 2.5) in frequency of cows producing at least 1 twin set comparing those from dams with twins and those from dams with no twin set. Resultats demonstrated the opportunity of sire selection to improve twin calving performance. The efficiency of selection would also be enhanced by a joint choice of sires dams from prolific groups.Cet article compare des données de vêlages gémellaires obtenues en Nouvelle-Zélande (1559 vaches de 3 élevages privés dont 2 de race laitières Shorthorn et 1 de race Frisonne) et en France (216 vaches provenant de 11 élevages de sélection de race Maine Anjou). On disposait du taux de vêlages gémellaires (en France seulement) et du nombre cumulé de vêlages gémellaires dans la carrière d’une vache et de leur répartition par groupe de pères et de mères. Les groupes de mères étaient définis selon le nombre de vêlages gémellaires observés au cours de la carrière de la vache. En Nouvelle-Zélande, les 2 groupes de pères étaient définis selon que le père comportait (groupe 2) ou non (groupe 1) au moins une fille ayant produit au moins 2 fois des jumeaux. En France, la discrimination était basée sur le taux de vêlages gémellaires observés sur les filles contrôlées dans toute la population, le seuil entre les deux groupes se situant à 6%. La fréquence de vaches ayant eu au moins une fois des jumeaux était de 0,112 en Nouvelle- Zélande et 0,125 en France. Dans les 2 pays, on a mis en évidence des effets significatifs des groupes de pères et de mères, mais pas d’interaction sur une échelle logit. De plus, les 2 fichiers indiquaient des accroissements relatifs similaires des performances de gémellité entre filles issues de mères n’ayant eu aucun vêlage gémellaire et celles issues de mères avec au moins un vêlage gémellaire. Ces résultats prouvent l’intérêt d’une sélection des mâles pour améliorer le taux de vêlages gémellaires ainsi que celui d’un choix simultané de parents parmi les groupes les plus prolifiques

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits in adolescent boys and response to teacher reward and discipline strategies

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and response to rewards and discipline in adolescent boys using a mixed methods approach. Participants comprised 39 boys aged between 12 and 13 years and eight teachers. Quantitative findings showed that CU traits were significantly related to punishment insensitivity, controlling for conduct problems, autism symptoms and hyperactivity. In contrast, there was no significant association between CU traits and reward sensitivity. Qualitative analysis indicated that teachers view children high in CU traits as responsive to fewer reward and discipline strategies, and strategies need to be implemented and monitored with care to avoid unintended, undesirable outcomes. However, time-out, praise, support from other staff and maintaining a positive teacher-child relationship were identified as effective strategies. Findings emphasise the need to carefully select, modify and implement existing evidence-based classroom behaviour management strategies with high CU children

Maternal Health Practices, Beliefs and Traditions in Southeast Madagascar

Contextualising maternal health in countries with high maternal mortality is vital for designing and implementing effective health interventions. A research project was therefore conducted to explore practices, beliefs and traditions around pregnancy, delivery and postpartum in southeast Madagascar. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 256 pregnant women, mothers of young children, community members and  stakeholders; transcripts were analysed to identify and explore  predetermined and emerging themes. A questionnaire was also conducted with 373 women of reproductive age from randomly selected households. Data was analysed using STATA. Results confirmed high local rates of maternal mortality and morbidity and revealed a range of traditional health care practices and beliefs impacting on women’s health seeking  behaviours. The following socio-cultural barriers to health were identified: 1) lack of knowledge, 2) risky practices, 3) delays seeking biomedical care, and 4) family and community expectations. Recommendations include educational outreach and behaviour change communications targeted for women, their partners and family, increased engagement with traditional midwives and healers, and capacity building of formal health service providers. (Afr J Reprod Health 2014; 18[3]: 101-117)Keywords: maternal health, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, Madagascar, socio-cultura

Developing digital literacy skills in professional and academic staff

A paper delivered to the 2016 annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals, outlining new projects and collaborations pertaining to employability and digital literacy and arising from a workshop run by Jennifer Wilson and Erin Nephin at last year’s Leeds Beckett DEAP conference. The paper also emphasised and explored how these projects and collaborations dovetailed with Libraries and Learning Innovation’s more general Academic Support work

Fifty years of spellchecking

A short history of spellchecking from the late 1950s to the present day, describing its development through dictionary lookup, affix stripping, correction, confusion sets, and edit distance to the use of gigantic databases

Targeting risk factors for inhibited preschool children: An anxiety prevention program

Objective: Children with a behaviorally inhibited temperament during early childhood have been shown to have an increased risk for developing anxiety disorders. This study evaluated the efficacy of an anxiety prevention program aimed at reducing the risk of anxiety in behaviorally inhibited preschool children. Method: Participants were 86 children aged 41–57 months and their mothers. Children were selected if their mothers reported high levels of child behavioral inhibition on a screening measure. Participants were randomly allocated to a nine-session intervention or a waitlist control condition. Mothers and children both participated in the intervention. Results. At follow-up, the intervention group had significantly fewer clinician-rated child anxiety disorders and fewer mother-reported child anxiety symptoms than at baseline but this change was not significantly different to the change seen in the waitlist control group. Conclusions: On average, across the course of the study, anxiety decreased in all children irrespective of group. A number of potential reasons for this are discussed along with implications for research and clinical practice