Innovative programmatic approaches to HIV prevention and care services for gay men, other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons using information and communication technology (ICT)

This Special Issue of Digital Culture & Education (DCE) provides innovative programmatic approaches to HIV prevention and care services for gay men, other men that have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons using information and communication technology (ICT) at a time when these same populations are experiencing an alarming upward trend of new HIV infections. During a successful participatory consultation in Washington D.C. in May 2013 hosted by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and co-supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), representatives from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Australia and the United States shared innovative uses of communication technology across HIV research, programs, outreach, advocacy and public-private partnerships. Believing it crucial to share their innovations more widely—through open-access channels—led us to working in partnership with these frontline workers, activists, researchers and educators to further document and share their technological innovations in different global contexts. Importantly, we prioritised working with frontline workers and activists by providing cyclical and targeted writing mentoring to assist them in writing about their successful digital interventions. Disseminating this timely work through open-access channels, like Digital Culture & Education (DCE) means that researchers in less resourced institutions, practitioners and activists in the field and the general public can better understand how ICT, particularly mobile technologies, provides unprecedented opportunities to more effectively reach and engage gay men, other MSM and transgender populations across the HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care cascade

The Golf Caddie - The Forgotten Worker

Caddies are an integral part of the game of golf. As an occupation, little is known regarding the physical and psychological demands of caddying. Likewise, there is a dearth of scientific literature regarding musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among caddies. This research endeavor attempted to provide a review of literature regarding the physical demands associated with caddying as well as the prevalence of MSDs. The authors then provide targeted research recommendations to address the shortcomings of the current state of the scientific literature as related to the occupation of caddying. This information may help inform workplace health intervention strategies to improve job performance/satisfaction, lower the occurrence of MSDs, lower health care costs, increase occupational longevity, and enhance the quality of life for the professional caddie

Prevalence of hyperglycemia in masters athletes

BACKGROUND: Ageing is associated with decreased physical activity, obesity and subsequently an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2dm). Master athletes (MA) have initiated exercise or sport later in life or pursued a physically active lifestyle for an extended period. Subsequently, MAs have been proposed as a model of successful ageing as this active lifestyle is associated with health benefits including decreased health risk of chronic diseases and a reduction in premature mortality. Given long-term physical activity/exercise has previously been shown to be protective against hyperglycemia, a risk factor for T2dm, it is plausible that MA may have protective benefit against developing hyperglycemia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of hyperglycemia via fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in MAs competing at the World Masters Games (WMG). METHODS: This cross-sectional, observational survey utilized an online survey using open-source web-based software was used to investigate MAs physiological and medical-related parameters. Over 28,000 MAs competed in the WMG, of which 8,072 MAs completed the survey. Of these MAs, a total of 486 (males 277, females 209; range 27 to 91 years, mean age 55.1 ± 10.2 years) attained recent pathology results which included FPG which was subsequently analyzed for this study. FPG and other outcome variables were compared between genders and to the Australian and United States general population. RESULTS: Mean FPG for MAs was 5.03 mmol (±1.2, 95% CI [4.9-5.1] mmol) with majority (75.5%) of MAs reporting a normal (5.51 to 7.0 mmol). There was no significant difference ( = 0.333) in FPG between genders however, males had a slightly higher (+2.1%) FPG as compared to females (5.08 ± 1.2 mmol (95% CI [4.9-5.22] mmol) versus 4.98 ± 1.1 mmol (95% CI 4.8-5.1 mmol)). The majority of males (71.8%) and females (80.3%) were classified with a normal FPG. With regard to an abnormal FPG level, only 4.0% of males and 4.9% of females were classified abnormal which was suggestive of undiagnosed T2dm. With regard to age by decade, there was no significant difference ( = 0.06-1.00) between age groups and no relationship between the MAs\u27 age and FPG ( = .054, = 0.24). As a group, MAs had a significantly lower FPG as compared to the Australian (-3.2%, = 0.005) and United States general populations (-13.9%, \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most, however not all, MAs were found to have normal glycaemia, with only a small percentage indicating a risk of developing T2dm (i.e., impaired fasting glucose) and a smaller percentage identified with an abnormal FPG, suggestive of T2dm. These findings suggest MAs appear to be at low metabolic risk for developing T2dm based upon FPG and the physical activity/exercise they complete as MAs may indeed be protective against hyperglycemia whilst maintaining an active lifestyle

A single case study of a family-centred intervention with a young girl with cerebral palsy who is a multimodal communicator

Background - This paper describes the impact of a family-centred intervention that used video to enhance communication in a young girl with cerebral palsy. This single case study describes how the video-based intervention worked in the context of multimodal communication, which included high-tech augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device use. This paper includes the family's perspective of the video intervention and they describe the impact of it on their family. Methods - This single case study was based on the premise that the video interaction guidance intervention would increase attentiveness between participants during communication. It tests a hypothesis that eye gaze is a fundamental prerequisite for all communicative initiatives, regardless of modality in the child. Multimodality is described as the range of communicative behaviours used by the child and these are coded as AAC communication, vocalizations (intelligible and unintelligible), sign communication, nodding and pointing. Change was analysed over time with multiple testing both pre and post intervention. Data were analysed within INTERACT, a computer software to analyse behaviourally observed data. Behaviours were analysed for frequency and duration, contingency and co-occurrence. Results - Results indicated increased duration of mother's and girl's eye gaze, increased frequency and duration in AAC communication by the girl and significant change in frequency [χ2 (5, n = 1) = 13.25, P < 0.05] and duration [χ2 (5, n = 1) = 12.57, P < 0.05] of the girl's multimodal communicative behaviours. Contingency and co-occurrence analysis indicated that mother's eye gaze followed by AAC communication was the most prominent change between the pre- and post-intervention assessments. Conclusions - There was a trend for increased eye gaze in both mum and girl and AAC communication in the girl following the video intervention. The family's perspective concurs with the results

Resting Blood Pressure in Master Athletes: Immune from Hypertension?

Ageing is associated with decreased physical activity, obesity and increased risk of hypertension (HTN). Master athletes (MA) have either pursued a physically active lifestyle throughout their life or initiated exercise or sport later in life. We assessed resting blood pressure (BP) in male and female World Masters Games (WMG) athletes. This was a cross-sectional, observational study which utilized an online survey to assess the blood pressure (BP) and other physiological parameters. Results: a total of 2793 participants were involved in this study. Key findings included differences between genders with males reporting higher resting SBP (+9.4%, \u3c 0.001), resting DBP (+5.9%, \u3c 0.001) and mean arterial pressure (+6.2%, \u3c 0.001). Significant differences ( \u3c 0.001) were also identified when comparing WMG athletes\u27 resting BP results (genders combined) to the general Australian population with WMG athletes having a lower SBP ( \u3c 0.001, -8.4%) and DBP ( \u3c 0.001, -3.6%). Additionally, 19.9% of males and 49.7% of female WMG participants were normotensive whereas 35.7% of the general Australian population were normotensive. Only 8.1% of the WMG athletes (genders combined) were found to be HTN compared to 17.2% in the general Australian population. These findings reflect a low prevalence of HTN in WMG participants and support our hypothesis of a low prevalence of HTN in an active, but aged cohort of MA

Exile Vol. XXXIV No. 1

Rock by Cam Martin (cover) New Arrival by Kent Lambert 3 Le Sacre Du Printemps by David Zivan 4 Nightscape by Cam Martin 5 A Cry For Life by Kent Lambert 7-8 Untitled by Grant Young 9 Crazy Circle by Melissa Wellington 10 Untitled by Shelley Dickerson 13 *The Tall Boy by Lauren Williams 15-19 *Untitled by Shelley Dickerson 21 Our Native Images by Cam Martin 23-38 Untitled by Lauran Hannan 39 Psych 100 by David Zivan 41 Routine by Lauren Williams 42-47 Untitled by Shelley Dickerson 49 A Man\u27s Descent to Hell, by Chris Rynd 51-53 Separation by David Zivan 54 Boat by Cynthia Hoag 55 Passage by Rosemary Walsh 57 Whales by Zachary Smith 58 Untitled by Lauren Hannan 59 Contributor Notes 61 Editorial decision is shared equally amoung [sic] the Editorial Board members. - title page * indicates contest winner -2 NOTE: The poem Crazy Circle by Melissa Wellington is listed as page 10 in the published table of contents but actually appears on page 11

Masters Athletes: No Evidence of Increased Incidence of Injury in Football Code Athletes

The World Masters Games, held quadrennially, is the largest international sporting competition in terms of participant numbers. Yet this cohort remains proportionately under investigated. An online survey using an open-source specialized survey application software program was utilized to investigate the 2009 Sydney World Masters Games (SWMG) football code athletes (association football, touch football, rugby union). A total of 931 masters athletes (28.2% response rate, aged 29 - 72 yrs, mean = 47.6, SD ± 7.1, 52.5% male) completed the survey, with touch football reporting the highest incidence of injury (29.2%) followed by rugby (27.0%) and soccer (21.2%). Analyzing injury data (t-tests, chi square) identified patterns in injury location (legs (11.2%, p \u3c 0.01) followed by knees, feet and ankles) and significant (p \u3c 0.01) classification patterns (muscle/tendon strain/tear (13.0%, p \u3c 0.05), inflammation (6.1%), joint pain (6.0%) and ligament sprain/tear (5.8%)). There were also significant differences (p \u3c 0.01) compared to general and elite sporting population data. For masters football athletes at the SWMG, the injury incidence during preparation for the tournament has similarities to, but is in fact significantly less than for these other sporting populations. Some gender and sport based differences in injury location and classification type were identified. There were also no significant age related changes in injury nature (classification type, location, incidence, time off work or training). Therefore these findings do not support the premise of masters football code athletes having a higher incidence of injury as compared to younger athletes

Masters Athletes: No Evidence of Increased Incidence of Injury in Football Code Athletes

The World Masters Games, held quadrennially, is the largest international sporting competition in terms of participant numbers. Yet this cohort remains proportionately under investigated. An online survey using an open-source specialized survey application software program was utilized to investigate the 2009 Sydney World Masters Games (SWMG) football code athletes (association football, touch football, rugby union). A total of 931 masters athletes (28.2% response rate, aged 29 - 72 yrs, mean = 47.6, SD ± 7.1, 52.5% male) completed the survey, with touch football reporting the highest incidence of injury (29.2%) followed by rugby (27.0%) and soccer (21.2%). Analyzing injury data (t-tests, chi square) identified patterns in injury location (legs (11.2%, p \u3c 0.01) followed by knees, feet and ankles) and significant (p \u3c 0.01) classification patterns (muscle/tendon strain/tear (13.0%, p \u3c 0.05), inflammation (6.1%), joint pain (6.0%) and ligament sprain/tear (5.8%)). There were also significant differences (p \u3c 0.01) compared to general and elite sporting population data. For masters football athletes at the SWMG, the injury incidence during preparation for the tournament has similarities to, but is in fact significantly less than for these other sporting populations. Some gender and sport based differences in injury location and classification type were identified. There were also no significant age related changes in injury nature (classification type, location, incidence, time off work or training). Therefore these findings do not support the premise of masters football code athletes having a higher incidence of injury as compared to younger athletes

Retaining Expression on De-identified Faces

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017The extensive use of video surveillance along with advances in face recognition has ignited concerns about the privacy of the people identifiable in the recorded documents. A face de-identification algorithm, named k-Same, has been proposed by prior research and guarantees to thwart face recognition software. However, like many previous attempts in face de-identification, kSame fails to preserve the utility such as gender and expression of the original data. To overcome this, a new algorithm is proposed here to preserve data utility as well as protect privacy. In terms of utility preservation, this new algorithm is capable of preserving not only the category of the facial expression (e.g., happy or sad) but also the intensity of the expression. This new algorithm for face de-identification possesses a great potential especially with real-world images and videos as each facial expression in real life is a continuous motion consisting of images of the same expression with various degrees of intensity.Peer reviewe