Studying biological science does not lead to adoption of a healthy lifestyle

Aims: The lifestyle and physical activity (PA) habits of young people play a key role in the prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases at older ages. The current generation of biological science students at university holds promise for better future medicine and medical technology. However, their physical fitness and lifestyle are often ignored. Methods: Lifestyle, PAs and common risk factors for cardiovascular disease before, and at, university were collected from 408 students using self-completed, anonymous surveys between the academic years of 2017 and 2019 from the School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS® 9.4 software. Results: Among the 408 participants, 134 were male and 274 were female with a mean (SD) age of 19.6 (2.24). Approximately 19% of participants consumed alcohol beyond the safe limit of <14 units/week (112 g/week). Among them, 65% were males. Before university, 47% of students failed to meet the UK National Physical Activity Guidelines (NPAG) which increased to 56% during university with males exhibiting a steeper incline. Compared to their lifestyles before university, more students had insufficient sleep and displayed greater sedentariness during university. Moreover, 16% of students declared no engagement in PA which was greater than the value of 12% before university. Fitness perceptions worsened by 11% during university particularly for females. Statistical analysis revealed that gender, BMI and fitness perceptions were significantly correlated with PA levels. The most prevalent explanation for inadequacy in meeting NPAG was insufficient time. Conclusion: Compared to their pre-university lifestyles, biological science students at university are more likely to adopt unhealthier behaviours with less time for exercise and prolonged sedentary behaviours, which increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases. It is important to raise awareness of their fitness perceptions and to encourage health-promoting programmes at university

Clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of brief guided parent-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy and solution-focused brief therapy for treatment of childhood anxiety disorders: a randomised controlled trial

Background—Half of lifetime anxiety disorders emerge before 12 years of age, however access to evidence-based psychological therapies for affected children is poor. This Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) compared the clinical outcome and cost-effectiveness of two brief psychological treatments for anxious children referred to routine child mental health settings. Methods—Children (5-12 years) referred to Primary Child and Mental Health Services across Oxfordshire, UK, for anxiety difficulties were randomly allocated (1:1) to brief Guided Parent-Delivered Cognitive Behavior Therapy (GPD-CBT) or Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). The primary outcome was Clinical Global Impressions of Improvement (CGI-I). Secondary outcomes were absence of primary anxiety diagnosis and all anxiety disorder diagnoses, self- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms and interference. Parents recorded patient level resource use. Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) were derived from the CHU9D. Assessments were conducted pre-, post- (primary endpoint), and 6- months after treatment. Findings—136 patients were assigned to GPD-CBT (n=68) or SFBT (n=68). Analyses were conducted with the intent to treat population. No significant differences were observed on any clinical (CGI-I; Relative Risk (RR) = 1·01 (0·86, 1·19), p = 0·95) or economic (QALY mean difference = 0·006 (-0·009- 0·02), p = 0·42) outcome measure. However, the GPD-CBT treatment was associated with lower costs (mean difference: -£448; 95% CI: -£934, £37; p=0.070). Interpretation— There was no evidence of clinical superiority, however brief GPD-CBT is likely to be a cost-effective alternative to brief psychological treatment (SFBT) and could be considered as a first-line treatment for children with anxiety problems

Factors associated with concurrent illicit use of opiates and crack/cocaine among opiate-users in Treatment: Implications for treatment services in England.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with concurrent illicit drug use of opiates and crack/cocaine use among individuals receiving of opioid medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in one English rural/urban County Council area. Methods: 776 opiate users in treatment were assessed using the Addiction Dimensions for Assessment and Personalised Treatment (ADAPT) assessment tool. The tool encompasses three domains and 14 subdomains covering addiction severity, recovery strengths and coexisting health and social needs. Data were opportunistically matched to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) and the Treatment Outcome Profile (TOP). Two backward stepwise logistic regression models were run to discern the nature of concurrent illicit drug use. Results: Addiction severity (Odds Ratio [OR] 12.55, Confidence interval [CI] 6.49–24.27), low recovery strengths (OR 2.30, CI 1.30–4.07) and no ‘urge/control’ (OR 27.45, 13.18–57.16) were strongly associated with concurrent use. Individuals with moderate psychological needs were more likely to be abstinent (OR 2.97, CI 1.67–5.29) compared to those with no need. Abstaining from injecting (OR 2.38, CI 1.15–4.93), alcohol consumption (OR 1.55, CI 1.05–2.30), increasing age (OR 1.03, CI 1.01-1.06) and increased quality-of-life (OR 1.05, CI 1.00–1.10) were associated with abstinence from concurrent use. Conclusion: Practitioner assessments with self-report data offer unique perspectives on service users’ holistic needs. Interventions addressing concurrent use during MAT should consider managing urges and control of illicit Class A use, injecting and alcohol consumption within a stepped-care approach. Packages for developing recovery strengths supporting psychological need and enhancing quality-of-life is recommended

OMEGA: a software tool for the management, analysis, and dissemination of intracellular trafficking data that incorporates motion type classification and quality control [preprint]

MOTIVATION: Particle tracking coupled with time-lapse microscopy is critical for understanding the dynamics of intracellular processes of clinical importance. Spurred on by advances in the spatiotemporal resolution of microscopy and automated computational methods, this field is increasingly amenable to multi-dimensional high-throughput data collection schemes (Snijder et al, 2012). Typically, complex particle tracking datasets generated by individual laboratories are produced with incompatible methodologies that preclude comparison to each other. There is therefore an unmet need for data management systems that facilitate data standardization, meta-analysis, and structured data dissemination. The integration of analysis, visualization, and quality control capabilities into such systems would eliminate the need for manual transfer of data to diverse downstream analysis tools. At the same time, it would lay the foundation for shared trajectory data, particle tracking, and motion analysis standards. RESULTS: Here, we present Open Microscopy Environment inteGrated Analysis (OMEGA), a cross-platform data management, analysis, and visualization system, for particle tracking data, with particular emphasis on results from viral and vesicular trafficking experiments. OMEGA provides easy to use graphical interfaces to implement integrated particle tracking and motion analysis workflows while keeping track of error propagation and data provenance. Specifically, OMEGA: 1) imports image data and metadata from data management tools such as Open Microscopy Environment Remote Objects (OMERO; Allan et al., 2012); 2) tracks intracellular particles moving across time series of image planes; 3) facilitates parameter optimization and trajectory results inspection and validation; 4) performs downstream trajectory analysis and motion type classification; 5) estimates the uncertainty associated with motion analysis; and, 6) facilitates storage and dissemination of analysis results, and analysis definition metadata, on the basis of our newly proposed Minimum Information About Particle Tracking Experiments (MIAPTE; Rigano & Strambio-De-Castillia, 2016; 2017) guidelines in combination with the OME-XML data model (Goldberg et al, 2005)

The Role of Uric Acid in Acute and Chronic Coronary Syndromes.

Uric acid (UA) is the final product of the catabolism of endogenous and exogenous purine nucleotides. While its association with articular gout and kidney disease has been known for a long time, new data have demonstrated that UA is also related to cardiovascular (CV) diseases. UA has been identified as a significant determinant of many different outcomes, such as all-cause and CV mortality, and also of CV events (mainly Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) and even strokes). Furthermore, UA has been related to the development of Heart Failure, and to a higher mortality in decompensated patients, as well as to the onset of atrial fibrillation. After a brief introduction on the general role of UA in CV disorders, this review will be focused on UA's relationship with CV outcomes, as well as on the specific features of patients with ACS and Chronic Coronary Syndrome. Finally, two issues which remain open will be discussed: the first is about the identification of a CV UA cut-off value, while the second concerns the possibility that the pharmacological reduction of UA is able to lower the incidence of CV events

Estimating a treatment effect on recidivism for correctional multiple component treatment for people in prison with an alcohol use disorder in England

There is an emerging literature on the impact of correctional substance abuse treatment (SAT) on reoffending for people in prison with substance misuse issues. This study estimates a pathway effect for people in prison receiving multiple component treatments for an alcohol use disorder (AUD) to reduce reoffending by applying treatment effect estimation techniques for observational studies. Treatment groups comprised pharmacological treatments, psychosocial interventions (PSIs) and interventions that incorporate Risk Need Responsivity (RNR) programming. RNR compliant treatment matches treatment dose to the risk of reoffending, targets criminogenic need and is tailored to a person’s learning style. Multiple treatment effect estimators are provided for people in prison diagnosed with an AUD in England when compared to a derived control group for: Pharmacological treatment only; RNR compliant treatment and PSIs. The outcomes for RNR compliant treatment suggest a lower recidivism rate compared to the control group. Pharmacological only treatment results in a statistically significant higher level of reoffending relative to the control group. The creation of a universal system of ‘equivalence of care’ framed within a public health context in English correctional SAT may have had an unintended consequence of diluting approaches that reduce recidivism. There is an opportunity to develop an integrated, cross-disciplinary model for correctional SAT that unites public health and RNR compliant approaches.Public Health Englan

Exploring Reasons for Non-Engagement From a Peer-Led Diversionary Intervention for Veterans in Police Custody

UK veterans with complex needs arrested in police custody can access support through pre-charge diversion into treatment and ancillary services. We consider why veterans in police custody disengaged from a peer-led criminal justice diversionary support service in one UK region that adopted a continuous case management approach. Seven hundred and fifty-seven veterans were assessed to have high levels of comorbid health needs and socio-economic harms, with one-quarter (26.7%, n = 202) subsequently disengaging from the service. A logistic regression model using Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations identified that veterans of a younger age, no-fixed-abode, a history of incarceration, and those from a Royal Navy background were likelier to disengage from the intervention. We conclude that this peer-based diversionary model has some efficacy in maintaining the engagement of a highly complex, comorbid segment of criminally-justice-exposed UK military veterans. The perceived benefits of an integrated peer-based model predicated on continuous case-management techniques are discussed

Early adopters' perceptions of a new diabetes medication system: A questionnaire survey

Psychological and physical factors are barriers to insulin therapy adherence. Insulin delivery devices can help to overcome these barriers; however, research into their use often does not involve human participants, often being undertaken in a laboratory setting, and rarely includes those with impaired ability. Therefore, evidence of the benefits of particular insulin delivery design features for certain individuals within the diabetes population is lacking. The aim of this research, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey, was to identify early adopters’ perceptions of a new diabetes medication system

I comportamenti automatici dei fumatori in relazione all'ultimo episodio di assunzione di nicotina

Al presente studio hanno preso parte soggetti fumatori (n =32) a cui è stato somministrato un test implicito (i.e., IATT, Implicit Approach-Avoidance Task; Castelli & Paladino, 2002) per la rilevazione delle tendenze comportamentali spontanee di approccio nei confronti di stimoli legati al fumo. Si prevede che lo stato motivazionale interno di deprivazione oppure di sazietà influenzi tali risposte comportamentali spontanee. I risultati confermano le ipotesi dimostrando che i partecipanti che da più tempo non consumano sigarette hanno una maggiore facilità nell’approcciare gli stimoli che riguardano il fumo rispetto ai fumatori che da poco tempo hanno fumato. Questi risultati suggeriscono l’importanza di studiare gli effetti che gli stati motivazionali possono avere sui processi automatici che regolano la percezione del fumo da parte dei fumatori

Assessing a pilot scheme of intensive support and assertive linkage in levels of engagement, retention, and recovery capital for people in recovery housing using quasi-experimental methods

Introduction: Strong and ever-growing evidence highlights the effectiveness of recovery housing in supporting and sustaining substance use disorder (SUD) recovery, especially when augmented by intensive support that includes assertive linkages to community services. This study aims to evaluate a pilot intensive recovery support (IRS) intervention for individuals (n=175) entering certified Level II and III recovery residences. These individuals met at least three out of five conditions (no health insurance; no driving license; substance use in the last 14 days; current unemployment; possession of less than $75 capital). The study assesses the impact of the IRS on engagement, retention, and changes in recovery capital, compared to the business-as-usual Standard Recovery Support (SRS) approach (n=1,758). Methods: The study employed quasi-experimental techniques to create weighted and balanced counterfactual groups. These groups, derived from the Recovery Capital (REC-CAP) assessment tool, enabled comparison of outcomes between people receiving IRS and those undergoing SRS. Results: After reweighting for resident demographics, service needs, and barriers to recovery, those receiving IRS exhibited improved retention rates, reduced likelihood of disengagement, and growth in recovery capital after living in the residence for 6-9 months. Conclusion: The results from this pilot intervention indicate that intensive recovery support, which integrates assertive community linkages and enhanced recovery coaching, outperforms a balanced counterfactual group in engagement, length of stay, and recovery capital growth. We suggest that this model may be particularly beneficial to those entering Level II and Level III recovery housing with lower levels of recovery capital at admission