A Good Life with Dementia : Realist evaluation of a post-diagnostic peer-led course, run by and for people with dementia

The Good Life with Dementia approach was created by and for people with dementia so that those with lived experience could provide structured support to others newly diagnosed with the condition. The programme is based on some underlying ideas (theories) about why such an approach might work more effectively than traditional (professional-led) forms of post-diagnostic support. A team at the University of York, in collaboration with Tees Esk and Wear Valley’s NHS Foundation Trust, has been working with peer tutors and other stakeholders living with dementia to make these underlying theories explicit. In the NIHR Three Schools funded project: Understanding the Role of 'Peer Tutors' in Post-Diagnostic Support for People with Dementia: A Realist Process Evaluation of the Good Life with Dementia Approach, theories of change are being tested and refined to clarify: how the peer-tutor programme might improve things; who it might improve things for; to what extent; and in what contexts. We are also exploring what outcomes the programme might influence, and which factors influence whether these outcomes are achieved. In this session we present early findings from initial stages of this evaluation, including observations of Good Life course sessions and initial theories of change. As with all elements of the programme and associated research, the presentation was designed in collaboration with experts by experience, whose voices have and will continue to feed into developing theories. A next step will be to test out initial theories in different contexts, including with stakeholders from South Asian communities

Identifying Loneliness and Social Isolation in Care Home Residents with Sight Loss : Lessons from Using the De Jong Gierveld Scale

Context: Experience of loneliness amongst care home residents with sight loss is associated with limitations in activities of daily living, poor self-reported health, and increased rates of depression. Care homes are encouraged to use screening tools to identify those at risk of loneliness. Objectives: The study aimed to describe the findings and experience of applying a validated, multi-item scale to identify loneliness and isolation in care home residents with sight loss in England, UK. Methods: The six-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale was administered to residents residing in long-term care homes with sight loss. Participants were aged 65+ years old with vision impairment that could not be corrected by glasses. Descriptive analysis of loneliness scale data was undertaken supplemented with observational field notes of implementation challenges. Findings: Only 42 applications of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale were possible. The mean sub-scale scores for emotional loneliness, social loneliness and the mean overall loneliness score were 1.36 (sd = 1.16), 1.19 (sd = 1.04) and 2.55 (sd = 1.9) respectively. Challenges observed in scale administration and understanding of scale items by residents might preclude it as a loneliness case-identification tool in busy care home environments. Limitations: The study reports on the challenges implementing a questionnaire which achieved a low rate of data collection. Implications: For case-identification of loneliness, care homes may wish to consider use of a single-item loneliness question rather than multi-item scales due to variable length of administration and resident comprehension

Reablement services for people at risk of needing social care: the MoRe mixed-methods evaluation.

Background Reablement is an intensive, time-limited intervention for people at risk of needing social care or increased intensity of care. Differing from homecare, it seeks to restore functioning and self-care skills. In England, it as a core element of intermediate care. The existing evidence base is limited. Aims Describe reablement services in England and develop a service model typology; Conduct a mixed method comparative evaluation of service models investigating outcomes, factors impacting outcomes, costs and cost-effectiveness, and user and practitioner experiences; Investigate specialist reablement services/practices for people with dementia. Methods Work package 1 (WP1), taking place in 2015, surveyed reablement services in England. Data were collected on organisational characteristics, service delivery and practice, and service costs and caseload. Work package 2 (WP2) was an observational study of three reablement services, each representing a different service model. Data collected included: health- (EQ-5D-5L) and social care-related (ASCOT SCT-4) quality of life, practitioner (Barthel Index) and self-reported (NEADL scale) functioning, individual and service characteristics, and resource use. It was collected on entry into reablement (n=186), at discharge (n=128) and, for those reaching the timepoint within the study timeline, six months post-discharge (n=64). Interviews with staff and service users explored experiences of delivering or receiving reablement and its perceived impacts. Work package 3 (WP3) interviewed staff in eight reablement services to investigate experiences of reabling people with dementia. Results 201 services, located in 139 Local Authorities took part in the survey. Services varied in their organisational base, relationship with other intermediate care services, use of out-sourced providers, skill mix, and scope of reablement input. These characteristics influenced aspects of service delivery and practice. Average cost per case was £1,728. Lower than expected sample sizes meant a comparison of service models in WP2 was not possible. Findings are preliminary. At T1, significant improvements in mean score on outcome measures except self-reported functioning were observed. Further improvements were observed at T2, but only significant for self-reported functioning. There was some evidence that individual (e.g. engagement, mental health) and service (e.g. service structure) characteristics were associated with T1 outcomes and resource use. Staff views on factors affecting outcomes typically aligned with, or offered possible explanations for, these associations. However, it was not possible to establish the significance of these findings in terms of practice or commissioning decisions. Service users expressed satisfaction with reablement and identified two core impacts: regained independence and, during reablement, companionship. Staff participating in WP3 believed people with dementia can benefit from reablement, but objectives may differ and expectations for regained independence inappropriate. Furthermore, practice (e.g. duration of home visits) should be adjusted and staff adequately trained. Conclusions The study contributes to our understanding of reablement, and what impacts on outcomes and costs. Staff believe reablement can be appropriate for people with dementia. Findings will be of interest to commissioners and service managers. Future research should further investigate factors impacting on outcomes, and reabling people with dementia

Introduction to Special Issue - In-depth study of air pollution sources and processes within Beijing and its surrounding region (APHH-2 Beijing)

Abstract. The Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-Beijing) programme is an international collaborative project focusing on understanding the sources, processes and health effects of air pollution in the Beijing megacity. APHH-Beijing brings together leading China and UK research groups, state-of-the-art infrastructure and air quality models to work on four research themes: (1) sources and emissions of air pollutants; (2) atmospheric processes affecting urban air pollution; (3) air pollution exposure and health impacts; and (4) interventions and solutions. Themes 1 and 2 are closely integrated and support Theme 3, while Themes 1-3 provide scientific data for Theme 4 to develop cost-effective air pollution mitigation solutions. This paper provides an introduction to (i) the rationale of the APHH-Beijing programme, and (ii) the measurement and modelling activities performed as part of it. In addition, this paper introduces the meteorology and air quality conditions during two joint intensive field campaigns - a core integration activity in APHH-Beijing. The coordinated campaigns provided observations of the atmospheric chemistry and physics at two sites: (i) the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in central Beijing, and (ii) Pinggu in rural Beijing during 10 November – 10 December 2016 (winter) and 21 May- 22 June 2017 (summer). The campaigns were complemented by numerical modelling and automatic air quality and low-cost sensor observations in the Beijing megacity. In summary, the paper provides background information on the APHH-Beijing programme, and sets the scene for more focussed papers addressing specific aspects, processes and effects of air pollution in Beijing

Differential Effect of TLR2 and TLR4 on the Immune Response after Immunization with a Vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis or Bordetella pertussis

Neisseria meningitidis and Bordetella pertussis are Gram-negative bacterial pathogens that can cause serious diseases in humans. N. meningitidis outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines and whole cell pertussis vaccines have been successfully used in humans to control infections with these pathogens. The mechanisms behind their effectiveness are poorly defined. Here we investigated the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 in the induction of immune responses in mice after immunization with these vaccines. Innate and adaptive immune responses were compared between wild type mice and mice deficient in TLR2, TLR4, or TRIF. TRIF-deficient and TLR4-deficient mice showed impaired immunity after immunization. In contrast, immune responses were not lower in TLR2−/− mice but tended even to be higher after immunization. Together our data demonstrate that TLR4 activation contributes to the immunogenicity of the N. meningitidis OMV vaccine and the whole cell pertussis vaccine, but that TLR2 activation is not required

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

The United States COVID-19 Forecast Hub dataset

Academic researchers, government agencies, industry groups, and individuals have produced forecasts at an unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. To leverage these forecasts, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with an academic research lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to create the US COVID-19 Forecast Hub. Launched in April 2020, the Forecast Hub is a dataset with point and probabilistic forecasts of incident cases, incident hospitalizations, incident deaths, and cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 at county, state, and national, levels in the United States. Included forecasts represent a variety of modeling approaches, data sources, and assumptions regarding the spread of COVID-19. The goal of this dataset is to establish a standardized and comparable set of short-term forecasts from modeling teams. These data can be used to develop ensemble models, communicate forecasts to the public, create visualizations, compare models, and inform policies regarding COVID-19 mitigation. These open-source data are available via download from GitHub, through an online API, and through R packages

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements