Increased Sensitivity to Physical Activity in Healthy Older Adults Predicts Worse Pain and Functional Outcomes

poster abstractPrior research indicates older adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA) have increased sensitivity to physical activity (SPA) and respond to physical activities of stable intensity with increases in pain. SPA predicted self-reported pain and function in older adults with knee OA. It is unknown whether SPA is present in healthy older adults without chronic pain and predicts functional outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if SPA in response to a standardized 6-minute Walk Test cross-sectionally predicted selfreported pain, physical function, and physical activity behaviors in healthy older adults. Forty-two older adults (age=67.5±5 years) completed the Pain subscale of the Quality of Well Being scale (QWB–measures the frequency and severity of pain during common daily activities), the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36–measure of physical function), the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), and wore an accelerometer on the hip for 7 days. Subjects rated overall bodily discomfort (0-100 scale) prior to and during each minute of the 6MWT. RPE was recorded at the end of the walk. An SPA index was created by subtracting the initial bodily discomfort ratings from the peak ratings. Average moderate to vigorous physical activity/day (MVPA) and steps/day were recorded from the accelerometer. Dependent variables were analyzed with hierarchical linear regressions with SPA as the final predictor. Sixty percent of older adults experienced SPA (SPA=9.5±15.6). After accounting for age, sex, BMI, and meters walked on the 6MWT, SPA significantly predicted steps and MVPA per day, RPE on the 6MWT, and severity and frequency of activity related pain on the QWB scale. These results revealed that increased SPA in healthy older adults was associated with fewer steps and MVPA per day, greater exertion on 6MWT, and greater self-reported activity-related pain. This study was funded by the IUPUI School of PETM Faculty Research Opportunity Grant

Eliciting consent from patients with dementia in general X-ray departments: Law, ethics and interpretation of context

Background: While the numbers of individuals suffering from dementia syndromes in the UK steadily increase, many practitioners in the allied healthcare professions, and particularly junior staff, still feel ill-equipped for face-to-face communicative encounters with such individuals (Miller et al., 2019; Tullo et al., 2016). An elemental feature of effective communication in healthcare contexts is the seeking of proper consent to perform given procedures. The propositions above, however, raise questions regarding how ‘properly’ consent is being acquired when dementia is at stake. This paper, thus, reports findings from a qualitative study of general radiographers’ experiences of acquiring consent from patients with dementia, specifically exploring participants’ interpretations of correct legal and ethical practice therein. Methods: With institutional ethical approval, N=6 general radiographers with less than ten years of clinical experience were recruited to sit for extended interviews. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using the domain-established techniques of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Miller et al., 2017). Results: Four key areas of extremely variable interpretation and practice were identified. (1) How to assess capacity for informed consent; (2) How to effectively modify communication when gaining consent; (3) Managing carer involvement during consent-acquisition and; (4) Constituting the ‘best interest’ of the patient. Conclusion: Participants’ own accounts often indicated that they were often not lawfully implementing the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) when acquiring consent. Moreover, as previously identified by Miller et al. (2019), the situational confusion did little for participants’ confidence, with prospectively damaging import for future encounters. Stronger training in practical application of the MCA is recommended

How do I sound to me? Perceived changes in communication in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To examine self and carer perceived changes in communication associated with Parkinson's disease and relate these to speech intelligibility, gender, age and other disease measures. Design: Cross-sectional survey of a hospital- and community-based sample of 176 people with Parkinson's disease and their carers using a questionnaire based on semantic differential techniques. Participants: One hundred and four people with Parkinson's disease with no history of communication difficulties prior to onset of their Parkinson's disease and 45 primary carers who returned completed questionnaires. Main outcome measures: Differences in ratings for `before' the onset of Parkinson's disease versus present status. Results: There was a strong perception of negative impact on communication between `before' and `now', irrespective of age and gender and largely independent of disease severity and duration, intelligibility and cognitive status. Activities of daily living (assessed by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II) and depression rating scale scores had the strongest association with change (adjusted R 2 0.27). There was a significant correlation between the rank order of perceived change in features examined in people with Parkinson's disease versus their carers, though in general carers rated change as having less impact. Conclusions: Parkinson's disease exercises a strong influence on communication even before apparent alterations to intelligibility or motor status

Hope for resurrecting a functionally extinct parrot or squandered social capital? Landholder attitudes towards the Orange-bellied Parrot (Neophema chrysogaster) in Victoria, Australia

In early 2010, after 27 years of recovery effort, the orange-bellied parrot (OBP; Neophema chrysogaster) was expected to be extinct in the wild within a few years. Shortly before the imminent wild extinction became evident, we surveyed landholders (114 responses of 783 surveys delivered) in part of the main non-breeding area, according to three classes of modelled habitat suitability (\u27high\u27, \u27medium\u27, and \u27low\u27). Predictions of the habitat models appear to correlate with landholder perceptions of the presence of OBP habitat on private land, thus the models appear a tractable way to identify key stakeholders worthy of priority consultation in relation to habitat works. Landholders were sympathetic to wetlands and birds, including OBPs (89.4% were aware of OBPs). Most indicated that they would be upset if the OBP went extinct and agreed that critical habitat should be protected; 80.7% were prepared to consider changes to the way they managed their land to benefit the species, and sought more information on how they could do so (64.0%). This study suggests that the habitat model usefully identified key stakeholders and the OBP enjoyed high awareness, concern, and engagement among many stakeholders, shortly before the species was considered functionally extinct. The maintenance of landholder support is likely to be critical if future attempts are made to reintroduce the species to the wild

Toward incorporating human dimensions information into wildlife management decision-making

This paper presents a comparison of values of wildlife held by stakeholder groups and public samples in Victoria, Australia, with a sample of wildlife managers\u27 beliefs about these groups. It also examines the managers\u27 views of the importance of utilizing human dimensions information in their decision-making. In-depth interviews were conducted with wildlife/environmental managers in a sample of state and local government agencies and members of wildlife management stakeholder groups. Questionnaires were used to explore values of wildlife held by stakeholder group members and the Victorian public. There are several instances of interviewed managers misunderstanding the values held by stakeholder groups and subsets of the Victorian public. Such discrepancies can be reduced by incorporating systematically obtained human dimensions information into management decisions. Interviewed wildlife managers appear to appreciate the importance of human dimensions information; however, there was some uncertainty about how it could be applied. <br /

The types and aspects of front-of-pack food labelling schemes preferred by adults and children.

There is strong interest in front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) as a potential mechanism for improving diets, and therefore health, at the population level. The present study examined Australian consumers' preferences for different types and attributes of FoPLs to provide additional insights into optimal methods of presenting nutrition information on the front of food packets. Much research to date has focused on two main types of FoPLs - those expressing daily intake values for specific nutrients and those utilising 'traffic light' colour coding. This study extends this work by: (i) including the new Health Star Rating system recently introduced in Australia and New Zealand; (ii) allowing a large sample of consumers to self-nominate the evaluation criteria they consider to be most important in choosing between FoPLs; (iii) oversampling consumers of lower socioeconomic status; and (iv) including children, who consume and purchase food in their own right and also influence their parents' food purchase decisions. A cross-sectional online survey of 2058 Australian consumers (1558 adults and 500 children) assessed preferences between a daily intake FoPL, a traffic light FoPL, and the Health Star Rating FoPL. Across the whole sample and among all respondent subgroups (males vs females; adults vs children; lower socioeconomic status vs medium-high socioeconomic status; normal weight vs overweight/obese), the Health Star Rating was the most preferred FoPL (44%) and the daily intake guide was the least preferred (20%). The reasons most commonly provided by respondents to explain their preference related to ease of use, interpretive content, and salience. The findings suggest that a simple to use, interpretive, star-based food label represents a population-based nutrition promotion strategy that is considered helpful by a broad range of consumers

Best-Fit Ellipsoids of Atom-Probe Tomographic Data to Study Coalescence of Gamma Prime (L1_2) Precipitates in Ni-Al-Cr

An algorithm is presented to fit precipitates in atom probe tomographic data sets as equivalent ellipsoids. Unlike previous techniques, which measure only the radius of gyration, these ellipsoids retain the moments of inertia and principle axes of the original precipitate, preserving crystallographic orientational information. The algorithm is applied to study interconnected gamma prime precipitates (L1_2) in the Gamma-matrix (FCC) of a Ni-Al-Cr alloy. The precipitates are found to coagulate along -type directions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Scripta Materialia, added information about local magnification effect

The built environment predicts observed physical activity

Background: In order to improve our understanding of the relationship between the built environment and physical activity, it is important to identify associations between specific geographic characteristics and physical activity behaviors. Purpose: Examine relationships between observed physical activity behavior and measures of the built environment collected on 291 street segments in Indianapolis and St. Louis. Methods: Street segments were selected using a stratified geographic sampling design to ensure representation of neighborhoods with different land use and socioeconomic characteristics. Characteristics of the built environment on-street segments were audited using two methods: in-person field audits and audits based on interpretation of Google Street View imagery with each method blinded to results from the other. Segments were dichotomized as having a particular characteristic (e.g., sidewalk present or not) based on the two auditing methods separately. Counts of individuals engaged in different forms of physical activity on each segment were assessed using direct observation. Non-parametric statistics were used to compare counts of physically active individuals on each segment with built environment characteristic. Results: Counts of individuals engaged in physical activity were significantly higher on segments with mixed land use or all non-residential land use, and on segments with pedestrian infrastructure (e.g., crosswalks and sidewalks) and public transit. Conclusion: Several micro-level built environment characteristics were associated with physical activity. These data provide support for theories that suggest changing the built environment and related policies may encourage more physical activity

Arkansas Wheat Cultivar Performance Tests 2009-2010

Wheat cultivar performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. The tests provide information to companies developing cultivars and/or marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating cultivar recommendations for small-grain producers