Feasibility of delivering fall prevention intervention for people with intellectual disability in group-homes

Adults with intellectual disability (ID) have a higher rate of falls than the general population, and changing health behaviors through exercise program could enhance health and reduce falls in this population. However, the feasibility study of fall prevention based on the theoretical framework for adults with ID has not been explored to date. This study examined the feasibility of a home-based exercise intervention for people with ID living in a residential setting. We provided an 8 week intervention consisting of a training workshop for support workers and sessions for adults with ID devoted to behavior reward, education about fall prevention and exercise, and exercise training. Adults with ID (n = 33) and support workers, including caregivers (n = 3), staff (n = 8), and one administrator, participated in this study. Adults with ID significantly improved physical performance, self-efficacy for activity, fall efficacy, and support from friends and support workers. There were no significant changes in free-living PA. There was no adverse event during the intervention, and the average adherence rate was sufficient. Adults with ID, support workers, and an administrator were satisfied with the program and had the intention to continue the program. The intervention was feasible and perhaps efficacious for adults with ID living in group-homes

Accelerometer cut points for adults with down syndrome

Past research has indicated that the relationship between energy expenditure and accelerometer output is different between adults with and without Down syndrome (DS). This suggests a need for DS-specific cut points for determining levels of sedentary behavior and physical activity from accelerometer output for adults with DS. To develop accelerometer output cut points for sedentary behavior and moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity for adults with DS. Sixteen adults with DS (10 men & 6 women; age 31 ± 15 years) performed 12 tasks each lasting 6 min: sitting; playing app on tablet; drawing; folding clothes; sweeping; fitness circuit; moving a box; basketball; standing; and walking at the preferred speed and at 0.8 and 1.4 m.s-1. We measured the rate of oxygen uptake with portable indirect calorimetry (K4b2, Cosmed) and expressed it in Metabolic Equivalents (METs). Output from a triaxial accelerometer (wGT3X-BT, Actigraph) worn on the non-dominant hip was determined as Vector Magnitude. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify Vector Magnitude cut points for sedentary behavior and moderate (3.0 - 5.99 METs) and vigorous (≥6 METs) intensity physical activity. Overall performance of classification models was assessed with the area under the ROC curve. Optimal cut points maximizing sensitivity and specificity were selected based on Youden’s index. Area under the ROC curve was high for all models: (a) sedentary behavior (0.96; 95% CI: 0.93 - 0.98); (b) moderate intensity physical activity (0.92; 95% CI: 0.88 - 0.96); and (c) vigorous intensity physical activity (0.92; 95% CI: 0.85 - 0.99). The optimal Vector Magnitude cut points were: (a) sedentary behavior ≤236 counts·min-1 (sensitivity 0.98; specificity 0.90; Youden’s index 0.88); (b) moderate-intensity physical activity ≤2167 counts·min-1 (sensitivity 0.99; specificity 0.82; Youden’s index 0.81); and (c) vigorous-intensity physical activity ≥4200 counts·min-1 (sensitivity 1.00; specificity 0.84; Youden’s index 0.84). This study offers the first DS-specific accelerometer output cut-points for classifying sedentary behavior and intensity of physical activity in adults with DS. Overall classification accuracy was excellent527

Development of Specialty Optical Fiber Incorporated with Au Nano-particles in Cladding for Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors

A specialty optical fiber incorporated with Au nano-particles (NPs) in the cladding has been developed by modified chemical vapor deposition process for surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor applications. The cladding width and the diameter of the fabricated fiber were 2.6 μm and 124.3 μm, respectively. The incorporation of Au NPs in the cladding of the fiber preform with the average diameter of ~ 3.8 nm was confirmed by TEM and by the Raman bands appeared at 1017 to 1220 cm-1, 1243 cm-1 and 1304 cm-1. Absorption peaks of the fiber preform and the fiber appearing at 585 nm and 428 nm, respectively were due to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the incorporated Au NPs. The measured peak wavelength of the SPR was found to increase from 480.9 nm to 505.5 nm with refractive index (n) from 1.406 to 1.436 and the SPR sensitivity was estimated to be 820 nm/RIU