122 research outputs found

    Preventing obesity and cardiovascular disease in at-risk youth

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    The literature review that was conducted focuses on exploring the most effective way to prevent development of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) as a late effect of childhood obesity or risk thereof. Our research focused on the 8-10 year old at-risk and obese pediatric populations and whether the use of interactive educational interventions in the community setting can be of use to reduce CVD development and improve overall health status. Our findings determined that interactive educational interventions early in childhood can improve health outcomes for these populations and prevent subsequent development of CVD. We minimized the inclusion of all research whose evidence was categorized as a level I. Limitations to our review included focusing on the pediatric population between the ages of 8 and 10 years at risk for or already diagnosed as obese, rather than on the entirety of the population. A second limitation involves research in that it should be conducted to determine how results vary between children who modify both diet and exercise routines as compared to those who only modify one

    Obscurity and Gender Resistance in Patricia Duncker's James Miranda Barry

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    publication-status: Submittedtypes: Article© 2012 by Taylor & FrancisSince his death in 1865, military surgeon James Barry has alternately been classified as a cross-dressing woman or as an intersexed individual. Patricia Duncker’s novel James Miranda Barry (1999) poses an important challenge to such readings, as it does not reveal any foundational truth about Barry’s sex. Resting on obscurity rather than revelation, the text frustrates the desire to know the past in terms of gender binaries and stable sexual identity categories. Drawing on feminist and queer theorisations of the relation between gender and time, this essay demonstrates that Duncker’s use of obscurity opens up alternative strategies of gender resistance.The Wellcome Trus

    Investigating the impact of financial concerns on symptoms of depression in UK healthcare workers: data from the UK-REACH nationwide cohort study

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    BACKGROUND: Exploration of the association between financial concerns and depression in UK healthcare workers (HCWs) is paramount given the current 'cost of living crisis', ongoing strike action and recruitment/retention problems in the National Health Service. AIMS: To assess the impact of financial concerns on the risk of depression in HCWs, how these concerns have changed over time and what factors might predict financial concerns. METHOD: We used longitudinal survey data from a UK-wide cohort of HCWs to determine whether financial concerns at baseline (December 2020 to March 2021) were associated with depression (measured with the Public Health Questionnaire-2) at follow-up (June to October 2022). We used logistic regression to examine the association between financial concerns and depression, and ordinal logistic regression to establish predictors of developing financial concerns. RESULTS: A total of 3521 HCWs were included. Those concerned about their financial situation at baseline had higher odds of developing depressive symptoms at follow-up. Financial concerns increased in 43.8% of HCWs and decreased in 9%. Those in nursing, midwifery and other nursing roles had over twice the odds of developing financial concerns compared with those in medical roles. CONCLUSIONS: Financial concerns are increasing in prevalence and predict the later development of depressive symptoms in UK HCWs. Those in nursing, midwifery and other allied nursing roles may have been disproportionately affected. Our results are concerning given the potential effects on sickness absence and staff retention. Policy makers should act to alleviate financial concerns to reduce the impact this may have on a discontent workforce plagued by understaffing

    Clinical features and management of children with primary ciliary dyskinesia in England

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    Objective In England, the National Health Service commissioned a National Management Service for children with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). The aims of this study were to describe the health of children seen in this Service and compare lung function to children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Design Multi-centre service evaluation of the English National Management PCD Service. Setting Four nationally commissioned PCD centres in England. Patients 333 children with PCD reviewed in the Service in 2015; lung function data were also compared to 2970 children with CF. Results Median age at diagnosis for PCD was 2.6 years, significantly lower in children with situs inversus (1.0 vs 6.0 years, p<0.0001). Compared with national data from the CF Registry, mean (SD) %predicted FEV1 76.8% in PCD (n=240) and 85.0% in CF, and FEV1 was lower in children with PCD up to the age of 15 years. Approximately half of children had some hearing impairment, with 26% requiring hearing aids. Children with a lower BMI had lower FEV1 (p<0.001). One third of children had positive respiratory cultures at review, 54% of these grew Haemophilus influenzae. Conclusions We provide evidence that children with PCD in England have worse lung function than those with CF. Nutritional status should be considered in PCD management, as those with a lower BMI have significantly lower FEV1. Hearing impairment is common but seems to improve with age. Well designed and powered randomised controlled trials on management of PCD are needed to inform best clinical practice

    Measures of kidney function by minimally invasive techniques correlate with histological glomerular damage in SCID mice with adriamycin-induced nephropathy

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    Maximising the use of preclinical murine models of progressive kidney disease as test beds for therapies ideally requires kidney function to be measured repeatedly in a safe, minimally invasive manner. To date, most studies of murine nephropathy depend on unreliable markers of renal physiological function, exemplified by measuring blood levels of creatinine and urea, and on various end points necessitating sacrifice of experimental animals to assess histological damage, thus counteracting the principles of Replacement, Refinement and Reduction. Here, we applied two novel minimally invasive techniques to measure kidney function in SCID mice with adriamycin-induced nephropathy. We employed i) a transcutaneous device that measures the half-life of intravenously administered FITC-sinistrin, a molecule cleared by glomerular filtration; and ii) multispectral optoacoustic tomography, a photoacoustic imaging device that directly visualises the clearance of the near infrared dye, IRDye 800CW carboxylate. Measurements with either technique showed a significant impairment of renal function in experimental animals versus controls, with significant correlations with the proportion of scarred glomeruli five weeks after induction of injury. These technologies provide clinically relevant functional data and should be widely adopted for testing the efficacies of novel therapies. Moreover, their use will also lead to a reduction in experimental animal numbers

    Discovery and characterisation of detached M-dwarf eclipsing binaries in the WFCAM Transit Survey

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    We report the discovery of 16 detached M-dwarf eclipsing binaries with J<16 mag and provide a detailed characterisation of three of them, using high-precision infrared light curves from the WFCAM Transit Survey (WTS). Such systems provide the most accurate and model-independent method for measuring the fundamental parameters of these poorly understood yet numerous stars, which currently lack sufficient observations to precisely calibrate stellar evolution models. We fully solve for the masses and radii of three of the systems, finding orbital periods in the range 1.5<P<4.9 days, with masses spanning 0.35-0.50 Msun and radii between 0.38-0.50 Rsun, with uncertainties of ~3.5-6.4% in mass and ~2.7-5.5% in radius. Close-companions in short-period binaries are expected to be tidally-locked into fast rotational velocities, resulting in high levels of magnetic activity. This is predicted to inflate their radii by inhibiting convective flow and increasing star spot coverage. The radii of the WTS systems are inflated above model predictions by ~3-12%, in agreement with the observed trend, despite an expected lower systematic contribution from star spots signals at infrared wavelengths. We searched for correlation between the orbital period and radius inflation by combining our results with all existing M-dwarf radius measurements of comparable precision, but we found no statistically significant evidence for a decrease in radius inflation for longer period, less active systems. Radius inflation continues to exists in non-synchronised systems indicating that the problem remains even for very low activity M-dwarfs. Resolving this issue is vital not only for understanding the most populous stars in the Universe, but also for characterising their planetary companions, which hold the best prospects for finding Earth-like planets in the traditional habitable zone.Comment: 30 pages, 14 figures, 16 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

    Findings and Guidance for Airborne Infection Resilience

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    This guidance provides insights into airborne infection risks and proposes mitigation measures to improve airborne infection resilience of indoor and semi-outdoor spaces. In some poorly-ventilated and/or highly occupied spaces, the provision of increased ventilation performance can be the key to reducing airborne infection risk down to 'acceptable' (although currently undefined) levels.This is a complex area of study with many areas of uncertainty that form the basis of ongoing research. That said, the AIRBODS programme, in the context of the global research efforts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, has generated a sound basis for improving airborne infection resilience. Key aspects of the guide with its many recommendations include:‱ Experiments carried out in a test chamber showing how screens can improve or, even, worsen airborne infection risk.‱ Field studies undertaken as part of the Events Research Programme which underpinned the opening up of the UK hospitality sector in summer of 2021. Good practice advice is provided on how to drive high resolution CO2 and microbiological studies and then appropriately interpret results.‱ Analytical models were developed to understand how infection risk, using a mass balance approach with many different parameters, might be mitigated in some circumstances when compared to reference spaces. These models were then developed into a 'full building' tool which can be downloaded as part of this guidance.‱ Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were developed to provide insights into the physics of droplets or aerosols at microscale. Following completion of a test chamber validation exercise, models were developed to investigate breathing or coughing mannequins at single human moving towards audience or crowd scale.Local ventilation effectiveness and associated airborne infection risk aspects of some real spaces may significantly differ from assumed 'fully-mixed' equivalent spaces. This, along with a number of other issues, will form part of ongoing research activities.‱ Focus groups were also used to provide some wider context and support some of our recommendations.AIRBODS has produced a repository of data and modelling methods with the mindset of enabling building professionals to inform their design and operation decisions towards improving airborne infection resilience in their buildings

    The Palestinian primary ciliary dyskinesia population: first results of the diagnostic, and genetic spectrum

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    BACKGROUND: Diagnostic testing for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) started in 2013 in Palestine. We aimed to describe the diagnostic, genetic and clinical spectrum of the Palestinian PCD population. METHODS: Individuals with symptoms suggestive of PCD were opportunistically considered for diagnostic testing: nasal nitric oxide (nNO) measurement, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and/or PCD genetic panel or whole-exome testing. Clinical characteristics of those with a positive diagnosis were collected close to testing including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) Global Lung Index z-scores and body mass index z-scores. RESULTS: 68 individuals had a definite positive PCD diagnosis, 31 confirmed by genetic and TEM results, 23 by TEM results alone, and 14 by genetic variants alone. 45 individuals from 40 families had 17 clinically actionable variants and four had variants of unknown significance in 14 PCD genes. CCDC39, DNAH11 and DNAAF11 were the most commonly mutated genes. 100% of variants were homozygous. Patients had a median age of 10.0 years at diagnosis, were highly consanguineous (93%) and 100% were of Arabic descent. Clinical features included persistent wet cough (99%), neonatal respiratory distress (84%) and situs inversus (43%). Lung function at diagnosis was already impaired (FEV1 z-score median −1.90 (−5.0–1.32)) and growth was mostly within the normal range (z-score mean −0.36 (−3.03–2.57). 19% individuals had finger clubbing. CONCLUSIONS: Despite limited local resources in Palestine, detailed geno- and phenotyping forms the basis of one of the largest national PCD populations globally. There was notable familial homozygosity within the context of significant population heterogeneity

    Requisitos uniformes para originais submetidos a Revistas Biomédicas

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    Um pequeno grupo de editores de revistas da ĂĄrea mĂ©dica reuniu-se informalmente em Vancouver, ColĂșmbia BritĂąnica, em 1978, para estabelecer diretrizes para o formato dos originais submetidos a suas revistas. Esse grupo ficou conhecido como o Grupo de Vancouver. Seus requisitos para apresentação de originais, que incluĂ­am os formatos de referĂȘncias bibliogrĂĄficas desenvolvidos pela Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina (National Library of Medicine - NLM), foram publicados pela primeira vez em 1979. O Grupo de Vancouver se expandiu e evoluiu para o ComitĂȘ Internacional de Editores de Revistas MĂ©dicas (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors - ICMJE), que se reĂșne anualmente. Gradualmente, este comitĂȘ vem ampliando seus alvos de atenção. O comitĂȘ produziu quatro ediçÔes prĂ©vias dos requisitos uniformes. Ao longo dos anos, surgiram questĂ”es que vĂŁo alĂ©m da preparação dos originais. Algumas delas sĂŁo tratadas agora nos requisitos uniformes; outras sĂŁo contempladas em pareceres separados. Cada parecer foi publicado em uma revista cientĂ­fica; todos estĂŁo reproduzidos no final deste artigo
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