CREATING A STANDARDIZED FREE-RESPONSE BURDEN SCALE FOR SPOUSAL CAREGIVERS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Although some research has focused on the needs of caregivers for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, most has focused on the demands associated with the physical needs of the patient, and not on ‘mental burden.’ The present study utilized the repertory grid method to capture the full range of caregivers’ subjective experience, to quantify their perceptions, and to acquire information that might be useful in direction remediation attempts. Results suggest that the main concern of caregivers is spousal safety, as this requires continuous vigilance and constant worry. This demonstrates the strain of mental burden far outweighs the physical. Caregivers also report experiencing “little deaths” as the disease progresses, related to loss of independence for the couple, and the steady diminishment of social networks. Increasing attention on spousal caregivers promises to increase quality of care and quality of life for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, by improving quality of life for the caregiver

CREATING A STANDARDIZED FREE-RESPONSE BURDEN SCALE FOR SPOUSAL CAREGIVERS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Although some research has focused on the needs of caregivers for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, most has focused on the demands associated with the physical needs of the patient, and not on ‘mental burden.’ The present study utilized the repertory grid method to capture the full range of caregivers’ subjective experience, to quantify their perceptions, and to acquire information that might be useful in direction remediation attempts. Results suggest that the main concern of caregivers is spousal safety, as this requires continuous vigilance and constant worry. This demonstrates the strain of mental burden far outweighs the physical. Caregivers also report experiencing “little deaths” as the disease progresses, related to loss of independence for the couple, and the steady diminishment of social networks. Increasing attention on spousal caregivers promises to increase quality of care and quality of life for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, by improving quality of life for the caregiver

The Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions for the Management of Frailty: A Systematic Review

This systematic review examines the effectiveness of current exercise interventions for the management of frailty. Eight electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that identified their participants as “frail” either in the title, abstract, and/or text and included exercise as an independent component of the intervention. Three of the 47 included studies utilized a validated definition of frailty to categorize participants. Emerging evidence suggests that exercise has a positive impact on some physical determinants and on all functional ability outcomes reported in this systematic review. Exercise programs that optimize the health of frail older adults seem to be different from those recommended for healthy older adults. There was a paucity of evidence to characterize the most beneficial exercise program for this population. However, multicomponent training interventions, of long duration (≥5 months), performed three times per week, for 30–45 minutes per session, generally had superior outcomes than other exercise programs. In conclusion, structured exercise training seems to have a positive impact on frail older adults and may be used for the management of frailty

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe

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This systematic review examines the effectiveness of current exercise interventions for the management of frailty. Eight electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that identified their participants as "frail" either in the title, abstract, and/or text and included exercise as an independent component of the intervention. Three of the 47 included studies utilized a validated definition of frailty to categorize participants. Emerging evidence suggests that exercise has a positive impact on some physical determinants and on all functional ability outcomes reported in this systematic review. Exercise programs that optimize the health of frail older adults seem to be different from those recommended for healthy older adults. There was a paucity of evidence to characterize the most beneficial exercise program for this population. However, multicomponent training interventions, of long duration (≥5 months), performed three times per week, for 30-45 minutes per session, generally had superior outcomes than other exercise programs. In conclusion, structured exercise training seems to have a positive impact on frail older adults and may be used for the management of frailty

Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human- dominated landscapes such that only species with - winning- combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty- three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species- capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human- dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human- modified landscapes.Human activity and land use change are driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others, but predicting which species will successfully coexist with humans remains a challenge. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America and showed that species life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint (landscape modification), with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. Positive and negative effects of direct human presence (e.g., recreation, hunting) were distributed more randomly across species, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/1/gcb15650.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/2/gcb15650_am.pd

Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human- dominated landscapes such that only species with - winning- combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty- three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species- capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human- dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human- modified landscapes.Human activity and land use change are driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others, but predicting which species will successfully coexist with humans remains a challenge. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America and showed that species life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint (landscape modification), with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. Positive and negative effects of direct human presence (e.g., recreation, hunting) were distributed more randomly across species, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/1/gcb15650.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/2/gcb15650_am.pd