Effects of a falls exercise intervention on strength, power, functional ability and bone in older frequent fallers: FaME (Falls Management Exercise) RCT secondary analysis

OBJECTIVES: Falls Management Exercise (FaME) has been shown to reduce falls in frequent fallers and in lower risk sedentary older people. The effects of FaME on the strength, power, physical function and bone health of frequently falling older women are yet to be established. METHODS: This paper reports secondary analysis of data from the original randomised controlled trial of FaME in 100 community dwelling women aged ≥65 years with a history of ≥3 falls in the previous year. Intervention was group delivered, weekly one hour tailored dynamic balance and strength exercise classes and home exercise for nine months. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED: strength (handgrip, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip abductors, ankles), lower limb explosive power and functional tests (timed up and go, functional reach, timed floor rise and balance), analysed using Linear Mixed Model analysis. Bone Mineral Density (BMD) at hip and spine was measured in a smaller sub-group and analysed using t-tests. RESULTS: Significant time*group interactions in all measures of strength, except isometric ankle dorsiflexion, concentric hamstring and eccentric quadriceps strength. These improvements in strength equated to average improvements of 7-45%. There were also significant improvements in explosive power (W/kg) (18%, p=0.000), timed up and go (16%, p=0.000), functional reach (17%, p=0.000), floor rise (10%, p=0.002) and eyes closed static balance (56%, p=0.000). There was a significant loss of hip BMD in the control group (neck of femur p<0.05; ward's triangle p<0.02). CONCLUSION: The FaME intervention improves lower limb strength, power and clinically relevant functional outcomes in frequently falling older women

Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Bear Creek Corporate Center Dallas County, Texas

EVP Developmental/Avere Real Estate is proposing to construct the Bear Creek Corporate Center at the southeast corner of SH161 and Conflans Road in Irving, Texas on approximately 16 acres. This is located in the Bear Creek floodplain 300 meters form the creek channel.AR Consultants, Inc. was contracted to survey the entire property. The survey and shovel testing were conducted on May 17, 2016. The water table was relatively high at the time of survey, inundating almost a third of the property. No prehistoric or historic archaeological sites were found during the survey. This follows the predictions made prior to field work regarding prehistoric and historic sites. Given the results of this survey, AR Consultants, Inc. recommends that further cultural resource investigations are unnecessary for this project, and requests that the Texas Historical Commission and Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concur with this recommendation

No classical limit of quantum decay for broad states

Though the classical treatment of spontaneous decay leads to an exponential decay law, it is well known that this is an approximation of the quantum mechanical result which is a non-exponential at very small and large times for narrow states. The non exponential nature at large times is however hard to establish from experiments. A method to recover the time evolution of unstable states from a parametrization of the amplitude fitted to data is presented. We apply the method to a realistic example of a very broad state, the sigma meson and reveal that an exponential decay is not a valid approximation at any time for this state. This example derived from experiment, shows the unique nature of broad resonances

Detectable HIV Viral Load in Kenya: Data from a Population-Based Survey.

IntroductionAt the individual level, there is clear evidence that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) transmission can be substantially reduced by lowering viral load. However there are few data describing population-level HIV viremia especially in high-burden settings with substantial under-diagnosis of HIV infection. The 2nd Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2012) provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage on viremia and to examine the risks for failure to suppress viral replication. We report population-level HIV viral load suppression using data from KAIS 2012.MethodsBetween October 2012 to February 2013, KAIS 2012 surveyed household members, administered questionnaires and drew serum samples to test for HIV and, for those found to be infected with HIV, plasma viral load (PVL) was measured. Our principal outcome was unsuppressed HIV viremia, defined as a PVL ≥ 550 copies/mL. The exposure variables included current treatment with ART, prior history of an HIV diagnosis, and engagement in HIV care. All point estimates were adjusted to account for the KAIS 2012 cluster sampling design and survey non-response.ResultsOverall, 61·2% (95% CI: 56·4-66·1) of HIV-infected Kenyans aged 15-64 years had not achieved virological suppression. The base10 median (interquartile range [IQR]) and mean (95% CI) VL was 4,633 copies/mL (0-51,596) and 81,750 copies/mL (59,366-104,134), respectively. Among 266 persons taking ART, 26.1% (95% CI: 20.0-32.1) had detectable viremia. Non-ART use, younger age, and lack of awareness of HIV status were independently associated with significantly higher odds of detectable viral load. In multivariate analysis for the sub-sample of patients on ART, detectable viremia was independently associated with younger age and sub-optimal adherence to ART.DiscussionThis report adds to the limited data of nationally-representative surveys to report population- level virological suppression. We established heterogeneity across the ten administrative and HIV programmatic regions on levels of detectable viral load. Timely initiation of ART and retention in care are crucial for the elimination of transmission of HIV through sex, needle and syringe use or from mother to child. Further refinement of geospatial mapping of populations with highest risk of transmission is necessary

Experimental evidence of antiproton reflection by a solid surface

We report here experimental evidence of the reflection of a large fraction of a beam of low energy antiprotons by an aluminum wall. This derives from the analysis of a set of annihilations of antiprotons that come to rest in rarefied helium gas after hitting the end wall of the apparatus. A Monte Carlo simulation of the antiproton path in aluminum indicates that the observed reflection occurs primarily via a multiple Rutherford-style scattering on Al nuclei, at least in the energy range 1-10 keV where the phenomenon is most visible in the analyzed data. These results contradict the common belief according to which the interactions between matter and antimatter are dominated by the reciprocally destructive phenomenon of annihilation.Comment: 5 pages with 5 figure

Reaching older people with PA delivered in football clubs: the reach, adoption and implementation characteristics of the Extra Time Programme.

Background Older adults (OA) represent a core priority group for physical activity and Public Health policy. As a result, significant interest is placed on how to optimise adherence to interventions promoting these approaches. Extra Time (ET) is an example of a national programme of physical activity interventions delivered in professional football clubs for OA aged 55+ years. This paper aims to examine the outcomes from ET, and unpick the processes by which these outcomes were achieved. Methods This paper represents a secondary analysis of data collected during the evaluation of ET. From the 985 OA reached by ET, n=486 adopted the programme and completed post-intervention surveys (typically 12 weeks). We also draw on interview data with 18 ET participants, and 7 staff who delivered the programme. Data were subject to thematic analysis to generate overarching and sub themes. Results Of the 486 participants, the majority 95%, (n= 462) were White British and 59.7% (n=290) were female. Most adopters (65.4%/n=318) had not participated in previous interventions in the host clubs. Social interaction was the most frequently reported benefit of participation (77.2%, n=375). While the reach of the club badge was important in letting people know about the programme, further work enhanced adoption and satisfaction. These factors included (i) listening to participants, (ii) delivering a flexible age-appropriate programme of diverse physical and social activities, (iii) offering activities which satisfy energy drives and needs for learning and (iv) extensive opportunities for social engagement. Conclusions Findings emerging from this study indicate that physical activity and health interventions delivered through professional football clubs can be effective for engaging OA

Riverton SW. - Tunstill Pod & Arroyo Bluff Pod 138-kV Transmission Line Routes Reeves County, Texas

Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC is planning to construct the Riverton Sw. – Tunstill Point of Delivery (POD) and Arroyo Bluff POD 138-kV transmission line routes in Reeves County, Texas. Halff Associates, Inc., the routing consultant for Oncor, contracted with AR Consultants, Inc. to conduct an intensive pedestrian survey of the 6.57 miles of new 138-kV transmission line on private property. Survey was conducted June 4-6, 2018. Seventeen shovel tests were excavated near drainages, where buried deposits were expected, and two 15-m transects were walked within the 70-ft-wide survey corridor (approximately 54 acres). Two archaeological sites were identified and recorded. Site 41RV61 is an abandoned segment of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, dating from the early-20th century. This site is in poor condition, the rails and most of the ties having been removed. Site 41RV142 is a surficial historic trash deposit with artifacts dating from the late-19th century to the mid-20th century. The site been poorly preserved. ARC recommends both sites ineligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Properties. Therefore, no additional cultural resources investigations are recommended for this project. However, should the proposed right-of-way alignment change, additional archaeological survey may be necessary. Furthermore, should any cultural resources be discovered during the construction activities associated with the project, work in the immediate area should cease and the Texas Historical Commission should be contacted

Treatment of Scarlatina.

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Recruitment Facilitation and Spatial Pattern Formation in Soft-Bottom Mussel Beds

Mussels (Mytilus edulis) build massive, spatially complex, biogenic structures that alter the biotic and abiotic environment and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Unlike rocky shores, where mussels can attach to the primary substrate, soft sediments are unsuitable for mussel attachment. We used a simple lattice model, field sampling, and field and laboratory experiments to examine facilitation of recruitment (i.e., preferential larval, juvenile, and adult attachment to mussel biogenic structure) and its role in the development of power-law spatial patterns observed in Maine, USA, soft-bottom mussel beds. The model demonstrated that recruitment facilitation produces power-law spatial structure similar to that in natural beds. Field results provided strong evidence for facilitation of recruitment to other mussels—they do not simply map onto a hard-substrate template of gravel and shell hash. Mussels were spatially decoupled from non-mussel hard substrates to which they can potentially recruit. Recent larval recruits were positively correlated with adult mussels, but not with other hard substrates. Mussels made byssal thread attachments to other mussels in much higher proportions than to other hard substrates. In a field experiment, mussel recruitment was highest to live mussels, followed by mussel shell hash and gravel, with almost no recruitment to muddy sand. In a laboratory experiment, evenly dispersed mussels rapidly self-organized into power-law clusters similar to those observed in nature. Collectively, the results indicate that facilitation of recruitment to existing mussels plays a major role in soft-bottom spatial pattern development. The interaction between large-scale resource availability (hard substrate) and local-scale recruitment facilitation may be responsible for creating complex power-law spatial structure in soft-bottom mussel beds