Dog‐assisted interventions and outcomes for older adults in residential long‐term care facilities: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Objective To comprehensively review studies on dog‐assisted interventions (DAIs) among older people in residential long‐term care facilities (RLTCFs) and to provide an overview of their interventions, outcomes and methodological quality. Method We searched 18 electronic databases to identify English articles (published January 2000–December 2019) reporting on well‐defined DAIs targeting older adults (≥65 years) in RLTCF. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers. Descriptive statistics were produced for quantitative studies, with key themes identified among qualitative studies. Where possible, estimates were pooled from randomised controlled trials using random effects meta‐analyses. Results Forty‐three relevant studies (39 quantitative; 4 qualitative) were identified. The majority of quantitative studies were assessed as low‐quality according to the MMAT criteria (n = 26, 67%). Almost half of the quantitative studies (n = 18, 46%) found no significant changes over time or between groups across outcomes measured. The most salient intervention effects included improved social functioning (n = 10), reduced depressive symptoms (n = 6) and loneliness (n = 5). A random‐effects meta‐analysis revealed a medium effect in favour of DAT on reducing depressive or loneliness symptoms (pooled SMD: 0.66, 95%CI 0.21–1.11; I2 = 50.5; five trials), relative to treatment as usual. However, compared to treatment as usual, no overall effect of DAI on activities of daily living was detected (p = .737). Key themes from qualitative studies included (a) animals as effective transitional objects, (b) the therapeutic value of pets and (c) the significance of the care environment and stakeholders in facilitating DAI. Implications for practice The findings of this review indicate that while DAI has value for older people in RLTCF, challenges remain in accurately measuring its impact to provide a stronger evidence‐base. Standardisation of DAI service design, delivery and evaluation is required for future research and practice in providing holistic care for older adults

The university as a just anchor: universities, anchor networks and participatory research

In this paper, we connect literature on civic universities and anchor institutions with the notion of visibility to explore how universities can play more engaged roles in their areas. We introduce the concept of ‘just anchors’, which are institutions with strategies to achieve local social, economic and epistemic justice goals through collaboration in networks of other anchors and knowledge co-production with citizens. This paper is based on data from USE-IT!, an ERDF-funded programme that developed mechanisms to build social resilience in inner-city wards of Birmingham, the second-largest city in England. Our findings show that co-production empowers citizens, and that universities are well-placed to facilitate and benefit from the outputs of this process. Based on the experience of delivering a community researcher training scheme, we reflect on the potential of universities to be more visible to, and facilitate the visibility of, marginalised groups, introducing a new theoretical concept into the literature on universities as anchor institutions. We also draw further lessons from USE-IT! to offer practice-based recommendations to other universities seeking to activate their role as just anchors

Radiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal cancer develops in the mucosa of the esophagus and spreads toward the muscle layer. The nonsurgical treatment for localized, deeply invasive esophageal cancer has been external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and concurrent chemotherapy. Recently, intraluminal brachytherapy showed a strong potential for the improvement of the therapeutic ratio. It was found that the fractionated high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy offered beneficial palliation for a longer period of time with more durable symptom control. A similar was concluded for advanced unresectable esophageal cancer in previously irradiated patients. HDR brachytherapy may be a useful salvage treatment option for inoperable patients diagnosed with local esophageal cancer. Although better local control can be achieved with higher brachytherapy dose, this increases the risk of acute morbidity and late morbidity, especially in the setting of recurrence cancer. It was found that the moderate dose of EBRT and HDR brachytherapy could give a better local response than EBRT alone

Reversible maps and composites of involutions in groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line

An element of a group is reversible if it is conjugate to its own inverse, and it is strongly reversible if it is conjugate to its inverse by an involution. A group element is strongly reversible if and only if it can be expressed as a composite of two involutions. In this paper the reversible maps, the strongly reversible maps, and those maps that can be expressed as a composite of involutions are determined in certain groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line

Relative abundance of the human mitochondrial transcription system and distinct roles for h-mtTFB1 and h-mtTFB2 in mitochondrial biogenesis and gene expression

Human mitochondrial transcription requires the bacteriophage-related RNA polymerase, POLRMT, the mtDNA-binding protein, h-mtTFA/TFAM, and two transcription factors/rRNA methyltransferases, h-mtTFB1 and h-mtTFB2. Here, we determined the steady-state levels of these core transcription components and examined the consequences of purposeful elevation of h-mtTFB1 or h-mtTFB2 in HeLa cells. On a per molecule basis, we find an ∼6-fold excess of POLRMT to mtDNA and ∼3-fold more h-mtTFB2 than h-mtTFB1. We also estimate h-mtTFA at ∼50 molecules/mtDNA, a ratio predicted to support robust transcription, but not to coat mtDNA. Consistent with a role for h-mtTFB2 in transcription and transcription-primed replication, increased mitochondrial DNA and transcripts result from its over-expression. This is accompanied by increased translation rates of most, but not all mtDNA-encoded proteins. Over-expression of h-mtTFB1 did not significantly influence these parameters, but did result in increased mitochondrial biogenesis. Furthermore, h-mtTFB1 mRNA and protein are elevated in response to h-mtTFB2 over-expression, suggesting the existence of a retrograde signal to the nucleus to coordinately regulate expression of these related factors. Altogether, our results provide a framework for understanding the regulation of human mitochondrial transcription in vivo and define distinct roles for h-mtTFB1 and h-mtTFB2 in mitochondrial biogenesis and gene expression that together likely fine-tune mitochondrial function

Comparative proteomics using 2-D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry as tools to dissect stimulons and regulons in bacteria with sequenced or partially sequenced genomes

We propose two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry to define the protein components of regulons and stimulons in bacteria, including those organisms where genome sequencing is still in progress. The basic 2-DE protocol allows high resolution and reproducibility and enables the direct comparison of hundreds or even thousands of proteins simultaneously. To identify proteins that comprise stimulons and regulons, peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) analysis is the first option and, if results from this tool are insufficient, complementary data obtained with electrospray ionization tandem-MS (ESI-MS/MS) may permit successful protein identification. ESI-MS/MS and MALDI-TOF-MS provide complementary data sets, and so a more comprehensive coverage of a proteome can be obtained using both techniques with the same sample, especially when few sequenced proteins of a particular organism exist or genome sequencing is still in progress