Archaeological evaluation : Oldfield Road, Salford

Salford Archaeology was commissioned by Muse Developments to undertake an archaeological evaluation of land on Oldfield Rd (centred on NGR: SJ82573 98439), currently being developed as part of Salford’s regeneration scheme. This report consists of the results of three evaluation trenches excavated in December 2016. An archaeological assessment completed earlier in the year demonstrated the study area had potential for late 18th - 19th buildings, including housing, a public house and the western end of an industrial complex: Islington Mill. No earlier archaeological remains were anticipated given the later development of the site, particularly in the southern part of the site, which was recently occupied by a hostel and leisure complex with deep footings. The accidental loss of a large portion of the cellared housing in the northern part of the site through groundwork restricted potential to a narrow strip, in the middle of the study area. The trenches in the study area confirmed the western limit of the southern wall of late 18th - 19th century mill, which was located to the east of the study area. The trench closest to Oldfield Rd, revealed a series of walls of a cellared building with a partially surviving flagstone floor. This was likely part of the public house, the Jollies. The trench located in the middle part of the site revealed a single brick pad and linear gulley feature, cut into the natural clay. Together these archaeological remains confirm 19th century domestic and industrial activity. The natural clay was observed at approximately 1.5m below the existing ground levels at the south-east side of the site and at 1.9m depth towards the north-west. No earlier archaeological remains were encountered. The results obtained from the evaluation trenches have indicated that no remains of archaeological significance survive within the study area and that no further archaeological work is required

Learner-to-learner visual acuity screening: A solution for early identification of visual acuity disabilities

Background. The National School Health Policy guidelines (2002) stipulate that primary school learners should have their vision, speech, hearing, mental health, teeth, nutrition and development screened annually. In reality, especially in under-resourced areas such as the Eastern Cape, many learners with disabilities are not identified, with profound consequences for their ability to learn.Method. This article describes a cost-effective and community-empowering solution, Learner-to-Learner Visual Acuity Screening, whereby secondary school learners were trained to conduct basic visual acuity (VA) eye screening for foundation-phase learners.Results. Of a group of Grade R learners, 30% were identified as having impaired VA and referred for ophthalmic or optometric evaluation.Conclusions. This project created greater awareness among learners, parents and teachers regarding abnormal VA and increased interactionbetween secondary and primary school learners. This simple and cost-effective strategy could be easily and effectively replicated in otherschools, helping to address the need for basic eye care

Mobilising communities to address alcohol harm : an Alcohol Health Champion approach

In this article, Cathy Ure et al. look at engaging communities in order to reduce alcohol harms. By training Alcohol Health Champions, individuals can support vulnerable friends and family, and work within their communities to influence policy and promote change

An exploratory randomised controlled trial of a premises-level intervention to reduce alcohol-related harm including violence in the United Kingdom

<b>Background</b><p></p> To assess the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of a licensed premises intervention to reduce severe intoxication and disorder; to establish effect sizes and identify appropriate approaches to the development and maintenance of a rigorous research design and intervention implementation.<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> An exploratory two-armed parallel randomised controlled trial with a nested process evaluation. An audit of risk factors and a tailored action plan for high risk premises, with three month follow up audit and feedback. Thirty-two premises that had experienced at least one assault in the year prior to the intervention were recruited, match paired and randomly allocated to control or intervention group. Police violence data and data from a street survey of study premises’ customers, including measures of breath alcohol concentration and surveyor rated customer intoxication, were used to assess effect sizes for a future definitive trial. A nested process evaluation explored implementation barriers and the fidelity of the intervention with key stakeholders and senior staff in intervention premises using semi-structured interviews.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> The process evaluation indicated implementation barriers and low fidelity, with a reluctance to implement the intervention and to submit to a formal risk audit. Power calculations suggest the intervention effect on violence and subjective intoxication would be raised to significance with a study size of 517 premises.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p> It is methodologically feasible to conduct randomised controlled trials where licensed premises are the unit of allocation. However, lack of enthusiasm in senior premises staff indicates the need for intervention enforcement, rather than voluntary agreements, and on-going strategies to promote sustainability

A web-based simulation of a longitudinal clinic used in a 4-week ambulatory rotation: a cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Residency training takes place primarily on inpatient wards. In the absence of a resident continuity clinic, internal medicine residents rely on block rotations to learn about continuity of care. Alternate methods to introduce continuity of care are needed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A web-based tool, Continuity of Care Online Simulations (COCOS), was designed for use in a one-month, postgraduate clinical rotation in endocrinology. It is an interactive tool that simulates the continuing care of any patient with a chronic endocrine disease. Twenty-three residents in internal medicine participated in a study to investigate the effects of using COCOS during a clinical rotation in endocrinology on pre-post knowledge test scores and self-assessment of confidence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to residents who did the rotation alone, residents who used COCOS during the rotation had significantly higher improvements in test scores (% increase in pre-post test scores +21.6 [standard deviation, SD, 8.0] vs. +5.9 [SD 6.8]; p < .001). Test score improvements were most pronounced for less commonly seen conditions. There were no significant differences in changes in confidence. Residents rated COCOS very highly, recommending its use as a standard part of the rotation and throughout residency.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A stand-alone web-based tool can be incorporated into an existing clinical rotation to help residents learn about continuity of care. It has the most potential to teach residents about topics that are less commonly seen during a clinical rotation. The adaptable, web-based format allows the creation of cases for most chronic medical conditions.</p

Myocardial ischemia in the absence of epicardial coronary artery disease in Friedreich's ataxia

We present the first in vivo detection of microvascular abnormality in a patient with Friedreich's ataxia (FA) without epicardial coronary artery disease using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). The patient had exertional chest pain and dyspnea prompting referral for cardiac evaluation. These symptoms were reproduced during intravenous adenosine infusion, and simultaneous first-pass perfusion imaging showed a significant subendocardial defect; both symptoms and perfusion deficit were absent at rest. Epicardial coronaries were free of disease by invasive angiography; together, these findings support the notion of impaired myocardial perfusion reserve in FA