A clinical audit of the nutritional status and need for nutrition support amongst head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for head and neck cancers but patients often experience side effects which lead to weight loss. Nutrition intervention in the form of counselling or oral nutrition support (ONS) is frequently needed for these patients. For some patients, tube feeding is required to minimise weight loss during treatment.MethodData was collected on 48 patients who received radiotherapy to the head and neck region over a nine-month period (June 2009–March 2010). Retrospective data collection was commenced in July 2010. Each patient’s Diet Therapy Department record was reviewed. Main outcome measures were: 1) type of nutrition support; 2) percentage weight change during treatment; and 3) Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment Global (PG-SGA) rating.ResultsOn initial assessment 28 (77.8%) patients were classified as well nourished using the PG-SGA. Mean weight loss during radiotherapy was 5.74%. Risk factors for the need for ONS and enteral nutrition support (ENS) were older age, presence of nutrition impact symptoms, high-risk tumour sites, advanced disease and chemotherapy. No significant difference was shown in weight loss between ONS and ENS groups.ConclusionThis study identified the need for early dietetic intervention for high nutritional risk groups of head and neck cancer patients to prevent significant weight loss. Pre-treatment nutritional status did not influence weight loss during treatment. ONS alone cannot prevent significant weight loss in patients with multiple nutrition impact symptoms. Early enteral feeding should be considered in this group of patients

Mapping the Way to Success: Collaborating with Academic Faculty on Library Services and Information Literacy for International Students

The University of Vermont recently introduced a formal pathway for international students to gain access to UVM’s degree programs at both an undergraduate and graduate level. The Global Gateway Program (GGP) offers academic courses while providing additional support for the cultural and pedagogical needs of English as a Foreign Language students. International students are a new and expanding demographic with diverse educational backgrounds, language needs and cultural characteristics. We will address strategies to help librarians prepare and anticipate a library’s role with international students, paying particular attention to being a part of the curriculum and introducing principles of information literacy

Biofilm formation is a risk factor for mortality in patients with Candida albicans bloodstream infection-Scotland, 2012-2013

Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award for Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology 097377/Z/11/Z. Data collection was supported by a grant from Pfizer. G. Ramage was also supported by a research fellowship grant from Gilead Sciences. We are grateful to microbiology colleagues throughout Scotland for submitting isolates.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Care farming and green care in Salford

This report presents a University of Salford (UoS) investigation into the potential for care farming in Salford as part of the University’s teaching, research and enterprise activities. The work has critically engaged with the notion of care farming with a view to better understand how this approach can contribute to helping communities with diverse needs in terms of physical and mental health as well as wider determinants of health such as social inclusion and employability. Through the establishment of, and engagement with a network of key local stakeholders, the work developed a model that has explored the potential of a care farm. What has emerged is a first step towards the design and establishment of an urban care farm that that could serve as a centre for learning and research as well as integrate existing activities as part of a green and blue network identified through the stakeholder engagement work. This report provides a direction for future work on care farming in Salford in general, and in terms of the University’s teaching and learning activities in particular

How We Met Our Data Librarian: Designing, Recruiting, and Implementing a New Position

Strategic support for a range of data management needs has emerged as a campus-level priority at UVM, as at many other colleges and universities. In Spring 2017, the UVM Libraries reconfigured the vacant position of “Science Librarian” as “Science and Data Librarian” with new responsibilities for supporting data management. This presentation will describe a case study of how the UVM Libraries aligned these responsibilities with campus needs and initiatives; what we learned about data librarianship from the recruitment process; and the opportunities for an incoming librarian shaping the course of new library services

Reshaping health services and fuel poverty in the Outer Hebrides

Gluasad Còmhla (Moving Together) started in March 2018 with support or grant from the European Social Fund Aspiring Communities Fund. The project built on the existing practice of Tighean Innse Gall (TIG) and other partners in the Outer Hebrides, to develop an innovative approach to identifying and assisting people whose health is compromised by living in a cold or hard-to-heat home. Over the course of two years, 199 households were assisted through the project. Tighean Innse Gall is a Community Benefit Society working across the Outer Hebrides and operating principally across the housing, community group and small business sectors to support people to access homes and to help to make them comfortable and affordable, promote independent living and encourage businesses and communities to be energy-efficient

A healthy dietary pattern associates with a lower risk of a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination

Background: The evidence associating diet and risk of multiple sclerosis is inconclusive. Objective: We investigated associations between dietary patterns and risk of a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination, a common precursor to multiple sclerosis. Methods: We used data from the 2003–2006 Ausimmune Study, a case–control study examining environmental risk factors for a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination, with participants matched on age, sex and study region. Using data from a food frequency questionnaire, dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Conditional logistic regression models (n = 698, 252 cases, 446 controls) were adjusted for history of infectious mononucleosis, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, smoking, race, education, body mass index and dietary misreporting. Results: We identified two major dietary patterns – healthy (high in poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables, legumes) and Western (high in meat, full-fat dairy; low in wholegrains, nuts, fresh fruit, low-fat dairy), explaining 9.3% and 7.5% of variability in diet, respectively. A one-standard deviation increase in the healthy pattern score was associated with a 25% reduced risk of a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination (adjusted odds ratio 0.75; 95% confidence interval 0.60, 0.94; p = 0.011). There was no statistically significant association between the Western dietary pattern and risk of a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination. Conclusion: Following healthy eating guidelines may be beneficial for those at high risk of multiple sclerosis