Impact of Fall Prevention and Home Modification Programs for Older Adults

Background: By 2030, the number of U.S. adults aged 65 or older will more than double to about 71 million (CDC, 2015). With these rapidly changing demographics, fall prevention and home modification programs provide preventative support for aging in place. The lack of fall prevention services is both costly and impacts quality of life for older adults. $50 million dollars were spent on medical costs due to falls in 2015 (Florence, et al., 2018). By reviewing the literature and critically evaluating the results of the research studies, conclusions can be made as to the most effective fall prevention methods for older adults

Consent to Treatment for Transgender and Intersex Children

More than a decade has passed since the landmark High Court decision in Marion’s Case,1 where the Court authorised the sterilisation of a young woman who suffered from a disability. Recently, the principles established in that case were applied by the Family Court in a different context – for the provision of hormonal treatment for a 13 year old child,2 some aspects of which are irreversible. Previously, the Family Court had authorised gender reassignment surgery for a child suffering from a physical, congenital condition,3 but notably in Re Alex, the subject child suffered no identified physical condition indicating treatment, but from an identified psychological condition, gender identity dysphoria. This article considers the issues raised by recent applications of the principles relating to the capacity of children to consent to medical treatment, including the decision in Re Alex and the application of those principles to transgender and intersex children. While not all children or adults who identify as transgender or intersex choose the long and difficult path of gender reassignment, some will choose surgical gender reassignment or hormonal treatment at some stage of their lives. In cases where it is proposed that a minor undergo such treatment, the application of the principles of child consent poses particular difficulties

Lack of Rbl1/p107 Effects on Cell Proliferation and Maturation in the Inner Ear

Loss of postnatal mammalian auditory hair cells (HCs) is irreversible. Earlier studies have highlighted the importance of the Retinoblastoma family of proteins (pRBs) (i.e., Rb1, Rbl1/p107, and Rbl2/p130) in the auditory cells’ proliferation and emphasized our lack of information on their specific roles in the auditory system. We have previously demonstrated that lack of Rbl2/p130 moderately affects HCs’ and supporting cells’ (SCs) proliferation. Here, we present evidence supporting multiple roles for Rbl1/p107 in the developing and mature mouse organ of Corti (OC). Like other pRBs, Rbl1/p107 is expressed in the OC, particularly in the Hensen’s and Deiters’ cells. Moreover, Rbl1/p107 impacts maturation and postmitotic quiescence of HCs and SCs, as evidenced by enhanced numbers of these cells and the presence of dividing cells in the postnatal Rbl1/p107−/− OC. These findings were further supported by microarray and bioinformatics analyses, suggesting downregulation of several bHLH molecules, as well as activation of the Notch/Hes/Hey signaling pathway in homozygous Rbl1/p107 mutant mice. Physiological assessments and detection of ectopic HC marker expression in postnatal spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) provided evidence for incomplete cell maturation and differentiation in Rbl1/p107−/− OC. Collectively, the present study highlights an important role for Rbl1/p107 in OC cell differentiation and maturation, which is distinct from other pRBs

Pros Who Know at The University of Maine

In January 2016, alumni, and current students from a variety of academic fields gathered at Buchanan Alumni House to swap questions and answers about the keys to landing that first job and career success. Billed as “Pros Who Know,” the event was a collaborative effort of the Alumni Association and UMaine’s Career Center. The alumni panel share their experiences and insights on career search strategies; offered interview, resume, and cover letter tips; related stories from their own career paths; and reflected about things they wish they had known when entering the workforce. Students commented that all the UMaine alumni were inspirational - and they appreciated getting to mingle with the panelists and other professionals

Women In the weighing room: gender discrimination on the thoroughbred racetrack

Women jockeys are a small minority on the thoroughbred racetrack and securesignificantly fewer racing mounts than their male counterparts. This suggests female jockeys are facing discriminatory barriers, in one of the only major professional sportswhere men and women compete against each other on equal terms. This exploratorystudy considers discriminatory barriers that exist and the effects they have on women’scomparative profile and participation in the flat racing industry. Six participants wererecruited for the study from different areas within the industry, and with at least threeyears experience. Information was derived from semi structured individual interviews. The data was analysed using discourse analysis techniques. Five main themes wereevident: a culture of sexism, including the sense that women are more nurturing;opportunities, including for women to become trainers; body shape and strength; riskand danger; industry fashion and trends. The results from this study suggest women face discrimination in horseracing onaccount of a number of factors, the three main perceived reasons are due to theirphysical strength, body shape and the tradition and history embedded within theindustry. Whilst there is a shift starting to occur where more women are coming throughin flat racing, this is slow. Participants consider that women may find these barriers andperceptions held by others difficult to overcome, which may result in their inability toachieve equality in this sport. Given the exploratory character of the study, conclusionsare tentative and we propose a number of areas for further research

Management and outcomes of myocardial infarction in people with impaired kidney function in England

Abstract Background Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) causes significant mortality and morbidity in people with impaired kidney function. Previous observational research has demonstrated reduced use of invasive management strategies and inferior outcomes in this population. Studies from the USA have suggested that disparities in care have reduced over time. It is unclear whether these findings extend to Europe and the UK. Methods Linked data from four national healthcare datasets were used to investigate management and outcomes of AMI by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) category in England. Multivariable logistic and Cox regression models compared management strategies and outcomes by eGFR category among people with kidney impairment hospitalised for AMI between 2015–2017. Results In a cohort of 5 835 people, we found reduced odds of invasive management in people with eGFR < 60mls/min/1.73m2 compared with people with eGFR ≥ 60 when hospitalised for non-ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI). The association between eGFR and odds of invasive management for ST-elevation MI (STEMI) varied depending on the availability of percutaneous coronary intervention. A graded association between mortality and eGFR category was demonstrated both in-hospital and after discharge for all people. Conclusions In England, patients with reduced eGFR are less likely to receive invasive management compared to those with preserved eGFR. Disparities in care may however be decreasing over time, with the least difference seen in patients with STEMI managed via the primary percutaneous coronary intervention pathway. Reduced eGFR continues to be associated with worse outcomes after AMI

Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of WW bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of the $W^+ \rightarrow \mu^+\nu$ and $W^- \rightarrow \mu^-\nu$ cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the 1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13  TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV