Although the goat is an established animal model in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) research, in vivo kinematics associated with ACL deficiency have not been previously described in this species. ...Three‐dimensional knee kinematics were determined before and after unilateral ACL transection in eight goats. Fluoroscopic imaging of the knees during treadmill walking and force‐platform gait analysis during over‐ground walking were performed prior to ACL transection, and 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after ACL transection. Transient lameness of the ACL‐transected limb was noted in all goats but resolved by 3 months post‐ACL transection. Increased extension of 8.7° to 17.0° was noted throughout the gait cycle in both the ACL‐transected and the contralateral unaffected knees by 3 months post‐ACL transection, in a bilaterally symmetric pattern. Peak anterior tibial translation increased by 3 to 6 mm after ACL transection and persisted over the 6‐month study period. No changes in axial rotation or abduction angle were observed after ACL transection. Unilateral ACL deficiency in goats resulted in persistent kinematic alterations, despite the resolution of lameness by 3 months post‐ACL transection.
Meeting the physical activity (PA) guidelines for children, as set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), has a range of physical and mental health benefits. For children who are blind or vision ...impaired (BVI), additional benefits include social inclusion and reduced falls risk. While previous research has demonstrated low PA levels across most demographics, little research has been done in the Irish context to quantify PA in children who are BVI. Two potential methods of increasing PA levels, active travel (AT) and physical education (PE), have additionally never been assessed in this group.
Consenting parents of children who are BVI (n = 53, 55 % boys, mean age of children 12.92 ± 2.76 years) completed a questionnaire regarding PA levels, and participation in AT and PE.
PA levels were low, with 9.6 % achieving WHO guidelines (60 min MVPA/day). There was no statistically significant differences between genders completing either no PA in the last week (p = 1.00) or MVPA on each of the last 7 days (p = 0.157). 14.4 % used AT to get to school. Mean PE times in minutes/week were lower than the general population (58.63 min), with a low proportion of respondents meeting PE guidelines (32.1 %). Regarding barriers to PA, 17.0 % of respondents stated they were very likely to be “too tired after school to be active”. 13.5 % stated they were very likely to feel “my day is so busy now I just do not think I can make time to include PA in my regular schedule”.
This study provides a valuable insight into the low levels of PA that prevail amongst BVI children. Increasing PA levels would provide individual benefits (including physical and mental health benefits) as well as population benefits (including reduced health expenditure). Future qualitative research should seek to gain a deeper understanding of the PA barriers, motivators and facilitators in this cohort.
•Children who are BVI were less active than their sighted counterparts.•Less time in PE class and less AT are possible explanations for this discrepancy.•Those who were blind were less active than those with milder vision impairments.•Barriers to be addressed include fatigue and being too busy.•Qualitative studies would aid understanding of the barriers/motivators to PA in this group.
Outdoor navigation remains a challenging activity for People with Visual Impairments (PVI). Having examined the current literature, we conclude that there are very few publications providing a ...nuanced understanding of how PVI undertake a journey in an outdoor environment and what are their main challenges and obstacles. This is a critical step towards developing robust solutions that meet the requirements of this user group. We undertook a questionnaire-based study with the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and 49 PVI. According to the feedback from our questionnaire, current journey navigation apps do not provide PVI with sufficient information about traffic lights, crossroads, and physical obstacles to support a satisfactory interaction. Our study reveals key aspects of how PVI interact with outdoor navigation applications. Critical gaps exist, for example, over 63% of respondents indicated they had suffered an injury on at least one previous occasion when navigating outdoors. Based on the questionnaire feedback, we present a solution covering the main aspects of outdoor navigation for PVI. Our work aims to contribute to the improvement of outdoor navigation applications for PVI in the future.
The endothelial glycocalyx (EG) determines transvascular fluid fluxes, and influences inflammation, coagulation, and capillary blood flow. The GlycoCheck® software calculates EG thickness using ...sidestream dark field videomicroscopy recordings. This method has not been evaluated for use in cats. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of GlycoCheck® for estimating EG thickness in healthy cats, and to investigate the variability of EG thickness in this population. One hundred and one healthy research-purposed cats were included in the study. The cats were sedated, and a handheld videomicroscope, connected to GlycoCheck® software, was used to evaluate the sublingual microvasculature. The parameters measured included perfused boundary region (PBR, an indirect measurement of EG thickness) in vessels between 5 and 25 μm in diameter, valid vessel density, percentage red blood cell filling, and median red blood cell column width. Heart rate, respiratory rate, pulse oximetry and oscillometric blood pressure readings were also recorded. There were 35 neutered male cats, 11 intact males, 38 neutered females, and 17 intact females. The average age was 63 months (range, 11-160 months). Tolerance intervals for PBR (vessel diameter 5-25 μm) were 1.89-3.00 μm (95% CI, lower limit 1.76-2.04, upper limit 2.83-3.13 μm); for valid vessel density were 73.33-333.33 μm/mm
(95% CI, lower limit 77.00-99.33, upper limit 312.67-350.33 μm/mm
); for percentage red blood cell filling were 59.85-85.07% (95% CI, lower limit 58.97-63.33, upper limit 83.07-88.20 %); and for median red blood cell column width were 5.63-8.59 μm (95% CI, lower limit 5.28-6.07, upper limit 8.14-9.51 μm). There was a negative association between median red blood cell column width and body weight (
=
). The median red blood cell column was significantly wider in intact females when compared to spayed females (
=
). The GlycoCheck® analysis was easily performed in healthy sedated cats. Clinical variables did not have an effect on the EG thickness. These results suggest that this technique could be valuable for evaluation of the EG and microvascular parameters in cats.
It is well established that meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines has a range of physical and mental health benefits. For people who are blind and vision impaired (BVI) there may be additional ...benefits in terms of social inclusion and the prevention of sight deterioration.
This study aimed to quantify PA levels, barriers to and motivators for PA in adults who are BVI.
PA levels, perceived barriers to, and motivators for PA were measured via questionnaire of 310 self-identifying BVI adults (n = 310 mean age = 29.77 ± 11.37, 55.8% male).
PA levels were low, with 21.7% meeting PA guidelines. Median PA levels were not statistically significantly different between different age groups. There was no significant difference between genders, though mean days of PA for males was 0.382 days lower than for females.
There was a significant difference between PA levels between the “no vision” (B1) and “useful vision” (B3) groups (p = 0.027), and the “no vision” (B1) and the “low vision” (B2) groups (p = 0.003). Transport (54.8%) and lack of access to enjoyable activities (47.0%) were the most commonly cited barriers, while “to relax” (36.4%) and “to have fun” (35.6%) were most commonly cited as very important motivators.
This study provides a valuable insight into the low levels of PA that persist amongst adults with BVI. Future research should seek to gain a deeper understanding of the PA barriers, motivators and facilitators in this cohort.
This retrospective cohort study aims to define the clinical findings and outcomes of every patient admitted to a district general hospital in Surrey with COVID-19 in March 2020, providing a snapshot ...of the first wave of infection in the UK. This study is the first detailed insight into the impact of frailty markers on patient outcomes and provides the infection rate among healthcare workers.
Data were obtained from medical records. Outcome measures were level of oxygen therapy, discharge and death. Patients were followed up until 21 April 2020.
108 patients were included. 34 (31%) died in hospital or were discharged for palliative care. 43% of patients aged over 65 died. The commonest comorbidities were hypertension (49; 45%) and diabetes (25; 23%). Patients who died were older (mean difference ±SEM, 13.76±3.12 years; p<0.0001) with a higher NEWS2 score (median 6, IQR 2.5–7.5 vs median 2, IQR 2–6) and worse renal function (median differences: urea 2.7 mmol/L, p<0.01; creatinine 4 μmol/L, p<0.05; eGFR 14 mL/min, p<0.05) on admission compared with survivors. Frailty markers were identified as risk factors for death. Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was higher in patients over 65 who died than in survivors (median 5, IQR 4–6 vs 3.5, IQR 2–5; p<0.01). Troponin and creatine kinase levels were higher in patients who died than in those who recovered (p<0.0001). Lymphopenia was common (median 0.8, IQR 0.6–1.2; p<0.005). Every patient with heart failure died (8). 26 (24%) were treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP; median 3 days, IQR 2–7.3) and 9 (8%) were intubated (median 14 days, IQR 7–21). All patients who died after discharge (4; 6%) were care home residents. 276 of 699 hospital staff tested were positive for COVID-19.
This study identifies older patients with frailty as being particularly vulnerable and reinforces government policy to protect this group at all costs.
Abstract
Date Presented 03/27/20
This efficacy study examined the impacts of an evidence-based stress-management program on emotional self-efficacy and well-being in elementary schoolchildren. ...Preliminary data collected from 176 fourth to sixth graders showed that emotional self-efficacy significantly correlated with and predicted life satisfaction. Age was unrelated to emotional self-efficacy; there was a significant difference between fourth grade and sixth grade in the emotional self-efficacy but not life satisfaction scales.
Primary Author and Speaker: Mei-Ling Lin
Additional Authors and Speakers: Alyse Nasser, Cayla Molina, Emma Smith, Kristina Millar
Using a quasi-experimental design with no control groups, this pilot study aimed to test the effectiveness of a universal mental health promotion program for elementary school students in an ...underserved United States-Mexico border community. A total of eighty-five fifth and sixth grade students participated in this program and completed the emotional domain of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children before and after the intervention. Preliminary program benefits were identified among students who perceived low emotional self-efficacy prior to program participation. The program satisfaction rate was over 60%. About 70% of the participants expressed both confidence and competence in using calming tools for future stressful events. This study supports the use of occupational- and activity-based programs in public elementary schools that serve predominantly Hispanic students from low socioeconomic households. Implications for future occupational therapy practice and research are discussed.
Due to the recent rise in antibiotic resistant pathogens, and the difficulties surrounding the quest for new antibiotics, many researchers have started revisiting antibiotic interactions in hopes of ...finding new treatment options. The primary outcome of this project was to examine the efficacy of concomitant antibiotic use under varying nutrient conditions, to identify variations in antibiotic interactions. Antibiotic interactions were studied, utilizing E. coli as a model bacterial system, grown in four different media types. E. coli cultures were treated with streptomycin, tobramycin, erythromycin, and amikacin individually and in a pairwise fashion at varying doses. We found that at least some antibiotic efficacies were dependent on the environmental nutrient conditions E. coli was grown in, as the antibiotics were not equally effective in all media types. E. coli grown in potato dextrose broth, in particular, showed extremely high tolerance to antibiotic inhibition. In addition, we observed several variations in antibiotic interactions, depending on the combination of antibiotics and environmental conditions utilized. It is predicted that differences in available nutrients is the primary cause of the observed discrepancies in antibiotic properties between media. The observation of changes in antibiotic efficacy under different environmental and nutrient conditions has serious implications for use of antibiotic combinations as drug treatments. Not all microenvironments within the human body have identical nutrient make-up. If the interactions antibiotics are reported to have in one environmental condition change under another, reckless prescription of combinations could lead to a serious adverse reaction. Thus, this is an important area for future in vitro and in vivo research.
Immune-regulatory mechanisms of drug-free remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are unknown. We hypothesized that synovial tissue macrophages (STM), which persist in remission, contribute to joint ...homeostasis. We used single-cell transcriptomics to profile 32,000 STMs and identified phenotypic changes in patients with early/active RA, treatment-refractory/active RA and RA in sustained remission. Each clinical state was characterized by different frequencies of nine discrete phenotypic clusters within four distinct STM subpopulations with diverse homeostatic, regulatory and inflammatory functions. This cellular atlas, combined with deep-phenotypic, spatial and functional analyses of synovial biopsy fluorescent activated cell sorted STMs, revealed two STM subpopulations (MerTK
TREM2
and MerTK
LYVE1
) with unique remission transcriptomic signatures enriched in negative regulators of inflammation. These STMs were potent producers of inflammation-resolving lipid mediators and induced the repair response of synovial fibroblasts in vitro. A low proportion of MerTK
STMs in remission was associated with increased risk of disease flare after treatment cessation. Therapeutic modulation of MerTK
STM subpopulations could therefore be a potential treatment strategy for RA.
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