bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exploring the effectiveness of an 18‐month weight management intervention in adults with Down syndrome using propensity score matching
Authors: Ptomey L. T. , Willis E. A. , Sherman J. R. , White D. A. , Donnelly J. E. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackgroundDown syndrome (DS) is one of the most common birth defects in the USA associated with high levels of overweight and obesity. Unique characteristics of adults with DS that may contribute to the high levels of obesity are high rates of hypothyroidism, poor muscle tone, altered gait and lower resting metabolic rate. Due to these factors, it is unknown if the same weight management interventions that are effective in adults with intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) without DS are as effective in those with DS. Therefore, the purpose of this secondary analysis was to compare changes in weight, diet and physical activity between participants with DS‐related and non‐DS‐related IDD participating in an 18‐month weight management trial.MethodsWe used propensity score methods to adjust baseline variables of overweight/obese adults with and without DS participating in an 18‐month effectiveness trial with 6 months weight loss and 12 months weight maintenance. Participants followed one of two reduced calorie diet plans, obtained 150 min of moderate–vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) per week, and logged dietary intake daily. A health educator held monthly at‐home visits with participants and a caregiver to give feedback on intervention compliance.ResultsOut of the 124 participants that met the criteria for inclusion, 21 were diagnosed with DS and 103 with non‐DS‐related IDD. Twenty out of 21 participants with DS were successfully matched. Clinically significant weight loss was seen at 18 months in participants with DS (−5.2%) and non‐DS‐related IDD (−6.8%), with no difference between groups (P = 0.53). Significant reductions in energy intake were seen across the 18‐month intervention in both DS and non‐DS‐related IDD groups with between‐group differences at 12 months only (1119 vs. 1492 kcal/day, respectively; P = 0.003). Although MVPA did not increase in either group across the intervention, those with non‐DS‐related IDD had higher levels of MVPA compared with those with DS across 18 months.ConclusionParticipants with DS lost a clinically significant amount of weight across the 18‐month intervention. Compared with those with non‐DS‐related IDD, those with DS lost similar amounts of weight, had similar decreases in energy intake and participated in less MVPA across the 18‐month intervention. Although individuals with DS have physiological factors that may contribute to obesity, weight management interventions designed for individuals with IDD may be equally effective in this population.
The Exercise Perceptions of People Treated with Peritoneal Dialysis
Authors: Zeng Jie , Bennett Paul N. , Hill Kathleen , Borlace Monique , Xu Qunyan 
Published: January 2020

SUMMARYBackgroundIndividuals receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) report low levels of physical activity, which increases their risk of morbidity and mortality. Little is known about their perceptions towards barriers and benefits of exercise or physical activity.AimThe aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of exercise among people receiving PD.Study DesignCross‐sectional survey.ParticipantsThirty‐nine adults (12 female and 27 male) with a mean age of 65 years and a median of 8 months receiving PD from one Australian dialysis service.MeasurementsThe 26‐item Dialysis Patient‐Perceived Exercise Benefits and Barriers Survey was adapted to PD in order to measure self‐reported barriers and benefits of exercise for people being treated with PD.ResultsThe majority of the respondents reported positive perceptions towards exercise with 84.6% of the participants agreeing that exercise prevents muscular wasting; 71.8% agreed that exercise can postpone a decline in body function; and 69.2% agreed that exercise improves general well‐being. In terms of barriers, symptoms including tiredness (69.2%) and body pain (43.6%), worrying about a fall (33.3%) and lack of exercise‐related information (25.6%) were the main perceived barriers to exercise. Only 10% agreed that exercise may affect their PD catheter with 23% agreeing that fluid in their peritoneum was a barrier to exercise.ConclusionPeople on PD hold positive perceptions towards exercise but face a number of perceived barriers to physical activity. Clinicians can acknowledge these barriers and focus on helping people on PD to overcome their perceived barriers to encourage sustained exercise participation.
Targeted recombination in active populations as a new mouse genetic model to study sleep‐active neuronal populations: Demonstration that Lhx6+ neurons in the ventral zona incerta are activated during paradoxical sleep hypersomnia
Authors: Lee Hyun‐Sook , Yamazaki Risa , Wang Dianru , Arthaud Sébastien , Fort Patrice , DeNardo Laura A. , Luppi Pierre‐Hervé 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe cFos immunostaining allowed the identification of multiple populations of neurons involved in the generation of paradoxical sleep. We adopted the transgenic (targeted recombination in active populations) mouse model, which following injection of tamoxifen, allows expression of Cre‐dependent reporter constructs (i.e., mCherry) in neurons expressing cFos during waking or paradoxical sleep hypersomnia following automatic paradoxical sleep deprivation. Three groups of mice were subjected to two periods of waking, one period of waking and one of paradoxical sleep hypersomnia, or two periods of paradoxical sleep hypersomnia. A high percentage of double‐labelled neurons was observed in the lateral hypothalamic area and zona incerta of two periods of waking and two periods of paradoxical sleep hypersomnia in mice, but not in those of one period of waking and one of paradoxical sleep hypersomnia in animals. Melanin‐concentrating hormone neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area and Lhx6+ cells in the zona incerta constituted 5.7 ± 1.5% and 8.8 ± 2.3% of all mCherry+ cells and 20.6 ± 4.8% and 24.6 ± 5.9% of all cFos+ neurons in two periods of paradoxical sleep hypersomnia in animals. In addition, melanin‐concentrating hormone cells as well as Lhx6+ neurons rarely expressed mCherry (or cFos) in the waking condition, in contrast to orexin neurons, which constituted approximately 30% of mCherry+ and cFos+ neurons. Our results validate the TRAP methodology and open the way to use it for identifying the neurons activated during waking and paradoxical sleep hypersomnia. Furthermore, they indicate for the first time that Lhx6+ neurons in the zona incerta, like melanin‐concentrating hormone cells in the lateral hypothalamic area, are activated during paradoxical sleep hypersomnia but not during waking. These results indicate that Lhx6+ neurons might play a role in the control of paradoxical sleep, like the melanin‐concentrating hormone cells.
Computational phylogenetics and the classification of South American languages
Authors: Michael Lev , Chousou‐Polydouri Natalia 
Published: January 2020

AbstractIn recent years, South Americanist linguists have embraced computational phylogenetic methods to resolve the numerous outstanding questions about the genealogical relationships among the languages of the continent. We provide a critical review of the methods and language classification results that have accumulated thus far, emphasizing the superiority of character‐based methods over distance‐based ones and the importance of developing adequate comparative datasets for producing well‐resolved classifications.
Balthasar avec Kristeva: On the Recovery of a Baroque Teresa of Avila
Authors: Martin Jennifer Newsome 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis article suggests that Hans Urs von Balthasar’s critique of hyper‐subjectivism in Spanish Carmelite mysticism can be valuably supplemented by Julia Kristeva’s experimental novel Teresa My Love: An Imagined Life of the Saint of Avila. In particular, I argue that Kristeva’s characterization of St. Teresa of Avila as a “baroque” subject nuances Balthasar’s critique, as the novel complicates the apparent binaries of immanence‐transcendence and subject‐object, presenting baroque subjectivity as dramatic, plural, porous, complicated, de‐centered, ek‐static, and erotic, inhabiting and inhabited by an o/Other, a construction of the subject which resists by definition the pull of a psychological solipsism. Moreover, the article suggests that Kristeva’s novel operates as a powerful rhetorical mechanism not only for bringing Teresa to life in a new way, but also for unveiling both Balthasar’s internal inconsistencies as well as his internal resources, the latter of which include his reflections on baroque representation and theatricality, particularly with respect to Ignatius of Loyola, and his figurations of selfhood and sainthood in terms both of liquidity and as “expropriated” and “unselved.”
Access to fruit and vegetable markets and childhood obesity: A systematic review
Authors: Yang Shujuan , Zhang Xiao , Feng Ping , Wu Tong , Tian Ruochen , Zhang Donglan , Zhao Li , Xiao Chenghan , Zhou Zonglei , He Fang , Cheng Guo , Jia Peng 
Published: January 2020

SummaryThe lack of access to fruit/vegetable markets (FVMs) is thought to be a risk factor for childhood obesity by discouraging healthy dietary behaviours while encouraging access to venues that offer more unhealthy food (and thus the compensatory intake of those options). However, findings remain mixed, and there has not been a review of the association between FVM access and childhood obesity. A comprehensive and systematic understanding of this epidemiologic relationship is important to the design and implementation of relevant public health policies. In this study, a literature search was conducted in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science for articles published before 1 January 2019 that focused on the association between neighbourhood FVM access and weight‐related behaviours and outcomes among children and adolescents. Eight cross‐sectional studies, two longitudinal studies, and one ecological study conducted in five countries were identified. The median sample size was 2142 ± 1371. Weight‐related behaviours and outcomes were used as the outcome variable in two and eight studies, respectively, with one study using both weight‐related behaviours and outcomes as outcome variables. We still found a negative association between access to FVMs in children's residential and school neighbourhoods and weight‐related behaviours and an inconclusive association between FVM access and overweight or obesity. This conclusion should be regarded as provisional because of a limited amount of relevant evidence and may not be a strong guide for policymaking. Nonetheless, it points to an important research gap that needs to be filled if successful public health interventions are to be undertaken.
Environmental Health Advocacy and Industry Obstruction: The Case of Black Lung Disease
Authors: Bodenhamer Aysha , Shriver Thomas E. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThere has been a deadly resurgence of black lung disease, particularly in central Appalachia. The disease has a long and contentious history in the United States. During the 1960s, coal miners and their supporters successfully mobilized for recognition and treatment of the disease when it was largely eradicated. We draw from literature on environmental health movements and contested environmental illness to analyze black lung advocacy and continued obstruction from the coal industry. Our data come from a case study that includes in‐depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Results indicate that the black lung movement is now being spearheaded by professionals, such as medical and legal advocates, who partner with retired miners and their supporters. Unlike previous organizing efforts around black lung, active miners are largely absent from current advocacy efforts. Our findings also reveal four major obstruction tactics utilized by the industry, including: (1) industry denial, (2) falsifying records, (3) fear and intimidation, and (4) contestation of new regulations.
Do Firms Follow Immigrants? Empirical Evidence From Italy
Authors: Etzo Ivan , Massidda Carla , Piras Romano 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis paper investigates the relationship between immigration and firms for Italy at NUTS 3 level, during the period 2012–2015. The main contribution to the existing literature is to provide results disaggregated at the sectoral level, taking into account the important heterogeneities existing across both provinces and sectors. At the aggregate level, the main result is the positive effect of immigrants on both the number of local units and employees. The analysis on employees by citizenship suggests that there are no displacement effects of immigrants relative to both Italian and foreign employees. When moving to the sectoral perspective, the results display a highly heterogeneous picture. However, sectors showing a statistically robust link for both establishments and employees sum up to 52 per cent of total value added and 48 per cent of total employment, while for five out of 19 sectors, immigrants do not exert any impact, neither in terms of local units nor employment.
The role of extracellular vesicles in skeletal muscle and systematic adaptation to exercise
Authors: Vechetti Ivan J. , Valentino Taylor , Mobley C. Brooks , McCarthy John J. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractRegular exercise has a central role in human health by reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, stroke and cancer. How exercise is able to promote such systemic benefits has remained somewhat of a mystery but has been thought to be in part mediated by the release of myokines, skeletal muscle‐specific cytokines, in response to exercise. Recent studies have revealed skeletal muscle can also release extracellular vesicles (EVs) into circulation following a bout of exercise. EVs are small membrane‐bound vesicles capable of delivering biomolecules to recipient cells and subsequently altering their metabolism. The notion that EVs may have a role in both skeletal muscle and systemic adaptation to exercise has generated a great deal of excitement within a number of different fields including exercise physiology, neuroscience and metabolism. The purpose of this review is to provide an introduction to EV biology and what is currently known about skeletal muscle EVs and their potential role in the response of muscle and other tissues to exercise.
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Impact of school-based malaria case management on school attendance, health and education outcomes: a cluster randomised trial in southern Malawi
Authors: Halliday Katherine E , Witek-McManus Stefan S , Opondo Charles , Mtali Austin , Allen Elizabeth , Bauleni Andrew , Ndau Saidi , Phondiwa Emmanuel , Ali Doreen , Kachigunda Virginia , Sande John H , Jawati Mpumulo , Verney Allison , Chimuna Tiyese , Melody David , Moestue Helen , Roschnik Natalie , Brooker Simon J , Mathanga Don P 
Published: January 2020

IntroductionEvidence indicates children who suffer from ill-health are less likely to attend or complete schooling. Malaria is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in school-age children. However, they are less likely to receive malaria treatment at health facilities and evidence for how to improve schoolchildren’s access to care is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a programme of school-based malaria case management on schoolchildren’s attendance, health and education.MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in 58 primary schools in Zomba District, Malawi, 2011–2015. The intervention, implemented in 29 randomly selected schools, provided malaria rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy to diagnose and treat uncomplicated malaria as part of basic first aid kits known as ‘Learner Treatment Kits’ (LTK). The primary outcome was school attendance, assessed through teacher-recorded daily attendance registers and independent periodic attendance spot checks. Secondary outcomes included prevalence ofPlasmodiumspp infection, anaemia, educational performance, self-reported child well-being and health-seeking behaviour. A total of 9571 children from standards 1–7 were randomly selected for assessment of school attendance, with subsamples assessed for the secondary outcomes.ResultsBetween November 2013 and March 2015, 97 trained teachers in 29 schools provided 32 685 unique consultations. Female schoolchildren were significantly more likely than male to seek a consultation (unadjusted OR=1.78 (95% CI 1.58 to 2.00). No significant intervention effect was observed on the proportion of child-days recorded as absent in teacher registers (n=9017 OR=0.90 (95% CI 0.77 to 1.05), p=0.173) or of children absent during random school visits—spot checks (n=5791 OR=1.09 (95% CI 0.87 to 1.36), p=0.474). There was no significant impact on child-reported well-being, prevalence ofPlasmodiumspp, anaemia or education scores.ConclusionDespite high community demand, the LTK programme did not reduce schoolchildren’s absenteeism or improve health or education outcomes in this study setting.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials.govNCT02213211.
Factors associated with positive user experience with primary healthcare providers in Mexico: a multilevel modelling approach using national cross-sectional data
Authors: Holt Kelsey , Doubova Svetlana V , Lee Dennis , Perez-Cuevas Ricardo , Leslie Hannah H 
Published: January 2020

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate factors associated with patient experience with primary care in a large public health system in Mexico and determine the amount of variability in experience attributable to facility-level and state-level factors.MethodsWe analysed cross-sectional 2016 national satisfaction survey data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). Patient-level data were merged with facility-level data and information on poverty by state. We assessed general contextual effects and examined the relationship of patient, facility and state factors with four patient experience measures using random effects logistic regression.Results25 745 patients’ responses from 319 facilities were analysed. The majority experienced good communication (78%), the opportunity to share health concerns (91%) and resolution of doubts (85%). 29% of visits were rated as excellent. Differences between facilities and states accounted for up to 12% and 6% of the variation in patient experience, respectively. Inclusion of facility-level contextual effects improved model predictions by 8%–12%; models with facility random effects and individual covariates correctly predicted 64%–71% of individual outcomes. In adjusted models, larger patient population was correlated with worse reported communication, less opportunity to share concerns and less resolution of doubts. Men reported more positive communication; older individuals reported more positive communication and experiences overall, but less opportunity to share concerns; and more educated individuals were less likely to report positive communication but more likely to report resolution of doubts and overall positive experiences. Preventive care visits were rated higher than curative visits for resolution of doubts, but lower for opportunity to share concerns, and specific conditions were associated with better or worse reported experiences in some cases.ConclusionQuality improvement efforts at IMSS facilities might bolster individual experiences with primary care, given that up to 12% of the variation in experience was attributable to facility-level differences. The relationship between individual characteristics and experience ratings reinforces the importance of patients’ expectations of care and the potential for differential treatment by providers to impact experience.
Developing the evidence base for evaluating dementia training in NHS hospitals (DEMTRAIN): a mixed-methods study protocol
Authors: Ahmed Faraz , Morbey Hazel , Harding Andrew , Reeves David , Swarbrick Caroline , Davies Linda , Hann Mark , Holland Fiona , Elvish Ruth , Leroi Iracema , Burrow Simon , Burns Alistair , Keady John , Reilly Siobhan 
Published: January 2020

IntroductionAround 70% of acute hospital beds in the UK are occupied by older people, approximately 40% of whom have dementia. Improving the quality of care in hospitals is a key priority within national dementia strategies. Limited research has been conducted to evaluate dementia training packages for staff, and evaluation of training often focuses on immediate, on-the-day training feedback and effects.ObjectivesOur study aims to answer two research questions: (1) How do variations in content, implementation and intensity of staff dementia training in acute hospitals in England relate to health service outcome/process measures and staff outcomes? and (2) What components of staff dementia training are most strongly related to improved patient and staff outcomes?Methods and analysisUsing the principles of programme theory, a mixed-method study will be used to identify mechanisms and the interactions between them, as well as facilitators and barriers to dementia training in hospitals. We will use existing data, such as Hospital Episode Statistics, alongside two surveys (at hospital and staff level).We will recruit up to 193 acute hospitals in England to participate in the hospital level survey. We aim to recruit up to 30 staff members per hospital, from a random sample of 24 hospitals. In addition, we will explore the cost-effectiveness of dementia training packages and carry out an in-depth case study of up to six hospitals.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been reviewed and approved by the Faculty of Health and Medicine Research Ethics Committee (FHMREC 17056) and Health Research Authority (Integrated Research Approval System (IRAS) ID 242166: REC reference 18/HRA/1198). We plan to develop both standard (eg, academic publications, presentations at conferences) and innovative (eg, citizen scientist web portals, online fora, links with hospitals and third sector organisations) means of ensuring the study findings are accessible and disseminated regionally, nationally and internationally.