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Key health impacts and support systems for informal carers in the UK: A thematic review
Get PDFIntroduction: The economic contributions made by informal carers in the UK per year mount up to £132 billion. This is equivalent to the total amount of the health care costs, yet the health and wellbeing of carers are often not prioritised. This review paper aims to determine the key health impacts of informal caregiving and evaluate support/control methods in the UK. Methods: This thematic review was conducted in accordance with an adapted version of the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Of the 6,482 articles identified through Pubmed/ Medline, CINAHL, SpringerLink, Summon, and grey literature, 38 studies were included in the review. Results: The key health impacts of being an informal carer were identified as musculoskeletal disorders and psychological issues (such as depression, stress and anxiety), which were categorized as ‘high-risk impact’ areas. The review further identified cardiovascular disease and early mortality as ‘low to moderate risk impact’ areas and a thematic area that revolves around positive impacts on health of informal carers. Financial help, proper respite care, availability and accessibility of information and advice, provision of equipment in a timely manner and adequate support networks were found to be key factors useful in minimising musculoskeletal and psychological disorders. Discussion and Conclusions: There is a need for policy makers and program implementers to recognize and accommodate the ever-changing role of carers on different stages of caring. There is also a need to review key health policy documents to include informal carers’ needs and improve support systems available. The lack of evidence-based research on the psycho-physical impacts of caring and the lack of evaluation of services that impact the health of carers also needs to be addressed with priority
Rethinking digital foci-what are the real digital needs of Welsh tourism organisations?
Get PDFThe use of digital technologies is becoming more evident within the tourism industry, however
it is characterised by different levels of usage between rural, small and medium organisations
versus large, urban ones. This paper reports on findings of quantitative and qualitative research
focussing on the mapping of the current digital proficiencies and future digital skills of tourismrelated organisations in Wales. The results show that whilst the highest projected digital skills
gaps in 2030 relate to emerging technologies such as AI, AR and VR, more pressing digital
needs relate to the use of social media and online marketing. The study identifies lack of need,
time and/or budget as main reasons for lack of digital engagement and training
Genome-Wide Identification of Myxobacterial Predation Genes and Demonstration of Formaldehyde Secretion as a Potentially Predation-Resistant Trait of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Get PDFDespite widespread use in human biology, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of bacteria are few and have, to date, focused primarily on pathogens. Myxobacteria are predatory microbes with large patchwork genomes, with individual strains secreting unique cocktails of predatory proteins and metabolites. We investigated whether a GWAS strategy could be applied to myxobacteria to identify genes associated with predation. Deduced proteomes from 29 myxobacterial genomes (including eight Myxococcus genomes sequenced for this study), were clustered into orthologous groups, and the presence/absence of orthologues assessed in superior and inferior predators of ten prey organisms. 139 ‘predation genes’ were identified as being associated significantly with predation, including some whose annotation suggested a testable predatory mechanism. Formaldehyde dismutase (fdm) was associated with superior predation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and predatory activity of a strain lacking fdm could be increased by the exogenous addition of a formaldehyde detoxifying enzyme, suggesting that production of formaldehyde by P. aeruginosa acts as an anti-predation behaviour. This study establishes the utility of bacterial GWAS to investigate microbial processes beyond pathogenesis, giving plausible and verifiable associations between gene presence/absence and predatory phenotype. We propose that the slow growth rate of myxobacteria, coupled with their predatory mechanism of constitutive secretion, has rendered them relatively resistant to genome streamlining. The resultant genome expansion made possible their observed accumulation of prey-specific predatory genes, without requiring them to be selected for by frequent or recent predation on diverse prey, potentially explaining both the large pan-genome and broad prey range of myxobacteria
Preliminary effects and acceptability of a co-produced physical activity referral intervention
Get PDFObjectives: To explore the preliminary effects and acceptability of a co-produced physical activity referral intervention.
Study Design: Longitudinal design with data collected at baseline and post a 12-week physical activity referral intervention.
Setting. Community leisure centre.
Methods: 32 adults with controlled lifestyle-related health conditions took part in a physical activity referral intervention (co-produced by a multidisciplinary stakeholder group) comprising 12 weeks’ subsidised fitness centre access plus four behaviour change consultations. A complete case analysis (t-tests and magnitude-based inferences) was conducted to assess baseline-to-12-week change in physical activity, cardiometabolic, and psychological measures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted (n=12) to explore experiences of the intervention.
Results: Mean improvements were observed in cardiorespiratory fitness-2 (3.6 ml.kg.-1min-1 (95% confidence interval 1.9 to 5.4) P<0.001) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (12.6 min.day (95% CI 4.3 to 29.6) P=0.013). Participants were positive about the support from exercise referral practitioners, but experienced some challenges in a busy and under staffed gym environment.
Conclusions: A co-produced physical activity referral intervention elicited short-term improvements in physical activity and cardiometabolic health. Further refinements may be required, via ongoing feedback between stakeholders, researchers and service users, to achieve the intended holistic physical activity focus of the intervention, prior to a definitive trial
Challenges to e-government implementation in developing countries. Nigeria case Study
Get PDFThe rapid development in ICT industry and the
increase in Internet usage around the world
enabled some governments to provide e-services
for citizens with the aim of improving service
delivery, increasing citizen participation, and
reduce cost of governance. E-government as a
platform offers a large opportunity for improved
service delivery. E-government promises lots of
advantage in governance process but at the same
time requires efforts for changing process,
building infrastructures, capacity enhancement
etc. Employing e-government to improve efficiency
and effectiveness of public service delivery in
government structures is one facet of economic
sustainability. However, the introduction of egovernment is about a radical change and reengineering within government agencies and the
relationship between government and its citizens.
Hence the implementation of e-government
requires important political, cultural,
organizational, technological and social issues
which must be considered by any government
considering its implementation.
This paper presents an assessment of key factors
that affect the implementation of e-government
system in Nigeria using the Institutional Theory.
Semi- structured interviews were conducted and
used in this study to collect the data. The results
of this study show that the most significant
challenges and factors influencing the
implementation of e- government services in
Nigeria are related to corruption in public office,
budgeting and financial costs, human expertise,
resistance to change, technological issues, lack of
IT professional in public offices, data privacy and
security, the legal framework, lack of IT
infrastructure, limited Power supply,
administrative obstacles. Conclusions,
recommendations and future work are stated at
the end of the paper
Martial Arts in Postcolonial Times: Local Theories for Local Contexts
Get PDFBackground. Up to now, the social organisation and practise of the world’s ghting systems has been understood through estab- lished and popular trends in sociological theory developed primarily in Western Europe and North America.
Problem and aim. As an alternative, researchers can turn to theories local to the culture in question, in order to understand its people on their own terms, as these theories are written largely for and by them in their own language.
Method. e authors employed local theory in their analysis of two martial arts associations that focus on the cultivation of national warrior identities. Based on long-standing case studies on Japanese Budo institutions in Poland and Xilam in its native Mexico, they demonstrate how local social theories can assist the understanding of belonging, embodiment, identity and nationalism in postcolonial times.
Results. A local warrior identity was identi ed in both Polish Budo and Mexican Xilam martial arts organisations. e local social theories enabled the authors to examine these identities in terms of postcolonial identity formation in relation to the nations in question.
Conclusions. Martial arts researchers should employ local theories as well as the more popular canon from social scienti c disci- plines. Local theories enable detailed appreciation of the history, culture and politics of the country where a martial art has been developed or is being practised and transmitted
The Influence of Maturity Offset, Strength, and Movement Competency on Motor Skill Performance in Adolescent Males
Get PDFThis study aimed to examine the extent to which maturity offset, strength, and movement competency influences motor skill performance in adolescent boys. One hundred and eight secondary school boys completed anthropometric and physical testing on two non-consecutive days for the following variables: maturity offset, isometric mid-thigh pull absolute (IMTPABS) and relative (IMTPREL) peak force, resistance training skills quotient, 10-, 20- and 30-meter sprint time, countermovement jump height, horizontal jump distance, anaerobic endurance performance, and seated medicine ball throw (SMBT). The IMTPREL displayed significant small to large correlations with all performance variables (r = 0.27-0.61) whereas maturity offset was significantly correlated with IMTPABS (r = 0.69), sprint (r = 0.29-0.33), jump (r = 0.23-0.34), and SMBT (r = 0.32). Absolute and relative strength were the strongest predictors of all performance variables and combined with maturity to explain 21-76% of the variance. Low and average relative strength boys were nearly eight times (odds ratio: 7.80, confidence interval: 1.48-41.12, p < 0.05) and nearly four times (odds ratio: 3.86, confidence interval: 0.95-15.59, p < 0.05) more likely to be classified as lower competency compared to high relative strength boys. Relative strength has more influence on motor skill performance than maturity when compared with movement competency
Can you tell by their English if they can speak Welsh? Accent perception in a language contact situation
Get PDFAims: The purpose of this research was to gain a better understanding of accent perception in language contact situations in which monolingual speakers of a contact variety and bilinguals live in the same community. Design: We investigated the English accents of monolinguals and bilinguals from the same area in South-West Wales, and listeners’ perceptions thereof, in three inter-related studies. Data: In Study 1, an accent perception experiment, participants from four different listener groups were asked to differentiate English monolinguals and Welsh-English bilinguals on the basis of short English speech samples. In Study 2, the same participants’ views about differences between the accentual features of monolinguals and bilinguals were examined in individual structured interviews. Finally, in Study 3, the speech samples from the accent perception experiment were analysed phonetically based on the accentual features mentioned in Study 2. Findings: Study 1 revealed that monolinguals and bilinguals can be identified above chance based on their English accent, but performance was unexceptional. Identification was better with greater accent familiarity, but unrelated to listeners’ ability to speak Welsh.Study 2 revealed the specific segmental and suprasegmental features that the listeners considered indicative of monolingual and bilingual speakers’ English accents, while Study 3 showed that only some of the listeners’ views are consistent with the production data from Study 1. Originality: This paper is the first to examine whether monolinguals and bilinguals from a bilingual area with historical language contact can be identified on the basis of their majority language accent, and on what grounds these identifications are made. Implications:This research shows that settings in which minority-language features originate from both historical language contact and individual bilingualism yield subtle accentual differences in the majority language between monolinguals and bilinguals to which even listeners from the same accent background may not be responsive
Electrocardiographic changes following six months of long-distance triathlon training in previously recreationally active individuals
Get PDFBackground: Clinical electrocardiographic (ECG) guidelines for athlete’s heart are based upon cross-sectional data. We aimed to longitudinally evaluate the influence of endurance training on the ECG and compare the prevalence of ECG abnormalities defined by contemporary criteria.
Methods: A group of 66 training-naïve individuals completed a six-month training programme with resting ECGs and cardiopulmonary exercise tests performed at baseline, two and six months. Data were analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance and the prevalence of ECG abnormalities compared between proposed criteria.
Results: Maximal oxygen consumption increased from 45.4 ± 7.1 to 50.3 ± 7.1 ml·kg−1·min−1 (p < 0.05) pre-to-post training. ECG changes included, bradycardia (60 ± 12 vs. 53 ± 8 beats·min−1; p < 0.05), shorter P wave duration (106 ± 10 vs. 103 ± 11 ms; p < 0.05), reduced QTc (413 ± 27 vs. 405 ± 22 ms; p < 0.05), and increased left ventricular Sokolow-Lyon index (2.45 ± 0.66 vs. 2.62 ± 0.78 mV; p < 0.05). 85% of individuals showed ≥1 ‘training-related’ ECG finding at six months vs. 68% at baseline. Using the 2013 Seattle Criteria, 4 ECGs were ‘abnormal’ at baseline and 3 at month six vs. 2 at baseline and 1 at month six, using the 2017 International Consensus. Prevalence of ‘borderline’ findings did not increase with training (11% at baseline and six months).
Conclusion: Six-months endurance training leads to a greater prevalence of ‘training-related’ but not ‘borderline’ or ‘training-unrelated’ ECGs. ‘Borderline findings’ may not necessarily represent training-related cardiac remodelling in novice athletes following a six-month training intervention
Design of a novel hybrid robot for in-vivo applications
No full textThis paper proposes a novel robotic system with
hybrid motion capabilities for minimally invasive
diagnosis. The proposed hybrid robot has three modes
of operation namely capsule motion mode, legged
motion mode and anchoring mod