19683 research outputs found
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Validation of LEOMO inertial measurement unit sensors with marker-based three-dimensional motion capture during maximum sprinting in track cyclists
No full textLEOMO™ is a commercial inertial measurement unit system that provides cycling-specific motion performance indicators (MPIs) and offers a mobile solution for monitoring cyclists. We aimed to validate the LEOMO sensors during sprint cycling using gold-standard marker-based three-dimensional (3D) motion technology (Qualisys, AB). Our secondary aim was to explore the relationship between peak power during sprints and MPIs. Seventeen elite track cyclists performed 3 × 15s seated start maximum efforts on a cycle ergometer. Based on intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC3,1), the MPIs derived from 3D and LEOMO showed moderate agreement (0.50 < 0.75) for the right foot angular range (FAR); left foot angular range first quadrant (FARQ1); right leg angular range (LAR); and mean angle of the pelvis in the sagittal plane. Agreement was poor (ICC < 0.50) between MPIs derived from 3D and LEOMO for the left FAR, right FARQ1, left LAR, and mean range of motion of the pelvis in the frontal and transverse planes. Only one LEOMO-derived (pelvic rotation) and two 3D-derived (right FARQ1 and FAR) MPIs showed large positive significant correlations with peak power. Caution is advised regarding use of the LEOMO for short maximal cycling efforts and derived MPIs to inform peak sprint cycling power production.</p
Spiritual care for older people living in the community: A scoping review
No full textBackground: The population of older people should be supported to enjoy optimal quality of life. Health professionals should consider a range of interventions that support the older population to maintain their quality of life. One such interventional approach involves spiritual care. Objective: To explore what is known about spiritual care approaches for older people living in the community. Methods: Scoping review informed by Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Eight electronic databases were searched: CINAHL, Ageline, PubMed, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health, PsycINFO, Scopus, Garuda, and Neliti. The review included quantitative and qualitative primary peer-reviewed research studies focusing on spiritual care interventions for older people living in the community published between 2011 and 2021 in English or Bahasa Indonesia. The search was uploaded into an electronic citation manager and imported into Covidence for screening. Results: A total of 29 studies were included in the review. While the studies were conducted in five continents, most were reported from the Asian continent. Five key issues based on the outcome of interventions were found namely psychological, physical, spiritual, multidisciplinary approach, and social connection. Conclusion: This scoping review identifies spiritual interventions conducted across many countries have been implemented for older people living in the community. Although there are review limitations and further research is needed, these spiritual interventions, both faith-based and non-faith-based, are identified as useful to support the well-being of older people.</p
Tumor immune evasion: insights from CRISPR screens and future directions
No full textDespite the clinical success of cancer immunotherapies including immune checkpoint blockade and adoptive cellular therapies across a variety of cancer types, many patients do not respond or ultimately relapse; however, the molecular underpinnings of this are not fully understood. Thus, a system-level understating of the routes to tumor immune evasion is required to inform the design of the next generation of immunotherapy approaches. CRISPR screening approaches have proved extremely powerful in identifying genes that promote tumor immune evasion or sensitize tumor cells to destruction by the immune system. These large-scale efforts have brought to light decades worth of fundamental immunology and have uncovered the key immune-evasion pathways subverted in cancers in an acquired manner in patients receiving immune-modulatory therapies. The comprehensive discovery of the main pathways involved in immune evasion has spurred the development and application of novel immune therapies to target this process. Although successful, conventional CRISPR screening approaches are hampered by a number of limitations, which obfuscate a complete understanding of the precise molecular regulation of immune evasion in cancer. Here, we provide a perspective on screening approaches to interrogate tumor-lymphocyte interactions and their limitations, and discuss further development of technologies to improve such approaches and discovery capability
An Evaluation of Child and Parent Outcomes Following Community-Based Early Intervention with Randomised Parent-Mediated Intervention for Autistic Pre-Schoolers
No full textBackground: As autistic children are being diagnosed at a younger age, the need to identify appropriate early supports has increased. Therapist-delivered and parent-mediated autism intervention may benefit children and parents. Objective: This pilot study examined developmental outcomes for autistic pre-schoolers and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for their parents (n = 53) following a 10-month intervention period. Methods: All families were accessing therapist-delivered interventions—the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) or usual community services—and some families also received additional parent-coaching ESDM (P-ESDM). Families were assessed at 3 timepoints. Results: Overall children made significant gains in cognitive skills and adaptive behaviour, with no differences between groups. Parents overall reported increased parenting stress over time. P-ESDM conferred no added benefit for child outcomes, and similarly, no clear benefit for parent outcomes. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that children receiving early intervention make developmental gains, regardless of type of intervention, and challenges assumptions that, as an adjunct to other intervention programs, P-ESDM improves child or parent outcomes. Further research is needed to explore the effects of parent-mediated programs
Analysis of Violent Incidents at Five Regional and Remote Australian Emergency Departments: A Retrospective Descriptive Study
No full textIntroduction: Workplace violence is endemic, destructive, and escalating in frequency and severity in healthcare. There is a paucity of research on workplace violence in regional and remote hospital emergency departments (EDs). Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the perpetrator and situational characteristics associated with violent incidents in the ED across five regional and remote Australian sites. Method: This study audited hospital summary data, incident reports, and medical records for a 12-month period in 2018 to examine the perpetrator and situational characteristics of workplace violence incidents in five regional and remote Australian EDs. Results: Violent incidents were evenly spread throughout the week and across shifts. Most incidents were triaged as urgent, occurred within the first 4 hr, and had multidisciplinary involvement. Almost one in every six incidents resulted in an injury. Perpetrators of violence were predominantly young and middle-aged males and almost always patients, with most presenting with mental and behavioral disorders, or psychoactive substance use. Conclusions: Understanding the characteristics of perpetrators of violence can help in seeking to tailor interventions to reduce further violent behaviors. These findings carry implications for optimizing patient care, staff safety and resource management
Algorithmic Performance Management in Higher Education: Viva! 365 Ways of Surveillance
No full textThis paper maps the emergence and consequences of automated Algorithmic Performance Management (APM) in the context of higher education. After reviewing the evolution of productivity management in academia, it argues that surveillance via APM shifts expectations not just about effectiveness at work but also about how work, and the good worker, come to be defined. In our paradigmatic case study of Office 365, we specify how the automated surveillance of workforce practices are deployed to redefine productivity in higher education: productive workers become good data subjects as well as producers of papers, grants, and other traditional outputs of success. Our analysis suggests performing well at work is managed in and by the platform via logics of the surveillance of wellness, time-regulation, and social connectivity to influence, manage, and control workers. We critique these automated performance measures in terms of platform capitalism, noting Office 365’s Viva Insights function as a telematic device of surveillance. The final section of the paper places these trends in Australia’s socio-legal context by showing how Viva is insufficient for considering performance given the range of practices that constitute “academic work,” including but not limited to the need for unmonitored activity. Yet, we observe that currently little can be done about Office 365’s surveillant presence given a regulatory regime that by and large excludes productivity surveillance from the scope of regulated surveillance activities
Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre’s response to the Victorian Government’s inquiry into women's pain
No full textLa Trobe University’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) highlights the increased prevalence of chronic pain among Autistic women and girls, who face unique challenges in obtaining diagnosis and treatment. Barriers such as difficulties navigating healthcare systems, miscommunication with clinicians, and the financial burden of care contribute to their lower quality of life. The submission calls for the development of tailored, evidence-based guidelines. OTARC recommends integrating Autistic voices into pain care policies, funding research specific to Autistic women, and improving healthcare professional training to better address their needs.</p
Genotypic Variability in Response to Heat Stress and Post-Stress Compensatory Growth in Mungbean Plants (Vigna radiata [L.] Wilczek)
No full textUnderstanding genotypic variability in tolerance to heat stress during flowering, a critical growth stage, and post-stress recovery remains limited in mungbean (Vigna radiata) genotypes. This study investigates the genetic variability in in vitro pollen viability, seed set, and grain yield among mungbean genotypes in response to transient high temperatures. Thirteen genotypes were evaluated in a glasshouse study, and four in a field study, subjected to high temperatures (around 40 °C/22 °C day/night) imposed midday during flowering. Across all genotypes, the pollen viability percentage significantly decreased from 70% to 30%, accompanied by reductions in the pod size and seed number per pod, and increases in unfertilized pods and unviable seeds. However, the seed yield per plant significantly increased for four genotypes (M12036, Celera-II AU, Crystal, and M11238/AGG325961), attributed to elevated shoot growth and pod numbers under high-temperature treatment in the glasshouse study. Conversely, Satin II, which exhibited the highest stress tolerance index, recorded a greater seed yield under optimum conditions compared to high temperatures. Similar genotypic variability in post-heat-stress recovery and rapid growth was observed in the field study. Under non-limiting water conditions, mungbean genotypes with a relatively more indeterminate growth habit mitigated the heat stress’s impact on their pollen viability by swiftly increasing their post-stress vegetative and reproductive growth. The physiological mechanisms underlying post-stress rapid growth in these genotypes warrant further investigation and consideration in future breeding trials and mitigation strategies
‘A Meaningful Difference, but Not Ultimately the Difference I Would Want’: A Mixed‐Methods Approach to Explore and Benchmark Clinically Meaningful Changes in Aphasia Recovery
No full textIntroduction: Outcome measurement instruments (OMIs) are used to gauge the effects of treatment. In post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation, benchmarks for meaningful change are needed to support the interpretation of patient outcomes. This study is part of a research programme to establish minimal important change (MIC) values (the smallest change above which patients perceive themselves as importantly changed) for core OMIs. As a first step in this process, the views of people with aphasia and clinicians were explored, and consensus was sought on a threshold for clinically meaningful change. Methods: Sequential mixed-methods design was employed. Participants included people with post-stroke aphasia and speech pathologists. People with aphasia were purposively sampled based on time post-stroke, age and gender, whereas speech pathologists were sampled according to their work setting (hospital or community). Each participant attended a focus group followed by a consensus workshop with a survey component. Within the focus groups, experiences and methods for measuring meaningful change during aphasia recovery were explored. Qualitative data were transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. In the consensus workshop, participants voted on thresholds for meaningful change in core outcome constructs of language, communication, emotional well-being and quality of life, using a six-point rating scale (much worse, slightly worse, no change, slightly improved, much improved and completely recovered). Consensus was defined a priori as 70% agreement. Voting results were reported using descriptive statistics. Results: Five people with aphasia (n = 4, > 6 months after stroke; n = 5, < 65 years; n = 3, males) and eight speech pathologists (n = 4, hospital setting; n = 4, community setting) participated in one of four focus groups (duration: 92–112 min). Four themes were identified describing meaningful change as follows: (1) different for every single person; (2) small continuous improvements; (3) measured by progress towards personally relevant goals; and (4) influenced by personal factors. ‘Slightly improved’ was agreed as the threshold of MIC on the anchor-rating scale (75%–92%) within 6 months of stroke, whereas after 6 months there was a trend towards supporting ‘much improved’ (36%–66%). Conclusion: Our mixed-methods research with people with aphasia and speech pathologists provides novel evidence to inform the definition of MIC in aphasia rehabilitation. Future research will aim to establish MIC values for core OMIs. Patient or Public Contribution: This work is the result of engagement between people with lived experience of post-stroke aphasia, including people with aphasia, family members, clinicians and researchers. Engagement across the research cycle was sought to ensure that the research tasks were acceptable and easily understood by participants and that the outcomes of the study were relevant to the aphasia community. This engagement included the co-development of a plain English summary of the results. Advisors were remunerated in accordance with Health Consumers Queensland guidelines. Interview guides for clinicians were piloted by speech pathologists working in aphasia rehabilitation
The economics of a national anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention program for amateur football players: a Markov model analysis
No full textObjectives: To estimate the long term cost savings, return on investment, and gain in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) that could be achieved by a national anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention program for amateur football (soccer) players in Australia. Study design: Markov model decision analysis. Setting, participants: Two hypothetical scenarios including all amateur football players in Australia (340 253 players): no intervention, and a national ACL injury prevention program. Transitions between health states, including ACL rupture, meniscal injury, knee osteoarthritis, and total knee replacement were made in one-year cycles over 35 years from a societal perspective. Main outcome measures: Cost savings, return on investment, and QALY gain achieved in the prevention program scenario relative to control scenario, by age group (10–17, 18–34, 35 years or older) and gender. Secondary outcomes: incidence of ACL rupture, knee osteoarthritis, total knee replacement, and total knee replacement revision. Results: The total mean cost of an ACL injury was estimated to be 52 539 751 in medical and societal costs caused by ACL ruptures in amateur footballers over 35 years; the estimated return on each dollar invested in the program was $3.51. Over this period, the number of players with ruptured ACLs could be reduced by 4385 (9%), the number of knee osteoarthritis cases by 780 (8.1%), and the number of total knee replacements by 121 (8.1%); 445 QALYs were gained. Conclusion: Our findings support investing in a national, evidence-based program for the primary prevention of ACL injuries in amateur football players