COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Skilled Nursing Facilities in Cook County, Illinois.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on older adults residing in skilled nursing facilities. This study examined the pathways through which community and facility factors may have affected COVID-19 cases and deaths in skilled nursing facilities.

Methods: We used structural equation modeling to examine the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in skilled nursing facilities in Cook County, Illinois, from January 1 through September 30, 2020.

Association of diet quality and physical function among overweight and obese primarily African American older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis.

Background: Strategies to reduce osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms and increase physical function in persons with lower extremity (LE) OA is a public health priority.

Objective: To examine associations between diet quality and measures of physical function among overweight and obese older adults with self-reported LE OA.

Methods: 413 overweight and obese primarily African American adults ≥60 years old with LE OA were assessed.

Impact of Physical Activity and Weight Loss on Fat Mass, Glucose Metabolism, and Inflammation in Older African Americans with Osteoarthritis.

(1) Background: There are currently very few interventions performed within a community setting that compare the effects of physical activity (PA) versus PA plus weight loss on cancer and chronic disease risk in older African Americans. Therefore, we investigated the impact of an 8 week (24 session) PA intervention compared to a PA plus weight loss intervention on fat mass, glucose metabolism, and markers of inflammation in older, overweight and obese African Americans. (2) Methods: Subjects were randomized to a PA ( 83) or PA plus weight loss ( 72) intervention that met three times weekly for 8 weeks.

Fit and Strong! Plus: Twelve and eighteen month follow-up results for a comparative effectiveness trial among overweight/obese older adults with osteoarthritis.

This comparative effectiveness trial compared the longer-term effectiveness (12 and 18 months) of the standard Fit & Strong! physical activity program to Fit & Strong! Plus, which combined physical activity and dietary weight loss. Outcomes were weight, diet quality, physical activity, osteoarthritis symptoms, performance measures, and anxiety/depression. In this study, 413 overweight/obese participants with OA, ≥60 years old and primarily African American, were randomly assigned to Fit & Strong! (F&S!) or Fit & Strong! Plus (F&S! Plus), with outcomes assessed at 2, 6, 12, and 18 months.

Geology of the InSight landing site on Mars.

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft landed successfully on Mars and imaged the surface to characterize the surficial geology. Here we report on the geology and subsurface structure of the landing site to aid in situ geophysical investigations. InSight landed in a degraded impact crater in Elysium Planitia on a smooth sandy, granule- and pebble-rich surface with few rocks.