A realist evaluation of a multi-component program with disengaged students.

Periods spent in the absence of education, employment, or training (NEET) are associated with adverse psychological wellbeing, social marginalisation, and premature mortality. Implementing effective programs to re-engage young people who are classified, or are at risk of becoming NEET, is of importance to these individuals, family, and society. We conducted a realist evaluation to understand how, and under which circumstances a multi-component program may impact the engagement, behavioural, and psychosocial outcomes of disengaged students at risk of becoming NEET.

Wellbeing in high-performance swimming: A grounded theory study.

The demands of elite sport have the potential to negatively impact on athletes' wellbeing (e.g., Arnold & Fletcher, 2012; Rice et al.

Evaluating the Effect of Kaftrio on Perspectives of Health and Wellbeing in Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: Modulator therapy represents a significant step forward in CF care and is expected to have a significant impact on the health and mortality of many individuals with CF. Studies have predominantly explored the physiological effects of modulator therapy on clinical outcomes, with little consideration of the individual lived experience of modulator therapy among adults with Cystic Fibrosis.

Methods: To explore this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 individuals currently taking Kaftrio, which were subsequently thematically analysed.

Quality Improvement Methodology Optimizes Infliximab Levels in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Unlabelled: Achieving and maintaining target serum trough infliximab levels improves outcomes in children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease. Our goal was to improve adherence to an infliximab therapy guideline. The primary aim was to increase the percentage of patients with infliximab levels ≥5 μg/mL and results checked in the last 12 months from 73% to ≥80% from July 2017 to January 2018.

Time-efficient and computer-guided sprint interval exercise training for improving health in the workplace: a randomised mixed-methods feasibility study in office-based employees.

Background: The efficacy of high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time-efficient exercise strategy for beneficially modifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease has repeatedly been demonstrated in controlled laboratory settings. However, the effectiveness of HIT in an unsupervised workplace setting has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to use mixed methods to investigate the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of a short-duration, high-intensity exercise intervention (REHIT) when applied unsupervised in a workplace setting.

Mental health first aid for the UK Armed Forces.

Education programmes in mental health literacy can address stigma and misunderstanding of mental health. This study investigated self-rated differences in knowledge, attitudes and confidence around mental health issues following participation in a bespoke Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course for the Armed Forces. The mixed methods approach comprised quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews.

Midwives understanding of physical activity guidelines during pregnancy.

Objective: to examine the current level of understanding held by midwives regarding the NICE physical activity guidelines in the UK, and to investigate the physical activity guidance given to women during pregnancy.

Design: an 11 question online survey comprising of a mixture of closed and open ended questions.

Setting: data reflects participants sampled across the United Kingdom.

Improving health maintenance supervision in a paediatric IBD clinic.

Background: Previsit planning (PVP) has been an integral part of clinical care for paediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center since 2007. Over the past years, we have adopted several programmes to improve health maintenance supervision for our paediatric patients with IBD but did not have a sustainable way to provide health maintenance updates for every patient at every encounter that was concise and complete in the setting of an increasing patient population and fewer support staff to complete the work.

Methods: Using quality improvement methods, we completed several Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles aimed at improving our centre's ability to provide complete health maintenance 'bundle' recommendations from 0% to 90% of patients over a period of 11 months.

Autism-Like Behavior and Epigenetic Changes Associated with Autism as Consequences of In Utero Exposure to Environmental Pollutants in a Mouse Model.

We tested the hypothesis that in utero exposure to heavy metals increases autism-like behavioral phenotypes in adult animals and induces epigenetic changes in genes that have roles in the etiology of autism. Mouse dams were treated with cadmium, lead, arsenate, manganese, and mercury via drinking water from gestational days (E) 1-10. Valproic acid (VPA) injected intraperitoneally once on (E) 8.

An exploration of pre-performance routines, self-efficacy, anxiety and performance in semi-professional soccer.

Whilst much research has suggested a positive link between pre-performance routines (PPRs) and performance, the specific mechanisms of the process have yet to be understood fully. It has been suggested that the PPR may influence performance through lowering the athlete's anxiety, and/or increasing their self-efficacy, but to date this has not specifically been explored in detail. As a result the aim of the current study was to explore the impact of specific individualised PPRs on performance, anxiety and self-efficacy in semi-professional soccer players.

Evaluation of the California Safer Consumer Products Regulation and the impact on consumers and product manufacturers.

Chemistry enables more than 95% of products in the marketplace. Over the past 20 years, various entities began to generate inventories of chemicals ("chemical watch lists") potentially associated with human or environmental health risks. Some lists included thousands of chemicals, while others listed only a few chemistries with limited properties or toxicological endpoints (e.

Repetitive mass practice or focused precise practice for retraining walking after incomplete spinal cord injury? A pilot randomized clinical trial.

Background: Retraining walking following spinal cord injury using visually guided tasks may be especially efficacious because it engages the motor cortex, whose input may facilitate improvements in functional walking.

Objectives: To contrast 2 methods of retraining, one emphasizing precise, visually guided walking over obstacles and on targets (Precision Training), the other emphasizing mass practice of walking on a treadmill (Endurance Training).

Methods: A randomized, single-blind, crossover design was used.

A review of educational programs to reduce UTIs among individuals with SCI.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs in reducing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI).

Methods: A search of all relevant literature published up to and including July 2012 was conducted using multiple databases. Methodological quality was rated using the PEDro tool for randomized control trials (RCTs) and the Downs and Black tool for non-RCTs; levels of evidence were assigned using a modified Sackett scale.

Best practices for the treatment and prevention of urinary tract infection in the spinal cord injured population: The Alberta context.

The purpose of this review of clinical guidelines and best practices literature is to suggest prevention options and a treatment approach for intermittent catheter users that will minimize urinary tract infections (UTI). Recommendations are based both on evidence in the literature and an understanding of what is currently attainable within the Alberta context. This is done through collaboration between both major tertiary care centres (Edmonton and Calgary) and between various professionals who regularly encounter these patients, including nurses, physiatrists and urologists.

Meta-analysis of botulinum toxin A detrusor injections in the treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity after spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) on neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Data Sources: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for all relevant articles published from 1980 to June 2012.

Study Selection: Trials examining the use of BTX-A injections into the detrusor wall in the treatment of NDO after SCI were included if (1) ≥ 50% of study sample comprised subjects post-SCI; (2) outcomes of interest were assessed before and after treatment with a single injection of BTX-A; and (3) the sample size was ≥ 3.

Arsenic urinary speciation in Mthfr deficient mice injected with sodium arsenate.

In most mammalian species, arsenic biotransformation occurs primarily by biomethylation and reduction reactions, with dimethylarsinic acid being the predominant metabolite excreted in the urine. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (Mthfr) plays a key role in folate metabolism by channeling one-carbon units between nucleotide synthesis and methylation reactions. In the study on transgenic Mtfhr knockout mice we investigated: (1) whether Mthfr is an important determinant in arsenic biotransformation by performing urinary arsenic speciation, and (2) whether dietary folate deficiency alters arsenic biotransformation in these mice.

Initial characterization of mice null for Lphn3, a gene implicated in ADHD and addiction.

The LPHN3 gene has been associated with both attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addiction, suggesting that it may play a role in the etiology of these disorders. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about the normal functions of this gene, which has hampered understanding of its potential pathogenic role. To begin to characterize such normal functions, we utilized a gene-trap embryonic stem cell line to generate mice mutant for the Lphn3 gene.

A meta-analysis of botulinum toxin sphincteric injections in the treatment of incomplete voiding after spinal cord injury.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effect of injecting botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) into the detrusor sphincter on improving bladder emptying in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Data Sources: MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases were searched for all relevant articles published from 1980 to September 2011.

Data Selection: All trials examining the use of BTX-A injections into the detrusor sphincter for the treatment for incomplete bladder emptying after SCI were included if at least 50% of the study sample comprised subjects with SCI, and if the SCI sample size was 3 or greater.

Teratogenic effects of antiepileptic drugs.

Many antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have therapeutic applications that extend beyond epilepsy to include neuropathic pain, migraine headaches and psychiatric disorders. The risk of some AEDs has been clearly established, but for newer drugs, small sample sizes and polytherapy exposures preclude a conclusive determination of their teratogenic potential. Most women with epilepsy will require AED therapy throughout their entire pregnancy to control seizures; the vast majority of pregnancies in women with epilepsy have positive outcomes.

Arsenate-induced maternal glucose intolerance and neural tube defects in a mouse model.

Background: Epidemiological studies have linked environmental arsenic (As) exposure to increased type 2 diabetes risk. Periconceptional hyperglycemia is a significant risk factor for neural tube defects (NTDs), the second most common structural birth defect. A suspected teratogen, arsenic (As) induces NTDs in laboratory animals.

Microbial contamination associated with mascara use.

Background: Microbial organisms are normally present on human eyelashes. Application of mascara to lashes has the potential to inoculate the mascara tube with microbes. This pilot study of a real-world situation investigated the microbial contamination of 2 brands of mascara used daily for 3 months.

Reproductive consequences of oral arsenate exposure during pregnancy in a mouse model.

Background: The second most common of all structural birth defects, neural tube defects (NTDs), affect approximately 2.6/1,000 births worldwide, and 1/1,000 births in the United States. Of the many environmental agents suspected of being teratogenic, arsenic (As) is capable of inducing NTDs in laboratory animals.

Arsenic-induced gene expression changes in the neural tube of folate transport defective mouse embryos.

Arsenic injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) during early organogenesis to small pregnant laboratory rodents (mouse, rat, and hamster) induces several congenital defects in the progeny.

3-Methylcholanthrene and other aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists directly activate estrogen receptor alpha.

3-Methylcholanthrene (3MC) is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist, and it has been reported that 3MC induces estrogenic activity through AhR-estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) interactions. In this study, we used 3MC and 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB) as prototypical AhR ligands, and both compounds activated estrogen-responsive reporter genes/gene products (cathepsin D) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The estrogenic responses induced by these AhR ligands were inhibited by the antiestrogen ICI 182780 and by the transfection of a small inhibitory RNA for ER alpha but were not affected by the small inhibitory RNA for AhR.