Automated cooling tower detection through deep learning for Legionnaires' disease outbreak investigations: a model development and validation study.

Background: Cooling towers containing Legionella spp are a high-risk source of Legionnaires' disease outbreaks. Manually locating cooling towers from aerial imagery during outbreak investigations requires expertise, is labour intensive, and can be prone to errors. We aimed to train a deep learning computer vision model to automatically detect cooling towers that are aerially visible.

The Use of Social Media for Dissemination of Research Evidence to Health and Social Care Practitioners: Protocol for a Systematic Review.

Background: Effective dissemination of research to health and social care practitioners enhances clinical practice and evidence-based care. Social media use has potential to facilitate dissemination to busy practitioners.

Objective: This is a protocol for a systematic review that will quantitatively synthesize evidence of the effectiveness of social media, compared with no social media, for dissemination of research evidence to health and social care practitioners.

Cyclic pressure applied to cows' teats by teatcup liners can be determined simply and noninvasively.

Liner overpressure is a quantitative variable indicating the extent to which the vacuum difference across the liner during phase d (the liner compression phase) of milking machine pulsation exceeds the vacuum difference that would be just sufficient to stop milk flow from the teat. Previously defined methods of determining liner overpressure have required modifications to the milking machine, complex instrumentation, or both. Our method of measuring derived overpressure (OP) offers relatively simple instrumentation and realistic milking machine characteristics.

Factors influencing people's ability to maintain their activity levels during treatment for soft tissue sarcoma - A qualitative study.

Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is a rare connective tissue cancer treated with chemotherapy in the advanced stages. Emerging evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) improves symptom management and quality of life for people undergoing chemotherapy for advanced cancer. However, little research reports their perspective.

A cross-sectional exploratory analysis between pet ownership, sleep, exercise, health and neighbourhood perceptions: the Whitehall II cohort study.

Background: To explore associations between pets, and specifically dog ownership and sleep, health, exercise and neighbourhood.

Methods: Cross sectional examination of 6575 participants of the Whitehall II study aged between 59 and 79 years. We used self-assessed measurement scales of the Short Form (SF36), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Control, Autonomy, Self-realisation and Pleasure (CASP), Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), sleep, exercise, and perceptions of local neighbourhood.

Strength in numbers: patient experiences of group exercise within hospice palliative care.

Background: Exercise is increasingly recognized as a core component of palliative rehabilitation. The group exercise model is often adopted as a means of reaching more patients with limited resource. Despite the growth of quantitative research examining this area of practice, few qualitative studies have looked at the patient experience of participating in group exercise in a palliative setting, and most exclude patients with a non-cancer diagnosis.

Estimating teat canal cross-sectional area to determine the effects of teat-end and mouthpiece chamber vacuum on teat congestion.

The primary objective of this experiment was to assess the effect of mouthpiece chamber vacuum on teat-end congestion. The secondary objective was to assess the interactive effects of mouthpiece chamber vacuum with teat-end vacuum and pulsation setting on teat-end congestion. The influence of system vacuum, pulsation settings, mouthpiece chamber vacuum, and teat-end vacuum on teat-end congestion were tested in a 2×2 factorial design.

Qualitative focus group study investigating experiences of accessing and engaging with social care services: perspectives of carers from diverse ethnic groups caring for stroke survivors.

Objectives: Informal carers, often family members, play a vital role in supporting stroke survivors with post-stroke disability. As populations age, numbers of carers overall and those from minority ethnic groups in particular, are rising. Carers from all ethnic groups, but especially those from black and minority ethnic groups frequently fail to access support services, making understanding their experiences important.

Premilking teat disinfection: is it worthwhile in pasture-grazed dairy herds?

A controlled trial was conducted in 5 pasture-grazed commercial dairy herds in Australia in 2012 to determine whether premilking teat disinfection and drying of teats reduces clinical mastitis incidence during early lactation by at least 50%. A 50% reduction was estimated to be the minimum required to justify additional costs of labor, disinfectants, and other resources if premilking teat disinfection was implemented in a 500-cow herd averaging 8 clinical cases per 100 cow-months. A secondary aim was to determine whether this premilking teat disinfection routine reduces incidence of new udder infections.

Development of protocols to evaluate in-line mastitis-detection systems.

This paper proposes and discusses a methodology to evaluate the performance of automated mastitis-detection systems with respect to their practical value on farm. The protocols are based on 3 on-farm requirements: (1) to detect cows with clinical mastitis promptly and accurately to enable timely and appropriate treatment, (2) to identify cows with high somatic cell count to manage bulk milk SCC levels, and (3) to report the mastitis infection status of cows at the end of lactation to support decisions on individual cow dry-cow therapy. Separate protocols for each requirement are proposed and discussed, including gold standards, evaluation tests, performance indicators, and performance targets.

A mixed exercise training programme is feasible and safe and may improve quality of life and muscle strength in multiple myeloma survivors.

Background: Exercise programmes are beneficial for cancer patients however evidence is limited in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), a cancer that is characterised by osteolytic bone disease, giving rise to high levels of bone morbidity including fractures and bone pain.

Methods: We conducted a single arm phase 2 study of an exercise programme (EP) as rehabilitation for treated MM patients, to evaluate feasibility, effects on QOL and physiological parameters. Patients were given individualised programmes, comprising stretching, aerobic and resistance exercises, carried out under supervision for 3 months then at home for a further 3 months.

Exploring the experience of fatigue in people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

This qualitative study explored the phenomenon of fatigue for people with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, while acknowledging the triggers, impact and strategies people have developed to manage this symptom in daily life. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the experience of fatigue. Participants were recruited from a support group.

Predictors of two forms of attrition in a longitudinal health study involving ageing participants: an analysis based on the Whitehall II study.

Background: Longitudinal studies are crucial providers of information about the needs of an ageing population, but their external validity is affected if partipants drop out. Previous research has identified older age, impaired cognitive function, lower educational level, living alone, fewer social activities, and lower socio-economic status as predictors of attrition.

Methods: This project examined attrition in participants of the Whitehall II study aged between 51-71 years, using data from questionnaires participants have completed biennially since 1985 when the study began.

Altruism and participation in longitudinal health research? Insights from the Whitehall II Study.

Research that follows people over a period of time (longitudinal or panel studies) is important in understanding the ageing process and changes over time in the lives of older people. Older people may choose to leave studies due to frailty, or illness and this may diminish the value of the study. However, people also drop out of studies for other reasons and understanding the motivation behind participation or drop out may prevent further loss of valuable longitudinal information and assist the continuation of longitudinal studies.

The role of the milking machine in mastitis control.

Most NIs are caused by factors other than the milking machine. Direct and indirect milking machine effects may account for up to 20% of NIs in some herds and, probably, not much more than about 10% in an “average” herd these days—provided that machine settings are right. Thus, proper maintenance and operation of any milking system is a key aspect of successful milking.

An automated in-line clinical mastitis detection system using measurement of conductivity from foremilk of individual udder quarters.

Aim: To assess a novel method for automatic in-line detection of clinical mastitis.

Methods: For a brief period at the start of milking for each cow, electrical conductivity of foremilk was measured for each quarter in turn, using a single sensor installed in the long milk tube (LMT) about 1.5 m downstream from the milking-machine claw.

Automatic detection of clinical mastitis is improved by in-line monitoring of somatic cell count.

This study explored the potential value of in-line composite somatic cell count (ISCC) sensing as a sole criterion or in combination with quarter-based electrical conductivity (EC) of milk, for automatic detection of clinical mastitis (CM) during automatic milking. Data generated from a New Zealand research herd of about 200 cows milked by 2 automatic milking systems during the 2006-2007 milking season included EC, ISCC, monthly laboratory-determined SCC, and observed cases of CM that were treated with antibiotics. Milk samples for ISCC and laboratory-determined SCC were taken sequentially at the end of a cow milking.

The impact of early retirement on perceptions of life at work and at home: qualitative analyses of British civil servants participating in the Whitehall II Retirement Study.

This study examined pathways to retirement and the role of circumstances at work and at home (including the introduction of financially-enhanced early retirement schemes) on retirement-related decision-making. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted within 2 years of retirement with 59 British civil servants participating in the Whitehall II Study. Focusing on the experiences of 33 interviewees who spontaneously discussed "early retirement" we identified three pathways to retirement (non-applicants, successful applicants, and unsuccessful applicants for early retirement) each influenced by a range of complementary positive and negative factors at work and at home.

Work, retirement and physical activity: cross-sectional analyses from the Whitehall II study.

Background: To explore the relationship between work, retirement and physical activity.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of data from self-completed questionnaires by 6224 civil servants aged 45-69 years participating in phase 5 of the Whitehall II longitudinal study.

Results: There appeared to be a dose-response relationship between hours worked and the prevalence of physical activity, with a lower prevalence of recommended physical activity amongst participants working full time (> or =30 h/week), higher prevalence rates amongst those working part time (<30 h/week), and the highest rates amongst participants who were not working at all.

Chemical and rheological aspects of gel formation in the California Mastitis Test.

The rheological properties of the CMT gel were analysed. Data are presented to demonstrate that the gel is a non-homogenous, visco-elastic, non-Newtonian fluid with rheopectic, and rheodestructive behaviour. The fundamental chemistry of the CMT is reviewed and a modified theory of gel formation is presented.

Is retirement good or bad for mental and physical health functioning? Whitehall II longitudinal study of civil servants.

Background: To determine whether retirement at age 60 is associated with improvement or deterioration in mental and physical health, when analysed by occupational grade and gender.

Methods: Longitudinal study of civil servants aged 54 to 59 years at baseline, comparing changes in SF-36 health functioning in retired (n=392) and working (n=618) participants at follow up. Data were collected from self completed questionnaires.

Predictors of early retirement in British civil servants.

Background: it is uncertain how recent changes in labour force dynamics may have influenced the increasing numbers of people taking early retirement in industrialized countries. The Whitehall II study provides an opportunity to examine the predictors of early retirement in one of the largest employers in the United Kingdom.

Methods: we examined the factors predicting early retirement in a 7-year follow-up period from 1988 to 1995 using longitudinal data on 2532 male and female London-based civil servants aged between 50 and 59.