Evanescent point sources: application to microsphere-assisted super-resolution microscopy.

In the rigorous electromagnetic simulation of an imaging system, the evanescent waves from a point source or from a sample are naturally mixed with the propagative waves. Therefore, their contributions are difficult to distinguish. We present a point-source model made of only the evanescent waves.

Reflectance mapping with microsphere-assisted white light interference nanoscopy.

The characterisation of novel materials presents a challenge that requires new and original developments. To face some of these demands for making measurements at the nanoscale, a new microsphere-assisted white light interference nanoscope performing local reflectance mapping is presented. This technique presents the advantages of being non-destructive, full-field and label-free.

Roadmap on Label-Free Super-Resolution Imaging.

Label-free super-resolution (LFSR) imaging relies on light-scattering processes in nanoscale objects without a need for fluorescent (FL) staining required in super-resolved FL microscopy. The objectives of this Roadmap are to present a comprehensive vision of the developments, the state-of-the-art in this field, and to discuss the resolution boundaries and hurdles which need to be overcome to break the classical diffraction limit of the LFSR imaging. The scope of this Roadmap spans from the advanced interference detection techniques, where the diffraction-limited lateral resolution is combined with unsurpassed axial and temporal resolution, to techniques with true lateral super-resolution capability which are based on understanding resolution as an information science problem, on using novel structured illumination, near-field scanning, and nonlinear optics approaches, and on designing superlenses based on nanoplasmonics, metamaterials, transformation optics, and microsphere-assisted approaches.

Age- and sex-specific associations of frailty with mortality and healthcare utilization in community-dwelling adults from ontario, Canada.

Background: Understanding how health trajectories are related to the likelihood of adverse outcomes and healthcare utilization is key to planning effective strategies for improving health span and the delivery of care to older adults. Frailty measures are useful tools for risk stratification in community-based and primary care settings, although their effectiveness in adults younger than 60 is not well described.

Methods: We performed a 10-year retrospective analysis of secondary data from the Ontario Health Study, which included 161,149 adults aged ≥ 18.

Stroke rehabilitation adaptive approaches: A theory-focused scoping review.

Background: Stroke rehabilitation consists of restorative and adaptive approaches. Multiple adaptive approaches exist.

Aims/objectives: The objective of this study was to develop a framework for categorising adaptive stroke rehabilitation interventions, based on underlying theory.

Effects of Long-Term Home Exercise in Participants With Peripheral Artery Disease.

Background This randomized controlled trial compared long-term changes in peak walking time (PWT) and exercise time-to-minimum calf muscle oxygen saturation (StO) in symptomatic participants with peripheral artery disease following a long-term home exercise program (HEP), a short-term supervised exercise therapy (SET) program that transitioned to a long-term HEP (SET/HEP), and a control intervention. Methods and Results For the first 3 months, HEP and SET/HEP groups performed intermittent walking to mild-to-moderate claudication pain, whereas the control group performed light resistance training. For the subsequent 15 months, the HEP group continued their exercise program, the SET/HEP group transitioned from SET to the HEP program, and the control group transitioned to only receive walking advice.

The Efficacy of Psychosocial Interventions in Minimising the Harm Caused to Affected Others of Problem Gambling: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Problem gambling not only impacts gamblers but also protrudes onto several affected others who experience adverse impacts, including financial, health, relationships, and psychological problems. The aims of this systematic review were twofold; to identify the psychosocial interventions to minimise the harm caused to affected others of problem gambling and to assess their efficacy. This study was conducted as outlined in the research protocol PROSPERO (CRD42021239138).

High-quality manipulable fiber-microsphere for super-resolution microscopy.

Despite the gain in resolution brought by microsphere (MS)-assisted microscopy, it has always faced several limitations, such as a limited field of view, surface defects, low contrast, and lack of manipulability. This Letter presents a new type of MS created at the tip of an optical fiber, which we call a fiber microsphere (fMS). The fMS is made from a single-mode or coreless fiber, molten and stretched, ensuring high homogeneity and a sphere diameter smaller than the fiber itself.

Heroin assisted treatment for key health outcomes in people with chronic heroin addictions: A context-focused systematic review.

Background And Aims: Randomised controlled trials in Europe and Canada have shown that supervised heroin assisted treatment (HAT) is an effective treatment option for people with long-term heroin addictions for whom the standard opioid substitution treatments (OST) have not been effective. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of supervised HAT and analyse the significance of context and implementation in the design of successful HAT programmes.

Methods: PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, and Web of Science were searched to identify randomised controlled trials (RCT) and systematic reviews evaluating supervised HAT compared to any other OST.

Characterization of Functional Materials Using Coherence Scanning Interferometry and Environmental Chambers.

Functional materials are challenging to characterize because of the presence of small structures and inhomogeneous materials. If interference microscopy was initially developed for use for the optical profilometry of homogeneous, static surfaces, it has since been considerably improved in its capacity to measure a greater variety of samples and parameters. This review presents our own contributions to extending the usefulness of interference microscopy.

Communication skills training for improving the communicative abilities of student social workers.

Background: Good communication is central to effective social work practice, helping to develop constructive working relationships and improve the outcomes of people in receipt of social work services. There is strong consensus that the teaching and learning of communication skills for social work students is an essential component of social work qualifying courses. However, the variation in communication skills training and its components is significant.

Maximal calf conductance is associated with 6-minute walk distance in participants with and without peripheral artery disease.

Introduction: The aims were (a) to compare the maximal calf conductance and 6-minute walk distance of participants with and without peripheral artery disease (PAD) and claudication, (b) to determine whether maximal calf conductance was more strongly associated with 6-minute walk distance in participants with PAD than in the controls, and (c) to determine whether this association was significant in participants with PAD after adjusting for ABI, as well as for demographic, anthropometric, and comorbid variables.

Methods: Participants with PAD ( = 633) and without PAD ( = 327) were assessed on maximal calf conductance using venous occlusion plethysmography, and on 6-minute walk distance. Participants were further characterized on ABI, and on demographic, anthropometric, and comorbid variables.

The problems with systematic reviews: a living systematic review.

Objectives: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are proliferating as they are an important building block to inform evidence-based guidelines and decision-making. Enforcement of best practice in clinical trials is firmly on the research agenda of good clinical practice, but there is less clarity as to how evidence syntheses that combine these studies can be influenced by bad practice. Our aim was to conduct a living systematic review of articles that highlight flaws in published systematic reviews to formally document and understand these problems.

Diabetes Is Negatively Associated With Meeting Physical Activity Time-Intensity Guidelines in Patients With Claudication.

Purposes: We determined the percentage of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and claudication who meet the 2018 physical activity (PA) time-intensity guidelines, and we identified the clinical characteristics associated with the status of meeting the guidelines.

Methods: Five hundred seventy-two patients were assessed on their daily ambulatory activity for 1 wk with a step activity monitor, and were evaluated on whether or not they achieved 150 min/wk of moderate-intensity PA.

Results: Thirty-one percent (n = 175) of the patients with PAD met the PA time-intensity guidelines and 69% (n = 397) did not.

Exemplary post-discharge stroke rehabilitation programs: A multiple case study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify essential aspects of exemplary post-discharge stroke rehabilitation as perceived by patients, care partners, rehabilitation providers, and administrators.

Design: We carried out an exploratory qualitative, multiple case study. Stroke network representatives from four regions of the province of Ontario, Canada each nominated one post-discharge rehabilitation program they felt was exemplary.

Extraoral Maxillofacial Prosthetic Materials: Results of the 2020 International Survey.

Purpose: To report the results of a 2020 international survey of the most commonly used materials and techniques for the fabrication of extraoral maxillofacial prosthetics, and to assess the use of 3D technology.

Materials And Methods: A 43-question survey was administered via Qualtrics to the members of the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics (AAMP), the International Anaplastology Association (IAA), and the International Society of Maxillofacial Rehabilitation (ISMR). The use of current 3D technology in the fabrication of maxillofacial prostheses as well as barriers to care such as patient cost and insurance coverage were also assessed.

Representations of clinical practice guidelines and health equity in healthcare literature: An integrative review.

Aim: This paper reports an integrative review of international health literature that discusses health equity in relation to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs).

Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs), policy makers, and decision makers rely on sound empirical evidence to make fiscally responsible and appropriate decisions about the allocation of health resources and health service delivery. CPGs provide statements and recommendations that aim to standardize care with an implicit goal of achieving equity of care among diverse populations.

Increased pulse wave velocity is related to impaired working memory and executive function in older adults with metabolic syndrome.

Age-related vascular alterations promote the pathogenesis of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Cardiovascular risk factors that accelerate vascular aging exacerbate VCI. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) constitutes a cluster of critical cardiovascular risk factors (abdominal obesity, hypertension, elevated triglycerides, elevated fasting glucose, reduced HDL cholesterol), which affects nearly 37% of the adult US population.

Association Between Meeting Physical Activity Time-Intensity Guidelines With Ambulation, Quality of Life, and Inflammation in Claudication.

Purpose: The aim of this investigation was to determine if meeting the 2018 physical activity (PA) time-intensity guidelines was associated with better ambulatory function, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), vascular function, and inflammation than failing to meet the guidelines in patients with peripheral artery disease and claudication. Second, we determined the optimal number of total steps/d and steps taken at moderate cadence needed to meet the PA time-intensity guidelines.

Methods: Five hundred seventy-two patients were assessed on daily ambulatory activity for 1 wk with a step activity monitor, and were grouped according to whether they achieved <150 min/wk of moderate-intensity PA (group 1 = do not meet guidelines; n = 397) or whether they were above this threshold (group 2 = meet guidelines; n = 175).

Microvascular dysfunction and neurovascular uncoupling are exacerbated in peripheral artery disease, increasing the risk of cognitive decline in older adults.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a vascular pathology with high prevalence among the aging population. PAD is associated with decreased cognitive performance, but the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Normal brain function critically depends on an adequate adjustment of cerebral blood supply to match the needs of active brain regions via neurovascular coupling (NVC).

Minimal clinically important differences in daily physical activity outcomes following supervised and home-based exercise in peripheral artery disease.

We estimated minimal clinically important differences (MCID) for small, moderate, and large changes in daily step counts and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) following both supervised and home-based exercise programs in symptomatic patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Patients were randomized to either 12 weeks of a supervised exercise program ( = 60), a home-based exercise program ( = 60), or an attention-control group ( = 60). Using the anchor-based method to determine MCID, the MCID value for a large change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was an increase of 1211 total daily steps and an increase in 11 minutes in the time spent in MVPA following 12 weeks of exercise intervention.

Light and moderate intensity physical activity are associated with better ambulation, quality of life, and vascular measurements in patients with claudication.

Objective: We sought to determine whether patients with claudication who reported performing either light intensity physical activity (LPA) or moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) would have higher levels of objectively determined physical activity and better physical function, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and vascular measures, consisting of exercise time to minimum calf muscle oxygen saturation (StO) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, than patients who reported being physically sedentary.

Methods: A total of 269 patients were assessed using the Johnson Space Center physical activity scale. The patients were grouped according to whether they performed no physical activities (n = 75), LPAs (n = 140), or MVPAs (n = 54).

Association Between Daily Steps at Moderate Cadence and Vascular Outcomes in Patients With Claudication.

Purpose: We determined whether patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and claudication grouped according to tertiles of community-based daily steps taken at a moderate cadence had differences in vascular function and biomarkers and whether group differences in vascular function and biomarkers persisted after adjusting for demographic variables, comorbid conditions, and severity of PAD.

Methods: Two hundred sixty-three patients were evaluated for 1 wk on steps taken at a moderate cadence (exceeding 60 steps/min), and patients were placed into low (group 1), intermediate (group 2), and high (group 3) tertiles.

Results: Ankle/brachial index (ABI) at 1 min after exercise (mean ± SD) was significantly higher in groups 2 and 3 than in group 1 in unadjusted (P < .

A Study of Environmentally Friendly Menstrual Absorbents in the Context of Social Change for Adolescent Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Girls in low- and middle-income countries struggle to maintain good menstrual hygiene in part due to a lack of affordable sanitary products. The unaffordability of reliable sanitary products can lead to school absenteeism and is a barrier to education attainment and gender equality for girls in low-income contexts. Further, the lack of adequate disposal facilities can lead to social embarrassment and environmental pollution.