Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on youth sport in Australia and consequences for future participation and retention.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 continues to represent the single biggest challenge to contemporary community sport globally. Compliance with social distancing policies, strict return-to-play protocols, and COVID-19 specific training has, perhaps, forever changed the way that children and young people engage in organised sport. Within this context, and while many children and families seek to re-engage with community sport, we (researchers and sport practitioners) have an obligation to ask questions about how the pandemic has impacted youth sport, understand the short- and long-term consequences, and explore what (if any) opportunities can be seized to assist and improve future participation and retention. The aim of this paper was to present an in-depth exploration of the impact of COVID-19 on youth sport in South Australia. METHODS: Within an interpretive descriptive methodology, this qualitative investigation draws on rich, individual interview and focus group data with 39 youth (ages 15-18), parents, coaches, and sport administrators. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken, leading to the development of four substantive themes. RESULTS: We conceptualised the '4 Rs' to advance theoretical understandings about the pandemic's impact on youth sport, including the themes 'recognising struggle', 'reconnection', 're-engaging after restrictions, and 'reimagining sport'. The themes captured insights about a decline in mental wellbeing and physical activity, an increase in family connectedness, the challenge for sports to attract volunteers and participants back into sport, and the opportunities to reset values and philosophies underpinning the provision of youth sport. CONCLUSION: The findings provide valuable insight into the youth sport setting as a result of the global pandemic and suggest that families, sporting clubs and sporting organisations require additional resources and tools (for example, support for parents to facilitate their children's training at home during lockdown) to aid recovery efforts and to ensure the survival and prosperity of youth sport into the future.

Assertive outreach treatment versus care as usual for the treatment of high-need, high-cost alcohol related frequent attenders: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol-related hospital admissions have doubled in the last ten years to > 1.2 m per year in England. High-need, high-cost (HNHC) alcohol-related frequent attenders (ARFA) are a relatively small subgroup of patients, having multiple admissions or attendances from alcohol during a short time period. This trial aims to test the effectiveness of an assertive outreach treatment (AOT) approach in improving clinical outcomes for ARFA, and reducing resource use in the acute setting. METHODS: One hundred and sixty ARFA patients will be recruited and following baseline assessment, randomly assigned to AOT plus care as usual (CAU) or CAU alone in equal numbers. Baseline assessment includes alcohol consumption and related problems, physical and mental health comorbidity and health and social care service use in the previous 6 months using standard validated tools, plus a measure of resource use. Follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months after randomization includes the same tools as baseline plus standard measure of patient satisfaction. Outcomes for CAU + AOT and CAU at 6 and 12 months will be compared, controlling for pre-specified baseline measures. Primary outcome will be percentage of days abstinent at 12 months. Secondary outcomes include emergency department (ED) attendance, number and length of hospital admissions, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, other health service use, mental and physical comorbidity 6 and 12 months post intervention. Health economic analysis will estimate the economic impact of AOT from health, social care and societal perspectives and explore cost-effectiveness in terms of quality adjusted life years and alcohol consumption at 12-month follow-up. DISCUSSION: AOT models piloted with alcohol dependent patients have demonstrated significant reductions in alcohol consumption and use of unplanned National Health Service (NHS) care, with increased engagement with alcohol treatment services, compared with patients receiving CAU. While AOT interventions are costlier per case than current standard care in the UK, the rationale for targeting HNHC ARFAs is because of their disproportionate contribution to overall alcohol burden on the NHS. No previous studies have evaluated the clinical and cost-effectiveness of AOT for HNHC ARFAs: this randomized controlled trial (RCT) targeting ARFAs across five South London NHS Trusts is the first. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International standard randomized controlled trial number (ISRCTN) registry: ISRCTN67000214, retrospectively registered 26/11/2016.

Electro-responsive polyelectrolyte-coated surfaces.

The anchoring of polymer chains at solid surfaces is an efficient way to modify interfacial properties like the stability and rheology of colloidal dispersions, lubrication and biocompatibility. Polyelectrolytes are good candidates for the building of smart materials, as the polyion chain conformation can often be tuned by manipulation of different physico-chemical variables. However, achieving efficient and reversible control of this process represents an important technological challenge. In this regard, the application of an external electrical stimulus on polyelectrolytes seems to be a convenient control strategy, for several reasons. First, it is relatively easy to apply an electric field to the material with adequate spatiotemporal control. In addition, in contrast to chemically induced changes, the molecular response to a changing electric field occurs relatively quickly. If the system is properly designed, this response can then be used to control the magnitude of surface properties. In this work we discuss the effect of an external electric field on the adhesion and lubrication properties of several polyelectrolyte-coated surfaces. The influence of the applied field is investigated at different pH and salt conditions, as the polyelectrolyte conformation is sensitive to these variables. We show that it is possible to fine tune friction and adhesion using relatively low applied fields.

Adapting a measure of gross motor skills for individuals with CDKL5 deficiency disorder: A psychometric study.

PURPOSE: Validated measures capable of demonstrating meaningful interventional change in the CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) are lacking. The study objective was to modify the Rett Syndrome Gross Motor Scale (RSGMS) and evaluate its psychometric properties for individuals with CDD. METHODS: Item and scoring categories of the RSGMS were modified. Caregivers registered with the International CDKL5 Clinical Research Network uploaded motor videos filmed at home to a protected server and completed a feedback questionnaire (n = 70). Rasch (n = 137), known groups (n = 109), and intra- and inter-rater reliability analyses (n = 50) were conducted. RESULTS: The age of individuals with CDD ranged from 1.5 to 34.1 years. The modified scale, Gross Motor-Complex Disability (GM-CD), comprised 17 items. There were no floor or ceiling effects and inter- and intra-rater reliability were good. Rasch analysis demonstrated that the items encompassed a large range of performance difficulty, although there was some item redundancy and some disordered categories. One item, Prone Head Position, was a poor fit. Caregiver-reported acceptability was positive. Scores differed by age and functional abilities. SUMMARY: GM-CD appears to be a suitable remotely administered measure and psychometrically sound for individuals with CDD. This study provides the foundation to propose the use of GM-CD in CDD clinical trials. Longitudinal evaluation is planned.

Effects of gene flow on phenotype matching between two varieties of Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia; Agavaceae) and their pollinators.

In animal-pollinated plants, local adaptation to pollinator behaviour or morphology can restrict gene flow among plant populations; but gene flow may also prevent divergent adaptation. Here, we examine possible effects of gene flow on plant-pollinator trait matching in two varieties of Joshua tree (Agavaceae: Yucca brevifolia). The two varieties differ in strikingly in floral morphology, which matches differences in the morphology of their pollinators. However, this codivergence is not present at a smaller scale: within the two varieties of Joshua tree, variation in floral morphology between demes is not correlated with differences in moth morphology. We use population genetic data for Joshua tree and its pollinators to test the hypotheses that gene flow between Joshua tree populations is structured by pollinator specificity, and that gene flow within the divergent plant-pollinator associations 'swamps' fine-scale coadaptation. Our data show that Joshua tree populations are structured by pollinator association, but the two tree varieties are only weakly isolated - meaning that their phenotypic differences are maintained in the face of significant gene flow. Coalescent analysis of gene flow between the two Joshua tree types suggests that it may be shaped by asymmetric pollinator specificity, which has been observed in a narrow zone of sympatry. Finally, we find evidence suggesting that gene flow among Joshua tree sites may shape floral morphology within one plant-pollinator association, but not the other.

Absence of population-level phenotype matching in an obligate pollination mutualism.

Coevolution is thought to promote evolutionary change between demes that ultimately results in speciation. If this is the case, then we should expect to see similar patterns of trait matching and phenotypic divergence between populations and between species in model systems for coevolution. As measures of divergence are frequently only available at one scale (population level or taxon level), this contention is rarely tested directly. Here, we use the case of co-divergence between different varieties of Joshua tree Yucca brevifolia (Agavaceae) and their obligate pollinators, two yucca moths (Tegeticula spp. Prodoxidae), to test for trait matching between taxa and among populations. Using model selection, we show that there is trait matching between mutualists at the taxon level, but once we account for differences between taxa, there is no indication of trait matching in local populations. This result differs from similar studies in other coevolving systems. We hypothesize that this discrepancy arises because coevolution in obligate mutualisms favours divergence less strongly than coevolution in other systems, such as host­parasite interactions.

Host-associated divergence and incipient speciation in the yucca moth Prodoxus coloradensis (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) on three species of host plants.

A wide range of evolutionary processes have been implicated in the diversification of yuccas and yucca moths, which exhibit ecological relationships that extend from obligate plant-pollinator mutualisms to commensalist herbivory. Prodoxus coloradensis (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) is a yucca moth, which feeds on the flowering stalks of three Yucca species as larvae, but does not provide pollination service. To test for evidence of host-associated speciation, we examined the genetic structure of P. coloradensis using mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) and nuclear (elongation factor 1 alpha) DNA sequence data. Multilocus coalescent simulations indicate that moths on different host plant species are characterized by recent divergence and low levels of effective migration, with large effective population sizes and considerable retention of shared ancestral polymorphism. Although geographical distance explains a proportion of the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA variation among moths on different species of Yucca, the effect of host specificity on genetic distance remains significant after accounting for spatial isolation. The results of this study indicate that differentiation within P. coloradensis is consistent with the evolution of incipient species affiliated with different host plants, potentially influenced by sex-biased dispersal and female philopatry.

A comparison of intellectual assessments over video conferencing and in-person for individuals with ID: preliminary data.

BACKGROUND: Video conferencing (VC) technology has great potential to increase accessibility to healthcare services for those living in rural or underserved communities. Previous studies have had some success in validating a small number of psychological tests for VC administration; however, VC has not been investigated for use with persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). A comparison of test results for two well known and widely used assessment instruments was undertaken to establish if scores for VC administration would differ significantly from in-person assessments. METHOD: Nineteen individuals with ID aged 23-63 were assessed once in-person and once over VC using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and the Beery-Buktenica Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI). RESULTS: Highly similar results were found for test scores. Full-scale IQ on the WASI and standard scores for the VMI were found to be very stable across the two administration conditions, with a mean difference of less than one IQ point/standard score. CONCLUSION: Video conferencing administration does not appear to alter test results significantly for overall score on a brief intelligence test or a test of visual-motor integration.

Improving screening and brief intervention activities in primary health care: Secondary analysis of professional accuracy based on the AUDIT-C.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The ODHIN trial found that training and support and financial reimbursement increased the proportion of patients that were screened and given advice for their heavy drinking in primary health care. However, the impact of these strategies on professional accuracy in delivering screening and brief advice is underresearched and is the focus of this paper. METHOD: From 120 primary health care units (24 in each jurisdiction: Catalonia, England, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden), 746 providers participated in the baseline and the 12-week implementation periods. Accuracy was measured in 2 ways: correctness in completing and scoring the screening instrument, AUDIT-C; the proportion of screen-negative patients given advice, and the proportion of screen-positive patients not given advice. Odds ratios of accuracy were calculated for type of profession and for intervention group: training and support, financial reimbursement, and internet-based counselling. RESULTS: Thirty-two of 36 711 questionnaires were incorrectly completed, and 65 of 29 641 screen-negative patients were falsely classified. At baseline, 27% of screen-negative patients were given advice, and 22.5% screen-positive patients were not given advice. These proportions halved during the 12-week implementation period, unaffected by training. Financial reimbursement reduced the proportion of screen-positive patients not given advice (OR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.31-0.99; P < .05). CONCLUSION: Although the use of AUDIT-C as a screening tool was accurate, a considerable proportion of risky drinkers did not receive advice, which was reduced with financial incentives.

'Who's actually gonna read this?' An evaluation of staff experiences of the value of information contained in written care plans in supporting care in three different dementia care settings.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: A written plan is designed to improve communication and co-ordinate care between mental health inpatient wards and community settings. Reports of care plan quality issues and staff and service user dissatisfaction with healthcare bureaucracy have focused on working age mental health or general hospital settings. Little is known about mental health staff perspectives on the value of written care plans in supporting dementia care. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Competing demands on staff time and resources to meet administrative standards for care plans caused a tension with their own professional priorities for supporting care. Mental health staff face difficulties using electronic records alongside other systems of information sharing. Further exploration is needed of the gap between frontline staff values and those of the local organization and managers when supporting good dementia care. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Frontline staff should be involved in designing new information systems including care plans. Care plan documentation needs to be refocused to ensure it is effective in enabling staff to communicate amongst themselves and with others to support people with dementia. Practice-based mentors could be deployed to strengthen good practice in effective information sharing. ABSTRACT: Background Reports of increased healthcare bureaucracy and concerns over care plan quality have emerged from research and surveys into staff and service user experiences. Little is known of mental health staff perspectives on the value of written care plans in supporting dementia care. Aim To investigate the experiences and views of staff in relation to care planning in dementia services in one National Health Service (NHS) provider Trust in England. Method Grounded Theory methodology was used. A purposive sample of 11 multidisciplinary staff were interviewed across three sites in one NHS Trust. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using the constant comparative method. Findings Five themes were identified and are explored in detail below: (1) Repetition; (2) the impact of electronic records on practice; (3) ambivalence about the value of paperwork; (4) time conflicts; and (5) alternative sources of information to plan care. Discussion Participants perceived that written care plans did not help staff with good practice in planning care or to support dementia care generally. Staff were frustrated by repetitive documentation, inflexible electronic records and conflicting demands on their time. Implications for practice Frontline staff should be involved in designing new information systems including care plans.

Codeine use, dependence and help-seeking behaviour in the UK and Ireland: an online cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Codeine misuse and dependence poses a clinical and public health challenge. However, little is known about dependence and treatment needs in the UK and Ireland. AIM: To characterize codeine use, dependence and help-seeking behaviour. DESIGN: An online cross-sectional survey advertised on Facebook, Twitter, health and drug websites and e-mail circulars. METHODS: The survey collected data on demographics and codeine use amongst adults from the UK and Ireland. The Severity of Dependence Scale measured the level of codeine dependence. RESULTS: The sample of 316 respondents had a mean age of 35.3 years (SD = 12.3) and 67% were women. Of the 316 respondents, 54 scored ≥5 on the Severity of Dependence Scale indicating codeine dependence (17.1%). Our study found that codeine dependence is a problem with both prescribed and 'over-the-counter' codeine. Codeine dependence was associated with daily use of codeine, faking or exaggerating symptoms to get a prescription for codeine and 'pharmacy shopping' ( P < 0.01). A higher number of respondents had sought advice on the Internet (12%) rather than from their general medical practitioner (GP) (5.4%). Less than 1% of respondents had sought advice from a pharmacist. CONCLUSIONS: Codeine dependent users were more likely to seek help on the Internet to control their use of codeine than from a GP, which may indicate a potential for greater specialized addiction treatment demand through increased identification and referrals in primary care.

The ionization behaviour of DL-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) in model membranes: micelles and vesicles.

The ionization behaviour of DL-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) has been investigated in dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) and dodecyldimethyl propiobetaine (DPB) micelles and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) vesicles. The pKa values for DL-alpha-tocopherol in the aqueous self-assembled solutions of DTAB, CTAC, DPB, DDAB and DMPC were 12.0 +/- 0.1, 11.7 +/- 0.1, 13.1 +/- 0.1, 11.0 +/- 0.2 and greater than 14.5, respectively. It is shown how these pKa results confirm that DL-alpha-tocopherol exists predominantly in the un-ionized form when localized in any type of micelle or vesicle at physiological pH values.

Macrophages and microglia in HSV-1 infected mouse brain.

We have examined the macrophage and microglial cell response in mouse brains during the course of acute herpes simplex encephalitis produced by intranasal inoculation of virus. Macrophage infiltration and a microglial cell reaction were detected from 24 h after initial detection of HSV-1 antigen in brain. Macrophage infiltration was confined to focal areas of infection but the microglial cell reaction occurred in a more widespread distribution. Following disappearance of viral antigen, with resolution of the acute infection, macrophage infiltration and a focal microglial cell reaction remained for several weeks, providing a marker of sites of previous infection.

Alcohol as an unconditioned stimulus in human classical conditioning.

Recent experiments with human subjects have shown that drug cues (e.g. sight of beer or needle and syringe) elicit different responses than do neutral stimuli. However, because conditioning has not been carried out in the majority of cases, it is not clear why drug cues have different response eliciting capacities; associative and nonassociative mechanisms may both play a part. In this experiment a counterbalanced differential conditioning procedure was used to isolate the role of associative processes in the development of physiological, behavioural, and subjective conditioned responses to cues for alcohol over the course of repeated conditioning sessions. Twelve healthy volunteers took part in the experiment which involved each subject attending for ten sessions. On physiological measures evidence was found for conditioning of skin conductance and cardiac inter-beat interval responses to cues for alcohol delivery. Over the course of conditioning on behavioural measures of drink consumption there were changes in the rate of consumption and number of sips taken as a function of whether or not the drinks contained alcohol. Finally, on subjective measures, there was a differential change in subjective state in response to alcohol and soft drink expectancy as conditioning progressed.

The tumoral form of schistosomiasis: report of a case with cerebellar involvement.

The tumoral form of schistosomiasis mansoni is rare and has not been described in the brain, in which schistosome eggs usually elicit a granulomatous inflammation. A 20-year-old Brazilian man had the tumoral form of schistosomiasis of the cerebellum which was treated surgically. Histological study of the excised cerebellar mass demonstrated a massive granulomatous reaction around Schistosoma mansoni eggs and massive necrotic areas. To our knowledge, this is the first case of schistosomiasis mansoni of the brain presenting as a posterior fossa mass with the characteristic necrotic granulomas.

Climatic forcing of carbon-oxygen isotopic covariance in temperate-region marl lakes.

Carbon and oxygen stable isotopic compositions of lacustrine carbonate from a southeastern Michigan marl lake display linear covariance over a range of 4.0% Peedee belemnite (PDB) in oxygen and 3.9% (PDB) in carbon. Mechanisms of delta 13 C-delta 18 O coupling conventionally attributed to lake closure in arid-region basins are inapplicable to hydrologically open lake systems. Thus, an alternative explanation of isotopic covariance in temperate region dimictic marl lakes is required. We propose that isotopic covariance is a direct record of change in regional climate. In short-residence-time temperate-region lake basins, summer meteoric precipitation is enriched in 18O relative to winter values, and summer organic productivity enriches epilimnic dissolved inorganic carbon in 13C. Thus, climate change toward longer summers and/or shorter winters could result in greater proportions of warm-month meteoric precipitation, longer durations of warm-month productivity, and net long-term enrichment in carbonate 18O and 13C. Isotopic covariance observed in the Michigan marl lake cores is interpreted to reflect postglacial warming from 10 to 3 ka followed by cooler mean annual temperature, a shift toward greater proportions of seasonal summer precipitation, a shortening of the winter season, or some combination of these three factors.

Herpes simplex virus encephalitis in a mouse model: PCR evidence for CNS latency following acute infection.

We have used a mouse model of herpes simplex encephalitis produced by intranasal inoculation of virus to study the expression of viral immediate early, early and late genes and latency associated transcript (LAT) in trigeminal ganglia and brain at various times after inoculation. A PCR technique was used to detect the viral gene transcripts. All viral genes were expressed between post-inoculation days 1 and 13. On post-inoculation day 42 when the acute infection had subsided only the LAT could be detected, most commonly (70%) in the trigeminal ganglion but also, in 50% of mice, in the brain stem, in 40% in olfactory bulbs and in 20% in cerebrum and cerebellum. These findings suggest that latent infection by HSV-1 may be relatively readily established in the CNS as well as in sensory ganglia. The frequency of establishment of latency appears to be related to the neuroanatomical accessibility of each brain region to the site of entry of the virus.