In combat sports, competitors are separated into weight divisions, to create equality between the athletes. Consequently, rapid weight loss (RWL) is a common practice in combat sports. Although the methods used to induce RWL are similar among athletes, currently, there are limited data concerning the RWL methodologies used by sambo athletes. Therefore, this study aimed at determining RWL procedures among female sambo athletes. Participants in the study were top-level athletes competing at the World Sambo Championship held in Novi Sad. A total sample of 47 female sambo athletes, of whom 24 were seniors (27.3 ± 4 year/age, 1.61 ± 0.09 m/height, 61.8 ± 8.87 kg/weight) and 23 juniors (18.7 ± 0.8 year/age, 1.66 ± 0.07 m/height, 63.7 ± 12.1 kg/weight), were examined in the study. To determine RWL methods, data were collected through a standardized questionnaire. As a result, 88.7% of the female sambo athletes declared that they intentionally cut their weight before the competition. The most commonly used methods were gradual dieting, followed by sauna, fluid restriction, and skipping meals. The most considerable influence on the RWL strategies of athletes came from coaches and personal trainers, while physicians and dietitians were far less influential. The results obtained from this representative sample highlight the most common practices concerning weight cutting prior to competition among females. Therefore, there is a need to inform and educate both athletes and coaches about the potentially harmful effects of RWL in combat sports. Full article

Streptococcus pyogenes is a significant pathogen that causes skin and upper respiratory tract infections and non-suppurative complications, such as acute rheumatic fever and post-strep glomerulonephritis. Multidrug resistance has emerged in S. pyogenes strains, making them more dangerous and pathogenic. Hence, it is necessary to identify and develop therapeutic methods that would present novel approaches to S. pyogenes infections. In the current study, a subtractive proteomics approach was employed to core proteomes of four strains of S. pyogenes using several bioinformatic software tools and servers. The core proteome consists of 1324 proteins, and 302 essential proteins were predicted from them. These essential proteins were analyzed using BLASTp against human proteome, and the number of potential targets was reduced to 145. Based on subcellular localization prediction, 46 proteins with cytoplasmic localization were chosen for metabolic pathway analysis. Only two cytoplasmic proteins, i.e., chromosomal replication initiator protein DnaA and two-component response regulator (TCR), were discovered to have the potential to be novel drug target candidates. Three-dimensional (3D) structure prediction of target proteins was carried out via the Swiss Model server. Molecular docking approach was employed to screen the library of 1000 phytochemicals against the interacting residues of the target proteins through the MOE software. Further, the docking studies were validated by running molecular dynamics simulation and highly popular binding free energy approaches of MM-GBSA and MM-PBSA. The findings revealed a promising candidate as a novel target against S. pyogenes infections. Full article

The epidemic of psychosocial risks continues to increase and the COVID-19 pandemic has even worsened this threat on workers’ health. This inexorable and evidence-based rise seems to be impervious to the preventive strategies proposed for more than 40 years. Hypotheses are proposed to explain this serious problem that drastically impacts public health and the economy. The objectives of this paper are to present, in this broad context of societal and cultural changes, how the present shift in management paradigms may represent opportunities to reduce work-related diseases. In the first part of this paper, we will summarize the situation on three main issues and their relation with psychosocial risks: (1) evolution of the occupational safety and health field, (2) change in the nature of work, and (3) emerging models of governance. In the second part, we will describe, through a few examples (among many others), how emerging models of corporate governance may reduce and prevent stress and burnout. Work is changing fundamentally, and this impacts workers’ (and managers’) health and well-being; that is why approaches in line with these changes are necessary. The COVID-19 pandemic has produced major changes in work organization. This may offer promising opportunities to reanalyze working conditions for a better control of occupational diseases and stress with all the benefits these improvements will bring for society and for individuals. Full article

Recruiting participants for dementia research takes time. For those who are interested, opportunities to participate can be ad hoc. Delays in finding the right participants can result in studies taking longer to deliver, often requiring funding extensions, and ultimately increasing the cost and limiting the effectiveness of research and evaluation. To address these issues, a digital platform, StepUp for Dementia Research, was developed in 2019 and evaluated through ongoing data analytics, researcher feedback and annual volunteer surveys in 2019 and 2021. Using innovative matching technology, StepUp provides volunteers with an opt-in, secure way of registering interest in dementia studies and allows researchers to access matched volunteers in Australia. As of June 2021, 1070 volunteers registered (78% female), and 25 organizations became ‘champions’ for StepUp promotion. Of 122 registered researchers, 90 completed training. Forty studies from 17 research/health institutions recruited participants using StepUp. The evaluation demonstrated program feasibility and recruitment efficiency with a high level of satisfaction from users. Evaluation outcomes highlighted disparities in public participation in dementia research (e.g., gender, education and race/ethnicity) and provided valuable insights for further enhancements of StepUp. A concerted and strategic effort is needed by leading registries such as StepUp to ensure narrowing volunteer participation gaps in dementia research. Full article

Assisted living (AL) is an emerging model of care in countries where long-term care needs are escalating, with emphasis given to promoting independence and autonomy among the residents to achieve active and healthy ageing. Unlike established nursing homes, the governance of AL is nebulous due to its novelty and diverse nature of operations in many jurisdictions. A comprehensive understanding of how AL is governed globally is important to inform regulatory policies as the adoption of AL increases. A systematic literature review was undertaken to understand the different levels of regulations that need to be instituted to govern AL effectively. A total of 65 studies, conducted between 1990 to 2020, identified from three major databases (PubMed, Medline, and Scopus), were included. Using a thematic synthesis analytical approach, we identified macro-level regulations (operational authorisation, care quality assessment and infrastructural requirements), meso-level regulations (operational management, staff management and distribution, service provision and care monitoring, and crisis management), and micro-level regulations (clear criteria for resident admission and staff hiring) that are important in the governance of AL. Large-scale adoption of AL without compromising the quality, equity and affordability would require clear provisions of micro-, meso- and macro-level regulations. Full article

We present a comparative environmental and social life cycle assessment (ELCA and SLCA) of algal fuel and fodder co-production (AF + fodder) versus algal fuel and energy co-production (AF + energy). Our ELCA results indicate that fodder co-production offers an advantage in the following categories: climate change (biogenic, land use and land use change, total), ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication, ionizing radiation, photochemical ozone creation, and land use. By contrast, the AF + energy system yields lower impacts in the other 11 out of 19 Environmental Footprint impact categories. Only AF + fodder offers greenhouse gas reduction compared to petroleum diesel (−25%). Our SLCA results indicate that AF + fodder yields lower impacts in the following categories: fair salaries, forced labor, gender wage gap, health expenditure, unemployment, and violation of employment laws and regulations. AF + energy performs favorably in the other three out of nine social indicators. We conclude that the choice of co-products has a strong influence on the sustainability of algal fuel production. Despite this, none of the compared systems are found to yield a consistent advantage in the environmental or social dimension. It is, therefore, not possible to recommend a co-production strategy without weighing environmental and social issues. Full article

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) resulted in school closures and contingencies across the U.S. that limited access to school meals for students. While some schools attempted to provide alternative meal access points where students or parents could pick up meals, many students—especially those in low-income households—lacked adequate transportation to these access points. Thus, physical proximity to meal access points was particularly important during the pandemic. In this study, we explore how school meal access changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as it relates to race/ethnicity and socio-economic status. Taking into account both the “supply” (meal access points) and the “demand” (low-income students) for free meals, we employed a two-step floating catchment area analysis to compare meal accessibility in St. Louis, Missouri before and during the pandemic in the spring and summer of 2019 and 2020. Overall, while school meal access decreased during the spring of 2020 during the early months of the pandemic, it increased during the summer of 2020. Moreover, increased access was greatest in low-income areas and areas with a higher proportion of Black residents. Thus, continuing new policies that expanded access to school meals—especially for summer meal programs—could lead to positive long-term impacts on children’s health and well-being. Full article

This systematic review was aimed at gathering technical and clinical applications of CAD/CAM technology for the preoperative planning of craniofacial implants placement, designing of molds and substructures and fabrication of orbital prostheses. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, an electronic search was executed. Human studies that utilized digital planning systems for the prosthetic rehabilitation of orbital defects were included. A total of 16 studies of 30 clinical cases, which were virtually planned through various digital planning and designing software, were included. The most common preoperative data required for digital planning were CT scans in 15 cases, the 3DSS-STD-II scanning system in 5 cases, an Artec Color 3D scanner in 3 cases and a NextEngine Desktop 3D laser scanner in 2 cases. Meanwhile, the digital designing software were Ease Orbital Implant Planning EOIPlan software in eight cases, Geomagic software in eight cases, Simplant software in four cases and Artec Studio 12 Professional in three cases. Surgical templates were fabricated for 12 cases to place 41 craniofacial implants in the orbital defect area. An image-guided surgical navigation system was utilized for the placement of five orbital implants in two cases. Digital designing and printing systems were reported for the preoperative planning of craniofacial implants placement, designing of molds and substructures and fabrication of orbital prostheses. The studies concluded that the digital planning, designing and fabrication of orbital prostheses reduce the clinical and laboratory times, reduces patient visits and provide a satisfactory outcome; however, technical skills and equipment costs are posing limitations on the use of these digital systems. Full article

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an oral function training program and indicators of oral health status on improvements in physical performance induced by physical function training in dependent older adults. The participants were 131 potentially dependent older adults (age: ≥65 years) who were randomly divided into two groups: an oral intervention and a control group. All participants underwent physical function training, but only the intervention group took part in the oral function training program. In total, 106 participants completed all of the survey components (60 and 46 participants from the intervention and control groups, respectively). The measures of physical fitness examined included the one-leg standing time with eyes open (OLST) and the timed up and go test (TUG). Logistic regression analyses were carried out to determine the effects of the oral function intervention and health status on physical fitness. The results revealed that the oral function intervention significantly improved OLST and TUG times. These findings suggest that evaluations of oral health status and interventions aimed at activating oral functions are associated with improvements in physical fitness among potentially dependent older adults. Full article

Gait and physical fitness are related to cognitive function. A decrease in motor function and physical fitness can serve as an indicator of declining global cognitive function in older adults. This study aims to use machine learning (ML) to identify important features of gait and physical fitness to predict a decline in global cognitive function in older adults. A total of three hundred and six participants aged seventy-five years or older were included in the study, and their gait performance at various speeds and physical fitness were evaluated. Eight ML models were applied to data ranked by the p-value (LP) of linear regression and the importance gain (XI) of XGboost. Five optimal features were selected using elastic net on the LP data for men, and twenty optimal features were selected using support vector machine on the XI data for women. Thus, the important features for predicting a potential decline in global cognitive function in older adults were successfully identified herein. The proposed ML approach could inspire future studies on the early detection and prevention of cognitive function decline in older adults. Full article

Mining dam failures have increased worldwide since the 1980s. Two large mining dam failures occurred recently in Mariana and Brumadinho, both in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. We hypothesize that there were significant differences in legal post-disaster decisions. The aim of this article is to understand the similarities and differences of post-disaster actions and controversies in Mariana and Brumadinho. We reviewed 686 news reports about court decisions and settlement agreements from the websites of state and federal courts and judicial institutions. After classifying the reports using an adapted protocol from a media health observatory, we conducted a thematic analysis. Our analysis suggests that there were significant differences in legal post-disaster decisions in the cases of Mariana and Brumadinho. In Mariana, there was privatization of post-disaster management, with the creation of the Renova Foundation, a mediated indemnity program, lack of access to information for those affected, and uncertainties in health and resettlement issues. In Brumadinho, there was faster implementation of the recovery and compensation measures, faster recognition of affected parties, and stronger participation of the population since the first hearings. Even though there were particularities in post-disaster management, the ultimate goal of the corporations responsible for the disasters was to protect their profits. Full article

Juvenile perpetrators account for over 25% of all sexual offenses, and over one-third of such offenses are against victims under the age of 18. Given empirical connections between adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure and perpetration of violence, we create victim typologies based on the juveniles’ relationship to their victims among 5539 justice-involved adolescents who have committed violent against-person sexual felonies. Multinomial logistic regression is used to assess which covariates, including individual ACE exposures and cumulative traumatic exposures, are associated with victim typologies. This approach allows for better targeting of violence prevention efforts, as a more nuanced understanding of the increased likelihood to victimize specific victim groups lends to potential differences in treatment provision, beyond simplistic findings regarding ACE exposure increasing offending. Results indicate five classes of victim types, ranging from a low of 6.4%, with primarily strangers as victims, to 31.3%, with predominately acquaintances as victims, and only 12.9% with a diverse array of relationships to victims. Importantly, many demographic and individual risk factors, and specific traumatic exposures were related to victimizing one’s sibling, while cumulative trauma as measured by an ACE score decreased the likelihood of victimizing classmates, while increasing the likelihood of victimizing siblings and other relatives compared to victimizing acquaintances. Full article

The current study examined how neighborhood environments are related to older adults’ perceived control over time. A longitudinal study design was employed using data sampled from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2014 and 2018. In total, 3170 older adults, whose age ranged between 60 and 99 years at the baseline, were followed up with a 4-year lag. Measures included two domains of neighborhood characteristics: social cohesion and physical disorder (at baseline and follow-up) and perceived control (at follow-up). Path coefficients between the latent factors were examined using structural equation modeling. Results showed that there was a significant cross-sectional and longitudinal association between neighborhood social cohesion and older adults’ perceived control, while neighborhood physical disorder was cross-sectionally associated with perceived control. Study findings provide evidence for promoting social integration and social capital in their neighborhood that might contribute to older adults’ perceived competence and beliefs in control. Full article

Background: For people with long-term illness, debilitated by severe symptoms, it can be difficult to attend regular yoga classes. We have therefore developed a tele-health format of yoga that can be delivered in the home. The tele-yoga was co-designed with members of a patient-organisation, yoga-instructor, and IT-technician. It includes live-streamed group-yoga sessions twice a week and an app with instructions on how to self-perform yoga. Aim: To describe a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) including a process evaluation and report on a pilot study evaluating method- and intervention-related components including feasibility, safety, and efficacy. Methods: Ten participants with heart failure aged between 41–76 years were randomised to tele-yoga (n = 5) or to the control group (n = 5). In the pilot study recruitment, enrolment, randomisation, and data collection of all outcomes including primary, secondary and process evaluation measures were tested according to the study protocol. Fidelity, adherence and acceptability to the tele-yoga group training and app use was determined. Safety was assessed by adverse events. Results: The pilot revealed that the methodological aspect of the protocol worked sufficiently in all aspects except for missing data in the physical test of two participants and one participant in the control-group that dropped out of the study at three months follow-up. The tele-yoga training did not lead to any adverse events or injuries, adherence of tele-yoga was sufficient according to preset limits. The tele-yoga intervention also showed some favourable trends of improvements in the composite-end point compared to the active control group. However, since data only was presented descriptively due to the small sample size, the impact of these trends should be interpreted carefully. Conclusion: Our pilot study showed promising results in feasibility, safety, and acceptability of the tele-yoga intervention. Some changes in the protocol have been made to decrease the risk of missing data in the measures of physical function and in the full-scale RCT now ongoing the results of the sample size calculation for 300 participants have included the estimated level of drop outs and missing data. Full article

In response to the drug-resistant tuberculosis (DRTB) ototoxicity burden in South Africa, ototoxicity monitoring has been decentralised, with community health workers (CHWs) acting as facilitators. This study describes a community-based ototoxicity monitoring programme (OMP) for patients with DRTB. Findings are compared to the recommended guidelines for ototoxicity monitoring, the OMP protocol and published studies. This was a retrospective study of longitudinal ototoxicity monitoring of 831 patients with DRTB, using data collected at community-based clinics in the City of Cape Town between 2013 and 2017. Approximately half (46.8%) of the patients had an initial assessment conducted in accordance with the OMP protocol recommendations, and follow-up rates (79.5%) were higher than those of a similar DRTB programme. However, patients in this study were not monitored within the timeframes or with the regularity recommended by the guidelines or the OMP protocol. Extended high-frequency pure-tone audiometry (27.5%) was underutilised by testers and data recording was inconsistent (e.g., 37.7% of patient gender was not recorded by testers). Community-based OMP using CHWs to facilitate monitoring showed improvement over previous hospital-based reports, with more accessible services and higher follow-up rates. However, to improve OMP outcomes, OMP managers should reassess current protocols and data recording practices. Full article