Abstract Engaging in regular physical activity and obtaining recommended amounts of sleep are touted as strategies to promote healthy brain aging. However, as each day is only 24 hours long, changing time spent in one activity must come at the expense or gain of another, making it necessary to understand how the whole 24-hour activity composition impacts dementia risk. We applied compositional data analysis to investigate the effect of substituting sleep duration for different levels of physical activity (i.e., inactivity, light activity, and moderate to vigorous physical activity; MVPA) on dementia risk relative to two reference compositions; a “typical” short sleeper (< 6hrs) and normal sleeper (≥ 6hrs). The study sample comprised participants from the community-based UK Biobank with 24-hour behaviors estimated using 7 days of accelerometry. The mean age of the sample was 63 years (Q1, Q3: 56, 68); 56% were women. Of the 88,654 participants, there were 718 incident all-cause dementia cases over a median follow-up of 8.2 years. For short sleepers, increasing sleep duration at the expense of inactivity or light activity was associated with a lowering of dementia risk, but not when at the expense of MVPA. For persons with normal sleep duration, the effect of increasing or decreasing sleep duration on dementia risk differed for all three substituted behaviors (i.e., inactivity, light, or MVPA). Most notably, dementia risk was higher when increasing sleep at the expense of MVPA and lower when increasing MVPA at the expense of sleep. The interpretation of the results was broadly consistent when using MRI-based outcomes (e.g., hippocampal volume) in a subset with brain imaging (n = 15,263). Our findings underscore the complexity of optimizing dementia risk reduction strategies, emphasizing the need for personalized approaches that balance trade-offs between sleep duration and differing physical activity levels based on individual circumstances, such as habitual sleep duration.

Aims Most older people living with a neurocognitive disorder wish to age at home, and the person-environment interaction is a key factor in helping in-home functioning. The Home Assessment of Person-Environment Interaction (HoPE) – Cognitive Version is one of the few assessment tools targeting this interaction. This study tested its interrater reliability. Methods Based on Classical Test Theory, two independent trained occupational therapists simultaneously administered the HoPE-Cognitive Version to 30 dyads (older person and their caregiver), at home. Kappa coefficients, percentages of agreement and standard errors were calculated. Results Kappa coefficients ranged from −0.053 to 1.000 (kappamean=0.415; percentage of agreementrange=50%-100%); the majority (80%) ranged from Fair to Almost Perfect. For each of the three sections of the HoPE-Cognitive Version, the kappa coefficients for the global scores ranged as follows: Section 1: from 0.143 to 0.310 (mean = 0.235); Section 2: from 0.086 to 0.842 (mean = 0.413); Section 3: from −0.053 to 1.000 (mean = 0.532). Conclusion This study documents the interrater reliability of a promising instrument for understanding the person-environment interaction of community-dwelling seniors living with neurocognitive disorders. Several low coefficients demonstrate a high percentage of agreement, according to Feinstein and Cicchetti’s paradoxes. Continuing validation of the HoPE-Cognitive Version should further support its use.

The objective of this review is to assess and synthesize the available qualitative evidence on the experiences of social participation of older adults with an early-onset physical disability. Understanding the experiences of social participation among older adults with a physical disability acquired earlier in life can guide the development of interventions and policies. It will also help with fostering meaningful community participation and aid in improving the quality of their social participation. This review will consider primary studies that explore the experiences of social participation of older adults with an early-onset physical disability. The review will focus on qualitative data, including methods such as phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, action research, and feminist research. Studies in French or English will be considered for inclusion, and there will be no limitation on publication dates. A keyword search strategy will be carried out in MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) will be searched for unpublished articles. Two independent reviewers will perform the screening and inclusion process, assess the quality of the evidence, and complete data extraction. The JBI approach to critical appraisal, study selection, data extraction, and data synthesis (meta-aggregation) will be used. The ConQual approach will be used to establish confidence in the synthesized findings. PROSPERO CRD42022371027.

We measured disparities in COVID-19 mortality associated with increasing vulnerability to severe outcomes of infectious disease at the neighbourhood level to identify domains for prioritization of public interventions. In this retrospective ecological study, we calculated COVID-19 mortality rate ratios (RR) comparing neighbourhoods with the greatest vulnerability relative to lowest vulnerability using the five domains from the COVID-19 vulnerability index for Quebec using hospital data from the first year of the pandemic and vulnerability levels from 13,182 neighbourhoods. We estimated the attributable fraction to assess disparities in COVID-19 mortality associated with vulnerability. Domains covered biological susceptibility, sociocultural characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, and indoor and outdoor risk factors for exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Vulnerable neighbourhoods accounted for 60.7% of COVID-19 deaths between March 2020 and February 2021. Neighbourhoods with biological susceptibility accounted for 46.1% and indoor exposure for 44.6% of deaths. Neighbourhoods with socioeconomic vulnerability experienced 23.5%, outdoor exposure 14.6%, and sociocultural vulnerability 9.0% of deaths. Neighbourhoods with high relative vulnerability had 4.66 times greater risk of COVID-19 mortality compared with those with low vulnerability (95%CI 3.82-5.67). High vulnerability in the biological (RR 3.33; 95%CI 2.71-4.09), sociocultural (RR 1.50; 95%CI 1.27-1.77), socioeconomic (RR 2.08; 95%CI 1.75-2.48), and indoor (RR 3.21; 95%CI 2.74-3.76) exposure domains were associated with elevated risks of mortality compared with the least vulnerable neighbourhoods. Outdoor exposure was unassociated with mortality (RR 1.17; 95%CI 0.96-2.43). Public intervention to protect vulnerable populations should be adapted to focus on domains most associated with COVID-19 mortality to ensure addressing local needs.

The ability to regulate one's emotions is integral to well-being and recent studies have documented the relationship between music and emotion regulation strategies. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the impact of musicking on emotion regulation. To achieve this objective, a systematic database search for randomized control trial (RCT) studies was conducted. Eight studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected, involving 441 participants, and employing a diversity of musicking intervention strategies including listening, playing, and creating. The overall effect size was d = 0.45; p < .01. Moderator analyses were conducted. The discussion focuses on perspectives for music education, prevention programs, and public policies for the general population and music as a potential resource contributing to well-being.

BackgroundLymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a human pathogen naturally present in wild rodents. In addition, LCMV is routinely used in immunology research as a model of viral infection in mice. The Armstrong common laboratory strain and the Clone-13 variant induce acute and chronic infections in mice, respectively. The frequent use of this virus in laboratory settings is associated with a risk of human infection for laboratory personnel. In contrast to LCMV Clone-13, few human laboratory infections with LCMV Armstrong have been reported, leading to a poor understanding of symptoms related to infection with this specific LCMV strain.Case presentationA researcher accidentally infected herself percutaneously with LCMV Armstrong. Symptoms including headaches, dizziness, eye pain and nausea appeared seven days post-exposure and lasted ten days. LCMV-IgM antibodies were detected at 28 days post-infection and IgG seroconversion was observed later. Complete recovery was confirmed three months post exposure.ConclusionsResearch involving live viruses comes with the risk of infection for research personnel. This case is the first reported accidental human infection with LCMV Armstrong. The symptoms differed from reported infections with LCMV Clone-13, by the absence of fever and vomiting, and presence of leg numbness. This report will therefore help clinicians and public health authorities to recognize the symptoms associated with LCMV Armstrong infections and to offer appropriate counselling to individuals who accidentally expose themselves.

For many mammals living at higher latitudes, food scarcity and snow-hindered movements associated with their first winter are synonymous of trying months. In addition, most wild animals have to cope with parasites. Many studies have been conducted on captive animals to assess consequences parasitism on health over winter, but comparable studies on wild populations are scarce for large mammals. Here, we performed winter tick ( Dermacentor albipictus Packard, 1869) counts and collected body condition data (mass and hematological parameters) on 15 moose ( Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758)) calves from two distinct climatic regions in northern and southern New Brunswick (Canada) in January. The same calves were recaptured 3 months later to observe variation in body condition parameters. Higher tick loads and more drastic changes of hematological parameters, such as hematocrit and creatinine in southern individuals, suggested that this population might be suffering more from the consequences of winter tick infestation than the northernmost population. However, other parameters that were not measured in our study, such as quantity and quality of food, could influence moose calves body condition at the southeastern limit of their range.

As students in out-of-home care are at high risk of school failure, it is imperative to promote academic skills through effective interventions. A systematic review of interventions aimed at improving academic achievement of out-of-home care was conducted to identify the most effective strategies for supporting literacy and mathematical skills. Data from 21 interventions, involving 2,049 children in out-of-home care, were synthesized through meta-analysis. Overall, the interventions had a significant impact on literacy (g = .242, 95 % CI [.180, .305], k = 21) and mathematical skills (g = .229, 95 % CI [.115, .343], p <.001, k = 14). Three main direct academic support strategies were compared to determine if one was superior to the others: tutoring, individualized support, and distribution of academic material. The results of subgroup analysis failed to detect any differences between effect sizes, most likely due to low statistical power. Thus, the main trends were discussed. Tutoring, as the most rigorously evaluated intervention, appeared to outperform other types of intervention strategies, especially in respect to mathematical skills, where the results remained robust despite potential methodological bias. However, it is essential to consider significant limitations when interpreting these results. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Diagnostic manuals describe insomnia disorder (ID) characterised by fatigue and sleepiness as diurnal consequences of nocturnal symptoms. However, patients with ID do not frequently report sleepiness in the clinical setting. The present study aimed to investigate subjective sleepiness in ID measured through the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and its independence towards daytime functioning and fatigue, and to evaluate cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) improvement in daytime consequences and their relationship to sleepiness and fatigue. We retrospectively collected the ESS evaluation in a large sample of 105 healthy controls (HCs), 671 patients with ID, and 602 patients with sleep disorders characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). Moreover, we conducted a pre-post evaluation of the ESS in a sub-sample of patients with ID who underwent CBT-I. Component 2 of the Insomnia Severity Index and Profile of Mood States-Fatigue Inertia Scale was used to evaluate daytime functioning and fatigue. Patients with ID reported ESS levels comparable to that observed in HCs and significantly lower than the EDS group. No significant correlation arose between ESS and the diurnal impact of the disorder, suggesting the independence between daytime functioning and sleepiness in ID. Contrarily, insomnia severity and diurnal impact significantly correlated with fatigue. Data showed a statistically significant increase in sleepiness after CBT-I, despite significantly improving daytime consequences and fatigue. Although diagnostic manuals report sleepiness and fatigue as daytime consequences of sleep symptoms in patients with ID, these retrospective data indicate a dissociation between these entities. This evidence aligns with the core feature of ID: the hyperarousal status that pervades patients also during wakefulness.