The contribution of building research to the independence and quality of life of older people

Many nations are experiencing rapid rises in the life expectancy of their citizens. The implications of this major demographic shift are considerable offering opportunities as well as challenges to reconsider how people should spend their later years. A key task is enhancing the quality of life of older people through enabling them to continue to live independently even though illness, accident or frailty may have severely reduced their physical and sensory abilities and, possibly, mental health. Yet the needs of older people and disabled people have been largely ignored in the design of everyday consumer products, the home, transport systems and the built environment in general. Whilst the need for designers, engineers and technologists to provide products, environments and systems which are inclusive of all members of society is widely accepted, there is little understanding of how this can be achieved. In 1998 the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council established its EQUAL Initiative. This has encouraged design, engineering and technology researchers in universities to join with their colleagues from the social, medical and health sciences to investigate a wide range of issues experienced by older and disabled people and to propose solutions. Their research, which directly involves older and disabled people and, for example, social housing providers, social services departments, charities, engineering and architectural consultants, and transport firms, has been extremely successful. In a very short time it has influenced government policy on housing, long-term care, and building standards, and findings have been taken up by architects, designers, health-care professionals and bodies which represent older and disabled people.

Language support for immigrant children: a study of state schools in the UK and US

In recent decades, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers have sought a new way of life in large numbers, often leaving their countries of origin behind in search of places that offer a better way of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary and middle school students in state schools in Reading, England (primarily speakers of Asian languages), and Richmond, Virginia (primarily speakers of Spanish), were supported academically, when most children's first language was not English. The authors were interested in exploring whether or not there were cultural or structural differences in the way each country helped or hindered these students as they progressed through the school systems. Three UK schools in a district of approximately 100,000 and three US schools in a district of approximately 250,000 were the focus of this exploration from 2000 to 2003. Findings indicated that there were cultural and legislative differences and similarities. Teachers and administrators in both countries attempted to provide services with limited and sometimes diminishing resources. Community support varied based on resources, attitudes toward various ethnic groups, and the coping strategies adopted by these groups in their new environments. Marked differences appeared with regard to the manner in which assessments took place and how the results were made available to the public.

Artichoke leaf extract reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and improves quality of life in otherwise healthy volunteers suffering from concomitant dyspepsia: a subset analysis

Objectives: Does artichoke leaf extract (ALE) ameliorate symptoms of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in otherwise healthy volunteers suffering concomitant dyspepsia? Methods: A subset analysis of a previous dose-ranging, open, postal study, in adults suffering dyspepsia. Two hundred and eight (208) adults were identified post hoc as suffering with IBS. IBS incidence, self-reported usual bowel pattern, and the Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI) were compared before and after a 2-month intervention period. Results: There was a significant fall in IBS incidence of 26.4% (p<0.001) after treatment. A significant shift in self-reported usual bowel pattern away from "alternating constipation/diarrhea" toward "normal" (p<0.001) was observed. NDI total symptom score significantly decreased by 41% (p<0.001) after treatment. Similarly, there was a significant 20% improvement in the NDI total quality-of-life (QOL) score in the subset after treatment. Conclusion: This report supports previous findings that ALE ameliorates symptoms of IBS, plus improves health-related QOL.

Health-related quality of life in Huntington's disease: a comparison of two generic instruments, SF-36 and SIP

Whereas several clinical endpoints in monitoring the response to treatment in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) have been explored, there has been a paucity of research in the quality of life in such patients. The aim of this study was to validate the use of two generic health-related quality of life instruments (the Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire [SF-36] and the Sickness Impact Profile [SIP]) and to evaluate their psychometric properties. We found that both instruments demonstrated acceptable convergent validity and reliability for patients and carers. However, there was an advantage in using the SF-36 because of its more robust construct validity and test-retest reliability; furthermore, motor symptoms appeared to influence some strictly nonmotor dimensions of the SIP. On a pragmatic level, the SF-36 is shorter and quicker to administer and, therefore, easier for patients at various stages of the disease to complete. Thus, the SF-36 would appear to be the recommended instrument of choice for patients with HD and their carers, although further work needs to be done to investigate the sensitivity of this instrument longitudinally. (C) 2004 Movement Disorder Society.

Examination of faecal Bifidobacterium populations in breast- and formula-fed infants during the first 18 months of life.

Bifidobacteria in the infant faecal microbiota have been the focus of much interest, especially during the exclusive milk-feeding period and in relation to the fortification of infant formulae to better mimic breast milk. However, longitudinal studies examining the diversity and dynamics of the Bifidobacterium population of infants are lacking, particularly in relation to the effects of weaning. Using a polyphasic strategy, the Bifidobacterium populations of breast- and formula-fed infants were examined during the first 18 months of life. Bifidobacterium-specific denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis demonstrated that breast-fed infants harboured greater diversity than formula-fed infants and the diversity of the infants' Bifidobacterium populations increased with weaning. Twenty-seven distinctive banding profiles were observed from ∼1100 infant isolates using ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis, 14 biotypes of which were confirmed to be members of the genus Bifidobacterium. Two profiles (H, Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis; and I, Bifidobacterium bifidum) were common culturable biotypes, seen in 9/10 infants, while profile E (Bifidobacterium breve) was common among breast-fed infants. Overall, inter- and intra-individual differences were observed in the Bifidobacterium populations of infants between 1 and 18 months of age, although weaning was associated with increased diversity of the infant Bifidobacterium populations. Breast-fed infants generally harboured a more complex Bifidobacterium microbiota than formula-fed infants.

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life

A digital resource, which aims to become a comprehensive catalogue of all known species of organisms on Earth.