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Background and Objective In previous studies, we showed that irradiation with 405 nm or 470 nm light suppresses up to 92% methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) growth in vitro and that the remaining bacteria re-colonize. In this study, the aim was to develop a protocol that yields 100% MRSA growth suppression. Materials and Methods We cultured 3 × 106 and 5 × 106 CFU/ml USA300 strain of MRSA and then irradiated each plate with varying fluences of 1–60 J/cm2 of 405 nm or 470 nm light, either once or twice at 6 hours intervals. Next, we plated 7 × 106 CFU/ml and irradiated it with 45, 50, 55, or 60 J/cm2 fluence, once, twice, or thrice at the same 6 hours intervals. In a third experiment, the same culture density was irradiated with 0, 165, 180, 220, or 240 J/cm2, either once, twice, or thrice. Results Irradiation with either wavelength significantly reduced the bacterial colonies regardless of bacterial density (P

Background:Increasing physical activity (PA) levels in older adults represents an important public health challenge. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of combining individualized motivational messaging with pedometer walking step targets to increase PA in previously inactive and insufficiently active older adults.Methods:In this 12-week intervention study older adults were randomized to 1 of 4 study arms: Group 1—control; Group 2—pedometer 10,000 step goal; Group 3—pedometer step goal plus individualized motivational feedback; or Group 4—everything in Group 3 augmented with biweekly telephone feedback.Results:81 participants were randomized into the study, 61 participants completed the study with an average age of 63.8 ± 6.0 years. Group 1 did not differ in accumulated steps/day following the 12-week intervention compared with participants in Group 2. Participants in Groups 3 and 4 took on average 2159 (P < .001) and 2488 (P < .001) more steps/day, respectively, than those in Group 1 after the 12-week intervention.Conclusion:In this 12-week pilot randomized control trial, a pedometer feedback intervention partnered with individually matched motivational messaging was an effective intervention strategy to significantly increase PA behavior in previously inactive and insufficiently active older adults.

This study examined objectively determined walking profiles of older adults across a wide range of sociocultural backgrounds. All individuals (N = 415; 131 men age 70.5 ± 9.2 yr and 284 women age 71.5 ± 9.0 yr) underwent physiological measurements, completed pen-and-paper surveys, and wore a pedometer for 7 consecutive days. The total sample accumulated a mean of 3,987 ± 2,680 steps/day. Age (r = –.485, p < .001) and body-mass index (BMI; r = –.353, p < .001) were negatively associated with steps per day. Multivariate analysis revealed that race/ethnic category (F = 3.15, df = 3), gender (F = 2.46, df = 1), BMI (F = 6.23, df = 2), income (F = 9.86, df = 1), education (F = 43.3, df = 1), and retirement status (F = 52.3, df = 1) were significantly associated with steps per day. Collectively these categories accounted for 56% of the variance in walking activity in this independently living, community-dwelling older adult sample. Sedentary characteristics highlighted within, and step-per-day values specific to, older adults have implications for planning targeted physical activity interventions related to walking activity in this population.

This report describes patterns of cigarette smoking and interest in smoking cessation programs among employees in a public worksite (n = 6,000) and a private worksite (n = 14,000). Of the 622 employees who attended an employee assistance program (EAP) orientation, 110 (18%) were current smokers. A significantly greater proportion of public employees smoked cigarettes, smoked more heavily, and evaluated their health more poorly compared to private employees. Smokers in both sites were over-represented in unskilled positions. Regardless of worksite, respondents who smoked had similar desires to quit or cut down and were annoyed by the comments of others, felt guilty about smoking, awakened with a desire to smoke, and felt they had a smoking problem. Overall, more than one third of individuals were interested in joining a smoking cessation program. Occupational health nurses may use these findings to design and implement smoking cessation interventions in their workplaces.

Racine, Wisconsin, located on Lake Michigan, experiences frequent recreational water quality advisories in the absence of any identifiable point source of pollution. This research examines the environmental distribution of Escherichia coli in conjunction with the assessment of additional parameters (rainfall, turbidity, wave height, wind direction, wind speed and algal presence) in order to determine the most probable factors that influence E. coli levels in surface waters. Densities of E. coli were highest in core samples taken from foreshore sands, often exceeding an order of magnitude greater than those collected from submerged sands and water. Simple regression and multivariate analyses conducted on supplementary environmental data indicate that the previous day's E. coli concentration in conjunction with wave height is significantly predictive for present-time E. coli concentration. Genetic fingerprinting using repetitive element anchored PCR and cellular fatty acid analysis were employed to assess the presence of clonal isolates which indicate replication from a common parent cell. There were relatively few occurrences of clonal patterns in isolates collected from water, foreshore and submerged sands, suggesting that accumulation of E. coli, rather than environmental replication, was occurring in this system. Non-point source pollution, namely transport of accumulated E. coli from foreshore sands to surface waters via wave action, was found to be a major contributor to poor recreational water quality at the Lake Michigan beaches involved in this study.

Background:To examine the effectiveness of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association (AHA) resistance training (RT) guidelines to improve physical function and functional classification in older adults with reduced physical abilities.Methods:Twenty-five at-risk older adults were randomized to a control (CON = 13) or 8-week resistance training intervention arm (RT = 12). Progressive RT included 8 exercises for 1 set of 10 repetitions at a perceived exertion of 5–6 performed twice a week. Individuals were assessed for physical function and functional classification change (low, moderate or high) by the short physical performance battery (SPPB) and muscle strength measures.Results:Postintervention, significant differences were found between groups for SPPB—Chair Stand [F(1,22) = 9.14, P < .01, η = .29] and SPPB—Total Score [F(1,22) = 7.40, P < .05, η = .25]. Functional classification was improved as a result of the intervention with 83% of participants in the RT group improving from low to moderate functioning or moderate to high functioning. Strength significantly improved on all exercises in the RT compared with the CON group.Conclusions:A RT program congruent with the current ASCM and AHA guidelines is effective to improve overall physical function, functional classification, and muscle strength for older adults with reduced physical abilities.

Improved access to the Internet along with technological advances in hardware and software are prompting social scientists to move their research pursuits from the laboratory into cyberspace. While evidence suggests that online research is equivalent if not superior to traditional offline (i.e., paper-pencil [PP]) methods (Buchanan & Smith, 1999; Campos et al., 2011; Lonsdale et al., 2006; Meyerson & Tryon, 2003; Naus et al., 2009; Preckel & Thiemann, 2003), caution is urged in summarily generalizing research methods and results from one format to another. To address one of the key limitations of Internet research (i.e., measurement error), scholars have begun to examine the reliability and validity of online test formats. In studies of matched or paired samples who completed electronic and PP measures of various psychological constructs (e.g., personality, burnout, intellectual giftedness), results suggest comparable psychometric properties, factor structure, and outcomes across the data collection methods (Buchanan & Smith, 1999; Campos et al., 2011; Lonsdale et al., 2006; Meyerson & Tryon, 2003; Naus et al., 2009; Preckel & Thiemann, 2003).

Background The number of days of pedometer or accelerometer data needed to reliably assess physical activity (PA) is important for research that examines the relationship with health. While this important research has been completed in young to middle-aged adults, data is lacking in older adults. Further, data determining the number of days of self-reports PA data is also void. The purpose of this study was to examine the number of days needed to predict habitual PA and sedentary behaviour across pedometer, accelerometer, and physical activity log (PA log) data in older adults. Methods Participants (52 older men and women; age = 69.3 ± 7.4 years, range= 55-86 years) wore a Yamax Digiwalker SW-200 pedometer and an ActiGraph 7164 accelerometer while completing a PA log for 21 consecutive days. Mean differences each instrument and intensity between days of the week were examined using separate repeated measures analysis of variance for with pairwise comparisons. Spearman-Brown Prophecy Formulae based on Intraclass Correlations of .80, .85, .90 and .95 were used to predict the number of days of accelerometer or pedometer wear or PA log daily records needed to represent total PA, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, and sedentary behaviour. Results Results of this study showed that three days of accelerometer data, four days of pedometer data, or four days of completing PA logs are needed to accurately predict PA levels in older adults. When examining time spent in specific intensities of PA, fewer days of data are needed for accurate prediction of time spent in that activity for ActiGraph but more for the PA log. To accurately predict average daily time spent in sedentary behaviour, five days of ActiGraph data are needed. Conclusions The number days of objective (pedometer and ActiGraph) and subjective (PA log) data needed to accurately estimate daily PA in older adults was relatively consistent. Despite no statistical differences between days for total PA by the pedometer and ActiGraph, the magnitude of differences between days suggests that day of the week cannot be completely ignored in the design and analysis of PA studies that involve < 7-day monitoring protocols for these instruments. More days of accelerometer data were needed to determine typical sedentary behaviour than PA level in this population of older adults.

Background Spina bifida affects one out of every 1200 to 1400 live births each year in the United States. Secondary conditions related to the level of the SB lesion (LOL) such as incontinence, skin breakdown, obesity, pain, and orthopedic problems (e.g., scoliosis) are common. The purpose of this presentation is to address the following questions: 1) What is the frequency of key secondary conditions (bowel/bladder status, skin breakdown, UTIs, pain, overweight, scoliosis, latex allergy)? 2) Are select secondary conditions related to LOL, school, peer or employment activities? 3) How satisfied are participants with their bowel/bladder program and is satisfaction related to clinical variables?

This study examined the predictive validity of accelerometers (ACC) to estimate physical activity intensity (PAI) across age and differences in intensity predictions when expressed in relative and absolute PAI terms. Ninety adults categorized into 3 age groups (20–29, 40–49, and 60–69 yr) completed a treadmill calibration study with simultaneous ACC (7164 Actigraph) and oxygen-consumption assessment. Results revealed strong linear relations between ACC output and measured PAI (R2 = .62–.89) across age and similar ACC cut-point ranges across age delineating absolute PAI ranges compared with previous findings. Comparing measured metabolic equivalents (METs) with estimated METs derived from previously published regression equations revealed that age did not affect predictive validity of ACC estimates of absolute PAI. Comparing ACC output expressed in relative vs. absolute terms across age revealed substantial differences in PAI ACC count ranges. Further work is warranted to increase the applicability of ACC use relative to PAI differences associated with physiological changes with age.

Adolescents with spina bifida (SB) vary in their ability to adapt to the disease, and it is likely that numerous risk and protective factors affect adaptation outcomes. The primary aim was to test neuropsychological impairment, exemplified herein by executive dysfunction, as a risk factor in the Ecological Model of Adaptation for Adolescents with SB. Specific hypotheses were that: (1) executive functioning predicts the adaptation outcome of functional independence in adolescents with SB; (2) executive functioning mediates the impact of neurological severity on functional independence; and (3) family and adolescent protective factors are related to functional independence and moderate the relationship between executive functioning and functional independence. Forty-three adolescents aged 12–21 years completed neuropsychological measures and an interview that assessed risk, adolescent and family protective factors, and functional independence. Age, level of lesion, executive functioning, and the protective factor adolescent activities were significantly correlated with the functional independence outcome. In hierarchical regression analysis, the model accounted for 61% of the variance in functional independence outcomes. Executive functioning mediated the impact of neurological severity on functional independence. (JINS, 2008, 14, 793–804.)

Purpose: This study tests the effectiveness of the theoretically driven BACE (i.e., Balancing Arousal Controls Excesses) intervention in decreasing agitation in residents of long-term care with moderate or severe dementia. Design and Methods: A pretest–posttest double-blinded experimental design with random assignment was used with a sample of 78 participants. The BACE intervention controls the daily activity schedule so that there is a balance between a person’s high-arousal and low-arousal states. The outcome measure was observed agitation. Results: When time spent in arousal imbalance at pretest was controlled for, a repeated measures analysis of covariance revealed a statistically significant Group 3 Time interaction, F(1, 69) = 4.26, p = .043, with a partial g 2 = .06. The average change in agitation for the treatment group was a decrease of 8.43 points (SD = 12.01) from pretest to posttest, an effect size of .7. Implications: The results of this study support the theory that balancing arousal states by using an individualized approach is effective in decreasing agitation levels of people with dementia.

People with dementia have complex and unique social, environmental, and communication needs arising from impaired cognition. One response to dissatisfaction with the medical model of care in nursing homes has been the creation of more homelike and social options for care in the community. These options include community-based residential facilities and a variety of more independent senior dwellings. Staying in residential settings longer may be associated with benefits, including decreased financial burden and improved quality of life. However, with the boundaries between these place types often less than clearly drawn, it has become increasingly difficult to anticipate the specific services and environmental features provided by each. It is also difficult to effectively match facilities to the specific needs of older persons with dementia. Even social workers responsible for placements, especially in urban areas, may not be able to visit all local residential options. To better understand these new venues for dementia care, this study explored the range of services and settings available to people with dementia in three different place types in five Wisconsin counties: nursing homes, community-based residential facilities, and independent senior housing.

Background Little is known physical health (PH), mental health (MH) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) adaptation outcomes in AYA with SB, and the factors associated with them. The purpose of this presentation is to 1) describe the PH (functional status [FS], self-management, secondary conditions), MH (depression, overall selfworth, and internal/external behavior problems [IBP, EBP]), and HRQOL outcomes; and 2) delineate the direct and indirect relationships of risk and protective variables in the Ecological Model of Secondary Conditions and Adaptation in SB associated with these outcomes. This model includes SB Context (SES, shunt status and level of lesion [LOL]), neuropsychological risk [NPR], and protective processes (adolescent resilience and family resourcefulness).