University of Bedfordshire

About: University of Bedfordshire is a education organization based out in Luton, Bedford, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 3860 authors who have published 6079 publications receiving 143448 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Luton.

Care transitions for frail, older people from acute hospital wards within an integrated healthcare system in England: a qualitative case study

Abstract: Introduction: Frail older people experience frequent care transitions and an integrated healthcare system could reduce barriers to transitions between different settings. The study aimed to investigate care transitions of frail older people from acute hospital wards to community healthcare or community hospital wards, within a system that had vertically integrated acute hospital and community healthcare services. Theory and methods: The research design was a multimethod, qualitative case study of one healthcare system in England; four acute hospital wards and two community hospital wards were studied in depth. The data were collected through: interviews with key staff (n =17); focus groups (n = 9) with ward staff (n = 36); interviews with frail older people (n = 4). The data were analysed using the framework approach. Findings: Three themes are presented: Care transitions within a vertically integrated healthcare system, Interprofessional communication and relationships; Patient and family involvement in care transitions. Discussion and conclusions: A vertically integrated healthcare system supported care transitions from acute hospital wards through removal of organisational boundaries. However, boundaries between staff in different settings remained a barrier to transitions, as did capacity issues in community healthcare and social care. Staff in acute and community settings need opportunities to gain better understanding of each other’s roles and build relationships and trust.

A microarray analysis of the hypoxia-induced modulation of gene expression in human adipocytes.

Abstract: The effect of hypoxia on global gene expression in human adipocytes has been examined using DNA microarrays. Adipocytes (Zen-Bio, day 12 post-differentiation) were exposed to hypoxia (1% O(2)) or 'normoxia' (21% O(2)) for 24 h and extracted RNA probed with Agilent arrays containing 41,152 probes. A total of 1346 probes were differentially expressed (>2.0-fold change, P < 0.01) in response to hypoxia; 650 genes were up-regulated (including LEP, IL6, VEGF, ANGPTL4) and 650 down-regulated (including ADIPOQ, UCP2). Major genes not previously identified as hypoxia-sensitive in adipocytes include AQP3, FABP3, FABP5 and PPARGC1A. Ingenuity analysis indicated that several pathways and functions were modulated by hypoxia, including glucose utilization, lipid oxidation and cell death. Network analysis indicated a down-regulation of p38/MAPK and PGC-1α signalling in the adipocytes. It is concluded that hypoxia has extensive effects on human adipocyte gene expression, consistent with low O(2) tension underlying adipose tissue dysfunction in obesity.

Buildings and Crowds: Forming Smart Cities for More Effective Disaster Management

Abstract: During the recent years, several advances about smart environments are taking place The challenge of transforming cities to 'smart' cities aims to combine competitiveness and sustainable urban development simultaneously This is taking place through the combination of traditional urban environment, governmental and social functions with modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) providing e-services At the same time, next generation technologies community puts efforts on issues associated with the development of community-based services that aim to capture and assess large amounts of data in a systematic collaborative manner Thus, the concept of crowd sourcing becomes quite popular In this paper we focus on discussing whether crowd sourcing can be facilitated in the contexts of smart buildings and cities in order to support a more effective and efficient integrated disaster management approach Within this context, we exemplify the approach using few model architecture diagrams

Acute hypoxia and exercise improve insulin sensitivity (SI2*) in individuals with type 2 diabetes

Abstract: Background : Hypoxia has been shown to increase glucose uptake in skeletal muscle using the contraction-stimulated pathway, independent of the actions of insulin. Yet, the same stress has also been linked with causing insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of acute hypoxia with and without exercise on insulin sensitivity () in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods : Eight type 2 diabetic patients completed 60 min of the following: (1) normoxic rest; (2) hypoxic rest [O2 = 14.6 (0.4)%]; (3) normoxic exercise and (4) hypoxic exercise [O2 = 14.6 (0.4)%]. Exercise trials were set at 90% of lactate threshold. Each condition was followed by a labelled intravenous glucose tolerance test to provide estimations of insulin sensitivity () and ?-cell function. Results : Two-compartmental analysis showed that insulin sensitivity () was higher following hypoxic rest compared with normoxic rest (p = 0.047). Insulin sensitivity () was also higher following hypoxic exercise [4.37 (0.48) × 10?4/min (µU/mL)] compared with normoxic exercise [3.24 (0.51) × 10?4/min (µU/mL)] (p = 0.048). Acute insulin response to glucose was reduced following hypoxic rest versus normoxic rest (p = 0.014). Conclusions : This study demonstrated that (1) hypoxic-induced improvements in glucose tolerance in the 4 h following exposure can be attributed to improvements in peripheral insulin sensitivity () and (2) exercise and hypoxia have an additive effect on insulin sensitivity () in type 2 diabetic patients. Acute hypoxia may therefore improve short-term glycaemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. The application of these findings in the clinic will require further investigation.