Explore the vast range of titles available.

Objectives. To measure changes in body mass index (BMI) percentiles among third- and fourth-grade students in stand-biased classrooms and traditional seated classrooms in 3 Texas elementary schools. Methods. Research staff recorded the height and weight of 380 students in 24 classrooms across the 3 schools at the beginning (2011–2012) and end (2012–2013) of the 2-year study. Results. After adjustment for grade, race/ethnicity, and gender, there was a statistically significant decrease in BMI percentile in the group that used stand-biased desks for 2 consecutive years relative to the group that used standard desks during both years. Mean BMI increased by 0.1 and 0.4 kilograms per meter squared in the treatment and control groups, respectively. The between-group difference in BMI percentile change was 5.24 (SE = 2.50; P = .037). No other covariates had a statistically significant impact on BMI percentile changes. Conclusions. Changing a classroom to a stand-biased environment had a significant effect on students’ BMI percentile, indicating the need to redesign traditional classroom environments.

House screening should protect people against malaria. We assessed whether two types of house screening—full screening of windows, doors, and closing eaves, or installation of screened ceilings—could reduce house entry of malaria vectors and frequency of anaemia in children in an area of seasonal malaria transmission. During 2006 and 2007, 500 occupied houses in and near Farafenni town in The Gambia, an area with low use of insecticide-treated bednets, were randomly assigned to receive full screening, screened ceilings, or no screening (control). Randomisation was done by computer-generated list, in permuted blocks of five houses in the ratio 2:2:1. Screening was not treated with insecticide. Exposure to mosquitoes indoors was assessed by fortnightly light trap collections during the transmission season. Primary endpoints included the number of female Anopheles gambiae sensu lato mosquitoes collected per trap per night. Secondary endpoints included frequency of anaemia (haemoglobin concentration <80 g/L) and parasitaemia at the end of the transmission season in children (aged 6 months to 10 years) who were living in the study houses. Analysis was by modified intention to treat (ITT), including all randomised houses for which there were some outcome data and all children from those houses who were sampled for haemoglobin and parasitaemia. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN51184253. 462 houses were included in the modified ITT analysis (full screening, n=188; screened ceilings, n=178; control, n=96). The mean number of A gambiae caught in houses without screening was 37·5 per trap per night (95% CI 31·6–43·3), compared with 15·2 (12·9–17·4) in houses with full screening (ratio of means 0·41, 95% CI 0·31–0·54; p<0·0001) and 19·1 (16·1–22·1) in houses with screened ceilings (ratio 0·53, 0·40–0·70; p<0·0001). 755 children completed the study, of whom 731 had complete clinical and covariate data and were used in the analysis of clinical outcomes. 30 (19%) of 158 children from control houses had anaemia, compared with 38 (12%) of 309 from houses with full screening (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0·53, 95% CI 0·29–0·97; p=0·04), and 31 (12%) of 264 from houses with screened ceilings (OR 0·51, 0·27–0·96; p=0·04). Frequency of parasitaemia did not differ between intervention and control groups. House screening substantially reduced the number of mosquitoes inside houses and could contribute to prevention of anaemia in children. Medical Research Council.

An international group of experts convened to provide guidance for employers to promote the avoidance of prolonged periods of sedentary work. The set of recommendations was developed from the totality of the current evidence, including long-term epidemiological studies and interventional studies of getting workers to stand and/or move more frequently. The evidence was ranked in quality using the four levels of the American College of Sports Medicine. The derived guidance is as follows: for those occupations which are predominantly desk based, workers should aim to initially progress towards accumulating 2 h/day of standing and light activity (light walking) during working hours, eventually progressing to a total accumulation of 4 h/day (prorated to part-time hours). To achieve this, seated-based work should be regularly broken up with standing-based work, the use of sit–stand desks, or the taking of short active standing breaks. Along with other health promotion goals (improved nutrition, reducing alcohol, smoking and stress), companies should also promote among their staff that prolonged sitting, aggregated from work and in leisure time, may significantly and independently increase the risk of cardiometabolic diseases and premature mortality. It is appreciated that these recommendations should be interpreted in relation to the evidence from which they were derived, largely observational and retrospective studies, or short-term interventional studies showing acute cardiometabolic changes. While longer term intervention studies are required, the level of consistent evidence accumulated to date, and the public health context of rising chronic diseases, suggest initial guidelines are justified. We hope these guidelines stimulate future research, and that greater precision will be possible within future iterations.

Background Sit-stand desk interventions have the potential to reduce workplace sedentary behaviour and improve employee health. However, the extent of sit-stand desk use varies between employees and in different organisational contexts. Framed by organisational cultural theory and product design theory, this study examined employees’ lived experience of taking part in a workplace sit-stand desk intervention, to understand the processes influencing feasibility and acceptability. Methods Participant observations and qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 employees from two office-based workplaces in the UK, as part of a process evaluation that ran alongside a pilot RCT of a workplace sit-stand desk intervention. Observational field notes and transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes related to the experience of using a sit-stand desk at work were generated: employees’ relationship with their sit-stand desk; aspirations and outcomes related to employee health and productivity; and cultural norms and interpersonal relationships. The perceived usability of the desk varied depending on how employees interacted with the desk within their personal and organisational context. Employees reported that the perceived influence of the desk on their productivity levels shaped use of the desk; those who perceived that standing increased energy and alertness tended to stand more often. Sit-stand desks were voiced as being more acceptable than intervention strategies that involve leaving the desk, as productivity was conflated with being at the desk. Conclusions The findings indicate a range of organisational, social-cultural and individual-level factors that shape the feasibility and acceptability of sit-stand desk use, and suggest strategies for improving employees’ experiences of using a sit-stand desk at work, which might positively influence sedentary behaviour reduction and health. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02172599 , 22nd June 2014 (prospectively registered).

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effectiveness of a 3-month treadmill desk intervention in eliciting changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior among overweight/obese office workers. METHODS:A randomized controlled trial was conducted among overweight/obese office workers (n = 41; mean age = 40.1 ± 10.1 years) at a private workplace. Participants were randomly assigned to a shared-treadmill desk intervention (n = 21) or a usual working condition control group (n = 20). Accelerometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured before and after the intervention. RESULTS:Compared with the control group, the intervention group increased daily steps (1622 steps/day; P = 0.013) and light physical activity (1.6 minutes/hour; P = 0.008), and decreased sedentary time (−3.6 minutes/hour; P = 0.047) during working hours. CONCLUSIONS:Shared-treadmill desks in the workplace can be effective at promoting favorable changes in light physical activity (specifically 40 to 99 steps/minute) and sedentary behavior among overweight/obese office workers.

Background Globally, 39 million people are blind, and an additional 246 million experience moderate to severe visual impairment (WHO, 2021). These impairments severely affect navigation, safety, and daily—task performance. Studies show that 70% of individuals with visual impairments face falls annually, and many report challenges with spatial awareness and cognitive load. Adaptive design offers solutions that utilize sensory input, spatial predictability, and barrier-free layouts to address these challenges. This study explores accessible interior design principles to empower visually impaired individuals with greater independence and comfort in their homes. This study investigates the principles of adaptive design in creating safe, independent, and comfortable living spaces for individuals with visual impairments, a condition affecting over 285 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The research emphasizes barrier-free environments with unobstructed pathways, tactile and auditory cues, and consistent spatial arrangements to enhance accessibility. By integrating sensory elements like contrasting textures, lighting, and acoustic treatments, the project aims to foster spatial awareness, safety, and autonomy. Engaging visually impaired residents in the design process ensured tailored solutions that empower independence and well-being. The findings highlight the transformative potential of inclusive design in enriching the daily lives of those with visual challenges. Methods The research involved case studies, user interviews, and participatory design workshops with visually impaired individuals aged between 18 and 75. Key challenges included trip hazards, inconsistent layouts, and sensory overload. Design strategies such as tactile navigation systems, acoustic enhancements, and optimized lighting layouts were tested. Tactile navigation systems use textured flooring, Braille signage, and raised pathways to aid visually impaired individuals. Acoustic enhancements include sound cues, echolocation-friendly materials, and noise reduction techniques to improve spatial awareness. Optimized lighting layouts feature uniform illumination, glare reduction, and adaptive lighting to enhance visibility. These strategies are implemented through tactile paving, contrasting textures, natural sound sources, sound-absorbing panels, motion-activated LEDs, and diffused lighting. Together, they create an accessible environment that enhances safety, independence, and ease of navigation for visually impaired individuals, ensuring a more intuitive and user-friendly spatial experience. Over 80% of participants highlighted the need for tactile and auditory cues to aid navigation. Feedback loops ensured practical and effective outcomes. Results Implementing adaptive design features resulted in a 40% reduction in reported falls and a 25% decrease in cognitive fatigue during navigation. Textured handrails, non-glare materials, and consistent furniture placement improved confidence in navigation for 90% of participants. Enhanced lighting solutions, such as natural and task lighting, were appreciated by 75% of users, while acoustic treatments improved spatial awareness for 65%. Conclusions Adaptive design demonstrates immense potential in transforming residential spaces for visually impaired individuals. By integrating multi-sensory elements and prioritizing user-centric approaches, these designs foster independence, dignity, and improved quality of life. The findings highlight that inclusive design strategies can address challenges faced by over 1.3 billion people globally with some form of visual or functional impairment, underscoring the need for wider adoption.

Due to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity, the association between classroom furniture and energy expenditure as well as physical activity was examined using a standing-desk intervention in three central-Texas elementary schools. Of the 480 students in the 24 classrooms randomly assigned to either a seated or stand-biased desk equipped classroom, 374 agreed to participate in a week-long data collection during the fall and spring semesters. Each participant’s data was collected using Sensewear® armbands and was comprised of measures of energy expenditure (EE) and step count. A hierarchical linear mixed effects model showed that children in seated desk classrooms had significantly lower (EE) and fewer steps during the standardized lecture time than children in stand-biased classrooms after adjusting for grade, race, and gender. The use of a standing desk showed a significant higher mean energy expenditure by 0.16 kcal/min (p < 0.0001) in the fall semester, and a higher EE by 0.08 kcal/min (p = 0.0092) in the spring semester.

Precautions taken before an earthquake are of vital importance. When buildings collapse, the weight of the ceiling crushes objects such as furniture, leaving a space or void within the rubble. This area is called the \"triangle of life.\" The larger and stronger the object, the more it will maintain its volume; the more the object maintains its volume, the larger the void will be, and the less likely it is that the person who uses this void will be injured. Durable, solid furniture such as beds and tables that can be tipped over during an earthquake in appropriate areas in the building can form a living triangle. Creating and using the triangle of life is the method of protection in an earthquake that produces the highest probability of survival. Two earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 occurred in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, on February 6, 2023. This report presents the case of a 43-y-old female victim of these earthquakes who used the triangle of life to survive; she was removed from the rubble 164 h after the earthquake. The case provides evidence that predetermining areas in which the triangle of life can be formed and storing supplies necessary for survival can decrease morbidity and mortality in an earthquake.