Effects of chronic exercise on severity, quality of life and functionality in an elderly Parkinson’s disease patient: case report

Exercise produces potential influences on physical and mental capacity in patients with neuropsychiatric disor- ders, and can be made a viable form of therapy to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD). We report the chronic effects of a regu- lar physical exercise protocol on cognitive and motor functions, functional capacity, and symptoms in an elderly PD pa- tient without dementia. The patient participated of a program composed of proprioceptive, aerobic and flexibility exer- cises, during 1 hour, three days a week, for nine months. Patient used 600 mg of L-DOPA daily, and 1 hour prior to each exercise session. Assessment was conducted in three stages, 0-3, 3-6 and 6 to 9 months, using percentual variation to the scales Hoehn and Yahr, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Parkinson Activity Scale (PAS), Beck Depression In- ventory (BDI), and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III). Reassessment showed clear changes in clini- cal parameters for Hoehn and Yahr (4 to 2.5), MMSE (14 to 22), PAS (13 to 29), BDI (9 to 7) and UPDRS-III (39 to 27) at the end of 9 months. According to our data, exercise seems to be effective in promoting the functional capacity and the maintenance of cognitive and motor functions of PD patients. Regular exercise protocols can be implemented as an ad- junctive treatment for reducing the severity of PD

Physical activity interventions in schools for improving lifestyle in European countries

Background : In the last decades, children’s and adolescents’ obesity and overweight have increased in European Countries. Unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle have been recognized to determine such an epidemic. Schools represent an ideal setting to modify harmful behaviors, and physical activity could be regarded as a potential way to avoid the metabolic risks related to obesity. Methods : A systematic review of the literature was carried out to summarize the evidence of school-based interventions aimed to promote, enhance and implement physical activity in European schools. Only randomized controlled trials were included, carried out in Europe from January 2000 to April 2014, universally delivered and targeting pupils aged between 3 and 18 years old. Results : Forty-seven studies were retrieved based either on multicomponent interventions or solely physical activity programs. Most aimed to prevent obesity and cardiovascular risks among youths. While few studies showed a decrease in BMI, positive results were achieved on other outcomes, such as metabolic parameters and physical fitness. Conclusion : Physical activity in schools should be regarded as a simple, non-expensive and enjoyable way to reach all the children and adolescents with adequate doses of moderate to vigorous physical activity

Retrospective Investigation of an Influenza A/H1N1pdm Outbreak in an Italian Military Ship Cruising in the Mediterranean Sea, May-September 2009

BACKGROUND: Clinical surveillance may have underestimated the real extent of the spread of the new strain of influenza A/H1N1, which surfaced in April 2009 originating the first influenza pandemic of the 21(st) century. Here we report a serological investigation on an influenza A/H1N1pdm outbreak in an Italian military ship while cruising in the Mediterranean Sea (May 24-September 6, 2009). METHODS: The contemporary presence of HAI and CF antibodies was used to retrospectively estimate the extent of influenza A/H1N1pdm spread across the crew members (median age: 29 years). FINDINGS: During the cruise, 2 crew members fulfilled the surveillance case definition for influenza, but only one was laboratory confirmed by influenza A/H1N1pdm-specific RT-PCR; 52 reported acute respiratory illness (ARI) episodes, and 183 reported no ARI episodes. Overall, among the 211 crew member for whom a valid serological result was available, 39.3% tested seropositive for influenza A/H1N1pdm. The proportion of seropositives was significantly associated with more crowded living quarters and tended to be higher in those aged <40 and in those reporting ARI or suspected/confirmed influenza A/H1N1pdm compared to the asymptomatic individuals. No association was found with previous seasonal influenza vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: These findings underline the risk for rapid spread of novel strains of influenza A in confined environment, such as military ships, where crowding, rigorous working environment, physiologic stress occur. The high proportion of asymptomatic infections in this ship-borne outbreak supports the concept that serological surveillance in such semi-closed communities is essential to appreciate the real extent of influenza A/H1N1pdm spread and can constitute, since the early stage of a pandemic, an useful model to predict the public health impact of pandemic influenza and to establish proportionate and effective countermeasures

J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr

BackgroundCervical cancer is a major public health problem in resource-limited settings, particularly among HIV-infected women. Given the challenges of cytology-based approaches, the efficiency of new screening programs need to be assessed.SettingCommunity and hospital-based clinics in Gaborone, Botswana.ObjectiveTo determine the feasibility, and efficiency of the \u201cSee and Treat\u201d approach using Visual Inspection Acetic Acid (VIA) and Enhanced Digital Imaging (EDI) for cervical cancer prevention in HIV-infected women.MethodsA two-tier community-based cervical cancer prevention program was implemented. HIV-infected women were screened by nurses at the community using the VIA/EDI approach. Low-grade lesions were treated with cryotherapy on the same visit.ResultsFrom March 2009 through January 2011, 2,175 patients were screened for cervical cancer at our community-based clinic. 253 (11.6%) were found to have low-grade lesions and received same-day cryotherapy. 1,347 (61.9%) women were considered to have a normal examination and 575 (27.3%) were referred for further evaluation and treatment. Of the 1,347 women initially considered to have normal exams, 267 (19.8%) were recalled based on weekly quality control assessments. 210 (78.6%) of the 267 recalled women and 499 (86.8%) of the 575 referred women were seen at the referral clinic. Of these 709 women, 506 (71.4%) required additional treatment. Overall, 264 CIN stage 2 or 3 were identified and treated, and six micro-invasive cancers identified were referred for further management.ConclusionsOur \u201cSee and Treat\u201d cervical cancer prevention program using the VIA/EDI approach is a feasible, high-output and high-efficiency program, worthy of considering as an additional cervical cancer screening method in Botswana, especially for women with limited access to the current cytology-based screening services.20122014-01-08T00:00:00ZP30 AI045008/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United StatesU2G PS001949/PS/NCHHSTP CDC HHS/United States1U2GPS001949/PHS HHS/United StatesIP30 AI 45008/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States22134146PMC388408

Accelerating root system phenotyping of seedlings through a computer-assisted processing pipeline

Background: There are numerous systems and techniques to measure the growth of plant roots. However, phenotyping large numbers of plant roots for breeding and genetic analyses remains challenging. One major difficulty is to achieve high throughput and resolution at a reasonable cost per plant sample. Here we describe a cost-effective root phenotyping pipeline, on which we perform time and accuracy benchmarking to identify bottlenecks in such pipelines and strategies for their acceleration. Results: Our root phenotyping pipeline was assembled with custom software and low cost material and equipment. Results show that sample preparation and handling of samples during screening are the most time consuming task in root phenotyping. Algorithms can be used to speed up the extraction of root traits from image data, but when applied to large numbers of images, there is a trade-off between time of processing the data and errors contained in the database. Conclusions: Scaling-up root phenotyping to large numbers of genotypes will require not only automation of sample preparation and sample handling, but also efficient algorithms for error detection for more reliable replacement of manual interventions

Emerging IT risks: insights from German banking

How do German banks manage the emerging risks stemming from IT innovations such as cyber risk? With a focus on process, roles and responsibilities, field data from ten banks participating in the 2014 ECB stress test were collected by interviewing IT managers, risk managers and external experts. Current procedures for handling emerging risks in German banks were identified from the interviews and analysed, guided by the extant literature. A clear gap was found between enterprise risk management (ERM) as a general approach to risks threatening firms’ objectives and ERM’s neglect of emerging risks, such as those associated with IT innovations. The findings suggest that ERM should be extended towards the collection and sharing of knowledge to allow for an initial understanding and description of emerging risks, as opposed to the traditional ERM approach involving estimates of impact and probability. For example, as cyber risks emerge from an IT innovation, the focus may need to switch towards reducing uncertainty through knowledge acquisition. Since individual managers seldom possess all relevant knowledge of an IT innovation, various stakeholders may need to be involved to exploit their expertise

Molecular Dynamics of Mesophilic-Like Mutants of a Cold-Adapted Enzyme: Insights into Distal Effects Induced by the Mutations

Networks and clusters of intramolecular interactions, as well as their “communication” across the three-dimensional architecture have a prominent role in determining protein stability and function. Special attention has been dedicated to their role in thermal adaptation. In the present contribution, seven previously experimentally characterized mutants of a cold-adapted α-amylase, featuring mesophilic-like behavior, have been investigated by multiple molecular dynamics simulations, essential dynamics and analyses of correlated motions and electrostatic interactions. Our data elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the ability of single and multiple mutations to globally modulate dynamic properties of the cold-adapted α-amylase, including both local and complex unpredictable distal effects. Our investigation also shows, in agreement with the experimental data, that the conversion of the cold-adapted enzyme in a warm-adapted variant cannot be completely achieved by the introduction of few mutations, also providing the rationale behind these effects. Moreover, pivotal residues, which are likely to mediate the effects induced by the mutations, have been identified from our analyses, as well as a group of suitable candidates for protein engineering. In fact, a subset of residues here identified (as an isoleucine, or networks of mesophilic-like salt bridges in the proximity of the catalytic site) should be considered, in experimental studies, to get a more efficient modification of the features of the cold-adapted enzyme