Impact of type, intensity, frequency, duration and volume of physical activity on dementia and mild cognitive impairment in older adults: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Worldwide, the prevalence of degenerative diseases such as dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is increasing with population ageing and increasing life expectancy. Both conditions share modifiable risk factors. Physical inactivity is one of these modifiable risk factors, and research points to the protective effect of physical activity on the incidence of dementia and MCI. However, this association tends to change according to type, intensity, frequency, duration and volume of physical activity. Furthermore, it remains unclear which of these characteristics offers the greatest protective effect. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of different types, intensities, frequencies, duration and volume of physical activity on dementia and cognitive decline in older adults. Methods and analysis The search will be carried out from October 2023, using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL and Web of Science. Cohort studies with a follow-up time of 1 year or longer that have investigated the incidence of dementia and/or MCI in older adults exposed to physical activity will be included. There will be no limitations on the date of publication of the studies. Studies published in English, Spanish or Portuguese will be analysed. Two researchers will independently screen the articles and extract the data. Any discrepancies will be resolved by a third reviewer. Association measures will be quantified, including OR, HR, relative risk and incidence ratio, with a 95% CI. If the data allow, a meta-analysis will be performed. To assess the methodological quality of the selected studies, the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations instrument, and the Downs and Black instrument to assess the risk of bias, will be used. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required. The results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration number CRD42023400411

The PML-RAR alpha transcript in long-term follow-up of acute promyelocytic leukemia patients

Background and Objectives. Detection of PML-RAR alpha transcripts by RT-PCR is now established as a rapid and sensitive method for diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), Although the majority of patients in longterm clinical remission are negative by consecutive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays, negative tests are still observed in patients who ultimately relapse. Conversion from negative to positive PCR has been observed after consolidation and found to be a much stronger predictor of relapse. This study reports on 47 APL patients to determine the correlation between minimal residual disease (MRD) status and clinical outcome in our cohort of patients. Design and Methods. The presence of PML-RAR alpha t transcripts was investigated in 47 APL patients (37 adults and 10 children) using a semi-nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the prognostic value of RT-PCR tests. Results. All patients achieved complete clinical remission (CCR) following induction treatment with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and chemotherapy (CHT) or ATRA alone. Patients were followed up between 2 and 117.6 months (median: 37 months). Relapses occurred in 11 patients (9 adults and 2 children) between 11.4 and 19 months after diagnosis (median: 15.1 months) while 36 patients (28 adults and 8 children) remained in CCR, Seventy-five percent of patients carried the PML-RARa long isoform (bcr 1/2) which also predominated among the relapsed cases (9 of 11) but did not associate with any adverse outcome (p = 0.37), For the purpose of this analysis, minimal residual disease tests were clustered into four time-intervals: 0-2 months, 3-5 months, 5-9 months and 10-24 months. Interpretation and Conclusions. Children showed persisting disease for longer than adults during the first 2 months of treatment, At 2 months, 10 (50%) of 20 patients who remained in CCR and 4 (80%) of 5 patients who subsequently relapsed were positive. Patients who remained in CCR had repeatedly negative results beyond 5.5 months from diagnosis. A positive MRD test preceded relapse in 3 of 4 tested patients. The ability of a negative test to predict CCR (predictive negative value, PNV) was greater after 6 months (> 83%), while the ability of a positive test to predict relapse (predictive positive value, PPV) was most valuable only beyond 10 months (100%). This study (i) highlights the prognostic value of RT-PCR monitoring after treatment of APL patients but only from the end of treatment, (ii) shows an association between conversion to a positive test and relapse and (iii) suggests that PCR assessments should be carried out at 3-month intervals to provide a more accurate prediction of hematologic relapses but only after the end of treatment, (C) 2001, Ferrata Storti Foundatio

Antibiosis in Ascia monuste orseis Godart (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) caused by kale genotypes

Ascia monuste orseis (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is one of the main insect pests of kale. The study was done to  identify kale varieties resistant to A. monuste orseis by the antibiosis resistance mechanism. Kale genotypes (26) were evaluated in experiments performed at the Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Goiano Federal Institute - Campus Urutaí. A completely randomized experimental design with 50 replicates was used. The biological parameters evaluated were (a) larval stage: development time, instars, viability and larval weight 15 days after hatching; (b) pupal stage: development time, weight of 24-h-old pupae, viability; (c) larvae-adult stage: development time and viability. The genotypes Gigante I-915 and Pires 1 de Campinas have antibiosis resistance. Gigante I-915 caused high larval mortality and Pires 1 de Campinas resulted in low larval and pupal viability of A. monuste orseis.Key words: Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala, Brassicaceae, Great Southern White, host plant resistance, integrated pest management (IPM)

Introducing social sustainability aspects in supplier selection : the role of governmental intervention

This paper aims to understand how governmental intervention can drive organisations to adopt social sustainability aspects in their supplier selection process. The successful case study of the recent introduction of the In-Country-Value program at the Oil and Gas sector of Oman is examined. A survey and interviews with supply chain, contracting and procurement managers were conducted and the primary data was analysed. Governmental intervention was found capable of driving organisations to adopt social sustainability aspects in their supplier selection process, but leads to a 'cap' bounded by governmental requirements if the motivation does not come from within the organisations

Elastic properties of graphyne-based nanotubes

Graphyne nanotubes (GNTs) are nanostructures obtained from rolled up graphyne sheets, in the same way carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are obtained from graphene ones. Graphynes are 2D carbon-allotropes composed of atoms in sp and sp2 hybridized states. Similarly to conventional CNTs, GNTs can present different chiralities and electronic properties. Because of the acetylenic groups (triple bonds), GNTs exhibit large sidewall pores that influence their mechanical properties. In this work, we studied the mechanical response of GNTs under tensile stress using fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our results show that GNTs mechanical failure (fracture) occurs at larger strain values in comparison to corresponding CNTs, but paradoxically with smaller ultimate strength and Young's modulus values. This is a consequence of the combined effects of the existence of triple bonds and increased porosity/flexibility due to the presence of acetylenic groups

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Education: a Systematic Review of Distance Learning, Student’s Perceptions, and Mental Health

INTRODUCTION: the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on mortality and several adverse health outcomes. It has also affected education as schools and universities had to adapt to remote learning due to social isolation strategies. OBJECTIVE: to analyze the pandemic’s impact on medical education including undergraduate and graduate students and lecturers, as follow: i) teaching methods adopted by education institutes during shutdown, ii) students and lecturers’ perceptions and iii) impacts on students’ mental health. METHODS: this systematic review includes the following study designs: cross-sectional, surveys, case-control, cohort, and clinical trials. The literature search was performed in four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and SciELO . The risk of bias and the quality of the evidence were evaluated. RESULTS: a total of 1,576 articles were identified through searching databases, and 40 articles were included. We found the use of several teaching methods such as virtual platforms and social media, pre-recorded videos, discussion forums and others. Student’s challenges related to interference during online study such as family distractions, lack of a study room, challenges with internet connectivity, difficulties in communication between students and lecturers, gaps encountered during clinical skills learning. Lecturers’ challenges were difficulty in grasping students’ progress and learning outcomes and the lack of experience in online teaching. Only five studies explored mental health issues of medical students and found the occurrence of depression, anxiety, and stress. However, their prevalence was not comparable due to the use of different diagnostic instruments. CONCLUSION: there has been a wide range of teaching methods implemented for distance learning of medical students globally. The perceptions of medical students about these methods and their impact were also varied. Infrastructure, family, and curriculum problems represented the greatest difficulties in adherence and satisfaction with distance learning. However, the flexibility of digital learning was one of the factors that helped reduce these problems. Regarding mental health, the occurrence of anxiety, depression, and stress was reported

Prevalence of gonorrhea and chlamydia in a community clinic for men who have sex with men in Lisbon, Portugal

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at greater risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Data on MSM chlamydia and gonorrhea prevalence estimates and associated risk factors are scarce. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the prevalence and the determinants of both chlamydia and gonorrhea infections in MSM in Portugal. We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from 1832 visits to CheckpointLX, a community-based center for screening blood-borne viruses and other STIs in MSM. Overall prevalence of chlamydia or gonorrhea in our sample was 16.05%, with 14.23% coinfection and 40.73% asymptomatic presentation among those testing positive. Anorectal infection was most common for chlamydia (67.26%), followed by urethral (24.78%) and oral (19.47%) infection. Oral infection was most common for gonorrhea (55.63%), followed by anal (51.25%) and urethral (17.50%) infection. In multivariate analyses, young age (U = 94684, p = 0.014), being foreign-born (χ2 = 11.724, p = 0.003), reporting STI symptoms (χ2 = 5.316, p = 0.021), inhaled drug use (χ2 = 4.278, p = 0.039) and having a higher number of concurrent (χ2 = 18.769, p < 0.001) or total (χ2 = 5.988, p = 0.050) sexual partners were each associated with higher rates of chlamydia or gonorrhea infection. Young and migrant MSM are a vulnerable population to STIs, as are those who use inhaled drugs and those with a higher number of concurrent or total sexual partners. Although Portugal has no guidelines on chlamydia and gonorrhea screening, our results point toward a need for greater awareness about the importance of high-frequency screening for those at increased risk (i.e., every three to six months).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crop variety management for climate adaptation supported by citizen science

publishedVersio

‘Framing the project’ of international human rights law: Reflections on the dysfunctional ‘family’ of the Universal Declaration

Full text embargoed until November 2013.The task of ‘framing the project’ of international human rights law is daunting to say the least. First, there is the sheer enormity and complexity of the international human rights law ‘project’: adequately mapping the subject and its key related issues is impossible in a whole book, let alone a short chapter. Secondly, it is daunting because of the sense of epistemic responsibility involved. Every framing inevitably involves selection – if not pre-selection – through the conscious (and/or unconscious) placing of focus upon features or factors considered to be significant and/or valuable. As Gitlin puts it, framing is a way of choosing, underlining and presenting ‘what exists, what happens and what matters’. In this sense, the founding document (or as Entman might put it, the inaugural ‘communicating text’) of international human rights law (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR) functions as a particularly potent form of framing, for it selects aspects of perceived reality, making them not just salient but symbolically central to the entire philosophical, moral, juridical order designated by the term ‘international human rights law’