Objectively Measured Physical Activity Reduces the Risk of Mortality among Brazilian Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: Use of objectively measured physical activity (PA) in older adults to assess relationship between PA and risk of all-causes mortality is scarce. This study evaluated the associations of PA based on accelerometry and a questionnaire with the risk of mortality among older adults from a city in Southern Brazil. DESIGN: A cohort study. SETTING: Urban area of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: A representative sample of older adults (≥60 y) from Pelotas, enrolled in 2014. MEASUREMENTS: Overall physical activity (mg), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were estimated by raw accelerometer data. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire estimated leisure time and commuting PA. Hazard ratios (excluding deaths in the first 6 mo) stratified by sex were estimated by Cox regression analysis considering adjustment for confounders. RESULTS: From the 1451 older adults interviewed in 2014, 145 died (10%) after a follow-up of an average 2.6 years. Men and women in the highest tertile of overall PA had on average a 77% and 92% lower risk of mortality than their less active counterparts (95% confidence interval [CI] = .06-.84 and 95% CI = .01-.65, respectively). The highest tertile of LPA was also related to a lower risk of mortality in individuals of both sexes (74% and 91% lower risk among men and women, respectively). MVPA statistically reduced the risk of mortality only among women (hazard ratio [HR] = .30 and HR = .07 in the second and third tertiles). Self-reported leisure-time PA was statistically associated with a lower risk of mortality only among men. Women in the highest tertiles of commuting PA showed a lower risk of mortality than those in the reference group. CONCLUSION: Accelerometry-based PA was associated with a lower risk of mortality among Brazilian older adults. Older individuals should practice any type of PA. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:137-146, 2019

Objectively Measured Physical Activity Reduces the Risk of Mortality among Brazilian Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: Use of objectively measured physical activity (PA) in older adults to assess relationship between PA and risk of all-causes mortality is scarce. This study evaluated the associations of PA based on accelerometry and a questionnaire with the risk of mortality among older adults from a city in Southern Brazil. DESIGN: A cohort study. SETTING: Urban area of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: A representative sample of older adults (≥60 y) from Pelotas, enrolled in 2014. MEASUREMENTS: Overall physical activity (mg), light physical activity (LPA), and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were estimated by raw accelerometer data. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire estimated leisure time and commuting PA. Hazard ratios (excluding deaths in the first 6 mo) stratified by sex were estimated by Cox regression analysis considering adjustment for confounders. RESULTS: From the 1451 older adults interviewed in 2014, 145 died (10%) after a follow-up of an average 2.6 years. Men and women in the highest tertile of overall PA had on average a 77% and 92% lower risk of mortality than their less active counterparts (95% confidence interval [CI] = .06-.84 and 95% CI = .01-.65, respectively). The highest tertile of LPA was also related to a lower risk of mortality in individuals of both sexes (74% and 91% lower risk among men and women, respectively). MVPA statistically reduced the risk of mortality only among women (hazard ratio [HR] = .30 and HR = .07 in the second and third tertiles). Self-reported leisure-time PA was statistically associated with a lower risk of mortality only among men. Women in the highest tertiles of commuting PA showed a lower risk of mortality than those in the reference group. CONCLUSION: Accelerometry-based PA was associated with a lower risk of mortality among Brazilian older adults. Older individuals should practice any type of PA. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:137-146, 2019

The effects of two early parenting interventions on child aggression and risk for violence in Brazil (The PIÁ Trial): protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background Children in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at high risk for exposure to violence and later violent behaviour. The World Health Organization has declared an urgent need for the evaluation and implementation of low-cost parenting interventions in LMICs to prevent violence. Two areas of significant early risk are harsh parenting and poor child cognitive and socio-emotional development. Parenting interventions suitable for LMIC contexts have been developed targeting these risk factors and have been shown to have promising effects. However, their impact on child aggression, a key precursor of violence, has yet to be determined. The Pelotas Trial of Parenting Interventions for Aggression (PIÁ) has been designed to address this issue. Methods We are conducting a randomised controlled trial to evaluate two early parenting interventions for mothers of children aged between 30 and 42 months in a Brazilian city. The first of these, dialogic book-sharing (DBS), aims to promote child cognitive and socio-emotional development; and the second, the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program (ACT), is designed to reduce harsh parenting. These interventions are being compared with a control group receiving neither intervention. Three hundred and sixty-nine families in a birth cohort are being randomly allocated to one of the three groups (DBS, ACT, Control). Facilitators deliver the interventions to groups of five to 10 mothers at weekly sessions for 8 weeks in DBS and 9 weeks in ACT. Independent assessments of parenting and child development are being made before the interventions, shortly afterwards, and at follow-up 6 months later. The primary outcome is child aggression, and the two main secondary outcomes are: (1) child cognitive and socio-emotional development and (2) harsh parenting. Longer-term outcomes will be investigated as the birth cohort is followed into late childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Discussion The Pelotas Trial of Parenting Interventions for Aggression (PIÁ) aims to evaluate the impact of two early parenting interventions on child aggression and several other key risk factors for the development of violence, including aspects of parenting and child cognition and socio-emotional functioning. The study is being carried out in a LMIC context where violence constitutes a major social and health burden. Since the two interventions are brief and, with modest levels of training, readily deliverable in LMIC settings, a demonstration that they benefit parenting and reduce risk factors for violence would be of major significance

Physical activity and medicine use: evidence from a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the association between physical activity practice and medicine use; data from these studies are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between level of physical activity and medicine use in adults aged 20 years or more. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the first semester of 2002 in the urban area of Pelotas; a medium-sized Southern Brazilian city. Physical activity was assessed with the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. A physical activity score was created as the weekly time spent in moderate-intensity activities plus twice the weekly time spent in vigorous-intensity activities. Medicine use in the 15 days prior to the interview was also assessed. Adjusted analyses taking into account the sampling design was carried out using Poisson regression. Wald tests for heterogeneity and linear trend were used to calculate significance. RESULTS: Out of the 3,182 individuals interviewed, 41% were not sufficiently active according to current physical activity guidelines. Only 34% of the subjects did not use medicines in the previous 15 days, and 18% used three or more drugs in the same period. Level of physical activity was inversely associated with the number of medicines used both in the crude and in the adjusted analyses. CONCLUSION: There are well-documented benefits of physical activity for several chronic diseases in the literature. Data from the present study suggest that medicine use is also positively affected by physical activity behavior

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Technology roadmap for cold-atoms based quantum inertial sensor in space

Recent developments in quantum technology have resulted in a new generation of sensors for measuring inertial quantities, such as acceleration and rotation. These sensors can exhibit unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy when operated in space, where the free-fall interrogation time can be extended at will and where the environment noise is minimal. European laboratories have played a leading role in this field by developing concepts and tools to operate these quantum sensors in relevant environment, such as parabolic flights, free-fall towers, or sounding rockets. With the recent achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation on the International Space Station, the challenge is now to reach a technology readiness level sufficiently high at both component and system levels to provide "off the shelf"payload for future generations of space missions in geodesy or fundamental physics. In this roadmap, we provide an extensive review on the status of all common parts, needs, and subsystems for the application of atom-based interferometers in space, in order to push for the development of generic technology components

STE-QUEST - Test of the Universality of Free Fall Using Cold Atom Interferometry

In this paper, we report about the results of the phase A mission study of the atom interferometer instrument covering the description of the main payload elements, the atomic source concept, and the systematic error sources

Extrinsic Fluorescent Dyes as Tools for Protein Characterization

Noncovalent, extrinsic fluorescent dyes are applied in various fields of protein analysis, e.g. to characterize folding intermediates, measure surface hydrophobicity, and detect aggregation or fibrillation. The main underlying mechanisms, which explain the fluorescence properties of many extrinsic dyes, are solvent relaxation processes and (twisted) intramolecular charge transfer reactions, which are affected by the environment and by interactions of the dyes with proteins. In recent time, the use of extrinsic fluorescent dyes such as ANS, Bis-ANS, Nile Red, Thioflavin T and others has increased, because of their versatility, sensitivity and suitability for high-throughput screening. The intention of this review is to give an overview of available extrinsic dyes, explain their spectral properties, and show illustrative examples of their various applications in protein characterization

Calibration of the CMS Drift Tube Chambers and Measurement of the Drift Velocity with Cosmic Rays

Peer reviewe