An Exploratory Study to Assess the Knowledge, Perception, Practice and Factors Influencing Non-adherence to Regular Exercise Regime among Elderly Women in Selected Community of Delhi

Introduction: The profound shift in the proportion of older or elderly Indians, taking place in the context of changing family relationships and limited social support system will bring with it a variety of social, economic and health care policy challenges.Objectives: The primary objective of the study was to assess the Knowledge, Perception and Practice of regular exercise regime among elderly women and to determine the factors influencing regular exercise regime among elderly women.Methods: The quantitative research approach with an exploratory survey research design was selected. 100 elderly women belonging to age group of 60-80 years were selected using purposive sampling technique from Tughlakabad extension, an urban area of Delhi. A structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. The data obtained was tabulated in Microsoft Excel Spread Sheet and was analyzed in terms of objective of the study using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The findings revealed that majority of the women were having average knowledge (80%) and good perception (89%) but almost half of them (48%) were having poor practice of regular exercise. The most common reasons for non-adherence to regular exercise regime were that exercise can be replaced with house hold works (71%) and difficulty to find time from busy schedule (67%). Knowledge and perception, knowledge and practice were found to be significantly related. A significant association was observed with knowledge regarding exercise regime and educational status of women whereas practice was found significantly associated with their family income, education and working status.Conclusion: The study findings revealed that although the elderly women had good perception and average knowledge about the regular exercise regime, their practice for the same was poor. It was observed that elderly women had access to public amenities like parks for walking and open gym for practicing different exercises so there is a need for motivation, encouragement and support from the family members and society so that they can utilize these facilities

Intake, Digestibility and Rate of Passage of Grass in Grazing by Light Breed Horses on Different Pastures

In a previous study, grazing light breed horses could ingest CP and DE requirements for maintenance without supplements. However, their grazing behaviour, such as biting and chewing efficiency, which related to the passage rate of forage in the digestive tract and fibre digestibility, was affected by the pasture conditions (Kawai et al., 2004). In this study, the DM intake, digestibility and mean retention time (MRT) of grass in light breed horses were determined and compared in spring, summer and autumn on an improved pasture

The THREAT-ARREST Cyber-Security Training Platform

Cyber security is always a main concern for critical infrastructures and nation-wide safety and sustainability. Thus, advanced cyber ranges and security training is becoming imperative for the involved organizations. This paper presets a cyber security training platform, called THREAT-ARREST. The various platform modules can analyze an organization’s system, identify the most critical threats, and tailor a training program to its personnel needs. Then, different training programmes are created based on the trainee types (i.e. administrator, simple operator, etc.), providing several teaching procedures and accomplishing diverse learning goals. One of the main novelties of THREAT-ARREST is the modelling of these programmes along with the runtime monitoring, management, and evaluation operations. The platform is generic. Nevertheless, its applicability in a smart energy case study is detailed

Studies of wolf x coyote hybridization via artificial insemination

Following the production of western gray wolf (Canis lupus) x western coyote (Canis latrans) hybrids via artificial insemination (AI), the present article documents that the hybrids survived in captivity for at least 4 years and successfully bred with each other. It further reports that backcrossing one of the hybrids to a male gray wolf by AI also resulted in the birth of live pups that have survived for at least 10 months. All male hybrids (F1 and F2) produced sperm by about 10 months of age, and sperm quality of the F1 males fell within the fertile range for domestic dogs, but sperm motility and morphology, in particular, were low in F2 males at 10 months but improved in samples taken at 22 months of age. These studies are relevant to a long-standing controversy about the identity of the red wolf (Canis rufus), the existence of a proposed new species (Canis lycaon) of gray wolf, and to the role of hybridization in mammalian evolution

Targeting the neurophysiology of cognitive systems with transcranial alternating current stimulation

Cognitive impairment represents one of the most debilitating and most difficult symptom to treat of many psychiatric illnesses. Human neurophysiology studies have suggested specific pathologies of cortical network activity correlate with cognitive impairment. However, we lack (1) demonstration of causal relationships between specific network activity patterns and cognitive capabilities and (2) treatment modalities that directly target impaired network dynamics of cognition. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a novel non-invasive brain stimulation approach, may provide a crucial tool to tackle these challenges. We here propose that tACS can be used to elucidate the causal role of cortical synchronization in cognition and, eventually, to enhance pathologically weakened synchrony that may underlie cognitive deficits. To accelerate such development of tACS as a treatment for cognitive deficits, we discuss studies on tACS and cognition (all performed in healthy participants) according to the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) of the National Institute of Mental Health

The FGFR4-G388R Polymorphism Promotes Mitochondrial STAT3 Serine Phosphorylation to Facilitate Pituitary Growth Hormone Cell Tumorigenesis

Pituitary tumors are common intracranial neoplasms, yet few germline abnormalities have been implicated in their pathogenesis. Here we show that a single nucleotide germline polymorphism (SNP) substituting an arginine (R) for glycine (G) in the FGFR4 transmembrane domain can alter pituitary cell growth and hormone production. Compared with FGFR4-G388 mammosomatotroph cells that support prolactin (PRL) production, FGFR4-R388 cells express predominantly growth hormone (GH). Growth promoting effects of FGFR4-R388 as evidenced by enhanced colony formation was ascribed to Src activation and mitochondrial serine phosphorylation of STAT3 (pS-STAT3). In contrast, diminished pY-STAT3 mediated by FGFR4-R388 relieved GH inhibition leading to hormone excess. Using a knock-in mouse model, we demonstrate the ability of FGFR4-R385 to promote GH pituitary tumorigenesis. In patients with acromegaly, pituitary tumor size correlated with hormone excess in the presence of the FGFR4-R388 but not the FGFR4-G388 allele. Our findings establish a new role for the FGFR4-G388R polymorphism in pituitary oncogenesis, providing a rationale for targeting Src and STAT3 in the personalized treatment of associated disorders

Feedback cooling of a nanomechanical resonator

Cooled, low-loss nanomechanical resonators offer the prospect of directly observing the quantum dynamics of mesoscopic systems. However, the present state of the art requires cooling down to the milliKelvin regime in order to observe quantum effects. Here we present an active feedback strategy based on continuous observation of the resonator position for the purpose of obtaining these low temperatures. In addition, we apply this to an experimentally realizable configuration, where the position monitoring is carried out by a single-electron transistor. Our estimates indicate that with current technology this technique is likely to bring the required low temperatures within reach.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex4, 4 color eps figure