CasaClima qualty seals – a key to sustainable buildings

For CasaClima, sustainability in buildings is a holistic concept, which not only evaluates the energy efficiency but goes further by considering a broad spectrum of aspects. At the roots of the CasaClima sustainability seals lays the proven CasaClima energy efficiency certification extended by a set of criteria aimed at reducing the waste of natural resources, thereby limiting the environmental impact and assuring the wellbeing of the people who live or work in the building. The CasaClima Agency, a public and independent body, deals with all aspects related to the quality assurance of the entire construction process from the planning, to on-site audits and finally the issuing of the CasaClima certification.Tema 5: Arquitectura ambientalmente consciente.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

CryoNuSeg: A Dataset for Nuclei Instance Segmentation of Cryosectioned H&E-Stained Histological Images

Nuclei instance segmentation plays an important role in the analysis of Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)-stained images. While supervised deep learning (DL)-based approaches represent the state-of-the-art in automatic nuclei instance segmentation, annotated datasets are required to train these models. There are two main types of tissue processing protocols, namely formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples (FFPE) and frozen tissue samples (FS). Although FFPE-derived H&E stained tissue sections are the most widely used samples, H&E staining on frozen sections derived from FS samples is a relevant method in intra-operative surgical sessions as it can be performed fast. Due to differences in the protocols of these two types of samples, the derived images and in particular the nuclei appearance may be different in the acquired whole slide images. Analysis of FS-derived H&E stained images can be more challenging as rapid preparation, staining, and scanning of FS sections may lead to deterioration in image quality. In this paper, we introduce CryoNuSeg, the first fully annotated FS-derived cryosectioned and H&E-stained nuclei instance segmentation dataset. The dataset contains images from 10 human organs that were not exploited in other publicly available datasets, and is provided with three manual mark-ups to allow measuring intra-observer and inter-observer variability. Moreover, we investigate the effects of tissue fixation/embedding protocol (i.e., FS or FFPE) on the automatic nuclei instance segmentation performance of one of the state-of-the-art DL approaches. We also create a baseline segmentation benchmark for the dataset that can be used in future research. A step-by-step guide to generate the dataset as well as the full dataset and other detailed information are made available to fellow researchers at https://github.com/masih4/CryoNuSeg

CasaClima qualty seals – a key to sustainable buildings

For CasaClima, sustainability in buildings is a holistic concept, which not only evaluates the energy efficiency but goes further by considering a broad spectrum of aspects. At the roots of the CasaClima sustainability seals lays the proven CasaClima energy efficiency certification extended by a set of criteria aimed at reducing the waste of natural resources, thereby limiting the environmental impact and assuring the wellbeing of the people who live or work in the building. The CasaClima Agency, a public and independent body, deals with all aspects related to the quality assurance of the entire construction process from the planning, to on-site audits and finally the issuing of the CasaClima certification.Tema 5: Arquitectura ambientalmente consciente.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

Papel da Akkermansia Muciniphila na microbiota intestinal de idosos / Role of Akkermansia Muciniphila in the intestinal microbiota of elderly people

1 INTRODUÇÃOO trato gastrointestinal humano abriga uma população complexa e dinâmica de microrganismos, a microbiota intestinal, que exerce influência marcante no hospedeiro durante toda a vida mantendo a homeostase e influenciando em condições patológicas. Estudos evidenciam que a mudança nessa microbiota, chamada de disbiose está associada a diversas condições patológicas enquanto algumas espécies bacterianas como a anaeróbia gram-negativa mucolítica Akkermansia muciniphila estão relacionadas a saúde. 2 OBJETIVORealizar uma revisão bibliográfica do papel da Akkermansia muciniphila no envelhecimento. 3 MÉTODOS E MATERIAISBusca por artigos na plataforma PubMed utilizando os descritores Akkermansia muciniphila e elderly. 4 RESULTADOSForam encontrados 54 artigos, sendo 44 dos últimos 5 anos. Desses, 31 tratavam sobre humanos, sendo 15 sobre a presença/quantidade da espécie relacionada a condições como urticária, obesidade, diabetes mellitus e doenças inflamatórias intestinas; 2 mostravam aumento da espécie após utilização de produtos probióticos; 3 descreviam sua utilização como suplementos para tratar obesidade; 3 estavam associados a terapias medicamentosas específicas; 2 relacionavam a chances de infecções; 3 descreviam a microbiota de populações específicas; 3 relacionavam a dietas específicas.5 CONCLUSÃOApesar da grande importância da espécie A. muciniphila, são necessários novos estudos sobre a associação da espécie ao processo de envelhecimento. Após refinamento da busca na plataforma citada, apenas dois artigos foram selecionados. Destes, um trata a relação entre o impacto de oligossacarídeos na microbiota aumentando a quantidade de algumas bactérias incluindo a A. munichiphila e outro,  a quantidade de bactérias alvo desta revisão entre idosos com e sem infecções causadas por organismos multirresistentes concluindo que no último caso os idosos participantes da pesquisa apresentavam uma quantidade maior de A. municiphila

Combined Effect of Age and Severity on the Risk of Dementia in Parkinson's Disease

Age and severity of extrapyramidal signs have been consistently associated with incident dementia in Parkinson's disease. We evaluated the separate and combined effects of age and severity of extrapyramidal signs on the risk of incident dementia in Parkinson's disease in the setting of a population-based prospective cohort study. Age and the total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor score at baseline evaluation were dichotomized at the median. Four groups of Parkinson's disease patients were defined: younger age/low severity (reference), younger age/high severity, older age/low severity, and older age/high severity. Risk ratios for incident dementia were calculated with Cox proportional hazards models controlling for gender, education, ethnicity, and duration of Parkinson's disease. Of 180 patients, 52 (28.9%) became demented during a mean follow-up period of 3.6 ± 2.2 years. The median age at baseline of the Parkinson's disease patients was 71.8 years (range, 38.5–95.9 years), and the median total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor score was 24 (range, 2–65). The group with older age/high severity had a significantly increased risk of incident dementia (relative risk, 9.7; 95% confidence interval, 3.9–24.4) compared with the group with younger age/low severity (reference), whereas the groups with older age/low severity (relative risk, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.5–4.8) and younger age/high severity (relative risk, 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.5–3.2) did not. These findings suggest that the increased risk of incident dementia in Parkinson's disease associated with age and severity of extrapyramidal signs is related primarily to their combined effect rather than separate effects

Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Overweight/Obese Pregnant Women:No Effects on the Maternal or Fetal Lipid Profile and Body Fat Distribution—A Secondary Analysis of the Multicentric, Randomized, Controlled Vitamin D and Lifestyle for Gestational Diabetes Prevention Trial (DALI)

Vitamin D deficiency is a common finding in overweight/obese pregnant women and is associated with increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcome. Both maternal vitamin D deficiency and maternal obesity contribute to metabolic derangements in pregnancy. We aimed to assess the effects of vitamin D3 supplementation in pregnancy versus placebo on maternal and fetal lipids. Main inclusion criteria were: women &lt;20 weeks’ gestation, BMI ≥ 29 kg/m2. Eligible women (n = 154) were randomized to receive vitamin D3 (1600 IU/day) or placebo. Assessments were performed &lt;20, 24–28 and 35–37 weeks and at birth. Linear regression models were used to assess effects of vitamin D on maternal and cord blood lipids. In the vitamin D group significantly higher total 25-OHD and 25-OHD3 levels were found in maternal and cord blood compared with placebo. Adjusted regression models did not reveal any differences in triglycerides, LDL-C, HDL-C, free fatty acids, ketone bodies or leptin between groups. Neonatal sum of skinfolds was comparable between the two groups, but correlated positively with cord blood 25-OH-D3 (r = 0.34, p = 0.012). Vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy increases maternal and cord blood vitamin D significantly resulting in high rates of vitamin D sufficiency. Maternal and cord blood lipid parameters were unaffected by Vitamin D3 supplementation.</p

Magnetic resonance imaging brain atrophy assessment in primary age-related tauopathy (PART)

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized pathologically by the accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Recently, primary age-related tauopathy (PART) has been described as a new anatomopathological disorder where NFTs are the main feature in the absence of neuritic plaques. However, since PART has mainly been studied in post-mortem patient brains, not much is known about the clinical or neuroimaging characteristics of PART. Here, we studied the clinical brain imaging characteristics of PART focusing on neuroanatomical vulnerability by applying a previously validated multiregion visual atrophy scale. We analysed 26 cases with confirmed PART with paired clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisitions. In this selected cohort we found that upon correcting for the effect of age, there is increased atrophy in the medial temporal region with increasing Braak staging (r = 0.3937, p = 0.0466). Upon controlling for Braak staging effect, predominantly two regions, anterior temporal (r = 0.3638, p = 0.0677) and medial temporal (r = 0.3836, p = 0.053), show a trend for increased atrophy with increasing age. Moreover, anterior temporal lobe atrophy was associated with decreased semantic memory/language (r = - 0.5823, p = 0.0056; and r = - 0.6371, p = 0.0019, respectively), as was medial temporal lobe atrophy (r = - 0.4445, p = 0.0435). Overall, these findings support that PART is associated with medial temporal lobe atrophy and predominantly affects semantic memory/language. These findings highlight that other factors associated with aging and beyond NFTs could be involved in PART pathophysiology.NACC database is funded by NIA/NIH Grant U01 AG016976. NACC data are contributed by the NIA-funded ADCs: P30 AG019610 (PI Eric Reiman, MD), P30 AG013846 (PI Neil Kowall, MD), P30 AG062428–01 (PI James Leverenz, MD) P50 AG008702 (PI Scott Small, MD), P50 AG025688 (PI Allan Levey, MD, PhD), P50 AG047266 (PI Todd Golde, MD, PhD), P30 AG010133 (PI Andrew Saykin, PsyD), P50 AG005146 (PI Marilyn Albert, PhD), P30 AG062421–01 (PI Bradley Hyman, MD, PhD), P30 AG062422–01 (PI Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD), P50 AG005138 (PI Mary Sano, PhD), P30 AG008051 (PI Thomas Wisniewski, MD), P30 AG013854 (PI Robert Vassar, PhD), P30 AG008017 (PI Jeffrey Kaye, MD), P30 AG010161 (PI David Bennett, MD), P50 AG047366 (PI Victor Henderson, MD, MS), P30 AG010129 (PI Charles DeCarli, MD), P50 AG016573 (PI Frank LaFerla, PhD), P30 AG062429–01(PI James Brewer, MD, PhD), P50 AG023501 (PI Bruce Miller, MD), P30 AG035982 (PI Russell Swerdlow, MD), P30 AG028383 (PI Linda Van Eldik, PhD), P30 AG053760 (PI Henry Paulson, MD, PhD), P30 AG010124 (PI John Trojanowski, MD, PhD), P50 AG005133 (PI Oscar Lopez, MD), P50 AG005142 (PI Helena Chui, MD), P30 AG012300 (PI Roger Rosenberg, MD), P30 AG049638 (PI Suzanne Craft, PhD), P50 AG005136 (PI Thomas Grabowski, MD), P30 AG062715–01 (PI Sanjay Asthana, MD, FRCP), P50 AG005681 (PI John Morris, MD), P50 AG047270 (PI Stephen Strittmatter, MD, PhD). NIH grants to JFC (R01AG054008, R01NS095252, R01AG062348, RF1AG060961), the Tau Consortium, and Alzheimer’s Association (NIRG- 469 15-363188