Physical activity scale for the elderly: translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the Italian version

Objective. The aim of the study was to translate and culturally adapt the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly into Italian (PASE-I) and to evaluate its psychometric properties in the Italian older adults healthy population. Methods. For translation and cultural adaptation, the "Translation and Cultural Adaptation of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures" guidelines have been followed. Participants included healthy individuals between 55 and 75 years old. The reliability and validity were assessed following the "Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Status Measurement Instruments" checklist. To evaluate internal consistency and test-retest reliability, Cronbach's α and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) were, respectively, calculated. The Berg Balance Score (BBS) and the PASE-I were administered together, and Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated for validity. Results. All the PASE-I items were identical or similar to the original version. The scale was administered twice within a week to 94 Italian healthy older people. The mean PASE-I score in this study was 159±77.88. Cronbach's α was 0.815 (p < 0.01) and ICC was 0.977 (p < 0.01). The correlation with the BBS was 0.817 (p < 0.01). Conclusions. The PASE-I showed positive results for reliability and validity. This scale will be of great use to clinicians and researchers in evaluating and managing physical activities in the Italian older adults population

The wheelchair use confidence scale: italian translation, adaptation, and validation of the short form

Objective: We developed an Italian version of the Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale for Manual Users- Short Form (WheelCon-M-I-short form) and examined its reliability and validity. Methods: The original scale was translated from English to Italian using the “Translation and Cultural Adaptation of Patient Reported Outcomes Measures–Principles of Good Practice” guidelines. The WheelCon-M-I-short form was administered to experienced manual wheelchair users who had a variety of diagnoses. Its internal consistency and test–retest reliability were examined. Its concurrent validity was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients with the Italian version of the Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM-I) and the Italian version of the Barthel index (BI). Results: The WheelCon-M-I-short form was administered to 31 subjects. The mean ± SD of the WheelCon- M-I-short form score was 7.5±1.9. All WheelCon-M-I-short form items were either identical or similar in meaning to the WheelCon-M-short form items. Cronbach’s a for the WheelCon-M-I-short form was 0.95 (p&lt;0.01), and the test–retest reliability (ICC) was 0.978 (p&lt;0.01). The Pearson correlation coefficient of the WheelCon-M-I-short form scores with the WhOM-I scores was 0.7618 (p&lt;0.01). The Pearson correl- ation coefficient of the WheelCon-M-I-short form scores with the Italian BI scores was 0.638 (p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: The WheelCon-M-I-short form was found to be reliable and a valid outcome measure for assessing manual wheelchair confidence in the Italian population

Group B streptococcus late-onset disease,contaminated breast milk and mothers persistently GBS negative: Report of 3cases

Background: Human milk is fundamental for its nutritional properties and to protect newborns, but it is not sterile and can sometime transmit bacteria. Few anecdotal cases suggest that breast milk could be a possible source of group B Streptococcus (GBS) late onset disease, although the pathogenesis is not entirely understood. Case presentation: We report 3 cases of GBS late onset disease in full-term newborns. Fresh breast milk cultures yielded GBS, but mothers of neonates had no signs of mastitis and remained persistently GBS negative at rectovaginal site. Conclusions: Breast milk containing group B Streptococcus can be a risk factor for late onset disease. The persistent negative maternal GBS status supports the assumption that newborns, colonised in the throat, could be the initial source of GBS, while the mammary gland could act as a GBS replication site. It is unclear whether a low bacterial load may represent only contamination rather than true milk infection

Group B Streptococcal Colonization in 160 Mother-Baby Pairs: A Prospective Cohort Study

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Pterostilbene Improves Cognitive Performance in Aged Rats: An in Vivo Study

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Intranasal delivery of BDNF rescues memory deficits in AD11 mice and reduces brain microgliosis

A decrease in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin essential for synaptic function, plasticity and neuronal survival, is evident early in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), being apparent in subjects with mild cognitive impairment or mild AD, and both proBDNF and mature BDNF levels are positively correlated with cognitive measures. BDNF delivery is, therefore, considered of great interest as a potentially useful therapeutic strategy to contrast AD. Invasive BDNF administration has indeed been recently used in animal models of AD with promising results in rescuing memory deficits, synaptic density and cell loss. Here, we tested whether non-invasive intranasal administration of different BDNF concentrations after the onset of cognitive and anatomical deficits (6 months of age) could rescue neuropathological and memory deficits in AD11 mice, a model of NGF deprivation-induced neurodegeneration. In addition to AD hallmarks, we investigated BDNF effects on microglia presence in the brain of AD11 mice, since alterations in microglia activation have been associated with ageing-related cognitive decline and with the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. We found that intranasal delivery of 42 pmol BDNF (1 mu M), but not PBS, was sufficient to completely rescue performance of AD11 mice both in the object recognition test and in the object context test. No further improvement was obtained with 420 pmol (10 mu M) BDNF dose. The strong improvement in memory performance in BDNF-treated mice was not accompanied by an amelioration of AD-like pathology, A beta burden, tau hyperphosphorylation and cholinergic deficit, but there was a dramatic decrease of CD11b immunoreactive brain microglia. These results reinforce the potential therapeutic uses of BDNF in AD and the non-invasive intranasal route as an effective delivery strategy of BDNF to the brain. They also strengthen the connection between neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative dementia and suggest microglia as a possible mediator of BDNF therapeutic actions in the brain

Infecção urinária em recém-nascido de termo: análise de fatores de risco

OBJETIVOS: Analisar a contribuição dos fatores de risco para a ocorrência de infecção urinária em recém-nascidos de termo. CASUÍSTICA E METODOLOGIA: Estudo retrospectivo (1997), incluindo recém-nascidos de termo com urocultura positiva por saco coletor. A indicação desta coleta foi baseada em: hipertermia (T>;37,8ºC), perda de peso>;10% do peso de nascimento, alterações do estado geral (recusa alimentar, ganho insuficiente de peso e hipoatividade) ou presença de malformações nefro-urológicas. Nesses recém-nascidos foi realizada punção suprapúbica para confirmação diagnóstica. Os recém-nascidos foram divididos em dois grupos, segundo o resultado das uroculturas: Grupo I (diagnóstico presuntivo de infecção urinária) e Grupo II (diagnóstico confirmado de infecção urinária), para avaliação dos fatores de risco pela análise do risco relativo. RESULTADOS: Foram estudadas 61 crianças (5,1% dos recém-nascidos de termo) - Grupo I n=42 (68,9%) e Grupo II n=19 (31,1%). Os fatores de risco avaliados (patologias infecciosas associadas, uso prévio de antibióticos, malformações nefro-urológicas, ventilação mecânica, nutrição parenteral e o uso de cateteres) foram mais freqüentes no Grupo II (pOBJECTIVE: To analyze the correlation of risk factors to the occurrence of urinary tract infection in full-term newborn infants. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study (1997) including full-term infants having a positive urine culture by bag specimen. Urine collection was based on: fever, weight loss >; 10% of birth weight, nonspecific symptoms (feeding intolerance, failure to thrive, hypoactivity, debilitate suction, irritability), or renal and urinary tract malformations. In these cases, another urine culture by suprapubic bladder aspiration was collected to confirm the diagnosis. To compare and validate the risk factors in each group, the selected cases were divided into two groups: Group I - positive urine culture by bag specimen collection and negative urine culture by suprapubic aspiration, and Group II - positive urine culture by bag specimen collection and positive urine culture by suprapubic aspiration . RESULTS: Sixty one infants were studied, Group I, n = 42 (68.9%) and Group II, n = 19 (31.1%). The selected risk factors (associated infectious diseases, use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, renal and urinary tract malformations, mechanical ventilation, parenteral nutrition and intravascular catheter) were more frequent in Group II (

Infecção urinária em recém-nascido de termo: valor da cultura de urina obtida através de saco coletor

OBJETIVE: to evaluate the efficacy of urine culture by bag specimen for the detection of neonatal urinary tract infection in full-term newborn infants. Retrospective study (1997) including full-term newborn infants having a positive urine culture (&gt;100,000 CFU/ml) by bag specimen collection. The urinary tract infection diagnosis was confirmed by positive urine culture (suprapubic bladder aspiration method). The select cases were divided into three groups, according to newborn infant age at the bag specimen collection: GI (&lt; 48 h, n = 17), GII (48 h to 7 d, n = 35) and GIII (&gt; 7 d, n = 9). Sixty one full-term newborn infants were studied (5.1 % of total infants). The diagnosis was confirmed on 19/61 (31.1 %) of full-term infants born alive. Distribution among the groups was: GI = 2/17 (11.8 %), GII = 10//35 (28.6 %), and GIII = 7/9 (77.7 %). The most relevant clinical symptoms were: fever (GI - 100 %, GII - 91.4 %) and weight loss (GI - 35.3 %, GII - 45.7 %). Urine culture results for specimens collected by suprapubic aspiration were: E. coli GI (100 %), GII (40 %) and GIII (28.6 %), E. faecalis GI (30%), Staphylococcus coagulase-negative GII (20 %) and GIII (42.8 %), and Staphylococcus aureus GII (10 %). Correlation between positive urine culture collection (bag specimen method) and urinary tract infection diagnosis, using relative risk analysis, produced the following results: GI=0.30 (CI95% 0.08-1.15), GII=0.51 (CI 95% 0.25-1.06) and GIII=3.31 (CI95% 1.8-6.06) The most frequent urinary tract infection clinical signs in the first week were fever and weight loss, while non-specific symptomatology occurred later. E. coli was most frequent infectious agent, although from the 7th day of life, staphylococcus was noted. The urine culture (bag specimen method) was effective in detecting urinary tract infection only after the 7th day of life.OBJETIVO: avaliar a eficácia da cultura de urina obtida através de saco coletor na detecção de infecção do trato urinário no período neonatal. Estudo retrospectivo (1997), englobando recém-nascidos de termo com urocultura positiva (&gt;100000UFC/ml) colhida em saco coletor. Nesses recém-nascidos foi realizada punção suprapúbica, coletando-se urina para cultura, para confirmação diagnóstica. Os recém-nascidos foram divididos em três grupos, de acordo com a idade do recém-nascido na ocasião da coleta: GI-n=17 (&lt; 48h de vida), GII-n=35 (entre 48h e 7dias) e GIII-n=9 (&gt; 7dias). Foram estudadas 61 crianças (5,1% dos recém-nascidos de termo). A confirmação diagnóstica pela punção suprapúbica mostrou: GI=2/17 (11,8%), GII=10/35 (28,6%) e GIII=7/9 (77,7%). Quanto ao quadro clínico, nos GI e II a febre (100 e 91,4%) e a perda de peso (35,3 e 45,7%) foram os sinais clínicos mais freqüentes. No GIII as alterações do estado geral (66,6%) e a febre (44,4%) destacaram-se. Dentre os agentes etiológicos, obteve-se: E coli GI (100%), GII (40%) e GIII (28,6%), E faecalis GI (30%), S coagulase-negativa GII (20%) e GIII (42,8%) e S aureus GII (10%) e GIII(14,3%). A análise do risco relativo da positividade da cultura de urina obtida por saco coletor corresponder à infecção urinária foi de: GI=0,3 (IC95% 0,08-1,15), GII=0,51 (IC95% 0,25-1,06) e GIII=3,31 (IC95% 1,8-6,06). Os resultados sugerem que os sinais clínicos mais importantes da infecção do trato urinário na primeira semana de vida foram a febre e a perda de peso, enquanto as alterações do estado geral ocorreram mais tardiamente; a E coli foi o agente mais freqüente e, a partir do sétimo dia, houve o aparecimento de S aureus e S coagulase negativa. A cultura de urina através de saco coletor teve maior capacidade de detecção de infecção urinária a partir do setimo dia

Using temperament and character dimensions (TCI) to analyze the personality profiles of adults and older adults with cancer managed in outpatient settings

Introduction This study aimed to investigate profiles of personality evaluated by temperament and character dimensions (TCI) in 638 adult and older adult patients (CP) who had recently been diagnosed with breast, colon, lung, and other kinds of cancer (female and male subjects were assessed). Tests: Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Statistical analysis: cluster K-means analysis for personality traits. Results Two different personality profiles emerged: "Low self-determination and pessimism" (Profile 1) and "Self-determination and self-caring (medium)" (Profile 2). The following significant differences were observed in the TCI dimensions between the two profiles: Temperament-Novelty-Seeking (NS) (p &lt; 0.001); Harm-Avoidance (HA) (p &lt; 0.001); Reward-Dependence (RD) (p &lt; 0.001); Persistence (PS) (p &lt; 0.001); Character-Self-Directness (SD) (p &lt; 0.001); Cooperativeness (C) (p &gt; 0.001); Self-Transcendence (ST) (p &lt; 0.001). No differences in the two profiles were found between adult and elderly patients. Profile 1 - "Low self-determination and pessimism": Patients with this profile present low resistance to frustration, poor search for novelty and solutions (NS), anxiety and pessimism (medium HA), high social attachment and dependence on the approval of others (medium-high RD), and low self-determination (PS) as temperament dimensions; and medium-low self-direction, low autonomy and ability to adapt (SD-medium-low), medium cooperativeness (C), and low self-transcendence (ST) as character dimensions. Profile 2 - "Self-determination and self-caring (medium)": Patients with this profile have resistance to frustration, ability to search for novelty and solutions (medium-NS), low anxiety and pessimism (HA), low social attachment and dependence on approval (medium-low-RD), and determination (medium-high PS) as dimensions of temperament; and autonomy and capacity for adaptation and self-direction (SD), capacity for cooperation (high-CO), and self-transcendence (medium-high-ST) as character dimensions. Conclusion Personality screening allows a better understanding of the difficulties of the individual patient and the planning of targeted psychotherapeutic interventions that promote quality of life and good adaptation to the disease course