Determinants of physical function in community dwelling old people

Funding Information: The trial is registered at the US National Library of Medicine (No. NCT01074879). Funding Information: This study was part of the IceProQualita project, which was funded by the Icelandic Technology Development Fund (No 071323008), Research Fund of the University of Iceland, a grant from Landspitali University Hospital Research Fund and the Helga Jonsdottir and Sigurlidi Kristjansson Geriatric Research Fund. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, Pacini Editore S.p.A./AU-CNS. All rights reserved.Background. Poor physical function is associated with disability and mortality in old people. Objectives. The aim was to find determinants of physical function in old people. Design. Secondary, cross-sectional analysis. Setting. Community in the Reykjavik, Iceland. Participants. 236 old people (73.7 ± 5.7 years, 58.2% female). Measurements. Timed-up-and-go (TUG), six-minute-walk-for-distance (6MWD), anthropometrics, quadriceps strength, dietary intake, mini-mental-state-examination (MMSE), leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and blood variables were assessed. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used. Results. There were differences between men and women in energy intake, body composition and muscular strength, but physical function did not differ between men and women. In bivariate analysis, most of the assessed variables correlated with 6MWD and TUG. Stepwise lin-ear models showed that age, body composition, strength, medication, LTPA and MMSE were predictors of physical function but not hematological variables. The association between MMSE and function disappeared when corrected for strength/body weight. Results were similar for both 6MWD and TUG and the strongest predictors in the final models were age and quadriceps strength/body weight. Conclusions. In community dwelling old people, physical function decreases with age. However, it is of clinical relevance that there are modifiable determinants of physical function, in particular strength for a given body weight, LTPA and number of medications, which represent potential targets to maintain physical function in this age group. Our results also indicate that neither cognitive function, nor dietary intake nor blood chemical variables were independently associated with physical function.Peer reviewe

Hemoglobin Concentrations Predict Physical Function After A 12-Week Resistance Exercise Training and Subsequent Changes After 11 Months of Follow-Up Among Community Dwelling Older Adults

Background: Hemoglobin transports oxygen in blood yet its concentrations generally decrease with age. The aim of the study was to examine whether hemoglobin is connected with physical function in older age people. Design: Intervention study. Setting: Community. Participants: Older adults (N=236, 73.7±5.7 years, 58.2% female). Intervention: A 12-week resistance exercise program (3 times/week; 3 sets, 6-8 repetitions at 75-80% of the 1-repetition maximum) was conducted to increase strength and muscle mass of major muscle groups. Measurements: Anthropometrics, muscle strength, timed up and go (TUG in sec), six-minute walking distance (6MWD in m) and blood chemical variables were measured at baseline, endpoint and after 10.7 months followup. The linear regression model was used to examine the association between baseline hemoglobin and physical function outcome. Results: Only about 4% of the participants were anemic. According to calculations baseline hemoglobin was associated with TUG (0.14 to 0.36 sec improvement by 10 g/L increase of hemoglobin) at all-time points, even though this was of borderline significance for baseline (p=0.57) and endpoint (p=0.062). Hemoglobin also predicted endpoint 6 MWD (4.88m), but not at baseline (follow up 6 MWD was not available). Statistical correction for compliance did not influences results. Conclusion: Hemoglobin is positively associated to physical function in community dwelling old aged people. Additionally, we found that baseline hemoglobin is associated to adaptions to 12-week resistance exercise training and changes in physical function during the follow-up.Rannís (No 071323008), Rannsóknarsjóður Háskóla Íslands, Styrkur frá Landspítala Hákólasjúkrahúsi Helga Jonsdottir and Sigurlidi Kristjansson Geriatric Research Fund.Peer Reviewe

Telephone conversation impairs sustained visual attention via a central bottleneck

Recent research has shown that holding telephone conversations disrupts one's driving ability. We asked whether this effect could be attributed to a visual attention impairment. In Experiment 1, participants conversed on a telephone or listened to a narrative while engaged in multiple object tracking (MOT), a task requiring sustained visual attention. We found that MOT was disrupted in the telephone conversation condition, relative to single-task MOT performance, but that listening to a narrative had no effect. In Experiment 2, we asked which component of conversation might be interfering with MOT performance. We replicated the conversation and single-task conditions of Experiment 1 and added two conditions in which participants heard a sequence of words over a telephone. In the shadowing condition, participants simply repeated each word in the sequence. In the generation condition, participants were asked to generate a new word based on each word in the sequence. Word generation interfered with MOT performance, but shadowing did not. The data indicate that telephone conversation disrupts attention at a central stage, the act of generating verbal stimuli, rather than at a peripheral stage, such as listening or speaking

Acute epiglottitis as the initial presentation of pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

We report a case of a 5-year old girl, who initially presented with acute epiglottitis, sepsis and multi-organ failure. She was subsequently diagnosed as having Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. To the best of our knowledge, this article describes the first case of Haemophilus influenzae type f epiglottitis as the initial presentation of SLE in childhood

Trends in HIV surveillance data in the EU/EEA, 2005 to 2014: New HIV diagnoses still increasing in men who have sex with men

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission remains significant in Europe. Rates of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have declined, but not in all countries. New HIV diagnoses have increased among native and foreign-born men who have sex with men. Median CD4+T-cell count at diagnosis has increased, but not in all groups, and late diagnosis remains common. HIV infection and AIDS can be eliminated in Europe with resolute prevention measures, early diagnosis and access to effective treatment

Going for a master´s degree when faced with job loss. "This is something that will always be of use"

Meginmarkmið þessarar rannsóknar var að varpa ljósi á hugarheim nokkurra háskólamenntaðra einstaklinga sem ákváðu að setjast aftur á skólabekk þegar þeir misstu vinnuna við hrun íslensku bankanna. Rannsóknin byggir á viðtölum við níu einstaklinga sem höfðu menntað sig í viðskipta- eða hagfræði og starfað á vettvangi viðskiptalífsins og ákváðu að hefja meistaranám við Háskóla Íslands á þessum tímamótum. Niðurstöður sýndu að þátttakendur reyndu að gera það besta úr aðstæðum sínum en þeir höfðu allir haft í hyggju að mennta sig frekar þegar tími gæfist til. Þeir töldu að þannig bættu þeir stöðu sína á vinnumarkaði; yrðu hæfari í starfi bæði sjálfum sér og samfélaginu til hagsbóta. Þátttakendur virðast hafa mikla aðlögunarhæfni, eru marksæknir og áhugasamir einstaklingar sem sáu tækifæri í óvæntum breytingum og gátu nýtt þau sér í hag. Þeir völdu að halda áfram að mennta sig á sömu braut viðskipta- eða hagfræði en með ólík markmið að leiðarljósi. Með því að fá innsýn í líf þessara einstaklinga má auka skilning á aðstæðum þeirra sem missa óvænt vinnuna og þurfa í kjölfarið að taka mikilvægar ákvarðanir um framtíðina. Vonast er til að niðurstöður rannsóknar gagnist náms- og starfsráðgjöfum í vinnu með skjólstæðingum við að móta eigin náms- og starfsferil.The objective of this study was to shed light on why certain individuals who already have a university degree chose to return to school when faced with redundancy, following the collapse of the Icelandic banks in 2008. The results are based on interviews with nine students. They all had a BS-degree in business administration or economics and had been working in finances prior to being made redundant. They chose to use the present moment to build on their educational and professional experience. The results show that these individuals were making the best of their situation. They had all intended to further their studies when the right moment presented itself; they felt certain that this would improve their situation on the labour market. The participants, all highly adaptable, goal orientated, enthusiastic individuals, have learned to capitalize on unexpected events. This study should give us all a better understanding of the personal experience of unexpected job loss; it should also assist career and guidance counsellors when working with clients on developing their careers

Future carbon dioxide emissions in the global material flow of primary aluminium

This study assesses the future carbon dioxide emissions in the global material flow of primary aluminium. The model of the global aluminium industry (GlobAl model) is used for scenario calculations. It simulates a market economy and allows an integrated analysis of the material flow and the corresponding carbon dioxide emissions. 1995 is the base year and the future horizon of the scenario calculations is 2010. The critical parameter 'global demand for primary aluminium' is varied. According to the scenario calculations, the absolute carbon dioxide emissions in the global material flow of primary energy will not increase until the growth rate of demand reaches 2% per year. World average specific emissions will decrease remarkably, especially due to the reduced energy-related emissions for smelting. There are three reasons for this. In the first place, the lower CO2-emission factor of electricity generated from fossil fuels leads to reduced emissions. Secondly, modem point-feeder pre-baked plants need less electricity than the Soderberg plants they replace. And, thirdly, the production of primary aluminium is being shifted to regions in which the production of electricity is mainly based on hydropower. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved