Two years of flight of the Pamela experiment: results and perspectives

PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range (protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50 MeV-270 GeV) and search for antinuclei with a precision of the order of $10^{-8}$). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, $15^{th}$ 2006 in a $350\times 600 km$ orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. In this work we describe the scientific objectives and the performance of PAMELA in its first two years of operation. Data on protons of trapped, secondary and galactic nature - as well as measurements of the December $13^{th}$ 2006 Solar Particle Event - are also provided.Comment: To appear on J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. as part of the proceedings of the International Workshop on Advances in Cosmic Ray Science March, 17-19, 2008 Waseda University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japa

Ageing vision and falls: a review

Background: Falls are the leading cause of accidental injury and death among older adults. One of three adults over the age of 65 years falls annually. As the size of elderly population increases, falls become a major concern for public health and there is a pressing need to understand the causes of falls thoroughly. Main body of the abstract: While it is well documented that visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereo acuity are correlated with fall risks, little attention has been paid to the relationship between falls and the ability of the visual system to perceive motion in the environment. The omission of visual motion perception in the literature is a critical gap because it is an essential function in maintaining balance. In the present article, we first review existing studies regarding visual risk factors for falls and the effect of ageing vision on falls. We then present a group of phenomena such as vection and sensory reweighting that provide information on how visual motion signals are used to maintain balance. Conclusion: We suggest that the current list of visual risk factors for falls should be elaborated by taking into account the relationship between visual motion perception and balance control

Anthocyanin management in fruits by fertilization

Anthocyanins are water-soluble vacuolar plant pigments that are mainly synthesized in epidermal layers and the flesh of fruits such as apples, cherries, grapes, and other berries. Because of their attractive red to purple coloration and their health-promoting potential, anthocyanins are significant determinants for the quality and market value of fruits and fruit-derived products. In crops, anthocyanin accumulation in leaves can be caused by nutrient deficiency which is usually ascribed to insufficient nitrogen or phosphorus fertilization. However, it is a little-known fact that the plant’s nutrient status also impacts anthocyanin synthesis in fruits. Hence, strategic nutrient supply can be a powerful tool to modify the anthocyanin content and consequently the quality and market value of important agricultural commodities. Here we summarize the current knowledge of the influence of plant nutrients on anthocyanin synthesis in fruits of major global market value and discuss the underlying cellular processes that integrate nutrient signaling with fruit anthocyanin formation. It is highlighted that fertilization that is finely tuned in amount and timing has the potential to positively influence the fruit quality by regulating anthocyanin levels. We outline new approaches to enrich plant based foods with health-promoting anthocyanins

Safety assessment of essential medicines for elderly people: a bibliographic survey

Certain medicines are considered potentially inappropriate (PIM) for elderly people as they increase the risk of adverse drug events (ADE) and because safer alternative therapies are available on the market. In this context, in order to identify the instruments that assess the quality of medical prescriptions for elderly and to determine which drugs are considered PIM, a bibliographic survey was conducted in PUBMED, LILACS and PAHO databases, in February and March/2010. The search strategy included the use of health descriptors and a manual search in the references cited by selected papers. During the period of data collection, 15 instruments were identified. In 2012, with the publication of the update of Beers criteria, this instrument was included in the study. We identified 163 PIM of 25 therapeutic classes, of which 125 (76.7%) are marketed in Brazil. Of these, 31 (24.8%) are essential medicines (RENAME 2012), of which 13 have safer therapeutic equivalents and 19 (15.2%) are over-the-counter drugs. Data suggest the need for inclusion of safer alternatives for the elderly in the national list of essential medicines and the pharmaceutical care for early detection of ADE in this age group, in order to contribute to the safe use of medicines

La prescription de l'activité physique adaptée chez le sujet âgé : de l'intention à la réalité

International audienceLa pratique d'activité physique adaptée (APA) et la lutte contre la sédentarité sont au cøeur des politiques de santé publique pour un vieillissement réussi. Elles ont pour objectif de prévenir les pathologies chroniques et la perte d'autonomie, en contribuant à ralentir les effets du vieillissement. Thérapeutique à part entière, l'APA intervient en prévention primaire, secondaire et tertiaire des pathologies chroniques. La loi de modernisation du système de santé français prévoit pour les personnes en affection de longue durée, la prescription d'une APA par le médecin généraliste. Cet article propose de questionner la faisabilité de cette prescription d'APA chez les seniors au regard des personnes elles-mêmes, des professionnels de santé, des dispositifs et des financements associés. Summary Adapted physical activity (APA) and the avoidance of a sedentary lifestyle are at the heart of public health policies for successful ageing. Its aims are the prevention of chronic pathologies and loss of autonomy, by helping to slow down the effects of ageing. APA is a fully-fledged therapy in the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of chronic diseases. The new legislation in the French health system provides for the prescription of APA by GPs for individuals with chronic conditions. This article proposes to explore the feasibility of this prescription of APA among the elderly with regard to those concerned, to health professionals, to service provision and to funding

Cognitive function and type of physical activity: results from the FRéLE longitudinal study

Abstract Background Previous cohorts have been notably criticized for not studying the different type of physical activity and not investigating household activities. The objective of this work was to analyse the relation between physical activity and cognitive decline in older people living in community. Impact of type of physical activity on the results has been realised. Methods The study used data from the longitudinal and observational study , FrèLE (FRagility: Longitudinal Study of Expressions). The collected data included: socio-demographic variables, lifestyle, and health status (frailty, comorbidities, cognitive status, depression). Cognitive decline was assessed by using: MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination)and MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment). Physical activity was assessed by the PASE (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly). This tool is structured in three sections: the leisure activity, the domestic activity and the professional activity. Logistic regressions and proportional hazards regression models (Cox) were used to estimate the risk of cognitive disorders. Results At baseline, the prevalence of cognitive disorders was 6.9% according to MMSE. In total, 1326 participants without cognitive disorders were included in the analysis. The mean age was 77.4 years, and 52.1% of the participants were women. After a 2 years long follow-up, we found cognitive disorders on 92 participants (6.9%). Physical activity at baseline is lower in older adults for whom cognitive decline was observed after two years of follow-up. Subclass analyses showed that leisure and domestic activities were associated to cognitive decline, but not professional activities. Conclusions Analysis showed a relationship between cognitive disorders and type of physical activity. The current study will be completed by the MoCA for mild cognitive impairment. These findings compared to other ongoing studies will contribute to the debate on the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognition. Key messages The work allowed us to analyze the link between the different types of physical activity and mild to severe cognitive disorders. The aim is to put in place preventive policies of aging. The work allowed us to see the effect of the different types of physical activity and the impact of the statistical method on the results. </jats:sec