The impact of COVID-19 on community-based exercise classes for people with Parkinson disease

OBJECTIVE: he purpose of the study was to determine the impact of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions on community-based exercise classes for people with Parkinson disease (PD) and their instructors. METHODS: Data were collected via custom-designed electronic surveys for people with PD and class instructors who reported attending or teaching PD-specific exercise class ≥1 time/week for ≥3 months prior to pandemic restrictions (March 2020). The PD group also completed the Godin Leisure-Time Questionnaire, Self-Efficacy for Exercise scale, Schwab-England scale, and Parkinson\u27s Disease Questionnaire 8. RESULTS: Eighty-seven people with PD (mean = 70 [7.3] years old) and 43 instructors (51 [12.1] years old) from the United States completed surveys (October 2020 to February 2021). Mean Schwab-England (84 [16]) and Parkinson\u27s Disease Questionnaire 8 (21 [15]) scores indicated low-to-moderate disability in the PD group. Ninety-five percent of the PD group had COVID-19 exposure concerns, and 54% reported leaving home ≤1 time/week. Although 77% of the PD group scored active on the Godin Leisure-Time Questionnaire, the mean Self-Efficacy for Exercise Scale score (55 [24]) indicated only moderate exercise self-efficacy, and \u3e50% reported decreased exercise quantity/intensity compared with pre-COVID. There was decreased in-person and increased virtual class participation for both groups. The top in-person class barrier for the PD (63%) and instructor (51%) groups was fear of participant COVID-19 exposure. The top virtual class barriers were lack of socialization (20% of PD group) and technology problems (74% of instructor group). CONCLUSION: During COVID-19, there has been less in-person and more virtual exercise class participation in people with PD and decreased exercise quantity and intensity. Virtual classes may not fully meet the needs of people with PD, and primary barriers include technology and lack of socialization. IMPACT: As COVID-19 restrictions wane, it is imperative to help people with PD increase exercise and activity. The barriers, needs, and facilitators identified in this study might help inform approaches to increase participation in exercise and activity for people with PD. LAY SUMMARY: During COVID-19, there has been less in-person and more virtual exercise class participation in people with PD and a decrease in exercise quantity and intensity. If you have PD, virtual classes might not fully meet your needs. Primary barriers may include technology problems and lack of social interaction

Short-term earthquake hazard assessment for the San Andreas Fault in southern California

The southernmost 200 km of the San Andreas fault in California, from Cajon Pass southeast to Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea (Figure 1), has not produced a major earthquake within the historic record. Both geodetic evidence of continuing strain accumulation (Savage et al, 1986) and the occurrence of recent prehistoric large earthquakes (Sieh, 1986; Sieh and Williams, 1990), however, lead us to conclude that this fault segment will eventually produce great earthquakes that pose one of the greatest hazards to southern California. An estimated 1.0-1.5 million people now live adjacent to the San Andreas fault within the projected zone of severe shaking for such an earthquake. A magnitude 7.5 to 8.0 earthquake on this segment would also cause widespread damage to San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties, which together have over 12 million inhabitants. For these reasons, the Southern San Andreas Fault Working Group was formed in 1989 to recommend how the scientific community might best respond to anomalous geophysical activity along the fault, increase our understanding of regional seismotectonics, and offer timely scientific advice to state and local governments

Corticosterone pattern-dependent glucocorticoid receptor binding and transcriptional regulation within the liver

Ultradian glucocorticoid rhythms are highly conserved across mammalian species, however, their functional significance is not yet fully understood. Here we demonstrate that pulsatile corticosterone replacement in adrenalectomised rats induces a dynamic pattern of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding at ~3,000 genomic sites in liver at the pulse peak, subsequently not found during the pulse nadir. In contrast, constant corticosterone replacement induced prolonged binding at the majority of these sites. Additionally, each pattern further induced markedly different transcriptional responses. During pulsatile treatment, intragenic occupancy by active RNA polymerase II exhibited pulsatile dynamics with transient changes in enrichment, either decreased or increased depending on the gene, which mostly returned to baseline during the inter-pulse interval. In contrast, constant corticosterone exposure induced prolonged effects on RNA polymerase II occupancy at the majority of gene targets, thus acting as a sustained regulatory signal for both transactivation and repression of glucocorticoid target genes. The nett effect of these differences were consequently seen in the liver transcriptome as RNA-seq analysis indicated that despite the same overall amount of corticosterone infused, twice the number of transcripts were regulated by constant corticosterone infusion, when compared to pulsatile. Target genes that were found to be differentially regulated in a pattern-dependent manner were enriched in functional pathways including carbohydrate, cholesterol, glucose and fat metabolism as well as inflammation, suggesting a functional role for dysregulated glucocorticoid rhythms in the development of metabolic dysfunction