Effects of physical activity participation on cognitive impairment in older adults population with disabilities

BackgroundExisting research on the association between cognitive function and physical activity in the older adults population with disabilities is limited. Additionally, there is a need to explore avenues for enhancing the longevity and quality of life among these individuals.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the independent and joint associations between cognitive function and levels of physical activity in the older adults population with disabilities.MethodsA total of 315 older adults adults (men = 182, women = 133), identified with disabilities based on medical evaluation, were recruited from the first survey of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Participants underwent assessments for cognitive function, physical activity (PA), activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and grip strength.ResultsADLs (p < 0.001) and IADLs (p < 0.001) scores were significantly higher in the male normal cognitive group compared to both the male and female cognitive impairment groups. In an unadjusted model, disabled older adults individuals who did not meet the recommended PA guidelines showed an increased odds ratio for cognitive dysfunction (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.32–3.97). Those participating in PA at least 1 day per week also demonstrated an elevated odds ratio (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.08–1.38) for cognitive dysfunction compared to those who engaged in regular PA. A negative correlation was observed between K-MMSE scores and grip strength (r = 0.448, p < 0.001).ConclusionThis study provides robust evidence that disabled older adults individuals who do not meet the recommended guidelines for PA or who do not participate in PA at least once a week have an increased likelihood of cognitive impairment compared to those who are regularly active

The Relationship Between Coronary Artery Calcification and Bone Mineral Density in Patients According to Their Metabolic Syndrome Status

Background and Objectives: The extent of coronary artery calcification (CAC) is closely related to total atherosclerotic plaque burden. However, the pathogenesis of CAC is still unclear. Conditions such as diabetes mellitus, renal failure, smoking, and chronic inflammation have been suggested to link vascular calcification and bone loss. In the present study, we hypothesized that bone loss can contribute to the pathogenesis of CAC in patients with the chronic inflammatory condition that accompanies metabolic syndrome (MetS). The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between CAC and bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with MetS and in patients without MetS, by using coronary multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). Subjects and Methods: Data from 395 consecutive patients was analyzed retrospectively. From the MDCT database, only those patients who underwent both coronary MDCT and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry within an interval of one month, were selected. The presence of MetS was determined by the updated criteria as defined by the Third Adult Treatment Panel Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program. Results: In patients with MetS, a significant correlation was found between CAC and age {odds ratio (OR)=1.139, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.080 to 1.201, p<0.001}, CAC and male sex (OR=3.762, 95% CI 1.339 to 10.569, p=0.012), and CAC and T-score of L-spine (OR=0.740, 95% CI 0.550 to 0.996, p=0.047) using a forward multiple logistic regression analysis model including clinical variables of gender, age, lipid profile, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, and BMD. But in patients without MetS, BMD by itself was not found to contribute to CAC. Conclusion: BMD was inversely correlated with CAC only in patients with MetS. This finding suggests that low BMD accompanied by MetS, may have significant clinical implications

Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors in patients with pulmonary actinomycosis

BACKGROUND: There have been few studies of pulmonary actinomycosis, which is an uncommon anaerobic infection. Consequently, the optimal therapeutic regimen, appropriate duration of treatment, long-term prognosis, and factors predicting prognosis are not well established. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of histopathologically confirmed cases of pulmonary actinomycosis seen between November 2003 and December 2012. RESULTS: The study included 68 patients with a mean age of 58.4 ± 11.6 years. Of the 68, initial surgery was performed in 15 patients (22.1%), while the remaining 53 (77.9%) received antibiotic therapy initially. In the initial antibiotic group, 45/53 (84.9%) were cured without relapse (median antibiotic duration 5.3 months). 5/53 (9.4%) patients were refractory medically (median antibiotic duration 9.7 months), and 3/53 (5.7%) experienced a recurrence (median time to relapse 35.3 months). In the initial surgery group, 14/15 (93.3%) were cured and treatment failure occurred in one (6.7%). In the multivariate analysis, the absence of an antibiotic response at 1 month was the only independent factor associated with a poor treatment outcome, with an adjusted odds ratio of 49.2 (95% CI, 3.34–724.30). There was no significant difference in treatment outcome based on the size of the parenchymal lesion, comorbidities, whether intravenous antibiotics were used, antibiotic therapy duration, or whether the initial treatment was surgical. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic treatment with or without surgery was effective for treatment of pulmonary actinomycosis. Nevertheless, treatment failure or recurrence occurred in a considerable proportion of patients, especially those resistant to the initial antibiotic treatment

A Prediction Rule to Identify Severe Cases among Adult Patients Hospitalized with Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) 2009

The purpose of this study was to establish a prediction rule for severe illness in adult patients hospitalized with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009. At the time of initial presentation, the baseline characteristics of those with severe illness (i.e., admission to intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or death) were compared to those of patients with non-severe illnesses. A total of 709 adults hospitalized with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 were included: 75 severe and 634 non-severe cases. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that altered mental status, hypoxia (PaO2/FiO2 ≤ 250), bilateral lung infiltration, and old age (≥ 65 yr) were independent risk factors for severe cases (all P < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve (0.834 [95% CI, 0.778-0.890]) of the number of risk factors were not significantly different with that of APACHE II score (0.840 [95% CI, 0.790-0.891]) (P = 0.496). The presence of ≥ 2 risk factors had a higher sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value than an APACHE II score of ≥ 13. As a prediction rule, the presence of ≥ 2 these risk factors is a powerful and easy-to-use predictor of the severity in adult patients hospitalized with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009

Laboratory information management system for COVID-19 non-clinical efficacy trial data

Background : As the number of large-scale studies involving multiple organizations producing data has steadily increased, an integrated system for a common interoperable format is needed. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a number of global efforts are underway to develop vaccines and therapeutics. We are therefore observing an explosion in the proliferation of COVID-19 data, and interoperability is highly requested in multiple institutions participating simultaneously in COVID-19 pandemic research. Results : In this study, a laboratory information management system (LIMS) approach has been adopted to systemically manage various COVID-19 non-clinical trial data, including mortality, clinical signs, body weight, body temperature, organ weights, viral titer (viral replication and viral RNA), and multiorgan histopathology, from multiple institutions based on a web interface. The main aim of the implemented system is to integrate, standardize, and organize data collected from laboratories in multiple institutes for COVID-19 non-clinical efficacy testings. Six animal biosafety level 3 institutions proved the feasibility of our system. Substantial benefits were shown by maximizing collaborative high-quality non-clinical research. Conclusions : This LIMS platform can be used for future outbreaks, leading to accelerated medical product development through the systematic management of extensive data from non-clinical animal studies.This research was supported by the National research foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (2020M3A9I2109027 and 2021M3H9A1030260)

Dragon-MAC: Securing Wireless Sensor Networks with Authenticated Encryption

Abstract. Sensor networks offer economically viable monitoring solutions for a wide variety of applications. In order to combat the security threats that sensor networks are exposed to, a cryptography protocol is implemented at sensor nodes for point-to-point encryption between nodes. Disclosure, disruption and deception threats can be defeated by authenticating data sources as well as encrypting data in transmission. Given that nodes have limited resources, symmetric cryptography that is proven to be efficient for low power devices is implemented. Data protection is integrated into a sensor’s packet by the means of symmetric encryption with the Dragon stream cipher and incorporating the newly designed Dragon-MAC Message Authentication Code. The proposed algorithm was designed to employ some of the data already computed by the underlying Dragon stream cipher for the purpose of minimizing the computational cost of the operations required by the MAC algorithm. In view that Dragon is a word based stream cipher with a fast key stream generation, it is very suitable for a constrained environment. Our protocol regarded the entity authentication and message authentication through the implementation of authenticated encryption scheme in Telos B wireless sensor nodes

Heavy metal contamination and health risk assessment in the vicinity of the abandoned Songcheon Au–Ag mine in Korea

The objective of this study is, firstly, to investigate the contamination levels and dispersion patterns of As and heavy metals, secondly, to estimate the bioaccessible fraction of the metals in soil and crop plant and, finally, to assess the risk of health effects on the residence in the vicinity of the abandoned Songcheon Au–Ag mine, Korea. Samples of tailing, soil, crop plant and water were collected around the mine site. After appropriate preparation, all samples were analyzed for As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Elevated levels of As and heavy metals were found in tailing. Mean concentrations of As in agricultural soil were higher than the permissible level. Especially, maximum levels of As and Hg in farmland soil were up to 626 mg/kg and 4.9 mg/kg, respectively. The highest levels in crop plant were 33 mg As/kg and 3.8 mg Pb/kg (in green onion root), 0.87 mg Cd/kg and 226 mg Zn/kg (in lettuce root), 16.3 mg Cu/kg (in sesame leaves). The concentration of heavy metals in leaves is much higher than those in grains and stalk. Vegetables grown on the contaminated soil were rich in As and heavy metals. Concentrations of As, Cd, and Zn in most stream waters which are used for drinking water around the mine area were higher than the permissible levels regulated in Korea. Maximum levels of As, Cd and Zn in stream waters were 0.71 mg/L, 0.19 mg/L and 5.4 mg/L, respectively. These results indicate that mine tailings can be the main contamination sources of As and heavy metals in the soil–water system of the mine site. The average of estimated human-bioaccessible fraction in soil in simulated stomach was 3% As, 40% Cd, 15% Cu, 31% Pb and 21% Zn, and that in simulated small intestine 12% As, 2.2% Cd, 5.6% Cu, 0.5% Pb and 1.2% Zn. The highest value of human-bioaccessible fraction of metal in farmland soil was 85% for Cd. The estimated human-bioaccessible fraction of plant was up to 97% for Cd in simulated stomach, and to 51% for Pb in simulated small intestine. The highest human-bioaccessible fractions were found in Chinese cabbage (in stomach) and potato leaves (in small intestine). The average human-bioaccessible fraction in plants were 47% As, 70% Cd, 62% Cu, 0% Pb and 62% Zn in simulated stomach and 22% As, 7% Cd, 27% Cu, 9% Pb and 23% Zn in simulated small intestine. The HQ (hazard quotient) value of the mine site was 16, and especially, the HI (hazard index) value of only As was 15. The carcinogenic risk of the mine site was 2.7E−03. This value means the probable possibility that about 3 cancer patients among 1000 people happen. Carcinogenic risk exceeded in the generally accepted range of E−04 to E−06.This work was supported by the grant (M10324060002-03B3106-00210) from the Korea Ministry of Science and Technology