Influence of a physical education plan on psychomotor development profiles of preschool children

This study aimed to investigate the influence of structured physical education on the psychomotor development of 3 to 5 year-old preschool children. The sample consisted of 324 students of both sexes (3 to 5 year-old) from 9 public kindergarten classes in Porto, Portugal. A battery of psychomotor tests (pre-test) was used to assess the students’ psychomotor development profiles. The sample was divided in 2 groups: an experimental group (162 students) and a control group (162 students). Physical Education (PE) teachers used a structured 24-week PE plan in the experimental group. After the plan completion, the same battery of tests (post-test) was run on both groups. The outcome was that both groups grew their psychomotor profiles; however this growth was always statistically higher in the experimental group (at all ages and in all variables analysed p 0.05). Structured physical education is important for preschool children’s psychomotor development. Physical activity impact on children’s interaction with the outside world was proved, through their overall development motivated by the structured physical education lessons

Trends in adult asthma hospitalization: gender-age effect

BACKGROUND: Hospital admissions due to asthma are a reliable source of information on the morbidity of the disease which, after the increase observed in the last quarter of the last century, shows a declining trend in the last few years. The aim of this study was to look at hospital admission trends due to asthma in our community and analyze some of its associated factors. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all hospital admissions involving adults aged 15 years and older with asthma as the primary or secondary diagnosis (if the first diagnosis was respiratory failure or respiratory infection) in Public Health Service hospitals in the Galician region of Spain between the years 1995-2009 (total 24,766 admissions). RESULTS: The majority of patients admitted were female (71%), over 60 years of age (64%), and admission occurred predominantly in the winter months. The hospitalization rate due to asthma tripled over the period studied, this being mainly accounted for by women aged over 60 years. Mean hospital stay was 9.2 days, longer in older patients or those admitted over the weekend. CONCLUSIONS: A significant increase in hospital admissions due to asthma over the last few years has been observed in our community, mainly involving older women. The mean stay seems long, increasing with patients' age and admission over the weekend

The CD14 (−159 C/T) SNP is associated with sCD14 levels and allergic asthma, but not with CD14 expression on monocytes

LPS-ligation to CD14/TLR-4 on monocytes/macrophages triggers the production of IL-12-family cytokines. IL12/18 promote TH1-differentiation, counteracting the TH2-driven asthma. Therefore, CD14 modulation could alter the TH2-differentiation and should be taken into account when studying asthma. To analyse the alteration in CD14 levels and its association with CD14 (−159 C/T) SNP (rs2569190) in Caucasian adults with stable allergic asthma, we performed a cross-sectional study (277 healthy subjects vs. 277 patients) where clinical parameters, CD14 values and the CD14 (−159 C/T) SNP were studied. Apart from typical biomarkers, we found an increment of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in allergic asthma, probably linked to monocyte activity. Indeed, we evidenced increased monocyte numbers, but lower CD14 expression and normalised sCD14 values in patients. Moreover, we noticed an association of the T allele (P = 0.0162) and TT genotype (P = 0.0196) of the CD14 SNP with a decreased risk of allergic asthma and augmented sCD14 levels. In conclusion, monocyte CD14 expression and normalized sCD14 values were reduced in stable state asthmatics, and this could be related to the presence of an expanded CD14low monocyte subset. This study also demonstrates that the CD14 (−159 C/T) polymorphism is a risk factor for moderate-severe allergic asthma in adult CaucasiansThis study was funded by grants from Sociedad Española de Neumología y Cirugía Torácica, (SEPAR) (121/2012) and Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, FIS; co-financed by European Union ERDF funds) (PI13/02046). JJNF is a recipient of a Xunta de Galicia Fellowship (Co-financed by European Social Fund (ESF))S

Cross‐sectional study about impact of parental smoking on rhinitis symptoms in children

[Abstract] Objective. Assess the prevalence of rhinitis and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) of children in our community and its relationship with symptoms of rhinitis Methods (design, setting, participants, main outcome measures). Cross‐sectional study using questionnaire on rhinitis of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, in children (6‐7 years) and adolescents (13‐14 years). Categories: “rhinitis ever”, “recent rhinitis”, “recent rhinoconjunctivitis”, “severe rhinoconjunctivitis”. Parental smoking: (i) neither parent smokes; (ii) only the mother smokes; (iii) only the father smokes; and (iv) both parents smoke. Odds ratio of the prevalence of symptoms of rhinitis according to ETS exposure was calculated using logistic regression. Results. 10 690 children and 10 730 adolescents. The prevalence of “rhinitis ever” in children: 29.4%, “recent rhinitis” 24%, “recent rhinoconjunctivitis” 11.5% and “severe rhinoconjunctivitis” 0.1%. In adolescents: 46.2%, 34.5%, 16.2% and 0.2%, respectively. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure in the home occurred in 51% of cases. Parental smoking was associated with a higher prevalence of forms of rhinitis in adolescents when only the mother was a smoker. In children when both parents were smokers. Conclusion. Rhinitis is highly prevalent in our community. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure is still very common. The relationship between ETS and rhinitis symptoms in children of this community is not as robust as that found for asthma

The network of photodetectors and diode lasers of the CMS Link alignment system

The central feature of the CMS Link alignment system is a network of Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors distributed throughout the muon spectrometer that are connected by multiple laser lines. The data collected during the years from 2008 to 2015 is presented confirming an outstanding performance of the photo sensors during more than seven years of operation. Details of the photo sensor readout of the laser signals are presented. The mechanical motions of the CMS detector are monitored using these photosensors and good agreement with distance sensors is obtained

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented