“One-Size-Fits-All”? Optimizing Treatment Duration for Bacterial Infections

Historically, antibiotic treatment guidelines have aimed to maximize treatment efficacy and minimize toxicity, but have not considered the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Optimizing the duration and dosing of treatment to minimize the duration of symptomatic infection and selection pressure for resistance simultaneously has the potential to extend the useful therapeutic life of these valuable life-saving drugs without compromising the interests of individual patients

Neighborhood built environment and physical activity of Japanese older adults: results from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although many studies have reported the association between neighborhood built environment (BE) and physical activity (PA), less is known about the associations for older populations or in countries besides the US and Australia. The aim of this paper is to examine the associations for older adult populations in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES), conducted in 2003. The respondents were older adults, aged 65 years or over (n = 9,414), from 8 municipalities across urban, suburban, and rural areas. The frequency of leisure time sports activity and total walking time were used as the outcome variables. Using geographic information systems (GIS), we measured residential density, street connectivity, number of local destinations, access to recreational spaces, and land slope of the respondents' neighborhoods, based on network distances with multiple radii (250 m, 500 m, 1,000 m). An ordinal logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between PA and BE measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Population density and presence of parks or green spaces had positive associations with the frequency of sports activity, regardless of the selected buffer zone. The analysis of total walking time, however, showed only a few associations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings provide mixed support for the association between PA and the characteristics of BE measures, previously used in Western settings. Some characteristics of the neighborhood built environment may facilitate leisure time sports activity, but not increase the total walking time for Japanese older adults.</p

Rowing against the wind: how do times of austerity shape academic entrepreneurship in unfriendly environments?

[EN] Academic spin-offs (ASOs) help universities transfer knowledge or technology through business projects developed by academic staff. This investigation aims at analyzing the critical factors for spin-off creation at universities operating in crisis-raven, entrepreneurship-unfriendly environments. Such factors revolve around four types of resources: environmental, institutional, organizational, and personal. Focusing on a Southern European context, as an example of an unfriendly environment affected by economic crisis, an entrepreneurial university (the Technical University of Valencia in Spain, UPV) is our research setting. Through a case study approach, we examine the potential of UPV as a springboard for ASOs. Our results show an adverse local environment, a rather favorable influence of institutional and organizational drivers, and a mixed role of personal factors. Our findings illustrate that UPV consistently supports spin-off creation due to a greater (rather positive) reflexivity from its institutional, organizational and personal resources than the (negative) imprinting of the unfriendly environment. This helps counter-balance the structural unfriendliness for academic entrepreneurship, and trigger a crisis-led risk-taking attitude by academic staff. Hence, UPV should continue with its current strategy of supporting academic entrepreneurship, and might transfer best practices to other universities also affected by unfavorable environmental conditions. Generally speaking, we would advise universities facing adverse circumstances to develop rules and mechanisms for academic entrepreneurship, carefully revise and improve malfunctions, and become involved throughout the whole process of spin-off development. All in all, our study advances understanding of how the different drivers for ASO creation can be revamped by universities located in unfriendly environments, having in mind the key role that universities play in fostering social and economic development through academic entrepreneurship in such environments.The authors would like to thank the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (grant PAID-06-12-0916), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grant ECO2011-29863), for their financial support for this research.Seguí-Mas, E.; Oltra, V.; Tormo-Carbó, G.; Sarrión Viñes, F. (2017). Rowing against the wind: how do times of austerity shape academic entrepreneurship in unfriendly environments?. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. 1-42. doi:10.1007/s11365-017-0478-zS142Acs, Z. J., Audretsch, D. B., & Lehmann, E. E. (2013). The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 41, 757–774.Alemany, L. (2011). 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Keratinocytes as Depository of Ammonium-Inducible Glutamine Synthetase: Age- and Anatomy-Dependent Distribution in Human and Rat Skin

In inner organs, glutamine contributes to proliferation, detoxification and establishment of a mechanical barrier, i.e., functions essential for skin, as well. However, the age-dependent and regional peculiarities of distribution of glutamine synthetase (GS), an enzyme responsible for generation of glutamine, and factors regulating its enzymatic activity in mammalian skin remain undisclosed. To explore this, GS localization was investigated using immunohistochemistry and double-labeling of young and adult human and rat skin sections as well as skin cells in culture. In human and rat skin GS was almost completely co-localized with astrocyte-specific proteins (e.g. GFAP). While GS staining was pronounced in all layers of the epidermis of young human skin, staining was reduced and more differentiated among different layers with age. In stratum basale and in stratum spinosum GS was co-localized with the adherens junction component ß-catenin. Inhibition of, glycogen synthase kinase 3β in cultured keratinocytes and HaCaT cells, however, did not support a direct role of ß-catenin in regulation of GS. Enzymatic and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction studies revealed an unusual mode of regulation of this enzyme in keratinocytes, i.e., GS activity, but not expression, was enhanced about 8–10 fold when the cells were exposed to ammonium ions. Prominent posttranscriptional up-regulation of GS activity in keratinocytes by ammonium ions in conjunction with widespread distribution of GS immunoreactivity throughout the epidermis allows considering the skin as a large reservoir of latent GS. Such a depository of glutamine-generating enzyme seems essential for continuous renewal of epidermal permeability barrier and during pathological processes accompanied by hyperammonemia

Importance of proximity to resources, social support, transportation and neighborhood security for mobility and social participation in older adults: results from a scoping study

ABSTRACT: Background: Since mobility and social participation are key determinants of health and quality of life, it is important to identify factors associated with them. Although several investigations have been conducted on the neighborhood environment, mobility and social participation, there is no clear integration of the results. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding regarding how the neighborhood environment is associated with mobility and social participation in older adults.Methods: A rigorous methodological scoping study framework was used to search nine databases from different fields with fifty-one keywords. Data were exhaustively analyzed, organized and synthesized according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) by two research assistants following PRISMA guidelines, and results were validated with knowledge users.Results: The majority of the 50 selected articles report results of cross-sectional studies (29; 58 %), mainly conducted in the US (24; 48 %) or Canada (15; 30 %). Studies mostly focused on neighborhood environment associations with mobility (39; 78 %), social participation (19; 38 %), and occasionally both (11; 22 %). Neighborhood attributes considered were mainly 'Pro ducts and technology' (43; 86) and 'Services, systems and policies' (37; 74 %), but also 'Natural and human- made changes' (27; 54 %) and 'Support and relationships' (21; 42 %). Mobility and social participation were both positively associated with Proximity to resources and recreational facilities, Social support, Having a car or driver's license, Public transportation and Neighborhood security, and negatively associated with Poor user-friendliness of the walking environment and Neighborhood insecurity. Attributes of the neighborhood environment not covered by previous research on mobility and social participation mainly concerned 'Attitudes', and 'Services, systems and policies'.Conclusion: Results from this comprehensive synthesis of empirical studies on associations of the neighborhood environment with mobility and social participation will ultimately support best practices, decisions and the development of innovative inclusive public health interventions including clear guidelines for the creation of age-supportive environments. To foster mobility and social participation, these interventions must consider Proximity to resources and to recreational facilities, Social support, Transportation, Neighborhood security and User-friendliness of the walking environment. Future studies should include both mobility and social participation, and investigate how they are associated with 'Attitudes', and 'Services, systems and policies' in older adults, including disadvantaged older adults

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

Incidence and mortality of ischemic stroke subtypes in Joinville, Brazil: a population-based study

Aims To measure the incidence and mortality rates of ischemic stroke (IS) subtypes in Joinville, Brazil. Methods All first-ever IS patients that occurred in Joinville from January 2005 to December 2006 were identified. The IS subtypes were classified by the TOAST criteria, and the patients were followed-up for one year after IS onset. Results The age-adjusted incidence per 100,000 inhabitants was 26 (17-39) for large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA), 17 (11-27) for cardioembolic (CE), 29 (20-41) for small vessel occlusion (SVO), 2 (0.6-7) for stroke of other determined etiology (OTH) and 30 (20-43) for stroke of undetermined etiology (UND). The 1-year mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 5 (2-11) for LAA, 6 (3-13) for CE, 1 (0.1-6) for SVO, 0.2 (0-0.9) for OTH and 9 (4-17) for UND. Conclusion In the population of Joinville, the incidences of IS subtypes were similar to those found in other populations. These findings highlight the importance of better detection and control of atherosclerotic risk factors

Identification of novel loci associated with gastrointestinal parasite resistance in a Red Maasai x Dorper backcross population

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic infection is the main health constraint for small ruminant production, causing loss of weight and/or death. Red Maasai sheep have adapted to a tropical environment where extreme parasite exposure is a constant, especially with highly pathogenic Haemonchus contortus. This breed has been reported to be resistant to gastrointestinal parasite infection, hence it is considered an invaluable resource to study associations between host genetics and resistance. The aim of this study was to identify polymorphisms strongly associated with host resistance in a double backcross population derived from Red Maasai and Dorper sheep using a SNP-based GWAS analysis. The animals that were genotyped represented the most resistant and susceptible individuals based on the tails of phenotypic distribution (10% each) for average faecal egg counts (AVFEC). AVFEC, packed cell volume (AVPCV), and live weight (AVLWT) were adjusted for fixed effects and co-variables, and an association analysis was run using EMMAX. Revised significance levels were calculated using 100,000 permutation tests. The top five significant SNP markers with - log10 p-values >3.794 were observed on five different chromosomes for AVFEC, and BLUPPf90/PostGSf90 results confirmed EMMAX significant regions for this trait. One of these regions included a cluster of significant SNP on chromosome (Chr) 6 not in linkage disequilibrium to each other. This genomic location contains annotated genes involved in cytokine signalling, haemostasis and mucus biosynthesis. Only one association detected on Chr 7 was significant for both AVPCV and AVLWT. The results generated here reveal candidate immune variants for genes involved in differential response to infection and provide additional SNP marker information that has potential to aid selection of resistance to gastrointestinal parasites in sheep of a similar genetic background to the double backcross population

Interventions for acute stroke management in Africa: a systematic review of the evidence

Abstract Background The past decades have witnessed a rapid evolution of research on evidence-based acute stroke care interventions worldwide. Nonetheless, the evidence-to-practice gap in acute stroke care remains variable with slow and inconsistent uptake in low-middle income countries (LMICs). This review aims to identify and compare evidence-based acute stroke management interventions with alternative care on overall patient mortality and morbidity outcomes, functional independence, and length of hospital stay across Africa. Methods This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. An electronic search was conducted in six databases comprising MEDLINE, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Web of Science, Academic Search Complete and Cochrane Library for experimental and non-experimental studies. Eligible studies were abstracted into evidence tables and their methodological quality appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Data were analysed and presented narratively with reference to observed differences in patient outcomes, reporting p values and confidence intervals for any possible relationship. Results Initially, 1896 articles were identified and 37 fully screened. Four non-experimental studies (three cohort and one case series studies) were included in the final review. One study focused on the clinical efficacy of a stroke unit whilst the remaining three reported on thrombolytic therapy. The results demonstrated a reduction in patient deaths attributed to stroke unit care and thrombolytic therapy. Thrombolytic therapy was also associated with reductions in symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage (SICH). However, the limited eligible studies and methodological limitations compromised definitive conclusions on the extent of and level of efficacy of evidence-based acute stroke care interventions across Africa. Conclusion Evidence from this review confirms the widespread assertion of low applicability and uptake of evidence-based acute stroke care in LMICs. Despite the limited eligible studies, the overall positive patient outcomes following such interventions demonstrate the applicability and value of evidence-based acute stroke care interventions in Africa. Health policy attention is thus required to ensure widespread applicability of such interventions for improved patients’ outcomes. The review findings also emphasises the need for further research to unravel the reasons for low uptake. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD4201605156