The demand for sports and exercise: Results from an illustrative survey

Funding from the Department of Health policy research programme was used in this study.There is a paucity of empirical evidence on the extent to which price and perceived benefits affect the level of participation in sports and exercise. Using an illustrative sample of 60 adults at Brunel University, West London, we investigate the determinants of demand for sports and exercise. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews that covered indicators of sports and exercise behaviour; money/time price and perceived benefits of participation; and socio- economic/demographic details. Count, linear and probit regression models were fitted as appropriate. Seventy eight per cent of the sample participated in sports and exercise and spent an average of £27 per month and an average of 20 min travelling per occasion of sports and exercise. The demand for sport and exercise was negatively associated with time (travel or access time) and ‘variable’ price and positively correlated with ‘fixed’ price. Demand was price inelastic, except in the case of meeting the UK government’s recommended level of participation, which is time price elastic (elasticity = −2.2). The implications of data from a larger nationally representative sample as well as the role of economic incentives in influencing uptake of sports and exercise are discussed.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund

Quantum simulation of conductivity plateaux and fractional quantum Hall effect using ultracold atoms

We analyze the role of impurities in the fractional quantum Hall effect using a highly controllable system of ultracold atoms. We investigate the mechanism responsible for the formation of plateaux in the resistivity/conductivity as a function of the applied magnetic field in the lowest Landau level regime. To this aim, we consider an impurity immersed in a small cloud of an ultracold quantum Bose gas subjected to an artificial magnetic field. We consider scenarios corresponding to experimentally realistic systems with gauge fields induced by rotation of the trapping parabolic potential. Systems of this kind are adequate to simulate quantum Hall effects in ultracold atom setups. We use exact diagonalization for few atoms and to emulate transport equations, we analyze the time evolution of the system under a periodic perturbation. We provide a theoretical proposal to detect the up-to-now elusive presence of strongly correlated states related to fractional filling factors in the context of ultracold atoms. We analyze the conditions under which these strongly correlated states are associated with the presence of the resistivity/conductivity plateaux. Our main result is the presence of a plateau in a region, where the transfer between localized and non-localized particles takes place, as a necessary condition to maintain a constant value of the resistivity/conductivity as the magnetic field increases

Caregiver-reported delay in presentation to pediatric emergency departments for fear of contracting COVID-19: a multi-national cross-sectional study

Objective: To determine if caregivers of children presenting to pediatric emergency departments (EDs) during the COVID-19 pandemic are delaying presenting to care for fear of contracting COVID-19. Methods: This was a pre-planned secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey study of caregivers accompanying their children aged 0-19 years to 16 pediatric EDs in 5 countries from May to June 2020. An anonymous online survey, completed by caregivers via RedCAP, included caregiver and child demographics, presenting complaints, if they delayed presentation and whether symptoms worsened during this interval, as well as caregiver concern about the child or caregiver having COVID-19 at the time of ED visit. Results: Of 1543 caregivers completing the survey, 287 (18.6%) reported a delay in seeking ED care due to concerns of contracting COVID-19 in the hospital. Of those, 124 (43.2%) stated their child's symptoms worsened during the waiting interval. Caregiver relationship to child [mother] (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.27-2.76), presence of chronic illness in child (OR 1.78. 95% CI 1.14-2.79), younger age of caregiver (OR 0.965, 95% CI 0.943-0.986), and caregiver concerns about lost work during the pandemic (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.12) were independently associated with a COVID-19-related delayed presentation in multivariable regression analysis. Conclusions: Almost one in five caregivers reported delaying ED presentation for their ill or injured child specifically due to fear of contracting COVID-19 while in hospital, with mothers, younger caregivers, caregivers of children with chronic illness, and those concerned about lost work more likely to report delaying ED presentation. Keywords: COVID-19; Caregivers; Children; Emergency department; Presentation dela

Serum neurofilament dynamics predicts neurodegeneration and clinical progression in presymptomatic Alzheimer's disease

Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising fluid biomarker of disease progression for various cerebral proteopathies. Here we leverage the unique characteristics of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network and ultrasensitive immunoassay technology to demonstrate that NfL levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (n = 187) and serum (n = 405) are correlated with one another and are elevated at the presymptomatic stages of familial Alzheimer's disease. Longitudinal, within-person analysis of serum NfL dynamics (n = 196) confirmed this elevation and further revealed that the rate of change of serum NfL could discriminate mutation carriers from non-mutation carriers almost a decade earlier than cross-sectional absolute NfL levels (that is, 16.2 versus 6.8 years before the estimated symptom onset). Serum NfL rate of change peaked in participants converting from the presymptomatic to the symptomatic stage and was associated with cortical thinning assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, but less so with amyloid-β deposition or glucose metabolism (assessed by positron emission tomography). Serum NfL was predictive for both the rate of cortical thinning and cognitive changes assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination and Logical Memory test. Thus, NfL dynamics in serum predict disease progression and brain neurodegeneration at the early presymptomatic stages of familial Alzheimer's disease, which supports its potential utility as a clinically useful biomarker

Coronary heart disease policy models: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) is complex. A variety of models have therefore been developed to try and explain past trends and predict future possibilities. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the strengths and limitations of existing CHD policy models. METHODS: A search strategy was developed, piloted and run in MEDLINE and EMBASE electronic databases, supplemented by manually searching reference lists of relevant articles and reviews. Two reviewers independently checked the papers for inclusion and appraisal. All CHD modelling studies were included which addressed a defined population and reported on one or more key outcomes (deaths prevented, life years gained, mortality, incidence, prevalence, disability or cost of treatment). RESULTS: In total, 75 articles describing 42 models were included; 12 (29%) of the 42 models were micro-simulation, 8 (19%) cell-based, and 8 (19%) life table analyses, while 14 (33%) used other modelling methods. Outcomes most commonly reported were cost-effectiveness (36%), numbers of deaths prevented (33%), life-years gained (23%) or CHD incidence (23%). Among the 42 models, 29 (69%) included one or more risk factors for primary prevention, while 8 (19%) just considered CHD treatments. Only 5 (12%) were comprehensive, considering both risk factors and treatments. The six best-developed models are summarised in this paper, all are considered in detail in the appendices. CONCLUSION: Existing CHD policy models vary widely in their depth, breadth, quality, utility and versatility. Few models have been calibrated against observed data, replicated in different settings or adequately validated. Before being accepted as a policy aid, any CHD model should provide an explicit statement of its aims, assumptions, outputs, strengths and limitations

Decreasing trends in cardiovascular mortality in Turkey between 1988 and 2008.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality increased in developed countries until the 1970s then started to decline. Turkey is about to complete its demographic transition, which may also influence mortality trends. This study evaluated trends in coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke mortality between 1988 and 2008. METHODS: The number of deaths by cause (ICD-8), age and sex were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) annually between 1988 and 2008. Population statistics were based on census data (1990 and 2000) and Turkstat projections. European population standardised mortality rates for CHD and stroke were calculated for men and women over 35 years old. Joinpoint Regression was used to identify the points at which a statistically significant (p < 0.05) change of the trend occurred. RESULTS: The CHD mortality rate increased by 2.9% in men and 2.0% in women annually from 1988 to 1994, then started to decline. The annual rate of decline for men was 1.7% between 1994-2008, whilst in women it was 2.8% between 1994-2000 and 6.7% between 2005-2008 (p < 0.05 for all periods).Stroke mortality declined between 1990-1994 (annual fall of 3.8% in both sexes), followed by a slight increase between 1994-2004 (0.6% in men, 1.1% in women), then a further decline until 2008 (annual reduction of 4.4% in men, 7.9% in women) (p < 0.05 for all periods). CONCLUSIONS: A decrease in CVD mortality was observed from 1995 onwards in Turkey. The causes need to be explored in detail to inform future policy priorities in noncommunicable disease control

Algae as Protein Factories: Expression of a Human Antibody and the Respective Antigen in the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Microalgae are thought to offer great potential as expression system for various industrial, therapeutic and diagnostic recombinant proteins as they combine high growth rates with all benefits of eukaryotic expression systems. Moreover, microalgae exhibit a phototrophic lifestyle like land plants, hence protein expression is fuelled by photosynthesis, which is CO2-neutral and involves only low production costs. So far, however, research on algal bioreactors for recombinant protein expression is very rare calling for further investigations in this highly promising field. In this study, we present data on the expression of a monoclonal human IgG antibody against the Hepatitis B surface protein and the respective antigen in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Antibodies are fully-assembled and functional and accumulate to 8.7% of total soluble protein, which complies with 21 mg antibody per gram algal dry weight. The Hepatitis B surface protein is functional as well and is recognized by algae-produced and commercial antibodies

Barnase as a New Therapeutic Agent Triggering Apoptosis in Human Cancer Cells

RNases are currently studied as non-mutagenic alternatives to the harmful DNA-damaging anticancer drugs commonly used in clinical practice. Many mammalian RNases are not potent toxins due to the strong inhibition by ribonuclease inhibitor (RI) presented in the cytoplasm of mammalian cells.In search of new effective anticancer RNases we studied the effects of barnase, a ribonuclease from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, on human cancer cells. We found that barnase is resistant to RI. In MTT cell viability assay, barnase was cytotoxic to human carcinoma cell lines with half-inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) ranging from 0.2 to 13 microM and to leukemia cell lines with IC(50) values ranging from 2.4 to 82 microM. Also, we characterized the cytotoxic effects of barnase-based immunoRNase scFv 4D5-dibarnase, which consists of two barnase molecules serially fused to the single-chain variable fragment (scFv) of humanized antibody 4D5 that recognizes the extracellular domain of cancer marker HER2. The scFv 4D5-dibarnase specifically bound to HER2-positive cells and was internalized via receptor-mediated endocytosis. The intracellular localization of internalized scFv 4D5-dibarnase was determined by electronic microscopy. The cytotoxic effect of scFv 4D5-dibarnase on HER2-positive human ovarian carcinoma SKOV-3 cells (IC(50) = 1.8 nM) was three orders of magnitude greater than that of barnase alone. Both barnase and scFv 4D5-dibarnase induced apoptosis in SKOV-3 cells accompanied by internucleosomal chromatin fragmentation, membrane blebbing, the appearance of phosphatidylserine on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, and the activation of caspase-3.These results demonstrate that barnase is a potent toxic agent for targeting to cancer cells

Polygenic prediction of educational attainment within and between families from genome-wide association analyses in 3 million individuals

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).We conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment (EA) in a sample of ~3 million individuals and identify 3,952 approximately uncorrelated genome-wide-significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A genome-wide polygenic predictor, or polygenic index (PGI), explains 12–16% of EA variance and contributes to risk prediction for ten diseases. Direct effects (i.e., controlling for parental PGIs) explain roughly half the PGI’s magnitude of association with EA and other phenotypes. The correlation between mate-pair PGIs is far too large to be consistent with phenotypic assortment alone, implying additional assortment on PGI-associated factors. In an additional GWAS of dominance deviations from the additive model, we identify no genome-wide-significant SNPs, and a separate X-chromosome additive GWAS identifies 57.Peer reviewe

Economic analysis of participation in physical activity in England: implications for health policy.

BACKGROUND: Changing the relative price of (in) activity is an important tool for health policies. Nonetheless, to date, analyses of correlates of physical activity (PA) have excluded the notion of price. Using the first nationwide dataset on prices of PA for England, we explore for the first time how money and time prices are associated with PA (in general) and specific activities. METHODS: A nationally representative telephone follow-up survey to Health Survey for England (HSE) 2008 was undertaken in 2010. The sample covered individuals who reported to have undertaken some PA in the HSE 2008. Questions focussed on: ex-post money and time prices; type and quantity of PA; perceived benefits of PA and socio-economic details. Count regression models (all activities together, and swimming, workout, walking separately) were fitted to investigate the variation in quantity of PA. RESULTS: Of 1683 respondents, 83% participated in PA (one or more activities), and spent an average of £2.40 per occasion of participation in PA and 23 minutes travelling. Participation in PA was negatively associated with money prices per occasion (i.e. family member/child care fees, parking fees, and facility charges) and travel time price. Participation in PA was more sensitive to travel time price than money price. Among the specific activities, the money price effect was highest for swimming with a 10% higher price associated with 29% fewer occasions of swimming; followed by workout (3% fewer occasions) and walking (2% fewer occasions). Only swimming and workout were sensitive to travel time price. People who felt doing PA could help them 'get outdoors', 'have fun', or 'lose weight' were likely to do more PA. CONCLUSIONS: Two main policy implications emerge from the findings. First, the results support the notion that positive financial incentives, e.g. subsidising price of participation, could generally lead to an increase in quantity of PA among those already exercising. Second, such policies could lead to desired policy goals if implemented at an individual activity level (e.g. 50% subsidy on swimming entrance charges) rather than a blanket implementation (e.g. subsidising average entrance charges across all activities by 50%).Department of Health’s Policy Research Programm