Mental health screening: Severity and cut-off point sensitivity of the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire in male and female elite athletes

Objectives: To examine the sensitivity/specificity of the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ) in both male and female elite athletes, and also assess internal consistency and convergent/divergent validity, and determine discriminative validity relative to current injury status. Methods: Data were provided by 1093 elite athletes (males n=1007; females n=84). Scale validity and reliability values were benchmarked against validated measures of general psychological distress and well-being. ROC curve analysis determined a range of optimal severity cut-points. Results: Bias-corrected area under curve (AUC) values supported three APSQ cut-points for moderate (AUC=0.901), high (AUC=0.944) and very high (AUC=0.951) categories. APSQ total score Cronbach coefficients exceeded those observed for the Kessler 10 (K-10). Gender ×injury status interactions were observed for the APSQ total score and K-10, whereby injured female athletes reported higher scores relative to males and non-injured female counterparts. Conclusion: By providing a range of cut-off scores identifying those scoring in the marginal and elevated ranges, the APSQ may better facilitate earlier identification for male and female elite athletes vulnerable to mental health symptoms and developing syndromes. Use of the APSQ may support sports medicine practitioners and allied health professionals to detect early mental ill health manifestations and facilitate timely management and ideally, remediation of symptoms

Prevalence and correlates of frailty in an older rural African population:findings from the HAALSI cohort study

Background: Frailty is a key predictor of death and dependency, yet little is known about frailty in sub-Saharan Africa despite rapid population ageing. We describe the prevalence and correlates of phenotypic frailty using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies of an INDEPTH Community cohort. Methods: We analysed data from rural South Africans aged 40 and over. We used low grip strength, slow gait speed, low body mass index, and combinations of self-reported exhaustion, decline in health, low physical activity and high self-reported sedentariness to derive nine variants of a phenotypic frailty score. Each frailty category was compared with self-reported health, subjective wellbeing, impairment in activities of daily living and the presence of multimorbidity. Cox regression analyses were used to compare subsequent all-cause mortality for non-frail (score 0), pre-frail (score 1–2) and frail participants (score 3+). Results: Five thousand fifty nine individuals (mean age 61.7 years, 2714 female) were included in the analyses. The nine frailty score variants yielded a range of frailty prevalences (5.4% to 13.2%). For all variants, rates were higher in women than in men, and rose steeply with age. Frailty was associated with worse subjective wellbeing, and worse self-reported health. Both prefrailty and frailty were associated with a higher risk of death during a mean 17 month follow up for all score variants (hazard ratios 1.29 to 2.41 for pre-frail vs non-frail; hazard ratios 2.65 to 8.91 for frail vs non-frail). Conclusions: Phenotypic frailty could be measured in this older South African population, and was associated with worse health, wellbeing and earlier death

Cardiac rehabilitation adapted to transient ischaemic attack and stroke (CRAFTS): a randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coronary Heart Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease share many predisposing, modifiable risk factors (hypertension, abnormal blood lipids and lipoproteins, cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes mellitus). Lifestyle interventions and pharmacological therapy are recognised as the cornerstones of secondary prevention. Cochrane review has proven the benefits of programmes incorporating exercise and lifestyle counselling in the cardiac disease population. A Cochrane review highlighted as priority, the need to establish feasibility and efficacy of exercise based interventions for Cerebrovascular Disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A single blind randomised controlled trial is proposed to examine a primary care cardiac rehabilitation programme for adults post transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke in effecting a positive change in the primary outcome measures of cardiac risk scores derived from Blood Pressure, lipid profile, smoking and diabetic status and lifestyle factors of habitual smoking, exercise and healthy eating participation. Secondary outcomes of interest include health related quality of life as measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Stroke Specific Quality of Life scale and WONCA COOP Functional Health Status charts and cardiovascular fitness as measured by a sub-maximal fitness test.</p> <p>A total of 144 patients, over 18 years of age with confirmed diagnosis of ischaemic stroke or TIA, will be recruited from Dublin community stroke services and two tertiary T.I.A clinics. Exclusion criteria will include oxygen dependence, unstable cardiac conditions, uncontrolled diabetes, major medical conditions, claudication, febrile illness, pregnancy or cognitive impairment. Participants will be block-statified, randomly allocated to one of two groups using a pre-prepared computer generated randomisation schedule. Both groups will receive a two hour education class on risk reduction post stroke. The intervention group will receive a 10 week programme of supervised aerobic exercises (twice weekly) and individually tailored brief intervention lifestyle counselling. Both groups will be tested on week one and week ten of the programme. Follow-up at 1 year will assess longer term benefits. Analysis will test for significant changes in the key variables indicated.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Application of the Cardiac Rehabilitation paradigm to patients with ischaemic stroke or TIA has not been explored despite the obvious overlap in aetiology. It is hoped the anticipated improvement in vascular risk factors and fitness resulting from such a programme will enhance health and social gain in this population.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISCTRN90272638.</p

18S rDNA Phylogeny of Lamproderma and Allied Genera (Stemonitales, Myxomycetes, Amoebozoa)

The phylogenetic position of the slime-mould genus Lamproderma (Myxomycetes, Amoebozoa) challenges traditional taxonomy: although it displays the typical characters of the order Stemonitales, it appears to be sister to Physarales. This study provides a small subunit (18S or SSU) ribosomal RNA gene-based phylogeny of Lamproderma and its allies, with new sequences from 49 specimens in 12 genera. We found that the order Stemonitales and Lamproderma were both ancestral to Physarales and that Lamproderma constitutes several clades intermingled with species of Diacheopsis, Colloderma and Elaeomyxa. We suggest that these genera may have evolved from Lamproderma by multiple losses of fruiting body stalks and that many taxonomic revisions are needed. We found such high genetic diversity within three Lamproderma species that they probably consist of clusters of sibling species. We discuss the contrasts between genetic and morphological divergence and implications for the morphospecies concept, highlighting the phylogenetically most reliable morphological characters and pointing to others that have been overestimated. In addition, we showed that the first part (∼600 bases) of the SSU rDNA gene is a valuable tool for phylogeny in Myxomycetes, since it displayed sufficient variability to distinguish closely related taxa and never failed to cluster together specimens considered of the same species

Adhesion Molecules Associated with Female Genital Tract Infection

Altres ajuts: Marie Curie Career Integration Grant i una beca Fundació Dexeus Salut de la DonaEfforts to develop vaccines that can elicit mucosal immune responses in the female genital tract against sexually transmitted infections have been hampered by an inability to measure immune responses in these tissues. The differential expression of adhesion molecules is known to confer site-dependent homing of circulating effector T cells to mucosal tissues. Specific homing molecules have been defined that can be measured in blood as surrogate markers of local immunity (e.g. α4β7 for gut). Here we analyzed the expression pattern of adhesion molecules by circulating effector T cells following mucosal infection of the female genital tract in mice and during a symptomatic episode of vaginosis in women. While CCR2, CCR5, CXCR6 and CD11c were preferentially expressed in a mouse model of Chlamydia infection, only CCR5 and CD11c were clearly expressed by effector T cells during bacterial vaginosis in women. Other homing molecules previously suggested as required for homing to the genital mucosa such as α4β1 and α4β7 were also differentially expressed in these patients. However, CD11c expression, an integrin chain rarely analyzed in the context of T cell immunity, was the most consistently elevated in all activated effector CD8+ T cell subsets analyzed. This molecule was also induced after systemic infection in mice, suggesting that CD11c is not exclusive of genital tract infection. Still, its increase in response to genital tract disorders may represent a novel surrogate marker of mucosal immunity in women, and warrants further exploration for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes

Genetic Structure of Two Protist Species (Myxogastria, Amoebozoa) Suggests Asexual Reproduction in Sexual Amoebae

Plasmodial slime molds (Myxogastria or Myxomycetes) are common and widespread unicellular organisms that are commonly assumed to have a sexual life cycle culminating with the formation of often macroscopic fruiting bodies that efficiently disseminate spores. However, laboratory studies based on mating compatibility revealed the coexistence of asexual as well as sexual strains. To test this hypothesis in natural populations, we investigated the genetic variability of two species of the genus Lamproderma. Detailed ecological relevés were carried out in 2007 and 2009 in several deep ravines in the Elbsandsteingebirge (Saxony, south-eastern Germany). Morphological characters of 93 specimens of Lamproderma were recorded and genetic analyses, based on the small subunit ribosomal gene, the internal transcribed spacer 1 and partial elongation factor 1α sequences were carried out for 52 specimens. Genetic analyses showed the existence of two major clades, each composed of several discrete lineages. Most of these lineages were composed of several identical sequences (SSU, ITS 1 and EF-1α) which is explained best by an asexual mode of reproduction. Detrended Correspondence Analysis of morphological characters revealed two morphospecies that corresponded to the two major clades, except for one genotype (Lc6), thus challenging the morphospecies concept. Genetic patterns were not related to the geographical distribution: specimens belonging to the same genotype were found in distinct ravines, suggesting effective long-distance dispersal via spores, except for the Lc6 genotype which was found only in one ravine. Implications for the morphological and biological species concept are discussed

Institutional shared resources and translational cancer research

The development and maintenance of adequate shared infrastructures is considered a major goal for academic centers promoting translational research programs. Among infrastructures favoring translational research, centralized facilities characterized by shared, multidisciplinary use of expensive laboratory instrumentation, or by complex computer hardware and software and/or by high professional skills are necessary to maintain or improve institutional scientific competitiveness. The success or failure of a shared resource program also depends on the choice of appropriate institutional policies and requires an effective institutional governance regarding decisions on staffing, existence and composition of advisory committees, policies and of defined mechanisms of reporting, budgeting and financial support of each resource. Shared Resources represent a widely diffused model to sustain cancer research; in fact, web sites from an impressive number of research Institutes and Universities in the U.S. contain pages dedicated to the SR that have been established in each Center, making a complete view of the situation impossible. However, a nation-wide overview of how Cancer Centers develop SR programs is available on the web site for NCI-designated Cancer Centers in the U.S., while in Europe, information is available for individual Cancer centers. This article will briefly summarize the institutional policies, the organizational needs, the characteristics, scientific aims, and future developments of SRs necessary to develop effective translational research programs in oncology

Food for pollinators: quantifying the nectar and pollen resources of urban flower meadows

Planted meadows are increasingly used to improve the biodiversity and aesthetic amenity value of urban areas. Although many ‘pollinator-friendly’ seed mixes are available, the floral resources these provide to flower-visiting insects, and how these change through time, are largely unknown. Such data are necessary to compare the resources provided by alternative meadow seed mixes to each other and to other flowering habitats. We used quantitative surveys of over 2 million flowers to estimate the nectar and pollen resources offered by two exemplar commercial seed mixes (one annual, one perennial) and associated weeds grown as 300m2 meadows across four UK cities, sampled at six time points between May and September 2013. Nectar sugar and pollen rewards per flower varied widely across 65 species surveyed, with native British weed species (including dandelion, Taraxacum agg.) contributing the top five nectar producers and two of the top ten pollen producers. Seed mix species yielding the highest rewards per flower included Leontodon hispidus, Centaurea cyanus and C. nigra for nectar, and Papaver rhoeas, Eschscholzia californica and Malva moschata for pollen. Perennial meadows produced up to 20x more nectar and up to 6x more pollen than annual meadows, which in turn produced far more than amenity grassland controls. Perennial meadows produced resources earlier in the year than annual meadows, but both seed mixes delivered very low resource levels early in the year and these were provided almost entirely by native weeds. Pollen volume per flower is well predicted statistically by floral morphology, and nectar sugar mass and pollen volume per unit area are correlated with flower counts, raising the possibility that resource levels can be estimated for species or habitats where they cannot be measured directly. Our approach does not incorporate resource quality information (for example, pollen protein or essential amino acid content), but can easily do so when suitable data exist. Our approach should inform the design of new seed mixes to ensure continuity in floral resource availability throughout the year, and to identify suitable species to fill resource gaps in established mixes