Dataset on gene expression in the elderly after Mindfulness Awareness Practice or Health Education Program

It has been reported that relaxation techniques can improve physical health and cognitive function. A number of studies involving different types of relaxation practices showed changes in expression of genes. We investigated the gene expression pattern of a cohort of elderly subjects of Asian descent after weekly (for the first three months) and monthly (for the subsequent six months) intervention. Sixty consenting elderly subjects (aged 60–90 years) with mild cognitive impairment were assigned to either the Mindfulness Awareness Practice (MAP) or Health Education Program (HEP) group in a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of the programs in preventing further cognitive decline and evaluate the influence on neurological, cellular and biochemical factors. Blood samples were collected before the start of intervention and after nine months for gene expression profiling using Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 arrays. The dataset is publicly available for further analyses

Endovascular Management of Traumatic Iliac Vessel Disruption—Report of Two Cases

AbstractVascular injuries in a multi-trauma patient are associated with significant cardiovascular instability and organ injury. Injuries with active bleeding are best treated with a quick, safe and the least less invasive procedure available to the trauma surgeon. We report two cases of blunt trauma induced common and external iliac vessel injury, managed by endovascular treatment. In the second case, endovascular treatment prevented histological examination of the artery, which would have revealed an alternative diagnosis

Illustrating a new global-scale approach to estimating potential reduction in fish species richness due to flow alteration

Changes in river discharge due to human activities and climate change would affect the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems. To globally assess how changes in river discharge will affect the future status of freshwater ecosystems, global-scale hydrological simulations need to be connected with a model to estimate the durability of freshwater ecosystems. However, the development of this specific modelling combination for the global scale is still in its infancy. In this study, two statistical methods are introduced to link flow regimes to fish species richness (FSR): one is based on a linear relationship between FSR and mean river discharge (hereafter, FSR-MAD method), and the other is based on a multi-linear relationship between FSR and ecologically relevant flow indices involving several other flow characteristics and mean river discharge (FSR-FLVAR method). The FSR-MAD method has been used previously in global simulation studies. The FSR-FLVAR method is newly introduced here. These statistical methods for estimating FSR were combined with a set of global river discharge simulations to evaluate the potential impact of climate-change-induced flow alterations on FSR changes. Generally, future reductions in FSR with the FSR-FLVAR method are greater and much more scattered than with the FSR-MAD method. In arid regions, both methods indicate reductions in FSR because mean discharge is projected to decrease from past to future, although the magnitude of reductions in FSR is different between the two methods. In contrast, in heavy-snow regions a large reduction in FSR is shown by the FSR-FLVAR method due to increases in the frequency of low and high flows. Although further research is clearly needed to conclude which method is more appropriate, this study demonstrates that the FSR-FLVAR method could produce considerably different results when assessing the global role of flow alterations in changing freshwater ecosystems

Morphological analysis of Polyaniline (PANI) integrated cotton fabric

With the exponential growth of flexible electronics, conductive polymer Polyaniline has been acting as a protagonist since its discovery. Polyaniline is endowed with optical and electrical conductivity, a low-cost synthesis process, and environmental stability. However, the irregular, rigid form and specific choice of solvents often hinder its widespread application. The conductive fabric can be used in the field of flexible energy harvesting, sensing, electromagnetic shielding or many more functional applications. In this study, conductive cotton fabric was fabricated using a facile in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of Aniline on a Cotton fabric surface. Doping was performed using HCl, maintaining three different concentrations levels (1M, 2M and 3M). The color of Polyaniline turned from Blue (Emeraldine Base) to Emerald Green (Emeraldine Salt) upon its successful formation. Visual analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis were performed to justify the homogeneity and bonding adhesion with the fabric surface. It is observed that, the deposition of Polyaniline is much uniform and homogenous with the increase of dopant concentration

Homozygous carriers of the TCF7L2 rs7903146 T-allele show altered postprandial response in triglycerides and triglyceride-rich lipoproteins

The TCF7L2 rs7903146 T-allele shows the strongest association with type 2 diabetes (T2D) among common gene variants. The aim of this study was to assess circulating levels of metabolites following a meal test in individuals carrying the high risk rs790346 TT genotype (cases) and low-risk CC genotype (controls). Sixty-two men were recruited based on TCF7L2 genotype, 31 were TT carriers and 31 were age- and BMI-matched CC carriers. All participants consumed a test meal after 12 hours of fasting. Metabolites were measured using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Metabolomic profiling of TCF7L2 carriers were performed for 141 lipid estimates. TT carriers had lower fasting levels of L-VLDL-L (total lipids in large very low density lipoproteins, p = 0.045), L-VLDL-CE (cholesterol esters in large VLDL, p = 0.03), and L-VLDL-C (total cholesterol in large VLDL, p = 0.045) compared to CC carriers. Additionally, TT carriers had lower postprandial levels of total triglycerides (TG) (q = 0.03), VLDL-TG (q = 0.05, including medium, small and extra small, q = 0.048, q = 0.0009, q = 0.04, respectively), HDL-TG (triglycerides in high density lipoproteins q = 0.037) and S-HDL-TG (q = 0.00003). In conclusion, TT carriers show altered postprandial triglyceride response, mainly influencing VLDL and HDL subclasses suggesting a genotype-mediated effect on hepatic lipid regulation

Randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effect of foot trimming before and after first calving on subsequent lameness episodes and productivity in dairy heifers

The objective of this study was to assess both independent and combined effects of routine foot trimming of heifers at 3 weeks pre-calving and 100 days post calving on the first lactation lameness and lactation productivity. A total of 419 pre-calving dairy heifers were recruited from one heifer rearing operation over a 10-month period. Heifers were randomly allocated into one of four foot trimming regimens; pre-calving foot trim and post-calving lameness score (Group TL), pre-calving lameness score and post-calving foot trim (Group LT), pre-calving foot trim and post-calving foot trim (Group TT), and pre-calving lameness score and post-calving lameness score (Group LL, control group). All heifers were scored for lameness at 24 biweekly time points for 1 year following calving, and first lactation milk production data were collected. Following calving, 172/419 (41.1%) of heifers became lame during the study (period prevalence), with lameness prevalence at each time-point following calving ranging from 48/392 (12.2%) at 29–42 days post-calving to 4/379 (1.1%) between 295 and 383 days after calving. The effects of the four treatment groups were not significantly different from each other for overall lameness period prevalence, biweekly lameness point prevalence, time to first lameness event, type of foot lesion identified at dry off claw trimming, or the 4% fat corrected 305-day milk yield. However, increased odds lameness was significantly associated with a pre-calving trim alone (P = 0.044) compared to the reference group LL. The odds of heifer lameness were highest between 0 and 6 weeks post-partum, and heifer farm destination was significantly associated with lameness (OR 2.24), suggesting that even at high standard facilities, environment and management systems have more effect on heifer foot health than trimming

Genetic predisposition to adiposity is associated with increased objectively assessed sedentary time in young children.

Increased sedentariness has been linked to the growing prevalence of obesity in children, but some longitudinal studies suggest that sedentariness may be a consequence rather than a cause of increased adiposity. We used Mendelian randomization to examine the causal relations between body mass index (BMI) and objectively assessed sedentary time and physical activity in 3-8 year-old children from one Finnish and two Danish cohorts [NTOTAL=679]. A genetic risk score (GRS) comprised of 15 independent genetic variants associated with childhood BMI was used as the instrumental variable to test causal effects of BMI on sedentary time, total physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). In fixed effects meta-analyses, the GRS was associated with 0.05 SD/allele increase in sedentary time (P=0.019), but there was no significant association with total physical activity (beta=0.011 SD/allele, P=0.58) or MVPA (beta=0.001 SD/allele, P=0.96), adjusting for age, sex, monitor wear-time and first three genome-wide principal components. In two-stage least squares regression analyses, each genetically instrumented one unit increase in BMI z-score increased sedentary time by 0.47 SD (P=0.072). Childhood BMI may have a causal influence on sedentary time but not on total physical activity or MVPA in young children. Our results provide important insights into the regulation of movement behaviour in childhood

The impact of muscle relaxation techniques on the quality of life of cancer patients, as measured by the FACT-G questionnaire

Introduction Patients with cancer frequently suffer from emotional distress, characterized by psychological symptoms such as anxiety or depression. The presence of psychological symptoms combined with the complex nature of oncology processes can negatively impact patients' quality of life. We aimed to determine the impact of a relaxation protocol on improving quality of life in a sample of oncological patients treated in the Spanish National Public Health System. Materials and methods We conducted a multicenter interventional study without a control group. In total, 272 patients with different oncologic pathologies and showing symptoms of anxiety were recruited from 10 Spanish public hospitals. The intervention comprised abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation training, according to Bernstein and Borkovec. This was followed by weekly telephone calls to each patient over a 1-month period. We collected sociodemographic variables related to the disease process, including information about mental health and the intervention. Patients' quality of life was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) questionnaire. Bivariate and univariate analyses were performed, along with an analysis of multiple correspondences to identify subgroups of patients with similar variations on the FACT-G. Results Patients showed statistically significant improvements on the FACT-G overall score (W = 16806; p<0.001), with an initial mean score of 55.33±10.42 and a final mean score of 64.49±7.70. We also found significant improvements for all subscales: emotional wellbeing (W = 13118; p<0.001), functional wellbeing (W = 16155.5; p<0.001), physical wellbeing (W = 8885.5; p<0.001), and social and family context (W = ?1840; p = 0.037). Conclusions Patients with cancer who learned and practiced abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation experienced improvement in their perceived quality of life as measured by the FACT-G. Our findings support a previous assumption that complementary techniques (including relaxation techniques) are effective in improving the quality of life of patients with cancer