Malnutrition in the elderly

Changes that occur naturally throughout the ageing process place the elderly population at greater risk of malnourishment. This review discusses the significance, causes, consequences and assessment of malnutrition in the elderly

Interventions outside the workplace for reducing sedentary behaviour in adults under 60

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of non-occupational interventions for reducing sedentary behaviour in adults under 60 years of age on sedentary time. Secondary objectives are: to describe other health effects, and adverse events or unintended consequences of the interventions; to determine whether specific components of interventions are associated with changes in sedentary behaviour; to examine if there are any differential effects of interventions based on health inequalities (e.g. age, sex, income, employment)

Disorder-specific functional abnormalities during temporal discounting in youth with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism and comorbid ADHD and Autism

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often comorbid and share cognitive abnormalities in temporal foresight. A key question is whether shared cognitive phenotypes are based on common or different underlying pathophysiologies and whether comorbid patients have additive neurofunctional deficits, resemble one of the disorders or have a different pathophysiology. We compared age- and IQ-matched boys with non-comorbid ADHD (18), non-comorbid ASD (15), comorbid ADHD and ASD (13) and healthy controls (18) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a temporal discounting task. Only the ASD and the comorbid groups discounted delayed rewards more steeply. The fMRI data showed both shared and disorder-specific abnormalities in the three groups relative to controls in their brain-behaviour associations. The comorbid group showed both unique and more severe brain-discounting associations than controls and the non-comorbid patient groups in temporal discounting areas of ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum and anterior cingulate, suggesting that comorbidity is neither an endophenocopy of the two pure disorders nor an additive pathology

Neural Correlates of Duration Discrimination in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Their Comorbid Presentation

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often co-occur and share neurocognitive deficits. One such shared impairment is in duration discrimination. However, no studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have investigated whether these duration discrimination deficits are underpinned by the same or different underlying neurofunctional processes. In this study, we used fMRI to compare the neurofunctional correlates of duration discrimination between young adult males with ASD (n = 23), ADHD (n = 25), the comorbid condition of ASD+ADHD (n = 24), and typical development (TD, n = 26) using both region of interest (ROI) and whole brain analyses. Both the ROI and the whole-brain analyses showed that the comorbid ASD+ADHD group compared to controls, and for the ROI analysis relative to the other patient groups, had significant under-activation in right inferior frontal cortex (IFG) a key region for duration discrimination that is typically under-activated in boys with ADHD. The findings show that in young adult males with pure ASD, pure ADHD and comorbid ASD+ADHD with no intellectual disability, only the comorbid group demonstrates neurofunctional deficits in a typical duration discrimination region

Disorder-specific and shared brain abnormalities during vigilance in autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are often comorbid and share similarities across some cognitive phenotypes, including certain aspects of attention. However, no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have compared the underlying neural mechanisms contributing to these shared phenotypes. Methods Age and IQ-matched boys between 11 and 17 years old with ASD (N=20), OCD (N=20) and healthy controls (N = 20) performed a parametrically modulated psychomotor vigilance fMRI task. Brain activation and performance were compared between adolescents with OCD, ASD and controls. Results While boys with ASD and OCD were not impaired on task performance, there was a significant group by attention load interaction in several brain regions. With increasing attention load, left inferior frontal cortex/insula as well as left inferior parietal lobe/pre/post-central gyrus were progressively less activated in OCD boys relative to the other two groups. In addition, OCD boys showed progressively increased activation with increasing attention load in rostromedial prefrontal/anterior cingulate cortex relative to ASD and control boys. Shared neurofunctional abnormalities between ASD and OCD boys included increased activation with increasing attention load in cerebellum and occipital regions, possibly reflecting increased default mode network activation. Conclusions This first fMRI study to compare boys with ASD and OCD showed shared abnormalities in posterior cerebellar-occipital brain regions. However, OCD boys showed a disorder-specific pattern of reduced activation in left inferior frontal and temporo-parietal regions but increased activation of medial frontal regions which may potentially be related to neurobiological mechanisms underlying cognitive and clinical phenotypes of OCD

Image-based multiplex immune profiling of cancer tissues: translational implications. A report of the International Immuno-oncology Biomarker Working Group on Breast Cancer.

Recent advances in thefield of immuno-oncology have brought transformative changes in the management ofcancer patients. The immune profile of tumours has been found to have key value in predicting disease prognosis andtreatment response in various cancers. Multiplex immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence have emerged aspotent tools for the simultaneous detection of multiple protein biomarkers in a single tissue section, therebyexpanding opportunities for molecular and immune profiling while preserving tissue samples. By establishing thephenotype of individual tumour cells when distributed within a mixed cell population, the identification of clinicallyrelevant biomarkers with high-throughput multiplex immunophenotyping of tumour samples has great potential toguide appropriate treatment choices. Moreover, the emergence of novel multi-marker imaging approaches can nowprovide unprecedented insights into the tumour microenvironment, including the potential interplay betweenvarious cell types. However, there are significant challenges to widespread integration of these technologies in dailyresearch and clinical practice. This review addresses the challenges and potential solutions within a structuredframework of action from a regulatory and clinical trial perspective. New developments within thefield ofimmunophenotyping using multiplexed tissue imaging platforms and associated digital pathology are also described,with a specific focus on translational implications across different subtypes of cancer

Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Tips for Players and Athletes COVID-RECOVER

First paragraph: The aim of this guidance is to provide a framework for athletes to cope, thrive and engage in personal growth during the current pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely led to wide-scale disruption of your sporting trajectories for 2020. This has included the cancellation or postponement of sporting events, limits to group training due to social distancing, restrictions on use of sporting facilities and loss of face-to-face access to coaches and support personnel. In the context of a threat to public health, arguably sports competition sinks into lesser importance, but for athletes like you, for whom sport is a fulltime job or major life goal, or for those who identify sports competition as a key part of their identity, it is important to share recommendations based on evidence and theory on how to support athletes and players through this time. The unprecedented situation means that evidence from similar or related contexts and relevant theories needs to be used to extrapolate to COVID-19 and all its challenges. Each of the guidelines below should be viewed like a menu to choose from and try, test and review, and be seen as a road to discovery instead of passive prescription of activities. Our team of practitioners and researchers have collated the knowledge below based on four premises: 1. Psychological Strengths: As a performer on the sporting stage, you have, in all likelihood, developed many skills and habits to support your on-field performance. Pre-performance routines for penalty taking, for example, may include relaxation and focusing components which aid emotional regulation. This can be also applied to help you cope in world outside of sport (i.e. outside the bubble). Awareness of your repertoire of psychological skills and the ability to use them across different contexts is highly important. 2. Resilience: The capacity to mobilise resources both in advance and after a major challenge, is developed through our sporting challenges. In the face of a trauma, it is likely that resilience is the default rather than the exception. As an athlete, you have the ability to respond in an optimistic way to major stressors and engage in post-traumatic growth. Further, you have successful experiences from memory to call upon on which By doing this, you build a firm foundation on which to build your beliefs that you have sufficient resources to cope with COVID-19. 3. Individual Responses: It is important to acknowledge that athletes in different sports and at different levels of competition have developed diverse sets of abilities and competencies. Dual-career athletes (e.g. student-athletes) may have invested much of their effort in their sport despite study or work commitments, and injured athletes may be over-identifying with their sport as a predictable response to injury, in both cases making these athletes very vulnerable to major stressors. 4. Perception of Control: Loss of control is a major source of anxiety in a pandemic (see Mansell, 2020). Developing autonomy and a sense of control is a key part to feeling safe and secure. With COVID-19, the new habits that could help protect you such as physical isolation, hand hygiene, and avoiding touching your face can help you gain control in an uncertain world. And finding new ways to exercise, to work and to interact can open up a world of exciting possibilities. Athletes have shown an ability to develop positive habits and maintain self-control, skills transferable to meeting the present challenging circumstances

Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Tips for Players and Athletes COVID-RECOVER

First paragraph: The aim of this guidance is to provide a framework for athletes to cope, thrive and engage in personal growth during the current pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely led to wide-scale disruption of your sporting trajectories for 2020. This has included the cancellation or postponement of sporting events, limits to group training due to social distancing, restrictions on use of sporting facilities and loss of face-to-face access to coaches and support personnel. In the context of a threat to public health, arguably sports competition sinks into lesser importance, but for athletes like you, for whom sport is a fulltime job or major life goal, or for those who identify sports competition as a key part of their identity, it is important to share recommendations based on evidence and theory on how to support athletes and players through this time. The unprecedented situation means that evidence from similar or related contexts and relevant theories needs to be used to extrapolate to COVID-19 and all its challenges. Each of the guidelines below should be viewed like a menu to choose from and try, test and review, and be seen as a road to discovery instead of passive prescription of activities. Our team of practitioners and researchers have collated the knowledge below based on four premises: 1. Psychological Strengths: As a performer on the sporting stage, you have, in all likelihood, developed many skills and habits to support your on-field performance. Pre-performance routines for penalty taking, for example, may include relaxation and focusing components which aid emotional regulation. This can be also applied to help you cope in world outside of sport (i.e. outside the bubble). Awareness of your repertoire of psychological skills and the ability to use them across different contexts is highly important. 2. Resilience: The capacity to mobilise resources both in advance and after a major challenge, is developed through our sporting challenges. In the face of a trauma, it is likely that resilience is the default rather than the exception. As an athlete, you have the ability to respond in an optimistic way to major stressors and engage in post-traumatic growth. Further, you have successful experiences from memory to call upon on which By doing this, you build a firm foundation on which to build your beliefs that you have sufficient resources to cope with COVID-19. 3. Individual Responses: It is important to acknowledge that athletes in different sports and at different levels of competition have developed diverse sets of abilities and competencies. Dual-career athletes (e.g. student-athletes) may have invested much of their effort in their sport despite study or work commitments, and injured athletes may be over-identifying with their sport as a predictable response to injury, in both cases making these athletes very vulnerable to major stressors. 4. Perception of Control: Loss of control is a major source of anxiety in a pandemic (see Mansell, 2020). Developing autonomy and a sense of control is a key part to feeling safe and secure. With COVID-19, the new habits that could help protect you such as physical isolation, hand hygiene, and avoiding touching your face can help you gain control in an uncertain world. And finding new ways to exercise, to work and to interact can open up a world of exciting possibilities. Athletes have shown an ability to develop positive habits and maintain self-control, skills transferable to meeting the present challenging circumstances

Image-based multiplex immune profiling of cancer tissues: translational implications. A report of the international immuno-oncology biomarker working group on breast cancer.

Recent advances in the field of immuno-oncology have brought transformative changes in the management of cancer patients. The immune profile of tumours has been found to have key value in predicting disease prognosis and treatment response in various cancers. Multiplex immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence have emerged as potent tools for the simultaneous detection of multiple protein biomarkers in a single tissue section, thereby expanding opportunities for molecular and immune profiling while preserving tissue samples. By establishing the phenotype of individual tumour cells when distributed within a mixed cell population, the identification of clinically relevant biomarkers with high-throughput multiplex immunophenotyping of tumour samples has great potential to guide appropriate treatment choices. Moreover, the emergence of novel multi-marker imaging approaches can now provide unprecedented insights into the tumour microenvironment, including the potential interplay between various cell types. However, there are significant challenges to widespread integration of these technologies in daily research and clinical practice. This review addresses the challenges and potential solutions within a structured framework of action from a regulatory and clinical trial perspective. New developments within the field of immunophenotyping using multiplexed tissue imaging platforms and associated digital pathology are also described, with a specific focus on translational implications across different subtypes of cancer