Mild behavioral impairment in Parkinson's disease: Data from the Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment study (PACOS)

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) have been frequently described in Parkinson's disease (PD), even in the earliest stages of the disease. Recently the construct of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) has been proposed as an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of MBI in PD. Cross-sectional data from 429 consecutive PD patients enrolled in the PArkinson's disease COgnitive impairment Study (PACOS) were included in the study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment, according to the MDS Level II criteria. NPS were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate clinical and behavioral characteristics, which are associated with PD-MBI. The latter was ascertained in 361 (84.1%) subjects of whom 155 (36.1%) were newly diagnosed patients (disease duration ≥1 year) and 206 (48.0%) had a disease duration <1 year. Furthermore, 68 (15.9%) out of 429 subjects were PDw (without MBI). Across the MBI domains, Impulse Dyscontrol was significantly more prevalent among PD-MBI with disease duration <1 year than newly diagnosed patients. The frequency of Social Inappropriateness and Abnormal Perception significantly increased throughout the entire PD-MBI sample with increasing Hoehn andYahr (H&Y) stages. PD-MBI in newly diagnosed PDwas significantly associated with H&Y stage (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.05-5.24) and marginally with antidepressant drug use (OR 2.94, 95% CI 0.91-9.47), while in patients with a disease duration >1 year was associated with UPDRS-ME (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.41-8.00). The overall MBI frequency in the PACOS sample was 84% and 36% among newly diagnosed patients. The presence of MBI mainly related to motor impairment and disability

Incidence of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in Parkinson's disease: The Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment study

Background: Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD) includes a spectrum varying from Mild Cognitive Impairment (PD-MCI) to PD Dementia (PDD). The main aim of the present study is to evaluate the incidence of PD-MCI, its rate of progression to dementia, and to identify demographic and clinical characteristics which predict cognitive impairment in PD patients. Methods: PD patients from a large hospital-based cohort who underwent at least two comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations were retrospectively enrolled in the study. PD-MCI and PDD were diagnosed according to the Movement Disorder Society criteria. Incidence rates of PD-MCI and PDD were estimated. Clinical and demographic factors predicting PD-MCI and dementia were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard model. Results: Out of 139 enrolled PD patients, 84 were classified with normal cognition (PD-NC), while 55 (39.6%) fulfilled the diagnosis of PD-MCI at baseline. At follow-up (mean follow-up 23.5 ± 10.3 months) 28 (33.3%) of the 84 PD-NC at baseline developed MCI and 4 (4.8%) converted to PDD. The incidence rate of PD-MCI was 184.0/1000 pyar (95% CI 124.7-262.3). At multivariate analysis a negative association between education and MCI development at follow-up was observed (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.15-0.89; p = 0.03). The incidence rate of dementia was 24.3/1000 pyar (95% CI 7.7-58.5). Out of 55 PD-MCI patients at baseline, 14 (25.4%) converted to PDD, giving an incidence rate of 123.5/1000 pyar (95% CI 70.3-202.2). A five time increased risk of PDD was found in PD patients with MCI at baseline (RR 5.09, 95% CI 1.60-21.4). Conclusion: Our study supports the relevant role of PD-MCI in predicting PDD and underlines the importance of education in reducing the risk of cognitive impairment

Cognitive impairment and levodopa induced dyskinesia in Parkinson’s disease: a longitudinal study from the PACOS cohort

Aim of the study was to evaluate possible associations between cognitive dysfunctions and development of Levodopa Induced Dyskinesia (LID). PD patients from the Parkinson’s disease Cognitive impairment Study cohort who underwent a baseline and follow-up neuropsychological evaluations were enrolled. Mild Cognitive Impairment (PD-MCI) was diagnosed according to MDS level II criteria. The following cognitive domains were evaluated: episodic memory, attention, executive function, visuo-spatial function and language. A domain was considered as impaired when the subject scored 2 standard deviation below normality cut-off values in at least one test for each domain. Levodopa equivalent dose, UPDRS-ME and LID were recorded at baseline and follow-up. To identify possible neuropsychological predictors associated with the probability of LID development at follow-up, Cox proportional-hazards regression model was used. Out of 139 PD patients enrolled (87 men, mean age 65.7 ± 9.4), 18 (12.9%) were dyskinetic at baseline. Out of 121 patients non-dyskinetic at baseline, 22 (18.1%) developed LID at follow-up. The impairment of the attention and executive domains strongly predicted the development of LID (HR 4.45;95%CI 1.49–13.23 and HR 3.46; 95%CI 1.26–9.48 respectively). Impairment of the attention and executive domains increased the risk of dyskinesia reflecting the alteration of common cortical network

The ATLAS discovery potential for MSSM neutral Higgs bosons decaying to a mu+mu- pair in the mass range up to 130 GeV

Results are presented on the discovery potential for MSSM neutral Higgs bosons in the Mh-{max}scenario. The region of large tan beta, between 15 and 50, and mass between ~ 95 and 130 GeV is considered in the framework of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), for a centre-of-mass energy = 14 TeV. This parameter region is not fully covered by the present data either from LEP or from Tevatron. The h/A bosons, supposed to be very close in mass in that region, are studied in the channel h/A -> mu+mu- accompanied by two b-jets. The study includes a method to control the most copious background, Zo -> mu+mu- accompanied by two b-jets. A possible contribution of the H boson to the signal is also considered

Protein- and polysaccharide-based particles used for Pickering emulsion stabilisation

[EN] A few protein- and polysaccharide-based particles can function as effective stabilisers in multi-phase food systems. Combining both polymer-based particles and tailoring the wettability of colloidal systems result in particlestabilised emulsions with great stability. High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) have also been produced using such particles giving rise to a more stable, highly viscous structure. Thus, the purpose here is to review the advantages and disadvantages of using protein, polysaccharide and protein-polysaccharide complexes and conjugates for stabilising emulsions, highlighting the composites of amphiphilic protein-polysaccharide particles that can function as outstanding copolymer stabilising agents. The current challenges and emerging research trends are exploring renewable, sustainable, clean-label, and eco-friendly biopolymer particles that are effective as Pickering stabilisers.The authors would like to thank the project RTI-2018-099738-B-C22 from the 'Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades', the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - Brazil (CAPES) Finance Code 001, and Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP - Grant number 2016/227278) . They would also like to thank Phillip John Bentley for assistance correcting the manuscript's English.Ribeiro, EF.; Morell-Esteve, P.; Nicoletti, VR.; Quiles Chuliá, MD.; Hernando Hernando, MI. (2021). Protein- and polysaccharide-based particles used for Pickering emulsion stabilisation. Food Hydrocolloids. 119:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2021.106839S11311

The GRAAL high resolution BGO calorimeter and its energy calibration and monitoring system

We describe the electromagnetic calorimeter built for the GRAAL apparatus at the ESRF. Its monitoring system is presented in detail. Results from tests and the performance obtained during the first GRAAL experiments are given. The energy calibration accuracy and stability reached is a small fraction of the intrinsic detector resolution.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Method

Vascular risk factors, white matter lesions and cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease: the PACOS longitudinal study

Background: Vascular risk factors (VRFs) may be associated with cognitive decline in early Parkinson’s disease (PD) but results are inconclusive. The identification of modifiable risk factors is relevant for prevention and treatment. Methods: Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients of the PACOS cohort who underwent a baseline and follow-up neuropsychological evaluation were enrolled in the study. PD with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia (PDD) were diagnosed according to the MDS criteria. A Baseline 1.5 T brain MRI was used to calculate the white matter lesions (WMLs) burden using the Wahlund visual scale. Laboratory data, presence of hypertension, diabetes and use of anti-hypertensive drugs were collected and the Framingham Risk (FR) score was calculated. VRFs predicting PD-MCI and PDD were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: Out of 139 enrolled patients, 84 (60.4%) were classified as normal cognition (NC) and 55 (39.6%) as MCI at baseline. At follow-up 28 (33.3%) PD-NC developed MCI and 4 (4.8%) PDD (follow-up time 23.5 ± 10.3 months). Out of 55 PD-MCI patients at baseline, 14 (25.4%) converted to PDD. At multivariate analysis among PD-NC a systolic blood pressure (SBP) > 140 mmHg was the stronger predictor of MCI (adjHR 4.04; 95% CI 1.41–11.3) while the presence of MCI at baseline (adj HR 7.55; 95% CI 1.76–32.3) and a severe WMLs burden (adj HR 2.80; 95% CI 0.86–9.04) were the strongest predictors of PDD, even if this latter association has a trend towards significance. Conclusion: Hypertension represents the most important modifiable risk factor for PD-MCI in the PACOS cohort, increasing the risk of about four times

Eta photoproduction off the neutron at GRAAL: Evidence for a resonant structure at W=1.67 GeV

New (preliminary) data on eta photoproduction off the neutron are presented. These data reveal a resonant structure at W=1.67 GeV.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Published in Proceedings of Workshop on the Physics of Excited Nucleons NSTAR2004, Grenoble, France, March 24 - 27, pg.19

Deep learning model for automatic prostate segmentation on bicentric T2w images with and without endorectal coil

Automatic segmentation of the prostate on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the topics on which research has focused in recent years as it is a fundamental first step in the building process of a Computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system for cancer detection. Unfortunately, MRI acquired in different centers with different scanners leads to images with different characteristics. In this work, we propose an automatic algorithm for prostate segmentation, based on a U-Net applying transfer learning method in a bi-center setting. First, T2w images with and without endorectal coil from 80 patients acquired at Center A were used as training set and internal validation set. Then, T2w images without endorectal coil from 20 patients acquired at Center B were used as external validation. The reference standard for this study was manual segmentation of the prostate gland performed by an expert operator. The results showed a Dice similarity coefficient >85% in both internal and external validation datasets.Clinical Relevance- This segmentation algorithm could be integrated into a CAD system to optimize computational effort in prostate cancer detection

Eta photoproduction off the neutron at GRAAL

The gamma n -> eta n quasi-free cross section reveals a resonant structure at W ~ 1.675 GeV. This structure may be a manifestation of a baryon resonance. A priori its properties, the possibly narrow width and the strong photocoupling to the neutron, look surprising. This structure may also signal the existence of a narrow state.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of Workshop on the Physics of Excited Nucleons NSTAR2005, 12 - 15 October 2005, Tallahassee, Florida, US