Resistance exercise training restores bone mineral density in heart transplant recipients

AbstractObjectives. This was a prospective, randomized, controlled study designed to determine the effect of resistance exercise traning on bone metabolism in heart transplant recipients.Background. Osteoporosis frequently complicates heart transplantation. No preventative strategy is generally accepted for glucocorticoid-induced bone loss.Methods. Sixteen male heart transplant recipients were randomly assigned to a resistance exercise group that trained for 6 months (mean [±SD] age 56 ± 6 years) or a control group (mean age 52 ± 10 years) that did not perform resistance exercise. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the total body, femur neck and lumbar spine (L2 to L3) was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry before and 2 months after transplantation and after 3 and 6 months of resistance exercise or a control period. The exercise regimen consisted of lumbar extension exercise (MedX) performed 1 day/week and variable resistance exercises (Nautilus) performed 2 days/week. Each exercise consisted of one set of 10 to 15 repetitions performed to volitional fatigue.Results. Pretransplantation baseline values for regional BMD did not differ in the control and training groups. Bone mineral density of the total body, femur neck and lumbar vertebra (L2 to L3) were significantly decreased below baseline at 2 months after transplantation in both the control (−3.3 ± 1.3%, − 4.5 ± 2.8%, −12.7 ± 6.2%, respectly) and training groups (−2.9 ± 1.1%, 5.9 ± 3.2%, −14.8 ± 3.1%, respectively). Six months of resistance exercise restored BMD of the whole body, femur neck and lumbar vertebra to within 1%, 1.9% and 3.6% of pretransplantation levels, respectively. Bone mineral density of the control group remained unchanged from the 2-month posttransplantation levels.Conclusions. Within 2 months after heart transplantation, ≈ 3% of whole-body BMD is lost, mostly due to decreases in trabecular bone (−12% to −15% of lumbar vertebra). Six months of resistance exercise, consisting of low back exercise that isolates the lumbar spine and a regimen of variable resistance exercises, restores BMD toward pretransplantation levels. Our results suggest that resistance exercise is osteogenic and should be initiated early after heart transplantation

Technology Challenges in Small UAV Development

Development of highly capable small UAVs present unique challenges for technology protagonists. Size constraints, the desire for ultra low cost and/or disposable platforms, lack of capable design and analysis tools, and unique mission requirements all add to the level of difficulty in creating state-of-the-art small UAVs. This paper presents the results of several small UAV developments, the difficulties encountered, and proposes a list of technology shortfalls that need to be addressed

Exercise-induced hypoxemia in heart transplant recipient

AbstractObjectives. The purpose of this study was to determine whether heart transplantation has an adverse effect on pulmonary diffusion and to investigate the potentially deleterious effects of impaired pulmonary diffusion on arterial blood gas dynamics during exercise in heart transplant reciplents.Background. Abnormal pulmonary diffusing capacity is reported in patients after orthotopic heart transplantation. Abnormal diffusion may be caused by cyclosporlne or by the persistence of preexisting conditions known to adversely affect diffusion, such as congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Methods. Eleven patients (mean age 50 ± 14 years) performed pulmonary function tests 3 ± 1 months before and 18 ± 12 (mean ± SD) months after heart transplantation. Transplant patients were assigned to groups with diffusion > 70% (n = 5) or diffusion < 70% of predicted values (n = 5). The control group and both subsets of patients performed 10 min of cycle exercise at 40% and 70% of peak power output. Arterial blood gases were drawn every 30 s during the 1st 5 min and at 6, 8 and 10 min.Results. Significant improvements in forced vital capacity (17,4%), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (11.7%) and diffusion capacity (6.6%) occurred in the patients; however, posttransplantation vital capacity, forced expiratory volume and diffusion were lower (p ≤ 0.05) compared with values in 11 control subjects. Changes in blood gases were similar among groups at 40% of peak power output. At 76% of peak power output, arterial blood gases and pH were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower in transplant patients with low diffusion (arterial oxygen pressure 15 to 38 mm Hg below baseline) than in patients with normal diffusion and control subjects. Cardiac index did not differ (p ≥0.05) between transplant patients with noramal and low diffusion at rest or during exercise. Posttransplantation mean pulmonary artery pressure was significantly related to exercise-induced hypoxemia (r = 0.71; p = 0.03).Conclusions. Abnormal pulmonary diffusion observed in patients before heart transplantation persists after transplantation with or without restrictive or obstructive ventilatory defects. Heart transplant recipients exprience exercise-induced hypoxemia when diffusion at rest is < 70% of predicted. Our data also suggest that abnormal pulmonary gas exchange possibly contributes to diminished peak oxygen consumption in some heart transplant recipients; however, direct testing of this hypothesis was beyond the scope of the present study. This possibility needs to be investigated further

Temporal and nutritional effects on the weaner pig ileal microbiota

BACKGROUND: The porcine gastrointestinal microbiota has been linked to both host health and performance. Most pig gut microbiota studies target faecal material, which is not representative of microbiota dynamics in other discrete gut sections. The weaning transition period in pigs is a key development stage, with gastrointestinal problems being prominent after often sudden introduction to a solid diet. A better understanding of both temporal and nutritional effects on the small intestinal microbiota is required. Here, the development of the porcine ileal microbiota under differing levels of dietary protein was observed over the immediate post-weaning period. RESULTS: Ileal digesta samples were obtained at post-mortem prior to weaning day (day − 1) for baseline measurements. The remaining pigs were introduced to either an 18% (low) or 23% (high) protein diet on weaning day (day 0) and further ileal digesta sampling was carried out at days 5, 9 and 13 post-weaning. We identified significant changes in microbiome structure (P = 0.01), a reduction in microbiome richness (P = 0.02) and changes in the abundance of specific bacterial taxa from baseline until 13 days post-weaning. The ileal microbiota became less stable after the introduction to a solid diet at weaning (P = 0.036), was highly variable between pigs and no relationship was observed between average daily weight gain and microbiota composition. The ileal microbiota was less stable in pigs fed the high protein diet (P = 0.05), with several pathogenic bacterial genera being significantly higher in abundance in this group. Samples from the low protein and high protein groups did not cluster separately by their CAZyme (carbohydrate-active enzyme) composition, but GH33 exosialidases were found to be significantly more abundant in the HP group (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: The weaner pig ileal microbiota changed rapidly and was initially destabilised by the sudden introduction to feed. Nutritional composition influenced ileal microbiota development, with the high protein diet being associated with an increased abundance of significant porcine pathogens and the upregulation of GH33 exosialidases—which can influence host-microbe interactions and pathogenicity. These findings contribute to our understanding of a lesser studied gut compartment that is not only a key site of digestion, but also a target for the development of nutritional interventions to improve gut health and host growth performance during the critical weaning transition period. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42523-021-00119-y

Long‐term follow‐up of stereotactic radiosurgery for head and neck malignancies

BackgroundStereotactic radiosurgery is widely applied to deliver additional dose to head and neck tumors. However, its safety and efficacy remains equivocal.MethodsOne hundred eighty‐four patients with primary head and neck cancers treated between January 1990 and August 2012 with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsTwo hundred fifteen sites were treated with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery among 184 patients. Fifty‐one percent of patients received concurrent external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), 72% had prior surgery, and 46% received chemotherapy. Most (44%) had squamous cell carcinoma and most patients (65%) were treated for recurrent disease. With a median follow‐up of 17.3 months, 12‐month local control was 82%. Late effects occurred in 59 patients with the most common being temporal lobe necrosis (15 patients).ConclusionRadiosurgery can provide tumor control for patients with head and neck cancers involving the skull base. Long‐term follow‐up is important in survivors to identify late effects. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1557–1562, 2015Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115998/1/hed23798.pd

Evolution of the Chandra CCD Spectra of SNR 1987A: Probing the Reflected-Shock Picture

We continue to explore the validity of the reflected shock structure (RSS) picture in SNR 1987A that was proposed in our previous analyses of the X-ray emission from this object. We used an improved version of our RSS model in a global analysis of 14 CCD spectra from the monitoring program with Chandra. In the framework of the RSS picture, we are able to match both the expansion velocity curve deduced from the analysis of the X-ray images and light curve. Using a simplified analysis, we also show that the X-rays and the non-thermal radio emission may originate from the same shock structure (the blast wave). We believe that using the RSS model in the analysis of grating data from the Chandra monitoring program of SNR 1987A that cover a long enough time interval, will allow us to build a more realistic physical picture and model of SNR 1987A.Comment: 14 pages, 1 Table, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Closing the loop in exergaming - Health benefits of biocybernetic adaptation in senior adults

Exergames help senior players to get physically active by promoting fun and enjoyment while exercising. However, most exergames are not designed to produce recommended levels of exercise that elicit adequate physical responses for optimal training in the aged population. In this project, we developed physiological computing technologies to overcome this issue by making real-time adaptations in a custom exergame based on recommendations for targeted heart rate (HR) levels. This biocybernetic adaptation was evaluated against conventional cardiorespiratory training in a group of active senior adults through a floor-projected exergame and a smartwatch to record HR data. Results showed that the physiologically-augmented exergame leads players to exert around 40% more time in the recommended HR levels, compared to the conventional training, avoiding over exercising and maintaining good enjoyment levels. Finally, we made available our biocybernetic adaptation software tool to enable the creation of physiological adaptive videogames, permitting the replication of our study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Insights into the cultured bacterial fraction of corals

Bacteria associated with coral hosts are diverse and abundant, with recent studies suggesting involvement of these symbionts in host resilience to anthropogenic stress. Despite their putative importance, the work dedicated to culturing coral-associated bacteria has received little attention. Combining published and unpublished data, here we report a comprehensive overview of the diversity and function of culturable bacteria isolated from corals originating from tropical, temperate, and cold-water habitats. A total of 3,055 isolates from 52 studies were considered by our metasurvey. Of these, 1,045 had full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences, spanning 138 formally described and 12 putatively novel bacterial genera across the Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria phyla. We performed comparative genomic analysis using the available genomes of 74 strains and identified potential signatures of beneficial bacterium-coral symbioses among the strains. Our analysis revealed \u3e 400 biosynthetic gene clusters that underlie the biosynthesis of antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and other secondary metabolites. Moreover, we uncovered genomic features-not previously described for coral-bacterium symbioses-potentially involved in host colonization and host-symbiont recognition, antiviral defense mechanisms, and/or integrated metabolic interactions, which we suggest as novel targets for the screening of coral probiotics. Our results highlight the importance of bacterial cultures to elucidate coral holobiont functioning and guide the selection of probiotic candidates to promote coral resilience and improve holistic and customized reef restoration and rehabilitation efforts

Inotersen preserves or improves quality of life in hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis

Objective: To examine the impact on quality of life (QOL) of patients with hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy treated with inotersen (Tegsedi™) versus placebo. Methods: Data were from the NEURO-TTR trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01737398), a phase 3, multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of inotersen in patients with hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. At baseline and week 66, QOL measures-the Norfolk-QOL-Diabetic Neuropathy (DN) questionnaire and SF-36v2® Health Survey (SF-36v2)-were assessed. Treatment differences in mean changes in QOL from baseline to week 66 were tested using mixed-effect models with repeated measures. Responder analyses compared the percentages of patients whose QOL meaningfully improved or worsened from baseline to week 66 in inotersen and placebo arms. Descriptive analysis of item responses examined treatment differences in specific activities and functions at week 66. Results: Statistically significant mean differences between treatment arms were observed for three of five Norfolk-QOL-DN domains and five of eight SF-36v2 domains, with better outcomes for inotersen than placebo in physical functioning, activities of daily living, neuropathic symptoms, pain, role limitations due to health problems, and social functioning. A larger percentage of patients in the inotersen arm than the placebo arm showed preservation or improvement in Norfolk-QOL-DN and SF-36v2 scores from baseline to week 66. Responses at week 66 showed more substantial problems with daily activities and functioning for patients in the placebo arm than in the inotersen arm. Conclusion: Patients with hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy treated with inotersen showed preserved or improved QOL at 66 weeks compared to those who received placebo.This research was funded by Akcea Therapeutics and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Incinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio