The relationship between muscular strength and cognition in older adults

Little is known about the correlation between resistance training, muscular strength, and cognition. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between muscular strength and cognition in older adults. Data were collected for this cross sectional study at Butterfield Trail Village, a retirement community in Northwest Arkansas. Thirty participants, at least 65 years of age, without severe mental impairment were evaluated. Of the 30 participants, 23 females were included in the data analysis. The Stroop Color Test, Trail Making Test, and Dual Task Walking Test difference were used to measure executive cognition. Handgrip dynamometry was used as a measure of strength Three correlation analyses were performed to determine the effect of the independent variable, muscular strength, on the dependent variables, domains of executive cognition (represented in Stroop Color Word, Trail Making, and Dual Task evaluations). Statistical significance was set at 0.05 for each analysis. No significant correlation was found between handgrip strength and Trail Making Tests (r = -.21) or Stroop Color Word (r =.01); the results were not statistically significant (p= .34 and p=.966). Moderate correlation was found between handgrip strength and dual task difference (r=-.41), with a trend for significance (p=.052). Dependence on muscular coordination may account for the correlation between handgrip and dual task walking, a physical proxy-measure of cognition. Overall, there is moderate correlation between muscular strength and dual task walking in older community-dwelling women, but no correlation was found between muscular strength and other measures of cognition

In vitro increase of mean corpuscular volume difference (dMCV) as a marker for serum hypertonicity in dogs.

Spurious increase in erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume (MCV) on automated cell analyzers is a well-characterized lab error in hypertonic patients. A difference between automated and manual MCV (dMCV) greater than 2 fl has been shown to predict hypertonicity in humans. The purpose of this study was to investigate dMCV as a marker for serum hypertonicity in dogs and to examine the relationship between dMCV and three methods of estimating serum tonicity: measured (OsM_M), calculated (OsM_C), and calculated effective (OsM_CE) osmolalities. OsM_C, OsM_CE, and dMCV were calculated from routine blood values and OsM_M was directly measured in 121 dogs. The dMCV of hypertonic dogs was significantly larger than that of normotonic dogs for all three osmolality methods. dMCV predicted hypertonicity as estimated by OsM_M better than it predicted hypertonicity as estimated by OsM_C and OsM_CE. A cutoff of 2.96 fl yielded the best sensitivity (76%) and specificity (71%) for hypertonicity estimated by OsMM

Radio-Frequency Spectroscopy

Contains reports on three research projects

Critical Design Parameters for Pylon-Aided Gaseous Fuel Injection Upstream of a Flameholding Cavity

The Air Force Institute of Technology and the AFRL are investigating means to increase the efficiency of fuel-air mixing into supersonic flow. Previous work has shown much promise in increasing the penetration and mixing of a fuel-air mixture into the freestream by injecting fuel behind small triangular pylons. Pylon-aided fuel injection has also shown to lift the fuel plume off the combustor floor; this floor-gap prevents the ignition of fuel seeded in the boundary layer. In this paper twenty-one pylons of varying widths, heights, and lengths were examined in four specific test matrices within a CFD environment. Pylons in test matrix 1 maintained a constant height and length while varying the pylon width. Test matrix 2 and 3 varied the absolute height of two different pylons from test matrix 1; scaling the pylons height and maintaining a constant leading edge wedge angle and width to height ratio. The final test matrix varied the length of pylons while keeping the height and width fixed. Pylons with a width less than 3-diameters featured a fuel plume dominated by two sets of counter-rotating vortices. These pylons provided large amounts of penetration and floor gap with minimal impact on flammable fuel plume area (Af). The 4,5, and 6-diameter wide pylons resulted in flow structures dominated by one large set of vortices with minimal penetration and large Af values. Variations in pylon length had no discernable impact on the mixing metrics. Aerodynamic loses were minimal for all pylon configurations and did not correlate to the absolute size of the pylons tested

Revisiting the May 1998 riots in Indonesia: civilians and their untold memories

This paper examines the recollections of civilians about the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, as told in an anonymous online survey. These riots caused the deaths of an estimated 1000 people and saw targeted attacks on Indonesia's ethnic Chinese community, including state-led mass sexual violence against Chinese-Indonesian women and girls. Despite their scale, there has never been any official redress for these riots and they remain a taboo topic in Indonesia, rarely discussed publicly. Little is known about how Indonesians remember these events, with research into the personal or collective memories about the riots challenging, given the public silencing by the government. Here, we present findings from an anonymous survey completed by 235 Indonesians in which they revealed sometimes deeply personal memories about the riots. Examined thematically, these memories both confirm general understandings of the riots and reveal novel information about how communities coped during the violence

Radio-Frequency Spectroscopy

Contains reports on four research projects

Definition and classification for adverse events following spinal and peripheral joint manipulation and mobilization: A scoping review

INTRODUCTION Spinal and peripheral joint manipulation and mobilization are interventions used by many healthcare providers to manage musculoskeletal conditions. Although there are many reports of adverse events (or undesirable outcomes) following such interventions, there is no common definition for an adverse event or clarity on any severity classification. This impedes advances of patient safety initiatives and practice. This scoping review mapped the evidence of adverse event definitions and classification systems following spinal and peripheral joint manipulation and mobilization for musculoskeletal conditions in adults. METHODS An electronic search of the following databases was performed from inception to February 2021: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, AMED, ICL, PEDro, Cochrane Library, Open Grey and Open Theses and Dissertations. Studies including adults (18 to 65 years old) with a musculoskeletal condition receiving spinal or peripheral joint manipulation or mobilization and providing an adverse event definition and/or classification were included. All study designs of peer-reviewed publications were considered. Data from included studies were charted using a standardized data extraction form and synthesised using narrative analysis. RESULTS From 8248 identified studies, 98 were included in the final synthesis. A direct definition for an adverse event and/or classification system was provided in 69 studies, while 29 provided an indirect definition and/or classification system. The most common descriptors to define an adverse event were causality, symptom severity, onset and duration. Twenty-three studies that provided a classification system described only the end anchors (e.g., mild/minor and/or serious) of the classification while 26 described multiple categories (e.g., moderate, severe). CONCLUSION A vast array of terms, definition and classification systems were identified. There is no one common definition or classification for adverse events following spinal and peripheral joint manipulation and mobilization. Findings support the urgent need for consensus on the terms, definition and classification system for adverse events related to these interventions