DNA Sexing of the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi Ogilvie-Grant) in Captivity at the Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City, Philippines

The Philippine eagle is a sexually monomorphic raptor which lacks the sex-linked morphology determining the gender especially in the juveniles. Thus, a PCR amplification technique was used to determine the sex of 24 eagles at different stages of development (2 to 37 years old) in captivity at the Philippine Eagle Center, Malagos Davao City. Fractions of the sex-linked genes, CHD-W and CHD-Z of each individual were amplified. Ka Brianne (female) and Jag (male) having 9 offspring conceived through artificial insemination were used as positive controls for sex identification of 22 other individuals. Two individuals of Gallus domesticus with confirmed genders were also included and run through PCR amplification together with the Philippine eagles using primers CHDFORNEW and CHDREVNEW to test the method. Females revealed two distinct bands (290 bp and 280 bp in size) while the males revealed only a single band of 280 bp. Eleven eagles were  found to be females while 13 were found to be  males. DNA sexing gave a 100% confirmation of the assigned sexes of the eagles, which were obtained through morphometric analysis done by personnel at the captive breeding center. DNA sexing could be a practical technique in sexing newly hatched eaglet and juveniles, naming of eagles, establishing life history characteristics, and pairing attempt or assignment of partners in the threatened avian species such as the Philippine eagles

Association of Health Utility Score with Physical Activity Outcomes in Stroke Survivors

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after stroke tends to vary across studies or across stages of stroke. It is useful to use the health utility score to compare HRQoL across studies. Physical activity after stroke also tends to vary similarly. The purpose of the present study was to determine associations between the health utility score and physical activity outcomes in stroke survivors. This cross-sectional study recruited stroke survivors who could ambulate outside, free of assistance. We assessed the health utility score with the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3-Level questionnaire. The physical activity outcomes were the number of steps taken and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as measured with an accelerometer. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine whether the physical activity outcomes were independently associated with the health utility score. Fifty patients (age: 68.0 years; 40 men, 10 women) were included. Multiple linear regression analysis showed the health utility score to be significantly associated with the number of steps taken (β = 0.304, p = 0.035) but not with MVPA. This is the first study to examine the association between the health utility score and objectively measured physical activity in stroke survivors. Promoting physical activity especially by increasing the number of steps taken might be a priority goal in improving a patient’s health utility score after stroke

Daily steps are associated with walking ability in hospitalized patients with sub-acute stroke

Abstract Increased physical activity is required in patients with stroke that are hospitalized in the rehabilitation unit. This study investigated the association between the daily number of steps and walking independence in order to determine the cutoff value of daily number of steps that can predict walking independence in hospitalized patients with sub-acute stroke. This cross-sectional observational study included 85 stroke patients admitted to the rehabilitation unit. The average daily number of steps was measured using Fitbit One for 4 days starting at 30 days after stroke onset. 6-min walk test, and Fugl-Meyer assessment of the lower extremities were measured The category of walking independence was classified using the Functional Ambulation Category (FAC). The subjects were divided into two groups according to the FAC score: a walking independence group (FAC ≥ 4) and a walking non-independence group (FAC ≤ 3). Logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association of daily number of steps with walking independence and a receiver operating characteristic curve was used to identify the cutoff value of daily number of steps for predicting walking independence. The daily number of steps (per 1000 steps) was independently associated with walking independence (odds ratio (OR); 2.53, 95% confidence interval (CI); 1.40–5.73, p = 0.009). The cutoff value of daily number of steps for predicting independent walking was 4286 steps (area under the curve = 0.914, sensitivity of 0.731, and specificity of 0.949). The daily number of steps was associated with independent walking in hospitalized patients with sub-acute stroke. The daily number of steps may be a useful target in rehabilitation for patients with sub-acute stroke

Association of Health Utility Score with Physical Activity Outcomes in Stroke Survivors

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after stroke tends to vary across studies or across stages of stroke. It is useful to use the health utility score to compare HRQoL across studies. Physical activity after stroke also tends to vary similarly. The purpose of the present study was to determine associations between the health utility score and physical activity outcomes in stroke survivors. This cross-sectional study recruited stroke survivors who could ambulate outside, free of assistance. We assessed the health utility score with the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3-Level questionnaire. The physical activity outcomes were the number of steps taken and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as measured with an accelerometer. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to determine whether the physical activity outcomes were independently associated with the health utility score. Fifty patients (age: 68.0 years; 40 men, 10 women) were included. Multiple linear regression analysis showed the health utility score to be significantly associated with the number of steps taken (β = 0.304, p = 0.035) but not with MVPA. This is the first study to examine the association between the health utility score and objectively measured physical activity in stroke survivors. Promoting physical activity especially by increasing the number of steps taken might be a priority goal in improving a patient's health utility score after stroke

Effect of accelerometer-based feedback on physical activity in hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke: a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of accelerometer-based feedback on physical activity in hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Acute care hospital. Subjects: A total of 55 patients with ischemic stroke who could walk without assistance were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 27) or the control group (n = 28). Interventions: At the baseline measurement, patients did not receive accelerometer-based feedback. At follow-up, a physical therapist provided instruction on accelerometer-based feedback, discussed physical activity targets and encouraged the patients to walk more until discharge. Main measures: The average daily number of steps taken was used as the index of daily hospitalized physical activity. Results: The study sample consisted of 48 patients, of whom 23 patients comprised the intervention group and 25 patients comprised the control group. Although there were no significant differences in physical activity values between the two groups at the baseline measurement, the values in the intervention group at follow-up were significantly higher than those in the control group (5180.5 ± 2314.9 vs. 3113.6 ± 1150.9 steps/day, P = 0.0003). The effect size of physical activity values (Cohen's d = 1.15) at follow-up was large between the two groups. Conclusion: Exercise training combined with accelerometer-based feedback effectively increased physical activity in hospitalized patients with ischemic stroke

Association of Perceived Built Environment Attributes with Objectively Measured Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Ambulatory Patients with Stroke

There is little evidence on how perceptions of the built environment may influence physical activity among post-stroke patients. This study aimed to explore the associations between perceived built environment attributes and objectively measured physical activity outcomes in community-dwelling ambulatory patients with stroke. This cross-sectional study recruited patients who could walk outside without assistance. We assessed both objectively measured physical activity outcomes such as number of steps and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with an accelerometer and the patients' perceived surrounding built environment with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Environmental Module. Sixty-one patients (67.0 years old) were included. The multiple linear regression analysis showed significant associations of the presence of sidewalks (β = 0.274, p = 0.016) and access to recreational facilities (β = 0.284, p = 0.010) with the number of steps taken (adjusted R2 = 0.33). In contrast, no significant associations were found between perceived built environment attributes and MVPA. These findings may help to suggest an approach to promote appropriate physical activity in patients with stroke depending on their surrounding built environment