Effects of financial incentives on motivating physical activity among older adults: Results from a discrete choice experiment

10.1186/1471-2458-14-141BMC Public Health141

Organic matter depositional microenvironment in deltaic channel deposits of Mahanadi river, Andhra Pradesh

Quantitative and qualitative variations in microscopic plant organic matter assemblages and its preservation state in deltaic channel deposits of Mahanadi River was correlated with the depositional environment in the ecosystem in order to prepare a modern analogue for use in palaeoenvironment studies. For this, palynological and palynofacies study was carried out in 57 surface sediment samples from Birupa river System, Kathjodi-Debi River system and Kuakhai River System constituting Upper, Middle and Lower Deltaic part of Mahanadi river. Theapex of the delta shows dominance of Spirogyra algae indicating high nutrient, low energy shallow ecosystem during most of the year and recharged only during monsoons. The depositional environment is anoxic to dysoxic in the central and south-eastern part of the Middle Deltaic Plain (MDP) and Lower Deltaic Plain (LDP) indicated by high percentage of nearby palynomorphs, Particulate Organic Matter (POM) and algal or fungal spores. The northern part of the delta show high POM preservation only in the estuarine area in LDP but high Amorphous Organic Matter (MOA) in MDP. The sediment here is deposited under dysoxic to oxic fluvial conditions. Thus, the monsoon intensity, direction of fluvial discharge, and the landward extent of sea water incursion through river mouths inducing bottom water salinity play an important role in defining the magnitude of POM and its preservation in the shallow Mahanadi deltaic ecosystem

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF HPLC METHOD FOR QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF NIMBOLIDE IN BULK AND PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORM

Objective: The present study was aimed to a simple, new, rapid and highly sensitive Reverse Phase - High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method has been developed and an assay was validated for the quantitative estimation of nimbolide in solid dosage form.Methods: The chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent 1200 series HPLC system C18 (250 mm x 4.6 mm x 2.5 μ) column packing by using isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: water (90:10 v/v), flow rate was adjusted to 1.0 ml/min at a fixed wave length of 207 nm.Results: The nimbolide was eluted at 2.880 ± 0.05 min and established a dynamic range of linearity over the concentration range of 3.125-200 ppm/ml (r2 = 0.9997 ± 0.005). The lower limit of detection and quantification was 0.007 ppm/ml and 0.021 ppm/ml respectively. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines. The accuracy of the method was determined by the recovery studies and the mean recovery was obtained 98.27%. Moreover the method was shown good reproducibility and recovery with percent relative standard deviation less than 2%.Conclusion: Rapid, efficient and sensitive RP-HPLC method was developed for the estimation of nimbolide from the perspective of reducing the cost of analysis and time and thus by saving laboratory resources.Â

Genetic diversity of the 2013–14 human isolates of influenza H7N9 in China

published_or_final_versio

The STRIP instrument of the Large Scale Polarization Explorer: microwave eyes to map the Galactic polarized foregrounds

In this paper we discuss the latest developments of the STRIP instrument of the "Large Scale Polarization Explorer" (LSPE) experiment. LSPE is a novel project that combines ground-based (STRIP) and balloon-borne (SWIPE) polarization measurements of the microwave sky on large angular scales to attempt a detection of the "B-modes" of the Cosmic Microwave Background polarization. STRIP will observe approximately 25% of the Northern sky from the "Observatorio del Teide" in Tenerife, using an array of forty-nine coherent polarimeters at 43 GHz, coupled to a 1.5 m fully rotating crossed-Dragone telescope. A second frequency channel with six-elements at 95 GHz will be exploited as an atmospheric monitor. At present, most of the hardware of the STRIP instrument has been developed and tested at sub-system level. System-level characterization, starting in July 2018, will lead STRIP to be shipped and installed at the observation site within the end of the year. The on-site verification and calibration of the whole instrument will prepare STRIP for a 2-years campaign for the observation of the CMB polarization.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference "Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX", on June 15th, 2018, Austin (TX

Secreted Phospholipase A2 Involvement in Neurodegeneration: Differential Testing of Prosurvival and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Enzyme Inhibition

There is increased interest in the contribution of secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) enzymes to neurodegenerative diseases. Systemic treatment with the nonapeptide CHEC-9, a broad spectrum uncompetitive inhibitor of sPLA2, has been shown previously to inhibit neuron death and aspects of the inflammatory response in several models of neurodegeneration. A persistent question in studies of sPLA2 inhibitors, as for several other anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective compounds, is whether the cell protection is direct or due to slowing of the toxic aspects of the inflammatory response. To further explore this issue, we developed assays using SY5Y (neuronal cells) and HL-60 (monocytes) cell lines and examined the effects of sPLA2 inhibition on these homogeneous cell types in vitro. We found that the peptide inhibited sPLA2 enzyme activity in both SY5Y and HL-60 cultures. This inhibition provided direct protection to SY5Y neuronal cells and their processes in response to several forms of stress including exposure to conditioned medium from HL-60 cells. In cultures of HL-60 cells, sPLA2 inhibition had no effect on survival of the cells but attenuated their differentiation into macrophages, with regard to process development, phagocytic ability, and the expression of differentiation marker CD36, as well as the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. These results suggest that sPLA2 enzyme activity organizes a cascade of changes comprising both cell degeneration and inflammation, processes that could theoretically operate independently during neurodegenerative conditions. The effectiveness of sPLA2 inhibitor CHEC-9 may be due to its ability to affect both processes in isolation. Testing potential anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective compounds with these human cell lines and their conditioned media may provide a useful screening tool prior to in vivo therapeutic applications

Lipidomics Reveals Early Metabolic Changes in Subjects with Schizophrenia: Effects of Atypical Antipsychotics

There is a critical need for mapping early metabolic changes in schizophrenia to capture failures in regulation of biochemical pathways and networks. This information could provide valuable insights about disease mechanisms, trajectory of disease progression, and diagnostic biomarkers. We used a lipidomics platform to measure individual lipid species in 20 drug-naïve patients with a first episode of schizophrenia (FE group), 20 patients with chronic schizophrenia that had not adhered to prescribed medications (RE group), and 29 race-matched control subjects without schizophrenia. Lipid metabolic profiles were evaluated and compared between study groups and within groups before and after treatment with atypical antipsychotics, risperidone and aripiprazole. Finally, we mapped lipid profiles to n3 and n6 fatty acid synthesis pathways to elucidate which enzymes might be affected by disease and treatment. Compared to controls, the FE group showed significant down-regulation of several n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including 20:5n3, 22:5n3, and 22:6n3 within the phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine lipid classes. Differences between FE and controls were only observed in the n3 class PUFAs; no differences where noted in n6 class PUFAs. The RE group was not significantly different from controls, although some compositional differences within PUFAs were noted. Drug treatment was able to correct the aberrant PUFA levels noted in FE patients, but changes in re patients were not corrective. Treatment caused increases in both n3 and n6 class lipids. These results supported the hypothesis that phospholipid n3 fatty acid deficits are present early in the course of schizophrenia and tend not to persist throughout its course. These changes in lipid metabolism could indicate a metabolic vulnerability in patients with schizophrenia that occurs early in development of the disease. © 2013 McEvoy et al

Undertaking multi-centre randomised controlled trials in primary care: learnings and recommendations from the PULsE-AI trial researchers

Background Conducting effective and translational research can be challenging and few trials undertake formal reflection exercises and disseminate learnings from them. Following completion of our multicentre randomised controlled trial, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we sought to reflect on our experiences and share our thoughts on challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for researchers undertaking or considering research in primary care. Methods Researchers involved in the Prediction of Undiagnosed atriaL fibrillation using a machinE learning AlgorIthm (PULsE-AI) trial, conducted in England from June 2019 to February 2021 were invited to participate in a qualitative reflection exercise. Members of the Trial Steering Committee (TSC) were invited to attend a semi-structured focus group session, Principal Investigators and their research teams at practices involved in the trial were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Following transcription, reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken based on pre-specified themes of recruitment, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations that formed the structure of the focus group/interview sessions, whilst also allowing the exploration of new themes that emerged from the data. Results Eight of 14 members of the TSC, and one of six practices involved in the trial participated in the reflection exercise. Recruitment was highlighted as a major challenge encountered by trial researchers, even prior to disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers also commented on themes such as the need to consider incentivisation, and challenges associated with using technology in trials, especially in older age groups. Conclusions Undertaking a formal reflection exercise following the completion of the PULsE-AI trial enabled us to review experiences encountered whilst undertaking a prospective randomised trial in primary care. In sharing our learnings, we hope to support other clinicians undertaking research in primary care to ensure that future trials are of optimal value for furthering knowledge, streamlining pathways, and benefitting patients