Dynapenia, abdominal obesity or both: which accelerates the gait speed decline most?

OBJECTIVE: to investigate whether the combination of dynapenia and abdominal obesity is worse than these two conditions separately regarding gait speed decline over time. METHODS: a longitudinal study was conducted involving 2,294 individuals aged 60 years or older free of mobility limitation at baseline (gait speed >0.8 m/s) who participated in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Dynapenia was determined as a grip strength 102 cm for men and >88 cm for women. The participants were divided into four groups: non-dynapenic/non-abdominal obese (ND/NAO); only abdominal obese (AO); only dynapenic (D) and dynapenic/abdominal obese (D/AO). Generalised linear mixed models were used to analyse gait speed decline (m/s) as a function of dynapenia and abdominal obesity status over an 8-year follow-up period. RESULTS: over time, only the D/AO individuals had a greater gait speed decline (-0.013 m/s per year, 95% CI: -0.024 to -0.002; P < 0.05) compared to ND/NAO individuals. Neither dynapenia nor abdominal obesity only was associated with gait speed decline. CONCLUSION: dynapenic abdominal obesity is associated with accelerated gait speed decline and is, therefore, an important modifiable condition that should be addressed in clinical practice through aerobic and strength training for the prevention of physical disability in older adults

Association of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency with Risk of Incidence of Disability in Basic Activities of Daily Living in Adults >50 Years of Age.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency compromises muscle function and is related to the etiology of several clinical conditions that can contribute to the development of disability. However, there are few epidemiological studies investigating the association between vitamin D deficiency and the incidence of disability. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess whether vitamin D deficiency is associated with the incidence of disability in basic activities of daily living (BADL) and to verify whether there are sex differences in this association. METHODS: A 4-y follow-up study was conducted involving individuals aged 50 y or older who participated in ELSA (English Longitudinal Study of Ageing). The sample consisted of 4814 participants free of disability at baseline according to the modified Katz Index. Vitamin D was assessed by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and the participants were classified as sufficient (>50 nmol/L), insufficient (>30 to ≤50 nmol/L), or deficient (≤30 nmol/L). Sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics were also investigated. BADL were re-evaluated after 2 and 4 y of follow-up. The report of any difficulty to perform ≥1 BADL was considered as an incident case of disability. Poisson models stratified by sex and controlled for sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics were carried out. RESULTS: After 4-y follow-up, deficient serum 25(OH)D was a risk factor for the incidence of BADL disability in both women (IRR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.16, 2.03) and men (IRR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.02). However, insufficient serum 25(OH)D was not a risk factor for the incidence of BADL disability in either men or women. CONCLUSIONS: Independently of sex, deficient serum 25(OH)D concentrations were associated with increased risk of incidence of BADL disability in adults >50 y old and should be an additional target of clinical strategies to prevent disability in these populations

Leveraging the Country-of-Origin Image by managing it at different levels

The study aims to articulate the Country-of-Origin Image (COI) at different levels (country, industry and firm levels) by advancing the knowledge and exploring ways to manage the COI at different levels underpinned on corporate brand and brand architecture strategies. For that, a mixed-methods approach was conducted where a qualitative study—looking into the case of the Brazilian Machinery Solutions Programme (BMS)—was carried out in combination with a quantitative survey held with a specific target country (Colombia). Data for the quantitative study were collected with 89 Colombian industrial buyers using Brazil as a manufacturer-supplier and country of reference. Findings indicate the relevance of managing the COI at different levels and highlight the development of the COI at the industry level. This demonstrates that nation-branding and COI literature should be developed and articulated using strategic marketing programmes and brand architecture elements. The study advances the body of knowledge in the COI literature by analysing it within three different levels and offers a framework to manage the COI using corporate brand and brand architecture elements, which is beneficial to institutions, governments, trade agencies, industry associations and firms to leverage the COI by understanding aspects of it transferrable to industry and firm levels

Gender differences in the association between adverse events in childhood or adolescence and the risk of premature mortality

To examine, by gender, the relationship between adverse events in childhood or adolescence and the increased risk of early mortality (before 80 years). The study sample included 941 participants of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging who died between 2007 and 2018. Data on socioeconomic status, infectious diseases, and parental stress in childhood or adolescence were collected at baseline (2006). Logistic regression models were adjusted by socioeconomic, behavioral and clinical variables. Having lived with only one parent (OR 3.79; p = 0.01), overprotection from the father (OR 1.12; p = 0.04) and having had an infectious disease in childhood or adolescence (OR 2.05; p = 0.01) were risk factors for mortality before the age of 80 in men. In women, overprotection from the father (OR 1.22; p < 0.01) was the only risk factor for mortality before the age of 80, whereas a low occupation of the head of the family (OR 0.58; p = 0.04) and greater care from the mother in childhood or adolescence (OR 0.86; p = 0.03) were protective factors. Independently of one’s current characteristics, having worse socioeconomic status and health in childhood or adolescence increased the risk of early mortality in men. Parental overprotection increased the risk of early mortality in both sexes, whereas maternal care favored longevity in women

Is slowness a better discriminator of disability than frailty in older adults?

Background:The trajectory of incident disability that occurs simultaneously with changes in frailty status, as well as how much each frailty component contributes to this process in the different sexes, are unknown. The objective of this study is to analyse the trajectory of the incidence of disability on basic and instrumental activities of daily living (BADL and IADL) as a function of the frailty changes and their components by sex over time. // Methods: Longitudinal analyses of 1522 and 1548 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing study participants without BADL and IADL disability, respectively, and without frailty at baseline. BADL and IADL were assessed using the Katz and Lawton Scales and frailty by phenotype at 4, 8, and 12 years of follow-up. Generalized mixed linear models were calculated for the incidence of BADL and IADL disability, as an outcome, using changes in the state of frailty and its components, as the exposure, by sex in models fully adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioural, biochemical, and clinical characteristics. // Results: The mean age, at baseline, of the 1522 eligible individuals free of BADL and free of frailty was 68.1 ± 6.2 years (52.1% women) and of the 1548 individuals free IADL and free frailty was 68.1 ± 6.1 years (50.6% women). Women who became pre-frail had a higher risk of incidence of disability for BADL and IADL when compared with those who remained non-frail (P < 0.05). Men and women who became frail had a higher risk of incidence of disability regarding BADL and IADL when compared with those who remained non-frail (P < 0.05). Slowness was the only component capable of discriminating the incidence of disability regarding BADL and IADL when compared with those who remained without slowness (P < 0.05). Weakness and low physical activity level in men and exhaustion in women also discriminated the incidence of disability (P < 0.05). // Conclusions: Slowness is the main warning sign of functional decline in older adults. As its evaluation is easy, fast, and accessible, screening for this frailty component should be prioritized in different clinical contexts so that rehabilitation strategies can be developed to avoid the onset of disability

Quantum dissipation and CP violation in MINOS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)We use the open quantum systems framework to analyze the MINOS data and perform this analysis considering two different dissipative models. In the first model, the dissipative parameter describes the decoherence effect and in the second, the dissipative parameter describes other dissipative effects including decoherence. With the second model it is possible to study CP violation since we consider Majorana neutrinos. The analysis from the muon neutrino and antineutrino beam assigns different values to all the parameters of the models, but is consistent between them. Assuming that neutrinos are equivalent to antineutrinos, the global analysis presents a nonvanishing Majorana CP phase depending on the energetic parametrization of the dissipative parameter.895Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [2012/00857-6

A visibilidade do autocuidado relativo à higiene na passagem de plantão dos enfermeiros

Objetivou-se compreender a visibilidade dos cuidados de higiene na informação da passagem de plantão, inerentes à pessoa internada com o autocuidado comprometido. Recorreu-se à abordagem qualitativa, utilizando-se a observação e a entrevista semiestruturada. Foram observados 33 enfermeiros, 8 dos quais foram entrevistados, provenientes de um serviço de medicina e outro de cirurgia. Dos achados, pode-se salientar que a passagem de plantão é prática recriada ciclicamente e aponta para o sentido de coerência do grupo na reatualização da informação, na continuidade dos cuidados e mantém unidos os enfermeiros. Os cuidados de higiene marcam presença nos relatos da passagem de plantão, com vínculo explícito na do turno das 14h30min e implícito nas restantes passagens. A informação sobre esses proporciona orientações para determinar o tipo de ajuda à sua continuação e a muitos outros cuidados, atividades e ritmo do turno seguinte.This study aimed to understand the visibility of hygiene care related to inpatients with compromised self-care through the nurse-to-nurse shift change report. A qualitative approach was used and data were collected through observation and semi-structured interviews. A total of 33 nurses from medical and surgical units were observed and eight of them were interviewed. The results indicate that the nurse-to-nurse shift change report is a cyclically recreated practice that results in group coherence in updating information and in the continuity of care, and keeps nurses united. Hygiene care activities are present in the shift change reports; they are frequent in the shift change from morning to afternoon and less frequent in the remaining. Information concerning these activities helps to determine the type of aid necessary to the continuity of hygiene and of many other care activities and the rhythm of the following shifts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Single-molecule measurements reveal that PARP1 condenses DNA by loop stabilization

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is an abundant nuclear enzyme that plays important roles in DNA repair, chromatin organization and transcription regulation. Although binding and activation of PARP1 by DNA damage sites has been extensively studied, little is known about how PARP1 binds to long stretches of undamaged DNA and how it could shape chromatin architecture. Here, using single-molecule techniques, we show that PARP1 binds and condenses undamaged, kilobase-length DNA subject to sub-piconewton mechanical forces. Stepwise decondensation at high force and DNA braiding experiments show that the condensation activity is due to the stabilization of DNA loops by PARP1. PARP inhibitors do not affect the level of condensation of undamaged DNA but act to block condensation reversal for damaged DNA in the presence of NAD+. Our findings suggest a mechanism for PARP1 in the organization of chromatin structure

Biossegurança e segurança do paciente: visão de professores e estudantes de enfermagem

Objective To identify the understanding of biosafety and patient safety from the perspective of nursing teachers and students in Brazil and Portugal. Methods This is a qualitative study involving 14 teachers and 44 students from 3 public educational institutions (2 in Brazil and 1 in Portugal). The study included students in their final year of high school as well as students enrolled in undergraduate and licensure courses because, by this stage of their studies, they had already covered topics related to biosafety and patient safety. It also included teachers of these subjects. Triangulation was used to collect data through interviews and observation. For organization and analysis, resources of the Atlas.ti 22 qualitative research software program were used in conjunction with the principles of thematic content analysis. Results It was evident in both countries that the teachers and students recognized the premises that involved biosafety and patient safety and that these should form part of nursing education in its transversality, emphasizing that biosafety and safety were interrelated in the prevention of adverse events. The importance of caring for oneself and others, the influence of the regulatory framework in guiding practice, and the existence of gaps in knowledge and practical application were all factors mentioned by the interviewees. Conclusion Biosafety and patient safety education and regulations, as well as the knowledge of teachers and students on these topics, affect safe practice and the quality of nursing care. Having a good understanding of these areas is therefore essential in health crises, especially for preventing infection, and it is important to raise awareness of the duty of safe health practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio