Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients report both fatigue and depression. It is not clear how frequently each occurs, to what extent they occur together, how each relates to ALS disease ...status, or their stability over time.
To assess frequency and persistence of fatigue and depression, and relationship to ALS disease status, for patients attending an ALS interdisciplinary centre for routine 3-month visits.
Measures included the Fatigue Severity Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9. ALS Functional Rating Scale -- Revised and forced vital capacity, rate of disease progression, and bulbar/nonbulbar disease onset.
223 patients completed the ratings once; of these, 113 completed them twice, and 65 on three visits. At baseline, 44% (99/223) had clinically significant fatigue, including 34 patients who also had a depressive disorder; 7% (16/223) had major or minor depression only, and 48% (108/223) had neither condition. Fatigue was associated with greater ALS severity, but depression was not. Among the 113 patients seen 3 months later, 75% (33/44) who were fatigued at Time 1 remained fatigued, while 48% (10/21) remained depressed. New-onset fatigue was reported by 22% (25/113), and new-onset depression by 6% (7/113). For the 65 patients seen a third time, rates remained nearly the same.
Fatigue was more prevalent and persistent than depression, although 15% (34/223) of patients had both conditions. Fatigue but not depression was associated with ALS severity. The two conditions appear to be independent, although sometimes co-occurring, and both warrant consideration in evaluating patient functioning and treatment.
Background: Probiotic bacteria with anti-inflammatory properties have the potential to be of therapeutic benefit in gingivitis.
Objective: To evaluate the effects of potential probiotic strains on ...inflammatory mediators involved in early gingivitis using an ex vivo inflammation model.
Methods: Strains were screened in viable and attenuated forms for effects on bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated release of interleukins (IL)-1β, -6 and -8, tumor necrosis factor-α, prostaglandin E
2
and 8-isoprostane from human primary monocytes, and then, if anti-inflammatory effects were shown, on IL-1β-stimulated release of inflammatory mediators from primary gingival fibroblasts. Lead strains were evaluated for optimal dosing, batch-to-batch variation and functional consistency in toothpaste.
Results: Twenty-one of 73 strains showed anti-inflammatory effects in monocytes; of which, seven showed effects in both viable and attenuated forms. Seven of 14 strains showed effects in fibroblasts. Strains Lactobacillus paracasei LPc-G110(SYBIO-15) and Lactobacillus plantarum GOS42(SYBIO-41) induced statistically significant dose-dependent reductions in the release of multiple inflammatory mediators from monocytes, which were consistent across batches. Viable L. paracasei LPc-G110 tooth paste significantly reduced IL-6, IL-8 and prostaglandin E
2
release from monocytes versus placebo.
Conclusion: Strains L. paracasei LPc-G110 and L. plantarum GOS42 have potential for use as probiotics in oral care products to reduce gingival inflammation.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Since the 1980s, significant investments have been made in urban rail transit across the United States, particularly using light rail technology. Most of these light rail systems have been built in ...Sunbelt cities which no longer had legacy rail systems. As a result, they were constructed using a building blocks approach, being funded corridor by corridor. Most research, however, on urban rail performance has taken place at the system-wide level, leaving a significant gap at the level of the transit corridor. This research examined nineteen urban rail corridors in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Portland. A performance score was constructed for each corridor based upon ridership per mile, ridership growth, capital costs, and the cost of ongoing operations. These scores were then compared with the geographic profile of each corridor studied. Corridors in each city ranked high and low, with no city emerging as a clear frontrunner. More centrally-located corridors in each city registered the highest performance scores, while longer corridors in more peripheral locations had lower performance scores. Headways, population density, job density, walkability, and percentage renter occupied housing units were found to have a statistically significant relationship with high corridor performance, largely in line with previous studies, though median income, bus connections, and park and ride spaces were not found to increase performance in this study.
•Performance of 12 steel slag leach beds (SLBs) was monitored quarterly for one year.•SLBs have potential, but current SLB designs limit alkalinity loading performance.•Plugging of SLBs by calcium ...carbonate precipitates negatively affects flow rates.•SLB alkalinity production decreases with time according to a decay model.•Design changes should allow SLBs to meet performance targets.
Steel slag leach beds are a popular choice for acid mine drainage treatment in southeastern Ohio. Large amounts of alkalinity leached from the surface of steel slag, a by-product of steel manufacturing, have been added to acid mine drainage-affected streams to neutralize pH and precipitate metals. Results from steel slag leach beds are promising, but alkalinity production has decreased significantly over time in all beds. To determine the cause of the decrease, the effluent flow and chemical characteristics of twelve steel slag leach beds were monitored over a one year period and compared to historical data. Alkalinity production fell and remained below design expectations for two main reasons. First, declining effluent flow rates led to low alkalinity loadings. Thick layers of precipitates in the effluent piping contributed to low flow rates. Precipitates also formed within the slag itself, further lowering flow rates. Recommendations to limit precipitation, improve flow and alkalinity loading rates, included using a low-alkalinity influent, and minimizing carbon dioxide contact with the alkaline effluent. Declining alkalinity loadings were also caused by an inherent limitation in the amount of readily dissolvable calcium compounds on the surface of the slag particles. Past and present data were used to model the declining alkalinity production capabilities of slag with time. All steel slag leach beds studied except one were initially capable of high alkalinity loadings, but typically lost more than 75% of peak alkalinity production within 50 empty bed volumes. Similar results were obtained in the laboratory with slag columns.
Olfaction and Cognition in Schizophrenia: Sex Matters Malaspina, Dolores; Keller, Andreas; Antonius, Daniel ...
The journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences,
2012, Letnik:
24, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Cognitive and olfactory deficits occur in schizophrenia, but little is known whether sex modifies these deficits. We examined the relationship between olfaction and cognition in 55 schizophrenia ...patients and 32 healthy controls. Patients and controls demonstrated significant differences performing cognitive tasks. In patients, sex modified all relationships of odor identification to cognition. Female patients showed significantly stronger trends than male patients correlating better smell identification with higher scores on intelligence, memory, and attention, whereas their correlations of odor identification with executive functioning contradicted those of male patients. Odor acuity significantly correlated with several cognitive measures, especially in male patients, in whom better acuity was generally associated with better cognition. Female patients again differed significantly from males; odor acuity correlations with cognitive measures were weaker, or contradicted, those of male patients. These findings indicate significant sex differences in olfactory processing in schizophrenia. Combining the sexes in research analyses may obscure important differences.
Previous research indicates that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) are at risk for poor diet quality.
The purpose of this secondary analysis was to determine whether ...two different weight-loss diets affect energy intake, macronutrient intake, and diet quality as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) during a 6-month weight-loss period and 12-month weight-management period, and to examine differences in energy intake, macronutrient intake, and HEI-2010 between groups.
Overweight/obese adults with IDDs took part in an 18-month randomized controlled trial and were assigned to either an enhanced Stop Light Diet utilizing portion-controlled meals or a conventional diet consisting of reducing energy intake and following the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Proxy-assisted 3-day food records were collected at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months, and were analyzed using Nutrition Data System for Research software. HEI-2010 was calculated using the data from Nutrition Data System for Research.
The study took place from June 2011 through May 2014 in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
This was a secondary analysis of a weight-management intervention for adults with IDDs randomized to an enhanced Stop Light Diet or conventional diet, to examine differences in energy intake, macronutrient intake, and HEI-2010 across time and between groups.
Independent- and paired-samples t tests and general mixed modeling for repeated measures were performed to examine group differences and changes at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months between the enhanced Stop Light Diet and conventional diet groups.
One hundred and forty six participants (57% female, mean±standard deviation age=36.2±12.0 years) were randomized to either the enhanced Stop Light Diet or conventional diet group (77 enhanced Stop Light Diet, 69 conventional diet) and provided data for analysis at baseline, 124 completed the 6-month weight-loss period, and 101 completed the 18-month study. Participants on the enhanced Stop Light Diet diet significantly reduced energy intake at 6 and 18 months (both P<0.001), but those on the conventional diet did not (both P=0.13). However, when accounting for age, sex, race, education level, and support level (mild vs moderate IDD), there was a significant decrease during the 18-month intervention in energy intake for the enhanced Stop Light Diet and conventional diet groups combined (P<0.01 for time effect), but no significant group difference in this change (P=0.39 for group-by-time interaction). There was no significant change in total HEI-2010 score at 6 and 18 months (P=0.05 and P=0.38 for the enhanced Stop Light Diet group; P=0.22 and P=0.17 for the conventional diet group), and no significant group difference at 6 and 18 months (P=0.08 and P=0.42). However, when participants’ age, sex, race, education level, and support level were accounted for, mixed modeling indicated a significant increase in total HEI-2010 scores for the enhanced Stop Light Diet and conventional diet groups combined during the 18-month intervention (P=0.01 for time effect).
The results of this study found that after controlling for demographic factors, individuals with IDDs can decrease their energy intake and increase their diet quality, with no significant differences between the enhanced Stop Light Diet and conventional diet groups.
In order to constrain the vertical and lateral extent of deformation and the interactions between lithosphere and asthenosphere in a context of a transpressional plate boundary, we performed ...teleseismic shear wave splitting measurements for 65 permanent and temporary broadband stations in central California. We present evidence for the presence of two anisotropic domains: (1) one with clear E–W trending fast directions and delay times in the range 1.5 to 2.0 s and (2) the other closely associated with the San Andreas Fault system with large azimuthal variations of the splitting parameters that can be modeled by two anisotropic layers. The upper of the two layers provides fast directions close to the strike of the main Californian faults and averaged delay times of 0.7 s; the lower layers show E–W directions and delay times in the range 1.5 to 2.5 s and thus can be compared to what is observed in stations that require a single layer. We propose the E–W trending anisotropic layer to be a 150 to 200 km thick asthenospheric layer explained by the shearing associated with the absolute plate motion of the North American lithosphere. The shallower anisotropic layer ought to be related to the dynamics of the San Andreas Fault system and thus characterized by a vertical foliation with lineation parallel to the strike of the faults localized in the lithosphere. We also propose that the anisotropic layer associated with each fault of the San Andreas Fault system is about 40 km wide at the base of the lithosphere.
•A new solver for the GRP without an exact Riemann solver.•Turn any HLL-type Riemann solver into a GRP solver of any higher order.•No need to compute eigenvectors or higher order derivatives of the ...system.
The generalized Riemann problem (GRP) is the initial value problem for a conservation law with piecewise smooth, but discontinuous initial data. We provide a new method for solving the GRP approximately, that can be used as a building block for high order finite volume or discontinuous Galerkin methods. Our new GRP solvers use the approximate states and wave speeds obtained through a HLL-type Riemann solver and use this information to build an approximation of the state in the GRP of any order. What is new about this approach compared to most previous solvers is that we no longer need to solve a classical Riemann problem exactly. We give a detailed explanation of this strategy for HLL and HLLC solvers for the Euler equations, as well as for the HLLD solver for MHD equations. We demonstrate the performance of the solvers from this new family of GRP solvers for a broad range of test problems.
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