The relations between diet, chronic inflammation, and musculoskeletal health are unclear, especially among older men.
This study aimed to determine associations of the Dietary Inflammatory Index ...(DII) with inflammatory biomarkers, musculoskeletal health, and falls risk in community-dwelling older men.
The cross-sectional analysis included 794 community-dwelling men, mean age 81.1 ± 4.5 y, who participated in the 5-y follow-up of the Concord Health and Aging in Men Project. Of these, 616 were seen again 3 y later for the longitudinal analysis. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) was calculated from a validated diet history questionnaire. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using DXA. Twenty-four inflammatory biomarkers were analyzed. Incident falls over 3 y were determined through telephone interviews every 4 mo. Multiple regression, linear mixed effects models, negative binomial regression, and mediation analysis were utilized in this study.
A higher E-DII score (indicating a more proinflammatory diet) was associated with higher concentrations of IL-6 (β: 0.028 pg/mL; 95% CI: 0.003, 0.053), IL-7 (β: 0.020 pg/mL; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.037), and TNF-α (β: 0.027 pg/mL; 95% CI: 0.003, 0.051). A higher E-DII score was also associated with lower appendicular lean mass adjusted for BMI (ALMBMI) (β: -0.006 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.010, -0.001). For every unit increase in E-DII (range: -4.91 to +3.66 units), incident falls rates increased by 13% (incidence rate ratio: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.21) over 3 y. Mediation analysis showed that the association between E-DII and 3-y incident falls was influenced by the concentrations of IL-7 by 24%. There was no association between E-DII and BMD.
Consumption of a proinflammatory diet was associated with increased concentrations of IL-6, IL-7, and TNF-α; increased falls risk; and lower ALMBMI in community-dwelling older men. The association between incident falls and E-DII was partly mediated by concentrations of IL-7.
Music has long served as an emblem of national identity in educational systems throughout the world. Patriotic songs are commonly considered healthy and essential ingredients of the school ...curriculum, nurturing the respect, loyalty and ‘good citizenship’ of students. But to what extent have music educators critically examined the potential benefits and costs of nationalism? Globalization in the contemporary world has revolutionized the nature of international relationships, such that patriotism may merit rethinking as an objective for music education. The fields of ‘peace studies’ and ‘education for international understanding’ may better reflect current values shared by the profession, values that often conflict with the nationalistic impulse. This is the first book to introduce an international dialogue on this important theme; nations covered include Germany, the USA, South Africa, Australia, Finland, Taiwan, Singapore and Canada.
We present a dual-comb spectrometer based on two passively mode-locked waveguide lasers integrated in a single Er-doped ZBLAN chip. This original design yields two free-running frequency combs having ...a high level of mutual stability. We developed in parallel a self-correction algorithm that compensates residual relative fluctuations and yields mode-resolved spectra without the help of any reference laser or control system. Fluctuations are extracted directly from the interferograms using the concept of ambiguity function, which leads to a significant simplification of the instrument that will greatly ease its widespread adoption and commercial deployment. Comparison with a correction algorithm relying on a single-frequency laser indicates discrepancies of only 50 attoseconds on optical timings. The capacities of this instrument are finally demonstrated with the acquisition of a high-resolution molecular spectrum covering 20 nm. This new chip-based multi-laser platform is ideal for the development of high-repetition-rate, compact and fieldable comb spectrometers in the near- and mid-infrared.
Summary
Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lacosamide (400 and 600 mg/day) as adjunctive treatment in patients with uncontrolled partial‐onset seizures taking one to three concomitant ...antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).
Methods: This multicenter, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial randomized patients 1:2:1 to placebo, lacosamide 400 mg, or lacosamide 600 mg/day. After an 8‐week baseline period, patients began treatment with placebo or lacosamide 100 mg/day, were force‐titrated weekly (100 mg/day increments) to the target dose, and entered a 12‐week maintenance period.
Results: A total of 405 patients were randomized and received trial medication. Most (82.1%) were taking two to three concomitant AEDs. Median percent reductions in seizure frequency per 28 days from baseline to maintenance (intention‐to‐treat, ITT) were 37.3% for lacosamide 400 mg/day (p = 0.008) and 37.8% for lacosamide 600 mg/day (p = 0.006) compared to 20.8% for placebo, with responder rates of 38.3% and 41.2%, respectively, compared to placebo (18.3%, p < 0.001; ITT). Patients randomized to lacosamide showed large reductions in secondarily generalized tonic–clonic seizures, with median percent reductions in seizure frequency of 59.4% for lacosamide 400 mg/day and 93.0% for lacosamide 600 mg/day compared to 14.3% for placebo, and responder rates of 56.0% and 70.2% compared to placebo (33.3%). Dose‐related adverse events included dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
Discussion: Adjunctive treatment with lacosamide 400 and 600 mg/day reduced seizure frequency for patients with uncontrolled partial‐onset seizures. Lacosamide 400 mg/day provided a good balance of efficacy and tolerability; lacosamide 600 mg/day may provide additional benefit for some patients as suggested by secondary efficacy analyses, including response in patients with secondarily generalized tonic–clonic seizures.
This scoping review addresses two questions: (1) How can previous research inform approaches to synchronous online instrumental music teaching for cross-cultural learning in the field of Western ...classical music? and (2) What does the corpus of existing studies suggest about Chinese student experiences with western instrumental pedagogy and synchronous online teaching? Based on a systematic examination of 100+ articles from refereed journals in English across the past two decades, the review reveals cultural differences in autonomy and student-centeredness in classical instrument pedagogy traditions. In China, new pragmatic concepts appear as Confucian-Dewey fusion approaches and a distinctive music pedagogy tradition influenced by Russian and Germanic traditions and Chinese philosophy. The review also found that synchronous online instrumental music teaching can be efficient despite technical issues and latency, and the format may enhance forms of dialogue between students and teachers. The review shows little research on intercultural aspects of synchronous online musical instrument teaching, particularly addressing interaction and communication between students and teachers. Moreover, there is a widespread need for competence development for effectively approaching the diversity of music teaching and learning cultures worldwide in the online learning environment.
Global and societal changes present profound challenges and complexities for the future of music education practice and research. In these times of rapid change, four members of the MER editorial ...board reflect on the need to challenge normalising discourses of music education and encourage new understandings and/or territories within the field. In this viewpoint paper, we proffer four provocations on the themes of music(s) and social justice, climate change and sustainability, peace and democracy and enduring impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ask how music education can play a central role in future-making. The paper concludes with an invitation to consider special issue proposals that advance similar or new themes.
Our objective was to evaluate the association of antioxidant intake and the inflammatory potential of the diet with functional decline in older men. A diet history questionnaire was used to collect ...dietary intake data from men aged ≥ 75 years (n 794) participating in the Concord Health and Aging in Men Project cohort study. Intake of vitamins A, C, E and Zn were compared with the Australian Nutrient Reference Values to determine adequacy. The Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DIITM) was used to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet. Physical performance data were collected via handgrip strength and walking speed tests, and activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) questionnaires, at baseline and 3-year follow-up (n 616). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify associations between diet and incident poor physical function and disability. Both poor antioxidant intake and high E-DII scores at baseline were significantly associated with poor grip strength and ADL disability at 3-year follow-up. No significant associations with walking speed or IADL disability were observed. Individual micronutrient analysis revealed a significant association between the lowest two quartiles of vitamin C intake and poor grip strength. The lowest quartiles of intake for vitamins A, C, E and Zn were significantly associated with incident ADL disability. The study observed that poor antioxidant and anti-inflammatory food intake were associated with odds of developing disability and declining muscle strength in older men. Further interventional research is necessary to clarify the causality of these associations.
Existing sensing technologies lack the ability to spatially resolve multiple sources of water or humidity without relying on the deployment of numerous inline sensors. A fully distributed approach ...has the potential to unlock a diverse range of applications, such as humidity mapping and liquid-depth measurements. We have explored a new direction toward what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first non-bending fully distributed water/humidity sensors. This new class of sensors was made possible from the first combination of small-core exposed-core fiber, a hydrophilic polyelectrolyte multilayer coating, and coherent optical frequency-domain reflectometry. Their non-bending nature enables deployment in a wider range of environments compared to the bending type based on water-induced fiber bending. The sensing mechanism involves monitoring back-reflected optical signals created by changes in the local reflectivity due to water-induced reduction in the local refractive-index of the coating. The demonstrated average sensitivity of the sensing fiber with 10.0 bilayer polyelectrolyte multilayer coating to relative humidity varies from 0.060 to 0.001/%RH (0-38 cm distance) within a dynamic range of 26-95%RH. The distance-dependent detection limit varies between 0.3-10.0%RH (0-38 cm distance), and the spatial resolution of 4.6 mm is the smallest demonstrated for exposed-core fibers and can be vastly improved by simply broadening the swept range. The response time is 4-6 s, and the recovery time is 3-5 s. The sensing range (i.e., distance) is -0.5 m, which is more suitable for water-depth monitoring.
We report mode-locked ~1550 nm output of transform-limited ~180 fs pulses from a large mode-area (diameter ~50 μm) guided-wave erbium fluorozirconate glass laser. The passively mode-locked oscillator ...generates pulses with 25 nm bandwidth at 156 MHz repetition rate and peak-power of 260 W. Scalability to higher repetition rate is demonstrated by transform-limited 410 fs pulse output at 1.3 GHz. To understand the origins of the broad spectral output, the laser cavity is simulated by using a numerical solution to the Ginzburg-Landau equation. This paper reports the widest bandwidth and shortest pulses achieved from an ultra-fast laser inscribed waveguide laser.
A guided-wave chip laser operating in a single longitudinal mode at 2860 nm is presented. The cavity was set in the Littman-Metcalf configuration to achieve single-frequency operation with a ...side-mode suppression ratio above 33 dB. The chip laser's 2 MHz linewidth on a 10 ms scale was found to be limited by mechanical fluctuations, but its Lorentzian contribution was estimated to be lower than 1 Hz using a heterodyne technique. This demonstration incorporates a high coherence source with the simplicity provided by the compactness of chip lasers.
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