Wii-based exercise program to improve physical fitness, motor proficiency and functional mobility in adults with Down syndrome

BACKGROUND

People with Down syndrome (DS) usually display reduced physical fitness (aerobic capacity, muscle strength and abnormal body composition), motor proficiency impairments (balance and postural control) and physical functional limitations. Exergames can be an appealing alternative to enhance exercise engagement and compliance, whilst improving physical fitness and motor function. This study aims to analyse the effects of a Wii-based exercise program on physical fitness, functional mobility and motor proficiency of adults with DS.

METHODS

Twenty-seven adults with DS were randomly allocated to an experimental group (Wii; n = 14) or control group (n = 13). Participants in the experimental group completed a 2-month Wii-based exercise program, with three 1-h sessions per week that included training games for aerobic endurance, balance and isometric strength. Participants completed assessments regarding anthropometric measures, physical fitness, functional mobility and motor proficiency.

RESULTS

Mixed ANOVA analysis showed a significant group by time interaction for aerobic endurance, explosive leg power and flexibility. Independent samples t-test for change scores indicated significant between-group differences favouring the experimental group regarding speed of limb movement, trunk strength and functional mobility, as well as a trend towards significance on body weight. Mann-Whitney's U test for change scores demonstrated between-group differences favouring the experimental group for visceral fat as well as running speed and agility. Large within-group effect sizes were observed for explosive leg power (d = 1.691), body weight (d = 1.281), functional mobility (d = 1.218), aerobic endurance (d = 1.020), speed of limb movement (d = 0.867) and flexibility (d = 0.818) in the experimental group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that Wii-based exercise can be an effective tool to improve physical fitness, functional mobility and motor proficiency of adults with DS, including crucial measures such as aerobic capacity and lower limb strength. Exergames using Wii Fit or other equipment can be appealing alternatives for adults with DS to engage in regular physical activity, preventing sedentary behaviour and decreasing the risk to develop cardiovascular diseases.

Relationship between oro and nasopharynx permeability and the direction of facial growth

AIM

Most scientific literature relates vertical growth to individuals with decreased upper airway permeability. However, we often find subjects with a long face and a normal breathing pattern, most likely caused by other aetiological factors. And, frequently, we also find decreased upper airway permeability with horizontal growth. The aim of the study was to compare the cephalometric measurements of the oro and nasopharynx permeability with the facial growth direction and to identify the most common facial growth direction in individuals with decreased upper airway permeability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cephalometric analysis was carried out in 158 pre-adolescent patients at the Orthodontic appointment, using facial profile teleradiographs. Parameters used were Jabarak's ratio and measurement of oro-nasopharynx space. Data collected were submitted to statistical treatment.

RESULTS

This study points to the presence of an intermediate growth in individuals with diminished oro and nasopharynx permeability, either simultaneous or separate. The number of individuals with diminished permeability and vertical growth is close to the number of individuals with horizontal growth.

CONCLUSIONS

The individuals with diminished permeability of the upper airway present an intermediate growth direction, representing the most frequent type. In the less common growth directions, there is a slight tendency to horizontal facial growth verified in individuals with diminished nasopharynx permeability. Also, a light tendency to vertical facial growth is present when oropharynx permeability is reduced.

Automated segmentation and classification of cell nuclei in immunohistochemical breast cancer images with estrogen receptor marker

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women worldwide. In recent years, there has been an increasing use of immunohistochemistry (the process of detecting the expression of certain proteins in cytological images) to obtain useful information for diagnosis. This paper presents an efficient algorithm that automatically detects breast cancer cell nuclei and divides them into two groups: those that express the ER marker and those that do not. First, the areas that belong to the carcinoma are automatically identified. Then, the algorithm evaluates features such as size and shape to correctly segment the nuclei in these fields. Finally, the Fuzzy C-Means algorithm is used to classify the detected nuclei. The method proposed was evaluated with a set of 10 images which contained 4093 cell nuclei. The algorithm correctly identified 93.1% of the nuclei, and sensitivity and specificity of the classification were 95.7% and 93.2% respectively.

Enhancement of Carbon Nanofibers Dispersion on Epoxy Resin Foams Leading to Remarkable Electrical Conductivity Improvement

A simple procedure to evaluate and improve the dispersion of carbon nanofibers is presented and validated, relating the observed dispersion of the nanofibers in an intermediate stage of the production process to the final macroscopic properties of the foams. Epoxy/carbon nanofiber foams with optimal nanofiber dispersion are produced taking advantage of this procedure using inexpensive industrial vapor grown carbon nanofibers. Furthermore, the main characteristics and the electrical resistivity of the foams with improved nanofibers dispersion have been determined and related to the presence of the carbon nanofibers, greatly enhancing the electrical conductivity of the epoxy/carbon nanofiber foams.

Delayed rotation of the cerebellar vermis: a pitfall in early second-trimester fetal magnetic resonance imaging

We describe two cases in which delayed rotation of the cerebellar vermis simulated a Dandy-Walker malformation (DWM) on early second-trimester magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two pregnant women with suspected fetal posterior fossa anomaly on ultrasound examination underwent fetal MRI at 21 (Case 1) and 19 (Case 2) weeks' gestation. In both cases, upward rotation of the cerebellar vermis was noted; on midsagittal imaging, the brainstem-vermis angle was 28° and 43°, respectively, while cerebellar morphometry showed a reduced vermian anteroposterior diameter compared to reference data. The posterior fossa appeared to be mildly enlarged, while all other findings were normal. Follow-up MRI at 28 + 3 weeks' gestation (Case 1) and at 1 postnatal year (Case 2) showed completely normal findings. Both children had normal psychomotor development and neurological examinations at 1 year of age. Incomplete rotation of the cerebellar vermis can be a physiological finding on early second-trimester fetal MRI examination and can simulate DWM or other forms of cerebellar hypoplasia. Embryologically, delayed permeabilization of Blake's pouch could account for the delayed vermian rotation. Follow-up imaging at a later gestational age is crucial to ensure that this condition is not over-reported and to avoid the potential risk of unnecessary pregnancy interruption. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Oil removal from water–oil emulsions using magnetic nanocomposite fibrous mats

PMMA-based magnetic nanocomposite fibrous mats reach oil absorption efficiencies up to 90% in water–oil stable emulsions.

Abstract 4314: Prediction of chemotherapy response and metabolism for the tailoring of ovarian cancer treatment

Ovarian cancer patients respond well to first line chemotherapy but present high incidences of toxicity followed by consistent relapse within 18 months. Despite every cancer and patient being unique, generally all cancers are treated by the same chemotherapy regimes and patient metabolism is not considered in treatment selection. Differing metabolism may account for unacceptable toxicity or failures in chemotherapy treatment. It is becoming accepted that the metastatic cell is distinct to those found in the primary tumor and is thus the true target of chemotherapy. Our objectives were to isolate these potential ovarian metastatic cells from patients and correlate their in vitro response to the chemotherapy with clinical response. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) distribution of genes related to chemotherapy metabolism was also analyzed in each patient. Primary cultures and blood samples of ovarian patients were obtained with signed informed consent from a network of Chilean and Peruvian hospitals. Chemotherapy response was assessed by MTS and data correlated with medical follow-up. SNPs were detected using commercial taqman probes from Applied Biosystem. Results. Ovarian cancer patients with clinical follow-up demonstrated a marked separation of progression free survival (PFS) curves according to classification within our in vitro assay. Analysis of exclusively first line patients demonstrated a median PFS of 17 months for patients predicted to respond to treatment showed by our assay, but only an average of 2 months of PFS in patients that the assay predicted no response. Initial analysis of 14 SNPs related to paclitaxel-platinum based chemotherapy demonstrates marked differences in Chilean patients. Conclusion. We demonstrate a clear distinction in time to relapse between the patients predicted or not to respond to treatment by our assay. Ovarian cancer patients demonstrate notably different distributions in SNPs previously correlated with platinum metabolism. Our results highlight the requirement of the medical community to take this research to the stage of randomized clinical trials.

CORFO 13CTI21526-P6 & 13IDL2-18608, FONDECYT 1140960, 1140657 & 1120292.

Citation Format: Maria Loreto Bravo, Pamela Gonzalez, Sumie Kato, Carolina Ibañez, Marcelo Garrido, Jorge Brañes, Maria Isabel Barriga, Eva Bustamante, Nicanor Barrena, Catalina Alonso, Leonel Muñoz, Erasmo Bravo, Clemente Arab, Alejandro Barra, Paula Jimenez, Patricio Gayan, Fernando Gonzalez, Ignacio Chavez, Alfredo Aguilar, Joseph Pinto, Mauricio Cuello, Gareth Owen, Jaime Cartagena. Prediction of chemotherapy response and metabolism for the tailoring of ovarian cancer treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4314. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4314

Analysis of the sporozoite ELISA for estimating infection rates in Mozambican anophelines

Comparisons were undertaken to investigate cost-effective methods of implementing the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for sporozoite determination in anophelines when large numbers require processing. Comparisons between ELISA plate reader and visual assessments were performed with Anopheles funestus and Anopheles gambiae s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae), as were comparisons between whole-body mosquito samples, heads and thoraces, and abdomens alone. Rates obtained from pools of five or 10 mosquitoes were compared with those for individual mosquitoes, as were rates obtained using different sampling methods. A total of 41 792 An. funestus and 9431 An. gambiae s.l. collected in light traps, and 22 323 An. funestus and 6860 An. gambiae s.l. from exit collections were analysed. Visual assessments gave results similar to those of machine readings. Sporozoite rates were similar in both species, as were rates by collection method. The use of whole mosquitoes increased estimates of infection rate by 0.6%. Pool size did not affect infection rates of An. gambiae s.l., but rates were higher among individually tested An. funestus than among those tested in pools. For large-scale surveys, the use of whole mosquitoes in pools of 10 mosquitoes, with correction for overestimation, and the noting of results according to a simple three-stage visual assessment of positivity is the most cost-effective approach and is sufficient to obtain reliable data for comparative purposes.

Using exceedance probabilities to detect anomalies in routinely recorded animal health data, with particular reference to foot-and-mouth disease in Viet Nam

The widespread availability of computer hardware and software for recording and storing disease event information means that, in theory, we have the necessary information to carry out detailed analyses of factors influencing the spatial distribution of disease in animal populations. However, the reliability of such analyses depends on data quality, with anomalous records having the potential to introduce significant bias and lead to inappropriate decision making. In this paper we promote the use of exceedance probabilities as a tool for detecting anomalies when applying hierarchical spatio-temporal models to animal health data. We illustrate this methodology through a case study data on outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Viet Nam for the period 2006-2008. A flexible binomial logistic regression was employed to model the number of FMD infected communes within each province of the country. Standard analyses of the residuals from this model failed to identify problems, but exceedance probabilities identified provinces in which the number of reported FMD outbreaks was unexpectedly low. This finding is interesting given that these provinces are on major cattle movement pathways through Viet Nam.

Prominent intraspecific genetic divergence within Anopheles gambiae sibling species triggered by habitat discontinuities across a riverine landscape

The Anopheles gambiae complex of mosquitoes includes malaria vectors at different stages of speciation, whose study enables a better understanding of how adaptation to divergent environmental conditions leads to evolution of reproductive isolation. We investigated the population genetic structure of closely related sympatric taxa that have recently been proposed as separate species (An. coluzzii and An. gambiae), sampled from diverse habitats along the Gambia river in West Africa. We characterized putatively neutral microsatellite loci as well as chromosomal inversion polymorphisms known to be associated with ecological adaptation. The results revealed strong ecologically associated population subdivisions within both species. Microsatellite loci on chromosome-3L revealed clear differentiation between coastal and inland populations, which in An. coluzzii is reinforced by a unusual inversion polymorphism pattern, supporting the hypothesis of genetic divergence driven by adaptation to the coastal habitat. A strong reduction of gene flow was observed between An. gambiae populations west and east of an extensively rice-cultivated region apparently colonized exclusively by An. coluzzii. Notably, this 'intraspecific' differentiation is higher than that observed between the two species and involves also the centromeric region of chromosome-X which has previously been considered a marker of speciation within this complex, possibly suggesting that the two populations may be at an advanced stage of differentiation triggered by human-made habitat fragmentation. These results confirm ongoing ecological speciation within these most important Afro-tropical malaria vectors and raise new questions on the possible effect of this process in malaria transmission.