Characterizing Thermal Mixing Dynamic Nuclear Polarization via Cross-Talk between Spin Reservoirs.

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) embraces a family of methods to increase signal intensities in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Despite extensive theoretical work that allows one to distinguish at least five distinct mechanisms, it remains challenging to determine the relative weights of the processes that are responsible for DNP in state-of-the-art experiments operating with stable organic radicals like nitroxides at high magnetic fields and low temperatures. Specifically, determining experimental conditions where DNP involves thermal mixing, which denotes a spontaneous heat exchange between different spin reservoirs, remains challenging.

Familial Hypercholesterolemia: A Systematic Review of Guidelines on Genetic Testing and Patient Management.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal-dominant hereditary disorder of lipid metabolism that causes lifelong exposure to increased LDL levels resulting in premature coronary heart disease and, if untreated, death. Recent studies have shown its prevalence to be higher than previously considered, which has important implications for the mortality and morbidity of associated cardiovascular disease (CVD). Several clinical tools are used worldwide to help physicians diagnose FH, but nevertheless most patients remain undetected.

Clinical profiles associated with LRRK2 and GBA mutations in Brazilians with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by remarkable phenotypic variability. Accumulated evidence points that the manifestation of PD clinical signs might be differentially modified by genetic factors, as mutations in LRRK2 and GBA genes. In this sense, the clarification of the genotype-phenotype correlations in PD has important implications in predicting prognosis and can contribute to the development of specific therapeutic approaches.

Longitudinal Associations Between Walking Speed and Amount of Self-reported Time Spent Walking Over a 9-Year Period in Older Women and Men.

Background: Age-related limitations in mobility and decreased physical activity appear to be linked cross-sectionally; however, large-scale, longitudinal analyses of the associations between age-related changes in mobility and engagement in physical activity are lacking. In this longitudinal study, we hypothesized that early mobility limitations would contribute to later decreases in physical activity to a larger degree than the reciprocal association of early decreases in physical activity to later mobility limitations.

Methods: Participants were 2,876 initially well-functioning community-dwelling older adults (aged 70-79 years at baseline; 52% women; 39% black) studied over a 9-year period.

Identification of Delivery Models for the Provision of Predictive Genetic Testing in Europe: Protocol for a Multicentre Qualitative Study and a Systematic Review of the Literature.

Introduction: The appropriate application of genomic technologies in healthcare is surrounded by many concerns. In particular, there is a lack of evidence on what constitutes an optimal genetic service delivery model, which depends on the type of genetic test and healthcare context considered. The present project aims to identify, classify, and evaluate delivery models for the provision of predictive genetic testing in Europe and in selected Anglophone extra-European countries (the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).

Treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration in Sweden: outcomes at seven years in the Swedish Macula Register.

Purpose: To present Swedish Macula Register (SMR) data regarding treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in clinical practice since 2008.

Methods: A retrospective register-based study was conducted. Evaluation of baseline demographics, visual outcome and number of injections during this period is presented.

Potential antioxidant peptides produced from whey hydrolysis with an immobilized aspartic protease from Salpichroa origanifolia fruits.

An aspartic protease from Salpichroa origanifolia fruits was successfully immobilized onto an activated support of glutaraldehyde agarose. The immobilized enzyme presented higher thermal stability than the free enzyme from 40°C to 50°C and high reusability, retaining 54% of the initial activity after ten cycles of the process. Whey protein concentrates (WPC) were hydrolyzed with both free and immobilized enzyme, reaching a similar degree of hydrolysis of approximately 6-8% after 20h.

The Cost-effectiveness of Genetic Screening for Familial Hypercholesterolemia: a Systematic Review.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a genetic disorder that leads to elevated plasma LDL-cholesterol levels and premature coronary heart disease (CHD). An understanding of the mutations responsible for FH and the effectiveness of statins in lowering the risk of CHD in FH patients has increased interest in genetic screening strategies to improve FH diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of such strategies.

Genuine localization transition in a long-range hopping model.

We introduce and study a banded random matrix model describing sparse, long-range quantum hopping in one dimension. Using a series of analytic arguments, numerical simulations, and a mapping to a long-range epidemics model, we establish the phase diagram of the model. A genuine localization transition, with well defined mobility edges, appears as the hopping rate decreases slower than ℓ^{-2}, where ℓ is the distance.

Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy with the Use of Barbed Sutures.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyze the principal advantages of posterior muscolo-fascial reconstruction using knotless barbed sutures (BS) during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the available evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of principal BS (Quill™ SRS Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., Vancouver, Canada; V-Loc™ Medtronic, Dublin, Ireland; STRATAFIX™ Ethicon Inc.

Neuroimaging of an attention demanding dual-task during dynamic postural control.

Cognitive tasks impact postural control when performed concurrently as dual-tasks. This is presumed to result from capacity limitations in relevant brain regions. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure brain activation of the left motor, temporal, and dorsal-lateral prefrontal brain regions of younger (n=6) and older (n=10) adults.

Slowing gait and risk for cognitive impairment: The hippocampus as a shared neural substrate.

Objective: To identify the shared neuroimaging signature of gait slowing and cognitive impairment.

Methods: We assessed a cohort of older adults (n = 175, mean age 73 years, 57% female, 65% white) with repeated measures of gait speed over 14 years, MRI for gray matter volume (GMV) at year 10 or 11, and adjudicated cognitive status at year 14. Gait slowing was calculated by bayesian slopes corrected for intercepts, with higher values indicating faster decline.

Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Genotype and Gait Speed Changes over 10 Years in Older Adults.

Objectives: To determine the association between catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype and 6-m walk time and to determine whether these associations are quadratic in nature, similar to previously reported U-shaped associations between dopamine and gait and cognition.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.

rs3851179 Polymorphism at 5' to the PICALM Gene is Associated with Alzheimer and Parkinson Diseases in Brazilian Population.

Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's diseases (PD) share clinical and pathological features, suggesting that they could have common pathogenic mechanisms, as well as overlapping genetic modifiers. Here, we performed a case-control study in a Brazilian population to clarify whether the risk of AD and PD might be influenced by shared polymorphisms at PICALM (rs3851179), CR1 (rs6656401) and CLU (rs11136000) genes, which were previously identified as AD risk factors by genome-wide association studies. For this purpose, 174 late-onset AD patients, 166 PD patients and 176 matched controls were genotyped using TaqMan assays.

Analysis of the Medical Assistance in Dying Cases in Ontario: Understanding the Patient Demographics of Case Uptake in Ontario since the Royal Assent and Amendments of Bill C-14 in Canada.

On June 17, 2016, the Canadian government legalized medical assistance in dying (MAID) across the country by giving Royal Assent to Bill C-14. This Act made amendments to the Criminal Code and other Acts relating to MAID, allowing physicians and nurse practitioners to offer clinician-administered and self-administered MAID in conjunction with pharmacists being able to dispense the necessary medications. The eligibility criteria for MAID indicates that the individual 1) must be a recipient of publicly funded health services in Canada, 2) be at least 18 years of age, 3) be capable of health-related decision-making, and 4) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition.

Avalanches dynamics in reaction fronts in disordered flows.

We report on numerical studies of avalanches of an autocatalytic reaction front in a porous medium. The front propagation is controlled by an adverse flow resulting in upstream, static, or downstream regimes. In an earlier study focusing on front shape, we identified three different universality classes associated with this system by following the front dynamics experimentally and numerically.

Associations of Musculoskeletal Pain With Mobility in Older Adults: Potential Cerebral Mechanisms.

Background: Musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent and limits mobility in older adults. A potential mechanism by which pain affects mobility could be through its negative impact on the brain. We examined whether structural integrity of cerebral gray and white matter (WM) mediated the relationship between pain and mobility in community-dwelling older adults.

Scaling description of non-local rheology.

The plastic flow of amorphous materials displays non-local effects, characterized by a cooperativity length scale ξ. We argue that these effects enter in the more general description of surface phenomena near critical points. Using this approach, we obtain a scaling relation between exponents that describe the strain rate profiles in shear driven and pressure driven flow, which we confirm both in numerical models and experimental data.

Benefit of dual-chamber pacing with Closed Loop Stimulation in tilt-induced cardio-inhibitory reflex syncope (BIOSync trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The efficacy of dual-chamber cardiac pacing in neuro-mediated reflex syncope with a cardio-inhibitory response to the Tilt-Table test (TT) has not been definitively assessed so far. The lack of reproducibility of results from previous studies may be partially explained by discrepancies in subject selection and some weaknesses in design and methods. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has set a class IIb indication to pacemaker implantation in this population recommending further research.

Spatiotemporal Patterns in Ultraslow Domain Wall Creep Dynamics.

In the presence of impurities, ferromagnetic and ferroelectric domain walls slide only above a finite external field. Close to this depinning threshold, they proceed by large and abrupt jumps called avalanches, while, at much smaller fields, these interfaces creep by thermal activation. In this Letter, we develop a novel numerical technique that captures the ultraslow creep regime over huge time scales.

Brain Structural Markers and Caregiving Characteristics as Interacting Correlates of Caregiving Strain.

Objective: To evaluate the association between brain structural markers and caregiving strain among older informal caregivers.

Design: A secondary data analysis combining data from the Caregiver Health Effects Study (1993-1994) and the Cardiovascular Health Study MRI examination (1992-1994).

Setting: Four United States communities.

Liouville Field Theory and Log-Correlated Random Energy Models.

An exact mapping is established between the c≥25 Liouville field theory (LFT) and the Gibbs measure statistics of a thermal particle in a 2D Gaussian free field plus a logarithmic confining potential. The probability distribution of the position of the minimum of the energy landscape is obtained exactly by combining the conformal bootstrap and one-step replica symmetry-breaking methods. Operator product expansions in the LFT allow us to unveil novel universal behaviors of the log-correlated random energy class.