Cut-Off Points for Low Relative 30-s Sit-to-Stand Power and Their Associations With Adverse Health Conditions.

Background: Despite muscle power derived from the 5-rep sit-to-stand (STS) test having been demonstrated to be a valuable biomarker in older individuals, there is limited information regarding muscle power derived from the 30-s STS test, a widely used test in the clinical setting. This study aimed (i) to compare relative 30-s STS power values between older men and women, (ii) to identify cut-off points for low relative 30-s STS power, (iii) to compare the prevalence of low relative STS power between sexes and (iv) to evaluate the association of low relative 30-s STS power with adverse conditions in older people.

Methods: A total of 1475 community-dwelling older adults (65-98 years; 45% men) from the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging were included.

Effects of grazing on soil properties in mediterranean forests (Central-Eastern Spain).

Traditional management practices, such as grazing, can have adverse impact on soils. Despite an extensive body of literature exploring the effects of grazing on soil and plants worldwide, there is a notable lack of research on its impacts in Mediterranean forests within the Iberian Peninsula Furthermore, there is a knowledge gap on the enzymatic activities and basal respiration of soil in forest after grazing. To address these gaps, this study aimed to investigate the impact of grazing on various important physicochemical and biological soil properties along with vegetation richness in a Mediterranean forest located in Castilla-La Mancha (Central Eastern Spain).

Equine-Assisted Therapy in Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Alternative treatments for Post-traumatic-Stress Disorder (PTSD) have attracted attention, especially Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) including psychotherapy and occupational therapy involving horses. In this work, we measured the effectiveness of EAS in PTSD through a meta-analysis. An intensive bibliography search focusing in EAS and PTSD was conducted following the PRISMA recommendations.

Effects of L-Carnitine Intake on Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage and Oxidative Stress: A Narrative Scoping Review.

Exercise-induced muscle damage results in decreased physical performance that is accompanied by an inflammatory response in muscle tissue. The inflammation process occurs with the infiltration of phagocytes (neutrophils and macrophages) that play a key role in the repair and regeneration of muscle tissue. In this context, high intensity or long-lasting exercise results in the breakdown of cell structures.

Six Decades of Hindsight Into Yesa Reservoir (Central Spanish Pyrenees): River Flow Dwindles as Vegetation Cover Increases and Mediterranean Atmospheric Dynamics Take Control.

River discharge has experienced diverse changes in the last decades due to modification of hydrological patterns, anthropogenic intervention, re-vegetation or annual and interannual climatic and atmospheric fluctuations. Assessing the recent changes in river discharge and understanding the main drivers of these changes is thus extremely important from theoretical and applied points of view. More specifically, here we want to draw attention toward the impacts of streamflow changes on reservoir storage and operation.

Is Curcumine Useful in the Treatment and Prevention of the Tendinopathy and Myotendinous Junction Injury? A Scoping Review.

Physical activity in general and sports in particular, is a mechanism that produces stress and generates great force in the tendon and in the muscle-tendon unit, which increases the risk of injury (tendinopathies). Eccentric and repetitive contraction of the muscle precipitates persistent microtraumatism in the tendon unit. In the development of tendinopathies, the cellular process includes inflammation, apoptosis, vascular, and neuronal changes.

To adjust or not to adjust: Cut-off scores in performance validity testing in Portuguese older adults with dementia.

The rising demographic of older adults worldwide has led to an increase in dementia cases. In order to ensure the proper allocation of care and resources to this clinical group, it is necessary to correctly distinguish between simulated versus bona-fide cognitive deficits typical of dementia. Performance Validity Tests (PVTs) are specifically designed to assess a lack of effort and the possible simulation of cognitive impairment.

Effect of Vitamin C on Tendinopathy Recovery: A Scoping Review.

Tendinopathies represent 30-50% of all sports injuries. The tendon response is influenced by the load (volume, intensity, and frequency) that the tendon support, resulting in irritability and pain, among others. The main molecular component of tendons is collagen I (60-85%).

Energy-ecological efficiency of dual-fuel series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle considering WTW emissions.

This paper discussed the possibility of replacing the internal combustion engine of the series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powered by gasoline A and Brazilian gasoline in single-fuel mode by one fuelled with 50% bioethanol and 50% biogas in dual-fuel mode. The simulation of the combustion of the fuels selected, such as bioethanol, biogas and gasoline A, was carried out through GASEQ software to calculate the energy-ecological efficiency of the single-fuel and dual-fuel modes. The well-to-pump (WTP) emissions of the bioethanol and biogas production from sugarcane were evaluated through GREET software.

Nitric-Oxide-Inducing Factors on Vitamin D Changes in Older People Susceptible to Suffer from Sarcopenia.

Calcium and magnesium, together with vitamin D and the hormones testosterone and cortisol, are key elements in muscle function, to maintain physical fitness. This study aims to analyze if supplementation with NO precursors (L-arginine, L-citrulline and beetroot extract) modulates the circulating levels of calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and steroid hormones in elders. Sixty-one volunteers (65.

Peripheral Neuropathies Derived from COVID-19: New Perspectives for Treatment.

Peripheral neuropathies constitute a group of disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system. Neuropathies have multiple causes such as infections (i.e.

Hydroxychloroquine safety in Covid-19 vs non-Covid-19 patients: analysis of differences and potential interactions.

Background: The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the first COVID-19 epidemic wave raised safety concerns.

Research Design And Methods: Adverse reactions (ADR) suspected to be induced by HCQ and submitted to the Spanish Pharmacovigilance Database were studied. A disproportionality analysis was performed to determine adverse effects reported in non-Covid and Covid patients.

Effects and Causes of Detraining in Athletes Due to COVID-19: A Review.

Several aspects of systemic alterations caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the resultant COVID-19 disease have been currently explored in the general population. However, very little is known about these particular aspects in sportsmen and sportswomen. We believe that the most important element to take into account is the neuromuscular aspect, due to the implications that this system entails in motion execution and coordination.

l-Arginine and Beetroot Extract Supplementation in the Prevention of Sarcopenia.

Aging is associated with a significant decline in neuromuscular function, leading to a reduction in muscle mass and strength. The aim of the present report was to evaluate the effect of supplementation with nitric oxide precursors (l-arginine and beetroot extract) in muscular function during a training period of 6 weeks in elderly men and women. The study (double-blind, placebo-controlled) involved 66 subjects randomly divided into three groups: placebo, arginine-supplemented and beetroot extract-supplemented.

Tree growth response to drought partially explains regional-scale growth and mortality patterns in Iberian forests.

Tree-ring data has been widely used to inform about tree growth responses to drought at the individual scale, but less is known about how tree growth sensitivity to drought scales up driving changes in forest dynamics. Here, we related tree-ring growth chronologies and stand-level forest changes in basal area from two independent data sets to test if tree-ring responses to drought match stand forest dynamics (stand basal area growth, ingrowth, and mortality). We assessed if tree growth and changes in forest basal area covary as a function of spatial scale and tree taxa (gymnosperm or angiosperm).

Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth.

Unlabelled: Legacies of past climate conditions and historical management govern forest productivity and tree growth. Understanding how these processes interact and the timescales over which they influence tree growth is critical to assess forest vulnerability to climate change. Yet, few studies address this issue, likely because integrated long-term records of both growth and forest management are uncommon.

Diagnostic Stability in Bipolar Disorder: A Follow-up Study in 130,000 Patient-Years.

Diagnostic stability is the degree to which a diagnosis remains unchanged during time. Our main objective was to evaluate the diagnostic stability of bipolar disorder (BD) in psychiatric outpatient consultations and determine the socio-demographic variables influencing its stability. The Cumulative Register of Cases of the Community of Madrid provided data on all outpatient visits conducted at Madrid's Community Mental Healthcare Centers between 1980-2009.

Additive Ensemble Neural Network with Constrained Weighted Quantile Loss for Probabilistic Electric-Load Forecasting.

This work proposes a quantile regression neural network based on a novel constrained weighted quantile loss (CWQLoss) and its application to probabilistic short and medium-term electric-load forecasting of special interest for smart grids operations. The method allows any point forecast neural network based on a multivariate multi-output regression model to be expanded to become a quantile regression model. CWQLoss extends the pinball loss to more than one quantile by creating a weighted average for all predictions in the forecast window and across all quantiles.

Infrared Thermography for the Detection and Characterization of Photovoltaic Defects: Comparison between Illumination and Dark Conditions.

Newly installed renewable power capacity has been increasing incredibly in recent years. For example, in 2018, 181 GW were installed worldwide. In this scenario, in which photovoltaic (PV) energy plays a leading role, it is essential for main players involved in PV plants to be able to identify the failure modes in PV modules in order to reduce investment risk, to focus their maintenance efforts on preventing those failures and to improve longevity and performance of PV plants.

Long-term nutrient imbalances linked to drought-triggered forest dieback.

Drought-induced forest dieback is causing reductions in productivity, increasing tree mortality and impairing terrestrial carbon uptake worldwide. However, the role played by long-term nutrient imbalances during drought-induced dieback is still unknown. To improve our knowledge on the relationships between dieback and nutrient imbalances, we analysed wood anatomical traits (tree-ring width and wood density), soil properties and long-term chemical information in tree-ring wood (1900-2010) by non-destructive Micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) and destructive (ICP-OES) techniques.

Effects of corrective, therapeutic exercise techniques on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. A systematic review.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of corrective, therapeutic exercise techniques on subjects with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. A systematic review was conducted by searching the Cochrane Library Plus, Pubmed, PEDro, and SCOPUS databases. Studies in patients diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis that considered corrective, therapeutic exercise as an independent outcome measure and symptoms, functional capacity, Cobb's angle and/or other angles or body asymmetries as dependent outcome measures were included.

Sex determines xylem anatomy in a dioecious conifer: hydraulic consequences in a drier world.

Increased drought frequency and severity may reshape tree species distribution in arid environments. Dioecious tree species may be more sensitive to climate warming if sex-related vulnerability to drought occurs, since lower performance of one sex may drive differential stress tolerance, sex-related mortality rates and biased sex ratios. We explored the effect of sex and environment on branch hydraulic (hydraulic conductivity and vulnerability to embolism) and trunk anatomical traits in both sexes of the dioecious conifer Juniperus thurifera L.

Changes in circulating cytokines and markers of muscle damage in elite cyclists during a multi-stage competition.

The purpose of this study was to determine the changes in the basal and post-exercise plasma markers of muscular damage, lipid peroxidation and cytokines in eight male well-trained semiprofessional cyclists, in response to a three consecutive-day cycling competition. Serum markers of oxidative and muscular damage - creatine kinase activity, lactate dehydrogenase activity, myoglobin and malondialdehyde (MDA), creatinine and nitrite levels - followed a sawtooth-type representation throughout the competition. MDA showed an accumulative pattern, evidenced in the post-race values of the third stage which were significantly higher with respect to the values of the first stage.

Isolation and characterization of a glucan-type polysaccharide from the red pine mushroom, Lactarius deliciosus (Higher Basidiomycetes).

A novel glucan-type polysaccharide has been isolated from the fruiting bodies of the edible mushroom Lactarius deliciosus. Two successive extractions (cold aqueous extraction at 25°C and hot aqueous extraction at 100°C) were performed, and the same polysaccharide was obtained in both fractions. The purity of the polysaccharide was evaluated by size exclusion chromatography.

Storage temperature and UV-irradiation influence on the ergosterol content in edible mushrooms.

Ergosterol (5,7,22-ergostatrien-3β-ol) and ergosteryl derivatives from different genera of edible mushrooms were separated and quantified by an isocratic reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The technique allowed a rapid separation of free ergosterol and two ergosteryl derivatives occurring in mushrooms. The ergosterol content varied considerably depending on the fungus.