Associations of medicine use and ejection fraction with the coexistence of frailty and sarcopenia in a sample of heart failure outpatients: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Frailty and sarcopenia have been extensively studied in heart failure (HF) patients, but their coexistence is unknown. The aim of this work is to describe the coexistence of these conditions in a sample of HF outpatients and its association with the use of medication and left-ventricular ejection fraction. METHODS: Participants in this cross-sectional study were recruited from a HF outpatients' clinic in northern Portugal. Frailty phenotype was assessed according to Fried et al. Sarcopenia was evaluated according to the revised consensus of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People. RESULTS: A total of 136 HF outpatients (33.8% women, median age 59 years) integrated this study. Frailty and sarcopenia accounted for 15.4% and 18.4% of the sample, respectively. Coexistence of frailty and sarcopenia was found in 8.1% of the participants, while 17.6% had only one of the conditions. In multivariable analysis (n = 132), increasing age (OR = 1.13;95%CI = 1.06,1.20), being a woman (OR = 65.65;95%CI = 13.50, 319.15), having heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) (OR = 5.61; 95%CI = 1.22, 25.76), and using antidepressants (OR = 11.05; 95%CI = 2.50, 48.82), anticoagulants (OR = 6.11; 95%CI = 1.69, 22.07), furosemide (OR = 3.95; 95%CI = 1.07, 14.55), and acetylsalicylic acid (OR = 5.01; 95%CI = 1.10, 22.90) were associated with increased likelihood of having coexistence of frailty and sarcopenia, while using statins showed the inverse effect (OR = 0.06; 95%CI = 0.01, 0.30). CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low frequency of coexistence of frailty and sarcopenia signifies that each of these two conditions still deserve individual attention from health professionals in their clinical practice and should be screened separately. Being a woman, older age, having HFpEF, using anticoagulants, antidepressants, loop diuretics and acetylsalicylic acid, and not using statins, were associated with having concomitant frailty and sarcopenia. These patients can potentially benefit from interventions that impact their quality of life such as nutritional and mental health interventions and exercise training.

A Framework for Coverage Path Planning Optimization Based on Point Cloud for Structural Inspection.

Different practical applications have emerged in the last few years, requiring periodic and detailed inspections to verify possible structural changes. Inspections using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) should minimize flight time due to battery time restrictions and identify the terrain's topographic features. In this sense, Coverage Path Planning (CPP) aims at finding the best path to coverage of a determined area respecting the operation's restrictions. Photometric information from the terrain is used to create routes or even refine paths already created. Therefore, this research's main contribution is developing a methodology that uses a metaheuristic algorithm based on point cloud data to inspect slope and dams structures. The technique was applied in a simulated and real scenario to verify its effectiveness. The results showed an increasing 3D reconstructions' quality observing optimizing photometric and mission time criteria.

Doping ß-TCP as a Strategy for Enhancing the Regenerative Potential of Composite ß-TCP-Alkali-Free Bioactive Glass Bone Grafts. Experimental Study in Rats.

The present work aims at evaluating the potential gains derived from partially replacing calcium in resorbable ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) by two different molar percentages of strontium (5, 10) and zinc (1, 2), concomitantly with a fixed molar percentage (0.5) of manganese. Synthetic granular composite bone filling grafts consisting of doped ß-TCP and an alkali-free bioactive glass were prepared and implanted in ~4 mm diameter bone defects drilled in the calvaria of Wistar rats used as animal models. The animals were sacrificed after 9 weeks of implantation and the calvaria was excised. Non-manipulated bone was used as positive control, while empty defects were used as a negative control group. The von Kossa staining revealed an enhanced new bone formation with increasing doping levels, supporting the therapeutic effects exerted by the doping elements. The percentage of newly formed bone was similar when the defects were filled with autologous bone, BG (previous results) or 3TCP2/7BG, which indicates that the latter two are excellent candidates for replacement of autologous bone as bone regeneration material. This finding confirms that doping with suitable doses of therapeutic ions is a good strategy towards transposing the bone graft materials to biomedical applications in humans.