Type IIx muscle fibers are related to poor body composition, glycemic and lipidemic blood profiles in young females: the protective role of type I and IIa muscle fibers.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between muscle fiber composition, body composition, resting glycemic-lipidemic blood profiles, in apparently healthy, young, active females. METHODS: Thirty-four young healthy female volunteers were allocated into two groups, depending on their Vastus Lateralis type IIx muscle fibers percent cross-sectional area (%CSA; H: high type IIx %CSA; L: low type IIx %CSA). Body composition was determined via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Venous blood samples were collected for the determination of resting serum glucose, Insulin, Apo-A1, HOMA-IR, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), High-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and Low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) concentrations. Nutritional intake was also evaluated. RESULTS: Individuals of the H group have significantly higher body mass, body fat percentage-mass, and resting blood indices of glycemic and lipidemic profiles, compared to those of L group (p < 0.001). Increased type IIx and low type I, IIa muscle fibers %CSAs were linked with poorer body composition, glycemic and lipidemic blood profiles (r: - 0.722 to 0.740, p < 0.001). Linear regression analyses revealed that the impact of muscle fibers %CSA (B coefficients ranged between - 0.700 and 0.835) on the above parameters, was at least, of the same or even of greater magnitude as that of body composition and daily nutritional intake (B: - 0.700 to 0.666). CONCLUSION: Increased type IIx and low Type I, IIa %CSAs are associated with poorer body composition and glycemic-lipidemic profiles in young healthy females. The contribution of the muscle fiber %CSA on health status seems to be comparable to that of nutrition and body composition.

The Role of Mobility in the Dynamics of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Andalusia.

Metapopulation models have been a popular tool for the study of epidemic spread over a network of highly populated nodes (cities, provinces, countries) and have been extensively used in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In the present work, we revisit such a model, bearing a particular case example in mind, namely that of the region of Andalusia in Spain during the period of the summer-fall of 2020 (i.e., between the first and second pandemic waves). Our aim is to consider the possibility of incorporation of mobility across the province nodes focusing on mobile-phone time-dependent data, but also discussing the comparison for our case example with a gravity model, as well as with the dynamics in the absence of mobility. Our main finding is that mobility is key toward a quantitative understanding of the emergence of the second wave of the pandemic and that the most accurate way to capture it involves dynamic (rather than static) inclusion of time-dependent mobility matrices based on cell-phone data. Alternatives bearing no mobility are unable to capture the trends revealed by the data in the context of the metapopulation model considered herein.

Conservative management of streptococcal necrotizing periorbital fasciitis following primary VZV infection.

A 45-year old male patient, with a past history of illicit drug abuse and hepatitis C, presented with a 2 day history of worsening eyelid edema. Examination of the globe was impossible due to eyelid fusion caused by extensive soft tissue damage. Based on the examination, a diagnosis of necrotic fasciitis secondary to VZV infection was Romamade. The patient received empirical treatment with intravenous acyclovir, meropenem and vancomycin. CT imaging demonstrated no ocular involvement. Lesions were cultivated, revealing presence of Streptococcus pyogenes. Intravenous clindamycin was added to his course. Improvement was gradually observed. The patient received treatment for a total of 21 days, resulting in excellent final outcome. His final visual acuity was 0.9 on a Snellen chart, without signs of ocular inflammation. No surgical intervention was required and lesions fully healed with conservative management. Clinical outcomes depend on prompt treatment initiation, whilst delay in the diagnosis can prove fatal.

Τhe effect of silica nanoparticles on the thermomechanical properties and degradation behavior of polylactic acid.

In this work a series of polylactic acid/SiO2 nanocomposites have been prepared by a melt mixing procedure. The dispersion quality was examined by scanning electron microscopy. To study the degradation behavior of the polylactic acid/nanocomposites prepared, the samples were immersed in a buffer solution at a temperature of 37℃ with a pH of 7.4 for a time period of up to 23 weeks. These conditions simulate those in the human body, appropriate in medical applications. In order to assess their suitability in biomedical applications, we investigated the biocompatibility of these materials in terms of cell viability, growth, and morphology. A good initial cell adhesion has been detected, supporting their potential use in bone tissue engineering applications. The hydrolytic degradation of polylactic acid, under the prescribed conditions, was studied by the molecular weight reduction in terms of size exclusion chromatography, whereas the progress of thermal stability of polylactic acid and polylactic acid/nanocomposites during aging was tested by thermogravimetric analysis. The evolution of the materials' thermomechanical properties during aging was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile testing. The crystallization behavior in polylactic acid and the way it is affected by the presence of nanofillers during degradation procedure has been studied and values of 44% crystallinity increment have been found. At the specific aging conditions studied, silica nanoparticles accelerate the degradability of polylactic acid, having a higher impact on Young's modulus, under the specified aging conditions, for 7 weeks and hereafter this acceleration is retarded, due to the crystallinity increment, as a result of the molecular weight reduction.

Psychometric properties of a revised version of the Visual Analog Mood Scales.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the internal consistency, validity and factor structure of a revised version of the Visual Analog Mood Scales (VAMS-R) in healthy older adults and aphasic stroke patients. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty healthy older people and 71 aphasic stroke patients. SETTING: Community and hospital. MEASURES: The healthy participants were asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the VAMS-R. The aphasic stroke patients completed the VAMS-R and Visual Analogue Self Esteem Scale (VASES) and the Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire 21 (SADQH-21) was completed by a nurse or carer. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the scale was high (healthy adults alpha 0.74, aphasic stroke patients alpha 0.80). The VAMS-R correlated significantly with the HADS in healthy participants (HADS Anxiety r (s) = 0.59, P < 0.001, HADS Depression r (s) = 0.49, P = 0.001) and the VASES (r (s) = -0.69, P < 0.001) and SADQH-21 (r (s) = 0.43, P = 0.001) in stroke patients. Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors in the scale: negative mood states, energy levels and happiness. The three factors accounted 73% of the variance in healthy participants and 70% of the variance in aphasic stroke patients. CONCLUSIONS: The VAMS-R showed better psychometric properties than the original VAMS. Reversing the happy and energetic items improved the ability of the scale to assess mood states.

The long-term results of a two-stage protocol for revision of an infected total knee replacement.

We report the long-term results of the management of neglected chronically infected total knee replacements with a two-stage re-implantation protocol. In 18 of 34 patients (53%) a resistant organism was isolated. All cases were treated by the same surgical team in a specialist centre and had a mean follow-up of 12.1 years (10 to 14). They were evaluated clinically and radiologically using the Knee Society Score (KSS) and the American Knee Society Roentgenographic scoring system, respectively. One patient died after eight years from an unrelated cause and two were lost to follow-up. Three patients (8.8%) developed a recurrent infection for which further surgery was required. The infection was eradicated successfully in 31 patients (91.1%). There was one case of aseptic loosening after 13 years. We found a significant improvement in the KSS at final follow-up (p < 0.001).

Relation of personality and emotional factors to myocardial ischemia, methodology and first observations.

Within the framework of a multifacet and long term research on coronary heart disease, the possible influence of psychological factors on the disease was investigated. All coronary patients admitted to the Department are examined in special sessions. The examination is concerned with the personality structure, psychiatric or psychological abnormalities regarding living conditions, emotional factors, habits, etc. The whole study is conducted in a more or less typified way. It is the purpose of this paper to describe mainly this methodology and report preliminary results from the analysis of the first 180 patients. The reported data are compared with those from a central group of 20 'normal' controls and are compared statistically.