Instrumental evaluation of gait smoothness and history of falling in older persons: results from an exploratory case-control study.

Gait smoothness, perceived when a person walks continuously and uninterruptedly, is associated with an undisrupted gait pattern, good sensorimotor control, and a lower risk of falling. The spectral arc length (SPARC) is a quantitative metric proposed for the evaluation of movement smoothness from the signal obtained by wearable sensors. In this small exploratory case-control study, older persons with and without a history of injurious falls underwent a turn-test while wearing an accelerometer: gait smoothness was estimated by calculating SPARC during the straight and turning phases. Cases seemed to exhibit lower SPARC values during the turning phase, in comparison with control.

Molecular and Structural Characterization of MHC Class II ß Genes Reveals High Diversity in the Cold-Adapted Icefish Chionodraco hamatus.

This study reports the presence of two distinct MHC class II ß genes in the Antarctic icefish Chionodraco hamatus, belonging to the classical (ChhaDAB) and nonclassical (ChhaDBB) evolutionary lineages. By the application of targeted sequencing approach, a remarkable molecular diversity in the exon 2 sequence of the highly expressed gene ChhaDAB has been observed, resulting in an estimate of 92 different variants translated in 87 different peptides from 54 analysed icefish individuals. A highly conservative estimate, based on a 95% sequence identity threshold clustering, translate this variability in 41 different peptide clusters belonging to four different clades and showing the signature of different kinds of selection. In stark contrast, the poorly expressed ChhaDBB gene displayed a very low level of molecular diversity within exon 2, in agreement with expectations for a nonclassical MHC class II ß gene.

Persistence, isolation and diversification of a naturally fragmented species in local refugia: the case of Hydromantes strinatii.

The study of the European plethodontid salamander Hydromantes strinatii using allozyme and mitochondrial markers showed a strong geographical genetic structure. This was likely the outcome of different evolutionary mechanisms leaving their signature despite the effects of the genetic drift due to the low population size typical of this species. Two highly divergent clades were identified in the eastern and central-western part of the range, with further geographic sub-structure. Nuclear and mitochondrial markers substantially recovered the same population groups but were conflicting in reconstructing their relationships. This apparent incongruence highlighted the action of different mechanisms such as secondary contacts and incomplete lineage sorting in originating the observed genetic variation. The troglophilic habit of this species provided the opportunity to show the importance of caves as local refugia in maintaining the genetic diversity through the persistence of local populations. Accordingly, high nucleotide and haplotype diversity, strong geographic genetic structuring and lack of expansion were evidenced. This signature was found in the populations from the Ligurian and Maritime Alps, in agreement with the complex orography and paleoclimatic history of this Mediterranean hotspot.

Surfing the web during pandemic flu: availability of World Health Organization recommendations on prevention.

BACKGROUND: People often search for information on influenza A(H1N1)v prevention on the web. The extent to which information found on the Internet is consistent with recommendations issued by the World Health Organization is unknown. METHODS: We conducted a search for "swine flu" accessing 3 of the most popular search engines through different proxy servers located in 4 English-speaking countries (Australia, Canada, UK, USA). We explored each site resulting from the searches, up to 4 clicks starting from the search engine page, analyzing availability of World Health Organization recommendations for swine flu prevention. RESULTS: Information on hand cleaning was reported on 79% of the 147 websites analyzed; staying home when sick was reported on 77.5% of the websites; disposing tissues after sneezing on 75.5% of the websites. Availability of other recommendations was lower. The probability of finding preventative recommendations consistent with World Health Organization varied by country, type of website, and search engine. CONCLUSIONS: Despite media coverage on H1N1 influenza, relevant information for prevention is not easily found on the web. Strategies to improve information delivery to the general public through this channel should be improved.

Counterfeit drugs detection by measurement of tablets and secondary packaging colour.

The growth of pharmaceutical counterfeiting is a major public health problem. This growth is resulting in a proportional increase in the number of samples that medicines control laboratories have to test. Thus the need for simple and affordable preliminary screening methods to be used by inspectors to decide in the field whether to collect a sample for further laboratory analysis or not. This paper intends to evaluate the possibility to employ for preliminary examinations of suspicious samples an optical spectrophotometer (colorimeter) used in the graphic industry, capable of measuring the reflectance visible spectrum of solid materials. The colorimeter was tested on original and counterfeited Viagra, Cialis and Levitra by measuring the colour of tablets' surface and of a specific spot of the packages. Various batches of the original drugs were employed both to investigate precision and robustness of the technique and to build spectral libraries. These libraries were used to compare suspicious samples to the corresponding original by means of a wavelength distance pattern recognition method. The method was eventually tested on suspicious samples sized by police authorities in order to evaluate its effectiveness. The device resulted precise and robust toward ambient conditions changes, although some limits emerged: the libraries of original samples need a frequent update and a lower precision is to be expected for tablets which surface is extremely convex.