Deep Sleep, Olfactory Loss, and Cognition in Early-stage Parkinson's Disease: Pilot Study Results.

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) have a higher risk of developing dementia compared to age-matched controls. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and hyposmia can influence symptoms severity. We report associations between polysomnography-assessed sleep architecture, olfactory identification, and cognition. Twenty adults with early-stage PD (mean age 69 ± 7.9; 25% female) completed cognitive assessments, the Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT), and overnight in-clinic polysomnography. A global cognitive score was derived from principal component analysis. Linear regression models examined associations between sleep variables, BSIT performance, and cognition. Cognitive performance was compared between participants with and without RBD. Deep sleep attainment (ß ± SE: 1.18 ± 0.45, p = .02) and olfactory identification (0.37 ± 0.12, p = .01) were associated with better cognition. Light sleep, REM sleep, arousal index, and sleep efficiency were not (all p > .05). Participants with RBD had significantly worse cognition (t-test = -1.06 ± 0.44, p = .03) compared to those without RBD; none entered deep sleep. Deep sleep attainment was associated with better memory (1.20 ± 0.41, p = .01) and executive function (2.94 ± 1.13, p = .02); sleep efficiency was associated with executive function (0.05 ± 0.02, p = .02). These findings suggest interrelationships between lack of deep sleep, hyposmia, and poorer cognition in PD, particularly among individuals with RBD. Assessing these markers together may improve early identification of high-risk individuals and access to interventions.

Participation and engagement of a rural community in Ciclovía: progressing from research intervention to community adoption.

BACKGROUND: Open streets events, where roads are temporarily closed to motorized vehicles, can provide safe spaces for physical activity (PA) and become sustainable community infrastructure. Since 2016, we have collaborated with a rural community to implement an open streets event, named ciclovía. In 2019, ciclovía was adopted as a community-wide program. This paper describes the process of building and progressing a ciclovía from a research intervention to a community-adopted program and participation of a rural community in ciclovía. METHODS: We used community-based participatory research to foster bidirectional learning on how to optimize the content and implementation of ciclovía to be feasible and acceptable for rural communities. The community-academic partnership focused on: 1) understanding the science of ciclovía; 2) learning the implementation process; 3) creating tools to facilitate planning, implementation, and evaluation of ciclovía; and 4) developing transition steps from a research intervention to a community-adopted program. RESULTS: The progression of the research intervention to community adoption spanned 2 years. First, the partnership met quarterly to discuss the science of ciclovía, its utility, and its adaptation for rural communities. Second, the partnership studied processes that facilitated ciclovía implementation. Third, the partnership created the ciclovía planning guide and tools for communities to establish their own ciclovía. The guide included forming a planning committee, setting meeting and communication plans, marketing and promotion, and selecting evaluation tools. Fourth, the transition steps from research intervention to community adoption included creating roles and responsibilities, implementing ciclovía using the planning guide, and convening listening sessions for improvement on implementation. Community attendance at ciclovía doubled from 189 individuals (126 children and 63 adults) when it was a research intervention to 394 individuals (277 children and 117 adults) when it was a community program. CONCLUSIONS: The progression from a research intervention to a community-adopted program encompasses multiple steps that involve bidirectional learning and partnership with the community. Lessons learned from this study are integrated into a disseminatable ciclovía planning guide.

Comparison of nutritional properties and bioactive compounds between industrial and artisan fresh tortillas from maize landraces.

Consumers are seeking for native-traditional foods to improve their intake of both nutrients and health-promoting phytochemicals. This study was designed to evaluate the difference in content of nutrients and bioactive compounds from handmade tortillas elaborated by a small-scale artisan producer and tortillas sold by a large food retailer available to consumers. All tortillas were analyzed for chemical composition, dietary fiber, calcium and phytochemical content, antioxidant capacity, and phenolic acids profile. Chemical and nutritional variation in the tortillas was estimated using principal component analysis. Data showed that artisan tortillas made from blue and white maize landraces had significantly (p < 0.05) higher content of nutritional and bioactive compounds compared to those of the supermarket. Handmade blue maize tortillas (HBMT) had a high content of free phenolics content and the highest antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS methods), which was around 1.7-2.1 fold higher than that of commercially produced white maize tortillas (CWMT). Total dietary fiber was higher in HBMT (15.7 ± 1.06 g/100 g) than in CWMT (11.6 ± 0.96 g/100 g). CWMT had the lowest calcium content (42.1 ± 0.9 mg/100 g) compared to handmade tortillas (155.5 ± 4.5 mg/100 g). HPLC results indicated the presence of ferulic, p-coumaric, caffeic, syringic and 4-hydroxybenzoic acids. Interestingly, handmade tortillas from blue maize had 4.5-fold ferulic acid content compared with commercially produced white maize tortillas, consequently it can be a good source of phenolic antioxidants, particularly ferulic acid. This study showed that artisan fresh tortillas had superior nutritional-nutraceutical properties compared to CWMT.

Identification of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae biovars 1 and 2 in pigs using a PCR assay.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae causes swine pleuropneumonia worldwide. Previously, we described a gene sequence of approximately 800bp in A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 1 that encodes a metalloprotease of 24kDa, (Genbank accession no. AY217757). We selected primers carrying the forward and reverse 5'-terminal sequences of this region of the gene for the development of a species-specific PCR assay. The primers amplified an 800bp sequence from isolated DNA and lysed bacteria of the 13 A. pleuropneumoniae biovar 1 serotypes, with the exception of subtype 1b. The primers also amplified the sequence in nasal secretion cultures from pigs with chronic and acute experimental pleuropneumonia. No PCR products were detected when A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes of biovar 2 were used. Internal primers from this gene sequence detected biovar 2 and subtype 1b, leading to the production of a 350bp PCR product. The primers did not amplify DNA from other related species from the Pasteurellaceae family. The 800bp PCR assay was sensitive in vitro, with a detection limit of 5.5pg of extracted DNA, and an average of 120CFU. The specificity and sensitivity of this PCR assay make it a useful method for the rapid identification and diagnosis of A. pleuropneumoniae.