Positive Association between High Protein Food Intake Frequency and Physical Performance and Higher-Level Functional Capacity in Daily Life

Nutritional factors, including low protein intake and poor dietary variety, affect age-associated impairment in physical performance resulting in physical frailty. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between intake frequency of major high protein foods and both physical performance and higher-level functional capacity using the food frequency score (FFS) and high protein food frequency score (PFFS) among community-dwelling older adults. The data of 1185 older adults categorized into quartiles based on FFS and PFFS were analyzed. After adjusting for covariates, FFS and PFFS were significantly associated with physical performance [FFS, usual gait speed (p for trend = 0.007); PFFS, usual gait speed (p for trend < 0.001), maximum gait speed (p for trend = 0.002), timed up and go (p for trend = 0.025)], and higher-level functional capacity [FFS (p for trend < 0.001); PFFS (p for trend < 0.001)]. After excluding PFFS data, the participants’ scores were associated with only higher-level functional capacity. Multi-regression analysis with higher-level functional capacity as the covariate showed that FFS and PFFS were significantly correlated with physical performance. Hence, improving food intake frequency, particularly that of high protein foods, and dietary variety may help maintain higher-level functional capacity and physical performance in community-dwelling older adults.

Automatic lexical collocate extraction for corpus-based ontology building and refinement

Traditional corpus-based methods rely on manual inspection and extraction of lexical collocates in the study of selection preferences, which is a very costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming task. Devising automatic methods for lexical collocate extraction becomes necessary to handle this task and the immensity of corpora available. With a view to leveraging the Sketch Engine platform and in-built corpora, we propose a working prototype of a Lexical Collocate Extractor (LeCoExt) command-line tool that mines lexical collocates from all types of verbs according to their syntactic constituents and Collocate Frequency Score (CFS). This might be the first tool that performs comprehensive corpus-based studies of the selection preferences of individual or groups of verbs exploiting the capabilities offered by Sketch Engine. This tool might facilitate the task of extracting rich lexico-semantic knowledge from diverse corpora in a few seconds and at a click away. We test its performance for ontology building and refinement departing from a previous detailed analysis of stealing verbs carried out by Fernández-Martínez & Faber (2020). We show how the proposed tool is used to extract conceptual-cognitive knowledge from the THEFT scenario and implement it into FunGramKB Core Ontology through the creation and modification of theft-related conceptual units.

Barriers Faced by Agripreneurs in Starting and Operating Agriventures under ACABC Scheme: An Analysis

The ACABC (Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres) scheme is being implemented by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) (“NABARD-National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development” n.d.) acting as subsidy channelizing agency and National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) will be responsible for providing training to eligible candidates, through Nodal Training Institutes (NTIs) and motivating them for setting up of Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centres. Whereas the Nodal Training Institute (NTI) is desirous of undertaking to implement the training and handholding component of the said Scheme with MANAGE (“MoU-ACABC” n.d.). JNKVV, Jabalpur is a Nodal Training Institute (NTI) of MANAGE, Hyderabad for providing training on Agripreneurship under the Agri-Clinic and Agri. Business Centre scheme 2010 (www.agriclinics.net) of Govt. of India, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. (“Revised Guideline ACABC-2010” 2011). The present study was conducted in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh state during 2014 to 2020 and based on the primary data collected through field survey by personal interaction, telephonic interaction, pre-tested questionnaires from 60 sample agri-graduates of NTI. Used statistical methods such as frequency, score and percentage to find this out the problems of agripreneurs in establishing and operating agriventures after successful completion of training programme. In the results, it was found that lack of own fund to start venture, status of confusion between job or entrepreneurship, lack of proper handholding support from NTIs, lack of family support, lack of business and field experience (Managerial and technical), high rate of interest on loan and a difficulty bank documentation process in getting bank loans were the major problems in establishing agriventure, while heavy competition from existing market players, marketing and infrastructural problems, perishability and seasonability of products, fluctuation in demand and prices of products, illiteracy and lack of knowledge of the farmers and insufficient working capital to run the business were the major problems faced by agripreneurs in operating agriventure (Lal et al. 2015). Thus, the present study mainly focused on the major problems faced by agripreneurs in starting and operation of agriventures under the agriclinic and agribusiness centre (ACABCs) scheme.

Correlation Between Anxiety Scores and Tuak Drink Consumption Scores in Batak Tuak Drinker

Background : In Indonesia, particularly among Bataknees men in Medan, tuak has been known as a staple, enjoyed by mostly men to strengthen their brotherhood. Concurrent Anxiety Disorders and Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) are relatively common and closely related to the presentation of complex clinical symptoms that warrant an appropriate diagnosis and treatment. Method : Sixty tuak drinkers from 4 districts of Medan were recruited by using a cluster sampling method. Participants aged 25-55 years old with inclusion criteria were Batak men who drank Tuak, minimum education by completing junior high school and history of drinking tuak took less than 12 months, and AUDIT cutoff value less than or equal to 7. This study's exclusion criteria were no history of psychiatric and general health disorders in the subject. Result : The results of this study found a significant relationship between the HADS-A score and the AUDIT total score. Also found a significant relationship between the drinking frequency score, the drinking quantity score, the frequency score of heavy drinking, and the HADS-A score. Conclusion : The results of this study are essential evidence to promote mental health in the future, especially in the city of Medan.

Συγκριτική μελέτη των διαταραχών σίτισης και των παραγόντων κινδύνου σε παιδιά προσχολικής ηλικίας υγιή και με παθήσεις του πεπτικού συστήματος

Εισαγωγή: οι διαταραχές σίτισης είναι συχνές στην παιδική ηλικία. Σύμφωνα με τη βιβλιογραφία το 25%-45% των παιδιών τυπικής ανάπτυξης αντιμετωπίζουν προβλήματα σίτισης. Τα παιδιά με παθήσεις του πεπτικού συστήματος θεωρούνται ομάδα υψηλού κινδύνου για εκδήλωση τέτοιων προβλημάτων. Σκοπός της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν η διερεύνηση του επιπολασμού και των χαρακτηριστικών των προβλημάτων σίτισης σε υγιή παιδιά τυπικής ανάπτυξης και σε παιδιά με προβλήματα του πεπτικού συστήματος, ηλικίας 2-7 ετών, στην Ελλάδα. Στα πλαίσια της μελέτης αυτής διερευνήθηκαν παράγοντες που πιθανά σχετίζονται με την εμφάνιση διαταραχών σίτισης στις δύο ομάδες παιδιών, όπως τα δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά των παιδιών και των γονέων, το ιστορικό σίτισης βρεφικής ηλικίας και τα αναπτυξιακά στάδια σίτισης του παιδιού, το περιβάλλον σίτισης και οι γονικές πρακτικές σίτισης. Μέθοδος: μελέτη παρατήρησης χρονικής στιγμής, τύπου ασθενών και μαρτύρων. Μετά την εφαρμογή των κριτηρίων επιλογής και αποκλεισμού στη μελέτη συμπεριλήφθηκαν 928 παιδιά (787 στην ομάδα ελέγχου και 141 στην κλινική ομάδα). Για τα παιδιά αυτά συλλέχθηκαν πληροφορίες που αφορούν τα δημογραφικά και ανθρωπομετρικά στοιχεία, τη συμπεριφορά κατά τη σίτιση, το ιατρικό ιστορικό, το ιστορικό σίτισης, το περιβάλλον σίτισης και τις γονικές πρακτικές σίτισης. Αποτελέσματα: Στην ομάδα ελέγχου, το 8,2% των παιδιών είχαν παθολογικό Total Frequency Score (TFS) σκορ (συχνότητα δυσλειτουργικών συμπεριφορών) και το 27,5% είχαν παθολογικό Total Problem Score (TPS) σκορ (αριθμός προβλημάτων που ανέφεραν οι γονείς). Τα παιδιά με παθήσεις του πεπτικού συστήματος εμφάνισαν σημαντικά υψηλότερη συχνότητα προβληματικών συμπεριφορών και σημαντικά υψηλότερο αριθμό συμπεριφορών που οι γονείς θεωρούν πρόβλημα. Συγκεκριμένα, το 18,6% της κλινικής ομάδας είχε παθολογικό TFS σκορ και το 39,5% είχε παθολογικό TPS σκορ. Οι δύο ομάδες διέφεραν σημαντικά ως προς τα χαρακτηριστικά σίτισης των παιδιών. Ωστόσο, οι συμπεριφορές που φαίνονται να απασχολούν συχνότερα τους γονείς είναι κοινές και για τις δύο ομάδες και αφορούν την τροφική νεοφοβία, τη μειωμένη κατανάλωση λαχανικών, τη διαπραγμάτευση και τη χρονοτριβή. Ανάμεσα στις δύο ομάδες διαπιστώθηκαν στατιστικά σημαντικές διαφορές σε όλα τα αναπτυξιακά στάδια της σίτισης, σε πολλά χαρακτηριστικά του περιβάλλοντος σίτισης και σε πολλές γονικές πρακτικές. Συγκεκριμένοι δημογραφικοί παράγοντες, ο χαμηλός ΔΜΣ, η καθυστέρηση στη μετάβαση στις στερεές τροφές, αρκετά χαρακτηριστικά του περιβάλλοντος σίτισης και σχεδόν όλες οι γονικές πρακτικές, συσχετίστηκαν θετικά με τις διαταραχές σίτισης στην ομάδα ελέγχου. Λιγότερα χαρακτηριστικά συσχετίστηκαν θετικά με τις διαταραχές σίτισης στην κλινική ομάδα. Συμπεράσματα: Η μελέτη κατέδειξε ότι περίπου ένα στα δέκα υγιή παιδιά εκδηλώνει διαταραχές σίτισης, ενώ ένας στους τέσσερις γονείς θεωρούν προβληματική τη σίτιση του παιδιού τους. Σχεδόν διπλάσιο ποσοστό παιδιών με παθήσεις του πεπτικού συστήματος βρέθηκε να αντιμετωπίζει παρόμοια προβλήματα. Τα ευρήματα της μελέτης συμβάλουν στην πρόληψη, πρώιμη ανίχνευση και αξιολόγηση των διαταραχών σίτισης τόσο στα υγιή παιδιά, όπου τα προβλήματα σίτισης συχνά παραβλέπονται ή υποτιμώνται, όσο και στα παιδιά με παθήσεις του πεπτικού συστήματος που αποτελούν ομάδα υψηλού κινδύνου για την εκδήλωση τέτοιων προβλημάτων. Από τα ευρήματα της μελέτης αναδείχτηκαν επίσης σημαντικές πληροφορίες για τους παράγοντες που επιδρούν στη διατροφική συμπεριφορά, παρέχοντας ένα πλαίσιο αναφοράς για πρώιμη παρέμβαση και για το σχεδιασμό όσο το δυνατό πιο στοχευμένων και αποτελεσματικών θεραπευτικών μεθόδων σε παιδιά με διαταραχές σίτισης.

Mirabegron add-on therapy to tamsulosin for the treatment of overactive bladder in men with lower urinary tract symptoms

Men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) treated with α-blockers may experience overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms and receive antimuscarinic drugs. Mirabegron (B3-adrenoreceptor agonist) is an alternative add-on therapy, that has been shown to be more effective than placebo in improving OAB symptoms. Superior results observed for tamsulosin plus mirabegron in mean volume voided per micturition, urgency episodes per day, and total urgency and frequency score. Higher rates of drug related treatment emergent adverse events were noted with tamsulosin plus mirabegron. The results of PLUS reveal the utility of mirabegron and tamsulosin therapy in the treatment of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia who developed symptoms of overactive bladder. The MATCH study confirmed that combination therapy for 12 weeks in men with symptoms of LUTS and OAB was more effective than placebo and was well tolerated.

Microvascular Assessment of Ranolazine in Non-Obstructive Atherosclerosis

Background: Microvascular dysfunction is known to play a key role in patients with angina and nonobstructive coronary artery disease. We investigated the impact of ranolazine among patients with angina and nonobstructive coronary artery disease. Methods: In this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled pilot trial, 26 patients with angina once weekly or more, abnormal stress test, and nonobstructive coronary artery disease (<50% stenosis by angiography and fractional flow reserve >0.80) were randomized 1:1 to ranolazine or placebo for 12 weeks. Primary end point was ΔSeattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) angina frequency score. Baseline and 3 months follow-up SAQ, Duke Activity Status Index scores along with invasive fractional flow reserve, coronary flow reserve (CFR), hyperemic myocardial resistance, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing measurements were performed. Results: No significant differences in ΔSAQ angina frequency scores ( P =0.53) or Duke Activity Status Index ( P =0.76) were observed between ranolazine versus placebo, although patients on ranolazine had lesser improvement in SAQ physical limitation scores ( P =0.02) compared with placebo at 3 months. There were no significant differences in ΔCFR or Δhyperemic myocardial resistance between ranolazine and placebo groups. Patients treated with ranolazine, compared with placebo, had no significant improvement in maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during incremental exercise (VO 2 max) and peak metabolic equivalents of task. Interestingly, in the ranolazine group, patients with baseline CFR<2.0 demonstrated greater gain in CFR compared with those with baseline CFR≥2.0 ( P =0.02). Conclusions: Ranolazine did not demonstrate improvement in SAQ angina frequency score, invasive microvascular function, or peak metabolic equivalent compared with placebo at 3 months. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT02147067.

Challenges of Novice Teachers and Strategies to Cope at Secondary Level

The main purpose of this research study was to find out challenges of novice teachers affecting their performance and suggest measures to control their attrition. Population of the study comprised all novice teachers of public sector girls secondary schools of Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan districts. Sample of the study consisted on 206 novice teachers randomly selected from 45 schools out of population. A self-developed questionnaire consisted on Five - point Likert scale was used to collect data, which was organized, tabulated, analyzed and interpreted by using mean score, frequency score, percentage, standard deviation and t-value. It was found that lack of conducive school environment, non-supportive head teachers attitude, lack of pedagogical skills and students disruptive behavior create hindrances for novice teachers to perform their duties in better ways. It was recommended that provision of head teachers supportive attitude and conducive school environment prove helpful in novice teachers job retention.

Vagal nerve stimulation is effective in pre-school children with intractable epilepsy: A report of two cases

There is lack of prospective evidence regarding vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) in younger children with intractable epilepsy. Here, we report the outcomes of using VNS in two pre-school patients for pediatric intractable epilepsy (VNS-PIE) study. Medical treatment was ineffective in both the patients, and they underwent VNS implantation. Seizure frequency, score on the Gesell scale, and heart rate variability (HRV) were assessed following VNS therapy. After 6 months VNS treatment, the seizure frequency in the two patients decreased by 50% from that at baseline, based on the records in their epileptic diary. Video electroencephalography (EEG) examinations showed that abnormal fast waves diminished in the background in Patient 1, and captured seizure frequency in Patient 2 remarkably decreased. The adaptability, language, and individual and social interaction on their Gesell scales increased slightly, suggesting that VNS had a positive effect on the development of these two children. Moreover, the changes in the different HRV indices indicated improved cardiac autonomic function. In conclusion, these two cases indicated that VNS may not only be a superior therapy for pre-school children with intractable epilepsy, but also may exert a positive effect on their mental development and cardiac autonomic function.