Background: Sarcopenic obesity (SO) is an increasing phenomenon and has been linked to several negative health consequences. The aim of this umbrella review is the assessment of effectiveness and certainty of evidence of nutrition and exercise interventions in persons with SO. Method: We searched for meta-analyses of RCTs in PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL that had been conducted in the last five years, focusing on studies on the treatment and prevention of SO. The primary endpoints were parameters for SO, such as body fat in %, skeletal muscle mass index (SMMI), gait speed, leg strength and grip strength. The methodological quality was evaluated using AMSTAR and the certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE. Results: Four systematic reviews with between 30 to 225 participants were included in the umbrella review. These examined four exercise interventions, two nutrition interventions and four interventions that combined nutrition and exercise. Resistance training was the most frequently studied intervention and was found to improve gait speed by 0.14 m/s to 0.17 m/s and lower leg strength by 9.97 kg. Resistance, aerobic, mixed exercise and hypocaloric diet combined with protein supplementation is not significantly effective on selected outcomes for persons with SO compared to no intervention. The low number of primary studies included in the reviews resulted in moderate to very low certainty of evidence. Conclusion: Despite the lack in certainty of evidence, resistance training may be a suitable intervention for persons with SO, in particular for improving muscle function. Nevertheless, further research is necessary to strengthen the evidence.
Background: A chronic low-grade infammatory profle (CLIP) is associated with sarcopenia in older adults. Protein and Vitamin (Vit)D have immune-modulatory potential, but evidence for efects of nutritional supplementation on CLIP is limited. Aim To investigate whether 13 weeks of nutritional supplementation of VitD and leucine-enriched whey protein afected CLIP in subjects enrolled in the PROVIDE-study, as a secondary analysis. Methods: Sarcopenic adults (low skeletal muscle mass) aged ≥ 65 years with mobility limitations (Short Physical Performance Battery 4–9) and a body mass index of 20–30 kg/m2 were randomly allocated to two daily servings of active (n=137, including 20 g of whey protein, 3 g of leucine and 800 IU VitD) or isocaloric control product (n=151) for a double-blind period of 13 weeks. At baseline and after 13 weeks, circulating interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1 receptor antagonist (RA), soluble tumor-necrosis-factor receptor (sTNFR)1, IL-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, pre-albumin and 25-hydroxyvitamin(OH) D were measured. Data-analysis included repeated measures analysis of covariance (corrected for dietary VitD intake) and linear regression. Results: IL-6 and IL-1Ra serum levels showed overall increases after 13 weeks (p=0.006 and p<0.001, respectively). For IL-6 a signifcant time × treatment interaction (p=0.046) was observed, with no signifcant change over time in the active group (p=0.155) compared to control (signifcant increase p=0.012). IL-8 showed an overall signifcant decrease (p=0.03). The change in pre-albumin was a signifcant predictor for changes in IL-6 after 13 weeks. Conclusions: We conclude that 13 weeks of nutritional supplementation with VitD and leucine-enriched whey protein may attenuate the progression of CLIP in older sarcopenic persons with mobility limitations
OBJECTIVE: In this pilot study, we investigated the feasibility of a home-based, remotely guided exercise intervention for patients with gliomas.DESIGN: Pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) with randomization (2:1) to exercise or control group.SUBJECTS: Patients with stable grade II and III gliomas.INTERVENTION: The six-month intervention included three home-based exercise sessions per week at 60%-85% of maximum heart rate. Participants wore heart rate monitors connected to an online platform to record activities that were monitored weekly by the physiotherapist.MAIN MEASURES: Accrual, attrition, adherence, safety, satisfaction, patient-reported physical activity, VO2 peak (by maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing) and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and at six-month follow-up.RESULTS: In all, 34 of 136 eligible patients (25%) were randomized to exercise training ( N = 23) or the control group ( N = 11), of whom 19 and 9, respectively, underwent follow-up. Mean adherence to prescribed sessions was 79%. Patients' experiences were positive. There were no adverse events. Compared to the control group, the exercise group showed larger improvements in absolute VO2 peak (+158.9 mL/min; 95% CI: -44.8 to 362.5) and BMI (-0.3 kg/m²; 95% CI: -0.9 to 0.2). The median increase in physical activity was 1489 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes higher in the exercise group. The most reported reasons for non-participation were lack of motivation or time.CONCLUSION: This innovative and intensive home-based exercise intervention was feasible in a small subset of patients with stable gliomas who were interested in exercising. The observed effects suggest that the programme may improve cardiorespiratory fitness. These results support the need for large-scale trials of exercise interventions in brain tumour patients.
The bi-directional communication link with the physical system is one of the main distinguishing features of the Digital Twin paradigm. This continuous flow of data and information, along its entire life cycle, is what makes a Digital Twin a dynamic and evolving entity and not merely a high-fidelity copy. There is an increasing realisation of the importance of a well functioning digital twin in critical infrastructures, such as water networks. Configuration of water network assets, such as valves, pumps, boosters and reservoirs, must be carefully managed and the water flows rerouted, often manually, which is a slow and costly process. The state of the art water management systems assume a relatively static physical model that requires manual corrections. Any change in the network conditions or topology due to degraded control mechanisms, ongoing maintenance, or changes in the external context situation, such as a heat wave, makes the existing model diverge from the reality. Our project proposes a unique approach to real-time monitoring of the water network that can handle automated changes of the model, based on the measured discrepancy of the model with the obtained IoT sensor data. We aim at an evolutionary approach that can apply detected changes to the model and update it in real-time without the need for any additional model validation and calibration. The state of the art deep learning algorithms will be applied to create a machine-learning data-driven simulation of the water network system. Moreover, unlike most research that is focused on detection of network problems and sensor faults, we will investigate the possibility of making a step further and continue using the degraded network and malfunctioning sensors until the maintenance and repairs can take place, which can take a long time. We will create a formal model and analyse the effect on data readings of different malfunctions, to construct a mitigating mechanism that is tailor-made for each malfunction type and allows to continue using the data, albeit in a limited capacity.
A transition to a circular economy is needed to revolutionize the construction sector and make it more sustainable for present and future generations. While the construction industry and the production of construction materials contribute to environmental pollution, they also offer great potential for addressing many environmental problems. Sheet materials are engineered wood boards that are produced from recycled or solid wood where an adhesive is used to bind the particles together, predominantly used in: Furniture manufacturing, Flooring application, Roofing, Wall sheathing. The most common binder for boards is urea-formaldehyde. Other binders may be used depending on the grade of board and its intended end-use. For example, melamine urea-formaldehyde, phenolic resins and polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate (PMDI) are generally used in boards that require improved moisture resistance. Formaldehyde is classified in the in the European Union as a carcinogen and it carries the hazard statement 'suspected of causing cancer'. In this project mycelium composites are developed as a formaldehyde-free, fully natural and biodegradable material with high potential to substitute these hazardous materials. The heat-press process, the feasibility of which was evaluated in a previous Kiem HBO project, is to be further developed towards a process where mycelium sheets with different thicknesses will be obtained. This is considered as a fundamental step to increase the material approachability to the market. Different Material manufacturing techniques are also considered to enable the increase of sample thicknesses and volume. Moreover, a business study will be incorporated to allow further understanding of the material market potential. The consortium composition of V8 Architects, QbiQ, Fairm, Verbruggen Paddestoelen BV, and CoEBBE merges different expertise and guarantees the consideration of the whole material production chain. The research will contribute to bring mycelium composites a step closer to the market, giving them visibility and increasing the possibility to a commercial breakthrough.
Treatment of crops with insecticides remains essential because globally more than 75 billion dollars is lost through crop destruction by invasive insects. However it is accompanied by severe disadvantages including i. increasing resistance of the target insects against insecticides and ii. the undesired lethality of beneficial insects such as bees and other pollinator species. The significant reduction of insect species during the last years, at least partly caused by the presently available insecticides has also effects on insect-eating species. Last but not least the presence of residual amount of insecticides in the environment (soil and plants), because of poor (bio)degradation, is another distinct disadvantage. Therefore, the overall aim of this proposal is to design and synthesize peptide based biopesticides. This should lead to Nature inspired green alternatives for insect control because "Peptides" are the small equivalents of "proteins", that are biomolecules, which are universally present in all organisms and subject to their natural biodegradation mechanisms, as well as also chemically degraded in the soil (water, heat, UV, oxygen). Design and synthesis of these environmentally benign compounds will eventually take place in a founded company called "INNOVAPEPLINE". Evaluation of candidate peptide based biopesticides can be carried out in collaboration with a recently founded company (spin-out of the University of Glasgow) called "SOLASTA BIO" (founders professors Shireen Davies, Julian Dow and Rob Liskamp) and/or with other (third) parties such as the University of Wageningen. Upon recent identification of promising candidate compounds ("leads"), chemical optimization studies of leads will take place, followed by evaluation in field trials. In this proposal design, synthesis and chemical optimization of the biological activity of new peptides and development of methods to monitor their biodegradation rate will take place. Thereby expanding the repertoire of peptide based biopesticides. (292 words)
