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Background:Following stroke, people are generally less active and more sedentary which can worsen outcomes. Mobile phone applications (apps) can support change in health behaviors. We developed STARFISH, a mobile phone app-based intervention, which incorporates evidence-based behavior change techniques (feedback, self-monitoring and social support), in which users’ physical activity is visualized by fish swimming. Objective:To evaluate the potential effectiveness of STARFISH in stroke survivors. Method:Twenty-three people with stroke (12 women; age: 56.0 ± 10.0 years, time since stroke: 4.2 ± 4.0 years) from support groups in Glasgow completed the study. Participants were sequentially allocated in a 2:1 ratio to intervention (n = 15) or control (n = 8) groups. The intervention group followed the STARFISH program for six weeks; the control group received usual care. Outcome measures included physical activity, sedentary time, heart rate, blood pressure, body mass index, Fatigue Severity Scale, Instrumental Activity of Daily Living Scale, Ten-Meter Walk Test, Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale, and Psychological General Well-Being Index. Results:The average daily step count increased by 39.3% (4158 to 5791 steps/day) in the intervention group and reduced by 20.2% (3694 to 2947 steps/day) in the control group (p = 0.005 for group–time interaction). Similar patterns of data and group–time interaction were seen for walking time (p = 0.002) and fatigue (p = 0.003). There were no significant group–time interactions for other outcome measures. Conclusion:Use of STARFISH has the potential to improve physical activity and health outcomes in people after stroke and longer term intervention trials are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mitochondrial quality control system is essential for the preservation and regulation of mitochondrial function. This system is formed by a complex machinery that controls and maintains protein function and regulates mitochondrial morphology through a coordinated system of continual fusion and fission events. Impairments in the mitochondrial quality control system through either mutation or deficiency in any of its components, can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction. However, the physiological consequences of these deficiencies remain unknown in most cases. Here, we briefly review the role of the OPA1-OMA1 system in mitochondrial biology, and summarize our recent report on the generation and phenotypic characterization of a model deficient in OMA1, an ATPindependent mitochondrial metalloprotease that participates in mitochondrial quality control. Interestingly, Oma1-deficient mice display an obesity phenotype, characterized by hepatic steatosis, decrease in energy expenditure and defective thermogenic regulation. In addition, our study has provided in vivo evidence of OMA1 function as a mitochondrial quality control protease, inactivating OPA1 under stress conditions and inhibiting mitochondrial fusion. Further, we have demonstrated the essential role of the OMA1-OPA1 system for brown adipose function and how this system regulates metabolic homeostasis in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capsule The Arctic Skua colony on Handa Island is in decline, probably due to pressure from Great Skuas. Aims To assess the factors affecting Great Skua productivity, and the effects of Great Skuas on breeding Arctic Skuas. Methods From 2003 to 2006 population and breeding performance of Great Skuas and Arctic Skuas on Honda Island were intensively monitored, using all-island surveys and regular visits to focal territories from laying through to the post-fledging period. All study chicks were ringed for long-term study. Inter- specific interactions were observed and 511 6 regurgitated pellets of breeding and non-breeding Great Skuas were collected systematically for dietary analysis. Results Over the study period, numbers of breeding Great Skuas remained steady but there was an overall decline in productivity, with chick loss the most significant proximate factor. However the four-year average of 0.49 chicks fledged per pair was relatively high, with Handa being the most productive monitored colony in Britain in 2004. Great Skuas on Handa have a diverse diet of at least 30 species, including discarded fish and other seabirds. Among the Arctic Skuas, mean productivity was high but so was predation pressure on fledglings from Great Skuas, and population size has halved in four years. Conclusions Handa is a productive Great Skua colony in the context of recent breeding Failures in the Northern Isles. A substantial part of their diet is other seabirds and their impact on globally important populations requires further monitoring and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the significance of optimized sputum smear microscopy in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The researchers highlighted the systematic reviews on sputum processing and fluorescence microscopy. Serial sputum specimens suggest that microscopic methods can be optimized to generate higher than usual yields. It is hoped that the initiatives they had made will address the gaps being identified and generate evidence that will inform global policies on TB care and control.

A case report of Stickler's syndrome associated with congenital glaucoma is presented. Stickler's syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by progressive arthropathy, midfacial flattening, Pierre Robin anomaly or cleft palate, sensorineural hearing loss, progressive myopia, vitreoretinal degeneration, and retinal detachment. Congenital glaucoma and Stickler's syndrome are two diagnoses frequently considered in high myopia in infancy. The case report described presents a case of Stickler's syndrome in association with congenital glaucoma. This association is unusual, but important to recognise in the neonatal period. The possibility of coexistence of these clinical entities should be considered in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) is a successful model of integrated operational research and capacity building with about 90% of participants completing the training and publishing in scientific journals. Objective: The study aims at assessing the influence of research papers from six SORT IT courses conducted between April 2014 and January 2015 on policy and/or practice. Methods: This was a cross-sectional mixed-method study involving e-mail based, self-administered questionnaires sent to course participants coupled with telephone/Skype/in-person responses from participants, senior facilitators and local co-authors of course papers. A descriptive content analysis was performed to generate themes. Results: Of 71 participants, 67 (94%) completed the course. A total of 67 papers (original research) were submitted for publication, of which 61 (91%) were published or were in press at the censor date (31 December 2016). Among the 67 eligible participants, 65 (97%) responded to the questionnaire. Of the latter, 43 (66%) research papers were self-reported to have contributed to a change in policy and/or practice by the course participants: 38 to a change in government policy or practice (26 at the national level, six at the subnational level and six at the local/hospital level); four to a change in organisational policy or practice; and one study fostered global policy development. Conclusion: Nearly two-thirds of SORT IT course papers contributed to a change in policy and/or practice as reported by the participants. Identifying the actual linkage of research to policy/practice change requires more robust methodology, in-depth assessment and independent validation of the reported change with all concerned stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries in the different stages of pre-elimination, elimination, and prevention of reintroduction are required to report the number of indigenous and imported malaria cases to the World Health Organization (WHO). However, these data have not been systematically analysed at the global level. For the period 2007 to 2013, we aimed to report on 1) the proportion of countries providing data on the origin of malaria cases and 2) the origin of malaria cases in countries classified as being in the stages of pre-elimination, elimination and prevention of reintroduction. An observational study using annual data reported through routine health information systems to the WHO Global Malaria Programme between 2007 and 2013. For all countries classified as being in pre-elimination, elimination, and prevention of reintroduction in the year 2013, there has been a substantial decrease in the total number of indigenous malaria cases, from more than 15,000 cases reported in 2007 to less than 4,000 cases reported in 2013. However, the total number of imported malaria cases has increased over that time period, from 5,600 imported cases in 2007 to approximately 6,800 in 2013. Vigilant monitoring of the numbers of imported and indigenous malaria cases at national and global levels as well as appropriate strategies to target these cases will be critical to achieve malaria eradication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]