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BACKGROUND. Delirium is a common, serious, underdiagnosed condition in medical and surgical inpatients with acute conditions. It is associated with increased risk of mortality and morbidity. Data of geriatric cohorts are largely limited to developed countries.OBJECTIVES. To describe prevalence, risk factors and outcomes of delirium among general medical patients admitted to two hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa.METHODS. This was a prospective cohort study of patients with acute conditions admitted to a general medical inpatient service in secondary- and tertiary-level public hospitals in the Metro West area of Cape Town. Patients >18 years of age were recruited daily from all acute medical admissions. Patients were excluded if they were aphasic or their Glasgow coma scale was

John H Rossmeisl,1–3 Kelli Hall-Manning,4 John L Robertson,1,3,5 Jamie N King,1,2 Rafael V Davalos,3,5 Waldemar Debinski,3 Subbiah Elankumaran6,† 1Veterinary and Comparative Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, 2Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, 3The Brain Tumor Center of Excellence, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Comprehensive Cancer Center, Winston-Salem, NC, 4Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, 5Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Virginia Tech, 6Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA, USA†The authors regret to advise of the passing of Dr Subbiah Elankumaran prior to publicationBackground: The expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein family member, and the activity of its ligand, urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), have been associated with the invasive and metastatic potentials of a variety of human brain tumors through their regulation of extracellular matrix degradation. Domesticated dogs develop naturally occurring brain tumors that share many clinical, phenotypic, molecular, and genetic features with their human counterparts, which has prompted the use of the dogs with spontaneous brain tumors as models to expedite the translation of novel brain tumor therapeutics to humans. There is currently little known regarding the role of the uPA system in canine brain tumorigenesis. The objective of this study was to characterize the expression of uPAR and the activity of uPA in canine brain tumors as justification for the development of uPAR-targeted brain tumor therapeutics in dogs.Methods: We investigated the expression of uPAR in 37 primary canine brain tumors using immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses, and by the assay of the activity of uPA using casein–plasminogen zymography.Results: Expression of uPAR was observed in multiple tumoral microenvironmental niches, including neoplastic cells, stroma, and the vasculature of canine brain tumors. Relative to normal brain tissues, uPAR protein and mRNA expression were significantly greater in canine meningiomas, gliomas, and choroid plexus tumors. Increased activity of uPA was documented in all tumor types.Conclusions: uPAR is overexpressed and uPA activity increased in canine meningiomas, gliomas, and choroid plexus tumors. This study illustrates the potential of uPAR/uPA molecularly targeted approaches for canine brain tumor therapeutics and reinforces the translational significance of canines with spontaneous brain tumors as models for human disease. Keywords: brain tumor, neuro-oncology, dog, animal model, protease, meningioma, glioma

Gerofit, established in 1986, is an individualized health promotion/exercise program for older Veterans. Center-based program outcomes include significant improvements in function/mobility and psychological health. Consequently, Gerofit is undergoing national dissemination (11 sites in 5 years) with the challenge to increase reach beyond center-based programs without compromising outcomes. Replication of center-based Gerofit with new models developed including tele-video exercise, home counseling, and other hybrid exercise programs. One-year outcomes from new center-based participants (n=691, mean age 75.2 years) include improved gait speed (1.07 to 1.14 meters/sec), six-minute walk (416.27 to 459.17 meters), strength (10.93 to 14.71 chair stands), and mobility (Up-and-go-test, 8.48 to 7.51 seconds), all p< 0.05. Additionally, over the past 6-months, 400+ Veterans received materials (3–20% return rate) with varied options for non-center-based exercise which will be discussed. With over 10.6 million U.S. Veterans aged 65+ (57% rural), the need for perfecting these models is paramount.

The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most significant change in human prehistory. In the European plain there is evidence for fully developed agrarian societies by 7,500 cal. yr BP, yet a well-established agrarian society does not appear in the north until 6,000 cal. yr BP for unknown reasons. Here we show a sudden increase in summer temperature at 6,000 cal. yr BP in northern Europe using a well-dated, high resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Baltic Sea. This temperature rise resulted in hypoxic conditions across the entire Baltic sea as revealed by multiple sedimentary records and supported by marine ecosystem modeling. Comparison with summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites indicate that this temperature rise coincided with both the introduction of farming, and a dramatic population increase. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the boundary of farming rapidly extended north at 6,000 cal. yr BP because terrestrial conditions in a previously marginal region improved., Scientific Reports, 7 (1), ISSN:2045-2322

Background: Gerofit, an exercise and health promotion program for older Veterans ages 65+ with documented improvements in fitness, function, longevity, and well-being, is now being disseminated to 13 VA medical centers around the country. Evidence of its impact beyond the above is needed. Methods: We examined changes in medication usages following 12-months of supervised exercise among participants in the Durham Gerofit program from 1999–2017. Results: 453 of 480 of patients reaching 12-month follow-up were on 1 or more medications at enrollment. At 12 months, 77 of 164 patients (47%) on opioid medications at baseline, reduced their number of opioid medications by one or more. Similar reductions; 36%, 32%, 22%, and 22% were noted at 12 months for patients on mental health, cardiac, diabetes and lipid lowering medications, respectively (average 32% reduction across categories). Implications: Findings indicate potential high impact of Gerofit and the need for a return-on-investment analysis.

Analyses of shallow cores obtained at the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) drilling site Kohnen station (758000 S, 008040 E; 2892ma.s.l.) on the plateau of Dronning Maud Land reveal the presence of conserved snow dunes in the firn. In situ observations during three dune formation events in the 2005/06 austral summer at Kohnen station show that these periods were characterized by a phase of 2 or 3 days with snowdrift prior to dune formation which only occurred during high wind speeds of >10ms–1 at 2m height caused by the influence of a low-pressure system. The dune surface coverage after a formation event varied between 5% and 15%, with a typical dune size of (4 2)m (8 3) m, a maximum height of 0.2 0.1m and a periodicity length of about 30 m. The mean density within a snow dune varied between 380 and 500 kgm–3, whereas the mean density at the surrounding surface was 330 5kgm–3. The firn cores covering a time-span of 22 2 years reveal that approximately three to eight events per year occurred, during which snow dunes had been formed and were preserved in the firn.

African pottery roulettes past and present : techniques, identification and distribution considers ethnographic, museological and archaeological approaches to pottery-decorating tools called roulettes, that is to say short lengths of fibre or wood that are rolled over the surface of a vessel for decoration. This book sets out, for the first time, a solid typology for the classification of African pottery decorated with such tools, and forges a consensus on common methodology and standards. It gives an overview of history of research into roulette decoration in Africa and elsewhere Jomon Japan, Neolithic Europe, Siberia, and New York among others; outlines the contemporary distribution of roulette usage in sub-Saharan African today, a 'success story' from Senegal to Tanzania; and proposes methodologies for the identification of selected roulette decoration types in the archaeological record. By achieving standardisation in pottery analysis, this book will help researchers make meaningful comparisons between different sites of West Africa, and thus guide further research on the West African past. As roulette decoration has been such a global phenomenon in the past, the book will also be of interest to all researchers with an interest in ceramics from different parts of the world.

An extreme precipitation event that influenced almost the whole polar plateau of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, is investigated using Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System archive data. For the first time a high-resolution atmospheric model especially adapted for polar regions was used for such a study in Dronning Maud Land. The outstanding event of 21–25 February 2003 was connected to a strong north-westerly flow, caused by a blocking high above eastern Dronning Maud Land, that persisted for several days and brought unusually large levels of moisture to the Antarctic Plateau. This weather situation is most effective in bringing precipitation to high-altitude interior Antarctic ice-core drilling sites, where precipitation in the form of diamond dust usually dominates. However, a few such precipitation events per year can account for a large percentage of the annual accumulation, which can cause a strong bias in ice-core data. Additionally, increased temperatures and wind speeds during these events need to be taken into account for the correct climatic interpretation of ice cores. A better understanding of the frequency of occurrence of intermittent precipitation in the interior of Antarctica in past and future climates is necessary for both palaeoclimatological studies and estimates of future sea-level change.