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Objectives: (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6-18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries., Methods: This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test-retest reliability, criterion/construct validity and health-related predictive validity: the 20 m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference (anthropometry). Percentile values were obtained using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape method., Results: A total of 7 966 693 test results from 34 countries (106 datasets) were used to develop sex-specific and age-specific percentile values. In addition, country-level rankings based on mean percentiles are provided for each fitness test, as well as an overall fitness ranking. Finally, an interactive fitness platform, including individual and group reporting and European fitness maps, is provided and freely available online (www.fitbackeurope.eu)., Conclusion: This study discusses the major implications of fitness assessment in youth from health, educational and sport perspectives, and how the FitBack reference values and interactive web-based platform contribute to it. Fitness testing can be conducted in school and/or sport settings, and the interpreted results be integrated in the healthcare systems across Europe., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Currently the most consistent, widely accepted and detailed instrument to rate Parkinson's disease (PD) is the Movement Disorder Society sponsored Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). However, the motor examination is based upon subjective human interpretation trying to capture a snapshot of PD status. Wearable sensors and machine learning have been broadly used to analyze PD motor disorder, but still most ratings and examinations lay outside MDS-UPDRS standards. Moreover, logical connections between features and output ratings are not clear and complex to derive from the model, thus limiting the understanding of the structure in the data., Methods: Fifty-seven PD patients underwent a full motor examination in accordance to the MDS-UPDRS on twelve different sessions, gathering 123 measurements. Overall, 446 different combinations of limb features correlated to rest tremors amplitude are extracted from gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers and feed into a fuzzy inference system to yield severity estimations., Results: A method to perform rest tremor quantification fully adhered to the MDS-UPDRS based on wearable sensors and fuzzy inference system is proposed, which enables a reliable and repeatable assessment while still computing features suggested by clinicians in the scale. This quantification is straightforward and scalable allowing clinicians to improve inference by means of new linguistic statements. In addition, the method is immediately accessible to clinical environments and provides rest tremor amplitude data with respect to the timeline. A better resolution is also achieved in tremors rating by adding a continuous range., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

On the basis of a general low polymorphism, several studies suggest that balancing selection in the class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is weaker in marine mammals as compared with terrestrial mammals. We investigated such differential selection among Cetacea, Artiodactyla, and Primates at exon 2 of MHC-DQB gene by contrasting indicators of molecular evolution such as occurrence of transpecific polymorphisms, patterns of phylogenetic branch lengths by codon position, rates of nonsynonymous and synonymous substitutions as well as accumulation of variable sites on the sampling of alleles. These indicators were compared between the DQB and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (cytb) as a reference of neutral expectations and differences between molecular clocks resulting from life history and historical demography. All indicators showed that the influence of balancing selection on the DQB is more variable and overall weaker for cetaceans. In our sampling, ziphiids, the sperm whale, monodontids and the finless porpoise formed a group with lower DQB polymorphism, while mysticetes exhibited a higher DQB variation similar to that of terrestrial mammals as well as higher occurrence of transpecific polymorphisms. Different dolphins appeared in the two groups. Larger variation of selection on the cetacean DQB could be related to greater stochasticity in their historical demography and thus, to a greater complexity of the general ecology and disease processes of these animals.

Twenty-eight blackberry ( Rubus glaucus Benth.) wines elaborated under different processing conditions were analyzed for total phenolics, ellagitannins, anthocyanins, color, and antioxidant activity. Ellagitannins were the main phenolic compounds and the most determinant factor in the antioxidant capacity of wines (r = 0.980). The major anthocyanins were cyanidin 3-rutinoside (64 ± 6%) and cyanidin 3-glucoside (19 ± 4%), followed by several minor compounds (17 ± 4%). Two of them were native blackberry anthocyanins, namely, cyanidin 3-rutinoside-5-glucoside and cyanidin 3-xylorutinoside. The remaining seven compounds were anthocyanin-related pigments generated during and after the alcoholic fermentation, identified as A-type and B-type vitisins and hydroxyphenylpyranoanthocyanins. The presence of fruit solids in contact with the liquid fraction during fermentation and the ratio of water to fruit employed in the preparation of the musts had a great impact on the content of ellagitannins, total phenolics, and the antioxidant activity of wines and a minor impact on their color and anthocyanin composition.

Objective: This study was to examine the influence of socioeconomic status on fitness and fatness in Spanish adolescents., Subjects and Methods: A total of 1 795 adolescents (833 boys) aged 12.5-18.5 years from the AVENA study participated in this study. The following physical fitness components were assessed: muscular strength (standing long jump), speed-agility (4 × 10 m shuttle run) and cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle run). Total and central body fat was assessed using skinfold thickness and waist circumference, respectively. Both parents reported their educational and professional level., Results: Girls with higher paternal educational level and boys with higher either maternal or paternal professional level had higher muscular strength levels (all P<0.05). Speed-agility and cardiorespiratory fitness were not associated with parental educational or professional levels in boys. In contrast, girls with higher paternal educational level or higher parental professional level had higher levels in both fitness components (all P<0.05). A higher maternal educational level was associated with lower total and central body fat in boys (all P<0.05), but not in girls. We observed a small effect size (Cohen's d∼0.2) in most of these associations., Conclusions: Our results suggest modest associations of high socioeconomic status with better fitness and fatness levels in Spanish adolescents. These associations greatly depend on the socioeconomic status and fitness parameters studied.