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Background and purpose Although the first mutation associated with Parkinson's disease ( PD) was identified several years ago in the alpha-synuclein ( SNCA) gene in families of Greek and Italian ancestry, a more systematic study of this and other known PD mutations has not been performed in the Greek population. Methods A genetic analysis in 111 familial or sporadic with early-onset (≤50 years, EO) PD patients was performed for the presence of the A53T SNCA mutation. In separate subgroups of these patients, further mutations in the SNCA, LRRK2, Parkin, PINK1 and DJ-1 genes were searched for. Additionally, a subgroup of familial cases was analysed for mutations in the glucocerebrosidase ( GBA) gene. Results In total, five patients (4.5% of our whole population) were identified with the A53T SNCA mutation, two with a heterozygote dosage mutation and one with a heterozygote point mutation in the Parkin gene, and seven patients (10.3% of our familial cohort) with GBA gene mutations. Conclusions The A53T mutation in the SNCA gene, although uncommon, does represent a cause of PD in the Greek population, especially of familial EOPD with autosomal dominant inheritance. GBA mutations in the familial cohort tested here were as common as in a cohort of sporadic cases previously examined from the same centres. For the remainder of the genes, genetic defects that could definitively account for the disease were not identified. These results suggest that further Mendelian traits that lead to PD in the Greek population remain to be identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Robust design problems in aerodynamics are associated with the design variables, which control the shape of an aerodynamic body, and also with the so-called environmental variables, which account for uncertainties. In this kind of problems, the set of design variables, which leads to optimal performance, taking into account possible variations in the environmental variables, is sought. One of the possible ways to solve this problem is by means of the second-order second-moment approach, which requires first-order and second-order derivatives of the objective function with respect to the environmental variables. Should the minimization problem be solved using a gradient-based method, algorithms for the computation of up to third-order sensitivity derivatives (twice with respect to the environmental variables and once with respect to the shape controlling design variables) must be devised. In this paper, a combination of the continuous adjoint variable method and direct differentiation to compute the third-order sensitivities is proposed. This is shown to be the most efficient among all alternative methods provided that the environmental variables are much less than the design ones. Apart from presenting the method formulation, this paper focuses on the assessment of the so-computed up-to third-order mixed derivatives through comparison with costly finite-difference schemes. To this end, the robust design of a two-dimensional duct is performed. Then, using the validated method, the robust design of a two-dimensional cascade airfoil is demonstrated. Although both cases are handled as inverse design problems, the method can be extended to other objective functions or three-dimensional problems in a straightforward manner. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determined the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young Greek men in 2006 and examined variations related to their place of residence and educational level. Body height and weight were measured in 2568 conscripts of the Greek army, aged 19–26 years. The calculated body mass index (BMI, kg m−2) was correlated to their socio-demographic characteristics, i.e. level of education and place of residence (urban or rural). Overweight and obesity were defined according to the World Health Organization classification. Mean BMI (standard deviation) of the conscripts was 24.7 (4.2). The prevalence of overweight (30 > BMI ≥ 25 kg m−2) was 28.5% and correlated positively with a higher educational level, whereas the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg m−2) was 10.4% and correlated positively with a lower educational level. Our data were compared with those of similar studies performed in the years 1969: BMI 23.8 (1.4) ( P < 0.0001) and 1990: BMI 23.8 (2.9) ( P < 0.0001), showing a positive secular trend for BMI in Greek conscripts in the last 16 years. In conclusion, we documented an alarmingly high prevalence of overweight and obesity among young Greek men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiac arrest remains the leading cause of death in Western societies. Advanced Life Support guidelines propose epinephrine (adrenaline) for its treatment. The aim of this study was to assess whether a calcium sensitizer agent, such as levosimendan, administered in combination with epinephrine during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, would improve the initial resuscitation success. Methods: Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 20 Landrace/Large-White piglets, and left untreated for 8 min. Resuscitation was then attempted with precordial compressions, mechanical ventilation and electrical defibrillation. The animals were randomized into two groups (10 animals each): animals in Group A received saline as placebo (10 ml dilution, bolus) + epinephrine (0.02 mg/kg), and animals in Group B received levosimendan (0.012 mg/kg/10 ml dilution, bolus) + epinephrine (0.02 mg/kg) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Electrical defibrillation was attempted after 10 min of ventricular fibrillation. Results: Four animals in Group A showed restoration of spontaneous circulation and 10 in Group B ( P = 0.011). The coronary perfusion pressure, saturation of peripheral oxygenation and brain regional oxygen saturation were significantly higher during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Group B. Conclusions: A calcium sensitizer agent, when administered during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, significantly improves initial resuscitation success and increases coronary perfusion pressure during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence supports the existence of adult mammalian stem cell subpopulations, particularly within the bone marrow, that may be able to "transdifferentiate" across tissue lineage boundaries, thus offering an accessible source for therapeutic applications even for neural tissue repair. However, the difficulties in reproducing some experimental data, the rarity of the transdifferentiation events and observations that cell fusion may be an alternative explanation argue against the idea of stem cell plasticity. Investigations going beyond descriptive experiments and more mechanicistic approaches may provide a more solid foundation to adult stem cell therapeutic potential.