Effects of a falls exercise intervention on strength, power, functional ability and bone in older frequent fallers: FaME (Falls Management Exercise) RCT secondary analysis

OBJECTIVES: Falls Management Exercise (FaME) has been shown to reduce falls in frequent fallers and in lower risk sedentary older people. The effects of FaME on the strength, power, physical function and bone health of frequently falling older women are yet to be established. METHODS: This paper reports secondary analysis of data from the original randomised controlled trial of FaME in 100 community dwelling women aged ≥65 years with a history of ≥3 falls in the previous year. Intervention was group delivered, weekly one hour tailored dynamic balance and strength exercise classes and home exercise for nine months. OUTCOME MEASURES INCLUDED: strength (handgrip, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip abductors, ankles), lower limb explosive power and functional tests (timed up and go, functional reach, timed floor rise and balance), analysed using Linear Mixed Model analysis. Bone Mineral Density (BMD) at hip and spine was measured in a smaller sub-group and analysed using t-tests. RESULTS: Significant time*group interactions in all measures of strength, except isometric ankle dorsiflexion, concentric hamstring and eccentric quadriceps strength. These improvements in strength equated to average improvements of 7-45%. There were also significant improvements in explosive power (W/kg) (18%, p=0.000), timed up and go (16%, p=0.000), functional reach (17%, p=0.000), floor rise (10%, p=0.002) and eyes closed static balance (56%, p=0.000). There was a significant loss of hip BMD in the control group (neck of femur p<0.05; ward's triangle p<0.02). CONCLUSION: The FaME intervention improves lower limb strength, power and clinically relevant functional outcomes in frequently falling older women

Pilot scale production of a phospholipid-enriched dairy ingredient by means of an optimised integrated process employing enzymatic hydrolysis, ultrafiltration and super-critical fluid extraction

Pilot scale production of a dairy ingredient enriched in phospholipids (PLs) was generated from a buttermilk powder (BMP) substrate utilising a combined process of targeted enzymatic hydrolysis of the innate milk proteins followed by ultrafiltration with a 50 kDa membrane. An 8.5 fold increase in PL was achieved in the 50 kDa retentate (50 R) compared to the BMP, 11.05 ± 0.02% and 1.30 ± 0.00% total PL, respectively. Simultaneously, total lipid content in the retentate increased 8.7 fold with reference to the BMP, 60.07 ± 0.54% and 6.84 ± 0.17% total lipid respectively. Protein reduced to 10.58 ± 0.09% (50 R) from 31.40 ± 0.57% in BMP. Supercritical CO2 fluid extraction (SFE) was employed to generate a purified lipid fraction. SFE with ethanol as a co-solvent yielded a purified lipid extract with enriched PLs level of 56.24 ± 0.07% on a dry matter basis. Industrial relevance: PLs have many associated health and nutritional benefits including those related to cognitive development and repair. Generation of an ingredient enriched in dairy PLs would be advantageous from an industrial view to allow fortification of nutritionals, both infant and geriatric, in promoting brain health. The present work demonstrates a novel pilot scale process for the generation of a PL enriched ingredient from a BMP substrate. Utilising a combined process of targeted protein hydrolysis followed by selective removal by ultrafiltration of the smaller molecular weight peptide material, an ingredient with 8.5 fold increase in PL material was achieved. SFE technology was utilised to generate a purified lipid extract with greater PL levels for future applications in biological assays to determine these pathways. The need for investigate and further develop the knowledge relating to the modes of action of these bioactive compounds would be beneficial from a nutritional perspective

Pilot scale production of a phospholipid-enriched dairy ingredient by means of an optimised integrated process employing enzymatic hydrolysis, ultrafiltration and super-critical fluid extraction

Pilot scale production of a dairy ingredient enriched in phospholipids (PLs) was generated from a buttermilk powder (BMP) substrate utilising a combined process of targeted enzymatic hydrolysis of the innate milk proteins followed by ultrafiltration with a 50 kDa membrane. An 8.5 fold increase in PL was achieved in the 50 kDa retentate (50 R) compared to the BMP, 11.05 ± 0.02% and 1.30 ± 0.00% total PL, respectively. Simultaneously, total lipid content in the retentate increased 8.7 fold with reference to the BMP, 60.07 ± 0.54% and 6.84 ± 0.17% total lipid respectively. Protein reduced to 10.58 ± 0.09% (50 R) from 31.40 ± 0.57% in BMP. Supercritical CO2 fluid extraction (SFE) was employed to generate a purified lipid fraction. SFE with ethanol as a co-solvent yielded a purified lipid extract with enriched PLs level of 56.24 ± 0.07% on a dry matter basis. Industrial relevance: PLs have many associated health and nutritional benefits including those related to cognitive development and repair. Generation of an ingredient enriched in dairy PLs would be advantageous from an industrial view to allow fortification of nutritionals, both infant and geriatric, in promoting brain health. The present work demonstrates a novel pilot scale process for the generation of a PL enriched ingredient from a BMP substrate. Utilising a combined process of targeted protein hydrolysis followed by selective removal by ultrafiltration of the smaller molecular weight peptide material, an ingredient with 8.5 fold increase in PL material was achieved. SFE technology was utilised to generate a purified lipid extract with greater PL levels for future applications in biological assays to determine these pathways. The need for investigate and further develop the knowledge relating to the modes of action of these bioactive compounds would be beneficial from a nutritional perspective

On the Edge in the Empire State: New York's Low-Income Children

This fact sheet shows that families in New York are struggling despite small family sizes and high rates of parental employment. More than two out of every five children in New York State live in low-income families. Low-income rates are even higher in New York City, where more than half of the children live in low-income families

Struggling Despite Hard Work: Michigan and Detroit

This fact sheet examines employment among low-income families as well as their use of work support benefits. It presents information for Michigan as a whole and for Detroit, where 20 percent of the state's low-income children live. Findings show that while most low-income children have parents who work, many do not receive assistance from the supports designed to help low-income families make ends meet

Struggling Despite Hard Work: Illinois and Chicago

More than a third of Illinois' children live in low-income families. This fact sheet shows that although most of these children have employed parents, many families do not receive the work supports that can close the gap between resources and expenses

Visceral pain: role of the microbiome-gut-brain axis

A growing body of preclinical and clinical evidence supports a relationship between the complexity and diversity of the microorganisms that inhabit our gut (human gastrointestinal microbiome) and health status. These microbes can influence centrally regulated emotional behaviour through mechanisms including microbially derived bioactive molecules, mucosal immune and enteroendocrine cell activation, as well as vagal nerve stimulation. Changes to the microbial environment, as a consequence of illness, stress or injury can lead to a broad spectrum of local physiological and behavioural effects including a decrease in gut barrier integrity, altered gut motility, inflammatory mediator release, as well as nociceptive and distension receptor sensitization. Impacts at a central level include alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, neuroinflammatory events and concomitant changes to neurotransmitter systems. Thus, both central and peripheral pathways associated with pain manifestation and perception are altered as a consequence of the microbiome-gut-brain axis imbalance. The dogmatic approach of antibiotic treatment in the latter century, for the treatment of many diseases and conditions, has undergone a radical change. We are 90% microbe, and pragmatism suggests that we manipulate this ecosystem for the treatment of various ailments, stress dysfunction and affective disorders, including the alleviation of visceral pain

N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) Reverse the Impact of Early-Life Stress on the Gut Microbiota

Supporting Information S1 File. Microbiota Data Set. NS.S, NS.LD, NS.HD stand for non-separated Saline, non-separated Low Dose, non-separated High Dose, respectively. MS.S, MS.LD, MS.HD stand for maternally separated Saline, maternally separated Low Dose, maternally separated High Dose, respectively. (ZIP)peer-reviewedBackground Early life stress is a risk factor for many psychiatric disorders ranging from depression to anxiety. Stress, especially during early life, can induce dysbiosis in the gut microbiota, the key modulators of the bidirectional signalling pathways in the gut-brain axis that underline several neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. Despite their critical role in the development and function of the central nervous system, the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) on the regulation of gut-microbiota in early-life stress has not been explored. Methods and Results Here, we show that long-term supplementation of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (80% EPA, 20% DHA) n-3 PUFAs mixture could restore the disturbed gut-microbiota composition of maternally separated (MS) female rats. Sprague-Dawley female rats were subjected to an early-life stress, maternal separation procedure from postnatal days 2 to 12. Non-separated (NS) and MS rats were administered saline, EPA/DHA 0.4 g/kg/day or EPA/DHA 1 g/kg/day, respectively. Analysis of the gut microbiota in adult rats revealed that EPA/DHA changes composition in the MS, and to a lesser extent the NS rats, and was associated with attenuation of the corticosterone response to acute stress. Conclusions In conclusion, EPA/DHA intervention alters the gut microbiota composition of both neurodevelopmentally normal and early-life stressed animals. This study offers insights into the interaction between n-3 PUFAs and gut microbes, which may play an important role in advancing our understanding of disorders of mood and cognitive functioning, such as anxiety and depression.Research was funded by Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM) under Grant No. 10/RD/TMFRC/709, the APC Microbiome Institute under Grant No. 07/CE/B1368 and 12/RC/2273, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under Grant No. 12/IA/1537

A case for a negative-strand coding sequence in a group of positive-sense RNA viruses.

Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses form the largest and most diverse group of eukaryote-infecting viruses. Their genomes comprise one or more segments of coding-sense RNA that function directly as messenger RNAs upon release into the cytoplasm of infected cells. Positive-sense RNA viruses are generally accepted to encode proteins solely on the positive strand. However, we previously identified a surprisingly long (∼1,000-codon) open reading frame (ORF) on the negative strand of some members of the family Narnaviridae which, together with RNA bacteriophages of the family Leviviridae, form a sister group to all other positive-sense RNA viruses. Here, we completed the genomes of three mosquito-associated narnaviruses, all of which have the long reverse-frame ORF. We systematically identified narnaviral sequences in public data sets from a wide range of sources, including arthropod, fungal, and plant transcriptomic data sets. Long reverse-frame ORFs are widespread in one clade of narnaviruses, where they frequently occupy >95 per cent of the genome. The reverse-frame ORFs correspond to a specific avoidance of CUA, UUA, and UCA codons (i.e. stop codon reverse complements) in the forward-frame RNA-dependent RNA polymerase ORF. However, absence of these codons cannot be explained by other factors such as inability to decode these codons or GC3 bias. Together with other analyses, we provide the strongest evidence yet of coding capacity on the negative strand of a positive-sense RNA virus. As these ORFs comprise some of the longest known overlapping genes, their study may be of broad relevance to understanding overlapping gene evolution and de novo origin of genes

Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior

peer-reviewedThe human gut harbors a dynamic and complex microbial ecosystem, consisting of approximately 1 kg of bacteria in the average adult, approximately the weight of the human brain. The evolutionary formation of a complex gut microbiota in mammals has played an important role in enabling brain development and perhaps sophisticated social interaction. Genes within the human gut microbiota, termed the microbiome, significantly outnumber human genes in the body, and are capable of producing a myriad of neuroactive compounds. Gut microbes are part of the unconscious system regulating behavior. Recent investigations indicate that these microbes majorly impact on cognitive function and fundamental behavior patterns, such as social interaction and stress management. In the absence of microbes, underlying neurochemistry is profoundly altered. Studies of gut microbes may play an important role in advancing understanding of disorders of cognitive functioning and social interaction, such as autism