Uncoupling healthspan and lifespan in long lived Daf-2, Pmk-3 and Sgk-1 knockdown Caenorhabditis elegans

Modulation of genes expression in signaling pathways promotes longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) but it is unclear whether this will improve healthspan. This study aimed to determine the healthspan of daf-2, pmk-3 and sgk-1 knocked-down worms. Health measures were determined at day 5, day 10 and day 15 of adult worms which were cultured in nematode growth media containing Escherichia coli. Heat resistance was determined by analysing the survival of worms at 37°C. Oxidative stress resistance was measured after exposure to 10mM hydrogen peroxide to analyse its survival capacity. Movement capacity was analysed by computing the distance travelled on solid media and the number of thrashing in liquid media. Results showed that the gene knockdown worms survived longer than wildtype worms. Daf-2 and pmk-3 knockdown increased movement capacity at day 5 and 10 in solid and liquid media but resulted in similar capacities to wildtype worms at day 15. Sgk-1 knockdown increased movement capacity only at day 5 in both media. The ability of gene knocked-down worms to withstand heat and oxidative stress significantly increased. In conclusion, knockdown of daf-2, pmk-3 and sgk-1 improved resistance to heat and oxidative stress but did not modulate movement incompetency at advanced ages C. elegans

Energy-Efficient End-to-End Security for Software Defined Vehicular Networks

One of the most promising application areas of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks (VANETs). VANETs are largely used by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to provide smart and safe road transport. To reduce the network burden, Software Defined Networks (SDNs) acts as a remote controller. Motivated by the need for greener IIoT solutions, this paper proposes an energy-efficient end-to-end security solution for Software Defined Vehicular Networks (SDVN). Besides SDN’s flexible network management, network performance, and energy-efficient end-toend security scheme plays a significant role in providing green IIoT services. Thus, the proposed SDVN provides lightweight end-to-end security. The end-to-end security objective is handled in two levels: i) In RSU-based Group Authentication (RGA) scheme, each vehicle in the RSU range receives a group id-key pair for secure communication and ii) In private-Collaborative Intrusion Detection System (p-CIDS), SDVN detects the potential intrusions inside the VANET architecture using collaborative learning that guarantees privacy through a fusion of differential privacy and homomorphic encryption schemes. The SDVN is simulated in NS2 & MATLAB, and results show increased energy efficiency with lower communication and storage overhead than existing frameworks. In addition, the p-CIDS detects the intruder with an accuracy of 96.81% in the SDV

Zingiber officinale Roscoe prevents DNA damage and improves muscle performance and bone integrity in old Sprague Dawley rats

Age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength or sarcopenia is attributed to the high level of oxidative stress and inadequate nutritional intake. The imbalance in oxidative status with increased production of free radicals results in damage to the DNA which leads to cell dysfunction. This study aimed to determine the effect of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) on muscle performance and bone integrity in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. SD rats aged three (young), nine (adult), and twenty-one (old) months old were treated with either distilled water or ginger extract at a concentration of 200 mg/kg body weight (BW) daily for 3 months via oral gavage. Muscle performance was assessed at 0, 1, 2, and 3 months of treatment by measuring muscle strength, muscle function, and bone integrity while DNA damage was determined by comet assay. Muscle cell histology was analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Young and adult ginger-treated rats showed a significant improvement in muscle strength after 3 months of supplementation. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) were increased while fat free mass (FMM) was decreased after 3 months of ginger supplementation in young rats but not changed in adult and old ginger supplemented groups. Interestingly, supplementation of ginger for 3 months to the old rats decreased the level of damaged DNA. Histological findings showed reduction in the size of muscle fibre and fascicles with heterogenous morphology of the muscle fibres indicating sarcopenia was evident in old rats. Treatment with ginger extract improved the histological changes even though there was evidence of cellular infiltration (mild inflammation) and dilated blood vessels. In conclusion, Z. officinale Roscoe prevents DNA damage and improves muscle performance and bone integrity in SD rats indicating its potential in alleviating oxidative stress in ageing and thus delaying sarcopenia progression

Identification of Newer Stable Genetic Sources for High Grain Number per Panicle and Understanding the Gene Action for Important Panicle Traits in Rice

Rice is an important food crop extensively cultivated worldwide, and rice’s grain yield should be improved to meet future food demand. Grain number per panicle is the main trait that determines the grain yield in rice, and other panicle-related traits influence the grain number. To study the genetic diversity, 50 diverse Indian-origin germplasm were evaluated for grain number per panicle and other panicle traits for two consecutive seasons (Rabi 2019 and Kharif 2020). The maximum genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation was obtained for the number of spikelets and filled grains per panicle. The genotypes were grouped into eight clusters with Mahalanobis’ D2 analysis and six groups using Principal component analysis. Based on, per se, performance for grain number per panicle and genetic distances, six parents were selected and subjected to full diallel mating. The genotypes CB12132, IET 28749, and BPT 5204 were the best general combiners for the number of filled grains per panicle and other panicle branching traits, viz., the number of primary and secondary branches per panicle. The hybrid BPT 5204 × CB 12132 identified as the best specific combination for most of the studied panicle traits. The additive gene effects were high for the number of filled grains per panicle, the number of primary branches, and secondary branches, whereas non-additive gene action was high for the number of productive tillers and grain yield per plant. The information obtained from this study will be useful in rice breeding programs to improve panicle traits, especially the grain number, which would result in higher grain yield

Oxidative status in bipolar disorder (BD) and its correlation with age, gender and body mass index (BMI)

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric illness which molecular foundations have yet to be elucidated. Oxidative stress appears to be a promising field of study to understand the formation of this disease in molecular level. The objective was to investigate the oxidative status of BD and its association with age, gender and body mass index (BMI). A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary university hospital in Cheras, Malaysia on 55 patients with BD diagnosed using Mini Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Peripheral markers of oxidative stress which include superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidise (GPx), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA) and DNA damage were examined in subjects with BD (n=55) and compared to healthy controls (n=28). BD patients had significantly higher concentrations of MDA compared to healthy controls (p<0.001). Concentration of MDA was significantly higher in BD patients aged 40 and above compared to those aged 39 years and below (p<0.05). The concentration of MDA did not show significant difference between male and female BD patients, likewise between patients with BMI below and above 25. The percentage of normal DNA in healthy controls was significantly higher than that of BD patients (p<0.001), while percentage of mildly and severely damaged DNA in BD patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls (mildly damaged: p<0.001; severely damaged: p<0.001). The severity of DNA damage in the BD patients was similar when compared between age, gender and BMI. SOD activity of BD patients was found to be comparable to that of healthy subjects as well as when compared between gender and age, but was significantly lower in subjects with BMI above 25 (p<0.05). CAT activity was significantly higher in BD patients compared to controls (p<0.001), while no significant difference was found when compared between gender, age and BMI. GPx activity did not show significant difference when compared between BD and healthy controls, gender, age and BMI. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the percentage of normal DNA increases with age in BD patients (p<0.001), while the percentage of damaged DNA decreases with age (mildly damaged: p<0.002; severely damaged: p<0.001). Percentage of normal and damaged DNA are not significantly correlated with BMI, while all antioxidative enzymes (SOD, GPx, CAT) and MDA concentration did not show significant correlation with age and BMI. In conclusion, age and BMI are associated with the oxidative status of BD patients regardless of gender

Comparison of dietary profile of a rural south Indian population with the current dietary recommendations for prevention of non-communicable diseases (CURES 147)

Background & objectives: Despite the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in rural India, data on the dietary profile of the rural Indian population in relation to the recommendations for prevention of NCDs are scarce. This study was conducted to assess the dietary intake of a rural south Indian population in relation to the current dietary recommendations for the prevention of NCDs. Methods: The dietary profiles of 6907 adults aged ≥ 20 yr, from a cluster of 42 villages in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu State in southern India, were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of general obesity was 27.4 per cent and that of abdominal obesity, 14.0 per cent among this rural population. The median daily energy intake of the population was 2034 (IQR 543) kcals. More than 3/4 th of the calories (78.1%) were provided by carbohydrates. Refined cereals, mainly polished rice, was the major contributor to total calories. About 45 per cent of the population did not meet WHO recommendation for protein due to low intake of pulses, flesh foods and dairy products and more than half (57.1%) exceeded the limit of salt intake; 99 per cent of the population did not meet WHO recommendations for fruits and vegetables and 100 per cent did not meet the requirement of n-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids. Interpretation & conclusions: The dietary profile of this rural south Indian population reflected unhealthy choices, with the high consumption of refined cereals in the form of polished white rice and low intake of protective foods like fruits, vegetables, n-3 poly and monounsaturated fatty acids. This could potentially contribute to the increase in prevalence of NCDs like diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in rural areas and calls for appropriate remedial action

Effect of the tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) on the healthspan of Caenorhabditis elegans

Vitamin E is an established antioxidant. However, the effect of vitamin E on healthspan, which deteriorates during ageing, has not been determined because most related studies have emphasized its effects on lifespan. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of palm tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) on the lifespan, locomotion and thermotolerance of Caenorhabditis elegans, which share many common gene sequences with humans. The nematodes were treated with different concentrations of TRF (0 - 200 μg/mL), and the number of surviving nematodes at each concentration (N=30, duplicate) was counted daily under a light microscope to determine the optimal dose of treatment. The nematodes were divided into 3 groups, namely; control, Tween-80 (vehicle) and TRF-treated. Locomotion and thermotolerance were determined on day 4 and 12 of treatment in adult nematodes. ImageJ was used for locomotion analysis, and thermotolerance was determined based on nematode survivals after exposure to 37 °C. TRF-treated C. elegans had significantly longer lifespans compared to controls (P = 0.003). The TRF group (50 μg/mL) had the longest mean lifespan (23.5 days), which was significantly longer compared to controls, (18.5 days; (P = 0.002). However, locomotion was similar between all groups. In the thermotolerance assay, the survival determined on day 4 and day 12 of TRF-treatment was higher compared to controls (P= 0.046). Interestingly, the Tween- 80-treated group showed similar results as the TRF-treated group compared to controls. The findings indicate that TRF prolongs the lifespan and increases the thermotolerance of C. elegans but does not improve the locomotion of the worms as they age

Impact of lipid genetic risk score and saturated fatty acid intake on central obesity in an Asian Indian population

Abnormalities in lipid metabolism have been linked to the development of obesity. We used a nutrigenetic approach to establish a link between lipids and obesity in Asian Indians, who are known to have a high prevalence of central obesity and dyslipidaemia. A sample of 497 Asian Indian individuals (260 with type 2 diabetes and 237 with normal glucose tolerance) (mean age: 44 ± 10 years) were randomly chosen from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiological Study (CURES). Dietary intake was assessed using a previously validated questionnaire. A genetic risk score (GRS) was constructed based on cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) genetic variants. There was a significant interaction between GRS and saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake on waist circumference (WC) (Pinteraction = 0.006). Individuals with a low SFA intake (≤23.2 g/day), despite carrying ≥2 risk alleles, had a smaller WC compared to individuals carrying 23.2 g/day) was significantly associated with a larger WC than a low SFA intake (≤23.2 g/day) (Beta = 0.02 cm, p = 0.02). There were no significant interactions between GRS and other dietary factors on any of the measured outcomes. We conclude that a diet low in SFA might help reduce the genetic risk of central obesity confirmed by CETP and LPL genetic variants. Conversely, a high SFA diet increases the genetic risk of central obesity in Asian Indians

Big data management capabilities in the hospitality sector: service innovation and customer generated online quality ratings.

Despite the wide usage of big data in tourism and the hospitality sector, little research has been done to understand the role of organizations’ capability of managing big data in value creation. This study bridges this gap by investigating how big data management capabilities lead to service innovation and high online quality ratings. Instead of treating big data management as a whole, we access big data management capabilities at the strategic and operational level. Using a sample of 202 hotels in Pakistan, we collected the primary data for big data capabilities, knowledge creation and service innovation; the secondary data about quality rating were collected from Booking.com. Structural equation modelling through SmartPLS was used for data analysis. The results indicated that big data management capabilities lead to high online quality ratings through the mediation of knowledge creation and service innovation. We contribute to the current literature by empirically testing how strategic level big data capabilities enable the firm to add value in innovativeness and positive online quality ratings through acquiring, contextualizing, experimenting and applying big data