Using a Body-Fixed Sensor to Identify Subclinical Gait Difficulties in Older Adults with IADL Disability: Maximizing the Output of the Timed Up and Go

Objective: The identification and documentation of subclinical gait impairments in older adults may facilitate the appropriate use of interventions for preventing or delaying mobility disability. We tested whether measures derived from a single body-fixed sensor worn during traditional Timed Up and Go (TUG) testing could identify subclinical gait impairments in community dwelling older adults without mobility disability. Methods: We used data from 432 older adults without dementia (mean age 83.30±7.04 yrs, 76.62% female) participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project. The traditional TUG was conducted while subjects wore a body-fixed sensor. We derived measures of overall TUG performance and different subtasks including transitions (sit-to-stand, stand-to-sit), walking, and turning. Multivariate analysis was used to compare persons with and without mobility disability and to compare individuals with and without Instrumental Activities of Daily Living disability (IADL-disability), all of whom did not have mobility disability. Results: As expected, individuals with mobility disability performed worse on all TUG subtasks (p<0.03), compared to those who had no mobility disability. Individuals without mobility disability but with IADL disability had difficulties with turns, had lower yaw amplitude (p<0.004) during turns, were slower (p<0.001), and had less consistent gait (p<0.02). Conclusions: A single body-worn sensor can be employed in the community-setting to complement conventional gait testing. It provides a wide range of quantitative gait measures that appear to help to identify subclinical gait impairments in older adults

A 15 year slow-slip event on the Sunda megathrust offshore Sumatra

In the Banyak Islands of Sumatra, coral microatoll records reveal a 15 year-long reversal of interseismic vertical displacement from subsidence to uplift between 1966 and 1981. To explain these coral observations, we test four hypotheses, including regional sea level changes and various tectonic mechanisms. Our results show that the coral observations likely reflect a 15 year-long slow-slip event (SSE) on the Sunda megathrust. This long-duration SSE exceeds the duration of previously reported SSEs and demonstrates the importance of multidecade geodetic records in illuminating the full spectrum of megathrust slip behavior at subduction zones

Associations between Quantitative Mobility Measures Derived from Components of Conventional Mobility Testing and Parkinsonian Gait in Older Adults

Objective: To provide objective measures which characterize mobility in older adults assessed in the community setting and to examine the extent to which these measures are associated with parkinsonian gait. Methods: During conventional mobility testing in the community-setting, 351 ambulatory non-demented Memory and Aging Project participants wore a belt with a whole body sensor that recorded both acceleration and angular velocity in 3 directions. We used measures derived from these recordings to quantify 5 subtasks including a) walking, b) transition from sit to stand, c) transition from stand to sit, d) turning and e) standing posture. Parkinsonian gait and other mild parkinsonian signs were assessed with a modified version of the original Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (mUPDRS). Results: In a series of separate regression models which adjusted for age and sex, all 5 mobility subtask measures were associated with parkinsonian gait and accounted for 2% to 32% of its variance. When all 5 subtask measures were considered in a single model, backward elimination showed that measures of walking sit to stand and turning showed independent associations with parkinsonian gait and together accounted for more than 35% of its variance. Cross-validation using data from a 2nd group of 258 older adults showed similar results. In similar analyses, only walking was associated with bradykinesia and sway with tremor. Interpretation Quantitative mobility subtask measures vary in their associations with parkinsonian gait scores and other parkinsonian signs in older adults. Quantifying the different facets of mobility has the potential to facilitate the clinical characterization and understanding the biologic basis for impaired mobility in older adults

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 33, No. 4

• I Remember Well: Thirty-Five Years of the Kutztown Folk Festival • Furniture Graining • Old Fashioned Clear Toy Candy • Metal Etching • Stenciling • Baskets and Basket Weavers • Apple Butter: Then and Now • Festival Focus • Festival Programs • 20th Annual Quilting Contest • Quilts and Quilt Marking • The Art of the Pennsylvania Dutch • Music on the Main Stage • Scratchboard • Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Art in Wood • The Windsor Chair • Hex Signshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1104/thumbnail.jp

Multiple carbon cycle mechanisms associated with the glaciation of Marine Isotope Stage 4

Here we use high-precision carbon isotope data (δ13C-CO2) to show atmospheric CO2 during Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4, ~70.5-59 ka) was controlled by a succession of millennial-scale processes. Enriched δ13C-CO2 during peak glaciation suggests increased ocean carbon storage. Variations in δ13C-CO2 in early MIS 4 suggest multiple processes were active during CO2 drawdown, potentially including decreased land carbon and decreased Southern Ocean air-sea gas exchange superposed on increased ocean carbon storage. CO2 remained low during MIS 4 while δ13C-CO2 fluctuations suggest changes in Southern Ocean and North Atlantic air-sea gas exchange. A 7 ppm increase in CO2 at the onset of Dansgaard-Oeschger event 19 (72.1 ka) and 27 ppm increase in CO2 during late MIS 4 (Heinrich Stadial 6, ~63.5-60 ka) involved additions of isotopically light carbon to the atmosphere. The terrestrial biosphere and Southern Ocean air-sea gas exchange are possible sources, with the latter event also involving decreased ocean carbon storage

A Potential Regulatory Role for Intronic microRNA-338-3p for Its Host Gene Encoding Apoptosis-Associated Tyrosine Kinase

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important gene regulators that are abundantly expressed in both the developing and adult mammalian brain. These non-coding gene transcripts are involved in post-transcriptional regulatory processes by binding to specific target mRNAs. Approximately one third of known miRNA genes are located within intronic regions of protein coding and non-coding regions, and previous studies have suggested a role for intronic miRNAs as negative feedback regulators of their host genes. In the present study, we monitored the dynamic gene expression changes of the intronic miR-338-3p and miR-338-5p and their host gene Apoptosis-associated Tyrosine Kinase (AATK) during the maturation of rat hippocampal neurons. This revealed an uncorrelated expression pattern of mature miR-338 strands with their host gene. Sequence analysis of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of rat AATK mRNA revealed the presence of two putative binding sites for miR-338-3p. Thus, miR-338-3p may have the capacity to modulate AATK mRNA levels in neurons. Transfection of miR-338-3p mimics into rat B35 neuroblastoma cells resulted in a significant decrease of AATK mRNA levels, while the transfection of synthetic miR-338-5p mimics did not alter AATK levels. Our results point to a possible molecular mechanism by which miR-338-3p participates in the regulation of its host gene by modulating the levels of AATK mRNA, a kinase which plays a role during differentiation, apoptosis and possibly in neuronal degeneration

Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome: Multicountry Prevalence and Dementia Risk

OBJECTIVES: Our objective is to report prevalence of motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), a newly described predementia syndrome characterized by slow gait and cognitive complaints, in multiple countries, and its association with dementia risk. METHODS: Pooled MCR prevalence analysis of individual data from 26,802 adults without dementia and disability aged 60 years and older from 22 cohorts from 17 countries. We also examined risk of incident cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination decline ≥4 points) and dementia associated with MCR in 4,812 individuals without dementia with baseline Mini-Mental State Examination scores ≥25 from 4 prospective cohort studies using Cox models adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: At baseline, 2,808 of the 26,802 participants met MCR criteria. Pooled MCR prevalence was 9.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.2%-11.2%). MCR prevalence was higher with older age but there were no sex differences. MCR predicted risk of developing incident cognitive impairment in the pooled sample (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 2.0, 95% CI 1.7-2.4); aHRs were 1.5 to 2.7 in the individual cohorts. MCR also predicted dementia in the pooled sample (aHR 1.9, 95% CI 1.5-2.3). The results persisted even after excluding participants with possible cognitive impairment, accounting for early dementia, and diagnostic overlap with other predementia syndromes. CONCLUSION: MCR is common in older adults, and is a strong and early risk factor for cognitive decline. This clinical approach can be easily applied to identify high-risk seniors in a wide variety of settings

GENE-Counter: A Computational Pipeline for the Analysis of RNA-Seq Data for Gene Expression Differences

GENE-counter is a complete Perl-based computational pipeline for analyzing RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) data for differential gene expression. In addition to its use in studying transcriptomes of eukaryotic model organisms, GENE-counter is applicable for prokaryotes and non-model organisms without an available genome reference sequence. For alignments, GENE-counter is configured for CASHX, Bowtie, and BWA, but an end user can use any Sequence Alignment/Map (SAM)-compliant program of preference. To analyze data for differential gene expression, GENE-counter can be run with any one of three statistics packages that are based on variations of the negative binomial distribution. The default method is a new and simple statistical test we developed based on an over-parameterized version of the negative binomial distribution. GENE-counter also includes three different methods for assessing differentially expressed features for enriched gene ontology (GO) terms. Results are transparent and data are systematically stored in a MySQL relational database to facilitate additional analyses as well as quality assessment. We used next generation sequencing to generate a small-scale RNA-Seq dataset derived from the heavily studied defense response of Arabidopsis thaliana and used GENE-counter to process the data. Collectively, the support from analysis of microarrays as well as the observed and substantial overlap in results from each of the three statistics packages demonstrates that GENE-counter is well suited for handling the unique characteristics of small sample sizes and high variability in gene counts

A united statement of the global chiropractic research community against the pseudoscientific claim that chiropractic care boosts immunity.

BACKGROUND: In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) posted reports claiming that chiropractic care can impact the immune system. These claims clash with recommendations from the World Health Organization and World Federation of Chiropractic. We discuss the scientific validity of the claims made in these ICA reports. MAIN BODY: We reviewed the two reports posted by the ICA on their website on March 20 and March 28, 2020. We explored the method used to develop the claim that chiropractic adjustments impact the immune system and discuss the scientific merit of that claim. We provide a response to the ICA reports and explain why this claim lacks scientific credibility and is dangerous to the public. More than 150 researchers from 11 countries reviewed and endorsed our response. CONCLUSION: In their reports, the ICA provided no valid clinical scientific evidence that chiropractic care can impact the immune system. We call on regulatory authorities and professional leaders to take robust political and regulatory action against those claiming that chiropractic adjustments have a clinical impact on the immune system