A systematic review of body fat distribution and mortality in older people

We conducted a systematic review investigating body fat distribution in older adults and its association with morbidity and mortality. Our search yielded 2,702 citations. Following three levels of screening, 25 studies were selected to evaluate the association between body fat distribution and comorbidity, and 17 studies were used in the mortality analysis. Most of the selected studies in our analyses used anthropometric measures, e.g., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-hip ratio; relatively few studies used direct measures, such as body fat/lean mass, and percentage body fat. Studies reported inconsistent findings regarding the strongest predictor(s) of morbidity and mortality. However, the majority of studies suggested that BMI per se was not the most appropriate predictor of morbidity and mortality in the elderly because of its inability to discern or detect age-related body fat redistribution. In addition, studies using BMI found that the optimal BMI range for the lowest mortality in the elderly was overweight (25 kg/m(2) ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m(2)) or mildly obese (30 kg/m(2) ≤ BMI < 35 kg/m(2)). Our findings suggest that the current clinical guidelines, recommending that overweight and obesity are major risk factors for increased morbidity and mortality are not applicable to this population. Therefore, the central message of this review is to admonish the government to establish new guidelines specifically for this population, using a combination of body fat distribution measurements, and to certify that these guidelines will not be applied to inappropriate populations

Gene networks in Drosophila melanogaster: integrating experimental data to predict gene function

The first computational interaction network built from Drosophila melanogaster protein-protein and genetic interaction data allows the functional annotation of orphan genes and reveals clusters of functionally-related genes

Disease burden affects aging brain function

BACKGROUND: Most older adults live with multiple chronic disease conditions, yet the effect of multiple diseases on brain function remains unclear. METHODS: We examine the relationship between disease multimorbidity and brain activity using regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) 15O-water PET scans from 97 cognitively normal participants (mean baseline age 76.5) in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Multimorbidity index scores, generated from the presence of 13 health conditions, were correlated with PET data at baseline and in longitudinal change (n = 74) over 5.05 (2.74 SD) years. RESULTS: At baseline, voxel-based analysis showed that higher multimorbidity scores were associated with lower relative activity in orbitofrontal, superior frontal, temporal pole and parahippocampal regions, and greater activity in lateral temporal, occipital, and cerebellar regions. Examination of the individual health conditions comprising the index score showed hypertension and chronic kidney disease individually contributed to the overall multimorbidity pattern of altered activity. Longitudinally, both increases and decreases in activity were seen in relation to increasing multimorbidity over time. These associations were identified in orbitofrontal, lateral temporal, brainstem, and cerebellar areas. CONCLUSION: Together, these results show that greater multimorbidity is associated with widespread areas of altered brain activity, supporting a link between health and changes in aging brain function

Dreams of economic transformation and the reality of economic crisis in Japan: Keidanren in the era of the ‘bubble’ and the onset of the ‘lost decade,’ from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s

This study examines the dynamics of the development of Japan's notorious ‘lost decade’ from 1990--2003. This economic downturn marked the end of four decades of strong economic growth and is still affecting the Japanese economy today. While previous studies have focused on government policies to explain the nation's slow response to this crisis, the attitudes of the Japanese business community merit more attention. For example, the leaders of Keidanren, the powerful representative of big business in Japan, defined a set of economic challenges facing Japan in the late 1980s and neoliberal solutions that blinded them to the significance of the economic bubble that developed at that time and its subsequent collapse. Since then, Keidanren's prescriptions for reviving the Japanese economy have remained essentially the same

Efficacy of an Acoustic Hailing Device as an Avian Dispersal Tool

Bird strikes are a major safety and financial concern for modern aviation. Audible stimuli are common bird dispersal techniques, but their effectiveness is limited by the saliency and relevance of the stimulus. Furthermore, high ambient sound levels present at airfields might require that effective audible stimuli rely more on total volume (i.e., exceeding physiological tolerances) than ecological relevance. Acoustic hailing devices (AHD) are capable of sound output with a narrow beamwidth and at volumes high enough to cause physical discomfort at long distances. We tested the effectiveness of anAHD as a dispersal tool on freeranging birds recognized as hazardous to aviation safety at the Savannah River Site and Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in South Carolina and Georgia, USA, respectively, between October 2013 and March 2015. Our study design included experimental trials with timed-interval counts of birds directly before and after AHD treatment. For most species, counts of birds associated with treatment periods (use of AHD) and control periods (no use of AHD) occurred on different days. Sound treatments yielded variable success at dispersing birds. Specifically, AHD treatment was effective for dispersing vultures (Coragyps atratus and Cathartes aura) and gulls (Laridae), but ineffective for dispersing blackbirds (Icteridae), diving ducks (Aythya spp., Bucephala spp., Oxyura spp.), and coots (Fulica americana). Trials were conducted in a relatively quiet environment with birds that were unhabituated to excessive noise; thus, we cannot unequivocally recommend an AHD as a universally effective avian dispersing tool. However, future research should consider AHD testing integrated with other methods, as well as investigation of treatments that might be salient to specific target species

The response of glass window systems to blast loadings: An overview

The failure of glass windows in terrorist bombing attacks and accidental explosion incidents has been cited as one of the major causes to the vast casualties. Many studies have been carried out to investigate the response and vulnerability of glass windows against blast loadings. These include laboratory and field tests that have been carried out to experimentally study glass window performance under explosion scenarios and development of analytical and numerical models to analyze and predict glass window responses. This article reviews literatures on the studies of the response of glass window systems to blast loadings. Over 100 papers and documents that are available in the open literature are reviewed. The background and history of the studies on the topic are also briefed. Understandings about the dynamic material properties of glass and available material models are summarized. Popularly used analysis methods and design standards for monolithic and laminated glass windows are outlined, and their accuracies are discussed. Recent studies including analytical solution, numerical simulation, and experimental investigations on glass window systems are summarized. Mitigation measures for blast-resistant windows are also briefly discussed

Mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy: why painful? An evidence-based philosophy

Chronic mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy is generally difficult to treat as the background to the pain mechanisms has not yet been clarified. A wide range of conservative and surgical treatment options are available. Most address intratendinous degenerative changes when present, as it is believed that these changes are responsible for the symptoms. Since up to 34% of asymptomatic tendons show histopathological changes, we believe that the tendon proper is not the cause of pain in the majority of patients. Chronic painful tendons show the ingrowth of sensory and sympathetic nerves from the paratenon with release of nociceptive substances. Denervating the Achilles tendon by release of the paratenon is sufficient to cause pain relief in the majority of patients. This type of treatment has the additional advantage that it is associated with a shorter recovery time when compared with treatment options that address the tendon itself. An evidence-based philosophy on the cause of pain in chronic mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy is presented

On the Functional Significance of the P1 and N1 Effects to Illusory Figures in the Notch Mode of Presentation

The processing of Kanizsa figures have classically been studied by flashing the full “pacmen” inducers at stimulus onset. A recent study, however, has shown that it is advantageous to present illusory figures in the “notch” mode of presentation, that is by leaving the round inducers on screen at all times and by removing the inward-oriented notches delineating the illusory figure at stimulus onset. Indeed, using the notch mode of presentation, novel P1and N1 effects have been found when comparing visual potentials (VEPs) evoked by an illusory figure and the VEPs to a control figure whose onset corresponds to the removal of outward-oriented notches, which prevents their integration into one delineated form. In Experiment 1, we replicated these findings, the illusory figure was found to evoke a larger P1 and a smaller N1 than its control. In Experiment 2, real grey squares were placed over the notches so that one condition, that with inward-oriented notches, shows a large central grey square and the other condition, that with outward-oriented notches, shows four unconnected smaller grey squares. In response to these “real” figures, no P1 effect was found but a N1 effect comparable to the one obtained with illusory figures was observed. Taken together, these results suggest that the P1 effect observed with illusory figures is likely specific to the processing of the illusory features of the figures. Conversely, the fact that the N1 effect was also obtained with real figures indicates that this effect may be due to more global processes related to depth segmentation or surface/object perception

The Effect of Inappropriate Calibration: Three Case Studies in Molecular Ecology

Time-scales estimated from sequence data play an important role in molecular ecology. They can be used to draw correlations between evolutionary and palaeoclimatic events, to measure the tempo of speciation, and to study the demographic history of an endangered species. In all of these studies, it is paramount to have accurate estimates of time-scales and substitution rates. Molecular ecological studies typically focus on intraspecific data that have evolved on genealogical scales, but often these studies inappropriately employ deep fossil calibrations or canonical substitution rates (e.g., 1% per million years for birds and mammals) for calibrating estimates of divergence times. These approaches can yield misleading estimates of molecular time-scales, with significant impacts on subsequent evolutionary and ecological inferences. We illustrate this calibration problem using three case studies: avian speciation in the late Pleistocene, the demographic history of bowhead whales, and the Pleistocene biogeography of brown bears. For each data set, we compare the date estimates that are obtained using internal and external calibration points. In all three cases, the conclusions are significantly altered by the application of revised, internally-calibrated substitution rates. Collectively, the results emphasise the importance of judicious selection of calibrations for analyses of recent evolutionary events