Masseter muscle thickness measured by ultrasound as a possible link with sarcopenia, malnutrition and dependence in nursing homes

Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. It is frequently associated with malnutrition and dependence in nursing homes. Masticatory muscle strength could be the link between sarcopenia, malnutrition and dependence. We aimed to study the relation between sarcopenia, malnutrition and dependence with masseter muscle thickness measured by ultrasound. A cross-sectional study was realized, with 464 patients from 3 public nursing homes in Zaragoza (Spain). The diagnosis of sarcopenia was assessed according to the EuropeanWorking Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 criteria, malnutrition by the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and functional capacity by the Barhel Index and the texture diet. Masseter muscle thickness (MMT) was measured by ultrasound. The median age was 84.7 years, and 70% of the participants were women. Sarcopenia was confirmed in 39.2% of patients, malnutrition in 26.5% (risk 47.8%), total dependence in 37.9% and diet texture was modified in 44.6%. By logistic regression, once the model was adjusted for age, sex, Barthel index and texture diet, our analyses indicated that each 1 mm decrease in MMT increased the risk of sarcopenia by ~57% (OR: 0.43), the risk of malnutrition by MNA by ~63% (OR: 0.37) and the risk of malnutrition by GLIM by ~34% (OR: 0.66). We found that MMT was reduced in sarcopenic, malnourished and dependent patients, and it could be the common point of a vicious cycle between sarcopenia and malnutrition. Further studies are needed to establish causality. © 2021 by the authors

Caracterización morfológica y nutricional de ocho variedades locales de judía (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) en zonas de montaña

El trabajo ha sido financiado por el Grupo de Cooperación GCP2020004900. Producción ecológica de alimentos ligados al territorio aragonés. 2020 -2023. Cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural (FEADER) y por la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón en un 80% y un 20% respectivamente, y por el Grupo de Investigación del Gobierno de Aragón A11_20R Producción Vegetal Sostenible PROVESOSBanco de Germoplasma Hortícola (BGHZ) del CITAPublishe

Muscle thickness and echogenicity measured by ultrasound could detect local sarcopenia and malnutrition in older patients hospitalized for hip fracture

Background: The aim of this work was to assess whether the muscle thickness and echogenicity were associated with dysphagia, malnutrition, sarcopenia, and functional capacity in acute hospital admission for a hip fracture. Methods: Observational study that assessed nutritional status by Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition, risk of dysphagia and sarcopenia by European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People and Barthel functional index. We measured muscle thickness and echogenicity of masseter, bicipital, and quadriceps rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius (VI) by ultrasound. Results: One hundred and one patients were included in the study (29.7% sarcopenia and 43.8% malnutrition). Logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index showed an inverse association of the masseter thickness with both sarcopenia (OR: 0.56) and malnutrition (OR: 0.38) and quadriceps with sarcopenia (OR: 0.74). In addition, patients at high risk of dysphagia had lower masseter thickness (p: 0.0001) while patients able to self-feeding had thicker biceps (p: 0.002) and individuals with mobility on level surfaces higher thickness of biceps (p: 0.008) and quadriceps (p: 0.04). Conclusion: Thickness of the masseter was associated with risk of dysphagia, biceps with the ability to self-feed, and that of the quadriceps RF-VI with mobility

Avances en la selección del Melón de Torres de Berrellén

El trabajo ha sido financiado por el Convenio CITA - Ayuntamiento de Torres de Berrellén, el Grupo de Cooperación GCP2020004900. Producción ecológica de alimentos ligados al territorio aragonés. 2020 -2023. Cofinanciado por el Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural (FEADER) y por la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón en un 80% y un 20% respectivamente, y por el Grupo de Investigación del Gobierno de Aragón A11_20R Producción Vegetal Sostenible PROVESOSPublishe

Behavioral characterization of a mouse model overexpressing DSCR1/ RCAN1

DSCR1/ RCAN1 is a chromosome 21 gene found to be overexpressed in the brains of Down syndrome (DS) and postulated as a good candidate to contribute to mental disability. However, even though Rcan1 knockout mice have pronounced spatial learning and memory deficits, the possible deleterious effects of its overexpression in DS are not well understood. We have generated a transgenic mouse model overexpressing DSCR1/RCAN1 in the brain and analyzed the effect of RCAN1 overexpression on cognitive function. TgRCAN1 mice present a marked disruption of the learning process in a visuo-spatial learning task. However, no significant differences were observed in the performance of the memory phase of the test (removal session) nor in a step-down passive avoidance task, thus suggesting that once learning has been established, the animals are able to consolidate the information in the longer term

Fostering Sustainable Innovation through Creative Destruction Theory

The current information age is modelled on the advancement of innovative mindset of creative thinkers, championed through means associated with transformative technologies embodied on events like, high speed internet and payment system, thereby making it possible for transactions to be dealt with almost instantaneously. Such developments are essentially vital, given its prospect for championing growth rate and dynamism in the world economy and also, the need to ensure living conditions are adequately satisfied, particularly in the direction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) earmarked for full implementation in the year 2030. The concept of innovation is widely used in all walks of life - the effort of Schumpeter’s paradoxical term, “creative destruction” became highly prominent in the 1950s, which many economists in recent time have endeavoured to linked with free market economics (Cozzi and Galli, 2019; Benigno and Fornaro, 2018). Creative destruction as proposed by Schumpeter, and also explained by Alm and Cox (Online) is essentially facts about capitalism, which is thought to be a shorthand description of free market’s messy way of delivering progress