Important of nutritional care in super aged society : - malnutrition, sarcopenia, and cachexia – their impact on senior’s prognosis

Japan has been facing serious aged society ahead of the world as seniors’ population has exceeded 27%. In this background, governmental policy of medical reformation has released in which expansion of home care and hospital beds reduction have promoted

Nutrition for elderly individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic

As Japan has been facing an increasingly aged society ahead of the rest of the world, much interest has been focused on interventions for treating frailty and sarcopenia to extend healthy life expectancy in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a crisis in healthcare systems all over the world. It has had a huge impact on not only public health but also the global economy. Due to the lack of effective vaccination and pharmacological antiviral intervention, pandemic control is dependent on public health measures. These measures have basically aimed to decrease social activities and face-to-face communication, including the restriction of public gatherings and compulsory stay-at-home policies [1]. Even though these strategies are effective in controlling the pandemic, social and economic influences have obviously affected vulnerable groups of people, including elderly individuals. Therefore, it is important to enhance the effectiveness of pandemic control measures while minimizing secondary negative consequences. This article aimed to describe the importance of maintaining good nutritional and mental health for elderly individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on frailty management

The benefit of the vitamin D intake in terms of sarcopenia of senior citizens in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic

I would like to be focused on not only protein and vitamin D intake but several nutrients which is considered to be important for health of the elderly in this difficult social condition

The Impact of Nutritional Status and Body Mass Index on Rehabilitation Outcomes in Patients Receiving Home-Based Medical Care

Background: Home-based medical care is expanding rapidly in Japan.Objectives: We aimed to identify the factors associated with outcomes of therapy in patients receiving home-visit rehabilitation.Methods: One hundred twenty-one patients receiving home-based rehabilitation were investigated. Nutritional status was assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF). The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was employed to assess the activities of daily living (ADL). The body mass index (BMI), medical history, and orthopedic disease-related pain were also recorded. The primary outcome was the improvement in FIM scores in one year.Results: A total of 19 (17%) patients were malnourished and 58 (48%) were at risk of malnutrition. Malnourished patients had a lower FIM score at initiation than those at risk of malnutrition or with normal nutritional status. Only changes in patients’ BMI and MNA-SF scores over one year were significantly associated with improved FIM scores (p = 0.0079 and p = 0.0049, respectively). No association was noted with the other factors.Conclusions: This is the first report to demonstrate that changes in MNA-SF scores and BMI are significantly associated with rehabilitation outcomes in home-based care. Nutritional management is essential along with rehabilitation to improve ADL in the long-term home care setting

A novel allele of FILAMENTOUS FLOWER reveals new insights on the link between inflorescence and floral meristem organization and flower morphogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Arabidopsis </it><it>FILAMENTOUS FLOWER (FIL) </it>gene encodes a YABBY (YAB) family putative transcription factor that has been implicated in specifying abaxial cell identities and thus regulating organ polarity of lateral organs. In contrast to double mutants of <it>fil </it>and other <it>YAB </it>genes, <it>fil </it>single mutants display mainly floral and inflorescence morphological defects that do not reflect merely a loss of abaxial identity. Recently, <it>FIL </it>and other <it>YABs </it>have been shown to regulate meristem organization in a non-cell-autonomous manner. In a screen for new mutations affecting floral organ morphology and development, we have identified a novel allele of FIL, <it>fil-9 </it>and characterized its floral and meristem phenotypes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>fil-9 </it>mutation results in highly variable disruptions in floral organ numbers and size, partial homeotic transformations, and in defective inflorescence organization. Examination of meristems indicates that both <it>fil-9 </it>inflorescence and floral meristems are enlarged as a result of an increase in cell number, and deformed. Furthermore, primordia emergence from these meristems is disrupted such that several primordia arise simultaneously instead of sequentially. Many of the organs produced by the inflorescence meristems are filamentous, yet they are not considered by the plant as flowers. The severity of both floral organs and meristem phenotypes is increased acropetally and in higher growth temperature.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Detailed analysis following the development of <it>fil-9 </it>inflorescence and flowers throughout flower development enabled the drawing of a causal link between multiple traits of <it>fil-9 </it>phenotypes. The study reinforces the suggested role of <it>FIL </it>in meristem organization. The loss of spatial and temporal organization of <it>fil-9 </it>inflorescence and floral meristems presumably leads to disrupted cell allocation to developing floral organs and to a blurring of organ whorl boundaries. This disruption is reflected in morphological and organ identity aberrations of <it>fil-9 </it>floral organs and in the production of filamentous organs that are not perceived as flowers. Here, we show the role of <it>FIL </it>in reproductive meristem development and emphasize the potential of using <it>fil </it>mutants to study mersitem organization and the related effects on flower morphogenesis.</p

Flowers under pressure:Ins and outs of turgor regulation in development

26 hl

Mechanical control of morphogenesis at the shoot apex

Morphogenesis does not just require the correct expression of patterning genes; these genes must induce the precise mechanical changes necessary to produce a new form. Mechanical characterization of plant growth is not new; however, in recent years, new technologies and interdisciplinary collaborations have made it feasible in young tissues such as the shoot apex. Analysis of tissues where active growth and developmental patterning are taking place has revealed biologically significant variability in mechanical properties and has even suggested that mechanical changes in the tissue can feed back to direct morphogenesis. Here, an overview is given of the current understanding of the mechanical dynamics and its influence on cellular and developmental processes in the shoot apex. We are only starting to uncover the mechanical basis of morphogenesis, and many exciting questions remain to be answere