Prevalence and risk factors of sarcopenia among adults living in nursing homes

Objectives: Sarcopenia is a progressive loss of skeletal muscle and muscle function, with significant healthand disability consequences for older adults. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors ofsarcopenia among older residential aged care adults using the European Working Group on Sarcopeniain Older People (EWGSOP) criteria.Study design: A cross-sectional study design that assessed older people (n = 102, mean age 84.5 ± 8.2 years)residing in 11 long-term nursing homes in Australia.Main outcome measurements: Sarcopenia was diagnosed from assessments of skeletal mass index bybioelectrical impedance analysis, muscle strength by handheld dynamometer, and physical performanceby the 2.4 m habitual walking speed test. Secondary variables where collected to inform a risk factoranalysis.Results: Forty one (40.2%) participants were diagnosed as sarcopenic, 38 (95%) of whom were categorizedas having severe sarcopenia. Univariate logistic regression found that body mass index (BMI) (Oddsratio (OR) = 0.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.78–0.94), low physical performance (OR = 0.83; 95% CI0.69–1.00), nutritional status (OR = 0.19; 95% CI 0.05–0.68) and sitting time (OR = 1.18; 95% CI 1.00–1.39)were predictive of sarcopenia. With multivariate logistic regression, only low BMI (OR = 0.80; 95% CI0.65–0.97) remained predictive.Conclusions: The prevalence of sarcopenia among older residential aged care adults is very high. Inaddition, low BMI is a predictive of sarcopenia

Distribution, Abundance, and Age Structure of Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) Caught on Research Longlines in U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Two pilot surveys were conducted in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) to determine the feasibility of sampling red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) populations in offshore waters with bottom longline gear. The first pilot survey off Mississippi-Alabama was conducted in May 1999 and yielded a total of seven snapper from 60 stations. The second pilot survey was off Texas in June 2000 and yielded a total of 76 snapper from 44 stations. The catch per unit effort was 0.12 red snapper/100 hook hr [coefficient of variation (CV) = 0.54] in 1999 and 1.73 red snapper/100 hook hr (CV = 0.21) in 2000. Otoliths were removed from all collected red snapper, and ages were assigned with an average percent error of 3.71%. Red snapper from the 1999 survey ranged from 405 to 873 mm total length (TL) (545 mm TL median) and from 3 to 19 yr (median age 5 yr). The red snapper from Texas ranged in size from 380 to 903 mm TL (755 mm TL median) and ranged in age from 3 to 53 yr (median age 11 yr). Based on the results of the pilot surveys, expanded longline surveys targeting red snapper were conducted in 2001 and 2002; these surveys yielded 86 snapper and 75 snapper, respectively. The 2001 snapper ranged from 427 to 950 mm TL (770 mm TL median) and from 3 to 37 yr (median age 12 yr). The 2002 snapper ranged from 409 to 950 mm TL (815 mm TL median) and from 4 to 44 yr (median age 13 yr). Twelve red snapper were captured in the eastern Gulf (east of the Mississippi River), and their ages ranged from 3 to 19 yr (median age 6 yr). The 232 red snapper that were caught in the western Gulf ranged in age from 3 to 53 yr (median age 12 yr). A difference in catch rates by depth was also noted with most red snapper captures occurring in the 55-92 m depth range

Conservation genomics of an Australian cycad, cycas calcicola and the absence of key genotypes in botanic gardens

Understanding the genetic diversity of wild populations is fundamental to conserving species in-situ and ex-situ. To aid conservation plans and to inform ex-situ conservation, we examined the genetic diversity of the cycad Cycas calcicola (Cycadaceae). Samples were collected from wild populations in the Litchfield National Park and Katherine regions in the Northern Territory, Australia. Additional samples were obtained from botanic garden plants that were originally collected in the Katherine region, Daly River and Spirit Hills in the Northern Territory, Australia. Using RADseq we recovered 2271 informative genome-wide SNPs, revealing low to moderate levels of gene diversity (uHe = 0.037 to 0.135), very low levels of gene flow, and significant levels of inbreeding (mean FIS = 0.491). Population structure and multivariate analysis showed that populations fall into two genetic groups (Katherine vs Litchfield + Daly River + Spirit Hills). Genetic differentiation was twice as high between populations of the Katherine and Litchfield regions (FST ~ 0.1) compared to within these two regions (FST ~ 0.05). Increasing population fragmentation together with high levels of inbreeding and very little gene flow are concerning for the future adaptability of this species. The results indicated that the ex-situ collections (1) had significantly lower genetic diversity than the wild populations, and (2) only partly capture the genetic diversity present, particularly because the Litchfield National Park populations are not represented. We recommend that ex-situ collections be expanded to incorporate the genetic diversity found in Litchfield National Park and to increase the number of representatives from Daly River/Spirit Hills, and that in-situ populations from the Katherine and Greater Litchfield regions be conserved as separate management units

Capital Fixity and Mobility in Response to the 2008-09 Crisis: Variegated Neoliberalism in Mexico and Turkey

The article examines the 2008-9 crisis responses in Mexico and Turkey as examples of variegated neoliberalism. The simultaneous interests of corporations and banks relative to the national fixing of capital and their mobility in the form of global investment heavily influenced each state authority’s policy responses to the crisis at the expense of the interests of the poor, workers, and peasantry. Rather than pitching this as either evidence of persistent national differentiation or some Keynesian state resurgence, we argue from a historical materialist geographical framework that the responses of capital and state authorities in Mexico and Turkey actively constitute and reconstitute the global parameters of market regulatory design and neoliberal class rule through each state’s distinct domestic policy formation and crisis management processes. While differing in specific content the form of Mexico and Turkey’s state responses to the crisis ensured continuity in their foregoing neoliberal strategies of development and capital accumulation, most notably in the continued oppression of workers. That is, the prevailing strategy of accumulation continues to be variegated neoliberalism

The logics of invited and uninvited material participation: bringing blood pressure self-monitoring into the clinic

This paper addresses debates concerning the ‘participatory turn’ in healthcare. It focuses on the case of blood pressure self-monitoring, understanding this as a form of patient participation at the level of individual care. Drawing and expanding on the work of Marres and Wynne and their notions of material participation and of uninvited engagement, we examine how patients’ home blood pressure self-monitoring is incorporated into clinical care, how the materials of blood pressure self-monitoring mediate participation and how we might characterise the practices of participation found within everyday clinical care. Our analysis makes new conceptual links, suggesting that, in this context, invited participation appears to align with participation made easy, while uninvited participation involves more invested, more engaged participation. We offer two further developments of these concepts. First, we trouble characterisations of invited and uninvited participation as distinct and separate, observing movement between these. Second, through applying the logics of material participation in a new context, everyday clinical practice, we suggest that the logic of participation made easy might be extended beyond lay people, to apply to professionals as well. Our analysis illustrates how materials are mobilised to facilitate invited and uninvited participation within the context of the on-going asymmetries in doctor patient relationships

Questioning policy, youth participation and lifestyle sports

Young people have been identified as a key target group for whom participation in sport and physical activity could have important benefits to health and wellbeing and consequently have been the focus of several government policies to increase participation in the UK. Lifestyle sports represent one such strategy for encouraging and sustaining new engagements in sport and physical activity in youth groups, however, there is at present a lack of understanding of the use of these activities within policy contexts. This paper presents findings from a government initiative which sought to increase participation in sport for young people through provision of facilities for mountain biking in a forest in south-east England. Findings from qualitative research with 40 young people who participated in mountain biking at the case study location highlight the importance of non-traditional sports as a means to experience the natural environments through forms of consumption which are healthy, active and appeal to their identities. In addition, however, the paper raises questions over the accessibility of schemes for some individuals and social groups, and the ability to incorporate sports which are inherently participant-led into state-managed schemes. Lifestyle sports such as mountain biking involve distinct forms of participation which present a challenge for policy-makers who seek to create and maintain sustainable communities of youth participants

The association of sitting time with sarcopenia status and physical performance at baseline and 18-month follow up in the residential aged care setting.

This study investigated the association of sitting time with sarcopenia and physical performance in residential aged care residents at baseline and 18-month follow-up. Measures included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (sitting time), European Working Group definition of sarcopenia, and the short physical performance battery (physical performance). Logistic regression and linear regression analyses were used to investigate associations. For each hour of sitting, the unadjusted odds ratio of sarcopenia was 1.16 (95% confidence interval [0.98, 1.37]). Linear regression showed that each hour of sitting was significantly associated with a 0.2-unit lower score for performance. Associations of baseline sitting with follow-up sarcopenia status and performance were nonsignificant. Cross-sectionally, increased sitting time in residential aged care may be detrimentally associated with sarcopenia and physical performance. Based on current reablement models of care, future studies should investigate if reducing sedentary time improves performance among adults in end of life care