Interview with Mei Ling Wong, Joon Xiong, and David Xiong (Sushi Hut)

Mei-Ling Wong is a second-generation Chinese American who was born in Kunming, Yunnan in China. Mei Ling moved to this country and met her husband Joon Xiong who was born in the same region. They both have been working in the restaurant business for the past 30 years. For the last 20 years, they have been working together in different types of restaurants in the Monterey bay area. In 2018 they decide to open their own restaurant named ``Sushi Hut \u27\u27 and by applying all the knowledge they have developed in the past years, they build a menu with a mixture of different traditional recipes from Japan and China culture.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/asia-pacific-foodways_interviews/1009/thumbnail.jp

Latitude gradient influences the age of onset of rheumatoid arthritis : a worldwide survey

The age of onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an important outcome predictor. Northern countries report an age of RA onset of around 50 years, but apparently, variability exists across different geographical regions. The objective of the present study is to assess whether the age of onset of RA varies across latitudes worldwide. In a proof-of-concept cross-sectional worldwide survey, rheumatologists from preselected cities interviewed 20 consecutive RA patients regarding the date of RA onset (RAO, when the patient first noted a swollen joint). Other studied variables included location of each city, rheumatologist settings, latitudes (10A degrees increments, south to north), longitudes (three regions), intracountry consistency, and countries' Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI). Data from 2481 patients (82% females) were obtained from 126 rheumatologists in 77 cities of 41 countries. Worldwide mean age of RAO was 44 +/- 14 years (95% CI 44-45). In 28% of patients, RA began before age 36 years and before age 46 years in 50% of patients. RAO was 8 years earlier around the Tropic of Cancer when compared with northern latitudes (p <0.001, 95% CI 3.5-13). Multivariate analysis showed that females, western cities, and latitudes around the Tropic of Cancer are associated with younger age of RAO (R (2) 0.045, p <0.001). A positive correlation was found between the age of RAO and IHDI (r = 0.7, p <0.01, R (2) 0.5). RA often begins at an early age and onset varies across latitudes worldwide. We postulate that countries' developmental status and their geographical and geomagnetic location influence the age of RAO.Peer reviewe

Voluntary Exercise Promotes Beneficial Anti-aging Mechanisms in SAMP8 Female Brain

Regular physical exercise mediates health and longevity promotion involving Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)-regulated pathways. The anti-aging activity of SIRT1 is achieved, at least in part, by means of fine-tuning the adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway by preventing the transition of an originally pro-survival program into a pro-aging mechanism. Additionally, SIRT1 promotes mitochondrial function and reduces the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through regulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), the master controller of mitochondrial biogenesis. Here, by using senescence-accelerated mice prone 8 (SAMP8) as a model for aging, we determined the effect of wheel-running as a paradigm for long-term voluntary exercise on SIRT1-AMPK pathway and mitochondrial functionality measured by oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complex content in the hippocampus and cortex. We found differential activation of SIRT1 in both tissues and hippocampal-specific activation of AMPK. These findings correlated well with significant changes in OXPHOS in the hippocampal, but not in the cerebral cortex, area. Collectively, the results revealed greater benefits of the exercise in the wheel-running intervention in a murine model of senescence, which was directly related with mitochondrial function and which was mediated through the modulation of SIRT1 and AMPK pathways. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Envejecimiento y capacidad funcional en adultos mayores institucionalizados del occidente de México

Objectives. To identify, in older adults living in care centers in 3 western Mexican states, the functional capacity to perform 10 basic daily activities. Material and methods. A multicenter, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 373 older adults from the states of Colima (n=151), Nayarit (n=111), and Jalisco (n=111). Through non-probability sampling (convenience sampling) and after obtaining informed consent, the Barthel scale was applied in order to identify functional capacity level. The demographic variables and the dominance level of each daily activity were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The chi-square test was employed to compare the physical functionality proportions based on sex.Statistically significant difference was set at a p≤ 0.05. Results. For Colima, the unctional capacity in the categories of total independence and mild, moderate, and severe dependence were (%): 10.6, 52.3, 15.9, 7.3, and 13.9, respectively; for Nayarit (%): 13.5, 41.4, 19.8, 9.90, and 15.3, respectively; and for Jalisco (%): 27.9, 28.8, 14.4, 18.0, and 10.8, respectively. The differences based on sex were only significant for the state of Nayarit (p= de 0.000). The daily life activity with the highest proportion of totally independent subjects was “eating”, and the activities with the most totally dependent subjects were “going up and down stairs” and “bathing”. Conclusions. Functional limitation is a natural part of the aging process and it is important to systematically apply the Barthel scale to older adults living in care centers because it is a relevant tool for identifying motor function deficit in these persons.Objetivo. Identificar la capacidad funcional para realizar 10 actividades básicas de la vida diaria en adultos mayores institucionalizados de 3 diferentes Estados del Occidente de México. Material y métodos. Estudio trasversal descriptivo, multicéntrico realizado en 373 adultos mayores de los Estados de Colima (n=151), Nayarit (n=111) y Jalisco n=111) en los que mediante un muestreo no probabilístico por conveniencia y previo consentimiento informado, se aplicó la escala de Barthel para identificar su nivel de apacidad funcional. Estadística descriptiva fue utilizada para analizar variables demográficas y nivel de dominio de cada actividad de la vida diaria. Chi cuadrado para comparar proporciones de funcionalidad física con base a géneros. Se consideraron significativas las diferencias cuando p≤ 0.05. Resultados. La capacidad funcional para las categorías: independencia total, dependencia leve, moderada, severa y total, fueron para Colima (%): 10.6, 52.3, 15.9, 7.3 y 13.9 respectivamente. Para Nayarit (%): 13.5, 41.4, 19.8, 9.90 y 15.3. Para Jalisco (%): 27.9,28.8, 14.4, 18.0 y 10.8 respectivamente. Las diferencias con base a género, fue significativa únicamente para el estado de Nayarit (p= de 0.000). La actividad de la vida diaria que presentó mayor proporción de sujetos independientes totales fue “comer”, en tanto que “subir-bajar escaleras y lavarse” fueron las que registraron más sujetos dependientes totales. Conclusión. La limitación funcional es un proceso natural del envejecimiento y es importante que de manera sistemáticase aplique la escala de Barthel al adulto mayor institucionalizado, ya que ha demostrado ser relevante para identificar déficit funcional motor en estas persona

Taurine Increases Zinc Preconditioning-Induced Prevention of Nitrosative Stress, Metabolic Alterations, and Motor Deficits in Young Rats following Intrauterine Ischemia

Oxygen deprivation in newborns leads to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, whose hallmarks are oxidative/nitrosative stress, energetic metabolism alterations, nutrient deficiency, and motor behavior disability. Zinc and taurine are known to protect against hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in adults and neonates. However, the combined effect of prophylactic zinc administration and therapeutic taurine treatment on intrauterine ischemia- (IUI-) induced cerebral damage remains unknown. The present work evaluated this issue in male pups subjected to transient IUI (10 min) at E17 and whose mothers received zinc from E1 to E16 and taurine from E17 to postnatal day 15 (PND15) via drinking water. We assessed motor alterations, nitrosative stress, lipid peroxidation, and the antioxidant system comprised of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Enzymes of neuronal energetic pathways, such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), were also evaluated. The hierarchization score of the protective effect of pharmacological strategies (HSPEPS) was used to select the most effective treatment. Compared with the IUI group, zinc, alone or combined with taurine, improved motor behavior and reduced nitrosative stress by increasing SOD, CAT, and GPx activities and decreasing the GSSG/GSH ratio in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Taurine alone increased the AST/ALT, LDH/ALT, and AST/LDH ratios in the cerebral cortex, showing improvement of the neural bioenergetics system. This result suggests that taurine improves pyruvate, lactate, and glutamate metabolism, thus decreasing IUI-caused cerebral damage and relieving motor behavior impairment. Our results showed that taurine alone or in combination with zinc provides neuroprotection in the IUI rat model