Impact of age, performance and athletic event on injury rates in master athletics - First results from an ongoing prospective study

Objectives: Recent studies have identified rates of injuries in young elite athletes during major athletic events. However, no such data exist on master athletes. The aim of this study was to assess incidence and types of injuries during the 2012 European Veteran Athletics Championships as a function of age, performance and athletic discipline. Methods: Report forms were used to identify injured athletes and injury types. Analysis included age (grouped in five-year bands beginning at age 35 years), athletic event, and age-graded performance. Results: Of the 3154 athletes (53.2 years (SD 12.3)) that participated in the championships (1004 (31.8%) women, 2150 (68.2%) men), 76 were registered as injured; 2.8% of the female (29), 2.2% of the male (47) athletes. There were no fractures. One injury required operative treatment (Achilles tendon rupture). Injury rates were significantly higher in the sprint/middle distance/jumps than the throws, long distance and decathlon/heptathlon groups (Χ² (3)=16.187, P=0.001). There was no significant interrelationship with age (Χ² (12)=6.495, P=0.889) or age-graded performance (Χ² (3)=3.563, P=0.313). Conclusions: The results suggest that healthy master athletes have a low risk of injury that does not increase with age or performance

Magnesium Limitation Is an Environmental Trigger of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Lifestyle

Biofilm formation is a conserved strategy for long-term bacterial survival in nature and during infections. Biofilms are multicellular aggregates of cells enmeshed in an extracellular matrix. The RetS, GacS and LadS sensors control the switch from a planktonic to a biofilm mode of growth in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here we detail our approach to identify environmental triggers of biofilm formation by investigating environmental conditions that repress expression of the biofilm repressor RetS. Mg2+ limitation repressed the expression of retS leading to increased aggregation, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and biofilm formation. Repression of retS expression under Mg2+ limitation corresponded with induced expression of the GacA-controlled small regulatory RNAs rsmZ and rsmY and the EPS biosynthesis operons pel and psl. We recently demonstrated that extracellular DNA sequesters Mg2+ cations and activates the cation-sensing PhoPQ two-component system, which leads to increased antimicrobial peptide resistance in biofilms. Here we show that exogenous DNA and EDTA, through their ability to chelate Mg2+, promoted biofilm formation. The repression of retS in low Mg2+ was directly controlled by PhoPQ. PhoP also directly controlled expression of rsmZ but not rsmY suggesting that PhoPQ controls the equilibrium of the small regulatory RNAs and thus fine-tunes the expression of genes in the RetS pathway. In summary, Mg2+ limitation is a biologically relevant environmental condition and the first bonafide environmental signal identified that results in transcriptional repression of retS and promotes P. aeruginosa biofilm formation

Human limb skeletal muscle wasting and architectural remodeling during five to ten days intubation and ventilation in critical care - an observational study using ultrasound

© 2016 The Author(s).Background: Critically ill patients frequently suffer muscle weakness whilst in critical care. Ultrasound can reliably track loss of muscle size, but also quantifies the arrangement of the muscle fascicles, known as the muscle architecture. We sought to measure both pennation angle and fascicle length, as well as tracking changes in muscle thickness in a population of critically ill patients. Methods: On days 1, 5 and 10 after admission to critical care, muscle thickness was measured in ventilated critically ill patients using bedside ultrasound. Elbow flexor compartment, medial head of gastrocnemius and vastus lateralis muscle were investigated. In the lower limb, we determined the pennation angle to derive the fascicle length. Results: We recruited and scanned 22 patients on day 1 after admission to critical care, 16 were re-scanned on day 5 and 9 on day 10. We found no changes to the size of the elbow flexor compartment over 10days of admission. In the gastrocnemius, there were no significant changes to muscle thickness or pennation angle over 5 or 10days. In the vastus lateralis, we found significant losses in both muscle thickness and pennation angle on day 5, but found that fascicle length is unchanged. Loss of muscle on day 5 was related to decreases in pennation angle. In both lower limb muscles, a positive relationship was observed between the pennation angle on day 1, and the percentage of angle lost by days 5 and 10. Discussion: Muscle loss in critically ill patients preferentially affects the lower limb, possibly due to the lower limb becoming prone to disuse atrophy. Muscle architecture of the thigh changes in the first 5days of admission, in particular, we have demonstrated a correlation between muscle thickness and pennation angle. It is hypothesised that weakness in the lower limb occurs through loss of force generation via a reduced pennation angle. Conclusion: Using ultrasound, we have been able to demonstrate that muscle thickness and architecture of vastus lateralisundergo rapid changes during the early phase of admission to a critical care environment

Genomics-assisted breeding in four major pulse crops of developing countries: present status and prospects

The global population is continuously increasing and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. This huge population pressure will lead to severe shortage of food, natural resources and arable land. Such an alarming situation is most likely to arise in developing countries due to increase in the proportion of people suffering from protein and micronutrient malnutrition. Pulses being a primary and affordable source of proteins and minerals play a key role in alleviating the protein calorie malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and other undernourishment-related issues. Additionally, pulses are a vital source of livelihood generation for millions of resource-poor farmers practising agriculture in the semi-arid and sub-tropical regions. Limited success achieved through conventional breeding so far in most of the pulse crops will not be enough to feed the ever increasing population. In this context, genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) holds promise in enhancing the genetic gains. Though pulses have long been considered as orphan crops, recent advances in the area of pulse genomics are noteworthy, e.g. discovery of genome-wide genetic markers, high-throughput genotyping and sequencing platforms, high-density genetic linkage/QTL maps and, more importantly, the availability of whole-genome sequence. With genome sequence in hand, there is a great scope to apply genome-wide methods for trait mapping using association studies and to choose desirable genotypes via genomic selection. It is anticipated that GAB will speed up the progress of genetic improvement of pulses, leading to the rapid development of cultivars with higher yield, enhanced stress tolerance and wider adaptability

Anthropocene: another academic invention?

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Physical activity in older age: perspectives for healthy ageing and frailty.

Regular physical activity helps to improve physical and mental functions as well as reverse some effects of chronic disease to keep older people mobile and independent. Despite the highly publicised benefits of physical activity, the overwhelming majority of older people in the United Kingdom do not meet the minimum physical activity levels needed to maintain health. The sedentary lifestyles that predominate in older age results in premature onset of ill health, disease and frailty. Local authorities have a responsibility to promote physical activity amongst older people, but knowing how to stimulate regular activity at the population-level is challenging. The physiological rationale for physical activity, risks of adverse events, societal and psychological factors are discussed with a view to inform public health initiatives for the relatively healthy older person as well as those with physical frailty. The evidence shows that regular physical activity is safe for healthy and for frail older people and the risks of developing major cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, obesity, falls, cognitive impairments, osteoporosis and muscular weakness are decreased by regularly completing activities ranging from low intensity walking through to more vigorous sports and resistance exercises. Yet, participation in physical activities remains low amongst older adults, particularly those living in less affluent areas. Older people may be encouraged to increase their activities if influenced by clinicians, family or friends, keeping costs low and enjoyment high, facilitating group-based activities and raising self-efficacy for exercise

High diversity in the sauropod dinosaur fauna of the Early Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation of South Africa: Implications for the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition

The Kirkwood Formation of South Africa has long been recognized as having the potential to fill an important gap in the Mesozoic terrestrial fossil record. As one of the few fossil-bearing deposits from the lowermost Cretaceous, the Kirkwood Formation provides critical information on terrestrial ecosystems at the local, subcontinental (southern Gondwana), and global scale during this poorly sampled time interval. However, until recently, the dinosaurian fauna of the Kirkwood Formation, especially that pertaining to Sauropoda, has remained essentially unknown. Here we present comprehensive descriptions of several relatively well-preserved sauropod vertebrae collected from exposures throughout the formation. We identify at least four taxonomically distinct groups of sauropod, comprising representatives of Diplodocidae, Dicraeosauridae, Brachiosauridae, and a eusauropod that belongs to neither Diplodocoidea nor Titanosauriformes. This represents the first unequivocal evidence of these groups having survived into the earliest Cretaceous of Africa. The taxonomic composition of the Kirkwood Formation shows strong similarities to Upper Jurassic deposits, and raises questions regarding the taxonomic decline across the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary that has been previously inferred for Sauropoda. Investigation of the sauropod fossil record of the first three geological stages of the Cretaceous suggests that reconstruction of sauropod macroevolutionary patterns is complicated by a combination of sampling bias, an uneven and poorly dated rock record, and spatiotemporal disparity in the global disappearance of certain sauropod groups. Nonetheless, the close ecological relationship consistently observed between Brachiosauridae and Diplodocidae, as well as their approximately synchronous decline, suggests some equivalence in response to the changing faunal dynamics of the Early Cretaceous

A giant dinosaur from the earliest Jurassic of South Africa and the transition to quadrupedality in early sauropodomorphs

Sauropod dinosaurs were dominant, bulk-browsing herbivores for 130 million years of the Mesozoic, attaining gigantic body masses in excess of 60 metric tons [1, 2]. A columnar-limbed, quadrupedal posture enabled these giant body sizes [3], but the nature of the transition from bipedal sauropodomorph ancestors to derived quadrupeds remains contentious [4, 5, 6]. We describe a gigantic, new sauropodomorph from the earliest Jurassic of South Africa weighing 12 metric tons and representing a phylogenetically independent origin of sauropod-like body size in a non-sauropod. Osteohistological evidence shows that this specimen was an adult of maximum size and approximately 14 years old at death. Ledumahadi mafube gen. et sp. nov. shows that gigantic body sizes were possible in early sauropodomorphs, which were habitual quadrupeds but lacked the derived, columnar limb postures of sauropods. We use data from this new taxon and a discriminant analysis of tetrapod limb measurements to study postural evolution in sauropodomorphs. Our results show that quadrupedality appeared by the mid-Late Triassic (Norian), well outside of Sauropoda. Secondary reversion to bipedality occurred in some lineages phylogenetically close to Sauropoda, indicating early experimentation in locomotory styles. Morphofunctional observations support the hypothesis that partially flexed (rather than columnar) limbs characterized Ledumahadi and other early-branching quadrupedal sauropodomorphs. Patterns of locomotory and body-size evolution show that quadrupedality allowed Triassic sauropodomorphs to achieve body sizes of at least 3.8 metric tons. Ledumahadi’s Early Jurassic age shows that maximum body mass in sauropodomorph dinosaurs was either unaffected or rapidly rebounded after the end-Triassic extinction event