Proteomic Signatures Over Age Reveal Significant Changes From Infancy Till Late Adulthood

Background:The diagnosis and management of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) remains a challenge, and treatments preventing progression of the disease are yet to be discovered. Proximity extension assay (PEA) allows for...

Event Abstract Back to Event Are age-related changes in cortical motor representations linked with facilitation/inhibition in the primary motor cortex? Melina Hehl1*, Stephan P. Swinnen1, 2 and Koen Cuypers1, 3 1 Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven, Belgium 2 Leuven Research Institute for Neuroscience & Disease (LIND), Belgium 3 REVAL Rehabilitation Research Center, Belgium Introduction With healthy aging, the brain undergoes physiological and anatomical changes such as reorganization and remodeling (Cabeza, 2002; Dinse, 2006), which are at least partly responsible for the age-related decline in sensorimotor control and function (Bhandari et al., 2016). Specifically, older adults often show a higher variability in their movements, slower reaction times (Bedard et al., 2002; Wu and Hallett, 2005; Seidler et al., 2010; Hermans et al., 2018; Hermans et al., 2019), impaired coordination skills (Greene and Williams, 1996; Swinnen et al., 1998; Serrien et al., 2000; Heuninckx et al., 2004), and a generally lower performance level (Voelcker-Rehage, 2008). In this study, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to identify the link between age-related changes in cortical motor representation and metrics of glutamatergic and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) functionality in the primary motor cortex (M1). Although there has been a growing body of evidence for age-related changes in TMS parameters in M1, few studies (Heise et al., 2013) addressed the changes of those parameters over the full adult lifespan to determine when those changes occur. Furthermore, it has remained unclear if/how the motor representation changes over the lifespan. To date, a more diffuse expansion of the motor map in older adults of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) has been reported (Bernard and Seidler, 2012) and a difference in the age-related changes of hand muscle representations has been indicated by a TMS mapping study by Coppi et al. (2014) that reported an age-related decrease of the non-dominant abductor pollicis brevis (APB) representation, while the representation of the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) did not change significantly. However, although older individuals struggle more with handling smaller objects (picking up a coin) as compared to bigger items (grasping a glass), it is not clear yet if these age-related motor differences can be linked to changes in TMS parameters. Therefore, the first aim of the present study was to investigate how the motor representation of the FDI and ADM muscle, representative for pinch grasp and full-grasp tasks respectively, changed over the lifespan. The second aim was to identify if the motor representation is linked with glutamatergic and/or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) functionality assessed with respectively intracortical facilitation (ICF) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) through a paired-pulse (PP) TMS protocol. Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers from the full lifespan (age range 18-69 years, average 39.61 ± 16.92 SD, 11 female, 2 left-handed, see Table 1) were to date included in this cross-sectional study. Recruitment was done in Flanders, Belgium at university and community level. Participants gave written informed consent prior to study participation according to the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the local ethics committee (University Hospital Leuven; reference S62231). Prior to inclusion subjects were screened for TMS contraindications (Wassermann, 1998), neurological medical history, medication and cognitive function. Grasp force and pinch force were measured bilaterally using respectively a hydraulic hand dynamometer (Model SH5001, Saehan Corporation, Masan, Korea) and a pinch force sensor (LCM302-200N, Omega Engineering Inc., Norwalk, USA). Electromyography (EMG) signals for the FDI and ADM muscle contralateral to the investigated hemisphere were collected using surface Ag-electrodes (Bagnoli™ DE-2.1 EMG Sensors, Natick, MA, United State), mounted to the muscle belly. A reference electrode was placed on the dorsal ipsilateral wrist. Raw EMG signals were amplified (gain = 1000), filtered (band pass filter 20-2000 Hz), digitized at 5000 Hz (CED 1401 micro, CED Limited, Cambridge, UK), and stored on PC for offline analysis. Cortical motor representation maps and TMS-derived glutamatergic and GABA-ergic metrics were collected for the left and right FDI and the ADM using a Magventure X100 stimulator (MagVenture A/S, Farum, Denmark). A 70mm figure-of-eight shaped coil (MC-B70) was used for single- (SP) or PP stimulation. A virtual 1cm-spaced grid was projected on the subject’s head using neuronavigation (Brainsight, Rogue Research Inc, Montreal, Quebec, Canada). For each hemisphere a standardized procedure was carried out: [1] the hotspot which was defined as the scalp location resulting in the highest motor evoked potential (MEP) after five consecutive stimuli of the relaxed FDI muscle, [2] the resting motor threshold (rMT) was defined as the lowest stimulation intensity evoking MEPs with an amplitude larger than 50 µV peak-to-peak in at least five of ten consecutive trials at rest, [3] the motor representation was mapped (see Figure 1) whereby TMS intensity was set at 115% rMT and 8 consecutive pulses were applied per location with an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 3s ± 20% and other mapping parameters were identical to Meesen et al. (2011) and Cuypers et al. (2013), [4] glutamatergic and GABAA-ergic metrics were assessed using respectively ICF and SICI. The conditioning stimulus (CS) was set at 80% rMT and the test stimulus (TS) was adjusted to elicit unconditioned MEP amplitudes (~1mV peak-to-peak). For SICI, ISI was set at 3ms and for ICF at 10ms. The SICI/ICF measurement consisted of 45 trials over M1 (15 SP, 15 PP - 3ms ISI and 15 PP - 10ms ISI in semi-randomized order). SICI and ICF were expressed as a ratio (mean PP amplitude/mean SP amplitude). All TMS measurements were administered bilaterally in a semi-randomized order (left or right hemisphere). Results Based on preliminary data of this ongoing study, we showed first that although there was a significant decrease in grip force for the dominant and non-dominant hand (GRIP DOM: Spearman’s rho = -0.469, p = 0.049; GRIP NON-DOM: Spearman’s rho = -0.484, p = 0.042) and a significant decrease in pinch force for the non-dominant but not for the dominant hand (PINCH DOM: Spearman’s rho = -0.452, p = 0.059; PINCH NON-DOM: Spearman’s rho = -0.527, p = 0.025, see Figure 2) with advancing age, Spearman’s correlations revealed no significant changes between map area and age for the different combinations of muscle (FDI, ADM) and hemisphere (dominant, non-dominant) (all, p > 0.05). Second, a significant positive relationship between AREA and ICF of the dominant FDI was found (Spearman’s rho = 0.564, p = 0.018, see Figure 3B), indicating that increased cortical representation is related to increased glutamatergic facilitation. All other links between motor representations and measures of SICI/ICF were reported as non-significant (all, p > 0.05, see Figure 3 & 4). Finally, trends between age and measures of SICI/ICF were reported, suggesting that higher age may be linked with decreased inhibition and increased facilitation (see Figure 5 & 6 and Table 2). Conclusion Based on our preliminary findings, we can conclude that: [1] age-related changes in grip and pinch force are not related to changes in cortical representation, [2] cortical representation for the dominant FDI is positively linked with glutamatergic facilitation, and [3] statistical trends suggest that higher age may be linked with decreased inhibition and increased facilitation. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 References Bedard, A.-C., Nichols, S., Barbosa, J.A., Schachar, R., Logan, G.D., and Tannock, R. (2002). The Development of Selective Inhibitory Control Across the Life Span. Developmental Neuropsychology 21, 93-111. Bernard, J.A., and Seidler, R.D. (2012). Evidence for motor cortex dedifferentiation in older adults. Neurobiology of Aging 33, 1890-1899. Bhandari, A., Radhu, N., Farzan, F., Mulsant, B.H., Rajji, T.K., Daskalakis, Z.J., and Blumberger, D.M. (2016). A meta-analysis of the effects of aging on motor cortex neurophysiology assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Clinical Neurophysiology 127, 2834-2845. Cabeza, R. (2002). Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Older Adults: The HAROLD Model. Psychology and Aging 17, 85-100. Coppi, E., Houdayer, E., Chieffo, R., Spagnolo, F., Inuggi, A., Straffi, L., Comi, G., and Leocani, L. (2014). Age-Related Changes in Motor Cortical Representation and Interhemispheric Interactions: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 6. Cuypers, K., Leenus, D.J.F., Van Den Berg, F.E., Levin, O., Thijs, H., Swinnen, S.P., and Meesen, R.L.J. (2013). Long-term TENS treatment decreases cortical motor representation in multiple sclerosis. Neuroscience 250, 1-7. Dinse, H.R. (2006). Cortical reorganization in the aging brain. Prog Brain Res 157, 57-80. Greene, L.S., and Williams, H.G. (1996). "Aging and coordination from the dynamic pattern perspective," in Advances in Psychology. Elsevier), 89-131. Heise, K.-F., Zimerman, M., Hoppe, J., Gerloff, C., Wegscheider, K., and Hummel, F.C. (2013). The aging motor system as a model for plastic changes of GABA-mediated intracortical inhibition and their behavioral relevance. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 33, 9039-9049. Hermans, L., Leunissen, I., Pauwels, L., Cuypers, K., Peeters, R., Puts, N.a.J., Edden, R.a.E., and Swinnen, S.P. (2018). Brain GABA Levels Are Associated with Inhibitory Control Deficits in Older Adults. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 38, 7844-7851. Hermans, L., Maes, C., Pauwels, L., Cuypers, K., Heise, K.-F., Swinnen, S.P., and Leunissen, I. (2019). Age-related alterations in the modulation of intracortical inhibition during stopping of actions. Aging. Heuninckx, S., Debaere, F., Wenderoth, N., Verschueren, S., and Swinnen, S. (2004). Ipsilateral coordination deficits and central processing requirements associated with coordination as a function of aging. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 59, P225-P232. Meesen, R.L., Cuypers, K., Rothwell, J.C., Swinnen, S.P., and Levin, O. (2011). The effect of long-term TENS on persistent neuroplastic changes in the human cerebral cortex. Human Brain Mapping 32, 872-882. Seidler, R.D., Bernard, J.A., Burutolu, T.B., Fling, B.W., Gordon, M.T., Gwin, J.T., Kwak, Y., and Lipps, D.B. (2010). Motor control and aging: Links to age-related brain structural, functional, and biochemical effects. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 34, 721-733. Serrien, D.J., Swinnen, S., and Stelmach, G.E. (2000). Age-related deterioration of coordinated interlimb behavior. Journals of Gerontology B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 55. Swinnen, S., Verschueren, S., Bogaerts, H., Dounskaia, N., Lee, T.D., Stelmach, G.E., and Serrien, D.J. (1998). Age-related deficits in motor learning and differences in feedback processing during the production of a bimanual coordination pattern. Cognitive neuropsychology 15, 439-466. Voelcker-Rehage, C. (2008). Motor-skill learning in older adults—a review of studies on age-related differences. European Review of Aging and Physical Activity 5, 5-16. Wassermann, E.M. (1998). Risk and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: report and suggested guidelines from the International Workshop on the Safety of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, June 5–7, 1996. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology/ Evoked Potentials Section 108, 1-16. Wu, T., and Hallett, M. (2005). The influence of normal human ageing on automatic movements. Journal of Physiology 562, 605-615. Keywords: Aging, transcrancial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Short-interval cortical inhibition, Intracortical facilitation (ICF), Cortical representation Conference: 13th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience , Brussels, Belgium, 24 May - 24 May, 2019. Presentation Type: Poster presentation Topic: Behavioral/Systems Neuroscience Citation: Hehl M, Swinnen SP and Cuypers K (2019). Are age-related changes in cortical motor representations linked with facilitation/inhibition in the primary motor cortex?. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 13th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience . doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2019.96.00054 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 24 Apr 2019; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019. * Correspondence: Ms. Melina Hehl, Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, Biomedical Sciences Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium, melina.hehl@student.kuleuven.be Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Melina Hehl Stephan P Swinnen Koen Cuypers Google Melina Hehl Stephan P Swinnen Koen Cuypers Google Scholar Melina Hehl Stephan P Swinnen Koen Cuypers PubMed Melina Hehl Stephan P Swinnen Koen Cuypers Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

To efficiently learn optimal behavior in complex environments, humans rely on an interplay of learning and attention. Healthy aging has been shown to independently affect both of these functions. Here, we investigate how reinforcement learning and selective attention interact during learning from trial and error across age groups. We acquired behavioral and fMRI data from older and younger adults (male and female) performing two probabilistic learning tasks with varying attention demands. Although learning in the unidimensional task did not differ across age groups, older adults performed worse than younger adults in the multidimensional task, which required high levels of selective attention. Computational modeling showed that choices of older adults are better predicted by reinforcement learning than Bayesian inference, and that older adults rely more on reinforcement learning-based predictions than younger adults. Conversely, a higher proportion of younger adults' choices was predicted by a computationally demanding Bayesian approach. In line with the behavioral findings, we observed no group differences in reinforcement-learning related fMRI activation. Specifically, prediction-error activation in the nucleus accumbens was similar across age groups, and numerically higher in older adults. However, activation in the default mode was less suppressed in older adults in for higher attentional task demands, and the level of suppression correlated with behavioral performance. Our results indicate that healthy aging does not significantly impair simple reinforcement learning. However, in complex environments, older adults rely more heavily on suboptimal reinforcement-learning strategies supported by the ventral striatum, whereas younger adults use attention processes supported by cortical networks.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Changes in the way that healthy human aging affects how we learn to optimally behave are not well understood; it has been suggested that age-related declines in dopaminergic function may impair older adult's ability to learn from reinforcement. In the present fMRI experiment, we show that learning and nucleus accumbens activation in a simple unidimensional reinforcement-learning task was not significantly affected by age. However, in a more complex multidimensional task, older adults showed worse performance and relied more on reinforcement-learning strategies than younger adults, while failing to disengage their default-mode network during learning. These results imply that older adults are only impaired in reinforcement learning if they additionally need to learn which dimensions of the environment are currently important.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is expected to cause significant changes in the serum proteome; however, few studies have systematically assessed the proteomic profile change associated with the disease. In this study, a semiquantitative spectral counting-based two dimensional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry platform was used to analyze serum samples from T1D patients and controls. In this discovery phase, significant differences were found for 21 serum proteins implicated in inflammation, oxidation, metabolic regulation, and autoimmunity. To assess the validity of these findings, six candidate proteins including adiponectin, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2, serum amyloid protein A, C-reactive protein, myeloperoxidase, and transforming growth factor beta induced were selected for subsequent immune assays for 1139 T1D patients and 848 controls. A series of statistical analyses using cases and controls matched for age, sex, and genetic risk confirmed that T1D patients have significantly higher serum levels for four of the six proteins: adiponectin (odds ratio (OR) = 1.95, p = 10(-27)), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (OR = 2.02, p < 10(-20)), C-reactive protein (OR = 1.13, p = 0.007), serum amyloid protein A (OR = 1.51, p < 10(-16)); whereas the serum levels were significantly lower in patients than controls for the two other proteins: transforming growth factor beta induced (OR = 0.74, p < 10(-5)) and myeloperoxidase (OR = 0.51, p < 10(-41)). Compared with subjects in the bottom quartile, subjects in the top quartile for adiponectin (OR = 6.29, p < 10(-37)), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (OR = 7.95, p < 10(-46)), C-reactive protein (OR = 1.38, p = 0.025), serum amyloid protein A (OR = 3.36, p < 10(-16)) had the highest risk of T1D, whereas subjects in the top quartile of transforming growth factor beta induced (OR = 0.41, p < 10(-11)) and myeloperoxidase (OR = 0.10, p < 10(-43)) had the lowest risk of T1D. These findings provided valuable information on the proteomic changes in the sera of T1D patients.

Liquid biomarkers for fibrotic NASH – progress in a complex field

L'objectif de ce travail a ete d'ameliorer la connaissance des effluents industriels a travers l'estimation par spectrophotometrie UV-visible de parametres specifiques et globaux dans des industries telles que l'agroalimentaire, la petrochimie, la chimie, et la papeterie. Une de ces etapes cles de ce travail a ete la recherche de spectres de reference permettant d'interpreter au mieux la complexite des milieux etudies. A cet effet, un outil de creation stochastique de spectres a ete developpe, permettant de modeliser les effets de variation de spectres, de composition et de concentration. Concretement, trois ont ete definis : - 1) Un indice phenol prenant en compte le phenol et certains de ses derives (methyles, chlores et nitres). Il permet d'obtenir en quelques minutes une estimation de composes phenoliques plus representative que l'indice phenol normalise. - 2) Deux indices amines aromatiques UV, l'un global d'estimation de l'ensemble des amines aromatiques et le second specifique aux derive chlores. La methode developpee a permis de substituer la spectrophotometrie UV en ligne a la chromotographie liquide. Ce travail a egalement permis de valider la methode pour l'analyse de composes globaux plus classiques (COT, DCO, DBO, et MES). Deja operationnelle pour les eaux urbaines et naturelles, ainsi que sur les rejets de quelques sites petrochimiques, la spectrophotometrie UV couplee a une deconvolution spectrale a ete etendue a des effluents reputes plus variables et heterogenes. Les travaux realises ont egalement montre la bonne adaptibilite de la spectrophotometrie UV a l'analyse d'effluents sur le terrain ou en ligne.

Reflex cutaneous vasodilation during heating is attenuated in healthy human aging secondary to blunted increases in efferent skin sympathetic nervous system activity (SSNA) and reductions in end-organ sensitivity. Whether age-related alterations in the mean body temperature ( b) threshold for increasing SSNA and/or the sensitivity of responses are evident with aging have not been examined. We tested the hypotheses that the Tb threshold for SSNA and cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) would be increased, but the sensitivity would be reduced, with aging. Reflex vasodilation was induced in 13 young (23 ± 3 y) and 13 older (67 ± 7 y) adults using a water-perfused suit to systematically increase mean skin and esophageal temperatures. SSNA (peroneal microneurography) and red cell flux (laser Doppler flowmetry) in the innervated dermatome were continuously measured. SSNA was normalized to baseline; CVC was normalized as a percentage of maximal CVC. Baseline b was lower in older adults (36.0 ± 0.4°C vs 36.4 ± 0.3°C; p = 0.005). During passive heating, the ∆ b thresholds for increasing SSNA and CVC were greater (1.3 ± 0.4°C vs 0.9 ± 0.3°C; p = 0.007 and 1.3 ± 0.4°C vs 0.8 ± 0.3°C; p = 0.002, respectively) in older adults. The slope of the relation between both SSNA (0.31 ± 0.23 vs 0.13 ± 0.10 V⋅s⋅°C −1; p = 0.01) and CVC (87.5 ± 50.1 vs 32.4 ± 18.1%max⋅°C−1; p = 0.002) vs b was lower in older adults. The relative b threshold for activation of SSNA and the initiation of reflex cutaneous vasodilation is higher in older adults, and once activated, the sensitivity of both responses is diminished, supporting the concept that the efferent component of the thermoregulatory reflex arc is impaired in healthy aging. Abbreviations: CI: confidence interval; CVC: cutaneous vascular conductance; SSNA: skin sympathetic nervous system activity; b: mean body temperature; Tes: esophageal temperature; sk: mean skin temperature.

A healthy diet is a key determinant of healthy ageing(1). Research indicates that individuals from Black African communities (both born in the UK and migrants communities) often have bicultural dietary patterns including both Westernised and African dietary practices(2). While this is known for the general Black African adult population, there remains a dearth of research on older African adults who may experience a complex nutrition landscape owing to an interplay of perceptions of healthy/unhealthy diets, social and cultural factors which can have negative outcomes for nutrition and health in later life. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of eating well and healthy diets as determinants of inequalities in nutrition and healthy ageing in older African adults.A mixed methods cross-sectional study was conducted in older Africans, ≥ 55 years in the UK. Qualitative data was collected using Photovoice(3), an innovative visual, community-based participatory research (CBPR) method whereby participants take photographs to document, reflect upon health and social issues from their own perspective. As a research method, photovoice provides an alternative to the traditional barriers and enablers approach to understanding complex health challenges and is suited for use for populations who have been disenfranchised by traditional research methods(4). A purposive sample of 12 participants were provided with cameras and encouraged to take photos describing what they considered as healthy and unhealthy food and thoughts on eating well and older adult’s health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insights into the photos. Thematic analyses using both deductive and inductive approaches of photos and transcripts were conducted to develop and refine emerging themes using a framework.Participants were 62 ± 5.4 years and, 75% female. The majority were married (58.3%), living with family (41.7%), educated to postgraduate degree level (50.0%) and fulltime employed (66.7%). Emerging themes around healthy eating included variety and dietary diversity, organic foods, traditional foods, plant-based foods and healthy cooking methods. Themes around unhealthy food included ultra-processed foods, take-out foods, appearance, preservatives and consuming fats and oils. Hydration, social eating, accessing health and dietary advice, eating food that meets ageing needs, nostalgic eating and physical activity were the key themes that emerged around eating well and older adults’ health.This research provides new insights on perceptions of healthy eating among older African adults using photovoice, a novel participatory research method. The findings contribute to a better understanding of perceptions of healthy diets as a determinant influencing nutrition and healthy ageing in older African adults. There is a need for further research to understand i) how these perceptions influence dietary intake and ii) the complex interactions in nutritional knowledge, tradition, cultural and social factors to inform the design of effective community-based nutrition intervention tailored to ethnic identity of older African adults.

Ring-stage asexual parasites of P. falciparum were collected from six Gambian children and the S-antigens radiolabelled by 3H-glycine uptake during in vitro culture up to rupture of infected cells and merozoite release. Ouchterlony double diffusion of boiled culture supernatants against a panel of adult Gambian sera identified one S-antigen precipitin arc for five isolates and two precipitin arcs for one isolate. Five of the six isolates were serologically distinct. Analysis of S-antigens by comparison of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of heat-treated soluble proteins revealed a more complex pattern of 3H-labelled S-antigens that was different for each isolate. There were between two and six different 3H-labelled bands for each isolate in the size range of molecular weight 137 000 to 285 000. This result confirms the large size range of S-antigens identified with culture adapted P. falciparum. Several bands were relatively weakly labelled with 3H-glycine, suggesting that natural isolates contain one or two predominant S-antigen phenotypes and several other S-antigen phenotypes expressed by minor parasite subpopulations. Immunoprecipitation was performed using a panel of sera from Gambian adults, or, acute and 3 week convalescent sera from the same patients used for S-antigen radiolabelling. Adult sera generally immunoprecipitated some of the S-antigens in each isolate, including antigens that must represent extremely minor parasite subpopulations since they could not be seen in the patterns of non-immunoprecipitated heat-stable proteins. Sera from convalescent children were generally negative on immunoprecipitation, even with the homologous isolate. In one case we observed the acquisition of specific immunoprecipitating antibody to one of the homologous S-antigens during the convalescent period. The antigenic and structural complexity of S-antigens in natural isolates that have not been submitted to the selection pressure of adaptation for in vitro culture is clearly greater than for culture adapted P. falciparum.

Serum proteome signatures associated with ileal and colonic ulcers in Crohn's disease

In the UK, as in many other European countries, the population is growing older, and older adults are becoming more diverse. As a result, there is a mounting interest in supporting healthy ageing and independence, acknowledging the needs and agency of older adults from diverse backgrounds, expectations, and life trajectories. Healthy ageing is promoted as a critical component of sustainable ageing to ensure meaningful social and economic contributions through the life course for all individuals. However, the definitions of healthy ageing are debatable. The public and policy discourse treat all older adults through generic and homogeneous models that do not consider the heterogeneity of experiences and perspectives of old age among different groups. In this context, independence has often been defined in terms of functional independence, i.e., cognitive and physical functioning, as a core construct of healthy ageing. However, this focus excludes older adults’ interpretations and day-to-day experiences of this concept. This article investigates the interpretation and lived experience of independence amongst older Turkish adults in the UK as a central explanatory concept of healthy ageing. Semi-structured individual interviews (n = 48) and community mapping workshops (n = 5) were conducted with 65 older Turkish adults in London, supplemented by interviews with professional service providers (n = 13) within the community. The data collection was conducted between March and November 2017. We identified three main themes integral to understanding healthy ageing and independence: 1—interdependency and having reciprocal care relations; 2—individual autonomy at home and choice in housing options; and 3—functional independence, mobility, and control over the physical environment. Independence appears to remain an essential element of healthy ageing. However, it is a fluid and complex construct constantly negotiated around personal and community resources. Therefore, there is a need to develop more comprehensive interventions that capture the diverse experiences in old age to enable healthy ageing and social sustainability. These are timely considering current policy directions such as the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Role of Oxytocin in Older Adults’ Facial Emotion Recognition Difficulties

Simple SummaryThe present study describes for the first time the differences in the serum and saliva proteomes between healthy dogs and dogs with diabetes mellitus by a high- throughput proteomic approach. More than 1000 proteins were identified, and 16 proteins in serum and 26 in saliva showed significant changes between both groups. Additionally, pathways that showed changes were discussed in order to improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and one protein in serum (haptoglobin) was successfully verified. The results of the present study could be a source of potential biomarkers for canine diabetes mellitus in saliva and serum and also contribute to increase the knowledge of the pathophysiology of the disease.This study aims to evaluate the changes in salivary and serum proteomes that occur in canine diabetes mellitus type-1 (DM) through a high-throughput quantitative proteomic analysis. The proteomes of 10 paired serum and saliva samples from healthy controls (HC group, n = 5) and dogs with untreated DM (DM group, n = 5) were analyzed using Tandem Mass Tags (TMT)-based proteomic approach. Additionally, 24 serum samples from healthy controls and untreated DM were used to validate haptoglobin in serum. The TMT analysis quantified 767 and 389 proteins in saliva and serum, respectively. Of those, 16 unique proteins in serum and 26 in saliva were differently represented between DM and HC groups. The verification of haptoglobin in serum was in concordance with the proteomic data. Our results pointed out changes in both saliva and serum proteomes that reflect different physiopathological changes in dogs with DM. Although some of the proteins identified here, such as malate dehydrogenase or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, were previously related with DM in dogs, most of the proteins modulated in serum and saliva are described in canine DM for the first time and could be a source of potential biomarkers of the disease. Additionally, the molecular function, biological process, pathways and protein class of the differential proteins were revealed, which could improve the understanding of the disease’s pathological mechanisms.

A globally aging population necessitates public health action that supports healthy aging. Although it is well established that participation in physical activity (PA), sport, and active recreation are important for healthy aging, PA levels remain generally lower among older adults. This study examines trends in physical activities that older adults engage in and identifies disparities in activities across subgroups as defined by age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Data from two New South Wales survey data sets (New South Wales Population Health Survey and AusPlay) investigated patterns and trends of PA, sport, and active recreation between 2016 and 2021 among adults aged 65+ years. Weighted prevalence estimates of meeting PA guidelines (≥150min/week of moderate to vigorous PA), weekly minutes spent walking and doing moderate to vigorous PA, and annual participation rates in specific activities were calculated as weighted proportions. Multivariable logistic regression models included age, gender, and socioeconomic status as independent variables. Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of older adults meeting PA guidelines increased (37.8%-51.3%). Adults aged 75+ years, older men, and those living in the least disadvantaged areas experienced greater increases in moderate to vigorous PA. Older adults' reported PA levels have increased in recent years, highlighting opportunities to prioritize PA promotion in the global agenda to support healthy and active aging. Significance/Implications: This study offers insights into recent trends and noteworthy increases in PA, sport, and active recreation among older Australian adults. These can assist policymakers in developing, evaluating, and implementing population-wide strategies to maintain improved activity levels.

The oscillatory mechanisms associated with syntactic binding in healthy ageing