DNA methylation clocks tick in naked mole rats but queens age more slowly than nonbreeders

Naked mole rats (NMRs) live an exceptionally long life, appear not to exhibit age-related decline in physiological capacity and are resistant to age-related diseases. However, it has been unknown whether NMRs also evade aging according to a primary hallmark of aging: epigenetic changes. To address this question, we profiled n = 385 samples from 11 tissue types at loci that are highly conserved between mammalian species using a custom array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). We observed strong epigenetic aging effects and developed seven highly accurate epigenetic clocks for several tissues (pan-tissue, blood, kidney, liver, skin clocks) and two dual-species (human–NMR) clocks. The skin clock correctly estimated induced pluripotent stem cells derived from NMR fibroblasts to be of prenatal age. The NMR epigenetic clocks revealed that breeding NMR queens age more slowly than nonbreeders, a feature that is also observed in some eusocial insects. Our results show that despite a phenotype of negligible senescence, the NMR ages epigenetically.

Low Transcriptomic Plasticity of Antarctic Giant Isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus Juveniles Exposed to Acute Thermal Stress

The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is among the areas of the planet showing some of the most significant increases in air and water temperature. It is projected that increasing temperature will modulate coastal ecosystems at species ecological performance and molecular composition. The main way that the organisms can cope with large thermal variation is by having a reversible phenotypic plasticity, which provides the organisms with a compensatory physiological response when facing challenging conditions. The giant Antarctic isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus is one of most common species in Antarctic waters. This species has a larval development inside of the maternal marsupium, where juveniles have a short period to acclimate to environmental conditions after birth. In this sense, we hypothesize that juveniles exposed to unusual temperature increases even for short periods, would not respond adequately showing a narrow phenotypic plasticity. We experimentally assessed if early juveniles of G. antarcticus have the molecular plasticity when exposed to increased temperature at 5°C during 1, 6, 12 and 24 h. Sequenced libraries were compared between control (0°C) and each experimental treatment to detect differentially expressed transcripts. The main molecular pathways affected by thermal stress were antioxidant, proteases, endopeptidases and ubiquination transcripts which were up-regulated and mitochondrial respiratory chain, cuticle, cytoskeleton and a molt transcript which were down-regulated. Regarding the HSP transcript, only 3 were up-regulated at least in two points of the stress kinetic, without classical Hsp70 and Hsp90 transcripts. This study shows that juveniles of G. antarcticus do not show molecular phenotypic plasticity to cope with acute short-term heat stress, even for one or few hours of exposure with an absence of an eco-physiological capacity to respond. This may have consequences at the ecological population level, showing a reduced individual ability to survive decreasing population recruitment.

EP.TU.156Frailty in the Emergency General Surgical Cohort, could we being doing more?

Aims Frailty, a state of diminished diminished physiological capacity to deal with external stimuli, is being seen ever increasingly in the aging emergency general surgical cohort. Length of hospital stay, morbidity and mortality are shown in the literature to dramatically increase in the frail population. Outcomes in this cohort are shown to improve significantly with specialist frailty input from geriatricians, physiotherapy and occupational therapy teams. The authors aimed to assess the burden of frailty in emergency surgical admissions in a District General Hospital, and the frailty specialist care these patients received. Methods A snapshot survey of all acute surgical admissions during a single 24 hour period was performed. Frailty was defined as a Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale score of 5 or above. The management of these patients was then compared to national standards and recommendations made on how the treatment of the clinically frail could be improved upon. Results 73% of patients in the sampled cohort (19/26) were found to be clinically frail. Only 2 (10%) of these patients had been reviewed by the frailty specialist teams within the hospital. Following implementation of recommendations, namely an improved referral system, reminders within initial clerking paperwork and raising departmental awareness, specialist input was shown to increase threefold to 32% (10/31) within the same patient group. Conclusions A significant cohort of emergency general surgical patients are classified as clinically frail. Optimal care for these patients involves a multidisciplinary approach, the uptake of which can be increased significantly with intra-departmental education and increased awareness.

Effect of Source–Sink Ratio Manipulation on Growth, Flowering, and Yield Potential of Soybean

Trade-offs between growth and reproduction in soybean require resource availability manipulations. Decapitation and reducing sink strength through deflowering can affect the source–sink ratio that affects plant growth, development, and yield. The current study assesses the effect of decapitation (Decap) and removal of the two lowest racemes (R2LR) and their combination on growth, flowering, and yield capacity of soybean through controlling the source–sink ratio and inducing the “stay-green” phenotype. Two field experiments were conducted during 2018 and 2019 in the Agronomy Farm located at Mansoura University, Egypt. Decapitation was done at the V4 stage (35 days after sowing, DAS), during which four nodes on the main stem had fully developed leaves beginning with the unifoliolate nodes, whereas R2LR was performed at the R2 stage (50 DAS), during which the plants had one open flower at one of the two uppermost nodes on the main stem. Results indicated that Decap, R2LR, and their combination significantly increased seed yield per plant through increasing plant growth and flowering and improving biochemical attributes. The combination between Decap and R2LR was generally more effective in positively modulating plant vegetative, reproductive, and physiological capacity than either Decap or R2LR alone. Moreover, the number of branches as well as pods/plant and IAA content responded positively to Decap, whereas net assimilation rate, seed growth rate, number of flowers/node, and cytokinins content responded positively to R2LR. Decap and R2LR were interpreted in light of their effects on inducing the “stay-green” phenotype and altering the source–sink ratio. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that concealing the apical dominance in conjunction with reducing the sink strength through guided raceme removal would be beneficial for the reproductive potential in soybean.

Assessing Prevalence and Factors Related to Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Multinomial Logistic Analysis

Frailty is an age-related clinical condition that typically involves a deterioration in the physiological capacity of various organ systems and heightens the patient’s susceptibility to stressors. For this reason, one of the main research goals currently being addressed is that of characterising the impact of frailty in different settings. The main aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Fried’s frailty phenotype among community-dwelling older people and to analyse the factors associated with frailty. In this research study, 582 persons aged 65 years or more participated in this cross-sectional study that was conducted at primary healthcare centres in Málaga, Spain. Sociodemographic, clinical, functional and comprehensive drug therapy data were compiled. The relationship between the independent variables and the different states of frailty was analysed by using a multinomial logistic regression model. Frailty was present in 24.1% of the study sample (95% CI = 20.7–27.6) of whom 54.3% were found to be pre-frail and 21.6% were non-frail. The study variable most strongly associated with frailty was the female gender (OR = 20.54, 95% CI = 9.10–46.3). Other factors found to be associated with the state of frailty included age, dependence for the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), polymedication, osteoarticular pathology and psychopathology. This study confirms the high prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling older people. Frailty may be associated with many factors. Some of these associated factors may be preventable or modifiable and, thus, provide clinically relevant targets for intervention. This is particularly the case for depressive symptoms, the clinical control of osteoarthritis and the use of polypharmacy.

Architecture Of Continuity : Establishing Architectural Continuity For The Purpose Of Achieving Autonomy For The Elderly

The journey of aging is often accompanied by a loss of autonomy as a result of the decline of the physiological capacity of the human body, as well as the inefficient integration of architecture, urbanism and Universal Design for the purpose of providing a built environment with the capacity to respond to the shift in human needs. Autonomy, I believe, can be achieved for the elderly when architecture synthesizes the elements of perception on the visual and the sensorial levels with the elements of action on the physiological level in the same experience.

Architecture Of Continuity : Establishing Architectural Continuity For The Purpose Of Achieving Autonomy For The Elderly

The journey of aging is often accompanied by a loss of autonomy as a result of the decline of the physiological capacity of the human body, as well as the inefficient integration of architecture, urbanism and Universal Design for the purpose of providing a built environment with the capacity to respond to the shift in human needs. Autonomy, I believe, can be achieved for the elderly when architecture synthesizes the elements of perception on the visual and the sensorial levels with the elements of action on the physiological level in the same experience.

MO616GAIT SPEED AND BODY COMPOSITION IN HAEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

Background and Aims Gait speed is a predictor of disability, mobility limitation and mortality. Buchner et al. the first to observe a non-linear relationship between leg strength and normal gait speed. This relationship was explained as small changes in physiological capacity. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between gait speed and body composition in haemodialysis. Method Cross-sectional study in 40 subjects with CKD in hospital haemodialysis, 70.5±13.03 years, 62.5% male. 40% Diabetic Nephropathy, 10% Glomerulopathies, 7.5% Nephroangiosclerosis, 2.5% Chronic Tubule-Interstitial Nephropathies, 32.5% Unknown, 2.5% Others. 35% arteriovenous fistula, 10% arteriovenous graft, 55% central venous catheter. Haemodialysis type: 40% High Flux, 45% Online postdilutional Haemodiafiltration, 10% Acetate Free Biofiltration. Gait seed was measured on the middle day of the week, predialysis. Body composition was estimated by monofrecuency bioimpedance measurement (50 KHz) on the middle day of the week, posthemodiálisis. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 13.0. Results Average gait speed 0.6±0.38 m/s, median 0.65 (IQR 0.18) m/s, range (0, 1.23) m/s. The prevalence of a gait speed less than or equal to 0.8 m/s was 67.5%, while 32.5% of the patients presented a gait speed less than or equal to 0.8 m/s. Gait speed was lower among diabetics (0.77±0.3 vs 0.46±0.39, p=0.0074). A positive and significant correlation was observed between gait speed and phase angle. No correlation was observed between gait speed and body fat. A positive linear relationship or dependence was observed between gait speed and muscle mass and cell mass. In relation to body water, a negative linear relationship is observed with the EW/IW ratio. Table 1. Conclusion There is a dependent relationship between gait speed and diabetes in haemodialysis patients. The decrease of the phase angle, the increase of the ratio EW/IW changes with the decrease the cell mass index are inversely related to the gait speed in haemodialysis patients. These items and the gait speed, which provide information on the state of vulnerability of the patient, could be markers of frailty.

Effects of crude protein content on intake and digestion of coastal bermudagrass hay by horses

This study was conducted to determine the effects of forage CP level on intake and digestion of Coastal bermudagrass hay by horses. Four cecally fistulated geldings were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with four treatments and four periods. Horses were fed one of four Coastal bermudagrass hays consisting of 7, 10, 13, or 16% CP during each of the four 15-d periods. Intake and apparent digestibility were determined for each horse at the end of each period by total fecal collection. In addition, cecal fluid and blood samples were collected on the last day of each period for determination of cecal ammonia, cecal pH, plasma urea nitrogen, and plasma glucose concentrations. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED of SAS. Crude protein concentration of Coastal bermudagrass hay influenced equine intake and digestion. Increasing CP concentration linearly increased digestible OM intake (DOMI) from 3.79 to 5.98 kg/d for 7 and 16% CP hay, respectively (P = 0.04). Furthermore, as forage CP level increased, CP intake increased linearly (P < 0.01). Forage CP level had no effect on forage DM intake. Quadratic effects (P ≤ 0.05) were observed for forage OM, NDF, ADF, and digestible energy. Overall digestibility was lowest for the 7% CP hay and highest for the 10% CP hay. Cecal pH remained above 6.62 irrespective of treatment and time, indicating that cecal pH was suitable for microbial growth. As forage CP level increased, cecal ammonia concentration increased linearly from 0.03 mM for the 7% to 1.74 mM for the 16% CP hay (P < 0.01). Concentration of plasma glucose also linearly increased (P = 0.04) from 68.77 to 73.68 mg/dL as CP concentration increased from 7% to 16% CP. Plasma urea nitrogen exhibited a quadratic effect as concentration increased (P < 0.01) from 4.34 to 5.61 mM for the 7 and 16% CP hays, respectively. Overall, the 10% CP hay had the highest digestibility due to its higher OM digestion. As forage OMI increased, digestible OM increased until physiological capacity for digestion is exceeded. At that point, digestion will decline with the decrease in OMI, explaining the lower digestion for other forages fed.

Review of physical fitness, physiological demands and performance characteristics of jockeys

This narrative review collates data from different equestrian disciplines, both amateur and professional, to describe the physiological demands, muscle activity and synchronicity of movement involved in jockeys riding in a race and to identify limitations within our current knowledge. A literature search was conducted in Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus using search terms related to jockeys, equestrian riders and their physiological demands, muscle use, movement dynamics and experience. Abstracts, theses and non-peer reviewed articles were excluded from the analysis. Jockeys work at close to their physiological capacity during a race. The quasi-isometric maintenance of the jockey position requires muscular strength and endurance, specifically from the legs and the core, both to maintain their position and adapt to the movement of the horse. Synchronous movement between horse and rider requires a coordinated activation pattern of the rider’s core muscles, resulting in less work done by the horse to carry the rider, possibly leading to a competitive advantage in race riding. Reports of chronic fatigue in jockeys demonstrate poor quantification of workload and recovery. The lack of quantitative workload metrics for jockeys’ limits calculation of a threshold required to reach race riding competency and development of sport-specific training programmes. Until the sport-specific demands of race riding are quantified, the development of evidence-based sport specific and potentially performance enhancing jockey strength and conditioning programmes cannot be realised.