Correlates of virtual navigation performance in older adults.

Despite considerable evidence for deleterious effects of aging on place learning and memory, less is known about the trajectory and the putative neural mechanisms of these decrements. The virtual Morris water task (vMWT) is a human analog of a nonhuman spatial navigation task. The present study investigated longitudinal changes in place learning in 51 healthy, nondemented adults (age 30-83 years) who completed the vMWT and a neuropsychological battery at 2 time-points (interval = ∼8 years).

State- and trait-dependent associations of vitamin-D with brain function during aging.

We investigated whether (1) serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the group-specific component (GC) gene-regulating serum 25(OH)D levels are associated with cognition in older individuals; and (2) whether causal relationships exist between 25(OH)D and cognition during aging. Data from 1207 participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging were analyzed (mean follow-up, 10.4 years) to test associations between serum 25(OH)D and cognition.

Bioavailable Testosterone Linearly Declines Over A Wide Age Spectrum in Men and Women From The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Background: Age-related changes in testosterone levels in older persons and especially in women have not been fully explored. The objective of this study was to describe age-related trajectories of total testosterone (TT), ammonium sulfate precipitation-measured bioavailable testosterone (mBT), and sex hormone-binding glycoprotein (SHBG) in men and women from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, with special focus on the oldest adults.

Methods: Participants included 788 White men and women aged 30-96 years with excellent representation of old and oldest old, who reported not taking medications known to interfere with testosterone.

A bismuth based layer structured organic-inorganic hybrid material with enhanced photocatalytic activity.

A bismuth-based organic-inorganic hybrid material with layered structure (BiO-BTCIE) was synthesized by taking advantage of an ion exchange reaction. The structure of BiO-BTCIE was examined by XRD, EXAFS, FT-IR, TG/DTA, etc. By replacing the HCOO(-) with BTC anions in the Bi2O2(2+) interlayer, the Bi2O2(2+) layer is distorted as revealed by the EXAFS, which lead to a longer life time of the photogenerated charge carriers and a higher photocatalytic activity of BiO-BTCIE (more than 10 times).

Blood metabolite markers of preclinical Alzheimer's disease in two longitudinally followed cohorts of older individuals.

Introduction: Recently, quantitative metabolomics identified a panel of 10 plasma lipids that were highly predictive of conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in cognitively normal older individuals (n = 28, area under the curve [AUC] = 0.92, sensitivity/specificity of 90%/90%).

Methods: Quantitative targeted metabolomics in serum using an identical method as in the index study.

Sex differences in cognitive trajectories in clinically normal older adults.

Age effects on cognitive functioning are well-documented, but effects of sex on trajectories of cognitive aging are less clear. We examined cognitive ability across a variety of measures for 1,065 to 2,127 participants (mean baseline age 64.1 to 69.

Distinct Roles of HDAC3 in the Core Circadian Negative Feedback Loop Are Critical for Clock Function.

In the core mammalian circadian negative feedback loop, the BMAL1-CLOCK complex activates the transcription of the genes Period (Per) and Cryptochrome (Cry). To close the negative feedback loop, the PER-CRY complex interacts with the BMAL1-CLOCK complex to repress its activity. These two processes are separated temporally to ensure clock function.

Endobronchial valve to treat large bulla at right middle lobe in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

We have used endobronchial valve (EBV) to treat large bulla at right middle lobe (RML) on three chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and presented the clinical datum of three COPD patients with RML bulla. The improvement of lung function was significant on two patients, whose lung parenchyma was preserved well in lobes other than RML. On one patient, whose lung function did not show improvement after EBV treatment, the parenchyma of bilateral lungs was destructed heavily by chronic inflammation of COPD, and the RML bulla did not collapse because right major and/or minor fissures are incomplete.

High-methionine diets accelerate atherosclerosis by HHcy-mediated FABP4 gene demethylation pathway via DNMT1 in ApoE(-/-) mice.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not known. We investigated the effects of Hcy on fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4), and tested our hypothesis that Hcy-induced atherosclerosis is mediated by increased FABP4 expression and decreased methylation. The FABP4 expression and DNA methylation was assessed in the aorta of ApoE(-/-) mice fed high-methionine diet for 20weeks.

Individual estimates of age at detectable amyloid onset for risk factor assessment.

Introduction: Individualized estimates of age at detectable amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation, distinct from amyloid positivity, allow for analysis of onset age of Aβ accumulation as an outcome measure to understand risk factors.

Methods: Using longitudinal Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography data from Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, we estimated the age at which each PiB+ individual began accumulating Aβ. We used survival analysis methods to quantify risk of accumulating Aβ and differences in onset age of Aβ accumulation in relation to APOE ε4 status and sex among 36 APOE ε4 carriers and 83 noncarriers.

A regulatory circuit involving miR-143 and DNMT3a mediates vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation induced by homocysteine.

Accumulating evidence has suggested that homocysteine (Hcy) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis (AS). Hcy can promote vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation, which is pivotal in the pathogenesis and progression of AS. The aim of the present study was to investigate the epigenetic regulatory mechanism of microRNA (miR)‑143‑mediated VSMCs proliferation induced by Hcy.

Capturing heterogeneous group differences using mixture-of-experts: Application to a study of aging.

In MRI studies, linear multi-variate methods are often employed to identify regions or connections that are affected due to disease or normal aging. Such linear models inherently assume that there is a single, homogeneous abnormality pattern that is present in all affected individuals. While kernel-based methods can implicitly model a non-linear effect, and therefore the heterogeneity in the affected group, extracting and interpreting information about affected regions is difficult.

The Optimization of Soluble PTEN Expression in Escherichia coli.

As a vital tumor suppressor, PTEN (Phosphatase and tension homolog deleted on chromosome 10) is involved in inherited syndromes, and is among the most frequently inactivated tumor suppressor gene in sporadic cancers. PTEN loss-of-function widely occurs in human cancers via a variety of mechanisms, including genetic alterations and posttranslational modification. These suggest PTEN has a role of functional importance in a variety of cancers.

Thyroid Hormone Receptor α Plays an Essential Role in Male Skeletal Muscle Myoblast Proliferation, Differentiation, and Response to Injury.

Thyroid hormone plays an essential role in myogenesis, the process required for skeletal muscle development and repair, although the mechanisms have not been established. Skeletal muscle develops from the fusion of precursor myoblasts into myofibers. We have used the C2C12 skeletal muscle myoblast cell line, primary myoblasts, and mouse models of resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) α and β, to determine the role of thyroid hormone in the regulation of myoblast differentiation.

Rhizosphere bacterial communities of dominant steppe plants shift in response to a gradient of simulated nitrogen deposition.

We evaluated effects of 9-year simulated nitrogen (N) deposition on microbial composition and diversity in the rhizosphere of two dominant temperate grassland species: grass Stipa krylovii and forb Artemisia frigida. Microbiomes in S. krylovii and A.

Loss of Weight in Obese Older Adults: A Biomarker of Impending Expansion of Multimorbidity?

Objectives: To determine whether weight loss in older adults may be a marker of impending burden of multimorbidity regardless of initial weight, testing the hypotheses that obesity but not overweight in elderly adults is associated with greater number of diseases than normal weight and that obese older adults who lose weight over time have the greatest burden of multimorbidity.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study (Invecchiare in Chianti Study).

Setting: Community.

Region of interest correction factors improve reliability of diffusion imaging measures within and across scanners and field strengths.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures are commonly used as imaging markers to investigate individual differences in relation to behavioral and health-related characteristics. However, the ability to detect reliable associations in cross-sectional or longitudinal studies is limited by the reliability of the diffusion measures. Several studies have examined the reliability of diffusion measures within (i.

Changes in Aβ biomarkers and associations with APOE genotype in 2 longitudinal cohorts.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype influences onset age of Alzheimer's disease but effects on disease progression are less clear. We investigated amyloid-β (Aβ) levels and change in relationship to APOE genotype, using 2 different measures of Aβ in 2 different longitudinal cohorts. Aβ accumulation was measured using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and (11)C-Pittsburgh compound-B (PiB) in 113 Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging participants (mean age 77.

Voxelwise Relationships Between Distribution Volume Ratio and Cerebral Blood Flow: Implications for Analysis of β-Amyloid Images.

Unlabelled: Quantification of β-amyloid (Aβ) in vivo is often accomplished using the distribution volume ratio (DVR), based on a simplified reference tissue model. We investigated the local relationships between DVR and cerebral blood flow (CBF), as well as relative CBF (R1), in nondemented older adults.

Methods: Fifty-five nondemented participants (mean age, 78.

Remaining coronal dentin and risk of fiber-reinforced composite post-core restoration failure: a meta-analysis.

Purpose: The amount of coronal residual structure has been recognized as critical to the survival probability of pulpless teeth. The aim of this study was to analyze whether and how coronal dentin loss would affect the failure rate of fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) post-core restorations.

Materials And Methods: Eligible studies were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases from their inception through April 2014.

[The effect of miR-124 on homocysteine-induced atherosclerosis via promoter region DNA methylation in ApoE(-/-) mice].

The aim of the present study is to explore the role of miR-124 and its promoter region DNA methylation in homocysteine (Hcy)-induced atherosclerosis. ApoE(-/-) mice were fed with hypermethionine diet for 16 weeks to duplicate hyperhomocysteinemia model. Meanwhile, a normal control group (C57BL/6J mice fed with normal diet, N-control) and a model control group (ApoE(-/-) mice fed with normal diet, A-control) were set.

Treatment and outcome of epileptogenic temporal cavernous malformations.

Background: The aim of this study is to explore the treatment and outcome of epileptogenic temporal lobe cavernous malformations (CMs).

Methods: We analyzed retrospectively the profiles of 52 patients diagnosed as temporal lobe CMs associated with epilepsy. Among the 52 cases, 11 underwent a direct resection of CM along with the adjacent zone of hemosiderin rim without electrocorticogram (ECoG) monitoring while the other 41 cases had operations under the guidance of ECoG.

Two distinct roles of the yorkie/yap gene during homeostasis in the planarian Dugesia japonica.

Adult planarians possess somatic pluripotent stem cells called neoblasts that give rise to all missing cell types during regeneration and homeostasis. Recent studies revealed that the Yorkie (Yki)/Yes-associated protein (YAP) transcriptional coactivator family plays an important role in the regulation of tissue growth during development and regeneration, and therefore we investigated the role of a planarian yki-related gene (termed Djyki) during regeneration and homeostasis of the freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica. We found that knockdown of the function of Djyki by RNA interference (RNAi) downregulated neoblast proliferation and caused regeneration defects after amputation.

Genome-wide studies of verbal declarative memory in nondemented older people: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium.

Background: Memory performance in older persons can reflect genetic influences on cognitive function and dementing processes. We aimed to identify genetic contributions to verbal declarative memory in a community setting.

Methods: We conducted genome-wide association studies for paragraph or word list delayed recall in 19 cohorts from the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium, comprising 29,076 dementia- and stroke-free individuals of European descent, aged ≥45 years.