Integration of Meta-Multi-Omics Data Using Probabilistic Graphs and External Knowledge.

Multi-omics has the promise to provide a detailed molecular picture of biological systems. Although obtaining multi-omics data is relatively easy, methods that analyze such data have been lagging. In this paper, we present an algorithm that uses probabilistic graph representations and external knowledge to perform optimal structure learning and deduce a multifarious interaction network for multi-omics data from a bacterial community.

Relative sit-to-stand power: aging trajectories, functionally relevant cut-off points, and normative data in a large European cohort.

Background: A validated, standardized, and feasible test to assess muscle power in older adults has recently been reported: the sit-to-stand (STS) muscle power test. This investigation aimed to assess the relationship between relative STS power and age and to provide normative data, cut-off points, and minimal clinically important differences (MCID) for STS power measures in older women and men.

Methods: A total of 9320 older adults (6161 women and 3159 men) aged 60-103 years and 586 young and middle-aged adults (318 women and 268 men) aged 20-60 years were included in this cross-sectional study.

Threshold of Relative Muscle Power Required to Rise from a Chair and Mobility Limitations and Disability in Older Adults.

Purpose: Being able to rise from a chair is paramount for independent living and is strongly influenced by the ability of the lower limbs to exert mechanical power. This study assessed minimal thresholds of lower-limb relative muscle power required to perform the sit-to-stand (STS) task in older adults and its association with mobility limitations and disability.

Methods: A total of 11,583 older adults (age, 60-103 yr) participated in this investigation.

Severe hypophosphataemia following oral bisphosphonate treatment in a patient with osteoporosis.

A 76-year-old woman was treated with oral bisphosphonate, alendronate, for osteoporosis in an outpatient clinic. Routine blood tests 4 months after alendronate prescription surprisingly revealed severe hypophosphataemia. The patient was hospitalised and treated with intravenous and oral phosphate supplements.

Impact of using the updated EWGSOP2 definition in diagnosing sarcopenia: A clinical perspective.

Background And Purpose: The revised European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2, version 2019) definition of sarcopenia differs with respect to the EWGSOP (version 2010) definition in applied criteria and their cut-off values. We aimed to investigate the impact of the new definition on sarcopenia prevalence in various populations of older adults.

Methods: Eight cohorts, including community-dwelling older adults, geriatric outpatients and patients admitted to acute and subacute inpatient wards were assessed on sarcopenia prevalence.

Antimicrobial Activity of Six International Artisanal Kefirs Against serovar Enteritidis, and .

Kefir, a fermented dairy beverage, exhibits antimicrobial activity due to many metabolic products, including bacteriocins, generated by lactic acid bacteria. In this study, the antimicrobial activities of artisanal kefir products from Fusion Tea (A), Britain (B), Ireland (I), Lithuania (L), the Caucuses region (C), and South Korea (K) were investigated against select foodborne pathogens. CWD 1198, serovar Enteritidis ATCC 13076, ATCC 25923, and ATCC 14579 were inhibited by artisanal kefirs made with kefir grains from diverse origins.

Sarcopenia and osteoporosis in older people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Age-related loss of muscle and bone (sarcopenia and osteoporosis), increases the risk of falls and fractures and consequently leads to a substantial economic burden for the society. The combined condition, osteosarcopenia, may identify patients at a higher risk of those outcomes and could be relevant for assessment and treatment in clinical practice.

Aim: To evaluate the current knowledge of the prevalence of osteosarcopenia and the fracture risk in older people.

Nurse-led navigation to provide early palliative care in rural areas: a pilot study.

Background: Few services are available to support rural older adults living at home with advancing chronic illness. The objective of this project was to pilot a nurse-led navigation service to provide early palliative support for rural older adults and their families living at home with advancing chronic illness.

Methods: Twenty-five older adults and 11 family members living with advancing chronic illness received bi-weekly home visits by a nurse navigator over a 2-year period.

Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in Hot Dogs by Surface Application of Freeze-Dried Bacteriocin-Containing Powders from Lactic Acid Bacteria.

Six lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, Lactococcus lactis BFE 920, L. lactis subsp. lactis ATCC 11454, L.

Perceived age is associated with bone status in women aged 25-93 years.

Higher perceived age (PA) is reported to be associated with age-related diseases. Because osteoporosis is considered an age-related disease, we hypothesized that age perceived from photographs is associated with bone mineral density (BMD)/trabecular bone score (TBS) when controlled for chronological age. This is a cross-sectional study of 460 women aged 25-93 years.

The Influence of Clinical Experience and Photographic Presentation on Age Assessment of Women.

Background: Epidemiological studies have reported that a higher perceived age is associated with poor health and higher mortality. However, the method used for the assessment of perceived age differs between studies with regard to age, gender, the number and occupation of assessors as well as the presentation of participants.

Objective: It is not known whether the clinical experience of the assessor or photographic presentation have an influence on the assessment of perceived age, which the present study aimed to investigate.

Production of Antilisterial Bacteriocins from Lactic Acid Bacteria in Dairy-Based Media: A Comparative Study.

One hundred and eight strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were screened for bacteriocin production by the modified deferred antagonism and agar well diffusion methods. When the modified deferred antagonism method was employed, 82 LAB strains showed inhibitory action against Listeria monocytogenes v7 ½a, whereas 26 LAB strains expressed no inhibition. Only 12 LAB strains exhibited inhibitory activity when the agar well diffusion method was used, 11 of which had been previously recognized as bacteriocin production positive (Bac(+)).

Association between leukocyte telomere length and bone mineral density in women 25-93 years of age.

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and bone mineral density (BMD) are associated with health and mortality. Because osteoporosis is an age-related condition and LTL is considered to be a biomarker of aging, we hypothesized that shorter LTL could predict lower BMD. The aim of our study was to assess whether there is an association of LTL with BMD and to determine whether this possible association is independent of age.

Muscle strength, power and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with bone mineral density in men aged 31-60 years.

Background: Osteoporotic fractures represent a growing economical burden to society, not only because of fractures in women, but also because of an increasing number of fractures in men.

Aims: In this cross-sectional study we aimed to investigate the association of muscular and cardio-respiratory fitness with BMD at the spine and hip in men.

Results: The association between independent variables maximal aerobic capacity (VO(2max)), leg power and hand grip strength, and dependent variables BMD at the spine and total hip was explored in a series of linear regression models successively adjusted for age, weight and height, smoking, alcohol intake and leisure time physical activity level.

Kefir: a multifaceted fermented dairy product.

Kefir is a fermented dairy beverage produced by the actions of the microflora encased in the "kefir grain" on the carbohydrates in the milk. Containing many bacterial species already known for their probiotic properties, it has long been popular in Eastern Europe for its purported health benefits, where it is routinely administered to patients in hospitals and recommended for infants and the infirm. It is beginning to gain a foothold in the USA as a healthy probiotic beverage, mostly as an artisanal beverage, home fermented from shared grains, but also recently as a commercial product commanding shelf space in retail establishments.

Elevated liver enzymes, anaemia and osteopaenia in a young woman.

A 23-year-old woman presented with elevated liver enzymes, anaemia and lower limb oedema. Iron-deficiency anaemia due to gynaecological problems was suspected. The patient was treated with iron supplements normalising the blood haemoglobin.

Primary and secondary prophylaxis to the use of inhaled glucocorticoid in primary health care.

Objectives: To investigate the extent of inhaled glucocorticoid (IGC) treatment in general and to what extent general practitioners (GPs) manage the risk of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Method: A questionnaire was sent to all 3,617 GPs in Denmark.

Results: The results are divided into criteria for recommending prophylaxis with calcium and vitamin D for patients in actual IGC treatment, routine examinations for osteoporosis before starting asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment with IGC, and criteria for starting anti-osteoporotic treatment (bisphosphonates + calcium + vitamin D) for patients in IGC treatment.