Secular trends in frailty among community-dwelling 75-95-year-old cohorts over three decades in Helsinki, Finland.

Background: Frailty Index (FI) reflects health, functioning and well-being of older people. It is valuable to compare how frailty has changed over time in ageing cohorts. This study aims to examine trends in frailty among 75-95-year-old men and women over three decades.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older People's Loneliness: Findings from a Longitudinal Study between 2019 and 2021 among Older Home-Dwellers in Finland.

Objectives: To investigate the change in feelings of loneliness among Finnish community-dwelling older people from before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 to during the pandemic in 2021. Moreover, we explore the changes in other dimensions of psychological well-being (PWB) during the study period.

Design: Questionnaires were mailed in the 2019 Helsinki Aging Study, a repeated cohort study.

Being actively engaged in life in old age: determinants, temporal trends, and prognostic value.

Purpose: Recently, the concept of successful ageing has shifted from healthy ageing to active ageing, the latter emphasising even more the subjective perspective. Active agency is a marker for better functioning. However, the concept of active ageing lacks a clear definition so far.

Changes in symptom burden from 2019 to 2021 amongst community-dwelling older adults in Finland.

Background: Symptom burden causes suffering amongst older adults and is associated with healthcare visits and prognosis.

Aims: We evaluated the prevalence of 10 symptoms and changes in symptom burden amongst home-dwelling older adults in 2019 and 2021 using Finnish cohort data. We analysed factors associated with symptom burden increase during follow-up.

Determinants of a sense of insecurity among home-dwelling older people.

A sense of insecurity may have an impact on older people's well-being and their courage to engage actively in meaningful activities. Studies on a sense of insecurity among older people are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which home-dwelling older adults perceive their life as being insecure and how a sense of insecurity is associated with their health, functional status, active social engagement, well-being and perceptions of the societal treatment of older people.

Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Pain and Analgesic Treatment Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Changes from 1999 to 2019.

Background: Pain is undertreated in older populations. At the same time, increased use of opioids is of concern in the Western world.

Aims: We sought to analyze temporal trends in musculoskeletal pain and prescribed analgesic treatment among community-dwelling people aged 75-95 years using cross-sectional cohort data spanning 20 years.

Design of a Cytotoxic Neuroblastoma-Targeting Agent Using an Enzyme Acting on Polysialic Acid Fused to a Toxin.

Polysialic acid, an abundant cell surface component of the developing nervous system, which declines rapidly postnatally to virtual absence in the majority of adult tissues, is highly expressed in some malignant tumors including neuroblastoma. We found that the binding of a noncatalytic endosialidase to polysialic acid causes internalization of the complex from the surface of neuroblastoma kSK-N-SH cells, a subline of SK-N-SH, and leads to a complete relocalization of polysialic acid to the intracellular compartment. The binding and uptake of the endosialidase is polysialic acid-dependent as it is inhibited by free excess ligand or removal of polysialic acid by active endosialidase, and does not happen if catalytic endosialidase is used in place of inactive endosialidase.

Symptom burden in community-dwelling older people: temporal trends in the Helsinki Aging Study.

Background: Changes in older people's symptoms across recent decades have not been investigated.

Aims: We analyzed temporal trends in symptom burden by comparing data from independent, cross-sectional cohorts retrieved in 1989, 1999, 2009, and 2019. Furthermore, we compared the association between symptom burden and psychological wellbeing (PWB) in older men and women.

Secular trends in functional abilities, health and psychological well-being among community-dwelling 75- to 95-year-old cohorts over three decades in Helsinki, Finland.

Life expectancy has increased markedly in the past decades. Thus, it is of great importance to understand how people are ageing and if the trajectories of health and disability are changing over time. This study aimed to examine trends in functional abilities and health in independent cohorts of people aged 75-95 over three decades.

Symptom Burden Is Associated with Psychological Wellbeing and Mortality in Older Adults.

Importance: Over half of outpatient visits are due to physical symptoms; yet, the significance of symptoms in relation to older people's wellbeing and prognosis has gained very little research attention.

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the prognostic value of symptom burden, derived from symptom count and frequency, in an older cohort aged 75 to 95. We also explore the association between symptom burden and psychological wellbeing.

Associations of perceived poor societal treatment among the oldest-old.

Background: Previous studies of perceived ageism among older people have focused on younger age groups with the respondents' mean age far below 80.

Objective: To explore the perceptions of poor societal treatment of older people among home-dwelling people aged 75-100+ and how their perceptions are associated with demographic characteristics, health, functioning, and wellbeing.

Methods: In the Helsinki Aging Study, a random sample of 2,917 home-dwelling people aged 75-104 received a postal questionnaire inquiring about their health, wellbeing and experiences.

Internalization of a polysialic acid-binding Escherichia coli bacteriophage into eukaryotic neuroblastoma cells.

Eukaryotic organisms are continuously exposed to bacteriophages, which are efficient gene transfer agents in bacteria. However, bacteriophages are considered not to pass the eukaryotic cell membrane and enter nonphagocytic cells. Here we report the binding and penetration of Escherichia coli PK1A2 bacteriophage into live eukaryotic neuroblastoma cells in vitro.

Filamin A Regulates Neutrophil Adhesion, Production of Reactive Oxygen Species, and Neutrophil Extracellular Trap Release.

Neutrophils are of fundamental importance in the early immune response and use various mechanisms to neutralize invading pathogens. They kill endocytosed pathogens by releasing reactive oxygen species in the phagosome and release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) into their surroundings to immobilize and kill invading micro-organisms. Filamin A (FlnA) is an important actin cross-linking protein that is required for cellular processes involving actin rearrangements, such cell migration.

Expression of neural cell adhesion molecule and polysialic acid in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.

Background: In order to develop novel clinical applications and to gain insights into possible therapeutic mechanisms, detailed molecular characterization of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBM-MSCs) is needed. Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM, CD56) is a transmembrane glycoprotein modulating cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. An additional post-translational modification of NCAM is the α2,8-linked polysialic acid (polySia).

Cortico-muscular coherence parallels coherence of postural tremor and MEG during static muscle contraction.

Corticokinematic coherence (CKC), i.e., coherence calculated between MEG and an accelerometer signal, recording movement kinematics, can be used for functional mapping of the sensorimotor cortex.

Phylogenetic group-associated differences in regulation of the common colonization factor Mat fimbria in Escherichia coli.

Heterogeneity of cell population is a key component behind the evolutionary success of Escherichia coli. The heterogeneity supports species adaptation and mainly results from lateral gene transfer. Adaptation may also involve genomic alterations that affect regulation of conserved genes.

The response regulator RcsB activates expression of Mat fimbriae in meningitic Escherichia coli.

The common colonization factor of Escherichia coli, the Mat (also termed ECP) fimbria, functions to advance biofilm formation on inert surfaces as well as bacterial adherence to epithelial cells and subsequent colonization. We used global mini-Tn5 transposon mutagenesis to identify novel regulators of biofilm formation by the meningitic E. coli isolate IHE 3034.

Identification of a high-molecular-mass Lactobacillus epithelium adhesin (LEA) of Lactobacillus crispatus ST1 that binds to stratified squamous epithelium.

Lactobacilli belong to the normal gastrointestinal and genital tract microbiota of human and animal hosts. Adhesion is important for bacterial colonization; however, only a few Lactobacillus adhesins have been identified so far. We studied extracted surface proteins from an adhesive Lactobacillus crispatus strain, ST1, which efficiently colonizes the chicken alimentary tract, for their binding to tissue sections of the chicken crop, and identified a novel high-molecular-mass repetitive surface protein that shows specific binding to stratified squamous epithelium.

The fimbriae activator MatA switches off motility in Escherichia coli by repression of the flagellar master operon flhDC.

Flagella provide advantages to Escherichia coli by facilitating taxis towards nutrients and away from unfavourable niches. On the other hand, flagellation is an energy sink to the bacterial cell, and flagella also stimulate host innate inflammatory responses against infecting bacteria. The flagellar assembly pathway is ordered and under a complex regulatory circuit that involves three classes of temporally regulated promoters as well as the flagellar master regulator FlhD(4)C(2).

Mat fimbriae promote biofilm formation by meningitis-associated Escherichia coli.

The mat (or ecp) fimbrial operon is ubiquitous and conserved in Escherichia coli, but its functions remain poorly described. In routine growth media newborn meningitis isolates of E. coli express the meningitis-associated and temperature-regulated (Mat) fimbria, also termed E.

Repeated bout effect on the cytoskeletal proteins titin, desmin, and dystrophin in rat skeletal muscle.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of repeated bouts of exercise on the cytoskeletal proteins titin, desmin, and dystrophin. Rats were made to run downhill for 90 min 1 or 5 times separated by 14 days. Samples were taken from quadriceps femoris muscle 3, 48, 96 h and 50 days after the last exercise session and detected by quantitative PCR, histochemical stainings, and western blot analyses.

Effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes and physical training on gene expression of titin-based stretch-sensing complexes in mouse striated muscle.

In striated muscle, a sarcomeric noncontractile protein, titin, is proposed to form the backbone of the stress- and strain-sensing structures. We investigated the effects of diabetes, physical training, and their combination on the gene expression of proteins of putative titin stretch-sensing complexes in skeletal and cardiac muscle. Mice were divided into control (C), training (T), streptozotocin-induced diabetic (D), and diabetic training (DT) groups.

Effects of experimental type 1 diabetes and exercise training on angiogenic gene expression and capillarization in skeletal muscle.

Diabetes alters microvascular structure and function and is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In diabetic skeletal muscle, impaired angiogenesis and reduced VEGF-A expression have been observed, whereas in healthy muscle exercise is known to have opposite effects. We studied the effects of type 1 diabetes and combined exercise training on angiogenic mRNA expression and capillarization in mouse skeletal muscle.

Effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes and physical training on gene expression of extracellular matrix proteins in mouse skeletal muscle.

Diabetes induces changes in the structure and function of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in many tissues. We investigated the effects of diabetes, physical training, and their combination on the gene expression of ECM proteins in skeletal muscle. Mice were divided to control (C), training (T), streptozotocin-induced diabetic (D), and diabetic training (DT) groups.

Controlled intermittent shortening contractions of a muscle-tendon complex: muscle fibre damage and effects on force transmission from a single head of rat EDL.

This study was performed to examine effects of prolonged (3 h) intermittent shortening (amplitude 2 mm) contractions (muscles were excited maximally) of head III of rat extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL III) on indices of muscle damage and on force transmission within the intact anterior crural compartment. Three hours after the EDL III exercise, muscle fibre damage, as assessed by immunohistochemical staining of structural proteins (i.e.