Proper nutrition and a balanced diet are factors that influence the growth and development of children and adolescents, as well as body weight and health throughout life ...
Ageing is accompanied by deterioration of multiple bodily functions and inflammation, which collectively contribute to frailty. We and others have shown that frailty co-varies with alterations in the ...gut microbiota in a manner accelerated by consumption of a restricted diversity diet. The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is associated with health. In the NU-AGE project, we investigated if a 1-year MedDiet intervention could alter the gut microbiota and reduce frailty.
We profiled the gut microbiota in 612 non-frail or pre-frail subjects across five European countries (UK, France, Netherlands, Italy and Poland) before and after the administration of a 12-month long MedDiet intervention tailored to elderly subjects (NU-AGE diet).
Adherence to the diet was associated with specific microbiome alterations. Taxa enriched by adherence to the diet were positively associated with several markers of lower frailty and improved cognitive function, and negatively associated with inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein and interleukin-17. Analysis of the inferred microbial metabolite profiles indicated that the diet-modulated microbiome change was associated with an increase in short/branch chained fatty acid production and lower production of secondary bile acids, p-cresols, ethanol and carbon dioxide. Microbiome ecosystem network analysis showed that the bacterial taxa that responded positively to the MedDiet intervention occupy keystone interaction positions, whereas frailty-associated taxa are peripheral in the networks.
Collectively, our findings support the feasibility of improving the habitual diet to modulate the gut microbiota which in turn has the potential to promote healthier ageing.
The article aims to determine the effect of cement addition on the water vapour resistance factor of stabilized rammed earth. Literature analysis indicates that different earthen materials show large ...differences in water vapour resistance factor values. The high diffusion resistance of concrete concerning other construction materials suggests that cement will be one of the factors significantly affecting these values. The paper presents water vapour resistance factor test results of rammed earth with various soil particle sizes and cement contents. The obtained results showed that an increase of cement addition increases the diffusion resistance of the material. However, the diffusion resistance of cement stabilized rammed earth is still low compared to concrete.
Vitamin/mineral supplement (VMS) use has become increasingly popular in children and adolescents; however, different predictors may be associated with their usage. Therefore, the aim of this study ...was to compare determinants of VMS use in 1578 children and adolescents. Data was collected among parents of children (≤12 years old) and among adolescents (>12 years old) who attended public schools by a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariate-adjusted logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for determining the predictors of VMS use. In children, the following determinants of VMS use were indicated: socioeconomic status (average vs. very good/good; OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.16⁻2.48), physical activity (1⁻5 vs. <1 h/week; OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.02⁻2.04), BMI (≥25 vs. 18.5⁻24.9 kg/m²; OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.46⁻0.98), and presence of chronic diseases (yes vs. no; OR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.46⁻3.69). In adolescents, gender (male vs. female; OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.37⁻0.87), residential area (rural vs. urban; OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.40⁻0.99), BMI (<18.5 vs. 18.5⁻24.9 kg/m²; OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17⁻0.73), and health status (average/poor vs. at least good; OR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.13⁻3.39) were factors of VMS use. In both groups, the mother's higher educational level, fortified food consumption and diet modification towards better food choices were predictors of VMS use. In conclusion, most of the predictors of VMS use were different in children and adolescents.
The present paper presents results of a study on hemp-lime composite – a novel building material which is gaining attention thanks to its pro-ecological values, as well as interesting hygrothermal ...characteristics. The thermal conductivity and vapour permeability tests were performed on composites which varied in terms of composition and density as a result of use of various binders, different proportions of ingredients in a mixture and different compaction level during manufacturing with the use of the tamping method. The results obtained, indicating low thermal conductivity and very high vapor permeability, were tabulated with results of compressive strength obtained in the previous study on the same types of composites. The conclusions emphasise supreme importance of apparent density on properties of material, rather than binder composition – which exerts a significant effect only on compressive strength. The results of the performed tests were applied for determination of external walls’ construction, which were subjected to analysis of risk of interstitial water vapor condensation according to Glaser method. For locations in all Polish climatic zones, no condensation or only a small amount thereof, in which case it does not accumulate in subsequent years, was found.
Findings from animal and epidemiological research support the potential neuroprotective benefits from healthy diets. However, to establish diet-neuroprotective causal relations, evidence from dietary ...intervention studies is needed. NU-AGE is the first multicenter intervention assessing whether a diet targeting health in aging can counteract the age-related physiological changes in different organs, including the brain. In this study, we specifically investigated the effects of NU-AGE's dietary intervention on age-related cognitive decline.
NU-AGE randomized trial (NCT01754012, clinicaltrials.gov) included 1279 relatively healthy older-adults, aged 65-79 years, from five European centers. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups: "control" (
= 638), following a habitual diet; and, "intervention" (
= 641), given individually tailored dietary advice (NU-AGE diet). Adherence to the NU-AGE diet was measured over follow-up, and categorized into tertiles (low, moderate, high). Cognitive function was ascertained at baseline and at 1-year follow-up with the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD)-Neuropsychological Battery and five additional domain-specific single cognitive tests. The raw scores from the CERAD subtests excluding the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the single tests were standardized into
-scores. Global cognition (measured with MMSE and CERAD-total score), and five cognitive domains (perceptual speed, executive function, episodic memory, verbal abilities, and constructional praxis) were created. Cognitive changes as a function of the intervention were analyzed with multivariable mixed-effects models.
After the 1-year follow-up, 571 (89.1%) controls and 573 (89.8%) from the intervention group participated in the post-intervention assessment. Both control and intervention groups showed improvements in global cognition and in all cognitive domains after 1 year, but differences in cognitive changes between the two groups were not statistically significant. However, participants with higher adherence to the NU-AGE diet showed statistically significant improvements in global cognition β 0.20 (95%CI 0.004, 0.39),
-value = 0.046 and episodic memory β 0.15 (95%CI 0.02, 0.28),
-value = 0.025 after 1 year, compared to those adults with lower adherence.
High adherence to the culturally adapted, individually tailored, NU-AGE diet could slow down age-related cognitive decline, helping to prevent cognitive impairment and dementia.
Nutrition-related knowledge (NRK) and nutrition-related attitudes (NRAs) are necessary for dietary changes toward healthier dietary patterns. In turn, healthier dietary patterns can be beneficial in ...maintaining health of older adults. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether NRK and NRAs were associated with lifestyle and health features among older adults (65+ years) from five European countries (France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and United Kingdom).
Within the European project NU-AGE, 1,144 healthy elderly volunteers (65-79 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: intervention (NU-AGE diet) or control. After 1-year of follow-up, both NRK and NRAs were assessed during exit interviews, in combination with a number of lifestyle and health variables (e.g., physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, BMI, self-assessed health status). Multivariable linear regression models were used in data analysis.
In the NU-AGE study sample, good NRK was associated with lower BMI and higher physical activity. More positive NRAs were related to lower BMI and self-reported very good or good appetite. Moreover, both NRK and NRAs were associated with some socio-economic determinants, like financial situation, age, education, living area (for NRK), and country (for NRAs). Participants in the intervention group showed a better NRK (β = 0.367 95% CI: 0.117; 0.617,
= 0.004) and more positive NRAs (β = 0.838 95% CI: 0.318; 1.358,
= 0.002) than those in the control group. Higher self-evaluated knowledge was also significantly related to more positive NRAs (
< 0.001). The most popular sources of nutrition information were food labels, books and magazines on health, the dietitian and the doctor's office, although their importance varied significantly among countries, and, to a lesser extent, between women and men and between intervention and control group.
Higher NRK and NRA scores were associated with lower BMI and higher physical activity level. Therefore, a good nutrition-related knowledge and positive nutrition-related attitudes can strongly and positively influence the health status and quality of life among the older population. These results offer a great opportunity for policy makers to implement educational programs in order to counteract the epidemic of obesity and to improve the health span of European population.
Aging is a dynamic process depending on intrinsic and extrinsic factors and its evolution is a continuum of transitions, involving multifaceted processes at multiple levels. It is recognized that ...frailty and sarcopenia are shared by the major age-related diseases thus contributing to elderly morbidity and mortality. Pre-frailty is still not well understood but it has been associated with global imbalance in several physiological systems, including inflammation, and in nutrition. Due to the complex phenotypes and underlying pathophysiology, the need for robust and multidimensional biomarkers is essential to move toward more personalized care. The objective of the present study was to better characterize the complexity of pre-frailty phenotype using untargeted metabolomics, in order to identify specific biomarkers, and study their stability over time. The approach was based on the NU-AGE project (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01754012) that regrouped 1,250 free-living elderly people (65-79 y.o., men and women), free of major diseases, recruited within five European centers. Half of the volunteers were randomly assigned to an intervention group (1-year Mediterranean type diet). Presence of frailty was assessed by the criteria proposed by Fried et al. (2001). In this study, a sub-cohort consisting in 212 subjects (pre-frail and non-frail) from the Italian and Polish centers were selected for untargeted serum metabolomics at T0 (baseline) and T1 (follow-up). Univariate statistical analyses were performed to identify discriminant metabolites regarding pre-frailty status. Predictive models were then built using linear logistic regression and ROC curve analyses were used to evaluate multivariate models. Metabolomics enabled to discriminate sub-phenotypes of pre-frailty both at the gender level and depending on the pre-frailty progression and reversibility. The best resulting models included four different metabolites for each gender. They showed very good prediction capacity with AUCs of 0.93 (95% CI = 0.87-1) and 0.94 (95% CI = 0.87-1) for men and women, respectively. Additionally, early and/or predictive markers of pre-frailty were identified for both genders and the gender specific models showed also good performance (three metabolites; AUC = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.72-0.93) for men and very good for women (three metabolites; AUC = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.86-0.99). These results open the door, through multivariate strategies, to a possibility of monitoring the disease progression over time at a very early stage.
Calculation of the heat flow through the air cavities in the EN ISO 10077-2:2017 standard for the determination of the thermal transmittance of window profiles uses models based on the equivalent ...thermal conductivity method. The method takes into account the radiative heat exchange in a simplified or accurate manner. In the first case, the heat exchange depends on the average temperature in cavity, in the second case - it is determined accurately by the ray tracing method. It is also of importance to differentiate emissivity of surfaces due to aging or painting what influences calculation time. In this work, the impact of the calculation method and the impact of simplifications in modelling of the untreated surfaces on the value of the thermal transmittance of aluminium profiles was analysed on the example of a real series of products. Comparing the simplified and accurate method of determining the radiation exchange in cavities, the differences in the thermal transmittances of window profiles were up to 22%. The differences between the most simplified and the most accurate modelling of the surfaces emissivity reached 23%.
While an adequate protein intake is important for the maintenance of muscle mass during ageing, the amount and source of protein necessary for optimal prevention of sarcopenia remains to be ...determined. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of the amount and source of dietary proteins on sarcopenia risk in a cohort of 65-79-year-old European adults within the frame of the NU-AGE study. A total of 986 participants were included in the analysis. Skeletal muscle index (SMI), assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and handgrip strength (HG) were employed to create a continuous sex-specific sarcopenia risk score (SRS). Total amount together with animal- and plant-derived sources of proteins were obtained from a 7-day food record. Differences in SRS were analysed across groups of total protein intake (<0.8 g/body weight (BW); 0.8-<1.0 g/BW; 1.0-<1.2 g/BW; and ≥1.2 g/BW). The association between SRS and the different sources of protein was assessed using isocaloric substitution models adjusted by demographic, medical, and lifestyle factors. A significant linear dose-response relationship was observed, with a lower SRS linked to higher protein intakes. Based on the isocaloric substitution modelling, a reduced SRS was observed when increasing plant protein to the detriment of animal protein, while holding total protein intake constant. Further, this result remained significant after stratifying the analysis by adherence to different levels of protein intake. Our findings suggest that older adults may benefit from increasing protein intakes above current recommendations. Besides total amount, protein source should be considered when promoting health dietary habits in older adults for the prevention of sarcopenia.
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