Malnutrition in older adults can decrease quality of life and increase risk of morbidities and mortality. Accurate and timely identification of malnutrition, as well as subsequent implementation of ...effective interventions, are essential to decrease poor outcomes associated with malnutrition in older adults. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Center conducted a systematic review of the literature to develop an evidence-based nutrition practice guideline for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition in older adults. The objective of this guideline was to provide evidence-based recommendations to identify, prevent, or treat protein-energy malnutrition in older adults (mean age ≥65 years) living in long-term care and community settings. This guideline provides 11 nutrition recommendations to inform shared decision making among dietitians, members of the health care team, family members or caregivers, and older adults living in long-term care or the community to prevent or treat malnutrition. Topics include dietitian effectiveness, nutrition assessment tools, oral nutrition supplements, food fortification, and home-delivered and congregate meals. Guideline implementation should include consideration of the importance of comprehensive individualized nutrition care for older adults. Future research is needed to address gaps that were identified related to the validity, reliability, and feasibility of nutrition assessment tools, as well as the effectiveness of dietitian interventions on outcomes of interest in older adults living in long-term care and the community.
A rapid change in usage of mobile data and mobile based applications such as online gaming, mobile TV etc. motivates the mobile wireless communication system to work on new emerging trends Long Term ...Evolution (LTE). LTE-4G architecture provides an optimized packet based radio access technology. The basic signal format of LTE is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Modulation. This modulation scheme satisfies the spectrum flexibility requirement in LTE. LTE-MIMO-OFDM with IFFT and FFT transform introduced to provide the cost-effective solution for very wide carriers with high PAPR. Inter-symbol Interference (ISI) and inter carrier interference (ICI) are predominant factors which exist in the wireless communication channel. Existing methods of ISI and ICI reduction to improve signal quality have been achieved using conventional OFDM techniques. However, a better modulation scheme is required to achieve high data rate, low latency and flexible bandwidth deployment. This paper has proposed a Wavelet based LTE-MIMO-OFDM modulation scheme with multi equalizer that improves the performance of system by reducing PAPR and BER in MCM. Experimental results show the performance of this scheme and the results is compared with existing MMSE and Multi equalizer MMSE and achieves a flexible spectral efficiency with reduction of PAPR and BER.
Despite a multitude of nutritional risk factors among older adults, there is a lack of community-based programs and activities that screen for malnutrition and address modifiable risk among this ...vulnerable population. Given the known association of protein and fluid consumption with fall-related risk among older adults and the high prevalence of falls among Americans age 65 years and older each year, a brief intervention was created. Stepping Up Your Nutrition (SUYN) is a 2.5 h workshop developed through a public/private partnership to motivate older adults to reduce their malnutrition risk. The purposes of this naturalistic workshop dissemination were to: (1) describe the SUYN brief intervention; (2) identify participant characteristics associated with malnutrition risk; and (3) identify participant characteristics associated with subsequent participation in Stepping On (SO), an evidence-based fall prevention program. Data were analyzed from 429 SUYN participants, of which 38% (
= 163) subsequently attended SO. As measured by the SCREEN II
, high and moderate malnutrition risk scores were reported among approximately 71% and 20% of SUYN participants, respectively. Of the SUYN participants with high malnutrition risk, a significantly larger proportion attended a subsequent SO workshop (79.1%) compared to SUYN participants who did not proceed to SO (65.8%) (χ
= 8.73,
= 0.013). Findings suggest SUYN may help to identify malnutrition risk among community-dwelling older adults and link them to needed services like evidence-based programs. Efforts are needed to expand the delivery infrastructure of SUYN to reach more at-risk older adults.
The outcome of competition for nitrogen (N) between native and invasive tree species is a major concern when considering increasing anthropogenic N deposition. Our study investigated whether three ...native (i.e.,
, and
) and two invasive woody species (i.e.,
and
) showed different responses regarding morphological and physiological parameters (i.e., biomass and growth indices, inorganic vs. organic N acquisition strategies, and N allocation to N pools) depending on the identity of the competing species, and whether these responses were mediated by soil N availability. In a greenhouse experiment, tree seedlings were planted either single or in native-invasive competition at low and high soil N availability. We measured inorganic and organic N acquisition using
N labeling, total biomass, growth indices, as well as total soluble amino acid-N and protein-N levels in the leaves and fine roots of the seedlings. Our results indicate that invasive species have a competitive advantage via high growth rates, whereas native species could avoid competition with invasives via their higher organic N acquisition suggesting a better access to organic soil N sources. Moreover, native species responded to competition with distinct species- and parameter-specific strategies that were partly mediated by soil N availability. Native tree seedlings in general showed a stronger response to invasive
than
, and their strategies to cope with competition reflect the different species' life history strategies and physiological traits. Considering the responses of native and invasive species, our results suggest that specifically
seedlings have a competitive advantage over those of
but not
. Furthermore, native and invasive species show stronger responses to higher soil N availability under competition compared to when growing single. In conclusion, our study provides insights into the potential for niche differentiation between native and invasive species by using different N forms available in the soil, the combined effects of increased soil N availability and competition on tree seedling N nutrition, as well as the species-specific nature of competition between native and invasive tree seedlings which could be relevant for forest management strategies.
Key message
When competing for nitrogen with other tree species, organic N is more important than inorganic N for most species
Competition for nitrogen (N) in the rhizosphere is a key process ...regulating a seedling´s chances for growth and survival. However, only few studies have investigated this at the individual species´ level when using a community approach. In this study,
15
N incubation experiments were conducted to quantify inorganic (i.e. ammonium and nitrate) and organic (i.e. glutamine-N and arginine-N) net N-uptake capacity of seven temperate woody species co-occurring on calcareous substrate and to investigate the consequences of intra- vs. interspecific competition in a woody seedling community. The results showed that short-term net inorganic and organic N uptake capacity was unrelated to a seedling´s fast or slow growth. Furthermore, competition with other tree species did not change a seedlings´ overall capacity to take up inorganic and organic N sources. Organic N was preferred over inorganic N for most species and the preferences for specific N source shifted with competition regime and tree species. Overall, this study indicates the importance of organic N sources for N uptake in woody seedlings.
The boreal forest ecosystem stores substantial amounts of soil organic matter (SOM), which may act either as a source or as a sink for atmospheric CO2 under climate change and that is why enzymatic ...SOM degradation is gaining increasing attention. The boreal forest ecosystem is rich in plant secondary compounds and in particular tannins which are seen as enzyme inhibitors. We studied changes in enzymatic activity after the addition of tannins. Our experimental design combined direct studies of the tannin effects on enzymes with laboratory soil mesocosm experiments. Our results showed that the addition of tannins directly led to both decreases and increases in the catalytic activity of enzymes, however, some differences between enzymes were observed. Overall, low concentrations of tannins increased the coiled structures of the enzymes boosting their catalytic activity. High concentrations of tannins acted in the opposite way, thereby diminishing the catalytic activity. We observed that tannins caused a similar change in enzymatic activity in soil mesocosm experiments. Tannin-enzyme synergy needs more study as these interactions can potentially play an important role in SOM decomposition of future climate, especially in the tannin-rich ecosystems.
•Tannins can directly decrease but also increase enzymatic activity.•Extent to which tannins modified activity is enzyme-specific.•Mechanically, tannins affect enzyme conformation resulting in changes of activity.•Tannin-enzyme complexes can exert residual activity.•Enzyme inhibition/acceleration was observed also in soil studies.
Organic matter decomposition plays a major role in the cycling of carbon (C) and nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems across the globe. Climate change accelerates the decomposition rate to potentially ...increase the release of greenhouse gases and further enhance global warming in the future. However, fractions of organic matter vary in turnover times and parts are stabilized in soils for longer time periods (C sequestration). Overall, a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying C sequestration is needed for the development of effective mitigation policies to reduce land‐based production of greenhouse gases. Known mechanisms of C sequestration include the recalcitrance of C input, interactions with soil minerals, aggregate formation, as well as its regulation via abiotic factors. In this Minireview, we discuss the mechanisms behind C sequestration including the recently emerging significance of biochemical interactions between organic matter inputs that lead to C stabilization.
Beyond the C: Predicting soil C stocks for mitigating climate will be a major issue in the coming years. However, the key mechanisms of soil organic matter degradation or stabilization are still not fully known. Drivers of soil C sequestration are linked to interaction with soil minerals, aggregate formation, but also regulated by the environment. Recent evidence highlights the interactions between plant tannins and fungal necromass as an overlooked pathway of soil C stabilization. Future studies should consider all these mechanisms of C stabilization.
European beech forests growing on marginal calcareous soils have been proposed to be vulnerable to decreased soil water availability. This could result in a large-scale loss of ecological services ...and economical value in a changing climate. In order to evaluate the potential consequences of this drought-sensitivity, we investigated potential species range shifts for European beech forests on calcareous soil in the 21st century by statistical species range distribution modelling for present day and projected future climate conditions. We found a dramatic decline by 78% until 2080. Still the physiological or biogeochemical mechanisms underlying the drought sensitivity of European beech are largely unknown. Drought sensitivity of beech is commonly attributed to plant physiological constraints. Furthermore, it has also been proposed that reduced soil water availability could promote nitrogen (N) limitation of European beech due to impaired microbial N cycling in soil, but this hypothesis has not yet been tested. Hence we investigated the influence of simulated climate change (increased temperatures, reduced soil water availability) on soil gross microbial N turnover and plant N uptake in the beech-soil interface of a typical mountainous beech forest stocking on calcareous soil in SW Germany. For this purpose, triple 15N isotope labelling of intact beech seedling-soil-microbe systems was combined with a space-for-time climate change experiment. We found that nitrate was the dominant N source for beech natural regeneration. Reduced soil water content caused a persistent decline of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and therefore, a massive attenuation of gross nitrification rates and nitrate availability in the soil. Consequently, nitrate and total N uptake of beech seedlings were strongly reduced so that impaired growth of beech seedlings was observed already after one year of exposure to simulated climatic change. We conclude that the N cycle in this ecosystem and here specifically nitrification is vulnerable to reduced water availability, which can directly lead to nutritional limitations of beech seedlings. This tight link between reduced water availability, drought stress for nitrifiers, decreased gross nitrification rates and nitrate availability and finally nitrate uptake by beech seedlings could represent the Achilles' heel for beech under climate change stresses.
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