Summary
Osteosarcopenia is defined as the concomitant occurrence of sarcopenia and osteoporosis/osteopenia. This study aimed to clarify whether osteosarcopenia implies a greater risk of fractures, ...mortality, and falls and to draw attention to osteosarcopenia.
Introduction
Osteosarcopenia, which is characterized by the co-existence of osteoporosis/osteopenia and sarcopenia, is one of the most challenging geriatric syndromes. However, the association between osteosarcopenia and the risk of falls, fractures, disability, and mortality is controversial.
Methods
We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, from their inception to March 18, 2021, for cohort studies on the relationship between osteosarcopenia and fractures, falls, and mortality. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. A pooled analysis was performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using fixed or random-effects models.
Results
Eight cohort studies including 19,836 participants showed that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of fracture (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.83–3.30,
P
heterogeneity
= 0.006,
I
2
= 63.0%), three cohort studies involving 2601 participants indicated that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of mortality (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.23–2.26,
P
heterogeneity
= 0.214,
I
2
= 35.2%), and three cohort studies involving 3144 participants indicated that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of falls (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.28–2.04,
P
heterogeneity
= 0.219,
I
2
= 34.1%). No publication bias existed among the studies regarding the association between osteosarcopenia and fractures. The findings were robust according to the subgroup and sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions
This pooled analysis demonstrated that osteosarcopenia significantly increased the risk of fractures, falls, and mortality, thus highlighting its relevance in daily life. Therefore, we suggest that elderly persons should be aware of the risks associated with osteosarcopenia.
Fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes are high in phytonutrients. However, illness outbreaks associated with contaminated tomatoes have significantly impacted public health and the economic well-being of the ...tomato industry. Scientific information is needed to develop an effective, practical food safety standard to reduce pathogen contamination. The aim of this study was to assess factors impacting the deterioration of the quality of tomato wash water and the proliferation of indigenous microorganisms during a simulated dump tank washing process. Freshly harvested grape tomatoes were sorted into four groups: prime, defective, underripe, and nontomato debris. Tomatoes with leaf or stem harvest debris, combined or separate, were washed in tap water with or without free chlorine. Water samples were analyzed for total dissolved solids, turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, and chlorine demand. Microbial populations in water and on tomatoes as impacted by chlorine concentration and water filtration (300 μm) were also quantified. Field debris and defective tomatoes were the major contributors to microbial populations in wash water. Field debris, although accounting for <1% of the total weight of harvested material, contributed 37.84% of total dissolved solids, 46.15% of turbidity, 48.77% of chemical oxygen demand, and 50.55% of chlorine demand in the wash water. Water quality deterioration was proportional to the cumulative quantity of tomatoes and debris washed, and free chlorine at ≥5 mg/L significantly reduced the Enterobacteriaceae, aerobic mesophilic bacteria, and yeast and mold populations. These results highlight the importance of minimizing field debris and defective fruits in harvested grape tomatoes to reduce the microbial load and prevent deterioration of wash water quality. This information will be useful for the development of data-driven harvesting and packinghouse food safety practices for grape tomatoes.
To investigate the association between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and cognitive function in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD).
We evaluated 528 patients with CSVD in this ...retrospective study. SCH was defined as elevated levels of thyroid stimulating hormone with normal concentrations of free thyroxine. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to assess the total CSVD burden score and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was used to measure the cognitive function. Participants were grouped based on cognitive function or total CSVD burden score. Multivariate logistic regression and mediation analysis models were used to estimate the association of SCH with cognitive function and CSVD burden.
SCH was an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment in patients with CSVD after adjustment for potential confounding factors (OR: 1.939; 95% CI: 1.170 to 3.213;
=0.010). Additionally, SCH was independently associated with severe CSVD burden after adjustment for potential confounding factors (OR: 1.668; 95% CI: 1.085 to 2.564;
=0.020). Mediation analysis found a significant moderating effect (
=0.021) of the severe CSVD burden on the relation between SCH and cognitive impairment after adjustment for potential confounding factors. A 30.1% of the total effect between this relation was attributable to the presence of severe CSVD burden.
SCH was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment in patients with CSVD. The mediating role of severe CSVD burden suggests that SCH may lead to cognitive impairment through the presence of severe CSVD burden. These findings may suggest strategies for screening for SCH in the context of cognitive impairment in patients with severe CSVD.
By introducing the shape functions of virtual node polygonal (VP) elements into the standard extended finite element method (XFEM), a conforming elemental mesh can be created for the cracking ...process. Moreover, an adaptively refined meshing with the quadtree structure only at a growing crack tip is proposed without inserting hanging nodes into the transition region. A novel dynamic crack growth method termed as VP-XFEM is thus formulated in the framework of fracture mechanics. To verify the newly proposed VP-XFEM, both quasi-static and dynamic cracked problems are investigated in terms of computational accuracy, convergence, and efficiency. The research results show that the present VP-XFEM can achieve good agreement in stress intensity factor and crack growth path with the exact solutions or experiments. Furthermore, better accuracy, convergence, and efficiency of different models can be acquired, in contrast to standard XFEM and mesh-free methods. Therefore, VP-XFEM provides a suitable alternative to XFEM for engineering applications.
•The large individual variation among dairy cows to heat tolerance.•Heat-tolerant cows and heat-sensitive cows were selected by heat tolerance related indicators.•Heat-tolerant cows had lower ...respiratory rate and rectal temperature during heat stress.•Distinct changes in the rumen bacteria and metabolomics in the heat-tolerant cows compared to heat-sensitive cows.•The results deepen our understanding of the ability of dairy cows to cope with heat stress.
Heat stress influences rumen fermentative processes with effects on the physiology and production of dairy cows. However, the underlying relationship between rumen microbiota and its associated metabolism with heat tolerance in cows have not been extensively described yet. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate differential heat resistance in Holstein cows using rumen bacterial and metabolome analyses. We performed both principal component analysis and membership function analysis to select seven heat-tolerant (HT) and seven heat-sensitive (HS) cows. Under heat stress conditions, the HT cows had a significantly (P < 0.05) higher propionic acid content than the HS cows; while measures of the respiratory rate, acetic, and butyric acid in the HT cows were significantly (P < 0.05) lower compared with the HS cows. Also, the HT cows showed lower (P < 0.01) rectal temperature and acetic acid to propionic acid ratio than the HS group of cows. Omics sequencing revealed that the relative abundances of Muribaculaceae, Rikenellaceae, Acidaminococcaceae, Christensenellaceae, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Succiniclasticum, Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group and Christensenellaceae_R-7_group were significantly (P < 0.01) higher in the HT cows; whereas Prevotellaceae, Prevotella_1, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014, and Shuttleworthia were significantly (P < 0.01) lower in HT cows compared to HS cows. Substances mainly involved in carbohydrate metabolism, including glycerol, mannitol, and maltose, showed significantly higher content in the HT cows (P < 0.05) compared to that in the HS cows. Simultaneously, distinct metabolites were significantly correlated with differential bacteria, suggesting that glycerol, mannitol, and maltose could serve as potential biomarkers for determining heat resistance that require further study. Overall, distinct changes in the rumen microbiota and metabolomics in the HT cows may be associated with a better adaptability to heat stress. These findings suggest their use as diagnostic tools of heat tolerance in dairy cattle breeding schemes.
Intraplaque hemorrhage within intracranial atherosclerotic plaques identified by high-resolution MR imaging has been studied as a potential marker of stroke risk. However, previous studies only ...examined intracranial arteries with high-grade stenosis (degree of stenosis, >50%). This study aimed to ascertain the clinical relevance of intraplaque hemorrhage in patients with low- and high-grade stenotic basilar artery plaques.
Patients with basilar artery stenosis (
= 126; mean age, 62 ± 10 years; 66 symptomatic and 60 asymptomatic) underwent high-resolution MR imaging. The relationship between imaging findings (intraplaque hemorrhage, contrast enhancement, degree of stenosis, minimal lumen area, and plaque burden) and symptoms was analyzed.
Intraplaque hemorrhage was identified in 22 patients (17.5%), including 21 (31.8%) symptomatic patients and 1 (1.7%) asymptomatic patient. Multivariate analysis showed that intraplaque hemorrhage was the strongest independent marker of symptomatic status (odds ratio, 27.5; 95% CI, 3.4-221.5;
= .002). Contrast enhancement was also independently associated with symptomatic status (odds ratio, 9.9; 95% CI, 1.5-23.6;
= .016). Stenosis, minimal lumen area, and plaque burden were not correlated with symptoms (
> .05). Intraplaque hemorrhage was present in both low- and high-grade stenotic basilar arteries (11.3% versus 16.3%,
= .63). Diagnostic performance values of intraplaque hemorrhage for patients with acute/subacute symptomatic stroke were the following: specificity, 98.3%; sensitivity, 31.8%; positive predictive value, 95.5%; and negative predictive value, 56.7%.
Intraplaque hemorrhage is present in both low- and high-grade stenotic basilar artery plaques and is independently associated with symptomatic stroke status. Intraplaque hemorrhage may identify high-risk plaque and provide new insight into the management of patient with stroke without significant stenosis.
The Li isotopic composition of the upper continental crust is estimated from the analyses of well-characterized shales, loess, granites and upper crustal composites (51 samples in total) from North ...America, China, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Correlations between Li, δ
7Li, and chemical weathering (as measured by the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA)), and δ
7Li and the clay content of shales (as measured by Al
2O
3/SiO
2), reflect uptake of heavy Li from the hydrosphere by clays. S-type granites from the Lachlan fold belt (–1.1 to –1.4‰) have δ
7Li indistinguishable from their associated sedimentary rocks (–0.7 to 1.2‰), and show no variation in δ
7Li throughout the differentiation sequence, suggesting that isotopic fractionation during crustal anatexis and subsequent differentiation is less than analytical uncertainty (±1‰, 2σ). The isotopically light compositions for both I- and S-type granites from the Lachlan fold belt (–2.5 to + 2.7 ‰) and loess from around the world (–3.1 to + 4.5‰) reflect the influence of weathering in their source regions. Collectively, these lithologies possess a limited range of Li isotopic compositions (δ
7Li of −5‰ to + 5‰), with an average (δ
7Li of 0 ± 2‰ at 1σ) that is representative of the average upper continental crust. Thus, the Li isotopic composition of the upper continental crust is lighter than the average upper mantle (δ
7Li of + 4 ± 2‰), reflecting the influence of weathering on the upper crustal composition. The concentration of Li in the upper continental crust is estimated to be 35 ± 11 ppm (2σ), based on the average loess composition and correlations between insoluble elements (Ti, Nb, Ta, Ga and Al
2O
3, Th and HREE) and Li in shales. This value is somewhat higher than previous estimates (∼20 ppm), but is probably indistinguishable when uncertainties in the latter are accounted for.
Metabolism in most organisms can show variations between the day and night. These variations may also affect the composition of products derived from livestock. The aim of the present study was to ...investigate the difference in composition between the day milk and night milk of dairy cows. Ten multiparous Holstein cows (milk yield = 25.2 ± 5.00 kg/d) were randomly selected during mid lactation. Milk samples were collected at 0500 h (“night milk”) and 1500 h (“day milk”) and analyzed to determine their composition. Mid-infrared spectroscopy was used to analyze macronutrient content of milk. Metabolomics and lipidomics were used to detect and analyze small molecules and fatty acids, respectively. An automatic biochemical analyzer and ELISA kits were used to determine biochemical indicators, as well as antioxidant and immune parameters in the milk. Though milk fat, protein, lactose, and total milk solids were not different between day milk and night milk, small molecules, metabolites and lipids, and hormones and cytokines differed between day milk and night milk. Regarding biochemical and immune-related indicators, the concentrations of malondialdehyde, HSP70, and HSP90 in night milk were lower than that in day milk. However, interferon-γ levels were higher in night milk. Additionally, night milk was naturally rich in melatonin. Lipidomics analyses showed that the levels of some lipids in night milk were higher than those in day milk. Metabolomics analyses identified 36 different metabolites between day milk and night milk. Higher concentrations of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, cis-aconitate, and d-sorbitol were observed in day milk. However, the other 33 metabolites analyzed, including carbohydrates, lipids, AA, and aromatic compounds, showed lower concentrations in day milk than in night milk. The present findings show that the composition of night milk differs considerably from that of day milk. Notable changes in the circadian rhythm also altered milk composition. These results provide evidence to support the strategic use and classification of day milk and night milk.
The lattice misfit between the body-centered cubic α-Fe matrix and the B2-ordered NiAl-type β′ precipitates is a parameter of significant importance in controlling the creep resistance of ...precipitate-strengthened ferritic steels. However, the measurement of the lattice misfit is complicated due to the fact that the fundamental reflections of α and β′ phases almost completely overlap. In this study, neutron diffraction is used to determine the lattice parameters of these two phases in a Fe–18.9 Al–9.8 Cr–13 Ni–1.8 Mo (atomic percent, at.%) alloy as a function of temperature. The accuracy of the measurement at room temperature is verified by high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The comparison between these two techniques is discussed in terms of the difference in superlattice intensity. Furthermore, using the phase compositions determined by atom probe tomography, models are proposed to predict the lattice parameters of both phases at room temperature as a function of their compositions. The results are in very good agreement with those obtained experimentally.
In April 2013, two members of one family were successively confirmed as cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus infection in Shanghai, China. Respiratory specimens from the two cases and their close ...contacts were tested using real-time reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR. Paired serum specimens from contacts were tested by haemagglutination inhibition assay and microneutralisation test. The index patient developed severe pneumonia. Her husband presented with pneumonia shortly thereafter. Both cases had highly similar clinical features and infection with A(H7N9) virus was confirmed in both cases by genetic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a high level of similarity between the sequences from the two patients and environmental samples collected from wet markets in Minhang and Changning districts. Six samples from the Changning wet market were confirmed as A(H7N9) positive. Of 27 close contacts, one developed mild respiratory symptoms and another tested positive for A(H7N9) antibodies, but both were negative by real-time RT-PCR. The other 25 close contacts of both cases were A(H7N9) negative. Limited human-to-human transmission of the virus most likely occurred in the family cluster. However, other close contacts did not test positive for the virus, suggesting limited potential for extensive human-to-human transmission of the virus.
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