by Nikita Francis

Received: 15 March 2020;  Published: 01 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2002121

Despite continuous efforts to combat neurodegenerative diseases, researchers have been unable to find an intervention that reverses degeneration and/or improves cognition in dementia or healthy aging. Therefore, it is considerably important to identify lifestyle factors that could potentially aid in healthy brain aging and prevent or delay neurodegenerative diseases. The emerging interest in the ancient practice of fasting has inclined researchers to study the physiological and behavioral effects of this practice. [...]

by Yuan Liang  , Yu Zheng  , Brighty Renli  , David C. Zhu  , Fang Yu  and Tongtong Li

Received: 29 September 2019;  Published: 01 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002059

In this paper, motivated by the fading effect in wireless communications, where severe channel fading is related to information loss during the transmission, we evaluate and analyze the fading effect in time-varying functional connectivity of AD, MCI and NC subjects based on the resting-state fMRI data, and then apply that for AD, MCI, NC classification. We show that in some critical brain regions, compared with NC subjects, AD subjects suffer more severe and long lasting fading in the functional connectivity level [...]

by Yi Song  , Carlos Rivera  , Jiayu Mai  , Annie Sun  and Weihan Li

Received: 23 March 2020;  Published: 22 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2002110

The majority of the secretory and transmembrane proteins are folded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). When unfolded proteins accumulate in the ER, a collective of signalling pathways, termed the unfolded protein response (UPR), are activated to restore the ER protein folding homeostasis. The most evolutionarily conserved branch of UPR is mediated by the kinase/endoribonuclease Ire1. Ire1 mediates a cytosolic non-conventional mRNA splicing reaction of HAC1 mRNA in yeast and XBP1 mRNA in mammalian cells. The spliced [...]

by Marika Haritos Paul  , Mary Beth Arensberg  , Judy R. Simon  , Satya S. Jonnalagadda  , Suzette L. Pereira  , Jamie S. Partridge  and Joseph A. Rosenthal

Received: 10 April 2020;  Published: 22 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2002120

Poor nutrition is linked to frailty and both poor nutrition and frailty are recognized risk factors for falls. This study examined the association between dietary protein intake and subsequent reported falls in community-dwelling older Americans with a history of falls. Other nutritional, functional, and sociodemographic-related variables were also considered in our model. This was a retrospective analysis using data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and Health Care and Nutrition Study (HCNS), both fu [...]

by Katsuhisa Omagari  , Risa Kumamoto  , Yuko Koyama  , Masako Suzuta  , Asami Taniguchu  , Ayumi Fukuda  , Momoe Iwami  , Kazunori Koba  , Asako Kawaguchi  and Kazunori Otsuka

Received: 10 April 2020;  Published: 19 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.hg.2002048

Chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are two of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders, both of which negatively affect the quality of life of the patients. Since people may have co-existing symptoms of multiple disorders, chronic constipation and IBS with predominant constipation cannot be clearly distinguished. In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires to assess the prevalence of chronic constipation and IBS, and their overlap, among [...]

by Camille Jubert Tomasso  , Anne L. Pham  , Tracy M. Mattox  and Jeffrey J. Urban

Received: 20 April 2020;  Published: 19 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2002009

Hydrogen (H2) shows great promise as zero-carbon emission fuel, but there are several challenges to overcome in regards to storage and transportation to make it a more universal energy solution. Gaseous hydrogen requires high pressures and large volume tanks while storage of liquid hydrogen requires cryogenic temperatures; neither option is ideal due to cost and the hazards involved. Storage in the solid state presents an attractive alternative, and can meet the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) constraints to find m [...]

by Eileen J. Carter  , Srijesa Khasnabish  , Jason S. Adelman  , Michael Bogaisky  , Mary Ellen Lindros  , Lois Alfieri  , Maureen Scanlan  , Ann Hurley  , Megan Duckworth  , Alexandra Shelley  , Kenrick Cato  , Shao P Yu  , Dianne L Carroll  , Emily Jackson  , Stuart Lipsitz  , David W Bates  and Patricia C. Dykes

Received: 23 March 2020;  Published: 18 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2002119

Falls represent a persistent and costly patient safety issue. Fall TIPS (Tailored Interventions for Patient Safety) is a patient-centered and clinical decision-supported, fall prevention program that has led to fewer falls and related injuries among hospitalized patients. We aimed to identify dominant facilitators and barriers to Fall TIPS adoption. This multisite qualitative study was conducted in 11 hospitals representing three academic health systems, where Fall TIPS had been implemented for at least one year. I [...]

by Srinivasan Periasamy  , Se-Ping Chien  , Chen Hsu  , Dur-Zong Hsu  and Ming-Yie Liu

Received: 10 March 2020;  Published: 18 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.hg.2002047

Metformin has been widely used as a therapeutic drug for hyperglycemia and diabetes. Sleep is a vital and restorative process that is necessary for the proper functioning of organs. Sleep deprivation can induce multi-organ injury, including damage to the pancreas and liver that may result in hyperglycemia and diabetes. We studied the role of metformin in reversing sleep deprivation-induced hyperglycemia and pancreatic and liver dysfunction in mice. Mice were kept in cages and fed water and food ad libitum. Mice wer [...]

by Sharon Clevenger

Received: 02 April 2020;  Published: 18 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2002031

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is a viral pathogen that first emerged in Wuhan, China in 2002 and has spread to 202 countries (as of March 28, 2020) [1]. Despite the fact that the 2005 SARS-CoV pandemic infected over 8,500 people, and caused over 800 deaths with billions of dollars in economic loss worldwide, as of 2015 there were still no clinically approved antiviral drugs, vaccines or monoclonal antibody therapies to treat SARS-CoV infections [2]. Antiviral medications that have been used to treat or control oth [...]

by Vincenza Rita Lo Vasco

Received: 01 October 2019;  Published: 18 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002058

Mechanisms leading to neuronal cell death in human pathology are far from being fully delineated. Understanding the molecules involved in neuronal death and the timing of their recruitment might help to explain the natural history of degenerative processes, including the morphological abnormalities observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Moreover, it might help refine the diagnosis by defining new molecular markers as well as find effective therapies, especially for slow cognitive deficits, often associated wit [...]