Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)arethe only extant representatives of Australia's unique marsupial familyPhascolarctidae and were listed as nationally Vulnerable in 2012. Causes ofmortalityare diverse, althoughthe diseasechlamydiosis, dog attacks, collisions with cars, and loss of habitat representtheprincipal reasons for the continued species decline. Koala breeding facilities in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia ...

The cort-adaptation hypothesis indicates that an association between glucocorticoid (cort) levels and fitness may vary with the extent to which reproduction or breeding effort is a major determinant of cort levels. Support for a context dependent association between cort and fitness comes mostly from relatively long-lived, bird species. We tested ...

Objective: To determine the frequency of breast arterial calcifications (BAC) as seen on mammographic examination and to determine the association between BAC and hypertension, age, parity and weight of the person. Study Design: Cross-sectional analytic study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from January ...

BACKGROUND: Maternal nicotine exposure during gestation and lactation adversely affects lung development in the offspring. It has been suggested that the "program" that control long-term maintenance of the structural integrity of the lung may be compromised. The aim of the study was to establish whether the effect of grand-maternal nicotine ...

Early linear growth in Guatemala has historically been compromised, resulting in adults of short stature. We hypothesized that the rate of short stature among mothers in the Western Highlands would have tracked from their own childhood when younger than 5 years, and that maternal weight declines progressively from delivery through ...

Growth from conception to reproductive onset in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) provides insights into phenotypic plasticity, individual adaptive plastic responses and facultative maternal investment. Using growth for 867 and life histories for 2652 elephants over 40 years, we demonstrate that maternal inexperience plus drought in early life result in reduced ...

ABSTRACT: Little is known about the influence of speed-endurance workouts on the improvement of pacing strategies in the 800-m running event. This study aims to analyze it, comparing continuous repetitions vs. interval training workouts. Since we hypothesize that pacing is susceptible to expertise, there might be age-differences. 19 male 800-m ...

We studied 136 males and 105 females with sickle cell anemia to determine the characteristics of the disease in Yemen. Their mean age [± SD (standard deviation)] was 12.8 ± 9.5 years (range: 9 months-40 years). Taiz, Hudaydah and Hajjah governorates, in the South-Central and the Northwestern provinces, showed the ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of inbreeding depression on traits of buffaloes from Brazil. Specifically, the traits studied were body weight at 205 and 365 days of age, average daily gain from birth to 205 days (ADG_205), average daily gain between 205 and 365 days ...

OBJECTIVES: To assess how different variables experienced across the life course, but particularly during early life, might affect age at menopause among 174 Bangladeshi migrants to London by comparing them to 157 nonmigrant sedentees and 154 women of European descent in London. METHODS: Participants were aged 35-59 years, with no ...

In many mammals, early survival differs between the sexes, with males proving the more fragile sex ["Fragile male (FM) hypothesis"], especially in sexually dimorphic species where males are the larger sex. Male-biased allocation (MBA) by females may offset this difference. Here, we evaluate support for the FM and MBA hypotheses ...

Comparative analysis of cytosolic fraction distribution and conformational stability in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isozymes in healthy men of different age revealed significant differences indicating age-related characteristics of the enzyme. Activity of cytosolic fraction of LDH-1 and conformational stability of LDH-2 and LDH-3 in 40-year-old men were higher than in 20-year-olds. ...

The authors assessed the relation of hormonal and pregnancy-related factors to the incidence of sarcoidosis in the Black Women's Health Study. On biennial questionnaires, participants (US black women aged 21-69 years at baseline) reported data on diagnoses of sarcoidosis, reproductive history, and medication use. Cox regression models, adjusted for age, ...

In several studies of different species, the proportions of male and female offspring did not match the statistical assumption of 50:50. Aside from environmental and genetic factors, biological parameters were found to influence the sex ratio. Three hypotheses (Trivers-Willard, advantaged daughter, and the local resource competition hypothesis) have been proposed, ...

It is well known that gradual loss of elastic fibers and skin relaxation cause the aging process, but whether changes in the orbicularis oculi muscle may contribute to the aging of the upper eyelid is not known. The aim of the present study was to use histopathologic examination to investigate ...

Increased susceptibility of the aging brain to both chronic stress and incipient dementia-related neuropathology may accelerate cognitive decline. We investigated associations between chronic stress and diagnostic change in 62 individuals (mean age, 78.7 y) participating in an Alzheimer disease research center longitudinal study. The subjects, diagnosed at baseline as cognitively ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to describe the epidemiology and treatment outcomes of TB infection in Bhutan at Phuentsholing General Hospital (PGH). Retrospective analysis of TB data was carried out using data from the TB registry of PGH from 2004-2009. Comparisons were made between TB, clinical presentation, diagnosis, ...

Age-related memory loss is considered to commence at middle-age and coincides with reduced adult hippocampal neurogenesis and neurotrophin levels. Consistent physical activity at midlife may preserve brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, new cell genesis, and learning. In the present study, 9-month-old female C57Bl/6J mice were housed with or without a ...

The evidence relating obesity measured with body mass index (BMI) in the elderly to late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) is conflicting. Central obesity in middle age is related to a higher risk of LOAD, but data in the elderly are lacking. We explored whether measures of central obesity, waist circumference, and ...

The medial septum (MS) of the basal forebrain contains cholinergic neurons that project to the hippocampus, support cognitive function, and are implicated in age-related cognitive decline. Hypothalamic orexin/hypocretin neurons innervate and modulate basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and provide direct inputs to the hippocampus. However, the precise role of orexin in ...

INTRODUCTION: Trauma is a major cause of paediatric morbidity and mortality, yet knowledge of fluid resuscitation is limited. Our objectives were to determine current practises in resuscitation volume (RV) administered to paediatric non-haemorrhagic (NH) blunt trauma patients and to identify fluid related complications. METHODS: We examined data from 139 trauma ...

Sleep disturbances in alcohol-dependent (AD) individuals may persist despite abstinence from alcohol and can influence the course of the disorder. Although the mechanisms of sleep disturbances of AD are not well understood and some evidence suggests dysregulation of circadian rhythms, dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) has not previously been assessed ...

Over the last 10 years, various screens of small molecules have been conducted to find long sought interventions in aging. Most of these studies were performed in invertebrates but the demonstration of pharmacological lifespan extension in the mouse has created considerable excitement. Since aging is a common risk factor for several ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder mainly affecting elderly individuals. The pathology of AD is characterized by amyloid plaques (aggregates of amyloid-β [Aβ]) and neurofibrillary tangles (aggregates of tau), but the mechanisms underlying this dysfunction are still partially unclear. RECENT ADVANCES: A growing body of evidence supports ...

Objective. To investigate the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) symptoms in health checkup examinees and in patients with otitis media with effusion (OME) of undetermined etiology and the significance of age, body mass index (BMI), and pepsinogen (PG) concentration in middle ear effusions (MEEs).Study Design. Cross-sectional study.Setting. Health checkup and ...

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry hip scans of 1,760 population-based Caucasians, 599 girls and 642 boys aged 6-19 years and 270 women and 249 men aged 20-90 years, were analyzed with the hip structural analysis (HSA) software to present age- and sex-specific normative HSA data of the femoral neck (FN). Measured traits included bone ...

The effect of a single oral dose of caffeine was examined in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled repeated-measures cross-over study. Eighteen children with AD/HD, aged between 8 and 13 years, were individually age- and gender-matched with a control group. All children participated in two sessions, one week apart. Skin conductance level ...

Successful ageing is determined in part by genetic background, but also by experiential factors associated with lifestyle and culture. Dietary, behavioural and pharmacological interventions have been identified as potential means to slow brain ageing and forestall neurodegenerative disease. Many of these interventions recruit adaptive cellular stress responses to strengthen neuronal ...

There are conflicting data regarding age as a prognostic factor in osteosarcoma. The authors conducted a study evaluating the impact of age on prognosis in children and young adults with osteosarcoma enrolled on North American cooperative group trials. Patients with high-grade osteosarcoma of any site enrolled on North American cooperative ...

Syrian golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) are laboratory animals increasingly used for research and toxicological studies. Despite the need for an adequate knowledge of spontaneously occurring lesions, studies investigating the background pathology of different organ systems in hamsters are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of ...

Ageing is accompanied by alterations to T-cell immunity and also by a low-grade chronic inflammatory state termed inflammaging. The significance of these phenomena is highlighted by their being predictors of earlier mortality. We have recently published that the proinflammatory cytokine TNFα is a strong inducer of CD4(+) T-cell senescence and ...

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine whether years of schooling influences regional cortical thicknesses and volumes in Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy age-matched controls. METHODS: Using an automated image analysis pipeline, 33 regional cortical thickness and 15 regional volumes measures from MRI images ...

The state between aging with no cognitive impairment and dementia has become a major focus for intervention. The neuropathological and neurobiological correlates of this intermediate state are therefore of considerable interest, particularly from population representative samples. Here we investigate the neuropathological profile associated with different cognitive ability levels measured using ...

Previous research using US data suggests that height, as a marker for early investments in health, is associated with better cognitive functioning in later life, but this association disappears once education is controlled for. Using an English cohort of men and women older than 50 years, we find that the association ...

That primary osteoarthritis (OA) is an age-related disorder is undoubted, but how aging contributes to OA is poorly understood. New insights from 2011 offer potential explanations, novel models for study, and the suggestion that a deeper understanding of what 'aging' actually is might pave the way to everlasting joints.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common cause of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the time between the diagnosis of MCI and the diagnosis of dementia is highly variable. In this study we investigated which known risk factors and biomarkers of AD pathology were associated with rapid progression from MCI to ...

The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have not been well been studied in Arab populations. In a door-to-door study of all residents aged ≥ 65 years in Wadi-Ara, an Arab community in northern Israel, we estimated the prevalence of AD, MCI, and the risk of ...

To date, only a small number of commercial chemicals have been tested and documented as developmental neurotoxicants. Moreover, an increasing number of epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies suggest an association between toxicant or drug exposure during the perinatal period and the development of metabolic-related diseases and neurotoxicity later in life. ...

Cardiovascular diseases are the major causes of death in the western world. The incidence of cardiovascular disease as well as the rate of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity increase exponentially in the elderly population, suggesting that age per se is a major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. The physiologic changes of ...

The objective of this study was to determine how the clinical presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus in pediatric varied with the age of onset of the disease. We reviewed the charts of a total of 88 Chinese pediatric patients (pSLE) diagnosed and admitted first time to our hospitals between 2005 ...

It has been reported that cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-18, IL-23 and IL-17 in Chinese patients with MS. We compared the serum concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-18, IL-23 and ...

At later ages, humans have high risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD) which may afflict up to 50% by 90 years. While prosimians and monkeys show more substantial changes, the great apes brains examined show mild neurodegenerative changes. Compared with rodents, primates develop and reproduce slowly and are long lived. ...

OBJECTIVE: Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with atherosclerosis. Ultrasound imaging allows measurement of intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque. We investigated the association between inflammatory markers and carotid and femoral atherosclerosis. METHODS: We studied 554 subjects with primary dyslipidemia (57% men, median age 49 years) and 246 age- and sex-matched normolipidemic ...

We analyze the relationship between age of survival, morbidity, and disability among centenarians (age 100-104 years), semisupercentenarians (age 105-109 years), and supercentenarians (age 110-119 years). One hundred and four supercentenarians, 430 semisupercentenarians, 884 centenarians, 343 nonagenarians, and 436 controls were prospectively followed for an average of 3 years (range 0-13 ...

This paper reviews research on age-related changes in working memory and attention control. This work is interpreted within a framework labeled "GOLDEN aging" (growing of lifelong differences explains normal aging), which is based on the idea that normal aging (as opposed to pathological aging) represents maturational processes causing progressive shifts ...

To date, rheological treatment is the only chance to control the advanced dry form of age-related macular degeneration and arrest its progression to legal blindness. Rheohaemapheresis can change the main rheological parameters, blood and plasma viscosity, as well as change erythrocyte aggregability, improve erythrocyte flexibility and lead to substantial improvement ...

Vitamin D(3) plays a key role in immune regulation and may protect against the aging process. A focal point for age-related changes is the outer retina of the eye where there is high metabolic demand resulting in a gradual increase in extracellular deposition, inflammation, and cell loss giving rise to ...

Human longevity and healthy ageing though controversial require extended investigations. Some studies have shown that ageing can be managed by reducing the amounts of free radicals the cells are exposed to. Oxidative stress has been shown to be combated by antioxidants and plant sources are known to generate antioxidants that ...

The purpose of conducting this study was to identify areas of concordance and sources of variation for the published rates of prevalence and incidence associated with various definitions for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The study used systematic review of studies published in English since 1984. Studies were identified by searching ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common and costly problem among older persons. The frequency of AF increases with age, but representative national data about incidence and prevalence are limited. We examined the annual incidence, prevalence, and mortality associated with AF among older persons. In a retrospective cohort study of Medicare ...