| 1. |
- Mishra, A, et al.
(author)
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Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents' growth and development
- 2023
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 615:7954, s. 874-883
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.
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| 2. |
- Sartelli, Massimo, et al.
(author)
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Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings: the WARNING call to action
- 2023
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In: WORLD JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY SURGERY. - 1749-7922. ; 18:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or "golden rules," for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice.
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| 3. |
- Santoro, Aurelia, et al.
(author)
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Combating inflammaging through a Mediterranean whole diet approach : The NU-AGE project's conceptual framework and design
- 2014
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In: Mechanisms of Ageing and Development. - Clare, Ireland : Elsevier BV. - 0047-6374 .- 1872-6216. ; 136-137, s. 3-13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The development of a chronic, low grade, inflammatory status named "inflammaging" is a major characteristic of ageing, which plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of age-related diseases. Inflammaging is both local and systemic, and a variety of organs and systems contribute inflammatory stimuli that accumulate lifelong. The NU-AGE rationale is that a one year Mediterranean whole diet (considered by UNESCO a heritage of humanity), newly designed to meet the nutritional needs of the elderly, will reduce inflammaging in fully characterized subjects aged 65-79 years of age, and will have systemic beneficial effects on health status (physical and cognitive). Before and after the dietary intervention a comprehensive set of analyses, including omics (transcriptomics, epigenetics, metabolomics and metagenomics) will be performed to identify the underpinning molecular mechanisms. NU-AGE will set up a comprehensive database as a tool for a systems biology approach to inflammaging and nutrition. NU-AGE is highly interdisciplinary, includes leading research centres in Europe on nutrition and ageing, and is complemented by EU multinational food industries and SMEs, interested in the production of functional and enriched/advanced traditional food tailored for the elderly market, and European Federations targeting policy makers and major stakeholders, from consumers to EU Food & Drink Industries.
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| 4. |
- Borgomeo, E., et al.
(author)
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Tackling the Trickle: Ensuring Sustainable Water Management in the Arab Region
- 2020
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In: Earth's Future. - 2328-4277. ; 8:5
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Water scarcity in the Arab region is intensifying due to population growth, economic development, and the impacts of climate change. It is manifested in groundwater depletion, freshwater ecosystem degradation, deteriorating water quality, low levels of water storage per capita, and added pressures on transboundary water resources. High-income Arab countries have sought to circumvent the ever-present challenges of water scarcity through agricultural imports (virtual water trade), desalination, and, increasingly, wastewater reuse. In this review article, we argue that the narrative of water scarcity and supply-side technological fixes masks more systemic issues that threaten sustainable water management, including underperforming water utilities, protracted armed conflict and displacement, agricultural policies aimed at self-sufficiency, evolving food consumption behaviors, the future of energy markets, and educational policy. Water management challenges, particularly on the demand side, and responses in the Arab region cannot be understood in isolation from these broader regional and international political and socioeconomic trends. Recognizing the complex and interdependent challenges of water management is the first step in reforming approaches and shifting to more sustainable development outcomes and stability in the Arab region and beyond. ©2020 The Authors.
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| 5. |
- Hameleers, M., et al.
(author)
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Start Spreading the News: A Comparative Experiment on the Effects of Populist Communication on Political Engagement in Sixteen European Countries
- 2018
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In: International Journal of Press-Politics. - : SAGE Publications. - 1940-1612 .- 1940-1620. ; 23:4, s. 517-538
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although populist communication has become pervasive throughout Europe, many important questions on its political consequences remain unanswered. First, previous research has neglected the differential effects of populist communication on the Left and Right. Second, internationally comparative studies are missing. Finally, previous research mostly studied attitudinal outcomes, neglecting behavioral effects. To address these key issues, this paper draws on a unique, extensive, and comparative experiment in sixteen European countries (N = 15,412) to test the effects of populist communication on political engagement. The findings show that anti-elitist populism has the strongest mobilizing effects, and anti-immigrant messages have the strongest demobilizing effects. Moreover, national conditions such as the level of unemployment and the electoral success of the populist Left and Right condition the impact of populist communication. These findings provide important insights into the persuasiveness of populist messages spread throughout the European continent.
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| 6. |
- Brook, M. S., et al.
(author)
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Omega-3 supplementation during unilateral resistance exercise training in older women : A within subject and double-blind placebo-controlled trial
- 2021
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In: Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. - : Elsevier. - 2405-4577. ; 46, s. 394-404
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND & AIMS: The skeletal muscle anabolic effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) appear favoured towards women; a property that could be exploited in older women who typically exhibit poor muscle growth responses to resistance exercise training (RET). Here we sought to generate novel insights into the efficacy and mechanisms of n-3 PUFA alongside short-term RET in older women.METHODS: We recruited 16 healthy older women (Placebo n = 8 (PLA): 67±1y, n-3 PUFA n = 8: 64±1y) to a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial (n-3 PUFA; 3680 mg/day versus PLA) of 6 weeks fully-supervised progressive unilateral RET (i.e. 6 × 8 reps, 75% 1-RM, 3/wk-1). Strength was assessed by knee extensor 1-RM and isokinetic dynamometry ∼ every 10 d. Thigh fat free mass (TFFM) was measured by DXA at 0/3/6 weeks. Bilateral vastus lateralis (VL) biopsies at 0/2/4/6 weeks with deuterium oxide (D2O) dosing were used to determine MPS responses for 0-2 and 4-6 weeks. Further, fibre cross sectional area (CSA), myonuclei number and satellite cell (SC) number were assessed, alongside muscle anabolic/catabolic signalling via immunoblotting.RESULTS: RET increased 1-RM equally in the trained leg of both groups (+23 ± 5% n-3 PUFA vs. +25 ± 5% PLA (both P < 0.01)) with no significant increase in maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) (+10 ± 6% n-3 PUFA vs. +13 ± 5% PLA). Only the n-3 PUFA group increased TFFM (3774 ± 158 g to 3961 ± 151 g n-3 PUFA (P < 0.05) vs. 3406 ± 201 g to 3561 ± 170 PLA) and type II fibre CSA (3097 ± 339 μm2 to 4329 ± 264 μm2 n-3 PUFA (P < 0.05) vs. 2520 ± 316 μm2 to 3467 ± 303 μm2 in PL) with RET. Myonuclei number increased equally in n-3 PUFA and PLA in both type I and type II fibres, with no change in SC number. N-3 PUFA had no added benefit on muscle protein synthesis (MPS), however, during weeks 4-6 of RET, absolute synthesis rates (ASR) displayed a trend to increase with n-3 PUFA only (5.6 ± 0.3 g d-1 to 7.1 ± 0.5 g d-1 n-3 PUFA (P = 0.09) vs. 5.5 ± 0.5 g d-1 to 6.5 ± 0.5 g d-1 PLA). Further, the n-3 PUFA group displayed greater 4EBP1 activation after acute RE at 6 weeks.CONCLUSION: n3-PUFA enhanced RET gains in muscle mass through type II fibre hypertrophy, with data suggesting a role for MPS rather than via SC recruitment. As such, the present study adds to a literature base illustrating the apparent enhancement of muscle hypertrophy with RET in older women fed adjuvant n3-PUFA.
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| 7. |
- Mackey, A. L., et al.
(author)
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Assessment of satellite cell number and activity status in human skeletal muscle biopsies
- 2009
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In: Muscle and Nerve. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0148-639X .- 1097-4598. ; 40:3, s. 455-465
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The primary aim of our study was to validate the assessment of myonuclear and satellite cell number in biopsies from human skeletal muscle. We found that 25 type I and 25 type II fibers are sufficient to estimate the mean number of myonuclei per fiber. In contrast, the assessment of satellite cells improved when more fibers were included. Second, we report that small differences in counting satellite cells using CD56 and Pax7 antibodies can be attributed to the different staining profiles. Third, we provide support for the use of Ki67 in evaluating the proportion of active satellite cells. We observed very few (up to 1.3%) active satellite cells in healthy adult skeletal muscle at rest, but they increased significantly (up to 7-fold) following muscle activity. This study provides valuable tools to assess the behavior of satellite cells, both in pathological conditions and in response to physiological stimuli.
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