Barriers to and facilitators of physical activity among community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review.

Objective: This study aims to systematically review the evidence on barriers to and facilitators of physical activity (PA) engagement among community-dwelling older adults.

Design: Systematic review.

Data Sources: Electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL Plus, AgeLine and Scopus were searched from their inception to 14 April 2024.

Walking for transport and all-cause mortality: a prospective cohort study of Australian community-dwelling older adults.

Background: Walking for transport may prolong survival in younger and middle-aged adults; however, evidence for older adults is scarce. We examined a prospective relationship between transport-related walking and all-cause mortality among adults aged 70 years and over.

Methods: Community-dwelling, apparently healthy older adults (n=11 539; mean age 75.

The socioecological correlates of meal skipping in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review.

Context: Meal skipping may contribute to nutrient deficiency across the lifespan. Multiple socioecological factors have been identified as correlates of meal skipping in adolescents and adults, but evidence in older adults is limited.

Objective: To determine the socioecological correlates of meal skipping in community-dwelling older adults.

Effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and covid-19 mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To review the evidence on the effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and covid-19 mortality.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Biosis, Joanna Briggs, Global Health, and World Health Organization COVID-19 database (preprints).

Dystonia-specific mutations in THAP1 alter transcription of genes associated with neurodevelopment and myelin.

Dystonia is a neurologic disorder associated with an increasingly large number of genetic variants in many genes, resulting in characteristic disturbances in volitional movement. Dissecting the relationships between these mutations and their functional outcomes is critical in understanding the pathways that drive dystonia pathogenesis. Here we established a pipeline for characterizing an allelic series of dystonia-specific mutations.

TAF1 Transcripts and Neurofilament Light Chain as Biomarkers for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism.

Background: X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism is a rare neurological disease endemic to the Philippines. Dystonic symptoms appear in males at the mean age of 40 years and progress to parkinsonism with degenerative pathology in the striatum. A retrotransposon inserted in intron 32 of the TAF1 gene leads to alternative splicing in the region and a reduction of the full-length mRNA transcript.

OCT4 and SOX2 Work as Transcriptional Activators in Reprogramming Human Fibroblasts.

SOX2 and OCT4, in conjunction with KLF4 and cMYC, are sufficient to reprogram human fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), but it is unclear if they function as transcriptional activators or as repressors. We now show that, like OCT4, SOX2 functions as a transcriptional activator. We substituted SOX2-VP16 (a strong activator) for wild-type (WT) SOX2, and we saw an increase in the efficiency and rate of reprogramming, whereas the SOX2-HP1 fusion (a strong repressor) eliminated reprogramming.

Polycomb Responds to Low Levels of Transcription.

How is Polycomb (Pc), a eukaryotic negative regulator of transcription, targeted to specific mammalian genes? Our genome-wide analysis of the Pc mark H3K27me3 in murine cells revealed that Pc is preferentially associated with CpG island promoters of genes that are transcribed at a low level and less so with promoters of genes that are either silent or more highly expressed. Studies of the CpG island promoter of the Kit gene demonstrate that Pc is largely absent when the gene is silent in myeloid cells, as well as when the gene is highly expressed in mast cells. Manipulations that increase transcription in the former case, and reduce it in the latter, increase Pc occupancy.