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The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides benefits to low-income, nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children. To administer WIC, officials and program managers at the federal and state levels want to understand who is eligible for the program, who among the eligible population chooses to participate, and who is not accessing the program despite their eligibility. Novel individual-level data linkages between restricted-use WIC Administrative Records and the American Community Survey provide WIC access rates estimated at the state and county levels, as well as estimates disaggregated by the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of individuals and their households. These estimates are developed by the Census-FNS-ERS Joint Project, a research partnership among the US Census Bureau, the US Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service and Economic Research Service, and state WIC agencies that provide the requisite WIC administrative data to the Census Bureau. This article details and evaluates our current data linkage and estimation methods, reports results, and identifies areas for improvement and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing evidence from basic science and human epidemiological studies that inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic abnormalities are associated with age-related cognitive decline and impairment. This article summarizes selected research on these topics presented at the Cognitive Aging Summit II. Speakers in this session presented evidence highlighting the roles of these processes and pathways on age-related cognitive decline, pointing to possible targets for intervention in nondemented older adults. Specific areas discussed included age differences in the production of cytokines following injury or infection, mechanisms underlying oxidative stress-induced changes in memory consolidation, insulin effects on brain signaling and memory, and the association between metabolic syndrome and cognitive decline in older adults. These presentations emphasize advances in our understanding of mechanisms and modifiers of age-related cognitive decline and provide insights into potential targets to promote cognitive health in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Caloric restriction and physical exercise have proven beneficial against age-associated changes in body composition and declining physical performance; however, little is known regarding what benefit these interventions might have when initiated late in life. The study of mimetics of diet and exercise and the combination thereof may provide additional treatments for a vulnerable elderly population; however, how and when to initiate such interventions requires consideration in developing the most safe and efficacious treatment strategies. In this review, we focus on preclinical late-life intervention studies, which assess the relationship between physical function, sarcopenia, and body composition. We provide a conceptual framework for the ever-changing definition of sarcopenia and a rationale for the use of an appropriate rodent model of this condition. We finish by providing our perspective regarding the implications of this body of work and future areas of research that may also contribute to the ultimate goal of extending healthspan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background. Bacterial infection remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients worldwide. Previous studies have identified a key role for mesothelial cells, lining the peritoneal cavity, in coordinating inflammation and host defense. Toll-like receptor (TLR) involvement in early activation events within the mesothelium, however, remains poorly defined. To investigate the initiation of bacterial peritonitis, we characterized TLR activation by bacterial ligands in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC).Methods. Primary HPMC were isolated from omental biopsies and TLR expression detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription (RT)–PCR and flow cytometry. The responsiveness of HPMC to specific bacterial TLR agonists was determined using chemokine production as a biological readout. The requirement for CD14 in HPMC responses to a clinically relevant Staphylococcus epidermidis cell-free supernatant (SES) was investigated using soluble CD14 or anti-CD14-blocking antibodies.Results. Real-time PCR detected TLR1-6 messenger RNA expression in HPMC and responses to TLR2/1 and TLR2/6 ligands and SES. No cell surface TLR4 expression or responses to lipopolysaccharide were detectable in HPMC, but they did respond to flagellin, a TLR5 ligand. SES-mediated responses were dependent on TLR2 but did not require CD14 in HPMC for optimal efficiency, unlike peripheral blood mononuclear cells. HPMC expression of TLR2 was also modulated by TLR2 ligands and inflammatory cytokines.Conclusions. These data suggest that mesothelial cell activation by TLR2/1, TLR2/6 and TLR5 contributes to bacterial recognition influencing the course of the infective process and has implications for improving treatment of infection in PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Controversy exists as to whether lifelong 40% calorie restriction (CR) enhances, has no effect on, or disrupts cognitive function during aging. Here, we report the effects of CR versus ad-lib feeding on cognitive function in male Brown Norway x Fisher344 rats across a range of ages (8-38 months), using two tasks that are differentially sensitive to age-related cognitive decline: object recognition and Morris water maze (MWM). All ages performed equally in object recognition, whereas, as a group, CR rats were impaired. In contrast, there was an age-related impairment in the MWM that was attenuated by CR as measured by time in proximity with and latency to reach the platform. Distance to the platform, a more sensitive measure, was not affected by CR. Finally, CR resulted in an overall increase in physical activity, one of several behavioral confounders to consider in the interpretation of cognitive outcomes in both tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that the grounds for the conclusion of Nelson Goodman's book "Languages of Art" are not sufficient. That there is an aesthetic difference between an authentic painting and a deceptive forgery of it, even if they cannot be distinguished by looking at them; The problem; The argument.

Comments on how J.M.E. McTaggart raised a famed paradox regarding the transientist conception of time, the idea that present moves into the future to overtake future events and past events recede further and further into the past as time goes on. How McTaggart generates his paradox; Schlesinger's attempts at a transientist solution; More.