Measuring Active Ageing: A Scoping Review and the Applicability to the Situation in China.

Background and Purpose: Ageing has become one of the major global public issues and active ageing has become a global goal. Accurate and reproducible assessment tools are a prerequisite for robust and reliable measurement of active ageing and policy formulation. However, a broad scoping review describing the characteristics and heterogeneity of assessment tools for active ageing is lacking. This study aims to comprehensively portray current active ageing assessment tools and their features. Methods: We conducted a scoping review, focusing on the Active Ageing Assessment Tool, and searched seven databases: CNKI, WanFang, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, Medline, and Proquest. The research process adhered to the methodological framework of Arkey and O'Malley and the PRISMA-ScR specification. More so, we registered the research program with the Open Science Framework. Results: Ultimately, we included twenty-two pieces of literature. The development of the active ageing assessment tool predominantly occurred between 2012 and 2023, with a focus on foreign countries (16 studies). All included literature presented multidimensional Active ageing assessment tools. Eighteen studies examined active ageing assessment tools at the macro level, while four studies focused on the individual level. Also, fourteen out of the twenty-two studies were based on the World Health Organization's Theoretical Framework for Active Ageing. The literature contained only two active ageing assessment tools designed for specific subgroups of older people. Conclusion: Future development of active ageing assessment tools should integrate more comprehensive concepts and social theories of active ageing. Additionally, there is a need to explore active ageing measurement tools tailored for diverse subgroups of the older adults at various levels.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Association Between Malnutrition and Risk of Depression in the Elderly.

Objective: To explore the association between malnutrition and risk of depression in the elderly. Methods: Relevant studies were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Embase from the establishment of the database to August 17, 2023. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias in the included studies. Stata16.0 software was used for meta-analysis. Results: A total of 8 observational studies were identified with 11 112 participants, of which 2771 elderly patients had depression. The meta-pooled results showed a significant correlation between nutritional status and depression risk (odds ratio (OR) = 2.03, 95% CI = (1.47, 2.81), P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis found that the malnutrition scores of different study types and the diagnostic methods of depression and malnutrition were correlated with the risk of depression. Conclusion: Malnutrition was associated with depression risk in the elderly. Further large-scale multicenter studies should be conducted to test and verify the results.

Overexpression of a plasmalemma Na+/H+ antiporter from the halophyte Nitraria sibirica enhances the salt tolerance of transgenic poplar.

The plasmalemma Na+/H+ antiporter Salt Overly Sensitive 1 (SOS1) is responsible for the efflux of Na+ from the cytoplasm, an important determinant of salt resistance in plants. In this study, an ortholog of SOS1, referred to as NsSOS1, was cloned from Nitraria sibirica, a typical halophyte that grows in deserts and saline-alkaline land, and its expression and function in regulating the salt tolerance of forest trees were evaluated. The expression level of NsSOS1 was higher in leaves than in roots and stems of N. sibirica, and its expression was upregulated under salt stress. Histochemical staining showed that ß-glucuronidase (GUS) driven by the NsSOS1 promoter was strongly induced by abiotic stresses and phytohormones including salt, drought, low temperature, gibberellin, and methyl jasmonate, suggesting that NsSOS1 is involved in the regulation of multiple signaling pathways. Transgenic 84 K poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa) overexpressing NsSOS1 showed improvements in survival rate, root biomass, plant height, relative water levels, chlorophyll and proline levels, and antioxidant enzyme activities versus non-transgenic poplar (NT) under salt stress. Transgenic poplars accumulated less Na+ and more K+ in roots, stems, and leaves, which had a lower Na+/K+ ratio compared to NT under salt stress. These results indicate that NsSOS1-mediated Na+ efflux confers salt tolerance to transgenic poplars, which show more efficient photosynthesis, better scavenging of reactive oxygen species, and improved osmotic adjustment under salt stress. Transcriptome analysis of transgenic poplars confirmed that NsSOS1 not only mediates Na+ efflux but is also involved in the regulation of multiple metabolic pathways. The results provide insight into the regulatory mechanisms of NsSOS1 and suggest that it could be used to improve the salt tolerance of forest trees.

Overexpression of high affinity K+ transporter from Nitraria sibirica enhanced salt tolerance of transgenic plants.

Nitraria sibirica Pall is a halophytic shrub growing in desert steppe zones. It exhibits extraordinary adaptability to saline-alkali soil, drought, and sand burial. In this study, the high-affinity K+ transporter NsHKT1 was identified and found to play a key role in salt tolerance in N. sibirica. NsHKT1 was used to improve salt tolerance in a poplar hybrid. The expression characteristics of NsHKT1 were analyzed by transforming Arabidopsis and poplar with the ß-glucuronidase (GUS) gene driven by the NsHKT1 promoter. The results showed that NsHKT1 expression was induced by various abiotic stresses and phytohormones. GUS expression was also detected in the reproductive organs of transgenic Arabidopsis, indicating its function in regulating plant reproductive growth. Transgenic 84 K poplar plants overexpressing NsHKT1 exhibited less damage, higher antioxidant capacity, higher chlorophyll and proline levels, and lower malondialdehyde content compared with non-transgenic plants under salt stress. These results are consistent with the salt tolerance results for transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing NsHKT1, indicating that NsHKT1 plays a key role in salt tolerance in herbaceous and ligneous plants. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry showed a significantly lower leaf Na+ content in transgenic poplar than in the non-transgenic line, revealing that NsHKT1, as a member of HKT family subclass 1, was highly selective to Na+ and prevented shoot Na+ accumulation. Transcriptome analysis indicated that differentially expressed genes in transgenic poplars under salt stress were associated mainly with the isoflavonoid, cutin, suberine, wax, anthocyanin, flavonoid, and cyanoamino biosynthesis pathways, as well as the MAPK signaling pathway, indicating that NsHKT1 not only regulates ion homeostasis but also influences secondary metabolism and signal transaction in transgenic plants.