The sarcopenic phenotype is characterized by a reduction of muscle mass, a shift in fiber-type distribution, and reduced satellite cell regeneration. Sarcopenia is still a major challenge to healthy aging. Traditional Indonesian societies in Sulawesi island have been using nutmeg for maintaining health condition during aging. Interestingly, nutmeg has been known to stimulate peroxisome proliferator activated receptors γ (PPARγ) which may contribute to myogenesis process in cardiac muscle. There is limited information about the role of nutmeg extract into physiological health benefit during aging especially myogenesis process in skeletal muscle. In the present study, we want to explore the potential effect of nutmeg in preserving skeletal muscle mass of aging rats. Aging rats, 80 weeks old, were divided into two groups (control and nutmeg). Nutmeg extract was administered for 12 weeks by gavaging. After treatment, rats were anaesthesized, then soleus and gastrocnemius muscles were collected, weighted, frozen using liquid nitrogen, and stored at -80°C until use. We observed phenomenon that nutmeg increased a little but significant food consumption on week 12, but significant decrease in body weight on weeks 10 and 12 unexpectedly increased significantly in soleus muscle weight (p<0.05). Nutmeg extract increased significantly gene expression of myogenic differentiation (MyoD), paired box 7 (Pax7), myogenin, myosin heavy chain I (MHC I), and insulin-like growth factor I (p<0.01) in soleus muscle. Furthermore, nutmeg increased serine/threonine kinase (AKT) protein levels and activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), inhibited autophagy activity, and stimulated or at least preserved muscle mass during aging. Taken together, nutmeg extract may increase muscle mass or prevent decrease of muscle wasting in soleus muscle by partly stimulating myogenesis, regeneration process, and preserving muscle mass via IGF-AKT-mTOR pathway leading to inhibition of autophagy activity during aging. This finding may reveal the potential nutmeg benefits as alternative supplement for preserving skeletal muscle mass and preventing sarcopenia in elderly.

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Gut microbiome profile is related to individual health. In metabolic syndrome, there is a change in the gut microbiome profile, indicated by an increase in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes. Many studies have been conducted to determine the effect of exercise on modifying the gut microbiome profile. The effectiveness of exercise is influenced by its type, intensity, and duration. Aerobic training decreases splanchnic blood flow and shortens intestinal transit time. High-intensity exercise improves mitochondrial function and increases the essential bacteria in lactate metabolism and urease production. Meanwhile, exercise duration affects the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. All of these mechanisms are related to each other in producing the effect of exercise on the gut microbiome profile.

Background Melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of cancer and it has shown a remarkable surge in incidence during the last 50 years. Melanoma has been projected to be continuously rising in the future. Therapy for advanced-type melanoma is still a challenge due to the low response rate and poor 10-year survival. Interestingly, several epidemiological and preclinical studies had reported that vitamin D deficiency was associated with disease progression in several cancer types. In vivo and in vitro studies revealed anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic, apoptosis, and differentiation induction effects of calcitriol in various cancers. However, information on the effects of calcitriol (1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ) on melanoma is still limited, and its mechanism remains unclear. Material/Methods In the present study, by utilizing B16–F10 cells, which is a melanoma cell line, we explored the anti-proliferative effect of calcitriol using cell viability assay, near-infrared imaging, expression of apoptosis-related genes using real-time polymerase chain reactions (PCR), and the expression of apoptosis proteins levels using western blot. In addition, we also assessed calcitriol uptake by B16–F10 cells using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results We found that calcitriol inhibits melanoma cell proliferation with an IC 50 of 93.88 ppm (0.24 μM), as shown by cell viability assay. Additionally, we showed that B16–F10 cells are capable of calcitriol uptake, with a peak uptake time at 60 min after administration. Calcitriol was also able to induce apoptosis-related proteins such as caspase-3, caspase 8, and caspase-9. These effects of calcitriol reflect its potential utility as a potent adjuvant therapy for melanoma. Conclusions Calcitriol inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in B16–F10 cells.

Objective To identify the characteristics of risk factors for hearing loss in newborns and their relation to hearing screening results using otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). Methods This research is a retrospective cross-sectional study. Chi-square analysis was used to see the relation between various risk factors resulting from the OAEs examination. A significant relation is defined by p-value <.05. Fisher exact test was used when criteria on using Chi-square was not met (expected count <5), and also regression model to show the association between risk factors and OAEs result. Results 68 ears (7%) from 972 ears were found to have ‘refer’ results. About 329 cases (67.7%) of newborns were at risk of hearing loss, while the other 159 cases (33.3%) were not equally vulnerable to the condition. Out of ‘refer’ OAEs cases, 32 (6.6%) were bilaterally-refer cases, and 4 (0.8%) were unilaterally refer cases. Lower birth weight (LBW) (p = .029), prematurity (p = .000), and congenital abnormalities (p = .000) were found to be the significant risk factor in this study. Regression model showed newborns with congenital abnormalities were significantly more at risk 8.6 times has OAE ‘refer’ than without congenital abnormalities (p = .000), preterm newborns were more at risk 7.1 times compared to mature newborns (p = .000), and newborns with LBW more at risk 2.0 times has OAE ‘refer’ than newborns with normal birth weight (p = .032). Conclusion The incidence of OAEs ’refer’ cases in newborns at Santosa Hospital Bandung Central is quite high. Lower birth weight, prematurity, and congenital abnormalities were significantly corelated with OAEs ‘refer’. Congenital abnormalities can be considered as a risk factor that most often leads to OAEs ‘refer’.