Metabolomics can place the metabolic consequences of training, competition, recovery, nutrition, and environmental exposure in a physiological context. However, an exercise-responsive metabolite should not be regarded as decision-ready on the basis of a pre-post association alone, because interpretation depends on the biological matrix, sampling time, analytical performance, athlete characteristics, and intended monitoring question. This structured narrative review examines the requirements for translating metabolomic findings into athlete monitoring. English-language, peer-reviewed studies were identified through structured searches of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from 1 January 2020 through 31 July 2026. We distinguish source-evidence directness from validation maturity, which comprises discovery, analytical validation with independent replication, within-athlete longitudinal validation, and implementation testing against prespecified sport-relevant outcomes. We consider pathway-level interpretation of signals related to substrate use, recovery, and physiological stress, together with the metadata, repeated sampling, analytical quality control, and comparative testing required to establish value beyond established monitoring measures. Wearable biochemical sensing, continuous glucose monitoring, artificial intelligence, and multi-omics approaches may provide contextual information, but require analyte-specific calibration, transparent modeling, external validation, and demonstrated practical value. Metabolomics should therefore function as an explanatory layer in multimodal athlete monitoring while individual panels are evaluated in clearly defined sport and decision contexts.

This publication examines the impact of research and scientific methodological activities in the field of «Educational gerontology» on the implementation of a gerontological approach to providing comprehensive assistance to elderly citizens. It also substantiates the prospects for the involvement of a pedagogical university (hereinafter referred to as the pedagogical University) in this process, using the example of the A.I.Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (Saint-Petersburg).

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) continue to be the leading cause of mortality worldwide. A primary factor in the development of these diseases is age-related physiological changes in the body, affecting, among others, the cardiovascular system. Medications play a key role in the prevention and management of age-related CVDs, among which an important place is occupied by peptides, a special class of molecules capable of modulating various physiological pathways involved in aging processes, including the restoration and regeneration of myocardial vessels. This article presents a review of experimental studies investigating the mechanism of action of a vascular polypeptide preparation (VPP), as well as short peptides: the tripeptide KED, which is a component of VPP and possesses the same biological effects, and the tetrapeptide AEDR, whose biological activity is aimed at restoring myocardial function. The results of experimental studies demonstrated that VPP exhibits specific angioprotective and angiogenic activity in vitro in cultures of human and mouse endothelial cells. In vivo, VPP exerted a physiological effect on vascular wall cells under extreme conditions. The polypeptide preparation also had a pronounced regulatory influence on the hemodynamic parameters of animals: blood pressure, blood flow in the abdominal aorta and carotid artery, and cardiac output. In an in vitro study using endothelial cell cultures from patients with atherosclerosis and restenosis, a significant increase in ET-1 expression was observed compared to that in normal endothelium; the addition of the KED peptide restored ET-1 expression to normal levels in these endothelial cell cultures. The study of the biological properties of the AEDR tetrapeptide revealed its cardioprotective effect, manifested in the preservation of cardiomyocyte viability following coronary artery ligation, the mitigation of calcium chloride-induced arrhythmia manifestations, a reduction in the intensity of lipid peroxidation processes, and a decrease in the development of necrobiotic small-focal adrenaline-induced myocardial dystrophy. The results obtained from preclinical studies of VPP and short peptides suggest that peptide preparations represent a promising group for the prevention and treatment of age-related cardiovascular dysfunctions.

Pelvic-organ prolapse (POP) is an age-associated disorder that is often accompanied by uterosacral ligament (USL) weakening and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation; however, the upstream regulators linking fibroblast aging to ECM remodeling remain incompletely defined. Here, we identify an uncharacterized long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), FLJ20021, as significantly downregulated in POP-derived USL tissues and primary human uterosacral-ligament fibroblasts (hUSLFs) compared with non-POP controls. FLJ20021 depletion reduces hUSLF proliferation and increases apoptosis and senescence, whereas FLJ20021 overexpression reverses these effects and shifts ECM-related markers toward a matrix-preserving profile. Mechanistically, FLJ20021 directly binds the DNA-binding domain (DBD) of X-ray repair cross-complementing 6 (XRCC6), facilitates XRCC6 occupancy at the ADI1 promoter, and promotes XRCC6-dependent ADI1 transcription. Gain- and loss-of-function as well as rescue experiments place XRCC6 downstream of FLJ20021 and support ADI1 as a required effector for FLJ20021-dependent cellular and ECM-related phenotypes. In POP-relevant murine injury models, XRCC6 and ADI1 are coordinately reduced with ECM-marker imbalance, and FLJ20021 overexpression partially restores ADI1 and ECM-related readouts in vivo. Together, these data support a model in which FLJ20021 interacts with XRCC6 to regulate ADI1 expression, thereby linking fibroblast-fate control to ECM homeostasis and providing mechanistic insight into POP-associated tissue degeneration.

Age-friendly cities and communities (AFCC), together with initiatives to combat ageism, are recognised as two of the four action areas of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Healthy Ageing, have received global attention. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding the distinct experiences of older adults in their cities and communities, as well as the extent to which these experiences are linked to their perceptions of ageism. Using a sample of 398 older adults from four cities in Colombia, a latent profile analysis was conducted via the manual three-step method, incorporating demographic covariates and distal outcomes, to identify distinct AFCC profiles among older adults. Three AFCC profiles emerged from the analysis: "high AFCC except financial support" (59.5%), "mixed AFCC with low outdoor spaces/buildings and financial support" (31.4%), and "low AFCC except respect/inclusion" (9.1%). Older adults with disabilities had a higher probability of belonging to the "mixed AFCC with low outdoor spaces/buildings and financial support" group, while age, gender, and subjective social status showed no significant association with profile membership. In addition, ageism experiences differed among the three profiles, as older adults with lower AFCC scores reported higher levels of ageism. The results suggested both a potential method effect associated with negative items in the AFCC, as well as differences in the contexts captured by the AFCC and ageism measures, with the former anchored in community environments and the latter spanning broader interpersonal, institutional, and self-directed experiences. In sum, our findings highlight the need to understand the distinct patterns in how older adults perceive their cities and communities, as well as identify those who may be "at risk" in specific domains.

The Affordable Care Act introduced reforms aimed at reducing the number of uninsured Americans. While the law provided for Medicaid expansion to cover all low-income adults who were ineligible for Medicare, implementation varied by state. This study examines the impact of these reforms on adults aged 55-64, with a particular focus on Hispanic individuals. Data derived from the American Community Survey (2011-2022) are used to determine the extent to which Medicaid expansion reduced place-based disparities in access to care among pre-retirement populations. Logistic regression and staggered difference-in-difference modeling were applied, and results indicate that states that expanded Medicaid experienced greater increases in health coverage, compared to non-expansion states. The effects of Medicaid expansion varied across ethnic groups, with disparities observed among Hispanic populations. Hispanics were 56% less likely than other groups to have insurance coverage and had 30% higher odds of participating in Medicaid. In expansion states, coverage rates consistently increased following implementation, whereas non-expansion states showed no changes. Findings demonstrate how federal policy reforms can promote healthcare access for uninsured pre-retirement populations, while revealing how inconsistent state-level implementation deepens health disparities.

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) offer a unique opportunity to deliver integrated care within existing housing where older adults already live. In this context, NORCs are defined as high-rise buildings where at least 50 residents and at least 30% of residents are aged 65 and above. This paper presents an implementation case study of the NORC Innovation Centre's (NIC) integrated care model (The UHN NORC Program).