Evaluation of a multisensor armband in estimating energy expenditure in obese individuals

Objective: To examine the reliability and validity of the SenseWear Pro 2 Armband (SWA; Body Media, Pittsburgh, PA) during rest and exercise compared with indirect calorimetry (IC) in obese individuals. Research Methods and Procedures: Energy expenditure was assessed during rest with the SWA and IC in 142 obese adults (37 men and 105 women, BMI = 42.3 ± 7.0) and in 25 lean and overweight adults (BMI = 25.3 ± 3.2) who were used as a comparison group. Twenty‐nine of the obese adults also participated in three separate short exercise sessions including cycle ergometry, stair stepping, and treadmill walking. Results: The repeatability of SWA estimates in obese subjects was high (r = 0.88, p < 0.001). The SWA generally underestimated the resting energy expenditure (REE) (1811 ± 346 vs. 1880 ± 382 kcal/d) and highly overestimated the energy expenditure during the exercise sessions in obese individuals. REE estimations by SWA were significantly correlated with fat‐free mass (r = 0.88, p < 0.001). Bland‐Altman plots based statistical analysis for the estimated REE, and measured IC showed a low agreement (Total Error > 20% but Systematic Error < 5%) between the two methods in obese subjects, although they showed a high correlation and a very good agreement in lean and overweight patients. Discussion: The SWA is an easy to handle, practical, new portable device for measuring energy expenditure. The accuracy of the SWA appeared to be poor in the obese subjects we examined, especially those with high REE both in rest and exercise. We believe that it is necessary to incorporate new, obesity‐specific algorithms in the relative software.     

In situ cooling in a lung hilar clamping model of ischemia-reperfusion injury

Experimental models for studying transplantation have up to now been unable to isolate reperfusion injury with minimal surgical manipulation and without the interference of graft rejection. Six pigs were subjected to left hilum preparation only (control group), and eight pigs were subjected to left hilum preparation plus in situ cooling ischemia and reperfusion of the lung (experimental group). The hilum was dissected free from other tissues in both groups. Lung preservation was achieved by antegrade flush perfusion via the left pulmonary artery. Pulmonary veins were clamped at the left atrium and a vent was created. The left main bronchus was clamped. Lung temperature was maintained at 4 degrees -8 degrees C, while core temperature was kept at 38 degrees C. After 3 hrs of cold ischemia the clamps were removed and the lung was reperfused. Elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and local and systemic aspects of ischemia-reperfusion syndrome were consistently reproduced. This large-animal model of in situ unilateral lung cold ischemia with warm reperfusion proved to be very reliable in reproducing all aspects of ischemia-reperfusion injury. It excludes the interference of rejection and extensive surgical manipulation. We therefore propose its use in experimental studies investigating pharmaceutical or cooling modifications affecting lung ischemia-reperfusion outcomes.     

Membrane Curvature Induction and Tubulation Are Common Features of Synucleins and Apolipoproteins

Synucleins and apolipoproteins have been implicated in a number of membrane and lipid trafficking events. Lipid interaction for both types of proteins is mediated by 11 amino acid repeats that form amphipathic helices. This similarity suggests that synucleins and apolipoproteins might have comparable effects on lipid membranes, but this has not been shown directly. Here, we find that α-synuclein, β-synuclein, and apolipoprotein A-1 have the conserved functional ability to induce membrane curvature and to convert large vesicles into highly curved membrane tubules and vesicles. The resulting structures are morphologically similar to those generated by amphiphysin, a curvature-inducing protein involved in endocytosis. Unlike amphiphysin, however, synucleins and apolipoproteins do not require any scaffolding domains and curvature induction is mediated by the membrane insertion and wedging of amphipathic helices alone. Moreover, we frequently observed that α-synuclein caused membrane structures that had the appearance of nascent budding vesicles. The ability to function as a minimal machinery for vesicle budding agrees well with recent findings that α-synuclein plays a role in vesicle trafficking and enhances endocytosis. Induction of membrane curvature must be under strict regulation in vivo; however, as we find it can also cause disruption of membrane integrity. Because the degree of membrane curvature induction depends on the concerted action of multiple proteins, controlling the local protein density of tubulating proteins may be important. How cellular safeguarding mechanisms prevent such potentially toxic events and whether they go awry in disease remains to be determined.     

Plasma levels of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 are increased in patients with ��-thalassemia

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A₂ (Lp-PLA₂) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor. We investigated the plasma levels of Lp-PLA₂ activity and mass as a function of plasma lipid levels, LDL subclass profile, and oxidative stress in patients with β-thalassemia. Thirty-five patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM) and 25 patients with β-thalassemia intermedia (β-TI) participated in the study. Lp-PLA₂ activity and mass were measured in total plasma, in apolipoprotein (apo)B-depleted plasma (HDL-Lp-PLA₂), and in LDL subclasses. Lp-PLA₂ activity produced and secreted from peripheral blood monocytes in culture was also determined. Patients with β-thalassemia are characterized by a predominance of small-dense LDL particles, increased oxidative stress, and very high plasma levels of Lp-PLA₂ mass and activity, despite low LDL-cholesterol levels. A significant positive correlation between plasma Lp-PLA₂ activity or mass and 8-isoprostane (8-epiPGF2a) and ferritin levels as well as intima-media thickness (IMT) values was observed. An increase in secreted and cell-associated Lp-PLA₂ activity from monocytes in culture was observed in both patient groups. The HDL-Lp-PLA₂ activity and mass as well as the ratio of HDL-Lp-PLA₂/plasma Lp-PLA₂ were significantly higher in both patient groups compared with the control group. In conclusion, patients with β-thalassemia exhibit high plasma Lp-PLA₂ levels, attributed to increased enzyme secretion from monocytes/macrophages and to the predominance of sdLDL particles in plasma. Plasma Lp-PLA₂ is correlated with carotid IMT, suggesting that this enzyme may be implicated in premature carotid atherosclerosis observed in β-thalassemia.     

Muscle fibre length-to-moment arm ratios in the human lower limb determined in vivo

The purpose of this study was to quantify in vivo the fibre length (L)-to-moment arm (d) ratio (L/d) in the major ankle plantarflexors and knee extensors of 21 healthy men. Measurements of L were taken in the gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis, soleus, vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius muscles using ultrasound scanning. Measurements of d were taken in the Achilles tendon (d(AT)) and patellar tendon (d(PT)) using magnetic resonance imaging. The relations between (a) L in each ankle plantarflexor muscle and d(AT), (b) L in each knee extensor muscle and d(PT), and (c) d(AT) and d(PT,) were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficients. There was no significant relation (P>0.05) between any of the above parameters, with the correlation coefficient values ranging from -0.2 to 0.29. These results contradict previous findings that L scales with d, indicating that skeletal size differences between individuals may not always be associated with predictable differences in muscle architecture. This needs to be accounted for when information about the L/d ratio of a given muscle-joint in a given individual is required, as for example is the case when assessing the suitability of a potential donor muscle in surgical tendon transfer.     

Follicular atresia during Dacus oleae oogenesis

Programmed cell death, constitutes a common fundamental incident that occurs during oogenesis in a variety of different animals. It plays a significant role in the maturation process of the female gamete and also in the removal of abnormal and superfluous cells at certain checkpoints of development. In the present study, we demonstrate the existence of follicular atresia during mid-oogenesis in the olive fruit fly Dacus oleae (Tephritidae). The number of atretic follicles increases following the age of the fly, suggesting for the presence of an age-susceptible process. The atretic follicles contain nurse cells that exhibit chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation and actin cytoskeleton alterations, as revealed by propidium iodide staining, TUNEL labeling and phalloidin-FITC staining. Conventional light and electron microscopy disclose that the nurse cell remnants are phagocytosed by the adjacent follicle cells. The follicular epithelium also eliminates the oocyte through phagocytosis, resulting to an egg chamber with no compartmentalized organization. The data presented herein are very similar compared to previous reported results in other Diptera species, strongly suggesting the occurrence of a phylogenetically conserved mechanism of follicular atresia. All these observations also support the notion that mid-oogenesis in D. oleae may be the critical regulation point at which superfluous and defective egg chambers are selectively eliminated before they reach maturity.     

Patterns of species richness on very small islands: the plants of the Aegean archipelago

Aim To investigate the species–area relationship (SAR) of plants on very small islands, to examine the effect of other factors on species richness, and to check for a possible Small Island Effect (SIE). Location The study used data on the floral composition of 86 very small islands (all < 0.050 km²) of the Aegean archipelago (Greece). Methods We used standard techniques for linear and nonlinear regression in order to check several models of the SAR, and stepwise multiple regression to check for the effects of factors other than area on species richness (‘habitat diversity’, elevation, and distance from nearest large island), as well as the performance of the Choros model. We also checked for the SAR of certain taxonomic and ecological plant groups that are of special importance in eastern Mediterranean islands, such as halophytes, therophytes, Leguminosae and Gramineae. We used one‐way anova to check for differences in richness between grazed and non‐grazed islands, and we explored possible effects of nesting seabirds on the islands’ flora. Results Area explained a small percentage of total species richness variance in all cases. The linearized power model of the SAR provided the best fit for the total species list and several subgroups of species, while the semi‐log model provided better fits for grazed islands, grasses and therophytes. None of the nonlinear models explained more variance. The slope of the SAR was very high, mainly due to the contribution of non‐grazed islands. No significant SIE could be detected. The Choros model explained more variance than all SARs, although a large amount of variance of species richness still remained unexplained. Elevation was found to be the only important factor, other than area, to influence species richness. Habitat diversity did not seem important, although there were serious methodological problems in properly defining it, especially for plants. Grazing was an important factor influencing the flora of small islands. Grazed islands were richer than non‐grazed, but the response of their species richness to area was particularly low, indicating decreased floral heterogeneity among islands. We did not detect any important effects of the presence of nesting seabird colonies. Main conclusions Species richness on small islands may behave idiosyncratically, but this does not always lead to a typical SIE. Plants of Aegean islets conform to the classical Arrhenius model of the SAR, a result mainly due to the contribution of non‐grazed islands. At the same time, the factors examined explain a small portion of total variance in species richness, indicating the possible contribution of other, non‐standard factors, or even of stochastic effects. The proper definition of habitat diversity as pertaining to the taxon examined in each case is a recurrent problem in such studies. Nevertheless, the combined effect of area and a proxy for environmental heterogeneity is once again superior to area alone in explaining species richness.