The Effect of Exercise on Visceral Adipose Tissue in Overweight Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Excessive visceral adipose tissue appears to trigger a cascade of metabolic disturbances that seem to coexist with ectopic fat storage in muscle, liver, heart and the ß-cell. Therefore, the reduction of visceral adipose tissue potentially plays a pivotal role in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to describe the overall effect of exercise on visceral adipose tissue and to provide an overview of the effect of different exercise regimes, without caloric restriction, on visceral adipose tissue in obese persons. A systematic literature search was performed according to the PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The initial search resulted in 87 articles after removing duplicates. After screening on title, abstract and full-text 15 articles (totalling 852 subjects) fulfilled the a priori inclusion criteria. The quality of each eligible study was assessed in duplicate with “The Critical Review Form for Quantitative Studies”. Using random-effects weights, the standardized mean difference (Hedge''s g) of the change in visceral adipose tissue was −0.497 with a 95% confidence interval of −0.655 to −0.340. The Z-value was −6.183 and the p-value (two tailed) was <0.001. A subgroup analysis was performed based on gender, type of training and intensity. Aerobic training of moderate or high intensity has the highest potential to reduce visceral adipose tissue in overweight males and females. These results suggest that an aerobic exercise program, without hypocaloric diet, can show beneficial effects to reduce visceral adipose tissue with more than 30 cm² (on CT analysis) in women and more than 40 cm² in men, even after 12 weeks.     

The intergeneric hybrid grass "Poa labradorica"

The new nothogenus × Dupoa (Dupontia × Poa ) is published. Nomenclature of the only known nothospecies, × Dupoa labradorica (= Poa labradorica ), is discussed. Morphology and synecology of this poorly known arctic and subarctic grass are described and a key to related taxa is given. Its morphology and ecology overlap with the putative parental taxa, Poa eminens and Dupontia fisheri ssp. psilosantha . Establishment and persistence of this sterile hybrid are related primarily to geological processes associated with glacio-eustatic rebound and seasonal ice action affecting its seashore habitats.     

Is E37, a major polypeptide of the inner membrane from plastid envelope,an S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferase?

Using antibodies raised against E37, one of the major polypeptides of the inner membrane from the chloroplast envelope, it has been demonstrated that a single immunologically related polypeptide was present in total protein extracts from various higher plants (monocots and dicots), in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic tissues from young spinach plantlets, as well as in the cytoplasmic membrane from the cyanobacteria Synechococcus . This ubiquitous distribution of E37 strongly suggests that this protein plays an envelope-specific function common to all types of plastids. Comparison of tobacco and spinach E37 amino acid sequences deduced from the corresponding cDNA demonstrates that consensus motifs for S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferases are located in both sequences. This hypothesis was confirmed using a biochemical approach. It was demonstrated that E37, together with two minor spinach chloroplast envelope polypeptides of 32 and 39 kDa, can be specifically photolabeled with [³H]-S-adenosyl methionine upon UV-irradiation. Identification of E37 as a photolabeled polypeptide was established by immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, photolabeling of the three envelope polypeptides was specifically inhibited by very low concentration of S-adenosyl homocysteine, thus providing evidence for the presence within these proteins of S-adenosyl methionine- and S-adenosyl homocysteine-binding sites that were closely associated. Taken as a whole these results strongly suggest that E37 is an ubiquitous plastid envelope protein that probably has an S-adenosyl methionine-dependent methyltransferase activity. The 32 and 39 kDa envelope polypeptides probably have a similar methyltransferase activity.     

Amino acid incorporation by a natural population of Oscillatoria rubescens. A microautoradiographic study

Abstract The incorporation of a very low concentration (0.015 μM) of an [³H]amino acid mixture was measured for a natural population of Oscillatoria rubescens DC in samples from a eutrophic lake, Lake Nantua (France).
The kinetics of amino acid incorporation in the size fraction ⩾12 μ m showed that uptake was fast and that the maximum was reached after 4 h.
Microautoradiography demonstrated that Oscillatoria rubescens is able to utilize for protein synthesis an external pool of amino acids whose [³H] label becomes distributed generally throughout the cell.     

pUCL287 plasmid from Tetragenococcus halophila (Pediococcus halophilus) ATCC 33315 represents a new theta-type replicon family of lactic acid bacteria

Abstract A cryptic plasmid, pUCL287, was isolated from Tetragenococcus halophila (Pediococcus halophilus) ATCC 33315. It had a theta-type mechanism of replication in its natural host. Its minimal replicon, Rep 281, was isolated on a 1.6-kb Eco RI fragment. The Rep 287 host range included the genera Pediococcus, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc but not genus Lactococcus . Plasmids hybridizing to pUCL287 are rare among lactic acid bacteria. As assessed by hybridization, Rep2Sl is dissimilar to pAMβ1, pIP50l and pUCL22, representatives of the most common theta-type replicon groups in Gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, pUCL287 appears to represent a new theta-type replicon family from lactic acid bacteria.     

Behavioural and morphological effects of testosterone and gonadotropins in the young male domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos L.)

Young male domestic ducks 20–72 days old were successively injected with two hormonal preparations. The first hormone treatment included males injected with testosterone propionate (TP), human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), pregnant mare serum (PMS), control oil injected males (C) and males injected with TP and submitted at the same time to a permanent intense light. During the second hormonal treatment all males except controls were injected with TP.Almost no behavioural effects were observed in any group of males following the first treatment. The second one, however, induced intense social display and sexual behaviour in the four TP-injected groups. Some qualitative and quantitative differences were found between groups according to the first hormone treatment to which they had been submitted. This suggests a possible role of gonadotropic hormones in the control of social behaviour in ducks. Experimental data supporting this hypothesis are briefly reviewed and discussed.     

Barley γ3-hordein: Glycosylation at an atypical site,disulfide bridge analysis,and reactivity with IgE from patients allergic to wheat

Post translational modifications of a seed storage protein, barley γ3-hordein, were determined using immunochemical and mass spectrometry methods. IgE reactivity towards this protein was measured using sera from patients diagnosed with allergies to wheat. N-glycosylation was found at an atypical Asn-Leu-Cys site. The observed glycan contains xylose. This indicates that at least some γ3-hordein molecules trafficked through the Golgi apparatus. Disulfide bridges in native γ3-hordein were almost the same as those found in wheat γ46-gliadin, except the bridge involving the cysteine included in the glycosylation site. IgE reacted more strongly towards the recombinant than the natural γ3-hordein protein. IgE binding to γ3-hordein increased when the protein sample was reduced. Glycosylation and disulfide bridges therefore decrease epitope accessibility. Thus the IgE from patients sensitized to wheat cross-react with γ3-hordein due to sequence homology with wheat allergens rather than through shared carbohydrate determinants.