Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products as a potential biomarker to predict weight loss and improvement of insulin sensitivity by a very low calorie diet of obese human subjects

IntroductionObesity is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation which is thought to trigger the development of comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes. The soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) belongs to the innate immune system and has been linked to obesity, recently. The aim of the present study was to examine whether serum sRAGE concentrations are related to the grade of weight loss and improvement of insulin resistance due to a very low calorie diet (VLCD).Methods22 severe obese subjects (Median Body Mass Index (BMI): 44.5 kg/m²) were included in a dietary intervention study of 6 month, consisting of a very low calorie formula diet phase (VLCD: 800 kcal/d) for 12 weeks and a following 12 week weight maintenance phase. Fasting glucose, fasting insulin, adiponectin, leptin and sRAGE were determined from sera. Insulin sensitivity was estimated by Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) index and leptin-to-adiponectin-ratio (LAR).ResultsMean body weight reduction by VLCD accounted to 21.7 kg with a significant improvement of insulin resistance. At baseline, sRAGE serum levels were significantly inversely related to BMI (r_S = −0.642, p = 0.001) and HOMA (r_S = −0.419, p = 0.041). Of interest, sRAGE serum levels at baseline were significantly lower in study subjects with greater reduction of BMI (p = 0.017). In addition, a significantly greater HOMA reduction was observed in subjects with lower sRAGE serum levels at baseline (p = 0.006). Finally, correlation analysis revealed, that changes of sRAGE serum levels were significantly correlated to changes of BMI (r_S = −0.650, p = 0.022) during intervention.ConclusionAnti-inflammatory sRAGE might be a potential future biomarker to predict weight loss and improvement of insulin resistance by a VLCD whereby lower baseline sRAGE serum levels indicate a better outcome of the dietary intervention.     

Wine grape pomace flour improves blood pressure,fasting glucose and protein damage in humans: a randomized controlled trial

Background

The Mediterranean diet is a healthy diet with positive scientific evidence of preventing chronic diseases. Bioactive components support the healthy properties of the Mediterranean diet. Antioxidants and fiber, two components of the Mediterranean diet, are key functional nutrients for healthy eating and nutrition. Wine grape pomace is a rich source of these dietary constituents and may be beneficial for human health. Our hypothesis was that the intake of red wine grape pomace flour (WGPF) prepared from red wine grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon variety) reduced the metabolic syndrome in humans. To evaluate the effect of WGPF on components of metabolic syndrome we design a 16-week longitudinal intervention study. Thirty-eight males, 30–65 years of age, with at least one component of metabolic syndrome, were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 25) or the control group (n = 13). At lunch, the intervention group was given 20 g of WGPF per day, which contained 10 g of dietary fiber, 822 mg of polyphenols and an antioxidant capacity of 7258 ORAC units. Both groups were asked to maintain their regular eating habits and lifestyles. Clinical evaluation, anthropometric measurements and biochemical blood analyses were done at the beginning and the end of the study.

Results

WGPF intake significantly decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as fasting glucose levels. Plasma γ-tocopherol and δ-tocopherol increased and carbonyl group in plasma protein decreased in WGPT group, significantly. No significant effect was observed for waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, total antioxidant capacity and vitamin C in and between groups. The group-dependent magnitude of the differences between the baseline and final postprandial insulin values and γ-tocopherol concentrations was statistically significant.

Conclusions

The consumption of WGPF-rich in fiber and polyphenol antioxidants, as a food supplement in a regular diet improves blood pressure, glycaemia and postprandial insulin. In addition, increased antioxidant defenses and decreased oxidative protein damage indicating attenuation of oxidative stress. WGPF might be a useful food ingredient for health promotion and chronic disease prevention.     

Seasonal variation in nutritional characteristics of the diet of greater white-fronted geese

We studied diet and habitat use of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) from autumn through spring on their primary staging and wintering areas in the Pacific Flyway, 1979–1982. There have been few previous studies of resource use and forage quality of wintering greater white-fronted geese in North America, and as a consequence there has been little empirical support for management practices pertaining to habitat conservation of this broadly distributed species. Observations of >2,500 flocks of geese and collections of foraging birds revealed seasonal and geographic variation in resource use reflective of changes in habitat availability, selection, and fluctuating physiological demands. Autumn migrants from Alaska arrived first in the Klamath Basin of California and southern Oregon, where they fed on barley, oats, wheat, and potatoes. Geese migrated from the Klamath Basin into the Central Valley of California in late autumn where they exploited agricultural crops rich in soluble carbohydrates, with geese in the Sacramento Valley feeding almost exclusively on rice and birds on the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta primarily utilizing corn. White-fronted geese began their northward migration in late winter, and by early spring most had returned to the Klamath Basin where 37% of flocks were found in fields of new growth cultivated and wild grasses. Cereal grains and potatoes ingested by geese were low in protein (7–14%) and high in soluble nutrients (17–47% neutral detergent fiber [NDF]), whereas grasses were low in available energy (47–49% NDF) but high in protein (26–42%). Greater white-fronted geese are generalist herbivores and can exploit a variety of carbohydrate-rich cultivated crops, likely making these geese less susceptible to winter food shortages than prior to the agriculturalization of the North American landscape. However, agricultural landscapes can be extremely dynamic and may be less predictable in the long-term than the historic environments to which geese are adapted. Thus far greater white-fronted geese have proved resilient to changes in land cover in the Pacific Flyway and by altering their migration regime have even been able to adapt to changes in the availability of suitable forage crops. © 2010 The Wildlife Society.     

Growth and biomass production with enhanced β‐glucan and dietary fibre contents of Ganoderma australe ATHUM 4345 in a batch‐stirred tank bioreactor

In this study we maximized biomass production by the basidiomycete Ganoderma australe ATHUM 4345, a species of pharmaceutical interest as it is a valuable source of nutraceuticals, including dietary fibers and glucans. We used the Biolog FF MicroPlate to screen 95 different carbon sources for growth monitoring. The pattern of substrate catabolism forms a substrate assimilation fingerprint, which is useful in selecting components for media optimization of maximum biomass production. Response surface methodology, based on the central composite design was applied to explore the optimum concentrations of carbon and nitrogen sources of culture medium in shake flask cultures. When the improved culture medium was tested in a 20‐L stirred tank bioreactor, using 13.7 g/L glucose and 30.0 g/L yeast extract, high biomass yields (10.1±0.4 g/L) and productivity of 0.09 g L^?1 h^?1 were obtained. The yield coefficients for total glucan and dietary fibers on biomass formed were 94.82±6 and 341.15±12.3 mg/g mycelium dry weight, respectively.     

高血压患者饮食习惯、传统制剂服用现状调查及其影响因素分析

目的:调查高血压患者饮食习惯以及传统制剂服用现状,并分析饮食习惯与高血压患病的关系以及传统制剂服用的影响因素。方法:按照简单随机抽样法,采用自制调查问卷对呼和浩特市3个镇共8个行政村成年常住农村村民进行问卷调查,调查内容包括人口学特征、饮食习惯等内容,并采用多因素logistic回归分析饮食习惯与高血压患病的关系以及高血压患者传统制剂服用的影响因素。结果:呼和浩特市高血压患病率为22.68%。多因素logistic回归结果显示,较高的BMI、高血压家族史、饮酒史、泡菜咸菜、油炸食品、红肉(猪/牛/羊肉)/动物内脏、海产品是高血压独立危险因素(OR=1.257、1.451、1.358、1.317、1.108、1.146、1.373,P<0.05),奶制品、豆制品、新鲜果蔬是高血压保护因素(OR=0.797、0.868、0.903,P<0.05)。高血压患者传统制剂服用率为16.90%。多因素logistic回归结果显示,年龄≥60岁、文化程度高中以下、不了解高血压知识是高血压患者传统制剂服用的危险因素(OR=1.342、1.545、1.142,P<0.05)。结论:呼和浩特市农村成年村民高血压患病率较高,不良饮食习惯(饮食偏咸、油腻等)是高血压独立危险因素,高龄、文化程度低、不了解高血压知识的高血压患者传统制剂服用率较高,应加强农村居民合理膳食、保持均衡饮食习惯的宣传教育以及农村高血压患者用药规范。     

Dietary zinc intake,supplemental zinc intake and serum zinc levels and the prevalence of kidney stones in adults

ObjectiveThe association between zinc intake and the risk of kidney stones remains controversial. We examined the associations between dietary zinc intake, supplemental zinc intake and serum zinc levels and the prevalence of kidney stones in adults.MethodsAdult participants from the 2007–2016 NHANES were included. Restricted cubic splines were adopted to assess the dose-response relationships.ResultsDietary zinc intake was linearly associated with the prevalence of kidney stones (P_{for non-linearity} = 0.50), and the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of kidney stones were 0.75 (0.51–1.04) for 10 mg/day, 0.65 (0.39-0.97) for 20 mg/day, 0.53 (0.30-0.94) for 30 mg/day and 0.45 (0.22-0.95) for 40 mg/day. The linear relationship was also observed among women and overweight/obese individuals. No association was found between supplemental zinc intake and the prevalence of kidney stones. A non-linear relationship was found between serum zinc levels and the prevalence of kidney stones (P_{for non-linearity} = 0.02), and the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of kidney stones were 0.52 (0.33-0.82) for 70 ug/dL, 0.43 (0.24-0.77) for 90 ug/dL, 0.56 (0.32-0.98) for 110 ug/dL and 0.77 (0.37–1.62) for 130 ug/dL. The non-linear relationship was also observed among men and overweight/obese individuals.ConclusionsDietary zinc intake and serum zinc levels were inversely associated with the prevalence of kidney stones in adults, and there may be effect modification by participant sex and body mass index. The present analysis is limited in its ability to establish causality.     

中华倒刺鲃幼鱼饲料蛋白质需求量的研究

以白鱼粉为蛋白源,设计了6个不同蛋白质含量(20.49%、26.48%、34.20%、41.02%、49.94%和55.86%,分别表示为D1、D2、D3、D4、D5和D6)的等能饲料,采用室内循环水养殖系统,在水温为(27.5±0.5)℃的条件下对中华倒刺鲃幼鱼进行10周的养殖实验,探讨中华倒刺鲃幼鱼对饲料蛋白质的需求量。每个处理设4个重复,每个重复12尾鱼。结果显示：干物质摄食率(FRdm)随饲料蛋白质含量升高呈先降低然后稳定的趋势;蛋白质摄食率(FRp)与饲料蛋白质含量呈正相关关系(r=0.982,p<0.01)。干物质表观消化率随饲料蛋白质含量增加而降低,蛋白质消化率在各组间无显著差异。随饲料蛋白质含量由D1逐渐增加至D4,体重特定生长率(SGRw)、能量特定生长率(SGRe)和饲料效率(FE)均显著增高(p<0.05),而D4、D5和D6组间无显著差异,其中D4组的三个指标值均最高,分别为(0.97±0.04)%/d、(0.87±0.04)%/d、(68.96±3.00)%。蛋白质效率(PER)、蛋白质累积率(PPV)和能量累积率(EPV)在各饲料组间均存在显著差异。以SGRw、SGRe和FE为指标,采用折线模型分析表明,中华倒刺鲃幼鱼的最适饲料蛋白质含量为39.6%－42.2%。     

Measurement of dietary exposure: a challenging problem which may be overcome thanks to metabolomics?

The diet is an important environmental exposure, and its measurement is an essential component of much health-related research. However, conventional tools for measuring dietary exposure have significant limitations being subject to an unknown degree of misreporting and dependent upon food composition tables to allow estimation of intakes of energy, nutrients and non-nutrient food constituents. In addition, such tools may be inappropriate for use with certain groups of people. As an alternative approach, the recent techniques of metabolite profiling or fingerprinting, which allows simultaneous monitoring of multiple and dynamic components of biological fluids, may provide metabolic signals indicative of food intake. Samples can be analysed through numerous analytical platforms, followed by multivariate data analysis. In humans, metabolomics has been applied successfully in pharmacology, toxicology and medical screening, but nutritional metabolomics is still in its infancy. Biomarkers of a small number of specific foods and nutrients have been developed successfully but less targeted and more high-throughput methods, that do not need prior knowledge of which signals might be discriminatory, and which may allow a more global characterisation of dietary intake, remain to be tested. A proof a principle project (the MEDE Study) is currently underway in our laboratories to test the hypothesis that high-throughput, non-targeted metabolite fingerprinting using flow injection electrospray mass spectrometry can be applied to human biofluids (blood and urine) to characterise dietary exposure in humans.     

Foraging conditions of planktotrophic larvae of echinoderms in the southwestern part of Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan

Foraging of planktotrophic larvae of echinoderm common species in the Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan) was estimated on the basis of distribution of phyto- and meroplankton. The diversity and abundance of phytoplankton in the studied area in summer months were shown (141 algae species; abundance—up to 743000 cells/m³; biomass—more than 2.7 g/m³ of fresh weight). It was found that in Peter the Great Bay the diet of echinoderm larvae depended on their feeding behavior, duration of their pelagic stage, and abundance and size composition of phytoplankton, included up to several micrograms of fresh algae per larva.     

Spawning habits and embryonic development of the banded lampeye killifish Aplocheilichthys spilauchen (Duméril 1861) in ex situ fresh and brackish water environments

Aside from ornamental uses, there is growing interest in using killifishes for a multiplicity of purposes including baitfish and mosquito biocontrol. This experiment explored the spawning habits and embryonic development of the banded lampeye, Aplocheilichthys spilauchen in ex situ freshwater (0.04‰) and brackish water (5.01‰) to ascertain the captive breeding prospects for mosquito control in areas where they occur. Significantly higher number of eggs were laid in the brackish water than the freshwater (X² = 1613.0, P < 0.05), and black mop was the most preferred spawning substrate, followed by green, blue and white mops. Microscopic monitoring of embryos revealed that cleavage occurred within the first 30 min after fertilization, organogenesis commenced on average in the 25th hour and hatching in approximately 230 h. Although freshwater eggs were relatively bigger than brackish water eggs and certain embryonic developmental stages occurred faster in the freshwater than brackish water, these differences were overall not significant and had no effects on the development and hatching. The observed outcome that A. spilauchen can be optimally propagated with black mops in brackish water offers a significant step in its use for the mosquito biocontrol programme, as well as other potential uses not yet explored.