Dietary Inflammatory Index and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in the SUN Cohort

Background

Diet is known to play a key role in atherogenesis and in the development of cardiovascular events. Dietary factors may mediate these processes acting as potential modulators of inflammation. Potential Links between inflammatory properties of diet and the occurrence of cardiovascular events have not been tested previously.

Objective

We aimed to assess the association between the dietary inflammatory index (DII), a method to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet, and incident cardiovascular disease.

Methods

In the prospective, dynamic SUN cohort, 18,794 middle-aged, Spanish university graduates were followed up for 8.9 years (median). A validated 136-item food-frequency questionnaire was used to calculate the DII. The DII is based on scientific evidence about the relationship between diet and inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between the DII and incident cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, stroke or cardiovascular death).

Results

The risk for cardiovascular events progressively increased with each increasing quartile of DII (p_trend = 0.017). The multivariable-adjusted HR for participants in the highest (most pro-inflammatory) vs. the lowest quartile of the DII was 2.03 (95% CI 1.06–3.88).

Conclusions

A pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a significantly higher risk for developing cardiovascular events.     

Morphological and ecophysiological root and leaf traits in ectomycorrhizal,arbuscular-mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal Alnus incana seedlings

Plant and Soil - Green manuring can suppress crop diseases and change soil microbial communities, but the functional significances of changes in soil microbial communities are unclear. Effects of...     

Neural signatures of syntactic variation in speech planning

Planning to speak is a challenge for the brain, and the challenge varies between and within languages. Yet, little is known about how neural processes react to these variable challenges beyond the planning of individual words. Here, we examine how fundamental differences in syntax shape the time course of sentence planning. Most languages treat alike (i.e., align with each other) the 2 uses of a word like “gardener” in “the gardener crouched” and in “the gardener planted trees.” A minority keeps these formally distinct by adding special marking in 1 case, and some languages display both aligned and nonaligned expressions. Exploiting such a contrast in Hindi, we used electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking to suggest that this difference is associated with distinct patterns of neural processing and gaze behavior during early planning stages, preceding phonological word form preparation. Planning sentences with aligned expressions induces larger synchronization in the theta frequency band, suggesting higher working memory engagement, and more visual attention to agents than planning nonaligned sentences, suggesting delayed commitment to the relational details of the event. Furthermore, plain, unmarked expressions are associated with larger desynchronization in the alpha band than expressions with special markers, suggesting more engagement in information processing to keep overlapping structures distinct during planning. Our findings contrast with the observation that the form of aligned expressions is simpler, and they suggest that the global preference for alignment is driven not by its neurophysiological effect on sentence planning but by other sources, possibly by aspects of production flexibility and fluency or by sentence comprehension. This challenges current theories on how production and comprehension may affect the evolution and distribution of syntactic variants in the world’s languages.

Little is known about the neural processes involved in planning to speak. This study uses eye-tracking and EEG to show that speakers prepare sentence structures in different ways and rely on alpha and theta oscillations differently when planning sentences with and without agent case marking, challenging theories on how production and comprehension affect language evolution.     

Repurposing the orphan drug nitisinone to control the transmission of African trypanosomiasis

Tsetse transmit African trypanosomiasis, which is a disease fatal to both humans and animals. A vaccine to protect against this disease does not exist so transmission control relies on eliminating tsetse populations. Although neurotoxic insecticides are the gold standard for insect control, they negatively impact the environment and reduce populations of insect pollinator species. Here we present a promising, environment-friendly alternative to current insecticides that targets the insect tyrosine metabolism pathway. A bloodmeal contains high levels of tyrosine, which is toxic to haematophagous insects if it is not degraded and eliminated. RNA interference (RNAi) of either the first two enzymes in the tyrosine degradation pathway (tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) and 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)) was lethal to tsetse. Furthermore, nitisinone (NTBC), an FDA-approved tyrosine catabolism inhibitor, killed tsetse regardless if the drug was orally or topically applied. However, oral administration of NTBC to bumblebees did not affect their survival. Using a novel mathematical model, we show that NTBC could reduce the transmission of African trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa, thus accelerating current disease elimination programmes.

This study shows that tsetse flies, vectors of African trypanosomiasis, are highly susceptible to killing by nitisinone, a tyrosine catabolism inhibitor currently used to treat human metabolic diseases; this environment-friendly drug could facilitate elimination of African trypanosomiasis and other diseases transmitted by blood feeding insects.     

Breeding biology of the Little Egret Egretta garzetta on the southern coast of the Bay of Biscay

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Annual reproductive parameters of Little Egrets Egretta garzetta in an Atlantic coastal colony showed strong variation in a 20-year study, mainly due to extreme events.

Aims: To describe the breeding biology of Little Egrets in the Bay of Biscay and compare it with that of the Mediterranean basin. Also, to explore relationships between breeding parameters and colony size with some climatic indicators.

Methods: Phenology, number of nests, clutch size, number of hatchlings, brood size, and hatching and breeding success were recorded over 20 years.

Results: Median laying date of 214 nests was 1 May (range: 1 April–25 June) and 54% of the clutches were laid in the second half of April and the first half of May. Over the 20-year study period mean clutch size of 270 nests was 4.0, mean number of hatchlings was 3.1, and mean brood size was 2.3. Hatching success ranged from 46.1% to 100% and breeding success from zero to 100%. Number of nests was negatively associated with clutch and brood size. The highest clutch size and lowest brood size were recorded at the beginning of the season. Significant relationships were found between the number of hatchlings and the rainfall during the pre-breeding season, and between brood size and the summer rainfall.

Conclusions: Reproductive parameters showed significant variation over the study period, which highlights the importance of using long-term data sets. Breeding occurred one month later than in natural colonies of the Mediterranean basin. Negative relationships between the number of nests and clutch and brood size suggest some degree of density-dependent effects. Ranges of clutch size, number of hatchlings, and brood size were within those reported in Mediterranean populations. The effect of rainfall on reproductive parameters was weak. Extreme weather and predation events caused low rates of hatching and breeding success that affected the growth of the colony.