Free fatty acid profiles in preeclampsia

Preeclampsia has many characteristics similar to the metabolic syndrome. One of these is aberrant lipid metabolism. We studied free fatty acid (FFA) profiles at baseline and after oral glucose load in 21 preeclamptic and 11 normotensive pregnant women. Insulin sensitivity was measured by intravenous glucose tolerance test.We found that serum total FFA concentrations at baseline were 67% higher in preeclamptic than in normotensive pregnancies (P=0.0002). The difference between the two groups was largest in the concentrations of oleic (75%), linoleic (129%) and arachidonic (315%) acids. Oral intake of glucose suppressed total FFA in preeclamptic women by 40% (95% CI 32.1–46.1%, P<0.0001) but only 24% in control women (95% CI 0.01–42.0%, P=0.045). Insulin sensitivity, which in preeclamptic women was 37% lower (P=0.009), was unrelated to total or any individual FFA concentration.We concluded that preeclamptic women have higher circulating FFA concentrations, which despite insulin resistance are suppressed by oral glucose loading.     

Sustained brain-derived neurotrophic factor up-regulation and sensorimotor gating abnormality induced by postnatal exposure to phencyclidine: comparison with adult treatment

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in synaptic development and plasticity, and alterations in BDNF expression or signaling are implicated in drug addiction and psychiatric diseases, such as depression and schizophrenia. In this study, we administered phencyclidine to postnatal and adult rats with different time schedules, and determined the correlations between BDNF expression and the behavioral effects. Both single and repeated phencyclidine injections into adult rats induced BDNF up-regulation in the corticolimbic system and a decrease in prepulse inhibition, both of which were transient. In contrast, subchronic postnatal administration increased BDNF protein and mRNA levels in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, which were sustained until 8 weeks of age. In parallel, the postnatal rats treated with phencyclidine developed a persistent decrease in prepulse inhibition at the adult stage. The chronic BDNF increase appeared to contribute to the prepulse inhibition abnormality, as subchronic BDNF infusion into the hippocampus of normal rats mimicked the prepulse inhibition deficits. This study suggests that phencyclidine exposure during brain development induces sustained BDNF up-regulation in the limbic system with a biological link to sensorimotor gating deficits.     

Leisure-Time Physical Activity and All-Cause Mortality

Background

Physical inactivity is a major public health problem associated with increased mortality risk. It is, however, poorly understood whether vigorous physical activity is more beneficial for reducing mortality risk than activities of lower intensity. The aim of this study was to examine associations of the intensity and volume of leisure-time physical activity with all-cause mortality among middle-aged women and men while considering sociodemographic and health related factors as covariates.

Methods

Questionnaire survey data collected in 2000-02 among 40–60-year-old employees of the City of Helsinki (N = 8960) were linked with register data on mortality (74% gave permission to the linkage) providing a mean follow-up time of 12-years. The analysis included 6429 respondents (79% women). The participants were classified into three groups according to intensity of physical activity: low moderate, high moderate and vigorous. The volume of physical activity was classified into three groups according to tertiles. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause mortality.

Results

During the follow up 205 participants died. Leisure-time physical activity was associated with reduced risk of mortality. After adjusting for covariates the vigorous group (HR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.34–0.86) showed a reduced risk of mortality compared with the low moderate group whereas for the high moderate group the reductions in mortality risk (HR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.48–1.08) were less clear. Adjusting for the volume of physical activity did not affect the point estimates. Higher volume of leisure-time physical activity was also associated with reduced mortality risk; however, adjusting for the covariates and the intensity of physical activity explained the differences.

Conclusions

For healthy middle-aged women and men who engage in some physical activity vigorous exercise may provide further health benefits preventing premature deaths.     

Separating water‐potential induced swelling and shrinking from measured radial stem variations reveals a cambial growth and osmotic concentration signal

The quantification of cambial growth over short time periods has been hampered by problems to discern between growth and the swelling and shrinking of a tree stem. This paper presents a model, which separates cambial growth and reversible water‐potential induced diurnal changes from simultaneously measured whole stem and xylem radial variations, from field‐measured Scots pine trees in Finland. The modelled growth, which includes osmotic concentration changes, was compared with (direct) dendrometer measurements and microcore samples. In addition, the relationship of modelled growth and dendrometer measurements to environmental factors was analysed. The results showed that the water‐potential induced changes of tree radius were successfully separated from stem growth. Daily growth predicted by the model exhibited a high correlation with the modelled daily changes of osmotic concentration in phloem, and a temperature dependency in early summer. Late‐summer growth saw higher dependency on water availability and temperature. Evaluation of the model against dendrometer measurements showed that the latter masked a true environmental signal in stem growth due to water‐potential induced changes. The model provides better understanding of radial growth physiology and offers potential to examine growth dynamics and changes due to osmotic concentration, and how the environment affects growth.     

Accelerometer-based osteogenic indices,moderate-to-vigorous and vigorous physical activity,and bone traits in adolescents

Objectives:We investigated the associations of accelerometry-derived osteogenic indices (OIs), moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA), and vigorous intensity physical activity (VPA) with peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pCQT) parameters in 99 adolescents aged 10–13 years.Methods:Bone parameters were assessed at the distal (4%) and shaft (66%) of the tibia using pQCT. Accelerometers were worn on the right hip for 7 consecutive days. OIs were calculated based on acceleration peak histograms either using all of the peaks (OI) or peaks with acceleration ≥5.2 g (HOI). MVPA and VPA were defined using previously published cut-points.Results:HOI was positively associated with total area (Partial correlation= 0.22, 95% CI=0.01 to 0.41), cortical area (CoA) (0.33, 95% CI=0.13 to 0.50), and stress strain index (SSI) (0.29, 95% CI=0.09 to 0.47) of tibial shaft and with total density at the distal tibia (0.23, 95% CI=0.02 to 0.42). OI was positively associated with CoA (0.31, 95% CI=0.11 to 0.49) and SSI (0.26, 95% CI=0.05 to 0.44) of tibial shaft. MVPA was positively associated with CoA (0.28, 95% CI=0.07 to 0.46) of the tibial shaft.Conclusions:OI and HOI were positively associated with pQCT parameters while MVPA and VPA demonstrated less consistent associations with them.     

Next Generation Sequencing of Fecal DNA Reveals the Dietary Diversity of the Widespread Insectivorous Predator Daubenton’s Bat (Myotis daubentonii) in Southwestern Finland

Understanding predator-prey dynamics is a fundamental task in the evaluation of the adaptive capacities of species. However, direct observations or morphological identification of fecal remains do not offer an effective way to study the dietary ecology of elusive species, such as nocturnal insectivorous bats. However, recent advances in molecular techniques have opened a new method for identifying prey species from fecal samples. In this study, we amplified species-specific mitochondrial COI fragments from fecal DNA extractions from 34 individual Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii) collected between 2008 and 2010 from southwestern Finland. Altogether, 128 different species of prey were identified based on a comprehensive local DNA reference library. In our study area, Daubenton’s bats feed most frequently on insects of the orders Diptera (found in the diet of 94% individuals), Trichoptera (69%) and Lepidoptera (63%). The most frequent dipteran family in the diet was Chironomidae, which was found in 31 of 34 individuals. Most common prey species were chironomids Microtendipes pedellus (found in 50% of bats), Glyptotendipes cauliginellus (44%), and Procladius ferrugineus (41%). For the first time, an accurate species level list of the diet of the insectivorous Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii) in Finland is presented. We report a generally applicable method for describing the arthropod diet of vertebrate predators. We compare public databases to a national database to highlight the importance of a local reference database.     

Localization of nonerythroid spectrin and actin in mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos

Mouse oocytes, cleavage-stage embryos, and blastocyst-stage embryos were studied to show the distribution of both an immunoanalog to nonerythroid spectrin (p 230) and F-actin. Using antibodies to nonerythroid spectrin, diffuse, positive cytoplasmic fluorescence was regularly seen in oocytes and embryo cells. The presence of nonerythroid spectrin in oocytes was confirmed by immunoblotting. Oocytes usually exhibited an inconspicuous submembranous layer of nonerythroid spectrin, which was more pronounced in the area of the polar body. Oocytes regularly exhibited a peripheral concentration of actin. Throughout the cleavage and blastocyst stages, a cortical layer of nonerythroid spectrin and actin was usually observed in embryo cells. These submembranous layers on the outer surface of the embryo were relatively thin as compared to those in areas of intercellular contact. The contact areas regularly showed distinct positive staining, including a concentration of label at the most peripheral region of each contact area. This resulted in the presence of ring-like fluorescence around each blastomere. Nonerythroid spectrin and actin showed concentration to the contact area between the oocyte and the polar body. Although the general localization patterns of nonerythroid spectrin and actin were similar, double-staining experiments revealed that slightly different planes of focus were necessary to obtain sharp definition of the fluorescence of these components in areas of intercellular contact: the ring-like concentration of nonerythroid spectrin appeared to be localized more peripherally than that of actin. The cells of preimplantation embryos show motile features that include actual cell movements and striking changes in cell shape (e.g., during compaction). The submembraneous layers of nonerythroid spectrin and actin may contribute to the regulation of the deformability and thus the shape of embryo cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)