Impact of nightshift work on overweight and abdominal obesity among workers of a poultry processing plant in southern Brazil

The authors examined the associations of shiftwork with overweight and abdominal obesity through a cross-sectional study of 1206 employees 18 to 50 yrs of age who were working on a production line in a poultry processing plant. Night-shift workers (n = 800) were considered exposed, whereas day shiftworkers (n = 406) were considered nonexposed. Overweight was defined as a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m(2) and abdominal obesity as a waist circumference ≥ 88 cm in women and ≥ 102 cm in men. The mean age of the workers was 30.5 yrs (standard deviation = 8.7 yrs), and 65.2% were women. Nightshift workers compared to dayshift workers showed higher prevalences of overweight (42.2% vs. 34.3%; p=?.020) and abdominal obesity (24.9% vs. 19.5%; p =?.037). After adjusting for sociodemographics, parental overweight status, behavioral characteristics, and sleep characteristics, including hours of sleep, the prevalence ratios for overweight and abdominal obesity were 1.27 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.00-1.61) and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.10-1.92), respectively, for the nightshift workers compared to the dayshift workers. A consistent finding in our study was the independent contribution of night shiftwork to overweight and abdominal obesity among Brazilian workers. Further studies are needed to understand the biological mechanisms involved and the complex behavioral and social adaptations experienced by night-shift workers.     

99mTc-Labeled HYNIC-DAPI Causes Plasmid DNA Damage with High Efficiency

^99mTc is the standard radionuclide used for nuclear medicine imaging. In addition to gamma irradiation, ^99mTc emits low-energy Auger and conversion electrons that deposit their energy within nanometers of the decay site. To study the potential for DNA damage, direct DNA binding is required. Plasmid DNA enables the investigation of the unprotected interactions between molecules and DNA that result in single-strand breaks (SSBs) or double-strand breaks (DSBs); the resulting DNA fragments can be separated by gel electrophoresis and quantified by fluorescent staining. This study aimed to compare the plasmid DNA damage potential of a ^99mTc-labeled HYNIC-DAPI compound with that of ^99mTc pertechnetate (^99mTcO₄⁻). pUC19 plasmid DNA was irradiated for 2 or 24 hours. Direct and radical-induced DNA damage were evaluated in the presence or absence of the radical scavenger DMSO. For both compounds, an increase in applied activity enhanced plasmid DNA damage, which was evidenced by an increase in the open circular and linear DNA fractions and a reduction in the supercoiled DNA fraction. The number of SSBs elicited by ^99mTc-HYNIC-DAPI (1.03) was twice that caused by ^99mTcO₄⁻ (0.51), and the number of DSBs increased fivefold in the ^99mTc-HYNIC-DAPI-treated sample compared with the ^99mTcO₄⁻ treated sample (0.02 to 0.10). In the presence of DMSO, the numbers of SSBs and DSBs decreased to 0.03 and 0.00, respectively, in the ^99mTcO₄^– treated samples, whereas the numbers of SSBs and DSBs were slightly reduced to 0.95 and 0.06, respectively, in the ^99mTc-HYNIC-DAPI-treated samples. These results indicated that ^99mTc-HYNIC-DAPI induced SSBs and DSBs via a direct interaction of the ^99mTc-labeled compound with DNA. In contrast to these results, ^99mTcO₄⁻ induced SSBs via radical formation, and DSBs were formed by two nearby SSBs. The biological effectiveness of ^99mTc-HYNIC-DAPI increased by approximately 4-fold in terms of inducing SSBs and by approximately 10-fold in terms of inducing DSBs.     

Sex-Specific Mediating Role of Insulin Resistance and Inflammation in the Effect of Adiposity on Blood Pressure of Prepubertal Children

Objective

To evaluate the association between obesity indices and blood pressure (BP) at 4 years of age, in each sex, and to quantify to which extent this association is mediated by inflammation and insulin resistance (IR).

Materials and Methods

We studied 1250 4-year-old children selected from the population-based birth cohort Generation XXI. Associations between body mass index (BMI) z-score and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), office BP, inflammation (high sensitivity C-reactive protein) and IR (HOMA-IR index) were assessed. Path Analysis, a modified multivariate regression approach, was applied to test causal models and quantify direct and indirect effects of predictors of systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP).

Results

SBP and DBP increased significantly with BMI and WHtR in both sexes. There was a strong direct association (explaining 74.1-93.2% of the total association) of both measures of adiposity with SBP, in both sexes. This association was additionally indirectly mediated by IR, particularly regarding WHtR (20.5% in girls and 9.4% in boys). Mediation by inflammation did not reach statistical significance in either sex. Regarding DBP, the direct effect of adiposity was strong (>95% for BMI and WHtR in boys) and the mediation by IR was much smaller in boys than in girls.

Discussion

The direct association between adiposity and BP in healthy 4-year-old children is strong and IR plays an important mediating role. The strength of effects of IR and inflammation suggests sex differences in the complex interplay between BP, adiposity and inflammation.     

Relative Pigment Composition and Remote Sensing Reflectance of Caribbean Shallow-Water Corals

Reef corals typically contain a number of pigments, mostly due to their symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates. These pigments usually vary in presence and concentration and influence the spectral characteristics of corals. We studied the variations in pigment composition among seven Caribbean shallow-water Scleractinian corals by means of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis to further resolve the discrimination of corals. We found a total of 27 different pigments among the coral species, including some alteration products of the main pigments. Additionally, pigments typically found in endolithic algae were also identified. A Principal Components Analysis and a Hierarchical Cluster Analysis showed the separation of coral species based on pigment composition. All the corals were collected under the same physical environmental conditions. This suggests that pigment in the coral’s symbionts might be more genetically-determined than influenced by prevailing physical conditions of the reef. We further investigated the use of remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) as a tool for estimating the total pigment concentration of reef corals. Depending on the coral species, the Rrs and the total symbiont pigment concentration per coral tissue area correlation showed 79.5–98.5% confidence levels demonstrating its use as a non-invasive robust technique to estimate pigment concentration in studies of coral reef biodiversity and health.     

Effect of Nucleotides and Related Compounds on Glutamine Synthetase Activity in Chick Embryo Retina: A Biochemical and Immunohistochemical Study

Abstract: The effect of a number of nucleotides and related compounds on glutamine synthetase (GS) induction in retina from 12-day chick embryo was studied with both biochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. A number of these compounds gave rise to GS activity comparable to that induced by treatment with cortisol, which is known to give rise to precocious induction of the enzyme in this system. Of the cyclic nucleotides examined, cAMP (0.5-1.2 × 10^?3 M) gave essentially no increase in GS activity. In contrast, dibutyryl cAMP (0.8 × 10^?3 M) had a more significant effect on GS activity, as did 8-bromo-cAMP and cGMP at the same concentration. The activity elicited by these nucleotides was generally half that obtained by treatment with 2.8 × 10^?7 M-cortisol for the same length of time, 8-Bromo-cGMP (0.8 × 10^?3 M) had an effect comparable to the aforementioned concentration of cortisol. Since phosphodiesterase activity is minimal in the chick retina at 12 days of development, addition of isobutylmethylxanthine (1 × 10^?5 M) to this system had, as would be expected, little effect on GS activity. Of the noncyclic compounds, 8-bromoguanosine often gave rise to GS activity comparable to that obtained with cortisol. The other compounds (8-bromo-5′-GMP, guanosine, adenosine, and 5′-AMP) generally had less of an effect on GS. In general, the degree of staining in the immunohistochemical localization of GS corresponded well with the biochemical results and showed the enzyme to be present in regions consistent with the distribution of Muller cells and their processes. Thin-layer chromatography and radioimmunoassay of the nucleotides did not show any steroid impurity in any of the compounds used in the study, even when determinations were carried out at five times the concentration of nucleotide used in the experiments.     

Allelic Variation within the Emv-15 Locus Defines Genomic Sequences Closely Linked to the agouti Locus on Mouse Chromosome 2

Gene(s) at the agouti locus act within the microenvironment of the hair follicle to switch pigment synthesis in the melanocyte between eumelanin (black or brown pigment) and phaeomelanin (yellow pigment). Many phenotypic variants of this locus have been described. The mechanism(s) of gene action causing such variation in coat-color phenotype is not known. The close linkage of an endogenous ecotropic murine leukemia provirus, Emv-15, to the lethal yellow mutation of the agouti locus provides a means to molecularly access genes at or near the agouti locus. We have identified and used a unique mouse sequence flanking the Emv-15 provirus to define three alleles of the Emv-15 locus. We found a correlation between the presence of specific Emv-15 alleles and the origins of specific agouti locus mutations, confirming close linkage. However, we found some exceptions which suggest that the Emv-15 locus is closely linked to, but genetically separable from, the agouti locus.     

A model for the recognition of protein kinases based on the entropy of 3D van der Waals interactions

The study and prediction of kinase function (kinomics) is of major importance for proteome research due to the widespread distribution of kinases. However, the prediction of protein function based on the similarity between a functionally annotated 3D template and a query structure may fail, for instance, if a similar protein structure cannot be identified. Alternatively, function can be assigned using 3D-structural empirical parameters. In previous studies, we introduced parameters based on electrostatic entropy (Proteins 2004, 56, 715) and molecular vibration entropy (Bioinformatics 2003, 19, 2079) but ignored other important factors such as van der Waals (vdw) interactions. In the work described here, we define 3D-vdw entropies (degrees theta(k)) and use them for the first time to derive a classifier for protein kinases. The model classifies correctly 88.0% of proteins in training and more than 85.0% of proteins in validation studies. Principal components analysis of heterogeneous proteins demonstrated that degrees theta(k) codify information that is different to that described by other bulk or folding parameters. In additional validation experiments, the model recognized 129 out of 142 kinases (90.8%) and 592 out of 677 non-kinases (87.4%) not used above. This study provides a basis for further consideration of degrees theta(k) as parameters for the empirical search for structure-function relationships.     

Unique Aspects of the Structure and Dynamics of Elementary Iβ Cellulose Microfibrils Revealed by Computational Simulations

Flooding is detrimental for plants, primarily because of restricted gas exchange underwater, which leads to an energy and carbohydrate deficit. Impeded gas exchange also causes rapid accumulation of the volatile ethylene in all flooded plant cells. Although several internal changes in the plant can signal the flooded status, it is the pervasive and rapid accumulation of ethylene that makes it an early and reliable flooding signal. Not surprisingly, it is a major regulator of several flood-adaptive plant traits. Here, we discuss these major ethylene-mediated traits, their functional relevance, and the recent progress in identifying the molecular and signaling events underlying these traits downstream of ethylene. We also speculate on the role of ethylene in postsubmergence recovery and identify several questions for future investigations.Come gather round people wherever you roamAnd admit that the waters around you have grownAnd accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the boneIf your time to you is worth savingAnd you’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changing…THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN''Words and Music by Bob DylanCopyright © 1963, 1964 Warner Bros. Inc.Copyright Renewed 1991, 1992 Special Rider MusicInternational Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.Reprinted by Permission.Fifty years later, these prophetic words from Dylan’s legendary song strangely ring true. We live in an increasingly wetter world. Flooding events have become more frequent, severe, and unpredictable, a trend that is linked to climate change (Arnell and Liu, 2001; Hirabayashi et al., 2013). Not only do they destroy human lives, but also, they affect plants, on which we depend so much. Flooding negatively affects plant biodiversity, natural species distribution, and global food production because of crop losses (Silvertown et al., 1999; Normile, 2008), because most terrestrial plants, including major crops, are extremely sensitive to wet conditions. It might seem counterintuitive that a molecule so biologically benign and indispensable for plant growth and function is harmful when present in excess. However, this is attributed to the fact that water is an extremely poor medium for gas diffusion. Hampered gas exchange with flooded organs leads to restriction of two vital plant processes: photosynthesis and respiration. The problem is compounded by stagnant and/or turbid floodwaters, because this further restricts the availability of light and oxygen. An energy crisis quickly results owing to an imbalance between energy production and consumption, ultimately causing plant mortality. Flooding survival tactics in the plant kingdom vary widely and include several morphological, anatomical, physiological, and molecular changes that can prolong survival and even facilitate permanent habitation in wet environments (Voesenek and Bailey-Serres, 2015). Initiation of these changes requires accurate and timely perception of water inundation to initiate adaptive responses. The term flooding encompasses both waterlogging and submergence. Waterlogging implies soil flooding, where only roots are exposed to wet conditions. Submergence also immerses the shoot (partially or wholly). Unless otherwise specified, this nomenclature will be used throughout this article.     

Effects of energy content and energy density of pre-portioned entrées on energy intake

Pre-portioned entrées are commonly consumed to help control portion size and limit energy intake. The influence of entrée characteristics on energy intake, however, has not been well studied. We determined how the effects of energy content and energy density (ED, kcal/g) of pre-portioned entrées combine to influence daily energy intake. In a crossover design, 68 non-dieting adults (28 men and 40 women) were provided with breakfast, lunch, and dinner on 1 day a week for 4 weeks. Each meal included a compulsory, manipulated pre-portioned entrée followed by a variety of unmanipulated discretionary foods that were consumed ad libitum. Across conditions, the entrées were varied in both energy content and ED between a standard level (100%) and a reduced level (64%). Results showed that in men, decreases in the energy content and ED of pre-portioned entrées acted independently and added together to reduce daily energy intake (both P < 0.01). Simultaneously decreasing the energy content and ED reduced total energy intake in men by 16% (445 ± 47 kcal/day; P < 0.0001). In women, the entrée factors also had independent effects on energy intake at breakfast and lunch, but at dinner and for the entire day the effects depended on the interaction of the two factors (P < 0.01). Simultaneously decreasing the energy content and ED reduced daily energy intake in women by 14% (289 ± 35 kcal/day; P < 0.0001). Both the energy content and ED of pre-portioned entrées affect daily energy intake and could influence the effectiveness of such foods for weight management.