Effect of additional water supply during grain filling on protein composition and epitope characteristics of winter oats

Pure oats in gluten-free diets (GFD) represent important nutritional benefits for people suffering from celiac disease (CD). However, oat cultivars do not contain the typical CD-related wheat gliadin analog polypeptides. Emerging evidence suggests that oat cultivars containing gluten-like epitopes in avenin sequences may pose potential health risks for celiac patients in rare cases, depending on the individual’s susceptibility. Consequently, it is necessary to screen oats in terms of protein and epitope composition, to be able to select safe varieties for gluten-free applications. The overall aim of our study is to investigate the variation of oat protein composition directly related to health-related and techno-functional properties and to examine how the protein compositional parameters change due to irrigation during the grain-filling period as compared to the natural rain-fed grown, in a large winter oat population of different geographic origin. Elements of an oat sample population representing 164 winter oat varieties from 8 countries and the protein composition of resulting samples have been characterized. Size distribution of the total protein extracts has been analyzed by SE-HPLC, while the 70% ethanol extracted proteins were analyzed by RP-HPLC. Protein extracts are separated into 3 main groups of fractions on the SE-HPLC column; polymeric, avenin, and non-avenin monomeric protein groups, representing 59.17–80.87%, 12.89–31.03%, and 3.40–9.41% of total protein content, respectively. The ratio of polymeric to monomeric proteins varied between 1.71 and 6.07. 91 RP-HPLC-separated peaks have been differentiated from the ethanol extractable proteins of the entire population. The various parameters identified a lot of variation, confirming the significance of genotypic variation. In addition, it was also established that the additional water supply during grain filling significantly affected the various quantitative parameters of protein content, but not its qualitative structure. This environmental effect, however, was strongly genotype-dependent. Winter oat genotypes with low levels of epitope content were identified and it was proven that these characteristics were independent of the environmental factor of water availability. These genotypes are appropriate for initiating a specific breeding program to yield oat cultivars suitable for CD patients

Phenotyping the dysregulation between BMI and adiposity in adult subjects

AIMS The purpose of this thesis was to fully quantify the dysregulation between body mass index (BMI) and body adiposity in 3 phenotypically different groups of adults for whom BMI may be particularly unreliable. The 3 groups were: 1. The ‘Thin Fat’ , 2. The ‘Fat Fit’ 3. South Asians. A secondary purpose of the thesis was to evaluate the accuracy of 2-C body composition devices and proxy measurements to accurately assess regional and whole body adiposity. METHODS In order to establish a cohort baseline, whole body and regional adiposity were quantified using MRI and MRS. Cohort = 500 healthy adults. Participant’s adiposity data obtained were: TAT, SAT, ASAT, NASAT, IAAT, IHCL, S-IMCL, S-IMCL. Anthropometric data included: height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference (and skinfolds in some sub-groups). Study 1: (A). In 21 healthy non-obese, males; 4 different 2-C body composition techniques (UWW, BIA, SKF, ADP) were compared to MRI adiposity data. Study 1: (B). In 74 adult Caucasian (40 females and 34 males) abdominal adiposity was measured using an abdominal BIA device (Viscan) and compared to MRI adiposity. Study 2: In 477 participants (343 male & 234 female) an in-depth comparison of BMI was conducted to identify TOFI individuals by developing a clinical index from the abdominal internal fat: subcutaneous abdominal fat (IAAT/ASAT) ratio for a normal range. Study 3: 50 males, fitness tested using VO2 max and then categorized by their fitness (fit vs unfit), and fatness (fat vs slim) according to MRI adiposity data. Study 4: 260 participants (68 Asian & 192 Caucasian) – age and BMI matched. Proxy measures WHR, WC etc compared. Apply study 3, TOFI cut-off to Asians adiposity data. RESULTS From the baseline adiposity data I confirmed that there is a wide range of regional body fat distributions (internal abdominal adipose tissue, IAAT; and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue, ASAT) by BMI, and that individuals with similar BMI values can show great variation in IAAT and ASAT. Study 1. (A). When whole cohort data were compared to MRI adiposity data there was no significant difference between the measures derived. However when the cohort was divided by ethnicity (Asian vs Caucasian) differences were more apparent. Caucasian adiposity was overestimated by up to 3% and Asian adiposity was underestimated by up to 11%. BodPod would be best suited to measuring Asian adiposity and BIA devices would be best suited to measuring Caucasian adiposity. Study 1. (B). The abdominal adiposity device (Viscan) using BIA method was not able to accurately measure IAAT in obese males and females. It appeared better at measuring subcutaneous adiposity (ASAT). It also appeared to be influenced by organ volumes in some cases – particularly the liver. Study 2. The ‘Thin on the Outside – Fat on the Inside’ (TOFI) phenotype can be defined using the ratio of IAAT and ASAT (IAAT/ASAT). The resulting TOFI index provides a quantitative means of comparing intra-abdominal fat deposition and thereby identifying “at risk” individuals. In Caucasians, cut-off values of >1.0 in males and >0.45 in females are proposed for TOFI definition. Additionally, anthropometric measurements such as waist circumference (WC) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) are not appropriate for classifying the TOFI phenotype. This is because these surrogates generally correlated more with total and subcutaneous adipose tissue stores than internal or ectopic depots. Study 3. IAAT and liver fat are lower in men who are fat, fit and active than in men who are fat, unfit and inactive. These ‘metabolically healthy’ individuals have the capacity to store excess fat in insulin-sensitive abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and this may help explain why the risk of chronic disease is lower in the ‘fat-fit’ than the ‘fat-unfit’. As a consequence, aerobic activity and the pursuit of physical fitness may be more appropriate goals in the battle against chronic disease than weight loss. Study 4. Asian Indian males were found to be significantly ‘fatter’ with significantly higher subcutaneous fat depots compared to similar Caucasian males. Given the increased metabolic risks seen in the Asian population increased IAAT measures were not found to be significantly higher. Additionally, the TOFI classification was not useful in identifying ‘at risk’ individuals in the Asian group. Also, waist circumference measurements did not identify Asian males that had significantly elevated ASAT. However, elevated liver fat stores were seen in Asian males and females compared to Caucasians. Liver fat may therefore be a potential ‘at risk’ identifier in this ethnic group. CONCLUSION The results of this thesis confirm BMI may be an inexpensive, non-invasive measure of obesity for predicting the risk of related complications, but its accuracy is limited by its dysregulation with adiposity. While obesity means excess body fat, the current definition of obesity using BMI is based on body weight regardless of its composition. The studies in this thesis have highlighted that fact that there are several different sub-populations of individuals for whom BMI does not tell the whole story. The Fat-Fit, the TOFI and the Asian Indian are specific phenotypic examples of these sub-populations. This is evidence of the fact that BMI should not be considered as the only measure of obesity. The results of this thesis also confirm that some techniques to measure adiposity are suboptimal for measuring percent body fat. For this reason MRI and other high quality (and high cost) imaging methods are still the best method for health risk based research

Military Sciences – The Backbone of Military Educational Institutions? Book of abstracts ISMS 2017

On November 15th–17th 2017 the Norwegian Defence University College (NDUC) will host the #ISMS17 conference in Oslo on behalf of the International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS).This #ISMS17 Book of Abstracts is to serve as an introduction to all of the abstracts submitted and presented at the conference. The publication is organized according to the ISMS thematic Working Group structure which provides an overview of sub-disciplinary efforts of addressing issues of relevance within the field of Military Sciences. All abstracts contain institutional affiliation and contact information to the presenter. Therefore we believe that the #ISMS17 Book of Abstracts will be useful also as a tool for potential collaboration between the ISMS institutions with its research fellowship and among the wider ISMS community

New insights along the gut-liver axis in cardiometabolic disease

In this thesis we targeted the human gut microbiome for the development of therapeutic strategies in metabolic disorders. In chapter 3 we performed a randomized placebo-controlled cross-over study in individuals with the metabolic syndrome in which we showed that a single duodenal infusion of A. soehngenii improved peripheral glycemic control. In chapter 4 we studied the effect of a 2 weeks oral A. soehngenii treatment in individuals with T2D treated with metformin on their glycemic control.The second part of the thesis focused on MASLD, currently the most common cause of chronic liver dysfunction worldwide. In chapter 5 we reviewed the gut microbial and gut microbial-derived metabolite signatures associated with the development and disease progression of MASLD. To dissect causality of intestinal microbiota in MASLD, in chapter 6 we performed a single-center, double-blind, randomized controlled proof-of-principle pilot study comparing the effect of three 8-weekly lean vegan donor FMT versus autologous FMT on the severity of MASLD, using liver biopsies in individuals with hepatic steatosis on ultrasound. Moreover, we aimed to identify and validate noninvasive diagnostic methods in disease progression in MASLD. Hence, in chapter 7 we examined the diagnostic performance of multiparametric MRI for the assessment of disease severity along the MASLD disease spectrum with comparison to histological scores

12th EASN International Conference on "Innovation in Aviation & Space for opening New Horizons"

Epoxy resins show a combination of thermal stability, good mechanical performance, and durability, which make these materials suitable for many applications in the Aerospace industry. Different types of curing agents can be utilized for curing epoxy systems. The use of aliphatic amines as curing agent is preferable over the toxic aromatic ones, though their incorporation increases the flammability of the resin. Recently, we have developed different hybrid strategies, where the sol-gel technique has been exploited in combination with two DOPO-based flame retardants and other synergists or the use of humic acid and ammonium polyphosphate to achieve non-dripping V-0 classification in UL 94 vertical flame spread tests, with low phosphorous loadings (e.g., 1-2 wt%). These strategies improved the flame retardancy of the epoxy matrix, without any detrimental impact on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. Finally, the formation of a hybrid silica-epoxy network accounted for the establishment of tailored interphases, due to a better dispersion of more polar additives in the hydrophobic resin

Air Traffic Management Abbreviation Compendium

As in all fields of work, an unmanageable number of abbreviations are used today in aviation for terms, definitions, commands, standards and technical descriptions. This applies in general to the areas of aeronautical communication, navigation and surveillance, cockpit and air traffic control working positions, passenger and cargo transport, and all other areas of flight planning, organization and guidance. In addition, many abbreviations are used more than once or have different meanings in different languages. In order to obtain an overview of the most common abbreviations used in air traffic management, organizations like EUROCONTROL, FAA, DWD and DLR have published lists of abbreviations in the past, which have also been enclosed in this document. In addition, abbreviations from some larger international projects related to aviation have been included to provide users with a directory as complete as possible. This means that the second edition of the Air Traffic Management Abbreviation Compendium includes now around 16,500 abbreviations and acronyms from the field of aviation