Nutritional intervention and impact of polyphenol on glycohaemoglobin (HbA1c) in non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic subjects: systematic review and meta-analysis

Polyphenols have been extensively studied for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, their antiglycative actions by oxidative stress modulation have been linked to prevention of diabetes and associated complications. This paper assesses the evidence for polyphenol interventions on glycohaemoglobin (HbA1c) in non-diabetic, pre-diabetic and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects. A systematic review of polyphenols clinical trials on HbA1c in humans was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Thirty-six controlled randomized trials with HbA1c values were included. Polyphenols (extracts, supplements, foods), were supplemented (28 mg to 1.5g) for 0.7 to 12 months. Combining all subjects (n=1954, mean baseline HbA1c=7.03%, 53 mmol/mol), polyphenol supplementation significantly (p<0.001) lowered HbA1c% by -0.53±0.12 units (-5.79±0.13 mmol/mol). This reduction was significant (p<0.001) in T2DM subjects, specifically (n=1426, mean baseline HbA1c=7.44%, 58 mmol/mol), with HbA1c% lowered by -0.21±0.04 units (-2.29±0.4 mmol/mol). Polyphenol supplementation had no significant effect (p>0.21) in the non-diabetic (n=258, mean baseline HbA1c=5.47%, 36 mmol/mol) and the pre-diabetic subjects (n=270, mean baseline HbA1c=6.06%, 43 mmol/mol) strata: -0.39±0.27 HbA1c% units (-4.3±0.3 mmol/mol), and -0.38±0.31 units (-4.2±0.31 mmol/mol), respectively. In conclusion, polyphenols can successfully reduce HbA1c in T2DM, without any intervention at glycaemia, and could contribute to the prevention of diabetes complications

Prevailing Academic View on Compliance Flexibility under § 111 of the Clean Air Act

No colons in abstractsource category, existing sources, state implementation plan, new sources, tradable performance standards

A New Limit on the Antiproton Lifetime

Measurements of the cosmic ray pbar/p ratio are compared to predictions from an inhomogeneous disk-diffusion model of pbar production and propagation within the Galaxy, combined with a calculation of the modulation of the interstellar cosmic ray spectra as the particles propagate through the heliosphere to the Earth. The predictions agree with the observed pbar/p spectrum. Adding a finite pbar lifetime to the model, we obtain the limit tau_pbar > 0.8 Myr (90 % C.L.).Comment: 13 pages, 3 encapsulated Postscript figures, uses AASTeX; accepted by Astrophysical Journal; minor change

Large-scale dynamics of magnetic helicity

In this paper we investigate the dynamics of magnetic helicity in magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulent flows focusing at scales larger than the forcing scale. Our results show a nonlocal inverse cascade of magnetic helicity, which occurs directly from the forcing scale into the largest scales of the magnetic field. We also observe that no magnetic helicity and no energy is transferred to an intermediate range of scales sufficiently smaller than the container size and larger than the forcing scale. Thus, the statistical properties of this range of scales, which increases with scale separation, is shown to be described to a large extent by the zero flux solutions of the absolute statistical equilibrium theory exhibited by the truncated ideal MHD equations.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, postprint versio

The Pseudophosphatase MK-STYX Induces Neurite-Like Outgrowths in PC12 Cells

The rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cell line is a widely used system to study neuronal differentiation for which sustained activation of the extracellular signaling related kinase (ERK) pathway is required. Here, we investigate the function of MK-STYX [MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) phosphoserine/threonine/tyrosine-binding protein] in neuronal differentiation. MK-STYX is a member of the MAPK phosphatase (MKP) family, which is generally responsible for dephosphorylating the ERKs. However, MK-STYX lacks catalytic activity due to the absence of the nucleophilic cysteine in the active site signature motif HC(X-5)R that is essential for phosphatase activity. Despite being catalytically inactive, MK-STYX has been shown to play a role in important cellular pathways, including stress responses. Here we show that PC12 cells endogenously express MK-STYX. In addition, MK-STYX, but not its catalytically active mutant, induced neurite-like outgrowths in PC12 cells. Furthermore, MK-STYX dramatically increased the number of cells with neurite extensions in response to nerve growth factor (NGF), whereas the catalytically active mutant did not. MK-STYX continued to induce neurites in the presence of a MEK (MAP kinase kinase) inhibitor suggesting that MK-STYX does not act through the Ras-ERK/MAPK pathway but is involved in another pathway whose inactivation leads to neuronal differentiation. RhoA activity assays indicated that MK-STYX induced extensions through the Rho signaling pathway. MK-STYX decreased RhoA activation, whereas RhoA activation increased when MK-STYX was down-regulated. Furthermore, MK-STYX affected downstream players of RhoA such as the actin binding protein cofilin. The presence of MK-STYX decreased the phosphorylation of cofilin in non NGF stimulated cells, but increased its phosphorylation in NGF stimulated cells, whereas knocking down MK-STYX caused an opposite effect. Taken together our data suggest that MK-STYX may be a regulator of RhoA signaling, and implicate this pseudophosphatase as a regulator of neuronal differentiation

Physiological and Molecular Characterization of Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibitor Resistance in Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.)

Citation: Nakka, S., Godar, A. S., Wani, P. S., Thompson, C. R., Peterson, D. E., Roelofs, J., & Jugulam, M. (2017). Physiological and Molecular Characterization of Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibitor Resistance in Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats.). Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 12. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00555Herbicides that inhibit hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) such as mesotrione are widely used to control a broad spectrum of weeds in agriculture. Amaranthus palmeri is an economically troublesome weed throughout the United States. The first case of evolution of resistance to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides in A. palmeri was documented in Kansas (KS) and later in Nebraska (NE). The objective of this study was to investigate the mechansim of HPPD-inhibitor (mesotrione) resistance in A. palmeri. Dose response analysis revealed that this population (KSR) was 10-18 times more resistant than their sensitive counterparts (MSS or KSS). Absorbtion and translocation analysis of [C-14] mesotrione suggested that these mechanisms were not involved in the resistance in A. palmeri. Importantly, mesotrione (>90%) was detoxified markedly faster in the resistant populations (KSR and NER), within 24 hours after treatment (HAT) compared to sensitive plants (MSS, KSS, or NER). However, at 48 HAT all populations metabolized the mesotrione, suggesting additional factors may contribute to this resistance. Further evaluation of mesotrione-resistant A. palmeri did not reveal any specific resistance-conferring mutations nor amplification of HPPD gene, the molecular target of mesotrione. However, the resistant populations showed 4- to 12-fold increase in HPPD gene expression. This increase in HPPD transcript levels was accompanied by increased HPPD protein expression. The significant aspects of this research include: the mesotrione resistance in A. palmeri is conferred primarily by rapid detoxification (non-target-site based) of mesotrione; additionally, increased HPPD gene expression (target-site based) also contributes to the resistance mechanism in the evolution of herbicide resistance in this naturally occurring weed species

Carbon isotope evidence for the substrates and mechanisms of prebiotic synthesis in the early solar system

Meteorites contain prebiotic, bio-relevant organic compounds including amino acids. Their syntheses could result from diverse sources and mechanisms and provide a window on the conditions and materials present in the early solar system. Here we constrain alanine’s synthetic history in the Murchison meteorite using site-specific ¹³C/¹²C measurements, reported relative to the VPDB standard. The δ¹³C_(VPDB) values of −29 ± 10‰, 142 ± 20‰, and −36 ± 20‰ for the carboxyl, amine-bound, and methyl carbons, respectively, are consistent with Strecker synthesis of interstellar-medium-derived aldehydes, ammonia, and low-δ¹³C nebular or interstellar-medium-derived CN. We report experimentally measured isotope effects associated with Strecker synthesis, and use them to constrain the δ¹³C values of the alanine precursors, which we then use to construct a model that predicts the molecular-average δ¹³C values of 19 other organic compounds of prebiotic significance found in Murchison if they were made by our proposed synthetic network. Most of these predictions agree with previous measurements, suggesting that interstellar-medium-derived aldehydes and nebular and/or pre-solar CN could have served as substrates for synthesis of a wide range of prebiotic compounds in the early solar system