Effects of high fat diet on salivary alpha-amylase serum parameters and food consumption in rats

Salivary a-amylase, a major protein in saliva, has been described as a marker for sympathetic nervous system activity, hence for metabolic energy balance. In this context, its expression in overweight and obesity is of interest. Rats fed with a diet enriched with sunflower oil differentially gained weight yielding two subgroups according to their susceptibility (OP) or resistance (OR) to obesity. Elevated plasmatic levels of leptin in the OP subgroup and altered plasmatic lipid profiles (lower triglycerides and higher total choles- terol/HDL ratio compared to controls) in OR subgroup were observed. Animals from OP subgroup presented higher a-amylase expression and activity even prior to the dietary treatment, suggesting that this salivary protein may constitute a putative indicator of susceptibility for fat tissue accumulation. After 18 weeks of high-fat diet consumption, salivary a-amylase levels did not significantly changed in OP subgroup, but increased 3-fold in OR subgroup. The raise of a-amylase for the latter might represent an adaptation to lower starch intake. These results suggest that salivary a-amylase secretion might be useful to predict susceptibility for weight gain induced by high-fat diet consumption.This paper is funded by FEDER Funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors-COMPETE and National Funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology under the Strategic Projects PEst-C/AGR/UI01, PEst-OE/AGR/ UI0115/2014, 15/2011, PEst-C/SAU/LA0001/2011 and PEst-C/QUI/ UI0062/2011. Authors acknowledge also the financial support from the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) in the form of Post- Doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/63240/2009) of Elsa Lamy. The Portu- guese Science Foundation (FCT) played no role in the develop- ment of the present work or upon its submission for publication

Upturn in secondary forest clearing buffers primary forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon

Brazil contains two-thirds of remaining Amazonian rainforests and is responsible for the most Amazon forest loss. Primary forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon has declined considerably since 2004 but secondary forest loss has never been quantified. We use a recently developed high-resolution land use/land cover dataset to track secondary forests in the Brazilian Amazon over 14 yr, providing the first estimates of secondary forest loss for the region. We find that secondary forest loss increased by (187 ± 48)% from 2008 to 2014. Moreover, the proportion of total forest loss accounted for by secondary forests rose from (37 ± 3)% in 2000 to (72 ± 5)% in 2014. The recent acceleration in secondary forests loss occurred across the entire region and was not driven simply by increasing secondary forest area but probably a conscious preferential shift towards clearance of a little-protected forest ecosystem (secondary forests). Our results suggest that secondary forests loss has eased deforestation pressure on primary forests. However, this has been at the expense of a lost carbon sequestration opportunity of 2.59–2.66 Pg C over our study period

Rabies virus in a pregnant naturally infected southern yellow bat (Lasiurus ega)

Current knowledge on bat lyssavirus infections in their native hosts is limited and little is known about the virulence, virus dissemination and transmission among free-living insectivorous bats. The present study is a brief description of rabies virus (RABV) dissemination in tissues of a naturally infected pregnant southern yellow bat (Lasiurus ega) and its fetuses, obtained by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The RT-PCR was positive in samples from the brain, salivary gland, tongue, lungs, heart, kidneys and liver. On the other hand, the placenta, three fetuses, spleen, intestine and brown fat tissue tested negative. This research demonstrated the absence of rabies virus in the fetuses, thus, in this specific case, the transplacentary transmission was not observed

Translation, validity, and reliability of the European Portuguese version of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire

Background. Positive touch experiences have proved to be extremely important throughout our lifespan, with cascading effects on our social life. However, few questionnaires are available to measure attitudes and experiences of touch in the Portuguese population. This study aimed to translate and validate the European Portuguese version of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ), as a reliable and valid instrument to measure different aspects of affective touch experiences and attitudes. Methods. Therefore, an online sample of 384 (299 females and 85 males) participants, aged between 18 and 75 years (M = 24.59; SD = 9.56) was collected. Multidimensional Rasch model and confirmatory factor analysis were carried out, and also reliability and convergent and discriminant validity were determined. In addition, we examined sex differences in attitudes and experiences of touch. Results. Results showed good fit indexes for the 52-item six-factor model structure (friends and family touch, current intimate touch, childhood touch, attitudes to self-care, attitudes to intimate touch, and attitudes to unfamiliar touch). This instrument also showed good reliability and acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. Significant sex differences were found, with female participants reporting more positive touch experiences (including childhood touch, friends and family touch, and current intimate touch) and a more favourable attitude to self-care, with males showing a more positive attitude towards unfamiliar touch. Regarding attitudes towards the intimate touch, scores for both groups were comparable. Conclusion. Overall, the European Portuguese version of the TEAQ presented good psychometric properties and appears to be a reliable and valid self-report measure, being a useful and beneficial instrument in research and clinical settings

Apresentação Pélvica: Parto Vaginal Versus Cesariana, Qual a Melhor Intervenção?

INTRODUCTION: The best route of delivery for the term breech fetus is still controversial. We aim to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes between vaginal and cesarean term breech deliveries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Multicentric retrospective cohort study of singleton term breech fetuses delivered vaginally or by elective cesarean section from January 2012 - October 2014. Primary outcomes were maternal and neonatal morbidity or mortality. RESULTS: Sixty five breech fetuses delivered vaginally were compared to 1262 delivered by elective cesarean. Nulliparous women were more common in the elective cesarean group (69.3% vs 24.6%; p < 0.0001). Gestational age at birth was significantly lower in the vaginal delivery group (38 ± 1 weeks vs 39 ± 0.8 weeks; p = 0.0029) as was birth weight (2928 ± 48.4 g vs 3168 ± 11.3 g; p < 0.0001). Apgar scores below seven on the first and fifth minutes were more likely in the vaginal delivery group (1st minute: 18.5% vs 5.9%; p = 0.0006; OR 3.6 [1.9 - 7.0]; 5th minute: 3.1% vs 0.2%; p = 0.0133; OR 20.0 [2.8 - 144.4]), as was fetal trauma (3.1% vs 0.3%: p = 0.031; OR 9.9 [1.8-55.6]). Neither group had cases of fetal acidemia. Admission to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, maternal postpartum hemorrhage and the incidence of other obstetric complications were similar between groups. DISCUSSION: Although vaginal breech delivery was associated with lower Apgar scores and higher incidence of fetal trauma, overall rates of such events were low. Admission to the neonatal intensive care unit and maternal outcomes were similar. CONCLUSION: Both delivery routes seem equally valid, neither posing high maternal or neonatal complications' incidence.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Utility of Pacemaker With Sleep Apnea Monitor to Predict Left Ventricular Overload and Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Pacemakers with sleep apnea monitor (SAM) provide an easy tool to assess obstructive sleep apnea over long periods of time. The link between respiratory disturbances at night and the incidence of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is not well established. We aimed at (1) determining the ability of SAM pacemakers to evaluate the extent of left ventricular overload and (2) assess the impact of respiratory disturbances at night on the occurrence of ADHF over 1-year of follow-up. We conducted a single-center prospective study. Consecutive patients with SAM pacemakers were comprehensively assessed. SAM automatically computes a respiratory disturbance index (RDI, apneas/hypopneas per hour - AH/h) in the previous night and the percentage of nights with RDI >20 AH/h in the previous 6 months. Thirty-seven patients were included (79.3 ± 11.2 years, 46% males). A high RDI in the previous night and a higher %nights with increased RDI were associated with increased NT-proBNP values (p = 0.008 and p = 0.013, respectively) and were the sole predictors of increased noninvasive pulmonary capillary wedge pressures (PCWP) in the morning of assessment (p = 0.031 and p = 0.044, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an area under the curve of 0.804 (95% confidence interval 0.656 to 0.953, p = 0.002) for %nights with RDI >20 AH/h in the prediction of high PCWP. Patients with >12.5% of nights with RDI >20AH/h tended to have more ADHF during follow-up (log-rank p = 0.067). In conclusion, a high burden of apneas/hypopneas at night is associated with elevated NT-proBNP and PCWP values and an increased risk of ADHF over 1 year. These patients might benefit from early tailored clinical management

The Evolutionary Dynamics of the Lion Panthera leo Revealed by Host and Viral Population Genomics

The lion Panthera leo is one of the world's most charismatic carnivores and is one of Africa's key predators. Here, we used a large dataset from 357 lions comprehending 1.13 megabases of sequence data and genotypes from 22 microsatellite loci to characterize its recent evolutionary history. Patterns of molecular genetic variation in multiple maternal (mtDNA), paternal (Y-chromosome), and biparental nuclear (nDNA) genetic markers were compared with patterns of sequence and subtype variation of the lion feline immunodeficiency virus (FIVPle), a lentivirus analogous to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In spite of the ability of lions to disperse long distances, patterns of lion genetic diversity suggest substantial population subdivision (mtDNA ΦST = 0.92; nDNA FST = 0.18), and reduced gene flow, which, along with large differences in sero-prevalence of six distinct FIVPle subtypes among lion populations, refute the hypothesis that African lions consist of a single panmictic population. Our results suggest that extant lion populations derive from several Pleistocene refugia in East and Southern Africa (∼324,000–169,000 years ago), which expanded during the Late Pleistocene (∼100,000 years ago) into Central and North Africa and into Asia. During the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (∼14,000–7,000 years), another expansion occurred from southern refugia northwards towards East Africa, causing population interbreeding. In particular, lion and FIVPle variation affirms that the large, well-studied lion population occupying the greater Serengeti Ecosystem is derived from three distinct populations that admixed recently

Dynamics of a Quantum Phase Transition and Relaxation to a Steady State

We review recent theoretical work on two closely related issues: excitation of an isolated quantum condensed matter system driven adiabatically across a continuous quantum phase transition or a gapless phase, and apparent relaxation of an excited system after a sudden quench of a parameter in its Hamiltonian. Accordingly the review is divided into two parts. The first part revolves around a quantum version of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism including also phenomena that go beyond this simple paradigm. What they have in common is that excitation of a gapless many-body system scales with a power of the driving rate. The second part attempts a systematic presentation of recent results and conjectures on apparent relaxation of a pure state of an isolated quantum many-body system after its excitation by a sudden quench. This research is motivated in part by recent experimental developments in the physics of ultracold atoms with potential applications in the adiabatic quantum state preparation and quantum computation.Comment: 117 pages; review accepted in Advances in Physic