Effects of green tea on the nutritional status of the exercise

Objetivo: evaluar el efecto del té verde o sus sucedáneos en el estado nutricional de los sujetos que realizan ejercicio físico. Metodología: las palabras clave son: “green tea” AND “exercise”, en cuatro bases de datos documentales: Pubmed, EBSCOHOST, OvidSP y Proquest. Criterios de inclusión (enero de 2010 y diciembre de 2014): edad adulta de la muestra (18-65 años, OMS); consumo de una cantidad cuantificada de té verde o sucedáneos, junto con la realización de ejercicio físico medible en intensidad. Resultados: de 260 artículos, se incluyeron el 5%. En el 69% se trata de estudios con un entrenamiento diseñado, y en el 92% se ha incluido un test de ejercicio para valorar parámetros. El 77% oscilan entre 20-40 años; las muestras varían entre 9 y 36 individuos. El 69% son de larga duración. El GTE ha sido el sucedáneo más utilizado (38%). El 92% de los ensayos han obtenido algún tipo de mejora (en el 92% fue significativa). Conclusiones: se recomienda aumentar las investigaciones sobre la clasificación de los ejercicios. Las mejoras significativas en el estado nutricional de los sujetos por la ingesta del té verde o sucedáneos son: IMC, peso, IGC, MM, INM, OM y MR. El GTE ha sido el que mayores resultados satisfactorios ha proporcionado. No existe homogeneidad en los resultados significativos. Se necesitan realizar nuevos ensayos clínicos. Las diferencias entre los ensayos clínicos revisados reflejan que las mejoras encontradas en el estado nutricional de los sujetos que realizan actividad física deben ser avaladas con nuevas investigaciones. Esto ayudará a crear evidencia en este tipo de aspectos.Purposes: assessing the magnitude of the effects of green tea in subjects that do exercise. Methodology: a search was been carried out with key words “green tea” AND “exercise” in four documentary databases: Pubmed, EBSCOHOST, OvidSP and Proquest. Inclusion criteria: adult age of the sample (18-65 years, based on WHO), and the consumption of a quantified amount of green tea or substitutes, along with doing physical exercise measurable in intensity, in clinical tests published between January 2010 and December 2014, whose source were indexed scientific journals. Results: 260 articles were analyzed, of which 13 items were selected. 69% are studies with a designed workout, and 92% have included an exercise test to assess parameters. 77% fluctuate between 20-40 years and sample size between 9 and 36 subjects. 69% are long length. GTE has been the most used substitute (38%). 92% of studies have obtained some improvement and 92% of them, were significantly statistic. Interpretation of results: little homogeneity has been found in results in the analysis of results expression. Sample size is limited. There is a wide range of GTE substitutes and diversity of doses and exercise done. It cannot be possible to establish a dose, dosage and physical activity recommended. Conclusions: green tea gives us a wide variety of benefits in combination with physical exercise. There is a little evidence about quality. It cannot be possible to establish specific recommendations for obtaining benefits

The yeast Aft2 transcription factor determines selenite toxicity by controlling the low affinity phosphate transport system

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is employed as a model to study the cellular mechanisms of toxicity and defense against selenite, the most frequent environmental selenium form. We show that yeast cells lacking Aft2, a transcription factor that together with Aft1 regulates iron homeostasis, are highly sensitive to selenite but, in contrast to aft1 mutants, this is not rescued by iron supplementation. The absence of Aft2 strongly potentiates the transcriptional responses to selenite, particularly for DNA damage- and oxidative stress-responsive genes, and results in intracellular hyperaccumulation of selenium. Overexpression of PHO4, the transcriptional activator of the PHO regulon under low phosphate conditions, partially reverses sensitivity and hyperaccumulation of selenite in a way that requires the presence of Spl2, a Pho4-controlled protein responsible for post-transcriptional downregulation of the low-affinity phosphate transporters Pho87 and Pho90. SPL2 expression is strongly downregulated in aft2 cells, especially upon selenite treatment. Selenite hypersensitivity of aft2 cells is fully rescued by deletion of PHO90, suggesting a major role for Pho90 in selenite uptake. We propose that the absence of Aft2 leads to enhanced Pho90 function, involving both Spl2-dependent and independent events and resulting in selenite hyperaccumulation and toxicity.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant BFU2010-17656), the Generalitat de Catalunya (grant 2009/SGR/196) and the University of Lleida to E.H., and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (grants BFU2011-30197-C3-01 and BFU2014-54591-C2-1-P), and the Generalitat de Catalunya (grant 2014SGR-4) to J.A

Polarimetric imaging microscopy for advanced inspection of vegetal tissues

Optical microscopy techniques for plant inspection benefit from the fact that at least one of the multiple properties of light (intensity, phase, wavelength, polarization) may be modified by vegetal tissues. Paradoxically, polarimetric microscopy although being a mature technique in biophotonics, is not so commonly used in botany. Importantly, only specific polarimetric observables, as birefringence or dichroism, have some presence in botany studies, and other relevant metrics, as those based on depolarization, are underused. We present a versatile method, based on a representative selection of polarimetric observables, to obtain and to analyse images of plants which bring significant information about their structure and/or the spatial organization of their constituents (cells, organelles, among other structures). We provide a thorough analysis of polarimetric microscopy images of sections of plant leaves which are compared with those obtained by other commonly used microscopy techniques in plant biology. Our results show the interest of polarimetric microscopy for plant inspection, as it is non-destructive technique, highly competitive in economical and time consumption, and providing advantages compared to standard non-polarizing techniques

Transcriptomics and molecular evolutionary rate analysis of the bladderwort (Utricularia), a carnivorous plant with a minimal genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The carnivorous plant <it>Utricularia gibba </it>(bladderwort) is remarkable in having a minute genome, which at ca. 80 megabases is approximately half that of <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Bladderworts show an incredible diversity of forms surrounding a defined theme: tiny, bladder-like suction traps on terrestrial, epiphytic, or aquatic plants with a diversity of unusual vegetative forms. <it>Utricularia </it>plants, which are rootless, are also anomalous in physiological features (respiration and carbon distribution), and highly enhanced molecular evolutionary rates in chloroplast, mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal sequences. Despite great interest in the genus, no genomic resources exist for <it>Utricularia</it>, and the substitution rate increase has received limited study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we describe the sequencing and analysis of the <it>Utricularia gibba </it>transcriptome. Three different organs were surveyed, the traps, the vegetative shoot bodies, and the inflorescence stems. We also examined the bladderwort transcriptome under diverse stress conditions. We detail aspects of functional classification, tissue similarity, nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism, respiration, DNA repair, and detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Long contigs of plastid and mitochondrial genomes, as well as sequences for 100 individual nuclear genes, were compared with those of other plants to better establish information on molecular evolutionary rates.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <it>Utricularia </it>transcriptome provides a detailed genomic window into processes occurring in a carnivorous plant. It contains a deep representation of the complex metabolic pathways that characterize a putative minimal plant genome, permitting its use as a source of genomic information to explore the structural, functional, and evolutionary diversity of the genus. Vegetative shoots and traps are the most similar organs by functional classification of their transcriptome, the traps expressing hydrolytic enzymes for prey digestion that were previously thought to be encoded by bacteria. Supporting physiological data, global gene expression analysis shows that traps significantly over-express genes involved in respiration and that phosphate uptake might occur mainly in traps, whereas nitrogen uptake could in part take place in vegetative parts. Expression of DNA repair and ROS detoxification enzymes may be indicative of a response to increased respiration. Finally, evidence from the bladderwort transcriptome, direct measurement of ROS <it>in situ</it>, and cross-species comparisons of organellar genomes and multiple nuclear genes supports the hypothesis that increased nucleotide substitution rates throughout the plant may be due to the mutagenic action of amplified ROS production.</p

Deep Sequencing of the Mexican Avocado Transcriptome, an Ancient Angiosperm with a High Content of Fatty Acids

Background: Avocado (Persea americana) is an economically important tropical fruit considered to be a good source of fatty acids. Despite its importance, the molecular and cellular characterization of biochemical and developmental processes in avocado is limited due to the lack of transcriptome and genomic information. Results: The transcriptomes of seeds, roots, stems, leaves, aerial buds and flowers were determined using different sequencing platforms. Additionally, the transcriptomes of three different stages of fruit ripening (pre-climacteric, climacteric and post-climacteric) were also analyzed. The analysis of the RNAseqatlas presented here reveals strong differences in gene expression patterns between different organs, especially between root and flower, but also reveals similarities among the gene expression patterns in other organs, such as stem, leaves and aerial buds (vegetative organs) or seed and fruit (storage organs). Important regulators, functional categories, and differentially expressed genes involved in avocado fruit ripening were identified. Additionally, to demonstrate the utility of the avocado gene expression atlas, we investigated the expression patterns of genes implicated in fatty acid metabolism and fruit ripening. Conclusions: A description of transcriptomic changes occurring during fruit ripening was obtained in Mexican avocado, contributing to a dynamic view of the expression patterns of genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and the fruit ripening process

Practical Guidance for Interventions in Adults with Metabolic Syndrome: Diet and Exercise vs. Changes in Body Composition

(1) Objective: to establish practical guidance for the design of future clinical trials in MS (metabolic syndrome) patients aged 18 and older, based on a systematic review of randomized clinical trials connecting diet, physical exercise and changes in body composition. (2) Method: this systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCT) is based on the guidelines recommended by PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses). Criteria of selection: ≥18 years of age; patients diagnosed with MS; intervention programs including diet, physical exercise and/or modifications in the style of life as treatment, as well as the magnitude of changes in body composition (BC); randomized clinical trial published between 2004 and 2018. (3) Results: the multidisciplinary interventions describe major changes in BC, and the recurring pattern in these clinical trials is an energy reduction and control in the percentage of intake of macronutrients along with the performance of regularly structured exercise; the most analyzed parameter was waist circumference (88.9% of the trials), followed by body weight (85.2%), BMI (77.8%) and body fat (55.6%). (4) Conclusions: The analysis of the information here reported sheds light for the design of future clinical trials in adults with MS. The best anthropometric parameters and units of measurement to monitor the interventions are related to dietary and physical exercise interventions. A list of practical advice that is easy to implement in daily practice in consultation is here proposed in order to guarantee the best results in changes of body composition.This research has been partially funded by “Generalitat Valenciana”, Grant GV/2017/177 and VIGROB-309 (University of Alicante)

New Insights about How to Make an Intervention in Children and Adolescents with Metabolic Syndrome: Diet, Exercise vs. Changes in Body Composition. A Systematic Review of RCT

Objective: To record which interventions produce the greatest variations in body composition in patients ≤19 years old with metabolic syndrome (MS). Method: search dates between 2005 and 2017 in peer reviewed journals, following the PRISMA method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses). The selection criteria were: diagnostic for MS or at least a criterion for diagnosis; randomized clinical trials, ≤19 years of age; intervention programs that use diet and/or exercise as a tool (interventions showing an interest in body composition). Results: 1781 clinical trials were identified under these criteria but only 0.51% were included. The most frequent characteristics of the selected clinical trials were that they used multidisciplinary interventions and were carried out in America. The most utilized parameters were BMI (body mass index) in kg/m2 and BW (body weight) in kg. Conclusions: Most of the clinical trials included had been diagnosed through at least 2 diagnostic criteria for MS. Multidisciplinary interventions obtained greater changes in body composition in patients with MS. This change was especially prevalent in the combinations of dietary interventions and physical exercise. It is proposed to follow the guidelines proposed for patients who are overweight, obese, or have diabetes type 2, and extrapolate these strategies as recommendations for future clinical trials designed for patients with MS.This research is partially supported by Generalitat Valenciana, Grant GV/2017/177

Previous fire occurrence, but not fire recurrence, modulates the effect of charcoal and ash on soil C and N dynamics in Pinus pinaster Aiton forests

Understanding the effects of fire history on soil processes is key to characterise their resistance and resilience under future fire events. Wildfires produce pyrogenic carbonaceous material (PCM) that is incorporated into the soil, playing a critical role in the global carbon (C) cycle, but its interactions with soil processes are poorly un derstood. We evaluated if the previous occurrence of wildfires modulates the dynamic of soil C and nitrogen (N) and microbial community by soil ester linked fatty acids, after a new simulated low-medium intensity fire. Soils with a different fire history (none, one, two or three fires) were heat-shocked and amended with charcoal and/or ash derived from Pinus pinaster. Soil C and N mineralization rates were measured under controlled condi tions, with burned soils showing lower values than unburned (without fire for more than sixty years). In general, no effects of fire recurrence were observed for any of the studied variables. Microbial biomass was lower in burned, with a clear dominance of Gram-positive bacteria in these soils. PCM amendments increased cumulative carbon dioxide (CO2) production only in previously burned soils, especially when ash was added. This contrasted response to PCM between burned and unburned soils in CO2 production could be related to the effect of the previous wildfire history on soil microorganisms. In burned soils some microorganisms might have been adapted to the resulting conditions after a new fire event. Burned soils showed a significant positive priming effect after PCM amendment, mainly ash, probably due to an increased pH and phosphorous availability. Our results reveal the role of different PCMs as drivers of C and N mineralization processes in burned soils when a new fire occurs. This is relevant for improving models that evaluate the net impact of fire in C cycling and to reduce uncertainties under future changing fire regimes scenarios

Advances on MBE selective area growth of III-nitride nanostructures: from nanoLEDs to pseudo substrates

The aim of this work is to provide an overview on the recent advances in the selective area growth (SAG) of (In)GaN nanostructures by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy, focusing on their potential as building blocks for next generation LEDs. The first three sections deal with the basic growth mechanisms of GaN SAG and the emission control in the entire ultraviolet to infrared range, including approaches for white light emission, using InGaN disks and thick segments on axial nanocolumns. SAG of axial nanostructures is eveloped on both GaN/sapphire templates and GaN-buffered Si(111). As an alternative to axial nanocolumns, section 4 reports on the growth and characterization of InGaN/GaN core-shell structures on an ordered array of top-down patterned GaN microrods. Finally, section 5 reports on the SAG of GaN, with and without InGaN insertion, on semi-polar (11-22) and non-polar (11-20) templates. Upon SAG the high defect density present in the templates is strongly reduced as indicated by a dramatic improvement of the optical properties. In the case of SAG on nonpolar (11-22) templates, the formation of nanostructures with a low aspect ratio took place allowing for the fabrication of high-quality, non-polar GaN pseudo-templates by coalescence of these nanostructures

Impact of dapagliflozin on cardiac remodelling in patients with chronic heart failure: The DAPA-MODA study.

AIMS Dapagliflozin improves the prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF), regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, its effect on cardiac remodelling parameters, specifically left atrial (LA) remodelling, is not well established. METHODS AND RESULTS The DAPA-MODA trial (NCT04707352) is a multicentre, single-arm, open-label, prospective and interventional study that aimed to evaluate the effect of dapagliflozin on cardiac remodelling parameters over 6 months. Patients with stable chronic HF receiving optimized guideline-directed therapy, except for any sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, were included. Echocardiography was performed at baseline, 30 and 180 days, and analysed by a central core-lab in a blinded manner to both patient and time. The primary endpoint was the change in maximal LA volume index (LAVI). A total of 162 patients (64.2% men, 70.5 ± 10.6 years, 52% LVEF >40%) were included in the study. At baseline, LA dilatation was observed (LAVI 48.1 ± 22.6 ml/m2 ) and LA parameters were similar between LVEF-based phenotypes (≤40% vs. >40%). LAVI showed a significant reduction at 180 days (-6.6% [95% confidence interval -11.1, -1.8], p = 0.008), primarily due to a decrease in reservoir volume (-13.8% [95% confidence interval -22.5, -4], p = 0.007). Left ventricular geometry improved with significant reductions in left ventricular mass index (-13.9% [95% confidence interval -18.7, -8.7], p < 0.001), end-diastolic volume (-8.0% [95% confidence interval -11.6, -4.2], p < 0.001) and end-systolic volume (-11.9% [95% confidence interval -16.7, -6.8], p < 0.001) at 180 days. N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) showed a significant reduction at 180 days (-18.2% [95% confidence interval -27.1, -8.2], p < 0.001), without changes in filling Doppler measures. CONCLUSION Dapagliflozin administration in stable out-setting patients with chronic HF and optimized therapy results in global reverse remodelling of cardiac structure, including reductions in LA volumes and improvement in left ventricular geometry and NT-proBNP concentrations.This study has been sponsored by Sociedad Española de Cardiología and has received funding by a non-conditional investigational grant from AstraZeneca Farmacéutica Spain.S