Mediterranean diet and cognitive decline

AbstractObjective:To investigate the possible role of diet in age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) and cognitive impairment of both degenerative (Alzheimer's disease, AD) and vascular (vascular dementia, VaD) origin.Design:Literature review.Results:In an elderly population of southern Italy with a typical Mediterranean diet, high energy intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) appeared to be associated with a high level of protection against ARCD. In addition, dietary fat and energy in the elderly seem to be risk factors, while fish consumption and cereals are found to reduce the prevalence of AD in European and North American countries. Finally, the relative risk of dementia (AD and VaD) was lower in the subjects of a French cohort who drank three or four glasses of red wine each day compared with total abstainers.Conclusion:Essential components of the Mediterranean diet – MUFA, cereals and wine – seem to be protective against cognitive decline. As such, dietary antioxidants and supplements, specific macronutrients of the Mediterranean diet, oestrogens and anti-inflammatory drugs may act synergistically with other protective factors, opening up new therapeutic interventions for cognitive decline

Apolipoprotein C-II deficiency: detection of immunoreactive apolipoprotein C-II in the intestinal mucosa of two patients

Recent data suggest that mutant immunoreactive forms of apolipoprotein C-II (apoC-II) can be detected in the plasma of patients with the apoC-II deficiency syndrome. We studied the possible presence of apoC-II mutants in the plasma of two patients with apoC-II deficiency by immunological means. The patients were hypertriglyceridemic, and apoC-II was undetectable in plasma as determined by radial immunodiffusion, electroimmunoassay, and immunonephelometry. Furthermore, apoC-II was undetectable either by electrophoresis or by immunoblotting in the plasma of the probands, while apoC-II was present in the plasma of their parents, although at less than half-normal concentration. Immunochemical localization of apoC-II, however, showed that the apoprotein could be detected within the enterocytes obtained from the intestinal mucosa of the patients. From these data we conclude that the patients synthesize apoC-II, at least in the intestine

Homogenized rigid-plastic model for masonry walls subjected to impact

A simple rigid-plastic homogenization model for the analysis of masonry structures subjected to out-of-plane impact loads is presented. The objective is to propose a model characterized by a few material parameters, numerically inexpensive and very stable. Bricks and mortar joints are assumed rigid perfectly plastic and obeying an associated flow rule. In order to take into account the effect of brickwork texture, out-of-plane anisotropic masonry failure surfaces are obtained by means of a limit analysis approach, in which the unit cell is subdivided into a fixed number of sub-domains and layers along the thickness. A polynomial representation of micro-stress tensor components is utilized inside each sub-domain, assuring both stress tensor admissibility on a regular grid of points and continuity of the stress vector at the interfaces between contiguous sub-domains. Limited strength (frictional failure with compressive cap and tension cutoff) of brick-mortar interfaces is also considered in the model, thus allowing the reproduction of elementary cell failures due to the possible insufficient resistance of the bond between units and joints. Triangular Kirchhoff-Love elements with linear interpolation of the displacement field and constant moment within each element are used at a structural level. In this framework, a simple quadratic programming problem is obtained to analyze entire walls subjected to impacts. In order to test the capabilities of the approach proposed, two examples of technical interest are discussed, namely a running bond masonry wall constrained at three edges and subjected to a point impact load and a masonry square plate constrained at four edges and subjected to a distributed dynamic pressure simulating an air-blast. Only for the first example, numerical and experimental data are available, whereas for the second example insufficient information is at disposal from the literature. Comparisons with standard elastic-plastic procedures conducted by means of commercial FE codes are also provided. Despite the obvious approximations and limitations connected to the utilization of a rigid-plastic model for masonry, the approach proposed seems able to provide results in agreement with alternative expensive numerical elasto-plastic approaches, but requiring only negligible processing time. Therefore, the proposed simple tool can be used (in addition to more sophisticated but expensive non-linear procedures) by practitioners to have a fast estimation of masonry behavior subjected to impact

Common germline variants within the CDKN2A/2B region affect risk of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are heterogeneous neoplasms which represent only 2% of all pancreatic neoplasms by incidence, but 10% by prevalence. Genetic risk factors could have an important role in the disease aetiology, however only a small number of case control studies have been performed yet. To further our knowledge, we genotyped 13 SNPs belonging to the pleiotropic CDKN2A/B gene region in 320 PNET cases and 4436 controls, the largest study on the disease so far. We observed a statistically significant association between the homozygotes for the minor allele of the rs2518719 SNP and an increased risk of developing PNET (ORhom = 2.08, 95% CI 1.05-4.11, p = 0.035). This SNP is in linkage disequilibrium with another polymorphic variant associated with increased risk of several cancer types. In silico analysis suggested that the SNP could alter the sequence recognized by the Neuron-Restrictive Silencer Factor (NRSF), whose deregulation has been associated with the development of several tumors. The mechanistic link between the allele and the disease has not been completely clarified yet but the epidemiologic evidences that link the DNA region to increased cancer risk are convincing. In conclusion, our results suggest rs2518719 as a pleiotropic CDKN2A variant associated with the risk of developing PNETs

Medeuro : the longing for identity and community among Maltese migrant settlers in North Africa

Based largely on materials held in the Service des Periodiques at the Bibliotheque Nationale de Tunisie in Tunis, and especially on content anaylsis of a 1930s newspaper Melita published in Sousse. this study explores the yearning for and the anguish of a cultural survivance among Maltese migrant settlers in North Africa, above all the retention of Maltese as a language of expression, affinity and identification, at a time when Maltese itself was experiencing a literary rebirth. However, such a campaign is undertaken in a 'non-Maltese' context, where moreover, in addition to separation and distance, the influence of European empires-the French, the British and the Italian-is pronounced, if not dominant, thus interfering with any continued loyalty to one mother tongue or mother country. Masterminding the intellectual push for a collective self-identity anchored in language, literature, history and religion, is a leading francophone litterateur whose family had settled in Algeria from the island of Gozo. What is also offered here, in the annotations, is a fairly comprehensive bibliography of Maltese migrant settlement in northern Africa with special reference to lesser known articles and other publications not available in English.peer-reviewe

Common genetic variants associated with pancreatic adenocarcinoma may also modify risk of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (vol 39, pg 360, 2018)

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNEN) account for less than 5% of all pancreatic neoplasms and genetic association studies on susceptibility to the disease are limited. We sought to identify possible overlap of genetic susceptibility loci between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and pNEN; therefore, PDAC susceptibility variants (n=23) from Caucasian genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were genotyped in 369 pNEN cases and 3,277 controls from the PANcreatic Disease ReseArch (PANDoRA) consortium to evaluate the odds associated with pNEN risk, disease onset and tumor characteristics. Main effect analyses showed four PDAC susceptibility variants – rs9854771, rs1561927, rs9543325 and rs10919791 to be associated with pNEN risk. Subsequently, only associations with rs9543325, rs10919791 and rs1561927 were noteworthy with false positive report probability (FPRP) tests. Stratified analyses considering age at onset (50 year threshold), showed rs2736098, rs16986825 and rs9854771 to be associated with risk of developing pNEN at a younger age. Stratified analyses also showed some SNPs to be associated with different degrees of tumor grade, metastatic potential and functionality. Our results identify known GWAS PDAC susceptibility loci, which may also be involved in sporadic pNEN etiology and suggest that some genetic mechanisms governing pathogenesis of these two entities may be similar, with few of these loci being more influential in younger cases or tumor subtypes

Hemostasis and Thrombosis

Hemostasis is a complex phenomenon involving numerous coagulation factors. These factors circulate as inactive zymogens (inactive enzyme precursor) and act by cleaving downstream proteins so that they become active enzymes. The role of FVII in secondary hemostasis while forming a complex with TF is of primary importance. It was thought that the two pathways of coagulation cascade, the intrinsic (platelet) pathway and the extrinsic (FVII) pathway were equally important, but it is now known that the primary pathway for the initiation of blood coagulation is the TF-activated extrinsic pathway. FVII has a pivotal role in activating the common pathway of the clotting cascade and thrombin formation. The Mediterranean Diet, (MeD) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), and polyphenols have been shown to affect several coagulation factors. The circulating level of FVII is deeply influenced by diet. There is a substantial increase in FVII circulating levels in the postprandial phase. The intake of dietary fat is the main determinant of the postprandial FVII plasma level. The ratio of Saturated Fatty Acids to Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) is crucial to postprandial levels of FVII. Diets rich in MUFA (i.e., olive oil, are associated with a significantly lower postprandial peak level of FVII and likely explain the lower rates of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). in countries in which the diet is habitually rich in MUFAs, such as the Southern European countries. Gene polymorphisms in the FVII promoter region modulate FVII circulating levels. Some of these polymorphismsare associatedwithlower levels of circulating FVII. Also, platelet activity is influenced by diet. The n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) actively reduce platelet aggregation. This effect results from several mechanisms (i) competition with arachidonic acid, replacing active TxA2 with TxA3; (ii) inhibition of cyclooxygenase; and (iii) a direct antagonistic effect on the TxA2e prostaglandin H2 receptor in human platelets. Polyphenols of EVOO, particularly luteolin, also reduce platelet aggregability, acting as an inhibitor of platelet PDE3. Probably the most exciting data are those concerning the effects of the MeD in modulating gene expression. Dietary interventions have been demonstrated to modulate the expression of pro-atherothrombotic and inflammation genes actively even in high-risk populations. SFAs upregulate both proinflammatory and proatherothrombotic genes, whereas the MeD, EVOO, and polyphenols downregulate the expression of these genes. The MeD, which is rich in olive oil, MUFAs, and polyphenols were demonstrated to exert a modulatory effect toward a protective mode on genes related to chronic degenerative diseases, oxidation, inflammation, and thrombosis (modulating the activity of TF, TFP1, and thrombin). The phenolic compounds present in EVOO appear to be responsible for the transcriptomic effects, as demonstrated in randomized, controlled human studies in which similar olive oils, but with different phenolic contents, were tested

The Mediterranean way: why elderly people should eat wholewheat sourdough bread-a little known component of the Mediterranean diet and healthy food for elderly adults

Sourdough bread has been considered a healthy food since as far back as ancient times. The wheat used is ground in stone and not in roller mills that destroy some of the nutrients in wheat germ (vitamins, minerals and enzymes). It is made using a sourdough starter composed of natural yeast and lactobacilli (beneficial bacteria). Left to rise for 7–8 h and then baked, the bread contains all the nutrients present in whole grains and, in particular, those in wheat germ. In addition to high-quality proteins and essential fatty acids, it contains a wealth of vitamins and minerals. Sourdough bread, in fact, provides vitamin-E, vitamin-B1, B6, B12, thiamin, niacin, folate, riboflavin, potassium, zinc, iron, magnesium, selenium, calcium, phosphorus and manganese. The bread’s numerous beneficial effects are for the most part linked to two of its peculiar characteristics: the sourdough starter and wheat germ