Breakfast and exercise contingently affect postprandial metabolism and energy balance in physically active males

The present study examined the impact of breakfast and exercise on postprandial metabolism, appetite and macronutrient balance. A sample of twelve (blood variables n 11) physically active males completed four trials in a randomised, crossover design comprising a continued overnight fast followed by: (1) rest without breakfast (FR); (2) exercise without breakfast (FE); (3) breakfast consumption(1859 kJ) followed by rest (BR); (4) breakfast consumption followed by exercise (BE). Exercise was continuous, moderate-intensity running (expending approximately 2·9MJ of energy). The equivalent time was spent sitting during resting trials. A test drink (1500 kJ) was ingested on all trials followed 90 min later by an ad libitum lunch. The difference between the BR and FR trials in blood glucose time-averaged AUC following test drink consumption approached significance (BR: 4·33 (SEM 0·14) v. FR: 4·75 (SEM 0·16) mmol/l; P¼0·08); but it was not different between FR and FE (FE: 4·77 (SEM 0·14) mmol/l; P¼0·65); and was greater in BE (BE: 4·97 (SEM 0·13) mmol/l) v. BR(P¼0·012). Appetite following the test drink was reduced in BR v. FR (P¼0·006) and in BE v. FE (P¼0·029). Following lunch, the most positive energy balance was observed in BR and least positive in FE. Regardless of breakfast, acute exercise produced a less positive energy balance following ad libitum lunch consumption. Energy and fat balance is further reduced with breakfast omission. Breakfast improved the overall appetite responses to foods consumed later in the day, but abrogated the appetite suppressive effect of exercise

The Met Office HadGEM3-ES chemistry–climate model: evaluation of stratospheric dynamics and its impact on ozone

Free-running and nudged versions of a Met Office chemistry–climate model are evaluated and used to investigate the impact of dynamics versus transport and chemistry within the model on the simulated evolution of stratospheric ozone. Metrics of the dynamical processes relevant for simulating stratospheric ozone are calculated, and the free-running model is found to outperform the previous model version in 10 of the 14 metrics. In particular, large biases in stratospheric transport and tropical tropopause temperature, which existed in the previous model version, are substantially reduced, making the current model more suitable for the simulation of stratospheric ozone. The spatial structure of the ozone hole, the area of polar stratospheric clouds, and the increased ozone concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere winter stratosphere following sudden stratospheric warmings, were all found to be sensitive to the accuracy of the dynamics and were better simulated in the nudged model than in the free-running model. Whilst nudging can, in general, provide a useful tool for removing the influence of dynamical biases from the evolution of chemical fields, this study shows that issues can remain in the climatology of nudged models. Significant biases in stratospheric vertical velocities, age of air, water vapour, and total column ozone still exist in the Met Office nudged model. Further, these can lead to biases in the downward flux of ozone into the troposphere

Bioflocculant production by a consortium of Streptomyces and Cellulomonas species and media optimization via surface response model

AbstractSpecies of actinobacteria previously isolated from Tyume River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and identified by 16S rDNA sequence as Cellulomonas and Streptomyces species were evaluated as a consortium for the production of bioflocculant. Sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride were the nutritional sources which supported optimal production of bioflocculant resulting in flocculation activities of 91%, 82% and 78% respectively. Response surface design revealed sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride as critical media components following Plackett–Burman design, while the central composite design showed optimum concentration of the critical nutritional source as 16.0g/L (sucrose), 1.5g/L (peptone) and 1.6g/L (magnesium chloride) yielding optimal flocculation activity of 98.9% and bioflocculant yield of 4.45g/L. FTIR spectrometry of the bioflocculant indicated the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino groups, typical for heteropolysaccharide, while SEM imaging revealed an interwoven clump-like structure. The molecular weight distribution of the constituents of the bioflocculants ranged 494.81–18,300.26Da thus, an indication of heterogeneity in composition. Additionally, the chemical analyses of the purified bioflocculant revealed the presence of polysaccharides and proteins with neutral sugar, amino sugar and uronic acids in the following concentration: 5.7mg, 9.3mg and 17.8mg per 100mg. The high flocculation activity of the bioflocculant suggests commercial potential

Consistency of metabolic responses and appetite sensations under postabsorptive and postprandial conditions

The present study aimed to investigate the reliability of metabolic and subjective appetite responses under fasted conditions and following consumption of a cereal-based breakfast. Twelve healthy, physically active males completed two postabsorption (PA) and two postprandial (PP) trials in a randomised order. In PP trials a cereal based breakfast providing 1859 kJ of energy was consumed. Expired gas samples were used to estimate energy expenditure and fat oxidation and 100 mm visual analogue scales were used to determine appetite sensations at baseline and every 30 min for 120 min. Reliability was assessed using limits of agreement, coefficient of variation (CV), intraclass coefficient of correlation and 95% confidence limits of typical error. The limits of agreement and typical error were 292.0 and 105.5 kJ for total energy expenditure, 9.3 and 3.4 g for total fat oxidation and 22.9 and 8.3 mm for time-averaged AUC for hunger sensations, respectively over the 120 min period in the PP trial. The reliability of energy expenditure and appetite in the 2 h response to a cereal-based breakfast would suggest that an intervention requires a 211 kJ and 16.6 mm difference in total postprandial energy expenditure and time-averaged hunger AUC to be meaningful, fat oxidation would require a 6.7 g difference which may not be sensitive to most meal manipulations

Radiative forcing from modelled and observed stratospheric ozone changes due to the 11-year solar cycle

International audienceThree analyses of satellite observations and two sets of model studies are used to estimate changes in the stratospheric ozone distribution from solar minimum to solar maximum and are presented for three different latitudinal bands: Poleward of 30° north, between 30° north and 30° south and poleward of 30° south. In the model studies the solar cycle impact is limited to changes in UV fluxes. There is a general agreement between satellite observation and model studies, particular at middle and high northern latitudes. Ozone increases at solar maximum with peak values around 40 km. The profiles are used to calculate the radiative forcing (RF) from solar minimum to solar maximum. The ozone RF, calculated with two different radiative transfer schemes is found to be negligible (a magnitude of 0.01 Wm?2 or less), compared to the direct RF due to changes in solar irradiance, since contributions from the longwave and shortwave nearly cancel each other. The largest uncertainties in the estimates come from the lower stratosphere, where there is significant disagreement between the different ozone profiles

The Raine study had no evidence of significant perinatal selection bias after two decades of follow up: A longitudinal pregnancy cohort study

Background: Cohort studies may increase or decrease their selection bias as they progress through time. The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study has followed 2868 children for over two decades; from fetal into adult life. This paper analyses the cohort over time, assessing potential bias that may come and go with recruitment, retention and loss of participants. Methods: Linked data from all births in Western Australian over the 3 years the Raine Cohort was recruited were obtained to compare perinatal characteristics and subsequent health outcomes between the Western Australian (WA) contemporaneous birth population and the Raine Cohort at five time points. Perinatal exposure-outcome comparisons were employed to assess bias due to non-participation in Raine Study subsets. Results: There were demographic differences between the Raine Study cohort and its source population at recruitment with further changes across the period of follow up. Despite these differences, the pregnancy and infant data of those with continuing participation were not significantly different to the WA contemporaneous birth population. None of the exposure-outcome associations were significantly different to those in the WA general population at recruitment or at any cohort reviews suggesting no substantial recruitment or attrition bias. Conclusions: The Raine Study is valuable for association studies, even after 20 years of cohort reviews with increasing non-participation of cohort members. Non-participation has resulted in greater attrition of socially disadvantaged participants, however, exposure-outcome association analyses suggest that there is no apparent resulting selection bias

Borderline gestational diabetes mellitus and pregnancy outcomes

Background: The impact of borderline gestational diabetes mellitus (BGDM), defined as a positive oral glucose challenge test (OGCT) and normal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), on maternal and infant health is unclear. We assessed maternal and infant health outcomes in women with BGDM and compared these to women who had a normal OGCT screen for gestational diabetes. Methods: We compared demographic, obstetric and neonatal outcomes between women participating in the Australian Collaborative Trial of Supplements with antioxidants Vitamin C and Vitamin E to pregnant women for the prevention of pre-eclampsia (ACTS) who had BGDM and who screened negative on OGCT. Results: Women who had BGDM were older (mean difference 1.3 years, [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.3, 2.2], p = 0.01) and more likely to be obese (27.1% vs 14.1%, relative risk (RR) 1.92, [95% CI 1.41, 2.62], p < 0.0001) than women who screened negative on OGCT. The risk of adverse maternal outcome overall was higher (12.9% vs 8.1%, RR 1.59, [95% CI 1.00, 2.52], p = 0.05) in women with BGDM compared with women with a normal OGCT. Women with BGDM were more likely to develop pregnancy induced hypertension (17.9% vs 11.8%, RR 1.51, [95% CI 1.03, 2.20], p = 0.03), have a caesarean for fetal distress (17.1% vs 10.5%, RR 1.63, [95% CI 1.10, 2.41], p = 0.01), and require a longer postnatal hospital stay (mean difference 0.4 day, [95% CI 0.1, 0.7], p = 0.01) than those with a normal glucose tolerance. Infants born to BGDM mothers were more likely to be born preterm (10.7% vs 6.4%, RR 1.68, [95% CI 1.00, 2.80], p = 0.05), have macrosomia (birthweight ≥4.5 kg) (4.3% vs 1.7%, RR 2.53, [95% CI 1.06, 6.03], p = 0.04), be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) (6.5% vs 3.0%, RR 2.18, [95% CI 1.09, 4.36], p = 0.03) or the neonatal nursery (40.3% vs 28.4%, RR 1.42, [95% CI 1.14, 1.76], p = 0.002), and have a longer hospital stay (p = 0.001). More infants in the BGDM group had Sarnat stage 2 or 3 neonatal encephalopathy (12.9% vs 7.8%, RR 1.65, [95% CI 1.04, 2.63], p = 0.03). Conclusion: Women with BGDM and their infants had an increased risk of adverse health outcomes compared with women with a negative OGCT. Intervention strategies to reduce the risks for these women and their infants need evaluation. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN00416244Hong Ju, Alice R. Rumbold, Kristyn J. Willson and Caroline A. Crowthe

Multi-model evaluation of short-lived pollutant distributions over East Asia during summer 2008

The ability of seven state of the art chemistry-aerosol models to reproduce distributions of tropospheric ozone and its precursors, as well as aerosols over eastern Asia in summer 2008 is evaluated. The study focuses on the performance of models used to assess impacts of pollutants on climate and air quality as part of the EU ECLIPSE project. Models, run using the same ECLIPSE emissions, are compared over different spatial scales to in-situ surface, vertical profile and satellite data. Several rather clear biases are found between model results and observations including overestimation of ozone at rural locations downwind of the main emission regions in China as well as downwind over the Pacific. Several models produce too much ozone over polluted regions which is then transported downwind. Analysis points to different factors related to the ability of models to simulate VOC limited regimes over polluted regions and NOx limited regimes downwind. This may also be linked to biases compared to satellite NO2 indicating overestimation of NO2 over and to the north of the northern China Plain emission region. On the other hand, model NO2 is too low to the south and east of this region and over Korean/Japan. Overestimation of ozone is linked to systematic underestimation of CO particularly at rural sites and downwind of the main Chinese emission regions. This is likely to be due to enhanced destruction of CO by OH. Overestimation of Asian ozone and its transport downwind implies that radiative forcing from this source may be overestimated. Model-observation discrepancies over Beijing do not appear to be due to emission controls linked to the Olympic Games in summer 2008. With regard to aerosols, most models reproduce the satellite-derived AOD patterns over eastern China. Our study nevertheless reveals an overestimation of ECLIPSE model-mean surface BC and sulphate aerosols in urban China in summer 2008. The effect of the short-term emission mitigation in Beijing is too weak to explain the differences between the models. Our results rather point to an overestimation of SO2 emissions, in particular, close to the surface in Chinese urban areas. However, we also identify a clear underestimation of aerosol concentrations over northern India, suggesting that the rapid recent growth of emissions in India, as well as their spatial extension, is underestimated in emission inventories. Model deficiencies in the representation of pollution accumulation due to the Indian monsoon may also be playing a role. Comparison with vertical aerosol lidar measurements highlights a general underestimation of scattering aerosols in the boundary layer associated with overestimation in the free troposphere pointing to modeled aerosol lifetimes that are too long. This is likely linked to a too strong vertical transport and/or insufficient deposition efficiency during transport or export from the boundary layer, rather than chemical processing (in the case of sulphate aerosols). Underestimation of sulphate in the boundary layer implies potentially large errors in simulated aerosol-cloud interactions, via impacts on boundary-layer clouds. This evaluation has important implications for accurate assessment of air pollutants on regional air quality and global climate based on global model calculations. Ideally, models should be run at higher resolution over source regions to better simulate urban-rural pollutant gradients/chemical regimes, and also to better resolve pollutant processing and loss by wet deposition as well as vertical transport. Discrepancies in vertical distributions requires further quantification and improvement since this is a key factor in the determination of radiative forcing from short-lived pollutants

What sources of bereavement support are perceived helpful by bereaved people and why? Empirical evidence for the compassionate communities approach

YesAims: To determine who provides bereavement support in the community, what sources are perceived to be the most or least helpful and for what reason, and to identify the empirical elements for optimal support in developing any future compassionate communities approach in palliative care. Design: A population-based cross-sectional investigation of bereavement experiences. Sources of support (informal, community and professional) were categorised according to the Public Health Model of Bereavement Support; most helpful reasons were categorised using the Social Provisions Scale, and least helpful were analysed using inductive content analysis. Setting and participants: Bereaved people were recruited from databases of funeral providers in Australia via an anonymous postal survey (2013–2014). Results: In total, 678 bereaved people responded to the survey. The most frequently used sources of support were in the informal category such as family, friends and funeral providers. While the professional category sources were the least used, they had the highest proportions of perceived unhelpfulness whereas the lowest proportions of unhelpfulness were in the informal category. The functional types of helpful support were Attachment, Reliable Alliance, Social Integration and Guidance. The five themes for least helpful support were: Insensitivity, Absence of Anticipated Support, Poor Advice, Lack of Empathy and Systemic Hindrance. Conclusion: A public health approach, as exemplified by compassionate communities policies and practices, should be adopted to support the majority of bereaved people as much of this support is already provided in informal and other community settings by a range of people already involved in the everyday lives of those recently bereaved. This study has provided further support for the need to strengthen the compassionate communities approach, not only for end of life care for dying patients but also along the continuum of bereavement support.Health Department of Western Australia