Association between Abdominal Fat (DXA) and Its Subcomponents (CT Scan) before and after Weight Loss in Obese Postmenopausal Women: A MONET Study

Introduction. Subcutaneous fat (ScF) and visceral fat (VF) measurements using CT scan are expensive and may imply significant radiation doses. Cross-sectional studies using CT scan showed that ScF and VF are significantly correlated with abdominal fat measured by DXA (AF-DXA). The association has not been studied after a weight loss. Objective. To determine (1) the associations between AF-DXA and ScF and VF before and after weight loss and (2) the associations between their changes. Methods. 137 overweight/obese postmenopausal women were divided in two groups (1-caloric restriction or 2-caloric restriction + resistance training). AF was assessed using DXA and CT scan. Results. Correlations between AF-DXA and ScF (before: r = 0.87, after; r = 0.87; P < .01) and, AF-DXA and VF (before: r = 0.61, after; r = 0.69; P < .01) are not different before and after the weight loss. Correlations between delta AF-DXA and delta ScF (r = 0.72; P < .01) or delta VF (r = 0.51; P < .01) were found. Conclusion. The use of AF-DXA as a surrogate for VF after weight loss is questionable, but may be interesting for ScF

Association between Abdominal Fat (DXA) and Its Subcomponents (CT Scan) before and after Weight Loss in Obese Postmenopausal Women: A MONET Study

Introduction. Subcutaneous fat (ScF) and visceral fat (VF) measurements using CT scan are expensive and may imply significant radiation doses. Cross-sectional studies using CT scan showed that ScF and VF are significantly correlated with abdominal fat measured by DXA (AF-DXA). The association has not been studied after a weight loss. Objective. To determine (1) the associations between AF-DXA and ScF and VF before and after weight loss and (2) the associations between their changes. Methods. 137 overweight/obese postmenopausal women were divided in two groups (1-caloric restriction or 2-caloric restriction + resistance training). AF was assessed using DXA and CT scan. Results. Correlations between AF-DXA and ScF (before: r = 0.87, after; r = 0.87; P &lt; .01) and, AF-DXA and VF (before: r = 0.61, after; r = 0.69; P &lt; .01) are not different before and after the weight loss. Correlations between delta AF-DXA and delta ScF (r = 0.72; P &lt; .01) or delta VF (r = 0.51; P &lt; .01) were found. Conclusion. The use of AF-DXA as a surrogate for VF after weight loss is questionable, but may be interesting for ScF

Nucleobindin Co-Localizes and Associates with Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 in Human Neutrophils

The inducible cyclooxygenase isoform (COX-2) is associated with inflammation, tumorigenesis, as well as with physiological events. Despite efforts deployed in order to understand the biology of this multi-faceted enzyme, much remains to be understood. Nucleobindin (Nuc), a ubiquitous Ca2+-binding protein, possesses a putative COX-binding domain. In this study, we investigated its expression and subcellular localization in human neutrophils, its affinity for COX-2 as well as its possible impact on PGE2 biosynthesis. Complementary subcellular localization approaches including nitrogen cavitation coupled to Percoll fractionation, immunofluorescence, confocal and electron microscopy collectively placed Nuc, COX-2, and all of the main enzymes involved in prostanoid synthesis, in the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum of human neutrophils. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicated a high affinity between Nuc and COX-2. Addition of human recombinant (hr) Nuc to purified hrCOX-2 dose-dependently caused an increase in PGE2 biosynthesis in response to arachidonic acid. Co-incubation of Nuc with COX-2-expressing neutrophil lysates also increased their capacity to produce PGE2. Moreover, neutrophil transfection with hrNuc specifically enhanced PGE2 biosynthesis. Together, these results identify a COX-2-associated protein which may have an impact in prostanoid biosynthesis

Sleep and aging

Abstract This review describes normal and disordered sleep in the older adult population. Although several distinctive sleep changes across the lifespan are normative, including changes in the amount of time spent in different stages of sleep and a shift in the timing of circadian rhythms, sleep disorders are also common in late life. Sleep-disordered breathing, insomnia, circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, and parasomnias occur frequently in older adults and contribute to overall higher rates of poor sleep with advanced age. Assessment and treatment of sleep disorders has been shown to improve functioning and quality of life in older adults; however, the process of diagnosis and intervention is often complicated due to the presence of multiple medical comorbidities, medication side effects, and specific age-related risk factors for sleep disruption. Additional challenges to recognizing, diagnosing, and treating sleep disorders in older adults with dementia and those in long-term care facilities also exist, further complicating the clinical management of sleep disorders in these patients

Astrocytic Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Promotes Resilience by Dampening Stress-Induced Blood-Brain Barrier Alterations and Inflammation

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) alterations contribute to stress vulnerability and development of depressive behaviors. In contrast, neurovascular adaptations underlying stress resilience remain unexplored. Here, we report that high expression of astrocytic cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell, particularly in the endfeet ensheathing blood vessels, is associated with resilience despite chronic social stress exposure. Viral-mediated overexpression of Cnr1 in astrocytes of the NAc shell has baseline anxiolytic effects and dampened stress-induced anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. It also reduced astrocyte inflammatory response and morphological changes following an immune challenge with the cytokine interleukin-6, linked to stress susceptibility and mood disorders. At the preventive and therapeutic level, physical exercise and antidepressant treatment increased perivascular astrocytic Cnr1 in mice. Loss of CNR1 was confirmed in the NAc astrocytes of depressed individuals. These findings suggest a role for the astrocytic endocannabinoid system in stress responses and possibly, human depression, via BBB modulation

Late Holocene glacial advance and ice shelf growth in Barilari Bay, Graham Land, west Antarctic Peninsula

Three marine sediment cores were collected along the length of the fjord axis of Barilari Bay, Graham Land, west Antarctic Peninsula (65°55′S, 64°43′W). Multi-proxy analytical results constrained by high-resolution geochronological methods (210Pb, radiocarbon, 137Cs) in concert with historical observations capture a record of Holocene paleoenvironmental variability. Our results suggest early and middle Holocene (>7022–2815 cal. [calibrated] yr B.P.) retreated glacial positions and seasonally open marine conditions with increased primary productivity. Climatic cooling increased sea ice coverage and decreased primary productivity during the Neoglacial (2815 to cal. 730 cal. yr B.P.). This climatic cooling culminated with glacial advance to maximum Holocene positions and expansion of a fjord-wide ice shelf during the Little Ice Age (LIA) (ca. 730–82 cal. yr B.P.). Seasonally open marine conditions were achieved and remnant ice shelves decayed within the context of recent rapid regional warming (82 cal. yr B.P. to present). Our findings agree with previously observed late Holocene cooling and glacial advance across the Antarctic Peninsula, suggesting that the LIA was a regionally significant event with few disparities in timing and magnitude. Comparison of the LIA Antarctic Peninsula record to the rest of the Southern Hemisphere demonstrates close synchronicity in the southeast Pacific and southern most Atlantic region but less coherence for the southwest Pacific and Indian Oceans. Comparisons with the Northern Hemisphere demonstrate that the LIA Antarctic Peninsula record was contemporaneous with pre-LIA cooling and sea ice expansion in the North Atlantic-Arctic, suggesting a global reach for these events

Negative pressure of the environmental air in the cleaning area of the materials and sterilization center: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the scientific evidence on aerosols generated during cleaning activities of health products in the Central Service Department (CSD) and the impact of the negative pressure of the ambient air in the cleaning area to control the dispersion of aerosols to adjacent areas. METHOD: for this literature systematic review the following searches were done: search guidelines, manuals or national and international technical standards given by experts; search in the portal and databases PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and Web of Science; and a manual search of scientific articles. RESULTS: the five technical documents reviewed recommend that the CSD cleaning area should have a negative differential ambient air pressure, but scientific articles on the impact of this intervention were not found. The four articles included talked about aerosols formed after the use of a ultrasonic cleaner (an increased in the contamination especially during use) and pressurized water jet (formation of smaller aerosols 5μm). In a study, the aerosols formed from contaminated the hot tap water with Legionella pneumophila were evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: there is evidence of aerosol formation during cleanup activities in CSD. Studies on occupational diseases of respiratory origin of workers who work in CSD should be performed