A bi-directional relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life : evidence from the longitudinal AusDiab study

Objective: To assess the prospective relationship between obesity and health-related quality of life, including a novel assessment of the impact of health-related quality of life on weight gain.Design and setting: Longitudinal, national, population-based Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study, with surveys conducted in 1999/2000 and 2004/2005.Participants: A total of 5985 men and women aged 25 years at study entry.Main outcome measure(s): At both time points, height, weight and waist circumference were measured and self-report data on health-related quality of life from the SF-36 questionnaire were obtained. Cross-sectional and bi-directional, prospective associations between obesity categories and health-related quality of life were assessed.Results: Higher body mass index (BMI) at baseline was associated with deterioration in health-related quality of life over 5 years for seven of the eight health-related quality of life domains in women (all P0.01, with the exception of mental health, P&gt;0.05), and six out of eight in men (all P&lt;0.05, with the exception of role-emotional, P=0.055, and mental health, P&gt;0.05). Each of the quality-of-life domains related to mental health as well as the mental component summary were inversely associated with BMI change (all P&lt;0.0001 for women and P0.01 for men), with the exception of vitality, which was significant in women only (P=0.008). For the physical domains, change in BMI was inversely associated with baseline general health in women only (P=0.023).Conclusions: Obesity was associated with a deterioration in health-related quality of life (including both physical and mental health domains) in this cohort of Australian adults followed over 5 years. Health-related quality of life was also a predictor of weight gain over 5 years, indicating a bi-directional association between obesity and health-related quality of life. The identification of those with poor health-related quality of life may be important in assessing the risk of future weight gain, and a focus on health-related quality of life may be beneficial in weight management strategies.<br /

Large-scale genome-wide association studies and meta-analyses of longitudinal change in adult lung function.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous loci influencing cross-sectional lung function, but less is known about genes influencing longitudinal change in lung function. METHODS: We performed GWAS of the rate of change in forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) in 14 longitudinal, population-based cohort studies comprising 27,249 adults of European ancestry using linear mixed effects model and combined cohort-specific results using fixed effect meta-analysis to identify novel genetic loci associated with longitudinal change in lung function. Gene expression analyses were subsequently performed for identified genetic loci. As a secondary aim, we estimated the mean rate of decline in FEV1 by smoking pattern, irrespective of genotypes, across these 14 studies using meta-analysis. RESULTS: The overall meta-analysis produced suggestive evidence for association at the novel IL16/STARD5/TMC3 locus on chromosome 15 (P  =  5.71 × 10(-7)). In addition, meta-analysis using the five cohorts with ≥3 FEV1 measurements per participant identified the novel ME3 locus on chromosome 11 (P  =  2.18 × 10(-8)) at genome-wide significance. Neither locus was associated with FEV1 decline in two additional cohort studies. We confirmed gene expression of IL16, STARD5, and ME3 in multiple lung tissues. Publicly available microarray data confirmed differential expression of all three genes in lung samples from COPD patients compared with controls. Irrespective of genotypes, the combined estimate for FEV1 decline was 26.9, 29.2 and 35.7 mL/year in never, former, and persistent smokers, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this large-scale GWAS, we identified two novel genetic loci in association with the rate of change in FEV1 that harbor candidate genes with biologically plausible functional links to lung function

A review of elliptical and disc galaxy structure, and modern scaling laws

A century ago, in 1911 and 1913, Plummer and then Reynolds introduced their models to describe the radial distribution of stars in `nebulae'. This article reviews the progress since then, providing both an historical perspective and a contemporary review of the stellar structure of bulges, discs and elliptical galaxies. The quantification of galaxy nuclei, such as central mass deficits and excess nuclear light, plus the structure of dark matter halos and cD galaxy envelopes, are discussed. Issues pertaining to spiral galaxies including dust, bulge-to-disc ratios, bulgeless galaxies, bars and the identification of pseudobulges are also reviewed. An array of modern scaling relations involving sizes, luminosities, surface brightnesses and stellar concentrations are presented, many of which are shown to be curved. These 'redshift zero' relations not only quantify the behavior and nature of galaxies in the Universe today, but are the modern benchmark for evolutionary studies of galaxies, whether based on observations, N-body-simulations or semi-analytical modelling. For example, it is shown that some of the recently discovered compact elliptical galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 may be the bulges of modern disc galaxies.Comment: Condensed version (due to Contract) of an invited review article to appear in "Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems"(www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-90-481-8818-5). 500+ references incl. many somewhat forgotten, pioneer papers. Original submission to Springer: 07-June-201

A Krill Oil Supplemented Diet Suppresses Hepatic Steatosis in High-Fat Fed Rats

Krill oil (KO) is a dietary source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly represented by eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid bound to phospholipids. The supplementation of a high-fat diet with 2.5% KO efficiently prevented triglyceride and cholesterol accumulation in liver of treated rats. This effect was accompanied by a parallel reduction of the plasma levels of triglycerides and glucose and by the prevention of a plasma insulin increase. The investigation of the molecular mechanisms of KO action in high-fat fed animals revealed a strong decrease in the activities of the mitochondrial citrate carrier and of the cytosolic acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase, which are both involved in hepatic de novo lipogenesis. In these animals a significant increase in the activity of carnitine palmitoyl-transferase I and in the levels of carnitine was also observed, suggesting a concomitant stimulation of hepatic fatty acid oxidation. The KO supplemented animals also retained an efficient mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, most probably as a consequence of a KO-induced arrest of the uncoupling effects of a high-fat diet. Lastly, the KO supplementation prevented an increase in body weight, as well as oxidative damage of lipids and proteins, which is often found in high-fat fed animals

Effect of hemicellulose liquid phase on the enzymatic hydrolysis of autohydrolyzed Eucalyptus globulus wood

In this work, Eucalyptus globulus wood was pretreated under non-isothermal autohydrolysis process at 210, 220, and 230 °C, obtaining a pretreated solid with high cellulose content and a hemicellulosic liquid phase (HLP) containing mainly xylose, acetic acid, furfural, xylooligosaccharides, and phenolic compounds. The maximum concentration of xylooligosaccharides (8.97 g/L) and phenolic compounds (2.66 g/L) was obtained at 210 and 230 °C, respectively. To evaluate the effect of HLP addition on the enzymatic hydrolysis using unwashed pretreated solid as substrate, different proportions of HLP were studied. Also, in order to use the whole slurry on enzymatic hydrolysis, the supplementation of xylanases was evaluated. Glucose concentration of 107.49 g/L (corresponding to 74.65 % of conversion) was obtained using pretreated solid at 220 °C liquid/solid ratio (LSR) of 4 g/g and enzyme solid ratio (ESR) of 25 FPU/gwithout the addition of HLP. Thus, it was shown that the unwashed pretreated solids are susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis contributing to reduce operational cost (water consumption). Additionally, the influence of the inhibitory compounds in the HLP was shown to affect the enzymatic hydrolysis. Results indicated that 82.52 g/L of glucose (59.37 % of conversion) was obtained, using 100 % of HLP at LSR of 4 g/g and ESR of 16 FPU/g at 210 °C of pretreated solid. However, a positive effect was shown on the enzymatic hydrolysis when the xylanases were added using 100 % of HLP, increasing to 35 and 27 % in the glucose production with respect to whole slurry without addition of xylanases.The authors A. Romani and F. B. Pereira thank to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for their fellowships (grant number, SFRH/BPD/77995/2011 and SFRH/BD/64776/2009, respectively)

Cell Recovery in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Smokers Is Dependent on Cumulative Smoking History

Background: Smoking is a risk factor for various lung diseases in which BAL may be used as a part of a clinical investigation. Interpretation of BAL fluid cellularity is however difficult due to high variability, in particular among smokers. In this study we aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking on BAL cellular components in asymptomatic smokers. The effects of smoking cessation, age and gender were also investigated in groups of smokers and exsmokers. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of BAL findings, to our knowledge the largest single center investigation, in our department from 1999 to 2009. One hundred thirty two current smokers (48 males and 84 females) and 44 ex-smokers (16 males and 28 females) were included. A group of 295 (132 males and 163 females) never-smokers served as reference. Result: The median [5–95 pctl] total number of cells and cell concentration in current smokers were 63.4 [28.6–132.1]610 6 and 382.1 [189.7–864.3]610 6 /L respectively and correlated positively to the cumulative smoking history. Macrophages were the predominant cell type (96.7 % [90.4–99.0]) followed by lymphocytes (2 % [0.8–7.7]) and neutrophils (0.6 % [0–2.9]). The concentration of all inflammatory cells was increased in smokers compared to never smokers and ex-smokers. BAL fluid recovery was negatively correlated with age (p,0.001). Smoking men had a lower BAL fluid recovery than smoking women. Conclusion: Smoking has a profound effect on BAL fluid cellularity, which is dependent on smoking history. Our results performed on a large group of current smokers and ex-smokers in a well standardized way, can contribute to bette

The Ser82 RAGE variant affects lung function and serum RAGE in smokers and sRAGE production in vitro

Introduction: Genome-Wide Association Studies have identified associations between lung function measures and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and chromosome region 6p21 containing the gene for the Advanced Glycation End Product Receptor (AGER, encoding RAGE). We aimed to (i) characterise RAGE expression in the lung, (ii) identify AGER transcripts, (iii) ascertain if SNP rs2070600 (Gly82Ser C/T) is associated with lung function and serum sRAGE levels and (iv) identify whether the Gly82Ser variant is functionally important in altering sRAGE levels in an airway epithelial cell model. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to identify RAGE protein expression in 26 human tissues and qPCR was used to quantify AGER mRNA in lung cells. Gene expression array data was used to identify AGER expression during lung development in 38 fetal lung samples. RNA-Seq was used to identify AGER transcripts in lung cells. sRAGE levels were assessed in cells and patient serum by ELISA. BEAS2B-R1 cells were transfected to overexpress RAGE protein with either the Gly82 or Ser82 variant and sRAGE levels identified. Results: Immunohistochemical assessment of 6 adult lung samples identified high RAGE expression in the alveoli of healthy adults and individuals with COPD. AGER/RAGE expression increased across developmental stages in human fetal lung at both the mRNA (38 samples) and protein levels (20 samples). Extensive AGER splicing was identified. The rs2070600T (Ser82) allele is associated with higher FEV1, FEV1/FVC and lower serum sRAGE levels in UK smokers. Using an airway epithelium model overexpressing the Gly82 or Ser82 variants we found that HMGB1 activation of the RAGE-Ser82 receptor results in lower sRAGE production. Conclusions: This study provides new information regarding the expression profile and potential role of RAGE in the human lung and shows a functional role of the Gly82Ser variant. These findings advance our understanding of the potential mechanisms underlying COPD particularly for carriers of this AGER polymorphism

Conceptualising and historicising the US foreign policy establishment in a racialised class structure

In recent years critical scholars of U.S. foreign policy have challenged the mainstream paradigm that fails to account for the racial dimensions of international relations. This article introduces a conceptual and historical analysis of the US foreign policy establishment that posits race and racism at its centre. While alluding to conventional theories of American power such as pluralism and statism, the article also highlights classical Marxism’s failure to acknowledge that US exceptionalism and racism conjoined in a manner that conferred a racial dimension to class politics. The article argues that the U.S. foreign policy establishment has been presided over by an elite or ruling elite; and irrespective of challenges from below, increasing diversity, or the insistence that America is a meritocratic classless society, the U.S establishment is at heart, elitist, racialised and generally Anglo-centric. The article identifies links between the racial dimensions of U.S. foreign policy and the identity profile of the power elite. The paper extends and critiques C. Wright Mills’ definition of the power elite by mapping its racial dimension. Finally the article argues that although the election of Obama represented a more inclusive and cosmopolitan version of the establishment, Obama’s presence has helped to consolidate the status quo as the structural constraints on the executive branch and symbolism associated with the election of the first African-American president has generally silenced the Left and quietly fostered the suggestion that an unconventional identity profile will not necessarily result in the change we can believe in