Dihydrocapsiate does not increase energy expenditure nor fat oxidation during aerobic exercise in men with overweight/obesity: a randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial

Background Prior evidence suggests that capsinoids ingestion may increase resting energy expenditure (EE) and fat oxidation (FATox), yet whether they can modulate those parameters during exercise conditions remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that dihydrocapsiate (DHC) ingestion would increase EE and specifically FATox during an acute bout of aerobic exercise at FATmax intensity (the intensity that elicits maximal fat oxidation during exercise [MFO]) in men with overweight/obesity. Since FATmax and MFO during aerobic exercise appear to be indicators of metabolic flexibility, whether DHC has an impact on FATox in this type of population is of clinical interest. Methods A total of 24 sedentary men (age = 40.2 +/- 9.2 years-old; body mass index = 31.6 +/- 4.5 kg/m(2) [n = 11 overweight, n = 13 obese]) participated in this randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial (registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no. NCT05156697). On the first day, participants underwent a submaximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine their MFO and FATmax intensity during exercise. After 72 hours had elapsed, the participants returned on 2 further days (>= 72 hours apart) and performed a 60 min steady-state exercise bout (i.e. cycling at their FATmax, constant intensity) after ingesting either 12 mg of DHC or placebo; these conditions were randomized. Respiratory gas exchange was monitored by indirect calorimetry. Serum marker concentrations (i.e. glucose, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), skin temperature, thermal perception, heart rate, and perceived fatigue) were assessed. Results There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between DHC and placebo conditions in the EE and FATox during exercise. Similarly, no significant changes were observed in glucose, triglycerides, or NEFAs serum levels, neither in the skin temperature nor thermal perception across conditions. Heart rate and perceived fatigue did not differ between conditions. Conclusions DHC supplementation does not affect energy metabolism during exercise in men with overweight/obesity

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Global, regional, and national levels of maternal mortality, 1990-2015 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background In transitioning from the Millennium Development Goal to the Sustainable Development Goal era, it is imperative to comprehensively assess progress toward reducing maternal mortality to identify areas of success, remaining challenges, and frame policy discussions. We aimed to quantify maternal mortality throughout the world by underlying cause and age from 1990 to 2015. Methods We estimated maternal mortality at the global, regional, and national levels from 1990 to 2015 for ages 10-54 years by systematically compiling and processing all available data sources from 186 of 195 countries and territories, 11 of which were analysed at the subnational level. We quantified eight underlying causes of maternal death and four timing categories, improving estimation methods since GBD 2013 for adult all-cause mortality, HIV-related maternal mortality, and late maternal death. Secondary analyses then allowed systematic examination of drivers of trends, including the relation between maternal mortality and coverage of specific reproductive health-care services as well as assessment of observed versus expected maternal mortality as a function of Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary indicator derived from measures of income per capita, educational attainment, and fertility. Findings Only ten countries achieved MDG 5, but 122 of 195 countries have already met SDG 3.1. Geographical disparities widened between 1990 and 2015 and, in 2015, 24 countries still had a maternal mortality ratio greater than 400. The proportion of all maternal deaths occurring in the bottom two SDI quintiles, where haemorrhage is the dominant cause of maternal death, increased from roughly 68% in 1990 to more than 80% in 2015. The middle SDI quintile improved the most from 1990 to 2015, but also has the most complicated causal profile. Maternal mortality in the highest SDI quintile is mostly due to other direct maternal disorders, indirect maternal disorders, and abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and/or miscarriage. Historical patterns suggest achievement of SDG 3.1 will require 91% coverage of one antenatal care visit, 78% of four antenatal care visits, 81% of in-facility delivery, and 87% of skilled birth attendance. Interpretation Several challenges to improving reproductive health lie ahead in the SDG era. Countries should establish or renew systems for collection and timely dissemination of health data; expand coverage and improve quality of family planning services, including access to contraception and safe abortion to address high adolescent fertility; invest in improving health system capacity, including coverage of routine reproductive health care and of more advanced obstetric care-including EmOC; adapt health systems and data collection systems to monitor and reverse the increase in indirect, other direct, and late maternal deaths, especially in high SDI locations; and examine their own performance with respect to their SDI level, using that information to formulate strategies to improve performance and ensure optimum reproductive health of their population.Peer reviewe

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Metabolic encephalopathies in Alzheimer disease

In 1906, German neuropathologist and psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer described eine eigenartige Erkrankung der Hirnrinde (a peculiar disease of the cerebral cortex). Alzheimer noted two abnormalities in autopsied brain tissue from his index case: senile plaques, proteinaceous structures previously described in the brain of normal elderly people; and abnormal cells delineated with silver stain that became known as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). The distribution and abundance of tangle-filled neurons are now the main criteria used to diagnose Alzheimer disease (AD) at autopsy

Observation of electroweak W+W- pair production in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV

An observation is reported of the electroweak production of a W+W- pair in association with two jets, with both W bosons decaying leptonically. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at root s =13 TeV, collected by the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. Events are selected by requiring exactly two opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and two jets with large pseudorapidity separation and high dijet invariant mass. Events are categorized based on the flavor of the final-state leptons. A signal is observed with a significance of 5.6 standard deviations (5.2 expected) with respect to the background-only hypothesis. The measured fiducial cross section is 10.2 +/- 2.0 fb and this value is consistent with the standard model prediction of 9.1 +/- 0.6 fb. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Measurement of differential t(t)over-bar production cross sections in the full kinematic range using lepton plus jets events from proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV

Measurements of differential and double-differential cross sections of top-quark pair (t (t) over bar) production arc presented in the lepton + jets channels with a single electron or muon and jets in the final state. The analysis combines for the first time signatures of top quarks with low transverse momentum p(T), where the top-quark decay products can be identified as separated jets and isolated leptons, and with high p(T), where the decay products are collimated and overlap. The measurements arc based on proton-proton collision data at is - = 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). The cross sections are presented at the parton and particle levels, where the latter minimizes extrapolations based on theoretical assumptions. Most of the measured differential cross sections are well described by standard model predictions with the exception of some double-differential distributions. The inclusive t (t) over bar production cross section is measured to be sigma(t (t) over bar) = 791 +/- 25 pb, which constitutes the most precise measurement in the lepton + jets channel to date