Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Distress, Weight Gain, and Glucose Control for Pregnant Low-Income Women: A Quasi-Experimental Trial Using the ORBIT Model.

BackgroundStress can lead to excessive weight gain. Mindfulness-based stress reduction that incorporates mindful eating shows promise for reducing stress, overeating, and improving glucose control. No interventions have tested mindfulness training with a focus on healthy eating and weight gain during pregnancy, a period of common excessive weight gain. Here, we test the effectiveness of such an intervention, the Mindful Moms Training (MMT), on perceived stress, eating behaviors, and gestational weight gain in a high-risk sample of low income women with overweight/obesity.MethodWe conducted a quasi-experimental study assigning 115 pregnant women to MMT for 8 weeks and comparing them to 105 sociodemographically and weight equivalent pregnant women receiving treatment as usual. Our main outcomes included weight gain (primary outcome), perceived stress, and depression.ResultsWomen in MMT showed significant reductions in perceived stress (β = - 0.16) and depressive symptoms (β = - 0.21) compared to the treatment as usual (TAU) control group. Consistent with national norms, the majority of women (68%) gained excessive weight according to Institute of Medicine weight-gain categories, regardless of group. Slightly more women in the MMT group gained below the recommendation. Among secondary outcomes, women in MMT reported increased physical activity (β = 0.26) and had lower glucose post-oral glucose tolerance test (β = - 0.23), being 66% less likely to have impaired glucose tolerance, compared to the TAU group.ConclusionA short-term intervention led to significant improvements in stress, and showed promise for preventing glucose intolerance. However, the majority of women gained excessive weight. A longer more intensive intervention may be needed for this high-risk population. Clinical Trials.gov #NCT01307683

Impact of inhaled corticosteroids on growth in children with asthma: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Long-term inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) may reduce growth velocity and final height of children with asthma. We aimed to evaluate the association between ICS use of >12 months and growth. Methods: We initially searched MEDLINE and EMBASE in July 2013, followed by a PubMed search updated to December 2014. We selected RCTs and controlled observational studies of ICS use in patients with asthma. We conducted random effects meta-analysis of mean differences in growth velocity (cm/year) or final height (cm) between groups. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic. Results: We found 23 relevant studies (twenty RCTs and three observational studies) after screening 1882 hits. Meta-analysis of 16 RCTs showed that ICS use significantly reduced growth velocity at one year follow-up (mean difference -0.48 cm/year (95% CI -0.66 to -0.29)). There was evidence of a dose-response effect in three RCTs. Final adult height showed a mean reduction of -1.20 cm (95% CI -1.90 cm to -0.50 cm) with budesonide versus placebo in a high quality RCT. Meta-analysis of two lower quality observational studies revealed uncertainty in the association between ICS use and final adult height, pooled mean difference -0.85 cm (95% CI -3.35 to 1.65). Conclusion: Use of ICS for >12 months in children with asthma has a limited impact on annual growth velocity. In ICS users, there is a slight reduction of about a centimeter in final adult height, which when interpreted in the context of average adult height in England (175 cm for men and 161 cm for women), represents a 0.7% reduction compared to non-ICS users

Subtidal macrozoobenthos communities from northern Chile during and post El Niño 1997–1998

Despite a large amount of climatic and oceanographic information dealing with the recurring climate phenomenon El Niño (EN) and its well known impact on diversity of marine benthic communities, most published data are rather descriptive and consequently our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and processes that drive community structure during EN are still very scarce. In this study, we address two questions on the effects of EN on macrozoobenthic communities: (1) how does EN affect species diversity of the communities in northern Chile? and (2) is EN a phenomenon that restarts community assembling processes by affecting species interactions in northern Chile? To answer these questions, we compared species diversity and co-occurrence patterns of soft-bottoms macrozoobenthos communities from the continental shelf off northern Chile during (March 1998) and after (September 1998) the strong EN event 1997–1998. The methods used varied from species diversity and species co-occurrence analyses to multivariate ordination methods. Our results indicate that EN positively affects diversity of macrozoobenthos communities in the study area, increasing the species richness and diversity and decreasing the species dominance. EN represents a strong disturbance that affects species interactions that rule the species assembling processes in shallow-water, sea-bottom environments

Dietary zinc supplementation of 3xTg-AD mice increases BDNF levels and prevents cognitive deficits as well as mitochondrial dysfunction

The overall effect of brain zinc (Zn2+) in the progression and development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still not completely understood. Although an excess of Zn2+ can exacerbate the pathological features of AD, a deficit of Zn2+ intake has also been shown to increase the volume of amyloid plaques in AD transgenic mice. In this study, we investigated the effect of dietary Zn2+ supplementation (30 p.p.m.) in a transgenic mouse model of AD, the 3xTg-AD, that expresses both β amyloid (Aβ)- and tau-dependent pathology. We found that Zn2+ supplementation greatly delays hippocampal-dependent memory deficits and strongly reduces both Aβ and tau pathology in the hippocampus. We also evaluated signs of mitochondrial dysfunction and found that Zn2+ supplementation prevents the age-dependent respiratory deficits we observed in untreated 3xTg-AD mice. Finally, we found that Zn2+ supplementation greatly increases the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) of treated 3xTg-AD mice. In summary, our data support the idea that controlling the brain Zn2+ homeostasis may be beneficial in the treatment of AD

Effect of metal Ions (Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+) and water coordination on the structure of L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan and their zwitterionic forms

Methods of quantum chemistry have been applied to double-charged complexes involving the transition metals Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ with the aromatic amino acids (AAA) phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. The effect of hydration on the relative stability and geometry of the individual species studied has been evaluated within the supermolecule approach. The interaction enthalpies, entropies and Gibbs energies of nine complexes Phe•M, Tyr•M, Trp•M, (M = Ni2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+) were determined at the Becke3LYP density functional level of theory. Of the transition metals studied the bivalent copper cation forms the strongest complexes with AAAs. For Ni2+and Cu2+ the most stable species are the NO coordinated cations in the AAA metal complexes, Zn2+cation prefers a binding to the aromatic part of the AAA (complex II). Some complexes energetically unfavored in the gas-phase are stabilized upon microsolvation

Sympatric Speciation: When Is It Possible in Bacteria?

This study investigated a potential auditory illusion in duration perception induced by rhythmic temporal contexts. Listeners with or without musical training performed a duration discrimination task for a silent period in a rhythmic auditory sequence. The critical temporal interval was presented either within a perceptual group or between two perceptual groups. We report the just-noticeable difference (difference limen, DL) for temporal intervals and the point of subjective equality (PSE) derived from individual psychometric functions based on performance of a two-alternative forced choice task. In musically untrained individuals, equal temporal intervals were perceived as significantly longer when presented between perceptual groups than within a perceptual group (109.25% versus 102.5% of the standard duration). Only the perceived duration of the between-group interval was significantly longer than its objective duration. Musically trained individuals did not show this effect. However, in both musically trained and untrained individuals, the relative difference limens for discriminating the comparison interval from the standard interval were larger in the between-groups condition than in the within-group condition (7.3% vs. 5.6% of the standard duration). Thus, rhythmic grouping affected sensitivity to duration changes in all listeners, with duration differences being harder to detect at boundaries of rhythm groups than within rhythm groups. Our results show for the first time that temporal Gestalt induces auditory duration illusions in typical listeners, but that musical experts are not susceptible to this effect of rhythmic grouping.Ellison Medical FoundationSwiss National Science Foundation (PA00P1_131448/1

Food Composition of the Diet in Relation to Changes in Waist Circumference Adjusted for Body Mass Index

Dietary factors such as low energy density and low glycemic index were associated with a lower gain in abdominal adiposity. A better understanding of which food groups/items contribute to these associations is necessary.To ascertain the association of food groups/items consumption on prospective annual changes in "waist circumference for a given BMI" (WC(BMI)), a proxy for abdominal adiposity.We analyzed data from 48,631 men and women from 5 countries participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Anthropometric measurements were obtained at baseline and after a median follow-up time of 5.5 years. WC(BMI) was defined as the residuals of waist circumference regressed on BMI, and annual change in WC(BMI) (ΔWC(BMI), cm/y) was defined as the difference between residuals at follow-up and baseline, divided by follow-up time. The association between food groups/items and ΔWC(BMI) was modelled using centre-specific adjusted linear regression, and random-effects meta-analyses to obtain pooled estimates.Higher fruit and dairy products consumption was associated with a lower gain in WC(BMI) whereas the consumption of white bread, processed meat, margarine, and soft drinks was positively associated with ΔWC(BMI). When these six food groups/items were analyzed in combination using a summary score, those in the highest quartile of the score--indicating a more favourable dietary pattern--showed a ΔWC(BMI) of -0.11 (95% CI -0.09 to -0.14) cm/y compared to those in the lowest quartile.A dietary pattern high in fruit and dairy and low in white bread, processed meat, margarine, and soft drinks may help to prevent abdominal fat accumulation