Impact of exercise-nutritional state interactions in patients with type 2 diabetes

Introduction This study examines the role of nutritional status during exercise training in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by investigating the effect of endurance-type exercise training in the fasted versus the fed state on clinical outcome measures, glycemic control, and skeletal muscle characteristics in male type 2 diabetes patients. Methods Twenty-five male patients (glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), 57 ± 3 mmol·mol−1 (7.4% ± 0.3%)) participated in a randomized 12-wk supervised endurance-type exercise intervention, with exercise being performed in an overnight-fasted state (n = 13) or after consuming breakfast (n = 12). Patients were evaluated for glycemic control, blood lipid profiles, body composition and physical fitness, and skeletal muscle gene expression. Results Exercise training was well tolerated without any incident of hypoglycemia. Exercise training significantly decreased whole-body fat mass (−1.6 kg) and increased high-density lipoprotein concentrations (+2 mg·dL−1), physical fitness (+1.7 mL·min−1·kg−1), and fat oxidation during exercise in both groups (PTIME 0.05). HbA1c concentrations significantly decreased after exercise training (PTIME < 0.001), with a significant greater reduction after consuming breakfast (−0.30% ± 0.06%) compared with fasted state (−0.08% ± 0.06%; mean difference, 0.21%; PTIME × GROUP = 0.016). No interaction effects were observed for skeletal muscle genes related to lipid metabolism or oxidative capacity. Conclusions Endurance-type exercise training in the fasted or fed state do not differ in their efficacy to reduce fat mass, increase fat oxidation capacity, and increase cardiorespiratory fitness and high-density lipoprotein concentrations or their risk of hypoglycemia in male patients with type 2 diabetes. HbA1c seems to be improved more with exercise performed in the postprandial compared with the postabsorptive state

Spin Glasses: Model systems for non-equilibrium dynamics

Spin glasses are frustrated magnetic systems due to a random distribution of ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions. An experimental three dimensional (3d) spin glass exhibits a second order phase transition to a low temperature spin glass phase regardless of the spin dimensionality. In addition, the low temperature phase of Ising and Heisenberg spin glasses exhibits similar non-equilibrium dynamics and an infinitely slow approach towards a thermodynamic equilibrium state. There are however significant differences in the detailed character of the dynamics as to memory and rejuvenation phenomena and the influence of critical dynamics on the behaviour. In this article, some aspects of the non-equilibrium dynamics of an Ising and a Heisenberg spin glass are briefly reviewed and some comparisons are made to other glassy systems that exhibit magnetic non-equilibrium dynamics.Comment: To appear in J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, Proceedings from HFM2003, Grenobl

Modulation of aggression in male mice: influence of group size and cage size

Aggression in group-housed male mice is known to be influenced by both cage size and group size. However, the interdependency of these two parameters has not been studied yet. In this study, the level of aggression in groups of three, five, or eight male BALB/c mice housed in cages with a floor size of either 80 or 125 cm2/animal was estimated weekly after cage cleaning for a period of 14 weeks. Furthermore, urine corticosterone levels, food and water intake, body weight, and number of wounds were measured weekly. At the end of the experiment, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, testosterone levels, and weight of spleen, thymus, testes, and seminal vesicles were determined. Results indicate a moderate increase of intermale aggression in larger cages when compared to the smaller cages. Aggression in groups of eight animals was considerably higher than in groups of three animals. The increase of agonistic behavior was observed both in dominant and subordinate animals. Physiological parameters indicate differences in stress levels between dominant and subordinate animals. It is concluded that aggressive behavior in group-housed male BALB/c mice is best prevented by housing the animals in small groups of three to five animals, while decreasing floor size per animal may be used as a temporary solution to decrease high levels of aggression in an existing social group.

The land management tool: Developing a climate service in Southwest UK

Seasonal climate forecasts (SCFs) have significant potential to support shorter-term agricultural decisions and longer-term climate adaptation plans, but uptake in Europe has to date been low. Under the European Union funded project, European Provision Of Regional Impacts Assessments on Seasonal and Decadal Timescales (EUPORIAS) we have developed the Land Management Tool (LMTool), a prototype seasonal climate service for land managers, working closely in collaboration with two stakeholder organizations, Clinton Devon Estates (CDE) and the National Farmers Union (NFU). LMTool was one of several prototype climate services selected for development within EUPORIAS, including those for the UK transport network, food security in Ethiopia, renewable energy production, hydroelectric energy production in Sweden, and river management in two French basins. The LMTool provides SCFs (1–3 months ahead) to farmers in the Southwest UK, alongside 14-day site specific weather forecasts during the winter months when the skill of seasonal forecasts is greatest. We describe the processes through which the LMTool was co-designed and developed with the farmers, its technical development and key features; critically examine the lessons learned and their implications for providing future climate services for land managers; and finally assess the feasibility of delivering an operational winter seasonal climate service for UK land managers. A number of key learning points from developing the prototype may benefit future work in climate services for the land management and agriculture sector; many of these points are also valid for climate services in other sectors. Prototype development strongly benefitted from; working with intermediaries to identify representative, engaged land managers; an iterative and flexible process of co-design with the farmer group; and from an interdisciplinary project team. Further work is needed to develop a better understanding of the role of forecast skill in land management decision making, the potential benefits of downscaling and how seasonal forecasts can help support land managers decision-making processes. The prototype would require considerable work to implement a robust operational forecast system, and a longer period to demonstrate the value of the services provided. Finally, the potential for such services to be applied more widely in Europe is not well understood and would require further stakeholder engagement and forecast development

Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation

Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation can strongly enhance the interaction of light with nanoscale matter by their ability to efficiently link propagating and spatially localized optical fields. This ability unlocks an enormous potential for applications ranging from nanoscale optical microscopy and spectroscopy over solar energy conversion, integrated optical nanocircuitry, opto-electronics and density-ofstates engineering to ultra-sensing as well as enhancement of optical nonlinearities. Here we review the current understanding of optical antennas based on the background of both well-developed radiowave antenna engineering and the emerging field of plasmonics. In particular, we address the plasmonic behavior that emerges due to the very high optical frequencies involved and the limitations in the choice of antenna materials and geometrical parameters imposed by nanofabrication. Finally, we give a brief account of the current status of the field and the major established and emerging lines of investigation in this vivid area of research.Comment: Review article with 76 pages, 21 figure

Emerging methods and tools for environmental risk assessment, decision-making, and policy for nanomaterials: summary of NATO Advanced Research Workshop

Nanomaterials and their associated technologies hold promising opportunities for the development of new materials and applications in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, environmental remediation, waste treatment, and energy conservation. However, current information regarding the environmental effects and health risks associated with nanomaterials is limited and sometimes contradictory. This article summarizes the conclusions of a 2008 NATO workshop designed to evaluate the wide-scale implications (e.g., benefits, risks, and costs) of the use of nanomaterials on human health and the environment. A unique feature of this workshop was its interdisciplinary nature and focus on the practical needs of policy decision makers. Workshop presentations and discussion panels were structured along four main themes: technology and benefits, human health risk, environmental risk, and policy implications. Four corresponding working groups (WGs) were formed to develop detailed summaries of the state-of-the-science in their respective areas and to discuss emerging gaps and research needs. The WGs identified gaps between the rapid advances in the types and applications of nanomaterials and the slower pace of human health and environmental risk science, along with strategies to reduce the uncertainties associated with calculating these risks.Engineering and Applied Science

Domains of commutative C*-subalgebras

A C*-algebra is determined to a great extent by the partial order of its commutative C*-algebras. We study order-theoretic properties of this dcpo. Many properties coincide: the dcpo is, equivalently, algebraic, continuous, meet-continuous, atomistic, quasi-algebraic, or quasi-continuous, if and only if the C*-algebra is scattered. For C*-algebras with enough projections, these properties are equivalent to finite-dimensionality. Approximately finite-dimensional elements of the dcpo correspond to Boolean subalgebras of the projections of the C*-algebra, which determine the projections up to isomorphism. Scattered C*-algebras are finite-dimensional if and only if their dcpo is Lawson-scattered. General C*-algebras are finite-dimensional if and only if their dcpo is order-scattered.Comment: 42 page

Do volcanic eruptions enhance or diminish net primary production? Evidence from tree rings

Low growth rates of atmospheric CO_2 were observed following the 1991 Pinatubo (Luzon) volcanic eruption. One hypothesis for this CO_2 anomaly is that since diffuse light is more efficiently used by forests than direct light, the increase in the diffuse fraction of sunlight due to scattering by volcanic sulfur aerosol in the years following the eruption substantially increased forest net primary production (NPP). However, other observations suggest a decrease in northern forest NPP because of the cooler conditions following the eruption. Here we used a global database of dated tree ring widths (which correlate with forest NPP) to test this hypothesis. Ice core records of sulfur deposition allowed us to identify the timing and magnitude of 23 Pinatubo‐scale eruptions since 1000 CE. We found a significant decrease in ring width for trees in middle to high northern latitudes (north of 45°N) following eruption sulfur peaks. Decreases in tree ring widths were in the range of 2–8% and persisted for ∼8 years following sulfur peaks, with minima at around 4–6 years. Ring width changes at lower latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere (30°N to 45°N) and in the Southern Hemisphere (30°S to 56°S) were not significant. In the tropics (30°N to 30°S) the paucity of tree ring records did not permit the evaluation of NPP changes. Given that elevated aerosol levels and summer cooling last only ∼2–3 years after an eruption, the persistence of declines in northern tree growth for up to 8 years after eruptions implies some additional mechanism that links these shorter‐lived global eruption effects to sustained changes in tree physiology, biogeochemistry, or microclimate. At least for this sample of trees, the beneficial effect of aerosol light scattering appears to be entirely offset by the deleterious effect of eruption‐induced climate change

Emerging methods and tools for environmental risk assessment, decision-making, and policy for nanomaterials: summary of NATO Advanced Research Workshop

Nanomaterials and their associated technologies hold promising opportunities for the development of new materials and applications in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, environmental remediation, waste treatment, and energy conservation. However, current information regarding the environmental effects and health risks associated with nanomaterials is limited and sometimes contradictory. This article summarizes the conclusions of a 2008 NATO workshop designed to evaluate the wide-scale implications (e.g., benefits, risks, and costs) of the use of nanomaterials on human health and the environment. A unique feature of this workshop was its interdisciplinary nature and focus on the practical needs of policy decision makers. Workshop presentations and discussion panels were structured along four main themes: technology and benefits, human health risk, environmental risk, and policy implications. Four corresponding working groups (WGs) were formed to develop detailed summaries of the state-of-the-science in their respective areas and to discuss emerging gaps and research needs. The WGs identified gaps between the rapid advances in the types and applications of nanomaterials and the slower pace of human health and environmental risk science, along with strategies to reduce the uncertainties associated with calculating these risks