Moderate exercise may attenuate some aspects of immunosenescence

BACKGROUND: Immunosenescence is related to the deterioration of many immune functions, which may be manifested in increased susceptibility to infection, cancer, and autoimmunity. Lifestyle factors, such as diet or physical activity, may influence the senescence of the immune system. It is widely accepted that moderate physical activity may cause beneficial effects for physical and psychological health as well as for the immune system activity in aged people. METHODS: Thirty elderly women aged 62 to 86 were subjected to a two-years authorized physical activity program. Peripheral blood lymphocytes distribution and the production of cytokines involved in the immune response development and regulation (IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-γ) were investigated. The same parameters were evaluated in two control groups of women: a sedentary group of 12 elderly women selected for the second round of the physical activity program and in a group of 20 sedentary young women. Flow cytometry methods were used for the examination of surface markers on peripheral blood lymphocytes and intracellular cytokines expression. RESULTS: The distribution of the main lymphocytes subpopulations in the peripheral blood of elderly women did not show changes after long-term moderate physical training. The percentage of lymphocytes expressing intracellular IL-2 was higher in the group of women attending 2-years physical activity program than in the control group of elderly sedentary women, and it was similar to the value estimated in the group of young sedentary women. There was no difference in the intracellular expression of IL-4 and IFN-γ between the active and elderly sedentary women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that moderate, long-term physical activity in elderly women may increase the production of IL-2, an important regulator of the immune response. This may help ameliorate immunosenescence in these women

Effects of shade-tree species and spacing on soil and leaf nutrient concentrations in cocoa plantations at 8 years after establishment

Hosseini Bai, S ORCiD: 0000-0001-8646-6423Intercropping in agroforestry systems improves ecosystem services. Appropriate species compositions and spacing regimes are critical to achieve ecosystem benefits and improve yields of all the component crops. Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is an important cash crop globally but it requires shade for survival and growth. However, the effects of shade-tree species composition and spacing regime on nutrient cycling in cocoa plantations are not well understood. This study investigated the effects of shade tree species and spacing regimes on soil and plant nutrient availability at 8 years after plantation establishment in Papua New Guinea. Three cocoa intercropping systems were established in which T. cacao was planted with either a non-legume timber tree, Canarium indicum, or a legume non-timber tree, Gliricidia sepium. The shade-tree spacing regimes included either 8 m × 16 m or 8 m × 8 m in the Theobroma + Canarium plantations. There was an ongoing thinning regime in the Theobroma + Gliricidia plantation, with a final shade-tree spacing of 12 m × 12 m. Soil total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) were significantly higher in the Theobroma + Gliricidia plantation with 12 m × 12 m spacing and the Theobroma + Canarium plantation with 8 m × 16 m spacing than in the Theobroma + Canarium plantation with 8 m × 8 m spacing. Foliar TN and P were correlated with soil TN and P, respectively, whereas no correlation was detected between soil and leaf K concentrations. Foliar TN, P and K were under ideal concentrations for T. cacao in all of the plantations. The Theobroma + Gliricidia plantation had higher soil water extractable phosphorus (P) than the two Theobroma + Canarium plantations, probably due to frequent pruning of the G. sepium trees. Foliar C isotope composition (δ13C) of T. cacao suggested that T. cacao close to G. sepium or close to C. indicum with spacing of 8 m × 16 m and 8 m × 8 m had similar light interception. However, increased C. indicum spacing increased the light interception of T. cacao trees that were not planted next to C. indicum. This study indicated that non-legume timber trees with an optimized spacing regime can be used as overstorey shade trees for T. cacao. However, our study indicated all three plantations required fertilisation and better nutrient management. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

A non-destructive determination of peroxide values, total nitrogen and mineral nutrients in an edible tree nut using hyperspectral imaging

Nuts are nutritionally valuable for a healthy diet but can be prone to rancidity due to their high unsaturated fat content. Nutrient content of nuts is an important component of their health benefits but measuring both rancidity and nutrient content of nuts is laborious, tedious and expensive. Hyperspectral imaging has been used to predict chemical composition of plant parts. This technique has the potential to rapidly predict chemical composition of nuts, including rancidity. Hence, this study explored to what extent hyperspectral imaging (400–1000 nm) could predict chemical components of Canarium indicum nuts. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were developed to predict kernel rancidity using peroxide value (PV) for two different batches of kernels, and macro- and micronutrients of kernels using the spectra of the samples obtained from hyperspectral images. The models provided acceptable prediction abilities with strong coefficients of determination (R2) and ratios of prediction to deviation (RPD) of the test set for PV, first batch (R2 = 0.72; RPD = 1.66), PV, second batch (R2 = 0.81; RPD = 2.30), total nitrogen (R2 = 0.80; RPD = 1.58), iron (R2 = 0.75; RPD = 1.46), potassium (R2 = 0.51; RPD = 0.94), magnesium (R2 = 0.81; RPD = 2.04), manganese (R2 = 0.71; RPD = 1.84), sulphur (R2 = 0.76; RPD = 1.84) and zinc (R2 = 0.62; RPD = 1.37) using selected wavelengths. This study indicated that visible-near infrared (VNIR) hyperspectral imaging has the potential to be used for prediction of chemical components of C. indicum nuts without the need for destructive analysis. This technique has potential to be used to predict chemical components in other nuts. © 2018 Elsevier B.V

Metagenomic shotgun sequencing of blood to identify bacteria and viruses in leukemic febrile neutropenia.

Despite diagnostic advances in microbiology, the etiology of neutropenic fever remains elusive in most cases. In this study, we evaluated the utility of a metagenomic shotgun sequencing based assay for detection of bacteria and viruses in blood samples of patients with febrile neutropenia. We prospectively enrolled 20 acute leukemia patients and obtained blood from these patients at three time points: 1) anytime from onset of neutropenia until before development of neutropenic fever, 2) within 24 hours of onset of neutropenic fever, 3) 5-7 days after onset of neutropenic fever. Blood samples underwent sample preparation, sequencing and analysis using the iDTECT® Dx Blood v1® platform (PathoQuest, Paris, France). Clinically relevant viruses or bacteria were detected in three cases each by metagenomic shotgun sequencing and blood cultures, albeit with no concordance between the two. Further optimization of sample preparation methods and sequencing platforms is needed before widespread adoption of this technology into clinical practice