The World Hobbit Project in Finland : Audience responses and transmedial user practices

This article examines audience engagement with The Hobbit fantasy film trilogy as a participatory and transmedial experience. To do so, we use the data collected by The World Hobbit Project in order to investigate the transmedial user practices of the Finnish audience of the trilogy. We will, firstly, look at what kinds of transmedial user practices – and transmedia users – emerge from our data. Secondly, we will ask the following questions: How do transmedia users receive and experience the films? What are the meanings assigned to The Hobbit films and the fantasy texts and user practices related to them, and what do these meanings tell of the broader meanings and uses of fantasy? Doing so, we use both quantitative and qualitative research methods.peerReviewe

Diets rich in whole grains increase betainized compounds associated with glucose metabolism

The studies were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00945854 (Naples) and NCT00573781 (Kuopio)Background : Epidemiologic evidence suggests that diets rich in whole grains are associated with a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. However, the molecular mechanisms behind these beneficial metabolic effects are poorly understood.Objective : Our aim was to investigate novel trimethylated (betainized) compounds from mice and humans, and their association with whole grain–rich diets and insulin resistance and insulin secretion.Design : Fasting plasma samples were obtained in a mouse (C57BL/6J male) feeding trial and a controlled dietary intervention. The mouse trial involved feeding the mice a rye and wheat bran–enriched feed which was compared with a high-fat diet. In the human trial, participants recruited from Kuopio, Finland (n = 69) and Naples, Italy (n = 54) with characteristics of the metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to either a whole grain–enriched diet or a control diet for 12 wk. Plasma concentrations of betainized compounds were analyzed with the use of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Insulin resistance and insulin secretion were assessed in an oral-glucose-tolerance test and a meal-glucose-tolerance test.Results : The betaines that were increased in mouse plasma after bran-enriched feeding were identified de novo via chemical synthesis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and confirmed to be associated with an increased intake of whole-grain products in humans. In particular, the concentrations of pipecolic acid betaine were increased at the end of the whole-grain intervention in both the Kuopio cohort (P < 0.001) and the Naples cohort (P < 0.05), and these concentrations inversely correlated with the postprandial glucose concentration. Furthermore, the concentration of valine betaine was substantially increased during the intervention in Naples (P < 0.001) with an inverse correlation with the postprandial insulin concentration. In addition, the concentrations of other betaines, e.g., glycine betaine and proline betaine, correlated with glucose and insulin concentrations at the end of the intervention.Conclusions : Novel betainized compounds in humans are associated with diets rich in whole grains, and they improve insulin resistance and insulin secretion. These results suggest that these novel compounds may contribute to the beneficial effects of whole grain–rich diets

Dietary whole grain modifies microbiota and enhances production of novel compounds associated with energy metabolism

Epidemiological evidence suggests that diet rich in whole grains reduces the risk of lifestyle-related chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Molecular mechanisms responsible for the beneficial health effects are not well known, however, key contributor is the phytochemical and fiber dense bran that is maintained in whole grain based dietary products. Thebran-derived components may have biological role themselves, and also via the colonic microbiota, since the role of diet in shaping the composition of microbiota has become evident, which in turn is an essential contributor to our health. Here we present a study with multiple metabolite profiling assays on a range of experiments involving in vitro, animal, and human based studies, and describe a novel group of compounds that are produced endogenously and by the colonic microbiota. We show that following the braninduced shift in the composition of the microbiota these compounds are elevated in metabolically active organs in mice. Likewise, several of these compounds were increased also in humans after whole grain rich dietary interventions. Furthermore, we suggest their potential bioactive role, via demonstrating their implications in energy metabolism in cultured neonatal mice cardiomyocytes.Taken together, these compounds are one of the possible mediators for the beneficial health effects of whole grain rich diets