Higher baseline irisin concentrations are associated with greater reductions in glycemia and insulinemia after weight loss in obese subjects

Irisin is assumed to be a relevant link between muscle and weight maintenance as well as to mediate exercise benefits on health. The aim of this study was to assess the possible associations between irisin levels and glucose homeostasis in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome (MetS) following an energy-restricted treatment. Ninety-six adults with excessive body weight and MetS features underwent a hypocaloric dietary pattern for 8 weeks, within the RESMENA randomized controlled trial (www.clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01087086). After the intervention, dietary restriction significantly reduced body weight and evidenced a dietary-induced decrease in circulating levels of irisin in parallel with improvements on glucose homeostasis markers. Interestingly, participants with higher irisin values at baseline (above the median) showed a greater reduction on glucose (P=0.022) and insulin (P=0.021) concentrations as well as on the homeostasis model assessment index (P=0.008) and triglycerides (P=0.006) after the dietary intervention, compared with those presenting low-irisin baseline values (below the median). Interestingly, a positive correlation between irisin and carbohydrate intake was found at the end of the experimental period. In conclusion, irisin appears to be involved in glucose metabolism regulation after a dietary-induced weight loss

A decline in inflammation is associated with less depressive symptoms after a dietary intervention in metabolic syndrome patients: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and depression have become two prevalent diseases worldwide, whose interaction needs further investigation. Dietary treatment for weight loss in patients with MetS may improve depressive manifestations, however, the precise interactive pathways remain uncertain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of a hypocaloric diet designed to reduce MetS features on self-perceived depression and the possible underlying factors. METHODS: Sixty subjects (Age:50 +/- 1 y; BMI:36.1 +/- 0.6 kg/m2) with MetS were selected from the RESMENA study (control and intervention) after they completed the 6-months hypocaloric treatment and rated for depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Anthropometric and biochemical measurements including leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and insulin levels were evaluated. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms decreased during the weight loss intervention, with no differences between both dietary groups (control group -4.2 +/- 0.8 vs RESMENA group -3.2 +/- 0.6, P = 0.490). The number of criteria of the MetS was higher among subjects with more somatic-related depressive symptoms at baseline (B = 1.032, P-trend = 0.017). After six months of dietary treatment, body weight decreased in all subjects (-8.7%; confidence interval (95%CI) = 7.0-9.7) and also self-perceived depression (-37.9%; 95%CI = 2.7-4.9), as well as circulating leptin (-20.1%; 95%CI = 1.8-6.8), CRP (-42.8%; 95%CI = 0.6-3.0) and insulin (-37.7%; 95%CI = 4.1-7.2) concentrations. The decrease in BDI was significantly associated with declines in body fat mass (B = 0.34, 95%CI = 0.11-0.56) and also with the decrease in leptin (B = 0.16, 95%CI = 0.04-0.28) and CRP (B = 0.24, 95%CI = 0.01-0.46) concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in depressive manifestations after a weight loss intervention was related with adiposity, CRP and leptin in subjects with MetS

Comparison of UV-absorbing Nets in Pepper Crops: Spectral Properties, Effects on Plants and Pest Control

7 páginas, figuras, y tablas estadísticas.In horticultural crops, the use of screens to protect plants is the usual strategy in the Mediterranean area. Screen manufacturers offer a range of netting that vary in their UV-absorbing properties. We compared the photoeffects of seven different screens. Sweet pepper trials were conducted at the Gilat Research Center, Israel, where the spectral properties of the nets and their influence on pest infestation and crop development were evaluated. UV transmittance varied among the materials studied ranging from 40% to 70% of the incident radiation. BioNet white and P-Optinet, which absorbed and reflected the highest amount of UV radiation, performed the best protection against the main pepper pest (thrips, whiteflies and broad mites). Spectral measurements also showed that the photosynthetically active radiation differentially penetrated the nets, which together with the amount of UV absorbed by the screenings, resulted in a range of plant height and chlorophyll content. A global understanding of the UV-absorbing nets’ effect on pepper crops and their pests was evaluated in this work because of the importance of these screening to integrated pest management and sustainable agriculture production.supported by a scholarship I3P-BPD-2006 from the ‘‘Spanish National Research Council.’’ The authors thank Yossi Offir of Polysack Plastics Indus- tries and Meteor Agricultural Nets Ltd for donating the netting.Peer reviewe

Enhanced top-down control of herbivore population growth on plants with impaired defences

1. Herbivore densities can be regulated by bottom-up and top-down forces such as plant defences and natural enemies, respectively. These forces can interact with each other to increase plant protection against herbivores; however, how much complementarity exists between bottom-up and top-down forces still remains to be fully elucidated. Particularly, because plant defences can hinder natural enemies, how these interactions affect herbivore performance and dynamics remains elusive. 2. To address this topic, we performed laboratory and greenhouse bioassays with herbivorous mite pests and predatory mites on mutant tomato plants that lack defensive hairs on stems and leaves. Particularly, we investigated the behaviour and population dynamics of different phytophagous mite species in the absence and presence of predatory mites. 3. We show that predatory mites do not only perform better on tomatoes lacking defensive hairs but also that they can suppress herbivore densities better and faster on these hairless plants. Hence, top-down control of herbivores by natural enemies more than compensated the reduced bottom-up herbivore control by plant defences. 4. Our results lead to the counter-intuitive insight that removing, instead of introducing, plant defence traits can result in superior protection against important pests through biological control. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog

Nutritional and non-nutritional agents that stimulate white adipose tissue browning

Obesity is a public health problem present in both developed and developing countries. The white adipose tissue (WAT) is the main deposit of lipids when there is an excess of energy. Its pathological growth is directly linked to the development of obesity and to a wide number of comorbidities, such as insulin-resistance, cardiovascular disease, among others. In this scenario, it becomes imperative to develop new approaches to the treatment and prevention of obesity and its comorbidities. It has been documented that the browning of WAT could be a suitable strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic that is developing worldwide. Currently there is an intense search for bioactive compounds with anti-obesity properties, which present the particular ability to generate thermogenesis in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) or beige. The present study provide recent information of the bioactive nutritional compounds capable of inducing thermogenesis and therefore capable of generate positive effects on health