Intrinsic dietary fibers and the gut microbiome : Rediscovering the benefits of the plant cell matrix for human health

Dietary fibers contribute to structure and storage reserves of plant foods and fundamentally impact human health, partly by involving the intestinal microbiota, notably in the colon. Considerable attention has been given to unraveling the interaction between fiber type and gut microbiota utilization, focusing mainly on single, purified fibers. Studying these fibers in isolation might give us insights into specific fiber effects, but neglects how dietary fibers are consumed daily and impact our digestive tract: as intrinsic structures that include the cell matrix and content of plant tissues. Like our ancestors we consume fibers that are entangled in a complex network of plants cell walls that further encapsulate and shield intra-cellular fibers, such as fructans and other components from immediate breakdown. Hence, the physiological behavior and consequent microbial breakdown of these intrinsic fibers differs from that of single, purified fibers, potentially entailing unexplored health effects. In this mini-review we explain the difference between intrinsic and isolated fibers and discuss their differential impact on digestion. Subsequently, we elaborate on how food processing influences intrinsic fiber structure and summarize available human intervention studies that used intrinsic fibers to assess gut microbiota modulation and related health outcomes. Finally, we explore current research gaps and consequences of the intrinsic plant tissue structure for future research. We postulate that instead of further processing our already (extensively) processed foods to create new products, we should minimize this processing and exploit the intrinsic health benefits that are associated with the original cell matrix of plant tissues.Peer reviewe

Low delta-V near-Earth asteroids: A survey of suitable targets for space missions

In the last decades Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) have become very important targets to study, since they can give us clues to the formation, evolution and composition of the Solar System. In addition, they may represent either a threat to humankind, or a repository of extraterrestrial resources for suitable space-borne missions. Within this framework, the choice of next-generation mission targets and the characterisation of a potential threat to our planet deserve special attention. To date, only a small part of the 11,000 discovered NEOs have been physically characterised. From ground and space-based observations one can determine some basic physical properties of these objects using visible and infrared spectroscopy. We present data for 13 objects observed with different telescopes around the world (NASA-IRTF, ESO-NTT, TNG) in the 0.4 - 2.5 um spectral range, within the NEOSURFACE survey (http://www.oa-roma.inaf.it/planet/NEOSurface.html). Objects are chosen from among the more accessible for a rendez-vous mission. All of them are characterised by a delta-V (the change in velocity needed for transferring a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit to rendez-vous with NEOs) lower than 10.5 km/s, well below the Solar System escape velocity (12.3 km/s). We taxonomically classify 9 of these objects for the first time. 11 objects belong to the S-complex taxonomy; the other 2 belong to the C-complex. We constrain the surface composition of these objects by comparing their spectra with meteorites from the RELAB database. We also compute olivine and pyroxene mineralogy for asteroids with a clear evidence of pyroxene bands. Mineralogy confirms the similarity with the already found H, L or LL ordinary chondrite analogues.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, to be published in A&A Minor changes by language edito

The neglected liaison: Targeting cancer cell metabolic reprogramming modifies the composition of non‐malignant populations of the tumor microenvironment

Metabolic reprogramming is a well‐known hallmark of cancer, whereby the development of drugs that target cancer cell metabolism is gaining momentum. However, when establishing preclinical studies and clinical trials, it is often neglected that a tumor mass is a complex system in which cancer cells coexist and interact with several types of microenvironment populations, including endothelial cells, fibroblasts and immune cells. We are just starting to understand how such populations are affected by the metabolic changes occurring in a transformed cell and little is known about the impact of metabolism‐targeting drugs on the non‐malignant tumor components. Here we provide a general overview of the links between cancer cell metabolism and tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly focusing on the emerging literature reporting TME‐specific effects of metabolic therapies

Effects of inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system on hypertension-induced target organ damage: Clinical and experimental evidence

The dysregulation of renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) plays a pivotal role in hypertension and in the development of the related target organ damage (TOD). The main goal of treating hypertension is represented by the long-term reduction of cardiovascular (CV) risk. RAS inhibition either by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors or by type 1 Angiotensin II receptors blockers (ARBs), reduce the incidence of CV events in hypertensive patients. Actually, ACE-inhibitors and ARBs have been demonstrated to be effective to prevent, or delay TOD like left ventricular hypertrophy, chronic kidney disease, and atherosclerosis. The beneficial effects of RAS blockers on clinical outcome of hypertensive patients are due to the key role of angiotensin II in the pathogenesis of TOD. In particular, Angiotensin II through an inflammatory-mediated mechanism plays a role in the initiation, progression and vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaque. In addition, Angiotensin II can be considered the hormonal transductor of the pressure overload in cardiac myocytes, and through an autocrine-paracrine mechanism plays a role in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy. Angiotensin II by modulating the redox status and the immune system participates to the development of chronic kidney disease. The RAS blocker should be considered the first therapeutic option in patients with hypertension, even if ACE-inhibitors and ARBs have different impact on CV prevention. ARBs seem to have greater neuro-protective effects, while ACE-inhibitors have greater cardio-protective action

Insights into the mode of action of tannin-based feed additives in broiler chickens: looking for connections with the plasma metabolome and caecal microbiota

This study assessed the effects of three tannin-based feed additives on the productive performance, foot-pad conditions, plasma metabolome, and caecal microbiota of meat-type chickens. A total of 2,340 male broilers were divided into 4 treatments (9 replicates each) fed either a commercial basal diet (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with one of the three tested products (A, B, or C) up to 49 days. According to manufacturers\u2019 instructions, product A was added to the basal diet at 0.3% from 0 to 49 d, while B and C at 0.13% from 0 to 21 d and 0.12% from 22 to 49 d. Compared to CON, tannin-supplemented birds consumed less feed (6.59 vs. 6.37, 6.49, and 6.35 kg, for CON vs. A, B, and C, respectively; p <.001) and reached a lower slaughter weight (3,599 vs. 3,494, 3,546, and 3,472 g, for CON vs. A, B, and C, respectively; p <.05). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was not affected by the tannin supplementations, except for the starter phase when CON exhibited lower FCR than the other groups (p <.01). The observed differences in the plasma metabolome between CON and treated groups might indicate an impaired energy metabolism of tannin-supplemented chickens. The significant reduction in the caecal microbial diversity and short-chain fatty acid producer bacteria can also be related to the depressed performance of tannin-fed chickens. In contrast to earlier findings, pododermatitis was unaffected by our treatments. Further dose-response studies can help better exploit tannin-based additives in broiler diets

Physical Investigation of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (144898) 2004 VD17

In this paper we present the observational campaign carried out at ESO NTT and VLT in April and May 2006 to investigate the nature and the structure of the Near Earth Object (144898) 2004 VD17. In spite of a great quantity of dynamical information, according to which it will have a close approach with the Earth in the next century, the physical properties of this asteroid are largely unknown. We performed visible and near--infrared photometry and spectroscopy, as well as polarimetric observations. Polarimetric and spectroscopic data allowed us to classify 2004 VD17 as an E-type asteroid. A good agreement was also found with the spectrum of the aubrite meteorite Mayo Belwa. On the basis of the polarimetric albedo (p_v=0.45) and of photometric data, we estimated a diameter of about 320 m and a rotational period of about 2 hours. The analysis of the results obtained by our complete survey have shown that (144898) 2004 VD17 is a peculiar NEO, since it is close to the breakup limits for fast rotator asteroids, as defined by Pravec and Harris (2000). These results suggest that a more robust structure must be expected, as a fractured monolith or a rubble pile in a "strength regime" (Holsapple 2002).Comment: 32 pages, 7 figure, paper accepted for publication in Icaru

Accelerated creep in solid oxide fuel cell anode supports during reduction

To evaluate the reliability of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks during operation, the stress field in the stack must be known. During operation the stress field will depend on time as creep processes relax stresses. The creep of reduced Ni-YSZ anode support at operating conditions has been studied previously. In this work a newly discovered creep phenomenon taking place during the reduction is reported. This relaxes stresses at a much higher rate (∼×104) than creep during operation. The phenomenon was studied both in three-point bending and uniaxial tension. Differences between the two measurements could be explained by newly observed stress promoted reduction. Finally, samples exposed to a small tensile stress (∼0.004 MPa) were observed to expand during reduction, which is in contradiction to previous literature. These observations suggest that release of internal residual stresses between the NiO and the YSZ phases occurs during reduction. The accelerated creep should practically eliminate any residual stress in the anode support in an SOFC stack, as has previously been indirectly observed. This phenomenon has to be taken into account both in the production of stacks and in the simulation of the stress field in a stack based on anode supported SOFCs

Doença de Nieman-Pick

This article presents and discusses the case of a 2-month old boy who came to Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre with a history of jaundice persisting for 45 days. He presented with regular general state, no fever, important jaundice, low weight/height ratio, abdominal distention and enlargement of the liver and spleen. Abdominal ultrasonography and hepatobiliary scintigraphy were normal. The pacient stayed at HCPA for 26 days, and presented a respiratory dysfunction which was interpreted as pneumonia. He was treated and discharged in good state, and was scheduled for follow-up at the outpatient clinic. One week after discharge, he developed fever, respiratory dysfunction, bleeding, ascite, failure of multiple systems, and died.O presente artigo apresenta e discute o caso de um paciente masculino, de 2 meses de idade, que foi encaminhado para o Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre com história de icterícia persistente há 45 dias, apresentando-se em regular estado geral, afebril, com icterícia importante, desproporção peso/altura, abdômen distendido e fígado e baço palpáveis. Ecografia abdominal e cintilografia das vias biliares eram normais. O paciente permaneceu 26 dias no hospital para investigação, onde apresentou quadro respiratório diagnosticado como pneumonia, recebendo alta hospitalar em bom estado. Foi encaminhado para o ambulatório para prosseguir a investigação. Uma semana após a alta, apresentou febre, disfunção respiratória, sangramento difuso, ascite e falência de múltiplos órgãos, evoluindo para o óbito

Academic librarians serving diverse populations of multilingual students

A group of academic librarians working in community and four-year colleges, graduate programs and other settings present strategies and approaches for serving diverse multilingual populations. Multilingual students improve their awareness and understanding of United States academic libraries and higher education when librarians are cognizant of their needs. Encounters can occur at the research desk, in classroom instruction, and during research consultations. Also included are tips on how academic librarians can assist multilingual and international students, including how to improve communication. Based on an ACRL 2019 panel discussion of the same title

Webcrawling clustering en espacio multidimensional basado en distancia y su aplicación a Opinion Mining

La explosión multimedial y la revolución surgida a partir de la Web 2.0 donde los consumidores de información son a su vez productores de contenido han reflejado un cambio de paradigma en la comunicación. Este cambio vuelve a las herramientas de sondeo de opinión tales como encuestas, focus group y sondeos telefónicos limitadas en su alcance, imprecisas en sus resultados y sesgadas por sus métodos convirtiendo a las mismas en prácticamente obsoletas. Los medios de comunicación se han hecho eco de esto y en los medios más representativos se permite a los lectores participar de las noticias por medio de las redes sociales. Son necesarias para explorar y descubrir de manera continua y sistematizada estos nuevos canales de expresión, analizar los contenidos de las expresiones en los mismos y poder extraer conocimiento de estos flujos de información a escala masiva. En este trabajo se parte de un nuevo concepto de la minería de datos, se analiza una nueva estrategia para descubrir nuevos canales mediante el Webcrawling inteligente, se proponen nuevos formas de modelado de conceptos y opiniones para poder sintetizarlos y cuantificarlos para su posterior análisis, se da a conocer un método para realizar este análisis de las percepciones y finalmente se demuestran las posibilidades de clusterización de la información obtenida