Balancing the double‐edged sword effect of increased resistant starch content and its impact on rice texture: its genetics and molecular physiological mechanisms

Resistant starch (RS) is the portion of starch that escapes gastrointestinal digestion and acts as a substrate for fermentation of probiotic bacteria in the gut. Aside from enhancing gut health, RS contributes to a lower glycemic index. A genome‐wide association study coupled with targeted gene association studies was conducted utilizing a diverse panel of 281 resequenced Indica rice lines comprising of ~2.2 million single nucleotide polymorphisms. Low‐to‐intermediate RS phenotypic variations were identified in the rice diversity panel, resulting in novel associations of RS to several genes associated with amylopectin biosynthesis and degradation. Selected rice lines encoding superior alleles of SSIIa with medium RS and inferior alleles with low RS groups were subjected to detailed transcriptomic, metabolomic, non‐starch dietary fibre (DF), starch structural and textural attributes. The gene regulatory networks highlighted the importance of a protein phosphatase alongside multiple genes of starch metabolism. Metabolomics analyses resulted in the identification of several metabolite hubs (carboxylic acid, sugars and polyamines) in the medium RS group. Among DF, mannose and galactose from the water‐insoluble fraction were found to be highly associated with low and medium RS lines, respectively. Starch structural analyses revealed that a moderate increase in RS is also linked to an elevation of amylose 1 and amylose 2 fractions. Although rice lines with medium RS content negatively affected textural and viscosity properties in comparison to low RS, the textural property of medium RS lines was in the same acceptable range as IR64, a rice mega variety popular in Asia

Heart rate variability and target organ damage in hypertensive patients

Background: We evaluated the association between linear standard Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures and vascular, renal and cardiac target organ damage (TOD). Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed including 200 patients registered in the Regione Campania network (aged 62.4 ± 12, male 64%). HRV analysis was performed by 24-h holter ECG. Renal damage was assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), vascular damage by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and cardiac damage by left ventricular mass index. Results: Significantly lower values of the ratio of low to high frequency power (LF/HF) were found in the patients with moderate or severe eGFR (p-value < 0.001). Similarly, depressed values of indexes of the overall autonomic modulation on heart were found in patients with plaque compared to those with a normal IMT (p-value <0.05). These associations remained significant after adjustment for other factors known to contribute to the development of target organ damage, such as age. Moreover, depressed LF/HF was found also in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy but this association was not significant after adjustment for other factors. Conclusions: Depressed HRV appeared to be associated with vascular and renal TOD, suggesting the involvement of autonomic imbalance in the TOD. However, as the mechanisms by which abnormal autonomic balance may lead to TOD, and, particularly, to renal organ damage are not clearly known, further prospective studies with longitudinal design are needed to determine the association between HRV and the development of TOD

Vaginal cytokine profile and microbiota before and after lubricant use compared with condomless vaginal sex: a preliminary observational study

Limited data suggest that personal lubricants may damage the vaginal mucosal epithelium, alter the vaginal microbiota, and increase inflammation. We compared vaginal cytokine profiles and microbiota before and after vaginal lubricant use and condomless vaginal sex. Reproductive-age women were recruited to a 10-week observational cohort study and were asked to self-collect vaginal samples and behavioral diaries daily. This nested case–control analysis utilized samples collected before and after self-reported condomless sexual activity with lubricants (22 case participants) and without lubricants (22 control participants). Controls were matched to cases on race/ethnicity. Microbiota composition was characterized by sequencing amplicons of the 16S rRNA gene V3–V4 regions. Cytokine concentrations were quantified using a magnetic bead 41-plex panel assay and read using a Bio-Plex 200 array reader. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess baseline differences in vaginal cytokines between cases and controls as well as differences pre- and post-exposure. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine differences in relative post-to-pre change in each individual cytokine between matched cases and controls. Similar analyses were conducted for the microbiota data. Mean age was 29.8 years (SD 6.8), and 63.6% were African American. There were few statistically significant changes in cytokines or microbiota before and after exposure in cases or controls. In mixed-effects modeling, the mean relative post-to-pre change of cytokines was higher in cases vs. controls for macrophage derived chemokine (MDC) (p = 0.03). The microbiota data revealed no significant changes when measured by similarity scores, diversity indexes and descriptive community state types (CST) transition analyses. However, post sexual activity, the mean relative abundance of L. crispatus decreased for those who used lubricants (particularly those who were L. iners-dominated prior to exposure). Although there were overall few differences in the vaginal microbiota and cytokine profiles of lubricant users and controls before and after condomless vaginal sex, there was a trend toward decreases in relative abundance of L. crispatus following use of lubricant. Future larger studies that take into account osmolarity and composition of lubricants may provide additional insights.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06512-

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia disease progression is associated with increased vaginal microbiome diversity

Persistent infection with oncogenic Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is necessary for cervical carcinogenesis. Although evidence suggests that the vaginal microbiome plays a functional role in the persistence or regression of HPV infections, this has yet to be described in women with cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN). We hypothesised that increasing microbiome diversity is associated with increasing CIN severity. llumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was used to characterise the vaginal microbiota of women with low-grade squamous intra-epithelial lesions (LSIL; n = 52), high-grade (HSIL; n = 92), invasive cervical cancer (ICC; n = 5) and healthy controls (n = 20). Hierarchical clustering analysis revealed an increased prevalence of microbiomes characterised by high-diversity and low levels of Lactobacillus spp. (community state type-CST IV) with increasing disease severity, irrespective of HPV status (Normal = 2/20,10%; LSIL = 11/52,21%; HSIL = 25/92,27%; ICC = 2/5,40%). Increasing disease severity was associated with decreasing relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. The vaginal microbiome in HSIL was characterised by higher levels of Sneathia sanguinegens (P < 0.01), Anaerococcus tetradius (P < 0.05) and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (P < 0.05) and lower levels of Lactobacillus jensenii (P < 0.01) compared to LSIL. Our results suggest advancing CIN disease severity is associated with increasing vaginal microbiota diversity and may be involved in regulating viral persistence and disease progression

Unpacking Partnership, Engagement, and Collaboration Research to Inform Implementation Strategies Development: Theoretical Frameworks and Emerging Methodologies

Background: Partnership, engagement, and collaboration (PEC) are critical factors in dissemination and implementation (D&amp;I) research. Despite a growing recognition that incorporating PEC strategies in D&amp;I research is likely to increase the relevance, feasibility, impacts, and of evidence-based interventions or practices (EBIs, EBPs), conceptual frameworks and methodologies to guide the development and testing of PEC strategies in D&amp;I research are lacking. To address this methodological gap, a review was conducted to summarize what we know, what we think we know, and what we need to know about PEC to inform D&amp;I research.Methods: A cross-field scoping review, drawing upon a broad range of PEC related literature in health, was conducted. Publications reviewed focused on factors influencing PEC, and processes, mechanisms and strategies for promoting effective PEC. The review was conducted separately for three forms of partnerships that are commonly used in D&amp;I research: (1) consumer-provider or patient-implementer partnership; (2) delivery system or implementation team partnership; and (3) sustainment/support or interagency/community partnership. A total of 39 studies, of which 21 were review articles, were selected for an in-depth review.Results: Across three forms of partnerships, four domains (cognitive, interpersonal/affective, behavioral, and contextual domains) were consistently identified as factors and strategies for promoting PEC. Depending on the stage (preparation or execution) and purpose of the partnership (regulating performance or managing maintenance), certain PEC strategies are more or less relevant. Recent developments of PEC frameworks, such as Partnership Stage of Change and multiple dynamic processes, provide more comprehensive conceptual explanations for PEC mechanisms, which can better guide PEC strategies selection and integration in D&amp;I research.Conclusions: This review contributes to D&amp;I knowledge by identifying critical domain factors, processes, or mechanisms, and key strategies for PEC, and offers a multi-level PEC framework for future research to build the evidence base. However, more research is needed to test PEC mechanisms

Efficacy and mechanisms underlying a gamified attention bias modification training in anxious youth: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Attention bias modification training (ABMT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) likely target different aspects of aberrant threat responses in anxiety disorders and may be combined to maximize therapeutic benefit. However, studies investigating the effect of ABMT in the context of CBT have yielded mixed results. Here, we propose an enhanced ABMT to target the attentional bias towards threat, in addition to classic CBT for anxiety disorders in youth. This enhanced ABMT integrates the modified dot-probe task used in previous studies, where a target is always presented at the previous location of the neutral and not the simultaneously presented threatening stimulus, with a visual search, where the targets are always presented distally of threatening distractors. These two training elements (modified dot-probe and visual search) are embedded in an engaging game to foster motivation and adherence. Our goal is to determine the efficacy of the enhanced ABMT in the context of CBT. Further, we aim to replicate two previous findings: (a) aberrant amygdala connectivity being the neurobiological correlate of the attentional bias towards threat at baseline; and (b) amygdala connectivity being a mediator of the ABMT effect. We will also explore moderators of treatment response (age, sex, depressive symptoms and irritability) on a behavioral and neuronal level. Methods One hundred and twenty youth (8–17 years old) with a primary anxiety disorder diagnosis all receive CBT and are randomized to nine weeks of either active or control ABMT and symptom improvement will be compared between the two study arms. We will also recruit 60 healthy comparison youth, who along with eligible anxious youth, will be assessed with the dot-probe task during fMRI (anxious youth: before and after training; healthy volunteers: second measurement twelve weeks after initial assessment). Discussion The present study will contribute to the literature by (1) potentially replicating that aberrant amygdala connectivity mediates the attentional bias towards threat in anxious youth; (2) determining the efficacy of enhanced ABMT; and (3) advancing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying ABMT. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03283930 Trial registration date: September 14th 2017. The trial registration took place retrospectively. Data acquisition started February 1st 2017

Role of metabolically active hormones in the insulin resistance associated with short-term glucocorticoid treatment

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms by which glucocorticoid therapy promotes obesity and insulin resistance are incompletely characterized. Modulations of the metabolically active hormones, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), ghrelin, leptin and adiponectin are all implicated in the development of these cardiovascular risk factors. Little is known about the effects of short-term glucocorticoid treatment on levels of these hormones. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Using a blinded, placebo-controlled approach, we randomised 25 healthy men (mean (SD) age: 24.2 (5.4) years) to 5 days of treatment with either placebo or oral dexamethasone 3 mg twice daily. Fasting plasma TNFα, ghrelin, leptin and adiponectin were measured before and after treatment. RESULTS: Mean changes in all hormones were no different between treatment arms, despite dexamethasone-related increases in body weight, blood pressure, HDL cholesterol and insulin. Changes in calculated indices of insulin sensitivity (HOMA-S, insulin sensitivity index) were strongly related to dexamethasone treatment (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: Our data do not support a role for TNF alpha, ghrelin, leptin or adiponectin in the insulin resistance associated with short-term glucocorticoid treatment