High-intensity interval walking in combination with acute green tea extract supplementation reduces postprandial blood glucose concentrations in physically inactive participants

Background: Exercise and green tea supplementation have been shown to have the potential to improve postprandial blood glucose concentrations, but past interventions have not often investigated attainable and time effective exercise protocols. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interval walking exercise and acute green tea extract supplementation on the glycaemic response to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Method: Twelve physically inactive participants (nine male, three female, age: 22 ± 1 years; body mass: 81.2 ± 16.3 kg; stature: 175.7 ± 9.6 cm; body mass index (in kg/m2): 26.2 ± 4.3) underwent a 2-h OGTT immediately following i) no intervention (REST), ii) placebo and exercise (EX-PLAC), iii) green tea extract supplementation and exercise (EX-GTE), in a random order. The walking exercise consisted of 6 × 1 min of brisk walking (7.92 ± 0.56 km/h) separated by 1 min of slower walking (4.8 km/h). Differences between groups were identified using magnitude-based inferences. Results: The EX-GTE intervention resulted in a ∼9% most likely beneficial effect on blood glucose area under the curve response to the OGTT (702.18 ± 76.90 mmol/L–1·120 min–1) compared with REST (775.30 ± 86.76 mmol/L–1·120 min–1), and a very likely beneficial effect compared with the EX-PLAC (772.04 ± 81.53 mmol/L–1·120 min–1). Conclusion: These data suggest that an EX-GTE intervention can reduce postprandial glucose concentrations in physically inactive individuals

Measurement in sports biomechanics

One of the major roles of a sports biomechanist or coach is to assess the movement patterns within sports performances. Movements can be analysed to enhance an individual's technique in terms of efficiency or to provide technical advantage. This paper aims to highlight the different measurement techniques available for the biomechanist to assess the movement characteristics of the technical and mechanical aspects of athletic performance. </jats:p

A systematic approach to the interrogation and sharing of standardised biofilm signatures

Publicado em "6th International Conference on Practical Applications of Computational Biology & Bioinformatics", ISBN 978-3-642-28838-8The study of microorganism consortia, also known as biofilms, is associated to a number of applications in biotechnology, ecotechnology and clinical domains. A public repository on existing biofilm studies would aid in the design of new studies as well as promote collaborative and incremental work. However, bioinformatics approaches are hampered by the limited access to existing data. Scientific publications summarise the studies whilst results are kept in researchers’ private ad hoc files. Since the collection and ability to compare existing data is imperative to move forward in biofilm analysis, the present work has addressed the development of a systematic computer-amenable approach to biofilm data organisation and standardisation. A set of in-house studies involving pathogens and employing different state-of-the-art devices and methods of analysis was used to validate the approach. The approach is now supporting the activities of BiofOmics, a public repository on biofilm signatures (http://biofomics.org).The authors thank, among others, Rosario Oliveira, Maria Joao Vieira, Idalina Machado, Nuno Cerca, Mariana Henriques, Pilar Teixeira, Douglas Monteiro, Melissa Negri, Susana Lopes, Carina Almeida and Helder Lopes, for submitting their data. The financial support from IBB-CEB, Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) and European Community fund FEDER (Program COMPETE), project PTDC/SAU-ESA/646091/2006/FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007480, are also gratefully acknowledged

Optimizing Nervous System-Specific Gene Targeting with Cre Driver Lines: Prevalence of Germline Recombination and Influencing Factors.

The Cre-loxP system is invaluable for spatial and temporal control of gene knockout, knockin, and reporter expression in the mouse nervous system. However, we report varying probabilities of unexpected germline recombination in distinct Cre driver lines designed for nervous system-specific recombination. Selective maternal or paternal germline recombination is showcased with sample Cre lines. Collated data reveal germline recombination in over half of 64 commonly used Cre driver lines, in most cases with a parental sex bias related to Cre expression in sperm or oocytes. Slight differences among Cre driver lines utilizing common transcriptional control elements affect germline recombination rates. Specific target loci demonstrated differential recombination; thus, reporters are not reliable proxies for another locus of interest. Similar principles apply to other recombinase systems and other genetically targeted organisms. We hereby draw attention to the prevalence of germline recombination and provide guidelines to inform future research for the neuroscience and broader molecular genetics communities

Comparative antibacterial potential of selected aldehyde-based biocides and surfactants against planktonic Pseudomonas fluorescens

The antimicrobial efficacy of two aldehydebased biocides (glutaraldehyde, GTA, and orthophthalaldehyde, OPA) and two surfactants (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB, and sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) was tested against planktonic Pseudomonas fluorescens. The antimicrobial effects were evaluated by respiratory activity as a measure of the oxygen uptake rate, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release, outer membrane proteins (OMP) expression and cellular colour changes. The results were compared with the bacterial characteristics without chemical treatment. Tests in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA), in order to mimic a disinfection process in the real situation under dirty conditions, were performed according to the European Standard EN-1276. P. fluorescens was completely inactivated with OPA (minimum bactericidal concentration, MBC = 0.5 mM) and CTAB (MBC = 5 mM) and was resistant to GTA and SDS. Only CTAB promoted cellular disruption and consequent ATP release. The antimicrobial action of the chemicals tested was significantly reduced when BSA was introduced into the bacterial cultures, increasing markedly the MBC values. Additionally, the presence of BSA acted as a disruption protective agent when CTAB was applied and stimulated the bacterial respiratory activity when lower concentrations of SDS were tested. The OMP of the bacterial cells was affected by the application of both surfactants. OMP expression remained unaltered after biocide treatment. Bacterial colour change was noticed after treatment with biocides and surfactants. In summary, P. fluorescens was extremely resistant to GTA and SDS, with antimicrobial action being quenched markedly by the reaction with BSA.Instituto de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (IBQF).Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - (Project CHEMBIO - POCI/BIO/61872/2004

Hypervirulent Clostridium difficile PCR-Ribotypes Exhibit Resistance to Widely Used Disinfectants

The increased prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has coincided with enhanced transmissibility and severity of disease, which is often linked to two distinct clonal lineages designated PCR-ribotype 027 and 017 responsible for CDI outbreaks in the USA, Europe and Asia. We assessed sporulation and susceptibility of three PCR-ribotypes; 012, 017 and 027 to four classes of disinfectants; chlorine releasing agents (CRAs), peroxygens, quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC) and biguanides. The 017 PCR-ribotype, showed the highest sporulation frequency under these test conditions. The oxidizing biocides and CRAs were the most efficacious in decontamination of C. difficile vegetative cells and spores, the efficacy of the CRAs were concentration dependent irrespective of PCR-ribotype. However, there were differences observed in the susceptibility of the PCR-ribotypes, independent of the concentrations tested for Virkon®, Newgenn®, Proceine 40® and Hibiscrub®. Whereas, for Steri7® and Biocleanse® the difference observed between the disinfectants were dependent on both PCR-ribotype and concentration. The oxidizing agent Perasafe® was consistently efficacious across all three PCR ribotypes at varying concentrations; with a consistent five Log10 reduction in spore titre. The PCR-ribotype and concentration dependent differences in the efficacy of the disinfectants in this study indicate that disinfectant choice is a factor for llimiting the survival and transmission of C. difficile spores in healthcare settings

Processing of spatial-frequency altered faces in schizophrenia: Effects of illness phase and duration

Low spatial frequency (SF) processing has been shown to be impaired in people with schizophrenia, but it is not clear how this varies with clinical state or illness chronicity. We compared schizophrenia patients (SCZ, n534), first episode psychosis patients (FEP, n522), and healthy controls (CON, n535) on a gender/facial discrimination task. Images were either unaltered (broadband spatial frequency, BSF), or had high or low SF information removed (LSF and HSF conditions, respectively). The task was performed at hospital admission and discharge for patients, and at corresponding time points for controls. Groups were matched on visual acuity. At admission, compared to their BSF performance, each group was significantly worse with low SF stimuli, and most impaired with high SF stimuli. The level of impairment at each SF did not depend on group. At discharge, the SCZ group performed more poorly in the LSF condition than the other groups, and showed the greatest degree of performance decline collapsed over HSF and LSF conditions, although the latter finding was not significant when controlling for visual acuity. Performance did not change significantly over time for any group. HSF processing was strongly related to visual acuity at both time points for all groups. We conclude the following: 1) SF processing abilities in schizophrenia are relatively stable across clinical state; 2) face processing abnormalities in SCZ are not secondary to problems processing specific SFs, but are due to other known difficulties constructing visual representations from degraded information; and 3) the relationship between HSF processing and visual acuity, along with known SCZ- and medication-related acuity reductions, and the elimination of a SCZ-related impairment after controlling for visual acuity in this study, all raise the possibility that some prior findings of impaired perception in SCZ may be secondary to acuity reductions

Identifying the deficiencies of current diagnostic criteria for neurofibromatosis 2 using databases of 2777 individuals with molecular testing

Purpose We have evaluated deficiencies in existing diagnostic criteria for neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2). Methods Two large databases of individuals fulfilling NF2 criteria (n = 1361) and those tested for NF2 variants with criteria short of diagnosis (n = 1416) were interrogated. We assessed the proportions meeting each diagnostic criterion with constitutional or mosaic NF2 variants and the positive predictive value (PPV) with regard to definite diagnosis. Results There was no evidence for usefulness of old criteria “glioma“ or “neurofibroma.” “Ependymoma” had 100% PPV and high levels of confirmed NF2 diagnosis (67.7%). Those with bilateral vestibular schwannoma (VS) alone aged ≥60 years had the lowest confirmation rate (6.6%) and reduced PPV (80%). Siblings as a first-degree relative, without an affected parent, had 0% PPV. All three individuals with unilateral VS and an affected sibling were proven not to have NF2. The biggest overlap was with LZTR1-associated schwannomatosis. In this category, seven individuals with unilateral VS plus ≥2 nondermal schwannomas reduced PPV to 67%. Conclusions The present study confirms important deficiencies in NF2 diagnostic criteria. The term “glioma” should be dropped and replaced by “ependymoma.” Similarly “neurofibroma” should be removed. Dropping “sibling” from first-degree relatives should be considered and testing of LZTR1 should be recommended for unilateral VS