Metabolic responses to acute physical exercise in young rats recovered from fetal protein malnutrition with a fructose-rich diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malnutrition <it>in utero </it>can "program" the fetal tissues, making them more vulnerable to metabolic disturbances. Also there is association between excessive consumption of fructose and the development of metabolic syndrome. However, there is little information regarding the acute effect of physical exercise on subjects recovered from malnutrition and/or fed with a fructose-rich diet. The objective of this study was to evaluate the metabolic aspects and the response to acute physical exercise in rats recovered from fetal protein malnutrition with a fructose-rich diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pregnant Wistar rats were fed with a balanced (B) diet or a low-protein (L) diet. After birth and until 60 days of age, the offspring were distributed into four groups according to the diet received: B: B diet during the whole experiment; balanced/fructose (BF): B diet until birth and fructose-rich (F) diet afterwards; low protein/balanced (LB): L diet until birth and B diet afterwards; low protein/fructose (LF): L diet until birth and F diet afterwards.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The excess fructose intake reduced the body weight gain, especially in the BF group. Furthermore, the serum total cholesterol and the LDL cholesterol were elevated in this group. In the LF group, the serum total cholesterol and the muscle glycogen increased. Acute physical exercise increased the serum concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and liver lipids and reduced the concentrations of muscle glycogen in all groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An excess fructose intake induced some signs of metabolic syndrome. However, protein malnutrition appeared to protect against the short term effects of fructose. In other hand, most responses to acute physical exercise were not influenced by early malnutrition and/or by the fructose overload.</p

Different exercise protocols improve metabolic syndrome markers, tissue triglycerides content and antioxidant status in rats

Background: An increase in the prevalence of obesity entails great expenditure for governments. Physical exercise is a powerful tool in the combat against obesity and obesity-associated diseases. This study sought to determine the effect of three different exercise protocols on metabolic syndrome and lipid peroxidation markers and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in adult Wistar rats (120 days old).Methods: Animals were randomly divided into four groups: the control (C) group was kept sedentary throughout the study; the aerobic group (A) swam1 h per day, 5 days per week, at 80% lactate threshold intensity; the strength group (S) performed strength training with four series of 10 jumps, 5 days per week; and the Concurrent group (AS) was trained using the aerobic protocol three days per week and the strength protocol two days per week.Results: Groups A and S exhibited a reduction in body weight compared to group C. All exercised animals showed a reduction in triglyceride concentrations in fatty tissues and the liver. Exercised animals also exhibited a reduction in lipid peroxidation markers (TBARS) and an increase in serum superoxide dismutase activity. Animals in group A had increased levels of liver catalase and superoxide dismutase activities.Conclusions: We concluded that all physical activity protocols improved the antioxidant systems of the animals and decreased the storage of triglycerides in the investigated tissues

Exercise counteracts fatty liver disease in rats fed on fructose-rich diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to analyze the effects of exercise at the aerobic/anaerobic transition on the markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), insulin sensitivity and the blood chemistry of rats kept on a fructose-rich diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We separated 48 Wistar rats into two groups according to diet: a control group (balanced diet AIN-93 G) and a fructose-rich diet group (60% fructose). The animals were tested for maximal lactate-steady state (MLSS) in order to identify the aerobic/anaerobic metabolic transition during swimming exercises at 28 and 90 days of age. One third of the animals of each group were submitted to swimming training at an intensity equivalent to the individual MLSS for 1 hours/day, 5 days/week from 28 to 120 days (early protocol). Another third were submitted to the training from 90 to 120 days (late protocol), and the others remained sedentary. The main assays performed included an insulin tolerance test (ITT) and tests of serum alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST] activities, serum triglyceride concentrations [TG] and liver total lipid concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The fructose-fed rats showed decreased insulin sensitivity, and the late-exercise training protocol counteracted this alteration. There was no difference between the groups in levels of serum ALT, whereas AST and liver lipids increased in the fructose-fed sedentary group when compared with the other groups. Serum triglycerides concentrations were higher in the fructose-fed trained groups when compared with the corresponding control group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The late-training protocol was effective in restoring insulin sensitivity to acceptable standards. Considering the markers here evaluated, both training protocols were successful in preventing the emergence of non-alcoholic fatty liver status disease.</p

Gauge invariant perturbation theory and non-critical string models of Yang-Mills theories

We carry out a gauge invariant analysis of certain perturbations of $D-2$-branes solutions of low energy string theories. We get generically a system of second order coupled differential equations, and show that only in very particular cases it is possible to reduce it to just one differential equation. Later, we apply it to a multi-parameter, generically singular family of constant dilaton solutions of non-critical string theories in $D$ dimensions, a generalization of that recently found in arXiv:0709.0471[hep-th]. According to arguments coming from the holographic gauge theory-gravity correspondence, and at least in some region of the parameters space, we obtain glue-ball spectra of Yang-Mills theories in diverse dimensions, putting special emphasis in the scalar metric perturbations not considered previously in the literature in the non critical setup. We compare our numerical results to those studied previously and to lattice results, finding qualitative and in some cases, tuning properly the parameters, quantitative agreement. These results seem to show some kind of universality of the models, as well as an irrelevance of the singular character of the solutions. We also develop the analysis for the T-dual, non trivial dilaton family of solutions, showing perfect agreement between them.Comment: A new reference added

Protecting eyewitness evidence: Examining the efficacy of a self-administered interview tool

Given the crucial role of eyewitness evidence, statements should be obtained as soon as possible after an incident. This is not always achieved due to demands on police resources. Two studies trace the development of a new tool, the Self-Administered Interview (SAI), designed to elicit a comprehensive initial statement. In Study 1, SAI participants reported more correct details than participants who provided a free recall account, and performed at the same level as participants given a Cognitive Interview. In Study 2, participants viewed a simulated crime and half recorded their statement using the SAI. After a delay of 1 week, all participants completed a free recall test. SAI participants recalled more correct details in the delayed recall task than control participants

Evolutionism and genetics of posttraumatic stress disorder

The authors discuss, from the evolutionary concept, how flight and fight responses and tonic immobility can lead to a new understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder. Through the analysis of symptom clusters (revivals, avoidance and hyperexcitation), neurobiological and evolutionary findings are correlated. The current discoveries on posttraumatic stress disorder genetics are summarized and analyzed in this evolutionary perspective, using concepts to understand the gene-environment interaction, such as epigenetic. The proposal is that the research of susceptibility factors in posttraumatic stress disorder must be investigated from the factorial point of view, where their interactions increase the risk of developing the disorder, preventing a unique search of the cause of this disorder. The research of candidate genes in posttraumatic stress disorder must take into consideration all the systems associated with processes of stress response, such as the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and sympathetic axes, mechanisms of learning, formation and extinguishing of declarative memories, neurogenesis and apoptosis, which involve many systems of neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and neurohormones.Os autores discutem, a partir do conceito evolutivo, como a resposta de estresse, nas suas possibilidades de fuga e luta e de imobilidade tônica, pode levar a uma nova compreensão etiológica do transtorno de estresse pós-traumático. Através da análise dos agrupamentos de sintomas desse diagnóstico - revivência, evitação e hiperexcitação -, procuram correlacionar os achados neurobiológicos e evolutivos. As descobertas atuais sobre a genética do transtorno de estresse pós-traumático são resumidas e colocadas nessa perspectiva evolutiva, dentro de conceitos que possibilitam o entendimento da interação gene/ambiente, como a epigenética. Propõem que a pesquisa dos fatores de risco do transtorno de estresse pós-traumático deva ser investigada do ponto de vista fatorial, onde a somatória destes aumenta o risco de desenvolvimento do quadro, não sendo possível a procura da causa do transtorno de forma única. A pesquisa de genes candidatos no transtorno de estresse pós-traumático deve levar em consideração todos os sistemas associados aos processos de respostas ao estresse, sistemas dos eixos hipotálamo-hipofisário-adrenal e simpático, mecanismos de aprendizado, formação de memórias declarativas, de extinção e esquecimento, da neurogênese e da apoptose, que envolvem vários sistemas de neurotransmissores, neuropeptídeos e neuro-hormônios.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)(UNIFESP)UNIFESP Departamento de PsiquiatriaUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicin Hospital de ClínicasUNIFESP, Depto. de PsiquiatriaSciEL

First report on dung beetles in intra-Amazonian savannahs in Roraima, Brazil

This is the first study to address the dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) diversity in intra-Amazonian savannahs in the state of Roraima, Brazil. Our aim was to survey the dung beetle fauna associated with these savannahs (regionally called 'lavrado'), since little is known about the dung beetles from this environment. We conducted three field samples using pitfall traps baited with human dung in savannah areas near the city of Boa Vista during the rainy seasons of 1996, 1997, and 2008. We collected 383 individuals from ten species, wherein six have no previous record in intra-Amazonian savannahs. The most abundant species were Ontherus appendiculatus (Mannerheim, 1829), Canthidium aff. humerale (Germar, 1813), Dichotomius nisus (Olivier, 1789), and Pseudocanthon aff. xanthurus (Blanchard, 1846). We believe that knowing the dung beetles diversity associated with the intra-Amazonian savannahs is ideal for understanding the occurrence and distribution of these organisms in a highly threatened environment, it thus being the first step towards conservation strategy development