Bone related health status in adolescent cyclists

PURPOSE: To describe bone status and analyse bone mass in adolescent cyclists. METHODS: Male road cyclists (n = 22) who had been training for a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 7 years with a volume of 10 h/w, were compared to age-matched controls (n = 22) involved in recreational sports activities. Subjects were divided in 2 groups based on age: adolescents under 17 yrs (cyclists, n = 11; controls, n = 13) and over 17 yrs (cyclists, n = 11; controls, n = 9). Peak oxygen uptake (VO(2)max) was measured on a cycloergometer. Whole body, lumbar spine, and hip bone mineral content (BMC), density (BMD) and bone area were assessed using dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Volumetric BMD (vBMD) and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) were also estimated. RESULTS: The BMC of cyclists was lower for the whole body, pelvis, femoral neck and legs; BMD for the pelvis, hip, legs and whole body and legs bone area was lower but higher in the hip area (all, P≤0.05) after adjusting by lean mass and height. The BMC of young cyclists was 10% lower in the leg and 8% higher in the hip area than young controls (P≤0.05). The BMC of cyclists over 17 yrs was 26.5%, 15.8% and 14.4% lower BMC at the pelvis, femoral neck and legs respectively while the BMD was 8.9% to 24.5% lower for the whole body, pelvis, total hip, trochanter, intertrochanter, femoral neck and legs and 17.1% lower the vBMD at the femoral neck (all P≤0.05). Grouped by age interaction was found in both pelvis and hip BMC and BMD and in femoral neck vBMD (all P≤0.05). CONCLUSION: Cycling performed throughout adolescence may negatively affect bone health, then compromising the acquisition of peak bone mass

Phylogenomics and Systematics of Overlooked Mesoamerican and South American Polyploid Broad-Leaved Festuca Grasses Differentiate F. sects. Glabricarpae and Ruprechtia and F. subgen. Asperifolia, Erosiflorae, Mallopetalon and Coironhuecu (subgen. nov.)

Allopolyploidy is considered a driver of diversity in subtribe Loliinae. We investigate the evolution and systematics of the poorly studied Mesoamerican and South American polyploid broad-leaved Festuca L. species of uncertain origin and unclear taxonomy. A taxonomic study of seven diagnostic morphological traits was conducted on a representation of 22 species. Phylogenomic analyses were performed on a representation of these supraspecific taxa and all other Loliinae lineages using separate data from the entire plastome, nuclear rDNA 45S and 5S genes, and repetitive DNA elements. F. subgen. Mallopetalon falls within the fine-leaved (FL) Loliinae clade, whereas the remaining taxa are nested within the broad-leaved (BL) Loliinae clade forming two separate Mexico–Central–South American (MCSAI, MCSAII) lineages. MCSAI includes representatives of F. sect. Glabricarpae and F. subgen. Asperifolia plus F. superba, and MCSAII of F. subgen. Erosiflorae and F. sect. Ruprechtia plus F. argentina. MCSAII likely had a BL Leucopoa paternal ancestor, MCSAI and MCSAII a BL Meso-South American maternal ancestor, and Mallopetalon FL, American I–II ancestors. Plastome vs. nuclear topological discordances corroborated the hybrid allopolyploid origins of these taxa, some of which probably originated from Northern Hemisphere ancestors. The observed data indicate rapid reticulate radiations in the Central–South American subcontinent. Our systematic study supports the reclassification of some studied taxa in different supraspecific Festuca ranks

Behaviour of NBD-head group labelled phosphatidylethanolamines in POPC bilayers: a molecular dynamics study

A complete homologous series of fluorescent phosphatidylethanolamines (diCnPE), labelled at the head group with a 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazo-4-yl(NBD) fluorophore and inserted in 1-palmitoyl, 2-oleoyl-snglycero- 3-phosphocholine (POPC) bilayers, was studied using atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The longer-chained derivatives of NBD-diCnPE, with n = 14, 16, and 18, are commercially available, and widely used as fluorescent membrane probes. Properties such as location of atomic groups and acyl chain order parameters of both POPC and NBD-diCnPE, fluorophore orientation and hydrogen bonding, membrane electrostatic potential and lateral diffusion were calculated for all derivatives in the series. Most of these probes induce local disordering of POPC acyl chains, which is on the whole counterbalanced by ordering resulting from binding of sodium ions to lipid carbonyl/glycerol oxygen atoms. An exception is found for NBD-diC16PE, which displays optimal matching with POPC acyl chain length and induces a slight local ordering of phospholipid acyl chains. Compared to previously studied fatty amines, acyl chain-labelled phosphatidylcholines, and sterols bearing the same fluorescent tag, the chromophore in NBD-diCnPE locates in a similar region of the membrane (near the glycerol backbone/carbonyl region) but adopts a different orientation (with the NO2 group facing the interior of the bilayer). This modification leads to an inverted orientation of the P–N axis in the labelled lipid, which affects the interface properties, such as the membrane electrostatic potential and hydrogen bonding to lipid head group atoms. The implications of this study for the interpretation of the photophysical properties of NBD-diCnPE (complex fluorescence emission kinetics, differences with other NBD lipid probes) are discussed

trans-Bis(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)bis­(nitrato-κ2 O,O′)zinc(II)

The title compound, [Zn(NO3)2(C24H16N2)2], is a twofold axially symmetric coordination compound. Given that the Zn—O interactions [2.4926 (15) and 2.6673 (15) Å] can be considered as weakly bonding and the nitrate ions share the same C 2 axis of the Zn(dpp)2 fragment (dpp is 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline), these anions belong to the coordination sphere of Zn2+, leading to a complex with an overall coordination number of 8 for the metal ion

Characterisation of Airborne Particulate Matter in Different European Subway Systems

Air quality sampling campaigns in three European subway systems (Barcelona, Athens and Oporto) were conducted in order to characterise particulate matter (PM) to better understand the main factors controlling it. PM mass concentrations varied among the European subway platforms, and also within the same underground system, this being mainly associated to differences in the design of the stations and tunnels, system age, train frequency, ventilation and air‐conditioning systems, commuter\u27s density, rails geometry and outdoor air quality. PM concentrations displayed clear diurnal patterns, depending largely on the operation and frequency of the trains and the ventilation system. Chemically, subway PM2.5 on the platforms consisted of iron, carbonaceous material, crustal matter, secondary inorganic compounds, insoluble sulphate, halite and trace elements. Fe was the most abundant element, accounting for 19–46% of the bulk PM2.5, which is generated mainly from mechanical wear at rail‐wheel‐brake interfaces. A source apportionment analysis allowed the identification of outdoor (sea salt, fuel‐oil combustion and secondary aerosol) and subway sources on platforms. The use of air‐conditioning inside the trains was an effective approach to reduce exposure concentrations, being more efficient removing coarser particles. PM concentrations inside the trains were greatly affected by the surrounding (i.e. platforms and tunnels) air quality conditions

Metagenomic analysis of viruses, bacteria and protozoa in irrigation water

[EN] Viruses (e.g., noroviruses and hepatitis A and E virus), bacteria (e.g., Salmonella spp. and pathogenic Escherichia coli) and protozoa (e.g., Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia intestinalis) are well-known contributors to food-borne illnesses linked to contaminated fresh produce. As agricultural irrigation increases the total amount of water used annually, reclaimed water is a good alternative to reduce dependency on conventional irrigation water sources. European guidelines have established acceptable concentrations of certain pathogens and/or indicators in irrigation water, depending on the irrigation system used and the irrigated crop. However, the incidences of food-borne infections are known to be underestimated and all the different pathogens contributing to these infections are not known. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) enables the determination of the viral, bacterial and protozoan populations present in a water sample, providing an opportunity to detect emerging pathogens and develop improved tools for monitoring the quality of irrigation water. This is a descriptive study of the virome, bacteriome and parasitome present in different irrigation water sources. We applied the same concentration method for all the studied samples and specific metagenomic approaches to characterize both DNA and RNA viruses, bacteria and protozoa. In general, most of the known viral species corresponded to plant viruses and bacteriophages. Viral diversity in river water varied over the year, with higher bacteriophage prevalences during the autumn and winter. Reservoir water contained Enterobacter cloacae, an opportunistic human pathogen and an indicator of fecal contamination, as well as Naegleria australiensis and Naegleria clarki. Hepatitis E virus and Naegleria fowleri, emerging human pathogens, were detected in groundwater. Reclaimed water produced in a constructed wetland system presented a virome and bacteriome that resembled those of freshwater samples (river and reservoir water). Viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens were occasionally detected in the different irrigation water sources included in this study, justifying the use of improved NGS techniques to get a comprehensive evaluation of microbial species and potential environmental health hazards associated to irrigation water.This work was supported through a grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) in the frame of the collaborative international consortium JPIW2013-095-C03-01, JPIW2013-095-C03-02 and JPIW2013-095-C03-03 of the Water Challenges for a Changing World Joint Programming Initiative (Water JPI) Pilot Call and partially by AGL2017-86797-C2-1-R. Silvia Bofill-Mas is a Serra-Hunter fellow at the University of Barcelona.Rusiñol, M.; Martinez-Puchol, S.; Timoneda, N.; Fernandez-Cassi, X.; Pérez-Cataluña, A.; Fernández-Bravo, A.; Moreno-Mesonero, L.... (2020). Metagenomic analysis of viruses, bacteria and protozoa in irrigation water. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.113440S22

Whole transcription profile of responders to anti-tnf drugs in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Background: Up to 30% of patients with pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) do not respond to anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (anti-TNF) therapy. The aim of this study was to identify pharmacogenomic markers that predict early response to anti-TNF drugs in pediatric patients with IBD. Methods: An observational, longitudinal, prospective cohort study was conducted. The study population comprised 38 patients with IBD aged 0.6 or <−0.6 and p value < 0.05). After validation, FCGR1A, FCGR1B, and GBP1 were overexpressed in non-responders two weeks after initiation of anti-TNF treatment (Log2FC 1.05, 1.21, and 1.08, respectively, p value < 0.05). Conclusion: Expression of the FCGR1A, FCGR1B, and GBP1 genes is a pharmacogenomic biomarker of early response to anti-TNF agents in pediatric IBDInstituto de Salud Carlos III número de becas PI16 / 00559 y PI19 / 00792Consejería de Educación y Deporte de la Comunidad de Madrid PEJ16 / MED / AI-1260Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias Gregorio Marañón PRE2018-2Fondos Europeos de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) del Comisión Europe

Cross sections for proton induced high energy γ-ray emission (PIGE) in reaction 19F(p,αγ)16O at incident proton energies between 1.5 and 4 MeV

Plan I2C 2013 by Xunta de Galicia (ES) PEstOE/Fis/UI0275/2014 Sem PDF conforme despacho.We have studied the high energy gamma-rays produced in the reaction 19F(p,αγ)16O for incident proton energies from 1.5 to 4.0 MeV over NaF/Ag and CaF2/Ag thin targets in two different sets of data. Gamma-rays were detected with a High Purity Ge detector with an angle of 130° with respect to the beam axis. The cross-sections for the high energy gamma-rays of 6.129, 6.915 and 7.115 MeV have been measured for the whole group between 5 and 7.2 MeV with accuracy better than 10%. A new energy range was covered and more points are included in the cross-sections data base expanding the existing set of data. Results are in agreement with previous measurements in similar conditions.preprintpublishe

Associations between macronutrient intake and serum lipid profile depend on body fat in European adolescents: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study

The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between macronutrient intake and serum lipid profile in adolescents from eight European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) cross-sectional study (2006–7), and to assess the role of body fat-related variables in these associations. Weight, height, waist circumference, skinfold thicknesses, total choles- terol, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-cholesterol, TAG, apoB and apoA1 were measured in 454 adolescents (44 % boys) aged 12·5–17·5 years. Macronutrient intake (g/4180 kJ per d (1000 kcal per d)) was assessed using two non-consecutive 24 h dietary recalls. Associations were evaluated by multi-level analysis and adjusted for sex, age, maternal education, centre, sum of four skinfolds, moderate-to-vigorous

Real-time intracellular temperature imaging using lanthanide-bearing polymeric micelles

Measurement of thermogenesis in individual cells is a remarkable challenge due to the complexity of the biochemical environment (such as pH and ionic strength) and to the rapid and yet not well-understood heat transfer mechanisms throughout the cell. Here, we present a unique system for intracellular temperature mapping in a fluorescence microscope (uncertainty of 0.2 K) using rationally designed luminescent Ln3+-bearing polymeric micellar probes (Ln = Sm, Eu) incubated in breast cancer MDA-MB468 cells. Two-dimensional (2D) thermal images recorded increasing the temperature of the cells culture medium between 296 and 304 K shows inhomogeneous intracellular temperature progressions up to ∼20 degrees and subcellular gradients of ∼5 degrees between the nucleolus and the rest of the cell, illustrating the thermogenic activity of the different organelles and highlighting the potential of this tool to study intracellular processes.publishe