Vitamin D supplementation lowers thrombospondin-1 levels and blood pressure in healthy adults

Introduction: Vitamin D insufficiency, defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels < 75nmol/L is associated with cardio-metabolic dysfunction. Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with inflammation and fibrosis, but it remains uncertain whether these anomalies are readily reversible. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on markers of: 1) nitric oxide (NO) signaling, 2) inflammation, and 3) fibrosis, in healthy volunteers with mild hypovitaminosis. Methods: Healthy volunteers (n = 35) (mean age: 45 ± 11 years) with 25(OH)D levels <75nmol/L, received vitamin D supplementation (Ostelin ® capsules 2000IU) for 12 weeks. Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressures (BP) were assessed. Routine biochemistry was examined. Plasma concentrations of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), hs-CRP, activin-A, and follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3) were quantitated. Results: Vitamin D administration for 12 weeks significantly increased 25-(OH)D levels (48.8 ± 16 nmol/L to 100.8 ± 23.7 nmol/L, p<0.001). There was significant lowering of systolic and diastolic BP, while there was no significant change in lipid profiles, or fasting insulin. Plasma concentrations of ADMA, hs-CRP, PAI-1, activin A, and FSTL-3 did not change with vitamin D supplementation. However, there was a marked reduction of TSP-1 (522.7 ± 379.8 ng/mL vs 206.7 ± 204.5 ng/mL, p<0.001). Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation in vitamin D insufficient, but otherwise healthy individuals markedly decreased TSP-1 levels and blood pressure. Since TSP-1 suppresses signaling of NO, it is possible that the fall in BP is engendered by restoration of NO effect.Anjalee T. Amarasekera, Bahador Assadi-Khansari, Saifei Liu, Marilyn Black, Greer Dymmott, Natasha M. Rogers, Aaron L. Sverdlov, John D. Horowitz, Doan T. M. Ng

Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>People overeat because their hunger directs them to consume more calories than they require. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in experience and perception of hunger before and after participants shifted from their previous usual diet to a high nutrient density diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a descriptive study conducted with 768 participants primarily living in the United States who had changed their dietary habits from a low micronutrient to a high micronutrient diet. Participants completed a survey rating various dimensions of hunger (physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and location) when on their previous usual diet versus the high micronutrient density diet. Statistical analysis was conducted using non-parametric tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Highly significant differences were found between the two diets in relation to all physical and emotional symptoms as well as the location of hunger. Hunger was not an unpleasant experience while on the high nutrient density diet, was well tolerated and occurred with less frequency even when meals were skipped. Nearly 80% of respondents reported that their experience of hunger had changed since starting the high nutrient density diet, with 51% reporting a dramatic or complete change in their experience of hunger.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high micronutrient density diet mitigates the unpleasant aspects of the experience of hunger even though it is lower in calories. Hunger is one of the major impediments to successful weight loss. Our findings suggest that it is not simply the caloric content, but more importantly, the micronutrient density of a diet that influences the experience of hunger. It appears that a high nutrient density diet, after an initial phase of adjustment during which a person experiences "toxic hunger" due to withdrawal from pro-inflammatory foods, can result in a sustainable eating pattern that leads to weight loss and improved health. A high nutrient density diet provides benefits for long-term health as well as weight loss. Because our findings have important implications in the global effort to control rates of obesity and related chronic diseases, further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.</p

ROS release by PPARβ/δ-null fibroblasts reduces tumor load through epithelial antioxidant response.

Tumor stroma has an active role in the initiation, growth, and propagation of many tumor types by secreting growth factors and modulating redox status of the microenvironment. Although PPARβ/δ in fibroblasts was shown to modulate oxidative stress in the wound microenvironment, there has been no evidence of a similar effect in the tumor stroma. Here, we present evidence of oxidative stress modulation by intestinal stromal PPARβ/δ, using a FSPCre-Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;-/-&lt;/sup&gt; mouse model and validated it with immortalized cell lines. The FSPCre-Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;-/-&lt;/sup&gt; mice developed fewer intestinal polyps and survived longer when compared with Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;fl/fl&lt;/sup&gt; mice. The pre-treatment of FSPCre-Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;-/-&lt;/sup&gt; and Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;fl/fl&lt;/sup&gt; with antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine prior DSS-induced tumorigenesis resulted in lower tumor load. Gene expression analyses implicated an altered oxidative stress processes. Indeed, the FSPCre-Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;-/-&lt;/sup&gt; intestinal tumors have reduced oxidative stress than Pparb/d &lt;sup&gt;fl/fl&lt;/sup&gt; tumors. Similarly, the colorectal cancer cells and human colon epithelial cells also experienced lower oxidative stress when co-cultured with fibroblasts depleted of PPARβ/δ expression. Therefore, our results establish a role for fibroblast PPARβ/δ in epithelial-mesenchymal communication for ROS homeostasis

Robot Learning with Task-Parameterized Generative Models

Task-parameterized models provide a representation of movement/behavior that can adapt to a set of task parameters describing the current situation encountered by the robot, such as location of objects or landmarks in its workspace. This paper gives an overview of the task-parameterized Gaussian mixture model (TP-GMM) introduced in previous publications, and introduces a number of extensions and ongoing challenges required to move the approach toward unconstrained environments. In particular, it discusses its generalization capability and the handling of movements with a high number of degrees of freedom. It then shows that the method is not restricted to movements in task space, but that it can also be exploited to handle constraints in joint space, including priority constraints

Review of the techniques used in motor‐cognitive human‐robot skill transfer

Abstract A conventional robot programming method extensively limits the reusability of skills in the developmental aspect. Engineers programme a robot in a targeted manner for the realisation of predefined skills. The low reusability of general‐purpose robot skills is mainly reflected in inability in novel and complex scenarios. Skill transfer aims to transfer human skills to general‐purpose manipulators or mobile robots to replicate human‐like behaviours. Skill transfer methods that are commonly used at present, such as learning from demonstrated (LfD) or imitation learning, endow the robot with the expert's low‐level motor and high‐level decision‐making ability, so that skills can be reproduced and generalised according to perceived context. The improvement of robot cognition usually relates to an improvement in the autonomous high‐level decision‐making ability. Based on the idea of establishing a generic or specialised robot skill library, robots are expected to autonomously reason about the needs for using skills and plan compound movements according to sensory input. In recent years, in this area, many successful studies have demonstrated their effectiveness. Herein, a detailed review is provided on the transferring techniques of skills, applications, advancements, and limitations, especially in the LfD. Future research directions are also suggested