Tart Cherry Concentrate Does Not Alter the Gut Microbiome, Glycaemic Control or Systemic Inflammation in a Middle-Aged Population.

This is the final version. available from MDPI via the DOI in this recordLimited evidence suggests that the consumption of polyphenols may improve glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity. The gut microbiome produces phenolic metabolites and increases their bioavailability. A handful of studies have suggested that polyphenol consumption alters gut microbiome composition. There are no data available investigating such effects in polyphenol-rich Montmorency cherry (MC) supplementation. A total of 28 participants (aged 40-60 years) were randomized to receive daily MC or glucose and energy-matched placebo supplementation for 4 wk. Faecal and blood samples were obtained at baseline and at 4 wk. There was no clear effect of supplementation on glucose handling (Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and Gutt indices), although the Matsuda index decreased significantly in the MC group post-supplementation, reflecting an increase in serum insulin concentration. Contrastingly, placebo, but not MC supplementation induced a 6% increase in the Oral Glucose Insulin Sensitivity (OGIS) estimate of glucose clearance. Serum IL-6 and C reactive protein were unaltered by either supplement. The faecal bacterial microbiome was sequenced; species richness and diversity were unchanged by MC or placebo and no significant correlation existed between changes in Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium abundance and any index of insulin sensitivity. Therefore, 4 weeks of MC supplementation did not alter the gut microbiome, glycaemic control or systemic concentrations of IL-6 and CRP in a middle-aged population.The Cherry Marketing Institut

Nonuniversal scaling behavior of Barkhausen noise

We simulate Barkhausen avalanches on fractal clusters in a two-dimensional diluted Ising ferromagnet with an effective Gaussian random field. We vary the concentration of defect sites $c$ and find a scaling region for moderate disorder, where the distribution of avalanche sizes has the form $D(s,c,L) = s^{-(1+\tau (c))}{\cal{D}}(sL^{-D_s(c)})$. The exponents $\tau (c)$ for size and $\alpha (c)$ for length distribution, and the fractal dimension of avalanches $D_s(c)$ satisfy the scaling relation $D_s(c)\tau (c) =\alpha (c)$. For fixed disorder the exponents vary with driving rate in agreement with experiments on amorphous Si-Fe alloys.Comment: 5 pages, Latex, 4 PostScript figures include

Megapixel camera arrays enable high-resolution animal tracking in multiwell plates

Tracking small laboratory animals such as flies, fish, and worms is used for phenotyping in neuroscience, genetics, disease modelling, and drug discovery. An imaging system with sufficient throughput and spatiotemporal resolution would be capable of imaging a large number of animals, estimating their pose, and quantifying detailed behavioural differences at a scale where hundreds of treatments could be tested simultaneously. Here we report an array of six 12-megapixel cameras that record all the wells of a 96-well plate with sufficient resolution to estimate the pose of C. elegans worms and to extract high-dimensional phenotypic fingerprints. We use the system to study behavioural variability across wild isolates, the sensitisation of worms to repeated blue light stimulation, the phenotypes of worm disease models, and worms’ behavioural responses to drug treatment. Because the system is compatible with standard multiwell plates, it makes computational ethological approaches accessible in existing high-throughput pipelines

GRB 050505: A high redshift burst discovered by Swift

We report the discovery and subsequent multi-wavelength afterglow behaviour of the high redshift (z = 4.27) Gamma Ray Burst GRB 050505. This burst is the third most distant burst, measured by spectroscopic redshift, discovered after GRB 000131 (z = 4.50) and GRB 050904 (z = 6.29). GRB 050505 is a long GRB with a multipeaked gamma-ray light curve, with a duration of T_90 = 63+/-2 s and an inferred isotropic release in gamma-rays of ~4.44 x 10^53 ergs in the 1-10^4 keV rest frame energy range. The Swift X-Ray Telescope followed the afterglow for 14 days, detecting two breaks in the light curve at 7.4(+/-1.5) ks and 58.0 (+9.9/-15.4) ks after the burst trigger. The power law decay slopes before, between and after these breaks were 0.25 (+0.16/-0.17), 1.17 (+0.08/-0.09) and 1.97 (+0.27/-0.28) respectively. The light curve can also be fit with a `smoothly broken' power law model with a break observed at ~ T+18.5 ks, with decay slopes of ~0.4 and ~1.8 before and after the break respectively. The X-ray afterglow shows no spectral variation over the course of the Swift observations, being well fit with a single power law of photon index ~1.90. This behaviour is expected for the cessation of continued energisation of the ISM shock followed by a break caused by a jet, either uniform or structured. Neither break is consistent with a cooling break. The spectral energy distribution indeed shows the cooling frequency to be below the X-ray but above optical frequencies. The optical -- X-ray spectrum also shows that there is significant X-ray absorption in excess of that due to our Galaxy but very little optical/UV extinction, with E(B-V) ~0.10 for a SMC-like extinction curve.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted by MNRA

Nesting properties and anisotropy of the Fermi surface of LuNi2_{2}B2_{2}C

The rare earth nickel borocarbides, with the generic formula $R$Ni$_{2}$B$_{2}$C, have recently been shown to display a rich variety of phenomena. Most striking has been the competition between, and even coexistence of, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. We have measured the Fermi surface (FS) of LuNi$_{2}$B$_{2}$C, and shown that it possesses nesting features capable of explaining some of the phenomena experimentally observed. In particular, it had previously been conjectured that a particular sheet of FS is responsible for the modulated magnetic structures manifest in some of the series. We report the first direct experimental observation of this sheet.Comment: 4 pages, 4 PS figure

Long-term safety and efficacy of eculizumab in generalized myasthenia gravis

Introduction: Eculizumab is effective and well tolerated in patients with antiacetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG; REGAIN; NCT01997229). We report an interim analysis of an open-label extension of REGAIN, evaluating eculizumab's long-term safety and efficacy. Methods: Eculizumab (1,200 mg every 2 weeks for 22.7 months [median]) was administered to 117 patients. Results: The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with REGAIN; no cases of meningococcal infection were reported during the interim analysis period. Myasthenia gravis exacerbation rate was reduced by 75% from the year before REGAIN (P < 0.0001). Improvements with eculizumab in activities of daily living, muscle strength, functional ability, and quality of life in REGAIN were maintained through 3 years; 56% of patients achieved minimal manifestations or pharmacological remission. Patients who had received placebo during REGAIN experienced rapid and sustained improvements during open-label eculizumab (P < 0.0001). Discussion: These findings provide evidence for the long-term safety and sustained efficacy of eculizumab for refractory gMG. Muscle Nerve 201

Delivery of chlamydia screening to young women requesting emergency hormonal contraception at pharmacies in Manchester, UK: a prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>More women are requesting Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) at pharmacies where screening for <it>Chlamydia trachomatis </it>is not routinely offered. The objective of this study was to assess the uptake of free postal chlamydia screening by women under 25 years who requested EHC at pharmacies in Manchester, UK.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Six Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) that had contracted with pharmacies to provide free EHC, requested the largest EHC providers (≥ 40 doses annually) to also offer these clients a coded chlamydia home testing kit. Pharmacies kept records of the ages and numbers of women who accepted or refused chlamydia kits. Women sent urine samples directly to the laboratory for testing and positive cases were notified. Audit data on EHC coverage was obtained from PCTs to assess the proportion of clients eligible for screening and to verify the uptake rate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>33 pharmacies participated. Audit data for 131 pharmacy months indicated that only 24.8% (675/2718) of women provided EHC were also offered chlamydia screening. Based on tracking forms provided by pharmacies for the whole of the study, 1348/2904 EHC clients (46.4%) who had been offered screening accepted a screening kit. 264 (17.6%) of those who accepted a kit returned a sample, of whom 24 (9.1%) were chlamydia-positive. There was an increase in chlamydia positivity with age (OR: 1.2 per year; 1.04 to 1.44; p = 0.015).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chlamydia screening for EHC pharmacy clients is warranted but failure of pharmacists to target all EHC clients represented a missed opportunity for treating a well defined high-risk group.</p

GRB Fireball Physics: Prompt and Early Emission

We review the fireball shock model of gamma-ray burst prompt and early afterglow emission in light of rapid follow-up measurements made and enabled by the multi-wavelength Swift satellite. These observations are leading to a reappraisal and expansion of the previous standard view of the GRB and its fireball. New information on the behavior of the burst and afterglow on minutes to hour timescales has led, among other results, to the discovery and follow-up of short GRB afterglows, the opening up of the z>6 redshift range, and the first prompt multi-wavelength observations of a long GRB-supernova. We discuss the salient observational results and some associated theoretical issues.Comment: 23 pages. Published in the New Journal of Physics Focus Issue, "Focus on Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era" (Eds. D. H. Hartmann, C. D. Dermer & J. Greiner). V2: Minor change

Locally harvested foods support serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D sufficiency in an indigenous population of Western Alaska

Background: Low serum vitamin D is associated with higher latitude, age, body fat percentage and low intake of fatty fish. Little documentation of vitamin D concentrations is available for Alaska Native populations. Objective: This study was undertaken to investigate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations of the Yup'ik people of southwestern Alaska in relation to demographic and lifestyle variables, particularly with the use of locally harvested (local) foods. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: We estimated 25(OH)D, dietary vitamin D and calcium, percent of energy from local foods and demographic variables in 497 Yup'ik people (43% males) aged 14–92 residing in southwestern Alaska. Sampling was approximately equally divided between synthesizing and non-synthesizing seasons, although the preponderance of samples were drawn during months of increasing daylight. Results: Mean vitamin D intake was 15.1±20.2 µg/d, while local foods accounted for 22.9±17.1% of energy intake. The leading sources of vitamin D were local fish (90.1%) followed by market foods. Mean 25(OH)D concentration was 95.6±40.7 nmol/L. Participants in the upper 50th percentile of 25(OH)D concentration tended to be older, male, of lower body mass index, sampled during the synthesizing season, and among the upper 50th percentile of local food use. Conclusions: A shift away from locally harvested foods will likely increase the risk for serum 25(OH)D insufficiency in this population