The effect of Aerobic Training and Cinnamon Zeylanicum Intake on Total Antioxidant Capacity in Active Women

Aims: Imbalance between the production of free radicals and the antioxidant defense system leads to oxidative stress. In addition, plants can reduce stress-induced oxidative damage. In this study we evaluated the effects of aerobic exercise with cinnamon intake on serum oxidative capacity in active women. Materials & Methods: 28 female students of physical education with age range 30-20 years, and the average BMI 22/71 kg/m² were voluntarily selected and randomly divided to 5 groups: 1) aerobic exercise 2) aerobic exercise combined with cinnamon 3) aerobic exercise with placebo 4 ) cinnamon and 5) control group. Intensity aerobic exercise was performed for 6 weeks within 65-80% of maximum heart rate and formula was 220-age. Blood samples were collected at the beginning and end of the study and the significance level was set at (p<0.05). Findings: TAC ( Total Antioxidant Capacity), uric acid and bilirubin in the aerobic exercise group with cinnamon consumption showed no significant difference (p<0.05). Conclusion: Probably sports activities with 65-80% of maximal oxygen consumption intensity more than 6 weeks with the consumption of cinnamon can improve the TAC level in active women

Biomedical Discovery Acceleration, with Applications to Craniofacial Development

The profusion of high-throughput instruments and the explosion of new results in the scientific literature, particularly in molecular biomedicine, is both a blessing and a curse to the bench researcher. Even knowledgeable and experienced scientists can benefit from computational tools that help navigate this vast and rapidly evolving terrain. In this paper, we describe a novel computational approach to this challenge, a knowledge-based system that combines reading, reasoning, and reporting methods to facilitate analysis of experimental data. Reading methods extract information from external resources, either by parsing structured data or using biomedical language processing to extract information from unstructured data, and track knowledge provenance. Reasoning methods enrich the knowledge that results from reading by, for example, noting two genes that are annotated to the same ontology term or database entry. Reasoning is also used to combine all sources into a knowledge network that represents the integration of all sorts of relationships between a pair of genes, and to calculate a combined reliability score. Reporting methods combine the knowledge network with a congruent network constructed from experimental data and visualize the combined network in a tool that facilitates the knowledge-based analysis of that data. An implementation of this approach, called the Hanalyzer, is demonstrated on a large-scale gene expression array dataset relevant to craniofacial development. The use of the tool was critical in the creation of hypotheses regarding the roles of four genes never previously characterized as involved in craniofacial development; each of these hypotheses was validated by further experimental work

Why Pleiotropic Interventions are Needed for Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves a complex pathological cascade thought to be initially triggered by the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide aggregates or aberrant amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing. Much is known of the factors initiating the disease process decades prior to the onset of cognitive deficits, but an unclear understanding of events immediately preceding and precipitating cognitive decline is a major factor limiting the rapid development of adequate prevention and treatment strategies. Multiple pathways are known to contribute to cognitive deficits by disruption of neuronal signal transduction pathways involved in memory. These pathways are altered by aberrant signaling, inflammation, oxidative damage, tau pathology, neuron loss, and synapse loss. We need to develop stage-specific interventions that not only block causal events in pathogenesis (aberrant tau phosphorylation, Aβ production and accumulation, and oxidative damage), but also address damage from these pathways that will not be reversed by targeting prodromal pathways. This approach would not only focus on blocking early events in pathogenesis, but also adequately correct for loss of synapses, substrates for neuroprotective pathways (e.g., docosahexaenoic acid), defects in energy metabolism, and adverse consequences of inappropriate compensatory responses (aberrant sprouting). Monotherapy targeting early single steps in this complicated cascade may explain disappointments in trials with agents inhibiting production, clearance, or aggregation of the initiating Aβ peptide or its aggregates. Both plaque and tangle pathogenesis have already reached AD levels in the more vulnerable brain regions during the “prodromal” period prior to conversion to “mild cognitive impairment (MCI).” Furthermore, many of the pathological events are no longer proceeding in series, but are going on in parallel. By the MCI stage, we stand a greater chance of success by considering pleiotropic drugs or cocktails that can independently limit the parallel steps of the AD cascade at all stages, but that do not completely inhibit the constitutive normal functions of these pathways. Based on this hypothesis, efforts in our laboratories have focused on the pleiotropic activities of omega-3 fatty acids and the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-amyloid activity of curcumin in multiple models that cover many steps of the AD pathogenic cascade (Cole and Frautschy, Alzheimers Dement 2:284–286, 2006)

A Protocol for a Pan-Canadian Prospective Observational Study on Active Surveillance or Surgery for Very Low Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer

BackgroundThe traditional management of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is thyroidectomy (total or partial removal of the thyroid). Active surveillance (AS) may be considered as an alternative option for small, low risk PTC. AS involves close follow-up (including regularly scheduled clinical and radiological assessments), with the intention of intervening with surgery for disease progression or patient preference.MethodsThis is a protocol for a prospective, observational, long-term follow-up multi-centre Canadian cohort study. Consenting eligible adults with small, low risk PTC (&lt; 2cm in maximal diameter, confined to the thyroid, and not immediately adjacent to critical structures in the neck) are offered the choice of AS or surgery for management of PTC. Patient participants are free to choose either option (AS or surgery) and the disease management course is thus not assigned by the investigators. Surgery is provided as usual care by a surgeon in an institution of the patient’s choice. Our primary objective is to determine the rate of ‘failure’ of disease management in respective AS and surgical arms as defined by: i) AS arm – surgery for progression of PTC, and ii) surgical arm - surgery or other treatment for disease persistence or progression after completing initial treatment. Secondary outcomes include long-term thyroid oncologic and treatment outcomes, as well as patient-reported outcomes.DiscussionThe results from this study will provide long-term clinical and patient reported outcome evidence regarding active surveillance or immediate surgery for management of small, low risk PTC. This will inform future clinical trials in disease management of small, low risk papillary thyroid cancer.Registration detailsThis prospective observational cohort study is registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04624477), but it should not be considered a clinical trial as there is no assigned intervention and patients are free to choose either AS or surgery

Effect of a Course of Aerobic Exercise and Consumption of Vitamin D Supplementation on Respiratory Indicators in Patients with Asthma

Background and Objectives: Despite the use of exercise therapy in patients with respiratory disease such as asthma, some researchers have emphasized on taking supplementation as a therapeutic approach. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of a course of aerobic exercise and consumption of vitamin D supplementation (1000 IU) on respiratory indicators of patients with asthma. Methods: This study was designed as a quasi-experimental investigation on a total of 32 female asthmatic patients with a mean age of 20-30 years. Subjects were classified into four eight-person groups: 1- (AT+S) group which had both aerobic training and supplementation consumption; 2- Aerobic training (AT) group that only participated in exercise training; 3- Group (S) that only consumed vitamin D supplementation; 4- Control (C) Group that had neither aerobic training nor supplementation consumption. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Significant difference considered as p<0.05. Results: In this study, there was a significant difference in post test (p<0.001) between groups in case of maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and maximum expiratory flow at 75% vital capacity (FEF75%) and Maximum expiratory flow between 25% to 75% vital capacity (FEF25%-75%). These indices increased in group AT and AT+S, whereas, they showed decrease in group S and C. Conclusion: Our results indicated that aerobic exercise together with consumption of vitamin D supplementation for 8 weeks could improve the pulmonary function and level of aerobic performance of asthmatic patients and could be considered as a part of pulmonary rehabilitation programs for asthmatic patients

Hoxa2 Inhibits Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling during Osteogenic Differentiation of the Palatal Mesenchyme

Cleft palate is one of the most common congenital birth defects worldwide. The homeobox (Hox) family of genes are key regulators of embryogenesis, with Hoxa2 having a direct role in secondary palate development. Hoxa2−/− mice exhibit cleft palate; however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to cleft palate in Hoxa2−/− mice is largely unknown. Addressing this issue, we found that Hoxa2 regulates spatial and temporal programs of osteogenic differentiation in the developing palate by inhibiting bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling dependent osteoblast markers. Expression of osteoblast markers, including Runx2, Sp7, and AlpI were increased in Hoxa2−/− palatal shelves at embryonic day (E) 13.5 and E15.5. Hoxa2−/− mouse embryonic palatal mesenchyme (MEPM) cells exhibited increased bone matrix deposition and mineralization in vitro. Moreover, loss of Hoxa2 resulted in increased osteoprogenitor cell proliferation and osteogenic commitment during early stages of palate development at E13.5. Consistent with upregulation of osteoblast markers, Hoxa2−/− palatal shelves displayed higher expression of canonical BMP signaling in vivo. Blocking BMP signaling in Hoxa2−/− primary MEPM cells using dorsomorphin restored cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation to wild-type levels. Collectively, these data demonstrate for the first time that Hoxa2 may regulate palate development by inhibiting osteogenic differentiation of palatal mesenchyme via modulating BMP signaling

Effect of a Course of Aerobic Exercise and Consumption of Vitamin D Supplementation on Respiratory Indicators in Patients with Asthma

Background and Objectives: Despite the use of exercise therapy in patients with respiratory disease such as asthma, some researchers have emphasized on taking supplementation as a therapeutic approach. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of a course of aerobic exercise and consumption of vitamin D supplementation (1000 IU) on respiratory indicators of patients with asthma.Methods: This study was designed as a quasi-experimental investigation on a total of 32 female asthmatic patients with a mean age of 20-30 years. Subjects were classified into four eight-person groups: 1- (AT+S) group which had both aerobic training and supplementation consumption; 2- Aerobic training (AT) group that only participated in exercise training; 3- Group (S) that only consumed vitamin D supplementation; 4- Control (C) Group that had neither aerobic training nor supplementation consumption. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Significant difference considered as p<0.05. Results: In this study, there was a significant difference in post test (p<0.001) between groups in case of maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) and maximum expiratory flow at 75% vital capacity (FEF75%) and Maximum expiratory flow between 25% to 75% vital capacity (FEF25%-75%). These indices increased in group AT and AT+S, whereas, they showed decrease in group S and C.Conclusion: Our results indicated that aerobic exercise together with consumption of vitamin D supplementation for 8 weeks could improve the pulmonary function and level of aerobic performance of asthmatic patients and could be considered as a part of pulmonary rehabilitation programs for asthmatic patients

The effect of brief intermittent stair climbing on glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes: A pilot study

We examined the effect of brief intermittent stair climbing exercise on glycemic control using continuous glucose monitoring in people with T2D (n=7; 5m 2f; 21-70 y). The protocol involved three, 60-s bouts of vigorously ascending and slowly descending a flight of stairs. Mean 24-h blood glucose was unchanged after an acute session (p=0.43) and following 18 sessions over 6 wk (p=0.13). The protocol was well tolerated by participants but seemingly insufficient to alter glycemic control.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author