Land use, yield and quality changes of minor field crops: Is there superseded potential to be reinvented in northern Europe?

201

Targeting vasoactive peptides for managing calcific aortic valve disease

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) represents a spectrum of disease spanning from milder degrees of calcification of valve leaflets, i.e., aortic sclerosis, to severe calcification i.e., aortic stenosis (AS) with hemodynamic instability. The prevalence of CAVD is increasing rapidly due to the aging of the population, being up to 2.8% among patients over 75 years of age. Even without significant aortic valve stenosis, aortic sclerosis is associated with a 50% increased risk of myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascular causes. To date, there is no pharmacological treatment available to reverse or hinder the progression of CAVD. So far, the cholesterol-lowering therapies (statins) and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blocking drugs have been the major pharmacological agents investigated for treatment of CAVD. Especially angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB)s and angiotensin convertase enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)s, have been under active investigation in clinical trials, but have proven to be unsuccessful in slowing the progression of CAVD. Several studies have suggested that other vasoactive hormones, including endothelin and apelin systems are also associated with development of AS. In the present review, we discuss the role of vasoactive factors in the pathogenesis of CAVD as novel pharmacological targets for the treatment of aortic valve calcification.Peer reviewe

Dark chocolate and reduced snack consumption in mildly hypertensive adults : an intervention study

Background: Several studies have shown that cocoa and cocoa-containing foods have the potential to lower blood pressure and improve endothelial function. Most of the studies reporting the beneficial effects of dark chocolate on blood pressure have been short ( Design: This was a randomized, controlled, cross-over trial involving 22 adults (8 women, 14 men), aged 33-64 y, BMI 27.7 +/- 3.7 kg/m(2) with mild hypertension. During the intervention period (8-wks) the participants reduced the intake of habitual snacks and replaced them with dark chocolate (49 g/day). In the control period, they only reduced the snacks without any added chocolate. Data (blood lipid profile, glucose, insulin, 24 h blood pressure) was collected in the beginning and end of both periods (intervention and control), and some variables also in the run-in and run-out periods (weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure, arterial stiffness index, diet and physical activity). Results: Daily consumption of dark chocolate had no effects on 24 h blood pressure, resting blood pressure (mean +/- SD, pre 142 +/- 11.5/89 +/- 4 mmHg vs. post 142 +/- 14.2/88 +/- 9.4 mmHg in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively) or arterial stiffness (mean +/- SD, pre 7.68 +/- 0.88 vs. post 7.76 +/- 0.89). Weight was reduced by 1.0 +/- 2.2 kg during the control (reduced snack only) period, but was unchanged while eating chocolate (p <0.027 between the treatments). Conclusion: The data collected in this study indicates that inclusion of dark chocolate daily in the diet had no significant effects on blood pressure or other cardiovascular risk factors during a reduced snack period.Peer reviewe

Effects of climate and historical adaptation measures on barley yield trends in Finland

201

Responses of the fish community in a eutrophicated lake to long-term food web management assessed by multiple sampling methods

Fish community responses to long-term mass removal of planktivorous fish from eutrophicated Lake Tuusulanjarvi were examined during 1996-2018 by gill net test fishing, hydroacoustics with simultaneous trawling, virtual population analysis (VPA) and fish growth measurements. The gillnet catches of white bream and roach increased first while bream and bleak decreased but recovered in the early 2000s. Perch and pikeperch increased but ruffe decreased and remained low. According to hydroacoustics, pelagic fish biomass decreased. Smelt was the most abundant species at the beginning and the end of the monitoring period but bream dominated the fish biomass in most years. VPA calculations indicated a five- and threefold increase in the biomass of bream and white bream, respectively, during 2005-2011. Significant increases appeared in the growth of perch, bream and roach. Overall, the responses in the fish community structure and fish abundance to the food web management were slight and mostly masked by changes in reproduction and growth of fish and annual variability in environmental conditions such as temperature and water turbidity. Gillnet test fishing and echo sounding complemented each other well in monitoring the effects of management fishing. Where bream is one of the dominant species VPA is also recommended.peerReviewe

Suomenlahden tilan muutokset – vaikutukset avomerialueen kalakantoihin ja kalastukseen

Hankkeessa arvioitiin ympäristötekijöiden ja niissä tapahtuvien muutosten vaikutuksia Suomenlahden avomerialueen kalojen alueelliseen runsaudenvaihteluun, kalojen ravinnonkäyttöön ja kalojen kuntoon. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että GAM-mallinnuksen (yleistetty additiivinen malli) avulla kalatiheyden vaihtelut avomerialueella voitiin selittää suureksi osaksi ympäristötekijöistä johtuviksi. Tutkimusajanjakson aikana Suomenlahden kalakannoissa tapahtui voimakkaita muutoksia. Sekä silakoiden että kilohailien osoitettiin vuonna 2003 kärsineen ravintopulasta. Kalat olivat laihoja ja suuri osa oli selvästi nälkiintyneitä. Nuorten kalojen kasvun havaittiin olevan erittäin vähäistä vuonna 2003. Kalojen nälkiintymisestä seurannut silakka- ja kilohailikantojen huono tila yhdessä samanaikaisesti voimaan tulleiden pyydysrajoitusten kanssa aiheutti Suomenlahden silakka- ja kilohailisaaliiden ennennäkemättömän voimakkaan romahduksen vuonna 2003. Hankkeessa myös arvioitiin, miten mahdolliset kalastuksessa tulevaisuudessa tapahtuvat muutokset vaikuttaisivat dioksiinien ja furaanien kertymiseen Suomenlahden ja Itämeren pääaltaan silakkaan ja kilohailiin. Hankkeessa kehitettiin mallit, joiden avulla osoitettiin olevan mahdollista kuvata kilohailin ja silakan kasvun riippuvuutta kalatiheydestä ja ympäristötekijöistä. Malleja käytettiin ennustettaessa kalastuksen vaikutuksia kalakantojen tilaan ja dioksiinien kertymiseen silakkaan ja kilohailiin. Kehitetyn mallin avulla kalastuskuolevuuden osoitettiin potentiaalisesti vaikuttavan erityisesti kilohailin kasvuun ja dioksiinien kertymiseen kilohailiin. Silakan kasvunmuutoksiin ja dioksiinien kerääntymiseen todennäköisesti vaikuttavat kalatiheyden ohella Itämeren suolapitoisuuden muutokset

One-year unsupervised individualized exercise training intervention enhances cardiorespiratory fitness but not muscle deoxygenation or glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes

Adaptations to long-term exercise training in type 1 diabetes are sparsely studied. We examined the effects of a 1-year individualized training intervention on cardiorespiratory fitness, exercise-induced active muscle deoxygenation, and glycemic control in adults with and without type 1 diabetes. Eight men with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and 8 healthy men (CON) matched for age, anthropometry, and peak pulmonary O-2 uptake, completed a 1-year individualized training intervention in an unsupervised real-world setting. Before and after the intervention, the subjects performed a maximal incremental cycling test, during which alveolar gas exchange (volume turbine and mass spectrometry) and relative concentration changes in active leg muscle deoxygenated (Delta[HHb]) and total (Delta[tHb]) hemoglobin (near-infrared spectroscopy) were monitored. Peak O-2 pulse, reflecting peak stroke volume, was calculated (peak pulmonary O-2 uptake/peak heart rate). Glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c))) was evaluated. Both T1D and CON averagely performed 1 resistance-training and 3-4 endurance-training sessions per week (similar to 1 h/session at similar to moderate intensity). Training increased peak pulmonary O-2 uptake in T1D (p = 0.004) and CON (p = 0.045) (group x time p = 0.677). Peak O-2 pulse also rose in T1D (p = 0.032) and CON (p = 0.018) (group x time p = 0.880). Training increased leg Delta[HHb] at peak exercise in CON (p = 0.039) but not in T1D (group x time p = 0.052), while no changes in leg Delta[tHb] at any work rate were observed in either group (p > 0.05). HbA(1c) retained unchanged in T1D (from 58 +/- 10 to 59 +/- 11 mmol/mol, p = 0.609). In conclusion, 1-year adherence to exercise training enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness similarly in T1D and CON but had no effect on active muscle deoxygenation or glycemic control in T1D.Peer reviewe

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