Combination of Caloric Restriction and a Mixed Training Protocol as an Effective Strategy to Counteract the Deleterious Effects in Trabecular Bone Microarchitecture Caused by a Diet-Induced Obesity in Sprague Dawley Rats

The association of obesity with changes in bone mass is not clear. Obese individuals tend to have an increased bone mineral density, but other studies have shown that obesity is a major risk factor for fractures. The mechanisms of bone response during a weight loss therapy as well as the possible osteoprotective effect of exercise should be analyzed. The aim of this study was to test the effects of a weight-loss program based on the combination of caloric restriction and/or a mixed training protocol on different parameters of bone morphology and functionality in a DIO rat model. Three stages were established over a 21-week period (obesity induction 0–12 w, weight loss intervention 12–15 w, weight maintenance intervention 15–21 w) in 88 male Sprague Dawley rats. Bone microarchitecture, total mineral and elemental composition, and bone metabolism parameters were assessed. Weight loss interventions were associated to healthy changes in body composition, decreasing body fat and increasing lean body mass. On the other hand, obesity was related to a higher content of bone resorption and inflammatory markers, which was decreased by the weight control interventions. Caloric restriction led to marked changes in trabecular microarchitecture, with a significant decrease in total volume but no changes in bone volume (BV). In addition, the intervention diet caused an increase in trabeculae number and a decrease in trabecular spacing. The training protocol increased the pore diameter and reversed the changes in cortical porosity and density of BV induced by the high protein diet at diaphysis level. Regarding the weight-maintenance stage, diminished SMI values indicate the presence of more plate-like spongiosa in sedentary and exercise groups. In conclusion, the lifestyle interventions of caloric restriction and mixed training protocol implemented as weight loss strategies have been effective to counteract some of the deleterious effects caused by a dietary induction of obesity, specifically in trabecular bone morphometric parameters as well as bone mineral content.Spanish Government DEP2014-58296-R RTC-2017-6540-1 RTI2018-100934-B-I00Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through FEDER programEuropean Commission DEP2014-58296-R RTC-2017-6540-1 RTI2018-100934-B-I00European Union through FEDER progra

Large Genomic Imbalances in Brugada Syndrome

Purpose Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a form of cardiac arrhythmia which may lead to sudden cardiac death. The recommended genetic testing (direct sequencing of SCN5A) uncovers disease-causing SNVs and/or indels in ~20% of cases. Limited information exists about the frequency of copy number variants (CNVs) in SCN5A in BrS patients, and the role of CNVs in BrS-minor genes is a completely unexplored field. Methods 220 BrS patients with negative genetic results were studied to detect CNVs in SCN5A. 63 cases were also screened for CNVs in BrS-minor genes. Studies were performed by Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification or Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Results The detection rate for CNVs in SCN5A was 0.45% (1/220). The detected imbalance consisted of a duplication from exon 15 to exon 28, and could potentially explain the BrS phenotype. No CNVs were found in BrS-minor genes. Conclusion CNVs in current BrS-related genes are uncommon among BrS patients. However, as these rearrangements may underlie a portion of cases and they undergo unnoticed by traditional sequencing, an appealing alternative to conventional studies in these patients could be targeted NGS, including in a single experiment the study of SNVs, indels and CNVs in all the known BrS-related genes

Coordination of subjects in the program as a formative activity of the multidisciplinary educational team for the degree in Pharmacy

La Universidad de Granada, dentro del Plan Estratégico y el Contrato Programa 2007-2011 de las Universidades Públicas de Andalucía puso en marcha la convocatoria de apoyo a la formación del profesorado principiante y mejora de la docencia por el Vicerrectorado para la Garantía de la Calidad (http://calidad.ugr.es/pages/secretariados/form_apoyo_calidad/apoyo_formacion_principiante/convoca toria). En el proyecto participan 15 profesores, 5 profesores experimentados y 10 profesores noveles de seis departamentos diferentes.. Entre los objetivos se incluye la optimización de la actividad docente de profesorado principiante. En este sentido se estudió la situación en el nuevo plan de estudio de Grado en Farmacia de las asignaturas que dichos profesores impartimos, así como la relación entre ellas y la posible existencia de solapamientos de contenidos docentes. Las fichas docentes muestran ciertos solapamientos de competencias y carencias en algunos casos. Esto supuso una revisión exhaustiva para llevar a cabo una correcta coordinación entre los profesores que le permita al alumnado un aprendizaje organizado y coherente.The University of Granada, inside the Strategic Plan and the Contract Program 2007-2011 of the Public Universities of Andalusia started a public call to improve the formation of young lecturers and the teaching activity (http://calidad.ugr.es/pages/secretariados/form_apoyo_calidad/apoyo_formacion_principiante/convoca toria). In the project there take part 15 lecturers, 5 experienced and 10 young lecturers from six different departments. Within the objectives it is included the optimisation of the teaching activity of young lecturers. In this sense, it was studied the situation of the subjects that the above mentioned lecturers give within the new degree in Pharmacy, as well as the relation between they and the possible existence of any overlapping in the contents. The teaching contents showed the existence of certain overlapping within competences and deficiencies in some cases. This supposed an exhaustive review to carry out the correct coordination between the different lecturers so that it will allow the organized and coherent learning of the students

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Carbohydrates digestibility and faecal microbiota composition in rats fed diets based on raw or fermented Vigna unguiculata seed meal as the only protein source

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) value as a functional food is still quite underexplored. Weaned Wistar albino rats were fed one of four experimental equilibrated diets based on casein or cowpea meal as the only protein sources. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the replacement of casein for raw or treated cowpea meal lowered Escherichia/Shigella faecal counts and increased Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Bacteroides, Clostridium leptum/Ruminococcus, and Faecalibacerium prausnitzii log10 counts. Sequencing (Illumina) analysis confirmed these results and revealed that rats fed the cowpea-based diets presented higher proportions of potentially beneficial bacterial groups. Non-starch polysaccharides digestibility was associated with bacterial groups related with the control diet, while oligosaccharides digestibility was associated with cowpea diets. In conclusion, the inclusion of Vigna unguiculata in diets for rats, particularly in the untreated form, induced a healthier intestinal microbiota composition, which was mainly linked to the fermentation of oligosaccharides of the raffinose family.Peer reviewe

Improvement in food intake and nutritive utilization of protein from L. albus var. multolupa protein isolates supplemented with ascorbic acid

The protein quality of protein isolates from lupin (LPI) (Lupinus albus var. multolupa), prepared by isoelectric precipitation, was assessed by chemical analysis of protein and amino acids and biological analysis of digestive and metabolic utilization of protein by growing rats. The animals were fed isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets adjusted to meet their nutrient requirements, in which lupin protein isolate was the only protein source, complemented with 0.5% methionine. Different LPIs were prepared with addition, or not, of ascorbic acid as antioxidant. Protein isolates had a protein content of 7.8–98.1%. Manganese content of protein isolates was reduced by 72.8–89.5% compared to the raw seed flour. Results from in vivo experiments showed that addition of 0.5% ascorbic acid to LPI incorporated into diets led to a 82.8% increase in daily food intake, when compared to the non-supplemented LPI, reaching similar values to those obtained with a casein–methionine control diet. Digestive and metabolic utilization of protein from LPI, assessed by nitrogen absorption or apparent digestibility coefficient, and by nitrogen balance or percentage of retained to absorbed nitrogen, respectively, was high, when the dietary intake of animals fed the LPI diets was adequate after addition of 0.5% ascorbic acid, although slightly inferior to the values obtained with a casein–methionine control diet. The high nutritive utilization of protein was reflected in excellent growth and nutritional indices assayed.In conclusion, ascorbic acid supplementation led to an improvement in the palatability of the LPI diets and, therefore, in daily food intake, which was reflected in a higher nutritive utilization of protein and improvement in weight gain and the food transformation index.Project AGL2002-02905 ALI from the Spanish CICYT.Peer reviewe

Ca and P bioavailability of processed lentils as affected by dietary fiber and phytic acid content

The influence of germination for 6 days and dry-heating at 120°C for 15 min on the content of calcium, phosphorus, phytic acid and dietary fiber in lentils was studied. Germination lowered total phosphorus (P) and phytic acid content whereas dry-heating did not modify total P but slightly decreased phytic acid. Both treatments increased cellulose (CL) and lignin (LN) content and reduced hemicellulose (HMC) of lentils. The apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC) and balance of calcium (Ca) improved in animals fed dry-heated and germinated lentils which was related with the decrease in HMC. Phytic acid intake was significantly reduced by dry-heating and germination, the lowest P intake and P absorption observed in animals fed germinated lentils led to a null P balance. The results obtained in muscle and femur by comparing control (casein) and experimental diets indicated that muscle is more sensitive tissue than bone at lower Ca and P retention.This work was supported by CICYT ALI91-1092 and ALI96-0480.Peer reviewe

Effect of phytic acid degradation by soaking and exogenous phytase on the bioavailability of magnesium and zinc from Pisum sativum, L.

The effect of dephytinization of Pisum sativum, L. flour on the bioavailability of Mg and Zn was evaluated in growing rats. Processing of legume flours under optimal conditions for phytase activity (pH 5.5, 37 °C, 60 min) and subsequent removal of the soaking solution led to a 42 and 61% reduction in the content of Mg and Zn, respectively. Treatment with phytase led to an additional reduction in the concentration of the above-mentioned seed flour components, compared to the raw pea flour (69% and 74% for Mg and Zn, respectively). The considerable reduction in the content of inositol phosphates with high degree of phosphorylation attained under both processing conditions did not affect the digestive utilization of Mg, whereas the metabolic utilization of this mineral increased significantly. The digestive and metabolic utilization of Zn increased significantly in response to both processes assayed, reaching the highest values in the experimental group that was fed the phytase-treated pea flour diet. The amount of Mg retained by the experimental animals was reflected in the content of this mineral in the different tissues studied (femur, sternum, kidney, and heart), whereas no correlation was found in the case of ZnWe thank Mrs. Rosa Jiménez for skilful technical assistance. This research was funded by the Project AGL2002-02905 ALI of the Spanish CICYT.Peer reviewe