Benefits of adding food education sessions to an exercise programme on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes

To evaluate the impact of adding food education sessions to an exercise programme on cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and older patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a randomised parallel-group study was performed. Glycated haemoglobin, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat mass (FM) and blood pressure were assessed at baseline and after 9 months. The recruitment was made in three primary healthcare centres from Vila Real, Portugal. Thirty-three patients (65⋅4 ± 5⋅9 years old) were engaged in a 9-month community-based lifestyle intervention programme: a supervised exercise programme (EX; n = 15; combined aerobic, resistance, agility/balance and flexibility exercise; three sessions per week; 75 min per session); or the same exercise programme plus concomitant food education sessions (EXFE; n = 18; 15-min lectures and dual-task strategies during exercise (answer nutrition questions while walking); 16 weeks). Significant differences between groups were identified in the evolution of BMI (P < 0.001, ) and FM (P < 0.001, ), with best improvements observed in the EXFE group. The addition of a simple food education dietary intervention to an exercise programme improved body weight and composition, but not glycaemic control and blood pressure in middle-aged and older patients with T2D.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors

Sexual conflict over remating interval is modulated by the sex peptide pathway

Sexual conflict, in which the evolutionary interests of males and females diverge, shapes the evolution of reproductive systems across diverse taxa. Here we used the fruit fly to study sexual conflict in natural, three-way interactions comprising a female, her current and previous mates. We manipulated the potential for sexual conflict by using sex peptide receptor (SPR) null females and by varying remating from 3 to 48h, a period during which natural rematings frequently occur. SPR-lacking females do not respond to sex peptide transferred during mating and maintain virgin levels of high receptivity and low fecundity. In the absence of SPR there was a convergence of fitness interests, with all individuals gaining highest productivity at 5h remating. This suggests that the expression of sexual conflict was reduced. We observed an unexpected second male-specific advantage to early remating, resulting from an increase in the efficiency of second male sperm use. This early window of opportunity for exploitation by second males depended on the presence of SPR. The results suggest that the sex peptide pathway can modulate the expression of sexual conflict in this system, and show how variation in the selective forces that shape conflict and co-operation can be maintained

A two-step transport pathway allows the mother cell to nurture the developing spore in Bacillus subtilis

© 2017 Ramírez-Guadiana et al. One of the hallmarks of bacterial endospore formation is the accumulation of high concentrations of pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (dipicolinic acid or DPA) in the developing spore. This small molecule comprises 5–15% of the dry weight of dormant spores and plays a central role in resistance to both wet heat and desiccation. DPA is synthesized in the mother cell at a late stage in sporulation and must be translocated across two membranes (the inner and outer forespore membranes) that separate the mother cell and forespore. The enzymes that synthesize DPA and the proteins required to translocate it across the inner forespore membrane were identified over two decades ago but the factors that transport DPA across the outer forespore membrane have remained mysterious. Here, we report that SpoVV (formerly YlbJ) is the missing DPA transporter. SpoVV is produced in the mother cell during the morphological process of engulfment and specifically localizes in the outer forespore membrane. Sporulating cells lacking SpoVV produce spores with low levels of DPA and cells engineered to express SpoVV and the DPA synthase during vegetative growth accumulate high levels of DPA in the culture medium. SpoVV resembles concentrative nucleoside transporters and mutagenesis of residues predicted to form the substrate-binding pocket supports the idea that SpoVV has a similar structure and could therefore function similarly. These findings provide a simple two-step transport mechanism by which the mother cell nurtures the developing spore. DPA produced in the mother cell is first translocated into the intermembrane space by SpoVV and is then imported into the forespore by the SpoVA complex. This pathway is likely to be broadly conserved as DPA synthase, SpoVV, and SpoVA proteins can be found in virtually all endospore forming bacteria

Antibacterial activity of crude extracts from Mexican plants against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of 36 extracts from 18 vegetal species used as soap, insecticides, insect repellent and for the treatment of several diseases likely associated to microorganisms. The vegetal species were collected in Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz States, México. The extracts were evaluated against isolates of nosocomial infections of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus coagulase negative resistant to Methicillin by a modificated agar diffusion method. The results demonstrate an important antibacterial effect in vitro, against all of the strains of Staphylococcus tested mainly with those from Vernonanthura oaxacana, Trixis silvatica, and with those of Perezia hebeclada. The minimum inhibitory concentration for V. oaxacana and P. hebeclada was 250 μg/disc and for T. silvatica it was 15 μg/disc. These extracts showed an important potential that would contribute to the development of new agents against infections by Staphylococcus.Key words: Crude extracts, antimicrobial activity, intrahospitalary infections, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus coagulase negative

Record winter winds in 2020/21 drove exceptional Arctic sea ice transport

AbstractThe volume of Arctic sea ice is in decline but exhibits high interannual variability, which is driven primarily by atmospheric circulation. Through analysis of satellite-derived ice products and atmospheric reanalysis data, we show that winter 2020/21 was characterised by anomalously high sea-level pressure over the central Arctic Ocean, which resulted in unprecedented anticyclonic winds over the sea ice. This atmospheric circulation pattern drove older sea ice from the central Arctic Ocean into the lower-latitude Beaufort Sea, where it is more vulnerable to melting in the coming warm season. We suggest that this unusual atmospheric circulation may potentially lead to unusually high summer losses of the Arctic’s remaining store of old ice.</jats:p

Evidence that regulation of intramembrane proteolysis is mediated by substrate gating during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis

© 2018 Ramírez-Guadiana et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. During the morphological process of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis two adjacent daughter cells (called the mother cell and forespore) follow different programs of gene expression that are linked to each other by signal transduction pathways. At a late stage in development, a signaling pathway emanating from the forespore triggers the proteolytic activation of the mother cell transcription factor σK. Cleavage of pro-σK to its mature and active form is catalyzed by the intramembrane cleaving metalloprotease SpoIVFB (B), a Site-2 Protease (S2P) family member. B is held inactive by two mother-cell membrane proteins SpoIVFA (A) and BofA. Activation of pro-σK processing requires a site-1 signaling protease SpoIVB (IVB) that is secreted from the forespore into the space between the two cells. IVB cleaves the extracellular domain of A but how this cleavage activates intramembrane proteolysis has remained unclear. Structural studies of the Methanocaldococcus jannaschii S2P homolog identified closed (substrate-occluded) and open (substrate-accessible) conformations of the protease, but the biological relevance of these conformations has not been established. Here, using co-immunoprecipitation and fluorescence microscopy, we show that stable association between the membrane-embedded protease and its substrate requires IVB signaling. We further show that the cytoplasmic cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) domain of the B protease is not critical for this interaction or for pro-σK processing, suggesting the IVB-dependent interaction site is in the membrane protease domain. Finally, we provide evidence that the B protease domain adopts both open and closed conformations in vivo. Collectively, our data support a substrate-gating model in which IVB-dependent cleavage of A on one side of the membrane triggers a conformational change in the membrane-embedded protease from a closed to an open state allowing pro-σK access to the caged interior of the protease

Data on prevalence and risk factors associated with Toxocara spp infection, atopy and asthma development in Northeast Brazilian school children.

In the present article, we provide shortly, data on risk factors for acquiring Toxocara spp. infection and investigate possible associations between this infection with atopy and asthma in school children of a small town and its semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil. The data set are composed by demographic, social and home environment variables. The detection of anti-Toxocara spp. IgG and specific IgE to aeroallergens was determined by ELISA and ImmunocAP/Phadiatrope systems, respectively. The data presented in this article are related to the article entitled "Risk factors for Toxocara spp. seroprevalence and its association with atopy and asthma phenotypes in school-age children in a small town and semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil" (M.B. Silva, A.L. Amor, L.N. Santos, A.A. Galvão, A.V. Oviedo Vera, E.S. Silva et al., 2016) [1]