Postprandial plasma amino acid and appetite responses with ingestion of a novel salmon-derived protein peptide in healthy young adults

This study assessed postprandial plasma aminoacidemia, glycemia, insulinemia and appetite responses to ingestion of a novel salmon-derived protein peptide (Salmon PP) compared with milk protein isolate (Milk PI). In a randomised, participant-blind crossover design, eleven healthy adults (M = 5, F = 6; mean ± sd age: 22 ± 3 years; BMI: 24 ± 3 kg/m2) ingested 0·3 g/kg/body mass of Salmon PP or Milk PI. Arterialised blood samples were collected whilst fasted and over a 240-min postprandial period. Appetite sensations were measured via visual analogue scales. An ad libitum buffet-style test meal was administered after each trial. The incremental AUC (iAUC) plasma essential amino acid (EAA) response was similar between Salmon PP and Milk PI. The iAUC plasma leucine response was significantly greater following Milk PI ingestion (P &lt; 0·001), whereas temporal and iAUC plasma total amino acid (P = 0·001), non-essential amino acid (P = 0·002), glycine (P = 0·0025) and hydroxyproline (P &lt; 0·001) responses were greater following Salmon PP ingestion. Plasma insulin increased similarly above post-absorptive values following Salmon PP and Milk PI ingestion, whilst plasma glucose was largely unaltered. Indices of appetite were similarly altered following Salmon PP and Milk PI ingestion, and total energy and macronutrient intake during the ad libitum meal was similar between Salmon PP and Milk PI. The postprandial plasma EAA, glycine, proline and hydroxyproline response to Salmon PP ingestion suggest this novel protein source could support muscle and possibly connective tissue adaptive remodelling, which warrants further investigation, particularly as the plasma leucine response to Salmon PP ingestion was inferior to Milk PI.</p

Fetal liver blood flow distribution: role in human developmental strategy to prioritize fat deposition versus brain development

Among primates, human neonates have the largest brains but also the highest proportion of body fat. If placental nutrient supply is limited, the fetus faces a dilemma: should resources be allocated to brain growth, or to fat deposition for use as a potential postnatal energy reserve? We hypothesised that resolving this dilemma operates at the level of umbilical blood distribution entering the fetal liver. In 381 uncomplicated pregnancies in third trimester, we measured blood flow perfusing the fetal liver, or bypassing it via the ductus venosus to supply the brain and heart using ultrasound techniques. Across the range of fetal growth and independent of the mother's adiposity and parity, greater liver blood flow was associated with greater offspring fat mass measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, both in the infant at birth (r = 0.43, P&lt;0.001) and at age 4 years (r = 0.16, P = 0.02). In contrast, smaller placentas less able to meet fetal demand for essential nutrients were associated with a brain-sparing flow pattern (r = 0.17, p = 0.02). This flow pattern was also associated with a higher degree of shunting through ductus venosus (P = 0.04). We propose that humans evolved a developmental strategy to prioritize nutrient allocation for prenatal fat deposition when the supply of conditionally essential nutrients requiring hepatic inter-conversion is limited, switching resource allocation to favour the brain if the supply of essential nutrients is limited. Facilitated placental transfer mechanisms for glucose and other nutrients evolved in environments less affluent than those now prevalent in developed populations, and we propose that in circumstances of maternal adiposity and nutrient excess these mechanisms now also lead to prenatal fat deposition. Prenatal developmental influences play important roles in the human propensity to deposit fa

A model of AW UMa

The contact binary AW UMa has an extreme mass ratio, with the more massive component (the current primary) close to the main sequence, while the low mass star at q ~ 0.1 (the current secondary) has a much larger radius than a main sequence star of a comparable mass. We propose that the current secondary has almost exhausted hydrogen in its center and is much more advanced in its evolution, as suggested by Stepien. Presumably the current secondary lost most of its mass during its evolution with part of it transferred to the current primary. After losing a large fraction of its angular momentum, the binary may evolve into a system of FK Com type.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, Accepted to MNRAS, content change

Core Health Outcomes In Childhood Epilepsy (CHOICE):Protocol for the selection of a core outcome set

This is the final version of the article. Available from BioMed Central via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: There is increasing recognition that establishing a core set of outcomes to be evaluated and reported in trials of interventions for particular conditions will improve the usefulness of health research. There is no established core outcome set for childhood epilepsy. The aim of this work is to select a core outcome set to be used in evaluative research of interventions for children with rolandic epilepsy, as an exemplar of common childhood epilepsy syndromes. METHODS: First we will identify what outcomes should be measured; then we will decide how to measure those outcomes. We will engage relevant UK charities and health professional societies as partners, and convene advisory panels for young people with epilepsy and parents of children with epilepsy. We will identify candidate outcomes from a search for trials of interventions for childhood epilepsy, statutory guidance and consultation with our advisory panels. Families, charities and health, education and neuropsychology professionals will be invited to participate in a Delphi survey following recommended practices in the development of core outcome sets. Participants will be able to recommend additional outcome domains. Over three rounds of Delphi survey participants will rate the importance of candidate outcome domains and state the rationale for their decisions. Over the three rounds we will seek consensus across and between families and health professionals on the more important outcomes. A face-to-face meeting will be convened to ratify the core outcome set. We will then review and recommend ways to measure the shortlisted outcomes using clinical assessment and/or patient-reported outcome measures. DISCUSSION: Our methodology is a proportionate and pragmatic approach to expediently produce a core outcome set for evaluative research of interventions aiming to improve the health of children with epilepsy. A number of decisions have to be made when designing a study to develop a core outcome set including defining the scope, choosing which stakeholders to engage, most effective ways to elicit their views, especially children and a potential role for qualitative research.This study is part of Changing Agendas on Sleep, Treatment and Learning in Childhood Epilepsy (CASTLE), which is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research RP-PG-0615-20007

Culture-independent detection of nontuberculous mycobacteria in clinical respiratory samples

Culture-based detection of nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) in respiratory samples is time consuming and can be subject to overgrowth by nonmycobacterial bacteria. We describe a single-reaction TaqMan quantitative PCR assay for the direct detection of NTM species in clinical samples that is specific, sensitive, and robust

Collective pulsational velocity broadening due to gravity modes as a physical explanation for macroturbulence in hot massive stars

We aimed at finding a physical explanation for the occurrence of macroturbulence in the atmospheres of hot massive stars, a phenomenon found in observations since more than a decade but yet unexplained. We computed time series of line profiles for evolved massive stars broadened by rotation and by hundreds of low-amplitude nonradial gravity-mode pulsations which are predicted to be excited for evolved massive stars. In general, line profiles based on macrotubulent broadening can mimic those subject to pulsational broadening. In several cases, though, good fits require macroturbulent velocities that pass the speed of sound for realistic pulsation amplitudes. Moreover, we find that the rotation velocity can be seriously underestimated by using a simple parameter description for macroturbulence rather than an appropriate pulsational model description to fit the line profiles. We conclude that macroturbulence is a likely signature of the collective effect of pulsations. We provide line diagnostics and their typical values to decide whether or not pulsational broadening is present in observed line profiles, as well as a procedure to avoid an inaccurate estimation of the rotation velocity.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication by Astronomy and Astrophysic

Identification of dfrA14 in two distinct plasmids conferring trimethoprim resistance in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the distribution and genetic basis of trimethoprim resistance in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates from pigs in England. METHODS: Clinical isolates collected between 1998 and 2011 were tested for resistance to trimethoprim and sulphonamide. The genetic basis of trimethoprim resistance was determined by shotgun WGS analysis and the subsequent isolation and sequencing of plasmids. RESULTS: A total of 16 (out of 106) A. pleuropneumoniae isolates were resistant to both trimethoprim (MIC >32 mg/L) and sulfisoxazole (MIC ≥256 mg/L), and a further 32 were resistant only to sulfisoxazole (MIC ≥256 mg/L). Genome sequence data for the trimethoprim-resistant isolates revealed the presence of the dfrA14 dihydrofolate reductase gene. The distribution of plasmid sequences in multiple contigs suggested the presence of two distinct dfrA14-containing plasmids in different isolates, which was confirmed by plasmid isolation and sequencing. Both plasmids encoded mobilization genes, the sulphonamide resistance gene sul2, as well as dfrA14 inserted into strA, a streptomycin-resistance-associated gene, although the gene order differed between the two plasmids. One of the plasmids further encoded the strB streptomycin-resistance-associated gene. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first description of mobilizable plasmids conferring trimethoprim resistance in A. pleuropneumoniae and, to our knowledge, the first report of dfrA14 in any member of the Pasteurellaceae. The identification of dfrA14 conferring trimethoprim resistance in A. pleuropneumoniae isolates will facilitate PCR screens for resistance to this important antimicrobial

Radiative equilibrium in Monte Carlo radiative transfer using frequency distribution adjustment

The Monte Carlo method is a powerful tool for performing radiative equilibrium calculations, even in complex geometries. The main drawback of the standard Monte Carlo radiative equilibrium methods is that they require iteration, which makes them numerically very demanding. Bjorkman & Wood recently proposed a frequency distribution adjustment scheme, which allows radiative equilibrium Monte Carlo calculations to be performed without iteration, by choosing the frequency of each re-emitted photon such that it corrects for the incorrect spectrum of the previously re-emitted photons. Although the method appears to yield correct results, we argue that its theoretical basis is not completely transparent, and that it is not completely clear whether this technique is an exact rigorous method, or whether it is just a good and convenient approximation. We critically study the general problem of how an already sampled distribution can be adjusted to a new distribution by adding data points sampled from an adjustment distribution. We show that this adjustment is not always possible, and that it depends on the shape of the original and desired distributions, as well as on the relative number of data points that can be added. Applying this theorem to radiative equilibrium Monte Carlo calculations, we provide a firm theoretical basis for the frequency distribution adjustment method of Bjorkman & Wood, and we demonstrate that this method provides the correct frequency distribution through the additional requirement of radiative equilibrium. We discuss the advantages and limitations of this approach, and show that it can easily be combined with the presence of additional heating sources and the concept of photon weighting. However, the method may fail if small dust grains are included... (abridged)Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in New Astronom

Core Health Outcomes in Childhood Epilepsy (CHOICE): Development of a core outcome set using systematic review methods and a Delphi survey consensus.

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.OBJECTIVE: Establishing a core set of outcomes to be evaluated and reported in intervention trials aims to improve the usefulness of health research. There is no established core outcome set (COS) for childhood epilepsies. The aim of this study was to select a COS to be used in evaluative research of interventions for children with rolandic epilepsy (RE). METHODS: We followed guidance from the COMET (Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials) Initiative. First, we identified outcomes that had been measured in research through a systematic review. Second, young people with RE, parents, and professionals were invited to take part in a Delphi survey in which participants rated the importance of candidate outcomes. Last, a face-to-face meeting was convened to seek consensus on which outcomes were critical to include and to ratify the final COS. RESULTS: From 37 eligible papers in the review, we identified and included 48 candidate outcomes in the survey. We sent invitations to 165 people registered to take part in the survey; of these, 102 (62%) completed Round 1, and 80 (78%) completed Round 2 (three young people, 16 parents, 61 professionals). In Round 2 we included four additional outcomes suggested by participants in Round 1. The consensus meeting included two young people, four parents, and nine professionals who were eligible to vote and ratified the COS as 39 outcomes across 10 domains. SIGNIFICANCE: Our methodology was a proportionate and pragmatic approach toward producing a COS for evaluating research on interventions aiming to improve the health of children with RE.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR