Effects of diets high in animal or plant protein on oxidative stress in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial

High-protein diet is a promising strategy for diabetes treatment supporting body weight control, improving glycaemic status, cardiovascular risk factors and reducing liver fat. Here, we investigated effects of diets high in animal (AP) or plant (PP) protein on oxidative stress and antioxidant status in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). 37 obese individuals (age 64.3 ± 1.0 years) with T2DM were randomized to an isocaloric diet (30 energy(E)% protein, 30E% fat and 40E% carbohydrates) rich in AP or PP for 6 weeks. Markers of oxidative and nitrosative stress and antioxidant status in plasma and nitrate/nitrite levels in urine were assessed. Gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) was analyzed by RNA-Seq and real-time PCR.Both AP and PP diets similarly reduced plasma levels of malondialdehyde (P(AP) = 0.003, P(PP) = 1.6x10(-4)) and protein carbonyls (P(AP) = 1.2x10(-4), P(PP) = 3.0x10(-5)) over 6 weeks. Nitrotyrosine (NT) increased upon both AP and PP diets (PAP = 0.005,PPP = 0.004). SAT expression of genes involved in nitric oxide (NO) and oxidative stress metabolism and urine NO metabolite (nitrate/nitrite) levels were not changed upon both diets. Plasma levels of carotenoids increased upon PP diet, whereas retinol, alpha- and gamma-tocopherol slightly decreased upon both diets. AP and PP diets similarly improve oxidative stress but increase nitrosative stress markers in individuals with T2DM. Mechanisms of the NT regulation upon high-protein diets need further investigation

Generation of hiPSC-derived skeletal muscle cells: exploiting the potential of skeletal muscle-derived hiPSCs

Cell therapies for muscle wasting disorders are on the verge of becoming a realistic clinical perspective. Muscle precursor cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) represent the key to unrestricted cell numbers indispensable for the treatment of generalized muscle wasting such as cachexia or intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired weakness. We asked how the cell of origin influences efficacy and molecular properties of hiPSC-derived muscle progenitor cells. We generated hiPSCs from primary muscle stem cells and from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of the same donors (n = 4) and compared their molecular profiles, myogenic differentiation potential, and ability to generate new muscle fibers in vivo. We show that reprogramming into hiPSCs from primary muscle stem cells was faster and 35 times more efficient than from blood cells. Global transcriptome comparison revealed significant differences, but differentiation into induced myogenic cells using a directed transgene-free approach could be achieved with muscle- and PBMC-derived hiPSCs, and both cell types generated new muscle fibers in vivo. Differences in myogenic differentiation efficiency were identified with hiPSCs generated from individual donors. The generation of muscle-stem-cell-derived hiPSCs is a fast and economic method to obtain unrestricted cell numbers for cell-based therapies in muscle wasting disorders, and in this aspect are superior to blood-derived hiPSCs

Accurate theoretical determination of the ionization potentials of CaF, SrF, and BaF

We present a comprehensive theoretical study of the ionization potentials of the MF (M= Ca, Sr, Ba) molecules using the state-of-the-art relativistic coupled cluster approach with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations (CCSD(T)). We have further corrected our results for the higher order excitations (up to full triples) and the QED self energy and vacuum polarisation contributions. We have performed an extensive investigation of the effect of the various computational parameters on the calculated ionisation potentials, which allowed us to assign realistic uncertainties on our predictions. For CaF and BaF, where precise experiments are available, our predictions are in excellent agreement with the measured values. In case of SrF, we provide a new accurate prediction of the ionisation potential that deviates from the available experimental data, motivating further experimental investigations.Comment: 7 pages, before paper submission (references will be added additionally

Detection of the Far-infrared [O III] and Dust Emission in a Galaxy at Redshift 8.312: Early Metal Enrichment in the Heart of the Reionization Era

We present the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) detection of the [O III] 88 $\mu$m line and rest-frame 90 $\mu$m dust continuum emission in a Y-dropout Lyman break galaxy (LBG), MACS0416_Y1, lying behind the Frontier Field cluster MACS J0416.1-2403. This [O III] detection confirms the LBG with a spectroscopic redshift of $z = 8.3118 \pm 0.0003$, making this object one of the furthest galaxies ever identified spectroscopically. The observed 850 $\mu$m flux density of $137 \pm 26$ $\mu$Jy corresponds to a de-lensed total infrared (IR) luminosity of $L_{\rm IR} = (1.7 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{11} L_{\odot}$ if assuming a dust temperature of $T_{\rm dust} = 50$ K and an emissivity index of $\beta = 1.5$, yielding a large dust mass of $4 \times 10^6 M_{\odot}$. The ultraviolet-to-far IR spectral energy distribution modeling where the [O III] emissivity model is incorporated suggests the presence of a young ($\tau_{\rm age} \approx 4$ Myr), star-forming (SFR $\approx 60 M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$), moderately metal-polluted ($Z \approx 0.2 Z_{\odot}$) stellar component with a mass of $M_{\rm star} = 3 \times 10^8 M_{\odot}$. An analytic dust mass evolution model with a single episode of star-formation does not reproduce the metallicity and dust mass in $\tau_{\rm age} \approx 4$ Myr, suggesting a pre-existing evolved stellar component with $M_{\rm star} \sim 3 \times 10^9 M_{\odot}$ and $\tau_{\rm age} \sim 0.3$ Gyr as the origin of the dust mass.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 18 pages, 10 figures, 5 table

Texture evaluation in ductile fracture process by neutron diffraction measurement

A neutron diffraction measurement was performed to reveal microstructural aspects of the ductile fracture in ferritic steel. The diffraction patterns were continuously measured at the center of the reduced area while a tensile specimen was loaded under tension until the end of the fracture process. The measurement results showed that the volume fraction of (110)-oriented grains increased when the texture evolved as a result of plastic deformation. But the mechanism of texture evolution may be changed during necking, decreasing an increase rate of the volume fraction