Gene Expression and Biological Pathways in Tissue of Men with Prostate Cancer in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Lycopene and Fish Oil Supplementation

Studies suggest that micronutrients may modify the risk or delay progression of prostate cancer; however, the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We examined the effects of lycopene and fish oil on prostate gene expression in a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.Eighty-four men with low risk prostate cancer were stratified based on self-reported dietary consumption of fish and tomatoes and then randomly assigned to a 3-month intervention of lycopene (n = 29) or fish oil (n = 27) supplementation or placebo (n = 28). Gene expression in morphologically normal prostate tissue was studied at baseline and at 3 months via cDNA microarray analysis. Differential gene expression and pathway analyses were performed to identify genes and pathways modulated by these micronutrients.Global gene expression analysis revealed no significant individual genes that were associated with high intake of fish or tomato at baseline or after 3 months of supplementation with lycopene or fish oil. However, exploratory pathway analyses of rank-ordered genes (based on p-values not corrected for multiple comparisons) revealed the modulation of androgen and estrogen metabolism in men who routinely consumed more fish (p = 0.029) and tomato (p = 0.008) compared to men who ate less. In addition, modulation of arachidonic acid metabolism (p = 0.01) was observed after 3 months of fish oil supplementation compared with the placebo group; and modulation of nuclear factor (erythroid derived-2) factor 2 or Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress response for either supplement versus placebo (fish oil: p = 0.01, lycopene: p = 0.001).We did not detect significant individual genes associated with dietary intake and supplementation of lycopene and fish oil. However, exploratory analyses revealed candidate in vivo pathways that may be modulated by these micronutrients.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00402285

FTO gene variation and measures of body mass in an African population

BACKGROUND: Variation in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene has been reproducibly associated with body mass index (BMI) and obesity in populations of White European origin. Data from Asians and African-Americans is less conclusive. METHODS: We assessed the effect of 16 FTO polymorphisms on body mass in a large population of predominantly lean Gambians (N(max) 2208) participating in a long-term surveillance program providing contemporary and early-life anthropometric measurements. RESULTS: Sixteen FTO tagSNPs screened here, including several associated with BMI in Europeans, were not associated with birth weight (BWT), early weight gain in 1-2 year olds, BMI in adults (> or = 18 y), or weight-for-height (WFH) z-score across all ages. No association was seen between genotype and WFH z-score or other measures of body mass. The confidence limits indicate that the effect size for WFH z-score never exceeded 0.17 units per allele copy for any SNP (excluding the three SNPs with allele < 15%). with much the lowest allele frequency. The confidence interval of the effect size for rs9939609 did not overlap that reported previously in Europeans. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first study of FTO gene variation in a well-characterised African population. Our results suggest that FTO gene variation does not influence measures of body mass in Gambians living a traditional lifestyle, or has a smaller effect than that detected in Europeans. These findings are not directly comparable to results from previous studies in African-Americans due to differences in study design and analysis. It is also possible that any effect of FTO genotype on body mass is of limited relevance in a lean population where little excess food is available, compared to similar ethnic populations where food supply is plentiful

Great Britain: the intertidal and underwater archaeology of Britain’s submerged landscapes

The submerged landscapes around Great Britain are extensive and would have offered productive territory for hunting, gathering, exploitation of aquatic and marine resources, and—in the final stages of postglacial sea-level rise—opportunities for agriculture. They would also have provided land connections to continental Europe and opportunities for communication by sea travel along now-submerged palaeocoastlines and river estuaries. Most of the archaeological material has been discovered in intertidal or shallow water conditions, but there are also discoveries in deeper water, with dates ranging from earliest human presence nearly one million years ago up to the establishment of modern sea level. Some later material is present where coastlines have continued to sink in more recent millennia. Intertidal sites are especially well represented because of relatively large tidal ranges and shallow offshore gradients on many coastlines. These are often associated with remains of submerged forests, which are periodically exposed at low tide and then covered up again by movements of sand. Some of the most distinctive intertidal finds are the human and animal footprints preserved in intertidal sediments in many locations, especially at Goldcliff East. The earliest, at Happisburgh, are dated between 0.78 and 1 Ma. Fully submerged sites include the Mesolithic site of Bouldnor Cliff with its worked timbers, and the Middle Stone Age artefacts from offshore aggregate Area 240 along with well-preserved ice age fauna and environmental indicators. Pioneering work using oil industry seismic records has produced detailed reconstructions of the submerged landscape, and this is being followed up by new work involving targeted acoustic survey and coring of sediments

Impact of a novel home-based exercise intervention on health indicators in inactive premenopausal women: A 12-week randomised controlled trial

Purpose: This study tested the hypothesis that a novel, audio-visual-directed, home-based exercise training intervention would be effective at improving cardiometabolic health and mental well-being in inactive premenopausal women. Methods: Twenty-four inactive premenopausal women (39 ± 10 y) were randomly assigned to an audio-visual-directed exercise training group (DVD; n = 12) or control group (CON; n = 12). During the 12-week intervention period, the DVD group performed thrice-weekly training sessions of 15 min. Training sessions comprised varying-intensity movements involving multiplanar whole-body accelerations and decelerations (average heart rate (HR) = 76 ± 3% HRmax). CON continued their habitual lifestyle with no physical exercise. A series of health markers were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Results: Following the DVD intervention, [HDL cholesterol] (Pre: 1.83 ± 0.45, Post: 1.94 ± 0.46 mmol/L) and mental well-being, assessed via the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, improved (P0.05). There were no pre-post intervention changes in any of the outcome variables in the CON group (P>0.05). Conclusion: The present study suggests that a novel, audio-visual-directed exercise training intervention, consisting of varied-intensity movements interspersed with spinal and lower limb mobility and balance tasks, can improve [HDL cholesterol] and mental well-being in premenopausal women. Therefore, home-based, audio-visual-directed exercise training (45 min/week) appears to be a useful tool to initiate physical activity and improve aspects of health in previously inactive premenopausal women.</div

Effects of small-volume soccer and vibration training on body composition, aerobic fitness, and muscular PCr kinetics for inactive women aged 20–45

Purpose: The present study investigated the effects of 16 weeks of small-volume, small-sided soccer training soccer group (SG, n = 13) and oscillating whole-body vibration training vibration group (VG, n = 17) on body composition, aerobic fitness, and muscle PCr kinetics in healthy inactive premenopausal women in comparison with an inactive control group (CO, n = 14). Methods: Training for SG and VG consisted of twice-weekly 15-min sessions with average heart rates (HRs) of ∼155 and 90 bpm respectively. Pre- and post-measurements of body composition (DXA), phosphocreatine (PCr) on- and off-kinetics, and HR measurements during standardised submaximal exercise were performed. Results: After 16 weeks of training in SG, fat percentage was lowered (p = 0.03) by 1.7% ± 2.4% from 37.5% ± 6.9% to 35.8% ± 6.2% and the PCr decrease in the quadriceps during knee-extension ramp exercise was attenuated (4% ± 8%, p = 0.04), with no changes in VG or CO (time-group effect: p = 0.03 and p = 0.03). Submaximal exercise HR was also reduced in SG after 16 weeks of training (6% ± 5% of HRmax, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Short duration soccer training for 16 weeks appears to be sufficient to induce favourable changes in body composition and indicators of aerobic fitness and muscle oxidative capacity in untrained premenopausal women