Acute cocoa flavanol supplementation improves muscle macro- and microvascular but not anabolic responses to amino acids in older men

The anabolic effects of nutrition on skeletal muscle may depend on adequate skeletal muscle perfusion, which is impaired in older people. Cocoa flavanols have been shown to improve flow-mediated dilation, an established measure of endothelial function. However, their effect on muscle microvascular blood flow is currently unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore links between the consumption of cocoa flavanols, muscle microvascular blood flow and muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in response to nutrition in older men. To achieve this objective leg blood flow (LBF), muscle microvascular blood volume (MBV) and MPS were measured under postabsorptive and postprandial (I.V glamin, dextrose to sustain glucose ~7.5 mmol·l-1) conditions in 20 older men. Ten of these men were studied with no cocoa flavanol intervention and a further 10 were studied with the addition of 350 mg of cocoa flavanols at the same time as nutrition began. Leg [femoral artery] blood flow was measured by Doppler ultrasound, muscle MBV by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using DefinityTM perflutren contrast agent and MPS using [1, 2-13C2] leucine tracer techniques. Our results show that although older individuals do not show an increase in LBF or MBV in response to feeding, these absent responses are apparent when cocoa flavanols are given acutely with nutrition. However this restoration in vascular responsiveness is not associated with improved MPS responses to nutrition. We conclude that acute cocoa flavanol supplementation improves muscle macro- and microvascular responses to nutrition, independently of modifying muscle protein anabolism

Oral health of Aboriginal people with kidney disease living in Central Australia

Background: Associations between kidney disease and periodontal disease are not well documented among Aboriginal people of Australia. The purpose of this investigation was to report and compare demographic, oral health, anthropometric and systemic health status of Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease and to compare against relevant Aboriginal Australians and Australian population estimates. This provides much needed evidence to inform dental health service provision policies for Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease. Methods: Sample frequencies and means were assessed in adults represented in six datasets including: (1) 102 Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease residing in Central Australia who participated in a detailed oral health assessment; (2) 312 Aboriginal participants of the Northern Territory’s PerioCardio study; (3) weighted estimates from 4775 participants from Australia’s National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH); (4) Australian 2016 Census (all Australians); (5) National Health Survey 2017–2018 (all Australians) and; (6) Australian Health Survey: Biomedical Results for Chronic Diseases, 2011–2012 (all Australians). Oral health status was described by periodontal disease and experience of dental caries (tooth decay). Statistically significant differences were determined via non-overlapping 95% confidence intervals. Results: Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease were significantly older, less likely to have a tertiary qualification or be employed compared with both PerioCardio study counterparts and NSAOH participants. Severe periodontitis was found in 54.3% of Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease, almost 20 times the 2.8% reported in NSAOH. A higher proportion of Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease had teeth with untreated caries and fewer dental restorations when compared to NSAOH participants. The extent of periodontal attachment loss and periodontal pocketing among Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease (51.0%, 21.4% respectively) was several magnitudes greater than PerioCardio study (22.0%, 12.3% respectively) and NSAOH (5.4%, 1.3% respectively) estimates. Conclusions: Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease exhibited more indicators of poorer oral health than both the general Australian population and a general Aboriginal population from Australia’s Northern Territory. It is imperative that management of oral health among Aboriginal Australians with kidney disease be included as part of their ongoing medical care.Kostas Kapellas, Jaquelyne T. Hughes, Alan Cass, Louise J. Maple-Brown, Michael R. Skilton, David Harris, Lisa M. Askie, Wendy Hoy, Basant Pawar, Kirsty McKenzie, Cherian T. Sajiv, Peter Arrow, Alex Brown, and Lisa M. Jamieso

On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)

Progression of conventional cardiovascular risk factors and vascular disease risk in individuals: insights from the PROG-IMT consortium

Aims: Averaged measurements, but not the progression based on multiple assessments of carotid intima-media thickness, (cIMT) are predictive of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in individuals. Whether this is true for conventional risk factors is unclear. Methods and results: An individual participant meta-analysis was used to associate the annualised progression of systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with future cardiovascular disease risk in 13 prospective cohort studies of the PROG-IMT collaboration (n = 34,072). Follow-up data included information on a combined cardiovascular disease endpoint of myocardial infarction, stroke, or vascular death. In secondary analyses, annualised progression was replaced with average. Log hazard ratios per standard deviation difference were pooled across studies by a random effects meta-analysis. In primary analysis, the annualised progression of total cholesterol was marginally related to a higher cardiovascular disease risk (hazard ratio (HR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00 to 1.07). The annualised progression of systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was not associated with future cardiovascular disease risk. In secondary analysis, average systolic blood pressure (HR 1.20 95% CI 1.11 to 1.29) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.16) were related to a greater, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.97) was related to a lower risk of future cardiovascular disease events. Conclusion: Averaged measurements of systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol displayed significant linear relationships with the risk of future cardiovascular disease events. However, there was no clear association between the annualised progression of these conventional risk factors in individuals with the risk of future clinical endpoints

A bovine colostrum product in a weaner diet increases growth and reduces days to slaughter

The aim of this study was to examine whether a bovine colostrum powder rich in IgG and added to a starter diet would increase post-weaning performance and reduce days to slaughter

Clinician performed ultrasound in fetal growth restriction: fetal, neonatal and pediatric aspects

Item does not contain fulltextFetal growth restriction (FGR) affects 7-10% pregnancies. Conventional and tissue Doppler imaging has noted cardiac compromise during fetal and early neonatal periods in this cohort. In this article, we discuss the use of salient ultrasound parameters across age groups. During fetal life, certain feto-placental sonographic parameters have been linked to adverse perinatal outcomes and are predictive of later life hypertension. During the early postnatal period altered morphometry (hypertrophied and globular hearts) with sub-clinical impairment of cardiac function has been noted in both term and preterm infants with FGR. Vascular imaging has noted thickened and stiffer arteries in association with significantly elevated blood pressure. Similar findings in the pediatric age groups indicate persistence of these alterations, and have formed the basis of intervention studies. Assessment methodology and clinical relevance of these parameters, especially in designing and monitoring of intervention strategies is discussed. Frontline care givers (obstetricians and neonatologists) are increasingly using point of care ultrasound to discern these manifestations of FGR during the sub-clinical phase

Effect of a periodontal intervention on pulse wave velocity in Indigenous Australians with periodontal disease: the PerioCardio randomized controlled trial

Abstract O162Introduction: Indigenous Australians have high rates of premature cardiovascular disease and high prevalence of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the tissues surrounding teeth. Periodontitis has been associated with arterial stiffening and incident cardiovascular events and. periodontal bacteria have been isolated from atheromatous plaques. If periodontitis contributes causally to cardiovascular disease, periodontal treatment may confer important benefits to the health of Indigenous Australians. Objectives: To determine if a single episode of periodontal treatment improved arterial stiffness in otherwise healthy Indigenous Australian adults. Methods: Participants were 273 Indigenous Australian adults (57% male; age 40.3years [SD 10.2]) with moderate or severe periodontal disease in the Northern Territory, Australia. Participants were randomized into intervention (n¼138) or control (n¼135) groups. The intervention involved removal of sub- and supra-gingival calculus and plaque biofilm by scaling and root-planing once, at randomization. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was assessed by applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor- PVMx device, AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia) between the carotid and dorsalis pedis arteries, at baseline and again 3-months (n¼169) and 12-months (n¼171) post randomization. Comparison of randomized groups was by complete case analysis using ANCOVA adjusted for baseline measures. Results: At baseline, the average carotid-dorsalis pedis PWV was 8.34 m/s (SD 1.25). The mean reduction in periodontal pocketing from enrollment to 3-months was 0.14 mm greater [95% CI 0.24 to 0.05] in the intervention group compared to control, P¼0.004). This was less marked at 12-months, mean reduction in periodontal pocketing 0.09 mm greater [95% CI -0.01 to 0.18] in the intervention versus control, P¼0.08). In contrast, the intervention did not affect PWV at 3-months [the primary endpoint] (between-group difference in means +0.06 m/s [95% CI -0.17 to 0.29] intervention vs. control, P ¼ 0.59), although there was some evidence that the intervention increased PWV at 12-months, this was not statistically significant (between-group difference in means +0.21 m/s [95% CI -0.01 to 0.43] intervention vs. control, P¼0.06). Conclusion: A single episode periodontal intervention in Indigenous Australians with periodontal disease provides short-term improvement in periodontal health, but did not significantly influence arterial stiffness as measured by pulse wave velocity. Disclosure of Interest: None DeclaredKostas Kapellas, Louise J. Maple-Brown, Peter M. Bartold, Alex Brown, Kerin O, Dea, Gary D. Slade, David S. Celermajer, Lisa M. Jamieson, Michael R. Skilton, on behalf of PerioCardio Stud