Programming Skeletal Muscle Metabolic Flexibility in Offspring of Male Rats in Response to Maternal Consumption of Slow Digesting Carbohydrates during Pregnancy

Skeletal muscle plays a relevant role in metabolic flexibility and fuel usage and the associated muscle metabolic inflexibility due to high-fat diets contributing to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Previous research from our group indicates that a high-fat and rapid-digesting carbohydrate diet during pregnancy promotes an excessive adipogenesis and also increases the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the offspring. This effect can be counteracted by diets containing carbohydrates with similar glycemic load but lower digestion rates. To address the role of the skeletal muscle in these experimental settings, pregnant rats were fed high-fat diets containing carbohydrates with similar glycemic load but different digestion rates, a high fat containing rapid-digesting carbohydrates diet (HF/RD diet) or a high fat containing slow-digesting carbohydrates diet (HF/SD diet). After weaning, male offspring were fed a standard diet for 3 weeks (weaning) or 10 weeks (adolescence) and the impact of the maternal HF/RD and HF/SD diets on the metabolism, signaling pathways and muscle transcriptome was analyzed. The HF/SD offspring displayed better muscle features compared with the HF/RD group, showing a higher muscle mass, myosin content and differentiation markers that translated into a greater grip strength. In the HF/SD group, metabolic changes such as a higher expression of fatty acids (FAT/CD36) and glucose (GLUT4) transporters, an enhanced glycogen content, as well as changes in regulatory enzymes such as muscle pyruvate kinase and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 were found, supporting an increased muscle metabolic flexibility and improved muscle performance. The analysis of signaling pathways was consistent with a better insulin sensitivity in the muscle of the HF/SD group. Furthermore, increased expression of genes involved in pathways leading to muscle differentiation, muscle mass regulation, extracellular matrix content and insulin sensitivity were detected in the HF/SD group when compared with HF/RD animals. In the HF/SD group, the upregulation of the ElaV1/HuR gene could be one of the main regulators in the positive effects of the diet in early programming on the offspring. The long-lasting programming effects of the HF/SD diet during pregnancy may depend on a coordinated gene regulation, modulation of signaling pathways and metabolic flexibility that lead to an improved muscle functionality. The dietary early programming associated to HF/SD diet has synergic and positive crosstalk effects in several tissues, mainly muscle, liver and adipose tissue, contributing to maintain the whole body homeostasis in the offspring.European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013

A Reduced Order Model for the Design of Oxy-Coal Combustion Systems

Oxy-coal combustion is one of the more promising technologies currently under development for addressing the issues associated with greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. Oxy-coal combustion involves combusting the coal fuel in mixtures of pure oxygen and recycled flue gas (RFG) consisting of mainly carbon dioxide (CO2). As a consequence, many researchers and power plant designers have turned to CFD simulations for the study and design of new oxy-coal combustion power plants, as well as refitting existing air-coal combustion facilities to oxy-coal combustion operations. While CFD is a powerful tool that can provide a vast amount of information, the simulations themselves can be quite expensive in terms of computational resources and time investment. As a remedy, a reduced order model (ROM) for oxy-coal combustion has been developed to supplement the CFD simulations. With this model, it is possible to quickly estimate the average outlet temperature of combustion flue gases given a known set of mass flow rates of fuel and oxidant entering the power plant boiler as well as determine the required reactor inlet mass flow rates for a desired outlet temperature. Several cases have been examined with this model. The results compare quite favorably to full CFD simulation results

Synthesis, phase composition, Mossbauer and magnetic characterization of iron oxide nanoparticles

The present work describes the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of Fe-precursors in argon and vacuum environments with control over particle size distribution, phase composition and the resulting magnetic properties. The Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data revealed the crystallinity as well the single-phase of g-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared under vacuum, whereas the argon environment leads to the formation of multi-phase composition of g-Fe2O3/Fe3O4 (90%) and wustite (10%). Synchrotron X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) indicates that the predominant phase in both the samples is g-Fe2O3, which is subsequently verified from the Mo¨ssbauerspectra. DC magnetic measurements indicate behavior typical of a superparamagnetic system validated by Mo¨ssbauer analysis. However, further investigation of ac susceptibility by typical Ne´el?Arrhenius andVogel Fulcher magnetic models suggests an influence of interparticle interactions on the overall magnetic behavior of the system.Instituto de Física La Plat

Synthesis, phase composition, Mossbauer and magnetic characterization of iron oxide nanoparticles

The present work describes the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of Fe-precursors in argon and vacuum environments with control over particle size distribution, phase composition and the resulting magnetic properties. The Rietveld analysis of X-ray diffraction data revealed the crystallinity as well the single-phase of g-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared under vacuum, whereas the argon environment leads to the formation of multi-phase composition of g-Fe2O3/Fe3O4 (90%) and wustite (10%). Synchrotron X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) indicates that the predominant phase in both the samples is g-Fe2O3, which is subsequently verified from the Mo¨ssbauerspectra. DC magnetic measurements indicate behavior typical of a superparamagnetic system validated by Mo¨ssbauer analysis. However, further investigation of ac susceptibility by typical Ne´el?Arrhenius andVogel Fulcher magnetic models suggests an influence of interparticle interactions on the overall magnetic behavior of the system.Instituto de Física La Plat

The effect of crop sequences on soil microbial, chemical and physical indicators and its relationship with soybean sudden death syndrome (complex of Fusarium species)

The effect of crop sequences on soil quality indicators and its relationship with sudden death syndrome (SDS, a complex of Fusarium species) was evaluated by physical, chemical, biochemical and molecular techniques. Regarding physical aspects, soybean/maize and maize monoculture exhibited the highest stable aggregate level, with values 41% and 43% higher than in soybean monoculture, respectively, and 133% higher than in bean monoculture. Bulk density (BD) was higher in soybean monoculture, being 4% higher than in bean monoculture. The chemical parameters organic matter, total N, P, K, Mg, Ca, and water holding capacity also indicated that soybean/maize and maize monoculture improved soil quality. Fungal and bacterial community fingerprints generated using Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis of intergenic transcribed spacer regions of rRNA genes and 16S rRNA genes, respectively, indicated a clear separation between the rotations. Fatty acid profiles evaluated by FAME showed that bean monoculture had higher biomass of Gram (+) bacteria and stress indicators than maize monoculture, while the soybean/maize system showed a significant increase in total microbial biomass (total FAMEs content) in comparison with soybean and bean monoculture. The incidence of SDS (Fusarium crassistipitatum) was markedly higher (15%) under soybean monoculture than when soybean was grown in rotation with maize. In the present work, soil microbial properties were improved under soybean/maize relative to continuous soybean. The improvement of soil health was one of the main causes for the reduction of disease pressure and crop yield improvement due to the benefits that crop rotation produces for soil quality.EEA SaltaFil: Perez Brandan, Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Arzeno, Jose Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Huidobro, Dina Jorgelina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; ArgentinaFil: Conforto, Erica Cinthia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Grumberg, Betiana Clarisa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Hilton, Sally. University of Warwick. School of Life Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Bending, Gary D. University of Warwick. School of Life Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Meriles, Jose Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Vargas Gil, Silvina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentin

A containerized service for clustering and categorization of weather records in the cloud

This paper presents a containerized service for clustering and categorization of weather records in the cloud. This service considers a scheme of microservices and containers for organizations and end-users to manage/process weather records from the acquisition, passing through the prepossessing and processing stages, to the exhibition of results. In this service, a specialized crawler acquires records that are delivered to a microservice of distributed categorization of weather records, which performs clustering of acquired data (the temperature and precipitation) by spatiotemporal parameters. The clusters found are exhibited in a map by a geoportal where statistic microservice also produce results regression graphs on-the-fly. To evaluate the feasibility of this service, a case study based on 33 years of daily records captured by the Mexican weather station network (EMAS-CONAGUA) has been conducted. Lessons learned in this study about the performance of record acquisition, clustering processing, and mapping exhibition are described in this paper. Examples of utilization of this service revealed that end-users can analyze weather parameters in an efficient, flexible and automatic manner.This work was partially supported by the sectoral fund of research, technological development and innovation in space activities of the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), project No.262891

Konvencionalna i funkcionalna procjena sjemena mužjaka mliječnih koza

Evaluating the reproductive indicators in sheep breeding in Colombia, particularly males, is essential to achieve optimal production parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the semen quality of male goats through both conventional and functional seminal analysis. Semen samples from eight goats were collected and conventional (volume, appearance, colour, motility, vigour, and morphology) and functional (plasma membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, DNA integrity, lipid peroxidation, and reactive oxygen species production) seminal parameters were evaluated. The results showed an average scrotal circumference of 25.69 cm, seminal volume of 0.51 mL, and concentration of 1936 x 106 sperm/mL. The average individual motility was 63.37%, vigour was four, and the percentage of abnormalities was 7.75%. Individual motility was correlated with the mitochondrial membrane potential (r=0.840, P=0.009) and reactive oxygen species production (r=-0.91, P=0.001). The average of cells with high mitochondrial membrane potential was 52.94%, while 39.29% were necrotic cells, the DNA fragmentation index average was 12.5%, reactive oxygen species production was 38.68%, lipoperoxidation analysis was 7.33% on average, and the integrity of the membrane was 54.77%. The results establish the parameters for the semen from Antioquia goats and confirm that goat semen is of good quality and could be used during artificial insemination programs.Procjena reproduktivnih indikatora u stadima koza u Kolumbiji fokusirana je na mužjake i od osnovne je važnosti za postizanje optimalnih produktivnih parametara. Cilj je ove studije bio ocijeniti kvalitetu sjemena jaraca kroz konvencionalnu i funkcionalnu analizu sjemena. Prikupljeni su uzorci sjemena osam jaraca te su procijenjeni konvencionalni (volumen, izgled, boja, pokretljivost, vitalnost i morfologija) i funkcionalni (integritet stanične membrane, potencijal mitohondrijske membrane, integritet DNK, peroksidacija lipida i proizvodnja reaktivnih spojeva kisika) parametri. Rezultati su pokazali prosječni opseg skrotuma od 25,69 cm, 0,51 mL za volumen sjemena, 1936 x 106 spermija/mL za koncentraciju. Prosječna pojedinačna pokretljivost bila je 63,37 %, vitalnost je bila četiri, a postotak abnormalnosti bio je 7,75 %. Pojedinačna pokretljivost povezana je s potencijalom mitohondrijske membrane (r=0,840, P=0,009) i proizvodnjom reaktivnih spojeva kisika (r=-0,91, P=0,001). Prosjek stanica s visokim potencijalom mitohondrijske membrane bio je 52,94 %, dok je bilo 39,29 % nekrotičnih stanica, prosječni indeks fragmentacije DNK bio je 12,5 %, proizvodnja reaktivnih spojeva kisika bila je 38,68 %, analiza lipoperoksidacije bila je u prosjeku 7,33 %, a integritet membrane 54,77 %. Rezultati utvrđuju parametre za sjeme antioquia koza i potvrđuje da sjeme jaraca predstavlja dobru kvalitetu i moglo bi se koristiti u programima umjetne oplodnje

Sugar content and nutritional quality of child orientated ready to eat cereals and yoghurts in the UK and Latin America; does food policy matter?

Ready to eat breakfast cereals (REBCs) and yoghurts provide important nutrients to children’s diets, but concerns about their high sugar content exist. Food reformulation could contribute to sugar reduction, but policies across countries are not uniform. We aimed to compare the sugar content and nutritional quality of child-orientated REBCs and yoghurts in Latin American countries with the UK. In a cross-sectional study, nutritional information, marketing strategies, and claims were collected from the food labels and packaging of products available in Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador and the UK. Nutritional quality was assessed using the UK Ofcom Nutrient Profiling System. In total, 262 products were analysed (59% REBCs/41% yoghurts). REBCs in the UK had a lower sugar content (mean ± SD) (24.6 ± 6.4) than products in Ecuador (34.6 ± 10.8; p < 0.001), Mexico (32.6 ± 7.6; p = 0.001) and Guatemala (31.5 ± 8.3; p = 0.001). Across countries, there were no differences in the sugar content of yoghurts. A large proportion (83%) of REBCs and 33% of yoghurts were classified as “less healthy”. In conclusion, the sugar content of REBCs in Latin America is higher than those of the UK, which could be attributed to the UK voluntary sugar reduction programme. Sugar reformulation policies are required in Guatemala, Mexico and Ecuador

Effectiveness of a cardiovascular risk management program in the incidence of cardiovascular events in a low-income population from the caribbean region of Colombia

Methods This was a retrospective cohort study. Patients with 20 to 76 years affiliated to insurer company and enrolled to the DTC program were considered as the study population. The data source was an administrative database of all 128,263 patients between Jan 2015 and Dec 2018. The main outcome was the reduction in the risk of a CVE (stroke, AMI or CHF) based in the time-person exposed to the intervention. Four different time thresholds were considered for stablishing exposure status: six months, one year, two years and four years. Propensity score-weighted Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between exposure to the program and the incidence of CVE