The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

The history of humankind is marked by the constant adoption of new dietary habits affecting human physiology, metabolism, and even the development of nutrition-related disorders. Despite clear archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture in Neolithic Europe [1], very little information exists on the daily dietary habits of our ancestors. By undertaking a complementary -omics approach combined with microscopy, we analyzed the stomach content of the Iceman, a 5,300-yearold European glacier mummy [2, 3]. He seems to have had a remarkably high proportion of fat in his diet, supplemented with fresh or dried wild meat, cereals, and traces of toxic bracken. Our multipronged approach provides unprecedented analytical depth, deciphering the nutritional habit, meal composition, and food-processing methods of this Copper Age individual

Endogenous TNF alpha orchestrates the trafficking of neutrophils into and within lymphatic vessels during acute inflammation

This work was supported by funds from Arthritis Research UK (19913 to M.-B.V.) and the Wellcome Trust (098291/Z/12/Z to S.N.). S. A. was supported by a QMUL Principal’s Award PhD Studentship

Physical activity reduces the risk of incident type 2 diabetes in general and in abdominally lean and obese men and women: the EPIC-InterAct Study.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We examined the independent and combined associations of physical activity and obesity with incident type 2 diabetes in men and women. METHODS: The InterAct case-cohort study consists of 12,403 incident type 2 diabetes cases and a randomly selected subcohort of 16,154 individuals, drawn from a total cohort of 340,234 participants with 3.99 million person-years of follow-up. Physical activity was assessed by a four-category index. Obesity was measured by BMI and waist circumference (WC). Associations between physical activity, obesity and case-ascertained incident type 2 diabetes were analysed by Cox regression after adjusting for educational level, smoking status, alcohol consumption and energy intake. In combined analyses, individuals were stratified according to physical activity level, BMI and WC. RESULTS: A one-category difference in physical activity (equivalent to approximately 460 and 365 kJ/day in men and women, respectively) was independently associated with a 13% (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80, 0.94) and 7% (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.89, 0.98) relative reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women, respectively. Lower levels of physical activity were associated with an increased risk of diabetes across all strata of BMI. Comparing inactive with active individuals, the HRs were 1.44 (95% CI 1.11, 1.87) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.17, 1.62) in abdominally lean and obese inactive men, respectively, and 1.57 (95% CI 1.19, 2.07) and 1.19 (95% CI 1.01, 1.39) in abdominally lean and obese inactive women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Physical activity is associated with a reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes across BMI categories in men and women, as well as in abdominally lean and obese men and women

Genotyping human ancient mtDNA control and coding region polymorphisms with a multiplexed Single-Base-Extension assay: the singular maternal history of the Tyrolean Iceman

Background Progress in the field of human ancient DNA studies has been severely restricted due to the myriad sources of potential contamination, and because of the pronounced difficulty in identifying authentic results. Improving the robustness of human aDNA results is a necessary pre-requisite to vigorously testing hypotheses about human evolution in Europe, including possible admixture with Neanderthals. This study approaches the problem of distinguishing between authentic and contaminating sequences from common European mtDNA haplogroups by applying a multiplexed Single-Base-Extension assay, containing both control and coding region sites, to DNA extracted from the Tyrolean Iceman. Results The multiplex assay developed for this study was able to confirm that the Iceman's mtDNA belongs to a new European mtDNA clade with a very limited distribution amongst modern data sets. Controlled contamination experiments show that the correct results are returned by the multiplex assay even in the presence of substantial amounts of exogenous DNA. The overall level of discrimination achieved by targeting both control and coding region polymorphisms in a single reaction provides a methodology capable of dealing with most cases of homoplasy prevalent in European haplogroups. Conclusion The new genotyping results for the Iceman confirm the extreme fallibility of human aDNA studies in general, even when authenticated by independent replication. The sensitivity and accuracy of the multiplex Single-Base-Extension methodology forms part of an emerging suite of alternative techniques for the accurate retrieval of ancient DNA sequences from both anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals. The contamination of laboratories remains a pressing concern in aDNA studies, both in the pre and post-PCR environments, and the adoption of a forensic style assessment of a priori risks would significantly improve the credibility of results

Sexual functioning is impaired in adults with congenital heart disease

Background: To investigate the overall sexual functioning and disease specific sexual problems in congenital heart disease (ConHD) patients, for both genders and different cardiac diagnostic groups, and compare these with Dutch normative data. Also disease specific sexual problems were investigated. Methods: From a longitudinal cohort of patients, operated for ConHD between 1968 and 1980, 254 patients (median age: 40, 53.4% male) were included in this study: atrial septal defect (n = 72), ventricular septal defect (n = 71), pulmonary stenosis (n = 30), tetralogy of Fallot (n = 53) and transposition of the great arteries (n = 28). Patients completed internationally validated, generic questionnaires and also disease specific instruments on sexual functioning. Results: Patients showed a delay in starting sexual activities compared with peers. Females with ConHD scored significantly worse compared with normative data on all scales of sexual functioning, indicating a broad range of sexual problems and 15% showed clinical levels of sexual dysfunction. Of the males, 14% suffered from erectile dysfunction. Males with ConHD scored worse on erectile function, orgasmic function and satisfaction regarding their sexual life compared with normative data. No differences were found between the different cardiac diagnoses. The majority of patients reported disease specific worries and fears about the use of contraceptives, heredity, pregnancy and delivery. Patients indicated to have been suboptimally informed about sexuality in early adolescence. Conclusions: This study shows that sexual functioning is impaired in adults with ConHD. Providing information to patients about sexuality, pregnancy, delivery and heredity should be improved, and given at young age. Crown Copyrigh

Cross-sectional associations of objectively measured physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and anthropometry in european adults

Objective: To quantify the independent associations between objectively measured physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and anthropometry in European men and women. Methods: 2,056 volunteers from 12 centers across Europe were fitted with a heart rate and movement sensor at 2 visits 4 months apart for a total of 8 days. CRF (ml/kg/min) was estimated from an 8 minute ramped step test. A cross-sectional analysis of the independent associations between objectively measured PA (m/s2 /d), moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (%time/d), sedentary time (%time/d), CRF, and anthropometry using sex stratified multiple linear regression was performed. Results: In mutually adjusted models, CRF, PA, and MVPA were inversely associated with all anthropometric markers in women. In men, CRF, PA, and MVPA were inversely associated with BMI, whereas only CRF was significantly associated with the other anthropometric markers. Sedentary time was positively associated with all anthropometric markers, however, after adjustment for CRF significant in women only. Conclusion: CRF, PA, MVPA, and sedentary time are differently associated with anthropometric markers in men and women. CRF appears to attenuate associations between PA, MVPA, and sedentary time. These observations may have implications for prevention of obesity