Inhibitory effect of green coffee bean extract on fat accumulation and body weight gain in mice

BACKGROUND: An epidemiological study conducted in Italy indicated that coffee has the greatest antioxidant capacity among the commonly consumed beverages. Green coffee bean is rich in chlorogenic acid and its related compounds. The effect of green coffee bean extract (GCBE) on fat accumulation and body weight in mice was assessed with the objective of investigating the effect of GCBE on mild obesity. METHODS: Male ddy mice were fed a standard diet containing GCBE and its principal constituents, namely, caffeine and chlorogenic acid, for 14 days. Further, hepatic triglyceride (TG) level was also investigated after consecutive administration (13 days) of GCBE and its constituents. To examine the effect of GCBE and its constituents on fat absorption, serum TG changes were evaluated in olive oil-loaded mice. In addition, to investigate the effect on hepatic TG metabolism, carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) activity in mice was evaluated after consecutive ingestion (6 days) of GCBE and its constituents (caffeine, chlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid and feruloylquinic acid mixture). RESULTS: It was found that 0.5% and 1% GCBE reduced visceral fat content and body weight. Caffeine and chlorogenic acid showed a tendency to reduce visceral fat and body weight. Oral administration of GCBE (100 and 200 mg/kg· day) for 13 days showed a tendency to reduce hepatic TG in mice. In the same model, chlorogenic acid (60 mg/kg· day) reduced hepatic TG level. In mice loaded with olive oil (5 mL/kg), GCBE (200 and 400 mg/kg) and caffeine (20 and 40 mg/kg) reduced serum TG level. GCBE (1%), neochlorogenic acid (0.028% and 0.055%) and feruloylquinic acid mixture (0.081%) significantly enhanced hepatic CPT activity in mice. However, neither caffeine nor chlorogenic acid alone was found to enhance CPT activity. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that GCBE is possibly effective against weight gain and fat accumulation by inhibition of fat absorption and activation of fat metabolism in the liver. Caffeine was found to be a suppressor of fat absorption, while chlorogenic acid was found to be partially involved in the suppressive effect of GCBE that resulted in the reduction of hepatic TG level. Phenolic compounds such as neochlorogenic acid and feruloylquinic acid mixture, except chlorogenic acid, can enhance hepatic CPT activity

Feature enhancement of reverberant speech by distribution matching and non-negative matrix factorization

This paper describes a novel two-stage dereverberation feature enhancement method for noise-robust automatic speech recognition. In the first stage, an estimate of the dereverberated speech is generated by matching the distribution of the observed reverberant speech to that of clean speech, in a decorrelated transformation domain that has a long temporal context in order to address the effects of reverberation. The second stage uses this dereverberated signal as an initial estimate within a non-negative matrix factorization framework, which jointly estimates a sparse representation of the clean speech signal and an estimate of the convolutional distortion. The proposed feature enhancement method, when used in conjunction with automatic speech recognizer back-end processing, is shown to improve the recognition performance compared to three other state-of-the-art techniques

The Diet of Finnish Preschoolers

Verkkoversion ISBN 978-951-740-887-

Persistent Alterations in Plasma Lipid Profiles Before Introduction of Gluten in the Diet Associated With Progression to Celiac Disease

OBJECTIVES:Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic enteropathy characterized by an autoimmune reaction in the small intestine of genetically susceptible individuals. The underlying causes of autoimmune reaction and its effect on host metabolism remain largely unknown. Herein, we apply lipidomics to elucidate the early events preceding clinical CD in a cohort of Finnish children, followed up in the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention study. METHODS:Mass spectrometry-based lipidomics profiling was applied to a longitudinal/prospective series of 233 plasma samples obtained from CD progressors (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 23), matched for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) risk, sex, and age. The children were followed from birth until diagnosis of clinical CD and subsequent introduction of a gluten-free diet. RESULTS:Twenty-three children progressed to CD at a mean age of 4.8 years. They showed increased amounts of triacylglycerols (TGs) of low carbon number and double bond count and a decreased level of phosphatidylcholines by age 3 months as compared to controls. These differences were exacerbated with age but were not observed at birth (cord blood). No significant differences were observed in the essential TGs. DISCUSSION:Our preliminary findings suggest that abnormal lipid metabolism associates with the development of clinical CD and occurs already before the first introduction of gluten to the diet. Moreover, our data suggest that the specific TGs found elevated in CD progressors may be due to a host response to compromised intake of essential lipids in the small intestine, requiring de novo lipogenesis.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal

Maternal antioxidant intake during pregnancy and the development of cows' milk allergy in the offspring

Cows' milk allergy (CMA) is the most common food allergy in young children, and it is often the first manifestation of atopic diseases. Accordingly, very early environmental factors, such as maternal diet during pregnancy, may play a role in the development of CMA, but the evidence is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal intake of antioxidant nutrients during pregnancy and the subsequent development of CMA in the offspring in a prospective, population-based birth cohort within the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study. Maternal dietary information during pregnancy was collected with a detailed, validated FFQ. The maternal dietary information and the information on putative confounding factors were available for 4403 children. Information on diagnosed CMA (n 448) was obtained from a medical registry and queried from the parents up to child's age of 3 years. The Finnish food composition database was used to calculate the average daily intake of nutrients. Logistic regression was applied for statistical analyses, and the nutrient intakes were adjusted for energy intake. OR are presented per 1 sd increment of the particular nutrient intake. Maternal total and dietary intake of β-carotene was associated with an increased risk of CMA in the offspring when adjusted for the putative confounding factors (total OR 1·10, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·20; dietary OR 1·10; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·19). Using dietary supplements containing antioxidants in addition to a balanced diet may not confer any additional benefits

Microwave studies of the fractional Josephson effect in HgTe-based Josephson junctions

The rise of topological phases of matter is strongly connected to their potential to host Majorana bound states, a powerful ingredient in the search for a robust, topologically protected, quantum information processing. In order to produce such states, a method of choice is to induce superconductivity in topological insulators. The engineering of the interplay between superconductivity and the electronic properties of a topological insulator is a challenging task and it is consequently very important to understand the physics of simple superconducting devices such as Josephson junctions, in which new topological properties are expected to emerge. In this article, we review recent experiments investigating topological superconductivity in topological insulators, using microwave excitation and detection techniques. More precisely, we have fabricated and studied topological Josephson junctions made of HgTe weak links in contact with two Al or Nb contacts. In such devices, we have observed two signatures of the fractional Josephson effect, which is expected to emerge from topologically-protected gapless Andreev bound states. We first recall the theoretical background on topological Josephson junctions, then move to the experimental observations. Then, we assess the topological origin of the observed features and conclude with an outlook towards more advanced microwave spectroscopy experiments, currently under development.Comment: Lectures given at the San Sebastian Topological Matter School 2017, published in "Topological Matter. Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences, vol 190. Springer

Dietary fatty acid intake in childhood and the risk of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes: the DIPP birth cohort study

Purpose The aim was to study the associations between dietary intake of fatty acids in childhood and the risk of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes (T1D).Methods The prospective Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Study included children with genetic susceptibility to T1D born between 1996 and 2004. Participants were followed up every 3 to 12 months up to 6 years for diet, islet autoantibodies, and T1D. Dietary intake of several fatty acids at the age of 3 months to 6 years was assessed 1-8 times per participant with a 3-day food record. Joint models adjusted for energy intake, sex, HLA genotype and familial diabetes were used to investigate the associations of longitudinal intake of fatty acids and the development of islet autoimmunity and T1D.Results During the 6-year follow-up, 247 (4.4%) children of 5626 developed islet autoimmunity and 94 (1.7%) children of 5674 developed T1D. Higher intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.47, 0.82), arachidonic acid (0.69; 0.50, 0.94), total n-3 fatty acids (0.64; 0.48, 0.84), and long-chain n-3 fatty acids (0.14; 0.04, 0.43), was associated with a decreased risk of islet autoimmunity with and without energy adjustment. Higher intake of total fat (0.73; 0.53, 0.98), and saturated fatty acids (0.55; 0.33, 0.90) was associated with a decreased risk of T1D only when energy adjusted.Conclusion Intake of several fatty acids was associated with a decreased risk of islet autoimmunity or T1D among high-risk children. Our findings support the idea that dietary factors, including n-3 fatty acids, may play a role in the disease process of T1D.</p

Not all coping strategies are created equal: a mixed methods study exploring physicians' self reported coping strategies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physicians experience workplace stress and draw on different coping strategies. The primary goal of this paper is to use interview data to explore physicians' self reported coping strategies. In addition, questionnaire data is utilized to explore the degree to which the coping strategies are used and are associated with feelings of emotional exhaustion, a key symptom of burnout.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This mixed methods study explores factors related to physician wellness within a large health region in Western Canada. This paper focuses on the coping strategies that physicians use in response to work-related stress. The qualitative component explores physicians' self reported coping strategies through open ended interviews of 42 physicians representing diverse medical specialties and settings (91% response rate). The major themes extracted from the qualitative interviews were used to construct 12 survey items that were included in the comprehensive quantitative questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent to all eligible physicians in the health region with 1178 completed surveys (40% response rate.) Questionnaire items were used to measure how often physicians draw on the various coping strategies. Feelings of burnout were also measured in the survey by 5 items from the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the revised Maslach Burnout Inventory.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Major themes identified from the interviews include coping strategies used at work (e.g., working through stress, talking with co-workers, taking a time out, using humor) and after work (e.g., exercise, quiet time, spending time with family). Analysis of the questionnaire data showed three often used workplace coping strategies were positively correlated with feeling emotionally exhausted (i.e., keeping stress to oneself (r = .23), concentrating on what to do next (r = .16), and going on as if nothing happened (r = .07)). Some less often used workplace coping strategies (e.g., taking a time out) and all those used after work were negatively correlated with frequency of emotional exhaustion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Physicians' self reported coping strategies are not all created equal in terms of frequency of use and correlation with feeling emotionally exhausted from one's work. This knowledge may be integrated into practical physician stress reduction interventions.</p

Management of cryptorchidism: a survey of clinical practice in Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An evidence-based Consensus on the treatment of undescended testis (UT) was recently published, recommending to perform orchidopexy between 6 and 12 months of age, or upon diagnosis and to avoid the use of hormones. In Italy, current practices on UT management are little known. Our aim was to describe the current management of UT in a cohort of Italian children in comparison with the Consensus guidelines. As management of retractile testis (RT) differs, RT cases were described separately.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ours is a retrospective, multicenter descriptive study. An online questionnaire was filled in by 140 Italian Family Paediatricians (FP) from <it>Associazione Culturale Pediatri </it>(ACP), a national professional association of FP. The questionnaire requested information on all children with cryptorchidism born between 1/01/2004 and 1/01/2006. Data on 169 children were obtained. Analyses were descriptive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall 24% of children were diagnosed with RT, 76% with UT. Among the latter, cryptorchidism resolved spontaneously in 10% of cases at a mean age of 21.6 months. Overall 70% of UT cases underwent orchidopexy at a mean age of 22.8 months (SD 10.8, range 1.2-56.4), 13% of whom before 1 year. The intervention was performed by a paediatric surgeon in 90% of cases, with a success rate of 91%. Orchidopexy was the first line treatment in 82% of cases, while preceded by hormonal treatment in the remaining 18%. Hormonal treatment was used as first line therapy in 23% of UT cases with a reported success rate of 25%. Overall, 13 children did not undergo any intervention (mean age at last follow up 39.6 months). We analyzed the data from the 5 Italian Regions with the largest number of children enrolled and found a statistically significant regional difference in the use of hormonal therapy, and in the use of and age at orchidopexy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study showed an important delay in orchidopexy. A quarter of children with cryptorchidism was treated with hormonal therapy. In line with the Consensus guidelines, surgery was carried out by a paediatric surgeon in the majority of cases, with a high success rate.</p