Andreev reflection at QGP/CFL interface

In this letter we address the question of the phenomena of Andreev reflection between the cold quark-gluon plasma phase and CFL color superconductor. We show that there are two different types of reflections connected to the structure of the CFL phase. We also calculate the probability current at the interface and we show that it vanishes for energy of scattering quarks below the superconducting gap.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Minor changes in the "Conclusions

Health Needs Assessment for the double burden of malnutrition –a community-based study on nutrition facilitators and barriers in rural Tanzania

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study is to explore nutrition-related health needs, the perceptions and beliefs regarding the double burden of malnutrition, as well as barriers and facilitators in accessing nutritious food among the local population in rural Tanzania. Design: A qualitative study design using semi-structured individual interviews and Focus-group-discussions (FGD) was used. Basic socio-demographic information was obtained from all participants. Setting: The study was conducted in four villages within the catchment area of the Shirati KMT Hospital in Rorya district, in north-western Tanzania. Participants: Men and women in the reproductive age as well as Community Health Workers were included. Results: In total, we performed 14 interviews (N=41), consisting of 4 FDGs, 1 dual and 9 individual interviews. The three most significant topics that were identified are the large knowledge gap concerning overweight and obesity as a health problem, changing weather patterns and its implications on food supply, and the socio- cultural drivers including gender roles and household dynamics. Conclusion: Environmental and sociocultural factors play a crucial role in the determinants for DBM, which underlines the importance of understanding the local context and the nutrition practices and beliefs of the communities. Future nutritional interventions should aim towards more inclusion of men in project implementation as well as support of women empowerment. CHW could play a key role in facilitating some of the suggested interventions, including nutritional counselling and increasing awareness on the drivers of the DBM

Serum CathepsinD in pregnancy: Relation with metabolic and inflammatory markers and effects of fish oils and probiotics

Background and aims: Elevated circulating levels of CathepsinD (CatD) have been linked to metabolic deviations including liver inflammation. We investigated 1) whether supplementation with probiotics and/or fish oil affects CatD and 2) whether the CatD concentration would associate with gestational diabetes (GDM), low-grade inflammation, lipid metabolism, body fat % and dietary composition.Methods and results: Overweight/obese pregnant women (n = 438) were randomized into fish oil + placebo, probiotics + placebo, fish oil + probiotics or placebo + placebo groups. Fish oil contained 1.9 g docosahexaenoic acid and 0.22 g eicosapentaenoic acid and probiotics were Lacticaseibacillusrhamnosus HN001 (formerly Lactobacillusrhamnosus HN001) and Bifidobacteriumanimalis ssp. lactis 420, 1010 colony-forming units each). Serum CatD levels were analysed by ELISA, GlycA and lipid metabolites by NMR, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) by immunoassay, and intakes of energy yielding nutrients and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids from food diaries at both early and late pregnancy. GDM was diagnosed by OGTT. CatD concentrations did not differ between the intervention groups or by GDM status. Multivariable linear models revealed that body fat % and GlycA affected CatD differently in healthy women and those with GDM.Conclusion: The serum CatD concentration of pregnant women was not modified by this dietary intervention. Serum CatD was influenced by two parameters, body fat and low grade inflammation, which were dependent on the woman's GDM status. CLINICAL TRIAL REG. NO: NCT01922791, clinicaltrials.gov (secondary analysis).</p

Associations of Brain Reactivity to Food Cues with Weight Loss, Protein Intake and Dietary Restraint during the PREVIEW Intervention

The objective was to assess the effects of a weight loss and subsequent weight maintenance period comprising two diets differing in protein intake, on brain reward reactivity to visual food cues. Brain reward reactivity was assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging in 27 overweight/obese individuals with impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance (HOMA-IR: 3.7 ± 1.7; BMI: 31.8 ± 3.2 kg/m2; fasting glucose: 6.4 ± 0.6 mmol/L) before and after an 8-week low energy diet followed by a 2-year weight maintenance period, with either high protein (HP) or medium protein (MP) dietary guidelines. Brain reactivity and possible relationships with protein intake, anthropometrics, insulin resistance and eating behaviour were assessed. Brain reactivity, BMI, HOMA-IR and protein intake did not change differently between the groups during the intervention. In the whole group, protein intake during weight maintenance was negatively related to changes in high calorie images>low calorie images (H > L) brain activation in the superior/middle frontal gyrus and the inferior temporal gyrus (p L brain activation was positively associated with changes in body weight and body-fat percentage and inversely associated with changes in dietary restraint in multiple reward, gustatory and processing regions (p < 0.005, corrected for multiple comparisons). In conclusion, changes in food reward-related brain activation were inversely associated with protein intake and dietary restraint during weight maintenance after weight loss and positively associated with changes in body weight and body-fat percentage

Effect of a high protein/low glycaemic index diet on insulin resistance in adolescents with overweight/obesity-APREVIEWrandomized clinical trial

Background Pubertal insulin resistance (IR) is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus development in adolescents with overweight/obesity. Objectives The PREVIEW study was a randomized parallel trial assessing the change in IR, analyzed by Homeostatic Model Assessment of IR (HOMA-IR), at 2 years after randomization to a high protein vs a moderate protein diet in adolescents with overweight/obesity. It was hypothesized that a high protein/low glycaemic index diet would be superior in reducing IR compared to a medium protein/medium GI diet, in insulin resistant adolescents with overweight or obesity. Methods Adolescents with overweight/obesity and IR from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain were randomized into a moderate protein/moderate GI (15/55/30En% protein/carbohydrate/fat, GI >= 56) or high protein/low GI (25/45/30En% protein/carbohydrate/fat, GI < 50) diet. Anthropometric and cardiometabolic parameters, puberty, dietary intake and physical activity (PA) were measured and effects on HOMA-IR were analyzed. Results 126 adolescents were included in this study (13.6 +/- 2.2 years, BMI z-score 3.04 +/- 0.66, HOMA-IR 3.48 +/- 2.28, HP n = 68, MP n = 58). At 2 years, changes in protein intake were not significantly different between timepoints or intervention groups and no effects of the intervention on IR were observed. The retention rate was 39%, while no compliance to the diets was observed. Conclusions The PREVIEW study observed no effect of a high protein/low GI diet on IR in adolescents with overweight/obesity and IR because of lack of feasibility, due to insufficient retention and dietary compliance after 2 years.Peer reviewe

Comparison of the Lipidomic Signature of Fatty Liver in Children and Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly common condition in children characterised by insulin resistance and altered lipid metabolism. Affected patients are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and children with NAFLD are likely to be at risk of premature cardiac events. Evaluation of the plasma lipid profile of children with NAFLD offers the opportunity to investigate these perturbations and understand how closely they mimic the changes seen in adults with cardiometabolic disease. METHODS: We performed untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) plasma lipidomics on 287 children: 19 lean controls, 146 from an obese cohort, and 122 NAFLD cases who had undergone liver biopsy. Associations between lipid species and liver histology were assessed using regression adjusted for age and sex. Results were then replicated using data from 9500 adults with metabolic phenotyping. RESULTS: More severe paediatric NAFLD was associated with lower levels of long chain, polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines (pC) and triglycerides (TG). Similar trends in pC and TG chain length and saturation were seen in adults with hepatic steatosis; however, many of the specific lipids associated with NAFLD differed between children and adults. Five lipids replicated in adults (including PC(36:4)) have been directly linked to death and cardiometabolic disease, as well as indirectly via genetic variants. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that, whilst similar pathways of lipid metabolism are perturbed in paediatric NAFLD as in cardiometabolic disease in adults, the specific lipid signature in children is different.JPM is supported by a Wellcome Trust fellowship (216329/Z/19/Z), a European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR) Young Investigator Award, and a Children’s Liver Disease Foundation Grant. EU-PNAFLD Registry is supported by a European Association for Study of the Liver (EASL) Registry Grant. MZ is supported by a New Investigator Research Grant from the MRC (MR/T001917/1). BK is supported by grants from Van den Broek Lohman Foundation, Virtutis Opus Foundation and For Wishdom Foundation. SF, SGS & AK are supported by the BBSRC (BB/M027252/1 & BB/P028195/1), BJJ & AK are supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR146281)

PREVIEW (Prevention of Diabetes Through Lifestyle Intervention and Population Studies in Europe and Around the World) study in children aged 10 to 17 years: Design, methods and baseline results

Insulin resistance (IR) in adolescence is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus [T2DM]. The PREVIEW (Prevention of Diabetes Through Lifestyle Intervention and Population Studies in Europe and Around the World) study assessed the effectiveness of a high-protein, low-glycaemic-index diet and a moderate-protein, moderate-glycaemic-index diet to decrease IR in insulin-resistant children who were overweight or obese. Inclusion criteria were age 10 to 17 years, homeostatic model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) ≥2.0 and overweight/obesity. In 126 children (mean ± SD age 13.6 ± 2.2 years, body mass index [BMI] z-score 3.04 ± 0.66, HOMA-IR 3.48 ± 2.28) anthropometrics, fat mass percentage (FM%), metabolic characteristics, physical activity, food intake and sleep were measured. Baseline characteristics did not differ between the groups. IR was higher in pubertal children with morbid obesity than in prepubertal children with morbid obesity (5.41 ± 1.86 vs 3.23 ± 1.86; P = .007) and prepubertal and pubertal children with overweight/obesity (vs 3.61 ± 1.60, P = .004, and vs 3.40 ± 1.50, P < .001, respectively). IR was associated with sex, Tanner stage, BMI z-score and FM%. Fasting glucose concentrations were negatively associated with Baecke sport score (r = −0.223, P = .025) and positively with daytime sleepiness (r = 0.280, P = .016) independent of sex, Tanner stage, BMI z-score and FM%. In conclusion, IR was most severe in pubertal children with morbid obesity. The associations between fasting glucose concentration and Baecke sport score and sleepiness suggest these might be possible targets for diabetes prevention