Genetic factors affecting the response of skeletal muscle to strength training

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Angiotensin-I 3 Converting Enzyme (ACE) genotype and the influence of circulating ACE activity 4 on the extent of muscle growth and strength development achieved during 5 strength training. It was hypothesized that ACE Deletion (D) allele carriers would 6 have higher force output values before and after the 12 week strength training 7 programme. Forty male Caucasian recreationally active volunteers were 8 genotyped for ACE Insertion/Deletion (I/D) polymorphism, but only eighteen 9 subjects identified with the DD or the II genotype were qualified to participate. 10 Eleven II and seven DD subjects underwent a 12 week strength training program 11 for the quadriceps muscle group of the trained leg, with both legs assessed 12 weekly by isokinetic dynamometry at joint angles of 30°, 60° and 90°(isometric 13 knee extension) and 60°/sec and 180°/sec (isokinetic maximal torque). Biopsy 14 samples were obtained from the vastus lateralis of the trained leg pre- and post-15 training, and they were analyzed using light microscopy and computer-based 16 planimetry to identify the cross-sectional area of each major fiber type as an 17 index of hypertrophy. A number of histochemical staining methods (H&E, SDH, 18 GPDH, IHC, mATPases) were used for delineation of the fiber types. Circulating 19 ACE activity was determined in blood samples and DNA samples were extracted 20 from saliva for genotyping. ACE genotype was not associated with circulating 21 ACE activity, with DD individuals presenting similar plasma ACE activity levels 22 with II individuals (39.7 ± 40 and 40.5 ± 3.30 respectively, P = 0.89 pre-training, 23 41.9 ± 3.7 and 35.5 ± 4.30 respectively, P = 0.30 post-training). ACE activity did 24 not change significantly with training (40.2 ± 2.5 nmol His-Leu/min/mL pre-25 training, 38.1 ± 3 nmol His-Leu/min/mL post training, P = 0.41) and correlated 26 significantly with baseline isometric force of the untrained leg at 5° (r = 0.46, P 27 = 0.05) and isokinetic strength at 180°/sec (r = 0.52, P = 0.03). When strength 28 was presented as force production per kilogram of body mass, the above 29 correlations became non-significant. Isometric force at 60º post-training 30 revealed a significant effect of the genotype, in favour of the DD individuals, on 31 the trained leg F (1, 64) = 4.242, P = 0.04, observed power = 0.53, partial eta 32 squared = 0.062). The effect persisted after adjustment for weight, but when it 33 was adjusted for body mass index and physical activity (assessed by 34 questionnaires), the effect became non-significant (F (1, 63) = 3.13391, P = 0.08, 35 5 partial eta squared = 0.047, observed power = 0.41); and F (1, 63) = 3.1628, P = 1 0.08, partial eta squared = 0.048, observed power = 0.42, respectively).The 2 average cross-sectional area (AVECSA) of Type IIA fibres for the DD individuals 3 increased significantly post-training (4070 ± 506 μm² pre-training, 4674 ± 399 4 μm² post-training, t (6) = -2.999, P = 0.02) and so did the AVECSA of the Type I 5 fibers of II individuals (3345 ± 207 μm² pre-training, 3988 ± 239 μm² post-6 training, t (10) = -3.063, P = 0.01). The finding shows that the strength training 7 programme applied resulted in muscle hypertrophy, but the changes in AVECSA 8 were not genotype-related. In conclusion, our findings suggest a possible role for 9 ACE gene polymorphism in the regulation of human skeletal muscle strength, but 10 limited statistical power and confounding factors prevented us from drawing 11 clear conclusions

OGOS+ - A Tool to Visualize Densification potential

OGOS+ is a GIS data-based tool, which would offer urbanplanners, architects, and researchers visualisations of potential buildingmass in the form of 3D models. It compares the height of existingbuildings to the maximum permitted height by German zoning law andcalculates the potential building mass. To ensure minimum buildingfootprints it only calculates the densification potential on top of existingbuildings. It summarises information of the building potential for futureutilisation. The goal is an increase of urban density achieved with microinterventions

Towards extraction of vibration-based damage indicators

International audienceAfter a brief review of vibration based damage identification methods, three different algorithms for damage identification are applied to the case of the benchmark Z24 bridge in this paper. Data-driven as well as model-based methods are discussed, including input-output algorithms for taking into account the effect of environmental and/or operational sources on the variability of damage features. A further class of data-driven methods that use finite element information is finally introduced as a possible future development

Фінансове забезпечення інноваційного розвитку фармбізнесу: глобальні виклики

Глобальні загрози життєдіяльності населення безперешкодно охоплюють держави як с потужною економікою так і ті, що розвиваються. В умовах коли Уряд не в змозі сприяти створенню власного потужного та ефективного фармацевтичного бізнесу. Слід сприяти забезпеченню національного ринку імпортними інноваційними препаратами та втілювати західну модель економіки здоров’я, як передумови інноваційного гармонійного розвитку фармбізнесу

Prenatal metal mixtures and child blood pressure in the Rhea mother-child cohort in Greece

Background: Child blood pressure (BP) is predictive of future cardiovascular risk. Prenatal exposure to metals has been associated with higher BP in childhood, but most studies have evaluated elements individually and measured BP at a single time point. We investigated impacts of prenatal metal mixture exposures on longitudinal changes in BP during childhood and elevated BP at 11 years of age. Methods: The current study included 176 mother-child pairs from the Rhea Study in Heraklion, Greece and focused on eight elements (antimony, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium) measured in maternal urine samples collected during pregnancy (median gestational age at collection: 12 weeks). BP was measured at approximately 4, 6, and 11 years of age. Covariate-adjusted Bayesian Varying Coefficient Kernel Machine Regression and Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) were used to evaluate metal mixture impacts on baseline and longitudinal changes in BP (from ages 4 to 11) and the development of elevated BP at age 11, respectively. BKMR results were compared using static versus percentile-based cutoffs to define elevated BP. Results: Molybdenum and lead were the mixture components most consistently associated with BP. J-shaped relationships were observed between molybdenum and both systolic and diastolic BP at age 4. Similar associations were identified for both molybdenum and lead in relation to elevated BP at age 11. For molybdenum concentrations above the inflection points (~ 40–80 μg/L), positive associations with BP at age 4 were stronger at high levels of lead. Lead was positively associated with BP measures at age 4, but only at high levels of molybdenum. Potential interactions between molybdenum and lead were also identified for BP at age 11, but were sensitive to the cutoffs used to define elevated BP. Conclusions: Prenatal exposure to high levels of molybdenum and lead, particularly in combination, may contribute to higher BP at age 4. These early effects appear to persist throughout childhood, contributing to elevated BP in adolescence. Future studies are needed to identify the major sources of molybdenum and lead in this population

VR-visualization of High-dimensional Urban Data

The project aims to investigate the possibility of VR in a combination of visualizing high-dimensional urban data. Our study proposes a data-based tool for urban planners, architects, and researchers to 3D visualize and experience an urban quarter. Users have a possibility to choose a specific part of a city according to urban data input like "buildings, streets, and landscapes". This data-based tool is based on an algorithm to translate data from Shapefiles (.sh) in a form of a virtual cube model. The tool can be scaled and hence applied globally. The goal of the study is to improve understanding of the connection and analysis of high-dimensional urban data beyond a two-dimensional static graph or three-dimensional image. Professionals may find an optimized condition between urban data through abstract simulation. By implementing this tool in the early design process, researchers have an opportunity to develop a new vision for extending and optimizing urban materials

Rational design and direct fabrication of multi-walled hollow electrospun fibers with controllable structure and surface properties

Multi-walled hollow fibers with a novel architecture are fabricated through utilizing a direct,one-step tri-axial electrospinning process with a manufacturing methodology which does not require any post-treatments for the removal of core material for creating hollowness in the fiber structure. The hydrophilicity of both inner and outer layers’ solution needs to be dissimilar and carefully controlled for creating a two-walled/layered hollow fiber tructure with a sharp interface. To this end, Hansen solubility parameters are used as n index of layer solution affinity hence allowing for control of diffusion across the layers and the surface porosity whereby an ideal multi-walled hollow electrospun fiber is shown to be producible by tri-axial electrospinning process. Multi-walled hollow electrospun fibers with different inner and outer diameters and different surface morphology are successfully produced by using dissimilar material combinations for inner and outer layers (i.e., hydrophobic polymers as outer layer and hydrophilic polymer as inner layer). Upon using different material combinations for inner and outer layers, it is shown that one may control both the outer and inner diameters of the fiber. The inner layer not only acts as a barrier and thus provides an ease in the encapsulation of functional core materials of interest with different viscosities but also adds stiffness to the fiber. The structure and the surface morphology of fibers are controlled by changing applied voltage, polymer types, polymer concentration, and the evaporation rate of solvents. It is demonstrated that if the vapor pressure of the solvent for a given outer layer polymer is low, the fiber diameter decreases down to 100 nm whereas solvents with higher vapor pressure result in fibers with the outer diameter of up to 1 μm. The influence of electric field strength on the shape of Taylor cone is also monitored during the production process and the manufactured fibers are structurally investigated by relevant surface characterization techniques

Changes in parental smoking during pregnancy and risks of adverse birth outcomes and childhood overweight in Europe and North America : An individual participant data meta-analysis of 229,000 singleton births

Author summaryWhy was this study done? Maternal smoking during pregnancy is an important risk factor for various birth complications and childhood overweight. It is not clear whether this increased risk is also present if mothers smoke during the first trimester only or reduce the number of cigarettes during pregnancy. The associations of paternal smoking with birth and childhood outcomes also remain unknown. What did the researchers do and find? We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis using data from 229,158 families from 28 pregnancy and birth cohorts from Europe and North America to assess the associations of parental smoking during pregnancy, specifically of quitting or reducing smoking and maternal and paternal smoking combined, with preterm birth, small size for gestational age, and childhood overweight. We observed that smoking in the first trimester only did not increase the risk of preterm birth and small size for gestational age but was associated with a higher risk of childhood overweight, as compared to nonsmoking. Reducing the number of cigarettes during pregnancy, without quitting, was still associated with higher risks of these adverse outcomes. Paternal smoking seems to be associated, independently of maternal smoking, with the risks of childhood overweight. What do these findings mean? Population strategies should focus on parental smoking prevention before or at the start of, rather than during, pregnancy. Future studies are needed to assess the specific associations of smoking in the preconception and childhood periods with offspring outcomes. Background Fetal smoke exposure is a common and key avoidable risk factor for birth complications and seems to influence later risk of overweight. It is unclear whether this increased risk is also present if mothers smoke during the first trimester only or reduce the number of cigarettes during pregnancy, or when only fathers smoke. We aimed to assess the associations of parental smoking during pregnancy, specifically of quitting or reducing smoking and maternal and paternal smoking combined, with preterm birth, small size for gestational age, and childhood overweight. Methods and findings We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis among 229,158 families from 28 pregnancy/birth cohorts from Europe and North America. All 28 cohorts had information on maternal smoking, and 16 also had information on paternal smoking. In total, 22 cohorts were population-based, with birth years ranging from 1991 to 2015. The mothers' median age was 30.0 years, and most mothers were medium or highly educated. We used multilevel binary logistic regression models adjusted for maternal and paternal sociodemographic and lifestyle-related characteristics. Compared with nonsmoking mothers, maternal first trimester smoking only was not associated with adverse birth outcomes but was associated with a higher risk of childhood overweight (odds ratio [OR] 1.17 [95% CI 1.02-1.35],Pvalue = 0.030). Children from mothers who continued smoking during pregnancy had higher risks of preterm birth (OR 1.08 [95% CI 1.02-1.15],Pvalue = 0.012), small size for gestational age (OR 2.15 [95% CI 2.07-2.23],Pvalue <0.001), and childhood overweight (OR 1.42 [95% CI 1.35-1.48],Pvalue <0.001). Mothers who reduced the number of cigarettes between the first and third trimester, without quitting, still had a higher risk of small size for gestational age. However, the corresponding risk estimates were smaller than for women who continued the same amount of cigarettes throughout pregnancy (OR 1.89 [95% CI 1.52-2.34] instead of OR 2.20 [95% CI 2.02-2.42] when reducing from 5-9 to = 10 to 5-9 andPeer reviewe

The LifeCycle Project-EU Child Cohort Network : a federated analysis infrastructure and harmonized data of more than 250,000 children and parents

Early life is an important window of opportunity to improve health across the full lifecycle. An accumulating body of evidence suggests that exposure to adverse stressors during early life leads to developmental adaptations, which subsequently affect disease risk in later life. Also, geographical, socio-economic, and ethnic differences are related to health inequalities from early life onwards. To address these important public health challenges, many European pregnancy and childhood cohorts have been established over the last 30 years. The enormous wealth of data of these cohorts has led to important new biological insights and important impact for health from early life onwards. The impact of these cohorts and their data could be further increased by combining data from different cohorts. Combining data will lead to the possibility of identifying smaller effect estimates, and the opportunity to better identify risk groups and risk factors leading to disease across the lifecycle across countries. Also, it enables research on better causal understanding and modelling of life course health trajectories. The EU Child Cohort Network, established by the Horizon2020-funded LifeCycle Project, brings together nineteen pregnancy and childhood cohorts, together including more than 250,000 children and their parents. A large set of variables has been harmonised and standardized across these cohorts. The harmonized data are kept within each institution and can be accessed by external researchers through a shared federated data analysis platform using the R-based platform DataSHIELD, which takes relevant national and international data regulations into account. The EU Child Cohort Network has an open character. All protocols for data harmonization and setting up the data analysis platform are available online. The EU Child Cohort Network creates great opportunities for researchers to use data from different cohorts, during and beyond the LifeCycle Project duration. It also provides a novel model for collaborative research in large research infrastructures with individual-level data. The LifeCycle Project will translate results from research using the EU Child Cohort Network into recommendations for targeted prevention strategies to improve health trajectories for current and future generations by optimizing their earliest phases of life.Peer reviewe