Predisposition to Obesity: Should We Target Those Most Susceptible?

Obesity prevention should remain a priority, even if there is some suggestion that the epidemic may presently have reached a stable level. However, previous interventions have not been effective in preventing overweight and obesity, and at the same time studies suggest that some subgroups are more predisposed to future obesity. The purpose of this paper is to review interventions on obesity prevention published during the past year, and to examine if interventions targeting predisposed groups or individuals seem more efficient in preventing obesity than studies targeting general populations. Among 15 identified studies, 7 targeted predisposed children or adolescents. More of the studies targeting predisposed individuals were able to show significant effects than the studies targeting general populations. Most studies targeting predisposed defined the predisposition based on ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Thus, we may be more successful in preventing obesity when targeting predisposed individuals, but more studies are needed before a firm conclusion can be drawn

Rapid Changes in the Light/Dark Cycle Disrupt Memory of Conditioned Fear in Mice

Background: Circadian rhythms govern many aspects of physiology and behavior including cognitive processes. Components of neural circuits involved in learning and memory, e.g., the amygdala and the hippocampus, exhibit circadian rhythms in gene expression and signaling pathways. The functional significance of these rhythms is still not understood. In the present study, we sought to determine the impact of transiently disrupting the circadian system by shifting the light/ dark (LD) cycle. Such ‘‘jet lag’ ’ treatments alter daily rhythms of gene expression that underlie circadian oscillations as well as disrupt the synchrony between the multiple oscillators found within the body. Methodology/Principal Findings: We subjected adult male C57Bl/6 mice to a contextual fear conditioning protocol either before or after acute phase shifts of the LD cycle. As part of this study, we examined the impact of phase advances and phase delays, and the effects of different magnitudes of phase shifts. Under all conditions tested, we found that recall of fear conditioned behavior was specifically affected by the jet lag. We found that phase shifts potentiated the stress-evoked corticosterone response without altering baseline levels of this hormone. The jet lag treatment did not result in overall sleep deprivation, but altered the temporal distribution of sleep. Finally, we found that prior experience of jet lag helps to compensate for the reduced recall due to acute phase shifts. Conclusions/Significance: Acute changes to the LD cycle affect the recall of fear-conditioned behavior. This suggests that

Evolutionary Map of the Universe: Tracing Clusters to High Redshift

The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is a new radio-telescope being built in Western Australia. One of the key surveys for which it is being built is EMU (Evolutionary Map of the Universe), which will make a deep (~10 {\mu}Jy/bm rms) radio continuum survey covering the entire sky as far North as +30\circ. EMU may be compared to the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS), except that it will have about 45 times the sensitivity, and five times the resolution. EMU will also have much better sensitivity to diffuse emission than previous large surveys, and is expected to produce a large catalogue of relics, tailed galaxies, and haloes, and will increase the number of known clusters by a significant factor. Here we describe the EMU project and its impact on the astrophysics of clusters.Comment: Accepted by J. Astrophys. Ast

A novel widespread cryptic species and phylogeographic patterns within several giant clam species (Cardiidae: Tridacna) from the Indo-Pacific Ocean

Giant clams (genus Tridacna) are iconic coral reef animals of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, easily recognizable by their massive shells and vibrantly colored mantle tissue. Most Tridacna species are listed by CITES and the IUCN Redlist, as their populations have been extensively harvested and depleted in many regions. Here, we survey Tridacna crocea and Tridacna maxima from the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans for mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and nuclear (ITS) sequence variation and consolidate these data with previous published results using phylogenetic analyses. We find deep intraspecific differentiation within both T. crocea and T. maxima. In T. crocea we describe a previously undocumented phylogeographic division to the east of Cenderawasih Bay (northwest New Guinea), whereas for T. maxima the previously described, distinctive lineage of Cenderawasih Bay can be seen to also typify western Pacific populations. Furthermore, we find an undescribed, monophyletic group that is evolutionarily distinct from named Tridacna species at both mitochondrial and nuclear loci. This cryptic taxon is geographically widespread with a range extent that minimally includes much of the central Indo-Pacific region. Our results reinforce the emerging paradigm that cryptic species are common among marine invertebrates, even for conspicuous and culturally significant taxa. Additionally, our results add to identified locations of genetic differentiation across the central Indo-Pacific and highlight how phylogeographic patterns may differ even between closely related and co-distributed species

Early intervention with Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 modulates the host-microbe interface independent of the sustained changes induced by the neonatal environment

Inflammatory and metabolic diseases can originate during early-life and have been correlated with shifts in intestinal microbial ecology. Here we demonstrate that minor environmental fluctuations during the early neonatal period had sustained effects on the developing porcine microbiota and host-microbe interface. These inter-replicate effects appear to originate during the first day of life, and are likely to reflect very early microbiota acquisition from the environment. We statistically link early systemic inflammation with later local increases in inflammatory cytokine (IL-17) production, which could have important enteric health implications. Immunity, intestinal barrier function, host metabolism and host-microbiota co-metabolism were further modified by Bifidobacterium lactis NCC2818 supplementation, although composition of the in situ microbiota remained unchanged. Finally, our robust model identified novel, strong correlations between urinary metabolites (eg malonate, phenylacetylglycine, alanine) and mucosal immunoglobulin (IgM) and cytokine (IL-10, IL-4) production, thus providing the possibility of the development of urinary ‘dipstick’ tests to assess non-accessible mucosal immune development and identify early precursors (biomarkers) of disease. These results have important implications for infants exposed to neonatal factors including caesarean delivery, antibiotic therapy and delayed discharge from hospital environments, which may predispose to the development of inflammatory and metabolic diseases in later life

Clinical utility of metabolic syndrome severity scores: considerations for practitioners

Mark D DeBoer,1,2 Matthew J Gurka2 11Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, 2Department of Health Outcomes and Policy, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA Abstract: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is marked by abnormalities in central obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and high fasting glucose and appears to be produced by underlying processes of inflammation, oxidative stress, and adipocyte dysfunction. MetS has traditionally been classified based on dichotomous criteria that deny that MetS-related risk likely exists as a spectrum. Continuous MetS scores provide a way to track MetS-related risk over time. We generated MetS severity scores that are sex- and race/ethnicity-specific, acknowledging that the way MetS is manifested may be different by sex and racial/ethnic subgroup. These scores are correlated with long-term risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Clinical use of scores like these provide a potential opportunity to identify patients at highest risk, motivate patients toward lifestyle change, and follow treatment progress over time. Keywords: metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, risk predictio