Effects of epicatechin on cardiovascular function in middle-Aged diet-induced obese rat models of metabolic syndrome

The current study aimed to investigate the cardiovascular effects of epicatechin, a flavonoid found in green tea and cocoa, in attenuating complications associated with metabolic syndrome in diet-induced obese rats. Male Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats aged 16 weeks were fed either standard rat chow or given a high-fat-high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet for 20 weeks. Epicatechin treatment (5 mg/kg/d) was administered to a subset of WKY rats commencing at week 8 of the 20 week HFHC feeding period. Body weights, food, water and energy intakes, blood pressure, heart rate and glucose tolerance were measured throughout the treatment period. Oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, lipid levels, cardiac collagen deposition, cardiac electrical function, aortic and mesenteric vessel reactivity were examined after the treatment. Twenty weeks of HFHC feeding in WKY rats resulted in the development of metabolic syndrome indicated by the presence of abdominal obesity, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance and increased blood pressure. Epicatechin treatment was found to enhance the oxidative stress status in HFHC groups through an increase in serum nitric oxide levels and a decrease in 8-isoprostane concentrations. Furthermore, WKY-HFHC rats displayed a decrease in IL-6 levels. The lipid profiles in HFHC groups showed improvement, with a decrease in LDL-cholesterol and TAG and an increase in HDL-cholesterol levels observed in WKY-HFHC rats. However, epicatechin was not effective in preventing weight gain, glucose intolerance or hypertension in HFHC fed rats. Overall, the results of this study suggest that epicatechin has the potential to improve the underlying mechanisms associated with metabolic syndrome in obese rats

Effect of different intensities of physical activity on cardiometabolic markers and vascular and cardiac function in adult rats fed with a high-fat high-carbohydrate diet

Background: Physical activity (PA) and diet are 2 lifestyle factors that affect cardiometabolic risk. However, data on how a high-fat high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet influences the effect of different intensities of PA on cardiometabolic health and cardiovascular function in a controlled setting are yet to be fully established. This study investigated the effect of sedentary behavior, light-intensity training (LIT), and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on cardiometabolic markers and vascular and cardiac function in HFHC-fed adult rats. Methods: Twelve-week-old Wistar rats were randomly allocated to 4 groups (12 rats/group): control (CTL), sedentary (SED), LIT, and HIIT. Biometric indices, glucose and lipid control, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, vascular reactivity, and cardiac electrophysiology of the experimental groups were examined after 12 weeks of HFHC-diet feeding and PA interventions. Results: The SED group had slower cardiac conduction (p = 0.0426) and greater thoracic aortic contractile responses (p < 0.05) compared with the CTL group. The LIT group showed improved cardiac conduction compared with the SED group (p = 0.0003), and the HIIT group showed decreased mesenteric artery contractile responses compared with all other groups and improved endothelium-dependent mesenteric artery relaxation compared with the LIT group (both p < 0.05). The LIT and HIIT groups had lower visceral (p = 0.0057 for LIT, p = 0.0120 for HIIT) and epididymal fat (p < 0.0001 for LIT, p = 0.0002 for HIIT) compared with the CTL group. Conclusion: LIT induced positive adaptations on fat accumulation and cardiac conduction, and HIIT induced a positive effect on fat accumulation, mesenteric artery contraction, and endothelium-dependent relaxation. No other differences were observed between groups. These findings suggest that few positive health effects can be achieved through LIT and HIIT when consuming a chronic and sustained HFHC diet

Trends in Shoulder Stabilization Techniques Used in the United States Based on a Large Private-Payer Database

Background: Arthroscopic stabilization is the most broadly used surgical procedure in the United States for management of recurrent shoulder instability. Latarjet coracoid transfer has been considered a salvage surgical procedure for failed arthroscopic repairs or cases of significant glenoid bone loss; however, with recent literature suggesting reduced risk of recurrent instability with Latarjet, several surgeons have advocated its broader utilization as a primary operation for treatment of shoulder instability. Purpose: To determine trends in shoulder stabilization techniques used in the United States. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A retrospective analysis of a publicly available national insurance database was performed to identify shoulder stabilization procedures performed over 9 years (2007-2015). The following Current Procedural Terminology codes were searched: 29806 (arthroscopic stabilization), 23455 (open capsulolabral repair), 23466 (open capsular shift), 23462 (Latarjet coracoid transfer), and 23460 (open anterior capsulorrhaphy with other bone block augmentation). Outcomes of interest included (1) trends in the use of each technique throughout the study interval, (2) age and sex distributions of patients undergoing each technique, and (3) regional predilections for the use of each technique. Results: Arthroscopic stabilization was the most broadly used shoulder stabilization procedure in the database (87%), followed by open Bankart (7%), Latarjet (3.2%), open capsular shift (2.6%), and alternative bone block procedure (0.8%). Throughout the study period, the incidence of arthroscopic stabilization and Latarjet increased (8% and 15% per year, respectively); the incidence of open capsular shift remained relatively constant; and the incidence of open Bankart decreased (9% per year). Arthroscopic stabilization, open Bankart, and Latarjet each had similar sex-based distributions (roughly 70% male), while open capsular shift and alternative bone block were relatively more common in females (54% and 50% male, respectively). The incidence of arthroscopic stabilization and Latarjet were greatest in the South and lowest in the Northeast. Conclusion: Arthroscopic stabilization remains the most commonly utilized stabilization technique in the United States. The use of the Latarjet procedure is steadily increasing and now rivals open Bankart stabilization among the most commonly used open stabilization techniques

Effectiveness of adult health promotion initiatives delivered through professional sport : systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Researchers are capitalising on the strong connections that sport fans have with their teams for health promotion programmes, yet no existing systematic reviews have evaluated the effectiveness of interventions delivered through professional sport. Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically collate, evaluate, and synthesise the evidence on health promotion interventions implemented in professional sport settings. Methods: Randomised controlled trials reporting on adult health promotion initiatives delivered in professional sport settings were identified through electronic database searches in CINAHL, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Google Scholar. Data on health-related outcomes (e.g., weight, physical activity, dietary intake) were extracted and synthesised, and random effects meta-analyses were conducted to examine effects for weight and waist circumference. Risk of bias was examined using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised controlled trials (RoB 2). Results: Six studies reporting on five unique interventions met the inclusion criteria, and all included studies were gender sensitised and exclusively targeted men. Intervention effects were observed for several health outcomes, including physical activity, dietary intake, and psychosocial health. All studies aimed to reduce weight, and for most studies (n = 4), weight was a primary outcome, either of the included study or to inform a future definitive trial. Findings from the meta-analysis revealed an overall significant difference in change in weight of − 3.2 kg (95% confidence interval [CI] − 4.6 to − 1.8) and waist circumference of − 3.9 cm (95% CI − 4.9 to − 2.8), both in favour of the intervention group at 12 weeks. Intervention effects were also reported for several other health outcomes (e.g., physical activity, dietary intake, psychosocial health); however, they were not consistently measured across the studies and thus were not meta-analysed. Conclusion: Health promotion interventions delivered through professional sporting organisations can significantly improve weight- and lifestyle-related health outcomes. Representation across the socioeconomic spectrum and across culturally and linguistically diverse groups was limited. As only a limited number of studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, a need exists for rigorously designed interventions, standardised intervention approaches, with long-term follow-up, and the potential for scalability

Silent progression in disease activity-free relapsing multiple sclerosis.

ObjectiveRates of worsening and evolution to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) may be substantially lower in actively treated patients compared to natural history studies from the pretreatment era. Nonetheless, in our recently reported prospective cohort, more than half of patients with relapsing MS accumulated significant new disability by the 10th year of follow-up. Notably, "no evidence of disease activity" at 2 years did not predict long-term stability. Here, we determined to what extent clinical relapses and radiographic evidence of disease activity contribute to long-term disability accumulation.MethodsDisability progression was defined as an increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) of 1.5, 1.0, or 0.5 (or greater) from baseline EDSS = 0, 1.0-5.0, and 5.5 or higher, respectively, assessed from baseline to year 5 (±1 year) and sustained to year 10 (±1 year). Longitudinal analysis of relative brain volume loss used a linear mixed model with sex, age, disease duration, and HLA-DRB1*15:01 as covariates.ResultsRelapses were associated with a transient increase in disability over 1-year intervals (p = 0.012) but not with confirmed disability progression (p = 0.551). Relative brain volume declined at a greater rate among individuals with disability progression compared to those who remained stable (p &lt; 0.05).InterpretationLong-term worsening is common in relapsing MS patients, is largely independent of relapse activity, and is associated with accelerated brain atrophy. We propose the term silent progression to describe the insidious disability that accrues in many patients who satisfy traditional criteria for relapsing-remitting MS. Ann Neurol 2019;85:653-666

Switching the stereochemical outcome of 6-endo-trig cyclizations; Synthesis of 2,6-Cis-6-substituted 4-oxopipecolic acids

A base-mediated 6-endo-trig cyclization of readily accessible enone-derived α-amino acids has been developed for the direct synthesis of novel 2,6-cis-6- substituted-4-oxo-L-pipecolic acids. A range of aliphatic and aryl side chains were tolerated by this mild procedure to give the target compounds in good overall yields. Molecular modeling of the 6-endo-trig cyclization allowed some insight as to how these compounds were formed, with the enolate intermediate generated via an equilibrium process, followed by irreversible tautomerization/neutralization providing the driving force for product formation. Stereoselective reduction and deprotection of the resulting 2,6-cis-6-substituted 4-oxo-L-pipecolic acids to the corresponding 4-hydroxy-L-pipecolic acids was also performed

A novel group parenting intervention to reduce emotional and behavioural difficulties in young autistic children:protocol for the Autism Spectrum Treatment and Resilience pilot randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: The majority of young autistic children display impairing emotional and behavioural difficulties that contribute to family stress. There is some evidence that behavioural parenting interventions are effective for reducing behavioural difficulties in autistic children, with less evidence assessing change in emotional difficulties. Previous trials have tended to use unblinded parent-report measures as primary outcomes and many do not employ an active control, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Autism Spectrum Treatment and Resilience study is a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) testing the specific effect of a 12-week group parenting intervention (Predictive Parenting) on primary and secondary outcomes, in comparison to an attention control condition consisting of psychoeducation parent groups. Following a feasibility study to test research procedures and the interventions, the pilot RCT participants include 60 parents of autistic children aged 4-8 years who are randomised to Predictive Parenting versus the attention control. Measures are administered at baseline and post intervention to assess group differences in child and parent outcomes, costs and service use and adverse events. The primary outcome is an objective measure of child behaviours that challenge during interactions with their parent and a researcher. The trial aims to provide data on recruitment, retention, completion of measures and acceptability of the intervention and research protocol, in addition to providing a preliminary indication of potential efficacy and establishing an effect size that could be used to power a larger-scale efficacy trial. We will also provide preliminary estimates of the cost-effectiveness of the interventions. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was granted from NHS Camden and Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee (ref: 16/LO/1769) along with NHS R&D approval from South London and Maudsley, Guy's and St Thomas', and Croydon Health Services NHS Trusts. The findings will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN91411078

Maintenance olaparib in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer: Outcomes by somatic and germline BRCA and other homologous recombination repair gene mutation status in the ORZORA trial

Background. The open-label, single-arm, multicenter ORZORA trial (NCT02476968) evaluated the efficacy and safety of maintenance olaparib in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer (PSR OC) who had tumor BRCA mutations (BRCAm) of germline (g) or somatic (s) origin or non-BRCA homologous recombination repair mutations (HRRm) and were in response to their most recent platinum-based chemotherapy after >= 2 lines of treatment. Methods. Patients received maintenance olaparib capsules (400 mg twice daily) until disease progression. Prospective central testing at screening determined tumor BRCAm status and subsequent testing determined gBRCAm or sBRCAm status. Patients with predefined non-BRCA HRRm were assigned to an exploratory cohort

The Lantern Vol. 66, No. 2, Spring 1999

• Dowry • The Ballad of the Lonely Thinker • Dissipation • Parliament Light • Reflecting Hood • Tonight • Decree • Not Yet • The Man in the Moon • The Sound and/or Fury • Uh Huh • Watch • The Futility of a Drizzle in a Worsening Draught • The Answering Machine • Felix Culpa • Kiss Off • Amorous • Summer of the Burning Pizzas • Life Without Shoelaces • Hermes and Aphrodite • Win! Twins! • From 69 Slices of Hell • Boardwalk Cowboyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1154/thumbnail.jp

Solar-Powered Aircraft: Energy-Optimal Path Planning and Perpetual Endurance

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76439/1/AIAA-40139-801.pd