Publications

Abstract Background Mediterranean (MED) diet is a rich source of polyphenols, which benefit adiposity by several mechanisms. We explored the effect of the green-MED diet, twice fortified in dietary polyphenols and lower in red/processed meat, on visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Methods In the 18-month Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial PoLyphenols UnproceSsed (DIRECT-PLUS) weight-loss trial, 294 participants were randomized to (A) healthy dietary guidelines (HDG), (B) MED, or (C) green-MED diets, all combined with physical activity. Both isocaloric MED groups consumed 28 g/day of walnuts (+ 440 mg/day polyphenols). The green-MED group further consumed green tea (3–4 cups/day) and Wolffia globosa (duckweed strain) plant green shake (100 g frozen cubes/day) (+ 800mg/day polyphenols) and reduced red meat intake. We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify the abdominal adipose tissues. Results Participants (age = 51 years; 88% men; body mass index = 31.2 kg/m 2 ; 29% VAT) had an 89.8% retention rate and 79.3% completed eligible MRIs. While both MED diets reached similar moderate weight (MED: − 2.7%, green-MED: − 3.9%) and waist circumference (MED: − 4.7%, green-MED: − 5.7%) loss, the green-MED dieters doubled the VAT loss (HDG: − 4.2%, MED: − 6.0%, green-MED: − 14.1%; p < 0.05, independent of age, sex, waist circumference, or weight loss). Higher dietary consumption of green tea, walnuts, and Wolffia globosa ; lower red meat intake; higher total plasma polyphenols (mainly hippuric acid ), and elevated urine urolithin A polyphenol were significantly related to greater VAT loss ( p < 0.05, multivariate models). Conclusions A green-MED diet, enriched with plant-based polyphenols and lower in red/processed meat, may be a potent intervention to promote visceral adiposity regression. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03020186

The production and consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) has increased considerably during the last years worldwide. Collective evidence shows the association between UPF consumption and adverse health outcomes, including inflammatory gastro-intestinal disorders and obesity. The gut microbiota has been suggested as potential mediator of the effects of UPF consumption on metabolism and health. However, few studies have been conducted in order to elucidate these aspects. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the cross-sectional associations between UPF consumption and gut microbiota in a population of senior subjects ( n = 645) within the frame of the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Eligible participants were men and women (aged 55–75 years), without documented history of cardiovascular disease at enrollment, with overweight/obesity (body mass index ≤ 27 and <40 kg/m 2 ) and metabolic syndrome. Using the information of food frequency questionnaires, the consumption of UPF, expressed as a percentage of total dietary energy intake in kcal/day, was calculated considering those food items classified in group 4 of NOVA system. Population was categorized according to tertiles of UPF consumption. Taxonomic fecal microbiota information, along with blood biochemical parameters, anthropometric measurements and clinical data were obtained. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to study the association between fecal microbiota composition and UPF consumption. We observed that subjects allocated in the highest tertile of UPF consumption (21.4 ± 5.0 % kcal/day) presented lower adherence to MedDiet ( p < 0.001) and higher total energy intake ( p < 0.001). The taxonomic analysis of the fecal microbiota revealed a significant (Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p < 0.2) positive association between specific taxa and tertiles (T) of UPF consumption: Alloprevotella ( p = 0.041 vs. T2; p = 0.065 vs. T3), Negativibacillus ( p = 0.096 vs. T3), Prevotella ( p = 0.116 vs. T3), and Sutterella ( p = 0.116 vs. T2). UPF consumption was positively associated with lower adherence to MedDiet and higher total energy intake in senior subjects with overweight obesity and metabolic syndrome. In addition, positive association with specific fecal microbiota taxa related to inflammatory gastro-intestinal diseases and low consumption of fruits and vegetables, was observed.

This study examined the association of education level with objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time in young adults. Data from the Finnish ESTER study (2009-2011) (n = 538) was used to examine the association between educational attainment and different subcomponents of physical activity and sedentary time measured using hip-worn accelerometers (ActiGraph GT1M) for seven consecutive days. Overall physical activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity physical activity and sedentary time were calculated separately for weekdays and weekend days. A latent profile analysis was conducted to identify the different profiles of sedentary time and the subcomponents of physical activity. The educational differences in accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary time varied according to the subcomponents of physical activity, and between weekdays and weekend days. A high education level was associated with high MVPA during weekdays and weekend days in both sexes, high sedentary time during weekdays in both sexes, and a low amount of light-intensity physical activity during weekdays in males and during weekdays and weekend days in females. The results indicate different challenges related to unhealthy behaviours in young adults with low and high education: low education is associated with a lack of MVPA, whereas high education is associated with a lack of light-intensity physical activity and high sedentary time especially during weekdays.

Type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) regulate the proliferation of preadipocytes that give rise to beige adipocytes. Whether and how ILC2 downstream Th2 cytokines control beige adipogenesis remain unclear. We used cell systems and genetic models to examine the mechanism through which IL-13, an ILC2-derived Th2 cytokine, controls beige adipocyte differentiation. IL-13 priming in preadipocytes drove beige adipogenesis by upregulating beige-promoting metabolic programs, including mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and PPARγ-related pathways. The latter was mediated by increased expression and activity of PPARγ through the IL-13 receptor 1 (IL-13R1) downstream effectors STAT6 and p38 MAPK, respectively. Il13-KO or preadipocyte Il13ra1-KO mice were refractory to cold- or β3-adrenergic agonist-induced beiging in inguinal white adipose tissue, whereas Il4-KO mice showed no defects in beige adipogenesis. Il13-KO and Il13ra1-KO mouse models exhibited increased body weight and fat mass and dysregulated glucose metabolism but had a mild cold-intolerant phenotype, likely due to their intact brown adipocyte recruitment. We also found that genetic variants of human IL13RA1 were associated with BMI and type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that IL-13 signaling-regulated beige adipocyte function may play a predominant role in modulating metabolic homeostasis rather than in thermoregulation.

Table S1. Cohort-specific results from epigenome-wide association analyses of gestational age. Table S2. Normalization technique and phenotype definitions used by each cohort. Table S3. Bonferroni-significant CpGs from the meta-analysis on the association between continuous gestational age (no complications model) and offspring DNA methylation at birth adjusted for estimated cell counts. Table S4. Bonferroni-significant CpGs from the meta-analysis on the association between continuous gestational age (all births model) and offspring DNA methylation at birth adjusted for estimated cell counts. Table S5. Gene regions that had at least three consecutive Bonferroni significant CpG sites from the continuous gestational age analyses (no complications model). Table S6. DMRs (n = 2375) for gestational age in relation to newborn methylation (no complication model) identified by using both comb-p (P

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTCarbonic Anhydrase as a Model for Biophysical and Physical-Organic Studies of Proteins and Protein−Ligand BindingVijay M. Krishnamurthy, George K. Kaufman, Adam R. Urbach, Irina Gitlin, Katherine L. Gudiksen, Douglas B. Weibel, and George M. WhitesidesView Author Information Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Cite this: Chem. Rev. 2008, 108, 3, 946–1051Publication Date (Web):March 12, 2008Publication History Received13 December 2006Published online12 March 2008Published inissue 1 March 2008https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cr050262phttps://doi.org/10.1021/cr050262presearch-articleACS PublicationsCopyright © 2008 American Chemical SocietyRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views11269Altmetric-Citations612LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose SUBJECTS:Hydrophobicity,Inhibitors,Ligands,Peptides and proteins,Sulfones Get e-Alerts

Class III obesity is associated with substantially elevated rates of total mortality, with most of the excess deaths due to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and major reductions in life expectancy compared with normal weight. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

BACKGROUND: Coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide; however, the association between coffee consumption and risk of mortality remains inconclusive. METHOD: We examined the associations of consumption of total, caffeinated, and decaffeinated coffee with risk of subsequent total and cause-specific mortality among 121,704 women in the Nurses’ Health Study (1984 - 2013), 116,683 women in the Nurses’ Health Study 2 (1991 - 2013), and 51,530 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986 - 2013). Participants with a history of cancer, heart disease, or stroke at baseline were excluded. Coffee consumption was assessed at baseline using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: During 5,048,976 person-years of follow-up, 20,025 women and 13,391 men died. Consumption of total, caffeinated, and decaffeinated coffee were non-linearly associated with total mortality (P for non-linear trend < 0.001). The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for death among participants who drank coffee, as compared with those who did not, were 0.96 (95% CI: 0.92 - 1.00) for coffee consumption less than one cup/d, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86 - 0.92) for coffee consumption one to three cups/d, 0.91 (95% CI: 0.87 - 0.95) for coffee consumption three to five cups/d, and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.96 - 1.06) for coffee consumption more than five cups/d (p for non-linearity < 0.001; p for non-linear trend < 0.001). When restricting to never smokers, compared to non-drinkers, the multivariate adjusted HRs of total mortality across categories of total coffee consumption were 0.93 (0.86-1.02) for 1 cup/d, 0.87 (0.82-0.96) for 1-3 cups/d, 0.85 (0.77-0.94) for 3-5 cups/d, and 0.83 (0.71-0.97) for >5 cups/d (p for non-linearity = 0.15; p for linear trend <0.001). A significant inverse association was observed for both caffeinated coffee (p for trend < 0.001) and decaffeinated coffee (p for trend = 0.03). CONCLUSION: These data indicate higher consumption of total coffee, caffeinated coffee, and decaffeinated coffee was associated with lower risk of total mortality.

Because of the low dimensional power of its force scaling law, surface tension is appropriate for carrying out reshaping and assembly in the microstructure size domain. This paper reviews work on surface tension powered self-assembly of microstructures. The existing theoretical approaches for rotational assembly are unified. The demonstrated fabrication processes are compared. Mechanisms for accurately determining the assembled shape are discussed, and the limits on accuracy and structural distortion are considered. Applications in optics, electronics and mechanics are described. More complex operations (including the combination of self-assembly and self-organization) are also reviewed.

We report the characterization of defects in individual metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes by transport measurements and scanned gate microscopy. A sizable fraction of metallic nanotubes grown by chemical vapor deposition exhibits strongly gate voltage–dependent resistance at room temperature. Scanned gate measurements reveal that this behavior originates from resonant electron scattering by defects in the nanotube as the Fermi level is varied by the gate voltage. The reflection coefficient at the peak of a scattering resonance was determined to be about 0.5 at room temperature. An intratube quantum dot device formed by two defects is demonstrated by low-temperature transport measurements.

Anxiety frequently accompanies low-grade inflammation-associated conditions like depression, insulin resistance, coronary heart disease and metabolic syndrome. The association between anxiety and low-grade inflammation is, unlike between depression and low-grade inflammation, a very sparsely studied area in general populations. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether anxiety symptoms as well as comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms are associated with low-grade inflammation at population level.The general population-based Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort was followed until age 31 (n=2688 males and 2837 females), when the highly sensitive CRP concentrations were measured. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were defined by Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25).After adjusting for confounders, logistic regression analyses showed that anxiety symptoms alone increased the probability for elevated hs-CRP levels (>3.0mg/L) in males over two-fold (2.19 CI 95% 1.08-4.46), while comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms caused a 1.7-fold (1.76 CI 95% 1.13-2.74) increase in the probability for elevated hs-CRP levels (1.0-3.0mg/L).Our results support the hypothesis that anxiety as well as comorbid anxiety and depression can be associated with an increased risk for low-grade inflammation in males at population level.