This report includes the reanalysis of data from a clinical trial showing a lower rate of cardiovascular events among persons assigned to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil ...or nuts than among those assigned to a low-fat diet.
The fundamental limits currently faced by traditional computing devices necessitate the exploration of ways to store, compute, and transmit information going beyond the current CMOS-based ...technologies. Here, we propose a three-dimensional (3D) magnetic interconnector that exploits geometry-driven automotion of domain walls (DWs), for the transfer of magnetic information between functional magnetic planes. By combining state-of-the-art 3D nanoprinting and standard physical vapor deposition, we prototype 3D helical DW conduits. We observe the automotion of DWs by imaging their magnetic state under different field sequences using X-ray microscopy, observing a robust unidirectional motion of DWs from the bottom to the top of the spirals. From experiments and micromagnetic simulations, we determine that the large thickness gradients present in the structure are the main mechanism for 3D DW automotion. We obtain direct evidence of how this tailorable magnetic energy gradient is imprinted in the devices, and how it competes with pinning effects that are due to local changes in the energy landscape. Our work also predicts how this effect could lead to high DW velocities, reaching the Walker limit during automotion. This work demonstrates a possible mechanism for efficient transfer of magnetic information in three dimensions.
The most prevalent diseases of our time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer) are rising worldwide. All of them ...share the condition of an "inflammatory disorder", with impaired immune functions frequently caused or accompanied by alterations in gut microbiota. These multifactorial maladies also have in common malnutrition related to physiopathology. In this context, diet is the greatest modulator of immune system-microbiota crosstalk, and much interest, and new challenges, are arising in the area of precision nutrition as a way towards treatment and prevention. It is a fact that the westernized diet (WD) is partly responsible for the increased prevalence of NCDs, negatively affecting both gut microbiota and the immune system. Conversely, other nutritional approaches, such as Mediterranean diet (MD), positively influence immune system and gut microbiota, and is proposed not only as a potential tool in the clinical management of different disease conditions, but also for prevention and health promotion globally. Thus, the purpose of this review is to determine the regulatory role of nutritional components of WD and MD in the gut microbiota and immune system interplay, in order to understand, and create awareness of, the influence of diet over both key components.
Magnetic refrigeration (MR) at room temperature is an emerging technology and shows real potential to enter conventional markets. The principle of MR obeys the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which is ...based on the effect caused by a magnetic field on the materials that bear the property of varying the magnetic entropy, as well as its temperature, when varying the magnetic field. This article revises the MCE, its theory and thermodynamics. It discusses the properties that must be met by the magnetocaloric materials as well as those most suitable for room temperature MR and those displaying a promising future. Finally, a presentation and description of the Carnot, Brayton, Ericsson, AMR and cascading MR cycles is given with a view to establishing selection criteria based on their performances.
It is unknown whether individuals at high cardiovascular risk sustain a benefit in cardiovascular disease from increased olive oil consumption. The aim was to assess the association between total ...olive oil intake, its varieties (extra virgin and common olive oil) and the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.
We included 7,216 men and women at high cardiovascular risk, aged 55 to 80 years, from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study, a multicenter, randomized, controlled, clinical trial. Participants were randomized to one of three interventions: Mediterranean Diets supplemented with nuts or extra-virgin olive oil, or a control low-fat diet. The present analysis was conducted as an observational prospective cohort study. The median follow-up was 4.8 years. Cardiovascular disease (stroke, myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death) and mortality were ascertained by medical records and National Death Index. Olive oil consumption was evaluated with validated food frequency questionnaires. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards and generalized estimating equations were used to assess the association between baseline and yearly repeated measurements of olive oil intake, cardiovascular disease and mortality.
During follow-up, 277 cardiovascular events and 323 deaths occurred. Participants in the highest energy-adjusted tertile of baseline total olive oil and extra-virgin olive oil consumption had 35% (HR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.47 to 0.89) and 39% (HR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.85) cardiovascular disease risk reduction, respectively, compared to the reference. Higher baseline total olive oil consumption was associated with 48% (HR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.29 to 0.93) reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality. For each 10 g/d increase in extra-virgin olive oil consumption, cardiovascular disease and mortality risk decreased by 10% and 7%, respectively. No significant associations were found for cancer and all-cause mortality. The associations between cardiovascular events and extra virgin olive oil intake were significant in the Mediterranean diet intervention groups and not in the control group.
Olive oil consumption, specifically the extra-virgin variety, is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and mortality in individuals at high cardiovascular risk.
This study was registered at controlled-trials.com (http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN35739639). International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 35739639. Registration date: 5 October 2005.
We examine various integration schemes for the time-dependent Kohn–Sham equations. Contrary to the time-dependent Schrödinger’s equation, this set of equations is nonlinear, due to the dependence of ...the Hamiltonian on the electronic density. We discuss some of their exact properties, and in particular their symplectic structure. Four different families of propagators are considered, specifically the linear multistep, Runge–Kutta, exponential Runge–Kutta, and the commutator-free Magnus schemes. These have been chosen because they have been largely ignored in the past for time-dependent electronic structure calculations. The performance is analyzed in terms of cost-versus-accuracy. The clear winner, in terms of robustness, simplicity, and efficiency is a simplified version of a fourth-order commutator-free Magnus integrator. However, in some specific cases, other propagators, such as some implicit versions of the multistep methods, may be useful.
Plants have had numerous biological, clinical, pharmaceutical and medicinal purposes for many years; however, their use as a general platform for preparation of desired pharmaceutical and biomedical ...compounds is relatively current. Secondary metabolites with remarkable and diverse biological functions are produced by medicinal plants. Significant advancements in nanosciences have enabled their various applications in the development of a new generation of drug molecules. Due to the application of toxic solvents and high energy consumption of conventional physical and chemical approaches, greener and eco-friendly methods are essential and vital. Plants can provide an outstanding alternative for the production of phytomaterials and biomaterials, and this review highlights the exogenous and endogenous syntheses of nanoparticles using living plants. Additionally, the plant nano-molecular farming of proteins including collagen, gelatin, elastin, recombinant anti-cancer monoclonal antibodies and recombinant anti-cancer vaccines is discussed.
Plant molecular farming: challenges and opportunities.
Specific lipid molecular changes leading to type 2 diabetes (T2D) are largely unknown. We assessed lipidome factors associated with future occurrence of T2D in a population at high cardiovascular ...risk.
We conducted a case-cohort study nested within the PREDIMED trial, with 250 incident T2D cases diagnosed during 3.8 years of median follow-up, and a random sample of 692 participants (639 noncases and 53 overlapping cases) without T2D at baseline. We repeatedly measured 207 plasma known lipid metabolites at baseline and after 1 year of follow-up. We built combined factors of lipid species using principal component analysis and assessed the association between these lipid factors (or their 1-year changes) and T2D incidence.
Baseline lysophosphatidylcholines and lysophosphatidylethanolamines (lysophospholipids LPs), phosphatidylcholine-plasmalogens (PC-PLs), sphingomyelins (SMs), and cholesterol esters (CEs) were inversely associated with risk of T2D (multivariable-adjusted
for linear trend ≤0.001 for all). Baseline triacylglycerols (TAGs), diacylglycerols (DAGs), and phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) were positively associated with T2D risk (multivariable-adjusted
for linear trend <0.001 for all). One-year changes in these lipids showed associations in similar directions but were not significant after adjustment for baseline levels. TAGs with odd-chain fatty acids showed inverse associations with T2D after adjusting for total TAGs.
Two plasma lipid profiles made up of different lipid classes were found to be associated with T2D in participants at high cardiovascular risk. A profile including LPs, PC-PLs, SMs, and CEs was associated with lower T2D risk. Another profile composed of TAGs, DAGs, and PEs was associated with higher T2D risk.
AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all cause mortality.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingSeguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) cohort ...of university graduates, Spain 1999-2018.Participants19 899 participants (12 113 women and 7786 men) aged 20-91 years followed-up every two years between December 1999 and February 2014 for food and drink consumption, classified according to the degree of processing by the NOVA classification, and evaluated through a validated 136 item food frequency questionnaire.Main outcome measureAssociation between consumption of energy adjusted ultra-processed foods categorised into quarters (low, low-medium, medium-high, and high consumption) and all cause mortality, using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models.Results335 deaths occurred during 200 432 persons years of follow-up. Participants in the highest quarter (high consumption) of ultra-processed foods consumption had a higher hazard for all cause mortality compared with those in the lowest quarter (multivariable adjusted hazard ratio 1.62, 95% confidence interval 1.13 to 2.33) with a significant dose-response relation (P for linear trend=0.005). For each additional serving of ultra-processed foods, all cause mortality relatively increased by 18% (adjusted hazard ratio 1.18, 95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.33).ConclusionsA higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (>4 servings daily) was independently associated with a 62% relatively increased hazard for all cause mortality. For each additional serving of ultra-processed food, all cause mortality increased by 18%.Study registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02669602.
Sexual conflict and ecology Gomez-Llano, Miguel A.; Bensch, Hanna M.; Svensson, Erik I.
Evolution,
April 2018, Letnik:
72, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Sexual conflict is a pervasive evolutionary force that can reduce female fitness. Experimental evolution studies in the laboratory might overestimate the importance of sexual conflict because the ...ecological conditions in such settings typically include only a single species. Here, we experimentally manipulated conspecific male density (high or low) and species composition (sympatric or allopatric) to investigate how ecological conditions affect female survival in a sexually dimorphic insect, the banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens). Female survival was strongly influenced by an interaction between male density and species composition. Specifically, at low conspecific male density, female survival increased in the presence of heterospecific males (C. virgo). Behavioral mating experiments showed that interspecific interference competition reduced conspecific male mating success with large females. These findings suggest that reproductive interference competition between con-and heterospecific males might indirectly facilitate female survival by reducing mating harassment from conspecific males. Hence, interspecific competitors can show contrasting effects on the two sexes thereby influencing sexual conflict dynamics. Our results call for incorporation of more ecological realism in sexual conflict research, particularly how local community context and reproductive interference competition between heterospecific males can affect female fitness.
PDF
