Insulin resistance is one of the main characteristics of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the main cause of the development of type II diabetes. The high prevalence of this syndrome in recent decades ...has made it necessary to search for preventive and therapeutic agents, ideally of natural origin, with fewer side effects than conventional pharmacological treatments. Tea is widely known for its medicinal properties, including beneficial effects on weight management and insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to analyze whether a standardized extract of green and black tea (ADM
Complex Tea Extract (CTE)) prevents the development of insulin resistance in mice with MetS. For this purpose, C57BL6/J mice were fed for 20 weeks with a standard diet (Chow), a diet with 56% kcal from fat and sugar (HFHS) or an HFHS diet supplemented with 1.6% CTE. CTE supplementation reduced body weight gain, adiposity and circulating leptin levels. Likewise, CTE also exerted lipolytic and antiadipogenic effects in 3T3-L1 adipocyte cultures and in the C. elegans model. Regarding insulin resistance, CTE supplementation significantly increased plasma adiponectin concentrations and reduced the circulating levels of insulin and the HOMA-IR. Incubation of liver, gastrocnemius muscle and retroperitoneal adipose tissue explants with insulin increased the pAkt/Akt ratio in mice fed with Chow and HFHS + CTE but not in those fed only with HFHS. The greater activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway in response to insulin in mice supplemented with CTE was associated with a decrease in the expression of the proinflammatory markers
,
,
or
and with an overexpression of the antioxidant enzymes
,
,
and
in these tissues. Moreover, in skeletal muscle, mice treated with CTE showed increased mRNA levels of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (
),
and
, suggesting that the CTE's insulin-sensitizing effects could be the result of the activation of this pathway. In conclusion, supplementation with the standardized extract of green and black tea CTE reduces body weight gain, exerts lipolytic and antiadipogenic effects and reduces insulin resistance in mice with MetS through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
Cellulose nanomaterial (CNM) and polyethylenimine (PEI) composites have attracted growing attention due to their multifunctional characteristics, which have been applied in different fields. In this ...work, soybean hulls were valorized into carboxyl cellulose nanofibrils (COOH-CNFs), and composited into hydrogels with PEI by combining them with cationic chelating and physical adsorption strategies. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were produced from soybean hulls prior to oxidation by a TEMPO mediated reaction to obtain COOH–CNFs; then drops of zinc chloride were added to 1.5% aqueous COOH–CNF dispersions, which were left for 24 h to form COOH-CNF hydrogels. Finally, the hydrogels were functionalized using different concentration of PEI solutions over a range of pH values. Elemental analysis results showed that 20% aq. PEI at pH 11.6 is the optimum condition to synthesize the COOH–CNF/PEI hydrogels. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for the removal of anionic methyl blue dyes and Cu(II) ions from water was tested, reaching 82.6% and 69.8%, respectively, after 24 h. These results demonstrate the great potential of COOH–CNF/PEI hydrogels as adsorbent materials for water remediation.
Graphical abstract
There is no point of care diagnostic test for infection with M. Leprae or for leprosy, although ELISA anti PGL-1 has been considered and sometimes used as a means to identify infection.
A systematic ...review of all cohort studies, which classified healthy leprosy contacts, at entry, according to anti-PGL1 positivity, and had at least one year follow up. The outcome was clinical diagnosis of leprosy by an experienced physician. The meta-analysis used a fixed model to estimated OR for the association of PGL-1 positivity and clinical leprosy. A fixed model also estimated the sensibility of PGL-1 positivity and positive predictive value.
Contacts who were anti PGL-1 positive at baseline were 3 times as likely to develop leprosy; the proportion of cases of leprosy that were PGL-1 positive at baseline varied but was always under 50%.
Although there is a clear and consistent association between positivity to anti PGL-1 and development of leprosy in healthy contacts, selection of contacts for prophylaxis based on anti PGL1 response would miss more than half future leprosy cases. Should chemoprophylaxis of controls be incorporated into leprosy control programmes, PGL1 appears not to be a useful test in the decision of which contacts should receive chemoprophylaxis.
To investigate the association between Kaposi's sarcoma-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (KS-IRIS) and mortality, with the use of glucocorticoids in HIV-infected individuals.
...Case-control study.
We reviewed the medical records of 145 individuals with HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma receiving antiretroviral therapy. The association of different variables with KS-IRIS and Kaposi's sarcoma-related mortality was explored by univariate and multivariate analyses. The main exposure of interest was the use of glucocorticoids. We also compared the time to KS-IRIS and the time to death of individuals treated with glucocorticoids vs. those nontreated with glucocorticoids, and the time to death of individuals with KS-IRIS vs. those without KS-IRIS by hazards regression.
Sixty of 145 individuals received glucocorticoids (41.4%) for the management or suspicion of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. Fifty individuals had KS-IRIS (37%). The use of glucocorticoids was more frequent in individuals with KS-IRIS than in those without KS-IRIS (54.9 vs. 36.47%, P = 0.047). Kaposi's sarcoma-related mortality occurred in 17 cases (11.7%), and glucocorticoid use was more frequent in this group (76.47 vs. 36.7%, P = 0.003). Glucocorticoid use was a risk factor for mortality (adjusted odds ratio = 4.719, 95% confidence interval = 1.383-16.103, P = 0.0132), and was associated with shorter periods to KS-IRIS (P = 0.03) and death (P = 0.0073). KS-IRIS was a risk factor for mortality (P = 0.049).
In HIV-infected individuals, the use of glucocorticoids is a risk factor for KS-IRIS and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated mortality. In addition, KS-IRIS is a risk factor for mortality. Therefore, glucocorticoid administration in this population requires careful consideration based on individualized risk-benefit analysis.
•Feasible route to the production of core/shell nanostructure with pure phases.•Synthesis of CoFe2O4@BiFeO3 core/shell nanoparticles by coprecipitation.•Structural, morphological and magnetic ...properties in CFO@BFO.•Wasp-waisted behavior and exchange bias effect disclosing the coupling between phases.•Spin disorder in CFO@BFO core/shell nanoparticles.
We synthesize CoFe2O4@BiFeO3 core/shell nanoparticles by coprecipitation and systematically investigate the structural, morphological, and magnetic properties in such nanostructured system. Through structural and morphological characterization, we demonstrate the obtainment of core/shell nanostructure with pure phases. By performing a broad experimental magnetic analysis, we evaluate the magnetic response for the precursor phases, as well as for the core/shell nanostructure. For this latter, we identify fingerprints of the wasp-waisted behavior and exchange bias effect, disclosing the exchange coupling between the phases taking place at the interface. Further, we reveal the exchange coupling between core and shell is strongly affected by a spin glass behavior arisen from the spin disorder in the CoFe2O4@BiFeO3 core/shell nanoparticles. After all, our findings allow us to place the used procedures taking into account the coprecipitation and calcination processes as a feasible route to the production of high-quality core/shell nanostructures.
•The magneto-impedance of a CoP@Cu core–shell microwire was investigated.•The long term stability of the CoP metallic amorphous alloy was tested.•A microstrip waveguide was used for measuring the ...magneto-impedance.•Giant magneto-impedance effect yielded values as high as 98 % for f = 30 MHz.•The Kittel formula for a plate geometry accounted for FMR in the microwave regime.
The giant magneto-impedance effect (GMI) consists in a large variation in the electrical impedance that occurs in some magnetic materials when subjected to a variable external magnetic field. Here we present an experimental study of the GMI in a wide frequency range observed in a structure of the metallic amorphous magnetic alloy CoP electrodeposited on copper microwires by using a microstrip configuration. In the low frequency range, the magnetic field dependence of the impedance is due to the behavior of the circumferential ac susceptibility in the magnetic coating. In the microwave range the behavior of the GMI is dominated by the main dynamical magnetic phenomenon at high frequencies, namely ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). The experimental data are well fit by Kittel equation for the FMR frequency for a ferromagnetic layer with a saturation magnetization similar to the ones reported in previous works. The structural stability of the CoP alloy against aging effects was also investigated. The overall results indicate that the CoP alloy is a good candidate for applications in sensors and in microwave devices.
The aim of this study was to continuously monitor rumen pH of loose-housed dairy cattle as affected by feeding pattern and live yeast supplementation. Three multiparous lactating rumen-cannulated ...cows receiving the same basal ration once daily were supplemented with 5
g/d (equivalent to 10
10
CFU/d) of
Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain CNCM I-1077 (Levucell SC2, Lallemand, Toulouse, France) alternately for periods of 2 weeks following a cross-over design. The three cows were maintained in loose-house conditions and milked with a robotic milking system. Cows consumed a fraction of their ration in the feed bunk as a mixed ration and about 3
kg/d of concentrate during milking at the robotic milking unit. During the last 8
d of each period, rumen pH was monitored every 15
min. However, the rumen was accessed only once every 3 days. These pH measurements were recorded with a pH meter capable of storing pH values automatically that was placed inside a custom-made polyvinyl cylinder with about 300
g of lead to ensure that the device remained in the ventral part of the rumen throughout all readings. Individual feed intake and feeding patterns were also recorded. The data were analyzed using a mixed-effects model with repeated measures. Average rumen pH was greater (P<0.01) when yeast was supplemented than when no yeast was provided. Ruminal pH decreased (P<0.001) as time since last basal ration bout increased, and this decrease was more (P<0.05) pronounced when no yeast was supplemented. Yeast-supplemented cows had a greater (P<0.05) meal frequency than the unsupplemented cows. The results indicate that live yeasts have a beneficial effect on ruminal pH of cows kept in loose-house conditions. Furthermore, yeast effects on rumen pH may be evident starting 1 week after supplementation.
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