Resistant starch (RS) is a prebiotic fiber that has been scientifically shown to control the development of obesity. Prebiotic role of RS has also seen to be very important as it helps gut bacteria ...to regulate fermentation and fatty acid production. This study aimed to check the different levels of RS on glycemic index, oxidative stress and mineral absorption rate in healthy rat models. To evaluate these objectives, the trial was conducted for 40 days of follow up; 10 days were the adjustment period and the collection period over 30 days.
Thirty-six healthy female Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups of (9 animals each) NC (Normal Control: without resistant starch), RS0.20 (resistant starch: 0.20 g/kg body weight), RS0.30 (resistant starch: 0.30 g/kg body weight), RS0.40 (resistant starch: 0.40 g/kg body weight). All the diets were isocaloric and isonitroginous.
The impact of different levels of RS on the dry-matter intake (DMI) presented statistically significant results (p ≤ 0.05): DMI was reduced in RS (0.02) fed rats as compared to NC rats in first 3 weeks; and after 4th and 5th weeks, there was a DMI reduction of 28% in RS (0.04) fed rats. Moreover, there was no significant increase in the nutrient intake in all RS diets. The dry-matter (DM) digestibility was statistically significantly (P ≤ 0·05), which increased in all rats fed with different level of RS. The weight loss showed statistically significant results: RS (0.04) exhibited 19 g reduction in weight as compared with NC rats. Significant increase was observed in total oxidant status (TOS), in all the RS fed rats when compared with NC rats. The levels of Mg, Ca, Fe and Zn were shown to be decrease in feces analysis, which proves their better absorbance in gut. Statistically significant increase was observed in antioxidant capacity, whereas significant decrease was observed in the total weight of the animals, showing the role of RS in controlling obesity.
Overall, significant results were found in all dosage level of RS but long term administration of the higher dosage level (RS0.40) may need to be studied for enhanced results. RS can help improve insulin sensitivity in overweight adults.
Purpose To assess the impact of visual impairment and blindness on the incident use of community support services in the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Design Population-based cohort. Methods Of 3654 ...baseline participants (1992-1994), 2334, 1952, and 1149 were re-examined after 5, 10, and 15 years, respectively. Incident visual impairment was defined as subsequent development of visual impairment (visual acuity <20/40) in the better eye of subjects with best-corrected visual acuity ≥20/40 at baseline. Community support service use included regular use of Meals on Wheels, Home Care, or community nurse services. Informal support included assistance from family or friends. Discrete logistic regression models with time-dependent study and outcome variables were used to assess associations between visual impairment and subsequent use of support, adjusted for potential confounders. Results Among participants with bilateral visual impairment at baseline, incident use of community services over 5-15 years was 41.7% compared to 19.4% in those without visual impairment at baseline (odds ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-3.60). Persons with incident bilateral visual impairment were more likely to subsequently need community support (odds ratio, 3.32; confidence interval 1.96-5.59) in 5 years, compared to persons without visual impairment during the entire follow-up period. Baseline older age, walking disability, receiving pension, and having 2+ hospital admissions within 12 months were also significantly associated with incident use of support services. Conclusions Development of bilateral visual impairment in this cohort was associated with greater likelihood of subsequent use of community or informal support services in 5 years, independent of physical comorbidities.
We aimed to investigate epidermal lipid profiles and their association with skin microbiome compositions in children with atopic dermatitis (AD).
Specimens were obtained by skin tape stripping from ...27 children with AD and 18 healthy subjects matched for age and sex. Proteins and lipids of stratum corneum samples from nonlesional and lesional skin of AD patients and normal subjects were quantified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Skin microbiome profiles were analyzed using bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing.
Ceramides with nonhydroxy fatty acids (FAs) and C18 sphingosine as their sphingoid base (C18-NS-CERs) N-acylated with C16, C18 and C22 FAs, sphingomyelin (SM) N-acylated with C18 FAs, and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) with C16 FAs were increased in AD lesional skin compared to those in AD nonlesional skin and that of control subjects (all
< 0.01). SMs N-acylated with C16 FAs were increased in AD lesional skin compared to control subjects (
< 0.05). The ratio of NS-CERs with long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) (C24-32:C14-22), the ratio of LPC with LCFAs to SCFAs (C24-30:C16-22) as well as the ratio of total esterified omega-hydroxy ceramides to total NS-CERs were negatively correlated with transepidermal water loss (rho coefficients = -0.738, -0.528, and -0.489, respectively; all
< 0.001). The proportions of Firmicutes and
were positively correlated to SCFAs including NS ceramides (C14-22), SMs (C17-18), and LPCs (C16), while the proportions of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes,
, and
were negatively correlated to these SCFAs.
Our results suggest that pediatric AD skin shows aberrant lipid profiles, and these alterations are associated with skin microbial dysbiosis and cutaneous barrier dysfunction.
In chronic nonhealing wounds, the healing process is disrupted and wounds are often infected with bacteria. About 85% of lower extremity amputations in diabetes are attributed to deep infection of ...foot ulcers. Therefore, infection control is critical for wound care. In this study, we analyzed lipid composition of Chamaecyparis obtusa extract, and we describe the wound-healing properties of its combination of 10 major lipid components. A 10-lipid mixture up-regulated HBD-3 and LL-37 through the olfactory receptor 2AT4 and induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases in primary human keratinocytes. In addition, the 10-lipid mixture had direct bactericidal effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes and protected against staphylococcal α-toxin–induced keratinocyte cell death. In an animal model, the 10-lipid mixture accelerated skin wound healing and was also effective in healing wounds superinfected with S. aureus. We suggest that the 10-lipid mixture, because of its wound-healing and antimicrobial properties, can be beneficial for wound treatment.
Background: It is unclear whether differences exist in surgical complication rates and long‐term visual acuity outcomes between patients whose phacoemulsification cataract surgery was performed by ...ophthalmological trainees and those performed by consultants.
Design: Prospective clinical cohort study.
Participants: 1851 participants of the Cataract Surgery and Age‐related Macular Degeneration study, aged ≥64 years, had cataract surgery performed at Westmead Hospital, Sydney.
Methods: Surgical complication rates and visual acuity at 24‐month postoperative visits were compared between patients who were operated on by trainees and those operated on by consultants.
Main Outcome Measures: Surgical outcomes included operative complications recorded in surgical audit forms and 24‐month postoperative visual acuity.
Results: Of 1851 patients, 1274 (68.8%) were reviewed 24 months after surgery. Of these, 976 had data on the type of surgeon who performed the operation. After excluding 152 challenging cases and three cases operated on by first‐year trainees at the beginning of their training, 821 patients were included in this study, of those, 498 were operated on by trainees and 323 by consultants. Habitual visual acuity ≥6/12 was achieved in 77.3% (n = 385/498) and 74.3% (n = 240/323), respectively, of the two groups of patients 24 months postoperatively. Of 514 patients who had surgical audit data, the major complication rate was numerically greater, but not significantly different for the 330 trainee‐operated (6.1%) patients, compared with the 184 consultant‐operated patients (2.7%, P = 0.091).
Conclusions: We found relatively comparable complication rates and visual outcomes after 2 years between patients operated on by ophthalmological trainees and those by consultants, in a cataract surgical cohort at Westmead Hospital.
Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae Kitam is an endemic and endangered species in urgent need of a comprehensive conservation strategy.
To develop an efficient cryopreservation protocol using in vitro ...shoot tips to complement traditional conservation approaches in case seeds are not available or insufficient for conservation programs.
Shoot tips of in vitro plants were cryopreserved using a droplet-vitrification method following improvement of pre-culture, osmoprotection, vitrification solution (VS), unloading and post-culture treatments. The starting protocol included step-wise pre-culture with 10% and 17.5% sucrose for 55 h and 17 h, respectively, followed by osmoprotection with C4-35% (17.5% glycerol + 17.5% sucrose) for 30 min, and cryoprotection with B5-80% (40% glycerol + 40% sucrose) for 60 min.
Shoot tips of A. altaicus were found to be moderately sensitive to the osmotic stress. Pre-culture and osmoprotection were not critical for the regeneration of cryopreserved explants when either of these treatments was applied. Osmoprotection with C4-35% on ice for 60 min followed by cryoprotection with A3-80%, a modified and diluted PVS2, on ice for 60 min resulted in the highest (65.3%) regeneration of cryopreserved shoot tips. Among alternative VSs tested, A3-80% and B5-80% were superior to PVS2 and PVS3 used under the same conditions. Step-wise recovery of shoot tips on ammonium-free medium followed by GA
-containing medium and medium without growth regulators were critical for the normal regeneration of both VS-treated and cryopreserved shoot tips.
Cryopreservation of in vitro shoot tips using droplet-vitrification was developed as a complementary conservation approach for A. altaicus. Adjustment of the composition of regrowth media depending on recovery stage was important for the regeneration of healthy plants from cryopreserved shoot tips.
A droplet-vitrification protocol has been established for cryopreserving Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. Peak using axillary shoot tips and apical shoots of in vitro plants. In the optimized procedure, ...explants were submitted to a step-wise preculture in liquid sucrose-enriched medium (0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 M for 31,17 and 7 h, respectively). Precultured explants were treated for 40 min with C4 loading solution comprising (w/v) 17.5 percent glycerol + 17.5 percent sucrose, then dehydrated with PVS3 vitrification solution (w/v, 50 percent glycerol + 50 percent sucrose) for 60 min (axillary shoot tips) or 90 min (apical shoots). Explants were cryopreserved by direct immersion in liquid nitrogen in minute drops of PVS3 attached to aluminum foil strips. The optimal age of donor plants was 4-5.5 weeks for apical shoots and 7 weeks for axillary shoot tips, producing post-cryopreservation regeneration percentages of 81.9 percent and 84.9 percernt, respectively. Plants regenerated from cryopreserved samples showed no phenotypical abnormalities and similar profiles of relative DNA content were recorded for control and cryopreserved plants. Our results suggest that the modified droplet-vitrification protocol described in this paper is highly effective and may prove user-friendlier than the cryopreservation protocols already published for chrysanthemum.
A systematic approach using a set of 13 treatments was applied to develop a droplet-vitrification protocol for Rubia akane hairy roots, based on their responses to preculture, loading, dehydration ...and cooling/rewarming steps. The roots were very sensitive to osmotic stress induced by both preculture in liquid sucrose-enriched medium (up to 0.5 M sucrose) and by dehydration with highly concentrated vitrification solutions (VSs). Loading was necessary before dehydration of explants with VS, and the composition of the loading solution (LS) significantly affected their post-cryopreservation regeneration. Due to high sensitivity of roots to both chemical cytotoxicity and osmotic stress produced by VSs, cryoprotection with alternative VSs, i.e. B5-80 percent (40 percent glycerol + 40 percent sucrose, w/v) at room temperature for 15 min or with A3-70 percent (29.2 percent glycerol + 11.7 percent DMSO + 11.7 percent EG + 17.4 percent sucrose, w/v) at 0 degree C for 20 min ensured the highest post-cryopreservation regeneration. However, when using these solutions, endothermic peaks (enthalpies) with -2.9 and -5.8 J per gram fresh weight, respectively, were recorded by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) during the rewarming phase. Droplet-vitrification using foil strips showed higher post-cryopreservation regeneration (86 percent) compared with vitrification in cryovials (59 percent), possibly due to the higher cooling and rewarming rates achieved with droplet-vitrification. The developed protocol was applied to hairy roots of five other species with minor modifications in explant type, the duration of the last subculture before explant excision, and the dehydration duration with VS B5-80 percent.
Las ciudades del deseo explores the
representations of gender, sexuality, and urban space in
contemporary narratives from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and
Puerto Rico. By examining a corpus of ...novels published since 2000,
this book shows how the changes in urban landscape create a new
image of the city that destroys traditional gender roles and
produces different discourses on sexuality. At moments of crisis in
political agendas that took place between 1990 and 2000, queer
subjects became spokespeople outlining new national projects on
each island, while claiming space in the national imaginary. The
nation is no longer built on blood ties, patriarchal norms, or
biological procreation, but rather starts incorporating previously
excluded racial identities and sexual practices. By juxtaposing the
narratives of the three countries and putting into dialogue the
topics of nationality, sexuality, urban space, and sex tourism,
Las ciudades del deseo breaks away from a tradition that
tends to study them separately. The book contributes new
perspectives on an emerging culture of resistance to
heteronormative dynamics and power structures that is developing
simultaneously in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. It
sheds light on larger connections between literature and LGBTQ
activism in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
Las ciudades del deseo explora las
representaciones del género, la sexualidad y el espacio urbano en
la narrativa contemporánea de Cuba, la República Dominicana y
Puerto Rico. Aportando un análisis de varias novelas publicadas
después de 2000, el libro muestra cómo los cambios del paisaje
urbano crean una imagen nueva de la ciudad que destruye roles de
género tradicionales y produce múltiples discursos de sexualidad.
Durante la crisis de las agendas políticas que sucede en 1990-2000
los sujetos queer esbozan nuevos proyectos nacionales en cada isla.
La familia como metáfora de la nación deja de basarse en los
lazos de sangre, normas patriarcales y procreación biológica. En
cambio, empieza a incorporar identidades raciales y prácticas
sexuales. Yuxtaponiendo las narrativas de los tres países y
poniendo en diálogos los temas de la nación, la sexualidad, el
espacio urbano y el turismo sexual, Las ciudades del deseo
rompe con una tradición que tiende a explorarlos por separado. El
libro contribuye a una perspectiva nueva de la emergente cultura de
resistencia contra las dinámicas heteronormativas y estructuras de
poder que se está desarrollando simultáneamente en los tres
países y establece conexiones extensas entre la literatura y el
activismo LGBTQ en el Caribe hispano.
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