Chemokines, soluble PD-L1, and immune cell hyporesponsiveness are distinct features of SARS-CoV-2 critical illness.

Critically ill patients manifest many of the same immune features seen in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including both "cytokine storm" and "immune suppression." However, direct comparisons of molecular and cellular profiles between contemporaneously enrolled critically ill patients with and without severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) are limited. We sought to identify immune signatures specifically enriched in critically ill patients with COVID-19 compared with patients without COVID-19.

The impact of low-fat and full-fat dairy foods on symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease: an exploratory analysis based on a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a widely prevalent condition. High consumption of dairy foods and dietary fat are associated with worse GERD symptoms. However, existing data are inconsistent and mostly based on observational studies.

Assessing the validity of plasma phospholipid fatty acids as biomarkers of dairy fat intake using data from a randomized controlled intervention trial.

Background: Plasma phospholipid pentadecanoic acid (C15:0), heptadecanoic acid (C17:0), and trans-palmitoleic acid (trans-C16:1n-7) are correlates of dairy fat intake. However, their relative concentrations may be influenced by other endogenous factors, such as liver fat content, and their validity as biomarkers of dairy fat intake has yet to be established.

Objectives: We investigated whether liver fat content modifies relations between concentrations of C15:0, C17:0, and trans-C16:1n-7 (alone and in combination with iso-C17:0) and known dairy fat intake in the context of a randomized controlled intervention study.

Impact of low-fat and full-fat dairy foods on fasting lipid profile and blood pressure: exploratory endpoints of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Dietary guidelines traditionally recommend low-fat dairy because dairy's high saturated fat content is thought to promote cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, emerging evidence indicates that dairy fat may not negatively impact CVD risk factors when consumed in foods with a complex matrix.

Objective: The aim was to compare the effects of diets limited in dairy or rich in either low-fat or full-fat dairy on CVD risk factors.

Comparison of host endothelial, epithelial and inflammatory response in ICU patients with and without COVID-19: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Analyses of blood biomarkers involved in the host response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral infection can reveal distinct biological pathways and inform development and testing of therapeutics for COVID-19. Our objective was to evaluate host endothelial, epithelial and inflammatory biomarkers in COVID-19.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 171 ICU patients, including 78 (46%) patients positive and 93 (54%) negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection from April to September, 2020.

Impact of the Analytical Approach on the Reliability of MRI-Based Assessment of Hepatic Fat Content.

MRI is a popular noninvasive method for the assessment of liver fat content. After MRI scan acquisition, there is currently no standardized image analysis procedure for the most accurate estimate of liver fat content. We determined intraindividual reliability of MRI-based liver fat measurement using 10 different MRI slice analysis methods in normal-weight, overweight, and obese individuals who underwent 2 same-day abdominal MRI scans.

Vitamin D in human serum and adipose tissue after supplementation.

Background: Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration is an indicator of vitamin D exposure, but it is also influenced by clinical characteristics that affect 25(OH)D production and clearance. Vitamin D is the precursor to 25(OH)D but is analytically challenging to measure in biological specimens.

Objectives: We aimed to develop and validate a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for quantification of vitamins D3 and D2 in serum and to explore the potential of circulating vitamin D as a biomarker of exposure in supplementation trials.

The impact of diets rich in low-fat or full-fat dairy on glucose tolerance and its determinants: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Dairy foods, particularly yogurt, and plasma biomarkers of dairy fat intake are consistently inversely associated with incident type 2 diabetes. Yet, few trials assessing the impact of dairy on glucose homeostasis include fermented or full-fat dairy foods.

Objectives: We aimed to compare the effects of diets rich in low-fat or full-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese on glucose tolerance and its determinants, with those of a limited dairy diet.

Intraindividual Variation in Markers of Intestinal Permeability and Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Healthy Normal-Weight to Obese Adults.

Background: Intestinal permeability and adipose tissue inflammation are considered mechanistic links in the relationship between diet, obesity, and chronic disease. However, methods to measure both are not well standardized, and the reliability of commonly used measures is not known.

Methods: We calculated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for several common measures of intestinal permeability and adipose tissue inflammation from a randomized clinical trial of cross-over design in which normal-weight ( = 12) or overweight/obese ( = 12) individuals each completed three 8-day dietary intervention periods.

Consuming glucose-sweetened, not fructose-sweetened, beverages increases fasting insulin in healthy humans.

Fructose-, compared to glucose-, sweetened beverages increase liver triglyceride content in the short-term, prior to weight gain. In secondary analyses of a randomized cross-over design study during which 24 healthy adults consumed 25% of their estimated energy requirement in the form of glucose-, fructose-, and high-fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages in addition to an identical ad libitum diet for three periods of 8 days each, we investigated the hypothesis that fructose in sweetened beverages also triggers insulin resistance in the short term. Total energy intake, body weight, and fasting glucose did not differ among diet phases.

The short-term and long-term effects of bariatric/metabolic surgery on subcutaneous adipose tissue inflammation in humans.

Context: The mechanisms mediating the short- and long-term improvements in glucose homeostasis following bariatric/metabolic surgery remain incompletely understood.

Objective: To investigate whether a reduction in adipose tissue inflammation plays a role in the metabolic improvements seen after bariatric/metabolic surgery, both in the short-term and longer-term.

Design: Fasting blood and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue were obtained before (n=14), at one month (n=9), and 6-12months (n=14) after bariatric/metabolic surgery from individuals with obesity who were not on insulin or anti-diabetes medication.

No differential effect of beverages sweetened with fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, or glucose on systemic or adipose tissue inflammation in normal-weight to obese adults: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and low-grade chronic inflammation are both independently associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Fructose, a major component of SSBs, may acutely trigger inflammation, which may be one link between SSB consumption and cardiometabolic disease.

Objective: We sought to determine whether beverages sweetened with fructose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and glucose differentially influence systemic inflammation [fasting plasma C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as primary endpoints] acutely and before major changes in body weight.

No difference in ad libitum energy intake in healthy men and women consuming beverages sweetened with fructose, glucose, or high-fructose corn syrup: a randomized trial.

Background: Increased energy intake is consistently observed in individuals consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), likely mainly because of an inadequate satiety response to liquid calories. However, SSBs have a high content of fructose, the consumption of which acutely fails to trigger responses in key signals involved in energy homeostasis. It is unclear whether the fructose content of SSBs contributes to the increased energy intake in individuals drinking SSBs.