Association of habitual coffee consumption with obesity, sarcopenia, bone mineral density and cardiovascular risk factors: A two-year follow-up study in kidney transplant recipients.

Background & Aims: Recent evidence suggests that moderate coffee intake is associated with multiple health benefits, including lower risk of obesity, sarcopenia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population. However, to date, no study has evaluated these associations in kidney transplant recipients (KTR). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of habitual coffee consumption with obesity, sarcopenia, bone mineral density and CVD risk factors in KTR.

Simvastatin attenuates inflammatory process on LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a disease of high prevalence and is characterized by the excessive production of inflammatory mediators in the lungs of people sick. Inflammation is the major characteristic of ALI and studies report that inhibition of inflammatory cytokines could be an alternative treatment. Statins such as Simvastatin (SV) are known to their use for cholesterol reduction but also for inflammatory and immunoregulatory processes.

Impact of maternal physical exercise on inflammatory and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis markers in the brain and lungs of prenatally stressed neonatal mice.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of maternal exercise on alterations induced by prenatal stress in markers of the inflammatory process and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in the brain and lungs of neonatal mice. Female Balb/c mice were divided into three groups: control, prenatal restraint stress, prenatal restraint stress and physical exercise before and during the gestational period. On day 0 (PND0) and 10 (PND10), mice were euthanized for brain and lung analyses.

The role of maternal exercise on placental, behavioral and genetic alterations induced by prenatal stress.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of treadmill maternal exercise on alterations induced by prenatal stress in neonatal mice. Female and male Balb/c mice were divided into five groups: control (CON), prenatal restraint stress (PNS), prenatal restraint stress and physical exercise before pregnancy (PNS + EX1), prenatal restraint stress and physical exercise during pregnancy (PNS + EX2), and prenatal restraint stress and physical exercise before and during pregnancy (PNS + EX3). Exercise was performed using a treadmill, at a speed of 10 m/min, for 60 min, 5 days a week.

The Future in Sensing Technologies for Malaria Surveillance: A Review of Hemozoin-Based Diagnosis.

Early and effective malaria diagnosis is vital to control the disease spread and to prevent the emergence of severe cases and death. Currently, malaria diagnosis relies on optical microscopy and immuno-rapid tests; however, these require a drop of blood, are time-consuming, or are not specific and sensitive enough for reliable detection of low-level parasitaemia. Thus, there is an urge for simpler, prompt, and accurate alternative diagnostic methods.

Gestational stress alters maternal behavior and inflammatory markers in the olfactory bulb of lactating mice.

Inflammatory markers represent important candidates responsible for the altered behavior and physiology observed after stressful experiences. In the maternal brain, the olfactory bulb (OB) is a key constituent of the neural circuit that mediates the reciprocal interaction between mother and infant. This study aimed to investigate the effects of stress during pregnancy on maternal behavior and inflammatory changes in the olfactory bulb of lactating mice.

Multilayer Thin-Film Optical Filters for Reflectance-Based Malaria Diagnostics.

Malaria diagnosis relies on optical microscopy and/or rapid diagnostic tests based on detecting specific malaria antigens. The clinical sensitivity of these methods is highly dependent on parasite density, with low levels of detection at low parasite density, challenging the worldwide malaria elimination efforts. Therefore, there is a need for diagnostic methods with higher sensitivity, demanding innovative diagnostics devices able to detect malaria at low parasite density and at early stages of the disease.

Prenatal stress and KCl-induced depolarization modulate cell death, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis genes, oxidative and inflammatory response in primary cortical neurons.

Maternal stress has been described as an important component in the offspring's cerebral development, altering the susceptibility to diseases in later life. Moreover, the postnatal period is essential for the development and integration of several peripheral and central systems related to the control of homeostasis. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of prenatal stress on the activation of cortical neurons, by performing experiments both under basal conditions and after KCl-induced depolarization.

Effects of running before pregnancy on long-term memory and hippocampal alterations induced by prenatal stress.

Studies have shown that an adverse environment in utero influences fetal growth and development, leading to several neuroendocrine and behavioral changes in adult life. Nevertheless, the mechanisms involved in the long-term benefits of pregestational exercise are still poorly understood. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of physical exercise before the gestational period on memory behavior and gene expression in the hippocampus of adult mice submitted to prenatal stress.

Accuracy of surrogate methods to estimate skeletal muscle mass in non-dialysis dependent patients with chronic kidney disease and in kidney transplant recipients.

Background & Aims: Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and anthropometric predictive equations have been proposed to estimate whole-body (SMM) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) as surrogate for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in distinct population groups. However, their accuracy in estimating body composition in non-dialysis dependent patients with chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD) and kidney transplant recipients (KTR) is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy and reproducibility of BIA and anthropometric predictive equations in estimating SMM and ASM compared to DXA, in NDD-CKD patients and KTR.

Bambusa vulgaris starch: Characterization and technological properties.

The starch industry has grown quickly, and starch production has expanded around the world because it is a very versatile ingredient, despite limits in some foodstuffs. So, this study aimed to analyze morphology, physic and chemical characteristics of the starch extracted from three different parts (bottom, middle and top) of the young bamboo culm of B. vulgaris (SB, SM, and ST, respectively).

Anti-inflammatory effect of octyl gallate in alveolar macrophages cells and mice with acute lung injury.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammatory process, and has high incidence and mortality. ALI and the acute respiratory distress syndrome are two common complications worldwide that result in acute lung failure, sepsis, and death. Pro-inflammatory substances, such as cytokines and chemokines, are responsible for activating the body's defense mechanisms and usually mediate inflammatory processes.

Exercise before pregnancy attenuates the effects of prenatal stress in adult mice in a sex-dependent manner.

The present study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of exercise before pregnancy on changes induced by prenatal stress. Female and male Balb/c mice were divided into three groups: control (CON), prenatal restraint stress (PNS), and exercise before the gestational period plus PNS (EX + PNS). As adult, fear/anxiety behavior, corticosterone secretion, expression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-related genes, as well as epigenetic modifications were evaluated.

Sarcopenia and its components in adult renal transplant recipients: prevalence and association with body adiposity.

Sarcopenia is a progressive and generalised skeletal muscle disorder associated with adverse outcomes. Ageing causes primary sarcopenia, while secondary causes include chronic kidney disease (CKD), long-term use of glucocorticoids and obesity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia using guidelines recommended by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP, 2010; EWGSOP2, 2018) and the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and analyse the relationship between sarcopenia and body adiposity in adult renal transplant recipients (RTR).

Characterization of young bamboo culm starch from Dendrocalamus asper.

The search for new and natural ingredients has been stimulated by the food and non-food industries, and the fresh young bamboo culm of Dendrocalamus asper emerges as promising for industrial production due to its composition with >10% of starch. So, this study aimed to characterize starch, extracted in aqueous solution, from three different parts (bottom, middle and top) of the young bamboo culm of D. asper (SB, SM and ST, respectively).

Sex differences in the effects of acute stress on cerebral glucose metabolism: A microPET study.

Stress has been considered as a risk factor for the development and aggravation of several diseases. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) is one of the main actors for the stress response and homeostasis maintenance. Positron emission tomography (PET) has been used to evaluate neuronal activity and to study brain regions that may be related to the HPA axis response.

Cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway confers airway protection against oxidative damage and attenuates inflammation in an allergic asthma model.

Asthma is characterized by the influx of inflammatory cells, especially of eosinophils as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, driven by the release of the T helper 2 (Th2)-cell-associated cytokines. The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) inhibit cytokines production and controls inflammation. Thus, we investigated the effects of pharmacological activation of CAP by neostigmine on oxidative stress and airway inflammation in an allergic asthma model.

Vitamin B status in kidney transplant recipients: association with dietary intake, body adiposity and immunosuppression.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) and its possible association with B12 dietary intake, body adiposity and immunosuppressive drugs. In this cross-sectional study, we included 225 KTR, aged 47·50 (sd 12·11) years, and 125 (56 %) were men. Serum levels of B12 were determined by chemiluminescent microparticle intrinsic factor assay and the cut-off of 200 pg/ml was used to stratify KTR into B12-sufficient or B12-deficient group.

High abdominal adiposity and low phase angle in overweight renal transplant recipients.

Obesity is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Body mass index (BMI) is the most used parameter for obesity screening. However, the evaluation of CVD risk in overweight individuals should include the assessment of body fat distribution and body composition.

Autophagy induces eosinophil extracellular traps formation and allergic airway inflammation in a murine asthma model.

Studies have shown autophagy participation in the immunopathology of inflammatory diseases. However, autophagy role in asthma and in eosinophil extracellular traps (EETs) release is poorly understood. Here, we attempted to investigate the autophagy involvement in EETs release and in lung inflammation in an experimental asthma model.

Reactive oxygen species are involved in eosinophil extracellular traps release and in airway inflammation in asthma.

In asthma, there are high levels of inflammatory mediators, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and eosinophil extracellular traps (EETs) formation in airway. Here, we attempted to investigate the ROS involvement in EETs release and airway inflammation in OVA-challenged mice. Before the intranasal challenge with ovalbumin (OVA), animals were treated with two ROS inhibitors, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) or diphenyleneiodonium (DPI).

Synergistic Effect of Inflammatory Cytokines and Body Adiposity on Insulin Resistance and Endothelial Markers in Patients With Stages 3-5 Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: High body adiposity, inflammatory cytokines, insulin resistance (IR), and the endothelial markers-soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1)-are among cardiovascular risk factors observed in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Synergistic interaction of inflammatory cytokines with adiposity on IR, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1 has not been reported in nondialysis-dependent CKD (NDD-CKD) patients. Thus the study aim was to evaluate the interaction of inflammatory cytokines on the association of body adiposity with the cardiometabolic risk factors-IR, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1-in NDD-CKD patients.

Structural, thermal, and morphological characteristics of cassava amylodextrins.

Background: Amylodextrins from cassava starch were obtained by acid hydrolysis, and their structural, thermal and morphological characteristics were evaluated and compared to those from potato and corn amylodextrins.

Results: Cassava starch was the most susceptible to hydrolysis due to imperfections in its crystalline structure. The crystalline patterns of amylodextrins remained unchanged, and crystallinity and peak temperature increased with hydrolysis time, whereas thermal degradation temperature decreased, independent of treatment time and starch source.

Modeling of the burst release from PLGA micro- and nanoparticles as function of physicochemical parameters and formulation characteristics.

A substantial drug release from poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) micro- and nanoparticles can occur in the first hours of immersion, which is referred to as burst release. A strong burst release (when not intentional) is to be avoided as it decreases the efficacy of the treatment and could be dangerous to the host. In this work we analyze the total amount of drug released during burst and respective kinetics in relation to formulations characteristics, experimental conditions and drug molecular properties in 154 drug release experiments with 41 different drugs by partial least squares (PLS) and decision tree regression.