Intentional weight loss in overweight and obese patients with heart failure: A systematic review.

Aims: Approximately 30-49% of heart failure (HF) patients are living with obesity. The recommended body mass index (BMI) for the general population is 18.5-24.

Time to unshackle the medical treatment of obesity in the NHS.

Obesity affects one in four people in the United Kingdom and costs the National Health Service (NHS) ∼£6.5 billion annually. The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor analogues, such as once-daily subcutaneous Liraglutide 3.

Application of connectivity index of cubic fuzzy graphs for identification of danger zones of tsunami threat.

Fuzzy graphs are very important when we are trying to understand and study complex systems with uncertain and not exact information. Among different types of fuzzy graphs, cubic fuzzy graphs are special due to their ability to represent the membership degree of both vertices and edges using intervals and fuzzy numbers, respectively. To figure out how things are connected in cubic fuzzy graphs, we need to know about cubic α-strong, cubic β-strong and cubic δ-weak edges.

Label-free detection and quantification of ultrafine particulate matter in lung and heart of mouse and evaluation of tissue injury.

While it is known that air borne ultrafine particulate matter (PM) may pass through the pulmonary circulation of blood at the alveolar level between lung and heart and cross the air-blood barrier, the mechanism and effects are not completely clear. In this study the imaging method fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy is adopted for visualization with high spatial resolution and quantification of ultrafine PM particles in mouse lung and heart tissues. The results showed that the median numbers of particles in lung of mice exposed to ultrafine particulate matter of diameter less than 2.

Imperial Satiety Protocol: A new non-surgical weight-loss programme, delivered in a health care setting, produces improved clinical outcomes for people with obesity.

'Imperial Satiety Protocol' (I-SatPro) is a new multifaceted approach to weight loss for people with obesity (PwO), encompassing dietary advice, time-restricted eating, physical activity and coaching to support behaviour change. Participants (n = 84) attended fortnightly I-SatPro group sessions for 30 weeks, with 70% of participants completing. On completion at 30 weeks, the mean weight loss was 15.

Environmental responsiveness of tubulin glutamylation in sensory cilia is regulated by the p38 MAPK pathway.

Glutamylation is a post-translational modification found on tubulin that can alter the interaction between microtubules (MTs) and associated proteins. The molecular mechanisms regulating tubulin glutamylation in response to the environment are not well understood. Here, we show that in the sensory cilia of Caenorhabditis elegans, tubulin glutamylation is upregulated in response to various signals such as temperature, osmolality, and dietary conditions.

Beyond Weight Loss: Establishing a Postbariatric Surgery Patient Support Group-What Do Patients Want?

Purpose: There are limited resources for long-term specialist follow-up after bariatric surgery. In selected centres, patients can access a postoperative support group, but there is no clear evidence to guide their delivery.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study of bariatric surgery patients ( = 152) who had been discharged from specialist follow-up (mean time since surgery 5.

Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus Is Essential for the Physiological Regulation of Food Intake and Body Weight.

The obesity epidemic is a significant global health issue. Improved understanding of the mechanisms that regulate appetite and body weight will provide the rationale for the design of anti-obesity therapies. Thyroid hormones play a key role in metabolic homeostasis through their interaction with thyroid hormone receptors (TRs), which function as ligand-inducible transcription factors.

Validity of very short answer versus single best answer questions for undergraduate assessment.

Background: Single Best Answer (SBA) questions are widely used in undergraduate and postgraduate medical examinations. Selection of the correct answer in SBA questions may be subject to cueing and therefore might not test the student's knowledge. In contrast to this artificial construct, doctors are ultimately required to perform in a real-life setting that does not offer a list of choices.

Direct profiling of the phospholipid composition of adult Caenorhabditis elegans using whole-body imaging mass spectrometry.

A protocol for the direct analysis of the phospholipid composition in the whole body of adult soil nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), was developed, which combined freeze-cracking of the exoskeletal cuticle and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS). Biomolecules in the m/z range from 700 to 900 were more effectively detected in the freeze-cracked than from simple frozen adult nematode bodies.

Development of imaging mass spectrometry.

We have developed a mass microscope in which a microscope is combined with high-resolution matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS). This technique is a powerful tool for investigating the spatial distribution of biomolecules without the need for any time-consuming extraction, purification, and labeling procedures for biological tissue sections. The mass microscope provides clear images with regards to the distribution of hundreds of biomolecules in a single measurement, and also helps in determining the cellular profile of the biological system.

Biologically active bergenin derivatives from Bergenia stracheyi.

New bergenin derivatives, bergecins A and B (1 and 2, resp.), have been isolated from the AcOEt-soluble fraction of Bergenia stracheyi, along with bergenin (3), and their structures were elucidated on the basis of (1) H- and (13) C-NMR spectra, and by COSY, HMQC, and HMBC experiments. Compound 2 showed potent inhibitory potential against the enzyme lipoxygenase, while 1 was moderately active.

Pregnane derivatives from Potentilla evestita.

A new pregnane derivative, 2,6beta,7beta-trihydroxy-4-methyl-19-norpregna-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-one, has been isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Potentilla evestita along with a pregnane derivative, 11alpha,17alpha,21-trihydroxypregna-4,16(22)-diene-3,20-dione, that is reported for the first time as a natural product. Their structures were elucidated with the aid of 1H and 13C NMR spectra and by COSY, HMQC, HMBC and NOESY experiments.

Kisspeptin and fertility.

The kisspeptins are a family of peptide hormones, which in recent years have been shown to play a critical role in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, thus in turn influencing fertility and reproduction. This review examines the physiological role of kisspeptin and the kisspeptin receptor in the control of gonadotrophin and gonadal steroid hormone secretion and the implications of these findings with respect to fertility. In addition, the potential therapeutic use of kisspeptin in the treatment of reproductive disorders will be examined.

Biology of kisspeptins.

In recent years, a substantial body of evidence has accumulated suggesting that the hypothalamic peptide hormone kisspeptin and its cognate receptor, G-protein-coupled receptor 54, play a fundamental role both as gatekeepers for the initiation of puberty and in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This review discusses the physiology of the kisspeptin signalling system and examines how findings from animal and human studies have contributed to our understanding of the pathophysiology of idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.

Prokineticin 2 is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that potently inhibits food intake.

Objective: Prokineticin 2 (PK2) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide expressed in central nervous system areas known to be involved in food intake. We therefore hypothesized that PK2 plays a role in energy homeostasis.

Research Design And Methods: We investigated the effect of nutritional status on hypothalamic PK2 expression and effects of PK2 on the regulation of food intake by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of PK2 and anti-PK2 antibody.

Cashmirols A and B, new lipoxygenase inhibiting triterpenes from Sorbus cashmiriana.

Two new triterpenes, cashmirols A and B, along with three known compounds have been isolated from the AcOEt-soluble fraction of Sorbus cashmiriana, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques including two-dimensional NMR. Both compounds displayed lipoxygenase enzyme inhibitory potential.

Isolation and structural determination of sorbinols A and B, new triterpenes from Sorbus cashmariana, by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.

Two new pentacyclic triterpenes, sorbinols A (1) and B (2) have been isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of Sorbus cashmariana and their structures assigned from (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra, DEPT and by 2D COSY, NOE, HMQC and HMBC experiments. Both 1 and 2 showed moderate inhibitory potential against the enzyme lipoxygenase.