Diet-induced fasting ghrelin elevation reflects the recovery of insulin sensitivity and visceral adiposity regression

Aims Lower fasting-ghrelin-levels (FGL) are associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. We aimed to explore the dynamics of FGL during weight-loss and its metabolic and adiposity-related manifestations beyond weight-loss. Methods A secondary analysis of a clinical trial where we randomized participants with abdominal-obesity/dyslipidemia to one of three diets: healthy-dietary-guidelines (HDG), Mediterranean diet (MED), or green-MED diet, all combined with physical activity (PA). Both MED diets were similarly hypocaloric and included 28g/day walnuts. The green-MED group further consumed green tea (3-4 cups/day) and a Wolffia-globosa (Mankai) plant green-shake. We measured FGL and quantified body fat depots by Magnetic-Resonance-Imaging at baseline and after 18-months. Results Among 294 participants [body-mass-index=31.3kg/m 2;FGL=504±208pg/mL; retention rate=89.8%], lower FGL were associated with unfavorable cardiometabolic parameters as higher visceral-adipose-tissue (VAT), intra-hepatic fat, leptin, and blood pressure (p<0.05 for all; multivariate models). ∆FGL18-month differed between men (+7.3+26.6%) and women (-9.2+21.3%,p=0.001). After 18-months of moderate and similar weight loss among the MED-groups, FGL increased by 1.3%, 5.4%, and 10.5% in HDG, MED, and green-MED groups, respectively (p=0.03 for green-MED vs. HDG), sex-stratified analysis revealed similar changes in men only. Among men, FGL18-month elevation was associated with favorable changes in insulin resistance profile and VAT regression, after adjusting for relative weight-loss (HbA1c:r=-0.216; homeostatic-model-of insulin-resistance:r=-0.154; HDL-c:r=0.147;VAT:r=-0.221;p<0.05 for all). , Insulin resistance and VAT remained inversely related with FGL elevation, beyond which was explained by weight-loss (residual regression analyses;p<0.05). Conclusions Diet-induced FGL elevation may reflect insulin sensitivity recovery and VAT regression beyond weight-loss, specifically among men. Green-MED diet is associated with greater FGL elevation.

Multilevel Evaluation of Rapid Weight Loss in Wrestling and Taekwondo

The practice of strategies for rapid weight loss (RWL) involve diverse factors, such as individual expectations, social interactions, structural elements, etc., conforming to a “culture” of RWL, which must be evaluated and understood in a broad sense. Based on the need of a comprehensive evaluation of the use of RWL in practitioners of combat sports, an ad hoc questionnaire designed for this study, which includes the types and detailed descriptions of RWL strategies, that athletes currently use, the prevalence and frequency of use, the physiological and psychological consequences, the perception of the effect of RWL on their own performance and finally, the individuals who influence the adoption of this practice. One hundred and sixty combat athletes from wrestling and taekwondo disciplines, from Mexico, filled out this questionnaire. Data collected for their statistical analyses. Results revealed a RWL strategies prevalence of 96% across the participants. Our results revealed that 57% of those athletes using RWL lose more than 5% of their body mass. Across the athletes, the most commonly used RWL strategies and with higher intensity were increased exercise and training with plastic or thick clothes. The greater the relative weight loss, the greater the presence of physiological symptoms in athletes, such as rapid breathing and blood pressure. Athletes also mentioned mood states such as tiredness, sadness, confusion, fatigue and vigor, these last two positive and negative mood states are associated with the relative weight loss, respectively. Finally, the people who most influenced the adoption of RWL strategies were the coaches, parents and nutritionists. In conclusion, the questionnaire prepared for this study allowed us to obtain valuable information about the several factors, and their interactions, involved in the practice of RWL in combat athletes. This type of practice could increase health risks and decrease their performance. Therefore, here we state the importance of a comprehensive evaluation of RWL strategies that allows the development of psycho-educational and social-based interventions and programs for the promotion of proper weight maintenance, and prevention against RWL strategies, involving the individuals who influence the adoption of these practices and supporting it with the help of communication technologies.

THE EFFECTS OF IBD FIBROGUM-BOVAC VACCINE AND A COMMERCIAL VACCINE ON THE BODY WEIGHT BURSAL WEIGHT AND DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODIES IN BROILERS

A CHICKEN embryo-fibroblast (CEF) cell culture-adapted infectious bursal disease vaccine (Fibrogumbovac) and a commercial vaccine were studied for their effects on the rate of growth, bursal atrophy and the attainment of antibody level in 450 broilers. No appreciable difference in weight was observed in vaccinated birds when compared with unvaccinated control birds. The birds were vaccinated at the age of 4 week and at 9 week of age the average weights for birds vaccinated with IBD Fibrogum-bovac, the commercial vaccine and unvaccinated controls were respectively 1.949, 2.014 and 1,900kg. The vaccinated birds did not gain weight as rapidly as the controls between the 9th and 14th week (Table 1). The relative weight loss per week for the last five weeks (10th to 14th week) averaged 0.7 per cent for the IBD Fibrogumbovac vaccinated birds as compared with control birds. The highest antibody levels recorded in vaccinated birds at the end of two weeks were 1:1024 for Fibrogumbovac, and 1:16 for the commercial vaccine. On the third day after vaccination when the bursa of Fabricius was expected to be largest the average weight of the buçsa of 5 birds was found to be 0.250, 0.135 and 0.245 per cent of body weight respectively for birds vaccinated with IBD Fibrogun-bovac vaccine, the commercial vaccine, and unvaccinated controls.

Coupling between tolerance and resistance for two related Eimeria parasite species

Resistance (host capacity to reduce parasite burden) and tolerance (host capacity to reduce impact on its health for a given parasite burden) manifest two different lines of defence. Tolerance can be independent from resistance, traded-off against it, or the two can be positively correlated because of redundancy in underlying (immune) processes. We here tested whether this coupling between tolerance and resistance could differ upon infection with closely related parasite species. We tested this in experimental infections with two parasite species of the genus Eimeria. We measured proxies for resistance (the (inverse of) number of parasite transmission stages (oocysts) per gram of feces at the day of maximal shedding) and tolerance (the slope of maximum relative weight loss compared to day of infection on number of oocysts per gram of feces at the day of maximal shedding for each host strain) in four inbred mouse strains and four groups of F1 hybrids belonging to two mouse subspecies, Mus musculus domesticus and M. m. musculus. We found a negative correlation between resistance and tolerance against E. falciformis, while the two are uncoupled against E. ferrisi. We conclude that resistance and tolerance against the first parasite species might be traded off, but evolve more independently in different mouse genotypes against the latter. We argue that evolution of the host immune defences can be studied largely irrespective of parasite isolates if resistance-tolerance coupling is absent or weak (E. ferrisi) but host-parasite coevolution is more likely observable and best studied in a system with negatively correlated tolerance and resistance (E. falciformis).

The influences of the crude oils on the decay of metals

Crude oils are the essential resources for the usages of industrial purposes in various forms and the refining is a key process of separating the mixture of raw crude oils. In the existing research there were expected to investigate the impact of salts, organic acids, mercaptans and elemental sulfur of crude oils on the corrosion rates of seven different types of ferrous metals in both qualitatively and quantitatively. The chemical compositions of such selected ferrous metals and the above mentioned corrosive properties of two different types of crude oils were measured by the standard instruments and methodologies. A set of similar sized metal coupons were prepared from seven different types of metals and the corrosion rates of such metals were determined by the relative weight loss method. In addition, that the corroded metal surfaces were analyzed under the microscope, decayed metal concentrations and deductions of the initial hardness of metal coupons were measured. According to the obtained results that there were observed the lower corrosion rates from stainless steels with at least 12% of chromium and nickel, higher corrosive impact from salt, formations of FeS, Fe2O3, corrosion cracks and pitting corrosion.

MLTI-09. UNDERWEIGHT AND WEIGHT LOSS ARE PREDICTORS OF POOR OUTCOME IN PATIENTS WITH BRAIN METASTASIS

BACKGROUND: Despite increased risk of comorbidities, overweight may be associated with improved outcome in patients with metastatic cancer. Conversely, tumor cachexia has been identified as a negative predictor of outcome in patients with brain metastasis (BM) from lung cancer. Here we evaluate the association of abnormal body mass index (BMI) and weight change with outcome in patients with BM from different primary tumors. METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of BM diagnosed and treated at the University Hospital Zurich (n=703) were assessed for associations of BMI, weight change, comorbidities and survival. RESULTS: Compared with patients with normal BMI of 18.5–24.9 kg/m2 who experienced a median overall survival (OS) of 9 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 7.5–10.5), OS was inferior in patients with BMI< 18.5 kg/m2 (OS 6 months, 95% CI 1.6–10.3, p=0.04), but superior in patients with BMI >25 kg/m2 (OS 13 months, 95% CI 11.0–15.0; p=0.033). For patients with documented weight course (n=173 of 703), we report a median relative weight loss of 5% within the first 6 months of BM diagnosis (95% CI 3.3–6.5). Reduction above the median was associated with an unfavorable outcome in this subgroup (weight loss ≧5% 22.0 months, 95% CI 19.2–24.8; weight loss < 5% 14.0 months, 95% CI 11.9–16.). CONCLUSIONS: Despite being associated with a worse cardiovascular risk profile, high BMI is associated with preferable and underweight with poor outcome in BM patients. Conversely, weight loss above median may be a predictor of poor outcome. Future studies need to address the question whether vigorous treatment of tumor cachexia, e.g. by specific nutrition management, might improve outcome of BM patients. In contrast, regimens that are associated with weight loss such as ketogenic diet may be detrimental.

Influence of Sc Addition on the Corrosion Behavior of Medium Strength Al-Zn-Mg Alloy

In this paper, the effect of Sc addition (0.06 wt%) on the corrosion behavior of medium strength Al-Zn-Mg alloy is investigated by mass loss measurements, electrochemical experiment, intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion tests. The results indicate the addition of Sc reduces the relative weight loss and enhances pitting performance as a result of grain refinement. The improved intergranular corrosion and exfoliation corrosion resistance caused by minor Sc addition are mainly attributed to the delay in both the initiation and advance stages of local corrosion.

Fabrication and Properties of Composites of Linear Polyacrylamide and Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

Polyacrylamide (PAM) was chemically anchored to the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of acrylamide (AM). It started from the functional groups such as –COOH on the sidewall of MWCNTs, which derived from the oxidation of carbon nanotubes. FT-IR and 1H NMR results shown that the multi-walled carbon nanotubes grafted PAM (MWCNT-g-PAM) have been successfully carried out. The MWCNT-g-PAM showed different relative weight loss kinetics with PAM determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shown that the PAM grafted polymer was wrapped on the surface of carbon nanotubes.

Vacuum Synthesis of Nanocrystalline TiC at a Low Carbothermal Reduction Temperature

Ultrafine TiC powders with a grain size of about 25 nm were synthesized from nanoanatase TiO2/carbon black mixtures by mechanical activation-assisted vacuum carbothermal reduction (MCR) reaction. The effects of mechanical activation and carbon sources on TiO2 carbothermal reduction (CR) were also investigated. Results indicated that the CR of nanoTiO2 was enhanced after pre-milling of the starting powders. The synthesis temperature and holding time of TiC decreased from 1500 °C to 1300 °C and from 4 h to 2 h, respectively. However, phase evolution analysis of the reaction showed that mechanical activation did not alter the phase evolution sequences of the TiO2 CR. In addition, the relative weight loss of powders in increasing temperatures indicated that nanoTiO2 MCR can be divided into three stages, in which the reaction rate of the second stage is found to be the fastest. The study on the effect of different carbon sources on the MCR of nanoTiO2 showed that the use of nanocarbon black as carbon source can cause MCR to react more thoroughly than the use of graphite and active carbon.

The performance of early-weaned piglets following transport: Effect of season and weaning weight

Two groups of 48 Cotswold piglets weaned at 17 ± 1 d of age were assigned to road or simulated transport during summer or winter. Following transport [Control (<20 min), 6 h, 12 h or 24 h], piglets were grouped by weaning weight (light, medium and heavy) in pens of four. Body weights were recorded on days 1–8, 10, 12 and 14. From an average weaning weight of 6.28 ± 0.09 kg, piglets lost on average 0.4 ± 0.1 kg. The minimum weight of 5.88 ± 0.1 kg was reached 2.24 ± 0.13 d post weaning and weaning weight was recovered at 3.55 ± 0.16 d post weaning. As transport duration increased from 6 to 24 h, total weight loss increased from 0.33 to 0.45 ± 0.022 kg (P < 0.01). Piglets transported by road in winter had a longer growth check (4.08 vs. 3.18 ± 0.18 d, P < 0.05) showed reduced percent ADG (5.37 vs. 6.61 ± 0.26%, P < 0.05) and lower feed conversion efficiency (FCE) (0.87 vs. 0.96 ± 0.01 kg, P < 0.01) than piglets transported by road in summer. Heavy piglets continued to lose weight longer than light piglets (2.26 vs.1.7 ± 0.16 d, P < 0.02), although relative weight loss was not affected. During winter piglets exposed to road transport required more time to recover their weaning weight than piglets exposed to simulated transport (4.08 vs. 3.04 ± 0.18 d, P < 0.05). While weaning is a confounding effect, these results suggest that longer transport (>12 h) and transport in winter may cause additional stress to early-weaned piglets. Some factors of road transport in winter, possibly driving differences or fluctuating temperatures also negatively affected piglet recovery from weaning. Key words: Early weaning, transport, pigs, season