Body Content Research Articles

Applying the Personal and Social Responsibility Model as a School-Wide Project in All Participants: Teachers' Views.

The present study aims to apply a program based on Hellison’s Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility Model (TPSR), traditionally used in Physical Education, to other educational participants and examine the assessment of the teachers who carried it out during the 2018–2019 school year. The program was applied over 8 months of one academic year and during at least 60% of the weekly class hours. Initially, 30 teachers participated, of whom 16 were involved in the interviews carried out, all of them being Secondary Education teachers. We used qualitative methodology through content analysis carried out with ATLAS.ti 7.1.3. The instruments used to collect information were semi-structured recorded group interviews. The conclusion is that the Personal and Social Responsibility Model can be applied to all participants in the curriculum and is adaptable to any content and type of student body. As a basis for future research, we suggest the application of the model by all teachers involved in the same school year and the participation of students’ families.

Changes in fat-free mass and muscle mass at 6 and 12 months after biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch surgery.

Bariatric surgery is associated with concomitant loss in both fat and muscle masses. Literature on muscle composition/quality after bariatric surgery is limited. To measure and compare the changes in fat-free mass with the changes in muscle composition after biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch surgery (BPD/DS). Bariatric surgery is associated with concomitant loss in both fat and muscle masses. Literature on muscle composition/quality after bariatric surgery is limited. Forty patients underwent BPD/DS and 22 patients are considered as controls. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (body composition) and computed tomography scan at the midthigh and abdominal levels (muscle composition) were performed at baseline, 6, and 12 months. At 6 and 12 months, the BPD/DS group displayed significant reduction in weight (12 months: -46.6 ± 13.5 kg) and fat-free mass (12 months: -8.2 ± 4.4 kg; both P < .001). A significant reduction in abdominal (-15 ± 8%, P < .001) and midthigh muscle areas (-18 ± 7%, P < .001) was observed during the first postoperative 6 months, followed by a plateau after 6 months (abdominal: -1 ± 5%, midthigh: -1 ± 4%, both P > .05). At 6 months, both midthigh fat-infiltrated muscle (-22 ± 10%, P < .001) and normal-density muscle (-16 ± 9%, P < .001) areas decreased. Further reduction at 12 months was only observed in the fat-infiltrated muscle (-11 ± 8%, P < .001) in comparison with an increase in the normal-density muscle area (5 ± 8%, P = .001). There was no significant change for the control group. Reduction in muscle, assessed with computed tomography scans, occurs mostly during the first 6 months postoperatively after BPD/DS. Focus on muscle quantity as well as quality, using precise imaging methods, instead of quantifying total body lean mass, is likely to provide better assessment in body content modulation after BPD/DS.

The effect and mechanism of dietary monocalcium phosphate restriction on hepatic lipid deposition and immune status in obscure puffer, Takifugu obscurus

A 12-week chronic feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect and mechanism of dietary monocalcium phosphate (CaH2PO4) restriction on hepatic lipid deposition and immune status in obscure puffer, Takifugu obscurus. Fish with an initial mean weight of 7.21 ± 0.05 g were fed a phosphorus (P)-sufficient diet (P6, diet supplemented with 0.6% P) or P-deficient diet (P0, diet supplemented without P). Sampling occurred at weeks 3, 6, 9 and 12, respectively. During the feeding trial, fish fed the P0 diet showed poor growth performance, reduced feed intake, whole body P and ash as well as vertebrae P contents, which are signs of P deficiency. Dietary P restriction increased hepatic vacuoles and lipid droplets, lipid content of whole body and liver, viscerosomatic and hepatosomatic indices, whereas reduced whole body protein content and lipolytic enzyme activities, including carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL). But peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor α (pparα) mRNA level was up-regulated by dietary P deficiency on week 3, and then down-regulated on weeks 6, 9 and 12. Meanwhile, dietary P deficiency increased hepatic mRNA expressions of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6pgd), malic enzyme (me), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (acc)-α and acc-β, while decreased cpt-1 and fatty acid binding protein (fabp). Additionally, dietary P deficiency decreased the mRNA level of complement 3 (c3) while increased heat shock proteins (HSPs, including hsp90 and hsp70) on weeks 9 and 12. Dietary P restriction also induced apoptosis by up-regulating the mRNA levels of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9 and down-regulating the levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (bcl-2) and Bax inhibitor-1 (bi-1). In conclusion, our study indicated that dietary P deficiency induced lipid deposition and impaired the immune status of obscure puffer.

Comparing a Potential External Immune Defense Trait to Internal Immunity in Females of Wild Bumblebees

External immune defense, such as antimicrobial secretions, is not generally viewed as part of the immune system. Nevertheless, it constitutes a first barrier to pathogens and manipulates microbial environments. Hygienic measures ranging from the protection of oneself or conspecifics, the nesting site, to stored food may be more efficient with secreted antimicrobials. However, the relationship between external immune defense and internal immunity, including potential life-history trade-offs, is not well understood. As hymenopteran venom often contains antimicrobial peptides it could serve as an external immune defense. Assuming that antimicrobial venom is costly its production might be traded-off against the internal immune defense. Here we compared the antimicrobial activity of venom and hemolymph in fourteen different bumblebee species according to their life-history strategies and characteristics, i.e. overwintered queens, workers and young queens and cuckoo queens. We found no direct relation between antimicrobial activity of hemolymph and venom. Across all species, hemolymph mainly showed lysozyme-like activity (LLA) whereas venom mainly showed antimicrobial peptide (AMP) activity. While LLA activity in the hemolymph was similar among species and life-history strategies and characteristics, both factors significantly differed in venom AMP activity. Independent of body size or fat body content, young queens showed the highest venom AMP activity, followed by workers, overwintered queens and cuckoo queens. Venom as a potential external immune trait seems not directly linked to internal immunity in bumblebees. However, the investment in external defense depends on the species and the life-history strategies and characteristics of an individual, such as social status or condition.

SUN-285 LIMITATIONS OF BIOIMPEDENCE SCALES IN MEASURING FLUID GAINS IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS, HOME MACHINES VS STANDARD MACHINES

Ideal body weight (IBW) has often been estimated by bioimpedence methods. Calf bioimpedance scales (cBIS) have been suggested as an accurate way of measuring fluid content of the body, but only a few studies have been done which have not demonstrated mortality benefits. Bioimpedance techniques have been shown to provide an accurate reference for the estimation of dry weight in numerous studies in HD but the method involves expensive machines with facility for multichannel readings to estimate fat, fluid, muscle and bone content of body. Home body analysis scales, that use bioimpedance methods have been available in the market, this measures the resistance to current flow through the feet alone and gives estimates of the persons body content and recent machines can store data of multiple patients. This study aims to assess the clinical significance of the hydration status estimated by simple home body analysis scale (BAS), whether this can be an assisting clinical tool in achieving normal fluid status in dialysis patients and explore the limitations of this method. We also did a comparison using a control with standard bioimpedence scales (Tanita models TIMC 780 MA, and TIDC-360) We selected 8 stable patients receiving in-centre haemodialysis at Renal Unit, Tamworth Base Hospital. Patients under the age of 75, who can stand up for weight assessment, who is willing to take the socks off for bioimpedance measurement are included. The study was conducted over two weeks, six dialysis sessions for each patient. We assumed that a 1 kg weight reduction during a haemodialysis treatment represents a 1 L reduction in body fluid volume. Fat and muscular components of body composition are assumed to stay constant over the course of the study. The details of ultrafiltration volume (UFV) and amount of water, fat, bone and muscle percentage pre and post dialysis shown on BAS were recorded. We also checked 4 normal subjects (authors of the study) who checked their body indices before and one hour after drinking a litre of water to see how the machine read the changes. We did a comparison of water loading on two models of Tanita (models TIMC 780 MA, and TIDC-360) Three patients have consistently shown error due to percentage relative to bodyweight even though they were not clinically obese. In five patients, weight reduction was accurately captured by the machine post dialysis, but the reduction was shown in the fat compartment and not the fluid compartment as expected. The control subjects too, showed weight gain in the fat compartment and not the fluid compartment after water ingestion. This same error was found in the Tanita machine with the control showing weight gain in the fat compartment after water ingestion. The standard machine was not tested in the dialysis patients as we did not have access to multichannel bioimpedence machines in our unit. Both the expensive multichannel machines and the home bioimpedence scales showed same error in controls after fluid ingestion, with fluid gain recorded in the fat compartment. In dialysis patients, post dialysis fluid loss was recorded as reduction in the fat content, not fluid content (using home bioimpedence scales). Literature search has not revealed details of the body compartment from where the fluid was removed. Fluid storage in dialysis patients needs further study.

An integrative approach combining molecular analyses and experiments to investigate predation of insect eggs by a mite

AbstractUncovering the predation habits of small arthropods such as mites can be a major challenge, as direct observations are not always feasible in natura. Therefore, PCR‐based analyses of gut content, or body content when gut dissection is not applicable, are being increasingly used to detect remains of prey items. Here, we present an integrative approach to investigate predation of eggs of the viburnum leaf beetle Pyrrhalta viburni, an invasive pest in North America, by the oribatid mite species Trichoribates trimaculatus, to assess the potential of this mite as a biological control agent. We combined (1) manipulative laboratory experiments exposing beetle eggs to mites under controlled conditions and (2) body content molecular analyses using quantitative PCR (qPCR) to detect traces of consumed P. viburni egg DNA in mites. To account for risks of false‐negative and false‐positive results, mainly due to detectability problems, body surface contamination, and non‐specific DNA amplification, we developed a stepwise procedure to analyze qPCR results. Egg integrity and survivorship were unaffected by mites in all experiments. However, traces of P. viburni DNA were detected in the body of mites exposed to P. viburni eggs, suggesting that they consumed either fragments of the chorion or fragments of the egg cap secreted by P. viburni females to protect the eggs, which was shown to contain P. viburni DNA. In conclusion, T. trimaculatus does not directly impact P. viburni eggs and should therefore not be considered as a biocontrol agent. The fact that mites did not directly predate eggs but contained traces of P. viburni DNA shows that detection of an organism's DNA within a presumed predator does not necessarily equal predation and that results of molecular analyses should be interpreted with caution in studies attempting to reconstruct trophic interactions.

ПРОФІЛАКТИКА НАДЛИШКОВОЇ МАСИ ТІЛА НАСЕЛЕННЯ В УМОВАХ КАРАНТИННИХ ОБМЕЖЕНЬ ПІД ЧАС ПАНДЕМІЇ

The article highlights the negative trends of deteriorating health of the population in our country, which requires a responsible attitude of society and the state to strengthen and preserve the health. It becomes necessary to identify new approaches and develop programs of problems solving in the field of public health, because the current system of health care in Ukraine does not actually provide a preventive component, as it is stated in the Concept of Public Health System Development. It is noted that among a number of dangerous diseases and other important health problems, the problem of overweight remains relevant for all age groups and has no boundaries. One of the causes of overweight and obesity is the disturbance of the energy balance between the calories consumed and the calories expended, that is, excessive consumption of high-calorie foods and low levels of physical activity, especially during a pandemic. Ensuring the health and well-being of people is one of the most important goals of the world community, reflected in the basis of European policy. The achievement of European standards of quality of life and well-being of the population is one of the main tasks defined by the Strategy for Sustainable Development «Ukraine–2020». The main directions of reforms should be to increase the personal responsibility of citizens for their own health, ensuring their free choice of health-care providers of appropriate quality, the provision of targeted assistance to the most vulnerable segments of the population, and the creation of a business-friendly environment in the health-care market. Theoretical studies on the choice of efficient methods for studying overweight suggest that scientists have proposed dozens of different approaches, including both simple measurements and the most modern and expensive. But the the definition of the body mass index (BMI) remains the most convenient. This index is more closely related to the fat content of the human body than other anthropometric body mass-to-height ratios, and is therefore widely used in clinical practice. The dynamics have been investigated and important questions of preventive action on overweight and obesity have been pointed out, the reasons for the increase of the respondent body weight have been indicated, and recommendations have been made for the preservation of individual health in the context of a pandemic.

Associations of Weight-Adjusted Body Fat and Fat Distribution with Bone Mineral Density in Chinese Children Aged 6-10 Years.

Although obesity is considered osteoprotective, the effects of body fat and fat distribution on bone tissue after adjusting for the effects of body weight remain uncertain. This study evaluated the relationships between fat mass, fat distribution, and bone mineral status beyond its weight-bearing effect. We recruited 466 children aged 6–10 years in China. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to determine the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in the total body and total body less head (TBLH), as well as the fat mass (FM) and percentage fat mass (%FM) of the total and segmental body. Weight-adjusted measures of FM and %FM were derived using the residual method. After adjusting for the effects of covariates, we observed statistically significant, dose-dependent negative relationships between the TBLH·BMD/BMC and various weight-adjusted measures of body fat (p for trend: <0.001–0.038). For each standard deviation increment in the weight-adjusted total body, TBLH, trunk and limbs, the size-adjusted BMC decreased approximately 9.44, 9.28, 8.13, and 6.65 g in boys, respectively, and by approximately 13.74, 13.71, 7.84, and 12.95 g in girls, respectively. Significant inverse associations between FM accumulation in the total body and most body parts with the BMD/BMC were observed in both boys and girls after adjusting for weight and potential confounders.

Dietary L-carnitine improves glycogen and protein accumulation in Nile tilapia via increasing lipid-sourced energy supply: An isotope-based metabolic tracking

L-carnitine is a functional aquafeed additive for enhancing lipid catabolism by elevating mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation and modulating energy metabolism to provide a “protein sparing effect”. However, results on the effects of dietary l-carnitine on nutrient metabolism in fish are still conflicting. We explored comprehensively the effects of dietary l-carnitine on energy metabolism in Nile tilapia. We fed Nile tilapia for eight weeks with diets supplemented with l-carnitine or not. We conducted metabolic tracking tests by intraperitoneally injecting individual fish with 14C-labeled palmitic acid (PA), glucose (Glu) and an amino acid mixture (AAs). After the feeding trial, insignificant growth-promoting effect of l-carnitine was obtained in treated fish. However, l-carnitine significantly reduced the lipid content in whole body and muscle accompanied by increasing the free carnitine concentration and fatty acid β-oxidation efficiency. Moreover, l-carnitine elevated concentrations of serum glucose, pyruvate and lactate, and increased glycogen and protein deposition in muscle. These results suggest that ingested glucose and protein prefer to be reserved in carnitine-fed fish with sufficient fatty acids oxidation for energy. Nevertheless, after a 14C-labeled single nutrient injection, carnitine-fed fish showed a higher oxidation rate of [1-14C]-PA, d-[1-14C]-Glu and l-[14C (U)]-AAs. Our study indicates that, the effects of l-carnitine on nutrient metabolism are correlated with the abundance of individual macronutrients such that an inadequate lipid supply would cause dietary l-carnitine supplementation to elevate higher breakdown of glucose and protein for energy generation. The present study provides new insights on the regulation mechanism of l-carnitine on nutrient metabolism in fish.

George Y. Shevelov’s text corpus: structure, functions, navigation

Background. In modem linguistics, the questions of the linguistic portrait of the person, the establishment of its structural and functional components are actualized. The study of eminent linguistic persons is very important, and George Y. Shevelov is one of them - as an eminent linguist, historian of literature, and critic. The scientific task to establish the linguistic corpus structure of George Y. Shevelov’s discursive practices is highly motivated.Purpose. The purpose of die article is to establish and implement an experimental and research model of text corpus of George Shevelov’s linguistic person with the determination of the main corpus components, patterns of free linguistic text navigation.Methods. The method of discursive analysis, body content analysis are used.Results. Text corpus contains all the Ukrainian-language published texts by George Y. Shevelov, it was created on the free NoSketch Engine corpus manager and is available on the server of the Department of General and Applied Linguistics and Slavic Philology in Vasyl’ Stus Donetsk National University at corpora.donnu.edu.ua. The quantitative parameters of the created corpus are as follows: 104 documents contain 1 346 424 tokens, and 1 037 949 are words in 66 039 sentences. The total lexicon includes 138 187 different word forms and punctuation marks, 157 original tags, and 32 172 lemmas. Conclusions and Prospects. The created corpus of George Y. Shevelov is research type, full-text and dynamic, has extralinguistic and linguistic markings. Among the important features: a) building a concordance based on simple search, search in lemmas, search for a phrase, wordfonn, symbol or a certain pattern created using die regular expression; b) frequency analysis for word forms, lemmas, and tags. The prospect of the research is the creation of a comprehensive George Y. Shevelov' s Texts Corpus, which will cover documents in Ukrainian and English and will be a reliable basis for studying the features of the outstanding scientist’s speech.Article received 26.07.2019

Effects of different dietary lipid sources on fatty acid composition and gene expression in common carp

The effects of fatty acid composition in artificial feed on the change in the fatty acid composition of carp muscles and the relationship between Δ6-Fad and Elovl5 genes participating in the regulation of fatty acid synthesis were studied. Juveniles were fed three semi-purified diets (D1–D3) for 6 weeks with different lipid sources: D1, fish oil with high highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA); D2, corn oil with high linoleic acid (18:2n-6, LA), D3, linseed oil with high α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3, LNA); then, samples were taken to explore the molecular mechanism and the factors which affect the synthesis of carp HUFA. The content of LA and arachidonic acid (20:4n-6, AA) in common carp fed Diet 2 was higher than in carp receiving D3 (P &amp;lt; 0.05), but the contents of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3, DHA) were lower than in carp fed D1 and D2 (P &amp;lt; 0.05). The liver transcript abundance of Δ6-Fad and Elovl5 in fish fed D2 and D3 at the end of 6 weeks was generally higher than the abundance in the initial stage and in the fish fed D1 (P &amp;lt; 0.05). The results suggest that the common carp can biosynthesise HUFA, and the type and content of fatty acids in feed affected not only the composition and content of fatty acids in common carp muscles, but also the Δ6-Fad and Elovl5 gene expression involved in the biosynthesis of HUFA. Feeding high levels of n-3 HUFA diet can increase the body content of EPA and DHA in common carp. The results of this research may provide a theoretical basis for choosing an appropriate source of lipid for common carp feeds.

The composition of faecal microbiota is related to the amount and variety of dietary fibres

For normal gut and body function, the diet should contain variety of dietary fibres. To elucidate the links between food intake, especially the variety of dietary fibres, faecal microbiota, body mass index and content of blood lipids, 59 healthy subjects on common Estonian diet were enrolled. The dietary records were analysed at nutrient level while seven categories of fibres were characterised to differentiate variety of fibre profiles consumed. The data of the high fibre (HF) intake (>15.1 g/1000 kcal) and the low fibre (LF) intake (<9.4 g/1000 kcal) groups were comparatively evaluated. LF diets associated with Collinsella, Coprococcus and Dorea, and higher consumption of meat and white flour products while HF diet with Roseburia, Bacteroides xylanisolvens and Oxalobacter formigenes, and arabinoxylan and pectin rich cereals and vegetables. Based on the results, modulation of the colon microbiota can be suggested by careful variation and enrichment of dietary fibre sources.

Dietary calcium requirement of fingerling Indian major carp, Labeo rohita (Hamilton) based on growth performance, tissue mineralization, whole body, and serum biochemical composition

The dietary calcium requirement of fingerling Labeo rohita (6.0 ± 0.11 cm; 1.94 ± 0.07 g) was examined using seven iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric purified diets (350 g kg−1 crude protein; 16.72 kJ g−1 gross energy) with incremental levels of calcium (2.14, 3.12, 4.23, 5.11, 6.14, 8.23, and 11.24 g kg−1) that were hand-fed to triplicate groups of fish (20 fish per tank) to apparent satiation for 8 weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, ten fish from each replicate tank (n = 10 × 3) were sampled to obtain serum, scales, and vertebrae. The remaining fish in each tank were sampled to determine proximate chemical body composition. Live weight gain (LWG; 637.6%), protein gain (PG; 2.19 g fish−1), protein retention efficiency (29.89%), and feed conversion ratio (1.69) improved with increased dietary calcium up to 5.11 g kg−1 and then stabilized. Dietary calcium up to 5.11 g kg−1 significantly increased calcium and phosphorus concentrations of whole body, vertebrae, and scales. Fish fed a diet with calcium higher than 5.11 g kg−1 had a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in magnesium and zinc, while potassium was unaffected. Serum alkaline phosphatase activity increased (P < 0.05) with increased dietary calcium up to 5.11 g kg−1, but serum calcium and phosphorus concentrations remained unchanged. Based on broken-line regression analysis of LWG, PG, whole body, vertebrae, and scale calcium content against dietary calcium concentration, dietary calcium in the range of 5.16–5.48 g kg−1 is recommended for fingerling L. rohita.

Effects of feeding frequency on growth, feed utilization, digestive enzyme activity and body composition of Litopenaeus vannamei in biofloc-based zero-exchange intensive systems

An eight-week feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of daily feeding frequency on the growth, feed utilization, digestive enzyme activity and body composition of Litopenaeus vannamei juvenile reared in biofloc-based zero-exchange intensive culture systems. The experiment was carried out in twelve tanks with 800 L of biofloc-rich water. Juvenile shrimp (1.52 ± 0.37 g) were stocked into tanks at 240 shrimp tank−1 (300 ind m−3). Three feeding frequencies of three, six, twelve times were evenly set in the 24 h of a day for experimental groups of F3, F6, F12 respectively. Each group had four randomly assigned tanks, and the shrimp were cultured for eight weeks with the same daily ration based on the monitoring of feeding trays in F3 group. During the experiment, all the monitored water quality parameters were maintained within acceptable ranges for shrimp culture. At the end of the experiment, the shrimp survival rate was higher than 89.03% in all the three groups. Notably, with the increase of daily feeding frequency from three times to six and further to twelve, significant differences were found as follows: (1) the final weight, growth rate and yield of the shrimp increased; (2) the feed conversion rate decreased while the protein efficiency ratio and protein productive value increased; (3) the specific activities of protease and amylase in the stomach of the shrimp and the specific activity of lipase in the digestive gland increased; (4) the crude protein content of the whole body of the shrimp increased while the moisture content decreased. Taken together, these results demonstrate that daily feeding frequency can affect the growth, feed utilization, digestive enzyme activity and body composition of L. vannamei juvenile reared in biofloc-based zero-exchange intensive systems. Distributing a controlled ration of daily feed at frequent times during 24 h of a day is beneficial for the growth, feed utilization, nutrient digestion, and protein deposition of L. vannamei in biofloc-based systems under controlled conditions.

No evidence of associations among body composition and symptoms in persons with multiple sclerosis.

To examine the association among body composition, defined as the percentage of body fat mass (BF) and lean mass (LM), bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) in the human body and the presentation of symptoms (i.e., fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality) in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study is a secondary analysis of baseline data from a physical activity intervention for persons with MS. The research question was informed by the theory of unpleasant symptoms, namely an examination of the relationship between body composition (i.e., physiologic antecedent) and symptoms in this sample of 77 participants with MS. The association between body composition and symptoms was examined using partial correlation analyses controlling for age, sex, and disability status. Participants were 49 ± 9 years of age on average and diagnosed with MS for an average of 12 ± 8 years. Most participants identified as female (74%), reported having a relapsing-remitting disease course (78%), and moderate MS-related disability based on a median (interquartile range) Patient Determined Disease Steps score of 3.0 (3.0). Partial correlation analyses indicate there were no significant correlations observed among body composition (%BF, %LM, BMC, and BMD) and any symptoms (fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, and sleep quality). Additional research that examines other physiologic factors as well as psychological and situational factors based on the theory of unpleasant symptoms that might account for symptoms in persons with MS is necessary. This will inform behavioral interventions and rehabilitation programs that target theory-based factors such as correlates of symptoms in MS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Silencing of RpATG8 impairs the biogenesis of maternal autophagosomes in vitellogenic oocytes, but does not interrupt follicular atresia in the insect vector Rhodnius prolixus.

Follicular atresia is the mechanism by which the oocyte contents are degraded during oogenesis in response to stress conditions, allowing the energetic resources stored in the developing oocytes to be reallocated to optimize female fitness. Autophagy is a conserved intracellular degradation pathway where double-membrane vesicles are formed around target organelles leading to their degradation after lysosome fusion. The autophagy-related protein 8 (ATG8) is conjugated to the autophagic membrane and has a key role in the elongation and closure of the autophagosome. Here we identified one single isoform of ATG8 in the genome of the insect vector of Chagas Disease Rhodnius prolixus (RpATG8) and found that it is highly expressed in the ovary during vitellogenesis. Accordingly, autophagosomes were detected in the vitellogenic oocytes, as seen by immunoblotting and electron microscopy. To test if autophagosomes were important for follicular atresia, we silenced RpATG8 and elicited atresia in vitellogenic females by Zymosan-A injections. We found that silenced females were still able to trigger the same levels of follicle atresia, and that their atretic oocytes presented a characteristic morphology, with accumulated brown aggregates. Regardless of the difference in morphology, RpATG8-silenced atretic oocytes presented the same levels of protein, TAG and PolyP, as detected in control atretic oocytes, as well as the same levels of acidification of the yolk organelles. Because follicular atresia has the ultimate goal of restoring female fitness, we tested if RpATG8-silenced atresia would result in female physiology and behavior changes. Under insectarium conditions, we found that atresia-induced control and RpATG8-silenced females present no changes in blood meal digestion, survival, oviposition, TAG content in the fat body, haemolymph amino acid levels and overall locomotor activity. Altogether, we found that autophagosomes are formed during oogenesis and that the silencing of RpATG8 impairs autophagosome biogenesis in the oocytes. Nevertheless, regarding major macromolecule degradation and adaptations to the fitness costs imposed by triggering an immune response, we found that autophagic organelles are not essential for follicle atresia in R. prolixus.

P432 Effects and safety of a colon-long absorbing budesonide product in patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis

Abstract Background Budesonide is an oral corticosteroid, which is widely used in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) to obtain and maintain remission in those cases, where 5-aminosalicylic-acid was ineffective. Unlike previous forms of budesonide absorbing from the ileal and ascending colon region, the new-generation budesonide-MMX contains a formula, that allows absorption throughout the whole colon, and therefore in the whole potentially inflamed area in UC. We aimed to evaluate the effects and safety of budesonide-MMX in our UC patients who meet the above mentioned therapeutic demands in a real-life study. Methods We enrolled 22 patients with mild to severe UC in this single-centre prospective study until August of 2019. Patients received 9 mg oral budesonide-MMX once daily until 8 weeks. Laboratory parameters (cholesterol, triglyceride, CRP) and serum hormone levels (parathormone [PTH], dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA] and cortisol) were monitored before and after the 8-week therapy to follow metabolic and hormonal changes. During these visits, body composition analysis was also performed with InBody 770 machine to observe the adverse steroid effects of budesonide-MMX in respect of body fat mass, body mass index, protein content of the body and bone mineral content. Disease activity was followed by the partial Mayo (pMayo) score. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test with SigmaPlot 1.25. Results The total of 22 patients (age: 44.4 ± 15.1 years, 6 male and 16 female patients) had received the 2-month budesonide-MMX therapy (2.0 ± 0.3 months). Mean disease duration was 8.3 years. By the end of follow-up, 15 (68.2%) patients experienced remission and 7 patients (31.8%) were primary non-responders. The disease activity decreased significantly from the mean of 3.95 to 1.64 (p &amp;lt; 0.001). No significant changes were observable in case of any body composition analysis parameter. Regarding the laboratory parameters, serum cholesterin level showed a significant increase (p &amp;lt; 0.001), while triglyceride and CRP showed did not show significant changes. Serum cortisol levels were elevated (p &amp;lt; 0.001), while PTH and DHEA showed no significant decrease. Only two patients experienced side effects: one of them hypertonia, headache and acnes, while the other patient experienced mild diarrhoea. One patient had a relapse during the treatment. Conclusion In our study, budesonide-MMX proved to be safe by bringing up a low number of side effects, while more than two-thirds of the patients could reach remission with this short-term therapy. Hormonal changes were not mentionable, although the drug’s effects on serum lipid content have to be examined further.

Study of Physico-chemical properties of herbs which are useful in blood related health problems.

Every plant is beneficial to us and has medicinal effect. We will first discuss about blood i.ie. blood is most precious content of human body and its content are RBCS ,WBCS and platelets. Impure blood may causes various disease like acne allergies skin rashes stomatitius psoriasis ,fever and so on. So there is need of external as well as internal a use of medication. The herbs taken haridra, guduchi and amalki plays most important role in blood purifiction i.e. Raktaprasadana and Nutritious values in them. Study of organoleptic and physicochemical properties are important to check the identity and purity of drugs.these properties helps to take more effective drug in remedied. emblica officinalis, physico-chemical properties, analytical tests etc.

Shift in worker physiology and gene expression pattern from reproductive to diapause-like with colony age in the bumble bee Bombus impatiens.

Insects maximize their fitness by exhibiting predictable and adaptive seasonal patterns in response to changing environmental conditions. These seasonal patterns are often expressed even when insects are kept in captivity, suggesting they are functionally and evolutionarily important. In this study, we examined whether workers of the eusocial bumble bee Bombus impatiens maintained a seasonal signature when kept in captivity. We used an integrative approach and compared worker egg laying, ovarian activation, body size and mass, lipid content in the fat body, cold tolerance and expression of genes related to cold tolerance, metabolism and stress throughout colony development. We found that bumble bee worker physiology and gene expression patterns shift from reproductive-like to diapause-like as the colony ages. Workers eclosing early in the colony cycle had increased egg laying and ovarian activation, and reduced cold tolerance, body size, mass and lipid content in the fat body, in line with a reproductive-like profile, while late-eclosing workers exhibited the opposite characteristics. Furthermore, expression patterns of genes associated with reproduction and diapause differed between early- and late-eclosing workers, partially following the physiological patterns. We suggest that a seasonal signature, innate to individual workers, the queen or the colony, is used by workers as a social cue determining the phenology of the colony and discuss possible implications for understanding reproductive division of labor in bumble bee colonies and the evolutionary divergence of female castes in the genus Bombus.

The Relationship of Weight-adjusted Bone Mass Content Associated with COPD and Associated Factors

The objectives of this study were to determine the distributions of weight-adjusted bone mass content and osteoporosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, to examine the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia and to determine factors associated with weight-adjusted bone mass content. A crosssectional study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at a tertiary-care hospital, Thailand was conducted from May 2015 to December 2016. Baseline characteristics were collected and bone mineral density and weight-adjusted bone mass content were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. A total of 107 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients were included. The prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia were 35.5 and 38.2 %, respectively. The distribution of weight-adjusted bone mass content of arms, legs and whole body was significantly correlated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity (p<0.05), but not with the presence of osteoporosis. Factors associated with weight-adjusted bone mass content of the extremities was the severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (adjusted odds ratios of moderate and severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were 1.03 and 1.06), waist circumference (adjusted odds ratio 0.99) and appendicular skeletal mass index (adjusted odds ratio 0.98). Both osteoporosis and osteopenia were present in more than a third of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. The weight-adjusted bone mass content of arms, legs, extremities and whole body were correlated with the degree of airflow limitation but not the presence of osteoporosis. Factors associated with weight-adjusted bone mass content of the extremities were identified. Weight-adjusted bone mass content could be a good index to indicate the degree of bone loss in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.