A short screener is valid for assessing mediterranean diet adherence among older spanish men and women

Ensuring the accuracy of dietary assessment instruments is paramount for interpreting diet-disease relationships. The present study assessed the relative and construct validity of the 14-point Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) used in the Prevencio´n con Dieta Mediterra´nea (PREDIMED) study, a primary prevention nutrition-intervention trial. A validated FFQ and the MEDAS were administered to 7146 participants of the PREDIMED study. The MEDASderived PREDIMED score correlated significantly with the corresponding FFQ PREDIMED score (r = 0.52; intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.51) and in the anticipated directions with the dietary intakes reported on the FFQ. Using Bland Altman"s analysis, the average MEDAS Mediterranean diet score estimate was 105% of the FFQ PREDIMED score estimate. Limits of agreement ranged between 57 and 153%. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that a higher PREDIMED score related directly (P , 0.001) to HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and inversely (P , 0.038) to BMI, waist circumference, TG, the TG:HDL-C ratio, fasting glucose, and the cholesterol:HDL-C ratio. The 10-y estimated coronary artery disease risk decreased as the PREDIMED score increased (P , 0.001). The MEDAS is a valid instrument for rapid estimation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and may be useful in clinical practice.

White under Black. Works from the imperceptible / 5. Isabel Banal: Via Lactea [Milky Way]

The exhibition "Isabel Banal. Via Lactea" is part of the exhibition cycle "Blanc sota negre. Treballs des de l'imperceptible / 5" curated by Joana Masó (Centre Dona i Literatura) and Assumpta Bassas (Universitat de Barcelona). In this exhibition, the artist shows long-term and open projects exhibited on five tables. The table is one of the central elements from the beginning of her career, in relation to the creative and domestic space, but also as a double metaphor for the ground and for soil.

Effect of diet composition and ration size on key enzyme activities of glycolysis-gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway and amino acid metabolism in liver of Sparus aurata

The effects of diet composition and ration size on the activities of key enzymes involved in intermediary metabolism were studied in the liver of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Highcarbohydrate, low-protein diets stimulated 6-phosphofructo 1-kinase (EC 2.7.1.11), pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.44) enzyme activities, while they decreased alanine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.2) activity. A high degree of correlation was found between food ration size and the activity of the enzymes 6-phosphofructo 1-kinase, pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (positive correlations) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) (negative correlation). These correlations matched well with the high correlation also found between ration size and growth rate in starved fish refed for 22 d. Limited feeding (5 g/kg body weight) for 22 d decreased the activities of the key enzymes for glycolysis and lipogenesis, and alanine aminotransferase activity. The findings presented here indicate a high level of metabolic adaptation to both diet type and ration size. In particular, adaptation of enzyme activities to the consumption of a diet with a high carbohydrate level suggests that a carnivorous fish like Sparus aurata can tolerate partial replacement of protein by carbohydrate in the commercial diets supplied in culture. The relationship between enzyme activities, ration size and fish growth indicates that the enzymes quickly respond to dietary manipulations of cultured fish.

Effect of diet composition and ration size on key enzyme activities of glycolysis-gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway and amino acid metabolism in liver of Sparus aurata

The effects of diet composition and ration size on the activities of key enzymes involved in intermediary metabolism were studied in the liver of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Highcarbohydrate, low-protein diets stimulated 6-phosphofructo 1-kinase (EC 2.7.1.11), pyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.44) enzyme activities, while they decreased alanine aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.2) activity. A high degree of correlation was found between food ration size and the activity of the enzymes 6-phosphofructo 1-kinase, pyruvate kinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (positive correlations) and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (EC 3.1.3.11) (negative correlation). These correlations matched well with the high correlation also found between ration size and growth rate in starved fish refed for 22 d. Limited feeding (5 g/kg body weight) for 22 d decreased the activities of the key enzymes for glycolysis and lipogenesis, and alanine aminotransferase activity. The findings presented here indicate a high level of metabolic adaptation to both diet type and ration size. In particular, adaptation of enzyme activities to the consumption of a diet with a high carbohydrate level suggests that a carnivorous fish like Sparus aurata can tolerate partial replacement of protein by carbohydrate in the commercial diets supplied in culture. The relationship between enzyme activities, ration size and fish growth indicates that the enzymes quickly respond to dietary manipulations of cultured fish.

Spottier Targets Are Less Attractive to Tabanid Flies: On the Tabanid-Repellency of Spotty Fur Patterns

During blood-sucking, female members of the family Tabanidae transmit pathogens of serious diseases and annoy their host animals so strongly that they cannot graze, thus the health of the hosts is drastically reduced. Consequently, a tabanid-resistant coat with appropriate brightness, colour and pattern is advantageous for the host. Spotty coats are widespread among mammals, especially in cattle (Bos primigenius). In field experiments we studied the influence of the size and number of spots on the attractiveness of test surfaces to tabanids that are attracted to linearly polarized light. We measured the reflection-polarization characteristics of living cattle, spotty cattle coats and the used test surfaces. We show here that the smaller and the more numerous the spots, the less attractive the target (host) is to tabanids. We demonstrate that the attractiveness of spotty patterns to tabanids is also reduced if the target exhibits spottiness only in the angle of polarization pattern, while being homogeneous grey with a constant high degree of polarization. Tabanid flies respond strongly to linearly polarized light, and we show that bright and dark parts of cattle coats reflect light with different degrees and angles of polarization that in combination with dark spots on a bright coat surface disrupt the attractiveness to tabanids. This could be one of the possible evolutionary benefits that explains why spotty coat patterns are so widespread in mammals, especially in ungulates, many species of which are tabanid hosts

Altered nitrogen balance and decreased urea excretion in male rats fed cafeteria diet are related to arginine availability

Hyperlipidic diets limit glucose oxidation and favor amino acid preservation, hampering the elimination of excess dietary nitrogen and the catabolic utilization of amino acids.We analyzed whether reduced urea excretion was a consequence of higherNO ; (nitrite,nitrate, and other derivatives) availability caused by increased nitric oxide production in metabolic syndrome. Rats fed a cafeteria diet for 30 days had a higher intake and accumulation of amino acid nitrogen and lower urea excretion.There were no differences in plasma nitrate or nitrite. NO and creatinine excretion accounted for only a small part of total nitrogen excretion. Rats fed a cafeteria diet had higher plasma levels of glutamine, serine, threonine, glycine, and ornithinewhen comparedwith controls,whereas arginine was lower. Liver carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase I activity was higher in cafeteria diet-fed rats, but arginase I was lower. The high carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase activity and ornithine levels suggest activation of the urea cycle in cafeteria diet-fed rats, but low arginine levels point to a block in the urea cycle between ornithine and arginine, thereby preventing the elimination of excess nitrogen as urea. The ultimate consequence of this paradoxical block in the urea cycle seems to be the limitation of arginine production and/or availability.