Effects of body weight loss on serum progesterone concentrations of non-lactating dairy cows

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influence of protein intake on weight loss in obese cats

The effects of two hypocaloric diets were evaluated, one with 29% and the other with 42% crude protein, on the body composition, nitrogen balance (NB), and some biochemical parameters of obese cats. A total of 16 castrated adult cats were used and divided into two groups of eight animals each. Body composition, determined by dual-energy x-ray absortiometry scanning, and biochemical examinations, were performed at the onset of the experiment (M0), at 10% of weight loss (M10), and at 20% of weight loss (M20) for each cat. The weekly weight loss (0.98 ± 0.37% for group 1; 0.94 ± 0.31% for group 2) and the ingestion of metabolizable energy (33.7 ±3.3 kcal/kg/day for group 1; 35.1 ±3.20 kcal/kg/day for group 2) did not differ between the groups. The NB was different at M0 (-70 ±110 mg/kg/day for group 1 ; 340 ±110 mg/kg/day for group 2) but roughly similar at M20 (140 ±170 mg/kg/day for group 1; 330 ± 410 mg/kg/day for group 2). The lean body mass (LM) loss was significant for group 1 (P < .05) in that it decreased from 2.789 ±198 g at M0 to 2.563 ±188 g at M20; for group 2, the changes in LM were not significant (P > .05). Reduction in body fat was significant between M0 and M20 for both diets (P < .05), without differences between treatments. The ingestion of digestible protein was greater (P < .05) for group 2 (3.20 ±0.29 g/kg/day) than for group 1 (2.21 ± 0.22 g/kg/day). There was a significant correlation between NB and ingestion of digestible protein at M0 (P < .05; r = 0.65), but this correlation was not observed at M20 (P > .05; r = 0.31). A significant reduction in plasma urea was observed for group 1 and in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol for group 2, but the other biochemical parameters did not change. The diet with higher protein content prevented LM loss. However, the lower-protein diet seems to maintain animal health and improve the cats' NB after weight loss.

Trabecular bone loss after administration of the second-generation antipsychotic risperidone is independent of weight gain

Second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) have been linked to metabolic and bone disorders in clinical studies, but the mechanisms of these side effects remain unclear. Additionally, no studies have examined whether SGAs cause bone loss in mice. Using in vivo and in vitro modeling we examined the effects of risperidone, the most commonly prescribed SGA, on bone in C57BL6/J (B6) mice. Mice were treated with risperidone orally by food supplementation at a dose of 1.25 mg/kg daily for 5 and 8 weeks, starting at 3.5 weeks of age. Risperidone reduced trabecular BV/TV, trabecular number and percent cortical area. Trabecular histomorphometry demonstrated increased resorption parameters, with no change in osteoblast number or function. Risperidone also altered adipose tissue distribution such that white adipose tissue mass was reduced and liver had significantly higher lipid infiltration. Next, in order to tightly control risperidone exposure, we administered risperidone by chronic subcutaneous infusion with osmotic minipumps (0.5 mg/kg daily for 4 weeks) in 7 week old female B6 mice. Similar trabecular and cortical bone differences were observed compared to the orally treated groups (reduced trabecular BV/TV, and connectivity density, and reduced percent cortical area) with no change in body mass, percent body fat, glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity. Unlike in orally treated mice, risperidone infusion reduced bone formation parameters (serum P1NP, MAR and BFR/BV). Resorption parameters were elevated, but this increase did not reach statistical significance. To determine if risperidone could directly affect bone cells, primary bone marrow cells were cultured with osteoclast or osteoblast differentiation media. Risperidone was added to culture medium in clinically relevant doses of 0, 2.5 or 25 ng/ml. The number of osteoclasts was significantly increased by addition in vitro of risperidone while osteoblast differentiation was not altered. These studies indicate that risperidone treatment can have negative skeletal consequences by direct activation of osteoclast activity and by indirect non-cell autonomous mechanisms. Our findings further support the tenet that the negative side effects of SGAs on bone mass should be considered when weighing potential risks and benefits, especially in children and adolescents who have not yet reached peak bone mass. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Interactions Between Bone, Adipose Tissue and Metabolism. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sciatic neuropathy after body contouring surgery in massive weight loss patients

To date, obesity affects a substantial population in industrialised countries. Due to the increased awareness of obesity-related morbidity, efficient dietary regimens and the recent successes with bariatric surgery, there is now a high demand for body contouring surgery to correct skin abundancies after massive weight loss. The known risks for this type of surgery are mainly wound-healing complications, and, more rarely, thromboembolic or respiratory complications. We present two female patients (23 and 39 years of age) who, in spite of standard positioning and precautions, developed sciatic neuropathy after combined body contouring procedures, including abdominoplasty and inner thigh lift. Complete functional loss of the sciatic nerve was found by clinical and electroneurographic examination on the left side in patient one and bilaterally in patient two. Full nerve conductance recovery was obtained after 6 months in both patients. Although the occurrence of spontaneous neuropathies after heavy weight loss is well documented, this is the first report describing the appearance of such a phenomenon following body contouring surgery. One theoretical explanation may be the compression of the nerve during the semirecumbent positioning combined with hip flexion and abduction, which was required for abdominal closure and simultaneous access to the inner thighs. We advise to avoid this positioning and to include the risk of sciatic neuropathy in the routine preoperative information of patients scheduled for body contouring surgery after heavy weight loss.

PREDICTIVE VARIABLES FOR WEIGHT CHANGE 2 YEARS FOLLOWING PARTICIPATION IN A WEIGHT LOSS INTERVENTION PROGRAM

A historical prospective study was designed to assess the man weight status of subjects who participated in a behavioral weight reduction program in 1983 and to determine whether there was an association between the dependent variable weight change and any of 31 independent variables after a 2 year follow-up period. Data was obtained by abstracting the subjects records and from a follow-up questionnaire administered 2 years following program participation. Five hundred nine subjects (386 females and 123 males) of 1460 subjects who participated in the program, completed and returned the questionnaire. Results showed that mean weight was significantly different (p < 0.001) between the measurement at baseline and after a 2 year follow-up period. The mean weight loss of the group was 5.8 pounds, 10.7 pounds for males and 4.2 pounds for females after a 2 year follow-up period. A total of 63.9% of the group, 69.9% of males and 61.9% of females were still below their initial weight after the 2 year follow-up period. Sixteen of the 31 variables assessed utilizing bivariate analyses were found to be significantly (p (LESSTHEQ) 0.05) associated with weight change after a 2 year follow-up period. These variables were then entered into a multivariate linear regression model. A total of 37.9% of the variance of the dependent variable, weight change, was accounted for by all 16 variables. Eight of these variables were found to be significantly (p (LESSTHEQ) 0.05) predictive of weight change in the stepwise multivariate process accounting for 37.1% of the variance. These variables included: Two baseline variables (percent over ideal body weight at enrollment and occupation) and six follow-up variables (feeling in control of eating habits, percent of body weight lost during treatment, frequency of weight measurement, physical activity, eating in response to emotions, and number of pounds of weight gain needed to resume a diet). It was concluded that a greater amount of emphasis should be placed on the six follow-up variables by clinicians involved in the treatment of obesity, and by the subjects themselves to enhance their chances of success at long-term weight loss. ^

Physics, geochemistry and bulk sedimentology on cores from the Peru Basin

Empirical relationships between physical properties determined non-destructively by core logging devices and calibrated by carbonate and opal measurements determined on discrete samples allow extraction of carbonate and opal records from the non-destructive measurements in biogenic settings. Contents of detrital material can be calculated as a residual. For carbonate and opal the correlation coefficients (r) are 0.954 and ?0.916 for sediment density, ?0.816 and 0.845 for compressional-wave velocity, 0.908 and ?0.942 for acoustic impedance, and 0.886 and ?0.865 for sediment color (lightness). Carbonate contents increase in concert with increasing density and acoustic impedance, decreasing velocity and lighter sediment color. The opposite is true for opal. The advantages of deriving the sediment composition quantitatively from core logging are: (i) sampling resolution is increased significantly, (ii) non-destructive data can be gathered rapidly, and (iii) laboratory work on discrete samples can be reduced. Applied to paleoceanographic problems, this method offers the opportunity of precise stratigraphic correlations and of studying processes related to biogenic sedimentation in more detail. Density is most promising because it is most strongly affected by changes in composition.

Tab. 1: Mean water loss by mosses and lichens at 40%

The loss of water in a desiccating atmosphere (c.40% r.h. at 10°C) and uptake of water from a saturated atmosphere (100% r.h. at 10°C) was recorded at intervals over periods of many hours or days in the dominant mosses and macroiichens occurring near the Australian Casey Station. Wilkes Land, continental Antarctica. While major differences exist in the water holding capacity and rates of water loss between mosses and lichens, the minimum levels attained after prolonged exposure to desiccating conditions are remarkably similar. By contrast, the volume of water absorbed from a saturated atmosphere is very similar in both groups of cryptogams. Morphological and anatomical characters are responsible for many of the differences, both between species, and within species exhibiting different growth features. Thus, significantly larger amounts of water are held by colonies of Bryum algens with a dense tomentum of rhizoids than those with sparse rhizoids; similarly, the rhizinate Umbilicaria aprina held a greater volume of water than the erhizinate U. decussata. The filamentous mat form of Alectoria mimiscula permits a much higher water content to be attained than in the coarser fruticose forms of Usnea sphacelata and U. antarctica. The dense shoot arrangement in Schistidium antarcticum accounts for the high water holding capacity in the hydric turf form whereas the less densely packed shoots and thicker cell walls of the xeric cushion form maintain a lower water content. The rate of water loss (as percentage dry weight) was much faster in the turf form of Schistidium and tomenlose form of Bryum, although this trend was reversed when expressed as percentage of the initial water content. Minimal water contents arc achieved by the lichens in desiccating conditions within 6-12 hours, whereas the mosses take several times longer. The water relations characteristics of these cryptogams are considered in the light of their distribution in the field and of their metabolic activity under prevailing Antarctic conditions.

Uranium contents and isotope ratios of uranium and strontium in sediments, leachates and pore fluids from ODP Hole 162-984A

Bulk dissolution rates for sediment from ODP Site 984A in the North Atlantic are determined using the 234U/238U activity ratios of pore water, bulk sediment, and leachates. Site 984A is one of only several sites where closely spaced pore water samples were obtained from the upper 60 meters of the core; the sedimentation rate is high (11-15 cm/ka), hence the sediments in the upper 60 meters are less than 500 ka old. The sediment is clayey silt and composed mostly of detritus derived from Iceland with a significant component of biogenic carbonate (up to 30%). The pore water 234U/238U activity ratios are higher than seawater values, in the range of 1.2 to 1.6, while the bulk sediment 234U/238U activity ratios are close to 1.0. The 234U/238U of the pore water reflects a balance between the mineral dissolution rate and the supply rate of excess 234U to the pore fluid by a-recoil injection of 234Th. The fraction of 238U decays that result in a-recoil injection of 234U to pore fluid is estimated to be 0.10 to 0.20 based on the 234U/238U of insoluble residue fractions. The calculated bulk dissolution rates, in units of g/g/yr are in the range of 0.0000004 to 0.000002 1/yr. There is significant down-hole variability in pore water 234U/238U activity ratios (and hence dissolution rates) on a scale of ca. 10 m. The inferred bulk dissolution rate constants are 100 to 1000 times slower than laboratory-determined rates, 100 times faster than rates inferred for older sediments based on Sr isotopes, and similar to weathering rates determined for terrestrial soils of similar age. The results of this study suggest that U isotopes can be used to measure in situ dissolution rates in fine-grained clastic materials. The rate estimates for sediments from ODP Site 984 confirm the strong dependence of reactivity on the age of the solid material: the bulk dissolution rate (R_d) of soils and deep-sea sediments can be approximately described by the expression R_d ~ 0.1 1/age for ages spanning 1000 to 500,000,000 yr. The age of the material, which encompasses the grain size, surface area, and other chemical factors that contribute to the rate of dissolution, appears to be a much stronger determinant of dissolution rate than any single physical or chemical property of the system.