Food preferences and weight change during low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets.

UNLABELLED: Understanding associations between food preferences and weight loss during various effective diets could inform efforts to personalize dietary recommendations and provide insight into weight loss mechanisms. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a clinical trial in which participants were randomized to either a 'choice' arm, in which they were allowed to select between a low-fat diet (n = 44) or low-carbohydrate diet (n = 61), or to a 'no choice' arm, in which they were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet (n = 49) or low-carbohydrate diet (n = 53). All participants were provided 48 weeks of lifestyle counseling. Food preferences were measured at baseline and every 12 weeks thereafter with the Geiselman Food Preference Questionnaire. Participants were 73% male and 51% African American, with a mean age of 55. Baseline food preferences, including congruency of food preferences with diet, were not associated with weight outcomes. In the low-fat diet group, no associations were found between changes in food preferences and weight over time. In the low-carbohydrate diet group, increased preference for low-carbohydrate diet congruent foods from baseline to 12 weeks was associated with weight loss from 12 to 24 weeks. Additionally, weight loss from baseline to 12 weeks was associated with increased preference for low-carbohydrate diet congruent foods from 12 to 24 weeks. Results suggest that basing selection of low-carbohydrate diet or low-fat diet on food preferences is unlikely to influence weight loss. Congruency of food preferences and weight loss may influence each other early during a low-carbohydrate diet but not low-fat diet, possibly due to different features of these diets. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY: NCT01152359.

Implication de l'apoptose des cellules endothéliales dans la libération de nouveau(x) médiateur(s) soluble(s) actif(s) sur le microenvironnemnt vasculaire

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Implication de ICAM-1 et de ICAM soluble dans l'ostéoclastogénèse

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Study of the mechanisms by which carbohydrate administration during prolonged muscle contractions increases performance = Étude des mécanismes par lesquels l'administration de glucides améliore la performance durant des contractions prolongées du muscle

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Engineering polymeric micelles for solubilization of poorly-water soluble drugs : a novel approach for oral drug delivery

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Coral energy reserves and calcification in a high-CO2 world at two temperatures

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations threaten coral reefs globally by causing ocean acidification (OA) and warming. Yet, the combined effects of elevated pCO2 and temperature on coral physiology and resilience remain poorly understood. While coral calcification and energy reserves are important health indicators, no studies to date have measured energy reserve pools (i.e., lipid, protein, and carbohydrate) together with calcification under OA conditions under different temperature scenarios. Four coral species, Acropora millepora, Montipora monasteriata, Pocillopora damicornis, Turbinaria reniformis, were reared under a total of six conditions for 3.5 weeks, representing three pCO2 levels (382, 607, 741 µatm), and two temperature regimes (26.5, 29.0°C) within each pCO2 level. After one month under experimental conditions, only A. millepora decreased calcification (-53%) in response to seawater pCO2 expected by the end of this century, whereas the other three species maintained calcification rates even when both pCO2 and temperature were elevated. Coral energy reserves showed mixed responses to elevated pCO2 and temperature, and were either unaffected or displayed nonlinear responses with both the lowest and highest concentrations often observed at the mid-pCO2 level of 607 µatm. Biweekly feeding may have helped corals maintain calcification rates and energy reserves under these conditions. Temperature often modulated the response of many aspects of coral physiology to OA, and both mitigated and worsened pCO2 effects. This demonstrates for the first time that coral energy reserves are generally not metabolized to sustain calcification under OA, which has important implications for coral health and bleaching resilience in a high-CO2 world. Overall, these findings suggest that some corals could be more resistant to simultaneously warming and acidifying oceans than previously expected.

Mean redox potential values in surface sediments along the transect D in the Cretan Sea (Table 1)

The seasonal, spatial and bathymetric changes in the distribution of chloroplastic pigments (Chl a, phaeopigments and CPE), TOC, TON, ATP, bottom water nutrient content and the main biochemical classes of organic compounds (lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) were recorded from May 1994 to September 1995 over the continental margin of northern Crete. The concentration of chloroplastic pigment equivalents (CPE) was always low, dropping dramatically along the shelf-slope gradient. Microbial activity (ATP) also dropped sharply beyond the continental shelf following a distribution pattern similar to TOC and TON. Lipid, protein and carbohydrate concentrations, as well as biopolymeric carbon were comparable to those reported for other more productive areas, however, the quality of the organic matter itself was rather poor. Thus, carbohydrates, the dominant biochemical class, were characterised by being highly (80-99%) refractory, as soluble carbohydrates represented (on annual average) only 6% of the total carbohydrate pool. Protein and lipid concentrations strongly decreased with depth, indicating depletion of trophic resources in the bathyal zone. Proteins appeared to be the more degradable compounds and indeed the protein to carbohydrate ratios were found to decrease strongly in the deeper stations. Organic matter content and quality decreased both with increasing distance from the coast and within the sediment. All sedimentary organic compounds were found to vary between sampling periods, with the changes being more pronounced over the continental shelf. The different temporal patterns of the various components suggest a different composition and/or origin of the OM inputs during the different sampling periods. The amount of material reaching the sediments below 540 m is extremely low, suggesting that most of the organic material is decomposed and/or utilised before reaching the sea floor. In conclusion, the continental shelf and bathyal sediments of the Cretan Sea can be considered, from a trophic point of view, as two different subsystems.

(Table II, page 668-669) Distribution of elements between minerals soluble in 1M Hydroxylamine hydrochloride (Reducible); in 1m HCL (Acid-soluble) and in the insoluble residue of manganese nodules

Attempts to classify pelagic sediments have been based either on appearance and composition, or on the ultimate origin of the components. In particular it appears feasible to distinguish minerals which crystallized in sea-water from those which formed in magmas, in hydrothermal solution, or by weathering under acidic conditions. It is the case of iron and manganese oxide mineral aggregates which constitute one of the major types of rock encountered on the ocean floor; according to Menard (unpublished) about 10% of the pelagic area of the Pacific is covered by such nodules. The nodules consist of intimately intergrown crystallites of different minerals among those identified, besides detrital minerals and organic matter, are opal, goethite, rutile, anatase, barite, nontronite, and at least three manganese oxide minerals of major importance. Arrhenius and Korkisch (1959) have attempted to separate from each other the different minerals constituting the nodules, in order to establish the details of their structure and the localization of the heavy metal ions. The results demonstrate (Table II) that copper and nickel are concentrated in the manganese oxide phases concentrated in the reducible fraction. Cobalt, part of the nickel and most of the chromium are distributed between these and the acid-soluble group of the non-manganese minerals, dominated by goethite and disordered FeOOH.

(Table 3, Page 417) Table 3. The concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Ag, Mn and Fe in a soluble in 1M HCl fraction of ferromanganese nodules of Slupsk Furrow in the southern Baltic sea

The concentration of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Ag, Mn, Fe, Ca, Mg, K and Na in molluscs Macoma balthica, Mya arenaria, Cardium glaucum, Mytilus edulis and Astarte borealis from the southern Baltic was determined. The surface sediments and ferromanganese concretions associated with the molluscs were also analysed for concentration of these metals. Species- and region-dependent differences in the metal levels of the organisms were observed. The properties of molluscs analysed which have a tendency toward elevated biological tolerance of selected trace metals were specified. The interelement relationship between metal concentrations in the soft tissue and the shell was estimated and was discussed.

Preparation of Polymer Nanoparticles by Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization in Aqueous Dispersed Systems with Water-Soluble Ruthenium-based Catalyst

Ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) is a variant of olefin metathesis used to polymerize strained cyclic olefins. Ruthenium-based Grubbs’ catalysts are widely used in ROMP to produce industrially important products. While highly efficient in organic solvents such as dichloromethane and toluene, these hydrophobic catalysts are not typically applied in aqueous systems. With the advancements in emulsion and miniemulsion polymerization, it is promising to conduct ROMP in an aqueous dispersed phase to generate well-defined latex nanoparticles while improving heat transfer and reducing the use of volatile organic solvents (VOCs). Herein I report the efforts made using a PEGylated ruthenium alkylidene as the catalyst to initiate ROMP in an oil-in-water miniemulsion. 1H NMR revealed that the synthesized PEGylated catalyst was stable and reactive in water. Using 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD) as monomer, we showed the highly efficient catalyst yielded colloidally stable polymer latexes with ~ 100% conversion at room temperature. Kinetic studies demonstrated first-order kinetics with good livingness as confirmed by the shift of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) traces. Depending on the surfactants used, the particle sizes ranged from 100 to 300 nm with monomodal distributions. The more strained cyclic olefin norbornene (NB) could also be efficiently polymerized with a PEGylated ruthenium alkylidene in miniemulsion to full conversion and with minimal coagulum formation.

Changes of Soluble CD40 Ligand in the Progression of Acute Myocardial Infarction Associate to Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Polymorphisms and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor But Not to Platelet CD62P Expression

Reported in vitro data implicated soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L) in endothelial dysfunction and angiogenesis. However, whether sCD40L could exert that influence in endothelial dysfunction and angiogenesis after injury in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients remains unclear. In the present study, we evaluated the association of sCD40L with markers of platelet activation, endothelial, and vascular function during a recovery period early after AMI. To achieve this goal, the time changes of soluble, platelet-bound, and microparticle-bound CD40L levels over 1 month were assessed in AMI patients and correlated with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations, and platelet expression of P-selectin (CD62P). The association of soluble form, platelet-bound, and microparticle-bound CD40L with CD62P expression on platelets, a marker of platelet activation, was also assessed to evaluate the role of CD40L in the thrombosis, whereas the association with eNOS and VEGF was to evaluate the role of CD40L in vascular dysfunction. This work shows for the first time that time changes of sCD40L over 1 month after myocardial infarct onset were associated with G894T eNOS polymorphism and with the VEGF concentrations, but not to the platelet CD62P expression. These results indicate that, in terms of AMI pathophysiology, the sCD40L cannot be consider just as being involved in thrombosis and inflammation but also as having a relevant role in vascular and endothelial dysfunction.