Search

Bisphenol A is an endocrine disrupting compound widely used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. It is ubiquitously present in the environment, mostly in aquatic environments, with consequent risks to the health of aquatic organisms and humans. In the present study, we analysed the cytogenetic effects of bisphenol A on human lymphocytes using in vitro chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei assays. Lymphocyte cultures were exposed to five different concentrations of BP-A (0.20, 0.10, 0.05, 0.02 and 0.01 μg/mL) for 24 h (for chromosomal aberrations test) and 48 h (for micronuclei test). The concentration of 0.05 µg/mL represents the reference dose established by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA); 0.02 μg/mL represents the higher concentration of unconjugated BP-A found in human serum and 0.01 μg/mL represents the tolerable daily intake established by European Union. Data obtained from both assays showed significant genotoxic effects of the bisphenol A at concentrations of 0.20, 0.10 and 0.05 μg/mL, whereas at the concentration of 0.02 μg/mL, we observed only a significant increase in the micronuclei frequency. Finally, at the concentration of 0.01 μg/mL, no cytogenetic effects were observed, indicating this latter as a more tolerable concentration for human health with respect to 0.05 μg/mL, the reference dose established by US EPA.

Background: The role of polyphenol intake on cardiovascular risk factors is little explored, particularly in people with diabetes., Aim: To evaluate the association between the intake of total polyphenols and polyphenol classes with the major cardiovascular risk factors in a population with type 2 diabetes., Methods: Dietary habits were investigated in 2573 males and females participants of the TOSCA.IT study. The European Prospective Investigation on Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire was used to assess dietary habits. In all participants, among others, we assessed anthropometry, plasma lipids, blood pressure, C-reactive protein and HbA1c following a standard protocol. The USDA and Phenol-Explorer databases were used to estimate the polyphenol content of the habitual diet., Results: Average intake of polyphenols was 683.3 ± 5.8 mg/day. Flavonoids and phenolic acids were the predominant classes (47.5% and 47.4%, respectively). After adjusting for potential confounders, people with the highest intake of energy-adjusted polyphenols (upper tertile) had a more favorable cardiovascular risk factors profile as compared to people with the lowest intake (lower tertile) (BMI was 30.7 vs 29.9 kg/m 2 , HDL-cholesterol was 45.1 vs 46.9 mg/dl, LDL-cholesterol was 103.2 vs 102.1 mg/dl, triglycerides were 153.4 vs 148.0 mg/dl, systolic and diastolic blood pressure were respectively 135.3 vs 134.3 and 80.5 vs 79.6 mm/Hg, HbA1c was 7.70 vs 7.67%, and C-reactive Protein was 1.29 vs 1.25 mg/dl, p < .001 for all). The findings were very similar when the analysis was conducted separately for flavonoids or phenolic acids, the two main classes of polyphenols consumed in this population., Conclusions: Polyphenol intake is associated with a more favorable cardiovascular risk factors profile, independent of major confounders. These findings support the consumption of foods and beverages rich in different classes of polyphenols particularly in people with diabetes., Clinical Trial: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Study ID number: NCT00700856., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Background: The best treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes in whom treatment with metformin alone fails to achieve adequate glycaemic control is debated. We aimed to compare the long-term effects of pioglitazone versus sulfonylureas, given in addition to metformin, on cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes., Methods: TOSCA.IT was a multicentre, randomised, pragmatic clinical trial, in which patients aged 50-75 years with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin monotherapy (2-3 g per day) were recruited from 57 diabetes clinics in Italy. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1), by permuted blocks randomisation (block size 10), stratified by site and previous cardiovascular events, to add-on pioglitazone (15-45 mg) or a sulfonylurea (5-15 mg glibenclamide, 2-6 mg glimepiride, or 30-120 mg gliclazide, in accordance with local practice). The trial was unblinded, but event adjudicators were unaware of treatment assignment. The primary outcome, assessed with a Cox proportional-hazards model, was a composite of first occurrence of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, or urgent coronary revascularisation, assessed in the modified intention-to-treat population (all randomly assigned participants with baseline data available and without any protocol violations in relation to inclusion or exclusion criteria). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00700856., Findings: Between Sept 18, 2008, and Jan 15, 2014, 3028 patients were randomly assigned and included in the analyses. 1535 were assigned to pioglitazone and 1493 to sulfonylureas (glibenclamide 24 [2%], glimepiride 723 [48%], gliclazide 745 [50%]). At baseline, 335 (11%) participants had a previous cardiovascular event. The study was stopped early on the basis of a futility analysis after a median follow-up of 57·3 months. The primary outcome occurred in 105 patients (1·5 per 100 person-years) who were given pioglitazone and 108 (1·5 per 100 person-years) who were given sulfonylureas (hazard ratio 0·96, 95% CI 0·74-1·26, p=0·79). Fewer patients had hypoglycaemias in the pioglitazone group than in the sulfonylureas group (148 [10%] vs 508 [34%], p<0·0001). Moderate weight gain (less than 2 kg, on average) occurred in both groups. Rates of heart failure, bladder cancer, and fractures were not significantly different between treatment groups., Interpretation: In this long-term, pragmatic trial, incidence of cardiovascular events was similar with sulfonylureas (mostly glimepiride and gliclazide) and pioglitazone as add-on treatments to metformin. Both of these widely available and affordable treatments are suitable options with respect to efficacy and adverse events, although pioglitazone was associated with fewer hypoglycaemia events., Funding: Italian Medicines Agency, Diabete Ricerca, and Italian Diabetes Society., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sex allocation theory applied to hermaphrodites assumes that there is a trade off between the allocation of resources to male and female functions, within a fixed reproductive resource budget. Charnov's classic resource allocation model predicts a more female-biased sex allocation when competition among different sperm donors is low due to diminishing fitness returns for male investment. By manipulating the social group size, one automatically changes the population density at which individuals live. Increasing population density may affect reproductive allocation, leading to resource competition and/or to increased concentration of harmful metabolites. This could lead to an over- or underestimation of the individual adjustment of sex allocation responses to mating opportunities. In this article, we tested the effects of density and social group size separately on female investment and body growth (considered as proxy of the overall energy budget) in the simultaneously hermaphroditic polychaete worm Ophryotrocha diadema . We manipulated social group size (i.e., monogamous and promiscuous regimes) and density (i.e., 4 levels) using a full-factorial design, to identify the underlying factor affecting female allocation (in terms of egg production) and body growth. In contrast to findings of previous experiments, we found that an increase in population density reduced body growth and egg production of hermaphrodites irrespective of social group size. We advance the hypothesis that the increase of catabolites and oxygen consumption in high-density conditions reduces the overall resource budget and this could obscure group size effects on female fecundity.

Transcriptome sequencing is a useful method for studying gene-sequences data, especially in non-model organisms whose genomic sequences are yet to be determined. Indeed, even without any genome reference, transcripts can be assembled de novo to produce a genome-scale transcription map. Here we describe a de novo transcriptome assembly for the polychaete worm Ophryotrocha diadema, generated from 454-sequencing (Roche GS-FLX Titanium Sequencing). We describe the sequencing, the assembly and functional annotation of EST sequences, and the level of transcriptome coverage provided by our sequence data. The sequences we assembled represent a wide depiction of expressed genes from throughout the lifespan of O. diadema. We found gene sequences to be part of a broad range of functions (i.e. biological and metabolic processes, immune system, reproductive processes, development and growth, signalling and response to stimuli) and we therefore built the first transcriptomic reference for Ophryotrocha polychaete worms. These results encourage us to focus our investigation on many aspects of O. diadema and to extend our research to co-generic species., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Social conditions experienced prior to sexual maturity influence reproduction later in life in many animals. In simultaneous hermaphrodites, variation in mating group size influences reproductive investment. As the mating group size increases, reproductive resources devoted to the female function decrease in favor of the male function. Prior to sexual maturity, many hermaphrodites have a protandrous phase during which they produce sperm and can fertilize hermaphrodites' eggs. In the simultaneously hermaphroditic polychaete worm Ophryotrocha diadema , the cost of male reproduction during adolescence is spread over the whole energy budget of worms as shown by a reduced growth rate, a delayed age at sexual maturity and the shortening of life span compared to protandrous males that do not reproduce. Little is known on whether social conditions experienced during development affect reproductive investment of immature individuals. We investigated whether social conditions affected the length of the protandrous phase, body size and also the subsequent female fecundity of same-age protandrous individuals of O. diadema , which did not had to face competition for egg fertilization. Results show that in large group sizes protandrous males lengthened their protandrous phase, slowed down body growth and decreased their individual investment at the first egg laying compared to protandrous males that were reared in isolation. In the successive egg layings worms adjusted their egg output to the current social conditions. We interpreted these results as an indication that early social conditions represent a social stress resulting in a reduction of the overall reproductive resources up to the first egg laying., (© 2015 Current Zoology.)