Search

In this study, effect of environmental condition changes during gazing period on energy metabolism parameters was investigated. Totally 40 Aberdeen Angus cows were selected for observation. Calving all of cows was situated into March. The feeding ration for the animals was comprised by pasture during the grazing period and corn silage, hay and granulated distiller's grains during the winter period. At average age 9 days before calving, and subsequently 10, 81, 151, 189 and 273 days after calving, blood was sampled and analysed for glucose and NEFA (non-esterified fatty acid) concentrations on KONELAB T20xt automatic analyser (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Finland) and currently available commercial kits (Biovendor-Laboratorni medicina, Czech Republic). A rapid increase (p < 0.05) of glucose concentration was detected in blood plasma of cows in period before calving to 81 days post partum. Average value of glucose concentration at 273 days postpartum was significant (p < 0.05) lower comparing to day 189. The highest concentrations of NEFA in blood plasma of cows were found at 10 day postpartum. After that, during the persisted higher temperature period the NEFA concentration decreased significantly (p < 0.01) till 189 days postpartum. At the end of monitored period concentration of NEFA in blood plasma significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Changes of hot and cold season during the grazing period probably according to forage quality and had significant effects on blood plasma NEFA and glucose concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulse pressure amplification (i.e., the ratio of peripheral to central pulse pressure) is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events. Circulating free fatty acid, which is a major cause of insulin resistance, has been reported to favorably be associated with pulse pressure amplification in the arm (from the aorta to brachial artery). We hypothesized that this paradoxical relationship depended on an evaluating site of pulse pressure amplification and investigated whether serum free fatty acid level is related to pulse pressure amplification in the arm or trunk (from the aorta to femoral artery) in overweight/obese men. In a cross-sectional study, 85 men participated, and regression analyses revealed that serum free fatty acid level was significantly and independently associated with pulse pressure amplification in the arm but not the trunk. In a longitudinal study, 33 men completed a 12-week lifestyle intervention that involved both exercise training and dietary modification. The lifestyle intervention-induced change in serum free fatty acid level was significantly correlated to that in pulse pressure amplification in the arm but not the trunk. These results support our hypothesis and suggest that pulse pressure amplification should be measured in the trunk instead of the arm in overweight/obese men to simplify its interpretation., Competing Interests: No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Aim: Diabetes mellitus is reported to be a risk factor for dementia. We evaluated the cognitive function in elderly diabetic patients and estimated the prevalence of patients with cognitive impairment and looked for any related clinical factors., Subjects and Methods: Using 281 elderly (65 years of age or older) Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were free of clinically evident cognitive impairment, we evaluated their cognitive function with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE)., Results: The MMSE score of all the participants was 27.3 ± 2.4 with 31.3% of them being in the abnormal range (tentatively defined normal range as having an MMSE score of 27-30). Multiple regression analysis disclosed that fasting serum non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), estimated glomerular filtration ratio (eGFR) and insulin treatment were significantly related factors for the MMSE score, in addition to age and schooling history, which are extremely strong factors., Conclusions: We revealed that approximately one-third of elderly type 2 diabetic patients who were free of clinically evident cognitive impairment had impaired cognitive function, demonstrating that the MMSE score was significantly correlated with fasting NEFA level, renal function, insulin treatment, age and schooling history., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standard of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and later versions. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Summary: Background & aims: A late evening snack (LES) is recommended for improving starvation state in cirrhotic patients. The non-protein respiratory quotient (npRQ) is an important index for evaluating the indications and effectiveness of LES. Indirect calorimetry is used to determine npRQ, but it is expensive and not available in many hospitals. The aim was to find blood biochemical markers reflecting npRQ. Methods: A total of 183 cirrhotic patients (M/F = 149/34) were enrolled. For each patient, fasting state npRQ was determined by indirect calorimetry. The relationships between npRQ and indices such as age, body mass index, platelet count, etiology, and levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, albumin, blood glucose, and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) were statistically analyzed. Results: There was a significant negative correlation between the measured npRQ and serum NEFA levels, and the NEFA level was the strongest predictor of npRQ. Multiple regression analysis identified that the NEFA and Hepatitis B virus were predictors of npRQ. Conclusion: These data suggest that fasting serum NEFA level is the most relevant biomarker to determine npRQ if indirect calorimetry is unavailable. Thus, serum NEFA levels may be useful to determine the indications and effectiveness of LES therapy in cirrhotic patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: Perioperative nutritional assessment is critically important to reflect nutritional management because liver transplantation (LTx) often is undertaken in patients with poor nutritional status. The aim of this study was to evaluate nutritional status, including the non-protein respiratory quotient (npRQ), resting energy expenditure (REE), nitrogen balance, and blood biochemical parameters in patients before and after LTx., Methods: Fourteen patients undergoing LTx and 10 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The npRQ and REE were measured using indirect calorimetry before LTx and at 2, 3, and 4 wk after the procedure. Blood biochemistry and nitrogen balance calculated by 24-h urine collection were performed concurrently with indirect calorimetric measurement; the results were compared between the two groups., Results: Before LTx, npRQ was significantly lower and serum non-esterified fatty acid levels were significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. Furthermore, a negative nitrogen balance was observed in the patients. These, however, improved significantly at 4 wk after LTx. REE did not significantly increase compared with the preoperative values in recipients. Blood biochemistry showed gradually increasing levels of serum cholinesterase and albumin. These failed to reach to normal levels by 4 wk post-transplant., Conclusions: The findings revealed that improvement of nutritional metabolism after LTx may require 4 wk. Additional nutritional strategies, therefore, may be needed to minimize catabolic state during the early post-transplant period. Adequate, individualized nutritional guidance before and after LTx should be performed in these patients., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The objective was to determine effect of sampling protocol on plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentration. Plasma NEFA concentration is often used as a tool to assess metabolic status of dairy cows during the periparturient period. In experiment 1, 8 nonlactating, non-gestating dairy cows were blood sampled (basal), moved to an exercise lot for 15 min, returned to stanchions, and sampled immediately and at 5, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min following return. Following 15 min of exercise, cows displayed an increase in plasma NEFA concentration, peaking at 5 min (225 µEq/L) and returning to basal (84 µEq/L) by 30 min (110 µEq/L; P < 0.001). Cows were moved to box stalls overnight and 24 h after basal sample, they were locked up and sampled again. Housing cows in a box stall overnight and locking them in headlocks increased plasma NEFA concentration (184 µEq/L; P < 0.01). In a second experiment at a large freestall commercial dairy, 11 late gestation dairy cows were locked in headlocks at feeding, blood was sampled (0 min), and cows were released and allowed to finish eating and return to stalls. Cows were then herded into headlocks and sampled immediately (120 min), and at 135, 150, and 180 min. Plasma NEFA concentration was highest at initial lockup (284 µEq/L), lowest at 180 min (178 µEq/L) and intermediate at time points in between (P < 0.05). A second group of 10 late gestation dairy cows were locked in headlocks at feeding and blood sampled immediately, and at 5, 15, 30 and 60 min. Plasma NEFA concentration was highest 15 min after being placed in headlocks and lowest at 60 min (221 and 113 µEq/L, respectively; P < 0.05). At each time point, a behavior score was given (1 to 10; 1=calm; 10=extremely excited). There was a significant correlation between plasma NEFA concentration and behavior score (r=0.55 for experiment 1, r=0.31 for experiment 2; P < 0.05). In conclusion, plasma NEFA concentration was altered with different sampling protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerability of the fetus upon maternal obesity can potentially occur during all developmental phases. We aimed at elaborating longer-term health outcomes of fetal overnutrition during the earliest stages of development. We utilized Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice to induce pre-conceptional and gestational obesity and followed offspring outcomes in the absence of any postnatal obesogenic influences. Male adult offspring developed overweight, insulin resistance, hyperleptinemia, hyperuricemia and hepatic steatosis; all these features were not observed in females. Instead, they showed impaired fasting glucose and a reduced fat mass and adipocyte size. Influences of the interaction of maternal diet∗sex concerned offspring genes involved in fatty liver disease, lipid droplet size regulation and fat mass expansion. These data suggest that a peri-conceptional obesogenic exposure is sufficient to shape offspring gene expression patterns and health outcomes in a sex- and organ-specific manner, indicating varying developmental vulnerabilities between sexes towards metabolic disease in response to maternal overnutrition., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Metabolomics, one of the most recently emerged "omics", has taken advantage of ultrasound (US) to improve sample preparation (SP) steps. The metabolomics-US assisted SP step binomial has experienced a dissimilar development that has depended on the area (vegetal or animal) and the SP step. Thus, vegetal metabolomics and US assisted leaching has received the greater attention (encompassing subdisciplines such as metallomics, xenometabolomics and, mainly, lipidomics), but also liquid-liquid extraction and (bio)chemical reactions in metabolomics have taken advantage of US energy. Also clinical and animal samples have benefited from US assisted SP in metabolomics studies but in a lesser extension. The main effects of US have been shortening of the time required for the given step, and/or increase of its efficiency or availability for automation; nevertheless, attention paid to potential degradation caused by US has been scant or nil. Achievements and weak points of the metabolomics-US assisted SP step binomial are discussed and possible solutions to the present shortcomings are exposed., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The involvement of plasma leptin in the adaptation of dromedary camels to harsh conditions such as food or water shortages was studied through 2 experiments. In experiment 1, fourteen female camels were either fed at 68% of maintenance energy requirements (MER) during 112d (n=4) or overfed at 134% of MER during the first 56d and then underfed at 17% of MER the next 56d (OV-UN, n=5), or underfed and then overfed for the same durations and energy intake levels (UN-OV, n=5). Weekly plasma samples showed that leptin, glucose and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations were significantly modulated by energy intake level. NEFA increased sharply but transiently in underfed camels of the UN-OV or OV-UN groups, whereas glucose and leptin concentrations decreased with underfeeding and increased with overfeeding with more significant effects in camels that were previously overfed or underfed, respectively. In experiment 2 twelve female camels were either normally watered (n=6) or dehydrated (n=6) during 23d and then rehydrated during 4d. Dehydration specifically increased blood hematocrit, plasma NEFA and glucose whereas leptin decreased slightly. For both experiments, leptinemia was positively related to hump adipocyte volume. Taken together these results provide new data for a better understanding of lipid and energy metabolism in camels., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Long-chain n-3 PUFA (LCPUFA) and palmitate (16:0) positioning in the triacylglycerol (TAG) of infant formula may affect calcium-uptake which could affect bone health. We investigated if a human milk fat substitute (HMFS) with a modified TAG structure holding 16:0 predominantly in the sn-2-position compared with a control (CONT) and if increasing n-3LCPUFA intake giving fish oil (FO) compared with sunflower oil (SO) would affect bone parameters in piglets in two sets of controlled 14d-interventions (n=12/group). We assessed this by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and ex vivo peripheral quantitative computed tomography and mechanical strength. Bone mineral content (BMC) was higher in the FO compared to the SO-group (p=0.03). Despite similar weight gain in HMFS- and CONT-groups, body fat accumulation was higher with HMFS (p<0.001), and BMC, bone area (BA) and cortical BA in femur were lower (p=0.002, p=0.005, and p=0.02, respectively), indicating importance of both n-3LCPUFA and 16:0 TAG-positioning in infant formulas., (© 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)