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The ?-carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) from the newly discovered thermophilic bacterium Sulfurihydrogenibium yellowstonense YO3AOP1 (SspCA) was investigated for its inhibition with a large series of sulfonamides and a sulfamate, the classical inhibitors of these zinc enzymes. SspCA showed an inhibition profile with these compounds very similar to that of the predominant human cytosolic isoform hCA II, and not to that of the bacterial ?-CA from Helicobacter pylori. Some clinically used drugs such as acetazolamide, methazolamide, ethoxzolamide, dichlorophenamide, dorzolamide, brinzolamide, topiramate, celecoxib and sulthiame were low nanomolar SspCA/hCA II inhibitors (KIs in the range of 4.5-12.3 nM) whereas simple aromatic/heterocyclic sulfonamides were less effective, micromolar inhibitors. As this highly catalytically active and thermostable enzyme may show biotechnological applications, its inhibition studies may be relevant for designing on/off systems to control its activity.

The α-carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) from the newly discovered thermophilic bacterium Sulfurihydrogenibium yellowstonense YO3AOP1 (SspCA) was investigated for its activation with a series of amino acids and amines. d -His, l -Phe, l -Tyr, l - and d -Trp were the most effective SspCA activators, with activation constants in the range of 1–12 nM, whereas l -His, l / d -DOPA, d -Tyr, and several biogenic amines/catecholamines were slightly less effective activators ( K A in the range of 37 nM–0.97 μM). The least effective SspCA activator was d -Phe ( K A of 5.13 μM). The thermal stability, robustness and very high catalytic activity of SspCA make this enzyme an ideal candidate for biomimetic CO 2 capture processes.

Introduction: Early prevention of obesity and overweight requires an intervention during childhood and adolescence. Since, at that age, game appears to be an appropriate tool to teach nutrition knowledge and to influence dietary behaviour, the new educational board-game Kaledo was tested for promoting a healthy diet and lifestyle in children. Methods: A two group design (treatment and control) with 1 pre-intervention assessment and 2 post-intervention assessments after 6 and 18 months was used. School was the unit of recruitment and random assignment to groups. During a 20 weeks period, once a week, a group of 1076 students (10 schools) participated to 15–30 minute-long play sessions with Kaledo. The control group (1081 students from 9 schools) did not participate in any play session with Kaledo. Changes in diet and physical activity were evaluated through validated questionnaires (Turconi et al. 2003; Johnson et al. 2002) collected at the 3 assessment times. At the same time, anthropometric measurements were performed in order to evaluate changes in the body mass index of the participants. Results: In the two post-intervention assessments, the treated group obtained significant better scores than the control in the questionnaire sections labelled “Nutrition Knowledge”, “Healthy and Unhealthy Diet and Food”, “Food Habits Checklist”, “Physical Activity and Lifestyle” and “Food Habits”. Remarkably, the treated group showed a significant lower mean BMI z-score with respect to the control group. Conclusion: Our results show that Kaledo could be an effective and powerful tool for nutrition education.

Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed psychoactive drug worldwide. Caffeine has well-known short-term stimulating effects on central nervous system, and possibly long-term protective effects against neuro-degeneration. This view is supported by epidemiological studies that revealed an inverse association between the chronic consumption of caffeine and the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's diseases. The putative protective effects of caffeine intake against Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are of great interest since they open possibilities for prevention or postponing the onset of disease. This review presents the existing experimental evidence for neuroprotective effects of caffeine in cognition and the mechanisms by which it affects cognitive decline and pathologic changes in neurodegenerative diseases

The placenta is the primary site of nutrient and gas exchange between mother and foetus. During human placental development, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis occur at different stages. In order to clarify some of the molecular mechanisms underlying these events, we investigated the pattern of expression of two members of the Bcl-2 family in human placenta samples and compared them to the level of apoptosis detected by the TUNEL method. In particular, we evaluated the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax and their ratio during the first and third trimester. We found that Bcl-2 was generally expressed at low levels during the entire gestational period. On the other hand, Bax was low during the first trimester but increased towards the end of gestation. In accordance with the change of ratio of these two molecules, the increase of apoptotic cells was observable in the third trimester. These data indicate that Bcl-2 and Bax are spatio-temporally regulated during placental development and that the different expression of the above mentioned genes is at least in part responsible for the delicate balance between cell proliferation and programmed cell death in the human placenta during pregnancy.

Damages due to sedentary behavior and scarce muscle activity are well known. These damage are strongly underlined in all programs regarding health people and moderate physical activity is recommended in the prevention and therapy of numerous diseases: obesity, diabetes, dislipidemias, cardiovascular pathologies, neurological diseases, etc. On the other hand, also strenuous muscle exercise can produce biological damage with many patho-physiological mechanisms. The aim of this report is to emphasize the potential damages due to "overdose" of physical activity. This aspect should be well considered by sanitary operators in the educational programs regarding the wellness.

Introduction: A successful nutrition education during childhood and adolescence periods could decrease the incidence of adult overweight and obesity. We developed Kale`do, a new board-game, to promote nutrition knowledge and healthy lifestyle. Objective: To test the efficacy of Kale`do on changes in nutrition knowledge and feeding behavior in 12 middle schools in Campania, Italy. Methods: A two group design (treatment and control) with 1 preintervention assessment and 2 post-intervention assessments was used. Data analysis was performed on 1614 students. During 20 weeks, a group of 793 students (6 schools) was involved in 15– 30 minute-long play sessions with Kale`do once a week. They were requested to fill the ‘Adolescent Food Habits Checklist’ of Johnson et al. and the dietary questionnaire of Turconi et al. at the beginning of the study and at 6 months and 18 months after starting the scheduled play sessions. A control group (821 students from 6 schools) was investigated at the same times with the same questionnaire but they did not participate in any play session with Kale`do. Results: The score of the Adolescent Food Habits Checklist was significantly higher in the treated group than in the control at 6 months. Moreover, the scores from 5 subsections of the dietary questionnaire were significantly different between the treated and the control groups at 6 months. Most of these differences disappeared at the reassessment at 18 months. Conclusion: Our results show that Kale`do can influence dietary behavior and can be an effective tool for nutrition education

Exercise and insulin and exercise are the most relevant stimulators of glucose transport in skeletal muscle. Glucose uptake in skeletal muscle during exercise involves acceleration of several processes compared to the resting state. The scientific literature hould put more emphasis on the role played by muscle contraction to enhance glucose uptake with insulin-independent mechanisms. Indeed, a search on Pub Med using the key words "contraction and glucose uptake and muscle" gives 566 reports, while a search using the key words "insulin and glucose uptake and muscle" cites 4156 publications (May,2009). This chapter describes extensively the mechanisms permitting the insulinindependent glucose uptake in response to muscle utilization during exercise. The muscle contraction stimulates GLUT4 translocation in the absence of insulin. There are different intracellular "pools" of GLUT4, one stimulated by insulin and one stimulated by exercise. The roles exerted by AMPK, AICAR, calcium, NO, glycogen and hypoxia in the glucose uptake during exercise are underlined. The consequences of these phenomena on human wellness are discussed. Furthermore, the scarce treatment of insulin-independent glucose uptake in scholastic textbooks is underlined, to induce authors to treat this important argument more extensively.

Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction. When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being, including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, a temporary increase in metabolism, improved cardiac function, and elevated HDL (good) cholesterol. This new and important book gathers the latest research from around the globe in the study of strength training and highlights such topics as: neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) as a modality of strength training, metabolic damages induced by strenuous exercise, sport-specific strength training and others.