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In this work, we compared the cancer preventive activities of Polyphenon E (PPE), a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation given in diet versus drinking fluid as well as the activities of PPE versus individual catechins. We treated Apc(Min/+) mice for 9 wk with 0.08% (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), 0.08% (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate, or 0.12% PPE in drinking fluid or diet. Only 0.12% dietary PPE and 0.08% EGCG in drinking fluid significantly decreased tumor multiplicity (70% and 51%, respectively). Compared to PPE in drinking fluid, dietary PPE delivered twofold more EGCG to the small intestine. Immunohistochemistry showed that adenomas in groups treated with PPE and EGCG had decreased cell proliferation, Beta -catenin nuclear expression, and phospho-Akt levels; higher cleaved caspase-3 levels, and partially restored retinoid X receptor alpha expression. The results suggest that these molecular events contribute to the cancer prevention activity of EGCG and PPE. Furthermore, diet appears to be a better route of administration for PPE than drinking fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of parental identity tend to focus on historical influences or experiences with the other parent of the child and overlook the influence of children on parents. To investigate children's influence on parental identity, this study examines individuals' perceived mattering or significance to their school-aged children. Cross-case qualitative analysis of data from 47 parents (n = 30 females, 17 males) reveals that mattering emerges from interactions with children and attention from children. Mattering is not viewed by participants as a global and stable trait but is identified as malleable. Parents also view their obligation and fulfillment of the role as an indication of mattering. As such, mattering helps to define the parental role, and enactment of the parental role enables parents to define themselves as significant to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many plant polyphenolic compounds have been shown to have cancer-preventing activities in laboratory studies. For example, tea and tea preparations have been shown to inhibit tumorigenesis in a variety of animal models of carcinogenesis, involving organ sites such as the skin, lungs, oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, colon, and prostate. In some of these models, inhibitory activity was demonstrated when tea was administered during the initiation, promotion, or progression stage of carcinogenesis. The cancer-preventing activities of these and other polyphenols, such as curcumin, genistein, and quercetin, are reviewed. In studies in vitro, many of these compounds have been shown to affect signal transduction pathways, leading to inhibition of cell growth and transformation, enhanced apoptosis, reduced invasive behavior, and slowed angiogenesis. However, the concentrations used in cell culture studies were much higher than those found in vivo. If we propose mechanisms for cancer prevention on the basis of cell line experiments, then these activities must be demonstrated in vivo. The bioavailability, ie, tissue and cellular concentrations, of dietary polyphenols is a determining factor in their cancer-preventing activity in vivo. For example, compounds such as curcumin are effective when applied topically to the skin or administered orally to affect the colon but are not effective in internal organs such as the lungs. More in-depth studies on bioavailability should facilitate correlation of mechanisms determined in vitro with in vivo situations, increase our understanding of dose-response relationships, and facilitate extrapolation of results from animal studies to human Copyright © 2005 American Society for Clinical Nutrition [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inhibition of tumorigenesis by tea extracts and tea polyphenols has been demonstrated in different animal models, including those for cancer of the skin, lung, oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, bladder, liver, pancrease, prostate, and mammary glands. Caffeine is also active in inhibition of tumorigenesis on the skin, lung, and perhaps other organs. In spite of many in vitro and in vivo studies, the molecular mechanisms for the cancer preventive actions of these compounds are not clearly known. The relationship between tea consumption and cancer risk has not been conclusively demonstrated, and the relationship may become more clear if we consider the effects of specific types of tea, at defined doses, in populations with certain dietary patterns or genetic polymorphisms. Human intervention trials and large prospective studies are needed to further assess the cancer preventive activities of tea constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: e-coachER was a web-based intervention designed to support uptake and maintenance of physical activity for people attending exercise referral schemes (ERS) for weight loss, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis or a history of depression/low mood. The aim of this study was to explore the mechanisms of impact of the e-coachER intervention, specifically how participants interacted with e-coachER and the key mediators of increased physical activity., Design: This was a qualitative one-on-one interview study. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis., Setting: UK primary care ERS., Participants: A purposive sample of adult patients randomised to the intervention arm of the e-coachER randomised controlled trial., Results: Twenty-six participants (20 female), who had logged on to e-coachER at least once were recruited, resulting in a total of 38 interviews (mean duration 48 min). Four broad, inter-related themes were generated from the data (1) catalyst for change, (2) goals and aspirations, (3) support and (4) engagement with the e-coachER programme. Most participants who took part in e-coachER were already motivated to improve their health and perceived e-coachER as an additional source of motivation and accountability. Many felt that the opportunity to set goals and self-monitor supported participant's competence and autonomy by enabling them to progress at their own pace. Many participants reported on how e-coachER helped them to foster a sense of relatedness by encouraging them to seek support from others. Finally, e-coachER was regarded as being generally accessible and engaging. Despite this, some found it too simplistic, and others found it hard to maintain engagement over time., Conclusions: The e-coachER intervention seemed to be generally motivating in the early stages of initiating behaviour change, but engagement waned over time. Our findings highlight how important an online package might be in supporting behaviour change while also highlighting the challenges of achieving sustained physical activity changes., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN15644451., Competing Interests: Competing interests: All authors declare support from National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Health Technology Assessment (grant 13/20/25) for the submitted work. SGD's position is supported by NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, Southwest (PenARC). CG was supported in part by a NIHR Career Development Fellowship (CDF-2012-05-259). All other authors have no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work since initiation of the study and have no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Aim: Depression and anxiety occur frequently in individuals with cardiovascular disease and are associated with poor prognosis. This Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of psychological interventions on psychological and clinical outcomes in adults with coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF) or atrial fibrillation (AF)., Methods and Result: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases were searched from January 2009 to July 2022 for randomised controlled trials of psychological interventions versus controls in adults with CHD, HF or AF. Twenty-one studies (n = 2591) were assessed using random-effects models. We found psychological interventions reduced depression (standardised mean difference [SMD] -0.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.65 to -0.06; P = 0.02), anxiety (SMD -0.57; 95% CI -0.96 to -0.18; P = 0.004), and improved mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (SMD 0.63, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.26; P = 0.05) (follow-up 6-12 months), but not physical health-related quality of life, all-cause mortality or major adverse cardiovascular events compared with controls. High heterogeneity was present across meta-analyses. Meta-regression analysis showed that psychological interventions designed to target anxiety, were more effective than non-targeted interventions., Conclusion: This review found that psychological interventions improved depression, anxiety and mental HRQoL, with those targeting anxiety to show most benefit. Given the statistical heterogeneity, the precise magnitude of effects remains uncertain. Increasing use of multifactorial psychological interventions shows promise for incorporating patient needs and preferences. Investigation of those at high risk of poor outcomes, comparison of intervention components and those with AF is warranted., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

In addition to current challenges in food production arising from climate change, soil salinization, drought, flooding, and human-caused disruption, abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios (ASRS), e.g., a nuclear winter, supervolcano eruption, or large asteroid or comet strike, are catastrophes that would severely disrupt the global food supply and decimate normal agricultural practices. In such global catastrophes, teragrams of particulate matter, such as aerosols of soot, dust, and sulfates, would be injected into the stratosphere and block sunlight for multiple years. The reduction of incident sunlight would cause a decrease in temperature and precipitation and major shifts to climate patterns leading to devastating reductions in agricultural production of traditional food crops. To survive a catastrophic ASRS or endure current and future disasters and famines, humans might need to rely on post-catastrophic foods, or those that could be foraged, grown, or produced under the new climate conditions to supplement reduced availability of traditional foods. These foods have sometimes been referred to as emergency, alternate, or resilient foods in the literature. While there is a growing body of work that summarizes potential post-catastrophic foods and their nutritional profiles based on existing data in the literature, this article documents a list of protocols to experimentally determine fundamental nutritional properties of post-catastrophic foods that can be used to assess the relative contributions of those foods to a balanced human diet that meets established nutritional requirements while avoiding toxic levels of nutrients. © 2024 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Total digestible glucans Basic Protocol 2: Apparent protein digestibility Basic Protocol 3: Vitamins B 1 , B 3 , B 9 , C, and D 2 by HPLC Basic Protocol 4: Total antioxidant activity (DPPH-scavenging activity) Basic Protocol 5: Total phenolic compounds (Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method) Basic Protocol 6: Mineral content by ICP-OES., (© 2024 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Scope: A study is conducted to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of cocoa and polyphenol-rich cocoa fractions in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced mouse model of acute colonic inflammation., Methods and Results: Male C57BL/6J mice are treated with dietary cocoa powder, an extractable cocoa polyphenol fraction, or a non-extractable cocoa polyphenol fraction for 2 weeks prior to treatment with 2.5% DSS in the drinking water for 7 days to induce colonic inflammation. Cocoa treatment continues during the DSS period. Cocoa and/or cocoa fractions exacerbate DSS-induced weight loss and fail to mitigate DSS-induced colon shortening but do improve splenomegaly. Cocoa/cocoa fraction treatment fails to mitigate DSS-induced mRNA and protein markers of inflammation. Principal component analysis shows overlap between cocoa or cocoa fraction-treated mice and DSS-induced controls, but separation from mice not treated with DSS., Conclusion: The results suggest cocoa and cocoa polyphenols may not be useful in mitigating acute colonic inflammation., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

In the event of a sunlight-blocking, temperature-lowering global catastrophe, such as a global nuclear war, super-volcano eruption or large asteroid strike, normal agricultural practices would be severely disrupted with a devastating impact on the global food supply. Despite the improbability of such an occurrence, it is prudent to consider how to sustain the surviving population following a global catastrophe until normal weather and climate patterns resume. Additionally, the ongoing challenges posed by climate change, droughts, flooding, soil salinization, and famine highlight the importance of developing food systems with resilient inputs such as lignocellulosic biomass. With its high proportion of cellulose, the abundant lignocellulosic biomass found across the Earth's land surfaces could be a source of energy and nutrition, but it would first need to be converted into foods. To understand the potential of lignocellulosic biomass to provide energy and nutrition to humans in post-catastrophic and other food crisis scenarios, compositional analyses should be completed to gauge the amount of energy (soluble sugars) and other macronutrients (protein and lipids) that might be available and the level of difficulty in extracting them. Suitable preparation of the lignocellulosic biomass is critical to achieve consistent and comparable results from these analyses. Here we describe a compilation of protocols to prepare lignocellulosic biomass and analyze its composition to understand its potential as a precursor to produce post-catastrophic foods which are those that could be foraged, grown, or produced under the new climate conditions to supplement reduced availability of traditional foods. These foods have sometimes been referred to in the literature as emergency, alternate, or resilient foods. © 2024 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Convection oven drying (1 to 2 days) Alternate Protocol 1: Air-drying (2 to 3 days) Alternate Protocol 2: Lyophilization (1 to 4 days) Support Protocol 1: Milling plant biomass Support Protocol 2: Measuring moisture content Basic Protocol 2: Cellulose determination Basic Protocol 3: Lignin determination Basic Protocol 4: Crude protein content by total nitrogen Basic Protocol 5: Crude fat determination via soxtec extraction system Basic Protocol 6: Sugars by HPLC Basic Protocol 7: Ash content., (© 2024 The Author(s). Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Depression and anxiety occur frequently (with reported prevalence rates of around 40%) in individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF) or atrial fibrillation (AF) and are associated with a poor prognosis, such as decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and increased morbidity and mortality. Psychological interventions are developed and delivered by psychologists or specifically trained healthcare workers and commonly include cognitive behavioural therapies and mindfulness-based stress reduction. They have been shown to reduce depression and anxiety in the general population, though the exact mechanism of action is not well understood. Further, their effects on psychological and clinical outcomes in patients with CHD, HF or AF are unclear., Objectives: To assess the effects of psychological interventions (alone, or with cardiac rehabilitation or pharmacotherapy, or both) in adults who have a diagnosis of CHD, HF or AF, compared to no psychological intervention, on psychological and clinical outcomes., Search Methods: We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases from 2009 to July 2022. We also searched three clinical trials registers in September 2020, and checked the reference lists of included studies. No language restrictions were applied., Selection Criteria: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing psychological interventions with no psychological intervention for a minimum of six months follow-up in adults aged over 18 years with a clinical diagnosis of CHD, HF or AF, with or without depression or anxiety. Studies had to report on either depression or anxiety or both., Data Collection and Analysis: We used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcomes were depression and anxiety, and our secondary outcomes of interest were HRQoL mental and physical components, all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for each outcome., Main Results: Twenty-one studies (2591 participants) met our inclusion criteria. Sixteen studies included people with CHD, five with HF and none with AF. Study sample sizes ranged from 29 to 430. Twenty and 17 studies reported the primary outcomes of depression and anxiety, respectively. Despite the high heterogeneity and variation, we decided to pool the studies using a random-effects model, recognising that the model does not eliminate heterogeneity and findings should be interpreted cautiously. We found that psychological interventions probably have a moderate effect on reducing depression (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.65 to -0.06; 20 studies, 2531 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) and anxiety (SMD -0.57, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.18; 17 studies, 2235 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), compared to no psychological intervention. Psychological interventions may have little to no effect on HRQoL physical component summary scores (PCS) (SMD 0.48, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.98; 12 studies, 1454 participants; low-certainty evidence), but may have a moderate effect on improving HRQoL mental component summary scores (MCS) (SMD 0.63, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.26; 12 studies, 1454 participants; low-certainty evidence), compared to no psychological intervention. Psychological interventions probably have little to no effect on all-cause mortality (risk ratio (RR) 0.81, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.69; 3 studies, 615 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) and may have little to no effect on MACE (RR 1.22, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.92; 4 studies, 450 participants; low-certainty evidence), compared to no psychological intervention., Authors' Conclusions: Current evidence suggests that psychological interventions for depression and anxiety probably result in a moderate reduction in depression and anxiety and may result in a moderate improvement in HRQoL MCS, compared to no intervention. However, they may have little to no effect on HRQoL PCS and MACE, and probably do not reduce mortality (all-cause) in adults who have a diagnosis of CHD or HF, compared with no psychological intervention. There was moderate to substantial heterogeneity identified across studies. Thus, evidence of treatment effects on these outcomes warrants careful interpretation. As there were no studies of psychological interventions for patients with AF included in our review, this is a gap that needs to be addressed in future studies, particularly in view of the rapid growth of research on management of AF. Studies investigating cost-effectiveness, return to work and cardiovascular morbidity (revascularisation) are also needed to better understand the benefits of psychological interventions in populations with heart disease., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Cochrane Collaboration.)

The green tea polyphenol, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has been studied for its potential positive health effects, but human and animal model studies have reported potential toxicity at high oral bolus doses. This study used liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to compare the urinary EGCG metabolite profile after administration of a single non-toxic (100 mg kg -1 ) or toxic (750 mg kg -1 ) oral bolus dose to male C57BL6/J mice to better understand how EGCG metabolism varies with dose. EGCG metabolites, including methyl, glucuronide, sulfate, and glucoside conjugates, were tentatively identified based on their mass to charge ( m / z ) ratio and fragment ion patterns. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) results showed clear separation of the urine metabolite profiles between treatment groups. The most differentiating metabolites in the negative and positive ion modes were provisionally identified as di-glucuronidated EGCG quinone and di-glucuronidated EGCG, respectively. The presence of EGCG oxidation products at toxic dose is consistent with studies showing that EGCG toxicity is associated with oxidative stress. Relative amounts of methylated metabolites increased with dose to a lesser extent than glucuronide and sulfate metabolites, indicating that methylation is more prominent at low doses, whereas glucuronidation and sulfation may be more important at higher doses. One limitation of the current work is that the lack of commercially-available EGCG metabolite standards prevented absolute metabolite quantification and identification. Despite this limitation, these findings provide a basis for better understanding the dose-dependent changes in EGCG metabolism and advance studies on how these differences may contribute to the toxicity of high doses of EGCG.

Clade-specific (a.k.a. lineage-specific) genes are very common and found at all taxonomic levels and in all clades examined. They can arise by duplication of previously existing genes, which can involve partial truncations or combinations with other protein domains or regulatory sequences. They can also evolve de novo from non-coding sequences, leading to potentially truly novel protein domains. Finally, since clade-specific genes are generally defined by lack of sequence homology with other proteins, they can also arise by sequence evolution that is rapid enough that previous sequence homology can no longer be detected. In such cases, where the rapid evolution is followed by constraint, we consider them to be ontologically non-novel but likely novel at a functional level. In general, clade-specific genes have received less attention from biologists but there are increasing numbers of fascinating examples of their roles in important traits. Here we review some selected recent examples, and argue that attention to clade-specific genes is an important corrective to the focus on the conserved developmental regulatory toolkit that has been the habit of evo-devo as a field. Finally, we discuss questions that arise about the evolution of clade-specific genes, and how these might be addressed by future studies. We highlight the hypothesis that clade-specific genes are more likely to be involved in synapomorphies that arose in the stem group where they appeared, compared to other genes., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Micronutrient deficiencies caused by malnutrition and hidden hunger are a growing concern worldwide, exacerbated by climate change, COVID-19, and conflicts. A potentially sustainable way to mitigate such challenges is the production of nutrient-dense crops through agronomic biofortification techniques. Among several potential target crops, microgreens are considered suitable for mineral biofortification because of their short growth cycle, high content of nutrients, and low level of anti-nutritional factors. A study was conducted to evaluate the potential of zinc (Zn) biofortification of pea and sunflower microgreens via seed nutri-priming, examining the effect of different Zn sources (Zn sulfate, Zn-EDTA, and Zn oxide nanoparticles) and concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 ppm) on microgreen yield components; mineral content; phytochemical constituents such as total chlorophyll, carotenoids, flavonoids, anthocyanin, and total phenolic compounds; antioxidant activity; and antinutrient factors like phytic acid. Treatments were arranged in a completely randomized factorial block design with three replications. Seed soaked in a 200 ppm ZnSO 4 solution resulted in higher Zn accumulation in both peas (126.1%) and sunflower microgreens (229.8%). However, an antagonistic effect on the accumulation of other micronutrients (Fe, Mn, and Cu) was seen only in pea microgreens. Even at high concentrations, seed soaking in Zn-EDTA did not effectively accumulate Zn in both microgreens' species. ZnO increased the chlorophyll, total phenols, and antioxidant activities compared to Zn-EDTA. Seed soaking in ZnSO 4 and ZnO solutions at higher concentrations resulted in a lower phytic acid/Zn molar ratio, suggesting the higher bioaccessibility of the biofortified Zn in both pea and sunflower microgreens. These results suggest that seed nutrient priming is feasible for enriching pea and sunflower microgreens with Zn. The most effective Zn source was ZnSO 4 , followed by ZnO. The optimal concentration of Zn fertilizer solution should be selected based on fertilizer source, target species, and desired Zn-enrichment level., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Poudel, Di Gioia, Lambert and Connolly.)

Obesity causes inflammation which may lead to development of co-morbidities like cardiovascular diseases. Cocoa is a popular food ingredient that has been shown to mitigate obesity and inflammation in preclinical models. Cocoa typically undergoes fermentation and roasting prior to consumption, which can affect the polyphenol content in cocoa. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of fermentation and roasting protocols on the ability of cocoa to mitigate obesity, gut barrier dysfunction, and chronic inflammation in high fat (HF)-fed, obese C57BL/6J mice. We found that treatment of mice with 80 mg/g dietary cocoa powder for 8 weeks reduced rate of body weight gain in both male and female mice (46-57%), regardless of fermentation and roasting protocol. Colonic length was increased (11-24%) and gut permeability was reduced (48-79%) by cocoa supplementation. Analysis of the cecal microbiome showed that cocoa, regardless of fermentation and roasting protocol, reduced the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes. Multivariate statistical analysis of markers of inflammation and body weight data showed sex differences in the effect of both the HF diet as well as cocoa supplementation. Based on this data there was strong protective efficacy from cocoa supplementation especially for the more processed cocoa samples. Overall, this study shows that anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory efficacy of cocoa is resilient to changes in polyphenol content and composition induced by fermentation or roasting. Further, this study shows that although cocoa has beneficial effects in both males and females, there are significant sex differences., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Potatoes are an important food crop that undergo postharvest storage, reconditioning, and cooking. Colored-flesh varieties of potatoes are rich in phenolic acids and anthocyanins. Previous studies have suggested that purple-flesh potatoes can inhibit colon cancer cells in vitro and reduce colon carcinogenesis in vivo. Vacuum frying (VF), as an alternative to conventional frying (CF), reduces fat content and may promote polyphenol retention in potato chips. We examined the impacts of reconditioning (storing at 13°C for 3 weeks following the 90-day cold storage at 7°C) and frying method on phenolic chemistry and in vitro colon cancer stem cell (CCSC) inhibitory activity of purple-flesh potato chips. We found that reconditioned chips exhibited higher total phenolic content (TPC) than nonreconditioned chips. We found that VF chips had lower TPC than CF chips. We observed no interaction between treatments. We found that VF chips had 27% higher total monomeric anthocyanin levels than CF chips, and observed a significant interaction between treatments. We found that VF chips had higher concentrations of caffeic acid (42%-72% higher), malvidin (46%-98% higher), and pelargonidin (55%-300% higher) than CF chips. We found that reconditioning had no effect. We found that VF chips had greater in vitro CCSC inhibitory activity than CF chips. Our results suggest that VF can improve the phytochemical profile and health-related functionality of purple-flesh potato chips, but additional studies are needed to determine if these results translate to the in vivo situation. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Our current study shows that vacuum frying of purple-flesh potato chips results in higher levels of total monomeric anthocyanins and concentrations of specific polyphenols as compared to chips produced by conventional frying. These differences correlated with better in vitro colon cancer stem cell inhibitory activity. Although additional in vivo studies are needed, our current results suggest that it may be possible for potato processors to improve the health-related functionality of purple-flesh potato chips through the use of vacuum frying., (© 2022 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Cocoa powder, derived Theobroma cacao, is a popular food ingredient that is commonly consumed in chocolate. Epidemiological and human intervention studies have reported that chocolate consumption is associated with reduced risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Laboratory studies have reported the dietary supplementation with cocoa or cocoa polyphenols can improve obesity and obesity-related comorbidities in preclinical models. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), one such comorbidity, is a risk factor for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Limited studies have examined the effect of cocoa/chocolate on NAFLD and underlying hepatoprotective mechanisms. Here, we examined the hepatoprotective effects of dietary supplementation with 80 mg/g cocoa powder for 10 wks in high fat (HF)-fed obese male C57BL/6J mice. We found that cocoa-supplemented mice had lower rate of body weight gain (22%), hepatic triacylglycerols (28%), lipid peroxides (57%), and mitochondrial DNA damage (75%) than HF-fed controls. These changes were associated with higher hepatic superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity and increased expression of markers of hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis. We also found that the hepatic protein expression of sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), and mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor g coactivator (PGC) 1a, nuclear respiratory factor 1, and forkhead box O3 were higher in cocoa-treated mice compared to HF-fed controls. These factors play a role in coordinating mitochondrial biogenesis and expression of mitochondrial antioxidant response factors. Our results indicate that cocoa supplementation can mitigate the severity of NAFLD in obese mice and that these effects are related to SIRT3/PGC1a-mediated increases in antioxidant response and mitochondrial biogenesis., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Delivery is one of the most common ways of assessing fidelity in behavioral interventions. However, there is a lack of research reporting on how well an intervention protocol reflects its proposed theoretical principles (design fidelity). This study presents a systematic method for assessing design fidelity and applies it to the eMotion web-based intervention targeting physical activity and depression., Method: The eMotion intervention comprises of 13 web-based modules, designed according to an underlying intervention map. An independent rater with expertise in behavior change coded the presence or absence of behavior change techniques (BCTs) in the content of eMotion. Results of coding were compared to the intervention designers' a priori specification for interrater reliability., Results: After discussion, the independent rater and the intervention designer had a high agreement for the presence of BCTs relating to behavioral activation (AC1 = 0.91) with "demonstration of behavior" and "monitoring of emotional consequences" having the lowest agreement (AC1 < 0.4). There was also high agreement for the presence of BCTs targeting physical activity (AC1 = 0.88) with "demonstration of behavior" and "monitoring of emotional consequences" having the lowest agreement (AC1 < 0.4). The eMotion description was then amended to align the interrater agreement., Conclusions: This study presents a novel method for assessing design fidelity. Developers of behavioral (and other multicomponent) interventions are encouraged to develop and refine this method and assess design fidelity in future interventions to ensure BCTs are operationalized as intended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

As global population growth and meat consumption increases, sustainable alternatives to conventional protein-rich fodder crops for livestock are needed to reduce negative environmental impacts. Duckweed, a small floating aquatic plant, can generate 5 to 10 times higher protein yields than conventional land-grown crops. Although some in vivo feeding trials with duckweed have been conducted, those measuring animal weight are limited, and those examining organ development are nonexistent. To secure broad acceptance of new protein sources, such controlled studies are critical. This study measured the food intake, growth, and final organ and adipose tissue mass of male CF-1 mice fed a semi-purified diet containing casein or diets in which 10% or 25% of the casein was replaced with duckweed protein (DWP). Proximate analysis showed that the DWP preparation used contained 39.9% protein (w/w), and contained all of the essential amino acids with Met as the limiting amino acid. The average growth rates were not significantly different among the treatment groups: 0.21 g/day; 0.24 g/day; and 0.25 g/day for the control, 10%, and 25% DWP protein diets, respectively. The daily food intake of both DWP diets was 6.5% to 8.0% higher than the control diet, but feeding efficiency did not differ among diets. The relative weight of the liver, spleen, kidneys, heart, and epidydimal fat, and colon length were not significantly different between treatment groups. The results from this study show that replacement of up to 25% dietary casein with DWP has no adverse effects on the growth rate and final organ and adipose tissue weights of laboratory mice. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Duckweed can produce 5 to 10 times more protein per area than land-grown crops such as soybean. In this study, up to a 25% replacement of casein with duckweed protein had no observable effect on the growth or organ development of laboratory mice. Thus, duckweed has the potential to be used as a protein supplement for livestock, poultry, and fish, thereby decreasing environmental impacts from land-grown crops used for animal feed., (© 2021 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Caudal homeobox genes are found across animals, typically linked to two other homeobox genes in what has been called the ParaHox cluster. These genes have been proposed to pattern the anterior-posterior axis of the endoderm ancestrally, but the expression of Caudal in extant groups is varied and often occurs in other germ layers. Here we examine the role of Caudal in the embryo of the mollusc Tritia (Ilyanassa) obsoleta. ToCaudal expression is initially broad, then becomes progressively restricted and is finally only in the developing hindgut (a.k.a. intestine). Knockdown of ToCaudal using morpholino oligonucleotides specifically blocks hindgut development, indicating that despite its initially broad expression, the functional role of ToCaudal is in hindgut patterning. This is the first functional characterization of Caudal in an animal with spiralian development, which is an ancient mode of embryogenesis that arose early in bilaterian animal evolution. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the ancestral role of the ParaHox genes was anterior-posterior patterning of the endoderm., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Among animals, diploblasts contain two germ layers, endoderm and ectoderm, while triploblasts have a distinct third germ layer called the mesoderm. Spiralians are a group of triploblast animals that have highly conserved development: they share the distinctive spiralian cleavage pattern as well as a unique source of mesoderm, the ectomesoderm. This population of mesoderm is distinct from endomesoderm and is considered a hallmark of spiralian development, but the regulatory network that drives its development is unknown. Here we identified ectomesoderm-specific genes in the mollusc Tritia (aka Ilyanassa) obsoleta through differential gene expression analyses comparing control and ectomesoderm-ablated embryos, followed by in situ hybridization of identified transcripts. We identified a Tritia serpin gene (ToSerpin1) that appears to be specifically expressed in the ectomesoderm of the posterior and head. Ablation of the 3a and 3b cells, which make most of the ectomesoderm, abolishes ToSerpin1 expression, consistent with its expression in these cells. Morpholino knockdown of ToSerpin1 causes ectomesoderm defects, most prominently in the muscle system of the larval head. This is the first gene identified that is specifically implicated in spiralian ectomesoderm development., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The hydroxycinnamic acid amides (HCAAs) are a diverse group of plant-specialized phenylpropanoid metabolites distributed widely in the plant kingdom and are known to be involved in tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. The HCAA clovamide is reported in a small number of distantly related species. To explore the contribution of specialized metabolites to disease resistance in cacao ( Theobroma cacao L., chocolate tree), we performed untargeted metabolomics using liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and compared the basal metabolite profiles in leaves of two cacao genotypes with contrasting levels of susceptibility to Phytophthora spp. Leaves of the tolerant genotype 'Scavina 6' ('Sca6') were found to accumulate dramatically higher levels of clovamide and several other HCAAs compared to the susceptible 'Imperial College Selection 1' ('ICS1'). Clovamide was the most abundant metabolite in 'Sca6' leaf extracts based on MS signal, and was up to 58-fold higher in 'Sca6' than in 'ICS1'. In vitro assays demonstrated that clovamide inhibits growth of three pathogens of cacao in the genus Phytophthora , is a substrate for cacao polyphenol oxidase, and is a contributor to enzymatic browning. Furthermore, clovamide inhibited proteinase and pectinase in vitro , activities associated with defense in plant-pathogen interactions. Fruit epidermal peels from both genotypes contained substantial amounts of clovamide, but two sulfated HCAAs were present at high abundance exclusively in 'Sca6' suggesting a potential functional role of these compounds. The potential to breed cacao with increased HCAAs for improved agricultural performance is discussed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Knollenberg, Li, Lambert, Maximova and Guiltinan.)

Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are categorized into generations which differ in terms of design, aerosol production, and customizability. Current and former smokers prefer third-generation devices that satisfy tobacco cravings more effectively than older generations. Recent studies indicate that EC aerosols from first- and second-generation devices contain reactive carbonyls and free radicals and can cause in vitro cytotoxicity. Third-generation ECs have not been adequately studied. Further, previous studies have focused on cells from the respiratory tract, whereas those of the oral cavity, which is exposed to high levels of EC aerosols, have been understudied. We quantified the production of reactive carbonyls and free radicals by a third-generation EC and investigated the induction of cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in normal and cancerous human oral cell lines using a panel of eight commercial EC liquids. We found that EC aerosols produced using a new atomizer contained formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein, but did not contain detectable levels of free radicals. We found that EC aerosols generated from only one of the eight liquids tested using a new atomizer induced cytotoxicity against two human oral cells in vitro . Treatment of oral cells with the cytotoxic EC aerosol caused a concomitant increase in intracellular oxidative stress. As atomizer age increased with repeated use of the same atomizer, carbonyl production, radical emissions, and cytotoxicity increased. Overall, our results suggest that third-generation ECs may cause adverse effects in the oral cavity and normal EC use, which involves repeated use of the same atomizer to generate aerosol, may enhance the potential toxic effects of third-generation ECs.

Spiralia is a large, ancient and diverse clade of animals, with a conserved early developmental program but diverse larval and adult morphologies. One trait shared by many spiralians is the presence of ciliary bands used for locomotion and feeding. To learn more about spiralian-specific traits we have examined the expression of 20 genes with protein motifs that are strongly conserved within the Spiralia, but not detectable outside of it. Here, we show that two of these are specifically expressed in the main ciliary band of the mollusc Tritia (also known as Ilyanassa). Their expression patterns in representative species from five more spiralian phyla-the annelids, nemerteans, phoronids, brachiopods and rotifers-show that at least one of these, lophotrochin, has a conserved and specific role in particular ciliated structures, most consistently in ciliary bands. These results highlight the potential importance of lineage-specific genes or protein motifs for understanding traits shared across ancient lineages.

We have shown that combination treatment with decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) and voluntary exercise (Ex) reduces obesity and insulin resistance in high-fat (HF)-fed mice to a greater extent than either treatment alone. Here, we investigated the effects of GTE-, Ex- or the combination on the development of obesity-related NAFLD. Male C57BL/6 J mice were treated for 16 weeks with HF diet (60% energy from fat), HF supplemented with 7.7 g GTE/kg, HF plus access to a voluntary running wheel, or the combination. We found that treatment of mice with the combination mitigated the development of HF-induced NAFLD to a greater extent than either treatment alone. Combination-treated mice had lower plasma alanine aminotransferase (92% lower) and hepatic lipid accumulation (80% lower) than HF-fed controls: the effect of the single treatments was less significant. Mitigation of NAFLD was associated with higher fecal lipid and nitrogen levels. Combination treated, but not singly treated mice, had higher hepatic expression of genes related to mitochondrial biogenesis (sirtuin 1 [59%]; peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α [42%]; nuclear respiratory factor 1 [38%]; and transcription factor B1, mitochondrial [89%]) compared to the HF-fed controls. GTE-, Ex-, and the combination-treatment groups also had higher hepatic expression of genes related to cholesterol synthesis and uptake, but the combination was not better than the single treatments. Our results suggest the combination of GTE and Ex can effectively mitigate NAFLD. Future studies should determine if the combination is additive or synergistic compared to the single treatments., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Avocados are a nutrient-dense source of MUFAs and are rich in antioxidants. Avocados have an additional LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering effect beyond that observed when their MUFAs are substituted for SFAs, especially on small, dense LDL (sdLDL) particles, which are susceptible to in vivo oxidation and associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)., Objectives: We investigated whether a healthy diet with 1 avocado daily decreased the following secondary outcomes: circulating oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and related oxidative stress markers., Methods: A randomized, crossover, controlled feeding trial was conducted with 45 men and women, aged 21-70 y, with overweight or obesity and elevated LDL-C (25th-90th percentile). Three cholesterol-lowering diets were provided (5 wk each) in random sequences: a lower-fat (LF) diet (24% calories from fat-7% SFAs, 11% MUFAs, 6% PUFAs) and 2 moderate-fat (MF) diets (34% calories from fat-6% SFAs, 17% MUFAs, 9% PUFAs): the avocado (AV) diet included 1 Hass avocado (∼136 g) per day, and the MF diet used high oleic acid oils to match the fatty acid profile of 1 avocado. A general linear mixed model was used to analyze the treatment effects., Results: Compared with baseline, the AV diet significantly decreased circulating oxLDL (-7.0 U/L, -8.8%, P = 0.0004) and increased plasma lutein concentration (19.6 nmol/L, 68.7%, P < 0.0001), and both changes differed significantly from that after the MF and LF diets (P ≤ 0.05). The change in oxLDL caused by the AV diet was significantly correlated with the changes in the number of sdLDL particles (r = 0.32, P = 0.0002) but not large, buoyant LDL particles., Conclusions: One avocado a day in a heart-healthy diet decreased oxLDL in adults with overweight and obesity, and the effect was associated with the reduction in sdLDL. This trial was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01235832., (Copyright © American Society for Nutrition 2019.)

Raw cocoa beans were processed to produce cocoa powders with different combinations of fermentation (unfermented, cool, or hot) and roasting (not roasted, cool, or hot). Cocoa powder extracts were characterized and assessed for α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro. Cocoa processing (fermentation/roasting) contributed to significant losses of native flavanols. All of the treatments dose-dependently inhibited α-glucosidase activity, with cool fermented/cool roasted powder exhibiting the greatest potency (IC 50 : 68.09 µg/mL), when compared to acarbose (IC 50 : 133.22 µg/mL). A strong negative correlation was observed between flavanol mDP and IC 50 , suggesting flavanol polymerization as a marker of enhanced α-glucosidase inhibition in cocoa. Our data demonstrate that cocoa powders are potent inhibitors of α-glucosidase. Significant reductions in the total polyphenol and flavanol concentrations induced by processing do not necessarily dictate a reduced capacity for α-glucosidase inhibition, but rather these steps can enhance cocoa bioactivity. Non-traditional compositional markers may be better predictors of enzyme inhibitory activity than cocoa native flavanols.

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette; e-cig) use has grown exponentially in recent years despite their unknown health effects. E-cig aerosols are now known to contain hazardous chemical compounds, including carbonyls and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and these compounds are directly inhaled by consumers during e-cig use. Both carbonyls and ROS are formed when the liquid comes into contact with a heating element that is housed within an e-cig's atomizer. In the present study, the effect of coil resistance (1.5 Ω and 0.25 Ω coils, to obtain a total wattage of 8 ± 2 W and 40 ± 5 W, respectively) on the generation of carbonyls (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein) and ROS was investigated. The effect of the aerosols generated by different coils on the viability of H1299 human lung carcinoma cells was also evaluated. Our results show a significant (p < 0.05) correlation between the low resistance coils and the generation of higher concentrations of the selected carbonyls and ROS in e-cig aerosols. Moreover, exposure to e-cig vapor reduced the viability of H1299 cells by up to 45.8%, and this effect was inversely related to coil resistance. Although further studies are needed to better elucidate the potential toxicity of e-cig emissions, our results suggest that these devices may expose users to hazardous compounds which, in turn, may promote chronic respiratory diseases., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

High consumer demand has led global food color manufacturers and food companies to dramatically increase the development and use of natural colors. We have previously reported that avocado (Persea americana) seeds, when crushed in the presence of air, develop a red-orange color in a polyphenol oxidase-dependent reaction. The objective of this study was to identify the major colored compound in colored avocado seed extract (CASE). Column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography were used to isolate the most abundant colored compound in CASE. This compound, henceforth referred to as perseorangin, was a yellow-orange solid. Structural analysis was performed using high-resolution mass spectrometry, and infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We determined that perseorangin is a glycosylated benzotropone-containing compound with a molecular formula of C 29 H 30 O 14 . Liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis of CASE and uncolored avocado seed extract showed that perseorangin was unique to CASE., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: There is variability in sensitivity to bitter tastes. Taste 2 Receptor (TAS2R)38 binds to bitter tastants including phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). Many foods with putative cancer preventive activity have bitter tastes. We examined the relationship between PTC sensitivity or TAS2R38 diplotype, food intake, and cancer risk in the UK Women's Cohort Study., Methods: PTC taste phenotype (n = 5500) and TAS238 diplotype (n = 750) were determined in a subset of the cohort. Food intake was determined using a 217-item food-frequency questionnaire. Cancer incidence was obtained from the National Health Service Central Register. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazard models., Results: PTC tasters [HR 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04, 1.62], but not supertasters (HR 0.98, CI 0.76, 1.44), had increased cancer risk compared to nontasters. An interaction was found between phenotype and age for supertasters (p = 0.019) but not tasters (p = 0.54). Among women > 60 years, tasters (HR 1.40, CI 1.03, 1.90) and supertasters (HR 1.58, CI 1.06, 2.36) had increased cancer risk compared to nontasters, but no such association was observed among women ≤ 60 years (tasters HR 1.16, CI 0.84, 1.62; supertasters HR 0.54, CI 0.31, 0.94). We found no association between TAS2R38 diplotype and cancer risk. We observed no major differences in bitter fruit and vegetable intake., Conclusion: These results suggest that the relationship between PTC taster phenotype and cancer risk may be mediated by factors other than fruit and vegetable intake.

Background: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a directive patient-centred style of counselling, designed to help people to explore and resolve ambivalence about behaviour change. It was developed as a treatment for alcohol abuse, but may help people to a make a successful attempt to stop smoking., Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of MI for smoking cessation compared with no treatment, in addition to another form of smoking cessation treatment, and compared with other types of smoking cessation treatment. We also investigated whether more intensive MI is more effective than less intensive MI for smoking cessation., Search Methods: We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group Specialised Register for studies using the term motivat* NEAR2 (interview* OR enhanc* OR session* OR counsel* OR practi* OR behav*) in the title or abstract, or motivation* as a keyword. We also searched trial registries to identify unpublished studies. Date of the most recent search: August 2018., Selection Criteria: Randomised controlled trials in which MI or its variants were offered to smokers to assist smoking cessation. We excluded trials that did not assess cessation as an outcome, with follow-up less than six months, and with additional non-MI intervention components not matched between arms. We excluded trials in pregnant women as these are covered elsewhere., Data Collection and Analysis: We followed standard Cochrane methods. Smoking cessation was measured after at least six months, using the most rigorous definition available, on an intention-to-treat basis. We calculated risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for smoking cessation for each study, where possible. We grouped eligible studies according to the type of comparison. We carried out meta-analyses where appropriate, using Mantel-Haenszel random-effects models. We extracted data on mental health outcomes and quality of life and summarised these narratively., Main Results: We identified 37 eligible studies involving over 15,000 participants who smoked tobacco. The majority of studies recruited participants with particular characteristics, often from groups of people who are less likely to seek support to stop smoking than the general population. Although a few studies recruited participants who intended to stop smoking soon or had no intentions to quit, most recruited a population without regard to their intention to quit. MI was conducted in one to 12 sessions, with the total duration of MI ranging from five to 315 minutes across studies. We judged four of the 37 studies to be at low risk of bias, and 11 to be at high risk, but restricting the analysis only to those studies at low or unclear risk did not significantly alter results, apart from in one case - our analysis comparing higher to lower intensity MI.We found low-certainty evidence, limited by risk of bias and imprecision, comparing the effect of MI to no treatment for smoking cessation (RR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.12; I 2 = 0%; adjusted N = 684). One study was excluded from this analysis as the participants recruited (incarcerated men) were not comparable to the other participants included in the analysis, resulting in substantial statistical heterogeneity when all studies were pooled (I 2 = 87%). Enhancing existing smoking cessation support with additional MI, compared with existing support alone, gave an RR of 1.07 (95% CI 0.85 to 1.36; adjusted N = 4167; I 2 = 47%), and MI compared with other forms of smoking cessation support gave an RR of 1.24 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.69; I 2 = 54%; N = 5192). We judged both of these estimates to be of low certainty due to heterogeneity and imprecision. Low-certainty evidence detected a benefit of higher intensity MI when compared with lower intensity MI (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.37; adjusted N = 5620; I 2 = 0%). The evidence was limited because three of the five studies in this comparison were at risk of bias. Excluding them gave an RR of 1.00 (95% CI 0.65 to 1.54; I 2 = n/a; N = 482), changing the interpretation of the results.Mental health and quality of life outcomes were reported in only one study, providing little evidence on whether MI improves mental well-being., Authors' Conclusions: There is insufficient evidence to show whether or not MI helps people to stop smoking compared with no intervention, as an addition to other types of behavioural support for smoking cessation, or compared with other types of behavioural support for smoking cessation. It is also unclear whether more intensive MI is more effective than less intensive MI. All estimates of treatment effect were of low certainty because of concerns about bias in the trials, imprecision and inconsistency. Consequently, future trials are likely to change these conclusions. There is almost no evidence on whether MI for smoking cessation improves mental well-being.

It has been proposed that animals have a pattern of developmental evolution resembling an hourglass because the most conserved development stage-often called the phylotypic stage-is always in midembryonic development. Although the topic has been debated for decades, recent studies using molecular data such as RNA-seq gene expression data sets have largely supported the existence of periods of relative evolutionary conservation in middevelopment, consistent with the phylotypic stage and the hourglass concepts. However, so far this approach has only been applied to a limited number of taxa across the tree of life. Here, using established phylotranscriptomic approaches, we found a surprising reverse hourglass pattern in two molluscs and a polychaete annelid, representatives of the Spiralia, an understudied group that contains a large fraction of metazoan body plan diversity. These results suggest that spiralians have a divergent midembryonic stage, with more conserved early and late development, which is the inverse of the pattern seen in almost all other organisms where these phylotranscriptomic approaches have been reported. We discuss our findings in light of proposed reasons for the phylotypic stage and hourglass model in other systems., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Avocado ( Persea americana ) seeds have been used traditionally for a number of health-related indications. Because of its high polyphenol content, we investigated the potential antioxidant and anticancer effects of a colored avocado seed extract (CASE). CASE exhibited an oxygen radical acceptance capacity value of 2012 ± 300 trolox equivalents/mg. CASE reduced lipid hydroperoxide formation in an oil-in-water emulsion (33% reduction at 500 μ g/mL). CASE dose-dependently reduced the viability of human breast (MCF7), lung (H1299), colon (HT29), and prostate (LNCaP) cancer cells in vitro . The half maximal inhibitory concentrations ranged from 19 to 132 μ g/mL after treatment for 48 h. CASE treatment downregulated the expression of cyclin D 1 and E 2 in LNCaP cells. This was associated with cell G 0 /G 1 phase cycle arrest. CASE also dose-dependently induced apoptosis in LNCaP cells. CASE reduced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κ B, a prosurvival signal. Further studies are needed to examine these effects in in vivo models.

Gastropod shell morphologies are famously diverse but generally share a common geometry, the logarithmic coil. Variations on this morphology have been modeled mathematically and computationally but the developmental biology of shell morphogenesis remains poorly understood. Here we characterize the organization and growth patterns of the shell-secreting epithelium of the larval shell of the basket whelk Tritia (also known as Ilyanassa ). Despite the larval shell's relative simplicity, we find a surprisingly complex organization of the shell margin in terms of rows and zones of cells. We examined cell division patterns with EdU incorporation assays and found two growth zones within the shell margin. In the more anterior aperture growth zone, we find that inferred division angles are biased to lie parallel to the shell edge, and these divisions occur more on the margin's left side. In the more posterior mantle epithelium growth zone, inferred divisions are significantly biased to the right, relative to the anterior-posterior axis. These growth zones, and the left-right asymmetries in cleavage patterns they display, can explain the major modes of shell morphogenesis at the level of cellular behavior. In a gastropod with a different coiling geometry, Planorbella sp., we find similar shell margin organization and growth zones as Tritia , but different left-right asymmetries than we observed in the helically coiled shell of Tritia These results indicate that differential growth patterns in the mantle edge epithelium contribute to shell shape in gastropod shells and identify cellular mechanisms that may vary to generate shell diversity in evolution., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Cocoa is a concentrated source of dietary flavanols-putative bioactive compounds associated with health benefits. It is known that fermentation and roasting reduce levels of native flavonoids in cocoa, and it is generally thought that this loss translates to reduced bioactivity. However, the mechanisms of these losses are poorly understood, and little data exist to support this paradigm that flavonoid loss results in reduced health benefits. To further facilitate large-scale studies of the impact of fermentation on cocoa flavanols, a controlled laboratory fermentation model system was increased in scale to a large (pilot) scale system. Raw cocoa beans (15 kg) were fermented in 16 L of a simulated pulp media in duplicate for 168 h. The temperature of the fermentation was increased from 25⁻55 °C at a rate of 5 °C/24 h. As expected, total polyphenols and flavanol levels decreased as fermentation progressed (a loss of 18.3% total polyphenols and 14.4% loss of total flavanols during fermentation) but some increases were observed in the final timepoints (120⁻168 h). Fermentation substrates, metabolites and putative cocoa bioactive compounds were monitored and found to follow typical trends for on-farm cocoa heap fermentations. For example, sucrose levels in pulp declined from >40 mg/mL to undetectable at 96 h. This model system provides a controlled environment for further investigation into the potential for optimizing fermentation parameters to enhance the flavanol composition and the potential health benefits of the resultant cocoa beans.

Objective: The aim of this study was to undertake a contemporary review of the impact of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) targeted at patients with atrial fibrillation (AF)., Methods: We conducted searches of PubMED, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library of Controlled Trials (up until 30 November 2017) using key terms related to exercise-based CR and AF. Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials were included if they compared the effects of an exercise-based CR intervention to a no exercise or usual care control group. Meta-analyses of outcomes were conducted where appropriate., Results: The nine randomised trials included 959 (483 exercise-based CR vs 476 controls) patients with various types of AF. Compared with control, pooled analysis showed no difference in all-cause mortality (risk ratio (RR) 1.08, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.53, p=0.64) following exercise-based CR. However, there were improvements in health-related quality of life (mean SF-36 mental component score (MCS): 4.00, 95% CI 0.26 to 7.74; p=0.04 and mean SF-36 physical component score: 1.82, 95% CI 0.06 to 3.59; p=0.04) and exercise capacity (mean peak VO 2 : 1.59 ml/kg/min, 95% CI 0.11 to 3.08; p=0.04; mean 6 min walk test: 46.9 m, 95% CI 26.4 to 67.4; p<0.001) with exercise-based CR. Improvements were also seen in AF symptom burden and markers of cardiac function., Conclusions: Exercise capacity, cardiac function, symptom burden and health-related quality of life were improved with exercise-based CR in the short term (up to 6 months) targeted at patients with AF. However, high-quality multicentre randomised trials are needed to clarify the impact of exercise-based CR on key patient and health system outcomes (including health-related quality of life, mortality, hospitalisation and costs) and how these effects may vary across AF subtypes., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Introduction: Physical activity is recommended for improving health among people with common chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis and low mood. One approach to promote physical activity is via primary care exercise referral schemes (ERS). However, there is limited support for the effectiveness of ERS for increasing long-term physical activity and additional interventions are needed to help patients overcome barriers to ERS uptake and adherence.This study aims to determine whether augmenting usual ERS with web-based behavioural support, based on the LifeGuide platform, will increase long-term physical activity for patients with chronic physical and mental health conditions, and is cost-effective., Methods and Analysis: A multicentre parallel two-group randomised controlled trial with 1:1 individual allocation to usual ERS alone (control) or usual ERS plus web-based behavioural support (intervention) with parallel economic and mixed methods process evaluations. Participants are low active adults with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis or a history of depression, referred to an ERS from primary care in the UK.The primary outcome measure is the number of minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in ≥10 min bouts measured by accelerometer over 1 week at 12 months.We plan to recruit 413 participants, with 88% power at a two-sided alpha of 5%, assuming 20% attrition, to demonstrate a between-group difference of 36-39 min of MVPA per week at 12 months. An improvement of this magnitude represents an important change in physical activity, particularly for inactive participants with chronic conditions., Ethics and Dissemination: Approved by North West Preston NHS Research Ethics Committee (15/NW/0347). Dissemination will include publication of findings for the stated outcomes, parallel process evaluation and economic evaluation in peer-reviewed journals.Results will be disseminated to ERS services, primary healthcare providers and trial participants., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN15644451; Pre-results., Competing Interests: Competing interests: SGD reports personal fees from University College London outside the submitted work. CM reports grants from NIHR during the conduct of the study; grants from ESRC Impact Acceleration Award outside the submitted work; is an employee of the Health Improvement Team (NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde) who fund and manage the Service Level Agreement for the Exercise Referral Scheme. NM reports grants from various research funders including NIHR during the conduct of the study. LY reports grants from NIHR during the conduct of the study., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Roasting is an important cocoa processing step, but has been reported to reduce the polyphenol content in the beans. We investigated the impact of whole-bean roasting on the polyphenol content, aroma-related chemistry, and in vitro pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory activity of cocoa under a range of roasting conditions. Total phenolics, (-)-epicatechin, and proanthocyanidin (PAC) dimer - pentamer content was reduced by roasting. By contrast, roasting at 150 °C or greater increased the levels of catechin and PAC hexamers and heptamers. These compounds have greater PL inhibitory potency. Consistent with these changes in PAC composition and this previous data, we found that roasting at 170 °C time-dependently increased PL inhibitory activity. Cocoa aroma-related compounds increased with roasting above 100 °C, whereas deleterious sensory-related compounds formed at more severe temperatures. Our results indicate that cocoa roasting can be optimized to increase the content of larger PACs and anti-PL activity, while maintaining a favorable aroma profile., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Physical activity is a potentially effective treatment for depression and depressive relapse. However, promoting physical activity in people with depression is challenging. Interventions informed by theory and evidence are therefore needed to support people with depression to become more physically active. eMotion is a Web-based intervention combining behavioral activation and physical activity promotion for people in the community with symptoms of depression., Objective: The objectives were to assess the feasibility and acceptability of delivering eMotion to people in the community with symptoms of depression and to explore outcomes., Methods: Participants with elevated depressive symptoms were recruited from the community through various methods (eg, social media) and randomized to eMotion or a waiting list control group for 8 weeks. eMotion is an administratively supported weekly modular program that helps people use key behavior change techniques (eg, graded tasks, action planning, and self-monitoring) to re-engage in routine, pleasurable, and necessary activities, with a focus on physical activities. Feasibility data were collected that included the following: recruitment and trial retention rates; fidelity of intervention delivery, receipt, and enactment; and acceptability of the intervention and data collection procedures. Data were collected for the primary (depression) and secondary outcomes (eg, anxiety, physical activity, fidelity, and client satisfaction) at baseline and 2 months postrandomization using self-reported Web-based questionnaires and accelerometers. Delivery fidelity (logins, modules accessed, time spent) was tracked using Web usage statistics. Exploratory analyses were conducted on the primary and secondary outcomes., Results: Of the 183 people who contacted the research team, 62 were recruited and randomized. The mean baseline score was 14.6 (SD 3.2) on the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-8). Of those randomized, 52 participants provided accelerometer-recorded physical activity data at baseline that showed a median of 35.8 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.0-98.6) minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recorded in at least 10-minute bouts per week, with only 13% (7/52) people achieving guideline levels (150 minutes of MVPA per week). In total, 81% (50/62) of participants provided follow-up data for the primary outcome (PHQ-8), but only 39% (24/62) provided follow-up accelerometer data. Within the intervention group, the median number of logins, modules accessed, and total minutes spent on eMotion was 3 (IQR 2.0-8.0), 3 (IQR 2.0-5.0), and 41.3 (IQR 18.9-90.4), respectively. Acceptability was mixed. Exploratory data analysis showed that PHQ-8 levels were lower for the intervention group than for the control group at 2 months postrandomization (adjusted mean difference -3.6, 95% CI -6.1 to -1.1)., Conclusions: It was feasible to deliver eMotion in UK communities to inactive populations. eMotion has the potential to be effective and is ready for testing in a full-scale trial. Further work is needed to improve engagement with both the intervention and data collection procedures., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03084055; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03084055 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6zoyM8UXa)., (©Jeffrey D Lambert, Colin J Greaves, Paul Farrand, Lisa Price, Anne M Haase, Adrian H Taylor. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 16.07.2018.)

Objective: The aims of this study were to (1) develop an approach to assess the delivery fidelity of a complex intervention to simultaneously increase physical activity and reduce smoking and (2) use this approach to assess the variation of fidelity across the delivery of different intervention components of the intervention., Method: Audio recorded and transcribed sessions (90 in total) involving 30 participants and 3 health trainers delivering a one-to-one intervention were purposively sampled across health trainer (HT) and stage of treatment. The Dreyfus system for skill acquisition informed a scoring system based on 12 intervention processes and applied by three experts in health behavior change. Scores ranged from 0 to 2 (poor quality), 3 to 4 (reasonable quality), and 5 to 6 (expert level quality). Scores were averaged across coders and presented in relation to fidelity of both HT and the intervention component., Results: The methods were successfully applied with recommendations for future application. Average scores for each item by each coder differed by up to +0.7 to -0.9 points indicating reasonable agreement. Mean scores for the three HTs were 2.9, 2.2, and 2.4, across all 12 intervention processes. The delivery of all intervention components for physical activity was scored lower (<3) than their respective counterparts for smoking reduction (>3; p < .001)., Conclusions: Novel methods for assessing delivery fidelity were successfully applied and areas for improvement identified. Delivery fidelity was deemed to be of reasonable quality but was higher for smoking related intervention components over physical activity ones. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).)

Scope: Green tea, a polyphenol-rich beverage, has been reported to mitigate a number of inflammatory and hypersensitivity disorders in laboratory models, and has been shown to moderate pathways related to food allergies in vitro. The present study investigates the impact of decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) on the digestion of gliadin protein in vitro and the effect of physical interactions with GTE on the ability of gliadin to stimulate celiac disease-related symptoms in vitro., Methods and Results: Complexation of GTE and gliadin in vitro is confirmed by monitoring increases in turbidity upon titration of GTE into a gliadin solution. This phenomenon is also observed during in vitro digestion when gliadin is exposed to the digestive proteases pepsin and trypsin. SDS-PAGE and enzymatic assays reveal that GTE inhibits digestive protease activity and gliadin digestion. In differentiated Caco-2 cell monolayers as a model of the small intestinal epithelium, complexation of gliadin with GTE reduces gliadin-stimulated monolayer permeability and the release of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8., Conclusion: There are potential beneficial effects of GTE as an adjuvant therapy for celiac disease through direct interaction between gliadin proteins and green tea polyphenols., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Green tea and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) have been studied for their obesity-related health effects. Many green tea extract (GTE)-based dietary supplements are commercially-available. Although green tea beverage has a long history of safe use, a growing number of case-reports have linked GTE-based supplements to incidents of hepatotoxicity. Animal studies support the hepatotoxic potential of GTE and EGCG, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we examined the hepatotoxic effects of EGCG in C57BL/6J mice and evaluated changes in hepatic antioxidant response and mitochondria structure and function. Intragastric dosing with EGCG (500 - 750 mg/kg) once daily for 3 d caused hepatic inflammation, necrosis, and hemorrhage. Hepatotoxicity was associated with increased oxidative stress and decreased superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels. Real-time PCR and transmission electron microscopy showed decreased hepatic mitochondria copy number in EGCG-treated mice. The mRNA levels of marker genes of respiratory complex I and III, sirtuin 3, forkhead box O3a, and peroxisome-EGCG-treated mice. Sirtuin 3 protein levels were also decreased by EGCG. Our data indicate the mitochondria may be a target for EGCG, and that inhibition of mitochondria function/antioxidant response may be important for the hepatotoxicity of bolus EGCG., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Behaviour change interventions that promote physical activity have major implications for health and well-being. Measuring intervention fidelity is crucial in determining the extent to which an intervention is delivered as intended, therefore increasing scientific confidence about effectiveness. However, we lack a clear overview of how well intervention fidelity is typically assessed in physical activity trials., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify peer - reviewed physical activity promotion trials that explicitly measured intervention fidelity. Methods used to assess intervention fidelity were categorised, narratively synthesised and critiqued using assessment criteria from NIH Behaviour Change Consortium (BCC) Treatment Fidelity Framework (design, training, delivery, receipt and enactment)., Results: Twenty eight articles reporting of twenty one studies used a wide variety of approaches to measure intervention fidelity. Delivery was the most common domain of intervention fidelity measured. Approaches used to measure fidelity across all domains varied from researcher coding of observational data (using checklists or scales) to participant self-report measures. There was considerable heterogeneity of methodological approaches to data collection with respect to instruments used, attention to psychometric properties, rater-selection, observational method and sampling strategies., Conclusions: In the field of physical activity interventions, fidelity measurement is highly heterogeneous both conceptually and methodologically. Clearer articulation of the core domains of intervention fidelity, along with appropriate measurement approaches for each domain are needed to improve the methodological quality of fidelity assessment in physical activity interventions. Recommendations are provided on how this situation can be improved.

This paper examines the pattern and extent of energy development in steppe landscapes of northeast Colorado, United States. We compare the landscape disturbance created by oil and gas production to that of wind energy inside the Pawnee National Grasslands eastern side. This high-steppe landscape consists of a mosaic of federal, state, and private lands where dominant economic activities include ranching, agriculture, tourism, oil and gas extraction, and wind energy generation. Utilizing field surveys, remote sensing data and geographic information systems techniques, we quantify and map the footprint of energy development at the landscape level. Findings suggest that while oil and gas and wind energy development have resulted in a relatively small amount of habitat loss within the study area, the footprint stretches across the entire zone, fragmenting this mostly grassland habitat. Futhermore, a third feature of this landscape, the non-energy transportation network, was also found to have a significant impact. Combined, these three features fragment the entire Pawnee National Grasslands eastern side, leaving very few large intact core, or roadless areas. The primary objective of this ongoing work is to create a series of quantifiable and replicable surface disturbance indicators linked to energy production in semi-arid grassland environments. Based on these, and future results, we aim to work with industry and regulators to shape energy policy as it relates to environmental performance, with the aim of reducing the footprint and thus increasing the sustainability of these extractive activities.

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of flavonoid intake and disease risk, however the association between flavonoid intake and obesity has not been evaluated in a nationally representative sample of US adults. The objective of the study was to evaluate the association between flavonoid consumption and established risk factors for obesity and obesity-related inflammation. Data from a nationally representative sample of 9551 adults who participated in the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed. Flavonoid consumption was inversely associated with obesity in both men and women in multivariate models. Adults in the highest quartile of flavonoid intake had significantly lower body mass index and waist circumference than those in the lowest quartile of flavonoid intake (P<0.03 and P<0.04, respectively), and flavonoid intake was inversely related to C-reactive protein levels in women (p-trend, 0.01). These findings support a growing body of laboratory evidence that flavonoid consumption may be beneficial for disease prevention.

In studying the cancer-preventive activities of green tea polyphenols, we previously demonstrated that dietary administration of polyphenon E (PPE) inhibited the formation of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon of azoxymethane (AOM)-treated F344 rats. Herein, we reported cancer-preventive activity of PPE using colorectal cancer as an end point. F344 rats were given two weekly injections of AOM, and then maintained on a 20% high-fat diet with or without 0.24% PPE for 34 wk. In the control group, 83% of rats developed colorectal tumors. Dietary PPE treatment significantly increased the plasma and colonic levels of tea polyphenols, and decreased tumor multiplicity and tumor size. Histological analysis indicated that PPE significantly decreased the incidence of adenocarcinoma, and the multiplicity of adenocarcinoma as well as the multiplicity of adenoma. PPE treatment significantly decreased plasma levels of proinflammatory eicosanoids, prostaglandin E2, and leukotriene B4. It also decreased β-catenin nuclear expression, induced apoptosis, and increased expression levels of RXRα, β, and γ in adenocarcinomas. In conclusion, our results convincingly demonstrated the inhibitory effects of orally administered PPE on colon carcinogenesis in AOM-treated rats and suggested possible biomarkers for the biological effects of green tea polyphenols.