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Background/objectives: The relationship between obesity and blood pressure (BP) is well known, but limited data exists regarding its relationship with target organ damage (TOD). Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and TOD and the mediating role of BP., Subjects/methods: 2555 adults (52.0% women) who visited a local Hypertension Unit with valid measures on weight, height, 24 h ambulatory BP monitoring, office BP measurements, echocardiography, carotid ultrasonography and blood creatinine levels, included in this cross-sectional study. BMI was used to categorize participants as having normal weight (< 25 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m 2 ) or obesity (≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common (CCA) and the internal (ICA) carotid artery, left ventricular mass (LVM), LVM index (LVMI) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were estimated and used as TOD indices. Linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between obesity and BP measurements or TOD, while structural equation modeling (SEM) for mediation analysis., Results: Obesity was significantly related to 24-hour systolic BP (b = 3.72, 95%CI: 2.24-5.21, p < 0.001), CCA-IMT (b = 0.04, 95%CI: 0.02-0.05, p < 0.001), ICA-IMT (b = 0.03, 95%CI: 0.01-0.05, p = 0.020), and LVMI (b = 7.54, 95CI%: 4.25-10.83, p < 0.001). The mediation analysis revealed that 24-hour systolic BP mediated by 27.9% the relationship between BMI and CCA-IMT, by 31.3% the relationship between BMI and ICA-IMT, and by 18.1% the relationship between BMI and LVMI., Conclusions: These results indicate that obesity is associated with indices of asymptomatic cardiac remodeling and vascular atherosclerosis, and systolic BP mediates these relationships., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: The present study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki and local regulations about research involving humans. The study protocol, including the informed consent form, was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Alexandra Hospital, while written informed consent was obtained from all participants., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Human dietary patterns are a major cause of environmental transformation, with agriculture occupying ~ 50% of global land space, while food production itself is responsible for ~ 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of freshwater use. Furthermore, the global population is also growing, such that by 2050, it is estimated to exceed ~ 9 billion. While most of this expansion in population is expected to occur in developing countries, in high-income countries there are also predicted changes in demographics, with major increases in the number of older people. There is a growing consensus that older people have a greater requirement for protein. With a larger and older population, global needs for protein are set to increase. This paper summarises the conclusions from a Rank Prize funded colloquium evaluating novel strategies to meet this increasing global protein need., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A sustainable supply of plant protein is critical for future generations and needs to be achieved while reducing green house gas emissions from agriculture and increasing agricultural resilience in the face of climate volatility. Agricultural diversification with more nutrient-rich and stress tolerant crops could provide the solution. However, this is often hampered by the limited availability of genomic resources and the lack of understanding of the genetic structure of breeding germplasm and the inheritance of important traits. One such crop with potential is winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), a high seed protein tropical legume which has been termed 'the soybean for the tropics'. Here, we present a chromosome level winged bean genome assembly, an investigation of the genetic diversity of 130 worldwide accessions, together with two linked genetic maps and a trait QTL analysis (and expression studies) for regions of the genome with desirable ideotype traits for breeding, namely architecture, protein content and phytonutrients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Increased blood pressure (BP) variability is associated with the development of target organ damage. However, the optimal type and index of BP variability (BPV) regarding their prognostic significance is unclear. The aim of our study was to compare the association of ambulatory and home BPV with the left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). From a total of 1560 consecutive subjects, 137 hypertensive patients with CKD underwent home and ambulatory BP monitoring and echocardiographic measurements. The variability of home BP monitoring was quantified by using the standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), and morning minus evening BP values. Ambulatory BPV was quantified using the SD, CV, and the time rate (TR) of BP variation. The univariate analysis demonstrated that day-to-day systolic SD and the 24-h TR of systolic BP (SBP) variation were significantly associated with the LVMI. The multivariate linear regression analysis showed a significant and independent association of the LVMI with the 24-h TR of SBP variation (B = 9.204, 95% CI: 1.735-16.672; p = 0.016). A 0.1-mmHg/min increase in the 24-h TR of SBP variation was associated with an increment of 9.204 g/m 2 in the LVMI, even after adjustment for BP and other vascular risk factors. In conclusion, ambulatory BPV but not home BPV was associated with the LVMI in CKD patients. The 24-h TR of SBP variation was the only BPV index associated with the LVMI, independent of average BP values.

Sulfur is an essential macronutrient for growth of higher plants. The entry of the sulfate anion into the plant, its importation into the plastids for assimilation, its long-distance transport through the vasculature, and its storage in the vacuoles require specific sulfate transporter proteins. In this study, mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal maize plants were grown for 60 days in an S-deprived substrate, whilst iron was provided to the plants in the sparingly soluble form of FePO 4 . On day 60, sulfate was provided to the plants. The gene expression patterns of a number of sulfate transporters as well as sulfate assimilation enzymes were studied in leaves and roots of maize plants, both before as well as after sulfate supply. Prolonged sulfur deprivation resulted in a more or less uniform response of the genes' expressions in the roots of non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal plants. This was not the case neither in the roots and leaves after the supply of sulfur, nor in the leaves of the plants during the S-deprived period of time. It is concluded that mycorrhizal symbiosis modified plant demands for reduced sulfur, regulating accordingly the uptake, distribution, and assimilation of the sulfate anion.