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Objectives To study the effects of running with/without the use of pain killers on urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) and other parameters of kidney function in recreational runners. Methods Participants of the 10- and 21.1-km Weir Venloop race were enrolled and their urine samples collected before and after the run. Urine dipstick and other conventional tests used to assess kidney function were performed. The presence of ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, and/or paracetamol was assessed by LC-MS/MS. uNGAL was measured with a two-step chemiluminescent immunoassay. Results NSAIDs/analgesics were detected in urine of 5 (14.4%) 10-km runners and 13 (28.9%) 21.1-km runners. Only half-marathon participants showed significant increases in uNGAL (pre: 11.7 [7.1-34.3] ng/mL; post: 33.4 [17.4-50.4] ng/mL;P = .0038). There was a significant effect of NSAID/analgesic use on uNGAL increase (F-2,F- 76 = 4.210,P = .004). Post hoc tests revealed that uNGAL increased significantly in runners who tested positive for ibuprofen/naproxen compared to runners who did not use any medications (P = .045) or those who tested positive for paracetamol (P = .033). Running distance had a significant influence on the increase in uNGAL (F-1,F- 53 = 4.741,P

Personalised nutrition, the tailoring of nutrition products, services or advice to individual characteristics such as genetics, phenotype, nutritional intake and/or exercise routine, is increasingly attracting the interest of industry, consumers and researchers. This article provides an overview of the current European Union (EU) regulatory framework as applying to personalised nutrition and draws attention to the important role of EU food law in the regulation of this innovative approach to nutrition. It is argued that personalised nutrition challenges the regulatory borderline between health and lifestyle products or services and, furthermore, also pushes the boundaries of current food safety and health claims legislation.

The aim of the current study was to investigate whether degradation of rapeseed meal (RSM) by a swine gut microbiota consortium was improved by modifying RSM by treatment with cellulase (CELL), two pectinases (PECT), or alkaline (ALK) compared to untreated RSM and to assess whether microbiota composition and activity changed. The predicted relative abundances of carbohydrate digestion and absorption, glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, and pyruvate metabolism were significantly increased upon CELL and ALK feeding, and CELL and ALK also exhibited increased total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production compared to CON. Megasphaera, Prevotella, and Desulfovibrio were significantly positively correlated with SCFA production. Findings were validated in ileal cannulated pigs, which showed that CELL and ALK increased fiber degradation of RSM. In conclusion, CELL and ALK rather than PECT1 or PECT2 increased fiber degradation in RSM, and this information could guide feed additive strategies to improve efficiency and productivity in the swine industry.

Correction: Chemical Senses, Volume 46, 2021, bjab050, https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjab050 Published: 08 December 2021 Recent anecdotal and scientific reports have provided evidence of a link between COVID-19 and chemosensory impairments, such as anosmia. However, these reports have downplayed or failed to distinguish potential effects on taste, ignored chemesthesis, and generally lacked quantitative measurements. Here, we report the development, implementation, and initial results of a multilingual, international questionnaire to assess self-reported quantity and quality of perception in 3 distinct chemosensory modalities (smell, taste, and chemesthesis) before and during COVID-19. In the first 11 days after questionnaire launch, 4039 participants (2913 women, 1118 men, and 8 others, aged 19-79) reported a COVID-19 diagnosis either via laboratory tests or clinical assessment. Importantly, smell, taste, and chemesthetic function were each significantly reduced compared to their status before the disease. Difference scores (maximum possible change +/- 100) revealed a mean reduction of smell (-79.7 +/- 28.7, mean +/- standard deviation), taste (-69.0 +/- 32.6), and chemesthetic (-37.3 +/- 36.2) function during COVID-19. Qualitative changes in olfactory ability (parosmia and phantosmia) were relatively rare and correlated with smell loss. Importantly, perceived nasal obstruction did not account for smell loss. Furthermore, chemosensory impairments were similar between participants in the laboratory test and clinical assessment groups. These results show that COVID-19-associated chemosensory impairment is not limited to smell but also affects taste and chemesthesis.The multimodal impact of COVID-19 and the lack of perceived nasal obstruction suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus strain 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may disrupt sensory-neural mechanisms.

Purpose Chemotherapy can affect smell and taste function. This has never been investigated in childhood cancer patients during chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to determine whether psychophysical smell and taste tests are suitable for children with cancer. Taste and smell function, fungiform papillae density, and eating behavior were measured before (T1) and after (T2) a cycle of chemotherapy and compared with healthy controls. Methods Thirty-one childhood cancer patients treated for a hematological, solid, or brain malignancy (median age 12 years, 16 girls), and 24 healthy controls (median age: 11 years, 10 girls) participated. Smell function was measured using Sniffin’ Sticks, including a threshold, discrimination, and identification test. Taste Strips were used to determine recognition thresholds for sweet, sour, salty, and bitter taste. Papillae density was investigated by counting the fungiform papillae of the anterior tongue. Eating behavior was assessed using the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS). Results Smell and taste function could be investigated in more than 90% of the patients, while fungiform papillae density could be determined in 61% of the patients. A significant difference in smell threshold was found between patients and controls (p = 0.001), showing lower thresholds in patients. In patients, sweet taste (p p = 0.028), and total taste function (p = 0.004) were significantly different after a cycle of chemotherapy, with higher scores at T2. Conclusion The assessment of smell, taste, and fungiform papillae density is feasible in children with cancer. Results of the current study suggest that smell and taste sensitivity increased in children with cancer.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-related disorder characterized by hypertension and proteinuria that affects 3-10% of all pregnancies. Although its pathophysiology remains obscure, placental hypoxia-induced oxidative stress and alterations in vascular function, morphology, and endothelial barrier integrity are considered to play a key role in the development of preeclampsia. In this study, placental villous explants of noncomplicated placentae and BeWo cells were subjected to hypoxia. The effect of placental hypoxic-conditioned medium (HCM) on intraluminal-induced contraction and endothelial barrier integrity in chorionic arteries was investigated using pressure myography. The impact of BeWo cell HCM on endothelial cell viability, reactive oxygen species formation and inflammation was also determined. Alterations in arterial morphology and contractile responsiveness to the thromboxane A2 analog (U46619) after exposure to placental HCM were examined immunohistochemically and by wire myography, respectively. Intraluminal administration of placental HCM induced vasoconstriction and increased the endothelial permeability for KCl, which was concentration-dependently prevented by quercetin. Placental and BeWo cell HCMs decreased endothelial cell viability, increased the production of reactive oxygen species and enhanced the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. The cross-sectional area of the arterial media was increased upon exposure to placental HCM, which was associated with increased vascular proliferation and contractile responsiveness to U46619, and all of these effects were prevented by the antioxidants quercetin and RRR-alpha-tocopherol. This study is the first to comprehensively demonstrate the link between factors secreted by placental cells in response to hypoxia and vascular abnormalities and paves the way for new diagnostic approaches and therapies to better protect the maternal vasculature during and after a preeclampsia-complicated pregnancy.

Background Clinical manifestations of sarcoidosis vary widely, depending on the intensity of the inflammation and the organ systems affected. So far, no curative treatment exists; the disease can only be suppressed. All treatment options cause side effects affecting quality of life. The aim of this study was to establish and rank the prevalence of self-reported gastrointestinal side effects of drugs used in the treatment of sarcoidosis. Methods A cross-sectional web-based anonymous survey about complaints and side effects was conducted among sarcoidosis patients in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States of America. Results Of the participants, 70% were being treated with one or more drugs. The most important reported side effect was weight gain, associated with increased appetite among prednisone users (as monotherapy as well as in combination with other drugs). Methotrexate (MTX) users especially experienced nausea, with monotherapy as well as combination therapy. Vomiting and weight loss were most prominent among azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) users, whereas diarrhoea was frequently mentioned by MMF and MTX users. The reported side effects of hydroxychloroquine were generally rather mild. Conclusion The current study ranked the gastrointestinal side effects associated with pharmacotherapy in sarcoidosis patients. Pharmacotherapy does have multiple gastrointestinal side effects. The strongest association between a reported side effect and drug use was that of weight gain associated with increased appetite among prednisone users. It would therefore be useful for future research to look further into dietary interventions to counter these side effects and reduce their burden.

Background and Purpose The flavonoid quercetin increased the in vitro potency of the alpha(1)-antagonist tamsulosin to reduce phenylephrine-dependent arterial contractions by 10-fold. To examine if this supplement-drug interaction luxates hypotensive and orthostatic events in vivo, several set of studies were conducted in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive (Wistar Kyoto [WKY]) rats.Experimental Approach First, in rats pretreated with quercetin or its vehicle, responses to phenylephrine and tamsulosin were examined. Second, tamsulosin-induced changes in renal, mesenteric, hindquarter and carotid conductance were compared in quercetin- and vehicle-treated rats instrumented with Doppler flow probes. Animals were also placed on a tilt table to record regional haemodynamic changes to orthostatic challenges. Third, adult SHR were instrumented with telemeters to measure 24-hr patterns of BP. Recordings were made before and during a 5-week oral treatment of quercetin. Finally, pre-hypertensive SHR were treated with quercetin from 4 to 8 weeks of age and arterial pressure was measured at 8 and 12 weeks.Key Results Pretreatment with quercetin did not influence the responses to phenylephrine and tamsulosin, in neither WKY nor SHR. While tamsulosin treatment and tilting lowered BP and increased conductance in all vascular beds, effect size was not influenced by pretreatment with quercetin. Prolonged treatment with quercetin, in either prehypertensive SHR or adult SHR with established hypertension did not lower BP.Conclusions and Implications Cumulatively, these data demonstrate that quercetin does not amplify haemodynamic effects of tamsulosin or tilting in vivo in rats and has no effect on BP development in SHR.

Introduction. Sounds can affect food and flavor perception. For example, loud noise can affect taste perception. In the present study, we examined whether exposure to ~ 80-dB magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acoustic noise affects taste perception.Methods. Participants (N = 27) came to the lab twice for a taste test, a smell test, and evaluating sweet and savory food items: once when continuously being exposed to loud MRI acoustic noise and once when being exposed to much quieter background noise. It was hypothesized that exposure to loud noise would impair taste perception, especially identifying and detecting sweet taste, and that it would decrease liking for the taste of particularly sweet foods.Results. Neither overall taste detection nor sweet taste detection was affected by exposure to MRI acoustic noise. Further, we found no effect of noise on sweet food liking, but exploratory analyses do imply such an effect of MRI noise on liking for savory foods, with these foods being significantly less liked when exposed to MRI acoustic noise.Conclusion. We conclude that loud noises do not necessarily affect chemosensory perception.Implications. MRI acoustic noise specifically does not seem to have a relevant effect on smell and taste.

Background Quality indicators (QIs) are measurable elements of practice performance and may relate to context, process, outcome and structure. A valid set of QIs have been developed, reflecting the clinical reasoning used in primary care physiotherapy for patients with whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). Donabedian’s model postulates relationships between the constructs of quality of care, acting in a virtuous circle. Aim To explore the relative strengths of the relationships between context, process, and outcome indicators in the assessment of primary care physiotherapy in patients with WAD. Materials and Methods Data on WAD patients (N=810) were collected over a period of 16 years in primary care physiotherapy practices by means of patients records. This routinely collected dataset (RCD-WAD) was classified in context, process, and outcome variables and analyzed retrospectively. Clinically relevant variables were selected based on expert consensus. Associations were expressed, using zero-order, as Spearman rank correlation coefficients (criterion: rs >0.25 [minimum: fair]; α-value = 0.05). Results In round 1, 62 of 85 (72.9%) variables were selected by an expert panel as relevant for clinical reasoning; in round 2, 34 of 62 (54.8%) (context variables 9 of 18 [50.0%]; process variables 18 of 34 [52.9]; outcome variables 8 of 10 [90.0%]) as highly relevant. Associations between the selected context and process variables ranged from 0.27 to 0.53 (p≤0.00), between selected context and outcome variables from 0.26 to 0.55 (p≤0.00), and between selected process and outcome variables from 0.29 to 0.59 (p≤0.00). Moderate associations (rs >0.50; p≤0.00) were found between “pain coping” and “fear avoidance” as process variables, and “pain intensity” and “functioning” as outcome variables. Conclusion The identified associations between selected context, process, and outcome variables were fair to moderate. Ongoing work may clarify some of these associations and provide guidance to physiotherapists on how best to improve the quality of clinical reasoning in terms of relationships between context, process, and outcome in the management of patients with WAD., Video abstract Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use: https://youtu.be/J5N9cYF3BW4

In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether humans have evolved sex differences in the degree of interindividual variation in energy expenditure. We found that, even when statistically comparing males and females of the same age, height, and body composition, there is much more variation in total, activity, and basal energy expenditure among males. However, with aging, variation in total energy expenditure decreases, and because this happens more rapidly in males, the magnitude of greater male variation, though still large, is attenuated in older age groups. Considerably greater male variation in both total and activity energy expenditure could be explained by greater male variation in levels of daily activity. The considerably greater male variation in basal energy expenditure is remarkable and may be explained, at least in part, by greater male variation in the size of energy-demanding organs. If energy expenditure is a trait that is of indirect interest to females when choosing a sexual partner, this would suggest that energy expenditure is under sexual selection. However, we present a novel energetics model demonstrating that it is also possible that females have been under stabilizing selection pressure for an intermediate basal energy expenditure to maximize energy available for reproduction. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The consumption of antioxidants from food products can aid in preventing oxidative damage in the human body. Oxidative damage is known to be contributing to the onset of various diseases including cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. A significant body of evidence is available on the antioxidant potential of various well-known nutrients such as vitamin C and vitamin E. Scientific studies are furthermore conducted into the potential of other nutrients to function as an antioxidant. Examples of such nutrients include green tea polyphenols, of which epigallocatechin gallate is the most well-known, and curcumin. In order to communicate on the relationship between a food product and the antioxidant potential, scientific evidence must be provided which will be assessed by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The requirements of this risk assessment, are discussed in detail. It can be concluded that EFSA provides detailed information on the methodology, including the biomarkers, for scientific studies researching the antioxidant effects. This information should be taken into consideration when setting up studies for health claim application.

Low total energy expenditure (TEE, MJ/d) has been a hypothesized risk factor for weight gain, but repeatability of TEE, a critical variable in longitudinal studies of energy balance, is understudied. We examine repeated doubly labeled water (DLW) measurements of TEE in 348 adults and 47 children from the IAEA DLW Database (mean ± SD time interval: 1.9 ± 2.9 y) to assess repeatability of TEE, and to examine if TEE adjusted for age, sex, fat-free mass, and fat mass is associated with changes in weight or body composition. Here, we report that repeatability of TEE is high for adults, but not children. Bivariate Bayesian mixed models show no among or within-individual correlation between body composition (fat mass or percentage) and unadjusted TEE in adults. For adults aged 20–60 y (N = 267; time interval: 7.4 ± 12.2 weeks), increases in adjusted TEE are associated with weight gain but not with changes in body composition; results are similar for subjects with intervals >4 weeks (N = 53; 29.1 ± 12.8 weeks). This suggests low TEE is not a risk factor for, and high TEE is not protective against, weight or body fat gain over the time intervals tested., Low total energy expenditure (TEE) has been a hypothesized risk factor for weight gain, but longitudinal repeatability of TEE is incompletely understood. Here the authors report that TEE is repeatable for adults, but not for children, and increases in TEE (adjusted for fat-free mass, fat mass, age and sex) are not associated with body composition changes in short-term longitudinal analyses.

People are born with few specific food preferences. Most preferences are acquired with experience. One type of such learning concerns Pavlovian conditioning in which a flavor becomes better liked through its association with an already liked taste, nutritive outcome, or another positive postingestive effect. Pavlovian conditioning also underlies the experience of food craving, an intense desire for a certain food item. Food craving is elicited by cues predicting the intake of a particularly palatable food. Pavlovian food cues thus motivate instrumental food seeking and intake. Research demonstrates that increased liking and preference for healthier foods can be conditioned by pairing a healthy flavor with a positive outcome (Pavlovian conditioning) and by pairing the consumption of healthy foods with a rewarding outcome (instrumental conditioning). Healthier food preferences can also be acquired vicariously by learning from observing trusted others. Both direct and indirect experiences with certain foods thus importantly contribute to the acquisition of food preferences.

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of tannins and gallic acid on the salivary lubrication behavior. Furthermore, the effects of pH and mannoproteins in combination with gallic acid on the lubrication of saliva were studied. The addition of gallic acid and tannins were found to increase friction caused by the removal of the saliva film. Tannins resulted in higher friction compared to gallic acid. Lowering pH increased friction of gallic acid mixtures with saliva, due to stronger interactions between gallic acid and saliva. The increased friction caused by gallic acid was inhibited by the addition of mannoproteins due to the hydrogen bond interactions between gallic acid and mannoproteins, thereby decreasing the complex formation between gallic acid and salivary proteins. A correlation of 0.96 was found between the hydrodynamic diameter of the aggregate and the delta friction suggesting that the formation of aggregates determined the lubrication behavior.

Why do people always seem to have room for dessert? For many of us the following situation is all too familiar: you just finished your meal and feel full, but as soon as dessert arrives, you cannot resist eating it. Why? In earlier research, two phenomena were identified that explain why people always seem to have room for dessert: a mechanism called ‘sensory satiation’ – getting bored with the same flavour – and the related ‘variety effect’ – bigger appetite with a bigger variety in foods. In this dissertation, these two phenomena were scrutinized in a series of experiments, investigating how sensory satiation and the variety effect can be influenced and what role they play in how much and what food is eaten. The results of this research suggest that their role in eating behaviour is substantial and that variety and sensory satiation can be used to stimulate healthy eating.

Globally, dietary patterns are rapidly shifting toward a diet that is associated with various noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer. This dietary pattern is characterised by the excess intake of highly processed, high-fat, high-sugar, and salt-rich foods at the expense of healthier less calorie-dense foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Many public health interventions and policies have been developed and applied but have not successfully improved healthy food choices yet. A little over a decade ago, nudging was introduced as a new tool to change people’s behaviour for their own or societal benefit by exploiting people’s psychological biases and heuristics. The advantage of this approach is that a nudge is generally a very subtle form of manipulation that does not demand much cognitive effort and can be easily avoided by the so-called nudgee, thus making it less invasive than most policy regulations and preserving the nudgee’s freedom of choice. In this chapter, we explain the need for changing poor dietary behaviours, define nudging, and discuss how and to what degree healthy nutrition can be nudged. Furthermore, we will address the question of whether all nudges truly preserve autonomy. We conclude that when it comes to promoting healthy nutrition, nudging complements but does not obviate the need for more intrusive interventions and regulations.

Modern societies are imbued with a fundamental tension of expertise, as expert status is both a source of authority and channel of wider public trust. Scholars of expertise have shown, though, that the public often lacks trust in experts, something which often occurs alongside politicized social problems. I argue that there are contexts in which expert-public interactions may facilitate trust-building processes even amidst the politicization of problems in which experts are attempting to manage. I refer to this as "negotiated expertise," when communities with divergent sensibilities of problems (re)construct the rules and norms of expertise in ways that build trust and facilitate cooperative and collective action. This builds on an interactionist understanding of trust and expertise, focusing on the ways in which communities negotiate the meanings, rules, and norms of expert settings. Through a qualitative analysis of Miami's Sea Level Rise Committee, I identify two key factors that facilitate trust-building in expert-public interactions: an emergent socioenvironmental problem and "advocacy-experts." I suggest that these contexts and factors enabled Miamians to work toward reciprocal practices and understandings, unexpectantly building trust in a politicized setting.

Background: In the new integrated program of care for childhood overweight and obesity (ICCO), a Youth Health Care (YHC) nurse has the role of a coordinating professional. After a broad assessment of strengths and weaknesses in the family setting, this coordinating professional makes a plan of action with the child and parents and involves other professionals when needed. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of parents and children with the coordinating professional in the ICCO. Material & Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight families. Interview data were analyzed using content analysis. In addition, descriptive data on involved professionals and referrals was collected with an online questionnaire in 38 families. Results: In total, eight families (8 mothers, 2 fathers, four boys and three girls aged 10-12 yrs) were interviewed and 38 children and parents filled in (three consecutive) online questionnaires. Findings: The main themes related to the experiences of parents and children with the CP: parents and children felt supported and understood by the coordinating professional. They appreciated the broad perspective and personal approach. Contacts with the coordinating professional were not always frequent. Major points of improvement concerned the intensity of the follow-up and collaboration. Only few parents experienced collaboration between the coordinating professional and other professionals in the ICCO. Conclusions: Parents and children appreciated the personal approach of the Youth Health Care nurse as a CP. The role of the coordinating professional, however, appears not fully implemented yet. Strengthening the promising role of the coordinating professional in the ICCO is recommended.

The complex microbial community found in the human gut consist of members of multiple kingdoms, among which are bacteria and fungi. Microbiome research mainly focuses on the bacterial part of the microbiota, thereby neglecting interactions that can take place between bacteria and fungi. With the rise of sequencing techniques, the possibilities to study cross-kingdom relationships has expanded. In this study, fungal-bacterial relationships were investigated using the complex, dynamic computer-controlled in vitro model of the colon (TIM-2). Interactions were investigated by disruption of either the bacterial or fungal community by the addition of antibiotics or antifungals to TIM-2, respectively, compared to a control without antimicrobials. The microbial community was analyzed with the use of next generation sequencing of the ITS2 region and the 16S rRNA. Moreover, the production of SCFAs was followed during the interventions. Correlations between fungi and bacteria were calculated to investigate possible cross-kingdom interactions. The experiments showed that no significant differences in alpha-diversity were observed between the treatments with antibiotics and fungicide. For beta-diversity, it could be observed that samples treated with antibiotics clustered together, whereas the samples from the other treatments were more different. Taxonomic classification was done for both bacteria and fungi, but no big shifts were observed after treatments. At the level of individual genera, bacterial genus Akkermansia was shown to be increased after fungicide treatment. SCFAs levels were lowered in samples treated with antifungals. Spearman correlations suggested that cross-kingdom interactions are present in the human gut, and that fungi and bacteria can influence each other. Further research is required to gain more insights in these interactions and their molecular nature and to determine the clinical relevance.

BackgroundCultured meat – animal meat produced with the help of tissue engineering techniques – is proposed as a solution to the adverse effects of the meat producing industry and its environmental impact. Only limited research has briefly touched upon safety and regulatory aspects of cultured meat. Scientific evidence demonstrating that a food does not pose a safety risk to human health is essential according to European legislation. Therefore, the present study aims to establish what the barriers and drivers are of a safe market introduction of cultured meat.Scope and approachA qualitative, exploratory approach is used with semi-structured in-depth interviews in three groups of stakeholders: regulatory experts, scientific experts and industrial representatives (total N = 15).Key findings and conclusionsCertain areas of cultured meat research require more attention from researchers to ensure the highest level of safety. Overall, the lack of in-depth research related to hazard and risk characterisation of cultured meat is considered the biggest barrier in introducing a safe product to the market. We call for changing the research emphasis towards a safety-oriented approach to ensure the highest level of safety possible.

Per- and polyfluomalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of synthetic compounds with a wide range of industrial applications. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively studied and have been associated with hepatotoxicity. Recently, the interaction with cytochrome P450 (CYP) has been proposed as a potential key molecular event leading to PFAS-induced hepatotoxicity. In the present study, we aimed to determine a structure-activity relationship between thirteen PFASs and their inhibitory potential on the activities of four CYPs (CYP2E1, CYP2D6, CYP3A4 and CYP2C19).The influence of PFASs (5-3200 mu M) on CYP enzyme activities was measured using the Vivid (R) P450 metabolism assays. Using the same assays, Michaelis-Menten saturation curves were determined to explore the type of PFAS-induced CYP inhibition.Most PFASs were capable of inhibiting activity of the tested CYPs, as shown by their IC50 values. CYP2E1 is particularly inhibited by 3:1 FTOH, PFOA, and PFOS, whereas CYP2D6 is inhibited by PFHxS, PFHpA, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFDA. Additionally, CYP3A4 is most strongly inhibited by PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFDA. Finally, CYP2C19 is inhibited by PFBS, PFHxS, PFHpA, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFDA. Interestingly, PFHxA and PFHxS induced an increase in CYP2E1 activity, whereas 4:2 FTOH strongly induced CYP2D6 activity. The mechanism of inhibition of CYPs by PFASs differed per CYP isoenzyme. CYP3A4 was competitively inhibited by PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS, PFNA and PFDA and non-competitively by PFOA. Additionally, CYP2C19 was competitively inhibited by PFHxA, PFOS and PFNA, whereas PFBS and PFHxS induced a mixed inhibition. Inhibition of CYP2C19 by PFHpA was atypical with an increased Vmax and a decreased Km. Finally, PFHxS competitively inhibited CYP2D6, whereas PFBS, PFOA, PFOS, PFDA and PFNA induced an atypical inhibition.Our results show that CYP inhibition by PFASs appears to be structure-dependent as well as CYP dependent. Inhibition of CYP2D6, CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 increased with increasing chain-lengths between six and nine carbons. The PFTOHs were only able to inhibit CYP2E1 and did not affect any of the other CYPS. Some PFASs remarkably induced the enzyme activity of CYPs. These results indicate that in addition to PFOA and PFOS, multiple novel PFASs may alter drug metabolism by the interference with CYPs.

Background Physical activity may be a way to increase and maintain fat-free mass (FFM) in later life, similar to the prevention of fractures by increasing peak bone mass. Objectives A study is presented of the association between FFM and physical activity in relation to age. Methods In a cross-sectional study, FFM was analyzed in relation to physical activity in a large participant group as compiled in the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labeled Water database. The database included 2000 participants, age 3–96 y, with measurements of total energy expenditure (TEE) and resting energy expenditure (REE) to allow calculation of physical activity level (PAL = TEE/REE), and calculation of FFM from isotope dilution. Results PAL was a main determinant of body composition at all ages. Models with age, fat mass (FM), and PAL explained 76% and 85% of the variation in FFM in females and males

The effect of a Citrus Fruit Extract high in the polyphenols hesperidin and naringin (CFE) on modulation of the composition and activity of the gut microbiota was tested in a validated, dynamic in vitro model of the colon (TIM-2). CFE was provided at two doses (250 and 350 mg/day) for 3 days. CFE led to a dose-dependent increase in Roseburia, Eubacterium ramulus, and Bacteroides eggerthii. There was a shift in production of short-chain fatty acids, where acetate production increased on CFE, while butyrate decreased. In overweight and obesity, acetate has been shown to increase fat oxidation when produced in the distal gut, and stimulate secretion of appetite-suppressive neuropeptides. Thus, the data in the in vitro model point towards mechanisms underlying the effects of the polyphenols in CFE with respect to modulation of the gut microbiota, both in composition and activity. These results should be confirmed in a clinical trial.

The Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union was reformed in 2013 with the aim of improving the sustainability of the fishing sector. The Landing Obligation, a cornerstone of this reform, requires fishers to land their unwanted catch instead of discarding it at sea. Existing literature pays little attention to what becomes of this unwanted catch once it is landed. To further the discourse on the sustainable valorisation of unwanted catch, this study explores whether unwanted catch that is safe for human consumption could be used for improving food security. The paper focuses on Dutch food banks, which deliver critical food aid to over 160,000 individuals yearly but struggle to provide all dependant recipients with nutritionally balanced food parcels. The research question is addressed in two ways. The food bank recipients’ willingness to consume UWC is evaluated quantitatively through a survey. Next to this, data from interviews with relevant stakeholders are analysed qualitatively. Results indicate that the Food Bank Foundation and its recipients are willing to receive this fish if it is safe to consume and accessible. However, various factors such as existing infrastructure, lack of economic incentive to donate, competition from non-food and black markets, and the fishing industry’s conflict with the landing obligation might pose barriers to this kind of valorisation. The dissonance between fisheries, food, and sustainability policies is discussed and identified as a key limiting factor. To bridge the differences between these policy areas, we propose public-private partnerships and voluntary agreements among involved stakeholders.

Children learn to accept novel foods by repeated exposure to these foods. In the current study, we investigated in toddlers whether a contingency management program (The Vegetable Box), comprising repeated vegetable taste exposure with contingent non-food rewards, is particularly potent at increasing recognition of and willingness to try vegetables. A total of 598 children (1-4 years old) recruited at 26 different day-care centres in the Netherlands took part. The day-care centres were randomly assigned to one of three conditions ('exposure/reward', 'exposure/no reward', or 'no exposure/no reward'). At the start and directly after the 3-month intervention period, all children were asked to identify various vegetables (recognition test; max score = 14) and whether they would like to taste and consume 1 or 2 bite-size pieces of tomato, cucumber, carrot, bell pepper, radish, and cauliflower (willingness to try test). Data were analysed with linear mixed-effects regression analyses (for recognition and willingness to try separately) with condition and time as independent variables, and adjusting for day-care centre clustering. Vegetable recognition significantly increased in both the 'exposure/reward' and the 'exposure/no reward' group, relative to the 'no exposure/no reward' control group. The willingness to try vegetables only increased significantly in the 'exposure/reward' group. Offering vegetables to children at day-care centres significantly increased toddlers' ability to identify various vegetables, but rewards contingent upon tasting vegetables appear particularly effective to also increase children's willingness to try (i.e., taste and consume) different vegetables. This result corroborates and strengthens previous findings demonstrating the efficacy of similar reward-based programs.

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors Understanding the impacts of activity on energy balance is crucial. Increasing levels of activity may bring diminishing returns in energy expenditure because of compensatory responses in non-activity energy expenditures.1–3 This suggestion has profound implications for both the evolution of metabolism and human health. It implies that a long-term increase in activity does not directly translate into an increase in total energy expenditure (TEE) because other components of TEE may decrease in response—energy compensation. We used the largest dataset compiled on adult TEE and basal energy expenditure (BEE) (n = 1,754) of people living normal lives to find that energy compensation by a typical human averages 28% due to reduced BEE; this suggests that only 72% of the extra calories we burn from additional activity translates into extra calories burned that day. Moreover, the degree of energy compensation varied considerably between people of different body compositions. This association between compensation and adiposity could be due to among-individual differences in compensation: people who compensate more may be more likely to accumulate body fat. Alternatively, the process might occur within individuals: as we get fatter, our body might compensate more strongly for the calories burned during activity, making losing fat progressively more difficult. Determining the causality of the relationship between energy compensation and adiposity will be key to improving public health strategies regarding obesity.

The pancreatic islets of Langerhans have low endogenous antioxidant levels and are thus especially sensitive to oxidative stress, which is known to influence cell survival and behaviour. As bioengineered islets are gaining interest for therapeutic purposes, it is important to understand how their composition can be optimized to diminish oxidative stress. We investigated how the ratio of the two main islet cell types (alpha and beta cells) and their culture in three-dimensional aggregates could protect against oxidative stress. Monolayer and aggregate cultures were established by seeding the alphaTC1 (alpha) and INS1E (beta) cell lines in varying ratios, and hydrogen peroxide was applied to induce oxidative stress. Viability, oxidative stress, and the level of the antioxidant glutathione were measured. Both aggregation and an increasing prevalence of INS1E cells in the co-cultures conferred greater resistance to cell death induced by oxidative stress. Increasing the prevalence of INS1E cells also decreased the number of alphaTC1 cells experiencing oxidative stress in the monolayer culture. In 3D aggregates, culturing the alphaTC1 and INS1E cells in a ratio of 50:50 prevented oxidative stress in both cell types. Together, the results of this study lead to new insight into how modulating the composition and dimensionality of a co-culture can influence the oxidative stress levels experienced by the cells.

A plant-based diet is more sustainable, and research suggests that adolescents obtain health benefits from adopting a more plant-based diet (e.g., improved weight control, increased cardiovascular health). However, it is still unclear what factors promote/hinder their intention to attain such a dietary habit. The aim of the present study was to examine factors affecting adolescents' willingness to consume more plant-based foods. In a theory-based interview study, using the Reasoned Action Approach as framework, adolescents were interviewed concerning their reasons for their (un)willingness to adopt a more plant-based diet. A total of 11 adolescents (15/16 years old; 7 girls, 4 boys) were recruited and interviewed at two secondary schools in the Dutch Province of Limburg, the Netherlands. None of the interviewees reported being vegan/vegetarian/flexitarian. The interviewed adolescents overall expressed little interest in adopting a more plant-based diet. They appeared to have little knowledge of what would comprise a more plant-based diet and showed a lack of awareness of the benefits for personal and planet health. Further, most participants indicated lacking skills to prepare plant-based meals. Despite that, they felt confident they would be able to consume a much more plant-based diet for a definite period. Most importantly, the low intention to consume more plant-based food options was explained by the perceived (or expected) poor taste of these foods. We conclude that education on the plant-based diet (i.e., increasing awareness of the benefits, and skills to procure or prepare a plant-based meal) might increase both knowledge and plant-based food familiarity. The latter being important as food familiarity is key in promoting its acceptance.

Food variety has been shown to increase food intake, and sensory-specific satiety (a relative decrease in pleasantness of a food as it is consumed) has been proposed as the mechanism through which variety increases consumption. The aim of this study was to investigate whether variation of eating context can add to experienced meal variety and hence increase consumption even further. A total of 128 participants were assigned to one of four conditions in which they first ate a specific food item (ad libitum) until satiated, after which they consumed a second course ad libitum of either the same or a different food in either the same context or in a different context. We hypothesized that, compared to eating the same food in the same context during the second course, introducing a different food item or changing the context for the second course increases consumption (of the second course), and changing both food and context enhances food intake to a greater degree than only changing the food or changing the context. Results indicated that food variety (introducing a different food) significantly increased consumption in the second course, but that a context switch did not enhance consumption. These results suggest that there is little reason to believe that sensory-specific satiety is context specific.

With the increasingly common practice of Animal-Assisted Services (AAS), whether in therapy, coaching, education, or volunteering programs, the concern over animal welfare has also risen. However, no standards have yet been established for good practices to ensure the animal’s mental health. This is largely due to the wide variety of roles played by animals in interventions and the lack of ‘job descriptions’ for the animal in diverse settings. Some professionals call their animal a ‘volunteer’, others mention that some directive guidance is given to the therapy animal, and some assistance animals are highly trained. Misunderstandings could be avoided if the integrated animal were to receive a justifiable label: volunteer or professional. Choosing either one comes with obligations for the owner, handler, or therapist. In this paper, we compare the roles of human volunteers and professionals to the roles of animals involved in therapy. We also demonstrate the obligations that come along with the decision to label animals as such either volunteers or professionals. Furthermore, we make a plea for animal-friendly interventions, whether in a volunteer position or as a professional, in order to stimulate the animal’s cooperation and motivation. Studying dopamine and translating the findings into context-ethograms can provide a way to judge behavior more objectively.

Thermal treatment of food products leads to the formation of dietary advanced glycation endproducts (dAGEs). It was previously shown that dAGEs induce TNF-alpha secretion in human macrophage-like cells. To what extent gastrointestinal digestion of dAGEs influences these pro-inflammatory effects and what the implications of these pro-inflammatory characteristics further down the human gastrointestinal tract are, are currently unknown. In one of our previous studies, dAGEs were digested using the TNO gastroIntestinal Model and analysed for dAGE quantity after digestion. In the current study both digested and undigested dAGEs were used to expose human macrophage-like cells, which were subsequently analysed for TNF-alpha secretion. In addition, the obtained digests were fractionated, and human macrophage-like cells were exposed to the different fractions to determine whether specific fractions induce TNF-alpha secretion. The results show that digested dAGEs have an increased pro-inflammatory effect on human macrophage-like cells compared to undigested dAGEs. This paper therefore shows that the digestion of food-components, and specifically dAGEs, plays an important role in determining their biological activity.

Pancreatic beta cells have inadequate levels of antioxidant enzymes, and the damage induced by oxidative stress poses a challenge for their use in a therapy for patients with type 1 diabetes. It is known that the interaction of the pancreatic endocrine cells with support cells can improve their survival and lead to less vulnerability to oxidative stress. Here we investigated alpha (alpha TC-1), beta (INS1E) and endothelial (HUVEC) cells assembled into aggregates known as pseudoislets as a model of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. We hypothesised that the coculture of alpha, beta and endothelial cells would be protective against oxidative stress. First, we showed that adding endothelial cells decreased the percentage of oxidative stress-positive cells. We then asked if the number of endothelial cells or the size (number of cells) of the pseudoislet could increase the protection against oxidative stress. However, no additional benefit was observed by those changes. On the other hand, we identified a potential supportive effect of the alpha cells in reducing oxidative stress in beta and endothelial cells. We were able to link this to the incretin glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) by showing that the absence of alpha cells in the pseudoislet caused increased oxidative stress, but the addition of GLP-1 could restore this. Together, these results provide important insights into the roles of alpha and endothelial cells in protecting against oxidative stress.

Background Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) are designed to help people who are overweight or obese maintain a healthy new lifestyle. The CooL intervention is a CLI in the Netherlands, in which lifestyle coaches counsel adults and children (and/or their parents) who are obese or at high risk of obesity to achieve a sustained healthier lifestyle. The intervention consists of coaching on lifestyle in group and individual sessions, addressing the topics of physical activity, dietary behaviours, sleep, stress management and behavioural change. The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation process of the Coaching on Lifestyle (CooL) intervention and its facilitating and impeding factors. Methods Mixed methods were used in this action-oriented study. Both quantitative (number of referrals, attendance lists of participants and questionnaires) and qualitative (group and individual interviews, observations, minutes and open questions) data were collected among participants, lifestyle coaches, project group members and other stakeholders. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to analyse the data. Results CooL was evaluated by stakeholders and participants as an accessible and useful programme, because of its design and content and the lifestyle coaches’ approach. However, stakeholders indicated that the lifestyle coaches need to become more familiar in the health care network and public sectors in the Netherlands. Lifestyle coaching is a novel profession and the added value of the lifestyle coach is not always acknowledged by all health care providers. Lifestyle coaches play a crucial role in ensuring the impact of CooL by actively networking, using clear communication materials and creating stakeholders’ support and understanding. Conclusion The implementation process needs to be strengthened in terms of creating support for and providing clear information about lifestyle coaching. The CooL intervention was implemented in multiple regions, thanks to the efforts of many stakeholders. Lifestyle coaches should engage in networking activities and entrepreneurship to boost the implementation process. It takes considerable time for a lifestyle coach to become fully incorporated in primary care. Trial registration NTR6208; date registered: 13–01-2017; retrospectively registered; Netherlands Trial Register.

The efficacy of botanicals in medicines can be substantiated with evidence on traditional use, whereas in foodstuffs, this is often not possible. In Europe, for example, the evaluation and subsequent authorization of health claims on herbal dietary supplements (HDS) have been put on hold by the European Commission. This study aims to analyze the role of evidence on traditional use in international legal frameworks of foods and pharmaceuticals. Both legal sources as well as scientific studies offering insights into these regulatory frameworks were included into the analysis. The international approach toward evidence on traditional use for substantiating efficacy of botanicals varies highly. For herbal medicines, substantiating efficacy with evidence on traditional use is possible in all studied jurisdictions, except for Japan and the United States. HDS efficacy can only be substantiated with evidence on traditional use in India and New Zealand, although the enforcing authorities do not describe which data are required. Australia and Canada regulate botanicals in a separate "borderline" category from foods and pharmaceuticals. Both jurisdictions allow for substantiating efficacy with evidence on traditional use. This study's second objective was to assess the applicability of the international approaches in the European legal framework, in light of the ongoing political debate regarding the use of traditional evidence. Implementation of the analyzed international approaches would require major revisions of the current European legal framework. This review of international approaches might, however, aid in deciding upon future approaches for substantiating health claims with evidence on traditional use.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive disease of the pulmonary vasculature. Recent advances in pharmacotherapy improved life expectancy of PAH patients and, thus, signified the role of general measures, including diet, in the management of the disease.Methods: In the present narrative review we will briefly summarize information about current and novel PAH therapies and analyze preclinical evidence on the influence of certain nutrients on the pathogenesis of PAH.Results: Although the evidence on the role of dietary deficiencies in the development and progression of PAH in humans is limited, preclinical studies demonstrate that dietary components such as quercetin, genistein, n-3 PUFAs, vitamin D, coenzyme Q10 and resveratrol may influence various aspects of PAH pathobiology.Conclusions: Further research on the role of diet in PAH is needed. Taking into account pleiotropic and subtle effects of dietary constituents as well as the rare and severe nature of PAH, clinical studies on the disease-specific nutritional patterns rather than on single dietary components may help to reveal if diet can be an important tool to improve the efficacy of pharmacotherapy in PAH. (C) 2019 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of lipid emulsions encapsulated in calcium-alginate beads in reducing food intake and appetite sensations. These emulsion-alginate beads were ingested in a yogurt (active) and compared to an equienergetic yogurt containing nonencapsulated nutrients with comparable sensory properties (control) in a randomized placebo-controlled trial with crossover design. Thirty-three healthy overweight volunteers (mean age: 43 years; body mass index: 27.7 kg/m(2); 14 male) received the 2 treatments. Test days started with a standardized small breakfast (t = 0) followed by an active or control yogurt (t = 90 minutes). Appetite sensations and gastrointestinal symptoms were monitored prior to and after consumption of the yogurt, and food intake was measured during ad libitum pasta meal consumption (t = 210 minutes). The hypothesis for this study was that delayed release of encapsulated lipids suppresses appetite sensations and reduces food intake. Food intake was significantly reduced with 51 +/- 20 kcal (213 +/- 84 kJ) (P =.016) after intake of the active yogurt (770 +/- 38 kcal (3222 +/- 159 kJ)) compared to the control (821 +/- 40 kcal (3435 +/- 167 kJ)). The approach that we chose is promising to reduce food intake and could contribute to the development of an easy-to-use product for weight management. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Food variety, complexity, and portion size each influence food choice and consumption, but their relative importance is poorly understood. In an online discrete choice-experiment, we investigated the relative importance of variety, complexity, and portion size in consumer preferences by systematically varying ice cream offerings. Complexity was defined as the presence of different components within a scoop (e.g., chunks or flavors), while variety was defined as combinations of ice cream scoops that differ in flavor and/or texture. A choice-based conjoint questionnaire with two sections was presented to 498 Dutch (50.8% females) and 502 American (52.6% females) consumers aged between 18 and 65 years. Section 1 tested the relative importance of complexity and variety in consumer preferences, while Section 2 tested the relative importance of variety and portion size in preferences. Participants chose their preferred option when presented with various ice cream options showing different levels of variety and complexity (Section 1), or different levels of variety and portion sizes (Section 2). Across countries, variety was a stronger driver of ice cream preference than complexity, but the most preferred ice cream options were both varied and complex. Further, across countries, flavor was more important than portion size, and again a variety of flavors was the most preferred. Finally, American participants overall preferred larger portion sizes than did Dutch participants. These data indicate variety is a key determinant of food preference, at least within the context of this study, for consumers in both the Netherlands and the United States.

Consumers of dietary supplements should be made aware of the benefits and risks of these products. This case study therefore aimed to identify the content of the risk-benefit information provided during the purchase of St. John’s wort supplements and how consumers perceive this information. Fifteen participants visited a shop to purchase St. John’s wort supplements after which they were interviewed on the provided information during the visit. This case study shows that the spontaneous information provision is not consistent in Dutch drugstores and health food shops. The provided information was either very detailed, or no information was given at all. The perceived reliability of information was mainly determined by the authority of the employee and the type of shop where the product was purchased. Information consistency at the moment of purchase is of influence in the perceived value of it.

Food businesses in the European Union are preparing for a carbon-neutral future by gradually transitioning to a circular way of operating. Building upon results from the EU REFRESH project, we consider the most valuable food processing by-streams in Europe and discuss potential food safety risks that must be considered while valorizing them for human consumption. These risks are weighed against the nutritional benefits offered by these products and their potential applications in food supply chains. Broadly, we examine whether it is possible for spent grains, cheese whey, fruit and vegetable scraps, meat processing waste, and oilseed cakes and meals to be safe, sustainable, and nutritionally valuable at the same time. The discussion highlights that valorizing by-products obtained from food processing operations is feasible on a large scale only if consumers deem it to be a safe and acceptable practice. Extracting valuable compounds from by-products and using them in the preparation of functional foods could be a way to gain consumer acceptance. Furthermore, we find that current EU food safety legislation does not sufficiently accommodate food processing by-products. A way to bridge this regulatory gap could be through the adoption of private food safety standards that have shown proclivity for sustainability-related issues in food supply chains. Finally, by proposing a decision tree, we show that it is indeed feasible for some food processing by-products to be valorized while ensuring sustainability, food safety, and nutritional relevance.

Background Overweight and obesity are problems that are increasing globally in both children as well as adults, and may be prevented by adopting a healthier lifestyle. Lifestyle coaches counsel overweight and obese children (and their parents) as well as adults in initiating and maintaining healthier lifestyle behaviours. It is currently unclear whether this novel professional in the Dutch health care system functions as a linchpin in networks that evolve around lifestyle-related health problems. The aim of the present study is to investigate the formation and development of networks of lifestyle coaches and their positions within these networks. Methods In this longitudinal study, key professionals and professionals within relevant organisations in the Coaching on Lifestyle (CooL) care networks were asked to fill in three online questionnaires. Respondents were asked to indicate whether they collaborated with each of the specified professionals in the context of CooL. The overall network structures and the central role of the lifestyle coaches were examined by using network analysis. Results The results showed that the networks in three out of four regions were relatively centralised, but that none of the networks were dense, and that the professionals seemed to collaborate less with others over time. Half of the lifestyle coaches had a high number of collaborations and a central position within their networks, which also increased over time. In half of the regions, the lifestyle coaches had increased their role as consultants, while their role as gatekeeper and liaison decreased over time. In most regions, the sector of lifestyle coaches had a central position in their networks in just one measurement. Other central sectors were the local sports organisation, public health services, youth health care and the municipal government. Conclusions Overall, we cannot conclude that more central and denser networks were formed during the study period. In addition, the lifestyle coaches were not often positioned as a central sector within these networks. Entrepreneurial, network and brokering competences are required for lifestyle coaches to build up denser networks. Trial registration NTR6208; date registered: 13–01-2017; retrospectively registered; Netherlands Trial Register.

Glycerol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are widely used cryoprotectants for freezing human cell cultures. During the manufacturing process of ocular stem cell-based autographs, ex vivo cultivated ocular cells are cryopreserved for quality control purposes in accordance with regulatory requirements. The efficiency of the cryopreservation methods is limited by their effect on cell survival and quality. We compared two cryopreservation reagents, glycerol and DMSO, for their influence on the survival and quality of human primary conjunctival cultures. We found increased cell viability after cryopreservation in DMSO compared to cryopreservation in glycerol. The clonogenic and proliferative capacity was unaffected by the cryopreservation reagents, as shown by the colony forming efficiency and cumulative cell doubling. Importantly, the percentage of p63 alpha- and keratin 19 (K19)-positive cells following cryopreservation in DMSO or glycerol was comparable. Taken together, our results demonstrate that cryopreservation in DMSO improves cell survival compared to cryopreservation in glycerol, with no subsequent effect on cell proliferative-, clonogenic-, or differentiation capacity. Therefore, we advise the use of a 10% DMSO-based cryopreservation medium for the cryopreservation of human primary conjunctival cells, as it will improve the number of cells available for the manufacturing of conjunctival stem cell-based autografts for clinical use.

The clinical success rate of islet transplantation, namely independence from insulin injections, is limited by factors that lead to graft failure, including inflammation, acute ischemia, acute phase response, and insufficient vascularization. The ischemia and insufficient vascularization both lead to high levels of oxidative stress, which are further aggravated by islet encapsulation, inflammation, and undesirable cell-biomaterial interactions. To identify biomaterials that would not further increase damaging oxidative stress levels and that are also suitable for manufacturing a beta cell encapsulation device, we studied five clinically approved polymers for their effect on oxidative stress and islet (alpha and beta cell) function. We found that 300 poly(ethylene oxide terephthalate) 55/poly(butylene terephthalate) 45 (PEOT/PBT300) was more resistant to breakage and more elastic than other biomaterials, which is important for its immunoprotective function. In addition, it did not induce oxidative stress or reduce viability in the MIN6 beta cell line, and even promoted protective endogenous antioxidant expression over 7 days. Importantly, PEOT/PBT300 is one of the biomaterials we studied that did not interfere with insulin secretion in human islets.

Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) that target both physical activity (PA) and diet have been shown to improve PA and health of adults who are overweight; however, optimal amount of guidance remains unclear. This study evaluated the effects of adding PA group sessions to a standard CLI in primary care in the Netherlands. 411 participants (BMI 34.5 ± 4.4 kg/m2) in thirty locations were randomised into a one year CLI or CLI+. CLI comprised individual meetings with lifestyle coach (LSC) and physiotherapist, and group meetings with dietician. PA group sessions were added in CLI+. Primary outcome was minutes of moderate to vigorous PA per week. Secondary outcomes of PA, diet and cardiovascular risk factors (i.e. waist circumference, HbA1c and blood pressure) were evaluated after 12 and 24 months with multilevel analyses. Data were collected from 2010 to 2015. Significant between-group effects were only found for waist circumference, which was significantly lower at twelve months in the CLI+ group (p = 0.011), no other between-group differences were found. Several within-group changes were significant. After participating in the intervention, walking time increased with 83 ± 35 min/week and 100 ± 38 min/week, and BMI decreased with 0.7 ± 0.3 kg/m2 and 1.5 ± 0.3 kg/m2 in CLI and CLI+ respectively (p < 0.001). Diet, HbA1c and systolic blood pressure changed favourably in both groups. Adding PA group sessions did not elicit added, sustained benefits. A programme with individual meetings with LSC and physiotherapist, and group meetings with dietician can be sufficient to facilitate a healthy lifestyle and reduce cardiovascular risk factors in a population with overweight.

Background: The evaluation of botanical health claims was put on hold to determine whether traditional use evidence is sufficient to substantiate these health claims. To gain a deeper understanding of the discussion on the substantiation of botanical health claims, a critical review of the stakeholders' arguments was conducted.Methods: The relationships of stakeholders were analysed with a social network analysis and the stakeholders' arguments were critically reviewed with scientific literature.Results: The social network analysis showed that the majority of stakeholders were in favour of using traditional use evidence for botanical health claim substantiation. These stakeholders were however highly interrelated which may explain their similar viewpoints.The arguments put forward by the stakeholders cover a wide array of subjects indicating the discussion's complexity. Various arguments could furthermore not be assessed with scientific literature as these were focused on the unpredictable impact of a decision on the substantiation of botanical health claims. The review also shows that stakeholders interpret various underlying concepts such as consumer misleading differently.Conclusions: This study shows that the discussion is scattered. A political decision on various unclear concepts is required to eventually make a decision upon using traditional use evidence to substantiate botanical health claims.

The aim of current study was to investigate in an in vitro study how enzymatic and chemical pretreated rapeseed meal (RSM) influences the fiber fermentation and microbial community in the swine large intestine. RSM was processed enzymatically by a cellulase (CELL), two pectinases (PECT), or chemically by an alkaline (ALK) treatment. 16S rRNA gene sequencing data was performed to evaluate changes in the gut microbiota composition, whereas short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production (ion-chromatography) and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) composition (using monoclonal antibodies; mAbs) were used to assess fiber degradation. The results showed that ALK, CELL, PECT1, and PECT2 changed microbial community composition, increased the predicted abundance of microbial fiber-degrading enzymes and pathways, and increased acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and total SCFA production. The increased microbial genera positively correlated with SCFA production. Monoclonal antibody analyses showed that the cell wall polysaccharide structures of RSM shifted after ALK, CELL, PECT1, and PECT2 treatment. The degradation of NSP during the fermentation period was dynamic, and not continuous based on the epitope recognition by mAbs. This study provides the first detailed analysis of changes in the swine intestinal microbiota due to RSM modified by ALK, CELL, PECT1, and PECT2, which altered the microbial community structure, shifted the predicted functional metagenomic profile and subsequently increased total SCFA production. Our findings that ALK, CELL, PECT1, and PECT2 increased fiber degradability in RSM could help guide feed additive strategies to improve efficiency and productivity in swine industry. The current study gave insight into how enzymatic treatment of feed can alter microbial communities, which provides good opportunity to develop novel carbohydrase treatments, particularly in swine feed.