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Background: Despite the richness in antioxidants of the Mediterranean diet, to our knowledge, no randomized controlled trials have assessed its effect on in vivo lipoprotein oxidation. Methods: A total of 372 subjects at high cardiovascular risk (210 women and 162 men; age range, 55-80 years), who were recruited into a large, multicenter, randomized, controlled, parallel-group clinical trial (the Prevenció n con Dieta Mediterránea [PREDIMED] Study) directed at testing the efficacy of the traditional Mediterranean diet (TMD) on the primary prevention of coronary heart disease, were assigned to a low-fat diet (n = 121) or one of 2 TMDs (TMDϩvirgin olive oil or TMDϩnuts). The TMD participants received nutritional education and either free virgin olive oil for all the family (1 L/wk) or free nuts (30 g/d). Diets were ad libitum. Changes in oxidative stress markers were evaluated at 3 months. Results: After the 3-month interventions, mean (95% confidence intervals) oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels decreased in the TMD ϩ virgin olive oil (−10.6 U/L [−14.2 to −6.1]) and TMDϩnuts (−7.3 U/L [−11.2 to −3.3]) groups, without changes in the low-fat diet group (−2.9 U/L [−7.3 to 1.5]). Change in oxidized LDL levels in the TMDϩ virgin olive oil group reached significance vs that of the low-fat group (P =.02). Malondialdehyde changes in mononuclear cells paralleled those of oxidized LDL. No changes in serum glutathione peroxidase activity were observed.

Novel biomarkers of the intake of health-beneficial food items included in the Nordic diet were identified by the metabolite profiling of fasting plasma and confirmed by the correlation analyses with dietary records. The one with the most potential was CMPF, which was shown to be a highly specific biomarker for fatty fish intake. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00573781.

Hypertension is an independent and preventable risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, however, little is known about the impact of gut microbiota composition in its development. We carried out comprehensive gut microbiota analysis and targeted metabolomics in a cross-sectional study of 29 non-treated hypertensive (HT) and 32 normotensive (NT) subjects. We determined fecal microbiota composition by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bacterial functions by metagenomic analysis. The microbial metabolites analysed were short chain fatty acids (SCFA) both in plasma and feces, and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in plasma. The overall bacterial composition and diversity of bacterial community in the two groups were not significantly different. However, Ruminococcaceae NK4A214, Ruminococcaceae_UCG-010, Christensenellaceae_R-7, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Roseburia hominis were found to be significantly enriched in NT group, whereas, Bacteroides coprocola, Bacteroides plebeius and genera of Lachnospiraceae were increased in HT patients. We found a positive correlation between the HT-associated species and systolic and diastolic blood pressure after adjusted for measured confounders. SCFA showed antagonistic results in plasma and feces, detecting in HT subjects significant higher levels in feces and lower levels in plasma, which could indicate a less efficient SCFA absorption. Overall, our results present a disease classifier based on microbiota and bacterial metabolites to discriminate HT individuals from NT controls in a first disease grade prior to drug treatment.Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) globally, and lifestyle measures are effective as a preventive strategies 1 . In 2015, hypertension based on office blood pressure (BP) reported the highest rates with a global prevalence of 1.13 billion cases, and 150 million in central and eastern Europe regardless of the income countries status 2-4 .The identification of the determinants of hypertension is still challenging although it is well recognized its multifactorial etiology 5 . It has been elucidated the interplay of genetic and environmental factors related with risk-conferring behaviors, such as, smoking, lack of physical activity, alcohol consumption and unhealthy diet 6,7 .Recently, it has been evidenced the role of gut microbiota dysbiosis on the modulation of high BP, both in animal and human hypertension 8 . Mell et al. (2015) were the first to demonstrate the differential fecal microbial composition of Dahl salt-sensitive and Dahl salt-resistant rats 9 . In the same period, Yang et al. (2015) also found a clear gut dysbiosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) mediated by a decrease in microbial richness and open Scientific RepoRtS | (2020) 10:6436 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63475-w www.nature.com/scientificreports www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Scientific RepoRtS | (2020) 10:6436 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63475-w www.nature.com/scientificreports...

Ap lasmonic core-shell gold nanostar/zeoliticimidazolate-framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanocomposite was developed for the thermoplasmonic-driven release of encapsulated active molecules inside living cells.T he nanocomposites were loaded, as aproof of concept, with bisbenzimide molecules as functional cargo and wrapped with an amphiphilic polymer that prevents ZIF-8 degradation and bisbenzimide leaking in aqueous media or inside living cells.T he demonstrated molecule-release mechanism relies on the use of near-IR light coupled to the plasmonic absorption of the core gold nanostars, which creates local temperature gradients and thus,b isbenzimide thermodiffusion. Confocal microscopya nd surfaceenhanced Raman spectroscopy( SERS) were used to demonstrate bisbenzimide loading/leaking and near-IR-triggered cargo release inside cells,t herebyleading to DNAs taining.

Malnutrition in the elderly could be tackled by addressing socioeconomic factors. This study aimed to determine the magnitude of the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the malnutrition or malnutrition risk (MR) in the elderly. The PubMed and SCOPUS databases were searched for observational studies that included assessment of malnutrition or/and MR and socioeconomic variables (educational level, living alone, marital status, income and occupational level, feeling of loneliness, place of residence, and food expenditure) in ≥60-year-old subjects, published in English among 2000-2018 (PROSPERO: CRD42019137097). The systematic review included 40 observational studies (34 cross-sectional and 4 cohort studies) and 16 cross-sectional studies in the meta-analysis (34,703 individuals) of malnutrition and MR in relation to low educational level (Odds Ratio (OR): 1.48; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.33-1.64; p < 0.001), living alone (OR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.73-2.14; p < 0.001), being single, widowed, or divorced (OR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.57-1.90; p < 0.001), and low income level (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 2.35-3.08; p < 0.001), and considering these four socioeconomic factors, malnutrition and MR is associated with them (OR: 1.83; 95% CI: 1.73-1.93; p < 0.001). Malnutrition and MR could be reduced by increasing economic level, supporting people living alone or being single, widowed, and divorced, and improving lifelong learning.

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Scope Cholesterol efflux capacity of HDL (CEC) is inversely associated with cardiovascular risk. HDL composition, fluidity, oxidation, and size are related with CEC. We aimed to assess which HDL parameters were CEC determinants after virgin olive oil (VOO) ingestion. Methods and Results Post-hoc analyses from the VOHF study, a crossover intervention with three types of VOO. We assessed the relationship of 3-week changes in HDL-related variables after intervention periods with independence of the type of VOO. After univariate analyses, mixed linear models were fitted with variables related with CEC and fluidity. Fluidity and Apolipoprotein (Apo)A-I content in HDL was directly associated, and HDL oxidative status inversely, with CEC. A reduction in free cholesterol, an increase in triglycerides in HDL, and a decrease in small HDL particle number or an increase in HDL mean size, were associated to HDL fluidity. Conclusions HDL fluidity, ApoA-I concentration, and oxidative status are major determinants for CEC after VOO. The impact on CEC of changes in free cholesterol and triglycerides in HDL, and those of small HDL or HDL mean size, could be mechanistically linked through HDL fluidity. Our work points out novel therapeutic targets to improve HDL functionality in humans through nutritional or pharmacological interventions.