This study suggests that MPV response to low-dose collagen may be a useful indicator of platelet propensity to activation. Further studies are warranted to correlate MPV with classical platelet aggregation tests and with the use of platelet-active drugs.

Benzyl glutamate NCA was graft-polymerized onto a porous poly(tetrafluoroethylene) membrane in order to study the effects of pH and ionic strength on permeation rate. The membrane was first glow-discharged in the presence of ammonia in order to produce amino groups on the surface. Following graft polymerization the graft chains were hydrolyzed to yield poly(glutamic acid). The rate of water permeation through this poly(glutamic acid)-grafted polymer membrane was pH-dependent and found to be slow under high-pH conditions and fast under low-pH conditions. Under high-pH conditions, randomly coiled graft chains extend to close the pores. The chains form a helix structure and open the pores under low-pH conditions. The magnitude of the permeation rate was dependent upon the length and density of graft chains. Ionic strength also affected the permeation rate.

Omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) reduce postprandial triacylglycerol (TG) concentrations. This study was undertaken to determine whether this effect was due to reduced production or increased clearance of chylomicrons. Healthy subjects (n ‫؍‬ 33) began with a 4-week, olive oil placebo (4 g/d) run-in period. After a 4-week wash-out period, subjects were randomized to supplementation with 4 g/d of ethyl esters of either safflower oil (SAF), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for 4 weeks. Results for EPA and DHA were similar, and therefore the data were combined into one -3 FA group. Omega-3 FA supplementation reduced the postprandial TG and apolipoprotein B (apo B)-48 and apoB-100 concentrations by 16% ( P ‫؍‬ 0.08), 28% ( P Ͻ 0.001), and 24% ( P Ͻ 0.01), respectively. Chylomicron TG half-lives in the fed state were reduced after -3 FA treatment (6.0 ؎ 0.5 vs. 5.1 ؎ 0.4 min; P Ͻ 0.05), but not after SAF (6.9 ؎ 0.7 vs. 7.1 ؎ 0.7 min). Omega-3 FA supplementation decreased chylomicron particle sizes (mean diameter; 293 ؎ 44 vs. 175 ؎ 25 nm; P Ͻ 0.01) and increased preheparin lipoprotein lipase (LPL; 0.6 ؎ 0.1 vs. 0.9 ؎ 0.1 mol/h/ml; P Ͻ 0.05) activity during the fed state, but had no effect on postheparin LPL or hepatic lipase activities. The results suggest that -3 FA supplementation accelerates chylomicron TG clearance by increasing LPL activity, and that EPA and DHA are equally effective. There is growing evidence that abnormal postprandial lipemia is associated with coronary artery disease (1-5). Thus, reduction of postprandial triacylglycerol (TG) concentration may be cardioprotective. Studies have shown that chronic -3 fatty acid supplementation significantly lowers postprandial TG concentrations regardless of the type of fat in test meal (6-10). Since the consumption of test meals containing fish oil or vegetable oil produce similar rises in postprandial TG levels when subjects are consuming their usual background diets, fish oil itself is absorbed and cleared normally (11). There are only two mechanisms that can explain the reduced postprandial lipemia of chronic -3 fatty acid administration: slowed chylomicron secretion into the circulation or faster chylomicron clearance.Several investigators reported that -3 fatty acids do not enhance lipoprotein lipase (LPL) or hepatic lipase (HL) activity measured in vitro in human postheparin plasma (11)(12)(13)(14). It has also been shown that clearance of an intravenous bolus of lipid emulsion was not enhanced by fish oil feeding despite a reduction in the fasting TG concentration (9). On the other hand, others reported that -3 fatty acid supplementation increased pre-(15) and postheparin (16) LPL activities. As regards slowed secretion, since -3 fatty acids retard hepatic secretion of VLDL TG (17), they might have the same effect on intestinal chylomicron secretion.The objective of this study was to determine the extent of and mechanism responsible for reduced postprandial lipemia following supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) an...

No abstract

Background Age-related loss of muscle mass and function is a major component of frailty. Nutrition supplementation with exercise is an effective strategy to decrease frailty by preventing sarcopenia, but the effect of protein alone is controversial. Objective The present study was performed to investigate a dose-dependent effect of protein supplementation on muscle mass and frailty in prefrail or frail malnourished elderly people. Design A 12-wk double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in elderly subjects aged 70–85 y with ≥1 of the Cardiovascular Health Study frailty criteria and a Mini Nutritional Assessment score ≤23.5 (n = 120). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: 0.8, 1.2, or 1.5 g protein · kg–1 · d–1, with concealed allocation and intention-to-treat analysis. Primary outcomes were appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results After the 12-wk intervention, the 1.5-g protein · kg–1 · d–1 group had higher ASM (mean ± SD: 0.52 ± 0.64 compared with 0.08 ± 0.68 kg, P = 0.036) and SMI (ASM/weight: 0.87% ± 0.69% compared with 0.15% ± 0.89%, P = 0.039; ASM/BMI: 0.02 ± 0.03 compared with 0.00 ± 0.04, P = 0.033; ASM:fat ratio: 0.04 ± 0.11 compared with −0.02 ± 0.10, P = 0.025) than the 0.8-g protein · kg–1 · d–1 group. In addition, gait speed was improved in the 1.5-g protein · kg–1 · d–1 group compared with the 0.8-g protein · kg–1 · d–1 group (0.09 ± 0.07 compared with 0.04 ± 0.07 m/s, P = 0.039). There were no significant differences between the 1.2- and 0.8-g protein · kg–1 · d–1 groups in muscle mass and physical performance. No harmful adverse effects were observed. Conclusions The present study indicates that protein intake of 1.5 g · kg–1 · d–1 has the most beneficial effects in regard to preventing sarcopenia and frailty compared with protein intakes of 0.8 and 1.2 g · kg–1 · d–1 in prefrail or frail elderly subjects at risk of malnutrition. This trial was registered at cris.nih.go.kr as KCT0001923.

Permeation through a porous polycarbonate membrane, on which a thermosensitive polymer, poly(Nisopropylacrylamide), was immobilized, was investigated. For photoimmobilization of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), photoreactive azidophenyl group was connected to the polymer either at a chain terminal or in side chains. The two types of derivatized polymers had different lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Prescribed amounts of the derivatized polymer were cast on the polycarbonate membrane and photoirradiated. When a small amount of polymer was used, a thin layer of immobilized polymer was not enough to cover pores of the polycarbonate membrane, while a thick gel layer of immobilized polymer was formed on the polycarbonate membrane to cover pores when a large amount of polymer was used. The former is represented by "porous membrane", and the latter by "nonporous membrane". The rate of water permeation through the porous membranes changed at different temperatures, although permeation through nonimmobilized membrane was independent of temperature. Water permeation through the porous membrane increased above the LCST of graft polymers. Hydraulic permeation through the nonporous membrane was not observed at any temperature. On the other hand, tryptophan permeation through the polymer-immobilized porous membrane became slower above the LCST, whereas that through the nonporous membrane became faster above the LCST. The permeation rate through the porous membrane was much higher than that through the nonporous membrane. The different temperature dependences of permeation can be explained as follows. In the case of the porous membrane, the graft chains expand below the LCST to close pores but contract at above the LCST to open pores. On the other hand, the nonporous membrane swells below the LCST to enhance diffusion of tryptophan and deswells above the LCST to reduce the diffusion. The present study demonstrated that the signal responsiveness of intelligent membrane can be controlled by the mode of device fabrication as well as by the nature of the sensoring unit.

PurposeThe purpose of the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) is to initiate a nationwide, population-based prospective cohort study of older adults living in the community to assess their frailty status and explore transitions between frailty states over time in Korea.ParticipantsThe KFACS is a multicentre longitudinal study with the baseline survey conducted from May 2016 to November 2017. Each centre recruited participants using quota sampling stratified by age and sex. The number of participants recruited through 2 years of baseline study from 10 centres was 3014, with each site accounting for approximately 300 participants. The inclusion criteria were: having an age of 70–84 years, currently living in the community, having no plans to move out in the next 2 years, having no problems with communication and no prior dementia diagnosis.Findings to dateTo define physical frailty, the KFACS used a modified version of the Fried Frailty Phenotype (FFP) consisting of five components of frailty: unintended weight loss, weakness, self-reported exhaustion, slowness and low physical activity. In the baseline study of 2016–2017, 2907 of 3014 individuals fulfilled all five components of FFP. The results indicated that 7.8% of the participants (n=228) were frail, 47.0% (n=1366) were prefrail and 45.2% (n=1313) were robust. The prevalence of frailty increased with age in both sexes; in the group aged 70–74 years, 1.8% of men and 3.7% of women were frail, whereas in the 80–84 years age group, 14.9% of men and 16.7% of women were frail. Women tended to exhibit a higher prevalence of frailty than men in all age groups.Future plansThe KFACS plans to identify outcomes and risk factors associated with frailty by conducting a 10-year cohort study, with a follow-up every 2 years, using 3014 baseline participants.

Brachypodium distachyon is a grass species that serves as a useful model for wheat and also for many of the grass species proposed as feedstocks for bioenergy production. Here, we monitored B. distachyon symbioses with five different arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and identified symbioses that vary functionally with respect to plant performance. Three symbioses promoted significant increases in shoot phosphorus (P) content and shoot growth of Brachypodium, while two associations were neutral. The Brachypodium/Glomus candidum symbiosis showed a classic 'Paris-type' morphology. In the other four AM symbioses, hyphal growth was exclusively intracellular and linear; hyphal coils were not observed and arbuscules were abundant. Expression of the Brachypodium ortholog of the symbiosis-specific phosphate (Pi) transporter MtPT4 did not differ significantly in these five interactions indicating that the lack of apparent functionality did not result from a failure to express this gene or several other AM symbiosis-associated genes. Analysis of the expression patterns of the complete PHT1 Pi transporter gene family and AMT2 gene family in B. distachyon/G. intraradices mycorrhizal roots identified additional family members induced during symbiosis and again, transcript levels were similar in the different Brachypodium AM symbioses. This initial morphological, molecular and functional characterization provides a framework for future studies of functional diversity in AM symbiosis in B. distachyon.