Effect of Serial Pregnancies on Physical Fitness.

INTRODUCTION: Pregnancy has a profound impact on physical fitness, and delivery does not allow for rapid return to peak performance levels as physiologic changes can persist for greater than 1 year postpartum. Multiple studies across all military services have documented decrements in physical performance with pregnancy among women. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of serial pregnancies on physical fitness and body composition in a cohort of Army women. We hypothesized that a second pregnancy would be associated with increasing decrements in physical fitness in active duty soldiers beyond that seen following a first delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study screened all active duty soldiers who had delivered a singleton pregnancy of ≥32 weeks gestation between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2017 at a single military medical center. This roster of eligible women was used to extract Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) and height/weight data from the U.S. Army Digital Training Management System. Soldiers who delivered their first 2 pregnancies over this period were included. Select antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum data were collected from the electronic medical record. The primary outcome variables were raw scores for push-ups, sit-ups, and run events as well as weight measures across the 2 pregnancies. The secondary outcomes were the failure rates on both the APFT events and body mass index measurements. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests to compare the means of APFT scores across the 2 pregnancies. The subjects served as their own controls. This study was approved by Regional Health Command-Pacific. RESULTS: A total of 2,103 active duty soldiers delivered singleton pregnancies at Tripler Army Medical Center between January 2011 and March 2017. Among these, 16 women delivered both their first- and second-term pregnancies and had APFT data available for analysis. Average age at time of first and second delivery was 26.1 and 28.1 years, respectively. Mean time separating the first postpartum APFT from the delivery was 8.8 months for the first pregnancy and 7.3 months following the second.A significant decrease in mean sit-up score was found comparing APFT-1 with APFT-2 (72.1 vs 65.7, P = .043) and comparing APFT-1 to APFT-3 (72.1 vs 60.9, P = .002). A significant increase in mean run time was found comparing APFT-1 to APFT-3 (16.9 minutes vs 17.9 minutes, P = .010) and APFT-2 to APFT-3 (17.5 minutes vs 17.9 minutes, P = .027). Comparing APFT-1 to APFT-3 showed a significant decrease in sit-up raw scores (P = .002), run times (P = .010), and total APFT scores (P = .01). Overall, the data show a trend of decreasing performance in all APFT events across the 3 APFTs and a trend toward higher failure rates. This cohort of soldiers did not experience weight gain following the pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: The present study is the first to analyze the association of serial pregnancies on physical fitness utilizing a validated physical fitness test, and the results suggest that a second pregnancy is associated with progressive worsening of performance. This study is limited by the small sample size, and future studies could further elucidate the degree to which serial pregnancies affect physical fitness.

Insect-derived chitosan, a biopolymer for the increased shelf life of white and red grapes.

Post-harvest water loss and microbial infections are the root cause of the rapid deterioration of fresh fruit after the picking process, with both environmental and economic implications. Therefore, it is crucial to find solutions that can increase the shelf life of fresh fruits. For this purpose, edible coatings, naturally derived and non-synthetic, are acknowledged as a safe strategy. Among polymeric coatings, chitosan is one of the most effective. In this work, this biopolymer, produced from chitin extracted from Hermetia illucens, an alternative and more sustainable source than crustaceans (the commercial one), was exploited to extend the shelf life of white and red grapes. Chitosan from H. illucens pupal exuviae, at 0.5 % and 1 % concentrations, was applied on both grapes, which were then stored at room temperature or 4 °C. The study of chemical-physical parameters such as weight loss, Total Soluble Solids and pH, demonstrated the effectiveness of the biopolymer, even better than crustacean chitosan. Moreover, the analysis of nutraceutical properties has demonstrated that this natural edible coating improves the quality of grapes, with beneficial effects for human health. The obtained results, therefore, confirmed the viability of using insect-chitosan as an alternative to crustaceans for the preservation of fresh food.

Antimicrobial activity of lipids extracted from Hermetia illucens reared on different substrates.

As the problem of antimicrobial resistance is constantly increasing, there is a renewed interest in antimicrobial products derived from natural sources, particularly obtained from innovative and eco-friendly materials. Insect lipids, due to their fatty acid composition, can be classified as natural antimicrobial compounds. In order to assess the antibacterial efficacy of Hermetia illucens lipids, we extracted this component from the larval stage, fed on different substrates and we characterized it. Moreover, we analyzed the fatty acid composition of the feeding substrate, to determine if and how it could affect the antimicrobial activity of the lipid component. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Gram-positive Micrococcus flavus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. Analyzing the fatty acid profiles of larval lipids that showed activity against the two bacterial strains, we detected significant differences for C4:0, C10:0, C16:1, C18:3 n3 (ALA), and C20:1. The strongest antimicrobial activity was verified against Micrococcus flavus by lipids extracted from larvae reared on strawberry, tangerine, and fresh manure substrates, with growth inhibition zones ranged from 1.38 to 1.51 mm, while only the rearing on manure showed the effect against Escherichia coli. Notably, the fatty acid profile of H. illucens seems to not be really influenced by the substrate fatty acid profile, except for C18:0 and C18:2 CIS n6 (LA). This implies that other factors, such as the rearing conditions, larval development stages, and other nutrients such as carbohydrates, affect the amount of fatty acids in insects. KEY POINTS: • Feeding substrates influence larval lipids and fatty acids (FA) • Generally, there is no direct correlation between substrate FAs and the same larvae FAs • Specific FAs influence more the antimicrobial effect of BSF lipids.

Paternal leakage of plastids rescues inter-lineage hybrids in Silene nutans.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Organelle genomes are usually maternally inherited in angiosperms. However, biparental inheritance has been observed, especially in hybrids resulting from crosses between divergent genetic lineages. When it concerns the plastid genome, this exceptional mode of inheritance might rescue inter-lineage hybrids suffering from plastid-nuclear incompatibilities. Genetically differentiated lineages of Silene nutans exhibit strong postzygotic isolation owing to plastid-nuclear incompatibilities, highlighted by inter-lineage hybrid chlorosis and mortality. Surviving hybrids can exhibit variegated leaves, which might indicate paternal leakage of the plastid genome. We tested whether the surviving hybrids inherited the paternal plastid genome and survived thanks to paternal leakage. METHODS: We characterized the leaf phenotype (fully green, variegated or white) of 504 surviving inter-lineage hybrids obtained from a reciprocal cross experiment among populations of four genetic lineages (W1, W2, W3 and E1) of S. nutans from Western Europe and genotyped 560 leaf samples (both green and white leaves for variegated hybrids) using six lineage-specific plastid single nucleotide polymorphisms. KEY RESULTS: A high proportion of the surviving hybrids (≤98 %) inherited the paternal plastid genome, indicating paternal leakage. The level of paternal leakage depended on cross type and cross direction. The E1 and W2 lineages as maternal lineages led to the highest hybrid mortality and to the highest paternal leakage from W1 and W3 lineages in the few surviving hybrids. This was consistent with E1 and W2 lineages, which contained the most divergent plastid genomes. When W3 was the mother, more hybrids survived, and no paternal leakage was detected. CONCLUSIONS: By providing a plastid genome potentially more compatible with the hybrid nuclear background, paternal leakage has the potential to rescue inter-lineage hybrids from plastid-nuclear incompatibilities. This phenomenon might slow down the speciation process, provided hybrid survival and reproduction can occur in the wild.