Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training Versus Moderate-Intensity Interval Training: Effects on Cardiometabolic Factors in Spanish Obese Adults.

BACKGROUND: Excess weight and obesity are related to cardiometabolic diseases and limit physical activity. Until now, the effects of moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) compared with moderate-intensity interval training (MIIT) in Spanish obese adults have not been analyzed. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effect of MICT and MIIT together with a 1300-to-1400 caloric restrictive diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight and obese patients. METHODS: The MICT and MIIT groups trained during 4 sessions a week for 12 weeks while performing the diet. The MICT group trained for 32 minutes per session in a cycloergometer, initially at 60% maximal oxygen uptake during the first month and increasing by 10% every 4 weeks. The MIIT group performed 4 × 4 intervals (at 60% maximal oxygen uptake and active rest at 60% maximal oxygen uptake minus 20 W), with a 10% increase every 4 weeks. The control group neither trained nor followed the restrictive diet. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-nine obese adults participated in the study. The control group did not present any significant changes during the study. The MICT group significantly improved in all the variables (P < .05) except for high-density lipoproteins. The MIIT group improved in all the variables (P < .05) except for high-density lipoproteins and triglycerides. The MIIT group lost weight in less time than the MICT group. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obese adults of both the MICT and MIIT groups decreased their risk for cardiovascular disease, although the MIIT group lost weight in a shorter amount of time.

Sexual dysfunction in people treated with long-acting injectable antipsychotics in monotherapy or polypharmacy: a naturalistic study.

Sexual dysfunction, psychosis, and antipsychotics are known to be related, but the precise association between them is still unknown. Most evidence about the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in people treated with antipsychotic drugs comes from studies with restrictive samples. That is why our main objective was to determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in a real-life sample of outpatients treated with antipsychotics, considering gender. A cross-sectional naturalistic study was developed, including people treated with long-acting injectable antipsychotics, with or without other psychotropic drugs. Participants were interviewed to assess sexual satisfaction through a Likert scale (0 to 10) and the presence of sexual dysfunction (the Psychotropic-Related Sexual Dysfunction Questionnaire, PRSexDQ-SALSEX). The participants also had a blood test to determine prolactin (men and women) and testosterone levels (men only). A total of 131 people participated in the study (90 men and 41 women). Some extent of sexual dysfunction was found in 62.2% of men and 51.2% of women. The most frequent sexual dysfunction symptom for both genders was the loss of libido (45%). Hyperprolactinemia was present in 56% of men and 61% of women. The presence of sexual dysfunction was associated with higher doses of antipsychotics, hyperprolactinemia, and smoking in men and with smoking and hyperprolactinemia in postmenopausal women. This study provides real-life evidence of sexual dysfunction and hyperprolactinemia in persons treated with long-acting injectable antipsychotics segregated by gender. The high rates of sexual dysfunction and hyperprolactinemia detected corroborate the need to consider these aspects in clinical practice.

Adenita: interactive 3D modelling and visualization of DNA nanostructures.

DNA nanotechnology is a rapidly advancing field, which increasingly attracts interest in many different disciplines, such as medicine, biotechnology, physics and biocomputing. The increasing complexity of novel applications requires significant computational support for the design, modelling and analysis of DNA nanostructures. However, current in silico design tools have not been developed in view of these new applications and their requirements. Here, we present Adenita, a novel software tool for the modelling of DNA nanostructures in a user-friendly environment. A data model supporting different DNA nanostructure concepts (multilayer DNA origami, wireframe DNA origami, DNA tiles etc.) has been developed allowing the creation of new and the import of existing DNA nanostructures. In addition, the nanostructures can be modified and analysed on-the-fly using an intuitive toolset. The possibility to combine and re-use existing nanostructures as building blocks for the creation of new superstructures, the integration of alternative molecules (e.g. proteins, aptamers) during the design process, and the export option for oxDNA simulations are outstanding features of Adenita, which spearheads a new generation of DNA nanostructure modelling software. We showcase Adenita by re-using a large nanorod to create a new nanostructure through user interactions that employ different editors to modify the original nanorod.

(Poly)cation-induced protection of conventional and wireframe DNA origami nanostructures.

DNA nanostructures hold immense potential to be used for biological and medical applications. However, they are extremely vulnerable towards salt depletion and nucleases, which are common under physiological conditions. In this contribution, we used chitosan and linear polyethyleneimine for coating and long-term stabilization of several three-dimensional DNA origami nanostructures. The impact of the degree of polymerization and the charge density of the polymer together with the N/P charge ratio (ratio of the amines in polycations to the phosphates in DNA) on the stability of encapsulated DNA origami nanostructures in the presence of nucleases and in low-salt media was examined. The polycation shells were compatible with enzyme- and aptamer-based functionalization of the DNA nanostructures. Additionally, we showed that despite being highly vulnerable to salt depletion and nucleolytic digestion, self-assembled DNA nanostructures are stable in cell culture media up to a week. This was contrary to unassembled DNA scaffolds that degraded in one hour, showing that placing DNA strands into a spatially designed configuration crucially affect the structural integrity. The stability of naked DNA nanostructures in cell culture was shown to be mediated by growth media. DNA origami nanostructures kept in growth media were significantly more resistant towards low-salt denaturation, DNase I and serum-mediated digestion than when in a conventional buffer. Moreover, we confirmed that DNA origami nanostructures remain not only structurally intact but also fully functional after exposure to cell media. Agarose gel electrophoresis and negative stain transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the hybridization of DNA origami nanostructures to their targets in the presence of serum proteins and nucleases. The structural integrity and functionality of DNA nanostructures in physiological fluids validate their use particularly for short-time biological applications in which the shape and structural details of DNA nanodevices are functionally critical.

Multiscale Visualization and Scale-Adaptive Modification of DNA Nanostructures.

We present an approach to represent DNA nanostructures in varying forms of semantic abstraction, describe ways to smoothly transition between them, and thus create a continuous multiscale visualization and interaction space for applications in DNA nanotechnology. This new way of observing, interacting with, and creating DNA nanostructures enables domain experts to approach their work in any of the semantic abstraction levels, supporting both low-level manipulations and high-level visualization and modifications. Our approach allows them to deal with the increasingly complex DNA objects that they are designing, to improve their features, and to add novel functions in a way that no existing single-scale approach offers today. For this purpose we collaborated with DNA nanotechnology experts to design a set of ten semantic scales. These scales take the DNA's chemical and structural behavior into account and depict it from atoms to the targeted architecture with increasing levels of abstraction. To create coherence between the discrete scales, we seamlessly transition between them in a well-defined manner. We use special encodings to allow experts to estimate the nanoscale object's stability. We also add scale-adaptive interactions that facilitate the intuitive modification of complex structures at multiple scales. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach on an experimental use case. Moreover, feedback from our collaborating domain experts confirmed an increased time efficiency and certainty for analysis and modification tasks on complex DNA structures. Our method thus offers exciting new opportunities with promising applications in medicine and biotechnology.