Association between circulating adiponectin and interleukin-10 levels in android obesity: effects of weight loss.

OBJECTIVE: Adiponectin inhibits vascular inflammation and increases IL-10 mRNA expression in human macrophages. Thus, we investigated the possible relationship between plasma adiponectin and IL-10 levels and the effects of a diet-induced moderate weight loss on both cytokines. PATIENTS AND STUDY DESIGN: Plasma adiponectin and IL-10 levels were analyzed in 64 android [body mass index (BMI), > 28 kg/m2; waist to hip ratio (WHR), > or = 0.86] and 20 gynoid [BMI, > 28 kg/m2; WHR, < 0.86] obese healthy women. Android obese women (49 +/- 14 yr) had a mean BMI of 37.1 +/- 5.3 kg/m2, similar to that of gynoid obese women (49 +/- 11 yr; BMI, 33.4 +/- 2.6 kg/m2). Twenty nonobese control women (46 +/- 11 yr; BMI, 25.2 +/- 2.2 kg/m2) were also studied. In 15 android obese women, measurements were repeated after a 12-wk diet period (1200 kcal/d). RESULTS: Median adiponectin [5.2 (range, 3.3-7.8) vs. 12.1 (9.7-13.9) vs. 15.0 (12.6-18.2) microg/ml; P < 0.0001] and IL-10 [1.8 (1.2-3.3) vs. 3.5 (2.9-4.3) and vs. 4.1 (3.5-4.8) pg/ml; P < 0.0001] levels were lower in android vs. gynoid vs. nonobese women. Among android obese women, low adiponectin levels were independently related (P < 0.0001) to decreased IL-10 levels, independently of BMI, WHR, or insulin resistance. No significant change in either median adiponectin or IL-10 levels was observed after body weight reduction (8 +/- 4 kg; P < 0.01), although percent changes in adiponectin paralleled those in IL-10 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Android obesity is associated with a concomitant reduction of IL-10 and adiponectin levels. However, the antiinflammatory status of obesity might require prolonged periods of energy-restricted diets to revert to normal.

Morphological and biochemical variations of Haemophilus influenzae type b induced by pH and temperature changes.

Haemophilus influenzae type b ATCC 10211 was cultured at different temperatures (25 degrees C-49 degrees C) and pH values (5.7-8.7) either in liquid or semisolid medium. Morphological variations of individual cells were noted by optical microscopy depending upon the conditions of growth. At higher temperatures filaments were produced whereby the length of individual cells increased compared to cultures grown at 37 degrees C. Filaments were also observed at lower pH values. Culture conditions also affected colonial morphology. At low pH values colonies had an enhanced lobulated contour and were more wrinkly and rougher than at higher pH. The changes in cellular and colonial morphology were correlated with distinct outer membrane protein profiles. The changes in temperature and pH did not affect identification of the microorganism by the API system.

The effect of oxygen on the growth and cell morphology of Helicobacter pylori.

The in vitro effect of progressive oxygen decrease on the growth and morphology of Helicobacter pylori was studied. H. pylori ATCC 43,504 was used for the experiments. The strain inoculated in Brucella broth plus fetal calf serum was incubated under a controlled atmosphere with oxygen concentration from 5 to 0%. CFU ml-1 and bacterial morphology were detected at the time of spreading and at 24 h, 72 h, 7 days and 14 days. A detailed ultrastructural investigation of the bacterial cells, grown in different experimental conditions, was performed by scanning electron microscopy. Oxygen deprivation produced a rapid reduction of CFU ml-1. In particular, a significant reduction of viable bacteria was recorded at 72 h of incubation in the presence of 1% oxygen and anaerobiosis, and 0 CFU ml-1 was found after 7 days of incubation at the above mentioned oxygen concentrations. The coccoid phenotype was already prevalent after 24 h of incubation with a progressive tendency to aggregate in clusters. These clusters were progressively larger, depending on the reduction of oxygen concentration, since the aggregation phenomenon can be the expression of a hypothesized mechanism of protection among bacterial cells.

Recovery of Helicobacter pylori ATCC43504 from a viable but not culturable state: regrowth or resuscitation?

Studies were conducted following the formation and characterization of the coccoid morphology of Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori ATCC43504 was incubated in brucella broth plus 2% fetal calf serum at three different temperatures: 37 degrees C, room temperature and 4 degrees C in a microaerophilic environment, and readings were taken at 2, 7, 15, 30 and 45 days. At control times, the total and the viable count, viability tests with tetrazolium salts, and ultrastructural studies were carried out. On solid media, H. pylori became nonculturable after 7 days of incubation at room temperature and 4 degrees C, and after 15 days of incubation at 37 degrees C. At these times of incubation, after subculturing in liquid medium under the same conditions, the growth of H. pylori was detected until the 15th day from cultures incubated at 4 degrees C and until the 30th day from cultures stored at 37 degrees C, and at room temperature. Ultrastructural studies showed a gradual reduction of integrity of bacterial cells that remained stable at 30 and 45 days of incubation: 30% of whole cells of bacteria incubated at 37 degrees C and room temperature and 50% in bacteria incubated at 4 degrees C. The viability of the VNC (viable nonculturable) state was assessed by studying the reduction of tetrazolium salts INT (p-iodonitrophenyl tetrazolium violet) and CTC (cyanoditolyl tetrazolium chloride) to their respective formazans and this was linked to the cellular respiration. At 45 days of incubation, when bacterial regrowth was not observed in solid or in liquid medium, different resuscitation methods were applied to evaluate a possible resuscitation of VNC H. pylori. No significant growth on solid medium was observed.

Body composition and blood pressures in school children 6-14 years of age.

The relationship between parameters of estimated body composition (FFM = fat free mass, FM = fat mass, %F = percentage fat) and blood pressure was examined in a sample of 1418 school-children (712 males, 706 females), 6-14 years of age from L'Aquila and its province (Abruzzo), Italy. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased from 6-14 years in both sexes (males: systolic pressure 93.08 ± 14.95 to 122.29 ± 13.27 mm Hg; diastolic pressure: 59.60 ± 11.60 to 74.83 ± 8.35 mm Hg; females: systolic pressure: 97.12 ± 13.16 to 120.56 ± 8.02 mm Hg; diastolic pressure: 61.93 ± 10.23 to 76.67 ± 4.85 mm Hg). FFM and FM estimated by anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance, exhibited similar growth trends (Anthropometry: in males, FFM: 20.55-47.20 kg and FM: 4.14-12.01 kg; in females, FFM: 19.95-41.90 kg and FM: 5.03-15.84 kg; Impedance: in males, FFM: 18.40-47.30 kg and FM: 6.26-11.91 kg; in females, FFM: 17.47-36.97 kg and FM: 7.61-20.77 kg). Correlations between body composition parameters and blood pressures were generally significant. In particular, there was a strong relationship between systolic blood pressure and both FM and %F, the correlations being higher when the body composition parameters were estimated by anthropometry. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:535-544, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Biodemography and genetics of the Berba of Benin.

Genetic structure of the Berba of Benin was studied on the basis of biodemographic data and ABO, RH, MNS, KEL, JK, FY, ACP1, ADA, AK1, CA2, ESD, GLO1, G6PD, PGD, PGM1 (subtypes and thermostability), PGM2, PGP, SODA, HB alpha, HB beta, HB delta, BF, C3, and HP gene frequencies. Comparisons were carried out with other populations of Benin and of sub-Saharan Africa. Correspondence analysis revealed genetic differentiation among the three main groups of populations who inhabit sub-Saharan Africa: Bushmen-Hottentots, Pygmies, and Negroes. The genetic differentiation of the Negroes in relation to their linguistic affiliation and geographic localization was evident. The first group included the populations belonging to the Bantoid subfamily of the Nigritic linguistic stock living in southern Africa; in the second subcluster the populations of central-eastern Africa were localized, and the third subcluster included the populations living in the West.

Genetic history of the population of Puglia (southern Italy).

Nine-hundred and twenty-two individuals belonging to the five provinces of Puglia were typed for nine erythrocyte genetic markers (ACP1, ADA, AK1, ESD, GLO1, PGD, PGM1, PGM2, and SODA). Genetic heterogeneity within Puglia was investigated on the basis of allele frequencies of the above mentioned markers plus ABO*A, ABO*B, ABO*O, and RH*D, by the (chi 2 test and Rst statistic. The analyses revealed no differences at the provincial level. Furthermore, correspondence and genetic distance analyses were applied to look for a statistical difference within Puglia from different standpoints, as well as between Puglia, the rest of Italy and other European and Near and Middle Eastern populations whose genetic history is most likely related. Southern and central Italian, Greek and Aegean populations appeared very homogeneous and quite differentiated from the rest of Europe, both continental (including northern Italy) and south-eastern, stressing the major impact of the heavy Greek colonization on the genetic pools of the circum-Mediterranean people.

Analysis of the distribution of some serum protein polymorphisms in isolated populations in the Middle Sangro Valley (Chieti-Abruzzo, Italy).

We studied Gc, Hp, C3 and Bf serum protein polymorphisms in the population of the Middle Sangro Valley, an area in the Abruzzo Apennine mountains on the border with the Molise region, which has maintained a highly isolated character. The gene frequency estimates obtained for the total sample of the Middle Sangro Valley were: [table: see text] The analysis of these data reveals internal heterogeneity in the population of the Middle Sangro Valley probably due to geographical and socio-cultural differences which may have give rise to local micro-evolutionary phenomena.

[Bioelectric impedance (BIA) and thickness of the subcutaneous fatty tissue in a sample of normal weight and obese children]. / Analisi della impedenza bioelettrica (BIA) e dello spessore del pannicolo adiposo sottocutaneo in un campione di bambini normopeso e obesi.

The paper reports the results of a study on changes in the subcutaneous fat layer and the relations between the latter and BIA in a sample population of 105 normal weight and obese children of both sexes (57 males and 48 females), aged between 5 and 14. The correlation coefficients calculated show that BI is inversely correlated to all the subcutaneous fat layers examined; the closes correlations were found in cutaneous folds on the thigh and calf in males and on the forearm and calf in females. The correct use of impedance measurement in children must take into account the difference between the sexes and those linked to the degree of excess weight, as well as changes in the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer related to age.

Beta-lactamase induction antagonizes beta-lactam susceptibilities in Citrobacter diversus and Enterobacter cloacae clinical isolates.

Inducible beta-lactamases were obtained after exposure to several beta-lactams in clinical isolates of Enterobacter cloacae and Citrobacter diversus. Enzyme production was related to the inducer and medium composition. beta-lactamase is able to inactivate only labile compounds, thus generating minimum inhibitory concentrations higher than in the absence of the inducer; imipenem susceptibilities usually were not changed.