Saturday, December 21, 2024

The effect of long-term administration of green tea catechins on aging-related cardiac diastolic dysfunction and decline of troponin I

Compuscript Ltd

fig 1 — image:
Fig 1: Long-term EGCG intake alleviates aging-related cardiomyocyte apoptosis and mitochondrial damage. (A, B) Representative histology of heart tissue sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin stain and Masson's trichrome stain (yellow arrows collagen fibrosis; scale bar: 100 μm). (C) TUNEL stain for evaluation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis (red arrows apoptotic cells; 400 × ). (D) Transmission electron microscope (TEM) for the display of myocardial ultrastructure (blue arrows damaged mitochondria and orange arrows twisted myofilaments; 10000 × ). (E–G) Quantitative analysis of myocardial fibrosis, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and mitochondrial destruction (n = 3–4). All results are represented as mean ± standard deviation. ∗∗∗P < 0.001.

view more
Credit: Genes & Diseases

A new publication from Genes & Diseases; DOI 10.1016/j.gendis.2024.101284, discusses the effect of long-term administration of green tea catechins on aging-related cardiac diastolic dysfunction and decline of troponin I.

Aging is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Cardiac diastolic dysfunction (CDD), ultimately leading to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), is prevalent among older individuals. Although therapeutics have made great progress, preventive strategies remain unmet medical needs.

Green tea catechins have been shown to be effective in improving aging-related cardiovascular and cerebral disorders in animal models and patients. However, little attention has been paid to whether long-term administration of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major bioactive ingredient of green tea catechins, could prevent the onset and progression of CDD.

In this study, 12-month-old female mice were orally administered 50, 100 and 200 mg EGCG mixed with drinking water for 6 months. Aged mice (18 months old) exhibited the major features of HFpEF, including CDD with pEF, cardiac fibrosis, increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and mitochondrial damages, as well as elevated A/B-type natriuretic peptide. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) expression was also reduced. Long-term administration of 100 or 200 mg EGCG prevented aging-related CDD and exercise capacity decline, along with alleviating myocardial apoptosis and mitochondria damage. The transcription and protein expression of cTnI were increased, which might be achieved by inhibiting the expression and activity of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), and reducing its binding level near cTnI's promoter, thereby elevating acetylated histone 3 (AcH3) and acetylated lysine 9 on histone H3 (AcH3K9) in the aged mice.

This article reports a novel insight that long-term administration of EGCG is a potentially effective strategy in preventing aging-related CDD and cTnI expression decline.

Keywords: Aging, Cardiac diastolic dysfunction, Cardiac troponin I, Epigallocatechin gallate, Histone deacetylase 1

# # # # # #

Genes & Diseases publishes rigorously peer-reviewed and high quality original articles and authoritative reviews that focus on the molecular bases of human diseases. Emphasis is placed on hypothesis-driven, mechanistic studies relevant to pathogenesis and/or experimental therapeutics of human diseases. The journal has worldwide authorship, and a broad scope in basic and translational biomedical research of molecular biology, molecular genetics, and cell biology, including but not limited to cell proliferation and apoptosis, signal transduction, stem cell biology, developmental biology, gene regulation and epigenetics, cancer biology, immunity and infection, neuroscience, disease-specific animal models, gene and cell-based therapies, and regenerative medicine.

Scopus CiteScore: 7.3

Impact Factor: 6.9

# # # # # #

More information: https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/genes-and-diseases/

Editorial Board: https://www.keaipublishing.com/en/journals/genes-and-diseases/editorial-board/

All issues and articles in press are available online in ScienceDirect (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/genes-and-diseases ).

Submissions to Genes & Disease may be made using Editorial Manager (https://www.editorialmanager.com/gendis/default.aspx ).

Print ISSN: 2352-4820

eISSN: 2352-3042

CN: 50-1221/R

X (formerly Twitter): @GenesNDiseases (https://x.com/GenesNDiseases )

# # # # # #

Junjun Quan, Zhongli Jia, Lingjuan Liu, Jie Tian, The effect of long-term administration of green tea catechins on aging-related cardiac diastolic dysfunction and decline of troponin I, Genes & Diseases, Volume 12, Issue 2, 2025, 101284, ISSN 2352-3042, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2024.101284

Journal

Genes & Diseases

DOI

10.1016/j.gendis.2024.101284

Water and gruel – not bread: Discovering the diet of early Neolithic farmers in Scandinavia

At a 5,500-year-old Neolithic Danish settlement, archaeologists found grinding stones and early cereal grains. However, the stones weren't used to grind the grains for bread. Instead, the inhabitants likely prepared porridge or gruel from the cereals.

Aarhus University

A grinding stone, as the name suggests, is a stone with a sufficiently flat surface that allows grinding against it with another, smaller stone.

Archaeologists found fourteen of such stones when they excavated the remains of a settlement from the Early Neolithic Funnel Beaker Culture at Frydenlund, on Strandby Mark southeast of Haarby on Funen (see fact box at the bottom of this text).

You can view 3D images of 11 different grindings stones from the Frydenlund site here (you can rotate and turn them with your mouse).

They also found over 5,000 charred grain kernels of naked barley, emmer wheat, and durum wheat, amongst others.

One might offhand assume that the inhabitants 5,500 years ago ground their cereals into flour and baked bread with it. That has indeed been the typical interpretation of grinding stones from that time.

But they didn’t.

An international research team from Denmark, Germany and Spain has now analysed both the grains and the stones, concluding that the grinding stones were not used to grind cereals.

The researchers examined microscopic mineral plant remains (phytoliths) and starch grains in small cavities on the surfaces of the stones. Surprisingly, they did not find any evidence of grinding of cereals.

The researchers found only few phytoliths on the stones, and the starch grains they identified came from wild plants instead of cereals.

“We have not identified the plants the starch grains originate from. We have merely ruled out the most obvious candidates – namely the cereals found at the settlement, which were not ground, as well as various collected species, including hazelnuts,” explains archaeobotanist, PhD Welmoed Out from Moesgaard Museum.

Together with senior researcher, Dr. Phil. Niels H. Andersen, also from Moesgaard Museum, she led the study recently published in the scientific journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany.

What the grinding stones were used for remains open to interpretation, aside from the fact that they lack clear wear marks from the pushing motions used for grinding grain.

“The trough-shaped querns with traces of pushing movements emerged 500 years later. The grinding stones we studied here were struck with pestles made of stone, like crushing in a mortar. We also found such pestles at the site, resembling rounded, thick stone sausages. However, we have not analysed them for phytoliths or starch,” explains Niels H. Andersen.

This is the first time a state-of-the-art combination of phytolith and starch analyses has been performed on grinding stones from the first farmers in Northern Europe. The results support a hypothesis that archaeobotanists and archaeologists elsewhere in Northern Europe also have proposed after discovering remains of grains cooked into porridge and gruel: that the first farmers did not live on water and bread but rather on water and gruel, alongside berries, nuts, roots, and meat.
And yes, they likely drank water. According to Niels H. Andersen, no definitive traces of beer brewing have been found in Denmark before the Bronze Age.

However, as the two researchers from Moesgaard Museum emphasize: “This study only involves one settlement. While it supports other findings from the Funnel Beaker Culture, we cannot rule out the possibility of different results emerging when this method is applied to finds from other excavations.”

Facts:

The Funnel Beaker Culture was an early farming culture in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe during the period ca. 4000–2800 BCE, marking the introduction of agriculture and cattle farming to Scandinavia. The name refers to the culture's commonly found clay beakers with funnel-shaped necks.
The discovery on Southern Funen is the most extensive find of grinding stones and grains from the Funnel Beaker Culture in the entire region it encompassed.
The study was done in collaboration between researchers from Moesgaard Museum and Aarhus University in Denmark, Kiel University in Germany and the Spanish National Research Council (IMF-CSIC) in Barcelona

Microscopies of four types of archaeological starch granules from different grinding stones from Frydenlund, magnified 400 times (the white bars represent 20 μm), each photographed in both plane-polarized (left) and cross-polarized light. The starch type shown in image a resembles starch from a grass subfamily of the Panicoideae type; the others are unidentified. Click to view the image in a larger format.

Credit

Cristina N. Patús, HUMANE, Barcelona.

Journal

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany

DOI

10.1007/s00334-024-01020-9

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Plant use at Funnel Beaker sites: combined macro- and microremains analysis at the Early Neolithic site of Frydenlund, Denmark (ca. 3600 bce)

Article Publication Date

16-Dec-2024

Growing safer spuds: removing toxins from potatoes

Using genetics to reduce food waste

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of California - Riverside

Adam Jozwiak in his lab — image:
Adam Jozwiak, UC Riverside molecular biochemist in his laboratory.
view more
Credit: Adam Jozwiak/UCR

Scientists have discovered a way to remove toxic compounds from potatoes, making them safer to eat and easier to store. The breakthrough could cut food waste and enhance crop farming in space and other extreme environments.

Potato plants naturally produce chemicals that protect them from insects. The chemicals, called steroidal glycoalkaloids, or SGAs, are found in high quantities in the green parts of potato peels, and in the sprouting areas. They render the potatoes unsafe for insects as well as humans.

"These compounds are critical for plants to ward off insects, but they make certain parts of these crops inedible," said Adam Jozwiak, a UCR molecular biochemist who led the study. "Now that we’ve uncovered the biosynthetic pathway, we can potentially create plants that produce these compounds only in the leaves while keeping the edible parts safe."

Sunlight can induce the production of SGAs in potato tubers — the part of the potato plant that is eaten — even after they’ve been harvested. By identifying a key genetic mechanism in SGA production, UC Riverside researchers may be able reduce potatoes’ toxicity while preserving the plants' natural defenses. Taking SGA out of potatoes will also make them easier to store and transport in open air.

The research, published in Science, focuses on a protein dubbed "GAME15," which plays a key role in directing the plant's production of SGAs. This protein acts both as an enzyme and a scaffold, organizing other enzymes into a "conversion factory" that efficiently produce SGAs while preventing toxic compounds from leaking into other parts of plant cells, where they would wreak havoc.

Tomatoes also produce SGAs, primarily in the green, unripe fruit, as well as in the leaves, stems, and roots of the plants. When the researchers silenced the GAME15 gene in tomatoes, they eliminated SGA production but also made the plants highly susceptible to pests.

By engineering plants to control when and where SGAs are produced, for example, in the leaves but not the potatoes themselves, the researchers envision crops that can be stored without the risk of toxicity from sunlight exposure.

"You could store the potatoes in your kitchen and not worry about exposure to sun, which makes them produce more SGAs. And then you could eat them whenever you want, reducing food waste,” Jozwiak said.

Additionally, the findings could enable the use of other plant parts, such as leaves, for food in limited-space environments like space missions or vertical farming systems. "For space farming, where every part of a plant may need to be edible, these findings are especially promising,” Jozwiak said.

The team achieved these insights by initially recreating the SGA production process in tobacco plants. Surprisingly, they found that during evolution the process redirected protein from the plasma membrane or Golgi apparatus, where it is responsible for the production of cell wall components crucial for cell growth, to the endoplasmic reticulum, a part of the cell where toxin production begins.

“Essentially, the plant borrows from itself to create GAME15,” Jozwiak said. “We did not expect to find the plant hijacking protein it needs for the production of cell walls.”

Green, unripe fruit may be toxic, but during ripening these molecules convert to something edible. By limiting SGAs to non-edible parts of plants, farmers and consumers alike could benefit from safer, more versatile crops.

"Our work demonstrates that plants have evolved ingenious ways to balance growth, reproduction, and defense," Jozwiak said. "Understanding these systems allows us to redesign crops to meet modern needs without compromising their ability to thrive."

This research was a highly collaborative effort involving researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, as well as Kobe University, the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, and Osaka University in Japan. The group’s findings not only hold the promise of healthier food but also represent a leap forward in sustainable agriculture and space exploration.

"We’re thrilled about the potential of this discovery," Jozwiak said. " It’s exciting to think about how we can now significantly extend the shelf life of crops like potatoes and reduce food waste on Earth and beyond.”

Potato and tomato in an experimental environment.

Credit

Adam Jozwiak/UCR

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adq5721

Article Title

A cellulose synthase–like protein governs the biosynthesis of Solanum alkaloids

Article Publication Date

20-Dec-2024

Mitigating animal-vehicle collisions with field sensors, artificial intelligence and ecological modelling

Pensoft Publishers

image:
Roe deer crossing a railway, photographed by a field sensor and automatically identified with artificial intelligence.
view more
Credit: TerrOïko

Collisions between animals and vehicles are a threat to conservation efforts and human safety, and have a massive cost for transport infrastructure managers and users.

Using the opportunities offered by the increasing number of sensors embedded into transport infrastructures and the development of their digital twins, a French research team has developed a method aiming at managing animal-vehicle collisions. The goal is to map the collision risk between trains and ungulates (roe deer and wild boar) by deploying a camera trap network.

Led by Sylvain Moulherat and Léa Pautrel, from OïkoLab and TerrOïko, France, the study is published in the open-access journal Nature Conservation.

The proposed method starts by simulating the most probable movements of animals within and around an infrastructure using an ecological modelling software. This allows the assessment of where they are most likely to cross.

After identifying these collision hotspots, ecological modelling is used again to assist with the design of photo sensor deployment in the field. Various deployment scenarios are modelled to find the one whose predicted results are most consistent with the initial simulation.

Once sensors are deployed, the data collected (in this case, photos) are processed through artificial intelligence (deep learning) to detect and identify species at the infrastructure's vicinity.

Finally, the processed data are fed into an abundance model, which is another type of ecological model. It is used to estimate the probable density of animals in every part of a studied area using data collected at only a few points in that area. The result is a map showing the relative abundance of species and, therefore, the collision risk along an infrastructure.

This method was implemented on an actual section of railway in south-western France, but it can be applied to any type of transport infrastructure. It may be implemented not only on existing infrastructures but also during the conception phase of new ones (as part of the environmental impact assessment strategy).

Such a method paves the way for the integration of biodiversity-oriented monitoring systems into transport infrastructures and their digital twins. As sensors collect data continuously, it could be improved in the future to provide real-time driver information and produce dynamic adaptive maps that could be ultimately sent to autonomous vehicles.

A map showing estimated abundance along a railway section

Example of a map showing the estimated relative abundance of a species along a railway section. The higher the abundance, the higher the collision risk.
Credit
TerrOïko

Original source

Moulherat S, Pautrel L, Debat G, Etienne M-P, Gendron L, Hautière N, Tarel J-P, Testud G, Gimenez O (2024) Biodiversity monitoring with intelligent sensors: An integrated pipeline for mitigating animal-vehicle collisions. In: Papp C-R, Seiler A, Bhardwaj M, François D, Dostál I (Eds) Connecting people, connecting landscapes. Nature Conservation 57: 103-124. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.57.108950

Journal

Nature Conservation

DOI

10.3897/natureconservation.57.108950

Article Title

Biodiversity monitoring with intelligent sensors: An integrated pipeline for mitigating animal-vehicle collisions

Article Publication Date

16-Dec-2024

One in five young Spaniards is an at-risk consumer of TikTok, spending more than two hours a day on the app, according to a study by UPF and the UOC

More girls (24.37%) than boys (15.45%) spend more than two hours a day on TikTok, above the recommended threshold to avoid risks to cognitive and emotional well-being.

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona

Up to one in five young Spaniards spends more than two hours a day on TikTok and exceeds the recommended threshold for the use of social networks, as of which the risk of suffering mental health problems may increase. The proportion of girls above this risk threshold (24.37%) is clearly higher than that of boys (15.45%). This is revealed by a study led by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), in collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), recently published in open access in the journal Nature.

While previous studies had already analysed the impact of social media in general on young people’s mental health, this research is a pioneer in the analysis of the specific effects of TikTok on adolescents’ digital well-being. TikTok has specific features compared to other networks (such as Instagram, X or Facebook), especially because it promotes more passive consumption of videos and less interaction between users. In addition, it is the most popular social network among young people around the world, especially in Spain, the state where it is consumed by the highest percentage of teenagers.

For this study, a survey was conducted on 1,043 young people from all over Spain between the ages of 12 and 18 to examine the amount of time they spend on Tiktok and the types of content they view. Their perception of their own digital well-being was also assessed. Digital well-being is understood as the state of optimal balance between connection time and cognitive and emotional well-being. In this study, three variables were measured in relation to digital well-being: the young people’s ability to set their own connection time limits; the ability to generate social and community connections; and the capacity for emotional resilience.

The principal investigator of the research is Mònika Jiménez, of the Communication, Advertising and Society (CAS) research group of the UPF Department of Communication, who led the research together with Mireia Montaña, from the Learning, Media and Entertainment research group (GAME) of Information and Communication Sciences Studies at the UOC. On behalf of UPF, Clara Virós, lead author of the article published in Nature, also participated.

More than half of young people spend more than an hour a day on TikTok

Regarding the time spent on Tiktok, the research finds that more than half of the young people surveyed (53.19%) spend more than an hour a day on the app, 35.28% more than an hour and a half, and 20.22% more than two hours, with a significantly higher percentage of girls in the latter case (24.37%). In this sense, several previous studies have found that using social networks for more than two hours a day is associated with low self-esteem in terms of body image, a negative perception of one’s own mental health, and an increased risk of psychological stress or suicidal thoughts.

The time spent by young people on TikTok contrasts with the self-perception of their level of digital well-being, which is generally positive. On a scale of 1 to 5, they rate their ability to set limits on consumption time with a score of 3.22; their emotional resilience in view of the content watched, 3.31; and their ability to generate social and community connections, 3.64.

The longer they spend on TikTok, the less young people’s ability to set app consumption limits

However, Mònika Jiménez (UPF) warns: “the longer young people spend in Tiktok, the less able they are to set connection time limits on the app”. Young people who spend more than two hours a day on TikTok rate their ability to set limits with a score of 2.93 out of 5, while those who spend between half an hour and an hour on it award 3.33. Those who spend between 11 minutes and half an hour (awarding 3.47) or those who spend less than 10 minutes (3.53) are most able to limit their consumption time.

Content viewed on TikTok by boys and girls reveals the persistence of traditional gender roles

The research also reveals significant differences in the types of content consumed on TikTok by teenage boys and girls, as Mireia Montaña (UOC) explains: “boys are predominantly interested in video game and professional sports content, while girls tend to consume more beauty and fashion content, thus showing a persistence of traditional gender roles in digital consumption preferences”.

Regarding the type of content consumed, the adolescents surveyed rated from 1 (never) to 5 (always) the frequency with which they watch videos of different types. Beyond comical and music videos, which are among the three most watched by both sexes, the rest of the content most consumed by boys and girls differs. In the case of girls, the five most watched contents are: comedy (3.24), music (3.22), fashion (3.02), beauty (3) and dance or people doing playback (2.88). For boys, they are comedy (3.50), video games (3.19), music (3.06), professional sports (3.01) and news from influencers or streamers (2.92).

Young people’s digital well-being is not just a question of parental control: educational programmes and periodic audits of TikTok algorithms are needed

In the light of this situation, the study considers that measures to improve the digital well-being of young people cannot be limited to parental control of the app or digital disconnection. Educational programmes are also needed to promote healthy digital habits among young people and to provide their families with more support strategies to enable this, with a gender perspective. The study warns that indiscriminate restrictive measures do not work, rather there is a need to encourage each young person to maintain a level of moderate consumption of social networks, in keeping with their interests and needs. It also insists that regular audits of the algorithms of networks like TikTok should be evaluated to prevent their potentially addictive effects.

This study is part of the project “Spanish adolescents as recipients and creators of content on mental health in social networks. Discourse, incidence and the proposal of tools for digital literacy on psychological disorders and their stigma”, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

Reference article:

Virós-Martín, C., Montaña-Blasco, M. & Jiménez-Morales, M. Can’t stop scrolling! Adolescents’ patterns of TikTok use and digital well-being self-perception. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11, 1444 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03984-5

Journal

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

DOI

10.1057/s41599-024-03984-5

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Can’t stop scrolling! Adolescents’ patterns of TikTok use and digital well-being self-perception

Dripstones offer insights into climate dynamics in Europe

Geoscientists study stalagmites in Romanian cave to reconstruct regional precipitation patterns

Heidelberg University

Investigations into precipitation patterns in eastern Central Europe since the end of the last ice age, conducted by an international research team led by Dr Sophie Warken of Heidelberg University, have shown that dynamic processes in atmospheric circulation, such as the North Atlantic jet stream, influence regional changes in precipitation. The researchers analyzed dripstones from the Cloşani Cave in Romania, which act as a natural climate archive that allows conclusions to be drawn about precipitation variability over a period of approximately 20,000 years. According to Dr Warken, the new findings on the dynamics of the climate in Europe could contribute to improving current climate models and the ability to more accurately predict the likelihood of extreme weather events.

Of particular importance for the regional weather and precipitation patterns in Europe’s mid-latitudes is the North Atlantic jet stream, an atmospheric air flow that crosses the North Atlantic in a southwest-to-northeast direction carrying precipitation to Europe. In the past, climatic changes did affect the strength and trajectory of the jet stream – that much is known. But as Dr Warken explains, our understanding of how climate-induced fluctuations in the jet stream influenced local and regional precipitation patterns in Europe is limited.

Natural climate archives, like the dripstones in the Cloşani Cave in Romania, can provide information on the climate dynamics of bygone ages. The lime deposits, also known as speleothems, form from precipitation that seeps into the cave’s interior over several thousands of years. Geochemical investigations allow conclusions to be drawn about the chronology of the deposits and thus past environmental conditions and precipitation amounts. The current study focused on three stalagmites that contain information on the hydroclimatic conditions in eastern Central Europe over the past 20,000 years.

The results show how the trajectory of the North Atlantic jet stream changed due to the warming and melting of the ice sheets of the Northern hemisphere – a process that lasted until about 5,000 years ago. As a result, precipitation in the late last Ice Age about 20,000 years ago and the early to mid-Holocene – the current interglacial epoch that followed the last Ice Age about 7,000 years ago – was 20 to 30 percent higher than it is today. It turns out that precipitation variability in the region over comparatively short time periods of centuries or even just decades fluctuated irrespective of long-term temperature developments in the North Atlantic region.

“Our research shows that dynamic processes in particular, such as changes in wind patterns and atmospheric currents like the jet stream, influence the precipitation and weather patterns in Central Europe,” stresses Dr Warken. This helps fill in a research gap, she explains, because former reconstructions mainly refer to thermodynamic processes, i.e., the warming of the atmosphere, and thereby directly connect a rise in temperature to an increase in precipitation. These reconstructions are often based on climate models still fraught with uncertainties in simulating local and regional precipitation patterns.

“Climate change is already leading to more frequent and intense precipitation events; based on current prognoses, the number of extreme weather events and heavy rainfall in several regions in Europe will continue to rise,” states Dr Warken. A better understanding of the underlying dynamic processes is key to more accurately predict future precipitation patterns and the likelihood of extreme weather events. Against this backdrop, the current results from the Cloşani Cave can help improve the accuracy of climate models and prognoses, adds the geoscientist, who together with her research group at the Institutes of Earth Sciences and Environmental Physics of Heidelberg University is reconstructing the climate of past millennia.

The research was carried out in collaboration with scientists from the Universities of Mainz and Innsbruck (Austria). Also involved were other institutions in Germany and Romania. The results were published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment”.

Journal

Communications Earth & Environment

DOI

10.1038/s43247-024-01876-9

Article Title

Dynamic processes determine precipitation variability in Eastern Central Europe since the Last Glacial Maximum