Obesity and Male Reproduction: Do Sirtuins Play a Role?

Obesity is a major current public health problem of global significance. A progressive sperm quality decline, and a decline in male fertility, have been reported in recent decades. Several studies have reported a strict relationship between obesity and male reproductive dysfunction. Among the many mechanisms by which obesity impairs male gonadal function, sirtuins (SIRTs) have an emerging role. SIRTs are highly conserved nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent deacetylases that play a role in gene regulation, metabolism, aging, and cancer. SIRTs regulate the energy balance, the lipid balance, glucose metabolism, and adipogenesis, but current evidence also indicates a role for SIRTs in male reproduction. However, the majority of the studies have been conducted in animal models and very few have been conducted with humans. This review shows that SIRTs play an important role among the molecular mechanisms by which obesity interferes with male fertility. This highlights the need to deepen this relationship. It will be of particular interest to evaluate whether synthetic and/or natural compounds capable of modifying the activity of SIRTs may also be useful for the treatment of obesity and its effects on gonadal function. Although few studies have explored the role of SIRT activators in obesity-induced male infertility, some molecules, such as resveratrol, appear to be effective in modulating SIRT activity, as well as counteracting the negative effects of obesity on male fertility. The search for strategies to improve male reproductive function in overweight/obese patients is a challenge and understanding the role of SIRTs and their activators may open new interesting scenarios in the coming years.     

Gaucher Disease Diagnosis Using Lyso-Gb1 on Dry Blood Spot Samples: Time to Change the Paradigm?

For years, the gold standard for diagnosing Gaucher disease (GD) has been detecting reduced β-glucocerebrosidase (GCase) activity in peripheral blood cells combined with GBA1 mutation analysis. The use of dried blood spot (DBS) specimens offers many advantages, including easy collection, the need for a small amount of blood, and simpler transportation. However, DBS has limitations for measuring GCase activity. In this paper, we recount our cross-sectional study and publish seven years of experience using DBS samples and levels of the deacylated form of glucocerebroside, glucosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb1), for GD diagnosis. Of 444 screened subjects, 99 (22.3%) were diagnosed with GD at a median (range) age of 21 (1–78) years. Lyso-Gb levels for genetically confirmed GD patients vs. subjects negative to GD diagnosis were 252 (9–1340) ng/mL and 5.4 (1.5–16) ng/mL, respectively. Patients diagnosed with GD1 and mild GBA1 variants had lower median (range) lyso-Gb1, 194 (9–1050), compared to GD1 and severe GBA1 variants, 447 (38–1340) ng/mL, and neuronopathic GD, 325 (116–1270) ng/mL (p = 0.001). Subjects with heterozygous GBA1 variants (carrier) had higher lyso-Gb1 levels, 5.8 (2.5–15.3) ng/mL, compared to wild-type GBA1, 4.9 (1.5–16), ng/mL (p = 0.001). Lyso-Gb1 levels, median (range), were 5 (2.7–10.7) in heterozygous GBA1 carriers with Parkinson’s disease (PD), similar to lyso-Gb1 levels in subjects without PD. We call for a paradigm change for the diagnosis of GD based on lyso-Gb1 measurements and confirmatory GBA1 mutation analyses in DBS. Lyso-Gb1 levels could not be used to differentiate between heterozygous GBA1 carriers and wild type.     

Cellular and Molecular Signatures of Oxidative Stress in Bronchial Epithelial Cell Models Injured by Cigarette Smoke Extract

Exposure of the airways epithelium to environmental insults, including cigarette smoke, results in increased oxidative stress due to unbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in favor of oxidants. Oxidative stress is a feature of inflammation and promotes the progression of chronic lung diseases, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Increased oxidative stress leads to exhaustion of antioxidant defenses, alterations in autophagy/mitophagy and cell survival regulatory mechanisms, thus promoting cell senescence. All these events are amplified by the increase of inflammation driven by oxidative stress. Several models of bronchial epithelial cells are used to study the molecular mechanisms and the cellular functions altered by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exposure, and to test the efficacy of molecules with antioxidant properties. This review offers a comprehensive synthesis of human in-vitro and ex-vivo studies published from 2011 to 2021 describing the molecular and cellular mechanisms evoked by CSE exposure in bronchial epithelial cells, the most used experimental models and the mechanisms of action of cellular antioxidants systems as well as natural and synthetic antioxidant compounds.     

Toward the prediction of porous membrane permeability from morphological data

One of the challenges in membrane technology is predicting permeability in porous membranes for liquid applications in an easy and inexpensive way. This is the aim of this work. To achieve this objective, several techniques can be considered. In this study, a morphological approach from two‐dimensional scanning electron micrographs is proposed. First, numerical membrane morphological parameters have been determined from micrographs by using the QUANTS tool, which applies a texture recognition process. Second, the obtained data have been fit to the Darcy's and Hagen–Poiseuille models to calculate permeations. The QUANTS results have also been compared with the ones obtained through a mercury porosimeter, which is a classic and well‐known methodology. Each parameter of the Hagen–Poiseuille model has been analyzed. A comparison between experimentally measured permeations and calculated ones has been performed. An even easier approach is proposed to predict flow rate with the only knowledge of membrane surface mean pore size. This method is based on cross‐section pore size interpolation by using function fits from surface mean pore sizes. The obtained results show a reasonable agreement between measured and computed results, making this technique a valid approach for predicting membrane permeability. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:118–124, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

P450 BM3 Monooxygenase as an Efficient NAD(P)H‐Oxidase for Regeneration of Nicotinamide Cofactors in ADH‐Catalysed Preparative Scale Biotransformations

Enzymatic oxidations of primary and secondary alcohols catalysed by nicotinamide dependent alcohol dehydrogenases on the preparative scale require cofactor regeneration systems. Of critical value from an economic and ecological perspective is the application of NAD(P)H‐oxidases, which utilise molecular oxygen as a cost‐effective, atom‐efficient and environmentally benign oxidant to regenerate the cofactor NAD(P)⁺. Herein, the P450 BM3 monooxygenase from Bacillus megaterium is presented as an NAD(P)H‐oxidase for the successful regeneration of both NADP⁺ and NAD⁺ on the preparative scale. This enzyme was exemplarily applied for ADH‐catalysed oxidative kinetic resolutions of racemic secondary alcohols and the desymmetrisation of a meso‐diol leading to enantiomerically enriched secondary alcohols in both cases. Furthermore, the ADH‐catalysed oxidation of a primary alcohol targeting the corresponding aldehyde was performed. The obtained results significantly broaden the scope of feasible oxidative biotransformations, thereby increasing the number of synthetic reactions complying with key challenges of a modern and sustainable chemistry such as mild reaction conditions, environmentally benign solvents, and biodegradable non‐toxic catalysts.

     

Continuous production of soybean biodiesel with compressed ethanol in a microtube reactor using carbon dioxide as co-solvent

This work investigates the production of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from the transesterification of soybean oil in supercritical ethanol in a continuous catalyst-free process using carbon dioxide as co-solvent. The experiments were performed in a microtube reactor in the temperature range of 523 K to 598 K, from 10 MPa to 20 MPa, oil to ethanol molar ratio from 1:20 to 1:40, and co-solvent to substrates mass ratio from 0.05:1 to 0.2:1. Results showed that ethyl esters yield obtained increased with increasing addition of carbon dioxide to the system. Considerable reaction yields were achieved at 598 K, 20 MPa, oil to ethanol molar ratio of 1:20 and using a CO₂ to substrate mass ratio of 0.2:1.     

Nutritional knowledge and consumption frequency of foods--a case study

The relationship between nutritional knowledge and the consumption frequency of preferred food-types was studied among one sample of Uruguayan consumers. A locally-adapted version of Parmenter & Wardle's General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire and a food consumption survey based on 39 food groups were completed by a total of 270 participants. Cluster Analysis enabled the identification of two clusters showing different levels of nutritional knowledge--cluster 1 (n = 177) and cluster 2 (n = 93), providing an average of 73.6% and 52.9% of correct answers, respectively. These clusters differed significantly (p < or = 0.05) in age and educational distribution--cluster 1 was composed mainly by older adults and persons with a higher educational level. A number of areas were identified where nutritional knowledge was extremely poor, as was the case with the recommended daily fruit and vegetable intake and the caloric content of the nutrients. Overall, nutritional knowledge was found to have a positive influence on food preferences and consumption frequency, those participants with a higher nutritional knowledge reporting a higher consumption of fruits, vegetables and low-fat products, in addition to a lower consumption of high-fat and high-sugar foods.     

A facile spin-cast route for cation exchange of multilayer perpendicularly-aligned nanorod assemblies

A facile spin cast route was developed to convert perpendicularly aligned nanorod assemblies of cadmium chalcogenides into their silver and copper analogues. The assemblies are rapidly cation exchanged without affecting either the individual rod dimensions or collective superlattice order extending over several multilayers.     

Efficiency of 4,4′‐bis(N,N‐diethylamino) benzophenone for the polymerization of dimethacrylate resins in thick sections

The efficiency of 4,4′‐bis(N,N‐diethylamino)benzophenone (DEABP) for the polymerization of dimethacrylate monomers in thick sections ( 1 – 2 mm) was studied. DEABP (λ_max = 365 nm) represents a complete initiating system as it contains both ketone and amine functional groups. During irradiation, DEABP photobleaches at a fast rate causing deeper penetration of light through the underlying layers, but the photoinitiation efficiency (rate of polymerization per photon absorption rate) is relatively poor. As a result, irradiation of methacrylate monomers at 365 nm results in a slow average polymerization rate and a reduced monomer conversion for thick sections due to the light attenuation caused by the high absorptivity of DEABP and photolysis products. These results highlight the inherent interlinking of light attenuation and photobleaching rate in polymerization of thick sections. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry