Food is a potent natural reward and food intake is a complex process. Reward and gratification associated with food consumption leads to dopamine (DA) production, which in turn activates reward and pleasure centers in the brain. An individual will repeatedly eat a particular food to experience this positive feeling of gratification. This type of repetitive behavior of food intake leads to the activation of brain reward pathways that eventually overrides other signals of satiety and hunger. Thus, a gratification habit through a favorable food leads to overeating and morbid obesity. Overeating and obesity stems from many biological factors engaging both central and peripheral systems in a bi-directional manner involving mood and emotions. Emotional eating and altered mood can also lead to altered food choice and intake leading to overeating and obesity. Research findings from human and animal studies support a two-way link between three concepts, mood, food, and obesity. The focus of this article is to provide an overview of complex nature of food intake where various biological factors link mood, food intake, and brain signaling that engages both peripheral and central nervous system signaling pathways in a bi-directional manner in obesity.

/pdf/mood-food-and-obesity-4nq2xhhqx0.pdf

Mood, food, and obesity

Aims: The aim of the study was to summarize results of recent epidemiological research on adolescent alcohol use and its consequences, to outline the risk factors for drinking in adolescents and to consider effective treatment and preventative interventions. Methods: A literature review of relevant studies on adolescent alcohol use. Results: Alcohol use and other risk-taking behaviours such as smoking, substance use and risky sexual behaviour emerge in adolescence and tend to cluster together. Heavy alcohol consumption in late adolescence appears to persist into adulthood and is associated with alcohol problems, including dependence, premature death and diminished work capacity. Early identification of adolescent risk factors may be helpful in preventing and/or attenuating risk. Conclusion: There is a need for high-quality long-term prospective cohort studies to investigate the long-term consequences of adoles- cent drinking and further work is needed to identify the most effective intervention strategies. The term 'adolescent' is an adjective describing a young person in the process of developing from a child into an adult and dates from the late 18th century (Oxford English Dictionary). It is derived from the Latin verb 'adolescere' which means 'to grow up'. This short paper will review pat- terns of drinking in adolescence and the risk factors that are thought to predispose to the development of alcohol use and other co-morbid disorders in this age group. Alcohol is the world's third largest risk factor for disease and contributes to 4% of the global burden of disease (Rehm et al., 2009). It is estimated that ~2.5 million deaths each year are directly attributable to alcohol, with 9% of deaths in the 15- to 29-year age group being alcohol-related (WHO, 2011). When data from the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease study were used to calculate cause-specific disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for young people aged 10-24 years, the main risk factors were found to be alcohol (7% of DALYs), unsafe sex (4%), iron deficiency (3%), lack of contraception (2%) and illicit drug use (2%) (Gore et al., 2011). The contribution of other risk factors to disease, such as tobacco use, low physical activity and overweight/obesity only emerged in mid-to-late adulthood. These findings suggest that public health strategies should focus on child and adolescent health, and that adolescent drinking should be given priority (Gore et al., 2011).

Adolescent Alcohol Use: Risks and Consequences

https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33490762/5410194.pdf?sequence=1

Sensitive periods of substance abuse: Early risk for the transition to dependence.

Aging is a major risk factor for most chronic diseases and functional impairments. Within a homogeneous age sample there is a considerable variation in the extent of disease and functional impairment risk, revealing a need for valid biomarkers to aid in characterizing the complex aging processes. The identification of biomarkers is further complicated by the diversity of biological living situations, lifestyle activities and medical treatments. Thus, there has been no identification of a single biomarker or gold standard tool that can monitor successful or healthy aging. Within this short review the current knowledge of putative biomarkers is presented, focusing on their application to the major physiological mechanisms affected by the aging process including physical capability, nutritional status, body composition, endocrine and immune function. This review emphasizes molecular and DNA-based biomarkers, as well as recent advances in other biomarkers such as microRNAs, bilirubin or advanced glycation end products.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/8/6/338/pdf

Biomarkers of Aging: From Function to Molecular Biology.

Metallothioneins (MTs) are small cysteine-rich proteins that play important roles in metal homeostasis and protection against heavy metal toxicity, DNA damage, and oxidative stress. In humans, MTs have four main isoforms (MT1, MT2, MT3, and MT4) that are encoded by genes located on chromosome 16q13. MT1 comprises eight known functional (sub)isoforms (MT1A, MT1B, MT1E, MT1F, MT1G, MT1H, MT1M, and MT1X). Emerging evidence shows that MTs play a pivotal role in tumor formation, progression, and drug resistance. However, the expression of MTs is not universal in all human tumors and may depend on the type and differentiation status of tumors, as well as other environmental stimuli or gene mutations. More importantly, the differential expression of particular MT isoforms can be utilized for tumor diagnosis and therapy. This review summarizes the recent knowledge on the functions and mechanisms of MTs in carcinogenesis and describes the differential expression and regulation of MT isoforms in various malignant tumors. The roles of MTs in tumor growth, differentiation, angiogenesis, metastasis, microenvironment remodeling, immune escape, and drug resistance are also discussed. Finally, this review highlights the potential of MTs as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis and introduces some current applications of targeting MT isoforms in cancer therapy. The knowledge on the MTs may provide new insights for treating cancer and bring hope for the elimination of cancer.

/pdf/the-roles-of-metallothioneins-in-carcinogenesis-2qz1mgtmjt.pdf

The roles of metallothioneins in carcinogenesis.

Adolescence is the developmental epoch during which children become adults - intellectually, physically, hormonally, and socially. Adolescence is a tumultuous time, full of changes and transformations. The pubertal transition to adulthood involves both gonadal and behavioral maturation. Magnetic resonance imaging studies have discovered that myelinogenesis, required for proper insulation and efficient neurocybernetics, continues from childhood and the brain's region-specific neurocircuitry remains structurally and functionally vulnerable to impulsive sex, food, and sleep habits. The maturation of the adolescent brain is also influenced by heredity, environment, and sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone), which play a crucial role in myelination. Furthermore, glutamatergic neurotransmission predominates, whereas gamma-aminobutyric acid neurotransmission remains under construction, and this might be responsible for immature and impulsive behavior and neurobehavioral excitement during adolescent life. The adolescent population is highly vulnerable to driving under the influence of alcohol and social maladjustments due to an immature limbic system and prefrontal cortex. Synaptic plasticity and the release of neurotransmitters may also be influenced by environmental neurotoxins and drugs of abuse including cigarettes, caffeine, and alcohol during adolescence. Adolescents may become involved with offensive crimes, irresponsible behavior, unprotected sex, juvenile courts, or even prison. According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the major cause of death among the teenage population is due to injury and violence related to sex and substance abuse. Prenatal neglect, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption may also significantly impact maturation of the adolescent brain. Pharmacological interventions to regulate adolescent behavior have been attempted with limited success. Since several factors, including age, sex, disease, nutritional status, and substance abuse have a significant impact on the maturation of the adolescent brain, we have highlighted the influence of these clinically significant and socially important aspects in this report.

/pdf/maturation-of-the-adolescent-brain-ycwnknyokl.pdf

Maturation of the adolescent brain

Effect of diet on serotonergic neurotransmission in depression.

Mammalian metallothioneins (MTs) are low molecular weight (6-7 kDa) cysteine- rich proteins that are specifically induced by metal nanoparticles (NPs). MT induction in cell therapy may provide better protection by serving as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic agents, and by augmenting zinc-mediated transcriptional regulation of genes involved in cell proliferation and differentiation. Liposome-encapsulated MT-1 promoter has been used exten- sively to induce growth hormone or other genes in culture and gene-manipulated animals. MTs are induced as a defensive mechanism in chronic inflammatory conditions including neurode - generative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and infections, hence can serve as early and sensitive biomarkers of environmental safety and effectiveness of newly developed NPs for clinical applications. Microarray analysis has indicated that MTs are significantly induced in drug resistant cancers and during radiation treatment. Nutritional stress and environmental toxins (eg, kainic acid and domoic acid) induce MTs and aggregation of multilamellar electron-dense membrane stacks (Charnoly body) due to mitochondrial degeneration. MTs enhance mitochon- drial bioenergetics of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex-1), a rate-limiting enzyme complex involved in the oxidative phosphorylation. Monoamine oxidase-B inhibitors (eg, selegiline) inhibit α-synuclein nitration, implicated in Lewy body formation, and inhibit 1-methyl 4-phenylpyridinium and 3-morpholinosydnonimine- induced apoptosis in cultured human dopaminergic neurons and mesencephalic fetal stem cells. MTs as free radical scavengers inhibit Charnoly body formation and neurodegenerative α-synucleinopathies, hence Charnoly body formation and α-synuclein index may be used as early and sensitive biomarkers to assess NP effectiveness and toxicity to discover better drug delivery and surgical interventions. Furthermore, pharmacological interventions augmenting MTs may facilitate the theranostic potential of NP-labeled cells and other therapeutic agents. These unique characteristics of MTs might be helpful in the synthesis, characterization, and functionalization of emerging NPs for theranostic applications. This report highlights the clini- cal significance of MTs and their versatility as early, sensitive biomarkers in cell-based therapy

/pdf/clinical-significance-of-metallothioneins-in-cell-therapy-wsgabionpf.pdf

Clinical significance of metallothioneins in cell therapy and nanomedicine

Liver, heart and abdominal muscle samples from scalloped (Sphyrna lewini) and smooth (Sphyrna zygaena) hammerhead sharks were analysed to characterise their lipid and fatty acid profiles. Samples were compared both between and within species, but there were no significant differences in total lipids for either comparison, although much greater total amounts were found in the liver samples. Within the individual fatty acids, the only significant differences were greater amounts of 22:6n-3, total n-3 polyunsaturates and total polyunsaturates in smooth, when compared to scalloped, hammerhead liver. This may reflect the more wide spread distribution of this species into cooler waters. Within both species the liver levels of the same fatty acid fractions decreased from spring to summer, which may correlate with changes in fatty acid profile to adapt to any differences in amount or species of prey consumed, or other considerations, eg. buoyancy, however there was no data to clarify this.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186%2F2193-1801-3-521.pdf

Comparison of total lipids and fatty acids from liver, heart and abdominal muscle of scalloped (Sphyrna lewini) and smooth (Sphyrna zygaena) hammerhead sharks

Many blockchain processes require pseudo-random numbers. This is especially true of blockchain consensus mechanisms that aim to fairly distribute the opportunity to propose new blocks between the participants in the system. The starting point for these processes is a source of randomness that participants cannot manipulate. This paper proposes two methods for embedding random number seeds in a blockchain data structure to serve as inputs to pseudo-random number generators. Because the output of a pseudo-random number generator depends deterministically on its seed, the properties of the seed are critical to the quality of the eventual pseudo-random number produced. Our protocol, B-Rand, embeds random number seeds that are confidential, tamper-resistant, unpredictable, collision-resistant, and publicly verifiable as part of every transaction. These seeds may then be used by transaction owners to participate in processes in the blockchain system that require pseudo-random numbers. Both the Single Secret and Double Secret B-Rand protocols are highly scalable with low space and computational cost, and the worst case is linear in the number of transactions per block.

Wynand Nel

Papers

Maturation of the adolescent brain

Effect of diet on serotonergic neurotransmission in depression.

Clinical significance of metallothioneins in cell therapy and nanomedicine

Comparison of total lipids and fatty acids from liver, heart and abdominal muscle of scalloped (Sphyrna lewini) and smooth (Sphyrna zygaena) hammerhead sharks

Embedding Tamper-Resistant, Publicly Verifiable Random Number Seeds in Permissionless Blockchain Systems