Plant-based diets benefit aerobic performance and do not compromise strength/power performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Plant-based diets have emerged as athletic performance enhancers for various types of exercise. Therefore, the present study evaluated the effectiveness of plant-based diets on aerobic and strength/power performances, as well as on BMI of physically active individuals. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted and reported according to the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. A systematic search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus, was performed. On the basis of the search and inclusion criteria, four and six studies evaluating the effects of plant-based diets on aerobic and strength/power performances in humans were, respectively, included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Plant-based diets had a moderate but positive effect on aerobic performance (0·55; 95 % CI 0·29, 0·81) and no effect on strength/power performance (-0·30; 95 % CI -0·67, 0·07). The altogether analyses of both aerobic and strength/power exercises revealed that athletic performance was unchanged (0·01; 95 % CI -0·21, 0·22) in athletes who adopted plant-based diets. However, a small negative effect on BMI (-0·27; 95 % CI -0·40, -0·15) was induced by these diets. The results indicate that plant-based diets have the potential to exclusively assist aerobic performance. On the other hand, these diets do not jeopardise strength/power performance. Overall, the predicted effects of plant-based diets on physical performance are impactless, even though the BMI of their adherents is reduced.

Feeding incremental amounts of ground flaxseed: effects on diversity and relative abundance of ruminal microbiota and enteric methane emissions in lactating dairy cows.

We evaluated the effects of incremental amounts of ground flaxseed (GFX) on diversity and relative abundance of ruminal microbiota taxa, enteric methane (CH4) emissions, and urinary excretion of purine derivatives (PD) in lactating dairy cows in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design. Twenty mid-lactation Jersey cows were used in the study. Of these 20 cows, 12 were used for ruminal sampling, 16 for enteric CH4 measurements, and all for spot urine collection. Each period lasted 21 d with 14 d for diet adaptation and 7 d for data and sample collection. Diets were formulated by replacing corn meal and soybean meal with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% of GFX in the diet's dry matter. Ruminal fluid samples obtained via stomach tubing were used for DNA extraction. Enteric CH4 production was measured using the sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique. Diets had no effect on ruminal microbiota diversity. Similarly, the relative abundance of ruminal archaea genera was not affected by diets. In contrast, GFX decreased or increased linearly the relative abundance of Firmicutes (P < 0.01) and Bacteroidetes (P < 0.01), respectively. The relative abundance of the ruminal bacteria Ruminococcus (P < 0.01) and Clostridium (P < 0.01) decreased linearly, and that of Prevotella (P < 0.01) and Pseudobutyrivibrio (P < 0.01) increased linearly with feeding GFX. A tendency for a linear reduction (P = 0.055) in enteric CH4 production (from 304 to 256 g/d) was observed in cows fed increasing amounts of GFX. However, neither CH4 yield nor CH4 intensity was affected by treatments. Diets had no effect on the urinary excretion of uric acid, allantoin, and total PD. Overall, feeding GFX decreased linearly the relative abundance of the ruminal bacterial genera Ruminococcus and Clostridium and enteric CH4 production, but no change was seen for CH4 yield and CH4 intensity, or urinary excretion of total PD, suggesting no detrimental effect of GFX on microbial protein synthesis in the rumen.

Performance and Profitability of Rain-Based Thresholds for Timing Fungicide Applications in Soybean Rust Control.

Soybean rust (SBR), caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is the most damaging disease of soybean in Brazil. Effective management is achieved by means of calendar-timed sprays of fungicide mixtures, which do not explicitly consider weather-associated disease risk. Two rain-based action thresholds of disease severity values (DSV50 and DSV80) were proposed and compared with two leaf wetness duration-temperature thresholds of daily values of infection probability (DVIP6 and DVIP9) and with a calendar program, with regard to performance and profitability. An unsprayed check treatment plot was included for calculating relative control. Disease severity and yield data were obtained from 29 experiments conducted at six sites across four states in Brazil during the 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2015-16 growing seasons, which represented different growing regions and climatic conditions. The less conservative rainfall action threshold (DSV80) resulted in fewer fungicide sprays compared with the other treatments, and the more conservative one (DSV50) resulted in fewer sprays than the DVIP thresholds. Yield was generally higher with the increase in spray number, but the economic analysis showed no significant differences in the risk of not offsetting the costs of fungicide sprays regardless of the system. Therefore, based on the simplicity and the profitability of the rain-based model, the system is a good candidate for incorporating into the management of SBR in soybean production fields in Brazil.

Gamma-ray attenuation to evaluate soil porosity: an analysis of methods.

Soil porosity (ϕ) is of a great deal for environmental studies due to the fact that water infiltrates and suffers redistribution in the soil pore space. Many physical and biochemical processes related to environmental quality occur in the soil porous system. Representative determinations of ϕ are necessary due to the importance of this physical property in several fields of natural sciences. In the current work, two methods to evaluate ϕ were analyzed by means of gamma-ray attenuation technique. The first method uses the soil attenuation approach through dry soil and saturated samples, whereas the second one utilizes the same approach but taking into account dry soil samples to assess soil bulk density and soil particle density to determine ϕ. The results obtained point out a good correlation between both methods. However, when ϕ is obtained through soil water content at saturation and a 4 mm collimator is used to collimate the gamma-ray beam the first method also shows good correlations with the traditional one.

Antibody-mediated rejection, T cell-mediated rejection, and the injury-repair response: new insights from the Genome Canada studies of kidney transplant biopsies.

Prospective studies of unselected indication biopsies from kidney transplants, combining conventional assessment with molecular analysis, have created a new understanding of transplant disease states and their outcomes. A large-scale Genome Canada grant permitted us to use conventional and molecular phenotypes to create a new disease classification. T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR), characterized histologically or molecularly, has little effect on outcomes. Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) manifests as microcirculation lesions and transcript changes reflecting endothelial injury, interferon-γ effects, and natural killer cells. ABMR is frequently C4d negative and has been greatly underestimated by conventional criteria. Indeed, ABMR, triggered in some cases by non-adherence, is the major disease causing failure. Progressive dysfunction is usually attributable to specific diseases, and pure calcineurin inhibitor toxicity rarely explains failure. The importance of ABMR argues against immunosuppressive drug minimization and stands as a barrier to tolerance induction. Microarrays also defined the transcripts induced by acute kidney injury (AKI), which correlate with reduced function, whereas histologic changes of acute tubular injury do not. AKI transcripts are induced in kidneys with late dysfunction, and are better predictors of failure than fibrosis and inflammation. Thus progression reflects ongoing parenchymal injury, usually from identifiable diseases such as ABMR, not destructive fibrosis.