Nesfatin-1, a satiety-inducing peptide identified in hypothalamic regions that regulate energy balance, is an integral regulator of energy homeostasis and a putative glucose-dependent insulin coadjuvant. We investigated its production by human cardiomyocytes and its effects on glucose uptake, in the main cardiac glucose transporter GLUT-4 and in intracellular signaling. Quantitative RT-PCR, Western blots, confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, and ELISA of human and murine cardiomyocytes and/or cardiac tissue showed that cardiomyocytes can synthesize and secrete nesfatin-1. Confocal microscopy of cultured cardiomyocytes after GLUT-4 labeling showed that nesfatin-1 mobilizes this glucose transporter to cell peripherals. The rate of 2-deoxy-D-[(3)H]glucose incorporation demonstrated that nesfatin-1 induces glucose uptake by HL-1 cells and cultured cardiomyocytes. Nesfatin-1 induced dose- and time-dependent increases in the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, AKT, and AS160. In murine and human cardiac tissue, nesfatin-1 levels varied with diet and coronary health. In conclusion, human and murine cardiomyocytes can synthesize and secrete nesfatin-1, which is able to induce glucose uptake and the mobilization of the glucose transporter GLUT-4 in these cells. Nesfatin-1 cardiac levels are regulated by diet and coronary health.

Elevated circulating plasma levels of both lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and chemerin are reported in patients with obesity, but few studies are available on lifestyle intervention programs. We investigated the association of both LBP and chemerin plasma levels with metabolic syndrome (MetS) outcomes in a lifestyle intervention in children and adolescents with abdominal obesity Methods: Twenty-nine patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial were selected. The lifestyle intervention with a 2-month intensive phase and a subsequent 10-month follow-up consisted of a moderate calorie-restricted diet, recommendations to increase physical activity levels, and nutritional education. Results: Weight loss was accompanied by a significant reduction in MetS prevalence (-43%; p = 0.009). Chemerin (p = 0.029) and LBP (p = 0.033) plasma levels were significantly reduced at 2 months and 12 months, respectively. At the end of intervention, MetS components were associated with both LBP (p = 0.017) and chemerin (p < 0.001) plasma levels. Conclusions: We describe for the first time a reduction in both LBP and chemerin plasma levels and its association with MetS risk factors after a lifestyle intervention program in children and adolescents with abdominal obesity. Therefore, LBP and chemerin plasma levels could be used as biomarkers for the progression of cardiovascular risk in pediatric populations.

The construct of autonomy appears in literature associated with individual psychological wellbeing. In Ryff's model, autonomy is presented as one of the dimensions of wellbeing, along with self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. The present study compared the levels of autonomy and psychological wellbeing between Spanish and Colombian young people. Ryff's Scale of Psychological Wellbeing and the Transition to Adulthood Autonomy (EDATVA) scales were used on a sample of 1,146 young people aged between 16 and 21; 506 Spaniards and 640 Colombians. Results showed differences in autonomy and in two of the four dimensions proposed by the EDATVA: self-organization and critical thinking. Similarly, important differences were observed in the subscales of positive relations and purpose in life. The importance of contextual factors in the development of psychological well-being and autonomy in young people in transition to adulthood is discussed.

Assessing the ecological impacts of environmental change on biological communities requires knowledge of the factors driving the spatial patterns of the three diversity facets along extensive environmental gradients. We quantified the taxonomic (TD), functional (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of lichen epiphytic communities in 23 beech forests along Europe to examine their response to environmental variation (climate, habitat quality, spatial predictors) at a continental geographic scale. We selected six traits related to the climatic conditions in forest ecosystems, the water-use strategy and the nutrient uptake, and we built a phylogenetic tree based on four molecular markers. FD and climate determined TD and PD, with spatial variables also affecting PD. The three diversity facets were primarily shaped by distinct critical predictors, with the temperature diurnal range affecting FD and PD, and precipitation of the wettest month determining TD. Our results emphasize the value of FD for explaining part of TD and PD variation in lichen communities at a broad geographic scale, while highlighting that these diversity facets provide complementary information about the communities' response under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, traits such as growth form, photobiont type, and reproductive strategy mediated the response of lichen communities to abiotic factors emerging as useful indicators of macroclimatic variations.

Cannabidiol (CBD) presents antiparkinsonian properties and neuromodulatory effects, possibly due to the pleiotropic activity caused at multiple molecular targets. Recently, the GPR55 receptor has emerged as a molecular target of CBD. Interestingly, GPR55 mRNA is expressed in the external globus pallidus (GPe) and striatum, hence, it has been suggested that its activity is linked to motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the intrapallidal injection of both CBD and a selective GPR55 antagonist (CID16020046) on motor asymmetry, fine motor skills, and GAD-67 expression in hemiparkinsonian rats. The hemiparkinsonian animal model applied involved the induction of a lesion in male Wistar rats via the infusion of the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the medial forebrain bundle via stereotaxic surgery. After a period of twenty days, a second surgical procedure was performed to implant a guide cannula into the GPe. Seven days later, lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI), CBD, or CID16020046 were injected once a day for three consecutive days (from the 28th to the 30th day post-lesion). Amphetamine-induced turning behavior was evaluated on the 14th and 30th days post-injury. The staircase test and fine motor skills were evaluated as follows: the rats were subject to a ten-day training period prior to the 6-OHDA injury; from the 15th to the 19th days post-lesion, the motor skills alterations were evaluated under basal conditions; and, from the 28th to the 30th day post-lesion, the pharmacological effects of the drugs administered were evaluated. The results obtained show that the administration of LPI or CBD generated lower levels of motor asymmetry in the turning behavior of hemiparkinsonian rats. It was also found that the injection of CBD or CID16020046, but not LPI, in the hemiparkinsonian rats generated significantly superior performance in the staircase test, in terms of the use of the forelimb contralateral to the 6-OHDA-induced lesion, when evaluated from the 28th to the 30th day post-lesion. Similar results were also observed for superior fine motor skills performance for pronation, grasp, and supination. Finally, the immunoreactivity levels were found to decrease for the GAD-67 enzyme in the striatum and the ipsilateral GPe of the rats injected with CBD and CID16020046, in contrast with those lesioned with 6-OHDA. The results obtained suggest that the inhibitory effects of CBD and CID16020046 on GPR55 in the GPe could be related to GABAergic overactivation in hemiparkinsonism, thus opening new perspectives to explain, at a cellular level, the reversal of the motor impairment observed in PD models.

Paroxetine (PX) is a widely used antidepressant with side effects such as weakness, dizziness, and trouble sleeping. In search of novel compounds with better efficacy and fewer side effects, we synthesized 3HPX, a hydroxylated analog of PX, and compared the 2 in silico for their pharmacokinetic and binding properties and in vivo for their antidepressant and potential neuroprotective effects.

The ecological success of lichens is related to both myco- and photobionts which condition the physiological limits of the lichen symbioses and thus affect their ecological niches and geographic ranges. A particular type of lichen, called cephalolichen, is characterized by housing both green algal and cyanobacterial symbionts-the latter is restricted to special structures called cephalodia. In this type of lichen, questions related to specialization within species or within individuals are still unsolved as different patterns have previously been observed. In order to study the variability at the intrathalline, intraspecific, and interspecific level, cyanobionts from different cephalodia within the same thalli and from different thalli were genetically analysed in three cephalolichen species at two different forests (18 thalli, 90 cephalodia). The results showed variability in the cephalodial Nostoc OTUs in all the studied species, both at the intrathalline and intraspecific levels. The variability of Nostoc OTUs found in different cephalodia of the same thallus suggests low specialization in this relationship. Additionally, differences in OTU diversity in the three studied species and in the two forests were found. The variability observed may confer an increased ecological plasticity and an advantage to colonize or persist under additional or novel habitats or conditions.