Journal articles on the topic 'Calotte marine'

La distribution des dépôts de marge glaciaire de la région de Rimouski a été analysée en fonction du cadre morphostructural préglaciaire, caractérisé par un relief appalachien typique dont les barres et les sillons, orientés NE-SO, sont subparallèles à la vallée du Saint-Laurent. Cette étude met en lumière l'influence déterminante du contexte morphostructural sur le mode de déglaciation, tant à l'échelle régionale que locale. L'invasion de la Mer de Goldthwait le long du Saint-Laurent, à partir de 14 000 BP, isole progressivement une calotte glaciaire régionale dans les Appalaches. Vers 13 400 BP, la marge septentrionale de la calotte appalachienne suit le tracé de la limite marine, fixée à 140 m d'altitude entre Rimouski et Luceville. Elle s'est stabilisée le long des premières grandes barres appalachiennes qui représentaient la première ligne d'ancrage de la marge glaciaire après l'invasion marine. Durant la phase de retrait qui suit, entre 13 360 et 12 700 ans BP, des masses de glace résiduelles sont abandonnées dans la vallée de ligne de faille de la Neigette et les sillons appalachiens de Saint-Fabien qui s'encombrent de formes de décrépitude (kames et kettles). Entre 12 400 BP et environ 12 000 BP, la marge glaciaire se stabilise sur le rebord du plateau de Sainte-Blandine, à moins de 13 km du littoral actuel. Cette période se signale par une récurrence glaciaire mise en évidence dans trois sites différents. Les modalités et la chronologie de la déglaciation au-delà de la limite marine ne sont pas connues.

RÉSUMÉ L'inlandsis laurentidien n'a jamais dépassé la côte sud de l'île d'Anticosti ni pénétré dans le golfe du Saint-Laurent après 36 000 ans BP. De plus, la corrélation entre les unités stratigraphiques, accompagnée de datations au 14C, permet la description des événements liés à trois avancées glaciaires du Quaternaire supérieur au centre-sud de l'île. En premier lieu, dans les vallées inondées par la transgression marine, l'avènement d'une masse de glace, au Wisconsinien moyen, met en place des dépôts glacio-marins datés de 36 000 ans BP. Par contre. Ia glace s'étend sur les interfluves élevés adjacents et abandonne un till daté de 30 000 ans BP. À la limite des secteurs côtiers, le vêlage intensif du front glaciaire provoque la mise en place, sur les côtes basses, de sédiments glacio-marins datés de 28 000 ans BP, définissant par le fait même les variations importantes de la dynamique d'écoulement glaciaire dans un milieu marin. En deuxième lieu, une récurrence au Wisconsinien supérieur s'arrête à la côte sud de l'île, comme en témoigne la présence, dans les embouchures de vallées et dans la zone côtière, de sédiments glacio-marins datés de 13 500 ans BP. La mise en place de cette deuxième unité de matériel glacio-marin confirme les perturbations importantes du front glaciaire que provoque à cette latitude une grande profondeur d'eau. En troisième lieu, lors de la phase de régression marine, une calotte résiduelle qui ne couvre que les interfluves et les vallées secondaires avance à la limite de la zone côtière et met en place un matériel glacio-marin daté de 12 000 ans BP. Cette récurrence est le résultat d'un réajustement gravitationnel relié au relèvement isostatique ainsi qu'à l'abaissement du niveau marin.

The fragrance field of perfumes has attracted considerable scientific, industrial, cultural, and civilizational interest. The marine odor is characterized by the specific smell of sea breeze, seashore, algae, and oyster, among others. Marine odor is a more recent fragrance and is considered as one of the green and modern fragrances. The smells reproducing the marine environment are described due to their content of Calone 1951 (7-methyl-2H-1,5-benzodioxepin-3(4H)-one), which is a synthetic compound. In addition to the synthetic group of benzodioxepanes, such as Calone 51 and its derivatives, three other groups of chemical compounds seem to represent the marine smell. The first group includes the polyunsaturated cyclic ((+)-Dictyopterene A) and acyclic (giffordene) hydrocarbons, acting as pheromones. The second group corresponds to polyunsaturated aldehydes, such as the (Z,Z)-3,6-nonadienal, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, which are most likely derived from the degradation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The third group is represented by small molecules such as sulfur compounds and halogenated phenols which are regarded as the main flavor compounds of many types of seafood. This review exposes, most notably, the knowledge state on the occurrence of marine ingredients in fragrance. We also provide a detailed discussion on several aspects of essential oils, which are the most natural ingredients from various marine sources used in fragrance and cosmetics, including synthetic and natural marine ingredients.

RÉSUMÉ La baie des Chaleurs, quatrième estuaire en importance de l’est du Canada, est un large bassin peu profond rempli de sédiments non consolidés d'une épaisseur allant jusqu'à 50 m. La répartition de cette masse sédimentaire est en partie imposée par le réseau de drainage datant du Cénozoïque (Tertiaire ou Quaternaire), qui suit les principaux éléments structuraux du socle sédimentaire sous-jacent. Les dépôts de contact glaciaire pleistocenes, y compris le till, sont généralement minces ou absents. Toutefois, au centre et vers l’extérieur de la baie, les chenaux cénozoïques renferment les accumulations morainiques linéaires, jusqu'à 30 m d'épaisseur, qui pourraient signaler l'emplacement final du dôme de la Gaspésie. Six grands cônes glaciomarins identifient les exutoires en fonction pendant la phase de retrait des calottes régionales. Ces dépôts pléistocènes ont en partie été érodes par des chenaux de drainage fluvioglaciaires pendant une phase de bas niveau marin (-90 m), vers 9000 BP. Par la suite, au cours de la transgression marine de l'Holocène inférieur à moyen, les sédiments glaciaires ont été soumis à l’érosion par les vagues. Les dépôts s'amincissent donc en eaux peu profondes et sont caractérisés par la présence de terrasses parallèles à la rive et des surfaces de sédiments grossiers le long des marges de la baie. À 7000 BP, le complexe de sandur qui occupait le fond peu profond de la baie a aussi été atteint par la transgression marine. La surface du delta était protégée par une barrière morainique. Les sédiments de l'Holocène inférieur ont d'abord été déposés dans les eaux plus profondes du centre et de l'entrée de la baie et ont subséquemment formé une pellicule sur le sandur du fond de la baie à mesure que le niveau marin montait. Ces sédiments montrent une progression dans la stratification et la granulométrie en relation avec les fluctuations du niveau marin et des sources sédimentaires. Les conditions océanographiques modernes se sont établies il y a environ 5000 ans.

Edible marine algae are rich in bioactive compounds and are, therefore, a source of bioavailable proteins, long chain polysaccharides that behave as low-calorie soluble fibers, metabolically necessary minerals, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidants. Marine algae were used primarily as gelling agents and thickeners (phycocolloids) in food and pharmaceutical industries in the last century, but recent research has revealed their potential as a source of useful compounds for the pharmaceutical, medical, and cosmetic industries. The green, red, and brown algae have been shown to have useful therapeutic properties in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases: Parkinson, Alzheimer’s, and Multiple Sclerosis, and other chronic diseases. In this review are listed and described the main components of a suitable diet for patients with these diseases. In addition, compounds derived from macroalgae and their neurophysiological activities are described.

Increasing carbon emissions not only enrich oceans with CO 2 but also make them more acidic. This acidifying process has caused considerable concern because laboratory studies show that ocean acidification impairs calcification (or shell building) and survival of calcifiers by the end of this century. Whether this impairment in shell building also occurs in natural communities remains largely unexplored, but requires re-examination because of the recent counterintuitive finding that populations of calcifiers can be boosted by CO 2 enrichment. Using natural CO 2 vents, we found that ocean acidification resulted in the production of thicker, more crystalline and more mechanically resilient shells of a herbivorous gastropod, which was associated with the consumption of energy-enriched food (i.e. algae). This discovery suggests that boosted energy transfer may not only compensate for the energetic burden of ocean acidification but also enable calcifiers to build energetically costly shells that are robust to acidified conditions. We unlock a possible mechanism underlying the persistence of calcifiers in acidifying oceans.

RÉSUMÉ L'île d'Amittualujjuaq, dans la baie du Diana (Péninsule d'Ungava, Nouveau-Québec), recèle trois sites archéologiques. DIA.24 (JfEm-4), sur la côte est, n'a pas été fouillé mais semble témoigner d'occupations néoesquimaudes non hivernales au cours desquelles de gros mammifères marins (morses et grandes baleines) furent consommés. Au nord, deux autres sites ne comprennent chacun qu'une seule structure du Paléoesquimau. L'emplacement de tente de DIA.26 (JfEm-6) est probablement dorsétien. L'habitation semi-souterraine de DIA.25 (JfEm-5) remonte certainement au Dorsétien récent. Son aménagement intérieur, bien conservé, complète les données disponibles sur l'organisation de l'espace domestique dorsétien. Une calotte crânienne trouvée dans l'habitation semble provenir d'un individu adulte jeune de sexe masculin. Comme rien ne laisse croire qu'elle fut apportée dans la maison lors d'une réoccupation du site, elle peut être considérée avec vraisemblance comme l'un des rares vestiges anatomiques des Dorsétiens.

The haplodiplobion life cycle with sporic meiosis and isomorphic alternation of generations, the ability for vegetative reproduction, the rapid growth of thallus, a large amount of produced cells, and high specific production make Ulva rigida C. Ag. attractive for marine aquaculture. The paper is devoted to study biological features of Ulva growth and nutritional value under artificial conditions. It is shown how environmental factors affect the germination and formation of new plants. Preliminary data on nutritional value allow us to consider Ulva to low-calorie foods with a rich carbohydrate component. The mineral composition and a high concentration of iodine indicate the feasible usage of Ulva as a functional food ingredient.

The paper presents the results of studies of the technochemical composition and nutritional value of meat of four species of clams found in the Azov Sea: Anadara kagoshimensis (Tokunaga, 1906), Cerastoderma glaucum (Bruguière, 1789), Chamelea gallina (Linne, 1758) and Donax trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758). It is noted that almost the entire world catch, including aquaculture, is due to the use of shellfish for food and consumer demand for this group of marine invertebrates is stable, which is due to high organoleptic characteristics, nutritional value and low calorie content of their meat (250-350 kJ/100g). It was determined that the values of toxic elements in the clam meat did not exceed acceptable concentrations. A technological scheme for the production of boiled-frozen meat of burrowing mollusks has been developed, a brief description of the technological processes has been given, and the terms and conditions for storing the semi-finished product have been developed. An assortment of ready-cooked foods made from clam meat in various sauces and fillings was offered for tasting. Organoleptic evaluation of the samples revealed the preferences of the tasters, namely: the maximum scores were received by samples of chameleon in bechamel sauce (4.9±0.3) and donax stewed in wine sauce (4.8±0.3). The developed assortment can be offered for introduction into diets as a low-calorie delicacy product.

Obesity is the abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that poses a health risk. Obesity in productive age occurs because there is an imbalance between calorie intake and daily physical activity. Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer. This study aimed to determine the relationship between physical activity and the incidence of obesity in productive age in the working area of Pukesmas Marina Permai. The prevalence of obesity in Indonesia in adults >18 from 2015-2019 has increased by 15.4%). The design of this study used an analytical observational quantitative method with a cross-sectional approach. The population in this study were all productive ages in the Marina Permai Public Health Center working area. The sample in this study is some of the productive ages, as many as 77 productive age with the sampling technique using purposive sampling. After tabulating the existing data, the research data was taken using a questionnaire and analyzed using the Chi-Square analysis test. The design of this study used a quantitative analytical observational method with the results showed that there was a relationship between physical activity and the incidence of obesity in productive age in the work area of the Marina Permai Public Health Center, Palangka Raya City (p-value = 0.002 a> = 0.05). Therefore, it is expected that productive age can increase daily physical activity.

RÉSUMÉ En se basant sur les travaux publiés depuis 1960, l'auteur passe en revue les séries quaternaires du Québec méridional et les réexamine d'un point de vue paléoenvironnemental. Cette synthèse confirme: (1) les contradictions et lacunes du cadre chronologique attribué au Wisconsinien; (2) l'extension apparemment limitée des glaces du Stade de Nicolet; (3) l'existence de calottes régionales sur les Appalaches, antérieures à l'englaciation de l'Inlandsis laurentidien au Wisconsinien moyen; (4) l'absence apparente ou l'existence d'un ou de deux intervalles au cours du Stade de Trois-Rivières, selon la région; (5) le renversement du sens d'écoulement de la glace à la fin du Wisconsinien, en Gaspésie et en Beauce, sur le rebord nord des Appalaches. Dans la vallée moyenne du Saint-Laurent, l'analyse paléoenvironnementale met en évidence: (1) la répétition des épisodes lacustres qui impliquent l'obstruction du moyen estuaire du Saint-Laurent; (2) l'absence apparente de transgression marine pendant les intervalles du Wisconsinien; (3) un englacement apparemment continu depuis le Wisconsinien moyen, contrairement aux séries de l'Ontario et de la Nouvelle-Ecosse. Ces conclusions et hypothèses conduisent à un modèle d'englacement wisconsinien dans l'est du Canada, avec (1) un centre d'englacement relativement méridional et précoce sur le plateau de Manicouagan ; (2) le déplacement des zones d'accumulation et de dispersion au cours du Wisconsinien; (3) le maintien de glaces continentales au moins depuis la phase isotopique 5/4.

About 70% of the earth's surface is covered by seas and oceans. The marine environment provides a wide range of diverse natural sources. Given the lack of food resources for a healthy and active life of the world's population, the research of alternative sources of food, including marine biological resources, among which algae are the leading ones, is an urgent issue today. The increase in the global market of functional food products requires the study of new natural food ingredients. Thus, in recent years, the possibility of using algae and compounds obtained from them for the production of innovative food products has attracted worldwide interest. Traditionally, algae can be classified into three different groups: green algae (Chlorophyta), brown algae (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae) and red algae (Rhodophyta). The need for food daily prompts us to explore more sustainable alternatives for protein raw materials. Micro- and macroalgae are rich in protein, dietary fibers, polysaccharides, lipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids, pigments, vitamins and minerals. That is why in the food industry algae are used not only as ingredients, but as high-protein, vitaminized food additives, biodyes, biostimulants and growth regulators. Algae are low-calorie foods, which gives them advantages over most refined components of the diet. In addition, their wide composition of essential substances has a qualitative effect on the prevention and overcoming of many health problems, such as cardiovascular pathologies, skin diseases, hypovitaminosis, iodine deficiency. Given the increasing demand for plant-based diets enriched with protein components, algae and their by-products can be effectively used to develop new food products, providing a rich biomass as a substitute for plant-based meat alternatives.

An estimated two billion people worldwide currently suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, and almost one billion are calorie deficient. Providing adequate nutrition is a growing global challenge. Seafood is one of the most important sources of both protein and micronutrients for many, yet production from wild capture fisheries has stagnated. In contrast, aquaculture is the world’s fastest-growing food production sector and now supplies over half of all seafood consumed globally. Mariculture, or the farming of brackish and marine species, accounts for roughly one-third of all aquaculture production and has received increasing attention as a potential supplement for wild-caught marine fisheries. By analyzing global patterns in seafood reliance, malnutrition levels, and economic opportunity, this study identifies where mariculture has the greatest potential to improve human nutrition. We calculate a mariculture opportunity index for 117 coastal nations by drawing on a diverse set of seafood production, trade, consumption, and nutrition data. Seventeen primary variables are combined into country-level scores for reliance on seafood, opportunity for nutritional improvement, and opportunity for economic development of mariculture. The final mariculture opportunity score identifies countries with high seafood reliance combined with high nutritional and economic opportunity scores. We find that island nations in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean are consistently identified as countries with high mariculture opportunity. In other regions, nutritional and economic opportunity scores are not significantly correlated, and we discuss the implications of this finding for crafting appropriate development policy. Finally, we identify key challenges to ameliorating malnutrition through mariculture development, including insufficient policy infrastructure, government instability, and ensuring local consumption of farmed fish. Our analysis is an important step towards prioritizing nations where the economic and nutritional benefits of expanding mariculture may be jointly captured.

Trois types majeurs de mouvements glaciaires ont été reconnus au droit de la péninsule de Gaspé, à l’est de la rivière au Renard : 1) un écoulement radial vers la baie de Gaspé et le golfe du Saint-Laurent à partir des crêts appalachiens, écoulement qui est associé à une calotte locale et qui fut identifié grâce à la présence de cirques sur les hauteurs, à l’évidence de l’occupation des vallées par la glace et par la dispersion des erratiques sur la péninsule; 2) un écoulement important dans la baie de Gaspé qui a pu être déterminé à partir de stries glaciaires, de la lithologie du till et de la bathymétrie de la baie; 3) des apports glaciaires sur la côte du golfe dûs à l’inlandsis laurentidien qui correspondent soit à une plate-forme de glace flottante, soit à des masses glaciaires importantes, icebergs, provenant de la côte nord du Saint-Laurent. Des stries glacielles et des éléments précambriens dans les dépôts glacio-marins le long de la côte du golfe appuient cette hypothèse. Les datations au radiocarbone permettent d’établir que la déglaciation le long du littoral est synchrone avec celle de la côte de l’estuaire maritime, soit vers 13 400-13 600 ans BP. Un niveau marin à 30 m semble correspondre à la limite atteinte par la mer de Goldthwait. Cependant, des aplanissements côtiers, des encoches perchées dans les falaises et certains sédiments semblent indiquer que la région a connu plusieur fluctuations du niveau marin relatif avant la glaciation et durant le Quaternaire. Les processus géomorphologiques holocènes les plus importants sont les mouvements de masse, les crues fluviales, la sédimentation lacustre et l’érosion et la sédimentation littorales.

Obesity is becoming a global epidemic as a result of high-calorie food intake and unhealthy lifestyles. Different marine plants, especially brown algae (Ecklonia cava), are traditionally used to treat different health-related issues. The study was carried out to investigate the anti-obesity properties of E. cava 70% ethanol extract. To evaluate the anti-obesity effect of E. cava, both in vitro and in vivo tests were performed. E. cava suppresses pre-adipocyte 3T3-L1 differentiation in a dose-dependent manner. In HFD-induced obese rats’ models, administration of E. cava 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg significantly decreases total body weight and organs, especially liver weight, in all treatment groups. Adipose tissue weight, including subcutaneous, epididymal, peritoneal, and mesenteric adipose tissue, was markedly reduced in E. cava-treated HFD rats in dose-dependent manners. In addition, liver-related biomarkers AST, ALP, ALT, and GGT were evaluated; the lower level of liver-related biomarkers indicates no liver injury or fatty liver issue in E. cava HFD treatment groups. In addition, E. cava treatment has significant effects on the expression of adipogenic and lipogenic (PPAR-γ, FAS, LPL, and SREBP-1c) genes. Altogether, these results show the anti-obesity effect of E. cava. We concluded that E. cava could be a potential candidate for the prevention of obesity-induced by a high-fat diet.

In recent years, marine natural products have become one of the most important resources of novel lead compounds for critical diseases associated with age. Spirulina, a dietary supplement made from blue-green algae (cyanobacteria: scientific name Arthrospira platensis), is particularly rich in phycocyanin, a phycobiliprotein, which accounts for up to 20% of this cyanobacterium’s dry weight and is considered responsible for its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Although the anti-aging activity of phycocyanin has been investigated, how exactly this compound works against aging remains elusive. The aim of our research is to use the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism to investigate the anti-aging properties of phycocyanin from A. platensis. Our results show that phycocyanin has a powerful anti-aging effect, greatly extending the chronological life span of yeast cells in a dose-dependent way, as the effect was also pronounced when cells were grown in SD medium under calorie restriction conditions (0.2% glucose). Both ROS and accumulation of dead cells were followed by staining chronologically aged cells with dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR123) and propidium iodide (PI). Interestingly, we found that most of the aged phycocyanin-treated cells, which were unable to form colonies, were actually ROS+/PI–. Finally, we show that the moment in which phycocyanin is added to the culture does not substantially influence its effectiveness in counteracting chronological aging.

Les relevés de terrain et l’étude photo-géomorphologique révèlent que le secteur glaciaire du Labrador s’est scindé en deux au droit de la moraine d’Harricana et que par la suite ces deux calottes résiduelles, appelées respectivement glacier du Nouveau-Québec et glacier d’Hudson, se sont retirées l’une vers le nord-est et l’autre vers le nord-ouest au contact des eaux profondes du lac Ojibway. Cette masse d’eau a eu pour effet d’accélérer le retrait des glaciers dont la marge flottait localement à la manière des plates-formes de glace. Le retrait du glacier du Nouveau-Québec fut entrecoupé de courtes pauses et d’un arrêt majeur défini par la moraine de Sakami qui recoupe l’extrémité nord-est des basses terres de la baie de James. Trois récurrences du glacier d’Hudson ont affecté le secteur sud-ouest des basses terres et deux de ces mouvements appartiennent aux réavancées de Cochrane. L’étude de séquences varvées et les caractéristiques du till indiquent qu’il s’agit de crues glaciaires d’une glace partiellement flottée. Le lac Ojibway s’est étendu vers l’est jusqu’à la moraine de Sakami et au-delà de la Grande Rivière vers le nord. Il s’est probablement drainé vers le nord à la hauteur du 80° de longitude ouest. La mer de Tyrrell, qui a submergé les basses terres de la baie de James et de la mer d’Hudson, a atteint l’altitude de 290 m sur le versant est et de 198 m sur le versant sud. La vidange du lac, l’invasion marine et l’arrêt de Sakami sont datés à 7900 ans BP, alors que les réavancées de Cochrane I et II ont atteint leur position maximale, il y a 8200 ans et 7975 ans.

The modern food economy has evolved over time. The calorie dense food (meat) has taken the place of plants and a technologically driven agriculture system has replaced the traditional food system. Several factors such as industrial revolution, opening of trade, end of communism, female market participation and technological change have contributed in shaping the rules of modern food production system. The endless efforts of the scientists geared towards discoveries has led to a green revolution in the field of agriculture and have done enough to untrue the earlier predictions of mass famine by Thomas Malthus. However, all such man made progress has not done much to resolve challenges of food security, food economy liberalisation and food safety being faced by every country today. This book presents well researched answers to questions raised at every forum on global food security such as; how did the primitive food system evolve into its present shape, what has motivated less spending on food, what has promoted the idea of convenience food in retail business, what has led to technology driven revolution in agriculture output, what radical steps are needed to escape from evils of hunger and malnutrition in the present world, what provokes food producers in developed countries to rule out unfettered functioning of food trade, and finally what turns around the progress that has ever been made in agriculture.

Laminaria japonicaAreshoung, a widely consumed marine vegetable, has traditionally been used in Korean maternal health. The present study investigated the antiobesity effects ofLaminaria japonicaAreshoung ethanol extract (LE) and its molecular mechanism in high-fat-diet-induced obese rats. Six-week-old Sprague-Dawley male rats were separately fed a normal diet or a high-calorie high-fat diet for 6 weeks; then they were treated with LE or tea catechin for another 6 weeks. LE administration significantly decreased the body weight gain, fat-pad weights, and serum and hepatic lipid levels in HD-induced obese rats. The histological analysis revealed that LE-treated group showed a significantly decreased number of lipid droplets and size of adipocytes compared to the HD group. To elucidate the mechanism of action of LE, the levels of genes and proteins involved in obesity were measured in the liver and skeletal muscle. LE treatment resulted in an increased expression of fatty acid oxidation and thermogenesis-related genes in obese rats. Conversely, the expression of the fat intake-related gene (ACC2) and lipogenesis-related genes was reduced by LE treatment. Additionally, LE treatment increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase and its direct downstream protein, acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase, which is one of the rate-limiting enzymes in fatty acid synthesis pathway. These findings demonstrate that LE treatment has a protective effect against a high-fat-diet-induced obesity in rats through regulation of expression of genes and proteins involved in lipolysis and lipogenesis.

Numerous United Kingdom and European Union expert panels recommend that the general adult population consumes ~250 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per day through the consumption of one portion of oily fish per week. The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are only found in appreciable amounts in marine organisms. Increasing oily fish consumption conflicts with sustaining fisheries, so alternative dietary sources of EPA and DHA must be explored. Mussels are high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and a good source of essential amino acids. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of introducing mussels as a protein source in the lunchtime meal three times per week for two weeks on the omega-3 status of free-living participants. Following an initial two-week monitoring period, 12 participants (eight male and four female) attended the nutrition laboratory three times per week for two weeks. Each participant received a personalised lunch constituting one-third of their typical daily calorie consumption with ~20% of the calories supplied as cooked mussels. A portion of cooked mussels from each feeding occasion was tested for total omega-3 content. The mean ± SD mussel EPA + DHA content was 518.9 ± 155.7 mg/100 g cooked weight, meaning that each participant received on average 709.2 ± 252.6 mg of EPA + DHA per meal or 304.0 ± 108.2 mg of EPA + DHA per day. Blood spot analysis revealed a significant increase in the omega-3 index (week 1 = 4.27 ± 0.81; week 4 = 5.07 ± 1.00) and whole blood EPA content during the study (%EPA week 1 = 0.70 ± 0.0.35; %EPA week 4 = 0.98 ± 0.35). Consuming mussels three times per week for two weeks as the protein source in a personalised lunchtime meal is sufficient to moderately improve the omega-3 index and whole blood DHA + EPA content in young healthy adults.

Gracilaria edulis is red marine algae currently cultivated in Sri Lanka but relatively low than other country such as China and Japan. This species are used to produce drugs and healthy delicious low calorie foods because of they are primary source of secondary metabolite and to be used as natural antioxidants and antimicrobials. The Purpose of this research investigates effect of different processing conditions on antioxidant activity of G.edulis (Rhodophyseae) by hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity assay. Absorbance at 230 nm, hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays were done. Different processed G.edulis such as fresh, steamed, boiled, dried and microwaved were extracted with methanol. Their antioxidant properties were compared to the L-ascorbic acid which used as positive control. The methanolic extracts of this red algae was prepared keeping methanol as a standard. Methanol was used as control. In minitab-15 statistical software package, Paired T-Test was clearly shown the absorbance, inhibition or hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity depend on the processing conditions of the G.edulis methanol extract. This statistical test did tell about the difference between the different processing conditions of the methanol extract of the G.edulis (p<0.05) and antioxidant activity and these were not independent factors such are depend on each other. Hence antioxidant activity or H2O2 scavenging activity was highly in boiled G.edulis, followed by fresh, microwaved, dried and steamed respectively. L-ascorbic acid was used as Positive control and its antioxidant activity was higher than dried and steamed but relatively lowers than microwaved, fresh and boiled G.edulis. Finally Boiled G.edulis sample was recorded prominent antioxidant activity due to leaching of less antioxidant compounds. In future this study is used to functional product development incorporation of dried followed by boiled G. edulis into bakery Products.

Introduction. It was studied the lipid composition of the blood plasma of rats under the impact of a hyper cholesterol diet with a high fat load. It was carried out the prevention of disturbances in blood plasma biochemical parameters with a lipid complex from the tunic of the marine hydrobiont Halocynthia aurantium. Materials and methods. The experiment was carried outwith outbred male rats weighing 200 ± 3 g.The experimental model of a hyper cholesterol diet with a high fat load with the development of dyslipidemia was set up by feeding the animals with ahigh fat diet consisting of 2% cholesterol and 20% beef fat from the total diet. The animals were divided into the following groups of 10 rats each: group 1 - control (standard diet), group 2 - dyslipidemia (hypercholesterol diet with high fat load), group 3 - dyslipidemia + lipid complex from ascidia. Results. It was shown that the influence of the diet was accompanied by an increase in the amount of total lipids in the blood plasma of rats, cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), as well as a decrease in total phospholipids and high-density lipoproteins (HDL), which is considered as an indicator of the formation of dyslipidemia. The contents of phospholipid lysofractions increased due to the activation of phospholipases. The amount of fatty acid esters and cholesterol esters decreased, which indicates the inhibition of esterification processes. The imbalance in the phospholipid spectrum of blood plasma occurred: the amount of metabolically active fractions required for the functioning of membrane-bound enzymes decreased. The addition of a lipid complex from the tunic of ascidian purple into the diet was accompanied by a pronounced prophylactic effect, which manifested itself in the normalization of the studied biochemical parameters. The lipid complex containing a wide range of “sea” phospholipids and polynonsaturated fatty acids of the n-3 type is an important basis for application as prophylactic in the conditions of a hypercholesterol diet with a high-fat load. Conclusion. Application of the lipidic complexes containing the “sea” lipids allocated from a tunic of the ascidian purple can be useful and perspective at a dislipidemiya and a hypercholesterolemia that will allow to carry out effective prevention of violations of metabolic reactions at influence of hyper high-calorie food.

Abstract Objectives The present research was aimed at studying the content of lipid components with high biological activity in the diet of healthy young people, which regulate the risk of developing cardiovascular pathology. The purpose of this series of studies was the prevention of actual metabolic disorders as a result of changing the stereotypes choice food sources of the essential lipid components. Methods This study analyzed the diets of a representative group of students of the I.M.Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University: 77 men and 237 women aged 17–27. The 24 hour recall method was used three times and nutrient content was further assessed using a standard database. Results The average energy value was 1788 ± 428.6 kcal for men and 1618 ± 605 kcal for women. The percentage of energy from total fat was higher than the recommended one (more than 30% of fat calories from the total energy value of the diet): by 75% (84.2 ± 23.3 g) and 95.3% (70.5 ± 23.2 g) in men and women respectively. Of greatest interest was the analysis of the amount and ratio of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the omega 6 and omega 3 groups, as well as sterols. While the ratio of linoleic acid/α-linolenic acid was the same (9/1) in both men and women, a significant difference was shown in their amount: linoleic acid/α-linolenic acid in men was estimated at 12 g/1.4 g and 9.7 g/1.2 g in women. The amount of essential fatty acids was 6.1% and 0.7% of the total calorie content of the diet. Consumption of long-chain omega 3 PUFAs was extremely low: 80.5 ± 53.5 mg and 209.4 ± 139.5 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), respectively, in the men group; 79.2 ± 68.05 mg and 229.7 ± 180.2 mg in the women group. The intake of cholesterol and plant sterols, as well as their ratio, turned out to be suboptimal both in men 1.40/1 (455 ± 204.8 mg/357 ± 163.9 mg) and in women 1.38/1 (372.3 ± 168.3 mg/295.8 ± 150.8 mg). Conclusions The results showed a significant imbalance of PUFAs and sterols in the students' diet. To optimize the fatty acid composition of the diet, on the one hand, it is necessary to reduce the proportion of total fat, and also include sources of long-chain omega 3 PUFAs (EPA and DHA) in the diet 2–3 times a week, primarily through oily (but not salty) marine fish, on the other hand, consume low-fat foods containing plant sterols such as cereals products and vegetables daily. Funding Sources No funding.

Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a relatively uncommon malignancy; however, its incidence is rising worldwide, and it is expected to become the second-leading cause of cancer-related death by 2030. From a histological point of view, PDAC is characterized by a prominent desmoplastic reaction that compresses blood vessels, limiting oxygen and nutrient availability in the tumor microenvironment. Despite that, PDAC cells are capable to adapt dynamically to these stress conditions, adopting different strategies that includes the strict regulation of the autophagic flux. Thus, studying these adaptive mechanisms is crucial to understand PDAC progression and to establish new therapeutic modalities to tackle it. Here, we explore the role of the tumor suppressor miR-15a in the regulation of its putative target Fra-2, a transcription factor, commonly activated by cell stress. By employing IPA on PDAC tumors from TCGA dataset, we found that both miR-15a and its target Fra-2 are predicted to regulate the IGF-1 signaling pathway. In an independent cohort of 44 PDAC samples, miR-15a levels inversely correlated with both Fra-2 and IGF1R expression; conversely, Fra-2 significantly correlated with IGF1R. By chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase assay, we assessed that miR-15a directly targeted Fra-2 and IGF1R that, in turn, is transcriptionally regulated by Fra-2 activity. Then, we investigated the role of miR-15a/Fra-2 regulation of IGF1R in the response to starvation-induced cell stress. In starved PDAC cell lines, Fra-2 transcriptional activity triggered IGF1R promoter, causing IGF1R overexpression in control cells but not in miR-15a-overexpressing cells. Consistently, the IGF1 release after starvation induced phosphorylation of IGF1R and activation of the downstream mTOR pathway in control cells but not in miR-15a-overexpressing cells. Therefore, TEM and western blot analysis demonstrated that activation of mTOR via IGF1 release reduced the autophagic flux of PDAC control cell lines compared to miR-15a overexpressing cells under starvation. To assess our results in vivo, we injected PDAC cells wild type or Fra-2 knockout into the flank of nude mice. At tumor onset, mice were randomly divided in two groups and fed with control or hypoproteic diet for three weeks. Hypoproteic diet did not interfere with the growth of wild-type tumors, by contrast, significantly impaired Fra-2KO tumors growth rate. Tumor analysis revealed that hypoproteic diet potently induced IGF1R overexpression and mTOR pathway activation in wild-type tumors but not in Fra-2KO tumors. Our findings demonstrate that IGF1R expression is regulated by miR-15a directly and indirectly via Fra-2 in PDAC. This novel miR-15a/Fra-2/IGF1R axis, triggered by starvation, regulates the autophagic flux and growth of PDAC cells in stress condition, and could be targeted by specific small inhibitors. Citation Format: Gian Luca Rampioni Vinciguerra, Marina Capece, Luca Reggiani Bonetti, Paolo Magistri, Federica Calore, Giovanni Nigita, Rosario Distefano, Roberto Ballarin, Fabrizio Di Benedetto, Andrea Vecchione, Barbara Belletti, Gustavo Baldassarre, Francesca Lovat, Carlo M. Croce. The novel miR-15a/Fra-2/IGF1R axis drives response to starvation-induced cell stress in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 4823.

Research background. Despite clearly recognized links between increased body mass and increased risk for various pathological conditions, therapeutic options to treat obesity are still very limited. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of low molecular mass collagen fragments obtained from the scales of Antarctic wild marine fish on rats' visceral and subcutaneous white adipose tissue in a high-calorie diet-induced obesity model. Experimental approach. The study was conducted on outbred rats, which were divided into 3 experimental groups: the first - control, consuming standard food (3.81 kcal/g), the second - obese group, consuming a high-calorie diet (5.35 kcal/g), and the third – obese group, consuming a high-calorie diet (5.35 kcal/g) with intragastric administration of low molecular mass collagen fragments (at a dose 1 g/kg of body mass during 6 weeks). Low molecular collagen fragments were obtained by procedure which included collagen extraction from fish scales and enzymatic hydrolysis with pepsin. Apart from H&E staining, fibrosis level was assessed by histochemical Van Gieson trichrome picrofucsin staining and analyses of mast cells were performed by toluidine blue O staining. Results and conclusions. Group treated by low molecular mass fragments of collagen exhibited decreased rate of mass gain, relative mass, area occupied by collagen fibers of both visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and reduction of cross-sectional area of both visceral and subcutaneous adipocytes. Treatment by low molecular mass fragments of collagen reduced infiltration of immune cells, number of mast cells and their redistribution back to the septa. This was as well accompanied by decreased number of the crown-like structures formed by immune cells, which are markers of chronic inflammation that accompany obesity. Novelty and scientific contribution. This is the first study which reported the anti-obesity effect of low molecular mass fragments produced as a result of controlled hydrolysis of collagen from the scales of Antarctic wild marine fish in vivo model. Another novelty of this work is observation that the tested collagen fragments not only reduce body mass, but as well improve morphological and inflammatory parameters (decrease in number of crown-like structures, immune cells infiltration, fibrosis and mast cells). Altogether, our work suggests that low molecular mass collagen fragments represent a promising candidate for amelioration of some comorbidities linked to obesity.

AbstractIn December 2019, a novel coronavirus SARS CoV-2 caused COVID-19 in more than 200 countries. The infection had high mortality and morbidity rates with no specific approved antiviral drugs. Isolation, appropriate hygiene measures, and treatment were the most efficient ways to prevent infections. Interestingly, plants, sponges, corals, and microorganisms remain a plentiful source of natural bio-actives for treating different human illnesses and COVID-19. We herein retrieved literature from PubMed.gov, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar relevant to anti-COVID-19 metabolites by searching with the keywords "SARS-CoV-2" and "Bio-actives from plants/marine invertebrates/microbes" till November 2023. The study briefly covered SARS-CoV-2, its variants, therapeutics, and intervention for COVID-19 infection. This study also aimed to develop low-calorie probiotic-rich fermented ginger beer and fruit juices to use as an immunity booster to fight against multiple viral infections. Only literature pertinent to the topic was included, and those not available as full text and duplicate sources with similar titles and content were excluded. The comprehensive findings of the present study are essential to make national-level policy decisions on both beneficiaries of natural bio-actives to improve health by consuming herbal low-calorie fermented products during such needy hours.

Portunid crabs contribute to significant commercial and recreational fisheries globally and are commonly fished in estuaries and/or marine embayments, which are amongst the most degraded of all aquatic ecosystems. Portunus armatus were collected seasonally between April and February from five locations across three systems in temperate south-western Australia. The dietary composition of crabs was quantified and compared between two estuaries (Peel-Harvey and Swan-Canning) and a sheltered marine embayment (Cockburn Sound) containing three distinct habitats: shallow seagrass, shallow sand and deep sand. Overall, crabs ingested large volumes of bivalves (both live organisms and dead shell), polychaetes, crustaceans (e.g., amphipods, small decapods), and smaller volumes of teleosts, echinoderms and plant material (seagrass, algae). Analysis of Similarities showed that dietary composition varied significantly among the five locations (two estuaries and three habitats within Cockburn Sound) and seasons, with greater location than seasonal differences in the two estuaries. Diets were most distinct in the Cockburn Sound seagrass due to greater volumes of decapods and teleosts and smaller volumes of bivalve shell consumed in this habitat. Crabs from both estuaries consumed greater quantities of bivalves than those from Cockburn Sound. Seasonal differences in both estuaries were greatest between summer and winter, with a more diverse range of prey and large quantities of bivalves ingested in summer, whereas small bivalves and bivalve shell in the Peel-Harvey and polychaetes and other crustaceans in the Swan-Canning, were consumed in greater quantities in winter. The summer diet in the Peel-Harvey Estuary in the current study was compared to that 20 years previous and with documented change in the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna. Currently, crabs consume smaller volumes of high-calorie prey, i.e., polychaetes, small bivalves and teleosts, and instead ingest greater proportions of calcareous material than previously. This marked shift in dietary composition parallels changes in benthic macroinvertebrates in the Peel-Harvey Estuary. Overall, prey availability appears to be the major factor influencing the spatial and temporal differences in P. armatus diets in these three coastal systems.

Macroalgae host diverse epiphytic bacterial communities with potential symbiotic roles including important roles influencing morphogenesis and growth of the host, nutrient exchange, and protection of the host from pathogens. Macroalgal cell wall structures, exudates, and intra-cellular environments possess numerous complex and valuable carbohydrates such as cellulose, hemi-cellulose, mannans, alginates, fucoidans, and laminarin. Bacterial colonizers of macroalgae are important carbon cyclers, acquiring nutrition from living macroalgae and also from decaying macroalgae. Seaweed epiphytic communities are a rich source of diverse carbohydrate-active enzymes which may have useful applications in industrial bioprocessing. With this in mind, we constructed a large insert fosmid clone library from the metagenome of Laminaria digitata (Ochrophyta) in which decay was induced. Subsequent sequencing of a fosmid clone insert revealed the presence of a gene encoding a bifunctional phosphomannomutase/phosphoglucomutase (PMM/PGM) enzyme 10L6AlgC, closely related to a protein from the halophilic marine bacterium, Cobetia sp. 10L6AlgC was subsequently heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli and biochemically characterized. The enzyme was found to possess both PMM and PGM activity, which had temperature and pH optima of 45°C and 8.0, respectively; for both activities. The PMM activity had a Km of 2.229 mM and Vmax of 29.35 mM min−1 mg−1, while the PGM activity had a Km of 0.5314 mM and a Vmax of 644.7 mM min−1 mg−1. Overall characterization of the enzyme including the above parameters as well as the influence of various divalent cations on these activities revealed that 10L6AlgC has a unique biochemical profile when compared to previously characterized PMM/PGM bifunctional enzymes. Thus 10L6AlgC may find utility in enzyme-based production of biochemicals with different potential industrial applications, in which other bacterial PMM/PGMs have previously been used such as in the production of low-calorie sweeteners in the food industry.

Within the overall agro-based economy of the country, the contribution of shrimp production has been considered to grip excellent promise for creating jobs, earning overseas money and supplying protein. However, a number of issues including environmental aspects of marine shrimp farming in Bangladesh are being important day by day for sustainable trade, as consumers of importing countries are demanding environmentally friendly product. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been promoted as a good tool for evaluating seafood products. This study was aimed to evaluate overall resource use and environmental impact caused by six shrimp farming systems and to identify hotspots and improvement options. The inventory covered the entire chain from shrimp brood collection to shrimp harvesting at farm, mentioned as "cradle to farm gate". Three functional units based on area (one hectare), weight (one tonne) and calorie content (one KCal) were adopted. Allocation by economic value was applied to allocate environmental burdens in case of multiple outputs. To assess the environmental impact, the last update of the CML impact assessment method was used. Selected impact categories included global warming, acidification and eutrophication. Life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results were calculated using CMLCA software (Version 5.2). Based on total score of the studied impact categories Extensive (Shrimp + Fish) had the lowest impact for per ha, KCal and ton shrimp production, whereas Semi intensive (Shrimp) was responsible for highest impact for per hectare shrimp production; Improved extensive (Shrimp + Prawn + Fish), was for per KCal production; and Better Management Practice (Shrimp + Fish) and Modified Traditional Technology (Shrimp + Fish) were for higher impact for per ton of shrimp production. Among different farming stages (viz. fertilization, stocking, feeding and power supply), feeding and fertilization were identified the major contributors for the environmental impacts associated with the different shrimp farming systems. Emphasize on natural feed based shrimp farming along with balanced supplementary feed prepared by environmental friendly ingredients was the major recommendation to increase production addressing both economic and environmental sustainability.

At a time when almost every human transgression, illness, profession and other personal aspect of life has been chronicled in autobiographical writing (Rak)—in 1998 Zinsser called ours “the age of memoir” (3)—writing about fat is one of the most recent subjects to be addressed in this way. This article surveys a range of contemporary autobiographical texts that are titled with, or revolve around, that powerful and most evocative word, “fat”. Following a number of cultural studies of fat in society (Critser; Gilman, Fat Boys; Fat: A Cultural History; Stearns), this discussion views fat in socio-cultural terms, following Lupton in understanding fat as both “a cultural artefact: a bodily substance or body shape that is given meaning by complex and shifting systems of ideas, practices, emotions, material objects and interpersonal relationships” (i). Using a case study approach (Gerring; Verschuren), this examination focuses on a range of texts from autobiographical cookbooks and memoirs to novel-length graphic works in order to develop a preliminary taxonomy of these works. In this way, a small sample of work, each of which (described below) explores an aspect (or aspects) of the form is, following Merriam, useful as it allows a richer picture of an under-examined phenomenon to be constructed, and offers “a means of investigating complex social units consisting of multiple variables of potential importance in understanding the phenomenon” (Merriam 50). Although the sample size does not offer generalisable results, the case study method is especially suitable in this context, where the aim is to open up discussion of this form of writing for future research for, as Merriam states, “much can be learned from […] an encounter with the case through the researcher’s narrative description” and “what we learn in a particular case can be transferred to similar situations” (51). Pro-Fat Autobiographical WritingAlongside the many hundreds of reduced, low- and no-fat cookbooks and weight loss guides currently in print that offer recipes, meal plans, ingredient replacements and strategies to reduce fat in the diet, there are a handful that promote the consumption of fats, and these all have an autobiographical component. The publication of Jennifer McLagan’s Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes in 2008 by Ten Speed Press—publisher of Mollie Katzen’s groundbreaking and influential vegetarian Moosewood Cookbook in 1974 and an imprint now known for its quality cookbooks (Thelin)—unequivocably addressed that line in the sand often drawn between fat and all things healthy. The four chapter titles of this cookbook— “Butter,” subtitled “Worth It,” “Pork Fat: The King,” “Poultry Fat: Versatile and Good For You,” and, “Beef and Lamb Fats: Overlooked But Tasty”—neatly summarise McLagan’s organising argument: that animal fats not only add an unreplaceable and delicious flavour to foods but are fundamental to our health. Fat polarised readers and critics; it was positively reviewed in prominent publications (Morris; Bhide) and won influential food writing awards, including 2009 James Beard Awards for Single Subject Cookbook and Cookbook of the Year but, due to its rejection of low-fat diets and the research underpinning them, was soon also vehemently criticised, to the point where the book was often described in the media as “controversial” (see Smith). McLagan’s text, while including historical, scientific and gastronomic data and detail, is also an outspokenly personal treatise, chronicling her sensual and emotional responses to this ingredient. “I love fat,” she begins, continuing, “Whether it’s a slice of foie gras terrine, its layer of yellow fat melting at the edges […] hot bacon fat […] wilting a plate of pungent greens into submission […] or a piece of crunchy pork crackling […] I love the way it feels in my mouth, and I love its many tastes” (1). Her text is, indeed, memoir as gastronomy / gastronomy as memoir, and this cookbook, therefore, an example of the “memoir with recipes” subgenre (Brien et al.). It appears to be this aspect – her highly personal and, therein, persuasive (Weitin) plea for the value of fats – that galvanised critics and readers.Molly Chester and Sandy Schrecengost’s Back to Butter: A Traditional Foods Cookbook – Nourishing Recipes Inspired by Our Ancestors begins with its authors’ memoirs (illness, undertaking culinary school training, buying and running a farm) to lend weight to their argument to utilise fats widely in cookery. Its first chapter, “Fats and Oils,” features the familiar butter, which it describes as “the friendly fat” (22), then moves to the more reviled pork lard “Grandma’s superfood” (22) and, nowadays quite rarely described as an ingredient, beef tallow. Grit Magazine’s Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient utilises the rhetoric that fat, and in this case, lard, is a traditional and therefore foundational ingredient in good cookery. This text draws on its publisher’s, Grit Magazine (published since 1882 in various formats), long history of including auto/biographical “inspirational stories” (Teller) to lend persuasive power to its argument. One of the most polarising of fats in health and current media discourse is butter, as was seen recently in debate over what was seen as its excessive use in the MasterChef Australia television series (see, Heart Foundation; Phillipov). It is perhaps not surprising, then, that butter is the single fat inspiring the most autobiographical writing in this mode. Rosie Daykin’s Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes from a Little Neighborhood Bakery is, for example, typical of a small number of cookbooks that extend the link between baking and nostalgia to argue that butter is the superlative ingredient for baking. There are also entire cookbooks dedicated to making flavoured butters (Vaserfirer) and a number that offer guides to making butter and other (fat-based) dairy products at home (Farrell-Kingsley; Hill; Linford).Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef is typical among chef’s memoirs in using butter prominently although rare in mentioning fat in its title. In this text and other such memoirs, butter is often used as shorthand for describing a food that is rich but also wholesomely delicious. Hamilton relates childhood memories of “all butter shortcakes” (10), and her mother and sister “cutting butter into flour and sugar” for scones (15), radishes eaten with butter (21), sautéing sage in butter to dress homemade ravoli (253), and eggs fried in browned butter (245). Some of Hamilton’s most telling references to butter present it as an staple, natural food as, for instance, when she describes “sliced bread with butter and granulated sugar” (37) as one of her family’s favourite desserts, and lists butter among the everyday foodstuffs that taste superior when stored at room temperature instead of refrigerated—thereby moving butter from taboo (Gwynne describes a similar process of the normalisation of sexual “perversion” in erotic memoir).Like this text, memoirs that could be described as arguing “for” fat as a substance are largely by chefs or other food writers who extol, like McLagan and Hamilton, the value of fat as both food and flavouring, and propose that it has a key role in both ordinary/family and gourmet cookery. In this context, despite plant-based fats such as coconut oil being much lauded in nutritional and other health-related discourse, the fat written about in these texts is usually animal-based. An exception to this is olive oil, although this is never described in the book’s title as a “fat” (see, for instance, Drinkwater’s series of memoirs about life on an olive farm in France) and is, therefore, out of the scope of this discussion.Memoirs of Being FatThe majority of the other memoirs with the word “fat” in their titles are about being fat. Narratives on this topic, and their authors’ feelings about this, began to be published as a sub-set of autobiographical memoir in the 2000s. The first decade of the new millennium saw a number of such memoirs by female writers including Judith Moore’s Fat Girl (published in 2005), Jen Lancaster’s Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist’s Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer, and Stephanie Klein’s Moose: A Memoir (both published in 2008) and Jennifer Joyne’s Designated Fat Girl in 2010. These were followed into the new decade by texts such as Celia Rivenbark’s bestselling 2011 You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl, and all attracted significant mainstream readerships. Journalist Vicki Allan pulled no punches when she labelled these works the “fat memoir” and, although Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson’s influential categorisation of 60 genres of life writing does not include this description, they do recognise eating disorder and weight-loss narratives. Some scholarly interest followed (Linder; Halloran), with Mitchell linking this production to feminism’s promotion of the power of the micro-narrative and the recognition that the autobiographical narrative was “a way of situating the self politically” (65).aken together, these memoirs all identify “excess” weight, although the response to this differs. They can be grouped as: narratives of losing weight (see Kuffel; Alley; and many others), struggling to lose weight (most of these books), and/or deciding not to try to lose weight (the smallest number of works overall). Some of these texts display a deeply troubled relationship with food—Moore’s Fat Girl, for instance, could also be characterised as an eating disorder memoir (Brien), detailing her addiction to eating and her extremely poor body image as well as her mother’s unrelenting pressure to lose weight. Elena Levy-Navarro describes the tone of these narratives as “compelled confession” (340), mobilising both the conventional understanding of confession of the narrator “speaking directly and colloquially” to the reader of their sins, failures or foibles (Gill 7), and what she reads as an element of societal coercion in their production. Some of these texts do focus on confessing what can be read as disgusting and wretched behavior (gorging and vomiting, for instance)—Halloran’s “gustatory abject” (27)—which is a feature of the contemporary conceptualisation of confession after Rousseau (Brooks). This is certainly a prominent aspect of current memoir writing that is, simultaneously, condemned by critics (see, for example, Jordan) and popular with readers (O’Neill). Read in this way, the majority of memoirs about being fat are about being miserable until a slimming regime of some kind has been undertaken and successful. Some of these texts are, indeed, triumphal in tone. Lisa Delaney’s Secrets of a Former Fat Girl is, for instance, clear in the message of its subtitle, How to Lose Two, Four (or More!) Dress Sizes—And Find Yourself Along the Way, that she was “lost” until she became slim. Linden has argued that “female memoir writers frequently describe their fat bodies as diseased and contaminated” (219) and “powerless” (226). Many of these confessional memoirs are moving narratives of shame and self loathing where the memoirist’s sense of self, character, and identity remain somewhat confused and unresolved, whether they lose weight or not, and despite attestations to the contrary.A sub-set of these memoirs of weight loss are by male authors. While having aspects in common with those by female writers, these can be identified as a sub-set of these memoirs for two reasons. One is the tone of their narratives, which is largely humourous and often ribaldly comic. There is also a sense of the heroic in these works, with male memoirsts frequently mobilising images of battles and adversity. Texts that can be categorised in this way include Toshio Okada’s Sayonara Mr. Fatty: A Geek’s Diet Memoir, Gregg McBride and Joy Bauer’s bestselling Weightless: My Life as a Fat Man and How I Escaped, Fred Anderson’s From Chunk to Hunk: Diary of a Fat Man. As can be seen in their titles, these texts also promise to relate the stratgies, regimes, plans, and secrets that others can follow to, similarly, lose weight. Allen Zadoff’s title makes this explicit: Lessons Learned on the Journey from Fat to Thin. Many of these male memoirists are prompted by a health-related crisis, diagnosis, or realisation. Male body image—a relatively recent topic of enquiry in the eating disorder, psychology, and fashion literature (see, for instance, Bradley et al.)—is also often a surprising motif in these texts, and a theme in common with weight loss memoirs by female authors. Edward Ugel, for instance, opens his memoir, I’m with Fatty: Losing Fifty Pounds in Fifty Miserable Weeks, with “I’m haunted by mirrors … the last thing I want to do is see myself in a mirror or a photograph” (1).Ugel, as that prominent “miserable” in his subtitle suggests, provides a subtle but revealing variation on this theme of successful weight loss. Ugel (as are all these male memoirists) succeeds in the quest be sets out on but, apparently, despondent almost every moment. While the overall tone of his writing is light and humorous, he laments every missed meal, snack, and mouthful of food he foregoes, explaining that he loves eating, “Food makes me happy … I live to eat. I love to eat at restaurants. I love to cook. I love the social component of eating … I can’t be happy without being a social eater” (3). Like many of these books by male authors, Ugel’s descriptions of the food he loves are mouthwatering—and most especially when describing what he identifies as the fattening foods he loves: Reuben sandwiches dripping with juicy grease, crispy deep friend Chinese snacks, buttery Danish pastries and creamy, rich ice cream. This believable sense of regret is not, however, restricted to male authors. It is also apparent in how Jen Lancaster begins her memoir: “I’m standing in the kitchen folding a softened stick of butter, a cup of warmed sour cream, and a mound of fresh-shaved Parmesan into my world-famous mashed potatoes […] There’s a maple-glazed pot roast browning nicely in the oven and white-chocolate-chip macadamia cookies cooling on a rack farther down the counter. I’ve already sautéed the almonds and am waiting for the green beans to blanch so I can toss the whole lot with yet more butter before serving the meal” (5). In the above memoirs, both male and female writers recount similar (and expected) strategies: diets, fasts and other weight loss regimes and interventions (calorie counting, colonics, and gastric-banding and -bypass surgery for instance, recur); consulting dieting/health magazines for information and strategies; keeping a food journal; employing expert help in the form of nutritionists, dieticians, and personal trainers; and, joining health clubs/gyms, and taking up various sports.Alongside these works sit a small number of texts that can be characterised as “non-weight loss memoirs.” These can be read as part of the emerging, and burgeoning, academic field of Fat Studies, which gathers together an extensive literature critical of, and oppositional to, dominant discourses about obesity (Cooper; Rothblum and Solovay; Tomrley and Naylor), and which include works that focus on information backed up with memoir such as self-described “fat activist” (Wann, website) Marilyn Wann’s Fat! So?: Because You Don’t Have to Apologise, which—when published in 1998—followed a print ’zine and a website of the same title. Although certainly in the minority in terms of numbers, these narratives have been very popular with readers and are growing as a sub-genre, with well-known actress Camryn Manheim’s New York Times-bestselling memoir, Wake Up, I'm Fat! (published in 1999) a good example. This memoir chronicles Manheim’s journey from the overweight and teased teenager who finds it a struggle to find friends (a common trope in many weight loss memoirs) to an extremely successful actress.Like most other types of memoir, there are also niche sub-genres of the “fat memoir.” Cheryl Peck’s Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs recounts a series of stories about her life in the American Midwest as a lesbian “woman of size” (xiv) and could thus be described as a memoir on the subjects of – and is, indeed, catalogued in the Library of Congress as: “Overweight women,” “Lesbians,” and “Three Rivers (Mich[igan]) – Social life and customs”.Carol Lay’s graphic memoir, The Big Skinny: How I Changed My Fattitude, has a simple diet message – she lost weight by counting calories and exercising every day – and makes a dual claim for value of being based on both her own story and a range of data and tools including: “the latest research on obesity […] psychological tips, nutrition basics, and many useful tools like simplified calorie charts, sample recipes, and menu plans” (qtd. in Lorah). The Big Skinny could, therefore, be characterised with the weight loss memoirs above as a self-help book, but Lay herself describes choosing the graphic form in order to increase its narrative power: to “wrap much of the information in stories […] combining illustrations and story for a double dose of retention in the brain” (qtd. in Lorah). Like many of these books that can fit into multiple categories, she notes that “booksellers don’t know where to file the book – in graphic novels, memoirs, or in the diet section” (qtd. in O’Shea).Jude Milner’s Fat Free: The Amazing All-True Adventures of Supersize Woman! is another example of how a single memoir (graphic, in this case) can be a hybrid of the categories herein discussed, indicating how difficult it is to neatly categorise human experience. Recounting the author’s numerous struggles with her weight and journey to self-acceptance, Milner at first feels guilty and undertakes a series of diets and regimes, before becoming a “Fat Is Beautiful” activist and, finally, undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Here the narrative trajectory is of empowerment rather than physical transformation, as a thinner (although, importantly, not thin) Milner “exudes confidence and radiates strength” (Story). ConclusionWhile the above has identified a number of ways of attempting to classify autobiographical writing about fat/s, its ultimate aim is, after G. Thomas Couser’s work in relation to other sub-genres of memoir, an attempt to open up life writing for further discussion, rather than set in placed fixed and inflexible categories. Constructing such a preliminary taxonomy aspires to encourage more nuanced discussion of how writers, publishers, critics and readers understand “fat” conceptually as well as more practically and personally. 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