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Background/Objectives: Obesity impairs intestinal glucose uptake (GU) (intestinal uptake of circulating glucose from blood) and alters gut microbiome. Exercise improves intestinal insulin-stimulated GU and alters microbiome. Genetics influence the risk of obesity and gut microbiome. However, the role of genetics on the effects of exercise on intestinal GU and microbiome is unclear. Methods: Twelve monozygotic twin pairs discordant for BMI (age 40.4 ± 4.5 years, BMI heavier 36.7 ± 6.0, leaner 29.1 ± 5.7, 8 female pairs) performed a six-month-long training intervention. Small intestine and colonic insulin-stimulated GU was studied using [18F]FDG-PET and microbiota from fecal samples with 16s rRNA. Results: Ten pairs completed the intervention. At baseline, heavier twins had lower small intestine and colonic GU (p < 0.05). Response to exercise differed between twins (p = 0.05), with leaner twins increasing colonic GU. Alpha and beta diversity did not differ at baseline. During the intervention, beta diversity changed significantly, most prominently at the mid-point (p < 0.01). Beta diversity changes were only significant in the leaner twins when the twin groups were analyzed separately. Exercise was associated with changes at the phylum level, mainly at the mid-point (pFDR < 0.05); at the genus level, several microbes increased, such as Lactobacillus and Sellimonas (pFDR < 0.05). In type 1 analyses, many genera changes were associated with exercise, and fewer, such as Lactobacillus, were also associated with dietary sugar consumption (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Obesity impairs insulin-stimulated intestinal GU independent of genetics. Though both twin groups exhibited some microbiota changes, most changes in insulin-stimulated colon GU and microbiota were significant in the leaner twins.

Obesity and sedentarism are associated with increased liver and pancreatic fat content (LFC and PFC, respectively) as well as impaired organ metabolism. Exercise training is known to decrease organ ectopic fat but its effects on organ metabolism are unclear. Genetic background affects susceptibility to obesity and the response to training. We studied the effects of regular exercise training on LFC, PFC, and metabolism in monozygotic twin pairs discordant for BMI. We recruited 12 BMI-discordant monozygotic twin pairs (age 40.4, SD 4.5 years; BMI 32.9, SD 7.6, 8 female pairs). Ten pairs completed six months of training intervention. We measured hepatic insulin-stimulated glucose uptake using [18F]FDG-PET and fat content using magnetic resonance spectroscopy before and after the intervention. At baseline LFC, PFC, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GT), and hepatic glucose uptake were significantly higher in the heavier twins compared to the leaner co-twins (p = 0.018, p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). Response to training in liver glucose uptake and GT differed between the twins (Time*group p = 0.04 and p = 0.004, respectively). Liver glucose uptake tended to decrease, and GT decreased only in the heavier twins (p = 0.032). In BMI-discordant twins, heavier twins showed higher LFC and PFC, which may underlie the observed increase in liver glucose uptake and GT. These alterations were mitigated by exercise. The small number of participants makes the results preliminary, and future research with a larger pool of participants is warranted.

Background Obesity and physical inactivity are major global public health concerns, both of which increase the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Regulation of glucose homeostasis involves cross-talk between the central nervous system, peripheral tissues, and gut microbiota, and is affected by genetics. Systemic cross-talk between brain, gut, and peripheral tissues in glucose homeostasis: effects of exercise training (CROSSYS) aims to gain new systems-level understanding of the central metabolism in human body, and how exercise training affects this cross-talk. Methods CROSSYS is an exercise training intervention, in which participants are monozygotic twins from pairs discordant for body mass index (BMI) and within a pair at least the other is overweight. Twins are recruited from three population-based longitudinal Finnish twin studies, including twins born in 1983–1987, 1975–1979, and 1945–1958. The participants undergo 6-month-long exercise intervention period, exercising four times a week (including endurance, strength, and high-intensity training). Before and after the exercise intervention, comprehensive measurements are performed in Turku PET Centre, Turku, Finland. The measurements include: two positron emission tomography studies (insulin-stimulated whole-body and tissue-specific glucose uptake and neuroinflammation), magnetic resonance imaging (brain morphology and function, quantification of body fat masses and organ volumes), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (quantification of fat within heart, pancreas, liver and tibialis anterior muscle), echocardiography, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue biopsies, a neuropsychological test battery as well as biosamples from blood, urine and stool. The participants also perform a maximal exercise capacity test and tests of muscular strength. Discussion This study addresses the major public health problems related to modern lifestyle, obesity, and physical inactivity. An eminent strength of this project is the possibility to study monozygotic twin pairs that share the genome at the sequence level but are discordant for BMI that is a risk factor for metabolic impairments such as insulin resistance. Thus, this exercise training intervention elucidates the effects of obesity on metabolism and whether regular exercise training is able to reverse obesity-related impairments in metabolism in the absence of the confounding effects of genetic factors. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03730610 . Prospectively registered 5 November 2018.

We present the velocity dispersion and dynamical mass estimates for 270 galaxy clusters included in the first Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) source catalogue, the PSZ1. Part of the results presented here were achieved during a two-year observational program, the ITP, developed at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Spain). In the ITP we carried out a systematic optical follow-up campaign of all the 212 unidentified PSZ1 sources in the northern sky that have a declination above \\(-15^\\circ\\) and are without known counterparts at the time of the publication of the catalogue. We present for the first time the velocity dispersion and dynamical mass of 58 of these ITP PSZ1 clusters, plus 35 newly discovered clusters that are not associated with the PSZ1 catalogue. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) archival data, we extend this sample, including 212 already confirmed PSZ1 clusters in the northern sky. Using a subset of 207 of these galaxy clusters, we constrained the \\(M_{\\rm SZ}\\)--\\(M_{\\rm dyn}\\) scaling relation, finding a mass bias of \\((1-B) = 0.83\\pm0.07\\)(stat)\\(\\pm0.02\\)(sys). We show that this value is consistent with other results in the literature that were obtained with different methods (X-ray, dynamical masses, or weak-lensing mass proxies). This result cannot dissolve the tension between primordial cosmic microwave background anisotropies and cluster number counts in the \\(\\Omega_{\\rm M}\\)--\\(\\sigma_8\\) plane.

We present the second and last year of observations of our optical follow-up programme 128-MULTIPLE-16/15B (LP15 )at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma), which has been developed with the aim of validating all the unidentified PSZ2 sources in the northern sky, with declination above -15deg, and with no correspondence in the first Planck catalogue PSZ1. We adopt a robust confirmation criteria based on velocity dispersion and richness estimations in order to carry out the final classification of the new galaxy clusters as the optical counterparts of the PSZ2 detections. We also present final results of the programme, showing an update of the purity and completeness of the PSZ2 sample. After the LP15 programme, we find that the purity of the PSZ2 has increased from 76.7% originally to 86.2%. In addition, we study the possible reasons of having false detection, and we report a clear correlation between the number of unconfirmed sources and galactic thermal dust emission.

The Planck catalogues of SZ sources, PSZ1 and PSZ2, are the largest catalogues of galaxy clusters selected through their SZ signature in the full sky. In 2013, we started a long-term observational program at Canary Island observatories with the aim of validating about 500 unconfirmed SZ sources. In this work we present results of the initial pre-screening of possible cluster counterparts using photometric and spectroscopic data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR12. Our main aim is to identify previously unconfirmed PSZ2 cluster candidates and to contribute in determination of the actual purity and completeness of Planck SZ source sample. Using the latest version of the PSZ2 catalogue, we select all sources overlapping with the SDSS DR12 footprint and without redshift information. We validate these cluster fields following optical criteria (mainly distance with respect to the Planck pointing, magnitude of the brightest cluster galaxy and cluster richness) and combining them with the profiles of the Planck Compton y-maps. Together, this procedure allows for a more robust identification of optical counterparts compared to simply cross-matching with existing SDSS cluster catalogues that have been constructed from earlier SDSS Data Releases. The sample contains new redshifts for 37 Planck galaxy clusters that were not included in the original release of PSZ2 Planck catalogue. We detect three cases as possible multiple counterparts. We show that a combination of all available information (optical images and profile of SZ signal) can provide correct associations between the observed Planck SZ source and the optically identified cluster. We also show that Planck SZ detection is very sensitive even to high-z (z>0.5) clusters. In addition, we also present updated spectroscopic information for 34 Planck PSZ1 sources (33 previously photometrically confirmed and 1 new identification).

We report new galaxy clusters previously unknown included in the PSZ1 catalogue. The results here presented have been achieved during the second year of a 2-year observational programme, the ITP13, developed at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Spain). We characterise 75 SZ sources with low SZ significance, SZ S/N\\(<5.32\\) by performing deep optical imaging and spectroscopy in order to associate actual galaxy clusters to the SZ Planck source. We adopt robust criteria, based on the 2D-spatial distribution, richness and velocity dispersions to confirm actual optical counterparts up to \\(z<0.85\\). At the end of the ITP13 observational programme, we study 256 SZ sources with \\(Dec \\geq -15^{\\circ}\\) (212 of them completely unknown), finding optical counterparts for 152 SZ sources. The ITP13 validation programme has allowed us to update the PSZ1 purity, which is now more refined, increasing from 72\\% to 83\\% in the low SZ S/N regime. Our results are consistent with the predicted purity curve for the full PSZ1 catalogue and with the expected fraction of false detections caused by the non-Gaussian noise of foreground signals. Indeed, we find a strong correlation between the number of unconfirmed sources and the thermal emission of diffuse galactic dust at 857 GHz, thus increasing the fraction of false Planck SZ detections at low galactic latitudes.

We identify new clusters and characterize previously unknown Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources from the first Planck catalogue of SZ sources (PSZ1). The results presented here correspond to an optical follow-up observational programme developed during approximately one year (2014) at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, using the 2.5m Isaac Newton telescope, the 3.5m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, the 4.2m William Herschel telescope and the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias. We characterize 115 new PSZ1 sources using deep optical imaging and spectroscopy. We adopt robust criteria in order to consolidate the SZ counterparts by analysing the optical richness, the 2D galaxy distribution, and velocity dispersions of clusters. Confirmed counterparts are considered to be validated if they are rich structures, well aligned with the Planck PSZ1 coordinate and show relatively high velocity dispersion. Following this classification, we confirm 53 clusters, which means that 46% of this PSZ1 subsample has been validated and characterized with this technique. Sixty-two SZ sources (54% of this PSZ1 subset) remain unconfirmed. In addition, we find that the fraction of unconfirmed clusters close to the galactic plane (at |b|<25deg) is greater than that at higher galactic latitudes (|b|>25deg), which indicates contamination produced by radio emission of galactic dust and gas clouds on these SZ detections. In fact, in the majority of the cases, we detect important galactic cirrus in the optical images, mainly in the SZ target located at low galactic latitudes, which supports this hypothesis.

Using telescopes at the Canary Island observatories, we conducted the long-term observational programme 128-MULTIPLE-16/15B (LP15), a large and complete optical follow-up campaign of all the unidentified PSZ2 sources in the northern sky (Dec>-15 deg) and no correspondence in the first Planck catalogue PSZ1. We perform this optical validation of SZ clusters in order to contribute to the characterization of the actual purity and completeness of full Our validation procedure combines this optical information with SZ emission as traced by the publicly available Planck Compton y-maps. The clusters counterparts are classified according to redshift, velocity dispersion and richness of the clusters. This paper presents the detailed study of 106 objects out of the LP15 sample, corresponding to all the observations carried out during the first year of the programme. We confirmed the optical counterpart for 41 new PSZ2 sources, being 31 of them validated using also velocity dispersion based on our spectroscopic information. This is the largest dataset of newly confirmed PSZ2 sources without any previous optical information. All the confirmed counterparts are rich structures (i.e. they show high velocity dispersion), and are well aligned with the nominal Planck coordinates (~70% of them are located at less than 3 arcmin distance). In total, 65 SZ sources are classified as unconfirmed, being 57 of them due to the absence of an optical over-density, and 8 of them due to a weak association with the observed SZ decrement. Most of the sources with no optical counterpart are located at low galactic latitudes and present strong galactic cirrus in the optical images, being the dust contamination the most probable explanation for their inclusion in the PSZ2 catalogue.

We study the morphology, luminosity and mass of the superclusters from the BOSS Great Wall (BGW), a recently discovered very rich supercluster complex at the redshift \\(z = 0.47\\). We have employed the Minkowski functionals to quantify supercluster morphology. We calculate supercluster luminosities and masses using two methods. Firstly, we used data about the luminosities and stellar masses of high stellar mass galaxies with \\(\\log(M_*/h^{-1}M_\\odot) \\geq 11.3\\). Secondly, we applied a scaling relation that combines morphological and physical parameters of superclusters to obtain supercluster luminosities, and obtained supercluster masses using the mass-to-light ratios found for local rich superclusters. We find that the BGW superclusters are very elongated systems, with shape parameter values of less than \\(0.2\\). This value is lower than that found for the most elongated local superclusters. The values of the fourth Minkowski functional \\(V_3\\) for the richer BGW superclusters (\\(V_3 = 7\\) and \\(10\\)) show that they have a complicated and rich inner structure. We identify two Planck SZ clusters in the BGW superclusters, one in the richest BGW supercluster, and another in one of the poor BGW superclusters. The luminosities of the BGW superclusters are in the range of \\(1 - 8\\times~10^{13}h^{-2}L_\\odot\\), and masses in the range of \\(0.4 - 2.1\\times~10^{16}h^{-1}M_\\odot\\). Supercluster luminosities and masses obtained with two methods agree well. We conclude that the BGW is a complex of massive, luminous and large superclusters with very elongated shape. The search and detailed study, including the morphology analysis of the richest superclusters and their complexes from observations and simulations can help us to understand formation and evolution of the cosmic web.