Effectiveness Of Tocilizumab In Aortitis And Aneurysms Associated With Giant Cell Arteritis.

OBJECTIVE: Aortitis in Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA-aortitis) is a frequent complication that may lead to aneurysms. Tocilizumab (TCZ) was approved in GCA, but the efficacy in GCA-aortitis and aneurysms has not been analyzed to date. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness and safety of TCZ in a wide series of GCA-aortitis and aneurysms. METHODS: Multicentre observational study with GCA-aortitis treated with TCZ. GCA was diagnosed by: a) ACR criteria, b) temporal artery biopsy, and/or c) imaging techniques. Aortitis was diagnosed mainly by PET/CT. Main outcomes were EULAR and imaging remission. Others were clinical remission, analytical normalization, corticosteroid-sparing effect, and the prevention and improvement of aneurysms. RESULTS: 196 patients with GCA-aortitis treated with TCZ. After 6 months, 72.2% reached EULAR remission but only 12% an imaging remission; increasing up-to 81.4% and 31.8%, respectively, at 24 months. A rapid clinical remission, ESR and CRP normalization was observed in 47.4%, 84.3% and 55.6%, at 1 month, increasing to 89.6%, 85.3% and 80.3% at 24 months, respectively. Aneurysms were present in 10 (5%) patients. Five of them required early surgery, while 3 others enlarged. No patient on TCZ therapy developed aneurysms during follow-up. CONCLUSION: In patients with GCA-aortitis treated with TCZ, a rapid and maintained clinical and analytical improvement was observed. However, there was an uncoupling between clinical and EULAR remission with imaging remission.

Pilot Study Assessing the Safety and Acceptance of a Novel Virtual Reality System to Improve Visual Function.

PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility of the clinical use of a novel Virtual Reality (VR) training software designed to be used for active vision therapy in amblyopic patients by determining its preliminary safety and acceptance on the visual function of healthy adults. METHODS: Pilot study enrolling 10 individuals (3 men, 7 women, mean age: 31.8 ± 6.5 years) with a best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of ≥ .90 (decimal) in both eyes were evaluated before and after 20 minutes of exposure to the NEIVATECH VR system using the HTC Vive Pro Eye head mounted display. Visual function assessment included near (40 cm) and distance (6 m) cover test (CT), stereopsis, binocular accommodative facility (BAF), near point of convergence (NPC), near point of accommodation (NPA), accommodative-convergence over accommodation (AC/A) ratio and positive and negative fusional vergences. Safety was assessed using the VR Sickness Questionnaire (VRSQ) and acceptance using the Technology Acceptance Model ;(TAM). Changes in all these variables after VR exposure were analyzed. RESULTS: Short-term exposure to the NEIVATECH VR system only induced statistically significant changes in distance phoria (p = .016), but these changes were not clinically relevant. No significant changes were observed in VRSQ oculo-motricity and disorientation scores after exposure (p = .197 and .317, respectively). TAM scores showed a good acceptance of the system in terms of perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use, although some concerns were raised in relation to the intention-to-use domain. CONCLUSION: Exposure to the NEIVATECH VR system does not seem to adversely affect the visual function in healthy adults and its safety and acceptance profile seems to be adequate for supporting its potential use in other populations, such as amblyopic patients.

A New Polyclad Flatworm, Idiostylochus tortuosus gen. nov., sp. nov. (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida) from France. Can this Foreign Flatworm be Responsible for the Deterioration of Oyster and Mussel Farms?

A new species of polyclad flatworm, Idiostylochus tortuosus gen. nov., sp. nov. (Polycladida, Idioplanidae), from Arcachon Bay (France) is described. This description is based on a morphological analysis and a molecular analysis using partial sequences of the 28S and cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) genes. After the molecular analysis Idiostylochus gen. nov. appears to be the second genus of the Family Idioplanidae and closely related to the family Latocestidae as well as the genera Leptostylochus and Mirostylochus. The molecular data revealed that the new species may belong to an Indonesian or Indo-Pacific family, closely related to genera with origins in South Pacific Ocean waters. This species was found feeding on the oysters and mussels of the Arcachon farms.

Gantry triggered x-ray verification during single-isocenter stereotactic radiosurgery: Increased certainty for a no-margin strategy.

BACKGROUND: Single-isocenter linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has emerged as a dedicated treatment option for multiple brain metastases. Consequently, image-guidance for patient positioning and motion management has become very important. The purpose of this study was to analyze intra-fraction errors measured with stereoscopic x-rays and their impact on the dose distribution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Treatments were planned with non- coplanar dynamic conformal arcs for 33 patients corresponding to 127 brain lesions and 356 arcs. Intra-arc positioning errors were measuredusing stereoscopic x-rays (ExacTrac Dynamic, Brainlab), triggered during arc delivery. Couch corrections above 0.7 mm and 0.5° were always applied. Intra-arc positioning data was analyzed. The dose impact was evaluated by applying the measured errors to the dose given in each arc. RESULTS: Median residual errors were 0.10 mm, 0.13 mm and 0.08 mm for the lateral, longitudinal and vertical directions and 0.10°, 0.08° and 0.13° for the pitch, roll and yaw angles respectively. 90% of the treatment arcs showed shifts of less than 0.4 mm and 0.4°in all directions. Dosimetric impact of motion showed the largest losses in coverage on small targets. All targets achieved at least 95% of the prescription dose to 95% of their volume, even when planned without margins. CONCLUSIONS: Intra-fractional errors measured during beam delivery were found to be notably low with a dose impact that showed acceptable target coverage when applying these intra-arc errors to the dose distributions of the individual treatment arcs. Using an adequate immobilization and intra-fraction imaging prior to and during irradiation, no margins need to be added to compensate for intra-fraction motion.

Repurposing Sulfasalazine as a Radiosensitizer in Hypoxic Human Colorectal Cancer.

xCT overexpression in cancer cells has been linked to tumor growth, metastasis and treatment resistance. Sulfasalazine (SSZ), an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of rheumatoid sarthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases, has anticancer properties via inhibition of xCT, leading to the disruption of redox homeostasis. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) are pivotal for the efficacy of radiotherapy (RT), elevated levels of ROS are associated with improved RT outcomes. In this study, the influence of SSZ treatment on the radiosensitivity of human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells was investigated. Our principal finding in human HCT116 and DLD-1 cells was that SSZ enhances the radiosensitivity of hypoxic CRC cells but does not alter the intrinsic radiosensitivity. The radiosensitizing effect was attributed to the depletion of glutathione and thioredoxin reductase levels. In turn, the reduction leads to excessive levels of ROS, increased DNA damage, and ferroptosis induction. Confirmation of these findings was performed in 3D models and in DLD-1 xenografts. Taken together, this study is a stepping stone for applying SSZ as a radiosensitizer in the clinic and confirms that xCT in cancer cells is a valid radiobiological target.

Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Profile Estimation Using Neural Networks, Mesoscale Models, and LiDAR Measurements.

This paper introduces a novel methodology that estimates the wind profile within the ABL by using a neural network along with predictions from a mesoscale model in conjunction with a single near-surface measurement. A major advantage of this solution compared to other solutions available in the literature is that it requires only near-surface measurements for prediction once the neural network has been trained. An additional advantage is the fact that it can be potentially used to explore the time evolution of the wind profile. Data collected by a LiDAR sensor located at the University of León (Spain) is used in the present research. The information obtained from the wind profile is valuable for multiple applications, such as preliminary calculations of the wind asset or CFD modeling.

Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Benefit of a Novel Clinical Decision Support System for the Management of COVID-19 Patients in Home Quarantine: A Study Protocol.

(1) Background: We present the protocol of a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the benefit of a novel clinical decision support system for the management of patients with COVID-19. (2) Methods: The study will recruit up to 500 participants (250 cases and 250 controls). Both groups will receive the conventional telephone follow-up protocol by primary care and will also be provided with access to a mobile application, in which they will be able to report their symptoms three times a day. In addition, patients in the active group will receive a wearable smartwatch and a pulse oximeter at home for real-time monitoring. The measured data will be visualized by primary care and emergency health service professionals, allowing them to detect in real time the progression and complications of the disease in order to promote early therapeutic interventions based on their clinical judgement. (3) Results: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Drug Research Ethics Committee of the Valladolid East Health Area (CASVE-NM-21-516). The results obtained from this study will form part of the thesis of two PhD students and will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. (4) Conclusions: The implementation of this telemonitoring system can be extrapolated to patients with other similar diseases, such as chronic diseases, with a high prevalence and need for close monitoring.

Synthesis, Post-Functionalization and Properties of Diphosphapentaarenes.

Linearly-fused polyarenes are an important class of compounds with high relevance in materials science. While modifying the shape and size represents a common means to fine-tune their properties, the precise placement of heteroatoms is a strategy that is receiving an increasing deal of attention to overcome the intrinsic limitations of all-carbon structures. Thus, linearly-fused diphosphaarenes recently emerged as a novel family of molecules with striking optoelectronic properties and outstanding stability. However, the properties of diphosphaarenes are far from being benchmarked. Herein, we report the synthesis, phosphorus post-functionalization and properties of new diphosphapentaarene derivatives. We describe their synthetic limitations and unveil their potential for optoelectronic applications.

The role of the dorsal striatum in a mouse model for fragile X syndrome: Behavioral and dendritic spine assessment.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), a leading monogenic cause of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), typically occurs as the result of a mutation silencing the Fmr1 gene, preventing production of the fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein (FMRP). FXS is characterized, in part, by hyperactivity, impaired behavioral flexibility, and the development of repetitive, or stereotyped, behaviors. While these phenotypes are influenced by striatal activity, few studies have examined FXS or FMRP in the context of striatal function. Here, we report enhanced repetitive behaviors in Fmr1 knockout (KO) compared to wild type (WT) mice according to multiple measures, including quantity and intensity of stereotypic behaviors in an open field and nose poking activity in an unbaited hole board test. However, using a baited version of the hole board assay, we see that KO mice do show some behavioral flexibility in that they make changes in their nose poking behavior following familiarization with an appetitive bait. By contrast, repeated exposure to cocaine (15 mg/kg) promotes repetitive behavior in both WT and KO mice, in a manner mostly independent of genotype. Branch length alterations in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) are similar between WT cocaine-treated and KO saline-treated mice, possibly suggesting shared synaptic mechanisms. Overall, we suggest that scoring open field behavior is a sensitive measure for repetitive sensory-motor behaviors in Fmr1 KO mice. In addition, our findings show that synaptic contacts onto MSNs in the DLS should be examined in conjunction with measures of stereotypical behavior.

The human connection: First evidence of microplastics in remote high mountain lakes of Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Microplastics have become one of the most serious global threats to animal and human health. While their presence has been documented in all Earth water ecosystems, including remote mountain lakes, the observation that the abundance of microplastics is largely different across nearby lakes has rarely been examined. As part of a citizen science initiative, this study analyzed for the first time the abundance of microplastics in the surface of 35 glacial lakes of Sierra Nevada National Park in Southern Spain with the objective of determining the local factors that control their abundance. First, we described the shape, size, color and nature of microplastics. Second, we tested whether the number of microplastics differed between basins and analyzed environmental and morphometrical features of lakes affecting their abundance. We found that microplastics were common in most lakes, with a maximum abundance of 21.3 particles per liter that akin to some of the most microplastic polluted lakes worldwide. Fragments were the predominant shape (59.7%) followed by fibers (38.8%) and very scarce spheres (1.5%). Microplastics were observed for all size-fractions, but the abundance of particles <45 µm was higher, what advocates for the use of low pore-size filters to prevent underestimation of microplastics. While the mean abundance of microplastics did not differ among basins, their quantity was related to the presence of meadows surrounding the lakes. This result indicates that while atmospheric transport of microsplastics may equally reach all basins, differences in microplastics among nearby-lakes has an anthropic origin caused by mountaineers who find lakes with ample meadows much more attractive to visit relative to barren lakes. The staggering number in these remote lakes, headwaters of rivers that feed drinking reservoirs, is a major concern that warrants further investigation and the strict compliance with waste management laws to reduce the harmful impacts of microplastic contamination.

Automated Motion Analysis of Bony Joint Structures from Dynamic Computer Tomography Images: A Multi-Atlas Approach.

Dynamic computer tomography (CT) is an emerging modality to analyze in-vivo joint kinematics at the bone level, but it requires manual bone segmentation and, in some instances, landmark identification. The objective of this study is to present an automated workflow for the assessment of three-dimensional in vivo joint kinematics from dynamic musculoskeletal CT images. The proposed method relies on a multi-atlas, multi-label segmentation and landmark propagation framework to extract bony structures and detect anatomical landmarks on the CT dataset. The segmented structures serve as regions of interest for the subsequent motion estimation across the dynamic sequence. The landmarks are propagated across the dynamic sequence for the construction of bone embedded reference frames from which kinematic parameters are estimated. We applied our workflow on dynamic CT images obtained from 15 healthy subjects on two different joints: thumb base (n = 5) and knee (n = 10). The proposed method resulted in segmentation accuracies of 0.90 ± 0.01 for the thumb dataset and 0.94 ± 0.02 for the knee as measured by the Dice score coefficient. In terms of motion estimation, mean differences in cardan angles between the automated algorithm and manual segmentation, and landmark identification performed by an expert were below 1°. Intraclass correlation (ICC) between cardan angles from the algorithm and results from expert manual landmarks ranged from 0.72 to 0.99 for all joints across all axes. The proposed automated method resulted in reproducible and reliable measurements, enabling the assessment of joint kinematics using 4DCT in clinical routine.

Atmospheric Boundary Layer Wind Profile Estimation Using Neural Networks Applied to Lidar Measurements.

This paper introduces a new methodology for estimating the wind profile within the ABL (Atmospheric Boundary Layer) using a neural network and a single-point near-ground measurement. An important advantage of this solution when compared with others available in the literature is that it only requires near surface measurements for the prognosis once the neural network is trained. Another advantage is that it can be used to study the wind profile temporal evolution. This work uses data collected by a lidar sensor located at the Universidad de León (Spain). The neural network best configuration was determined using sensibility analyses. The result is a multilayer perceptron with three layers for each altitude: the input layer has six nodes for the last three measurements, the second has 128 nodes and the third consists of two nodes that provide u and v. The proposed method has better performance than traditional methods. The obtained wind profile information obtained is useful for multiple applications, such as preliminary calculations of the wind resource or CFD models.

A concise overview of non-invasive intra-abdominal pressure measurement techniques: from bench to bedside.

This review presents an overview of previously reported non-invasive intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurement techniques. Each section covers the basic physical principles and methodology of the various measurement techniques, the experimental results, and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The most promising non-invasive methods for IAP measurement are microwave reflectometry and ultrasound assessment, in combination with an applied external force.

[Prevalence of risk eating behaviors and metabolic syndrome in teenage school students of Morelos state]. / Prevalencia de conductas alimentarias de riesgo y síndrome metabólico en escolares adolescentes del estado de Morelos.

INTRODUCTION: metabolic syndrome (MS) is a health problem associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of MS in adolescents from Morelos is unknown. Certain risk eating behaviors (REB) may be associated with this phenotype. OBJECTIVE: to determine the prevalence of MS in adolescents and its association with REB. METHODS: cross-sectional study in junior high schools and high schools from Morelos. Anthropometric, clinical data, perception of body image and REB were investigated. MS was diagnosed with international criteria for adolescents and their association with REB was analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and 95% confidence intervals (CI95). RESULTS: a total of 869 adolescents aged 14.6 ± 1.6 years were studied. They reported 2.6 ± 1.8 REB; the overall score was 5.9 ± 0.33. The 16.6% presented moderate or high REB risk. The prevalence of MS (6.7%) was associated with the REB score (OR 1.2 [1.1-1.3]), a value that remained after adjusting for age, sex, breakfast omission, residence region, perception of body image and background family of obesity, diabetes, hypertension or infarction (ODHI), ORadj 1.2 (1.1-1.3), pseudo R2 = 0.14, Chi-squared 16.7, p < 0.03. CONCLUSION: MS was more frequent in men, who were perceived to be thinner and with two or more family history of ODHI. It is suggested to influence the self-perception of overweight or obesity, to educate about compulsive behaviors, undergo diets, fasting and exercise to prevent MS.

Introducción: el síndrome metabólico (SM) es un problema de salud asociado a diabetes y enfermedades cardiovasculares. Se desconoce la prevalencia de SM en adolescentes del estado de Morelos. Ciertas conductas alimentarias de riesgo (CAR) podrían estar asociadas a ese fenotipo.Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia de SM en adolescentes y su asociación con las CAR.Métodos: estudio transversal en escuelas secundarias y preparatorias de Morelos. Se investigaron datos antropométricos, clínicos, percepción de la imagen corporal y de las CAR. El SM se diagnosticó con criterios internacionales para adolescentes y se analizó su asociación con las CAR. Mediante análisis de regresión logística se estimaron razones de momios (RM) e intervalos de confianza al 95% (IC95).Resultados: fueron estudiados 869 adolescentes de 14,6 ± 1,6 años. Reportaron 2,6 ± 1,8 CAR; el puntaje global fue 5,9 ± 0,33. El 16,6% presentaba riesgo CAR moderado o alto. La prevalencia de SM (6,7%) estuvo asociada al puntaje de CAR, RM 1,2 (1,1-1,3), valor que permaneció después de ajustar por edad, sexo, omisión del desayuno, región de residencia, percepción de la imagen corporal y de antecedentes familiares de obesidad, diabetes, hipertensión o infarto (ODHI), RMaj 1,2 (1,1-1,3), pseudo R2 = 0,14, Chi cuadrado 16,7, p < 0,03.Conclusión: el SM fue más frecuente en hombres, que se percibían más delgados y con dos o más antecedentes familiares ODHI. Se sugiere incidir sobre la autopercepción del sobrepeso u obesidad y educar sobre conductas compulsivas, seguimiento de dietas, ayunos y ejercicio para prevenir el SM.

Heme Iron Concentrate and Iron Sulfate Added to Chocolate Biscuits: Effects on Hematological Indices of Mexican Schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVE: Food fortification is one of the most effective strategies for increasing iron intake in the population. A simple blind trial was conducted to compare the effect of 2 forms of iron fortification and assess the changes in hemoglobin and iron status indices among preschool children from rural communities. METHODS: Hemoglobin was evaluated in 47 children aged 3-6 years old. For 72 days (10-week period), children ate Nito biscuits. Thirteen pupils with elevated hemoglobin levels were assigned to the biscuit control group, and pupils with hemoglobin equal to 13.5 mg/dL or less were randomly allocated to consume fortified biscuits with a heme iron concentrate (n = 15) or iron sulfate (n = 19). Changes in hemoglobin, plasma ferritin, and other hematological indices were evaluated with analysis of variance (ANOVA) for repeated measurements. RESULTS: Except mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations (+1.27 ± 2.25 g/dL), hematological indices increased significantly across the study: Mean corpuscular volume (+2.2 ± 1.0 f/dL), red blood cells (+0.30 ± 0.37 M/µL), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (+1.8 ± 1.74 pg), hemoglobin (+1.68 ± 0.91 g/dL), hematocrit (+3.43% ± 3.03%), and plasma ferritin (+18.38 ± 22.1 µg/L) were all p < 0.05. After 10 weeks, the adjusted effect of the iron-fortified chocolate biscuits in the hemoglobin levels was higher than the control group (+1.1 ± 0.2 g/dL) but no difference was found between consumers of fortified biscuits with heme iron concentrate or iron sulfate (+1.9 ± 0.2 g/dL and +2.0 ± 0.2 g/dL, respectively). CONCLUSION: Heme iron concentrate and iron sulfate were equally effective in increasing Hb levels and hematological indices. Processed foods were shown to be an effective, valuable, and admissible intervention to prevent anemia in preschool children.

[OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN FULL TIME SCHOOLS MORELOS, MÉXICO]. / SOBREPESO Y OBESIDAD EN NIÑOS Y ADOLESCENTES DE ESCUELAS DE TIEMPO COMPLETO DE MORELOS, MÉXICO.

INTRODUCTION: in Mexico, although there are low intakes of some nutrients; there are higher total energy, fat and sodium and common inadequate physical activity in schools, which originates the presence of overweight and obesity. Objetive: the aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children full- time state of Morelos (Mexico). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: a cross sectional study in 30 966 students 3-15 years attending 186 schools. The nutritional status was obtained through the Body Mass Index, considering the age and sex; weight was measured with SECA 813 scales and height with stadiometer SECA 213; international benchmarks were used. RESULTS: 36 482 boys and girls censused, it's measured at 30 966 (84.9%) attended the day of visit. The overall prevalence of underweight was close to 8%, and the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity exceeded 25%. Were higher prevalences of underweight and obesity in men. CONCLUSIONS: one in 12 children are underweight; one in four, overweight and one in nine obese. The male population is more vulnerable to suffer consequences for nutritional deficiencies and excesses. Specific studies are needed to differentiate and address obesity primary type and associated risks to define future actions.

Introducción: es común que los escolares en México presenten bajos consumos de algunos nutrimentos, y elevados consumos de energía total, grasas y sodio; también es frecuente que su actividad física sea insuficiente, lo que propicia la presencia de sobrepeso y obesidad. Objetivo: el propósito de este estudio fue identificar la prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad en los alumnos de escuelas de tiempo completo del estado de Morelos (México). Sujetos y métodos: estudio transversal en 30.966 alumnos de 3 a 15 años, asistentes a 186 escuelas. El estado nutricional se obtuvo a través del Índice de Masa Corporal, considerando la edad y el género; el peso se midió con básculas SECA 813 y la talla con estadímetros SECA 213; se utilizaron patrones de referencia internacionales. Resultados: de 36.482 niños y niñas censados, se midió a 30.966 (84,9%) que asistieron el día de visita. La prevalencia global de bajo peso se aproximó al 8% y la prevalencia conjunta de sobrepeso y obesidad superó el 25%. Fueron más altas las prevalencias de bajo peso y obesidad en los hombres. Conclusiones: uno de cada 12 niños tiene bajo peso; uno de cada cuatro, sobrepeso y uno de cada nueve, obesidad. La población masculina es más vulnerable a padecer consecuencias por deficiencias y excesos nutricionales. Son necesarios estudios específicos para diferenciar y atender la obesidad de tipo primario y los riesgos asociados, para definir acciones futuras.

Malic enzyme activity is not the only bottleneck for lipid accumulation in the oleaginous fungus Mucor circinelloides.

Commercial interest in microbial lipids is increasing due to their potential use as feedstock for biodiesel production. The supply of NADPH generated by malic enzyme (ME; NADP+-dependent; EC 1.1.1.40) has been postulated as being the rate-limiting step for fatty acid biosynthesis in oleaginous fungi, based mainly on data from the zygomycete Mucor circinelloides studies. This fungus contains five genes that code for six different ME isoforms. One of these genes, malA, codes for the isoforms III and IV, which have previously been associated with lipid accumulation. Following a strategy of targeted integration of an engineered malA gene, a stable strain overexpressing malA and showing high ME activity has been obtained, demonstrating the feasibility of this strategy to overexpress genes of biotechnological interest in M. circinelloides. This is the first report showing the integration and overexpression of a gene in Zygomycetes. Unexpectedly, the genetically modified strain showed a lipid content similar to that of a prototrophic non-overexpressing control strain, suggesting that another limiting step in the fatty acid synthesis pathway may have been revealed as a consequence of the elimination of malic enzyme-based bottleneck. Otherwise, the fact that prototrophic strains showed at least a 2.5-fold increase in lipid accumulation in comparison with leucine auxotrophic strains suggests that a wild-type leucine biosynthetic pathway is required for lipid accumulation. Moreover, increasing concentrations of leucine in culture medium increased growth of auxotrophs but failed to increase lipid content, suggesting that the leucine synthesized by the fungus is the only leucine available for lipid biosynthesis. These results support previous data postulating leucine metabolism as one of the pathways involved in the generation of the acetyl-CoA required for fatty acid biosynthesis.

High reliability transformation of the basal fungus Mucor circinelloides by electroporation.

Molecular approaches to study the biology of the zygomycete Mucor circinelloides depend mainly on the existence of a polyethylene glycol-based transformation method, which is one of the most efficient in zygomycete fungi. However, the poor reliability and low transformation rates of this method are major obstacles in the molecular study of a number of biological processes. This paper describes an easy and reliable method to transform M. circinelloides protoplasts by electroporation. A high-voltage pulse of 25µF capacitance, 400Ω resistance, and 4kV/cm field strength were seen to be the optimal electrical conditions for delivering DNA into M. circinelloides protoplasts. Under these electrical conditions, successful transformations were carried out with several self-replicative plasmid and strain combinations, producing up to more than 500 transformants per µg DNA. Targeted DNA integration of a transgene (atfA gene of Acinetobacter baylyi) in a particular locus (carRP) was also achieved. This transformation method will considerably facilitate in-depth molecular genetic studies of the biology of this fungus.

Bioavailability of a heme-iron concentrate product added to chocolate biscuit filling in adolescent girls living in a rural area of Mexico.

A heme-iron concentrate product derived from swine hemoglobin was used to enrich the chocolate-flavored filling of biscuits and the bioavailability of this source of heme-iron was assessed in adolescent girls. The placebo control (PC) group consisted of 35 teenagers with the highest baseline hemoglobin concentrations. The supplemented groups were randomized to receive biscuits fortified with iron sulfate (IS, n = 37) or heme-iron concentrate (HIC, n = 40). Both groups were supplemented with 10.3 mg Fe/d for 7 wk. Blood chemistry and hematology analyses were performed at baseline and at the end of the study. The baseline prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin <12 g/dl) in the entire group was 3.9% and by the end of the study it had fallen to 2.3%. The hemoglobin levels in both supplemented groups increased (P < 0.05) during the study period from 13.6 and 13.5 g/dl for HIC and IS, respectively, at baseline to 14 g/dl at the end of the study. Serum ferritin concentrations decreased by the end of the study in both the PC and IS groups (P < 0.05), but not in the heme group. In conclusion, iron bioavailability from HIC-fortified biscuits was calculated to be 23.7% higher than that observed for IS, as shown by the differences observed in serum ferritin levels during the study. The iron contained in the heme-iron concentrate was well absorbed and tolerated by the adolescents included in the study.

Bioavailability of heme iron in biscuit filling using piglets as an animal model for humans.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the bioavailability of heme iron added to biscuit filling. It comprised two stages: first, the development of the heme iron enriched biscuit filling; second, the evaluation of the bioavailability of the mineral in fattening piglets. Two groups were selected randomly and fed: a) Low iron feed and biscuits with heme iron supplemented filling; b) Normal feed (with ferrous sulphate). Weight and blood parameters were measured every fifteen days. Averages were compared after duplicate analyses. The filling had a creamy appearance, chocolate taste and smell, appropriate spreadability, heme iron content of 2.6 mg per gram and a shelf-life of a month. The heme iron supplemented pigs registered a greater (P<0.05) weight gain (27.8% more than the control group). Mortality in the heme iron group was 10%, compared to 50% in the control group. The amount of iron measured in the different compartment was greater in the heme group (3315 mg) than in the control group (2792 mg). However, the amount of iron consumed in the latter was greater. We show that an acceptable product with high heme iron content can be formulated, suitable for use as biscuit filling. The heme iron supplement produced better weight increase and lesser mortality in fattening pigs. The bioavailability of heme iron was 23% greater (P<0.05) compared to ferrous sulphate.