Iron Bioavailability from Ferrous Ammonium Phosphate, Ferrous Sulfate, and Ferric Pyrophosphate in an Instant Milk Drink-A Stable Isotope Study in Children.

Ferrous ammonium phosphate (FAP) is an iron salt that has been developed for the fortification of food matrices sensitive to color and flavor changes. The objective of the study was to measure iron absorption from FAP in young children and compare it to a previous evaluation of FAP in young women. A double-blind randomized crossover study with two parallel arms was used to evaluate the iron absorption from FAP added to reconstituted milk powder in comparison to that from ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) and ferric pyrophosphate (FePP). Iron absorption was measured in 39 children aged 3- to 6-years-old using erythrocyte incorporation of stable Fe isotopes (57Fe, 58Fe). The geometric mean iron absorption in iron replete children from FAP, FeSO4 and FePP from milk was 8.3%, 7.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Iron absorption from FAP and FeSO4 fortified milk was not significantly different (p = 0.199); however, it was significantly higher than from FePP fortified milk (p < 0.001). Iron bioavailability from FAP and FePP relative to FeSO4 (relative bioavailability (RBV)) was 110% and 33%, respectively. The RBV of FAP (110%) in iron replete children was higher than previously reported RBV (71%) in mainly iron deficient women. The difference in iron status between the children and women in the respective studies may explain the different RBV values and is discussed.

Microwave and Ultrasound Pretreatment of Moringa oleifera Lam. Seeds: Effects on Oil Expression, Oil Quality, and Bioactive Component.

This study investigates the application of green technologies (microwave and ultrasound pretreatment) in the extraction of Moringa oleifera Lam. seed oil and its effects on oil expression, oil quality, and bioactive component. Moringa seeds were pretreated with microwave (90 W, 60 s) or ultrasound (50 W, 1 h) before mechanical expression. A separate group received no pretreatment before oil extraction. Oils from these groups were then compared. Results show that oil yield increased with ultrasound pretreatment (1.24%) and significantly increased with microwave pretreatment (3.11%). For oil flow rate, the microwave and ultrasound pretreatment resulted in faster extraction (7.67 and 6.93 kg/h respectively) as compared with the control (6.51 kg/h). For physicochemical parameters, the microwave and ultrasound group had significantly less free fatty acids and significantly greater unsaponifiable matter as compared with the control. For fatty acid composition, results show that moringa seeds procured from Davao Oriental had greater oleic acid content (~77%) as compared with those reported by other literature. For phytosterol content, the predominant phytosterols found were ß-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol. Microwave and ultrasound pretreatment significantly increased total phytosterol (680.58 and 369.32 mg/kg respectively) as compared with the control (72.69 mg/kg) due to the mass transfer of the phytosterols. Microwave and ultrasound pretreatment also led to stigmastanol formation. For antioxidant activity, a comparison of both DPPH and FRAP assays depicts that the microwave group exhibited the best overall antioxidant activity. Lastly, for oil stability, a lower peroxide value was found in the microwave and ultrasound groups across time intervals, which may be attributed to their antioxidant activity. In summary, ultrasound and microwave pretreatment can improve oil expression, oil quality, and bioactive content of the mechanically expressed moringa oils.

Pan-cancer analysis of transcriptional metabolic dysregulation using The Cancer Genome Atlas.

Understanding metabolic dysregulation in different disease settings is vital for the safe and effective incorporation of metabolism-targeted therapeutics in the clinic. Here, using transcriptomic data for 10,704 tumor and normal samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas, across 26 disease sites, we present a novel bioinformatics pipeline that distinguishes tumor from normal tissues, based on differential gene expression for 114 metabolic pathways. We confirm pathway dysregulation in separate patient populations, demonstrating the robustness of our approach. Bootstrapping simulations were then applied to assess the biological significance of these alterations. We provide distinct examples of the types of analysis that can be accomplished with this tool to understand cancer specific metabolic dysregulation, highlighting novel pathways of interest, and patterns of metabolic flux, in both common and rare disease sites. Further, we show that Master Metabolic Transcriptional Regulators explain why metabolic differences exist, can segregate patient populations, and predict responders to different metabolism-targeted therapeutics.

Iron absorption from NaFeEDTA-fortified oat beverages with or without added vitamin C.

BACKGROUND: Food fortification is the best long-term approach for reducing the incidence of iron deficiency. OBJECTIVE: To determine iron absorption from NaFeEDTA-fortified oat beverages without and with vitamin C. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Iron absorption in 19 apparently healthy 6-year-old children was studied. Two oat beverages fortified with iron (labeled with stable isotopes of NaFeEDTA), zinc, and vitamin A, without and with vitamin C was consumed in two consecutive days in random order. Blood samples were taken 14 days later for stable isotope measurements. RESULTS: The mean fractional iron absorption from the fortified oat beverage without vitamin C (5.65 ± 0.54%) was significantly lower than that from the beverage with vitamin C (7.14 ± 0.90%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Fortified oat beverages may offer a convenient and effective mechanism to improve the iron status of children. The addition of vitamin C improved iron absorption by an additional 1.5%.

Frequência de Escherichia coli e sua sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos em menores de cinco anos hospitalizados por diarreia aguda / The frequency of Escherichia coli and its sensitivity to antimicrobials in children aged under five years admitted to hospital for treatment of acute diarrhea

Determinar a frequência de Escherichia coli diarreiogênica e sua sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos em menores de cinco anos hospitalizados por diarreia aguda. MÉTODOS: estudo prospectivo tipo corte transversal realizado no Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira, entre janeiro de 2010 e fevereiro de 2011. Foram excluídas as crianças com diagnóstico de imunodeficiência ou usando antimicrobianos. Para cada paciente foi feito uma única coleta de swab retal nas primeiras 24 horas de internação. Os patógenos foram identificados na coprocultura e sorotipagem. Os antibiogramas foram obtidos por disco-difusão. RESULTADOS: 140 crianças foram arroladas, em sua maioria provinham de famílias de baixa renda da Região Metropolitana do Recife. Foram isolados 99 microorganismos: 9 (6,4 por cento) E. coli enteropatogênica (EPEC) e 4 (2,9 por cento) E. coli enteroinvasora (EIEC) e 80 (57,1 por cento) outras E.coli não EPEC, não EIEC, 3 (2,1 por cento) Shigella spp e 3 (2,1 por cento) Salmonella spp. O perfil de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos demonstrou níveis elevados de resistência à ampicilina e sulfametoxazol-trimetoprima. CONCLUSÕES: a baixa frequência de EPEC observada pode estar associada às condições de saneamento básico favoráveis apresentadas pelos pacientes do estudo. A análise local do perfil da sensibilidade da E. coli aos antimicrobianos reforça a recomendação da Organização Mundial de Saúde para o uso racional dessas drogas visando prevenção da resistência bacteriana...

To determine the frequency of diarrheic Escherichia coli and its sensitivity to antimicrobials in children aged under five years admitted to hospital for treatment of acute diarrhea. METHODS: a prospective cross-sectional study was carried out at the Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira, between January 2010 and February 2011. Children were excluded if they had been diagnosed as immunodeficient or were using antimicrobials. A single rectal swab was taken from each patient during the first 24 hours of hospitalization. The pathogens were identified in the coproculture and serotyping. Antibiograms were obtained using disc-diffusion. RESULTS: 140 children were recruited. Most were from low-income families in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. Ninety-nine micro-organisms were isolated: 9 (6.4 percent) enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and 4 (2.9 percent) enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) and 80 (57.1 percent) other E.coli that are neither EPEC nor EIEC, 3 (2.1 percent) Shigella spp and 3 (2.1 percent) Salmonella spp. The profile of sensitivity to antimicrobials showed high levels to resistance to ampicillin and sulfametho-xazol-trimetropime. CONCLUSIONS: the low frequency of EPEC found may be associated with basic sanitary conditions among the patients in the study. The local analysis of the profile of sensitivity of E. coli to antimicrobials corroborates the World Health Organization recommendation that these drugs be used prudently to ensure prevention of resistance in bacteria...

The potential health benefits of legumes as a good source of dietary fibre.

Dietary fibre has been shown to have important health implications in the prevention of risks of chronic diseases. The objective of the present study was to determine the potential health benefits of legumes as a good source of dietary fibre. Six to ten local legumes were studied as follows: cowpeas, mung beans, pole sitao, chickpeas, green peas, groundnuts, pigeon peas, kidney beans, lima beans and soyabeans. The following studies were conducted: (a) mineral availability, in vitro; (b) glycaemic index (GI) in non-diabetic and diabetic human subjects; (c) the cholesterol-lowering effect in human subjects with moderately raised serum cholesterol levels. The highest Fe availability among legumes was for lima beans (9.5 (sem 0.1)) while for Zn and Ca, the highest availability was for kidney beans (49.3 (sem 4.5)) and pigeon peas (75.1 (sem 7.1)), respectively. Groundnuts have the lowest Fe (1.3 (sem 1.1)), Zn (7.9 (sem 1.3)) and Ca (14.6 (sem 2.8)) availability. Legumes are low-GI foods ( < 55), ranging from 6 (chickpeas) to 13 (mung beans). Kidney beans showed significant reductions for both total (6 %) and LDL-cholesterol (9 %), and groundnuts for total cholesterol (7 %; P < 0.05). We conclude that mineral availability from legumes differs and may be attributed to their mineral content, mineral-mineral interaction and from their phytic and tannic acid content; legumes are considered low-GI foods and have shown potential hypocholesterolaemic effects. The above studies can be a scientific basis for considering legumes as functional foods.

[High-risk eating behavior in Mexican adolescents. Data on the student population in the Federal District]. / Conductas alimentarias de riesgo en adolescentes mexicanos. Datos en población estudiantil del Distrito Federal.

Data of the Drug and Alcohol Prevalence in Student Population of Mexico City Survey 1997 were used to achieve knowledge about the presence of risk eating behaviors, characteristic of eating disorders in the student population of Mexico city (N = 10,173). The sample was conformed by boys (47.9%) and girls (52.1%), with a mean age of 14.5 years (SD = 1.8). The identification of the differences between boys and girls, and age groups in two occurrence categories of risk eating behavior (ever and two or more times per week) were among the main objectives. An eleven items scale with three answering options about eating behavior during the last three months was used. The BMI-P distributed normally, with greater percentage of overweight, than underweight in both sexes. A greater percentage of risk eating behaviors were found among girls, excluding hard exercising and binge eating, as well as similar percentages of laxative and enema use in both sexes. The analysis held by age groups for risk eating behaviors showed significant differences in binge eating, self induced vomiting, pills and enemas use among boys, while girls showed differences in almost all of these practices, being the group of 18 and 19 years where the greater percentages were found.

Alkamides from Cissampelos glaberrima.

Two alkamides, deca-2E,4E-dienoic acid isobutylamide (1) and octa-2E,4E-dienoic acid isobutylamide (2), were isolated from the roots of Cissampelos glaberrima (Menispermaceae). Their structures were established by spectral and physical methods. Traces of two new alkamides, decen-2-oic acid isobutylamide (3) and decanoic acid isobutylamide (4), were identified by mass spectrometry.

Soman and sarin inhibition of molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase in mice. Time course of recovery and reactivation by the oxime HI-6.

The in vivo sensitivity of the molecular forms of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase to inhibition by either soman or sarin, reactivation by HI-6 and the time course of recovery following inhibition by soman were investigated in mice. Administration of HI-6 (50 mg/kg, i.p.) immediately after soman (100 micrograms/kg, s.c.) or sarin (150 micrograms/kg, s.c.) resulted in an apparent selective reactivation of the 10S and 16S molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase and no reactivation of the 4S form of diaphragm acetylcholinesterase. The apparent selectivity of the reactivation of the molecular forms of the acetylcholinesterase was probably due to the fact that the 10S and 16S forms of acetylcholinesterase are located primarily extracellularly and the 4S form intracellularly. The HI-6 was restricted primarily to the extracellular compartment due to its quaternary, hydrophilic nature. If the administration of HI-6 was delayed until 60 min following soman (100 micrograms/kg, s.c.) injection, no reactivation of any of the molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase could be found in the diaphragm. The soman-inhibited acetylcholinesterase had probably aged and, thus, was not susceptible to reactivation by HI-6. The time course of recovery of the molecular forms in the diaphragm occurred rather quickly with the smaller 4S and 10S forms recovering to control levels faster than the larger 16S form. It took between 8 and 16 days for the 16S form to recover to normal. In the brain, hypothalamic acetylcholinesterase molecular forms such as the 4S recovered faster than the 10S form which had not recovered to control 16 days after soman administration; the 16S form of acetylcholinesterase was not detected in the brain.

Application of immunoperoxidase techniques to localize horseradish peroxidase-tracer in the central nervous system.

Immunoperoxidase techniques are presented which can be used to localize horseradish peroxidase-tracer in paraffin-embedded tissues of the central nervous system. Compared to histochemical methods using frozen sections, these immunologic techniques allow the use of stored, serial paraffin sections, and appear more sensitive for the demonstration of intraneuronal horseradish peroxidase after retrograde transport. The immunoperoxidase bridge techniques from reaction products of high quality which can easily be seen in fine processes.