Docosahexaenoic and Arachidonic Acid Supplementation of Toddlers Born Preterm Does Not Affect Short-Term Growth or Adiposity.

BACKGROUND: Dietary DHA intake among US toddlers is low. Healthy physical growth is an important objective for the clinical care of children born preterm. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the trial was to examine the effects of supplementing toddlers born preterm with DHA and arachidonic acid (AA) for 180 d on growth and adiposity. METHODS: Omega Tots, a randomized placebo-controlled trial, was conducted between April 2012 and March 2017. Children born at <35 wk gestation who were 10-16 mo in corrected age were assigned to receive daily oral supplements of DHA and AA (200 mg each, "DHA + AA") or corn oil (placebo) for 180 d. Prespecified secondary outcomes included weight, length, head circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, BMI, and their respective z scores, and body fat percentage, which were measured at baseline and trial completion. Mixed-effects regression was used to compare the change in outcomes between the DHA + AA and placebo groups, controlling for baseline values. RESULTS: Among 377 children included in the analysis (median corrected age = 15.7 mo, 48.3% female), 348 (92.3%) had growth or adiposity data at baseline and trial end. No statistically significant differences between the DHA + AA and placebo groups in growth or adiposity outcomes were observed. For instance, the change in weight-for-age z scores was 0.1 for the DHA + AA group and 0.0 for the placebo group (effect size = 0.01, P = 0.99). However, post-hoc subgroup analyses revealed a statistically significant interaction between treatment group and sex, suggesting somewhat slower linear growth for females assigned to the DHA + AA group compared with the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Among toddlers born preterm, daily supplementation with DHA + AA for 180 d resulted in no short-term differences in growth or adiposity compared with placebo. If DHA supplementation is implemented after the first year of life, it can be expected to have no effect on short-term growth or adiposity. This trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02199808.

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering on ferrous and ferric bis-imidazole porphyrin and cytochrome c: nature and role of the axial methionine-Fe bond.

Axial Cu-S(Met) bonds in electron transfer (ET) active sites are generally found to lower their reduction potentials. An axial S(Met) bond is also present in cytochrome c (cyt c) and is generally thought to increase the reduction potential. The highly covalent nature of the porphyrin environment in heme proteins precludes using many spectroscopic approaches to directly study the Fe site to experimentally quantify this bond. Alternatively, L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) enables one to directly focus on the 3d-orbitals in a highly covalent environment and has previously been successfully applied to porphyrin model complexes. However, this technique cannot be extended to metalloproteins in solution. Here, we use metal K-edge XAS to obtain L-edge like data through 1s2p resonance inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). It has been applied here to a bis-imidazole porphyrin model complex and cyt c. The RIXS data on the model complex are directly correlated to L-edge XAS data to develop the complementary nature of these two spectroscopic methods. Comparison between the bis-imidazole model complex and cyt c in ferrous and ferric oxidation states show quantitative differences that reflect differences in axial ligand covalency. The data reveal an increased covalency for the S(Met) relative to N(His) axial ligand and a higher degree of covalency for the ferric states relative to the ferrous states. These results are reproduced by DFT calculations, which are used to evaluate the thermodynamics of the Fe-S(Met) bond and its dependence on redox state. These results provide insight into a number of previous chemical and physical results on cyt c.

Metal-ligand covalency of iron complexes from high-resolution resonant inelastic X-ray scattering.

Data from Kα resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) have been used to extract electronic structure information, i.e., the covalency of metal-ligand bonds, for four iron complexes using an experimentally based theoretical model. Kα RIXS involves resonant 1s→3d excitation and detection of the 2p→1s (Kα) emission. This two-photon process reaches similar final states as single-photon L-edge (2p→3d) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), but involves only hard X-rays and can therefore be used to get high-resolution L-edge-like spectra for metal proteins, solution catalysts and their intermediates. To analyze the information content of Kα RIXS spectra, data have been collected for four characteristic σ-donor and π-back-donation complexes: ferrous tacn [Fe(II)(tacn)2]Br2, ferrocyanide [Fe(II)(CN)6]K4, ferric tacn [Fe(III)(tacn)2]Br3 and ferricyanide [Fe(III)(CN)6]K3. From these spectra metal-ligand covalencies can be extracted using a charge-transfer multiplet model, without previous information from the L-edge XAS experiment. A direct comparison of L-edge XAS and Kα RIXS spectra show that the latter reaches additional final states, e.g., when exciting into the e(g) (σ*) orbitals, and the splitting between final states of different symmetry provides an extra dimension that makes Kα RIXS a more sensitive probe of σ-bonding. Another key difference between L-edge XAS and Kα RIXS is the π-back-bonding features in ferro- and ferricyanide that are significantly more intense in L-edge XAS compared to Kα RIXS. This shows that two methods are complementary in assigning electronic structure. The Kα RIXS approach can thus be used as a stand-alone method, in combination with L-edge XAS for strongly covalent systems that are difficult to probe by UV/vis spectroscopy, or as an extension to conventional absorption spectroscopy for a wide range of transition metal enzymes and catalysts.

Reinvestigation of the method used to map the electronic structure of blue copper proteins by NMR relaxation.

A previous method for mapping the electron spin distribution in blue copper proteins by paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation (Hansen DF, Led JJ, 2004, J Am Chem Soc 126:1247-1253) suggested that the blue copper site of plastocyanin from Anabaena variabilis (A.v.) is less covalent than those found for other plastocyanins by other experimental methods, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Here, a detailed spectroscopic study revealed that the electronic structure of A.v. plastocyanin is similar to those of other plastocyanins. Therefore, the NMR approach was reinvestigated using a more accurate geometric structure as the basis for the mapping, in contrast to the previous approach, as well as a more complete spin distribution model including Gaussian-type natural atomic orbitals instead of Slater-type hydrogen-like atomic orbitals. The refinement results in a good agreement between the electron spin density derived from paramagnetic NMR and the electronic structure description obtained by the other experimental methods. The refined approach was evaluated against density functional theory (DFT) calculations on a model complex of the metal site of plastocyanin in the crystal phase. In general, the agreement between the experimental paramagnetic relaxation rates and the corresponding rates obtained by the DFT calculations is good. Small deviations are attributed to minor differences between the solution structure and the crystal structure outside the first coordination sphere. Overall, the refined approach provides a complementary experimental method for determining the electronic structure of paramagnetic metalloproteins, provided that an accurate geometric structure is available.

Investigation of plants used in Jamaican folk medicine for anti-bacterial activity

We have started a systematic scientific study of folklore medicinal plants currently used as alternative medicine in Jamaican society. In this initial study, extracts of plants widely used by the islanders are studied for antibacterial activity against five common pathogens; Streptococcus group A, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. These studies revealed that 25 percent (approximately) of the plant extracts had antimicrobial activity against at least one of the microbes used. Subsequent to these observations, extracts from Mikania micrantha were examined in detail. This led to the isolation of two sesquiterpenoids, mikanolide and dihydromikanolide, with activity against S. aureus and C. albicans. The results suggest that traditional folk medicine could be used as a guide in our continuing search for new natural products with potential medicinal properties.(Au)

Zirconia brackets: an evaluation of morphology and coefficients of friction.

The frictional characteristics of two types of zirconia (Harmony, Hudson Ltd., Sheffield, U.K., and Toray, Yamaura Corp., Tokyo, Japan) brackets were compared with those of polycrystalline alumina (Transcend 2000, Unitek Corp., Monrovia, Calif.) brackets in both dry and wet states. To compare the couples, four arch wire alloys were studied: stainless steel, cobalt-chromium, nickel titanium, and beta-titanium. Under dry conditions, the highest frictional coefficients were seen with the Harmony/beta-titanium couple (uk = 0.64); the lowest values were seen with both Transcend 2000/stainless steel (uk = 0.13) and Toray/cobalt-chromium couples (uk = 0.13). Beta-titanium arch wires produced the highest coefficients of friction against each type of ceramic bracket, except against Toray arch wires in the wet state. The presence of human saliva produced only slight changes in the frictional behavior of zirconia brackets. We conclude that currently available zirconia brackets offer no significant improvement over alumina brackets with regard to their frictional characteristics.

The influence of bracket material, ligation force and wear on frictional resistance of orthodontic brackets.

Planar static frictional phenomena were investigated for two types of ceramic and one type of stainless steel orthodontic bracket against rectangular stainless steel archwire. The brackets studied were 'Starfire' (single crystal aluminium oxide), 'Allure III' (polycrystalline aluminium oxide), and 'Dentaurum' (stainless steel). The investigative parameters were: bracket material, force of ligation and whether the brackets were new or 'worn'. Without exception, both types of ceramic bracket produced greater frictional resistance than the stainless steel brackets throughout testing. At a ligation force of 500 g, the Starfire bracket gave the greatest frictional resistance. At ligation forces of 200 and 50 g, the greatest frictional resistance was seen with Allure III. After a period of simulated wear, frictional resistance of Starfire tended to increase at the greatest ligation load while that of both ceramics decreased slightly at the two lower ligation loads. The ceramic brackets caused abrasive wear of the archwire surfaces and the consequent wear debris may have contributed to the changes in frictional resistance seen with Starfire and Allure III. Dentaurum brackets produced minimal frictional resistance in any test and negligible change with wear.

Extraction of an hyperglycaemic principle from the annatto (Bixa orellana)

The red powdery extract from the seeds of the annatto, Bixa orellana, is a well known food colouring. In an oil suspension it is used as a folk remedy (bush tea) in the West Indies, for diabetes mellitus. Detailed investigations on this extract, yielded a methyl ester, trans-bixin, molecular weight 394 and molecular formula C24 H30 O4. This purified substance was demonstrated, in anaaesthetised mongrel dogs, to cause hyperglycaemia. Concomitant electron microscopy of tissues biopsies, revealed damage to mitochrondria and endoplasmic reticulum mainly in liver and pancreas. When dogs were fed on a diet fortified with riboflavin, there was neither demonstratable tissue damage nor associated hyperglycaemia. These findings point to: (i) the potential dangers of informal medications such as 'bush teas'; (ii) the possible role of plant extracts/food additives in the development of diabetes mellitus especially in the undernourished state. (AU)

Isolation, purification and identification of the hyperglycaemic principle of the annatto (Bixa orellana) - abstract

The crude extract eluted from the seed of Bixa orellana was seen to cause hyperglycaemia in anaesthetized dogs. Further investigation was carried out to find the biologically active component. Column chromatography, PLC and recrystallizations yielded a pure residue with m.p. 220. The experimental dogs in quantities below one gram, it caused sustained hyperglycaemia and severe damage to tissues of the liver, kidney and pancreas. The level of toxicity associated with this plant is of interest, since its extract is widley used in various goods (AU)

Toxicity of the hyperglycaemic-inducing extract of the Annatto (Bixa orellana) in the dog

The Annatto seed coat extract, which is commonly used in folklore in treating diabetes mellitus, has been investigated for its effects on blood sugar levels in the dog. An alkali-soluble hyperglycaemia-inducing fraction was detected, and detailed studies revealed toxic effects in the pancreas and liver accompanied by hyperglycaemia and apparent tendency to increased insulin levels. The toxicity was diminished by feeding riboflavin. The relevance of this finding points to a possible aetiological role in the development of malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus and also to the potential toxicity inherent in the widespread use of folklore medicines (AU)

Preliminary investigations of the wound-healing properties of a Jamaican folk medicinal plant (justicia pectoralis)

Coumarin was found to be the major component of an acetone extract of the herbaceous plant, justicia pectorials, which is used in folk medicine for the treatment of cuts. Fresh wounds created on Wistar rats and treated with the extracted coumarin, showed attenuated inflammatory process and significantly enhanced wound healing compared with control rats. The use of this plant therefore appears to influence the wound-healing process (AU)