Pinto Bean Amino Acid Digestibility and Score in a Mexican Dish with Corn Tortilla and Guacamole, Evaluated in Adults Using a Dual-Tracer Isotopic Method.

BACKGROUND: Ultra-processed foodstuffs have been replacing traditional beans with tortillas in the Mexican diet in the last decades. Therefore, scientific support is needed to promote a return to good-quality traditional dishes. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the amino acid digestibility and score of pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) consumed with corn tortillas and guacamole in adults using the dual-tracer method. METHODS: The pinto beans were intrinsically labeled using 250 mL of 2H2O (99.8%) per 19 L pot with 3 plants. A paste of cooked beans on toasted corn tortillas and guacamole topping were administered to 3 male and 3 female adults (21-25 years old; BMI, 19-23.5 kg/m2). The protocol was plateau feeding given along with U-[13C]-spirulina protein to evaluate indispensable amino acid (IAA) digestibility using the dual-tracer method. Blood samples were taken in the plateau state. The digestibility of each IAA of the bean protein was calculated by the ratio of its enrichment in the beans to the spirulina in the meal and its appearance in plasma collected in the plateau state, as a percentage corrected by spirulina digestibility. Additionally, the digestible IAA score (DIAAS) was calculated. RESULTS: The 2H enrichment of IAA in the pinto beans was 471 parts per million excess. The isotopic enrichment of 2H and 13C in IAA at 5-8 hours presented plateau states with mean CVs of 12.2% and 13.3%, respectively. The mean digestibility of IAA from pinto beans was 77% ± 1.6%, with the lowest value for threonine. The DIAAS calculated with respect to the pattern requirement for children older than 3 years, adolescents, and adults was 83%, with methionine and cysteine being the limiting amino acids. CONCLUSIONS: A Mexican dish of pinto beans, tortillas, and guacamole is a good source of protein as evaluated in adults and could be promoted as a nutritious snack. The assay is registered with the Ethical Committee of the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C. as CE/015/2019.

Brains gone wild.

Analyzing brain signals from freely moving rodents in the wild is possible using a wireless neural recording system.

Bacteria's puppeteers.

Gene expression in bacteria can be modulated in response to unnatural amino acids with engineered transcriptional systems.

Bound to the messenger.

A new technique for transcriptome-wide isolation of RNAs bound to specific proteins reveals, with high resolution, the location of RNA-binding proteins on their target RNAs.

Simultaneous prospective purification of adult subventricular zone neural stem cells and their progeny.

The ability to prospectively isolate adult neural stem cells and their progeny is crucial to study their biology and therapeutic potential. Stem cells in adult mammalian neurogenic niches are a subset of astrocytes. A major limitation in the field has been the inability to distinguish stem cell astrocytes from niche astrocytes. Here, we show that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive subventricular-zone (SVZ) astrocytes are activated stem cells that are eliminated by antimitotic treatment. We developed a simple strategy to simultaneously purify cells at different stages of the adult SVZ stem cell lineage by using FACS. This method combines the use of fluorescent EGF ligand, CD24, and GFP expression in GFAP::GFP transgenic mice and allows the simultaneous purification of activated stem cell astrocytes (GFP(+)EGFR(+)CD24(-)), niche astrocytes (GFP(+)EGFR(-)CD24(-)), transit amplifying cells (GFP(-)EGFR(+)CD24(-)), and neuroblasts (GFP(-)EGFR(-)CD24(low)). One in three EGFR(+) astrocytes gives rise to neurospheres in vitro, a 20-fold enrichment over unsorted cells. Importantly, these cells constitute the neurosphere-forming population among SVZ astrocytes. This approach will be of great utility for future functional and molecular studies of the SVZ stem cell lineage.

[Critical deficiencies of energy and protein with a high provision of non-nutritional calories after one week in an intensive care unit]. / Déficit energético y proteico crítico con gran aporte de calorías provenientes de fármacos tras una semana en una unidad de cuidados intensivos.

INTRODUCTION: Introduction: nutritional therapy is essential for the treatment of critically ill patients, although its right application fails frequently, which increases the risk for undernutrition and complications. Objective: to evaluate the nutritional adequacy of patients with enteral nutritional support in an intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: a cohort study was conducted including adults admitted to the ICU with enteral support and stay ≥ 7 days. Demographic data, severity of the disease, and clinical and nutritional scores, including IL-6 levels and body composition, were evaluated at admission. Nutritional intake was recorded daily in relation to the target intake according to international guidelines, for calculation of caloric and protein deficiencies. Results: in all, 26 from 132 admitted patients were included. Their probability of mortality was 20-25 % due to disease severity by APACHE (16.6 ± 6.02) and SOFA (8 ± 4.4). Undernutrition risk was 5.6 ± 1.09 by NRS-2002 and 4.3 ± 1.2 by angle phase. Caloric deficiency was -674 kcal/day, with 13 % proteins (28 ± 11.5 g/d) and 42 % lipids, including 17.5 % of non-nutrient calories from propofol. NUTRIC was significantly associated with percentages of the caloric prescription at days 3 and 7 (R2 = 0.21, p = 0.01). Conclusion: patients had a caloric/protein deficit with critical protein deficit of -85.2 g/day, and an inadequate proportion between protein calories and non-protein calories, increasing their risk of complications.

INTRODUCCIÓN: Introducción: la terapia nutricional es esencial para tratar a pacientes críticos pero, si no es la adecuada, aumenta el riesgo de desnutrición y complica la evolución. Objetivo: evaluar la adecuación de la terapia nutricional enteral en una unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI). Métodos: se evaluó una cohorte adulta ingresada a una UCI con nutrición enteral y estancia ≥ 7 días. Al ingreso se registraron la severidad de la enfermedad y los datos socio-demográficos, clínicos y nutricionales, con cribados que incluyeron la IL-6 y la composición corporal. Diariamente se evaluó el aporte de nutrientes con respecto al 70 % óptimo de lo prescrito por las guías internacionales, para estimar el déficit energético-proteico. Resultados: se incluyeron 26 de 132 pacientes ingresados. Su probabilidad de mortalidad era del 20-25 % debido a la severidad de su enfermedad por los sistemas APACHE (16,6 ± 6,0) y SOFA (8 ± 4,4); su riesgo de desnutrición era de 5,6 ± 1,09 puntos por el NRS-2002, con 4,3 ± 1,2 de ángulo de fase. El déficit energético promedio era de -674 kcal/día, con un 13 % en aporte proteico (28 ± 11,5 g/d) y un 42 % en lípidos, y con el 17,5 % proveniente del propofol. El NUTRIC se asoció significativamente con los porcentajes de prescripción calórica alcanzados los días 3 y 7 (R2 = 0,21, p = 0,01). Conclusión: los pacientes sufrieron déficit calórico/proteico, con déficit proteico crítico de > 85,2 g/día e inadecuada relación entre calorías proteicas y no proteicas, aumentando su riesgo de complicaciones.

Expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 by olfactory ensheathing glia promotes axonal regeneration.

Olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG) cells are known to facilitate repair following axotomy of adult neurons, although the molecular mechanisms involved are not fully understood. We previously identified plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), proteinase-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), and thrombomodulin (TM) as candidates to regulate rat OEG-dependent axonal regeneration. In this study, we have validated the involvement of these proteins in promoting axonal regeneration by immortalized human OEGs. We studied the effect of silencing these proteins in OEGs on their capacity to promote the regeneration of severed adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) axons. Our results support the role of glial PAI-1 as a downstream effector of PAR-1 in promoting axon regeneration. In contrast, we found that TM inhibits OEG induced-axonal regeneration. We also assessed the signaling pathways downstream of PAR-1 that might modulate PAI-1 expression, observing that specifically inhibiting Gα(i), Rho kinase, or PLC and PKC downregulated the expression of PAI-1 in OEGs, with a concomitant reduction in OEG-dependent axon regeneration in adult RGCs. Our findings support an important role for the thrombin system in regulating adult axonal regeneration by OEGs.