Relative fat oxidation is higher in children than adults

Background  

Prepubescent children may oxidize fatty acids more readily than adults. Therefore, dietary fat needs would be higher for children compared with adults. The dietary fat recommendations are higher for children 4 to 18 yrs (i.e., 25 to 35% of energy) compared with adults (i.e., 20 to 35% of energy). Despite this, many parents and children restrict dietary fat for health reasons.     

Care tracker: a new approach to nursing care in ambulatory settings

It is becoming increasingly clear that mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake from and release into the cytosol has important consequences for neuronal and glial activity. Ca2+ regulates mitochondrial metabolism, and mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and release modulate physiological and pathophysiological cytosolic responses. In glial cells, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-dependent Ca2+ responses are faithfully translated into elevations in mitochondrial Ca2+ levels, which modifies cytosolic Ca2+ wave propagation and may activate mitochondrial enzymes. The location of mitochondria within neurones may partially determine their role in Ca2+ signalling. Neuronal death due to NMDA-evoked Ca2+ entry can be delayed by an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, and mitochondrial dysfunction is being increasingly implicated in a number of neurodegenerative conditions. These findings are illustrative of an emerging realization by neuroscientists of the importance of mitochondrial Ca2+ regulation as a modulator of cellular energetics, endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release and neurotoxicity.     

Hepatocellular proliferation and development of hepatocellular carcinoma: a case-control study in chronic hepatitis C

Patients with hepatitis C have an increased risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This is related to the stage of chronic liver disease, as characterized histologically by hepatic fibrosis and architectural distortion, but it is unclear whether histological markers can define the risk of developing HCC. We conducted a case-control immunohistochemical study of Ki-67, a marker for hepatocellular proliferation, in livers of 18 patients who had developed HCC more than 2 years after the biopsy specimen had been taken. Using conditional logistic regression analysis, the results were compared with 18 selected controls, who were age-matched patients with hepatitis C of similar histological stage who had not developed HCC. We also examined livers for cellular dysplasia, p53 mutations, and bcl-2 overexpression, and assessed whether the results could be correlated with demographic and disease-related variables, such as gender, region of birth, alcohol consumption, severity of liver disease, HCV genotype, and markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Livers from patients who developed HCC were more often positive for Ki-67 (13 of 18 [72%] v 9 of 18 [50%]; P = .06) and tended to have higher mean Ki-67 scores (6 +/- 7.5 v 3 +/- 4.4; P = .10) compared with control cases. In the HCC-predisposed group, three livers showed large cell dysplasia, two were positive for p53 mutations, and two for bcl-2 overexpression. In contrast, in the non-HCC group, only one case had dysplasia, and none were positive for immunostaining for p53 or bcl-2 mutations. With the exception of one case, all livers with large cell dysplasia or p53 mutations and bcl-2 overexpression were also positive for Ki-67. Twelve (55%) of the 22 Ki-67-positive cases were anti-HBc-positive in the serum, in contrast to 2 of 14 (14%) patients in the Ki-67-negative group (P = .01). Patients with evidence of past infection with HBV were more often Ki-67 positive than those who had no evidence of past infection (85% [11 of 13] v 45% [10 of 22]; P = .02). There were no other associations between demographic or disease-related variables and Ki-67 expression. Increased hepatocellular proliferative activity, as assessed by Ki-67 expression, may be one factor indicative of an increased risk of developing HCC among patients with chronic hepatitis C. Furthermore, past infection with HBV appears to be an important correlate of increased hepatocellular proliferation in hepatitis C.     

Wheat-bug damage in New Zealand wheats: The feeding mechanism of nysius huttoni and its effect on the morphological and physiological development of wheat

Adult Nysius huttoni White were placed in separate cages containing cultivars Rongotea and Karamu at the late anthesis, watery ripe and milky ripe stages of development. Between 84 and 99 % of the matured kernels were injured with the characteristic visible markings of bug-damaged wheat. All the samples contained strong wheat-bug proteinase activity as shown by the incubated SDS-sedimentation test and the disappearance of HMW glutenin subunits from electrophoretograms. Grain infested at late anthesis was most severely affected with shrivelled kernels, high screenings, protein, free amino acids and α-amylase, and low kernel weight, germination capacity and carbohydrate content. Grain infested at the watery ripe and milky ripe stages had values for the above properties closer to uninfested control wheat values. It was suggested that N huttoni sucked sap from lateral sieve tubes in the wheat ovary at late anthesis causing severe disruption to physiological development of the grain. Two commercial lines of wheat showed some characteristics of this effect.     

Automatic laser shutdown implications for all optical data networks

Generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS), optical packet, and burst-switched networks in which the synchronous digital hierarchy/synchronous optical network (SDH/SONET) layer is removed may be rendered nonfunctional because the current standard for triggering Automatic Power Reduction (APR) cannot distinguish between a fiber that has been de-energized and a fiber failure. If this standard is applied, without modification, the likelihood of unnecessary amplifier shutdown in optical networks is significant. These shutdown events may impact large regions of the network and render optical links inoperable. To avoid unnecessary amplifier shutdown, amendments to the current operation of APR are suggested.     

白化菌对TMP和溶解桨厂运行的影响

生物技术与术材化学、真菌学、生物化学和遗传学结合为制浆造纸工业开发出一种白化真菌产品．在制浆前用其预处理木片，能够降低水材中的树脂含量并提高术片的整体白度，减轻树脂障碍．降低纸浆的漂白要求。有人提出白化菌预处理还能起到纤维改性的作用。     

Anetoderma of Jadassohn-Pellizzari

Anetoderma (derived from the Greek anetos, meaning slack) is a term used to describe localized increased laxity of the skin with herniation or outpouching, resulting from abnormal dermal elastic tissue. Primary anetoderma is distinctly rare. We describe a case where we suspect an auto-immune aetiology.