Fatty Acid-Specific Alterations in Leptin,PPARα, and CPT-1 Gene Expression in the Rainbow Trout

It is known that fatty acids (FA) regulate lipid metabolism by modulating the expression of numerous genes. In order to gain a better understanding of the effect of individual FA on lipid metabolism related genes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), an in vitro time‐course study was implemented where twelve individual FA (butyric 4:0; caprylic 8:0; palmitic (PAM) 16:0; stearic (STA) 18:0; palmitoleic16:1n‐7; oleic 18:1n‐9; 11‐cis‐eicosenoic 20:1n‐9; linoleic (LNA) 18:2n‐6; α‐linolenic (ALA) 18:3n‐3; eicosapentenoic (EPA) 20:5n‐3; docosahexaenoic (DHA) 22:6n‐3; arachidonic (ARA) 20:4n‐6) were incubated in rainbow trout liver slices. The effect of FA administration over time was evaluated on the expression of leptin, PPARα and CPT‐1 (lipid oxidative related genes). Leptin mRNA expression was down regulated by saturated fatty acids (SFA) and LNA, and was up regulated by monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and long chain PUFA, whilst STA and ALA had no effect. PPARα and CPT‐1mRNA expression were up regulated by SFA, MUFA, ALA, ARA and DHA; and down regulated by LNA and EPA. These results suggest that there are individual and specific FA induced modifications of leptin, PPARα and CPT‐1 gene expression in rainbow trout, and it is envisaged that such results may provide highly valuable information for future practical applications in fish nutrition.     

Ascorbic acid consumption and serum levels in smokers and non-smokers adult men in Hermosillo,Sonora, México

Ascorbic acid is one of the important antioxidant nutrients that can aid in the prevention of oxidative cellular damage. Adequate dietary intake is essential as humans can not synthesize this vitamin. It has been reported that smokers require higher dietary intakes to maintain their serum levels. The objective of this study was to determine serum levels of ascorbic acid in young male smokers and non smokers in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. In addition, their dietary intake of ascorbic acid was determined by a 24 h dietary recall. The dietary intake of ascorbic acid in 12 smokers was 64 +/- 11 mg/d and in 13 non smokers it was 70 +/- 12 mg/d. The smokers in this study did not meet the dietary recommendation of 100 mg/d. Serum ascorbic acid values in smokers and non smokers were 24.2 +/- 6.9 mumol/L and 30.9 +/- 3.7 mumol/L respectively. No significant difference was found among the 2 groups. Although the average serum ascorbic acid values fell within the range considered normal, 50% of the smokers had individual values that were below 23 mumol/L, indicating that these subjects have hipovitaminosis. A positive correlation between intake and serum levels was obtained for smokers (r = 0.71; p = 0.03). The results of this study suggest smokers may be at increased risk for chronic diseases due to their low intake and low serum levels of ascorbic acid.     

Dioxin,Dioxin–Like PCBs and Indicator PCBs in Some Medicinal Plants Irrigated with Wastewater in Ismailia,Egypt

Wastewater is often leaden with various contaminants that may accumulate in soils and can under some conditions enter the agricultural food chain. Concentrations of PCDD/Fs, DL-PCBs and NDL-PCBs have been determined using GC/HRMS in three of the commonly used medicinal plant (henna, rosemary, and moghat) grown on raw wastewater. In the case of henna and rosemary plants, all wastewater irrigated samples showed higher content of the studied contaminants than freshwater irrigated samples, while moghat samples, whether irrigated with freshwater or wastewater, had more or less the same content of the studied contaminants. Concentrations in plant samples ranged between 0.00004 and 0.865 pg WHO TEQ/g wet w for PCDDs, and between 0.03 and 1.86 pg WHO TEQ/g wet w for the PCDFs. Levels of PCB TEQ ranged from 0.005 to 0.76 pg/g wet w. In descending order, rosemary, henna, and moghat had the highest concentrations of total TEQ (PCDD/Fs + DL-PCBs). The congeners pattern in henna and rosemary samples was generally characterized by the dominance of PCDFs with a significant contribution from the lower (mono- to tri-) PCDFs. In moghat samples the profile was dominated by PCDDs, with OCDD contributing 100% to PCDDs. PCBs contribution to the total TEQ was on average 25%, 7% and 2% in rosemary, moghat and henna respectively. For NDL-PCBs, the sum concentration of 17 PCBs congeners increased from 2.65 to 4.13 ng/kg wet w in henna, and from 4.64 to 7.16 ng/ kg wet w in rosemary due to the irrigation with wastewater. Congener PCB 28 was the main contributor (60%) to sum 6 indicators in all samples, followed by PCB 52 (18%) and PCB 101 (6%).     

Eicosapentaenoic acid,but not oleic acid,stimulates β-oxidation in adipocytes

The beneficial roles of dietary fish oil in lowering serum TAG levels in animals and humans have been attributed in part to the high content of two n−3 polyunsaturated very long-chain FA, EPA, and DHA. Recent studies show that EPA induces mitochondrial β-oxidation in hepatocytes, which might contribute to the systemic lipid-lowering effect. Whether EPA affects FA storage or oxidation in adipocytes is not clear. To investigate this possibility, 3T3-L1 adipocytes incubated with EPA (100 μM) for 24 h were assayed for β-oxidation, carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1) activity, protein, and mRNA expression of CPT-1. For comparison, cells treated with oleic acid, octanoic acid, and clofibrate, a synthetic ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α were also analyzed. Mitochondria were isolated by differential centrifugation, and the mitochondrial membrane acyl chain composition was measured by GLC. EPA increased the oxidation of endogenous FA but did not inhibit lipogenesis. Oleic acid and clofibrate did not affect FA oxidation or lipogenesis, whereas octanoic acid suppressed the oxidation of endogenous FA and inhibited lipogenesis. Increased β-oxidation by EPA was associated with increased CPT-1 activity but without changes in its mRNA and protein expression. EPA treatment increased the percentage of this FA in the mitochondrial membrane lipids. We suggest that EPA increased the activity of CPT-1 and β-oxidation in adipocytes by altering the structure or dynamics of the mitochondrial membranes.     

Spot Prices in Zhejiang, East China Quoted on January 21, 2005

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ISO/TC33 Meeting Held in Salvador,Brasil,October 2009

正ISO/TC33Meeting was held in Salvador Brasil on12-13October2009.Delegates from UK,USA,Germany,Australia,Japan and China attended the meeting.Two Chinese delegates,the new chairman of ISO/TC33Li Hongxia(the committee chaiman of SAC/TC193and the president of Sinosteel Luoyang Institute of Refractories Research Co.,Ltd.)and Zhang Yonglang(vice general secretary of SAC/TC193),     

Second Cancer Onset in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms: What,When, Why?

The risk of developing a solid cancer is a major issue arising in the disease course of a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). Although the connection between the two diseases has been widely described, the backstage of this complex scenario has still to be explored. Several cellular and molecular mechanisms have been suggested to link the two tumors. Sometimes the MPN is considered to trigger a second cancer but at other times both diseases seem to depend on the same source. Increasing knowledge in recent years has revealed emerging pathways, supporting older, more consolidated theories, but there are still many unresolved issues. Our work aims to present the biological face of the complex clinical scenario in MPN patients developing a second cancer, focusing on the main cellular and molecular pathways linking the two diseases.     

Spot Prices in Zhejiang, East China Quoted on January 28, 2005

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Hospital food handlers in Niterói, RJ, Brazil: intestinal parasitism

A survey for intestinal parasites was carried out with food handlers from two private and three public hospitals in Niterói City, RJ, Brazil. The aim of this research was to verify the enteroparasites prevalence in this professional group. The investigation was divided in two phases. The first phase consisted of interviews with the participants; coproparasitological exams using Lutz, Faust et al. and Baermann techniques; under fingernail material analysis, using Mello et al. modified method; and educational lectures to food handlers. In the second phase, coproparasitological exams were repeated. Positive results were observed in 14.2% (17/120) and 17.1% (12/70) of the individuals in the first and second phases respectively. The most frequent parasite was Entamoeba coli, detected in 48.5% (16/33) of the samples with positive results. Under fingernail residues were observed in 19.2% (23/120) of the food handlers. E. coli cysts were found in one fingernail residue, likewise they were detected in the feces of the same food handler. Such data showed a potential transmission risk of intestinal parasites by food handling, indicating the need of adopting a diagnosis/orientation procedure as a bi-annual routine activity in hospitals, in order to improve the food service quality and population health condition.     

Mineral content in fishes in the lower course of the itapecuru river in the state of Maranhão,Brazil

Concentrations of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, selenium and nickel were determined in the muscle tissue of seven species of fish (Plagioscion squamosissimus, Geophagus surinamensis, Prochilodus lacustres, Curimata sp., Schizodon dissimilis, Ageneiosus ucayalensis and Hypostomus plecostomus) collected from the lower course of the Itapecuru River in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. The samples were digested in a nitricperchloric solution and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer, with the construction of specific calibration curves for each element. The highest concentrations of constituent minerals were found for phosphorus, potassium, nickel and magnesium (399.83, 144.60, 90.20 and 29.49 mg 100 g^?1, respectively) in G. surinamensi, P. lacustres and Curimata sp. The lowest concentrations were found for copper, zinc, iron and selenium (0.12, 0.51, 1.05 and 8.31 mg 100 g^?1, respectively) in Curimata sp., S. dissimilis, A. ucayalensis and P. squamosissimus. The concentrations of all minerals can be considered low and are below the maximum limit established by Brazilian legislation for the human ingestion of fish meat. A comparison of the seven species of fish investigated revealed no statistically significant differences regarding the concentrations of minerals, suggesting that size and different dietary habits do not exert an influence on absorption. The low concentrations of metals, such as Fe, Cu, Zn and Ni, may be related to the environmental conditions of the mouth of the river, which receives ocean inputs that produce particular tide cycles with a strong dispersion capacity, thereby diminishing residence time in the water column and reducing the availability of these metals to species of fish.     

Method of power density determination in microwave discharge,sustained in hydrogen–methane gas mixture

We present the results of studying a continuous microwave discharge maintained at a frequency of 2.45 GHz in a CVD reactor based on a cylindrical resonator excited at the TM₀₁₃ mode. The discharge was ignited in hydrogen and a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and methane and was studied by the method of optical emission spectroscopy. Density of atomic hydrogen and gas temperature were measured, as well as the spatial distribution of both optical emission intensity of the plasma and intensity of the Hα line of atomic hydrogen. The main parameters of the discharge were calculated numerically using the two-dimensional self-consistent model of the discharge. Basing on the obtained results, we proposed a method for high-precision experimental determination of the plasma volume and calculation of the specific energy contribution to the plasma, i.e., microwave power density in plasma (MWPD), with minimal errors. According to the calculations, in the experiment performed, the microwave power density in the plasma varied from 50 to 550 W/cm³ as the gas pressure increased from 80 to 350 Torr. The method allows one to perform unified MWPD calculations in different CVD reactors and to compare diamond film deposition regimes.     

Occurrence,leaching behavior,and detoxification of heavy metal Cr in coal gasification slag

Coal gasification slag(CGS) is a type of solid waste produced during coal gasification, in which heavy metals severely restrict its resource utilization. In this work, the mineral occurrence and distribution of typical heavy metal Cr in CGS is investigated. The leaching behavior of Cr under different conditions is studied in detail. Acid leaching–selective oxidation–coprecipitation method is proposed based on the characteristics of Cr in CGS. The detoxification of Cr in CGS is realized, and the ...