Polyunsaturated fatty acids and type 2 diabetes: Impact on the glycemic control mechanism

There is a growing mortality related to co-morbidities associated with diabetes mellitus. Intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) has been associated with low cardiometabolic risk and reduction of inflammatory process. The objective of this paper is to review the impact of PUFA intake on glycemic control in diabetic patients as well as to elucidate the possible mechanisms involved. Medline/PubMed electronic database was searched to identify studies published within last five years regarding the effect of PUFA intake on glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetics. The search terms used were “polyunsaturated fatty acid(s),” “PUFA,” and “diabetes.” We included only interventional studies that assessed the effects of PUFA intake on glucose metabolism – fasting glucose, serum insulin, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR assessment– in type 2 diabetics. Initially, 48 articles were identified, of which one was not available and 41 did not match the inclusion criteria. Within the selected studies, three articles showed an improvement in fasting blood glucose, two showed an increase in fasting glycemia, and there was no effect of intervention in one article only. Based on the analyzed clinical interventional studies, supplementation of 0.42–5.2-g PUFA/day for at least eight weeks may become an alternative treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus, particularly in Asian subjects.     

Effects of xyloglucan with the partial removal of galactose on plasma lipid concentration

Xyloglucan is a component of the cell walls of higher plants that has been used as a thickener or stabilizer in the food industry in Japan and other Asian countries. Xyloglucan from which side-chain galactose has been partially removed or ‘trimmed’ by β-galactosidase (GXG-TG) shows heat-induced reversible gelation, and reverts to sol upon cooling. Xyloglucan is not digested by human digestive enzymes and acts as a dietary fiber. The effects of xyloglucan from which galactose has been partially removed on plasma lipid concentration in rats was investigated. Male Wistar rats (4 weeks old) were fed a high-fat diet (corn oil or lard) for 28 days (control) and other groups were given a high-fat diet (corn oil or lard) containing GXG-TG (5%, replacing cellulose). GXG-TG significantly reduced total cholesterol, β-lipoprotein, total lipid and phospholipid compared to a high-fat diet with corn oil. GXG-TG significantly reduced total cholesterol, β-lipoprotein, total lipid, phospholipid and adipose tissue weight compared to a high-fat diet with lard. These results indicated that the intake of GXG-TG improves lipid metabolism in rats, similar to that of the intact xyloglucan.     

Biological detoxification of waste house wood hydrolysate using Ureibacillus thermosphaericus for bioethanol production

Hydrolysates of lignocelluloses hydrolyzed by diluted sulfuric acid contain toxic compounds that inhibit ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the ethanologenic recombinant Escherichia coli KO11. We investigated the biological detoxification of a hydrolysate of waste house wood (WHW) by a thermophilic bacterium, Ureibacillus thermosphaericus. When the hydrolysate was treated with this bacterium at 50 degrees C for 24 h, the ethanol production rate by S. cerevisiae increased markedly and was comparable to that for the hydrolysate treated with an excess amount of calcium hydroxide (overliming). Chromatographic analysis of synthetic hydrolysates containing furfural or 5-hydroxymethyl furfural that are considered to be major toxic compounds in hydrolysates revealed that U. thermosphaericus degrades these compounds. In the WHW hydrolysates, however, the concentrations of these compounds were not decreased markedly by the bacterium. These results suggest that the bacterium degrades minor but more toxic compounds or phenolic compounds in the WHW hydrolysates. The combination of bacterial and overliming treatments of hydrolysates minimized significantly the decrease in ethanol production rate by E. coli KO11 as fermentation proceeded. Because the bacterium grows rapidly and does not consume sugars, our biological detoxification should be useful for bioethanol production from acid hydrolysates of lignocelluloses.     

The gap-filling sequence on the left arm of chromosome 2 in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

We report a gap-filling sequence between SPBPB21E7.09 (in contig c1348) and SPBPB10D8.01 (in contig pB10D8) on the left arm of chromosome 2 in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The sequence was determined from a BAC clone overlapping SPBPB21E7.01c (eno102) (in contig c1348) and SPBC1683.07 (mal1) (in contig pB10D8). The gap-filling sequence is 17,881 bp in length and contains five putative open reading frames, which were systematically named as SPBC460.01c, SPBC460.02c, SPBC460.03, SPBC460.04c and SPBC460.05. Their deduced amino acid sequences respectively include protein motifs corresponding to amino acid permease, glutathione S-transferase C-terminal domain, taurine catabolism dioxygenase TauD TfdA family and major facilitator superfamily, whereas their functions are unknown.     

Effects of two-phase reactions on composition and potential response of zirconium(IV)-tetraphenylporphyrin complexes as carrier for citrate-selective electrode

The reactions between zirconium(IV)-tetraphenylporphyrin(tpp)-hydroxide complexes ([ZrIV2(OH)4(tpp)2] and [ZrIV(OH)2(tpp)]) in chlorobenzene and various acids (HX: HClO4, HCl, HNO3, CH3COOH) in water were studied. Three species [ZrIV2(OH)3(tpp)2],X, [ZrIV(OH)X(tpp)], and [ZrIVX2(tpp)] were identified, and their stability constants were determined. The extent of formation of each species depends on the coordination ability and lipophilicity of X-. The performance of these complexes was evaluated as a carrier of an anion-selective electrode. The cationic complex [ZrIV2(OH)3(tpp)2],X exhibited selectivity following the Hofmeister series to weakly coordinating anions, while showing a super-Nernstian response to strongly coordinating citrates. The latter suggests the cleavage of the dimeric structure. The dichloro complex [ZrIVCl2(tpp)] was prone to hydrolyze in contact with an aqueous solution and gave drifting potentials. The monochloro complex [ZrIV(OH)Cl(tpp)] was more stable and strongly responded to acetates, which may be ascribed to substitution of a weakly bound chloride. A slow hydrolysis giving [ZrIV(OH)2(tpp)], however, caused gradual deterioration of this strong response to acetates. Conditioning of the membrane in 1 M HCl regenerated the once-deteriorated carrier [ZrIV(OH)Cl(tpp)], while continuous conditioning extended its operating life. This carrier was effectively used to continuously monitor the acetate in a flow system. The dihydroxo complex [ZrIV(OH)2(tpp)] showed lower responses to common anions due to strong Zr-OH bonding and was thus successfully used for selective potentiometry of citrates.     

Cultural affordances and emotional experience: Socially engaging and disengaging emotions in Japan and the United States.

The authors hypothesized that whereas Japanese culture encourages socially engaging emotions (e.g., friendly feelings and guilt), North American culture fosters socially disengaging emotions (e.g., pride and anger). In two cross-cultural studies, the authors measured engaging and disengaging emotions repeatedly over different social situations and found support for this hypothesis. As predicted, Japanese showed a pervasive tendency to reportedly experience engaging emotions more strongly than they experienced disengaging emotions, but Americans showed a reversed tendency. Moreover, as also predicted, Japanese subjective well-being (i.e., the experience of general positive feelings) was more closely associated with the experience of engaging positive emotions than with that of disengaging emotions. Americans tended to show the reversed pattern. The established cultural differences in the patterns of emotion suggest the consistent and systematic cultural shaping of emotion over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Monitoring the electroosmotic flow in capillary electrophoresis using contactless conductivity detection and thermal marks

The fundamental aspects and the capillary electrophoresis usage of thermal marks are presented. The so-called thermal mark is a perturbation of the electrolyte concentration generated by a punctual heating of the capillary while the separation electric field is maintained. The heating pulse is obtained by powering tungsten filaments or surface mount device resistors with 5 V during a few tens to hundreds of milliseconds. In the proposed model, the variation of the transport numbers with the rising temperature leads to the formation of low- and high-concentration regions during the heating. After cooling down, the initial mobilities of the species are restored and these regions (the thermal mark) migrate chiefly due to the electroosmotic flow (EOF). The mark may be recorded with a conductivity detector as part of a usual electropherogram and be used to index the analyte peaks and thus compensate for variations of the EOF. In a favorable case, 10 mmol/L KCl solution, the theory suggests that the error in the measurement of EOF mobility by this mean is only -6.5 x 10(-7) cm2 V-1 s-1. The method was applied to the analysis of alkaline ions in egg white, and the relative standard deviations of the corrected mobilities of these ions were smaller than 1%. This is a challenging matrix, because albumin reduces the EOF to 20% of its initial value after 11 runs. The combination of thermal mark, electrolysis separated, and contactless conductivity detection allowed the measurement of the EOF of a silica capillary with unbuffered KCl solution with constant ionic strength. The overall approach is advantageous, because one can easily control the chemical composition of the solution in contact with the inner surface of the capillary.     

A new recycling system for expanded polystyrene using a natural solvent. Part 2. Development of a prototype production system

A prototype production system for recycling expanded polystyrene (EPS), which uses an orange oil, d-limonene, as the EPS shrinking agent, has been developed. This system consists of an apparatus to dissolve EPS and a recycling plant to separate the limonene solution. The recycling plant can mass reproduce polystyrene with the same mechanical properties as new polystyrene. The recycled polystyrene can be used for packaging a 28 inch TV set. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A cultural task analysis of implicit independence: Comparing North America, Western Europe, and East Asia.

Informed by a new theoretical framework that assigns a key role to cultural tasks (culturally prescribed means to achieve cultural mandates such as independence and interdependence) in mediating the mutual influences between culture and psychological processes, the authors predicted and found that North Americans are more likely than Western Europeans (British and Germans) to (a) exhibit focused (vs. holistic) attention, (b) experience emotions associated with independence (vs. interdependence), (c) associate happiness with personal achievement (vs. communal harmony), and (d) show an inflated symbolic self. In no cases were the 2 Western European groups significantly different from one another. All Western groups showed (e) an equally strong dispositional bias in attribution. Across all of the implicit indicators of independence, Japanese were substantially less independent (or more interdependent) than the three Western groups. An explicit self-belief measure of independence and interdependence showed an anomalous pattern. These data were interpreted to suggest that the contemporary American ethos has a significant root in both Western cultural heritage and a history of voluntary settlement. Further analysis offered unique support for the cultural task analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simultaneous Quantification of Plant Glyceroglycolipids Including Sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol by HPLC–ELSD with Binary Gradient Elution

Membrane lipids of photosynthetic organisms consist of glycerophospholipids and glyceroglycolipids. We investigated a method for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of neutral and acidic lipids using HPLC–ELSD, and quantified monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG). Ten complex lipid classes were separated with a binary gradient system consisting of chloroform and methanol–acetone–water–acetic acid (30:60:9:1, v/v/v/v) with 0.3% triethylamine (pH 4), and were eluted within 16 min. The contents of SQDG in ten edible plants ranged from 3 to 101 mg/100 g, and were positively correlated to the neutral glyceroglycolipids contents.