Case Characterization,Clinical Features and Risk Factors in Drug-Induced Liver Injury

Idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) caused by xenobiotics (drugs, herbals and dietary supplements) presents with a range of both phenotypes and severity, from acute hepatitis indistinguishable of viral hepatitis to autoimmune syndromes, steatosis or rare chronic vascular syndromes, and from asymptomatic liver test abnormalities to acute liver failure. DILI pathogenesis is complex, depending on the interaction of drug physicochemical properties and host factors. The awareness of risk factors for DILI is arising from the analysis of large databases of DILI cases included in Registries and Consortia networks around the world. These networks are also enabling in-depth phenotyping with the identification of predictors for severe outcome, including acute liver failure and mortality/liver transplantation. Genome wide association studies taking advantage of these large cohorts have identified several alleles from the major histocompatibility complex system indicating a fundamental role of the adaptive immune system in DILI pathogenesis. Correct case definition and characterization is crucial for appropriate phenotyping, which in turn will strengthen sample collection for genotypic and future biomarkers studies.     

Dairy products and inflammation: A review of the clinical evidence

Inflammation is a major biological process regulating the interaction between organisms and the environment, including the diet. Because of the increase in chronic inflammatory diseases, and in light of the immune-regulatory properties of breastfeeding, the ability of dairy products to modulate inflammatory processes in humans is an important but unresolved issue. Here, we report a systematic review of 52 clinical trials investigating inflammatory markers in relation to the consumption of dairy products. An inflammatory score (IS) was defined to quantitatively evaluate this interaction. The IS was significantly positive for the entire data set, indicating an anti-inflammatory activity in humans. When the subjects were stratified according to their health status, the IS was strongly indicative of an anti-inflammatory activity in subjects with metabolic disorders and of a pro-inflammatory activity in subjects allergic to bovine milk. Stratifying the data by product categories associated both low-fat and high-fat products, as well as fermented products, with an anti-inflammatory activity. Remarkably, the literature is characterized by a large gap in knowledge on bioavailability of bioactive nutrients. Future research should thus better combine food and nutritional sciences to adequately follow the fate of these nutrients along the gastrointestinal and metabolic axes.     

Effects of dietary glucosylceramide on dermatitis in atopic dermatitis model mice

The effects of dietary plant and yeast cerebroside (glucosylceramide), a major sphingolipid in plants and yeast, on atopic dermatitis (AD) like symptoms were investigated in a mouse model. After 7 wk of feeding with a diet containing maize glucosylceramide, plasma IgE levels became significantly lower and in contrast, the levels of interleukin (IL)‐12, which induces cellular immunity, became significantly higher in the AD mice than in the controls. However, the sphingolipid constituents of the skin fraction in the maize glucosylceramide fed group did not contain sphingoid bases of plant origin, such as 8‐unsaturated sphingoid bases. The results of the present study indicated that dietary plant glucosylceramide prevented AD‐like symptoms in AD model mice via regulation of Th1/Th2 balance. Practical applications: Dietary plant and yeast glucosylceramides have been shown to suppress AD‐like symptoms in AD model mice via regulation of helper T‐cell Th1/Th2 balance. Glucosylceramide are capable of preventing AD and may be useful in skincare products.     

Magnetic field effect on the photocarriers in self-assembled hexabenzocoronene nanotubes

By means of the integral mode time-of-flight measurement of the drift motion of the photoinjected charge at room temperature, we observed magnetic field effect (MFE) on the photocharge in self-assembled nanotube of hexabenzocoronene (HBC) at the configurations where the magnetic field is parallel and perpendicular to the electric field. The detected MFEs are interpreted in terms of two mechanisms that are caused by the fast charge transportation (Hall effect) and the spin selective recombination (electron–hole (e–h) pair mechanism). A high mobility in the nanotubes of π-stacked HBC was implied from the Hall data. The time dependence of the low field MFE due to the e–h pair mechanism clarified the recombination from both the singlet and triplet e–h pairs with the initial rate of ～10⁸ s^?1.     

Experimental investigation on the cause of harmfulness of the bluewater tree to XLPE cable insulation

Through investigations made on crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) insulated power cables that had experienced failures, blue-colored water trees were observed in addition to ordinary white water trees. The blue water tree was found to be much more harmful than the white water tree, since more electrical trees started at the blue trees. Elemental analysis revealed that iron and sulfur exist in the blue tree. In the case of this blue water tree, space charge exists abundantly but only at the tree tip, while no charge signal is observed on the electrode from which the tree starts. This indicates that the conductivity of the blue tree is very high. This is considered to be the main reason of the harmfulness of this tree     

Production of biogenic amines “in vitro” in relation to the growth phase by Enterobacteriaceae species isolated from traditional sausages

Histidine, lysine, ornithine and tyrosine decarboxylase activities were tested in 79 strains of Enterobacteriaceae (41 of Hafnia alvei, 17 of Serratia liquefaciens, 5 of Enterobacter cloacae, 4 of Citrobacter braakii, 2 of Proteus vulgaris, 2 of Proteus mirabilis, 2 of Providencia stuartii, 2 of Klebsiella terrigena, 1 of Rahnella aquatilis, 1 of Salmonella arizonae, 1 of Citrobacter youngae and 1 of Escherichia coli) isolated from Botillo, a Spanish traditional sausage. In general, the strains were positive for all four activities, with the exception of two strains of H. alvei and the E. coli strain, which did not display histidine decarboxylase activity. The strains of P. mirabilis and P. stuartii did not exhibit any of the four activities tested.     

Low‐cost upscaling compatibility of five different ITO‐free architectures for polymer solar cells

Five different indium‐tin‐oxide free (ITO‐free) polymer solar cell architectures provided by four participating research institutions that all presented a laboratory cell performance sufficient for use in mobile and information and communication technology (ICT) were evaluated based on photovoltaic performance and lifetime tests according to the ISOS protocols. The comparison of the different device architectures was performed using the same active material (P3HT: PCBM) and tested against an ITO‐based reference device. The active area was 1 cm² and rigid glass or flexible polyester substrates were employed. The performance results were corroborated by use of a round robin methodology between the four participating laboratories (DTU/DK, ECN/NL, Frauenhofer ISE/DE, and the Holst Centre/NL), while the lifetime testing experiments were carried out in only one location (DTU). Five different lifetime testing experiments were carried out for a minimum of 1000 h: (1) shelf life (according to ISOS‐D‐1); (2–3) stability under continuous 1 sun illumination (1000 Wm^?2, AM1.5G) at low (37 ± 3°C) and high (80 ± 5°C) temperatures (according to ISOS‐L‐1 and ISOS‐L‐2); (4) stability under continuous low‐light conditions at 0.1 sun (100 Wm^?2, AM1.5G, 32°C) (according to ISOS‐LL); (5) continuous illumination (670 Wm^?2, AM1.5G) at high temperature (65°C) and high humidity (50% RH) (according to ISOS‐L‐3). Finally, the upscaling compatibility of these device architectures based on the device photovoltaic behavior, stability and scalability were identified and we confirm that an architecture that presents a high score in only one aspect of the solar cell performance is not sufficient to justify an investment in upscaling. Many will require further technical development. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 944‐954, 2013     

Identification of Glucosylceramides Containing Sphingatrienine in Maize and Rice Using Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

We characterized the glucosylceramide moieties from maize and rice using liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry. Glucosylceramides containing 4,8-sphingadienine (d18:2) acylated to hydroxy-fatty acids were detected as the predominant molecules both in maize and in rice. In addition, 4-hydroxy-8-sphingenine (t18:1) and sphingatrienine (d18:3) were found in maize and rice glucosylceramides, and in the case of rice, sphingenine (d18:1) was also detected. Glucosylceramides containing d18:3 were acylated to hydroxyl fatty acids (16–24 carbon atoms). Our results indicate the presence of the triene type of sphingoid base in higher plants.