Hepcidin-Induced Iron Deficiency Is Related to Transient Anemia and Hypoferremia in Kawasaki Disease Patients

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a type of systemic vasculitis that primarily affects children under the age of five years old. For sufferers of KD, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been found to successfully diminish the occurrence of coronary artery lesions. Anemia is commonly found in KD patients, and we have shown that in appropriately elevated hepcidin levels are related to decreased hemoglobin levels in these patients. In this study, we investigated the time period of anemia and iron metabolism during different stages of KD. A total of 100 patients with KD and 20 control subjects were enrolled in this study for red blood cell and hemoglobin analysis. Furthermore, plasma, urine hepcidin, and plasma IL-6 levels were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 20 KD patients and controls. Changes in hemoglobin, plasma iron levels, and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were also measured in patients with KD. Hemoglobin, iron levels, and TIBC were lower (p < 0.001, p = 0.009, and p < 0.001, respectively) while plasma IL-6 and hepcidin levels (both p < 0.001) were higher in patients with KD than in the controls prior to IVIG administration. Moreover, plasma hepcidin levels were positively and significantly correlated with urine hepcidin levels (p < 0.001) prior to IVIG administration. After IVIG treatment, plasma hepcidin and hemoglobin levels significantly decreased (both p < 0.001). Of particular note was a subsequent gradual increase in hemoglobin levels during the three weeks after IVIG treatment; nevertheless, the hemoglobin levels stayed lower in KD patients than in the controls (p = 0.045). These findings provide a longitudinal study of hemoglobin changes and among the first evidence that hepcidin induces transient anemia and hypoferremia during KD’s acute inflammatory phase.     

Density modeling of polyurethane box foam

A model based on about a dozen fundamental differential equations is used to evaluate and simulate the urethane reactions and physical processes of urethane box foaming. This work focuses on quantitative modeling of foam density for foams using water and physical blowing agents. The final densities of foams range from 30 to 90% of the density as projected with full utilization of the blowing agent. The primary sources of inefficient use of blowing agent are loss of the physical blowing during open‐air mixing and degassing—basically, physical blowing agents with boiling points between 25 and 80°C will evaporate and experience cell rupture in box foams. This loss of blowing agent would not apply to in‐line mixers used for commercial production and should be taken into account with scaling up box or cup foams commercial processes. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1503–1511, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Solvent‐ and Transition Metal Catalyst‐Dependent Regioselectivity in the [3+2] Cyclocondensation of Trifluoromethyl‐α,β‐ynones with Hydrazines: Switchable Access to 3‐ and 5‐Trifluoromethylpyrazoles

The regioselectivity of the [3+2] cyclocondensation of trifluoromethyl‐α,β‐ynones with hydrazines can be readily tuned to preferentially afford either 3‐ or 5‐trifluoromethylpyrazoles through variation of the reaction conditions. Under catalysis with copper(II) acetate (2.0 mol%), cyclocondensation proceeded smoothly to yield 3‐trifluoromethylpyrazoles with high regioselectivity. In contrast, when the reaction was conducted in dimethyl sulfoxide under catalyst‐free conditions, the formation of 5‐trifluoromethylpyrazoles was predominantly observed.

     

Preparation and characterization of lactitol-based poly(ether polyol)s for rigid polyurethane foam

Propoxylation of lactitol [4-O-β-D -galactopyranosyl-D -glucitol] under alkaline conditions afforded poly(ether polyol)s (PEP) which have been characterized by their unsaturation content, alpha color, hydroxyl number, viscosity, hygroscopicity, and molecular weight distribution. The analogous sucrose-based PEP were prepared for comparison. Lactitol was found to require shorter reaction times and produced lighter-colored polyols than did sucrose. Polyols produced from lactitol displayed similar physical properties to sucrose-based PEP. Molecular weight analysis by GPC using the universal calibration method showed lactitol PEP to have polydispersities between 1.04 and 1.07. Negligible decomposition of lactitol during propoxylation was confirmed by ¹³C-NMR and GPC. ¹H-NMR of trifluoroacetyl derivatives of lactitol PEP afforded secondary determination of M_n. In addition, rigid polyurethane foams (PURF) formulated with lactitol-, sucrose-, or commercial sucrose–glycerin-based polyols and PAPI 27 were prepared and characterized. Lactitol-based PURF were found to compare favorably with sucrose-based foams, displaying a density and compressive strength of 28.9 kg/m³ and 1.213 × 10⁵ N/M², respectively. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Green and Highly-Efficient Microwave Synthesis Route for Sulfur/Carbon Composite for Li-S Battery

Multiporous carbons (MPCs) are prepared using ZnO as a hard template and biomass pyrolysis oil as the carbon source. It is shown that the surface area, pore volume, and mesopore/micropore ratio of the as-prepared MPCs can be easily controlled by adjusting the ZnO/oil ratio. Sulfur/MPC (S/MPC) composite is prepared by blending sulfur powder with the as-prepared MPCs followed by microwave heating at three different powers (100 W/200 W/300 W) for 60 s. The unique micro/mesostructure characteristics of the resulting porous carbons not only endow the S/MPC composite with sufficient available space for sulfur storage, but also provide favorable and efficient channels for Li-ions/electrons transportation. When applied as the electrode material in a lithium-ion battery (LIB), the S/MPC composite shows a reversible capacity (about 500 mAh g⁻¹) and a high columbic efficiency (>95%) after 70 cycles. Overall, the method proposed in this study provides a simple and green approach for the rapid production of MPCs and S/MPC composite for high-performance LIBs.     

Self-assisted wound healing using piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators

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Reported Use of Reduced-sugar Foods and Beverages Reflect High-quality Diets

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in nutrient and energy intakes and in quantity of food eaten, and to compare the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of users of reduced-sugars foods and beverages with those who use only the full sugar versions of the same products. Records for adults (≥ 20 y old) responding to the 1994–1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) and the Diet Health and Knowledge Survey were used. CSFII food lists were scanned for both full and reduced-sugar versions of yogurt, cocoa, and other milk beverages, frozen and gelatin desserts, puddings, breads, cookies, cakes, fruit drinks, carbonated and noncarbonated drinks, confectionary products, and sweeteners. Recalls were sorted for those reporting use of only full sugar (FS) products and those reporting mixed use of full sugar and reduced-sugar (RS) versions. Comparisons were made between demographic characteristics, body mass index, food group servings, food intake amounts, and nutrient densities. When compared with FS users, RS users consistently reported significantly higher intakes of fruit, lower intakes of discretionary fat and added sugars, and equal or lower intakes of other foods (in gram amounts), except for greater intake of yogurt and frozen and gelatin desserts. RS users tended to report similar or higher micronutrient intakes compared with FS users. After adjusting for energy intake, significantly higher micronutrient intakes were found for both males and females consuming RS foods and beverages (13 and 15 of 17 nutrients, respectively).     

Issues Related to the Use of Blood in Food and Animal Feed

Blood has traditionally been used as a high protein ingredient in both human food and animal feed, with resulting economic, environmental and nutritional benefits. However, potentially serious health and safety issues related to blood consumption, particularly the risk of pathogenic or harmful metabolic materials, the infectivity of prion diseases, and the presence of identified allergens such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), are causing many consumers to shy away from any product containing either animal blood or ingredients derived from animal blood. Thus, despite the significant volumes of blood produced by slaughterhouses, blood is currently underutilized as a food ingredient. This article reviews the use of animal blood as an ingredient in food intended for human consumption or for animal feed and discusses the related consumer concerns.     

Use of Soy Protein and Microbial Transglutaminase as a Binder in Low-sodium Restructured Meats

ABSTRACT: Pork sticks were prepared by mixing pork chucks with various amounts of bisulfite-treated soy protein and microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) to evaluate the potential of using soy protein as meat binders. According to tensile strength, the favorable conditions for binding the restructured pork chunks were 5% soy protein containing 0.2% NaHSO₃ and 20 unit MTGase/g, and the setting condition was 60 min at 40°C. The tensile strength and cooking yield of restructured pork sticks made with bisulfite-treated soy protein and MTGase were much higher than those of using salt, suggesting the high potential of using soy protein and MTGase as binders in products where NaCl reduction is desired.     

Resveratrol inhibits migration and invasion of human breast‐cancer cells

Metastasis is the primary cause of death from breast cancer. Cell migration and invasion play important roles in neoplastic metastasis. The insulin‐like growth factor (IGF‐1) stimulates cell migration through activation of PI‐3K/Akt signaling pathway. IGF‐1 induces the tumorigenicity of many types of cancer cells and is critical for metastatic cell spread in estrogen receptor (ER)‐negative breast‐cancer cells. Matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) is a key enzyme in the degradation of extracellular matrices and its expression has been dysregulated in breast cancer invasion and metastasis. Resveratrol exhibited potential anticarcinogenic activities in several studies. However, the inhibitory effects of resveratrol on the expression of MMP‐2, migration and invasion of breast‐cancer cell have not been demonstrated yet. In the present study, we investigated the anti‐invasive mechanism of resveratrol in human breast cancer MDA‐MB 435cells. Here, we showed that IGF‐1 is a potent stimulant of the migration of ER‐negative human breast‐cancer cells. Resveratrol could inhibit IGF‐1‐mediated cell migration of MDA‐MB 435 in vitro. The inhibitory effect of resveratrol was mediated in part through the suppression of the activation of PI‐3K/Akt signaling pathway. Furthermore, IGF‐1‐mediated expression of MMP‐2 was significantly inhibited by resveratrol in concomitance with alteration of cell invasion.