Total Long-Chain n-3 Fatty Acid Intake and Food Sources in the United States Compared to Recommended Intakes: NHANES 2003–2008

The American Heart Association recommends consuming fish (particularly oily fish) at least two times per week, which would provide ≈ 0.5 g/day of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Previous analyses indicate that this recommendation is not being met; however, few studies have assessed different ethnicities, subpopulations requiring additional n-3 fatty acid intake (i.e., children and pregnant and/or lactating women), or deciles of intake. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2008 was used to assess n-3 fatty acid intake from foods and supplements in the US population, according to age, sex, and ethnicity. A unique “EPA equivalents” factor, which accounts for potential conversion of shorter-chain n-3 fatty acids, was used to calculate total long-chain n-3 fatty acid intake. Data are reported for 24,621 individuals. More than 90% consumed less than the recommended 0.5 g/day from food sources (median = 0.11 g/day; mean = 0.17 g/day). Among the top 15% of n-3 fatty acid consumers, fish was the largest dietary contributor (71.2%). Intake was highest in men aged 20 years or more, and lowest in children and women who are or may become pregnant and/or are lactating. Among ethnicities, intake was lowest in Mexican-Americans. Only 6.2% of the total population reported n-3 fatty acid supplement use, and this did not alter median daily intake. Additional strategies are needed to increase awareness of health benefits (particularly among Mexican-Americans and women of childbearing age) and promote consumption of oily fish or alternative dietary sources to meet current recommendations.     

Novel Type II Fatty Acid Biosynthesis (FAS II) Inhibitors as Multistage Antimalarial Agents

Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by Plasmodium parasites and poses a major medical risk in large parts of the world. The development of new, affordable antimalarial drugs is of vital importance as there are increasing reports of resistance to the currently available therapeutics. In addition, most of the current drugs used for chemoprophylaxis merely act on parasites already replicating in the blood. At this point, a patient might already be suffering from the symptoms associated with the disease and could additionally be infectious to an Anopheles mosquito. These insects act as a vector, subsequently spreading the disease to other humans. In order to cure not only malaria but prevent transmission as well, a drug must target both the blood‐ and pre‐erythrocytic liver stages of the parasite. P. falciparum (Pf) enoyl acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase (ENR) is a key enzyme of plasmodial type II fatty acid biosynthesis (FAS II). It has been shown to be essential for liver‐stage development of Plasmodium berghei and is therefore qualified as a target for true causal chemoprophylaxis. Using virtual screening based on two crystal structures of PfENR, we identified a structurally novel class of FAS inhibitors. Subsequent chemical optimization yielded two compounds that are effective against multiple stages of the malaria parasite. These two most promising derivatives were found to inhibit blood‐stage parasite growth with IC₅₀ values of 1.7 and 3.0 μM and lead to a more prominent developmental attenuation of liver‐stage parasites than the gold‐standard drug, primaquine.     

Melt processing and characterization of polyvinyl alcohol and polyhydroxyalkanoate multilayer films

Multilayer films for food packaging applications composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) as the core layer and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) as the outer skin layers were produced by the co‐extrusion process. Rheological properties of PVOH and PHA were performed and analyzed before co‐extruding into a cast film. Analysis of the rheological data indicated the processing temperatures and grades of the PVOH and PHA polymers that would produce similar viscosity and melt flow properties. To improve adhesion of the layers, PHA was grafted with maleic anhydride using a dicumyl peroxide initiator to provide a tie layer material, which improved the peel strength of the PHA and PVOH layers by over 2×. Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) testing showed that the multilayer sample provided an OTR of 27 cc/m²‐day at 0% relative humidity (RH) and rates of 41 and 52 cc/m²‐day at relative humidity values of 60% and 90% RH, respectively. This indicates significant barrier performance enhancement over monolayer PVOH that provided an OTR of 60 cc/m²‐day at 0% RH and 999 cc/m²‐day at 60% RH. Biodegradation testing of the films in the marine environment showed that both the unmodified and maleated PHA polymers displayed high levels of mineralization, whereas the PVOH material did not. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

髋关节整体替代陶瓷材料

许多材料在医学领域应用广泛,例如,整体替换硬组织或软组织的元件(如骨盆、骨头、关节、植牙等)、修补、诊断或矫正仪器(如起搏器、心脏阀等)。这些材料不仅要有好的力学性能,还要保持长期稳定,不能与人体相排斥。由于陶瓷材料在生理环境中具有强度高、生物相容性强和稳定性好的优点,人们研究用陶瓷材料替换骨骼。从20 世纪70 年代起,欧洲人用陶瓷组件置换整个髋关节。这些组件主要由氧化铝和氧化锆单体制成。然而,在有水环境中,氧化锆会发生低温降解。目前人们的研究重点在于提高陶瓷组件的强度和耐磨性,同时缩小其尺寸并延长其使用寿命。研究中使用的材料是氧化锆增韧的氧化铝复合陶瓷和其它氧化铝复合陶瓷,不再是单体陶瓷。另外,还可以使用氧化铝和氧化锆功能梯度复合材料。该梯度材料可以利用电泳沉积法(EPD)制得,其表面为纯氧化铝,中心部分为均匀的氧化铝、氧化锆复合材料,中间过渡部分是呈连续梯度渐变的氧化铝、氧化锆复合材料,烧成后会产生剩余热应力。设计这样的梯度结构是为了使复合材料具有最大表面压应力和最小内部张应力,与纯氧化铝组件相比,提高了强度和耐磨性。     

Influence of montmorillonite layered silicate on plasticized poly(l-lactide) blown films

Plasticized poly(l-lactide) (PLA) montmorillonite layered silicate (MLS) nanocomposites were compounded and blown-film processed using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. PLA was mixed with 10 wt% acetyltriethyl citrate ester plasticizer and 5 wt% of an organically modified montmorillonite at various screw speeds. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) determined that the compounded pellets and the blown film PLA/MLS nanocomposites were intercalated. The effect of processing screw speeds on the barrier, thermal, mechanical, and biodegradation properties of the nanocomposites were analyzed and compared to the neat polymer. Nanocomposite films show a 48% improvement in oxygen barrier and a 50% improvement in water vapor barrier in comparison to the neat PLA. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an overall 9 °C increase in the decomposition temperature for all of the nanocomposites. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has determined that the glass transition, cold crystallization and melting point temperatures were not significantly influenced by the presence of MLS. Mechanical properties of the nanocomposites showed that the Young's modulus increased by 20% and the ultimate elongation of the nanocomposites were not sacrificed in comparison to the neat samples. Biodegradation rates in soil were slightly greater for the PLA/MLS nanocomposite than the pure PLA. However, none of the PLA pure and nanocomposites achieved significant biodegradation levels after 180 days.     

Effect of CO2 Exposure on the Chemical Stability and Mechanical Properties of BaZrO3‐Ceramics

The reactivity of BaZrO₃ with CO₂ has been addressed as one of the major challenges with BaZrO₃‐based electrolytes in protonic ceramic fuel cells. Here, we present a study of the effect of CO₂ exposure on BaZrO₃‐materials at elevated temperatures. Dense BaZr_1?xY_xO_3?x/2 (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2) and BaCe_0.2Zr_0.7Y_0.1O_2.95 ceramics were prepared by sintering of powder prepared by spray pyrolysis. The Vickers indentation method was used to determine the hardness and estimate the fracture toughness of pristine materials as well as the corresponding materials exposed to CO₂. Formation of BaCO₃ on the surface of exposed ceramics was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction and electron microcopy. The reaction resulted in formation of Ba‐deficient perovskite at the exposed surface. The reaction with CO₂ was most pronounced at 650°C compared to the other temperatures applied in the study. The reactivity was also shown to depend on the Y‐content and the grain size and was most pronounced for BaZr_0.9Y_0.1O_2.95. The reaction with CO₂ was observed to have a profound effect on the fracture toughness of the ceramics, demonstrating a depression of the mechanical stability of the materials. The results are discussed with respect to the chemical and mechanical stability of BaZrO₃ materials, with particular emphasis on the composition and grain size.     

Model oxide-supported metal catalysts: energetics,particle thicknesses,chemisorption and catalytic properties

Many industrially important catalysts consist of late transition metal particles supported on the surfaces of oxide materials. Our studies of such systems using model catalysts consisting of metal films vapor deposited onto the surfaces of single-crystalline oxides are reviewed here. Systems studied include Cu on ZnO, Pt on ZnO, Au on TiO₂ and Cu, Ag and Pb on MgO. A unique adsorption microcalorimeter was developed to measure directly the energetic stability of the metal atoms on the oxide surfaces and the adhesion energy at the metal/oxide interface, which clarify the structural and chemisorption properties of the ultrathin metal particles. The structure of the oxide surface and the metal particles was elucidated by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), low-energy ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), angular-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). The electronic character of the metal particles was revealed by XPS, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), band-bending and work function measurements. Sintering rates were measured by temperature-programmed ion scattering spectroscopy (TPISS). The chemisorption properties of these particles and their catalytic reactivity were monitored by mass spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD).     

UV resonance Raman probe of heme-bound imidazole established by 15N-labeling of hemoglobin

Recent studies of Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase, and of zinc-finger peptides have established that histidine ligands can be detected in ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectra, following NH/D exchange of the imidazole. UVRR spectroscopy therefore offers promise for monitoring histidine ligation in heme proteins. In this work, we characterize heme-bound histidine UVRR bands for N-acetyl-microperoxidase-8 (MP-8) and microperoxidase-11 (MP-11), and also for hemoglobin (Hb). The Hb UVRR spectra are dominated by tyrosine and tryptophan contributions, but a band appears at 1340 cm⁻¹ in D₂O solution, which is assigned to a mode of Fe-bound imidazole. This band shifted 24 cm⁻¹ in protein which was labeled with ¹⁵N via expression of the Hb gene in E. coli grown on ¹⁵NH₄⁺. In MP-11, the position of this band is insensitive to ligation or oxidation state changes, but it is 2 cm⁻¹ lower in deoxyHb than in the CO adduct. This shift may reflect mechanical forces on the proximal histidine in the T state, and/or changes in its H-bonding.