Seaweed intake and blood pressure levels in healthy pre-school Japanese children

Background

Low diet quality and depression symptoms are independently associated with poor glycemic control in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, the relationship between them is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the association between diet quality and symptoms of depression among Cuban-Americans with and without T2D living in South Florida.

Methods

Subjects (n = 356) were recruited from randomly selected mailing list. Diet quality was determined using the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-05) score. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Both linear and logistic regression analyses were run to determine whether or not these two variables were related. Symptoms of depression was the dependent variable and independent variables included HEI-05, gender, age, marital status, BMI, education level, A1C, employment status, depression medication, duration of diabetes, and diabetes status. Analysis of covariance was used to test for interactions among variables.

Results

An interaction between diabetes status, gender and HEI-05 was found (P = 0.011). Among males with a HEI-05 score ≤ 55.6, those with T2D had a higher mean BDI score than those without T2D (11.6 vs. 6.6 respectively, P = 0.028). Among males and females with a HEI-05 score ≤ 55.6, females without T2D had a higher mean BDI score compared to males without T2D (11.0 vs. 6.6 respectively, P = 0.012)

Conclusions

Differences in symptoms of depression according to diabetes status and gender are found in Cuban-Americans with low diet quality.     

Calculation of metabolic flow of xylose in Lactococcus lactis

A circuit diagram is proposed on the basis of an analysis of metabolic pathways of lactic acid bacteria, namely, a phosphoketolase pathway and a pentose phosphate/glycolic pathway. An augmented matrix was derived from carbon balances and stoichiometries from the circuit diagram, and solved by Gaussian elimination. Results indicated that 70% of the amount of xylose was metabolized through the pentose phosphate/glycolic pathway and that the yield of lactic acid from xylose ranged from 0.34 to 0.52 (mol/mol), whereas that of pyruvic acid was more than 1.4 (mol/mol).     

Direct Observation by Tem on the Generation Process of Carbon Clusters at 800°C

In-situ observation of carbon cluster formation, an initial stage of the generation process for carbon nanotubes, and a coalescence of carbon clusters on the surface of graphite from hydrocarbons were performed by using a heating holder at 800°C with a weak electron beam irradiation in a TEM.     

Chirality Emergence in Thin Solid Films of Amino Acids by Polarized Light from Synchrotron Radiation and Free Electron Laser

One of the most attractive hypothesis for the origin of homochirality in terrestrial bioorganic compounds is that a kind of “chiral impulse” as an asymmetric excitation source induced asymmetric reactions on the surfaces of such materials such as meteorites or interstellar dusts prior to the existence of terrestrial life (Cosmic Scenario). To experimentally introduce chiral structure into racemic films of amino acids (alanine, phenylalanine, isovaline, etc.), we irradiated them with linearly polarized light (LPL) from synchrotron radiation and circularly polarized light (CPL) from a free electron laser. After the irradiation, we evaluated optical anisotropy by measuring the circular dichroism (CD) spectra and verified that new Cotton peaks appeared at almost the same peak position as those of the corresponding non-racemic amino acid films. With LPL irradiation, two-dimensional anisotropic structure expressed as linear dichroism and/or linear birefringence was introduced into the racemic films. With CPL irradiation, the signs of the Cotton peaks exhibit symmetrical structure corresponding to the direction of CPL rotation. This indicates that some kinds of chiral structure were introduced into the racemic film. The CD spectra after CPL irradiation suggest the chiral structure should be derived from not only preferential photolysis but also from photolysis-induced molecular structural change. These results suggest that circularly polarized light sources in space could be associated with the origin of terrestrial homochirality; that is, they would be effective asymmetric exciting sources introducing chiral structures into bio-organic molecules or complex organic compounds.     

Temperature and Food Availability Differentially Affect the Production of Antimicrobial Compounds in Oral Secretions Produced by Two Species of Burying Beetle

Carrion beetles of the subfamily Nicrophorinae search and bury a carcass that they utilize for reproduction. After burial, the carcass is coated with oral secretions that delay its decomposition. Previously, oral secretions of Nicrophorus marginatus were found to show antimicrobial activity, whereas secretion of N. carolinus lacked significant activity. Here, we tested the effects of temperature, sex of the beetle, and food type on the antimicrobial properties of oral secretions of both species. Unlike previous findings, we found that oral secretions of N. carolinus had antimicrobial activity. Temperature had significant effects on the amount of secretion protein. When protein concentrations were standardized to 1 μ/ml, N. marginatus secretions had higher antimicrobial activity at cooler temperatures, while N. carolinus had higher activity at warmer ones. The sex of the beetle did not affect antimicrobial activity for either species. Beetles of both species that were fed whole rats contained more protein in their oral secretions than beetles fed with equally sized pieces of raw ground beef. After standardizing the resulting protein concentrations to 1 μg/ml, antimicrobial activity of oral secretion increased for N. carolinus after rat feeding, but not for N. marginatus. Our results highlight key ecological differences between these closely related species. In addition, they demonstrate the importance of experiments being conducted under varying environmental conditions when evaluating species for potential antimicrobial compounds.     

Influence of detergent builders on surface properties of sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions under dynamic and static conditions

The effects of various detergent builders on surface properties of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions have been investigated by measuring the equilibrium surface tension and hysteresis curves of surface pressure vs surface area under dynamic conditions. While the adsorbed layer of SDS under static conditions is in the liquid-expanded state, a two-dimensional phase transition of the adsorbed layer from liquid-expanded to condensed-film can be observed on compression at higher rates beyond the saturated adsorption. For the SDS solution containing excess NaCl (1×10⁻¹ M), the adsorbed layer of SDS is already in the condensed state under static condition due to a depression in the dissociation of SDS. It has been found that some polyelectrolytes, as well as conventional ionic builders, contribute to increasing the surface excess concentration of SDS together with promoting micelle formation and also to stabilizing the adsorbed layer of SDS. On the other hand, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a nonionic polymer is adsorbed at the air-water interface in preference to SDS. In this case, the hysteresis of the dynamic surface behavior of the mixed solution can be attributed to the structural change of the adsorbed layer of PVA rather than SDS, which is different from the other ionic builders.