Sensory characteristics and lipid composition of white amur (Ctenopharyngodon Idella) fed different diets

Two fish diets, trout chow pellets (A) and alfalfa pellets (P), were evaluated as to their effects on growth, lipid level and compo-sition, fatty acid (FA) composition of polar and neutral lipids, and sensory characteristics of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). During the 6 month feeding experiment, fish fed A gained 661 g/fish compared to 358 g for fish fed P. In addition, total lipid con-tent in fish fed A increased from 1.84 to 3.72% in 4 months time, but remained approximately the same in fish fed P (P\u3c 1.0%) across feed-ing times. Three phospholipid classes: sphingomyelin (6 to 13%), lecithin (55 to 63%), and cephalin (25 to 35%) were affected by feed-ing time (P\u3c0.05). Nineteen FA were found in the phospholipids: 14:0, 16:01, 16:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, 18:11, 18:2ω6, 18:3ω6, 18:3ω3, 20:1, 20:2, 20:3, 20:4ω6, 20:5ω3, 20:5ω6, 22:5uω3, 22:6ω3, and 24:1. Significant differences between diets were found in the percentages of 14 acids, and feeding time also significantly affected the levels of these acids. All of the previous FA except 16:01 plus 9 additional 16:11, 17:0, 17:1, 20:0, 22:1, 23:0, 24:0, 24:4 and an unknown, were found in the neutral lipids. Significant differences between diets were found in the percentages of 18 acids in the neutral lipids, and feeding time significantly affected the levels of 19 of the acids. Compared with fish fed P, fish fed A had higher levels of monounsatur-ated FA (MONO) and lower levels of omega-6 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) in both neutral and polar lipids; there were higher levels of saturated FA (SAT) and omega-S PUFA in the phospholipids but lower levels of SAT and omega-3 PUFA in the neutral lipids. Compared to P, A had lower percentages of SAT (40.9 vs. 51.1), omega-6 PUFA (12.1 vs. 18.2), and omega-3 PUFA (15.8 vs. 24.7) and a higher percentage of MONO (31.0 vs. 5.3). There was no significant difference between the flavor of grass carp fed P (3.6) and that of catfish (3.7), but the panel (n = 93) scored the flavor of grass carp fed A (3.4) lower than that of catfish (P\u3c0.06). They also found no significant differences in texture among the three fish samples. Compared with catfish acceptability (3.6), grass carp fed P tended to have lower acceptability (3.4), but grass carp fed A a significantly lower acceptability (3.3). The main reason given for scoring the acceptability of grass carp lower than that of catfish was the presence of small bones in the fillets. This indicates that either grass carp must be bigger at market-size than those in this study (1585 g) or the bones must somehow be removed

Growth and organoleptic qualities of grass carp fed experimental diets

The growth of two different sizes of grass carp were studied in laboratory feeding experiments. Experimental diets included trout chow, bermuda grass pellets, and sudan grass; fish were fed at three feeding rates, 2.5, 5, and 10% of body weight. The fish that were fed trout chow showed excellent growth of small and large fish at 2.5, 5, and 10%. Bermuda grass produced good growth only in large fish at the 2.5% level and better growth at 5%. Small fish lost weight when fed bermuda grass at the 5 and 10% rates. This was probably due to the smaller fish being unable to consume the large pellets. The fish fed sudan grass at 2.5% body weight also lost weight during the six-week feeding trial. Organoleptic comparisons indicated that there was a significant difference in the taste preference of grass carp fed bermuda grass and trout chow. The panelists preferred fish fed bermuda grass more than those fed trout chow. There was no significant difference in the taste preference among grass carp fed bermuda grass, trout chow, and sudan grass when compared to channel catfish

The accuracy of currently used WHO´s Body Mass Index cut-off points to measure Overweight and Obesity in Syrian women: A correlation study

Purpose: Obesity is a common health problem in both developed and developing countries. BMI is commonly used to identify obesity. However, there is increasing evidence that the relationship between BMI and BF% differs among various ethnicities. The main objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate the correlation between BF% as determined by BIA, DEXA, Deuterium oxide (D2O) and BMI, (2) to assess the accuracy of currently used WHOÅLs BMI cut-off points to identify overweight and obesity among Syrian women. Material and Methods: A total of 908 healthy Syrian women aged 18-60 years participated in this study. Weight, height, BMI, BF% assessed by BIA and DEXA, and D2O have been determined. Results: BF% results obtained by BIA and DEXA, and D2O revealed strong correlations. BMI showed a statistically significant correlation with BF% determined by BIA, DEXA and D2O. Obesity when defined as BMI ≥ 30 and as BF% > 35% (derived from BIA, DEXA and D2O) classified 43%, 52.5%, 75.9% and 72.7% of women as obese, respectively. ROC analysis defined BMI cut-off points for overweight and obesity of 22.5 and 25.7, respectively. Using the new BMI cut-off point, the prevalence of obesity among Syrian women was increased by 24%. Conclusions: The current BMI cut-off points recommended by WHO underestimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Syrian women. Our data suggests that it is important to lower the proposed WHOÅLs BMI cut-off points for the Syrian women

Identification of promoter elements in the Dolichospermum circinale AWQC131C saxitoxin gene cluster and the experimental analysis of their use for heterologous expression

Background Dolichospermum circinale is a filamentous bloom-forming cyanobacterium responsible for biosynthesis of the paralytic shellfish toxins (PST), including saxitoxin. PSTs are neurotoxins and in their purified form are important analytical standards for monitoring the quality of water and seafood and biomedical research tools for studying neuronal sodium channels. More recently, PSTs have been recognised for their utility as local anaesthetics. Characterisation of the transcriptional elements within the saxitoxin (sxt) biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) is a first step towards accessing these molecules for biotechnology. Results In D. circinale AWQC131C the sxt BGC is transcribed from two bidirectional promoter regions encoding five individual promoters. These promoters were identified experimentally using 5′ RACE and their activity assessed via coupling to a lux reporter system in E. coli and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Transcription of the predicted drug/metabolite transporter (DMT) encoded by sxtPER was found to initiate from two promoters, PsxtPER1 and PsxtPER2. In E. coli, strong expression of lux from PsxtP, PsxtD and PsxtPER1 was observed while expression from Porf24 and PsxtPER2 was remarkably weaker. In contrast, heterologous expression in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 showed that expression of lux from PsxtP, PsxtPER1, and Porf24 promoters was statistically higher compared to the non-promoter control, while PsxtD showed poor activity under the described conditions. Conclusions Both of the heterologous hosts investigated in this study exhibited high expression levels from three of the five sxt promoters. These results indicate that the majority of the native sxt promoters appear active in different heterologous hosts, simplifying initial cloning efforts. Therefore, heterologous expression of the sxt BGC in either E. coli or Synechocystis could be a viable first option for producing PSTs for industrial or biomedical purposes

Molecular and clinical analysis of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in the United Arab Emirates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ellis-van Creveld (EvC) syndrome is an autosomal recessive chondrodysplastic condition with clinical manifestations that include short-limbs and ribs, postaxial polydactyly and dysplastic nails and teeth. In about two thirds of patients, mutations in either <it>EVC </it>or <it>EVC2 </it>genes have been found to be the underlying cause.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this paper, we describe the molecular (DNA sequencing) and clinical analysis of six children diagnosed with EvC from four different families from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All the children had the common clinical and radiological features of this syndrome. However, DNA sequence analysis of the genes shown to be involved (<it>EVC </it>and <it>EVC2</it>) revealed a novel splice site mutation (c.2047-1G>T) in intron 13 of <it>EVC2 </it>gene in one family. In addition, we confirm previous mutational analyses that showed a truncating mutation in exon 13 of <it>EVC </it>gene (c.1813C>T; p.Q605X) in the second family and a single nucleotide deletion (c.981delG; p.K327<it>fs</it>) in exon 8 of <it>EVC2 </it>gene in the third family. No mutations in the exons, splice sites or the promoter regions of either gene have been found in the index case of the fourth family who exhibited "EvC-like" features.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Given the small population size of UAE, our data illustrates further the molecular heterogeneity observed in EvC patients and excludes the possibility of a common founder effect for this condition in the UAE reflecting the current ethnic diversity of the country.</p

Prominent crista terminalis mimicking a right atrial mass: case report

The crista terminalis is a normal anatomical structure within the right atrium that is not normally visualised in the standard views obtained while performing a transthoracic echocardiogram. In this case report, transthoracic echocardiography suggested the presence of a right atrial mass in a patient with end stage renal disease. However, subsequent transesophageal echocardiography revealed that the right atrial mass was actually a thick muscular bridge in the right atrium consistent with a prominent crista terminalis. An understanding of the anatomy and the echocardiographic appearance of a prominent crista terminalis will minimize the misdiagnosis of this structure avoiding unnecessary expensive additional tests

Isolation of microplastics in biota-rich seawater samples and marine organisms.

notes: PMCID: PMC3970126types: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tThis is an open access article that is freely available in ORE or from the publisher's web site. Please cite the published version.Microplastic litter is a pervasive pollutant present in aquatic systems across the globe. A range of marine organisms have the capacity to ingest microplastics, resulting in adverse health effects. Developing methods to accurately quantify microplastics in productive marine waters, and those internalized by marine organisms, is of growing importance. Here we investigate the efficacy of using acid, alkaline and enzymatic digestion techniques in mineralizing biological material from marine surface trawls to reveal any microplastics present. Our optimized enzymatic protocol can digest >97% (by weight) of the material present in plankton-rich seawater samples without destroying any microplastic debris present. In applying the method to replicate marine samples from the western English Channel, we identified 0.27 microplastics m(-3). The protocol was further used to extract microplastics ingested by marine zooplankton under laboratory conditions. Our findings illustrate that enzymatic digestion can aid the detection of microplastic debris within seawater samples and marine biota.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC

Engineering of vitamin prototrophy in Clostridium ljungdahlii and Clostridium autoethanogenum

Clostridium autoethanogenum and Clostridium ljungdahlii are physiologically and genetically very similar strict anaerobic acetogens capable of growth on carbon monoxide as sole carbon source. While exact nutritional requirements have not been reported, we observed that for growth, the addition of vitamins to media already containing yeast extract was required, an indication that these are fastidious microorganisms. Elimination of complex components and individual vitamins from the medium revealed that the only organic compounds required for growth were pantothenate, biotin and thiamine. Analysis of the genome sequences revealed that three genes were missing from pantothenate and thiamine biosynthetic pathways, and five genes were absent from the pathway for biotin biosynthesis. Prototrophy in C. autoethanogenum and C. ljungdahlii for pantothenate was obtained by the introduction of plasmids carrying the heterologous gene clusters panBCD from Clostridium acetobutylicum, and for thiamine by the introduction of the thiC-purF operon from Clostridium ragsdalei. Integration of panBCD into the chromosome through allele-coupled exchange also conveyed prototrophy. C. autoethanogenum was converted to biotin prototrophy with gene sets bioBDF and bioHCA from Desulfotomaculum nigrificans strain CO-1-SRB, on plasmid and integrated in the chromosome. The genes could be used as auxotrophic selection markers in recombinant DNA technology. Additionally, transformation with a subset of the genes for pantothenate biosynthesis extended selection options with the pantothenate precursors pantolactone and/or beta-alanine. Similarly, growth was obtained with the biotin precursor pimelate combined with genes bioYDA from C. acetobutylicum. The work raises questions whether alternative steps exist in biotin and thiamine biosynthesis pathways in these acetogens

The ligational behavior of a phenolic quinolyl hydrazone towards copper(II)- ions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The heterocyclic hydrazones constitute an important class of biologically active drug molecules. The hydrazones have also been used as herbicides, insecticides, nematocides, redenticides, and plant growth regulators as well as plasticizers and stabilizers for polymers. The importance of the phenolic quinolyl hydrazones arises from incorporating the quinoline ring with the phenolic compound; 2,4-dihydroxy benzaldehyde. Quinoline ring has therapeutic and biological activities whereas, phenols have antiseptic and disinfectants activities and are used in the preparation of dyes, bakelite and drugs. The present study is planned to check the effect of the counter anions on the type and geometry of the isolated copper(II)- complexes as well as the ligational behavior of the phenolic hydrazone; 4-[(2-(4,8-dimethylquinolin-2-yl)hydrazono)methyl] benzene-1,3-diol; (H₂L).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A phenolic quinolyl hydrazone (H₂L) was allowed to react with various copper(II)- salts (Cl‾, Br‾, NO₃‾, ClO₄‾, AcO‾, SO₄^2-). The reactions afforded dimeric complexes (ClO₄‾, AcO‾ ), a binuclear complex (NO₃‾ ) and mononuclear complexes (the others; Cl‾, Br‾, SO₄^2-). The isolated copper(II)- complexes have octahedral, square pyramid and square planar geometries. Also, they reflect the strong coordinating ability of NO₃‾, Cl‾, Br‾, AcO‾ and SO₄^2-anions. Depending on the type of the anion, the ligand showed three different modes of bonding <it>viz</it>. (NN)⁰for the mononuclear complexes (<b>3, 4, 6</b>), (NO)^-with O- bridging for the dimeric complexes (<b>1, 5</b>) and a mixed mode [(NN)⁰+ (NO)^-with O- bridging] for the binuclear nitrato- complex (<b>2</b>).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ligational behavior of the phenolic hydrazone (H₂L) is highly affected by the type of the anion. The isolated copper(II)- complexes reflect the strong coordinating power of the SO₄^2-, AcO‾, Br‾, Cl‾ and NO₃‾ anions. Also, they reflect the structural diversity (octahedral, square pyramid and square planar) depending on the type of the counter anion.</p

A clonal expression biomarker associates with lung cancer mortality

An aim of molecular biomarkers is to stratify patients with cancer into disease subtypes predictive of outcome, improving diagnostic precision beyond clinical descriptors such as tumor stage1. Transcriptomic intratumor heterogeneity (RNA-ITH) has been shown to confound existing expression-based biomarkers across multiple cancer types2,3,4,5,6. Here, we analyze multi-region whole-exome and RNA sequencing data for 156 tumor regions from 48 patients enrolled in the TRACERx study to explore and control for RNA-ITH in non-small cell lung cancer. We find that chromosomal instability is a major driver of RNA-ITH, and existing prognostic gene expression signatures are vulnerable to tumor sampling bias. To address this, we identify genes expressed homogeneously within individual tumors that encode expression modules of cancer cell proliferation and are often driven by DNA copy-number gains selected early in tumor evolution. Clonal transcriptomic biomarkers overcome tumor sampling bias, associate with survival independent of clinicopathological risk factors, and may provide a general strategy to refine biomarker design across cancer types