Can agricultural cultivation methods influence the healthfulness of crops for foods

The aim of the current study was to investigate if there are any health effects of long-term consumption of organically grown crops using a rat model. Crops were retrieved over two years from along-term field trial at three different locations in Denmark, using three different cultivation systems(OA, organic based on livestock manure; OB, organic based on green manure; and C, conventional with mineral fertilizers and pesticides)with two field replicates. The cultivation system had an impact on the nutritional quality, affecting γ-tocopherol, some amino acids, and fatty acid composition. Additionally, the nutritional quality was affected by harvest year and location. However, harvest year and location rather than cultivation system affected the measured health biomarkers. In conclusion, the differences in dietary treatments composed of ingredients from different cultivation systems did not lead to significant differences in the measured health biomarkers, except for a significant difference in plasma IgGl evels

Innovation, low energy buildings and intermediaries in Europe: systematic case study review

As buildings throughout their lifecycle account for circa 40% of total energy use in Europe, reducing energy use of the building stock is a key task. This task is, however, complicated by a range of factors, including slow renewal and renovation rates of buildings, multiple non- coordinated actors, conservative building practices, and limited competence to innovate. Drawing from academic literature published during 2005-2015, this article carries out a systematic review of case studies on low energy innovations in the European residential building sector, analysing their drivers. Specific attention is paid to intermediary actors in facilitating innovation processes and creating new opportunities. The study finds that qualitative case study literature on low energy building innovation has been limited, particularly regarding the existing building stock. Environmental concerns, EU, national and local policies have been the key drivers; financial, knowledge and social sustainability and equity drivers have been of modest importance; while design, health and comfort, and market drivers have played a minor role. Intermediary organisations and individuals have been important through five processes: (1) facilitating individual building projects, (2) creating niche markets, (3) implementing new practices in social housing stock, (4) supporting new business model creation, and (5) facilitating building use post construction. The intermediaries have included both public and private actors, while local authority agents have acted as intermediaries in several cases

Effect of Dietary Zinc Oxide on Morphological Characteristics, Mucin Composition and Gene Expression in the Colon of Weaned Piglets

The trace element zinc is often used in the diet of weaned piglets, as high doses have resulted in positive effects on intestinal health. However, the majority of previous studies evaluated zinc supplementations for a short period only and focused on the small intestine. The hypothesis of the present study was that low, medium and high levels of dietary zinc (57, 164 and 2,425 mg Zn/kg from zinc oxide) would affect colonic morphology and innate host defense mechanisms across 4 weeks post-weaning. Histological examinations were conducted regarding the colonic morphology and neutral, acidic, sialylated and sulphated mucins. The mRNA expression levels of mucin (MUC) 1, 2, 13, 20, toll-like receptor (TLR) 2, 4, interleukin (IL)-1β, 8, 10, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) were also measured. The colonic crypt area increased in an age-depending manner, and the greatest area was found with medium concentration of dietary zinc. With the high concentration of dietary zinc, the number of goblet cells containing mixed neutral-acidic mucins and total mucins increased. Sialomucin containing goblet cells increased age-dependently. The expression of MUC2 increased with age and reached the highest level at 47 days of age. The expression levels of TLR2 and 4 decreased with age. The mRNA expression of TLR4 and the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 were down-regulated with high dietary zinc treatment, while piglets fed with medium dietary zinc had the highest expression. It is concluded that dietary zinc level had a clear impact on colonic morphology, mucin profiles and immunological traits in piglets after weaning. Those changes might support local defense mechanisms and affect colonic physiology and contribute to the reported reduction of post-weaning diarrhea

Landscape of mutations in early stage primary cutaneous melanoma: An InterMEL study

It is unclear why some melanomas aggressively metastasize while others remain indolent. Available studies employing multi-omic profiling of melanomas are based on large primary or metastatic tumors. We examine the genomic landscape of early-stage melanomas diagnosed prior to the modern era of immunological treatments. Untreated cases with Stage II/III cutaneous melanoma were identified from institutions throughout the United States, Australia and Spain. FFPE tumor sections were profiled for mutation, methylation and microRNAs. Preliminary results from mutation profiling and clinical pathologic correlates show the distribution of four driver mutation sub-types: 31% BRAF; 18% NRAS; 21% NF1; 26% Triple Wild Type. BRAF mutant tumors had younger age at diagnosis, more associated nevi, more tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, and fewer thick tumors although at generally more advanced stage. NF1 mutant tumors were frequent on the head/neck in older patients with severe solar elastosis, thicker tumors but in earlier stages. Triple Wild Type tumors were predominantly male, frequently on the leg, with more perineural invasion. Mutations in TERT, TP53, CDKN2A and ARID2 were observed often, with TP53 mutations occurring particularly frequently in the NF1 sub-type. The InterMEL study will provide the most extensive multi-omic profiling of early-stage melanoma to date. Initial results demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the mutational and clinicopathological landscape of these early-stage tumors

Transport of Particles in Intestinal Mucus under Simulated Infant and Adult Physiological Conditions: Impact of Mucus Structure and Extracellular DNA

The final boundary between digested food and the cells that take up nutrients in the small intestine is a protective layer of mucus. In this work, the microstructural organization and permeability of the intestinal mucus have been determined under conditions simulating those of infant and adult human small intestines. As a model, we used the mucus from the proximal (jejunal) small intestines of piglets and adult pigs. Confocal microscopy of both unfixed and fixed mucosal tissue showed mucus lining the entire jejunal epithelium. The mucus contained DNA from shed epithelial cells at different stages of degradation, with higher amounts of DNA found in the adult pig. The pig mucus comprised a coherent network of mucin and DNA with higher viscosity than the more heterogeneous piglet mucus, which resulted in increased permeability of the latter to 500-nm and 1-µm latex beads. Multiple-particle tracking experiments revealed that diffusion of the probe particles was considerably enhanced after treating mucus with DNase. The fraction of diffusive 500-nm probe particles increased in the pig mucus from 0.6% to 64% and in the piglet mucus from ca. 30% to 77% after the treatment. This suggests that extracellular DNA can significantly contribute to the microrheology and barrier properties of the intestinal mucus layer. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and permeability of the small intestinal mucus have been compared between different age groups and the contribution of extracellular DNA highlighted. The results help to define rules governing colloidal transport in the developing small intestine. These are required for engineering orally administered pharmaceutical preparations with improved delivery, as well as for fabricating novel foods with enhanced nutritional quality or for controlled calorie uptake