Effects of dietary long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma amino acids and indices of protein metabolism in infants: Results from a randomized clinical trial

Background/Aim: Previous studies in vitro and in animals in vivo found that alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3 omega 3) may enhance oxidative damage of essential amino acids. We investigated whether the addition of the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) arachidonate (C20:4 omega-6; AA) and docosahexaenoate (C22:6-omega 3; DHA) in the form of egg phospholipids to infant formula affects plasma amino acid concentrations and indices of protein metabolism in term infants. Methods: In a double-blind, randomized clinical trial, healthy infants were fed from day 5 of life formula with or without preformed LCPUFA (n = 10 and 12, respectively). At the age of 5 days and 1, 2, 3 and 4 months, blood samples were obtained and analyzed for plasma amino acids by high-performance liquid chromatography and for plasma phospholipid fatty acid composition by gas chromatography. Results: At the age of 3 months, plasma threonine concentrations were significantly lower in infants receiving dietary LCPUFA than in controls (124 +/- 16 vs. 216 +/- 28 mu mol/l, p < 0.05). Values of other plasma essential amino acids, total protein, albumin, creatinine and urea nitrogen did not differ between the two feeding groups throughout the study. At the age of 5 days, plasma phospholipid AA and DHA concentrations were inversely correlated with histidine concentrations (AA: r = -0.60, p = 0.01; DHA: r = -0.53, p < 0.05). At the age of 3 months, DHA concentrations were inversely related to plasma histidine, methionine and threonine concentrations (r = -0.66, -0.62, and -0.64, respectively, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The dietary LCPUFA supplementation of infant formula used in this study has no adverse effects on infant plasma amino acid concentrations and indicators of protein metabolism. Nonetheless, the apparent interaction of LCPUFA with some amino acids in formula-fed infants warrants further investigation

Off-nadir antenna bias correction using Amazon rain sigma(0) data

The radar response from the Amazon rain forest was studied to determine the suitability of this region for use as a standard target to calibrate a scatterometer like that proposed for the National Oceanic Satellite System (NOSS). Backscattering observations made by the SEASAT Scatterometer System (SASS) showed the Amazon rain forest to be a homogeneous, azimuthally-isotropic, radar target which was insensitive to polarization. The variation with angle of incidence was adequately modeled as scattering coefficient (dB) = a theta b with typical values for the incidence-angle coefficient from 0.07 to 0.15 dB/deg. A small diurnal effect occurs, with measurements at sunrise being 0.5 dB to 1 dB higher than the rest of the day. Maximum-likelihood estimation algorithms presented here permit determination of relative bias and true pointing angle for each beam. Specific implementation of these algorithms for the proposed NOSS scatterometer system is also discussed

Codes for Key Generation in Quantum Cryptography

As an alternative to the usual key generation by two-way communication in schemes for quantum cryptography, we consider codes for key generation by one-way communication. We study codes that could be applied to the raw key sequences that are ideally obtained in recently proposed scenarios for quantum key distribution, which can be regarded as communication through symmetric four-letter channels.Comment: IJQI format, 13 pages, 1 tabl

Off-nadir antenna bias correction using Amazon rain forest sigma deg data

The radar response from the Amazon rain forest was studied to determine the suitability of this region for use as a standard target to calibrate a scatterometer like that proposed for the National Ocean Satellite System (NOSS). Backscattering observations made by the SEASAT-1 scatterometer system show the Amazon rain forest to be a homogeneous, azimuthally-isotropic, radar target which is insensitive to polarization. The variation with angle of incidence may be adequately modeled as sigma deg (dB) = alpha theta + beta with typical values for the incidence-angle coefficient from 0.07 dB deg to 0.15 dB/deg. A small diurnal effect occurs, with measurements at sunrise being 0.5 dB to 1 dB higher than the rest of the day. Maximum likelihood estimation algorithms are presented which permit determination of relative bias and true pointing angle for each beam. Specific implementation of these algorithms for the proposed NOSS scatterometer system is also discussed

Tomographic Quantum Cryptography: Equivalence of Quantum and Classical Key Distillation

The security of a cryptographic key that is generated by communication through a noisy quantum channel relies on the ability to distill a shorter secure key sequence from a longer insecure one. For an important class of protocols, which exploit tomographically complete measurements on entangled pairs of any dimension, we show that the noise threshold for classical advantage distillation is identical with the threshold for quantum entanglement distillation. As a consequence, the two distillation procedures are equivalent: neither offers a security advantage over the other.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Non-local anomaly of the axial-vector current for bound states

We demonstrate that the amplitude $<\rho\gamma|\partial_\nu (\bar q\gamma_\nu \gamma_5 q)|0>$ does not vanish in the limit of zero quark masses. This represents a new kind of violation of the classical equation of motion for the axial current and should be interpreted as the axial anomaly for bound states. The anomaly emerges in spite of the fact that the one loop integrals are ultraviolet-finite as guaranteed by the presence of the bound-state wave function. As a result, the amplitude behaves like $\sim 1/p^2$ in the limit of a large momentum $p$ of the current. This is to be compared with the amplitude $$ which remains finite in the limit $p^2\to\infty$. The observed effect leads to the modification of the classical equation of motion of the axial-vector current in terms of the non-local operator and can be formulated as a non-local axial anomaly for bound states.Comment: revtex, 4 pages, numerical value for $\kappa$ in Eq. (19) is corrected, Eqs. (22) and (23) are modified. New references added. Results remain unchange

Sex Disparities in the Treatment and Control of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—To assess whether sex differences exist in the effective control and medication treatment intensity of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors

Differences in Circulating Carnitine Status of Preterm Infants Fed Fortified Human Milk or Preterm Infant Formula

Objective:The aim of the study was to compare plasma carnitine profiles in fortified human milk (HM)-fed preterm infants or formula-fed preterm infants.Methods:Plasma acylcarnitine concentrations were determined in 20 formula-fed and 18 HM-fed preterm infants (birth weights between 1000 and 2200 g) by isotope dilution ESI MS/MS technique on study days 0, 14, and 28.Results:Concentrations of free carnitine (FC) and different acylcarnitines did not change during the 4 weeks of the study in infants fed HM. In contrast, in infants fed formula FC increased markedly (day 0: 29.989 16.646] mol/L, median interquartile range], day 14: 43.972 8.455], P<0.05) along with increases of short-chain esters (C2 day 0: 5.300 3.272], day 14: 6.773 2.127], P<0.05; C3 day 0: 0.070 0.059], day 14: 0.110 0.069], P<0.05). In contrast, some medium-chain (C8:1, C12) and long-chain esters (C14, C16) decreased significantly in infant formula by day 14, whereas FC and C2 and C3 esters increased further by day 28 (FC: 47.672 14.753], C2: 7.430 4.688], C3: 0.107 0.047]).Conclusions:The altered carnitine ester profile likely reflects active involvement of the carnitine molecule in the buffering, metabolism, and elimination of nonphysiological acyl moieties

The moisture effect on 223Ra and 224Ra measurements using Mn-cartridges

Important processes in the ocean can be evaluated with radioactive nuclides, including radium isotopes. An approach for quantifying radium isotopes in seawater with in-situ pumps has been developed in advance of the GEOTRACES program [1]. Precise measurements of 223Ra and 224Ra by means of the delayed coincidence counting system (RaDeCC) [2] are dependent on the moisture content of the medium [3]. In order to verify the optimum moisture content for this new approach, a set of measurements of the Mn-cartridge standards under different moisture conditions was conducted, as this was done previously for acrylic fiber. At a time, an amount of water equivalent to 5% of the cartridges weight was added, and the activities were determined. The variation of 224Ra activity occurs mainly between 0 to 15% of humidity. Under moisture conditions higher than 15%, the emanation efficiency reaches an optimum plateau until 100% of moisture. This result differs slightly from those found for 224Ra measurements using the acrylic fiber (plateau from 30 to 100 %) [3]. The 223Ra Mn-cartridge standard reaches the plateau under 5% of humidity, and above 50% moisture the activity seems to decrease. Considering the counting error (7%), it is hard to state that the effect of the moisture is critical. However, this decrease can be related to the shorter half-life of the 219Rn compared to the time needed to its diffusion through the water film, which could be a reason for the frequently observed lower efficiency of the 223Ra channel of the RaDeCC system [4]. [1] Henderson et al. (2013) J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 296, 357–362. [2] Moore and Arnold (1996) J. Geophys. Res. 101, 321–1329. [3] Sun and Torgersen (1998) Mar. Chem. 61, 163–171. [4] Charette et al. (2012) Limnol. Oceanogr. 10, 451–463

Identification of a gene associated with avian migratory behaviour

Bird migration is one of the most spectacular and best-studied phenomena in behavioural biology. Yet, while the patterns of variation in migratory behaviour and its ecological causes have been intensively studied, its genetic, physiological and neurological control remains poorly understood. The lack of knowledge of the molecular basis of migration is currently not only limiting our insight into the proximate control of migration, but also into its evolution. We investigated polymorphisms in the exons of six candidate genes for key behavioural traits potentially linked to migration, which had previously been identified in several bird species, and eight control loci in 14 populations of blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla), representing the whole range of geographical variation in migration patterns found in this species, with the aim of identifying genes controlling variation in migration. We found a consistent association between a microsatellite polymorphism and migratory behaviour only at one candidate locus: the ADCYAP1 gene. This polymorphism explained about 2.6 per cent of the variation in migratory tendency among populations, and 2.7–3.5% of variation in migratory restlessness among individuals within two independent populations. In all tests, longer alleles were associated with higher migratory activity. The consistency of results among different populations and levels of analysis suggests that ADCYAP1 is one of the genes controlling the expression of migratory behaviour. Moreover, the multiple described functions of the gene product indicate that this gene might act at multiple levels modifying the shift between migratory and non-migratory states