Status ausgewählter Mineralstoffe bei älteren Menschen unter Berücksichtigung chronischer Medikation

Die vorliegende Arbeit hatte das Ziel den Nährstoffstatus ausgewählter Mineralstoffe (Natrium, Kalium, Chlorid, Magnesium, Calcium, Eisen, Zink, Selen) bei burgenländischen SeniorInnen zu ermitteln. Das Studienkollektiv umfasste 102 ProbandInnen im Alter über 70 Jahre, die sich selbstständig versorgten. Die StudienteilnehmerInnen wurden in zwei Medikamentengruppen (55%: ≤2 Medikamente pro Tag, 45%: ≥3 Medikamente pro Tag) unterteilt. Die beiden Kollektive zeigten hinsichtlich des Nährstoffstatus keinen nennenswerten Unterschied. Zu den am häufigsten eingenommenen Arzneimittelgruppen zählten Antihypertonika, Gerinnungshemmer und Koronartherapeutika, Lipidsenker sowie Magenschutzmedikamente oder Protonenpumpenhemmer. Aber auch Antidiabetika und Schilddrüsenmedikamente wurden in ähnlicher Häufigkeit von den StudienteilnehmerInnen eingenommen. Die Nährstoffaufnahme wurde mittels eines 24h-Recalls eruiert. Der Versorgungsstatus von Natrium, Kalium, Chlorid, Magnesium und Calcium wurde anhand von Plasma- und Spontanharnproben bestimmt. Der Eisen-, Zink- und Selenstatus wurde ausschließlich im Plasma gemessen. Die Aufnahme der Mineralstoffe ist sehr heterogen und tendenziell zu gering. Die Natriumaufnahme lag jedoch deutlich über dem Richtwert von 550 mg Natrium pro Tag, dies spiegelt den erhöhten Kochsalzkonsum wider, der in zahlreichen Studien bestätigt werden konnte. Bei 66% der StudienteilnehmerInnen war die berechnete Kaliumaufnahme aus Lebensmitteln zu gering. Ebenso wurden die Empfehlungen für Magnesium von einem Großteil der teilnehmenden SeniorInnen im Durchschnitt nicht erreicht. Ähnliches zeigte sich bei Calcium, das nur von 12% der ProbandInnen in ausreichendem Maße aufgenommen wurde. Die Eisenaufnahme lag bei 70% der StudienteilnehmerInnen unterhalb der Empfehlungen. Eine ausreichende Zinkzufuhr wurde bei 39% des Gesamtkollektivs ermittelt. Die Untersuchung des Natriumstatus im Plasma ergab bei 63% der ProbandInnen eine Natriumkonzentration knapp über dem Referenzbereich. Die Natriumausscheidung im Harn zeigte bei 50% der StudienteilnehmerInnen eine optimale Natriumversorgung, weitere je 25% waren akzeptabel und verbesserungswürdig versorgt.. Bei 85% der SeniorInnen konnten adäquate Kaliumplasmakonzentrationen ermittelt werden, hingegen zeigte die Messung des Spontanharns bei 61% einen nicht zufriedenstellenden Status. Die erhöhte Kochsalzzufuhr von durchschnittlich 7,8 ± 2,8 g täglich spiegelt sich in der Analyse von Plasma und Harn wider. Eine Chloridkonzentration im Plasma über dem Referenzbereich konnte bei 42% der ProbandInnen festgestellt werden. Die ermittelte Chloridausscheidung lag zu ca. je einem Drittel im optimalen (30%), akzeptablen (32%) und verbesserungswürdigen (38%) Bereich. Die Messung des Magnesiums im Plasma ergab bei 99% der StudienteilnehmerInnen eine ausreichende Versorgung, ähnlich den Ergebnissen im Spontanharn, welche bei 31% der SeniorInnen auf einen akzeptablen und bei 43% auf einen optimalen Magnesiumstatus schließen ließ. Hinsichtlich der Calciumversorgung konnten 89% der burgenländischen SeniorInnen mit einem Calciumplasmaspiegel im Referenzbereich identifiziert werden. Jedoch wurden durch die Untersuchung des Spontanharns nur 14% akzeptabel und 29% optimal versorgte ProbandInnen ermittelt. Der Großteil der untersuchten Plasmaproben burgenländischer SeniorInnen zeigte eine ausreichende Eisenversorgung. Lediglich bei 18% lag der Eisenplasmaspiegel unter dem Referenzwert. Der gemessene Zinkstatus im Plasma zeigte bei 60% der ProbandInnen eine unzureichende Versorgung. Hinsichtlich des Selenstatus konnte bei 82% der burgenländischen SenioreInnen eine ausreichende Plasmakonzentration eruiert werden. Signifikante Unterschiede der Mineralstoffkonzentration im Harn wurden bei Natrium, Kalium, Chlorid und Magnesium gemessen. Wobei die weiblichen Studienteilnehmerinnen im Durchschnitt eine höhere Mineralstoffausscheidung aufwiesen als die Männer. Der Status der ausgewählten Mineralstoffe variierte nicht signifikant zwischen den beiden Medikamentengruppen (≤2 Medikamente pro Tag vs. ≥3 Medikamente pro Tag).The current thesis had the objective of analyzing the nutrient status of selected minerals (sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc and selenium) of senior citizens from the Austrian region “Burgenland”. The study was based on an analysis of a total of 102 test persons with an age of over 70 years who were capable of looking after themselves. Participants of the study were divided into two drug groups (55% of ≤2 drugs per day and 45% of ≥3 drugs per day). Both groups did not show any significant differences regarding the nutrient status of their participants. The most frequently taken drugs were antihypertensives, anticoagulants and other coronary therapeutic drugs, as well as lipid lowering agents, gastric protection drugs and proton pump inhibitors. Furthermore a regular intake of antidiabetics, psychotropic drugs and thyroid drugs were determined by the participants of the study. The uptake of nutrients was established using a 24-hour recall. The supply status of sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium and calcium was determined using plasma samples as well as spontaneous urine samples. The status of iron, zinc and selenium was measured solely using plasma samples. Generally it has to be said that the uptake of minerals is very heterogeneous and tending towards being too little. The uptake of sodium was notably higher than the daily recommended limits of 550 mg of sodium per day, thus, reflecting the higher consumption of salt which could be confirmed in numerous studies. In the case of 66 % of all study participants the calculated uptake of potassium through nutrition was below the recommended levels. The majority of participating senior citizens on average also showed a mismatch between the recommended and the actual uptake of magnesium. The situation was similar in the case of calcium as only 12% of all study participants showed a sufficient calcium uptake. 70% of all study participants revealed an iron uptake below the recommended levels. In the case of zinc 39% of the study participants showed sufficient supply levels. An analysis of the sodium status in the plasma revealed levels above the reference area in the case of 63% of all study participants. 50% of the study participants showed an ideal sodium supply as the sodium excretion in the urine was analyzed, another 25% of them showed equally both acceptable supply levels as well as supply levels that should be improved. 85% of all senior citizens showed adequate potassium concentrations in the plasma. However, as the analysis of spontaneous urine samples revealed 61% of the test persons showed a non satisfactory level of potassium. The increased salt intake of 7.8 ± 2.8 g per day is reflected in the analysis of plasma and urine. 42% of the study participants showed a plasma chloride concentration above the reference area. The established excretion of chloride was classified for about one third of the participants each as being ideal (30%), acceptable (32%) and improvable (38%). An analysis of magnesium in the plasma showed a sufficient supply in the case of 99% of all study participants, similar to the results of spontaneous urine samples which for 31% of the tested senior citizens indicated an acceptable magnesium supply and for 43% an ideal magnesium supply. Regarding the calcium supply 89% of the senior citizens from the Austrian region „Burgenland“ showed a level of calcium in the plasma that was within the reference area. However, an analysis of spontaneous urine samples revealed only 14% of acceptably supplied test persons and 29% of test persons with ideal supply levels. The majority of the analyzed plasma samples of the senior citizens from the region “Burgenland” indicated a sufficient supply with iron. Only in the case of 18% of all male and female participants the iron plasma levels were below the reference area. The calculated zinc status in the plasma indicated an insufficient supply in the case of 60% of all test persons. Regarding the status of selenium 82% of all analyzed senior citizens showed a sufficient pasma concentration. The urine samples showed significant differences regarding the mineral concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride and magnesium. Here it has to be said that the female study participants on average showed a higher mineral excretion than their male colleagues. The mineral concentrations evaluated showed no significant difference between both drug groups

Evaluation of effects caused by differentially spliced Ets-1 transcripts in fibroblasts

The transcription factor Ets-1 is known to be involved in a broad variety of cellular functions such as cell proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis and angiogenesis. In nearly all these reports, the full-length Ets-1 (p51) is commonly considered to be the active form and the role of the Ets-1?VII splice variant (p42) has not been addressed. Therefore, we studied the functional effects of p42 Ets-1 in comparison to p51 Ets-1 expression in a well-characterized mouse fibroblast cell line. Furthermore, the specific role of Ets-1 was evaluated using mouse fibroblasts with a reduced Ets-1 expression caused by RNAi and compared to fibroblasts with a binding inhibition of the whole ETS transcription factor family by stably overexpressing the ETS DNA binding domain as transdominant-negative mutant. Our results demonstrate that p42 Ets-1 has quite different functions and target genes compared to p51 Ets-1 (e.g. TIMP-4, MMP-3, MMP-9, MMP-13). In some cases (e.g. in cytokine expression) p42 Ets-1 is a functional transcription factor which acts in the same manner as a transdominant-negative approach

Carbon Stocks and Potential Greenhouse Gas Production of Permafrost-Affected Active Floodplains in the Lena River Delta

Arctic warming increases the degradation of permafrost soils but little is known about floodplain soils in the permafrost region. This study quantifies soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil nitrogen stocks, and the potential CH4 and CO2 production from seven cores in the active floodplains in the Lena River Delta, Russia. The soils were sandy but highly heterogeneous, containing deep, organic rich deposits with >60% SOC stored below 30 cm. The mean SOC stocks in the top 1 m were 12.9 ± 6.0 kg C m−2. Grain size analysis and radiocarbon ages indicated highly dynamic environments with sediment re-working. Potential CH4 and CO2 production from active floodplains was assessed using a 1-year incubation at 20°C under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Cumulative aerobic CO2 production mineralized a mean 4.6 ± 2.8% of initial SOC. The mean cumulative aerobic:anaerobic C production ratio was 2.3 ± 0.9. Anaerobic CH4 production comprised 50 ± 9% of anaerobic C mineralization; rates were comparable or exceeded those for permafrost region organic soils. Potential C production from the incubations was correlated with total organic carbon and varied strongly over space (among cores) and depth (active layer vs. permafrost). This study provides valuable information on the carbon cycle dynamics from active floodplains in the Lena River Delta and highlights the key spatial variability, both among sites and with depth, and the need to include these dynamic permafrost environments in future estimates of the permafrost carbon-climate feedback

Toward a Systemic Understanding of Listeria monocytogenes Metabolism during Infection

Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne human pathogen that can cause invasive infection in susceptible animals and humans. For proliferation within hosts, this facultative intracellular pathogen uses a reservoir of specific metabolic pathways, transporter, and enzymatic functions whose expression requires the coordinated activity of a complex regulatory network. The highly adapted metabolism of L. monocytogenes strongly depends on the nutrient composition of various milieus encountered during infection. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies revealed the spatial–temporal dynamic of gene expression of this pathogen during replication within cultured cells or in vivo. Metabolic clues are the utilization of unusual C2- and C3-bodies, the metabolism of pyruvate, thiamine availability, the uptake of peptides, the acquisition or biosynthesis of certain amino acids, and the degradation of glucose-phosphate via the pentose phosphate pathway. These examples illustrate the interference of in vivo conditions with energy, carbon, and nitrogen metabolism, thus affecting listerial growth. The exploitation, analysis, and modeling of the available data sets served as a first attempt to a systemic understanding of listerial metabolism during infection. L. monocytogenes might serve as a model organism for systems biology of a Gram-positive, facultative intracellular bacterium

A pipeline for targeted metagenomics of environmental bacteria.

BackgroundMetagenomics and single cell genomics provide a window into the genetic repertoire of yet uncultivated microorganisms, but both methods are usually taxonomically untargeted. The combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) has the potential to enrich taxonomically well-defined clades for genomic analyses.MethodsCells hybridized with a taxon-specific FISH probe are enriched based on their fluorescence signal via flow cytometric cell sorting. A recently developed FISH procedure, the hybridization chain reaction (HCR)-FISH, provides the high signal intensities required for flow cytometric sorting while maintaining the integrity of the cellular DNA for subsequent genome sequencing. Sorted cells are subjected to shotgun sequencing, resulting in targeted metagenomes of low diversity.ResultsPure cultures of different taxonomic groups were used to (1) adapt and optimize the HCR-FISH protocol and (2) assess the effects of various cell fixation methods on both the signal intensity for cell sorting and the quality of subsequent genome amplification and sequencing. Best results were obtained for ethanol-fixed cells in terms of both HCR-FISH signal intensity and genome assembly quality. Our newly developed pipeline was successfully applied to a marine plankton sample from the North Sea yielding good quality metagenome assembled genomes from a yet uncultivated flavobacterial clade.ConclusionsWith the developed pipeline, targeted metagenomes at various taxonomic levels can be efficiently retrieved from environmental samples. The resulting metagenome assembled genomes allow for the description of yet uncharacterized microbial clades. Video abstract

Characterization of elemental content & green house gases fluxes from different zones in the Lena Delta River

Permafrost science remains limited in data. Observations at isolated spaces and times are insufficient to evaluate the long term climatic and environmental responses over large regions. Permafrost models may be used to establish links between the geographical scales from local to large regional, continental, and hemispheric scales. This poster aims to show some examples for measuring C/N quantities and CO2/CH4 fluxes and to offer comparison of their contribution in C-cycle in different areas of Lena Delta River (2-core comparison and a global one on 12 core samples from the KoPf Expedition in 2018

Relationships between greenhouse gas production and landscape position during short-term permafrost thaw under anaerobic conditions in the Lena Delta

Soils in the permafrost region have acted as car- bon sinks for thousands of years. As a result of global warming, permafrost soils are thawing and will potentially release greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). However, small-scale spatial heterogeneities of GHG production have been neglected in previous incubation studies. Here, we used an anaerobic incubation experiment to simulate permafrost thaw along a transect from upland Yedoma to the floodplain on Kurungnakh Island. Potential CO2 and CH4 production was measured during incubation of the active layer and permafrost soils at 4 and 20 ◦C, first for 60 d (approximate length of the growing season) and then continuing for 1 year. An assessment of methanogen abundance was performed in parallel for the first 60 d. Yedoma samples from upland and slope cores remained in a lag phase during the growing season simulation, while those located in the floodplain showed high production of CH4 (6.5 × 103 μg CH4-C g−1 C) and CO2 (6.9 × 103 μg CO2-C g−1 C) at 20 ◦C. The Yedoma samples from the permafrost layer started producing CH4 after 6 months of incubation. We conclude that landscape position is a key factor triggering CH4 production during the growing season time on Kurungnakh Island