Working together to increase Australian children’s liking of vegetables: A position statement by the vegetable intake strategic alliance (VISA)

Children need to be repeatedly and consistently exposed to a variety of vegetables from an early age to achieve an increase in vegetable intake. A focus on enjoyment and learning to like eating vegetables at an early age is critical to forming favourable lifelong eating habits. Coordinated work is needed to ensure vegetables are available and promoted in a range of settings, using evidence-based initiatives, to create an environment that will support children’s acceptance of vegetables. This will help to facilitate increased intake, and ultimately realise the associated health benefits. The challenges and evidence base for a new approach are described

Estimating Prevalence, Demographics, and Costs of ME/CFS Using Large Scale Medical Claims Data and Machine Learning

Techniques of data mining and machine learning were applied to a large database of medical and facility claims from commercially insured patients to determine the prevalence, gender demographics, and costs for individuals with provider-assigned diagnosis codes for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The frequency of diagnosis was 519–1,038/100,000 with the relative risk of females being diagnosed with ME or CFS compared to males 1.238 and 1.178, respectively. While the percentage of women diagnosed with ME/CFS is higher than the percentage of men, ME/CFS is not a “women's disease.” Thirty-five to forty percent of diagnosed patients are men. Extrapolating from this frequency of diagnosis and based on the estimated 2017 population of the United States, a rough estimate for the number of patients who may be diagnosed with ME or CFS in the U.S. is 1.7 million to 3.38 million. Patients diagnosed with CFS appear to represent a more heterogeneous group than those diagnosed with ME. A machine learning model based on characteristics of individuals diagnosed with ME was developed and applied, resulting in a predicted prevalence of 857/100,000 (p > 0.01), or roughly 2.8 million in the U.S. Average annual costs for individuals with a diagnosis of ME or CFS were compared with those for lupus (all categories) and multiple sclerosis (MS), and found to be 50% higher for ME and CFS than for lupus or MS, and three to four times higher than for the general insured population. A separate aspect of the study attempted to determine if a diagnosis of ME or CFS could be predicted based on symptom codes in the insurance claims records. Due to the absence of specific codes for some core symptoms, we were unable to validate that the information in insurance claims records is sufficient to identify diagnosed patients or suggest that a diagnosis of ME or CFS should be considered based solely on looking for presence of those symptoms. These results show that a prevalence rate of 857/100,000 for ME/CFS is not unreasonable; therefore, it is not a rare disease, but in fact a relatively common one

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

By-product formation causes leaching of Ti from the redox molecular sieve TS-1

Triols, formed as by-products from the titanium silicalite (TS-1) catalysed epoxidation of allylic alcohols, can cause leaching of Ti from the microporous framework

Effect of preparation method on leaching of Ti from the redox molecular sieve TS-1

The leaching of Ti from the redox molecular sieve TS-1 when used as a catalyst for the oxidation of crotyl alcohol with hydrogen peroxide is described and discussed. The crystallisation time of the TS-1 is found to be the critical preparation parameter. TS-1 prepared using a 2 day crystallisation period leaches Ti, whereas TS-1 prepared using a 10 day crystallisation period is inert to leaching. Silanisation of the external surface of the 2 day preparation effectively stops the leaching of Ti, without significantly affecting the catalytic performance. Similarly, treatment of the 2 day TS-1 with sodium azide also minimises leaching of Ti but with a reduction in catalytic activity. The Ti leaching is shown to be caused by the reaction of a triol with TS-1 in the presence of hydrogen peroxide from the surface of the 2 day TS-1. A possible mechanism is proposed in which the triol by-product chelates the Ti, thereby breaking Ti-O-Si framework bonds and causing leaching to form a Ti species in solution. The reactivity of this Ti species in solution is modelled using the reaction of crotyl alcohol with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of titanyl acetylacetonate, and it is found that this effectively catalyses the formation of triol. Hence, it is concluded that, once initiated, Ti leaching will be catalysed by the reaction products of the solution Ti species that is formed

Oxidation of crotyl alcohol using Ti-beta and Ti-MCM-41 catalysts

A comparative study of the oxidation of the crotyl alcohol using hydrogen peroxide and tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidants with TS-1,Ti-beta, Ti-Al beta, Ti-MCM-41, Ti-Al-MCM-41 and Ti-grafted-MCM-41 as catalysts is described and discussed. With hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, significant Ti-leaching is observed with all the catalysts except TS-I (Ti-Al beta > Ti-grafted-MCM-41 > Ti-MCM-41 > Ti beta >Ti-Al-MCM-41 much greater than TS-I). For Ti-Al beta, Ti-grafted- MCM-41 and Ti-Al-MCM-41, initial heterogeneously catalysed formation of the epoxide was observed. However, the formation of a Ti-species in solution is shown to contribute to competing homogeneously catalysed formation of ether diols and triol. Using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant the Ti-leaching was minimised and selective epoxide formation was observed with Ti-beta, Ti-Al beta and Ti-MCM-41 as heterogeneous catalysts, although, with Ti-Al beta, the ether diols and triol products dominated due to acid catalysed solvolysis of the epoxide. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Extracellular Electron Transfer Powers Enterococcus faecalis Biofilm Metabolism

Enterococci are important human commensals and significant opportunistic pathogens. Biofilm-related enterococcal infections, such as endocarditis, urinary tract infections, wound and surgical site infections, and medical device-associated infections, often become chronic upon the formation of biofilm. The biofilm matrix establishes properties that distinguish this state from free-living bacterial cells and increase tolerance to antimicrobial interventions. The metabolic versatility of the enterococci is reflected in the diversity and complexity of environments and communities in which they thrive. Understanding metabolic factors governing colonization and persistence in different host niches can reveal factors influencing the transition to biofilm pathogenicity. Here, we report a form of iron-dependent metabolism for Enterococcus faecalis where, in the absence of heme, extracellular electron transfer (EET) and increased ATP production augment biofilm growth. We observe alterations in biofilm matrix depth and composition during iron-augmented biofilm growth. We show that the ldh gene encoding L-lactate dehydrogenase is required for iron-augmented energy production and biofilm formation and promotes EET.NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore)MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore)Published versio

Interleukin 6 expression by Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells is associated with the presence of 'B' symptoms and failure to achieve complete remission in patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a potent immunomodulatory cytokine that has pathogenic and prognostic significance in a number of disorders. Previous studies in Hodgkin's disease (HD) have demonstrated the association between elevated serum levels of IL-6 and unfavourable prognosis, including advanced stage and the presence of 'B' symptoms and with reduced survival. Although IL-6 expression has been demonstrated in both the malignant Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells and in the various non-malignant cells present in HD biopsies, a relationship between expression of IL-6 by the tumour and outcome measures has not been established. The study group comprised of 97 patients with advanced HD who were recruited to two related clinical trials. IL-6 expression was determined on paraffin-wax sections of biopsy material by means of an immunohistochemical assay. Of the 97 patients, 27 (28%) showed staining for IL-6 in HRS cells. IL-6 expression by HRS cells was significantly correlated with a decreased likelihood of achieving a complete response to chemotherapy (P = 0.02) and with an increased prevalence of 'B' symptoms (P = 0.04). IL-6 expression by HRS cells was not associated with Epstein-Barr virus status (P = 0.57). In summary, the results suggest that IL-6 expression by HRS cells may contribute to the presence of 'B' symptoms and to a decreased likelihood to achieve a complete remission in HD patients