Effect of protein depletion on urinary nitrogen excretion in undernourished subjects

The extent of labile protein stores and their response to protein feeding was studied in undernourished adult subjects. Urinary nitrogen excretion following 3 levels of protein intake (62, 82 and 96 g/day), each protein period alternated with a protein-free diet, was studied in 4 apparently healthy but undernourished young men. Urinary nitrogen with a protein-free diet decreased to a nearly steady value within 2 to 3 days. The initial decrease was small, however, indicating poor labile protein stores in these subjects. With diets containing protein considerable nitrogen was retained. The retained nitrogen, however, was not excreted when the subjects were changed over from protein-containing diets to protein-free diets. Endogenous urinary nitrogen excretion in these subjects was not different from that of normal subjects

Amino acid imbalance and tryptophanniacin metabolism: I. Effect of excess leucine on the urinary excretion of tryptophan-niacin metabolites in rats

The effect of feeding excess leucine on the urinary excretion of tryptophan-niacin metabolites and nitrogen was studied in young and adult rats. Urinary excretion of quinolinic acid and N'methylnicotinamide was increased in both young and adult rats when L-leucine was added at 1.5% level to a 9% casein diet. Quinolinic acid excretion was more markedly affected in young rats, whereas N'-methylnicotinamide excretion was more affected in adult rats. Isoleucine counteracted the effect of leucine in young rats. Nitrogen excretion increased on leucine feeding in adult rats but not in young rats. Adult rats fed a jowar (Sorghum vulgare) diet tended to excrete relatively more N'-methylnicotinamide and niacin than when fed a wheat diet

Metal binding to pyridoxal derivatives. An NMR study of the interaction of Eu(III) with pyridoxal phosphate and pyridoxamine phosphate

The solution conformations of pyridoxal-5′-phosphate and pyridoxamine-5′-phosphate have been investigated using Eu(III) as a nuclear magnetic resonance shift probe. Binding of Eu(III) to pyridoxal phosphate results in the formation of two complexes, at the phosphate group and theo-hydroxy-aldehyde moiety, which are in slow exchange on the nuclear magnetic resonance time-scale. The lanthanide-induced pseudo contact shifts calculated using the McConnell-Robertson equation (J. Chem. Soc. (1950), 22, 1561) are in good agreement with the experimentally observed values for both pyridoxal phosphate and pyridoxamine phosphate and lead to a family of closely related conformations

Pattern of nicotinamide nucleotides in the erythrocytes of pellagrins

Nicotinamide nucleotides in the erythrocytes of normal human subjects and of patients suffering from pellagra were separated by paper chromatography and their concentrations determined. Though no differences were observed in the concentration of total nicotinamide nucleotides in erythrocytes of pellagrins and normals, significant differences were observed with regard to concentration of the individual nucleotides. The erythrocytes of pellagrins had significantly higher amounts of NMN than the erythrocytes of normal subjects, while levels of NAD and NADP tended to be lower in the pellagrins as compared to normals

Sustainable food security in India—Domestic production and macronutrient availability

<div><p>India has been perceived as a development enigma: Recent rates of economic growth have not been matched by similar rates in health and nutritional improvements. To meet the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) of achieving zero hunger by 2030, India faces a substantial challenge in meeting basic nutritional needs in addition to addressing population, environmental and dietary pressures. Here we have mapped—for the first time—the Indian food system from crop production to household-level availability across three key macronutrients categories of ‘calories’, ‘digestible protein’ and ‘fat’. To better understand the potential of reduced food chain losses and improved crop yields to close future food deficits, scenario analysis was conducted to 2030 and 2050. Under India’s current self-sufficiency model, our analysis indicates severe shortfalls in availability of all macronutrients across a large proportion (>60%) of the Indian population. The extent of projected shortfalls continues to grow such that, even in ambitious waste reduction and yield scenarios, enhanced domestic production alone will be inadequate in closing the nutrition supply gap. We suggest that to meet SDG2 India will need to take a combined approach of optimising domestic production and increasing its participation in global trade.</p></div

Thermal Structure of the Equatorial Topside Ionosphere

151-153The thermal structure of the equatorial topside ionosphere is theoretically investigated to explain the experimentally observed features, viz. (i) isothermal region in the 400-500 km range, (ii) close coupling of electron and ion temperatures, and (iii) lower temperatures compared to mid-latitudes. The main reasons for these features seem to be the larger electron densities in the 400-500 km range and the absence of protonospheric heat flux flowing into the topside ionosphere. The theoretical profiles, calculated on the above basis, are found to be in good agreement with the experimentally observed profiles in the 400-1000 km region

Solar Activity Variation of Electron & Ion Temperatures in Equatorial Topside Ionosphere

273-277The daytime electron and ion temperature (Te and Ti) profiles in the topside ionosphere in the equatorial region are theoretically investigated for low and medium solar activity conditions. The available ion composition data from incoherent back-scatter radar and satellite in situ measurements are used in studying the thermal structure. The local and non-local electron heating rates due to photoelectrons are evaluated for these solar activity conditions. The results show that the plasma temperature at 400 km as well as at 1000 km increases from low to medium solar activity conditions, while it decreases at 700 km, The altitudinal extent of isothermal region around 500 km increases with increasing solar activity and the temperature gradient above the isothermal region is lower for medium solar activity as compared to low solar activity. The calculated temperature profiles are in fair agreement with the direct measurements of Te and Ti taken at Jicamarca for similar conditions

Hydrogen & Oxygen Ion Densities & Fluxes In Low & Midlatitude Topside Ionosphere

284-288The daytime altitudinal variation of ion diffusion flaxes and their influence on H+ and O+ densities in the topside ionosphere in the low and midlatitudes are investigated theoretically, taking into account the ionosphere protonosphere coupling. The H+ density is considered to be in chemical equilibrium at altitudes below 600 km and in dynamical equilibrium at altitudes above 600 km. Using the observed 0+ ion densities, recently derived neutral hydrogen densities, and electron and ion temperature profiles, the transport fluxes of O+ and H+ ions are evaluated taking into consideration the geomagnetic field geometry. It has been shown that the relative sizes of the magnetospheric field tubes in the low and midlatitudes control the density variation in the topside ionosphere and produce lower proton densities in the midlatitudes compared to low latitudes. Also, the diffusive equilibrium profiles differ considerably from the dynamical equilibrium profiles

Photoelectron Escape Fluxes over the Equatorial & Midlatitude Regions

198-201Satellite measurements of photoelectron escape flux around noontime made by Explorer-31 in 600-800 km altitude range are reported for the equatorial and midlatitude regions. The pitch angle distributions and the spectral distributions are derived from the data. The analyzed data Show that the flux for equatorial region is lower by a factor 2 to 3 in comparison to that of mindlatitude region. Theoretical calculations of the escape flux are also made and compared with the observed escape fluxes, which are about 3 x 106 el cm-3 sec eV-1 for 10 eV electrons in the equatorial region