Recent advances in avian egg science: a review

Eggs and egg products form an integral part of the food chain. As such, research into egg structure, function, and production has made an important contribution to the field of poultry science. The past decade has seen significant advances in avian egg science research, with work supplementing our understanding of the nature of the avian egg, and its biological, chemical, and physical properties. Eggshell color, strength, and chemical composition, poultry nutrition, and genetics have all been intensively studied recently, with significant progress being made in a number of these areas. Indeed, with the prevalence of robust theoretical techniques, it is now commonplace to combine experimental investigations with theory, providing a balanced and interdisciplinary perspective

Potential adverse public health effects afforded by the ingestion of dietary lipid oxidation product toxins: significance of fried food sources

Exposure of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich culinary oils (COs) to high temperature frying practices generates high concentrations of cytotoxic and genotoxic lipid oxidation products (LOPs) via oxygen-fueled, recycling peroxidative bursts. These toxins, including aldehydes and epoxy-fatty acids, readily penetrate into fried foods and hence are available for human consumption; therefore, they may pose substantial health hazards. Although previous reports have claimed health benefits offered by the use of PUFA-laden COs for frying purposes, these may be erroneous in view of their failure to consider the negating adverse public health threats presented by food-transferable LOPs therein. When absorbed from the gastrointestinal (GI) system into the systemic circulation, such LOPs may significantly contribute to enhanced risks of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), e.g. , cancer, along with cardiovascular and neurological diseases. Herein, we provide a comprehensive rationale relating to the public health threats posed by the dietary ingestion of LOPs in fried foods. We begin with an introduction to sequential lipid peroxidation processes, describing the noxious effects of LOP toxins generated therefrom. We continue to discuss GI system interactions, the metabolism and biotransformation of primary lipid hydroperoxide LOPs and their secondary products, and the toxicological properties of these agents, prior to providing a narrative on chemically-reactive, secondary aldehydic LOPs available for human ingestion. In view of a range of previous studies focused on their deleterious health effects in animal and cellular model systems, some emphasis is placed on the physiological fate of the more prevalent and toxic α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. We conclude with a description of targeted nutritional and interventional strategies, whilst highlighting the urgent and unmet clinical need for nutritional and epidemiological trials probing relationships between the incidence of NCDs, and the frequency and estimated quantities of dietary LOP intake

Metabolomic studies of lipid storage disorders, with special reference to Niemann-Pick type C disease: a critical review with future perspectives

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are predominantly very rare recessive autosomal neurodegenerative diseases.Sphingolipidoses, a sub-group of LSDs, result from defects in lysosomal enzymes involved in sphingolipid catabolism, and feature disrupted storage systems which trigger complex pathogenic cascades with other organelles collaterally affected. This process leads to cell dysfunction and death, particularly in the central nervous system. One valuable approach to gaining insights into the global impact of lysosomal dysfunction is through metabolomics, which represents a discovery tool for investigating disease-induced modifications in the patterns of large numbers of simultaneously-analysed metabolites, which also features the identification of biomarkers Here, the scope and applications of metabolomics strategies to the investigation of sphingolipidoses is explored in order to facilitate our understanding of the biomolecular basis of these conditions. This review therefore surveys the benefits of applying ’state-of-the-art’ metabolomics strategies, both univariate and multivariate, to sphingolipidoses, particularly Niemann-Pick type C disease. Relevant limitations of these techniques are also discussed, along with the latest advances and developments. We conclude that metabolomics strategies are highly valuable, distinctive bioanalytical techniques for probing LSDs, most especially for the detection and validation of potential biomarkers. They also show much promise for monitoring disease progression and the evaluation of therapeutic strategies and targets

Benchtop low-frequency 60 MHz NMR analysis of urine: a comparative metabolomics investigation

Metabolomics techniques are now applied in numerous fields, with the ability to provide information concerning a large number of metabolites from a single sample in a short timeframe. Although high-frequency (HF) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis represents a common method of choice to perform such studies, few investigations employing low-frequency (LF) NMR spectrometers have yet been published. Herein, we apply and contrast LF and HF 1 H-NMR metabolomics approaches to the study of urine samples collected from type 2 diabetic patients (T2D), and apply a comparative investigation with healthy controls. Additionally, we explore the capabilities of LF 1 H-1 H 2D correlation spectroscopy (COSY) experiments regarding the determination of metabolites, their resolution and associated analyses in human urine samples. T2D samples were readily distinguishable from controls, with several metabolites, particularly glucose, being associated with this distinction. Comparable results were obtained with HF and LF spectrometers. Linear correlation analyses were performed to derive relationships between the intensities of 1D and 2D resonances of several metabolites, and R 2 values obtained were able to confirm these, an observation attesting to the validity of employing 2D LF experiments for future applications in metabolomics studies. Our data suggest that LF spectrometers may prove to be easy-to-use, compact and inexpensive tools to perform routine metabolomics analyses in laboratories and 'point-of-care' sites. Furthermore, the quality of 2D spectra obtained from these instruments in half an hour would broaden the horizon of their potential applications

Clarifying Assumptions about Intraoperative Stress during Surgical Performance: More Than a Stab in the Dark: Reply

Ó The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com We thank Dr. Ali for his concise annotation of our efforts to validate a tool that evaluates mental workload in surgery [1, 2]. Unlike other safety critical domains, the field of surgery has been slow to acknowledge the impact of intraoperative stress on surgical performance, but recently a sea change has been triggered by authorities in the field of surgical education [3]. We agree with Ali that stress is not by default detrimental to performance. Our aim was to develop a diagnostic tool that identifies the factors that contribute to disrupted performance, should it occur. Indeed, studies of the effects of acute stress on operating performance have shown considerable variability, ranging from no effect to either facilitative or debilitative effects [3–5]. The Yerkes-Dodson law emerged from the earliest attempts to explain the relationship between physiological arousal and performance, but it has been criticized for treating stress as a unitary construct, influenced solely by physiological factors [6]. More recently, Catastrophe Theory has been invoked to model the relationship, using both physiological and psychological (cognitive anxiety) components of stress [7]. The model proposes that physiological arousal displays a mild inverted-U relationship with performance when cognitive anxiety is low, but that catastrophic declines in performance can occur if both physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety are high. Recent surgical literature has elucidated the complexity of M. Wilson (&

An Optical Counterpart to the Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61

The energy source of the anomalous X-ray pulsars is not well understood, hence their designation as anomalous. Unlike binary X-ray pulsars, no companions are seen, so the energy cannot be supplied by accretion of matter from a companion star. The loss of rotational energy, which powers radio pulsars, is insufficient to power AXPs. Two models are generally considered: accretion from a large disk left over from the birth process, or decay of a very strong magnetic field (10^15 G) associated with a 'magnetar'. The lack of counterparts at other wavelengths has hampered progress in our understanding of these objects. Here, we present deep optical observations of the field around 4U 0142+61, which is the brightest AXP in X-rays. We find an object with peculiar optical colours at the position of the X-ray source, and argue that it is the optical counterpart. The optical emission is too faint to admit the presence of a large accretion disk, but may be consistent with magnetospheric emission from a magnetar.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Nature. Press embargo until 1900 hrs London time (GMT) on 6 December 200

Characterization of Peeling-Ballooning Stability Limits on the Pedestal

This report describes the Characterization of Peeling-Ballooning Stability Limits on the Pedestal

G-Protein coupled receptors: structure and function in drug discovery

The G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) superfamily comprise similar proteins arranged into families or classes thus making it one of the largest in the mammalian genome. GPCRs take part in many vital physiological functions making them targets for numerous novel drugs. GPCRs share some distinctive features, such as the seven transmembrane domains, they also differ in the number of conserved residues in their transmembrane domain. Here we provide an introductory and accessible review detailing the computational advances in GPCR pharmacology and drug discovery. An overview is provided on family A-C GPCRs; their structural differences, GPCR signalling, allosteric binding and cooperativity. The dielectric constant (relative permittivity) of proteins is also discussed in the context of site-specific environmental effects

Psychomotor control in a virtual laparoscopic surgery training environment: gaze control parameters differentiate novices from experts

Background: Surgical simulation is increasingly used to facilitate the adoption of technical skills during surgical training. This study sought to determine if gaze control parameters could differentiate between the visual control of experienced and novice operators performing an eye-hand coordination task on a virtual reality laparoscopic surgical simulator (LAP Mentor™). Typically adopted hand movement metrics reflect only one half of the eye-hand coordination relationship; therefore, little is known about how hand movements are guided and controlled by vision. Methods: A total of 14 right-handed surgeons were categorised as being either experienced (having led more than 70 laparoscopic procedures) or novice (having performed fewer than 10 procedures) operators. The eight experienced and six novice surgeons completed the eye-hand coordination task from the LAP Mentor basic skills package while wearing a gaze registration system. A variety of performance, movement, and gaze parameters were recorded and compared between groups. Results: The experienced surgeons completed the task significantly more quickly than the novices, but only the economy of movement of the left tool differentiated skill level from the LAP Mentor parameters. Gaze analyses revealed that experienced surgeons spent significantly more time fixating the target locations than novices, who split their time between focusing on the targets and tracking the tools. Conclusion: The findings of the study provide support for the utility of assessing strategic gaze behaviour to better understand the way in which surgeons utilise visual information to plan and control tool movements in a virtual reality laparoscopic environment. It is hoped that by better understanding the limitations of the psychomotor system, effective gaze training programs may be developed. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201