Soy isoflavones and their relationship with microflora: beneficial effects on human health in equol producers

The bioavailability of soy isoflavones depends on the composition of the microflora for each subject. Bacteria act on different isoflavones with increased or reduced absorption and cause biotransformation of these compounds into metabolites with higher biological activity. S-equol is the most important metabolite and only 25–65 % of the population have the microflora that produces this compound. The presence of equol-producing bacteria in soy product consumers means that the consumption of such products for prolonged periods leads to lower cardiovascular risk, reduced incidence of prostate and breast cancer, and greater relief from symptoms related to the menopause such as hot flushes and osteoporosis

Effect of substrate and buffer layer materials on properties of thin YBa2Cu3O7-x films

High-temperature superconducting thin films (YBa2Cu3O7−x) are emerging in superconducting single photon detector (SSPD) research as a novel replacement for conventional and semiconductor detectors. The major hindrance for this is the degradation of the superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) thin film with reduction of its lateral and longitudinal dimensions (i.e., film thickness and width of the stripe). Furthermore, the surface of the film should be smooth to enable fabrication of the SSPD device. In order to improve the quality of YBCO thin films, we exploited various buffer layers (i.e., SrTiO3, CeO2, and PrBa2 Cu3O7) with thickness of 30 ± 5 nm. We have also investigated the properties of (65 ± 5-nm-thick) YBCO films grown simultaneously on different substrates (i.e., SrTiO3, LaAlO3, MgO, and yttrium stabilized zirconia). For some substrate/buffer material combinations, the surface morphology of the YBCO film has been effectively improved. Also, there was only a small or no degradation of their critical temperature values. These structures give a precursor for further development of fabrication technology for YBCO-based SSPD devices

Supplementary Material for: Dietary Elimination of Soybean Components Enhances Allergic Immune Response to Peanuts in BALB/c Mice

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Food allergy research is hampered by a lack of animal models that consistently mimic human food allergic responses. Laboratory mice are generally fed grain-based chow made with large amounts of soybeans rich in immunomodulatory isoflavones. We tested the role of dietary soy components in the induction of food allergic responses in the BALB/c mouse strain, which is known to be resistant to anaphylaxis when orally challenged by food allergens. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Mice were fed a soy-free diet for 2 generations. After weaning, mice were maintained on the same diet or fed a diet containing soy isoflavones, i.e. genistein and daidzein, followed by weekly oral sensitizations with crude peanut extract plus cholera toxin and finally challenged at week 7. The anaphylactic symptoms, body temperature, peanut-specific antibodies and mast cell degranulation were assessed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Soy-free diet mice showed significantly higher anaphylactic symptom scores and mast cell degranulation after challenge and higher peanut-specific antibody levels than mice fed regular chow. Introduction of a regular soy diet or an isoflavone diet to soy-free diet mice significantly suppressed the allergic reactions compared to the soy-free diet. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Rodent diet is an important variable and needs to be taken into consideration when designing experiments involving animal models. Our results indicate that elimination of soy components from the diet enhances peanut sensitization in BALB/c mice. In addition to serving as a valuable tool to mimic human food allergy, the dietary influence on the immune response could have far-reaching consequences in research involving animal models