Revealing 3D structure of gluten in wheat dough by optical clearing imaging

Gluten, which makes up 85% of endosperm wheat protein, is considered a crucial quality determinant of wheat-based food products. During wheat dough manufacture, the molecular packing of gluten causes formation of large structures that exceed the millimetre scale. However, due to lack of imaging techniques for complex systems composed of giant macromolecules, the entire gluten structure remains unknown. Here, we develop an optical clearing reagent (termed SoROCS) that makes wheat-based products transparent. Combined with two-photon microscopy, we image the three-dimensional (3D) structure of gluten at the size in the millimetre scale and at submicron resolution. Further, we demonstrate how the 3D structure of gluten dramatically changes from a honeycomb-shaped network to sparse large clumps in wheat noodles, depending on the salt added during dough making, thereby reducing stress when compressing the noodle. Moreover, we show that SoROCS can be used for noodle imaging using confocal laser scanning microscopy

Analysis of the protein profiles of the antibiotic-resistant Salmonella typhimurium definitive phage type (dt) 104

The emergent Salmonella typhimurium definitive phage type (DT) 104 is of particular global concern due to its frequent isolation and multiple antibiotic resistances. There is thus a need to know the kind of proteins expressed by S. typhimurium DT104 so as to provide a basis for developing an intervention. This study examined the protein profiles of a few isolates of S. typhimurium DT104 and a non-DT104 strain S. typhimurium L1388 (ST). Crude SDS-soluble whole cell and outer membrane protein (OMP) extracts revealed similar protein profiles for both phage types. A single major protein band (28.4 kDa) was observed in periplasmic fractions from both phage types. However, proteins released into growth medium was variable; one of the DT104 isolates had common proteins with the non-DT104 strain ST. Similar SDS-soluble whole cell protein profiles were observed for both phage types grown in a low-iron Medium A at 37oC; but a 38.5 kDa protein (observed in TSB-grown cells) was observed only in the temperature-tolerant DT104 isolate. The protein contents of cell-free ultracentrifuge supernatants of sonically disrupted cells of each of the DT104 isolates were significantly (P < 0.05) more than that from ST L1388, but the latter expressed a 51-kDa protein absent in the supernatants of all DT104 isolates. The higher protein content of DT104s provides possible indication of increased production of protein-like metabolites. Although the N-terminal sequence of the first twenty amino acids of the 51-kDa protein (Ala-Gln-Val-Ile-Asn-Thr-Asn-Ser-Leu-Ser-Leu-Leu-Thr-Gln-Trp-Ala-Ala-Ala-Ala-Ala) showed 14-amino acid overlap and resemblance with the flagillin, FLIC, only fourteen of its 104 trypsin digests were homologous with those of FLIC. Further work is being done to characterize this protein and to investigate its potential for use as vaccine target through antigenicity tests.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (7), pp. 727-737, 200

Inspiratory and Expiratory Computed Tomography Imaging Clusters Reflect Functional Characteristics in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Purpose: Disease probability measure (DPM) is a useful voxel-wise imaging assessment of gas-trapping and emphysematous lesions in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To elucidate the progression of COPD, we performed a cluster analysis using the following DPM parameters: normal (DPMNormal), gas-trapping (DPMGasTrap), and emphysematous lesions (DPMEmph). Our findings revealed the characteristics of each cluster and the 3-year disease progression using imaging parameters. Patients and methods: Inspiratory and expiratory chest computed tomography (CT) images of 131 patients with COPD were examined, of which 84 were followed up for 3 years. The percentage of low attenuation volume (LAV%) and the square root of the wall area of a hypothetical airway with an internal perimeter of 10 mm (√Aaw at Pi10) were quantitatively measured using inspiratory chest CT. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using the DPM parameters at baseline. Five clusters were named according to the dominant DPM parameters: normal (NL), normal-GasTrap (NL-GT), GasTrap (GT), GasTrap-Emphysema (GT-EM), and Emphysema (EM). Results: Women were predominantly diagnosed with GT. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s gradually decreased in the following order: NL, NL-GT, GT, GT-EM, and EM. DPMEmph correlated well with LAV%. Four clusters other than NL showed significantly higher values of √Aaw at Pi10 than NL; however, no significant differences were observed among them. In all clusters, DPMEmph increased after 3 years. DPMNormal only increased in the GT cluster. Conclusion: Clusters using DPM parameters may reflect the characteristics of COPD and help understand the pathophysiology of the disease.journal articl

Explaining the decline in coronary heart disease mortality rates in Japan: Contributions of changes in risk factors and evidence-based treatments between 1980 and 2012

Background We aimed to quantify contributions of changes in risks and uptake of evidence-based treatment to coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality trends in Japan between 1980 and 2012. Methods We conducted a modelling study for the general population of Japan aged 35 to 84 years using the validated IMPACT model incorporating data sources like Vital Statistics. The main outcome was difference in the number of observed and expected CHD deaths in 2012. Results From 1980 to 2012, age-adjusted CHD mortality rates in Japan fell by 61%, resulting in 75,700 fewer CHD deaths in 2012 than if the age and sex-specific mortality rates had remained unchanged. Approximately 56% (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 54–59%) of the CHD mortality decrease, corresponding to 42,300 (40,900–44,700) fewer CHD deaths, was attributable to medical and surgical treatments. Approximately 35% (28–41%) of the mortality fall corresponding to 26,300 (21,200–31,000) fewer CHD deaths, was attributable to risk factor changes in the population, 24% (20–29%) corresponding to 18,400 (15,100–21,900) fewer and 11% (8–14%) corresponding to 8400 (60,500–10,600) fewer from decreased systolic blood pressure (8.87 mm Hg) and smoking prevalence (14.0%). However, increased levels of cholesterol (0.28 mmol/L), body mass index (BMI) (0.68 kg/m2), and diabetes prevalence (1.6%) attenuated the decrease in mortality by 2% (1–3%), 3% (2–3%), and 4% (1–6%), respectively. Conclusions Japan should continue their control policies for blood pressure and tobacco, and build a strategy to control BMI, diabetes, and cholesterol levels to prevent further CHD deaths

Prediction of radiation pneumonitis using dose-volume histogram parameters with high attenuation in two types of cancer: A retrospective study.

The constraint values of dose-volume histogram (DVH) parameters for radiation pneumonitis (RP) prediction have not been uniform in previous studies. We compared the differences between conventional DVH parameters and DVH parameters with high attenuation volume (HAV) in CT imaging in both esophageal cancer and lung cancer patients to determine the most suitable DVH parameters in predicting RP onset. Seventy-seven and 72 patients who underwent radiation therapy for lung cancer and esophageal cancer, respectively, were retrospectively assessed. RP was valued according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. We quantified HAV with quantitative computed tomography analysis. We compared conventional DVH parameters and DVH parameters with HAV in both groups of patients. Then, the thresholds of DVH parameters that predicted symptomatic RP and the differences in threshold of DVH parameters between lung cancer and esophageal cancer patient groups were compared. The predictive performance of DVH parameters for symptomatic RP was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Mean lung dose, HAV30% (the proportion of the lung with HAV receiving ≥30 Gy), and HAV20% were the top three parameters in lung cancer, while HAV10%, HAV5%, and V10 (the percentage of lung volume receiving 10 Gy or more) were the top three in esophageal cancer. By comparing the differences in the threshold for parameters predicting RP between the two cancers, we saw that HAV30% retained the same value in both cancers. DVH parameters with HAV showed narrow differences in the threshold between the two cancer patient groups compared to conventional DVH parameters. DVH parameters with HAV may have higher commonality than conventional DVH parameters in both patient groups tested

Migration, growth and feeding habit of John's snapper Lutjanus johnii and duskytail grouper Epinephelus bleekeri in Merbok mangrove brackish river

This study was conducted to estimate the migration and population growth in total length and to observe the food organisms found in the stomach of John's snapper and Duskytail grouper. John's snapper and Duskytail grouper were caught monthly between October 2001 and September 2002 at the Merbok mangrove brackish river, Kedah, Japan. A total of 1308 John's snapper juvenile fishes with total length ranging from 61 to 238 mm were collected