Sterols and oxysterols

The ingredients of animal feed formulation, especially the fatty sources, play a significant role in the production of high-quality food of animal origin. Industrial fat by-products are a major source of feeding fats in Europe. The main objectives of the project were firstly to assess feed fats and oils for their composition and content of sterols (cholesterol and phytosterols) and oxysterols, and secondly to assess the levels of cholesterol and oxycholesterols of chicken and rabbit tissues after feeding with especially formulated feeds containing trans fatty acids and oxidized lipids. The lack of standardized analytical procedure prompted the evaluation of an in-house purification method by comparing it with a number of commonly used methods for the analysis of oxysterols. The saponification and transesterification steps showed rather comparable results. A two-dimensional capillary GC column with different stationary phases (a 35% phenyl column coupled to an apolar 5% phenyl column) was used for better resolution of a large number of oxysterols. This new system improved the separation efficiency and reduced the analytical time for a wide range of oxysterols. The satisfactory purification method and the reliable separation of oxysterols facilitated the qualitative and quantitative assessment of sterols and oxysterols in samples of by-products from chemical and physical refining. A large variation in the levels of sterols and oxysterols was observed in the fat by-products from chemical and physical refining processes for edible fats and oils. The observed variations in the contents and composition of sterols and oxysterols were mainly due to the origins, production facility and different processing conditions of the by-product samples. The highly oxidized lipid and trans fatty acid feeds significantly increased the contents of cholesterol and oxycholesterols in edible parts, e.g. the muscles and livers of chickens and rabbits (0.01< p ≤0.05). Hence, the consumption of products from animals fed with higher levels of trans fatty acids and oxidized lipid feeds may contribute to higher ingestion of cholesterol and oxycholesterols by humans

Quality, Quantity and Type of Child Care : Effects on Child Development in the USA

ABC transport systems account for most import of necessary nutrients in bacteria. The periplasmic binding component (or an equivalent membrane-anchored protein) is critical to recognizing the cognate ligand and directing it to the appropriate membrane permease. Here we report X-ray structures of D-xylose-binding protein from Escherichia coli in ligand-free open, ligand-bound open and ligand-bound closed forms, at 2.15, 2.2, and 2.2-Å resolution, respectively. The ligand-bound open form is the first such structure to be reported at high resolution; the combination of the three different forms from the same protein furthermore gives unprecedented detail concerning the conformational changes involved in binding protein function. As is typical for the structural family, the protein has two similar globular domains, which are connected by a three-stranded hinge region. The open liganded structure shows that xylose binds first to the C-terminal domain, with only very small conformational changes resulting. After a 34° closing motion, additional interactions are formed with the N-terminal domain; changes in this domain are larger, and serve to make the structure more ordered near the ligand. An analysis of the interactions suggests why xylose is the preferred ligand. Further, a comparison with the most closely related proteins in the structural family shows that the conformational changes are distinct in each type of binding protein, which may have implications for how the individual proteins act in concert with their respective membrane permeases

Cholesterol oxidation products : analytical methods and levels in sweets containing heated butter oil

Various methods are used to analyse cholesterol oxidation products (COP) due to the unavailability of a standard method. In order to select a suitable method for the enrichment of COP, three methods of saponication (A – C),and transesterication (D) of tallow with three levels (5,10 and 20 µg) of spiked COP, were evaluated. Further enrichment of COP was done by solid phase extraction, quantied by GC, and confirmed by GC–MS. The in-house method A, and method D, showed the best results among the four methods evaluated. The recoveries at all levels of spiked COP were generally higher than 60% in method A. The recoveries of all spiked COP at 5 µg level were consistently lower in method D compared with method A. From the results of this study it can be concluded that method A may be more suitable for the analysis of very low levels of COP in foods. Ghee (clarified butter oil), a major ingredient in Indian sweets, is an important source of saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and COP that are considered as risk factors for atherosclerosis. The high frequency of atherosclerotic complications reported among the Indian immigrants in England prompted determination of lipids and lipid oxidation status of a ghee sample and fifteen Indian sweets that are available in London supermarkets. The fatty acid profile of the samples shows saturated fats (about 73%), mainly composed of myristic, palmitic and stearic acids, except in two samples, which had levels of oleic acid in excess of 60%. TBARS values ranging from 19 to 260 µg/100 g might be due to the different oxidative status of different sweets samples. Cholesterol (approximately 0.22%) was the main sterol in all samples, except two where unspecified oils were used instead. Variation of total COP was from 0.94 to 38.41 µg/g sample. Some of these sweets may be a source of considerable amounts of saturated fatty acids, cholesterol and COP in the diet that possibly contribute to atherosclerosis

Structures of two fimbrial adhesins, AtfE and UcaD, from the uropathogen Proteus mirabilis

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146321/1/ayd2jb5004.pd

Az ingázás térbeli jellegzetességeinek változása az Észak-Dunántúlon, különös tekintettel Győr munkaügyi vonzáskörzetére

A tanulmányban megvizsgáljuk a KSH által 2001-ben és 2011-ben elvégzett népszámlálás ingázásra vonatkozó főbb adatainak és a két felvétel összehasonlítása során tapasztalt eltérések területi konzekvenciáit. A vizsgálat célja elsősorban az volt, hogy Győr köré szerveződő ingázó, munkaügyi vonzásterek jellegzetességeit megismerjük. Ezért az országos szintű vizsgálatok mellett részletesebben koncentráltunk az észak-Dunántúlra, melynek központrendszerét tártuk fel, s még részletesebben vizsgáltuk ezen belül Győr, s a városkörnyéki tér jellegzetességeit

CYPome of the conifer pathogen Heterobasidion irregulare : Inventory, phylogeny, and transcriptional analysis of the response to biocontrol

The molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction of the pathogen, Heterobasidion annosum s.l., the conifer tree and the biocontrol fungus, Phlebiopsis gigantea have not been fully elucidated. Members of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) protein family may contribute to the detoxification of components of chemical defence of conifer trees by H. annosum during infection. Additionally, they may also be involved in the interaction between H. annosum and P. gigantea. A genome-wide analysis of CYPs in Heterobasidion irregulare was carried out alongside gene expression studies. According to the Standardized CYP Nomenclature criteria, the H. irregulare genome has 121 CYP genes and 17 CYP pseudogenes classified into 11 clans, 35 families, and 64 subfamilies. Tandem CYP arrays originating from gene duplications and belonging to the same family and subfamily were found. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all the families of H. irregulare CYPs were monophyletic groups except for the family CYP5144. Microarray analysis revealed the transcriptional pattern for 130 transcripts of CYP-encoding genes during growth on culture filtrate produced by P. gigantea. The high level of P450 gene diversity identified in this study could result from extensive gene duplications presumably caused by the high metabolic demands of H. irregulare in its ecological niches. (C) 2016 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Особливості трудового виховання і профорієнтації в умовах нової парадигми освіти

(uk) У статті розкривається проблема формування майбутнього учителя-предметника, готового до забезпечення трудового виховання у професійній діяльності у світлі нової освітньої парадигми

Concentrations of canine prostate specific esterase, CPSE, at baseline are associated with the relative size of the prostate at three-year follow-up

BackgroundEnlargement of the prostate is associated with prostatic diseases in dogs, and an estimation of prostatic size is a central part in the diagnostic workup. Ultrasonography is often the method of choice, but biomarkers constitute an alternative. Canine prostate specific esterase (CPSE) shares many characteristics with human prostate specific antigen (PSA) and is related to prostate size. In men with clinical symptoms of prostatic disease, PSA concentrations are related to prostate growth. The aims of the present follow-up study were to evaluate if the concentration of CPSE is associated with future growth of the prostate, and if analysis of a panel of 16 steroids gives further information on prostatic growth. Owners of dogs included in a previous study were 3 years later contacted for a follow-up study that included an interview and a clinical examination. The prostate was examined by ultrasonography. Serum concentrations of CPSE were measured, as was a panel of steroids.ResultsOf the 79 dogs included at baseline, owners of 77 dogs (97%) were reached for an interview, and 22 were available for a follow-up examination. Six of the 79 dogs had clinical signs of prostatic disease at baseline, and eight of the remaining 73 dogs (11%) developed clinical signs between baseline and follow-up, information was lacking for two dogs. Development of clinical signs was significantly more common in dogs with a relative prostate size of >= 2.5 at baseline (n=20) than in dogs with smaller prostates (n=51). Serum concentrations of CPSE at baseline were not associated with the change in prostatic size between baseline and follow-up. Serum concentrations of CPSE at baseline and at follow-up were positively associated with the relative prostatic size (S-rel) at follow-up. Concentrations of corticosterone (P = 0.024), and the class corticosteroids (P = 0.0035) were positively associated with the difference in S-rel between baseline and follow-up.ConclusionsThe results support the use of CPSE for estimating present and future prostatic size in dogs >= 4years, and the clinical usefulness of prostatic size for predicting development of clinical signs of prostatic disease in the dog. The association between corticosteroids and prostate growth warrants further investigation

Inhibition of fatty acid synthesis induces differentiation and reduces tumor burden in childhood neuroblastoma

Many metabolic pathways, including lipid metabolism, are rewired in tumors tosupport energy and biomass production and to allow adaptation to stressful en-vironments. Neuroblastoma is the second deadliest solid tumor in children. Ge-netic aberrations, as the amplification of theMYCN-oncogene, correlate stronglywith disease progression. Yet, there are only a few molecular targets successfullyexploited in the clinic. Here we show that inhibition of fatty acid synthesis led toincreased neural differentiation and reduced tumor burden in neuroblastomaxenograft experiments independently ofMYCN-status. This was accompaniedby reduced levels of the MYCN or c-MYC oncoproteins and activation of ERKsignaling. Importantly, the expression levels of genes involved inde novofattyacid synthesis showed prognostic value for neuroblastoma patients. Our findingsdemonstrate that inhibition ofde novofatty acid synthesis is a promising pharma-cological intervention strategy for the treatment of neuroblastoma indepen-dently ofMYCN-status