Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010; 32: 377–383
Summary
Background Vitamin D has immune‐regulatory functions in experimental colitis, and low vitamin D levels are present in Crohn’s disease.
Aim To assess ...the effectiveness of vitamin D3 treatment in Crohn’s disease with regard to improved disease course.
Methods We performed a randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled trial to assess the benefits of oral vitamin D3 treatment in Crohn’s disease. We included 108 patients with Crohn’s disease in remission, of which fourteen were excluded later. Patients were randomized to receive either 1200 IU vitamin D3 (n = 46) or placebo (n = 48) once daily during 12 months. The primary endpoint was clinical relapse.
Results Oral vitamin D3 treatment with 1200 IU daily increased serum 25OHD from mean 69 nmol/L standard deviation (s.d.) 31 nmol/L to mean 96 nmol/L (s.d. 27 nmol/L) after 3 months (P < 0.001). The relapse rate was lower among patients treated with vitamin D3 (6/46 or 13%) than among patients treated with placebo (14/48 or 29%), (P = 0.06).
Conclusions Oral supplementation with 1200 IE vitamin D3 significantly increased serum vitamin D levels and insignificantly reduced the risk of relapse from 29% to 13%, (P = 0.06). Given that vitamin D3 treatment might be effective in Crohn’s disease, we suggest larger studies to elucidate this matter further. ClinicalTrial.gov(NCT00122184).
Animal slurry contains plant nutrients that are essential for crop production. However, intensive livestock production may lead to a surplus of plant nutrients on farms and, as a consequence, ...discharge or emission to the environment. In order to ensure that the slurry applied to fields matches the nutrient requirements of the crops, techniques have been developed to reduce the nutrient content of slurry by means of separation. This review discusses the separation technologies used for animal slurry treatment and the physical and chemical processes involved in separation. These processes need to be understood before efficient, reliable and cheap separation technologies that take into account the actual properties of slurry and the likely end-use of the separation products can be developed. A simple separation efficiency expression can be used to assess the efficiency of slurry separation. It is indeed important to measure the amount and composition of the slurry before treatment, the dry-matter-rich fraction and the liquid fraction. The separation efficiency of mechanical separators for the removal of dry matter and phosphorus (P) is ranked as follows: centrifugation > sedimentation > non-pressurized filtration > pressurized filtration. In general, the separation of total N and NH
4
+
4 follows the same pattern, but the separation efficiency is lower than for dry matter and P. Treatment with a flocculant before separation improves separation efficiency significantly. Of the polyacrylamide polymers tested, high-molecular-weight, linear cationic polymers with a medium charge density (20–40 mol%) were found to be the most efficient flocculants. The best mechanical separation techniques for flocculated slurry are screens or filter belts. The separation efficiency of polyacrylamide-treated slurry can be improved by adding a multivalent ion to coagulate particles and for precipitation of phosphorus. Aluminium sulfate (Al
2
(SO
4
)
3
) or ferric chloride (FeCl
3
) seem to be very efficient for improving the mechanical separators. Alternatively, the mineral struvite (MgNH
4
PO
4
) may be formed by changing the slurry characteristics, such as by the addition of magnesium (Mg) or by increasing the pH to 9. The struvite crystals are removed during solid-liquid separation. The products of the solid—liquid separation may be further treated by evaporation, membrane filtration or ammonia stripping in order to obtain the desired end-products; however, low-maintenance and/or cost-efficient operation of these post-treatments has not yet been demonstrated. The separation should be developed as a whole-system approach, paying attention to parameters such as the value of end-products, environmental consequences and economy.
•Succession is ecosystem change caused by discrete disturbances.•Beliefs about successional mechanisms, trajectories and endpoints have changed.•Such beliefs have important implications for ...restoration and conservation practice.•Models of succession have become more complex, stochastic, and situation-specific.•A single unified theory for successional change is unlikely.
Eugene Odum’s 1969 paper, The Strategy of Ecosystem Development, marks a watershed moment in approaches to the study of succession, ecosystem change caused by discrete disturbances. He argued that succession is unique from other kinds of change with regard to mechanisms (modification of the physical environment by the community), trajectory (orderly, directional and predictable), and endpoint (a stable climax ecosystem in which “maximum biomass and symbiotic function between organisms are maintained per unit energy flow”). Odum also argued that understanding successional change was central to the management of a great variety of environmental challenges. Given the important role of disturbance in these ecosystems, this is particularly true for management aimed at restoration and conservation of forests. Although there was considerable debate among ecologists regarding successional mechanisms, trajectories and endpoints in the decades preceding his exegesis, the views outlined by Odum generally prevailed. These significantly influenced answers to three central restoration and conservation questions during that era. (1) What should we restore and conserve? Climax ecosystems. (2) How should boundaries be set for restoration and conservation areas? This was not an important matter. (3) How should restoration and conservation be accomplished? Because succession would inexorably lead to the ultimate climax goal, forest ecosystems should be protected from disturbance. Over the past five decades, virtually every aspect of succession theory as presented by Odum (1969) has come into question. We now understand that there is no single unique or unifying mechanism for successional change, that successional trajectories are highly varied and rarely deterministic, and that succession has no specific endpoint. Answers to the three restoration and conservation questions have changed accordingly. (1) Restoration and conservation goals should include the full range of variation in species diversity and composition associated with disturbance and the succession that proceeds from it. (2) Pattern, scale and context influence patterns of both disturbance and succession, and preserve design really does matter. (3) Restoration and conservation practice must be tailored to the unique mechanisms and post-disturbance ecological legacies that determine the trajectory and tempo of successional change in each particular ecosystem. The search for a grand unified theory of succession apart from other kinds of ecosystem change is futile. Nevertheless, the change caused by discrete disturbances remains an important matter for concern for restoration and conservation practitioners.
ABSTRACT
The MZ relation between stellar mass (M*) and metallicity (Z) of nearby galaxies has been described as both a global and local property, i.e. valid also on sub-galaxy scales. Here, we show ...that Z has remained a local property, following the gravitational potential, since z = 3. In absorption, the MZ relation has been well studied, and was in place already at z = 5.1. A recent absorption study of gamma-ray burst galaxies revealed a close match to damped Lyα (DLA) galaxies, surprising due to their vastly different impact parameters and leading the authors to suggest that local metallicity follows the local gravitational potential. In this paper, we formulate an observational test of this hypothesis. The test, in essence, forms a prediction that the velocity dispersion of the absorbing gas in galaxy haloes, normalized by the central velocity dispersion, must follow a steep log scale slope of −0.015 dex $\rm kpc^{-1}$ as a function of impact parameter out to at least 20–30 kpc. We then compile an archival data and literature-based sample of galaxies seen in both emission and absorption suitable for the test, and find that current data confirm the hypothesis out to 40–60 kpc. In addition, we show that the distribution of the velocity offsets between zem and zabs favours a model where DLA systems are composed of individual sub-clouds distributed along the entire path through the halo, and disfavours a model where they are one single cloud with a bulk motion and internal sub-structure.
Quasi-stellar object (QSO) spectral templates are important both to QSO physics and for investigations that use QSOs as probes of intervening gas and dust. However, combinations of various QSO ...samples obtained at different times and with different instruments so as to expand a composite and to cover a wider rest frame wavelength region may create systematic effects, and the contribution from QSO hosts may contaminate the composite. We have constructed a composite spectrum from luminous blue QSOs at 1 < z < 2.1 selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The observations with X-Shooter simultaneously cover ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR) light, which ensures that the composite spectrum covers the full rest-frame range from Lyβ to 11 350 Å without any significant host contamination. Assuming a power-law continuum for the composite we find a spectral slope of αλ = 1.70 ± 0.01, which is steeper than previously found in the literature. We attribute the differences to our broader spectral wavelength coverage, which allows us to effectively avoid fitting any regions that are affected either by strong QSO emissions lines (e.g., Balmer lines and complex Fe II blends) or by intrinsic host galaxy emission. Finally, we demonstrate the application of the QSO composite spectrum for evaluating the reddening in other QSOs.
The thyroid is integral to regulation of development and metabolism. Certain metals have been shown to affect thyroid function in occupationally exposed persons, but few studies have been conducted ...in the general population. This study evaluates the association between biomarkers of metal exposure and thyroid hormones in the US population. Analyses included adults participating in the 2007–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, with no history of thyroid disease or use of thyroid medications, and with data on metals in blood (lead, cadmium and mercury) and urine (lead, cadmium, mercury, barium, cobalt, cesium, molybdenum, antimony, thallium, tungsten and uranium), and thyroid hormones (TSH, free and total T3 and T4) in serum (N=1587). Multivariate linear regression was used to model the association between thyroid hormone levels, and metals in either urine (creatinine-adjusted) or blood. Metal concentrations were considered as both continuous and categorical variables. Models were adjusted for: age, sex, race, BMI, serum lipids, serum cotinine, pregnancy and menopausal status, and use of selected medications. Few participants (<5%) had free T3, free T4, or TSH levels outside the reference range. However, 9.2% (SE=1.2%) had low T3 and 9.4% (SE=1.1%) had low T4. Metals were detected in nearly all blood and urine samples, with the highest levels seen for urinary molybdenum (median 42.5μg/L). When including all blood metals, mercury was associated with decreases in T3 and T4, while cadmium was associated with decreased TSH. Urinary cadmium was associated with increases in both T3 and T4 (models including all metals measured in urine). Urinary thallium and barium were associated with decreased T4 (both) and T3 (barium). For TSH, cesium was associated with decreased, and tungsten with increased levels. Given the high prevalence of exposure to metals, associations of the size reported here could indicate an appreciable contribution of metals exposure to the prevalence of thyroid disorders. These findings indicate the importance of further research to further examine these relationships.
Hepatic circadian gene transcription is tightly coupled to feeding behavior, which has a profound impact on metabolic disorders associated with diet-induced obesity. Here, we describe a genomics ...approach to uncover mechanisms controlling hepatic postprandial gene expression. Combined transcriptomic and cistromic analysis identified hundreds of circadian-regulated genes and enhancers controlled by feeding. Postprandial suppression of enhancer activity was associated with reduced glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and Forkhead box O1 (FOXO1) occupancy of chromatin correlating with reduced serum corticosterone levels and increased serum insulin levels. Despite substantial co-occupancy of feeding-regulated enhancers by GR and FOXO1, selective disruption of corticosteroid and/or insulin signaling resulted in dysregulation of specific postprandial regulated gene programs. In combination, these signaling pathways operate a major part of the genes suppressed by feeding. Importantly, the feeding response was disrupted in diet-induced obese animals, which was associated with dysregulation of several corticosteroid- and insulin-regulated genes, providing mechanistic insights to dysregulated circadian gene transcription associated with obesity.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Early identification of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) facilitates timely access to intervention services. Yet, few population-based data exist on ASD identification among ...preschool-aged children. The authors aimed to describe ASD prevalence and characteristics among 4-year-old children in 5 of 11 sites participating in the 2010 Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.
Children with ASD were identified through screening of health and education records for ASD indicators, data abstraction and compilation for each child, and clinician review of records. ASD prevalence estimates, ages at first evaluation and ASD diagnosis, cognitive test scores, and demographics were compared for 4-year-old children and 8-year-old children living in the same areas.
Among 58,467 children in these 5 sites, 4-year-old ASD prevalence was 13.4 per 1000, which was 30% lower than 8-year-old ASD prevalence. Prevalence of ASD without cognitive impairment was 40% lower among 4-year-olds compared with 8-year-olds, but prevalence of ASD with cognitive impairment was 20% higher among 4-year-olds compared with 8-year-olds. Among 4-year-olds with ASD, female and non-Hispanic white children were more likely to receive their first comprehensive evaluation by age 36 months compared with male and non-Hispanic black children, respectively. Among children diagnosed with ASD by age 48 months, median age at first comprehensive evaluation was 27 months for 4-year-olds compared with 32 months for 8-year-olds.
Population-based ASD surveillance among 4-year-old children provides valuable information about the early identification of children with ASD and suggests progression toward lowering the age of first ASD evaluation within participating Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring communities.
An individual (male, 36 years, 87 kg) ingested two separate doses of di-
n
-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP) at a rate of ~60 μg/kg. Key monoester and oxidized metabolites were ...identified and quantified in urine continuously collected until 48 h post-dose. For both DnBP and DiBP, the majority of the dose was excreted in the first 24 h (92.2 % of DnBP, 90.3 % of DiBP), while only <1 % of the dose was excreted in urine on day 2. In each case, the simple monoesters were the major metabolites (MnBP, 84 %; MiBP, 71 %). For DnBP, ~8 % was excreted as various side chain oxidized metabolites. For DiBP, approximately 20 % was excreted mainly as the oxidized side chain metabolite 2OH-MiBP, indicating that the extent of oxidative modification is around 2.5 times higher for DiBP than for DnBP. All DnBP and DiBP metabolites reached peak concentrations between 2 and 4 h post-exposure, followed by a monotonic decline. For DnBP metabolites, the elimination halftime of MnBP was 2.6 h; longer elimination halftimes were estimated for the oxidized metabolites (2.9–6.9 h). For DiBP metabolites, MiBP had the shortest halftime (3.9 h), and the oxidized metabolites had somewhat longer halftimes (4.1 and 4.2 h). Together with the simple monoesters, secondary oxidized metabolites are additional and valuable biomarkers of phthalate exposure. This study provides basic human metabolism and toxicokinetic data for two phthalates that have to be considered human reproductive toxicants and that have been shown to be omnipresent in humans.
Under conditions of tissue injury, myocardial replication and regeneration have been reported. A growing number of investigators have implicated adult bone marrow (BM) in this process, suggesting ...that marrow serves as a reservoir for cardiac precursor cells. It remains unclear which BM cell(s) can contribute to myocardium, and whether they do so by transdifferentiation or cell fusion. Here, we studied the ability of c-kit-enriched BM cells, Lin- c-kit+ BM cells and c-kit+ Thy1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+ long-term reconstituting haematopoietic stem cells to regenerate myocardium in an infarct model. Cells were isolated from transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and injected directly into ischaemic myocardium of wild-type mice. Abundant GFP+ cells were detected in the myocardium after 10 days, but by 30 days, few cells were detectable. These GFP+ cells did not express cardiac tissue-specific markers, but rather, most of them expressed the haematopoietic marker CD45 and myeloid marker Gr-1. We also studied the role of circulating cells in the repair of ischaemic myocardium using GFP+-GFP- parabiotic mice. Again, we found no evidence of myocardial regeneration from blood-borne partner-derived cells. Our data suggest that even in the microenvironment of the injured heart, c-kit-enriched BM cells, Lin- c-kit+ BM cells and c-kit+ Thy1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+ long-term reconstituting haematopoietic stem cells adopt only traditional haematopoietic fates.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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