Glucosylceramides were surveyed in crop tissues and by-products from their processing. Apple pulp contained the highest amount (0.94
mg
g
−1) of glucosylceramide and relatively less sterylglucoside, ...which is the major contaminant of partially purified glucosylceramide. Glucosylceramide from apple pulp was principally composed of 2-hydroxypalmitic acid as the fatty acid, 4-hydroxy-
cis-8-sphingenine as the sphingoid base, and glucose as the hexose, similar to those of commercial preparations isolated from rice bran or wheat germ. Apple pulp may be an alternative source for the commercial production of glucosylceramides.
The Vibrio cholerae O1 (VCO1) El Tor biotype appeared during the seventh cholera pandemic starting in 1961, and new variants of this biotype have been identified since the early 1990s. This pandemic ...has affected Vietnam, and a large outbreak was reported in southern Vietnam in 2010. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analyses (MLVA) were used to screen 34 VCO1 isolates from the southern Vietnam 2010 outbreak (23 patients, five contact persons, and six environmental isolates) to determine if it was genetically distinct from 18 isolates from outbreaks in southern Vietnam from 1999 to 2004, and two isolates from northern Vietnam (2008). Twenty-seven MLVA types and seven PFGE patterns were identified. Both analyses showed that the 2008 and 2010 isolates were distinctly clustered and separated from the 1999–2004 isolates.
Aims To evaluate the level of plasma brain natriuretic peptide as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction. Methods ...We measured plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide, brain natriuretic peptide, norepinephrine, angiotensin II, and endothelin-1 and monitored haemodynamic parameters in 290 consecutive patients with asymptomatic or minimally and newly symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction (functional classes I–II, mean left ventricular ejection fraction=37%). All patients were followed up for a median period of 812 days. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the association of variables with mortality and morbidity. Results At the end of the follow-up, 24 patients had suffered cardiac death and 25 had been hospitalized for worsening heart failure during the follow-up period. Among 21 variables such as clinical characteristics, treatment, haemodynamics, and neurohumoral factors, high levels of plasma brain natriuretic peptide (P<0·0001), norepinephrine (P=0·042), left ventricular end-diastolic volume index (P=0·0035), and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (P=0·033) were shown to be independent predictors of mortality and morbidity by stepwise multivariate analysis. Moreover, only a high level of plasma brain natriuretic peptide (P<0·0001) was shown to be an independent predictor of mortality in these patients. Conclusions These results indicate that a high plasma brain natriuretic peptide level provides information about mortality and morbidity in patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction.
Diabet. Med. 29, 1036–1042 (2012)
Aims Serum androgen concentration is reported to be low in patients with Type 2 diabetes. There have been no studies comparing andropausal symptoms such as sleep ...disturbance, depression, erectile dysfunction and lower urinary tract symptoms simultaneously between men with Type 2 diabetes and subjects without diabetes.
Methods We compared andropausal symptom scores such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Self‐Rating Depression Scale, the International Index of Erectile Function and the International Prostate Symptom Score in 296 men with Type 2 diabetes and in 267 subjects without diabetes. Furthermore, we evaluated relationships of andropausal symptom scores to various anthropometric factors and compared andropausal symptom scores according to diabetic complications in men with Type 2 diabetes.
Results Andropausal symptom scores such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Self‐Rating Depression Scale, the International Index of Erectile Function and the International Prostate Symptom Score were 4.2 ± 2.6 vs. 5.0 ± 3.3, P < 0.01 by unpaired Student’s t‐test, 34.8 ± 8.2 vs. 38.4 ± 9.3, P < 0.0001, 11.5 ± 6.4 vs. 9.9 ± 6.9, P < 0.01 and 7.3 ± 6.7 vs. 9.0 ± 7.1, P < 0.01 in subjects without diabetes and in patients with diabetes, respectively. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was higher in patients with neuropathy than without. The Self‐Rating Depression Scale was higher in patients with advanced retinopathy. The International Index of Erectile Function was lower in patients with advanced retinopathy and nephropathy. The International Index of Erectile Function was lower and the International Prostate Symptom Score was higher in patients with cardiovascular disease than without.
Conclusions Our data demonstrated that men with Type 2 diabetes have higher prevalence of andropausal symptoms, especially those with diabetic complications.
The complete nucleotide sequence of pETB, a 38.2-kb Staphylococcus aureus plasmid encoding the exfoliative toxin B (ETB), was determined. A total of 50 open reading frames were identified on the ...plasmid genome and, among these, 32 showed sequence similarity to known proteins. pETB contains three copies of IS257, which divide the pETB genome into three regions: (i) a cadmium resistance operon-containing region, (ii) a lantibiotic production gene-containing region, and (iii) the remaining part where genes for plasmid replication and/or maintenance are dispersed. In the third region, genes of various kinds of functions are present among the replication- and maintenance-related genes. They include two virulence-related genes, the etb gene and a gene encoding a novel ADP-ribosyltransferase closely related to EDIN, which belongs to the C3 family of ADP-ribosyltransferases modifying Rho GTPases. They also include genes for a cell wall-anchoring surface protein and a phage resistance protein. Based on the determined sequence of pETB, the genome structures of etb-bearing plasmids (ETB plasmids) from various clinical isolates were analyzed by the PCR scanning method. The data indicate that, although the ETB plasmids are highly heterogeneous in genome size, the fundamental genome organization is well conserved. The size variation of the plasmid is mainly attributed to defined regions which may be hot spots for gene shuffling.
Acrylamide concentrations in processed foods (63 samples covering 31 product types) from Japan were analysed by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS methods. The limit of detection and limit of quantification of ...acrylamide were 0.2 ng ml
-1
(6 fmol) and 0.8 ng ml
-1
(22 fmol), respectively, by LC-MS/MS, and those of 2,3-dibromopropionamide derived from acrylamide were 12 ng ml
-1
(52 fmol) and 40 ng ml
-1
(170 fmol), respectively, by GC-MS. Repeatability given as RSD was <5 and <15% for the LC-MS/MS and GC-MS methods, respectively. High correlation (r
2
= 0.946) was observed between values obtained by the two methods. Most potato crisps and whole potato-based fried snacks showed acrylamide concentrations >1000 μg kg
-1
. The concentrations in non-whole potato-based snacks, rice crackers processed by grilling or frying, and candied sweet potatoes were lower compared with those in the potato crisps and the whole potato-based fried snacks. One of the whole potato-based fried snacks, however, showed low acrylamide concentration (<50 μg kg
-1
) suggesting the formation of acrylamide is strongly influenced by processing conditions. Acrylamide concentrations in instant precooked noodles and won-tons were <100 μg kg
-1
with only one exception. Roasted barley grains for 'Mugi-cha' tea contained 200-600 μg kg
-1
acrylamide.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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